White House News (白宮消息)

3/23/2021

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

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U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris deliver remarks after meeting with Asian-American leaders to discuss "the ongoing attacks and threats against the community," during a stop at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., March 19, 2021.
Russian envoy to U.S. back in Moscow after Biden calls Putin a killer: TASS

Mar. 21 - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s ambassador to the United States arrived in Moscow on Sunday for discussions on how to address sliding U.S.-Russia relations after U.S. President Joe Biden said he thought Vladimir Putin was a killer, the TASS news agency reported.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday it was recalling its ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, for urgent talks after Biden said in an ABC interview he thought President Putin was a killer who would “pay a price” for alleged U.S. election meddling - an accusation that Moscow denies. continue to read

Washington declined Putin-Biden discussion, says Russian Foreign Ministry

Date published on Mar. 22, 2021
The United States has declined Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to hold an “open discussion” with U.S. President Joe Biden, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday, March 22.

“We regret to note that the American side has not supported the proposal made by President of Russia Vladimir Putin to U.S. President Joe Biden to hold a live-broadcast discussion on March 19 or 22, 2021, on the problems that have accumulated in bilateral relations, as well as on the subject of strategic stability. One more opportunity has been missed to find a way out of the deadlock in Russian-U.S. relations created through the fault of Washington. Responsibility for this lies entirely with the United States.”

In conversation with journalists earlier in the day on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also confirmed that Putin’s schedule for March 22 didn’t include a conversation with Biden. “As far as I understand, the American side wasn’t ready,” he said.

In an interview published on March 17, U.S. President Joe Biden said he considers Vladimir Putin to be a “killer.” The Russian president responded a day later with a schoolyard retort that translates loosely to the phrase: “Look who’s talking!” Several hours later, Putin invited his American counterpart to take part in a “discussion” broadcast online. Putin suggested this take place on March 19 or 22, or at any other time convenient for the U.S. president. Commenting on Putin’s proposal, Biden said: “I’m sure we’ll talk at some point.” source from

American Kompromat: How the KGB Cultivated Donald Trump, and Related Tales of Sex, Greed, Power, and Treachery

Kompromat n.—Russian for "compromising information"

This is a story about the dirty secrets of the most powerful people in the world—including Donald Trump.

It is based on exclusive interviews with dozens of high-level sources—intelligence officers in the CIA, FBI, and the KGB, thousands of pages of FBI investigations, police investigations, and news articles in English, Russian, and Ukrainian. American Kompromat shows that from Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, kompromat was used in operations far more sinister than the public could ever imagine.

Among them, the book addresses what may be the single most important unanswered question of the entire Trump era: Is Donald Trump a Russian asset?

The answer, American Kompromat says, is yes, and it supports that conclusion backs with the first richly detailed narrative on how the KGB allegedly first “spotted” Trump as a potential asset, how they cultivated him as an asset, arranged his first trip to Moscow, and pumped him full of KGB talking points that were published in three of America’s most prestigious newspapers.

Among its many revelations, American Kompromat reports for the first time that:

• According to Yuri Shvets, a former major in the KGB, Trump first did business over forty years ago with a Manhattan electronics store co-owned by a Soviet émigré who Shvets believes was working with the KGB. Trump’s decision to do business there triggered protocols through which the Soviet spy agency began efforts to cultivate Trump as an asset, thus launching a decades-long “relationship” of mutual benefit to Russia and Trump, from real estate to real power.

• Trump’s invitation to Moscow in 1987 was billed as a preliminary scouting trip for a hotel, but according to Shvets, was actually initiated by a high-level KGB official, General Ivan Gromakov. These sorts of trips were usually arranged for ‘deep development,’ recruitment, or for a meeting with the KGB handlers, even if the potential asset was unaware of it. .

• Before Trump’s first trip to Moscow, he met with Natalia Dubinina, who worked at the United Nations library in a vital position usually reserved as a cover for KGB operatives.

And many more...

March 22, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a briefing where she was questioned about the situation at the southern border. She said the administration was airing radio ads and posting targeted social media ads in Central and South American countries conveying that the border was closed and it was not a good time to come to the U.S. She also said they were working on allowing press into migrant holding facilities.

3/22/2021

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

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Biden Says He Has Plans to Visit the US-Mexico Border
Hundreds of teenage asylum seekers have arrived at Dallas' convention center, with more expected.

Mar. 22 - As more migrants cross the U.S.-Mexico border, President Joe Biden says he plans to visit the border to assess the situation.

Hundreds of teenage asylum seekers were brought to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas under an agreement between the federal government and the city -- and more are expected to arrive.
Now, people are working around the clock to help them figure out what happens next.

The White House occasionally struggled with how to explain its plan on how asylum seekers should be handled in general but made it clear that young, vulnerable children would not be expelled.

Biden said he planned to go to the border at some point. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said last week the U.S. is expected to see the highest numbers of southwest border crossings in 20 years.

The Dallas Convention Center is just one of a couple of planned decompression centers in Texas funded by the Department of Health and Human Services to care for children. Another will be set up in Midland. source

Nearly 1,000 unaccompanied children have been held at the border for more than 10 days - after Biden REFUSES to turn away kids who arrive like Trump did

Mar. 22 - Nearly 1,000 unaccompanied migrant children have been held by border patrol agents for more than 10 days as the Biden administration scrambles to manage the growing humanitarian and political crisis at the US-Mexico border.
A total of 823 unaccompanied children were held at US-Mexico border facilities for more than 10 days, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security document leaked to Axios.

Children are not supposed to be held in border patrol custody for more than three days. As of Saturday 2,226 children had been held in custody for more than five days and 823 for more than 10 days.

The number of unaccompanied migrant kids in US custody surpassed 15,000 as of Saturday as the Biden administration announced that they 'would not expel young, vulnerable children.' This is a reverse of Trump administration policy, which was to generally expel all people who tried to illegally cross the border, regardless of age. continue to read

Over 21,000 US citizens sign request to end blockade against Cuba

Mar. 22 - Washington, Mar 22 (Prensa Latina) More than 21,000 US citizens have signed the support for Bridges of Love project to request President Joe Biden to lift sanctions on Cuba and put an end to the US blockade.
Cuban-American professor Carlos Lazo, one of the promoters, highlighted the scope that the request alone has, exceeding 21,000 signatures and 'we are going for more,' he said.

Anyone interested in joining this initiative to demand the end of sanctions and blockades against Cuba can do so at www.puentesdeamor.com, he called.

We have reached that number of signatures 'with great efforts', with no propaganda or support from big media, it is as if they wanted to bury the fact that people from all over the world support the construction of Bridges of Love, he said in a video on Facebook.

In addition to calling for the end of the US blockade and sanctions on Cuba, the requests in the open letter to Biden include the reopening of the United States embassy in Havana and the restoration of family reunification program, suspended by former President Donald Trump in 2017.

Carlos Lazo also spoke out for establishing 'compassionate and humane policies towards' Cuba, allowing US airlines to once again fly to the country´s provinces, thus authorizing unlimited family remittances and encouraging financial and commercial relations.

The signatories also requested US citizens´ freedom of traveling freely to Cuba and that economic investments and scientific and cultural exchanges between both nations be encouraged. source from

3/20/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 20, 2021

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President Joe Biden speaks after meeting with leaders from Georgia’s Asian-American and Pacific Islander community.
‘We cannot be complicit’: Biden condemns attacks on Asian Americans

Mar. 20, Atlanta - President Joe Biden has called on Americans to unite to fight discrimination and attacks against Asian Americans, delivering a message of solidarity after killings at three massage parlours in Georgia’s capital city.“Our silence is complicity,” he said. “We cannot be complicit. We have to speak out.”

Eight people were killed on Tuesday night - six of them women of Asian descent - and a 21-year-old white man, Robert Aaron Long, was arrested. Neither police nor the FBI has described the shootings as a hate crime, and authorities say the investigation is ongoing. Biden avoided the legally freighted phrase but he left no doubt that he believed racial bias played a role.

“We must change our hearts,” Biden said. “Hate can have no safe harbor in America. It must stop. It’s on all of us together to make us stop.”

Addressing the nation after a roughly 80-minute meeting with Asian American state legislators and other leaders, Biden said it was “heart-wrenching” to listen to their stories of the fear among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders amid what he called a “skyrocketing spike” of harassment and violence against them. continue to read

This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 lessons on how to wake up, take action, and do the work (Empower the Future 1)

Who are you? What is racism? Where does it come from? Why does it exist? What can you do to disrupt it? Learn about social identities, the history of racism and resistance against it, and how you can use your anti-racist lens and voice to move the world toward equity and liberation.

"In a racist society, it's not enough to be non-racist--we must be ANTI-RACIST." --Angela Davis quoted from

MARCH 19, 2021
House Speaker Weekly
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) held a briefing to discuss the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package, also known as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The speaker was joined by three Democratic colleagues to discuss improvements made to the Affordable Care Act through the law. She also offered support to the Asian-American and Pacific Islander communities who were recent targets of violent attacks and addressed the ongoing situation at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Migrant children at a detention camp in Homestead, Florida, Feb. 19, 2019
Over 14,000 migrant children detained by Biden administration

Mar. 20 - The Biden administration admitted this week to detaining more than 14,000 unaccompanied migrant children in federal custody. More than 9,500 children are held by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), while the remaining 4,500 are in the custody of Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

While some migrants are being allowed to stay in the US while their asylum claims are allowed to play out in immigration court, the vast majority are being turned away. A report by CBS News notes that 3,000 of the children in CBP detention camps, meant for adults, are being kept longer than is legally allowed, with some facilties operating at well over maximum capacity.

Biden administration officials confirmed that they are expanding the number of camps to hold the influx of migrants including a convention center in Dallas that will be used to imprison children. Another camp in Midland, Texas, is also being used. continue to read

The U.S. Military Declares It Is Ready to Fight North Korea 'Tonight'

The several days of verbal sparring between the United States and North Korea continued Thursday, with the U.S. Secretary of Defense responding to the recent comments by the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Mar. 19 - Per Fox News, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that U.S. forces are ready to "fight tonight.”

“Our force remains ready to 'fight tonight,' and we continue to make progress toward the eventual transition of wartime Operational Control to a [South Korea]-commanded, future Combined Forces Command," the secretary said. "While meeting all the conditions for this transition will take more time, I'm confident that this process will strengthen our alliance.”

The comments came during the tour of Asia this week by Austin and Secretary of State Tony Blinken, the first cabinet-level foreign trip of the Biden presidency. On the trip, the secretaries have met with their counterparts in Japan and South Korea, and North Korea and its nuclear ambitions have been among the main topics of discussion in the meetings.

The meetings have coincided with a round of joint military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea. Also, a U.S. intelligence source indicated that North Korea may be preparing to launch a missile test. continue to read

3/19/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 19, 2021

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March 18, 2021
President Biden Gives Update on COVID-19 Vaccinations
President Biden announced the country would surpass 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines being administered under his administration, surpassing his stated goal of 100 million doses in his first 100 days in office. He said the U.S. would surpass that benchmark the following day, 58 days since he had taken office. The president also said that 65 percent of those 65 years or older had received at least one shot of the vaccine. However, President Biden cautioned more work had to be done and urged Americans to remain vigilant and continue to follow CDC guidelines.

US President Joe Biden speaks on the national vaccination efforts in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on March 18, 2021.
Closing in on 100m goal, US agrees to share AstraZeneca vaccines with Mexico, Canada
With the U.S. closing in on President Joe Biden’s goal of injecting 100 million coronavirus vaccinations weeks ahead of his target date, the White House said the nation is now in position to help supply neighbors Canada and Mexico with millions of lifesaving shots.

Mar. 19 - The Biden administration on Thursday revealed the outlines of a plan to “loan” a limited number of vaccines to Canada and Mexico as the president announced the U.S. is on the cusp of meeting his 100-day injection goal “way ahead of schedule.”

“I’m proud to announce that tomorrow, 58 days into our administration, we will have met our goal,” Biden said. He promised to unveil a new vaccination target next week, as the U.S. is on pace to have enough of the three currently authorized vaccines to cover the entire adult population just 10 weeks from now.

Ahead of Biden’s remarks, the White House said it was finalizing plans to send a combined 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico and Canada in its first export of shots. Press secretary Jen Psaki said the details of the “loan” were still being worked out, but 2.5 million doses would go to Mexico and 1.5 million would be sent to Canada. continue to read

The first in-person talks between the top diplomats from the US and China since Joe Biden became president got off to a testy start in Alaska
US, China top diplomats trade rebukes in testy first talks

Depth of divide between two global giants publicly exposed as talks get under way in snowy Anchorage.

Mar. 19 - The United States and China traded sharp rebukes of each others’ policies on Thursday in the first high-level, in-person talks since Joe Biden took office, with the deep strain in the relations between the two global rivals on rare public display during the meeting’s opening session in Alaska.

China’s actions “threaten the rules-based order that maintains global stability,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the opening of the two-day meeting in Anchorage.

The US side will “discuss our deep concerns with actions by China, including Xinjiang,” where Washington has accused Beijing of “genocide” against Uighur Muslims, Blinken told the Chinese Communist Party’s top diplomacy official, Yang Jiechi, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

He added that there would be dialogue on “Hong Kong, Taiwan, cyberattacks on the United States, economic coercion toward our allies.”

Beijing was equally sharp in its response.

“China is firmly opposed to US interference in China’s internal affairs. We have expressed our staunch opposition to such interference, and we will take firm actions in response,” Yang warned. more details

The Chinese delegation led by Yang Jiechi (centre), director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Office and Wang Yi (second left), China’s Foreign Minister, at the opening session of US-China talks in Anchorag

The Shadow War: Inside Russia's and China's Secret Operations to Defeat America
Are we losing a war few of us realize we’re fighting?
Jim Sciutto, CNN’s Chief National Security Correspondent, reveals the invisible fronts that make up 21st century warfare, from disinformation campaigns to advanced satellite weapons.

Poisoned dissidents. Election interference. Armed invasions. International treaties thrown into chaos. Secret military buildups. Hackers and viruses. Weapons deployed in space. China and Russia (and Iran and North Korea) spark news stories here by carrying out bold acts of aggression and violating international laws and norms. Isn’t this just bad actors acting badly?

That kind of thinking is outdated and dangerous. Emboldened by their successes, these countries are, in fact, waging a brazen, global war on the US and the West. This is a new Cold War, which will not be won by those who fail to realize they are fighting it. The enemies of the West understand that while they are unlikely to win a shooting war, they have another path to victory. And what we see as our greatest strengths—open societies, military innovation, dominance of technology on Earth and in space, longstanding leadership in global institutions—these countries are undermining or turning into weaknesses.

In The Shadow War, CNN anchor and chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto provides us with a revealing and at times disturbing guide to this new international conflict. This Shadow War is already the greatest threat to America’s national security, even though most Americans know little or nothing about it. With on-the-ground reporting from Ukraine to the South China Sea, from a sub under the Arctic to unprecedented access to America’s Space Command, Sciutto draws on his deep knowledge, high-level contacts, and personal experience as a journalist and diplomat to paint the most comprehensive and vivid picture of a nation targeted by a new and disturbing brand of warfare. source

March 18, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki briefs reporters and responds to questions on a range of issues. She’s joined by HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge.

3/18/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 18, 2021

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Biden Sends Missile-Armed Warship Into Taiwan Strait After Admiral Claims Beijing May Invade Island

US-China tensions over Taiwan, the island territory which Beijing considers to be a renegade province of the People’s Republic, began escalating shortly after Joe Biden’s inauguration in January, with both countries deploying naval and air power to the area in shows of force.

Mar. 18 - The USS John Finn, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, the Navy’s 7th Fleet has reported.

The 7th Fleet’s public affairs office described the deployment as a “routine transit” conducted “in accordance with international law,” and called it a demonstration of “the US commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”7th Fleet Destroyer transits Taiwan Strait

The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS John Finn (DDG 113) conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit March 10 (local time) in accordance with international law.

In a related development, the Navy reported Thursday that the USS Curtis Wilbur, another Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, had crossed the East China Sea amid its forward deployment in the western Pacific. more details

March 17, 2021
President Biden Meets with the Prime Minister of Ireland
President Biden hosted a virtual bilateral meeting in the Oval Office with Taoiseach Micheál Martin of Ireland to mark St. Patrick’s Day. The president opened the meeting by commenting on the recent shooting in Atlanta that left eight people dead, six who were Asian women. He said he is very concerned about violence targeted at Asian Americans but does not want to speculate on motive. The prime minister offered his condolences to the families of the victims and went on to speak about the importance of the U.S.-Ireland relationship.

Here's what we know about the metro Atlanta spa shootings that left 8 dead

Mar. 18 -Atlanta (CNN)At least eight people were killed after shootings at three different spas in the Atlanta area Tuesday.

Police say video evidence led them to believe one suspect, Robert Aaron Long, was responsible for all three shootings. He was arrested Tuesday night about 150 miles south of Atlanta.

Here's what we know so far:

Where did the shootings take place?
The first shooting happened shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday at Young's Asian Massage near Woodstock, Georgia, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta.

That shooting left four dead -- two were pronounced dead at the scene, and two others died at the hospital. One person was also wounded, Cherokee County Sheriff's Office said.

Authorities had responded to the scene for reports of a shooting.

About an hour later, three people were found dead at the Gold Massage Spa on Piedmont Road in Atlanta, Police Chief Rodney Bryant said.

One person was also found dead at the Aroma Therapy Spa, directly across the street.

The two Atlanta spas are on a stretch of Piedmont Road, just off Interstate 85, dotted with strip clubs and spas. About a dozen other spas are located within a mile of Gold Massage and Aroma Therapy. continue to read

March 17, 2021
Secretary of State Blinken in South Korea
During a diplomatic trip to South Korea, Secretary of State Antony Blinken makes remarks about the recent fatal shootings in Atlanta, Georgia in which eight people were killed. Six of the victims are reported to have been Asian women.

Robert Aaron Long is the suspect in the shootings in the Atlanta area.
What we know about Robert Aaron Long, the suspect in Atlanta spa shootings

Mar. 18 - (CNN)State and federal investigators are scrambling to learn more about Robert Aaron Long, the suspect in a string of deadly shootings at three Atlanta-area Asian spas, and his alleged motive.

Not much information has surfaced about the 21-year-old from Woodstock, about a half-hour drive north of Atlanta.

He is presently detained without bond in Cherokee County, where he faces four counts of murder and a charge of aggravated assault, according to the county sheriff's office. More charges are possible.
Tuesday's shootings took place at two spas in Atlanta and another in Acworth, about 10 miles west of Woodstock -- which left eight people, at least four of them Asian women, dead.

The four killed in the shooting near Woodstock were Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33, of Acworth; Paul Andre Michels, 54, of Atlanta; Xiaojie Yan, 49, of Kennesaw; and Daoyou Feng, 44.

The injured survivor was Elcias R. Hernandez-Ortiz, 30, of Acworth, authorities said.
Authorities located Long about 150 miles south of Atlanta in Crisp County. State troopers took him into custody after using a special pursuit maneuver to spin his car out of control.

The suspect "did take responsibility for the shootings," Capt. Jay Baker of the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office said.

Suspect had been treated for sexual addiction... continue to read

March 17, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki briefs reporters and responds to questions on a range of issues. She’s joined by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, who speaks about the safe reopening of schools

The South China Sea: The Struggle for Power in Asia

China’s rise has upset the global balance of power, and the first place to feel the strain is Beijing’s back yard: the South China Sea. For decades tensions have smoldered in the region, but today the threat of a direct confrontation among superpowers grows ever more likely. This important book is the first to make clear sense of the South Sea disputes. Bill Hayton, a journalist with extensive experience in the region, examines the high stakes involved for rival nations that include Vietnam, India, Taiwan, the Philippines, and China, as well as the United States, Russia, and others. Hayton also lays out the daunting obstacles that stand in the way of peaceful resolution.

Through lively stories of individuals who have shaped current conflicts—businessmen, scientists, shippers, archaeologists, soldiers, diplomats, and more—Hayton makes understandable the complex history and contemporary reality of the South China Sea. He underscores its crucial importance as the passageway for half the world’s merchant shipping and one-third of its oil and gas. Whoever controls these waters controls the access between Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, and the Pacific. The author critiques various claims and positions (that China has historic claim to the Sea, for example), overturns conventional wisdoms (such as America’s overblown fears of China’s nationalism and military resurgence), and outlines what the future may hold for this clamorous region of international rivalry. source from