Biden Defends Multi-Trillion Spending, Condemns Trump
Joe Biden used his first address to Congress as the 46th U.S. president to indirectly condemn his predecessor and sell multi-trillion budget plans for social programs and U.S. infrastructure.
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US eyes major rollback of Iran sanctions to revive nuclear deal
The Biden administration is considering a near wholesale rollback of some of the most stringent Trump-era sanctions imposed on Iran in a bid to get the Islamic Republic to return to compliance with a landmark 2015 nuclear accord, according to current and former US officials and others familiar with the matter.
Oil pipeline disputes raise tensions between U.S. and Canada
Months after President Biden snubbed Canadian officials by canceling Keystone XL, an impending showdown over a second crude oil pipeline threatens to further strain ties between the two neighbors that were frayed during the Trump administration.
Police Search Home Of Trump Attorney Rudy Giuliani
Federal investigators executed a search warrant Wednesday at the Manhattan home of former President Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani, several sources confirmed.
Kerry Denies Telling Iranians About Covert Israeli Operations; State Dept. Says It Was Public Knowledge
Facing calls for his resignation, President Biden’s climate envoy John Kerry on Monday denied as “unequivocally false” claims that he had informed Iran’s foreign minister about covert Israeli military strikes against Iranian facilities in Syria.
Iran Nuclear Pact Talks Resume
World powers resumed talks Tuesday in Vienna about revitalizing the 2015 international pact to restrain Iran’s nuclear development program and bring the United States back into the accord that former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018.
Republicans would resume Trump’s border wall if they win back the House
House Republicans, eager to elevate border security to a top 2022 campaign issue, said Monday they would revive the now-stalled construction of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border that was championed by former President Donald Trump and nixed by President Joe Biden.
Supreme Court to hear case involving disclosure of alleged CIA detention sites
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a case that could reveal new details about CIA detention facilities in foreign countries.
US official: We’re updating Israel on Iran talks in Vienna despite differences
The US has been updating Israel on the progress of indirect negotiations with Iran over a possible return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and will continue a policy of transparency moving forward, a senior State Department official said Wednesday.
Montana Democratic Party challenges new state Voting ID laws
The Democratic Party in Montana has filed suit challenging state voting laws that end election day voter registration and require college students to produce proof of residency besides student ID to register and vote, the Washington Times reports. In filing suit against Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, the party argues the laws place an unnecessary and unconstitutional burden on the right to vote for Native Americans, the elderly, the disabled, and students.
Sudan abolishes boycott of Israel
Sudan on Tuesday repealed its 1958 law that imposed a boycott of Israel and cut ties between the two countries, Christian Headlines reports. The move follows the Sudan-Israel agreement to normalize diplomatic relations and end the state of belligerence between them. Sudan’s citizens will now be allowed to visit Israel, where around 6,000 Sudanese live.
Russia, Czech Republic Expel Dozens Of Diplomats
Russia expelled 20 Czech diplomats after the Czech Republic ordered 18 Russian diplomats to leave on Saturday.
U.S. to Israel: Iran attacks intefering with nuclear deal efforts
Washington has informed Jerusalem of its displeasure over recent attacks against Iranian targets attributed to Israel, as well as what it called “boasting” by Israel regarding these incidents, sources said.
In J Street speech, Abbas urges Biden to scrap US law deeming PLO a terror group
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday urged the Biden administration to revoke a US law that deems the Palestinian Liberation Organization and its affiliates a terror group.
US to announce new sanctions against Russia
The United States will soon announce new sanctions against Russian individuals and entities for alleged election interference and malicious cyber activity, Voice of America reports. It is expected that thirty organizations will be blacklisted and that some 10 Russian officials in the US will be issued with orders to leave the country.
HHS spending $60 million per week to house unaccompanied minors at border
The Biden administration is spending $60 million per week to take care of unaccompanied minors at the border, according to a report by The Washington Post.
US To Withdraw All Troops From Afghanistan By Sept. 11
U.S. President Joe Biden will announce that all American troops will leave war-torn Afghanistan by September 11, officials said.
Iran says it will begin 60% uranium enrichment
The Iranian government has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that it will begin 60% uranium enrichment, Axios reports. This will be the most serious Iranian violation of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal since the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the agreement in 2018.
Biden to approve $23 billion sale of F-35s to UAE that followed Abraham Accords
The Biden administration has told Congress it will move ahead with a massive arms deal to the United Arab Emirates, including advanced F-35 aircraft, that was signed in the wake of Israel’s normalization deal with the Gulf nation, congressional aides told Reuters on Tuesday.
Bipartisan bill calls for Biden to declassify intel on COVID-19 origins in China
A newly introduced bipartisan bill aimed at confronting the growing economic challenge and national security threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party calls for the Biden administration to declassify a host of intelligence related to the origins of COVID-19, including any evidence related to a Chinese cover-up or tied to a Wuhan lab.