White House denies Biden is snubbing Israel’s Netanyahu

13Feb

By News RoomNo Comments

World

White House denies Biden is snubbing Israel’s Netanyahu

The White House yesterday denied that US President Joe Biden was intentionally snubbing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by failing to include him so far in an early round of phone calls to foreign leaders since taking office on January 20. The lack of direct contact between the Democratic president and the long-serving right-wing premier has fuelled speculation in Israel and among Middle East experts that the new administration may be signaling its displeasure over the close ties Netanyahu forged with Biden’s predecessor, former President Donald Trump. “He is looking forward to speaking with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters at a daily briefing when asked when Biden would call. “I can assure you that will be soon, but I don’t have a s...

Donald Trump’s science adviser Scott Atlas leaving White House job

1Dec

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World

Donald Trump’s science adviser Scott Atlas leaving White House job

Dr. Scott Atlas, a science adviser to President Donald Trump who was skeptical of measures to control the coronavirus outbreak, is leaving his White House post. A White House official confirmed that the Stanford University neuroradiologist, who had no formal experience in public health or infectious diseases, resigned at the end of his temporary government assignment. Atlas confirmed the news in a Monday evening tweet. Atlas joined the White House this summer, where he clashed with top government scientists, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx, as he resisted stronger efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 267,000 Americans. Atlas has broken with government experts and the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community to criticize effo...

Tear gas fired at protestors as clashes erupt outside White House

1Jun

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Highlights, World

Tear gas fired at protestors as clashes erupt outside White House

Police fired tear gas outside the White House late Sunday as major US cities were put under curfew to suppress rioting as anti-racism protestors again took to the streets to voice fury at police brutality. With the Trump administration branding instigators of six nights of rioting as domestic terrorists, there were more confrontations between protestors and police and fresh outbreaks of looting. Violent clashes erupted repeatedly in a small park next to the White House, with authorities using tear gas, pepper spray and flash bang grenades to disperse crowds who lit several large fires and damaged property. Local US leaders appealed to citizens to give constructive outlet to their rage over the death of an unarmed black man in Minneapolis, while night-time curfews were imposed in c...

Trump to sign executive order on social media on Thursday: White House

28May

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World

Trump to sign executive order on social media on Thursday: White House

US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on social media companies on Thursday, White House officials said after Trump threatened to shut down websites he accused of stifling conservative voices. The officials gave no further details. It was unclear how Trump could follow through on the threat of shutting down privately owned companies including Twitter Inc. The dispute erupted after Twitter on Tuesday for the first time tagged Trump’s tweets about unsubstantiated claims of fraud in mail-in voting with a warning prompting readers to fact check the posts. Separately, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals in Washington on Wednesday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit by a conservative group and right-wing YouTube personality against Google, Facebook, Twitter and...

White House goal on testing nursing homes for Covid-19 within 14 days unmet

25May

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World

White House goal on testing nursing homes for Covid-19 within 14 days unmet

Nearly two weeks ago the White House urged governors to ensure that every nursing home resident and staff member be tested for the coronavirus within 14 days. It’s not going to happen. A review by The Associated Press found that at least half of the states are not going to meet White House’s deadline and some aren’t even bothering to try. Only a handful of states, including West Virginia and Rhode Island, have said they’ve already tested every nursing home resident. Many states said the logistics, costs and manpower needs are too great to test all residents and staff in a two-week window. Some say they need another week or so, while others say they need much more time. California, the most populous state, said it is still working to release a plan that would ensure testing capa...

White House will not take part in impeachment hearing, says Donald Trump’s attorney

2Dec

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World

White House will not take part in impeachment hearing, says Donald Trump’s attorney

US President Donald Trump’s attorney has said that the White House will not participate in congressional hearings set for Wednesday that will consider passing impeachment articles against the president. “We cannot fairly be expected to participate in a hearing while the witnesses are yet to be named and while it remains unclear whether the Judiciary Committee will afford the President a fair process through additional hearings,” White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote in a letter to Jerry Nadler, the Democratic chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the House of Representatives on Sunday. “Accordingly, under the current circumstances, we do not intend to participate in your Wednesday hearing,” Cipollone wrote. Trump is facing allegations in the House of Representatives investigati...