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Tag: Speaker Nancy Pelosi

  • US warship sails through Taiwan Strait, angers Beijing

    US warship sails through Taiwan Strait, angers Beijing

    On Thursday, a US warship crossed the Taiwan Strait, which separates Taiwan from the Chinese mainland, drawing ire from Beijing.

    According to the US military, the USS Chung-passage Hoon’s demonstrated US support for a “free and open Indo-Pacific”.

    However, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington claimed the trip was made to “flex muscles” and charged that the US was “undermining peace and stability.”

    Last year, tensions in the Taiwan Strait rose sharply.

    After former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi‘s visit to the island in August, China conducted its largest military drills ever there.

    China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to unify it, by force if necessary. Self-ruled Taiwan sees itself as distinct from the mainland.

    The Chinese military said it had monitored the USS Chung-Hoon’s transit. Its embassy spokesman added the country would “safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

    The vessel is named after Rear Admiral Gordon Pai’ea Chung-Hoon, who served in the US navy during the Second World War.

    Tensions between Washington and Beijing have risen in recent years and Taiwan is a flashpoint in the relationship, with the US walking a diplomatic tightrope on the issue.

    The US abides by the “One China” policy – a cornerstone of the two countries’ diplomatic relationship which recognises only one Chinese government – and has formal ties with Beijing and not Taiwan.

    But it also maintains a “robust unofficial” relationship with the island. That includes selling weapons for Taiwan to defend itself.

    Last month, the US accused a Chinese air force jet of carrying out an unsafe manoeuvre after it flew within 20 feet of a US air force plane over the South China Sea.

    China subsequently accused the US plane of carrying out an unsafe action.

    Source: BBC.com

  • Pelosi announces she will not run for leadership post after GOP wins House

    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will not run for a leadership post, a move that marks the end of an era and sets up a major shakeup for House Democrats.

    In a speech on the House floor Thursday, Pelosi touted the party’s legislative achievements under her leadership before saying: “Now we must move boldly into the future.”

    “The hour’s come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus,” the speaker said.

    Pelosi said she will continue “speaking for the people of San Francisco” as their congresswoman, but not seek re-election to a leadership post.

    Her announcement comes after Democrats lost a majority in the lower chamber but maintained control of the Senate in the 2022 midterms, holding off a potentially larger “red wave.”

    Pelosi said that when she first visited the capital as a child, she never imagined she would go “from a homemaker to House speaker.”

    Source: Ghanaweb.com 

  • Expert: Talks are good for PR, but hold some promise too

    As the sun sets in Bali, Xi and Biden remain ensconced in the Mulia hotel, their meeting approaching the two-hour mark.

    Officials in the United States do not believe it will last much longer. However, with Biden’s press conference scheduled for 21:30 local time (13:30 GMT), it is clear that they are also prepared for talks to last longer if necessary.

    The two are believed to be discussing Taiwan, global economic security, North Korea, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The US also hopes that the meeting will ease tensions that have risen since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August.

    He says it was this method that “played an important role in diplomatic ice-breaking during the Cold War years” – a reference to tension between the US and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies during the mid-20th Century.

    However, “these talks did not necessarily happen at the level of heads of state,” Landry points out.

  • The sun sets as Xi and Biden negotiate

    As the sun sets in Bali, Xi and Biden remain ensconced in the Mulia hotel, their meeting approaching the two-hour mark.

    Officials in the United States do not believe it will last much longer. However, with Biden’s press conference scheduled for 21:30 local time (13:30 GMT), it is clear that they are also prepared for talks to last longer if necessary.

    The two are believed to be discussing Taiwan, global economic security, North Korea, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The US also hopes that the meeting will ease tensions that have risen since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August.

    Biden and US officials have gone to great pains to clearly signal this aim of conciliation in recent days. Biden has stressed repeatedly that the US does not want conflict with Xi, and he told Xi earlier that the US and China must show they “can manage our differences, prevent competition from becoming anything ever near conflict, and to find ways to work together”.

    Biden also said he was “committed to keeping the lines of communication open between you and me personally” as well as their governments across the board, and that the world expected their two countries to play a role in addressing climate challenges and food shortages.

    Xi appears to be on the same page. He acknowledged the China-US relationship was in “such a situation” that it has caused concern, “and it is not what the international community expects of us”.

    “We need to chart the right course for the China-US relationship,” he told Biden, given that “the world has come to a crossroads”.

    Both leaders have basically acknowledged they know what’s fully at stake here, and signalled to the global community that they will act responsibly. We will soon find out what they’ve agreed on – and the path they have set for the rest of us.

  • Paul Pelosi: Online, unsubstantiated claims about attack circulate

    Within hours of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi‘s husband being attacked by a hammer-wielding intruder at the couple’s home, a slew of unsubstantiated claims began to circulate in fringe far-right circles, contradicting the official police account of what happened.

    One of the most widely circulated myths about the attack is that Pelosi and his attacker, David DePape, were in a relationship and had a drunken brawl.

    There is also an online claim that both DePape and Pelosi were in their underwear when police arrived, or that the two men knew each other and were friends prior to the attack.

    But the FBI complaint against DePape quotes a witness as saying he was dressed “in all black” carrying a large black bag on his back, and, according to the complaint, Pelosi did not know DePape.

    Another claim circulating is that two blogs and a Facebook account, which show signs that DePape was radicalised, were fake and only created on the day of the attack to support the narrative that he believed in far-right conspiracy theories.

    But the BBC has screenshots of the blogs which show he had made posts as early as August, weeks before the attack.

    Many of these misleading claims have since gone viral after being amplified by new Twitter chief Elon Musk and a number of conservative influencers.

     

  • Hammer attack: Paul Pelosi attack suspect ‘was on suicide mission’

    Court documents indicate that a man accused of hammering the husband of senior US politician Nancy Pelosi told police he was on a “suicide mission.”

    David DePape, 42, pleaded not guilty in a San Francisco court on Tuesday to attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon against Paul Pelosi, 82.

    He allegedly broke into the couple’s house early Friday morning.

    Court documents say he had planned to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage and break “her kneecaps” if she “lied” to him.

    Mrs Pelosi, who is second in line for the presidency, was on the other side of the country at the time.

    According to court papers cited by US media, Mr DePape told police at the scene that he was sick of the “lies coming out of Washington DC”.

    “I didn’t really want to hurt him, but you know this was a suicide mission,” he allegedly said. “I’m not going to stand here and do nothing, even if it cost me my life.”

    Mr DePape also told police he planned to target several state and federal politicians and members of their families, as well as a local professor, according to the filing.

    No potential targets were named in the court papers.

    Judge Diane Northway of the Superior Court in San Francisco denied Mr DePape bail at Tuesday’s hearing.

    The defendant’s lawyer, Adam Lipson, said his client – who appeared in court with his right arm in a sling – had his shoulder dislocated during his arrest. He has since been moved from the hospital to county jail.

    Mr Pelosi remains in the hospital. Mrs Pelosi has said her husband is “making steady progress on what will be a long recovery process”.

    The charges filed against Mr DePape are being brought by the state of California, but he also faces federal counts of assault and attempting to kidnap Mrs Pelosi. No court date has yet been set for that case.

    The suspect’s lawyer also pleaded not guilty on Tuesday on his client’s behalf to the other charges he faces:

    • Elder abuse
    • Burglary
    • False imprisonment
    • Threatening a public official

    The accused would face 13 years to life in prison if convicted on the state charges and a maximum of 50 years on the federal charges.

    The justice department said the suspect had a roll of tape, white rope, a second hammer, and zip ties in his possession when he was arrested.

    He had been searching for the top Democrat and reportedly shouted “Where is Nancy?” while inside the property.

    According to the authorities, he also told police that if Mrs Pelosi was injured, she would have had to use a wheelchair to enter Congress, which would send a message to other politicians.

    Mrs Pelosi, 82, was in Washington DC but flew back to see her husband in the hospital, where he underwent successful surgery for a skull fracture and injuries to his hands and right arm. The venture capitalist has been married to Mrs Pelosi since 1963.

    Hours after the attack, the US government distributed a bulletin to law enforcement across the nation warning of a “heightened threat” of domestic violent extremism against candidates and election workers driven by individuals with “ideological grievances”.

    A blog, website and social media accounts under the name of the suspect seen by the BBC contained anti-Semitic memes, Holocaust denial, references to far-right websites, and conspiracy theories such as QAnon.

  • Nancy Pelosi’s husband ‘violently assaulted’ after break-in

    The husband of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been “violently assaulted” after a break-in at their California home.

    Paul Pelosi, 82, was taken to hospital and is expected to make a full recovery, a spokesperson said.

    The suspect, who has not been named, is in custody but the motive for the attack is unclear.

    Mrs Pelosi was not at the San Francisco residence when the incident took place on Friday morning.

    “The Speaker and her family are grateful to the first responders and medical professionals involved, and request privacy at this time,” a spokesman for the senior Democrat said.

    Two people who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Associated Press that the attacker had specifically targeted the residence.

    The assailant used a hammer to gain entry, two sources told CBS News, but it is unclear if it was used to attack Mr Pelosi.

    Mrs Pelosi is one of the most powerful politicians in the country. She was re-elected to a fourth term as Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2021, making her second in line to the presidency after Vice-President Kamala Harris.

    The Baltimore native has represented the San Francisco area in Congress since 1987, and typically splits her time between California and Washington.

    She is currently fundraising and campaigning with Democrats around the country ahead of the midterm elections on 8 November, and was in Washington with her security detail at the time of the attack.

    Her husband, the multimillionaire founder of a venture capital firm, resides primarily in San Francisco where he was born and raised.

    The couple have been married since 1963 and have five children. Their combined net worth, primarily from Mr Pelosi’s investments, has made the speaker one of the richest members of Congress.

    The exact circumstances of the attack are unclear and it is not known how the intruder entered the couple’s residence.

    The FBI and the US Capitol Police, which has a field office in California, are assisting San Francisco police with the investigation.

    Members of Congress have been on high-alert over security threats since the riot at the US Capitol in January 2021. Mrs Pelosi’s office in the building was ransacked by supporters of then-President Donald Trump during the attack.

    And last year, her San Francisco home was reportedly vandalised with graffiti saying “cancel rent”.

    Senior Republicans, such as Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, have also been targeted by vandalism in recent times and politicians have raised concerns about an increase in threats.

    FBI agents work outside the home of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
    IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS Image caption, FBI agents work outside the couple’s San Francisco home – the agency and US Capitol Police are assisting the investigation

    In a statement, the White House said President Joe Biden was “praying for Paul Pelosi and for Speaker Pelosi’s whole family”.

    Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate, said: “What happened to Paul Pelosi was a dastardly act. I wish him a speedy recovery.”

    Both added that they had spoken to Mrs Pelosi since the incident.

    Earlier this year, Mr Pelosi was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol and causing injury after he crashed his car. The financier pleaded guilty in August and was sentenced to five days in jail.

    Source: BBC.com