Today: October 07, 2024
Today: October 07, 2024

Latest From The Los Angeles Post

Political

Who gets a break? Clashing ideas on tax relief are teed up for the 2024 campaign

Just six days after the bipartisan deal on the debt limit became law, House Republicans proposed a slew of tax cuts, leading to charges of hypocrisy by Democrats in a squabble that shows two clashing visions for the U.S. economy. GOP lawmakers are pushing deep tax cuts for companies and the affluent as the primary driver for sustaining economic growth, while President Joe Biden and fellow Democrats seek more targeted tax cuts to achieve social goals such as reducing child poverty and shifting to renewable energy that can help the economy in the long run. The Republican

Who gets a break? Clashing ideas on tax relief are teed up for the 2024 campaign
Political

Who gets a break? Clashing ideas on tax relief are teed up for the 2024 campaign

Just six days after the bipartisan deal on the debt limit became law, House Republicans proposed a slew of tax cuts, leading to charges of hypocrisy by Democrats in a squabble that shows two clashing visions for the U.S. economy. GOP lawmakers are pushing deep tax cuts for companies and the affluent as the primary driver for sustaining economic growth, while President Joe Biden and fellow Democrats seek more targeted tax cuts to achieve social goals such as reducing child poverty and shifting to renewable energy that can help the economy in the long run. The Republican

Who gets a break? Clashing ideas on tax relief are teed up for the 2024 campaign
Political

Fascism lurks behind the dangerous conflation of the terms 'partisan' and 'political'

Supporters, including one wearing a t-shirt bearing former President Donald Trump’s photo that says “Political prisoner,” watch as Trump departs the federal courthouse after arraignment, June 13, 2023, in Miami. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert “The personal is political!” is a well-known rallying cry, originally used by left-leaning activists, including feminists, to emphasize the role of government in personal lives and systemic oppression. It seems that now, it could be equally popular among right-wing politicians and their followers to communicate the idea that “everything is political.” Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of former President Donald Trump’s recent indictment

Fascism lurks behind the dangerous conflation of the terms 'partisan' and 'political'
Political

Mr. Modi comes to Washington – The Indian prime minister's visit could strengthen ties with the US, but also raises some delicate issues

President Joe Biden meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2021 at the Oval Office. Sarahbeth Maney-Pool/Getty Images Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to attend his first state visit at the White House on June 22, 2023, marking a historic moment that could potentially influence relations between India and the United States for years. Modi, 72, was first elected prime minister in 2014 and then reelected in 2019. Since then, Modi has earned an international reputation as an unyielding Hindu nationalist and a strongman who leads with tight control. We are political scientists who have written extensively on

Mr. Modi comes to Washington – The Indian prime minister's visit could strengthen ties with the US, but also raises some delicate issues
Political

'It was hell': Hostage freed after years in Africa recounts ordeal and frustrations with US response

The Islamic extremists drove up to the American missionary’s home in Niger under the cover of evening, gunning down two guards who stood watch. Jeff Woodke recalls seeing the muzzle blasts and hearing the screams before being thrown into a pickup truck that then sped away. So began more than six years of captivity, a period in which he says he was beaten, locked in chains for hours a day and pressured repeatedly to convert to Islam and endured self-imposed hunger strikes. “It was hell,” said Woodke, 62, who was released in March. “I think the hardest

'It was hell': Hostage freed after years in Africa recounts ordeal and frustrations with US response
Political

More than 1 million dropped from Medicaid as states start post-pandemic purge of rolls

More than 1 million people have been dropped from Medicaid in the past couple months as some states moved swiftly to halt health care coverage following the end of the coronavirus pandemic. Most got dropped for not filling out paperwork. Though the eligibility review is required by the federal government, President’s Joe Biden’s administration isn’t too pleased at how efficiently some other states are accomplishing the task. “Pushing through things and rushing it will lead to eligible people — kids and families — losing coverage for some period of time,” Daniel Tsai, a top federal Medicaid official recently told reporters.

More than 1 million dropped from Medicaid as states start post-pandemic purge of rolls
Political

20 years after invasion, Iraqis still waiting to come to US

Ammar Rashed has a stack of letters from U.S. troops attesting to his work during some of the most dangerous days of the Iraq War. But six years after he applied to immigrate to the United States under a program for interpreters who helped America, he is still waiting. “You don’t have to keep me and my family suffering for, for years waiting,” said Rashed during a Skype interview from Jordan, where he lives. “It’s really frustrating.” Rashed is among thousands of Iraqis, many of whom risked their lives by working closely with Americans during the war

20 years after invasion, Iraqis still waiting to come to US
Political

Trump, other Republicans conjure a familiar enemy in attacking Democrats as 'Marxists,' 'communists'

Lashing out after his arraignment on federal charges last week, Donald Trump took aim at President Joe Biden and Democrats with language that seemed to evoke another era: He was being persecuted, he said, by “Marxists” and “communists.” Trump has used the labels since he first appeared on the political scene, but it lately has become an omnipresent attack line that also has been deployed by other Republicans. The rhetoric is both inaccurate and potentially dangerous because it attempts to demonize an entire party with a description that has long been associated with America’s enemies. Experts

Trump, other Republicans conjure a familiar enemy in attacking Democrats as 'Marxists,' 'communists'
Political

Biden to hold 4 fundraisers in San Francisco area as he revs up 2024 campaign

President Joe Biden ramps up his reelection effort this week with four fundraisers in the San Francisco area, as his campaign builds up its coffers and lays strategic foundations for 2024. In the back half of June, Biden’s campaign will have over 20 fundraisers involving the president, Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, according to a person involved in Biden’s travel plans who insisted on anonymity to discuss the schedule. More than half of the fundraisers are with the president, who will also be traveling to New York, Maryland and

Biden to hold 4 fundraisers in San Francisco area as he revs up 2024 campaign
Political

Blinken opens second day of talks in Beijing on mission to ease soaring US-China tensions

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has opened a second and final day of critical meetings with senior Chinese officials as the two sides expressed willingness to talk but showed little inclination to bend on hardened positions that have sent tensions soaring. Blinken was meeting Monday morning with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and an encounter with President Xi Jinping was still in the cards before he departs in the late evening. Neither Blinken nor Wang made any comment to reporters as they greeted each other and sat for their discussion. In the first round of talks

Blinken opens second day of talks in Beijing on mission to ease soaring US-China tensions
Political

Longtime AP State Department reporter George Gedda dies at 82

George Gedda, a workhorse veteran of The Associated Press whose coverage of the State Department and international relations spanned more than four decades and played a major role in explaining U.S. foreign policy to the American public from Vietnam to Cuba, Afghanistan and Iraq, has died. He was 82. Gedda was also the author of three books, including one on his time as an AP diplomatic correspondent, one on Cuba’s communist revolution, and one on his first love, baseball. He died Sunday while in hospice care in Altamonte Springs, Florida, said Ellen James Martin, his former partner

Longtime AP State Department reporter George Gedda dies at 82
Political

South Carolina GOP sets Feb. 24 date for first-in-the-South presidential primary

South Carolina Republicans have set Feb. 24 as the date of their 2024 presidential primary, a move that, if approved, the party says will give GOP White House hopefuls more time to campaign in the first-in-the-South state. The state GOP executive committee voted unanimously to approve the measure on Saturday, party executive director Hope Walker told The Associated Press. The selection still needs approval from the Republican National Committee to be official, and Walker said that a formal submission will be sent ahead of an October deadline. The move comes as both major parties make moves

South Carolina GOP sets Feb. 24 date for first-in-the-South presidential primary
Political

Attorney General Garland keeps poker face as firestorm erupts after Trump charges

On his first day as attorney general, Merrick Garland pledged a return to what he called the “norms” of the Justice Department and said he would work to eliminate the perception of political interference. But in the two years since he took office, the former federal judge has found himself in the middle of a political firestorm of historic proportions. The case against Donald Trump — the first former president to face federal criminal charges — brought a crush of protesters to the Miami courthouse last week, as well as a torrent of social media broadsides from

Attorney General Garland keeps poker face as firestorm erupts after Trump charges
Political

Miami's Francis Suarez looks to become first sitting mayor to be president

In a 2024 Republican presidential field full of long-shot candidates, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez may be — on paper anyway — the longest long shot of all. No sitting mayor has ever been elected U.S. president, a job that historically has been won by governors, vice presidents, senators or Cabinet secretaries. Some former mayors have become commander in chief, but only after serving in higher-profile positions. None of that has deterred Suarez, who announced his campaign this past week by talking up his experience leading the city of about 450,000 residents. Being a two-term mayor of Miami, he said, has

Miami's Francis Suarez looks to become first sitting mayor to be president
Political

DeSantis quiet on Trump indictment as he faces conservatives in Trump country

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday condemned Walt Disney World and the U.S. Justice Department — not his chief Republican rival, Donald Trump — as he courted Nevada Republicans deep in the heart of Trump country. The U.S. “is off the rails,” the Republican governor said. “Insanity is reigning supreme.” Speaking to Nevada Republicans for the first time as a presidential candidate, DeSantis made no direct mention of the federal indictment of Trump, who is facing dozens of felony counts for mishandling classified documents. “We’re going to end this weaponization of government once and for all,”

DeSantis quiet on Trump indictment as he faces conservatives in Trump country
Political

Nikki Haley's husband begins Africa deployment as she campaigns for 2024 GOP nomination

Nikki Haley’s husband deployed Saturday for a yearlong stint in Africa with the South Carolina Army National Guard, a mission that will encompass most of the remainder of her campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. “He’s always been my rock,” she said after a deployment ceremony for about 200 soldiers at The Citadel, a military college in Charleston. “We have both lived a life of service, and so when he goes off to deploy, my support is completely with him. If I happen to be running for president, his support is completely with me. …

Nikki Haley's husband begins Africa deployment as she campaigns for 2024 GOP nomination
Political

Biden seeing collapsed stretch of Interstate 95 from the air over Philadelphia

President Joe Biden was taking an aerial tour Saturday of the collapsed stretch of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia and planned to meet with first responders and workers involved in rebuilding the critical stretch of highway along the East Coast. Joining Biden on the presidential Marine One helicopter were Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman and Rep. Brendan Boyle and Mayor Jim Kenney, all Democrats. Afterward, the president was to receive a briefing on the situation and then attend a political event with union workers at the city’s convention center. The White House said Biden’s

Biden seeing collapsed stretch of Interstate 95 from the air over Philadelphia
Political

Some Democrats are already warning of a government shutdown as budget battle with GOP takes shape

Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s bid to appease Republican hard-liners and get the House moving again after a recent party rebellion on the floor has some Democrats warning of a difficult road ahead when it comes to passing legislation that will keep the government running. Republicans teed up votes this past week on guns and on censuring one of former President Donald Trump’s most prominent critics, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Those votes helped get the House moving again, though the latter effort failed, with Schiff helped by some 20 Republicans. The most consequential move of the week, however, was

Some Democrats are already warning of a government shutdown as budget battle with GOP takes shape
Political

Participants at Trump's Jan. 6 rally push false election claims in Virginia legislative campaigns

Most Republican candidates running for the Virginia legislature this year are centering their pitches to voters on issues such as education, the cost of living and gun rights. But for a small segment of contenders, former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a rigged 2020 election have remained an important campaign selling point heading into Tuesday’s primary. “There’s still an underlying distrust of the election process by Republicans,” said state Sen. Amanda Chase, who is in a three-way primary for a GOP-leaning seat in suburban Richmond. Chase has persistently repeated Trump’s lie that the 2020 election

Participants at Trump's Jan. 6 rally push false election claims in Virginia legislative campaigns
Political

Blinken set for high-stakes China visit with tensions rising and breakthrough prospects low

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has embarked on a high-stakes diplomatic trip to China to try to cool down escalating tensions between the two powers that have set many around the world on edge. Blinken will be the highest-level American official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office, and the first secretary of state to make the trip in five years. Yet prospects for any significant breakthrough on the most vexing issues facing the planet’s two largest economies are slim, as already ties have grown increasingly fraught in recent years. Animosity and recriminations have

Blinken set for high-stakes China visit with tensions rising and breakthrough prospects low
Political

Watered-down LGBTQ 'understanding' bill shows how far Japan's parliament is out of step with its society – and history

Rainbow ears, but is Japan’s parliament listening? Lucas Calloch/@dreiimos/Unsplash, FAL Japan has passed legislation aimed at “promoting the understanding” of members of the LGBTQ community – a watered-down bill that will do little to put the Asian country in line with fellow liberal democracies on the issue. As many reports of the bill’s passage on June 16, 2023, have noted, Japan lags far behind other G7 countries when it comes to the legal protection of sexual minorities. There has been less discussion of how the limits of the new law – and the prolonged battle to get it passed –

Watered-down LGBTQ 'understanding' bill shows how far Japan's parliament is out of step with its society – and history
Political

US imposes visa restrictions for some Ugandans following adoption of anti-gay law

Washington on Friday announced it is imposing visa restrictions for Ugandans it accuses of “undermining the democratic process” in Uganda after the enactment of an anti-gay law in the East African country. A statement from the State Department did not name any targeted individuals. It said the U.S. will consider other possible actions “to promote accountability for Ugandan officials and other individuals responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic process in Uganda, abusing human rights, including those of LGBTQI+ persons, or engaging in corrupt practices.” Uganda’s new law, adopted last month, punishes homosexuality, including with

US imposes visa restrictions for some Ugandans following adoption of anti-gay law
Political

UN steps up criticism of IMF and World Bank, the other pillars of the post-World War II global order

From the ashes of World War II, three institutions were created as linchpins of a new global order. Now, in an unusual move, the top official in one — the secretary-general of the United Nations — is pressing for major changes in the other two. Antonio Guterres says the International Monetary Fund has benefited rich countries instead of poor ones. And he describes the IMF and World Bank ’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic as a “glaring failure” that left dozens of countries deeply indebted. Guterres’ criticism, in a recent paper, isn’t the first time he’s

UN steps up criticism of IMF and World Bank, the other pillars of the post-World War II global order
Political

Biden returns to Philadelphia to rally with union workers in first big event of his 2024 campaign

President Joe Biden will tout his pro-labor bona fides on Saturday at his first major political rally since he formalized his reelection campaign, appearing alongside union members to make his case that his economic agenda is boosting the middle class. His campaign says Biden, who will appear at the Philadelphia Convention Center, will “lay out the core principles of his economic message” in his remarks. Biden also plans to talk about how a sweeping climate, tax and health care package he signed into law last year has cut the cost of prescription drugs and lowered insurance premiums,

Biden returns to Philadelphia to rally with union workers in first big event of his 2024 campaign
Political

Supermajorities in state capitols push controversial policies to the edge

Lawmakers in state capitols this year have been flexing their superpowers. In North Carolina, a new supermajority of Republicans enacted abortion restrictions. In Vermont, a new supermajority of Democrats imposed a climate-sensitive home heating law. And in Montana, a GOP supermajority booted a transgender lawmaker from the House floor. In each case, the views of their political opponents ultimately were irrelevant. By at least one measure, political power is at its highest mark in decades. That’s because Republicans or Democrats hold majorities so large in 28 states that they could override gubernatorial vetoes without any

Supermajorities in state capitols push controversial policies to the edge

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