Extreme cold and snow blanket Iowa ahead of Monday’s Republican caucuses

Candidates were forced to cancel campaign events as snow closed rural highways and temperatures are expected to plummet

Wild and dangerous winter storm weather continued to wreak havoc on Saturday in Iowa just two days before the Republican caucuses kick off the official nominating process for the 2024 presidential election.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in the state capital of Des Moines said on Saturday morning that more snow was expected, in combination with lingering gusty winds causing “blowing snow and whiteout conditions at times” and warned that “travel is expected to remain treacherous, so consider altering plans”.

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Hunter Biden offers to testify privately if House Republicans issue new subpoena

President’s son switches gears and says he will speak to Congress members seeking to impeach his father

Hunter Biden offered on Friday to comply with any new subpoena and testify in private before House Republicans seeking to impeach his father over alleged but unproven corruption, an attorney for Joe Biden’s son said.

“If you issue a new proper subpoena, now that there is a duly authorised impeachment inquiry, Mr Biden will comply for a hearing or deposition,” Abbe Lowell wrote to James Comer and Jim Jordan, the Republican chairs of the oversight and judiciary committees.

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Who benefits as Christie ends presidential bid before Iowa caucus? – podcast

Hours before Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis took to the debate stage in Iowa on Wednesday night, more than 1,000 miles away in New Hampshire Chris Christie shocked his supporters by announcing he was dropping out of the race. The former New Jersey governor was the only candidate to consistently attack Donald Trump, in a field of Republicans trying to beat the former president, all the while keeping his base sweet.

With only three days until the Iowa caucus, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Elaine Kamarck about who is most likely to come out on top

Archive: CBS, CNN, MSNBC, CSPAN

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Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley go head to head in Republican presidential debate – live

With less than a week to go before the first-in-the-country Iowa caucuses two challengers to Donald Trump make their case

Trump has decided the identity of his running mate in the presidential election but is not yet ready to announce it, he told a Fox News town hall in Iowa on Wednesday.

Asked who he would pick as vice-president, Trump replied: “Well, I can’t tell you that, really. I mean, I know who it’s going to be but –”
Co-host Bret Baier entreated: “Give us a hint.”

Trump joked in response: “We’ll do another show some time.”

Donald Trump began his Iowa town hall on Fox News by highlighting an incident in which Chris Christie was caught on a hot mic. “She’s going to get smoked, and you and I both know it,” the former New Jersey governor was heard saying on his campaign’s live stream. “She’s not up to this.”

It is widely assumed that Christie, who dropped out of the Republican primary race today, was referring to Nikki Haley, perceived as Trump’s principal rival in New Hampshire.

Trump said: “Chris Christie was in and he got a hot mic I heard about. I thought the bigger story wasn’t actually the fact that he dropped out – nobody cared too much about that – but he had a hot mic where he was talking to somebody about the weather and he happened to say she doesn’t have what it takes, she’ll be creamed in the election.”

The former president added: “I know her very well and I happen to believe that Chris Christie’s right. That’s one of the few things he’s been right about actually.”

Trump admitted he didn’t known whether Christie’s departure would change the dynamic of the race and complained that independents and Democrats can vote in the Republican primary. “Even with that, I think we’ll win substantially,” he added.

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Republican Chris Christie suspends presidential bid

Ex-New Jersey governor, only candidate to attack Trump, heard on hot mic predicting Nikki Haley would get ‘smoked’ in primary race

The former New Jersey governor Chris Christie has suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, he announced on Wednesday evening.

“It is clear to me tonight that there is not a path to win the nomination,” he said at a town hall in Windham, New Hampshire.

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Lauren Boebert denies allegations that she punched ex-husband in restaurant

Colorado police reportedly arrived after Jayson Boebert called and claimed he was ‘victim of domestic violence’ and punched in face

Rightwing US congresswoman Lauren Boebert is denying allegations that she punched her ex-husband in the face in public after police in Colorado were reportedly called out to an encounter involving the pair Saturday night at a restaurant.

The incident was first reported by the Daily Beast. The news site said that Jayson Boebert called police claiming that he was a “victim of domestic violence”. In an interview with the Daily Beast, Jayson Boebert alleged that the congresswoman had “punched” him in the face several times. He claimed to have a witness to the events.

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Election denier Kristina Karamo voted out as Michigan Republican party chair

Critics say the QAnon conspiracy theorist, in the position less than a year, failed to deliver on funding promises

A group of Michigan Republicans voted on Saturday to remove Kristina Karamo as state party chair after months of infighting and slow fundraising raised concerns her leadership would hurt the party’s chances in the key swing state in 2024.

Karamo, a former community college instructor and election-denying activist who was elevated to her post in February, has indicated she would not respect Saturday’s vote, setting the stage for a potentially messy court battle over party leadership.

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Biden accuses Trump of ‘assault on democracy’ and says ‘it’s what he’s promising for the future’ – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. For our latest reporting on Biden, read our most recent:

We are going to hear a lot about January 6 at 3.15pm today, when Joe Biden marks the third anniversary of the deadly attack on the Capitol with a speech that doubles as the start of his presidential campaigning in 2024.

Republican presidential contenders, by contrast, tend to have little to say about the insurrection, even when asked directly. A questioner at CNN’s town hall in Iowa last night asked Ron DeSantis for his views on the attack, and the Florida governor responded with a brief condemnation, then changed the subject. Here’s the moment:

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Biden attacks Trump as grave threat to democracy in rousing 2024 speech

On eve of January 6 anniversary, US president condemns likely rival and warns voters ‘democracy is on the ballot’ in November

A day before the third anniversary of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, Joe Biden delivered a pointed speech to warn voters against re-electing Donald Trump, criticizing the likely Republican presidential nominee as a fundamental threat to democracy in an attempt to shape the dynamics of the 2024 election.

“Today we’re here to answer the most important of questions: is democracy still America’s sacred cause?” Biden said. “Today, I make this sacred pledge to you: the defense, protection and preservation of American democracy will remain, as it has been, the central cause of my presidency.

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Republicans seek to override Ohio governor’s veto of trans rights bill

Mike DeWine defied his party on gender-affirming care for youths and now legislature is set to reconvene early to push law through

A legislative showdown is brewing in Ohio after Governor Mike DeWine split from his party to veto a bill that would impose substantial new restrictions on the lives of trans children.

The bill, HB 68, prohibits doctors from providing gender-affirming care to trans youths. It also blocks transgender female student athletes from participating in girls’ sports.

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Former aides warn of ‘running out of time’ to prevent Trump re-election

Sarah Matthews, Cassidy Hutchinson and Alyssa Farah Griffin insist Trump’s behavior would be worse if he wins second term

The re-election of Donald Trump in 2024 could “end American democracy as we know it”, according to three women who worked for him in the White House during his chaotic term in office.

All three gave testimony to the US House committee investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat as well as the 6 January 6 Capitol attack staged by his supporters. And they warned in an unprecedented television interview on Sunday that time was short to prevent a second Trump administration in which they insist his behavior would be much worse.

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Ohio governor breaks ranks to veto bill banning healthcare for trans minors

Republican Mike DeWine made the surprise move after talking with parents of trans children and trans adults

Ohio’s governor, Mike DeWine, on Friday vetoed a bill by fellow Republicans that would have banned gender-confirming healthcare for minors in the state, and prohibited transgender athletes from taking part in girls’ and women’s sports.

The surprise move, which DeWine said was “ultimately about protecting human life”, was largely welcomed by pro-LGBTQ+ activists, although the governor indicated he still intended to enact some of the provisions of the bill through executive action.

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Lauren Boebert announces change of congressional district for 2024 elections

Far-right Colorado representative had won the third district by just 546 votes in 2022 and will move to the fourth for a ‘fresh start’

Colorado’s Republican representative Lauren Boebert has announced that she will be changing congressional districts ahead of her 2024 Republican nomination bid for the House.

In a Facebook video on Wednesday, the 36-year old, far-right representative announced that she would be moving from Colorado’s third district to its fourth district.

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Liars, expulsions and near-fistfights: Congress plumbs the depths in 2023

From removing a House speaker and expelling an indicted member, it was not a great year for America’s representatives

Before House Republicans left for their holiday recess this month, they addressed one last matter of business. They did not take up an aid package for Ukraine or pass an appropriations bill to fully fund the government through the fiscal year.

The House chose instead to vote along party lines to formally authorize an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, even though Republicans have failed to uncover any proof that the president financially benefited from his family’s business dealings.

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Biden mulls border crackdown in face of Trump’s migrant-bashing rhetoric

President faces pressure from Republican critics and Democratic allies as he struggles to address what both sides agree is a crisis

Heading into the heat of the 2024 election season, Joe Biden is weighing major changes to US immigration policy that would toughen border enforcement and address an issue that has emerged as one of the president’s biggest political vulnerabilities ahead of a likely rematch against his anti-immigration rival Donald Trump.

But it is also a risk for Biden, who entered the White House in 2021 promising to “restore humanity and American values to our immigration system” after Trump’s four-year crackdown on immigration.

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‘Sitting on a powder keg’: US braces for a year, and an election, like no other

Amid fears of authoritarianism, oldest US president likely to face off against first president to be criminally charged

The 60th US presidential election, which will unfold in 2024, will be quite unlike any that has gone before as the US, and the rest of the world, braces for a contest amid fears of eroding democracy and the looming threat of authoritarianism.

It will be a fight marked by numerous unwanted firsts as the oldest president in the country’s history is likely to face the first former US president to stand trial on criminal charges. A once aspirational nation will continue its plunge into anxiety and divisions about crime, immigration, race, foreign wars and the cost of living.

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Former congressman Jeff Fortenberry’s conviction reversed by appeals court

Republican convicted over false statements about payment from billionaire should not have been tried in Los Angeles, court says

An appellate court on Tuesday reversed a 2022 federal conviction against former Nebraska congressman Jeff Fortenberry, ruling that the Republican should not have been tried in Los Angeles.

Fortenberry was convicted in March 2022 on charges that he lied to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 contribution to his campaign from a foreign billionaire at a 2016 Los Angeles fundraiser. He resigned his seat days later after pressure from congressional leaders and Nebraska’s Republican governor.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene among US public figures hit by threats and swatting

Congresswoman said hoaxer tried to trigger police response while Colorado justices who ruled against Trump face threats

The political became personal over the Christmas holiday as the homes of politicos and judges were targeted by threats, protests and “swatting” hoaxes by pranksters who call in fake emergencies to authorities in the hopes of prompting a forceful police response.

A swatting hoax targeted the Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Authorities said they were investigating threats against the Colorado supreme court justices who ruled that Trump could not appear on the state’s ballots in the 2024 presidential election because he incited an insurrection on the day of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

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A split among Democrats may threaten ‘the Squad’ – and help Trump – in 2024

Centrists are taking on progressives in upcoming House races, as some say they’re losing sight of the big picture

A looming clash between the centre and left of the Democratic party could unseat members of the “the Squad” of progressives and hand a gift to Donald Trump’s Republicans in the 2024 elections.

The war in Gaza has divided Democrats like no other issue and is likely to play a key role in party primaries that decide which candidates run for the House of Representatives.

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Nikki Haley surges in poll to within four points of Republican leader Trump

Former South Carolina governor still trails the ex-president, but has made strides in polling ahead of the New Hampshire primary

The former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley has pulled within four percentage points of frontrunner Donald Trump in New Hampshire’s 2024 Republican presidential primary, a contest which could prove closer than expected for the ex-president, according to a new poll.

In an American Research Group Inc poll released on Thursday which had asked voters whom they preferred in the New Hampshire primary scheduled for 23 January, Haley earned 29% support to Trump’s 33%. That meant the gap between Haley and Trump was within the survey’s 4% margin of error after the former president had long held dominating polling leads in the race for the 2024 Republican White House nomination.

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