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

Protesters descended on Trump Tower as Donald Trump returned to his New York residence for the first time since leaving the White House.

A giant inflatable Trump caricature and signs saying “Arrest Trump” and “Florida Man Go Home” greeted the ex-president on Monday morning after he returned to the city on Sunday.

Trump travelled to New York alone without wife Melania or son Barron, which remained in Florida.

Protesters were met by supporters of Trump, who waved American flags and signs saying “Welcome home Mr President.”

Trump and his family lived in Trump Tower before taking office in 2017, and changed their primary residence to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach before leaving the White House in January.

Barack Obama told a room full of powerful black donors that Mayor Pete couldn’t win the presidency because he was short and gay, according to the new book, “Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency.”

In an excerpt published in The Hill, reporters Amie Parnes and Jonathan Allen say that the former president backing Elizabeth Warren in an October, 2019 meeting during the Democratic presidential primaries.

Asked what advice he had for Buttigieg, Obama rattled off a list of reasons he couldn’t win.

“He’s thirty- eight,” Obama said, pausing for dramatic effect, “but he looks thirty.” The audience laughed. Obama was on a roll, using the tone of light ridicule he some-times pointed at himself— “ big ears” and “a funny name,” he’d said so many times before. Now, it was directed at Buttigieg. “He’s the mayor of a small town,” the former president continued. “He’s gay,” Obama said, “and he’s short.” More laughter.

The Independent’s Louise Hall has more.

California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom could face a recall vote after leaders of the movement working to remove him announced that their petition has garnered 1.95 million signatures.

Election officials at the county and state level still have to certify that at least 1.5 million of the signatures are valid and from voters in California for the recall vote go ahead.

The California Secretary of State's office announced last month that the signatures collected until that point had a validity rate of 83 per cent. If that rate holds for the not yet verified signatures, then the threshold for a recall vote will be crossed.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

A dozen states have formed a coalition to sue the Biden administration over a climate executive order.

The lawsuit was filed on Monday by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt. He was joined in the suit by state attorneys general from Arkansas, Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah.

The Independent’s Senior Climate Correspondent Louise Boyle is following the developing story.

The House of Representatives would “most likely” vote on Biden’s $1.9 trn Covid stimulus package on Wednesday, according to CNN.

Majority leader Steny Hoyer had originally planned the vote to take place on Tuesday, but a senior Democratic leadership aide told the outlet it was delayed by a day.

“It's just a big, detailed bill, and it's just taking a minute to process all of it,” the aide said.

Oprah Winfrey’s two-hour bombshell interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has delivered a ratings win for network CBS.

Sunday night’s Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special was watched by 17.1 million viewers in early numbers, and scored well in the key demographic of adults aged 18-49.

More Americans tuned in than for September’s Emmy Awards and last week’s Golden Globes combined, Deadline reports. Total viewership will rise as adjusted data and other viewing metrics are delivered in the coming days.

Oliver O’Connell reports.

While Oprah Winfrey’s bombshell interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made compelling viewing and provoked a flurry of reaction around the world, QAnon conspiracy theorists had their own unique take.

They believe that Oprah was wearing an ankle monitor underneath the leather boots she wore when she sat down with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

It originates from the QAnon theory that powerful celebrities are part of a child sex trafficking ring and that many of them have been arrested and are confined to their homes. The conspiracy’s connection with Oprah first arose in April 2020 after a video showing her cooking at home during the lockdown allegedly also showed a hidden monitor strapped to her ankle.

Oliver O’Connell has more from the interview’s fallout.

Cindy McCain, the widow of Arizona Senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain, called the reaction of Republicans and Fox News to some Dr Suess books being pulled from the shelves "ridiculous".

Speaking to MSNBC, Ms McCain added that the Republican Party has to stop using "fear and anger and hate" to achieve their objectives.

MSNBC anchor Stephanie Rule said that if you watched Fox News "any day last week," you weren't going to hear anything about domestic terrorism in the wake of the Capitol riot or anything about what's in President Biden's $1.9tn Covid-19 relief bill, adding that instead, you were "hearing about cancel culture and Dr Seuss, a narrative that doesn’t make much sense. Does it make sense to Republican voters? Why is this happening?” Ms Ruhle asked Ms McCain.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

A Latina council member has hit out at “toxicity” and a “culture of disrespect” against people of colour after she was mocked for her accent during a virtual meeting surrounding racial inequality.

Nancy Navarro, a member of the Montgomery County Council in Maryland, was addressing a zoom meeting on Tuesday on issues of racism before two voices unwittingly overlapped the audio.

As Ms Navarro continued speaking about inequality in the county’s coronavirus vaccine rollout, quiet sounds of laughter and discussion can be heard.

"I love how her accent comes out ... and pronounces words that she thinks that they’re pronounced," one person says before commenting on the way she says "represent" and "hologram."

Louise Hall reports.

Joe Biden is issuing a new executive order that will begin reversing Trump administration policies that affect the way colleges can handle complaints of rape and sexual assault.

The president, who has long campaigned against domestic abuse and sexual violence, will also be establishing a White House Gender Policy Council, according to the Associated Press.

Mr Biden promised during his campaign that he would bring a “quick end” to the rules established under the Trump administration, which have been the subject of protracted litigation ever since they were finalised at the start of 2020.

Andrew Naughtie reports.