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Actor brings force of Hollywood to trumpet Biden’s legislative record in briefing that both delighted and bemused journalists“You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.” But enough about Washington. The Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, who once saw off gangsters at a fictional spaceport, came to the US capital on Friday for a meeting with Joe Biden.Quite why he was...

US president made fun of Republican frontrunner’s legal woes while critics of his handling of Gaza war protested outsideJoe Biden has shown no mercy to Donald Trump with a series of barbed jokes about his election rival, telling a gathering of Washington’s political and media elites: “I’m a grown man running against a six-year-old.”The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner on Saturday night provided...

President says legislation is ‘going to make the world safer’ after months of congressional gridlock threatened support for KyivJoe Biden has signed into law a bill that rushes $95bn in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, a bipartisan legislative victory he hailed as a “good day for world peace” after months of congressional gridlock threatened Washington’s support for Kyiv in its fight to...

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on Trump’s criminal trial, read our full report:All 12 jurors seated in Trump hush-money trial after two dismissalsJudge Merchan, in directing the press not to use physical descriptors to describe jurors, complained specifically about mentioning one of the jurors had an Irish accent.“We just lost” what would have been a good juror for the case,...

Siblings appear on stage with president at campaign event in Philadelphia and offer full-throated support of White House runProminent members of the Kennedy political dynasty delivered a full-throated endorsement of Joe Biden’s re-election campaign on Thursday, a pointed message that was in equal measure a stinging repudiation of their relative Robert F Kennedy Jr, who is making an independent run for the White House.Kerry...

Israeli military says 99% of Iran’s 300 drones and missiles intercepted during overnight attackFull report: Iran warns it will strike again if Israel or US retaliateWhat we know so farJordan declared a state of emergency amid Iran’s drone attack on Israel, Reuters reported, citing state media.Two regional security sources told Reuters that the country’s air defenses are prepared to intercept and shoot down any...

US president convenes top advisers as US and Jordanian forces help Israel intercept barrageIran launches attack against Israel – liveIran said it launched dozens of drones and ballistic missiles towards Israel on Saturday in a major attack following days of acute tension building up in the region and warnings from the US and elsewhere about a wider conflict erupting.Air attack warning sirens began wailing...

This live blog is now closed. For more on the Biden-Netanyahu phone call, you can read our full report:Protect civilians and aid workers or risk losing US support, Biden tells IsraelJill Biden pleaded with her husband, Joe Biden, to “stop it, stop it now”, referring to the war in Gaza, the president told guests at the White House, according to a report.At a meeting...

US president ‘outraged and heartbroken’ after IDF drone attack killed seven people working for World Central Kitchen in GazaJoe Biden has said that Israel is not doing enough to protect aid workers and has called for a swift investigation into the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) drone attack in Gaza which killed seven people working for the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity.“This conflict has been...

Presidents clashed over Taiwan and US trade restrictions on technology in first direct interaction since NovemberJoe Biden and Xi Jinping have clashed in a telephone call about Taiwan and US trade restrictions on technology, but sought to manage their tensions as two top US officials prepare to visit Beijing.The nearly two-hour telephone conversation on Tuesday was the two leaders’ first direct interaction since a...

Authorities say accident sent vehicles and workers into river as Biden promises to fund rebuilding of crucial structureMaryland state police say the six people who were missing after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed Tuesday in Baltimore, Maryland, are now been presumed dead.Authorities said the accident sent a number of vehicles and eight construction workers into the Patapsco River. Two people were rescued on...

Independent candidate for president selects Shanahan, 38, a wealthy philanthropist formerly married to Sergey BrinRobert F Kennedy Jr selected Nicole Shanahan, a tech attorney and wealthy philanthropist, as his running mate in an independent campaign that could upset the 2024 race for the White House.Kennedy, an environmental attorney who gained notoriety as a vaccine sceptic and conspiracy theorist, announced his pick at a campaign...

Tone in parts of Israeli media borders on contempt, as prime minister’s growing friction with Biden linked to US abstentionThe Israeli prime minister’s handling of relations with the Biden administration, which led the US on Monday to decline to veto a ceasefire resolution at the UN security council, has been greeted by sharp criticism by Israeli commentators.After the US abstention, prominent columnists across the...

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says Biden’s thoughts are with princess’s family ‘during this incredibly difficult time’The Joe Biden White House has expressed sympathy and support to the Princess of Wales after her announcement that she is being treated for cancer.Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, wished Catherine a full recovery at a Friday press briefing. Continue reading...

States including Texas, Louisiana and Florida say federal government lacks authority to broadly deny permitsSixteen US states, including Texas, Louisiana and Florida, have filed a lawsuit to challenge the US federal government’s ban on approving applications to export liquefied natural gas, the office of Texas attorney general Ken Paxton said on Thursday.The lawsuit argues the federal government lacks the authority to broadly deny those...

Republican candidate insists at Ohio rally that Biden had beaten ‘Barack Hussein Obama’ in elections that never took placeJoe Biden tore into Donald Trump’s mental stability at a dinner in Washington DC on Saturday – just as the former president was making verbal gaffes at a campaign rally in Ohio as well as, during remarks on the economy and auto industry, predicting a “bloodbath”...

The success of this agile grassroots group underlines the discontent over the war – and represents a warning for DemocratsPeople in Michigan, and across the country, had been protesting for months over the Gaza war and the US government’s role in it, marching in the streets, showing up at the president’s public events, and pressuring their elected officials to support a ceasefire.But it didn’t...

Democrat Chris Van Hollen says Biden must cease giving arms to Israel until it lifts restrictions on aid and does more to protect livesJoe Biden should use his leverage and the law to pressure Israel to change how it is prosecuting the war in Gaza, the Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen said.Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, is among a group of senators urging Biden...

President announces $3.3bn in infrastructure spending to ‘right historic wrongs’ as he takes 2024 campaign to vital swing statesJoe Biden hailed the beginning of $3.3bn in infrastructure spending on US projects on Wednesday “to right historic wrongs” with efforts to reconnect city neighborhoods riven by interstate highways that plowed with particular impunity through many Black, brown, Asian American and Hispanic communities decades ago.The US...

Israeli prime minister hits back after Biden says war is hurting Israel more than helping itThe Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has rejected Joe Biden’s comment that his approach to the war in Gaza is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel”, escalating a dispute between the leaders.Over the weekend, the US president said Netanyahu “must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost...

Jonathan Katz accuses Britt of being ‘dishonest’ in State of the Union rebuttal with story about Karla Jacinto RomeroDoubts have been cast on the accuracy of a story about horrific child sex abuse told by the Republican senator Katie Britt in her widely ridiculed speech delivered in rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.The journalist and author Jonathan Katz has accused...

Coinciding with multistate tour, 60-second ad shows president joking about age and stressing ‘strongest economy in the world’Joe Biden’s campaign kicked off a $30m TV and digital ad blitz in key swing states on Saturday with an ad in which the president directly addresses concerns about his age.Set to run for six weeks on stations including Black- and Hispanic-owned outlets, and released shortly after...

Former president responds to Biden’s ‘angry’ address on his social media platform Truth SocialKey takeaways from Biden’s state of the union addressU.S. Senator Katie Britt of Alabama, who delivered Republicans’ formal response to Biden, attacked him over immigration and the economy.The true, unvarnished State of our Union begins and ends with this: Our families are hurting. Our country can do better, she said. Continue...

The president brought the fight, jousting with Republican hecklers as he attacked Trump without mentioning his nameWould it be a withered old man or a human dynamo? Would it be a rambling, gaffe-prone politician or an inspiring leader touched with fire? Would it be Geriatric Joe or Dark Brandon?Within the first few minutes of Thursday’s State of the Union address in Washington, millions of...