First Thing: Nikki Haley loses to ‘none of these candidates’ in Nevada primary

Republican candidate suffers embarrassing defeat with Trump not on ballot as Joe Biden seals easy win. Plus, what happens to the dogs nobody wants?

Good morning.

Nikki Haley suffered an embarrassing defeat in Nevada’s Republican presidential primary contest, when she was beaten by the “none of these candidates” option, despite Donald Trump’s absence from the ballot.

Joe Biden, meanwhile, secured another easy primary victory, after a soggy, subdued election day in Nevada. Associated Press called the results about two hours after polls closed. Biden’s nearest challenger, Marianne Williamson, registered only in the low single digits.

The race is essentially meaningless in the nominating process, however, as the big event for Republicans is on Thursday, when the GOP will hold caucuses with Trump on the ballot that will determine the actual delegates sent to the Republican national convention.

Haley did not make much effort to campaign in Nevada, saying that the process was “rigged” for Trump. Perhaps due to voters’ confusion about the dual elections, and the availability of early and mail-in voting options in the primaries, in-person turnout on Tuesday appeared low.

Why is Nevada holding a primary and caucuses? The bifurcated format is confusing to voters and renders results difficult to understand – here’s how it works.

House Republicans fail to impeach Biden’s homeland security secretary

House Republicans on Tuesday narrowly failed to impeach the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, a stinging – but possibly only temporary – setback for the majority’s deeply partisan effort to punish a cabinet official in a presidential election year.

In a vote of 216-214, four Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing the two articles of impeachment against the secretary. When the gavel came down, Democrats burst into applause, having assailed the impeachment case against Mayorkas as a “bunch of garbage” designed to boost Trump’s electoral prospects in the November election.

In a sign that Monday’s defeat may only be temporary, the Republican congressman Blake Moore of Utah, who supports the impeachment effort, switched his yes vote to a no in a procedural move that would allow the motion to be brought up to the floor again at a later date.

Republicans sought to impeach Mayorkas on charges that he wilfully refused to enforce immigration law, resulting in record levels of migration at the US’s southern border, and “breached the public trust” by his actions. The historic vote would have marked the first time since 1876 that the House had impeached a cabinet official, but with hours to go before a scheduled evening vote its prospects dimmed.

What happened at the vote? The roll call vote unfolded in dramatic fashion, with voting suspended in a 215-215 tie for several minutes and Democrats shouting for the chair to close the vote.

When will they try again? Republicans say they will attempt to vote again on impeachment, possibly as soon as next week, but next steps are uncertain.

In other news …

Hamas has responded to a US-backed Israeli ceasefire plan for the war in Gaza with its own far-reaching proposal for a permanent end to the fighting. It is a position Israel is almost certain to reject, but which mediators are viewing positively, as it appears the group is willing to engage in further negotiations.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said two people had been killed in the capital, Kyiv, in a Russian missile attack. “In Kyiv, more than 10 people were injured. As of now, we know of about two dead. There may be more people under the rubble,” he said.

The far-right pundit and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has confirmed he was in Moscow to interview Vladimir Putin, and said he would air his conversation with Russia’s president to counter what he described as pro-Ukraine “fawning pep sessions” by western media covering the war.

A jury has found Jennifer Crumbley guilty of involuntary manslaughter for failing to stop her son from carrying out a deadly school shooting where four students were killed. Her husband, James, is facing a separate trial on the same charges. Their son Ethan, who was 15 at the time, is serving life in prison.

Gina Carano is suing Disney and Lucasfilm over her firing from the TV show The Mandalorian, with help from Elon Musk. The MMA fighter turned actor, who played Cara Dune in the Star Wars series, was accused of “denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities” on social media.

Don’t miss this: ‘They deserve love!’ Last-chance pets – and the people who rescue them

In a car on the way back from an animal shelter, with a 12-year-old chihuahua on his lap, Steve Greig felt peace. For months, since the death of his dog, Wolfgang, he had been inconsolable. Greig had the idea that he could adopt a dog that nobody else wanted, to give an animal a last chance of a loving home. The chihuahua, whom he named Eeyore, was the oldest dog in the shelter and had a heart murmur and four bad knees. “It was not a no-kill shelter, so his future didn’t look that good, but he had a new lease on life,” says Greig. It was so rewarding, that he soon adopted another old dog – “and one turned into another”. He now has 11. Every so often, a shelter calls him with news of a dog that might be put down and he can’t resist.

Shelters are full of old, unwanted animals no one wants. Or almost no one … Here are the heroes like Greig giving cats and dogs their final homes.

Climate check: World ‘not prepared’ for climate disasters after warmest ever January

From deadly floods in California to devastating fires in Chile, scientists say the world is not prepared for the climate disasters that are hitting with increasing frequency as human-driven global heating continues to break records, writes Jonathan Watts. The hottest year in history has been followed by the warmest ever January. Many regions in the northern hemisphere are sweltering in heatwaves that would be more normal in June. Marine scientists are shocked by the prolonged and intense heat at the surface of the oceans.

Last Thing: ‘Diabolical actions’ – Snoop Dogg and Master P sue Walmart in breakfast cereal spat

The rappers Snoop Dogg and Master P are suing the US supermarket chain Walmart and food manufacturer Post Consumer Brands, claiming that the two companies conspired to sabotage the success of their new breakfast cereal enterprise. Snoop Cereal launched last summer, with Master P hailing its parent company, Broadus Foods, as the first Black-owned cereal company in the US. The rappers partnered with Post to produce the cereal. They now allege “diabolical actions” and “underhanded dealings” as Post attempted to “choke Broadus Foods out of the market” after the rappers refused to sell it to Post “in totality”.

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