John Healey won't rule out tax rises to fund armed forces
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Reuters
22 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump directs probe into Biden's use of autopen, Biden says policy decisions were his
WASHINGTON, June 4 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump directed the White House counsel on Wednesday to investigate whether former President Joe Biden's aides covered up an alleged mental decline and unlawfully used an autopen on Biden's behalf to sign policy documents. Biden, who is fighting cancer, said he made the decisions during his administration and suggested Trump's move was designed to distract Americans from a bill in Congress that would extend tax cuts for the wealthy. Republican Trump has long asserted that Biden, a Democrat who defeated him in the 2020 presidential election, was mentally incompetent and has suggested the use of a mechanical pen to sign memos, executive orders and grants of clemency during Biden's four-year-term may have been improper, potentially rendering them invalid. In a statement late on Wednesday, Biden dismissed those suggestions. 'Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false," he said. Biden's team said the use of an autopen is a well established legal practice following a presidential decision. The former president, now 82, stepped aside as the Democratic presidential candidate last year after a disastrous debate against Trump underscored concerns about his age and ability to serve as commander-in-chief for four more years. Trump defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the Democratic presidential nominee, in November. Biden's office said last month that the former president had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. That development and a new book that cites concerns among Democratic insiders about Biden's mental acuity as he was seeking re-election have brought renewed attention to the former president's health. While in office, Biden's aides denied that his mental acuity had dipped even as they acknowledged he had aged. Trump wished Biden well after the cancer diagnosis but has continued to criticize his predecessor for a host of challenges facing the country. His move to investigate aspects of Biden's time in power took his criticisms to a new level. In a memorandum, Trump ordered his White House counsel, in consultation with the attorney general, to probe whether "certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President." The investigation would also look into documents that were signed by autopen and those who directed the use of that device. "In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden's aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden's cognitive decline," the memo said. "There are serious doubts as to the decision making process and even the degree of Biden's awareness of ... actions being taken in his name." A senior official Trump's Justice Department told staff on Monday that he has been directed to investigate whether Biden was competent and whether others had taken advantage of him through the use of an autopen when he granted clemency to members of his family and death row inmates at the end of his term.
Daily Mail
35 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
NYC mayoral hopeful brutally mocked over 'diabolical' breakfast order
NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo has been blasted online over his breakfast order after confessing he preferred an English muffin to a bagel in a new interview. Cuomo ignited harsh criticism after he was asked 'what is your bagel order or favorite breakfast sandwich?' as he answered 10 questions for the New York Times. He candidly admitted: 'Bacon, cheese and egg on an English muffin, and then I try to take off the bacon, but I don't really take off the bacon. 'The bagel I try to stay away from, to keep my girlish figure.' The Democrat, 67, is attempting to make a political comeback after his resignation from office in 2021 following a slew of sexual harassment allegations, all of which he has denied. Yet, the controversial breakfast order may have foiled his chances as New Yorkers have dished out relentless disapproval of his brave admission. 'I have never seen my Jewish father so distraught as when he read that Andrew Cuomo 's bagel order is an English muffin,' one said. Another said: 'I don't understand how you don't have a normal answer to "what kind of bagel do you like" when YOU'RE RUNNING FOR MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY.' To which one user responded: 'To be fair, his favorite borough is Westchester.' 'Answering the question of what's your bagel order with 'English muffin' as not only a New Yorker but a candidate for the MAYOR of NYC is DIABOLICAL,' one user commented 'Answering the question of what's your bagel order with 'English muffin' as not only a New Yorker but a candidate for the MAYOR of NYC is DIABOLICAL,' one user commented. Cuomo's phrasing while answering the question also has many doubtful of his New York ties. 'Cuomo saying "Bacon, cheese and egg" and not "Bacon, egg and cheese" shows his true colors,' one said. 'Guy is a psychopath.' 'Saying "bacon, cheese and egg" instead of baconeggancheese is not only disqualifying for Mayor but should result in deportation from the entire tri-state area,' another harshly suggested. 'The way my brain immediately autocorrected it to bacon, egg and cheese so I didn't see the problem until "girlish figure,"' another wrote. 'He's not winning any NYC office with that kind of information out in the public.' 'Nowwwwww Y would this man destroy his chance to win, Lol this is a sin to most of us NEW YORKERS.' 'This will probably lose him more voters than the sexual harassment and aged care home deaths.' However it wasn't only left to the public to rip the hopeful Mayor to shreds for the 'diabolical' order. City Councilwoman Joann Ariola posted on X: 'Honestly, calling it a "bacon, cheese and egg" instead of a bacon egg and cheese should be a disqualifying offense.' Zohran Mamdani, polling second behind Cuomo in the Democratic Party primary for the mayoral position, chimed in on the breakfast order at a press conference on Tuesday. 'It confirms so much of what we feared about Andrew Cuomo, not just that he doesn't know how to order a bacon, egg and cheese, but also the fact that this is a man who New York City has been something he's understood more through his television screen than actually by walking the streets,' Mamdani said, the New York Post reported. 'And we've seen that over the course of this campaign, he seems to be afraid of the city. 'He spends his time between his car and his $8,000 a month apartment in Midtown, and we don't ever know when we're going to see him, other than when it's legally required of him to be present.' But Cuomo is not the first to to have sacrilegious New York food tendencies, as one commenter wrote: 'I mean NYC did elect a mayor who ate pizza with a fork and knife.' Former Mayor Bill de Blasio caused a major stir across the five boroughs when he used utensils to chow down on a New York slice in 2014. A photograph of de Blasio using utensils spread across Twitter and prompted mock outrage among New Yorkers on blogs and news sites. Responding to the pizza palaver, de Blasio defended the approach, saying that his Italian ancestry is behind his decidedly un-New York pizza-eating style. The 2025 primary election in the heavily blue-leaning Big Apple is scheduled for June 24. Despite the food faux pas, Cuomo remains favored to win, though socialist Mamdani has been gaining. New York City uses ranked choice voting which could end up deciding who takes on Republican Curtis Sliwa and incumbent Eric Adams running as an independent in November.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Here are the countries targeted in Trump's new travel ban
June 4 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday banning the nationals of 12 countries from entering the United States, saying the move was needed to protect against "foreign terrorists" and other security threats. The proclamation signed by Trump comes into effect on June 9, 2025 at 12:01 am EDT (0401 GMT). The proclamation states that the full and partial travel bans apply to foreign nationals of the designated countries who: - are outside the United States on June 9, and - do not have a valid visa on June 9 The proclamation also states: No immigrant or non-immigrant visa issued before June 9 "shall be revoked pursuant to this proclamation." The following countries are subject to full bans on entry: Afghanistan Myanmar Chad Republic of the Congo Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Haiti Iran Libya Somalia Sudan Yemen WHICH COUNTRIES ARE SUBJECTED TO A PARTIAL TRAVEL BAN? The following countries are subjected to the suspension of the entry of immigrants, and people on the following temporary visas: B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F, M, and J visas. Burundi Cuba Laos Sierra Leone Togo Turkmenistan Venezuela ARE THERE ANY EXCEPTIONS TO THE TRAVEL BANS? Exceptions to the travel ban include: - Any lawful permanent resident of the United States - Dual nationals - Diplomats traveling on valid non-immigrant visas - Athletes or members of an athletic team and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event - Immediate family immigrant visas - Adoptions - Afghan Special Immigrant Visas - Special Immigrant Visas for United States government employees - Immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran
