White House News (白宮消息) | Feb.26, 2021

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History of Armenia: A Captivating Guide to Armenian History, Starting from Ancient Armenia to Its Declaration of Sovereignty from the Soviet Union (Captivating History)

FEBRUARY 25, 2021
President Biden Meets with National Governors Association
President Biden met with the National Governors Association and was introduced by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). The president spoke about the importance of governors and the benefits of his proposed COVID-19 relief package.

FEBRUARY 25, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki fielded questions from reporters on the president’s immigration policy, talks over the American Rescue Plan, the investigation into the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and conversations with foreign leaders. Press Secretary Psaki also responded to a question on former President Trump’s upcoming remarks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which is expected to focus on President Biden’s immigration policy. “Well, we’re not looking to former President Trump or any of his advisers as a model for how we are approaching immigration…not only was their approach inhumane, it was ineffective,” she told reporters. 

Washington Post journalist Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018
Joe Biden talks to Saudi king ahead of Khashoggi report release

US President Joe Biden has spoken with Saudi Arabia's King Salman, but there was apparently no mention of the upcoming publication of a sensitive US intelligence report on the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Feb. 26 - In a statement about US President Joe Biden and Saudi King Salman's the conversation on Thursday, the White House did not mention US intelligence findings about the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The release of the report could prove a test for normally close relations between Washington and Riyadh...

Why is the report important?Recognition of the involvement of the prince would cast a huge shadow over relations between the US and its most significant ally in the Arab world, Saudi Arabia. Relations between the two had flourished under Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump.

Trump was particularly cautious about criticizing Saudi Arabia's record on human rights, notably over the Khashoggi murder.     more details

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Saudi foreign minister discusses bilateral ties in phone call with US counterpart

Feb. 25, RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan received a phone call from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

During the call, the Saudi foreign minister and his American counterpart discussed bilateral relations and the strategic partnership between the two countries.

They also reviewed aspects of cooperation on regional and global challenges.   source from

White House News (白宮消息) | Feb.25, 2021

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Diplomatic Savagery: Dark Secrets Behind the Jamal Khashoggi Murder

FEBRUARY 24, 2021
President Biden Signs Executive Order on Economy
President Biden signs and executive order on U.S. supply chains. The president spoke about the importance of strengthening U.S. manufacturing and of not relaying on foreign countries for necessary equipment.

Joe Biden said during the presidential campaign that he wanted to reduce supply chain shocks such as those experienced at the start of the pandemic
Joe Biden orders review of critical foreign supply chains

President wants federal agencies to look into US dependence on rivals in essential sectors

Feb. 25 -  Joe Biden will order a review of critical supply chains to reduce the US’s dependence on China and other rivals for everything from rare earths and drug ingredients to semiconductors.

The US president signed an executive order on Wednesday requiring federal agencies to conduct 100-day reviews of supply chains for semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, electric vehicle batteries and critical minerals used in manufacturing products such as cars and weapons.

“We’re going to get out of the business of reacting to supply chain crises as they arise and get into the business of preventing future supply chain problems,” said Peter Harrell, NSC senior director for international economics.

The Financial Times reported this month that Biden was preparing to issue the order.

During the presidential campaign, he pledged to reduce the kind of supply chain shocks that emerged at the start of the pandemic because of a lack of masks and protective gear for healthcare workers.

Speaking while signing the executive order, Biden said that shortages of protective gear for American healthcare workers “should never have happened.”

“We shouldn’t have to rely on a foreign country, especially one that doesn’t share our interests or our values,” Biden added.

​The order will also require separate one-year reviews for six sectors including defence, public health, biological preparedness, IT, transportation, and energy and food production.     more details

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FEBRUARY 24, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a briefing where she was joined by two economic advisers to preview President Biden’s executive order on supply chains. The press secretary also discussed details on the masks being provided to food banks and community health centers, the nomination of Neera Tanden for Office of Management and Budget (D) and relations with Saudi Arabia. 

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed on October 2, 2018, after he went to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to retrieve documents for his marriage
US report on Khashoggi murder critical for justice: UN expert

White House says unclassified US intelligence report on 2018 murder of Saudi journalist will be released ‘soon’.

Feb. 25 - The pending release of an unclassified United States intelligence report on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi will be a critical step in the ongoing search for justice, a leading United Nations expert has said.

Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said the report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is expected to provide information on who was responsible for the October 2018 killing.

“Once we have further evidence, it will be really impossible for the rest of the world to ignore whatever information will be provided,” Callamard said late on Wednesday during a panel discussion hosted by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post newspaper columnist and prominent critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he had gone to retrieve documents for his upcoming marriage.

His murder sent shockwaves around the world and spurred demands from human rights advocates, press freedom organisations, UN experts and legislators for the perpetrators to be held accountable.
​
“For the sake of accountability and for the sake of American democracy, the DNI report must be released,” Callamard said...

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday the Biden administration remains committed to releasing the DNI report. She did not give a specific timeframe for its release, saying only it would be “soon”.
Biden told reporters he has read the report and expected to speak by phone soon with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud...     source from

White House News (白宮消息) | Feb.24, 2021

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​How to Survive a Pandemic

US President Joe Biden with his dogs Major and Champ.
Oval Office walk-in privileges’: Post about ‘First Dogs’ wins people"

Gorgeous fur babies," wrote an Instagram user while commenting on the picture.

Feb. 24 - "Champ and Major, the ‘First Dogs’, are settling right in at the White House. Not just that, from an adorable picture recently shared on the official Instagram profile of President Joe Biden, it seems they’re getting comfortable in Oval office too.

“Not many people have Oval Office walk-in privileges. Happy to report that these two are on the list,” shared with this caption, the image is super sweet.
In the picture, the president is seen standing in front of his desk smiling with one of his dogs standing near him and the other lying in front"...     quoted from

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FEBRUARY 23, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
​White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a briefing on news of the day. She took questions on a range of topics including President Biden’s upcoming meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the confirmation process of the Office of Management of Budget (OMB) director nominee Neera Tanden and the administration’s immigration policies.

FEBRUARY 23, 2021
President Biden Meets with Canadian Prime
Biden held his first bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. President Biden provided welcome remarks telling Prime Minister Trudeau that “the United Sates has no closer friend than Canada.” In addition, the president talked about U.S.-Canada cooperation on COVID-19, economic recovery, climate change, and migration issues. Prime Minister Trudeau also provided remarks along with Vice President Harris and Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. The virtual meeting took place in the White House Roosevelt Room.

Biden, Trudeau bypass tension for unity on coronavirus, China and climate change

Feb. 24 - Biden portrayed the relationship with the US’s northern neighbor and largest trading partner as reinvigorated, after strains over immigration, trade and defense under former President Donald Trump. The new president made no mention of current disputes between the countries

Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said their nations would adopt a unified approach toward the pandemic, climate change and China, setting aside trade and other tensions in what the White House called the new US president’s first bilateral meeting.

After about a two-hour virtual meeting between the two leaders and their staffs on Tuesday, Biden said that they had agreed to cooperate to strengthen the World Health Organization and industrial supply chains, “tackle climate change" and “better compete with China."     more details

FEBRUARY 23, 2021
President Biden Meets with Black Essential
Biden and White House Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice participated in a virtual roundtable discussion with Black essential workers that included a pharmacist, grocery store director, childcare worker, and firefighter. President Biden thanked them for their service, telling the workers “you’re holding the country together” and later asked them how the White House could support their efforts. 

Wanda Cooper, the mother of Ahmaud Arbery, stands with a painting of her son during a candlelight vigil in his honour on 23 February, 2021.
Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was unarmed and out for a run when he was gunned down one year ago in the southern US state of Georgia.

​Feb. 24 - The mother of Ahmaud Arbery, an African American man shot dead while jogging, filed a lawsuit Tuesday on the anniversary of his killing as President Joe Biden pledged to help make the United States safer for people of colour.

Wanda Cooper seeks $1 million in damages in the suit that names the three white men charged with killing her 25-year-old son, who was unarmed and out for a run when he was gunned down on 23 February, 2020 in the southern US state of Georgia.
 
"A black man should be able to go for a jog without fearing for his life," Mr Biden said. "Today, we remember Ahmaud Arbery's life and we dedicate ourselves to making this country safer for people of colour."

The lawsuit also targets local police and prosecutors whom Ms Cooper accuses of trying to cover up the killing, which became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement in a tumultuous year of mass protests demanding racial justice.

For two months after Mr Arbery's killing, the police made no arrests and it was only when a video of the shooting went viral on social media that the investigation was taken out of their hands and an inquiry began into what had happened.
​
Gregory McMichael, a former investigator who had worked with the local prosecutor's office, was arrested together with his son Travis, who could both be seen on the video clip. The man who shot the footage, William Bryan, was himself arrested two weeks later.      source from

White House News (白宮消息) | Feb.23, 2021

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FEBRUARY 22, 2021
President Biden Delivers Remarks on COVID-19
President Biden delivered remarks at the White House on the U.S. surpassing 500,000 deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The president noted that the death toll had surpassed the U.S. deaths in World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined. He said it was important to remember each person and that Americans must “resist becoming numb to the sorrow.” Following his remarks, the president, first lady, vice president and second gentleman held a moment of silence outside the South Portico, where 500 candles were lit to represent the 500,000 Americans who had lost their lives. 

FEBRUARY 22, 2021
President Biden Moment of Silence for COVID-19 Lives Lost
President Biden and others holds a moment of silence and candle lighting ceremony at the White House in memory of lives lost to COVID-19.

The GOP is imploding in spectacular fashion The New Republic
19:17 Mon, 22 Feb
Whoopi Goldberg shuts down ‘The View’ after Meghan McCain argues Biden should “Remove” Dr. Fauci Decider
00:56

Mounting confirmation battle sends warning sign to Biden CNN
13:09
Supreme Court tosses Pennsylvania election challenges in blow to Trump supporters Washington Examiner
22:52 Mon, 22 Feb
Trump worried Biden will take credit for 500,000 COVID deaths he made possible The Onion (Satire)
03:11
Biden orders flags at half-mast to mourn 500k COVID-19 U.S. deaths CGTN
15:12
The GOP is imploding in spectacular fashion The New Republic
19:17 Mon, 22 Feb
Whoopi Goldberg shuts down ‘The View’ after Meghan McCain argues Biden should “Remove” Dr. Fauci Decider
00:56
Mounting confirmation battle sends warning sign to Biden CNN
13:09
Supreme Court tosses Pennsylvania election challenges in blow to Trump supporters Washington Examiner
22:52 Mon, 22 Feb
Trump worried Biden will take credit for 500,000 COVID deaths he made possible The Onion (Satire)
03:11
Biden orders flags at half-mast to mourn 500k COVID-19 U.S. deaths CGTN
15:12

FEBRUARY 22, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a briefing Monday afternoon. She defended Office of Management and Budget Director nominee Neera Tanden and said that the administration still sees a path to her confirmation, despite statements by Senators Manchin (D-WV), Collins (R-ME), and Romney (R-UT) that they will not back her nomination.

Neera Tanden testifying during her Senate confirmation hearing in Washington this month.
Tanden’s Confirmation on Shaky Ground as More Senators Voice

moderate Republican senators said they would not vote to confirm President Biden’s nominee to head the budget office, further dimming her chances of securing enough support.

Feb. 22 - WASHINGTON — Neera Tanden, President Biden’s nominee to head the Office of Management and Budget, suffered a significant setback on Monday as two moderate Republicans said they would not support her nomination, potentially dooming her chances for confirmation.

The statements of opposition from Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah, two Republicans with a professed willingness to work with the Biden administration, further winnowed Ms. Tanden’s chances in an evenly divided Senate. Three senators in four days have announced plans to vote against her, after Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, became the first to publicly oppose her confirmation.
​
A White House official said on Monday that the administration continued to stand behind Ms. Tanden’s nomination, but her path to confirmation was increasingly narrow. Her failure to win confirmation would be the first casualty for Mr. Biden, who has so far been able to win Senate support for several other cabinet picks, though many nominees have yet to face full Senate votes.     more details

White House News (白宮消息) | Feb.22, 2021

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Lila Blanks reacts next to the casket of her husband, Gregory Blanks, 50, who died from complications from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), ahead of his funeral in San Felipe, Texas, U.S., January 26, 2021.
United States approaches grim milestone of 500,000 Covid-19 deaths

The United States faces a dark milestone this week despite a recent decline in COVID-19 cases as it prepares to mark a staggering half-million deaths, with President Joe Biden planning to memorialise the lives lost.

Feb. 22 - While the number of COVID-19 cases fell for the fifth straight week and officials scrambled to inoculate the population, the nation was poised to reach 500,000 deaths from the highly infectious respiratory disease.
It has been nearly a year since the pandemic upended the country with dueling public health and economic crises.

"It's nothing like we've ever been through in the last 102 years since the 1918 influenza pandemic. ... It really is a terrible situation that we've been through - and that we're still going through," Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House COVID-19 medical adviser and the nation's top infectious disease official, told CNN's "State of the Union" program on Sunday.

The White House said on Sunday it planned a memorial event in which Biden would deliver remarks.
A White House spokesman said the president along with first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff would hold a moment of silence on Monday and there would be a candle-lighting ceremony at sundown.

Biden last month observed America's COVID-19 deaths on the eve of his inauguration with a sundown ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial's Reflecting Pool.

Biden will use "his own voice and platform to take a moment to remember the people whose lives have been lost, the families who are still suffering ... at what is still a very difficult moment in this country," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday.     more details

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Biden to hold moment of silence for 500K COVID-19 deaths

Feb. 21 - President Biden will hold a moment of silence Monday evening for the Americans who have died of coronavirus, the White House said.

The nation is expected to surpass 500,000 coronavirus deaths Monday.

“In the evening, the President will deliver remarks on the lives lost to COVID-19 in the Cross Hall. The First Lady, the Vice President, and the Second Gentleman will be in attendance,” the White House said in a press release.

“Then, the President, the First Lady, the Vice President, and the Second Gentleman will hold a moment of silence and candle lighting ceremony at sundown in the South Portico.”

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. has confirmed 498,879 deaths as of Sunday evening. Globally, the U.S. has reported the most deaths due to the coronavirus out of any other country. Brazil, the country with the second highest number of coronavirus deaths, has reported roughly half the amount the U.S. has.

The day before his inauguration day, Biden held a lighting ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial to honor those died from COVID-19. Biden has committed to vaccinating at least 100 million people in his first 100 days in office.     source

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Bill Gates Reveals What Caused Deadly Power Outages in Texas
On Saturday, US President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in the Lone Star State allowing the government to allocate more funds to help millions of people affected by severe winter storms.

Feb. 22 - Bill Gates has revealed the reason behind the weather-induced crisis in Texas that resulted in power outages, leaving nearly half of the state's population under a boil advisory. In an interview with CNN, the Microsoft co-founder dismissed allegations made by Governor Gregg Abbott and other officials that solar panels and wind turbines were to blame for the massive outages in the state, noting that state's dependence on renewable energy isn't high enough.

Gates believes that the state's authorities should have spent money on weatherising energy plants. This, the software developer says, would have prevented the crisis.

"This is not because of renewable dependency. This is natural gas plants, largely, that weren't weatherised. They could've been. It costs money, and the trade-off was made, and it didn't work out, and it's tragic that it has lead to people dying", Gates told CNN.

Cataclysms, Instability,
the interview Bill Gates, who has donated over $50 billion to charitable causes, reiterated the need to address the global warming problem. Climate change is the root cause of all extreme weather events and the solution is green energy, Gates said. The philanthropist noted that without decisions on lowering carbon emissions and transition to renewable energy the world will face catastrophic consequences – the collapse of natural ecosystems as well as the inability to farm, which in turn will lead to war and instability.

According to the Microsoft co-founder, the deadline for the world to deal with the said issues is 2050. "2050 is literally the soonest it could get done given the scale and the number of things you have to change", Gates said.

The philanthropist believes that in an ideal world 80 percent of the energy will be renewable and come from solar panels and wind turbines, while 20 percent will come from nuclear plants. Gates even cited Texas as an example. When harsh climatic conditions make it unable to use green energy, a state can ramp up nuclear energy or draw from storage.     What happened in Texas?

In Their Own Words: U.S. Covid-19 Death Toll Hits 500,000 | NBC Nightly News
Feb 22, 2021
The Covid-19 death toll in the U.S. has passed 500,000. NBC News’ Kate Snow illuminates some of those we’ve lost through their own words.