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Joe Biden’s dog has bitten yet another member of the US Secret Service – the 11th time such an incident has happened.

The US president’s German shepherd attacked the agent at the White House on Monday evening, a Secret Service spokesperson said.

The female officer needed medical treatment on site after the incident but is now “doing just fine”, according to the Service’s chief of communications, Anthony Guglielmi.

It’s the latest attack by Biden’s dog, called Commander, who previously bit members of the US Secret Service 10 times between October 2022 and January of this year.

When asked about two-year-old Commander’s behaviour, Elizabeth Alexander, a spokesperson for first lady Jill Biden, stated that the White House could be a “stressful environment for pets”.

“The first family continues to work on ways to help Commander handle the often unpredictable nature of the White House grounds,” she added.

“The president and first lady are incredibly grateful to the Secret Service and Executive Residence staff for all they do to keep them, their family, and the country safe.”

In this image provided by the White House, President Joe Biden speaks on the phone with White House chief of staff Ron Klain from the Truman Balcony, Monday, July 25, 2022, at the White House in Washington. Mandatory credit: Adam Schultz, AP
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President Joe Biden and his dog on the Truman Balcony at the White House. Pic: Adam Schultz, AP

A uniformed Secret Service Police officer guides her police dog to check the second hole as they conduct a security sweep for President Joe Biden playing golf at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Sunday, June 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Secret Service officer guides Commander along a golf course at Andrews Air Force Base

When Commander’s previous 10 attacks were made public by the Department of Homeland Security in July, Ms Alexander said the Bidens had been working with the Secret Service and the White House residence staff “on additional leashing protocols and training” for the dog, as well as establishing designated areas where he could run around for exercise.

Read more on Sky News:
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Biden’s previous pet, another German shepherd named Major, was sent to live with friends in Delaware after some biting incidents of his own involving Secret Service officers and White House staff.

The service provides security protection for the president and his family, and scores of its officers are posted around the executive mansion and its grounds.

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Anti-Trump protests sweep America for the second time in weeks

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Anti-Trump protests sweep America for the second time in weeks

Anti-Trump protests took place across America on Saturday, with demonstrators decrying the administration’s immigration crackdown and mass firings at government agencies. 

Events ranged from small local marches to a rally in front of the White House and a demonstration at a Massachusetts commemoration of the start of the Revolutionary War 250 years ago.

Thomas Bassford, 80, was at the battle reenactment with his two grandsons, as well as his partner and daughter.

He said: “This is a very perilous time in America for liberty. I wanted the boys to learn about the origins of this country and that sometimes we have to fight for freedom.”

At events across the country, people carried banners with slogans including “Trump fascist regime must go now!”, “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state,” and “Fight fiercely, Harvard, fight,” referencing the university’s recent refusal to hand over much of its control to the government.

Some signs name-checked Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorian citizen living in Maryland, who the Justice Department admits was mistakenly deported to his home country.

Read more: Donald Trump’s deportations explained

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

People waved US flags, some of them held upside down to signal distress. In San Francisco, hundreds of people spelt out “Impeach & Remove” on a beach, also with an inverted US flag.

People walked through downtown Anchorage in Alaska with handmade signs listing reasons why they were demonstrating, including one that read: “No sign is BIG enough to list ALL of the reasons I’m here!”

Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP


Protests also took place outside Tesla car dealerships against the role Elon Musk ahas played in downsizing the federal government as de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The protests come just two weeks after similar nationwide demonstrations.

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Organisers are opposing what they call Mr Trump’s civil rights violations and constitutional violations, including efforts to deport scores of immigrants and to scale back the federal government by firing thousands of government workers and effectively shuttering entire agencies.

The Trump administration, among other things, has moved to shutter Social Security Administration field offices, cut funding for government health programs and scale back protections for transgender people.

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Day 91: Q&A – deportations, dollar bills and MAGA hats

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Day 91: Q&A - deportations, dollar bills and MAGA hats

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On Day 91, our US correspondents James Matthews and David Blevins tackle listeners’ questions.

Is Trump’s El Salvador deportation plan good business? Could President Trump put his face on a dollar bill? And are MAGA hats made in China?

If you’ve got a question you’d like the TRUMP100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.

Don’t forget, you can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.

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JD Vance has ‘quick and private’ meeting with the Pope during visit to Rome

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JD Vance has 'quick and private' meeting with the Pope during visit to Rome

US vice president JD Vance has met with Pope Francis.

The “quick and private” meeting took place at the Pope’s residence, Casa Santa Marta, in Vatican City, sources told Sky News.

The meeting came amid tensions between the Vatican and the Trump administration over the US president’s crackdown on migrants and cuts to international aid.

No further details have been released on the meeting between the vice president and the Pope, who has been recovering following weeks in hospital with double pneumonia.

Mr Vance, who is in Rome with his family, also met with the Vatican’s number two, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher.

The Vatican said there had been “an exchange of opinions” over international conflicts, migrants and prisoners.

According to a statement, the two sides had “cordial talks” and the Vatican expressed satisfaction with the Trump administration’s commitment to protecting freedom of religion and conscience.

“There was an exchange of opinions on the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions and difficult humanitarian situations, with particular attention to migrants, refugees and prisoners,” the statement said.

Francis has previously called the Trump administration’s deportation plans a “disgrace”.

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Trump: Putin not playing me – but I might give up on peace talks

Mr Vance, who became Catholic in 2019, has cited medieval-era Catholic teaching to justify the immigration crackdown.

The pope rebutted the theological concept Mr Vance used to defend the crackdown in an unusual open letter to the US
Catholic bishops about the Trump administration in February, and called Mr Trump’s plan a “major crisis” for the US.

“What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and
will end badly,” the Pope said in the letter.

Mr Vance has acknowledged Francis’s criticism but said he would continue to defend his views. During an appearance in late February at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, he did not address the issue specifically but called himself a “baby Catholic” and acknowledged there were “things about the faith that I don’t know”.

While he had criticised Francis on social media in the past, recently he has posted prayers for the pontiff’s recovery.

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