Biden Fires Social Security Chief From Trump Administration 

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President Joe Biden on Friday fired the commissioner of Social Security after the official refused to resign, and Biden accepted the deputy commissioner’s resignation, the White House said.Biden asked Commissioner Andrew Saul to resign, and his employment was terminated after he refused the Democratic president’s request, a White House official said.Deputy Commissioner David Black agreed to resign, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.Both officials had been put in place under President Donald Trump, a Republican.Biden named Kilolo Kijakazi as acting commissioner while the administration searches for a permanent commissioner and deputy commissioner.Kijakazi currentlymore

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US Civil Rights Leaders Vow to Keep Up Fight for Voting Rights 

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U.S. civil rights leaders emerged Thursday from a White House meeting with President Joe Biden vowing a “summer of activism” to battle new voting restrictions enacted in Republican-led states in recent months.Vice President Kamala Harris also said Thursday that the Democratic Party would invest $25 million in voter registration and education efforts.Harris, whom the president assigned to lead the administration’s efforts on voting rights, made the announcement at her alma mater, Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington.Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about voting rights at Howard University in Washington, July 8, 2021.Biden and Harris met with civil rightsmore

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Trump Sues Twitter, Facebook and Google, Claiming Censorship

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump has announced class-action lawsuits against three major tech companies, accusing them of wrongfully censoring him and other conservatives.“We’re asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to order an immediate halt to social media companies’ illegal, shameful censorship of the American people,” said Trump on Wednesday.Trump is the lead plaintiff in the class-action lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter and Google (which owns YouTube), as well as their chief executive officers, respectively, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey and Sundar Pichai, whom Trump sarcastically described as “three real nice guys.”There has been no immediate comment frommore

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Blinken Meets Uyghurs, Seeks Advice on Handling China

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken met virtually on Tuesday with Uyghur Muslims who were detained in camps in China’s Xinjiang region to hear about their experiences and seek advice on how best to pressure China to halt repression there. The State Department said Blinken wanted to hear directly from the seven former detainees, relatives of others and advocates about conditions that they and the Uyghur community more broadly face. “The secretary thought it important to meet with these individuals to hear firsthand their stories, to hear firsthand their impression of the ongoing atrocities in Xinjiang and the internment of a million Uyghurs,”more

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Biden Goes for Cherries Not Speeches on Campaign-style Michigan Trip

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President Joe Biden focused on cherries Saturday during a trip to Michigan — and cherry pie and cherry ice cream — and voters who were mask-free as coronavirus restrictions have eased. It had all the hallmarks of a campaign stop that he couldn’t make last year.Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer greeted Biden when he arrived midday in Traverse City, which is hosting the National Cherry Festival, an event that attracted Presidents Herbert Hoover and Gerald Ford in the past.They skipped the festival in favor of a cherry farm in nearby Antrim County, where Biden pitched his immigration plans while chatting withmore

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Wealthy Americans Scramble as Biden Targets Protected Assets for Taxation 

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As U.S. President Joe Biden looks for revenue sources to fund his proposed social spending programs, America’s richest people are facing the possibility that popular methods of passing enormous wealth from generation to generation while avoiding taxes could be disappearing.The Biden administration has made no secret of its belief that capital gains — money earned from the sale of assets, like stocks, that have appreciated in value — don’t deserve to be taxed at a lower rate than earnings from labor as they are under current law.Capital gains are taxed at a maximum of 20%, compared with a maximum federalmore

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Women Make Up 60% of White House Staff, Diversity Total at 44%

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Women make up 60% of the White House staff appointed by President Joe Biden, while people from racially or ethnically diverse communities account for 44%, the White House said Thursday as it released an annual personnel report to Congress. The White House said the report — which includes the names, titles and salaries of all political appointees — showed that the Biden administration was the most diverse in U.S. history, in line with the Democratic president’s commitment to build an administration that looks like America. The report also showed a pay gap between men and women of just under 1%, with themore

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US House Votes to Investigate January 6 Attack on Capitol 

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The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to create a select committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by hundreds of supporters of former President Donald Trump as lawmakers were certifying that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated him in last November’s election.  The vote, formalizing creation of the committee that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced last week, was 222-190, split almost entirely along party lines. Republicans Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger voted with the Democratic majority.Under the House resolution creating the committee, it will have 13 members, eight of them appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosimore

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Former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Dies at 88

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Donald Rumsfeld, a forceful U.S. defense secretary who was the main architect of the Iraq war until President George W. Bush replaced him as the United States found itself bogged down after 3.5 years of fighting, has died at age 88, his family said in a statement on Wednesday.”It is with deep sadness that we share the news of the passing of Donald Rumsfeld, an American statesman and devoted husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather,” the statement said. “At 88, he was surrounded by family in his beloved Taos, New Mexico.”The statement did not say when Rumsfeld died.Rumsfeld, who ranksmore

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US House Voting to Investigate January 6 Attack on Capitol 

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The House of Representatives is poised Wednesday to create a select committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by hundreds of supporters of former President Donald Trump as lawmakers were certifying that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated him in last November’s election.  The vote, formalizing creation of the committee that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced last week, is likely to occur almost entirely along party lines, with the slim Democratic House majority voting in favor and most Republicans against. Under the House resolution creating the committee, it would include 13 members, eight of them appointed by Pelosimore

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Charges Expected Thursday for Trump’s Company, Top Executive

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Donald Trump’s company and his longtime finance chief are expected to be charged Thursday with tax-related crimes stemming from a New York investigation into the former president’s business dealings. That’s according to people familiar with the matter who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.  The charges against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, appear to involve non-monetary benefits the company gave to top executives, possibly including use of apartments, cars and school tuition. The charges arise from a probe led by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., a Democrat leaving office at themore

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Biden, Western Governors to Discuss Wildfire Response

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U.S. President Joe Biden is holding talks Wednesday with a group of governors from eight Western states about wildfire preparedness as much of the region deals with drought. Biden and other administration officials will be speaking from the White House with the governors joining by video. WATCH LIVE at 11:00 EST White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters last week the meeting will “focus on how the federal government can improve wildfire preparedness and response efforts, protect public safety, and deliver assistance to our people in times of urgent need.” Those attending include Democratic governors Gavin Newsom of California, Jared Polis of Colorado, Michelle Lujanmore

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Biden Pushes for Adoption of Infrastructure Package

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U.S. President Joe Biden heads to the midwestern state of Wisconsin Tuesday, making a pitch for congressional passage of a bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure package to repair the country’s crumbling roads and bridges, and at the same time boost blue-collar employment.   Biden is visiting the small city of La Crosse, population 52,000, and will tour its public transit center before speaking about what he sees as the merits of the infrastructure package he negotiated last week with a group of 10 centrist U.S. senators, five Republicans and five Democrats. He told a group of Democratic donors Monday night the spendingmore

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Can Money Absolve Sins of the Past?

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The issue of reparations — making amends for historical wrongs perpetrated against a group or population — has always been highly controversial. But to the victims of atrocities like genocide and slavery, offering such compensation should be a no-brainer. VOA correspondent Mariama Diallo looks at examples of reparations as they relate to the debate over reparations for African Americans in the U.S.Henry Ridgwell   contributed to this report. …

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House to Vote on Bill Launching Probe of Capitol Insurrection

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A new committee to investigate the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol would have 13 members and the power to subpoena witnesses, according to legislation released by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday. The House is expected to vote on the bill this week.  The effort comes after Senate Republicans blocked the formation of an independent, bipartisan commission to probe the attack, in which hundreds of former President Donald Trump’s supporters violently broke into the Capitol and interrupted the certification of President Joe Biden’s victory.  The new, partisan House panel would have eight members appointed by Pelosi and fivemore

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Key Republican ‘Trusts’ Biden on Infrastructure Deal  

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A key U.S. Republican lawmaker said Sunday he takes President Joe Biden at his word that he has no intention of vetoing a $1.2 trillion infrastructure measure Biden agreed to last week even though initially the U.S. leader said he would reject it if Congress does not also approve social spending legislation. FILE – Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, arrives for a meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, June 23, 2021.Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, one of the five Republican centrists who negotiated the infrastructure package with Biden to repair the country’s deteriorating roads and bridges, told CNN, “I do trustmore

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Blinken in Italy on Sunday for Meetings with Top Leaders, Pope

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s multination trip to Europe takes him to Italy Sunday for several days of meetings with top Italian leaders, Pope Francis, Group of 20 leaders and ministerial-level officials.After being warmly welcomed in France and Germany, Blinken left Paris on Sunday for Rome, where he meets with the Italian foreign minister, United Nations food security agencies and U.S. Embassy officials. He will also meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.Blinken and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio will co-chair a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Rome on Monday, when he also meetsmore

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Blinken Arrives in Italy on Sunday for Meetings with Top Leaders, Pope

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s multination trip to Europe takes him to Italy Sunday for several days of meetings with top Italian leaders, Pope Francis, Group of 20 leaders and ministerial-level officials.After being warmly welcomed in France and Germany, Blinken left Paris on Sunday for Rome, where he meets with the Italian foreign minister, United Nations food security agencies and U.S. Embassy officials. He will also meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.Blinken and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio will co-chair a meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Rome on Monday, when he also meetsmore

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Trump Knocks Immigration, Touts Republicans in Ohio Rally

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At his first rally since leaving the White House, former President Donald Trump on Saturday lambasted the Biden administration’s immigration policies and urged his supporters to help Republicans take back majorities in Congress.While Trump has made speeches at Republican events since his election defeat by Democratic President Joe Biden, the rally in a state he carried in the 2020 election marks a return to the kind of freewheeling mass gatherings that have been critical to retaining the support of his base.Trump left office in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, shortly aftermore

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No Veto Threat on Infrastructure Deal, Biden Says 

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Aiming to preserve a fragile bipartisan deal on infrastructure, President Joe Biden said Saturday that he didn’t mean to suggest he would veto the bill unless Congress also passed a larger package to expand the social safety net.Speaking Thursday when the deal was reached, Biden said the two packages needed to move in “tandem” and “if they don’t come, I’m not signing. Real simple.”Those comments sparked criticism from some Republican lawmakers who were party to the deal. Biden sought Saturday to clarify his position.”My comments also created the impression that I was issuing a veto threat on the very planmore

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Officer Asks McCarthy to Denounce GOP Remarks on Capitol Riot 

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A police officer who was injured in the January 6 Capitol insurrection confronted House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy in a meeting on Friday, asking him to publicly denounce statements by GOP members who have voted against honoring police and have downplayed the violence of the attack.Officer Michael Fanone has said for weeks that he wanted to meet with McCarthy, who has opposed the formation of a bipartisan commission to investigate the attack and has remained loyal to former President Donald Trump. It was a violent mob of Trump’s supporters that laid siege to the Capitol and interrupted the certification ofmore

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US Vice President Wraps Up Visit to Mexico Border

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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris wrapped up her first trip to the U.S. southern border on Friday, saying the Biden administration had “made progress” in addressing the record number of migrants who have reached the border in recent months. The migration surge under U.S. President Joe Biden has cast a spotlight on the plight of Central Americans who face dangerous conditions and human traffickers as they travel to the United States. The situation has drawn criticism from both Republicans and some Democrats. During her trip, Harris appeared to cast at least some of the blame for the border problems on the previousmore

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US Says Georgia Voting Law Targets Black Voters, Sues to Block It

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The U.S. Justice Department will file a lawsuit on Friday challenging a Georgia election law that imposes new limits on voting, saying that it infringes on the rights of Black voters, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.   The Georgia law, which also bans the distribution of water or food to people waiting on long lines at polling places, is one of a wave of new measures passed by Republican-controlled state legislatures this year, fueled by former President Donald Trump’s false claims that his November election defeat was the result of widespread fraud.   “This lawsuit is the first of manymore

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