Biden news - live: Trump Jr deposed over inaugural funds as White House defends migrant camp after AOC attack

Washington DC mayor Muriel Bowser has lost her sister to coronavirus

Mercia Bowser died at the age of 64 from Covid-19 after being treated for Covid-related pneumonia, the politician announced on Wednesday.

Graeme Massie reports

As well as reversing a Trump-era policy on immigration on Wednesday, President Biden also signed an executive order intended to boost manufacturing jobs by strengthening supply chains for advanced batteries, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals and semiconductors.

The United States has become increasingly reliant on imports of these goods which the Biden administration hopes to address with a planned 100-day review and the possibility of increased domestic production.

The Covid outbreak further highlighted some issues with supply chains after an initial shortage of masks, gloves and other protective medical equipment.

Automakers in the United States and Europe are now dealing with a lack of computer chips.“These are the kinds of common sense solutions that all Americans can get behind,” Biden said at a White House ceremony.

“It’s about resilience, identifying possible points of vulnerabilities in our supply chains and making sure we have the backup alternatives or workarounds in place.”

Additional reporting from AP

A Fox news station suspended its anchor following social media outrage for his tweet expressing annoyance over obese people getting the Covid-19 vaccine on priority.

“I’m annoyed obese people of all ages get priority vaccine access before all essential workers,” he said in the now-deleted tweet.

Shweta Sharma has the details

The Biden administration will release a declassified version of a US intelligence report that says Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, four U.S. officials familiar with the matter said.

The officials said the report, for which the CIA was the main contributor, assessed that the crown prince approved and likely ordered the murder of Khashoggi, whose Washington Post column had criticised the crown prince’s policies.

President Joe Biden told reporters on Wednesday he had read the report and expected to speak soon by phone with Saudi Arabian King Salman, 85, father of the crown prince, the country’s 35-year-old de facto ruler.

The report’s release is part of Biden‘s policy to realign ties with Riyadh after years of giving the Arab ally and major oil producer a pass on its human rights record and its intervention in Yemen’s civil war.

Additional reporting from Reuters

The Chinese government has denied forcing US diplomats stationed in the country to take anal swab tests for Covid 19.

After US media reports suggested some American envoys had been made to undergo the procedure as the result of an administrative error, China’s foreign ministry spokesman said no such tests had been conducted “to my knowledge”, writes The Independent’s Shweta Sharma

Researchers have said a new coronavirus variant is on the rise in New York and carries a mutation that could be reduce the effectiveness of a vaccine.

Shweta Sharma reports

Former president Donald Trump will speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Sunday and is expected to rail against Joe Biden’s changes to immigration policy and use the opportunity to target political enemies within the Republican party.

In a piece previewing the four-day event that begins today, The Guardian’s David Smith says the “big lie” that the election was stolen is expected to “dominate” the event and a number of Trump supporting speakers are also appearing such as former secretary of state Mike Pompeo.

Smith adds that Trump’s speech will “condemn Biden’s reversal of his immigration policies and reserve particular venom for his foes within the Republican party.”

Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC, told Reuters: “Donald Trump is going to stay in the game and will be involved in primaries and he’s going to opine and he’s going to give speeches, and for establishment Republicans it puts shivers down their spine.

“They’re very concerned he’s going to continue to have an impact. My advice to them is to get used to it.”

A US intelligence dossier compiled by the CIA and others is likely to conclude that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to reports.

The file, expected to be released later on Thursday, examines the killing inside the Saudi Consulate in Turkey in 2018, writes The Independent’s Tom Batchelor.

The government has launched a new “It’s Up to You” campaign to try and encourage reticent Americans to get a Covid-19 vaccine.

The ad-campaign backed by $50 million (£36 million) in donated funds will be unveiled Thursday across TV and digital video, social media and audio platforms like Pandora and Spotify.

Dan Diamond has the details

California has become the first state to pass 50,000 deaths from coronavirus, according to reports from NBC News.

The Sunshine State also has the largest number of infections in the country, with 3.5 million people having been afflicted with the virus.

It comes after the nation passed the grim 500,000 death toll milestone on Sunday, with President Biden making it clear that dealing with Covid was one of his top priorities when coming into office.

Johns Hopkins University put California’s overall coronavirus death toll at 50,890.