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Biden’s SOTU blasted as ‘nakedly partisan’ campaign speech: ‘Utter disgrace’

Biden’s SOTU blasted as ‘nakedly partisan’ campaign speech: ‘Utter disgrace’

President Biden’s State of the Union speech was trashed by prominent political pundits for its political nature, with some likening it to more of a campaign speech than an overview of the state of the country. “Attacking his opponent directly in the first minutes of his speech is unprecedented and perhaps the most partisan start to a State of the Union address in modern memory,” AEI Senior Fellow and former speechwriter for President George W. Bush Marc Thiessen wrote on X during Biden’s Thursday night speech. Biden criticized former President Donald Trump several times during his speech. “This man should never be allowed to take the rostrum of the House and deliver a State of the Union address again,” Thiessen posted on X moments later. PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS ATTEMPT TO DISRUPT SOTU NEAR CAPITOL: ‘BIDEN’S LEGACY IS GENOCIDE’ “As someone who helped write several SOTUs and who reveres this important presidential institution, I’m stunned by this address,” Thiessen said in another post. “It’s an utter disgrace.” “Does anyone remember a State of the Union speech so nakedly partisan as this one?” Georgetown Law Professor Randy Barnett posted on X. “In which the President repeatedly attacks his predecessor and prospective rival? I can’t.” “This speech is nothing but a cheap and tawdry campaign speech,” conservative radio host and author Mark Levin posted on X. “Biden is just off,” former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer posted on X. “His tone, his speed of delivery, his loud punchy way of speaking, is really weird.” “This speech is odd.” EX-REP GEORGE SANTOS RETURNS TO CAPITOL HILL FOR BIDEN’S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS “Instead of giving the State of the Union, President Biden is giving a campaign speech,” Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., posted on X. “Biden lasted on foreign policy only briefly,” Fox News Chief Political Correspondent Brit Hume posted on X. “Since then to this moment, all campaign stuff, read at high volume. For a man speaking of a great comeback, he doesn’t seem very happy. He seems angry.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

US lawmakers advance bill to force TikTok to cut ties with Chinese owner

US lawmakers advance bill to force TikTok to cut ties with Chinese owner

Critics say Beijing could force video-sharing app to share data on its US users and spread propaganda. Lawmakers in the United States are moving ahead with proposals to ban TikTok unless it cuts ties with its Chinese parent company amid claims the platform could be used to spy on Americans and manipulate public opinion. A US House of Representatives committee on Thursday voted 50-0 to advance the bill, setting it up for a likely full vote in the near future. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said on X that he would bring the “critical national security bill” to the House floor for a vote next week. The bill, introduced by Republican Mike Gallagher, would give Beijing-headquartered ByteDance roughly six months to divest or face a ban. The latest push to restrict TikTok comes after former President Donald Trump’s efforts to ban the app in 2020 were blocked by the courts. 🚨 The @HouseCommerce Committee just voted 50-0 to force TikTok to sever their ties with the Chinese Communist Party. I will bring this critical national security bill to the House floor for a vote next week. — Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) March 7, 2024 TikTok’s critics have argued that Beijing could force the platform to share data on its US users and spread propaganda and misinformation. TikTok has denied sharing personal data with the Chinese government and insisted it would refuse any request if asked. “The government is attempting to strip 170 million Americans of their Constitutional right to free expression,” TikTok said in a statement accusing the legislation’s backers of seeking the predetermined outcome of a total ban. “This will damage millions of businesses, deny artists an audience, and destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country.” Gallagher denied seeking to ban the platform outright, saying it could continue to operate in the US “provided there is that separation”. “It is not a ban – think of this as a surgery designed to remove the tumour and thereby save the patient in the process,” he said. The prospects of the bill becoming law are unclear, although concern about TikTok extends to both sides of the aisle. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has backed the measures, and the administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has broadly welcomed the proposals while indicating the legislation “still needs some work” to gain its support. In November, a judge blocked the state of Montana from implementing its first-of-its-kind ban on TikTok, saying it violated the free speech rights of users. Adblock test (Why?)

Ten years after MH370 disappeared, what do we know?

Ten years after MH370 disappeared, what do we know?

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – MH370 has now been missing for 10 years. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 was on an overnight flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board when it disappeared. Its last transmission was from Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah as the twin-engined aircraft moved into Vietnamese airspace in the early hours of March 8, about 40 minutes after leaving Kuala Lumpur. “Good night Malaysian three seven zero,” he said, as he bade farewell to Malaysian air traffic control. Then all went quiet. But while the plane disappeared from radar, it apparently continued flying for hours. Early searches of the South China Sea were wrapped up as attention shifted to a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean, where satellite pings suggested the plane came down after running out of fuel. Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on scouring the seas without any sign of debris. A few small pieces of fuselage have been found – including a flaperon, which forms part of the wing – washed up on beaches on Indian Ocean islands and in eastern Africa, but the world knows little more than it did in 2014. The Boeing 777-200 is some 64 metres long [210ft] and many struggle to understand how such a huge plane could have gone missing [File: Tomasz Bartkowiak/Reuters] MH370 has evolved into one of the greatest mysteries of modern aviation. Here is all you need to know. Who and what was on board? There were nationals of more than a dozen countries on board the lost plane, although more than half were from China. The passengers included a group of prominent Chinese artists who had been showing their calligraphy in Kuala Lumpur, two Iranians travelling on fake European passports, an Indonesian heading to Beijing to start a new job, a Malaysian couple on their honeymoon, young families with children and a stunt double for Jet Li. In the cockpit, Zaharie, a 53-year-old father of three, had joined Malaysia Airlines in 1981 and was one of its top pilots. Beside him was Fariq Hamid Ahmad. The 27-year-old has just qualified to co-pilot the 777. In the cabin, the Malaysian crew was led by supervisor Patrick Gomes who had worked for the airline for 35 years. When the plane disappeared, investigators also scrutinised its cargo. In the hold, there were found to be shipments of electronics including lithium batteries, as well as walkie-talkies. There was also a large consignment of mangosteens, a sweet tropical fruit known for its purple skin. More than half the passengers on board were from China, and there were angry scenes amid growing frustration at the airline’s inability to tell relatives what had happened to their loved ones [File: Jason Lee/Reuters] What happened when MH370 went missing? When Malaysians woke up to the news that the plane had gone missing, they were shocked. Despite perennial problems with its finances, the national carrier had a good safety record and a place in many a Malaysian heart. As the hours passed and no one seemed to have much idea of what had happened, shock turned to disbelief. In Beijing, tearful relatives demanded to know what had happened to their loved ones. Amid the lack of answers, officials from Malaysia Airlines, civil aviation authorities and the Malaysian government came under unprecedented international scrutiny. Then it became clear that the aircraft had never entered Vietnamese airspace. Shortly after Zaharie signed off, MH370 went dark. Its transponders were turned off and its tracking system was somehow disabled. Military radar showed the plane left its flight path to fly back over northern Malaysia and Penang island, and then out into the Andaman Sea towards the tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The final sighting on military radar was on March 8 at 2:22am Malaysian time (18:22 GMT, March 7). From there, the aircraft turned south – out into the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean. A flaperon from MH370 was recovered from the shore of Reunion Island in the western Indian Ocean in 2015 [File: Raymond Wae Tion/EPA] What has been done to find it? In the immediate aftermath of the plane going missing, Malaysia coordinated a search that involved more than two dozen countries. While initial efforts focussed on the South China Sea and the Andaman Sea, attention turned to the southern Indian Ocean when the military radar findings emerged on March 12, and the British telecommunications firm Inmarsat shared automated connections between its satellite and the 777 that suggested the plane could be somewhere along an arc of coordinates in the southern Indian Ocean. An initial aerial search of the ocean began on March 18 and covered an area of 4.5 million square kilometres (1.7 million square miles). The multinational effort, led by Australia, failed to find any sign of the plane and ended after six weeks. Attention then turned to the inhospitable seabed, some 2,800km off the coast of Western Australia The search, covering some 120,000 square kilometres (46,332 square miles), involved ships, submarines and aircraft, and cost $147m. The notoriously poor weather of the southern Indian Ocean added to the challenges, and the effort was suspended in 2017. A P-3C Orion from the US Navy prepares for takeoff in the multinational search for MH370 [File: Eric A Pastor/US Navy via Reuters] While the team discovered shipwrecks dating from the 19th century, they found no sign of the plane. A US firm, Ocean Infinity, then took up the challenge, working on a “no find, no fee” basis. That search – covering more than 112,000 square kilometres (43,243 square kilometres) just north of the initial search area – also failed to turn up any trace of the plane. What might have happened to MH370? Malaysia’s official report into the disappearance, released in 2018, found that while foul play was probably involved, it was not possible to say who had turned off the transponders and turned the plane around. “The answer can only be conclusive if the

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 744

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 744

As the war enters its 744th day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Friday, March 8, 2024. Fighting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree authorising the demobilisation of conscripts who joined the army before Russia’s invasion and whose service has come to an end. At least two people were killed in Russian rocket attacks on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region and another man was killed further west in Chernihiv region, local officials said. Ihor Zhovkva, a top diplomatic adviser for Ukraine, told broadcaster CNN he could not exclude the possibility that a Russian missile had deliberately targeted the delegations of Zelenskyy and the visiting prime minister of Greece when they visited Odesa earlier this week. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, denied the accusation. Politics and diplomacy Sweden became the 32nd member of NATO, abandoning its long-held neutrality in a process that started as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China sees itself as a “force for peace” in the world, but would continue to deepen its ties with Russia. “In the face of complex turmoil in the international environment, China will persist in being a force for peace, a force for stability, and a force for progress in the world,” Wang told reporters. Ukraine named Valerii Zaluzhnyi its new envoy to the United Kingdom a month after he was removed from his position as the country’s military commander-in-chief. Zelenskyy is scheduled to visit Turkey on Friday for a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two are likely to discuss the ongoing war, the Black Sea grain deal and bilateral relations. Speaking in Prague, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Ukraine’s allies not to be “cowards”, after being criticised for his proposal to send Western soldiers to fight on the ground in Ukraine. A new poll conducted by the Associated Press showed few Americans want the country to take a more active role in solving the world’s problems, including in Ukraine where the latest round of funding is tied up in Congress. The poll showed only about a quarter think the US should take a more active role. About one-third say its current role is about right. Weapons Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, said it was critical to US credibility to provide US military aid to Ukraine, and if the US withdrew from its leadership role, it would take time to develop European capacity to fill the gap. The UK said it would provide 10,000 drones to arm Ukraine, the weaponry will include 1,000 one-way attack – or kamikaze – drones and models that target ships. Adblock test (Why?)

Biden slams Trump multiple times in State of the Union address

Biden slams Trump multiple times in State of the Union address

President Biden invoked former President Donald Trump, his 2024 opponent, multiple times during his State of the Union address. Biden did not mention Trump by name, but instead, referred to him multiple times throughout the speech as his “predecessor.”  First, Biden invoked Trump related to Russia’s war with Ukraine. “My predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, ‘Do whatever the hell you want,’” Biden said. “A former American president actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader.” “My message to President Putin is simple,” Biden said, as he urged for more U.S. funding for Ukraine. “We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down.”  Next, Biden invoked Trump related to Jan. 6, 2021. “My predecessor and some of you here seek to bury the truth of January 6th,” he said. “I will not do that. This is a moment to speak the truth and bury the lies.” He added: “And here’s the simplest truth. You can’t love your country only when you win.” Biden went on to demand lawmakers and Americans “join together and defend our democracy.”  “Remember your oath of office to defend against all threats foreign and domestic,” he said.  Biden, in a swipe at Trump, added: “Respect free and fair elections; restore trust in our institutions; and make clear that political violence has absolutely no place in America.”  Then, Biden invoked Trump related to Roe v. Wade and female reproductive rights, claiming that Trump claims victory over the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark abortion law.  “Many of you in this chamber and my predecessor are promising to pass a national ban on reproductive freedom,” Biden said. “My God, what freedoms will you take away next?”  He also mentioned “his predecessor” related to mental health, made claims that Trump “failed to buy American” and more. Later, on immigration, Biden pointed to the border bill that Republicans have opposed in recent weeks.  “I’m told my predecessor called Republicans in the Senate and demanded they block the bill. He feels it would be a political win for me and a political loser for him,” Biden said. “It’s not about him or me.  It’d be a winner for America!”  Biden then gave a direct message to Trump: “If my predecessor is watching instead of playing politics and pressuring members of Congress to block this bill, join me in telling Congress to pass it!”  “We can do it together,” Biden said, but then said he “will not demonize immigrants and say they ‘poison the blood of our country.’”  “I will not separate families. I will not ban people from America because of their faith,” Biden said, in an apparent swipe at Trump immigration policies.  “Unlike my predecessor, on my first day in office I introduced a comprehensive plan to fix our immigration system, secure the border, and provide a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and so much more,” Biden said.  But Trump and Republicans have touted border security during the last administration as the safest in U.S. history.  This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

Ex-Rep George Santos returns to Capitol Hill for Biden’s State of the Union address

Ex-Rep George Santos returns to Capitol Hill for Biden’s State of the Union address

Expelled former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., is back in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday night to watch President Biden’s State of the Union address. Santos told reporters it’s his first time being back in the building since he was booted from the House of Representatives late last year along bipartisan lines, with 105 of his fellow Republicans joining Democrats in voting him out. He said he came to watch the primetime address, noting that as a former member he still retains privileges that include entry to the House floor when the body is in session. BIDEN’S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS: BRET BAIER, MARTHA MACCALLUM TO LEAD FOX NEWS CHANNEL’S SPECIAL COVERAGE “I was just visiting with some of my colleagues in a very bipartisan fashion,” Santos said. He said it felt “different” being back in the building and did not rule out coming back in the future. Santos also didn’t rule out running for office again, despite pending federal indictments. “I don’t put anything past my desire to run for office at this point, but right now… I’m a spectator, and I’m just watching,” he said. ALABAMA SEN KATIE BRITT TO DELIVER REPUBLICAN RESPONSE TO BIDEN STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS: ‘TRULY HONORED’ A former fellow member of the New York Congressional delegation, Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., blasted Santos over his appearance and called for him to lose his House floor privileges. “Expelled Congressman George Santos is disgracing the House Floor with his presence. He should be expelled from the House Floor,” Torres wrote on X. JIM BANKS CALLS ON BIDEN TO ‘PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGE’ LAKEN RILEY AT SOTU The former New York Republican congressman was expelled in the wake of a damning House Ethics Committee report that found he misused campaign funds on luxury items and OnlyFans, among other things. Santos has not been convicted of a crime, but he has been indicted on multiple counts related to wire fraud, identity theft, falsification of records, credit card fraud and other charges. He has pleaded not guilty. His ouster in a 311 to 114 vote slimmed House Republicans’ already perilously thin majority. Expelling a member of Congress takes a two-thirds majority vote. The last time a House lawmaker was expelled was more than two decades ago, when late former Rep. Jim Traficant, D-Ohio, was voted out of Congress in 2002.  Prior to his ousting, Traficant had been convicted of 10 felony counts, including racketeering and taking bribes.