WASHINGTON: Kamala Harris spoke slowly but bluntly as she stared at Joe Biden, then began treating him as a hostile witness.
The former federal prosecutor turned California senator started by saying she didn’t think the former vice president “was a racist.” But she criticized him for recently “defending segregationists” in the Senate and for once opposing mandatory busing of students to desegregated public schools.
Harris described a young girl in the 1970s who boarded such buses before dramatically offering, “That little girl was me.”
The moment was as powerful as it was unexpected, a searing line of attack against Biden, who served as vice president to the first African American president. Biden entered back-to-back nights of Democratic presidential debates in Miami as the leading Democratic candidate. Harris showed promise but had not made much of a mark lately.
That changed Thursday.
That Harris and other Democratic presidential hopefuls would come out swinging against Biden was no surprise, and her verbal strike was hardly spontaneous. Moments after the exchange, her campaign tweeted a picture of a school-age Harris with pigtails, over the caption: “There was a little girl in California who was bussed to school. That little girl was me.”
In deeply personal tones, Harris hammered Biden for policy choices that she suggested betrayed the spirit of the civil rights movement, if not directly opposing all it stood for. Then she really hit her stride, exhibiting the controlled force of a practiced cross-examiner.
“Do you agree today that you were wrong to oppose busing in America?” Harris asked.
A visibly angry Biden responded that his record was mischaracterized. But he was left denying Harris’ comments on a technicality, saying he didn’t oppose public school busing, just it being ordered by the Department of Education — decrying federal intervention on the issue on behalf of states.
Harris shot back, “There are moments in history where states fail to support the civil rights of people.”
Biden offered only curt responses after that, and was so flustered that he failed to lean on his time as Obama’s vice president — seeming unsure of himself for prolonged stretches on national television.
Senior advisers to Biden insisted afterward that they weren’t surprised by the confrontation with Harris and were satisfied with his response in the time allowed. They noted that while he dismissed Harris’ characterization of his relationship with segregationist senators in his early years in the Senate more than 45 years ago, Biden appeared to be listening while she criticized his position on busing.
“I thought it was an important moment. He listened. And you don’t judge other people’s pain,” said Cedric Richmond, Biden’s campaign chairman.
Richmond added that, had Biden had more time, he would have spent it discussing his campaign’s focus on educational opportunity, and his work in the Obama administration curbing disproportionate school arrests of African American students.
“We know that we are the front-runner and that people are going to try to bring the front-runner down,” said Richmond, a Louisiana congressman. “Since when is experience and wisdom a bad thing?“
Adding to the drama, though, was the fact that Harris and Biden have long been friends. She grew close to the former vice president’s son, Beau, during their time as state attorneys general. Harris served in California while Beau Biden was serving in Delaware. The two were partners during negotiations with banks amid the foreclosure crisis and Harris texted and talked with Beau Biden daily, sometimes more, before his death in 2015 after being diagnosed with brain cancer.
When Joe Biden endorsed Harris during her 2016 Senate race, he noted that his son “always supported her.”
At a fundraiser last week, Biden hailed the importance of “civility” in politics, mentioning that he worked decades ago alongside senators who supported segregation. Biden has been roundly criticized by members of his own party for the comments, but hasn’t apologized.
Others also tried to hit Biden during Thursday’s debate. Mere moments into the action, 38-year-old California Rep. Eric Swalwell recalled being just 6 when he saw Biden speak, saying the ex-vice president was “right when he said it was time to pass the torch to a new generation of Americans.”
Biden, 76, was better prepared for quips about his age, retorting, “I’m still holding onto that torch.” Subsequently jumping to Biden’s defense was 77-year-old Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who said the issue “is not generational.”
Harris appeared to want to defuse things, saying: “Hey, guys. You wanna know what America does not want to witness? A food fight. They want to know how they’re going to put food on the table.”
But that only set the stage for Harris’ dramatic exchange with Biden later.
Afterward, even some of Harris’ rivals praised her performance. New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said, “What Kamala said was a fair shot.”
Kamala Harris gets personal, delivers civil rights blow on Biden at Democrats' presidential debate
Kamala Harris gets personal, delivers civil rights blow on Biden at Democrats' presidential debate
- Senator Harris criticized Biden for recently “defending segregationists” in the Senate
- Biden, a former vice president, responded that his record was mischaracterized
US State Dept denies deleting data on halted program tracking abducted Ukrainian children
- Department denies deleting data, says it wasn’t holding it
- Yale research report links Putin to adoption program for deported Ukrainian children
WASHINGTON: The US State Department on Wednesday denied that data collected in a government-funded program that helps track thousands of abducted Ukrainian children had been deleted, but acknowledged that the effort had been terminated as part of Washington’s sweeping freeze on almost all foreign aid.
In a letter addressed to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Democratic lawmakers sounded alarm that the data from the repository might have been permanently deleted.
Speaking at a daily press briefing, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said suggestions that data was deleted were false.
“The data exists,” Bruce said. “It was not in the State Department’s control. It was the people running that framework, but we know who is running the data and the website, and we know fully that the data exists and it’s not been deleted and it’s not missing.”
Bruce also suggested that President Donald Trump by bringing up the issue in a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier on Wednesday may mean cooperation between the two countries on the topic could continue.
“The president of the most powerful country in the world, saying, I’m going to do something here... I think that’s a pretty good, clear indication that we can still work on issues that matter and make them happen without it being in a certain structure that has existed,” she said.
The research program conducted by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab was part of an effort that began under President Joe Biden to document potential violations of international law and crimes against humanity by Russia and Russia-aligned forces in its invasion of Ukraine.
The Trump administration paused the program on January 25, the unnamed State Department spokesperson said in an email, as the Republican president ordered a broad review to prevent what he says is wasteful spending of US taxpayer dollars with causes that do not align with US interests.
“Following a review, the US Department of State decided to terminate the foreign assistance award supporting the Ukraine Conflict Observatory,” a different spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the data resides on a platform owned by MITRE, a non-governmental organization that operates research and development centers, according to its website.
“To the best of MITRE’s knowledge and belief, the research data that was compiled has not been deleted and is currently maintained by a former partner on this contract,” it said in a statement.
Researches lose access
In his call with Zelensky, Trump inquired about the children who had gone missing from Ukraine during the war, including the ones that had been abducted, the White House said in a statement.
“President Trump promised to work closely with both parties to help make sure those children were returned home,” the White House said.
Ukraine has called the abductions of tens of thousands of its children taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians a war crime that meets the UN treaty definition of genocide.
Russia has said it has been evacuating people voluntarily and to protect vulnerable children from the war zone.
The decision to stop the program means researchers will lose access to a trove of information, including satellite imagery and other data, about some 30,000 children taken from Ukraine, the lawmakers said in their letter.
Last December, a report produced as a result of the research said Russian presidential aircraft and funds were used in a program that took children from occupied Ukrainian territories, stripped them of Ukrainian identity and placed them with Russian families.
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for the alleged war crime of deportation of Ukrainian children.
Malaysia agrees on terms for restarting MH370 wreckage search
- The decision will enable commencement of seabed search operations in a new location estimated to cover 15,000 sq km in the southern Indian Ocean
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has agreed to terms and conditions of an agreement with exploration firm Ocean Infinity to resume the search for the wreckage of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, its transport minister said on Wednesday. Flight MH370, a Boeing 777, was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew when it vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014 in one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.
The decision will enable commencement of seabed search operations in a new location estimated to cover 15,000 sq km (5,790 sq miles) in the southern Indian Ocean, based on a “no find, no fee” principle, Minister Loke Siew Fook said.
Ocean Infinity will receive $70 million if the wreckage is successfully located, he said.
“The government is committed to continuing the search operation and providing closure for the families of the MH370 passengers,” Loke said in a statement. The government in December said it had agreed in principle with Ocean Infinity’s proposal to resume the hunt for MH370. The firm had conducted the last search for the plane that ended in 2018 but failed on two attempts.
Those followed an underwater search by Malaysia, Australia and China in a 120,000 sq km (46,332 sq mile) area of the southern Indian Ocean, based on data of automatic connections between an Inmarsat satellite and the plane. A ship that will look for the missing plane was deployed to its Indian Ocean search zone late last month, ship tracking data showed, even though a deal had yet to be signed with the government.
It was not immediately clear how long the search contract with Ocean Infinity would be. Loke had previously said it would cover an 18-month period.
Pope Francis no longer using ventilation, confirmed as improving, Vatican says
- “The clinical conditions of the Holy Father are confirmed to be improving,” said the latest detailed medical update
- The pope’s doctors believe his infection is under control, the Vatican press office said
VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis is no longer using mechanical ventilation for help breathing at night and his doctors believe he will continue to improve, the Vatican said on Wednesday, in the latest positive update as the 88-year-old pontiff battles pneumonia.
Francis has been in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for nearly five weeks for a severe respiratory infection that has required evolving treatment.
“The clinical conditions of the Holy Father are confirmed to be improving,” said the latest detailed medical update on his condition.
The pope had been using non-invasive mechanical ventilation overnight during his hospital stay, which involves placing a mask over the face to help push air into the lungs.
Such ventilation had been “suspended,” the statement said. But it said the pope is still receiving oxygen via a small hose under his nose.
The pope’s doctors believe his infection is under control, the Vatican press office said shortly after the release of the latest statement. The pope does not have a fever and his blood tests are normal, it said.
The pope has been described as being in a stable or improving condition for two weeks, but the Vatican has not yet given a timeframe for his discharge, saying his recovery is going slowly.
Francis is prone to lung infections because he had pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.
He has been receiving both respiratory physiotherapy to help with his breathing and physical therapy to help with his mobility. He has used a wheelchair in recent years due to knee and back pain.
Doctors not involved in Francis’ care said the pope is likely to face a long, fraught road to recovery, given his age and other medical conditions.
US envoy predicts Ukraine ceasefire in ‘couple of weeks’
- Discussions on a possible deal to end Russia-Ukraine war will begin Monday in Saudi Arabia, Witkoff said
- “Ukrainian and American teams are ready to meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to continue coordinating steps toward peace,” Zelensky wrote
WASHINGTON: US envoy Steve Witkoff said technical discussions on a possible deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war will begin Monday in Saudi Arabia, predicting a ceasefire agreement could come as soon as “a couple of weeks.”
“I believe on Monday we actually have the technical teams going” to the Kingdom, Witkoff told Bloomberg Television early Wednesday as he expressed confidence in ongoing negotiations following a telephone call the previous day between US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
“They agreed on a pathway to some ceasefire conditions... and to a full-on ceasefire that will be negotiated over the coming days. I actually think in a couple of weeks we’re going to get to it,” he said.
Witkoff, who is also Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, did not provide details on the upcoming talks in Saudi Arabia. But he said it was time “for the technical teams to dot the I’s and cross the T’s, and everybody is committed to that process.”
Asked by Bloomberg about the prospect of a possible meeting in the Kingdom between Trump and Putin, Witkoff said “my best bet would be it’s likely to happen.” He offered no timeline.
Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on Wednesday also expressed confidence about enacting steps to bring the fighting to an end.
“I spoke today with my Russian counterpart Yuri Ushakov about President Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine,” Waltz posted on X.
“We agreed our technical teams would meet in Riyadh in the coming days to focus on implementing and expanding the partial ceasefire President Trump secured from Russia.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, after his call with Trump on Wednesday, said that officials from Ukraine and the US could meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days for a second round of peace talks.
“Ukrainian and American teams are ready to meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to continue coordinating steps toward peace,” Zelensky wrote on X.
Russia toughens sentence against French banker who left country
- Delpal was sentenced alongside his business partner, US investor Michael Calvey, both of whom vehemently denied the charges
- The case shocked Russia’s business community and triggered an outflow of foreign capital from Russia
MOSCOW: A Moscow court has toughened an embezzlement conviction against a French banker who left the country years earlier, converting his initial suspended sentence to jail time, Russian state media reported Wednesday.
Philippe Delpal, a former senior executive at the Baring Vostok investment group, received a four-and-a-half year suspended sentence in 2021 for allegedly swindling funds from Vostochny Bank — partly owned at the time by a businessman linked to Vladimir Putin.
Delpal was sentenced alongside his business partner, US investor Michael Calvey, both of whom vehemently denied the charges.
The case shocked Russia’s business community and triggered an outflow of foreign capital from Russia.
The latest move, while likely to have little impact, comes as relations between Moscow and Paris plummet to new lows as the Kremlin shifts blame for the three-year Ukraine conflict from the United States to Europe.
Both Calvey and Delpal left Russia once the travel restrictions in their suspended sentences were lifted.
Moscow’s Tverskoy Court on Wednesday replaced Delpal’s initial suspended sentence “with a real one” following a petition from Russia’s federal prison service, Russia’s state TASS news agency reported.
Delpal, who spent six months in jail before he was put under house arrest, received the suspended sentence in 2021.
Five Russian associates who said they were innocent also received suspended sentences of between three-and-a-half years to five years.
A Moscow court later reduced Delpal’s sentence from four-and-a-half years to three-and-a-half-years.
