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Former President Donald Trump lashed out at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday, using his 2024 debut speech in Iowa to rehash his longtime 2020 campaign claims and attack his would-be political rival days after the Florida Republican made an appearance in the Hawkeye State.

In a campaign event in Davenport that was billed by Trump’s campaign as an address on education policy, the former president appeared preoccupied by just about anything other than America’s schools. 

He boasted about the work he did to “save” the ethanol industry, bragged about how he moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and rehashed his baseless claim that he was robbed of a second term in the White House by widespread voter fraud.

“What they do to those machines — what they’re doing, our country is really being hurt very badly,” Trump told the friendly crowd. 

He went after DeSantis, a rising Republican star who’s preparing for a likely 2024 presidential bid, accusing the Florida governor of wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare, and comparing him to Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah), the GOP’s 2012 presidential nominee and a vocal Trump critic.

He also called DeSantis a “disciple” of former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who served as Romney’s running mate in 2012.

“You have to remember, Ron was a disciple of Paul Ryan, who is a RINO loser who currently is destroying Fox [News] and would constantly vote against entitlements,” Trump said, using an acronym for “Republican in name only.” 

“But Ryan, Paul Ryan is a big reason Mitt Romney … lost his election,” the former president continued. “And to be honest with you, Ron reminds me a lot of Mitt Romney, so I don’t think you’re going to be doing so well here.”

Trump’s remarks came during the first Iowa stop of his 2024 presidential bid. He’s been officially seeking the Republican nomination since November, but has largely stayed off the campaign trail. 

His trip to Davenport came just three days after DeSantis stopped in the same city. A Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll of Iowa Republicans released on Friday showed Trump’s standing in the Hawkeye State on the decline, with 47 percent saying they would definitely vote for the former president if he is the party’s nominee in 2024, a 22-point decline since June 2021.

Other current and prospective GOP presidential hopefuls have made trips to Iowa in recent weeks, including former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Vice President Mike Pence.

Speaking in Davenport on Monday, Trump boasted that he was “laying out a bold forward looking vision” for the country if he wins back the White House in 2024. But his remarks largely focused on his first term in office. Not only did he resurface his false election claims, but he went on an extended tangent about U.S. border security, an issue that helped define his first presidential campaign in 2016. Is vaping making your kid a lifelong addict? Abrams joining electrification nonprofit as senior counsel

But at other points, he appeared to echo DeSantis, who’s made a name for himself in politics by pushing for and implementing ultra-conservative education policies. Trump, at one point, vowed to “bring parental rights back into our school system,” suggesting that the education system had been overrun by “people that hate our country.”

In one particularly notable moment, he vowed to “end ‘woke’” – a word that has become linked to DeSantis and his political brand. At another point, he said that “what they’re teaching in schools today is insane.”

“Together we will end the era of weaponized government forever,” Trump said. “We will end woke.”

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The BBC’s billion dollar question

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The BBC's billion dollar question

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈

With US President Donald Trump threatening to sue the BBC, how likely is the broadcaster to pay out? And how have those across the political spectrum been reacting?

And with 15 days until Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s budget, Matthew McGregor – the chief executive of campaign group 38 Degrees and a former digital strategist for both Labour and Barack Obama – takes issue with Sam’s take from yesterday and sends in a voice note.

And Sam and Anne discuss the latest twist in the Your Party saga, and it’s all about money.

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World

At least 12 killed after suicide bombing in Pakistan

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At least 12 killed after suicide bombing in Pakistan

At least 12 people have been killed in a suicide bombing outside the gates of a court in Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad, the country’s interior minister has said.

At least 27 other people were also wounded after the bomber detonated his explosives next to a police car.

Interior minister Mohsin Naqvi said the attacker tried to “enter the court premises but, failing to do so, targeted a police vehicle”.

Mr Naqvi added that authorities are “looking into all aspects” of the attack.

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Pic: Reuters

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Pic: AP

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion, but authorities have recently struggled with a resurgent Pakistani Taliban.

The explosion, which was heard from miles away, occurred at a busy time of day when the area outside the court is typically crowded with hundreds of visitors attending hearings.

More than a dozen badly wounded people were screaming for help as ambulances rushed to the scene.

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“People started running in all directions,” said Mohammad Afzal, who claimed he was at the court when he heard the blast.

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Pic: Reuters

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Pic: AP

Pakistani security forces earlier said they foiled an attempt by militants to take cadets hostage at an army-run college overnight, when a suicide car bomber and five other attackers targeted the facility in a northwestern province.

The authorities blamed the Pakistani Taliban, which is separate from but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban, but the group denied involvement in that attack on Monday evening.

The assault began when a bomber attempted to storm the cadet college in Wana, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border.

The area had, until recent years, served as a base for the Pakistani Taliban, al Qaeda and other foreign militants.

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According to local police chief Alamgir Mahsud, two of the militants were quickly killed by troops while three others managed to enter the compound before being cornered in an administrative block.

The army’s commandos were among the forces conducting a clearance operation, and an intermittent exchange of fire went on into Tuesday, Mr Mahsud said.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced both attacks and said those responsible must be brought to justice swiftly.

“We will ensure the perpetrators are apprehended and held accountable,” he said.

Mr Sharif described attacks on unarmed civilians as “reprehensible”, adding: “We will not allow the blood of innocent Pakistanis to go to waste.”

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UK

Police release update on Bob Vylan Glastonbury investigation

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Police release update on Bob Vylan Glastonbury investigation

Police say they have interviewed a man over comments made during punk-rap duo Bob Vylan’s set at Glastonbury.

A man in his mid-30s attended a voluntary interview with officers on Monday, Avon and Somerset Police said.

The outspoken punk duo sparked controversy with their performance at Glastonbury in June, when frontman Bobby Vylan led a chant of “death, death to the IDF” on stage.

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Pic: PA

Police said they had consulted the Crown Prosecution Service and received legal advice on the investigation in October.

“It has been important for us to have a full understanding of any legal precedents, which is a complex process, and therefore over the past couple of months we have been seeking early legal advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS),” the force said in a statement.

“Following a review of the advice, a voluntary police interview was arranged to help us progress our enquiries… The matter has been recorded as a public order incident while we continue to investigate and consider all relevant legislation.

“Voluntary police interviews are commonly used in investigations where an individual agrees to attend and an arrest is not considered necessary, for example on the grounds of public safety or for the preservation of evidence. Attendees are interviewed under caution and have the same legal rights as anybody who is arrested.”

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Bob Vylan’s set at Glastonbury was live-streamed by the BBC as part of its coverage of the festival, leading to fierce criticism of the corporation.

The BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit has since found the broadcast breached editorial standards related to harm and offence.

However, the unit’s findings cleared the corporation of breaching its guidelines relating to material that is likely to encourage or incite crime.

Following the performance, the BBC issued an apology to viewers, especially the Jewish community, and promised to take action to “ensure proper accountability”.

It also said it would no longer live broadcast “high risk” performances.

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