В субботу во второй половине дня в Италии начались двухдневные выборы в Европарламент, они проводятся в стране в третий раз.
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Month: June 2024
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
- President Joe Biden’s reelection bid has the strong backing of most elected Democrats.
- Biden is committed to the race, but there’s public speculation on whether he’ll stay in the contest.
- In the unlikely event that Biden left the race, an array of Democrats would be in the mix to lead the party.
After President Joe Biden announced his reelection bid last April, the vast majority of Democratic leaders coalesced around his candidacy, which wasn’t surprising for an incumbent.
But Biden has one of the most unusual backgrounds of any president in US history: He’s been a fixture in Washington for more than 50 years as a Delaware senator, vice president, and now president. And if he’s reelected to a second term this fall, he’d be 82 years old at the time of his inauguration in January 2025 and 86 at the end of a second term.
Biden’s age has become a cause of concern among many voters, including some who are inclined to back him over former President Donald Trump. The worries were amplified after the special counsel Robert Hur released his report on the probe into Biden’s handling of classified documents, in which no charges were recommended, but the president’s acuity and memory were questioned.
Through it all, Biden has defended his reelection bid, argued that his age is an asset, pushed back against the special-counsel report, and articulated why he should be reelected — pointing to accomplishments such as the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Inflation Reduction Act and touting the low national unemployment numbers.
What does this all mean? Biden is unlikely to leave the race, especially as he dominated the Democratic presidential primaries and is committed to a rematch with Trump. But speculation about whether he’ll bow out of the contest continues to swirl.
In the event that Biden does somehow bow out after winning the overwhelming majority of the 3,936 delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination, a new nominee would have to be selected at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this August. But it’d be a messy process given that the primaries are now completed.
Virtually every major Democratic governor or senator is behind the president’s reelection bid and long ago dismissed the thought of replacing him on the ballot this year.
But who could be a Biden successor if such a scenario were to occur?
Vice President Kamala Harris
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meeting with US Vice President Kamala Harris at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
WOLFGANG RATTAY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Harris, by many measures, would be a natural successor to Biden.
As vice president, she’s worked closely with Biden on things as varied as voting rights and foreign policy. She was previously a San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general, and California senator and is a historic figure in her own right as the first Black, Indian American, and female vice president.
And she has become the face of the administration’s challenge to the raft of GOP-crafted abortion restrictions following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
But Harris previously launched a 2020 presidential bid that seemed promising but fell flat with voters over time. (She eventually ended her campaign before the start of the primaries and caucuses.)
As vice president, Harris has been heavily praised by Biden. But her office struggled with turnover and reports of dysfunction earlier in her term. She has also had to contend with less-than-ideal approval ratings, which have raised concerns among some Democrats about her electability as the party also looks to 2028 — when she’d be a potential frontrunner, given her positive marks with Black voters and young voters.
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California 
President Joe Biden with California Gov. Gavin Newsom during a visit to the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center and Preserve in Palo Alto, California, in June.
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Gov. Gavin Newsom, a former San Francisco mayor who was also California’s lieutenant governor, leads the most populated state in the country and, in recent years, has become one of Biden’s most prominent Democratic surrogates.
California is often used as a foil by national Republicans to contrast with the conservative policies of states such as Florida and Texas. But Newsom has been outspoken in not only promoting the Golden State but touting Democratic policy stances and legislative wins — and he’s not afraid to take his arguments straight to the GOP.
As governor, Newsom has taken on more moderate stances in recent years on issues involving labor and tackling homelessness in his state.
Newsom’s political trajectory could collide with that of Harris, his fellow Bay Area native, but they’ve long maintained a strong working relationship, and the governor has been highly complimentary of her work with Biden.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan 
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan at the Riga Castle in Riga, Latvia.
Gints Ivuskans/DeFodi Images via Getty Images
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the two-term governor of battleground Michigan, is accustomed to tough political fights. And over the course of her governorship, she has won a lot of those battles: Democrats in recent years have performed strongly in the Wolverine State, holding every top statewide office and flipping control of the state legislature in the 2022 midterm elections.
When Whitmer ran for reelection in 2022 against the Republican Tudor Dixon, she won by nearly 11 points, reflective of her broad appeal with the electorate in a state where the margins are often tight.
This fall, Michigan is expected to be one of the closest states in the country in the presidential race. And Whitmer, a former state lawmaker and ex-prosecutor, is set to be a critical voice for the Biden campaign across Michigan.
The governor has encouraged Biden to speak more forcefully about abortion rights, an issue that has galvanized many voters — but especially women — across the country after Roe was overturned.
In a potential field without Biden, Whitmer’s Midwestern background, strong alliance with organized labor, and moderate appeal could make her a strong contender. But she would also be a new face in a contest that will probably feature Trump on the GOP side.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota 
Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Capitol Hill.
Samuel Corum/Pool/AFP
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who’s served in the Senate since 2007, ran for president in 2020 and made a surprisingly strong finish in the New Hampshire primary — even outperforming Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts at the time.
But her campaign wasn’t able to get the sort of momentum it needed in the South Carolina primary for her to continue her bid, and she exited the race.
Still, Klobuchar would be a candidate to watch in an open field, as she boosted her national presence in the primary and could point to a long-standing record of bipartisan accomplishments representing Minnesota in the Senate.
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey 
Cory Booker has served in the Senate since 2013.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Sen. Cory Booker also ran for president in 2020, ending his campaign in January that year.
But the former Newark mayor has been a national figure for years and is seen as a likely 2028 contender.
He could easily jump-start a potential 2028 campaign in South Carolina, as he campaigned throughout the state in 2019 and 2020.
In the scenario that Democrats would have to choose a candidate other than Biden, he would probably be a part of the conversation.
Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina 
Gov. Roy Cooper speaks at an event with Biden in Greensboro, North Carolina, in April 2022.
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
Gov. Roy Cooper isn’t a big name among Democratic voters outside North Carolina, at least not yet. The former state lawmaker, onetime North Carolina attorney general, and current two-term governor rose through the ranks of government and, along the way, navigated political divides that would bedevil most politicians.
In a GOP-leaning state where Democratic candidates have to compete on tricky terrain, Cooper, a moderate, has come out on top.
Democrats have not tapped a Southern governor as their presidential nominee since Bill Clinton in 1992. Looking to the future, probably in 2028, Cooper is someone who’s poised to be on the minds of many in the party.
Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland 
Gov. Wes Moore is a combat veteran who served in Afghanistan.
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
Gov. Wes Moore, an Army veteran who’s also a Rhodes Scholar, was first elected to the governorship in 2022. He has focused heavily on tackling issues such as child poverty and housing affordability, two of the most vexing public-policy challenges for leaders on both the state and federal levels.
One of Moore’s major pushes is to reshape how patriotism is defined in politics, as he told Business Insider during his first gubernatorial campaign that one party or movement couldn’t claim the idea as their own.
“I refuse to let anybody try to wrestle that away,” Moore told BI in an October 2022 interview, “or claim that they have a higher stake or some higher claim to it than I or my family or people who I served with or my community members.”
The governor, seen by many as a potential 2028 contender, has been a strong political ally of both Biden and Harris.
While Moore may be relatively new to elective politics, his profile only continues to grow within the Democratic Party.
Correction: February 23, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated one of President Joe Biden’s arguments for why he should be reelected. He has touted low national unemployment numbers, not low national employment numbers.
Read the original article on Business Insider
The post 7 Democrats who could replace Biden if he drops his 2024 reelection bid first appeared on The News And Times.
OMAR AL-QATTAA/Getty
- On top of a humanitarian crisis, Palestinians in Gaza are also facing an economic crisis.
- Gaza’s unemployment is nearing 80%. And even children are scrambling to feed families.
- Facing famine, children have been trying to sell anything they can, according to reports from Gaza.
As Israeli airstrikes in Gaza leave scores of civilians injured or dead, those who survive have had to find a way to push forward.
It’s a stark reality as the devastation leaves few jobs to go around. Unemployment in Gaza is nearing 80%. And even children are now forced to find any food or cash they can, the United Nations reported on Friday.
Speaking at the International Labor Conference in Geneva on Thursday, the UN agency’s director-general, Gilbert Houngbo, said Gaza’s economy had “literally collapsed” since the “horrific” Hamas attack in October and Israel’s “relentless war” in retaliation.
“Today, Gaza is in ruins. Livelihoods are shattered, and work is scarce. Labor rights have been decimated,” Houngbo said, according to the press release.
Al Jazeera previously published videos of children working as street sellers to support their families.
“I sell chocolate and provide for my family and siblings,” one 12-year-old boy in Rafah told the outlet, adding that his home had been bombed.
In Geneva, Houngbo said the last eight months of war have created “the hardest year for Palestinian workers since 1967.”
“Never before has the situation been this bleak,” he said, according to the UN press release.
The economic crisis compounds the humanitarian crisis in the region as scores of Palestinians remain displaced and facing famine, the Associated Press reported.
In addition to its offensive that has killed over 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, Israel is fighting a PR battle on an international scale as US officials begin to doubt whether Israel can actually achieve “total victory” and eradicate Hamas.
Read the original article on Business Insider
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Charen: Trump’s COVID response was worse than we remember Standard-Examiner
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Multiple reports said that USA basketball has chosen the 12-woman roster for the Olympic team in Paris and it does not include one of the biggest names in the sport.
The roster reportedly chosen to go to Paris for this summer’s Olympics is a collection of WNBA superstars including A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Brittney Griner, and more. Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever rookie guard who entered the WNBA after a historic college career at Iowa, was reportedly not selected to go to the Olympics.
Team USA has been utterly dominant at the Olympics winning the last seven gold medals in women’s basketball with dream rosters of WNBA superstars throughout the years.
Reported 2024 USA women’s basketball Olympic roster
- A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces)
- Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty)
- Diana Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury)
- Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut Sun)
- Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury)
- Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx)
- Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm)
- Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces)
- Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces)
- Kahleah Copper (Phoenix Mercury)
- Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty)
- Chelsea Gray (Las Vegas Aces)
The reported USA roster has combined to win 18 WNBA championships rings, four WNBA MVP awards, and made 55 all-star appearances. They will open the Olympic tournament on July 29 against Japan in Lille.
While the USA roster looks certain to dominate and win an eighth consecutive Olympic gold, the exclusion of Clark will likely be a major talking point.
Clark’s performances made sellouts the norm at Iowa and now for Indiana Fever games, which has spurred huge television ratings throughout her college career and more of the same in the WNBA. The all-time NCAA scorer was named the WNBA rookie of the month for May and is currently averaging 16.8 points per game along with six assists, 1.5 steals, and 2.8 three-pointers.
She was also the topic of widespread discussion after Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter knocked her to the floor before an inbound pass. Carter was charged with a flagrant foul in a viral incident that sparked debate. “I grew up playing basketball with the boys. It’s always been physical and feisty and you have to find a way to hold your own,” Clark said.
A women’s 3×3 basketball team is also going to Paris, which includes WNBA rookie Cameron Brink, college guard Hailey Van Lith, WNBA all-star Rhyne Howard, and Cierra Burdick. You can watch all of the Olympic basketball tournaments on NBC4 and NBC Universal channels.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
