Texas homes devastated by burst pipes in winter storm
President Joe Biden is expected to visit Texas as early as next week after approving a major disaster declaration for the state following a storm that left millions without power and many with significant damage to their homes.
On Sunday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the president could pay a visit to Texas “as soon as this week”. However, she said Mr Biden had concerns around being a burden on the already-strained state, echoing the president’s own comments on Friday.
Speaking with ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl on “This Week”, Ms Psaki said the president is “eager to go down to Texas and show his support.”
However, she said: “He’s also very mindful of the fact that it’s not a light footprint for a president to travel to a disaster area. He does not want to take away resources or attention.”
Meanwhile, Mr Biden’s predecessor former President Donald Trump is expected to make his first public appearance since leaving the White House in an address to GOP members at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, next weekend.
The former US leader is expected to speak on the future of the Republican Party.
Biden administration hopes to see majority of schools open by April, Jen Psaki says
The Biden administration hopes to see the majority of schools across the country open by April, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has said.
“That’s our goal, that’s our objective, that’s our plan,” she told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl.
However, she suggested more “funding” was needed to make that happen.
“What we need and what the president said at the time we need is funding. That’s why he’s proposed $130 billion in the American Rescue plan,” she said.
“Many schools across the country don’t have the resources to be able to invest in improving facilities, on hiring more bus drivers, on hiring more temporary teachers so we can have smaller class sizes,” Ms Psaki continued.
The White House press secretary said “important steps” have bene taken to help facilitate the reopening of schools, including the introduction of “clear, science-based” guidelines for school districts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
However, she said: “Every school in the country does not have that funding and does not have the resources and we need to, from the federal government, help address that.”
Chantal Da Silva21 February 2021 15:03
Joe Biden could visit Texas ‘as soon as this week’, Jen Psaki says
As Texas continues to recover from a severe storm that left millions without electricity, President Joe Biden could pay a visit to the state “as soon as this week,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has said.
Speaking with ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl on “This Week”, Ms Psaki said the president is “eager to go down to Texas and show his support”.
However, she said: “He’s also very mindful of the fact that it’s not a light footprint for a president to travel to a disaster area.”
“ He does not want to take away resources or attention,” she said.
Chantal Da Silva21 February 2021 14:53
Merrick Garland vows to go after white supremacists as attorney general ahead of confirmation hearing
Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland will pledge at his confirmation hearing on Monday to prosecute “white supremacists and others” who were part of the Capitol riots on 6 January.
Mr Garland included the pledge in his opening testimony for the session before the Senate judiciary committee, which was released on Saturday evening.
“If confirmed,” Mr Garland said, “I will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol on 6 January.”
He then described the insurrection as “a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy: the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.”
Read more from his opening statement here:
Garland says laws must be ‘fairly and faithfully enforced’
President Joe Biden’s nominee for attorney general says the Justice Department must ensure laws are “fairly and faithfully enforced,” while reaffirming an adherence to policies to protect the department’s political independence
James Crump21 February 2021 14:45
Pro-golfer Michelle Wie West condemns Rudy Giuliani for telling lewd story about her
Professional golfer Michelle Wie West has condemned Rudy Giuliani for telling a crude and “unsettling” story about her.
During an appearance on Steve Bannon’s podcast, Donald Trump’s former lawyer recounted how he had joked with Rush Limbaugh about Ms Wie being targeted by photographers when she putted during a round of golf together.
Mr Giuliani, who brought up Mr Limbaugh on the day he died of lung cancer, then recalled that the photographers were trained on them because when Ms Wie West putted “her panties show.”
Ms Wie West took to Twitter to respond to the objectifying comments, saying: “It’s unsettling to hear of this highly inappropriate story shared on a podcast by a public figure referencing my ‘panties’ whilst playing at a charity pro-am.”
Read more from Graeme Massie here:
James Crump21 February 2021 14:20
Pentagon reviews Trump decision to relocate Space Command from Colorado
The Pentagon will review Donald Trump’s last-minute decision to relocate US Space Command from Colorado to Alabama, it has announced.
The move, which the ex-president signed-off on one week before he left office last month, blindsided Colorado officials and raised questions of political retaliation, reports the Associated Press.
The Department of Defence’s inspector general has announced an investigation into the relocation to see if it complied with Air Force and Pentagon policy.
“It is imperative that we thoroughly review what I believe will prove to be a fundamentally flawed process that focused on bean-counting rather than American space dominance,” said Republican congressman Doug Lamborn, whose district includes Space Command.
Read more from Graeme Massie here:
James Crump21 February 2021 14:00
Turkey’s president looks to improve ‘tested’ relationship with US
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for greater cooperation with President Joe Biden’s new administration in a statement lamenting the “tested” relationship between the two countries.
Speaking in a video message released late Saturday, Mr Erdogan said that Turkish-American relations had been “seriously tested”.
However, he said the partnership between the two countries has already “overcome all kinds of difficulties,” according to AP.
The comments come following the world leader’s accusations that the US had supported Kurdish militants days after Turkish troops found the bodies of 13 hostages held by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq.
While seeking to ease tensions, Mr Erdogan maintained on Saturday that the US did not give Turkey the “desired support and solidarity” in fighting the PKK. He said Turkey wanted a “clear stance” from allies.
James Crump21 February 2021 13:45
Biden pick for attorney general says US laws must be ‘fairly’ enforced
President Joe Biden’s pick for attorney general says the Justice Department (DoJ) must ensure US laws are “fairly and faithfully enforced”.
In an opening statement released by the DoJ on Saturday ahead of a Monday appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Jude Merrick Garland, Biden’s nominee for AG, said that if confirmed as AG he would work to ensure “equal justice under the law”.
“It is a fitting time to reaffirm that the role of the attorney general is to serve the Rule of Law and to ensure equal justice under the law,”Mr Garland says in his prepared statement.
Asserting that the US does “not yet have equal justice” as “communities of color and other minorities still face discrimination in housing, education, employment and the criminal justice system and bear the brunt of the harm caused by pandemic, pollution and climate change,” Mr Garland said the mission to change that “remains urgent”.
Read more on his opening statement here:
Garland says laws must be ‘fairly and faithfully enforced’
President Joe Biden’s nominee for attorney general says the Justice Department must ensure laws are “fairly and faithfully enforced,” while reaffirming an adherence to policies to protect the department’s political independence
Chantal Da Silva21 February 2021 13:21
Iran’s Zarif says US must lift sanctions for talks to revive 2015 deal to move forward
The US must first lift sanctions on Iran before any discussions on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal can be salvaged, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said.
Speaking with Iran’s English Language Press TV on Sunday, Mr Zarif said the country would not be making the first move to restore its agreement with major powers.
“The U.S. will not be able to rejoin the nuclear pact before it lifts sanctions,” Mr Zarif said. “Once everybody implements their side of obligations, there will be talks,” he asserted.
Last week, President Joe Biden’s administration said it was ready to talk about how to move forward and get both nations back to the discussion table on the accord, which sought to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons while lifting most international sanctions.
Mr Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump walked away from the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, which subsequently started to breach the terms of the agreement.
“Biden claims that Trump’s maximum pressure policy was maximum failure,” Mr Zarif said, according to AP. “But they have not changed that policy”.
“The United States is addicted to pressure, sanctions and bullying,” he asserted, adding. “It does not work with Iran.”
Chantal Da Silva21 February 2021 12:56
Biden polling steadier than Trump’s, survey shows
A Quinnipiac University poll released this week has found President Joe Biden’s approval rating to so far be steadier than that of his predecessor Donald Trump in his first weeks of presidency.
The survey found job approval for Mr Biden to be at 52 per cent, with a disapproval rating of 38 per cent among registered voters.
The president’s average approval rating, meanwhile, stands at 54.3 per cent, with his average disapproval rating at 39.4 per cent, according to an average of polling conducted by RealClearPolitics.
The latest findings suggest that Mr Biden’s approval ratings so far appear to be even steadier than Mr Trump’s, a CNN analysis pointed out this weekend.
The Quinnipiac survey saw more than 1,000 US adults questioned from 11 to 14 February.
Chantal Da Silva21 February 2021 12:39
Biden pays visit to ‘close friend’ Bob Dole after cancer diagnosis
President Joe Biden paid a visit to former Sen. Bob Dole on Saturday after learning that the World War II veteran and 1996 Republican presidential nominee had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.
Mr Biden served in the Senate with Dole for more than two decades, with the White House describing the former senator as a “close friend” of the president.
The US leader visited Mr Dole, now 97, at the Watergate complex, where the war veteran and his wife, Elizabeth, have maintained a longtime residence.
Chantal Da Silva21 February 2021 12:20