usa news – Artifex.News https://artifex.news Stay Connected. Stay Informed. Tue, 28 Jan 2025 03:41:31 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://artifex.news/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/cropped-cropped-app-logo-32x32.png usa news – Artifex.News https://artifex.news 32 32 Trump Signs Order To Get ‘Transgender Ideology’ Out Of US Military Forces https://artifex.news/donald-trump-signs-order-to-get-transgender-ideology-out-of-us-military-forces-7575837/ Tue, 28 Jan 2025 03:41:31 +0000 https://artifex.news/donald-trump-signs-order-to-get-transgender-ideology-out-of-us-military-forces-7575837/ Read More “Trump Signs Order To Get ‘Transgender Ideology’ Out Of US Military Forces” »

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Washington DC:

US President Donald Trump said Monday he had signed an executive order ridding the military of what he called “transgender ideology,” in a potentially major setback for LGBTQ rights.

In a series of orders related to the military that Trump told reporters he had signed on Air Force One, he also called for the building of a US version of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.

The Republican signed further orders reinstating service members dismissed for refusing to take the Covid vaccine, and extending a wider government crackdown on diversity programs to the armed forces.

“To ensure that we have the most lethal fighting force in the world, we will get transgender ideology the hell out of our military,” Trump told a Republican congressional retreat earlier in Miami.

Trump has previously promised to bring back a ban on transgender troops, but it was not immediately clear what specific steps were contained in the new order, which has not yet been published.

A White House official with him said the order involved “eliminating gender radicalism in the military.”

Trump’s orders came at the start of his second week back in the White House and on the day a welcome ceremony was held at the Pentagon for his new defense secretary, military veteran and Fox News personality Pete Hegseth.

“Thank you for your leadership Mr President. We will execute!” Hegseth — who was confirmed last week despite concerns over his inexperience, and alleged record of heavy drinking and domestic violence — said on X.

Transgender Americans have faced a roller coaster of changing policies on military service in recent years, with Democratic administrations seeking to permit them to serve openly while Trump has repeatedly sought to keep them out of the ranks.

The US military lifted a ban on transgender troops serving in the armed forces in 2016, during Democrat Barack Obama’s second term as president.

Under that policy, trans troops already serving were permitted to do so openly, and transgender recruits were set to start being accepted by July 1, 2017.

‘Patriots’

But the first Trump administration postponed that date to 2018 before deciding to reverse the policy entirely, sparking criticism from rights groups.

Trump claimed that transgender service members were disruptive, expensive and eroded military readiness and camaraderie among troops.

Trump’s Democratic successor Joe Biden moved to reverse the restrictions just days after he took office in 2021, saying all Americans qualified to serve should be able to do so.

While the number of transgender troops in the American military is fairly small — with estimates of some 15,000 out of more than two million uniformed service members — their dismissal would reduce US forces at a time when the country is already facing difficulties recruiting new personnel.

Biden’s outgoing defense secretary Lloyd Austin appeared to criticize Trump’s plans during a farewell address earlier this month, saying: “Any military that turns away qualified patriots who are eager to serve is just making itself smaller and weaker.”

Transgender issues have roiled US politics in recent years, as states controlled by Democrats and Republicans have moved in opposite directions on policies ranging from medical treatment to what books on the topic are allowed in public or school libraries.

Trump has meanwhile repeatedly promised to build a version of the Iron Dome system that Israel has used to shoot down missiles fired by Hamas from Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

But he ignored the fact that the system is designed for short-range threats, making it ill-suited to defending against intercontinental missiles that are the main danger to the United States.

“We need to immediately begin the construction of a state-of-the-art Iron Dome missile defense shield,” Trump said in Miami, adding that it would be “made right here in the USA.”

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)




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Jimmy Carter laid to rest after dual funeral services in Washington and Georgia https://artifex.news/article69084365-ece/ Fri, 10 Jan 2025 10:04:06 +0000 https://artifex.news/article69084365-ece/ Read More “Jimmy Carter laid to rest after dual funeral services in Washington and Georgia” »

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Jimmy Carter was celebrated Thursday (January 9, 2025) for his personal humility and public service before, during and after his presidency in a funeral at Washington National Cathedral featuring the kind of pageantry the 39th U.S. president typically eschewed. It was followed by an intimate hometown funeral near where he was born a century ago.

All of Carter’s living successors attended in Washington, with President Joe Biden, who was the first sitting senator to endorse his 1976 run for the White House, eulogising his longtime friend. Mr. Biden and others took turns in the morning praising Carter’s record — which many historians have appraised more favourably since he lost his bid for a second term in 1980 — and extolling his character.

The dual ceremonies in Washington and Plains, Georgia, provided a moment of national comity in a notably partisan era and offered a striking portrait of a president who was once judged a political failure, only for his life ultimately to be recognized as having lasting national and global impact.

“He built houses for people who needed homes,” said Joshua Carter, a grandson who recalled how Carter regularly taught Sunday school in Plains after leaving the White House. “He eliminated diseases in forgotten places. He waged peace anywhere in the world, wherever he saw a chance. He loved people.”

Jason Carter, another grandson, wryly noted his grandparents’ frugality, such as washing and reusing Ziploc bags, and his grandfather’s struggles with his cellphone.

“They were small-town people who never forgot who they were and where they were from, no matter what happened in their lives,” said Jason, who chairs the Carter Center, a global humanitarian operation founded by Jimmy and his late wife, Rosalynn Carter.

Former presidents in attendance

At the national service, former President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump, who have mocked each other for years going back to Trump fanning conspiracy theories about Obama’s citizenship, sat next to each other and talked for several minutes, even sharing a laugh.

Former President Barack Obama talks with President-elect Donald Trump as Melania Trump listens and as former President Geroge W. Bush, Laura Bush, Vice President Kamala Harris, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff arrive, before the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter

Former President Barack Obama talks with President-elect Donald Trump as Melania Trump listens and as former President Geroge W. Bush, Laura Bush, Vice President Kamala Harris, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff arrive, before the state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter
| Photo Credit:
AP

As Mr. Trump went to his seat, he shook hands with Mike Pence in a rare interaction with his former vice president. The two split over Mr. Pence’s refusal to help Mr. Trump overturn his election defeat to Mr. Biden four years ago. Karen Pence, the former second lady, did not rise from her chair when her husband did so to greet Mr. Trump.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Mr. Trump in November, entered afterward and was not seen interacting with him. Former first lady Michelle Obama did not attend.

All politics were not left outside the cathedral, though. Mr. Biden, who leaves office in 11 days, repeated several times that “character” was Carter’s chief attribute. Mr. Biden said Carter taught him that “everyone should be treated with dignity and respect.”

“We have an obligation to give hate no safe harbor,” Biden said, also noting the importance of standing up to “abuse in power.” Those comments echoed Mr. Biden’s typical criticisms of Mr. Trump.

Eulogies

In Plains, Carter’s personal pastor, Tony Lowden, touched on the political as well, saying Carter was “still teaching us a lesson” with the timing of his death as a new Congress begins its work and Mr. Trump prepares for a second administration. Lowden, who did not name Mr. Trump or others, urged the nation to follow Carter’s example: “not self, but country.”

“Don’t let his legacy die. Don’t let this nation die,” Lowden said. “Let faith and hope be our guardrails.”

The funeral procession of former President Jimmy Carter passes by on January 9, 2025 in Plains, Georgia.

The funeral procession of former President Jimmy Carter passes by on January 9, 2025 in Plains, Georgia.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images via AFP

Carter died December 29 at age 100, living so long that two of Thursday’s eulogies were written by people who died before him — his vice president, Walter Mondale, and his presidential predecessor, Gerald Ford.

“By fate of a brief season, Jimmy Carter and I were rivals,” Ford said in his eulogy, which was read by his son Steven. “But for the many wonderful years that followed, friendship bonded us as no two presidents since John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.”

Carter defeated Ford in 1976, but the presidents and their wives became close friends, and Carter eulogized Ford at his own funeral.

Days of formal ceremonies and remembrances from political leaders, business titans and rank-and-file citizens have honored Carter for his decency and using a prodigious work ethic to do more than obtain political power.



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Kamala Harris Unveils $50 Million “Fearless” Ad Campaign Against Trump https://artifex.news/us-presidential-race-2024-kamala-harris-unveils-50-million-fearless-ad-campaign-against-trump-6445673/ Thu, 29 Aug 2024 12:42:04 +0000 https://artifex.news/us-presidential-race-2024-kamala-harris-unveils-50-million-fearless-ad-campaign-against-trump-6445673/ Read More “Kamala Harris Unveils $50 Million “Fearless” Ad Campaign Against Trump” »

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The First ad in campaign shows images of Kamala Harris as a little girl following her progression (File)

Washington:

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris launched a $50 million advertising blitz on Tuesday, capitalizing on the momentum of a fledgling campaign against Republican rival Donald Trump with a one-minute spot titled “Fearless.”

It was Harris’ first big ad buy since consolidating support for the Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on July 21 and endorsed her.

In addition to garnering the backing of big-money donors, Harris has sparked newfound energy among groups such as young voters that Biden had been struggling to win over.

Public opinion polls in the last week have shown Harris, 59, closing the gap with 78-year-old Trump, who still leads in some national surveys.

The ads will be rolled out on television as well as streaming and social channels across election battleground states in the weeks before the Democratic National Convention that starts on Aug. 19.

The first ad in the campaign begins with images of Harris as a little girl and follows her progression to a prosecutor, attorney general and U.S. vice president. “The one thing Kamala Harris has always been: fearless,” the ad says.

Since stepping into her new role, Harris has focused on Trump’s felony convictions in a hush-money trial involving a porn star and the other criminal charges he faces, and portrayed him as responsible for a wave of anti-abortion measures in Republican-led states around the country.

The Harris campaign’s ad buy dwarfed the $10 million advertising buy announced by Trump’s campaign on Monday, to be launched in six battleground states this week as it tries to counter a surge of voter enthusiasm and donations for Harris.

That was Trump’s biggest ad buy since January.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Joe Biden says he ended 2024 U.S. presidential bid to unite Democratic party https://artifex.news/article68444021-ece/ Thu, 25 Jul 2024 00:32:00 +0000 https://artifex.news/article68444021-ece/ Read More “Joe Biden says he ended 2024 U.S. presidential bid to unite Democratic party” »

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U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on July 24, 2024, about his decision to drop his Democratic presidential reelection bid.
| Photo Credit: via Reuters

U.S. President Joe Biden on July 24 delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country’s democracy as he laid out in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his 2024 presidential campaign and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.

Insisting that “the defense of democracy is more important than any title,” Mr. Biden used his first public address since his announcement Sunday that he was stepping aside to deliver an implicit repudiation of former President Donald Trump. He did not directly call out Trump, whom he has called an existential threat to democracy. The 10-minute address also gave Mr. Biden a chance to try to shape how history will remember his one and only term in office.

“Nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy,” Mr. Biden said. “And that includes personal ambition.” It was a moment for the history books — a U.S. President reflecting before the nation on why he was taking the rare step of voluntarily handing off power. It hasn’t been done since 1968, when Lyndon Johnson announced he would not seek reelection in the heat of the Vietnam War.

“I revere this office,” Mr. Biden said. “But I love my country more.” Trump, just an hour earlier at a campaign rally, revived his baseless claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Mr. Biden. His refusal to concede inspired the Capitol insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, which Mr. Biden called “the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.” Mr. Biden skirted the political reality that brought him to that point: His abysmal performance in a debate against Trump nearly a month ago, where he spoke haltingly, appeared ashen and failed to rebut his predecessor’s attacks, sparked a crisis of confidence from Democrats. Lawmakers and ordinary voters questioned not just whether he was capable of beating Trump in November, but also whether, at 81, he was still fit for the high-pressure job.

Mr. Biden tried to outlast the skepticism and quell the concerns with interviews and tepid rallies, but the pressure to step aside only mounted from the party’s political elites and from ordinary voters.

“I have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation,” Mr. Biden said, saying he wanted to make room for “fresh voices, yes, younger voices.” He added, “That is the best way to unite our nation.” It was a belated fulfillment of his 2020 pledge to be a bridge to a new generation of leaders — and a bow to the drumbeat of calls from within his party to step aside.

Mr. Biden’s address was carried live by the major broadcast and cable news networks. He spooled out an weighty to-do list for his last six months in office, pledging to remain focused on being president until his term expires at noon on Jan. 20, 2025. He said he would work to end the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, fight to boost government support to cure cancer and push for Supreme Court reform, among other things.

The President sought to use the address to outline the stakes in the election, which both Biden and Harris have framed as a choice between freedom and chaos, but he tried to steer clear of overt campaigning from his official office.

“The great thing about America is here, kings and dictators do not rule,” Mr. Biden said. “The people do. History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America — lies in your hands.” Mr. Biden was also making the case for his legacy of sweeping domestic legislation and the renewal of alliances abroad. But the way history will remember his time in office and his historic decision to step aside is intertwined with Harris’ electoral result in November, particularly as the vice president runs tightly on the achievements of the Biden administration.

His advisers say he intends to hold campaign events and fundraisers benefiting Ms. Harris, whom Mr. Biden praised as “tough” and “capable,” albeit at a far slower pace than if he had remained on the ballot himself.

Ms. Harris advisers will ultimately have to decide how to deploy the President, whose popularity sagged as voters in both parties questioned his fitness for office.

Mr. Biden, aides say, knows that if Harris loses, he’ll be criticized for staying in the race too long and not giving her or another Democrat time to effectively mount a campaign against Trump. If she wins, she’ll ensure his policy victories are secured and expanded, and he’ll be remembered for a Washingtonian decision to step aside for the next generation of leadership.

Mr. Biden said he’s grateful to have served as President — nowhere else would a kid with a stutter grow up to sit in the Oval Office.

“I’ve given my heart and my soul to our nation,” he said. “I’ve been blessed a million times in return.” Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that any question of Mr. Biden resigning his office before the election — which would allow Harris to run as an incumbent — was “ridiculous.” Jean-Pierre said Mr. Biden has “no regrets” about his decision to stay in the race as long as he did, or his decision to quit it over the weekend. She said Mr. Biden’s decision had nothing to do with his health.



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Kamala Harris smashes fundraising record with $81 million haul in just 24 hours https://artifex.news/article68434485-ece/ Tue, 23 Jul 2024 00:45:00 +0000 https://artifex.news/article68434485-ece/ Read More “Kamala Harris smashes fundraising record with $81 million haul in just 24 hours” »

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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at her campaign headquarters in Wilmington, on July 22, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Kamala Harris is smashing fundraising records as the U.S. Democratic Party’s donors — big and small — open their wallets for the vice president in the immediate aftermath of U.S. President Joe Biden’s stunning decision to step aside.

In total, Ms. Harris’ team raised more than $81 million in the 24-hour period since Mr. Biden’s announcement, campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said Monday.

The massive haul, which includes money raised across the campaign, the Democratic National Committee and joint fundraising committees, represents the largest 24-hour sum reported by either side in the 2024 campaign. Ms. Harris’ campaign said it was the largest single-day total in U.S. history.


ALSO READ: Editorial on Joe Biden bowing out of the presidential race

“The historic outpouring of support for Vice President Harris represents exactly the kind of grassroots energy and enthusiasm that wins elections,” Mr. Munoz said.

Hours earlier, Future Forward, the largest super PAC in Democratic politics, announced it had secured $150 million in commitments over the same period from donors who were “previously stalled, uncertain or uncommitted,” a senior adviser said.

Taken together, the fundraising explosion puts Ms. Harris in a dominant position to secure the Democratic Party’s formal presidential nomination at next month’s national convention — if not sooner. The donor class’s embrace comes as she locks up endorsements from the vast majority of Democratic governors and members of Congress.

The huge haul also ensures that Ms. Harris and her allies can compete with Donald Trump, who has generated stunning fundraising totals of his own in recent weeks as he fights to return to the White House.

“This is the next generation people have been waiting for,” Michael Kempner, a member of Biden’s national finance team, said of Ms. Harris’ emergence. “The donors I’ve spoken to are enthusiastic about supporting her. And even those that may have preferred an open convention have quickly coalesced around her overnight.”

Harris’ initial 24-hour fundraising total easily bested the $50 million Trump raised immediately after felony convictions and the $38 million Mr. Biden secured over the four days that followed last month’s disastrous debate performance. The Trump campaign has not said how much it raised immediately after last weekend’s assassination attempt; a spokesman didn’t respond to a request Monday.



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Joe Biden pulls out of U.S. presidential race, endorses Kamala Harris https://artifex.news/article68430212-ece/ Sun, 21 Jul 2024 18:07:16 +0000 https://artifex.news/article68430212-ece/ Read More “Joe Biden pulls out of U.S. presidential race, endorses Kamala Harris” »

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File picture of U.S. President Joe Biden
| Photo Credit: AP

U.S. President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign on Sunday after fellow Democrats lost faith in his mental acuity and ability to beat Donald Trump, leaving the presidential race in uncharted territory. He also announced his endorsement of Vice-President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.


ALSO READ: U.S. presidential elections LIVE updates: Joe Biden drops out of race

Mr. Biden, in a post on X, said he will remain in his role as president and commander-in-chief until his term ends in January 2025 and will address the nation this week.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Mr. Biden wrote.

By dropping his reelection bid, he clears the way for Vice President Kamala Harris to run at the top of the ticket, the first Black woman to do so in the country’s history.

Endorses Harris

Mr. Biden, 81, in a separate post on X, said that he would support and endorse Ms. Harris to be the Democratic party nominee ahead of the Democratic National Convention.

“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this,” he wrote.

It was unclear whether other senior Democrats would challenge Ms. Harris for the party’s nomination, who was widely seen as the pick for many party officials — or whether the party itself would choose to open the field for nominations.

Pressure to step down

Mr. Biden’s announcement follows a wave of public and private pressure from Democratic lawmakers and party officials to quit the race after his shockingly poor performance in a televised debate against Republican rival Mr. Trump, who is 78.

Mr. Biden’s failure at times to complete clear sentences took the public spotlight away from Mr. Trump’s performance, in which he made a string of false statements, and trained it instead on questions surrounding Mr. Biden’s fitness for another 4-year term.

Days later he raised fresh concerns in an interview, shrugging off Democrats’ worries and a widening gap in opinion polls, and saying he would be fine losing to Mr. Trump if he knew he’d “gave it my all.”

Watch | Trump rises, Biden shaky: Why India should pay attention

His gaffes at a NATO summit — invoking Russian President Vladimir Putin’s name when he meant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and calling Harris “Vice President Trump” — further stoked anxieties.

Only four days before Sunday’s announcement, Mr. Biden was diagnosed with COVID-19 for a third time, forcing him to cut short a campaign trip to Las Vegas. More than one in 10 congressional Democrats had called publicly for him to quit the race.

Mr. Biden’s historic move — the first sitting president to give up his party’s nomination for re-election since President Lyndon Johnson in March 1968 — leaves his replacement with less than four months to wage a campaign. 





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‘I took a bullet for democracy,’ Trump says at first rally since shooting https://artifex.news/article68427377-ece/ Sat, 20 Jul 2024 23:06:10 +0000 https://artifex.news/article68427377-ece/ Read More “‘I took a bullet for democracy,’ Trump says at first rally since shooting” »

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Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 20, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Mich. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
| Photo Credit: AP

Donald Trump, holding his first campaign rally Saturday since surviving an assassination attempt, dismissed concerns that he is a threat to democracy, triumphantly telling a cheering crowd: “Last week I took a bullet for democracy.”

“I’m not an extremist at all,” he continued at the rally in swing state of Michigan, dismissing his reported links to Project 2025, a radical shadow manifesto led by figures close to him that has been characterised by opponents as an authoritarian, right-wing wish list.


ALSO READ: How the attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump unfolded

And he mocked the rival Democratic Party, roiled by unprecedented pressure for President Joe Biden to abandon the White House race amid concerns over his age and fitness to serve, if reelected, until 2029.

“They have no idea who their candidate is… This guy goes and he gets the votes, and now they want to take it away. That’s democracy,” Mr. Trump told the 12,000-strong crowd of passionate supporters.

Even as he veered into his typical, rambling campaign speech, the rally represented a moment remarkable by any measure, with Mr. Trump back on stage exactly one week since a gunman tried to kill him.

The Republican presidential nominee appeared wearing a new, smaller, flesh-coloured bandage over his right ear, bloodied in the attack by a 20-year-old gunman at a rally in Pennsylvania that killed one bystander.

Security was reportedly tight inside the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, amid questions over Secret Service lapses at the Pennsylvania rally — though there were few visible signs of any greater law enforcement presence.

Meanwhile, Mr. Biden loyalists continued to defend the embattled president as the drumbeat of calls for him to abandon his campaign grows louder.

The 81-year-old and his team have remained publicly adamant that he is staying in the race, though some reports suggest discussions have begun in his inner circle about how exactly he might step aside.

Biden’s ‘big decision’

There has been massive speculation over who could replace him. As vice president, Ms. Harris appears best positioned to do so.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a leading progressive who sought the party’s presidential nod in 2020, gave Ms. Harris a boost Saturday without turning her back on the president.

“Joe Biden is our nominee,” she said on MSNBC. “He has a really big decision to make.

“But what gives me a lot of hope right now is that if President Biden decides to step back, we have Vice President Kamala Harris, who is ready to step up, to unite the party, to take on Donald Trump, and to win in November.”

Some Democrats, however, fear that such a late switch could trigger chaos, dooming the party at the polls.

Team Trump, for its part, is effervescent after an exceptional streak of luck — from the failed assassination bid to favorable court rulings and Biden’s disastrous debate performance last month.

“I had God on my side,” he told the Republican National Convention Thursday, at which he demonstrated his absolute control over the party, firing supporters up to a rare pitch.

Saturday was Mr. Trump’s debut campaign appearance with running mate J.D. Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio who at age 39 could help win over critical swing states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Ahead of Mr. Trump’s speech, Mr. Vance warmed up the crowd, taking a swipe at Ms. Harris.

“I did serve in the United States Marine Corps and build a business. What the hell have you done, other than collect a check?” he said of the former U.S. senator and California attorney general.

Mr. Trump’s supporters had begun lining up in their dozens in Grand Rapids on Friday, nearly a full day before the rally began.

Edward Young, 64, preparing for his 81st Trump rally, was wearing a T-shirt showing the already iconic photo of Mr. Trump pumping his fist immediately after being shot.

“They have turned him into a martyr and left him alive,” he said. “Now he’s more powerful than ever.”



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Joe Biden set to announce support for major Supreme Court reforms: reports https://artifex.news/article68413075-ece/ Wed, 17 Jul 2024 06:22:54 +0000 https://artifex.news/article68413075-ece/ Read More “Joe Biden set to announce support for major Supreme Court reforms: reports” »

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President Joe Biden walks on stage to speak during the NAACP national convention Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Las Vegas.
| Photo Credit: AP

U.S. President Joe Biden is preparing to propose a major Supreme Court overhaul in the coming week that would include term limits for justices and an enforceable ethics code, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday citing two sources familiar with the plans.

Mr. Biden is also weighing whether to call for a constitutional amendment to eliminate broad presidential immunity, the Post reported, adding that Mr. Biden discussed at the move in a video conference with the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Saturday.


ALSO READ | Gun control, the Second Amendment and the judges of the U.S. Supreme Court | Explained 

Mr. Biden has previously shunned calls to overhaul the top court with term limits or by expanding the number of seats on the bench. Some Democrats have made calls for the changes following former President Donald Trump’s appointment of three conservative justices.

In October, a bipartisan group of legal experts expressed their support for 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices as a way to deter partisanship and improve the judiciary’s reputation.



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Eminent Indian-American physician elected official delegate to Republican Convention https://artifex.news/article68354822-ece/ Mon, 01 Jul 2024 09:54:57 +0000 https://artifex.news/article68354822-ece/ Read More “Eminent Indian-American physician elected official delegate to Republican Convention” »

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File picture of Dr. Sampat S. Shivangi
| Photo Credit: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Eminent Indian-American physician Dr. Sampat Shivangi has been elected as an official delegate to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this month that would formally nominate former U.S. president Donald Trump as the party’s presidential candidate.

Mr. Trump, 78, is the presumptive Republican Party candidate for the presidential election.

An influential Indian-American community leader, Dr. Shivangi, has been elected as a National Delegate at the convention for the sixth time.

“It is a great pleasure and honour to share the news that I have been nominated and elected as (an) official delegate at the upcoming Republican National Convention to be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from July 13 to July 19, 2024,” Dr. Shivangi said.

The four-day Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, would formally nominate Mr. Trump as the party’s candidate for the November 5 presidential election.

The nomination process would be completed by Republican delegates from across the country.

Dr. Shivangi, a lifelong member of the Republican Party and a founding member of the Republican Indian Council and the Republican Indian National Council, has been nominated as RNC delegate six consecutive times.

“This will be my sixth time serving as a National Delegate at the Republican National Convention to nominate the Republican Party nominee to contest the national presidential election,” he said.

“My nomination began as early as when President George W. Bush was nominated in New York, then-Senator George McCain, Governor Mitt Romney, (and) President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. Now again to re-elect President Donald Trump in 2024 in Milwaukee,” he said.

He is the national president of the Indian American Forum for Political Education, one of the oldest Indian American Associations.

Over the past three decades, he has lobbied for several bills in the U.S. Congress on behalf of India through his enormous contacts with U.S. Senators and Congressmen.

“I feel this is a unique honour and an opportunity for an Indian American to represent the community at the national level,” he said.

Dr. Shivangi said he would be part of the luncheon hosted by Governor Tate Reeves of Mississippi in honour of the delegates at Northern Lights in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 16, for the Mississippi delegates.



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2 killed, 6 wounded in shooting at Juneteenth event in Texas park https://artifex.news/article68299092-ece/ Mon, 17 Jun 2024 02:00:08 +0000 https://artifex.news/article68299092-ece/ Read More “2 killed, 6 wounded in shooting at Juneteenth event in Texas park” »

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A Police Department vehicle blocks a road after a fatal shooting on June 16, 2024, in Round Rock, Texas, U.S.A. Multiple people were shot at the park during a Juneteenth celebration.
| Photo Credit: AP

A weekend shooting in a Texas park in the U.S. left two people dead and six wounded, including two children, authorities said.

The victims were shot shortly before 11 pm Saturday during a Juneteenth celebration at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock, about 19 miles (30 kilometers) north of Austin.

An altercation began between two groups during a concert at the event and someone started shooting, Round Rock Police Chief Allen Banks said during a news conference at the scene.

The two victims who were pronounced dead at the scene were not involved in the argument, Mr. Banks said. The shooting occurred near a vendor area away from the stage set up for the concert, he added.

Police officers and fire department personnel present at the event immediately began providing emergency medical care to the wounded, who were then taken to hospitals, said Mr. Banks.

Six people — four adults and two children — were taken to local trauma facilities, all with potentially serious injuries, according to a post on X by Austin-Travis County EMS.

Police said Sunday they did not have a suspect in custody and investigators did not know how many shooters were involved.

“It breaks your heart for a family that was coming out to enjoy their evening and now their life is forever changed as a result of somebody who could care less about somebody else’s life,” Mr. Allen said.



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