Biden news - live: GOP senator claims ‘fake’ Trump supporters caused riot as distracted Ted Cruz taps on phone

President Joe Biden has spoken with King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia ahead of the release of a report from US intelligence officials that is expected to reveal that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved and likely ordered the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

A White House report of their phone call on Thursday did not disclose whether they discussed the findings in the report.

We’ve got breaking news coverage of the call between the two major allies—and occasional antagonists—here.

Joe Biden may have promised to restore national unity, but boy does he have his work cut out for him. To start, most Republicans don’t even think he won fair and square.

The majority of Republican voters believe the election is invalid, according to a recently released survey. The poll was conducted by R Street Institute, and found that 67 per cent of Republican respondents thought the 2020 election was invalid. Only 23 per cent of Republican respondents believed it was valid.

Graig Graziosi’s got more info on the not-so-United States.

The debate around the Equality Act has revealed just how far apart the two parties are on issues of LGBTQ+ rights.

As lawmakers considered the bill this week, there was a taunting sign from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene put near a lawmaker with a trans daughter’s office, and a Republican congressman sparked anger when he suggested that transgender people are an “offence” to God.

Florida lawmaker Greg Steube made the controversial comment during a debate in the House on the passage of the Equality Act, which would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Graeme Massie has the scoop on that one.

With the impeachment over, it might seem like many have moved on from thinking about the January riots at the Capitol, but Daniel Uhlfelder sure hasn’t forgotten.

The Florida lawyer, who previously went viral for stalking the state’s beaches in a grim reaper costume to protest its Covid response, is fundraising to fly a “Welcome Insurrectionists!” banner over the Conservative Political Action Conference underway in Orlando.

After publicly condemning former president Trump as “practically and morally responsible” for the January riots at the US Capitol, and reportedly privately saying he deserved to be impeached for it, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell says he will “absolutely” support Donald Trump if the former president wins the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election, according to an interview on Fox News on Thursday.

Alex Woodward is here to fill you in on the latest development in the GOP.

Bernie Sanders has blasted Walmart for paying “starvation wages” in a passionate defence of a $15 minimum wage.

The Vermont Senator attacked the company, which made a profit of more than $15bn last year, after it earlier this month announced a wage rise for 425,000 of its employees by 13 March.

But despite the increase, many of the company’s employees will reportedly continue to earn the firm’s minimum wage of $11 an hour.

Graeme Massie with that one here.

In what may have been his first major war-fighting move as president, Joe Biden signed off on an airstrike in Syria that targeted a structure believed to belong to an Iran-backed militia, officials told Reuters.

The strikes, carried out on Thursday, may have been in retaliation after rocket attacks against US forces in Iraq last week.

More details to come on this breaking story.

The Senate’s non-partisan parliamentary adviser told Democrats on Thursday night that increasing the minimum wage to $15 dollars an hour shouldn’t be included as part of their broader coronavirus stimulus plan under Senate rules.

The ruling means that Democrats won’t be able to pass the wage hike through the so-called “reconciliation” budget process in the Senate, which requires less votes than the full 60 that’s usually necessary to overpower a filibuster.

I’ve got some details on what’s next for the big coronavirus relief bill.

President Joe Biden ordered his first military action as commander-in-chief, knocking out a structure belonging to an Iran-backed militia in Syria on Thursday, in an apparent response to rocket attacks against the US in Iraq.

Graeme Massie has the latest.

A bill that would limit the use of “no-knock” warrants passed the Kentucky Senate unanimously on Thursday, the latest effort to reform law enforcement tactics after police fatally shot Breonna Taylor in her Louisville apartment last year.

Here’s what you need to know.