RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel will leave post on March 8

NEW YORK (AP) — Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel says she will leave her post on March 8. She’s leaving the GOP’s national leadership as Donald Trump moves toward another presidential nomination and asserts new control over the party. Trump earlier in the month announced his preference for North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley, a little-known veteran operative focused in recent years on the prospect of voter fraud. And he wants to install daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, as the party’s co-chair.

Lack of snow cancels longest sled dog race in eastern United States

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Organizers of the longest sled dog race in the eastern United States say they are canceling the event due to a lack of snow on the ground. The Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog Races have taken place in northern Maine for more than three decades, and they include a 250-mile event that is the marquee sled dog race in New England. But this year, snowfall has been well below average in Maine, and organizers said Monday that it’s not safe to run the races. It’s one of many cold weather events that has been jeopardized in recent years by increasingly warm winter temperatures in northern parts of the country.

Professional forecasters raise expectations for US economy in 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — This year looks to be a much better one for the U.S. economy than business economists were forecasting just a few months ago. That’s according to a survey released Monday by the National Association for Business Economics. The economy looks set to grow 2.2% this year after adjusting for inflation. That’s up from an earlier forecast of 1.3%. It’s the latest signal of strength for an economy that’s blasted through predictions of a recession. High interest rates were supposed to drag the economy down eventually. But the job market and household spending have remained remarkably resilient.

Manhattan DA asks judge for a gag order in Trump’s hush-money case

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors in Donald Trump’s New York hush-money criminal case asked a judge Monday to impose a gag order on the former president, citing what they called his “long history of making public and inflammatory remarks” about people involved in his legal cases. The Manhattan district attorney’s office asked that Trump be barred from making or directing others to make public statements about potential witnesses, prospective jurors and members of the prosecution team and their families other than District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Jury selection in the case is scheduled to begin March 25.

Sideways moon landing cuts mission short, US lunar lander will stop working

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A private U.S. lunar lander is expected to stop working Tuesday, its mission cut short after landing sideways near the south pole of the moon. Intuitive Machines, the Houston company that built and flew the spacecraft, said Monday that sunlight will likely stop shining on the solar panels Tuesday morning. That’s two to three days short of the week or so that NASA and other customers had been counting on. Last Thursday, the lander became the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon in more than 50 years.