List of All Articles with Tag 'us politics'

The third Republican debate in Miami had some sharp exchanges but none of the five really punched through.

There were some heated exchanges on Ukraine and China, but strict moderation limited direct clashes.

Businessman and presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy appeared on Wednesday to call Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, a “Nazi” during the latest GOP presidential debate. During a line of comments in which the Republican argued Ukraine is anti-democratic and undeserving of US aid, Mr Ramaswamy claimed, “It has celebrated a Nazi in its ranks – the comedian in cargo pants, a man called Zelensky – doing it in their own ranks. That is not democratic.” However, the entrepreneur may have stumbled over his words and actually been speaking about a separate person as a “Nazi.” During the debate in September, he put it slightly differently, telling the audience, “We need a reasonable peace plan to end this, this is a country whose president just last week was hailing a Nazi in his own ranks.” The attack is an apparent reference to an incident from Canada in September. After hearing a speech from Mr Zelensky, lawmakers there gave an ovation to 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, who fought for the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, a Nazi unit in WWII. The former soldier was invited to attend the address by then-House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota, who has since resigned. Neither the Ukrainian delegation present nor the Canadian government was informed of the invitation, House government leader later Karina Gould told NPR. “No one in this House is above any of us. Therefore I must step down as your speaker,” Mr Rota said in Parliament in late September. “I reiterate my profound regret for my error in recognising an individual in the House during the joint address to Parliament of President Zelensky. “That public recognition has caused pain to individuals and communities, including to the Jewish community in Canada and around the world in addition to Nazi survivors in Poland among other nations. I accept full responsibility for my actions,” he added. Regardless of Mr Ramaswamy’s intended meaning, the comments generated controversy immediately, with critics arguing they played into Russian propaganda points. “Repeating offensive Kremlin talking points is an odd way to try to win votes in the USA,” retired Navy admiral James Stavridis wrote on X. Russia has repeatedly, falsely attacked the Ukrainian governments and its leaders as Nazis, and refered to its invasion of the country as “denazification.” “I’m increasingly convinced that Ramaswamy is a Ukrainian secret agent performing a parody of how stupid and cruel pro-Putin MAGA propagandists sound,” Russian chess champion and human rights activist Garry Kasparov wrote on X. “People advising Vivek Ramaswamay should be ashamed,” former Trump White House official Alyssa Farah Griffin added in a post of her own. “The paycheck is not worth propping up this ridiculous & offensive person. Antisemitism is on the rising globally & he has the gall to say this about a Jewish leader who is at war for his nation’s sovereignty. Despicable.” The Independent has contacted the Ramaswamy campaign for comment. Read More Ukraine moves step closer to EU membership as European Commission backs talks Russia-Ukraine war: Zelensky ‘sure of’ battlefield success – live Hundreds gather at vigil held for Ukrainian soldiers killed in missile attack Where the GOP presidential candidates stand on the war in Ukraine Trump challenged by Zelensky to come to Ukraine after claims he could stop war Ukraine opens criminal investigation into deadly Russian missile strike

The 42-year-old had fought hard to avoid testifying in the New York case against her father and brothers.

Voters went to the polls to decide their governor, while others considered changes to abortion rights.

She has kept a low profile since the end of the Trump presidency, but will now take the stand in a fraud trial.

Political prognosticators are monitoring the races for clues a year before the 2024 presidential election.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson closely collaborated with a group in the mid-to-late 2000s that promoted "conversion therapy," a discredited practice that asserted it could change the sexual orientation of gay and lesbian individuals.

The New York lawmaker is facing a slew of criminal charges and possible expulsion from the House.

President Joe Biden is addressing concerns about artificial intelligence as the administration attempts to guide the development of the rapidly evolving technology. The White House said on Monday (30 October) that a sweeping executive order will address concerns about safety and security, privacy, equity and civil rights, the rights of consumers, patients, and students, and supporting workers. The order will also hand a list of tasks to federal agencies to oversee the development of the technology. ‘We have to move as fast, if not faster than the technology itself’ “We can’t move at a normal government pace,” White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients quoted Mr Biden as telling his staff, according to the AP. “We have to move as fast, if not faster than the technology itself.” Mr Biden believes that the US government was late to the game to take into account the risks of social media, leading to the related mental health issues now seen among US youth. While AI may help drastically develop cancer research, foresee the impacts of the climate crisis, and improve the economy and public services, it may also spread fake images, audio and videos, with possibly widespread political consequences. Other harmful effects include the worsening of racial and social inequality and the possibility that it can be used to commit crimes, such as fraud. The president of the Center for Democracy & Technology, Alexandra Reeve Givens, told the AP that the Biden administration is using the tools at their disposal to issue “guidance and standards to shape private sector behaviour and leading by example in the federal government’s own use of AI”. Mr Biden’s executive order comes after technology companies have already made voluntary commitments, and the aim is that congressional legislation and international action will follow. The White House got commitments earlier this year from Google, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI to put in place safety standards when building new AI tools and models. Monday’s executive order employs the Defense Production Act to require AI developers to share safety test results and other data with the government. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is also set to establish standards governing the development and use of AI. Similarly, the Department of Commerce will publish guidance outlining the labelling and watermarking of content created using AI. An administration official told the press on Sunday that the order is intended to be implemented within between 90 days and a year. Safety and security issues have the tightest deadlines. Mr Biden met with staff last Thursday for a half-hour meeting that grew into an hour and 10 minutes to put the finishing touches on the order. Biden ‘impressed and alarmed’ by AI The president was engaged in meetings about the technology in the months that preceded Monday’s order signing, meeting twice with the Science Advisory Council to discuss AI and bringing up the technology during two cabinet meetings. At several gatherings, Mr Biden also pushed tech industry leaders and advocates regarding what the technology is capable of. Deputy White House Chief of Staff Bruce Reed told the AP that Mr Biden “was as impressed and alarmed as anyone”. “He saw fake AI images of himself, of his dog,” he added. “He saw how it can make bad poetry. And he’s seen and heard the incredible and terrifying technology of voice cloning, which can take three seconds of your voice and turn it into an entire fake conversation.” The AI-created images and audio prompted Mr Biden to push for the labelling of AI-created content. He was also concerned about older people getting a phone call from an AI tool using a fake voice sounding like a family member or other loved one for the purpose of committing a scam. Meetings on AI often went long, with the president once telling advocates: “This is important. Take as long as you need.” Mr Biden also spoke to scientists about the possible positive impacts of the technology, such as explaining the beginning of the universe, and the modelling of extreme weather events such as floods, where old data has become inaccurate because of the changes caused by the climate crisis. ‘When the hell did I say that?’ On Monday at the White House, Mr Biden addressed the concerns about “deepfakes” during a speech in connection with the signing of the order. “With AI, fraudsters can take a three-second recording of your voice, I have watched one of me on a couple of occasions. I said, ‘When the hell did I say that?’” Mr Biden said to laughter from the audience. Mr Reed added that he watched Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One with Mr Biden one weekend at Camp David. At the beginning of the film, the antagonist, an AI called “the Entity”, sinks a submarine, killing its crew. “If he hadn’t already been concerned about what could go wrong with AI before that movie, he saw plenty more to worry about,” Mr Reed told the news agency. The White House has faced pressure from a number of allied groups to address possible harmful effects of AI. The director of the racial justice programme at The American Civil Liberties Union, ReNika Moore, told the AP that the union met with the administration to make sure “we’re holding the tech industry and tech billionaires accountable” so that the new tools will “work for all of us and not just a few”. Ex-Biden official Suresh Venkatasubramanian told the news agency that law enforcement’s use of AI, such as at border checkpoints, is one of the top challenges. “These are all places where we know that the use of automation is very problematic, with facial recognition, drone technology,” the computer scientist said. Read More Biden reacts to watching deepfakes of himself: ‘When the hell did I say that?’ Rishi Sunak to hold live chat with Elon Musk during AI summit Liz Truss ‘deeply disturbed’ by Sunak’s invitation to China to attend AI summit Extinction risk from AI on same scale as nuclear war, Sunak warns Revealed: Government using AI to decide on benefits and driving licences Brexit means UK can be global leader on AI, says Facebook co-founder

Rep. Mike Johnson, Republicans' latest nominee to be the next speaker of the House, has been a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump and was a key congressional figure in the failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Despite the applause as Mike Johnson won the gavel, the party must show it can stop infighting and govern.