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☆ Biden’s controversial ‘cannibalism’ remarks meet pushback in Papua New Guinea
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“President Biden’s remarks may have been a slip of the tongue; however, my country does not deserve to be labeled as such,” Marape said. While cannibalism was documented among remote tribes in the region in the mid-20th century, Papua New Guinea has struggled to shed stereotypes in more recent decades, and Biden’s comments were met with criticism inside the country. “These apparent untrue remarks by the sitting President is a low point in our bilateral relations,” Tkatchenko said. “He got shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals in New Guinea at the time. When asked about the remarks, the White House did not repeat Biden’s assertions about cannibals or his uncle’s plane being shot down.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Biden, Ambrose Finnegan’s, James Marape, Biden’s, ” Marape, ”, Justin Tkatchenko, Washington, ” Tkatchenko, Marape, “, Ambrose Finnegan, ” “, Finnegan “ Organizations: CNN, Papua New Guinea, Allied, Australian, Embassy, Moresby, Defense POW, Agency Locations: Papua New Guinea, Pacific, New Guinea, Papua New, Port Moresby, Beijing, United States, ”, U.S, Pennsylvania

☆ Live Updates: Supreme Court to Consider How Far Cities Can Police Homelessness
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Abbie Vansickle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Inside a warming shelter, Laura Gutowski detailed how her life had changed since she became homeless two and a half years ago in Grants Pass, a former timber hub in the foothills of southern Oregon. She lived in a sedan, and then in a tent, in sight of the elementary school where her son was once a student. Many states and cities that are increasingly overwhelmed by homelessness are hoping the Supreme Court overturns that decision — or severely limits it. The case highlights the fierce divide over the thorny issue of how to regulate homelessness. Theane Evangelis, a lawyer representing Grants Pass, said the Supreme Court’s decision would reverberate widely.

Persons: Laura Gutowski, “, ”, Gutowski, Theane, Ed Johnson Organizations: Oregon Law Center, Homelessness Locations: Oregon, Grants, United States

☆ Sheetz accused of racial discrimination in its hiring process
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —A federal agency accused a popular gas station chain of discriminating against Black, Native American and multiracial applicants in its hiring practices. The Sheetz criminal screening process disproportionately screened out applicants from those legally protected groups, the lawsuit announced by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Thursday alleged. In a statement, Sheetz said it “does not tolerate discrimination of any kind.”“We take these allegations seriously. As part of the hiring process, applicants must answer questions about their criminal justice history and go through a background check through a third-party vendor. The lawsuit seeks an order for Sheetz to end its current hiring practice and create equal employment policies and programs.

Persons: Sheetz, ” Nick Ruffner, EEOC, ”, Debra M, Lawrence Organizations: New, New York CNN, US, Employment, Civil, RAND Corporation Locations: New York, Court, Maryland, United States, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland , Ohio, North Carolina, Coast

At an event in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Tuesday, Mr. Trump described Ruby Garcia, 25, and her killing at length. She faulted Mr. Trump for framing her sister’s death as a border issue. Mr. Trump recently derailed a bipartisan border deal in the Senate by urging Republicans not to support it, in a move that prevented a political win for President Biden and allowed Mr. Trump to continue campaigning on the issue. During the event, Mr. Trump described Ms. Garcia as an “incredible young woman,” though at one point mistakenly said she was 17 years old. Local Democrats pre-emptively criticized Mr. Trump for planning to make Ms. Garcia part of his campaign rally.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Ruby Garcia, Garcia, ”, Mavi Garcia, “, ” Mavi Garcia, Mr, “ It’s, I’ve, —, ” Ruby Garcia, Brandon Ortiz, Ortiz, Vite, Laken Riley, Biden, Justin Barclay, emptively, Debbie Stabenow, Garcia’s, Trump’s Organizations: Michigan, Republicans, NBC, West Michigan, New York Times, Washington Post, ABC News, . Immigration, Customs, Augusta University, University of Georgia, Local Democrats Locations: Grand Rapids, Mich, United States, Grand, Mexico, Georgia, Athens, Venezuela, Michigan, Detroit

The Israeli military told CNN it does not comment on foreign reports. CNN cannot verify the Times’ report, nor independently verify the claims from Iran, Syria and Israel. Increasing pressureAs the Middle East braces for a potential Iranian response, Tehran is under pressure to show strength in the wake of the consulate attack while not drawing the region into a wider war. The Lebanese Shia militant group has been embroiled in daily crossfire with Israeli forces for nearly six months. However, Israeli military spokesman Hagari blamed Iran for escalating tensions in the region.

Persons: Mohammed Reza Zahedi, Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, Donald Trump, IRGC, Qassem Soleimani, ”, Israel, Daniel Hagari, “, Israel’s, Syria Hossein Akbari, Nasser Kanaani, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, d’affaires, Amir, ” Amir, Faisal Mekdad meanwhile, Houthi, Parsi, Zahedi, Bejamin Netanyahu, Hagari, I’m Organizations: CNN, Revolutionary Guards, Foreign Ministry, Israel Defense Forces, New York Times, Hamas, Ministry of Health, Zionist, Iranian Foreign Ministry, Israel, Syrian Foreign, Diplomatic Relations, US, Quincy Institute, Responsible Locations: Iran, Israel, Syria, Gaza, Damascus, Baghdad, Tehran, Lebanese, ” Iran, United States, Quds, Iranian Embassy, Iranian, Islamic Republic, Washington, Swiss, Switzerland, Syrian, Vienna, Iraq, Jordan, Red, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Lebanon, Yemen

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Three American service members were killed and “many” were wounded in a drone strike in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border, President Joe Biden said in a statement Sunday. U.S. Central Command said 25 service members were injured the attack in addition to the three killed. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesSome 3,000 American troops typically are stationed in Jordan. The attack on Jordan marks the first targeting American troops in Jordan during the war and the first to result in the loss of American lives. ___Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Omar Akour in Amman, Jordan and Jon Gambrell in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Muhannad Mubaidin, Lloyd Austin, Jake Sullivan, Jon, Karine Jean, Pierre said, ”, Bassem Mroue, Omar Akour, Jon Gambrell Organizations: COLUMBIA, American, West Bank, . Central Command, Defense, White, Lebanese, Hezbollah, Hamas, Associated Press Locations: Jordan, Syrian, Iran, U.S, Iranian, Israel, Gaza, United States, Jordanian, Syria, Jordan . U.S, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Red, Columbia , South Carolina, Western, Jerusalem, Palestine, Beirut, Amman

☆ Four Countries Join U.S. in Pausing Funding for U.N. Aid Agency in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Patrick Kingsley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, during the first day of the California legislative session in Sacramento this month. The federal case in Northern California is unlikely to succeed, given legal precedents that limit judicial power over U.S. presidents on foreign policy decisions. Israel also said that inflammatory comments about Palestinians were taken out of context or made by individuals without decision-making power. One of her relatives is living under a nylon tarp in Gaza with her four children and husband, a cancer patient, she said. Israeli attacks have killed 88 relatives just on her mother’s side of the family, she said.

Persons: Biden, Judge Jeffrey White, “, Antony J, Blinken, Lloyd J, Austin III, Judge White, George W, Bush, Laila el, Haddad, Jean Lin, Katherine Gallagher, ” Erwin Chemerinsky, ” Basim, Elkarra, We’re, Mr Organizations: Palestinian, Calif, United Nations, International Court, Court of Justice, Hague, International Court of Justice, Government, Justice Department, Center for Constitutional Rights, University of California, Islamic, Democrat Locations: Gaza, California, Sacramento, Israel, U.S, Oakland, Fairfield , Calif, San Ramon, Northern California, Bay Area, Atlanta, Palestinian, United States, ”, United, Clarksville, Md, New York, Berkeley, Palestinian American

☆ Kenya court blocks deployment of police officers to Haiti
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Larry Madowo | Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Nairobi, Kenya CNN —A judge in Kenya has barred the East African nation from deploying 1,000 police officers to Haiti to lead a UN-backed multinational force to restore security in the Caribbean nation. High Court judge Chacha Mwita ruled on Friday that President William Ruto and his National Security Council do not have the authority to send police officers to Haiti or any other country under Kenyan law. But Kenyan politician Ekuru Aukot led a legal challenge to the planned in deployment in court, terming it unconstitutional. “There’s no reciprocal arrangement between Kenya and Haiti and there can be no legitimate deployment of police officers to Haiti,” Judge Mwita said when he read his ruling in Nairobi. Gang violence rose by more than 100% in Haiti last year with over 8000 victims documented, according to UN data.

Persons: Kenya CNN —, Chacha Mwita, William Ruto, United States “, Ekuru Aukot, “, ” Judge Mwita, Martin Kimani, Kimani, Jean Victor Geneus, ” Organizations: Kenya CNN, National Security Council, Kenyan, United, State Department, UN Security, UN, African, Security Locations: Nairobi, Kenya, Haiti, UN, Caribbean, United States, – Antigua, Barbuda, Bahamas, Jamaica

☆ Nikki Haley in her own words: Why America ‘has never been a racist country’
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Chelsea Bailey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Fox News host Brian Kilmeade asked Haley if she was “involved in a racist party.”Haley responded, “We’re not a racist country, Brian. “I understand that you don’t think America is a racist country now but … do you really think as a historical matter America has never been a racist country?” Tapper asked. But my parents never said we lived in a racist country. But I don’t think the intent was ever that we were going to be a racist country. But I refuse to believe that the premise of when they formed our country was based on the fact that it was a racist country to start with.

Persons: Nikki Haley, United States “, Jake Tapper, Haley, ”, ‘ We’ve, Brian Kilmeade, ” Haley, “ We’re, Brian, We’ve, Tapper, ’, “, ” Tapper, Here’s, you’re, ’ ”, “ institutionally, ’ ” Haley Organizations: CNN, Former South Carolina Gov, Republican, Fox News, MSNBC, Republican Party . Fox News, “, CNN ‘, UN Locations: United States, America, “ America, New Hampshire, Independence, South Carolina

☆ Davos: In AI race, months count in staying ahead of China, says US senator
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —The United States measures its lead over competitors in artificial intelligence in “months,” according to a lawmaker, highlighting the intense rivalry between nations to dominate a technology poised to transform the global economy. Speaking at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland Tuesday, Republican Senator Mike Rounds said the Biden administration’s decision to tighten controls on exports of advanced AI chips to China had bought the United States “a few more months” to maintain its competitive edge. Washington expanded restrictions on chip sales to China in October, further tightening a sweeping set of export controls introduced a year earlier. The move irked Beijing, which has vowed to “win the battle” in core technologies to bolster China’s position as a tech superpower. In a report Sunday, the International Monetary Fund predicted that AI will affect almost 40% of jobs around the world, “replacing some and complementing others.”

Persons: Mike Rounds, Biden, ”, Arvind Krishna, You’ve Organizations: London CNN, Economic, United, Senate, International Monetary Fund Locations: United States, Davos, Switzerland, China, Washington, Beijing

Search operations widened Friday with additional U.S. military personnel joining the effort, while Japanese coast guard and military ships focused on an undersea search using sonar. Japanese officials say they asked the U.S. military to halt Osprey flights in Japan except for those involved in the search operations. A total of 44 Ospreys have been deployed at U.S. and Japanese military bases in Japan. Denny Tamaki called on Japan’s defense and foreign ministries to request the U.S. military to suspend all Osprey flights in Japan, including in search operations. “I have serious doubts about Osprey safety even for their search and rescue operations.”

Persons: —, Sabrina Singh, Hirokazu Matsuno, Minoru Kihara, Ricky Rupp, ” Kihara, Rupp, Yoko Kamikawa, Japan Rahm Emanuel, United States “, Denny Tamaki, Tamaki, “, ” Organizations: TOKYO, Pentagon, U.S, Ospreys, U.S ., Defense, U.S . Forces Japan, Osprey, United, U.S . Air Force Special, Command, Yokota Air Base, Fifth Air Force, 353rd, Operations, U.S . Marine Corps Air, Iwakuni, Kadena Air Base, Gov Locations: Japan, U.S, Okinawa, United States, Yamaguchi prefecture

The American strikes on two Iranian military munitions stockpiles in Syria on Friday were carefully designed, President Biden’s aides said, to send two distinct messages to Tehran. It is the latest gamble by the United States to modify Iran’s behavior, few of which have worked in the past. He quickly added that the United States “has no intention nor desire to engage in further hostilities” if the Iranian-backed attacks stop. But the Iranians wanted to do something to pressure the United States to rein in Israel and to remind the Americans of Tehran’s power, U.S. officials said. When Mr. Biden came into office, he tried to restore the nuclear deal, which had largely contained Iran’s nuclear activity, international nuclear inspectors said, until Mr. Trump pulled out of it.

Persons: Biden’s, Biden, John F, Kirby, ” Mr, Qassem, Lloyd J, Austin III, United States “, Mr, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khamenei, Barack Obama, Donald J, Trump Organizations: Air Force, Pentagon, Iran’s Quds Force, U.S, ”, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Democratic Locations: Syria, Tehran, United States, Iran, East, U.S, Iraq, Iran’s Quds, Iranian, Israel, Lebanon, China

Israel has the right to defend itself and its people, full stop. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was at the White House for meetings and spoke to Israel's president and foreign minister, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israel's defense minister. But given the scale of the Hamas attacks and Israel's military response, the officials said they were not optimistic about any short-term solution. Zelenskyy, who is Jewish and had relatives who died in the Holocaust, said “Israel’s right to self-defense cannot be questioned." In Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps, hundreds took to the streets to celebrate the operation by Hamas.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, United States “, There’s, ’ ’, ” Biden, Netanyahu, King Abdullah II, Antony Blinken, Lloyd Austin, Israel, ” Netanyahu, We’ll, ”, – “, It’s, ’, Blinken, “, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ursula Von Der Leyen, OIaf Scholz, Karl Nehammer, Rishi Sunak, ” Nehammer, Mikhail Bogdanov, Bogdanov, Israel ”, Nasser Kanaani Organizations: WASHINGTON, Hamas, Israeli, White House, Defense, Pentagon, ”, United Arab, Telegram, Jewish, British, Austrian, Foreign Ministry, Tass, Saudi Foreign Ministry, Iranian Foreign Ministry, Associated Press Locations: Israel, United States, U.S, Kippur, Gaza, ’ ’, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Austrian, Vienna, Moscow, Iran, “ Israel, Palestine, Beirut, Tripoli

WASHINGTON (AP) — The threat of a federal government shutdown suddenly lifted late Saturday as President Joe Biden signed a temporary funding bill to keep agencies open with little time to spare after Congress rushed to approve the bipartisan deal. Political Cartoons View All 1190 ImagesIt’s been a sudden head-spinning turn of events in Congress after grueling days in the House pushed the government to the brink of a disruptive federal shutdown. The outcome ends, for now, the threat of a shutdown, but the reprieve may be short-lived. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has championed Ukraine aid despite resistance from his own ranks, is expected to keep pursuing U.S. support for Kyiv in the fight against Russia. “All of us have a responsibility to lead and to govern,” said Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kevin McCarthy, ” Biden, McCarthy, “ We’re, ” McCarthy, Chuck Schumer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Hakeem Jeffries, Mitch McConnell, “, ” McConnell, Sen, Michael Bennet, ” Bennet, Republican holdouts, ”, Mario Diaz, Biden, McCarthy’s, Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump, Trump, Mike Lawler, Mike Quigley of, Colleen Long, Mary Clare Jalonick Organizations: WASHINGTON, Capitol, Federal Aviation Administration, Senate, Democratic, Republicans, Hill, Republican, U.S, Kyiv, Russia, White House, Transportation Security Administration, Democrat, Congressional Ukraine Caucus, Associated Press Locations: Ukraine, United States, Washington, New York, Ky, Poland, Florida, America, Mike Quigley of Illinois

The Russian flag flying outside la Maison Russe, or the Russian House, a cultural center in Bangui. As the Kremlin tries to get its arms around Wagner’s sprawling commercial network, what’s next for the group remains unclear. Anfisa Alexandrovna Kiryanova (right) appears in the background of a photo of Prigozhin outside the Russian House last month. In three tents outside the center, Russian language classes were taking place, while Russian movies were being screened in a cinema room. “He was my friend, he was my best friend in front of all central African people,” he said of the late mercenary boss.

Persons: Central African Republic CNN —, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin’s, ” Nathalia, –, ” Dukhan, Faustin, Masked Wagner, Maison, Dmitry Syty, ”, Syty, Prigozhin, Nafisa, Anfisa Alexandrovna Kiryanova, Kiryanova, begrudgingly, Touadera, Vitali Perfilev, CNN’s, Fidèle, Gouandjika, “, Sebastian Shukla, ” Gouandjika, Putin, ’ Organizations: Central African, Central African Republic CNN, Central African Republic, Russe, Russian, Bangui . CNN, Kremlin, CNN, Wagner, European, European Union, United, Local, Sorbonne, Linguistic University, US, Russia’s Ministry of Defence, Ilyushin IL Locations: Bangui, Central, Central African Republic, la, Russian, Bangui ., Moscow, Russia, United States, Paris, Prigozhin

☆ Why It’s Alarming That Poland Can Test Women for Abortion Pills - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Patrick Adams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Women who suffer miscarriages and stillbirths in El Salvador are sometimes accused of homicide and sentenced to years or even decades in prison. Now that Roe has been overturned, U.S. abortion-rights advocates are bracing for cases like these to become increasingly common in America. A small but growing group of abortion “abolitionists” are calling for women who get abortions to be charged with murder and criminally punished — even put to death. Amid these concerns, reproductive rights activists need to prepare for the possibility that testing for abortion drugs could happen here, too. Should prosecutors in Poland inspire copycats in American states, no health care provider should enable or support such a move.

Persons: Roe, ”, —, what’s, it’s, United States “, Glen P, Jackson Organizations: Republican, Food, West Virginia University Locations: Europe, El Salvador, America, Poland, copycats, Wroclaw, United States

☆ Evan Gershkovich’s family appeals to the U.N. for help in securing his release.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Anushka Patil | More About Anushka Patil | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The family of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter who has been detained in Russia since March, appealed on Wednesday for the United Nations’ help in bringing him home, urging world leaders who will soon be attending the U.N. General Assembly to join the call for his release. “Next week, world leaders will gather here to discuss many important issues,” Mr. Gershkovich’s father, Mikhail, said at a briefing in New York alongside the American ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield. He called on those leaders to stand with his son, saying Evan Gershkovich represented “the basic right to free press and freedom of expression” and that “these rights are bedrock principles of the United Nations.”The United States “will not rest until Evan and Paul and all wrongfully detained Americans are home safe and sound,” Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said, referring to Paul Whelan, a former Marine serving a 16-year sentence on what U.S. officials say are bogus espionage charges.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Mr, Gershkovich’s, Mikhail, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Evan, Paul, Ms, Thomas, Paul Whelan Organizations: Wall Street, United Nations, General Assembly, United, Marine, U.S Locations: Russia, New York, American, United States

☆ American economic power is potent but unstable
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Peter Thal Larsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - For the past 15 years, the iPhone has been a totem of U.S. economic power. If the country is cooling on the $2.8 trillion company, it’s a potent indicator of increasingly frosty relations with the United States. Perhaps most significantly, the U.S. government realised it could use the internet to spy on adversaries and the financial system to subdue them. The tendency of capitalism to produce a handful of giant companies, many of them headquartered in the United States, helped successive administrations exert their authority. A complete severing of economic links between China and the United States is hard to imagine.

Persons: Norman Angell, Thomas Friedman, Vladimir Putin, Edward Snowden, Henry Farrell, Abraham Newman, Johns Hopkins SAIS, Putin, Biden, ”, Farrell, Newman, Donald Trump, ” Farrell, Allen Lane, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: Reuters, Apple, World Trade Organization, New York Times, National Security Agency, U.S . Treasury, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown University, WTO, Huawei, BNP, Biden Administration, Intel, U.S ., European, United, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing, United States, France, Russian, U.S, North Korea, Iran, New York, Washington, Sudan, Cuba, Ukraine, America, Russia, Germany, United, Europe

Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called US military aid "the most profitable investment into world's security" during a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Kyiv on Wednesday. Kuleba said he and Blinken had “an open, sincere and friendly conversation” and reiterated that the US support for Ukraine is long-standing. “Anyone in the world who has doubted that Ukraine and the US will stand shoulder to shoulder until the end of this war have received a powerful signal today that they are wrong. We are moving forward together because we understand this war is not just about the future of Ukraine, but the future of the world,” he said. The leaders also ate at a McDonald’s in Kyiv, which had recently reopened.

Persons: Dmytro Kuleba, Antony Blinken, ” Kuleba, Kuleba, United States “, Blinken, ” Organizations: “, Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, Tactical Missile Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, United States, Ukrainian, Romania

☆ Investigation launches into China's 5G chip in new Huwaei Mate 60 Pro phone
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The United States government is seeking more information about the Huawei Mate 60 Pro, a Chinese smartphone powered by an advanced chip. The government cited perceived national security concerns, such as the potential for cyberattacks or spying from the Chinese governement. The inclusion of a custom-built 5G chip would be a major benchmark for Huawei as it grapples with the impact of the US restrictions on its device business. But he said the launch also raises questions around how Huawei managed to launch the phone when it has spent the past four years under US restrictions banning access to 5G technology. “While access to 5G for the chipset is one thing, I’m not sure how the company managed to source all the other components that need to go into a 5G smartphone, such as power amps, switches and filters,” he said.

Persons: Jake Sullivan, “, ” David McQueen, TechInsights, Sullivan Organizations: CNN, United, Huawei, Kirin, US National, House, ABI Research, China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation Locations: United States, Chinese, China

☆ Blinken: US pauses certain assistance programs to Niger's government
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The United States “is pausing certain foreign assistance programs benefiting the government of Niger” amid the military takeover in the West African country, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Friday. Blinken described it as an “interim measure” and said it does not impact all foreign assistance programs. “Most importantly, the provision of life-saving humanitarian and food assistance will continue,” Blinken said in a statement. Indeed, Blinken and others have reiterated that US assistance is at risk unless the coup leaders restore democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum to power. The Economic Community of West African States has warned that they will use military force unless the coup leaders back down by Sunday.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, ” Blinken, ”, “, Issifou Djibo, Shutterstock, Mohamed Bazoum, we’re Organizations: CNN, United, African Union, National Assembly, West, State Department, US State Department Locations: United States, Niger, West, U.S, Niamey, Sahel, States

☆ Why Iran and Cuba Turned Their Back on the U.S. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Peter Beinart | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

One reason Cuba still needs Beijing’s money is that the Biden administration has kept key Trump sanctions in place. When the two countries signed the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran’s foreign minister at the time, Mohammad Javad Zarif, called it “not a ceiling but a solid foundation. We must now begin to build on it.” Iran’s leaders, like Cuba’s, hoped better relations with the United States would spur Western investment. Mr. Trump canceled the nuclear deal and reimposed harsh sanctions. This isn’t the first time the United States has driven smaller nations into the arms of its superpower adversaries.

Persons: Obama, Conan O’Brien, Andrew Cuomo, Steve Nash, Michael J, Bustamante, ’, Donald Trump, Evan Ellis, Biden, Mohammad Javad Zarif, ”, Zarif, Hassan Rouhani, Trump, ” Fredrik Logevall, Ho, Ho Chi Minh, Viet Minh Organizations: University of Miami, White, Wall Street, Cuban, U.S . Army, College, Trump, National Security, Strategic Services, Japan Locations: Cuban, Havana, University of Miami Cuba, Cuba, America, China, Iran, United States, Moscow, Russia, Ho Chi, France, Viet

☆ Opinion | How to Stave Off Constitutional Extinction
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Jill Lepore | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

From the very start, Americans proposed amendments. The U.S. Constitution was itself an act of amendment, written in 1787 because the Articles of Confederation were technically amendable but, for all practical purposes, not. What would be the national disgrace if … a vile Negro should come to rule over us?” These possibilities were, to Brackenridge, absurd. The rejected Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork once explained how originalists think about the Constitution and the historical record. Mecom’s biblical plea for nonviolence, for beating swords into plowshares, can be read as the constitutional preference of a constituency — women — unrepresented at the convention.

Persons: Lemuel Haynes, “, George Mason, Hugh Henry Brackenridge, Brackenridge, Robert Bork, George Washington, Martha, ” Bork, George, Jane Franklin Mecom, Benjamin Franklin, ”, — unrepresented Organizations: Continental Army, Massachusetts, Constitution, United, New York State Locations: Independence, Massachusetts, U.S, Philadelphia, Virginia, United States, New

CNN —Former Vice President Mike Pence staked out a series of clear differences with boss-turned-2024 rival Donald Trump, and needled other Republican contenders, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in a CNN town hall in Iowa on Wednesday night. Pence participates in a CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall moderated by CNN's Dana Bash at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 7. “I know the difference between a genius and a war criminal, and I know who needs to win the war in Ukraine,” Pence said. He’s made it clear that he wants to recreate that old Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.”Pence participates in a CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall on Wednesday.

Persons: Mike Pence, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Pence, Trump, Vladimir Putin, ”, ” Pence, “, Pence’s, Jack Smith’s, CNN's Dana Bash, Will Lanzoni, CNN Pence, Putin, it’s, Nikki Haley, DeSantis, Haley’s, DeSantis –, He’s, –, Bash, I’d, ’ ” Pence, Roe, Wade, he’d, United States “ Organizations: CNN, Florida Gov, Republican, Ukraine, Trump, Social Security, Grand View University, Pence’s CNN, Justice Department, National Archives, FBI, Justice, CNN Republican Presidential, Trump’s United Nations, GOP, Hall, America, Electoral, Republican Party, Capitol Locations: Iowa, Russia, Des Moines, Ukraine, Pence’s, Des Moines , Iowa, United States, Indiana, Eastern Europe, Trump, ”

☆ 5 Things to Know About Mike Pence
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Maggie Astor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Now he is one of a growing number of Mr. Trump’s opponents in the Republican presidential primary. He dropped his campaign for re-election as governor when Mr. Trump named him as his running mate in 2016. Here are five things to know about Mr. Pence. Before Mr. Trump was nominated in 2016, Mr. Pence — like many Republicans — was critical of him. Among other things, in 2015, he called Mr. Trump’s suggestion to bar Muslims from entering the United States “offensive and unconstitutional.”But once Mr. Pence agreed to be Mr. Trump’s running mate, he went all in.

Persons: Mike Pence, Donald J, Trump, Trump’s, Pence, Republicans —, ” Organizations: Republican, Representatives, Trump, Republicans Locations: Indiana, United States

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