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

The Supreme Court appears to have thrown out the last of former President Donald Trump’s campaign team’s cases seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

In a filing, the Supreme Court made clear it will not hear an appeal by the Trump campaign in its case against the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

The court did not appear to offer any other comment or dissents.

More than 90% of Americans think the US could see its first woman president within a decade, a new poll has found.

Conducted by Gallup across 74 countries, the new poll found that Americans were most likely to say they thought a woman could hold the top job in their country by 2030, according to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The poll’s findings come as Vice President Kamala Harris has gained growing support as a favourite for the 2024 Democratic Party nomination.

“We all believe (Ms Harris) is going to run for president again very, very soon,” Sara Guillermo, executive director of young women’s political leadership organisation Ignite told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Describing Ms Harris’ political rise as respresenting a “huge cultural shift,” she said: “That is really huge, not just for the little girls of the world but for the little boys, to be able to fully understand that both genders can serve in the highest leadership role.”

Democratic Illinois Sen Tammy Duckworth has shared some words of wisdom on International Women’s Day, calling on women to be “strong” and “brave”.

I’ve spent my entire life in male-dominated fields — first in the military, now in Congress,” Ms Duckworth, a veteran who lost both of her legs in 2004 while serving in Iraq, wrote in a tweet.

“This International Women’s Day, allow me to share what I’ve learned,” she said. “You don’t need to be ‘one of the guys’.”

“You are strong, brave and destined to lead. Own it,” she said.

Vaccinated people are allowed to gather in small groups with low-risk individuals without wearing a mask, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has ruled in its new guidance.

The CDC has defined someone who is fully vaccinated as those who received the second dose of Moderna or Pfizer’s vaccine at least two weeks ago or those who received a single dose of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine at least two weeks ago.

While vaccinated individuals are protected from experiencing severe disease from Covid-19, according to current data, scientists were still working to determine if they could spread the virus to unvaccinated individuals. This has impacted what the CDC recommends for individuals as more and more Americans receive a vaccine.

The Independent’s Danielle Zoellner has the latest.

Anthony Fauci has warned state officials against lifting coronavirus restrictions, as experts warn a new surge could impact young people.

The warning from the nation's top infectious disease expert came as Republican-led states like Texas and Mississippi have decided to ease back on coronavirus restrictions despite new variants leading to a stall in the decline in cases and hospitalisations.

"We're going in the right direction but we just need to hang on a bit longer," Dr Fauci said on CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday.

Here’s The Independent’s Danielle Zoellner keeps a close eye on coronavirus developments.

Speaking at today’s daily press briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the president believes it “takes courage” to speak about personal struggles.

“Meghan Markle is a private citizen, and so is Harry at this point, for anyone to come forward and speak about their own struggles with mental health and tell their own personal story, that takes courage,” she says.

“We aren’t going to provide additional commentary from here on behalf of the president or others given these are private citizens sharing their own story and their own struggles.”

The trial of Derek Chauvin over the death of George Floyd has been delayed as the court considers possible reinstatement of a previously dropped third-degree murder charge.

Mr Chauvin appeared in court for the first time on Monday as jury selection was scheduled to begin in the trial of the former Minneapolis police officer, who is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter.

The presiding judge ruled jury selection would be delayed at least 24-hours, until Tuesday, as prosecutors sought to reinstate the third-degree charge that was dropped in favour of murder in the second-degree.

Mr Chauven looked on as the trial got underway to select 12 jurors. and up to four alternates, in a process that is expected to take about three weeks. Opening arguments are scheduled for 29 March.

President Joe Biden will deliver the first primetime address of his presidency on Thursday to mark the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the nation, at a time when more than 500,000 Americans have died as a result of Covid-19.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during a press briefing on Monday that the president will speak on Thursday night, while discussing the sweeping $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief legislation expected to be signed into law in the coming weeks. The president’s proposed American Rescue Plan included $1,400 direct payments to many Americans, as well as further funding for vaccine production and distribution.

Chris Riotta is covering this angle from today’s press briefing.

Press secretary Jen Psaki revealed the president’s delegation visited the US-Mexico border on the weekend, inspecting a Customs and Border Protection facility as well as the Corrizo Springs shelter in Texas.

Corrizo Springs is a child migrant facility opened under the Biden administration.

The White House has refused to acknowledge a “crisis” on the border, despite the number of migrant children apprehended at the border increasing by 583 per cent under the Biden administration, with an average of 321 migrant children taken into custody per day in March compared to 47 in January, according to internal documents from the Department of Health and Human Services.

“We’ve made a policy decision as an administration that the humane and moral approach is to keep these kids safe and get them into facilities that are safe,” Psaki said.

Press secretary Jen Psaki said the president would face the media before the end of the month, but stopped short of committing to more frequent

Joe Biden has come under increasing pressure after going 48 days since entering office without holding a formal press conference.

“He has done about 40 Q&As since he took office, but in terms of a formal press conference, which I understand there is a big focus on, yes we will have one before the end of the month,” Psaki said.

Asked if the public could expect to see the president face the press in a more formal capacity, Psaki said: “I don’t know if you’ll see him more than 40 times a month but I’m happy to ask him that question.”

These “40 times” the press secretary is referencing are mostly ad hoc moments some executive order signing or announcement when media shout questions at the president before his handlers rush them out of the room.

Last week, White House reporters pushed back on Psaki’s characterization that the president has taken “40 Q&As”, saying they get in about two questions that Biden can’t hear before the press corps gets removed.

Of the 15 presidents of the past 100 years, all have held a press conference within 33 days of being sworn into office. Trump did it 27 days in. Obama outdid Trump by a week at 20 days.

Biden is at 48 days, with 23 days left in March. Worst case scenario, the president could be seen at the podium withing 71 days of entering the White House.