Page 25 - White House

White House slams Elon Musk for abhorrent promotion of antisemitism

The White House has slammed tech entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk for his abhorrent promotion of antisemitism and racist hate, while several top American companies like Apple have pulled out ads from his social media platform X. Musk, 52, on Wednesday endorsed a post on X that falsely claimed Jewish people were stoking hatred against white people, saying the user who referenced the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory was speaking "the actual truth." The antisemitic conspiracy theory which posits that Jews want to bring undocumented minority populations into Western countries to reduce White majorities in those nations is often espoused by hate groups. It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of antisemitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said. As President Biden said weeks ago memorialising the victims of the Pittsbur

Much ado about little

Biden-Xi talks yield modest outcomes

Biden appoints Indian American Shakuntla Bhaya to key position: Who is she?

US President Joe Biden has appointed Indian American Shakuntla L Bhaya to serve in a key role, the White House said. Bhaya was appointed as a member of the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States. It is among the several new appointments announced by Biden on Wednesday, the White House said. Bhaya is a co-owner of a statewide Delaware law firm, Law Offices of Doroshow, Pasquale, Krawitz & Bhaya. Her practice focuses on representing individuals who are seriously injured as a result of businesses and people making unsafe decisions, the White House said. For the last seven years, Bhaya has been a member of Governor Carney's Judicial Nominating Commission. In addition to practising law, Bhaya is very involved in Delaware politics. She is currently a member of the Delaware Democratic Party's State Executive Committee. Bhaya, past President of the Delaware Trial Lawyers Association, continues to be involved in protecting consumers' 7th Amendment Right to a jury ...

We have intelligence that Hamas militants shelter in Gaza hospitals: US

The US said Tuesday that it has unspecified intelligence that Hamas and another Palestinian militant group use some hospitals in the Gaza Strip including Shifa Hospital and tunnels underneath them, to hide and support their military operations, and to hold hostages. The White House's national security council spokesperson, John Kirby, said the US does not support strikes against hospitals. We do not support striking a hospital from the air, Kirby told reporters accompanying President Joe Biden aboard Air Force One to San Francisco for a summit with Asia-Pacific leaders. Hospitals and patients must be protected. Kirby said the US also does not want to see a firefight in a hospital where innocent people, helpless people, sick people are simply trying to get the medical care that they deserve. When asked about evidence to support the claim, Kirby said it comes from a variety of intelligence sourcing. He wouldn't be more specific.

Biden-Xi meet: White House expects possible military communications revival

US officials expressed hope Monday that this week's highly anticipated face-to-face meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will produce some concrete results, including the possible reestablishment of military communication between the two nations and a shared effort to combat illicit fentanyl trafficking. The two leaders will meet Wednesday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. The Biden-Xi bilateral will be the marquee moment of the forum, which is dedicated to promoting trade, investment and economic development among nations around the Pacific Ocean. Biden and Xi have not spoken in a year. Their last meeting was at the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia last fall. And since then, tensions between the two nations have grown following a series of events touched off by the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon that had wafted across the US earlier this year. The frosty relationship between the two economic ...

US govt announces steps to free up more wireless spectrum for advanced tech

The White House has said additional spectrum is key to next-generation wireless service and a variety of advanced technology, infrastructure and government needs

Trump's plans if he returns to White House include raids, tariffs, firings

A mass deportation operation. A new Muslim ban. Tariffs on all imported goods and "freedom cities" built on federal land. Much of the 2024 presidential campaign has been dominated by the myriad investigations into former President Donald Trump and the subsequent charges against him. But with less than a year until Election Day, Trump is dominating the race for the Republican nomination and has already laid out a sweeping set of policy goals should he win a second term. His ideas, and even the issues he focuses on most, are wildly different from President Joe Biden's proposals. If implemented, Trump's plans would represent a dramatic government overhaul arguably more consequential than that of his first term. His presidency, especially the early days, was marked by chaos, infighting and a wave of hastily written executive orders that were quickly overturned by the courts. Some of his current ideas would probably end up in court or impeded by Congress. But Trump's campaign and allied

Israel agrees to 4-hour daily pauses in Gaza to allow civilians to flee

The White House said Israel has agreed to put in place four-hour daily humanitarian pauses in its assault on Hamas in northern Gaza starting on Thursday, as the Biden administration said it has secured a second pathway for civilians to flee fighting. President Joe Biden had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to institute the daily pauses during a Monday call. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the first humanitarian pause would be announced Thursday and that the Israelis had committed to announcing each four-hour window at least three hours in advance. Israel, he said, also was opening a second corridor for civilians to flee the areas that are the current focus of its military campaign against Hamas, with a coastal road joining the territory's main north-south highway. Biden also told reporters that he had asked the Israelis for a pause longer than three days during negotiations over the release of some hostages held by Hamas, though he said the

US working to combat Islamophobia, but many Muslim Americans skeptical

President Joe Biden's administration is developing a national strategy to combat Islamophobia as the White House faces skepticism from many Muslim Americans for its staunch support of Israel's military assault on Hamas in Gaza. Plans for the initiative, which the White House billed as the first of its kind, were announced Wednesday. It is meant to bring together lawmakers, advocacy groups and other community leaders with the administration in order to counter the scourge of Islamophobia and hate in all its forms, the White House said. Moving forward, the President, Vice President, and our entire Administration will continue working to ensure every American has the freedom to live their lives in safety and without fear for how they pray, what they believe, and who they are, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement announcing the strategy. The White House originally was expected to announce its plans to develop the strategy last week when Biden met with Musli

Biden nominates top adviser on Asia to be State Department's No. 2 diplomat

President Joe Biden is nominating a top adviser on Asia to serve as the State Department's second-ranking diplomat, the White House said Wednesday, elevating one of the architects of the administration's efforts to develop a more Asia-focused foreign policy. Kurt Campbell currently is deputy assistant to the president and coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs on the National Security Council. He has played an important role in helping Biden reinvigorate the diplomatic grouping of the United States, Japan, Australia and India, and has helped to ease historic tensions between South Korea and Japan and shape America's approach to China. If confirmed, he would replace Wendy Sherman, who retired in July, as deputy secretary of state. Kurt is a tremendous asset, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. His passion and commitment to our alliances and partnerships is unquestionably strengthening America's strategic position in the world and improving our abili

Donald Trump promises to revive Muslim ban, gets slammed by White House

Former US President Donald Trump has vowed to revive a controversial travel ban on people from some Muslim-majority countries if he is elected to a second White House term. While speaking at the annual summit of the Republican Jewish Coalition on Saturday, Trump, 77, said: "You remember the travel ban?" "On day one, I will restore our travel ban. We had a travel ban because we didn't want people coming into our country who really love the idea of blowing our country up." He said the travel ban imposed during his administration was an amazing success. "We didn't have one incident in four years because we kept bad people the hell out of our country. We kept them out. We didn't have one, not one instance," Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, said. In 2017, at the start of Trump's presidency, he imposed sweeping restrictions on the entry of travellers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and, initially, Iraq and Sudan. The White House immediately sl

White House, Google launch new virtual tour with Spanish translation

Can't come to Washington? Couldn't get a ticket to tour the White House? Don't worry. The White House, Google Maps and Google Arts & Culture launched a new virtual tour of the famous mansion on Friday, which is also National Civics Day. With a computer or smartphone, users will be able to see all of the rooms that they would have seen had they been able to go on a public tour of the building. The updated virtual tour is part of a mission by first lady Jill Biden to make the White House accessible to as many people as possible. Biden, a longtime community college professor, hopes teachers will use it to educate students about the White House and its history, said Elizabeth Alexander, her spokesperson. Not everyone can make the trip to Washington, D.C., to tour the White House, so she's bringing the White House to them, Alexander said. The tour is the first Google virtual tour of the White House to include audio captions for people with disabilities. The captions are narrated by ...

Israel has right, responsibility to go after Hamas: White House on war

Kirby added that President Biden has never stopped affirming the need for a two-state solution since assuming office. Calling it a lofty goal, he noted that the US has been working hard on that

Biden meets with new US Speaker Johnson, discusses aid for Israel, Ukraine

President Joe Biden met with the new House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries at the White House on Thursday to discuss his request for nearly $106 billion for Israel, Ukraine and other national security needs. Johnson, a staunch conservative allied with Donald Trump, has shown little interest in providing additional money from Congress to support Ukraine in its war with Russia. Biden met with Johnson and Jeffries before a classified briefing for them and other congressional leaders on the assistance package, according to a White House official. Johnson, who inherited many of the same political problems that tormented past GOP leaders and challenged their tenure as speaker, had a busy first full day in office. He planned to met later with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. Earlier, Johnson said prayer is appropriate as a response to the mass shootings in Maine. This is a dark time in America, Johnson said at the Capitol. He added: "Prayer is appropriat

Republicans nominate Mike Johnson for US House speaker after Emmer

House Republicans chose Rep. Mike Johnson as their latest nominee for House speaker, hours after an earlier pick, Rep. Tom Emmer, abruptly withdrew in the face of opposition from Donald Trump and hardline GOP lawmakers. Johnson of Louisiana is member of House GOP leadership, a lawyer specializing in constitutional issues who had rallied Republicans around Trump's legal effort to overturn the 2020 election results. Republicans are meeting late into the evening behind closed doors, desperate to find a way out of the chaos they created by ousting Kevin McCarthy at the start of the month.

Emmer withdraws bid for US House speaker hours after winning GOP nomination

Republican Tom Emmer abruptly abandoned his bid to become House speaker Tuesday, withdrawing hours after winning the internal party nomination once it became clear he would not have enough support from GOP colleagues for the gavel. The House GOP whip, Emmer reversed course after Donald Trump objected to his nomination and hardliners in the House denied the party leader the votes he would need for the gavel. That's according to Republican sources familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it. He is the third Republican to fall short, leaving the Republicans no closer to resolving the chaos they have created since ousting Kevin McCarthy at the start of the month. Emmer briskly left the building where he had been meeting privately with Republicans, and hopped into a waiting SUV. He said nothing in response to shouted questions as they drove off from the Capitol complex. Dejected Republicans retreated behind closed doors, desperately searching for a way out of the cha

US govt's assessment shows Israel not responsible for Gaza blast: WH

The United States assessed that Israel was not responsible for the attack on a Gaza hospital a day earlier, the White House said on Wednesday. The US government assesses that Israel was not responsible for an explosion that killed hundreds of civilians yesterday at the Al Ahli Hospital in the Gaza Strip, White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. Our assessment is based on available reporting, including intelligence, missile activity, overhead imagery, and open source video and images of the incident, she said. Citing intelligence reports, Watson said some Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip believed that the explosion was likely caused by an errant rocket or missile launch carried out by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). As the President said earlier today, the explosion appears to be the result of an errant rocket fired by a terrorist group in Gaza -- and we are continuing to work to corroborate whether it was a failed PIJ rocke

Prez Biden's visit to focus on preventing escalation: White House

President Biden has ordered the National Security team to investigate the attack and find out who was responsible

US has no plans to send troops to Israel following attack: White House

The US has no plans to send troops to Israel, White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said Thursday. There is no intention, no plan, and frankly, no desire by the Israelis, he said. Kirby also said there have been ongoing conversations with Israel about the continued need for continued flow of humanitarian assistance" into Gaza. He said establishing corridors to provide safe passage out of Gaza for civilians is the right thing to do for innocent victims who are actually being held hostage as well by Hamas.

No specific information on role of Iran in latest Hamas attack: White House

The White House said Tuesday that there is no specific information about the role of Iran in the latest terrorist attack against Israel by Hamas, but it is complicit in a broad sense for funding the military wing of the militant group. We have said since the beginning that Iran is complicit in this attack in a broad sense because they have provided the lion's share of the funding for the military wing of Hamas. They have provided training.They have provided capabilities. They have provided support and they have had engagement and contact with Hamas over years and years, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters Tuesday. All of that has played a role in contributing to what we have seen. Now, as to the question of whether Iran knew about this attack in advance or helped plan or direct this attack, we do not, as of this moment I'm standing here at the podium, have confirmation of that. We are talking to our Israeli counterparts on a daily basis about this question, he .