Biden news: President calls Ukraine ‘Tiananmen Square, squared’ as he’s blocked from visit to border
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Your support makes all the difference.President Joe Biden is visiting Poland, which is bearing the brunt of an exodus of Ukrainians fleeing the attack on their country.
Mr Biden’s first stop was the town of Rzeszów, less than 100km (62 miles) from the south-eastern border with Ukraine. He and President Andrzej Duda were briefed on the humanitarian relief response taking place and Mr Biden met with US service personnel stationed there.
In remarks, the president reiterated his belief that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal and described brave resistance of the citizens of Ukraine as “Tiananmen Square, squared”. The president also said he was disappointed that he was unable to cross the border to see the situation for himself, implying that the security concerns were too great — there had been much speculation about such a visit.
Both presidents will meet formally in Warsaw on Saturday.
The visit comes after a marathon series of meetings on Thursday with Nato, G7 and EU leaders in Brussels. Mr Biden said the extraordinary summit was a testimony to the unity of the US and its allies in the face of Russian aggression in Europe.
A number of new sanctions were imposed on Russia as leaders met, and the president said he also wants Russia removed from the G2. He stressed that it is the organisation’s decision whether to do so, adding that an alternative would be for Ukraine to attend as an observer.
Biden eats pizza with troops in Poland and recalls how son Beau hid his name on front lines
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Plane carrying Polish president Andrzej Duda makes emergency landing in Warsaw
Fact check: No, Biden did not fake photo of White House departure
A bizarre claim that the White House faked a photo of President Joe Biden departing for Europe has been debunked. Yes, there were leaves on the trees.
ICYMI: Plane carrying Polish president Andrzej Duda makes emergency landing
A plane carrying Polish president Andrzej Duda was forced to make an emergency landing while travelling to meet Joe Biden.
Mr Duda had been flying to meet his US counterpart in the southeastern city of Rzeszow on Friday afternoon when a defect caused the Polish Air Force aircraft to return to Warsaw.
Chiara Giordano reports.
Plane carrying Polish president makes emergency landing
Polish leader had been en route to meet US president Joe Biden when defect forced aircraft to return to airport
Harris vows to continue to fight for right to vote
Vice President Kamala Harris tweets: “President Biden and I will continue to fight for the right to vote by pushing Congress to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. “
She adds: “Together, we can safeguard and strengthen the freedom to vote for generations to come.”
Jill Biden to meet Ukrainian children at St. Jude
First Lady Jill Biden was scheduled to travel to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee on Friday, a visit expected to include meetings with Ukrainian children with cancer and their families fleeing the war and seeking treatment in the U.S.
Biden’s afternoon visit to the Memphis hospital is the first leg of a trip Friday that also includes travel to Colorado for a Democratic National Committee finance event in Denver, the White House said.
First Lady Jill Biden to meet Ukrainian children at St. Jude
First Lady Jill Biden is scheduled to make a trip to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee in a visit expected to include meetings with doctors and patients, including Ukrainian children fleeing the war with their families
Meanwhile in DC...
With Joe Biden in Europe ensuring allied unity in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, one of the stories gripping Washington regards the cache of texts between Donald Trump’s then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and conservative activist Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
The texts have been acquired by the January 6 Select Committee and contain conversations in which Ms Thomas repeatedly pressures Mr Meadows to promote conspiracy theories in a bid to stop the certification of Mr Biden’s 2020 presidential election win.
Joe Sommerlad explains what we know so far.
Everything we know about Ginni Thomas’s texts to Mark Meadows
Wife of Supreme Court justice implored ex-Trump chief of staff: ‘Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!!... The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History’
‘Deeply corrupted and intellectually flawed’
The texts have riled Washington, DC, and political commentators, with former Republican representative and MSNBC host Joe Scarborough saying: “I must say, spending a good deal of my adult life in the conservative community in Washington, DC, this is one of the most disturbing things I’ve read.”
Eric Garcia reports.
Morning Joe hosts condemn Ginni Thomas over efforts to overturn election
Newly-revealed texts between wife of the Supreme Court Justice and Mark Meadows reveal discussion about trying to keep Donald Trump in power despite defeat
Justice Thomas under pressure following release of texts
Sen Ron Wyden and Rep Ilhan Omar called for more action against Justice Clarence Thomas after the content of the text messages was released on Thursday.
There are calls for Justice Thomas to recuse himself from any cases related to January 6 or the 2024 election.
Eric Garcia reports from Washington, DC.
Democratic senator calls on Thomas to recuse himself on cases related to January 6
Comes after reports of text messages of her exchange with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
Comparing the confirmation experience of Ketanji Brown Jackson with that of Thurgood Marshall
The race-based questioning of Ketanji Brown Jackson ‘mirrors’ the experience of Thurgood Marshall, writes Andrew Buncombe. America’s first Black justice was confirmed to the Supreme Court in 1967 but some question how much has changed.
History is repeating itself with Ketanji Brown Jackson’s race- based questioning
America’s first Black justice was confirmed to the Supreme Court in 1967 but some question how much has changed, writes Andrew Buncombe
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