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VOTED✔️

From the March/April issue of Car and Driver. Medieval alchemy practitioners theorized that the right combination of earth, air, fire, and water would create a fifth element: the philosopher's stone. They believed that the stone, described as brilliant blue, could turn lead into gold and allow the holder to defy earthly limitations. We aren't saying that Lucid has discovered the secrets to the quintessence, but the 2024 Air Sapphire has alchemy right in the name and comes only in a brilliant metallic blue paint. Even more convincing, this 5345-pound four-door accelerates like a chemical reaction and pivots with the precision of planetary orbit. It sure feels like a transmutation of base metals into precious ones. Lucid's Air sedans feel more magical, quicker, and more nimble than their big luxury-car dimensions should allow. Even the entry-level rear-wheel-drive Air Pure can trip a quarter-mile timer in 12.7 seconds and circle our skidpad with 0.94 g. All the Air trims are solid, well-equipped cruisers with impressive range and powerful electric drivetrains. But the Sapphire outdoes them all with barely believable performance numbers and design cues that imbue it with elegant menace. To make the Sapphire stand out from the already-impressive 819-hp Air Grand Touring, the alchemists, er, engineers at Lucid added a second electric motor in the rear for a triumvirate making a frankly ridiculous 1234 horsepower and 1430 pound-feet of torque. It was pouring rain when the Lucid arrived, which only made it more incredible that nary a single horse kicked the rear end out without request, even when fording a flooded intersection that had us wondering about the 118.0-kWh battery pack's waterproofing (it was fine). The Air has a stable platform to start, with a wide stance and a long 116.5-inch wheelbase. The Sapphire hunkers down on 20- and 21-inch wheels and Pilot Sport 4S tires that Michelin developed just for this trim, with stiffer rubber along the center tread and a stickier outside shoulder to deliver the best rolling resistance while pointed straight and sporty corner grip when leaned on. HIGHS: Magic-carpet quick, handling to match, range for days. While the Sapphire's suspension is stiffer and tuned for the additional horsepower, most of the car's secrets run through its wiring. Its four drive modes—Smooth, Swift, Sapphire, and Track—do more than alter accelerator sensitivity. They also bring noticeable handling changes as the software sends more or less torque to the rear tires to offer the relaxed responses of a '70s Cadillac or the dartiness of a smaller sporty machine. Additional options within Track mode can disable traction control or limit horsepower for a longer track session. There's also a Hot Lap setting that gives you everything for one glorious go (we like to think of it as the Lightning Lap button; check out how it performed at our 2024 event). Making all of these dance moves possible is an in-house-designed torque-vectoring and traction-control system that can recognize and react to tire slip in a single millisecond. For context, a lightning strike takes 30 milliseconds. A human blink takes 100. So while you're blinking, the Sapphire could make 100 tiny adjustments to all four corners. The result is an unbothered romp through puddles or, on a nicer day, like the one we had for testing, a lap around the skidpad pulling 1.04 g's without a hint of push, a quarter-mile time of 9.3 seconds at 153 mph, and a sprint to 60 mph in 2.1 seconds. Talk about the blink of an eye. On a prepped track surface, the Sapphire is even quicker. Technical editor Dan Edmunds saw 60 mph in 1.9 seconds when he drove it at Sonoma Raceway's sticky drag strip. Perhaps more important is the bravura braking. The 16.5-inch carbon-ceramic rotors with 10-piston calipers in the front and 15.4-inch rotors with four-piston calipers in the rear bring the car to a halt from 70 mph in 151 feet. On the street, you rarely have to touch them, as the Sapphire makes use of heavy regenerative braking, with no option to coast. LOWS: No coasting mode, quarter-million price, you better like blue. When you do come to a stop, prepare for a conversation with everyone in the vicinity. That's not because the Sapphire is flashy—its dark-blue paint has an understated glow, it saves weight by dropping the showy glass canopy roof of the Grand Touring and Dream variants, and it has just a tiny splitter and rear ducktail spoiler. But people can sense that it's special. The Sapphire turned heads of all ages, from a little kid leaning out a window for a better look to an exec in a business suit stepping out of a Mercedes to come over and ask about it. If you measure a car's value in compliments given, the Sapphire's $250,500 price might seem about right. What that money gets you, aside from the possibility of cleaning up at the drag strip, is a Sapphire-exclusive interior in dark-gray Alcantara brightened with pops of blue stitching and Lucid's California-bear logo on the headrests. Extra bolstering in the heated, ventilated, and massaging seats is a nod to track aspirations, but nothing else in the interior says race car. The Sapphire is meant for the street, and it offers all the comforts a commuter needs from a luxury car. We're still waiting for someone to invent a built-in screen cleaner, though. Like many modern machines, the Sapphire relies heavily on touchscreen menus. And while Lucid's user interface is easy to navigate, the surfaces quickly become coated in oily fingerprints. https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a46975189/2024-lucid-air-sapphire-test/

Jayden Danns celebrates after scoring Liverpool’s third goal against Southampton and his second on another hugely exciting night for Jürgen Klopp’s kids. Photograph: Jon Super/AP And for their next trick, Liverpool advance into the FA Cup quarter-finals thanks to two 18-year-olds who were due to be playing Leeds in the FA Youth Cup semi-final on Thursday and fielding the youngest player to appear in the competition in the club’s ­history. The Liverpool ­academy’s pursuit of the quadruple goes on. Lewis Koumas, son of former ­Tranmere and Wales playmaker Jason, and Jayden Danns, son of former Crystal Palace midfielder Neil, scored the goals that booked the Carabao Cup winners a visit to Manchester United in the last eight. Gary Lineker laughs alongside the FA Cup trophy before the draw at the City Ground FA Cup quarter-final draw: Man Utd host Liverpool, Newcastle face Man City trip Read more “We haven’t won a trophy, since Sunday afternoon,” sang the Kop after witnessing two 18-year-olds score in the same game for Liverpool for the first time. Not content with winning the first trophy of the season with inexperienced youngsters three days earlier, Jürgen Klopp also introduced 16-year-old Trey Nyoni for his record-breaking FA Cup debut for good measure. Southampton created more than enough chances to have derailed Klopp’s hopes of finishing his Liverpool reign with another trip to Wembley. But they lacked the quality, conviction and composure in front of goal shown by Koumas on his full Liverpool debut and Danns in scoring his first two goals for his boyhood club. “It’s like the new darts sensation,” said Klopp, unexpectedly comparing Liverpool’s kids to Luke Littler. “Tonight it is fine [to praise them] but tomorrow leave them alone, they have a lot to learn. They are exceptional talents. “Of course it is not natural that an 18-year-old [Danns], as calm as you like, comes into that situation and chips the ball in. The future doesn’t look that bad. Maybe people don’t forget that when the transfer window opens – don’t close the door on these boys. But Joe Gomez is the real story. Joe saved our lives and the kids kept us in the competition. I couldn’t respect him more.” Gomez anchored midfield with two other teenagers, Bobby Clark and James McConnell, either side. Klopp again had to turn to youth with Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo having swelled the ranks of the injured. Conor Bradley and Jarell Quansah also started with Koumas making his full debut on the left of Liverpool’s attack. The Southampton manager, Russell Martin, rang the changes out of desire, not necessity, with an eye on the club’s promotion prospects. Resting eight players from Saturday’s home defeat by Millwall may have invited criticism but it was counter-acted by his team’s impressive display. It should have brought a comfortable lead before Liverpool had found their way into the tie. Lewis Koumas opens the scoring for Liverpool just before half-time. Photograph: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images “The start was all over the place,” admitted Klopp. “They tried to press because they know I want them to press, but the timing was horrendous.” Kamaldeen Sulemana set the pattern for Southampton’s wasteful night when placing an early shot against the base of a post. Sékou Mara, who converted past Caoimhin ­Kelleher after 29 seconds but was clearly offside, had an excellent chance seconds later when dispossessing McConnell. His low shot was well saved by the Liverpool goalkeeper. Joe Rothwell weaved his way into space inside the area but shot well wide of Kelleher’s goal. Sulemana had another fine opportunity when his pace took him away from Bradley and Quansah and left him with only the Republic of Ireland international to beat. A tame, side-foot finish straight at Kelleher ensured he did not. Liverpool punished the visitors’ profligacy for a first time when Koumas marked his debut with a moment he will never forget. Receiving Clark’s pass on the corner of the area, the teenager cut across Jack Stephens and dispatched a low shot that flew into the bottom corner via a slight deflection off Jan Bednarek. Goalkeeper Joe Lumley was rooted to the spot. Southampton continued to create the clearer opportunities until fading in the final 15 minutes and continued to squander them. Sulemana, Bednarek, Joe Aribo and Shea Charles all missed chances to equalise before Liverpool put the tie beyond them. Casemiro scores Manchester United Casemiro’s late nod topples Forest as Manchester United roll on in FA Cup Read more There was an inevitability to the next round of punishment, in terms of the quality of Liverpool’s second goal and the age of the scorer. It stemmed from a mistake by Southampton substitute Will Smallbone who played a stray pass straight to Harvey Elliott. Elliott, a relative veteran of this Liverpool team at 20 years of age, released Danns with a perfectly weighted pass and the teenager dinked a superb finish over the advancing Lumley for his first senior goal. Danns’s second arrived after Lumley parried Bradley’s shot back into the danger zone and the striker reacted quickest to convert into an empty net. “To come on and score at the Kop end is unreal, it doesn’t feel real to me,” said Danns. “It feels like I’m in a movie.” https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/feb/28/liverpool-southampton-fa-cup-fifth-round-match-report

A third of respondents to a recent study had tried consensual non-monogamy. Illustration: Marcus Peabody/Getty Images As relationship conventions shift, plenty of couples are open to being open. But for some, having outside partners just wasn’t the right fit When Sara Kragness’s partner Kadence Porter started dating a new person, they weren’t breaking any rules. The couple, who live in Northampton, Massachusetts, had agreed to try polyamory – they were both free to pursue sexual, intimate relationships with other people. But when Kragness struggled to make an extracurricular connection of her own, she began to feel jealous of Porter’s budding relationship. “I’d get snappy or grumpy right before they went on a date,” Kragness said. “I would pick a fight, get isolated or cold. None of that is healthy or positive.” Things worsened. The couple spent less time together, avoided talking and slept in different bedrooms. At a family wedding, the bubbling drama boiled over, and the couple confronted their issues head-on. “A decision had to be made: are we going to continue together, or are we going to part ways because of the poly lifestyle?” Kragness said. Kragness didn’t want to come off as mani[CENSORED]tive. If Porter wished to stay poly, that was fine by her, but they would have to break up. “People said we were done for,” she said. “I think the view was that when people open their relationship, it all falls apart.” But after some soul-searching, Kragness and Porter decided to stick it out – and close their relationship. Polyamory (having multiple partners at once consensually) and open relationships (where couples pursue other sexual relationships but tend to stay emotionally connected to just each other) aren’t anything new. The anarchist revolutionary Emma Goldman advocated for “free love” in place of “that poor little State and Church-begotten weed, marriage” in the 1910s, while many in the queer community practiced open relationships long before “polycule” became a TikTok buzzword. But Covid changed conceptions of love and intimacy on a wider scale. This year saw the release of More, a memoir by Molly Roden Winter, in which the white, upper-class Brooklyn mom recounts juggling polyamory with parenting. Peacock’s salaciously named reality show Couple to Throuple follows four pairs who, while living together in a tropical resort, mull adding a third party into the mix. (What could go wrong?) And last month, New York magazine released its “practical guide to modern polyamory”, which included rules and tips on how to ethically open up a relationship. Sara Kragness, right, and her partner Kadence Porter. Photograph: Sara Kragness It can feel like everyone’s open now – according to a recent Match study, one-third of respondents had experimented with consensual non-monogamy. But what if it doesn’t work out? A failed attempt at polyamory might lead to a devastating breakup, even when some couples, like Kragness and Porter, might not be ready to call it just yet. “Being open started and ended with an agreed mutual decision: we were advocating for our personal needs, and we had a willingness to try,” Kragness said. “But ultimately, we decided that we want each other in our lives, and that’s not something that’s possible for me if we’re poly.” There were awkward moments during the repair process: when Porter broke up with their other partner, it was difficult for Kragness to support them as they grieved the loss of another lover. For now, the couple – who are getting ready to celebrate their sixth anniversary – describe themselves as “monogamish”. They’re not actively pursuing sexual relationships with other people, but they might in the future. Deeper, emotional connections with other people remain verboten. Struggling with the ‘Olympics of relationships’ Shai Fishman is a Pennsylvania entrepreneur who also runs an online community for the polyamorous called Leveled Up Love. He says the lifestyle has helped him learn to better communicate with partners and advocate for his sexual desires – but he doesn’t believe it’s for everyone. Fishman often sees open relationships close, especially if a couple rushed into it or thought that trying non-monogamy might serve as a Band-Aid for pre-existing problems. “I joke that polyamory is like the Olympics of relationships,” Fishman said. “Some people are going to struggle. There are these idealistic approaches to polyamory, and when jealousy and insecurity smacks someone in the face, they could run for the hills.” In Massachusetts, the Puritan state, of all places, three cities allow more than two people to be in domestic relationships, and two of those cities have laws on the books protecting polyamorous families from discrimination. In California, Berkeley and Oakland have introduced similar bills. And in New York, the therapist Daniel Rich says half his clients are couples who engage in some sort of non-monogamous structure. When things go wrong, about half of those couples break up. “These relationships can stir up so many big feelings,” Rich said. “It’s easy to attribute the end of a relationship to it being open. But a lot of times, it really ends because of issues that were already present in the relationship, such as a lack of communication or trust.” He says the couples who do tough it out can have a long road of rebuilding after closing their relationships back up. At first, Jeannie, a 53-year-old administrative worker from New York, enjoyed opening her marriage. She’d never been with people other than her husband, whom she’s known since high school and had gone through long dry spells with. The sex drought was so prominent, in fact, that Jeannie once spoke to the women’s magazine Self for an article about not having enough sex. (Jeannie is a pseudonym.) Opening up the marriage felt like the “capstone” of a process during which Jeannie became more comfortable with her sexuality. She took pole dancing lessons and courses on women’s empowerment. One night in 2018, Jeannie kissed someone who wasn’t her husband at a party; the couple calls that date their “polyversary”. Jeannie thought this new period of self-discovery and erotic exploration was fun: “I went on tons of dates, went to parties, and met lots of people.” But her husband wasn’t as successful and found dating hard. That was, until he met someone he really liked – and eventually, loved. Gradually, the tables turned on Jeannie. “I never expected that to happen,” she said. Her one night stands began to feel like a “revolving door” of lovers who weren’t satisfying. Meanwhile, her husband was falling deeper in love with his new girlfriend. “Is she another soulmate?” Jeannie wondered. “It was jarring to my reality, and I didn’t know where I fit.” Things came to a head during the fall of 2020: “I told my husband that if he was poly by nature and needed that in his life, that was OK, but I couldn’t do it,” Jeannie said. They agreed to give their closed marriage another shot by rebuilding their relationship and clarifying their desires. “We did all of the things: couples therapy, individual therapy, medicine journeys,” Jeannie said. It wasn’t easy, and there was collateral damage. Jeannie’s husband harbored resentment for having to break up with his girlfriend, whom he never intended to hurt; she was devastated. But he and Jeannie still made a point to commit. “We had breakfast together every day and learned how to be better communicators,” Jeannie said. They also wrote up a “relationship agreement” – it’s 20 pages long, with an appendix – that breaks down their priorities as a couple, what’s OK to do, and what’s not. After a few years closed, Jeannie and her husband opened up again with that agreement in mind. No regrets about trying polyamory Sometimes, relationships start out polyamorous. Such was the case with Rome, a 24-year-old bookseller from New Mexico who has dated his partner Andi for about a year. For the first six months, they agreed to be open. Both wanted to explore relationship anarchy, an ethos that prioritizes autonomy and community over monogamy’s rules for romance. The couple scheduled monthly “check-ins” to talk about their feelings and discuss how things were going. (Rome and Andi asked that their last names not be used.) “We had a rule where we’d only tell each other what we needed to know: for example, we would only tell each other about a new relationship if we thought it was going to be an ongoing thing,” Rome explained. Society hands us these boxes and says, ‘These are the only options. But I do think it’s OK to change your mind There were times when they’d accidentally reveal “too much” to each other: “I was at a concert with someone else, and I told my partner how we were having a really great time, and they said, ‘I don’t want to hear about that,’” Rome recalled. For his part, Rome found himself feeling “on edge” when he thought about Andi going out with other people. Andi, who is 27 and works as a graduate teaching associate, said they had grown exhausted with the pace of dating outside of a relationship. “The thought of having the door open for romantic connections grew less of a priority, given my energy and emotional capacity,” they said. Still, when Andi thought about having the “let’s close up” conversation, they felt anxious. “We met on a dating app that’s used by non-monogamous folks, and Rome reads a lot about polyamory and its benefits. I had this fear that my asking for monogamy might be read as a control or coercion thing. I worried that this person I cared about so much would think that I was trying to limit the meaningful connections he can have for other people.” But there were no tears or big, blowout arguments. In fact, the scene could have been straight out of a romcom: during one of their check-ins, Andi told Rome they weren’t seeing anyone. Rome told them he wasn’t either. They came to the conclusion that it should stay that way. None of the couples who spoke to the Guardian said they regretted being open, or believed monogamy to be the only way to date. It’s just what is best for them at this time. “Society hands us these boxes and says, ‘These are the only options,’ and certain compulsory behaviors are so ingrained in our society,” Rome said. “But I do think it’s OK to change your mind.” https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/feb/28/polyamory-dating-ethical-non-monogamy-open

Lieutenant governor ‘pardons’ animal and Republican local politician adopts it after its rescue in New Orleans The piglet (not pictured) has been dubbed Earl ‘Piglet’ Long, a play on the name of the 45th governor of Louisiana. Photograph: Sonja Rachbauer/Getty Images/iStockphoto A piglet that was rescued after being tossed like a football near a Mardi Gras event in New Orleans was “pardoned” on Wednesday and has found a permanent home with a Louisiana lawmaker. The weeks-old pig – dubbed Earl “Piglet” Long, a play on the name of the 45th governor of Louisiana – was ceremoniously pardoned by the lieutenant governor, Billy Nungesser, on the Louisiana capitol steps. “He will live out his life without any threat of being thrown like a football or being part of jambalaya or boudin in someone’s kitchen here in Louisiana,” Nungesser said referring to two po[CENSORED]r dishes that contain sausage. While beads, stuffed animals and hand-decorated souvenirs are frequently catapulted through the air during carnival season in Louisiana, pigs are not among those items. The piglet’s journey to a new home began earlier this month when a bystander noticed men in a park, not far from a Mardi Gras parade, throwing “what appeared to be a mini-football” to one another and laughing, according to the Humane Society of Louisiana. As the bystander approached they could hear squealing and realized the object flying through the air was a piglet. The bystander approached the men and asked for custody of the terrified animal. “The rowdiness, endless parades, and party-like atmosphere often lend themselves to questionable behavior – like how three grown men behaved a few days ago,” the Humane Society said in a social media post. The piglet, who is expected to grow to be 80lb (36kg), has since been adopted by the state representative Lauren Ventrella and will live on a farm in the Capitol region. “As a Republican, sometimes we like to cut the pork,” Ventrella said, alluding to Republicans’ reputed conservative approach to fiscal spending. “But, I will tell you this is the pork we won’t be cutting.” https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/28/new-orleans-piglet-rescue-mardi-gras

Widow of the Russian opposition leader unsure whether his funeral will pass off peacefully after Russia blocked memorial service plans. Candles burn as people attend a vigil following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny [File: Benoit Tessier/Reuters] The funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who died earlier this month in a remote Arctic penal colony, will be held in Moscow on Friday, his family and spokesperson have said. Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya announced the funeral date on Wednesday, but she said she was unsure if it would pass off peacefully and that plans for a civil memorial service had been blocked “The funeral will take place the day after tomorrow and I’m not sure yet whether it will be peaceful or whether police will arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband,” Navalnaya said in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday. The funeral will be held at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in Moscow’s southeast Maryino district on Friday afternoon, Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said on the social media platform X, after several locations declined to host the service. He will then be buried at the Borisovskoye cemetery, about 2.5km (1.5 miles) away on the other side of the Moskva River. Navalny’s allies have accused the Kremlin of thwarting their attempts to organise a separate civil memorial service in a hall which could have accommodated more people. The Kremlin has said it has nothing to do with such arrangements. “Two people – Vladimir Putin and [Moscow Mayor] Sergei Sobyanin – are to blame for the fact that we have no place for a civil memorial service and farewell to Alexei,” Navalnaya wrote on X. “People in the Kremlin killed him, then mocked Alexei’s body, then mocked his mother, now they are mocking his memory.” The Kremlin has denied any involvement in Navalny’s February 16 death at age 47 and his death certificate – according to his supporters – says he died of natural causes. Alexey Navalny and his wife Yulia during an opposition rally in Moscow, on October 27, 2013 [File: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters] ‘Putin killed my husband’ Yarmysh spoke of the difficulties his team encountWriting on X, she said most venues said they were fully booked, with some “refusing when we mention the surname ‘Navalny'”, and one disclosing that “funeral agencies were forbidden to work with us”. Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said the funeral was initially planned for Thursday – the day of Putin’s annual address to Russia’s Federal Assembly – but no venue would agree to hold it then. “The real reason is clear. The Kremlin understands that nobody will need Putin and his message on the day we say farewell to Alexey,” Zhdanov wrote on Telegram. In Navalnaya’s Wednesday speech before European lawmakers, she said, “Putin killed my husband … On his orders, Alexey was tortured for three years. He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls and then even letters.” In the 12 days since her husband’s death, Navalnaya has staked a claim to take on the leadership of Russia’s fragmented opposition, saying she will continue his work. Speaking in English, her voice sometimes faltering, she described Putin as a “bloody monster” and told lawmakers it was not possible to negotiate with him. “You cannot hurt Putin with another resolution or another set of sanctions that is no different from the previous ones,” she said, calling for more effective action against the money flows of Russia’s ruling elite. Navalny’s allies have accused Putin of having him murdered because the Russian leader could allegedly not tolerate the thought of Navalny being freed in a potential prisoner swap, but they have not published proof to back up that accusation. The Kremlin has denied state involvement in his death and has said it was unaware of any agreement to free Navalny. ered in trying to find a site for a “farewell event” for Navalny. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/28/funeral-of-kremlin-critic-navalny-to-be-held-in-moscow-on-friday

Michigan movement ‘surpasses expectations’ with more than 100,000 votes cast in protest of unequivocal US support for Israel. Activist Natalia Latif tapes a 'Vote Uncommitted' sign on the speaker's podium during a primary election night gathering in Dearborn, Michigan, on February 27 [Rebecca Cook/Reuters] In the Michigan city known as the capital of Arab America, United States President Joe Biden came second in the Democratic primaries, in a vote hailed as “groundbreaking”. Most Democratic voters in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn chose “uncommitted” over the incumbent, as part of an organised effort to denounce his “unwavering” support for Israel’s war on Gaza. And it wasn’t just Dearborn. Initial results, released early on Wednesday, reveal that more than 101,000 people across the state joined the protest campaign at the ballot box. Advocates said the numbers serve as an enormous rebuke to Washington’s backing of Israel, not to mention a warning sign for Democrats heading into the general election in November. “It’s huge,” Palestinian-American human rights lawyer Huwaida Arraf said of the “uncommitted” tally. But Arraf, who is based in the Detroit area, said Tuesday’s 101,000 votes do not fully convey the growing frustration at Biden’s policies. She pointed out that some voters opted to cast their ballots for other candidates also to display displeasure with the incumbent president. Both Marianne Williamson and Dean Phillips, who challenged Biden for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, have previously called for a ceasefire. Phillips won 20,000 votes while Williamson, who dropped out of the race ahead of Tuesday’s voting, received more than 22,000. In the aftermath of the state primary, Williamson has announced she would relaunch her campaign. Arraf added that many people chose not to participate in the process altogether. She explained that the “uncommitted” campaign was working with limited resources and started only a few weeks before the election. “Tuesday’s showing of no confidence in Biden, anger with Biden and people’s willingness to use their vote to express that extreme discontent should have the Biden team and all Democrats very, very worried,” she told Al Jazeera. One of the groups behind the effort to vote “uncommitted”, the Listen to Michigan campaign, celebrated the results in a social media post. “Our movement emerged victorious tonight and massively surpassed our expectations,” it wrote. The group promised to continue the pressure at least until the Democratic National Convention in August when the party will officially choose its candidate after the individual state primaries and caucuses. It has not, however, released an announcement about its stance on the general election — and whether it will encourage voters to boycott Biden then. ‘Historic’ vote The adage of “every vote counts” rings especially true in Michigan. That’s because in November’s general election, presidential candidates compete in individual state contests for Electoral College votes. Those Electoral College votes then decide who wins the White House. In recent general elections, the victor has come down to just a handful of key “swing states”, which can tilt either Republican or Democrat. Michigan, home to more than 10 million people, is one such state. It is often won by small margins. For instance, in 2016, former President Donald Trump beat his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, in Michigan by fewer than 11,000 votes. The state was crucial to putting Trump in the White House. In 2020, Biden beat Trump by about 150,000 votes in Michigan — roughly equal to the number of voters who did not support Biden in this primary election. Recent polls have shown an even tighter general election race in the likely event of a rematch between Biden and Trump. The electoral math, according to Sally Howell, an assistant professor at University of Michigan-Dearborn, means the Biden campaign “has to be concerned about Michigan” Howell said the significance of Tuesday’s vote cannot be understated with the Arab American and Muslim voters in the state showing their electoral leverage despite representing a relatively small proportion of overall voters. The Arab American community makes up about 2 percent of the electorate in Michigan, she explained. Together with the Muslim electorate, which overlaps with the Arab American community, they represent about 3 percent. “I think it’s historic,” she told Al Jazeera. “And for Arab American political participation, it’s really groundbreaking. I don’t think they’ve ever gotten the attention of a presidential campaign like they have it now.” ‘Not over yet’ In Arab American- and Muslim-dominated areas like Dearborn, the story is in the numbers. For instance, in Hamtramck, a Detroit-area town that is believed to be the only Muslim-majority city in the country, the ballot category “uncommitted” received 61 percent of the votes, compared with 32 percent for Biden. But even in areas with no significant Arab and Muslim presence, the uncommitted campaign made a strong showing, underscoring that the movement has extended beyond individual communities. For example, in Washtenaw County west of Detroit — a liberal stronghold that is home to the main campus of the University of Michigan — 17 percent of Democrats voted uncommitted. Overall, 13.3 percent of voters cast “uncommitted” ballots in Tuesday’s state primary with nearly all votes counted, far outpacing the Arab American and Muslim representation in the state. Howell explained those results offer a forecast for other state races, particularly as Super Tuesday — the day with the most state primary contests — approaches next week. “It’s also not over yet,” Howell said. “There are other swing states with an Arab American community or a Muslim American community or an African-American community that is in solidarity with Palestinians or a young, educated po[CENSORED]tion.” “All of these groups are going to have paid attention to what’s happening in Michigan.” Advocates in nearby Minnesota, which has a large Muslim and Somali American po[CENSORED]tion, have already upped their efforts to urge residents to vote “uncommitted” in the state’s Super Tuesday primary. The Michigan campaign “has just shown us that we CAN alter the course of Biden’s actions with added pressure”, Asma Nizami, an advocacy director at the Minnesota-based organisation Reviving Sisterhood, wrote in a post on social media. Still, what happens next remains unclear with some “uncommitted” voters saying a policy pivot from Biden could still win their vote. Others, including those who have rallied behind the Abandon Biden campaign, have said the administration cannot undo the damage already done. Palestinian-American comedian and organiser Amer Zahr was among those calling for continued efforts to deny Biden a second term. He described Michigan’s vote as a “true rejection of Biden’s disastrous policies of support for the genocide in Gaza”. “Now, the work continues. We must stay the course of denying Biden our votes. For the martyrs in Gaza. For our dignity. Otherwise, we turn into Ted Cruz, and nothing matters,” he told Al Jazeera in a statement, referring to the Republican senator who endorsed Trump even after he insulted Cruz’s wife. Congressional Progressive Caucus chairperson Pramila Jayapal, speaking to CNN on Tuesday, said Michigan’s results showed there has to be a “dramatic policy and rhetorical shift from the president on this issue and a new strategy to rebuild a real partnership with progressives in multiple communities who are absolutely key to winning the election”. For his part, Biden did not mention the “uncommitted” movement or the Israel-Gaza war in a statement hailing the more than 618,000 votes cast in his favour in Michigan. Instead he thanked the influential United Auto Workers union, which has called for a ceasefire while still endorsing Biden. He also pledged to boost the state’s auto industry, repair crumbling infrastructure and support working families. “This fight for our freedom, for working families, and for Democracy is going to take all of us coming together,” he said in a statement. “I know we will.” Biden’s approach appears to align with an argument made by some Democrat-aligned commentators who believe the war in Gaza will be a non-issue in November. They maintain the US news cycle will have moved on by then. But Palestinian rights advocates said the Michigan vote should be a warning to Democrats not to assume that voters have a short memory. Human rights, they argued, are a central issue to many and the scale of the Gaza war has evoked warnings of “genocide”, including from United Nations experts. “It’s energising and a success story of a deeper conscience across communities — Arab, Jewish, Black, white, politically involved and apolitical,” Adham Kassem, an Arab American activist, said of the vote. ‘Voters are not stupid’ Advocates contended that Biden’s unequivocal support for Israel, coupled with his questioning of the death toll in Gaza, has left a mark for many voters that will not soon wash away. Early in the conflict, Biden asked Congress to approve $14bn in additional aid to Israel, a request that legislators are still working to fulfill. On Tuesday, as people in Michigan were voting “uncommitted”, Biden met with congressional leaders to push the foreign aid bill that includes the additional Israel assistance. The measure would also ban funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), an aid group. His administration vetoed a ceasefire resolution at the UN Security Council for the third time last week. That is why a recent softening in tone from the Biden administration has rung hollow for many, according to Arraf. Biden and his officials have recently called on Israel to minimise civilian harm in Gaza and acknowledge the “unimaginable pain and loss” of Palestinians — but Arraf warns this could come across as “doublespeak” because the administration continues to back the Gaza war. “Voters are not stupid, and, therefore, this kind of rhetoric is further insulting,” she told Al Jazeera. Kassem added, “Every one of these uncommitted votes is someone who took time off their day to vote against what we’ve all watched — a depraved indifference to life by an administration that’s hoping time will forgive.” “It doesn’t, and these voters won’t forget.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/28/groundbreaking-michigans-uncommitted-vote-for-gaza-should-worry-biden

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Hello all players and staff of our NewLifeZm server! Today is the birthday for someone special to us he is @Bellingham Let's celebrate him! 🎂 Best Regards: Your brother 7aMoDi ❤️

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