International
Biden predicts final-hour shift to Democrats before midterms
| By AFP |
President Joe Biden on Friday predicted a final-hour shift in favor of the Democrats in the midterm elections, saying that the economy, seen as the party’s weakest issue, is steadily improving.
“It’s been back and forth, with them ahead, us ahead, them ahead, back and forth,” Biden told reporters at the White House, three weeks before elections deciding control of Congress.
“Polls have been all over the place. I think we’re going to see one more shift back to our side in the closing days,” Biden said.
Recent polls show momentum rising on the Republican side, with voters increasingly anxious about high inflation and likely to punish the Democrats. Biden’s party currently has a razor-thin majority in Congress but Republican leaders say they will block his legislation if they take over the legislature.
In fiery remarks predicting that the Republicans would “crash the economy” if they are in charge of Congress, Biden said voters were starting to see “some good news in the economy” and would return to supporting Democrats in time for voting day November 8.
Biden listed gradually falling gasoline prices, low unemployment across most of the country, and Friday’s news of “the largest-ever decline in the federal deficit.”
The deficit reduction is “further proof that we’re rebuilding the economy in a responsible way,” he said.
Republicans, he said, will eliminate the minimum tax rate for big corporations and “double down” on tax cuts for the most wealthy.
Referring to former president Donald Trump’s far-right Make America Great Again or MAGA movement, Biden said the Republican economic plan was “mega-MAGA trickle-down” economics — “the kind of policies that have failed the country before and will fail again.”
The Republicans quickly shot back, citing Biden’s “flailing dishonesty.”
“Republican-led states continue to keep Americans working, children in schools, and small businesses operating, while Biden and Democrats created a recession, historic inflation, and high gas prices. This election is about the economy,” Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement.
In a speech to mostly African American students at Delaware State University in his home state Friday, Biden highlighted two recent widely popular measures that the White House says show the president keeping his own election promises.
A ruling to forgive $10,000 of university student loans — $20,000 for poorer students — will “make sure you have a shot,” Biden said. Referring to Republican opposition, Biden underlined his populist message, insisting “I will never apologize for helping working and middle class Americans.”
The Democrat also touted his decision to pardon thousands of Americans convicted of marijuana possession — a longtime demand of Black rights activists who point out the disproportionate impact of criminalizing possession of cannabis on Black people.
“I’m keeping my promise that no one, no one should be in jail for barely using or possessing marijuana,” he said.
International
Merengue concert turns to mourning as Jet Set collapse claims 136 lives
Dominican rescue teams will end search and recovery operations on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at the Jet Set nightclubin Santo Domingo, where the building collapsed during a live concert.
Authorities estimate that the final 20 bodies will be recovered from the rubble today, bringing the official death toll to 136. This includes 12 additional bodies found overnight in the disaster zone, adding to the previously confirmed 124 fatalities.
Outside the collapsed nightclub, desperate relatives of the missing continue to gather, clinging to hope for news. Many also visited nearby hospitals and morgues in search of their loved ones.
A list of confirmed victims has been posted on a tent set up near the site, where the bodies are being transferred for identification.
The tragedy occurred during a performance by renowned merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was among the deceased.
Central America
Colombia to host fourth EU-CELAC Summit in November
The Fourth Summit between the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) will take place on November 9 and 10 in Santa Marta, Colombia, according to a joint statement released Wednesday by the Colombian government and the European Council.
The summit will be co-chaired by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in his role as pro tempore president of CELAC, and European Council President António Costa, the statement added.
The last EU-CELAC summit took place in July 2023 in Brussels, when both blocs agreed to hold these meetings every two years.
The summit brings together the 27 EU member states and the 33 CELAC countries, representing 14% of the global population, 21% of global GDP, and one-third of the members of the United Nations, the communiqué noted.
International
Russia and US to Meet in Istanbul for Diplomatic Talks on April 10
The Kremlin confirmed today a forthcoming meeting with the United States to discuss the normalization of diplomatic relations, which will take place in Istanbul.
“Our participation will be through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said Dmitry Peskov, the presidential spokesperson, during his daily telephone press conference.
Peskov was responding to a question about who would represent Russia in the new round of negotiations, which is supposedly scheduled for April 10.
Subsequently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the delegations will be led by the Russian ambassador to the U.S., Alexandr Darchiev, and the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Sonata Coulter.
These are the same negotiators who met in late February in Istanbul, where the expert-level negotiation format was the same, according to the source.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had said a few days ago that the next meeting would be held in the Turkish city, though he did not confirm a date.
Lavrov, who participated in only one of these meetings, clarified that the upcoming discussions would address the issues still dividing Moscow and Washington diplomatically, referring to the operations of both countries’ embassies.
The Kremlin asserted that Washington has not yet responded to Russia’s security concerns, preventing a ceasefire declaration on land, sea, and air.
Meanwhile, Trump expressed discontent with Russia’s recent attacks, including one last week that killed 20 people in Krivi Rig, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
So far, Russia has rejected a cessation of hostilities and only declared a 30-day ceasefire on March 18 against attacks on energy infrastructure, which was extended by Kyiv a week later.
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