‘I’m not walking anything back’: Biden defends comment that Putin can’t stay in power – US politics as it happened

The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack is expected to discuss Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, tonight, before it officially considers holding in criminal contempt of Congress two of Donald Trump’s most senior White House advisers, Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro.

The move to initiate contempt proceedings against the two Trump aides amounts to a biting rebuke of their refusal to cooperate with the inquiry, as the panel deploys its most punitive measures to reaffirm the consequences of noncompliance.

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Biden targets America’s wealthiest with proposed minimum tax on billionaires

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.

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Florida governor Ron DeSantis signs ‘don’t say gay’ bill into law

Measure bars teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade

The Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, has signed into law a bill that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, a policy that has drawn intense national scrutiny from critics who argue it risks marginalizing LGBTQ+ people.

LGBTQ+ advocates, students, Democrats, the entertainment industry and the White House have denounced what critics have called the “don’t say gay” bill. The issue has led to a clash between DeSantis and Disney, a major player in the Florida tourism industry.

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‘I make no apologies’: Biden stands by ‘Putin cannot remain in power’ remark

President says he was not calling for regime change but was expressing personal ‘moral outrage’ over Russia’s invasion

Joe Biden on Monday defended the unscripted remarks he made at the end of an important speech in Poland at the weekend, in which he said that Russian president Vladimir Putin “cannot remain in power”, which had prompted hurried efforts by other senior figures in the administration to play down the comment in the face of international criticism.

The US president, when questioned on Sunday after attending church following his return to the White House, denied that he was seeking “regime change” as a new policy.

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Buffalo Bills will receive $850m from New York taxpayers to build new stadium

  • NFL and team will commit $550m towards new facility
  • New 60,000 capacity stadium set for 2026 completion date

State and county taxpayers will be asked to commit $850m in public funds toward construction of the Buffalo Bills’ new stadium which has a state-projected price tag of $1.4bn as part of a 30-year lease agreement reached on Monday.

New York state will commit $600m in funds, which will be in included in the budget due on Friday, Governor Kathy Hochul announced in a press release. Erie county will commit $250m toward the project, with the NFL and the Buffalo Bills committing $550m in financing.

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NatWest bank returns to majority private control, oil prices fall on Shanghai lockdown – business live

Major investors have launched a campaign calling for Sainsbury’s to help tackle the cost of living crisis by becoming the first supermarket group to pay all its workers the “real living wage” of £9.90 an hour, reports my colleague Rupert Jones.

Legal & General Investment Management, Nest (National Employment Savings Trust), which is Britain’s largest workplace pension scheme, and several MPs have formed a coalition to push for the change after reports that increasing numbers of supermarket workers are having to turn to food banks to feed themselves and their families.

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Sharp rise in US fuel efficiency penalties for automakers is boost for Tesla

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has reinstated penalties that could cost manufacturers hundreds of millions

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reinstated a sharp increase in penalties for automakers whose vehicles do not meet fuel efficiency requirements for model years 2019 and beyond.

The decision is a win for Tesla that could cost other automakers hundreds of millions of dollars or more.

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‘Violence instead of words’: Will Smith condemned for hitting Chris Rock at the Oscars

Bernardine Evaristo, Keir Starmer, Kathy Griffin and others respond to incident

Author Bernardine Evaristo is among the public figures to have condemned Will Smith for hitting Chris Rock at the Oscars, saying the actor “resorted to violence instead of utilising the power of words”.

In what quickly became the bombshell moment of the ceremony, Smith struck Rock in the face after the comic made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

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Republican senator says tax rises in own plan are ‘Democratic talking points’

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!”

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Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 33 of the Russian invasion

Russia and Ukraine to hold fresh talks; Ukrainian military claims Russian troops withdrawn from around Kyiv after heavy losses

The Kremlin has said peace talks between Russia and Ukraine may get under way in Turkey on Tuesday, adding that it is important the discussions are held face-to-face despite scant progress in negotiations so far.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, used a video interview with independent Russian media outlets to signal his willingness to discuss having Ukraine adopt a “neutral status”, and also make compromises about the status of the eastern Donbas region, in order to secure a peace agreement with Russia. But he said he was not willing to discuss Ukrainian demilitarisation, and that Ukrainians would need to vote in a referendum to approve their country adopting a neutral status.

Russia’s foreign affairs minister, Sergei Lavrov, appears to have ruled out any direct meetings between Vladimir Putin and Zelenskiy, saying it would be counterproductive at this point.

The southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe and must be evacuated, its mayor has warned. Vadym Boichenko said about 160,000 civilians were trapped in the city without power.

Ukraine has no plans to open humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from besieged cities on Monday because of intelligence reports warning of possible Russian “provocations” along the routes, the deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, said.

The Ukrainian military claimed in its latest operational report that Russia had withdrawn troops that were surrounding Kyiv after significant losses.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence released its latest intelligence report, claiming there had been “no significant change” to Russian forces’ dispositions in Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

The US president has denied he is calling for regime change in Russia, after saying during a visit to Poland that Putin “cannot remain in power”. When asked by a reporter if he wanted to see the Russian president removed from office, Joe Biden said “no”.

The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said Russian investigators would look into a video circulating on social media that purported to show Ukrainian forces mistreating captured Russian soldiers. He also said Biden’s comments that Putin could not remain in power were a cause for concern.

Schools in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, will reopen today via remote learning online.

The UK government’s Cabinet Office has issued a procurement policy note for public sector organisations holding contracts with Russian or Belarusian suppliers, urging them to investigate where they can cancel contracts.

The UK education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, said he had no doubt that Russia had carried out war crimes in Ukraine.

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Zelenskiy says Ukraine willing to discuss neutrality | First Thing

Talks to start in Turkey as Ukraine president seeks peace ‘without delay’. Plus, drama at the Oscars as Will Smith attacks Chris Rock on stage

Good morning.

Ukraine is willing to discuss “neutral status” at face-to-face talks with Russia in Turkey, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said.

What else did he say? Zelenskiy said he was not willing to discuss demilitarisation, and said Ukrainians would need to vote in a referendum to approve their country adopting a neutral status.

What about international diplomacy? The French president has cautioned against verbal escalations after the US is forced to deny it is seeking regime change.

What else is happening? Here’s everything we know on day 33 of the Russian invasion.

How did Hollywood react to the incident? Reactions to the most talked-about moment of the Oscars ranged from delight to concern.

What else happened? The eventful 94th Academy Awards ceremony delivered drama in spades. Here are some of the standout moments. It was also an historic night for women.

Who else won? Here’s a full list of all the Oscar winners.

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Talking Heads musicians survive serious collision with drunk driver

Tina Weymouth in ‘a lot of pain’ after she fractures sternum and three ribs in car crash, says husband Chris Frantz

Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, the husband and wife musicians who were core members of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, have survived a serious car crash after a collision with a drunk driver.

According to a post from Frantz on Facebook, accompanying an image of their wrecked Ford SUV, the incident happened two weeks ago on US Route 1. He wrote:

We were struck head on by a drunk driver who was driving on the wrong side of the road. Incredibly, we walked away from the collision. Tina had a Cat scan and suffered three fractured ribs and a fractured sternum. She’s been in a lot of pain but she will get better with time. I give thanks to our guardian angels and to the Ford Motor Company for building a car that protected us from getting killed.

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Capitol attack panel expects to hear how militia groups coordinated plans before insurrection

Testimony could play a major role in establishing whether Trump oversaw a criminal conspiracy in efforts to overturn 2020 election

Behind closed doors in a nondescript conference room at the foot of Capitol Hill, the House select committee investigating 6 January next week expects to hear testimony about the connections between the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys militia groups and the Capitol attack.

The panel expects to hear how the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys coordinated their plans and movements in the days before the insurrection to the same level of detail secured by the justice department and referenced in recent prosecutions for seditious conspiracy.

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Oscars 2022: Coda triumphs while Will Smith attacks Chris Rock onstage

The drama picked up three major awards, including best picture, while best actor winner Will Smith had a viral confrontation

Coda has been named this year’s best picture at an Oscars ceremony that featured an unusual confrontation between Will Smith and Chris Rock.

The Apple TV+ drama, bought from 2021’s Sundance film festival for a record-breaking $25m, became the first film from a streamer to win the award. It’s a remake of French film La Famille Bélier, focusing on the only hearing member of a deaf family.

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Republican won’t say whether Capitol attack panel will question Ginni Thomas

Adam Kinzinger vows to ‘get to the bottom’ of insurrection after Clarence Thomas’s wife reportedly urged White House to overturn Trump’s election defeat

Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republican members on January 6 committee, on Sunday vowed to “get to the bottom” of events surrounding the 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol but refused to reveal whether the panel intends to question Ginni Thomas – wife of US supreme court justice Clarence Thomas – over reports of her urging the White House to overturn Donald Trump’s election defeat.

Senior Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said Clarence Thomas must recuse himself from relevant cases and warned the integrity of the supreme court is at stake.

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Taliban reversal on girls’ education derails US plan for diplomatic recognition

Joint event had been planned ahead of Doha Forum that would have set process in motion to grant group diplomatic recognition

The US was poised to set the Taliban on the path to diplomatic recognition before the plan was derailed by the Afghan rulers’ sudden U-turn on a promise to allow girls’ education, the Guardian understands.

The group prompted international outrage and confusion on Wednesday when it reneged on a deal to allow teenage girls to go to secondary school, just a week after the education ministry announced that schools would open for all students.

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Islamic State claims responsibility for killing of two Israeli police officers

Police say two terrorists were shot dead after they began firing at police in city of Hadera, as Israel hosts envoys from four Arab states

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack in which two Israeli police were killed in the northern city of Hadera on Sunday. The claim was made in a statement posted on its Telegram account.

Police said that “two terrorists arrived at Herbert Samuel Street in Hadera, and began shooting at a police force there,” resulting in two deaths.

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Former Catholic bishop admits covering up sexual abuse allegations

Howard Hubbard made admission during a deposition last year as part of a response to dozens of claims filed in New York

The former bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Albany, New York, has acknowledged covering up allegations of sexual abuse against children by priests in part to avoid scandal and protect the reputation of the diocese.

Howard Hubbard made the admission during a deposition taken last year as part of a response to dozens of claims filed under New York state’s Child Victims Act. A judge ordered the deposition released on Friday.

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Hillsong is facing catastrophe but the Houstons will be loath to give up control

Analysis: the global church, founded almost 40 years ago in north-west Sydney, has little choice but to launch an independent inquiry

Judgment Day has come for Hillsong – but not in the way its pastors promised.

To recap a damning week for the church, its founder and global senior pastor, Brian Houston, has resigned after an internal investigation found he had breached the church’s code of conduct twice over the past decade by behaving inappropriately towards two women.

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Iran will never acquire nuclear weapons, US promises Israel

Antony Blnken seeks to reassure Israel and Gulf allies ahead of possible renewal of nuclear deal

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has sought to reassure Israel and its Gulf allies that Iran will never acquire atomic weapons, ahead of the possible renewal of the nuclear deal with Tehran.

“When it comes to the most important element, we see eye to eye,” Blinken said at a news conference on Sunday with Israel’s foreign minister, Yair Lapid. “We are both committed, both determined, that Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon.”

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