The March for Our Lives rallies come after mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York
Rallies for gun reform were held in Washington, New York, other US cities and around the world on Saturday, seeking to increase pressure on Congress to act following a spate of mass shootings.
In Washington, the son of an 86-year-old victim in the Buffalo supermarket shooting said: “Enough is enough. We will not go quietly into the night.”
Continue reading...Miah Cerrillo recounts at gun violence hearing how she watched as her teacher and friends were shot and acted quickly to save herself
An 11-year-old survivor of the elementary school massacre in Uvalde, Texas testified before the House oversight committee on Wednesday, as lawmakers continued to try to reach a compromise on gun control legislation after a series of devastating mass shootings.
The House hearing came two weeks after an 18-year-old opened fire at Robb elementary school, killing 19 children and two teachers, and three weeks after 10 people were killed at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
Continue reading...Poll finds 77% of Americans ‘pessimistic’ about cost of goods and services in coming months
• US would defend Taiwan if attacked by China, says Joe Biden
• Capitol attack panel to hold six public hearings
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The House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol is expected to stage six public hearings in June on how Donald Trump and some allies broke the law as they sought to overturn the 2020 election results, according to sources familiar with the inquiry.
The hearings are set to be a pivotal political moment for the country as the panel aims to publicly outline the potentially unlawful schemes that tried to keep the former president in office despite his defeat at the hands of Joe Biden.
Continue reading...Homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas forging ahead with plans to ease Covid-related immigration restrictions
Joe Biden’s top border official said on Sunday he was unconcerned by threats from the top House Republican that the GOP could impeach him if it regains the majority after the midterm elections, as the Biden administration forges ahead with plans to ease a coronavirus-related immigration restriction.
Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, addressed the remarks from the House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy.
Continue reading...Kentucky senator who has clashed publicly with Dr Anthony Fauci champions lab leak theory in remarks at rally
The Kentucky senator Rand Paul promised on Saturday to wage a vigorous review into the origins of the coronavirus if Republicans retake the Senate and he lands a committee chairmanship.
Speaking to supporters at a campaign rally, the senator denounced what he sees as government overreach in response to Covid-19. He applauded a recent judge’s order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes and trains and in travel hubs.
Continue reading...Manchin cites Biden Build Back Better spending plan he sank in ad for David McKinley, challenger to Trump-backed incumbent
Joe Manchin has recorded an ad for a Republican in a West Virginia US House election, in which the Democratic senator trumpets his opposition to Joe Biden’s Build Back Better domestic spending plan.
“David McKinley has always opposed reckless spending because it doesn’t make sense for West Virginia,” Manchin said.
Continue reading...Ruling by district court judge in Florida that Covid-19 measure was illegal is opposed by 49% of Americans, poll shows
Defense secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his counterpart in China today for the first time since Austin became Pentagon chief more than a year ago, breaking a communications stalemate that had American officials concerned amid the possibility that Beijing might provide military support to Russia in its war on Ukraine, the Associated Press is reporting.
Austin had requested the telephone call with general Wei Fenghe after months of failed efforts to speak with general Xu Qiliang, the highest ranking uniformed officer in the Communist Party military structure.
Continue reading...Elon Musk has launched an audacious bid to buy Twitter for more than $40bn, saying he wants to release its “extraordinary potential” to boost free speech and democracy across the world.
The Tesla chief executive and world’s richest person revealed in a regulatory filing on Thursday that he had launched a hostile takeover of Twitter. The news came just days after he bought a 9.2% stake in the social media company and was subsequently offered a seat on the board, but then refused to take up the position.
Continue reading...Senate minority leader projects ‘pretty good beating’ for Biden administration in November midterms
The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, said on Sunday Republicans will force Joe Biden to govern as a “moderate” if the GOP retakes Congress in November.
Speaking to Fox News Sunday, McConnell attacked Biden on subjects including reported crime increases in large US cities, the decision to extend a moratorium on repaying student loan debts, and the administration’s attempt to lift a Trump policy that allowed border patrol agents to turn away migrants at the southern border, ostensibly to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Continue reading...Measures’ constitutionality brought into question amid flurry of abortion restrictions passed in US states
Two measures that severely restrict abortions were halted on Friday, one by Kentucky’s governor and a second by Idaho’s supreme court.
In Kentucky, Democratic governor Andy Beshear vetoed a Republican-priority bill on Friday that would ban abortions in the state after 15 weeks of pregnancy and regulate the dispensing of abortion pills.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
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.
Continue reading...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!”
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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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