All posts tagged: President Biden

Biden faces protest over his support for Israel during White House meeting

Biden faces protest over his support for Israel during White House meeting

Published by Sam

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has faced protests over the conflict in Gaza all over the country, but this week he confronted one inside the White House itself. The occasion was a private meeting on Tuesday where Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and national security leaders could hear from Muslim Americans about their concerns involving the war between Israel and Hamas. Shortly after the conversation began, a Palestinian American doctor from Chicago named Thaer Ahmad who has volunteered in Gaza announced that he was walking out. Before leaving, Ahmad presented the president with a letter from an orphaned 8-year-old girl in Rafah, a city that Israel plans to target next. He included a photo. Ahmad said Biden’s response to his protest was muted. “He said, ‘I understand,’” the doctor recalled. Biden’s support for Israel’s military operations in Gaza, including the sale of U.S. weapons, has angered Muslim Americans. The war began on Oct. 7 when Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis in a surprise attack. Since then, roughly 33,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel. Biden …

New York’s governor is hiring her first Muslim Affairs director

New York’s governor is hiring her first Muslim Affairs director

Published by Sam

NEW YORK (RNS) — New York Governor Kathy Hochul is looking for her first director of Muslim Affairs in an effort to foster positive relationships between the governor’s office and the state’s Muslim population. The initiative is the latest effort of Governor Hochul to strengthen ties with the estimated 725,000 Muslims residing in New York, after denouncing the rise in Islamophobia following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and after meeting with Muslim faith leaders, wrote Avi Small, Hochul’s press secretary, in an email statement. “Governor Hochul is committed to building a diverse administration, and we are always looking for ways to expand and improve our outreach to communities across New York,” he wrote. The director will act as a liaison between the governor’s office and the state’s Muslim population, advising the governor on the concerns and needs of the community and communicating to Muslim residents how the administration’s policies will affect them. The governor’s office already counts a director of Jewish Affairs and a director of Asian American Affairs among its efforts to strengthen its …

Biden’s Muslim American judicial nominee threatened by smear campaign

Biden’s Muslim American judicial nominee threatened by smear campaign

Published by Sam

(RNS) — Late last year, President Biden nominated the first Muslim American to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals. But in the wake of Israel’s war on Gaza, that nomination may now be in jeopardy. Biden’s pick, Adeel Abdullah Mangi, has a distinguished two-decade career as a corporate litigator based in New Jersey. Born in Pakistan and educated at Oxford and Harvard, he has also done pro bono legal work focused on fighting for religious liberty. But when Mangi, 47, went up to Congress for a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in December, he was not grilled about his judicial philosophy but about his views on terrorism and Jews. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz asked him, “Do you condemn the atrocities of Hamas terrorists?” Another suggested he was antisemitic. Mangi was even asked: “Do you celebrate the anniversary of 9/11 in your home?” To many Muslims and others, the questions on the part of Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee were unvarnished examples of Islamophobia. “I think in the climate we are in …

The Wars That Divide Washington

The Wars That Divide Washington

Published by skeptic

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer set off a fierce debate in Washington on Thursday after criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and calling for Israel to hold new elections to replace him. In Russia, where the presidential election is being held this weekend, Vladimir Putin is on track to win a fifth term, as he continues his war against Ukraine. The U.S. will send a small military aid package to Ukraine, the first in months, but the larger $60 billion aid package remains stalled in Congress. Meanwhile, President Biden is campaigning in key battleground states, while Donald Trump, his Republican rival, contends with developments in his various legal battles. Joining guest moderator and White House Correspondent at PBS NewsHour, Laura Barrón-López, to discuss this and more are Zolan Kanno-Youngs, White House Correspondent for The New York Times; Jim Scuitto, Anchor and Chief National Security Analyst at CNN; and Scott MacFarlane, Congressional Correspondent for CBS News. Watch the full episode and read the transcript here. Source link

Biden administration finalizes rule on religious liberty protections

Biden administration finalizes rule on religious liberty protections

Published by Sam

(RNS) — Nine agencies of the Biden administration have finalized a new rule that officials say will improve religious freedom by protecting the rights of beneficiaries of social services funded by the government. In particular, the rule will affect those receiving help from the many social service providers that are faith-based and will ensure providers cannot withhold help based on faith affiliation nor require beneficiaries to participate in any religious activity in order to receive help. The rule restores some religious freedom protections that were rescinded by the Trump administration that also affected people seeking job search and job training assistance, housing services and academic enrichment. It also clarifies that faith-based organizations should be able to compete equally with secular providers for awards while keeping their religious character. “Today’s announcement establishes uniform policies to safeguard Americans from religious discrimination in social services,” said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in a Friday (March 1) statement. “These regulations aim to guarantee broad access to essential social services for eligible individuals, reinforcing awareness of religious …

Joe Biden Is the Nominee Democrats Need

Joe Biden Is the Nominee Democrats Need

Published by skeptic

It was a plausible plan, the political equivalent of stealing a base. Joe Biden had promised South Carolina Democrats that their state would host the first primary of 2024. The state of New Hampshire declined to step aside. To honor his promise, Biden did not enter the New Hampshire primary. That decision opened an opportunity for Biden detractors inside and outside the Democratic primary process: If the incumbent president refused to compete, somebody else could enter and appear to win. It would not be much of a victory, but it might be misrepresented to look like one. Maybe it could even force Biden out of the race, as President Lyndon Johnson was forced out by a rival’s strong showing in the New Hampshire primary of 1968. How hard could it be to win a one-dog dog show? Turns out, harder than it looks. Almost 100,000 people cast ballots in the New Hampshire Democratic primary. Not quite 25,000 chose a Biden alternative. Almost all the rest look to have written in Biden’s name. (The counting still …

Trump says he’d live to 200 years old if not for one lifestyle choice

Trump says he’d live to 200 years old if not for one lifestyle choice

Published by Sam

Donald Trump has claimed he would live to age 200 if he did not eat so much junk food. During a campaign event in New Hampshire this week, the 77-year-old recalled comments by his former White House physician, Ronny Jackson, who previously said he would “be around for 200 years” if he did not eat so much junk food. Nevertheless, Mr Trump – who is said to have a penchant for Diet Coke – gave himself a clean bill of health, telling supporters that he feels 35, and adding that he feels “cognitively” 20 years younger than he is. “I feel like I’m about 35 years old. I feel better now than I did 30 years ago,” Mr Trump said. The former president was then questioned by a sceptical reporter over his assessment of his health, to which he responded: “It’s called genetics. Some people have great genes.” Both Mr Trump and President Biden have faced attacks over their age, sometimes from each other, and sometimes from members of their party, during the campaign trail. …

5 unanswered questions about Austin’s prostate cancer treatment

5 unanswered questions about Austin’s prostate cancer treatment

Published by skeptic

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is facing mounting pressure to resign — or at least explain himself — as Republicans accuse the Pentagon chief of dereliction of duty for failing to disclose a hospital visit last week.  While the Pentagon released a statement from Austin’s doctors Tuesday saying that he underwent surgery before Christmas after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, answering one major question, it’s still unclear why President Biden and other key officials were left in the dark for days.  The cancer was detected during a routine screening in early December, and Austin underwent surgery to treat it on Dec. 22. But then he returned to the hospital on Jan. 1 with nausea and severe pain, which doctors found was caused by a urinary tract infection, and was admitted to the intensive care unit.  Even Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks was not aware of the hospitalization until Jan. 4, the same day Biden was informed. The press and public were made aware the next day. Biden only learned of Austin’s cancer diagnosis Tuesday, in a …

Lloyd Austin’s Disappearing Act – The Atlantic

Lloyd Austin’s Disappearing Act – The Atlantic

Published by skeptic

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was hospitalized this week, and apparently, the president of the United States didn’t know about it—for days. Austin was admitted to Walter Reed Hospital following complications from an “elective procedure” on New Year’s Day, according to a statement from the Pentagon. “Elective” could mean almost anything that is not serious or urgent, but something went wrong, and Austin ended up in the Intensive Care Unit for four days, NBC News reported. In itself, the secretary’s incapacity is not a crisis; the Pentagon’s chain of command has multiple people who can take over for him. And there might be good reasons to keep such news, at least temporarily, away from the public (and America’s enemies). But what possible reason could there be for Austin’s failing to inform President Biden and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, as Politico reports he did? The most benign explanation (based on what little we know so far) would be that Austin’s health issues developed so rapidly that his subordinates assumed he’d be released, when in fact …

Iowa school shooting leaves three Injured; suspected shooter dead | US | News

Iowa school shooting leaves three Injured; suspected shooter dead | US | News

Published by skeptic

Three people have been injured following a school shooting in Iowa, according to police. Dallas County Sheriff Adam Infante said the attack had taken place before classes got underway. The shooter is understood to have died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot, it was reported by NBC News. It may have been a student who was responsible. Mr Infante, in a news briefing, said: “Luckily, so there were very few students and faculty in the building, which I think contributed to a good outcome in that sense.” Two students and an administrator were among the injured, the Sheriff Infante said. The shooting took place at Perry High School at around 7.30am local time (1;30pm UK time) and officers arrived on the scene minutes later. Emergency vehicles were called to the scene and surrounded town’s middle school and high school building. Zander Shelley, 15, had been in a hallway when the shooting broke out and rushed to hide inside of a classroom but was grazed twice, according to his father, Kevin Shelley. Mr Shelley, who drives a …