Category Archives: US domestic policy

‘Fake’ US federal agent claimed ties to Pakistani intelligence, prosecutors say

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Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, accused of posing as homeland security officials and cultivating Secret Service access

One of two American men arrested in Washington for posing as US federal security officials and cultivating access to the Secret Service, which protects Joe Biden, claimed ties to Pakistani intelligence, a federal prosecutor told a judge.

Justice department assistant attorney Joshua Rothstein asked a judge not to release Arian Taherzadeh, 40, and Haider Ali, 35, the men arrested on Wednesday for posing as Department of Homeland Security investigators.

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‘Feels like the good old days’: Joe Biden welcomes Barack Obama back to White House – live

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Ivanka Trump will testify before the January 6 committee this afternoon.

The Guardian confirmed that former president Donald Trump’s oldest daughter, and former senior White House adviser, will speak to the panel virtually.

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Biden targets America’s wealthiest with proposed minimum tax on billionaires

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Tax on households over $100m aims to ensure wealthiest Americans no longer pay lower rate than teachers and firefighters

Joe Biden proposed a new tax on America’s richest households when he unveiled his latest budget on Monday.

The Biden administration wants to impose a 20% minimum tax on households worth more than $100m. The proposal would raise more than $360bn over the next decade and “would make sure that the wealthiest Americans no longer pay a tax rate lower than teachers and firefighters”, according to a factsheet released by the White House.

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Republican senator says tax rises in own plan are ‘Democratic talking points’

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Rick Scott of Florida grilled on Fox News Sunday about suggested income tax rise and letting social security and Medicare fall

A Republican senator and reputed presidential hopeful found himself in a tough spot when he claimed tax rises contained in his own “11 point plan to rescue America” were “Democratic talking points” instead.

“No, no, it’s in the plan!” his interviewer exclaimed, on Fox News Sunday. “It’s in the plan!”

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Biden to announce tax on billionaires in 2023 budget plan – report

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President’s ‘tax on richest 700 Americans’ may face opposition from conservative Democrats

Joe Biden is set to announce a tax aimed at US billionaires as part of his 2023 budget plans on Monday in a move that will likely delight many progressives in his party but could meet opposition from conservative Democrats who have already stymied his domestic agenda.

The Washington Post, citing five sources and an internal administration document, said the “billionaire minimum income tax” plan would establish a 20% minimum tax rate on all American households worth more than $100m.

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Progressive Democrats set out list of executive orders to push Biden agenda

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Congressional Progressive Caucus urges president to bypass legislative logjam and give Democrats record to campaign on

The leftwing Congressional Progressive Caucus unveiled its highly anticipated list of suggested executive orders on Thursday, outlining a strategy for Joe Biden to advance Democrats’ policy priorities in the US while much of his legislative agenda has stalled on Capitol Hill.

The move reflects pressure from the left of the Democratic party to try to keep Biden pushing an ambitious program of action, despite setbacks and as November’s midterm elections are widely expected to favor a resurgent Republican party.

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Beto O’Rourke calls Texas governor Greg Abbott an ‘authoritarian’ and ‘thug’

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The Democratic gubernatorial candidate compared his Republican opponent to the Russian president Vladimir Putin

Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic candidate for Texas governor, has likened his Republican opponent to the Russian president Vladimir Putin, calling Greg Abbott an “authoritarian” and a “thug”.

As governor, Abbott has presided over draconian laws on issues including abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and voting rights. In February 2021, on his watch, a failure of the state energy grid during cold weather contributed to hundreds of deaths.

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‘Don’t Say Gay’: Disney clashes with DeSantis over Florida bill

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Entertainment giant suspends political donations as CEO apologises for silence and governor hits back with ‘communist’ barb

The Walt Disney Company is suspending political donations in Florida after its chief executive suffered huge blowback for not using the company’s vast influence in the state to try to quash a Republican bill that would stop teachers instructing early grades on LGBTQ+ issues.

The bill has sparked a spat between the tourism giant and the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, who accused the company of being friendly with communist China.

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‘Constantly afraid’: immigrants on life under US government surveillance

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Participants in the privately run Isap program, billed as an alternative to detention, describe painful ankle monitors and contradictory rules

Macarena had just put on a pair of skinny jeans when her phone rang.

On the other end of the line was an employee from BI Inc, the private contractor tracking Macarena’s whereabouts on behalf of US Immigration authorities. The employee had received an alert that the ankle monitor Macarena was wearing had been tampered with, Macarena recalled them saying. They asked if she was trying to take it off.

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US FDA considers approving second Covid-19 booster shot – report

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Wall Street Journal says regulator could authorize fourth shots of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines by the fall

US health regulators are looking at authorizing a potential fourth dose of a Covid-19 vaccine in the fall, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been reviewing data to authorize a second booster dose of vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech and Moderna, the report added.

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Joe Biden says his administration has ‘outperformed’ in bruising first year

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President touts coronavirus relief aid and infrastructure law but acknowledges pandemic is unfinished job

• ‘I don’t believe the polls’: Biden gives testy press conference

Joe Biden on Wednesday conceded that the unshakable threat of the Covid-19 pandemic had left many Americans demoralized, but insisted that his administration had “outperformed” expectations despite the myriad crises facing the nation during his first year in office.

Speaking to reporters in the East Room of the White House for his first news conference in months, the US president said he was confident Democrats could pass “big chunks” of his sprawling domestic policy bill currently stalled in the Senate before the 2022 midterm elections.

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White House rebukes Manchin after ‘no’ to Biden spending plan deals huge blow

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  • $1.75tn domestic spending plan all but dead in the water
  • Senator accused of ‘breach of commitment’ to president

The West Virginia senator Joe Manchin dealt a huge blow to Joe Biden on Sunday, saying “no” to the $1.75tn Build Back Better domestic spending plan. The White House issued a stinging rebuke in return, stoking a bitter war of words in a party sharply divided between moderates and progressives.

The White House accused Manchin of going back on his word.

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Fauci: US could face ‘fifth wave’ of Covid as Omicron variant nears

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  • Collins and Fauci emphasise need for vaccines and boosters
  • Warning that variant shows signs of heightened transmissibility
  • Coronavirus: live coverage

Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, said on Sunday the US has “the potential to go into a fifth wave” of coronavirus infections amid rising cases and stagnating vaccination rates. He also warned that the newly discovered Omicron variant shows signs of heightened transmissibility.

As Fauci toured the US political talkshows, countries around the world including the US scrambled to guard against Omicron, which has stoked fears of vaccine resistance.

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Biden and Harris briefed as US braces for arrival of Omicron Covid variant

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US imposes travel restrictions from southern Africa as Anthony Fauci says he would not be surprised if variant were already in US

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been briefed on the latest situation regarding the new Omicron coronavirus variant, the White House said on Saturday, as Britain, Germany and Italy reported detecting cases.

Biden, who was spending Thanksgiving with family in Nantucket, Massachusetts, told reporters on Friday: “We don’t know a lot about the variant except that it is of great concern [and] seems to spread rapidly.”

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US to restrict travel from southern Africa over Omicron Covid variant fears

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Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, said on Friday there was “no indication” the new “Omicron” coronavirus variant discovered in southern Africa had reached the US.

Nonetheless, the the Biden administration said it would restrict travel from South Africa and seven other countries in southern Africa, starting on Monday.

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Biden basks in bipartisan triumph – but is it a new start or a swansong?

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The signing of a $1.2tn infrastructure act was a much-needed win but Washington’s deep divisions were all too apparent

“Here is what I know to be true, Mr President,” Vice-President Kamala Harris said on Monday, as she addressed Joe Biden. “You are equal parts believer and builder. And because you are, we are all better off.”

Biden is a believer in the ability of the American people, US democracy and Democrats and Republicans to work together and get things done. It was the theory of his candidacy for president.

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Biden’s approval ratings continue to plunge amid crisis over inflation

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Aides to Joe Biden took to the political talk shows on Sunday in a bid to talk up the US economic recovery despite confidence in the president continuing to plunge amid a crisis over inflation and supply chain problems.

In alarming news for the White House, only 41% of voters approved of Biden in a Washington Post/ABC survey published on Sunday, continuing a steady downward trend in the president’s ratings.

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Senator behind billionaires tax denounces Elon Musk Twitter poll stunt

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  • Tesla owner offers to sell 10% of shares – as poll demands
  • Ron Wyden has proposed tax to help fund Biden plans

After Elon Musk asked his Twitter followers to vote on whether he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock, the architect of the proposed billionaires tax that prompted the move dismissed the tweet as a stunt.

“Whether or not the world’s wealthiest man pays any taxes at all shouldn’t depend on the results of a Twitter poll,” said Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and chair of the Senate finance committee. “It’s time for the billionaires income tax.”

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Elon Musk asks Twitter followers if he should sell 10% of Tesla stock

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  • Entrepreneur refers to US proposal for ‘billionaires tax’
  • Nearly 56% of respondents say Musk should sell shares

Elon Musk on Saturday asked his 62.5 million followers on Twitter if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock.

“Much is made lately of unrealized gains being a means of tax avoidance, so I propose selling 10% of my Tesla stock,” Musk wrote in a tweet referring to a “billionaires’ tax” proposed by Democrats in the US Senate.

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Biden hails ‘monumental step forward’ as Democrats pass infrastructure bill

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The president will sign $1tn package into law after House ended months-long standoff by approving bipartisan deal

Joe Biden saluted a “monumental step forward as a nation” on Saturday, after House Democrats finally reached agreement and sent a $1tn infrastructure package to his desk to be signed, a huge boost for an administration which has struggled for victories.

“This is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America,” Biden said, “and it’s long overdue.”

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