
Best of the Media Buzz Meter: Many Democrats Ripping Biden Over Hunter Biden, a Stain on His legacy
This 'Media Buzz Meter' first aired December 2nd, 2024 … Howie Kurtz on all sides blasting Biden over Hunter pardon, Kash Patel planning to reshape the FBI and Dr. Oz having a few conflicts of interest as Trump's pick to head Medicare and Medicaid.
Follow Howie on Twitter: @HowardKurtz
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Bloomberg
43 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Starmer Confident Aukus Pact Will Proceed Despite Trump Review
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he has no doubts that the Aukus defense pact with the US and Australia will continue despite President Donald Trump's review of the initiative. The Pentagon last week launched a review of the Joe Biden-era deal to develop nuclear-powered submarines with Australia and the UK, as part of Trump's push for allies to take more responsibility for their own defense and ensure the US has enough warships of its own. The pact was signed in 2021 to counter China's military expansion in the Indo-Pacific region.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Manhunt intensifies in US after lawmaker killed, another wounded
Police and FBI agents waged a huge manhunt Sunday for a gunman who killed a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband in Minnesota in what officials called a politically motivated attack. As the search stretched into its second day, police appeared to close in on the shooter, finding a car described as related to him, but not the man himself. America reeled from its latest spasm of political violence as lawmakers called for a return to civility in political discourse that has been overheated and angry for years. Authorities searched for a man identified as Vance Boelter, 57, who also allegedly shot and wounded another lawmaker and his wife early Saturday in the northern state bordering Canada. Officials said Boelter impersonated a police officer as he came to the homes of these couples near Minneapolis and shot them, and that officers found a manifesto and a list of other lawmakers and potential targets in his car. Boelter fled on foot after exchanging gunfire with officers after the second shooting. On Sunday officers located another car related to Boelter in a rural area about a 90-minute drive west of Minneapolis, the Sibley County Sheriff's Office told AFP. Residents were warned of the find and agents are scouring the area, the office said without explaining how the vehicle is related to the suspect. Officials have issued security alerts in South Dakota and other states as the hunt proceeds, US Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said Sunday as she mourned her slain friend, Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman. "I am concerned about all our political leaders, political organizations," she said. "It was politically motivated, and there clearly was some throughline with abortion because of the groups that were on the list, and other things that I've heard were in this manifesto. So that was one of his motivations." As speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2019 to January 2025, Hortman was committed to legislation that protected reproductive rights in the state, local media reported. - 'Bring the tone down' - America is bitterly divided politically as President Donald Trump embarks on his second term and routinely insults his opponents. Political violence is becoming more and more common. Trump himself survived an assassination attempt last year. An assailant with a hammer attacked the husband of then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2022. And Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's home was set on fire this year. "We need to bring the tone down," Klobuchar said on CNN. US Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, himself attacked by a neighbor in 2017, told NBC "nothing brings us together more than, you know, mourning for somebody else who's in political life, Republican or Democrats." On Saturday the FBI released a photo that appears to show Boelter wearing a mask as he stands outside the home of one of the lawmakers. It is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. The shootings came on the day a dramatic split screen showed America divided: hundreds of thousands of protesters across the country took to the streets to rally against Trump as the president presided over a big military parade in Washington -- a rare spectacle criticized as seeking to glorify him. Trump has condemned the killing of Hortman and her husband Mark and the wounding of state Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette. In a conversation Sunday with ABC News, Trump was asked if he planned to call Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who was Kamala Harris's running mate in the election Trump won last year. "Well, it's a terrible thing. I think he's a terrible governor. I think he's a grossly incompetent person," the president said. "But I may, I may call him, I may call other people too." bur/dw/mlm

Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump believes Israel-Iran may come to deal ‘soon' and warns Tehran not to retaliate against U.S.
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Sunday issued a stark warning to Iran against retaliating on U.S. targets in the Middle East while also predicting Israel and Iran would 'soon' make a deal to end their escalating conflict. Trump in an early morning social media post said the United States 'had nothing to do with the attack on Iran' as Israel and Iran traded missile attacks for the third straight day. Iran, however, has said that it would hold the U.S. — which has provided Israel with much of its deep arsenal of weaponry — responsible for its backing of Israel's military actions. Israel targeted Iran's Defense Ministry headquarters in Tehran and sites it alleged were associated with Iran's nuclear program, while Iranian missiles evaded Israeli air defenses and slammed into buildings deep inside Israel. 'If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,' Trump said. Hours later, Trump took to social media again, saying, 'Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal.' The U.S. president claimed he has a track record for de-escalating conflicts, and that he would get Israel and Iran to cease hostilities, 'just like I got India and Pakistan to make' after the two countries' recent cross-border confrontation. The U.S. was among a multinational diplomatic effort that defused that crisis. India struck targets inside Pakistan after militants in April massacred 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan has denied any links to the attackers. Following India's strikes in Pakistan, the two sides exchanged heavy fire along their de facto borders, followed by missile and drone strikes into each other's territories, mainly targeting military installations and airbases. It was the most serious confrontation in decades between the countries. Trump on Sunday repeated his claim, disputed by India, that the two sides agreed to a ceasefire after he had offered to help both nations with trade if they agreed to de-escalate. Trump also pointed to efforts by his administration during his first term to mediate disputes between Serbia and Kosovo and Egypt and Ethiopia. 'Likewise, we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran!' Trump said. 'Many calls and meetings now taking place. I do a lot, and never get credit for anything, but that's OK, the PEOPLE understand. MAKE THE MIDDLE EAST GREAT AGAIN!' The growing conflict between Israel and Iran is testing Trump, who ran on a promise to quickly end the wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine and build a foreign policy that more broadly favors steering clear of foreign conflicts. Trump has struggled to find an endgame to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, which show no signs of abating. And after criticizing President Biden during last year's presidential campaign for persuading Israel against carrying out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Trump himself made the case to the Israelis to give diplomacy a chance. His administration's push on Tehran to give up its nuclear program came after the U.S. and other world powers in 2015 reached a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited Tehran's enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday about the growing Israel-Iran conflict. And Trump is set to travel later Sunday to Canada for the Group of 7 summit, where the Mideast crisis will loom large. Some influential backers of Trump are him urging to keep the U.S. out of Israel's escalating conflict with Iran. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson are among the prominent hard-right backers of Trump who have argued that voters supported his election because he would not involve the nation in foreign conflicts. Kirk said last week that before Israel launched the strikes on Iran he was concerned the situation could lead to 'a massive schism in MAGA and potentially disrupt our momentum and our insanely successful presidency.' Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul praised Trump, saying he showed restraint and that he hoped the president's 'instincts will prevail.' 'So, I think it's going to be very hard to come out of this and have a negotiated settlement,' Paul said in an appearance on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' 'I see more war and more carnage. And it's not the U.S.'s job to be involved in this war.' Madhani writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Gary Fields contributed to this report.