Month: June 2021

President Joe Biden has directed airstrikes on Iran-backed militia groups in the Iraq-Syria border region in response to unmanned aerial vehicle attacks.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement

Sunday that U.S. military forces conducted the “defensive precision airstrikes” against facilities used by Iran-backed militia groups in the region on Sunday evening. Kirby, who stressed the U.S. strikes were legal and in self-defense, said, “the targets were selected because these facilities are utilized by Iran-backed militias that are engaged in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq. Specifically, the U.S. strikes targeted operational and weapons storage facilities at two locations in Syria and one location in Iraq, both of which lie close to the border between those countries. Several Iran-backed militia groups, including Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS), used these facilities.”

The airstrikes come at a time of heightened tension between the U.S. and Iran, as the two nations hold talks on returning Tehran to the 2015 nuclear deal. Biden declined to comment to reporters on the latest airstrikes after returning to the White House Sunday evening from a weekend at Camp David, telling reporters: “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Nine people have been confirmed dead in the aftermath of the collapse of a 12-story condominium complex in Surfside, Florida three days ago.

Miami-Dade Mayor Danielle Levine Cava announced during a Sunday morning news conference in Seaside, that four additional bodies had been recovered from the rubble and one person had died at a hospital after four bodies had previously been recovered from the scene. The remains of four had been identified early Sunday, according to Miami Dade Fire Rescue, and Levine Cava said they have notified next of kin.

At least 152 people remained unaccounted for and 134 others were accounted for as crews continue to search after more than half the building, about 55 units, collapsed. Levine Cava added that families of those announced dead or unaccounted for will be allowed to visit the site, ad said officials are having “very frank conversations” with the families about the possibility of finding no more survivors.

Crews have been searching through the rubble since the sudden collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers in Surfside, about 3 miles north of Miami Beach. The City of Miami Beach declared a state of emergency on Sunday noting that Champlain Towers is “steps away from the city’s northernmost border” with Surfside. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said residents in the condominium’s sister building would be provided support to relocate in light of the collapse.

At least three people are dead and as many as 99 are unaccounted for after a 12-story residential building partially collapsed early on Thursday in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

The collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium in the small, beachside town of Surfside, about 6 miles north of Miami Beach, was reported around 1:30 a.m. A massive search and rescue operation was launched before dawn and crews are still carefully combing through the wreckage and remaining structure in hopes of finding survivors.

As of press time, crews have rescued 35 people who were trapped in the building and two others from beneath the rubble, according to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Raide Jadallah. Officials said 102 people have been accounted for. Miami-Dade county officials say it’s been difficult determining how many people were in that section of the complex partly because there isn’t an on-scene management company that keeps track. The condominium is a mix of full-time residents, seasonal residents, renters and short-term visitors, so authorities have been relying largely on neighbors and word of mouth. The oceanfront condominium has 136 units, and approximately 55 of them collapsed along the northeast corridor.

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President Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of senators announced on Thursday that they’d reached a framework $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal. Speaking in the White House driveway, Biden said, “They have my word, and I’ll stick with what they proposed, and they’ve given me their word as well — and where I come from, that’s good enough for me. We made serious compromises on both ends. They did not — and I understand their position — the Republicans did not want to go along with the human infrastructure that I talk about, and we’ll see what happens in the reconciliation bill and the budget process. If we get some compromise there and if we can’t, see if I can attract all Democrats to the position where they can move it on the dual track.”

Biden said that while the deal isn’t exactly what he wanted, nor is it exactly what Republicans wanted, the fact that they did reach a bipartisan consensus makes their agreement all the more significant. The deal would see $1.2 trillion in spending over eight years, including $579 billion in new spending over the first five years.

However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday there “ain’t” going to be an infrastructure bill in the House unless the Senate passes a broader reconciliation bill that includes progressive priorities. Pelosi said: “We will not take up a bill in the House until the Senate passes the bipartisan bill and a reconciliation bill.  If there is no bipartisan bill, then we’ll just go when the Senate passes a reconciliation bill.  Plain and simple. In fact, I used the word ‘ain’t.’ There ain’t going to be an infrastructure bill unless we have the reconciliation bill passed by the United States Senate.”  She did add that she’s “hopeful” for bipartisanship.

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