Doug Burgum drops out of 2024 presidential race – latest

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott appeared to “soft launch” his girlfriend at the Republican debate in Miami.

Mr Scott, whose bachelor status has regularly been reported on during the campaign, brought Mindy Noce, an interior designer and a mother of three from Charleston, up on stage after the debate to pose for a photo.

Initially, it was unclear who Ms Noce was as she stood next to Mr Scott, but her appearance sparked online speculation that she could be his often-mentioned but never-before-seen partner.

Mr Scott, 58, told the press after the debate that they have been dating for “about a year”.

The senator has been mentioning a possible girlfriend as he campaigned this summer after he was questioned about being unmarried. James Buchanan, who served as president between 1857 and 1861 is the only president to never have been married, with the White House website describing him as “tall, stately, stiffly formal in the high stock he wore around his jowls”.

During the summer, Mr Scott chose not to share Ms Noce’s name or bring her to events, with his status as a single man becoming evident as his rivals Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley often mentioned their spouses

Jill Stein is a physicist and political activist associated with the Green Party.

Ms Stein, 73, unsuccessfully ran for president in 2012 and 2016 and ran for Massachusetts governor in 2002 and 2010.

She announced on social media she would be seeking out the Green Party’s nomination for the White House in 2024, positioning herself as an alternative to the current Republican and Democratic candidates.

"I’m running for president to offer a better choice for the people outside the failed two-party system,” Ms Stein wrote on X.

“Political insiders always smear outsiders like us, and try to shame voters who want better choices,” said Stein. “But without freedom of choice in elections, there is no democracy,” she added.

Ms Stein supports implementing clean energy and renewable energy in the US and has advocated for legislation to combat the climate crisis.

Regarding the economy, Ms Stein believes in student debt forgiveness, opposes raising the debt ceiling, advocates for increasing taxes on the wealthy, and reducing the military’s budget.

She has advocated for guaranteed housing and employment in the US as well.

Jill Stein announced on Thursday that she is entering the 2024 presidential race as a candidate seeking to represent the Green Party, criticising the two major parties for their handling of issues like climate change and inequality.

“The political system is broken,” she said in an announcement video on social media. “The two Wall Street parties are bought and paid for. Over 60 per cent of us now say the bipartisan establishment has failed us and we need a party that serves the people.”

“We’ll put solutions to the crises we face,” she added. “Crushing inequality, endless war, and climate collapse...The ruling parties that got us into this mess aren’t getting us out.”

Josh Marcus reports:

Former Vice President Mike Pence announced on Saturday that he is suspending his 2024 presidential campaign.

Mr Pence said with a heavy heart while speaking at the Republican Jewish Conference in Las Vegas: “I just couldn’t sit this one out.”

“But the bible tells us there is a time for every purpose under heaven.” He said that after traveling across the country for months, “It has come clear to me that this is not my time.” He said the suspension was effective Saturday.

“I’m leaving this campaign but let me promise you: I will never leave the fight for conservative values and I will never stop fighting to elect principled Republican leaders to every office in the land. So help me God,” Mr Pence said.

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After another tragic mass shooting occurred in the US on Wednesday, 2024 presidential candidates quickly responded to the incident offering their thoughts, prayers and solutions to America’s growing gun violence issue.

In Lewiston, Maine, a gunman opened fire at a bowling ally and a local restaurant killing 18 people and injuring 13 others.

President Joe Biden, who is seeking re-election, sent his thoughts and prayers to those affected by the shooting in a statement from the White House and referred to legislation he has enacted to reduce gun violence.

Republican candidates blamed mental health problems for the mass shooting – a tactic often utilised by conservatives to avoid assigning responsibility to guns. Historically, Republicans back the Second Amendment and defend their right to firearm ownership.

Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips has reportedly booked a campaign bus for what appears to be a primary challenge to President Joe Biden, setting the Democratic backbencher up for a long-shot bid that is likely to make him a pariah among his colleagues in the House of Representatives.

Radio station WCCO reported on Wednesday that a bus bearing custom wrapping with the message “Dean Phillips for President” was spotted along Ohio roads this week.

The third-term Democratic representative, an extremely wealthy owner of the Phillips Distillery liquor business, has served in the House since 2019.

Andrew Feinberg reports:

Minnesota Representative Dean Phillips announced he is running for 2024 president, becoming the latest candidate to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden for the White House.

Mr Phillips, 54, has been a member of Congress since 2019 representing Minnesota’s 3rd district.

Mr Biden is largely aligned with Mr Biden on his political beliefs and voting record. However, for months, he has expressed doubt that Mr Biden could properly take on Mr Trump in the presidential election.

In a lengthy post on X, Mr Phillips said his campaign would focus on the economy, safety and “generational change.”

“I didn’t set out to enter this race. But it looks like on our current course, the Democrats will lose and Trump will be our President again. President Biden is a good man and someone I tremendously respect. I understand why other Democrats don’t want to run against him, and why we are here. This is a last-minute campaign, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and courage is an important value to me,” he wrote.

Donald Trump has now suggested that he could also travel to Israel following President Joe Biden’s historic wartime visit on Wednesday.

The former president spoke to reporters during a break in his New York civil fraud trial on Wednesday – a case that threatens to topple his business empire in the Big Apple and land him with $250m in financial penalties.

“If I was president, Israel would not have been attacked. It was visually attacked. It would not have been attacked,” he said.

“Ukraine would not have been attacked. You take a look at what’s going on throughout the world. The world right now is a mess, it’s a mess. And it’s a very sad day.”

When asked if he plans to head to Israel, Mr Trump replied: “I may. I may go, I may go.”

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis clashed with a voter while on the campaign trail in Littleton, New Hampshire, on Thursday, in a heated exchange over the Israel-Hamas war.

A local man, identified by The New York Times as local Arab-American ski shop owner Ron Lahout, confronted Mr DeSantis about unverified claims babies are being beheaded in Gaza.

Mr Lahout began by asking Mr DeSantis what he thought “about the annihilation and the decapitation of all the Palestinians in Gaza right now”.

“They are not decapitating babies’ heads,” Mr DeSantis can be heard saying of Israeli forces. “They are not intentionally doing that.”

It comes after unverified reports emerged of Palestinian militants decapitating babies during the attack by Hamas on Israel on Saturday.

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Donald Trump is being mocked for appearing to blame “hummus” for the attacks in Israel over the weekend.

At a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Mr Trump mispronounced the name of the terrorist group Hamas several times, appearing to refer to it as “hummus”.

A clip of the speech went viral on social media and the former president was also mocked by TV host Jimmy Kimmel.

In the opening monologue of his show, Mr Kimmel joked that Mr Trump’s speech displayed the “deep well of insight he has into this ongoing conflict in the Middle East”.

“Could you imagine anyone else in the world doing anything even remotely like that?” Mr Kimmel asked.

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