List of All Articles with Tag 'eric'

Five teenagers were arrested in connection with the beating of three US Marines by a crowd of young people they had asked to stop lighting fireworks. The violent incident, which was captured on video, took place at Southern California‘s San Clemente Pier over Memorial Day weekend. The suspects, four of whom are boys and one girl, face felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The city also says that four other local students were identified and have been citied with misdemeanour assault charges. First responders gave medical aid to two Marines, who refused to go to the hospital, and investigators later found a third Marine who had also been attacked. The video seemingly shows that the incident started when a teenage male punched a man in the back of the head. The man then charged the teenager before being surrounded by a group of people who hit him until the fight was broken up by a man and woman. One of the Marines, Hunter Antonino, told KCAL that he and his two friends were at the pier when 30 teenagers arrived and began to set off fireworks He said that when he was hit in the face by debris he asked the group to leave. “They were lighting off fireworks, they were being belligerent, they were being obnoxious and annoying other people, so I went up to them and told them to stop,” he said. San Clemente mayor Chris Duncan told The Los Angeles Times that the incident was unacceptable. “The barbaric assault on off-duty Marines at the San Clemente Pier goes against everything we stand for in San Clemente, and it’s no excuse that teenagers were involved,” he said. “I want to assure our community, especially our military and veteran community, that we take this matter with the utmost seriousness and will not tolerate this kind of behavior in our city. The fact that this incident occurred over Memorial Day weekend is particularly tragic.” Read More Video shows mob attack US marines who asked them to stop lighting fireworks Highly decorated Marine officer nominated to be next commandant Critics say Biden is lying about how his son Beau died in Iraq – they are ignoring the full story

Weeks before the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade last year, Oklahoma’s Republican governor vowed to “outlaw” abortion in the state entirely, and pledged to sign any legislation that promised to do just that. Governor Kevin Stitt signed several anti-abortion bills into law, including a measure that outlaws abortion at roughly six weeks of pregnancy, and another banning all abortions with exceptions only to save the patient’s life in a medical emergency or if the pregnancy is the result of rape, sexual assault or incest that has been reported to law enforcement. On 31 May, the highest court in the state struck down both of them. But abortion access remains out of reach for most patients in the state, after that same court upheld a far-reaching abortion ban from more than 100 years ago earlier this year. A state law from 1910 makes it a felony punishable up to five years in prison for anyone to perform or help someone seek an abortion unless to save the patient’s life. “This ruling, while providing clarity in emergency situations, does not change the landscape of care significantly,” Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said in a statement. Oklahoma was the first state in the US to successfully outlaw abortion despite a constitutional right to abortion care that was affirmed by Roe v Wade. But in March, the state’s Supreme Court ruled that the state’s constitution “creates an inherent right of a pregnant woman to terminate a pregnancy when necessary to preserve her life,” though the court declined to weigh in on whether the constitution protects abortion access in other circumstances. The court also ruled that doctors should be able to use their own medical judgment to determine whether to provide an abortion when a patient’s life is at risk “due to the pregnancy itself or due to a medical condition that the woman is either currently suffering from or likely to suffer from during the pregnancy.” But it also preserved the 1910 law, a 113-year-old ban on abortion care that threatens providers with prison. The court’s decision on 31 May reaffirmed its decision recognising a right to abortion care in life-threatening cases, and struck down two the overlapping bans. In the months after the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which struck down a constitutional right to abortion care, clinics in Oklahoma have been forced to close, and patients have traveled thousands of miles for legal abortion care in a region surrounded by states where abortion is severely restricted or effectively outlawed. Even in cases of emergencies, there appears to be no hospital in Oklahoma that provides “clear, consistent policies for emergency obstetric care to pregnant patients,” according to an April report from Physicians for Human Rights, Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice and the Center for Reproductive Rights. Oklahoma hospitals “offered opaque, contradictory, and incorrect information about abortion availability and approval processes in obstetric emergencies, as well as little reassurance that clinicians’ medical judgment and pregnant patients’ needs would be prioritized,” according to the report. Only two out of 24 hospitals described providing legal support for providers in such situations, and representatives for three hospitals claimed their facilities do not provide abortions at all, the report found. Abortion rights advocates welcomed the court’s decision on 31 May, which abortion rights advocates said will at least allow doctors to clearly rely on their own medical judgment to provide care when a patient’s life is in jeopardy. “After months of uncertainty and chaos, Oklahomans should finally be able to access the life-saving care they need in their home state,” according to Dr Alan Braid, an abortion provider and plaintiff in the case challenging the overlapping abortion bans. “Heartbreakingly, we were forced to close our Tulsa clinic due to Oklahoma’s abortion bans, but I will continue to serve patients in the region at clinics in Illinois and New Mexico,” he added. “While we are relieved the court upheld the right to abortion in medical emergencies, this does not diminish the fact that care remains out of reach for the majority of Oklahomans,” according to Ms Wales. Following the state Supreme Court decision on 31 May, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond clarified that “except for certain circumstances outlined in that statute, abortion is still unlawful in the state of Oklahoma” because of the 1910 law. Governor Stitt accused the court of using “activism to create a right to an abortion in Oklahoma.” “This court has once more over-involved itself in the state’s democratic process, and has interceded to undo legislation created by the will of the people,” he said in a statement. Within the last year, more than a dozen states – including most of the entire US South – have outlawed abortion care for most pregnancies. Read More ACLU sues Nebraska over combined law targeting abortion and gender-affirming care: ‘Egregious overreach’ South Carolina judge halts six-week abortion ban as state Supreme Court set to review new law Doctor who provided abortion care to 10-year-old rape survivor reprimanded in case that drew national scrutiny Anti-abortion laws harm patients facing dangerous and life-threatening complications, report finds

Donald Trump’s lawyers plan to request the judge presiding over a criminal trial into alleged hush money payments to Stormy Daniels be removed due to his campaign donations and family’s ties to the Democrat Party, according to a report. It’s the latest in a series of legal manoeuvres by the former president to move the Manhattan criminal trial slated to begin next March away from New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan. Mr Trump has pleaded not guilty to the 34 counts of falsifying business records related to alleged payments to conceal negative stories about him prior to the 2016 presidential election. Mr Trump attorneys Susan Necheles and Todd Blanche noted in a statement to the New York Times that Justice Merchan’s daughter was the chief operating officer of Democratic consulting firm Authentic Campaigns. They also claimed that the judge had donated $15 to Joe Biden’s Act Blue online fundraising platform during the 2020 presidential campaign, and $10 to two other pro-Democrat groups. The lawyers also took issue with Justice Merchan’s oversight of a tax fraud trial which saw the Trump Organization found guilty and fined $1.6m in January. They claimed that Justice Merchan had encouraged former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg to turn against his longtime boss. “President Trump, like all Americans, is entitled under the Constitution to an impartial judge and legal process,” lawyers Susan Necheles and Todd Blanche, said in a statement to the Times. The attorneys have not yet filed a formal motion for recusal. Mr Blanche did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Independent. Mr Trump’s lawyers recently filed to have the criminal case shifted to federal court, which Manhattan District Attorney Melvin Bragg has opposed. Under New York laws, judges must recuse themselves if they or a relative has “an interest that would be substantially affected by the proceeding”. In April, Mr Trump became the first sitting or former president in US history to be criminally indicted. He is alleged to have directed his fixer Michael Cohen to pay Ms Daniels to suppress a planned story about an affair in 2006. Ms Daniels claimed she and Mr Trump had sex, and that she later accepted $130,000 in the days before the 2016 election. Mr Cohen also allegedly had the National Review pay for a story about an affair Mr Trump had with former Playboy model Karen McDougal, only to never publish her account. In 2018, Mr Cohen pleaded guilty to tax evasion and campaign finance violations for his role in the hush money payments and was sentenced to three years in federal prison. Mr Trump’s trial is due to begin during the 2024 presidential campaign. Read More Trump news - live: Trump caught on tape revealing he kept classified papers after presidency, report says Trump caught on tape discussing classified documents he kept after leaving White House, reports say Prosecutors have recording of Trump speaking to witness in hush money criminal case Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

WASHINGTON American Airlines Group will appeal a U.S. court decision requiring it to end an alliance with JetBlue

Anti-LGBT+ laws put in place by Florida Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis have triggered a “mass migration” out of the state, a Pride organiser has said. This comes as several transgender people are reportedly taking to GoFundMe to solicit donations to move out of the state. Several Pride groups in the Sunshine State have cancelled their celebrations that were set to take place during the month of June after the new laws have left the community worried about possible blowback. The President and CEO of Lake County Pride Danielle Olivani said on The Daily Beast’s The New Abnormal podcast that their events are going ahead. “It’s not exactly being welcomed by the community where we’re having it. In fact, yesterday I just got a cease-and-desist from them, telling me not to mention them at all. They don’t want this to take place, but we’re gonna persevere,” they said. “We’re gonna have this Pride, because we’re fully within our rights to do so. And you know, we’re just gonna deal with things as they go. But right now, it’s a mixture of apprehension, fear. Yet, I’m hopeful at the same time.” Speaking about what it’s like to be a part of the LGBT+ community in rural Florida, they said, “there’s no tolerance here”. They added that the new restrictions have especially affected younger members of the community. Olivani said that the legislation signed by Mr DeSantis has led to a “mass migration” out of Florida. “It’s too much,” Olivani said. The number of trans people asking for donations on GoFundMe to leave Florida could be in the dozens or hundreds, according to The Advocate. GoFundMe spokesperson Brian Hill said in a statement that “in the wake of more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills being introduced in state legislatures across the United States in 2023, families and trans individuals are looking to leave their respective state as they could face more obstacles when it comes to accessing essential services related to healthcare as well as education”. Floridian Sage Chelf is trying to finance their move to Illinois on the platform. Chelf, a trans woman living in Orlando, wrote on their fundraising page that “due to the new bill Desantis signed into law SB 254 I can no longer be provided medication from my doctor to continue my transition”. “At this point, I only have a week’s worth left of my medication. On top of that, the new bathroom ban bill HB 1521 could get me arrested for using a public restroom of the gender I identify with,” they added. “Due to fear for my own safety and human rights, I have decided to try and escape Florida as soon as I possibly can. I’m trying to move to Illinois to be with the love of my life and also to settle down in a state I consider to be an LGBTQ+ safe haven.” “I just wanna live in a place where I don’t live in fear. Thank you all so much any help is highly appreciated. I’ve never done this before so figured I’d set the goal at like $2,500,” they said. Trans woman Juliet, 20, wrote on GoFundMe that “Florida grows increasingly hostile toward trans folk and laws are expanding to prevent people like me from receiving life-saving gender-affirming health care, such as ones seen in FL SB 254. I’m asking for you to help me flee this state”. Violet Rin, a trans woman hoping to move to New Mexico, wrote that “Florida continues to get worse”. “SB254 along with a slew of other Anti-trans bills have passed, and SB254 affects me directly. My care provider for my HRT had to drop me, and so many trans people in Florida are being dropped by their care providers,” Rin added. Earlier this month, Mr DeSantis signed a number of bills aimed at transgender people. The bills limit gender-affirming care for minors, ban people from using restrooms matching their gender identity, and block people from using their preferred pronouns in schools. Restrictions on drag shows were also imposed. “We are going to remain a refuge of sanity and a citadel of normalcy, and kids should have an upbringing that reflects that,” Mr DeSantis said when signing the bills at an evangelical school in Tampa. The bills were swiftly criticised by advocates for LGBT+ rights. Former Florida state representative Carlos Guillermo Smith became the first openly LGBT+ Latino to be elected to the state legislature. On Twitter, he said that the bills are “revoking our freedoms and ruining people’s lives in his quest for political power”. “We will NOT be erased,” he said. “We will RESIST. We will FIGHT BACK. We will proudly RAISE OUR FLAGS. We will WIN.” State Representative Anna V Eskamani said Mr DeSantis is pushing “an extreme agenda that is fueled by disinformation, isolating already marginalised people”. “In Florida, diversity is our strength – not a weakness or something to demonize and be afraid of,” she added. LGBT+ advocacy group Lambda Legal said in a statement that the bills revealed a “callous disregard for LGBTQ+ Floridians and, in particular, trans youth by facilitating homophobia and transphobia and exposing this most vulnerable population to discrimination, harassment, and abuse”. The bills include limitations on gender-affirming treatments for minors, such as puberty blockers and sex reassignment surgery, The Independent previously reported. Part of the legislation states that that kind of care is child abuse and may lead to children being temporarily removed from their families, despite that it’s supported by medical officials. Democratic Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones, who is gay, told CNN that “they have cloaked themselves in being the party of less government and parental rights, and what we’re seeing now is the total opposite”. “Every other parent has the right to raise their child the way that they want to as long as your child is not gay, trans, bisexual. That’s freedom for some parents but not for all parents,” he added. Read More Trump loyalist floats ‘gross’ theory that Casey DeSantis is ‘exaggerating’ cancer story Ron DeSantis news – live: Florida governor vows to ‘destroy leftism’ as Disney governing board appointee quits Ted Cruz faces bipartisan fire for criticising Uganda’s new anti-LGBT+ law Why did Donald Trump turn on Kayleigh McEnany? Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin sends 100 National Guard soldiers to US-Mexican border AP News Digest 3:20 am

Former Vice President Mike Pence is expected to announce his campaign for 2024 president next Wednesday, according to reports. Mr Pence, 63, will make the official announcement on 7 June just before his town hall with CNN in Des Moines, Iowa, a source told NBC News. For months, speculation has circulated that the former vice president was planning on joining the already-packed race for the White House. When Mr Pence announces, he will be joining his old boss, and the former president, Donald Trump along with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and other GOP candidates. According to sources, Mr Pence will be spending much of his campaign in Iowa before the caucuses, spending time in all 99 counties. The former vice president will likely have a lot of explaining to do to voters who tried to re-elect Mr Trump and Mr Pence in 2020. Not only did Mr Pence allow for the certification of 2020 election results on 6 January 2021 but he denounced Mr Trump’s actions, driving a rift between the two. Mr Pence served as vice president under Mr Trump from 2017 until 2021. He was also governor of Indiana from 2013 until 2017 as well as a representative for Indiana from 2001 until 2013. More follows Read More Who is running for president in 2024? DeSantis looks to connect with voters during 1st full day of campaigning in Iowa Trump's welcome of Scott into 2024 race shows his calculus: The more GOP rivals, the better for him

A dispute between two groups of people escalated into a shooting that injured nine innocent bystanders on the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk in Florida – and now authorities are searching for three possible suspects. The Hollywood Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have asked for the public’s help in identifying three people who are suspected of being involved in the Memorial Day mass shooting that left four children and five adults injured. On Monday (29 May) evening, the two groups engaged in gunfire on the busy boardwalk during the holiday weekend. Footage from the boardwalk showed frantic beachgoers running for their lives and seeking cover from the gunfire. Audio recordings revealed bystanders making panicked calls to 911. Children between the ages of one and 17, as well as adults ranging from 25 to 65, were injured in the melee. As of Tuesday evening, six people remained in stable condition in the hospital while three had been discharged. Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy called the shooting “completely unacceptable”, adding that the shooters were reckless with their firearms. After the shooting, authorities detained several people in connection to the shooting and recovered five handguns, two of which were reported stolen from the Miami area and Texas, after the shooting. Two people, Morgan Deslouches and Keshawn Stewart, were arrested for firearm-related charges. Neither person was suspected of being a shooter in the incident, according to police. Mr Deslouches, 18, was arrested and charged with grand theft of a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm and removing serial numbers from a firearm, according to the Associated Press. He is being held on $20,000 bail. Mr Stewart, 18, was charged with carrying a concealed firearm. He is being held on $15,000 bail. Hollywood Police are still searching for the three other suspects and have released images of the suspects via video surveillance. One of the suspects was last seen wearing a yellow hooded sweatshirt and black shorts. Another was last seen wearing a grey sweatshirt, black joggers and sandals. The other was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt and carrying a black backpack. As of now, police have not identified the three possible suspects. Police are asking anyone with information to contact the department at 954.764.4357 or email hollywoodpdtips@hollywoodfl.org. Information can also be provided to Broward Crime Stoppers at 954.493.8477 or BrowardCrimeStoppers.org. Read More A sunny Memorial Day at the beach upended by gunfire: What we know about the shooting in Hollywood, Florida Dramatic 911 calls capture chaos of mass shooting on Hollywood beach boardwalk in Florida FBI seeking photos, videos to identify suspects in Florida Memorial Day beach shooting

The White House on Wednesday strongly denied that the US government posed any threat to an ex-Senate staffer who has claimed President Joe Biden sexually assaulted her in a Senate office building hallway in the 1990s. The former staffer, Tara Reade, announced on Tuesday that she has moved to Russia, where she said during an interview with the state-owned Sputnik News website that she feels “surrounded by protection and safety” there. Asked about her claims in light of her announcement that she has moved to Russia and is seeking citizenship there, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby replied: “We'd be loath to comment on the on the musings of a potential Russian citizen.” Pressed further on whether the White House believes her allegations against Mr Biden could have been movtivated by an affinity for Russia, Mr Kirby said he “could not get inside her head and speak for her motivations and intentions”. But he did specifically address Ms Reade’s claim that she has moved to Russia because the US government was a risk to her life, calling those allegations “absolutely false” and “baseless”. “There’s nothing to that,” he added. Ms Reade, who worked for Mr Biden during a brief period in 1993, accused the then-former vice president of touching her inappropriately in 2019, when Mr Biden was contemplating entry into the 2020 presidential election. In mid-2020, when he was poised to secure the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, she claimed he’d sexually assaulted her in a heavily-trafficked hallway in the Russell Senate Office Building. Mr Biden has strenuously denied the allegations. The former Senate staffer’s credibility took a hit after news outlets began scrutinizing her background after she made the assault allegations against Mr Biden. A university she attended, Antioch University, disputed her claim to have earned a Bachelor’s degree while studying there, and former associates came forward to recount instances in which they’d felt she’d been dishonest or deceitful in her dealings with them. A well known attorney, Douglas Wigdor, terminated an attorney-client relationship with her in May 2020 after it was revealed that she had not earned a degree from Antioch as she’d claimed publicly. Read More Tara Reade, who accused Biden of sexual assault, says she has ‘defected’ to Russia at event with Kremlin spy

An agreement to raise the debt ceiling would expand the age bracket for eligibility for food assistance, adding a punitive and unnecessary barrier for poor Americans with only negligible savings for the federal government, advocacy groups have warned. Most Americans with low or no incomes who qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) must comply with certain work requirements to be eligible to receive funds to help pay for groceries. But under a deal struck between President Joe Biden and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, adults up to age 54 would be required to show proof of work. Republican lawmakers have pushed for years to expand those work requirements, but anti-poverty advocacy groups and progressives have argued that adding any such limitations to critical aid will only deepen hunger and poverty in the US, pointing to Congress’ own research showing that work requirements don’t appear to have any measurable effect on employment. “SNAP is a symptom of shortcomings in the economy,” Luis Guardia, president of the Food Research & Action Center, said in a statement. “Cutting off food for people unless they document sufficient hours of work does not improve their chances to secure family-sustaining wages, but does increase their food hardship.” In simple terms, a congressional vote to raise the debt ceiling would allow the US Department of Treasury to continue borrowing money to pay the country’s bills. But Republican lawmakers have leveraged the often routine though critical vote process to advance their agenda, as the nation stares down an imminent deadline that risks putting the US in default. “While we all recognize the catastrophic impact of a default, we are deeply disappointed that this deal includes cuts that further harm people experiencing hunger and poverty,” said Lisa Davis, senior vice president of Share Our Strength and its No Kid Hungry campaign. “As a whole, the punitive and ineffective SNAP changes included in this bill will save the US very little money,” she added. “They will also do nothing to remove barriers to make employment more attainable or available for those they impact. Nor are they based on evidence or experience. Instead, they are born from and rely on pervasive myths and misperceptions about SNAP and the people who benefit from the program and stand only to restrict food assistance for some Americans.” Republicans hold a fragile majority in the House of Representatives, where Mr McCarthy is relying on a slim margin of support from a far-right caucus that argues the cuts don’t go far enough. Meanwhile, progressive lawmakers – frustrated with the GOP’s “hostage crisis” process for negotiating a debt deal – strenuously object to stiffening work requirements and cuts to aid programs on which millions of Americans rely. Democratic US Rep Pramila Jayapal, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, will not support the debt plan, pointing to members who are “deeply, deeply concerned” about the proposals and the way in which Republicans threatened to steer the US into default to get GOP concessions. On a call with reporters on 30 May, Ms Jayapal compared Republicans’ threats on the debt limit to the party’s attempts to undermine the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. “We cannot have these constitutional obligations, including the very clear mandate to pay the country’s debts, as well as of course to ratify an election of a president that was voted upon by the democratic process ... taken hostage,” she said. The Biden administration has touted some new proposals in the deal as a victory: Military veterans, young people who have aged out of foster care, and people experiencing homelessness would be exempt from the SNAP work requirements. But “burdensome reporting requirements and bureaucratic red tape leave little confidence that this will outweigh the harmful expansion of these requirements for others in this category,” Ms Davis said in a statement. The nation’s largest food assistance program supported more than 42 million people in February, according to the latest data from the US Department of Agriculture. More than 65 per cent of SNAP recipients are in families with children, 36 per cent are in families with members who are older or disabled adults, and 41 per cent are in families that work, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. SNAP requires “able-bodied adults” without dependents to work or join job training programs for at least 80 hours a month to receive more than three months of benefits over three years. “SNAP’s primary objective is to help people put food on the table; any attempt to turn it into an employment program – particularly when extensive research shows that work requirements actually make it much harder, not easier, for people to find and keep jobs – runs contrary to the program’s mission and intent,” said Eric Mitchell, executive director of the Alliance to End Hunger. “In a time when food insecurity is rising and food prices remain high, we should be expanding our nation’s social safety net, not restricting it,” he added. The maximum monthly SNAP benefit for an individual is $281, “which makes the 80-hour work program route effectively the same as a job that pays $3.51 per hour,” or less than half the federal minimum hourly wage of $7.25, People Policy Project’s Matt Bruenig noted. Progressive lawmakers and advocacy groups have also lambasted the debt deal for tying the fate of federal programmes for some of the poorest Americans to a politically volatile debate. What happens for someone over 50 years old who is unable to work and is cut off from assistance? How can they navigate a difficult labour market rife with age discrimination? Anti-poverty advocates and critics of so-called “means-testing” structures around receiving government aid have argued that adding additional burdens for work requirements underscores their futility. “We shouldn’t be playing politics with programs that help Americans meet their basic needs,” Ms Davis said. Anti-hunger groups have also objected to other changes to other assistance programs for lower-income-earning Americans, including changes to a federal cash assistance program that House Republicans had previously threatened with drastic cuts. “Hungry people cannot wait – but now they will need to wait even longer,” Mr Garcia said. “Our leaders should be creating pathways to progress, not pulling out the rug from those trying to get back on their feet.” Read More Debt ceiling vote – live: AOC, Boebert and Gaetz join growing opposition as Biden-McCarthy deal faces full House vote today What’s in the cliffhanger deal struck by Biden and McCarthy to raise the debt limit? House Republican majority cut by one after shock resignation of congressman

Watch live as Hakim Jeffries, minority leader of the House of Representatives, and other Democrats hold a news conference ahead of a vote on the US debt ceiling on Wednesday evening (31 May). The House is due to vote on a bill to lift the government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, a critical step to avoid a destabilising default that could come early next week without congressional action. Republicans control the House by a narrow 222-213 majority, meaning the bipartisan deal - agreed days ago - will need support from both Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s Republicans and Joe Biden’s Democrats to pass. Mr McCarthy has predicted that the vote will succeed. “It’s going to become law,” he told reporters. Meanwhile, Mr Biden took to Twitter to outline what failure to pass the bill could mean for America. “Our bipartisan budget agreement prevents the worst possible crisis: a default for the first time in our nation’s history – an economic recession, retirement accounts devastated, and millions of jobs lost,” he wrote. Read More Biden and McCarthy’s debt ceiling deal expected to go to full House vote today – live Australian Parliament takes step toward holding a referendum on Indigenous Voice this year Why Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment fight isn't finished yet

Zimbabwe's national elections will take place on Aug. 23, the country's president announced Wednesday. The vote is expected to be another closely watched affair in a country with a history of violent and disputed elections. The announcement through a government gazette also set Oct. 2 for a presidential runoff vote if required. Opposition parties have already made allegations of violence and intimidation against their supporters in the buildup to the elections, and human rights groups have said President Emmerson Mnangagwa is silencing criticism. The southern African nation has only had two leaders since it gained independence from white minority rule in 1980. Robert Mugabe led Zimbabwe for 37 years until he was removed and replaced by Mnangagwa in a coup in 2017. Mnangagwa had served as a vice president under Mugabe. The last general election was held in 2018, nearly a year after the coup. Once a close ally of Mugabe, Mnangagwa, 80, has tried to present himself as a reformer despite accusations that he is even more repressive than the man he helped remove from power. Mnangagwa is expected to face a strong challenge from Nelson Chamisa, the 45-year-old leader of the main opposition party, Citizens Coalition for Change. Chamisa narrowly lost to Mnangagwa in 2018, with the Constitutional Court dismissing his claims of election rigging. Apart from the presidency, the election will also decide the composition of the 300-seat parliament and close to 2,000 local council positions. Mnangagwa’s ZANU-PF ruling party and the government have denied allegations of violence and intimidation by ruling party activists and security forces. But rights groups have accused Mnangagwa’s government of intimidation and of suppressing any criticism and opposition amid a currency crisis and a sharp rise in food prices. Zimbabwe has faced severe economic problems for years and has been under U.S. sanctions for two decades over human rights abuses. Mugabe died in 2019. Chamisa said this week he is ready for the election, but has made allegations of voting roll irregularities. Compounding that, Chamisa said his party is at a disadvantage because Mnangagwa and ZANU-PF control state–run media and hold sway over the police, other security forces and the judiciary, which are used to clamp down on dissent. On Wednesday, Fadzayi Mahere, spokeswoman for the Citizens Coalition for Change, tweeted: “No govt that’s popular & knows it’s winning behaves like this. They’re terrified cause, like all of us, they know that ZANU PF can never win a free & fair election in Zimbabwe." "That’s why they’re trying to stitch & doctor the voters’ roll but it won’t work. People want change.” Opposition parties had accused Mnangagwa of delaying announcing a date for the election that must take place before the end of August. Mnangagwa's announcement came a day after Zimbabwe's foreign ministry summoned the United States’ deputy ambassador over a series of tweets the embassy sent calling for a peaceful election. The ministry accused the embassy of “election-related social media posts bordering on activism and meddling in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs.” Deputy Ambassador Elaine French was called to a meeting with Zimbabwe foreign affairs acting permanent secretary Rofina Chikava on Tuesday following the posts on the U.S. Embassy's official Twitter account. The Zimbabwe foreign ministry said it had a particular issue with a May 26 tweet that called for Zimbabweans to “Register to vote and make sure your voice is heard.” Another tweet from the embassy said “Zimbabwe’s constitution grants citizens the right to choose their representatives in legitimate, credible, & peaceful elections.” The foreign ministry said the tweet urging people to register to vote was against diplomatic protocols. “We stand by our recent social media posts calling for peace during the election season," U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Meg Riggs said in a statement. “Elections are a part of a functioning democracy.” ___ More AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Zimbabwe releases prisoners in amnesty, reducing overcrowding AOC warns Elon Musk is ‘testing waters’ to interfere in 2024 election Nevada Republican governor approves abortion protections in rare cross-party move

The Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial museum has denounced a political spot by Poland's ruling party that uses the theme of the Nazi German extermination camp to discourage participation in an upcoming anti-government march. The state-run museum attacked “instrumentalization of the tragedy” of the 1.1 million people who were murdered at the site during World War II, arguing that it is an insult to their memory. “It is a sad, painful and unacceptable manifestation of the moral and intellectual corruption of the public debate,” the state museum said. The 14-second video published Wednesday by the Law and Justice party shows images of the former death camp, including the notorious “Arbeit Macht Frei” gate, and the words: “Do you really want to walk under this slogan?” The reference is to a now-deleted tweet from journalist Tomasz Lis, who claimed that President Andrzej Duda and ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski deserve to go to prison. He published the tweet amid a heated debate over a law passed by the party lawmakers and signed by Duda that is viewed by the U.S., the European Union and many Polish critics as anti-democratic. “There will be a chamber for Duda and Kaczor,” the tweet said, using a nickname for Kaczynski. He used the Polish word ”komora,” which can be simply a dark cell or chamber but which many in Poland associate with the gas chambers used by Germans in mass murder during the war. Lis has since deleted the tweet and apologized. "It is obvious that I was thinking of a cell, but I should have foreseen that people of ill will would adopt an absurd interpretation. I hope that Mr. Duda and Mr. Kaczynski will pay for their crimes against democracy, but on a human level I wish them health and long life,” Lis said. “I never wished death on anyone.” President Duda weighed in with a tweet that implied criticism of the party that supports him. “The memory of the victims of German crimes in Auschwitz is sacred and inviolable; the tragedy of millions of victims cannot be used in political struggle; this is an unworthy act," he said. The purported aim of the new law is to create a commission to investigate Russian influences in Poland. But critics fear that it will be misused ahead of fall elections to target opponents, in particular opposition leader Donald Tusk. They say the commission could be used by the ruling party to eliminate its opponents from public life for a decade. The law was approved this week by Duda, to widespread criticism in Poland and by the EU and the United States. Critics in Poland have informally dubbed it “Lex Tusk,” and its passage has energized the political opposition. Tusk plans to lead a large anti-government march on Sunday in Warsaw, the capital. The march is to be held on the 34th anniversary of the first partly free elections in Poland after decades of communism, on June 4, 1989. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Poland's president approves law on Russia's influence that could target opposition Migrants with children stuck at Poland's border wall; activists say Belarus won't let them turn back Ukraine soccer league set for a title-deciding game in a remarkable, war-hit season