Kamala Harris spotted enjoying dinner with husband Doug Emhoff at iconic Sydney restaurant
Former US Vice President Kamala Harris has been seen in Australia dining with her husband at a popular Sydney restaurant.
The former vice president was seen at the Bathers' Pavilion at Balmoral, a popular beachside restaurant northeast of the Sydney CBD.
Ms Harris was enjoying a dinner with her husband, Doug Emhoff, and two other unidentified people.
The popular Restaurant and cafe is situated in a historic building from the 20s and serves seasonal Modern European cuisine and over 350 wines.
The former Democratic presidential candidate is in Australia to address a real estate conference on the Gold Coast.
Ms Harris has flown under the radar since her election defeat in November.
She most recently stepped back into the limelight to wish former President Joe Biden a speedy recovery following his cancer diagnosis.
Mr Biden's office revealed in a statement that the former president had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, which has spread to the bone.
'Doug and I are saddened to learn of President Biden's prostate cancer diagnosis. We are keeping him, Dr Biden, and their entire family in our hearts and prayers during this time,' Ms Harris said.
'Joe is a fighter — and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership. We are hopeful for a full and speedy recovery.'
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The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
US military marches into political firestorm as troops deploy to Los Angeles
While tanks, armoured troop carriers and artillery systems pour into Washington for the US Army's 250th birthday celebration, National Guard troops from the Army's 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, supplemented by active-duty marines, have been deployed to the streets of Los Angeles. It is a juxtaposition that has military officials and experts concerned. Several current and former Army officials said the military parade and other festivities on Saturday, which is also President Donald Trump's 79th birthday, could make it appear as if the military is celebrating a crackdown on Americans. Loading 'The unfortunate coincidence of the parade and federalising the California National Guard will feel ominous,' said Kori Schake, a former defence official in the George W. Bush administration who directs foreign and defence policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Schake initially did not consider the parade much of a problem, but is now concerned about 'the rapid escalation by the administration' in Los Angeles. The two scenes combined 'erode trust in the military at a time when the military should be a symbol of national unity,' said Max Rose, a former Democratic member of Congress and an Army veteran. 'They are deploying the National Guard in direct contradiction to what state and local authorities requested, and at the same time, there's this massive parade with a display more fitting for Russia and North Korea,' he said. Some veterans' groups soured on the parade well before the deployments in Los Angeles. The Army recently asked the Vietnam Veterans of America chapter in Northern Virginia if it would provide 25 veterans to sit in the official reviewing stand. The group said no. 'If it were just a matter of celebrating the Army's 250th birthday, there'd be no question,' said Jay Kalner, the chapter's president and a retired CIA analyst. 'But we felt it was being conflated with Trump's birthday, and we didn't want to be a prop for that.' It was unclear exactly what grounds Trump and the Defence Department are using to deploy active-duty Marines to an American city. The Posse Comitatus Act generally prohibits active-duty forces from providing domestic law enforcement unless the president invokes the little-used Insurrection Act. But in his order federalising California's National Guard, Trump cited Title 10 of the US Code, which lays out the legal basis for the use of US military forces. Trump wanted to invoke the Insurrection Act to use active-duty military troops against Black Lives Matter protesters during his first term. But his defence secretary, Mark Esper, and the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, both opposed the move, and Trump held back. The moment proved to be a breaking point between Trump and the Pentagon. The president eventually fired Esper, and he has suggested Milley should be executed. 'Active-duty military has absolutely no role in domestic law enforcement, and they are not trained for those missions.' Betty McCollum, Democrat representative This time, Trump's defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has cheered him on. Within minutes of Trump's order on Sunday deploying the first 2000 National Guard troops to join the scattered immigration protests in Los Angeles, Hegseth threatened to deploy active-duty marines from Camp Pendleton. (The marines who deployed Monday night were from Twentynine Palms, a base about 241 kilometres east of Los Angeles, but Hegseth continued to say Camp Pendleton, which is about 160 kilometres south of the city). By Monday night, 700 marines and another 2000 National Guard troops had been activated for largely peaceful protests that have, so far, done relatively little damage to buildings or businesses. On Tuesday, Trump said anybody protesting the parade in Washington would 'be met with very big force'. Hegseth – whose term has been defined by his amplification of the president – defended the deployments in congressional testimony on Tuesday, saying, 'We ought to be able to enforce immigration law in this country.' He has enthusiastically backed the Army's plans to hold a rare military parade, in which 150 military vehicles, including 28 tanks and 28 heavy armoured troop carriers, will roll down the streets of the capital, granting Trump the celebration he has wanted for years. Democratic lawmakers and some military veterans expressed fear that Hegseth, himself a National Guard veteran who was deployed against Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020, was taking the military where it has traditionally least wanted to be: into the middle of a political battle. 'The president's decision to call the National Guard troops to Los Angeles was premature, and the decision to deploy active-duty Marines as well is downright escalatory,' Democrat representative Betty McCollum said at a House committee hearing Tuesday as lawmakers grilled Hegseth. Loading 'Active-duty military has absolutely no role in domestic law enforcement, and they are not trained for those missions.' One defence official said Pentagon lawyers believe they have found some leeway in the Title 10 provision that Trump used to order National Guard troops to Los Angeles against the wishes of California's Governor Gavin Newsom. The Marines will help protect federal property and federal agents in Los Angeles, the US military's Northern Command said in a statement. But unlike law enforcement officers or even National Guard troops, who practice controlling crowds during protests, active-duty troops are trained to respond to threats quickly and with lethal force. 'I do not take the position that invoking the Insurrection Act is necessary at this point; the facts on the ground don't justify it,' said Daniel Maurer, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served as a judge advocate general. 'It's almost like a show of force to the MAGA base, if you will.' Maurer is now a law professor at Ohio Northern University. 'Partisan environment' Concerns about the parade surfaced even before the Trump administration deployed troops to Los Angeles. 'The challenge of the parade all along has been how to celebrate the military's 250-year contribution to the republic while avoiding the politicisation that comes from our current polarised, partisan environment,' said Peter Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University who has studied the military for decades. 'That challenge is considerably harder when some units are seen parading at the same time other units are seen policing a public protest.' One Army official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid alienating Trump, said she would be leaving town during the events. Janessa Goldbeck, a Marine Corps veteran who is now a senior adviser at veterans advocacy group VoteVets, said she was worried that the marines and National Guard were being led into a political maelstrom that could damage their relations with the American public. 'Young men and women who sign up to serve, to volunteer in their communities, to respond to wildfires and other natural disasters,' she said, 'are now being put in this very dicey position politically.'
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
US military marches into political firestorm as troops deploy to Los Angeles
While tanks, armoured troop carriers and artillery systems pour into Washington for the US Army's 250th birthday celebration, National Guard troops from the Army's 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, supplemented by active-duty marines, have been deployed to the streets of Los Angeles. It is a juxtaposition that has military officials and experts concerned. Several current and former Army officials said the military parade and other festivities on Saturday, which is also President Donald Trump's 79th birthday, could make it appear as if the military is celebrating a crackdown on Americans. Loading 'The unfortunate coincidence of the parade and federalising the California National Guard will feel ominous,' said Kori Schake, a former defence official in the George W. Bush administration who directs foreign and defence policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Schake initially did not consider the parade much of a problem, but is now concerned about 'the rapid escalation by the administration' in Los Angeles. The two scenes combined 'erode trust in the military at a time when the military should be a symbol of national unity,' said Max Rose, a former Democratic member of Congress and an Army veteran. 'They are deploying the National Guard in direct contradiction to what state and local authorities requested, and at the same time, there's this massive parade with a display more fitting for Russia and North Korea,' he said. Some veterans' groups soured on the parade well before the deployments in Los Angeles. The Army recently asked the Vietnam Veterans of America chapter in Northern Virginia if it would provide 25 veterans to sit in the official reviewing stand. The group said no. 'If it were just a matter of celebrating the Army's 250th birthday, there'd be no question,' said Jay Kalner, the chapter's president and a retired CIA analyst. 'But we felt it was being conflated with Trump's birthday, and we didn't want to be a prop for that.' It was unclear exactly what grounds Trump and the Defence Department are using to deploy active-duty Marines to an American city. The Posse Comitatus Act generally prohibits active-duty forces from providing domestic law enforcement unless the president invokes the little-used Insurrection Act. But in his order federalising California's National Guard, Trump cited Title 10 of the US Code, which lays out the legal basis for the use of US military forces. Trump wanted to invoke the Insurrection Act to use active-duty military troops against Black Lives Matter protesters during his first term. But his defence secretary, Mark Esper, and the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, both opposed the move, and Trump held back. The moment proved to be a breaking point between Trump and the Pentagon. The president eventually fired Esper, and he has suggested Milley should be executed. 'Active-duty military has absolutely no role in domestic law enforcement, and they are not trained for those missions.' Betty McCollum, Democrat representative This time, Trump's defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has cheered him on. Within minutes of Trump's order on Sunday deploying the first 2000 National Guard troops to join the scattered immigration protests in Los Angeles, Hegseth threatened to deploy active-duty marines from Camp Pendleton. (The marines who deployed Monday night were from Twentynine Palms, a base about 241 kilometres east of Los Angeles, but Hegseth continued to say Camp Pendleton, which is about 160 kilometres south of the city). By Monday night, 700 marines and another 2000 National Guard troops had been activated for largely peaceful protests that have, so far, done relatively little damage to buildings or businesses. On Tuesday, Trump said anybody protesting the parade in Washington would 'be met with very big force'. Hegseth – whose term has been defined by his amplification of the president – defended the deployments in congressional testimony on Tuesday, saying, 'We ought to be able to enforce immigration law in this country.' He has enthusiastically backed the Army's plans to hold a rare military parade, in which 150 military vehicles, including 28 tanks and 28 heavy armoured troop carriers, will roll down the streets of the capital, granting Trump the celebration he has wanted for years. Democratic lawmakers and some military veterans expressed fear that Hegseth, himself a National Guard veteran who was deployed against Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020, was taking the military where it has traditionally least wanted to be: into the middle of a political battle. 'The president's decision to call the National Guard troops to Los Angeles was premature, and the decision to deploy active-duty Marines as well is downright escalatory,' Democrat representative Betty McCollum said at a House committee hearing Tuesday as lawmakers grilled Hegseth. Loading 'Active-duty military has absolutely no role in domestic law enforcement, and they are not trained for those missions.' One defence official said Pentagon lawyers believe they have found some leeway in the Title 10 provision that Trump used to order National Guard troops to Los Angeles against the wishes of California's Governor Gavin Newsom. The Marines will help protect federal property and federal agents in Los Angeles, the US military's Northern Command said in a statement. But unlike law enforcement officers or even National Guard troops, who practice controlling crowds during protests, active-duty troops are trained to respond to threats quickly and with lethal force. 'I do not take the position that invoking the Insurrection Act is necessary at this point; the facts on the ground don't justify it,' said Daniel Maurer, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served as a judge advocate general. 'It's almost like a show of force to the MAGA base, if you will.' Maurer is now a law professor at Ohio Northern University. 'Partisan environment' Concerns about the parade surfaced even before the Trump administration deployed troops to Los Angeles. 'The challenge of the parade all along has been how to celebrate the military's 250-year contribution to the republic while avoiding the politicisation that comes from our current polarised, partisan environment,' said Peter Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University who has studied the military for decades. 'That challenge is considerably harder when some units are seen parading at the same time other units are seen policing a public protest.' One Army official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid alienating Trump, said she would be leaving town during the events. Janessa Goldbeck, a Marine Corps veteran who is now a senior adviser at veterans advocacy group VoteVets, said she was worried that the marines and National Guard were being led into a political maelstrom that could damage their relations with the American public. 'Young men and women who sign up to serve, to volunteer in their communities, to respond to wildfires and other natural disasters,' she said, 'are now being put in this very dicey position politically.'
West Australian
4 hours ago
- West Australian
US Congresswoman facing federal charges after scuffle
US Representative LaMonica McIver has been indicted on federal charges alleging she assaulted and interfered with immigration officers during a skirmish outside a New Jersey detention centre while Newark's mayor was being arrested after he tried to join a congressional oversight visit at the facility. Acting US Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba announced the grand jury indictment of the Democrat in a post on X. "While people are free to express their views for or against particular policies, they must not do so in a manner that endangers law enforcement and the communities those officers serve," Habba said. In a statement, McIver said the charges amounted to the Trump administration trying to scare her. "The facts of this case will prove I was simply doing my job and will expose these proceedings for what they are: a brazen attempt at political intimidation," she said. McIver, was charged in a complaint by Habba last month with two assault charges stemming from the May 9 visit to Newark's Delaney Hall — a 1000-bed, privately owned facility that Immigration and Customs Enforcement uses as a detention centre. The indictment includes three counts of assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering with federal officials. Habba said two of the counts carry a maximum sentence of up to eight years in prison. A third has a maximum sentence of one year. McIver's lawyer, former US Attorney for New Jersey Paul Fishman, said in a statement that they would challenge the allegations "head-on" in court. "The legal process will expose this prosecution for what it truly is -- political retaliation against a dedicated public servant who refuses to shy away from her oversight responsibilities," Fishman said. The indictment is the latest development in a legal-political drama that has seen President Donald Trump's administration take Democratic officials from New Jersey's largest city to court, tapping into the president's immigration crackdown and Democrats' efforts to respond. The prosecution of McIver is a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress for allegations other than fraud or corruption. At the same visit that resulted in McIver's charges, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested on a trespassing charge, which was later dropped. Baraka is suing Habba over what he said was a malicious prosecution.
