Biden arrives at US Capitol for inauguration as 46th president
Washington---President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris arrived at the US Capitol on Wednesday for their official inauguration ceremony......»»
Blinken Arrives in South Korea to Attend Democracy Summit
Seoul, South Korea - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived Sunday in South Korea on the first stop of a brief Asia tour also including the Philippines, as Washington moves to reinforce ties with two key regional allies.Blinken landed Sunday afternoon ahead of the third Summit for Democracy on Monday, an initiative of U.S. President Joe Biden, which Seoul is hosting this week.Before arriving in Se.....»»
Hail to the chief
Last week, Joseph R. Biden was formally sworn in as the 46th US President. The 78-year-old former vice president, the oldest to hold that high office, took the reins of government of a decidedly divided nation after a hotly contested election which engendered, in a way, the storming of the US Capitol by Trump supporters just two weeks before......»»
Palace to work with Biden-led U.S. for freer, more peaceful world
President Rodrigo Duterte has expressed his well wishes to new United States President Joseph “Joe” Biden, Malacañang said Thursday, as the 46th leader of the world’s biggest economy laid out his ambitious slate of actions, many of which will reverse key policies of his predecessor. Biden took his oath of office at the U.S. Capitol […] The post Palace to work with Biden-led U.S. for freer, more peaceful world appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Diffusing tension
In his 2024 State of the Union Address, President Joseph Biden doubled down on his rhetoric against China as he boasted revitalized partnerships in the Pacific. He rattled off India, Australia, Japan, South Korea and the Pacific Islands. He said the United States is standing up against China’s economic practices while standing up for peace across the Taiwan Strait......»»
Biden to Host Japan PM Kishida, Philippines President Marcos
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for a White House summit next month amid growing concerns about North Korea's nuclear program, provocative Chinese action in the South China Sea and differences over a Japanese company's plan to buy an iconic American steel company.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre in a sta.....»»
Biden to host trilateral summit with Japan, Philippines on April 11
Washington, DC [US], March 19 (ANI): US President Joe Biden will host a three-way summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos in Washington on April 11, as announced by the White House, as reported by Kyodo News. This historic summit, the first of its kind involving the United States, Japan, and the Philippines, aims to bolster defence cooperation in response to China's asse.....»»
US State Secretary Blinken begins Middle East tour, marks his first stop in Saudi Arabia
Jeddah [Saudi Arabia], March 21 (ANI): US State Secretary Antony Blinken who began his Middle East tour arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, marking his first stop on this trip to discuss efforts to reach an "immediate ceasefire agreement" between Israel and Hamas, The New York Times reported. Blinken's visit to Jeddah came as US President Joe Biden's administration was hoping it could convince Saudi Arabia to establish.....»»
Trump, in Iowa, demands release of those jailed for 2021 Capitol attack
Donald Trump calls those jailed in the wake of the January 6, 2021 attack 'hostages' and says they had been mistreated by the Biden administration.....»»
Scores killed in Gaza strikes as new aid convoy arrives
Scores of Palestinians were killed in central Gaza on Sunday after Israel stepped up its strikes on the war-torn enclave and another convoy of 17 aid trucks arrived as the Hamas-run territory faces "catastrophic" shortages. With the violence raging unchecked, Iran said the region could spiral "out of control". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stark warning to Lebanon's Hezbollah, saying getting involved would be "the mistake of its life". Washington warned any actors looking to inflame the conflict that it would not hesitate to act in the event of any "escalation". Hamas militants in Gaza stormed across the border into Israel on 7 October, launching a raid that killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated, or burnt to death on the first day, according to Israeli officials. They also seized more than 200 hostages in the worst-ever attack in Israel's history. Israel has hit back with a relentless bombing campaign that has so far killed more than 4,600 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to Gaza's health ministry. Officials said the central town of Deir al-Balah had been particularly badly hit overnight from Saturday to Sunday. The ministry said at least 80 people had been killed in the overnight raids on central Gaza, which destroyed more than 30 homes. At the hospital morgue, an AFP journalist saw the bodies of many children on the bloodied floor, where distraught families wept as they identified the victims. Among them was a man clutching his dead toddler and a young boy who pulled back a blanket over his little sister's body. "My cousin was sleeping in his house with his daughter in his arms. He was a man with no record, nothing to do with the resistance," said Wael Wafi, gazing at the body of his cousin, his arm still wrapped around his three-year-old daughter Misk. Also Sunday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that 29 of its staff had been killed since the start of the war in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying half of them were teachers. On Saturday it had given a toll of 17. The scale of the bombing has left basic systems unable to function. The UN said dozens of unidentified bodies had been buried in a mass grave in Gaza City because cold storage had run out. Meanwhile, an Israeli soldier was killed near the Gaza border by an anti-tank missile fired by militants inside the enclave, the army said. 'Accident' as Israel hits Egypt post Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned the war with Hamas could take months. "It will take one month, two months, three months, and at the end, there will be no more Hamas," Gallant said. A second convoy of 17 trucks of aid entered Gaza from Egypt on Sunday following an initial delivery of 20 trucks on Saturday after intensive negotiations and US pressure. Separately, an AFP journalist saw six trucks leaving Rafah after filling up from dwindling fuel stocks held at the crossing as the enclave faces catastrophic shortages after Israel cut off supplies of food, water, fuel, and electricity. It later resumed water supplies to the south on 15 October. Although Egyptian media said another 40 trucks would enter Gaza on Monday, the UN says the enclave needs 100 trucks per day to meet the needs of Gaza's 2.4 million residents. And so far, there have been no deliveries of fuel, with UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini warning Sunday that supplies would run out "in three days". "Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals, and... aid will not reach many civilians in desperate need," he said. The Hamas government said 165,000 housing units -- half of those in the entire Gaza Strip -- had been destroyed in the raids. With fears growing that the conflict could spread, Israel on Sunday admitted accidentally hitting an Egyptian border post, apologizing for the incident which Cairo said had left an unspecified number of border guards with "minor injuries". Risk of regional escalation There were fresh exchanges of fire over Israel's northern border with Lebanon as fears grew that Hezbollah, a close ally of Hamas and Iran, could enter the conflict, prompting Israel's Netanyahu to warn it would be "the mistake of its life". "We will strike it with a force it cannot even imagine, and the significance for it and the state of Lebanon will be devastating," he said. Iran also warned about the conflict spreading on Sunday, with top diplomat Hossein Amir-Abdollahian cautioning that if Washington and Israel did not "immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza.. the region will go out of control". But Washington said it wouldn't hesitate to act in the event of any "escalation", just hours after the Pentagon moved to step up military readiness in the region. "If any group or any country is looking to widen this conflict and take advantage of this very unfortunate situation that we see, our advice is: don't," US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on ABC News. On Sunday, Pope Francis used his weekly Angelus prayer in Rome to plead for an end to the bloodshed. "War is always a defeat, it is a destruction of human fraternity. Brothers, stop!" he said. He later held a 20-minute conversation with US President Joe Biden about "conflict situations in the world and the need to identify paths to peace", the Vatican said. Biden later discussed with war with the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, and Italy, the White House said. The US president also held talks with Netanyahu, said the White House, adding: "The leaders affirmed that there will now be continued flow of this critical assistance into Gaza." In Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron's office announced he would be traveling to Israel on Tuesday for talks with Netanyahu. Protesters marched in several European capitals on Sunday. At least 10,000 people rallied in support of Israel in Berlin as Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed to stamp out a resurgence of anti-Semitic incidents linked to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Thousands gathered in Paris to demand an end to Israel's operation in Gaza, the first pro-Palestinian rally in the French capital that wasn't banned on security grounds. The post Scores killed in Gaza strikes as new aid convoy arrives appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
EU, U.S. unite to support Israel
European Union and United States leaders met in Washington Friday to show their united stance in supporting Israel’s war on the Palestinian militant group Hamas. “We stood together to support the brave people of Ukraine in the face of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s aggression. We’re standing together now to support Israel in the wake of Hamas’s appalling terrorist attack,” US President Joe Biden said at the White House. “These conflicts show democracies must stand together,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told reporters as she and European Council chief Charles Michel met Biden. “Today, the world faces enormous challenges. And today, more than ever, the world needs a strong EU-US alliance to tackle these challenges,” Michel said. EU leaders were looking for reassurance of continued US support for Ukraine, which is fighting to repel the Russian invasion launched in February 2022. That reassurance was evident Thursday when Biden urged Americans to back a $106 billion aid package including military assistance for Ukraine and Israel. The US is by far the biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine. Aid to Israel and Ukraine, however, faces hurdle as the US Congress has been paralyzed for more than two weeks divided Republicans, who hold the majority in the House of Representatives, failed for a third time to elect a new House speaker. Congress also faces a 17 November deadline to act on the budget, so as to avoid a possible government shutdown. House crisis In the 17 days since US House speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted in a rebellion by right-wing hard-liners from within his own party, no other Republican has been able to muster enough votes to replace him, sparking one of the worst institutional crises Washington has seen in decades. The US legislature is unable to perform even basic functions like funding the government and addressing growing national security concerns. The party dropped Ohio conservative Jim Jordan, chairman of the influential Judiciary Committee, in a secret ballot Friday after he again failed to secure victory on the House floor on his third attempt. Despite backing from former president and leading 2024 Republican hopeful Donald Trump, Jordan was defeated by 25 colleagues from his own side who joined every Democrat to deny him the gavel for the third time in four days. Lawmakers told reporters as they left Capitol Hill for the weekend they would hold a “candidate forum” to choose a new standard-bearer on Monday, with several hopefuls expected to be announced on Sunday. WITH AFP The post EU, U.S. unite to support Israel appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Not a fan of Donald
With a parting shot at his former boss Donald Trump, General Mark Milley resigned as the top US military official on Friday. He said that no soldier had ever taken an oath to serve a “wannabe dictator.” On his final day as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Milley delivered a shocking reprimand that perfectly exemplified how the US military has been drawn into the increasingly combustible political landscape since the Trump administration. Milley did not specifically mention Trump during a lavish military ceremony for his leaving, but it was clear who he was criticizing. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and President Joe Biden were both present. Milley remarked of American soldiers “We don’t take an oath to a king, or queen, or a tyrant, or a dictator.” And we don’t swear an oath to a would-be autocrat. Air Force General Charles “CQ” Brown, the second African American to hold the position of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will take Milley’s place. Milley, a barrel-chested army veteran with four decades of service, has held numerous high-level leadership positions and numerous foreign deployments. But he had his most difficult task when Trump gave him the career apex position of senior military advisor to the president in 2019. Milley oversaw the daunting withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, special operations in Syria, and a sizable program to support Ukraine in its valiant struggle against Russian invasion during a four-year term that will continue under Biden starting in 2021. Crisis after crisis Milley told AFP last month that during his tenure as chairman, “it was one crisis after another.” However, under Milley’s tenure at the head, the military became embroiled in an unusually high number of politicized incidents. Senior Republicans have regularly attacked what they allege are “woke” leftist practices inside the ranks, even as the Biden administration has pushed for measures such as renaming bases named after Confederate generals in the Civil War. And even that was not as dangerous as the delicate predicament Milley was in before and after the 2020 presidential election, when Trump, in a first-ever political nightmare for the United States, refused to concede loss. According to the book “Peril” by Bob Woodward, at the height of the crisis following the invasion of the US Capitol by Trump supporters on 6 January 2021, Milley discreetly called his Chinese counterpart to reassure Beijing that the US was “stable” and had no intention of attacking China. With AFP The post Not a fan of Donald appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Furlough looms for 1.8M federal employees
United States federal agencies started notifying 1.8 million workers of their temporary furlough with the impending shutdown of the government due to a congressional impasse on the budget. Funding for much of the federal government will expire at midnight on Saturday but lawmakers are mired in perennial deadlock on a new funding bill. A small group of hardline Republicans are demanding deep spending cuts on the budget but Democrats disagree. The American Federation of Government Employees said federal workers would go unpaid for the duration that there is no legislated funding but their salary will be retroactively paid when the new budget law is passed. “If there is a shutdown in just a few days, our service members would be required to continue working but would be doing so without pay, and hundreds and thousands of their civilian colleagues would be furloughed,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said Thursday. The Treasury Department added that among other implications, “most core tax administration functions will stop” and more than half of the Internal Revenue Service staff will be furloughed. Anti-McCarthy protest Dozens of American teenagers occupied the office of the top Republican lawmaker on Thursday to protest against a looming government shutdown that they say will exacerbate the climate crisis. The Sunrise Movement, a nationwide youth environmental campaign, said around 30 of its members flooded inside House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s office while over a hundred more crowded the hallway outside. The group says 18 protesters were detained by police after refusing to disperse. McCarthy was not present during the protest at the Rayburn House Office Building, across the road from the US Capitol. The Sunrise Movement has voiced concerns over funding for emergency disaster relief and pro-climate provisions in Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act. “In my state, in Oregon, people are dying from wildfire smoke and extreme heat in the summers. People are dying in hurricanes across the country and climate disasters everywhere,” activist Adah Crandall, 17, from Portland, told Agence France-Presse. “The GOP has blood on its hands, and if it shuts down the government... and fails to continue providing the support that people need to literally stay alive, they should be ashamed of themselves,” she said. WITH AFP The post Furlough looms for 1.8M federal employees appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biden urges ‘national unity’ 22 years after 9/11
President Joe Biden called Monday for Americans to unite despite bitter political differences as the United States marked the 22nd anniversary of Al-Qaeda's 9/11 attacks. Bells were rung and the names of nearly 3,000 people were read out in somber ceremonies in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania where the hijacked planes struck. "Let's honor September 11 by renewing our faith in one another," said Biden, speaking at a US military base in Anchorage, Alaska as he traveled back from a trip to India and Vietnam. "We must never lose our sense of national unity, so let that be the common cause of our time." Speaking in front of a huge flag, Biden added that "terrorism, including political and ideological violence, is the opposite of all we stand for as a nation." His speech comes as the United States is increasingly polarized, with tensions likely to increase as Biden, a Democrat, heads into a likely election rematch next year with Republican former president Donald Trump. Trump has been indicted four times since April, including for efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, with the 6 January 2021 Capitol attack by his supporters still fresh in the public's memory. 'Never forget' In New York, Vice President Kamala Harris and current and former mayors joined victims' families at the 9/11 memorial on the site of the World Trade Center twin towers brought down by two aircraft flown by hijackers. The names of the more than 2,600 who died in New York were read out by family members and young relatives not alive at the time of the attack. "I wish I had a chance to really know you. Everyone in the family misses you. We will never forget," said the grandson of firefighter Allan Tarasiewicz, who was killed at age 45 during rescue operations at the World Trade Center. At the Pentagon in Washington, where the attackers plunged a third aircraft into the headquarters of the US military, a sailor rang a ship's bell for each of the 184 killed there. And in western Pennsylvania, where a fourth hijacked plane apparently heading toward Washington was forced to crash, bells were rung for each of the 40 passengers and crew who died. "September 11 made America a nation at war, and hundreds of thousands stepped up to serve our country in uniform," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the Pentagon ceremony. "I know that it aches to remember this milestone year after year... The men and women of the Department of Defense will always remember." Across New York City, in Congress and elsewhere, a moment of silence was held to mark the attack, plotted by Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, who was found and killed nearly a decade later by US Navy Seals in a raid on his hideout in Pakistan. Biden noted in his speech that he himself had given the order for bin Laden's successor Ayman al-Zawahiri to be sent to the "gates of hell" last year in an airstrike in Afghanistan. "The soul of America is the fortitude we found in the fear of that terrible September day," he added. "The terrorists believed they could bring us to our knees, bend our will, break our resolve. But they were wrong, they were dead wrong." The post Biden urges ‘national unity’ 22 years after 9/11 appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US and Vietnam set to expand ties as China worries grow
US President Joe Biden arrives in Vietnam on Sunday set to deepen cooperation between the two nations, in the face of China's growing ambitions in the region. Biden -- who is flying from the G20 summit in New Delhi -- will meet the leader of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, on Sunday, and is expected to sign off on a "comprehensive strategic partnership", Hanoi's highest level of diplomatic ties. The underlying goal of the short visit will be much the same as during Biden's time at the G20 gathering -- to shore up support against China's increasing influence. For Vietnam, the upgrading of diplomatic ties is significant. It only has top-level ties with Russia, India, South Korea and China. Although it will be careful to be seen as not taking sides between the United States and China, Vietnam shares American concerns about its neighbor's growing assertiveness in the contested South China Sea. The United States and Vietnam -- a key manufacturing hub -- also have increasingly close trade ties, and Washington sees Hanoi as an important partner as it looks to source less from China after supply chain shocks rocked the global economy in recent years. In Hanoi on Sunday, there will be a welcome ceremony, speeches by the two leaders and a press conference by the US president -- who on Tuesday awarded the top US military honor to a helicopter pilot who rescued four soldiers during the Vietnam War. Biden will meet President Vo Van Thuong and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh the following day. Ahead of the 80-year-old US president's arrival, Hanoi's central Hoan Kiem Lake area, packed with families out for a weekend stroll, was adorned with American and Vietnamese flags. Nearby in the city's old quarter, a souvenir shop sold T-shirts with Biden's face emblazoned across the front. "I think the US is a good friend to Vietnam," said the shop's 61-year-old owner Truong Thanh Duc. "With this visit of President Joe Biden, I think he will bring more business contracts and jobs to Vietnamese people." - Human rights - In Vietnam, Biden will be juggling strategic interests with the defense of human rights. The Southeast Asian country has a dire human rights record. Government critics face intimidation, harassment and imprisonment after unfair trials, and there are reports of police torture to extract confessions, Human Rights Watch says. While the president has often criticized China's human rights record, he has largely stayed quiet on Vietnam and campaigners are fearful he may not press the subject. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said prior to the trip that Biden would raise issues related "to freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and other basic human rights". His visit comes days after a US government commission on religious freedom harshly criticized Vietnam for "egregious, ongoing, and systematic violations". On Saturday, Nguyen Bac Truyen, a legal expert and religious freedom advocate who was sentenced in 2018 to 11 years in prison for subversion, said on Facebook he had been released and allowed to travel to Germany with his wife. Vietnam often releases political prisoners prior to US presidential visits. Biden's visit to Hanoi will mean he leaves early from the G20 summit, where leaders agreed on a joint declaration that papered over deep divisions on the war in Ukraine and tackling climate change, avoiding direct criticism of Moscow and any concrete pledge to phase out polluting fossil fuels. His Vietnam trip will also include a poignant visit to the memorial to his friend John McCain, the former US senator shot down and held captive during the Vietnam War who in later years helped rebuild ties between the two countries. burs-aph/sco © Agence France-Presse The post US and Vietnam set to expand ties as China worries grow appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Biden boosts U.S. influence on G20, Vietnam
United States President Joe Biden arrives in India Friday for the Group of 20 summit and proceeds to Vietnam Sunday, both aimed at boosting US influence amid division caused by the war in Ukraine and territorial dispute in the South China Sea. Biden is hoping to seize on the absence of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit. The US president said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was showing his country’s commitment to the G20 as a forum that can deliver. White House officials said Biden would in particular stress a plan to increase World Bank and International Monetary Fund lending power for emerging nations by some $200 billion as a better alternative to Beijing’s “coercive” Belt and Road Initiative. But the absence of Xi and Putin underscores the divisions in the G20 and could hamper Biden’s bid to keep the bloc as the leading forum of global economic cooperation. In Hanoi, Biden and ruling Vietnamese Communist party chief Nguyen Phu Trong are expected to sign a major upgrade in ties between the two countries, who have overcome the painful legacy of the Vietnam War to grow close. They are expected to sign off on a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” Hanoi’s highest level of diplomatic ties. Currently, Vietnam only has ties at the same level with Russia, India, South Korea and China. Biden is betting that Vietnam won’t mind being closer to Washington at a time when China’s sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea have fueled tensions with its Southeast Asian neighbors. However, Vietnam won’t be keen to play a role in balancing Washington and Beijing, Nguyen Quoc Cuong, the Vietnamese ambassador to US from 2011 to 2014, said. WITH AFP The post Biden boosts U.S. influence on G20, Vietnam appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Elon Musk lifts political ad ban at rebranded Twitter
Elon Musk on Tuesday lifted a ban on political ads put in place at Twitter to thwart misinformation before the billionaire bought the platform now called X. Welcoming back potentially misleading political messages at X came less than a week after former president Donald Trump posted there for the first time since January 2021. Trump posted his police mugshot after his arrest in Georgia, signaling his return to a platform that was his favorite bullhorn during his years in the White House. It was his first post since several days after the insurrection at the US Capitol that saw an enraged mob of his supporters attempt to block Joe Biden's certification as president. The then-Twitter permanently suspended Trump after the 6 January riot, ruling he had violated the platform's policy on glorifying violence as he pressed his false claims that the election was stolen from him. Musk, who bought the platform last year, reinstated the former president in November 2022, but Trump stayed away, choosing to reach his followers on his own platform, Truth Social, albeit with a much smaller audience. X said in a blog post that allowing political ads, starting in the United States, was "building on our commitment to free expression." X policies prohibit the promotion of false or misleading information, including bogus claims intended to undermine confidence in an election, the blog contended. Trump's recent mug shot post came with a caption reading "Election interference." A judge on Monday set March 4, 2024, for Trump's election subversion conspiracy trial -- placing one of the biggest criminal cases in American history at the height of the next White House race. X said it is expanding its safety and elections teams to focus on combating manipulation of the platform and will provide an online center where political ads can be reviewed. Musk slashed staffing after buying Twitter, raising concerns about its ability to moderate content and reliably function. X said it is updating its Civic Integrity Policy for safeguarding elections to tackle content meant to intimidate or deceive voters while aligning with Musk's philosophy of letting people say what they want. "X shouldn't determine the truthfulness of disputed information," the platform said in the blog post. "Rather, we should empower our users to express their opinions and openly debate during elections, in line with our commitment to protecting freedom of expression." The post Elon Musk lifts political ad ban at rebranded Twitter appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Elon Musk lifts political ad ban at rebranded Twitter
Elon Musk on Tuesday lifted a ban on political ads put in place at Twitter to thwart misinformation before the billionaire bought the platform now called X. Welcoming back potentially misleading political messages at X came less than a week after former president Donald Trump posted there for the first time since January 2021. Trump posted his police mugshot after his arrest in Georgia, signaling his return to a platform that was his favorite bullhorn during his years in the White House. It was his first post since several days after the insurrection at the US Capitol that saw an enraged mob of his supporters attempt to block Joe Biden's certification as president. The then-Twitter permanently suspended Trump after the 6 January riot, ruling he had violated the platform's policy on glorifying violence as he pressed his false claims that the election was stolen from him. Musk, who bought the platform last year, reinstated the former president in November 2022, but Trump stayed away, choosing to reach his followers on his own platform, Truth Social, albeit with a much smaller audience. X said in a blog post that allowing political ads, starting in the United States, was "building on our commitment to free expression." X policies prohibit the promotion of false or misleading information, including bogus claims intended to undermine confidence in an election, the blog contended. Trump's recent mug shot post came with a caption reading "Election interference." A judge on Monday set 4 March 2024 for Trump's election subversion conspiracy trial -- placing one of the biggest criminal cases in American history at the height of the next White House race. X said it is expanding its safety and elections teams to focus on combating manipulation of the platform and will provide an online center where political ads can be reviewed. Musk slashed staffing after buying Twitter, raising concerns about its ability to moderate content and reliably function. X said it is updating its Civic Integrity Policy for safeguarding elections to tackle content meant to intimidate or deceive voters while aligning with Musk's philosophy of letting people say what they want. "X shouldn't determine the truthfulness of disputed information," the platform said in the blog post. "Rather, we should empower our users to express their opinions and openly debate during elections, in line with our commitment to protecting freedom of expression." The post Elon Musk lifts political ad ban at rebranded Twitter appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump arrested in Georgia racketeering case
Former US president Donald Trump was arrested at a Georgia jail on Thursday on racketeering and conspiracy charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election results in the southern state. During a brief session lasting less than 30 minutes, the 77-year-old Trump was booked on 13 charges at Atlanta's Fulton County Jail, according to records published by the sheriff's office. Trump's height was listed by the jail as six foot three inches (1.9 meters), his weight as 215 pounds (97 kilograms) and his hair color as "Blond or Strawberry." Other defendants in the racketeering case who have surrendered to the Georgia authorities in recent days have had a mugshot taken. The billionaire has been criminally indicted four times since April, setting the stage for a year of unprecedented drama as he tries to juggle multiple court appearances and another White House campaign. In posts on his Truth Social platform shortly before leaving his New Jersey golf club for the flight to Atlanta, Trump said he was being arrested for "having the audacity to challenge a RIGGED & STOLLEN (sic) ELECTION." "This is yet another SAD DAY IN AMERICA!" he added. Trump was able to dodge having a mugshot taken during his previous arrests this year: in New York on charges of paying hush money to a porn star, in Florida for mishandling top secret government documents, and in Washington on charges of conspiring to upend his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. But Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat said standard procedure in Georgia is to take a defendant's photograph before they are released on bond -- set at $200,000 in Trump's case. The arrest comes one day after Trump spurned a televised debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, featuring eight of his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination -- all of whom lag well behind him in the polls. He still stole the spotlight, though, with all but two of the candidates saying they would support him as the party's nominee even if he were a convicted felon. During a pre-recorded interview with former Fox News talk show host Tucker Carlson -- which aired on social media at the same time as the debate -- Trump dismissed the criminal cases filed against him as "nonsense." Trump said the Justice Department had been "weaponized" under Biden to hamstring his White House bid. Court dates in election race A tight security perimeter was set up for Trump's booking at the Fulton County Jail, which is under investigation for a slew of inmate deaths and deplorable conditions. Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney who filed the sweeping racketeering case, had set a deadline of noon (1600 GMT) on Friday for Trump and the other 18 defendants to surrender. Trump and 11 others have turned themselves in so far. Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows surrendered on Thursday and was released on $100,000 bond. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, who served as Trump's personal lawyer when he was in the White House and vigorously pushed the false claims that Trump had won the 2020 election, was booked and released on Wednesday. John Eastman, a conservative lawyer who is accused of drawing up a scheme to submit a false slate of Trump electors to Congress from Georgia instead of the legitimate Biden ones, has also been booked and released. A few dozen supporters of the former Republican president gathered outside the jail, including Sharon Anderson who spent the night in her car. "I think this is a political persecution and now that's turned into a political prosecution," Anderson told AFP. Trump is the first US president in history to face criminal charges. His various trials, if they take place next year, may coincide with the Republican presidential primary season, which begins in January, and the campaign for the November 2024 White House election. Special counsel Jack Smith has proposed a January 2024 start date for Trump's trial on charges of conspiring to overturn the last election with a lie-fueled campaign that culminated in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. Trump's attorneys have countered with a suggested start date well after the election -- April 2026. Willis, the Georgia district attorney, initially proposed that the racketeering case begin in March next year, the same month Trump is scheduled to go on trial in New York on charges of paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels. On Thursday, after one of the defendants asked for a speedy trial, she proposed that it begin for all 19 in October of this year, a move met with an immediate objection from Trump's lawyers. The Florida case, in which Trump is accused of taking secret government documents as he left the White House and refusing to return them, is scheduled to begin in May. The post Trump arrested in Georgia racketeering case appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
The legal woes of Donald Trump
Former US president Donald Trump is facing four criminal indictments, all filed since March -- with the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 White House race possibly navigating a series of trials as he campaigns. On Thursday, he was formally arrested on 13 counts in the southern state of Georgia in connection with his alleged efforts to interfere with the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump has already been indicted in federal court in connection with election interference in multiple states, and over his handling of classified documents, making him the first former US president to face federal criminal charges. The twice-impeached Trump has also been charged in New York with making election-eve hush money payments to a porn star. Here are the key cases involving the 77-year-old one-term president -- and others that could materialize: Georgia election meddling Trump stands accused in Georgia of pressuring state officials to overturn Biden's election victory -- incidents that were also referred to in a federal indictment. Evidence includes a taped phone call in which he asked Georgia's then-secretary of state to "find" enough votes to reverse the result. Fulton County's top prosecutor Fani Willis has charged Trump with 13 felony counts including violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, as well as six conspiracy counts over alleged efforts to commit forgery, impersonate a public official and submit false statements and documents. Eighteen co-defendants also were indicted, including Trump's former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, for pressuring local legislators over the result after the election, and Trump's White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows. 2020 election interference Special Counsel Jack Smith had already slapped Trump with four federal charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, as well as conspiracy to obstruct and obstruction of an official proceeding -- the January 6, 2021, meeting of a joint session of Congress held to certify Biden's election victory. He is also charged with conspiracy to deny Americans the right to vote and to have one's vote counted. The indictment mentions six co-conspirators but none are identified -- Trump, currently the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is the only named defendant. Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, as Congress met to certify the presidential election results. Before what was ultimately a deadly attack, Trump delivered a fiery speech urging the crowd to "fight like hell." Classified documents Trump, in another indictment brought by Smith, is accused of endangering national security by holding onto top secret nuclear and defense documents after leaving the White House. Trump kept the files -- which included records from the Pentagon, CIA, and National Security Agency -- unsecured at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida and thwarted official efforts to retrieve them, according to the indictment. Trump was initially charged with 31 counts of "willful retention of national defense information," each punishable by up to 10 years in prison. A count was added related to a classified document "concerning military activity in a foreign country." He also faces charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, making false statements, and other offenses. The federal judge in the case has set a trial date of May 20, 2024, at the height of the presidential campaign. Stormy A New York grand jury indicted Trump in March over alleged hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors say the money was paid prior to the 2016 election to silence Daniels over claims she had a tryst with Trump in 2006 -- a year after he married Melania Trump. Late in the campaign, Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen arranged a payment of $130,000 to Daniels in exchange for her pledge of confidentiality, prosecutors said. That case, in which he faces 34 felony counts, is due to go to trial next March, in the middle of the Republican primary election season. Other probes Trump was found liable in a civil case for sexually abusing and defaming a former magazine columnist, E. Jean Carroll, in 1996, and ordered to pay her $5 million in damages. In New York, state Attorney General Letitia James has filed a civil suit against Trump and three of his children, accusing them of fraud by over-valuing assets to secure loans and then under-valuing them to minimize taxes. James is seeking $250 million in penalties as well as banning Trump and his children from serving as executives at companies in the city. Trump has denied all wrongdoing. The post The legal woes of Donald Trump appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Trump has 10 days to surrender
Former United States president Donald Trump and 18 others were charged Tuesday with racketeering over their attempt to overturn Georgia state’s presidential election result in 2020 and they were given 10 days to voluntarily surrender. “Rather than abide by Georgia’s legal process for election challenges, the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia’s presidential election result,” Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis told reporters. Willis gave the 19 individuals named in Monday’s grand jury indictment until noon of 25 August to voluntarily surrender. Trump, who is running for president next year, called the indictment a witch hunt in a post on his Truth Social platform. “Why didn’t they indict 2.5 years ago? Because they wanted to do it right in the middle of my political campaign,” his post read. The Trump campaign released a statement as the charges were being processed calling Willis, who is a Democrat, a “rabid partisan” who was “persecuting” the former president with “bogus indictments.” In response, Willis said: “I make decisions in this office based on the facts and the law. The law is completely nonpartisan.” The indictment is the fourth and latest against the 77-year-old Republican, compounding the legal threats he is facing in multiple jurisdictions which may imperil his bid for a second White House term. He was already federally indicted over the alleged plot to subvert the election and is also facing prosecutions over his alleged mishandling of classified documents and keeping allegedly fraudulent business records. The twice-impeached Trump was charged with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations Act, as well as six conspiracy counts over alleged efforts to commit forgery, impersonate a public official and submit false statements and documents. He is also accused of lying in statements and filing fake documents, as well as solicitating public officials to break their oaths. Trump’s former personal lawyer and ex-New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who pressured local legislators over the result after the election, and Trump’s White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, were among the 18 co-defendants. Giuliani faces 13 felony counts, including over accusations of harassment of two Fulton County poll workers. Other Trump allies were charged over the accessing of sensitive data from an election office in a rural county south of Atlanta, one day after the 2021 Capitol riot. Atlanta-area authorities launched the probe after Trump called Georgia officials weeks before he was due to leave the White House, pressuring them to “find” the 11,780 votes that would reverse President Joe Biden’s victory in the Peach State. WITH AFP The post Trump has 10 days to surrender appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»