The News Caravan

Tag: US News

  • Debt ceiling fight heads to battleground NYC suburbs

    Debt ceiling fight heads to battleground NYC suburbs

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    As both parties gaze toward a tumultuous 2024 election cycle, the president’s visit is already putting the Hudson Valley’s moderate Republicans, who narrowly won a handful of toss-up seats six months ago, back on the defensive. The economic tremors associated with a busted debt ceiling could be felt quickly by their constituents.

    “It’s exactly the wrong message,” Rep. Marc Molinaro, a Republican who won New York’s 19th District, said in an interview.

    “I think most Americans see the highest rate of inflation in 40 years, the debt crisis, spending crisis and a border crisis. And the president’s hopping on Air Force One to go siphon campaign dollars out of New York City, and then deliver partisan speeches in the marginal congressional districts. Frankly, there’s plenty of time for that. Right now, he ought to be engaged in negotiation on any one of those fronts.”

    Biden and congressional leaders in both parties met late Tuesday to see if they could reach a compromise, but it appeared no progress was made.

    Both he and Republican Rep. Mike Lawler pointed to Biden’s focus on negotiations — rather than campaign rhetoric — for similar crises when he was senator and then vice president.

    “So it’s a little surprising to see the tact that he has taken, frankly, throughout this process,” Lawler, who flipped New York’s 17th District by fewer than 2,000 votes, said in an interview Tuesday.

    “My position is one that I think most Americans would agree with,” Lawler continued. “Americans elected a House Republican majority to serve as a check and balance on the Biden agenda. And so they expect that there’s going to be a give-and-take. We don’t live in a dictatorship or a monarchy. And, and there needs to be compromise. And both sides need to be willing to give.”

    But Biden’s visit is not surprising to New Yorkers watching the scramble that ensued after November’s bruising results, and it won’t be surprising to see the president and other top Democrats return to Hudson Valley again and again, said Democratic strategist Jon Reinish.

    “I think that both parties regard the Hudson Valley — of all places — as the sort of political epicenter,” Reinish said. “It’s where [House Speaker Kevin] McCarthy made his majority, with a series of unlikely wins, but it’s also where his majority is the most fragile, and if you’re the White House, and if you’re President Biden, you’re going to seek to exploit that.”

    The issue’s partisan nature may serve to push lawmakers like Molinaro and Lawler toward more centrist positions relatively early in the reelection campaign.

    “2024 is coming down the pike really, really fast,” Reinish said. “And Lawler certainly knows that whichever Democrat runs against him is going to be extremely well funded and is going to go after him for any out of the mainstream radicalization and try to tie the rest of a faraway Republican House around him. So if I’m Lawler, I’m going to try to disarm whoever is going to be my opponent from those talking points.”

    The two Hudson Valley Republicans will be targeted by Democrats next year, along with the four seats on Long Island that the GOP swept. Biden and his surrogates made a series of stops in the region last fall to help Democrats, including the then-troubled campaign of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who was able to pull out a narrow win.

    Molinaro shrugged off the idea that the spotlight on the region would alter his or his colleagues’ positions in the near or distant future.

    “At the end of the day, the public — your voters — will reelect you, if you’ve done an earnest and honest job,” he said. “I would say the president of the United States owes my voters, my constituents and every American the same honest earnest job of delivering on the compromise that’s necessary to ensure we do not default and that we don’t continue to spend and mortgage away our kids’ futures.”

    Lawler said he welcomes Biden to his district and looks “forward to being there to hear his remarks.” Molinaro will not.

    “I will be working on Wednesday, in Washington, D.C.,” Molinaro said, pointedly.

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    #Debt #ceiling #fight #heads #battleground #NYC #suburbs
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

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  • Trump world booked CNN hoping for a big audience. Now, they’re in the thick of it.

    Trump world booked CNN hoping for a big audience. Now, they’re in the thick of it.

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    The verdict comes on the eve of Trump’s town hall in New Hampshire moderated by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, a 31-year-old anchor and correspondent who gained a reputation for challenging Trump while she covered the White House.

    Trump signaled that he would take a combative approach to any questions around the case, writing on Truth Social immediately after the verdict that he had “ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA” who Carroll was, and that the “VERDICT IS A DISGRACE – A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!” He had spent part of the day recording policy videos.

    Trump advisers had been negotiating for weeks with CNN, which approached them earlier this year about the idea of doing a sit-down. Trump’s decision to agree to the town hall was seen as an implicit jab at Fox News, which he has clashed with in recent months, and at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has eschewed interviews with mainstream media outlets in favor of friendly conservative ones.

    The verdict immediately split Republicans on Capitol Hill with some saying it should give voters pause and others arguing that it was a continuation of biased prosecution against the former president. That schism quickly became evident among Republicans on the campaign trail as well.

    Vivek Ramaswamy, who quickly defended Trump after news broke of his criminal indictment a month ago, on Tuesday did the same.

    “I wasn’t one of the jurors and I’m not privy to all of the facts that they have, but I’ll say what everyone else is privately thinking,” Ramaswamy said in a statement to POLITICO. “If the defendant weren’t named Donald Trump, would there even be a lawsuit?”

    Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who called for Trump to drop out of the race after his indictment, said the jury’s verdict should be taken seriously “and is another example of the indefensible behavior of Donald Trump.”

    “Over the course of my over 25 years of experience in the courtroom, I have seen firsthand how a cavalier and arrogant contempt for the rule of law can backfire,” Hutchinson said in a statement.

    Mike Pence, Nikki Haley and Tim Scott didn’t speak to the verdict.

    Trump’s support and fundraising have only strengthened in the aftermath of past legal flashpoints, including his indictment over his alleged involvement in a hush money payment scheme to a porn star.

    Sarah Longwell, a political strategist and founder of the anti-Trump Republican Accountability Project, said she conducted a focus group last week in which two-time Trump voters were asked about the Carroll lawsuit. Just one of the seven voters, a woman, had heard of it — “and she didn’t believe her,” Longwell said.

    Throughout other recent focus groups with Republican voters, Longwell and her staff have remarked internally about how Trump’s support is “the fiercest” among women who have already supported him twice.

    “I wish things were different, but I can’t see this changing anything in a Republican primary,” Longwell said of the sexual abuse verdict Tuesday. “The things that are going to change anything in a Republican primary are if the field — his opponents for 2024 — show some political backbone and political talent and ability to capture some of the oxygen that he is sucking up.”

    A recent NBC News poll found that two thirds of Republican voters believe the investigations are “politically motivated attempt to stop Trump.” But some party strategists are convinced it could hamper his prospects in a general election where he would have to reach beyond his loyal base.

    RNC chair Ronna McDaniel was pressed by Fox News’ Martha McCallum over whether or not the Carroll ruling or the hush money scheme verdict could have a negative impact on suburban and women voters. McDaniel deflected, and said that women are more focused on President Joe Biden’s disappointing administration.

    “I think we have a long way until the primary process begins, we have debates in August,” McDaniel said. “I think a lot of women are incredibly disappointed with the Biden administration so they’ll be looking at the Republican nominee, whoever that is, to put forward an opposing vision and one that will help suburban moms and kids and families across the country.”

    But the question, which McCallum repeated again with other guests, underscores how that cohort of female and suburban women voters could potentially impact Trump. While Trump did better with women in 2020 than in 2016, Biden led among women in the last election by 11 points.

    How Trump will handle discussing the lawsuit at the CNN town hall is hardly a mystery, said Dave Carney, a New Hampshire-based Republican strategist.

    “He will spin it, and we could write that script right now,” Carney said soon after the verdict was issued. “‘Judge who hates me, a lady made this up, and blah, blah, blah.’ He will definitely have something to say about it.”

    And he did, following that script almost exactly in posts he made on his social media website throughout the evening Tuesday.

    But for a candidate who won the 2016 election mere weeks after a recording was published of him bragging about being able to sexually assault women, “none of this is new,” Carney said, and it’s unlikely voters are still trying to make up their mind about Trump’s character.

    “Do I think any different eyeball is going to watch this show that wasn’t going to watch it beforehand? No,” Carney said of the Wednesday town hall. “Do I think any undecided voter was thinking ‘I don’t know about that Trump guy, I’m going to tune into CNN and see what he has to say?’”

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    #Trump #world #booked #CNN #hoping #big #audience #theyre #thick
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Trump goes mainstream on CNN. The rest of the pack sucks wind

    Trump goes mainstream on CNN. The rest of the pack sucks wind

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    “He’s trying to win back everyone he can win back,” said Ron Gidwitz, a Republican fundraiser who served as Trump’s ambassador to Belgium but who questioned whether Trump has the “gravitas” necessary to be president again. “I think he believes he’s got the ability that if he can talk to people, he can persuade them.”

    It’s not without major risk. Trump’s appearance on Wednesday night will come roughly 24 hours after a jury found him liable for sexual abuse against the writer E. Jean Carroll. He is expected to be pressed on that verdict, along with prior charges from Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg in a case involving payments to a porn actress. He is likely to face his first truly adversarial questioning on TV about his actions on Jan. 6.

    But allies see the town hall as part of a larger play, designed for Trump to take on the image of the primary winner, not a mere candidate.

    Trump’s embrace of mainstream media, after years spent bashing the press unrelentingly, may be a product of his unquenchable thirst to be at the center of the spotlight — a trait he’s exhibited since his days as a brash real estate tycoon dominating New York City’s tabloids in the 1980s. But it is also a sign of a more traditional political operation than was evident in his past campaigns. And it is a strategy that could have a major impact on the early stages of the primary, threatening to suck the oxygen from his more insulated and, in some cases, media-averse rivals.

    “The difference is, Trump will do both Real America’s Voice and CNN interviews, and the campaign or PAC will highlight New York Times articles as well as Jack Posobiec tweets. We are dealing with the whole spectrum of media, whether liberal or very right wing,” said a Republican strategist working to elect Trump, who was granted anonymity to speak freely about his views of the campaign’s media plans. “I think there is a concerted effort to not isolate ourselves to conservative media and talk to all outlets because people still read those outlets. The New York Times has a huge readership. CNN has more viewers than Newsmax.”

    Trump’s decision to exit the conservative media echo chamber is driven, in part, by the belief that the GOP’s donor class doesn’t actually reside there. While voters are familiarizing themselves with different candidates, the strategist said it’s important to make sure they are reaching donors who are reading the Wall Street Journal, not the Epoch Times.

    Since the beginning of the year, Trump has brought all three of the major TV networks on his trips to rallies, and has gaggled with reporters from Politico, CNN, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, and Axios aboard his plane. Trump has sat for friendly interviews with Fox News and Nigel Farage. But he has also done pull-aside interviews with the Associated Press, local news outlets and conservative radio shows with a large listening audience. This spring, he started trying to court a younger millennial audience by inviting the Nelk Boys — a group of 20-something YouTube stars — to interview him at Mar-a-Lago.

    He still tussles with the press. Earlier this year, Trump became frustrated with an NBC reporter’s line of questioning aboard his plane and he tossed aside the reporter’s phone, which was recording the group interview. And he has continued to make comments about different news outlets on his social media site Truth Social. But he has largely been welcoming of reporters from almost every outlet at this point in his campaign.

    His chief rival, DeSantis, has taken an almost opposite approach, catering to media outlets that openly favor right-wing politicians. In March, the Florida governor sat for more than an hour with Piers Morgan in a wide-ranging interview that aired on a Fox affiliate and was previewed in the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post. He toured his hometown of Dunedin with Fox’s Brian Kilmeade in March. And over the weekend he granted Newsmax an interview.

    As governor, DeSantis’ team tightly controls press conferences to showcase supporters and minimizes dissent by limiting questions. And when DeSantis doesn’t like a reporter’s inquiry, it shows. He bristled during a recent overseas trip when a reporter questioned him on his trailing poll numbers, and he expressed annoyance during another interaction over his past comments on prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

    A DeSantis spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

    In a typical primary, a message tailored to right-wing media would not be unexpected. Republican presidential candidates find themselves auditioning for the job amid an asymmetric media landscape in which “very few” news organizations are trusted by a majority of both Republicans and Democrats, according to an April YouGov survey released this week. Among Republicans, according to the survey, Fox News, Newsmax and One America News rank highest in trustworthiness.

    The jettisoning of Tucker Carlson from Fox News has complicated that. The network has been attacked by conservatives for the move and has struggled with its ratings during that time slot.

    But candidates like Nikki Haley — whom Carlson not only declined to invite onto his show, but has disparaged on air — now have a shot at getting booked during Fox’s 8 p.m. hour. That’s already happening for Sen. Tim Scott, who has now twice appeared on the show since Carlson’s departure two weeks ago, something that wasn’t occurring previously. Carlson on Tuesday announced he would be launching a new show on Twitter.

    Like Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence has been doling out interviews to outlets across the ideological spectrum. Pence world occasionally blasts its press list with more favorable right-leaning clips, including a Washington Examiner interview by Salena Zito earlier this month, as well as an interview on The Brian Kilmeade Show. But his campaign also went to ABC’s David Muir for an exclusive sit down beforehand to talk about the events of Jan. 6.

    Pence’s top communications aide, Devin O’Malley, is an admirer of the go-everywhere media strategy employed by Democratic operative Lis Smith when she worked for Pence’s fellow Hoosier Pete Buttigieg during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. O’Malley even mused about the possibility of putting the former vice president, an ardent fan of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, on ESPN’s ManningCast during Monday Night Football last fall. He has given interviews outside the right-wing echo-chamber, including his own CNN town hall last November, a podcast appearance with Democratic strategist David Axelrod and even sat down with The Dispatch, the never-Trump publication started by former staffers from the conservative Weekly Standard.

    “I am still frustrated that I don’t think the public is seeing the Mike Pence that I know,” said Jim Atterholt, Pence’s former gubernatorial chief of staff who would later set up Pence’s legal defense fund during the Russia investigation. “I don’t think they’re seeing the guy with a great sense of humor— the self deprecating, the great encourager. I still think there’s a little bit of a hesitancy to show some leg, if you will, in the media and in his public appearances and in his speeches.”

    Pence’s team still does occasionally have tiffs with reporters, including POLITICO. Marc Short, one of Pence’s top advisers, “puts reporters in the penalty box” from time to time, said a person close to Pence.

    Similarly, Haley’s political team is known for attempting to box out reporters based on their coverage. Her media strategy this campaign has been to focus almost exclusively on conservative television hits and local early-state outlets, declining to give interviews to mainstream reporters since participating in a sit-down for the Today Show after her February campaign announcement.

    Scott has spoken with a number of legacy outlets, from CBS to WMUR in Manchester, and NBC News and the Post and Courier in Charleston.

    “We’re not going to hide him away, only putting him on certain shows or in extremely controlled interactions,” said a Scott adviser, authorized to speak anonymously to discuss campaign strategy. While conservative networks will be “first among equals,” the adviser said, Scott’s team realizes that “conservative eyeballs are found in a variety of places,” not just in front of Fox News and Newsmax.

    Scott’s adviser declined to comment on the senator’s decision to stop giving hallway interviews at the Capitol, a new practice Hill reporters have observed in recent months.

    Ramaswamy, meanwhile, may be the most ubiquitous of all GOP aspirants, leaning fully into a say-yes media strategy.

    “One of my top competitors in this race says he won’t talk to NBC News because they’re not nice to him,” Ramaswamy said, referring to DeSantis. “Well, if you’re afraid of sitting across the table from Chuck Todd, then you’re not ready to represent America across the table from Xi Jinping.”

    It’s just another example of many underscoring Trump’s challengers’ difficulty in wrestling their share of the spotlight from him.

    The 2024 media scrutiny will only ramp up in the coming months for all the declared candidates, and DeSantis and Pence have not yet announced a run. That means for now, Trump is able to dominate the conversation.

    “They’re like a cat chasing a laser dot on the wall,” said Mike Madrid, the Republican strategist who was a co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, of the GOP field. “They’re not driving anything in the electorate, they’re trying to reflect it. And Donald Trump is the one holding the pen.”

    Shia Kapos contributed to this report.

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    #Trump #mainstream #CNN #rest #pack #sucks #wind
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • ‘Caught between a rock and a hard place’: FDA considers over-the-counter birth control

    ‘Caught between a rock and a hard place’: FDA considers over-the-counter birth control

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    “I’m very aware [that] in this exact moment in time … we have just spent months … screaming ‘the FDA is a scientific authority,’ over and over and over again,” said Greer Donley, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh law school who favors increased abortion access. “It makes it harder for us to criticize [the FDA] when we think there are legitimate flaws with their decision.”

    The agency’s independent advisers met Tuesday and will meet Wednesday to review data from the pill’s maker to decide whether to recommend the FDA approve the drug, Opill, for over-the-counter sale. FDA approval would be a major step forward for the decadeslong campaign to have the U.S. join dozens of other countries where hormonal contraceptives are available without a prescription. A decision is expected sometime this summer.

    HRA Pharma, the pill’s maker — backed by many health care providers and abortion-rights supporters — argue it’s especially incumbent upon the Biden administration to grant approval given the swift erosion of abortion access after the fall of Roe v. Wade last summer and the pressing need to help patients avoid unwanted pregnancies.

    However, in briefing documents for the two-day meeting made public Friday, FDA staff warned that consumers may not be able to understand and follow the pill’s instructions, which include taking it at the same time every day, potentially lowering its effectiveness. The FDA also raised concerns about the pill’s manufacturer relying on 50-year-old data from when the pill was approved for prescription use in 1973.

    Groups pushing the Biden administration to approve Opill, including Ibis Reproductive Health and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told reporters Monday the FDA’s analysis is “surprising” and “disappointing,” and “absolutely did not reflect what we know about the strong body of evidence on safety and effectiveness” of the pill. The groups voiced confidence that the agency’s questions and concerns would be put to rest after this week’s advisory committees’ deliberations.

    But other experts say the Biden administration and the FDA face a difficult decision — and they’re likely to be excoriated and accused of political interference whether the pill is approved over the objections of FDA staff or rejected.

    “We’re caught between a rock and a hard place,” said Donley.

    The FDA and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.

    Political pressure is also coming from anti-abortion and religious groups, including the Catholic Medical Association, the National Association of Catholic Nurses and the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. They are demanding the FDA block OTC approval of Opill.

    Kristan Hawkins, president of the advocacy group Students for Life Action, said she fears dropping restrictions on birth control pills will lead to an increase in unprotected sex, adding that she is “offended” the FDA is considering the pill’s over-the-counter approval given the country’s current record rate of sexually transmitted infections.

    Similar predictions of increased promiscuity were made when Plan B, the so-called “morning after” pill, was up for over-the-counter approval and, a decade after it was approved for non-prescription sale, they have yet to come true, said Carolyn Sufrin, an associate professor of gynecology and obstetrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

    The FDA’s advisory committee meeting Tuesday focused on how trial data from HRA Pharma could translate into real-world use among U.S. consumers. In its application to the FDA, HRA Pharma submitted results of a recent study on how well consumers could use Opill without help from a health care provider. They asked more than 1,700 participants to decide whether the pill was appropriate for them and then followed nearly 900 participants, who electronically recorded daily whether they took the pill.

    HRA Pharma concluded its study showed that the general population, including adolescents and people with limited health literacy, could correctly take the pill.

    But FDA scientists raised significant questions about the data in general. They noted that the company didn’t submit the study protocol to the agency ahead of time and also flagged that a “substantial portion” of study participants said they took more pills than they had received — casting doubt on the new study’s rigor. The scientists also questioned whether the company’s submission of data used to approve Opill for prescription use would still apply today, when a dramatic rise in obesity over recent decades is a much bigger health issue than it was in the early 1970s.

    Advocates in favor of a non-prescription birth control pill held a demonstration outside the White House on Monday, featuring testimony from medical experts and teenagers who have encountered barriers to birth control access, as well as an obstacle course to symbolize what patients currently have to go through to get a prescription. Rally organizers argued that researchers have had decades to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the pills and have not issued concerns before, emphasizing that the public health benefits of avoiding unwanted pregnancies outweigh the risks.

    “More than 50 years of research and science speaks for itself on the safety and efficacy of birth control pills,” said Angela Maske, manager of Free the Pill Youth Council. “The data show that people are able to self-screen for contraindications and use the medication appropriately whether or not they’re under the supervision of a physician.”

    Many advocates fear that no matter how robust the data presented to the FDA or how much the Biden administration pledges to “follow the science” in its decision, decades of social discomfort and heated battles around the idea of sexually active young people will play a role in whether non-prescription Opill is approved.

    “When it comes to people being able to control their own reproductive destinies and desires, there always seems to be a lot more government involvement and control of what they can and cannot have easy access to,” said Sufrin. “There tends to be much easier access to less politically charged medications. Something as common as ibuprofen carries much higher risks of complications and high-risk events than the drug up for consideration for over-the-counter status.”

    Previous clashes between science and politics when it comes to birth control access loom large over this debate — particularly the yearslong regulatory and legal battle to get over-the-counter approval for Plan B emergency contraception that Mara Gandal-Powers, director of birth control access and a senior counsel at the National Women’s Law Center, sees as a cautionary tale.

    “It became clear through litigation that it was an act of political interference,” Gandal-Powers said. “There was no science backing the age restriction. It was just based on the ideological belief that young people should not have easy access to contraception.”

    Given Plan B’s approval history and the current political tug-of-war over reproductive rights access, lawsuits and citizen petitions are possible no matter what decision the FDA makes.

    At day’s end, “we can’t pretend that this is happening in a vacuum outside of politics,” said Donley. “All of these decisions are also political.”

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    #Caught #rock #hard #place #FDA #considers #overthecounter #birth #control
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Comer faces make-or-break moment on Biden probe

    Comer faces make-or-break moment on Biden probe

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    And unless Comer’s yet-to-be-released findings — based on bank records and payments made to Biden family members — contain that hard proof, his maneuver is at serious risk of backfiring just as he’s ramping up efforts to get more buy-in for his probe.

    “It’s an investigation of Joe Biden,” Comer said in a brief interview, asked if Wednesday would focus on the president or more broadly on his family. “The thing that’s been most frustrating to me in the media: They say we’re investigating Hunter Biden. We’re investigating Joe Biden. This is all about Joe Biden.”

    Comer said he would “talk about” further details, such as whether any bank records showed a direct link to President Biden or any distinctions he’d make between potentially unethical versus illegal actions, at his press conference Wednesday.

    Democrats, the White House and their off-Hill allies are already gearing up to push back on the Oversight chair, betting that Republicans will fail to conduct the independently legitimate oversight that Comer once insisted upon.

    “There’s a lot of innuendo and a lot of gossip taking place and much of it is recycled from prior claims,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said in a brief interview.

    That’s not to say that Wednesday marks the end of Comer’s investigation. He plans to unveil his next “investigative actions,” which will likely include requesting a broader swath of third-party financial records, as part of the press conference. But he’s also fighting to gain traction, after getting pushback from high-profile pundits within his own party, while kvetching that “mainstream” media have also downplayed his probe.

    Still, the press conference marks the most information Comer’s been willing to share about the investigation in months. Though he disclosed in March that Biden family members had received money from an associate who had made a business deal with a Chinese energy company, much of the information about the Kentuckian’s subpoenas has come from Democrats on the committee. Even some Republicans on the panel have indicated that they aren’t in the loop on his investigation.

    And there are other Biden investigations competing for the spotlight.

    Recently, Comer subpoenaed the FBI and accused the bureau of having a document alleging a “criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions.” The deadline for the subpoena is also Wednesday. The allegation from Comer provided no details — though Democrats and Trump allies have signaled they believe it is related to Ukraine. Asked about that theory, Comer singled out Raskin, saying he’d advise that “sometimes it’s best to keep your mouth shut when you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

    Meanwhile, Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who is also a member of Comer’s Oversight Committee, is conducting a separate investigation into a 2020 letter from 51 former intelligence officials who warned that a New York Post story related to Hunter Biden could be the product of Russian disinformation. Jordan’s also gobbled up weeks of media attention over a high-profile standoff with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over his investigation involving former President Donald Trump.

    And unspoken but far from forgotten, Justice Department officials still have to decide whether to charge Hunter Biden as part of a yearslong tax- and gun-related case. That probe into Hunter Biden began in 2018 and initially centered on his finances, related to overseas business ties and consulting work. Investigators later shifted their focus to whether he failed to report all of his income and whether he lied on a form for buying a gun.

    But the larger sweep of the Biden family is where Comer’s piled a lot of his chips. It’s also the investigation that has earned him skepticism from some members of his own party and made the once under-the-radar GOP lawmaker a target of Democrats, the White House and outside groups.

    Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), another member of the committee, credited Comer for handling the political crosswinds of his high-profile committee. Asked about his expectations for Wednesday, he caveated that lawmakers “don’t prosecute crimes” but he believes Republicans will lay out “very clearly that the Biden family was influence peddling.”

    “You’re not getting Jim Jordan lite. You’re getting a very different person,” Armstrong added of Comer. “He’s methodical. He’s smart. He trusts his staff. He trusts his members and he communicates well. Pretty good place to be when you’re dealing with a pretty fractious caucus.”

    Democrats have knocked Comer for probing payments made to Biden family members while brushing off similar questions about Trump family members. (Comer has argued Trump’s family has been the subject of its own investigations in previous Congresses and that he will eventually craft ethics and financial disclosure legislation that would impact both presidents’ family members.)

    Ian Sams, a White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations, accused Comer of a “history of playing fast and loose with the facts and spreading baseless innuendo while refusing to conduct his so-called ‘investigations’ with legitimacy.”

    “He has hidden information from the public to selectively leak and promote his own hand-picked narratives as part of his overall effort to lob personal attacks at the President and his family,” Sams added.

    Meanwhile, Comer has a right flank pushing him to go further, faster. His committee is stacked with conservative firebrands including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (R-Pa.). Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), a member of the Freedom Caucus and Comer’s panel, described the allegations that will be unveiled Wednesday as “damning.”

    Asked if he meant for President Biden or Hunter Biden, he said: “Both.”

    Comer and Greene, meanwhile, are in frequent contact, with the Georgia Republican floating potential investigative avenues and raising questions. But she’s also going down lanes that Comer isn’t following: Greene and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who is not on Comer’s committee, have met with a woman who has accused Biden of sexual assault dating back to his time in the Senate, an allegation the president denies.

    And while Comer has thanked Trump when he’s voiced support for the Kentucky Republican’s investigation, he’s also bristled when he gets questions about any talks with the former president, noting that he voted to certify Biden’s Electoral College win despite coming from a deeply red district.

    “I get asked … ‘What do you and Trump talk about?’ I haven’t talked to Trump,” Comer said in a recent interview. “I voted to certify the presidential election. … I don’t know why people think I’m on the phone with Donald Trump all the time.”

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    #Comer #faces #makeorbreak #moment #Biden #probe
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Chicago mayor exits proud after getting ‘a lot of s–t done’

    Chicago mayor exits proud after getting ‘a lot of s–t done’

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    “There’s been this obsession that ‘She’s not nice’ and ‘She rubs people the wrong way.’ Well, we got a lot of shit done,” Lightfoot said during an interview in her office on the 5th Floor of City Hall, describing how her critics have portrayed her. “And I am proud. I’m very proud of it, unapologetically.”

    She even played off that tension in a farewell address two days ago, after the interview, taking a swipe at pundits and the news media for “obsessing” about her temperament. Then, she said, the four-letter word she was fond of “was spelled h-o-p-e.”

    After she steps down on Monday, leaving electoral politics entirely, her photo will be added to a wall in the lobby of City Hall featuring pictures of her 55 predecessors, where just one woman and two other brown faces are on display. Lightfoot even used her exit to reignite her long-running tension with the media by deciding to sit down with just one print media organization before she leaves office: POLITICO.

    It’s one way she broadcasts that she lost reelection but not her right jab. In her mind, disruption was what voters bought when they elected her over longtime Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who also chairs the county Democratic Party.

    “I came into government with a mandate of 75 percent of votes to break up the status quo and to make sure that I was doing things and putting ordinary residents of our city front and center,” Lightfoot said. “With that mandate, you’re going to disrupt the status quo. You’re going to make some people angry.”

    Given how important public safety was in a mayor’s race that attracted nine Democratic candidates this year, Lightfoot said the party needs to figure out how to balance its themes. Progressive Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson won running to Lightfoot’s left and that of other Black mayors, including Eric Adams in New York City, on policing, so she said it’s critical to weave multiple issues together.

    “As Democrats, we can’t just talk about police reform or criminal justice reform. What we leave out when we just focus on those two parts of a larger whole, is we leave out the victims and witnesses who have to be at the table,” said Lightfoot, who once served as president of an oversight board of Chicago’s police force before she was elected mayor.

    “If we don’t talk about the grandmas, the moms, the kids, the families that are under siege in neighborhoods that are violent here and across the country … and we don’t advocate for them,” she said, “we are missing out entirely.”

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    #Chicago #mayor #exits #proud #lot
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Same Uniform For Brigadier And Above Rank Officers In Army From Aug 1

    Same Uniform For Brigadier And Above Rank Officers In Army From Aug 1

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    SRINAGAR: In a major policy decision to promote and strengthen common identity and approach in service matters amongst senior leadership, Indian Army has asked its officers from the rank of Brigadier and above to don a common uniform from the month of August.

    Quoting military sources, KNO reported that different types of uniforms and accessories have a specific association with respective arms, regiments, and services in the Indian Army for recognition with distinct identity within the arms or regiment for junior leadership

    “Different types of uniform and accouterments have a specific association to respective arms and regiments in the Army. This recognition with distinct identity within the Arms or Regiment or Services is essential for junior leadership and the rank and file to further strengthen friendship, esprit de corps and regimental ethos which is the bedrock of soldiering,” sources said.

    They said, “In order to promote and strengthen common identity and approach in service matters amongst senior leadership, beyond the boundaries of regimentation, the Indian Army has decided to adopt a common uniform for Brigadier and above rank officers irrespective of the parent cadre and appointment.”

    “This will also reinforce the Indian Army’s character to be a fair and equitable organization,” they said adding, “The decision was taken after detailed deliberations during the recently concluded Army Commanders Conference and extensive consultations with all stakeholders.”

    At the unit or battalion level, sources said that a distinct sense of identity reflects a strong bond among officers and men in the same regiment.

    “The headgear, shoulder rank badges, gorget patches, belt, and shoes of senior officers of flag rank (Brigadier and above) will now be standardized and common,” they revealed.

    “The flag-rank officers will now not wear any lanyard. The changes will be implemented from August 1, 2023,” said sources.

    In the Indian Army, Brigadier and above officers are those who have already commanded units, and battalions and are mostly posted at headquarters or establishments where officers from all arms and services work and function together, they said.

    Sources said that a standard uniform will ensure a common identity for all senior-rank officers, while reflecting the true ethos of the Indian Army, adding, “There is no change to the uniform worn by Colonels and below-rank officers.”

    Same Uniform For Brigadier And Above Rank Officers In Army From Aug 1

    SRINAGAR: In a major policy decision to promote and strengthen common identity and approach in service matters amongst senior leadership, Indian Army has asked its officers from the rank of Brigadier and above to don a common uniform from the month of August.

    Quoting military sources, KNO reported that different types of uniforms and accessories have a specific association with respective arms, regiments, and services in the Indian Army for recognition with distinct identity within the arms or regiment for junior leadership

    “Different types of uniform and accouterments have a specific association to respective arms and regiments in the Army. This recognition with distinct identity within the Arms or Regiment or Services is essential for junior leadership and the rank and file to further strengthen friendship, esprit de corps and regimental ethos which is the bedrock of soldiering,” sources said.

    They said, “In order to promote and strengthen common identity and approach in service matters amongst senior leadership, beyond the boundaries of regimentation, the Indian Army has decided to adopt a common uniform for Brigadier and above rank officers irrespective of the parent cadre and appointment.”

    “This will also reinforce the Indian Army’s character to be a fair and equitable organization,” they said adding, “The decision was taken after detailed deliberations during the recently concluded Army Commanders Conference and extensive consultations with all stakeholders.”

    At the unit or battalion level, sources said that a distinct sense of identity reflects a strong bond among officers and men in the same regiment.

    “The headgear, shoulder rank badges, gorget patches, belt, and shoes of senior officers of flag rank (Brigadier and above) will now be standardized and common,” they revealed.

    “The flag-rank officers will now not wear any lanyard. The changes will be implemented from August 1, 2023,” said sources.

    In the Indian Army, Brigadier and above officers are those who have already commanded units, and battalions and are mostly posted at headquarters or establishments where officers from all arms and services work and function together, they said.

    Sources said that a standard uniform will ensure a common identity for all senior-rank officers, while reflecting the true ethos of the Indian Army, adding, “There is no change to the uniform worn by Colonels and below-rank officers.”

    Same Uniform For Brigadier And Above Rank Officers In Army From Aug 1

    SRINAGAR: In a major policy decision to promote and strengthen common identity and approach in service matters amongst senior leadership, Indian Army has asked its officers from the rank of Brigadier and above to don a common uniform from the month of August.

    Quoting military sources, KNO reported that different types of uniforms and accessories have a specific association with respective arms, regiments, and services in the Indian Army for recognition with distinct identity within the arms or regiment for junior leadership

    “Different types of uniform and accouterments have a specific association to respective arms and regiments in the Army. This recognition with distinct identity within the Arms or Regiment or Services is essential for junior leadership and the rank and file to further strengthen friendship, esprit de corps and regimental ethos which is the bedrock of soldiering,” sources said.

    They said, “In order to promote and strengthen common identity and approach in service matters amongst senior leadership, beyond the boundaries of regimentation, the Indian Army has decided to adopt a common uniform for Brigadier and above rank officers irrespective of the parent cadre and appointment.”

    “This will also reinforce the Indian Army’s character to be a fair and equitable organization,” they said adding, “The decision was taken after detailed deliberations during the recently concluded Army Commanders Conference and extensive consultations with all stakeholders.”

    At the unit or battalion level, sources said that a distinct sense of identity reflects a strong bond among officers and men in the same regiment.

    “The headgear, shoulder rank badges, gorget patches, belt, and shoes of senior officers of flag rank (Brigadier and above) will now be standardized and common,” they revealed.

    “The flag-rank officers will now not wear any lanyard. The changes will be implemented from August 1, 2023,” said sources.

    In the Indian Army, Brigadier and above officers are those who have already commanded units, and battalions and are mostly posted at headquarters or establishments where officers from all arms and services work and function together, they said.

    Sources said that a standard uniform will ensure a common identity for all senior-rank officers, while reflecting the true ethos of the Indian Army, adding, “There is no change to the uniform worn by Colonels and below-rank officers.”

    Same Uniform For Brigadier And Above Rank Officers In Army From Aug 1

    SRINAGAR: In a major policy decision to promote and strengthen common identity and approach in service matters amongst senior leadership, Indian Army has asked its officers from the rank of Brigadier and above to don a common uniform from the month of August.

    Quoting military sources, KNO reported that different types of uniforms and accessories have a specific association with respective arms, regiments, and services in the Indian Army for recognition with distinct identity within the arms or regiment for junior leadership

    “Different types of uniform and accouterments have a specific association to respective arms and regiments in the Army. This recognition with distinct identity within the Arms or Regiment or Services is essential for junior leadership and the rank and file to further strengthen friendship, esprit de corps and regimental ethos which is the bedrock of soldiering,” sources said.

    They said, “In order to promote and strengthen common identity and approach in service matters amongst senior leadership, beyond the boundaries of regimentation, the Indian Army has decided to adopt a common uniform for Brigadier and above rank officers irrespective of the parent cadre and appointment.”

    “This will also reinforce the Indian Army’s character to be a fair and equitable organization,” they said adding, “The decision was taken after detailed deliberations during the recently concluded Army Commanders Conference and extensive consultations with all stakeholders.”

    At the unit or battalion level, sources said that a distinct sense of identity reflects a strong bond among officers and men in the same regiment.

    “The headgear, shoulder rank badges, gorget patches, belt, and shoes of senior officers of flag rank (Brigadier and above) will now be standardized and common,” they revealed.

    “The flag-rank officers will now not wear any lanyard. The changes will be implemented from August 1, 2023,” said sources.

    In the Indian Army, Brigadier and above officers are those who have already commanded units, and battalions and are mostly posted at headquarters or establishments where officers from all arms and services work and function together, they said.

    Sources said that a standard uniform will ensure a common identity for all senior-rank officers, while reflecting the true ethos of the Indian Army, adding, “There is no change to the uniform worn by Colonels and below-rank officers.”

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    #Uniform #Brigadier #Rank #Officers #Army #Aug

    ( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

  • Several Shops Gutted In Midnight Blaze

    Several Shops Gutted In Midnight Blaze

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    SRINAGAR: At least six shops were gutted in a midnight blaze on Exchange Road in the Lal Chowk area of Srinagar, officials said on Wednesday.

    The shopkeepers said that they came to know about the fire incident in the morning following which they rushed to the spot but found their shops turned into ashes.

    “I had denting and painting workshop and all my machinery including electronic items worth more than 10 lakh have got damaged in the fire”, said Tahir Ahmad a fire victim.

    Meanwhile, an official said that the fire incident was reported around 2:49 AM, following which four tenders were rushed to douse off the flames.

    He said that the fire damaged four automobile workshop sheds and two Kiryana shops—(KNO)

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    #Shops #Gutted #Midnight #Blaze

    ( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

  • Indian Airforce Agniveer Vayu Admit Card Released

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    Indian Airforce Agniveer Vayu Admit Card Released

    Name of the Post : Indian Airforce Agniveer Vayu Exam Date/ Exam City Details 2023 

    Indian Airforce Agniveers Vayu (02/2023) has given a Notification for the recruitment of Agniveer Vayu Intake (02/2023) Vacancy.

    Important Links

    Exam Date/ Exam City Details : Click here 

     

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    [ad_2] #Indian #Airforce #Agniveer #Vayu #Admit #Card #Released( With inputs from : The News Caravan.com )