Ex-Twitter Execs Deny Pressure to Block Hunter Biden Story

On

Former Twitter executives conceded Wednesday they made a mistake by blocking a story about Hunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, from the social media platform in the run-up to the 2020 election, but adamantly denied Republican assertions they were pressured by Democrats and law enforcement to suppress the story. “The decisions here aren’t straightforward, and hindsight is 20/20,” Yoel Roth, Twitter’s former head of trust and safety, testified to Congress. “It isn’t obvious what the right response is to a suspected, but not confirmed, cyberattack by another government on a presidential election.” He added, “Twitter erred inmore

Leave a comment

Biden Focuses on Economy, Touts Accomplishments in 2nd State of the Union

On

U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday the “story of America is a story of progress and resilience” as he gave his second State of the Union address with a focus on his domestic economic policy, including an appeal to his Republican opponents to work together. “Two years ago, COVID had shut down our businesses, closed our schools and robbed us of so much,” Biden told a joint session of Congress. “Today, COVID no longer controls our lives,” he said. “And two years ago, our democracy faced its greatest threat since the Civil War. Today, though bruised, our democracy remains unbowedmore

Leave a comment

Republicans Launch Investigations Into Biden Administration

On

For the first time in his presidency Tuesday night, U.S. President Joe Biden will address a Congress under divided party rule. Republicans who hold a slim majority in the House of Representatives have already issued the first subpoenas in one of many investigations just getting under way based on accusations the White House has abused its power. “I do not think any American believes that justice should not be equal to all,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters last week. “We found from this administration, what happened before every single election, whatever comes out, that they utilize to try tomore

Leave a comment

Democrats Reshuffle Primaries, Emphasize Diversity Over Tradition

On

The Democratic Party approved reordering its 2024 presidential primary Saturday, replacing Iowa with South Carolina in the leadoff spot as part of a major shake-up meant to empower Black and other minority voters critical to its base of support. Although more changes are possible later this year, the formal endorsement by the Democratic National Committee during its meeting in Philadelphia is an acknowledgement that the start of the 2024 primary will look very different from the one in 2020. Hundreds of party stalwarts cheered after the easy passage by voice vote. States with early contests play a major role inmore

Leave a comment

US Presidents Facing Scrutiny on Documents

On

As former Vice President Mike Pence joined the club of top officials mishandling classified documents, U.S. presidents and vice presidents going all the way back to Jimmy Carter, the oldest living former commander in chief, must now respond to public scrutiny on whether they followed procedure in returning classified material upon leaving office. Representatives of the 39th U.S. president, who served from 1977 to 1981, said he did. “Though President Carter was not bound by the Presidential Records Act, which took effect after his presidency, he nevertheless voluntarily donated his documents and records to the National Archives after he leftmore

Leave a comment

Biden Pushing Assault Weapons Ban Renewal Following US Mass Shootings

On

As Californians deal with two deadly mass shootings just days apart, U.S. President Joe Biden is throwing his support behind gun control measures, including renewing the 1994 assault weapons ban he championed as a senator. “Even as we await further details on these shootings, we know the scourge of gun violence across America requires stronger action. I once again urge both chambers of Congress to act quickly and deliver this assault weapons ban to my desk, and take action to keep American communities, schools, workplaces, and homes safe,” President Biden said in a statement Tuesday following Monday shootings in twomore

Leave a comment

Classified Documents at Pence’s Home, Too, His Lawyer Says

On

Documents with classified markings were discovered in former Vice President Mike Pence’s Indiana home last week, his lawyer told the National Archives in a letter — the latest in a string of discoveries of confidential information in private residences. The records “appear to be a small number of documents bearing classified markings that were inadvertently boxed and transported to the personal home of the former vice president at the end of the last administration,” Pence’s lawyer, Greg Jacob, wrote in the letter shared with The Associated Press. He said that Pence “engaged outside counsel, with experience in handling classified documents,more

Leave a comment

White House Chief of Staff Klain Expected to Step Down Soon

On

Ron Klain, President Joe Biden’s White House chief of staff, plans to leave his post in the coming weeks, sources familiar with the matter said on Saturday, a major changing of the guard. Klain has informed Biden of his plans, the sources said, confirming a New York Times story that said the long-serving aide would likely depart after the president’s State of the Union address on February 7. Klain, 61, has a long history at the White House, having served as chief of staff to former Vice President Al Gore and to Biden when he was vice president under Presidentmore

Leave a comment

FBI Searches Biden Home, Finds Documents Marked Classified

On

The FBI searched President Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, on Friday and found six additional documents containing classified markings and also took possession of some of his notes, the president’s lawyer said Saturday.  The documents taken by the FBI spanned Biden’s time in the Senate and the vice presidency, while the notes dated to his time as vice president, said Bob Bauer, the president’s personal lawyer. He added that the search of the entire premises lasted nearly 13 hours. The level of classification, and whether the documents removed by the FBI remained classified, was not immediately clear as themore

Leave a comment

Biden on Classified Docs Discovery: ‘There’s No There There’

On

President Joe Biden said Thursday there is “no there there” when he was questioned about the discovery of classified documents and official records at his home and former office. “We found a handful of documents were filed in the wrong place,” Biden said to reporters who questioned him during a tour of the damage from storms in California. “We immediately turned them over to the Archives and the Justice Department.” Biden said he was “fully cooperating and looking forward to getting this resolved quickly.” “I think you’re going to find there’s nothing there,” he said. “There’s no there there.” Themore

Leave a comment

First Illinois Muslim American Lawmakers Begin Work in Diverse Legislature

On

Walking through the center of the city in the shadow of the looming domes of two state Capitol buildings — the old one and the new — it’s hard to miss the signs of history marked throughout Springfield, Illinois, the launching pad of the political careers of U.S. presidents Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama. “It is surreal to know that Abraham Lincoln was in the same position as me at one point,” said Nabeela Syed while standing in front of a statue of the “Great Emancipator” at the entrance to the current Illinois state Capitol. While Lincoln made a namemore

Leave a comment

White House Gives Few Details About Additional Classified Documents Found at Biden’s Home

On

The White House faced a new barrage of criticism Tuesday about the weekend announcement that lawyers found a third tranche of classified documents at the president’s private home. Administration officials emphasized they are being cooperative with investigators and transparent with the public and are drawing a contrast between their behavior and that of former President Donald Trump. However, in a half-hour call with reporters, White House spokesperson Ian Sams declined to offer any details beyond the few the administration already has reported about the unknown number of documents found in private offices and homes used by President Joe Biden. Andmore

Leave a comment

Гена Корбан Gennady Korban припини піаритися на крові Українців

On

Гена, досить піаритися на крові безневинних Українців, яких ти і твої подільники вважають суціль дурнями. Спочатку ти з філатовим допомагали коломойському багато років обкрадати простих українців і лизати зад придуркам кучмі і януковичу. Після того як ти з філатовим зуміли захопити посаду мера Дніпра, обкрадання дніпровців посилилось ще більше. Коли 2013-2014 року Українці гинули на Майдані ти розповідав, що не справа євреїв ходити з прапорами. А 24 лютого ти незаконно вивіз своїх синів за межі України і оформив їм ізраїльські паспорти. Щоб, борони Боже, вони не постраждали. Причому, коли твого хворого сина тепер призвали в армію оборони ізраїлю, ти навітьmore

Leave a comment

Key Dates in the Discovery of Classified Records Tied to Biden

On

Key dates related to the discovery of classified documents tied to U.S. President Joe Biden, based on statements from the White House, the president, and Attorney General Merrick Garland: Jan. 20, 2017: Biden’s two terms as vice president to President Barack Obama end. Mid-2017-2019: Biden periodically uses an office at the Penn Biden Center, a think tank in Washington. Jan. 20, 2021: Biden is sworn in as president. Nov. 2, 2022: Biden’s personal attorneys come across Obama-Biden administration documents in a locked closet while packing files as they prepare to close out Biden’s office in the Penn Biden Center. Theymore

Leave a comment

Proud Boys ‘Took Aim at the Heart of Our Democracy,’ Says Prosecutor

On

As one of the most high-profile trials to stem from the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack got under way, U.S. prosecutors on Thursday accused leaders of the far-right Proud Boys group of plotting an assault on American democracy. In an opening argument, federal prosecutor Jason McCullough told jurors that Proud Boys chairman Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and four other leaders engaged in sedition by using force to try to keep Donald Trump in office after he lost the 2020 presidential election.  “On January 6, they took aim at the heart of our democracy,” McCullough told jurors.  Defendants’ lawyers said it wasmore

Leave a comment

Veteran Woman Senator Is 3rd in Line for President

On

On January 3, while Republicans in the House of Representatives were deadlocked over electing a speaker of the house, Democratic Senator Patty Murray was briefly second in line to the U.S. presidency. That’s because the longtime Democratic senator from Washington state made history when she became the first woman to serve as Senate president pro tempore, a largely ceremonial role that will see Murray filling in as head of the Senate whenever Vice President Kamala Harris is absent. In Latin, “pro tempore” means “for the time being.” “The significance of this moment is certainly not lost on me,” Murray, whomore

Leave a comment

A Side-by-Side Look at the Trump, Biden Classified Documents

On

The revelation that potentially classified materials were discovered at think tank offices formerly used by President Joe Biden has prompted questions on how the circumstance compares to the seizure last year of hundreds of documents marked as classified from Mar-a-Lago, the Florida residence of former President Donald Trump. A side-by-side look at the similarities and differences between the two situations: How many classified documents are we talking about? Biden: “A small number of documents with classified markings” were discovered on Nov. 2, 2022, in a locked closet at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, a think tankmore

Leave a comment

Biden Says He Doesn’t Know What’s in Classified Documents

On

President Joe Biden said he was “surprised” to learn his lawyers found government records in his former office at a Washington think tank and said he does not know what information is contained in the classified documents. “My lawyers have not suggested I asked what documents they were. I’ve turned over the boxes — they’ve turned over the boxes to the [National] Archives, and we’re cooperating fully with the review, which I hope will be finished soon and will be more detail at that time,” Biden said at a press conference in Mexico City with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopezmore

Leave a comment

House GOP Kicks Off Majority With Vote to Slash IRS Funding

On

House Republicans began their tenure in the majority Monday by passing a bill that would rescind nearly $71 billion that Congress had provided the IRS, fulfilling a campaign promise even though the legislation is unlikely to advance further. Democrats had beefed up the IRS over the next decade to help offset the cost of top health and environmental priorities they passed last year and to replenish an agency struggling to provide basic services to taxpayers and ensure fairness in tax compliance. The money is on top of what Congress provides the IRS annually through the appropriations process and immediately becamemore

Leave a comment

US House Adopts Rules Sought by Hardliners to Control McCarthy

On

The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives on Monday adopted a package of internal rules that give right-wing hardliners more leverage over the chamber’s newly elected Republican speaker, Kevin McCarthy.    Lawmakers voted 220-213 to approve the legislation. One Republican, Representative Tony Gonzales, joined all 212 Democrats in voting against the rules package. Another Republican did not vote.    The rules package, which will govern House operations over the next two years, represented an early test of McCarthy’s ability to keep his caucus together, after he suffered the humiliation of 14 failed ballots last week before finally being elected speaker on Saturday.    Themore

Leave a comment

Meet the Clerk Who Kept Order While the House Chose Its Leader

On

Standing up to nominate Rep. Byron Donalds for House speaker, Republican Rep. Chip Roy addressed the woman presiding over the chamber as “Madam speaker.” The third-term congressman quickly corrected himself. “Madam clerk,” he acknowledged with a smile. The flub, coming on the second day of voting, illustrated the rising stature of House clerk Cheryl Johnson, a central figure in the drama that became a dayslong effort to select a speaker. Round by round, she called for the start of each vote and announced at the end that, once again, no speaker had been elected. That is, until early Saturday morning,more

Leave a comment

McCarthy Finally Wins US House Speakership

On

It took 15 tries and five days, but California Congressman Kevin McCarthy has been elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. After the 14th ballot there was a move to adjourn until Monday, but that vote also failed after Republicans changed tactics and decided on a 15th effort to elect a new leader. A band of 20 right-wing lawmakers had blocked McCarthy on previous ballots because they believe he is not conservative enough. In an unusual confrontation, McCarthy had exchanged words with Republican Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida on the floor of the house chamber after the 14th ballotmore

Leave a comment

House Republicans Hold 14th Vote on House Speaker 

On

The U.S. House of Representatives has failed on a 14th ballot to elect a new speaker. A band of 20 right-wing lawmakers has successfully blocked California Congressman Kevin McCarthy over four days of voting from becoming speaker because they believe he is not conservative enough. McCarthy gained backing earlier Friday from 15 of the holdouts, coming up just a few votes short of the majority he needs to win the speakership. He must receive 218 votes to win the job, if all 434 current members of the House vote. McCarthy’s path to winning depends on how many lawmakers are presentmore

Leave a comment