Category Archives: Biden administration

US stocks plunge amid coronavirus variant fears – as it happened

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That’s all from me today. Here’s a rundown of the day’s biggest politics stories:

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer will file cloture on a placeholder bill for the bipartisan infrastructure plan tonight, setting up a vote on Wednesday.

Schumer NOW on Senate floor updates the timing of infrastructure legislation: "Tonight in a few minutes, I will file cloture on a shell bill which will act as the legislative vehicle for the bipartisan infrastructure framework. That vote on cloture will take place on Wednesday." pic.twitter.com/FRGPFkeh8d

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US surgeon general: Covid misinformation ‘spreading like wildfire’ on social media

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  • Vivek Murthy: rise seen ‘among the unvaccinated in particular’
  • Biden administration renews attack on Facebook

Joe Biden’s administration renewed its assault on social media companies spreading Covid-19 misinformation on Sunday, as new infections continued to surge across the entire US.

Vivek Murthy, the US surgeon general who has accused companies including Facebook of “poisoning information” about coronavirus vaccines, said they were not doing enough to check the online proliferation of false claims.

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Biden condemns Trump’s claim of voter fraud: ‘The big lie is just that, a big lie’ – live

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  • President deflects questions over the filibuster in voting rights speech
  • Biden: ‘The 21st century Jim Crow assault is real. It’s unrelenting’
  • Lawmakers arrive in DC to call for legislation to strengthen voting rights
  • Explainer: why did Democratic lawmakers flee Texas?

Texas Democratic lawmakers have fled their state in a desperate attempt to stop the Republican-run legislature from passing laws they say will suppress the vote of people of color.

The extreme move – which saw dozens of Democrats leave via planes and head to Washington DC – is the latest and wildest escalation in a fight over voting rights in the state and in America more broadly.

Related: Why did Democratic lawmakers flee Texas over voter restrictions?

As fires propagate throughout the US west on the heels of record heatwaves, experts are warning that the region is caught in a vicious feedback cycle of extreme heat, drought and fire, all amplified by the climate crisis.

Firefighters are battling blazes from Arizona to Washington state that are burning with a worrying ferocity, while officials say California is already set to outpace last year’s record-breaking fire season.

Related: American west stuck in cycle of ‘heat, drought and fire’, experts warn

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‘Have you no shame?’: Biden decries Republican attacks on voting rights

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President condemns Trump’s ‘big lie’ about a stolen election but fails to mention filibuster in 20-minute Philadelphia speech

Joe Biden has made an impassioned attack on racist voting laws sweeping America, warning that “the 21st-century Jim Crow assault is real” and demanding of Republicans: “Have you no shame?”

Related: Biden defends voting rights – but no word on ending the filibuster

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Biden’s clean energy plan would cut emissions and save 317,000 lives

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A new report has found that a policy standard would be most effective to reach the goal of 80% renewable energy use by 2030

A Biden administration plan to force the rapid uptake of renewable energy would swiftly cut planet-heating emissions and save hundreds of thousands of lives from deadly air pollution, a new report has found amid growing pressure on the White House to deliver a major blow against the climate crisis.

Of various climate policy options available to the new administration, a clean energy standard would provide the largest net benefits to the US, according to the report, in terms of costs as well as lives saved.

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Fauci says no immediate need for Covid booster for fully vaccinated Americans

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Biden chief medical adviser says guidance may change in future as Pfizer suggests booster ‘may be beneficial’ after six months

Dr Anthony Fauci has said there is no immediate need for a Covid-19 booster for fully vaccinated Americans but remained open to the possibility in the future, as reports suggest that one major pharmaceutical company plans to lobby government officials to approve booster shots next week.

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced last week that it had observed that its vaccine, while effective against the virus, had “a decline in efficacy against symptomatic disease over time”. The company suggested that as new variants continue to emerge a booster shot after six months “may be beneficial”.

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Kamala Harris faces scrutiny and tests in first six months as vice-president

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The vice-president was handed what some saw as a poisoned chalice of leading the southern border response and faces ‘unique hurdles’ in the administration

Kamala Harris looked glad to be back at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington. “The first office I ever ran for was probably the most difficult campaign I’ve ever been in,” she recalled with laughter, “and that was freshman class representative of what was then called the liberal arts student council.”

Related: How Trump’s big lie has been weaponized since the Capitol attack

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Biden balancing act with the left put to the test as he pushes key legislation

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  • Democratic progressives urge Biden to go big on infrastructure
  • Regular meetings with left but moderates remain powerful

It is one of the most delicate balancing acts in American politics: how to keep together a Democratic party whose lawmakers range from the democratic socialism of the New York congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez to the staunch conservatism of the West Virginia senator Joe Manchin.

But as Joe Biden’s administration has pushed both parts of his ambitious infrastructure plan through Congress, top Democratic officials and aides have made a point of working hard to keep the fractious sects of the party on Capitol Hill in check.

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‘We expect them to act’: Biden presses Putin on ransomware groups, hints at retaliation

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Joe Biden’s hour-long phone call with the Russian leader suggests growing impatience over attacks disrupting US sectors

Joe Biden has increased pressure on Vladimir Putin to move against ransomware groups operating from Russia, warning the United States is prepared to respond if cyberhacks are not stopped.

The two leaders held an hour-long phone call on Friday, their first since they discussed ransomware attacks at a summit in Geneva on 16 June. Biden’s message to Putin in the call was direct, suggesting a growing impatience over attacks that have disrupted key US sectors.

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Getting vaccinated is patriotic, says Joe Biden on Fourth of July – video

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Speaking at a White House party marking the Fourth of July, Joe Biden urged Americans to get vaccinated to stave off a rise in cases of the coronavirus Delta variant. 'Think back to where this nation was a year ago,' the president said in a speech on the theme of 'Independence Day and independence from Covid-19'.  The Biden administration has missed its aim of having 70% of adult Americans with at least one shot by the holiday weekend 

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Fourth of July: US celebrates but White House does not mandate masks or vaccines

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Coronavirus coordinator defends move at event: ‘You’re protected if you’re vaccinated. You’re not protected if you’re not’

Americans marked their nation’s 245th birthday on Sunday with fireworks, hotdogs, marching bands and a sense of great relief, after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of nearly all celebrations last year.

Related: Delta variant will cause US Covid surges, Fauci says, as poll reveals vaccine resistance

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Afghanistan: America’s ‘longest war’ ends amid accusations of betrayal

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Analysis: Washington did not learn the lessons of Vietnam and more death and suffering are inevitable

The US war in Afghanistan was not supposed to be another Vietnam. “I don’t do quagmires,” said Donald Rumsfeld, the architect of the original US invasion, who died last week. In the end the former US defence secretary did two quagmires, airily assuming Afghanistan was “won” in the spring of 2003 when he sent American troops to fight in Iraq.

US combat troops were in Vietnam for eight years, but they have been in Afghanistan for 20. It has been America’s longest war by far.

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Delta variant will cause US Covid surges, Fauci says, as poll reveals vaccine resistance

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The US will soon see surges in cases of the highly infectious Delta variant of Covid-19 in areas where vaccination rates are low, Anthony Fauci has predicted, calling resistance to vaccination “sad” and “tragic”.

Related: ‘The benefits outweigh the negatives’: US college students return to class

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US halts all federal executions amid review of capital punishment

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Attorney general orders temporary pause following historic use of death penalty under Trump administration

The US attorney general has imposed a moratorium on all federal executions while the justice department reviews its policies and procedures on capital punishment. Civil rights and criminal justice advocates have been pushing for a halt following a wave of controversial executions under the Trump administration.

Citing the disproportionate impact of capital punishment on people of color, and deep controversy over the drugs used to put people to death, the attorney general, Merrick Garland, ordered a temporary pause on scheduling executions.

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Biden to visit Miami on Thursday as 150 still missing after condo collapse – live

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Here’s where the day stands so far:

The mayor of Miami-Dade county said there were no new fatalities confirmed today, as search-and-rescue efforts continue at the site of the Surfside condo collapse.

The mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, added that each of the families of the 11 confirmed victims have been notified.

Miami-Dade County mayor updates on building collapse:

- No new fatalities confirmed since last briefing
- Families of all 11 deceased victims have been notified
- 210 people working on mound
- Pres. Biden to meet with families, first respondershttps://t.co/lHgwAdKz7Z pic.twitter.com/qC3naJmNti

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‘Republicans are defunding the police’: Fox News anchor stumps congressman

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The Fox News anchor Chris Wallace made headlines of his own on Sunday, by pointing out to a senior Republican that he and the rest of his party recently voted against $350bn in funding for law enforcement.

Related: Keith Ellison urges Congress to act on stalled police reform after Chauvin sentencing

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Republicans will ‘move forward’ on infrastructure after Biden veto threat

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A lead Republican negotiator has welcomed Joe Biden’s withdrawal of his threat to veto a $1.2tn bipartisan infrastructure bill unless a separate Democratic spending plan also passes Congress.

Related: White House seeks to put infrastructure deal back on track after Biden blunder

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Kamala Harris takes heat from both sides in daunting border visit

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Vice-president faced with colossal task as migrants live with brutal reality of arduous journey and border restrictions

The sun beat down on the 30ft border fence that separates El Paso, Texas from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, as temperatures headed towards 100F on the southern border that stands as a symbol for so much in American politics.

Related: Kamala Harris says US-Mexico border situation is ‘tough’ but claims progress

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Justice department sues state of Georgia over laws that ‘deny the right to vote’ – video

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The justice department is suing the state of Georgia over the new voting laws it says violate the Voting Rights Act and suppress Black Americans' right to vote.

Attorney General Merrick Garland made the announcement after the justice department scrutinized a wave of new laws in Republican-controlled states that tighten voting rules.

Under the bill, the legislature gave itself power to remove local election officials deemed to be underperforming and added a voter ID requirement for mail ballots. It will result in fewer ballot drop boxes in metro Atlanta

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Kamala Harris heads for political minefield on visit to US-Mexico border

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  • Vice-president to visit migrant processing center in El Paso
  • Rises in families and unaccompanied children migrating

Kamala Harris faces the most politically challenging moment of her vice-presidency on Friday when she visits Texas as part of her role leading the Biden administration’s response to recent increases in families and unaccompanied children migrating across the US-Mexico border.

While in El Paso, Texas, she will tour a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) processing center near the international bridge that connects the western city with its twin city, Juárez, across the Rio Grande in Mexico.

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