President wants Russia removed from G20 – follow live

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week fell to its lowest level in 52 years as the U.S. job market continues to show strength in the midst of rising costs and ongoing virus pandemic.

Jobless claims fell by 28,000 to 187,000 for the week ending March 19, the lowest since September of 1969, the Labor Department reported Thursday. First-time applications for jobless aid generally track the pace of layoffs.

The White House has released a statement from President Joe Biden regarding today’s encouraging unemployment insurance claims.

Americans are getting back to work at a historic pace, with fewer Americans on unemployment insurance today than at any time in the last half century. This morning, we received news that the number of Americans on unemployment insurance fell to its lowest level since 1970 and the number of Americans filing new claims fell to its lowest one-week level since 1969.

This historic progress is no accident: it’s the result of an economic strategy to grow the economy from the bottom up and middle out, starting with the American Rescue Plan. And, it’s the result of effective management of emergency pandemic resources that resulted in 75% of adult Americans vaccinated and 99% of schools re-opened.

We have more work to do to cut costs for families, but today’s data are a reminder that the US economy is uniquely well positioned to deal with the global challenge of inflation. We will continue the fight to lower costs with every tool at our disposal, from making more here in America and rebuilding our supply chains, to lowering costs that have held back Americans for decades, to promoting competition to ensure markets can operate effectively and consumers are protected.

A senior administration official has confirmed reporting by The New York Times that the White House has set up a team of national security officials to plan for what happens if Russia uses chemical, biological, or tactical nuclear weapons in its war on Ukraine.

The US and allies are concerned the Kremlin might resort to such a move as its invasion struggles against Ukrainian resistance and Moscow’s own issues. The Biden administration has been warning of such a possibility since the early days of the war — perhaps as a false flag operation.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan sent a memo on 28 February detailing how the “Tiger Team” would examine what might happen over the next three months of conflict, NBC News reports a senior administration official as saying.

The team is looking at scenarios including: Russia using chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons; Russia targeting allied convoys carrying weapons to Ukraine; the implications of a disruption to the global food supply; and the growing refugee crisis as millions of Ukrainians flee the country, the official said.

Mr Sullivan’s memo also established a second “strategy group” responsible for looking at the longer-term major geo-political shifts that have been triggered by the invasion.

The use of such lethal weapons of mass destruction would dramatically escalate the conflict. Russia has already increasingly attacked civilians.

Given the possibility that the impact of these types of weapons might spill into Nato countries, the alliance would have to consider whether it would respond.

A Democrat on the committee pressed the attorney general of Alabama, a vocal supporter of the former president’s falsehoods about the 2020 election, on Thursday whether Mr Biden was the “duly elected” president; the Republican official, Steve Marshall, repeatedly dodged his questions until the senator moved on.

John Bowden reports from Washington, DC.

Today, the European Council was joined by President Joseph R Biden, Jr of the United States. The leaders discussed the coordinated and united response of the European Union and the United States to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression in Ukraine. They reviewed their ongoing efforts to impose economic costs on Russia and Belarus, as well as their readiness to adopt additional measures and to stop any attempts to circumvent sanctions.

Leaders discussed the urgent needs caused by Russia’s aggression, committed to continuing providing humanitarian assistance, including to neighboring countries hosting refugees, and underscored the need for Russia to guarantee humanitarian access to those affected by or fleeing the violence.

Leaders welcomed the opening of international investigations, including by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, and ongoing efforts to gather evidence of atrocities.

In addition, leaders discussed EU-US cooperation to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels, accelerate the transition to clean energy, as well as the need to respond to evolving food security needs worldwide.

The leaders also concurred on the importance of strengthening democratic resilience in Ukraine, Moldova, and the wider Eastern partnership region.

Finally, leaders underscored the importance of enhancing transatlantic security and defense, including through robust Nato-EU cooperation as described in the EU’s Strategic Compass.

Marie Yovanovitch, a key witness during Mr Trump’s first impeachment trial, was speaking to former Obama adviser David Axelrod on the Axe Files podcast.

Mr Axelrod said Mr Trump was “emboldened by his acquittal” after Democrats launched the impeachment process following revelations that Mr Trump had tried to withhold military aid to Ukraine to get them to investigate President Joe Biden and his family. Mr Biden was a potential presidential candidate at the time.

Gustaf Kilander has the story.

President Joe Biden has called for Ukraine to be welcomed at future G20 summits should US attempts to expel Russia be unsuccessful.

After meeting with European allies on Thursday in Brussels, Mr Biden told a press conference it was time to step up efforts to isolate Russia from the international community.

He said if G20 member countries blocked his request to remove Russia, then Ukraine should be invited to attend the meetings.

Bevan Hurley reports.

Joe Biden snapped at a CBS News reporter who questioned why new sanctions would have an impact on Russia changing course in Ukraine when previous sanctions failed to deter an invasion.

Justin Vallejo reports.

Addressing reporters at a Nato conference in Brussels on Thursday, Joe Biden said he had no concerns about a potential face-off against his 2020 Republican opponent, Donald Trump.

A reporter for the German magazine Der Spiegel pointed out that there was a presidential election – to which Mr Biden quipped “you’re kidding?”

After a small shuffle of laughter, the reporter continued and posed, without stating the former president’s actual name, what the Biden administration is doing now to prevent all the work he’s doing here with Nato, at the alliance’s headquarters, from “coming undone two years from now”.

Johanna Chisholm reports.