Stimulating economy should be ‘biggest priority’ for Biden: Rep. Kildee

Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., discusses his hopes for the Biden administration and new Congress on ‘Cavuto Live.’

Latest Stories

  • Biden reportedly could sacrifice unemployment benefit boost to secure relief bill

    Incoming presidents "typically want to wait until they have the reins of power in order to put their fingerprints on the policies coming out of the door," Jared Bernstein, who served as President-elect Joe Biden's chief economist during the Obama administration, said this week during a virtual conference. But, he added, Biden would prefer that not be the case when it comes to coronavirus relief, which is "something that should happen now."Biden has entered the coronavirus relief fight and wants a deal done before he's sworn in as president, Politico reports, even though waiting would theoretically increase the Democratic Party's chances of securing a larger deal, which is currently a non-starter for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). "They care more about governing than they care about politics on this one," one person in touch with the transition team told Politico.Biden's camp is reportedly focused on ensuring Black-owned businesses receive loans they had trouble securing following the first relief bill, getting funding for state and local governments, and extending enhanced unemployment benefits. The latter issue is where Biden "may have to give something up to McConnell that we really don't want to give up to get" a deal, "but we simply have to do this," another person close to the transition team said. Read more at Politico.More stories from theweek.com 5 bruisingly funny cartoons about Rudy Giuliani's dubious legal strategy Ronna McDaniel has reportedly warned Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle could succeed her as RNC chair 5 brutally funny cartoons about Trump's election denial

  • Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a candidate in the Georgia runoff, tested positive for COVID-19 and is quarantining

    Loeffler is currently campaigning in a high-stakes race that could determine control of the Senate at the start of President-elect Joe Biden's term.

  • Calls for Britain to give asylum to Pakistani Christian girl forced to marry Muslim man who abducted and gang-raped her

    Boris Johnson has been urged to grant asylum to a Pakistani Christian girl who was forced to marry a Muslim man accused of abducting and raping her at gunpoint. The family of the 14-year-old girl claims that she was kidnapped by Mohamad Nakash last year, who used blackmail and threats of violence to make her sign false papers consenting to marriage. In August, a judge's order that she be taken to a women's refuge was overturned by a higher court, which ruled the marriage was legal and returned her to Mr Nakash’s home. The girl then escaped and is now in hiding. But her lawyer claims that associates of Mr Nakash, who turned up en masse at the court hearings, have been trying to hunt her down. The British charity Aid to Church in Need, which campaigns on behalf of persecuted Christians worldwide, has now launched a petition asking the government to grant the girl asylum. “This shocking case is a chance for Britain to show its commitment to Christian welfare who so often feel abandoned by the West, ” said spokesman John Pontifex. The case has echoes of that of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman who spent ten years on death row in Pakistan on trumped-up blasphemy charges.

  • Ronna McDaniel has reportedly warned Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle could succeed her as RNC chair

    There are members of the Republican Party who are worried that Ronna McDaniel's desire to remain as the chair of the Republican National Committee could mean President Trump will retain control of the group and, therefore, the GOP even after he's out of the White House, The New York Times reports. McDaniel is a close ally of Trump, and wary Republicans suspect she could allow Trump to mobilize the party against incumbents he doesn't consider loyal enough.But McDaniel has reportedly attempted to assure the doubters that she'll remain independent of Trump and his family, four Republicans told the Times on condition of anonymity. Besides, if it's not her, the risk of an even more pro-Trump chair could emerge, she reportedly told one party leader, warning that her successor could be someone like Donald Trump, Jr. or his girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle.Aides to Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle have said neither is interested in the job, but the possibility could be enough for McDaniel to reel in the support she needs, given the party is concerned it could continue to lose its grip on suburban voters. Read more at The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com 5 bruisingly funny cartoons about Rudy Giuliani's dubious legal strategy 5 brutally funny cartoons about Trump's election denial America is buckling

  • AOC calls out Kyle Rittenhouse's $2 million bail release as 'protection of white supremacy'

    "Does anyone believe Rittenhouse would be released if he were Muslim," AOC wrote on Twitter.

  • Rudy Giuliani suggested someone 'cut the head off' Democratic leaders in Fox News interview

    Giuliani added: "Somehow the Democrat party was hijacked by Clinton and since then it's gone more corrupt.”

  • Exclusive: Mexico agreed with U.S. Attorney General Barr to arrest drug capo in deal for general - source

    Mexico has committed to the arrest of a high-level cartel leader under a deal with U.S. Attorney General William Barr to drop U.S. drug trafficking charges against a former Mexican defense minister, a senior Mexican source told Reuters. The United States dropped the case against retired General Salvador Cienfuegos this week citing "sensitive and important" foreign policy considerations that outweighed interest in pursuing the charges. In return, Mexico privately told Barr it would work with the United States to arrest a high-level cartel leader involved with trafficking large quantities of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, the source said.

  • What's with all the election audits?

    Seeking to cast doubt on the results of the presidential election, President Trump and his allies have zeroed in on a common process: postelection audits.

  • Trump campaign demands second Georgia recount after judge's  scathing dismissal of Pennsylvania challenge

    Undaunted by a Pennsylvania judge's withering dismissal of a plea to discount millions of mail-in votes, the Trump campaign turned its attention to another battleground state and demanded a second recount in Georgia. The move was the latest shot in a salvo of legal cases with Donald Trump still showing no sign of accepting that he lost the election. On Monday Michigan's four-member Elections board is due to meet to ratify their results, with one of the two Republicans indicating he could vote against doing so. The demand for a Georgia recount came hours after Judge Matthew Brann described the challenge to the Pennsylvania result as without merit. Alleging irregularities in the way ballots were treated across the state, the Trump campaign had asked the court to prevent millions of mail-in ballots being counted. The argument was given short shrift by Judge Brann. “One might expect that when seeking such a startling outcome, a plaintiff would come formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and factual proof of rampant corruption," he wrote. "In the United States of America, this cannot justify the disenfranchisement of a single voter, let alone all the voters of its sixth most populated state. Our people, laws, and institutions demand more." Mr Trump said on Twitter that he would appeal and Rudy Giuliani, his lawyer, said he expected the case to reach the US Supreme Court. Legal experts, however, have voiced doubts that the Supreme Court would overturn the election. "You can't go to the court because you wish you'd won the election. You have to have a genuine legal pretext," said Christopher Galdieri, an associate professor of politics at Saint Anselm College. "As the margins get bigger I think that gets more difficult for him. The more your opponent is winning by, the harder it gets to close that gap."

  • White House vaccine czar expects kids will receive coronavirus vaccine by middle of 2021

    There's a growing likelihood that the first round of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine will be rolled out in just a few weeks. If and when that happens, only high priority groups, like health care workers, are expected to have access. Theoretically, the pool will grow over time, but children will probably have to wait a while. That's partly because younger people, though far from invulnerable to COVID-19, are less susceptible to severe cases, but it also has to do with the fact that the youngest people to receive Pfizer's candidate in trials were between 12 and 14 years old, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, the White House vaccine czar, told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday.As things stand, there's no data about the vaccine's efficacy or safety for younger children, but Slaoui says the plan is to run trials at an expedited pace over the coming months, first with younger adolescents, then toddlers, and, finally, infants. If that goes well, Slaoui, expects most kids will be able to get vaccinated by the middle of next year, though infants may not be approved until the end of 2021. > Dr. Moncef Slaoui, the White House vaccine czar, tells @jaketapper that he expects children will be able to receive a coronavirus vaccine some time in the middle of next year. "We need to run those clinical trials on an expedited basis." CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/WlOUxKA3RN> > -- State of the Union (@CNNSotu) November 22, 2020More stories from theweek.com 5 bruisingly funny cartoons about Rudy Giuliani's dubious legal strategy Ronna McDaniel has reportedly warned Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle could succeed her as RNC chair 5 brutally funny cartoons about Trump's election denial

  • The women who served as a deadly duo for the Taliban

    Female assassins who lured an Afghan security official to his death with promises of sex before shooting him and dumping his body at a cemetery are among thousands of Taliban criminals freed as part of a fragile peace plan.

  • Man arrested in deadly attack at Nebraska Sonic restaurant

    Authorities arrested a 23-year-old man in an attack at a Nebraska fast food restaurant in which two people were shot and killed, two were wounded and officers responding to a report of a possible bomb inside a moving truck in the parking lot arrived to find the vehicle on fire. Roberto Carlos Silva Jr., of Omaha, was booked into Sarpy County jail early Sunday on suspicion of first-degree murder and first-degree arson in Saturday night's attack at a Sonic Drive-in restaurant in Bellevue, the Omaha World-Herald reported. In a news release early Sunday, Lt. Andy Jashinske said Bellevue police received a call at 9:23 p.m. Saturday about a possible bomb in a U-Haul truck parked outside of the restaurant in the Omaha suburb.

  • Iran vows to crush any Israeli attempt to hit its 'advisory' role in Syria

    Iran on Sunday vowed to defeat any Israeli attempt to harm its role in Syria, saying the era of "hit and run" attacks by Israel there was over, days after Israel carried out air strikes on Syrian army and Iranian paramilitary targets in the country. Israel, which views Tehran as its biggest security threat, has repeatedly attacked Iranian targets and those of allied militia in Syria, where Tehran has backed President Bashar al-Assad and his forces against rebels and militants since 2012. On Wednesday, an Israeli military spokesman said eight targets were attacked, including an Iranian headquarters at Damascus international airport and a "secret military site" that served as a "hosting facility for senior Iranian delegations when they come to Syria to operate".

  • Stephen Moore says that Trump will leave office 'triumphant,' comparing him to Winston Churchill

    "Sometimes I think he's like Winston Churchill," Moore said of President Trump who took offense to similar comparisons made in the past.

  • Priti Patel shakes up antiquated work practices at Home Office

    The top ranks of the civil servants at the Home Office are to be shaken up in the wake of claims of bullying by Priti Patel, with officials forced to work some weekends and be subject to performance reviews. New rules are also being drawn up to allow the Home Secretary to personally quiz junior officials who have the most up-to-date knowledge about the work of her department, The Telegraph understands. The changes have been agreed between Ms Patel and Matthew Rycroft, the department's permanent secretary, in a bid to draw a line under the Whitehall probe into Ms Patel's behaviour. A Whitehall report last week found that while Ms Patel's behaviour amounted to bullying in breach of the ministerial code, the civil service itself also "needs to reflect on its role during this period”. It emerged this weekend that not one of the allegations had been put to Ms Patel, while she had never met or spoken to Sir Alex Allan, the Whitehall civil servant who carried out the eight-month investigation into Ms Patel. Sources also confirmed that some civil servants complained if Ms Patel tried to contact them over weekends to ask for support if crises erupted. One source said: "National security is not 9-til-5", adding that on some weekends Ms Patel had found that "she was driving the ship completely". They added: "That is changing." A former adviser said: "The snowflakes in the civil service would regularly complain about working even five minutes more than their allotted hours. "Their chief complaint appears to be having to work over a weekend when they’re on call, despite this being their job." Under the new way of working, Ms Patel will be given a dedicated team of officials who she can lean on for support at weekends when other civil servants have gone home. The top ranks of civil servants at the Home Office will be required to submit themselves to performance reviews. The Home Office has agreed to allowing Ms Patel to question junior officials directly who might have day-to-day knowledge of a particular challenge, rather than relying on information fed through more senior officials. One source said some civil servants had been "quite precious" about Ms Patel's attempts to speak to staff on the frontline of the Home Office's work. Friends pointed to a history of previous Home Secretaries – such as Amber Rudd over the Windrush controversy – who had been unfairly forced out by the actions of civil servants.

  • A high school teacher with an interest in cannibalism has been charged with murder after the discovery of bones with bite marks

    German prosecutors said Friday that the murder of a 44-year-old man shows signs of possible cannibalism.

  • Republicans launch Pennsylvania lawsuit that argues GOP-backed bill allowing universal mail voting is unconstitutional

    A group of Republicans, including Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) are launching a lawsuit -- in the hopes of blocking the certification of Pennsylvania's election results -- that claims a state law passed in 2019 allowing for universal mail-in voting is unconstitutional. If that were the case, mail-in ballots would be invalidated, likely swinging the state back to President Trump.> Here is the complaint introduction from the Commonwealth Court filing /5 pic.twitter.com/OdF3hdUpwS> > -- Matt Maisel (@Matt_Maisel) November 21, 2020The lawsuit quickly drew heated criticism, including accusations that Kelly (who was just re-elected himself) and the other plaintiffs are "openly rejecting democracy and the rule of law," but many observers were simply perplexed. For starters, the bill was passed over a year ago, raising questions as to why its constitutionality wasn't brought up between then and now. Plus, it was pushed through thanks to a majority GOP state legislature, with only one Republican member of the state House voting against it, while GOP senators backed it unanimously. > In the lawsuit, filed this morning in Commonwealth Court, plaintiffs say Act 77 is "unconstitutional," and "implemented illegally." They argue it's an illegal attempt to override limitations on absentee voting, and needed to go through a constitutional amendment first /3> > -- Matt Maisel (@Matt_Maisel) November 21, 2020More stories from theweek.com 5 bruisingly funny cartoons about Rudy Giuliani's dubious legal strategy Ronna McDaniel has reportedly warned Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle could succeed her as RNC chair 5 brutally funny cartoons about Trump's election denial

  • Thousands march in Taiwan against US pork imports

    Thousands of people marched in Taipei's streets on Sunday demanding the reversal of a decision to allow U.S. pork imports into Taiwan, alleging food safety issues. President Tsai Ing-wen's administration lifted a long-standing ban on U.S. pork and beef imports in August, in a move seen as one of the first steps toward possibly negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the U.S. The ban is due to be lifted in January. The new policy allows imports of pork with acceptable residues of ractopamine, a drug added into animal feed that promotes the growth of lean meat that some farmers use in pigs.

  • Protests erupt in Omaha after fatal police shooting of a Black man

    Omaha police shot and killed Kenneth Jones, 35, during a traffic stop on Thursday night.

  • Ethiopia army threatens 'no mercy' in assault on regional capital

    Ethiopia's military on Sunday warned of an all-out assault on Mekele, capital of the Tigray region, telling civilians to flee while they still can. "The next decisive battle is to surround Mekele with tanks," Dejene Tsegaye, a military spokesman, told state broadcasters on Sunday, threatening a siege of the city. He added a warning for Mekele's half a million residents: "Save yourself. A directive has been communicated for you to dissociate yourself from this junta, after that there will be no mercy." Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed - last year's Nobel Peace Prize winner - launched a military campaign against the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on November 4, accusing it of attacking two federal military camps in the region, and of defying his government and seeking to destabilise it. On Sunday, Ethiopia said it would not talk to Tigrayan leaders to end the fighting. "We don't negotiate with criminals... We bring them to justice, not to the negotiating table," Mamo Mihretu, an aide to Mr Abiy, told the BBC.