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

Donald Trump is one of the most potent threats to democracy anywhere in the world. He has appalling views and prejudices, not least towards people of colour and women. Soon he may formally launch his own personal political movement, with a speech at the CPAC conference.

He is a very dangerous man. That is why he should be back on Twitter.

Why do I want him on my Twitter feed? Precisely because Trump is dangerous and because he still matters. He is important, though he does not deserve to be. I want – need – to hear what he has to say, even if it is offensive. Especially if it is offensive.

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Former speaker of the House John Boehner reportedly told Texas senator Ted Cruz to “go f**k yourself” while recording the audio version of his upcoming memoir.

While recording the audio for his book, On The House: A Washington Memoir, Mr Boehner, 71, a former Ohio representative, took to Twitter to warn of some of the strong language included.

“Poured myself a glass of something nice to read my audiobook,” he captioned a photo of himself holding a glass of red wine on Thursday, adding: “You can blame the wine for the expletives.”

Axios reported later in day that some off-script moments were captured during the audiobook recording, with two sources saying that Mr Boehner stopped while reading the book to exclaim: “Oh, and Ted Cruz, go f*** yourself.”

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Two US Navy ships deployed to the Middle East are isolating in Bahrain after crew members have contracted Covid-19.

At least 12 service members have tested positive for coronavirus on the amphibious transport ship USS San Diego, while several sailors contracted Covid-19 on the cruiser USS Philippine Sea.

Commander Rebecca Rebarich confirmed the positive tests to ABC News, saying: “Sailors with positive cases and close contacts have been isolated on the ship, and the ship remains in a restricted Covid bubble at the pier.” 

The Navy added in a statement: “Medical health professionals are conducting a thorough contact investigation to determine the source of Covid-19 aboard the ships and whether any other personnel may have been exposed.”

Vermont senator Bernie Sanders has vowed to push $15 minimum wage into the next Covid stimulus deal via a “backdoor plan”.

The Senate parliamentarian ruled that the $15 minimum wage hike could not be included as part of the $1.9 trillion relief plan, which is poised to pass on Friday evening.

“I will be working with my colleagues in the Senate to move forward with an amendment to take tax deductions away from large, profitable corporations that don’t pay workers at least $15 an hour and to provide small businesses with the incentives they need to raise wages,” Mr Sanders said in a statement Thursday night.

“That amendment must be included in this reconciliation bill,” he added.

A US airstrike targeting facilities used by Iran-backed militias in Syria appears to be a message to Tehran delivered by a new American administration still figuring out its approach to the Middle East.

The strike was seemingly a response to stepped-up rocket attacks by such militias that have targeted US interests in Iraq, where the armed groups are based.

It comes even as Washington and Tehran consider a return to the 2015 accord meant to rein in Iran’s nuclear program.The US appears to have chosen the target, just across the border in Syria rather than in Iraq, carefully.

It’s a way for Joe Biden to signal he will be tough on Iran while avoiding a response that could offset the delicate balance in Iraq itself or trigger a wider confrontation.

Michael Hanna, a senior fellow at the progressive think tank the Century Foundation, has urged the Biden administration to make public the legal justification for the attack.

“I’m skeptical it will pass muster. But we should note that US presence in Iraq, which spawned this round of strikes, is legal, in distinction to US forces in Syria,” Mr Hanna tweeted.

The White House insisted that President Joe Biden was still “committed” to raising the minimum wage to $15, despite a major stimulus block.

Brian Deese, the White House National Economic Council director, made the statement when appearing on MSNBC on Friday morning.

“We’re going to consult with our congressional allies ... congressional leadership today to talk about a path forward on how we can make progress urgently on what is an urgent issue,” Mr Deese said about the federal minimum wage.

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Pressure is growing on the Biden administration to demonstrate a justifiable rationale for its airstrikes on targets in Syria.

The strike was seemingly a response to stepped-up rocket attacks by Iran-backed militias that have targeted US interests in Iraq, where the armed groups are based.

“The American people deserve to hear the Administration’s rationale for these strikes and its legal justification for acting without coming to Congress,” Mr Kaine said in a statement.

“Offensive military action without congressional approval is not constitutional absent extraordinary circumstances.”

Mr Kaine has been a high-profile critic in the past of the executive use of military force without prior consultation by Congress.

CBS News reports that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is interested in adding a new provision to the Senate version of the Covid bill to penalise large corporations that don’t pay their workers a minimum wage of at least $15.

Ted Cruz has mocked Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over lawmakers’ fears during the assault on the Capitol as he raged against “political theater” following the attack, as well as mask guidance during a pandemic that has killed more than 500,000 Americans within a year, among other right-wing grievances while his state recovers from a devastating winter storm.

In his remarks to the the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference, he said: “Bernie [Sanders] is wearing mittens, and AOC is telling us, ‘She was murdered!’ and the media desperately, desperately, desperately wants to see a Republican civil war.”

The Biden administration is granting limited waivers to White House job applicants whose past marijuana use posed a hurdle to employment, NBC News reports. This has been a big issue, especially for younger potential staff, as more jurisdictions legalise marijuana for recreational use.