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Trump's insult to Biden after he drops out of presidential race

<p>Joe Biden has officially withdrawn from the presidential race against former president Donald Trump. </p> <p>Biden, who is the oldest US president at 81, has been facing mounting calls to drop out of the election from both his opponents and supporters, amid fears of his failing health, mental clarity and age. </p> <p>On Sunday, the 46th president shared a lengthy statement to share that he would be dropping out of the race, saying it is "in the best interest" for both his Democratic Party and the country to take a step back. </p> <p>“While it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Mr Biden wrote in a letter he posted on his X account.</p> <p>“I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision. It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your President.”</p> <p>Biden shared a second announcement to social media following his bombshell withdrawal, saying he would be endorsing his Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee to run for President in the November election against Trump. </p> <p>"My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President, and it’s been the best decision I’ve made," he began.</p> <p>"Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this."</p> <p>Mere hours after Biden's announcement, former President Donald Trump reacted to the news on TRUTH social, his own social media platform, exactly as many expected. </p> <p>“Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve — And never was!” Trump said.</p> <p>“All those around him, including his doctor and the media, knew that he wasn’t capable of being President, and he wasn’t. We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly.”</p> <p>In a phone call with CNN minutes after Biden announced his exit from the 2024 race, former Trump described Biden as going “down as the single worst president by far in the history of our country”.</p> <p>Mr Biden will remain President until the end of his term next January.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Bonnie Cash / Pool via CNP/ Ron Sachs/CNP /Shutterstock Editorial </em></p>

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Attempted assassination of Trump: The long history of violence against U.S. presidents

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/thomas-klassen-1171638">Thomas Klassen</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/york-university-canada-1610">York University, Canada</a></em></p> <p>Political assassinations in the United States have a long and disturbing history.</p> <p>The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-vp-vance-rubio-7c7ba6b99b5f38d2d840ed95b2fdc3e5">attempted assassination of Donald Trump</a>, who narrowly escaped death when a bullet grazed his right ear while he was speaking at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, highlights the danger of those seeking votes in a country whose constitution guarantees citizens the right to bear arms.</p> <p>Trump joins a not-so-exclusive club of U.S. presidents, former presidents and presidential candidates who have been the target of bullets. Of the 45 people who have served as president, four have been <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-presidents-assassinated-targeted-presidential-candidates-111920908">assassinated while in office</a>.</p> <p>Given the near mythic status of U.S. presidents, and the nation’s superpower role, political assassinations strike at the very heart of the American psyche.</p> <p><a href="https://www.loc.gov/collections/abraham-lincoln-papers/articles-and-essays/assassination-of-president-abraham-lincoln/">Abraham Lincoln</a>’s killing in 1865 and that of <a href="https://theconversation.com/jfk-assassination-60-years-on-seven-experts-on-what-to-watch-see-and-read-to-understand-the-event-and-its-consequences-216203">John F. Kennedy</a> in 1963 are key moments in the history of the United States. <a href="https://www.history.com/news/the-assassination-of-president-james-a-garfield">James Garfield</a> (1881) and <a href="https://www.history.com/news/the-assassination-of-president-william-mckinley">William McKinley</a> (1901) are less remembered, but their deaths nonetheless rocked the nation at the time.</p> <h2>Secret Service provides protection</h2> <p>It was after McKinley’s assassination that the U.S. Secret Service was given <a href="https://www.secretservice.gov/about/history/150-years#:%7E:text">the job of providing full-time protection to presidents</a>.</p> <p>The last American president to be shot was Ronald Reagan, <a href="https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/permanent-exhibits/assassination-attempt">who was seriously wounded and required emergency surgery in 1981</a>.</p> <p>Reagan was leaving a Washington hotel after giving a speech when gunman John Hinckley Jr. fired shots from a .22-calibre pistol. One of the bullets ricocheted off the president’s limousine and hit him under the left armpit. Reagan spent 12 days in hospital before returning to the White House.</p> <p>Other presidents have been shot at, but luckily, not injured.</p> <p>In 1933, <a href="http://www.fdrlibraryvirtualtour.org/page03-06.asp">a gunman fired five shots at the car of then President-Elect Franklin D. Roosevelt</a>. Roosevelt wasn’t hit but the mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak, who was speaking to Roosevelt after the newly elected president had made some brief remarks to the public, was injured and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7297642/">died 19 days later</a>.</p> <h2>Two attempts in one month</h2> <p>In September of 1975, President Gerald Ford survived <a href="https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/avproj/assassinations.asp">two separate assassination attempts — both by women</a>. The first came on Sept. 5 when Lynette (Squeaky) Fromme, a follower of cult leader Charles Manson, tried to shoot Ford as he was walking through a park in Sacramento, Calif., but her gun misfired and didn’t go off. On Sept. 22, Sara Jane Moore, a woman with ties to left-wing radical groups, got one shot off at Ford as he left a hotel in San Francisco but it missed the president.</p> <p>Presidential candidates have not been exempt from assassination attempts, including most notably Senator <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/05/1179430014/robert-kennedy-rfk-assassination-anniversary">Robert F. Kennedy</a> killed in 1968 and <a href="https://www.wsfa.com/2024/07/14/son-late-alabama-gov-george-wallace-reacts-trump-rally-shooting/">George Wallace</a> shot and left paralyzed in 1972.</p> <p>In 1912, former president Theodore Roosevelt <a href="https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2019/07/the-pocket-items-that-saved-the-life-of-theodore-roosevelt/">was hit in the chest by a .38-calibre bullet</a> as he was campaigning to regain the White House. But most of the impact of the bullet was absorbed by objects in the chest pocket of Roosevelt’s jacket. Even though he had been shot, Roosevelt went on to make a campaign speech with the bullet still in his chest.</p> <h2>The violence of 1968</h2> <p>Other figures with significant — if unelected — political power have also had their lives cut short by gunfire, most notably <a href="https://theconversation.com/mlks-vision-matters-today-for-the-43-million-americans-living-in-poverty-92380">Martin Luther King Jr.</a> in 1968, just a few months before Bobby Kennedy’s death.</p> <p>In a country with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/19/there-are-more-guns-than-people-in-the-united-states-according-to-a-new-study-of-global-firearm-ownership/">more guns than people</a>, and with firearms easily available, it is not surprising that invariably shootings are the preferred means of killing or attempting to kill political office holders.</p> <p>Like Trump, most assassination attempts occur when candidates and politicians are in public spaces with crowds of people nearby. There is a long history of politicians insisting, against the advice of their security advisers, to “press the flesh” in events that jeopardize their safety. Trump was extraordinarily fortunate to escape with only minor injuries.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/234630/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/thomas-klassen-1171638">Thomas Klassen</a>, Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/york-university-canada-1610">York University, Canada</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Xinhua News Agency/Shutterstock Editorial </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/attempted-assassination-of-trump-the-long-history-of-violence-against-u-s-presidents-234630">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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Lisa’s lawyer’s hefty daily charge

<p dir="ltr">Lisa Wilkinson is being charged an eye-watering $11,000 a day for a high-profile lawyer following her speech at the Logies.</p> <p dir="ltr">Channel 10 has hired Australian Bar Association president Dr Matthew Collins QC for The Project host after her speech caused significant delays to the Brittany Higgins case, which was due to start this week.The case has now been postponed to October.</p> <p dir="ltr">Dr Collins is famous for winning high-profile cases - one of them being Rebel Wilson’s against Bauer Media, as well as YouTuber Jordan Shanks against former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro.</p> <p dir="ltr">The lawyer says it’s possible that Wilkinson could be charged with contempt of court, and admitted she should have known better.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It's certainly possible that the authorities will be looking at the speech that she made to the Logies and assessing that speech against the standard which applies in this branch of the law,” he said on Sunrise.</p> <p dir="ltr">“That standard is, did anything that she do have a tendency to interfere with the administration of justice?</p> <p dir="ltr">“You would hope that whenever the media is contemplating running a story about a serious criminal trial which is about to begin, they would be attune to the potential risks.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The mainstream media understands the risk inhering with talking about cases which are about to go to trial, particularly serious high-profile cases.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Wilkinson was already slammed for her comments last week by Chief Justice Lucy McCallum after rescheduling the case.</p> <p dir="ltr">It comes as Channel 10 warns publications of their criticism of Wilkinson and are not ruling out legal action for any harm that is caused.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This reporting is now causing significant harm and we ask these organisations to cease this harassment to allow Lisa the best opportunity to give her evidence in court and to enable the trial to go ahead in a fair and timely manner,” a spokesperson for the network said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We are closely monitoring all coverage of this issue and Lisa and Network 10 reserve their rights in respect of any future defamation claims.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Images: Nine/Seven</p>

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Meghan Markle called on to run for president

<p dir="ltr">Meghan Markle would make a “great presidential candidate” according to US President Biden’s sister. </p> <p dir="ltr">Valerie Biden Owens, who works as President Biden’s campaign manager, has called on the Duchess of Sussex to join the Democratic Party saying she would be welcomed with open arms. </p> <p dir="ltr">Speaking to <em>Good Morning Britain</em>, Ms Owens was firm in her statement about Meghan Markle being a US President candidate. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Yes, perhaps. Of course she will," she said on the show.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It's wonderful to have women in politics. The more women we have, the better our democratic system will work. A better point of view, a different point of view.</p> <p dir="ltr">"We embrace all women and we welcome her to come in and join the Democratic party."</p> <p dir="ltr">Meghan has previously weighed in on the politics in America after she left her royal duties with husband Prince Harry. </p> <p dir="ltr">She urged Americans to vote in the 2020 Election and also called for more paid parental leave. </p> <p dir="ltr">Author Tom Bower is writing a biography about the Duchess and previously said that it is “possible” and “likely” that she would run for president.</p> <p dir="ltr">"The prospect of Meghan running for president is possible and I'd even say likely. I really believe it's where she sees herself going,” he told Closer Magazine.</p> <p dir="ltr">Fellow author Omid Scobie concurred saying: "Meghan is the embodiment of the American dream. One day we may see Meghan become president."</p> <p dir="ltr">Back in 2020, an anonymous friend told Vanity Fair that Meghan refused to give up her American citizenship in order to have the option to get into politics. </p> <p dir="ltr">As per the British Royal Family, all members are required to remain neutral which Meghan has not - pointing out that she has already met with senators to lobby a bill.</p> <p dir="ltr">A legal expert has called it “controversial” but only time will tell what Meghan decides to do. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Beauty & Style

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“Come on, come on”: Karl Stefanovic clashes with ALP President

<p dir="ltr">Karl Stefanovic and the President of the Australian Labor Party have butted heads over Anthony Albanese’s treatment by the media and his latest forgetful moment while facing the press.</p> <p dir="ltr">Wayne Swan told <em><a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/today/anthony-albanese-gaffe-labor-mp-wayne-swan-weighs-in-on-controversy/f5d3c937-39fd-41f0-9c28-ad2f71cde2c9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Today</a></em> that Mr Albanese needs to be “given a fair go” instead of being the target of “gotcha journalism” and compared his treatment by the press to that of former Prime Minister Julia Gillard. </p> <p dir="ltr">Meanwhile, Stefanovic claimed the future prime minister should be across all the details after Mr Albanese failed to recall his six-point plan for the NDIS.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I just think Australians are being sold short by this kind of ‘gotcha’ journalism,” Swan said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He was being asked about a press release that was 18 days old. I think the problem we have got here is the Prime Minister is not being subject to the same focus and I also think there is a degree of hostility in the press pack and that’s not helping, it’s not good for democracy and it’s not good for debate.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Karl shot back that if Swan was in the same position he would “definitely remember policy details”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You can only have so many times you can be asked details - if you want to be prime minister of this country - and I’m telling you right now Wayne Swan, you were across detail - you have to be across a level of it and this was his own policy,” Stefanovic said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He is across the detail, there is no question about it - but this ‘gotcha’ journalism with the press pack on the road is disgusting,” Swan replied.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Come on, come on, what (about) asking questions of the person who wants to lead the country is disgusting?” Stefanovic asked.</p> <p dir="ltr">“No, demanding dumb answers - that is the problem here. I think the sort of prosecution of Anthony Albanese is now at the level we saw with Julia Gillard and that was a low point in Australian politics,” Swan answered.</p> <p dir="ltr">Swan continued to say that the public “are absolutely fed up with this”, while Stefanovic countered that the public “need to see Albanese perform and be across more of the details”.</p> <p dir="ltr">The debate - and Mr Albanese’s failure to recall - came after he was unable to recall the cash rate or the unemployment rate in the election campaign’s opening days which made him the target of various critics.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-2e298932-7fff-fda8-ff3d-4a9a41ac9376"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Today</em></p>

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Brazil’s president fires back at Leo DiCaprio

<p dir="ltr">Climate activist Leonardo DiCaprio has been slammed by Brazil’s leader following his series of tweets regarding the burning of the Amazon rainforest.</p> <p dir="ltr">The actor called for Brazilians to enroll in the upcoming election to help protect the Amazon rainforest.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Brazil is home to the Amazon and other ecosystems critical to climate change,” DiCaprio wrote last week. </p> <p dir="ltr">“What happens there matters to us all, and youth voting is key in driving change for a healthy planet.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro did not appreciate DiCaprio’s comments stating that agribusiness was helping put food on the table for millions.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Now, DiCaprio has to know that it was the very president of the World Trade Organisation who said that without Brazilian agribusiness, the world would be hungry,” Bolsonaro said according to <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/brazilian-president-swipes-leonardo-dicaprio-after-recent-comments-on-the-amazon-rainforest/news-story/902ddfdbf4c6f31420ee30d85deea07d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“So, DiCaprio better keep his mouth shut instead of talking nonsense.”</p> <p dir="ltr">He also accused the actor of tweeting misinformation about the wildfires that occurred in the Amazon rainforest.</p> <p dir="ltr">“By the way, the picture you posted to talk about the wildfires in the Amazon in 2019 is from 2003,” Bolsonaro continued.</p> <p dir="ltr">“There are people who want to arrest Brazilian citizens who make this kind of mistake here in our country. But I’m against this tyrannical idea. So I forgive you. Hugs from Brazil!”</p> <p dir="ltr">Bolsonaro also thanked DiCaprio for his support in encouraging citizens to vote but reiterated that it's up to the citizens to decide on what they want to do.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Thanks for your support, Leo! It‘s really important to have every Brazilian voting in the coming elections,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Our people will decide if they want to keep our sovereignty on the Amazon or be ruled by crooks who serve special foreign interests. Good job in The Revenant.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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President, actor, dancer - what else can Voldoymyr Zelenskyy do?

<p dir="ltr">He’s a man of many talents and it's no secret Volodymyr Zelenskyy was an actor before becoming Ukraine’s President.</p> <p dir="ltr">But, did you know that he voiced the much loved Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian version of the hit 2014 and 2017 animated film?</p> <p dir="ltr">Yep, neither did we. But also, how cool is that?!</p> <p dir="ltr">The movie’s production studio, StudioCanal, confirmed the news to <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelensky-paddington-voice-1235100949/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hollywood Reporter</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Actor Hugh Bonneville, who plays Paddington’s foster parent was surprised at the news and thanked the President.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Until today I had no idea who provided the voice of @paddingtonbear in Ukraine,” he tweeted on February 28.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Speaking for myself, thank you, President Zelenskiy. #PaddingtonBear.”</p> <p dir="ltr">A dig into Zelenskyy’s career before becoming president revealed that he was in fact quite a popular and successful comedian in Ukraine. He also starred in several films and TV shows.</p> <p dir="ltr">In an incredible moment of life imitating art, Zelenskyy played a school teacher in the political satire series Servant of the People.</p> <p dir="ltr">Spoiler alert: he becomes Ukraine’s president in the series. </p> <p dir="ltr">And if that wasn’t enough, the talented President also won Ukraine’s version of Dancing With the Stars in 2006.</p> <p dir="ltr">Makes you wonder what other leaders have achieved compared to him…</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: YouTube</em></p>

Movies

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Echoes of Churchill in epic wartime address

<p>Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has delivered an historic wartime address to the House of Commons, vowing "we will not give up".</p> <p>Zelenskyy was given a standing ovation by MPs both before and after he gave his speech via Zoom, in which he likened Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Britain's fight against Germany in World War II.</p> <p>The Ukraine president's address mirrored the words of Winston Churchill's famous "we shall fight on the beaches" speech, following Britain's devastation in the Battle of Dunkirk in June 1940.</p> <p>Mr Zelenskyy said, "We will not give up and we will not lose. We will fight to the end, at sea, in the air, we will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost."</p> <p>"We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets."</p> <p>He went on to say that Ukraine was fighting a "war that we didn't start and we didn't want", as he told British MPs "we do not want to lose what we have, what is ours."</p> <p>Comparing Ukraine to the UK standing alone more than 80 years ago, Mr Zelenskyy said Ukrainians are fighting to save their country "just the same way as you once didn't want to lose your country when Nazis started to fight your country and you had to fight for Britain."</p> <p>He said more than 50 children have now been killed in the Russian invasion, telling the House of Commons, "These are the children that could have lived, but these people have taken them away from us."</p> <p>UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson responded to the address, saying "Britain and our allies are determined to press on with supplying our Ukrainian friends with the weapons they need to defend their homeland as they deserve."</p> <p>He added, "We will employ every method that we can – diplomatic, humanitarian and economic – until Vladimir Putin has failed in this disastrous venture and Ukraine is free once more."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Caring

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Djokovic addresses visa furore with Serbian president

<p dir="ltr">Two weeks after he was forced to leave the country, Novak Djokovic has shared his story with the public for the first time.</p><p dir="ltr">The tennis champion met with Serbia’s President Aleksander Vučić at a press conference on Thursday night, describing the “unfortunate events in Australia” which “was at least unexpected, as it happened”, he said, smiling.</p><p dir="ltr">Since his deportation, Djokovic has been spending his time in Belgrade and Montenegro.</p><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3c5348da-7fff-dd8d-28a0-bebbe56c610c"></span></p><p dir="ltr">“This is the first time I go public,” he <a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/tennis/novak-djokovic-promises-to-give-his-version-of-events-after-australia-drama/news-story/bd983956812f4f750788974b2b532ca9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Feb 3, 2022 Presidental Palace, Belgrade 🇷🇸<br /><br />Novak Djokovic: "President, I would like to thank you and the state of Serbia both for support during the unfortunate events in Australia and for standing by my side." <a href="https://twitter.com/pavyg?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@pavyg</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TennisPuneet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TennisPuneet</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NovakFanClub?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NovakFanClub</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CraigKellyMP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CraigKellyMP</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DMDent?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DMDent</a> <br />1/2 <a href="https://t.co/tk0ocNeFzF">pic.twitter.com/tk0ocNeFzF</a></p>— Zvezda je život (@FkczBelgrade) <a href="https://twitter.com/FkczBelgrade/status/1489177087898714113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2022</a></blockquote><p dir="ltr">He thanked the President for his support, as well as the Serbian people after “these circumstances that found me in Australia”.</p><p dir="ltr">Djokovic said their support has shown “that this connection will be like that forever”.</p><p dir="ltr">Though he has promised to share his story “in more detail”, he did share part of it was President Vučić.</p><p dir="ltr">“I wanted to see you first of all because as a citizen of Serbia I felt a great need to thank you for the great support you gave me as President of Serbia,” he said.</p><p dir="ltr">“Although I was alone in detention in Australia and faced many problems and challenges, I did not feel lonely.</p><p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-395ae6cf-7fff-0e7e-13fb-55b76bcb51db"></span></p><p dir="ltr">“You stood up and stood behind me and put yourself in a compromised political position, within the framework of international relations, and that is why I am extremely grateful. I will remember that.”</p><p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/02/djokovic-vucic.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p><p dir="ltr"><em style="margin: 0px;padding: 0px;border: 0px;font-size: 16px;vertical-align: baseline;color: #323338;font-family: Roboto, Arial;background-color: #ffffff">Djokovic appeared alongside the President of Serbia to share his side of the story. Image: Andrej Isakovic/</em><em style="margin: 0px;padding: 0px;border: 0px;font-size: 16px;vertical-align: baseline;color: #323338;font-family: Roboto, Arial;background-color: #ffffff">AFP via Getty Images</em></p><p dir="ltr">President Vučić praised Djokovid for “glorifying our country”, though he admitted he initially urged the tennis star to leave the country when he first received the news of his detention.</p><p dir="ltr">“And then I saw how persistent he is, how much he wanted to play, to fight on the sports field, to show on the sports field how much he is ready to fight not only for himself, but his country and show that he is better than others,” Vučić explained.</p><p dir="ltr">Djokovic’s arrival in Australia sparked intense backlash after it emerged that he was eligible for a medical exemption to enter the country while unvaccinated and was then detained upon arrival in Melbourne.</p><p dir="ltr">After spending time in hotel detention - prompting protests for his freedom - Djokovic was finally deported after the Federal Court upheld Immigration Minister Alex Hawke’s decision to cancel his visa.</p><p dir="ltr">“For media representatives, I would like to add that since I did not advertise in public about the Australian events, this is the first time I go public,” he said on Thursday night.</p><p dir="ltr">He urged people to “please be patient”, and that he would address the situation “in more detail with my version of the story to everything that happened in Australia” within the next seven to ten days.</p><p dir="ltr">President Vučić had nothing but praise for Djokovic, telling the media that “someone special and bigger than all of us is here today”.</p><p dir="ltr">“Thank you for representing our country with honour, courage and in the best way, and for doing so in the future. Thank you for the great fight you fought in Australia,” Vučić said.</p><p dir="ltr">A statement from the President’s office said “that the ladies were specially groomed, and all this shows that someone special and much bigger came”.</p><p dir="ltr">“It had never happened that we have so many people in the building, that all the secretaries, all bookkeepers, all cooks, janitors, came because they wanted to see Novak,” the statement read.</p><p dir="ltr">“He will beat them all, at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. I predict that.”</p><p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c3816aad-7fff-361a-6b01-bb2190cc7832"></span></p><p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images</em></p>

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AMA President says indefinite lockdown of Sydney looks likely

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">President of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) Dr Omar Khorshid has said Sydney’s lockdown could extend ‘indefinitely’ if COVID-19 cases don’t start to decline.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dr Khorshid told </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sunrise</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that locking down Sydney “certainly hasn’t worked yet” and that Sydneysiders could face living with restrictions until they are fully vaccinated.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With the introduction of tougher lockdown restrictions on Monday, Dr Khorshid said the next “week or so will be absolutely critical”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These include the temporary shutdown of the construction industry and confining south-west Sydney residents to their homes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We’re going to have to see over the next probably five days whether this is enough,” Dr Khorshid said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If it isn’t, then Sydney has either got to do something really dramatic in order to stop the spread or work out what the permanent settings that need to be in place in order to protect people as best as possible whilst accepting that COVID will be in the community until we’re fully vaccinated.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dr Khorshid suggested harsher measures could include “shutting down most businesses and almost having the police roaming the streets”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I think if every Sydneysider does the right thing, there’s a good chance it will work,” he said of the current settings.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“But, we also need to be preparing ourselves for the possibility that it doesn’t.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.ama.com.au/media/ama-calls-stricter-lockdown-greater-sydney-region" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">press release</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> published by the AMA last week, Dr Khorshid called for the tightening of restrictions in a similar fashion to Victoria’s lockdown last year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Allowing non-essential retail stores to remain open not only sends the wrong message to the public, but it also increases the risk of transmission,” he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“A range of non-essential workplaces also remain open, which we know from the Victorian experience last year needed to be closed or operated under strict limits in order for its outbreak to be brought under control.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">NSW AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen also called for the reduction of the distance residents can travel from 10km to 5km.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">New South Wales Premier Gladys Bereijiklian called for the number of COVID-19 cases who have been infectious in the community to be reduced before restrictions are eased.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As the number of infectious cases in the community continues to hover in the 30s, the figures are far too high for authorities to consider opening the state up fully.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Sunrise</span></em></p>

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“I miss her”: Joe Biden reveals effect of presidency on marriage

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a new joint interview, Joe and Jill Biden share just how their 44-year marriage has changed since Joe entered the White House for the second time.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a cover story for </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.vogue.com/article/first-lady-dr-jill-biden-profile" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vogue</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> profiling the first lady, the US president admits the couple have spent more time apart since his presidency began.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I miss her,” Joe said of his wife.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’m really proud of her. But it’s not like we can just go off like we used to.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When we were living in Delaware and married, once a month we’d just go up to a local bed-and-breakfast by ourselves, to make sure we had a romantic time to just get away and hang out with each other.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After spending eight years as Vice-President under the Obama administration, Joe said the couple had to adapt now that he’s president, with political duties often taking priority.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’ll find that I’m working on a hell of an important speech and I’m distracted, and then I may not be working on one and I want to go and hang out with her, and she’s working on an important speech!” he told </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vogue</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We have to figure out a way - and I mean this sincerely - to be able to steal time for one another. I think that’s the deal.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jill confirmed that the couple’s busy schedules has proved to be a challenge, revealing they’re “both so busy” and have to “try a little harder to make time for one another”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Even the thing about having dinner together: Sometimes we eat on the balcony; last night we ate in the yellow Oval, upstairs,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s just part of the day that we set apart, and we still light candles, still have conversations, still put the phones away.”</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CQtCZKBg65g/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CQtCZKBg65g/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Vogue (@voguemagazine)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jill has previously revealed how the couple has committed to dining together during her first solo interview as first lady on </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Kelly Clarkson Show</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She told Clarkson about how she tries to keep regular “Sunday night dinners” in their schedules, despite being “a little busy lately”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“But the kids look forward to [Sunday dinners] and I think traditions really ground kids,” Jill added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the couple’s latest interview with the famed fashion magazine, Jill also opened up about her work as a teacher.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When I became second lady - and there was so much I wanted to do - I always said, ‘I will never waste this platform’,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jill continues to teach English at Northern Virginia Community College, where she said her students refer to her as “Dr. B”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With an even bigger platform now as first lady, Jill said she has no intention of giving up teaching.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There’s so much to do. There is… so. Much. To. Do.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Vogue Magazine / Instagram</span></em></p>

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The Carters celebrate 75 years of marriage

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Needing a date one night while home from the US Naval Academy, Jimmy Carter’s sister paired him with a family friend who already had a crush on him, and would become his future wife.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nearly eight decades later, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are soon to be celebrating their 75th wedding anniversary in the same tiny town where they were born, grew up, and met on that first outing.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Over the years, the pair have travelled the world as naval officer and military spouse, American president and first lady, and more recently as human rights and public health ambassadors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s a full partnership,” the former president told the </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Associated Press</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> during a joint interview ahead of their anniversary.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The couple are the longest-married presidential couple in American history.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRBwrvCiFjU/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRBwrvCiFjU/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Jimmy Carter NHP (@jimmycarternps)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Carter, now 96, is also the longest-lived of the country’s 45 presidents.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite the countless decisions he has made as head of state, commander in chief, or executive officer of a nuclear submarine in the early years of the Cold War, Carter has often said the most important decision he ever made was falling for Eleanor Rosalynn Smith in 1945, then marrying her the next summer.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“My biggest secret is to marry the right person if you want to have a long-lasting marriage,” Carter said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The couple offered a few other tips for a long-lasting marriage.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Every day there needs to be reconciliation and communication between the two spouses,” Carter said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We don’t go to sleep with some remaining differences between us,” he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Rosalynn Carter, now 93, stressed the importance of finding common interests.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Jimmy and I are always looking for things to do together,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But, Rosalynn said that comes with a caveat: “Each [person] should have some space. That’s really important.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Carters plan to celebrate their marriage milestone with a party in Plains after their anniversary, but have mixed feelings about being in the spotlight.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We have too many people invited,” Rosalynn said with a laugh.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’m actually praying for some turndowns and regrets.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Jimmy Carter National Historical Park / Instagram</span></em></p>

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French President slapped in the face during public tour

<p>French President Emmanuel Macron has been hit in the face by a man during a visit to a small town in southeast France.</p> <p>The French president was greeting the public waiting for him behind barriers in the town of Tain-I'Hermitage on Tuesday after he paid a visit to a high school that is training students to work in hotels and restaurants.</p> <p>The man, who was dressed in a khaki T-shirt, shouted "Down with Macronia" ("A Bas La Macronie") and slapped Macron on the left side of his face.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7841726/screen-shot-2021-06-09-at-104013-am.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/eadb9b4a921046b68d1a2f3ab7846532" /></p> <p>He was also heard screaming "Montjoie Saint Denis", the battle cry of the French army when the country was still a monarchy.</p> <p>A bodyguard, who was standing right behind Macron, raised a hand to defend the president, but was a little too late in stopping the slap.</p> <p>Two of Macron's security detail tacked the man to the ground, while another took Macron away.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Macron?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Macron</a> se fait gifler en direct de <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tain?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tain</a> <a href="https://t.co/tsXdByo22U">pic.twitter.com/tsXdByo22U</a></p> — ⚜️ (@AlexpLille) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexpLille/status/1402237903376367627?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2021</a></blockquote> <p>A video posted on Twitter showed the president returning a few seconds later to continue shaking hands with onlookers.</p> <p>The local mayor, Xavier Angeli, told franceinfo radio that Macron urged his security to "leave him, leave him" as the offender was being held to the ground.</p> <p>French news broadcaster BFMTV said police detained two people - the man suspected of slapping Macron and another man who filmed the video.</p> <p>Macron has not commented on the incident.</p>

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Stunning picture captures moment Joe Biden won US election

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>A fast-thinking member of the Biden household captured the moment Joe Biden learned he had won the 2020 election.</p> <p>Biden was with family members in his home in Delaware where he learned he would be the 46th President of the United States.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">11.07.20 <a href="https://t.co/HHVJMmIoAW">pic.twitter.com/HHVJMmIoAW</a></p> — Naomi Biden (@NaomiBiden) <a href="https://twitter.com/NaomiBiden/status/1325190941058113536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>His grandchildren were the ones who broke the good news to Biden, as he was relaxing with his wife Jill on their veranda.</p> <p>“Pop, Pop! We won!” they told the now-president-elect, according to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/live-blog/2020-11-07-trump-biden-election-results-n1246882/ncrd1246979#liveBlogHeader" target="_blank" class="editor-rtflink"><em>NBC News</em></a>.</p> <p>Despite Biden being in a "cautious mood" before his victory was announced, he's celebrating now and has pushed forward with his plans for office.</p> <p>In the first steps in his transition plans, there would be more COVID-19 testing and Americans would be asked to wear masks.</p> <p>He also announced that there will be a focus on the economy, with plans to tackle racism and climate change.</p> <p>In his first speech as president-elect on Saturday, Mr Biden said it was "time to heal" the US and vowed "not to divide but to unify" the country. Addressing Trump supporters directly, he said: "We have to stop treating our opponents as enemies."</p> <p>However, current US President Donald Trump is yet to concede, despite Biden congratulating him on a hard-fought campaign.</p> <p>Trump has vowed to contest the election results on several fronts, with a recount being held in Georgia and plans for the same outcome in Wisconsin.</p> <p>Trump has also vowed to take legal action to the Supreme Court, alleging voting fraud without evidence.</p> </div> </div> </div>

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What if a US President won’t leave office?

<p class="p1"><strong>Convention and tradition</strong></p> <p class="p1">The peaceful transfer of power is one of the fundamental tenets of American democracy. When George Washington, the first American president, had completed his second term, he voluntarily stepped down and John Adams, who had won the election, took over office.</p> <p class="p1">“That was not a constitutional requirement at the time,” says Jon Michaels, a professor in the UCLA School of Law, author of Constitutional Coup: Privatization’s Threat to the American Republic, and noted authority on constitutional law, presidential powers, government ethics, and conflicts of interest. In fact, it’s still not. The 20th Amendment stipulates that a president’s term – outlined in the nation’s Constitution as a four-year period – ends at noon on January 20 at the end of those four years. But, the Constitution does not spell out how it is to be handled. Rather, it’s a matter of tradition.</p> <p class="p1">When Thomas Jefferson ran a politically heated campaign against John Adams in 1800, the Electoral College was tied and the outcome had to be decided by the House of Representatives. Even so, once the matter was settled, Adams peacefully vacated the office, setting the precedent for the next 220 years.</p> <p class="p1"><strong>Challenging the norms</strong></p> <p class="p1">On September 23, 2020, President Donald Trump, when asked during a news conference, wouldn’t commit to following the two-centuries’ old custom. It wasn’t the first time he suggested as much: In March 2018, he praised China’s move to abolish presidential term limits, joking that the US might “have to give that a shot someday.”</p> <p class="p1">Now that we are less than a month away from the election, such rhetoric is being taken more seriously. Dr Russell Riley, professor and co-chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the Miller Center, a nonpartisan affiliate of the University of Virginia that specialises in presidential scholarship, notes that questions of what happens if a president should refuse to leave office involves “an extraordinarily arcane area of presidential politics.”</p> <p class="p1"><strong>Presidential protocol</strong></p> <p class="p1">There is a proscribed sequence of events that happens when the incumbent president’s term expires at the dot of noon on January 20. These include:</p> <ul class="ul1"> <li class="li1"><span class="s1"></span>The nuclear codes, which allow the president to order a nuclear attack, expire. The military aide who carries the “nuclear football” containing the codes leaves the departing president’s side and joins the president being inaugurated.</li> <li class="li1"><span class="s1"></span>The US military switches its allegiance from the outgoing president to the incoming president. Any military orders issued by the outgoing president would be refused. Any officers who obeyed such orders could be arrested and tried on charges of mutiny and sedition.</li> <li class="li1"><span class="s1"></span>Likewise, the Secret Service moves to protect the new president and abandons the electoral loser, except for a small unit that will protect him and his family for the remainder of their lives, one of the perks presidents get to keep after leaving office.</li> </ul> <p class="p1">These actions make it highly unlikely that a president could go rogue and refuse to leave office. Even if he tried, the new president’s acting attorney general could draw up arrest warrants for charges ranging from criminal trespassing to insurrection.</p> <p class="p1"><strong>Legal challenges</strong></p> <p class="p1">That doesn’t mean a candidate couldn’t try to steer the election outcome, or delay its determination, through other means.</p> <p class="p1">If the popular vote indicates that a candidate has won the election by a narrow margin, the results could be contested with lawsuits and other manoeuvres. Some would say Trump has laid the groundwork for this by challenging the legitimacy of mail-in ballots, which are expected to comprise more than half of this year’s votes. If election night returns show Trump in the lead – a distinct possibility, as surveys show Trump supporters are more likely to vote in person than Biden backers – he may try to claim victory and stop the counting of mail-in ballots.</p> <p class="p1">Meanwhile, Republican and Democratic parties have already launched dozens of lawsuits each, and other groups have filed hundreds more, primarily focused on mail-in ballot technicalities. Many are hopeful attempts to answer questions before the election, but it’s likely many legal questions will remain well into November and beyond. But, you really don’t have to worry about mail-in ballot safety – one mail carrier explains why.</p> <p class="p1">In the event of a slim popular vote margin, a candidate could also try to leverage the Electoral College and its deadlines. Electors must be chosen no later than 41 days after Election Day. On that date, which is December 14 this year, the electors meet to cast their votes – typically for the candidate who won the popular vote in their state. Then, on December 23, each state submits an electoral certificate to Congress, and on January 6 Congress counts the votes.</p> <p class="p1">However, it’s not always so cut-and-dried. If the electors are selected after December 8, the so-called “safe harbor” date, their validity – and their votes – could be challenged.</p> <p class="p1">Another consideration: In 17 states, electors are not required to vote for the winner of the popular vote. Candidates could pressure those state legislatures in several of those states – including the hotly contested Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan, and Wisconsin – to certify electors who would vote in their favour. If governance of those states is split – say, a Republican legislature with a Democratic governor – states could end up submitting conflicting electoral certificates to Congress and muddying the vote.</p> <p class="p1"><strong>The Electoral Count Act</strong></p> <p class="p1">If that happens, the Electoral Count Act would be triggered. This legislation was created after the 1876 Rutherford B. Hayes-Samuel J. Tilden contest, when three states submitted conflicting electoral certificates, preventing an Electoral College majority. The ECA states that in such circumstances, the two houses of Congress vote on which slate of electors to approve. With the Senate currently under Republican control and the House of Representatives currently under Democratic control (though that could change by the time Congress is seated on January 3), a stalemate is possible. However, the act is quite vague on how different scenarios should be resolved, and challenges to the law are expected. The issue could even be sent to the Supreme Court. But, Riley takes issue with this approach, especially given the hasty appointment and confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett on 27 October – one week before election day. “No justice appointed under these circumstances under any prevailing standard of judgment should agree to issue a ruling on this election. Justices recuse themselves when they are parties to issues coming before the court,” Riley says.</p> <p class="p1"><strong>The Presidential Succession Act</strong></p> <p class="p1">This legislation, crafted in 1947, outlines what happens when the office of the president is vacant. If no president or vice president can be selected before January 20, when the current president’s term expires, the Speaker of the House becomes acting president until the situation can be resolved.</p> <p class="p1">According to Riley, this nearly happened in 2000 when voting irregularities in Florida caused election results to be contested. Dennis Hastert, then Speaker of the House, told Riley in a later interview, “The CIA would come and start to brief me. I was going to be the temporary president if the decision wasn’t made by some date in January.” Nevertheless, the situation was resolved and no one except the vice president has ever succeeded the president since the act was signed into law.</p> <p class="p1"><strong>Democracy prevails</strong></p> <p class="p1">Riley remains optimistic that none of this will come to pass this year, thanks to the much-maligned Electoral College. “One of the virtues of the Electoral College is that it has the effect of exaggerating the popular vote and accentuates the authority of the person who wins,” he explains. As an example, he says a 4 or 5 per cent popular vote win can look like an Electoral College rout. “However in instances where there is a question about the outcome of an election, it cabins the contest to a very narrow area.” He predicts that in the vast majority of states, it’s going to be reasonably clear who won in the upcoming election. “The contest is going to come down to two or three ugly situations.”</p> <p class="p1">But, as Riley notes, many Republicans in power, as well as Democrats, are “openly saying there needs to be a calm and reasoned transfer of power…It helps that you’ve got people in both parties who are saying they’re going to pay careful attention to these things and try to broker a peaceful transition.”</p> <p class="p1">The fact that the US doesn’t have explicit rules or tools to enforce the unwritten pact guaranteeing a peaceful transition is, according to Michaels, a testament to the republic’s collective integrity, Michaels says. “If we have to add it now, it will forever mark this moment as the nadir of our republic.”</p> <p class="p1">Expert Sources: Jon Michaels, a professor in the UCLA School of Law; Russell Riley, PhD, professor and co-chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the Miller Center; Pew Research Center:”Americans’ expectations about voting in 2020 presidential election are colored by partisan differences”; and Lawrence R. Douglas, a professor in Amerhest College</p> <p class="p1"><em>Source: <a href="https://www.rd.com/article/what-happens-if-a-president-wont-leave-office/"><span class="s2">rd.com</span></a></em></p>

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What would a Biden presidency mean for Australia?

<p>American presidential elections do not, as a rule, change the calculus much for Australian foreign policy. Elections come and go, American presidents complete their terms and business continues more or less as normal.</p> <p>Even Richard Nixon’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/watergate/articles/080974-3.htm">resignation in 1974</a> due to Watergate caused not much more than a ripple in what had been a difficult relationship between Washington and Canberra during the Whitlam era.</p> <p>Gough Whitlam and his ministers had criticised US <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/gough-whitlams-incendiary-letter-to-richard-nixon-on-vietnam/news-story/b59ad3a4e87d8c758c7cd708ca4656f3">bombing campaigns</a> in Hanoi and the North Vietnamese port city of Haiphong.</p> <p>Importantly from Australia’s perspective, Gerald Ford continued Nixon’s engagement with China. This led to the <a href="https://www.cartercenter.org/news/features/p/china/president-carter-on-normalizing-relations-with-china.html">normalisation of relations</a> under Jimmy Carter in 1978.</p> <p>While it would be foolish to predict the outcome of presidential elections whose results have <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/09/why-2016-election-polls-missed-their-mark/">confounded pollsters in the recent past</a>, odds favour a change of an administration.</p> <p>President Donald Trump’s blunders in the management of a pandemic are <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/">weighing heavily</a> on both his electoral prospects and those of the Republican Party.</p> <p>So, with all the caveats attached, it is reasonable to speculate about implications for Australia of a change of administration.</p> <p>An end to Trump’s “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trumps-foreign-policy-puts-america-first/">America First</a>” era and its replacement by a traditionalist American foreign policy under Joe Biden, which emphasises friendships and alliances, will create new opportunities.</p> <p>Importantly, a less abrasive international environment, in which America seeks to rebuild confidence in its global leadership, should be to Australia’s advantage.</p> <p>Not least of the benefits would be an opportunity for Canberra to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/beijing-changes-tactics-on-australia-looks-to-reset-diplomacy-20201005-p5624f.html">reset its relations with Beijing</a>. This is a long-overdue project whose fulfilment has been complicated by Australia’s identification with Washington’s erratic policies coupled with Sinophobic attitudes in Canberra.</p> <p>None of this is to suggest Australia should drop its legitimate criticisms of China: its human rights abuses; its <a href="https://theconversation.com/morrisons-1-3-billion-for-more-cyber-spies-is-an-incremental-response-to-a-radical-problem-141692">cyber intrusions</a>; its <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-26/china-is-after-intellectual-property-not-always-illegally/10302424">intellectual property theft</a>; its <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-17/australia-needs-foreign-interference-commissioner-china-tensions/12670516">attempts to interfere</a> in Australian domestic politics; its flagrant disregard for <a href="https://theconversation.com/naval-exercises-in-south-china-sea-add-to-growing-fractiousness-between-us-and-china-142168">criticisms of its activities</a> in the South China Sea; its unprincipled reneging on its “<a href="https://theconversation.com/china-is-taking-a-risk-by-getting-tough-on-hong-kong-now-the-us-must-decide-how-to-respond-139294">one country two systems</a>” agreements on Hong Kong, and a host of other issues.</p> <p>Indeed, you could argue Canberra needs to be more forthright in its dealings with China in pursuit of a more distinctive foreign policy.</p> <p>Early in his tenure, Prime Minister Scott Morrison showed glimmers of promise in this regard. But this proved short-lived.</p> <p>In an <a href="https://asialink.unimelb.edu.au/stories/australia-and-the-indo-pacific-an-address-by-prime-minister-scott-morrison">Asialink speech</a> in the lead-up to the 2019 Osaka G20 summit, Morrison sketched out a role for Australia in seeking to defuse tensions in the region and provide some space for itself in its foreign policy. He said:</p> <p><em>We should not just sit back and passively await our fate in the wake of a major power contest.</em></p> <p>The speech was regarded at the time as promising a nuanced Morrison foreign policy. But since then the Australia has not ventured far from America’s coattails.</p> <p>Indeed, it might be said to have cleaved even more closely to the US alliance as China’s rise has unsettled the region.</p> <p>This returns us to implications of a potential <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/18/us/politics/joe-biden-foreign-policy.html">Biden administration</a> for Australia.</p> <p>It would be naive to assume tensions between Washington and Beijing will dissipate under a Biden presidency. Such is the range of issues bedevilling Sino-US relations that some rancour will persist.</p> <p>Much has changed in the four years since Biden served as vice president under Barack Obama. China is richer, bigger, stronger, more assertive and seemingly more ideological. It is certainly more nationalistic.</p> <p>In Xi Jinping, it has a leader who is more conspicuously and ruthlessly committed to restoring China’s greatness than his predecessors.</p> <p>Gone are the days when discussion about China revolved around hopes it would become a <a href="https://www.ncuscr.org/content/robert-zoellicks-responsible-stakeholder-speech">responsible international stakeholder</a> willing to accommodate itself to an America-dominated global order. Now the issue is whether China’s assertiveness can be hedged to avoid open conflict.</p> <p>If elected, Biden will need to settle on a new formula for dealing with China that provides certainty for an anxious global community. Whether this proves possible remains to be seen.</p> <p>It should also be noted that Biden’s <a href="https://nationalinterest.org/feature/just-how-good-joe-biden%E2%80%99s-foreign-policy-team-170216">foreign policy advisory team</a> includes hawkish elements that will resist yielding ground to China. Biden himself has referred to China’s leader Xi as a “<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/10/23/debate-transcript-trump-biden-final-presidential-debate-nashville/3740152001/">thug</a>”, along with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.</p> <p>On the other hand, Biden’s foreign policy realists are not burdened by an “America First” mindset. His team can be expected to take an expansive view of American foreign policy on issues like climate change, arms control and rebuilding a global trading system battered by years of neglect.</p> <p>A Democrat administration would <a href="https://theconversation.com/president-trump-could-kill-the-paris-agreement-but-climate-action-will-survive-68596">re-enter the Paris Agreement</a> on climate change. It could also be expected to review Trump’s <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-24/trump-withdraws-from-tpp/8206356">decision to disengage</a> from the Trans Pacific Partnership trading bloc and it might seek to renegotiate a <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-another-october-surprise-may-yet-take-place-this-time-in-the-persian-gulf-147354">nuclear deal with Iran</a>.</p> <p>These would be positive developments from an Australian standpoint.</p> <p>Unquestionably, re-ordering China policy will be at the top of Biden’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/politics/joe-biden-foreign-policy.html">foreign policy priorities</a>, and separate from the absolute domestic imperative of bringing a COVID-19 pandemic under control.</p> <p>Australia should take advantage of the opportunity to explore possibilities of a less counterproductive relationship with its principal trading partner.</p> <p><em>Written by <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tony-walker-313396">Tony Walker</a>, La Trobe University. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-would-a-biden-presidency-mean-for-australia-148516">The Conversation.</a> </em></p>

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Greg Norman on Trump: "He's done a phenomenal job"

<p>Greg Norman has spoken out in support of Donald Trump, saying he believes the president can win a second term in November.</p> <p>Despite the “quiet support” for him, the golfing legend gave his full endorsement of the controversial President while speaking with <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/" target="_blank"><em>The Australian. </em></a><br /><br />“(From) my business perspective, he’s done a phenomenal job,” Norman said.<span> </span><br /><br />“He has ­pretty much stuck to all his promises he made when he was elected.<br /><br />“Very few people who are elected as president follow through on their promises.<br /><br />“Yes, he is bombastic; yes, he has a different style; but to see him actually commit to his word about what he wants to do is actually pretty impressive.<br /><br />“And it’s having a domino effect on the American economy, it has a domino effect on people I employ.”<br /><br />Norman said he had also met Democrat candidate Joe Biden, who had impressed him by asking to hear his views on “golf and on life”.<span> </span><br /><br />He went on to say however that “the people around him” are “potentially giving him advice”.<br /><br />Norman and Trump have been familiar with each other since the sportsman first became a prominent figure in the golf word.<span> </span><br /><br />He was also involved in brokering a meeting between the US President and then-Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull a few years ago.<span> </span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7838387/donald-trump-greg-norman-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/712a997db9b74dcbb6fb68c846c68bc9" /></p> <p><em>Greg Norman and his wife Kirsten Kutner arrive for the State Dinner at The White House honouring Australian PM Scott Morrison on September 20, 2019 in Washington, DC. (</em><br /><br />Norman also would attend a state dinner back in 2019 at the White House to honour current Prime Minister Scott Morrison.<span> </span><br /><br />“It was very, very classy. You read about all of the (stuff) that people are saying, there’s two sides to everything. It was by far the best event I’ve ever been at my entire life,” Norman said in 2019.<br /><br />“It was truly showing the great respect that Big Brother has for Little Brother, which is the United States to Australia,” Norman added.<span> </span><br /><br />“Donald and the First Lady just couldn’t have been nicer, very engaging.<span> </span><br /><br />“We were fortunate to sit at the head table with them and my prime minister I met for the first time that week is a very, very polished guy, a very great speaker. I’m extremely impressed with him and his wife.”</p>

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Trump evacuated from White House briefing room after shots fired

<p>US President Donald Trump was quickly evacuated from the White House briefing room by security after shots were fired outside the building. </p> <p>Trump confirmed a shooting after returning to the briefing room.</p> <p>"There was a shooting outside of the White House and it seems to be very well under control. I'd like to thank the Secret Service for doing their always quick and very effective work," Trump said when he returned.</p> <p>Trump had been midsentence during the first attempt at a briefing when security came into the room and asked him to leave.</p> <p>"Excuse me?" Trump asked when the security approached.</p> <p>"Step outside," the agent said.</p> <p>"Oh," Trump said before departing the room.</p> <p>When Trump returned to the briefing room, he said he has been taken to the Oval Office when he was evacuated.</p> <p>"I feel very safe with the Secret Service. They're fantastic people. They're the best of the best. They're highly trained," Trump told reporters when he returned. "They just wanted me to step aside for a little while just to make sure that everything was clear outside."</p> <p>The Secret Service confirmed on <a rel="noopener" href="https://twitter.com/SecretService?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank" class="_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtflink">Twitter</a> that an investigation of the shooting is "ongoing" but "at no time during this incident was the White House complex breached or were any protectees in danger".</p> <p>A senior administration official said that there was an active shooter near the White House and that the shooter is in custody. </p>

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Queen Elizabeth speaks with US President Donald Trump ahead of Independence Day

<p>Queen Elizabeth has spoken with US President Donald Trump via phone ahead of Independence Day in America.</p> <p>The Queen spoke with Trump on Tuesday by phone from Windsor Castle, where she has remained with Prince Philip since the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown in the UK.</p> <p>The call to Trump was “the latest in a series Her Majesty has held with world leaders in recent months, including President [Emmanuel] Macron, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Prime Minister Scott Morrison”, the royal family said on Twitter.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">The telephone call is the latest in a series Her Majesty has held with world leaders in recent months, including President Macron, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.</p> — The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) <a href="https://twitter.com/RoyalFamily/status/1278006235074383872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>The two heads of state discussed the coronavirus pandemic and “reopening global economies”, according to White House spokesman Judd Deere.</p> <p>“The President and the Queen also reaffirmed that the United States and United Kingdom stand together in our Special Relationship and will emerge from this trying time stronger than ever before,” Deere said.</p> <p>Deere said Trump also wished the Queen a belated happy 94th birthday, two months after the monarch’s birthday in April.</p> <p>Trump has met with the Queen three times as president. Their last in-person meeting was at a Buckingham Palace reception marking the 70th anniversary of NATO in December 2019.</p> <p>Since Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne on February 6, 1952, she has met with all elected US presidents <a rel="noopener" href="https://people.com/royals/queen-elizabeth-phone-call-president-donald-trump-july-4/" target="_blank">with the exception of Lyndon B Johnson</a>.</p>

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The Pete Evans post even his fans are disgusted by

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>Celebrity chef Pete Evans is no stranger to controversy. His devoted fans on social media have stood by his side as he warned them against the dangers of 5G.</p> <p>However, his latest posts have alienated even those most loyal to him.</p> <p>Evans posted a video of a speech given by US President Donald Trump about the recent protests after the death of George Floyd in police custody.</p> <p>In the speech, Trump explains that states should “dominate the streets” with police and national guard troops to stop the violence. If the violence did not stop, Trump said he’d send the US military in and “quickly solve the problem”.</p> <p>Evans just posted a love heart emoji underneath the speech, which angered his followers.</p> <p>"I've looked up to with your consistent messaging of peace and love. So, the fact that you're endorsing this man and/or his fight fire with fire proposal is truly appalling," said one.</p> <p>"Listen to people of colour's voices and experiences. Amplify their voices. Be an ally to them and use your platform for them just as much as you do for a misogynist who openly talks about women as objects, creates tension and divide as a leader on Twitter," said another.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CA6YJYBD1Tf/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CA6YJYBD1Tf/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Pete Evans (@chefpeteevans)</a> on Jun 1, 2020 at 5:14pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Evans responded to one comment that asked why he was focused on Trump.</p> <p>"Why are you obsessing on a narcissistic war monger? You are inciting by default a war between your followers,” one follower asked.</p> <p>Evans replied: "I am not doing anything other than sharing information that may not be seen through normal channels. How you interpret is based on your beliefs".</p> <p>Despite backlash from his followers, he appears to have doubled down on his stance, saying that people should “stop taking the bait and being spoon fed by the media”.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CA7vC5qD-ia/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CA7vC5qD-ia/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Pete Evans (@chefpeteevans)</a> on Jun 2, 2020 at 5:51am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Evans captioned the post, inviting his followers to “read and feel into these words that someone sent me”.</p> <p>Many of his followers agreed with the post, saying that “media is the real virus” and “the sooner we wake up to that, the sooner we can all live in harmony”.</p> </div> </div> </div>

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