United Nations President Joe Biden has asked the government's agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to find out whether the deadly tornadoes were caused by the climate crisis.&nbsp;

Dozens of tornadoes ripped through at least six states (Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee) late Friday and early Saturday, causing massive destruction of life and property.&nbsp;

The latest information from the US authorities confirmed that the death toll in the worst-affected state Kentucky stood at 64 on Monday (December 13). At least 14 people were killed in four other US states

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said, "There will be more. We believe it will certainly be above 70, maybe even 80."&nbsp;

IN PICS | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/tornadoes-in-us-before-and-after-satellite-images-show-massive-destruction-436366#massive-destruction-436357">Tornadoes in US: Before and after satellite images show massive destruction</a>

Biden also confirmed that he will visit Kentucky on Wednesday (December 15) to survey the damage. It has been conveyed by the White House that Biden would travel to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, for a storm briefing, and Mayfield and Dawson Springs, Kentucky.&nbsp;

When the initial damages were reported, Biden had asked EPA to find whether climate crisis has played a role in the devastating tornadoes.&nbsp;

"The specific impact on these specific storms, I can't say at this point. I'm going to be asking the EPA and others to take a look at that," Biden said in a briefing.&nbsp;

He added, "But the fact is that we know everything is more intense when the climate is warming. And obviously, it has some impact here."

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Victor Gensini, a professor in geographic and atmospheric sciences at Northern Illinois University said that unusually high temperatures and humidity created the environment for such an extreme weather event at this time of year.&nbsp;

In recent years, analysts have been working to find out the links between an increase in global temperatures and how it is becoming a catalyst for the rising intensity of unseasonal severe weather events.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

United Nations President Joe Biden has asked the government's agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to find out whether the deadly tornadoes were caused by the climate crisis.

United Nations President Joe Biden has asked the government's agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to find out whether the deadly tornadoes were caused by the climate crisis. Dozens of tornadoes ripped through at least six states (Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee) late Friday and early Saturday, causing massive destruction of life and property. The latest information from the US authorities confirmed that the death toll in the worst-affected state Kentucky stood at 64 on Monday (December 13). At least 14 people were killed in four other US states Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said, "There will be more. We believe it will certainly be above 70, maybe even 80." IN PICS | Tornadoes in US: Before and after satellite images show massive destruction Biden also confirmed that he will visit Kentucky on Wednesday (December 15) to survey the damage. It has been conveyed by the White House that Biden would travel to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, for a storm briefing, and Mayfield and Dawson Springs, Kentucky. When the initial damages were reported, Biden had asked EPA to find whether climate crisis has played a role in the devastating tornadoes. "The specific impact on these specific storms, I can't say at this point. I'm going to be asking the EPA and others to take a look at that," Biden said in a briefing. He added, "But the fact is that we know everything is more intense when the climate is warming. And obviously, it has some impact here." × Victor Gensini, a professor in geographic and atmospheric sciences at Northern Illinois University said that unusually high temperatures and humidity created the environment for such an extreme weather event at this time of year. In recent years, analysts have been working to find out the links between an increase in global temperatures and how it is becoming a catalyst for the rising intensity of unseasonal severe weather events. (With inputs from agencies)

US President Joe Biden asks EPA to probe role of climate crisis in deadly tornadoes

This year a record number of robots were sold in the United States. This was to fill up jobs affected by labor shortages in the country. More and more companies are turning to robots.

North American countries order more and more robot

The most powerful part of President Joe Biden’s climate agenda — a program to rapidly replace the nation’s coal- and gas-fired power plants with wind, solar and nuclear energy — will likely be dropped from the massive budget bill pending in Congress, according to congressional staffers and lobbyists familiar with the matter.

Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from coal-rich West Virginia whose vote is crucial to passage of the bill, has told the White House that he strongly opposes the clean electricity program, according to three of those people. As a result, White House staffers are now rewriting the legislation without that climate provision and are trying to cobble together a mix of other policies that could also cut emissions.

A White House spokesperson, Vedant Patel, declined to comment on the specifics of the bill, saying, “The White House is laser focused on advancing the president’s climate goals and positioning the United States to meet its emission targets in a way that grows domestic industries and good jobs.”

A spokesperson for Manchin, Sam Runyon, wrote in an email, “Sen. Manchin has clearly expressed his concerns about using taxpayer dollars to pay private companies to do things they’re already doing. He continues to support efforts to combat climate change while protecting American energy independence and ensuring our energy reliability.”

West Virginia’s other senator, Republican Shelley Moore Capito, said she was “vehemently opposed” to the clean electricity program because it is “designed to ultimately eliminate coal and natural gas from our electricity mix, and would be absolutely devastating for my state.”

The $150 billion clean electricity program was the muscle behind Biden’s ambitious climate agenda. It would reward utilities that switched from burning fossil fuels to renewable energy sources and penalize those that did not.

Experts have said that over the next decade the policy would dramatically reduce the greenhouse gases that are heating the planet and that it would be the strongest climate change policy ever enacted by the United States.

“This is absolutely the most important climate policy in the package,” said Leah Stokes, an expert on climate policy, who has been advising Senate Democrats on how to craft the program. “We fundamentally need it to meet our climate goals. That’s just the reality. And now we can’t. So this is pretty sad.”

The setback also means President Joe Biden will have a weakened hand when he travels to Glasgow, Scotland, in two weeks for a major United Nations climate change summit. He had hoped to point to the clean electricity program as evidence that the United States, which is historically the largest emitter of planet-warming pollution, was serious about changing course and leading a global effort to fight climate change. Biden has vowed that the United States will cut its emissions 50% from 2005 levels by 2030.

The rest of the world remains deeply wary of the United States’ commitment to tackling global warming after four years in which former President Donald Trump openly mocked the science of climate change and enacted policies that encouraged more drilling and burning of fossil fuels.

“This will create a huge problem for the White House in Glasgow,” said David G. Victor, co-director of the Deep Decarbonization Initiative at the University of California, San Diego.“ If you see the president coming in and saying all the right things with all the right aspirations and then one of the earliest tests of whether he can deliver falls apart, it creates the question of whether you can believe him.”

Democrats had hoped to include the clean electricity program in their sweeping budget bill that would also expand the social safety net, which they plan to muscle through using a fast-track process known as reconciliation that would allow them to pass it without any Republican votes. The party is still trying to figure out how to pass the budget bill along with a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

For weeks, Democratic leaders have vowed that the clean electricity program was a nonnegotiable part of the legislation. Progressive Democrats held rallies chanting “No climate, no deal!”

Biden had hoped enactment of the legislation would clean up the electricity sector, which produces about one-quarter of the country’s greenhouse gases. He wanted a program with impacts that would last well after he leaves office, regardless of who occupies the White House.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said at an event in San Francisco on Friday morning that she was still pushing for the strongest possible climate change provisions in the bill.

“What we’re here today about is specifically about the climate piece," Pelosi said. "This is our moment. We cannot – we don’t have any more time to wait."

Democratic presidents have tried but failed to enact climate change legislation since the Clinton administration. During a year of record and deadly droughts, wildfires, storms and floods that scientists say are worsened by climate change, Democrats had hoped to finally garner enough political support to enact a strong climate law, even as scientific reports say that the window is rapidly closing to avoid the most devastating impacts of a warming planet.

A major scientific report released in August concluded that countries must immediately shift away from burning fossil fuels in order to avoid a future of severe drought, intense heat waves, water shortages, devastating storms, rising seas and ecosystem collapse. To avert catastrophe, scientists say nations must keep the average global temperature from increasing 1.5 Celsius above preindustrial levels. But as countries continue to pump carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the average global temperature has already risen by about 1.1 degrees Celsius.

Even as Pelosi vowed in San Francisco to protect those climate provisions, at least four people in Washington close to the negotiations called the clean electricity program “dead.”

Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., the chief author of the program, said that while dropping it might win Manchin’s vote on the budget bill, it could cost hers — and those of other Democrats focused on the environment.

“We must have strong climate action in the Build Back Better budget," she said. "I’m open to all approaches, but as I’ve said, I will not support a budget deal that does not get us where we need to go on climate action. There are 50 Democratic senators, and it’s going to take every one of our votes to get this budget passed.”

Manchin, who has personal financial ties to the coal industry, had initially intended to write the details of the program as the chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Manchin was considering a clean electricity program that would reward utilities for switching from coal to natural gas, which is less polluting but still emits carbon dioxide and can leak methane, another greenhouse gas. Manchin’s home state, West Virginia, is one of the nation’s top producers of coal and gas.

But in recent days, Manchin indicated to the administration that he was now completely opposed to a clean energy program, people familiar with the discussions said.

As a result, White House staffers are scrambling to calculate the impact on emissions from other climate measures in the bill, including tax incentives for renewable energy producers and tax credits for consumers who purchase electric vehicles. Unlike a clean energy program, tax incentives tend to expire after a set period of time, and do not have the market-shifting power of a more durable strategy.

Those other programs include about $300 billion to extend existing tax credits for utilities, commercial businesses and homeowners that use or generate electricity from zero-carbon sources such as wind and solar and $32 billion in tax credits for individuals who purchase electric vehicles. It could also include $13.5 billion for electric car charging stations and $9 billion to update the electric grid, making it more conducive to transmitting wind and solar power, and $17.5 billion to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from federal buildings and vehicles.

But, analysts say, while those spending programs will help make it easier and cheaper for the U.S. economy to transition to a lower-emissions future, they are unlikely to lead to the same kind of rapid reduction in emissions that the clean electricity program would have.

“To clean up the electricity system as rapidly as possible, you need an incentive to add clean energy and a penalty that is a disincentive for dirty sources of energy,” Victor said. “A carrot and stick. These tax incentives are carrots. But there’s no more stick.”

It is also possible that Democrats may try to push through the clean electricity program as a stand-alone bill — but the timeline for doing so is narrowing, with the 2022 midterm elections approaching.

The most powerful part of President Joe Biden’s climate agenda — a program to rapidly replace the nation’s coal- and gas-fired power plants with wind, solar and nuclear energy — will likely be dropped from the massive budget bill pending in Congress, according to congressional staffers and lobbyists familiar with the matter.

The most powerful part of President Joe Biden’s climate agenda — a program to rapidly replace the nation’s coal- and gas-fired power plants with wind, solar and nuclear energy — will likely be dropped from the massive budget bill pending in Congress, according to congressional staffers and lobbyists familiar with the matter. Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from coal-rich West Virginia whose vote is crucial to passage of the bill, has told the White House that he strongly opposes the clean electricity program, according to three of those people. As a result, White House staffers are now rewriting the legislation without that climate provision and are trying to cobble together a mix of other policies that could also cut emissions. A White House spokesperson, Vedant Patel, declined to comment on the specifics of the bill, saying, “The White House is laser focused on advancing the president’s climate goals and positioning the United States to meet its emission targets in a way that grows domestic industries and good jobs.” A spokesperson for Manchin, Sam Runyon, wrote in an email, “Sen. Manchin has clearly expressed his concerns about using taxpayer dollars to pay private companies to do things they’re already doing. He continues to support efforts to combat climate change while protecting American energy independence and ensuring our energy reliability.” West Virginia’s other senator, Republican Shelley Moore Capito, said she was “vehemently opposed” to the clean electricity program because it is “designed to ultimately eliminate coal and natural gas from our electricity mix, and would be absolutely devastating for my state.” The $150 billion clean electricity program was the muscle behind Biden’s ambitious climate agenda. It would reward utilities that switched from burning fossil fuels to renewable energy sources and penalize those that did not. Experts have said that over the next decade the policy would dramatically reduce the greenhouse gases that are heating the planet and that it would be the strongest climate change policy ever enacted by the United States. “This is absolutely the most important climate policy in the package,” said Leah Stokes, an expert on climate policy, who has been advising Senate Democrats on how to craft the program. “We fundamentally need it to meet our climate goals. That’s just the reality. And now we can’t. So this is pretty sad.” The setback also means President Joe Biden will have a weakened hand when he travels to Glasgow, Scotland, in two weeks for a major United Nations climate change summit. He had hoped to point to the clean electricity program as evidence that the United States, which is historically the largest emitter of planet-warming pollution, was serious about changing course and leading a global effort to fight climate change. Biden has vowed that the United States will cut its emissions 50% from 2005 levels by 2030. The rest of the world remains deeply wary of the United States’ commitment to tackling global warming after four years in which former President Donald Trump openly mocked the science of climate change and enacted policies that encouraged more drilling and burning of fossil fuels. “This will create a huge problem for the White House in Glasgow,” said David G. Victor, co-director of the Deep Decarbonization Initiative at the University of California, San Diego.“ If you see the president coming in and saying all the right things with all the right aspirations and then one of the earliest tests of whether he can deliver falls apart, it creates the question of whether you can believe him.” Democrats had hoped to include the clean electricity program in their sweeping budget bill that would also expand the social safety net, which they plan to muscle through using a fast-track process known as reconciliation that would allow them to pass it without any Republican votes. The party is still trying to figure out how to pass the budget bill along with a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill. For weeks, Democratic leaders have vowed that the clean electricity program was a nonnegotiable part of the legislation. Progressive Democrats held rallies chanting “No climate, no deal!” Biden had hoped enactment of the legislation would clean up the electricity sector, which produces about one-quarter of the country’s greenhouse gases. He wanted a program with impacts that would last well after he leaves office, regardless of who occupies the White House. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said at an event in San Francisco on Friday morning that she was still pushing for the strongest possible climate change provisions in the bill. “What we’re here today about is specifically about the climate piece," Pelosi said. "This is our moment. We cannot – we don’t have any more time to wait." Democratic presidents have tried but failed to enact climate change legislation since the Clinton administration. During a year of record and deadly droughts, wildfires, storms and floods that scientists say are worsened by climate change, Democrats had hoped to finally garner enough political support to enact a strong climate law, even as scientific reports say that the window is rapidly closing to avoid the most devastating impacts of a warming planet. A major scientific report released in August concluded that countries must immediately shift away from burning fossil fuels in order to avoid a future of severe drought, intense heat waves, water shortages, devastating storms, rising seas and ecosystem collapse. To avert catastrophe, scientists say nations must keep the average global temperature from increasing 1.5 Celsius above preindustrial levels. But as countries continue to pump carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the average global temperature has already risen by about 1.1 degrees Celsius. Even as Pelosi vowed in San Francisco to protect those climate provisions, at least four people in Washington close to the negotiations called the clean electricity program “dead.” Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., the chief author of the program, said that while dropping it might win Manchin’s vote on the budget bill, it could cost hers — and those of other Democrats focused on the environment. “We must have strong climate action in the Build Back Better budget," she said. "I’m open to all approaches, but as I’ve said, I will not support a budget deal that does not get us where we need to go on climate action. There are 50 Democratic senators, and it’s going to take every one of our votes to get this budget passed.” Manchin, who has personal financial ties to the coal industry, had initially intended to write the details of the program as the chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Manchin was considering a clean electricity program that would reward utilities for switching from coal to natural gas, which is less polluting but still emits carbon dioxide and can leak methane, another greenhouse gas. Manchin’s home state, West Virginia, is one of the nation’s top producers of coal and gas. But in recent days, Manchin indicated to the administration that he was now completely opposed to a clean energy program, people familiar with the discussions said. As a result, White House staffers are scrambling to calculate the impact on emissions from other climate measures in the bill, including tax incentives for renewable energy producers and tax credits for consumers who purchase electric vehicles. Unlike a clean energy program, tax incentives tend to expire after a set period of time, and do not have the market-shifting power of a more durable strategy. Those other programs include about $300 billion to extend existing tax credits for utilities, commercial businesses and homeowners that use or generate electricity from zero-carbon sources such as wind and solar and $32 billion in tax credits for individuals who purchase electric vehicles. It could also include $13.5 billion for electric car charging stations and $9 billion to update the electric grid, making it more conducive to transmitting wind and solar power, and $17.5 billion to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from federal buildings and vehicles. But, analysts say, while those spending programs will help make it easier and cheaper for the U.S. economy to transition to a lower-emissions future, they are unlikely to lead to the same kind of rapid reduction in emissions that the clean electricity program would have. “To clean up the electricity system as rapidly as possible, you need an incentive to add clean energy and a penalty that is a disincentive for dirty sources of energy,” Victor said. “A carrot and stick. These tax incentives are carrots. But there’s no more stick.” It is also possible that Democrats may try to push through the clean electricity program as a stand-alone bill — but the timeline for doing so is narrowing, with the 2022 midterm elections approaching.

Key to Biden’s climate agenda likely to be cut because of Manchin opposition

U.S. President Joe Biden rolled up his shirt sleeve and received a COVID-19 vaccine booster inoculation on Monday, hoping to provide a powerful example for Americans on the need to get the extra shot even as millions go without their first. Watch this report for more details.

US President Joe Biden gets COVID-19 booster shot

President Joe&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;cut a beleaguered figure Thursday as he raced to extinguish political fires on the left and right, at home and abroad, in an attempt to save his hopes of transforming the United States.

Whether it's war, diplomatic incidents, economic shocks or an obstructionist Congress, all presidents feel the heat sooner or later.

Biden's feeling all those flames at once.

To the south, there is the human and national security drama of thousands of Haitian migrants abruptly appearing across the border from Mexico and camping under a Texas bridge.

To the east across the Atlantic there is a disgruntled ally in France, furious at losing a conventional submarines contract when Australia accepted an offer for US nuclear submarines.

ALSO READ | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/france-says-uks-boris-johnson-offered-to-re-establish-cooperation-415593">France says UK's Boris Johnson offered to 're-establish cooperation'</a>

All over the United States there is the fight against Covid, which&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;declared on the way to being defeated in July, only to see it roar back with the Delta variant.

And right in Washington, the 78-year-old president faces the mind-boggling task of juggling a Republican opposition eager to wreck his presidency and a Democratic Party flirting with self-destruction.

"I've been here for cliffs and crises and wars, and this is going to be the biggest mashup we've ever had since I've been here," Democratic congressman Peter DeFazio, from Oregon, told NBC News.

Debt default?

DeFazio was talking about the perfect storm brewing in Congress, where Republicans are fighting Democrats over&nbsp;Biden's agenda and Democrats are fighting themselves.

Put simply, Republicans and Democrats did agree earlier this year -- back when&nbsp;Biden's presidency seemed to be going far better -- to pass a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure bill.

This was good news for America's crumbling bridges -- and for&nbsp;Biden's promise that he could heal national divisions.

However, the real prize was&nbsp;Biden's push for a separate, mammoth $3.5 trillion social spending bill that he argues will redress gross inequalities by reforming taxes, reinforcing education and resisting climate change.

On this, he never had Republican support, yet with Democrats holding a narrow majority in Congress he didn't have to worry.

That was the theory.

Fast forward to this week and both the smaller and bigger packages are on life support, with conservative Democrats insisting on whittling down the $3.5 trillion figure and leftist Democrats threatening to reject the $1 trillion version if the bigger version isn't passed first in its entirety.

Gleefully watching the infighting, Republicans have upped the tension now by refusing to join Democrats in authorizing more government debt.

In previous years this has been a largely uncontroversial, bipartisan decision that simply allows the government to keep borrowing so it can pay its bills.

However, hardball Republicans used the debt extension to shake Barack Obama's administration a decade ago and they're doing it again, trying to force the Democrats to take the decision by themselves -- making&nbsp;Biden's party easier to portray as a bunch of irresponsible spendthrifts.

Democrats so far refuse to cave, insisting that Republicans join them and accusing opponents of holding the US economy hostage.

As each side waits for the other to blink, this is the worst case scenario:

Paralysis in Congress. Current debt limits max out some time in October. The borrowing spigot goes dry. The government shuts down. And the United States defaults on debts, sending global stock markets into a panic.

"I have no idea how it all works out," DeFazio said.

Biden&nbsp;remains sunny

The mess -- especially the Covid rebound and the ugly Afghanistan withdrawal -- has made&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;deeply unpopular.

His latest Gallup approval rating of 43 percent is at Donald Trump levels and marks a plummet from 56 percent in June.

Yet for now, the veteran Democrat has not lost his trademark sunny optimism -- or belief in his vaunted experience as a lifelong Washington insider.

On Wednesday, he got on the phone with French President Emmanuel Macron to bury the hatchet in the submarine spat.

Then he spent hours in the White House with different Democratic factions to air out differences on the spending packages.

"He felt encouraged by how constructive the conversations were," Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday, brushing off doomsayers by describing the congressional impasse as "a messy sausage-making process."

"He's going to have his sleeves rolled up and he'll be very engaged."

But even Psaki, master of the half-glass-full narrative, acknowledges that her boss is up against it.

"Well, I think the country is going through a lot right now," she replied Wednesday when asked about&nbsp;Biden's plunge in the polls.

President Joe Biden cut a beleaguered figure Thursday as he raced to extinguish political fires on the left and right, at home and abroad, in an attempt to save his hopes of transforming the United States.

President Joe Biden cut a beleaguered figure Thursday as he raced to extinguish political fires on the left and right, at home and abroad, in an attempt to save his hopes of transforming the United States. Whether it's war, diplomatic incidents, economic shocks or an obstructionist Congress, all presidents feel the heat sooner or later. Biden's feeling all those flames at once. To the south, there is the human and national security drama of thousands of Haitian migrants abruptly appearing across the border from Mexico and camping under a Texas bridge. To the east across the Atlantic there is a disgruntled ally in France, furious at losing a conventional submarines contract when Australia accepted an offer for US nuclear submarines. ALSO READ | France says UK's Boris Johnson offered to 're-establish cooperation' All over the United States there is the fight against Covid, which Biden declared on the way to being defeated in July, only to see it roar back with the Delta variant. And right in Washington, the 78-year-old president faces the mind-boggling task of juggling a Republican opposition eager to wreck his presidency and a Democratic Party flirting with self-destruction. "I've been here for cliffs and crises and wars, and this is going to be the biggest mashup we've ever had since I've been here," Democratic congressman Peter DeFazio, from Oregon, told NBC News. Debt default? DeFazio was talking about the perfect storm brewing in Congress, where Republicans are fighting Democrats over Biden's agenda and Democrats are fighting themselves. Put simply, Republicans and Democrats did agree earlier this year -- back when Biden's presidency seemed to be going far better -- to pass a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure bill. This was good news for America's crumbling bridges -- and for Biden's promise that he could heal national divisions. However, the real prize was Biden's push for a separate, mammoth $3.5 trillion social spending bill that he argues will redress gross inequalities by reforming taxes, reinforcing education and resisting climate change. On this, he never had Republican support, yet with Democrats holding a narrow majority in Congress he didn't have to worry. That was the theory. Fast forward to this week and both the smaller and bigger packages are on life support, with conservative Democrats insisting on whittling down the $3.5 trillion figure and leftist Democrats threatening to reject the $1 trillion version if the bigger version isn't passed first in its entirety. Gleefully watching the infighting, Republicans have upped the tension now by refusing to join Democrats in authorizing more government debt. In previous years this has been a largely uncontroversial, bipartisan decision that simply allows the government to keep borrowing so it can pay its bills. However, hardball Republicans used the debt extension to shake Barack Obama's administration a decade ago and they're doing it again, trying to force the Democrats to take the decision by themselves -- making Biden's party easier to portray as a bunch of irresponsible spendthrifts. Democrats so far refuse to cave, insisting that Republicans join them and accusing opponents of holding the US economy hostage. As each side waits for the other to blink, this is the worst case scenario: Paralysis in Congress. Current debt limits max out some time in October. The borrowing spigot goes dry. The government shuts down. And the United States defaults on debts, sending global stock markets into a panic. "I have no idea how it all works out," DeFazio said. Biden remains sunny The mess -- especially the Covid rebound and the ugly Afghanistan withdrawal -- has made Biden deeply unpopular. His latest Gallup approval rating of 43 percent is at Donald Trump levels and marks a plummet from 56 percent in June. Yet for now, the veteran Democrat has not lost his trademark sunny optimism -- or belief in his vaunted experience as a lifelong Washington insider. On Wednesday, he got on the phone with French President Emmanuel Macron to bury the hatchet in the submarine spat. Then he spent hours in the White House with different Democratic factions to air out differences on the spending packages. "He felt encouraged by how constructive the conversations were," Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday, brushing off doomsayers by describing the congressional impasse as "a messy sausage-making process." "He's going to have his sleeves rolled up and he'll be very engaged." But even Psaki, master of the half-glass-full narrative, acknowledges that her boss is up against it. "Well, I think the country is going through a lot right now," she replied Wednesday when asked about Biden's plunge in the polls.

Joe Biden scrambles between multiple political fires

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Sunday (local time) that search of a national park in Wyoming has yielded human remains "consistent" with missing 22-year-old Gabby Petito. However, no formal identification has been made yet. Petito had gone missing during months-long cross-country trip with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie who came home without her on September 1.&nbsp;

Laundrie has not co-operated with the police and has been named a "person of interest"

<img alt="Gabby Petitoi Brian Laundrie" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5222871d-050c-4373-8c09-09268bc84b50" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Laundrie.JPG" />

(Gabby Petito with her boyfriend Brain Laundrie)

"Earlier today human remains were discovered consistent with Gabrielle Petito," FBI spokesman Charles Jones said. "Full forensic identification has not been completed to confirm 100% that we found Gabby, but her family has been notified of this discovery."

Jones said the cause of death was yet to be determined.

Petito and Laundrie, 23, left New York in June on their road trip, heading west in a white van planning to visiting national parks along the way and documenting the trip on social media.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/gabby-petito-mystery-deepens-as-us-girl-22-goes-missing-on-a-road-trip-with-fiance-413698">Gabby Petito: Mystery deepens as US girl, 22, goes missing on a road trip with fiancé</a>

Petito was in touch with her family but appeared to abruptly stop communication in last week of August. She posted her last photo on August 25 Her family believes she was headed to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming when they last heard from her.

Laundrie, who lived with Petito in North Port, roughly 70 miles (110 miles) south of St. Petersburg on Florida's west coast, has refused to speak with investigators.

His family told police on Friday that they had not seen him in three days. Florida police and FBI agents spent the weekend combing a nearby forest area for him.

Petito was last seen leaving a hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah.

(With inputs from agencies)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Sunday (local time) that search of a national park in Wyoming has yielded human remains "consistent" with missing 22-year-old Gabby Petito.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Sunday (local time) that search of a national park in Wyoming has yielded human remains "consistent" with missing 22-year-old Gabby Petito. However, no formal identification has been made yet. Petito had gone missing during months-long cross-country trip with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie who came home without her on September 1. Laundrie has not co-operated with the police and has been named a "person of interest" (Gabby Petito with her boyfriend Brain Laundrie) "Earlier today human remains were discovered consistent with Gabrielle Petito," FBI spokesman Charles Jones said. "Full forensic identification has not been completed to confirm 100% that we found Gabby, but her family has been notified of this discovery." Jones said the cause of death was yet to be determined. Petito and Laundrie, 23, left New York in June on their road trip, heading west in a white van planning to visiting national parks along the way and documenting the trip on social media. Also Read | Gabby Petito: Mystery deepens as US girl, 22, goes missing on a road trip with fiancé Petito was in touch with her family but appeared to abruptly stop communication in last week of August. She posted her last photo on August 25 Her family believes she was headed to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming when they last heard from her. Laundrie, who lived with Petito in North Port, roughly 70 miles (110 miles) south of St. Petersburg on Florida's west coast, has refused to speak with investigators. His family told police on Friday that they had not seen him in three days. Florida police and FBI agents spent the weekend combing a nearby forest area for him. Petito was last seen leaving a hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah. (With inputs from agencies)

Search for Gabby Petito: FBI finds remains 'consistent' with the 22-year-old

A US military base in Washington DC was placed under lockdown for nearly two hours on Friday after an armed man reportedly ran onto the grounds. During a local police investigation of gunshots on the streets surrounding the base.

US News: Potential gunman intrudes military base

The new policy applies to both public and private schools and will affect more than 800,000 employees, including about 320,000 public school teachers.

California becomes 1st state to require vaccination for all school staff

Job openings in June increased largely in services industries, which continue to ramp up operations as consumers unleashed pent-up demand.

US job openings top 10 million in June, a new record

Investment bankers could see the biggest checks in roughly a decade, according to a report by compensation consulting firm Johnson Associates Inc.

Investment bankers to get biggest checks in decade

A probe has found that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed several women. Cuomo says he has not touched anyone inappropriately, but U.S. President Joe Biden wants Cuomo to step down.

Gravitas: All about the Andrew Cuomo case

Four policers who defended the US capitol during the insurrection delivered their testimony. The officers said they were punched and kicked. “This is how I’m going to die, defending this entrance,” Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell recalled thinking, testifying Tuesday at the emotional opening hearing of the congressional panel investigating the violent Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

Police officers recall US capitol insurrection, says they were 'kicked and punched'

Paul questioned Fauci about an NIH-funded study that he claims qualifies as a gain of function research, which entails changing a pathogen to make it more transmissible to better forecast new diseases.

‘If anybody is lying here, it is you’: Fauci and Paul clash on coronavirus origins

On Thursday, the director-general of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it had been "premature" to dismiss the possibility that a lab leak had spawned the pandemic.

'Covid lab leak theory as credible as natural origins explanation', says US

Guns are not toys, yet a U.S. gun-maker is selling a LEGO-style real handgun promoting it as a 'childhood dream come to life'. This is happening in a country where gun terror is rampant.

Gravitas: When weapons become a joke

In California, The Beckwourth Complex fire, a combination of two fires in Plumas National Forest, has burned more than 90,000 acres as of Tuesday night.

Oregon wildfire becomes biggest in the nation, burning over 200,000 acres | Western US

Vowing to reset the economy for the benefit of everyday workers and consumers, President Joe Biden unveiled on Friday a wide-ranging plan to tilt the balance of power away from corporations and towards "the little guy."

US President Joe Biden targets corporate monopolies

The Biden administration on Friday imposed sanctions against 34 companies and entities linked to China's military and policy towards the Uyghur minority including those involved with allowing exports to Russia and Iran.

US targets Chinese firms: Blacklists 34 companies

“We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build. And it's the right and the responsibility of Afghan people alone to decide their future, and how they want to run their country,” he said.

'Will not send another generation of Americans to war': Joe Biden

A silent genocide is underway in America. More than 150 people have died in 400 incidents of gun terror over the July 4 weekend. Why is Washington doing nothing about it?

Gravitas: U.S: 400 Shootings over Independence day weekend

Over the Fourth of July weekend, cities across the United States were gripped by gun violence, from Chicago to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to Fort Worth, Texas.

At least 150 people died in shootings across the US over Fourth of July weekend

US President Joe Biden met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his former political foe, Abdullah Abdullah, at the White House where he called on Afghans to decide the future of their country as the last US troops pack up after 20 years of war and government forces struggle to repel Taliban advances.

Afghan leaders meet US President at White House, Biden assures support

At least four people have died and 159 still missing after a building partially collapsed in Miami on Thursday, city officials said.

Florida building collapse: 159 victims still missing under debris

As the country pushes for more vaccinations, evidence has mounted that the mass vaccination programs have helped to push daily infections and deaths lower.

US to miss Biden's July 4 vaccination goal

Last week, the Senate approved $52 billion for production and research on semiconductors and telecommunications equipment.

US senators propose 25% tax credit for semiconductor manufacturing

The United States is devoting $3.2 billion to advance development of antiviral pills for COVID-19 and other dangerous viruses that could turn into pandemics

US to spend USD 3.2 billion for antiviral pills for COVID-19

The Delta variant has become the dominant strain in the UK, accounting for an estimated 60% of new cases. It’s now more prevalent than the Alpha strain, formerly called the B.1.1.7 strain.

'US must vaccinate more people before Delta varient becomes dominant', says Anthony Fauci

Denmark hosts several key landing stations for subsea internet cables to and from Sweden, Norway, Germany, Holland and Britain.

US used Danish cables to spy on Merkel, European countries

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a two-day Middle East mission on Wednesday, winning valuable diplomatic support and pledges of millions of dollars from Arab allies as he proceeded to end the ceasefire that ended the 11-day war Israel and militant Hamas ruler of the Gaza Strip.

US Secy of State wraps up his West Asia visit followed Egypt-brokered ceasefire

A grand jury has been convened in New York on Tuesday to launch an investigation into criminal charges on former US President Donald Trump for his business deals and concealing money.

NY prosecutors probing Donald Trump set up grand jury to investigate tax evasions : Report

According to officials, the White House and the Kremlin are working to arrange a summit in Switzerland next month between the United States President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Preparations underway for US President Biden and Russian President's meeting in Switzerland

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