President Joe Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday and proposed a meeting in a third country in the coming months as tensions between Russia and Ukraine rise in eastern Europe. According to a White House statement about the call, Biden and Putin discussed arms control and emerging security issues. Biden also called
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The fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic is poised to fracture societies worldwide, increase instability across the globe and reshape political and economic realities for years to come, the US intelligence community warned in a stark report laying out the top security concerns facing the country. Read the report here: cnn.com/2021/04/13/politics/annual-threat-assessment-coronavirus/index.html
Continue ReadingDefense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Tuesday that the US military will increase its presence in Germany, recommitting the US to the NATO alliance in a reversal from the previous administration’s plans to withdraw troops from the country. The US will permanently station “approximately 500 additional US personnel in the Wiesbaden area” of Germany and will
Continue ReadingThe White House said Tuesday that the recommended pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would “not have a significant impact on our vaccination plan” to administer 200 million shots by the end of April, even as new questions mount about how the move could affect the willingness of Americans to receive
Continue ReadingFormer UN Ambassador Nikki Haley on Monday said she would back her onetime boss, former President Donald Trump, if he decides to run for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination again in 2024 and not mount a bid against him. “Yes,” Haley, the former Republican governor of South Carolina, said in response to a question from
Continue ReadingPresident Joe Biden is confronting the first major protests during his presidency after three months in office, prompted by the police killing of a Black man in Minnesota. Monitoring events from the White House, his response so far has appeared designed to avoid inflaming the situation while still acknowledging the need for accountability. At the
Continue Reading House Republicans have remained conspicuously quiet since the Justice Department’s investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida first became public two weeks ago, but they’re likely to face new questions about their colleague’s future as the chamber returns to Washington on Tuesday. One House Republican has called for Gaetz to resign from Congress, while just
Continue Reading President Joe Biden, congressional leaders and members of the US Capitol Police will attend a ceremony for fallen Capitol Police Officer William “Billy” Evans, who will lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday. Evans, an 18-year veteran of the Capitol Police, died while protecting the US Capitol from an individual who brandished a
Continue Reading More than 60 Democratic lawmakers called on the Biden administration Tuesday to eventually end reliance on overflow facilities for unaccompanied migrant children, according to a letter shared with CNN. Some Democrats have been critical of the use of influx facilities, which are not state-licensed and have previously come under scrutiny. The Health and Human Services
Continue Reading President Joe Biden has said he’s willing to negotiate over infrastructure, a key legislative priority for the White House. There are signs, however, that Republican opposition remains as strong as ever, underscoring the challenge that awaits Democrats who face their own internal divisions over policy and strategy as they try to negotiate and pass a
Continue ReadingThe Biden administration is standing down on a campaign promise to create a White House-led commission and instead moving forward with its efforts toward passing police reform through legislative channels. “The Biden-Harris Administration strongly supports the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and is working with Congress to swiftly enact meaningful police reform that brings
Continue ReadingA 10-year-old boy found walking alone in tears near the US-Mexico border had previously been expelled from the US with his mother under a Trump-era pandemic health order that allows for the swift removal of migrants, according to a Customs and Border Protection official. The child, identified as Wilton Gutiérrez of Nicaragua, had been traveling
Continue Reading The number of unaccompanied minors in US Customs and Border Protection custody, akin to jail-like conditions, has dropped 45%, according to the latest government data, amid an ongoing effort by the Biden administration to find suitable spaces to accommodate kids after facing scrutiny for overcrowded facilities. As of Sunday, there were 3,130 children in the
Continue Reading The Nevada Republican Party Central Committee has voted to censure the state’s Republican secretary of state after she refused to investigate unfounded allegations of voter fraud in the state. The resolution, passed Saturday, censures Barbara Cegavske — Nevada’s only statewide Republican elected official — for “disregard of her oath of office by failing to investigate
Continue Reading Senate Democrats are hoping to advance a bill addressing the surge of hate crimes against Asian Americans as soon as Wednesday despite the resistance of some Republicans. The bill, introduced by Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono and New York Rep. Grace Meng, would assign a Justice Department official to expedite reviews of potential Covid-19-related hate crimes,
Continue ReadingPresident Joe Biden has picked Christine Wormuth to be the next secretary of the Army, the White House announced Monday, making her the first woman to hold the position if confirmed by the Senate. Wormuth previously served as under secretary of defense for policy, where she worked on the Defense Department’s counter-ISIS campaign. “Christine is
Continue ReadingA Trump State Department official who was charged in the Capitol insurrection will be released from jail, a federal judge said Monday, overturning a previous ruling that the man was too dangerous to release. Federico Klein, a former low-level State Department official, was arrested last month and ordered detained before trial. But Judge John Bates
Continue ReadingFamilies who lost loved ones to Covid-19 can now get help with funeral expenses from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, though the program got off to a bumpy start. The agency launched on Monday a hotline — 844-684-6333 — to apply for up to $9,000 in assistance per burial. While FEMA has aided families with
Continue ReadingPresident Joe Biden will name Chris Inglis to the new position of national cyber director, the White House announced on Monday Inglis — whose legal first name is John but who goes by Chris — is a former National Security Agency deputy director. The Washington Post was first to report his appointment. The White House
Continue Reading Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley raised $3 million in the first quarter of 2021, a person familiar with his fundraising said — a total that showcases how the Republican base is rewarding loyalty to former President Donald Trump. Hawley received more than 57,000 donations in that three-month period from more than 44,000 individuals — a pool
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