In Meeting With Xi, Biden Will Seek Restoration of Military Communication 

Reestablishing communication between militaries of the two superpowers will be high on President Joe Biden’s agenda Wednesday during a highly anticipated meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in the San Francisco Bay area, a senior administration official says.

The leaders will be meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that the U.S. is hosting.

The Biden-Xi summit will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two presidents since they met last year in Bali, Indonesia. 

It’s a positive sign for the rocky U.S.-China relationship and follows a wave of increased engagement between American and Chinese officials. The administration already has sent several high-ranking officials to Beijing this year, including Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Biden is “determined to take the necessary steps” to reestablish military communication channels with Beijing, said the senior administration official, who spoke to reporters Thursday evening on the condition of anonymity. The administration believes the step will inject more stability into the relationship and lower the risk of a military miscalculation.  

 

China suspended military communication last year to protest then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s August visit to Taiwan. Included in the suspension were the Defense Policy Coordination Talks, intended to maintain effective communication channels and reduce risks, and the Maritime Military Communications Agreement, which enables ship and aircraft operators to communicate regularly.  

 

Blinken was unable to reestablish communication channels during his visit to Beijing in June. “The Chinese have been reluctant. And so, the president is going to press assertively next week,” the senior administration official said.

Joint Chiefs Chairman General Charles Q. Brown Jr. told reporters Friday that he had sent a letter to his Chinese counterpart, General Liu Zhenli, underscoring the U.S. request. Brown said he was “hopeful.”

“It’s reasonable to expect that there’s going to be some movement toward the resumption of some level of important dialogue,” Michael D. Swaine, a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a Washington think tank. “But exactly to what extent and how enduring it’s going to be, I think remains to be seen,” he told VOA.

Restarting the talks does not imply there will be any substantive breakthroughs, warned Zack Cooper, a senior fellow focusing on U.S. strategy in Asia at the American Enterprise Institute, a policy research group in Washington.   

 

“Beijing continues to believe that crisis management mechanisms generally favor the United States, by allowing Washington to operate near China’s coast with less risk of escalation,” he told VOA. “So, although I expect some of these dialogues to restart, I would not assume that they will be particularly productive.”

 

Election interference 

 

The Biden-Xi meeting comes just months before Taiwan’s presidential election in January, and Washington wants Beijing not to meddle in the campaign. China considers the self-governing island its wayward province.

“Any actions or interference in the election would raise extremely strong concerns from our side,” said a second senior administration official in the same briefing.

Such calls are likely to go unheeded. “I doubt that Beijing will have any comments regarding a purported U.S. request not to interfere in Taiwan elections,” Bonnie Glaser told VOA. Glaser is the managing director of the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a public policy research group.  

 

Beijing’s preferred candidate is former New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih, candidate of the Kuomintang opposition party. Hou has been campaigning on the message “Vote for the Kuomintang, and there will be no war on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.”  

 

But polls show that Vice President William Lai, who represents the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party and favors a tougher approach to Beijing, is in the lead. Experts predict a Lai win would lead to a much more confrontational China.

In video remarks to a forum in Hong Kong on Thursday, China’s ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, said China wanted reassurances that “the U.S. does not seek to change China’s system, does not seek a new Cold War, does not support Taiwan independence and has no intention to seek decoupling from China.”

Understanding between the U.S. and China on Taiwan is key, said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, a Washington think tank.

 

“The biggest issue is the stabilization of bilateral relations,” she told VOA. “Given the upcoming Taiwan elections, it is particularly important for them to have some consensus to prepare for the upcoming turmoil.” 

 

Washington does not take a position on Taiwan’s sovereignty but opposes unilateral changes to the status quo from either side — something that Biden will reaffirm to Xi. The president will “ensure that we’re clear we are not supportive of Taiwan independence,” the second official said. 

 

Regional conflicts 

 

The conversation is expected to cover a broad range of irritants in the bilateral relationship, as well as global problems such as climate change, artificial intelligence and the scourge of fentanyl. 

 

The leaders will also share views on regional conflicts, including North Korea’s weapons program, the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza, the officials said. 

 

The president will convey to Xi that it is essential for Iran not to widen the war in Gaza and spread violence in the Middle East. “If Iran undertakes provocative actions anywhere,” the senior administration official said, “the United States is prepared to respond and respond promptly.” 

 

Beijing has growing clout in the region after it brokered a deal to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March. So far, China has carefully navigated the conflict between Israel and Hamas, stopping short of explicitly taking sides, while calling for a cease-fire and a two-state solution.

 

VOA’s Paris Huang contributed to this report. 

Білий дім: Байден обговорить із Сі Цзіньпіном відновлення каналів зв’язку між США та КНР у військовій сфері

Президент Джо Байден прагне відновити канали зв’язку у військовій сфері з Китаєм і планує поговорити про це на найближчій зустрічі зі лідером Китаю Сі Цзіньпіном. Як передає агенція Reuters, про це повідомив у неділю радник голови Білого дому з національної безпеки Джейк Салліван.

«Президент рішуче налаштований на відновлення зв’язків між військовими (двох країн), оскільки вважає, що це відповідає інтересам національної безпеки США, – сказав Салліван в інтерв’ю каналу CBS. – Нам потрібні ці лінії зв’язку, щоб не було помилок, прорахунків чи непорозуміння».

За словами Саллівана, відновлення військових каналів зв’язку може відбуватися від найвищого керівництва до оперативно-тактичного рівня, а також між ВМС та ВПС двох країн.

Байден зустрінеться з головою КНР Сі Цзіньпіном у середу під час саміту Азіатсько-Тихоокеанського економічного співробітництва у Сан-Франциско. Це буде лише друга особиста зустріч двох лідерів з моменту вступу Байдена на посаду у січні 2021 року.

Очікується, що на зустрічі Байдена та Сі обговорюватимуть такі питання, як вторгнення Росії в Україну, війна між Ізраїлем та «Хамас», зв’язки Північної Кореї з Росією, Тайвань, Індо-Тихоокеанський регіон, права людини, виробництво фентанілу, штучний інтелект, торгово-економічні відносини тощо.

 

США завдали удари по іранських базах у Сирії

Сполучені Штати оголосили, що завдали у неділю авіаудари по двох іранських базах на південному сході Сирії поблизу кордону з Іраком, зокрема у населених пунктах Маядін та Абу-Камаль.

Як сказав міністр оборони США Ллойд Остін, ударів завдано по об’єктах іранського «Корпусу вартових ісламської революції» (КВІР) та пов’язаних з Іраном озброєних угруповань, розташованим у долині Єфрату.

У заяві Пентагону наголошується, що удари відбулися з метою гарантування безпеки американських військовослужбовців, у відповідь на удари по американських базах у регіоні.

Телеканал Fox News з посиланням на високопоставленого представника Міністерства оборони США повідомив, що щонайменше шестеро людей загинули в результаті авіаударів США по підтримуваних Іраном групах на сході Сирії.

Раніше президент США Джо Байден попереджав, що США готові завдати подальших ударів у разі потреби проти угруповань, які, на думку Вашингтона, фінансуються Іраном і несуть відповідальність за напади на американські сили на Близькому Сході. За даними Пентагону, війська США в Сирії та Іраку зазнали близько 50 атак з 17 жовтня. 26 жовтня два літаки F-16 ВПС США здійснили нальоти на склади зі зброєю та боєприпасами, що належать КВІР. Нині близько 900 американських військових дислокуються в Сирії, ще 2500 – в Іраку.

 

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott Abruptly Ends 2024 Presidential Bid

Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott abruptly announced late Sunday that he was dropping out of the 2024 race, a development that surprised his donors and stunned his campaign staff just two months before the start of voting in Iowa’s leadoff GOP caucuses.

The South Carolina senator, who entered the race in May with high hopes, made the surprise announcement on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Night in America” with Trey Gowdy, one of his closest friends. The news was so unanticipated that one campaign worker told The Associated Press that campaign staff found out Scott was dropping out by watching the show.

“I love America more today than I did on May 22,” Scott said Sunday. “But when I go back to Iowa, it will not be as a presidential candidate. I am suspending my campaign. I think the voters who are the most remarkable people on the planet have been really clear that they’re telling me, ‘Not now, Tim.’”

Scott’s impending departure comes as he and the rest of the GOP field have struggled in a race that has been dominated by former President Donald Trump.

Despite four criminal indictments and a slew of other legal challenges, Trump continues to poll far ahead of his rivals, leading many in the party to conclude the race is effectively over, barring some stunning change of fortune.

Scott, in particular, has had trouble gaining traction in the polls, despite millions spent on his behalf by high-profile donors. In his efforts to run a positive campaign, he was often overshadowed by other candidates — particularly on the debate stage, where he seemed to disappear as others sparred. It was unclear whether Scott would qualify for the upcoming fourth debate, which will require higher polling numbers and more donors.

Scott is the second major candidate to leave the race since the end of October. Former Vice President Mike Pence suspended his campaign two weeks ago, announcing at a Republican Jewish Coalition gathering in Las Vegas, “This is not my time.” Pence, however, was polling behind Scott and was in a far more precarious financial position.

Scott said he wouldn’t immediately be endorsing any of his remaining Republican rivals.

“The voters are really smart,” Scott said. “The best way for me to be helpful is to not weigh in on who they should endorse.”

He also appeared to rule out serving as vice president, saying the No. 2 slot “has never been on my to-do list for this campaign, and it’s certainly not there now.”

Scott’s departure leaves Nikki Haley, Trump’s first United Nations ambassador and the former South Carolina governor, as the sole South Carolinian in the race.

As governor, Haley appointed Scott — then newly elected to his second U.S. House term — to the Senate in 2012, and the fact that both were in the 2024 race had created an uncomfortable situation for many of the donors and voters who had supported them both through the years.

It also sparked some unpleasant on-stage moments during the first three GOP debates, with the longtime allies — who for a time had also shared political consultants — trading tense jabs. After the surprise announcement, some of Scott’s donors said they would be switching to back Haley in the primary.

In a post on X on Sunday night, Haley called Scott “a good man of faith and an inspiration to so many,” adding that the GOP primary “was made better by his participation in it.”

Scott’s team was so surprised by his exit that just 13 minutes before he announced his departure, his campaign sent out an email soliciting supporters for donations to further Scott’s “strong leadership and optimistic, positive vision to lead our country forward.” Saying that “EVERYTHING is on the line” to win the White House, the email went on offering readers “ONE LAST CHANCE to donate this weekend and help Tim reach his campaign goal.”

Campaign staffers expressed their extreme irritation to the AP in light of the candidate recently shifting staff and money from New Hampshire to Iowa in an effort to boost his standing in the leadoff caucus.

A senior staffer characterized the experience as incredibly frustrating, saying that staff had been working around the clock to accommodate the move, only to completely reverse it. A

s with the campaign worker who said Scott’s staff found out about his departure by watching the senator on TV, the worker was not authorized to discuss the internal deliberations publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Many donors were surprised and saddened by Scott’s announcement, though they praised him for stepping aside to give Republicans a chance to coalesce behind a Trump alternative.

Eric Levine, a New York-based donor who was raising money for Scott, said he was caught totally off guard.

“He stepped aside with dignity. He is a true patriot. I could not have been prouder to have supported him,” said Levine, a vocal Trump critic. He said he would now be supporting Haley.

“She is our last best hope to defeat Donald Trump and then take back the White House,” Levine said.

Chad Walldorf, a South Carolina businessman and longtime Scott supporter and donor, thought Scott’s decision was in the best interest of the Republican Party.

“I’ve always thought the field needs to winnow quickly so we can get behind a good alternative to Trump, so I greatly respect Tim for unselfishly stepping aside rather than waiting until too late,” said Walldorf, who added he’s now backing Haley.

Mikee Johnson, a South Carolina businessman and Scott donor who served as his national finance co-chairman, told the AP that he knew before Scott’s TV appearance that he would be suspending his campaign.

“He is honorable, knows his supporters were prepared to support him for the duration, and was not going to ask that of his friends and supporters,” said Johnson. “He is energized and ready for the next phase. … I told him I did not have a single regret.”

Many of Scott’s former 2024 rivals issued statements Sunday night wishing him well.

On social media, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis commended him as a “strong conservative with bold ideas about how to get our country back on track,” adding, “I respect his courage to run this campaign and thank him for his service to America and the U.S. Senate.”

Pence called Scott “a man of faith and integrity who brought his optimistic vision and inspiring personal story to people all across this country.”

Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to news of Scott’s exit. But Trump has been careful not to criticize the senator, leading some in his orbit to consider Scott a potential vice presidential pick.

The former president and his team had welcomed a large field of rivals, believing they would splinter the anti-Trump vote and prevent a clear challenger from emerging.

Scott’s next move is not clear. He has said that his 2022 Senate reelection would be his last and has at times been mentioned as a possible candidate for South Carolina governor, which is next up in 2026. Gov. Henry McMaster, a Trump backer, is term-limited, and the GOP primary is expected to be heated.

 

After Massive Fire Closes Los Angeles Interstate, Motorists Urged to Take Public Transport

Los Angeles motorists should expect traffic snarls indefinitely as crews assess how much damage was caused by a raging fire that closed a major elevated interstate near downtown, officials said Sunday.

Hazardous materials teams were clearing burned material from underneath Interstate 10 to make way for engineers to make sure the columns and deck of the highway can support the 300,000 vehicles that typically travel that route daily, Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a news conference.

“Remember, this is an investigation as to the cause of how this occurred, as well as a hazmat and structural engineering question,” Newsom said. “Can you open a few lanes? Can you retrofit the columns? Is the bridge deck intact to allow for a few lanes to remain open again?”

Newsom said answering those questions would be a “24-7 operation,” but officials couldn’t yet offer a timeline for when the highway might reopen.

Commuters were urged to work from home or take public transportation into downtown Los Angeles. The I-10 closure between Alameda Street and Santa Fe Avenue will have ripple effects on surface streets and other key freeways including State Route 60 and Interstate 5, the California Highway Patrol said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation. Flames reported around 12:20 a.m. Saturday raged through two storage lots in an industrial area underneath the highway, burning piles of wooden pallets, parked cars and support poles for high-tension power lines, Fire Chief Kristin M. Crowley said. No injuries were reported.

More than 160 firefighters from 26 companies responded to the blaze, which spread across 8 acres (3 hectares) — the equivalent of about six football fields — and burned for more than three hours. The highway’s columns are charred and chipped, while guardrails along the deck are twisted and blackened.

Newsom declared a state of emergency Saturday afternoon and directed the state Department of Transportation to request assistance from the federal government.

The governor said Sunday that the state has been in litigation with the owner of the business leasing the storage property where the fire started. The lease is expired, Newsom said, and the business had been in arrears while subleasing the space. “This is a site we were aware of, this is a lessee we were aware of,” he said.

California Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin said storage yards under highways are common statewide and across the country. He said the practice would be reevaluated following the fire.

At least 16 homeless people living underneath the highway were evacuated and brought to shelters, Mayor Karen Bass said. Officials said there was no immediate indication that the blaze began at the encampment.

Bass said the fire’s long-term impact was reminiscent of damage from the Northridge earthquake that flattened freeways in 1994.

“Unfortunately, there is no reason to think that this is going to be over in a couple of days,” she said.

Los Angeles motorists should expect traffic snarls indefinitely as crews assess how much damage was caused by a raging fire that closed a major elevated interstate near downtown, officials said Sunday.

Hazardous materials teams were clearing burned material from underneath Interstate 10 to make way for engineers to make sure the columns and deck of the highway can support the 300,000 vehicles that typically travel that route daily, Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a news conference.

“Remember, this is an investigation as to the cause of how this occurred, as well as a hazmat and structural engineering question,” Newsom said. “Can you open a few lanes? Can you retrofit the columns? Is the bridge deck intact to allow for a few lanes to remain open again?”

Newsom said answering those questions would be a “24-7 operation,” but officials couldn’t yet offer a timeline for when the highway might reopen.

Commuters were urged to work from home or take public transportation into downtown Los Angeles. The I-10 closure between Alameda Street and Santa Fe Avenue will have ripple effects on surface streets and other key freeways including State Route 60 and Interstate 5, the California Highway Patrol said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation. Flames reported around 12:20 a.m. Saturday raged through two storage lots in an industrial area underneath the highway, burning piles of wooden pallets, parked cars and support poles for high-tension power lines, Fire Chief Kristin M. Crowley said. No injuries were reported.

More than 160 firefighters from 26 companies responded to the blaze, which spread across 8 acres (3 hectares) — the equivalent of about six football fields — and burned for more than three hours. The highway’s columns are charred and chipped, while guardrails along the deck are twisted and blackened.

Newsom declared a state of emergency Saturday afternoon and directed the state Department of Transportation to request assistance from the federal government.

The governor said Sunday that the state has been in litigation with the owner of the business leasing the storage property where the fire started. The lease is expired, Newsom said, and the business had been in arrears while subleasing the space. “This is a site we were aware of, this is a lessee we were aware of,” he said.

California Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin said storage yards under highways are common statewide and across the country. He said the practice would be reevaluated following the fire.

At least 16 homeless people living underneath the highway were evacuated and brought to shelters, Mayor Karen Bass said. Officials said there was no immediate indication that the blaze began at the encampment.

Bass said the fire’s long-term impact was reminiscent of damage from the Northridge earthquake that flattened freeways in 1994.

“Unfortunately, there is no reason to think that this is going to be over in a couple of days,” she said.

 

Another Wildfire Burns in Hawaii, This One is Destroying a Rainforest

A wildfire burning in a remote Hawaii rainforest is underscoring a new reality for the normally lush island state just a few months after a devastating blaze on a neighboring island leveled an entire town and killed at least 99 people.

No one was injured and no homes burned in the latest fire, which scorched mountain ridges on Oahu, but the flames wiped out irreplaceable native forestland that’s home to nearly two dozen fragile species. And overall, the ingredients are the same as they were in Maui’s historic town of Lahaina: severe drought fueled by climate change is creating fire in Hawaii where it has almost never been before.

“It was really beautiful native forest,” said JC Watson, the manager of the Koolau Mountains Watershed Partnership, which helps take care of the land. He recalled it had uluhe fern, which often dominate Hawaii rainforests, and koa trees whose wood has traditionally been used to make canoes, surfboards and ukuleles.

“It’s not a full-on clean burn, but it is pretty moonscape-looking out there,” Watson said.

The fact that this fire was on Oahu’s wetter, windward side is a “red flag to all of us that there is change afoot,” said Sam ’Ohu Gon III, senior scientist and cultural adviser at The Nature Conservancy in Hawaii.

The fire mostly burned inside the Oahu Forest National Wildlife Refuge, which is home to 22 species listed as endangered or threatened by the U.S. government. They include iiwi and elepaio birds, a tree snail called pupu kani oe and the Hawaiian hoary bat, also known as opeapea. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the refuge, does not know yet what plants or wildlife may have been damaged or harmed by the fire, spokesperson Kristen Oleyte-Velasco said.

The fire incinerated 6.5 square kilometers (2.5 square miles) since first being spotted on Oct. 30 and was 90% contained as of Friday. Officials were investigating the cause of the blaze roughly 32 kilometers (20 miles) north of Honolulu.

The flames left gaping, dark bald spots amid a blanket of thick green where the fire did not burn. The skeletons of blackened trees poked from the charred landscape.

The burn area may seem relatively small compared to wildfires on the U.S. continent, which can raze hundreds of square miles. But Hawaii’s intact native ecosystems aren’t large to begin with, especially on smaller islands like Oahu, so even limited fires have far-reaching consequences.

One major concern is what plants will grow in place of the native forest.

Hawaii’s native plants evolved without encountering regular fires, and fire is not part of their natural life cycle. Faster-growing non-native plants with more seeds tend to sprout in place of native species afterward.

Watson said an Oahu forest near the latest fire had uluhe ferns, koa trees and ohia trees before a blaze burned less than a square mile of it 2015. Now the land features invasive grasses that are more fire-prone, and some slow-growing koa.

A much larger 2016 fire in the Waianae mountains on the other side of Oahu took out one of the last remaining populations of a rare tree gardenia, said Gon.

There are cultural losses when native forest burns. Gon recalled an old Central Oahu story about a warrior who was thrown off a cliff while battling an enemy chief. His fall was stopped by an ohia tree, another plant common in the incinerated area. 

Feathers from Hawaii’s forest birds were once used to make cloaks and helmets worn by chiefs.

Watson’s organization is coordinating with the Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct initial surveys of the damage. They’ll devise a restoration plan that will include invasive species control and planting native species. But there are limits to what can be done.

“It’ll never be able to be returned to its previous state within our lifetimes,” Watson said. “It’s forever changed, unfortunately.”

The Mililani Mauka fire — named after the area near where the fire began — burned in the Koolau mountains. These mountains are on Oahu’s wetter, windward side because they trap moisture and rain that move across the island from the northeast.

But repeated and more prolonged episodes of drought are making even the Koolaus dry. Gon expects more frequent Koolau fires in the future.

“There has been a huge uptick in the last 10 years, largely in Waianae range, which is the western and drier portion of the island,” Gon said. “But now we’re seeing fires in the wet section of the island that normally doesn’t see any fires at all.”

Hawaii fires are almost always started by humans, so Gon said more needs to be done to raise awareness about prevention. Native forests could be further protected with buffer zones by planting less flammable vegetation in former sugarcane and pineapple plantation lands often found at lower elevations, he said.

Many of these now-fallow fields sprout dry, invasive grasses. Such grasses fueled the blaze that raced across Lahaina in August, highlighting their dangers. The cause of that fire is still being investigated, but it may have been sparked by downed power lines that ignited dry grass. Winds related to a powerful hurricane passing to the south helped spread the blaze, which destroyed more than 2,000 buildings and homes for some 8,000 people.

The fire is likely to affect Oahu’s fresh water supply, though this is challenging to measure. Oahu’s 1 million residents and visitors get their drinking water from aquifers, but it usually takes decades for rain to seep through the ground to recharge them. Native forests are the best at absorbing rain, so the disappearance of high-quality forest is certain to have some effect, Watson said.

State officials are seeking additional funding from the Legislature next year for updated firefighting equipment, firebreaks, new water sources for fire suppression, replanting native trees and plants, and seed storage.

Firefighters and rain last week finally tamped down the Oahu blaze, but Gon urged action now “to make sure that it doesn’t turn into yearly fires nibbling away at the source of our water supply.”

Ukraine Delegation in US for Talks, Top Zelenskyy Aide Says

Top Ukraine presidential aide Andriy Yermak said Sunday he had arrived in the United States with a delegation headed by the economy minister for talks on cooperation and support to his war-torn country.  

 

“Meetings in the White House, Congress, with think tanks and with representatives of civil society organizations are planned,” Yermak said.   

 

The delegation led by Yulia Svyrydenko will discuss “the president’s formula for peace, strengthening Ukraine’s defense, comprehensively deepening our cooperation and many other important topics,” he added.  

 

Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are regularly meeting with Western leaders to try to stave off conflict fatigue.  

 

The war is now in its 21st month and Ukraine is struggling to gain ground in its counteroffensive.

If Reelected, Biden Wants to Complete His Goals on Civil Rights, Taxes, Social Services

President Joe Biden has a simple reelection pitch to voters — let him “finish the job.”

So what does that mean? What’s left for him to get done?

Unlike Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination who has been releasing videos and statements detailing his agenda, Biden hasn’t formally released his plans as part of his campaign.

But his ambitions are no secret, and his goals for child care, community college and prescription drugs have been laid out in detail during the Democrat’s first term. He also has unfulfilled promises on civil rights, such as protecting access to the ballot box, preventing police misconduct and restoring the nationwide right to abortion. Banning firearms known as assault rifles remains a priority as well.

The result is a second-term agenda that could look a lot like Biden’s first-term agenda, with some of the same political challenges. Almost none of this can get done without cooperation from Congress, and many of these goals already have been blocked or pared down because of opposition on Capitol Hill.

Biden has achieved bipartisan victories on infrastructure projects and public funding for the domestic computer chip industry. But Democrats would need to win wide majorities in both the House and the Senate to clear a path for the rest of his plans.

“We’re going to finish as much of the job as we can in the next year,” said Bruce Reed, Biden’s deputy chief of staff. “And finish the rest after that.”

Taxes

Biden’s plans are expensive and he doesn’t want to increase the deficit, so that means he’s looking to raise taxes on the wealthy.

He already has succeeded in implementing a 15% minimum tax on companies with annual income exceeding $1 billion.

Biden has proposed raising the top tax rate to 39.6%, the corporate tax rate to 28% and the stock buyback tax to 4%.

He wants a minimum tax of 25% on the wealthiest Americans, a levy that would be applied not only to income but unrealized capital gains. The idea, which Biden called the “billionaire minimum income tax,” could prove difficult to put in place, not to mention extremely hard to push through Congress, given Republican opposition to higher taxes.

Social services and health care

Biden’s original signature plan was known as Build Back Better, a cornucopia of proposals that would have dramatically changed the role of the federal government in Americans’ lives.

It was pared down because of resistance from Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who is a key vote in the narrowly divided Senate and announced this past week that he will not seek reelection. The result was the Inflation Reduction Act, which included financial incentives for clean energy and limits on prescription drug costs, but not many other programs.

Biden will want to bring back the ideas that were left on the cutting room floor. That includes making two years of community college tuition free, offering universal preschool and limiting the cost of child care to 7% of income for most families.

He also wants to resuscitate the expanded child tax credit. The American Rescue Plan, the pandemic-era relief legislation, boosted the credit to $3,000 for children over six and $3,600 for children younger than age 6. The expansion lapsed after a year, returning the credit to $2,000 per child, when his original package stalled.

More work is left on prescription drugs. The monthly cost of insulin was capped at $35 for Medicare recipients. Biden wants the same limit for all patients.

Gun violence

The White House recently announced a new office dedicated to preventing gun violence. Biden also signed legislation that’s intended to help officials keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and other dangerous people.

But Biden’s biggest goal, a ban on so-called assault weapons, remains out of reach because of Republican opposition. Such a ban was in place from 1994 to 2004, but it wasn’t extended after it expired. Although the proposal hasn’t been spelled out in detail, it would likely affect popular high-powered weapons such as the AR-15, which can shoot dozens of bullets at a fast pace.

Another item on the wish list is universal background checks, which increase scrutiny of sales conducted through gun shows or other unlicensed avenues.

Civil rights

Biden took office at a time of national upheaval over the role of racism in policing and the future of democracy. George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis, was murdered by a white police officer, and Trump tried to overturn Biden’s election victory, leading to the riot on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol.

Biden promised to address both of these issues through landmark legislation, but he came up short of his goals.

On policing, bipartisan negotiations on Capitol Hill failed to reach a deal, particularly when it came to making it easier to sue over allegations of misconduct. So Biden instead crafted an executive order with input from activists and police. The final version changes rules for federal law enforcement, but it does little to alter how local departments do their jobs.

He similarly issued an executive order on voting rights that aims to expand registration efforts. But Democratic legislation intended to solidify access to the ballot box failed to advance when some members of the party refused to sidestep Senate filibuster rules to pass it.

Biden’s presidency was upended by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed nationwide access to abortion. It’s proved to be a potential campaign issue for Democrats, but they have had less success in Congress. Biden said that if his party picks up more seats, he will push for legislation codifying the right to abortion.

Immigration

On Biden’s first day in office, he sent Congress his proposal for overhauling the country’s immigration system. The idea went nowhere.

But the president would want to take another swing at the issue in a second term. It will prove an especially urgent topic as migrants continue crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and the country looks for the next generation of workers to achieve its economic goals.

Biden wants to allow people who are in the United States illegally to apply for legal status and eventually citizenship. He also wants a smoother and expanded visa process, particularly for foreign graduates of American universities. These steps would be paired with additional resources for border enforcement.

Ukraine and Israel

Biden is facing two wars on two continents, and the fallout from each conflict will shape a second term even if the fighting ends before that.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been going on for almost two years, and Israel and Hamas began their latest clash about a month ago. Biden wants to send military support to Ukraine and Israel, something that he describes as “vital” to U.S. national security interests.

“History has taught us when terrorists don’t pay a price for their terror, when dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction,” he said in a recent Oval Office address.

His plans will require challenging congressional negotiations. Some Republicans are resisting more assistance for Ukraine after Congress has already approved $113 billion in security, economic and humanitarian resistance.

Both conflicts will likely require years of U.S. involvement. For example, Biden is looking for a new opportunity to push for a two-state solution in the Middle East, creating an independent Palestinian country alongside Israel.

Climate

Fighting global warming is one of the areas where Biden has had the most success. The Inflation Reduction Act includes nearly $375 billion for climate change, much of it going toward financial incentives for electric cars, clean energy and other initiatives. Biden is also pushing stricter regulations on vehicles and power plants.

But the U.S. is not yet on track to meet Biden’s ambitious target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to independent analysts. And there’s a lot of work ahead to ensure new programs reach their potential.

One hurdle is red tape for energy projects. The White House argues that it’s too hard to build infrastructure such as transmission lines, but legislation to address the issue would likely require compromises with Republicans, who see an opportunity to grease the skids for additional fossil fuel development.

«Повітряний щит сильніший, ніж торік» – Зеленський про загрози ударів РФ по інфраструктурі

У 2022 році російські військові почали масовані обстріли української енергетичної та іншої важливої інфраструктури 10 жовтня. Через деякий час, приблизно в листопаді 2022 року, це спричинило суттєві проблеми в енергетиці

Biden Will Push China to Resume Military Ties With US, Official Says 

U.S. President Joe Biden wants to re-establish military-to-military ties with China, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday, days before the president and the Chinese leader are set to meet. 

Biden will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in person for the first time in a year on Wednesday during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. It will be only the second in-person meeting between the two leaders since Biden took office in January 2021. 

“The president is determined to see the re-establishment of military-to-military ties because he believes it’s in the U.S. national security interest,” Sullivan said in an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “We need those lines of communication so that there aren’t mistakes or miscalculations or miscommunication.” 

Sullivan said restored military ties could take place at every level from senior leadership to the tactical operational level, as well “on the water and in the air in the Indo-Pacific.” 

Sullivan said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Biden would seek to “advance the ball” on military ties during his meeting with Xi, but declined to provide further details. 

“The Chinese have basically severed those communication links. President Biden would like to re-establish that,” Sullivan said. “This is a top agenda item.” 

The Biden-Xi meeting is expected to cover global issues from the Israel-Hamas war to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, North Korea’s ties with Russia, Taiwan, the Indo-Pacific, human rights, fentanyl production, artificial intelligence, as well as “fair” trade and economic relations, a senior U.S. official said. 

Relations between the two countries grew frosty after Biden ordered the shooting down in February of a suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over the United States. But top Biden administration officials have since visited Beijing and met with their counterparts to rebuild communications and trust. 

Close Calls Between Planes Show That Aviation Is Under Stress, US Official Says

The nation’s top accident investigator said Thursday that a surge in close calls between planes at U.S. airports this year is a “clear warning sign” that the aviation system is under stress.

“While these events are incredibly rare, our safety system is showing clear signs of strain that we cannot ignore,” Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, told a Senate panel on Thursday.

Homendy warned that air traffic and staffing shortages have surged since the pandemic. She said there has been a “lack of meaningful” training — and more reliance on computer-based instruction — by the Federal Aviation Administration and airlines, and too many irregular work schedules among pilots and air traffic controllers.

“Where you end up with that is distraction, fatigue,” she told the aviation subcommittee. “You are missing things, you are forgetting things.”

The NTSB is investigating six close calls, or what aviation insiders call “runway incursions.” The FAA identified 23 of the most serious types of close calls in the last fiscal year, which ended Oct. 1, up from 16 the year before and 11 a decade ago. Independent estimates suggest those figures grossly understate such incidents.

Thursday’s hearing included only a momentary discussion of pilot mental health, which is on travelers’ minds because of the arrest of an off-duty pilot accused of trying to disable a plane in midflight and a co-pilot who allegedly threatened to shoot the captain. Critics have pointed out that federal screening relies on pilots to disclose whether they are taking medication or being treated for mental illness including depression.

The FAA said separately that it will appoint a committee of medical experts and aviation and union leaders to make recommendations “on breaking down the barriers that prevent pilots from reporting mental health issues to the agency.”

The Senate hearing produced no new ideas for increasing safety but brought a new warning about the potential for travel disruptions over the upcoming holidays because the FAA doesn’t have enough air traffic controllers.

“We are not healthier than we were last year, controller-wise,” said Rich Santa, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. “I think FAA’s own numbers indicate we have potentially six more air traffic controllers than we had last year.”

The union president said many controllers are forced to work 10-hour days or six-day weeks.

The Transportation Department’s inspector general criticized the FAA in a report this summer, saying the agency has made only “limited efforts” to fix a shortage at staffing at critical air traffic control centers.

Among the close calls in recent months, the scariest occurred in February in Austin, Texas. During poor visibility in the early morning hours, a FedEx cargo plane preparing to land flew over the top of a Southwest Airlines jet that was taking off. The NTSB has estimated that they came within about 30 meters of colliding.

An air traffic controller had cleared both planes to use the same runway. In other recent incidents, pilots appeared to be at fault by failing to follow orders from controllers.

US, Japan, South Korea to Share North Korea Missile Data

Defense chiefs from South Korea, Japan and the United States have agreed to start in December as planned a real-time data-sharing operation on North Korean missiles, South Korea’s defense ministry said Sunday.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met his South Korean counterpart Shin Won-sik in Seoul Sunday with Japanese defense minister Minoru Kihara joining the meeting online.

The ministers discussed strengthening their three-way cooperation in the face of “severe security environments,” Kihara told reporters. It was the first time the three ministers held such a gathering, he said.

“We confirmed that we are steadily making adjustments, bringing the process to the final stage,” Kihara added.

U.S. President Joe Biden agreed with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at an Aug. 18 summit that, by the end of this year, the three countries would share North Korea missile warning data in real time.

The ministers also condemned growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia as a violation of U.N. resolutions, the South Korean defense ministry said in a statement, and also stressed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Separately, General Charles Q. Brown, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, held talks with his South Korean counterpart in Seoul Sunday, the South Korean military said.

In his first visit to South Korea since he took office in October, the top U.S. general discussed the “continuous provocations” of North Korea, including missile launches, and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the defense of South Korea, the South Korean joint chiefs of staff said in a statement.

US House Speaker Johnson Floats Measure to Avert Gov’t Shutdown

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a Republican stopgap spending measure Saturday, aimed at averting a government shutdown, but the measure quickly ran into opposition from lawmakers from both parties in Congress.

“This two-step continuing resolution is a necessary bill to place House Republicans in the best position to fight for conservative victories,” Johnson said in a statement after announcing the plan to House Republicans in a conference call.

The House and Democratic-led Senate must agree on a spending vehicle that President Joe Biden can sign into law by Nov. 17, or risk a fourth partial government shutdown in a decade that would close national parks, disrupt pay for as many as 4 million federal workers and disrupt a swath of activities from financial oversight to scientific research.

Unlike ordinary continuing resolutions, or “CRs,” that fund federal agencies for a specific period, the measure announced by Johnson would fund some parts of the government until Jan. 19 and others until Feb. 2. House Republicans hope to pass the measure Tuesday.

The bill surfaced a day after Moody’s, the last major credit ratings agency to maintain a top “AAA” rating on the U.S. government, lowered its outlook on the nation’s credit to “negative” from “stable,” citing political polarization in Congress on spending as a danger to the nation’s fiscal health.

Johnson, the top Republican in Congress, appeared to be appealing to two warring House Republican factions: hardliners who wanted legislation with multiple end-dates; and centrists who had called for a “clean” stopgap measure free of spending cuts and conservative policy riders that Democrats reject.

But the plan quickly came under fire from members of both parties.

“My opposition to the clean CR just announced by the Speaker to the @HouseGOP cannot be overstated,” Representative Chip Roy, a member of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, said on the social media platform “X,” formerly known as Twitter.

“It’s a 100% clean. And I 100% oppose,” wrote Roy, who had called for the new measure to include spending cuts.

Democratic Senator Brian Schatz called Johnson’s measure “super convoluted,” adding that “all of this nonsense costs taxpayer money.”

“We are going to pass a clean short-term CR. The only question is whether we do it stupidly and catastrophically or we do it like adults,” Schatz said on X.

The House Republican stopgap contained no supplemental funding such as aid for Israel and Ukraine.

Johnson’s House Republicans have passed a $14.3 billion aid bill for Israel, which would be paid for by cuts to the Internal Revenue Service budget. He has also called for tying Ukraine aid to tighter security at the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats largely oppose both approaches.

“Separating out the CR from the supplemental funding debates places our conference in the best position to fight for fiscal responsibility, oversight over Ukraine aid, and meaningful policy changes at our Southern border,” Johnson’s statement said.

If Congress can pass a stopgap measure in time to keep federal agencies afloat, lawmakers are expected to use the time to negotiate spending legislation for the 2024 fiscal year that runs through Sept. 30.

House Republican hardliners have been pushing to cut fiscal 2024 spending below the $1.59 trillion level that Biden and Johnson’s predecessor agreed in the May deal that averted default. But even that is a small slice of the overall federal budget, which also includes mandatory outlays for Social Security and Medicare, and topped $6.1 trillion in fiscal 2023.

Johnson, who won the speaker’s gavel less than three weeks ago, could put his own political future at risk if his current plan fails to win support for passage and he is forced to go with a standard CR that Democrats can accept.

His predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, was ousted from the job by eight Republican hardliners early last month, after he moved a bipartisan measure to avert a shutdown on Oct. 1, when fiscal 2024 began. McCarthy opted for the bipartisan route after hardliners blocked a Republican stopgap measure with features intended to appease them. 

Researchers, Farmers, Brewers Want to Safeguard Beer Against Climate Change

On a bright day this fall, tractors crisscrossed Gayle Goschie’s farm about an hour outside Portland, Oregon. Goschie is in the beer business — a fourth-generation hops farmer. Fall is the off-season, when the trellises are bare, but recently, her farming team has been adding winter barley, a relatively newer crop in the world of beer, to their rotation, preparing barley seeds by the bucketful.

In the face of human-caused climate change impacting water access and weather patterns in the Willamette Valley — a region known for hops growing — Goschie will need all the new strategies the farm can get to sustain what they produce and provide to local and larger breweries alike.

All of a sudden, climate change “was not coming any longer,” Goschie said, “it was here.”

Climate change is anticipated to only further the challenges producers are already seeing in two key beer crops, hops and barley. Some hops and barley growers in the U.S. say they’ve already seen their crops impacted by extreme heat, drought and unpredictable growing seasons. Researchers are working with growers to help counter the effects of more volatile weather systems with improved hop varieties that can withstand drought and by adding winter barley to the mix.

Researchers have known for a while that beer production will be affected by climate change, said Mirek Trnka, a professor at the Global Change Research Institute. He and his team recently authored a study modeling the effect of climate change on hops, out last month in Nature Communications, that projected that yields in Europe will decrease between 4-18% by 2050. His first study on hops 15 years ago issued a similar warning to his latest paper.

“If we don’t act, we’re just going to also lose things that we consider not to be, for example, sensitive or related to climate change. Like beer,” he said.

Climate change moves faster than we might realize – but still too slowly for many to notice, he said. The fact that researchers have started picking up on this means that there’s promise for adaptation and solutions in the form of farming changes, but Trnka still has his concerns.

Hops declines in Europe mean changes for American producers too. One craft brewery that gets some of their hops from Goschie said that the company is trying to replicate the flavors of German hops using new varieties grown in the U.S. because the ones they depend upon from Europe have been impacted by hot, dry summers over the last couple of years.

That’s why some researchers are working on varieties of hops that can better withstand summer heat, warmer winters, changing pests and diseases and less snowfall, which could mean less available irrigation, said Shaun Townsend, an associate professor and senior researcher at Oregon State University. Townsend is working on a project where he subjects hops to drought stress to eventually create more drought-tolerant varieties.

It’s no easy task, one that can take a decade, and one that also has to take into account brewers’ main considerations, taste and yield. But the possibility of running out of water is a reality that’s on people’s radars, he said.

Better hops might still be a technology that’s a work in progress, but the story of barley improvements is already well under way. Kevin Smith, professor of agronomy and plant genetics at the University of Minnesota, said that while spring barley is the dominant type for the U.S. beer industry, winter barley – which is planted in the fall and kept on fields during the coldest months of the year – may be more feasible now in the Midwest, where other barley types had been given up due to climate, plant disease and economic factors in favor of crops that are less risky.

Winter barley may also be desirable for craft breweries that have started emphasizing local ingredients and who want something grown close by. And it can also be grown as a cover crop, meaning that farmers can prevent erosion, improve their soil health and keep carbon stored in the ground by planting it during the off-season when fields are normally bare.

But there hasn’t always been complete consensus on the promise of winter barley. Smith told a story about his predecessor, who was a longtime spring barley breeder. Another scientist – Patrick Hayes, a professor at Oregon State University – was describing to him his hopes for the future of winter barley. Smith’s predecessor wrote on a business card, “it can’t be done,” referring to his firm belief that winter barley just wasn’t worth the trouble.

Hayes kept the card in his office, and has made it his life’s mission to work on improving winter barley.

There are now winter barley programs at nearly every state in the country, said Ashley McFarland, the vice president and technical director of the American Malting Barley Association. She doesn’t think winter barley will ever be the entirety of the crop in the U.S. but says that producers will need to diversify their risk to be more resilient to climate shocks.

Molson Coors and Anheuser Busch, the two biggest beer companies in the U.S., issue annual environmental reports that pledge commitments to sustainably sourcing hops and barley and reducing water usage, but neither company responded to an Associated Press request for comment on the specifics of those efforts.

Hops can be a finicky crop when it comes to their climate, and without water, you simply can’t make beer, said Douglass Miller, senior lecturer at Cornell who teaches a class on beer. He added that the price of beer might rise due to climate impacts on the supply chain — but so will the price of everything else on the menu. “All beverage categories are being impacted by this,” he said.

Trump Pushes for Federal Election Interference Case to be Televised

Donald Trump is pushing for his federal election interference trial in Washington to be televised, joining media outlets that say the American public should be able to watch the historic case unfold. 

Federal court rules prohibit broadcasting proceedings, but The Associated Press and other news organizations say the unprecedented case of a former president standing trial on accusations that he tried to subvert the will of voters — warrants making an exception. 

The Justice Department is opposing the effort, arguing that the judge overseeing the case does not have the authority to ignore the long-standing nationwide policy against cameras in federal courtrooms. The trial is scheduled to begin on March 4. 

Lawyers for Trump wrote in court papers filed late Friday that all Americans should be able to observe what they characterize as a politically motivated prosecution of the Republican front-runner for his party’s presidential nomination in 2024. The defense also suggested Trump will try to use the trial as a platform to repeat his unfounded claims that the 2020 election that he lost to Democrat Joe Biden was stolen from him. Trump has pleaded not guilty. 

“President Trump absolutely agrees, and in fact demands, that these proceedings should be fully televised so that the American public can see firsthand that this case, just like others, is nothing more than a dreamt-up unconstitutional charade that should never be allowed to happen again,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. 

The request for a televised trial comes as the Washington case has emerged as the most potent and direct legal threat to Trump’s political fortunes. Trump is accused of illegally scheming to overturn the election results in the run-up to the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, by his supporters. 

Trump has repeatedly sought to delay the Washington trial date until after the 2024 election. But U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who was nominated for the bench by Democratic President Barack Obama, appears determined to keep it as scheduled. 

On Friday in Florida, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is handling the separate classified documents prosecution of Trump, pushed back multiple deadlines in a way that makes it highly unlikely that case can proceed to trial in May, as had been planned. Trump is facing dozens of felony counts under the Espionage Act. He has pleaded not guilty. 

Lack of transparency can sow distrust, say news outlets

The news outlets wrote in their request to Chutkan last month that a lack of transparency can sow distrust in the legal system. They said that is particularly dangerous in a case where “a polarized electorate includes tens of millions of people who, according to opinion polls, still believe that the 2020 election was decided by fraud.” 

“It would be a great loss if future generations of Americans were forever deprived of being able to access and view the events of this trial even years after the verdict, which would immeasurably improve the ability of future journalists and historians to retell accurately and meaningfully analyze this unique chapter of American history,” Rebecca Blumenstein, president of editorial for NBC News, wrote in a court filing. 

Some state courts allow cameras in the courtroom. The public has been able to watch proceedings held by the judge overseeing the Georgia election case against Trump and 18 co-defendants. 

Photographers have been permitted to take photos of Trump inside the courtroom during his civil fraud trial in New York, but the trial has not been broadcast. 

Cameras could affect witnesses, says Justice Department

The Justice Department has said that knowledge that cameras are in the courtroom can affect lawyers and witnesses in “subtle ways” and lead to grandstanding. Noting the “ever-increasing acrimony in public discourse,” prosecutors said witnesses who testify on camera may also be harassed or threatened. 

“When a witness’s image is captured on video, it is not just a fleeting image, but it exists indefinitely,” the government said. “Were there an appeal and retrial, witnesses who were subjected to scrutiny and harassment on social media may be unwilling to testify again.” 

The coronavirus pandemic led the federal courts to temporarily relax its rules, allowing the public to listen to many proceedings over the telephone or videoconference. The U.S. Supreme Court has continued to provide a live audio feed of its arguments since the pandemic began. 

The policymaking body of the federal courts adopted a new policy in September that allows judges to provide live audio access to non-trial proceedings in civil and bankruptcy cases. It does not apply in criminal cases. 

News outlets had previously asked the federal courts’ policymakers to revise the rules to allow broadcasting, at least in cases where there is an extraordinary public interest. The chair of the advisory committee last month agreed to establish a subcommittee to study the issue, though it’s highly unlikely any rules changes would come before Trump’s trial. 

«Зупиніть воєнні злочини Росії». У Празі пікетували посольство РФ

Мітинг організувала чесько-словацька спільнота міжнародного руху «НАФО» («північноатлантична організація чуваків»), яка займається протидією російській державній пропаганді й дезінформації під час російського повномасштабного вторгнення в Україну