President Biden

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Biden Commutes 37 of 40 Federal Death Row Sentences

President converts them to life terms

(Newser) - President Biden announced Monday that he is commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment mere weeks before President-elect Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office. The move spares the lives of people convicted in killings,...

Report Suggests Biden Aides Shielded His Decline
Report Suggests
Biden Aides
Shielded His
Decline
longform
Dec 21, 2024 4:35 PM CST

Report Suggests Biden Aides Shielded His Decline

Wall Street Journal reports on how a 'diminished' president was protected

(Newser) - The Wall Street Journal is out with a deeply reported story about how aides to President Biden have gone to unusual lengths to manage what the piece describes as his "diminished" capabilities throughout his presidency.
  • "Presidents always have gatekeepers," reads the story. "But in Biden's
...

As He Heads Out, Biden Beats a Trump Record

President secures his 235th judicial confirmation, the most in single term since Jimmy Carter

(Newser) - President Biden secured the 235th judicial confirmation of his presidency on Friday, an accomplishment that exceeds his predecessor's total by one after Democrats put extra emphasis on the federal courts following Donald Trump's far-reaching first term, when he filled three seats on the Supreme Court. Senate Majority Leader...

Biden Makes Final Move in 'Boldest Climate Agenda' for US

President ups pledge to slash carbon emissions, vowing to cut them by more than 60% by 2035

(Newser) - President Biden is pledging to cut US greenhouse gas emissions by more than 60% by 2035 as he fights to ensure his legacy on slowing global warming, even as President-elect Trump vows to undo much of Biden's climate work when he takes office next month. Biden said the new...

New National Monument Honors 'Incredible Trailblazer'

Biden signs proclamation to honor Frances Perkins, first female Cabinet secretary

(Newser) - President Biden signed a proclamation Monday establishing a national monument honoring the late FDR-era Labor Secretary Frances Perkins, the first woman appointed to serve in a presidential Cabinet and a driving force behind the New Deal, according to the White House. Biden visited the Labor Department to make the announcement...

Biden Grants Clemency to 1.5K in a Day, Sets a Record

Former federal inmates on home confinement granted clemency, 39 others pardoned

(Newser) - President Biden is commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 former federal inmates placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic in what the New York Times notes is "the largest grant of clemency by an American president in a single day." Biden made the announcement in a...

Pressure on Biden to Commute All Federal Death Sentences

Some fear the 40 inmates on federal death row risk hanging under Trump

(Newser) - No president has ever issued a mass commutation of federal death sentences, but that's exactly what advocates are asking of President Biden in his final days in office. Several letters asking Biden to commute the sentences of all 40 people on federal death row to life in prison without...

Russia Grants Asylum to Assad
Russia Says It's
Taken In Assad
Dec 8, 2024 1:15 PM CST

Russia Says It's Taken In Assad

Biden tells nation US actions 'shifted the balance of power' in the Middle East

(Newser) - Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has arrived in Moscow with his family, Russian state media reported Sunday, and was granted asylum "for humanitarian reasons." The report could not immediately be confirmed by outside outlets. Russia had supported Assad's government, and a Kremlin official said Syrian rebels provided...

2024's Most Notable Quotes
2024's Most
Notable Quotes
Dec 7, 2024 8:00 AM CST

2024's Most Notable Quotes

There are a couple that have to do with cats, and a lot that have to do with politics

(Newser) - Well, 2024 is almost behind us, and it turns out humanity didn't take the year off from opening their pieholes and saying things that went viral or just broke people's brains. Yale University compiled a list of the year's most notable quotations, and perhaps unsurprisingly for an...

'If Ever There Was a Case for Clemency, This Is It'

Hugh Hurwitz calls for pardons for those on home confinement under CARES Act

(Newser) - As President Biden considers pardons for more perceived targets of President-elect Trump, he should not forget the 1,500 vulnerable former federal inmates on home confinement, who risk returning to prison under Trump. That's according to Hugh Hurwitz, former assistant director at the Bureau of Prisons, who was involved...

Biden Considers Some Preemptive Pardons

Media outlets name Liz Cheney, Anthony Fauci, Mark Milley, Jack Smith

(Newser) - President Biden and his aides are discussing preemptive pardons for figures ranging from Anthony Fauci to Liz Cheney amid increasing fears that President-elect Trump will go after them, according to reports. Seeing Trump's picks for law enforcement positions , many of whom have called for retribution against Trump's political...

Biden Is First US President to Visit Angola

He says US is 'all in' on Africa

(Newser) - Speaking of "our nation's original sin," President Biden toured a slavery museum in Angola on Tuesday and inspected shackles and a whip, He also addressed Africa's future, saying Africans will make up one in four people by 2050 and the world's fate rests in their...

Late-Night Hosts Weigh In on the Biden Pardon

Jon Stewart roasts the hypocrisy but also cuts the president a little slack

(Newser) - President Biden gave Jon Stewart and the late-night hosts plenty to talk about Monday night with his controversial pardon of son Hunter. Stewart, for example, roasted the president for going back on his word and for the unusually broad sweep of the pardon, but he also cut the president some...

Biden's 'Particularly Broad' Pardon Is Like Gerald Ford's

Its sweeping language protects son Hunter for actions over the last decade

(Newser) - President Biden didn't merely pardon son Hunter for his federal criminal convictions. The president bestowed on him a "full and unconditional pardon" for any federal crime Hunter may have committed over the past decade. The BBC notes that it is a "particularly broad" pardon compared to, say,...

After Biden Pardon, Trump Wonders About 'J-6' Cases

Former president criticizes current president's move as a 'miscarriage of Justice'

(Newser) - President Biden's decision to pardon son Hunter Sunday night might have raised the hopes of those currently imprisoned over the Capitol riot. In reacting to the Biden move, President-elect Trump provided what some are interpreting as a hint to his thinking in regard to potential pardons for them, reports...

President Biden Explains Decision to Pardon His Son

'I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision'

(Newser) - After previously saying he would not pardon his son following his federal felony gun and tax convictions, President Biden on Sunday did that very thing , some 50 days before he is set to exit the White House, reports the New York Times . Fox News reports the pardon applies to...

Biden Reverses Himself, Pardons Son Hunter

President had previously said he wouldn't do so

(Newser) - President Biden has pardoned his son Hunter, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family members, per the AP . The president had previously...

Biden Pardons His Last Turkeys
Biden Delivers
Final Turkey Pardons
Nov 25, 2024 3:04 PM CST

Biden Delivers Final Turkey Pardons

'It's been the honor of my life,' he says as he begins his final White House holiday season

(Newser) - President Biden kicked off his final holiday season at the White House on Monday by issuing the traditional reprieve to two turkeys who will bypass the Thanksgiving table to live out their days in southern Minnesota. Biden welcomed 2,500 guests to the South Lawn under sunny skies as he...

Biden Asks for Almost $100B in Emergency Disaster Aid

President tells House speaker money is 'urgently needed' after Hurricanes Helene and Milton

(Newser) - President Biden is requesting nearly $100 billion in emergency disaster aid after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as other natural disasters, telling lawmakers that the money is "urgently needed." The letter Monday to House Speaker Mike Johnson comes as lawmakers meet during a lame-duck session to finish...

In Rainforest, Biden Pledges to Protect the Amazon

Brazil despairs of seeing US help with climate change once Trump becomes president

(Newser) - On the first trip of a sitting American president to the Amazon, President Biden promised new financial help to protect the rainforest on Sunday—an eleventh-hour effort to fight climate change before he turns the presidency over to Donald Trump. The Amazon rainforest is critical in regulating Earth's climate...

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