Presidential Candidate Stuns by Effectively Dropping out of the Race While Romney Hints About Getting In

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(For story about Romney, see below) By Jack Davis. Republican presidential Ben Carson responded on Wednesday to a dismal showing on Super Tuesday with an announcement that he will not attend Thursday’s Republican presidential debate in Detroit.

In the statement posted on his Facebook page, Carson said, “I do not see a political path forward” for his campaign. Carson said he will address his political future during a speech on Friday at CPAC in the Washington area.

“Even though I will not be in my hometown of Detroit on Thursday, I remain deeply committed to my home nation, America,” Carson said on Facebook, noting the Super Tuesday results.

“However, this grassroots movement on behalf of ‘We the People’ will continue. Along with millions of patriots who have supported my campaign for President, I remain committed to Saving America for Future Generations. We must not depart from our goals to restore what God and our Founders intended for this exceptional nation,” he posted.

“I appreciate the support, financial and otherwise, from all corners of America. Gratefully, my campaign decisions are not constrained by finances; rather by what is in the best interests of the American people,” he posted.

Carson’s supporters left messages of gratitude for his efforts. (Read more from “Presidential Candidate Stuns by Effectively Dropping out of the Race” HERE)

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Mitt Romney to Deliver Speech on the Presidential Race

By Leigh Ann Caldwell. Mitt Romney, the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 2012, will deliver an address Thursday on “the state of the 2016 presidential race.”

In a news release sent to press, no further details on what he will say were provided. But aides to the former Massachusetts governor say they expect him to speak out against Donald Trump, and praise Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and John Kasich. Romney’s comments will be focused on “the state of the race,” likely echoing past criticism of Trump for failing to release his tax returns, and not decisively distancing himself from the Klu Klux Klan.

Romney has been inserting himself into presidential politics recently. He has taken to Twitter to challenge Trump to release his taxes, saying that the returns will contain “a bombshell.”

(Read more from “Mitt Romney to Deliver Speech on the Presidential Race” HERE)

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Justice Department Grants Immunity to Hillary Clinton’s Email Server Technician

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Hillary Clinton’s email server technician is finally talking.

The Washington Post is reporting that the Department of Justice granted immunity to Bryan Pagliano in exchange for his cooperation with the FBI’s investigation into whether classified information was mishandled on Clinton’s private email server.

As one Justice Department put it to The Post: “There was wrongdoing. But was it criminal wrongdoing?”

Pagliano may hold the key to that question. The IT director on Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, Pagliano was hired as deputy chief information officer at the State Department in May 2009. Part of his job there was to manage Clinton’s server, which hosted her personal email address and was kept at her home in New York . . .

The New York Times reported Wednesday that FBI investigators have already interviewed Pagliano, who in December was reported to be the focus of the agency’s probe. The paper also reported that Clinton herself could be interviewed within weeks and that the investigation could be wrapped up by May. (Read more from “Justice Department Grants Immunity to Hillary Clinton’s Email Server Technician” HERE)

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Sean Hannity Unloads on Rubio, Reveals the Real Reason He’s Running for President

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Sean Hannity repeatedly ripped into Marco Rubio on his Fox News program Wednesday night, attacking the Florida senator for recent attacks on Donald Trump and saying his rhetoric was “beyond the pale” of acceptance in a presidential primary.

Hannity, who wrote in August that he would not point out “deficiencies” in any of the Republican candidates, said that someone “probably promised” Rubio “a lot of money” to take Trump on.

“That’s not the real Marco,” he repeatedly insisted.

Hannity’s chief contention was that Rubio’s criticism of Trump over his Ku Klux Klan flap was not fair and that his jokes about the billionaire had gone too far.

Throughout his program, Hannity hosted a panel of guests who shared his point of view. The general theme: attack Rubio, defend Trump.

(Read more from “Sean Hannity Unloads on Rubio, Reveals the Real Reason He’s Running for President” HERE)

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Trump Just Hit Paul Ryan With a Threat That Will Have the Establishment Worried

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After Donald Trump’s strong showing in the Super Tuesday primaries, he issued a threat to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

Speaker Ryan previously denounced Trump’s call to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. Without naming him directly, Ryan also took aim at Trump’s refusal to denounce the Ku Klux Klan after former KKK leader David Duke encouraged his followers to vote for Trump.

Speaker Ryan is usually known for remaining mum about ongoing political issues during the primary season. Ryan’s usual silence stems from the active role he will play in the Republican Convention in July.

“I try to stay out of the ups and downs of the primary, but I’ve also said when I see something that runs counter to who we are as a party and a country, I will speak up,” Ryan said. “If a person wants to be the nominee of the party, there can be no evasion and no games. They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry” . . .

Following Speaker Ryan’s remarks Trump issued his threat.

“I’m going to get along great with Congress,” Trump said. “Paul Ryan, I don’t know him well, but I’m sure I’m going to get along great with him, and if I don’t, he’s going to have to pay a big price.” (Read more from “Trump Just Hit Paul Ryan With a Threat That Will Have the Establishment Worried” HERE)

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At Least One Republican Senator May Endorse Hillary [+video]

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During MSNBC’s Super Tuesday coverage, Chuck Todd said that he has heard that at least one incumbent Republican senator may endorse Hillary Clinton for president.

“I heard real, real speculation today from very informed people that at least one Republican Senate incumbent, if given the choice, might publicly endorse Hillary Clinton,” he explained. “There’s at least one that I’ve heard could end up doing that, making that choice.

(Read more from “At Least One Republican Senator May Endorse Hillary” HERE)

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Report: Illegals Rushing to Get Into U.S. Before Trump Wall

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GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s vow to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border seems to be spurring more illegal immigration in recent months, according to Reuters.

The news agency says there has been an increase in illegal immigration at the southern border as migrants seek to make it into the United States illegally before Trump gets into office and it is too late.

“They think they need to take advantage while they can,” Blanca Rivera, a manager of the Ciudad Juarez migrant shelter, told Reuters. Rivera noted that she has seen the recent increase in northward migration.

According to Reuters, between October and February Customs and Border Patrol apprehended 150,304 people attempting to illegally enter the U.S. via the southern border, about 24 percent more than the same timeframe last year. Additionally, the number of unaccompanied minors detained illegally entering the U.S. from October to January — 20,455 — is up by over 100 percent compared to those same months last year.

Interviews with migrants, people smugglers and officials show many migrants are trying to cross now instead of facing tighter policing and new policies to halt illegal immigration if Trump or another Republican wins the Nov. 8 election.

(Read more from “Report: Illegals Rushing to Get Into U.S. Before Trump Wall” HERE)

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More Bad News for Marco Rubio: He Just Lost the Support of Fox News

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In his role as the donor class’s darling, Marco Rubio has enjoyed support from the Republicans’ media arm, Fox News. Throughout the primary, Fox provided Rubio with friendly interviews and key bookings, including the first prime-time response to Barack Obama’s Oval Office address on ISIS. Many of the network’s top pundits, including Stephen Hayes and Charles Krauthammer, have been enthusiastic boosters. Bill Sammon, Fox’s Washington managing editor, is the father of Rubio’s communications director, Brooke Sammon.

But this alliance now seems to be over. According to three Fox sources, Fox chief Roger Ailes has told people he’s lost confidence in Rubio’s ability to win. “We’re finished with Rubio,” Ailes recently told a Fox host. “We can’t do the Rubio thing anymore.”

Ailes was already concerned about Rubio’s lackluster performance in GOP primaries and caucuses, winning only one contest among the 15 that have been held. But the more proximate cause for the flip was an embarrassing New York Times article revealing that Rubio and Ailes had a secret dinner meeting in 2013 during which the Florida senator successfully lobbied the Fox News chief to throw his support behind the “Gang of 8” comprehensive immigration-reform bill. “Roger hates seeing his name in print,” a longtime Ailes associate told me. “He was appalled the dinner was reported,” the source said. (Read more from “More Bad News for Marco Rubio: He Just Lost the Support of Fox News” HERE)

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This Is What Melania Trump Says Donald Will Do for America

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The wife of billionaire businessman Donald Trump says her husband’s Republican presidential campaign has helped bring back enthusiasm to the country, one day after he won seven states on Super Tuesday.

Melania Trump told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren in an exclusive “On The Record” interview Wednesday the campaign so far has been “very exciting,” especially seeing how her husband fires up crowds at numerous campaign stops.

“It’s very exciting and amazing to see what’s going on, the people and the energy,” she said. “He brought back the enthusiasm back to the country, to do good, to have a dream.”

The watch and jewelry designer told Van Susteren that she has disagreements with her husband, but they never argue or fight.

“We don’t have fights. We disagree but that’s ok. That’s very good in the relationship,” she said. “I’m with my own brains, he’s with his own brains. … I tell him my way and he accepts that, and I tell him what I think and he’s the same. He thinks what he thinks.” (Read more from “This Is What Melania Trump Says Donald Will Do for America” HERE)

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Violence Erupts in Greece as Migrants Try to Cross Into Macedonia

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By Liz Alderman and Dimitris Bounias. It was a scene of a type that could become all too common in coming months: Thousands of increasingly desperate people backed up at the frontier between Greece and Macedonia on Monday, stymied in their efforts to reach Germany. A group of angry asylum seekers busted through a razor-wire fence. Armed police officers fired tear gas as frenzied crowds chanted, “Open the border!”

Less than a week after Austria and nine other European countries took steps to stem the flow of refugees from Greece toward Germany and other prosperous countries, the spasm of violence on Greece’s northern border brought to life the perils of the European Union’s inability so far to settle on a common policy to address the migration crisis.

War in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and repression and economic hardship across the Middle East and Africa continue to compel large numbers of people to strike out for Europe. Germany continues to signal that it will accept legitimate refugees, especially from Syria. As the weather grows warmer and the sea crossing from Turkey to Greece safer, the number of people arriving is expected to spike, putting a huge strain on Greece, which in effect is becoming a giant holding center for migrants who cannot go forward because of the new border restrictions, but will not or cannot go back. (Read more from “Violence Erupts in Greece as Migrants Try to Cross Into Macedonia” HERE)

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Violence at Greece Border as Refugee Crisis Deepens

By Josh Lowe. Refugees and migrants rioted at the Macedonian border on Monday, the latest flashpoint in Greece’s spiraling refugee crisis.

Nearly 8,000 refugees are stranded at a camp with the capacity to hold 2,000 people, near the Greek town of Idomeni, Al Jazeera reported. New restrictions at the Greece-Macedonia border, including the refusal of passage to the Afghan refugees and migrants who make up one third of arrivals, have led to a buildup of people at the frontier . . .

During the rioting, a razor-wire barrier was torn and a group of men attacked a gate with a homemade battering ram.

The disturbance came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged other states to show more solidarity with Greece. Speaking to a talk show on national TV, she criticized recent moves by Austria to increase checks at its borders. (Read more from “Violence at Greece Border as Refugee Crisis Deepens” HERE)

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Good Luck Getting Into Detroit’s GOP Debate

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The Michigan Republican Party received more than 21,000 ticket requests for Thursday’s presidential debate in Detroit but will only be giving out about 50 tickets to the public.

The Republican National Committee allocated 400 tickets to the state party, which is expected to give roughly 350 to elected officials, state committee members and grassroots activists, said Michigan GOP spokeswoman Sarah Anderson.

This leaves 50 tickets for the public. The tickets will be randomly awarded to some of the 21,000 people who filled out an online form on the state party website.

“If we have people that are turning them down among our elected officials, then we’ll add that number,” Anderson said. “We want to give out as many as we can. We know that people are excited and want to be there.”

The debate is scheduled to feature GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Ohio Gov. John Kasich as well as Detroit native and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. (Read more from “Good Luck Getting Into Detroit’s GOP Debate” HERE)

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