RandySF
RandySF's JournalAudi Crooks plays for Iowa State -- and for all those who've been told their body is too big
Iowa State basketball player Audi Crooks is one of the best athletes in the country, and that’s no exaggeration. In the past week alone, she has been named second-team All-American by The Associated Press and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and she’s a semifinalist for the Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year. They’re well-deserved accolades as Crooks — the second-leading scorer in college women’s basketball — is coming off a monster season: averaging 25.5 points per game while shooting nearly 65% from the floor, grabbing 7.8 rebounds and scoring double figures in 97 consecutive games. She also became the fastest in Big 12 women’s basketball history to score 2,000 points, solidifying herself as a generational talent. Today she leads her 8th-seeded Cyclones into the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
So why, given her remarkable collegiate career, is there such a cultural obsession over Crooks’ body? Basketball is a sport dominated by size. When it comes to the 6-foot-3 Crooks, however, the criticism — mostly around the size of her body — is often as loud as the applause of her on-court performance. In a particularly troubling Reddit thread, Crooks is accused of being “out of shape,” of not taking her “conditioning” seriously and of being the reason Iowa State was bounced early from the Big 12 Tournament.
Such body-shaming insults are lobbed at athletes of all genders who defy narrow perceptions of how an athlete’s body should look. Just ask Serena Williams, who spent a record-breaking professional tennis career being accused of having a body that was “too masculine.” In 2009, Williams said she was called “fat” and “unfit” after she had surgery and fell to No. 200 in the women’s tennis rankings. “You have to enjoy what you look like,” she said at the time. “Sometimes I read things [that say] I’m too fit or my arms are too muscular, but that’s how I am.”
Before the 2024 Summer Olympics, rugby star Ilona Maher responded to a fat-shaming TikTok comment that said she had a BMI over 30, suggesting she was not an ideal athlete for Team USA. “BMI doesn’t really tell you what I can do,” she said. “It doesn’t tell you what I do on the field, how fit I am. … So yeah, I do have a BMI of 30. I am considered overweight. But alas, I’m going to the Olympics and you’re not.”
https://www.ms.now/opinion/audi-crooks-iowa-state-ncaa-womens-tournament
New judge lifts order blocking absentee ballots in Indiana Senate primary
A special judge on Friday lifted an order blocking officials in three western Indiana counties from mailing absentee ballots in a Republican primary where President Donald Trump has endorsed a challenger to state Sen. Greg Goode.
Putnam County Superior Court Judge Charles Bridges took the step the same day he took over the dispute involving whether one of two women with the last name Wilson who filed to run against Goode in the primary should be removed from the primary ballot because of a 2010 criminal conviction.
The original judge on Wednesday had ordered the county clerks in Vigo, Clay and Sullivan counties to hold off on distributing absentee ballots involving the Republican Senate District 38 race.
Under state law, county election offices must start mailing requested absentee ballots on Saturday ahead of the May 5 primary.
https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/briefs/new-judge-lifts-order-blocking-absentee-ballots-in-indiana-senate-primary/
Judge sets second trial date for former Alaska legislator Gabrielle LeDoux (R)
An Alaska Superior Court Judge has set a new trial date for former Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage.
LeDoux, who was accused of elections misconduct in 2020, will face trial in June, according to an order signed Feb. 24 by judges Catherine Easter and Thomas Matthews. A preliminary hearing will take place May 5.
The state’s case against the Anchorage Republican has been repeatedly delayed — first by the COVID-19 pandemic emergency and then by procedural issues.
It reached trial in 2024, but that ended in a mistrial after the jury deadlocked on all 12 counts facing LeDoux. Jurors were unable to decide whether LeDoux had illegally tried to convince people to vote in her district despite knowing they lived outside her district.
https://alaskabeacon.com/briefs/judge-sets-second-trial-date-for-former-alaska-legislator-gabrielle-ledoux/
PA-03: Democratic primary tracker: Race heats up as field narrows
For the first time in a decade, the commonwealth’s third congressional district is up for grabs. Eight candidates remain in the race to fill retiring U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans’ spot, down from what was a field of roughly a dozen early on in the deep blue seat that is PA-3.
According to the Cook Political Report, the North and West Philadelphia district is the most partisan – regardless of party – in the nation. Coming in at +40 in favor of Democrats, the district performed about 40 points more Democratic in two-party vote share than the nation as a whole in 2020 and 2024.
Candidates jumped on the opportunity to run soon after Evans announced his plans to retire, with political veterans, local activists and newcomers throwing their hats into the ring. March 10 was the deadline for filing signatures needed to get on the ballot and Tuesday was the deadline for challenging any signatures. And on Wednesday, after physician Dave Oxman dropped out and endorsed fellow physician Ala Stanford, voters began getting a clearer picture of who will be on the May 19 ballot.
Here’s the latest on each remaining Democratic candidate in the PA-3 primary, along with their list of endorsements. City & State also has one-on-one interviews with Sharif Street, Ala Stanford and Chris Rabb.
https://www.cityandstatepa.com/politics/2026/03/pa-3-democratic-primary-tracker-race-heats-field-narrows/412252/?oref=ng-homepage-top-story
PA-01: Tom Taft on Bucks County Democrats' Efforts to Defeat Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick
Tom Taft comes from a family with a 200 year history of dedicated public service. Tom wanted to add to that and his own legacy with a run for Congress as a Democrat in PA-01 but had to end his campaign after failing to gather the required number of signatures. Nevertheless, he joined me to talk about politics in Bucks County’s first congressional district, and the race for the Democratic nomination in May for a chance to unseat Republican incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick.
https://buckscountybeacon.com/2026/03/interview-tom-taft-on-bucks-county-democrats-efforts-to-defeat-rep-brian-fitzpatrick-in-pa-01/
MI-GOV: Jocelyn Benson targets 'dark money' in Michigan transparency plan
LANSING — Michigan gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson on Friday unveiled a far-reaching plan to shine more light on the influence of money in politics and expand public access to government records.
“If we enact new laws in Michigan to require greater disclosure and transparency in government, we can hold our leaders accountable and ensure they are working for the people, not the highest bidder,” Benson said in a statement.
“It’s simple: no more dark money, no more backroom deals, no more undisclosed influence,” she added.
Benson, a Democrat who currently serves as secretary of state, aims to “ban” so-called “dark money” in Michigan by requiring accounts that regularly spend millions to influence Michigan elections “to disclose the source of all contributions received that go towards any political spending.”
https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/jocelyn-benson-targets-dark-money-in-government-transparency-plan/
MI-SOS: Controversies embroil Democratic race for secretary of state
Mason — Two Democratic candidates for secretary of state are vowing to stay in the convention race for the party's nomination, despite an effort by some influential groups to consolidate support behind Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II.
The situation points to a potentially contested — and heated — floor fight taking place at the Michigan Democratic Party's April 19 convention in Detroit. The Detroit News interviewed more than a dozen Democrats about the contest, finding that many see Gilchrist as the frontrunner but also detect the possibility of an upset.
Barb Byrum, Ingham County's clerk and a longtime figure in Democratic politics, guaranteed she would take her bid to be Michigan's next secretary of state to a vote at the convention.
"I'm taking this to the floor," Byrum told The News.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2026/03/19/michigan-democratic-party-race-secretary-of-state-barb-byrum-garlin-gilchrist-suzanna-shkreli/89101999007/
Min Dual Endorses for Irvine City Council District 1; Liu Gets Her Share
Congressman Dave Min is hedging his bets and has also endorsed Melinda Liu for re-election to the Irvine City Council. Min had endorsed formerr mayor and council member Sukhee Kang earlier this week.
I’m never a fan of dual endorsements but after I posted Min’s endorsement of Kang, I started to get lots of calls that reflect a certain bigotry. Not racism, but ageism. I’ve been in Irvibe for nearly 30 years and remember when Jeffrey Road and San Canyon with two lane roads with ditches. For the voters in your 20s, 30s and 40s, the Irvine you see today is largely a reflection of the work done by current Mayor Larry Agran, former Mayor Beth Krom and Kang. If it wasn’t for the work of this Democratic council majority, you’d be enjoying air traffic coming into El Toro International Airport.
So congatulatons to Kang and Liu for their shared endorsement by Congressman Min.
https://theliberaloc.com/2026/03/20/min-dual-endorses-for-irvine-city-council-district-1-liu-gets-her-share/
Morris Democrats oust entire Dover Democratic Committee for disloyalty
Claiming that Democratic leaders in Dover openly helped Republican Jack Ciattarelli in last year’s gubernatorial election, the full Morris County Democratic Committee has voted to remove all 24 elected members of the local Democratic county committee from office.
The vote, conducted over a 48-hour period that began on March 17, drew a nearly unanimous rebuke for Democrats allied with Dover Mayor James P. Dodd, who publicly endorsed Ciattarelli: 96% of the Morris Democrats voted to remove the Dover committee members.
The Dover group all backed Republican incumbent Christian Barranco (R-Jefferson) for re-election; he was defeated by Democrat Marisa Sweeney (D-Morristown).
Democrat Mikie Sherrill, who represented Dover in Congress, still emerged withg a 68%-30% victory in her race for governor against Ciattarelli. In the Assembly race, Sweeney was the top vote-getter with 2,279, followed by her running mate, Morristown Councilman Steve Pylpchuk (2,086) Incumbent Aura Dunn (R-Mendham) finished third with 1,129 votes, 66 votes ahead of Barranco, the lone Hispanic Republican member of the Assembly before his loss.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/morris-democrats-oust-entire-dover-democratic-committee-for-disloyalty/
Bill would let cities with May municipal elections extend early voting
State legislative panels on Thursday advanced legislation that would allow municipalities to extend early voting in local May elections, setting the bill up for passage on Monday.
Under state law, municipalities must provide three days of early voting in nonpartisan May elections, starting four days before the election. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Brian Stack (D-Union City), would allow municipalities to begin early voting up to eight days before the election, for a total of seven days of early voting.
The state Senate Judiciary Committee voted 9-2 to clear the bill, and the Assembly Appropriations Committee voted 14-0. (The Assembly panel cleared a slightly different version of the bill, which allows municipalities to implement up to 10 days of early voting. The bills are up for a vote before the full Senate and Assembly on Monday, and will likely be consolidated then.)
The change would allow cities with May elections to bring their policy closer to statewide elections; November general elections are preceded by nine days of in-person early voting in New Jersey.
https://newjerseyglobe.com/legislature/bill-would-let-cities-with-may-municipal-elections-extend-early-voting/
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