Biden signs three executive orders on immigration
President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden made a late night visit to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to pay their respects to Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick.
Sicknick died after defending the Capitol on 6 January against the violent mob that stormed the building after then-President Donald Trump urged supporters on the to “fight like hell” to overturn his election defeat.
Biden and his wife, Jill, stood before his remains with their hands over their hearts in silent tribute to Sicknick, who will lay in honour at the Capitol Rotunda until mid-Wednesday.
Meanwhile, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon could face state charges over allegations he defrauded donors for the US-Mexico border wall, as reported by The New York Times.
Bannon was given a pardon by the former president after being indicted of federal charges for the scheme, but the Manhattan district attorney’s has now reportedly started investigating his role in fundraising for the project.
Just in case you missed it…
Here at The Independent we compiled the key points from the case against Donald Trump by the Democrat House impeachment managers.
Griffin Connolly has all the details
Joe Middleton3 February 2021 10:32
South Korea urges US flexibility on sanctions to restart North Korea talks
The United States should flexibly enforce sanctions aimed at curbing Pyongyang’s nuclear programmes to revive denuclearisation talks, South Korea’s point man on North Korea said on Wednesday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and former U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to work towards the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula at their first summit in 2018, but a second summit and subsequent working-level talks fell apart.
The new administration of President Joe Biden has not announced any North Korea policy, but Seoul, keen to resuscitate stalled cross-border economic cooperation, has expressed hopes that Biden would restart negotiations with Pyongyang, as reported by Reuters.
Lee In-young, South Korea’s unification minister in charge of inter-Korean affairs, said reinforcing sanctions may not be the key to bringing North Korea back to the table.
“If we were to talk about additional sanctions, it’s time to review what achievements the sanctions have brought so far. Strengthening it might not be everything,” Lee told a news conference.
Joe Middleton3 February 2021 10:25
Marjorie Taylor Greene likens Parkland survivor David Hogg to a dog in new video
A video of the controversial Republican representative calling Mr Hogg an “idiot” and “trained like a dog” has resurfaced, a week after footage of her harassing the gun control activist went viral.
Joe Middleton3 February 2021 10:12
Pro-Trump lawyer under investigation over whether or not he was a legal voter, reports say
Lin Wood, a conservative attorney and a strong pro-Trump voice, filed several lawsuits and made public statements claiming people voted illegally in the 2020 presidential election.
Now, according to reports in the US media, the office of Georgia’s secretary of state is investigating the allegations that Mr Wood may have illegally voted from the state in the November run off, writes The Independent’s Stuti mishra
Joe Middleton3 February 2021 09:53
Donald Trump’s son Eric criticises Scottish politicians
Eric Trump has criticised an upcoming debate today by Scottish politicians on whether an investigation should be held into the financing of Donald Trump’s golf courses in the country.
Patrick Harvie, the co-leader of the Scottish Greens, wants first minister Nicola Sturgeon to green light an unexplained wealth order (UWO) into the former president’s business interests.
Mr Harvie said there are “serious concerns about how he [Trump] financed the cash purchases of his Scottish golf courses.”
Eric Trump hit back later on Tuesday calling Mr Harvie “a national embarrassment” and accused him of having a political agenda.
Donald Trump owns Trump International, a course in Aberdeenshire, and the Turnberry resort in Ayrshire, as well as 15 other courses worldwide.
Joe Middleton3 February 2021 09:33
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s interview with right-wing Newsmax descends into chaos
An anchor for American broadcaster NewsMax walked out of an interview with pro-Trump conspiracy theorist and chief executive officer of MyPillow, after he refused to stop voicing allegations against Dominion Voting Systems.
Read (and watch) the latest from Mayank Aggarwal
Joe Middleton3 February 2021 09:16
Remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from education committee, biggest teaching union demands
Two major teaching unions in the US have demanded Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene be removed from the House Education Committee for spreading the discredited QAnon theory, downplaying school shootings and pushing election fraud conspiracies.
“Conspiracy theories do not belong in our schools. Hate, racism and anti-Semitism do not belong in our schools. Bullying and harassment do not belong in our schools,” said the letter by the unions.
Joe Middleton3 February 2021 09:01
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Joe Middleton3 February 2021 08:57