International
Biden urges Democrats to end the internal drama and focus on beating Trump
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, on Monday urged Democrats to put an end to the internal “drama” and focus on defeating former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) in next November’s elections, instead of questioning his candidacy.
Biden made these statements in a two-page letter addressed to members of his party in Congress and in which he argued that “the question of how to move forward has been raised publicly for more than a week” and it is time for “this to end.”
The president stressed that the party has “a single task”: to defeat Trump at the polls.
“Any weakness in our resolution or lack of clarity about the task ahead of us only helps Trump and harms us. It’s time to unite, move forward as a unified party and defeat Donald Trump,” he said in the letter, distributed by his campaign.
Biden’s team proposed to hold the electoral debate on June 27 in advance, months earlier than usual in presidential campaigns, with the aim of reassuring voters concerned about the age of the president, who at 81 years old is the longest-lived in the history of the United States.
However, the meeting, in which Biden spoke in a hoarse voice and showed difficulty concluding some sentences, had the opposite effect, with television commentators, influential columnists and the editorial board of The New York Times asking him to end his campaign to make way for another candidate to face Trump in November.
So far, a total of nine congressmen have asked Biden to leave the contest. Four of them, Democrats who occupy important positions on committees of the Lower House, did so privately on Sunday in a call with the leader of the minority in that hemicycle, Hakeem Jeffries, local media such as CNN and CBS reported.
One of those four high-level congressmen, Adam Smith, made his position public on Monday in an interview on CNN, becoming the highest-ranking Democrat to do so publicly.
“I think I should retire. I think it has become clear that he is not the best person to convey the Democratic message,” he said.
After the dissemination of the letter, Biden gave a telephone interview to the MSNBC network’s ‘Morning Joe’ program, where he insisted that the “average Democrats” want him to continue and expressed his frustration with the calls of members of his party to withdraw.
“They are important names, but I don’t care what those big names think,” Biden said.
Currently, according to a survey by The New York Times and Siena College, after the debate against Trump, the Democrats are divided on whether Biden should continue to be the party’s candidate for the presidency, with 48% in favor and 47% supporters of another candidate.
Biden has made it clear that he does not plan to withdraw from the campaign and influential figures of the Democratic Party, such as former President Barack Obama (2009-2017), have closed ranks around him.
Meanwhile, Trump has maintained a low profile with fewer public statements than usual since the debate. This week, however, it will break its silence with two campaign rallies, one on Tuesday in Doral (Florida) and another on Saturday in Butler, in the key state of Pennsylvania.
These two great acts occur just as expectations grow that you will announce your running mate. According to The Washington Post, Trump’s campaign plans to announce the vice presidential candidate before July 15, the first day of the Republican national convention.
According to the Post, the campaign has focused its attention on two senators: J.D. Vance, from Ohio, and Marco Rubio, from Florida.
International
Police investigate deaths of Rob Reiner and wife as apparent homicide
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the deaths of Hollywood actor and filmmaker Rob Reinerand his wife as an “apparent homicide,” amid a wave of tributes to the director of classics such as When Harry Met Sally.
According to U.S. media reports on Sunday, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles mansion with what appeared to be stab wounds.
Several political figures shared messages of condolence following the reported deaths of the director of A Few Good Menand his wife.
While the LAPD did not officially confirm the identities of the victims, it stated that homicide detectives were dispatched to the Reiner residence.
“At this time, no additional details are available and the investigation into an apparent homicide is ongoing,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that no arrests have been made and that no individuals are currently being questioned as suspects.
“I’m not going to confirm whether anyone is being questioned at this moment or not. We are going to try to speak with as many family members as we can,” Hamilton said.
CNN reported that a family spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Reiner and his wife.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and former Vice President Kamala Harrisissued statements expressing their condolences.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
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