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Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has filed paperwork to launch his 2024 presidential bid. Mr Christie, who faces long odds in the competition for the GOP nomination, is expected to formally kick off his campaign during a town hall in New Hampshire. Mr Christie plans to focus on the Granite State, an early primary state that he hopes will help give his campaign momentum. Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, leads the increasingly crowded GOP field. But Mr Christie will look to position himself as a more moderate alternative to Mr Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who recently launched his own GOP presidential bid. At one point, Mr Christie appeared to be in the running for an administration post in Mr Trump’s government, rumoured to be a top contender for the positions of attorney general or potentially secretary of state. But the former governor has since become a vocal critic of the former president, who faces criminal charges in New York City and the prospect of additional charges at the federal level and in Georgia. In the days immediately following January 6, he urged his fellow Republicans to impeach the president for whom he had once considered working, on the grounds of inciting an insurrection — a highly serious charge that ended up going further than even the select committee formed to investigate the attack would later recommend in its referral to the Department of Justice. Just as recently as March, the ex-governor was laying out what he believed was necessary to stop Mr Trump from attaining the GOP nomination, something many in the party’s donor class are hoping to avoid given the president’s performance in 2020 and the woeful showing by the Republican Party in the 2022 midterms. “You better have somebody on that stage who can do to him what I did to Marco [Rubio], because that's the only thing that's gonna defeat Donald Trump,” he said at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College. “And that means you have to be fearless, because he will come back, and right at you.” His comments referred to the infamous moment during a February 2016 Republican debate wherein Mr Christie battled a then-surging Senator Marco Rubio onstage — in a series of brutal takedowns, the governor deconstructed his opponent’s debating approach and eviscerated it, leaving the crowd jeering as the senator attempted to respond. It was a moment that quickly cemented itself in political debating history, but ultimately proved next to meaningless given that both men would be utterly overwhelmed in the contest by another man on the stage that night: Donald Trump. And it remains unclear whether that same mastery of the debate stage demonstrated by Mr Christie will serve him well against Mr Trump. In one famous instance from the 2020 contests, Mr Trump bullied his way through an initial debate with now-President Joe Biden, talking over his opponent and ignoring the rules and moderator. Matching Mr Trump’s energy both onstage and off has turned into a major challenge for Republicans, including both those who seek to end his dominance of the GOP and those who wish to emulate his style for their own gain. Though Mr Christie is a veteran of the presidential campaign universe, his chances of winning the GOP nomination are slim. He is currently polling around 1 percent in surveys of the Republican field which include him; the vast majority of voters are currently aligned behind Mr Trump and his second-place challenger, Florida’s Ron DeSantis. Read More Chris Christie –live: Former New Jersey Gov launches Trump spoiler 2024 presidential bid Chris Christie gave Trump legitimacy. Now he can’t stop Trump in 2024 Tim Scott and TV host spar about systemic racism on ‘The View’: ‘That is a dangerous, offensive, disgusting message’ Chris Christie gave Trump legitimacy. Now he can’t stop Trump in 2024 Trump secret papers crisis is his own fault for ‘jerking around’ DOJ says his former attorney general Trump threatens former lawyer who told CNN he expected indictment: ‘Angry, nasty, libelous’

Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Tuesday 6 June marking his official entrance into the 2024 presidential race– hours before his official kickoff announcement in New Hampshire. Mr Christie, 60, will formally announce his campaign during a town hall in Manchester Tuesday evening. According to reports, the former governor will focus his attention in New Hampshire, an early primary state, in the hopes to give his long-shot campaign momentum. This is the second time Mr Christie has made a bid for the White House, the first being in 2016 when he lost to former president Donald Trump. Though Mr Christie lent his support to Mr Trump in 2016 when he dropped out of the race, he has since changed his opinion of the former president and become a vocal critic of Mr Trump. Likely, the former New Jersey governor will position himself as a moderate Republican alternative to Mr Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

A federal judge has given the Department of Homeland Security until next Tuesday to decide how it will handle a conservative think tank's request for Prince Harry's US immigration records.

Republican Rep. George Santos of New York, who was indicted on charges of wire fraud and money laundering, has lost his effort to keep the public from learning the names of the people who put up his $500,000 bond, according to court records.

DAKAR (Reuters) -Senegal has temporarily closed its consulates abroad following attacks on diplomatic missions in Bordeaux, Milan, Paris and New

Louisiana's Republican-led legislature Tuesday passed a ban on gender-affirming care for most minors in the state, sending the bill to a Democratic governor who has signaled opposition to the legislation but faces a GOP supermajority with the numbers to override his veto power.

A bloc of Republican hardliners took down the GOP leadership's efforts on two bills this week, a move they said was retaliation for Speaker Kevin McCarthy's deal with President Joe Biden to suspend the national debt limit.

US and western officials see signs that Ukraine's long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia is beginning and have noted a "substantial increase in fighting" in the east of the country over the last 48 hours as Ukrainian troops probe for weaknesses in Russian defensive lines, a senior NATO official said on Tuesday.

Embattled congressman George Santos has been told by a judge that the identities of the trio who paid his $500,000 bail must be publically revealed. Mr Santos, a Republican from New York, pleaded not guilty last month to federal charges of defrauding his campaign supporters, lying to obtain unemployment money and making false statements on congressional disclosure forms. Magistrate Judge Anne Shields ruled on Tuesday that Mr Santos has until 12pm on Friday to appeal her decision at which point the names would be unsealed. Lawyers for Mr Santos had argued on Monday that the names should not be made public, stating that they“truly fear for their health, safety and well being.” The lawmaker’s attorney, Joseph Murray previously said that Mr Santos would rather go to jail ahead of his criminal trial than let the names become public. “My client would rather surrender to pretrial detainment than subject these suretors to what will inevitably come,” Mr Murray had said. Read More Judge rules to release names of Rep. Santos bond cosigners, will say secret for now as appeal mulled Lawyer says George Santos would go to jail to keep identities of cosigners secret AP News Digest 4 am

Thousands gathered by the beaches of Normandy on Tuesday to remember those who died fighting for freedom in World War II, ceremonies that had renewed meaning as speakers, including US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, pointed to parallels with Ukraine's war against Russia.

More than $100 million in funding has been distributed for repairs to Jackson, Mississippi's beleaguered water system, President Joe Biden announced Tuesday, the first tranche of more than half a billion dollars appropriated by Congress.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, the onetime loyal sideman to twice-impeached ex-president Donald Trump, will kick off his own attempt to win election to the nation’s top job this week when he formally announces his campaign at a Des Moines, Iowa event on Wednesday. Mr Pence’s announcement will come just days after he made his candidacy official by filing the necessary paperwork with the Federal Election Commission. The ex-Indiana governor’s presidential ambitions are nothing new, with Mr Pence having teased a presidential run for months during a string of public appearances. But the advent of an actual campaign changes the Republican landscape by putting him in direct competition with Mr Trump, his former running-mate. Mr Pence, 63, served as a member of the House of Representatives between 2001 and 2013 and as Indiana’s governor between 2013 and 2017 but first rose to international attention as Mr Trump’s running-mate in 2016. The pair always made for an unlikely double act, with Mr Pence’s quiet, respectful demeanour and devout evangelical Christian faith utterly at odds with the trash-talking New Yorker’s taste for celebrity, glitzy decor and vulgar showmanship. But Mr Pence remained at his boss’ side throughout his tumultuous one-term presidency, a source of constant support until even his loyalty was tested beyond breaking point by the events of 6 January 2021. After losing the electoral vote to Democrat Joe Biden the previous November by 306 to 232 and the popular vote by 81.3 million ballots to 74.2 million, Mr Trump immediately and baselessly began to insist the contest had been “rigged” in a vast nationwide conspiracy orchestrated by his opponents. Two months of farcical legal proceedings led by a ragtag group of misfit attorneys — most notably among them ex-New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani — ended with a whimper, as Mr Trump’s allies entirely failed to offer a court any argument that satisfied the legal requirements to bring lawsuits challenging the election, much less any proof of the fraud they’d alleged. Increasingly desperate, the president was caught on tape exerting pressure on Georgia’s secretary of state to “find” additional votes in that crucial swing state, before turning his attention to his own deputy, Mr Pence, whom he called upon to weaponise his ceremonial position overseeing a joint session of Congress on 6 January to ratify the election results. Demanding that Mr Pence rule the election results null and void, Mr Trump piled on the public pressure in a series of tweets and in person on the campaign trail, presumably knowing his vice president was reluctant to follow orders. “I hope Mike Pence comes through for us,” Mr Trump said in Georgia. “I hope our great vice president comes through for us. He’s a great guy. Of course, if he doesn’t come through, I won’t like him very much.” Mr Pence refused to comply, instead writing a letter to Congress in which he explained: “I do not believe that the founders of our country intended to invest the vice president with unilateral authority to decide which electoral votes should be counted during the joint session of Congress, and no vice president in American history has ever asserted such authority.” On the day the US Capitol was stormed by enraged Trump supporters attempting to stop the ratification, some participants even erected a gallows and chanted “Hang Mike Pence!” on the National Mall. “To those who wreaked havoc in our Capitol today: you did not win,” Mr Pence responded in the aftermath, sounding far more presidential than Mr Trump. “Violence never wins. Freedom wins. And this is still the people’s house. And as we reconvene in this chamber the world will again witness the resilience and strength of our democracy.” The two men held clear-the-air talks five days after the failed insurrection but their relationship has clearly never recovered. Speaking at a Republican dinner in New Hampshire in June 2021, Mr Pence told his audience: “You know, President Trump and I have spoken many times since we left office. And I don’t know if we’ll ever see eye to eye on that day.” Mr Pence was born in Columbus, Indiana, on 7 June 1959, one of six children born to Edward and Nancy Pence and is a graduate of Hanover College and the Indiana University School of Law. He married his wife Karen in 1985 and the couple have three children: Michael, Charlotte and Audrey. His net wealth has been estimated at $4m, modest compared to some prominent politicians, but has been enhanced post-presidency after he signed a two-book deal with publishing giant Simon & Schuster, thought to be worth around $3-4m, according to industry insiders. Mr Pence will now find himself in competition not only with Mr Trump but also the likes of Florida governor Ron DeSantis, former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, South Carolina senator Tim Scott, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and ex-radio pundit Larry Elder. Ex-New Jersey governor Chris Christie is expected to enter the GOP primary race this week as well. Read More Mike Pence files paperwork to jump into crowded 2024 GOP primary race DeSantis, Pence and other GOP 2024 hopefuls, but not Trump, set to appear at Iowa rally Trump reacts to report Pence won’t face charges for classified documents: ‘I’m at least as innocent as he is’ Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement