Hamas killing is further snub to Biden administration, which does not share methods or objectives of Israeli leader
Standing alongside Donald Trump in Florida a week ago, Benjamin Netanyahu was vague on the latest prospect of a ceasefire in the war in Gaza.
“I hope we are going to have a deal. Time will tell,” the Israeli prime minister said, two days after his controversial address to a joint session of the US Congress.
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Josh Shapiro, the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, is widely speculated to be among Kamala Harris’s vice-presidential finalists.
Martin Pengelly explores Shapiro’s background for the Guardian:
July was the best grassroots fundraising month in presidential history.
Team Harris raised more across grassroots channels in the four days following President Biden’s endorsement of Vice-President Harris than Trump’s big donor-reliant operation raised in the entire month.
More than 3 million donors made over 4.2m contributions – with more than 2 million donors making their first donation this cycle.
This month, 94% of all our donations were under $200, and teachers and nurses continue to be among the most common donor occupations.
Compared with June, we saw more than 10 times the number of gen Z donors, and more than eight times the number of millennial donors.
Sixty per cent of all donors in July were women.
Coalition groups that organized calls since launch – like Black Women for Harris, Latinas for Harris, and White Dudes for Harris – raised more than $20m for Team Harris.
Continue reading...Negotiations, which began months earlier, originally included release of late opposition leader
At Cologne airport on Thursday evening, a group of associates of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny gathered waiting for a plane to arrive from Ankara. On board were 13 people who, until that morning, had been incarcerated in Russian prisons, including three people who had worked as Navalny’s regional coordinators in various Russian cities and been jailed for “extremism”.
After a swap in Turkey, they were now free, along with the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and two other Americans, who were heading back home on a separate plane.
Continue reading...Ella Milman pressed world leaders and researched the scheme that would eventually lead to the release of her son
Much has been made of the public diplomacy behind the largest prisoner swap between Russia and the US since the cold war, with officials from at least seven countries spending years making calls and holding secret meetings in far-flung capitals.
But since Evan Gershkovich, the formerly imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter, and others stepped off the plane in Maryland on Thursday, new details have emerged about the role of a crucial player in that effort: his mother.
Continue reading...Emotional scenes at Andrews air force base as Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva step onto American soil
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris met the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and two other freed American prisoners just hours after Washington and Moscow completed their largest prisoner exchange since the cold war.
On a muggy evening at Andrews air force base near Washington DC, Gershkovich and the other freed prisoners, the ex-marine Paul Whelan and the journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, touched down on US soil and shortly later disembarked a Bombardier jet from Turkey. They were met by their families and the US president and vice-president.
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Kamala Harris’s campaign has announced a $50m advertising blitz ahead of the Democratic national convention next month with a television ad that portrays the presumptive Democratic nominee as “fearless”.
The 60-second ad will be the first in a series of paid media efforts ahead of the convention, which begins 19 August in Chicago.
We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity not just to get by, but to get ahead. Where every senior can retire with dignity. But Donald Trump wants to take our country backward. To give tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations and end the Affordable Care Act. But we are not going back.
Continue reading...Vice-president says action needed amid ‘clear crisis of confidence’ in the court; Mike Johnson rejects effort, saying they would ‘tilt the balance of power’
Joe Biden has called for a series of reforms to to the supreme court, including the introduction of 18-year term limits and a binding code of conduct for justices.
Biden, in an op-ed for the Washington Post, also called for a constitutional amendment to remove immunity for crimes committed by a president while in office.
This nation was founded on a simple yet profound principle: No one is above the law. Not the president of the United States. Not a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. No one.
When Vice President Harris says this election is about freedom she means it. Our democracy is under assault by criminal Donald Trump.
Donald Trump wants to take America backward, to a politics of hate, chaos, and fear – this November America will unite around Vice President Kamala Harris to stop him.
Continue reading...US president also to seek constitutional amendment to limit immunity for presidents and various officeholders
Joe Biden will announce plans to reform the US supreme court on Monday, Politico reported, citing two people familiar with the matter, adding that the US president was likely to back term limits for justices and an enforceable code of ethics.
Biden said earlier this week during an Oval Office address that he would call for reform of the court.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed. You can read our full report on Kamala Harris closing the gap in polling here
Don Davis, a North Carolina Democratic representative, has issued a statement endorsing Kamala Harris, just a day after he broke party rank and joined House Republicans in condemning Harris’s border policies.
In a statement, Davis said:
Today, I announce my endorsement and support of Vice-President Kamala Harris for president. I also believe governor Roy Cooper, an eastern NC native, would be an excellent choice for vice-president. The stakes of this presidential election are incredibly high, with far reaching implications.
At the same time, the administration and Congress must address the concerns of the southern border. These issues cannot be overlooked …
Yesterday, the department of justice arrested Ismael Zambada Garcia (AKA ‘El Mayo’) and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, two of the most notorious leaders of the Sinaloa cartel, one of the deadliest enterprises in the world.
They are being charged for leading the Cartel’s deadly drug manufacturing and trafficking networks. I commend the work of our law enforcement officials who made this arrest for their ongoing work to bring Sinaloa cartel leaders to justice.
Continue reading...Republican still mostly ahead in swing states but data suggests presumptive Democratic nominee gaining ground
A spate of opinion polls carried out since Joe Biden abandoned his presidential campaign last Sunday show Vice-President Kamala Harris closing the gap on Donald Trump but still narrowly trailing in a tight race.
While still often narrowly behind, the ability of Harris, now the presumptive Democratic nominee, to gain ground on her Republican opponent suggests her elevation to the top of the ticket has reset the presidential race, pollsters say, especially after weeks of plummeting Democratic poll numbers under Biden.
Continue reading...Former president’s endorsement means US vice-president has won backing of all the party’s high-profile figures
Barack Obama has endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for US president, meaning the vice-president has now won the backing of all the party’s politically active high-profile figures for her White House bid.
The former president had conspicuously withheld his endorsement in the immediate aftermath of Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the campaign, and was initially believed to favour an open nominating contest at next month’s Democratic national convention in Chicago.
Continue reading...Netanyahu meets Biden to discuss end to nine-month war in Gaza and has separate meeting with Kamala Harris
White House officials said Israel and Hamas were “closer now than we’ve been before” to reaching a ceasefire deal as Benjamin Netanyahu met Joe Biden on Thursday to discuss an end to the nine-month conflict in Gaza.
The talks at the White House came amid unprecedented political turmoil in the US and domestic pressure on the Israeli prime minster to rescue the dozens of hostages still being held captive after Hamas’s 7 October attack. Netanyahu also met the US vice-president, Kamala Harris, who is likely to replace Biden as the Democratic candidate for November’s election.
Continue reading...This blog has now closed. You can read our full report on Kamala Harris’ meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu here
The Harris for President campaign has launched its first official video, less than a week after US President Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the race.
The ad caps a week during which Harris also broke funding records and quickly clinched enough delegate support to become the presumptive nominee in an election that is now just over 100 days away.
Continue reading...In Oval Office address, Biden said it was time for ‘fresh voices’, emphasized his track record and endorsement of Kamala Harris
Joe Biden addressed the nation Wednesday to explain his historic decision to withdraw from the presidential race, delivering a reflective and hopeful message about the need to begin a new chapter in America’s story.
“I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future all merited a second term, but nothing – nothing – can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition,” Biden said in the Oval Office.
Continue reading...Biden called for generational change and buried his resentments, but not without a pointed comment about his qualifications
There was 6 January 2021, and a violent coup attempt by a president desperately trying to cling to power. Then there was 24 July 2024, and a president explaining why he was giving up the most powerful job in the world.
Joe Biden’s address on Wednesday night was a moving piece of political theatre, the start of a farewell tour by “a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings” who entered politics in 1972 and made it all the way to the Oval Office. For diehard Democrats it was a case of: if you have tears, prepare to shed them now.
Continue reading...‘I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation,’ Biden said in a speech from the Oval Office
Joe Biden has explained his decision to drop out of the presidential race, saying it was the “best way to unite our nation”.
The US president’s remarks were broadcast from the Oval Office, his first televised appearance since announcing he would end his bid for re-election, and conveyed a reflective and hopeful message.
My fellow Americans, I’m speaking to you tonight from behind the resolute desk in the Oval Office. In this sacred space, I’m surrounded by portraits of extraordinary American presidents.
Thomas Jefferson wrote the immortal words that guide this nation. George Washington showed us presidents are not kings. Abraham Lincoln, who implored us to reject malice. Franklin Roosevelt, who inspired us to reject fear.
Continue reading...Sole Palestinian American in Congress protests as other progressives call for Israel arms embargo and Gaza ceasefire
Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit and address to a joint session of the US Congress on Wednesday was met with a personal protest in the chamber by the sole Palestinian American member of Congress, while some lawmakers gave the Israeli prime minister a standing ovation, others stayed away, and demonstrations by thousands of protesters took place outside.
The Michigan representative Rashida Tlaib, a leading progressive Democrat and fiercely outspoken opponent of Israel’s war in Gaza, held up a sign that said “war criminal” as Netanyahu was speaking. She also wore a Palestinian flag pin and a keffiyeh, the black and white scarf that has been linked with the Palestinian struggle for over half a century.
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Kevin McCarthy, the former Republican House speaker, has described attacks by his former colleagues on Kamala Harris claiming that she was hired as part of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are “stupid and dumb”.
McCarthy, speaking to NBC News’ Meet the Press NOW last night, said:
I disagree with DEI, but she is the vice-president of the United States, she is the former US senator. These congressmen saying it, they are wrong in their own instincts.
If President Biden is committed to passing the torch to his vice president, and wants to be able to seed her campaign with the current Biden for President campaign war chest, he’ll first have to become his party’s legal nominee. After shuffling through the Democratic National Committee’s planned roll call vote he’d be free to drop out. Ms Harris could seamlessly slip into the driver’s seat.
Continue reading...Suggestions definition of petrostate is too narrow as many rich countries that could phase out fossil fuels double down
“Drill, baby, drill!” Donald Trump’s ominous avowal to pump up the oil and gas production of the US has horrified many people around the world about the intentions of the Republican candidate, who has also declared he wants to be “dictator for a day”. Rather than the prospective leader of the free world, the election frontrunner sounds more like the tyrant of a petrostate.
That should not be entirely surprising given the country’s recent record: it has ramped up fossil fuel production to become the world’s biggest producer. As a Guardian investigation reveals, the total number of projected licences by the US for 2024 could lead to an estimated 397m tonnes of planet-heating emissions.
Continue reading...Ex-president’s campaign claims money going to Harris is ‘$91.5m heist’; senator makes impassioned speech on eve of Israeli leader’s visit
Harris will not preside over the chamber when when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday.
According to an aide, she will meet with Netanyahu at the White House at some point this week. On Wednesday, Harris is scheduled to be in Indianapolis to moderate a conversation with the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, Inc, one of the nation’s oldest Black sororities.
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