List of All Articles with Tag 'americas'

When President Joe Biden on Friday closed out a speech to gun control advocates by exclaiming, “God save the Queen, man,” confused members of the White House press corps wondered what, exactly, the president meant. Was he speaking of Her Late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away in September 2022 after a full seven decades on the throne of the United Kingdom and 14 other commonwealth reams — the longest reign of any British monarch and of any female monarch in recorded history? Or was he referring to Queen Camilla, who in May was crowned alongside her husband, King Charles III? Perhaps he was not referring to any British queen, but was instead speaking of the leader who took Elizabeth II’s place as the longest-serving European monarch, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark? According to the White House, the correct answer is: None of the above. Deputy Press Secretary Olivia Dalton clarified the situation slightly late on Friday by telling reporters who were travelling with the president that Mr Biden was merely “commenting to someone in the crowd”. Ms Dalton did not add anything further on who the president was responding to or what prompted the strange remark. Yet Mr Biden, a proud Irishman who was accused of harbouring anti-British sentiments after he followed the example of previous American presidents by not personally attending the 6 May coronation, has previously expressed the same pro-British sentiment at a key moment in recent US history. When, as vice president, he presided over the January 2017 counting of electoral votes which confirmed former president Donald Trump’s surprise 2016 election victory, Mr Biden made the exact same remark in jest to then-House Speaker Paul Ryan after gavelling the counting session to a close. Read More Trump rants on Truth Social over poll showing him losing to Biden Blinken says US ‘doesn’t support Taiwan independence’ in visit to ease relations with China These House Republicans opposed making Juneteenth a holiday two years ago

The artist behind a flattering courtroom sketch of Donald Trump has defended his controversial depiction of the former president. William J Hennessy Jr was one of three artists who drew Mr Trump, 77, during his arraignment in Miami on 13 June on 37 federal counts related to willful mishandling classified documents, obstruction of justice and making false statements. The sketch of a slimmed down, youthful-looking Mr Trump standing bolt upright provoked protests on social media for being overly generous to the defendant. “Is this William J Hennessy Jr’s audition to do Trumps official White House portrait?” quipped one person. “That last sketch of Trump looks almost exactly like the recent photo of his son Barron,” another tweeted. A third person commented that “they got Trump looking like ‘Prince of Tides’ Nick Nolte in this sketch.” Mr Hennessy told the Boston Globe he was bemused by the strong response, which he said had been about half positive and half critical. “It’s rare I get any kind of feedback,” Mr Hennessy told the news site. “Some said he looked too thin, too young, and some said he looked too good.” He told the Globe the court appearance had been “pretty stressful” to cover. Journalists reported waiting in line for 24 hours to get a seat in the courtroom. “I don’t editorialise,” he said. “I just draw what I see.” Other sketches during Mr Trump’s arraignment showed the 45th president hunched over with his arms folded and a scowl on his face. Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to all the counts, and has denounced the investigation as a political “witch hunt”. When Mr Trump appeared for arraignment in New York in April on charges relating to falsifying business records around hush money payments during the 2016 presidential campaign, he told officers he weighed 240 pounds (109 kgs). Read More Trump news – live: Bill Barr slams Trump’s ‘absurd’ classified papers defence as ex-attorney quits CNN lawsuit Attorney General Garland keeps poker face as firestorm erupts after Trump charges Fox News quietly changes headline after White House accused network of lying about Pride flag Why aren’t more Republicans attacking Trump like Bill Barr? Trump news – live: Bill Barr slams Trump’s ‘absurd’ classified papers defence as ex-attorney quits CNN lawsuit

Former president Donald Trump reacted angrily when Fox News host Bret Baier confronted him and old him that he had lost the 2020 presidential election. Mr Baier asked how he would win back independen suburban female voters who have drifted from the Republican Party. The twice-indicted and twice-impeached former president responded by repeating the lie that he did not lose the 2020 presidential election. “First of all, I won in 2020,” he said. “Let’s get that straight. I won in 2020.” Mr Baier interrupted Mr Trump’s tirade to try and correct him even as Mr Trump continued. The former president repeated lies about footage that allegedly shows people stuffing ballot boxes. “You lost the 2020 election,” Mr Baier said. “There were lawsuits, more than 50 of them, by your lawyers, some of them in front of judges, judges that you appointed that came up with no evidence.” Mr Trump repeated his claims throughout the interview and falsely claimed that the state of Wisconsin “practically admitted it was rigged.” Mr Baier countered that investigations did no show widespread voter fraud. “They found fewer than 475 cases,” he said. “They were counting ballots, not the authenticity of the ballot,” Mr Trump said. “The ballots were fake ballots. This was a very rigged election.” Mr Baier then tried to circle back to his original question and ask Mr Trump if this is how he would make a case to the aforementioned indpendent suburban female voter. “We’re off to winning an election, and I think we’re winning very well,” he said. Mr Baier’s challenge to Mr Trump’s claims about the election being stolen came after Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems settled a lawsuit that the company which makes voting machines had filed against the cable news giant for $787.5m. Dominion had filed the lawsuit and claimed that the network defamed the company by giving a platform to conspiracy theorists who spread lies that Dominion engaged in widespread voter fraud and that Fox failed to challenge the lies about the company. Shortly after the settlement, the cable news giant parted ways with Tucker Carlson, one of its most-watched hosts. Mr Carlson had repeatedly parroted lies about the 2020 presidential election. Mr Trump is also currently facing an investigation led by the district attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, for his attempts to overturn the election in that state in 2020. Mr Tump’s interview with Mr Baier was the first one that he conducted with the Rupert Murdoch-owned network since his arraignment in a federal court in Miami. Mr Trump pleaded not guilty to the 37 charges that an indictment that a grand jury supervised by Special Counsel Jack Smith handed down. Mr Smith is also in charge of investigating Mr Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, including his actions on and leading up to the January 6 riot wherein supporters of Mr Trump broke into the US Capitol to prevent the certification of the 2020 presidential election results. Read More Donald Trump Jr facing calls to be banned from Australia Trump news – live: Trump denies ever having ‘Iran’ paper despite recording, as Fox confronts him over 2020 Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

A petition has been launched in Australia calling for a ban on Donald Trump Jr from visiting the country for a right-wing event next month. By Monday nearly 15,000 people had signed the Change.org petition protesting against the former president’s eldest son attending the “Turning Point Australia” event. The group is affiliated with right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk’s “Turning Point USA”, which aims to reach the next generation of conservatives. Nigel Farage is expected to join Mr Trump on his trip. “Donald Trump Junior is a far-right agitator who spreads bigotry wherever he goes,” Omar Hassan of the Campaign Against Racism & Fascism said in a statement. “His visit is likely to be a magnet for far-right and neo-Nazi groups across Melbourne, so we will be there in numbers to send the message that people here reject and despise everything they stand for.” And he added: “Trump Jr is a prominent far-right spokesperson, famous for his aggressive racist and transphobic campaigning. “He was an instrumental part of his father’s 2016 presidential run, and has since been part of attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, including the violence on January 6. We’re protesting him to stand against white supremacy, transphobia, and misogyny.” Activists say that if Mr Trump is allowed into Australia a protest will take place on 11 July at the State Library of Victoria. Read More Sketch artist defends controversial take on Trump arraignment Shocking emails reveal Donald Trump Jr making offensive comments about Mexicans and Black people Trump pleads not guilty as he makes history as first president to be criminally charged – twice Trump news – live: Bill Barr slams Trump’s ‘absurd’ classified papers defence as ex-attorney quits CNN lawsuit Trump praises Melania’s ‘attitude’ as she skips arraignment: ‘She doesn’t care that much’

Former president Donald Trump denied that he ever possessed a secret document about attacking Iran despite the fact a recording exists that had him discussing a document he kept from his presidency. Mr Trump spoke in an interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier at his property in Bedminster, New Jersey less than a week after he pleaded not guilty to 37 charges in a federal court in Miami at his arraignment. A federal grand jury had indicted him for allegedly willfully mishandling classified documents, obstruction of justice and making false statements. The former president was also confronted by Baier over his insistence that he won the 2020 election — which he did not, as the Fox News host made clear in a testy exchange. Voters may be growing sick of Mr Trump as well. In a new poll, voters were most likely to describe Donald Trump in one word: a “criminal”. Mr Trump also complained about the latest Quinnipiac University poll being cited by Fox News that shows Joe Biden beating him in the 2024 election as the network prepared to broadcast an interview with him. Read More Voters think Trump is a criminal, Biden is too old and DeSantis is a fascist, new poll finds Trump’s defence secretary says his hoarding of secrets was ‘unauthorised, illegal and dangerous’ Trump, other Republicans conjure a familiar enemy in attacking Democrats as 'Marxists,' 'communists' Trump is incredibly guilty: that doesn’t mean he’ll get the prison time he deserves

Former president Donald Trump denied that he ever possessed a secret document about attacking Iran despite the fact a recording exists that had him discussing a document he kept from his presidency. Mr Trump spoke in an interview with Fox News anchor Bret Baier at his property in Bedminster, New Jersey less than a week after he pleaded not guilty to 37 charges in a federal court in Miami for his arraignment in Miami. A federal grand jury had indicted him for allegedly willfully mishandling of classified documents, obstruction of justice and making false statements. Late last month, CNN reported that federal prosecutors had obtained audio of a recording in the summer of 2021 where Mr Trump acknowledged that he had held onto a classified document from the Pentagon detailing a potential attack on Iran. But Mr Trump denied there was a document. “I had lots of paper, I had copies of newspaper articles, I had copies of magazines,” he said. Mr Baier responded by reading back from the indictment wherein Mr Trump reportedly said that the plan to attack Iran was “highly confidential” and “secret,” and that “as president, I could have declassified it.” The president said “Now I can’t, you know, but it’s still a secret.” “When I said I couldn’t declassify it now, that’s because I wasn’t president, I’ve never made any bones about that,” Mr Trump said. “When I’m not president, I can’t declassify.” Mr Trump repeated his denial that such a document existed. “That was a massive amount of papers and everything else talking about Iran and other things,” he said. “And it may have been held up or it may not but that was not a document. I did not have a document per se.” Mr Baier responded by saying he was reading what the indictment said about a recording, as well as from people in the room who testified about Mr Trump’s. “These people are very dishonest people,” he said. “They’re thugs. If you look at what they’ve done, to other people and overturned in the US Supreme Court, these are thugs.” The unsealed indictment said that Mr Trump met with a writer and a publisher of his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadow’s book. Upon the meeting, the indictment says, Mr Trump said “Look what I found” and showed an unnamed military official’s plan of attack on Iran. The official was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley. At the time, neither the writer nor the publisher had security clearances. Mr Baier said that the suggestion was Mr Trump had requested the documents because there was evidence that the US military and Gen Milley had pre-emptively sent him for plans on an attack on Iran and that Mr Trump did not order such an attack to occur. But Mr Trump denied that he had done so, and proceeded to attack Gen Milley. “Milley, frankly, was incompetent,” he said. “The last one I’d want to attack with as my leader would be Milley.” The instance Mr Baier discussed was one of allegedly two instances where Mr Trump supposedly showed classified information to people who were not authorised to see them. On the second occasion in August or September 2021, also in Bedminster, Mr Trump commented that a military operation that was not going well and reportedly showed a representative from his political action committee a classified map of the country, before saying he should not be showing it. The interview is Mr Trump’s first interview with Fox News, a network with which he has regularly feuded since leaving office. Mr Trump has maintained his innocence. Mr Trump also explained to Mr Baier why he failed to return documents to the National Archives and Records Administration. “The only way NARA could ever get this stuff, this back, would be ‘please, please, please, could we have it back?” he said. He also said that many of the documents were “interspersed” with personal effects. “I want to go through the boxes and get all my personal things out. I don’t want to hand that over to (National Archives) yet. And I was very busy, as you’ve sort of seen,” he said. -Bevan Hurley contributed to this report Read More Trump gives Fox News new excuse for not giving back boxes of secret documents Trump news – live: Trump angry as Fox tells him he lost in 2020, as he floats new excuse over secret papers Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

A primary candidate for Mexico’s June 2024 presidential elections proposed Monday giving the president’s son a central role in the next administration. The proposal by candidate Marcelo Ebrard raised the specter of a national political dynasty being born in Mexico, where traditionally they were frowned on. Ebrard said that if he wins the nomination of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party, he would appoint the president’s son, Andrés Manuel López Beltrán — better known as Andy — to a newly created Cabinet post to ensure his father’s legacy. While López Beltrán has not publicly commented on the proposal, it would appear to be a way to solve a central problem for Morena. The young, disparate party was largely found around, and centered on, López Obrador's personal popularity and charisma, which all the contenders to succeed him lack. The six-way primary race will be decided in September by a series of polls. The inclusion of his son was an obvious bid by Ebrard, the centrist former foreign relations secretary, to ensure continuity and perhaps to attract some of the president's most devoted followers. Ebrard said the son would be put in charge of a Cabinet-level department “to continue building on the legacy” left by López Obrador. López Beltrán has not held any formal post in his father's administration, but has been widely reported to be a behind-the-scenes dealmaker and influencer in political and economic matters. While family dynasties have governed some parts of Mexico at the municipal or even state level, for nearly 100 years an ironclad rule has prevailed on the federal level: the outgoing president agrees to retire from political activity, as does his immediate family. In exchange, incoming presidents have seldom investigated corruption on the part of their predecessors. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

Donald Trump has floated a new excuse for refusing to return classified documents — he was “very busy”. The former president claimed in a new interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier that the hundreds of top secret papers he took to Mar-a-Lago after leaving the White House were “interspersed” with his personal effects. “I want to go through the boxes and get all my personal things out. I don’t want to hand that over to (National Archives) yet. And I was very busy, as you’ve sort of seen,” he said. Mr Trump was arraigned in Miami last week on 37 federal counts related to willful mishandling classified documents, obstruction of justice and making false statements. In the Fox interview which aired on Monday night, Mr Baier asks the former president why he failed to comply with the request from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to return the documents. “The only way NARA could ever get this stuff, this back, would be ‘please, please, please, could we have it back?’” he replied. Mr Baier then points out that NARA had asked for them back, and then sought a subpoena from the Department of Justice when he refused. The sensitive documents included the US’s nuclear capabilities, invasion plans and defence capabilities, according to the DoJ indictment. The Fox host then asked Mr Trump about allegations in the indictment that he ordered his aide Walt Nauta to move documents “after telling lawyers to say you’d fully complied with the subpoena when you hadn’t”. “Before I send boxes over, I have to take all of my things out. These boxes were interspersed with all sorts of things.” Mr Trump went on to repeat lies about the 2020 presidential election being stolen, insult his Republican primary opponents, and quip that Fox was losing viewers. Watchdog Citizens for Ethics tweeted that Mr Trump’s comments would be admissible in court. “The most damning evidence against Trump is Trump talking.” His excuses echoed a speech Mr Trump made to supporters at his Bedminster private club last Tuesday. “Many people have asked me why I had these boxes, why did you want them?” he said. “The answer, in addition to having every right under the Presidential Records Act, is that these boxes were containing all types of personal belongings — many, many things, shirts and shoes, everything.” Read More Trump news – live: Trump gives Fox News interview after attacking network over poll showing 2024 Biden win The indictment has helped Trump in the primaries – but there’s a catch Sketch artist defends controversial take on Trump arraignment Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

Former president Donald Trump reacted angrily on Monday after Fox News highlighted a Quinnipiac University poll showing him as trailing President Joe Biden by a four-point margin. Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social website that the respected polling organisation had released a “bad poll” and accused Quinnipiac of using too few Republican voters in the sample of Americans who were surveyed. Mr Trump argued that the poll actually showed that he was in the lead over Mr Biden. “It under samples Republicans by 10 points, which means, instead of being down 4 points, I am up 6 points,” he said. “Other Polls show me much higher than that, but FoxNews will always attempt, as they did in 2016, to only show negatives on MAGA & TRUMP. We’re winning BIG, they don’t like it, the RINOS don’t like it, the Democrats don’t like it but, most of all, the Marxists & Communists don’t like it!” Mr Trump’s unsubstantiated claim echoes grievances that GOP figures aired in the run-up to the 2012 election, in which they alleged that reputable, mainstream polls were somehow “skewed” against Republicans and therefore were inaccurately showing that then-GOP nominee Mitt Romney was trailing then-president Obama, who was running for re-election at the time. Mr Obama, of course, ended up winning the 2012 election handily. Read More Trump news – live: Bill Barr slams Trump’s ‘absurd’ classified papers defence as ex-attorney quits CNN lawsuit Petition seeks to ban Donald Trump Jr from Australia visit over ‘white supremacy, transphobia and misogyny’ Trump faces questions about whether he'll drag down the Republican Party after his indictments

Mexico’s president announced Monday the appointment of a 35-year-old lawyer as interior secretary, considered the country’s top Cabinet post. Luisa María Alcalde previously served as secretary of labor. In that post, she oversaw the implementation of reforms meant to ensure fair and transparent voting procedures and free organizing in Mexico's corruption-riddled union sector. Alcalde will become the second woman to be interior secretary, which is the Mexican government's top domestic affairs position. Early in his administration, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador named Olga Sánchez Cordero to the post, but she left to return to the Senate. Alcalde was appointed to replace Adán Augusto López, who resigned as interior secretary last week in order to compete in the primary race for the 2024 presidential nomination of López Obrador’s Morena party. The Morena party required all primary candidates to resign their official posts by last week, to avoid the appearance of government, money or influence skewing the race. The country's foreign relations secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, also resigned to compete in the Morena primary and was replaced by a woman, veteran diplomat Alicia Bárcena. The new Cabinet members are expected to serve until López Obrador leaves office in September 2024. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

Russian agents reportedly attempted to assassinate a CIA informant on American soil in 2020, a dramatic ploy that has since been blamed for a sudden deterioration of relations between Washington and leaders of the Russian Federation. Their target was a former Russian agent whose defection to the United States led to a counterintelligence investigation that resulted in the capture and expulsion of nearly a dozen spies embedded along the US eastern seaboard. His attempted murder is just the latest alleged effort by agents of Vladimir Putin, formerly head of the country’s feared intelligence service and now its leader, to get revenge against Russian defectors living abroad. Three former senior US officials told The New York Times that Russian agents targeted Aleksandr Poteyev with an operation in early 2020 that involved an effort to tail Mr Poteyev around his new hometown of Miami. A Mexican scientist, coerced into being the face of the effort after members of his family were prevented from leaving Russia, is reported to have rented an apartment near Mr Poteyev’s residence for the purpose of surveiling the ex-spy. That scientist, Hector Alejandro Cabrera Fuentes, would later be instructed by his Russian handlers to tail Mr Poteyev, leading to an incident where he and his wife were spotted by security agents and cameras (apparently at their victim’s apartment complex) photographing Mr Poteyev’s license plate. Realising they had likely just blown their cover, the two fled for Mexico, but were stopped at the US border and arrested. According to one former official, Mr Fuentes was likely unaware of the eventual goals of the operation and was merely tasked with providing initial intelligence regarding Mr Poteyev’s whereabouts. More follows... Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Former president Donald Trump will be barred from viewing the evidence the Department of Justice has collected against him except when in the presence of his attorneys, according to a new order by one of the judges overseeing the criminal case against him. In a four-page order signed on Monday, Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart granted a prosecution request for a protective order meant to shield the information that must be disclosed to Mr Trump about the case against him from public view. It covers “non-classified discovery produced by the United States to the Defendants in preparation for, or in connection with, any stage” of the case that began when a Florida grand jury indicted the ex-president on 37 separate counts of violating the federal criminal code earlier this month, and requires that those materials can only be used “in connection with the defense of this case, and for no other purpose, and in connection with no other proceeding”. Magistrate Judge Reinhart also ordered that the discovery materials be kept only by Mr Trump’s legal team and stored securely on premises controlled by them. He further specified that Mr Trump (and his co-defendant Walt Nauta) “shall only have access to Discovery Materials under the direct supervision of Defense Counsel or a member of Defense Counsel’s staff,” and prohibited either of them from retaining copies of the materials themselves or taking any notes with them after viewing any of the materials. The protective order and the restrictions it places upon Mr Trump are meant in part to prevent him from directing his followers to harass any witnesses against him or any FBI or DOJ personnel involved in the case. After FBI agents searched his Palm Beach, Florida property on 8 August last year, the former president’s camp leaked an unredacted copy of a property receipt provided to his counsel at the time of the search to right-wing Breitbart News. The document named multiple FBI agents involved in the search of his property, and in subsequent court filings the government disclosed that those agents had been targeted for harassment by Mr Trump’s supporters. Read More Blinken meets Xi in Beijing at climax of high-stakes China visit The 25-year-old party chairwoman who wants to turn North Carolina blue Anger as Fox guest says it’s time for someone to ‘pull a trigger’ over ‘the left’