Midwest
Trump camp rips Biden campaign's immediate attacks on Vance after VP selection: 'Poor taste'
MILWAUKEE — The Trump campaign is pushing back after President Biden immediately took to social media to blast Trump’s newly chosen candidate for vice president, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
Shortly after Vance was announced as Trump’s candidate, the Biden campaign posted on X along with a fundraising link, “Here’s the deal about J.D. Vance. He talks a big game about working people. But now, he and Trump want to raise taxes on middle-class families while pushing more tax cuts for the rich.”
Trump 2024 Deputy Communications Director Caroline Sunshine took issue with that attack in an interview with Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
“I think that response, given the events that have transpired in this country where President Trump had an assassination attempt on his life, for the sitting U.S. president to be calling for anything other than unity, but instead using this opportunity to attack President Trump’s new vice presidential nominee, go after him on policy, it seems really out of touch, really in poor taste,” Sunshine said.
TRUMP ANNOUNCES OHIO SEN JD VANCE AS HIS 2024 RUNNING MATE
Former President Trump announced Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate on Monday (Getty Images)
Sunshine continued, “It’s very clear that Joe Biden is not the person who can unify this country, as evidenced by that statement.”
Democrats wasted no time going after Vance, with many labeling the Ohio Republican as an “extremist.”
“Trump has selected far-right MAGA extremist JD Vance as his running mate. Vance is a 2020 election denier, supports a national abortion ban, and voted against IVF access,” Biden-Harris HQ, the Democrat’s official 2024 campaign account, posted on X after the announcement.
WHO IS TRUMP’S RUNNING MATE JD VANCE?
Trump’s pick for Vice President, U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) arrives on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Conservatives on social media, including Trump adviser Stephen Miller, criticized Biden for the way the campaign is going after Vance.
“The staffers at Biden HQ are continuing to use wildly inflammatory rhetoric less than 2 days since an assassin nearly killed President Trump,” Miller wrote. “Will no one succeed in getting them to tamp down their rhetoric?
Donald Trump named J.D. Vance as his 2024 running mate on Tuesday. (Getty Images)
Biden, in his address to the nation on Sunday, said, “Let’s remember here in America, our unity is the most elusive of all goals right now,” Biden said in an address to the nation on Sunday. “Nothing is more important for us now than standing together. We can do this.”
The Biden campaign pointed Fox News Digital to a comment on a press call Monday from spokesperson TJ Ducklo: “President Biden, Vice President Harris have never shied away from laying bare the stakes of this election. And that, in our view, is not at odds with the effort that both are leading to sort of restore civility to our politics, and to unite this country.”
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Illinois
Firefighter faces arson charges after Illinois wildfire burns hundreds of acres
A volunteer firefighter is facing arson charges after he allegedly set a fire in a Lee County wildlife preserve, scorching hundreds of acres.
According to authorities, 21-year-old Trent Schaefer, a volunteer firefighter in Ohio, Illinois, was charged with one count of arson in connection to a fire that occurred in the Green River State Wildlife Management Area Friday.
On that date, temperatures had soared into the 60s, winds were whipping at more than 30 miles per hour, and humidity plunged below 30%, leading the National Weather Service to issue warnings on the danger of wildfires in Illinois.
It is alleged that Schaefer was seen by witnesses getting out of a vehicle and igniting multiple small fires within the nature preserve, which then coalesced into a larger blaze.
Those witnesses were able to restrain the suspect until Lee County sheriff’s deputies arrested him.
Image taken by Lee County Sheriff’s Office
By the time firefighters arrived on scene the blaze had already spread, and multiple departments were called in to assist with the fire, including the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control by the late afternoon, but not before it burned more than 700 acres, according to authorities.
Schaefer is also a suspect in several other arsons around Lee County, but he has not been charged in any other fires at this time.
Illinois State Police are assisting with the investigation, and no further information was immediately available.
Indiana
Coast Guard investigates death of mariner working barge in Jeffersonville
WATCH: Barges keep moving on icy Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky
Days of extremely cold weather during the first several weeks of 2026 left the Ohio River covered in sections of ice.
U.S. Coast Guard officials are investigating March 1 after a mariner died while working on a barge in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
An incident involving the mariner occurred the afternoon of Feb. 27 at mile marker 597 of the Ohio River, said Lt. Cmdr. Steve Leighty, public affairs officer for the U.S. Coast Guard Ohio Valley Sector. Leighty declined to provide further details about the mariner and the circumstances of their death, citing the ongoing investigation.
Officials with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office are also investigating the incident, Leighty said.
Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@usatodayco.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter
Iowa
Nebraska Men’s Basketball’s Week Ahead: Crucial Games at UCLA and Home vs. Iowa
Nebraska men’s basketball faces a critical week that will determine its Big Ten Conference and NCAA Tournament seeding.
The Huskers play at UCLA on Tuesday night and finish the regular season next Sunday at home vs. Iowa.
The Huskers are currently tied for second place in the Big Ten with Michigan State. Both teams have four conference losses. They are one game in the loss column ahead of Illinois and Purdue, with five losses. Wisconsin has six losses.
The top four teams earn the coveted triple bye for the Big Ten Tournament. Regular-season champion Michigan has one spot locked up.
Here are the remaining schedules of the contenders for the triple bye, with conference record in parentheses:
Nebraska (14-4)
* Tuesday: at UCLA
* Sunday: vs. Iowa
Michigan State (13-4)
* Sunday: at Indiana
* Thursday: vs. Rutgers
* Sunday, March 8: at Michigan
Illinois (13-5)
* Tuesday: vs. Oregon
* Sunday, March 8: at Maryland
Purdue (12-5)
* Sunday: at Ohio State
* Wednesday: at Northwestern
* Saturday: vs. Wisconsin
Wisconsin (12-6)
* Wednesday: vs. Maryland
* Saturday: at Purdue
Maintaining an NCAA seed no worse than 3 should benefit the Huskers, who wouldn’t have to play, theoretically, the No. 1 seed until the Elite Eight game.
It’s a ton to play for in the final week of a historic regular season for Nebraska. But that’s what March is all about.
Nebraska at UCLA
When: Tuesday, 10 p.m. CT
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles
Records: Nebraska, 25-4, 14-4 in Big Ten; UCLA, 19-10, 11-7 in Big Ten
TV: FS1
Rankings updated based on games through Saturday.
UCLA rankings
* Associated Press Top 25: Not ranked
* NCAA Net Ratings: 40
* USA Today Coaches Poll: Not ranked
* Kenpom.com: 41
* ESPN Power Index: 34
* Top 25 and 1: Not ranked
* Team Rankings.com: 41
In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections for ESPN, UCLA is a 9-seed for the 68-team NCAA Tournament. The next Bracketology will be released Tuesday.
Nebraska rankings
* Associated Press Top 25: 12
* NCAA Net Ratings: 12
* USA Today Coaches Poll: 10
* Kenpom.com: 11
* ESPN Power Index: 15
* Top 25 and 1: 8
* Team Rankings.com: 11
In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections for ESPN, Nebraska is a 3-seed for the 68-team NCAA Tournament.
Nebraska-UCLA analysis
The Bruins are coming off a strange week. They crushed visiting rival USC, 81-62, on Tuesday, then lost at Minnesota, 78-73, on Saturday.
UCLA is 16-1 at home, its only loss to Indiana, 98-97, in double overtime on Jan. 31.
The game will be a homecoming for Huskers forward Berke Buyuktuncel, who played at UCLA in 2023-24, his freshman season. Buyuktuncel has started 27 games and averages 6.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this season for the Huskers and frequently earns praise from coach Fred Hoiberg.
Nebraska thoroughly dispatched USC on Saturday, 82-67, an impressive performance on the road against a Trojans team desperate for a statement win to help — or save — their NCAA hopes.
Pryce Sandfort scored 32 points — one short of his career high — as the Huskers won their 14th conference game, a school record. Nebraska is 7-2 on the road in conference games.
This should be a great matchup — UCLA a strong team playing at home vs. a Nebraska team playing well and full of confidence. This feels like a one-possession game.
Iowa at Nebraska
When: Sunday, March 8, 4 p.m. CT
Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena
Records: Nebraska, 25-4, 14-4 in Big Ten; Iowa, 20-9, 10-8 in Big Ten
TV: Fox
Rankings updated based on games through Saturday.
Iowa rankings
* Associated Press Top 25: 33
* NCAA Net Ratings: 28
* USA Today Coaches Poll: 30
* Kenpom.com: 24
* ESPN Power Index: 35
* Top 25 and 1: Not ranked
* Team Rankings.com: 31
In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections for ESPN, Iowa is an 8-seed for the 68-team NCAA Tournament.
Nebraska rankings
* Associated Press Top 25: 12
* NCAA Net Ratings: 12
* USA Today Coaches Poll: 10
* Kenpom.com: 11
* ESPN Power Index: 15
* Top 25 and 1: 8
* Team Rankings.com: 11
In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology projections for ESPN, Nebraska is a 3-seed for the 68-team NCAA Tournament.
Nebraska-Iowa analysis
The Hawkeyes are coming off a puzzling, 71-69 loss at Penn State on Saturday. Iowa led 67-62 with 3:49 to play, and then scored only one more basket. Iowa plays host to Michigan on Thursday.
Nebraska will get a final curtain call at Pinnacle Bank Arena, where the Huskers are 15-2.
Nebraska should have revenge on its mind after losing at Iowa, 57-52, on Feb. 17, in Sandfort’s return to Iowa City, where he played for two seasons.
Whatever Nebraska nerves were a factor at Iowa shouldn’t be in play at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska shot only 21 percent from distance in Iowa City. Sandfort scored 13 points, his lowest total since Jan. 10, when he scored 12 at Indiana.
Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz scored 25 points. That won’t happen in this game. Neither will Nebraska’s ice-cold shooting from distance, especially if the game could determine the triple bye for the Huskers.
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