Biden news: President says women ‘thrive’ in military as female generals held back under Trump promoted

Former Vice President Mike Pence is set to deliver his first public address since his departure from the White House.

Mr Pence is expected to travel to South Carolina, where he will keynote a dinner hosted by the Palmetto Family Council, a Pence aide has told The Associated Press.

The aide reportedly spoke on the condition of anonymity as they did not have permission to discuss the plans publicly.

The Palmetto Family Council lobbies for what it views as “biblical values”, including heterosexual marriage. The council also recently helped push forward a ban blocking most abortions in the state, which is facing a court challenge.

It is unclear what Mr Pence is expected to say during the address.

Since leaving the White House, he has been working with the Heritage Foundation and Young America’s Foundation.

President Donald Trump reportedly returned to New York for the first time since his presidency ended on Sunday night.

A motorcade arrived at the Trump Tower in Manhattan at around 9pm on Sunday, according to the New York Post, which shared a photo of the former president waving from the backseat of a vehicle.

Gino Spocchia has more:

First lady Jill Biden is expected to help honour 21 women being recognised by the State Department with the International Women of Courage Award today.

Marking International Women’s Day with the award, the honour is given to women for their courage in making the “intentional decision” to pursue and demand justice, despite the risks in doing so.

Among the 21 women being recognised are seven from Afghanistan who will be receiving posthumous honours, according to The Associated Press.

The 14 living recipients “are from Belarus, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala, Iran, Myanmar, Nepal, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Venezuela,” AP reported.

In prepared remarks shared with the press agency, the first lady says that the women being honoured might seem like “mythical heroes or angels among us,” but, she stresses that they are ultimately human beings who simply want to be able to enjoy equal rights.

“Some of these women have spent their lives fighting for their cause. Others are just starting out on a journey they didn’t ask for,” Ms Biden says. “Some were called to service, and some couldn’t escape it,” she continues. “They are fighting for their own lives and for their children. They want to right the wrongs of our past, to build a brighter future for everyone. They aren’t immune to fear. No one is.”

“These women made an extraordinary choice, to persist, to demand justice, to believe that, despite the obstacles and fear they faced, there is a future worth fighting for,” Ms Biden says.

The ceremony is expected to be held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The US government has reportedly said that all options remain on the table for what the plan might be for the country’s 2,500 troops still in Afghanistan.

A State Department spokesperson told Reuters on Sunday that the US had “not made any decisions about our force posture in Afghanistan” beyond its military commitment to 1 May.

“All options remain on the table,” the spokesperson said.

The comments came after reports that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had made a push for a UN-led peace effort which included a warning that the US military could withdraw its troops by 1 May.

Mr Blinken was reported to have sent a letter to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani asserting that the Biden administration was “considering the full withdrawal of forces by May 1st as we consider other options”.

In addition to Mr Ghani, the letter was reportedly also addressed to Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the peace council, and was outlined to Afghan leaders by US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad during a visit to Kabul last week.

The State Department spokesperson did not confirm the letter.

John Kerry, the United State’s presidential envoy for the climate, took part in one-on-one meetings with the UK’s COP26 president, Alok Sharma, among others, on Monday morning.

The meeting, which was believed to be one of the first in-person trips abroad by a member of Joe Biden’s cabinet, comes several months before the UN Climate Summit, COP26, which is scheduled to take place in November in Scotland.

Mr Kerry requested the face-to-face meetings with the UK’s ministers, according to Politico. With similar discussions due to be hand with his EU counterparts in Brussels on Tuesday, where the former US secretary of state will discuss president Biden resigning the Paris climate agreement.

The Biden administration, with the help of Mr Kerry, is expected to take a leading role at COP26.

The US government is expected to start sending-out $1,400 stimulus checks almost immediately after the $1.9 trillion relief package is confirmed by Congress, and signed by US president Joe Biden, on Tuesday.

It means that some Americans could see direct payments as soon as this week if the House of Representatives finalises the relief package as expected on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Nearly 160 million households are expected to get payments, the White House estimates. It follows several months without a bill being passed by Congress under former president Donald Trump last year, despite unemployment highs and the continuation of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Before the last Covid relief bill, which was signed by Mr Trump in December, Congress had spent half a year negotiating a package.

A Biden administration spokesperson said the US “Treasury stands ready to implement the direct payment check program as soon as the American Rescue Plan is passed” on Tuesday.

US president Joe Biden has praised both Pope Francis and Iraq for the first-ever Papal visit to the country by a pontiff, after the official visit came to a close on Sunday.

In a statement released by the White House on Monday morning, Mr Biden described the four-day visit as “historic”, and that Pope Francis’s visit to the city of Mosul was “a symbol of hope for the entire world”, after it was seized by Islamic militants in 2014.

“To see Pope Francis visit ancient religious sites, including the biblical birthplace of Abraham, spend time with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in Najaf, and offer prayers in Mosul — a city that only a few years ago endured the depravity and intolerance of a group like ISIS — is a symbol of hope for the entire world,” said the White House statement.

Mr Biden also praised the Iraqi government for planning the visit, which saw thousands attend Mass with the Pope at a stadium in Irbil on Sunday.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are expected to deliver remarks in honour of International Women’s Day this afternoon.

According to Politico, Mr Biden and Ms Harris are expected to deliver remarks in the State Dining Room at around 4:20pm.

They will be joined by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the outlet said.

Mr Biden is also expected to sign two executive orders today, with one establishing a gender policy council within the White House and the other demanding a review into Trump-era changes to guidance on how colleges should handle sexual assault allegations.

The US and South Korea have reportedly reached a cost-sharing agreement for US troops based in South Korea.

Citing an unnamed US State Department spokesperson, CNN reported a deal had been struck by the Biden administration after a strained alliance between South Korea and the US under former President Donald Trump.

Mr Trump had demanded that Seoul pay up to 400% more for troops to remain in South Korea.

Democratic Massachusetts Sen Ed Markey welcomed the agreement, writing in a tweet that “under President Biden, America’s alliances are back.”

“I’m pleased the US and South Korea reached an agreement on cost sharing measures,” he said. “@POTUS is building back a better foreign policy to advance our values and interests,” he added.

The agreement comes as Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to make his first international trip with a visit to South Korea and Japan next week.

Nearly a third of all Republicans say they are opposed to receiving a coronavirus jab, a growing number of polls suggest.

Those who have said they will “definitely not” be getting vaccinated have suggested that the pandemic has been overblown by the media and Democrats in interviews with The Washington Post.

Our Chris Riotta reports on the role President Donald Trump appears to have had in informing Republican views on the pandemic and the Covid-19 vaccine: