Joe Manchin fuels speculation around third-party 2024 run with No Labels event
Sen Joe Manchin is continuing to feed speculation about his political future by appearing at an event with No Labels as he weighs whether to make a third-party run for president. The West Virginia Democrat will appear at the event on Monday night in New Hampshire, which holds one of the first presidential nominating contests and is a crucial swing state in the general election. No Labels, a centrist organisation, has pushed for a third-party candidate for president. But some Democrats have feared that a No Labels-backed candidacy would siphon votes away from President Joe Biden and enable former president Donald Trump to win another term as president. In May, the organisation said it opposed Mr Trump’s candidacy. “We don’t believe there is any “equivalency” between President Biden and former President Trump, who is a uniquely divisive force in our politics and who sought to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power after he lost the 2020 election,” the statement written by co-chairmen former senator Joe Lieberman and Benjamin Chavis said. “But we reject the notion that No Labels’ 2024 presidential insurance project would inevitably help former President Trump’s electoral prospects if he were the Republican nominee.” Mr Manchin, a conservative Democrat, has not yet indicated whether he would stage a third-party run for president or seek another term in the Senate. Were he to run in 2024, he would be seeking another term with a Republican at the top of the presidential ticket. In 2020, Mr Trump won every county in West Virginia. Throughout the first two years of Mr Biden’s presidency when Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate, Mr Manchin served as the swing vote in a 50-50 Senate. His opposition to Build Back Better, Democrats’ proposed social spending bill, ultimately killed the legislation. Last year, he and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer resurrected talks that led to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. But since then, Mr Manchin has criticised the Biden administration’s implementation of the law. West Virginia Gov Jim Justice, a former friend of Mr Manchin, announced his candidacy to challenge the incumbent. He is heavily favoured to face Mr Manchin, himself a former governor, in the general election. Mr Manchin has said he will decide his political future by the end of the year. Despite his indecision, he raised $424,485.52 in the most recent fundraising quarter from March to July and he has more than $10.7m in cash on hand. Read More Arizona Democrats file complaint against No Labels over donor secrecy Biden’s economy pitch: Campaign like Reagan while refuting Reagan’s policies
2023-07-17 22:56
Author who duped Greg Abbott with fake Garth Brooks story calls him ‘one of the dumbest people in the country’
Greg Abbott has been branded “one of the dumbest people in the country” by the author of a satirical story about country music star Garth Brooks that was reshared by the Texas governor. Christopher Blair runs the parody website The Dunning-Kruger-Times, which posted the story that Mr Brooks had been booed off the stage at the 123rd Annual Texas Country Jamboree last month after calling his conservative fans “a**holes.” The entire story was made-up - but Mr Abbott didn’t seem to notice. “When I saw [Mr Abbott’s repost], I was besides myself with joy,” Mr Blair told The Guardian. “He’s one of the dumbest people in the country.” “As soon as I wrote the headline, I said to myself that it might be a little bit much,” Mr Blair said. “But it wasn’t.” The Texas governor had tweeted a link to the story on 25 June with the caption: “Garth Brooks Booed Off Stage at 123rd Annual Texas Country Jamboree. Go woke. Go broke.” “Garth called his conservative fans. ‘a**holes’ Good job Texas,” he added. His tweet seemed to refer to a question-and-answer session with the country singer last month in which he said his new bar in Nashville planned to “serve every brand of beer,” shutting down the idea that it wouldn’t serve Bud Light, following the conservative-led boycott of the beer brand. “Our thing is this: If you come into this house, love one another,” Mr Brooks said. “If you’re an a**hole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway to go.” The governor has since deleted his tweet, but reactions to the tweet are still up. Democratic Texas Congressman Greg Casar tweeted: “Gov Abbott just accidentally posted a satire article because he wants to hate on queer Texans and Garth Brooks so bad.” “The Texas Country Jamboree doesn’t exist. Hambriston, Texas is not real. And the Governor is not fit to tweet, much less govern,” he explained. Read More Greg Abbott mocked after falling for hoax story about Garth Brooks being booed off stage Garth Brooks commended for not bowing to anti-LGBT trolls and refusing to boycott Bud Light First Amendment group sues Texas Governor and others over the state's TikTok ban on official devices Wembymania set to hit Las Vegas, as Spurs rookie 'can't wait' for his NBA debut at Summer League Joe Manchin fuels speculation around third-party 2024 run with No Labels event George Santos repays himself $85K raised from lackluster reelection fundraising
2023-07-17 22:54
Lilly drug slows Alzheimer's by 60% for mildly impaired patients in trial
By Deena Beasley (Reuters) -Eli Lilly's experimental drug donanemab slowed the progression of Alzheimer's by 60% for patients in the
2023-07-17 22:15
Stocks Drift as China Economic Recovery Slows: Markets Wrap
US stocks and bonds drifted as more evidence pointed to a slowdown in China’s economy. The country’s gross
2023-07-17 21:48
Why the Crimean Bridge is so important to Vladimir Putin
The Crimean Bridge, which links the annexed peninsula to mainland Russia, was hit by two strikes early Monday in an attack a Ukrainian security official told CNN Kyiv was responsible for.
2023-07-17 21:19
A train derailment outside Philadelphia leads to precautionary evacuations in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Emergency crews are investigating a train derailment in southeast Pennsylvania, the Whitemarsh Township manager said.
2023-07-17 21:18
Sidelining of a key US official adds to uncertainty about Iran nuclear talks
According to a US intelligence assessment published last week, Iran has rapidly expanded its nuclear program since the assassination one of its key scientists in November 2020, but it is not conducting activities that would be necessary to produce a testable nuclear device.
2023-07-17 20:22
‘Finfluencers’ Lead UK Watchdog to Tighten Social Media Rules
The UK markets watchdog said it will update social media guidance to deter “finfluencers” from promoting financial products
2023-07-17 18:55
Gap Opens For Frozen High-Yield Emerging-Market Dollar Deals
The waiting game for some of the riskier emerging-market borrowers is coming to an end. With higher interest
2023-07-17 15:24
Crimea bridge closed following 'emergency'
Russian-installed officials have told people to find other routes into the occupied Ukrainian peninsula.
2023-07-17 11:48
Emergency incident reported on bridge linking Crimea with Russia
An "emergency incident" has been reported on the Crimean Bridge, halting traffic on the only link between the annexed peninsula and Russia, a Moscow-backed official said Monday.
2023-07-17 11:16
Factbox-Crimea Bridge: why is it important and what happened to it
Traffic on the road-and-rail bridge linking Russia and the Crimean peninsula was stopped early on Monday due to
2023-07-17 10:48