List of All Articles with Tag 'us politics'

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg seems increasingly likely to have his term at the helm of the world’s biggest security organization extended yet again, as members struggle to agree on another candidate to replace him. Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister, has been NATO’s top civilian official since 2014. His term was due to expire last year but was extended for a second time to keep a steady hand at the helm after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts are due to choose a successor when they meet for a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12. No candidate has been proposed publicly, and leaders usually decide by consensus on who should be appointed. Stoltenberg held talks with Biden in Washington on Tuesday. According to a U.S. official familiar with the leaders’ conversations, Biden made clear that he thinks highly of some the possible candidates whose names have been privately floated to succeed him. The official said, however, Biden conveyed to the NATO secretary-general that it’s “becoming increasingly evident that there’s not going to be consensus” among NATO allies on picking a new leader, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation. Biden made it clear to Stoltenberg that he would welcome him sticking around longer — particularly with no end in sight to the war in Ukraine and challenges to get Sweden approved as a member of the 31-nation alliance. “The president thinks Stoltenberg has done a remarkable job over the past year and a half leading the alliance during Russia’s invasion,” the official said. “He’s also quite comfortable with Stoltenberg hanging on. He thinks he’s been a very effective leader.” The official stopped short of saying that Biden asked Stoltenberg outright to stay on as NATO chief. Asked repeatedly Friday about his future at the helm, Stoltenberg said: “I have nothing more to say about this. I have stated again and again that I don’t seek an extension. I have no other plans than to end my work here, when my tenure ends this fall.” The U.S. official also said that Biden had spoken highly of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. NATO is keen to name a woman to the top post, and Denmark’s prime minister was thought to be a favorite after a meeting with Biden earlier this month. But in a televised interview on Thursday, Frederiksen said: “No, I am not on my way to NATO.” She did say that she would back Stoltenberg if he was willing to extend his mandate. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also made clear that he would back an extension for Stoltenberg if that became necessary. “If we don’t agree on a candidate for successor, NATO won’t be able to go without a secretary-general, and of course I am for an extension — particularly as I appreciate our cooperation,” he told reporters. Norwegian media said Friday that Biden has encouraged Stoltenberg to stay on. Norwegian public broadcaster NRK said it “had learned” that Biden’s message to Stoltenberg “was not to be misunderstood: Jens Stoltenberg must remain as Secretary General of NATO for a while longer.” The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has also ruled out her candidacy. Other possible names that were floated are Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace. ___ Madhani reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark. and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide NATO moves to protect undersea pipelines, cables as concern mounts over Russian sabotage threat How significant is the reported recapture of the first Ukrainian villages? Support mounts for Stoltenberg to stay on in NATO's top job

President Joe Biden is facing criticism for slipping up when outlining a new railroad project, mistakenly saying it would be built across the Indian Ocean. Mr Biden was speaking to the League of Conservation Voters in Washington DC on Wednesday night, saying, “We have plans to build a railroad from the Pacific all the way across the Indian Ocean”. “We have plans to build in Angola one of the largest solar plants in the world,” Mr Biden added. “I can go on, but I’m not. I’m going off-script. I’m going to get in trouble.” There’s no proposal to build a railroad covering the third largest ocean on the planet, and conservatives were quick to capitalise on the slip-up, with the Twitter account RNC Research sharing the clip on Wednesday night. Last week, during a visit from UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Mr Biden made a similar mistake, before correcting himself, saying that “We’re talking about building — and I had my team putting together with other countries as well — to build a railroad from the Pacific Ocean — from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the Indian Ocean”. Africa is surrounded by the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Arabian Sea, but not the Pacific. Before fumbling his words, Mr Biden spoke about how the US is planning on helping developing countries combat the climate crisis. “We’ve mobilised the world’s leading emitters to help poorer countries deal with the impacts of climate change. They called it, at the G7, the Build Back Biden — Build Back Better. And we realized that got confusing,” the president said to laughter in the room. “Here’s the bottom line – We’re the ones that caused the problem, the United States. We cleared all our land. We did all the things that make things more easy for us to make money. Not a bad thing at the time. No one really fully understood,” he added. “But we, the major emitters in the world, have an obligation to help those countries.” “Soon, Africa will have one billion people. China has their Belt and Road Initiative. It turned out to be their debt and destruction initiative. No, I’m serious. Not a joke. Well, we’re going to win, and we’re going to help,” Mr Biden said, seemingly arguing that the US will take on China in their soft power push to help poorer nations with infrastructure projects, which critics have claimed are exploitative, with some calling it a “debt trap”. Mr Biden was mocked by Twitter users for his railroad slip, with conservative columnist Ian Haworth tweeting: “Who’s going to run that train, SpongeBob?” Former Utah Republican Representative Jason Chaffetz tweeted: “Bold initiative, Mr. President.” The communications director for Republican Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, Abigail Marone, wrote: “Put grandpa to bed.” The DeSantis War Room simply tweeted: “Ambitious.” Right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro made a dig about Mr Biden’s age, writing, “He does remember Pangea so.” “I for one am booking a seat on the first ever rail trip to the Indian Ocean. You laugh but the beverage car is gonna be sick,” Philadelphia talk radio host Rich Zeoli wrote. Mr Biden’s reelection effort was endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund, NextGen PAC, and the Sierra Club on Wednesday evening, the New York Post noted. Read More Fox News producer behind chyron calling Biden a ‘wannabe dictator’ parts ways with network How was a 21-year-old gamer able to leak a mountain of major Pentagon secrets? Tucker Carlson asks ‘why the hysteria’ over Fox’s Biden ‘wannabe dictator’ chyron US company signs agreement to enter retail fuel market in crisis-hit Sri Lanka US defense secretary discusses upgrading ties with India to counter China Trump gloats as he scores rare legal win in New York golf club tax probe – live

Millions of people in Louisiana and Oregon have had their data compromised in the sprawling cyberattack that has also hit the US federal government, state agencies said late Thursday.

President Joe Biden on Friday is marking one year since the passage of the first major gun safety legislation in a generation during a summit in Connecticut, as gun violence reaches record levels in the United States and additional congressional action remains stalled.

Tucker Carlson ridiculed his former employer Fox News and Democrats over the broadcaster’s chyron that briefly described Joe Biden as a “wannabe dictator”. Releasing the fourth episode of his Twitter show Tucker on Twitter on Thursday, Carlson questioned the apology tendered by Fox News following the gaffe. He likened Mr Biden’s personality to that of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, North Korea’s Kim Il-sung and Romania’s tyrannical communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. “But why were they angry? If the banner on Fox was false? Why the hysteria?” asked Carlson in his show that was launched as a counter to his Fox primetime slot after being forced to resign. On Tuesday night, Fox News broadcasted a chyron – a caption superimposed over the lower part of a video image – beneath split-screen videos that showed Donald Trump addressing supporters live in New Jersey and Mr Biden speaking at the White House earlier in the day. “Wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested,” read the chyron. Fox News said the “chyron was taken down immediately and was addressed”. Carlson claimed the Fox News producer responsible for the chyron resigned. “Those words were up for less than 30 seconds, but the effect was immediate. Inside Fox, the women who run the network panicked,” he said in his long rant. He said the channel “scolded the producer who put the banner on the screen” and claimed the producer later resigned. He questioned why Democrats reacted to the chyron with anger. “But why were they angry? If the banner on Fox was false? Why the hysteria? Lies don’t seem to bother anyone anymore. If some cable news producer had called Joe Biden a genius or accused him of being secretly Sudanese, would anyone be yelling about it?” Carlson said. “Would Fox News have apologized for it? Probably not. But calling Joe Biden a wannabe dictator, that stung.” In a mocking tone, Carlson proceeded to enumerate the various ways in which Mr Biden “could never be” considered a dictator. He sarcastically referred to government surveillance of phones and bank accounts, as well as a purported suppression of “peaceful protests” such as the events that unfolded during the Jan 6 riot. The comments come as Daily Beast reported that Fox News producer Alexander McCaskill had parted ways with the network. Fox News has sent Carlson a cease and desist letter ordering him to stop releasing shows on Twitter. Fox’s attorneys wrote to Carlson demanding he stop posting Tucker on Twitter videos, the first two episodes of which attracted a combined 169 million views. The right-wing network has been locked in a bitter contractual dispute with its former primetime anchor since he left in the aftermath of the $787m Dominion Voting Systems pay out in April. Read More Fox News cuts off White House briefing just as ‘wannabe dictator’ Biden chyron mentioned White House condemns Fox News chyron calling Biden ‘wannabe dictator’ as broadcaster walks back accusation Tucker Carlson spins new conspiracy on Trump’s arrest as his new Twitter rant defies Fox threat AP News Digest 3 am Trump's promise of payback for prosecution follows years of attacking democratic traditions Biden is returning to his union roots as his 2024 campaign gears up

Far-right Colorado Republican Lauren Boebert was scolded by Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin for her attitude towards a witness during a hearing of the House Oversight Committee. New York University professor Sally Katzen appeared at the hearing entitled “Death by a Thousand Regulations: The Biden Administration’s Campaign to Bury America in Red Tape” on Wednesday. The lawyer and legal scholar was called to the Republican-led hearing by the minority, Newsweek noted. Ms Boebert spent her time during the hearing berating Ms Katzen, interrupting her as she attempted to answer. The Colorado congresswoman asked Ms Katzen if she thought changes to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) not put forward by Congress were appropriate. As Ms Katzen started to speak, Ms Boebert instead began laying out her thoughts on the matter. Ms Katzen was later interrupted again and when she attempted to respond for the third time, Ms Boebert said, “No ma’am it’s my time. Thank you”. “Oh, I’m sorry, so you are not interested in my views?” Ms Katzen replied to which Ms Boebert once again said it was her turn to speak. As the hearing went on, Ms Katzen appeared to stop trying to answer questions from Ms Boebert. At one point, she suggested that Ms Katzen had a “$2.5 million home” which appeared to be intended as criticism. “Excuse me, I really take that as a personal ... I disagree that you’re casting aspersions on me,” the scholar responded, at which point Ms Boebert said her time was up. After several minutes of verbal jousting, Mr Raskin asked for a moment to criticise Ms Boebert’s behaviour, saying that “an insult is not a substitute for an argument”. “The chair would advise members to adhere to the House standard of decorum and proceed in order,” the chairman of the committee, Kentucky Republican James Comer of Kentucky, said. Texas Democrat Jasmine Crockett then apologized to Ms Katzen, saying that Ms Boebert’s line of questioning was “uncalled for”. “Let me do what [Ms Boebert] would never do, which is to be an adult in this room, or in this chamber,” Ms Crockett said. Twitter users also criticised Ms Boebert. “Truly, I believe if Boebert and [Marjorie Taylor Greene] weren’t there, things would calm down in Congress. Those two are instigators of chaos, and just plain meanness,” one Twitter user said. “The fact that Congressman Raskin has to battle cancer and this utter nonsense while maintaining his top-tier level of dignity is a travesty,” another account holder said. After announcing his diagnosis late last year, Mr Raskin revealed in an open letter in late April that his cancer was in remission with a 90 per cent chance of no relapse. Read More Lauren Boebert claims Pentagon considers her a ‘security threat’ GOP Congressman’s ‘scary as hell’ tweet seemingly calls for insurrection after Trump indictment Far-right members of Congress rebel against McCarthy and hold up House votes Lauren Boebert called out over treatment of witness: ‘An insult is not an argument’ Lauren Boebert claims Pentagon considers her a ‘security threat’ GOP lawmaker’s tweet seemingly calls for ‘war’ after Trump indictment

Donald Trump repeatedly rejected his attorneys’ efforts to settle the classified documents case ahead of a looming indictment, according to a bombshell new report. Insiders told The Washington Post that the former president’s attorney Christopher Kise advised him multiple times to return all classified documents to the correct authorities and then tried to persuade him to try to reach a deal with Attorney General Merrick Garland in late 2022. Mr Trump reportedly dismissed the advice. As a result, on Tuesday, the former president was arrested and arraigned on 37 charges over his handling of classified national security documents after leaving the White House to which he pleaded not guilty, claiming he was a victim of political persecution. He marked his 77th birthday as the first current or former president arrested on federal criminal charges in American history. Bush administration veteran Karl Rove slammed the former president for his “reckless petulance” over the classified documents in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal. Mr Rove said both the country and Mr Trump will pay a high price for his actions. Meanwhile, a two-year criminal investigation into Mr Trump’s Westchester County golf course has been dropped to his delight. Read More Trump declared ‘food for all’ in post-arrest stop at Miami cafe – but reportedly skipped bill Donald Trump scores rare legal win as DA drops golf course tax probe Trump's promise of payback for prosecution follows years of attacking democratic traditions Is Donald Trump going to prison?

As Donald Trump plots his criminal defense in the classified documents case, the GOP candidates looking to block his political redemption are slowly making political calculations.

Top Justice Department officials on Friday are expected to announce the findings of a two-year long investigation of the policing practices of the Minneapolis Police Department in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, people briefed on the matter said.

Nusrat Choudhury was confirmed Thursday as a federal judge by the US Senate, making history as the first Muslim woman and the first Bangladeshi American to join the federal judicial bench.

US District Judge Aileen Cannon issued her first order since former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith for allegedly mishandling classified information, instructing the parties to get the ball rolling to obtain security clearances for the lawyers who will need them.

Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill Wednesday that bans diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices at public colleges and universities across the state, his spokesperson confirmed to CNN.