It has become increasingly clear that the resistance in Iraq is not the work of a small band of dead-enders, but is in fact a more widespread movement. We can tell this because still, months after the attacks began, we know very little about them. Gen. John Abizaid says that the enemy is 5,000 strong. A leaked CIA report puts the number at 50,000. One day, an administration official says the attacks are the work of Baathists....
According to the report, business investments in the desert Southwest expanded by more than twice the national average every decade between 1950 and 2010. Job opportunities continued to increase desert-area residents, with health care job growth leading the way. In early September, Phoenix temperatures were still climbing to 111 degrees as climate change has made the nation’s fifth-largest city even hotter. Some 300 miles away in Las Vegas, the thermometer hit 106 degrees....
The former NFL executive and ESPN analyst was quick to point out how Jackson Lamar Jackson was “the latest QB trying to run a lot to get hurt,” adding it’s “pretty consistent around the league” and that it should inform future quarterbacks on how to adjust the way they play. Only one problem: Jackson was hurt after Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah hit him low following a 5-yard completion to tight end Mark Andrews:...
Biden campaigned heavily on his ability to rein in the pandemic and was strongly critical of Trump’s response. Although Biden ordered nationwide mandates that Trump never considered, he failed to significantly reduce the spread of the coronavirus, and his words are coming back to haunt him as lawmakers look toward the midterms. America’s death toll from COVID-19 increased to more than 845,000 on Thursday, an increase of 420,000 since Biden was inaugurated....
“Mr. President, Jill and I are sad to learn of your younger brother Robert’s passing. I know the tremendous pain of losing a loved one — and I know how important family is in moments like these. I hope you know that our prayers are with you all,” Biden, who served as vice president under former President Barack Obama, tweeted on Sunday. “Doug and I join the Biden family in sending our deepest condolences and prayers to the entire Trump family during this difficult time....
With Thursday marking the first anniversary of the president taking the oath of office, the key Biden domestic policy was dealt a blow after Democratic senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (AZ) backed Republicans in opposing the voting bill, preventing a straight majority. The Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act the Democrats were trying to introduce was a countermeasure to the 34 laws that the Brennan Center for Justice said in December were passed in 19 GOP-led states over the last year....
Secretary of State Blinken tweeted on Wednesday that he would be meeting senior official Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Alaska on March 18. Yang, a former ambassador to Washington, is a high-ranking Politburo member and director of China’s Central Foreign Affairs Commission. Before Blinken and Yang’s first telephone conversation in February, the Chinese diplomat had given a speech warning the Biden administration not to cross Beijing’s “red line....
Biden’s comments were promoted by a question about the increase in Chinese military aircraft activity near the island democracy this October. The remarks caused some confusion and momentary alarm by injecting a new phrase into Taiwan and China policy discourse in the United States. “I’ve spoken with Xi about Taiwan. We agree, we will abide by the Taiwan agreement,” the president told reporters outside the White House. “We made it clear that I don’t think he should be doing anything other than abiding by the agreement....
Some voting rights advocates have criticised the Biden administration ahead of a major speech the president will deliver about voting in Atlanta on Tuesday. Biden is expected to announce his support for Senate filibuster reforms, which would allow the passage of voting rights legislation and could pave the way for a block on recent voter restrictions passed by state governments. However, several voting rights have said they will not attend the event and have criticized the president....
Employers added only 266,000 new jobs in April and unemployment rose to 6.1 percent, the Labor Department said in its monthly report released Friday morning. The consensus forecast for the month had been roughly 1 million jobs, which is nearly four times what the latest figures show. Dow Jones estimates also expected a lower unemployment rate of 5.8 percent. The most recent significant miss was in the December 2020 report, which found that nonfarm payrolls fell by 140,000 against the consensus estimate for a 50,000 gain....
The Democratic nominee has implemented an unusual campaign tactic and has recruited the help of a well-known battle rap league, the Ultimate Rap League. Yes, you read that right. The former Vice President is honing in on hip hop and rap fans in an effort to reach more voters, but it hasn’t really elicited a positive reaction from many. The Biden-Harris campaign released a new political ad on Tuesday featuring New York battle rappers, DNA and Charlie Clips....
Currently, there are two issues getting the card check treatment: First, immigration. It was talked about some (not enough—thanks, Jared!) during the 2020 campaign—but now that Biden’s big amnesty plan appears to be a loser for Dems (at least in the middle of a pandemic) you won’t hear them highlighting it. The second is a new welfare program, buried within the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, that would effectively end the Clinton experiment of replacing cash welfare with work by sending no-strings checks to everyone with a child, whether or not they ever work....
New polling data released Tuesday shows Biden with the support of 68 percent of primary voters under age 45 and holding a 5-point lead over President Donald Trump, 47 to 42 percent, among registered voters of all political affiliations. The April 13 endorsement from Sanders, who dropped out of the Democratic race just days before, has helped Biden gain the support of many younger voters who previously supported the progressive Vermont senator....
The Gallup survey, released Tuesday, said 37 percent of U.S. adults rate Biden as a strong and decisive leader, while 63 percent said such characteristics don’t apply to the Democratic commander in chief. It’s a much lower rating than that for his predecessors, Gallup reported. Donald Trump had 54 percent of respondents, on average, saying he was a strong leader, and the characteristic was one of the Republican’s strongest qualities during his four years in office....
Biden will begin his Middle East trip this week in his first trip to the region since taking office, starting in Israel and the occupied West Bank. He will end his trip in Saudi Arabia. Biden has said that the trip will advance American interests by focusing on the global trade and supply chains the U.S. relies on. Many countries in the West, including the U.S., want Saudi Arabia to produce more oil to help mitigate the growing global energy crisis that was ignited by the Ukraine war....
The move was approved by a 168-55 vote by bishops, announced by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The USCCB’s doctrine committee plans to establish a draft that will likely be reviewed in November. Although Biden said he is against abortion himself, he believes Americans should be free to have their own opinion. During Thursday’s vote, Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, Wisconsin, said many are confused by how Biden is Catholic and has furthered “the most radical pro-abortion agenda in history....
The U.S. president and first lady Jill Biden arrived at Windsor Castle on helicopter Marine One for a military Guard of Honor and tea with the 95-year-old monarch. However, amid the glare of English summer, the 78-year-old did not remove his dark glasses. Grant Harrold, a former butler to Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, told Newsweek the president was entitled to wear his shades to the event but should have removed them at the point he greeted Elizabeth....
The U.S. Department of Education announced a plan on Tuesday to address the “longstanding failures” within federal student loan programs, which will result in the immediate forgiveness of student loan debt for at least 40,000 people. The plan, designed to aid low-income borrowers and public servants, is also set to help another 3.6 million people get closer to having their debts cleared, according to the Education Department. The measures come on top of other steps taken by the Biden administration, including an extension of the pause on student loan payments through August....
Biden’s campaign had reportedly hoped that the race would be called before Biden delivered his speech. While the event site at Chase Center was originally secured for a Biden victory rally, the results of the U.S. presidential election were still unclear on Friday. Biden acknowledged that fact, telling those in attendance that “we don’t have a final declaration of victory yet.” Biden said that the more than 74 million Americans who voted for the Democratic ticket had “given us a mandate for action on COVID, the economy, climate change, systemic racism....
At the annual security and foreign policy event, the president is expected to say that his administration will pivot away from Donald Trump’s “America First” mantra, with the challenges posed by Russia, China and Afghanistan on his agenda, according to the Associated Press. But his speech on Friday comes after a survey found that some Europeans doubt the U.S. can be relied on to protect the continent. A poll of 15,000 people across 11 countries—10 EU member states plus the U....
