USA

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Saturday was criticized by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democratic antagonist and ally, for being “cavalier” and “divorced from reality” after vowing to shutter coal-fired power plants and rely more heavily on wind and solar energy in the future.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in her first public appearance since the brutal attack on her husband, rallied grassroots activists Friday, saying the midterm elections for control of Congress are a fight for democracy and “very winnable.”

“People say to me, ‘What can I do to make you feel better?’ I say: ‘Vote!’” Pelosi told those on the call.

“I believe that this race is very winnable,” Pelosi said.

Her voice cracked at times as she said of her husband’s recovery, “It’s going to be a long haul.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has extended the deadline for former President Donald Trump to turn over documents as part of a subpoena issued last month, while reiterating its request for a sit-down interview.

The panel — comprised of seven Democrats and two Republicans — issued a statement late Friday saying it is in communication with Trump’s attorneys. Friday had been the committee’s deadline for Trump to produce an extensive number of documents and communications with lawmakers.

(AP) --- Twitter began widespread layoffs Friday as new owner Elon Musk overhauls the company, raising grave concerns about chaos enveloping the social media platform and its ability to fight disinformation just days ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

The speed and size of the cuts also opened Musk and Twitter to lawsuits. At least one was filed alleging Twitter violated federal law by not providing fired employees the required notice.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Swing-state Pennsylvania is the stage for a clash of presidents on Saturday as each party’s biggest stars work to energize voters just days before voting concludes in high-stakes midterm elections across the country.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has notched an envious record on jobs, with 10.3 million gained during his tenure. But voters in Tuesday’s midterm elections are far more focused on inflation hovering near 40-year highs.

That’s left the president trying to convince the public that the job gains mean better days are ahead, even as fears of a recession build.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court looks more like America than it ever has. The lawyers who argue at the nation’s highest court? Not so much.

The current two-week session of arguments features 25 men and just two women, an imbalance so stark that the Biden administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer made a point of it in her defense of race-conscious college admissions Monday.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued to the court that extreme racial or gender disparities between certain groups “can cause people to wonder whether the path to leadership is open.”

(AP) --- Twitter began widespread layoffs Friday as new owner Elon Musk overhauls the company, raising grave concerns about chaos enveloping the platform as a source of reliable information just days ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

The speed and size of the cuts also opened Musk and Twitter to lawsuits. At least one was filed Thursday in San Francisco alleging that Twitter intends to lay off more workers and has violated federal law by not providing the required notice.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes took the witness stand Friday in his seditious conspiracy trial, telling jurors he is a patriotic American as he tries to counter allegations that his far-right extremist group planned an armed rebellion to stop the transfer of presidential power.

Rhodes mostly appeared relaxed, but at times seemed to choke up, as he began his testimony after prosecutors spent weeks laying out evidence they say proves Rhodes was behind a violent plot to keep Democrat Joe Biden out of the White House and Republican Donald Trump in.

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s inaugural committee chair, Tom Barrack, was acquitted of all counts Friday at a federal trial in which he was accused of using his personal access to the former president to secretly promote the interests of the United Arab Emirates.

The jury in Brooklyn deliberated three days before finding Barrack not guilty of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, obstruction of justice and making false statements. Barrack had vehemently denied the charges.