The Kremlin says US refusal to recognise Moscow’s annexed territories in Ukraine is hindering any potential settlement and EU members agree on Russia oil price cap
Continue reading...Category Archives: Joe Biden
Joe Biden condemns antisemitism following Kanye West’s remarks: ‘Silence is complicity’ – as it happened
Biden alludes to Republican politicians, saying ‘our political leaders should be calling out and rejecting antisemitism wherever it hides’
It looks like Florida’s legislature will press ahead with a plan to allow Ron DeSantis to continue serving as the state’s governor, while he pursues his expected run for the White House.
An Associated Press report Friday adds credence to the idea floated by Republicans last month, and reported in this blog, to repeal Florida’s so-called “resign to run” rule.
Continue reading...Biden tells Democrats to revise primary calendar to boost Black voters’ voices
Predominantly white New Hampshire reportedly could be scheduled later with South Carolina tipped to move up to first
Democrats are poised to shake up the way in which they nominate presidential candidates, after Joe Biden said the primary process should better represent the party’s non-white voters.
Biden has reportedly told Democrats that Iowa, the state that has led off the Democratic voting calendar since 1976, should be moved down the calendar, with South Carolina instead going first.
Continue reading...Biden ‘working with Macron’ to hold Russia accountable for ‘brutal’ Ukraine war – as it happened
- President hosts French counterpart at White House
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We’re still waiting for Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron to appear for their press conference at the White House.
Elsewhere in Washington, the Florida Republican congressman Matt Gaetz might be a little uneasy today, as a former tax collector whose arrest led to a wide-ranging sex-trafficking investigation faces sentencing.
Continue reading...Garland vows to hold January 6 attackers to account after Oath Keepers conviction – live
Attorney general condemns ‘those responsible for crimes related to the attack on our democracy’ – follow US politics live
The former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who was also Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, will use the coming Christmas holidays to decide whether to launch a run for the presidency in 2024.
Speaking in her home state and at her alma mater, Clemson University, on Tuesday, Haley said: “We are taking the holidays to kind of look at what the situation is. If we decide to get into it, we’ll put 1,000% in, and we’ll finish it.”
Continue reading...Biden urged to threaten Israel weapons halt over far-right concerns
Pair urge president to withdraw military support to Netanyahu’s coalition government if Palestinians are expelled or land annexed
Two former senior US diplomats have made a highly unusual call for the Biden administration to cut weapons supplies to Israel if the incoming far-right government uses them to annex Palestinian land, expel Arabs or finally kill off the diminishing possibility of a Palestinian state.
Daniel Kurtzer, a former US ambassador to Israel under George W Bush, and Aaron David Miller, a US Middle East peace negotiator during several administrations, have called for what they described as an “unprecedented and controversial” break from America’s largely unconditional military and diplomatic support for Israel if “the most extreme government in the history of the state” pursues the stated aims of some of its members.
Continue reading...Congress to take up bill to avert rail strike as Biden and unions clash – live
- President urges Congress to impose deal on rail workers
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Progressives in Georgia are leaving nothing to chance with just one week to go before polls close in the state’s Senate runoff election.
A coalition of progressive groups has launched a massive canvassing effort for the Democratic party since election day, when neither Democrat Raphael Warnock nor Republican Herschel Walker were able to win enough support to avoid a runoff.
Continue reading...Congress expected to impose contract on US railroad workers to avert strike
Citing ‘catastrophic’ risk to US economy, Nancy Pelosi announces impending vote to bind unions to September negotiations
The US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has announced that her fellow members of Congress plan to vote this week on imposing a new contract for railroad workers to avert a looming labor strike.
Pelosi made the announcement late on Monday afternoon just after Joe Biden called on Congress to intervene to prevent a strike, a possibility if an agreement between the freight rail industry and unions is not made by 9 December.
Continue reading...Congress returns after holiday break to face lengthy to-do list – as it happened
- Lawmakers bid to pass bills on shutdown and assault rifles
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Here’s more on Arizona’s election controversy, from the Hill.
Maricopa residents can cast a ballot at any of the county’s vote centers, so poll workers print customized ballots on demand to match one of more than 12,000 ballot styles, depending on where a voter lives.
But after previously testing the printers, county officials say they began hearing at 6:30 a.m. on Election Day that some machines were printing ballots too light for tabulators to read.
Republican supervisors in Mohave County said last week that they will sign off Monday but wanted to register a protest against voting issues in Maricopa County.
In Cochise County, GOP supervisors demanded that the secretary of state prove vote-counting machines were legally certified before they will approve the election results.
Continue reading...Jon Batiste to perform at Biden’s first White House state dinner
Dinner highlights long-standing ties between the US and France and honors President Macron
Musician Jon Batiste is on tap to perform at Joe Biden’s first White House state dinner, this Thursday, highlighting long-standing ties between the US and France and honoring President Emmanuel Macron.
“An artist who transcends generations, Jon Batiste’s music inspires and brings people together,” said Vanessa Valdivia, a spokesperson for first lady Jill Biden, whose office is overseeing dinner preparations.
Continue reading...Joe Biden renews call for assault weapons ban after latest mass shootings
President says he will seek to pass gun control before new Congress is seated in January, but odds of success are low
Joe Biden reiterated his calls on Thursday to ban assault weapons after mass shootings at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs on Saturday and a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Tuesday left 11 people dead.
While visiting a firehouse on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, to thank first responders on Thanksgiving, Biden told reporters he would attempt to pass some form of gun control before a new Congress is seated in January, possibly renewing his attempt to ban assault weapons.
Continue reading...Mary Peltola, first Alaska Native in Congress, wins bid to retain seat
Peltola made history to become the first woman to represent the state when she won a special election in August
Mary Peltola, a Democrat and the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress, has won her bid to retain the state’s sole seat in the House of Representatives.
Peltola made history when she won a special election this summer to replace the Republican Don Young after his death. She is also the first woman to represent Alaska in Congress since it became a state in 1959.
Continue reading...Still alive: American democracy, Biden’s bad jokes – and two turkeys
High on the Democrats’ midterm success, the octogenarian president presides over the annual pardoning of the Thanksgiving turkeys
Hail to the grandpa-in-chief!
With important legislation under his belt, Republicans in disarray and Vladimir Putin in retreat, Joe Biden is looking pleased with himself and ready for family time.
Continue reading...Trump in apparent Twitter snub after Musk lifts ban – as it happened
- Former president yet to tweet after account reactivated
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Speaking of Trump and lawyers, another of his former top White House officials is going to South Carolina’s high court to stop a subpoena from a Georgia prosecutor looking into meddling in the state’s 2020 election, Politico reports:
The appeal to South Carolina’s supreme court by Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff for his final months in the White House, is the latest development in his lengthy battle to resist the summons from Fanni Willis. She’s the district attorney in Fulton county, which contains most of Atlanta, and has empaneled a special grand jury to look into attempts by Trump’s allies to interfere in Joe Biden’s election victory in the state.
Continue reading...Republicans gain narrow majority to control House – live
- Slim victory defies expectations of ‘red wave’ midterms win
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Last week’s elections produced winners, losers and candidates like Kari Lake.
The Associated Press has already called the Arizona governor’s race for Democrat Katie Hobbs, but her Republican challenger Lake is refusing to concede. She said as much in a video released to supporters today:
Continue reading...Republicans scrape back control of US House after underwhelming midterms
The slim majority effectively hands great power to every member of the party, possibly stymying any legislation
Republicans have won back control of the House of Representatives scraping a victory from a midterms election that many had expected to be a red wave of wins but which instead turned into more of a trickle.
Nevertheless, the party finally won its crucial 218th seat in the lower chamber of Congress, wresting away control from the Democrats and setting the stage for a showdown with Joe Biden in the next two years of his presidency.
Continue reading...Xi Jinping’s cordial tone at G20 does not herald softer foreign policy
Apparent rapprochement with western leaders does not mean China is about to ditch its ‘wolf-warrior’ diplomacy
Fresh from consolidating power with a third term at home, Xi Jinping struck a largely cordial tone at the G20 summit in Indonesia, but don’t expect a change in China’s often aggressive “wolf-warrior” diplomacy.
While laying down a hard line on Taiwan, the Chinese president’s three-hour meeting with Joe Biden was described by the US president as “candid and clear” on subjects ranging from Taiwan to trade. After China accused the US of breaching the “One China” policy in its pledge to protect Taiwan, Biden reassured Xi that the US remained committed to the policy and “a new cold war” could be avoided.
Continue reading...Donald Trump announces 2024 run for president nearly two years after inspiring deadly Capitol riot
Twice-impeached ex-president makes expected election announcement despite shaky midterms and surge from rival Ron DeSantis
Donald Trump on Tuesday night announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, likely sparking another period of tumult in US politics and especially his own political party.
“In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,” Trump said from ballroom of his private Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, where he stood on a stage crowded with American flags and Make America Great Again banners.
Continue reading...Poland missile ‘unlikely’ to have been fired from Russia, Biden says
US president says trajectory of missile suggests it was not launched by Russian forces waging war in Ukraine but will await results of investigation
Joe Biden has said the missile that landed in Poland, killing two people, was unlikely to have been fired from Russia due to its trajectory.
The US president was speaking at the G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, after convening an emergency meeting of western leaders to discuss the explosion on Nato territory that has the potential to take the war in Ukraine into a new even more dangerous dimension.
Continue reading...G20 summit 2022 live: Volodymyr Zelenskiy lays out ‘Ukrainian formula for peace’ – as it happened
World leaders meet in Bali with a packed agenda of events, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens to overshadow the summit
Britain has announced it will spend $4.9bn on five new Navy ships to bolster security “in the face of increased Russian threats”.
The announcement came with prime minister Rishi Sunak set to begin his first full day of official events at the G20 summit in Bali.
Russia’s actions put all of us at risk. As we give the Ukrainian people the support they need, we are also harnessing the breadth and depth of UK expertise to protect ourselves and our allies. This includes building the next generation of British warships.
This week’s travel has brought together the broadest possible coalition of partners to confront this moment of great global challenges — from global inflation, to the climate crisis, to Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine.
At the G20 meetings, we’ll speak on the very issues that matter to people’s lives, not only at home but around the world. This forum is crucial for the world’s largest economies to work together for the good of people everywhere, and I’m looking forward to convening.”
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