Page 75 - Joe Biden

I am the only candidate who can avert 'Trump-Biden nightmare': Nikki Haley

Indian-American Nikki Haley, who finished third in the Iowa caucuses, has said that she is the only Republican candidate who could take on frontrunner Donald Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden and avert a "Trump-Biden nightmare". The Iowa caucuses on Monday formally kicked off the beginning of the long process by which the Republicans and Democrats choose their nominees for the presidential election on November 5. Haley, the former US Ambassador to the UN, came a close third with nearly 20 per cent of the votes polled. Former US president Trump won the caucus with more than 50 per cent of the votes, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came in second with 21 per cent. Fellow Indian-American Vivek Ramaswamy secured 7.7 per cent of the total votes polled and suspended his presidential campaign. The two-time South Carolina governor said her presidential campaign is the best hope to avert a rematch between Trump and incumbent President Biden, a Democrat, in the presidential ...

Ex-President Trump set to face jury over sex abuse, defamation claims

After a big victory in the Iowa caucus, former President Donald Trump is expected in court on Tuesday to face another legal challenge: a trial to determine how much more he owes the writer E. Jean Carroll for denying that he sexually assaulted her in the 1990s and accusing her of lying about her claims. Jury selection begins on Tuesday morning at a federal court in Manhattan. Opening arguments could take place by afternoon in what is essentially a second penalty phase of a legal fight Carroll has already won. In May, a different jury awarded Carroll USD 5 million after concluding that Trump sexually abused her in a department store dressing room in spring 1996, then defamed her in 2022 by claiming she made it up after she revealed it publicly in a 2019 memoir. The jury said Carroll hadn't proven that Trump raped her. One issue that wasn't decided in that first trial was how much Trump owed for comments he made about Carroll while he was still president. Determining that dollar amou

Houthi rebels strike US-owned ship off the coast of Yemen, raising tensions

Houthi rebels fired a missile, striking a US-owned ship on Monday just off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden, less than a day after they launched an anti-ship cruise missile toward an American destroyer in the Red Sea. The attack on the Gibraltar Eagle, later claimed by the Houthis, further escalates tensions gripping the Red Sea after American-led strikes on the rebels. The Houthis' attacks have roiled global shipping, amid Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, targeting a crucial corridor linking Asian and Mideast energy and cargo shipments to the Suez Canal onward to Europe. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which oversees Mideast waters, said Monday's attack happened some 110 miles (177 kilometers) miles southeast of Aden. It said the ship's captain reported that the port side of vessel hit from above by a missile". Private security firms Ambrey and Dryad Global told The Associated Press that the vessel was the Eagle Gibraltar, a Marshall Islands-flagged bu

President Biden raise $97 mn to close out 2023 after Dec fundraising blitz

The Biden campaign said on Monday that it took in USD 235 million from its launch last April until the end of 2023 and finished the year with USD 117 million in cash on hand

Vivek Ramaswamy ruled out as Trump's running mate by ex-president's advisor

Donald Trump's top adviser has ruled out Vivek Ramaswamy as the ex-US president's running mate after the Republican frontrunner publicly criticised the Indian-American presidential candidate ahead of the Iowa caucus. The Iowa caucuses, which begin on Monday, formally kick off the beginning of the long process by which the Republicans and Democrats choose their nominees for the presidential election on November 5. Trump's top adviser, Jason Miller, told the New York Post that voters could probably rule out 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur Ramaswamy as the ex-president's running mate. Pretty safe to say it won't be Vivek, Miller was quoted as saying in the report. On Saturday, Trump, 77, lashed out at Ramaswamy, who is most closely aligned with him in the race for the Republican nomination, accusing him of deceitful campaign tricks". The former president's criticism stemmed from shirts that Ramaswamy's campaign is handing out that say 'Save Trump, Vote Vivek' on them. Ramaswamy pos

Bernardo Arevalo sworn in as Guatemala's president despite challenges

Bernardo Arevalo was sworn in as Guatemala's president on Monday minutes after midnight despite months of efforts to derail his inauguration, including foot-dragging and rising tensions right up until the transfer of power. Arevalo arrives in the presidency after winning August's elections by a comfortable margin. But nothing has been straightforward since, with Attorney General Consuelo Porras and the establishment forces observers say she represents throwing one legal challenge after another at Arevalo and his party. Despite hundreds of Arevalo's supporters pressuring lawmakers to follow the constitution, even clashing with riot police outside the congress building on Sunday, the inauguration process dragged for hours into the night before he took the oath of office just past midnight. A progressive academic-turned-politician and son of a Guatemalan president credited with implementing key social reforms in the mid-20th century, Arevalo takes office with expectations of confrontin

US praises Taiwan's democracy after pro-independence candidate's victory

Retired US officials met with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday and praised the island's democratic process that produced a new president-elect and legislature over the weekend in defiance of China's claim of sovereignty over Taiwan and threat to annex it by military force. Taiwan's democracy has set a shining example for the world, a democratic success story based on transparency, the rule of law and respect for human rights and freedoms," former national security advisor Stephen Hadley said. America's commitment to Taiwan is rock solid," he said. Taiwan on Saturday elected current Vice President Lai Ching-te as the new head of government, a move likely to prompt China to maintain its military, diplomatic and economic threats against the island. Hadley was joined by former Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg, who affirmed bipartisan support for Taiwan based on our unofficial but warm relationship, our insistence on exclusively peaceful means to address the cross .

Right time for Israel to scale back military offensive in Gaza: White House

The White House said on Sunday that it's the right time for Israel to scale back its military offensive in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli leaders again vowed to press ahead with their operation against the territory's ruling Hamas militant group. The comments exposed the growing differences between the close allies on the 100th day of the war. Also Sunday, Israeli warplanes struck targets in Lebanon following a Hezbollah missile attack that killed two Israeli civilians an older woman and her adult son in northern Israel. The exchange of fire underscored concerns that the Gaza violence could trigger wider fighting across the region. The war in Gaza, launched by Israel in response to the unprecedented October 7 attack by Hamas, has killed nearly 24,000 Palestinians, devastated vast swaths of Gaza, driven around 85 per cent of the territory's 2.3 million residents from their homes and pushed a quarter of the population into starvation. Speaking on CBS, White House National Security Coun

Bill Ackman contributes $1 mn to support Dean Phillips to challenge Biden

Ackman's support of Phillips, 54, amplifies some of the worst fears of the Biden campaign: Donors and voters are unenthusiastic about reelecting the 81-year-old president

US climate envoy Kerry plans to leave Biden administration in coming weeks

John Kerry, the US special envoy on climate, is stepping down from the Biden administration in the coming weeks, according to two people familiar with his plans. Kerry, a longtime senator and secretary of state, was tapped shortly after Joe Biden's November 2020 election to take on the new role created specifically to fight climate change on behalf of the administration on the global stage. Kerry's departure plans were first reported on Saturday by Axios. Kerry was one of the leading drafters of the 2015 Paris climate accords and came into the role with significant experience abroad, as secretary of state during the Obama administration and from nearly three decades as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Biden's decision to tap Kerry for the post was seen as one way the incoming president was making good on his campaign pledge to battle climate change in a more forceful and visible manner than in previous administrations. "The climate crisis is a universal threat t

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Republicans push back on Biden plan to axe funds for anti-abortion centers

In a new twist to the fight over abortion access, congressional Republicans are trying to block a Biden administration spending rule that they say will cut off millions of dollars to anti-abortion counseling centers. The rule would prohibit states from sending federal funds earmarked for needy Americans to so-called crisis pregnancy centers, which counsel against abortions. At stake are millions of dollars in federal funds that currently flow to the organizations through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, a block grant program created in 1996 to give cash assistance to poor children and prevent out-of-wedlock pregnancies. Programs that only or primarily provide pregnancy counseling to women only after they become pregnant likely do not meet the ... standard, the Health and Human Services agency said in its rule proposal released late last year. More than 7,000 comments have been submitted on the proposed rule, which includes a series of restrictions on how .

Austin should have informed about his hospitalisation: President Biden

President Joe Biden said Friday that it was a lapse in judgment for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin not to tell him about his hospitalization last week, but he still has confidence in his Pentagon chief. Speaking to reporters as he toured local businesses outside Allentown, Pennsylvania, Biden said yes when asked if it was a lapse in judgment for Austin not to tell him about his condition. He replied, I do, when asked if he still had confidence in Austin's leadership. Austin, 70, remains hospitalized as he is being treated for complications from prostate cancer surgery. His failure to disclose his hospitalization has been sharply criticized by members of both political parties and has led to some calls for his resignation. Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Dec. 22 and underwent surgery to treat the cancer, which was detected earlier in the month during a routine screening. He developed an infection a week later and was hospitalized Jan. 1 and ...

China media warns against taking China's Indian Ocean research as threats

Detailed knowledge of ocean depths, currents and temperature was vital to China's growing submarine operations

Hunter Biden expected to plead not guilty in hearing on federal tax charges

President Joe Biden's son will head back to court on Thursday for arraignment in Los Angeles on federal tax charges filed after the collapse of a plea deal that could have spared him the spectacle of a criminal trial during the 2024 campaign. Hunter Biden is expected to plead not guilty to nine felony and misdemeanor tax offenses. The charges stem from what federal prosecutors say was a four-year scheme to skip out on paying the USD 1.4 million he owed to the IRS and instead use the money to fund an extravagant lifestyle that by his own admission included drugs and alcohol. The court appearance will also include a discussion over future court dates and filing deadlines. Meanwhile, Hunter Biden has also been charged in Delaware with lying in October 2018 on a federal form for gun purchasers when he swore he wasn't using or addicted to illegal drugs. He was addicted to crack cocaine at the time. He's also accused of possessing the gun illegally and has pleaded not guilty in that ...

US plans delegation to Taiwan to meet new leader amid China tensions

The Biden administration will send an unofficial delegation comprised of former senior officials to Taiwan shortly after the self-governed island holds an election for a new president this weekend, a move that could upset Beijing in an already-fragile bilateral relationship. A senior administration official confirmed the plan on Wednesday without offering more details but said such a face-to-face meeting was the most effective way to engage the new Taiwanese government and convey U.S. policy in the region. The official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive plans, said the administration believed the move would contribute to peace and stability in the region. Beijing claims Taiwan to be part of Chinese territory and vows to unify with it eventually. The Chinese have repeatedly warned Washington to stay out of Taiwan and oppose any official contact between the US and Taiwanese governments. In August 2022, Beijing reacted angrily by firing missiles and ...

Any charges against me will open 'Pandora's box', says Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump has long vowed to prosecute President Joe Biden if Trump wins November's election and the two trade places. He upped the stakes dramatically Tuesday, contending that if criminal charges against him aren't dropped, any current and future ex-presidents also could be prosecuted. I feel that as a president, you have to have immunity, very simple, Trump said after a court hearing where a panel of three federal judges seemed deeply skeptical of his attorneys' arguments that presidents have immunity from prosecution for official business. It's the opening of a Pandora's box and it's a very, very sad thing that's happened with this whole situation. Trump said Biden might not be the only one targeted. Former President Barack Obama could end up being prosecuted, he said, citing Obama administration drone strikes in the Middle East that killed a U.S. citizen who was identified as a leader of the terrorist group al-Qaida and that man's 16-year-old son, also a U.S. .

US Defence Secy Llyod Austin hospitalised for treatment of prostate cancer

It was unclear if Austin had been under anaesthesia during the procedure, which the Pentagon had not previously disclosed and did not alert the White House, CNN reported

Trump to return to federal court as judges hear arguments on his immunity

Donald Trump is set to return for the first time in months to the federal courthouse in Washington as an appeals court hears arguments Tuesday on whether the former president is immune from prosecution on charges that he plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The outcome of the arguments carries enormous ramifications both for the landmark criminal case against Trump and for the broader, and legally untested, question of whether an ex-president can be prosecuted for acts committed in the White House. It will also likely set the stage for further appeals before the U.S. Supreme Court, which last month declined a request to weigh in but could still get involved later. A swift decision is crucial for special counsel Jack Smith and his team, who are eager to get the case now paused pending the appeal to trial before the November election. But Trump's lawyers, in addition to seeking to get the case dismissed, are hoping to benefit from a protracted appeals process that ..

Haley accuses Biden of giving offensive speech where mass shooting occurred

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley took aim Monday night at the Democrat she'd like to face in the November election, calling it offensive that President Joe Biden gave a political speech at the South Carolina church where nine Black parishioners were slain in a 2015 racist attack. For Biden to show up there and give a political speech, it's offensive in itself," the former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor said during a town hall on Fox News in Des Moines, Iowa. "I don't need someone who palled around with segregationists in the '70s and has said racist comments all the way through his career lecturing me or anyone in South Carolina about what it means to have racism, slavery, or anything related to the Civil War. Biden was in Haley's home state Monday, delivering jabs at some of his possible GOP general election opponents without naming them. He took the pulpit at Mother Emanuel, a historic AME church in Charleston where nine Black parishioners were .