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[1/6] Kennedy Center honorees U2 band member Bono greets Cuban-born American composer, conductor and educator Tania Leon during a reception for Kennedy Center honorees ahead of the official gala at the State Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 3, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah SilbigerWASHINGTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Actor George Clooney, singer-songwriter Amy Grant, singer Gladys Knight, composer Tania León and rock group U2 were set to be celebrated on Sunday for their contributions to the arts with a White House reception and Kennedy Center Honors show. The Kennedy Center event, now in its 45th year, honors stars from music, stage and screen for their "contribution to American culture." Grant rose to prominence as a contemporary Christian music singer who later crossed over to pop stardom, amassing six Grammy Awards. Irish band U2, with members Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr., has won 22 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

Democratic leaders in New Hampshire and Iowa quickly responded that they plan to ignore the DNC, follow state law and hold their nominations as planned. A New Hampshire law explicitly sets the state's primary date ahead of any DNC calendar. The changes could ease Biden's path to re-election by reshuffling the calendar to favor states that supported his nomination, in particular South Carolina. Biden's 2020 presidential campaign was struggling until he won South Carolina and went on to gain the party's nomination. "Joe Biden's political career was defined when South Carolina Democrats essentially handed him the Democratic Party nomination and the presidency," said Scala.

☆ Biden's offer to talk to Putin is a trial balloon to end war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Steve Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden has floated a trial balloon to President Vladimir Putin to determine whether Russia, after months of battlefield losses and stalled gains, is ready to end its invasion of Ukraine. "I'm prepared to speak with Mr. Putin if in fact there is an interest in him deciding he's looking for a way to end the war. Where does he find himself in a position he does not, not only lose face but lose significant power in Russia," Biden said at a Democratic fundraiser in New York in October. Biden, who talks regularly to Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskiy, has previously been clear he defers to Ukraine's wishes. "There’s no — nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine," Biden said Nov. 14, when asked about possible negotiations.

☆ Biden trial balloon to Putin on Ukraine appears to quickly pop
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Steve Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden floated a trial balloon to President Vladimir Putin intended to determine whether Russia, after months of battlefield losses and stalled gains, is ready to end its invasion of Ukraine. Biden and his national security advisers have wondered for months what it would take to entice Putin into a diplomatic off-ramp. Where does he find himself in a position he does not, not only lose face but lose significant power in Russia," Biden said at a Democratic fundraiser in New York in October. Biden, who talks regularly to Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskiy, has previously been clear he defers to Ukraine's wishes. "There’s no — nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine," Biden said Nov. 14, when asked about possible negotiations.

The climate bill that favors domestic production could possibly restrict trade, European countries say. Europe's industry fears that the bill, which gives tax credit for each eligible renewable energy component produced in a U.S. factory, would take away potential investment from the continent. The IRA, which was signed into law in August, also provides a tax credit of 30% of the cost of new or upgraded factories that build renewable energy components. "We're going to continue to create manufacturing jobs in America but not at the expense of Europe," Biden said. Biden in August signed the $52.7 billion semiconductor chips manufacturing subsidy and research law, which subsidizes U.S. chip manufacturing and expands research funding.

[1/2] Caucus goers wait in the corner for Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden at their caucus site in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., February 3, 2020. After Iowa, both Democrats and Republicans hold state primaries that narrow down presidential candidates even further. Their push to change the primary calendar picked up momentum after 2020 when the Democrats' Iowa caucuses were plagued by technical and communication issues that delayed the announcement of a winner. The state has traditionally held the first primary, right after Iowa's caucuses, but some Democrats would like more-diverse Nevada to get that spot. But New Hampshire state law requires its secretary of state to set the primary date seven days before any other, providing state officials a firewall against any efforts to boot them as the first primary state.

Pelosi said the House would vote separately on Wednesday on a proposal to give seven days of paid sick leave to railroad employees. There are no paid sick days under the tentative deal after unions asked for 15 and railroads settled on one personal day. "Guaranteeing 7 paid sick days to rail workers would cost the rail industry a grand total of $321 million a year – less than 2% of its profits," Sanders said. The railroads oppose giving their workers paid sick time because they would have to hire more staff. "I can’t in good conscience vote for a bill that doesn’t give rail workers the paid leave they deserve," Representative Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat, said on Twitter.

[1/2] French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech as he hosts a reception for the mayors of France, at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, France, November 23, 2022. The visit also highlights the unique way that Macron has raised France's profile on the world stage, and particularly in the United States. From Beirut to Bangkok, and from the Kremlin to the White House, he has sought to place himself at the center of every crisis, with a flair for seizing the moment. The White House defends the bill as necessary to boost the electric vehicle industry and other clean energy initiatives, saying subsidies play an important role. After Biden apologized publicly, Macron seemed less than mollified, saying "Trust is like love: Declarations are good, but proof is better."

☆ Biden to fete Macron with Maine lobster, California sparkling wine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinWASHINGTON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - From Maine lobster to California wines, President Joe Biden will showcase the flavors of America at a state dinner on Thursday for French President Emmanuel Macron. The menu will feature some American specialties, butter poached lobster from Maine, American Osetra caviar, and beef and potatoes followed by cheeses from Oregon, California and Wisconsin. All this will be washed down by wines from California - Newton "Unfiltered" Chardonnay and Anakota "Knights Valley" Cabernet Sauvignon, along with a California sparkling wine with French roots, Roederer Estate Brut Rose. Serving American-made wine to official French visitors is not original to Biden. Barack Obama served French President François Hollande a Chardonnay from a Virginia's Thibaut-Janisson Winery, founded by two French natives.

Trump began his 2024 bid for the White House on Nov. 15, and is Republican voters' top choice, according to opinion polls. McCarthy was pressed for his thoughts on the Trump dinner by reporters at the White House, after talks with President Joe Biden. "I don't think anybody should be spending any time with Nick Fuentes," said McCarthy, currently the House minority leader. "His views are nowhere within the Republican Party or within this country itself." PENCE CALLS FOR APOLOGYTrump's former Vice President Mike Pence on Monday called for an apology from Trump for the meeting with Fuentes.

☆ Live Nation, Ticketmaster may need breakup, some senators say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Taylor Swift poses on the red carpet for the 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) at the PSD Bank Dome in Duesseldorf, Germany, November 13, 2022. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Ticketmaster and owner Live Nation Entertainment, the events ticketing giant behind the recently botched sale of Taylor Swift concert tickets, should be broken up by the Department of Justice if any misconduct is found in an ongoing investigation, Democratic senators said Monday. "This may be the only way to truly protect consumers, artists, and venue operators and to restore competition in the ticketing market." Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged in 2010 after a DOJ-brokered settlement that officials said would encourage competition and send ticket prices down. Instead, "across all genres and venues, Ticketmaster prices have more than tripled in the past 20 years," the senators wrote.

☆ Explainer: What's the latest on Biden's U.S. student loan forgiveness?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

On Nov. 22, Biden said he would extend the COVID-19 pandemic-era pause in student loan payments until no later than June 30, 2023. WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR LOAN FORGIVENESS? About 26 million Americans have applied for student loan forgiveness since August, and the U.S. Department of Education has already approved requests from 16 million. U.S. borrowers hold about $1.77 trillion in student debt, according to the latest Federal Reserve figures. Biden's student loan forgiveness plan could add $300 billion to $600 billion to the federal debt, economists estimate.

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to the media after an alleged Russian missile blast in Poland, in Bali, Indonesia, November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueWASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden has been adamant that the United States will back Ukraine in its nine-month fight to repel a Russian invasion. We will determine what happened and what the appropriate next steps would be," said White House spokesperson Adrienne Watson. Sullivan, who has been in touch with Russian officials about the risks around the Ukraine invasion, did not make contact in relation to this incident, a White House official said. "It's now just a matter of doing forensics work to determine what kind of missile it was," the official said.

Several Biden aides and advisers, speaking on condition of anonymity, gave their assessment of how the president and his team view Trump's entry into the race. Trump made his announcement on Tuesday night as he sought to get a jump on potential rivals for the Republican nomination. Biden, who defeated Trump in the contentious 2020 election, thus far is remaining mum publicly. Biden defeated Trump by more than 7 million in the nationwide popular vote tally and by a margin of 306 to 232 in the state-by-state Electoral College that determines the outcome of presidential elections. A few hours before Trump's announcement, the White House launched a new webpage highlighting the Biden administration's achievements from creating manufacturing jobs and lowering drug prices for seniors to gun reform.

☆ Biden holding emergency meeting with global leaders on Poland blasts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Nandita Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during the G20 leaders summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. Dita Alangkara/Pool via REUTERSBALI, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Global leaders gathered for the G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, were holding an emergency meeting on Wednesday after deadly explosions in Poland that Ukraine and Polish authorities said were caused by Russian-made missiles. The meeting was convened by U.S. President Joe Biden, the White House said, after two people were killed in an explosion in Przewodow, a village in eastern Poland near the border with Ukraine. Leaders from the United States, Germany, Canada, Netherlands, Japan, Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom were taking part in the meeting. The leaders were briefly seen together around a conference table at the start of the meeting.

☆ Exclusive: Kamala Harris to visit Philippine island at edge of South China Sea dispute
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The visit, scheduled for next Tuesday, will make Harris the highest-ranking American official to visit the island chain adjacent to the Spratly Islands. Beijing claims some territories in the waters off Palawan and much of the South China Sea as part of China, citing domestic historical maps. Harris' trip marks her second to Asia in three months and follows Biden's week-long trip to the region. The Harris trip also includes a stop in Thailand for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting. During her last trip to the region, Harris accused China of actions to "coerce and intimidate" neighbors.

"I know I'm a cockeyed optimist," Biden told reporters in Cambodia, referencing a sunny song from the musical South Pacific, "but I'm not surprised by the turnout." A Democratic victory in a Georgia Senate runoff on Dec. 6 would give the party outright majority control, bolstering its sway over committees, bills, and judicial picks. As of Sunday evening, Republicans had won 211 seats and the Democrats 206, with 218 needed for a majority. World leaders at an East Asia summit of ASEAN nations told Biden they are closely following the midterms results, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One. He has said he will invite Republicans and Democrats to the White House once he returns.

☆ Exclusive: India can buy as much Russian oil as it wants, outside price cap, Yellen says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Russia is going to find it very difficult to continue shipping as much oil as they have done when the EU stops buying Russian oil," Yellen said. Final details of the price cap to be imposed by wealthy G7 democracies and Australia are still coming together ahead of a Dec. 5 deadline. Russian oil "is going to be selling at bargain prices and we're happy to have India get that bargain or Africa or China. India's finance and energy ministries were not available for comment on Yellen's remarks, but other officials have said they were wary of the untested price cap mechanism. "I do not think we will follow the price cap mechanism, and we have communicated that to the countries.

☆ Factbox: Top takeaways from the Biden-Xi meeting in Bali
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Xi too was explicit about Taiwan, calling it the "first red line" that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations. The White House said Biden and Xi agreed to "deepen constructive efforts" to address issues such as climate change, health and food security. But according to the White House statement, Biden and Xi "underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine". Biden told reporters after the meeting there was no need for concerns about a new Cold War between the United States and China. At the same time, Biden warned Xi that such actions by North Korea would result in bolstered U.S. and allied military capabilities in Northeast Asia.

☆ Xi to Biden: Knock off the democracy vs. autocracy talk
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Chinese president Xi Jinping, whose consolidation of his own power as head of the world's second largest economy has raised concerns he plans to be a ruler for life, has had enough. "Xi Jinping pointed out that freedom, democracy and human rights are humanity's common pursuit, and also the Chinese Communist Party's constant pursuit," the reports said. [1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit in Bali, Indonesia, November 14, 2022. Last year, Biden gathered over 100 world leaders for a virtual summit on the topic, asking them, "Will we allow the backward slide of rights and democracy to continue unchecked? Or will we together have a vision... and courage to once more lead the march of human progress and human freedom forward?"

☆ U.S. stops taking student debt relief applications after Trump judge ruling
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 11 (Reuters) - The United States government has stopped taking applications for student debt relief, after a federal judge blocked President Joe Biden's loan forgiveness plan, according to a notice on a government website. A judge in Texas who was appointed by former President Donald Trump ruled on Thursday that Biden's plan to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt was unlawful and must be vacated. "Courts have issued orders blocking our student debt relief program. As a result, at this time, we are not accepting applications. Editing by Heather Timmons and Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Ronald Reagan was 77 when he left the White House, but President Joe Biden, who turns 80 on Nov. 20, would be 86 by the time a second four-year term ends, should he win it. About a quarter of Republicans, 26%, think Trump may not be up for 2024 because of his age. Political affiliation aside, 68% of people surveyed think Biden may not be up for the challenge two years from now, and 49% say the same about Trump. Some 86% of Americans said they believe the cutoff for serving as president should be age 75 or younger, the poll found. Some Biden supporters said they admired Democrats' success under Biden, but were still uncertain about a possible next term.

☆ EXCLUSIVE India can buy as much Russian oil as it wants, outside price cap, Yellen says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden smiles during a rally with Democratic nominee for Maryland Governor Wes Moore, U.S. White House officials expressed a sense of vindication that Biden's fellow Democrats did better than expected. "Our intention is to run again, that's been our intention," Biden told reporters at the White House, his wife Jill sitting nearby. Biden said his family wanted him to run and he did not feel rushed to make a final decision. The White House has prepared for a host of investigations that may come from a Republican-controlled House, including over his son Hunter's business dealings.

He'll hold his first face-to-face meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G20, where he hopes to explore Xi's "red lines", talk to allies about punishing Russia for its Ukraine invasion and discuss containing North Korea after a barrage of missile tests. On Wednesday, Biden said U.S. aid for Ukraine will continue uninterrupted and any territorial compromise between the two countries is up to Ukraine. Putin will not attend the G20 summit in person but is due join one of the meetings virtually, an Indonesian government official said. They will address North Korea's "unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs," the official said. Biden will "continue to urge the Egyptian government to release political prisoners and undertake human rights related legal reforms," said one of the officials.

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