USA news live updates: Ukraine president says he spoke with Biden about sanctions and defence aid – Times of India

Zelensky tells Biden: ‘We must stop the aggressor as soon as possible’

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to US President Joe Biden

“American leadership on anti-Russian sanctions & defense assistance to Ukraine was discussed. We must stop the aggressor as soon as possible,” says Ukraine president. Read more

White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients informed governors on a conference call that Biden is approving the extension of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) support to help continue its efforts like vaccination clinics, mass testing sites and surging hospital resources to deal with local case spikes.

Biden extends FEMA coronavirus aid for states through July 1

President Joe Biden is extending the federal government’s 100% reimbursement of COVID-19 emergency response costs to states, tribes and territories through July 1, the White House announced Tuesday. Read more

White House says barbaric, horrifying actions seen in Ukraine

Blinken also said that China “continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang” against Muslim Uyghurs, and called for U.N. human rights boss Michelle Bachelet to release her office’s report with findings on the situation.

Blinken, addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, said that the forum’s urgent debate on Ukraine scheduled for Thursday, where a resolution brought by Kyiv and allies would set up an international probe into violations, is an “important step toward ensuring documentation and accountability”.

Blinken says Russian ‘crimes’ mounting by hour in Ukraine

Blinken suggests Russia should be stripped of UN rights council membership

Biden will also push the Senate to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

He nominated her last week.

Biden was expected to showcase what he’s done so far – for example, acting to crack down on “ghost guns,” homemade firearms that lack serial numbers used to trace them and are often purchased without a background check.

The president was set to highlight investments in everything from broadband access to bridge construction from November’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law, holding it up as an example of government reaching consensus and delivering change for the American people.

Biden, in his speech, will highlight the progress from a year ago – with the majority of the country now vaccinated and millions more people at work – but also acknowledge that the job is not yet done, a recognition of American discontent.

Biden will address a mostly full and mask-optional crowd in the House chamber, one sign of the easing coronavirus threat.

But he’ll also speak from within a newly fenced Capitol due to renewed security concerns after last year’s insurrection.

Biden would speak about “the importance of the United States as a leader in the world, standing up for values, standing up for global norms, but also the efforts that he has undertaken to mitigate how it will impact people here”, press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.

Biden has planned to highlight the bravery of Ukrainian defenders and the resolve of a newly reinvigorated Western alliance that has worked to rearm the Ukrainian military and impose sanctions on Russia to cripple its economy.

Facing disquiet at home and danger abroad, President Joe Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address at a precipitous moment for the nation, aiming to navigate the country out of a pandemic, reboot his stalled domestic agenda and confront Russia’s aggression.

The speech Tuesday night had initially been conceived by the White House as an opportunity to highlight the improving coronavirus outlook and rebrand Biden’s domestic policy priorities as a way to lower costs for families grappling with soaring inflation. But it has taken on new significance with last week’s Russian invasion of Ukraine and nuclear saber-rattling by Vladimir Putin. Read more

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