US EPA to increase biofuel blending mandates in 2023-2025 -sources
By Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw NEW YORK (Reuters) -The Biden administration plans to increase the amount of biofuels that
2023-06-21 05:15
What it's like to get a Wes Anderson education, from 'Rushmore' to 'Asteroid City'
Much has been made of Wes Anderson’s often-recurring troupe of actors like Bill Murray, Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson
2023-06-21 04:53
‘I’m very proud of my son’: Joe Biden defends son Hunter Biden after deal with DoJ to plead guilty to federal charges
President Joe Biden said he was proud of his son Hunter Biden, after the younger Mr Biden reached a plea deal with the Department of Justice, agreeing to plead guilty to federal charges following an investigation into his taxes. The president responded to shouted questions from reporters in San Francisco, who asked if he had spoken to his son. “I’m very proud of my son,” he said. He did not respond to a question about if he encouraged his son to take a guilty plea. The president’s son will plead guilty to two federal charges, the Justice Department said in a court filing on Tuesday morning. Mr Biden has been the subject of not only the ongoing federal investigation but a focus of Republicans’ probe into the Biden administration. A court filing from David Weiss, the US Attorney for District of Delaware, said that the president’s only living son will plea guilty to two federal charges of willful failure to pay federal income tax one charge of a firearm by a person who is “an unlawful user or addicted to a controlled substance.” At the time, Mr Biden, the sole surviving son of the president’s first marriage, was actively addicted to drugs. “The parties jointly request that the Court schedule a consolidated Initial Appearance on the firearm Inform and an Initial Appearance and Change of Plea Hearing on the tax charges,” the filing said. Mr Weiss was appointed by former president Donald Trump and has been in charge of the probe into Mr Biden. The case says that in 2017, Mr Biden had received taxable income in excess of $1.5m, $100,000 of which was taxable to the federal government, but he failed the pay it to the Internal Revenue Service by 17 April 2018. He reportedly failed to do the same the following year. Mr Biden also agreed to a pretrial diversion agreement to regarding the firearm charge. According to the legal filing, Mr Biden knew he was an unlawful user of and addicted to a controlled substance and possessed a Colt Cobra 38SPL firearm, which was shipped through interstate commerce. White House Spokesman Iam Sams put out a statement after the charges were made public. “The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life,” he said. “We will have no further comment.” Mr Biden’s attorney Christopher Clark said in a statement that the announcement of the two agreements meant that the investigation that began five years ago was concluded. “Hunter will take responsibility for two instances of misdemeanor failure to file tax payments when due pursuant to a plea agreement,” he said. “A firearm charge, which will be subject to a pretrial diversion agreement and will not be the subject of the plea agreement, will also be filed by the Government. I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life. He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward.” But a statement from Mr Weiss to Fox News said “The investigation is ongoing.” The charges come days after former president Donald Trump’s indictment and arraigment related to his alleged mishandling of documents related to national security. The former president criticised Mr Biden’s agreement with the federal government. "Wow! The corrupt Biden DOJ just cleared up hundreds of years of criminal liability by giving Hunter Biden a mere 'traffic ticket,'” Mr Trump posted on Truth Social. “Our system is BROKEN!” Mr Trump attacked the younger Mr Biden for his addictions in his debate with his father in September of 2020. Mr Biden has discussed his addictions in the past and his father addressed them in that debate. “My son like a lot of people, like a lot of people we know at home had a drug problem,” the then-Democratic nominee for president said. “He’s overtaken it. He’s, he’s fixed it. He’s worked on it. And I’m proud of him. I’m proud of my son.” Mr Biden is the sole surviving son of the president’s first marriage to Nelia Hunter Biden. Shortly after his father’s election to the Senate in 1972, his mother and his sister Naomi were killed in a car crash that left him and his elder brother Beau severely injured. Beau Biden, who later served as attorney general of Delaware, died of brain cancer in 2015. The elder Mr Biden later remarried Jill Biden, the current first lady, and the two had a daughter Ashley Biden. Since taking back the House majority in November, Republicans have made Mr Biden the chief focus of many of their investigations and have attempted to show a link between his business dealings and his father’s work as vice president. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer intimated that this would not deter the committee. “Hunter Biden is getting away with a slap on the wrist when growing evidence uncovered by the House Oversight Committee reveals the Bidens engaged in a pattern of corruption, influence peddling, and possibly bribery,” he said. Rep Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the top Democrat on the committee, said that the charges were a sign of an equal justice system. “This development reflects the Justice Department’s continued institutional independence in following the evidence of actual crimes and enforcing the rule of law even in the face of constant criticism and heckling by my GOP colleagues who think that the system of justice should only follow their partisan wishes,” he said. “ Oversight Committee Republicans have advanced debunked conspiracy theories about President Biden and are now, again, wailing about the work of a Trump appointed U.S. Attorney. Meanwhile, our colleagues have refused to investigate Jared Kushner and Donald Trump’s receipt of billions of dollars from autocratic regimes after handing them a string of outrageous policy favors and concessions.” So far, the House Oversight Committee has not been able to produce clear evidence of a link between Mr Biden’s actions and his father’s work as either vice president or president. -Andrew Feinberg and John Bowden contributed to this report Read More Donald Trump and GOP fume over Hunter Biden’s ‘traffic ticket’ indictment as House investigation sputters Democratic lawmaker Stacey Plaskett accidentally says Trump ‘needs to be shot’ in slip-up on live TV Trump-appointed judge sets trial date in classified documents case Donald Trump and GOP fume over Hunter Biden’s ‘traffic ticket’ indictment as House investigation sputters Fox News host rips ‘incoherent’ Trump after Bret Baier interview
2023-06-21 04:47
Company says it can't say for sure whether more air-bag inflators might explode and hurl shrapnel
A company that makes air-bag inflators that have exploded in eight incidents involving two deaths and seven injuries argues that it can’t say for sure whether its inflators might cause further such incidents
2023-06-21 04:47
Georgia state election board investigation clears Fulton County of 2020 election wrongdoing
The Georgia State Election Board dismissed the years-long investigation into alleged misconduct by Fulton County election workers during the 2020 election, saying it had found no evidence of conspiracy.
2023-06-21 04:28
Idaho man charged with four counts of murder in shooting deaths of neighbours
A man has appeared in court for the first time on four murder charges as he’s accused of shooting and killing a family with whom he shared a duplex in Kellogg, Idaho. Majorjon Kaylor, 31, appeared in Shoshone County Magistrate court in an orange jumpsuit on Tuesday morning, according to The Spokesman-Review. Mr Kaylor is facing allegations that he killed Kenneth and Kenna Guardipee, in addition to Devin Smith and a teenage boy who in the courtroom was referred to as AS. The family lived below the suspect and his family in a duplex at 515 W Brown Ave in Kellogg. Police arrived at the house after reports of a shooting at around 7.20pm on Sunday. Police found the family killed by gunfire in the home. More follows...
2023-06-21 04:28
U.S. Justice antitrust chief details renewed bank merger scrutiny
By Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department antitrust division plans to expand the scope of its bank merger
2023-06-21 04:20
Prosecutor fights Trump bid to oust judge in NY hush-money case
By Karen Freifeld Donald Trump's bid to oust the judge overseeing the criminal case against him over a
2023-06-21 04:17
The Hunter Biden story is far from over
The legal cloud hanging over Hunter Biden, the president's son, may be lifting, but the political cloud resulting from his awkward business arrangements and frequently troubled life are not going anywhere.
2023-06-21 04:16
Insulet Announces Omnipod® 5 Automated Insulin Delivery System is Now Available in the United Kingdom
ACTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 20, 2023--
2023-06-21 04:16
Chris Christie delivers epic Twitter takedown of Trump boasts about hiring ‘the best’ White House staff
Chris Christie unleashed an epic Twitter takedown of Donald Trump’s White House hiring practices after the former president bragged about bringing on “the best” staff. “It’s plain and simple: Either Donald Trump doesn’t know how to pick personnel, or he’s the worst manager in the history of the American presidency,” Mr Christie, who is vying for the Republican presidential nomination against Trump, tweeted on Monday. The former New Jersey governor followed that tweet with nine more, comparing what Mr Trump said about White House appointees before he hired them and after his eventual falling out with them. In the tweets, Mr Christie noted that Mr Trump called Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley a “great patriot” and a “great soldier” before calling him a “f***ing idiot” and that he called former Secretary of Defense James Mattis “the closest thing to General George Patton that we have” before he called him “the world’s most overrated general.” There are plenty more examples. Former Attorney General Bill Barr was Mr Trump’s “first choice from day one” before he was “gutless” and a “coward.” Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had a “deep understanding of geopolitics” before Mr Trump called him “dumb as a rock.” Former Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney was doing an “outstanding job” before Mr Trump called him a “born loser.” It’s a record that undercuts Mr Trump’s frequent boast that he hires the “best people.” A number of the people he hired for his administration are not supporting his second run for president, in some cases criticising his judgment in personal terms. Two members of his administration, former vice president Mike Pence and former secretary to the United Nations Nikki Haley, are running against Mr Trump. “Republicans should listen to what he says,” Mr Christie said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday. “He’s a petulant child when someone disagrees with him.” Mr Christie, who is polling in the low single digits and has not held elected office since leaving the governor’s mansion in New Jersey more than five years ago, has distinguished himself apart in the crowded Republican primary as the only candidate willing to repeatedly and harshly criticise Mr Trump. The irony, of course, is that Mr Christie cozied up to Mr Trump after Mr Trump’s triumph in the 2016 presidential nominating contest. Mr Christie served as an adviser to Mr Trump throughout the 2016 general election campaign and led his presidential transition team. He remained a close ally of Mr Trump’s throughout his presidency, turning on him only after the Capitol riot of January 6. Mr Christie announced his second bid for the presidency earlier this month. He last won an election in 2013, four years before he left office in New Jersey with one of the lowest approval ratings ever recorded for a governor. Read More Trump news – live: Judge sets Mar-a-Lago classified papers trial date as Hunter Biden reaches plea deal Trump faces questions about whether he'll drag down the Republican Party after his indictments Chris Christie slams GOP debate pledge as a ‘useless idea’ and rips ‘loser’ Trump Miami's Francis Suarez looks to become first sitting mayor to be president
2023-06-21 03:59
Patriots defensive back Jack Jones pleads not guilty to 9 gun charges
New England Patriots defensive back Jack Jones pleaded not guilty to nine counts of weapons violations in connection with his arrest at a Logan Airport security checkpoint with two loaded guns in his carry-on bag
2023-06-21 03:58
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