Within hours of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the new administration took down the Spanish-language version of the official White House website. The site — currently https://www.whitehouse.gov/es/ — now gives users an “Error 404” message. It also included a “Go Home” button that directed viewers to a page featuring a video montage of Trump in his first term and on the campaign trail. The button was later updated to read “Go To Home Page”. Hispanic advocacy groups and others expressed confusion at the abrupt change and frustration at what some called the administration’s lack of efforts to maintain communication with the Latino community, which helped propel him to the presidency. The Spanish profile of the White House’ X, @LaCasaBlanca and the government page on reproductive freedom also were disbanded. Meanwhile, the Spanish versions of other government agencies such as the Department of Labor, Justice and Agriculture remained available for users on Tuesday. Asked about the changes, White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields responded Tuesday that the administration is “committed to bringing back online the Spanish translation section of the website.” “It’s day two. We are in the process of developing, editing and tweaking the White House website. As part of this ongoing work, some of the archived content on the website went dormant. We are committed to reloading that content in a short timeline," he said without elaborating. Trump removed the Spanish version of the page in 2017. At that time, White House officials said they would reinstate it. President Joe Biden reinstated the page in 2021. The page's removal coincided with Trump’s first-day wave of executive orders highlighted by the launch of an illegal immigration crackdown that was one of his key campaign pledges. Trump on Monday declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and announced plans to send U.S. troops to help support immigration agents and restrict refugees and asylum. According to 2023 Census Bureau estimates, about 43.4 million Americans — 13.7% of the U.S. population age 5 and older — speak Spanish at home. The U.S. has no official language. Monica Rivera, a brand and communications strategist in New York City of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent, said the shutdown sends a clear signal. Read: Trump announces 500 bln USD AI infrastructure investment in U.S. “There are 43 million Latinos who speak Spanish as their first language and removing access to information directly from the White House draws a distinct line as to who they are serving and more dangerously, signals to the administration’s MAGA base that we as Latinos are ‘other’ and a less significant part of this country," Rivera said. Anthony Hernandez, a paralegal in the nation's capital, wasn’t initially aware of the move and said it suggests what the coming years of a second Trump presidency would look like, with specific issues making headlines while “minor but equally malicious things like that go unnoticed.” “A move like shutting down the Spanish White House page and X profile serves no purpose other than to cut off resources for millions of Hispanic Americans and immigrants attempting to enter the United States legally," Hernandez said. "And it’s a slap in the face to the millions of Hispanic voters that supported him in this recent election.” Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, is Cuban American and speaks Spanish. At his swearing-in Tuesday, he gave remarks in Spanish, thanking God, his family and Trump. Meanwhile, Hispanic leaders and communication strategy experts expressed surprise with the page's removal, given Trump’s popularity with certain Latino voters. “If the White House is seriously interested in engaging with Latinos, the second largest group in this country, then they need to make sure that updates can also be distributed in Spanish, a preferred language for millions in our community,” said Frankie Miranda President and CEO of the Hispanic Federation. He called that a way to ensure "everyone is a part of the civic process.” Kris Klein Hernández, a U.S. historian specializing in race, gender, and sexuality at Connecticut College, said the content removal from official White House websites not only limits the access available to Spanish-speaking U.S. citizens and migrants but leads "some to question which constituencies the administration prioritizes.” Read more: Rhino.ai announces $50M series A to transform enterprise modernization Jeff Lee, former deputy cabinet secretary and deputy director of external and international affairs for former California Gov. Jerry Brown, said the move seems counterintuitive given the opportunity to “showcase” policy changes, especially ones related to economics and border security. “I didn’t see any other language mediums that got the kibosh. So I think that’s a really interesting thing to single out — if that’s the case," Lee said. AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of more than 120,000 voters, found Trump won a larger share of Black and Latino voters than he did in 2020, and most notably among men under age 45. Young Latinos, particularly young Latino men, also were more open to Trump than in 2020. Roughly half of young Latino men voted for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, compared with about 6 in 10 who went for Biden.

Just days before Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Kamala Harris' staff gathered in her ceremonial office to witness her sign the desk, a tradition upheld by her predecessors for decades. Standing behind her with a camera was her husband, Doug Emhoff, as she used her Sharpie marker, reports AP. "It is not my nature to go quietly into the night," Harris remarked on Thursday. “So don't worry about that.” But what comes next for her? “I'll keep you posted,” she said. As of Monday, Harris has no plans other than to return home to California. For the first time since 2004, when she became San Francisco’s district attorney, she will not hold elected office. Joe Biden gets blamed by Harris allies for the vice president's resounding loss There is speculation she might write a book, run for governor, or perhaps pursue the presidency again. At 60, Harris remains relatively young in a political arena where the last two presidents have set records as the oldest elected. Donna Brazile, a veteran Democratic Party leader, recalled encouraging Harris to take a break and “learn what it's like to oversleep” for a while. Laughing, Brazile added, "Yeah, you’ll never go back to being ordinary.” Brazile, who managed Al Gore’s campaign when he transitioned from vice president to presidential candidate, noted, “I’ve had more people call me about what’s next for Kamala Harris than ever called me about what’s next for Al Gore.” Harris’ tenure was both groundbreaking and conventional. Like her predecessors, she addressed a portfolio of issues — including migration, abortion rights, and maternal health — and represented the U.S. abroad. Yet, as is common for vice presidents, she struggled to stand out due to the office’s limited constitutional role. However, Harris made history as the first woman, Black person, and person of South Asian descent to hold the vice presidency. Last year, she faced an unprecedented scenario when President Joe Biden chose not to seek reelection and endorsed her as his successor. With just 107 days left before the election, Harris launched an intense campaign against Trump, who is nearly two decades her senior. Despite her efforts, she was unable to defeat him. Harris voters motivated by democracy, Trump supporters by inflation and immigration Many Democrats criticised Biden for running again initially, arguing he placed Harris in an untenable position. Others scrutinised Harris’ campaign approach, suggesting she should have leaned into a populist message rather than focusing on Trump’s anti-democratic rhetoric alongside figures like Liz Cheney, a former Republican congresswoman. Harris was also faulted for not sufficiently distinguishing herself from Biden, who remains unpopular among voters. Minyon Moore, who chaired last year’s Democratic National Convention, dismissed the criticisms, saying, “Ifa, woulda, coulda, shoulda.” Given the unique circumstances of Harris’ campaign, Moore added, “there was no road map for what she should have done.” Harris has yet to address questions about her loss or provide her perspective on the election. Her public comments have primarily aimed to motivate students and others disappointed by Trump’s victory, particularly after Democrats framed him as an existential threat. “No one can walk away,” Harris declared in a speech. “We must stay in the fight. Every one of us.” Initially planning to end her term with an international trip to Singapore, Bahrain, and Germany to highlight her foreign policy work, Harris ultimately stayed in Washington as wildfires threatened Los Angeles. Her Brentwood home was in an evacuation zone. Harris avoided visiting the fire-affected area, concerned her presence might divert local resources, an anonymous official from her office explained. Despite cancelling her overseas trip, Harris indicated her desire to remain active on the global stage. She spent her final week in office making calls to foreign leaders, including Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo. On Wednesday, Harris attended President Biden’s farewell address in the Oval Office, where he described her as “a great partner.” The two embraced after his speech. Biden had selected Harris as his running mate after her initial presidential campaign faltered four years ago. Once in office, her activities were limited by the pandemic and her role in the evenly divided U.S. Senate, where she frequently cast tiebreaking votes. She set a record for the number of such votes while advancing judicial nominees and key legislation. “She had to find her role,” said Joel Goldstein, a historian of the vice presidency. “It took some time to figure it out.” Moore recalled an Oval Office meeting with Harris during Biden’s deliberations over a U.S. Supreme Court nominee. Harris focused on finding a candidate who could effectively articulate dissenting opinions, recognising the challenges a liberal justice would face on a conservative-dominated court. Trump and Harris await results with battleground polls closing Harris championed Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination, helping fulfil Biden’s pledge to appoint a Black woman to the court. Jackson’s sharp dissenting opinions have since garnered significant attention. Addressing migration from Central America, one of Harris’ earliest assignments, became politically fraught. While Republicans labelled her the “border czar” and blamed her for illegal crossings, fewer migrants arrived from the countries where she focused her efforts. Harris also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich just before Russia’s invasion three years ago and spent a week in Africa laying the groundwork for renewed U.S. engagement. She visited Southeast Asia three times, reflecting her belief in the need to prioritise the region amidst China’s growing influence. “She believed we could emphasise this occasionally overlooked part of the world even more,” said Phil Gordon, her national security adviser. Abortion rights emerged as a defining issue for Harris after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. While Biden was more cautious on the topic, Harris became the face of the administration’s response. Lorraine Voles, Harris’ chief of staff, described the court decision as “a turning point” for the vice president. “That opened up a lane for her in a way that maybe wasn’t there previously,” Voles said. “People hadn’t been as focused on maternal health and reproductive health until those rights were threatened.” Nadia Brown, a Georgetown University professor specialising in Black women and politics, said Harris will “certainly go down in the history books” for breaking racial and gender barriers. Harris’ vice presidency, Brown added, helped broaden perceptions of what leadership can look like, challenging stereotypes among "everyday Americans.” What Harris will do next remains uncertain. “It’s not over,” Brown concluded. “But I’m not sure what that next chapter is.”

Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who tried to restore virtue to the White House after the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, then rebounded from a landslide defeat to become a global advocate of human rights and democracy, has died. He was 100 years old. The Carter Center said the 39th president died Sunday afternoon, roughly 22 months after entering hospice care, at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died in November 2023, lived most of their lives. The center said he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. President Joe Biden mourned Carter’s death, saying the world lost an “extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian” and he also lost a dear friend. Biden cited Carter’s work to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil and human rights, promote free and fair elections and house the homeless as an example for others. Biden spoke later Sunday evening about Carter, calling it a “sad day” but one that “brings back an incredible amount of good memories." “I’ve been hanging out with Jimmy Carter for over 50 years,” Biden said in his remarks. He recalled the former president being a comfort to him and his wife Jill when their son Beau died in 2015 of cancer. The president remarked how cancer was a common bond between their families, with Carter himself having cancer later in his life. “Jimmy knew the ravages of the disease too well,” said Biden. The president has ordered a state funeral for Carter in Washington. A moderate Democrat, Carter ran for president in 1976 as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad grin, effusive Baptist faith and technocratic plans for efficient government. His promise to never deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon’s disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. Read: Biden says Jimmy Carter has asked him to deliver his eulogy “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president,” Carter said. Carter’s victory over Republican Gerald Ford, whose fortunes fell after pardoning Nixon, came amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over race, women’s rights and America’s role in the world. His achievements included brokering Mideast peace by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David for 13 days in 1978. But his coalition splintered under double-digit inflation and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His negotiations ultimately brought all the hostages home alive, but in a final insult, Iran didn’t release them until the inauguration of Ronald Reagan, who had trounced him in the 1980 election. Humbled and back home in Georgia, Carter said his faith demanded he keep doing whatever he could, for as long as he could, to try to make a difference. He and Rosalynn co-founded The Carter Center in 1982 and spent the next 40 years traveling the world as peacemakers, human rights advocates and champions of democracy and public health. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, Carter helped ease nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiate cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, the center had monitored at least 113 elections around the world. Carter was determined to eradicate guinea worm infections as one of many health initiatives. Swinging hammers into their 90s, the Carters built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The common observation that he was better as an ex-president rankled Carter. His allies were pleased he lived long enough to see biographers and historians revisit his presidency and declare it more impactful than many understood at the time. Propelled in 1976 by voters in Iowa and then across the South, Carter ran a no-frills campaign. Americans were captivated by the earnest engineer, and while an election-year Playboy interview drew snickers when he said he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times,” voters weary of political cynicism found it endearing. The first family set an informal tone in the White House, carrying their own luggage, trying to silence the Marine Band’s traditional “Hail to the Chief" and enrolling daughter Amy in public schools. Carter was lampooned for wearing a cardigan and urging Americans to turn down their thermostats. But Carter set the stage for an economic revival and sharply reduced America's dependence on foreign oil by deregulating the energy industry along with airlines, trains and trucking. He established the departments of Energy and Education, appointed record numbers of women and nonwhites to federal posts, preserved millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness and pardoned most Vietnam draft evaders. Read more: After brain surgery, Jimmy Carter returns to hometown church Emphasizing human rights, he ended most support for military dictators and took on bribery by multinational corporations by signing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He persuaded the Senate to ratify the Panama Canal treaties and normalized relations with China, an outgrowth of Nixon’s outreach to Beijing. But crippling turns in foreign affairs took their toll. When OPEC hiked crude prices, making drivers line up for gasoline as inflation spiked to 11%, Carter tried to encourage Americans to overcome “a crisis of confidence.” Many voters lost confidence in Carter instead after the infamous address that media dubbed his “malaise" speech, even though he never used that word. After Carter reluctantly agreed to admit the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979. Negotiations to quickly free the hostages broke down, and then eight Americans died when a top-secret military rescue attempt failed. Carter also had to reverse course on the SALT II nuclear arms treaty after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Though historians would later credit Carter's diplomatic efforts for hastening the end of the Cold war, Republicans labeled his soft power weak. Reagan’s “make America great again” appeals resonated, and he beat Carter in all but six states. Born Oct. 1, 1924, James Earl Carter Jr. married fellow Plains native Rosalynn Smith in 1946, the year he graduated from the Naval Academy. He brought his young family back to Plains after his father died, abandoning his Navy career, and they soon turned their ambitions to politics. Carter reached the state Senate in 1962. After rural white and Black voters elected him governor in 1970, he drew national attention by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Carter published more than 30 books and remained influential as his center turned its democracy advocacy onto U.S. politics, monitoring an audit of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. After a 2015 cancer diagnosis, Carter said he felt “perfectly at ease with whatever comes.” “I’ve had a wonderful life,” he said. “I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.”

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke with Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, and both leaders expressed their "commitment to respecting and protecting the human rights" of all people, regardless of religion.  Sullivan reiterated the United States’ support for a "prosperous, stable and democratic" Bangladesh, according to a readout shared by the White House on December 23 (US time). WB pledges support for Bangladesh's key reform initiatives He offered the United States’ continued support in meeting the challenges Bangladesh faces. Sullivan thanked Chief Adviser Dr Yunus for his leadership of Bangladesh during a challenging period. Bangladesh had to accept huge Rohingyas under certain circumstances: Touhid Hossain

US President Joe Biden is closely monitoring the evolving situation in Bangladesh emphasising  the importance of protecting religious and ethnic minorities under the interim government, said the White House. Addressing a news briefing on Thursday, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby stated, "We're watching this very, very, very closely, and the president is following events closely as well." UN Resident Coordinator meets Foreign Adviser to strengthen cooperation Responding to a query from Lalit K Jha, Press Trust of India’s  (PTI's) bureau chief  in Washington DC, Kirby acknowledged the challenging security environment in Bangladesh following the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. "We have been working closely with the interim government to enhance the capability of their law enforcement and security services to deal with the challenge," Kirby added. Jha  highlighted ongoing protests by Hindu American groups, including a recent march outside the White House, against alleged attacks on Hindus and temples in Bangladesh following Sheikh Hasina's fall from power. US Trade Representative commends Bangladesh’s reforms in labour rights and business climate When asked if President Biden raised the issue during his recent meeting with Muhammad Yunus on the sidelines of the UN, Kirby reiterated the administration's commitment to minority protection. Kirby said, "We have been very clear in our engagement with all Bangladeshi leaders that protection of religious and ethnic minorities and security for all Bangladeshis, regardless of religion or ethnicity, is critical. We want to hold them to that."

The White House on Thursday announced what it called the first-ever national strategy to counter Islamophobia, detailing more than 100 steps federal officials are taking to curb hate, violence, bias and discrimination against Muslims and Arab Americans. The proposal follows a similar national plan to battle antisemitism that President Joe Biden unveiled in May 2023, as fears about increasing hatred and discrimination were rising among U.S. Jews. UN observes 1st International Day against Islamophobia Officials worked on the anti-Islamophobia plan for months, and its release came five weeks before Biden leaves office. The White House said the bulk of its actions had been implemented, with the goal to roll out the rest before Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, when President-elect Donald Trump takes office. In a statement announcing the strategy, the Biden administration wrote, “Over the past year, this initiative has become even more important as threats against American Muslim and Arab communities have spiked.” It said that included the October 2023 slaying of 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi, an American Muslim boy of Palestinian descent, who was stabbed to death in Illinois. The plan details actions the Executive Branch is taking, along with more than 100 other calls to action across all sectors of society. The strategy has four basic priorities: increasing awareness of hatred against Muslims and Arabs while more widely recognizing these communities' heritages; broadly improving their safety and security; appropriately accommodating Muslim and Arab religious practices by working to curb discrimination against them; and encouraging cross-community solidarity to further counter hate. Many of those state goals are similar to the ones the Biden administration laid out in its plan to reduce antisemitism — especially the emphasis on improving safety and security and building cross-community solidarity. Trump appoints youngest-ever White House press secretary “While individuals have sometimes been targeted because they are thought to be Muslim, it is also crucial to recognize that Arabs are routinely targeted simply for being who they are,” the announcement of the strategy states, noting that Muslims and Arab Americans have helped build out the nation since its founding. It says that new data collection and education efforts are “increasing awareness of these forms of hate as well of the proud heritages of Muslim and Arab Americans.” The plan calls for more widely disseminating successful practices of engaging Muslim and Arab Americans in the reporting of hate crimes, and that federal agencies are now more clearly spelling out that “discrimination against Muslim and Arab Americans in federally funded activities is illegal.” The White House’s plan also urges “state, local, and international counterparts, as well as the nongovernmental sector, to pursue similar initiatives that seek to build greater unity by recognizing our common humanity, affirming our shared values and history, and embracing equal justice, liberty, and security for all." Pro-Palestinian groups decrying his administration’s full-throated support for Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza frequently disrupted Biden campaign events, as well as those of Vice President Kamala Harris after Biden abandoned his reelection bid in July. Trump, who implemented a travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority countries during his first term, won the largest majority-Muslim U.S. city in last month's elections. Yet some Arab Americans who backed Trump have begun expressing concerns about his some of his choices to fill out his Cabinet and other picks for his incoming administration. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., panned what it called “the White House’s long-delayed document” as “too little, too late.” What will Trump do on Day 1 in White House? Mass deportation in the cards? “The White House strategy lays out some positive recommendations related to anti-Muslim bigotry, but it has been released too late to make an impact, fails to promise any changes to federal programs that perpetuate anti-Muslim discrimination on a massive scale," the council said in a statement further noting that the plan doesn't address what it called a “federal watchlist” targeting some Arab-Americans as potential terrorists. It added that the plan "fails to promise an end the most significant driver of anti-Muslim bigotry today: the U.S.-backed genocide in Gaza.“

With her selection as President-elect Donald Trump 's incoming White House chief of staff, veteran Florida political strategist Susie Wiles moves from a largely behind-the-scenes role of campaign co-chair to the high-profile position of the president's closest adviser and counsel. She's been in political circles for years. But who is Wiles, the operative set to be the first woman to step into the powerful role of White House chief of staff? She has decades of experience, most of it in Florida The daughter of NFL player and sportscaster Pat Summerall, Wiles worked in the Washington office of New York Rep. Jack Kemp in the 1970s. Following that were stints on Ronald Reagan's campaign and in his White House as a scheduler. Wiles then headed to Florida, where she advised two Jacksonville mayors and worked for Rep. Tillie Fowler. After that came statewide campaigns in rough and tumble Florida politics, with Wiles being credited with helping businessman Rick Scott win the governor's office. After briefly managing Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman's 2012 presidential campaign, she ran Trump's 2016 effort in Florida, when his win in the state helped him clinch the White House. She has a history with Ron DeSantis Two years later, Wiles helped get Ron DeSantis elected as Florida's governor. But the two would develop a rift that eventually led to DeSantis to urge Trump's 2020 campaign to cuts its ties with the strategist, when she was again running the then-president's state campaign. Wiles ultimately went on to lead Trump’s primary campaign against DeSantis and trounced the Florida governor. Trump campaign aides and their outside allies gleefully taunted DeSantis throughout the race — mocking his laugh, the way he ate and accusing him of wearing lifts in his boots — as well as using insider knowledge that many suspected had come from Wiles and others on Trump’s campaign staff who had also worked for DeSantis and had had bad experiences. Wiles had posted just three times on X this year at the time of her announcement. Shortly before DeSantis dropped out of the presidential race in January, Wiles made a rare appearance on social media. She responded to a message that DeSantis had cleared his campaign website of upcoming events with a short but clear message: “Bye, bye.” She shuns the spotlight — most of the time Joining up with Trump's third campaign in its nascent days, Wiles is one of the few top officials to survive an entire Trump campaign and was part of the team that put together a far more professional operation for his third White House bid — even if the former president routinely broke through those guardrails anyway. She largely avoided the spotlight, even refusing to take the mic to speak as Trump celebrated his victory early Wednesday morning. Read: Canada's Trudeau revives a Cabinet-level panel to address concerns about a Trump presidency But she showed she was not above taking on tasks reserved for volunteers. At one of Trump’s appearances in Iowa in July of last year, as the former president posed for pictures with a long line of voters, Wiles grabbed a clipboard and started approaching people waiting to get them to fill out cards committing to caucus for Trump in the leadoff primary contest. “If we leave the conference room after a meeting and somebody leaves trash on the table, Susie’s the person to grab the trash and put it in the trash can,” said Chris LaCivita, who served as campaign co-chair along with Wiles. Another of her three posts on X this year was in the closing days of the campaign, clapping back after billionaire Mark Cuban remarked that Trump didn’t have “strong, intelligent women” in his orbit. After Wiles’ selection as White House chief of staff, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a Trump backer, quipped on X that the president-elect had chosen a “strong, intelligent woman” as his chief of staff. She can control some of Trump's worst impulses Wiles was able to help control Trump’s worst impulses — not by chiding him or lecturing, but by earning his respect and showing him that he was better off when he followed her advice than flouted it. At one point late in the campaign, when Trump gave a widely criticized speech in Pennsylvania in which he strayed from his talking points and suggested he wouldn't mind the media being shot, Wiles came out to stare at him silently. Trump often referenced Wiles on the campaign trail, publicly praising her leadership of what he said he was often told was his “best-run campaign.” “She’s incredible. Incredible,” he said at a Milwaukee rally earlier this month. Will she have staying power? In his first administration, Trump went through four chiefs of staff — including one who served in an acting capacity for a year — in a period of record-setting personnel churn. A chief of staff serves as the president’s confidant, helping to execute an agenda and balancing competing political and policy priorities. They also tend to serve as a gatekeeper, helping determine whom the president spends their time and to whom they speak — an effort under which Trump chafed inside the White House. Trump has repeatedly said he believes the biggest mistake of his first term was hiring the wrong people. He was new to Washington then, he has said, and didn’t know any better. But now, Trump says, he knows the “best people” and those to avoid for jobs.

As the 2024 US presidential election approaches on 5 November, the race has become increasingly competitive between Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican rival Donald Trump. Following President Joe Biden’s unexpected withdrawal from the race in July and his endorsement of Vice President Harris, the election has pivoted into a historic contest that could see the US elect its first female president or grant Trump a second term in office. Harris Leading National Polls Since entering the race in late July, Kamala Harris has consistently led Trump in the national polling averages. While the gap between the two candidates remains narrow, Harris holds a slight edge. According to the most recent polling data, Harris’s lead stands at 3.3 percentage points, up from 2.5 points following a high-stakes debate in Pennsylvania on 10 September. Harris is releasing a report on her health and poking Trump for failing to do likewise The debate, watched by over 67 million people, appeared to give Harris a small but significant boost as Trump's numbers declined slightly after the event. Despite these national figures, the outcome of the election remains uncertain due to the US electoral system, which hinges on the electoral college. With 538 electoral votes at stake, a candidate must secure 270 to win, and a small number of swing states will ultimately decide the result. Key Battleground States While national polls suggest a Harris lead, the true battleground lies in a handful of key swing states, where polls show a razor-thin margin between the candidates. Among these are Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, all of which were pivotal in Trump's 2016 victory and Biden’s 2020 win. Harris has maintained a narrow lead in these states since August, but the race is far from settled. Pennsylvania, with the largest number of electoral votes among swing states, is particularly crucial. Polling averages show Harris with a slight advantage, but with only one or two percentage points separating her from Trump, it remains anyone’s game. Notably, Biden was trailing Trump by five percentage points in these states before his exit, highlighting Harris's stronger performance in critical regions. Harris calls Trump 'incredibly irresponsible' for spreading misinformation about Helene response Polls as a Predictor: A Mixed Record The reliability of polling data has been a subject of debate, particularly after polls in 2016 and 2020 underestimated support for Trump. In response, polling organisations like 538, which compiles data from a range of pollsters, have taken steps to improve accuracy, including refining the demographic representation in their surveys. However, with the race so close in the swing states, even small errors could make a big difference. As election day nears, all eyes are on the swing states and the fluctuating polls, with both candidates ramping up their efforts to win over voters. While Harris may hold the edge for now, the race is far from over, and the US could see a dramatic finish come November.

The White House has ruled out any involvement of the United States behind the fall of Sheikh Hasina-led government, stressing that it is false. "So, we have had no involvement at all. Any — any reports or rumors that the United States government was involved in these — in these events is simply, simply false. That is not true," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a press briefing on August 12. She said this is a choice for and by the Bangladeshi people. "We believe that the Bangladeshi people should determine the future of the Bangladeshi government, and that’s where we stand," said the White House press secretary. Read more: UN calls for inclusive and transparent parliamentary election in Bangladesh "Any allegations, certainly, we will continue to say, and I have said here, is simply not true," she added. A journalist mentioned that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reported to allies that she was thrown out — or forced to be out of power because U.S. wanted to have one of the islands given to them - the United States of America. And since — because they didn’t agree to it, she was forced to resign, the questioner mentioned. She said they are going to continue to monitor the situation. Respinding to a question on Hindu community, the press secretary said when it comes to any type of human rights issues here, the US president is always — has been very consistent in speaking loud and clear in public and also privately. Read more: No reason to get affected ties with India: Foreign Affairs Adviser "Don’t have anything — and he’ll continue to do that, but don’t have any specific engagement to speak to at this time," she said.

Maine's Democratic secretary of state on Thursday removed former President Donald Trump from the state's presidential primary ballot under the Constitution's insurrection clause, becoming the first election official to take action unilaterally as the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to decide whether Trump remains eligible to return to the White House. The decision by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows follows a ruling earlier this month by the Colorado Supreme Court that booted Trump from the ballot there under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. That decision has been stayed until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether Trump is barred by the Civil War-era provision, which prohibits those who "engaged in insurrection" from holding office. The Trump campaign said it would appeal Bellows' decision to Maine's state courts, and Bellows suspended her ruling until that court system rules on the case. In the end, it is likely that the nation's highest court will have the final say on whether Trump appears on the ballot in Maine and in the other states. Bellows found that Trump could no longer run for his prior job because his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol violated Section 3, which bans from office those who "engaged in insurrection." Bellows made the ruling after some state residents, including a bipartisan group of former lawmakers, challenged Trump's position on the ballot. "I do not reach this conclusion lightly," Bellows wrote in her 34-page decision. "I am mindful that no Secretary of State has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection." US tensions with China are fraying long-cultivated academic ties. Will the chill hurt US interests? The Trump campaign immediately slammed the ruling. "We are witnessing, in real-time, the attempted theft of an election and the disenfranchisement of the American voter," campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. Legal experts said that Thursday's ruling demonstrates the need for the nation's highest court, which has never ruled on Section 3, to clarify what states can do. "It is clear that these decisions are going to keep popping up, and inconsistent decisions reached (like the many states keeping Trump on the ballot over challenges) until there is final and decisive guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court," Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California-Los Angeles, wrote in response to the Maine decision. "It seems a certainty that SCOTUS will have to address the merits sooner or later." While Maine has just four electoral votes, it's one of two states to split them. Trump won one of Maine's electors in 2020, so having him off the ballot there, should he emerge as the Republican general election candidate, could have outsized implications in a race that is expected to be narrowly decided. That's in contrast to Colorado, which Trump lost by 13 percentage points in 2020 and where he wasn't expected to compete in November if he wins the Republican presidential nomination. In her decision, Bellows acknowledged that the U.S. Supreme Court will probably have the final word but said it was important she did her official duty. That won her praise from the former state lawmakers who filed one of the petitions forcing her to consider the case. "Secretary Bellows showed great courage in her ruling, and we look forward to helping her defend her judicious and correct decision in court. No elected official is above the law or our constitution, and today's ruling reaffirms this most important of American principles," Republican Kimberly Rosen, independent Thomas Saviello and Democrat Ethan Strimling said in a statement. Hunter Biden defies congressional subpoena, says will only testify in public But other Republicans in the state were outraged. "This is a sham decision that mimics Third World dictatorships," Maine's House Republican leader, Billy Bob Faulkingham, said in a statement. "It will not stand legal scrutiny. People have a right to choose their leaders devoid of mindless decisions by partisan hacks." The Trump campaign on Tuesday requested that Bellows disqualify herself from the case because she'd previously tweeted that Jan. 6 was an "insurrection" and bemoaned that Trump was acquitted in his impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate after the capitol attack. She refused to step aside. "My decision was based exclusively on the record presented to me at the hearing and was in no way influenced by my political affiliation or personal views about the events of Jan. 6, 2021," Bellows told the Associated Press Thursday night. Bellows is a former head of the Maine chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. All seven of the justices of the Colorado Supreme Court, which split 4-3 on whether to become the first court in history to declare a presidential candidate ineligible under Section 3, were appointed by Democrats. Two Washington, D.C.-based liberal groups have launched the most serious prior challenges to Trump, in Colorado and a handful of other states. That's led Trump to contend the dozens of lawsuits nationwide seeking to remove him from the ballot under Section 3 are a Democratic plot to end his campaign. But some of the most prominent advocates have been conservative legal theorists who argue that the text of the Constitution makes the former president ineligible to run again, just as if he failed to clear the document's age threshold — 35 years old — for the office. Biden calls 'surge' in antisemitism 'sickening' during White House Hanukkah reception Likewise, until Bellows' decision, every top state election official, whether Democrat or Republican, had rejected requests to bar Trump from the ballot, saying they didn't have the power to remove him unless ordered to do so by a court. The timing on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision is unclear, but both sides want it fast. Colorado's Republican Party appealed the Colorado high court decision on Wednesday, urging an expedited schedule, and Trump is also expected to file an appeal within the week. The petitioners in the Colorado case on Thursday urged the nation's highest court to adopt an even faster schedule so it could rule before March 5, known as Super Tuesday, when 16 states, including Colorado and Maine, are scheduled to vote in the Republican presidential nominating process. The high court needs to formally accept the case first, but legal experts consider that a certainty. The Section 3 cases seem tailor-made for the Supreme Court, addressing an area of U.S. governance where there's scant judicial guidance. The clause was added in 1868 to keep defeated Confederates from returning to their former positions of power in local and federal government. It prohibits anyone who broke an oath to "support" the Constitution from holding office. The provision was used to bar a wide range of ex-Confederates from positions ranging from local sheriff to Congress, but fell into disuse after an 1872 congressional amnesty for most former Confederates. Legal historians believe the only time the provision was used in the 20th Century was in 1919, when it was cited to deny a House seat to a socialist who had opposed U.S. involvement in World War I. But since the Jan. 6 attack, it has been revived. Last year, it was cited by a court to remove a rural New Mexico County Commissioner who had entered the Capitol on Jan. 6. One liberal group tried to remove Republican Reps. Madison Cawthorn and Marjorie Taylor Greene from the 2022 ballot under the provision, but Cawthorn lost his primary so his case was thrown out, and a judge ruled for Greene. Some critics of the movement to bar Trump warn that the provision could be weaponized in unexpected ways. They note that conservatives could argue, for example, that Vice President Kamala Harris is likewise barred from office because she raised bail funds for people arrested during the unrest following George Floyd's 2020 murder at the hands of Minneapolis police. The plaintiffs in Colorado presented historical evidence that even the donation of small sums to money to those seeking to join the Confederacy was grounds for being barred by Section 3. Why, critics have asked, wouldn't that apply to Democrats like Harris today?