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      Kari Lake, Trump ally and election denier, announces Senate bid in Arizona

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      Kari Lake, the Republican candidate who lost the race for Arizona governor but never conceded her loss, announced a run for US Senate in the western state Tuesday.A former TV news anchor, Lake made her move into politics by making repeated false claims about elections. She aligned closely with former president Donald Trump and has been floated as a potential running mate for Trump, who once praised Lake for her ability to constantly bring up election fraud.Lake has taken her election denials to court, so far unsuccessfully, in her attempt to claim she’s the rightful governor of Arizona. Her legal team has been hit with court sanctions in two different cases.Lake announced her run in Scottsdale on Tuesday, a week after filing paperwork for a Senate bid.“I am not going to retreat. I’m gonna stand on top of this hill with every single one of you, and I know you’re by my side as I formally announce my candidacy for the United States Senate,” Lake told a crowd of supporters, according to CNN.Lake’s Senate run comes after Republicans lost major races in the swing state in 2022. The Democratic senator Mark Kelly defeated Republican businessman Blake Masters. Lake lost the governor’s race by about 17,000 votes, and Republicans lost the secretary of state and attorney general races as well. Lake failed to win over independent voters, who make up about one-third of Arizona’s electorate, and alienated mainstream Republicans.The state’s Senate race will be one of the country’s most competitive – and most expensive. Its dynamics could be especially difficult, if sitting Senator Kyrsten Sinema, once a Democrat and now an independent, decides to run for re-election.Republican Mark Lamb, the sheriff in Pinal county, Arizona, has already entered the Senate race. On the Democratic side, Representative Ruben Gallego is in. Sinema hasn’t announced a re-election bid yet, but her team has privately been working on a campaign strategy to chart an independent bid without party support.Lake’s campaign trail antics – a perpetual camera following her for confrontations with politicians or reporters – have already started for her Senate run. She approached Gallego at the Phoenix airport last week, pinging him with questions and criticisms about the US-Mexico border. She told the congressman that the Senate race would be a “knock-down, drag-out”. More

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      Two US House Republicans make their bid for the speaker’s gavel

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      Prominent Republican party members Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan made their pitches for the powerful role of speaker of the US House of Representatives on Tuesday amid mounting pressure from a war in the Middle East and another looming government shutdown. Lawmakers exiting a closed-door forum said neither Scalise, the House majority leader, nor Jordan, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, will have a clear advantage when Republicans begin to vote for a nominee by secret ballot on Wednesday.“We’ve got two good leaders within our party, with good perspectives on where the party needs to go and an understanding and an emphasis on reuniting the party,” Mike Garcia told reporters. But before voting for a candidate on Wednesday, Republicans will have to decide whether to keep internal disagreements behind closed doors by requiring any nominee to win 217 Republican votes, enough to elect the next speaker on the House floor over Democratic opposition. Current rules require only a simple majority. “The first order of business is figuring out a rules change that works for the conference,” said congresswoman Kat Cammack.Republicans hold a narrow 221-212 majority in the House.The narrowly divided caucus raised some worries that neither candidate would be able to win enough support to be elected speaker in the first round of voting.“We’re going to go get this done tomorrow, and the House is going to get back to work,” Scalise told reporters after the candidate forum, which ran more than two hours.Scalise and Jordan each pledged to back whichever candidate ultimately emerged as the nominee, lawmakers said.Republicans’ narrow majority in House made it possible for a fraction of their members to force Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted as speaker last week, to endure 15 grueling floor votes to become speaker in January.“We need to handle this inside the caucus and not go through what we did in January,” said Representative Ralph Norman, who opposed McCarthy at the time. McCarthy on Monday said he would take the job back if asked to by House Republicans, but on Tuesday told reporters, “I asked them please not to nominate me.”It took only eight Republicans to oust McCarthy last week, which could make leading the caucus a challenge for any new speaker. While McCarthy was the first speaker to be ousted in a formal vote, the previous two Republicans to hold the job left under pressure from party hardliners.Republicans may have to tackle other thorny issues, including how to move forward on government funding for the fiscal year that began 1 October and whether to change the rule that allowed just one lawmaker to call a vote to oust McCarthy. Current government funding expires on 17 November. Jordan, a prominent hardline conservative backed by former President Donald Trump, told Tuesday’s forum that he would back a new stopgap measure to fund the government through April to avoid a partial government shutdown, according to Thomas Massie, a Jordan supporter.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionOther lawmakers said Scalise also backed a temporary funding measure, but they offered few details.Scalise appeared to have the support of many veteran and establishment Republicans including party leaders, while Jordan drew endorsements from others including Trump-style populists.Representative Patrick McHenry, who is standing in as interim speaker, has been seen as a possible fallback candidate if no one else wins enough votes. But McHenry told reporters on Tuesday that he has not spoken to colleagues about running, adding that there are two candidates. Until a new speaker is chosen, the House cannot take action. That has brought new pressure on Republicans after Israel declared war on Sunday following an attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas that has prompted calls for more U.S. military aid. Some Republicans are hoping to have a new speaker in place as early as Thursday. More

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      More charges for George Santos: stealing donors’ identities and credit cards

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      Federal prosecutors added major allegations to the indictment charging the House Republican George Santos with fraud and lying about his campaign finance disclosures, presenting evidence that he stole donors’ identities and charged thousands of dollars to their credit cards without their knowledge.The new charges, revealed in a superseding indictment returned on Tuesday by a grand jury in New York, increases the legal peril for the embattled congressman, given that his former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, last week pleaded guilty to defrauding the United States.The original indictment filed in May accused Santos of engaging in multiple instances of fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements. Santos, who won his congressional seat through a campaign built partly on falsehoods, pleaded not guilty to those charges.The updated, 23-count indictment detailed two more fraudulent schemes: the credit card scheme, and a conspiracy to submit to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) false reports that inflated his campaign’s fundraising so it could deceive the Republican party into extending financial support.In the credit card scheme, Santos is alleged to have devised a way to steal the identities and financial information of his campaign donors, which were used to charge their credit cards and caused money to be deposited into his campaign, other campaigns, and his own bank account.The scheme involved one instance where Santos allegedly stole the billing details of a donor’s two credit cards and made transfers to his campaign. To get around the fact that they exceeded legal limits, prosecutors said, Santos falsely listed himself and relatives as the sources of the funds.On one occasion, prosecutors said, Santos charged $12,000 to the donor’s credit card – money that mostly ended up in his personal bank account.In the Republican party deception scheme, Santos is alleged to have conspired with Marks to file FEC reports that falsely claimed his campaign had raised $250,000 from third-party donors in a single quarter, the threshold needed to unlock financial support from the GOP.The deception included false FEC reports that said at least 10 family members of Santos and Marks had made significant contributions to the campaign, as well as false reports that said Santos had loaned large amounts of money to his campaign, including one $500,000 loan.Confronted on Capitol Hill as he emerged from a closed-door House Republican conference meeting, shortly after the superseding indictment was unsealed by reporters, Santos insisted he had not seen the new allegations and that he would not resign his seat.“I did not have access to my phone. I have no clue what you guys are talking about,” Santos told CNN.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe congressman is set to appear in federal court on 27 October, where he is likely to be arraigned on the new charges against him. A spokesperson for Santos did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday night and on whether he would plead not guilty.Santos faces escalating legal peril after Marks last week pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by committing one or more federal offenses after cooperating with prosecutors, even if her lawyer claimed she had not entered into a formal plea agreement.Marks said in a prepared statement at her arraignment in federal district court on Long Island that she had given the FEC a list of fake people who had supposedly given money to the campaign. Outside the courthouse, her lawyer said she could testify against Santos at trial.“If we get a subpoena, we’ll do the right thing,” said her lawyer Ray Perini. “There’s a manipulation involved that had to do with her family and the death of her husband,” he added without elaborating further. “There were lies told.” More

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      Biden says Americans among hostages in Gaza and reaffirms support for Israel – as it happened

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      From 3h agoBiden opened his remarks by saying that the attacks were done by “the bloody hands of the terrorist organization Hamas.”“This was an act of sheer evil”, said Biden, adding that more than 1,000 civilians were “slaughtered” in Israel.Biden confirmed that at 14 American citizens were killed. He also said Americans were among the hostages in Gaza.Biden added: “In this moment, we must be crystal clear. We stand with Israel. We stand with Israel.”It’s been a tense day in Washington, the terrible conflict in Israel casting a shadow over national politics, and House Republicans getting ready to try to elect a new speaker – a gap in Congress made to look ever more gaping by the Middle East tumult.This blog is closing now. It will resume on Wednesday morning US time. The Israel-Gaza global live blog continues here.Here’s how the day went:
      The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, will travel to Israel on Wednesday, arriving Thursday, to meet with Israeli officials show US solidarity following attacks from Hamas.
      At least 20 Americans are missing in Israel amid ongoing fighting, in addition to the 14 Americans known to have been killed so far, according to the White House.
      Joe Biden confirmed that Americans are among the people being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas militants.
      Biden called the attacks by Hamas on southern Israel an act of “sheer evil” and reiterated in a speech from the White House that “we stand with Israel”.
      The special counsel for the federal January 6 election subversion case against Donald Trump has requested that the former president be restricted from doing juror research and publishing the identities of jurors in the case.
      The special counsel also filed a request asking that Donald Trump be required to say if he will advance an “advice of counsel” defense.
      House Republicans supporting Kevin McCarthy plan to nominate the former House speaker, who was ousted from the post just days ago, for the position again during the upcoming election on Wednesday.
      Republicans are under pressure to elect a new House speaker ASAP this week, amid the Hamas-Israel crisis reverberating across the globe.
      Until last weekend, the Biden administration was counting on the Middle East to remain relatively calm while it quietly pursued its main policy goals there: brokering the Israeli-Saudi detente and containing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Reuters writes.Those hopes were shattered when Palestinian Hamas militants infiltrated Israel from Gaza and rampaged through towns on Saturday, killing hundreds and abducting scores more. Israeli forces have retaliated by pounding the coastal enclave, killing hundreds and imposing a total blockade there.After keeping the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict at arm’s length, Joe Biden now finds himself thrust into a crisis likely to reshape his Middle East policy, and into an uneasy alliance with the far-right Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. He is dispatching the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, to meet with Israeli leaders this week.It is a politically risky situation for a president seeking re-election in 2024, one that could have significant implications for world oil prices and pull US resources and attention away from what until now has been his defining foreign policy challenge – Russia’s war in Ukraine.The surprise Hamas attack has dealt a blow to US efforts to broker a landmark normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia and complicated Washington’s approach toward Iran, Hamas’s longtime benefactor.While US officials insist that their bid to establish ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, longtime foes, can survive the crisis, many experts take a more pessimistic view.
      Quite simply, all efforts at normalization are on hold for the foreseeable future,” said Jon Alterman, head of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, contradicting the official US government line.
      Khaled Elgindy, a former Palestinian negotiations adviser, accused the Biden administration of leading an Israeli-Saudi normalization process that mostly bypassed the Palestinians and their hopes of ending Israeli occupation.
      That sort of neglect is part of why we’re seeing what we’re seeing,” he said.
      Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, will travel to Israel this week to show US solidarity following attacks from Hamas, the Associated Press reports.The state department confirmed Blinken’s visit on Tuesday.Blinken will talk with Israeli officials about “what additional resources we can give them”, said the state department spokesperson Matthew Miller, the AP reported.Blinken will leave for Israel on Wednesday and arrive on Thursday.At least 20 Americans are missing in Israel amid ongoing fighting, according to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.14 Americans have also been killed in Israel, in addition to the 20 who are unaccounted for.During a press briefing on Tuesday, Sullivan confirmed that more than a dozen Americans have not been accounted for as fighting escalates between Israel and Hamas.“We believe that there are 20 or more Americans that are missing. I want to underscore that does not mean 20 or more are being held hostage. That is the number unaccounted for… We do not know how many hostages we have at this time,” said Sullivan, reported the Guardian’s David Smith.Biden ended his remarks with a stark message of support for Israel:“We’re with Israel. Let’s make no mistake.”Biden, accompanied by Vice president Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony, left without taking any questions from the press.Biden added that the police departments of several US cities have beefed up security around centers of Jewish life.Biden added that national security officials are working to identify and disrupt domestic threats that “could emerge in connection with these horrific attacks”.Biden added: “There’s no place for hate in America, not against Jews, not against Muslims, not against anyone.”Biden also confirmed that Americans are among the people being held hostage in Gaza.Similar news came on Monday from the Israeli ambassador to the UN.From CNN’s Kaitlan Collins:At least 100 people have been taken captive by Hamas, said Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen on Monday.Biden has made it clear that the US is committed to supporting Israel materially.“We will make sure Israel has what it needs,” said Biden.Biden added: “There is no justification for terrorism. Hamas doesn’t stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity…they use Palestinian civilians as human shields.”Biden also noted that Congress has been asked to “take urgent action” to fund the “national security requirements of our critical partners.”Biden added that the “Israel has a duty to respond to these vicious attacks.”Biden compared the actions of Hamas to the “worst acts” of the terrorist group ISIS, specifically naming reports that Hamas is raping individuals and killing children.Biden opened his remarks by saying that the attacks were done by “the bloody hands of the terrorist organization Hamas.”“This was an act of sheer evil”, said Biden, adding that more than 1,000 civilians were “slaughtered” in Israel.Biden confirmed that at 14 American citizens were killed. He also said Americans were among the hostages in Gaza.Biden added: “In this moment, we must be crystal clear. We stand with Israel. We stand with Israel.”Biden posted a snapshot from his meeting with Netanyahu to X, formerly known as Twitter.From the official President of the United States’ account:
      [The Vice president] and I sat down with our teams to receive a situation update on the terrorist attack in Israel and to direct next steps.
      We connected with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss coordination to support Israel, deter hostile actors, and protect innocent people.
      Biden and Harris wrapped up a phone call about a half hour ago with Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss US support of Israel. Biden is expected to give remarks shortly on escalating fighting in Israel.From the Wall Street Journal’s Catherine Lucey:Biden has yet to make remarks from the White House about escalating fighting between Israel and Hamas. In other news, Republican Steve Garvey has entered the California Senate race.The former Dodgers baseball player will be running for the Senate seat left by the late senator Dianne Feinstein, the Los Angeles Times reports.“In those 20 years that I played for the Dodgers and the Padres, played up in cold Candlestick Park, I never played for Democrats or Republicans or independents,” Garvey said to the Times. “I played for all the fans, and I’m running for all the people.”Garvey, 74, is a relative political newcomer, but brings some celebrity to the upcoming election.Garvey told the Times he was inspired to run after witnessing dysfunction in Washington DC and being told by a Dodgers fan that they would vote for Garvey.Garvey faces several top Democrats for the position, including California representatives Barbara Lee, Katie Porter, and Adam Schiff.Joe Biden is due to make remarks from the White House at the top of the hour and it’s expected that the US president will slam Hamas and reiterate unswerving US support for Israel.We’ll expect to have a live feed of his speech in this blog and will report highlights of his remarks. For all the wider developments in the conflict in Israel, we have our global blog on the situation running here, with our Léonie Chao-Fong at the helm at the moment as part of our worldwide team.From the White House, Biden will express concern about the potential that some Americans are being held hostage by Hamas, an Iranian-backed Islamist group, a senior White House official said, and Reuters reports.Israel pounded the Gaza Strip on Tuesday with the fiercest air strikes in its 75-year-old conflict with the Palestinians, razing whole districts to dust despite a threat from Hamas militants to execute a captive for each home hit.Biden will speak after holding his third phone call in four days with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He will outline in his remarks the US military assistance being sent to help Israel in its fight, the official said.A second White House official said Biden will strongly condemn Hamas* attacks and provide an overview of the actions the United States is taking with allies around the world to support Israel. More

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      Former Maryland governor Larry Hogan doesn’t rule out presidential run

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      The former Maryland governor Larry Hogan said he had not ruled out a presidential run, as he contemplated the “train wreck” his Republican party had become amid infighting in Congress and the ascendancy in primary polling of the 91-times criminally charged Donald Trump.Hogan also called the Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, the instigator of last week’s historic removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the US House, “a cancer on the party and on the Congress”.Hogan, 67, stepped down as governor of Maryland this year after two terms in the role. He has previously backed away from a presidential run but on Tuesday, speaking to Bloomberg News in Washington, he said he still wanted to “serve”.“I’m still trying to figure that out, but I’m not walking away” from presidential politics, Hogan said.“I don’t want to run a race and nibble around the edges. If I thought there was a path to success to win the race, then I just said I wouldn’t shut the door to that opportunity.”Hogan is a national co-chairperson of No Labels, a group contemplating a third-party White House bid. Critics say the group, with donors including rightwing figures, will only succeed in damaging Joe Biden in the president’s expected contest against Trump – who on 6 January 2021 incited his own supporters to attack Congress in an attempt to reverse his own election defeat.Confirmed third-party candidates – Robert F Kennedy Jr, an independent, and Cornel West, of the Green party – are also thought likely to make an impact on a race between two unpopular mainstream picks.Majorities of Americans think Biden is too old at 80 to serve an effective second term. Trump is 77 but fewer voters say the former president is too old. His popularity with the general public is low, however, as he fights criminal charges for election subversion, retention of classified information and hush-money payments, as well as civil suits over his business affairs and a rape allegation a judge called “substantially true”.Among Republican voters, Trump dominates, with huge leads in national and key state polls and with a grip on Republicans in Washington through the actions of allies such as Gaetz, who initiated the removal of McCarthy that left the House without a leader.“It’s a train wreck,”’ Hogan told Bloomberg. “I mean, it’s embarrassing, and I think it’s terrible for the Republican party. I think it’s terrible for Congress and for the country.”Hogan said it was too late for serving governors such as Brian Kemp of Georgia and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, touted by some as presidential candidates with appeal to the middle ground, to enter the primary and beat Trump.“That’s not going to happen,” he said. “I mean, they’ve missed the deadlines already.”Among Trump’s confirmed challengers, Hogan said he thought Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor, was “on the ascent” – and a stronger candidate than Ron DeSantis, the hard-right Florida governor long second to Trump in polling.“DeSantis has continued to fail throughout the campaign,” Hogan said. More

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      Robert F Kennedy Jr announces independent run for president; siblings condemn his ‘perilous’ campaign – as it happened

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      From 5h agoRobert F Kennedy Jr has officially announced that he will be running for US president as an independent.“I’m here to declare myself an independent candidate for president of the United States,” Kennedy said to applause and chants.Before announcing his run, Kennedy thanked his wife and children, his campaign staff, and other members of his family.The 69-year old had previously been running for the Democratic nomination for president, the only person to challenge Joe Biden for the nomination.But over the weekend, Kennedy teased a “much-anticipated announcement” about his campaign.Kennedy, a member of the Kennedy political family, has received backlash for peddling antisemitic conspiracy theories that Covid-19 was designed to spare Chinese and Ashkenazi Jews.That’s it for our US politics blog.Here’s what happened today:
      Robert F Kennedy Jr officially announced that he will be running for US president as an independent. “I’m here to declare myself an independent candidate for president of the United States,” Kennedy said during a campaign event in Philadelphia.
      The siblings of Kennedy Jr denounced their brother’s campaign, calling it “perilous” for the US. “Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment. Today’s announcement is deeply saddening for us,” read the siblings’ statement in part.
      More centrist Republicans are already casting doubt on Representative Jim Jordan as a potential House speaker. Lawmakers passed around a mailer from Jordan’s campaign, raising concerns about his potential priorities as House speaker.
      At least nine US citizens have died in Israel amid Israel’s war with Hamas. US state department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed the deaths on Monday, adding that some US citizens have not been accounted for.
      McCarthy has not ruled out a return to his former position of House speaker, if House lawmakers were still at a gridlock over the position.
      Republican House representatives faced mounting pressure to rally around a House speaker candidate after the ousting of former speaker Kevin McCarthy. Only two candidates have tossed their hat in the ring for the role: House majority leader Steve Scalise, a representative of Louisiana, and Ohio representative Jim Jordan, who is the judiciary chairman.
      Thank you for following our politics live blog.Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow.More on Tuberville blocking military promotions from the Guardian’s Oliver Milman:
      Tuberville, a former Auburn University football coach turned Alabama senator, has indicated he will maintain the blockade even in the wake of the assault on Israel, in which at least 700 mostly civilians are thought to have died, including several hundred revelers killed at a music festival, while dozens more people are believed to have been taken hostage. Israel has responded with airstrikes on the Gaza Strip that authorities in the penned-in territory say has killed at least 493 Palestinian people, including entire families sheltering in their apartments.
      US military appointments currently in limbo include top officers slated to command American forces in the Middle East, and two picks for the joint chiefs of staff. Separately, the US also does not have an ambassador to Israel, its close ally; Democrats have called for a swift confirmation of the nominee, Jack Lew.
      Joe Biden has previously called Tuberville’s stance “totally irresponsible”, and the president accused him of undermining the strength and capabilities of the US military. But the Alabama senator said on Sunday that even the attack on Israel would not shift his position.
      “The Pentagon clearly thinks forcing taxpayers to facilitate abortion is more important than confirming their top nominees without a vote,” a Tuberville spokesperson told NBC. “They could end this situation today by dropping their illegal and immoral policy and get everyone confirmed rapidly, but they refuse.”
      Invoking a name Tuberville calls himself because of his prior job, the spokesperson added: “If the Biden administration wants their nominees confirmed then Senate Democrats can do what Coach just did in September and file a cloture petition to force a vote.”
      Military nominees are usually bundled together and confirmed by a voice vote in the Senate to speed along appointments, but under Senate rules a single senator can hold up this process. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader, has said that individual votes on each of the nominees would eat up a huge amount of time, and urged Republicans to get Tuberville “in line”.
      Read the full article here.Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville appears to not be lifting holds on military promotions, despite fighting in Israel, the Hill reports.Tuberville has been criticized by other lawmakers who say that his hold on military promotions is affecting US readiness, especially in light of the Israel-Hamas war.Democratic senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island said in a Sunday interview that the recent escalation in fighting “underscores the foolishness” of Tuberville’s actions.Tuberville’s spokesperson Steve Stafford responded, saying in part:“The hold is still not affecting our readiness and it’s certainly not affecting the readiness of other countries.”Tuberville has held military promotions for seven months because of a Pentagon policy that covers travel for service members seeking abortion care.Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released a statement on Monday regarding the violence in Israel. She said: “Today is devastating for all those seeking a lasting peace and respect for human rights in Israel and Palestine. I condemn Hamas’ attack in the strongest possible terms. No child and family should ever endure this kind of violence and fear, and this violence will not solve the ongoing oppression and occupation in the region. An immediate ceasefire and de-escalation is urgently needed to save lives.”Cortez, along with other members of ‘the squad’ have long been vocal against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Others also further to the political left, including house representative Cori Bush also called for a ceasefire and condemned both Hamas militants and the Israeli military on the ongoing violence. Representative Rashida Tlaib, who is Palestinian said she grieves the “Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day.” She did not outright mention Hamas.“As long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue.”The US’s secretary of the army Christine Wormuth has called for more congressional funds to support Israel with munitions.In the annual meeting of the association of the US army held on Monday, Wormuth said: “To be able to increase our capacity… to expand production, and then to also pay for the munitions themselves, we need additional support from Congress.”Biden has already said Israel has “rock-solid and unwavering” support from the US and US defense secretary Lloyd Austin said the US will send munitions.Military ships and aircraft have already been ordered to move closer to Israel.The US contributes about $3bn annually to Israel, the largest current recipient of United States military aid.Biden is speaking with several US allies about the Israel-Hamas war, according to White House officials.Biden spent the morning being brief on the situation by his national security team.Remarks from Biden on the developing situation were expected Monday morning, but have been postponed after the White House announced a “lid” for the day.The White House has called a “lid” for the day, meaning Biden will not be delivering any remarks.The lid could be lifted if Biden decides to make remarks later on or attend an event.The decision to call a lid is surprising. The White House previously announced that Biden would speak about the Israel-Hamas war on Monday afternoon.Meanwhile, Republicans have condemned the decision to call a lid.Florida governor and US presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has criticized the White House and called for immediate steps, including shutting down the US southern border.From DeSantis campaign spokesperson Carly Atchison:The siblings of Robert F Kennedy Jr have denounced their brother’s campaign, calling it “perilous” for the US.The Kennedy siblings said that Robert’s announcement to run as a third party candidate was “dangerous to our country”, in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter.“Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment. Today’s announcement is deeply saddening for us,” read the statement in part.Kennedy has largely embraced that his campaign and platform rejects dogmatism, arguing that people can have different opinions and still tolerate them.“People can disagree and still respect each other. You can be pro-choice and not think that pro-lifers are women hating zealots. You can support the second amendment and not think that gun control advocates are totalitarians who hate freedom.”“It’s more than being independent of two existing parties. It’s also independence from tribal thinking,” Kennedy said of his political philosophy.“It’s freedom from the reflex of having to take sides.”Kennedy is not the only candidate running as an independent in the US presidential election.Academic and activist Cornel West is also running in the US election as an independent.West previously ran for US president as a a Green party candidate, but dropped from the party last Thursday.Read a recent interview with West and Robert Tait for the Guardian, available here. More

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      Robert F Kennedy Jr announces independent run for 2024 US election

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      Robert F Kennedy Jr, the scion of the Kennedy political family who has spent the last six months running for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, announced on Monday he would continue his long-shot pursuit of the White House as an independent.The 69-year-old conspiracy theorist and vaccination opponent gave a fiery speech from Philadelphia, declaring his “independence from the Democratic party and all other parties”, and telling a gathering of several hundred supporters of his “pain” at leaving the party of his uncle and father, John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy.“I’m here to declare myself an independent candidate for president for the United States. I’m here to join you in making a new declaration of independence for our entire nation,” he said, in a lengthy and often rambling speech taking aim at Wall Street, big pharma, military contractors, the “mercenary media”, and the “two-party establishment” he said was “leading us all over a cliff”.“A rising tide of discontent is swamping our country. There’s a danger in this discontent but there’s also opportunity and promise,” he added, in what appeared to be a reference to the leading Republican candidate, Donald Trump.“We seem to be cycling from despair to rage and back to despair. This country is ready for a history making change. They are ready to reclaim their freedom, their independence.”The launch, however, was glitchy, with Kennedy leaving the stage briefly as soon as he was introduced, complaining he could not see his speech on the autocue, then struggling to find his stride.And his campaign was immediately assailed as “perilous” for the US in a tweet by prominent Kennedy family members.“Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment. Today’s announcement is deeply saddening for us. We denounce his candidacy and believe it to be perilous for our country,” sisters Rory Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend; and brother Joseph P Kennedy II said in the message.Kennedy, who announced that he was running against Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination in April, has been polling at an average of 15% among Democrats nationwide. Other polls show he is more popular among Republicans than Democratic party supporters.But while his chances of winning the election are close to non-existent, his candidacy could still play a significant role as a spoiler. Analysts are divided on whether Kennedy running as an independent would harm the Republicans or Democrats more.“The Democrats are frightened I’m going to spoil the election for President Biden, and the Republicans are frightened that I’m gonna spoil it for President Trump,” he said. “The truth is, they’re both right. My intention is to spoil it for both of them.”Over the past six months, Kennedy, who has a track record of promoting conspiracy theories and a long history of opposing vaccines, has struggled to make inroads into Biden’s support.The nephew of John F Kennedy, and son of Robert F Kennedy, both Democrats who were assassinated, has drawn ire for false comments about wifi causing “leaky brain” and chemicals in water causing gender dysphoria.In July he was accused of antisemitism after he claimed that Covid had been targeted to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people from the worst impacts of the disease; the same month, the Congressional Integrity Project, a political watchdog, released a report that details Kennedy’s meetings with and promotion of racists, antisemites and extremist conspiracy theorists.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionSince launching his campaign Kennedy has repeatedly appeared on Fox News, the rightwing news channel, and has also featured in podcasts of Steve Bannon, the former Trump adviser, and Alex Jones, a rightwing conspiracy theorist.Kennedy was introduced in Philadelphia by a procession of speakers, including his wife, the actor Cheryl Hines, and his campaign manager Dennis Kucinich, a Democratic congressman for Ohio from 1997 to 2013.Another speaker was Lewis Grassrope, an elder of the South Dakota’s Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, who said he was using indigenous people’s day to call for a healing of political division. “The left wing and right wing are always fighting. If they are always fighting, how are we to become one?” he said, before delivering a prayer in a native American language.Monday’s announcement was also streamed live on YouTube, the broadcast reaching barely 23,000 viewers at its peak.Republicans immediately attempted to distance themselves from Kennedy, insisting in a talking points memo there was “very little daylight between RFK Jr and a typical Democratic politician”.The memo from the Republican National Committee (RNC) listed 23 reasons for Republican voters to reject him, including Kennedy’s previous support for Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and support for Democratic positions over the climate emergency, the economy and abortion.“RFK Jr knows full well he’ll ‘take more votes’ from the Republican nominee; that’s why he’s running,” the RNC memo said. More

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      Tuberville will continue block on US military nominees despite Hamas attack on Israel

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      The Republican senator Tommy Tuberville has said he will continue to block hundreds of military leadership appointments despite the Hamas attack on Israel, a close American ally, that has triggered a deadly escalation in the Middle East conflict.Tuberville has for several months put a hold on at least 300 military nominees, which are typically confirmed in a routine manner by the US Senate. His blockade is a protest over a Pentagon policy that facilitates abortions for service members and dependents.Tuberville, a former Auburn University football coach turned Alabama senator, has indicated he will maintain the blockade even in the wake of the assault on Israel, in which at least 700 mostly civilians are thought to have died, including several hundred revelers killed at a music festival, while dozens more people are believed to have been taken hostage. Israel has responded with airstrikes on the Gaza Strip that authorities in the penned-in territory say has killed at least 493 Palestinian people, including entire families sheltering in their apartments.US military appointments currently in limbo include top officers slated to command American forces in the Middle East, and two picks for the joint chiefs of staff. Separately, the US also does not have an ambassador to Israel, its close ally; Democrats have called for a swift confirmation of the nominee, Jack Lew.Joe Biden has previously called Tuberville’s stance “totally irresponsible”, and the president accused him of undermining the strength and capabilities of the US military. But the Alabama senator said on Sunday that even the attack on Israel would not shift his position.“The Pentagon clearly thinks forcing taxpayers to facilitate abortion is more important than confirming their top nominees without a vote,” a Tuberville spokesperson told NBC. “They could end this situation today by dropping their illegal and immoral policy and get everyone confirmed rapidly, but they refuse.”Invoking a name Tuberville calls himself because of his prior job, the spokesperson added: “If the Biden administration wants their nominees confirmed then Senate Democrats can do what Coach just did in September and file a cloture petition to force a vote.”Military nominees are usually bundled together and confirmed by a voice vote in the Senate to speed along appointments, but under Senate rules a single senator can hold up this process. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader, has said that individual votes on each of the nominees would eat up a huge amount of time, and urged Republicans to get Tuberville “in line”.Tuberville objects to a Pentagon policy that does not itself perform abortions but provides time off and travel assistance to members of the military that require reproductive healthcare.The US secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin, has said that the policy safeguards the healthcare and combat readiness of service members and is widely popular within the military.Abortion has been effectively banned in several states following the US supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade last year – a move decried by progressives but lauded by conservatives like Tuberville.“The severity of the crisis in Israel underscores the foolishness of Senator Tuberville’s blockade,” said Jack Reed, a Democrat who leads the Senate armed services committee.“The United States needs seamless military leadership in place to handle dangerous situations like this and Senator Tuberville is denying it. This is no time for petty political theater, and I again urge Republican colleagues to help actively end Senator Tuberville’s damaging blockade.” More