Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont spoke at length about the need to defeat Donald Trump and discussed his campaign today after falling behind in another set of Democratic primaries on Tuesday but did not announce his intention to drop out of the contest.
While he cited that he appeared to be losing the race on the issue of electability, Sanders also stated that he felt his campaign was winning the ideological debate. He then directed several questions and challenges on healthcare, climate change, and mass incarceration to his rival former Vice President Joe Biden leading up to the Sunday debate in Arizona.
Biden, the only other remaining candidate aside from Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (far removed in the delegate count) took what looks to be a commanding lead in delegates following victories in Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, and Idaho, while Sanders won the North Dakota caucus.
The results from the primary in Washington state still show Biden and Sanders nack-in-neck with 67 percent of precincts reporting as of this report.
Sanders, the social democrat who carried the banner, along with Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, of what was considered the "progressive" side of the Democratic party, showed signs of leading the race early on among a still-large group of candidates. After a close race with former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg in Iowa for its caucus delegates, Sanders racked up wins in New Hampshire and Nevada.
But things would change after Biden garnered a dramatic and lopsided victory in South Carolina's primary. From there, other members of the "moderate" wing of the party, Pete Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, dropped out, both endorsing Biden before Super Tuesday.
The Super Tuesday primary day featured the largest share of delegates to date, and while Sanders pulled off a victory in the largest prize of California, and wins in Colorado, Utah, and his own Vermont, Biden's momentum grabbed the lion's share of delegates throughout the Southeast, Minnesota, and Oklahoma.
The primary will conclude with the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from July 13 to 16.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
President Donald Trump says “there seems to be no reason” to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as part of an upcoming trip to South Korea after China restricted exports of rare earths needed for American industry. The Republican president suggested Friday he was looking at a “massive increase” of import taxes on Chinese products in response to Xi’s moves. Trump says one of the policies the U.S. is calculating is "a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States." A monthslong calm on Wall Street was shattered, with U.S. stocks falling on the news. The Chinese Embassy in Washington hasn't responded to an Associated Press request for comment.
Most members of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate setting committee supported further reductions to its key interest rate this year, minutes from last month’s meeting showed.
From Wall Street trading floors to the Federal Reserve to economists sipping coffee in their home offices, the first Friday morning of the month typically brings a quiet hush around 8:30 a.m. eastern, as everyone awaits the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report.
The Supreme Court is allowing Lisa Cook to remain as a Federal Reserve governor for now.
Rep. John Moolenaar has requested an urgent briefing from the White House after Trump supported a deal giving Americans a majority stake in TikTok.
