Page 9 - Joe Biden

US Prez Biden to deliver farewell address on January 15 from Oval Office

US President Biden will reflect on his decades of public service, presidential achievements, and vision for America's future during his farewell address on January 15

Last-minute sanctions imposed on Russia to help Ukraine, says Biden

The United States on Friday imposed massive sanctions on Russia, targeting its energy sector, to help Ukraine maintain its independence and fight against Moscow, outgoing US President Joe Biden said Friday. Ten days before passing on the baton to Donald Trump, the Biden Administration on Friday slapped sanctions on scores of companies and entities that were helping Russia in its export of energy, in particular gas. Two of those companies were from India. The sanctions are imposed today because they will have a profound effect on the growth of the Russian economy and make it more difficult for Putin to conduct his wars. "It is probable that gas prices could increase as much as USD 0.03 to USD 0.04 a gallon, but that's going to have a more profound impact on Russia's ability to continue to act in the way it's acting in the conduct of war, Biden said in response to a question. I already decided that Putin's in tough shape right now. I think it's really important that he does not have

Biden protects 900K immigrants with deportation relief before Trump's term

US President Joe Biden renews Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 900,000 immigrants, delaying possible reversals by Donald Trump

Biden lets 800,000 stay 18 months as Trump readies immigration crackdown

About 600,000 Venezuelans and more than 200,000 Salvadorans already living in the United States can legally remain another 18 months, the Department of Homeland Security said on Friday, barely a week before President-elect Donald Trump takes office with promises of hardline immigration policies. The decisions mark the Biden administration's latest in support of Temporary Protected Status, which he has sharply expanded to cover about 1 million people. TPS faces an uncertain future under Trump, who tried to sharply curtail its use during his first term as president. The announcement, which came as Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro took office for a third six-year term in Caracas amid widespread international condemnation, is based on the severe humanitarian emergency the country continues to face due to political and economic crises under the Maduro regime, the department said. Homeland Security cited "environmental conditions in El Salvador that prevent individuals from returning, .

I would have beaten Trump in the polls, says outgoing US President Biden

Outgoing US President Joe Biden on Friday said that he would have defeated Donald Trump in the November general elections, but he decided to withdraw from the race mid-way for the sake of the unity of the Democratic Party. Mr President, do you regret your decision to not run for re-election? Do you think that that made it easier for your predecessor to now become your successor? Biden was asked during a news conference at the White House here. I don't think so. I think I would have beaten Trump, could have beaten Trump and I think that Kamala (Harris) could have beaten Trump, would have beaten Trump, Biden said in response. It wasn't about I thought it was important to unify the party and when the party was worried about whether or not I was going to be able to move even though I thought I could win again, I thought it was better to unify the party, he said. It was the greatest honour of my life to be president of the United States but I didn't want to be the one who caused a part

Wildfires show need to take science seriously: Biden's climate adviser

The massive wildfires that have killed 10 people in the Los Angeles area and caused billions of dollars in property damage are the latest sign of the growing threat posed by climate change one that President-elect Donald Trump will have to take more seriously than he did in his first term, a top adviser to President Joe Biden said. John Podesta, Biden's senior adviser for international climate policy, said one of the iconic images of Trump's first term showed him tossing paper towels to people in Puerto Rico who had been been ravaged by a hurricane. Many critics called Trump's action disrespectful, especially after he disputed a death count from Hurricane Maria that reached nearly 3,000 people. You would think hopefully he would have learned from the public's reaction to that that you have to take the science seriously. You have to take the facts seriously. You have to take the threat seriously,' Podesta said in an interview with The Associated Press. As the unfolding disaster in

US SC seems likely to uphold federal law to shut down TikTok on Jan 19

The Supreme Court on Friday seemed likely to uphold a law that would ban TikTok in the United States beginning January 19 unless the popular social media programme is sold by its China-based parent company. Hearing arguments in a momentous clash of free speech and national security concerns, the justices seemed persuaded by arguments that the national security threat posed by the company's connections to China override concerns about restricting the speech, either of TikTok or its 170 million users in the United States. Early in arguments that lasted more than two and a half hours, Chief Justice John Roberts identified as the main concern in the case TikTok's ownership by China-based ByteDance and the parent company's requirement to cooperate with the Chinese government's intelligence operations. If left in place, the law passed by bipartisan majorities in Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in April will require TikTok to go dark on January 19, lawyer Noel Francisco told the

Nvidia criticises Biden's plan to impose restrictions on AI chip exports

Nvidia's Finkle said the reported policy was disguised as an anti-China move

Federal govt to cover six months of California wildfire costs: Biden

Biden also spoke about the deployment of extensive federal resources, including firefighters, aircraft, and military personnel, to assist in combating the fires

Biden administration gives additional $500 mn in military aid to Ukraine

The package was announced by US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin during his final trip as Pentagon chief to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

Judge junks Biden's Title IX rules, upturns protections for LGBTQ+ students

The Biden administration's Title IX rules expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students have been struck down nationwide after a federal judge in Kentucky found they overstepped the president's authority. In a decision issued Thursday, US District Judge Danny C. Reeves scrapped the entire 1,500-page regulation after deciding it was fatally tainted by legal shortcomings. The rule had already been halted in 26 states after a wave of legal challenges by Republican states. President-elect Donald Trump previously promised to end the rules on day one and made anti-transgender themes a centrepiece of his campaign. The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti called it a rejection of the Biden administration's relentless push to impose a radical gender ideology. Because the Biden rule is vacated altogether, President Trump will be free to take a fresh look at our Title IX ...

Biden administration wages battle over plea for accused 9/11 mastermind

The Biden administration doubled down Thursday on its unusual court battle to derail a plea deal that the government itself had reached with accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. It urged a federal appeals panel to block Mohammed's guilty plea from going forward as scheduled Friday at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Defence lawyers described the attempts to throw out the agreement as the latest in two decades of fitful and negligent mishandling of the case by the US military and successive administrations. The fight has put the Biden administration at odds with the US military officials it had appointed to oversee justice in al-Qaida's attacks on Sept 11, 2001, that killed nearly 3,000 people. It was the latest tumult and uncertainty in two decades of troubled prosecution tied to one of the deadliest attacks on American soil. A new filing Thursday from Justice Department lawyers argued that the gravity of the extraordinarily important case warranted Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin ..

Biden cancels his Italy trip to focus on response to Los Angeles wildfires

US President Joe Biden has cancelled his planned visit to Italy, the final overseas trip of his presidency, to monitor the response to the devastating wildfires raging in Los Angeles that have killed five people and forced thousands to evacuate. Biden was scheduled to leave for Italy on Thursday afternoon. The announcement of the trip's cancellation comes just hours after Biden departed Los Angeles after meeting his first great-grandchild, who was born on Wednesday at an area hospital. He received a briefing from local fire officials before returning to Washington. Biden declared a Major Disaster declaration for California after returning to Washington. President Biden decided to cancel his upcoming trip to Italy to remain focused on directing the full federal response in the days ahead, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday. It would have been the final trip of Biden's presidency. Over 100,000 residents are being evacuated from their homes in Los Angel

Outgoing Prez Biden to further limit Nvidia's AI chip exports in final push

The result would be an expansion of semiconductor trade restrictions to most of the world - an attempt to control the spread of AI technology at a time of soaring demand

US VP Harris calls foreign leaders before her last trip abroad next week

US Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday had telephonic conversations with several foreign leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, on the eve of her last trip abroad next week. During her calls with Macron and Scholz, Harris, 60, thanked them for their partnership throughout the Biden-Harris Administration. On Wednesday, Harris spoke to Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, Chair of Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Prime Minister Andrew Holness of Jamaica, President Bernardo Arvalo of Guatemala and President William Ruto of Kenya. Harris, who would hand over the vice presidency to Senator J D Vance from Ohio on January 20, will travel to Singapore, Bahrain, and Germany from January 13 to January 17, her press secretary Ernesto Apreza said. On January 15, she will meet with leaders in Singapore and visit Changi Naval Base. On January 16, she will meet with leaders in Manama, Bahrain and visit Naval Support ActivityBahrain, the ...

Antony Blinken rejects a Trump Greenland grab as 'not going to happen'

In a free-form news conference in Florida on Tuesday, Trump called for the US to absorb Canada and declined to rule out using military force to seize the Panama Canal and Greenland

Biden admin rushes to finish cybersecurity order after China hacks

Among the measures, it directs the government to implement "strong identity authentication and encryption" across communications, according to an undated draft

US Congressman challenges Biden admin's decision to investigate Adani

Challenging the decision of the Biden Administration to investigate the activities of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and his companies, an influential Republican lawmaker on Tuesday said such selective actions risk damaging critical alliance partners. In a strongly worded letter to US Attorney General Merrick B Garland, Congressman Lance Gooden, member of the House Judiciary Committee, demanded answers on the Justice Department's selective prosecution of foreign entities and the potential harm such actions pose to US's global alliances and economic growth and that if there is any Geroge Soros connection to it. The Department of Justice's selective actions risk damaging critical alliances with key partners like India, one of America's strongest allies in the Asia-Pacific region, Gooden said in his letter dated January 7. Instead of pursuing cases with tenuous jurisdiction and limited relevance to US interests, the DOJ should focus on punishing bad actors at home, rather than chasing

Los Angeles wildfire sparks emergency; 30,000 evacuated as homes burn

A massive wildfire in Los Angeles, fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds, has forced 30,000 people to evacuate, threatening over 13,000 structures and causing widespread chaos

Biden admin asks court to block plea deal for mastermind of 9/11 attacks

The Biden administration on Tuesday asked a federal appeals court to block a plea agreement for accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants that would spare them the risk of the death penalty. The Justice Department argued in a brief filed with a federal appeals court in the District of Columbia that the government would be irreparably harmed if the guilty pleas were accepted. It said the government would be denied a chance for a public trial and the opportunity to seek capital punishment against three men charged with a heinous act of mass murder that caused the death of thousands of people and shocked the nation and the world. The military judge at Guantanamo Bay and a military appeals panel rejected Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin's effort to throw out the plea agreement, saying he had no power to do so after the senior Pentagon official for Guantanamo approved it in July. Mohammed was due to enter his guilty plea on Friday and his two co-defendants next ..