Biden meets with Jordanian King Abdullah, calls for Israel to work to achieve peace deal
President Biden said his administration is working on facilitating a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas that would bring a halt to the fighting in the Gaza Strip “for at least six weeks,” during his remarks Monday at the White House alongside King Abdullah II of Jordan. Biden met with the Jordanian monarch to discuss the ongoing war between Israel and the terror group as well as how to bring about a peace agreement between the Jewish state and Palestinian leaders. The two leaders met before addressing reporters at the White House Cross Hall with prepared remarks. “The key elements of the deal are on the table. There are gaps that remain,” said Biden. “But I’ve encouraged Israeli leaders to keep working to achieve the deal.” NETANYAHU DECLARES ‘VICTORY IS WITHIN REACH’ AS HAMAS REDUCED TO ‘LAST REMAINING BASTION’ Biden and the king also discussed Israel’s military offensive in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza. He said the operation should not occur without a credible plan for ensuring the safety and support of more than one million Palestinians sheltering there who are “exposed and vulnerable.” “We cannot afford an Israeli attack on Rafah,” the king said. “It is certain to produce another humanitarian catastrophe.” On Monday, Israel said two Israeli hostages – Fernando Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70 – being held in Rafah were rescued. “The hostages … were held captive in harsh conditions. They were intentionally held in the middle of a civilian neighborhood inside a civilian building to try to prevent us from rescuing them. But we did,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a video message. “Fernando Marmon and Luis Har are now home in Israel. They have undergone medical examination and have been reunited with their families.” Biden noted that a Palestinian state could create conditions for Israel to have long-term peace with its Arab neighbors and long-lasting security. “That effort was underway before the Oct. 7 attacks,” Biden said. “It’s even more urgent today.” Israel has proposed a two-state solution to Palestinian leaders in the past, which have all have been rejected. Abdullah said issues between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem must also be addressed, including the expansion of Israeli settlements and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, where he said Muslim worshipers have not been allowed to enter. “Seven decades of occupation, death and destruction have proven beyond any doubt that there can be no peace without a political device,” he said.
House Republicans demand transcript of Biden’s interview with special counsel as part of impeachment inquiry
FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry against President Biden are demanding the Justice Department turn over the transcript and any recordings of Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur in his investigation into his mishandling of classified documents. Hur, who released his report to the public last week after months of investigating, did not recommend criminal charges against Biden for mishandling and retaining classified documents — and stated that he wouldn’t bring charges against Biden even if he were not in the Oval Office. BIDEN RETAINED RECORDS RELATED TO UKRAINE, CHINA; COMER DEMANDS ‘UNFETTERED ACCESS’ AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan and other countries, among other records related to national security and foreign policy, which Hur said implicated “sensitive intelligence sources and methods.” Hur did not recommend any charges against the president, but did describe him as a “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory” — a description that has raised significant concerns for his 2024 re-election campaign. On Monday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith penned a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting he turn over the transcript and any recordings of Biden’s October 2023 interview with Hur and the special counsel team. The three chairmen are leading the impeachment inquiry against President Biden. Comer had asked Hur if any of the classified records Biden held were related to the countries that his family conducted business with. Comer, last week, told Fox News Digital he wants “unfettered access to these documents to determine if President Biden’s retention of sensitive materials were used to help the Bidens’ influence peddling.” The letter sent to Garland and obtained by Fox News Digital on Monday detailed the concerns that “Biden may have retained sensitive documents related to specific countries involving his family’s foreign business dealings.” “Further, we seek to understand whether the White House or President Biden’s personal attorneys placed any limitations or scoping restrictions during the interview that would have precluded a line of inquiry regarding evidence (emails, text messages, or witness statements) directly linking the President to troublesome foreign payments,” they wrote. “Additionally, the Committee on the Judiciary requires these documents for its ongoing oversight of the Department’s commitment to impartial justice and its handling of the investigation and prosecution of President Biden’s presumptive opponent, Donald J. Trump, in the November 2024 presidential election,” they continued. “Despite clear evidence the President willfully retained and transmitted classified materials willfully, Mr. Hur recommended ‘that no criminal charges are warranted in this matter,’” they wrote. “Although Mr. Hur reasoned that President Biden’s presentation ‘as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory’ who ‘did not remember when he was vice president’ or ‘when his son Beau died’ posed challenges to proving the President’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the report concluded that the Department’s principles of prosecution weighed against prosecution because the Department has not prosecuted ‘a former president or vice president for mishandling classified documents from his own administration.’” They added: “The one ‘exception’ to the Department’s principles of prosecution, as Mr. Hur noted, ‘is former President Trump.’ This speaks volumes about the Department’s commitment to evenhanded justice.” Comer, Jordan and Smith demanded the materials by Feb. 19. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Trump asks Supreme Court to extend delay in election case, claiming presidential immunity
Former President Trump is asking the Supreme Court to extend the delay in the trial stemming from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s 2020 election interference case, arguing that he has presidential immunity to protect him from prosecution. Trump attorneys on Monday afternoon filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court just days after a D.C. appeals court ruled the former president and 2024 GOP front-runner is not immune from prosecution in Smith’s case. The request is for temporary relief, to stay or block the appeals court mandate from taking effect, which would give the Trump legal team more time to file an appeal to the Supreme Court on the merits of whether a former president deserves immunity from criminal prosecution for actions while in office. The trial stemming from Smith’s case against Trump is on hold pending resolution of the immunity question. The Justice Department may ask for expedited consideration of this initial emergency appeal. “If the prosecution of a President is upheld, such prosecutions will recur and become increasingly common, ushering in destructive cycles of recrimination,” the request states. “Criminal prosecution, with its greater stigma and more severe penalties, imposes a far greater ‘personal vulnerability’ on the President than any civil penalty.” The request adds, “The threat of future criminal prosecution by a politically opposed Administration will overshadow every future President’s official acts — especially the most politically controversial decisions.” The request states that the president’s “political opponents will seek to influence and control his or her decisions via effective extortion or blackmail with the threat, explicit or implicit, of indictment by a future, hostile Administration, for acts that do not warrant any such prosecution.” “This threat will hang like a millstone around every future President’s neck, distorting Presidential decision-making, undermining the President’s independence, and clouding the President’s ability ‘to deal fearlessly and impartially with’ the duties of his office.’” Trump’s lawyers added, “Without immunity from criminal prosecution, the Presidency as we know it will cease to exist.” A Trump spokesperson described the filing as a “powerhouse filing.” “As President Trump’s powerhouse Supreme Court filing explains, if immunity is not granted to a President, every future President who leaves office will face the prospect of being wrongfully indicted by the opposing party,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Without complete immunity, the President of the United States will not be able to function properly. Even while the President is still in office, his political opponents will use the threat of future prosecution as a weapon, effectively blackmailing and extorting him to influence his most sensitive and important decisions.” The spokesperson added, “The Supreme Court should grant the requested stay and put an end to Deranged Jack Smith’s repeated attempts to corruptly short-circuit the ordinary and correct functioning of our justice system.” This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Judge in Trump Georgia case says DA Fani Willis’ alleged ‘improper’ affair ‘could result in disqualification’
A Georgia state judge on Monday confirmed that he will hold an evidentiary hearing on Thursday over allegations that embattled District Attorney Fani Willis engaged in an “improper” affair. Willis was accused of having an “improper” affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she hired to help prosecute former President Donald Trump in a sweeping racketeering case related to the 2020 election. Those allegations were first made by Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, who is arguing that Willis’ alleged conduct should disqualify her and her team from the case. Willis, who admitted to a personal relationship with Wade but denied any conflict of interest, asked the court to cancel the evidentiary hearing slated for later this week. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said in a hearing Monday considering those motions, “in studying the law that’s been filed up to this point, I think it’s clear that disqualification can occur if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one. And the filing submitted on this issue so far have presented a conflict in the evidence that can’t be resolved as a matter of law.” FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS ADMITS PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH PROSECUTOR BUT DENIES CONFLICT OF INTEREST “Specifically looking at defendant Roman’s motion, it alleges a personal relationship that resulted in a financial benefit to the district attorney. And that is no longer a matter of complete speculation. The state has admitted a relationship existed. And so, what remains to be proven is the existence and extent of any financial benefit,” the judge said. “So, because I think it’s possible that the facts alleged by the defendant could result in disqualification, I think an evidentiary hearing must occur to establish the record on those core allegations,” he said. In legal filings last month, Roman alleged that Wade billed Fulton County for 24 hours of work on a single day in November 2021, shortly after being appointed as a special prosecutor, and that Willis financially benefited from her alleged lover’s padded taxpayer-funded salary by taking lavish vacations together on his dime. According to the court documents, Wade, who has no RICO and felony prosecution experience, billed taxpayers $654,000 since January 2022. Judge McAfee said Monday that “the particulars” of Wade’s experience will not be relevant in the evidentiary hearing, which will take place on Thursday, Feb. 15, adding, “in my mind as long as a lawyer has a heartbeat and a bar card that lawyer’s appointment standing alone is a matter within the District Attorney’s discretion.” GEORGIA WHISTLEBLOWERS LINING UP TO TESTIFY AGAINST FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS, STATE LAWMAKER SAYS McAfee said the issues “at point” here are “whether a relationship existed, whether that relationship was romantic or non-romantic in nature, when it formed and whether it continues. And that’s only relevant because it’s in combination with the question of the existence and extent of any personal benefit conveyed as a result of their relationship.” Willis responded to the allegations in a court filing and admitted to having a “personal” relationship with Wade but denied any conflict of interest. She also argued that, according to Georgia law, in order for a district attorney to be forcibly removed from a case, the conflict of interest has to be harmful to a defendant’s case. FANI WILLIS WHO ‘RELISHED IN’ DONALD TRUMP PROSECUTION SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM CASE FOR ILLICIT AFFAIR: EXPERTS Willis told the Superior Court that while the allegations against her are “salacious,” they have no “merit.” Willis claims that while she and Wade “have been professional associates and friends since 2019,” there was “no personal relationship” between her and Wade in November 2021 at the time of Wade’s appointment, and that Roman and his lawyers “offer no support for their insistence that the exercise of any prosecutorial discretion (i.e., any charging decision or plea recommendation) in this case was impacted by any personal relationship.” Willis’ filing said Roman’s motions “attempt to cobble together entirely unremarkable circumstances of Special Prosecutor Wade’s appointment with completely irrelevant allegations about his personal family life into a manufactured conflict of interest on the part of the District Attorney.” Judge McAfee determined that Terrence Bradley, Wade’s former law partner, will testify first on Thursday and that his testimony will determine whether others will be required to testify. The state has also revealed that DA Willis’ father will be testifying on Thursday, remotely from California. The court has set aside all day Thursday and Friday for this hearing, and potentially more time if needed.
Rancher sounds alarm on ‘route’ for terror as Mayorkas denies responsibility for mass border crossings
A fifth-generation Arizona rancher accused lawmakers of refusing to secure the border for political purposes as the ongoing migrant crisis worsens, potentially giving terrorists the opportunity to sneak into the U.S. through his land. “It’s people talking about the issues, arguing about the issues. Border security has always been a political football,” Jim Chilton, owner of the Chilton Ranch, told Fox News. “That’s the nature of our system.” WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE A long-awaited bipartisan border security deal aimed at gaining control of an overwhelmed asylum system at the southern border collapsed just days after it was revealed with all but four Republicans voting against the legislation advancing in the Senate. From the outset, GOP leaders in both chambers criticized the bill, with House Speaker Mike Johnson repeatedly calling it “dead on arrival.” Democrats accused conservatives of killing it for political purposes. “Secure the international boundary and develop a program to bring people into this country legally,” Chilton told Fox News as a plea to Congress. “We’re a nation of the rule of law. We need to stop people just having the idea that they can walk into the United States.” HOUSE MEMBER SAYS ‘EULOGY HAS ALREADY BEEN READ’ ON BORDER BILL AS BIDEN BLAMES TRUMP FOR STALEMATE The bill would have given President Biden and the Department of Homeland Security authority to close the border if migrant encounters reached a certain threshold and allocated $20 billion for immigration enforcement. It also included $650 million for border wall construction and reinforcement. But Republican critics, including House GOP leaders, said the legislation wasn’t aggressive enough to curb illegal immigration with migrant crossings skyrocketing under the Biden administration. In December, migrant encounters reached an all-time high of 302,000, according to Customs and Border Protection data. And while lawmakers fumble solutions, the southern border crisis worsens, Chilton said. ‘HE’S DELUSIONAL’: BIDEN’S BORDER COMMENTS SPARK STIFF REBUKE ON CAPITOL HILL FROM SOME LAWMAKERS “The problem in our area in the last three years has intensified immensely,” Chilton told Fox News. He said hidden cameras on his property have caught thousands of people illegally entering the country. Some dress in all camouflage, Chilton said, and others use “carpet shoes” — footwear with carpet attached to the soles to hide footprints. “They’re entering our country unseen, and they could be terrorists,” he said. Officials encountered 169 people on the FBI terror watchlist illegally crossing the southern border in fiscal 2023, according to CBP data. That’s more than the previous year’s record-setting 98 encounters, as well as the last six years combined. “I’m really concerned,” Chilton said. “If our adversaries around the world want to bring terrorists into our country, this is a route.” ARIZONA BORDER COUNTY OFFICIAL’S BLUNT MESSAGE TO CONGRESS TO REJECT IMMIGRATION BILL: ‘SHUT DOWN THE BORDER’ Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas denied blame for mass crossings at the southern border, he said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” Mayorkas, who’s expected to soon face a second impeachment attempt for failing to curb the migrant crisis, instead blamed Republicans for sinking the bipartisan bill and said Congress should be held accountable for America’s broken immigration system. The failed border security deal also included a $95 billion foreign aid supplemental package. A standalone bill, which would include $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel and $8 billion for Taiwan, passed a 67-27 test vote Sunday. But Chilton told Fox News keeping Americans safe should be lawmakers’ top priority. “It would be outrageous not to secure our border first,” Chilton said. “Take care of America first. Seal the border.”
Fifty years on, a case to uphold Indigenous rights resonates in the US
First, she heard a ping, then the sound of something hitting her boat. It was 1975, and Norma Cagey, only 18 years old at the time, was alone with her husband on the calm waters of the Hood Canal, a tree-lined fjord in Washington state. A member of the Skokomish Indigenous nation, Cagey was using nets to catch Coho salmon when a series of strange noises interrupted the tranquil: whirs, pings and thuds. That’s when the couple realised they were being shot at. Cagey’s husband quickly turned on the boat motor, and the pair sped off. But the memory lingers with Cagey to this day. Indigenous fisher Norma Cagey said she faced gunfire for casting nets in her ancestral territory [Courtesy of Norma Cagey] “We were scared. It took a few days for us to get back out there. We needed the money,” Cagey told Al Jazeera. She believes she was targeted as part of the “fish wars” in the 1960s and ’70s: a string of clashes over Indigenous fishing rights in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. But 50 years ago, on February 12, 1974, a federal court decision would change the course of the conflict, delivering a compromise that remains controversial to this day. The Boldt decision — named for its author, Judge George Boldt — upheld the Indigenous right to fish in Washington state, delivering a high-profile win to local tribes. What’s more, it designated that Indigenous peoples could claim a share of the catch equal to that of non-Indigenous fishermen. In other words, the state’s fish harvest would be split 50-50. Cagey was among the Indigenous residents present in court that day. She remembers a packed house, with tribe members decked out in regalia, hippies in tie-dye and Indigenous elders, comfortable in their everyday clothes. “It was a surprise to see how many people turned up to support the Natives,” said Cagey, now a member of the Skokomish Tribal Council. She considers the ruling a victory, albeit limited: “If you look at the history of Native Americans, we lost everything. We wanted a lot more, but we got some. And we can work with some.” But others believe the Boldt decision was a setback, setting the stage for hurdles that persist into the present. Coho salmon are among the species native to Washington state in the US [NOAA Fisheries handout/Reuters] Fishing as an act of protest The Boldt decision arrived in the twilight of the US civil rights movement, a time of racial awakening and cultural reckoning that started in the 1950s. It was an era of civil disobedience, when Black and brown protesters took to the streets to denounce racial segregation and other discriminatory practices. One of the most iconic forms of protest at the time was the sit-in. Demonstrators would occupy spaces where they ordinarily were not allowed, bellying up to segregated lunch counters or plopping down at segregated libraries where they would then refuse to move. In the Pacific Northwest, Indigenous protesters created their own version of the sit-in: a fish-in. The idea was to arrive at a waterway where they might otherwise be barred from fishing — and cast their nets en masse, defying orders to leave. The tactic was part of a shift in the Indigenous rights — or “Red Power” — movement. Certain older Indigenous-led organisations had previously resisted the idea of public protest with slogans like “Indians Don’t Demonstrate”. The fish-ins ultimately attracted major media attention and celebrity participants. Gary Peterson, 79, the former business manager of the Skokomish tribe, remembers that Academy Award winner Marlon Brando and comedian Dick Gregory took part. “People were seeing it on the news every night,” Peterson said. “There were prominent people like Marlon Brando getting arrested.” But unlike the fight to end racial segregation, the Indigenous protesters behind the fish-ins were not seeking assimilation. They were seeking sovereignty. Actor Marlon Brando, right, speaks to the press in 1986 alongside Indigenous leader Janet McCloud, centre [Courtesy of the Museum of History and Industry/Seattle Post-Intelligencer Photograph Collection] ‘This paper secures your fish’ The US government had recognised certain Indigenous tribes as sovereign nations — at least, on paper. In practice, however, the treaties it signed with these nations were often violated with little consequence. Such was the case in the Pacific Northwest. In the 1850s, Isaac Stevens, the first governor of the Washington Territory, drew up several treaties establishing the local tribes’ right to fish at “all usual and accustomed grounds”. But the treaties served primarily as vehicles to strip Indigenous peoples of their land. Historians underscore that Stevens took advantage of language barriers — and threatened military force — to ensure the documents were signed. Altogether, 64 million acres (25.9 million hectares) of Indigenous territory came under Stevens’s control. Still, he pledged to uphold tribal fishing rights. “This paper secures your fish. Does not a father give food to his children?” Stevens reportedly said during one treaty negotiation. Species like salmon were integral to the Indigenous communities in the region: They were a primary food source and an important part of spiritual life. “It may sound foreign to people, but [fishing] is tied into our culture and who we are,” said Amber Taylor, the assistant director of the Puyallup Tribe’s Historic Preservation Department. “So much so that when Stevens came to negotiate the treaty, our ancestors had the foresight to include those prefaces because we relied on them so heavily for our sustenance.” But as settlers moved into the Washington Territory, access to ancestral fishing spots became increasingly fraught. And then there was the population decline. The number of salmon had plummeted by the 20th century. Manmade changes to the environment — including the canal between Lake Washington and Puget Sound, the dredging of the Duwamish River and various hydroelectric dams — had disrupted fish migration patterns, impeding their ability to breed. Other factors like commercial fishing, urban development and pesticides also played havoc with the salmon populations. The shrinking
EU’s Borrell suggests US stop arming Israel amid fears over Rafah assault
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has urged allies of Israel, primarily the United States, to stop sending it weapons as “too many people” are being killed in Gaza. Pointing to US President Joe Biden’s comment last week that Israel’s military action was “over the top”, Borrell said on Monday: “Well, if you believe that too many people are being killed, maybe you should provide less arms in order to prevent so many people having been killed.” “Is [it] not logical?” he asked, in a Brussels news conference alongside Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), who is Israel is pressuring to resign. “How many times have you heard the most prominent leaders and foreign ministers around the world saying too many people are being killed?” Borrell asked. “If the international community believes that this is a slaughter, that too many people are being killed, maybe we have to think about the provision of arms,” Borrell added. The chief EU diplomat also slammed an order by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the more than one million Palestinians sheltering in the Gaza city of Rafah need to be “evacuated” ahead of a planned Israeli military operation there. “They are going to evacuate – where? To the moon? Where are they going to evacuate these people?” Borrell asked. This is not the first time Borrell expressed concerned over an invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. On Sunday, he said an assault there “would lead to an unspeakable humanitarian catastrophe” and grave tensions with neighbouring Egypt. Rafah incursion ‘terrifying’ Former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said European countries share responsibility for the atrocities being committed in Gaza. “We Europeans created the problem … we are playing a vicious role, in its perpetuation,” Varoufakis told Al Jazeera. The former finance minister accused Borrell of hypocrisy for saying not enough pressure was being applied on Israel, asserting that the EU was “collectively arming” Israel. “As we speak, Germany, France, [and] Italy are sending the armaments that are being used in Rafah to kill people,” Varoufakis added. His latest comments came as dozens were killed in Israeli air strikes on Rafah, according to Palestinian health officials, as people there brace for a major offensive on the densely crowded urban area. Meanwhile, Volker Turk, the UN’s human rights chief, has also expressed alarm over an anticipated Israeli ground assault on Rafah. Turk said it is “wholly imaginable what would lie ahead” if the planned incursion is not stopped. “A potential full-fledged military incursion into Rafah, where some 1.5 million Palestinians are packed against the Egyptian border with nowhere further to flee, is terrifying, given the prospect that an extremely high number of civilians, again mostly children and women, will likely be killed and injured,” Turk said in a statement. Rights groups have also warned that a full-scale assault on Rafah, the last relatively safe area of the enclave, would result in significant civilian casualties. More than half the population of Gaza has crowded into Rafah to escape Israeli bombardment, which has reduced much of the rest of the Gaza Strip to ruins. Most of those in Rafah were displaced by Israeli offensives in northern, central, and eastern Gaza. Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs Gaza, has warned Israel that a ground offensive in Rafah would jeopardise negotiations on a truce and the exchange of captives and prisoners. More than 28,340 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in the Israeli assault on Gaza since October, according to Palestinian authorities. The relentless Israeli bombardment and ground offensive have displaced more than 80 percent of the population, according to aid agencies, and reduced much of the territory to rubble. Israel launched its war on Gaza after Hamas carried out a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,139 people, mostly civilians, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on official Israeli figures. Adblock test (Why?)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin cancels NATO trip after hospitalisation
Austin has been hospitalised in the critical care unit for complications from prostate cancer. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has cancelled his trip to Brussels to meet with NATO ministers and work on Ukraine military aid after being hospitalised with complications from prostate cancer, according to US officials. Austin, 70, was taken to Walter Reed Military Medical Center on Sunday with “symptoms suggesting an emergent bladder issue”, the Pentagon said. Austin was scheduled to travel to Brussels on Tuesday to attend a regular meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a group of about 50 countries, to coordinate military aid for Kyiv. That meeting will now be held virtually, two US defence officials told The Associated Press news agency on the condition of anonymity. After the Ukraine meeting, Austin was to attend a regular meeting of NATO defence ministers, also in Brussels. It is not immediately clear if Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, who Austin has transferred his duties to, will attend that meeting instead. Austin had failed to disclose a prostate cancer surgery in December and a subsequent hospitalisation in January to deal with its complications. This month, the cabinet secretary apologised for failing to tell Biden and senior staff about his cancer diagnosis, adding that the health scare was a “gut punch” that had shaken him. The most recent hospitalisation was publicly announced soon after he was taken to the military medical centre by his security detail. Austin is scheduled to testify before Congress on February 29 about the secrecy surrounding his initial hospitalisation. His trip to Brussels would have come at a critical time in Europe. A narrowly divided US Senate moved closer to passing a $95.3bn aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan on Sunday, showing undiminished bipartisanship despite mounting opposition from Republican hardliners and former US President Donald Trump to continued help to Ukraine. The legislation includes $61bn for Ukraine, which is viewed as crucial by Kyiv as it grinds towards the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion as front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine largely static for many months. Trump, who is seeking a return to power in the November presidential election, raised a storm of criticism from the White House and top Western officials over the weekend for suggesting he would not defend NATO allies who failed to spend enough on defence and would even encourage Russia to attack them. Adblock test (Why?)
Biden’s upcoming physical exam will not include a cognitive test, White House says
President Biden will not take a cognitive test as part of his upcoming physical exam, the White House confirmed Monday. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, does not believe a cognitive test is necessary. She said O’Connor believes Biden proves his cognitive ability “every day [in] how he operates and how he thinks.” Reporters pressed Jean-Pierre on the issue due to last week’s report from Special Counsel Robert Hur that found Biden has significant memory issues. “Does the White House think that the idea of the president taking a cognitive test as a part of this physical is a legitimate idea?” a reporter asked. BIDEN LEAD OVER TRUMP SHRINKS WITH THIRD PARTY CANDIDATES ADDED “I’m just gonna say what Dr. O’Connor said to me about a year ago when [Biden’s physical] was released,” Jean-Pierre responded. “The president proves every day [in] how he operates and how he thinks, by dealing with world leaders, by making difficult decisions on behalf of the American people – whether it’s domestic or it’s national security.” HALEY ARGUES TRUMP AND BIDEN ARE ‘GRUMPY OLD MEN’ “That is how Dr. O’Connor sees it, and that is how I’m going to leave it,” she added. Jean-Pierre gave a more full-throated defense of Biden when reporters continued to press her on the topic. She said she has known Biden for more than a decade and continues to find him to be “sharp” and “on top of things.” “When we have meetings with him and his staff he is constantly pushing us, trying to get more information, and so that has been my experience with this president,” she said. Recent polling has found that Biden’s age is a major issue for a majority of not only Americans in general, but also Democrats. A Sunday poll from ABC/Ipsos found that 86% of Americans believe Biden is too old to serve another term, including 73% of Democrats.
Climate activists arrested after shutting down Biden campaign HQ: ‘That’s bulls—‘
A group of youth climate activists were arrested Monday for blocking the entrance to President Biden’s campaign headquarters in Delaware while demanding his administration “end the era of fossil fuels.” According to the left-wing climate group Sunrise Movement, 21 of its members were arrested and roughly 80 others were involved in the protest in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday. The activists warned that, if Biden failed to take definitive action combating climate change, millions of young voters would stay home in November. “Climate change is at our doorstep. Our homes are flooding, we’re breathing in toxic air, Black people like me are dying while the President expands oil and gas production to record levels,” Sunrise campaign director Kidus Girma said in a statement after the protest. “Then President Biden goes around and claims he’s a climate president and wants our votes? That’s bulls—.” While Girma failed to specify which actions Biden has taken to boost greater reliance on fossil fuels, the Sunrise Movement has repeatedly called for him to formally declare global warming a national emergency, an action he has resisted throughout his presidency. A climate emergency declaration would enable Biden to bypass Congress and take a number of executive actions not normally granted to the White House. MODERATE DEMS SILENT AS BIDEN SKIRTS SENATE CONFIRMATION FOR JOHN KERRY’S REPLACEMENT In addition, the Sunrise Movement broadly opposes all oil, gas and coal development, calling instead for an aggressive nationwide transition to green energy sources like wind and solar. Currently, fossil fuels generate the majority of domestic electricity and support both the transportation and manufacturing sectors in America, according to federal data. “There are dozens of things he could sign into law tomorrow if he wanted to protect low-income communities of color like mine that live next to fossil fuel sites that are killing us through cancer and asthma,” Sunrise Movement volunteer Ariela Lara said. “He could make sure that every time a climate disaster hits, no one gets evicted and everyone has access to free health care,” she continued. “He could end the fossil fuel era by refusing to approve a single oil or gas well in this country. Biden can’t build renewables on Monday, build fossil fuels on Tuesday, and then claim to be climate president. That’s not how science works, and young voters know it.” AOC DECLARES VICTORY IN FIGHT FOR GREEN NEW DEAL 5 YEARS LATER: ‘SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION’ But while Biden has yet to declare a climate emergency, he has repeatedly taken aim at the fossil fuel industry while seeking to boost green energy. Shortly after taking office, the president signed executive orders to pause all oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters, and canceled permits for the Keystone XL oil pipeline project. Although a federal court eventually intervened to force the Biden administration to continue leasing, it has dragged its feet on holding new lease sales and created regulatory roadblocks for producers. And Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which earmarks tens of billions of dollars for green energy programs. His administration has also unleashed an onslaught of environmental regulations to curb fossil fuel power plant electricity generation, push electric vehicles and incentivize the electrification of the residential sector. “There is only one existential threat we face in this world, and that’s the environment,” Biden remarked during a campaign reception Thursday. “I mean, it literally is the existential threat. It’s even more consequential than nuclear power, nuclear war,” he added. “That would be horrible and awful, and it would just make the environment incredibly worse. But it’s about the environment.” The Biden campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.