Associated Press Biden back in Delaware with moving on his weekend to-do list On President Joe Biden’s weekend to-do list? Biden flew aboard Air Force One for the first time as president on Friday, but not on a trip to sell his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan or to confer with a U.S. ally. Biden’s
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Associated Press
Biden back in Delaware with moving on his weekend to-do list
On President Joe Biden’s weekend to-do list? Biden flew aboard Air Force One for the first time as president on Friday, but not on a trip to sell his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan or to confer with a U.S. ally. Biden’s son Hunter also turned 51 on Thursday.
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Reuters
Himalayan glacier breaks in India, around 125 missing in floods
Around 125 people were missing in northern India after a Himalayan glacier broke and swept away a small hydroelectric dam on Sunday, with floods forcing the evacuation of villages downstream. A wall of dust, rock and water hit as an avalanche roared down the Rishiganga valley deep in the mountains of Uttarakhand, a witness said. “It came very fast, there was no time to alert anyone,” Sanjay Singh Rana, who lives on the upper reaches of the river in Raini village, told Reuters by phone.
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The Telegraph
Mike Pence starting podcast to ‘share the good news of conservatism’
Barely two weeks after leaving office, the former US vice president Mike Pence has switched his attention to “attracting new hearts and minds to the conservative cause” as the host of a podcast directed at American youth. Mr Pence will become the first Ronald Reagan presidential scholar at the Young America’s Foundation (YAF), a group set up in the 1960s to promote conservative values among a generation of high school and college students and those just embarking on their working lives. Hosting a podcast will be familiar territory for Mr Pence, who was a prominent conservative radio voice in the Midwest for several years before his election to Congress in 2000. Billing himself as “Rush Limbaugh on decaf,” a milder version of the firebrand right-wing radio personality beloved by Donald Trump’s supporters, Mr Pence hosted discussions on conservative and religious themes. “The Vice-President will certainly be focused on the conservative accomplishments of the last four years and projecting those accomplishments and lessons learned forward,” a Pence spokesperson said of the podcast, according to Politico.
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The Week
Harris has reportedly pushed Biden’s coronavirus team to focus on overlooked communities
After Vice President Kamala Harris received her second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in a televised event at the National Institutes of Health in January, Rep. Joyce Beatty’s (D-Ohio) phone lit up with calls from constituents who were “newly curious” about getting vaccinated themselves, she told The New York Times. As Beatty explained, watching a Black woman receive the vaccine “gave people hope and gave people education.” Black Americans are nearly three times more likely to die from the coronavirus, the Times notes, but they are far less likely to be inoculated, in large part because of a lack of access, but also, some experts have pointed out, because of longstanding wariness about government-driven health programs. Harris, it seems, was able to ease some of those concerns with her public vaccination, and she also has reportedly pressed President Biden and his advisers in private to focus on how their policies will ensure less advantaged people in both urban and rural settings are protected against the virus. “The vice president pushed us hard, in a very good way,” Jeffrey Zients, Biden’s coronavirus response coordinator, told the Times. “She pushed me on, ‘Where are we on mobile vaccination units? How many are we going to have, in what period of time? Are they going to be able to reach rural communities and urban communities? How much progress have you made?” Read more about Harris’ role in the Biden administration so far at The New York Times. More stories from theweek.com5 brutally funny cartoons about America’s bungled vaccine rolloutSenator Ivanka?The growing white supremacist threat
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Reuters
Biden administration suspends Trump asylum deals with El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras
The Biden administration said on Saturday it was immediately suspending Trump-era asylum agreements with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, part of a bid to undo his Republican predecessor’s hardline immigration policies. In a statement, State Department Secretary Antony Blinken said the United States had “suspended and initiated the process to terminate the Asylum Cooperative Agreements with the Governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras as the first concrete steps on the path to greater partnership and collaboration in the region laid out by President Biden.”
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National Review
White House Press Sec Dodges When Asked Why Hunter Biden Still Has a Stake in Chinese Investment Firm
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Friday punted on a question about why President Biden’s son Hunter Biden still holds an investment in a Chinese company. Asked during a press conference at the White House whether she had an update on Hunter Biden’s divestment from his ten percent stake in the Chinese private equity firm BHR Partners, Psaki referred a reporter to the younger Biden’s lawyers. “He has been working to unwind his investment,” Psaki said, adding, “as a private citizen, I would point you to him or his lawyers on the outside on any update.” In December, Biden assured voters that he and his family would not be involved in any business dealings that appear to conflict with the office of the president. “My son, my family will not be involved in any business, any enterprise that is in conflict with or appears to be in conflict with the appropriate distance from the presidency and government,” Biden said during a CNN appearance. Hunter Biden was reportedly in the process of divesting from his equity stake in BHR in late December, but as of last week, he appears to have retained his investment through his company, Skaneateles LLC. BHR, whose largest shareholder is the Chinese government-controlled Bank of China, has invested about $2.1 billion. Hunter Biden came under scrutiny last year for his lucrative position on the board of the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma. In leaked emails from 2014, Biden appears to try to leverage his influence with his father, then-vice president Joe Biden, who was heavily involved in U.S. policy on Ukraine, referring to the elder Biden as “my guy.” He also attracted criticism for entering into a consulting contract with China’s largest private energy company that initially earned Hunter Biden $10 million a year “for introductions alone,” according to leaked emails. Hunter Biden’s memoir, “Beautiful Things,” is scheduled to come out on April 6. The book will focus on the younger Biden’s well-documented drug abuse issues, according to Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
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The Telegraph
General behind Myanmar’s bloodless coup plots future without Aung San Suu Kyi
In the days after Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted in an early morning coup, the wide modern boulevards of the country’s Potemkin capital Naypyitaw remained silent and empty. A few military roadblocks and patrolling armoured vehicles were the only sign of the sudden army takeover that threatened to wipe out the country’s recent democratic progress in one audacious swoop. On Wednesday, carefully orchestrated television footage showed a diminutive figure in military uniform conducting government business from a golden, throne-like armchair. Those searching for motives behind the Monday morning putsch that imprisoned Ms Suu Kyi and plunged Myanmar back towards oppressive junta rule need look no further than the service ribbons on the chest of General Min Aung Hlaing. The authoritarian general who is accused of overseeing an ethnic cleansing operation against the Muslim Rohingya minority is now at the centre of power in the former British colony that, until recently, projected such hope in its fledgling attempts establish democracy. Experts say the timing of the coup lies in Min Aung Hlaing’s ruthless personal quest for power and the military’s deep paranoia that the popular civilian government could erode the unrivalled political dominance it has enjoyed for decades.
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Axios
President Biden’s flight home on Air Force One
President Biden’s first flight on Air Force One as commander-in-chief lasted 25 minutes — about one-third the time it takes for the Acela to trace his beloved Amtrak route from D.C. to Wilmington.What he’s saying: It’s a “great honor” to ride as president on the iconic symbol of American power and diplomacy, Biden told reporters on the tarmac upon landing at New Castle Air National Guard Base. Be smart: sign up FREE for the most influential newsletter in America.“You realize, they’ve used this air strip to practice landings for the 747 takeoffs for the president’s plane for a long time,” Biden said, with the nostalgia of someone with a home just five miles away. “Now I’m getting off that plane. It’s really kind of strange.”Behind the scenes: Axios was on board for Biden’s sunset flight home to Delaware on Friday.At Joint Base Andrews, he tucked a challenge coin into the palm of the female colonel who greeted and saluted him before he boarded at 5:31 p.m. The flight was wheels up at 5:42 p.m. and landed at 6:07 p.m.The weekend family visit comes between his son Hunter’s birthday and the Super Bowl, between a crucial COVID-19 budget framework vote and the impeachment trial of former President Trump.TVs aboard the flight showed ESPN — and CNN, a departure from his predecessor’s viewing habits.Everyone including the president wore masks.Biden didn’t talk politics with his press corps — nor did he make the customary trip to the back of the cabin for small talk amid the pandemic, opting instead for a short, outdoor gaggle after the flight.After 36 years in the U.S. Senate and eight years as Barack Obama’s wingman, Biden has taken countless flights on all kinds of government aircraft. Friday’s short flight was on the “baby” plane, a 757, not the big 747. It’s “a great plane,” he said. “It’s the same plane that we had as vice president, only it’s much nicer.”Get smarter, faster with the news CEOs, entrepreneurs and top politicians read. Sign up for Axios Newsletters here.
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National Review
Judge Declares Republican Claudia Tenney Winner of NY Congressional Race
A New York judge has ordered the state to certify Republican Claudia Tenney as the victor in the state’s 22nd Congressional District elections, after months of delays brought on by errors in the vote-counting process. The decision narrows the already slim Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, which now stands at 221 seats compared to Republicans’ 212. Tenney defeated incumbent Democrat Anthony Brindisi by just 109 votes, winning back the seat she lost to Brindisi in 2018. The election was marred by problems including the discovery of uncounted ballots and what local media dubbed “StickyGate,” in which identifying post-it notes mysteriously fell off a batch of disputed ballots, leaving elections officials unsure if those ballots were counted or not. Additionally, a local county failed to process 2,400 voter registration applications before election day. New York Supreme Court justice Scott J. DelConte ruled that despite the errors in the election, the court was compelled to order the certification of Tenney as the winner. DelConte did not find evidence of election fraud. “The record in this election reflects that both candidates suffered the effects of systemic violations of state and federal election laws,” DelConte wrote in his ruling. The court “cannot investigate or respond to these systemic infringements upon voters’ rights.” Such an investigation would fall under the purview of the State Board of Elections, the U.S. Justice Department, or the governor. Nevertheless, DelConte wrote, “every single valid vote that was cast in New York’s 22nd Congressional District has been accounted for, and counted.” Tenney welcomed the judge’s ruling. “I’m honored to have won this race,” Tenney said in a statement. “It was a hard-fought campaign and I thank Anthony Brindisi for his service. Now that every legal vote has been counted, it’s time for the results to be certified.” The Brindisi campaign may continue to appeal the election results. Brindisi could also appeal to the House, which has the power to order a recount and even a new election. “I am shocked and surprised by this decision because of the countless errors and discrepancies that have occurred throughout this initial count,” Brindisi said. “I believe a full audit and hand recount is the only way to resolve this race.”
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Consumer Reports
Best Countertops for Busy Kitchens
Replacing a scratched, scorched, stained, or just plain unattractive countertop can transform any kitchen. Happily, there are lots of options in a wide range of prices. A new laminate countertop …
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