List of All Articles with Tag 'us politics'

Iowa's Republican-controlled legislature advanced a bill that would ban most abortions in the state as early as six weeks into pregnancy.

Far-right Rep Majorie Taylor Greene has introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorisation Act that “directs the president to withdraw the US from Nato.” “They are not a reliable partner whose defense spending should be paid for by American citizens. For the better part of the last decade, Germany has contributed only around one per cent of its GDP to finance Nato obligations while the United States is paying around four per cent of our GDP to defend Nato countries,” Ms Greene said in announcing the amendment. She added that the US “has been financing and promising to defend Nato countries for decades and paying more than its fair share.” “Western European countries could and should be stepping up their financial contributions to ensure the security of Nato. Instead, they are entirely beholden to Russia and US taxpayers expected to foot the bill,” Ms Greene concluded. The Georgia congresswoman’s amendment comes the same day that President Joe Biden expressed the US’ “ironclad commitment to NATO” in a tweet amid a Nato summit in Lithuania. Earlier on Tuesday, Nato leaders wrote in a declaration that “Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” adding, “We will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and conditions are met.” Read More Biden news – live: President skips Nato leadership dinner as White House blames ‘big speech’ prep Turkey's pledge of support for Sweden's NATO entry is tied to goals on security and EU membership Biden blames busy schedule for skipping Nato leadership dinner

Tucker Carlson has once again invited criticism for uploading a two-and-a-half-hour long interview with rape and sex trafficking accused Andrew Tate on Twitter. The former Fox News host, who now uploads a new series he calls Tucker on Twitter, sat down with the controversial social media influencer, who was arrested and charged with rape, human trafficking and leading an organised crime group to sexually exploit women in Romania. The extensive interview, Carlson’s first on his new show that is on its ninth episode, has raked in millions of views hours after it was uploaded. Carlson, who previously defended Mr Tate and called his arrest a “human rights violation”, has sparked outrage by giving a platform to the controversial influencer without proper scrutiny or contextualisation. The right-wing TV personality kicked off the interview by asking viewers to “make up your own mind” about Mr Tate, who has defended himself and denied the charges against him. The former kickboxer and social media influencer, who gained notoriety over the years for peddling misogynistic views, was held in police custody from 29 December until 31 March by Romanian authorities before being put on house arrest. His brother Tristan and two of their associates also face charges. Given the widespread allegations against Mr Tate, the decision to host the British-American has drawn criticism from various quarters, ranging from media personalities and journalists and including conservative commentators as well. DailyBeast reporter Justin Baragona weighed in on the interview, calling Mr Tate “an unapologetic pornographer”. “After lamenting about how young men are now withdrawing into porn, Tucker Carlson then proceeds to sympathetically interview an unapologetic pornographer – for two and a half hours!” he said. “Two and a half hours defending & singing the praises of an accused rapist and human trafficker. So brave,” said Joe Walsh, a former 2020 Republican presidential candidate. American conservative talk radio host Erick Ericson said Mr Tate is charged with rape, human trafficking, and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women. “Are you an Andrew Tate right winger or a Sound of Freedom right winger. You can’t really be both,” he said. HuffPost correspondent SV Dáte called out Carlson for “glorifying an accused rapist/human trafficker”. “Not going to waste 2.5 hours of my life on these two, can someone tell me if Tucker asked Tate his opinion of Sound of Freedom,” said The Spectator’s editor-at-large Ben Domenech. Elon Musk also tweeted about the interview, calling it “interesting”. The Twitter chief was called out for his tweet supporting the Fox News anchor by Ahmed Baba, an entrepreneur and journalist who is also a columnist for The Independent. “This is why millions of people are leaving Twitter,” he said, calling out Mr Musk for promoting the interview between Carlson, who he said pushed “white supremacist rhetoric”, while calling Mr Tate a “misogynist influencer”. Read More Andrew Tate denies making money from trafficking women as he appears in Romanian court Clip of Tucker Carlson defending Andrew Tate resurfaces after rape and human trafficking arrest Twitter gets bizarre endorsement from Taliban as militants give verdict on rival Threads Peers demand curbs on harmful algorithms introduced to online safety Bill Andrew Tate loses appeal against house arrest in Romania as human trafficking case continues Education minister ‘would not want Andrew Tate to speak on university campuses’

While the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness program last month, a separate and significant change to the federal student loan system is moving ahead.

FBI Director Christopher Wray will testify on Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee, a hearing that will put Wray in front of some of his harshest critics on Capitol Hill.

Donald Trump has lost the protection of the Justice Department in his defamation lawsuit brought by magazine columnist E Jean Carroll. On Tuesday, the DOJ said in a court filing that the former president does not have presidential immunity in the case, saying he was not “acting within the scope of his office and employment as President of the United States” in 2019 when he denied raping Ms Carroll. This paves the way for the defamation suit to proceed through the courts. This legal blow came the same day that a grand jury was sworn in on Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of the investigation into the efforts of the former president and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating Mr Trump after he called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in early 2021 and urged him to “find 11,780 votes” to flip the state in his favour. Meanwhile, Mr Trump is also seeking to have his federal criminal trial relating to the Mar-a-Lago classified documents delayed until after the 2024 election. Read More Trump strains relations with Iowa Republicans with no-show at charity event Trump says ‘damaged’ DeSantis is ‘desperately trying to get out’ of 2024 race Trump’s encounter with Guy Fieri at UFC fight sparks mixed reactions Trump lawyer Alina Habba leaves his defence team in New York fraud case

President Joe Biden enters day two of the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, facing questions about Ukraine's path to becoming a member of the alliance, with concerns from his Ukrainian counterpart on full display and fissures among NATO leaders on the thorny issue.

China-based hackers have breached email accounts at two-dozen organizations, including some United States government agencies, in an apparent spying campaign aimed at acquiring sensitive information, according to statements from Microsoft and the White House late Tuesday.

Paraguay’s president-elect, Santiago Pena, landed in Taipei on Tuesday for a visit meant to reinforce relations between Taiwan and one of its few remaining diplomatic allies. Pena, who takes office next month, is to meet with top political leaders including President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice President William Lai, who is also the governing Democratic Progressive Party’s candidate in the January presidential election. Pena promised during his campaign to maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Paraguay is one of only 13 countries that recognize Taiwan as a country and do not have diplomatic relations with China. Beijing, which considers self-governed Taiwan a breakaway province, prohibits its diplomatic partners from having formal ties with Taipei. Taiwan's remaining diplomatic allies are generally smaller countries in Central America, the Caribbean and South Pacific, along with Eswatini in southern Africa and Vatican City. China has intensified its campaign to win over Taiwan’s diplomatic allies since independence-leaning Tsai took office in 2016, in part by offering infrastructure investments to developing countries. It recently managed to sway Honduras, which broke ties with Taipei and opened an embassy in Beijing. “I want to spend the next five years bringing us together,” Pena said after arriving at Taipei's airport. “We are close, but I think that in these moments, we need to be closer, we need to be together.” Pena is traveling with members of his incoming government, including the future ministers of foreign affairs and finance. Members of his team earlier told Paraguayan media that he is looking to expand trade and investment between Paraguay and Taiwan. Pena is to join festivities on Wednesday marking the 66th anniversary of Taiwan-Paraguay ties. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

Iowa's state House passed a bill Tuesday night that would ban most abortions in the state as early as six weeks into pregnancy, acting quickly in the special session ordered by GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds with the sole purpose of restricting the procedure in the state.

Senator Tommy Tuberville acknowledges "white nationalists are racists" after previously disputing the claim.

Former Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday said that Ukraine's membership in NATO should not be considered until Russia's war in the country ends.