List of All Articles with Tag 'politics'

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS: The Biden Administration released details about the $42.5 billion cornerstone of its Internet for All initiative on Monday. The money, which state governments will eventually award broadband providers, has the chance to be transformative in communities with inadequate service or exorbitant costs. Funding amounts from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program depended primarily on the number of unserved locations in each jurisdiction. Unserved locations are those that lack access to internet download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second download and upload speeds of 3 Mbps. Download speeds involve retrieving information from the internet, including streaming movies and TV. Upload speeds determine how fast information travels from a computer to the internet, like sending emails or publishing photos online. The federal government used the FCC’s National Broadband Map to identify the number of unserved locations in each jurisdiction. Before states can draw down on those funds, they must engage in a multi-step approval process with the federal government to ensure the money is deployed to the communities that need it the most. ___ AP’S LATEST COVERAGE Biden’s broadband plan aims to connect every home and business in U.S. by 2030. What’s next? High-speed internet is a necessity, President Biden says, pledging all US will have access by 2030 ___ VIEW YOUR STATE'S BEAD FUNDING ALLOTMENT AND PERCENT OF AREAS UNSERVED — The AP produced a dataset showing each state’s allotment in dollars and the percent of Broadband Serviceable Locations—homes and businesses where high-speed internet could be installed—that are estimated to be unserved, according to the latest version of the FCC National Broadband Map. ___ VIEW DETAILED BROADBAND MAPS AND FUNDING MAPS — The FCC National Broadband Map is an updating dataset that shows advertised internet speeds at the address level. Version 2 is the latest public iteration and was used to determine states’ BEAD allotments. The default view of the map shows residential service provided by all types of technology with download speeds of at least 25 Mbps and upload speeds of at least 3 Mbps. The federal government defines reliable service as that which is provided through wired or fixed wireless technologies. To view coverage provided by reliable technologies only, click the gear icon on the righthand side of the page. Under technologies, select “All Wired and Licensed Fixed Wireless.” In this menu, you can also choose to view coverage of businesses instead of residences and set different speed minimums. — Check out the FCC Broadband Funding map. This offers details on funding from some other federal broadband expansion programs. To view a breakdown of projects and funding in a given area, click the Funding Summary button (to drill down, make sure you're zoomed in to at least level 10, then click on individual hexagons for details). To view the percentage of areas unserved or unfunded, click the Location Summary button. To view maps by funding type, click on the different links below the Broadband Funding Summaries heading in the pop-up box. ___ VIEW OTHER RESOURCES — The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is administering the BEAD program. It is keeping track of which states have released initial proposals, which must be approved before states can begin the grant making process. Initial proposals are due by the end of the year and can be submitted in two volumes. On this page are also links to 5-year-plans, which lay out how states hope to achieve universal connectivity, and digital equity plans, covering how states aim to equip individuals with the skills and devices necessary to leverage internet access. You can sign up to receive email updates when new proposals and plans are released. States with initial proposals released: Louisiana (volume 1) Virginia (volume 1) States with 5-year plans released: Hawaii Maine Montana Ohio Utah Draft Digital Equity Plans: Louisiana Maine Montana Utah — Nonprofits, internet service providers and local and Tribal governments will eventually have the opportunity to assess their state’s determinations of which locations are eligible for funding and challenge those decisions. The NTIA has published draft guidance for how those challenge processes will run, and final guidance is expected soon. ___ QUESTIONS/REPORTING THREADS — What is your state’s allotment from BEAD? How have state and local officials reacted to this amount? Do they believe it will be enough to connect people who are still without access to reliable internet? — Which counties in your state are the most digitally distressed? Are there any demographic or socioeconomic similarities between these areas? Are they geographically consolidated or spread throughout the state? Do any counties with poor connectivity border counties that have good internet access? — Are there any topographic or climatic challenges, such as mountains and year-round cold weather, to laying down fiber in your state? How do state officials plan to overcome these challenges? Are there any remote counties or towns? — What is the landscape of existing broadband aid in your state? Broadband expansion projects from other federal programs, including the USDA’s ReConnect program and the American Rescue Plan, are ongoing. Additionally, states run their own grant programs aimed at closing the digital divide. How are these projects going? How have completed projects affected the lives of people in that area? How do these existing projects work with your state's plans to use BEAD funding? ___ READ ADDITIONAL AP COVERAGE $930 million in grants announced in Biden’s effort to expand internet access to every home in the US States contend with short timeline to correct broadband map ___ Localize It is an occasional feature produced by The Associated Press for its customers’ use. Questions can be directed to Katie Oyan at koyan@ap.org. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide UN urges Israel and Palestinians to halt West Bank violence in statement backed by US and Russia EPA retreats on Louisiana investigations that alleged Blacks lived amid higher cancer risk US push to lower wildfire risk across the West stumbles in places

Speaker Kevin McCarthy has scrambled to contain the fallout after he questioned whether former President Donald Trump is the strongest candidate in the 2024 presidential race -- comments that outraged Trump allies.

President Joe Biden told CNN on Wednesday his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has "absolutely" been weakened by the short-lived mutiny over the weekend.

The Tories have been roasted for revealing their levels of delusion via a graphic attacking the Labour Party. Responding to a story about a Labour u-turn on a policy to introduce rent controls in the housing sector, the Tories implied that Labour were in a state of chaos - ironically. They wrote: "Labour flip flopped on housing no less than a few hours ago…. How Sir flip flop can preach about housing is a joke," before adding a graphic which said "0 days since last incident". The issue they were responding to was the opposition party ditching a pledge to control surging rents if it wins the next general election – nine months after endorsing the policy. At a conference, Lisa Nandy called the approach as a "sticking plaster" and claimed it would increase homelessness. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter But people thought it was pretty ridiculous for the Tories to be the one to criticise Labour about it given the Tories are never far away from a scandal, with allegations about Tory London mayoral hopeful Daniel Korski groping a TV producer coming as the latest threat to the party's credibility. You know what they say. Those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones... Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

On the campaign trail, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has attacked Donald Trump's signature prison reform bill, calling it a "jailbreak bill" and claiming it "allowed dangerous people out of prison who have now reoffended and really, really hurt a number of people."

President Joe Biden's top economic advisers believe the worst effects of inflation are in the rear-view mirror. They are increasingly confident the economy is heading for a soft-landing, averting a recession. And a growing number of economists are beginning to agree.

Move over, Reaganomics. President Joe Biden is attempting to usher in the era of "Bidenomics"

Despite his large lead in a crowded Republican primary field, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says he does not know if Donald Trump is the “strongest” candidate to take on President Joe Biden in the 2024 election. In an interview on CNBC, Mr McCarthy said Mr Trump can beat Mr Biden but that he’s not sure another Republican couldn’t do better. Later in the day, the speaker appeared to walk back the remarks by telling Breitbart that the former president is “stronger today than he was in 2016”. On Monday night, bombshell audio revealed the former president apparently bragging about possessing still-classified military documents about Iran after he left the White House. In the recording, from a July 2021 meeting at Mr Trump’s Bedminster golf club and released by CNN, the former president is heard audibly shuffling the documents. Mr Trump took to Truth Social to fume about the tape, railing against “Deranged Special Prosecutor” Jack Smith and baselessly accusing the DOJ and FBI of leaking it. Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s co-defendant in the classified documents case, his aide Walt Nauta, has had his arraignment in Miami postponed after his flight was delayed by bad weather in New Jersey. Read More Trump fumes about ‘illegally leaked’ CNN tape of him boasting about classified documents Donald Trump countersues E Jean Carroll for defamation over rape claims Rudy Giuliani interviewed by special counsel over 2020 election interference attempts, says report Trump wants to keep 'communists' and ‘Marxists’ out of the US. Here’s what the law says Is Trump the best candidate to beat Biden? Kevin McCarthy says ‘I don’t know’

Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social to fume about a bombshell leaked audio tape where he is heard discussing holding onto “secret” classified documents after leaving office – and admitting that he knows he cannot declassify them. In the recording, captured during a July 2021 meeting at Mr Trump’s Bedminster golf club and released by CNN on Monday, the former president is heard boasting and laughing with associates about possessing “highly confidential” military documents about Iran. “These are the papers,” he says. “This was done by the military and given to me.” As the sound of what appears to be papers rustling is heard, Mr Trump references a “big pile of papers” and makes the startling confession that he knows he can no longer declassify the documents because he is no longer president. The former president reacted to the release of the tape in a characteristic rant on Truth Social on Monday night, where he railed against “Deranged Special Prosecutor” Jack Smith and baselessly accused the Justice Department (DOJ) and the FBI of leaking it. “The Deranged Special Prosecutor, Jack Smith, working in conjunction with the DOJ & FBI, illegally leaked and “spun” a tape and transcript of me which is actually an exoneration, rather than what they would have you believe,” he wrote. “This continuing Witch Hunt is another ELECTION INTERFERENCE Scam. They are cheaters and thugs!” Mr Trump offered no explanation for his belief that the tape exonerates him – a belief largely at odds with much reaction to the tape. George Conway, Lincoln Project cofounder and vocal critic of Mr Trump, called the former president a “sociopathic criminal” in response to the newly-obtained audio and called it just “another nail in the coffin” for his growing legal issues. “The special counsel already had Trump dead to rights because we knew this tape existed in some form,” “But to actually hear a former president of the United States committing a felony, probably multiple felonies, on audiotape while laughing about it is something I just – I think it’s just stunning.” He added: “I mean, this man has no respect for rules, no respect for the lives of other human beings, no respect for the country, no respect for the Constitution, no respect for his duties. “He is a sociopathic criminal. And this is just another nail in the coffin.” In the two-minute audio, Mr Trump is heard appearing to indicate that he is holding onto a secret military document about Iran. “Well, with Milley, uh, let me see that, I’ll show you an example,” he says. “He said that I wanted to attack Iran. Isn’t that amazing? I have a big pile of papers, this thing just came up. Look. This was him,” he says as the noise of papers rustling is heard in the background. “They presented me this – this is off the record, but they presented me this. This was him. This was the Defense Department and him. We looked at some, this was him. This wasn’t done by me, this was him. All sorts of stuff – pages long, look.” “Wait a minute, let’s see here. I just found, isn’t that amazing? This totally wins my case, you know. Except it is like, highly confidential. Secret,” he says, to laughter from people inside the room. “This is secret information. Look, look at this. This was done by the military and given to me. As president I could have declassified, but now I can’t.” Mr Trump and the meeting participants go on to joke that Hillary Clinton would “print” out the documents, joking about her “private emails”. “Hillary would print that out all the time, you know. Her private emails,” one staffer is heard saying. “No, she’d send it to Anthony Weiner,” Mr Trump replies, in reference to Ms Clinton’s use of a private email server. The former secretary of state has never been charged with a crime. The audio was recorded on 21 July 2021 at Bedminster during a meeting between Mr Trump, at least two of his aides and people helping Mr Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows with his memoir. The audio was previously revealed in the DOJ’s indictment charging Mr Trump over his handling of classified documents but has never been heard until now. Its release appears to contradict Mr Trump’s claim in a Fox News’ interview that he did not have any documents. Earlier this month, Mr Trump was indicted on 37 federal charges over his handling of classified documents, including national defence information, after leaving the White House. The indictment, which was unsealed on Friday (9 June), alleges that Mr Trump deliberately lied to and misled authorities so that he could hold onto documents that he knew were classified. On at least two separate occasions, Mr Trump then showed some of the classified documents to people not authorised to see them, the indictment alleges. Stunning photos revealed that many of the documents were stored around a toilet, shower and ballroom at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The charges include 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information and single counts of false statements and representations, and counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document, concealing a document in a federal investigation and a scheme to conceal. He pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment in a Miami federal courthouse, becoming the first current or former US president ever charged with a federal crime. Mr Trump’s longtime aide Walt Nauta was also charged with six obstruction- and concealment-related charges after he allegedly helped move boxes of documents from Mar-a-Lago to Mr Trump’s residence and then lied to investigators about having any knowledge of the handling of the papers. The two men appeared in court together but Mr Nauta did not enter a plea as he did not have legal counsel in Florida. Mr Nauta is now scheduled to appear for his arraignment on Tuesday morning. Read More Trump news – live: Trump fumes about leaked CNN audio capturing him boasting about ‘secret’ papers Trump critics say bombshell secret papers audio has him ‘dead to rights’: ‘Couldn’t be more incriminating’ Trump and DeSantis to hold dueling campaign events in New Hampshire after squabbling over timing Rape accuser files new lawsuit as Trump seethes over 2024 flop – live Where do Donald Trump’s family stand on him running in 2024? Trump revealed to have tweeted classified image from spy satellite

By Enrique Garcia GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) -An anti-corruption presidential candidate in Guatemala, whose surprise showing in a first-round election on

Critics on Tuesday seized on the latest Trump tape as a perfect example of why the twice-impeached, twice-indicted former president is unfit to return to the Oval Office.

Donald Trump sued E Jean Carroll for defamation on Tuesday after a jury held him liable for sexually abusing her. The former president filed a counterclaim in Manhattan federal court, accusing the author of tarnishing his reputation publicly. He has sought retraction as well as unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. According to the court filing, Mr Trump “has been the subject of significant harm to his reputation, which, in turn, has yielded an inordinate amount of damages sustained as a result”. Last month, a jury of six men and three women found that the former president was liable for sexual abuse, and not liable for rape, before awarding Ms Carroll $5m in damages. He also launched a fresh defamatory attack on Ms Carroll last month just hours after her lawyers formally asked to amend her remaining defamation lawsuit against the ex-president to include his “smears” at a CNN town hall. “Trump’s defamatory statements post-verdict show the depth of his malice toward Carroll since it is hard to imagine defamatory conduct that could possibly be more motivated by hatred, ill will, or spite,” the proposed amended complaint said. “This conduct supports a very substantial punitive damages award in Carroll’s favour both to punish Trump, to deter him from engaging in further defamation, and to deter others from doing the same,” the complaint said. After his statements about her on CNN, Ms Carroll’s lawyers had asked a Manhattan federal court judge for permission to amend the first defamation lawsuit that she filed against Ms Trump in 2019. He later wrote on Truth Social: “I don’t know E Jean Carroll, I never met her or touched her (except on a celebrity line with her African American husband who she disgustingly called the ‘Ape,’),” he wrote. Mr Trump has previously also accused Ms Carroll of calling her husband “ape”, without any evidence. “I wouldn’t want to know or touch her, I never abused her or raped her or took her to a dressing room 25 years ago in a crowded department store where the doors are LOCKED, she has no idea when, or did anything else to her, except deny her Fake, Made Up Story, that she wrote in a book. IT NEVER HAPPENED, IS A TOTAL SCAM, UNFAIR TRIAL!” he added. Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s lawyers said in the court filing on Tuesday: “The interview was on television, social media and multiple internet websites, with the intention of broadcasting and circulating these defamatory statements among a significant portion of the public.” The former president’s court filing on Tuesday is a counterclaim in a separate 2019 defamation lawsuit Ms Carroll filed against him that is set to go to trial in January, it was reported. While Ms Carroll won the first trial, the former president has interpreted the verdict as a victory, of sorts, because of the finding on rape. Additional reporting from agencies Read More Writer's lawyers say Trump is wrong about $5 million sex abuse-defamation jury award Trump's penchant for talking could pose problems as Mar-a-Lago criminal case moves ahead Trump is funneling 10% of 2024 campaign donations to cover his legal bills Rape accuser files new lawsuit as Trump seethes over 2024 flop – live Where do Donald Trump’s family stand on him running in 2024? Trump revealed to have tweeted classified image from spy satellite