Some vying for the Democratic presidential nomination are loud and proud about their friendship with him. Others claim ideological kinship. And still others are taking distance from his record to stand out.

But one thing is for sure: Barack Obama is not saying anything -- well, much of anything.

The 58-year-old former president, who left power nearly three years ago with his popularity soaring, is quietly watching to see who in his party will duke it out with Donald Trump on November 3, 2020.

Beyond his positions on health care or immigration or education, numerous White House hopefuls have made reference to Obama's style -- a certain class in the way he exercised his power that is in stark contrast to the attitude of the billionaire Republican who succeeded him.

With less than three months to go before the first Democrats make their choice in the Iowa caucuses, the race is still entirely up in the air.

The next Democratic primary debate is set for Wednesday in Atlanta with 10 candidates on the stage and eager to score points -- <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/joe-biden-to-kick-off-us-presidential-bid-with-speech-to-union-workers-214499">Joe Biden</a>, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Tulsi Gabbard, Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer.

At this point, it's impossible to predict who will ultimately claim the party's nomination.

And the list of those who dream of wresting the Oval Office from Trump just keeps getting longer.

Billionaire former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is once again flirting with a run, and former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick threw his hat in the ring this week.

The late entrance by Patrick, one of the first black governors in US history who is close to Obama, fueled speculation about the doubts that the ex-president may have about the ability of the candidates already in the race, including his vice president Biden, to take out Trump.

'My friend Barack'

Many of the questions indeed focus on Biden, who has been saddled with the moniker "Sleepy Joe" by Trump. While he remains one of the favourites, observers fear the 76-year-old from Delaware cannot go the distance.

On the campaign trail, Biden never misses a chance to highlight his close relationship with his "friend Barack," and their eight years in power.

Biden is no stranger to campaign politics, and when he launched his latest White House bid, he underscored the fact that he had specifically asked Obama not to back him from the outset... even though the former president had never indicated he would do so.

"President Obama has no plans to weigh in on the primary at this point -- preferring instead to let the candidates make their cases directly to voters," a source close to the former president told AFP.

But the 44th president of the United States has, unsurprisingly, ideas about how his party should approach the election to ensure that Trump is limited to just one term in office.

Little by little, he is positioning himself. In remarks Friday night to donors at the Democracy Alliance in Washington, he offered a few hints about how he sees the upcoming battle for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

'Tested' candidate&nbsp;

While he insisted on the need for new ideas from the party about reducing income inequality and other key issues, he issued a very clear warning about the temptation to take a sharp turn to the political left.

"Even as we push the envelope and we are bold in our vision, we also have to be rooted in reality," he said.

"The average American doesn't think we have to completely tear down the system and remake it," he added, noting that the United States was "a country that is less revolutionary than it is interested in improvement."

He called on the party faithful -- and by extension, its presidential candidates -- to be mindful that Democrats, independents and even moderate Republicans "are not driven by the same views that are reflected on certain, you know, left-leaning Twitter feeds, or the activist wing of our party."

He did not name names, but Warren and Sanders -- who have called for nothing short of a "political revolution -- certainly come to mind.

Obama appeared to want to reassure the many Democrats who fear that the crowded primary will end up being counterproductive, given that the incumbent Trump is all ready to run with a massive campaign war chest.

"For those who get stressed about robust primaries, I just have to remind you that I had a very robust primary," he said, recalling his at times acrimonious 2008 battle with Hillary Clinton.

"I'm confident that at the end of the process, we will have a candidate that has been tested."&nbsp;

Some vying for the Democratic presidential nomination are loud and proud about their friendship with him. Others claim ideological kinship. And still others are taking distance from his record to stand out.

Some vying for the Democratic presidential nomination are loud and proud about their friendship with him. Others claim ideological kinship. And still others are taking distance from his record to stand out. But one thing is for sure: Barack Obama is not saying anything -- well, much of anything. The 58-year-old former president, who left power nearly three years ago with his popularity soaring, is quietly watching to see who in his party will duke it out with Donald Trump on November 3, 2020. Beyond his positions on health care or immigration or education, numerous White House hopefuls have made reference to Obama's style -- a certain class in the way he exercised his power that is in stark contrast to the attitude of the billionaire Republican who succeeded him. With less than three months to go before the first Democrats make their choice in the Iowa caucuses, the race is still entirely up in the air. The next Democratic primary debate is set for Wednesday in Atlanta with 10 candidates on the stage and eager to score points -- Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Tulsi Gabbard, Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer. At this point, it's impossible to predict who will ultimately claim the party's nomination. And the list of those who dream of wresting the Oval Office from Trump just keeps getting longer. Billionaire former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is once again flirting with a run, and former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick threw his hat in the ring this week. The late entrance by Patrick, one of the first black governors in US history who is close to Obama, fueled speculation about the doubts that the ex-president may have about the ability of the candidates already in the race, including his vice president Biden, to take out Trump. 'My friend Barack' Many of the questions indeed focus on Biden, who has been saddled with the moniker "Sleepy Joe" by Trump. While he remains one of the favourites, observers fear the 76-year-old from Delaware cannot go the distance. On the campaign trail, Biden never misses a chance to highlight his close relationship with his "friend Barack," and their eight years in power. Biden is no stranger to campaign politics, and when he launched his latest White House bid, he underscored the fact that he had specifically asked Obama not to back him from the outset... even though the former president had never indicated he would do so. "President Obama has no plans to weigh in on the primary at this point -- preferring instead to let the candidates make their cases directly to voters," a source close to the former president told AFP. But the 44th president of the United States has, unsurprisingly, ideas about how his party should approach the election to ensure that Trump is limited to just one term in office. Little by little, he is positioning himself. In remarks Friday night to donors at the Democracy Alliance in Washington, he offered a few hints about how he sees the upcoming battle for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. 'Tested' candidate While he insisted on the need for new ideas from the party about reducing income inequality and other key issues, he issued a very clear warning about the temptation to take a sharp turn to the political left. "Even as we push the envelope and we are bold in our vision, we also have to be rooted in reality," he said. "The average American doesn't think we have to completely tear down the system and remake it," he added, noting that the United States was "a country that is less revolutionary than it is interested in improvement." He called on the party faithful -- and by extension, its presidential candidates -- to be mindful that Democrats, independents and even moderate Republicans "are not driven by the same views that are reflected on certain, you know, left-leaning Twitter feeds, or the activist wing of our party." He did not name names, but Warren and Sanders -- who have called for nothing short of a "political revolution -- certainly come to mind. Obama appeared to want to reassure the many Democrats who fear that the crowded primary will end up being counterproductive, given that the incumbent Trump is all ready to run with a massive campaign war chest. "For those who get stressed about robust primaries, I just have to remind you that I had a very robust primary," he said, recalling his at times acrimonious 2008 battle with Hillary Clinton. "I'm confident that at the end of the process, we will have a candidate that has been tested."

In White House race, who is Obama's political heir?

Democratic Presidential Frontrunner Bernie Sanders Sides With Pakistan, Slams India.

Gravitas: Bernie sanders takes Pro-Pal line with an Eye on the vote bank

Joe Biden maintained his lead for the Democratic presidential nomination as minorities gravitated toward the former vice president and his top rival, United States Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, in search of the safest bets for beating President Donald&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;in 2020, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The August 1-5 public opinion poll, released on Wednesday, showed that 22% of Democrats and independents would vote for Biden, a level that is unchanged from a similar poll that ran last month. Another 18% said they supported Sanders, up 2 percentage points from the July poll.

None of 23 other candidates received more than 9% in the poll.

Biden and Sanders offer Democrats sharply contrasting views on how to govern. Sanders leads the effort to expand government-run healthcare for all Americans while Biden offers a more moderate approach that would allow people to keep their existing healthcare plans.

Yet the choice for Democrats may have less to do with ideology and more to do with who is best suited to beat&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;in the November 2020 general election.

According to the poll, 36% of Democrats say they are simply looking for someone who can win. Only 11% say the most important quality is someone with a strong healthcare plan, and 5% say it is most important to pick a strong voice on the environment.

Biden and Sanders are currently viewed as the safest bets for beating&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;among all Democrats. Both improved their standing among minorities over the past month as&nbsp;Trump repeatedly vilified minority lawmakers in a series of tweets and public comments that infuriated Democrats and many others.

In one exchange&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;told four minority lawmakers who have been critical of his administration to "go back" to where they came from.

From July to August, both Biden and Sanders received a stronger level of support from minorities, and minorities also shifted their support away from lesser-known candidates like US Senator Kamala Harris of California and former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke.

Among racial minorities who identify as Democrats or independents, 23% said they would vote for Biden and 23% said they would support Sanders, which is up 2 points for each candidate from July.

Another 6% said they backed Harris, down 5 points from July, and 2% supported O'Rourke, down 3 points from the previous poll.

When asked who would be most likely to beat&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;in the 2020 general election, 33% of minorities picked Biden and 19% picked Sanders.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English throughout the United States. It gathered responses from 1,210 adults, including 483 racial minorities. It has a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of 5 percentage points.

Joe Biden maintained his lead for the Democratic presidential nomination as minorities gravitated toward the former vice president and his top rival, United States Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, in search of the safest bets for beating President Donald Trump in 2020, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Joe Biden maintained his lead for the Democratic presidential nomination as minorities gravitated toward the former vice president and his top rival, United States Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, in search of the safest bets for beating President Donald Trump in 2020, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. The August 1-5 public opinion poll, released on Wednesday, showed that 22% of Democrats and independents would vote for Biden, a level that is unchanged from a similar poll that ran last month. Another 18% said they supported Sanders, up 2 percentage points from the July poll. None of 23 other candidates received more than 9% in the poll. Biden and Sanders offer Democrats sharply contrasting views on how to govern. Sanders leads the effort to expand government-run healthcare for all Americans while Biden offers a more moderate approach that would allow people to keep their existing healthcare plans. Yet the choice for Democrats may have less to do with ideology and more to do with who is best suited to beat Trump in the November 2020 general election. According to the poll, 36% of Democrats say they are simply looking for someone who can win. Only 11% say the most important quality is someone with a strong healthcare plan, and 5% say it is most important to pick a strong voice on the environment. Biden and Sanders are currently viewed as the safest bets for beating Trump among all Democrats. Both improved their standing among minorities over the past month as Trump repeatedly vilified minority lawmakers in a series of tweets and public comments that infuriated Democrats and many others. In one exchange Trump told four minority lawmakers who have been critical of his administration to "go back" to where they came from. From July to August, both Biden and Sanders received a stronger level of support from minorities, and minorities also shifted their support away from lesser-known candidates like US Senator Kamala Harris of California and former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke. Among racial minorities who identify as Democrats or independents, 23% said they would vote for Biden and 23% said they would support Sanders, which is up 2 points for each candidate from July. Another 6% said they backed Harris, down 5 points from July, and 2% supported O'Rourke, down 3 points from the previous poll. When asked who would be most likely to beat Trump in the 2020 general election, 33% of minorities picked Biden and 19% picked Sanders. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online in English throughout the United States. It gathered responses from 1,210 adults, including 483 racial minorities. It has a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of 5 percentage points.

Biden and Sanders emerge as top two candidates for the 2020 US presidential elections:Polls

Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders offered an unabashed defence of their progressive policies during a Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday, as their more moderate rivals aimed their proposals as unrealistic and politically untenable.

The debate frequently pitted the two US senators against the rest of the 10 candidates on stage, with healthcare and immigration policy highlighting the divisions between the two camps.

On the first night of back-to-back debates, Democrats were united in stressing the urgency of defeating Republican <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/outrage-as-donald-trump-brands-mostly-black-baltimore-infested-mess-238913">President Donald Trump</a> in the November 2020 election. But they delivered bruising critiques of their party rivals` positions as detailed policy disputes dominated the nearly three-hour event.

Trump has been eager to paint the entire Democratic field as socialists, seeking to make any eventual nominee untenable to voters by arguing Democrats want to raise taxes, open the US borders and take away private healthcare.&nbsp;

The dispute between the moderate and liberal wings of the Democratic Party highlighted the central question of the nominating contest: Which candidate in the field of more than two dozen would be best positioned to beat Trump next year.

Montana Governor Steve Bullock, emerging as a forceful voice in his first presidential debate, criticized fellow candidates for being too liberal in the opening round of debates last month in Miami.

"Watching that last debate, folks seemed more concerned about scoring points or outdoing each other with wish-list economics than making sure Americans know we hear their voices and will help their lives," Bullock said. 
Progressives argued their policies would excite voters and allow them to draw a distinct contrast to Trump.&nbsp;

Taking a jab at former <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/democrats-clash-on-healthcare-in-feisty-first-us-presidential-debate-230721">US Representative John Delaney</a>, who often played the role of liberal foil during the debate, Warren said: "I don’t understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president of the United States to talk about what we really can’t do and shouldn’t fight for."&nbsp;

As the front-runners in the polls among the candidates debating on Tuesday, Sanders and Warren often found themselves defending the policy positions they share.&nbsp;

"I get a little bit tired of Democrats afraid of big ideas. Republicans are not afraid of big ideas," Sanders said.

The two are seeking to gain ground against former Vice President Joe Biden, who currently leads in opinion polls among Democratic contenders.

Healthcare, Immigration

The early part of the debate centred on a dispute about the future of the US healthcare system, and whether Democrats should embrace Medicare for All proposals that would have the government take over the health insurance industry.&nbsp;

The divisions over how best to provide Americans access to affordable healthcare is one of the early defining issues in the Democratic race for the 2020 presidential nomination to take on Trump.

Some contenders argued the proposal pushed by the progressives would take private insurance away from people who currently prefer their coverage and force a tax increase on the middle class.

"Why do we have to be the party of taking something away from people?" said Delaney, who has been critical of Medicare for All. 
&nbsp; 
He argued that Democrats should not back proposals that would eliminate private insurance.&nbsp;

"They are running on telling half the country that your health insurance is illegal," Delaney said, pointing to Warren and Sanders. Warren interjected to defend the proposal.&nbsp;

"We`re not trying to take healthcare away from anyone. That`s what Republicans are trying to do."

Sanders, who has introduced a Medicare for All bill in the US Senate, said: "Healthcare is a human right, not a privilege. I believe that I will fight for that."

The candidates also differed on immigration policy - disagreeing on whether illegal border crossings should be decriminalized.

"You don`t have to decriminalize everything," Bullock said. "What you have to do is to have a president in there with the judgment and the decency to treat someone that comes to the border like one of our own."

Warren disagreed, saying: "We need to expand legal immigration, we need to create a path for citizenship not just for dreamers but for grandmas and for people who have been working here in the farms and for students who have overstayed their visas."

"You are playing into Donald Trump`s hands," Bullock said.&nbsp;

Lower-tier candidates were aiming to produce the kind of post-debate surge that US Senator Kamala Harris enjoyed after a strong performance in the first debate after confronting Biden on the issue of race.&nbsp;

The two nights in Detroit could be the last chance for many contenders to debate on the national stage, as the Democratic National Committee will double its fundraising and polling requirements to qualify for participation in the next debates in September and October.

Ten more candidates will face off on Wednesday night, including Biden and Harris.&nbsp;

Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders offered an unabashed defence of their progressive policies during a Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday, as their more moderate rivals aimed their proposals as unrealistic and politically untenable.

Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders offered an unabashed defence of their progressive policies during a Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday, as their more moderate rivals aimed their proposals as unrealistic and politically untenable. The debate frequently pitted the two US senators against the rest of the 10 candidates on stage, with healthcare and immigration policy highlighting the divisions between the two camps. On the first night of back-to-back debates, Democrats were united in stressing the urgency of defeating Republican President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election. But they delivered bruising critiques of their party rivals` positions as detailed policy disputes dominated the nearly three-hour event. Trump has been eager to paint the entire Democratic field as socialists, seeking to make any eventual nominee untenable to voters by arguing Democrats want to raise taxes, open the US borders and take away private healthcare. The dispute between the moderate and liberal wings of the Democratic Party highlighted the central question of the nominating contest: Which candidate in the field of more than two dozen would be best positioned to beat Trump next year. Montana Governor Steve Bullock, emerging as a forceful voice in his first presidential debate, criticized fellow candidates for being too liberal in the opening round of debates last month in Miami. "Watching that last debate, folks seemed more concerned about scoring points or outdoing each other with wish-list economics than making sure Americans know we hear their voices and will help their lives," Bullock said. Progressives argued their policies would excite voters and allow them to draw a distinct contrast to Trump. Taking a jab at former US Representative John Delaney, who often played the role of liberal foil during the debate, Warren said: "I don’t understand why anybody goes to all the trouble of running for president of the United States to talk about what we really can’t do and shouldn’t fight for." As the front-runners in the polls among the candidates debating on Tuesday, Sanders and Warren often found themselves defending the policy positions they share. "I get a little bit tired of Democrats afraid of big ideas. Republicans are not afraid of big ideas," Sanders said. The two are seeking to gain ground against former Vice President Joe Biden, who currently leads in opinion polls among Democratic contenders. Healthcare, Immigration The early part of the debate centred on a dispute about the future of the US healthcare system, and whether Democrats should embrace Medicare for All proposals that would have the government take over the health insurance industry. The divisions over how best to provide Americans access to affordable healthcare is one of the early defining issues in the Democratic race for the 2020 presidential nomination to take on Trump. Some contenders argued the proposal pushed by the progressives would take private insurance away from people who currently prefer their coverage and force a tax increase on the middle class. "Why do we have to be the party of taking something away from people?" said Delaney, who has been critical of Medicare for All. He argued that Democrats should not back proposals that would eliminate private insurance. "They are running on telling half the country that your health insurance is illegal," Delaney said, pointing to Warren and Sanders. Warren interjected to defend the proposal. "We`re not trying to take healthcare away from anyone. That`s what Republicans are trying to do." Sanders, who has introduced a Medicare for All bill in the US Senate, said: "Healthcare is a human right, not a privilege. I believe that I will fight for that." The candidates also differed on immigration policy - disagreeing on whether illegal border crossings should be decriminalized. "You don`t have to decriminalize everything," Bullock said. "What you have to do is to have a president in there with the judgment and the decency to treat someone that comes to the border like one of our own." Warren disagreed, saying: "We need to expand legal immigration, we need to create a path for citizenship not just for dreamers but for grandmas and for people who have been working here in the farms and for students who have overstayed their visas." "You are playing into Donald Trump`s hands," Bullock said. Lower-tier candidates were aiming to produce the kind of post-debate surge that US Senator Kamala Harris enjoyed after a strong performance in the first debate after confronting Biden on the issue of race. The two nights in Detroit could be the last chance for many contenders to debate on the national stage, as the Democratic National Committee will double its fundraising and polling requirements to qualify for participation in the next debates in September and October. Ten more candidates will face off on Wednesday night, including Biden and Harris.

Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders defend progressive policies in US Democratic debate

Democrats see <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-declines-to-set-united-states-uranium-production-quotas-235511&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjV7Ybf4rHjAhURA4gKHYngDqgQFjACegQIEBAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw0Igh2cu_eaVsR8edMUc62K">US President Donald Trump</a> becoming increasingly vulnerable to criticism about healthcare costs after the administration's decision to scrap a proposal to lower drug prices, and 2020 White House candidates are rushing to seize the spotlight on the issue.

The debate over the future of the American healthcare system has become a focal point of the Democratic presidential nominating contest.&nbsp;

As Trump has failed to make strides to remedy the problem, Democrats are becoming more vocal.

Some Democrats have been making big promises on healthcare, vowing to sweeping overhauls and complete government takeovers.

But even candidates like US Senators <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/opinions/trumps-strong-stances-greatly-benefit-india-heres-how-234632&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjJlo3d47HjAhXQc3AKHdwKAOEQFjAAegQIABAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw34fN15vkSGEQUlRF2yS_MK">Bernie Sanders</a> and Elizabeth Warren, who would abolish private health insurance, are wading into the debate about lowering costs for consumers buying drugs in the current market.

Trump talked regularly about drug prices during his 2016 campaign but has failed so far to deliver the changes he promised.

On Thursday his administration scrapped one of its most ambitious proposals for lowering prescription medicine prices, backing down from a policy aimed at health insurers and raising the possibility of new measures focused on drugmakers.

The abandoned proposal would have required health insurers to pass billions of dollars in rebates from drugmakers to Medicare patients.

Drug prices directly affect consumers, making it a more pressing concern for voters than debates over the structure of the healthcare system, said Robert Blendon, a political scientist at Harvard University who researches public opinion on healthcare.

Blendon said Trump, having failed to broker any deals in Congress, made his drug price plan too complicated, and voters are unlikely to see him as having made any strides.&nbsp;

That is an opportunity for Democrats to offer their own effort at messaging.

A study Blendon produced earlier this year found that given a list of problems, nine out of 10 Americans chose the price of prescription drugs as an extremely important issue.

But voters' concerns do not extend to the stability or structure of government, with only 25% saying they are concerned about the stability of Medicare.

"Whoever gains anything politically out of this is going to have to talk about this (so that) it sounds like you understand," Blendon said.&nbsp;

"It really is a pocketbook issue."

On Thursday, US Senators Kirsten Gillibrand unveiled a plan to lower drug prices.&nbsp;

On Friday, Democrat Amy Klobuchar announced a plan to help lower the cost of pharmaceuticals purchased by seniors. Warren also has a Medicare pricing plan.

Sanders is heading to Canada later this month for an event to highlight the difference in the price of insulin.

Blendon said it was becoming obvious to candidates like Sanders that they cannot peg their entire healthcare message to arguing for a universal system.

"Medicare for all is not a top issue for older voters," Blendon said.

Klobuchar's proposal, which includes investing in research for a cure for Alzheimer's disease and improving the stability of Social Security, would allow the government to negotiate Medicare Part D costs, which cover prescriptions for seniors.

Klobuchar, a US senator from Minnesota, would also let people order prescription drugs from countries like Canada, proposal proponents say would lower costs.

Blendon said import changes are the most popular with voters, who fail to see how drugs from Canada or England are any more risky than ones made in the United States.

Democrats see US President Donald Trump becoming increasingly vulnerable to criticism about healthcare costs after the administration's decision to scrap a proposal to lower drug prices, and 2020 White House candidates are rushing to seize the spotlight on the issue.

Democrats see US President Donald Trump becoming increasingly vulnerable to criticism about healthcare costs after the administration's decision to scrap a proposal to lower drug prices, and 2020 White House candidates are rushing to seize the spotlight on the issue. The debate over the future of the American healthcare system has become a focal point of the Democratic presidential nominating contest. As Trump has failed to make strides to remedy the problem, Democrats are becoming more vocal. Some Democrats have been making big promises on healthcare, vowing to sweeping overhauls and complete government takeovers. But even candidates like US Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who would abolish private health insurance, are wading into the debate about lowering costs for consumers buying drugs in the current market. Trump talked regularly about drug prices during his 2016 campaign but has failed so far to deliver the changes he promised. On Thursday his administration scrapped one of its most ambitious proposals for lowering prescription medicine prices, backing down from a policy aimed at health insurers and raising the possibility of new measures focused on drugmakers. The abandoned proposal would have required health insurers to pass billions of dollars in rebates from drugmakers to Medicare patients. Drug prices directly affect consumers, making it a more pressing concern for voters than debates over the structure of the healthcare system, said Robert Blendon, a political scientist at Harvard University who researches public opinion on healthcare. Blendon said Trump, having failed to broker any deals in Congress, made his drug price plan too complicated, and voters are unlikely to see him as having made any strides. That is an opportunity for Democrats to offer their own effort at messaging. A study Blendon produced earlier this year found that given a list of problems, nine out of 10 Americans chose the price of prescription drugs as an extremely important issue. But voters' concerns do not extend to the stability or structure of government, with only 25% saying they are concerned about the stability of Medicare. "Whoever gains anything politically out of this is going to have to talk about this (so that) it sounds like you understand," Blendon said. "It really is a pocketbook issue." On Thursday, US Senators Kirsten Gillibrand unveiled a plan to lower drug prices. On Friday, Democrat Amy Klobuchar announced a plan to help lower the cost of pharmaceuticals purchased by seniors. Warren also has a Medicare pricing plan. Sanders is heading to Canada later this month for an event to highlight the difference in the price of insulin. Blendon said it was becoming obvious to candidates like Sanders that they cannot peg their entire healthcare message to arguing for a universal system. "Medicare for all is not a top issue for older voters," Blendon said. Klobuchar's proposal, which includes investing in research for a cure for Alzheimer's disease and improving the stability of Social Security, would allow the government to negotiate Medicare Part D costs, which cover prescriptions for seniors. Klobuchar, a US senator from Minnesota, would also let people order prescription drugs from countries like Canada, proposal proponents say would lower costs. Blendon said import changes are the most popular with voters, who fail to see how drugs from Canada or England are any more risky than ones made in the United States.

Democrats take aim as Donald Trump abandons drug pricing plan

It's a clear case of a canny politician promising the moon to win an election. Bernie Sanders promises to waive of Student loans within six months. Is this even feasible? Why do politicians ignore fiscal prudence? Palki interprets the development and assesses the issue with facts and draws parallels with the 'desperate' promises of politicians in other countries

Gravitas: When politicians promise the Moon

The presidential hopeful's plan would include all private and graduate school loan debt. Watch the full video to know more.

Bernie Sanders unveils plan to cancel $1.6tn in student loan debt

New York mayor Bill de Blasio has announced his <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/at-first-2020-event-biden-sets-up-battle-with-trump-over-union-vote-214640">presidential bid to challenge</a> President Trump in the 2020 elections.

De Blasio, 57, has added his name to the growing Democrats list which includes former US Vice President Joe Biden, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/bernie-sanders-launches-his-presidential-campaign-calls-trump-most-dangerous-president-200819">US Senators Bernie Sanders </a>of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts among others.

Bill de Blasio had succeeded billionaire Michael Bloomberg as the New York mayor. He tested the waters for months before announcing his decision.

Blasio is the twenty-third candidate to seek Democratic nomination to become president of the United States.

The New York Mayor has openly denounced Trump's immigration policy and has been a vocal supporter against climate change. He has personally endorsed laws aimed at protecting New York's environment.&nbsp;

De Blasio is married to Chirlane McCray, an African-American woman.&nbsp;

"I have spent a lot of time in dead last in many a poll in many a race," he told the New York Times in January.

"It's not where you start" the race that counts, he said. "It's where you end." &nbsp;

New York mayor Bill de Blasio has announced his presidential bid to challenge President Trump in the 2020 elections. De Blasio, 57, has added his name to the growing Democrats list which includes former US Vice President Joe Biden, US Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts among others.

New York mayor Bill de Blasio has announced his presidential bid to challenge President Trump in the 2020 elections. De Blasio, 57, has added his name to the growing Democrats list which includes former US Vice President Joe Biden, US Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts among others. Bill de Blasio had succeeded billionaire Michael Bloomberg as the New York mayor. He tested the waters for months before announcing his decision. Blasio is the twenty-third candidate to seek Democratic nomination to become president of the United States. The New York Mayor has openly denounced Trump's immigration policy and has been a vocal supporter against climate change. He has personally endorsed laws aimed at protecting New York's environment. De Blasio is married to Chirlane McCray, an African-American woman. "I have spent a lot of time in dead last in many a poll in many a race," he told the New York Times in January. "It's not where you start" the race that counts, he said. "It's where you end."

New York mayor Bill de Blasio announces 2020 US presidential bid

US&nbsp;congressman Seth Moulton, one of 20 Democrats running for president, criticised rivals Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren on Friday, saying they were so liberal they risked handing President Donald Trump a second White House term.

Moulton is a long-shot candidate at this stage. But his comments reflect a growing conflict between the Democratic Party's moderate and progressive wings that will likely be laid bare during the battle to decide who will take on Republican Trump in next year`s presidential election.

A representative from Massachusetts and Iraq war veteran, Moulton said Trump is a much more difficult candidate to defeat in 2020 than many Democrats realize because of his appeal to voters in the heartland who are frustrated with Washington.

"We can`t go too far left or we will lose middle America," Moulton said in an interview in Los Angeles, part of a tour to California and other early voting states since he announced his candidacy on Monday.

He said the message of candidates such as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren was going to make it difficult to win Congress and "take back the White House."&nbsp;

While he agreed the wealthy ought to pay their share of taxes, Sanders and Warren wanted to "punish the rich," Moulton said, which he called un-American.

Moulton, 40, built his political career on challenging the Democratic Party establishment, entering Congress in 2015 after winning a primary challenge against John Tierney, who had held the seat for 18 years.

After Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in 2018, Moulton helped organize opposition to Representative Nancy Pelosi’s bid to become Speaker for a second time.

In Friday`s interview, Moulton sounded particular alarm over Sanders, a self-described "democratic socialist" elected to the Senate as an independent. Sanders has emerged as an early Democratic front-runner along with former US&nbsp;Vice President Joe Biden, who entered the 2020 field on Thursday.

In some of the harshest words yet uttered by a Democratic presidential candidate against a rival, he said: "Bernie wants to change us into a socialist country, and we`re not a socialist country."

He added: "That`s not what America is all about. I don`t think that a socialist nominee is going to win the presidency. I'm a Democrat, I`m not a socialist … He’s a socialist, not a Democrat."

Sanders spokeswoman Sarah Ford responded to the charge by saying the candidate was doing well in the polls because he is a "champion for working people."

"Senator Sanders has a long and well-known record leading the effort to create a government that works for all Americans," she told Reuters in an email.

Warren proposes raising taxes on America`s 75,000 richest families to pay for programs such as universal childcare and universal free public college.&nbsp;

"The problem with some of the candidates in our party is that they`re divisive in the same way that Trump has been so divisive," Moulton said. "They are pitting different parts of America against each other."

He said most Americans aspire to be rich.

"That`s the sprit of America, that`s the American dream," he said.

Warren`s campaign did not respond to an email for comment.

Moulton said his candidacy would gain traction by focusing on foreign policy, a subject he said many Democratic rivals were afraid to address, and by running as a "change agent" against the old guard in Washington. 
&nbsp;

US congressman Seth Moulton, one of 20 Democrats running for president, criticised rivals Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren on Friday, saying they were so liberal they risked handing President Donald Trump a second White House term.

US congressman Seth Moulton, one of 20 Democrats running for president, criticised rivals Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren on Friday, saying they were so liberal they risked handing President Donald Trump a second White House term. Moulton is a long-shot candidate at this stage. But his comments reflect a growing conflict between the Democratic Party's moderate and progressive wings that will likely be laid bare during the battle to decide who will take on Republican Trump in next year`s presidential election. A representative from Massachusetts and Iraq war veteran, Moulton said Trump is a much more difficult candidate to defeat in 2020 than many Democrats realize because of his appeal to voters in the heartland who are frustrated with Washington. "We can`t go too far left or we will lose middle America," Moulton said in an interview in Los Angeles, part of a tour to California and other early voting states since he announced his candidacy on Monday. He said the message of candidates such as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren was going to make it difficult to win Congress and "take back the White House." While he agreed the wealthy ought to pay their share of taxes, Sanders and Warren wanted to "punish the rich," Moulton said, which he called un-American. Moulton, 40, built his political career on challenging the Democratic Party establishment, entering Congress in 2015 after winning a primary challenge against John Tierney, who had held the seat for 18 years. After Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in 2018, Moulton helped organize opposition to Representative Nancy Pelosi’s bid to become Speaker for a second time. In Friday`s interview, Moulton sounded particular alarm over Sanders, a self-described "democratic socialist" elected to the Senate as an independent. Sanders has emerged as an early Democratic front-runner along with former US Vice President Joe Biden, who entered the 2020 field on Thursday. In some of the harshest words yet uttered by a Democratic presidential candidate against a rival, he said: "Bernie wants to change us into a socialist country, and we`re not a socialist country." He added: "That`s not what America is all about. I don`t think that a socialist nominee is going to win the presidency. I'm a Democrat, I`m not a socialist … He’s a socialist, not a Democrat." Sanders spokeswoman Sarah Ford responded to the charge by saying the candidate was doing well in the polls because he is a "champion for working people." "Senator Sanders has a long and well-known record leading the effort to create a government that works for all Americans," she told Reuters in an email. Warren proposes raising taxes on America`s 75,000 richest families to pay for programs such as universal childcare and universal free public college. "The problem with some of the candidates in our party is that they`re divisive in the same way that Trump has been so divisive," Moulton said. "They are pitting different parts of America against each other." He said most Americans aspire to be rich. "That`s the sprit of America, that`s the American dream," he said. Warren`s campaign did not respond to an email for comment. Moulton said his candidacy would gain traction by focusing on foreign policy, a subject he said many Democratic rivals were afraid to address, and by running as a "change agent" against the old guard in Washington.

Democratic 2020 candidate Moulton says Sanders, Warren too liberal to beat Trump

Big Democratic field taking shape for 2020 US presidential race

Self-described Democratic socialist <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/bernie-sanders-launches-his-presidential-campaign-calls-trump-most-dangerous-president-200819">Bernie Sanders</a>, the 2020 presidential candidate who has long assailed America's growing income inequality, released 10 years of tax returns Monday that confirm his newfound status as a millionaire.

The senator, who routinely rails against "millionaires and billionaires" and the "rigged" economic system that protects their standing, saw his income spike on royalties from sales of his book, "Our Revolution," published shortly after his 2016 race for the Democratic nomination.

According to tax returns released by the Sanders campaign, Sanders had an adjusted gross income of $561,293 in 2018, $1,131,925 in 2017 and $1,062,626 in 2016.

His 2015 income was substantially less, at $240,622, the returns showed.

"These tax returns show that our family has been fortunate. I am very grateful for that, as I grew up in a family that lived paycheck to paycheck and I know the stress of economic insecurity," Sanders said in a statement.

"I consider paying more in taxes as my income rose to be both an obligation and an investment in our country."

The increased wealth of the liberal candidate who has positioned himself as a champion of the people has raised questions about whether he can still speak for working-class Americans.

Sanders said he will still "strive every day to ensure every American has the basic necessities of life, including a livable wage, decent housing, health care and retirement security."&nbsp;

The release comes amid continued pressure on billionaire President Donald Trump to show his tax returns.

The New York real estate tycoon refused to do so during the 2016 campaign, saying that he was under audit, but the Internal Revenue Service has said this is no impediment to their release.

Democrats have seized on the issue of Trump's undisclosed taxes since taking control of the House of Representatives in January, and have cited a little-known law that allows Congress to review anyone's returns to conduct an investigation.

On Saturday, Democratic lawmakers gave tax authorities a final deadline of April 23 to hand over Trump's returns, but it remained unclear if his administration will comply.

Self-described Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders, the 2020 presidential candidate who has long assailed America's growing income inequality, released 10 years of tax returns Monday that confirm his newfound status as a millionaire.

Self-described Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders, the 2020 presidential candidate who has long assailed America's growing income inequality, released 10 years of tax returns Monday that confirm his newfound status as a millionaire. The senator, who routinely rails against "millionaires and billionaires" and the "rigged" economic system that protects their standing, saw his income spike on royalties from sales of his book, "Our Revolution," published shortly after his 2016 race for the Democratic nomination. According to tax returns released by the Sanders campaign, Sanders had an adjusted gross income of $561,293 in 2018, $1,131,925 in 2017 and $1,062,626 in 2016. His 2015 income was substantially less, at $240,622, the returns showed. "These tax returns show that our family has been fortunate. I am very grateful for that, as I grew up in a family that lived paycheck to paycheck and I know the stress of economic insecurity," Sanders said in a statement. "I consider paying more in taxes as my income rose to be both an obligation and an investment in our country." The increased wealth of the liberal candidate who has positioned himself as a champion of the people has raised questions about whether he can still speak for working-class Americans. Sanders said he will still "strive every day to ensure every American has the basic necessities of life, including a livable wage, decent housing, health care and retirement security." The release comes amid continued pressure on billionaire President Donald Trump to show his tax returns. The New York real estate tycoon refused to do so during the 2016 campaign, saying that he was under audit, but the Internal Revenue Service has said this is no impediment to their release. Democrats have seized on the issue of Trump's undisclosed taxes since taking control of the House of Representatives in January, and have cited a little-known law that allows Congress to review anyone's returns to conduct an investigation. On Saturday, Democratic lawmakers gave tax authorities a final deadline of April 23 to hand over Trump's returns, but it remained unclear if his administration will comply.

Socialist Bernie Sanders' tax returns show millionaire status

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/in-audio-message-jem-admits-damage-incurred-at-training-camp-in-pak-after-indian-strikes-200817">In </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/in-audio-message-jem-admits-damage-incurred-at-training-camp-in-pak-after-indian-strikes-200817">audio</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/in-audio-message-jem-admits-damage-incurred-at-training-camp-in-pak-after-indian-strikes-200817"> message, JeM admits damage to training camp in Pakistan after Indian strikes</a>

In the latest development with respect to the Pulwama terror attack, an audio clip has emerged which is believed to carry a message from Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar's brother.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/jammu-and-kashmir-internal-matter-says-india-in-reaction-to-oic-resolution-200820">Jammu and Kashmir integral to us: India in reaction to OIC resolution</a>

Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and the issue is strictly internal to the country, New Delhi asserted Saturday, in reaction to a resolution on the matter by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in its two-day foreign ministers' conclave in Abu Dhabi.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-blasts-mueller-probe-at-cpac-says-opponents-trying-to-take-me-out-200813">Trump blasts Mueller probe at CPAC, says opponents 'trying to take me out'</a>

President Donald Trump on Saturday (March 2) attacked US Special Counsel Robert Mueller ahead of his report on alleged Russia collusion by the Trump campaign in 2016 and said his political opponents were "trying to take me out with bu****it."

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/want-reciprocal-tax-on-india-to-match-tariffs-on-us-exports-says-donald-trump-200816">Want 'reciprocal tax' on India to match tariffs on US exports, says Donald Trump</a>

US President Donald Trump on Saturday (local time) accused India of being a “high tariff nation” and threatened to impose “a reciprocal tax” to match the heavy duties that New Delhi imposes on goods imported from the United States.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/50-believed-to-be-dead-in-nigeria-after-oil-pipeline-explosion-200821">50 believed to be dead in Nigeria after </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/50-believed-to-be-dead-in-nigeria-after-oil-pipeline-explosion-200821">oil</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/50-believed-to-be-dead-in-nigeria-after-oil-pipeline-explosion-200821"> pipeline explosion</a>

Fifty people in Nigeria are believed to be dead after an oil pipeline exploded in Nembe town in eastern Nigeria early on Friday morning (local time), the local media reported.

&nbsp;

In audio message, JeM admits damage to training camp in Pakistan after Indian strikes In the latest development with respect to the Pulwama terror attack, an audio clip has emerged which is believed to carry a message from Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar's brother.

In audio message, JeM admits damage to training camp in Pakistan after Indian strikes In the latest development with respect to the Pulwama terror attack, an audio clip has emerged which is believed to carry a message from Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar's brother. Jammu and Kashmir integral to us: India in reaction to OIC resolution Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and the issue is strictly internal to the country, New Delhi asserted Saturday, in reaction to a resolution on the matter by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in its two-day foreign ministers' conclave in Abu Dhabi. Trump blasts Mueller probe at CPAC, says opponents 'trying to take me out' President Donald Trump on Saturday (March 2) attacked US Special Counsel Robert Mueller ahead of his report on alleged Russia collusion by the Trump campaign in 2016 and said his political opponents were "trying to take me out with bu****it." Want 'reciprocal tax' on India to match tariffs on US exports, says Donald Trump US President Donald Trump on Saturday (local time) accused India of being a “high tariff nation” and threatened to impose “a reciprocal tax” to match the heavy duties that New Delhi imposes on goods imported from the United States. 50 believed to be dead in Nigeria after oil pipeline explosion Fifty people in Nigeria are believed to be dead after an oil pipeline exploded in Nembe town in eastern Nigeria early on Friday morning (local time), the local media reported.

News brief: Big stories of the day

US Senator Bernie Sanders returned to the place of his birth Saturday to deliver the first rally speech of his presidential campaign, vowing to defeat "the most dangerous president in modern American history" in Donald Trump.&nbsp;

The Vermont independent voiced confidence at the address in the New York borough of Brooklyn that he would first beat the crowded field of his rivals for the 2020 nomination, with much of his liberal, populist agenda now considered mainstream Democratic policy.&nbsp;

"I want to thank all of you for being part of a campaign which is not only going to win the Democratic nomination, which is not only going to defeat Donald Trump, who is the most dangerous president in modern American history," Sanders told the crowd of several thousand people.

"But, with your help, we are going to transform this country and finally create an economy and a government which works for all of us, not just the one per cent."

His promised that his campaign would say "loudly and clearly that the underlying principles of our government will not be greed, hatred and lies."

Sanders returned to Brooklyn College, which he once attended, for a rally emphasizing his personal story, as the working class son of a Jewish immigrant who grew up in poor housing.

"I did not have a father who gave me millions of dollars to build luxury skyscrapers, casinos and country clubs," Sanders said in another dig at Trump.&nbsp;

"I did not come from a family that gave me a $200,000 allowance every year beginning at the age of three."

'Too radical'

Sanders spelt out his big-ticket items for 2020, his second presidential campaign after losing the nomination to Hillary Clinton in 2016 -- "Medicare for All," a $15-an-hour minimum wage and climate change.&nbsp;

Many are long-held principles previously dismissed as too radical by more moderate Democrats but are now more widely accepted talking points as he squares off against several other progressives who have embraced many of his issues.

Following November's midterm elections, the Congressional Progressive Caucus -- co-founded by Sanders in 1991 -- wields more power than at any time in its history.

Senators Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand, all 2020 candidates, co-sponsored his Medicare for All legislation in 2017.

Julian Castro, another Democratic hopeful, joins Gillibrand in supporting universal early childhood education.

And Warren, Booker and Harris have all proclaimed support for the Green New Deal, an ultra-progressive platform to combat climate change that was unveiled this month by congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a rising liberal star.

Sanders was an outsider candidate three years ago. But with his massive political network, muscular fundraising capacity and resilient message, he is now a frontrunner.

He would need to best multiple formidable rivals -- including former vice president Joe Biden, should he enter the race -- and victory is anything but assured.

On Sunday, Sanders heads to Selma, Alabama, to mark the anniversary of the 1965 clash known as "Bloody Sunday" and will also visit Chicago, where he graduated from college and was active in civil rights protests.

US Senator Bernie Sanders returned to the place of his birth Saturday to deliver the first rally speech of his presidential campaign, vowing to defeat "the most dangerous president in modern American history" in Donald Trump.

US Senator Bernie Sanders returned to the place of his birth Saturday to deliver the first rally speech of his presidential campaign, vowing to defeat "the most dangerous president in modern American history" in Donald Trump. The Vermont independent voiced confidence at the address in the New York borough of Brooklyn that he would first beat the crowded field of his rivals for the 2020 nomination, with much of his liberal, populist agenda now considered mainstream Democratic policy. "I want to thank all of you for being part of a campaign which is not only going to win the Democratic nomination, which is not only going to defeat Donald Trump, who is the most dangerous president in modern American history," Sanders told the crowd of several thousand people. "But, with your help, we are going to transform this country and finally create an economy and a government which works for all of us, not just the one per cent." His promised that his campaign would say "loudly and clearly that the underlying principles of our government will not be greed, hatred and lies." Sanders returned to Brooklyn College, which he once attended, for a rally emphasizing his personal story, as the working class son of a Jewish immigrant who grew up in poor housing. "I did not have a father who gave me millions of dollars to build luxury skyscrapers, casinos and country clubs," Sanders said in another dig at Trump. "I did not come from a family that gave me a $200,000 allowance every year beginning at the age of three." 'Too radical' Sanders spelt out his big-ticket items for 2020, his second presidential campaign after losing the nomination to Hillary Clinton in 2016 -- "Medicare for All," a $15-an-hour minimum wage and climate change. Many are long-held principles previously dismissed as too radical by more moderate Democrats but are now more widely accepted talking points as he squares off against several other progressives who have embraced many of his issues. Following November's midterm elections, the Congressional Progressive Caucus -- co-founded by Sanders in 1991 -- wields more power than at any time in its history. Senators Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand, all 2020 candidates, co-sponsored his Medicare for All legislation in 2017. Julian Castro, another Democratic hopeful, joins Gillibrand in supporting universal early childhood education. And Warren, Booker and Harris have all proclaimed support for the Green New Deal, an ultra-progressive platform to combat climate change that was unveiled this month by congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a rising liberal star. Sanders was an outsider candidate three years ago. But with his massive political network, muscular fundraising capacity and resilient message, he is now a frontrunner. He would need to best multiple formidable rivals -- including former vice president Joe Biden, should he enter the race -- and victory is anything but assured. On Sunday, Sanders heads to Selma, Alabama, to mark the anniversary of the 1965 clash known as "Bloody Sunday" and will also visit Chicago, where he graduated from college and was active in civil rights protests.

Bernie Sanders launches his Presidential campaign; calls Trump 'most dangerous President'

United States Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday announced his candidacy for the 2020 elections to the nation's presidency.&nbsp;

The self-styled democratic socialist, who represents the state of Vermont as an independent, is set to compete in the Democratic Party primaries and said he would run a grassroots campaign that re-addresses some of the major issues he focused on in his unsuccessful 2016 bid, such as Medicare-For-All, raising the minimum wage and tackling problems like climate change and wealth inequality.&nbsp;

"Make no mistake about it, the powerful special interests in this country have unbelievable power and they want to maintain the status quo," the 77-year-old senator, who has been credited with revitalizing the often-neglected left wing of the Democratic Party, said.&nbsp;

"They have unlimited amounts of money to spend on campaigns and lobbying and have a huge influence over the media and political parties," Sanders added.

"The only way we will win this election and create a government and an economy that works for all is with a grassroots movement the likes of which has never been seen in American history," he said. "They may have the money and the power; we have the people."

He pulled no punches when describing the incumbent president, Donald Trump, whom he called a "pathological liar, a fraud, a racist, a sexist, a xenophobe."&nbsp;

The Brooklyn-born veteran of American politics is set to face stiff competition in a crowded primary race that already includes establishment figures such as fellow US senators Kamala Harris (California), Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), Cory Booker (New Jersey), Kirsten Gillibrand (New York) and Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota).

Other Democrats, such as the former mayor of San Antonio (Texas) and ex-secretary of housing and urban development, Julián Castro; the current mayor of South Bend (Indiana), Pete Buttigieg, or US Representatives Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii-02) and John Delaney (Maryland-06), have also declared their candidacies in the race to the White House.

Sanders lost the Democratic primaries in 2016 to Hillary Clinton, who in turn was unable to defeat Trump in the election despite winning the popular vote by almost three million ballots.&nbsp;

His candidacy had been widely anticipated by a segment of the party's more progressive base and by other independent organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America. 
&nbsp;

United States Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday announced his candidacy for the 2020 elections to the nation's presidency. The self-styled democratic socialist, who represents the state of Vermont as an independent, is set to compete in the Democratic Party primaries and said he would run a grassroots campaign that re-addresses some of the major issues he focused on in his unsuccessful 2016 bid, such as Medicare-For-All, raising the minimum wage and tackling problems like climate change and wealth inequality.

United States Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday announced his candidacy for the 2020 elections to the nation's presidency. The self-styled democratic socialist, who represents the state of Vermont as an independent, is set to compete in the Democratic Party primaries and said he would run a grassroots campaign that re-addresses some of the major issues he focused on in his unsuccessful 2016 bid, such as Medicare-For-All, raising the minimum wage and tackling problems like climate change and wealth inequality. "Make no mistake about it, the powerful special interests in this country have unbelievable power and they want to maintain the status quo," the 77-year-old senator, who has been credited with revitalizing the often-neglected left wing of the Democratic Party, said. "They have unlimited amounts of money to spend on campaigns and lobbying and have a huge influence over the media and political parties," Sanders added. "The only way we will win this election and create a government and an economy that works for all is with a grassroots movement the likes of which has never been seen in American history," he said. "They may have the money and the power; we have the people." He pulled no punches when describing the incumbent president, Donald Trump, whom he called a "pathological liar, a fraud, a racist, a sexist, a xenophobe." The Brooklyn-born veteran of American politics is set to face stiff competition in a crowded primary race that already includes establishment figures such as fellow US senators Kamala Harris (California), Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), Cory Booker (New Jersey), Kirsten Gillibrand (New York) and Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota). Other Democrats, such as the former mayor of San Antonio (Texas) and ex-secretary of housing and urban development, Julián Castro; the current mayor of South Bend (Indiana), Pete Buttigieg, or US Representatives Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii-02) and John Delaney (Maryland-06), have also declared their candidacies in the race to the White House. Sanders lost the Democratic primaries in 2016 to Hillary Clinton, who in turn was unable to defeat Trump in the election despite winning the popular vote by almost three million ballots. His candidacy had been widely anticipated by a segment of the party's more progressive base and by other independent organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America.

At 77, US Senator Bernie Sanders announces 2020 presidential bid

US Senator Bernie Sanders has recorded a video announcing a 2020 run for president, Politico reported Saturday, an indication that he plans to enter the already crowded field of candidates.

But it still remains unclear when or if the video will be released, according to Politico, which previously reported that the senator from Vermont's team has been conducting interviews to fill top staff positions.

Sanders, a 77-year-old independent who caucuses with Democrats, made an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2016, losing out to Hillary Clinton, who was in turn defeated by Donald Trump.

Like Trump, Sanders was an outsider when the 2016 presidential primaries began, but came close to pulling off an upset over Clinton.

He garnered passionate support among young liberals with his calls for universal health care, a $15 minimum wage and free public university education.

Sanders served in the House until 2006 when he was elected to the US Senate. He was re-elected in 2012 and 2018.

While Sanders remains popular among many Democrats, some in the party have questioned whether their champion this time around should be a septuagenarian white man.

US Senator Bernie Sanders has recorded a video announcing a 2020 run for president, Politico reported Saturday, an indication that he plans to enter the already crowded field of candidates.

US Senator Bernie Sanders has recorded a video announcing a 2020 run for president, Politico reported Saturday, an indication that he plans to enter the already crowded field of candidates. But it still remains unclear when or if the video will be released, according to Politico, which previously reported that the senator from Vermont's team has been conducting interviews to fill top staff positions. Sanders, a 77-year-old independent who caucuses with Democrats, made an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2016, losing out to Hillary Clinton, who was in turn defeated by Donald Trump. Like Trump, Sanders was an outsider when the 2016 presidential primaries began, but came close to pulling off an upset over Clinton. He garnered passionate support among young liberals with his calls for universal health care, a $15 minimum wage and free public university education. Sanders served in the House until 2006 when he was elected to the US Senate. He was re-elected in 2012 and 2018. While Sanders remains popular among many Democrats, some in the party have questioned whether their champion this time around should be a septuagenarian white man.

Bernie Sanders recorded presidential campaign video: Report

Vermont's Bernie Sanders has cruised to <a href="Big turnout as America votes in test of Trump presidency">re-election</a> for his third term in the Senate, easily outpacing eight candidates.

Sanders, the independent who has long been one of the state's most popular politicians, spent little time campaigning ahead of the election.

Sanders has faced few serious opponents since he was first elected to the state's lone seat in the House in 1990. He moved up to the Senate in 2006.

The Republican candidate, Lawrence Zupan, a Manchester real estate broker with experience in international trade, campaigned against what he felt was big government and social welfare programs. But his candidacy never gained traction and his campaign drew little attention.

Rather than focusing on his re-election, Sanders travelled the country to support Democratic candidates and an array of policy issues.

Meanwhile, Beyonce endorsed Texas Democratic Senate hopeful Beto O'Rourke over Republican incumbent Ted Cruz in the final hours before her home <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/explainer-us-midterm-polls-how-they-work-and-what-is-at-stakes-175277">state's polls</a> close.

The native Houstonian released a series of Instagram posts with a black and white "Beto" cap partially covering her face on Tuesday afternoon. O'Rourke himself then retweeted one of the pictures under the caption "Thank you, Beyonce."

An El Paso congressman, O'Rourke is trying to become the first Democrat to win statewide office in Texas since 1994. He's drawn the admiration of many celebrities, including Texas country music icon Willie Nelson.

Cruz dismisses his opponent's upset-minded campaign as too liberal for Texas since O'Rourke supports universal health care and impeaching President Donald Trump.&nbsp;

Vermont's Bernie Sanders has cruised to re-election for his third term in the Senate, easily outpacing eight candidates. Sanders, the independent who has long been one of the state's most popular politicians, spent little time campaigning ahead of the election.

Vermont's Bernie Sanders has cruised to re-election for his third term in the Senate, easily outpacing eight candidates. Sanders, the independent who has long been one of the state's most popular politicians, spent little time campaigning ahead of the election. Sanders has faced few serious opponents since he was first elected to the state's lone seat in the House in 1990. He moved up to the Senate in 2006. The Republican candidate, Lawrence Zupan, a Manchester real estate broker with experience in international trade, campaigned against what he felt was big government and social welfare programs. But his candidacy never gained traction and his campaign drew little attention. Rather than focusing on his re-election, Sanders travelled the country to support Democratic candidates and an array of policy issues. Meanwhile, Beyonce endorsed Texas Democratic Senate hopeful Beto O'Rourke over Republican incumbent Ted Cruz in the final hours before her home state's polls close. The native Houstonian released a series of Instagram posts with a black and white "Beto" cap partially covering her face on Tuesday afternoon. O'Rourke himself then retweeted one of the pictures under the caption "Thank you, Beyonce." An El Paso congressman, O'Rourke is trying to become the first Democrat to win statewide office in Texas since 1994. He's drawn the admiration of many celebrities, including Texas country music icon Willie Nelson. Cruz dismisses his opponent's upset-minded campaign as too liberal for Texas since O'Rourke supports universal health care and impeaching President Donald Trump.

Vermont's Bernie Sanders cruises to 3rd Senate term

United States President Donald Trump put out an ad on Saturday which called Democrats &quot;complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants.&quot;

The ad, part of his campaign for re-election, titled &quot;Complicit&quot; was released on the anniversary of the US elected President&#39;s inauguration.

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The&nbsp;ad says, &quot;Democrats who stand in our way will be complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants.&quot;&nbsp;

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-suggests-nuclear-option-to-end-us-government-shutdown-30280">Trump suggests &#39;nuclear option&#39; to end US government shutdown</a>

The ad focuses on an immigrant Luis Bracamontes who was charged in 2014 for killing two police officers in California.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-tries-to-fix-government-shutdown-over-phone-30273">Trump tries to fix government shutdown over phone</a>

The ad has triggered outrage among Democrat&nbsp;leaders.

Blamed for the government shutdown and placing immigrants interests over the American, Democrat&nbsp;senator Chuck Schumer&#39;s spokesperson responded to the ad in an email, &quot;this is a shameless attempt by the president to distract from the Trump shutdown. Rather than campaigning, he should do his job and negotiate a deal to open the government address the needs of the American people,&quot; Reuters reported.

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/first-day-of-us-government-shutdown-ends-in-standoff-30197">First</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/first-day-of-us-government-shutdown-ends-in-standoff-30197"> day of US government shutdown ends in standoff</a>

United States Senator Bernie Sanders also reacted on ad calling it&nbsp;unbelievable and sad for the country to have a president that says such outrageous stuff, CNN reported.

Trump had already filed for re-election on his inauguration day in 2017, which was an unusual move as no president has ever done on his inauguration day.

The move allows Trump to begin campaigning long before the November 2020 election, allowing him to raise money and hold rallies paid by his campaign.

On Friday, Senate Democrats opposed a bill that would have avoided the shutdown, because their efforts to include protection&nbsp;for hundreds of thousands of mostly young immigrants, known as Dreamers, were rejected by Trump and Republican leaders.

The US Senate adjourned late Sunday without reaching a deal on re-opening government, as the Republican leadership <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-senate-postpones-vote-on-ending-shutdown-to-noon-monday-30288">postponed a vote</a> on ending the shutdown until noon on Monday.

(Inputs from Reuters)

The ad is part of his re-election campaign for in 2020 presidential elections

United States President Donald Trump put out an ad on Saturday which called Democrats "complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants." The ad, part of his campaign for re-election, titled "Complicit" was released on the anniversary of the US elected President's inauguration. × The ad says, "Democrats who stand in our way will be complicit in every murder committed by illegal immigrants." Also read: Trump suggests 'nuclear option' to end US government shutdown The ad focuses on an immigrant Luis Bracamontes who was charged in 2014 for killing two police officers in California. Also read: Trump tries to fix government shutdown over phone The ad has triggered outrage among Democrat leaders. Blamed for the government shutdown and placing immigrants interests over the American, Democrat senator Chuck Schumer's spokesperson responded to the ad in an email, "this is a shameless attempt by the president to distract from the Trump shutdown. Rather than campaigning, he should do his job and negotiate a deal to open the government address the needs of the American people," Reuters reported. Also read: First day of US government shutdown ends in standoff United States Senator Bernie Sanders also reacted on ad calling it unbelievable and sad for the country to have a president that says such outrageous stuff, CNN reported. Trump had already filed for re-election on his inauguration day in 2017, which was an unusual move as no president has ever done on his inauguration day. The move allows Trump to begin campaigning long before the November 2020 election, allowing him to raise money and hold rallies paid by his campaign. On Friday, Senate Democrats opposed a bill that would have avoided the shutdown, because their efforts to include protection for hundreds of thousands of mostly young immigrants, known as Dreamers, were rejected by Trump and Republican leaders. The US Senate adjourned late Sunday without reaching a deal on re-opening government, as the Republican leadership postponed a vote on ending the shutdown until noon on Monday. (Inputs from Reuters)

Trump re-election ad calls Democrats 'complicit' in murder by illegal immigrants

After being a TV star for most of her adult life, speculation is now rife that Oprah Winfrey might take on Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential elections.

The speculation&nbsp;arose after Oprah&#39;s <a href="http://www.wionews.com/videos/oprah-takes-golden-globes-by-storm-with-her-iconic-speech-7703" target="_blank">electrifying speech</a> at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night.&nbsp;

But could it actually happen?&nbsp;

If one were to do a SWOT analysis, these would be Oprah&#39;s strengths:&nbsp;

At 63, Oprah is younger than some of the top Democrats who might also run for the post including former vice-president Joe Biden and US Senator Bernie Sanders.

Oprah&#39;s wealth would also be a tremendous asset. Her current net worth is $2.8 billion; Trump is currently worth $3.1 billion.&nbsp;

Oprah has also built much goodwill among the Democrats by backing Barack Obama in 2008 and Hilary Clinton in 2016. She has also contributed more than $95,000 to the party.

And of course there is the fact that Oprah has appeared in homes across the US for 25 years -- Monday through Friday -- she is a well-known name.&nbsp;

Her weaknesses would include:&nbsp;

Even the most popular candidates need to get their message across to voters, identify their supporters, and, most important of all, get them to vote. Experienced politicians know how to build support systems to help them do all of that -- Oprah would have to start from scratch.&nbsp;

Oprah&#39;s business tries are extensive and include a cable channel and a magazine.&nbsp;She is also a contributor to CBS News&#39; &#39;60 minutes&#39;. Any of which may throw up conflicts of interests should she decide&nbsp;to run for the post.&nbsp;

Then again, if a property developer-turned-reality TV star with no prior political experience could win the US presidency on his first try, there is no reason to believe Oprah will necessarily be unsuccessful.&nbsp;

But having said that, three years is a long time in politics.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 
And the first problem has already emerged.&nbsp;

A day after her Golden Globes speech, pictures emerged of Oprah with disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. Oprah, should she decide to run, would do well to remember presidential candidates face a vetting far more invasive than anything she has endured before.&nbsp;

The speculation arose after Oprah's electrifying speech at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night

After being a TV star for most of her adult life, speculation is now rife that Oprah Winfrey might take on Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential elections. The speculation arose after Oprah's electrifying speech at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night. But could it actually happen? If one were to do a SWOT analysis, these would be Oprah's strengths: At 63, Oprah is younger than some of the top Democrats who might also run for the post including former vice-president Joe Biden and US Senator Bernie Sanders. Oprah's wealth would also be a tremendous asset. Her current net worth is $2.8 billion; Trump is currently worth $3.1 billion. Oprah has also built much goodwill among the Democrats by backing Barack Obama in 2008 and Hilary Clinton in 2016. She has also contributed more than $95,000 to the party. And of course there is the fact that Oprah has appeared in homes across the US for 25 years -- Monday through Friday -- she is a well-known name. Her weaknesses would include: Even the most popular candidates need to get their message across to voters, identify their supporters, and, most important of all, get them to vote. Experienced politicians know how to build support systems to help them do all of that -- Oprah would have to start from scratch. Oprah's business tries are extensive and include a cable channel and a magazine. She is also a contributor to CBS News' '60 minutes'. Any of which may throw up conflicts of interests should she decide to run for the post. Then again, if a property developer-turned-reality TV star with no prior political experience could win the US presidency on his first try, there is no reason to believe Oprah will necessarily be unsuccessful. But having said that, three years is a long time in politics. And the first problem has already emerged. A day after her Golden Globes speech, pictures emerged of Oprah with disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. Oprah, should she decide to run, would do well to remember presidential candidates face a vetting far more invasive than anything she has endured before.

Oprah to take on Trump in 2020 US presidential election?

US Democrats furious with Republican secrecy brought Senate business to a standstill Monday, launching an hours-long protest against President Donald Trump&#39;s party crafting a back-room Obamacare repeal plan and refusing to hold public hearings about it.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he wants the legislation passed by June 30. Democrats fear he is purposely keeping the bill under wraps until the last minute so he can jam the controversial plan through with just a few hours of floor debate.

The strategy is a 180-degree shift from the Republican position during the 2009-2010 debate on Barack Obama&#39;s health care reforms, when conservatives demanded transparency and dozens of public hearings in a months-long process.

In the six weeks since the House of Representatives passed its Obamacare repeal legislation, Senate Republicans have insisted they will craft their own bill, but few details have emerged.

With just 10 legislative days before McConnell&#39;s deadline, all that most lawmakers and the public have to work on is the House bill, which a non-partisan congressional review predicted would leave 23 million fewer people insured over the next decade.

&quot;Republicans are drafting this bill in secret because they&#39;re ashamed of it, plain and simple,&quot; said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, shortly before Democrats took to the Senate floor in anger.

Republicans argue that Obamacare has failed to prevent premiums and other health costs from skyrocketing. Democrats warn that Trump&#39;s delay of government subsidy payments is leading to instability and causing costs to rise.

Senator Cory Booker called the Republican strategy &quot;tragic&quot; and broken.

&quot;People (are) working in secret on a bill that they&#39;re going to try to force through Congress with no public input, no hearings, no meetings, no markups, no debate, no public accountability,&quot; he said in the talk-a-thon, which dragged into a fifth hour.

Even as McConnell downplays the secrecy, few Republicans appear to know what will be in the legislation. Some have begun speaking out.

&quot;If it is an effort to rush it from a small group of people, straight to the floor in an up or down vote, that would be a problem,&quot; Senator Marco Rubio told CNN Sunday.

&nbsp;

&#39;Afraid&#39; of debate?

Republicans have signaled one of the main internal debates focuses on reforms to Medicaid, the health care program for low-income people.

Critics have estimated that the House bill would curtail Medicaid by some $800 billion, and some Republican senators from states where Medicaid was expanded under Obama have expressed concern about passing legislation that slashes aid to thousands of constituents.&nbsp;

The Senate version is expected to end the Medicaid expansion more slowly than the House bill would, and it could include larger tax credits to help older Americans purchase health insurance.

But with no text finalised, it remains a guessing game.

&quot;Most Republicans don&#39;t have a clue as to what&#39;s in this legislation, let alone Democrats, let alone the average American,&quot; fumed Senator Bernie Sanders. &nbsp;&quot;So I say to the Republican leadership: what are you afraid of? Bring that bill out.&quot;

White House spokesman Sean Spicer pointed to &quot;very good&quot; progress on the bill, but he declined to say whether White House aides had even seen a draft.

An exchange on the Senate floor late Monday highlighted the tension. Schumer asked McConnell whether there would be sufficient time to review and debate the legislation.

&quot;I think we&#39;ll have ample opportunity to read and amend the bill,&quot; McConnell said curtly.

(AFP)

This is a 180-degree turn from when conservatives demanded transparency and dozens of public hearings in a months-long process

US Democrats furious with Republican secrecy brought Senate business to a standstill Monday, launching an hours-long protest against President Donald Trump's party crafting a back-room Obamacare repeal plan and refusing to hold public hearings about it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he wants the legislation passed by June 30. Democrats fear he is purposely keeping the bill under wraps until the last minute so he can jam the controversial plan through with just a few hours of floor debate. The strategy is a 180-degree shift from the Republican position during the 2009-2010 debate on Barack Obama's health care reforms, when conservatives demanded transparency and dozens of public hearings in a months-long process. In the six weeks since the House of Representatives passed its Obamacare repeal legislation, Senate Republicans have insisted they will craft their own bill, but few details have emerged. With just 10 legislative days before McConnell's deadline, all that most lawmakers and the public have to work on is the House bill, which a non-partisan congressional review predicted would leave 23 million fewer people insured over the next decade. "Republicans are drafting this bill in secret because they're ashamed of it, plain and simple," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, shortly before Democrats took to the Senate floor in anger. Republicans argue that Obamacare has failed to prevent premiums and other health costs from skyrocketing. Democrats warn that Trump's delay of government subsidy payments is leading to instability and causing costs to rise. Senator Cory Booker called the Republican strategy "tragic" and broken. "People (are) working in secret on a bill that they're going to try to force through Congress with no public input, no hearings, no meetings, no markups, no debate, no public accountability," he said in the talk-a-thon, which dragged into a fifth hour. Even as McConnell downplays the secrecy, few Republicans appear to know what will be in the legislation. Some have begun speaking out. "If it is an effort to rush it from a small group of people, straight to the floor in an up or down vote, that would be a problem," Senator Marco Rubio told CNN Sunday. 'Afraid' of debate? Republicans have signaled one of the main internal debates focuses on reforms to Medicaid, the health care program for low-income people. Critics have estimated that the House bill would curtail Medicaid by some $800 billion, and some Republican senators from states where Medicaid was expanded under Obama have expressed concern about passing legislation that slashes aid to thousands of constituents. The Senate version is expected to end the Medicaid expansion more slowly than the House bill would, and it could include larger tax credits to help older Americans purchase health insurance. But with no text finalised, it remains a guessing game. "Most Republicans don't have a clue as to what's in this legislation, let alone Democrats, let alone the average American," fumed Senator Bernie Sanders. "So I say to the Republican leadership: what are you afraid of? Bring that bill out." White House spokesman Sean Spicer pointed to "very good" progress on the bill, but he declined to say whether White House aides had even seen a draft. An exchange on the Senate floor late Monday highlighted the tension. Schumer asked McConnell whether there would be sufficient time to review and debate the legislation. "I think we'll have ample opportunity to read and amend the bill," McConnell said curtly. (AFP)

US Democrats fume over secret Republican health plan

Prime Minister Theresa May&#39;s office said on Sunday there had been no change to plans for US&nbsp;President Donald Trump&#39;s to come to Britain on a state visit, after the Guardian newspaper <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/fearing-public-protests-trump-puts-uk-visit-on-hold-16700" target="_blank">reported </a>the trip had been postponed.

The paper, citing an unidentified adviser at May&#39;s Downing Street office who was in the room at the time, reported Trump had told May by telephone in recent weeks that he did not want to come if there were likely to be large-scale protests.

&quot;We aren&rsquo;t going to comment on speculation about the contents of private phone conversations,&quot; a spokeswoman for May&#39;s office said. &quot;The queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans.&quot;

&nbsp;

Meanwhile, the White House also denied the Guardian report,&nbsp;with an administration official telling Reuters, &quot;The subject never came up on the call.&quot;

No date has been set for the visit, which was agreed during May&#39;s visit to Washington in January, but British media had reported it was planned for October.

May&#39;s hold on power has been significantly weakened since the results of a snap election last week cost her Conservative Party a parliamentary majority. In a bid to save her position, May has been trying to form a government with Northern Ireland&#39;s Democratic Unionist Party, or DUP,&nbsp;a small faction of social conservatives.

She needs eight seats to form a majority, and the DUP hold ten. British politics is going through an upheaval just a week before talks begin on Britain&#39;s exit from the European Union, set for 2019.

Trump&#39;s public criticism this month of London Mayor Sadiq Khan&#39;s response to an attack by Islamist militants in London was condemned in Britain. May found herself forced to defend Khan, who is from the opposition Labour party.

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Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his &quot;no reason to be alarmed&quot; statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/871725780535062528">June 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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At that time, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said there was no reason to cancel the visit, while White House spokesman Sean Spicer said that Trump intended to go and that &quot;he appreciates Her Majesty&#39;s gracious invitation&quot;.

Trump said he was unwilling&nbsp;to explicitly endorse a candidate in the UK election, but he had&nbsp;<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/27/theresa-may-meets-donald-trump-white-house-live/" target="_blank">appeared</a> with pro-Brexit Theresa May, holding hands in late January. After the election, where May lost her majority but retained power in the UK, Trump called to offer his &quot;warm support&quot;.

Bernie Sanders called to congratulate the Labour Party&#39;s Jeremy Corbyn, May&#39;s opponent, who while not coming into power gained important seats and achieved a large and surprising success.

(With inputs from Reuters)

The White House denied a report saying Trump told May on the phone that he wouldn't visit the UK, fearing large-scale protests

Prime Minister Theresa May's office said on Sunday there had been no change to plans for US President Donald Trump's to come to Britain on a state visit, after the Guardian newspaper reported the trip had been postponed. The paper, citing an unidentified adviser at May's Downing Street office who was in the room at the time, reported Trump had told May by telephone in recent weeks that he did not want to come if there were likely to be large-scale protests. "We aren’t going to comment on speculation about the contents of private phone conversations," a spokeswoman for May's office said. "The queen extended an invitation to President Trump to visit the UK and there is no change to those plans." Meanwhile, the White House also denied the Guardian report, with an administration official telling Reuters, "The subject never came up on the call." No date has been set for the visit, which was agreed during May's visit to Washington in January, but British media had reported it was planned for October. May's hold on power has been significantly weakened since the results of a snap election last week cost her Conservative Party a parliamentary majority. In a bid to save her position, May has been trying to form a government with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party, or DUP, a small faction of social conservatives. She needs eight seats to form a majority, and the DUP hold ten. British politics is going through an upheaval just a week before talks begin on Britain's exit from the European Union, set for 2019. Trump's public criticism this month of London Mayor Sadiq Khan's response to an attack by Islamist militants in London was condemned in Britain. May found herself forced to defend Khan, who is from the opposition Labour party. Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his "no reason to be alarmed" statement. MSM is working hard to sell it! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017 × At that time, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said there was no reason to cancel the visit, while White House spokesman Sean Spicer said that Trump intended to go and that "he appreciates Her Majesty's gracious invitation". Trump said he was unwilling to explicitly endorse a candidate in the UK election, but he had appeared with pro-Brexit Theresa May, holding hands in late January. After the election, where May lost her majority but retained power in the UK, Trump called to offer his "warm support". Bernie Sanders called to congratulate the Labour Party's Jeremy Corbyn, May's opponent, who while not coming into power gained important seats and achieved a large and surprising success. (With inputs from Reuters)

Will Trump visit UK? May, White House deny Guardian report, say trip still on

The United States President Barack Obama on Friday pinned the blame for making Obamacare unpopular on the left wing within the Democrats. &nbsp;

He alluded to the role played by former Democratic presidential candidate&nbsp;Bernie Sanders in making Obamacare unpopular.

Obama was speaking at a town hall event with Vox Media.

During Sanders&#39; campaign for the presidential nomination, he proposed replacing Obamacare with a government-run single payer health insurance system, Reuters reported.

&quot;In the &#39;dissatisfied&#39; column are a whole bunch of Bernie Sanders supporters who wanted a single-payer plan,&quot; Obama said in the interview, Reuters reported.

&quot;The problem is not that they think Obamacare is a failure. The problem is that they don`t think it went far enough and that it left too many people still uncovered,&quot; Obama said. 
&nbsp;&nbsp; 
He asked his supporters to voice their opposition to Republicans&#39; plans to roll back Obamacare.&nbsp;

(With inputs from Reuters) 
&nbsp;

Obama alluded to the role played by former Democratic presidential candidate?Bernie Sanders in undermining Obamacare

The United States President Barack Obama on Friday pinned the blame for making Obamacare unpopular on the left wing within the Democrats. He alluded to the role played by former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders in making Obamacare unpopular. Obama was speaking at a town hall event with Vox Media. During Sanders' campaign for the presidential nomination, he proposed replacing Obamacare with a government-run single payer health insurance system, Reuters reported. "In the 'dissatisfied' column are a whole bunch of Bernie Sanders supporters who wanted a single-payer plan," Obama said in the interview, Reuters reported. "The problem is not that they think Obamacare is a failure. The problem is that they don`t think it went far enough and that it left too many people still uncovered," Obama said. He asked his supporters to voice their opposition to Republicans' plans to roll back Obamacare. (With inputs from Reuters)

Obama pins blame on Sanders for making Obamacare unpopular

<a href="http://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/Standing-Rock-Sioux-Tribal-Council-votes-unanimously-to-ask-Red-Warrior-Camp-to-leave-401548985.html">Fox News West Dakota</a> reports that at a recent&nbsp;Tribal Council meeting on November 1, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council voted 10-0 to ask the Red Warrior Camp to leave the protests.

The former spokesperson for the Red Warrior Camp, Cody Hall, was quoted as saying that&nbsp;elders were worried that some of the camp members&#39; messages were becoming increasingly&nbsp;violent, and they questioned whether or not they were concerned for the safety of all the protesters&nbsp;opposing&nbsp;the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Hall, while saying that he does not speak for the group, believes the Red Warrior Camp is still present at the camp. Also, he insists that the Tribal Council only wanted to remove the specific segment responsible for the agitation, and that he doesn&#39;t think they wanted the entire camp gone.

On the #NoDAPL <a href="https://nodaplsolidarity.org/">Solidarity website</a>, the Red Warrior Camp is termed as&nbsp;&quot;established in partnership with the Sacred Stone Camp to help guide the nonviolent direct action resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline.&quot;

The popular movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline has grown, and includes high-profile Americans&nbsp;celebrities and politicians like Democratic presidential nominee Bernie Sanders.

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It is time for a new approach to the Native American people, not to run a pipeline through their land. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoDAPL?src=hash">#NoDAPL</a> <a href="https://t.co/DoqoBDW7Rx">pic.twitter.com/DoqoBDW7Rx</a>
&mdash; Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/799020025596301314">November 16, 2016</a></blockquote>
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(WION)

The move seeks to keep protests against the North Dakota Pipeline non-violent and to prioritise the safety of all activists

Fox News West Dakota reports that at a recent Tribal Council meeting on November 1, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council voted 10-0 to ask the Red Warrior Camp to leave the protests. The former spokesperson for the Red Warrior Camp, Cody Hall, was quoted as saying that elders were worried that some of the camp members' messages were becoming increasingly violent, and they questioned whether or not they were concerned for the safety of all the protesters opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline. Hall, while saying that he does not speak for the group, believes the Red Warrior Camp is still present at the camp. Also, he insists that the Tribal Council only wanted to remove the specific segment responsible for the agitation, and that he doesn't think they wanted the entire camp gone. On the #NoDAPL Solidarity website, the Red Warrior Camp is termed as "established in partnership with the Sacred Stone Camp to help guide the nonviolent direct action resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline." The popular movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline has grown, and includes high-profile Americans celebrities and politicians like Democratic presidential nominee Bernie Sanders. It is time for a new approach to the Native American people, not to run a pipeline through their land. #NoDAPL pic.twitter.com/DoqoBDW7Rx — Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) November 16, 2016 × (WION)

Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council votes 10-0 to ask the Red Warrior Camp to leave

Bernie Sanders, the Democratic candidate who lost the Primaries to Hillary Clinton, made an official statement in response&nbsp;to the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency.

The Daily Beast reporter Colin Jones carried Sanders&#39; statement in a Tweet.

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Bernie: &quot;To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him.&rdquo; <a href="https://t.co/WmTFV1TvRi">pic.twitter.com/WmTFV1TvRi</a>
&mdash; Colin Jones (@colinjones) <a href="https://twitter.com/colinjones/status/796498877373448192">November 9, 2016</a></blockquote>
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The full text of the statement reads:&nbsp;

&quot;Donald Trump tapped into the anger of a declining middle class that is sick and tired of establishment politics, establishment politics and the&nbsp;establishment media. People are tired of working longer hours for lower wages, of seeing decent paying jobs go to China and other low-wage countries, of billionaires not paying any federal income taxes and of not being able to afford a college education for their kids -&nbsp;all while the very rich become much richer.

&quot;To the degree to which Mr Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working class families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him. To the degree that he purses racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him.&quot;

&nbsp;

Would Bernie have beaten Trump?

Sanders, according to polls, was poised to beat Trump in a head to head race. Why didn&#39;t the two face off, then?

A WikiLeaks dump from only this past weekend suggests&nbsp;the Democratic Party <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/wikileaks-suggests-bernie-sanders-was-blackmailed-during-democratic-primary-8536">blackmailed Bernie Sanders</a> during the Primaries.

In a May&nbsp;interview with CNBC he spoke about the potential isolating effects of extreme wealth after being&nbsp;asked what the impact of Clinton&#39;s wealth could be on her policy making decisions.

According to a released email whose authenticity the&nbsp;Democrats never denied, Clinton Campaign Manager Robby Mook, who had the quote brought to his attention by a staffer, said: &quot;This isn&#39;t in keeping w the agreement. Since we clearly have some leverage, would be good to flag this for him. I could send a signal via Welch--or did you establish a direct line w him?&quot;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/wikileaks-suggests-bernie-sanders-was-blackmailed-during-democratic-primary-8536">Another WikiLeaks revelation</a> was that the Democratic National Committee actively conspired against Bernie Sanders to favour Hillary Clinton.

The Democrats have much explaining to do. &nbsp;

But at a time when politicians and media may&nbsp;go&nbsp;from&nbsp;snubbing Donald Trump to cosying up to him when&nbsp;he&#39;s president,&nbsp;Sanders appears determined to&nbsp;stand&nbsp;up for his beliefs,&nbsp;and&nbsp;willing to denounce&nbsp;his adversaries when necessary.

At least there doesn&#39;t seem to be any leverage stopping him from speaking freely&nbsp;now.&nbsp;

(WION)

'To the extent he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him'

Bernie Sanders, the Democratic candidate who lost the Primaries to Hillary Clinton, made an official statement in response to the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency. The Daily Beast reporter Colin Jones carried Sanders' statement in a Tweet. Bernie: "To the degree that he pursues racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him.” pic.twitter.com/WmTFV1TvRi — Colin Jones (@colinjones) November 9, 2016 × The full text of the statement reads: "Donald Trump tapped into the anger of a declining middle class that is sick and tired of establishment politics, establishment politics and the establishment media. People are tired of working longer hours for lower wages, of seeing decent paying jobs go to China and other low-wage countries, of billionaires not paying any federal income taxes and of not being able to afford a college education for their kids - all while the very rich become much richer. "To the degree to which Mr Trump is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working class families in this country, I and other progressives are prepared to work with him. To the degree that he purses racist, sexist, xenophobic and anti-environment policies, we will vigorously oppose him." Would Bernie have beaten Trump? Sanders, according to polls, was poised to beat Trump in a head to head race. Why didn't the two face off, then? A WikiLeaks dump from only this past weekend suggests the Democratic Party blackmailed Bernie Sanders during the Primaries. In a May interview with CNBC he spoke about the potential isolating effects of extreme wealth after being asked what the impact of Clinton's wealth could be on her policy making decisions. According to a released email whose authenticity the Democrats never denied, Clinton Campaign Manager Robby Mook, who had the quote brought to his attention by a staffer, said: "This isn't in keeping w the agreement. Since we clearly have some leverage, would be good to flag this for him. I could send a signal via Welch--or did you establish a direct line w him?" Another WikiLeaks revelation was that the Democratic National Committee actively conspired against Bernie Sanders to favour Hillary Clinton. The Democrats have much explaining to do. But at a time when politicians and media may go from snubbing Donald Trump to cosying up to him when he's president, Sanders appears determined to stand up for his beliefs, and willing to denounce his adversaries when necessary. At least there doesn't seem to be any leverage stopping him from speaking freely now. (WION)

US Election 2016: Bernie Sanders responds to a Donald Trump presidency

A WikiLeaks release from this past weekend suggests that&nbsp;Bernie Sanders was&nbsp;blackmailed by the Clinton campaign when they competed during&nbsp;the primaries to see who would be the Democratic presidential nominee.

After being asked about the topic, Sanders made some pointed remarks about the potential impact of Clinton&#39;s wealth on her policy making decisions, discussing the possible isolating effect of extreme wealth. He told CNBC in May:

&quot;Theoretically you can be a multibillionaire and in fact be very concerned about the issues of working people. Theoretically that&#39;s true.&quot;

Then he added, &quot;When you hustle money like that, you don&#39;t sit in restaurants like this. You sit in restaurants where you spend, I don&#39;t know what they spend, hundreds of dollars for dinner and so forth. That&#39;s the world you are accustomed to. And that&#39;s the worldview that you adopt. I&#39;m not going to condemn Hillary and Bill Clinton because they&#39;ve made a lot of money. That type of wealth has the potential to isolate you from the reality of the world,&quot; he said.

The WikiLeaks dump shows that not only did a campaign manager&nbsp;object to this comment, particularly Sanders&#39; use of the word &quot;hustle&quot;, or highlight it as something negative in need of counter-messaging, he seemed to believe that he had control of Sanders, who&nbsp;crossed a line by speaking this way&nbsp;despite explicitly saying&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m not going to condemn Hillary or Bill Clinton&quot;.

Here is Clinton Campaign Manager Robby Mook&#39;s&nbsp;response to this remark after&nbsp;the campaign brought it to his attention,&nbsp;as released by&nbsp;<a href="https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/47397">WikiLeaks</a>: &quot;This isn&#39;t in keeping w the agreement. Since we clearly have some leverage, would be good to flag this for him. I could send a signal via Welch--or did you establish a direct line w him?&quot;

What did Clinton&#39;s campaign have &quot;over&quot; him? What else did this prevent him from saying or doing? Exactly how profound an impact did this have on the US election? None of this is currently evident, but Sanders&#39; supporters are livid, and it seems they have reason to be.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/wikileaks-releases-20000-emails-of-democratic-party-officials-working-against-bernie-sanders-3076">Also read: WikiLeaks releases 20,000 emails of Democratic party officials working against Bernie Sanders</a>

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2016-bernie-sanders-responds-to-a-donald-trump-presidency-8625">Also read: Bernie Sanders responds to a Donald Trump presidency</a>

WikiLeaks, months earlier, also released emails showing that the Democratic National Committee favoured Clinton over Sanders, and, as the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wikileaks-emails-show-dnc-favored-hillary-clinton-over_us_57930be0e4b0e002a3134b05">Huffington Post</a> reports,&nbsp;considered whether it would be advantageous to highlight his Jewish heritage or his identification as an&nbsp;atheist -- whatever would make a &quot;several points difference with my peeps [voters]&quot;.

While Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, even still, her campaign has a lot of explaining to do.

(WION)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

'This isn't in keeping w the agreement. Since we clearly have some leverage...' Clinton's campaign manager said in what seems like silencing

A WikiLeaks release from this past weekend suggests that Bernie Sanders was blackmailed by the Clinton campaign when they competed during the primaries to see who would be the Democratic presidential nominee. After being asked about the topic, Sanders made some pointed remarks about the potential impact of Clinton's wealth on her policy making decisions, discussing the possible isolating effect of extreme wealth. He told CNBC in May: "Theoretically you can be a multibillionaire and in fact be very concerned about the issues of working people. Theoretically that's true." Then he added, "When you hustle money like that, you don't sit in restaurants like this. You sit in restaurants where you spend, I don't know what they spend, hundreds of dollars for dinner and so forth. That's the world you are accustomed to. And that's the worldview that you adopt. I'm not going to condemn Hillary and Bill Clinton because they've made a lot of money. That type of wealth has the potential to isolate you from the reality of the world," he said. The WikiLeaks dump shows that not only did a campaign manager object to this comment, particularly Sanders' use of the word "hustle", or highlight it as something negative in need of counter-messaging, he seemed to believe that he had control of Sanders, who crossed a line by speaking this way despite explicitly saying "I'm not going to condemn Hillary or Bill Clinton". Here is Clinton Campaign Manager Robby Mook's response to this remark after the campaign brought it to his attention, as released by WikiLeaks: "This isn't in keeping w the agreement. Since we clearly have some leverage, would be good to flag this for him. I could send a signal via Welch--or did you establish a direct line w him?" What did Clinton's campaign have "over" him? What else did this prevent him from saying or doing? Exactly how profound an impact did this have on the US election? None of this is currently evident, but Sanders' supporters are livid, and it seems they have reason to be. Also read: WikiLeaks releases 20,000 emails of Democratic party officials working against Bernie Sanders Also read: Bernie Sanders responds to a Donald Trump presidency WikiLeaks, months earlier, also released emails showing that the Democratic National Committee favoured Clinton over Sanders, and, as the Huffington Post reports, considered whether it would be advantageous to highlight his Jewish heritage or his identification as an atheist -- whatever would make a "several points difference with my peeps [voters]". While Sanders endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, even still, her campaign has a lot of explaining to do. (WION)

WikiLeaks suggests Bernie Sanders was blackmailed during Democratic Primary

WikiLeaks released 20,000 emails from the top of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) that purportedly show the party working against senator Bernie Sanders and his election campaign on Friday. 
 
The leak came hours before the party&#39;s presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton announced senator Tim Kaine as her running mate for the presidential elections. The party had been accused of favouring throughout the campaign and attempting to sideline Sanders. 
 
In one of the many emails released, the party&#39;s national press secretary Mark Paustenchbach writes to communication director Luis Miranda and is seen trying to shape a negative &#39;Bernie narrative&#39; during his campaign.

&quot;Wondering if there&rsquo;s a good Bernie narrative for a story, which is that Bernie never ever had his act together, that his campaign was &quot;a mess.&quot;

Specifically, DWS had to call Bernie directly in order to get the campaign to do things because they&rsquo;d either ignored or forgotten to something critical.&quot;

<div class="twitter-block">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DNCLeaks?src=hash">#DNCLeaks</a>: DNC plotted to expose Bernie Sanders as an atheist <a href="https://t.co/RytNnJyNCD">https://t.co/RytNnJyNCD</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FeelTheBern?src=hash">#FeelTheBern</a> <a href="https://t.co/mCQJGvMBTQ">pic.twitter.com/mCQJGvMBTQ</a>
&mdash; WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/756529316209590280">July 22, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>

 
One of the biggest revelations from these email is that the DNC was coordinating with reporters to put out stories about Bernie Sanders. 
&nbsp;

<div class="twitter-block">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DNCLeaks?src=hash">#DNCLeaks</a>: Comms Director goes running to Chuck Todd, telling him <a href="https://twitter.com/Morning_Joe">@Morning_Joe</a> aren&#39;t allowed to criticize DWS <a href="https://t.co/fzRCnITHjR">https://t.co/fzRCnITHjR</a>
&mdash; WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/756574594073497602">July 22, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div>
 
Business Insider reports that Politico&#39;s Kenneth Vogel sent an advanced copy of his story to Paustenbach with the subject line reading: &quot;per agreement ... any thoughts appreciated.&quot; 
 
In a mail to Miranda, Paustenbach wrote, &quot;Vogel gave me his story ahead of time/before it goes to his editors as long as I didn&#39;t share it,&quot; adding, &quot;Let me know if you see anything that&#39;s missing and I&#39;ll push back.&quot; 
 
In another instance, the emails reveal that DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was angry at being criticised by MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski. According to Salon&#39;s report, Scultz asked for an apology and told Chuck Todd at the network that &quot;this must stop&quot;. Schultz also took the matter up with the network&#39;s head. 
 
Schultz served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton&rsquo;s presidential campaign in 2008 and has been criticised for her bias against Sanders, the report says. 
 
The emails show several instances where the DNC went out of its way to sabotage Sanders&#39; campaign. 
&nbsp;
<div class="twitter-block">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DNCLeaks?src=hash">#DNCLeaks</a>: &quot;Yes, Super PAC paying young voters to push back online on Sanders supporters&quot; <a href="https://t.co/qwCck0nGdH">https://t.co/qwCck0nGdH</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FeelTheBern?src=hash">#FeelTheBern</a>
&mdash; WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) <a href="https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/756609314232606720">July 22, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>

 
The Democratic party is days away from its national convention in Philadelphia from July 25-28 where Clinton will be formally announced as the presidential nominee. 
 
(This report first appeared in DNA)
</div>
</div>

Emails show that the party's national committee was coordinating with reporters to put out negative stories about Bernie Sanders

WikiLeaks released 20,000 emails from the top of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) that purportedly show the party working against senator Bernie Sanders and his election campaign on Friday. The leak came hours before the party's presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton announced senator Tim Kaine as her running mate for the presidential elections. The party had been accused of favouring throughout the campaign and attempting to sideline Sanders. In one of the many emails released, the party's national press secretary Mark Paustenchbach writes to communication director Luis Miranda and is seen trying to shape a negative 'Bernie narrative' during his campaign. "Wondering if there’s a good Bernie narrative for a story, which is that Bernie never ever had his act together, that his campaign was "a mess." Specifically, DWS had to call Bernie directly in order to get the campaign to do things because they’d either ignored or forgotten to something critical." #DNCLeaks: DNC plotted to expose Bernie Sanders as an atheist https://t.co/RytNnJyNCD #FeelTheBern pic.twitter.com/mCQJGvMBTQ — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 22, 2016 One of the biggest revelations from these email is that the DNC was coordinating with reporters to put out stories about Bernie Sanders. #DNCLeaks: Comms Director goes running to Chuck Todd, telling him @Morning_Joe aren't allowed to criticize DWS https://t.co/fzRCnITHjR — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 22, 2016 Business Insider reports that Politico's Kenneth Vogel sent an advanced copy of his story to Paustenbach with the subject line reading: "per agreement ... any thoughts appreciated." In a mail to Miranda, Paustenbach wrote, "Vogel gave me his story ahead of time/before it goes to his editors as long as I didn't share it," adding, "Let me know if you see anything that's missing and I'll push back." In another instance, the emails reveal that DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was angry at being criticised by MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski. According to Salon's report, Scultz asked for an apology and told Chuck Todd at the network that "this must stop". Schultz also took the matter up with the network's head. Schultz served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2008 and has been criticised for her bias against Sanders, the report says. The emails show several instances where the DNC went out of its way to sabotage Sanders' campaign. #DNCLeaks: "Yes, Super PAC paying young voters to push back online on Sanders supporters" https://t.co/qwCck0nGdH #FeelTheBern — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 22, 2016 The Democratic party is days away from its national convention in Philadelphia from July 25-28 where Clinton will be formally announced as the presidential nominee. (This report first appeared in DNA)

WikiLeaks releases 20,000 emails of Democratic party officials working against Bernie Sanders

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton secured the Democratic Party&#39;s 2016 nomination for the White House yesterday, becoming the first woman to head the ticket of a major party in US history. 
 
In a symbolic show of party unity, Clinton&#39;s former rival, US senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, told the chairwoman from the convention floor that Clinton should be selected as the party&#39;s nominee during a state-by-state roll call at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia. 
 
Earlier, delegates from South Dakota had given Clinton 15 votes, ensuring that she had more than the 2,383 votes needed to win the nomination. She emerged with a total of 2,842 votes to Sanders&#39; 1,865 votes. 
 
After a tough battle with Sanders, Clinton is now the party&#39;s standard-bearer against Republican nominee Donald Trump in the November 8 election. 
 
Delegates chanted &quot;Hillary, Hillary&quot; as US senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland formally put forward Clinton&#39;s name for the alphabetical roll-call vote. 
 
&quot;Yes, we do break barriers, I broke a barrier when I became the first Democratic woman elected to the Senate in her own right,&quot; Mikulski said. &quot;So it is with a full heart that I&#39;m here today to nominate Hillary Clinton to be the first woman president,&quot; Mikulski said. 
 
Sanders has endorsed Clinton, a former first lady and US senator, but some of his supporters protested in Philadelphia against the party leadership&#39;s apparent backing of her during the bitter Democratic primary fight. 
 
Supporters of Clinton say her Washington credentials show she has the experience needed for the White House during troubled times as the United States tries to speed up its economic recovery and faces security challenges abroad. 
 
Detractors view her as too cosy with the establishment and say she carries political baggage dating back to the start of her husband president Bill Clinton&#39;s first White House term in the 1990s. 
 
Clinton had been leading Trump in national opinion polls in recent weeks but the New York businessman got a boost from the Republican National Convention in Cleveland where he was formally nominated last week. 
 
Trump had a 2-point lead over Clinton in a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on yesterday, the first time he has been ahead since early May. 
 
Clinton, who promises to tackle income inequality and rein in Wall Street if she becomes president, is eager to portray former reality TV star Trump as too unstable to sit in the Oval Office. 
 
In the recent past, Clinton has faced much criticism over the email scandal as well as the documents leaked by WikiLeaks over which Democratic National Committee chairperson Debbie Wasserman Schultz had to resign. 
 
(Reuters)

She secures Democratic Party's 2016 ticket for presidential run to become first female nominee of a major party

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton secured the Democratic Party's 2016 nomination for the White House yesterday, becoming the first woman to head the ticket of a major party in US history. In a symbolic show of party unity, Clinton's former rival, US senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, told the chairwoman from the convention floor that Clinton should be selected as the party's nominee during a state-by-state roll call at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia. Earlier, delegates from South Dakota had given Clinton 15 votes, ensuring that she had more than the 2,383 votes needed to win the nomination. She emerged with a total of 2,842 votes to Sanders' 1,865 votes. After a tough battle with Sanders, Clinton is now the party's standard-bearer against Republican nominee Donald Trump in the November 8 election. Delegates chanted "Hillary, Hillary" as US senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland formally put forward Clinton's name for the alphabetical roll-call vote. "Yes, we do break barriers, I broke a barrier when I became the first Democratic woman elected to the Senate in her own right," Mikulski said. "So it is with a full heart that I'm here today to nominate Hillary Clinton to be the first woman president," Mikulski said. Sanders has endorsed Clinton, a former first lady and US senator, but some of his supporters protested in Philadelphia against the party leadership's apparent backing of her during the bitter Democratic primary fight. Supporters of Clinton say her Washington credentials show she has the experience needed for the White House during troubled times as the United States tries to speed up its economic recovery and faces security challenges abroad. Detractors view her as too cosy with the establishment and say she carries political baggage dating back to the start of her husband president Bill Clinton's first White House term in the 1990s. Clinton had been leading Trump in national opinion polls in recent weeks but the New York businessman got a boost from the Republican National Convention in Cleveland where he was formally nominated last week. Trump had a 2-point lead over Clinton in a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on yesterday, the first time he has been ahead since early May. Clinton, who promises to tackle income inequality and rein in Wall Street if she becomes president, is eager to portray former reality TV star Trump as too unstable to sit in the Oval Office. In the recent past, Clinton has faced much criticism over the email scandal as well as the documents leaked by WikiLeaks over which Democratic National Committee chairperson Debbie Wasserman Schultz had to resign. (Reuters)

Hillary Clinton trumps WikiLeaks and email scandal to make history

Bernie Sanders urged reluctant supporters yesterday to vote for his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in order to bar Donald Trump&#39;s path to the White House, slamming the Republican as a &quot;demagogue&quot;. 
 
&quot;We have got to defeat Donald Trump. We have got to elect Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine,&quot; the Vermont senator told a rally held hours before the opening of the Democratic National Convention. 
 
&quot;Trump is a bully and a demagogue,&quot; said Sanders whose call to support party nominee Clinton in November was met with loud jeers and cries of &quot;We want Bernie!&quot; from the fired-up crowd. 
 
The four-day confab in Philadelphia got off to a rocky start following a major internal row over leaked emails that showed party leaders sought to undermine Sanders in the party primaries.&nbsp;Many of the die-hard Sanders supporters who descended on Philadelphia loathe the party flag bearer Clinton so much they are unwilling to back her, even if the cost is a Trump presidency. 
 
Sanders has officially endorsed his rival and has been offered a prime speaking slot later Monday at the convention, during which he will stress that the party mission is to prevent Trump from becoming the 45th president of the United States. 
 
He hammered home that message to his supporters. 
 
&quot;Brothers and sisters - brothers and sisters, this is the real world that we live in,&quot; Sanders said.&nbsp;&quot;Trump has made bigotry and hatred the cornerstone of his campaign. Throughout this campaign he has insulted Mexicans and Latinos. He has insulted Muslims and insulted women and African Americans.&nbsp;It is not just my opinion. That is what many conservative Republicans believe. Trump is a danger for the future of our country and must be defeated.&nbsp;And I intend to do everything to see that he is defeated.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

Sanders will speak at the Democratic convention where he will stress that preventing Trump from taking the White House is the party mission

Bernie Sanders urged reluctant supporters yesterday to vote for his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in order to bar Donald Trump's path to the White House, slamming the Republican as a "demagogue". "We have got to defeat Donald Trump. We have got to elect Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine," the Vermont senator told a rally held hours before the opening of the Democratic National Convention. "Trump is a bully and a demagogue," said Sanders whose call to support party nominee Clinton in November was met with loud jeers and cries of "We want Bernie!" from the fired-up crowd. The four-day confab in Philadelphia got off to a rocky start following a major internal row over leaked emails that showed party leaders sought to undermine Sanders in the party primaries. Many of the die-hard Sanders supporters who descended on Philadelphia loathe the party flag bearer Clinton so much they are unwilling to back her, even if the cost is a Trump presidency. Sanders has officially endorsed his rival and has been offered a prime speaking slot later Monday at the convention, during which he will stress that the party mission is to prevent Trump from becoming the 45th president of the United States. He hammered home that message to his supporters. "Brothers and sisters - brothers and sisters, this is the real world that we live in," Sanders said. "Trump has made bigotry and hatred the cornerstone of his campaign. Throughout this campaign he has insulted Mexicans and Latinos. He has insulted Muslims and insulted women and African Americans. It is not just my opinion. That is what many conservative Republicans believe. Trump is a danger for the future of our country and must be defeated. And I intend to do everything to see that he is defeated." (AFP)

Sanders calls Trump 'demagogue', urges vote for Clinton

The chief executive of the Democratic National Committee and two other top officials have resigned in the wake of an email hack that embarrassed the party on the eve of its presidential nominating convention. 
 
CEO Amy Dacey, chief finance officer Brad Marshall and communications director Luis Miranda left their jobs today, the party said in a statement. The resignations are the latest fallout from the hacked emails, which exposed an apparent lack of neutrality in the primary race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, with some party officials disparaging Sanders. 
 
Marshall wrote the most explosive email, questioning Sanders&#39; Jewish faith and suggesting he could be portrayed as an atheist. He has apologized for the missive. Earlier, party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned her position and, after being booed at a pre-convention appearance last week in Philadelphia, chose not to speak from the convention stage. 
 
Longtime Democratic operative Donna Brazile is serving as the party&#39;s interim chair. Brazile said today that she has created a &quot;transition team&quot; to help prepare the party for its post-election mission. She said Tom McMahon, a former DNC executive director under then-Chair Howard Dean, will lead that group. 
 
Clinton operatives who moved over to party headquarters after she had effectively secured the nomination in June will continue in their roles; that group includes DNC chief of staff Brandon Davis. 
 
Additionally, veteran Democratic strategist Doug Thornell will serve as an interim senior adviser to the party. Dacey already has a new job. She has been hired by Squared Communications, a Democratic consulting firm based in Washington. &quot;As one of the top campaign strategists in our party, and with our experiences together on presidential, Senate and congressional campaigns, Amy will help our firm&#39;s clients navigate this and future election cycles,&quot; Michael Meehan, founder and CEO Squared Communications, said in a statement. 
 
Before joining the DNC, Dacey was executive director of EMILY&#39;s List, which works to elect female Democrats. The cache of more than 19,000 messages was made public by the group WikiLeaks just before the convention. Democratic Party officials learned in late April that their systems had been attacked after they discovered malicious software on their computers. 
 
(AP)

Hacked emails of DNC's members had exposed an apparent lack of neutrality in the primary race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders

The chief executive of the Democratic National Committee and two other top officials have resigned in the wake of an email hack that embarrassed the party on the eve of its presidential nominating convention. CEO Amy Dacey, chief finance officer Brad Marshall and communications director Luis Miranda left their jobs today, the party said in a statement. The resignations are the latest fallout from the hacked emails, which exposed an apparent lack of neutrality in the primary race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, with some party officials disparaging Sanders. Marshall wrote the most explosive email, questioning Sanders' Jewish faith and suggesting he could be portrayed as an atheist. He has apologized for the missive. Earlier, party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned her position and, after being booed at a pre-convention appearance last week in Philadelphia, chose not to speak from the convention stage. Longtime Democratic operative Donna Brazile is serving as the party's interim chair. Brazile said today that she has created a "transition team" to help prepare the party for its post-election mission. She said Tom McMahon, a former DNC executive director under then-Chair Howard Dean, will lead that group. Clinton operatives who moved over to party headquarters after she had effectively secured the nomination in June will continue in their roles; that group includes DNC chief of staff Brandon Davis. Additionally, veteran Democratic strategist Doug Thornell will serve as an interim senior adviser to the party. Dacey already has a new job. She has been hired by Squared Communications, a Democratic consulting firm based in Washington. "As one of the top campaign strategists in our party, and with our experiences together on presidential, Senate and congressional campaigns, Amy will help our firm's clients navigate this and future election cycles," Michael Meehan, founder and CEO Squared Communications, said in a statement. Before joining the DNC, Dacey was executive director of EMILY's List, which works to elect female Democrats. The cache of more than 19,000 messages was made public by the group WikiLeaks just before the convention. Democratic Party officials learned in late April that their systems had been attacked after they discovered malicious software on their computers. (AP)

Chief executive of Democratic National Committee, two others resign over email hack controversy

Democratic Party bosses on Monday apologised to Bernie Sanders for &quot;inexcusable&quot; emails aimed at undermining his White House bid, as they tried to patch up an embarrassing party feud. 
 
&quot;We want to offer a deep and sincere apology to Senator Sanders, his supporters, and the entire Democratic Party for the inexcusable remarks made over email,&quot; the Democratic National Committee said in a statement on the opening day of the party&#39;s convention set to nominate Hillary Clinton for the presidency. 
 
&quot;These comments do not reflect the values of the DNC or our steadfast commitment to neutrality during the nominating process.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

'The DNC does not, and will not tolerate disrespectful language exhibited towards our candidates'

Democratic Party bosses on Monday apologised to Bernie Sanders for "inexcusable" emails aimed at undermining his White House bid, as they tried to patch up an embarrassing party feud. "We want to offer a deep and sincere apology to Senator Sanders, his supporters, and the entire Democratic Party for the inexcusable remarks made over email," the Democratic National Committee said in a statement on the opening day of the party's convention set to nominate Hillary Clinton for the presidency. "These comments do not reflect the values of the DNC or our steadfast commitment to neutrality during the nominating process." (AFP)

Democratic Party apologises to Bernie Sanders for 'inexcusable remarks' in leaked emails

The FBI announced yesterday it was investigating the embarrassing hack of Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails - a breach the Clinton campaign blamed on Russia, accusing Moscow of seeking to influence the US presidential election. 
 
The emails leaked by WikiLeaks, which reveal that party leaders sought to undermine the campaign of Hillary Clinton&#39;s rival Bernie Sanders, threw the DNC into disarray on its first day and prompted the party boss to resign. 
 
While a series of experts pointed the finger at Moscow, others urged caution. 
 
&quot;The FBI is investigating a cyber intrusion involving the DNC and are working to determine the nature and scope of the matter,&quot; the agency said, making no mention of possible culprits. 
 
&quot;A compromise of this nature is something we take very seriously, and the FBI will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace.&quot; 
 
Both the White House and the State Department deferred to the FBI on whether Russia was to blame, but highlighted that cybersecurity has been an ongoing issue of concern between Washington and Moscow. 
 
&quot;We know that there are a variety of actors both state and criminal who are looking for vulnerabilities in the cyber security of the United States and that includes Russia,&quot; White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. 
 
State Department spokesman John Kirby added: &quot;I think we need to let the FBI do their work before we try to form any conclusions here about what happened and what the motivation was behind it.&quot; 
 
Was it Russia? 
 
But Clinton&#39;s team - looking to tamp down an internal party uproar just days before she becomes the first woman in US history to be formally conferred the presidential nomination by a major party - was quick to point fingers. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s troubling that some experts are now telling us that this was done by the Russians for the purpose of helping Donald Trump,&quot; Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook told ABC. 
 
Trump has made no secret of his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, leading some to conjecture that Putin was working to put the real estate billionaire in the White House. 
 
The question of Russian involvement has some precedent. 
 
When security firm CrowdStrike revealed that it responded to a suspected DNC breach, uncovered in April, the company identified &quot;two sophisticated adversaries&quot; whom it linked to Russian intelligence. 
 
The Washington Post reported that the hackers stole data, including a trove of opposition research on Trump. 
 
Thomas Rid, author of the book Rise of the Machines and professor of security studies at King&#39;s College, London, believes there is &quot;very strong&quot; evidence linking known Russian operations to the DNC breach. 
 
&quot;The operation, with its manipulative traits, fits well into the wider framework of Russia&rsquo;s evolving military doctrine, known as New Generation Warfare,&quot; he wrote on news website Motherboard. 
 
&quot;American inaction now risks establishing a de facto norm that all election campaigns in the future, everywhere, are fair game for sabotage,&quot; he said. 
 
Russian hack, but what about leak? 
 
Trump sought to use the internal Democratic rift to his advantage. 
 
&quot;She worked very, very hard to rig the system,&quot; Trump said of Clinton at a campaign stop in Virginia on Monday. &quot;Little did she know that China, Russia, one of our many, many friends came in and hacked the hell out of us.&quot; 
 
But even if Russians were involved in the hack, they were not necessarily behind the leak, warned James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. 
 
&quot;It could just as easily be an insider using the Russians as an excuse,&quot; he told AFP in an email. 
 
Some experts counselled even greater caution. 
 
&quot;Internet attack attribution is very hard, and in many cases impossible,&quot; said Bruce Schneier, cyber-security expert and chief technology officer at Resilient, an IBM company. &quot;We&#39;ll probably never know who did this.&quot; 
 
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told NBC News that there was &quot;no evidence&quot; so far that Russia was behind the leak, but would not elaborate on how the anti-secrecy website obtained the nearly 20,000 DNC emails. 
 
(AFP)

The White House and the State Department deferred to the FBI on whether Russia was to blame, but Clinton camp was quick to accuse Moscow

The FBI announced yesterday it was investigating the embarrassing hack of Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails - a breach the Clinton campaign blamed on Russia, accusing Moscow of seeking to influence the US presidential election. The emails leaked by WikiLeaks, which reveal that party leaders sought to undermine the campaign of Hillary Clinton's rival Bernie Sanders, threw the DNC into disarray on its first day and prompted the party boss to resign. While a series of experts pointed the finger at Moscow, others urged caution. "The FBI is investigating a cyber intrusion involving the DNC and are working to determine the nature and scope of the matter," the agency said, making no mention of possible culprits. "A compromise of this nature is something we take very seriously, and the FBI will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who pose a threat in cyberspace." Both the White House and the State Department deferred to the FBI on whether Russia was to blame, but highlighted that cybersecurity has been an ongoing issue of concern between Washington and Moscow. "We know that there are a variety of actors both state and criminal who are looking for vulnerabilities in the cyber security of the United States and that includes Russia," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. State Department spokesman John Kirby added: "I think we need to let the FBI do their work before we try to form any conclusions here about what happened and what the motivation was behind it." Was it Russia? But Clinton's team - looking to tamp down an internal party uproar just days before she becomes the first woman in US history to be formally conferred the presidential nomination by a major party - was quick to point fingers. "It's troubling that some experts are now telling us that this was done by the Russians for the purpose of helping Donald Trump," Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook told ABC. Trump has made no secret of his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, leading some to conjecture that Putin was working to put the real estate billionaire in the White House. The question of Russian involvement has some precedent. When security firm CrowdStrike revealed that it responded to a suspected DNC breach, uncovered in April, the company identified "two sophisticated adversaries" whom it linked to Russian intelligence. The Washington Post reported that the hackers stole data, including a trove of opposition research on Trump. Thomas Rid, author of the book Rise of the Machines and professor of security studies at King's College, London, believes there is "very strong" evidence linking known Russian operations to the DNC breach. "The operation, with its manipulative traits, fits well into the wider framework of Russia’s evolving military doctrine, known as New Generation Warfare," he wrote on news website Motherboard. "American inaction now risks establishing a de facto norm that all election campaigns in the future, everywhere, are fair game for sabotage," he said. Russian hack, but what about leak? Trump sought to use the internal Democratic rift to his advantage. "She worked very, very hard to rig the system," Trump said of Clinton at a campaign stop in Virginia on Monday. "Little did she know that China, Russia, one of our many, many friends came in and hacked the hell out of us." But even if Russians were involved in the hack, they were not necessarily behind the leak, warned James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. "It could just as easily be an insider using the Russians as an excuse," he told AFP in an email. Some experts counselled even greater caution. "Internet attack attribution is very hard, and in many cases impossible," said Bruce Schneier, cyber-security expert and chief technology officer at Resilient, an IBM company. "We'll probably never know who did this." WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told NBC News that there was "no evidence" so far that Russia was behind the leak, but would not elaborate on how the anti-secrecy website obtained the nearly 20,000 DNC emails. (AFP)

FBI probes Democratic email hack, Clinton campaign blames Russia

The Democratic convention opened to chaotic scenes Monday, as rival supporters of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders traded boos and jeers in a very public show of party disunity. 
 
As polls showed Republican Donald Trump leading the race for the White House, Democrats meeting in Philadelphia to make Clinton the first woman presidential nominee from a major party were in disarray. 
 
Sanders&#39; supporters booed as a pastor leading the invocation prayer mentioned Clinton&#39;s name, setting the stage for a raucous chorus of cheers and jeers as successive speakers took to the podium. 
 
The party is reeling from leaked Democratic National Committee emails which show nominally neutral party staff trying to undermine Sanders&#39; insurgent campaign and questioning his Jewish faith. 
 
Anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks at the weekend released nearly 20,000 emails from between January 2015 and May 2016, gleaned by hackers who apparently raided the accounts of seven DNC leaders. 
 
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was investigating the &quot;cyber intrusion,&quot; which the Clinton campaign blamed on Russian hackers bent on helping Trump. 
 
The leftist Sanders lost to Clinton in the primary handily, but the scandal has angered his already embittered supporters, who believe the race was fixed. 
 
The scandal led to the ouster of party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and an apology from party leaders. 
 
&quot;We want to offer a deep and sincere apology to Senator Sanders, his supporters, and the entire Democratic Party for the inexcusable remarks made over email,&quot; the Democratic National Committee said in a statement. 
 
Trump the &#39;demagogue&#39; 
 
Twice on Monday, before his official evening address to the convention, Sanders appealed to supporters to help build party unity. 
 
&quot;We have got to defeat Donald Trump. We have got to elect Hillary Clinton and (running mate) Tim Kaine,&quot; Sanders told a gathering of his supporters hours before the opening of the four-day convention. 
 
&quot;Trump is a bully and a demagogue,&quot; he said. His call to support Clinton was nevertheless met with loud jeers. 
 
He later sent a text message to supporters asking them not to protest on the floor of the convention as a &quot;personal courtesy&quot; to him.&nbsp;But that appeared to have little impact. 
 
As the boos and chants of &quot;Bernie! Bernie!&quot; continued inside the convention hall, Sanders protesters outside tried to breach security barriers, leading to a handful of arrests. 
 
&quot;Clinton can&#39;t beat Trump. Period,&quot; said Michigan delegate Melissa Arab, a Sanders supporter. 
 
&quot;A ham sandwich could beat Trump and she&#39;s not going to beat him. If she&#39;s nominated, people are going to end up with somebody bad for president.&quot; 
 
Many in the Sanders camp have voiced disappointment with Clinton&#39;s choice of centre-left running mate Kaine, a senator from Virginia, instead of a more liberal firebrand like senator Elizabeth Warren, who was also to speak yesterday. 
 
Prime time 
 
Much now rides on Sanders&#39; prime-time address later Monday, and those of Warren and First Lady Michelle Obama. 
 
This was meant to be a valedictory event for Clinton. 
 
Later this week, she will make history when she formally accepts the Democratic presidential nomination - the first woman to lead a major party&#39;s White House ticket. 
 
But new polls showed Trump surging since his confirmation last week as the Republican presidential nominee, with a CNN poll putting him three points ahead of Clinton - a six-point post-convention bump. 
 
Democratic delegates said it was time to come together. 
 
&quot;The stakes are too high. In the end it&#39;s going to be either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump and it&#39;s not even a close call,&quot; said Paul Czisny, a 57-year-old delegate from Wisconsin who had supported Sanders. 
 
The party is seeking to project a more unified message than the Republicans did at their convention last week in Cleveland, where fissures over Trump&#39;s candidacy were laid bare. 
 
&quot;The Democrats are in a total meltdown,&quot; Trump taunted on Twitter. &quot;E-mails say the rigged system is alive &amp; well!&quot; 
 
He later told supporters Clinton &quot;worked very, very hard to rig the system. Little did she know that China, Russia, one of our many, many friends came in and hacked the hell out of us.&quot; 
 
Trump has long sought to scoop up disaffected voters who feel Sanders - a self-described democratic socialist - was denied a fair shot at the nomination. 
 
Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook on Monday sought to deflect questions about the row. 
 
&quot;Our party is coming together here to unify to elect Hillary Clinton and defeat Donald Trump, and that&#39;s what you&#39;re going to see today,&quot; he said. 
 
Former president Bill Clinton is the star speaker at the convention Tuesday, while President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden take the stage Wednesday. 
 
Clinton got a modest boost Monday when former vice president Al Gore offered his endorsement. 
 
(AFP)

Sanders' call to support Clinton was met with jeers and boos. 'Clinton can't beat Trump. Period,' a Sanders supporter said

The Democratic convention opened to chaotic scenes Monday, as rival supporters of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders traded boos and jeers in a very public show of party disunity. As polls showed Republican Donald Trump leading the race for the White House, Democrats meeting in Philadelphia to make Clinton the first woman presidential nominee from a major party were in disarray. Sanders' supporters booed as a pastor leading the invocation prayer mentioned Clinton's name, setting the stage for a raucous chorus of cheers and jeers as successive speakers took to the podium. The party is reeling from leaked Democratic National Committee emails which show nominally neutral party staff trying to undermine Sanders' insurgent campaign and questioning his Jewish faith. Anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks at the weekend released nearly 20,000 emails from between January 2015 and May 2016, gleaned by hackers who apparently raided the accounts of seven DNC leaders. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it was investigating the "cyber intrusion," which the Clinton campaign blamed on Russian hackers bent on helping Trump. The leftist Sanders lost to Clinton in the primary handily, but the scandal has angered his already embittered supporters, who believe the race was fixed. The scandal led to the ouster of party chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and an apology from party leaders. "We want to offer a deep and sincere apology to Senator Sanders, his supporters, and the entire Democratic Party for the inexcusable remarks made over email," the Democratic National Committee said in a statement. Trump the 'demagogue' Twice on Monday, before his official evening address to the convention, Sanders appealed to supporters to help build party unity. "We have got to defeat Donald Trump. We have got to elect Hillary Clinton and (running mate) Tim Kaine," Sanders told a gathering of his supporters hours before the opening of the four-day convention. "Trump is a bully and a demagogue," he said. His call to support Clinton was nevertheless met with loud jeers. He later sent a text message to supporters asking them not to protest on the floor of the convention as a "personal courtesy" to him. But that appeared to have little impact. As the boos and chants of "Bernie! Bernie!" continued inside the convention hall, Sanders protesters outside tried to breach security barriers, leading to a handful of arrests. "Clinton can't beat Trump. Period," said Michigan delegate Melissa Arab, a Sanders supporter. "A ham sandwich could beat Trump and she's not going to beat him. If she's nominated, people are going to end up with somebody bad for president." Many in the Sanders camp have voiced disappointment with Clinton's choice of centre-left running mate Kaine, a senator from Virginia, instead of a more liberal firebrand like senator Elizabeth Warren, who was also to speak yesterday. Prime time Much now rides on Sanders' prime-time address later Monday, and those of Warren and First Lady Michelle Obama. This was meant to be a valedictory event for Clinton. Later this week, she will make history when she formally accepts the Democratic presidential nomination - the first woman to lead a major party's White House ticket. But new polls showed Trump surging since his confirmation last week as the Republican presidential nominee, with a CNN poll putting him three points ahead of Clinton - a six-point post-convention bump. Democratic delegates said it was time to come together. "The stakes are too high. In the end it's going to be either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump and it's not even a close call," said Paul Czisny, a 57-year-old delegate from Wisconsin who had supported Sanders. The party is seeking to project a more unified message than the Republicans did at their convention last week in Cleveland, where fissures over Trump's candidacy were laid bare. "The Democrats are in a total meltdown," Trump taunted on Twitter. "E-mails say the rigged system is alive & well!" He later told supporters Clinton "worked very, very hard to rig the system. Little did she know that China, Russia, one of our many, many friends came in and hacked the hell out of us." Trump has long sought to scoop up disaffected voters who feel Sanders - a self-described democratic socialist - was denied a fair shot at the nomination. Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook on Monday sought to deflect questions about the row. "Our party is coming together here to unify to elect Hillary Clinton and defeat Donald Trump, and that's what you're going to see today," he said. Former president Bill Clinton is the star speaker at the convention Tuesday, while President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden take the stage Wednesday. Clinton got a modest boost Monday when former vice president Al Gore offered his endorsement. (AFP)

Disunity rules as Democratic convention gets underway

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