Biden delivers strong State of the Union speech to boost chances of 2024 re-run – live

It is now 4pm in DC. Here are the key events that happened across the country today:

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• A top White House cybersecurity adviser is set to retire next week, according to reports. On Wednesday, CNN reported that Chris Inglis is expected to depart the White House on February 15. Inglis is currently the National Cyber Director. Inglis, who has over forty years of national security experience, currently heads an office which was created in 2021 by Congress to advise the president on cybersecurity matters and to track how federal agencies manage their cybersecurity.

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• The accused Libyan man behind the deadly 1988 Lockerbie bombing which killed 190 Americans has pleaded not guilty to three federal criminal charges in Washington DC. On Wednesday, 71-year old Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud pleaded not guilty to two charges of an aircraft resulting in death and one charge of destruction of a vehicle used in foreign commerce, resulting in death. If found guilty, Mas’ud faces life imprisonment.

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• Former senior staff at Twitter began testimony on Wednesday before the House oversight committee about the social media platform’s handling of reporting on Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden. The hearing has set the stage for the agenda of a newly Republican-controlled House, underscoring its intention to home in on longstanding and unsubstantiated allegations that big tech platforms have an anti-conservative bias.

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• Joe Biden is drew pantomime-type laughs and boos from the crowd in DeForest, Wisconsin as he chuckles about sparring with “my Republican friends” during their heckling when he delivered the state of the union address last night. He spoke on the economy, already touting the low unemployment rate of 3.4%. Biden also talked about the bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act, passed last year, and how funds from that going into infrastructure are going to refurbish crumbling bridges and other structures in Wisconsin and across the country, boosting jobs and middle class incomes.

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• Florida Republican congressman Matt Gaetz has been appointed by House speaker Kevin McCarthy to a select committee investigating the ‘weaponization’ of the government, NBC reports.Gaetz, who was one of the far-right Republicans that opposed McCarthy’s nomination as House speaker, replaced Texas Republican Chip Roy, according to the outlet.

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• During a press conference on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden put the Republicans who heckled during his SOTU address last night “on the defense.” “He called members out on live television in front of millions of Americans and effectively put them on the defense… That’s what the president did is put them on the defense.”

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• A new proposal in Missouri seeks to ban nearly all discussion of LGBTQ people, making it far more restrictive than Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law passed last year. Republican state senator Mike Moon’s bill would only allow licensed mental healthcare providers to talk to students about LGBTQ issues and gender identity in K-12 public schools, and only if guardians grant permission first.

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• A tense exchange between Republican congressman George Santos and Republican senator Mitt Romney was caught on video last night as Biden was due to deliver his address. “You ought to be embarrassed,” Romney told Santos, who is expected to face an investigation by the House Ethics Committee following revelations that the freshman congressman falsified large portions of his biography.

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• Joe Biden’s strong performance at the State of the Union address last night was a blow to critics on the right – and within his own party – and seemed a certain boost to the chances of him running for a second term in the White House in the 2024 election. And amid questions over his age as the oldest US president in history, at 80, vice president Kamala Harris praised him as bold and vibrant in an interview this morning, while he boosted her in a celebratory tweet.

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That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as we wrap up the blog for today. We will be back tomorrow with the latest developments in US politics. Thank you.

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The accused Libyan man behind the deadly 1988 Lockerbie bombing which killed 190 Americans has pleaded not guilty to three federal criminal charges in Washington DC.

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On Wednesday, 71-year old Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud pleaded not guilty to two charges of an aircraft resulting in death and one charge of destruction of a vehicle used in foreign commerce, resulting in death.

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If found guilty, Mas’ud, who is believed by US prosecutors to have built the bomb, faces life imprisonment.

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The bombing, which occurred on Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988 above Lockerbie, Scotland, killed 259 people aboard the Boeing 747 and another 11 people on the ground. The flight was traveling from London to New York. It is considered one of the deadliest terror attacks in American history.

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Last month, Scotland and US authorities announced that Mas’ud was in American custody.

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A detention hearing has been set for later this month.

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Former senior staff at Twitter began testimony on Wednesday before the House oversight committee about the social media platform’s handling of reporting on Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden.

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The hearing has set the stage for the agenda of a newly Republican-controlled House, underscoring its intention to home in on longstanding and unsubstantiated allegations that big tech platforms have an anti-conservative bias.

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Recently departed Twitter employees speaking include Vijaya Gadde, the social network’s former chief legal officer, former deputy general counsel James Baker, former head of safety and integrity Yoel Roth and former safety leader Anika Collier Navaroli.

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The hearing centers on a question that has long dogged Republicans – why Twitter decided to temporarily restrict the sharing of a story about Hunter Biden in the New York Post, released in October 2020.

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The Post said it received a copy of a laptop hard drive from Donald Trump’s then-personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, that Hunter Biden had dropped off 18 months earlier at a Delaware computer repair shop and never retrieved. Twitter initially blocked people from sharing links to the article for several days, citing concerns over misinformation and spreading a report based on potentially hacked materials.

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“Americans deserve answers about this attack on the first amendment and why big tech and the swamp colluded to censor this information about the Biden family selling access for profit,” said the Republican committee chairman James Comer ahead of the hearing, referring to Trump’s characterization of the Democratic political establishment as a swamp. “Accountability is coming,” he added.

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In opening statements on Wednesday, the former Twitter staffers described the process by which the story was blocked, stating that it triggered Twitter’s rules against sharing hacked materials.

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The article hadbeen greeted with skepticism due to questions about the laptop’s origins, and Twitter policyrestricted the sharing of unlawfully accessed materials. While the company explicitly allowed “reporting on a hack, or sharing press coverage of hacking”, it blocked stories that shared “personal and private information – like email addresses and phone numbers” – which the Post story appeared to include. The platform amended these rules following the Biden controversy.

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Roth, the former head of safety and integrity, said Twitter had acknowledged that censoring the story was a mistake.

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n

“Defending free expression and maintaining the health of the platform required difficult judgment calls,” he said. “There is no easy way to run a global communications platform that satisfies business and revenue goals, individual customer expectations, local laws and cultural norms and get it right every time.”

n

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Full story here:

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},”knowledge”:{“alt”:”U.S. Home Oversight and Accountability Committee member Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) questions witnesses throughout the committee’s listening to about Twitter’s dealing with of a 2020 New York Publish story about Hunter Biden and his laptop computer, as she sits in entrance of the committee’s Chairman Consultant James Comer (R-KY), member Consultant Jim Jordan (R-OH) and member Consultant Paul Gosar (R-AZ), in Washington, U.S. February 8, 2023.”,”caption”:”U.S. Home Oversight and Accountability Committee member Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) questions witnesses throughout the committee’s listening to about Twitter’s dealing with of a 2020 New York Publish story about Hunter Biden and his laptop computer, as she sits in entrance of the committee’s Chairman Consultant James Comer (R-KY), member Consultant Jim Jordan (R-OH) and member Consultant Paul Gosar (R-AZ), in Washington, U.S. February 8, 2023. “,”credit score”:”{Photograph}: Evelyn 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}],”elementId”:”11786022-5387-4c21-9861-93a9146b86ca”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”abstract”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1675874202000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”11.36 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1675885371000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”14.42 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1675885372000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”14.42 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”14.42″,”title”:”Former Twitter executives testify in Congress on dealing with of Hunter Biden laptop computer reporting”,”contributors”:[{“name”:”Kari Paul”}] ,”primaryDateLine”:”Wed 8 Feb 2023 16.04 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First printed on Wed 8 Feb 2023 09.22 EST”},{“id”:”63e3f2598f08f78448b043b6″,”components”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Joe Biden is on a roll in Wisconsin this afternoon, touting the US economy and expanding on his theme at the state of the union address last night that, half way through his term, he wants to “finish the job.”

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Inflation is still high but most experts believe it’s peaked and the most recent jobs figures, the Democrats’ performance in last November’s midterm elections and the US president’s performance in his address last night were better than expected,

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“We are building an economy where no-one is left behind,” Biden said.

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He is pledging to “restore the dignity of work” the “pride and self esteem” that come with well-paid employment.

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Hello again, it’s been a lively day so far in US politics news as the ripples from Joe Biden’s state of the union address, and the Republicans’ response, continue across the reflecting pools of Washington and the sensibilities of the nation.

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The US president is due to make a fresh speech in Wisconsin at the top of the hour, where he will talk about the economy. We’ll have that for you live so stick with us.

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Here’s where things stand:

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n

• Right-wingFlorida Republican congressman Matt Gaetz has been appointed by House speaker Kevin McCarthy to a new select committee created since the GOP won a slim majority in the House, investigating the ‘weaponization’ of the government.

n

• White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden put the Republicans who heckled during his SOTU address last night “on the defense.”

n

• A new proposal by Missouri Republicans seeks to ban nearly all discussion of LGBTQ people, making it far more restrictive than Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law passed last year.

n

• A tense exchange between Republican congressman George Santos and Republican senator Mitt Romney was caught on video last night as Biden was due to deliver his address. The Utah senator thinks con artist Santos should be tossed out of congress.

n

• Joe Biden’s strong performance at the State of the Union address last night was a blow to critics on the right – and within his own party – and seemed a certain boost to the chances of him running for a second term in the White House in the 2024 election – with vice president Kamala Harris on the ticket, too.

n

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Florida Republican congressman Matt Gaetz has been appointed by House speaker Kevin McCarthy to a select committee investigating the ‘weaponization’ of the government, NBC reports.

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Gaetz, who was one of the far-right Republicans that opposed McCarthy’s nomination as House speaker, replaced Texas Republican Chip Roy, according to the outlet.

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Roy said that he spoke with McCarthy last night after Biden’s State of the Union address.

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“We had a conversation. I thought it made sense for me to balance my life and to do what I need to do,” Roy said, NBC reports.

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“I would like to be on it but I’ve got just way too much going on… I decided it would be better for everybody and for the cause to free that up,” he said.

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Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Gaetz told NBC that he “is honored to serve on the Weaponization Subcommittee and will be working very hard.”

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Joe Biden’s strong performance at the State of the Union address last night was a blow to critics on the right – and within his own party – and seemed a certain boost to the chances of him running for a second term in the White House in the 2024 election.

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And amid questions over his age as the oldest US president in history, at 80, vice president Kamala Harris praised him as bold and vibrant in an interview this morning, while he boosted her in a celebratory tweet.

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The whole show appeared to amplify the steady drumbeat that Biden will run again – and put Harris on the ticket with him as he did in 2020.

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The president presented his administration’s achievements at last night’s speech including record job growth. He also called on Republicans to help him “finish the job” of ensuring economic recovery and healing sociopolitical divides across the country.

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“To my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress, there is no reason we can’t work together in this new Congress,” said Biden, adding, “Pride is coming back because of the choices we made in the last two years.”

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Biden also addressed other major issues including US-China relations, threats to social security and Medicare, police violence, gun control, reproductive rights, and political violence.

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Notable guests at the address included Tyre Nichols’ family, Monterey Park shooting hero Brandon Tsay, U2 singer Bono, Paul Pelosi and Ukraine’s ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova.

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Harris praised Biden, saying that he “did a great job.”

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}],”elementId”:”5f63fdfa-2e64-4b19-80aa-b1c82978adc9″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”abstract”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1675866938000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”09.35 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1675870318000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”10.31 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1675867720000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”09.48 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”09.48″,”title”:”Robust State of Union speech alerts larger probability of Biden 2024 rerun”,”contributors”:[] ,”primaryDateLine”:”Wed 8 Feb 2023 16.04 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First printed on Wed 8 Feb 2023 09.22 EST”},{“id”:”63e3a7228f08f78448b03ff1″,”components”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Good morning, US politics readers. We are coming off the back of Joe Biden’s State of the Union address last night where he presented his administration’s achievements since taking office in 2021 and condemned Republicans seeking to cut social security and Medicare – to which a few responded with boos and heckling.

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During what some saw as a “soft launch for his 2024 campaign,” Biden also addressed the US being in the “strongest position in decades” to challenge China, called for the need of meaningful policing as Tyre Nichols’ family watched on from the audience, and condemned rightwing threats to democracy.

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In response to Biden’s address, Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivered her own speech, calling the president “crazy” and “unfit to serve.” The former president Donald Trump’s White House press secretary also condemned his Democratic supporters, calling them the “woke mob” and “radical left”.

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As we bring you the latest on today’s US politics, here’s what we can expect today:

“,”elementId”:”621026d5-e3c1-4809-a7bb-08bb9b1377c9″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

n

• Biden will deliver remarks on the economy later this afternoon in Madison, Wisconsin.

n

• Vice-president Kamala Harris will travel to Atlanta, Georgia to participate in a conversation on climate change.

n

• Three former Twitter executives will testify at the House oversight committee over the social media platform’s handling of the Hunter Biden laptop story.

n

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Key occasions

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Closing abstract

It’s now 4pm in DC. Listed here are the important thing occasions that occurred throughout the nation at the moment:

• A high White Home cybersecurity adviser is about to retire subsequent week, in keeping with stories. On Wednesday, CNN reported that Chris Inglis is anticipated to depart the White Home on February 15. Inglis is presently the Nationwide Cyber Director. Inglis, who has over forty years of nationwide safety expertise, presently heads an workplace which was created in 2021 by Congress to advise the president on cybersecurity issues and to trace how federal companies handle their cybersecurity.

• The accused Libyan man behind the lethal 1988 Lockerbie bombing which killed 190 People has pleaded not responsible to 3 federal felony fees in Washington DC. On Wednesday, 71-year outdated Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud pleaded not responsible to 2 fees of an plane leading to loss of life and one cost of destruction of a car utilized in international commerce, leading to loss of life. If discovered responsible, Mas’ud faces life imprisonment.

• Former senior workers at Twitter started testimony on Wednesday earlier than the Home oversight committee in regards to the social media platform’s dealing with of reporting on Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden. The listening to has set the stage for the agenda of a newly Republican-controlled Home, underscoring its intention to dwelling in on longstanding and unsubstantiated allegations that huge tech platforms have an anti-conservative bias.

• Joe Biden is drew pantomime-type laughs and boos from the gang in DeForest, Wisconsin as he chuckles about sparring with “my Republican buddies” throughout their heckling when he delivered the state of the union tackle final night time. He spoke on the economic system, already touting the low unemployment fee of three.4%. Biden additionally talked in regards to the bipartisan Inflation Discount Act, handed final yr, and the way funds from that going into infrastructure are going to refurbish crumbling bridges and different buildings in Wisconsin and throughout the nation, boosting jobs and center class incomes.

• Florida Republican congressman Matt Gaetz has been appointed by Home speaker Kevin McCarthy to a choose committee investigating the ‘weaponization’ of the federal government, NBC reports.Gaetz, who was one of many far-right Republicans that opposed McCarthy’s nomination as Home speaker, changed Texas Republican Chip Roy, in keeping with the outlet.

• Throughout a press convention on Wednesday, White Home press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned that Biden put the Republicans who heckled throughout his SOTU tackle final night time “on the protection.” “He referred to as members out on stay tv in entrance of tens of millions of People and successfully put them on the protection… That’s what the president did is put them on the protection.”

• A brand new proposal in Missouri seeks to ban almost all dialogue of LGBTQ individuals, making it much more restrictive than Florida’s “Don’t Say Homosexual” regulation handed final yr. Republican state senator Mike Moon’s invoice would solely enable licensed psychological healthcare suppliers to speak to college students about LGBTQ points and gender id in Ok-12 public faculties, and provided that guardians grant permission first.

• A tense trade between Republican congressman George Santos and Republican senator Mitt Romney was caught on video final night time as Biden was as a consequence of ship his tackle. “You must be embarrassed,” Romney advised Santos, who is anticipated to face an investigation by the Home Ethics Committee following revelations that the freshman congressman falsified giant parts of his biography.

• Joe Biden’s robust efficiency on the State of the Union tackle final night time was a blow to critics on the suitable – and inside his personal social gathering – and appeared a sure enhance to the probabilities of him operating for a second time period within the White Home within the 2024 election. And amid questions over his age because the oldest US president in historical past, at 80, vp Kamala Harris praised him as daring and vibrant in an interview this morning, whereas he boosted her in a celebratory tweet.

That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as we wrap up the weblog for at the moment. We might be again tomorrow with the most recent developments in US politics. Thanks.

The US Navy has launched dramatic images of the suspected Chinese language spy balloon that was shot down on Saturday.

In a Fb put up, the US Fleet Forces Command wrote:

“Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 get well a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Seashore, South Carolina, Feb. 5, 2023.

EODGRU 2 is a vital a part of the Navy Expeditionary Fight Power that clears explosive hazards to offer entry to denied areas; secures the undersea area for freedom of motion; builds and fosters relationships with trusted companions, and protects the homeland.

On the path of the President of the US and with the total help of the Authorities of Canada, U.S. fighter plane below U.S. Northern Command authority engaged and introduced down a excessive altitude surveillance balloon inside sovereign U.S. airspace and over U.S. territorial waters Feb. 4, 2023.

Lively obligation, Reserve, Nationwide Guard, and civilian personnel deliberate and executed the operation, and companions from the U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Aviation Administration, and Federal Bureau of Investigation ensured public security all through the operation and restoration efforts.”

A high White Home cybersecurity adviser is about to retire subsequent week, in keeping with stories.

On Wednesday, CNN reported that Chris Inglis is anticipated to depart the White Home on February 15. Inglis is presently the Nationwide Cyber Director.

Sworn into workplace in July 2021, Inglis, who has over forty years of nationwide safety expertise, presently heads an workplace which was created in 2021 by Congress to advise the president on cybersecurity issues and to trace how federal companies handle their cybersecurity.

In an announcement to CNN, Inglis mentioned that the workplace is “is viable and beneficial – in its capabilities, its individuals, and its affect on points that matter: defending our Nation’s vital infrastructure, strengthening and safeguarding our know-how provide chain, increasing pathways to good-paying cyber jobs, and so many extra.”

Accused 1998 Lockerbie bombing man pleads not responsible to 3 federal fees

The accused Libyan man behind the lethal 1988 Lockerbie bombing which killed 190 People has pleaded not responsible to 3 federal felony fees in Washington DC.

On Wednesday, 71-year outdated Abu Agila Mohammad Mas’ud pleaded not responsible to 2 fees of an plane leading to loss of life and one cost of destruction of a car utilized in international commerce, leading to loss of life.

If discovered responsible, Mas’ud, who’s believed by US prosecutors to have constructed the bomb, faces life imprisonment.

The bombing, which occurred on Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988 above Lockerbie, Scotland, killed 259 individuals aboard the Boeing 747 and one other 11 individuals on the bottom. The flight was touring from London to New York. It’s thought-about one of many deadliest terror assaults in American historical past.

Final month, Scotland and US authorities introduced that Mas’ud was in American custody.

A detention listening to has been set for later this month.

Former Twitter executives testify in Congress on dealing with of Hunter Biden laptop computer reporting

Kari Paul

Former senior workers at Twitter started testimony on Wednesday earlier than the Home oversight committee in regards to the social media platform’s dealing with of reporting on Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden.

The listening to has set the stage for the agenda of a newly Republican-controlled Home, underscoring its intention to dwelling in on longstanding and unsubstantiated allegations that huge tech platforms have an anti-conservative bias.

Just lately departed Twitter staff talking embody Vijaya Gadde, the social community’s former chief authorized officer, former deputy normal counsel James Baker, former head of security and integrity Yoel Roth and former security chief Anika Collier Navaroli.

The listening to facilities on a query that has lengthy dogged Republicans – why Twitter determined to quickly limit the sharing of a narrative about Hunter Biden within the New York Publish, launched in October 2020.

The Publish mentioned it acquired a duplicate of a laptop computer onerous drive from Donald Trump’s then-personal legal professional, Rudy Giuliani, that Hunter Biden had dropped off 18 months earlier at a Delaware pc restore store and by no means retrieved. Twitter initially blocked individuals from sharing hyperlinks to the article for a number of days, citing considerations over misinformation and spreading a report primarily based on probably hacked supplies.

“People deserve solutions about this assault on the primary modification and why huge tech and the swamp colluded to censor this details about the Biden household promoting entry for revenue,” said the Republican committee chairman James Comer forward of the listening to, referring to Trump’s characterization of the Democratic political institution as a swamp. “Accountability is coming,” he added.

In opening statements on Wednesday, the previous Twitter staffers described the method by which the story was blocked, stating that it triggered Twitter’s guidelines in opposition to sharing hacked supplies.

The article hadbeen greeted with skepticism as a consequence of questions in regards to the laptop computer’s origins, and Twitter coveragerestricted the sharing of unlawfully accessed supplies. Whereas the corporate explicitly allowed “reporting on a hack, or sharing press protection of hacking”, it blocked tales that shared “private and personal info – like e mail addresses and telephone numbers” – which the Publish story appeared to incorporate. The platform amended these guidelines following the Biden controversy.

Roth, the previous head of security and integrity, mentioned Twitter had acknowledged that censoring the story was a mistake.

“Defending free expression and sustaining the well being of the platform required troublesome judgment calls,” he mentioned. “There isn’t a straightforward solution to run a worldwide communications platform that satisfies enterprise and income objectives, particular person buyer expectations, native legal guidelines and cultural norms and get it proper each time.”

Full story right here:

Joanna Walters

Joe Biden is drawing pantomime-type laughs and boos from the gang in Wisconsin as he chuckles about sparring with “my Republican buddies” throughout their heckling when he delivered the state of the union tackle final night time.

The US president is referring to the uproar that ensued amongst Republicans within the Home final night time when, as he mentioned, “they certain didn’t like me calling them on it” when he referred to some Republican members who need to minimize the long-standing advantages applications Social Safety and Medicare, the favored retirement and medical insurance applications for seniors.

There isn’t a doubt that Biden is feeling assured. The occasion simply ended and he stepped gingerly off the platform on the gathering in DeForest. He noticeably walks like a comparatively match 80-year-old – reasonably slowly – however has had fireplace in his speech final night time and this afternoon.

Such are the indicators that he’s making ready to announce that he’ll run for president once more in 2024, certainly with vp Kamala Harris on the ticket as soon as once more?

He’s now mingling with employees on the occasion, smiling, chuckling, taking selfies with them.

‘We’re constructing an economic system the place no-one is left behind’ – Biden

Joe Biden is on a roll in Wisconsin this afternoon, touting the US economic system and increasing on his theme on the state of the union tackle final night time that, half means by his time period, he desires to “end the job.”

Inflation remains to be excessive however most specialists imagine it’s peaked and the newest jobs figures, the Democrats’ efficiency in final November’s midterm elections and the US president’s efficiency in his tackle final night time had been higher than anticipated,

“We’re constructing an economic system the place no-one is left behind,” Biden mentioned.

He’s pledging to “restore the dignity of labor” the “satisfaction and self worth” that include well-paid employment.

Joe Biden is talking now in DeForest, Wisconsin, on the outskirts of the state capital Madison.

The US president is on a excessive after a powerful efficiency on the state of the union tackle final night time.

He’s talking on the economic system, already touting the low unemployment fee of three.4%.

He’s additionally speaking in regards to the bipartisan Inflation Discount Act, handed final yr, and the way funds from that going into infrastructure are going to refurbish crumbling bridges and different buildings in Wisconsin and throughout the nation, boosting jobs and center class incomes.

Interim abstract

Whats up once more, it’s been a full of life day up to now in US politics information because the ripples from Joe Biden’s state of the union tackle, and the Republicans’ response, proceed throughout the reflecting swimming pools of Washington and the sensibilities of the nation.

The US president is because of make a contemporary speech in Wisconsin on the high of the hour, the place he’ll discuss in regards to the economic system. We’ll have that for you reside so keep on with us.

Right here’s the place issues stand:

• Proper-wingFlorida Republican congressman Matt Gaetz has been appointed by Home speaker Kevin McCarthy to a brand new choose committee created for the reason that GOP received a slim majority within the Home, investigating the ‘weaponization’ of the federal government.

• White Home press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned that Biden put the Republicans who heckled throughout his SOTU tackle final night time “on the protection.”

• A brand new proposal by Missouri Republicans seeks to ban almost all dialogue of LGBTQ individuals, making it much more restrictive than Florida’s “Don’t Say Homosexual” regulation handed final yr.

• A tense trade between Republican congressman George Santos and Republican senator Mitt Romney was caught on video final night time as Biden was as a consequence of ship his tackle. The Utah senator thinks con artist Santos must be tossed out of congress.

• Joe Biden’s robust efficiency on the State of the Union tackle final night time was a blow to critics on the suitable – and inside his personal social gathering – and appeared a sure enhance to the probabilities of him operating for a second time period within the White Home within the 2024 election – with vp Kamala Harris on the ticket, too.

Republican Matt Gaetz appointed to committee investigating authorities ‘weaponization’

Florida Republican congressman Matt Gaetz has been appointed by Home speaker Kevin McCarthy to a choose committee investigating the ‘weaponization’ of the federal government, NBC reports.

Gaetz, who was one of many far-right Republicans that opposed McCarthy’s nomination as Home speaker, changed Texas Republican Chip Roy, in keeping with the outlet.

Roy mentioned that he spoke with McCarthy final night time after Biden’s State of the Union tackle.

“We had a dialog. I believed it made sense for me to steadiness my life and to do what I must do,” Roy said, NBC stories.

“I wish to be on it however I’ve received simply means an excessive amount of happening… I made a decision it could be higher for everyone and for the trigger to free that up,” he mentioned.

In the meantime, a spokesperson for Gaetz advised NBC that he “is honored to serve on the Weaponization Subcommittee and might be working very onerous.”

Throughout a press convention on Wednesday, White Home press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned that Biden put the Republicans who heckled throughout his SOTU tackle final night time “on the protection.”

“He referred to as members out on stay tv in entrance of tens of millions of People and successfully put them on the protection… That’s what the president did is put them on the protection,” Jean-Pierre mentioned, referring to a number of Republicans who jeered at Biden’s assertions that Republicans need to slash social safety and Medicare prices.

“They maintain saying they need to minimize Medicare and social safety. They need to put it on the chopping block. And so he’s going to defend it with them on the protection once more,” she mentioned.

In response to criticisms from public well being advocates who felt that Biden didn’t totally tackle the opioid disaster and risk of fentanyl in his tackle, Jean-Pierre mentioned:

“You heard final night time a strong name to motion…for members of each events to step up, come collectively and struggle the movement of fentanyl…which is one thing that you just’ve seen from this president…

He understands we now have homework to do…however this can’t be a political challenge. It’s a matter actually, actually, as we’re seeing in communities, a matter of life or loss of life. So that features further actions to go after traffickers, more durable penalties, increasing entry to life-saving therapies…

However what we noticed from Republicans was jeers and casting blame and Republicans…ought to come collectively to search out options to can to deal with the identical actual points the president desires to deal with.”

A brand new proposal in Missouri seeks to ban almost all dialogue of LGBTQ individuals, making it much more restrictive than Florida’s “Don’t Say Homosexual” regulation handed final yr.

Republican state senator Mike Moon’s invoice would solely enable licensed psychological healthcare suppliers to speak to college students about LGBTQ points and gender id in Ok-12 public faculties, and provided that guardians grant permission first.

“That is defending susceptible youngsters and making an attempt to guard them from conversations that should be had with the approval of the mum or dad and probably at dwelling,” Moon advised a Senate schooling committee, the Related Press reports.

In the meantime, North Carolina senators on Tuesday passed their very own limits on LGBTQ schooling in faculties. Underneath the brand new invoice, public college academics could be required in most circumstances to inform mother and father earlier than they tackle a pupil by a unique title or pronoun.

Georgia Republican consultant Marjorie Taylor Greene who heckled at Biden final night time pushed again in opposition to claims that far-right Republicans took the obvious bait from Biden whose requires political unity was met with boos.

“I didn’t take any bait… As a matter of reality, I received so many messages from individuals in my district and folks throughout the nation, it was like I received my election once more. You realize what, individuals are pissed off,” she advised CNN this morning.

Throughout Biden’s SOTU tackle final night time, Greene booed Biden and referred to as him a “liar” following his assertion that some Republicans have proposed to chop social safety and Medicare.

“I didn't take any bait,” MTG advised me of heckling and calling Biden a liar throughout SOTU. “As a matter of reality, I received so many messages from individuals in my district and folks throughout the nation, it was like I received my election once more. You realize what, individuals are pissed off” pic.twitter.com/orCq4kkmag

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 8, 2023

n”,”url”:”https://twitter.com/mkraju/standing/1623344119274692610?s=20&t=4LihZdn4ZkFWSCKut_SXjA”,”id”:”1623344119274692610″,”hasMedia”:false,”function”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”supply”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”3f89f364-d486-4567-8bbf-5aa38d91fc92″}}”>

“I did not take any bait,” MTG advised me of heckling and calling Biden a liar throughout SOTU. “As a matter of reality, I received so many messages from individuals in my district and folks throughout the nation, it was like I received my election once more. You realize what, individuals are pissed off” pic.twitter.com/orCq4kkmag

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 8, 2023

Throughout her interview with GMA on Wednesday morning, vp Kamala Harris defended Biden’s actions in direction of China’s high-altitude balloon, which has been criticized by quite a few Republicans.

“We invite competitors with China, however we don’t search battle. We don’t search confrontation. What the president did…it’s in keeping with our perspective and our dedication, which is we’re ready to compete, however on the identical time, if there’s any violation of our sovereignty, we’re going to behave. And that’s what the president did,” she mentioned.

Republicans have fired on the Biden administration over its wait to shoot down the Chinese language balloon, arguing that the delay jeopardized US safety and will have probably endangered Americans.

In response to a query in regards to the prospect of bipartisanship amid tense relations with the GOP, Harris mentioned, “The president, it’s his nature and it’s his dedication to the American individuals to work throughout the aisle. That’s not going to cease even when some individuals are cynical about it.”

Following Biden’s SOTU tackle final night time the place he referred to as for common preschool and instructor raises, the president tweeted on Wednesday, “Let’s give public college academics a increase.”

Let’s give public college academics a increase.

— President Biden (@POTUS) February 8, 2023

n”,”url”:”https://twitter.com/POTUS/standing/1623260348949180422?s=20&t=yHBoQQQfK2s0AHhUlDHXEw”,”id”:”1623260348949180422″,”hasMedia”:false,”function”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”supply”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”edbeea2e-7b9f-48c5-94b6-3ea38c136f2f”}}”>

Let’s give public college academics a increase.

— President Biden (@POTUS) February 8, 2023

Throughout his tackle final night time, Biden mentioned:

“Restoring the dignity of labor additionally means making schooling an inexpensive ticket to the center class.

After we made 12 years of public schooling common within the final century, it made us the best-educated, best-prepared nation on the earth.

However the world has caught up.”

The nation is presently going through a instructor scarcity because of low wages, excessive stress and an more and more divided instructional tradition battle following conservative pushback in opposition to subjects comparable to American historical past, racism, gender and sexuality, amongst others.

A tense trade between Republican congressman George Santos and Republican senator Mitt Romney was caught on video final night time as Biden was as a consequence of ship his tackle.

“You must be embarrassed,” Romney advised Santos, who is anticipated to face an investigation by the Home Ethics Committee following revelations that the freshman congressman falsified giant parts of his biography.

'You must be embarrassed': Mitt Romney exchanges heated phrases with George Santos – video https://t.co/kizX9eFh3y

— The Guardian (@guardian) February 8, 2023

n”,”url”:”https://twitter.com/guardian/standing/1623286875732512770?s=20&t=4bQ4zI3ngR7ZzH-qRFRfIg”,”id”:”1623286875732512770″,”hasMedia”:false,”function”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”supply”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”56b5c19a-8981-4f33-8dde-9b3f2dc71439″}}”>

Romney later advised reporters that Santos “shouldn’t have been there…”

“Given the truth that he’s below ethics investigation, he must be sitting within the again row and being quiet as an alternative of parading in entrance of the president,” he mentioned.

Requested Mitt Romney if he’s disenchanted that Speaker McCarthy hasn’t referred to as on George Santos to resign.

“Sure,” he mentioned.

Santos “must be sitting within the again row and staying quiet as an alternative of parading in entrance of the President and folks coming into the room,” Romney mentioned. pic.twitter.com/obpaYD8v1x

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 8, 2023

n”,”url”:”https://twitter.com/mkraju/standing/1623173236002357249?s=20&t=4bQ4zI3ngR7ZzH-qRFRfIg”,”id”:”1623173236002357249″,”hasMedia”:false,”function”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”supply”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”a7319852-430d-4e62-bc22-078e05512f7c”}}”>

Requested Mitt Romney if he’s disenchanted that Speaker McCarthy hasn’t referred to as on George Santos to resign.

“Sure,” he mentioned.

Santos “must be sitting within the again row and staying quiet as an alternative of parading in entrance of the President and folks coming into the room,” Romney mentioned. pic.twitter.com/obpaYD8v1x

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 8, 2023

Robust State of Union speech alerts larger probability of Biden 2024 rerun

Joe Biden’s robust efficiency on the State of the Union tackle final night time was a blow to critics on the suitable – and inside his personal social gathering – and appeared a sure enhance to the probabilities of him operating for a second time period within the White Home within the 2024 election.

And amid questions over his age because the oldest US president in historical past, at 80, vp Kamala Harris praised him as daring and vibrant in an interview this morning, whereas he boosted her in a celebratory tweet.

The entire present appeared to amplify the regular drumbeat that Biden will run once more – and put Harris on the ticket with him as he did in 2020.

The president offered his administration’s achievements ultimately night time’s speech together with document job development. He additionally referred to as on Republicans to assist him “end the job” of guaranteeing financial restoration and therapeutic sociopolitical divides throughout the nation.

“To my Republican buddies, if we may work collectively within the final Congress, there isn’t a motive we will’t work collectively on this new Congress,” mentioned Biden, including, “Pleasure is coming again due to the alternatives we made within the final two years.”

Biden additionally addressed different main points together with US-China relations, threats to social safety and Medicare, police violence, gun management, reproductive rights, and political violence.

Notable company on the tackle included Tyre Nichols’ household, Monterey Park capturing hero Brandon Tsay, U2 singer Bono, Paul Pelosi and Ukraine’s ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova.

Harris praised Biden, saying that he “did an ideal job.”

Biden’s robust State of the Union efficiency boosts probabilities of re-run for White Home in 2024

Good morning, US politics readers. We’re coming off the again of Joe Biden’s State of the Union tackle final night time the place he offered his administration’s achievements since taking workplace in 2021 and condemned Republicans in search of to chop social safety and Medicare – to which a number of responded with boos and heckling.

Throughout what some noticed as a “smooth launch for his 2024 marketing campaign,” Biden additionally addressed the US being within the “strongest place in many years” to problem China, referred to as for the necessity of significant policing as Tyre Nichols’ household watched on from the viewers, and condemned rightwing threats to democracy.

In response to Biden’s tackle, Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivered her personal speech, calling the president “loopy” and “unfit to serve.” The previous president Donald Trump’s White Home press secretary additionally condemned his Democratic supporters, calling them the “woke mob” and “radical left”.

As we deliver you the most recent on at the moment’s US politics, right here’s what we will count on at the moment:

• Biden will ship remarks on the economic system later this afternoon in Madison, Wisconsin.

• Vice-president Kamala Harris will journey to Atlanta, Georgia to take part in a dialog on local weather change.

• Three former Twitter executives will testify on the Home oversight committee over the social media platform’s dealing with of the Hunter Biden laptop computer story.