When John Watson leads a fitness class, he lights up. As he puts students through their paces, his energy is palpable. And the athletes in front of him respond in kind, often breaking into cheers.

But what sets his classes apart are the students he teaches: All of them have intellectual and developmental disabilities, ranging from Down syndrome to cerebral palsy to autism.

Helping this population discover the physical, emotional, and social benefits of exercise is the mission of Watson’s nonprofit, Bloom Fitness. Since 2016, he and his team have helped more than 900 people with cognitive disabilities grow stronger, achieve goals, and feel a sense of community.

“Wellness and movement – for this population, that’s critical,” said Watson, whose 26-year-old daughter, Emma, has cerebral palsy.

Individuals with these disabilities are more likely to have higher levels of obesity than the general population and face a much greater risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

But helping them get fit isn’t Watson’s only goal. He wants to connect with the adults in his classes on an emotional level.

“We all want to be a part of something. They just don’t get the opportunity that often,” he said.

“We create a sense of pride, belonging and love. … When we (do that), they’ll show up to exercise.”

Bloom Fitness partners with programs that serve people with intellectual disabilities, like adult daycare centers or residential homes, where Watson’s trained, volunteer instructors lead classes like cycling, yoga, Pilates and dance. Classes are free to the athletes, many of whom are low-income, and they’re designed to be accessible to anyone.

“There’s a wide range of abilities of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. … We serve that whole range,” Watson said. “And we call everyone an athlete, no matter what your ability is.”

The work doesn’t end when class is over. Afterwards, the athletes gather at a large wall chart, known as ‘The Champions Board,’ where they put a sticker next to their name – a public record of their attendance and hard work.

“Many of these folks are visual learners,” Watson said. “They see their name on the board. … And we say, ‘Look how many stickers! Look how many classes you’ve gone to!’”

It’s also an incentive system. Athletes earn gear – water bottles, t-shirts, hats – based on their attendance and as well as different titles, like ‘coach.’ Every few months, athletes are recognized at a celebration.

“When they walk up and they get their award, they get cheered for. That’s where that pride sticks in. They know they’ve earned it,” Watson said.

The system works. Bloom claims its retention rate for participants is more than 90% and in surveys, most report that the program has helped them lose weight, gain strength, and feel less lonely.

Amy Crane, 42, is prone to heart problems because of her Down syndrome. She had open-heart surgery when she was 10 and still sees a cardiologist. But since doing Watson’s very first Bloom class in 2016, she’s become an advocate for healthy living. She said she’s lost more than 25% of her body weight through diet and exercise and is now a proud leader in her class, having earned the rank of ‘captain.’

Watson delights in the progress of his athletes. But for him, it’s about much more than pounds lost or weight lifted.

“We want to lead people to a lifetime of fitness … and for them to want to do it,” Watson said. “We want them to just be everything they can be.”

John Watson: A child with special needs, when they get out of high school, there are not a lot of programs for them. They sit home. So, I retired from my industry because Emma was getting left in the dust and I was looking for services for Emma and ways to help other parents.

My original idea was to try to get employers to want to hire folks with intellectual disabilities. I was working with an organization, walking around one of their places and they had a room with broken-down fitness equipment. And I said, ”Hey guys, what happens here?’ and they said, “Nothing happens here.” And even when I had a real job, I was a fitness instructor a night or two a week, just because I got a kick out of it. So, I said, “Do you mind if I buy some bikes?’ And so that’s where it started.

Watson: For a population that feels isolated already, you put the pandemic on top of it, people were getting depressed. And so we said, “Well, how about we try a virtual class?” We didn’t even know if anybody would dial in, but the first time we had 50 people! And I’m just like, “Oh my goodness. They want this!”

We also learned that if we can do things virtually, as well as in person, we can reach more people, so it drove us to create a digital platform. Now we have Bloom Live, which is our virtual class, with a live instructor on the other end. There’s interaction – you can see the athletes waving to each other. It’s so important. But it also pushed us into creating a library of videos that you can view on the app. So, we now have 24 locations in Texas and North Carolina, but this gives us a glimpse of what we can do going forward.

Watson: Being a parent of a child with special needs, sometimes you panic. You worry. And then you move on. It’s easy with Emma to focus on the good parts. But people come up to me all the time, “Oh, you’re doing this for Emma.” And I go, “No, but she led us here.”

Without Emma, I wouldn’t know the beauty of this population. And what they do for me, I can’t bring words to it. It’s a gift to me.

Want to get involved? Check out the Bloom Fitness website and see how to help.

To donate to Bloom Fitness via GoFundMe, click here

Every April, during Autism Awareness Month, Debra Vines and her nonprofit field a surge of calls from parents needing autism-related services and resources. It’s a phenomenon she says she would prefer to see year-round.

She and her organization, The Answer Inc., provide support, services, and education for Black and Brown families in the Chicago area who are impacted by autism. Vines’ 35-year-old son, Jason, has autism, and she knows first-hand the everyday struggles that families face.

“Children and adults that live with autism are very repetitive – everything that they do, it’s the same way. But when you have a career, or are parents that have other children and other responsibilities, sometimes it can be very, very, very, very challenging,” she said.

Vines and her late husband, James Harlan, co-founded The Answer Inc. 16 years ago after realizing they were not alone in their struggle to find the support, resources, education, and services Jason desperately needed. Since then, their nonprofit has helped more than 4,000 families in underserved communities. She notes that the need continues to grow.

“With the numbers going up every day, we need support from the community every day.”

According to the CDC, about 1 in 36 children in the United States has been identified with autism spectrum disorder. And research shows that early intervention services can improve learning, communication, and social skills, as well as brain development.

For Vines, Autism Awareness Month helps her advocate for families who are unsure what to do after receiving an autism diagnosis.

“I think it opens up eyes to this disability and the things that we need,” she said. “We would have to work even harder as providers to get the word out about autism.”

One area where Vines sees the greatest need is for adults with autism, who age out of many programs at 22.

“It’s almost like they fall off the face of the earth,” she said. “There’s hardly any resources available for them.”

The Answer Inc. addresses this need with programs like Spectrum University, which helps participants ages 13 to 40 enter the workforce by connecting them with employers.

Her organization is also working to educate the community at large about autism, including training first responders and other public workers to recognize the signs and symptoms of autism.

“I would like to see (families) have more integral resources within the community, within the park districts, within the businesses,” she said.

Vines says her son, Jason, is doing “amazing” and reaching new milestones. She has been working with him on social skills like saying “please” and “thank you.” The other day, she swept up some trash at home and asked Jason to help her pick it up. He surprised her by asking her to “say please.”

It’s moments like this that remind Vines why she and others in the autism community continue to do the hard work, year-round.

“I encourage families every single day not to give up because you never know when that light bulb is just gonna go off, and they’re gonna hit another milestone.”

Louisiana State University star Angel Reese said she will visit the White House with her LSU team, just days after saying that she wouldn’t.

“Just going back on it, you don’t get that experience (to visit the White House) ever,” Reese said in an interview with ESPN on Friday.

“I know my team probably wants to go for sure, and my coaches are supportive of that, so I’m going to do what’s best for the team. And if they would like to go, we decide we’re going to go, then we’re going to go.”

Reese said on Wednesday that neither she, nor her team, would be visiting the White House after the Tigers defeated the University of Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85 to win their first NCAA women’s basketball national championship on Sunday.

Traditionally, the national champions would be invited to the White House.

But after comments from first lady Jill Biden suggesting that Iowa be invited as well before appearing to walk that back, Reese told “I AM ATHLETE” podcast hosts Brandon Marshall and Ashley Nicole Moss: “I don’t accept the apology because you said what you said … You can’t go back on certain things that you say … They can have that spotlight. We’ll go to the Obamas.’ We’ll go see Michelle. We’ll see Barack.”

“In the beginning, we were hurt,” Reese said. “It was emotional for us because we know how hard we worked all year for everything. Just being able to see that, that hurt us in the moment.”

Following Sunday’s national championship victory, LSU head coach head coach Kim Mulkey said she would go to the White House if the team was invited.

On Wednesday, the school’s athletics department said they would “certainly accept an invitation.”

Speaking on Monday, Biden congratulated both teams on their performance in Sunday’s national championship game, as well as specifically highlighting Iowa’s sportsmanship.

“Last night, I attended the NCAA women’s basketball championship,” said Biden, while speaking at an event at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver.

“So I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House, we always do. So, we hope LSU will come but, you know, I’m going to tell Joe [Biden] I think Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game.”

Reese, a 20-year-old forward, responded to Biden’s comments, calling them “A JOKE” on Monday, and on an Instagram post from “The Shade Room,” the recently crowned NCAA champion commented: “WE NOT COMING. period.”

By Tuesday, Biden appeared to walk back the comments, with first lady press secretary Vanessa Valdivia saying in a tweet that they “were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House.”

President Biden had previously said that LSU would be invited to the White House, along with NCAA men’s champions, the University of Connecticut.

Reese’s teammate Alex Morris took to Twitter to ask Michelle Obama whether her team could celebrate their win at their house, after Barack tweeted his congratulations to the team.

A spokesperson for the Obamas declined to comment.

Meanwhile, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark said on Tuesday that Iowa shouldn’t be invited to White House.

Before every swing, amateur golfer Sam Bennett glances down at the words inked on his left wrist.

“Don’t wait to do something”, the tattoo reads. They were the last words ever written by his father.

And on his Masters debut this week, the 23-year-old – a fifth-year senior at Texas A&M – has waited for nobody.

Bennett has dazzled at Augusta National, shooting a bogey-free, four-under 68 to end Thursday level with defending champion Scottie Scheffler in sixth. Paired with Scheffler for Friday’s second round, the Texan surged away from the world No. 1 and most of the field, repeating his opening round score to jump to eight-under.

A second consecutive birdie at the 14th hole lifted him to solo second, a position just two amateurs have ever previously reached at the major. Given a rousing reception as he left the 18th green, he returned to the clubhouse just four shots adrift of leader Brooks Koepka.

“That was incredible,” Bennett, the 2022 US Amateur champion, told Sky Sports. “I think a lot of people didn’t think I was gonna be able to back it up but I went out there with the same game plan.
“This is right where I wanna be. I love pressure, I love nerves, I try to use them to my advantage … I know it’s The Masters, it’s a bigger stage but I’ve played in front of a lot of people and love playing when a lot’s on the line.

“What do they say, ‘Anything can happen on the weekend out here?’ I like where I stand.”

His eight-under 136 marks the second-lowest score ever posted by an amateur at The Masters, just one shy of Ken Venturi’s nine-under 135 effort in 1956, according to the PGA Tour.

But could he pull off what would surely be the biggest shock in recent golfing history and clinch the green jacket?

“I think I can,” Bennett continued.

“We’ll see. I’m playing really well and I think I’ve got what it takes to win. I love hitting shots in front of people and making putts when it matters, so I think I have a good chance.”

‘I know he’s watching from above’

Bennett’s father Mark died in June 2021 after an eight-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease, according to an interview with Golf Channel ahead of the tournament.

The words – inscribed exactly as written – represent the final piece of advice his father gave him.

“He wrote it out, it took him like 15 minutes to write it, it was probably the hardest thing he’s had to do in his handwriting,” Bennett told the PGA Tour at the Valero Texas Open earlier in April.

“It means the world to me, he was the reason I started playing golf, why I wanted to be good – to impress him.

“It’s like a new pre-shot routine I do now, right before I’m about to hit it I’ll look at it and I’m like, ‘don’t wait to do something.’ It’s something that will always stick and he means the world to me.”

With Bennett realizing a dream of playing at Augusta National, the tattoo provides a permanent connection to his late father.

“I know he’s watching, he’s got a good view down looking at Augusta National so I know he’s thrilled,” he said.

“I wish he could be here but he’s happy, I know he is.”

The Cincinnati Police Department has refiled a criminal charge against Bengals running back Joe Mixon from an incident that happened in January.

The charge comes from a January 21 incident in Hamilton County when Mixon allegedly pointed a gun at someone and said, “You should be popped in the face. I should shoot you, the police can’t get me,” according to an affidavit filed in February in Hamilton County Municipal Court.

Mixon will face a charge of aggravated menacing, a first-degree misdemeanor, according to a news release from the police department.

The case was previously dismissed by a judge on February 3, according to court documents. The refiling of the charge comes from “the discovery of new evidence during the investigative process,” police said.

Bengals officials said in a statement they are aware of the charges.

“The Club is monitoring the situation and will not comment further at this time,” they said.

Mixon has played six seasons for the Bengals, having gained 5,378 yards rushing and scoring 50 touchdowns in 80 games. He has been selected for the Pro Bowl once.

The alleged incident happened one day before the Bengals defeated the Buffalo Bills 27-10 in Orchard Park, New York, on January 22.

The Bengals made it to the AFC Championship game the next week, losing to the eventual Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs 23-20.

While at the University of Oklahoma, Mixon was suspended for one season after taking an Alford plea – when a defendant doesn’t admit guilt but acknowledges the prosecution has enough evidence for a conviction – in a 2014 case in which he was accused of punching a woman.

According to KFOR, Mixon received a one-year deferred sentence, meaning he didn’t serve any time. He also was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, ordered to undergo counseling and faced roughly $1,200 in fines.

Defying Beijing’s repeated threats, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy presented a carefully choreographed united front in California on Wednesday against an increasingly powerful and aggressive China.

For Taiwan, the rare high-level, bipartisan meeting is a timely show of US support, as China ramps up diplomatic and military pressure on the self-ruling island it claims as part of its territory.

But the encounter also carries great risks: the last time Tsai met with a US House Speaker – during Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei last August, Beijing retaliated by holding days of large-scale military drills and firing missiles over the island, pushing tensions to their highest in decades.

This time around, Beijing’s initial reaction appears more restrained. Its Foreign Ministry has condemned the meeting and pledged to take “strong and resolute measures,” though so far that has not translated into any specific military response.

To avoid provoking Beijing and triggering another military crisis, American and Taiwan officials have portrayed Tsai’s visit as nothing out of the ordinary, citing an abundance of precedents for a Taiwan leader to transit through the US.

But the political significance of Tsai’s meeting with McCarthy is unavoidable. It is the highest-level audience a sitting Taiwan president has received on American soil, with an official second in line to the presidency after the vice president.

Their meeting at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library highlighted the strengthening ties between Taipei and Washington, even though they remain unofficial in nature.

“I believe our bond is stronger now than at any time or point in my lifetime,” McCarthy said at a press conference after the meeting. “America’s support for the people of Taiwan will remain resolute, unwavering and bipartisan.”

Tsai reciprocated his pledge of solidarity, noting “we’re stronger when we are together.”

“In our efforts to protect our way of life, Taiwan is grateful to have the United States by our side,” she said, standing alongside McCarthy with Reagan’s Air Force One as a backdrop. “The constant and unwavering support reassured the people of Taiwan that we are not isolated and we are not alone.”

Under Washington’s longstanding “One China” policy, the US acknowledges China’s position that Taiwan is part of China, but has never officially recognized Beijing’s claim to the island of 23 million. Under the Taiwan Relations Act, it is also bound by law to provide the democratic island with the means to defend itself.

Austin Wang, an assistant professor in political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said the meeting illustrated the importance of the Taiwan issue in US politics.

“Whether it’s worth the risk depends on what will happen next,” he said. “If the meeting is a cornerstone to speed up further economic and military cooperation…(then it) is worth the risk.”

Following the meeting Wednesday, McCarthy tweeted the United States should continue to boost its support for Taiwan. “We must continue arms sales to Taiwan and make sure such sales reach Taiwan on time. We must also strengthen our economic cooperation, particularly with trade and technology,” he tweeted.

Western support

Beijing’s ruling Communist Party sees Taiwan as an inseparable part of its territory, despite having never controlled it – and has vowed to “reunite” the island with mainland China, by force if necessary.

To undermine its legitimacy, Beijing has spent decades chipping away at Taipei’s dwindling diplomatic allies and blocking its participation in international organizations – including the World Health Organization.

The US maintains an unofficial relationship with Taiwan after switching its diplomatic relations to Beijing decades ago.

Last month, Honduras also switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, leaving the island democracy with only 13 remaining allies.

But instead of becoming increasingly isolated from the global community, Taiwan has steadily built its international influence by expanding unofficial relationships with friendly Western nations – while also emphasizing shared values in maintaining its ties with official allies.

Tsai’s high-profile meeting in California followed a trip to Central America, where she met with allies in Guatemala and Belize to promote “democracy and prosperity.”

Tsai addressed parliaments in both countries and signed agreements to deepen their partnerships. While transiting in New York earlier in the trip, she also received a global leadership award from the Hudson Institute, a US think tank based in Washington DC.

Analysts say since Tsai became president in 2016, her government has increasingly shifted the focus of Taiwanese diplomacy on developing unofficial ties with Western democracies to compensate for the loss of official recognition.

Last month, Taiwan welcomed a 150-person Czech delegation, led by the speaker of the lower chamber of the Czech parliament, as a growing number of European countries raised concerns over the future of Taiwan following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Parallel visits

While President Tsai makes a high-profile trip to the Americas, her predecessor Ma Ying-jeou is also making a historic visit to mainland China – the first such trip by a current or former Taiwanese president since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

At a time of mounting pressure from Beijing, their parallel visits have come to present different visions for the future of the self-governing democracy.

Taiwan is set to elect a new president next year, when questions about the island’s political future are bound to arise. Having served two terms, Tsai is not eligible for re-election, but her vice president William Lai is expected to run.

Having lost to Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party in two presidential elections, the Kuomintang, or KMT, is doing all it can to avoid another defeat.

“We know that in Taiwan, that at every presidential election, China is the fundamental issue that matters most,” said Lev Nachman, an assistant professor in politics at National Chengchi University in Taipei.

The 2024 elections will be no different, and it’s just a matter of how the China issue is framed, he said.

“We already see, for example, the KMT trying to frame this as a case between war and peace, in which the KMT brings peace and the DPP brings war.”

The KMT is widely seen as more Beijing-friendly than the DPP.

When he was president between 2008 and 2016, Ma focused on establishing greater economic cooperation between Beijing and Taipei. The proposal sparked large-scale protests that saw demonstrators occupying Taiwan’s legislature for weeks.

In 2015, Ma held an historic meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Singapore – the first such meeting between political leaders of both sides of the Taiwan Strait in decades.

During his trip to China, Ma met with the director of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, noting the importance of maintaining exchanges across the Taiwan Strait and “doing everything possible” to avoid conflict.

“People on both sides of the strait belong to the same Chinese nation and are descendants of the Chinese people,” he said last week.

In contrast to Ma, Tsai does not acknowledge that Taiwan and China belong to the same nation. Instead, she has repeatedly emphasized that the island’s future can only be decided by its own people.

“We will continue to bolster our national defense and demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves in order to ensure that nobody can force Taiwan to take the path China has laid out for us,” she said at national day celebrations in 2021.

The second round of The Masters was suspended for the day due to bad weather on Friday as three trees fell near spectators at Augusta National Golf Club, tournament organizers said. No one was injured according to the organizers.

Footage broadcast on Sky Sports showed spectators running as a tall pine tree fell close to the 17th tee, shortly after play had been suspended for the second time during the round at 4:22 p.m. ET.

The broadcasters later showed footage of workers arriving with chainsaws to clear the fallen trees.

The three trees were blown over due to wind, The Masters said in a statement, adding that play would resume at 8:00 a.m. ET on Saturday.

“The safety and well-being of everyone attending The Masters tournament will always be the top priority of the Club, which will continue to closely monitor weather today and through the Tournament,” the statement read.

Play had been suspended for about 21 minutes from 3:07 p.m. ET before resuming. Several players are yet to finish, including second-placed Jon Rahm. With nine holes left to play, the Spaniard is three shots adrift of Brooks Koepka, who leads at 12-under par.

Tiger Woods completed 11 holes of his second round before play was suspended. He will tee off on Saturday at two-over par, the exact cut line projected by The Masters website. The five-time Masters champion has missed the cut just once in his 24 previous appearances at the major, on his second outing in 1996.

Amateur Sam Bennett trails four-time major winner Koepka by four shots after carding his second consecutive four-under 68.

A Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli police early on Saturday at the entrance to the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, frequently a flashpoint in tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.

Palestinian and Israeli sources disputed the circumstances that led to the killing of 26-year-old Muhammad Al-Osaibi at the compound, home to one of Islam’s most revered sites but also the holiest site in Judaism, known as the Temple Mount.

A former Israeli lawmaker, Talab Al-Sanee, said Al-Osaibi was killed after he tried to intervene when he saw Israeli police and border guards assaulting a young Palestinian woman.

Israeli police said the man had grabbed a gun from a police officer who had stopped him for questioning and managed to fire two shots before he was killed by police.

Social media video apparently filmed at the time of the incident captured the sound of at least 11 gunshots – the first one followed almost immediately by nine in quick succession, then another one after a moment’s pause.

Al-Osaibi’s family asked police to release security camera footage of the incident to prove “the allegations that their son pulled a soldier’s weapon.”

“We collected all footage of the surrounding area for investigation,” a spokesperson said. “Some footage might not be shared with media because it’s still closed for investigation.”

The incident came in the middle of Ramadan, which has passed largely peacefully in Jerusalem. The first two Fridays of the Muslim holy month have seen hundreds of thousands of worshippers offer prayers at al-Aqsa without incident.

A large group of Muslim worshippers staged a mass prayer outside the holy site Saturday after the incident, video from the scene showed.

Local authorities in Al-Osaibi’s native region of Rahat in the Negeb called for a general strike on Sunday in response to the killing.

And Palestinian Authority presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh warned in a statement against what he described as “the dangerous escalation by the Israeli occupation authorities,” calling the Israeli version of the killing of Al-Osaibi “fabricated.”

The relative calm of Ramadan comes after a violent beginning to the year in Israel and the occupied West Bank.

Turkey’s persecuted pro-Kurdish party has emerged as a kingmaker in the country’s upcoming election, playing a decisive role that may just tip the balance enough to unseat two-decade ruler Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In a key setback to the Turkish president and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) last month announced that it would not put forward its own presidential candidate, a move analysts say allows its supporters to vote for Erdogan’s main rival.

“We are facing a turning point that will shape the future of Turkey and (its) society,” said the HDP in a statement on March 23. “To fulfill our historical responsibility against the one-man rule, we will not field a presidential candidate in (the) May 14 elections.”

It is a twist of irony for the Turkish strongman, who spent the better half of the past decade cracking down on the party after it began chipping away at his voter base. Its former leader Selahattin Demirtas has been in prison for nearly seven years and the party faces possible closure by a court for suspected collusion with the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and affiliated groups. But its influence may nonetheless determine the course of Turkey’s politics.

The HDP’s decision not to field a candidate came just three days after head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Erdogan’s main rival, visited the party’s co-chairs. He told reporters that the solution to Turkey’s problems, “including the Kurdish problem” lies in parliament,” according to Turkish media.

Kilicdaroglu, who represents the six-party Nation Alliance opposition bloc, is the strongest contender to run against Erdogan in years. And while the HDP hasn’t yet announced whether it will put its weight behind him, analysts say it is the kingmaker in the elections.

Experts say the crackdown on the HDP is rooted in the threat it poses to Erdogan politically, as well as its position as one of the main parties representing Turkey’s Kurds, an ethnic minority from which a separatist militant movement has emerged.

The party and the Kurdish people have had a complicated relationship with Erdogan. The leader courted the Kurds in earlier years by granting them more rights and reversing restrictions on the use of their language. Relations with the HDP were also cordial once, as Erdogan worked with the party on a brief peace process with the PKK.

But ties between Erdogan and the HDP later turned sour, and the HDP fell under a sweeping crackdown aimed at the PKK and their affiliates.

Kurds are the biggest minority in Turkey, making up between 15% and 20% of the population, according to Minority Rights Group International.

It is unclear if the HDP will endorse Kilicdaroglu, but analysts say that the deliberate distance may be beneficial for the opposition candidate.

Precarious position

The accusations against the HDP place it in a precarious position during the elections. It currently faces a case in Turkey’s Constitutional Court over suspected ties to the PKK, which is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Knowing it may be banned at any moment, its candidates are running under the Green Left Party in parliament.

If the opposition is seen as allying with the HDP, Erdogan’s AK Party may use its influence in the media to discredit it as being pro-PKK, said Murat Somer, a political science professor at Koc University in Istanbul and author of Return to Point Zero, a book on the Turkish-Kurdish question in Turkey.

The HDP’s threat to Erdogan’s hold on power became apparent after the June 2015 election, the first general election it participated in. It won 13% of the seats, denying the ruling AK Party its majority for the first time since 2002. Erdogan, however, called a snap election five months later, which led to a drop in the HDP’s support to 10.7%, as well as the restoration of the AK Party’s overall majority.

“They are a kingmaker in these elections because the HDP gets about half of the votes of the Kurdish population in Turkey,” said Somer, adding that the other, more conservative Kurdish voters have traditionally voted for Erdogan’s AK Party. And last month, the Free Cause Party (HUDA-PAR), a tiny Kurdish-Islamist party announced support for Erdogan in the elections. The party has never won seats in parliament.

The HDP knows that its position is key to the outcome of next month’s vote, but that it’s also in a delicate situation.

“We want to play the game wisely, and we need to be very careful,” said Ozsoy, adding that the party wants to avoid a “contaminated political climate” where the elections are polarized “between a very ugly ultra-nationalist discourse against Kilicdaroglu and others.”

The party was founded in 2012 with a number of aims, said Ozsoy, one of which was “peaceful and democratic resolution of the Kurdish conflict.”

Somer said that the party was seen to be “an initiative” of the PKK, which later led to a heavy government crackdown on it in the name of counterterrorism.

Its former leader Demirtas remains an influential figure.

The Turkish government has been trying to link the HDP to the PKK but has so far failed to prove “a real connection,” said Asli Aydintasbas, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.

Ozsoy says his party understands what’s at stake, not only for Turkey’s Kurds but for all its minorities.

“We are aware of our responsibility here. We are aware of our role. We know we are in a kingmaker position,” the HDP lawmaker said.

The digest

Two women arrested for not wearing hijab following ‘yogurt attack’

Two women were arrested in Iran for failing to wear the hijab in public, after a man threw a tub of yogurt at them at a store in the city of Shandiz on Thursday, according to Mizan News Agency, the state-run outlet for Iran’s judiciary.

Oil prices surge after OPEC+ producers announce surprise cuts

Oil prices spiked Monday after OPEC+ producers unexpectedly announced that they would cut output. Brent crude, the global benchmark, jumped 5.31% to $84.13 a barrel, while WTI, the US benchmark, rose 5.48% to $79.83. Both were the sharpest price rises in almost a year. The collective output cut by the nine members of OPEC+ totals 1.66 million barrels per day.

Iran blames Israel for the killing of second IRGC officer, vows to respond

A second Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officer died following an attack in Syria on Friday, according to Iranian state media on Sunday. Iranian state media said the Iranian military adviser died after an Israeli attack near the Syrian capital Damascus left him wounded. The attack also killed another IRGC officer. In a tweet on Sunday, Iranian government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi said the alleged Israeli attack wouldn’t go unanswered. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Sunday that Iran has the right to respond to “state terrorism.”

What to watch

What’s the difference between Persians and Arabs?

Comedian @MazJobrani shares with me his thoughts on touring the Middle East, his support for Iran’s protests, and his latest comedy special: pic.twitter.com/UvYwVgJIlw

— Becky Anderson (@BeckyCNN) March 31, 2023

“It was an opportunity for me to say, ‘let’s keep fighting,’” he said.

Watch the interview here.

Tweet of the day

China and Brazil have reached an agreement to ditch USD and use their own currencies—China Daily pic.twitter.com/q33U4kVO5Q

— IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) March 30, 2023

An Iranian state news outlet is gloating at what it sees as the demise of the US dollar.

IRNA recreated a popular meme to mark China and Brazil’s decision to reportedly ditch the US dollar as an intermediary in trade, citing the Chinese state news outlet, China Daily. It shows two men representing China and Brazil posing in front of a grave labelled “USD.”

The meme was pinned to the top of IRNA’s Twitter page, and was met with laughter and ridicule. “Dream on,” said another user, pointing to the dollar’s use as the main reserve currency around the world.

China Daily said that the agreement was part of “the rising global use of the Chinese renminbi.” It would reportedly enable China and Brazil to conduct trade and financial transactions using local currencies instead of the dollar.

Photo of the day

In a sea of Israeli flags, Yiftach Golov holds one that looks a little different.

Among the hundreds of thousands of protesters who took to the streets for the 13th week in a row on Saturday, Golov hoists a brown flag that represents a group called “Brother and Sisters in Arms.”

They are veterans – many, like Golov, from elite forces – who now feel they are fighting on a new battlefield: To save Israeli democracy.

“We believe this is our responsibility to go once again called to the flag of the nation to stop this madness to defend Israel,” Golov said, as he weaved his way through the protesters on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan street, between the high-rises that house many of Israel’s high tech companies.

During the second intifada, in the early 2000s, Golov served in a special forces reconnaissance unit. He was never before particularly political, focusing more on getting his PhD in biophysics from Tel Aviv University.

But when the protest movement against the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul plan began in January, Golov attended one a demonstration and soon became one of thousands of veterans, and now military reservists, who have taken up the cause as their new mission.

Some, including elite Air Force reservists, have taken it a step further, threatening not to heed the call to train or even serve in protest of the government’s plans planned judicial changes, which would give the governing parties more control over Israel’s judiciary.

Others have taken to becoming some of the most active organizers and demonstrators. Last week, a group from Brothers and Sisters in Arms protested by carrying a figure wrapped in the Israeli flag on a stretcher, the way they would carry a wounded comrade off the field.

While Golov says he has not taken the drastic step to refuse service, he understands the motivation.

“We’re fighting for justice and liberty, just like the American story, that’s the values that that are being represented symbolized back when we look at our flag, that’s something that was lacking lacking for the last few decades. So basically, we reclaim the flag,” he said.

Fellow members of the group, all wearing brown shirts with the organization’s logo, come up and say hello. They’re sprinkled all throughout the protests. One is even leading the “Pink Front,” a group of coordinated drummers who look like they are dressed for a rave, and often lead the chants at the protests.

They’re using skills they learned in the military – how to organize, how to mobilize – now for the protests. But more importantly, they say they have the same type of motivation.

“The very deep feeling that you are part of something bigger than yourself, that (you’re) allowed to sacrifice anything that is needed, whether it’s your career, health, seriously mental health,” Golov said. “We all have a mission, you’re willing to do it at any cost. You’re very determined, you know that you are on the right side, you’re carrying the torch of light. That keeps us being highly motivated despite the fact that we’re not sleeping for days.”

Israel’s protest movement is made up of many disparate groups, but the pressure from Israel’s much vaunted veterans has been seen as a key to moving the needle.

Last Monday, after weeks of sustained protests and the largest general strike in Israeli history, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a pause to the legislation, to allow time for negotiations with the opposition.

In his televised speech calling for a delay, Gallant had said the pause in the legislation was needed “for the security of Israel,” citing the refusal of some Israel Defense Forces reservists to train in protest of the government plans. He said pressing ahead with the proposals could threaten Israel’s security.

Under pressure at home and from allies abroad, Netanyahu said he would delay votes on the remaining legislation until after the Knesset’s Passover recess in April “to give time for a real chance for a real debate.”

“Out of the responsibility to the nation, I decided to delay … the vote, in order to give time for discussion,” he added.

But Netanyahu indicated that the delay was only temporary. He insisted that the overhaul was necessary, and reiterated criticism of refusal to train or serve in the military in protest at the planned changes. “Refusing is the end of our country,” he said.

Many protesters don’t believe that the pause is real, or say it’s simply a stalling tactic to give Netanyahu some breathing room and get the protesters to go home before he plows on with the reforms.

“We will start doing deactivation only when we will know 100% that Israel state will stay a functional democratic country. Whatever needs to be done for that,” Golov said.