Category Archives: US Politics

Wisconsin Republicans vote to fire top election official as denialists tighten grip

Posted on by

State senate moves to oust nonpartisan elections administrator Meagan Wolfe, who became lightning rod for conspiracy theories

Wisconsin’s top elections official suffered another blow on Thursday when the Republican-controlled state senate voted to fire her by a party line vote of 22 to 11. Meagan Wolfe’s status as elections administrator will now likely be determined in court.

Legal experts and the Wisconsin attorney general have disputed the move by Republican senators to remove Wolfe, a respected and accomplished non-partisan leader. Her removal would affect the administration of elections in 2024 and illustrates the increasingly wide reach of election deniers and rightwing conspiracy theorists in Wisconsin politics.

Continue reading...

Hunter Biden’s lawyer criticizes charging decision as ‘bending to political pressure’ – as it happened

Posted on by

This live blog is now closed. For the full report on Hunter Biden’s charges, click below:

House speaker Kevin McCarthy, speaking to reporters after a tense closed-door GOP meeting, insisted he would not “walk away from a battle” as he tries to hang on to his position amid rising discontent among the party’s most hardline members. He said:

If it takes a fight, I’ll have a fight.

Continue reading...

Nancy Pelosi: Biden thinks Harris is best running mate ‘and that’s what matters’

Posted on by

Former House speaker says people shouldn’t underestimate vice-president and that she will work to get Biden and Harris re-elected

Nancy Pelosi seemed to offer a less-than-ringing endorsement when asked if Kamala Harris was the best running mate for Joe Biden next year, saying: “He thinks so, and that’s what matters.”

But the former US House speaker also had praise for the vice-president, telling CNN: “And, by the way, she’s very politically astute. I don’t think people give her enough credit. She’s … consistent with the president’s values and the rest.”

Continue reading...

Biden on Republican impeachment bid: ‘They want to shut down the government’

Posted on by

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...

US federal judge rules revised Daca policy illegal and halts new applications

Posted on by

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...

Google accused of spending billions to block rivals as landmark trial continues

Posted on by

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...

New Mexico judge blocks suspension of right to carry guns in public

Posted on by

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...

US inflation in August rose to 3.7% amid sharp increase in energy prices

Posted on by

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...

Republican demands Congress vote on Pentagon abortion policy: ‘We are not a communist country’

Posted on by

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...

Kevin McCarthy endorses Biden impeachment inquiry – live updates

Posted on by

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...

Andrew Yang has ‘had conversations’ with third-party 2024 election group

Posted on by

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...

Trump White House officials feel as if they are facing prison, ally Navarro says

Posted on by

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...

Updated Covid vaccines approved by US medical regulator – live

Posted on by

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...

Protesters arrested for occupying Kevin McCarthy’s office over Aids funding

Posted on by

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...

Gun rights group sues New Mexico governor over emergency firearm ban

Posted on by

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...

Joe Biden calls for stable US-China relationship during south-east Asia tour

Posted on by

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...

Kamala Harris says she’s prepared to serve as president ‘if necessary’

Posted on by

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...

Son of prominent conservative activist convicted on US Capitol attack charges

Posted on by

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...

US judge rejects Mark Meadows’ request to move Georgia case to federal court

Posted on by

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...

Nancy Pelosi announces 2024 House re-election bid

Posted on by

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...