The Biden administration has approved debt relief for an additional 125,000 student loan borrowers, totaling $9 billion in forgiveness, the White House said Wednesday.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, the onetime loyal sideman to twice-impeached ex-president Donald Trump, will kick off his own attempt to win election to the nation’s top job this week when he formally announces his campaign at a Des Moines, Iowa event on Wednesday. Mr Pence’s announcement will come just days after he made his candidacy official by filing the necessary paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. The ex-Indiana governor’s presidential ambitions are nothing new, with Mr Pence having teased a presidential run for months during a string of public appearances. But the advent of an actual campaign changes the Republican landscape by putting him in direct competition with Mr Trump, his former running-mate. Mr Pence, 63, served as a member of the House of Representatives between 2001 and 2013 and as Indiana’s governor between 2013 and 2017 but first rose to international attention as Mr Trump’s running-mate in 2016. The pair always made for an unlikely double act, with Mr Pence’s quiet, respectful demeanour and devout evangelical Christian faith utterly at odds with the trash-talking New Yorker’s taste for celebrity, glitzy decor and vulgar showmanship. But Mr Pence remained at his boss’ side throughout his tumultuous one-term presidency, a source of constant support until even his loyalty was tested beyond breaking point by the events of 6 January 2021. After losing the electoral vote to Democrat Joe Biden the previous November by 306 to 232 and the popular vote by 81.3 million ballots to 74.2 million, Mr Trump immediately and baselessly began to insist the contest had been “rigged” in a vast nationwide conspiracy orchestrated by his opponents. Two months of farcical legal proceedings led by a ragtag group of misfit attorneys — most notably among them ex-New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani — ended with a whimper, as Mr Trump’s allies entirely failed to offer a court any argument that satisfied the legal requirements to bring lawsuits challenging the election, much less any proof of the fraud they’d alleged. Increasingly desperate, the president was caught on tape exerting pressure on Georgia’s secretary of state to “find” additional votes in that crucial swing state, before turning his attention to his own deputy, Mr Pence, whom he called upon to weaponise his ceremonial position overseeing a joint session of Congress on 6 January to ratify the election results. Demanding that Mr Pence rule the election results null and void, Mr Trump piled on the public pressure in a series of tweets and in person on the campaign trail, presumably knowing his vice president was reluctant to follow orders. “I hope Mike Pence comes through for us,” Mr Trump said in Georgia. “I hope our great vice president comes through for us. He’s a great guy. Of course, if he doesn’t come through, I won’t like him very much.” Mr Pence refused to comply, instead writing a letter to Congress in which he explained: “I do not believe that the founders of our country intended to invest the vice president with unilateral authority to decide which electoral votes should be counted during the joint session of Congress, and no vice president in American history has ever asserted such authority.” On the day the US Capitol was stormed by enraged Trump supporters attempting to stop the ratification, some participants even erected a gallows and chanted “Hang Mike Pence!” on the National Mall. “To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today: you did not win,” Mr Pence responded in the aftermath, sounding far more presidential than Mr Trump. “Violence never wins. Freedom wins. And this is still the people’s house. And as we reconvene in this chamber the world will again witness the resilience and strength of our democracy.” The two men held clear-the-air talks five days after the failed insurrection but their relationship has clearly never recovered. Speaking at a Republican dinner in New Hampshire in June 2021, Mr Pence told his audience: “You know, President Trump and I have spoken many times since we left office. And I don’t know if we’ll ever see eye to eye on that day.” Mr Pence was born in Columbus, Indiana, on 7 June 1959, one of six children born to Edward and Nancy Pence and is a graduate of Hanover College and the Indiana University School of Law. He married his wife Karen in 1985 and the couple have three children: Michael, Charlotte and Audrey. His net wealth has been estimated at $4m, modest compared to some prominent politicians, but has been enhanced post-presidency after he signed a two-book deal with publishing giant Simon & Schuster, thought to be worth around $3-4m, according to industry insiders. Mr Pence will now find himself in competition not only with Mr Trump but also the likes of Florida governor Ron DeSantis, former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, South Carolina senator Tim Scott, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and ex-radio pundit Larry Elder. Ex-New Jersey governor Chris Christie is expected to enter the GOP primary race this week as well. Read More Mike Pence files paperwork to jump into crowded 2024 GOP primary race DeSantis, Pence and other GOP 2024 hopefuls, but not Trump, set to appear at Iowa rally Trump reacts to report Pence won’t face charges for classified documents: ‘I’m at least as innocent as he is’ Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

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A Hong Kong court has dismissed a government bid to deny same-sex married couples the right to rent and own public housing, saying that it was "discriminatory in nature" and a complete denial of such couples' rights.

A former US intelligence officer has blown the whistle on the US government by alleging they concealed a programme that has physical evidence of a “non-human origin” craft. David Charles Grusch told The Debrief and NewsNation this week that he confidentially turned over classified information to Congress and the Intelligence Community Inspector General in July 2021 about the programme and possible evidence. According to Mr Grusch, he experienced retaliation when his identity was revealed – something he has filed a formal complaint regarding. But now, Mr Grusch wants the rest of the world to know about some of the information that he believes was being illegally concealed, even if it means putting himself at risk. “I am for real. I am sitting here at great personal risk and obvious professional risk by talking to you today,” Mr Grusch told NewsNation. Here’s what we know about Mr Grusch and the claims he’s making. Who is David Charles Grusch? Mr Grusch is a 36-year-old veteran of the US Air Force as well as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office. He is a decorated former combat officer in Afghanistan, according to The Debrief. From 2016 until 2021, Mr Grusch served as a senior intelligence officer with the National Reconnaissance Office. From 2019 until 2021, he was the office’s representative to the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) Task Force. From late 2021 until July 2022, he co-led the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s UAP analysis. In total, Mr Grusch has 14 years of intelligence experience. At the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Mr Grusch was a senior intelligence capabilities integration office and had Top Secret / Secret Compartmented Information level clearance. Mr Grusch told The Debrief that he reported to Congress on the existence of a “publicly unknown Cold War for recovered and exploited physical material” that identified UAP [Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena] crashes, landings and retrieved material for “exploitation / reverse engineering to garner asymmetric national defense advantages.” Mr Grusch told NewNation that the UAP task force was refused access to the materials recovery programme. “I thought it was totally nuts and I thought at first I was being deceived, it was a ruse. People started to confide in me. Approach me. I have plenty of senior, former, intelligence officers that came to me, many of which I knew almost my whole career, that confided in me that they were part of a program,” Mr Grusch told NewsNation. What are his claims? Mr Grusch is alleging that the materials recovery programme retrieved, “non-human origin technical vehicles” but kept it hidden from the public. “Call it spacecraft if you will, non-human exotic origin vehicles that have either landed or crashed,” Mr Grusch said to NewsNation. In a separate interview with the Debrief, Mr Grusch described how the government allegedly has evidence of spacecraft created by a “non-human intelligence” of “unknown origin.” “[This assessment is] based on the vehicle morphologies and material science testing and the possession of unique atomic arrangements and radiological signatures,” the former official said. He sounded the alarm to Congress and the Intelligence Community Inspector General in July 2021, confidentially alleging that the materials recovery programme was shielded from proper congressional oversight. However, he claims his identity was somehow disclosed and he suffered retaliation for disclosing the confidential information. “I hope this revelation serves as an ontological shock sociologically and provides a generally uniting issue for nations of the world to re-assess their priorities,” Mr Grusch said to The Debrief. The former defence official said he hadn’t directly witnessed or seen photos of the recovered alien objects himself, but has spoken extensively with colleagues who have. “We’re definitely not alone,” he told NewsNation. “The data points, quite empirically that we’re not alone.” He added that as part of his disclosures to Congress and the inspector general, he turned over verifiable “proof” of his claims. Altogether, Mr Grusch said his experiences have convinced him the US government has been systematically lying to the American people for decades about unidentified aerial phenomena. “There is a sophisticated disinformation campaign targeting the US populace which is extremely unethical and immoral,” Mr Grusch said in his interview with NewsNation. What has the US government said? Sue Gough, a spokesperson for the DOD said in a statement provided to The Independent that to date the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) does not have “any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently.” The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) investigates unidentified flying objects and other phenomena in the air, sea, land or space. Ms Gough said the AARO is “committed to following the data and its investigation wherever it leads” adding that they are working with the Office of the General Counsel and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations to establish “a safe and secure process for individuals ot come forward with information to aid AARO in it’s congressionally-mandated historical review.” “AARO welcomes the opportunity to speak with any former or current government employee or contractor who believes they have information relevant to the historical review,” Ms Gough added. The Independent has reached out to the Intelligence Community Inspector General for comment regarding the whistleblower complaint. Read More UFO ‘whistleblower’ says government has ‘intact’ non-human craft White House dodges question on UFO whistleblower Nasa holds first public meeting about sightings of UFOs White House dodges question on UFO whistleblower UFO ‘whistleblower’ says government has ‘intact’ non-human craft Chris Christie targets his former friend Trump as he sets up bitter 2024 battle

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