International
President Biden announces campaign for re-election in 2024
April 25 |
After months of hinting at a possible candidacy, U.S. President Joe Biden officially announced Tuesday that he will seek a second term in the upcoming 2024 elections.
In a three-minute video announcing his candidacy, Biden, explained that, “When I ran for president four years ago, I said we were in a battle for the soul of America.
“And we still are. The question we face is whether in the years ahead we will have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or less,” he pointed out.
The video links images of the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill to protests over the Supreme Court decision that struck down abortion rights.
At 80, Biden is the oldest person to hold the office of president, a point that has given Democrats pause, questioning, at times, whether he gives them the best chance to win.
Rank-and-file Democratic voters began to coalesce around the president as his intention to run became clear.
Biden’s entry now sets up a possible rematch with former President Donald Trump, who announced in November that he would also run for office again. Trump is expected to face a vigorous primary election in the Republican party, although he remains the candidate to beat.
The announcement comes four years after the launch of Biden’s 2020 campaign, which he also declared via video. But unlike 2020, when there were already 19 other candidates in the crowded race, Biden is not expected to face any serious Democratic contenders this time around.
The country’s vice president, Kamala Harris, also announced that she will run for vice president and said that, as Americans, they believe their “democracy will only be as strong as the will to fight for it.”
International
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that it will begin construction in September on a new 8,000-square-meter ballroom at the White House.
The announcement was made by Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press secretary, during a briefing in which she explained that the expansion responds to the need for a larger venue to host “major events.”
“Other presidents have long wished for a space capable of accommodating large gatherings within the White House complex… President Trump has committed to solving this issue,” Leavitt told reporters.
The project is estimated to cost $200 million, fully funded through donations from Trump himself and other “patriots,” according to a government statement. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed before Trump’s term ends in 2028.
The Clark Construction Group, a Virginia-based company known for projects such as the Capital One Arena and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., has been selected to lead the project.
The new ballroom will be built on the East Wing of the White House, expanding the iconic residence with a space designed for state dinners, official ceremonies, and large-scale events.
International
Three salvadorans in Florida sentenced in $146 million construction tax fraud scheme
Three Salvadoran residents living in Orlando, Florida, were sentenced for conspiracy to commit tax fraud and wire fraud involving a scheme exceeding $146 million in the construction industry, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. The sentence was handed down by federal judge Timothy J. Corrigan on Tuesday, July 29.
Eduardo Aníbal Escobar (45) was sentenced to 4 years and 9 months in prison, Carlos Alberto Rodríguez (36) to 3 years and 4 months, and Adelmy Tejada (57) to 18 months in prison, followed by 6 months of house arrest. All three pled guilty on April 3, 2025.
In addition to the prison terms, the court ordered restitution payments totaling $36,957,616 to the IRS for unpaid payroll taxes, and $397,895 to two insurers for workers’ compensation claims related to the scheme.
Escobar and Rodríguez are permanent legal residents originally from El Salvador, while Tejada is a naturalized U.S. citizen of Salvadoran origin.
International
Kremlin hails preparedness after Kamchatka quakes leave no casualties
The Kremlin expressed relief that the earthquakes that struck Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula today —the first being the strongest since 1952— resulted in no casualties, and emphasized that the region is well prepared to face such natural disasters.
“Thank God, there were no victims,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during his daily press briefing.
The presidential representative stated that “all alert systems were activated in time, and evacuations were organized for residents in areas requiring it in response to tsunami threats.”
“Overall, the seismic resilience of the buildings proved effective (…) Therefore, we can say that the technological preparedness demonstrated a high level,” Peskov added.
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