The first in-person Quad meeting is all set to take place on the 24th of this month. US President Joe Biden whose international reputation is taken ahead will be hosting the leaders of Japan, Australia, and India at the White House.

United States: US President Joe Biden to host in-person Quad Summit

Taliban: women can't study or work alongside men UK parliament slammed for 'drinking culture' Prince Andrew rejects sexual abuse lawsuit

WION Live Broadcast: Biden To Host In-person Quad Summit

Former President Donald Trump slammed US President Joe Biden's pullout from Afghanistan, speculating that China and Russia are already reverse-engineering US military hardware left there.

During an interview with an American media house on Sunday, Trump blasted the withdrawal as "incompetent," warning that it would put the US in jeopardy and help its adversaries.&nbsp;

Trump went on to say that the country's enemies are already taking advantage of the weaponry, armoured vehicles, and aircraft left behind by US forces. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-shows-off-its-might-by-carrying-out-parade-with-us-armys-weapons-410042">Also read | Taliban shows off its might by carrying out parade with US army's weapons</a>

"Now I'm saying, ‘How can they take this equipment?’ And I guarantee that China and Russia already have our Apache helicopters and they're taking them apart to find out exactly how they're made. They're the best in the world by far. And they're taking them apart so they can make the same equipment. They're very good at that. It's a disgrace."

Since 2001, the United States has provided Afghan security forces with over $83 billion in training and equipment.&nbsp;

According to USA Today, the military abandoned 73 aircraft in Afghanistan, some of which were inoperable.

At the airport, soldiers were alleged to be operating Apache attack helicopters, according to Pentagon authorities.

Afghan pilots are said to have flown some of the advanced aircraft to other nations while abandoning the rest.&nbsp;

At a time when tensions are high with both of the US' key adversaries, China and Russia, located on Afghanistan's doorsteps, a European research group has called the choice to leave Afghanistan "inexplicable."&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

Former President Donald Trump slammed US President Joe Biden's pullout from Afghanistan, speculating that China and Russia are already reverse-engineering US military hardware left there.

Former President Donald Trump slammed US President Joe Biden's pullout from Afghanistan, speculating that China and Russia are already reverse-engineering US military hardware left there. During an interview with an American media house on Sunday, Trump blasted the withdrawal as "incompetent," warning that it would put the US in jeopardy and help its adversaries. Trump went on to say that the country's enemies are already taking advantage of the weaponry, armoured vehicles, and aircraft left behind by US forces. Also read | Taliban shows off its might by carrying out parade with US army's weapons "Now I'm saying, ‘How can they take this equipment?’ And I guarantee that China and Russia already have our Apache helicopters and they're taking them apart to find out exactly how they're made. They're the best in the world by far. And they're taking them apart so they can make the same equipment. They're very good at that. It's a disgrace." Since 2001, the United States has provided Afghan security forces with over $83 billion in training and equipment. According to USA Today, the military abandoned 73 aircraft in Afghanistan, some of which were inoperable. At the airport, soldiers were alleged to be operating Apache attack helicopters, according to Pentagon authorities. Afghan pilots are said to have flown some of the advanced aircraft to other nations while abandoning the rest. At a time when tensions are high with both of the US' key adversaries, China and Russia, located on Afghanistan's doorsteps, a European research group has called the choice to leave Afghanistan "inexplicable." (With inputs from agencies)

‘I guarantee’: Trump claims China, Russia reverse-engineering US weapons left behind in Afghanistan

As the world mourned the immense loss on the US went through 20 years ago on 9/11, former US President Donald Trump concentrated on slamming Joe Biden.<o:p></o:p>

Unhappy with President Biden’s decision to withdraw US army from Afghanistan, Trump blamed Biden for the ‘horrible thing’ and called it Biden’s 'incompetence'.<o:p></o:p>

"It's a horrible thing that took place, a horrible, horrible thing," Trump said in televised comments during a visit to the New York Police Department's 17th precinct.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/with-display-of-unity-biden-obama-clinton-mark-911-anniversary-in-nyc-412414" hreflang="en">With display of unity, Biden, Obama, Clinton mark 9/11 anniversary in NYC</a>

"It looked like we retreated, it looked like we gave up. Like, they use the word surrender," Trump added. "And we didn't surrender, our people didn't surrender and our soldiers sure as hell didn't surrender."<o:p></o:p>

He claimed that during his time in the White House, he had a strong conversation with Taliban and warned them to not target any American in Afghanistan. "I had a very strong conversation with the Taliban and we told him if any American is hit, we will hit hard,"&nbsp;he recalled. "And there was not one American dead in 18 months. We lost no soldier in 18 months because of me"<o:p></o:p>

Trump also blamed Biden for ‘leaving’ some of the American helicopters, guns, and more in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan after the withdrawal. "Now they have our planes, why the hell didn’t we fly them all out?"&nbsp;Trump questioned. "Use them don’t give them away".

<o:p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/the-911-terror-attacks-3-hours-that-changed-the-world-412425">WATCH |</a></o:p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/the-911-terror-attacks-3-hours-that-changed-the-world-412425/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Local reporters also questioned Trump if he would like to run for the post of New York’s mayor, rather than the post of President. Trump simply laughed describing it as an "interesting idea".<o:p></o:p>

Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 16 as former leader Ashraf Ghani fled the country and the US troops started withdrawing from the war-torn country. On August 31, the US announced that the withdrawal process has been completed, and the Taliban soon after declared their new government.<o:p></o:p>

As the world mourned the immense loss on the US went through 20 years ago on 9/11, former US President Donald Trump concentrated on slamming Joe Biden. Unhappy with President Biden’s decision to withdraw US army from Afghanistan, Trump blamed Biden for the ‘horrible thing’ and called it Biden’s 'incompetence'.

As the world mourned the immense loss on the US went through 20 years ago on 9/11, former US President Donald Trump concentrated on slamming Joe Biden. Unhappy with President Biden’s decision to withdraw US army from Afghanistan, Trump blamed Biden for the ‘horrible thing’ and called it Biden’s 'incompetence'. "It's a horrible thing that took place, a horrible, horrible thing," Trump said in televised comments during a visit to the New York Police Department's 17th precinct. Also read | With display of unity, Biden, Obama, Clinton mark 9/11 anniversary in NYC "It looked like we retreated, it looked like we gave up. Like, they use the word surrender," Trump added. "And we didn't surrender, our people didn't surrender and our soldiers sure as hell didn't surrender." He claimed that during his time in the White House, he had a strong conversation with Taliban and warned them to not target any American in Afghanistan. "I had a very strong conversation with the Taliban and we told him if any American is hit, we will hit hard," he recalled. "And there was not one American dead in 18 months. We lost no soldier in 18 months because of me" Trump also blamed Biden for ‘leaving’ some of the American helicopters, guns, and more in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan after the withdrawal. "Now they have our planes, why the hell didn’t we fly them all out?" Trump questioned. "Use them don’t give them away". WATCH | Local reporters also questioned Trump if he would like to run for the post of New York’s mayor, rather than the post of President. Trump simply laughed describing it as an "interesting idea". Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 16 as former leader Ashraf Ghani fled the country and the US troops started withdrawing from the war-torn country. On August 31, the US announced that the withdrawal process has been completed, and the Taliban soon after declared their new government.

As world mourns 9/11, Trump slams Biden for Afghan withdrawal

Talking for the first time in seven months, United States President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the investigations into the origins of COVID-19 during a 90-minute telephonic conversation, the White House said.

Thursday’s 90-minute call between the two leaders was the first since February, when both the leaders talked for two hours shortly after Biden took over from Donald Trump.

“They did discuss a range of transnational issues including COVID-19, and understanding its origins is, of course, a primary concern for this administration," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday.

&nbsp;“Yes, it was a topic raised, but I`m not going to go into further detail,” she added.

Psaki asserted that the call was "respectful and candid, not lecturing or condescending, intended at keeping channels of communication open between the countries".

Climate and human rights were among the topics&nbsp;and though economic matters were discussed they were “not a major part” of the call, she said.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/president-biden-orders-us-intelligence-to-redouble-efforts-to-collect-information-on-covid-19-origin-387626">Businesses push US President Joe Biden to develop China trade policy</a>

A senior White House official told the BBC that the call came at the request of &nbsp;Biden, who had become “exasperated” by the unwillingness of lower-level Chinese officials to hold substantive talks with his administration.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the phone call was "candid (and)&nbsp;in-depth", adding that it had covered "extensive strategic communication and... issues of mutual concern".

“Whether China and the US can properly handle their relations... is critical for the future and destiny of the world,” said Xi, according to the CCTV report.

Last month, Biden vowed to press China for answers over the origins of a pandemic&nbsp;that has now killed around 4.8 million people worldwide.&nbsp;The US intelligence agencies said they could conclusively prove whether the virus emerged from a Chinese research laboratory in Wuhan.

Beijing has repeatedly denied the US accusation that it has not cooperated with the pandemic source investigation.

(With inputs from agencies)

Talking for the first time in seven months, United States President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the investigations into the origins of COVID-19 during a 90-minute telephonic conversation, the White House said.

Talking for the first time in seven months, United States President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the investigations into the origins of COVID-19 during a 90-minute telephonic conversation, the White House said. Thursday’s 90-minute call between the two leaders was the first since February, when both the leaders talked for two hours shortly after Biden took over from Donald Trump. “They did discuss a range of transnational issues including COVID-19, and understanding its origins is, of course, a primary concern for this administration," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday. “Yes, it was a topic raised, but I`m not going to go into further detail,” she added. Psaki asserted that the call was "respectful and candid, not lecturing or condescending, intended at keeping channels of communication open between the countries". Climate and human rights were among the topics and though economic matters were discussed they were “not a major part” of the call, she said. Also read | Businesses push US President Joe Biden to develop China trade policy A senior White House official told the BBC that the call came at the request of Biden, who had become “exasperated” by the unwillingness of lower-level Chinese officials to hold substantive talks with his administration. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the phone call was "candid (and) in-depth", adding that it had covered "extensive strategic communication and... issues of mutual concern". “Whether China and the US can properly handle their relations... is critical for the future and destiny of the world,” said Xi, according to the CCTV report. Last month, Biden vowed to press China for answers over the origins of a pandemic that has now killed around 4.8 million people worldwide. The US intelligence agencies said they could conclusively prove whether the virus emerged from a Chinese research laboratory in Wuhan. Beijing has repeatedly denied the US accusation that it has not cooperated with the pandemic source investigation. (With inputs from agencies)

Biden, Xi hold first talks in 7 months, discuss COVID-19 origins

US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping got on a 90-minute call. The two were talking for the first time in 7 months, and for the 2nd time since Biden's inauguration. Reports say Biden requested the call. Palki Sharma tells you why.

Gravitas: Biden dials Xi Jinping for the first time in 7 months

America marks the 20th anniversary of&nbsp;9/11&nbsp;Saturday with solemn ceremonies given added poignancy by the recent chaotic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and return to power of the Taliban.

Heart-wrenching commemorations will unfold at each of the three sites where 19 Al-Qaeda hijackers -- mostly from Saudi Arabia -- crashed packed airliners, striking the cultural, financial and political hearts of the United States and changing the world forever.

The memorials come with US troops finally gone from Afghanistan, but national discord -- and for President Joe Biden, political peril -- are overshadowing any sense of closure.

At New York's Ground Zero, where two pools of water now stand where the Twin Towers used to, relatives will read out the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed, in a four-hour-long service starting at 8:30 am (1230 GMT).

Six moments of silence will be observed, corresponding with the times the two World Trade Center towers were struck, and fell, and the moments the Pentagon was attacked and Flight 93 crashed.

Monica Iken-Murphy, who lost her 37-year-old husband Michael Iken in the World Trade Center, says this will be a "heightened" anniversary for many Americans.

<img alt="A view of the 9/11 memorial pools where once the World Trade Center north and south towers stood in New York, on September 10, 2021" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="24866781-a208-4b0c-8a08-93f1558acfc4" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/WTO2.jpg" />

But for her, as for many other survivors, the pain has never wavered.

"I feel like it just happened," she told AFP.

A whole generation has grown up since the morning of September&nbsp;11, 2001.

In the interim, Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden has been hunted down and killed. A towering new skyscraper has risen over Manhattan, replacing the Twin Towers. And less than two weeks ago, the last US soldiers flew from Kabul airport, ending the so-called "forever war."

But the Taliban who once sheltered bin Laden are back ruling Afghanistan, the mighty US military humiliated. In Guantanamo Bay, accused&nbsp;9/11&nbsp;mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other men continue to await trial, nine years after charges were filed.

Even the full story of how the attack came to happen remains secret. Only last week did Biden order the release of classified documents from the FBI investigation over the next six months.

<h2>'Honor and memorialize'&nbsp;</h2>

At Ground Zero, some 2,753 people, from all over the world, were killed in the initial explosions, jumped to their deaths, or simply vanished in the inferno of the collapsing towers.

At the Pentagon, an airliner tore a fiery hole in the side of the superpower's military nerve centre, killing 184 people in the plane and on the ground.

And in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the third wave of hijackers crashed into a field after passengers fought back, sending United 93 down before reaching its intended target -- likely the US Capitol building in Washington.

Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will stop at each of these places on Saturday to "honour and memorialize the lives lost," the White House said.

<img alt="A view of the One World Trade Center building 'Freedom Tower' in New York" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="99ab719a-7c2b-4a7e-91d6-d9887eaee416" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/WTO.jpg" />

The president had planned for this to be a pivotal day in his nearly eight-month-old presidency.

However, instead of presiding over a moment of unity, Biden will traverse a country angry about the messy Kabul evacuation, which included 13 US soldiers killed by a suicide bomber, and stung by the broader realization of failure and defeat.

For the relatives of victims, the anniversary, as always, is about keeping the memory of their loved ones alive.&nbsp;

"It's like Pearl Harbor," said Frank Siller, whose firefighter brother Stephen died at the World Trade Center.

"People who weren't alive don't have the same feeling about it as those who were alive. But America has never forgotten about Pearl Harbour and America will never forget about&nbsp;9/11."

America marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11 Saturday with solemn ceremonies given added poignancy by the recent chaotic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and return to power of the Taliban.

America marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11 Saturday with solemn ceremonies given added poignancy by the recent chaotic withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan and return to power of the Taliban. Heart-wrenching commemorations will unfold at each of the three sites where 19 Al-Qaeda hijackers -- mostly from Saudi Arabia -- crashed packed airliners, striking the cultural, financial and political hearts of the United States and changing the world forever. The memorials come with US troops finally gone from Afghanistan, but national discord -- and for President Joe Biden, political peril -- are overshadowing any sense of closure. At New York's Ground Zero, where two pools of water now stand where the Twin Towers used to, relatives will read out the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed, in a four-hour-long service starting at 8:30 am (1230 GMT). Six moments of silence will be observed, corresponding with the times the two World Trade Center towers were struck, and fell, and the moments the Pentagon was attacked and Flight 93 crashed. Monica Iken-Murphy, who lost her 37-year-old husband Michael Iken in the World Trade Center, says this will be a "heightened" anniversary for many Americans. But for her, as for many other survivors, the pain has never wavered. "I feel like it just happened," she told AFP. A whole generation has grown up since the morning of September 11, 2001. In the interim, Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden has been hunted down and killed. A towering new skyscraper has risen over Manhattan, replacing the Twin Towers. And less than two weeks ago, the last US soldiers flew from Kabul airport, ending the so-called "forever war." But the Taliban who once sheltered bin Laden are back ruling Afghanistan, the mighty US military humiliated. In Guantanamo Bay, accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other men continue to await trial, nine years after charges were filed. Even the full story of how the attack came to happen remains secret. Only last week did Biden order the release of classified documents from the FBI investigation over the next six months. 'Honor and memorialize' At Ground Zero, some 2,753 people, from all over the world, were killed in the initial explosions, jumped to their deaths, or simply vanished in the inferno of the collapsing towers. At the Pentagon, an airliner tore a fiery hole in the side of the superpower's military nerve centre, killing 184 people in the plane and on the ground. And in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the third wave of hijackers crashed into a field after passengers fought back, sending United 93 down before reaching its intended target -- likely the US Capitol building in Washington. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will stop at each of these places on Saturday to "honour and memorialize the lives lost," the White House said. The president had planned for this to be a pivotal day in his nearly eight-month-old presidency. However, instead of presiding over a moment of unity, Biden will traverse a country angry about the messy Kabul evacuation, which included 13 US soldiers killed by a suicide bomber, and stung by the broader realization of failure and defeat. For the relatives of victims, the anniversary, as always, is about keeping the memory of their loved ones alive. "It's like Pearl Harbor," said Frank Siller, whose firefighter brother Stephen died at the World Trade Center. "People who weren't alive don't have the same feeling about it as those who were alive. But America has never forgotten about Pearl Harbour and America will never forget about 9/11."

US honours 9/11 dead on 20th anniversary of attacks

United States President Joe Biden called on the Americans to show unity as the country prepares to mark the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

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On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the horrific 9/11 attacks, President Biden honors the lives of those we lost and highlights how even at our most vulnerable – unity is our greatest strength.<a href="https://t.co/TdVhw9TVpb">pic.twitter.com/TdVhw9TVpb</a>
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1436454819028508672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Speaking in a six-minute recording at the White House that was shared on the official Twitter handle on Friday, Biden said, “To me, that’s the central lesson of September 11. It’s that at our most vulnerable, in the push and pull of all that makes us human, in the battle for the soul of America, unity is our greatest strength.”

The President’s appeal for unity comes at a time when the US is facing rising instances of hate crimes. According to a report by the FBI, hate crimes against African and Asian Americans surged in the past one year.

Also read |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/america-was-very-far-away-how-afghans-remember-911-412095">&nbsp;'America was very far away': How Afghans remember 9/11</a>

Moreover, hate crimes against Arab Americans, Muslims and others perceived as Arab or Muslim had also surged post the 9/11 attacks. And while they have subsided in recent years, the numbers have never returned to levels seen before the attacks, the FBI data shows. More recently, the United States has also seen a rise in anti-Semitic discrimination.

“Unity doesn't mean we have to believe the same thing, but we must have a fundamental respect and faith in each other and in this nation," Biden said in the video.

Also watch

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-20-years-after-911-here-is-how-the-taliban-is-celebrating-its-victory-412216/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

On Saturday, Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit New York City—where two airliners destroyed the World Trade Center and killed around 2,700 people—the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia—where a third airliner crashed—and Shanksville, Pennsylvania—where passengers forced down a fourth aircraft believed to have been headed to the U.S. Capitol or White House.

Joe Biden will then be joined at Ground Zero in New York by former president Barack Obama, whom he served for two terms as vice-president.

Small memorial ceremonies will be held across the US, and millions are expected to tune in to coverage that will blanket the TV networks throughout the day.

There will be six moments of silence during the ceremony, marking the moment each tower was struck and the time each fell, as well as the moment when the Pentagon was attacked, and the time that Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers stopped it from reaching its likely intended target of the US Capitol.

As three of the four most recent US presidents attend official ceremonies, Donald Trump will also reportedly visit the 9/11 memorial on Saturday afternoon, once the ceremony has finished and after Biden has left the city.

(With inputs from agencies)

United States President Joe Biden called on the Americans to show unity as the country prepares to mark the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

United States President Joe Biden called on the Americans to show unity as the country prepares to mark the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the horrific 9/11 attacks, President Biden honors the lives of those we lost and highlights how even at our most vulnerable – unity is our greatest strength.pic.twitter.com/TdVhw9TVpb — The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 10, 2021 × Speaking in a six-minute recording at the White House that was shared on the official Twitter handle on Friday, Biden said, “To me, that’s the central lesson of September 11. It’s that at our most vulnerable, in the push and pull of all that makes us human, in the battle for the soul of America, unity is our greatest strength.” The President’s appeal for unity comes at a time when the US is facing rising instances of hate crimes. According to a report by the FBI, hate crimes against African and Asian Americans surged in the past one year. Also read | 'America was very far away': How Afghans remember 9/11 Moreover, hate crimes against Arab Americans, Muslims and others perceived as Arab or Muslim had also surged post the 9/11 attacks. And while they have subsided in recent years, the numbers have never returned to levels seen before the attacks, the FBI data shows. More recently, the United States has also seen a rise in anti-Semitic discrimination. “Unity doesn't mean we have to believe the same thing, but we must have a fundamental respect and faith in each other and in this nation," Biden said in the video. Also watch On Saturday, Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit New York City—where two airliners destroyed the World Trade Center and killed around 2,700 people—the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia—where a third airliner crashed—and Shanksville, Pennsylvania—where passengers forced down a fourth aircraft believed to have been headed to the U.S. Capitol or White House. Joe Biden will then be joined at Ground Zero in New York by former president Barack Obama, whom he served for two terms as vice-president. Small memorial ceremonies will be held across the US, and millions are expected to tune in to coverage that will blanket the TV networks throughout the day. There will be six moments of silence during the ceremony, marking the moment each tower was struck and the time each fell, as well as the moment when the Pentagon was attacked, and the time that Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers stopped it from reaching its likely intended target of the US Capitol. As three of the four most recent US presidents attend official ceremonies, Donald Trump will also reportedly visit the 9/11 memorial on Saturday afternoon, once the ceremony has finished and after Biden has left the city. (With inputs from agencies)

US President Joe Biden calls for unity on the eve of 9/11 attacks

United States President Joe Biden’s latest aggressive push to inoculate more people, including those showing resistance to the COVID-19 vaccine, has sparked a backlash from the Republicans, who have threatened to approach the court against the move.

“Have at it,” a defiant Biden told reporters on Friday when asked about legal challenges to the strict vaccination rules that would affect tens of millions of American workers.

The US is in the midst of the Delta variant outbreak with cases surging across various states. As per reports, around 80 million eligible Americans have not yet gotten the shot against a disease that has left around 650,000 people dead in the United States.

Asserting that he was fed with rising Delta cases, the 78-year-old president said, “We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us. So, please, do the right thing.”

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-recorded-highest-new-covid-19-cases-worldwide-in-past-week-who-401286">US recorded highest new COVID-19 cases worldwide in past week: WHO</a>

Biden’s plan mandates vaccinations for all federal employees and contractors and businesses with more than 100 employees. Companies could face fines if they do not adhere to the directive.

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz said that while he supports the vaccine, people have the right of personal choice.

Watch&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-covid-19-cases-reach-6-months-high-404086/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"The federal government has no authority to force businesses in Texas and across the country to mandate their employees get vaccinated," Cruz was quoted by news agency AFP as saying.

"It is cruel and burdensome to impose this authoritarian mandate. While I support the vaccine and have received it, Americans have the right to exercise personal choice when it comes to their health,” he added.

The Republican National Committee, governors of a number of Republican-ruled states and conservative private legal groups, announced plans to mount legal challenges to the vaccination mandates.

"See you in court," said Kristi Noem, the Republican governor of South Dakota. "South Dakota will stand up to defend freedom."

The Texas Department of State Health Services on Thursday reported 23,700 new confirmed cases of the virus as well as 5,907 new probable cases. The state additionally reported 408 more fatalities attributed to the Delta variant-fuelled disease.

(With inputs from agencies)

United States President Joe Biden’s latest aggressive push to inoculate more people, including those showing resistance to the COVID-19 vaccine, has sparked a backlash from the Republicans, who have threatened to approach the court against the move.

United States President Joe Biden’s latest aggressive push to inoculate more people, including those showing resistance to the COVID-19 vaccine, has sparked a backlash from the Republicans, who have threatened to approach the court against the move. “Have at it,” a defiant Biden told reporters on Friday when asked about legal challenges to the strict vaccination rules that would affect tens of millions of American workers. The US is in the midst of the Delta variant outbreak with cases surging across various states. As per reports, around 80 million eligible Americans have not yet gotten the shot against a disease that has left around 650,000 people dead in the United States. Asserting that he was fed with rising Delta cases, the 78-year-old president said, “We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us. So, please, do the right thing.” Also read | US recorded highest new COVID-19 cases worldwide in past week: WHO Biden’s plan mandates vaccinations for all federal employees and contractors and businesses with more than 100 employees. Companies could face fines if they do not adhere to the directive. Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz said that while he supports the vaccine, people have the right of personal choice. Watch "The federal government has no authority to force businesses in Texas and across the country to mandate their employees get vaccinated," Cruz was quoted by news agency AFP as saying. "It is cruel and burdensome to impose this authoritarian mandate. While I support the vaccine and have received it, Americans have the right to exercise personal choice when it comes to their health,” he added. The Republican National Committee, governors of a number of Republican-ruled states and conservative private legal groups, announced plans to mount legal challenges to the vaccination mandates. "See you in court," said Kristi Noem, the Republican governor of South Dakota. "South Dakota will stand up to defend freedom." The Texas Department of State Health Services on Thursday reported 23,700 new confirmed cases of the virus as well as 5,907 new probable cases. The state additionally reported 408 more fatalities attributed to the Delta variant-fuelled disease. (With inputs from agencies)

Biden’s aggressive vaccine mandate sparks backlash from Republicans

Calling abortion law in Texas ''clearly unconstitutional,'' the US Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against the state.

"This kind of scheme to nullify the Constitution of the United States is one that all Americans, whatever their politics or party, should fear," US attorney general Merrick Garland told the reporters.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden had slammed the Texas abortion law and said it creates an ''almost un-American'' vigilante system.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/joe-biden-lashes-out-at-us-supreme-court-for-texas-abortion-law-410322">Also read |&nbsp;Joe Biden lashes out at US supreme court for Texas abortion law</a>

While Vice President Kamala Harris had said ''the right of women to make decisions about their own bodies is not negotiable."&nbsp;

Despite massive protest, the US Supreme Court had refused to block the near-total ban on abortion, setting the stage for an intervention by the Justice Department.

The harshest abortion law in the US, called the ''Texas Heartbeat Act'' took effect on September 1.

Under the law, abortion is banned once the heartbeat of a child is detected, usually near six weeks of pregnancy. It faced massive backlash as it makes no exceptions for rape or incest.

People in Texas are allowed to sue the doctors who perform the procedure as well as report drivers who drop clients to abortion clinics.

The harshest abortion&nbsp;law in the US was passed by Republican lawmakers in Texas which is the country's second-largest state.

Calling abortion law in Texas ''clearly unconstitutional,'' the US Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against the state. "This kind of scheme to nullify the Constitution of the United States is one that all Americans, whatever their politics or party, should fear," US attorney general Merrick Garland told the reporters.

Calling abortion law in Texas ''clearly unconstitutional,'' the US Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against the state. "This kind of scheme to nullify the Constitution of the United States is one that all Americans, whatever their politics or party, should fear," US attorney general Merrick Garland told the reporters. Earlier, US President Joe Biden had slammed the Texas abortion law and said it creates an ''almost un-American'' vigilante system. Also read | Joe Biden lashes out at US supreme court for Texas abortion law While Vice President Kamala Harris had said ''the right of women to make decisions about their own bodies is not negotiable." Despite massive protest, the US Supreme Court had refused to block the near-total ban on abortion, setting the stage for an intervention by the Justice Department. The harshest abortion law in the US, called the ''Texas Heartbeat Act'' took effect on September 1. Under the law, abortion is banned once the heartbeat of a child is detected, usually near six weeks of pregnancy. It faced massive backlash as it makes no exceptions for rape or incest. People in Texas are allowed to sue the doctors who perform the procedure as well as report drivers who drop clients to abortion clinics. The harshest abortion law in the US was passed by Republican lawmakers in Texas which is the country's second-largest state.

'Clearly unconstitutional': US Justice Department sues Texas over restrictive abortion law

US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced sweeping new federal vaccine requirements that would affect a total of 100 million Americans. Biden sharply criticised the 80 million Americans who are still not vaccinated.

Joe Biden announces sweeping measures to vaccinate Americans

US President Joe Biden has announced sweeping mandates to ''turn the tide'' in the battle against <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus">coronavirus</a> pandemic.

Lambasting the people who refuse to receive a vaccine Biden said in a harsh tone that ''your refusal cost us.''

In his new plan vaccine mandate, Biden asked all federal employees and 17 million healthcare workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-president-joe-biden-tours-hurricane-hit-areas-in-america-411607/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Striving to restore public confidence in his handling of the pandemic, Biden said ''we can and we will turn the tide of COVID-19.''

''It’ll take a lot of hard work and it’s going to take some time. Many of us are frustrated with the nearly 80 million Americans who are still not vaccinated even though the vaccine is safe, effective and free,'' he added.

Businesses with more than 100 employees will need to have their workers vaccinated or tested weekly as a rule that the US Department of Labour will issue.

Covering about two-thirds or 100 million workers in the US, the vaccination speed will blunt the rapid spread of the virus in the country.

Only 53 per cent of Americans are fully <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus-vaccine">vaccinated</a> according to the US Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) despite a full-throttled campaign by the Biden administration.

The US has recorded over 654,000 fatalities due to the disease and has seen a sharp rise in hospitalisation because of the Delta variant of COVID-19.

US President Joe Biden has announced sweeping mandates to ''turn the tide'' in the battle against coronavirus pandemic. Lambasting the people who refuse to receive a vaccine Biden said in a harsh tone that ''your refusal cost us.

US President Joe Biden has announced sweeping mandates to ''turn the tide'' in the battle against coronavirus pandemic. Lambasting the people who refuse to receive a vaccine Biden said in a harsh tone that ''your refusal cost us.'' In his new plan vaccine mandate, Biden asked all federal employees and 17 million healthcare workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Striving to restore public confidence in his handling of the pandemic, Biden said ''we can and we will turn the tide of COVID-19.'' ''It’ll take a lot of hard work and it’s going to take some time. Many of us are frustrated with the nearly 80 million Americans who are still not vaccinated even though the vaccine is safe, effective and free,'' he added. Businesses with more than 100 employees will need to have their workers vaccinated or tested weekly as a rule that the US Department of Labour will issue. Covering about two-thirds or 100 million workers in the US, the vaccination speed will blunt the rapid spread of the virus in the country. Only 53 per cent of Americans are fully vaccinated according to the US Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) despite a full-throttled campaign by the Biden administration. The US has recorded over 654,000 fatalities due to the disease and has seen a sharp rise in hospitalisation because of the Delta variant of COVID-19.

'Turn the tide': Biden announces new vaccine mandates in COVID-19 battle

Former US president Donald Trump is back with poking fun at his opponent Joe Biden. This time, Trump has made headlines by claiming that he is sure he could beat Biden in a boxing match.<o:p></o:p>

During a press conference for an upcoming boxing match, the former reality TV star claimed that he is sure he could box against Joe Biden and win the match.<o:p></o:p>

"I think probably my easiest fight would be Joe Biden because I think he'd go down very, very quickly," Trump said in a virtual press conference. "Biden would go down in the first few seconds."<o:p></o:p>

His confidence comes at a time when the disgraced former leader is gearing up to deliver ringside commentary for a much-awaited boxing match between heavyweight champions Evander Holyfield and Vitor Belfort at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida.<o:p></o:p>

Trump also poked fun at Biden’s old statement from 2016 when the Democrat had said he would like to take Trump 'behind the gym'. Biden had once again repeated a similar sentiment in 2018 when he was addressing a rally in the University of Miami. In 2018, Biden got angry when Trump made disgraceful remarks about women and Biden claimed h would have "beat the hell out of" Trump if the two were in high school.<o:p></o:p>

Trump’s comment against Biden quickly made it to the internet when netizens decided to not let this statement go to waste, and brought out their treasure of memes and jokes.<o:p></o:p>

Here are some of the best picks:

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Rap Fact: Donald Trump is down to box Joe Biden on 9/11‼️😳 
 
Who y'all got⁉️ <a href="https://t.co/XEY4WvJQMT">pic.twitter.com/XEY4WvJQMT</a>
— RapTV (@raptvcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/raptvcom/status/1436147531445112832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Bruh they both gonna KO themselves tryna get in the ring 💀 <a href="https://t.co/i6hFla8f1f">https://t.co/i6hFla8f1f</a>
— VoqZy (@1voqz) <a href="https://twitter.com/1voqz/status/1436173184395616258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Right!!!! He can’t even beat an umbrella <a href="https://t.co/p5XNnF1dzv">pic.twitter.com/p5XNnF1dzv</a>
— What Evs (@mrsepperson71) <a href="https://twitter.com/mrsepperson71/status/1436047910232367104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2021</a></blockquote>
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👏🏾 Come on America! 
Y'all know we needs this like a stimulus!! 
 
Run it up! 💰🤑 <a href="https://t.co/GSapo8ze6m">pic.twitter.com/GSapo8ze6m</a>
— D.B.3 (@DB3TheOriginal) <a href="https://twitter.com/DB3TheOriginal/status/1436183114733195268?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Trump said he’d like to fight Biden in a boxing match. 
 
So I made a little preview video.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BidenAlreadyBeatTrump?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BidenAlreadyBeatTrump</a> <a href="https://t.co/92F9z5GlF4">pic.twitter.com/92F9z5GlF4</a>
— JAKE (@USMC_O311) <a href="https://twitter.com/USMC_O311/status/1436139148176416771?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Donald Trump: “I wanna box Joe Biden.” 
His team: <a href="https://t.co/mRAAvrgu8t">pic.twitter.com/mRAAvrgu8t</a>
— SomethingnewTrainee (@SomethingnewTr) <a href="https://twitter.com/SomethingnewTr/status/1436137461671993346?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Former US president Donald Trump is back with poking fun at his opponent Joe Biden. This time, Trump has made headlines by claiming that he is sure he could beat Biden in a boxing match.

Former US president Donald Trump is back with poking fun at his opponent Joe Biden. This time, Trump has made headlines by claiming that he is sure he could beat Biden in a boxing match. During a press conference for an upcoming boxing match, the former reality TV star claimed that he is sure he could box against Joe Biden and win the match. "I think probably my easiest fight would be Joe Biden because I think he'd go down very, very quickly," Trump said in a virtual press conference. "Biden would go down in the first few seconds." His confidence comes at a time when the disgraced former leader is gearing up to deliver ringside commentary for a much-awaited boxing match between heavyweight champions Evander Holyfield and Vitor Belfort at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Trump also poked fun at Biden’s old statement from 2016 when the Democrat had said he would like to take Trump 'behind the gym'. Biden had once again repeated a similar sentiment in 2018 when he was addressing a rally in the University of Miami. In 2018, Biden got angry when Trump made disgraceful remarks about women and Biden claimed h would have "beat the hell out of" Trump if the two were in high school. Trump’s comment against Biden quickly made it to the internet when netizens decided to not let this statement go to waste, and brought out their treasure of memes and jokes. Here are some of the best picks: Rap Fact: Donald Trump is down to box Joe Biden on 9/11‼️😳 Who y'all got⁉️ pic.twitter.com/XEY4WvJQMT — RapTV (@raptvcom) September 10, 2021 × Bruh they both gonna KO themselves tryna get in the ring 💀 https://t.co/i6hFla8f1f — VoqZy (@1voqz) September 10, 2021 × Right!!!! He can’t even beat an umbrella pic.twitter.com/p5XNnF1dzv — What Evs (@mrsepperson71) September 9, 2021 × 👏🏾 Come on America! Y'all know we needs this like a stimulus!! Run it up! 💰🤑 pic.twitter.com/GSapo8ze6m — D.B.3 (@DB3TheOriginal) September 10, 2021 × Trump said he’d like to fight Biden in a boxing match. So I made a little preview video.#BidenAlreadyBeatTrump pic.twitter.com/92F9z5GlF4 — JAKE (@USMC_O311) September 10, 2021 × Donald Trump: “I wanna box Joe Biden.” His team: pic.twitter.com/mRAAvrgu8t — SomethingnewTrainee (@SomethingnewTr) September 10, 2021 ×

'He'd go down very quickly': Trump claims he can beat Biden in boxing match

President Joe Biden issued sweeping new federal vaccine mandates for as many as 100 million Americans on Thursday, including private-sector employees, health-care professionals, and federal contractors, in an all-out effort to halt the spread of the COVID-19 delta strain.

Despite months of availability and incentives, tens of millions of Americans have not yet been vaccinated, according to Biden, who spoke at the White House.

Biden's new restrictions are in response to a rising COVID-19 epidemic caused by the virus's delta version and tens of millions of Americans who refuse to be vaccinated.

Federal employees who do not comply might be fired, and private firms could face fines, according to the government. 
 
Watch:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/joe-biden-unvaccinated-people-hampering-us-vaccine-drive-412057/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Biden also levelled some of his harshest criticism yet at the 25% of adults in the United States who have not yet been immunised, claiming that they are prolonging the pandemic, which has claimed more than 650,000 lives in the United States. &nbsp;

"My message to unvaccinated Americans is this: What more is there to wait for? What more do you need to see? " 'He said "We've been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us, so please, do the right thing."

His latest plan, the president said, would "combat those blocking public health" and also "protects our economy and will make our kids safer in schools."

The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration will establish an emergency regulation mandating companies with 100 or more employees to compel employees to get vaccinated or tested weekly, as well as to provide paid time off to get inoculated, under Biden's new strategy.

According to one official, employers might face fines of roughly $14,000 per infringement.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 177 million Americans are completely vaccinated against the coronavirus, yet confirmed cases have risen to an average of nearly 140,000 per day in recent weeks, with an average of around 1,000 deaths.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

President Joe Biden issued sweeping new federal vaccine mandates for as many as 100 million Americans on Thursday, including private-sector employees, health-care professionals, and federal contractors, in an all-out effort to halt the spread of the COVID-19 delta strain.

President Joe Biden issued sweeping new federal vaccine mandates for as many as 100 million Americans on Thursday, including private-sector employees, health-care professionals, and federal contractors, in an all-out effort to halt the spread of the COVID-19 delta strain. Despite months of availability and incentives, tens of millions of Americans have not yet been vaccinated, according to Biden, who spoke at the White House. Biden's new restrictions are in response to a rising COVID-19 epidemic caused by the virus's delta version and tens of millions of Americans who refuse to be vaccinated. Federal employees who do not comply might be fired, and private firms could face fines, according to the government. Watch: Biden also levelled some of his harshest criticism yet at the 25% of adults in the United States who have not yet been immunised, claiming that they are prolonging the pandemic, which has claimed more than 650,000 lives in the United States. "My message to unvaccinated Americans is this: What more is there to wait for? What more do you need to see? " 'He said "We've been patient, but our patience is wearing thin. And your refusal has cost all of us, so please, do the right thing." His latest plan, the president said, would "combat those blocking public health" and also "protects our economy and will make our kids safer in schools." The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration will establish an emergency regulation mandating companies with 100 or more employees to compel employees to get vaccinated or tested weekly, as well as to provide paid time off to get inoculated, under Biden's new strategy. According to one official, employers might face fines of roughly $14,000 per infringement. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 177 million Americans are completely vaccinated against the coronavirus, yet confirmed cases have risen to an average of nearly 140,000 per day in recent weeks, with an average of around 1,000 deaths. (With inputs from agencies)

Joe Biden announces new vaccine mandates for 100 million Americans

US President Joe Biden imposed new vaccination mandates as part of a broad plan to put pressure on private companies, government agencies and schools to enact stricter vaccination and testing policies.

Joe Biden: Unvaccinated people hampering US vaccine drive

Racial and ethnic inequities have cost the US&nbsp;economy some $51 trillion in lost output since 1990, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said Wednesday, citing data from a paper she and three co-authors will present at The Brookings Institution.

Large and persistent gaps in rates of employment, education, and earnings across races “add up to a smaller economic pie for the nation as a whole,” Daly said in a briefing ahead of the paper’s release Thursday.

“The imperative for equity, for closing some of these gaps, is not only a moral one, but it’s also an economic one.”

The paper maps out what GDP would have been if gaps in the labor market didn’t exist.

Employment for Black men, for instance, is consistently lower than that for men of other races.

Earnings by Black and Hispanic workers also lag those of whites.

Daly and her co-authors calculated what the gains to GDP would be if those and other race-based gaps were erased: if Black and Hispanic men and women held jobs at the same rates as whites, if they completed college at the same rates as whites, and if they earned the same as whites.

From labor alone, they figured, the gains would add up to $22.9 trillion over the thirty years from 1990 to 2019, with bigger gains in more recent years as the share of non-white populations has increased while the gaps have remained fairly steady.

The larger $51.2 trillion estimate factors in the increase in capital investments that a more productive labor pool could be expected to trigger, Daly said, and includes $2.57 trillion in 2019 alone.

The paper was written with Shelby Buckman, a graduate student at Stanford University, Boston University post-grad Lily Seitelman, and San Francisco Fed vice president of community development Laura Choi.

Racial and ethnic inequities have cost the US economy some $51 trillion in lost output since 1990, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said Wednesday, citing data from a paper she and three co-authors will present at The Brookings Institution.

Racial and ethnic inequities have cost the US economy some $51 trillion in lost output since 1990, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said Wednesday, citing data from a paper she and three co-authors will present at The Brookings Institution. Large and persistent gaps in rates of employment, education, and earnings across races “add up to a smaller economic pie for the nation as a whole,” Daly said in a briefing ahead of the paper’s release Thursday. “The imperative for equity, for closing some of these gaps, is not only a moral one, but it’s also an economic one.” The paper maps out what GDP would have been if gaps in the labor market didn’t exist. Employment for Black men, for instance, is consistently lower than that for men of other races. Earnings by Black and Hispanic workers also lag those of whites. Daly and her co-authors calculated what the gains to GDP would be if those and other race-based gaps were erased: if Black and Hispanic men and women held jobs at the same rates as whites, if they completed college at the same rates as whites, and if they earned the same as whites. From labor alone, they figured, the gains would add up to $22.9 trillion over the thirty years from 1990 to 2019, with bigger gains in more recent years as the share of non-white populations has increased while the gaps have remained fairly steady. The larger $51.2 trillion estimate factors in the increase in capital investments that a more productive labor pool could be expected to trigger, Daly said, and includes $2.57 trillion in 2019 alone. The paper was written with Shelby Buckman, a graduate student at Stanford University, Boston University post-grad Lily Seitelman, and San Francisco Fed vice president of community development Laura Choi.

Researchers find racial inequities cost US economy over $50 trillion since 1990

The Biden administration on Wednesday released a plan to produce almost half of the nation’s electricity from the sun by 2050 as part of its effort to combat climate change.

Solar energy provided less than four&nbsp;per cent of the country’s electricity last year and the administration’s target of 45&nbsp;per cent&nbsp;would represent a huge leap and will most likely take a fundamental reshaping of the energy industry. In a new report, the Energy Department said the country needed to double the amount of solar energy installed every year over the next four years compared with last year. And then it will need to double annual installations again by 2030.

Adding that many solar panels, on rooftops and on open ground, will not be easy. In February, a division of the Energy Department projected that the share of electricity produced by all renewable sources, including solar, wind and hydroelectric dams, would reach 42&nbsp;per cent&nbsp;by 2050 based on current trends and policies.

The new department blueprint is in line with what most climate scientists say is needed. Those experts say that reducing net emissions of greenhouse gases to zero by 2050 is essential to limiting the worst effects of global warming — and much greater use of renewable energy sources like solar panels and wind turbines will be needed to achieve that goal.

But administration officials have provided only a broad outline for how they hope to get there. Many of the details will ultimately be decided by lawmakers in Congress, which is working on a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a much larger Democratic measure that could authorise $3.5 trillion in federal spending.

One thing going for the administration is that the cost of solar panels has fallen substantially over the last decade, making them the cheapest source of energy in many parts of the country. The use of solar and wind energy has also grown much faster in recent years than most government and independent analysts had predicted.

“One of the things we’re hoping that people see and take from this report is that it is affordable to decarbonise the grid,” said Becca Jones-Albertus, director of the Solar Energy Technology Office in the Energy Department. “The grid will remain reliable. We just need to build.”

The administration is making the case that the United States needs to act quickly because not doing anything to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels also has significant costs, particularly from extreme weather linked to climate change. In a Tuesday visit to inspect damage from the intense rainfall caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida in New Jersey and New York, President Joe Biden said, “The nation and the world are in peril.”

Some recent natural disasters have been compounded by weaknesses in the energy system. Ida, for example, dealt a huge blow to the electric grid in Louisiana, where hundreds of thousands of people have been without power for days. Last winter, a storm left much of Texas without electricity for days, too. And in California, utility equipment has ignited several large wildfires, killing scores of people and destroying thousands of homes and businesses.

Even so, many analysts and even some in the solar industry are skeptical that the administration can achieve its green targets. In addition to the 45&nbsp;per cent solar target, Biden has said he wants to bring net planet-warming emissions from the power sector to zero by 2035. He also wants to add hundreds of offshore wind turbines to the seven currently in the waters off the nation’s coasts and have as many as half of all new cars sold be electric by 2030.

While renewable energy has grown fast, it contributes about 20 per cent of the country’s electricity. Natural gas and coal contribute about 60per cent.

“That kind of quick acceleration of deployment is only going to happen through smart policy decisions,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “That’s the part where having a goal is important, but having clear steps on how to get there is the issue.”

Challenges like trade disputes could also complicate Biden’s push for more solar power. China dominates the global supply chain for solar panels, and the administration recently began blocking imports connected with China’s Xinjiang region over concerns about the use of forced labor. While many solar companies say they are working to shift away from materials made in Xinjiang, energy experts say the import ban could slow the construction of solar projects throughout the country in the short term.

Biden wants to use tax credits to encourage the use of solar power systems and batteries at homes, businesses and utilities. The administration also wants local governments to make it quicker to obtain permits and build new solar projects — in some places it can take months to put panels on a single-family house, for example. And officials want to offer various incentives to utility companies to encourage the use of solar.

Jennifer Granholm, Biden’s energy secretary, said part of the administration’s strategy would focus on its Clean Electricity Payment Program, which would reward utilities for adding more renewable energy to the electric grid, including rooftop solar. Many utility companies have fought against rooftop solar panels because they see a threat to their business and would rather build large solar farms that they own and control.

“Both have to happen, and the utilities will be incentivised to take down the barriers,” Granholm said. “We’ve got to do a series of things.”

The Biden administration on Wednesday released a plan to produce almost half of the nation’s electricity from the sun by 2050 as part of its effort to combat climate change.

The Biden administration on Wednesday released a plan to produce almost half of the nation’s electricity from the sun by 2050 as part of its effort to combat climate change. Solar energy provided less than four per cent of the country’s electricity last year and the administration’s target of 45 per cent would represent a huge leap and will most likely take a fundamental reshaping of the energy industry. In a new report, the Energy Department said the country needed to double the amount of solar energy installed every year over the next four years compared with last year. And then it will need to double annual installations again by 2030. Adding that many solar panels, on rooftops and on open ground, will not be easy. In February, a division of the Energy Department projected that the share of electricity produced by all renewable sources, including solar, wind and hydroelectric dams, would reach 42 per cent by 2050 based on current trends and policies. The new department blueprint is in line with what most climate scientists say is needed. Those experts say that reducing net emissions of greenhouse gases to zero by 2050 is essential to limiting the worst effects of global warming — and much greater use of renewable energy sources like solar panels and wind turbines will be needed to achieve that goal. But administration officials have provided only a broad outline for how they hope to get there. Many of the details will ultimately be decided by lawmakers in Congress, which is working on a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a much larger Democratic measure that could authorise $3.5 trillion in federal spending. One thing going for the administration is that the cost of solar panels has fallen substantially over the last decade, making them the cheapest source of energy in many parts of the country. The use of solar and wind energy has also grown much faster in recent years than most government and independent analysts had predicted. “One of the things we’re hoping that people see and take from this report is that it is affordable to decarbonise the grid,” said Becca Jones-Albertus, director of the Solar Energy Technology Office in the Energy Department. “The grid will remain reliable. We just need to build.” The administration is making the case that the United States needs to act quickly because not doing anything to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels also has significant costs, particularly from extreme weather linked to climate change. In a Tuesday visit to inspect damage from the intense rainfall caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida in New Jersey and New York, President Joe Biden said, “The nation and the world are in peril.” Some recent natural disasters have been compounded by weaknesses in the energy system. Ida, for example, dealt a huge blow to the electric grid in Louisiana, where hundreds of thousands of people have been without power for days. Last winter, a storm left much of Texas without electricity for days, too. And in California, utility equipment has ignited several large wildfires, killing scores of people and destroying thousands of homes and businesses. Even so, many analysts and even some in the solar industry are skeptical that the administration can achieve its green targets. In addition to the 45 per cent solar target, Biden has said he wants to bring net planet-warming emissions from the power sector to zero by 2035. He also wants to add hundreds of offshore wind turbines to the seven currently in the waters off the nation’s coasts and have as many as half of all new cars sold be electric by 2030. While renewable energy has grown fast, it contributes about 20 per cent of the country’s electricity. Natural gas and coal contribute about 60per cent. “That kind of quick acceleration of deployment is only going to happen through smart policy decisions,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “That’s the part where having a goal is important, but having clear steps on how to get there is the issue.” Challenges like trade disputes could also complicate Biden’s push for more solar power. China dominates the global supply chain for solar panels, and the administration recently began blocking imports connected with China’s Xinjiang region over concerns about the use of forced labor. While many solar companies say they are working to shift away from materials made in Xinjiang, energy experts say the import ban could slow the construction of solar projects throughout the country in the short term. Biden wants to use tax credits to encourage the use of solar power systems and batteries at homes, businesses and utilities. The administration also wants local governments to make it quicker to obtain permits and build new solar projects — in some places it can take months to put panels on a single-family house, for example. And officials want to offer various incentives to utility companies to encourage the use of solar. Jennifer Granholm, Biden’s energy secretary, said part of the administration’s strategy would focus on its Clean Electricity Payment Program, which would reward utilities for adding more renewable energy to the electric grid, including rooftop solar. Many utility companies have fought against rooftop solar panels because they see a threat to their business and would rather build large solar farms that they own and control. “Both have to happen, and the utilities will be incentivised to take down the barriers,” Granholm said. “We’ve got to do a series of things.”

From 4% to 45%: Biden sets an ambitious blueprint for solar energy

US President Joe Biden continued his tour of damage caused by Hurricane Ida, traveling to New York and New Jersey to see the first-hand devastation caused by the massive storm inflicted on the Northeast.

Biden tours flood-hit area, calls for action on climate change

This Sept. 11, a diminished president will preside over a diminished nation.

We are a country that could not keep a demagogue from the White House; could not stop an insurrectionist mob from storming the Capitol; could not win (or at least avoid losing) a war against a morally and technologically retrograde enemy; cannot conquer a disease for which there are safe and effective vaccines; and cannot bring itself to trust the government, the news media, the scientific establishment, the police or any other institution meant to operate for the common good.

A civilisation “is born stoic and dies epicurean,” wrote historian Will Durant about the Babylonians. Our civilisation was born optimistic and enlightened, at least by the standards of the day. Now it feels as if it’s fading into paranoid senility.

Joe Biden was supposed to be the man of the hour: a calming presence exuding decency, moderation and trust. As a candidate, he sold himself as a transitional president, a fatherly figure in the mold of George H.W. Bush who would restore dignity and prudence to the Oval Office after the mendacity and chaos that came before. It’s why I voted for him, as did so many others who once tipped red.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/illnesses-associated-with-911-have-caused-more-deaths-than-the-attack-report-411514" hreflang="en">Illnesses associated with 9/11 have caused more deaths than the attack: Report</a>

Instead, Biden has become the emblem of the hour: headstrong but shaky, ambitious but inept. He seems to be the last person in America to realise that, whatever the theoretical merits of the decision to withdraw our remaining troops from Afghanistan, the military and intelligence assumptions on which it was built were deeply flawed, the manner in which it was executed was a national humiliation and a moral betrayal, and the timing was catastrophic.

We find ourselves commemorating the first great jihadi victory over America, in 2001, right after delivering the second great jihadi victory over America, in 2021. The Sept. 11 memorial at the World Trade Center — water cascading into one void, and then trickling, out of sight, into another — has never felt more fitting.

Now Biden proposes to follow this up with his $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill, which The Times’ Jonathan Weisman describes as “the most significant expansion of the nation’s safety net since the war on poverty in the 1960s.”

When Lyndon Johnson launched his War on Poverty, its associated legislation — from food stamps to Medicare — passed with bipartisan majorities in a lopsidedly Democratic Congress. Biden has similar ambitions without the same political means. This is not going to turn out well.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/911-attacks-bush-administrations-big-guns-where-they-are-now-411644" hreflang="en">9/11 attacks: Bush administration's big guns &amp; where they are now</a>

Last week, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., published an essay in The Wall Street Journal in which he said, “I, for one, won’t support a $3.5 trillion bill, or anywhere near that level of additional spending, without greater clarity about why Congress chooses to ignore the serious effects inflation and debt have on existing government programs.”

Is the White House paying any more attention to Manchin’s message than it did to classified intelligence briefs over the summer warning of the prospect of a swift Taliban victory?

Maybe Biden supposes that the legislation, if passed, will prove increasingly popular over time, like Obamacare. That’s the optimistic scenario. Alternatively, he could suffer a legislative calamity like Hillary Clinton’s health care reform in 1994, which would have ended Bill Clinton’s presidency save for his sharp swing to the center, including ending “welfare as we know it” two years later.

Even the Obamacare/optimistic precedent was followed by a Democratic rout in 2010, when the party lost 63 House seats. If history repeats itself at the 2022 midterms, I doubt that even Joe Biden’s closest aides think he has the stamina to fight his way back in 2024. Has Kamala Harris shown the political talent to pick up the pieces?

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-president-joe-biden-tours-hurricane-hit-areas-in-america-411607">WATCH |</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-president-joe-biden-tours-hurricane-hit-areas-in-america-411607/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Perhaps what will save the Democrats is that Biden’s weakness will tempt Donald Trump to seek (and almost certainly gain) the Republican nomination. But then there’s the chance he’d win the election.

There’s a way back from this cliff’s edge. It begins with Biden finding a way to acknowledge publicly the gravity of his administration’s blunders. The most shameful aspect of the Afghanistan withdrawal was the incompetence of the State Department when it came to expediting visas for thousands of people eligible to come to the United States. Accountability could start with Antony Blinken’s resignation.

The president might also seize the “strategic pause” Manchin has proposed and push House Democrats to pass the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill without holding it hostage to the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill. Infrastructure is far more popular with middle-of-the-road voters than the Great Society reprise that was never supposed to be a part of the Biden brand.

My sense is that Biden will do neither. The last few months have told us something worrying about this president: He’s proud, inflexible, and thinks he’s much smarter than he really is. That’s bad news for the administration. It’s worse news for a country that desperately needs to avoid another failed presidency.

This Sept. 11, a diminished president will preside over a diminished nation. We are a country that could not keep a demagogue from the White House; could not stop an insurrectionist mob from storming the Capitol; could not win (or at least avoid losing) a war against a morally and technologically retrograde enemy; cannot conquer a disease for which there are safe and effective vaccines; and cannot bring itself to trust the government, the news media, the scientific establishment, the police or any other institution meant to operate for the common good.

This Sept. 11, a diminished president will preside over a diminished nation. We are a country that could not keep a demagogue from the White House; could not stop an insurrectionist mob from storming the Capitol; could not win (or at least avoid losing) a war against a morally and technologically retrograde enemy; cannot conquer a disease for which there are safe and effective vaccines; and cannot bring itself to trust the government, the news media, the scientific establishment, the police or any other institution meant to operate for the common good. A civilisation “is born stoic and dies epicurean,” wrote historian Will Durant about the Babylonians. Our civilisation was born optimistic and enlightened, at least by the standards of the day. Now it feels as if it’s fading into paranoid senility. Joe Biden was supposed to be the man of the hour: a calming presence exuding decency, moderation and trust. As a candidate, he sold himself as a transitional president, a fatherly figure in the mold of George H.W. Bush who would restore dignity and prudence to the Oval Office after the mendacity and chaos that came before. It’s why I voted for him, as did so many others who once tipped red. Also read | Illnesses associated with 9/11 have caused more deaths than the attack: Report Instead, Biden has become the emblem of the hour: headstrong but shaky, ambitious but inept. He seems to be the last person in America to realise that, whatever the theoretical merits of the decision to withdraw our remaining troops from Afghanistan, the military and intelligence assumptions on which it was built were deeply flawed, the manner in which it was executed was a national humiliation and a moral betrayal, and the timing was catastrophic. We find ourselves commemorating the first great jihadi victory over America, in 2001, right after delivering the second great jihadi victory over America, in 2021. The Sept. 11 memorial at the World Trade Center — water cascading into one void, and then trickling, out of sight, into another — has never felt more fitting. Now Biden proposes to follow this up with his $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill, which The Times’ Jonathan Weisman describes as “the most significant expansion of the nation’s safety net since the war on poverty in the 1960s.” When Lyndon Johnson launched his War on Poverty, its associated legislation — from food stamps to Medicare — passed with bipartisan majorities in a lopsidedly Democratic Congress. Biden has similar ambitions without the same political means. This is not going to turn out well. Also read | 9/11 attacks: Bush administration's big guns & where they are now Last week, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., published an essay in The Wall Street Journal in which he said, “I, for one, won’t support a $3.5 trillion bill, or anywhere near that level of additional spending, without greater clarity about why Congress chooses to ignore the serious effects inflation and debt have on existing government programs.” Is the White House paying any more attention to Manchin’s message than it did to classified intelligence briefs over the summer warning of the prospect of a swift Taliban victory? Maybe Biden supposes that the legislation, if passed, will prove increasingly popular over time, like Obamacare. That’s the optimistic scenario. Alternatively, he could suffer a legislative calamity like Hillary Clinton’s health care reform in 1994, which would have ended Bill Clinton’s presidency save for his sharp swing to the center, including ending “welfare as we know it” two years later. Even the Obamacare/optimistic precedent was followed by a Democratic rout in 2010, when the party lost 63 House seats. If history repeats itself at the 2022 midterms, I doubt that even Joe Biden’s closest aides think he has the stamina to fight his way back in 2024. Has Kamala Harris shown the political talent to pick up the pieces? WATCH | Perhaps what will save the Democrats is that Biden’s weakness will tempt Donald Trump to seek (and almost certainly gain) the Republican nomination. But then there’s the chance he’d win the election. There’s a way back from this cliff’s edge. It begins with Biden finding a way to acknowledge publicly the gravity of his administration’s blunders. The most shameful aspect of the Afghanistan withdrawal was the incompetence of the State Department when it came to expediting visas for thousands of people eligible to come to the United States. Accountability could start with Antony Blinken’s resignation. The president might also seize the “strategic pause” Manchin has proposed and push House Democrats to pass the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill without holding it hostage to the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill. Infrastructure is far more popular with middle-of-the-road voters than the Great Society reprise that was never supposed to be a part of the Biden brand. My sense is that Biden will do neither. The last few months have told us something worrying about this president: He’s proud, inflexible, and thinks he’s much smarter than he really is. That’s bad news for the administration. It’s worse news for a country that desperately needs to avoid another failed presidency.

Can Biden save his presidency?

At least 22,000 civilians— and potentially over 40,000 civilians—have been killed by US-led drone and airstrikes across West Asia and Africa since the 9/11 terror attacks, according to an analysis done by UK-based monitoring group, Airwars.

Basing its findings on the declaration made by the US that it launched at least 91,340 strikes across seven major conflict zones, including Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan and Libya, the London-based group sought to find the number of civilian casualties linked to the ‘forever wars’, spanning two decades of conflict which formally ended on August 31 with the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

Based on that total, Airwars concluded “US actions likely killed at least 22,679 civilians, with that number potentially as high as 48,308”.

According to research compiled by Airwars, the deadliest year in the past two decades for civilian victims of US airstrikes was 2003 when a minimum of 5,529 civilians were reported to have been killed, almost all during the invasion of Iraq that year.

Also read |<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/is-911-a-day-or-is-it-an-era-411151">&nbsp;Is 9/11 a day, or is it an Era?</a>

The next deadliest year was 2017 when at least 4,931 civilians were likely killed, the vast majority in coalition&nbsp;bombing of Iraq and Syria.

Since taking the office, Joe Biden—the fourth to manage the “forever wars” after his predecessors George W Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump—promised to reduce US reliance on airstrikes amid a formal review of the government's drone policy.&nbsp;

“The threat from terrorism continues, but it’s changed. Our strategy needs to change too,” Biden said, vowing action against the Daesh branch in Afghanistan (Daesh-K) after the group claimed responsibility for the August 26 attack at Kabul airport that killed over 160 Afghan civilians and 13 US service members.

The US military has not provided the official estimates of civilian deaths nor have they published such findings. Airwaves cited&nbsp;its data from sources like the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, The Iraq Body Count NGO and The Nation.

(With&nbsp;inputs from agencies)

At least 22,000 civilians— and potentially over 40,000 civilians—have been killed by US-led drone and airstrikes across West Asia and Africa since the 9/11 terror attacks, according to an analysis done by UK-based monitoring group, Airwars.

At least 22,000 civilians— and potentially over 40,000 civilians—have been killed by US-led drone and airstrikes across West Asia and Africa since the 9/11 terror attacks, according to an analysis done by UK-based monitoring group, Airwars. Basing its findings on the declaration made by the US that it launched at least 91,340 strikes across seven major conflict zones, including Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan and Libya, the London-based group sought to find the number of civilian casualties linked to the ‘forever wars’, spanning two decades of conflict which formally ended on August 31 with the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. Based on that total, Airwars concluded “US actions likely killed at least 22,679 civilians, with that number potentially as high as 48,308”. According to research compiled by Airwars, the deadliest year in the past two decades for civilian victims of US airstrikes was 2003 when a minimum of 5,529 civilians were reported to have been killed, almost all during the invasion of Iraq that year. Also read | Is 9/11 a day, or is it an Era? The next deadliest year was 2017 when at least 4,931 civilians were likely killed, the vast majority in coalition bombing of Iraq and Syria. Since taking the office, Joe Biden—the fourth to manage the “forever wars” after his predecessors George W Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump—promised to reduce US reliance on airstrikes amid a formal review of the government's drone policy. “The threat from terrorism continues, but it’s changed. Our strategy needs to change too,” Biden said, vowing action against the Daesh branch in Afghanistan (Daesh-K) after the group claimed responsibility for the August 26 attack at Kabul airport that killed over 160 Afghan civilians and 13 US service members. The US military has not provided the official estimates of civilian deaths nor have they published such findings. Airwaves cited its data from sources like the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, The Iraq Body Count NGO and The Nation. (With inputs from agencies)

US airstrikes potentially killed over 40,000 civilians since 9/11, says report

US President Joe Biden toured the hurricane hit areas in America. He declared climate change as an existential crisis.

US  President Joe Biden tours hurricane hit areas in America

Four people, including a mother and her infant, were killed by a gunman wearing full body armour in Florida on early Sunday morning (according to US time zone).

Notably, this is the second mass shooting incident that has taken place in Florida in the last four months.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the suspect, who is yet to be identified, was dressed in full body armour, including a bulletproof vest, when he was found outside a Lakeland home that had been “booby-trapped."

While trying to nab the gunman, two rounds of gunfire with police, where dozens “if not hundreds of rounds” were exchanged, Judd said.

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Update?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Update</a> to quadruple homicide in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lakeland?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lakeland</a> <a href="https://t.co/mkGx2uxojS">https://t.co/mkGx2uxojS</a> <a href="https://t.co/L5tb5kHomH">pic.twitter.com/L5tb5kHomH</a>
— Polk County Sheriff 🚔 (@PolkCoSheriff) <a href="https://twitter.com/PolkCoSheriff/status/1434542863963000834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The suspect escaped from the house at some point, then retreated back to surrender.

Inside the home, authorities found an 11-year-old girl who had been shot multiple times.

She told the cops that there were three dead people inside, Judd said during a news conference Sunday

The officers then searched the home to check for explosives and other traps. When it was clear, they found a mother with an infant in her arms, and another unidentified victim all dead from gunshot wounds.

They also found another woman fatally shot in a neighbouring home.

Although the authorities haven’t been able to find out the motive for the killing, the sheriff said the attacker confronted a witness roughly nine hours before the shooting and told her, “God sent me here to speak with one of your daughters.”

The police said they are finding the relationship between the shooter and the victims.

The shooter also told authorities that he was on methamphetamines—a powerful, highly addictive recreational drug.

The attacker vehicle had also been stocked with supplies for a gunfight, authorities said, including bleeding control kits.

“He was a coward...It’s easy to shoot innocent children and babies and people in the middle of the night when you've got the gun and they don’t,” the sheriff said.

The shooter has been hospitalized and is expected to recover.

There has been a surge in mass shootings across the United States, with President Joe Biden terming it an “epidemic.”

The first shooting took place on June 11, where two people, including a child, were shot dead in a grocery store in Florida. The gunman later killed himself.

(With inputs from agencies)

Four people, including a mother and her infant, were killed by a gunman wearing full body armour in Florida on early Sunday morning (according to US time zone). Notably, this is the second mass shooting incident that has taken place in Florida in the last four months.

Four people, including a mother and her infant, were killed by a gunman wearing full body armour in Florida on early Sunday morning (according to US time zone). Notably, this is the second mass shooting incident that has taken place in Florida in the last four months. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the suspect, who is yet to be identified, was dressed in full body armour, including a bulletproof vest, when he was found outside a Lakeland home that had been “booby-trapped." While trying to nab the gunman, two rounds of gunfire with police, where dozens “if not hundreds of rounds” were exchanged, Judd said. #Update to quadruple homicide in #Lakeland https://t.co/mkGx2uxojS pic.twitter.com/L5tb5kHomH — Polk County Sheriff 🚔 (@PolkCoSheriff) September 5, 2021 × The suspect escaped from the house at some point, then retreated back to surrender. Inside the home, authorities found an 11-year-old girl who had been shot multiple times. She told the cops that there were three dead people inside, Judd said during a news conference Sunday The officers then searched the home to check for explosives and other traps. When it was clear, they found a mother with an infant in her arms, and another unidentified victim all dead from gunshot wounds. They also found another woman fatally shot in a neighbouring home. Although the authorities haven’t been able to find out the motive for the killing, the sheriff said the attacker confronted a witness roughly nine hours before the shooting and told her, “God sent me here to speak with one of your daughters.” The police said they are finding the relationship between the shooter and the victims. The shooter also told authorities that he was on methamphetamines—a powerful, highly addictive recreational drug. The attacker vehicle had also been stocked with supplies for a gunfight, authorities said, including bleeding control kits. “He was a coward...It’s easy to shoot innocent children and babies and people in the middle of the night when you've got the gun and they don’t,” the sheriff said. The shooter has been hospitalized and is expected to recover. There has been a surge in mass shootings across the United States, with President Joe Biden terming it an “epidemic.” The first shooting took place on June 11, where two people, including a child, were shot dead in a grocery store in Florida. The gunman later killed himself. (With inputs from agencies)

Mother, her infant among 4 killed by gunman in Florida

President Joe Biden’s job approval rating is on the downslope. As of Friday morning, he was at 45.8 per cent&nbsp;approval and 48.5 per cent disapproval — from a high of 54 per cent approval, 41 per cent disapproval at the end of his first 100 days.

There is a laundry list of reasons for this. Not only is the United States still in the grip of a pandemic, but also the delta variant of the coronavirus has led to record infections and deaths in Florida, Texas and other states with relatively low vaccination rates (and where officials have taken a stand against mitigation efforts). At the same time that delta took hold, Biden also faced a huge backlash from the news media and his partisan opponents over the US&nbsp;withdrawal from Afghanistan, which began in chaotic fashion with the collapse of the Afghan national army, the subsequent advance of the Taliban and, of course, the suicide bombing in Kabul that killed 13 US&nbsp;service members.

The administration quickly adjusted to the chaos, though, and by the time the last American soldiers left Monday, the US&nbsp;military and its allies had evacuated around 124,000 people, including thousands of US citizens and tens of thousands of Afghan nationals. And as seen in the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the economy is growing at a slower rate than it did at the start of the summer.

Taken together, you have a pretty good explanation for why Biden is doing much worse with the public than he was at the beginning of the year.

With that said, there's another dynamic at work, one that should guide our expectations for how popular Biden is and how popular he could become. Put simply, we're still quite polarised.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-plus-how-america-benefits-from-wars-410726">WATCH |</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-plus-how-america-benefits-from-wars-410726/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

One of the most consistent findings from the past 20 years of public opinion research is that each new president is more divisive than the last. George W. Bush was more divisive than Bill Clinton; Barack Obama was more divisive than Bush; Donald Trump was more divisive than Obama; and Biden may well end up more divisive than Trump, at least in terms of approval rating by partisan affiliation. Some of this reflects circumstances, some of it reflects the individuals, but most of it is a function of partisan and ideological polarisation. Modern presidents have a high floor for public opinion but a low ceiling.

This is a major change from the 1970s and 1980s, when the public was less polarised and numbers could swing from the low 30s (even the 20s) to the high 60s and beyond. At the peak of his popularity, in the wake of the Persian Gulf War of 1991, George H.W. Bush had a job approval rating of 89 per cent, including 82 per cent&nbsp;among Democrats and 88 per cent&nbsp;among independents. Those numbers are just not possible in today’s environment.

Biden’s slide is noteworthy, but it is also exactly what we should expect given the structural conditions of American politics in the 21st century. But this cuts against the unstated assumption that a president should have an approval rating above 50 per cent. It’s an assumption that, as Sam Goldman, a professor of political science at George Washington University, observed, is "another example of how we’ve adopted the deeply exceptional midcentury interlude as our baseline — partly because it remains our vision of normality, and partly because that’s when reliable data start."

The "deeply exceptional midcentury interlude"&nbsp;— roughly speaking, the years between the end of World War II and the election of Richard Nixon in 1968 — is the source of a lot of our normative understandings of American politics, despite the fact that the conditions of that period are impossible to replicate. When politicians and political observers pine for an era of bipartisanship, they are pining for the 1950s and 1960s (and to an extent the 1970s).

If we were to look further back in time — to, say, the late 19th century — we might find an era that, for all of its indelible foreignness, is closer to ours in terms of the shape and structure of its politics, from its sharp partisan polarisation and closely contested national elections to its democratic backsliding and deep anxieties over immigration and demographic change.

American politics eventually broke out of its late-19th-century equilibrium of high polarisation and tightly contested elections. In the 1896 presidential election, William McKinley became the first candidate in decades to win more than 50 per cent&nbsp;of the popular vote, beating his Democratic opponent, William Jennings Bryan, by 4.3 per cent. He won reelection in 1900, and after his assassination the following year, his successor, Theodore Roosevelt, would win in 1904 by the most lopsided margin since Abraham Lincoln’s 1864 reelection victory.

What changed in American politics to produce more decisive national victories? Well, that’s not a happy story. Suffrage restrictions of immigrants in the North, the rise of Jim Crow in the South, and the success of capital in suppressing labor revolt and setting the terms of political contestation had removed millions of Americans from the electorate by the turn of the 20th century. Political power was concentrated and consolidated in a bourgeois class (mostly) represented by the Republican Party, which, with the exception of Woodrow Wilson’s twin victories in 1912 and 1916, held the White House from 1897 to 1933. It would take another catastrophe, the Great Depression, to change that landscape.

As for the tectonic force that might break our partisan and ideological stalemate? It is impossible to say. Oftentimes in history, things seem stable until, suddenly, they aren’t.

President Joe Biden’s job approval rating is on the downslope. As of Friday morning, he was at 45.8 per cent approval and 48.5 per cent disapproval — from a high of 54 per cent approval, 41 per cent disapproval at the end of his first 100 days.

President Joe Biden’s job approval rating is on the downslope. As of Friday morning, he was at 45.8 per cent approval and 48.5 per cent disapproval — from a high of 54 per cent approval, 41 per cent disapproval at the end of his first 100 days. There is a laundry list of reasons for this. Not only is the United States still in the grip of a pandemic, but also the delta variant of the coronavirus has led to record infections and deaths in Florida, Texas and other states with relatively low vaccination rates (and where officials have taken a stand against mitigation efforts). At the same time that delta took hold, Biden also faced a huge backlash from the news media and his partisan opponents over the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, which began in chaotic fashion with the collapse of the Afghan national army, the subsequent advance of the Taliban and, of course, the suicide bombing in Kabul that killed 13 US service members. The administration quickly adjusted to the chaos, though, and by the time the last American soldiers left Monday, the US military and its allies had evacuated around 124,000 people, including thousands of US citizens and tens of thousands of Afghan nationals. And as seen in the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the economy is growing at a slower rate than it did at the start of the summer. Taken together, you have a pretty good explanation for why Biden is doing much worse with the public than he was at the beginning of the year. With that said, there's another dynamic at work, one that should guide our expectations for how popular Biden is and how popular he could become. Put simply, we're still quite polarised. WATCH | One of the most consistent findings from the past 20 years of public opinion research is that each new president is more divisive than the last. George W. Bush was more divisive than Bill Clinton; Barack Obama was more divisive than Bush; Donald Trump was more divisive than Obama; and Biden may well end up more divisive than Trump, at least in terms of approval rating by partisan affiliation. Some of this reflects circumstances, some of it reflects the individuals, but most of it is a function of partisan and ideological polarisation. Modern presidents have a high floor for public opinion but a low ceiling. This is a major change from the 1970s and 1980s, when the public was less polarised and numbers could swing from the low 30s (even the 20s) to the high 60s and beyond. At the peak of his popularity, in the wake of the Persian Gulf War of 1991, George H.W. Bush had a job approval rating of 89 per cent, including 82 per cent among Democrats and 88 per cent among independents. Those numbers are just not possible in today’s environment. Biden’s slide is noteworthy, but it is also exactly what we should expect given the structural conditions of American politics in the 21st century. But this cuts against the unstated assumption that a president should have an approval rating above 50 per cent. It’s an assumption that, as Sam Goldman, a professor of political science at George Washington University, observed, is "another example of how we’ve adopted the deeply exceptional midcentury interlude as our baseline — partly because it remains our vision of normality, and partly because that’s when reliable data start." The "deeply exceptional midcentury interlude" — roughly speaking, the years between the end of World War II and the election of Richard Nixon in 1968 — is the source of a lot of our normative understandings of American politics, despite the fact that the conditions of that period are impossible to replicate. When politicians and political observers pine for an era of bipartisanship, they are pining for the 1950s and 1960s (and to an extent the 1970s). If we were to look further back in time — to, say, the late 19th century — we might find an era that, for all of its indelible foreignness, is closer to ours in terms of the shape and structure of its politics, from its sharp partisan polarisation and closely contested national elections to its democratic backsliding and deep anxieties over immigration and demographic change. American politics eventually broke out of its late-19th-century equilibrium of high polarisation and tightly contested elections. In the 1896 presidential election, William McKinley became the first candidate in decades to win more than 50 per cent of the popular vote, beating his Democratic opponent, William Jennings Bryan, by 4.3 per cent. He won reelection in 1900, and after his assassination the following year, his successor, Theodore Roosevelt, would win in 1904 by the most lopsided margin since Abraham Lincoln’s 1864 reelection victory. What changed in American politics to produce more decisive national victories? Well, that’s not a happy story. Suffrage restrictions of immigrants in the North, the rise of Jim Crow in the South, and the success of capital in suppressing labor revolt and setting the terms of political contestation had removed millions of Americans from the electorate by the turn of the 20th century. Political power was concentrated and consolidated in a bourgeois class (mostly) represented by the Republican Party, which, with the exception of Woodrow Wilson’s twin victories in 1912 and 1916, held the White House from 1897 to 1933. It would take another catastrophe, the Great Depression, to change that landscape. As for the tectonic force that might break our partisan and ideological stalemate? It is impossible to say. Oftentimes in history, things seem stable until, suddenly, they aren’t.

How has Joe Biden become so unpopular?

A lot of Americans have criticised their President, Joe Biden, for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and letting Taliban take control of the South Asian country. However, a restaurant owner has taken his disapproval to another level.<o:p></o:p>

A restaurant in Florida shot to fame as the owner declared that she will not be serving anyone who shares the same thought process as Biden on the issue of Afghanistan.<o:p></o:p>

DeBary Diner owner Angie Ugarte&nbsp;pasted a sign on the door of her restaurant that asks all pro-withdrawal customers to not come to the restaurant and eat at some other place.

<o:p>Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/genocide-in-making-afghan-ex-vp-calls-on-un-to-end-talibans-onslaught-into-panjshir-province-410875">'Genocide in making': Afghan ex-VP calls on UN to end 'Taliban’s onslaught'</a></o:p>

"If you voted for and continue to support and stand behind the worthless, inept and corrupt administration currently inhabiting the White House that is complicit in the death of our servicemen and women in Afghanistan, please take your business elsewhere," the sign read.<o:p></o:p>

What started as a means of expressing displeasure soon became a popular hub to eat and discuss politics. Ugarte claims she has been receiving "indescribable outpouring of love and support"&nbsp;since she expressed her views.<o:p></o:p>

The fandom grew so much and so quickly that the restaurant runs out of food, and the owner had to close down the eatery for a day to re-stock resources.

<o:p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/afghans-cautious-uneasy-under-taliban-rule-410859">WATCH |</a></o:p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/afghans-cautious-uneasy-under-taliban-rule-410859/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"I've gotten so many people calling me from all over the world, from Europe, trying to purchase meals for veterans, which I still haven't been able to organize," Ugarte said. "I think that the veterans will be fed for the rest of the year at the rate I'm getting donations."<o:p></o:p>

However, there are always two sides to every coin, and thus with such love Ugarte has also received immense backlash and hate messages.<o:p></o:p>

A lot of Americans have criticised their President, Joe Biden, for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and letting Taliban take control of the South Asian country.

A lot of Americans have criticised their President, Joe Biden, for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and letting Taliban take control of the South Asian country. However, a restaurant owner has taken his disapproval to another level. A restaurant in Florida shot to fame as the owner declared that she will not be serving anyone who shares the same thought process as Biden on the issue of Afghanistan. DeBary Diner owner Angie Ugarte pasted a sign on the door of her restaurant that asks all pro-withdrawal customers to not come to the restaurant and eat at some other place. Also read | 'Genocide in making': Afghan ex-VP calls on UN to end 'Taliban’s onslaught' "If you voted for and continue to support and stand behind the worthless, inept and corrupt administration currently inhabiting the White House that is complicit in the death of our servicemen and women in Afghanistan, please take your business elsewhere," the sign read. What started as a means of expressing displeasure soon became a popular hub to eat and discuss politics. Ugarte claims she has been receiving "indescribable outpouring of love and support" since she expressed her views. The fandom grew so much and so quickly that the restaurant runs out of food, and the owner had to close down the eatery for a day to re-stock resources. WATCH | "I've gotten so many people calling me from all over the world, from Europe, trying to purchase meals for veterans, which I still haven't been able to organize," Ugarte said. "I think that the veterans will be fed for the rest of the year at the rate I'm getting donations." However, there are always two sides to every coin, and thus with such love Ugarte has also received immense backlash and hate messages.

'Justice for Afghan': Restaurant runs out of food after it denies service to Biden's supporters

US President took stock of the situation in Louisiana due to Hurricane Ida. The total death toll has crossed 50.

US President Joe Biden takes stock of situation in Louisiana due to Hurricane Ida

The US President Joe Biden has openly condemned the US supreme court for rejecting to ban the abortion law.

Biden said the supreme court judges, all appointed by former President Donald Trump, delivered an assault on a woman’s rights.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-supreme-court-refuses-to-block-texas-law-banning-most-abortions-410121">US Supreme Court refuses to block Texas law banning most abortions</a>

"The Supreme Court's ruling overnight is an unprecedented assault on a woman's constitutional rights under Roe v. Wade, which has been the law of the land for almost fifty years," Biden said in a statement. "This (Texas) law is so extreme it does not even allow for exceptions in the case of rape or incest."

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Last night, the Supreme Court’s decision on Texas’ SB8 dealt a significant blow to Roe v. Wade. 
 
We will not stand by and allow our nation to go back to the days of back-alley abortions. We will use every lever to defend the right to safe and legal abortion. We will fight this.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) <a href="https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1433604155785060353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Texas abortion law is one of the toughest and most restrictive abortion bans in the US in the past couple of decades.

As per the law, any member of the public from Texas can file a legal complaint against the doctors, health care providers and family members who support a woman in aborting a child after six weeks of the start of her pregnancy.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-texas-enacts-toughest-us-ban-on-abortion-410312">WATCH |</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-texas-enacts-toughest-us-ban-on-abortion-410312/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"By allowing a law to go into effect that empowers private citizens in Texas to sue health care providers, family members supporting a woman exercising her right to choose after six weeks, or even a friend who drives her to a hospital or clinic, it unleashes unconstitutional chaos and empowers self-anointed enforcers to have devastating impacts," Biden expressed. "Complete strangers will now be empowered to inject themselves in the most private and personal health decisions faced by women."

He also announced that his government will be launching a campaign to find out how can the federal government help the Texas women exercise their right to abortion, and make sure that women are able to gain access to safe and legal abortions across the country.

The US President Joe Biden has openly condemned the US supreme court for rejecting to ban the abortion law. Biden said the supreme court judges, all appointed by former President Donald Trump, delivered an assault on a woman’s rights.

The US President Joe Biden has openly condemned the US supreme court for rejecting to ban the abortion law. Biden said the supreme court judges, all appointed by former President Donald Trump, delivered an assault on a woman’s rights. Also read | US Supreme Court refuses to block Texas law banning most abortions "The Supreme Court's ruling overnight is an unprecedented assault on a woman's constitutional rights under Roe v. Wade, which has been the law of the land for almost fifty years," Biden said in a statement. "This (Texas) law is so extreme it does not even allow for exceptions in the case of rape or incest." Last night, the Supreme Court’s decision on Texas’ SB8 dealt a significant blow to Roe v. Wade. We will not stand by and allow our nation to go back to the days of back-alley abortions. We will use every lever to defend the right to safe and legal abortion. We will fight this. — Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 3, 2021 × Texas abortion law is one of the toughest and most restrictive abortion bans in the US in the past couple of decades. As per the law, any member of the public from Texas can file a legal complaint against the doctors, health care providers and family members who support a woman in aborting a child after six weeks of the start of her pregnancy. WATCH | "By allowing a law to go into effect that empowers private citizens in Texas to sue health care providers, family members supporting a woman exercising her right to choose after six weeks, or even a friend who drives her to a hospital or clinic, it unleashes unconstitutional chaos and empowers self-anointed enforcers to have devastating impacts," Biden expressed. "Complete strangers will now be empowered to inject themselves in the most private and personal health decisions faced by women." He also announced that his government will be launching a campaign to find out how can the federal government help the Texas women exercise their right to abortion, and make sure that women are able to gain access to safe and legal abortions across the country.

Joe Biden lashes out at US supreme court for Texas abortion law

The Supreme Court’s decision not to block a Texas law sharply curtailing abortions abruptly vaulted the issue to the forefront of American politics on Thursday, reshaping the dynamics of elections in California this month, in Virginia in November and in midterms next year that will determine control of Congress and statehouses.

Republicans hailed the court’s 5-4 decision, explained in a one-paragraph middle-of-the-night ruling, as a tremendous victory, allowing a nearly complete ban on abortions to stand in the nation’s second-largest state.

For Democrats, it was a nightmare come true: A conservative Supreme Court, led by three appointees of former President Donald Trump, had allowed a highly gerrymandered, Republican-controlled state Legislature to circumvent Roe v. Wade, the half-century-old decision that enshrined abortion as a constitutional right.

Suddenly, supporters of abortion rights found themselves grappling not only with the political and policy failures that had led to this point, but also with the prospect that other Republican-controlled legislatures could quickly enact copycat legislation. On Thursday, Republican lawmakers in Arkansas, Florida and South Dakota promised to do so in their next legislative sessions.

Yet Democrats also embraced the opportunity to force an issue they believe is a political winner for them to the center of the national debate. After years of playing defense, Democrats say the Texas law will test whether the reality of a practical ban on abortions can motivate voters to support them.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, a Democrat up for reelection in 2022, said people in her state had fought to protect women’s reproductive freedom and would vote accordingly. “If a Republican is going to go to Washington to roll those freedoms back, I will make it an issue,” she said in an interview. “I don’t think you should underestimate the impact that this issue has to Nevadans.”

Republicans held up the Texas law as an example for the country to follow. “This law will save the lives of thousands of unborn babies in Texas and become a national model,” said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas. “I pray that every other state will follow our lead in defense of life.”

Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, who is considered a potential Republican candidate for president in 2024, said she had directed her office to “make sure we have the strongest pro-life laws on the books.”

The court’s decision, which did not address the substance of the Texas law, creates new urgency for President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats to do more than issue public statements vowing to defend women’s reproductive rights.

“The temperature just got a lot hotter on this issue, and I certainly now expect Congress to join in these fights,” said Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, chair of the Democratic Governors Association. “Our voters expect us all to do more.”

Yet Senate Democrats do not have the votes to eliminate the filibuster, which would be necessary to change federal abortion law in the evenly divided chamber.

In Washington on Thursday, Democratic leaders dutifully scrambled to show their determination to push back against the possibility that the Texas law could be replicated elsewhere — or to respond if the Supreme Court rolls back abortion rights when it rules on a Mississippi law that seeks to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, two months earlier than Roe and subsequent decisions allow.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised to bring a vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would effectively codify abortion rights into federal law.

And Biden pledged “a whole-of-government effort” in response to the Texas law, directing the Department of Health and Human Services and the Justice Department to identify possible federal measures to help ensure that women in the state have access to safe and legal abortions.

“The highest court of our land will allow millions of women in Texas in need of critical reproductive care to suffer while courts sift through procedural complexities,” Biden said. “The impact of last night’s decision will be immediate and requires an immediate response.”

Vice President Kamala Harris added, “We will not stand by and allow our nation to go back to the days of back-alley abortions.”

The first election that could test Democrats’ capacity to energize voters over abortion rights comes on Sept. 14 in California, where voters will determine the fate of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who faces a recall effort. Newsom warned on Twitter that the Texas abortion ban “could be the future of CA” if the recall were successful.

In Virginia, Democratic candidates for the state’s three statewide offices and House of Delegates pounced on the issue on Thursday. Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who is running to recapture the office in November, said the fight for abortion rights would help motivate Democratic voters who might be complacent after the party captured full control of state government in 2019 and helped Biden win the state last year.

“We are a Democratic state. There are more Democrats,” McAuliffe said. “But this is an off-off-year, and getting Democrats motivated to come out, that’s always the big challenge.”

Eyeing 2022, the Democrats’ Senate campaign arm has signaled it will use abortion rights as a cudgel against Republicans running in states like Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada and North Carolina. Democrats planning campaigns for governor next year are preparing to brand themselves as the last line of defense on abortion rights, particularly in states with Republican-controlled legislatures.

“People are now waking up to the fact that the battle will now be in the states, and they recognize that the only thing, literally the only thing standing in the way of Pennsylvania passing the same ban that Texas just passed, is the veto pen of our Democratic governor,” said Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania attorney general, a Democrat who has said he expects to enter the race to succeed Gov. Tom Wolf. “I’ve given up on the politicians in Washington. I don’t think we can count on them anymore.”

Although Republicans have long made overturning Roe a central political goal — as a candidate in 2016, Trump predicted that his eventual Supreme Court appointees would do so — there was still a palpable sense of shock among Democrats. Despite the court’s 6-3 conservative majority, many Democrats seemed mentally unprepared for Wednesday’s ruling.

“You can’t plan for a blatantly false or unconstitutional court ruling like this,” said Rep. Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania, a Democrat who is running for his state’s open Senate seat next year.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who made women’s rights the centerpiece of her 2020 presidential campaign, said Democrats could no longer be squeamish about fighting for abortion rights. “We have to elevate the issue,” she said Thursday. “We need to explain to the American people that this Texas law and other laws that will be attempted to be passed in other states, will upend women’s basic health care.”

More broadly, progressive advocates lamented Democrats’ failure to match Republicans who have spent generations entrenching themselves in state capitals and placing enormous emphasis on appointing conservatives to the bench — key arenas where Democrats have failed to protect abortion rights.

“We’re playing 50 years of catch-up,” said Ben Jealous, a former NAACP chief executive who is now the president of People for the American Way, a progressive organization. “The court is out of step with the American people. And Republicans have made the Supreme Court their sea wall against democracy.”

Even as they exulted, anti-abortion conservatives worried about pitfalls ahead. They recalled Todd Akin, a former Missouri congressman whose 2012 Senate candidacy was derailed by his statement that women who are victims of what he called “legitimate rape” rarely became pregnant. Democrats used remarks like Akin’s to portray the GOP as waging a “war on women,” a tactic that Republicans conceded was highly effective.

“Every candidate in the country is going to be asked about their position on abortion now,” said Tom McClusky, president of March for Life Action, which advocates legislation to restrict abortion rights. “What we want to avoid are incidents like what’s happened in the past.”

Democrats have long believed that public support for legal abortion would prevent it from being effectively outlawed, as Texas has done. Even some conservative anti-abortion activists concede that their absolutist position is not one shared by a majority of Americans, although they believe some Democrats have overreached in vowing to eliminate all legal restrictions on abortion.

“You may not have the majority of people who agree with me that life begins at conception, but they don’t believe that abortion should be legal at any point, all paid for by the taxpayer,” said Penny Nance, chief executive of Concerned Women for America, a conservative Christian organization.

Support for abortion rights has scarcely been the motivating factor for Democrats that it has been for conservative voters opposed to abortion. In the 2020 presidential election, voters who said abortion was the most important issue backed Trump over Biden, 89% to 9%, according to AP/Votecast data.

But while Republicans have campaigned on restricting abortion rights for generations, Democrats have moved left on the issue only recently — from Bill Clinton’s formulation that it should be “safe, legal and rare” to modern Democrats’ arguments that the choice should belong to the woman alone. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont campaigned with anti-abortion candidates as recently as 2017.

While virtually all elected Democrats now back abortion rights, very few with a national profile built a political identity around the issue.

One who tried was Wendy Davis, the former Texas state senator who spoke for more than 11 hours in a failed 2013 effort to block legislation to restrict abortion access in the state. She went on to run for governor in 2014 and for Congress in 2020 but was handily defeated both times.

“We cannot shy away from this issue for fear that we will be branded as abortion activists,” Davis said Thursday. “I am proud to be labeled in that way because there is no shame. There should be no stigma involved with abortion.”

The Supreme Court’s decision not to block a Texas law sharply curtailing abortions abruptly vaulted the issue to the forefront of American politics on Thursday, reshaping the dynamics of elections in California this month, in Virginia in November and in midterms next year that will determine control of Congress and statehouses.

The Supreme Court’s decision not to block a Texas law sharply curtailing abortions abruptly vaulted the issue to the forefront of American politics on Thursday, reshaping the dynamics of elections in California this month, in Virginia in November and in midterms next year that will determine control of Congress and statehouses. Republicans hailed the court’s 5-4 decision, explained in a one-paragraph middle-of-the-night ruling, as a tremendous victory, allowing a nearly complete ban on abortions to stand in the nation’s second-largest state. For Democrats, it was a nightmare come true: A conservative Supreme Court, led by three appointees of former President Donald Trump, had allowed a highly gerrymandered, Republican-controlled state Legislature to circumvent Roe v. Wade, the half-century-old decision that enshrined abortion as a constitutional right. Suddenly, supporters of abortion rights found themselves grappling not only with the political and policy failures that had led to this point, but also with the prospect that other Republican-controlled legislatures could quickly enact copycat legislation. On Thursday, Republican lawmakers in Arkansas, Florida and South Dakota promised to do so in their next legislative sessions. Yet Democrats also embraced the opportunity to force an issue they believe is a political winner for them to the center of the national debate. After years of playing defense, Democrats say the Texas law will test whether the reality of a practical ban on abortions can motivate voters to support them. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, a Democrat up for reelection in 2022, said people in her state had fought to protect women’s reproductive freedom and would vote accordingly. “If a Republican is going to go to Washington to roll those freedoms back, I will make it an issue,” she said in an interview. “I don’t think you should underestimate the impact that this issue has to Nevadans.” Republicans held up the Texas law as an example for the country to follow. “This law will save the lives of thousands of unborn babies in Texas and become a national model,” said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas. “I pray that every other state will follow our lead in defense of life.” Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, who is considered a potential Republican candidate for president in 2024, said she had directed her office to “make sure we have the strongest pro-life laws on the books.” The court’s decision, which did not address the substance of the Texas law, creates new urgency for President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats to do more than issue public statements vowing to defend women’s reproductive rights. “The temperature just got a lot hotter on this issue, and I certainly now expect Congress to join in these fights,” said Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, chair of the Democratic Governors Association. “Our voters expect us all to do more.” Yet Senate Democrats do not have the votes to eliminate the filibuster, which would be necessary to change federal abortion law in the evenly divided chamber. In Washington on Thursday, Democratic leaders dutifully scrambled to show their determination to push back against the possibility that the Texas law could be replicated elsewhere — or to respond if the Supreme Court rolls back abortion rights when it rules on a Mississippi law that seeks to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, two months earlier than Roe and subsequent decisions allow. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised to bring a vote on the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would effectively codify abortion rights into federal law. And Biden pledged “a whole-of-government effort” in response to the Texas law, directing the Department of Health and Human Services and the Justice Department to identify possible federal measures to help ensure that women in the state have access to safe and legal abortions. “The highest court of our land will allow millions of women in Texas in need of critical reproductive care to suffer while courts sift through procedural complexities,” Biden said. “The impact of last night’s decision will be immediate and requires an immediate response.” Vice President Kamala Harris added, “We will not stand by and allow our nation to go back to the days of back-alley abortions.” The first election that could test Democrats’ capacity to energize voters over abortion rights comes on Sept. 14 in California, where voters will determine the fate of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who faces a recall effort. Newsom warned on Twitter that the Texas abortion ban “could be the future of CA” if the recall were successful. In Virginia, Democratic candidates for the state’s three statewide offices and House of Delegates pounced on the issue on Thursday. Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who is running to recapture the office in November, said the fight for abortion rights would help motivate Democratic voters who might be complacent after the party captured full control of state government in 2019 and helped Biden win the state last year. “We are a Democratic state. There are more Democrats,” McAuliffe said. “But this is an off-off-year, and getting Democrats motivated to come out, that’s always the big challenge.” Eyeing 2022, the Democrats’ Senate campaign arm has signaled it will use abortion rights as a cudgel against Republicans running in states like Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada and North Carolina. Democrats planning campaigns for governor next year are preparing to brand themselves as the last line of defense on abortion rights, particularly in states with Republican-controlled legislatures. “People are now waking up to the fact that the battle will now be in the states, and they recognize that the only thing, literally the only thing standing in the way of Pennsylvania passing the same ban that Texas just passed, is the veto pen of our Democratic governor,” said Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania attorney general, a Democrat who has said he expects to enter the race to succeed Gov. Tom Wolf. “I’ve given up on the politicians in Washington. I don’t think we can count on them anymore.” Although Republicans have long made overturning Roe a central political goal — as a candidate in 2016, Trump predicted that his eventual Supreme Court appointees would do so — there was still a palpable sense of shock among Democrats. Despite the court’s 6-3 conservative majority, many Democrats seemed mentally unprepared for Wednesday’s ruling. “You can’t plan for a blatantly false or unconstitutional court ruling like this,” said Rep. Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania, a Democrat who is running for his state’s open Senate seat next year. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who made women’s rights the centerpiece of her 2020 presidential campaign, said Democrats could no longer be squeamish about fighting for abortion rights. “We have to elevate the issue,” she said Thursday. “We need to explain to the American people that this Texas law and other laws that will be attempted to be passed in other states, will upend women’s basic health care.” More broadly, progressive advocates lamented Democrats’ failure to match Republicans who have spent generations entrenching themselves in state capitals and placing enormous emphasis on appointing conservatives to the bench — key arenas where Democrats have failed to protect abortion rights. “We’re playing 50 years of catch-up,” said Ben Jealous, a former NAACP chief executive who is now the president of People for the American Way, a progressive organization. “The court is out of step with the American people. And Republicans have made the Supreme Court their sea wall against democracy.” Even as they exulted, anti-abortion conservatives worried about pitfalls ahead. They recalled Todd Akin, a former Missouri congressman whose 2012 Senate candidacy was derailed by his statement that women who are victims of what he called “legitimate rape” rarely became pregnant. Democrats used remarks like Akin’s to portray the GOP as waging a “war on women,” a tactic that Republicans conceded was highly effective. “Every candidate in the country is going to be asked about their position on abortion now,” said Tom McClusky, president of March for Life Action, which advocates legislation to restrict abortion rights. “What we want to avoid are incidents like what’s happened in the past.” Democrats have long believed that public support for legal abortion would prevent it from being effectively outlawed, as Texas has done. Even some conservative anti-abortion activists concede that their absolutist position is not one shared by a majority of Americans, although they believe some Democrats have overreached in vowing to eliminate all legal restrictions on abortion. “You may not have the majority of people who agree with me that life begins at conception, but they don’t believe that abortion should be legal at any point, all paid for by the taxpayer,” said Penny Nance, chief executive of Concerned Women for America, a conservative Christian organization. Support for abortion rights has scarcely been the motivating factor for Democrats that it has been for conservative voters opposed to abortion. In the 2020 presidential election, voters who said abortion was the most important issue backed Trump over Biden, 89% to 9%, according to AP/Votecast data. But while Republicans have campaigned on restricting abortion rights for generations, Democrats have moved left on the issue only recently — from Bill Clinton’s formulation that it should be “safe, legal and rare” to modern Democrats’ arguments that the choice should belong to the woman alone. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont campaigned with anti-abortion candidates as recently as 2017. While virtually all elected Democrats now back abortion rights, very few with a national profile built a political identity around the issue. One who tried was Wendy Davis, the former Texas state senator who spoke for more than 11 hours in a failed 2013 effort to block legislation to restrict abortion access in the state. She went on to run for governor in 2014 and for Congress in 2020 but was handily defeated both times. “We cannot shy away from this issue for fear that we will be branded as abortion activists,” Davis said Thursday. “I am proud to be labeled in that way because there is no shame. There should be no stigma involved with abortion.”

Abortion arrives at the center of the American political maelstrom

Facing criticism for the hasty withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, US President Joe Biden's approval rating has dropped to a new low of 43 per cent, according to a new Marist National Poll with NPR and PBS Newshour, marking the lowest rating for Biden since he took office.

According to Marist Poll, majorities of Americans disapprove of Biden's handling of foreign policy and of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. A large majority has also labelled the US role in Afghanistan a "failure".

"Biden's approval rating has dropped to a new low (43 per cent), while majorities of Americans disapprove of his handling of foreign policy (56 per cent) and of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan (61 per cent). Americans are split about what should have happened, but a large majority (71 per cent) label the US role in Afghanistan a "failure", Marist Poll reported.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/taliban-feel-betrayed-as-us-army-disabled-helicopters-and-planes-before-leaving-afghanistan-410379" hreflang="en">Taliban feel ‘betrayed’ as US army disabled helicopters and planes before leaving Afghanistan</a>

"71 per cent of Americans said that the US role in Afghanistan was a "failure" including majorities of Democrats (66 per cent), Republicans (73 per cent), and independents (75 per cent)," the poll said.

A majority of Americans said that Afghanistan "must determine its future without US involvement" while some believe it's the US duty to stay involved.

"A majority of Americans (61 per cent) say Afghanistan "must determine its future without US involvement," while 29 per cent believe the US "has a duty" to stay involved," the poll stated.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/afghan-women-being-forcefully-married-to-flee-the-country-us-officials-410371" hreflang="en">Afghan women being forcefully married to flee the country: US officials</a>

"When Americans were asked how the US should have proceeded in Afghanistan, opinions are split. Nearly even percentages say all troops should have been withdrawn (37 per cent) or some should have been withdrawn and some left behind (38 per cent). Smaller proportions say no troops should have been withdrawn (10 per cent) or more troops should have been sent (5 per cent)," the poll added.

The situation in Afghanistan has been deteriorating after the Taliban seized control of the war-ravaged country. On August 15, the Afghan government fell soon after President Ashraf Ghani left the country.

Placing Presidential responsibility for the US shortcomings in Afghanistan is largely partisan, the poll highlighted that overall, Americans rank George W. Bush (36 per cent), Joe Biden (21 per cent), Barack Obama (15 per cent), and Donald Trump (12 per cent) as being most responsible. Democrats, however, list Republicans Bush (53 per cent) and Trump (22 per cent) as their top two. Republicans list Democrats Biden (38 per cent) and Obama (34 per cent) as their top two.&nbsp;

Facing criticism for the hasty withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, US President Joe Biden's approval rating has dropped to a new low of 43 per cent, according to a new Marist National Poll with NPR and PBS Newshour, marking the lowest rating for Biden since he took office.

Facing criticism for the hasty withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, US President Joe Biden's approval rating has dropped to a new low of 43 per cent, according to a new Marist National Poll with NPR and PBS Newshour, marking the lowest rating for Biden since he took office. According to Marist Poll, majorities of Americans disapprove of Biden's handling of foreign policy and of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. A large majority has also labelled the US role in Afghanistan a "failure". "Biden's approval rating has dropped to a new low (43 per cent), while majorities of Americans disapprove of his handling of foreign policy (56 per cent) and of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan (61 per cent). Americans are split about what should have happened, but a large majority (71 per cent) label the US role in Afghanistan a "failure", Marist Poll reported. Also read | Taliban feel ‘betrayed’ as US army disabled helicopters and planes before leaving Afghanistan "71 per cent of Americans said that the US role in Afghanistan was a "failure" including majorities of Democrats (66 per cent), Republicans (73 per cent), and independents (75 per cent)," the poll said. A majority of Americans said that Afghanistan "must determine its future without US involvement" while some believe it's the US duty to stay involved. "A majority of Americans (61 per cent) say Afghanistan "must determine its future without US involvement," while 29 per cent believe the US "has a duty" to stay involved," the poll stated. Also read | Afghan women being forcefully married to flee the country: US officials "When Americans were asked how the US should have proceeded in Afghanistan, opinions are split. Nearly even percentages say all troops should have been withdrawn (37 per cent) or some should have been withdrawn and some left behind (38 per cent). Smaller proportions say no troops should have been withdrawn (10 per cent) or more troops should have been sent (5 per cent)," the poll added. The situation in Afghanistan has been deteriorating after the Taliban seized control of the war-ravaged country. On August 15, the Afghan government fell soon after President Ashraf Ghani left the country. Placing Presidential responsibility for the US shortcomings in Afghanistan is largely partisan, the poll highlighted that overall, Americans rank George W. Bush (36 per cent), Joe Biden (21 per cent), Barack Obama (15 per cent), and Donald Trump (12 per cent) as being most responsible. Democrats, however, list Republicans Bush (53 per cent) and Trump (22 per cent) as their top two. Republicans list Democrats Biden (38 per cent) and Obama (34 per cent) as their top two.

Following Afghanistan withdrawal, Biden's approval rating drops to a new low

US President Joe Biden met with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington. The much-anticipated gathering could have high-stakes implications for Zelensky, who has vied for American support since he took over in 2019.

Biden vows stronger US ties to Ukraine in first meeting with Zelensky

Staunchly defending the hasty withdrawal of the American troops from Afghanistan, United States President Joe Biden&nbsp;said it was time for Washington to shift its focus towards “powerful adversaries” such as Russia and China

In his address to the nation from the White House on Tuesday, Biden said, “My fellow Americans, the war in Afghanistan is now over. I give you my word: With all of my heart, I believe this is the right decision, a wise decision, and the best decision for America.” he said.

Biden’s address to the nation came just 11 days before the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that led to the US intervention in Afghanistan.

“The fundamental obligation of a President, in my opinion, is to defend and protect America...not against threats of 2001, but against the threats of 2021 and tomorrow,” he said.

“But I also know that the threat from terrorism continues in its pernicious and evil nature. But it's changed, expanded to other countries. Our strategy has to change too,” he added.

The US President also highlighted the evacuation of more than 120,000 people from Afghanistan, saying the “extraordinary success of this mission was due to the incredible skill, bravery, and selfless courage of the United States military and our diplomats and intelligence professionals.”

Also read |&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/dont-forget-me-here-bidens-former-interpreter-left-in-afghanistan-410031">'Don't forget me here': Biden's former interpreter left in Afghanistan</a>

Biden has been widely criticised over the abrupt manner of the US withdrawal, which led to the unexpected collapse of the Afghan security forces US troops had trained and funded for years.

Stressing that it was time for the US to face new challenges like cyberattacks and nuclear proliferation, Biden said, “We have to shore up America's competitiveness to meet these new challenges in the competition for the 21st century. And we can do both: fight terrorism and take on new threats that are here now and will continue to be here in the future.”

He said, “There's nothing China or Russia would rather have, would want more in this competition than the United States to be bogged down another decade in Afghanistan.”

The United States, he said, will maintain the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and other countries.

(With inputs from agencies)

Staunchly defending the hasty withdrawal of the American troops from Afghanistan, United States President Joe Biden said it was time for Washington to shift its focus towards “powerful adversaries” such as Russia and China In his address to the nation from the White House on Tuesday, Biden said, “My fellow Americans, the war in Afghanistan is now over.

Staunchly defending the hasty withdrawal of the American troops from Afghanistan, United States President Joe Biden said it was time for Washington to shift its focus towards “powerful adversaries” such as Russia and China In his address to the nation from the White House on Tuesday, Biden said, “My fellow Americans, the war in Afghanistan is now over. I give you my word: With all of my heart, I believe this is the right decision, a wise decision, and the best decision for America.” he said. Biden’s address to the nation came just 11 days before the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that led to the US intervention in Afghanistan. “The fundamental obligation of a President, in my opinion, is to defend and protect America...not against threats of 2001, but against the threats of 2021 and tomorrow,” he said. “But I also know that the threat from terrorism continues in its pernicious and evil nature. But it's changed, expanded to other countries. Our strategy has to change too,” he added. The US President also highlighted the evacuation of more than 120,000 people from Afghanistan, saying the “extraordinary success of this mission was due to the incredible skill, bravery, and selfless courage of the United States military and our diplomats and intelligence professionals.” Also read | 'Don't forget me here': Biden's former interpreter left in Afghanistan Biden has been widely criticised over the abrupt manner of the US withdrawal, which led to the unexpected collapse of the Afghan security forces US troops had trained and funded for years. Stressing that it was time for the US to face new challenges like cyberattacks and nuclear proliferation, Biden said, “We have to shore up America's competitiveness to meet these new challenges in the competition for the 21st century. And we can do both: fight terrorism and take on new threats that are here now and will continue to be here in the future.” He said, “There's nothing China or Russia would rather have, would want more in this competition than the United States to be bogged down another decade in Afghanistan.” The United States, he said, will maintain the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and other countries. (With inputs from agencies)

Biden draws curtain on Afghanistan, shifts focus to 'powerful adversaries' China, Russia

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