Facebook announces new policy against ‘coordinated social harm’ that may lower the bar on who gets banned – The Washington Post
Facebook announces new policy against ‘coordinated social harm’ that may lower the bar on who gets banned – The Washington Post

“We recognize that, in some cases, these content violations are perpetrated by a tightly organized group, working together to amplify their members’ harmful behavior and repeatedly violate our content policies,” said Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of security policy, in a blog post announcing the change. “In these cases, the potential for harm caused by the totality of the network’s activity far exceeds the impact of each individual post or account.”

Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/09/16/facebook-announces-new-policy-against-coordinated-social-harm-that-may-lower-bar-who-gets-banned/

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US defends partnership with UK and Australia after the French blast ‘brutal’ decision – CNN
US defends partnership with UK and Australia after the French blast ‘brutal’ decision – CNN

By Maegan Vazquez and Arlette Saenz, CNN

Updated 6:23 PM ET, Thu September 16, 2021

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/16/politics/aukus-france-us-biden/index.html

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France Is Outraged by U.S. Nuclear Submarine Deal With Australia – The New York Times
France Is Outraged by U.S. Nuclear Submarine Deal With Australia – The New York Times

“A knife in the back,” Mr. Le Drian said of the Australian decision, noting that Australia was rejecting a deal for a strategic partnership that involved “a lot of technological transfers and a contract for a 50-year period.”

Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, did not even mention France in the videoconference with Mr. Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, during which the deal was announced Wednesday. Nor was France consulted on the Australian about-face and the new agreement. “We heard about it yesterday,” Ms. Parly told RFI radio.

“This looks like a new geopolitical order without binding alliances,” Nicole Bacharan, an expert on French-American relations, said. “To confront China, the United States appears to have chosen a different alliance, with the Anglo-Saxon world confronting France.” She predicted a “very hard” period in the old friendship between Paris and Washington.

Mr. Biden said the deal was “about investing in our source of strength, our alliances, and updating them.” At least with respect to France, one of America’s oldest allies, that claim appeared to have backfired.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/16/world/europe/france-australia-uk-us-submarines.html

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Gabby Petito case: Utah cops release chilling bodycam footage of missing woman, beau in domestic incident call – New York Post
Gabby Petito case: Utah cops release chilling bodycam footage of missing woman, beau in domestic incident call – New York Post

Police bodycam footage has been released of officers speaking to Gabby Petito and her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, in Utah after they responded to a 911 call of a domestic incident a month before she was reported missing.

The Moab City Police Department on Thursday released the hour-long footage of their interaction with the couple when they pulled over their white van outside Arches National Park in Moab on Aug. 12.

In the footage, obtained by ABC7, Petito sobbed as she spoke to an officer. 

“I have really bad OCD. I was apologizing to him saying I’m sorry I’m so mean,” Petito told the officer.  

“We’ve been fighting all morning. He wouldn’t let me in the car before … he told me I needed to calm down.”

The officer let Petito sit in his squad car before going back to speak to Laundrie.

The Moab City Police Department in Utah released body camera footage of their interaction with Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie from August 12.
Moab City Police Department

“She just gets worked up sometimes, I try to distance myself from her. I locked the car,” Laundrie told the officer.   

“I said, ‘Let’s just take a breather.’ She had her phone. I was trying to push her away to say, ‘Let’s just take a step back,’” he said, adding that Petito hit him with her phone.  

Laundrie also told the officer Petito had grabbed the wheel of their van to make him pull over as police were following them.   

Brian Laundrie seen in the bodycam footage.
Moab City Police Department
Laundrie (left) returned to Florida with Petito’s white van on September 1, 2021 and has since refused to cooperate with authorities.
Instagram

According to a police report, neither Petito nor Laundrie called 911 to report the domestic incident.

Officers did not file any criminal charges and classified the incident as a “mental/emotional health break” instead of domestic assault.

Police said the couple agreed to spend the night separately instead of charges being filed.

Police were responding to a domestic incident 911 call.
Moab City Police Department
Laundrie (right) and Petito (left) started their road trip in June and were slated to be back in Florida around Halloween.
Instagram

Petito was reported missing on Sept. 11 after going more than a week without contacting her family. 

Her boyfriend returned alone in her van to the Florida home they shared on Sept. 1 and has so far refused to cooperate with authorities.

Cops in Florida declared him a person of interest Wednesday as the hunt for the missing woman grew increasingly desperate.

Source Article from https://nypost.com/2021/09/16/utah-cops-release-footage-of-gabby-petito-boyfriend-brian-laundrie-after-911-call/

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Caitlyn Jenner notches dismal California recall election finish after much-hyped campaign launch – Fox News
Caitlyn Jenner notches dismal California recall election finish after much-hyped campaign launch – Fox News
Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for September 15

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on Foxnews.com.

Caitlyn Jenner grabbed plenty of attention when she launched her California gubernatorial recall election campaign in April.

The 1976 Olympic gold-medal-winning decathlete turned transgender rights activist and nationally known TV personality made headlines and landed numerous appearances on news networks during the opening months of her bid to oust and succeed embattled Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

WILL NEWSOM’S BIG WIN IN CALIFORNIA TRANSLATE TO UPCOMING ELECTIONS?

According to the latest unofficial results from election officials, roughly 64% of Californians voted no – meaning against removing Newsom from office – in Tuesday’s recall election, with just 36% casting ballots to oust the first-term governor. Newsom’s margin beat expectations, topping the final public opinion polls heading into the election, which suggested the governor would survive by a much smaller double-digit margin.

Caitlyn Jenner, Republican candidate for California governor, speaks during a news conference on Friday, July 9, 2021, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

For Jenner, the once high expectations of the spring were long gone by late summer. The Republican contender stood at a lowly 1% in the final polling average, and that’s where she finished, according to incomplete results – at 1.1% – in 13th place, far behind conservative talk radio host Larry Elder, who captured nearly half of the votes cast in support of the 46 replacement candidates.

Jenner made headlines for the wrong reasons in July – defending her trip to Australia to appear in a reality TV program – as she deflected accusations that she wasn’t a serious contender. And Jenner, along with Elder, skipped this summer’s gubernatorial debates, agreeing with her rival that she would only attend if Newsom took part in the showdowns.

JENNER DEFENDS TRIP TO AUSTRALIA AMID RECALL CAMPAIGN

“It’s simple. She didn’t run a real campaign or raise any real money,” said a source close to Jenner’s political team who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely. 

Talking with reporters on Tuesday night after the polls closed, Jenner said, “I can’t believe that this many people actually voted to keep him (Newsom) in office. It’s a shame, honestly, it’s a shame.” 

The first-time candidate thanked her advisers, saying, “When I decided to do this, I was coming in as an outsider. I’ve been around politics a long time, but never actually running for office. And I thought I really needed some great people to surround me, to help me get through this, that know the ins and outs of politics. I was able to assemble a great team. And I have to thank all of them, for giving me the guidance, the help, the work on issues.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Jenner wasn’t the only recall replacement candidate to suffer a disappointing finish.

Republican businessman and 2018 Republican gubernatorial nominee John Cox, who spent roughly $7 million to run ads for his recall election campaign, stood in fifth place, with 4.41% of the vote, according to the latest unofficial results.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/caitlyn-jenner-california-recall-election-finish

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Idaho declares statewide hospital resource crisis amid Covid surge – NBC News
Idaho declares statewide hospital resource crisis amid Covid surge – NBC News
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House Democrats’ tax plan would increase marriage penalty for wealthy couples – CNBC
House Democrats’ tax plan would increase marriage penalty for wealthy couples – CNBC

The proposal would raise the top income-tax rate to 39.6% from 37%. A single filer with more than $400,000 of income in 2022 would pay that rate. However, the $450,000 income threshold for married couples filing a joint return isn’t much higher. (It’d have to be double, or $800,000, to avoid a marriage penalty in this context.)

(Currently, a single filer with more than $523,600 of income pays the top rate, compared with $628,300 for married couples.)

“There’s clearly a bigger marriage penalty,” Leon LaBrecque, an accountant and certified financial planner at Sequoia Financial Group, said of the House legislation.

More from Personal Finance:
Here’s how to prioritize your financial goals
Here are some tips for beating inflation as prices start to rise
Impulse spending is an issue for many consumers

The penalty’s impact would extend beyond income tax on wages. A new 25% top federal tax rate on investment income (from appreciated stock and dividends) would also kick in at the $400,000 (singles) and $450,000 (married) levels in 2022.

“It’s not everyday Americans [who’d be affected by the change],” Paul Auslander, a CFP and the director of financial planning at ProVise Management Group, said of the income range. “It’s pretty high.”‘

Depending on the couple, the change could amount to several thousand dollars of extra tax per year, he said.

“That’s not chump change,” he said. “It’s not going to break anybody, but it’s an annoyance.”

Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/16/house-democrats-tax-plan-increases-marriage-penalty-for-the-wealthy.html

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Let Me Say This With As Much Sensitivity As I Can: Wow, That’s a Lot of Dead People and Crime – Slate
Let Me Say This With As Much Sensitivity As I Can: Wow, That’s a Lot of Dead People and Crime – Slate

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Source Article from https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/09/alex-murdaugh-investigations-explained-south-carolina-murder-fraud-obstruction-of-justice-maybe-more.html

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‘Incredibly dangerous’: Trump is trying to get Big Lie promoters chosen to run the 2024 election – CNN
‘Incredibly dangerous’: Trump is trying to get Big Lie promoters chosen to run the 2024 election – CNN

By Daniel Dale

Updated 1:58 PM ET, Thu September 16, 2021

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/16/politics/trump-secretary-of-state-big-lie/index.html

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‘Study Newsom’s playbook’: what Democrats – and Republicans – can learn from California’s recall – The Guardian
‘Study Newsom’s playbook’: what Democrats – and Republicans – can learn from California’s recall – The Guardian

It was anger over Gavin Newsom’s pandemic restrictions that ultimately put a recall vote on the ballot. But the California governor doubled down, placing his coronavirus policies at the heart of his campaign and casting his leading opponent – the anti-mask, anti-vaccine rightwing radio host Larry Elder – as a dangerous proxy for Trump.

That winning strategy could have national implications for both Democrats and Republicans already looking ahead to the 2022 midterms.

“Democrats running in other parts of the country next year would do well to study Newsom’s playbook very carefully,” said Dan Schnur, a politics lecturer at several universities. “Newsom was able to take the Covid issue, which might have been a fatal weakness for him, and was able to turn it into a considerable strength.”

The Republican-led recall’s anti-mask, anti-vaccine stance was undercut by the rise of the Delta variant and a surge of infections that overwhelmed hospitals in California and around the US, said James Lance Taylor, a political scientist at the University of San Francisco.

“At least in some states, particularly blue states and some purple states, Newsom’s strategy has offered a model for Democratic candidates,” Taylor added.

That Newsom triumphed over the recall by such a large margin also placed him in an ideal position to run for national office in the years to come, Taylor said. The state saw a huge Covid surge last winter, and Newsom has had to live down major missteps including an initially slow vaccine rollout – but overall, the governor could make a national case that his pandemic leadership saved lives.

The recall has also exposed the potential limits of Trumpian politics in a post-Trump era, says Mindy Romero, founder of the Center for Inclusive Democracy, a non-partisan research organization. A more moderate candidate might have appealed to Democrats willing to try something new, a strategy that helped the Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger prevail over the Democrat Gray Davis in California’s last recall election, in 2003.

“A lot of people voted against the recall because they were fearful of a Larry Elder becoming governor,” she said. “It doesn’t mean they were happy with Newsom.”

Indeed, several voters the Guardian spoke with ahead of the election affirmed fears that California, under Elder’s leadership, could go the way of Florida and Texas. “I’m with a lot of people who might like to recall Gavin, but aren’t necessarily in favor of having Larry Elder in there,” said John Friedrich, a retiree living in Stockton, California, about an hour south of the capital, Sacramento.

Still, that might not weaken the Republican party’s ties to Trumpism. Elder, who didn’t win the governor’s seat, nonetheless captured the greatest proportion of votes amongst Newsom’s challengers, indicating that while he lacked broad appeal, he did energize the state’s vocal, rightwing minority. Elder, who hinted at a 2022 run in his concession speech on Tuesday, has recycled the former president’s “big lie” conspiracy theory that elections lost by Republicans were rigged against them.

“What we’ve learned from the recall is that Republicans aren’t ready for a post-Trump era. They are doubling down on Trump,” said Schnur, who has advised conservative candidates. “If they want to retake congressional majorities next year, that has potential to be a really big problem.”

Larry Elder has recycled the former president’s ‘big lie’ conspiracy theory. Photograph: Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/REX/Shutterstock

Still, the peculiarities of California’s recall process, and the state’s unique political structure, do confound attempts to see it as a broad barometer for national politics. Conservatives who opposed Newsom – a broadly popular governor who won office in 2018 by a historic margin – were able to trigger a recall election by gathering just 1.7m signatures in a state with 22 million registered voters. Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly two to one here, meaning any Democratic candidate already has a significant mathematical advantage, regardless of their strategy.

But that the race even appeared close weeks before election day might be a lesson for Democrats in California, and nationally, that they will have to work hard to rally apathetic voters – especially minority voters who have long felt forsaken by their elected leaders.

When polls in August found that distracted and disengaged Democratic voters – especially Latino voters, who make up about 32% of eligible voters – could cost the governor his seat, Newsom’s campaign scrambled. “There was a mad dash to the end to speak to as many Latino voters as possible,” said Christian Arana, a vice-president of the Latino Community Foundation. “But what this election really showed was that outreach to Latino voters needs to happen early, and often.”

Votes are still being tallied in California and neither the final count nor demographic breakdowns are available yet. But according to calculations from Political Data Inc, only about 30% of ballots mailed to Latino voters were returned early, while ballots mailed to white voters had a 50% return rate. Fewer people tend to vote in special elections than in presidential elections or midterms, but in all cases, “turnout in elections is not representative of the population”, said Romero.

“Voters of color have helped make California such a solidly blue state and they were clearly key to Newsom’s victory,” she added. “Now I think Democrats can turn this into an opportunity to get to know the voters better and build a better relationship with voters of color.”

Source Article from https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/15/california-recall-election-national-us-politics

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France issues angry response to nuclear submarine deal between U.S., U.K., and Australia – Fox News
France issues angry response to nuclear submarine deal between U.S., U.K., and Australia – Fox News
Video

New reports allege Biden ignored military advisers on Afghanistan exit

Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich reports on allegations Biden withdrew from Afghanistan against military advice.

France is reacting with anger after being left out of an agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia to give Australia nuclear-powered submarines. 

In a statement issued by French Minister Of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-yves Le Drian and Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly, the country said the decision announced on Wednesday “is contrary to the letter and spirit of the cooperation that prevailed between France and Australia, based on a relationship of political trust as well as on the development of a very high-level defence industrial and technological base in Australia.”

BIDEN CALLS NEWSOM’S VICTORY A ‘WIN’ FOR ‘STRONG VACCINE REQUIREMENTS’

“The American choice to exclude a European ally and partner such as France from a structuring partnership with Australia, at a time when we are facing unprecedented challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, whether in terms of our values or in terms of respect for multilateralism based on the rule of law, shows a lack of coherence that France can only note and regret,” the statement continued. 

The statement went on to call the announcement “regrettable.”

“The regrettable decision that has just been announced regarding the FSP program only reinforces the need to make the issue of European strategic autonomy loud and clear,” the joint statement said. “There is no other credible way to defend our interests and our values in the world, including in the Indo-Pacific.”

France added that it is the “only European nation present in the Indo-Pacific with nearly two million citizens and more than 7,000 military personnel.”

Earlier in the day, U.S. President Biden joined British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in announcing the creation of  an enhanced trilateral security partnership, called “AUKUS”, which involves sharing highly sensitive nuclear submarine technology with Australia.

“As the first initiative under AUKUS, recognizing our common tradition as maritime democracies, we commit to a shared ambition to support Australia in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy,” the White House said. “Today, we embark on a trilateral effort of 18 months to seek an optimal pathway to deliver this capability. We will leverage expertise from the United States and the United Kingdom, building on the two countries’ submarine programs to bring an Australian capability into service at the earliest achievable date.”

JUDGE PIRRO BLASTS MILLEY AFTER REPORT ON HIS CALLS TO CHINA: ‘GET HIM THE HELL OUT OF THE PENTAGON’

During the announcement, Biden referred to France as having a “substantial Indo-Pacific presence” and a “key partner and ally in strengthening the security and prosperity of the region.”

 “The United States looks forward to working closely with France and other key countries as we go forward,” Biden said. 

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The announcement of the partnership is widely perceived as a challenge to China’s authority in the region and the Chinese embassy quickly responded to the news.

“Exchanges and cooperation between countries should help expand mutual understanding and trust,” the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. said in a statement. “Countries should do more things that are conducive to solidarity and cooperation among countries and regional peace and stability. Meanwhile they should not build exclusionary blocs targeting or harming the interests of third parties. In particular, they should shake off their Cold-War mentality and ideological prejudice.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.

Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/france-issues-angry-response-to-nuclear-submarine-deal-between-u-s-france-and-australia

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Utah police stopped Gabby Petito and fiancé after fight on road trip before she went missing, report says – NBC News
Utah police stopped Gabby Petito and fiancé after fight on road trip before she went missing, report says – NBC News
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Organizer of Saturday rally in DC downplays concerns of violence as officials ramp up security – CNN
Organizer of Saturday rally in DC downplays concerns of violence as officials ramp up security – CNN

By Jessica Schneider and Devan Cole, CNN

Updated 9:40 PM ET, Wed September 15, 2021

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/15/politics/september-capitol-riot-rally-matt-braynard/index.html

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US Covid Booster Shot Policy Is in Flux as Studies Add to Dissent – The New York Times
US Covid Booster Shot Policy Is in Flux as Studies Add to Dissent – The New York Times

“We just got things turned around,” said Dr. Jesse L. Goodman, a former chief scientist at the Food and Drug Administration. “The administration and the leaders of the scientific agencies who signed on got out in front of any public discussion, airing of the data or vetting of it. That put the F.D.A. and the C.D.C. and their advisory committees in a corner.”

Dr. Woodcock, the acting F.D.A. commissioner, privately warned that it was risky to announce a timetable, especially for multiple vaccines, according to people familiar with the discussions. The F.D.A. and the C.D.C. meetings in the coming days and Pfizer’s application for approval of its booster dose appear to be conforming to the timetable the administration proposed in August.

Like other senior health officials, Dr. Woodcock had hoped that booster shots could be offered this month not only for Pfizer and Moderna recipients, but for recipients of Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine as well, according to people familiar with the deliberations. But the administration had to limit its plan to Pfizer recipients, officials said, because neither Moderna nor Johnson & Johnson delivered the expected data in time.

While Mr. Biden publicly noted that his strategy depended on regulatory action, he also made the plan sound all but definite. “It’s simple,” he said at the time. “Eight months after your second shot, get your booster shot.”

In interviews, senior administration officials defended the decision to specify a date for the rollout, saying that precious time would have been lost if pharmacies, providers and state officials were not prepared.

The data from Israel, which offered boosters first, was particularly concerning to U.S. health officials.

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In the New England Journal of Medicine article on Wednesday, researchers said they analyzed health records of more than 1.1 million people in Israel who had received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine at least five months earlier. They found that the rate of severe disease among people over 60 who had received a third shot at least 12 days earlier was nearly twentyfold lower than among those who had received two injections.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/15/us/politics/booster-shots-fda.html

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‘A tipping point’: Some of world’s largest trees threatened by fires in the Sierra Nevada – USA TODAY
‘A tipping point’: Some of world’s largest trees threatened by fires in the Sierra Nevada – USA TODAY

Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/09/15/knp-complex-fire-fires-near-sequoia-national-park-potential-threat/8345580002/

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Struggle for Control of Afghanistan Comes to K Street – The New York Times
Struggle for Control of Afghanistan Comes to K Street – The New York Times

“No entity could receive legitimacy without the support, endorsement of his excellency Ahmad Massoud, because he is the source of legitimacy today,” said Ali Nazary, who represents Mr. Massoud in the United States.

Mr. Massoud, the 32-year-old son of a legendary mujahedeen commander who led the fight against repeated Soviet offensives in the 1980s, is leading the resistance to the Taliban from the same valley from which his father operated.

But the struggle faces long odds, with resistance fighters surrounded by the Taliban and armed with dwindling supplies and no visible outside support. While Mr. Massoud has sought to position himself as the leader of the anti-Taliban battle, Amrullah Saleh, who was the vice president in the toppled government and is a former head of the National Directorate of Security and a former associate of the elder Massoud, last month proclaimed himself Afghanistan’s legitimate president.

Mr. Nazary said that “we are asking the United States to provide material support for our efforts, which would include shipment of offensive weapons,” and also not to give recognition to the Taliban.

Mr. Nazary, who was involved in arranging the contract with Mr. Stryk, said they chose him because he was not part of “the establishment in D.C.,” which Mr. Nazary accused of appeasing the Taliban. He added that Mr. Stryk “truly believes in us and the Afghan people no matter how it affects his reputation.”

While Mr. Stryk has worked with Democratic lobbyists during the Biden administration, it is not clear the extent of his connections to President Biden’s national security apparatus, or what specifically he intends to do to win support for Mr. Massoud.

Mr. Stryk has represented a range of clients facing fraught legal and public relations problems, including Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angola’s former president who is accused of embezzling millions of dollars from a state oil company she once headed. And he had represented the government of the former Congolese president Joseph Kabila, which had faced American sanctions for human rights abuses and corruption, as well as the administration of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, which the United States considers illegitimate, and a witness in the Russia investigation who pleaded guilty last year to possessing child pornography and sex trafficking a minor.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/15/us/politics/afghanistan-taliban.html

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Democrats warn of ‘canary in the coal mine’ for Latino voters in California recall – NBC News
Democrats warn of ‘canary in the coal mine’ for Latino voters in California recall – NBC News
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California recall: What exit polls tell us about the state’s LGBTQ voters – NBC News
California recall: What exit polls tell us about the state’s LGBTQ voters – NBC News
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Biden Takes Rare Step To Share Nuclear Submarine Technology With Australia – NPR
Biden Takes Rare Step To Share Nuclear Submarine Technology With Australia – NPR

The move to share U.S. nuclear-powered submarine technology with Australia comes as President Biden has worked to focus his foreign policy on the threat that China poses.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images


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Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

The move to share U.S. nuclear-powered submarine technology with Australia comes as President Biden has worked to focus his foreign policy on the threat that China poses.

Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

In a rare step, President Biden is announcing Wednesday that the United States plans to share its nuclear-powered submarine technology with Australia.

The announcement comes as Biden tries to refocus U.S. national security and economic policy on the threat posed by China.

There has been only one other time that the United States has shared what a senior administration official described as “extremely sensitive” technology — more than 60 years ago, back in 1958, with Great Britain. The United Kingdom will be involved with the new trilateral security partnership, known as AUKUS.

The decision comes amid escalated tension in recent years over territorial disputes in the South China Sea — a major shipping lane with oil and natural gas resources — with China building military outposts on several small reclaimed islands. The U.S. and other regional partners have stepped up their military presence in the region, and the U.S. is in the process of reorienting its military posture toward the Indo-Pacific.

Ahead of the formal announcement from the White House, a senior U.S. administration official insisted to reporters that the new security cooperation with Australia was not directed specifically at China.

“I think one of the things that the United States has done most effectively in the Indo-Pacific is to secure peace and stability and to be the ultimate guarantor of that rules-based order,” the senior official said. “Over the last several years there have been questions: Does the United States still have the stomach? Do we have the wit and wisdom that we want to continue to play that role? What President Biden is saying with this initiative is, ‘Count us in.’ “

It’s about nuclear propulsion, not nuclear weapons

The three AUKUS countries will launch an 18-month effort to determine how best to share the nuclear submarine propulsion technology, which will allow the Australian navy’s submarines to travel faster and farther, with more stealth.

“Australia has no intention of pursuing nuclear weapons,” the official told reporters.

The Biden administration is working to move past the 20-year war in Afghanistan and the chaotic U.S. exit from Kabul. Biden has put countering China at the center of his economic and national security efforts, describing it as the biggest challenge of this era.

Australia’s prime minister will visit next week

Biden is set to meet in person at the White House next week with the leaders of India, Japan and Australia — what’s known as the “Quad.”

He invited leaders of Japan and South Korea as the first two foreign leaders to visit the White House in person earlier this year. And his first foreign trip in June to the Group of Seven and NATO was also focused on the economic and security threats posed by China.

For only the second time since taking office, Biden spoke last week to Chinese President Xi Jinping. He did not discuss the new security partnership “in any specific terms,” the senior U.S. official said, but emphasized to Xi that the United States planned to play a strong role in the region.

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2021/09/15/1037338887/why-biden-is-taking-the-rare-step-of-sharing-nuclear-submarine-tech-with-austral

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Alex Murdaugh: The hot shot US lawyer and the hit man – BBC News
Alex Murdaugh: The hot shot US lawyer and the hit man – BBC News

In June, Mr Murdaugh’s wife Margaret, 52, and son Paul, 22, were found murdered near their home.

Source Article from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58577936

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Biden says he has ‘great confidence’ in Gen. Mark Milley after new reports – CNN
Biden says he has ‘great confidence’ in Gen. Mark Milley after new reports – CNN

By Betsy Klein, Oren Liebermann and Donald Judd, CNN

Updated 2:01 PM ET, Wed September 15, 2021

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/15/politics/white-house-defends-milley/index.html

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