Biden planning to release of up to 1m barrels of oil from strategic reserve – latest

After his speech on the Covid-19 pandemic, during which he implored Congress to allocate more funds to the public health response, Joe Biden rolled up his sleeve to receive his second booster shot. The FDA recently approved the added measure for all over-50s and those considered clinically extremely vulnerable.

While being injected, Mr Biden was bombarded with questions about immigration and his call with Volodymyr Zelensky, among other things, but retained his cool.

Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenage gunman who was found not guilty on multiple charges after shooting two people dead at a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020, has complained that Joe Biden is declining to talk to him.

Speaking to right-wing podcast host Jenna Ellis, Mr Rittenhouse said: “I reached out to Joe Biden several times – crickets, nothing,” Mr Rittenhouse told Ms Ellis. “He still hasn’t replied. So it just shows how much of a man he is to not sit down and talk.”

He has previously accused the president of defaming him via an ad that used an image of him holding his gun at the protest while warning of “white supremacy”. On Ms Ellis’s show, he referred to “all the false narratives that were put out, where people called me a white supremacist, a murderer and racist, and all those other lies”.

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The United States will provide Ukraine’s government with an additional $500m in “direct budgetary aid” to support its operations as Ukrainian forces continue to fight against Russia’s unprovoked invasion.

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Joe Biden might invoke the Defence Production Act as soon as this week, CNN reported.

Mr Bidens’s move is aimed to help the domestic production of critical minerals needed to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles and long-term storage.

Quoting a source familiar with these developments, CNN said that doing so would add critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, graphite, cobalt and manganese to the list of items covered by the 1950 Defence Production Act.

The law gives the government more control during emergencies to direct industrial production.

Joe Biden met the parents of a former US marine who was imprisoned in Russia and promised to end the family’s “nightmare.”

Trever Reed is serving a nine-year prison sentence in Russia after he was convicted of assaulting police officers while drunk in 2019.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Wednesday: “President Biden met today with Joey and Paula Reed, the parents of Trevor Reed, who is wrongfully detained in Russia.”

She added: “During their meeting, the President reiterated his commitment to continue to work to secure the release of Trevor, Paul Whelan, and other Americans wrongfully held in Russia and elsewhere.

“We understand the pain felt by all of Trevor’s families and friends enduring the nightmare of his absence, which we are committed to bringing to an end.”

Mr Reed, meanwhile, is back on hunger strike for the second time and has been put back in solitary confinement.

Joe Biden has warned that the US will not have enough Covid vaccines this fall to ensure free and easy access for all Americans if Congress fails to pass the $22.5bn in additional funding.

The US President said that the country has enough supply to ensure people eligible for fourth shots have access to them.

The CDC recommended an additional Pfizer or Moderna dose for people who are 50 years of age and above as well as those who have compromised immune systems.

Mr Biden received his fourth dose of Covid vaccine on live television on Wednesday.

A Russian state TV host called on Americans to re-elect former president Donald Trump.

Evgeny Popov made the statement on the controlled broadcast over in Russia.

Mr Popov has been an avid supporter of the former president and frequently speaks out on his dislike of president Joe Biden.

He told viewers that it’s time for the Russian people to call on Americans to change “the regime in the US” before its term expires.

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Morning Joe hosts slammed Donald Trump on Wednesday for asking Vladimir Putin to release “dirt” about Hunter Biden’s alleged business dealings in Eastern Europe, a request he made during an interview with journalist John Solomon on the Just the News television show.

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At Wednesday’s White House press briefing, Communications Director Kate Bedingfield was asked about former President Donald Trump asking Putin for information on Hunter Biden.

She replied: “What kind of American, let alone an ex-president, thinks that this is the right time to enter into a scheme with Vladimir Putin … There is only one and it’s Donald Trump.”

President Joe Biden is preparing to order the release of up to one million barrels of oil per day from the strategic petroleum reserve in a bid to control prices that have spiked after the US and its allies imposed strict sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

A person familiar with the decision was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that the announcement could come as soon as on Thursday when the president is scheduled to give a speech on the rising energy prices.

It was reported that the duration of the release hasn’t been finalised but could last for several months.