Key Takeaways From This Week’s Primaries, and the Deportees Stuck in ‘No Man’s Land’

From The New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Wednesday, August 12th. Here's what we're covering. Last night was a very busy night for primary results as votes came in in dozens of races across six states, setting up some of the final matchups for the midterms. A few key takeaways. Thank you, Minnesota! For Democrats, this primary season has been defined by battles between its progressive and moderate wings, and that played out again last night in Minnesota. For months now, I have been telling you that this campaign was about the many versus the money. Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, a progressive, won the state's Democratic Senate primary, despite being heavily outspent by the centrist moderate candidate. Flanagan was backed by left-wing leaders like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, whereas Democratic establishment figures like Hakeem Jeffries and Nancy Pelosi backed her competitor. It was the latest progressive versus moderate showdown in the Midwest just this month, after Dr. Abdul Al-Sayed rallied the party's left flank to win Michigan's Democratic Senate primary. It hasn't been a total sweep for progressives, though. Last night in Wisconsin's Democratic primary for governor, the Democratic Socialist narrowly lost against a more centrist candidate. Switching tracks now to the Republican Party. I've been accused of not being a politician. Guilty is charged. In South Carolina last night, Darleen Graham, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, advanced to a Republican primary runoff. The race will be a test of President Trump's hold on the GOP. Trump pushed for her to take her brother's seat after he died suddenly last month, and the president has urged Republicans to back her in November. For the full results of last night's primaries, go to nytimes.com. Why don't you just introduce yourself to me? Who are you, Roberto? Well, I'm Roberto Mokera. I came from Cuba through the United States back in 1980. And after 47 years, last year, I got arrested by ICE. They just locked me up and sent me to Africa. Where are you exactly? Right now I'm in South-Watiti, South-Watiti, Africa. My colleague Nicholas Casey has been reporting on the growing number of people the Trump administration has deported to countries they have no connection to. For more than a year, it's been offering millions of dollars to foreign governments to take immigrants the U.S. was having trouble deporting to their countries of origin. And it has struck at least 35 of these kinds of deals, known as third country agreements. Have you ever heard of this country before you were sent there? Never. Never. I heard of it. One of the people Nicholas has interviewed is Roberto Mokera. He arrived in the U.S. from Cuba as a child. He ended up joining a gang in Miami as a teenager and eventually took a plea deal after being charged with attempted murder for a shooting. Authorities would have deported him at that point, but Cuba wasn't cooperating with the U.S. So for decades, Mokera was allowed to stay. He became a plumber, got married, had four daughters. Then last June, when the 59-year-old went to renew his work permit, he was arrested at an immigration office and flown across the world to a maximum security prison in the Kingdom of Eswatini. One of the countries the U.S. has made an agreement with. Roberto, could you show me around where you are right now? Sure. This is myself. That's my roommate. He's sweet, but I'm gonna wake him up. Now, he's been stuck there for more than a year, alongside other deportees from the U.S. In what his lawyer calls a legal black hole. There are no charges against him, no way to appeal his imprisonment, and no sign that he will ever be freed. He wasn't even allowed to collect his passport or other ID before being deported. How do you feel about that? I mean, how do you feel about the situation that you're in where you don't know if you're gonna get out of this place? I don't know, man. I got faith. My daughter's name's Faith. And I don't know what I got faith I will see her again. I just wanted to just go home and go home soon. Because time passing, we're getting old. I'm not young anymore, you know? I'm not young anymore. Human rights lawyers, Nicholas Talk2, said Mocare's case is not unique. They said at least two dozen other people have ended up stuck in long term, potentially indefinite detention like this, around the world. The government of Eswatini did not respond to questions from the times about this arrangement. In a statement, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said, "These third country agreements, which ensure due process under the U.S. Constitution, are essential to the safety of our homeland and the American people." Last year, the Food and Drug Administration approved two blood tests for Alzheimer's, as a way to help diagnose people with the neurodegenerative disease. They are biomarker tests, meaning they measure levels of proteins that become dysfunctional in the brains of people who have Alzheimer's. They were approved as a tool to help get answers for people experiencing symptoms of cognitive decline. More and more, though, people without memory problems are taking the tests to try and get answers about whether they will develop Alzheimer's in the future. Some get the tests from a doctor while others are buying them from direct to consumer lab testing sites. But the results are not a guarantee. So what do you do if they tell you you have elevated levels of one of those proteins? For some, it's been devastating, leaving them scared and helpless, because as of now, an effective preventative therapy for Alzheimer's doesn't exist, though clinical trials are in the works. For others, it's been confusing. There can be accuracy issues with the tests, and one neurologist told the Times he sees false positives every week. And then there are those who say the results have been motivating. Some research has suggested that healthy habits like exercising regularly, eating a nutritious diet, not smoking, are associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline. One woman who took one of the new blood tests after her father died of Alzheimer's, told the Times that when she got elevated results, she started making an effort to exercise more and get her will up to date. She said she knows the test isn't a guarantee, but, quote, "it gives you a kick in the butt." And finally, across Europe today, there is Eclipse fever. Starting this evening, people in many countries will get a rare glimpse of the moon crossing in front of the Sun. And in a swath of Portugal and northern Spain specifically, it will be a total solar eclipse. The first time that's happened on mainland Europe in nearly 30 years. Iceland is also on the so-called path of totality, where the moon will completely block out the Sun for what could be up to two incredible minutes. Eclipse diehards were called umber files, a word I didn't know until I started this reporting, have been prepping for this for years. I spoke with a hotel owner who got her first request to book a room for the Eclipse 14 years ago. My colleague Amelia Nuremberg is in Iceland reporting from a remote part of the country, which is not normally on any major tourist route, but is expected to have the best views of the Eclipse. When I arrived here late last week, I would go 15 minutes without seeing another car on the roads. My cell service was cutting in and out. And in the past couple of days, there's been just a hive of activity. I was stuck behind road crews who were re-grabbling the main road out to the cliffs, where the Eclipse will be longest on land here in Iceland. Telecoms providers have been working to get mobile service up. Every restaurant I spoke to had ordered a ton of extra food. So Iceland is as ready as it can be, but everyone is going to be watching one big variable, the weather. Iceland famously has really fickle weather. And I've spoken to a lot of people who are basically planning to wake up here, check the forecast today and decide where they're going to go to try and see the Eclipse without clouds, or at minimum without rain. If you are lucky enough to be in the path of totality and you happen to be listening to this, don't forget your Eclipse glasses. Do not look out the sun. It is a really bad idea to look at the sun, have your glasses ready. Those are the headlines. Today on the daily, Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman has an in-depth look at the secret plan to sneak President Trump out of Turkey last month, and how the White House worked to keep it under wraps. You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford, we'll be back tomorrow. [BLANK_AUDIO]