State of the Union: Freedom and democracy ‘under attack at home and overseas’, Joe Biden warns
Joe Biden has said freedom and democracy are “under attack” both in the US and abroad as he gave one of the most important speeches of his presidency.
In his State of the Union address, the US president appealed to Congress to continue supporting Ukraine in its war effort against Russia, saying “history is watching.”
He warned of the potency of Russian President Vladimir Putin and “assured” his audience the Kremlin would not stop at just attacking Ukraine.
Biden avoids fluffing his lines but fails to heal America’s rifts
Speaking in the House chamber, Mr Biden said: “If the United States walks away now, it will put Ukraine at risk. Europe at risk. The free world at risk, emboldening others who wish to do us harm.
“My message to President Putin is simple. We will not walk away. We will not bow down. I will not bow down.”
Mr Biden quickly turned his attention to Republican opponent and predecessor Donald Trump, condemning his recent comments on Russia, in which he said he would encourage Moscow to attack NATO members who had not spent the required amount on defence.
Pic: Reuters
The 81-year-old then turned to the 2021 6 January attack on the Capitol Building by Trump supporters – and accused them of not being “patriots”.
He called for the threat to democracy to be countered and said Mr Trump, 77, and some members present in the chamber sought to “bury the truth” – something he said he would not do.
He said Mr Trump, his likely Republican challenger for the White House in November’s election, epitomised “resentment, revenge and retribution”.
Referring to the Israel-Hamas conflict, the president confirmed the US would establish a temporary port on the Gaza coast to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the region, describing the consequences of the war as “heartbreaking”.
As the US election approaches in November, Mr Biden spoke about a number of issues facing America and addressed a selection of invited guests to illustrate his key points.
Highlighting Latorya Beasley, a social worker from Alabama, Mr Biden said she and her husband welcomed a baby 14 months ago “thanks to the miracle of IVF”.
But her “dream” of having a second child had been put on hold after the Alabama Supreme Court shut down IVF treatments across the state, the president said.
It followed the Supreme Court’s 2022 overturning of the landmark Roe v Wade ruling – which legalised abortion nationwide – and led to many state abortion bans.
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Should he be re-elected, Mr Biden said he would restore Roe v Wade as he called on Kate Cox to rise from the stands.
Ms Cox was pregnant with a foetus diagnosed with a serious genetic anomaly, but had to leave the Republican-controlled state of Texas where abortion was illegal in order to terminate the pregnancy.
Mr Biden said: “What her family has gone through should never have happened as well.
“There are state laws banning the right to choose, criminalising doctors, and forcing survivors of rape and incest to leave their states as well to get the care they need.”
He again denounced Mr Trump, referring to him only as his “predecessor” – 13 times in all – instead of by his name, and others in the chamber seeking to pass a national ban on reproductive choice adding: “My God, what freedoms will you take away next?”
The speech was an opportunity for the president to reiterate the economic progress during his time in office, including 15 million new jobs, the growth of small businesses and a drop in inflation since he was sworn in three years ago.
In one moment, hardline Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene interrupted Mr Biden as he covered the tense topic of southern border security.
The Georgia congresswoman was wearing a pro-Trump “Make America Great Again” hat and a T-shirt with the message “say her name”, in reference to Laken Riley, a nursing student from the state, who was brutally killed on campus last month.
A Venezuelan immigrant who entered the country illegally has been charged with her murder.
Ms Greene called on the president to “say her name” and, in response, he did, while holding up a “Laken Riley” badge.
There are 161 people still missing in Texas in the aftermath of last weekend’s deadly flash floods, the state’s governor has said.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, governor Gregg Abbot said the number of missing had risen markedly.
He said among the missing were five children and one counsellor from Camp Mystic – where at least 27 people were killed in the flash flooding.
At least 109 people are confirmed to have died in the floods, which took place on the 4 July weekend, but this figure has been steadily climbing ever since.
People comforted each other in Kerville. Pic: Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP
The bulk of deaths, and the main search for additional bodies, have been concentrated in Kerr County and the city of Kerrville.
The area was transformed into a disaster zone when torrential rains struck the region early last Friday, unleashing deadly flooding along the Guadalupe River.
Travis County, Kendall County, Burnett County, Williamson County, and Tom Green County were also hit.
Mr Abbot said many of those who were unaccounted for were in the Texas Hill Country area, but had not registered at a camp or hotel, posing further challenges for authorities.
Camp Mystic
Mr Abbot planned to make another visit to Camp Mystic.
The century-old all-girls Christian summer camp was badly hit by the flash floods, with at least 27 campers and counsellors dying.
Hanna Lawrence, left, and Rebecca Lawrence, right. Pic: John Lawrence/AP
Lila Bonner (L) and Eloise Peck both died in the flash floods at Camp Mystic, Texas. Pic: Family handout
Chloe Childress. Pic: Debra Alexander Photography via AP
Some of the victims include Hanna and Rebecca Lawrence, both eight, Chloe Childress, 19, who was among the counsellors at Camp Mystic when the flood hit, and Eloise Peck and Lila Bonner, both nine.
There were scenes of devastation at the camp as the flood water receded.
Outside the cabins where the girls had slept, mud-splattered blankets and pillows were scattered.
Also in the debris were pink, purple and light blue luggage, decorated with stickers.
A view inside a cabin at Camp Mystic after the flooding. Pic: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
Camper’s belongings lie on the ground following flooding on the Guadalupe River, at Camp Mystic.
Pic: Reuters
‘Everything looked flooded and broken’
One of the campers, 10-year-old Lucy Kennedy, told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that she woke up to the sound of thunder at around midnight before the floods struck.
“I couldn’t go back to sleep,” she said. “I just had a feeling that something really bad was about to happen.”
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She said the girls at the camp were told to grab blankets, pillows and water bottles and line up single file as the floodwater rose, before getting airlifted to safety.
Wynne Kennedy, Lucy’s mother, added: “When I saw her, she was wrapped up in a blanket, had a teddy bear.
“We just held each other tight, and I held her all night.”
Their home in Kerrville was also destroyed by the flash floods.
Lucy Kennedy, 10 who was rescued from Camp Mystic, and her mother Wynne. Pic: NBC
Political row
Meanwhile, a political row has unfolded parallel to the recovery efforts, with some questioning whether local authorities sent out warnings and alerts early enough.
Similarly, Democrats have criticised Donald Trump over cuts his Elon Musk-launched Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has made to the National Weather Service – but it isn’t clear whether these actually made any difference.
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Wall of water
The flash floods erupted before daybreak on Friday, after massive amounts of rainfall caused the Guadalupe River to rise by eight metres in less than an hour.
The wall of water overwhelmed cabins, tents and trails along the river’s edge.
Some survivors were found clinging to trees.
Some of the campers had to swim out of their cabin windows to get to safety, while others clung to rope to make it to higher ground.
The date for Sean “Diddy” Combs’s sentencing hearing has been confirmed.
Following his high-profile trial, the hip-hop mogul was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution by jurors in Manhattan, New York, last week – but was cleared of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
Defence lawyers argued Combs, who has been in prison in Brooklyn since his arrest in September last year, should be bailed ahead of sentencing given the not guilty verdicts for the more serious charges, but Judge Arun Subramanian denied this – citing, among other things, the rapper’s own admissions of previous violent behaviour.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in court after the verdict was delivered. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
The charges of sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy carried a potential life sentence. Combs still faces up to 20 years in prison for the prostitution-related offences, but is not expected to receive the maximum punishment.
After the verdict was delivered, the judge scheduled the sentencing hearing for 3 October. At a remote follow-up conference on Tuesday, with agreement from the defence and prosecution, the judge approved the date.
Combs joined the call but did not make any comment.
Any sentence will include credit for time already served – which will be just over a year by the time the hearing takes place.
During his trial, Combs was accused by prosecutors of abusing and coercing three alleged victims, including his former long-term partner, singer and model Cassie Ventura.
Jurors found the allegations did not amount to sex-trafficking or racketeering, or running a criminal enterprise – but they did find him guilty of transporting Cassie and another former girlfriend “Jane” for prostitution offences around the US, and paying male escorts to engage in sexual encounters.
Despite the guilty verdict on those charges, the 55-year-old’s team described it as “the victory of all victories”.
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In an interview over the weekend, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo said Combs had received a standing ovation from fellow inmates when he returned to jail after being acquitted of the more serious charges.
“They all said, ‘We never get to see anyone who beats the government’,” he said.
Ahead of sentencing, Combs’s lawyers will file their recommendations by 19 September, with prosecutors likely to follow a week later.
Prosecutors previously said the rapper could face about four to five years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, while the defence has suggested a two-year sentence.
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