U.S. views Iran’s threat to attack Israel as “credible”

Biden, Harris pounce on Arizona abortion ruling

Trump wants additional, earlier debates with Biden

Donald Trump wants to debate President Biden more than the usual three times and to hold them earlier in the 2024 election cycle. In a letter to the commission overseeing presidential debates, the Trump campaign asked for additional and earlier opportunities for him to take the stage against Joe Biden. Campaign officials for the former president said moving up the timetable would “ensure more Americans have a full chance to see the candidates before they start voting.” Currently, there are three presidential debates scheduled in September and October.

Thousands more gun dealers required to run background checks

Biden to host Japan, Philippines leaders to discuss China threats

President Biden today [THU] will host talks with two leaders from the Indo Pacific about threats from communist China. The president will meet with Philippines President Marcos, before they join Japan’s prime minister for a trilateral summit. Talks are expected to focus on Beijing’s South China Sea incursions. With Beijing attempting to isolate Japan and the Philippines, a senior U-S official says Mr. Biden is aiming to “flip the script and isolate China.”

Trump, Biden react to Arizona’s law banning nearly all abortions

The leading presidential candidates are reacting to Arizona’s law that criminalizes nearly all abortions. President Biden called the Arizona Supreme Court’s upholding of an 1864 abortion law “extreme and dangerous.” Meanwhile, Donald Trump said the Arizona law goes too far and called on state lawmakers to change it, even as he defended the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Biden still predicts interest rate cut this year despite stubborn inflation

President Biden is still predicting an interest rate cut this year despite stubborn inflation. The latest government report on prices shows inflation remained persistently high last month, which could affect the Federal Reserve’s plans to lower interest rates. President Biden still believes there will be a rate cut this year. He said his administration has “dramatically reduced inflation,” but the latest figures complicate the president’s claims to be making steady progress.

Biden welcomes Japan’s PM to official White House visit

Biden says Netanyahu’s approach to Gaza war “is a mistake”

President Biden is growing increasingly vocal about his unhappiness with Israel over the Gaza war. During an interview with Spanish-language broadcaster Univision, the president said Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s approach to the war against Hamas “is a mistake.” Those remarks add to an already growing rift between the two allies over the war. The president went on to say that Israel should agree to a cease-fire and flood Gaza with humanitarian aid for the next six to eight weeks.

Biden faces obstacles in key battleground state

President Biden’s path to winning Wisconsin in November has some potential obstacles. Joe Biden won this purple state in 2020 by about 21-thousand votes over Donald Trump, and it’s expected to be another close contest this year. Four years ago, there were no third-party candidates on the Wisconsin ballot. There will be this year. Also, the president continues to deal with a backlash from Democrats unhappy with Mr. Biden’s support of Israel’s war in Gaza. Tens of thousands of would-be supporters cast protest primary votes against the president in several states, including Wisconsin last week.

Trump, Biden face political challenges in Wisconsin

In the 2024 presidential race, both top candidates face political weakness in the battleground state of Wisconsin. Donald Trump and Joe Biden won their respective primaries here in Wisconsin, but last week’s voting highlighted some potential areas of concern for both campaigns. Nearly 119-thousand Republicans voted for a GOP candidate other than Trump. And more than 48-thousand Democratic voters chose “uninstructed” instead of Mr. Biden, more than double his narrow margin of victory in the state in 2020.

GOP convention plans taking shape in Milwaukee

Biden proposes additional student loan debt relief

No Labels won’t run a 2024 presidential candidate

There will be no third-party presidential candidate put forward by the No Labels organization. After raising millions of dollars for a potential 2024 presidential ticket to counter the Biden and Trump campaigns, the bipartisan group No Labels is pulling the plug on its efforts. The CEO issued a statement saying they were unable to attract “candidates with a credible path to winning the White House.” Several well-known politicians ruled out running on the No Labels ticket, including former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Senator Joe Manchin, and former governors Larry Hogan and Chris Christie.

Biden says Israel must do more to protect civilians, aid workers in Gaza

President Biden has told Israel that it must do more to protect civilians and aid workers in the Gaza war.
During a 30-minute phone call with the Israeli prime minister, the president warned that future U-S support for the Gaza war depends on new steps by Israel. National Security spokesman John Kirby said the president was “very direct” in telling Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel must take concrete steps “to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers.”

Judge rejects Trump’s bid to delay hush money trial

A judge has rejected Donald Trump’s bid to delay his upcoming hush money criminal trial. Lawyers for the former president asked for a delay of the hush money trial until the Supreme Court rules in Trump’s immunity claim in his Washington, D.C., election interference case is resolved. But the judge said no. The trial is scheduled to begin April 15th. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors are scolding the judge presiding over Trump’s classified documents case in Florida. They’re unhappy with the slow pace and are questioning the judge’s approach, arguing that her jury instructions are based on a “fundamentally flawed legal premise.”

Biden faces Muslim backlash over Israel Hamas war

Muslim-Americans continue to be angry with President Biden over the Israel-Hamas war. The president’s plans for an Iftar dinner this week were scaled back when invited Muslim American leaders refused to attend. A meeting was scheduled instead to hear from the Arab community. One of the attendees was Dr. Thaer Ahmad, a Palestinian-American ER doctor. He told CNN that he walked out of the meeting with President Biden and Vice President Harris after telling them what he witnessed while treating hospital patients in Gaza.

Biden stands with Israel despite anger over aid worker deaths

President Biden is standing with Israel despite his anger over the killing of humanitarian aid workers. The president said he was “outraged” over the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen workers and that “Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers.” However, a White House spokesperson says “nothing has changed” when it comes to U-S policy toward Israel. Mr. Biden is demanding “accountability” for those responsible for the killings and wants more humanitarian assistance allowed into Gaza.

WSJ Poll: Trump leads Biden in 6 battleground states

Donald Trump leads President Biden in six battleground states according to a new Wall Street Journal poll. The poll shows Trump with a lead of between 2 and 8 percentage points among voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina. In Wisconsin, Biden was ahead by 3 points on a multiple candidate ballot and tied in a head-to-head contest with Trump. According to the Journal, respondents gave negative views of Joe Biden’s job performance and have ongoing concerns about the economy.

U.S. expects Israeli transparency after airstrike killed aid workers

The White House expects transparency from Israel after an airstrike killed at least seven aid workers in Gaza. National Security spokesman John Kirby said the White House was “outraged” over the incident and is awaiting the findings of an Israeli investigation. Despite growing criticism over Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza, Kirby said the U-S supports Israel, which he said continues to face a viable threat from Hamas.

U.S. denies involvement in attack on Iranian consulate in Syria

The United States denies any involvement in a deadly attack on Iran’s consulate in Syria.
The airstrike widely attributed to Israel demolished Iran’s consulate building in Damascus and killed 12 people, including two Iranian generals. Iran has vowed to respond and White House national security spokesman John Kirby said “we weren’t involved in any way whatsoever.” Kirby said the U-S will do what is necessary to protect American troops and facilities in Iraq and Syria.

White House “outraged” over charity workers’ deaths in Gaza

The White House is expressing outrage over an Israeli air strike that killed humanitarian aid workers in Gaza. National Security spokesman John Kirby expressed deep U-S disappointment in the deadly errant strike. Israel says the strike was an accident and that officials are investigating. Kirby said the U-S will await the findings and expects full transparency. He said the Biden administration continues to support Israel’s targeting of Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

Biden, Xi discuss Taiwan, AI, security in phone call

President Biden and Chinese President Xi have discussed a range of issues in a phone call. It was the leaders’ first conversation since their November summit in California. A senior administration official says Mr. Biden discussed Taiwan, AI, and security issues — including Beijing’s operations in the South China Sea and China’s support of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Serious challenges remain between the two countries, but U-S officials are hopeful that ongoing communication between the leaders will lead to cooperation rather than conflict.

Biden to face more “uncommitted” voters in Wisconsin’s primary

President Biden faces more “uncommitted” voters in Wisconsin’s primary. Several dozen grassroots groups and organizers have been urging voters to express their opposition to the president’s strong support of Israel’s war against Hamas. Their goal is to get 20-thousand-682 voters to mark their Democratic primary ballots “uninstructed,” that’s Wisconsin’s version of “uncommitted.” And that number is significant. It represents Joe Biden’s margin of victory over Donald Trump in the state in the 2020 presidential election.