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☆ After 4 Months of War, Biden and Netanyahu Are on Different Timetables
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Peter Baker | Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel each addressed the future of the battle in Gaza this week, speaking just a day apart but worlds removed from one another in a way that captured the essential tension between the two men after more than four months of fighting. Mr. Netanyahu spoke of war and how it would continue even if there is a temporary cease-fire to secure the release of hostages, just “delayed somewhat.” Mr. Biden spoke of peace and how such a cease-fire deal could “change the dynamic,” leading to a broader realignment that would finally end the underlying conflict that has defined the Middle East for generations. Mr. Netanyahu has a compelling interest in prolonging the war against Hamas to postpone the day of reckoning when he will face accountability for failing to prevent the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. Mr. Biden conversely has a powerful incentive to end the war as soon as possible to tamp down anger in the left wing of his party before the fall re-election campaign when he will need all the support he can get. At the same time, each has reason to think he may yet get a better deal if the other loses his post.

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr, Netanyahu, Bibi, Donald J, Trump Organizations: Mr Locations: Israel, Gaza

☆ Biden Tries to Turn the Tables on Trump: ‘He’s About as Old as I Am’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a playful but pointed interview that was to air early Tuesday morning, Mr. Meyers sought to help the president address the age issue, which polls show is an important drawback in the minds of most voters. Mr. Meyers jokingly told the president that he had obtained classified information indicating that “you are currently 81 years old.”Mr. Biden went along with the joke. “That’s classified!”He then went on to jab Mr. Trump, who is 77, over a video in which he seems to call his wife, Melania Trump, by another name. “You got to take the other guy,” Mr. Biden said. “He’s about as old as I am, but he can’t remember his wife’s name.”

Persons: Biden, Seth Meyers ”, Donald J, Trump, Meyers, Mr, ”, “, Melania Trump Organizations: NBC

☆ Rocket Lab says contract backlog tops $1 billion, outlines Neutron progress toward first launch
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An Electron rocket launches the Baby Come Back mission from New Zealand on July 17, 2023. Rocket Lab is making steady progress on the development of its Neutron vehicle, as the company reported fourth-quarter results that saw its contract backlog soar above $1 billion. Year over year, Rocket Lab's fourth-quarter net loss widened by about 36% as the company continues to spend heavily to create its Neutron rocket. Shares of Rocket Lab slipped 5% in after-hours trading from its close at $4.71. Rocket Lab forecast first-quarter revenue between $92 million and $98 million.

Persons: Peter Beck Organizations: Revenue, LSEG, Space Development Agency, Rocket Locations: New Zealand

☆ As the Election Comes Into Focus, Pressure Builds in the West Wing
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A former adviser to President Biden has compared life in the White House to dog years: Every day feels like a week, every year like seven. And then there are times like these when it can feel as though an entire term plays out every few days. The past couple of months have become a particularly stressful period in the White House. The secretary of state has protesters camped outside his house throwing fake blood at his car. For some working in the West Wing or its nearby environs, it can be hard just to catch a breath.

Persons: Biden Organizations: U.S . Agency for International Development, White House Locations: Israel

☆ Biden Says He’s Hopeful for a Gaza Cease-Fire Within a Week
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Peter Baker | Michael D. Shear | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden said on Monday that he believed negotiators were nearing an agreement that would halt Israel’s military operations in Gaza within a week in exchange for the release of at least some of the more than 100 hostages being held by Hamas. Speaking with reporters during a stop in New York, Mr. Biden offered the most hopeful assessment of the hostage talks by any major figure in many days, suggesting that the war might be close to a major turning point. “I hope by the end of the weekend,” he said when asked by reporters when he expected a cease-fire to begin. We’re close. An Israeli delegation is expected to meet in Qatar with intermediaries from the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

Persons: Biden, ”, We’re, we’ll, Seth Meyers’s Locations: Gaza, New York, Qatar, United States, Egypt

☆ Warren Buffett honors Charlie Munger in annual note, Berkshire reports record cash pile
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-24 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | Eva Rothenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Courtesy of Susie Buffett Buffett teaches a class at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Courtesy of Susie Buffett Buffett married his first wife, Susan, in 1952. Courtesy of Susie Buffett Buffett and his wife pose at the beach with their three children. Courtesy of Susie Buffett Buffett poses for a photo in 1980. Nati Harnik/AP Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger are seen on a giant screen during the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in 2013.

Persons: Warren Buffett’s, Charlie Munger, Buffett, Munger, ”, Charlie, Berkshire Hathaway, “ Charlie, Munger’s, Greg Abel, Abel, Berkshire’s, Greg, ” Buffett, “ Greg, Berkshire Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett, Nati, Laila, Howard Buffett, Howard, Susie Buffett, Ernest, Susie Buffett Laila Buffett, Warren, Doris, Susie Buffett Warren Buffett, Susie Buffett Buffett, Susan, Peter, Lee Balterman, Salomon, Marcy Nighswander, AP Buffett, Buffett's, Mark Peterson, Curt Hudson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kathy Willens, Chris Machian, Dave Weaver, Michael Israel, John Sleezer, Bill Gates, Mario Tama, Barack Obama, Obama, doggedly, isn't, Jim Watson, Daniel Acker, Harry Benson, Getty Images Buffett, Astrid, David Cameron, Brendan Hoffman, Kristoffer Tripplaar, Alamy Buffett, Scott Eells, Chris, Franklin, Ndamukong Suh, Scott Olson, Huang Jihui, Jason Miller, Adam Jeffery, Hillary Clinton, Kempin, Forbes, Andy Kropa, Scott Morgan, Reuters Buffett, Andrew Harrer, Apple Berkshire Hathaway Organizations: New, New York CNN, Berkshire Hathaway, Investors, Oracle, “, Berkshire, Berkshire Berkshire, University of Nebraska -, Getty, Federal Reserve, AP, Omaha for Berkshire, Bloomberg, California Gov, Wall Street, Schwarzenegger's, Kansas City Royals, Kansas City Star, Girl Scouts, Buffett, Microsoft, Getty Images, White, British, Woodrow Wilson High, Washington, Forbes, Harlem Globetrotters, Cleveland Cavaliers, Moon, NBA, CNBC, Reuters, Apple Berkshire, Apple, Securities and Exchange Commission, HP, Paramount Locations: New York, Omaha, “ Berkshire, Berkshire, The Omaha , Nebraska, Omaha , Nebraska, University of Nebraska - Omaha, Omaha for, Woodstock, Trenton , New Jersey, AFP, Washington , DC, Illinois, Sun Valley , Idaho

☆ Opinion: Who is winning? Gen. Petraeus on Ukraine war, two years in
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

CNN —Two years into the Ukraine war, the tide has shifted, and Russian forces have some momentum, according to retired US General David Petraeus. Michal Dyjuk/AP/FILELast weekend Gen. Petraeus was at the Munich Security Conference, the leading global national security conference that was attended by pretty much every European leader and by top American officials – including Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. BERGEN: At the Munich Security Conference, what was the mood like? BERGEN: Who’s winning the war in Ukraine? BERGEN: What’s going on in Ukraine looks a lot like World War I, in the sense that it’s trench warfare, minefields, machine guns.

Persons: Peter Bergen, ”, David Petraeus, Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, Lord Andrew Roberts, ” David Petraeus, Michal Dyjuk, Petraeus, Kamala Harris, Antony Blinken, Alexey Navalny’s, Volodymyr Zelensky, Gen, PETRAEUS, I’ve, Olaf Scholz, Jens Stoltenberg, Tobias Schwarz, they’ll, Who’s, I’m, Vladimir Putin, Alexey Navalny, we’re, didn’t, Thomas Peter, –, Zelensky, can’t, what’s, There’s, Sergei Supinsky, it’s, Andrew Roberts, Biden, Donald Trump’s Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, Trump Administration, CNN, Munich Security Conference, Conference, Supreme, NATO, Munich, Reuters, Republicans, Kremlin, Russian Federation, Kherson –, Tactical Missile Systems, Pentagon, Getty, Congress, Munich Security, PETRAEUS Locations: New America, Ukraine, United States, Afghanistan, Iraq, Avdiivka, BERGEN, Munich, Europe, Russia, Russian, Spain, Moscow, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kherson, Ukrainian, Swedish, Donetsk, Sevastopol, Crimea, North Africa, Egypt, Kremlin, St, Petersburg, Moldova, Transnistria, Baltic, Soviet Union, AFP, ” BERGEN

☆ Mystery of whale song unraveled by scientists, study says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Amarachi Orie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

How baleen whales, which include humpback whales, are able to sing underwater has eluded scientists since whale songs were first discovered more than 50 years ago. A baleen whale’s larynx is shaped differently from other mammals. This structural adaptation allows the leviathan to breathe massive amounts of air in and out when they go to the surface, according to the study. Air sacs also evolved in a way that may allow a baleen whale to recycle air while creating vocal sounds, according to researchers. This means that most boating noises mask calls between baleen whales, reducing the distance over which they can communicate.

Persons: Olga Filatova, “, ”, Coen Elemans, ” Elemans, Elemans, they’ve, Patricia Jaqueline, Karim Iliya, James Rule, Ellen Coombs, Peter Buck Organizations: CNN, University of Southern, London’s, Museum, Smithsonian National Museum of Locations: Bering, University of Southern Denmark

☆ Secret Service Had to Adjust Tactics to Avoid Bites From Biden’s Dog
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Secret Service had to “adjust our operational tactics” to protect President Biden because the first family’s dog kept biting agents, including one who required six stitches and another whose blood spilled onto the floor of the White House, according to newly released internal emails posted online. Commander was banished from the White House last fall to an undisclosed location. “The recent dog bites have challenged us to adjust our operational tactics when Commander is present — please give lots of room (staying a terrain feature away if possible),” an assistant special agent in charge of the Presidential Protection Division wrote to the team. and military activities, and posted on his website, called The Black Vault. The Secret Service confirmed the documents were authentic.

Persons: Biden, Camp David, ”, “, Biden “, John Greenewald Organizations: White, Presidential, Service Locations: Delaware, California

☆ Megacap U.S. stocks are carrying the rest of the world. Here are the risks, and where to look for diversification
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Megacap tech stocks aren't just powering the U.S. stock market — they're also holding the world together. U.S. equities now comprise 70% of the MSCI World Index, the benchmark for large- and mid-cap companies across 23 developed markets. The MSCI World Index shifts regional and country weights based on broader economic trends. High levels of market concentration in the late 1920s to early 1930s, as well as 2000, coincided with a market top, he noted. The Europe Stoxx 600 has risen only 2.6% year to date, underperforming the U.S. broad market index.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Scott Rubner, Peter Berezin, Berezin, NVDA, Phillip Colmar, that's, Mike Dickson, Dickson, Warren Buffett's, Colmar, It's, you've, Germany DAX Organizations: Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, BCA Research, Big Tech, MRB Partners, Horizon Investments, Nikkei, British FTSE, France CAC Locations: U.S, Europe, Colmar, Japan, Asia, Germany, France

☆ Opinion: Alexey Navalny, one man who stood up to a dictatorship
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. “In his courageous and too short life,” wrote Russia scholar Daniel Treisman, “Navalny became a symbol of hope for the younger generations of his compatriots. “He never gave up on the prospect of what he called ‘the beautiful Russia of the future,’” Treisman noted. “For a ‘beautiful Russia of the future’ to emerge in coming years, Putin must lose the war he started. Navalny understood this.”“Navalny’s death represents the extinguishing of all hope for Russia’s turnaround,” wrote Sasha Vasilyuk.

Persons: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Joseph Stalin “, “, ”, you’ve, Alexey Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s, Navalny, fearlessly, Putin, Daniel Treisman, “ Navalny, Navalny’s, ’ ” Treisman, Sasha Vasilyuk, Alexey Navalny’s, Peter Bergen, Andrei Sakharov, ” Putin, Bergen, Nick Anderson, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Trump, authoritarians, Bill Bramhall, James Mattis, ” Peter Bergen, Frida Ghitis, Fidel Castro’s playbook, Patrick Mahomes, Andy “, Amy Bass, New York Democrat Tom Suozzi, George Santos, ” Suozzi, CNN Suozzi didn’t, Biden, isn’t, Long, Max Burns, ” “, Alejandro Mayorkas, ” “ Suozzi, Burns, Robert Hur’s, Norm Eisen, Richard Painter, Joshua Kolb, Hur, ” Joel Pett, Lawrence C, Levy, Julian Zelizer, Dean Obeidallah, Mark Dent, Dent, Saw, Clay Jones, David Orentlicher, ” Orentlicher, Will Cooper, Fani, Willis, Nathan, Wade, ” “ Willis, Antony Blinken, Batniji, Blinken, Fatah, Hussein, Don’t, David Horsey, Agency Jill Filipovic, Lynda Gorov, Taylor Swift, Jim Parrott, Mark Zandi, Brigid Schulte, Yuliya, Kara Alaimo, Frankie de la, Jackie Robinson’s, Jon Stewart’s, Jon Stewart, Matt Wilson, Jon Stewart skewered Trump, Bill Carter, Stewart, ” “ Stewart Organizations: CNN, IK, Moscow Times, Kremlin, Twitter, Facebook, Soviet, Tribune, Agency, Republican, Senate, Agency Former US Defense, Trump, , Kansas City Chiefs, Chiefs, nab, New, New York Democrat, Democratic, GOP, Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church, Super Bowl, Kansas, West Bank Locations: Soviet, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, New York, Washington, Georgia, ,, York, Glen Cove, Joel Osteen’s, Houston, Kansas City, America, ”, Kansas, Gaza, San Francisco, Israel, Iran

☆ Top Wall Street analysts like these 3 stocks for long-term growth
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Wall Street analysts are ignoring the short-term noise to focus on picking stocks with strong fundamentals and long-term growth potential. Here are three stocks favored by the Street's top analysts, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance. In reaction to the upbeat results, Baird analyst David Tarantino reiterated a buy rating on CMG stock and boosted the price target to $2,850 from $2,650. He thinks that this pace of unit growth, coupled with mid-single-digit comps, would help the company "sustain scarce top-line growth characteristics for many years to come." Total comparable sales growth came in at 2.7%, with e-commerce comps rising 21%.

Persons: Baird, David Tarantino, Tarantino, TipRanks, Meta's, Brian White, White, Meta, Peter Benedict, Benedict Organizations: Street, Grill, Meta, Costco Locations: Manhattan , New York, U.S, Canada

☆ Jimmy Carter’s Long Goodbye
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But Jimmy Carter has been confounding expectations throughout a life that has lasted nearly a century. As it turns out, there have been more final days than he or anyone around him anticipated. Hospice care is meant to ease the end for both patient and family, prescribed for those with less than six months to live. About half of those who enter hospice care last no more than 17 days. Mr. Carter, the only president ever to live to age 99, seems destined to keep pushing the limits.

Persons: Jimmy Carter, Carter Locations: Plains , Ga

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine called on world leaders not to abandon his country, citing the recent death of a Russian dissident as a reminder that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia would continue to test the international order, and pushing back against the idea of a negotiated resolution to the war. Mr. Zelensky, speaking on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, said that if Ukraine lost the war to Russia, it would be “catastrophic” not only for Kyiv, but for other nations as well. “Please do not ask Ukraine when the war will end,” he said. “Ask yourself why is Putin still able to continue it.”The two topics that have loomed over nearly every discussion at the yearly meeting of world leaders have been Russia and the potential weakening of trans-Atlantic relations, amid an increasingly pessimistic assessment of Kyiv’s ability to beat Moscow.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir V, Putin, ” Organizations: Munich Security, Kyiv, Moscow Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Russia

Wholesale prices spiked in January, rising 0.3% and above expectations in yet another sign that maybe inflation is proving harder to put to rest than the markets and the Federal Reserve had hoped. Economists had expected a 0.1% monthly increase in both the overall producer price index – a measure of prices paid by businesses – and the core, which leaves out often volatile energy and food costs. Increases in shelter costs accounted for more than two-thirds of the increase in the main index, although food prices also increased while energy costs fell. Investors had bought into the notion of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates in May, but that was called into question by the stronger-than-expected news on inflation. “When will the recession start?” asks Peter Berezin, chief global strategist at BCA Research in a report out Friday morning.

Persons: ”, Clark Bellin, John Ingram, Chris Giamo, Giamo, “, Peter Berezin Organizations: Federal Reserve, Labor Department, PPI, CPI, Dow Jones, Investors, ”, Crestwood Advisors, “, TD Bank, BCA Research Locations: U.S

☆ Opinion: In Navalny’s death, echoes of Stalin
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —We don’t yet know the exact details of jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny’s death, reported Friday by the Russian prison service — and we may never find the precise truth. When the Wall fell, Putin was a KGB officer in Dresden in what was then East Germany. And the most dangerous thing a Russian leader can do is lose a war as the Romanovs did in World War I, which helped spark the Russian revolution in 1917. By contrast with Gorbachev, Stalin ruled with an iron fist and was critical to the Allies winning World War II. How will news of Navalny’s death be received in Russia?

Persons: Peter Bergen, ”, Alexey Navalny’s, Kamala Harris, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, Navalny, Andrei Sakharov, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Mikhail Gorbachev, ” Gorbachev, quagmire, Alexis de Tocqueville, Gorbachev’s, Gorbachev, Stalin, Tucker Carlson’s, Boris Nadezhdin Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, Trump Administration, CNN, Munich Security, Human Rights, Soviet Union, Soviet, Kremlin, Great, Literature Locations: New America, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Soviet, Eastern Europe, Dresden, East Germany, Afghanistan, Russian

The news of Mr. Navalny’s death shocked many at the conference and could add new urgency to the discussion. Ms. Harris said at the start of her address to the conference — which had already been expected to focus on Russia — that the United States was still trying to confirm the reports of Mr. Navalny’s death, but that it held Russia’s government responsible. “I made it clear to him that I believe the consequences of that would be devastating for Russia,” Mr. Biden told reporters after meeting with Mr. Putin in Geneva in 2021. “What do you think happens when he’s saying it’s not about hurting Navalny, all the stuff he says to rationalize the treatment of Navalny, and then he dies in prison?” Mr. Biden continued. “I saw Yulia Navalnaya and Leonid Volkov last night here in Munich,” said Michael McFaul, a former American ambassador to Moscow.

Persons: Aleksei A, Yulia Navalnaya, clampdown, Navalnaya, Leonid Volkov, Kamala Harris, Antony J, Blinken, Vladimir V, Putin, Navalny’s, Harris, ”, Mr, Biden, Navalny, “, ” Mr, it’s, Ms, Michael McFaul, Aleksei, ” Edward Wong Organizations: Munich Security Conference, ” Locations: Munich, Europe, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, United States, Geneva, American

☆ Navalny’s Wife Makes Dramatic Appearance After Reports of His Death
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Just hours after her husband was reported dead, Yulia Navalnaya made a dramatic, surprise appearance at a gathering of world leaders in Munich on Friday. Conference organizers quickly wrapped up a session with Vice President Kamala Harris and turned the microphone over to Ms. Navalnaya. “We cannot believe Putin and his government,” Ms. Navalnaya told the audience. They will be brought to justice, and this day will come soon.”Ms. Navalnaya spoke clearly and calmly, with remarkable composure, her face etched with evident pain but under complete control. Standing at the lectern, she clasped her hands in front of her and stared straight ahead as if willing herself to focus on her message.

Persons: Yulia Navalnaya, Vladimir V, Putin, ”, Aleksei A, Navalny, Kamala Harris, Navalnaya, ” Ms Organizations: Munich Security Conference, Conference Locations: Munich, Russia, Russian

☆ Biden Condemns ‘Putin and His Thugs’ for Navalny’s Death as Allies ‘Panic’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden blamed President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia personally on Friday for the reported death of the imprisoned Russian dissident Aleksei A. Navalny, and cited the case in pressing House Republicans to approve military aid to Ukraine in its war with Moscow. “Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” Mr. Biden said in a televised statement from the White House. “Putin is responsible. No one should be fooled, not in Russia, not at home, not anywhere in the world.”Asked if Mr. Navalny had been assassinated, Mr. Biden said the United States did not have a full understanding of the circumstances. “The answer is, we don’t know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did.”

Persons: Biden, Vladimir V, Putin, Aleksei A, Navalny, ” Mr, “ Putin, Mr, ” Organizations: “ Locations: Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, United States

☆ Labour opposition deals another historic blow to UK PM Rishi Sunak with by-election defeats
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Winning candidate Gen Kitchen said the result was a "stunning victory for the Labour Party and must send a message from Northamptonshire to Downing Street." LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's ruling Conservative Party suffered another double by-election defeat on Thursday, as the opposition Labour Party's momentum shows no sign of slowing. The double defeat of Thursday was the latest in a string of unfavorable by-election results for the ruling party in what were previously considered safe seats. "I was very pleased last night to see that we were clearly getting Tory switchers, in other words people who hadn't voted for the Labour Party before, coming out last night and voting for the Labour Party in a by-election." The Labour Party maintains a lead of more than 20 points over the Conservatives in all national polling, with a general election due no later than January 2025.

Persons: Kitchen, Peter Bone, —, Rishi Sunak's, Helen Harrison, Gen Kitchen, Chris Skidmore, Damien Egan, Keir Starmer, Tory switchers, hadn't, Boris Johnson, Robert Ford Organizations: Labour, Labour Party, Downing, Conservative, Conservatives, LONDON, Conservative Party, Kettering Leisure Village, Tamworth, Liberal Democrats, BBC, University of Manchester, CNBC Locations: Northamptonshire, Wellingborough , Northamptonshire, KETTERING, England, Wellingborough, Kettering, Kettering , England, Kingswood , South Gloucestershire, North, Kingswood, Mid Bedfordshire, West Midlands, Selby, Ainsty, Somerton, Frome

LONDON (AP) — Voters in two districts in England delivered new blows to beleaguered Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, electing opposition-party lawmakers in seats that Sunak’s Conservatives had held for years. Labour Party candidate Damien Egan won the House of Commons seats of Kingswood in southwest England, and Labour's Gen Kitchen took Wellingborough in the country’s center, results announced Friday showed. The Conservatives won both by large margins at the last national election in 2019 but saw support collapse in Thursday's special elections. The hard-right Reform party — formerly known as the Brexit Party — came third, putting more pressure on the Conservatives. The Conservatives pointed to the low turnout — less than 40% of eligible voters cast ballots — as a sign British electors are not enthusiastic about Labour.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Damien Egan, Kitchen, —, Brexit Party —, Keir Starmer, Chris Skidmore, Peter Bone, Sunak, Liz Truss, Brexit, Boris Johnson, John Curtice, ” “, ” Organizations: —, Labour Party, Wellingborough, Conservatives, Brexit Party, Labour, Conservative, European Union, University of Strathclyde, BBC Locations: England, Kingswood, Wellingborough

☆ In Munich, Harris Aims to Reassure European Allies as Trump Disparages NATO
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As Air Force Two taxied for takeoff bound for Germany, Vice President Kamala Harris made her way through the plane handing out heart-shaped Valentine’s Day cookies. It was good practice for her trip to the Munich Security Conference, where her mission will be to reassure European allies that America still loves them. Arriving in Munich even as House Republicans block military aid to Ukraine and former President Donald J. Trump vows to encourage Russia to attack “delinquent” NATO allies, Ms. Harris has the unenviable task of telling European leaders not to worry too much about those things. And she faces the challenge of making the case that Mr. Trump and his backers are wrong about the value of alliances. While the meetings she and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will have in Munich will be aimed at calming European leaders, the speech she will deliver to the conference on Friday will be aimed as much at the American audience back home.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Donald J, Trump, Harris, Antony J, Blinken, Biden, Harris’s Organizations: Air Force, Munich Security Conference, Republicans, NATO Locations: Germany, America, Munich, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Trump’s NATO Threat Reflects a Wider Shift on America’s Place in the World
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When former President Donald J. Trump told a campaign rally in South Carolina last weekend that he would encourage Russia to attack NATO allies who “didn’t pay,” there were gasps of shock in Washington, London, Paris, Tokyo and elsewhere around the world. But not in South Carolina. The visceral rejection of the American-led security architecture constructed in the years after World War II serves as a reminder of how much the notion of U.S. leadership in the world has shifted in recent years. Alliances that were once seen as the bulwark of the Cold War are now viewed as an outdated albatross by a significant segment of the American public that Mr. Trump appeals to. While polls show most Americans still support NATO and other alliances, the increasingly vocal objections in some quarters hark back to a century ago when much of America just wanted to be left alone.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, “, Trump’s Organizations: Trump, “, NATO Locations: South Carolina, Russia, Washington , London, Paris, Tokyo, Moscow, United States, Iraq, Afghanistan, America

☆ Biden Denounces Trump’s Support for Russian Attack on Allies as ‘Un-American’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden denounced former President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday for encouraging Russia to attack some NATO allies, calling the comments “dumb,” “shameful,” “dangerous” and “un-American” as he implored House Republicans to defy their putative nominee and pass new security aid for Ukraine and Israel. In a televised statement, Mr. Biden said a $95 billion spending package passed earlier in the day on a bipartisan vote in the Senate was imperative to help defeat the “vicious onslaught” of President Vladimir V. Putin’s Russia against Ukraine. And he linked the legislative debate to Mr. Trump’s campaign speech siding with Moscow over European allies he deemed “delinquent.”“Can you imagine?” Mr. Biden told reporters at the White House. No other president in our history has ever bowed down to a Russian dictator. Not only would he not help them, Mr. Trump said, he would “encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” against them.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, Trump, Vladimir V, ”, Mr, “, ” Mr, Putin, Russia “ Organizations: NATO, Ukraine, White Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Moscow, United States, Russian

☆ Congress acted to protect NATO. But it might not be enough to stop Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Zachary Wolf | Analysis Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Bettmann Archive/Getty ImagesPulling American generals out of NATO might force other NATO countries to seek their own nuclear deterrents. More members hit 2% benchmarkTrump frequently complains that NATO members other than the US don’t pay dues, which is a misstatement of facts. Multiple NATO countries do not hit that benchmark, although spending has risen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “It’s just like any relationship,” said Bergmann of the likelihood of permanent damage if Trump were to materially alter the NATO alliance. I know exactly what he has done and will do with the NATO alliance,” Rubio said, although he added, “But there has to be an alliance.”

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Joe Biden, Trump, “, Biden, Peter Bergen, Vladimir Putin, CNN’s Jim Sciutto, ” Sciutto, What’s, Kurt Volker, Chip Somodevilla, Volker, ” Volker, “ It’s, ”, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Max Bergmann, Bergmann, It’s, ” Marco Rubio, Sen, Marco Rubio, ” Rubio, he’s Organizations: CNN — Lawmakers, Trump, NATO, Republicans, Ukraine, CNN, Biden, Senate, House Intelligence, Allied, Eurasia Program, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Palais, Bettmann, World Trade Center, Pentagon Locations: Russia, “, Russian, Soviet Union, NATO, United States, Atlantic, Washington ,, Europe, American, Chaillot, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Afghanistan, France, Marco Rubio of Florida, “ State

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