Category Archives: US Politics

Crisis, what crisis? Florida Republicans deny Omicron is straining hospitals

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State becomes focal point of politicized debate over whether Omicron is dangerous enough to overwhelm hospital systems

While Florida has experienced a record number of Covid-19 cases and sharp increase in hospitalizations in recent weeks, there is disagreement between Republicans and Democrats over whether the Omicron surge has actually overwhelmed the state’s healthcare system.

For example, Florida Republican senator Marco Rubio posted on Twitter that there “is no Omicron hospital ‘surge’ in Florida. People admitted for non-Covid reasons get tested. If they test positive they get counted as a ‘Covid patient.’”

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‘I was there’: Democrat recalls horror and fury on day of Capitol attack

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Representative Dean Phillips describes the day that ‘changed him’ after a pro-Tump mob overran police and reached the doors of the House chamber

It was a visceral cry at the moment of maximum peril for American democracy.

A furious mob had overrun police and was nearly at the door of the House of Representatives. Inside the chamber, Republican Paul Gosar was launching a spurious challenge to Joe Biden’s election victory in Arizona.

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Trump cancels news conference for Capitol attack anniversary – US politics live

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While the Republicans of Congress may be a little wishy-washy when it comes to the 6 January attack on the US Capitol - and exactly who bears responsibility for it - the White House said Americans should be prepared for Joe Biden to speak tomorrow about “the singular responsibility of President Trump for the chaos and carnage that we saw”.

“President Biden has spoken repeatedly about how the former president has abused his office, undermined the constitution and ignored his oath to the American people in order to amass more power for himself and his allies,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at today’s press briefing.

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Biden to speak ‘truth’ on Capitol attack anniversary as Trump cancels his event

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President will honor police in his remarks while Republicans voiced concerns about Trump overshadowing the somber day

Joe Biden will mark the first anniversary of the deadly assault at the US Capitol this Thursday by honoring the bravery of law enforcement on the scene, and outlining the unfinished work the nation needs to do to strengthen its democracy, the White House said in its first preview of the president’s remarks.

“On Thursday, the president is going to speak to the truth of what happened, not the lies that some have spread since, and the peril it has posed to the rule of law and our system of democratic governance,” the White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.

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Capitol attack panel seeks cooperation from Fox News host Sean Hannity

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Committee requests answers from Hannity about communications with Donald Trump before, on and after day of 6 January attack

The US House of Representatives panel investigating the deadly attack on the US Capitol last January is seeking cooperation from Sean Hannity, the Fox News host and one of Donald Trump’s closest allies in the media, as the committee continues to widen its scope.

Congressman Bennie Thompson, the chair of the committee, and vice-chair Liz Cheney have requested that Hannity answer questions in relation to communications between Hannity and the former president, as well as the former president’s chief of staff Mark Meadows, and others in the days leading up to the attack, the day itself and in the aftermath.

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US Congress reports unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases – as it happened

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More than 140 mayors have asked the US Senate to act to pass two pieces of sweeping voting rights legislation. Both bills have been stalled for months because no Republicans support them.

Senate Democrats are expected to make a new push in the coming days to do away with the filibuster, a senate rule that requires a 60-vote supermajority to advance legislation. Republicans used the rule to block the voting rights bills several times last year.

One bill, the Freedom to Vote Act, would set sweeping national guarantees for voting access, including 15 days of early voting, as well as guaranteed automatic and same-day voter registration. The second measure, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, would restore a critical provision of the Voting Rights Act that gives the federal government more oversight over US elections.

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Russia ‘very likely’ to invade Ukraine without ‘enormous sanctions’ – Schiff

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  • House intelligence chair: invasion might draw Nato closer
  • Sanctions must be ‘at level Russia has never seen’ to deter Putin

Russia is “very likely” to invade Ukraine and might only be deterred by “enormous sanctions”, the chair of the US House intelligence committee said on Sunday.

Adam Schiff also said an invasion could backfire on Moscow, by drawing more countries into the Nato military alliance.

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Twitter permanently suspends Marjorie Taylor Greene’s personal account

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Georgia Republican’s Covid misinformation violation prompts move, after being issued a ‘fourth strike’ in August

The personal Twitter account of the Georgia Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has been permanently suspended, for violating policies on Covid misinformation.

The action against Greene on Sunday came under the “strike” system Twitter launched last March, which uses artificial intelligence to identify posts about the coronavirus misleading enough to cause harm.

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Indictment of alleged Proud Boys leaders over US Capitol attack upheld

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Federal judge rejects defence arguments, a development that could have potential implications for Donald Trump

A federal judge has refused to dismiss an indictment charging four alleged Proud Boys leaders with conspiracy and obstructing an official proceeding during the 6 January attack on the US Capitol – a development that could have potential implications for Donald Trump.

On Tuesday, the US district judge Timothy Kelly rejected arguments by defence lawyers that Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Charles Donohoe are charged with conduct that is protected by the first amendment right to free speech.

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Trump claims 5,000 dead people voted in Georgia – but the real number is four

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Claim was part of push to overturn election but officials confirm four cases, all involving family members submitting votes

Donald Trump has claimed 5,000 dead people voted in 2020 in Georgia, a state he lost to Joe Biden on his way to national defeat.

He was off by 4,996.

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Capitol panel to investigate Trump call to Willard hotel in hours before attack

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Committee to request contents of the call seeking to stop Biden’s certification and may subpoena Rudy Giuliani

Congressman Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack, has said the panel will open an inquiry into Donald Trump’s phone call seeking to stop Joe Biden’s certification from taking place on 6 January hours before the insurrection.

The chairman said the select committee intended to scrutinize the phone call – revealed last month by the Guardian – should they prevail in their legal effort to obtain Trump White House records over the former president’s objections of executive privilege.

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Sarah Weddington, attorney who won Roe v Wade abortion case, dies aged 76

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Texan lawyer and Linda Coffee won landmark 1973 case, safeguarding right now under threat from US supreme court

Sarah Weddington, an attorney who argued and won the Roe v Wade supreme court case which established the right to abortion in the US, has died aged 76.

Susan Hays, a Democratic candidate for Texas agriculture commissioner, announced the news on Twitter on Sunday and the Dallas Morning News confirmed it.

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Fauci says Omicron surge will continue and Americans must not be complacent

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Cases of Covid-19 will continue to surge worldwide due to the Omicron variant, the US chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, said on Sunday, warning Americans not to get complacent amid reports that the variant is less harmful than others.

“If you have many, many, many more people with a less level of severity,” Fauci told ABC’s This Week, “that might kind of neutralise the positive effect of having less severity.

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‘Let’s go Brandon’ Santa Tracker caller insists he meant no disrespect to Biden

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Jared Schmeck, 35, tells Oregonian he has ‘nothing against’ president to whom he repeated ‘Fuck Joe Biden’ rightwing meme

The caller who ended a conversation with Joe Biden with the rightwing meme “Let’s go Brandon” – which means “fuck Joe Biden” – has insisted he was joking and meant no disrespect to the president.

“At the end of the day I have nothing against Mr Biden,” Jared Schmeck, 35, told the Oregonian newspaper. “But I am frustrated because I think he can be doing a better job. I mean no disrespect to him.”

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‘Radically optimistic’: the thinktank chief who believes the US can ‘self-correct’

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Patrick Gaspard discusses his Haitian dissident parents, meeting Mandela and protecting democracy

Barack Obama could be forgiven for considering himself a big shot. But Patrick Gaspard used to keep his ego in check.

“You’re of course an extraordinary historic figure but I’m sorry, this doesn’t compare,” Gaspard would joke, “meeting Nelson Mandela will always be the top of Mount Kilimanjaro for me.”

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Donald Trump could face charges for trying to obstruct certification of election, legal experts say

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Analysis: charges could be well founded given Trump’s incendiary remarks to a rally before the Capitol attack and aggressive pressuring of officials

Expectation is growing that Donald Trump might face charges for trying to obstruct Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election this year as a House panel collects more evidence into the 6 January attack on the Capitol, former prosecutors and other experts say.

Speculation about possible charges against the former US president has been heightened by a recent rhetorical bombshell from Republican representative and 6 January panel vice-chair Liz Cheney suggesting the House panel is looking at whether Trump broke a law that bars obstruction of “official proceedings”.

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Trump asks supreme court to block release of 6 January records

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An appeals court ruled against the former US president two weeks ago but prohibited documents from being turned over

Donald Trump turned to the supreme court Thursday in a last-ditch effort to keep documents away from the House committee investigating the 6 January insurrection at the Capitol.

A federal appeals court ruled against the former US president two weeks ago, but prohibited documents held by the National Archives from being turned over before the supreme court had a chance to weigh in. Trump appointed three of the nine justices.

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Could Chile show the United States how to rebuild its democracy? | Tony Karon

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The US once helped destroy Chilean democracy. Now, a constitutional reform movement in Chile could teach the US how to fix its own

Chile always gave the lie to the cold war claim that the United States stood for democracy. When its voters in 1970 showed the temerity (“irresponsibility”, Henry Kissinger called it) to elect socialist Salvador Allende as president, Washington helped orchestrate the coup that toppled him, and backed the resulting dictatorship.

It seems those “irresponsible” Chilean voters are at it again – on Sunday, they elected leftist Gabriel Boric as president by a 12-point margin, on the back of a campaign for a new constitution. But if Chilean democracy seems on the road to recovery from its Washington-backed disfiguration, prospects for democracy in the United States look rather bleak.

Tony Karon is a South African-born journalist and former anti-apartheid activist. He is currently the Managing Editor of AJ+

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‘Nothing’s been good enough’: Biden addresses US Covid testing shortage before holidays

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President tells ABC that country is in better position than last Christmas but is struggling with testing

Pressed about US testing shortages amid the omicron surge, Biden conceded in an interview that “nothing’s been good enough”.

In an interview with ABC’s David Muir on Wednesday, the president signaled that the country was in a better shape now than last Christmas but said he wished he had ordered free at-home tests earlier than this week. A surging demand for tests, driven by the new variant and the winter holidays, has led to long lines and shortages around the country.

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Republicans woo Joe Manchin as senator clashes with Democrats

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Centrist senator has rejected the idea of joining GOP but has indicated openness to being an independent

For many Democrats, Joe Manchin has become an unshakeable problem. The centrist senator is at odds with other Democrats on everything from filibuster reform to climate policy, and he recently announced his opposition to the Build Back Better Act, the lynchpin of Joe Biden’s legislative agenda.

But Republicans think Manchin now represents an opportunity to boost their numbers.

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