An epic closing in northern France for the St. Augustine Marching 100. As the band gathered by their buses moments after walking in a D-Day parade in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France, the band marching behind them, the Voodoo Orchestra from Utah, gathered around the St. Aug musicians and began playing "I'll Fly Away.” An unplanned, organic, absolutely lovely moment. You should have seen the hugs shared between all the young musicians when the music and dancing finally came to an end.
An epic closing in northern France for the St. Augustine Marching 100. As the band gathered by their buses moments after walking in a D-Day parade in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France, the band marching behind them, the Voodoo Orchestra from Utah, gathered around the St. Aug musicians and began playing "I'll Fly Away.” An unplanned, organic, absolutely lovely moment. You should have seen the hugs shared between all the young musicians when the music and dancing finally came to an end.
While #Biden has so far avoided naming #Trump during his time abroad, he has increasingly warned of the dangers posed by the kind of #authoritarian & #isolationist impulses the fmr president has embraced in his push to return to the #WhiteHouse. #POTUS, who has said in the past that America’s very #democracy is at stake in the coming #election, …[has juxtaposed] #DDay’s 80th anniversary to sound the alarm about the advance of #antidemocratic forces across the globe.
#Inflation soared under President #Biden in 2021 & 2022, as the #economy emerged from the #pandemic recession [that began under Trump]. Its causes were complex, including snarled #SupplyChains, stimulative policies by the #FederalReserve &, to a degree, federal fiscal policies incl’ing #Covid relief bills signed by #Trump &…Biden.
#Biden has worked to limit prices for #PrescriptionDrugs like insulin & inhalers, rein in #bank#overdraft & #creditcard fees & make airline #travel cheaper & more transparent, achievements that he often discusses on the campaign trail.
“We’re taking on #corporate#greed to bring down the #price of gas, food & rent, eliminating junk fees,” #POTUS told a crowd of cheering supporters in Philadelphia last week.
#POTUS#Biden said Thurs he would not #pardon his son, if convicted.
Biden said “yes” when asked in an ABC interview if he would rule out pardoning Hunter Biden…. Biden also said yes when the interviewer asked if he would accept the trial’s outcome.
The president has said for months that he would not pardon his son.
“I’ve been very clear — the president is not going to pardon his son,” WH press sec Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in Dec.
Hunter Biden is accused of making false statements in filling out paperwork to purchase a gun in 2018. The max sentence for the most serious charge is 10yrs in prison.
Hunter’s trial is unfolding days after #Trump was convicted of all counts in his #FalsifiedBusinessRecords 2016 #ElectionInterference trial in #NewYork.
Trump has vocally criticized the trial as “rigged”….
"He's trying to undermine it" #POTUS said re Trump. “He got a fair trial. The jury spoke."
Today is the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landing at #Normandy, #France, where ~160k #Allied troops pulled off the largest invasion by sea in history. From that point on #America was in charge of #AlliedForces & it was the beginning of the end of #WWII
When you travel to that battlefield & visit other #WWII memorials & cemeteries in #Europe you will see what great care is taken to ensure the memories of those #sacrifices are honored w/daily maintenance & #respect. This is likely the last big #DDay celebration featuring WWII #veterans who are almost all centenarians…. Some are traveling to the ceremonies & will be honored by all the dignitaries like #POTUS Joe #Biden, British PM Rishi #Sunak, Canadian PM #Trudeau & #KingCharlesII of Britain.
The #Republican leaders of the House Oversight & Accountability, Judiciary & Ways & Means cmtes sent a letter to the #DOJ recommending the prosecution of #HunterBiden & #JamesBiden….
#Biden calls #America’s democratic values the “grounding wire of our global power” & its #alliances “our greatest asset.” …#Trump, called for withdrawing American forces in #Europe & #Asia & has promised… to cut loose even our closest #allies if they don’t do as he tells them. …Trump sees all countries as unreliable, the relations between them #transactional. That sentiment has spread throughout a #GOP that once championed America’s values abroad…
#POTUS#Biden, asked whether #Israel PM Benjamin #Netanyahu was prolonging the #war in #Gaza in an effort to hold on to #power & stay in office, said that he believed “there is every reason for people to draw that conclusion.”
Big show of family support on the 1st day of #HunterBiden’s trial.
In addition to #POTUS’ statement, Hunter’s wife, Melissa Cohen, his sister Ashley Biden, his friend Kevin Morris, Peter Neal, who is married to Hunter’s daughter Naomi, & #FLOTUS Dr. #JillBiden are in attendance.
President #Biden will be in Wilmington, DL, w/no appearances scheduled. But he has given no indication that he would be in the courthouse — a possibility that would require considerable security arrangements.
Inside the courtroom, #HunterBiden has been surrounded by family members. At each break he has walked over to give a hug & kiss to his mother, FLOTUS Dr #JillBiden & embraces his wife, Melissa Cohen.
His uncle Jack Owens is there, as is his son-in-law, Peter Neal; Fran Person, a fmr aid to his father; his close friend Kevin Morris; Ricky “Mouse” Smith, a close family friend who has known #POTUS#Biden for decades.
Family members have been taking notes & listening closely.
In #HunterBiden’s trial, jury selection highlights #UnitedStates’ drug epidemic
The nation’s political divisions were also laid bare as 6 men & 6 women were chosen…. #JurySelection for the trial of #POTUS#Biden’s son Hunter turned into an impromptu but painful indictment of the nation’s drug epidemic, w/person after person telling the court of their loved ones’ battles w/ #addiction.
Many offered their own versions of a written statement from #POTUS#Biden…. He said he found his son’s #recovery from #addiction inspiring & knew that many families of addicts could relate to #HunterBiden’s journey.
“My daughter’s been given a 2nd chance,” said one prospective juror who was not chosen for the panel, but like many others said his experience watching a family member struggle w/drugs would not prevent him from judging Hunter Biden fairly. “Everyone deserves a 2nd chance.”
#POTUS#Biden addressed #Trump’s #conviction & said “the American principle that no one is above the #law was reaffirmed.”
“The #justice system should be respected, & we should never allow anyone to tear it down. It’s as simple as that,” Biden said.
“It’s reckless, it’s dangerous & it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the #verdict,” Biden asserted. “Our justice system has endured for nearly 250 years, & it literally is the cornerstone of #America.”
#POTUS underscored #Trump “was given every opportunity to defend himself” & the case “was heard by a jury of…12 people like you & millions of Americans who serve on juries…chosen the same way every jury in America” is chosen.
“The jury heard 5 weeks of evidence, 5 weeks, & after careful deliberation, the jury reached a #unanimous verdict. They found Donald Trump #guilty on all 34 #felony counts. Now, he’ll be given the opportunity, as he should, to #appeal that decision….”
The #UnitedStates is actively weighing whether to lift one of #POTUS#Biden’s longest-held precautionary measures of the #Ukraine war: a ban on the use of #US provided #weapons for offensive strikes inside #Russia.
The reassessment is a byproduct of Russia’s renewed cross-border assault on #Kharkiv, a chorus of pressure from #EU ofcls & a visit to Kyiv by Secy of State #Blinken that reinforced the peril facing Ukraine….
Starlink terminals continue to be sold in #Russia, used to kill Ukrainians.
Despite assurances from marketplaces that the terminals are not available for ordering and the Russian authorities' ban on using the systems, some sellers are putting the terminals up for sale under a different brand so that they will not be removed from the trading floor.
Only on the Russian marketplace "Ozon" managed to find 12 #Starlink terminals at a price of $1600.