More than a year has passed since Catalonia’s regional parliament voted to declare independence from Spain following a contested referendum that saw Spanish police violently disperse Catalan voters.

Since then, pro-independence Catalan politicians and activists have been held in pre-trial detention on charges of rebellion, disobedience, and embezzlement of public funds for their alleged roles in the referendum and subsequent declaration of independence from Spain.

Others, such as former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, have fled Spain to avoid charges and lobby for Catalonia’s independence in the European Union.

Twelve defendants will stand trial on Tuesday before the Spanish Supreme Court for their alleged roles in the events leading to the October 2017 declaration.

The defendants face a combined total of roughly 200 years if they are given maximum sentences.

According to court filings, their attorneys intend to claim the Catalan separatists are being prosecuted for their political beliefs, such as Catalan nationalism, and the act of voting.

The majority of the politicians to stand trial come from two political parties: the left-wing Catalan Republican Left (ERC) and the centrist European Democratic Catalan Party (PDeCAT).

Leaders of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Omnium Cultural (OC) – two pro-independence civil society organisations – will also stand trial.

Oriol Junqueras

Oriol Junqueras, the former vice president, is the highest-ranking member of the former government to stand trial before the Spanish high court. He faces charges of rebellion and embezzlement and is accused of understanding the “grave risk” of violence related to the referendum, but pushing forward anyway.

Junqueras, a former history teacher, mayor, and member of the European Parliament still heads the ERC from prison, giving him considerable politic sway in national Spanish politics.

Junqueras told Politico in an interview he will “only consider acquittal” and will not ask for a pardon if found guilty.

The Spanish attorney general (AG) is asking for 25 years’ imprisonment, while the solicitor general (SG) demanded 12 years.

Joaquim Forn

Forn, the former Catalan minister of the interior, who oversaw carrying out the AG’s orders in Catalonia, is also charged with rebellion and embezzlement.

His indictment also states he understood the risk of violence related to the referendum but chose to go forward regardless.

Forn has a long political history in Barcelona, serving as a member of the city’s municipal council since 1999 and first deputy mayor from 2011-2015.

The AG has asked for 16 years, while the SG asked 11.

Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart

The two “Jordis” are pro-independence civil society leaders – Sanchez of ANC and Cuixart of OC. The two men helped organised large pro-independence protests in the days before the October 1, 2017 referendum and are charged with sedition and rebellion.

They were originally accused of sedition by the AG in September, and the imprisonment of the two was ordered on October 16, 2017 by Spanish judge Carmen Lamela.

They faced accusations of encouraging violence against Spanish national police during the protests, but numerous media outlets have published a video of the two men climbing atop a car to ask demonstrators to remain peaceful.

Te cuentan que subir a un coche es delito de rebelión y 20 años de cárcel. Pero resulta que los Jordis subieron para pedir calma a la gente y desconvocar la manifestación.pic.twitter.com/5EHglWqXF4

— Joan Mangues (@jmangues) January 30, 2019

Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have asked for their release.

The AG has asked for 17 in prison for both, while the SG asked for eight years.

Carme Forcadell

Carme Forcadell, the former president of the Catalan parliament, was charged with rebellion and accused of voting for independence ahead of the declaration of independence. She was accused of “medullary” involvement as former president of ANC, a position she held from 2012-15.

The AG has asked her to be sentenced for 17 years, while the SG asked for 10.

Raul Romeva

Romeva, a Catalan politician, former MEP, economist and analyst, was the head of foreign affairs under Puigdemont.

Llarena accused Romeva of trying to create a the “structures of a [Catalan] state” independent from Spain and of trying to promote the acceptance of a Catalan state in his role as charge of foreign affairs.

Romeva told Reuters news agency the imprisoned “see the trial as an opportunity to address public opinion and society in Catalonia, Spain and obviously at an international level”.

The Catalan leaders are accused of crimes “we have not committed”, said Romeva, adding: “That is why the only possible sentence is acquittal.”

The AG has asked he serve 16 years, while the SG asked for 11.

Dolors Bassa

Bassa is an educator and trade unionist who began her political career in 2007. She was elected to the Catalan’s parliament in 2015 and served as the counselor of labour, social affairs and families under Puigdemont.

Bassa was charged with rebellion and embezzlement for using her ministry to assume part of the costs related to the independence referendum.

The SG asked for 16 years, while the SG asked for 11.

Carles Mundo

Mundo, a lawyer, ex-counselor of justice under Puigdemont and ERC member was imprisoned along with Junqueras in November 2017 following the independence declaration. He was charged with embezzlement and disobedience.

He was released on bail in December 2017 after winning re-election in the regional vote called by the Spanish government. Mundo made a surprise announcement that he was leaving politics in January 2018, shortly after he was freed.

Both the AG and SG asked for seven years’ imprisonment. 

Jordi Turull

Turull, a lawyer and PDeCAT member whose political career began in 1987, had been a deputy in the Catalan parliament since 2004 when he was chosen as the counselor and spokesman of the presidency by Puigdemont in 2017.

He is charged with rebellion and embezzlement. 

Llarena accused Turull of propelling mobilisations in favour of the referendum and designing and managing the referendum’s advertising.

The AG asked for 16 years, while the SG asked for 11 years.

Josep Rull

Rull, a PDeCAT member and parliamentarian for 20 years, was the Counselor of Territory and Sustainability under Puigdemont. He was charged with rebellion and embezzlement.

Rull was accused of playing a “significant” role in the independence movement since 2015, as well as stopping Spanish national police from carrying out efforts to stop the independence referendum.

He has been in pre-trial detention since March 2018. The AG asked for 16 years, while the SG asked 11.

Meritxell Borras

Borras is a prominent figure in Catalan politics. She has been active in local politics since 1995 and is the daughter of Jacint Borras, one of the founders of the defunct pro-independence Democratic Convergence of Catalonia (CDC).

The centrist CDC was the foremost secessionist party until its members voted to dissolve and reform as the in 2016, partly due to its many corruption scandals. Many of its former members went on to join PDeCAT

Borras, who was the Counselor of Government and Institutional Relations under Puigdemont, has been charged with disobedience and embezzlement. Both the AG and SG have asked for 7 years.

Santi Vila

Vila was a long-time member of CDC and subsequently PDeCAT. He was the Counselor of Business and Culture at the time of the independence referendum and has been charged with embezzlement and disobedience in relation to his alleged involvement.

Vila paid a 50,000 euro ($57,000) bail in November 2017. He resigned from PDeCAT in June 2018. Both the AG and SG have asked for 7 years.

ISIL snipers and landmines have slowed a US-backed ground force as it pushes to retake the armed group’s last enclave in eastern Syria.

Black smoke clouds rose over ISIL’s final territory in Deir Az Zor province on Monday as coalition fighter jets fired missiles in support of the Kurdish-led militia known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). 

The SDF launched an offensive on Saturday attempting to expel about 600 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, ISIS) fighters from a 4-square-kilometre area in Baghouz village, near the Iraqi border on the eastern banks of the Euphrates River.

The US-led coalition maintained a steady beat of bombings on the enclave after an early morning ISIL counter-attack caused several SDF casualties.

“[ISIL] launched a counter-attack on our forces and we are now responding with rockets, air strikes and direct clashes,” said SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali.

About 1,500 civilians had fled the enclave on Monday. “It seems there are still many civilians inside Baghouz,” Bali said. “We are compelled to go cautiously and accurately in this battle.”

Bali said there were “dozens of SDF hostages” captured by ISIL.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said the alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters had pressed forward in the face of tough obstacles.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said the SDF was “advancing slowly” on the edges of Baghouz, but cautioned landmines, snipers and tunnels dug by ISIL fighters were hindering progress.

Planned US troop withdrawal

Backed by coalition air strikes, the SDF alliance has been battling to eliminate ISIL from Deir Az Zor since September.

The armed group overran large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014, but a series of military offensives have reduced that territory to just Baghouz.

In December, US President Donald Trump announced a full withdrawal of US troops from Syria, saying ISIL had been “beaten”.

The surprise announcement prompted the US military to caution in a report published this month that the group “could likely resurge in Syria within six to 12 months and regain limited territory” if sustained pressure is not maintained.

ISIL still retains a presence in Syria’s vast Badia desert and has claimed a series of deadly attacks by sleeper cells in SDF-held areas.

Analysts have warned the US decision to pullout troops from Syria will leave a vacuum that will “increase the international and regional conflict” for power and influence in Syria.

“After the defeat of ISIS we cannot say that the roots of violence and terrorism are over, as ISIS is an ideological status and not only a military structure,” Assaad Bechara, political analyst and editor of Lebanon’s Al-Joumhouria newspaper, told The Associated Press on Monday.

“The American allegations of quitting Syria after accomplishing the mission of defeating ISIS lacks a lot of proof and are totally illogical,” Bechara added.

Kurds scramble for safeguards

Trump’s decision to withdraw about 2,000 US troops has also left Syria’s Kurds scrambling for reassurances.

A US departure makes them more vulnerable to a long-threatened attack by neighbouring Turkey, which considers the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) a “terrorist” organisation.

The YPG has spearheaded the SDF, the US’ main ally in Syria.

The Kurds have largely stayed out of Syria’s nearly eight-year civil war, instead focusing on building their own semi-autonomous institutions in the northeast of the country.

But the expected US pullout has seen them grappling to mend ties with the Damascus regime, which is also against Kurdish self-rule.

Tyler Conway@jtylerconwayTwitter LogoFeatured ColumnistFebruary 11, 2019

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

Kyler Murray is heading to the NFL and leaving baseball in his rearview mirror.

In a statement released Monday, Murray said, “I am firmly and fully committing my life and time to becoming an NFL quarterback.”

This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.

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Teachers in Denver, Colorado, walked out of their classrooms on Monday after failing to reach a deal with administrators on pay.

The educator’s strike, the first in the city in 25 years, in the latest example of educator discontent, following a wave of walkouts over the last year.

Denver’s school district said schools will remain open during the strike as more than 2,000 educators walk out, local media reported. Instead, classes will be staffed by administrators and substitute teachers.

However, the district has cancelled classes for 5,000 preschool children because it does not have the staff to take care of them.

The strike follows more than a year of negotiations over wages, the Denver Post reported.

Teachers started picketing before the start of the school day and students crossed through the picket lines on their way to class in some locations. Before noon, students were also filmed picketing alongside their teachers in support.

At a press conference on Monday morning, union leaders expressed frustration at failed talks to reach a deal over the weekend.

Union president Henry Roman said teachers were committed to reaching a deal but said that both sides needed a cooling off period.

Another negotiation session is expected on Tuesday.

“They need us. They need our labour, they need our minds, they need our talents to really make it happen,” lead union negotiator Rob Gould said.

As a product of the Denver Public School System, I support Denver teachers going on strike.

— Tuhina Verma Rasche (@tvrasche) February 11, 2019

The main sticking points in the talks over a contract governing Denver’s incentive pay system, which started over a year ago, are lowering bonuses to put more money in teachers’ base pay and how to allow teachers to advance in pay based on education and training, as followed by most school districts.

The union pushed for lower bonuses for high-poverty and high-priority schools to free up more money for overall teacher pay and criticised the district for spending too much money on administration.

However, the district sees those particular bonuses as key to boosting the academic performance of poor and minority students.

Wave of teacher strikes

The strike is the latest action in a wave of teacher activism since last spring, when teachers went on strike in West Virginia. Similar strikes and protests have occurred in Kentucky, Oklahoma and Arizona. 

Last month, teachers in Los Angeles, California walked out of their classrooms for several days.

The Los Angeles teachers ended up getting the same six percent raise offered early on by the nation’s second-largest school district. However, they also sought and won promises for smaller class sizes and adding more nurses and counsellors.

In Denver, teachers say that the non-traditional pay system in the district leads to high turnover, which they say hurts students. 

They also hope that a win on pay will help them when it comes time to negotiate other issues when their overall contract expires in two years.

The state says a walkout will cost about $400,000 a day and would eat up one or two percent of the district’s annual operating budget in about a week.

In encouraging both sides to come to an agreement, Colorado Governor Jared Polis has pointed out that this money will no longer be available to help pay teachers once it is spent on the strike.

Although teachers in some states are barred from striking, teachers in Colorado have a right to walk off the job.

As required by state law, teachers gave notice last month that they planned to strike. But the walkout was put on hold because the school district asked the state to intervene.

The strike was on again after Polis, a Democrat, decided on Wednesday not to get involved, believing the positions of both sides were not that far apart.

However, Polis said the state could decide to intervene and suspend the strike for up to 180 days, if a walkout dragged on.

The state does not have the power to impose any deal on either side, but it can try to help the union and school district reach a deal and can require them to participate in a fact-finding process.

According to an email sent to parents, students at Denver Discovery School were told not to bring their backpacks, binders, or anything of value to school during the strike, the Denver Post reported. Students’ mobile phones would be collected at the start of the day and returned at the end of the day.

Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTTwitter LogoFeatured ColumnistFebruary 11, 2019

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Phil Mickelson came into Monday’s play at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with a three-stroke lead and two holes to play after weather delays forced him into action for an additional day. He maintained that advantage, finishing 19-under to win for the fifth time at the tournament.

Paul Casey (-16), Scott Stallings (-15), Jason Day (-13) and Si Woo Kim (-13) rounded out the top five.

This article will be updated to provide more information soon.

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The US government will continue investigating the murder of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a visit to Hungary on Monday.

“America is not covering up for a murder,” he said, adding that the United States would take more action to hold accountable all those responsible for Khashoggi’s death.

The US-based Saudi columnist was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. After initially offering contradictory statements, the kingdom confirmed that Saudi agents killed him inside the consulate, but denied its senior leaders were behind the killing.

Khashoggi’s body was dismembered and has not been found.

‘Aiding in the cover-up’

The murder outraged members of Congress. On October 10, 2018, a bipartisan group of US senators triggered the terms of the Global Magnitsky Act, requiring the president to investigate and determine if a foreign person is responsible for Khashoggi’s death within 120 days.

The White House had until Friday to submit their report – a deadline it failed to meet, according to several seniors. 

A State Department spokesman said Pompeo provided an update to Congress on Friday in the form of a letter, but the spokesman did not elaborate. 

Senator Tim Kaine, in a statement on Sunday, accused the administration of US President Donald Trump of “aiding in the cover-up of the murder”.

“America should never descend to this level of moral bankruptcy,” Kaine added.

Michael McCaul, a Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Saturday that “everyone involved in this gruesome crime must be identified and held accountable”. 

“I call on the administration to immediately comply with the requirements of the law, and to provide Congress with the information required,” he said.

House Foreign Affairs Lead Republican @RepMcCaul released the following statement in response to the Administration’s failure to meet the requirements of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

Full Release https://t.co/rBudpQAUOA pic.twitter.com/2vbCtEF8Ed

— House Foreign Affairs GOP (@HouseForeignGOP) February 9, 2019

Although the White House has sanctioned 17 Saudi individuals for their involvement in the murder, including two top aides to MBS, members of Congress from both parties have called for greater action to be taken against the kingdom and its leaders. 

According to US media, the CIA concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) ordered the murder, a conclusion Saudi Arabia denies. 

In December, the Senate passed a non-binding resolution condemning Saudi Arabia for its conduct in Yemen and for Khashoggi’s murder. Politicians have vowed to bring the measure and similar legislation up again this year.

Last week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced a bill that would end US involvement in the Yemen war. The “War Powers” resolution will now go to the House of Representatives floor for debate.

Separately last week, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir dismissed the possibility MBS, the de facto ruler of the kingdom, had any role in Khashoggi’s killing.

“We know that the crown prince did not order this. We know that this was a rogue operation,” he said, echoing the same theory Trump had pointed to following the murder.

Saudi Arabia indicted 11 people in the killing, including several officials close to the crown prince, and is seeking the death penalty against five of them.

A pair of House Democrats is calling on leadership to condemn anti-Semitism and denounce controversial remarks made by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), as the party faces growing pressure to respond to accusations that one of their members is anti-Semitic.

Reps. Josh Gottheimer (N.J.) and Elaine Luria (Va.), who are both Jewish, are collecting signatures for a letter they plan to send to Democratic leaders expressing deep concern over “recent rhetoric from certain members within our Caucus, including just last night, that has disparaged us and called into question our loyalty to our nation.” The letter, which was obtained by POLITICO, is being circulated to Jewish Democrats.

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Omar, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, suggested in a tweet Sunday night that Republican support for Israel is fueled by campaign donations from pro-Israel groups like AIPAC.

“We urge you to join us in calling on each member of our Caucus to unite against anti- Semitism and hateful tropes and stereotypes,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. “In recent weeks, we have had conversations with multiple members of our Caucus who share our concerns about this rhetoric; we have also raised these concerns with Democratic leadership.”

“We must speak out when any Member – Democrat or Republican – uses harmful tropes and stereotypes, levels accusations of dual loyalty, or makes reckless statements like those yesterday,” they added.

Both Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) have been repeatedly attacked by the GOP for their critical views toward Israel and support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which targets Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. But Omar’s latest tweet earned rebukes from members of her own party, including from freshman Reps. Max Rose (D-N.Y.) and Anthony Brindisi (D-N.Y.).

“We hope that our Caucus will take swift action to address these issues in the coming days by reiterating our rejection of anti-Semitism and our continued support for the State of Israel,” Gottheimer and Luria said in the letter to leadership.

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has threatened to take disciplinary action against Omar if Democratic leaders remain silent. One option under consideration, according to his office, is forcing a vote on a resolution from Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) condemning anti-Semitism.

GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) also called on Omar to lose her seat on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Republicans are accusing Democrats of hypocrisy after they were quick to punish Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) last month for defending white nationalism and white supremacy, which McCarthy said recently was equivalent, or even “more so,” to the rhetoric from Omar and Tlaib.

“When a member on our side of the aisle said something, they were very clear about what they thought should happen,” McCarthy said. “We took action on our own side. When they stay silent, they are just as guilty.”