US president says he is ‘not focused on impeachment’ but believes inquiry is linked to Republican desire to achieve federal shutdown
Joe Biden said Republicans launched an impeachment inquiry against him because “they want to shut down the government”.
Biden was speaking at a campaign event in McLean, Virginia, on Wednesday, a day after the House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, conceded to pressure from the right of his party and announced the inquiry.
Continue reading...District judge Andrew Hanen’s ruling expected to be appealed, leaving supreme court to rule on program’s fate for the third time
A federal judge on Wednesday declared illegal a revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the US as children.
US district judge Andrew Hanen agreed with Texas and eight other states suing to stop the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) program. The judge’s ruling was ultimately expected to be appealed to the US supreme court, sending the program’s fate before the high court for a third time.
Continue reading...Justice department takes on tech giant in court, seeking to prove it illegally used its power to maintain monopoly on internet search
The court battle between the US justice department and Google has entered its second day, as the United States government seeks to prove that the tech behemoth illegally leveraged its power to maintain a monopoly over internet search engines. The trial is a major test of antitrust law and could have far-reaching implications for the tech industry and for how people engage with the internet.
The question at the heart of the trial is whether Google’s place as the search engine for most Americans is the result of anti-competitive practices that gave internet users no other choice but to use its services.
Continue reading...Setback for Governor Lujan Grisham as judge sides with advocates for gun rights even after recent shootings took lives of children
A federal judge has blocked part of a public health order that suspended the right to carry guns in public across Albuquerque, New Mexico, the state’s largest metro area, as criticism mounted over the actions taken by the governor and political divides widened.
The ruling Wednesday by US district judge David Urias marks a setback for Michelle Lujan Grisham, the Democratic governor, as she responds to several recent shootings that took the lives of children, including an 11-year-old boy as he left a minor league baseball game in Albuquerque.
Continue reading...Growth in prices still remains far below the decades-high inflation rates that were seen last summer, when rate peaked at 9.1% in June
US inflation in August rose for the first time since June 2022, rising to 3.7% as a sharp increase in energy prices pushed prices up toward the end of the summer.
Growth in prices still remains far below the decades-high inflation rates that were seen last summer, when the rate peaked at 9.1% in June. Still, an increase in inflation means the US economy is further from the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2% and will likely make officials consider pushing interest rates up later this year.
Continue reading...Tommy Tuberville aims to block policy offering aid to service members and dependents forced to travel for abortions
Defending his blocking promotions that has left hundreds of military officers in limbo and the US army, navy and marines without Senate-confirmed leaders, the Alabama Republican Tommy Tuberville demanded a congressional vote on Pentagon abortion policy.
He added: “We are not a communist country.”
Continue reading...Speaker directs House committees to open formal impeachment inquiry despite Republicans being unable to substantiate wrongdoing
Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang remains listed as the co-chair for the Forward Party, which he launched after leaving the Democratic party to become an independent in 2021.
Yang slammed the idea of the 2024 presidential election shaping up to be a Donald Trump vs Joe Biden rematch in the Politico interview, describing the situation as “terribly unrepresentative and borderline ridiculous” and pointing to their ages.
I mean, you’re talking about two guys whose combined age is 160. In a country of 330 million people, you would choose these two gentlemen at this stage? I mean, it makes zero sense.
I’ve had conversations with various folks who are associated with No Labels.
I would not run for president, if I thought that my running would be counterproductive, or if it would increase the chances of someone like Donald Trump becoming president again.
Continue reading...Tech entrepreneur and 2020 Democratic hopeful says he has spoken with No Labels, who are considering launching a candidate
The tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, has “had conversations” with No Labels, a group considering launching a third-party candidate in the 2024 election.
“I’ve had conversations with various folks who are associated with No Labels,” Yang told Politico.
Continue reading...Ex-Trump aide says his contempt of Congress conviction makes ex-colleagues fear ‘massive legal bills … and prison time’
Peter Navarro’s contempt of Congress conviction has “everybody in that frigging White House” feeling as if they are grappling with “massive legal bills and … prison time”, the ex-Donald Trump administration official said on Monday.
Navarro’s remarks came in an interview with the far-right media outlet Newsmax in which he used the term “SOBs” – short for sons of bitches – to refer to the US justice department prosecutors who secured a guilty verdict against him last week.
Continue reading...FDA approval makes way for vaccines targeting XBB.1.5 sub-variant to be rolled out
Joe Biden’s national security tour of south-east Asia reached Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday, where the president called for stability in the US-China relationship against an increasingly complex diplomatic picture in the region for his country.
“I don’t want to contain China,” Biden said.
I just want to make sure that we have a relationship with China that is on the up and up, squared away, everybody knows what it’s all about.
On the one hand, we’ve got to pass a continuing resolution. We also have the impeachment issue. And we also have members of the House, led by my good friend, Chip Roy, who are concerned about policy issues. They want riders in the appropriations bills, amendments in the appropriations bills that guarantee some type of security on our Southern border.
There is not a strong connection at this point between the evidence on Hunter Biden and any evidence connecting the president.
Continue reading...Program caught in a partisan fight over abortion and is under threat amid Congress’s negotiations over government shutdown
Several people were arrested after entering the office of Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House, during a protest for HIV/Aids funding on Monday.
The US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), a widely bipartisan program, has since been reauthorized three times, and Joe Biden earlier this year indicated that he would work with Congress to extend it a fourth.
Continue reading...Michelle Lujan Grisham announced open and concealed carry restrictions on Friday after the deaths of three children
A pro-gun group is suing the New Mexico governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, in an effort to block a 30-day emergency order suspending the right to carry firearms in public in Albuquerque’s Bernalillo county issued last week after a spate of shootings.
The governor announced open and concealed carry restrictions on Friday in a public health order relating to gun violence after the fatal shootings of an 11-year-old boy on his way home from a minor league baseball game last week, as well as the fatal shooting of a four-year-old girl in her bed in a motor home and a 13-year-old girl in Taos county in August.
Continue reading...The US president’s remarks came after after meeting in Vietnam with Communist party official to secure global supply chain
Joe Biden’s national security tour of south-east Asia reached Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday, where the president called for stability in the US-China relationship against an increasingly complex diplomatic picture in the region for his country.
“I don’t want to contain China,” Biden said. “I just want to make sure that we have a relationship with China that is on the up and up, squared away, everybody knows what it’s all about.”
Continue reading...Vice-president dismisses opponents’ attacks that president is too old to seek out a second term and says ‘he’s going to be fine’
Kamala Harris on Sunday declared herself ready to assume the presidency if it ever behooved her to do so – but she also made it a point to dismiss opponents’ political attacks that Joe Biden is too old to seek out a second term in the Oval Office.
Asked on CBS’s Face the Nation whether she was prepared to serve as commander-in-chief in case Biden became unable to carry out his duties, Harris said: “Yes, I am, if necessary.”
Continue reading...Leo Brent Bozell IV convicted on charges that he invaded Senate floor to try to disrupt certification of Biden’s victory
The son of a prominent conservative activist has been convicted of charges that he stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, bashed in a window, chased a police officer, invaded the Senate floor and helped a mob disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential election victory.
Leo Brent Bozell IV, 44, of Palmyra, Pennsylvania, was found guilty on Friday of 10 charges, including five felony offenses, after a trial decided by a federal judge, according to the federal justice department.
Continue reading...Ruling means the prosecution of Meadows brought by the Fulton county district stays in the superior court of Atlanta
A federal judge denied a request from former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to transfer his Georgia 2020 election interference case from state to federal court on the basis that some of the charged conduct was within the scope of his official duties.
The ruling from US district judge Steve Jones on Friday means the prosecution of Meadows brought by the Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis stays in superior court in Atlanta, unless Meadows appeals and the decision is reversed by the US court of appeals for the 11th circuit.
Continue reading...Democrat, 83, has represented San Francisco since 1987 and served as House speaker twice
The former House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced that she will be seeking re-election in 2024. The 83-year-old Democrat representing California’s 11th district announced the news on Wednesday among volunteers and labor allies in San Francisco.
Pelosi went on to tweet about her plans, saying: “Now more than ever our city needs us to advance San Francisco values and further our recovery. Our country needs America to show the world that our flag is still there, with liberty and justice for ALL. That is why I am running for reelection – and respectfully ask for your vote.”
Continue reading...Meadows faces two felony charges, including racketeering and solicitation of a violation of oath by a public officer
Lindsey Graham’s name appeared early as Donald Trump’s attempts to stay in the White House began shortly after his re-election defeat in November 2020.
Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger told the press that the South Carolina senator had called him to ask if it was possible to throw away mail-in ballots in counties crucial to Joe Biden’s win in Georgia. From the Guardian’s Lauren Gambino’s report at the time:
Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, has said that Senator Lindsey Graham asked whether it was possible to invalidate legally cast ballots after Donald Trump was narrowly defeated in the state.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Raffensperger said that his fellow Republican, the chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, questioned him about the state’s signature-matching law and asked whether political bias might have played a role in counties where poll workers accepted higher rates of mismatched signatures. According to Raffensperger, Graham then asked whether he had the authority to toss out all mail-in ballots in these counties.
Continue reading...Florida governor aims to rescue flailing presidential campaign that has been further scarred by ‘petty and small’ snub of Biden’s visit
One reality of Florida politics is that a bad hurricane for the state traditionally blows good fortune for its governor. It was true for Rick Scott, elected a senator in November 2018, one month after guiding Florida through Category 5 Hurricane Michael; and again for Ron DeSantis, whose landslide re-election last year followed his much-praised handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
This year, however, DeSantis is struggling to shake the dark clouds of Hurricane Idalia, as his return to the national stage to try to rescue his flailing presidential campaign after an 11-day break has been further scarred by his “petty and small” snub of Joe Biden’s visit to Florida last weekend to survey the storm’s damage.
Continue reading...If state’s highest court upholds the 15-week ban, a separate, stricter law would take effect prohibiting abortion after six weeks
The Florida supreme court on Friday will hear arguments in a case that could drastically limit abortion access in the south-eastern United States.
Abortion providers in Florida filed a lawsuit to block the state’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
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