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      Biden says he’s ‘all in’ on Africa’s future at leadership summit – as it happened

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      Joe Biden has committed to strengthening Africa’s food supplies, tackling the climate emergency and partnering with the continent’s nations to take on the rising global power in the region of China and Russia.In an address at the US Africa Business Leaders forum in Washington DC, the president says “the US is all in on Africa’s future”. He’s outlining a multi-prong approach to strengthen those ties, including the signing of a memorandum of understanding that Biden says will “unlock new opportunities for trade and investment between our countries and bring Africa and the US even closer than ever”:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}It’s an enormous opportunity for Africa’s future, and the US wants to help make those opportunities real.Included in the package are, he says, up to $370m from the US international development finance fund for new projects, including investing $100m for clean energy for sub-Saharan Africa.Entrepreneurship and innovation are at the top of Biden’s list, he says.And he wants $350bn from Congress for a “digital transformation” for Africa, which includes involving companies such as Microsoft to build networks and infrastructure to bring internet access to five million Africans who are currently not connected:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}When Africa succeeds, the United States succeeds and, quite frankly, the whole world succeeds as well,” Biden says.It’s time to close the blog on an eventful day in US politics. Joe Biden says he’s “all in” on Africa’s future after unveiling a package of investments and supports at a summit with the continent’s business leaders in Washington DC.The president says infrastructure and the climate emergency are among his top priorities for Africa, as he seeks to build closer ties and limit Russian and Chinese influence in the region.Here’s what else we’ve been watching:
      Survivors from mass shootings at gay nightclubs in Florida and Colorado gave harrowing testimony at a hearing of the House oversight committee looking into surging violence against the LGBTQ+ community. Democrats say Republicans have “stoked the flames of bigotry” with hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ laws nationwide.
      A new poll shows voters have little appetite for a presidential election rematch in 2024 between Biden and Donald Trump. Almost two thirds of registered Democrats and Republicans say they don’t want their 2020 nominees to run again.
      Georgia’s secretary of state Brad Raffensperger said it was time to drop the general election runoff system that forced Democrat Raphael Warnock to beat Republican challenger Herschel Walker twice within weeks to retain his Senate seat.
      In a statement marking the 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting that killed 20 children and six adults, Biden said the US should have “societal guilt” at taking so long to address the problem of gun crime.
      Thanks for being with us! Please join us again tomorrow.North Dakota has become the latest state to ban the popular social media app TikTok from devices owned by the state government’s executive branch, the Associated Press reports.Governor Doug Burgum signed an executive order Wednesday afternoon, joining Republican colleagues from other states, including South Dakota and Texas, to have previously done so over concerns about the platform’s Chinese ownership and perceived data sharing and national security worries.In addition to prohibiting downloads of TikTok on government-issued equipment or while connected to the state’s network, it bars visiting the TikTok website.“TikTok raises multiple flags in terms of the amount of data it collects and how that data may be shared with and used by the Chinese government,” Burgum said in a statement, according to the AP.In its own statement Wednesday, TikTok said it was “disappointed that so many states are jumping on the bandwagon to enact policies based on unfounded, politically charged falsehoods”.Read more:Texas bans TikTok on government devices amid China data-sharing fearsRead moreA hair-raising moment, literally, took place on the Senate floor at lunchtime when New Jersey senator Cory Booker rose to urge colleagues to progress the Crown Act, the acronym for a bill seeking to “create a respectful and open world for natural hair”.It might sound frivolous, but the bill seeks to enshrine in federal statute a measure already passed in 19 states to prevent racial discrimination on the grounds of hair style or color.“You go to my city right now and you’ll find hairstyles of different types, locks, cornrows with braids, Bantu knots, and of course what I once had, afros,” the famously bald Booker said.“[But] there’s a decades-long problematic practice of discrimination against natural hair in this country.”@Dove and the #CROWNCoalition applaud #Alaska — the 19th state to provide legal protections against hair discrimination.#hairdiscrimination #naturalhair #crownact #hairlove #equity #Alaska pic.twitter.com/ebvh2iC7bE— The CROWN Act (@thecrownact) September 12, 2022
      He cited the case of Andrew Johnson, an 18-year-old student in 2018 whose dreadlocks were cut off on the orders of a judge at a high school wrestling match before he was allowed to compete. The episode was caught on video.“You can see the deep hurt and pain on the face of this young man,” Booker said.“It’s the pain felt by many. Traumatic at times, hurtful experiences that make you question your very belonging in a community. “The beauty of your hair, its natural style, your immutable characteristics, your cultural beliefs, your connection to your heritage. No person in America should have to deal with this pain.”Opposing Booker’s plea to advance the bill, Kentucky Republican Rand Paul said it was not necessary. The bill, he said, might compromise the safety of workers who could have the legal right to refuse to wear a helmet in the workplace because of their hair.“Using hairstyle as a pretext for racial discrimination is already illegal,” Paul claimed.The state that prolonged November’s midterms until 6 December won’t be able to do it again, if a proposal by its top election official gets approved.Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, says it’s time to get rid of the runoff system that requires a revote any time that no candidate in a general election reaches 50% of the votes cast.It’s the reason incumbent Democratic senator Raphael Warnock had to beat Republican challenger Herschel Walker for the second time in a month after coming close to, but not quite reaching, the 50% threshold in November.“Georgia is one of the only states in country with a general election runoff. We’re also one of the only states that always seems to have a runoff,” Raffensperger said, according to Fox5 Atlanta.“I’m calling on the general assembly to visit the topic… and consider reforms.”He said the current system made it difficult for counties, especially those in rural areas with few staff, to handle two elections within weeks of each other, a period that includes Thanksgiving.“No one wants to be dealing with politics in the middle of their family holiday,” he said.Raffensperger was the recipient of an infamous telephone call from Donald Trump asking him to “find” enough votes in Georgia to reverse his 2020 defeat by Joe Biden. A huge part of the Biden administration’s just-announced investment in Africa’s future will be a half-billion dollar investment in infrastructure, specifically the building and maintaining of roads linking ports to interior countries.The money, Joe Biden says, will come from the Millennium Challenge Corporation, an independent government foreign aid agency with a brief to reduce global poverty. The president said that MCC had made new investments of almost $1.2bn in Africa, and expected to commit an additional $2.5bn across the continent over the next four years:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}This compact will invest $500m to build and maintain roads, put in place policies that reduce transportation costs, make it easier and faster for ships to ship goods from the port of Cotonou [in Benin] into neighboring landlocked countries.The climate emergency, Biden stressed, will be another top focus, with work already under way, funded by $80m in public and private finance, to replace 12 coal-fired power plants in South Africa with renewable energy sources, and to develop “cutting edge energy solutions” such as clean hydrogen.He cited a $2bn deal to build solar energy projects in Angola, and a $600m high speed communications cable linking south Asia and Europe through Egypt, and $800m to help protect African countries against cyber threats..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}One of the most essential resources for many entrepreneurs and small business owners who want to participate in the global economy is reliable and affordable access to the internet.
      So today, I’m announcing a new initiative, the digital transformation with Africa. We’re here with Congress to invest $350bn, to facilitate more than almost a half a billion dollars in financing to make sure people across Africa participate in a digital economy.Biden brought his speech to a close just before the kick-off of the France v Morocco World Cup semi-final.Joe Biden has committed to strengthening Africa’s food supplies, tackling the climate emergency and partnering with the continent’s nations to take on the rising global power in the region of China and Russia.In an address at the US Africa Business Leaders forum in Washington DC, the president says “the US is all in on Africa’s future”. He’s outlining a multi-prong approach to strengthen those ties, including the signing of a memorandum of understanding that Biden says will “unlock new opportunities for trade and investment between our countries and bring Africa and the US even closer than ever”:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}It’s an enormous opportunity for Africa’s future, and the US wants to help make those opportunities real.Included in the package are, he says, up to $370m from the US international development finance fund for new projects, including investing $100m for clean energy for sub-Saharan Africa.Entrepreneurship and innovation are at the top of Biden’s list, he says.And he wants $350bn from Congress for a “digital transformation” for Africa, which includes involving companies such as Microsoft to build networks and infrastructure to bring internet access to five million Africans who are currently not connected:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}When Africa succeeds, the United States succeeds and, quite frankly, the whole world succeeds as well,” Biden says.Joe Biden is speaking now at the US-Africa leadership summit where he’s about to announce partnerships with African nations and a pathway to better ties and business relations.But the president said he was aware of people knowing the France v Morocco World Cup game was starting at the top of the hour, and were thinking: “Make it short Biden. There’s a semi-final game coming up”.We’ll bring you the best of Biden’s comments.Earlier this month, the Guardian’s Joan E Greve travelled to Newtown, Connecticut to speak with Nicole Hockley and Mark Barden of Sandy Hook Promise, the parents of Dylan and Daniel, who were killed 10 years ago today. For the Guardian’s Politics Weekly America podcast, Joan also met teenagers from the Junior Newtown Action Alliance, who now go through terrifying lockdown drills as preparation for another shooting and who want to see more change in gun legislation, and spoke to Senator Chris Murphy, who helped draft the first significant gun control policy in the US in 30 years this year.10 years since Sandy Hook – what’s changed? Politics Weekly America special – podcastRead moreThe Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren is pressing Congress to adopt bipartisan legislation which would force crypto firms to abide by the same regulations as banks and corporations, in an attempt to crack down on money laundering through digital assets. Ed Pilkington reports…Warren is pushing for the new controls on the crypto industry in the wake of the spectacular collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. On Tuesday its founder and former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, was charged with eight criminal counts including conspiracy to commit money laundering.Warren’s bill is being co-sponsored by the Republican senator from Kansas Roger Marshall. The Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act would essentially subject the world of crypto to the same global financial regulations to which more conventional money markets must conform.Under current systems, crypto exchanges are able to skirt around restrictions designed to stop money laundering and impose sanctions. Should the bill be enacted into law it would authorize the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) to reclassify crypto entities as “money service businesses” which would bring them under basic regulations laid out in the Bank Secrecy Act.In a statement to CNN, Warren said “commonsense crypto legislation” would protect US national security. “I’ve been ringing the alarm bell in the Senate on the dangers of these digital asset loopholes,” she said, adding that crypto was “under serious scrutiny across the political spectrum”.Bankman-Fried, 30, was indicted by prosecutors at the southern district of New York and is being held in custody in the Bahamas. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has also brought civil charges against him, accusing him of creating a firm that was a “house of cards”Five things we know about the collapse of FTX and Sam Bankman-FriedRead moreSome news out of Oregon that came later yesterday, which we wanted to record: the outgoing Democratic governor Kate Brown has commuted the sentences of all 17 of the state’s death row prisoners to life without parole.“I have long believed that justice is not advanced by taking a life, and the state should not be in the business of executing people – even if a terrible crime placed them in prison,” Brown said in a statement released by her office.“Since taking office in 2015, I have continued Oregon’s moratorium on executions because the death penalty is both dysfunctional and immoral.“Today I am commuting Oregon’s death row so that we will no longer have anyone serving a sentence of death and facing execution in this state. This is a value that many Oregonians share.”Brown’s order will also see the closure of the state’s execution chamber. Oregon’s most recent execution was in 1997, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.Governor John Kitzhaber first declared a moratorium on executions in 2011, which Brown has kept in place ever since.Full story:Oregon governor commutes sentences of everyone on death row in stateRead moreVoters have little appetite for a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump for the presidency in 2024, a poll released Wednesday lunchtime has found.Roughly six in 10 Republicans, and the same margin in the Democratic party, don’t want their respective 2020 nominees to run again, according to the CNN poll conducted by SSRS.Support from registered Republicans for Trump, especially, has plummeted, a reflection of the former president’s burgeoning legal troubles and, perhaps, the rising star of rightwing Florida governor Ron DeSantis.In January, CNN found, 50% said they hoped Trump would be the nominee and 49% wanted someone else. By July, 44% wanted Trump to be the party’s nominee, and now, only 38% say the same.Trump announced last month his third run at the White House as a Republican.There’s slightly better news for Biden. 40% of registered Democrats want the president to run again in 2024, the poll says, up from only 25% in the summer. But both figures are a drop from the 45% support he received in January.You can read about the poll here.The former Trump campaign chair and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway has repeatedly praised the Republican National Committee on Fox News while failing to disclose that it has paid her firm more than $800,000 since last year, Media Matters reports.Eric Hananoki, an investigative reporter for the liberal media watchdog, writes: “The lack of disclosure about Conway’s financial ties goes against the ethics-challenged network’s purported policy”. He adds: .css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}A Fox News spokesperson told the Washington Post in 2019 regarding work Fox News contributor Ari Fleischer did with the RNC that ‘Fox News requires contributors to disclose ties related to any topic he or she discusses on the air in which the contributor may have a financial interest.’ The spokesperson added that such a rule would apply when talking about ‘the RNC on air.’ Elsewhere, the Daily Beast adds that “Karl Rove, another Fox News contributor with deep ties to the GOP, was allowed to keep his paid network gig while overseeing Senate Republicans’ fundraising efforts in 2020”.As Hananoki notes, the RNC and its chair, Ronna McDaniel, have faced fierce criticism since the midterm elections, in which Republicans took back the House but by a slim majority and failed to win back the Senate – a disappointing performance widely blamed on former president Donald Trump, who endorsed a string of defeated candidates.Conway, Hananoki writes, “has used her Fox News platform to praise the RNC and play defense for McDaniel”. According to Media Matters, the RNC “has paid KAConsulting $829,969.38 since 2021 for a variety of expenses. The RNC’s most recent payment was on 4 November for ‘political strategy services’. The organisation recently announced that Conway would serve on a Republican Party Advisory Council ‘to inform the Republican Party’s 2024 vision and beyond’.” Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The final witness testimony before a Q and A session at today’s House hearing into anti-LGBTQ violence was a chilling account of inside Orlando’s Pulse nightclub as a gunman murdered 49 mostly gay and transgender patrons in 2016.“There were gunshots, endless gunshots; the hair standing up on the back of my neck; the stench of blood and smoke burning the inside of my nose,” said Brandon Wolf, a survivor who lost his two best friends in the massacre, and who has now become a prominent gun control and LBGTQ+ advocate.“A nervous huddle against a wall; a girl trying desperately so hard not to scream. I could feel her trembling on the tiles underneath us. “There was a sprint to the exit, all atop this bang, bang, bang, from an assault weapon. A man filled with hate an armed with a Sig Sauer MCX charged into Pulse, an LGBTQ safe space, and murdered 49 of those we loved.”On hand and ready to testify on anti-LGBTQ hate alongside the Club Q community.Tune in live: https://t.co/4bLU0X0ZWq pic.twitter.com/eSDKZiiROD— Brandon Wolf (@bjoewolf) December 14, 2022
      Wolf called out the bigotry and hatred of extremists who have fomented violence against the LBGTQ+ community, and spread hateful narratives that have resulted in attacks, threats and clampdowns on everything from drag shows, to donut shops to school libraries.“For years cynical politicians and greedy Grifters have joined forces with right wing extremists to pour gasoline on anti LGBTQ hysteria and terrorize our community,” he said.“My own governor Ron DeSantis has trafficked in that bigotry to feed his insatiable political ambition and propel himself toward the White House. “We have been smeared and defamed. Hundreds of bills have been filed in order to erase us; powerful figures have insisted that the greatest threats this country face are a teacher with they-them pronouns, or someone in a wig reading Red Fish, Blue Fish.” Barack Obama has called the Sandy Hook massacre “the single darkest day of my presidency”.In his own statement marking the 10th anniversary of the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, the former president also said he believed “the tide is turning” on gun violence.I consider December 14th, 2012 the single darkest day of my presidency. The news from Sandy Hook Elementary was devastating, a visceral blow, and like so many others, I felt not just sorrow but anger at a world that could allow such things to happen. pic.twitter.com/Y2log7FBaH— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) December 14, 2022
      His administration was unable to renew a nationwide assault weapons ban, lamenting that inaction on gun safety laws was the “biggest regret” of his time in office.Here’s Obama’s statement today:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The news from Sandy Hook Elementary was devastating, a visceral blow, and like so many others, I felt not just sorrow but anger at a world that could allow such things to happen.Even then we understood that mere words could only do so much to ease the burden of the families who were suffering. But in the years since, each of them has borne that weight with strength and with grace. And they’ve drawn purpose from tragedy – doing everything in their power to make sure other children and families never have to experience what they and their loved ones did.The journey hasn’t always been easy – and in a year when there hasn’t been a single week without a mass shooting somewhere in America, it’s clear our work is far from over. But of late, I’ve sensed that slowly, steadily, the tide is turning; that real change is possible. And I feel that way in no small part because of the families of Sandy Hook Elementary.Ten years ago, we all would have understood if those families had simply asked for privacy and closed themselves off from the world. But instead, they took unimaginable sorrow and channeled it into a righteous cause – setting an example of strength and resolve.They’ve made us proud. And if they were here today, I know the children and educators we lost a decade ago would be proud, too. More

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      Biden signs bill protecting same-sex and interracial marriage rights – as it happened

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      Joe Biden has signed the legislation into law, in a joy-filled ceremony on the south lawn at the White House.In attendance were the first lady, Jill Biden, as well as the vice-president, Kamala Harris, the second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, and hundreds of LGBTQ+ couples, senior members of Congress, including the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and gay lawmakers looking on.Here’s the Guardian’s Washington Bureau chief, David Smith, who has witnessed the event:Joe Biden: “Today is a good day!… Marriage is a simple proposition. Who do you love and will you be loyal to that person you love? It’s not more complicated than that.” pic.twitter.com/ZsL2PEkLri— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) December 13, 2022
      Biden made a short but spirited speech.Biden: “Now the law requires that interracial marriage and same sex marriage be recognised in every state in the nation.”— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) December 13, 2022
      Biden pays tribute to many of those activists and campaigners gathered.Biden: “Those who believe in equality and justice, you never gave up… You put your relationships on the line, you put your jobs on the line, you put your lives on the line. From me and the entire nation, thank you, thank you, thank you.”— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) December 13, 2022
      Here’s the president on Twitter:Today is a good day. Today, America takes another step toward equality. Toward liberty and justice not just for some, but for all. Because today, I sign the Respect for Marriage Act into law.— President Biden (@POTUS) December 13, 2022
      It’s been a lively though unusual day in US politics. We’re ending this live blog now and we’ll be back on Wednesday morning to bring you all the day’s developments as they happen.Here’s where things stand:
      Joe Biden signed the Respect For Marriage Act into law, in a joy-filled ceremony on the south lawn at the White House.
      The US president noted that: “Racism, antisemitism, homophobia, transphobia – they are all connected. But the antidote is love.”
      The January 6 House select committee will on 19 December vote on referring people they believe broke the law to the justice department, Politico reports, citing committee chair Bennie Thompson.
      Carolyn Maloney, chair of the oversight committee in the House wrote to the National Archives asking for a review of what’s been discovered at a storage unit at Donald Trump’s Florida residence, the Washington Post reported.
      Government energy officials announced that the US has taken “the first tentative steps towards a clean energy source that could revolutionize the world” through a successful fusion experiment.
      Biden cheered government data released today that showed inflation declining by a greater amount than expected in November, calling it proof that his economic policies were delivering Americans relief from the price increase wave battering the economy.
      Samuel Bankman-Fried is not testifying before Congress, because he was arrested in the Bahamas yesterday. Instead, the newly appointed CEO of FTX, the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange Bankman-Fried founded, is being grilled by lawmakers alone.
      Reforms to the Electoral Count Act intended to stop another January 6 may end up being included in year-end spending legislation Congress is negotiating.
      It’s official: rightwing lawmaker Lauren Boebert has been re-elected, after winning her unexpectedly close House race.
      Under sunny skies, the ceremony for Joe Biden to sign the Respect for Marriage Act was a lively one, just wrapping up now.The bill’s primary driver, Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, can be seen smiling broadly, just behind a beaming Nancy Pelosi.Joe Biden has signed the legislation into law, in a joy-filled ceremony on the south lawn at the White House.In attendance were the first lady, Jill Biden, as well as the vice-president, Kamala Harris, the second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, and hundreds of LGBTQ+ couples, senior members of Congress, including the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and gay lawmakers looking on.Here’s the Guardian’s Washington Bureau chief, David Smith, who has witnessed the event:Joe Biden: “Today is a good day!… Marriage is a simple proposition. Who do you love and will you be loyal to that person you love? It’s not more complicated than that.” pic.twitter.com/ZsL2PEkLri— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) December 13, 2022
      Biden made a short but spirited speech.Biden: “Now the law requires that interracial marriage and same sex marriage be recognised in every state in the nation.”— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) December 13, 2022
      Biden pays tribute to many of those activists and campaigners gathered.Biden: “Those who believe in equality and justice, you never gave up… You put your relationships on the line, you put your jobs on the line, you put your lives on the line. From me and the entire nation, thank you, thank you, thank you.”— David Smith (@SmithInAmerica) December 13, 2022
      Here’s the president on Twitter:Today is a good day. Today, America takes another step toward equality. Toward liberty and justice not just for some, but for all. Because today, I sign the Respect for Marriage Act into law.— President Biden (@POTUS) December 13, 2022
      Joe Biden says love is the antidote to discrimination.“Racism, antisemitism, homophobia, transphobia, they are all connected. But the antidote is love,” Biden just said at the White House, as he prepares to sign the Respect for Marriage Act into law.Biden reminds those gathered that the legislation was spurred by the signal made by supreme court justice Clarence Thomas that, having overturned Roe v Wade, access to contraception and the right to same sex marriage could be next on the conservative bench’s agenda.Joe Biden is now speaking and thanking the lawmakers who drove the legislation that he is about to sign into law as the Respect for Marriage Act.He thanks, to a huge cheer from those gathered, Wisconsin’s Democratic senator Tammy Baldwin, the first out gay person ever to serve in the US Senate, who introduced the legislation and helped steer it to victory.The US president thanked Maine Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, who joined Baldwin in pushing the bill forward and garnering bipartisan support.Biden is celebrating the new law that protects not just same sex marriage but also interracial marriage, which have federal protections via the US Supreme Court but are not codified in US legislation.As the nation saw when the right-wing supermajority on the supreme court in June ditched the federal abortion legalization afforded by Roe v Wade in 1973, without congressional support in the form of legislation, rights can be taken away overnight by the court.Biden just quoted the great Edie Windsor’s words about gay marriage: “Don’t postpone joy.”“The road to this moment has been long,” Biden said. He tips his hat to those who “put their jobs on the line” to fight for the rights “I’m about to sign into law.”Goodbye, Edie Windsor. Thank you for never giving up | Steven W ThrasherRead moreKamala Harris is speaking at the White House ceremony, and she recalls Valentine’s Day, 2004, when she performed some of the US’s first same sex marriages, in San Francisco city hall, when she was the district attorney in that city.She quotes the late Harvey Milk in saying: “Rights are won by those who make their voices heard.”The vice president talks of marrying friends, the tears of joy, and also recalls the victory, ultimately, over the ban on marriage equality in California that had been passed in 2008, known as Proposition 8. More

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      Sanders says Sinema ‘helped sabotage’ some of Congress’s key legislations

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      Sanders says Sinema ‘helped sabotage’ some of Congress’s key legislationsSenator adds to chorus of detractors against Arizona lawmaker who left Democratic party and declared herself an independent The popular progressive US senator Bernie Sanders would consider supporting any Democrat who might mount a challenge against his chamber colleague Kyrsten Sinema after she recently left the party and declared herself an independent like him, arguing that she has “helped sabotage” some of Congress’s most important legislation.Sanders’s comments on Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union added to the chorus of detractors against the Arizona lawmaker who has undermined the agenda of the Joe Biden White House and other progressives, including by voting down raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and reforming the Senate filibuster so that voting rights legislation can pass.The independent from Vermont who votes in line with Democratic interests told the show host, Dana Bash, that the leftwing party’s members in Arizona were “not all that enthusiastic about somebody who helped sabotage some of the most important legislation that protects the interests of working families and voting rights and so forth”.And, Sanders added, if Arizona Democrats eventually ran someone to challenge the newly-declared independent, “I will take a hard look at” supporting that candidate, though some are concerned that hopeful could unwittingly give Republicans an opening.“I support progressive candidates all over this country – people who have the guts to take on special interests,” said Sanders, adding that he wasn’t interested in speaking much more on Sinema. “I don’t know what’s going to be happening in Arizona – we will see who they nominate.”In a separate pre-recorded interview which also aired Sunday on State of the Union, Sinema continued defending her defection from the Democrats as a stand against being beholden to party interests.“I know this is really hard for lots of folks, especially [on Capitol Hill], but what’s important to me is … to not be tethered by the partisanship that dominates politics today,” Sinema said in that interview. “I want to remove some of that … poison from our politics. I want to get back to actually just working on the issues, working together to try and solve these challenges.”Sinema’s departure from the Democrats came after their party had just succeeded in getting every one of their senators re-elected for the first time since 1934 after Raphael Warnock retained his seat in Georgia on 6 December.Warnock’s victory over Republican challenger Herschel Walker, combined with a Pennsylvania seat flipping to the Democrats, left his party thinking it had a clear one-seat majority in the upper congressional chamber. It had spent the past two years with a 50-50 split in the Senate in which Vice-President Kamala Harris broke ties in the Democrats’ favor.Sinema, who entered politics as a Green Party member and antiwar activist, has said she doesn’t intend to caucus with Republicans. But she’s been vague about whether she would cooperate with the Democrats in the way that Sanders and fellow independent senator Angus King do.Sinema has supported key Biden administration agenda items, including bills aimed at reducing inflation, protecting the right to gay marriage and increasing restrictions to high-powered guns. But her votes against a minimum wage raise and Senate filibuster reform – issues that were dear to the Democrats – have earned her scorn from many progressives.She and the centrist West Virginia Democratic senator Joe Manchin, who has taken similar stands, are often mentioned in the same breath.Sinema announced her switch after a Democratic member of the House of Representatives from Arizona, Ruben Gallego, had started interviewing paid media firms for 2024, which observers interpreted as a meaningful step toward launching an intra-party primary challenge.Pundits believe the Democrats could risk splitting votes with Sinema if they run someone against her, giving Republicans an opportunity to flip that seat during an election that would unfold at the same time as the next presidential race.TopicsUS SenateBernie SandersDemocratsUS CongressUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      White House says Sinema defection ‘does not change Democratic Senate control’ – as it happened

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      And here we go… did Joe Biden get any heads-up from Kyrsten Sinema that she was about to defect from the Democratic party?Jean-Pierre:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}We do not discuss private conversations that we have with members of Congress.
      [But] he sees, and we see, Senator Sinema as a key partner on some of the most historic pieces of legislation that you will all have covered in this administration.
      When you look at the past 20 months, from the American rescue plan to the bipartisan infrastructure law, to the inflation reduction act, to the respect for marriage act and also the pact act, all of these pieces of legislation have been historic, and we have partnered with Senator Sinema
      We understand her decision to register as an independent in Arizona. The way we see it and understand it, it does not change the new Democratic majority control of the Senate.
      And we have every reason to expect that we will continue to work with her successfully.It’s 4pm in DC. As we head into the weekend, here’s a look at the day’s biggest developments:
      Senator Kyrsten Sinema has announced she is leaving the party and has registered as an independent. The dramatic news comes just three days after Raphael Warnock’s re-election in Georgia gave the Democratic party what they thought was a 51-49 majority in the chamber (which includes the two other Senate independents Angus King of Maine, and Vermont’s Bernie Sanders).
      The White House said that Kyrsten Sinema’s defection “does not change Democratic Senate control” and did not reveal whether Joe Biden got a heads-up prior to her announcement. “We do not discuss private conversations that we have with members of Congress. [But] he sees, and we see, Senator Sinema as a key partner on some of the most historic pieces of legislation that you will all have covered in this administration. We understand her decision to register as an independent in Arizona. The way we see it and understand it, it does not change the new Democratic majority control of the Senate,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
      Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader, has issued a brief statement on the decision by Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema to sit in the chamber as an independent. “Senator Sinema informed me of her decision to change her affiliation to independent. She asked me to keep her committee assignments and I agreed. Kyrsten is independent; that’s how she’s always been. I believe she’s a good and effective senator and am looking forward to a productive session in the new Democratic majority Senate,” he said.
      The Treasury Department announced on Friday that it is sanctioning a group of companies and people linked to illegal fishing operations and human rights abuses in Chinese waters. The Cayman Islands-registered fishing company Pingtan Marine Enterprise, Ltd, which maintains boats based in China and has stock traded on the Nasdaq, was identified by the Office of Foreign Assets Control for sanctions. The US accuses the company of illegally shipping endangered species and abusing crew members through its subsidiaries and fleet of over 100 fishing boats.
      Russia wouldn’t release Paul Whelan without the US setting free a former colonel from the country’s domestic spy organization currently in German custody, CNN reported on Friday, adding another twist to the Brittney Griner saga. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wouldn’t confirm the story at her afternoon press briefing, but the network says Russia wanted Vadim Krasikov, who is serving a life sentence for murder.
      Joe Biden plans to announce at next week’s US-Africa summit in Washington DC that he supports adding the African Union as a permanent member of the Group of 20 nations, the Associated Press reports, citing the White House. The African Union represents the continent’s 54 countries. The G20 is composed of the world’s major industrial and emerging economies and represents more than 80% of the world’s gross domestic product. South Africa is currently the only African member of the G20.
      The Treasury Department announced on Friday that it is sanctioning a group of companies and people linked to illegal fishing operations and human rights abuses in Chinese waters.One company is accused of maintaining working conditions so dangerous that five workers died after 13 months at sea, with three of the workers’ bodies dumped into the ocean rather than repatriated to their homes, the Associated Press reports.The Cayman Islands-registered fishing company Pingtan Marine Enterprise, Ltd., which maintains boats based in China and has stock traded on the Nasdaq, was identified by the Office of Foreign Assets Control for sanctions.The US has accused the company of illegally shipping endangered species and abusing crew members through its subsidiaries and fleet of more than 100 fishing boats.The Biden administration also says two individuals, Li Zhenyu and Xinrong Zhuo, along with Dalian Ocean Fishing Co Ltd. and other companies engaged in illegal unreported fishing.A senior department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the US action, said on a call with reporters that Dalian employs crew members who work an average of 18 hours a day, live off expired food and drink dirty water.The action on Friday identifies 157 Chinese fishing vessels in which sanctioned companies and people have an interest.The sanctioned companies’ property and interests in the US will be blocked and American companies that do business with the sanctioned entities will have to wind down their ties with them.American Airlines and JetBlue Airways are moving forward with their partnership expansion across the north-east, even as a federal judge considers the government’s attempt to put an end to the deal.On Friday, the airlines announced that American Airlines will add six new routes from New York City and will drop an existing one, the Associated Press reports. Meanwhile, JetBlue said that it will start multiple new routes from New York and Boston. Some of the routes will only operate during summer and most will be limited to one to two flights daily. American Airlines said it plans to drop service between New York’s LaGuardia airport and Atlanta in May, when JetBlue adds that route. The airline also announced that on 5 May it will add flights between LaGuardia and Buffalo, New York; Greenville, South Carolina; and four other cities.Whether or not the expansion succeeds depends on a lawsuit in Boston which the justice department, six states and Washington DC have filed in attempts to stop the deal. The parties argue that the airlines’ move will result in lower competition and higher fares.The two airlines have pushed back, arguing that their joint expansion will make them a stronger competitor against Delta and United Airlines in the north-east.A verdict is expected early next year.Russia wouldn’t release Paul Whelan without the US setting free a former colonel from the country’s domestic spy organization currently in German custody, CNN reported on Friday, adding another twist to the Brittney Griner saga.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wouldn’t confirm the story at her afternoon press briefing, but the network says Russia wanted Vadim Krasikov, who is serving a life sentence for murder.The report suggests the US floated the idea of an exchange of Krasikov for Griner and Whelan, who has been in jail in Russia for almost four years, back in the summer.But any deal fell down, CNN says, when Germany refused to countenance his release. Krasikov assassinated a Georgian citizen in Berlin in 2019.The US then offered other names to try to persuade them to include Whelan in the Griner trade for Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer jailed in the US for 12 years. They included, CNN says, Alexander Vinnik, a Russian national extradited to the US in August for cybercrime, and Roman Seleznev, another convicted Russian cyber-criminal currently serving a 14-year sentence in the US.But it became clear a week ago that Whelan was not going to be included, so the US pressed ahead with the Griner for Bout trade, which took place on Thursday.“It was either Brittney Griner, one American or no American. That’s the very difficult decision that the president had to make,” Jean-Pierre told reporters earlier.“[Russia was] not willing to negotiate in good faith for Paul Whelan.”Joe Biden plans to announce at next week’s US-Africa summit in Washington DC that he supports adding the African Union as a permanent member of the Group of 20 nations, the Associated Press reports, citing the White House.The African Union represents the continent’s 54 countries. The G20 is composed of the world’s major industrial and emerging economies and represents more than 80% of the world’s gross domestic product. South Africa is currently the only African member of the G20.“It’s past time Africa has permanent seats at the table in international organizations and initiatives,” Judd Devermont, senior director for African affairs on the national security council, said in a statement.“We need more African voices in international conversations that concern the global economy, democracy and governance, climate change, health, and security.”Biden has invited 49 African leaders to take part in the three-day Washington summit that starts Tuesday.A judge in Michigan has dismissed criminal charges against former governor Rick Snyder in the Flint water crisis, the Associated Press reports.It comes months after the state supreme court said indictments returned by a one-person grand jury were invalid.Snyder, a Republican who left office in 2019, was charged with two misdemeanor counts of misconduct in office. He was the first person in state history to be charged for alleged crimes related to service as governor.Snyder also is the eighth person to have a Flint water case thrown out after the supreme court’s unanimous June opinion. Read the full story:Judge dismisses Flint water crisis criminal charges against ex-governorRead moreWhite House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has taken a couple of questions on foreign policy, condemning a “draconian” crackdown on civilians by authorities in Iran.“They should know that the world is watching,” she said when asked about Iran’s suppressing of dissenters, including its first-known execution of an anti-government protestor.“The US is committed to supporting the Iranian people and imposing costs on those responsible for the brutal crackdown. We will stand with Iranian civilians as they are fighting for their basic freedom [and] basic human rights.”Iran executes protestor, 23, for allegedly stabbing pro-regime officer. Likely to be the first execution of many. https://t.co/AnEnBLje7d— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) December 8, 2022
      A reporter also wondered if, now that gas prices are falling, the Biden administration still intended to follow through with its promise of consequences for Saudi Arabia for reducing its production of oil. There has been, essentially, silence from the White House on the issue since October.“We are assessing relations with Saudi Arabia with methodology and strategically as we have done over the last 18 years of this relationship in a bipartisan way,” was Jean-Pierre’s non-answer.“We will judge the way forward based on their actions as well as our ongoing consultations with partners and allies, and also the new Congress.”Karine Jean-Pierre is pushing back strongly against Republican criticism that the exchange of jailed basketball player Brittney Griner for convicted Russian arms trade Viktor Bout wasn’t much of a trade.The White House press secretary told reporters:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}When you have an American passport, that means something.
      Brittney Griner is an American citizen who was being held unjustly.
      She was being held unjustly under intolerable circumstances. That was what was happening to Brittney Griner. And so that means something to the president.Republicans have continued to snipe at the exchange, Florida senator Marco Rubio suggesting it “incentivized the taking of more Americans”.Jean-Pierre insisted Biden was still “working very hard” to secure the release of Paul Whelan, an American still held by Russia on espionage charges, but said Russia was “not negotiating in good faith”..css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}This was an opportunity to bring an American home. The Russians were willing to release Brittney Griner for Mr Bout. That was what was presented to us.
      They were not willing to negotiate in good faith for Paul Whelan. And so it was either Brittney Griner, one American or no American. That’s the very difficult decision that the president had to make.And here we go… did Joe Biden get any heads-up from Kyrsten Sinema that she was about to defect from the Democratic party?Jean-Pierre:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}We do not discuss private conversations that we have with members of Congress.
      [But] he sees, and we see, Senator Sinema as a key partner on some of the most historic pieces of legislation that you will all have covered in this administration.
      When you look at the past 20 months, from the American rescue plan to the bipartisan infrastructure law, to the inflation reduction act, to the respect for marriage act and also the pact act, all of these pieces of legislation have been historic, and we have partnered with Senator Sinema
      We understand her decision to register as an independent in Arizona. The way we see it and understand it, it does not change the new Democratic majority control of the Senate.
      And we have every reason to expect that we will continue to work with her successfully.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is at the podium with her daily briefing.She’s talking up a big week for Joe Biden, especially securing Brittney Griner’s release from Russia, and the just-announced $275m security assistance package for Ukraine (see previous post).But you can sense that reporters in the room are just itching to ask her about Kyrsten Sinema. Stay tuned…Here’s the latest Politics Weekly America podcast from the Guardian’s ace team. With Raphael Warnock re-elected to represent Georgia in the US Senate for the next six years, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Molly Reynolds of the Brookings Institution about the significance for Democrats of having an absolute majority in the upper chamber of Congress, rather than a 50/50 split.This episode was recorded before today’s dramatic announcement by Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema that she was renouncing the Democratic party to sit as an independent.Why 51 is better than 50 in the Senate: Politics Weekly America podcastRead moreJoe Biden authorized a fresh infusion of $275 million in military aid for Ukraine offering new capabilities to defeat drones and strengthen air defenses, according to a memo released by the White House, Reuters reports.The package also includes rockets for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers made by Lockheed Martin Corp, 80,000 155mm artillery rounds, Humvee military vehicles and about 150 generators, according to the memo.This is the 27th use of Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) for Ukraine, which allows the United States to transfer defense articles and services from stocks quickly without congressional approval in response to an emergency.National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House that the equipment was “on its way.”But details were scant on two systems, “counter air defense capability” and “Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems equipment,” which appear to be new capabilities for Ukraine.Russia’s surge in missile strikes in Ukraine is partly designed to exhaust Kyiv’s supplies of air defenses and achieve dominance of the skies above the country, a senior Pentagon official said in November.To counter these attacks, the United States has sent sophisticated anti-aircraft NASAMS systems to Ukraine which have been running for a few weeks.Washington previously announced that it was sending four Avenger short-range air defense systems that use Stinger missiles, made by Raytheon Technologies Corp, and HAWK interceptor missiles. US allies have also been sending air defense systems.You can follow the Guardian’s Ukraine war live blog here. The White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is due to brief the media at 1pm ET in the west wing, as Washington and Arizona digest the news of Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s surprise news early today that she’s switching from the Democrats to be an independent.Here’s where things stand:
      Chuck Schumer, Senate majority leader, issued a brief statement on the decision by Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema to sit in the chamber as an independent in future, saying she will keep her committee assignments and saying: “I believe she’s a good and effective senator.”
      Republican criticism of Joe Biden for trading US basketball star and Olympic gold medallist Brittney Griner for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout continues.
      The White House issued a statement via Jean-Pierre noting that it expects to ‘continue to work successfully’ with Senator Sinema.
      Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema announced she would no longer represent the Democratic Party in congress and instead would become an independent. She expressed no intention to caucus with the Republicans but nor did she reassure Democrats that they can count on her vote, while saying her new status “won’t change my work” in the upper chamber.
      Here’s a selection of reactions on Twitter to Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema’s decision to renounce Democrats and sit as an independent.Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki thinks the biggest question is whether Sinema runs for re-election in 2024 as an independent, and not whether she continues to support Democrats in the Senate:so here’s the thing—If Sinema still votes for the most part with Ds and keeps her committee roles (because she will want that/also helps Dems by giving them majority on committees) the biggest q is not about the DC side–its about whether she will run as an independent— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) December 9, 2022
      Arizona congressman Ruben Gallego, who is now widely expected to seek the Democratic nomination for Arizona’s Senate seat in two years’ time, accused Sinema of putting her own interests ahead of those of voters:My statement on Kyrsten Sinema abandoning the Democratic Partyhttps://t.co/QdrRf2mO5W pic.twitter.com/f0P3WZAdvA— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) December 9, 2022
      Republican former strategist and Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson sees a different role in Sinema’s future, and calls her a “Karen”:Karen Sinema. You know a Fox news gig is somewhere in her future. https://t.co/z8eXs9SxG5— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) December 9, 2022
      Republican firebrand Lauren Boebert seems to believe that Sinema has actually switched parties to join the opposition. Spoiler: she hasn’t.Good to see @KyrstenSinema leaving the Democrat Party.Just this year we’ve had @TulsiGabbard & Senator Sinema – both high profile Democrats – change parties.Hope many more see the light!— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) December 9, 2022
      Young progressives are not impressed. This from abortion rights activist Olivia Julianna:Fixed it pic.twitter.com/ok2IWMq55X— Olivia Julianna 🗳 (@0liviajulianna) December 9, 2022
      From the Arizona Democratic party. Sinema has “fallen dramatically short leaving Arizonans behind”:Please see our statement below regarding @kyrstensinema’s change in party affiliation. pic.twitter.com/qGWSSVR8cU— Arizona Democratic Party (@azdemparty) December 9, 2022
      Toni Cani, Joe Biden’s 2020 election chief in Arizona, thinks Sinema’s decision follows a failed gamble that Republicans won the House and Senate in the midterms, pushed “something like a national abortion ban”, and Sinema could play the hero by blocking it:One of my hottest takes was the only way Sinema survives 2024 reelect is if the GOP took the House & Senate in 2022 and she then used the filibuster to stop something like a national abortion ban. I even speculated she knew that and that was her exact gamble— Tony Cani (@tcani) December 9, 2022
      Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader, has issued a brief statement on the decision by Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema to sit in the chamber as an independent.He says she will keep her committee assignments, which he doesn’t really have a choice about if Democrats are to retain a semblance of control:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Senator Sinema informed me of her decision to change her affiliation to Independent. She asked me to keep her committee assignments and I agreed.
      Kyrsten is independent; that’s how she’s always been. I believe she’s a good and effective Senator and am looking forward to a productive session in the new Democratic majority Senate.
      We will maintain our new majority on committees, exercise our subpoena power, and be able to clear nominees without discharge votes.Meanwhile, The Hill has been collating reports that the 6 January House panel looking into Donald Trump’s insurrection is also considering criminal referrals, for Trump and at least four of the ex-president’s team.They are Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff; John Eastman, a conservative lawyer; Jeffrey Clark, a former justice department official; and Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s one-time personal attorney.All four were involved in plotting or executing Trump’s scheme to try to overturn his defeat by Joe Biden, the panel believes, and is considering whether to recommend them to the justice department for criminal investigation or charges.“The committee has not officially decided whom to refer for prosecution and for what offenses,” CNN reported, citing anonymous sources, and says others could also be considered. The Guardian reported Tuesday that criminal referrals were imminent from the January 6 committee, but this is the first time these names have been reported. Representatives of the panel would not comment.You can read The Hill’s report here.While we’ve been occupied this morning with Kyrsten Sinema’s defection and Brittney Griner’s homecoming, we haven’t taken our eye off Donald Trump’s legal peril, and developments with the investigations into his insurrection and mishandling of classified documents. Here’s the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell on the latest:The US justice department is seeking a top federal judge to hold Donald Trump’s political office in contempt of court for not fully complying with a grand jury subpoena issued in May demanding the return of all classified documents in its possession, according to a source familiar with the matter.The department in recent weeks asked the chief US district court judge for the District of Columbia, Beryl Howell, to hold Trump’s office in contempt after prosecutors were unable to get the former president’s lawyers to designate a custodian of records to certify all records were returned.New: Confirming that DOJ is seeking a federal judge to hold Trump’s office in contempt of court for not fully complying with May grand jury subpoena seeking return of classified docs, per source familiar — matching WaPo— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) December 8, 2022
      Howell has not ruled on the matter, which remains under seal. But the move, earlier reported by the Washington Post, significantly raises the stakes for Trump as he stares down a criminal investigation into unauthorized retention of national security information and obstruction of justice.The issue is to do with the Trump legal team’s reluctance to designate a custodian of records to certify that Trump is no longer in possession of any documents marked classified and thus in compliance with the subpoena that demanded the return of all such government records, the source said.If the Trump legal team could not find someone to certify under oath that all documents bearing classified markings had been returned, the department is said to have communicated, it would seek a judicial sanction.The contempt action is understood to be focused on Trump’s office because the subpoena, issued on 11 May, sought the return of all documents and writings “in the custody of Donald J Trump and/or the Office of Donald J Trump” bearing classification markings.Read the full story:DoJ seeking to hold Trump team in contempt of court over classified documentsRead more More

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      ‘She answers to billionaires’: some Democrats not sorry to see Sinema leave

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      ‘She answers to billionaires’: some Democrats not sorry to see Sinema leaveSenator’s decision to register as independent after playing spoiler role brings Democrats’ bitterness towards lawmaker to surface Upon learning that the Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema was leaving their party, some Democrats’ reactions could best be summed up with two words: good riddance.The lawmaker has been a thorn in their side since the early days of Joe Biden’s presidency, snarling negotiations over the White House’s priorities and voting down reforms dear to progressives such as raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and reforming the Senate filibuster.Schumer says Sinema a ‘good and effective’ senator after switch from Democrat to independent – liveRead more“Senator Sinema may now be registered as an Independent, but she has shown she answers to corporations and billionaires, not Arizonans. Senator Sinema’s party registration means nothing if she continues to not listen to her constituents,” the state’s Democratic party chair, Raquel Terán, said in a statement.Yet, much like Joe Manchin, the centrist West Virginia senator who has played a similar spoiler role over the past two years, Sinema has come through for her fellow Democrats in many key areas, supporting Biden’s policy positions 93% of the time, according to the political aggregator FiveThirtyEight.Whether she will continue to offer that help for the next two years is up in the air, after announcing on Friday she had left the party and registered as an independent, a decision that brought to the surface many Democrats’ bitterness towards the first-term lawmaker.The announcement rocked the party, which had been on something of a roll over the past weeks. On Tuesday, they succeeded in getting every single one of their senators re-elected for the first time since 1934 after Raphael Warnock won his seat in Georgia, and last month only narrowly lost the House of Representatives in the midterm elections.After spending two years navigating a fraught 50-50 Senate split in which the vice-president, Kamala Harris, came in to break tie votes, they won a new seat in Pennsylvania, and were planning to take outright control of Congress’s upper chamber.Sinema was vague about the degree to which she would continue to cooperate with the Democrats. In an interview with Politico, the senator said she would not join the Republican caucus, and indicated she would continue voting as she has since first joining the Senate in 2019. “Nothing will change about my values or my behavior,” she told the publication.Those signals probably explain the far more muted reaction of the Democratic party’s key power players – no doubt now keen to keep her onside as much as possible.The chamber’s Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, downplayed the disruption her exit caused, saying in a statement that Sinema “asked me to keep her committee assignments and I agreed. Kyrsten is independent; that’s how she’s always been. I believe she’s a good and effective senator and am looking forward to a productive session in the new Democratic majority Senate.”The White House stuck a similarly constructive note, perhaps hoping they could continue working with her, as they do with Bernie Sanders and Angus King, two independent senators who vote with Democrats.“Senator Sinema has been a key partner on some of the historic legislation President Biden has championed over the last 20 months, from the American Rescue Plan to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, from the Inflation Reduction Act to the Chips and Science Act, from the Pact Act to the Gun Safety Act to the Respect for Marriage Act, and more,” the press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said.“We understand that her decision to register as an independent in Arizona does not change the new Democratic majority control of the Senate, and we have every reason to expect that we will continue to work successfully with her.”Sinema did indeed support those pieces of legislation, but she has become best-known for what she has not supported: changing the Senate’s filibuster rules to ensure voting rights legislation can pass, various aspects of Biden’s failed Build Back Better Act, and raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, to which she expressed her rejection with an eye-catching thumbs-down delivered on the Senate floor.She was sometimes joined in these stands by Manchin, who has made little secret of his support for the fossil fuel industry relative to other Democrats, or hesitancy to break Senate tradition.Sinema’s motives were always harder to discern. She started her political career with the environmentalist Green party, but when the agreement to pass the climate change-fighting Inflation Reduction Act was announced over the summer, she withheld her support until a provision raising taxes on profits that go to the heads of private equity firms was removed.Voters appear to have noticed. A September poll from AARP Arizona showed her approval underwater with every single group of voters – including Democrats, with whom her favorability rating was a dire 37%. She was likely to face a challenge in the 2024 Democratic primary, probably from the Democratic House representative Ruben Gallego.“At a time when our nation needs leadership most, Arizona deserves a voice that won’t back down in the face of struggle. Unfortunately, Senator Sinema is once again putting her own interests ahead of getting things done for Arizonans,” Gallego said in a statement released after the senator’s departure.Arizona’s Democrats are now in a tough position. They will have to decide whether to run a candidate against Sinema in two years, and risk splitting their voters in a state where the GOP is seen as having a good shot at retaking her seat. Blunting a primary challenge may have been Sinema’s ultimate goal in leaving, but it’s hard to know. Even her supporters seem to have trouble understanding how to advocate for her.“A friend is a big Sinema supporter, someone she knows by name,” Tony Cani, the deputy director of Biden’s Arizona campaign tweeted. “They ran into each other at an event and after warm greetings this person asked: ‘I wanna be helpful, what can I tell my people when they complain about what’s going on?’ Sinema smiled and said: ‘Tell them to fuck off.’”TopicsDemocratsUS SenateUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Kyrsten Sinema goes independent days after Democrats secure Senate majority

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      Kyrsten Sinema goes independent days after Democrats secure Senate majorityArizona senator changes party affiliation and says she will not caucus with Republicans The US senator Kyrsten Sinema has switched her political affiliation to independent, leaving the Democratic party just days after it won a Senate race in Georgia to secure a 51st seat in the chamber.“I have joined the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington. I registered as an Arizona independent,” she said in an op-ed for Arizona Central, a local media outlet.In a separate Politico interview published on Friday, Sinema said she would not caucus with the Republican party. If that holds, Democrats could still maintain greater governing control in the closely divided chamber.Democrats had held the Senate 50-50, with the vice-president, Kamala Harris, holding a tie-breaking vote. Raphael Warnock’s victory in Tuesday’s runoff election in Georgia handed them their 51st seat.Two other senators – Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine – are registered as independents but generally caucus with Democrats.Sinema said her shift came as a growing number of people in her state were also declaring themselves politically independent, rejecting the Republican and Democratic political labels.“Like a lot of Arizonans, I have never fit perfectly in either national party,”she wrote.Sinema intends to maintain her committee assignments from the Democrats, an aide told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The aide would not say whether or not Sinema would continue to caucus with Democrats.The senator herself, however, said she would not caucus with the Republican party, according to an interview published by Politico on Friday.If that holds, Democrats could still maintain greater governing control in the closely divided chamber.Sinema and the Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia have kept Washington in suspense over the last two years as they repeatedly have withheld their needed votes for legislative initiatives sought by Joe Biden.At the same time, they have worked in a bipartisan way on high-profile bills that have become law, while forcing compromise.Sinema was realistic on Friday about the fact that she will get criticism from Democrats for her shock news.“I’m not worried about folks who may not like my approach, I’m going to continue to do what is right for my state,” she told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview that will air in fuller detail on Friday afternoon and Sunday morning.“I’m doing something that comports with my values,” she said.The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, issued a statement noting that the Democrats will continue to control the Senate.“We understand that her decision to register as an independent in Arizona does not change the new Democratic majority control of the Senate, and we have every reason to expect that we will continue to work successfully with her,” she said.Jean-Pierre’s statement also noted: “Senator Sinema has been a key partner on some of the historic legislation President Biden has championed over the last 20 months, from the American Rescue Plan to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, from the Inflation Reduction Act to the Chips and Science Act, from the Pact Act to the Gun Safety Act to the Respect for Marriage Act, and more.”The Pact Act was designed to improve healthcare access and funding for military veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their service.Sinema’s departure from the Democratic party is less about frustrating their ability to run the Senate for the next two years, and more about protecting her own position in Arizona, Semafor reported.She was unpopular enough with Democrats in the state that she was widely expected to face a primary in 2024.But now that she is out of the party, that primary will not happen. Instead, Democrats are going to face the tough decision of whether to run a candidate against her – and risk splitting their voters and losing the seat to the GOP – or accept that she is their best bet, even if she is not actually in the party.TopicsUS SenateArizonaDemocratsUS politicsUS CongressnewsReuse this content More

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      Why 51 is better than 50 in the Senate: Politics Weekly America podcast

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      Raphael Warnock was re-elected to represent Georgia in the US Senate for the next six years. Jonathan Freedland speaks to Molly Reynolds of the Brookings Institution about the significance for Democrats of having an absolute majority in the upper chamber of Congress, rather than a 50/50 split

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      More classified documents reportedly found on Trump property – as it happened

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      Attorneys for Donald Trump discovered two classified items among materials retrieved from a Florida storage unit rented for the former president, the Washington Post reports.Trump hired an outside firm to search his properties for any classified items, in order to comply with a federal grand jury subpoena issued in May. The former president is under investigation for unlawfully retaining secret material after leaving the White House last year, which led to the FBI’s search of his Mar-a-Lago property in August.Besides the storage unit in West Palm Beach, Florida housing materials that had been moved from a northern Virginia office after his presidency, the outside firm also searched Trump-owned golf course in New Jersey and Trump Tower in New York.Here’s more from the Post’s report:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The ultimate significance of the classified material in the storage unit is not immediately clear, but its presence there indicates Mar-a-Lago was not the only place where Trump kept classified material. It also provides further evidence that Trump and his team did not fully comply with a May grand jury subpoena that sought all documents marked classified still in possession of the post-presidential office.
      In addition to the storage unit, the team hired an outside firm to carry out the search of his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., and, more recently, Trump Tower in New York, according to people familiar with the matter. The outside team also searched at least one other property.
      The team also offered the FBI the opportunity to observe the search, but the offer was declined, the people said. It would be unusual for federal agents to monitor a search of someone’s property conducted by anyone other than another law enforcement agency.
      Trump’s lawyers have told the Justice Department that the outside team did not turn up any new classified information during their search of Bedminster and Trump Tower, according to people familiar with the process, and have said they utilized a firm that had expertise in searching for documents.Classified material keeps turning up at Donald Trump’s properties, as the former president faces heat from a federal investigation into whether he unlawfully held on to government secrets after leaving the White House. Meanwhile, Democrats were relishing Raphael Warnock’s victory in Georgia’s Senate race, capping a historic midterm election in which they stemmed their losses in the House and managed to get all of their senators re-elected.Here’s a look back at what happened today:
      The Congressional Black Caucus wants lawmakers to pass a long-stalled voting rights measure before the end of the year as Democrats try to make the most of their finals weeks controlling the House and Senate.
      Sean Spicer, a former press secretary in Trump’s White House, is being roasted for mistaking today for the anniversary of D-day – when it is, in fact, the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
      The supreme court sounds skeptical of making a ruling in favor of Republican-backed state legislatures that could have a major impact on voting rights.
      Second gentleman Doug Emhoff spoke out forcefully against antisemitism, warning of “an epidemic of hate facing our country”.
      Republicans were playing the blame game after their poor midterm showing.
      But what does Raphael Warnock think of the Trump question?CNN caught up with the newly re-elected Democratic senator to ask him whether he thought the former president made a difference in his race. Here’s what he had to say:Asked how much he benefited from Trump’s involvement in selecting his foe, Raphael Warnock told me: “I think the people of Georgia deserve a great deal of credit for seeing the differences between me and my opponent. I look forward to working on their behalf the next six years.”— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 7, 2022
      In a speech today, second gentleman Doug Emhoff spoke out against antisemitism, warning that there’s “an epidemic of hate facing our country”:.@SecondGentleman: “There’s no both-sides-ism on this one. There’s only one side…ALL OF US must be against antisemitism.” pic.twitter.com/V9SKEOiS53— Herbie Ziskend (@HerbieZiskend46) December 7, 2022
      Emhoff is the husband of Kamala Harris and the first Jewish spouse of a vice president. His speech came after Donald Trump sparked outrage by meeting with Nick Fuentes, a noted antisemite.Well this is awkward.The below video is of Indiana’s Republican senator Mike Braun decrying the quality of the party’s candidates in the midterms. Behind him stands Rick Scott, another senator who is chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee – which was tasked with retaking control of the chamber. He did not succeed:Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) blasts Republican strategy after Herschel Walker’s loss, with NRSC Chairman Rick Scott (R-FL) standing right behind him:“Candidate quality does count … We are basically for nothing … and then say, ‘Well, maybe we’ll tell you after we’re elected.’” pic.twitter.com/pZ04zE3e4W— The Recount (@therecount) December 7, 2022
      The Congressional Black Caucus’ last-minute push to get voting rights legislation passed may already be making waves.The lawmakers want the long-delayed bill attached to a year-end Pentagon funding proposal, and the House was this afternoon expected to vote on the rules for debate of the legislation. That vote has now been postponed:The House is in recess subject to the call of the Chair.— House Press Gallery (@HouseDailyPress) December 7, 2022
      “Members are advised that further information will be provided later today,” the office of Democratic majority leader Steny Hoyer said.In other Mar-a-Lago shenanigans, ABC News reports that Liz Crokin, a well-known promoter of the QAnon and “pizzagate” conspiracy theories, turned up at an event at Donald Trump’s south Florida property.Crokin was there to attend a documentary on sex trafficking, which ABC says is a major subject of concern for QAnon adherents. She managed to snag a photo with the former president, who is under fire for his recent dinner with rapper Ye and far-right activist Nick Fuentes, both of whom have made antisemitic remarks.Here’s more from ABC’s report:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Videos and photos posted to social media appear to show Liz Crokin, a prominent promoter of QAnon and pro-Trump conspiracies theories, speaking at an event at Mar-a-Lago and later posing for photos with Trump. In one photo, the duo make a “thumbs up” sign together.
      According to social media posts, the event was billed as a fundraiser in support of a “documentary” on sex trafficking — one of the pillars of the QAnon conspiracy theory. The website for the film, which includes multiple falsehoods and claims of mass sex-trafficking in Hollywood, boasts that it is “Banned by YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and PayPal.”
      Mar-a-Lago often hosts events for outside groups.
      “You are incredible people, you are doing unbelievable work, and we just appreciate you being here and we hope you’re going to be back,” Trump said in remarks to the crowd, according to a video of his speech.
      A representative for the Trump campaign did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.With Congress in the midst of a flurry of bill-passing before the year ends and newly elected lawmakers take their seats, Punchbowl News reports that the Congressional Black Caucus is making a last-ditch attempt to get a major voting rights bill passed.The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act has been stalled since its August 2021 passaged in the House, after it failed to get enough support to make it through the Senate. Punchbowl reports that the caucus representing African-American lawmakers in both chambers wants the legislation attached to the annual defense spending bill, which is considered a priority for both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.A key test of whether their strategy will go anywhere may come this afternoon, when the House is set to vote on the rules for debate of the spending bill, according to Punchbowl.CNN has been going around the Capitol, polling Republicans senators on whether they think Donald Trump is to blame for their candidates’ weak showing during the midterms.While not an out-and-out break with the most recent White House occupant from their party, several acknowledged that Trump wasn’t much help in last month’s election. Here’s John Thune, the number-two Senate Republican:Thune added: “The Dems were in many cases able to turn it into a choice election because of Trump’s presence out there – so was he a factor? I don’t think there’s any question about that.”— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 7, 2022
      Pat Toomey is the retiring senator from Pennsylvania, who is being replaced by Democrat John Fetterman in a major loss for the GOP:Pat Toomey: “It’s just one more data point in an overwhelming body of data that the Trump obsession is very bad for Republicans but normal Republicans are doing extremely well”Graham to me: “I think we’re losing close elections, not because of Donald Trump,” citing D fundraising— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 7, 2022
      Lindsey Graham is one of Trump’s biggest allies in Congress’s upper chamber. Here’s what he had to say:Lindsey Graham to me on Trump: “I think what he’s gonna have to do is establish to Republicans he can win in 2024. He’s still very popular in the party. People appreciate his presidency. They appreciate his fighting spirit. But there’s beginning to be a sense, ‘Can he win?’”— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 7, 2022
      Attorneys for Donald Trump discovered two classified items among materials retrieved from a Florida storage unit rented for the former president, the Washington Post reports.Trump hired an outside firm to search his properties for any classified items, in order to comply with a federal grand jury subpoena issued in May. The former president is under investigation for unlawfully retaining secret material after leaving the White House last year, which led to the FBI’s search of his Mar-a-Lago property in August.Besides the storage unit in West Palm Beach, Florida housing materials that had been moved from a northern Virginia office after his presidency, the outside firm also searched Trump-owned golf course in New Jersey and Trump Tower in New York.Here’s more from the Post’s report:.css-knbk2a{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}The ultimate significance of the classified material in the storage unit is not immediately clear, but its presence there indicates Mar-a-Lago was not the only place where Trump kept classified material. It also provides further evidence that Trump and his team did not fully comply with a May grand jury subpoena that sought all documents marked classified still in possession of the post-presidential office.
      In addition to the storage unit, the team hired an outside firm to carry out the search of his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., and, more recently, Trump Tower in New York, according to people familiar with the matter. The outside team also searched at least one other property.
      The team also offered the FBI the opportunity to observe the search, but the offer was declined, the people said. It would be unusual for federal agents to monitor a search of someone’s property conducted by anyone other than another law enforcement agency.
      Trump’s lawyers have told the Justice Department that the outside team did not turn up any new classified information during their search of Bedminster and Trump Tower, according to people familiar with the process, and have said they utilized a firm that had expertise in searching for documents.Democrats are relishing Raphael Warnock’s victory in Georgia’s Senate race, which caps a historic midterm election where they stemmed their losses in the House and managed to get all of their senators re-elected. The GOP’s underwhelming showing has several Republicans pointing their fingers at Donald Trump, saying candidates he’d handpicked for the election underperformed.Here’s a look back at what has happened so far today:
      Trump has hired an outside firm to look for classified documents at two of his properties to comply with a grand jury subpoena, the Washington Post reports.
      Sean Spicer, a former press secretary in Trump’s White House, is being roasted for mistaking today for the anniversary of D-day – when it is in fact the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
      The supreme court sounds skeptical of making a ruling in favor of Republican-backed state legislatures that could have a major impact on voting rights.
      The White House has announced that Joe Biden will speak this evening, at St Mark’s Episcopal Church in Washington, host to the 10th Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence.A White House update says the vigil is “a service of mourning and loving remembrance for all who have fallen victim to the ongoing epidemic of gun violence in America”. The 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, in which 20 young children and six adults were killed, falls a week from today.Biden, as vice-president, saw attempts for meaningful gun reform fail, even after that massacre in Connecticut. But Chris Murphy, the Democratic senator from the north-eastern state, has campaigned for reform ever since.He is now optimistic that more will soon be done. Last week, he told the Guardian: “Ten years ago, it would have been unthinkable for a gun safety bill to pass the Senate with NRA opposition. Now, a whole bunch of Republican senators know that the NRA does not even represent gun owners any longer. And thus, they’re not paying as much attention.”More:Senator Chris Murphy: ‘victory after victory’ is coming for US gun safetyRead moreFrom Washington, the Associated Press reports that “at least six supreme court justices sound skeptical of making a broad ruling that would leave state legislatures virtually unchecked when making rules for elections for Congress and the presidency”.Here’s more on the case in hand, also from the AP:US supreme court hears case that could radically reshape electionsRead moreSean Spicer, Donald Trump’s first White House press secretary and a Harvard politics fellow, has come under fire for a tweet in which he said today, 7 December, was D-Day.Spicer wrote: “Today is Dday [sic]. It only lives in infamy if we remember and share the story of sacrifice with the next generation. #DDay.”7 December is indeed an important second world war anniversary – that of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which brought the US into the war. It has been called many things, including, most famously and lastingly and by the then president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “a date which will live in infamy”.But not D-Day. That was 6 June 1944, when allied navies sent forces ashore in France, at the start of the end of the war against Nazi Germany.Pearl Harbor was primarily an attack on the US navy. According to US government figures, 2,008 members of the navy were killed, along with 218 members of the army, 109 marines and 68 civilians. Three US ships were destroyed and 16 damaged.According to his own website, Spicer “holds a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the US Naval War College [and] has served over 20 years in the US Navy Reserve and is currently a commander”. He specialises in public affairs.Amid a minor PR nightmare and Twitter storm, Spicer deleted his D-Day tweet and said: “Sorry. Apologies.”Undeleted, a tweet from 2021 in which Spicer showed he knew when D-Day was and was happy to use that knowledge to attack Joe Biden, writing: “Yesterday was the anniversary of #DDay – no mention of it from the president. The White House press secretary says he might get around to it.”Biden was widely attacked from the right for not formally marking D-Day last year. But as the fact-checking website Snopes put it: “While neither Biden himself nor the White House, as such, publicly commemorated the 77th anniversary of D-Day in 2021, Vice-President Kamala Harris and first lady Jill Biden both did.”Furthermore, “in his speech at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, 31 May, Biden briefly alluded to the D-Day landings, saying: ‘Here in Arlington lie heroes who gave what President Lincoln called ‘the last full measure of devotion’. They did not only die at Gettysburg or in Flanders Field or on the beaches of Normandy, but in the mountains of Afghanistan, the deserts of Iraq in the last 20 years.’” More