Joe

Sen. Kamala Harris aggressively challenged Joe Biden on his nostalgic comments about working with segregationists and his record on school integration during an often contentious debate between Democratic presidential candidates.

“It was actually very hurtful to hear you talk about the reputation of two United States senators who built their reputations and career on the segregation of race in this country,” Harris said, her voice thick with emotion, to the former vice president and senator. She noted she was the only black person on the debate stage and drew on her own experiences.

“You also worked with them to oppose busing,” the California senator said. “And there was a little girl in California who was part of the second class to integrate her public school, and she was bused to school every day. And that little girl was me.”

The exchange between two Democrats fighting to occupy the same lane in the presidential nominating contest was a pivotal moment in Thursday’s debate from Miami, the second night of the event.

Harris was referring to the Biden’s remarks this month about lost “civility” in the nation’s capital, including being able to work with segregationist Sens. James O. Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia, even though he disagreed with them.

Biden said his position was being mischaracterized, that he did not praise racists; he pointed to his work with President Obama without mentioning him by name.

This is not your father’s Democratic Party: Debate shows how leftward it has moved »

Biden also said he did not oppose busing, but rather believed it was an issue that should be handled by the states rather than the federal government.

“You would have been able to go to school the same exact way because it was a local decision,” he said.

Harris noted that such states’ rights arguments were used to fight integration in certain parts of the country.

“That’s why the federal government must step in,” Harris said. “That’s why we have the Voting Rights Act, that’s why we have the Civil Rights Act, that’s why we need to pass the Equality Act. That’s why we need to pass the ERA, because there are moments in history when states fail to preserve the civil rights of all people.”

Biden noted his support for the Equal Rights Amendment and the Voting Rights Act before noting that he had run out of time.

Harris clearly came prepared to go after Biden on this issue. Her campaign tweeted a picture of her as a schoolgirl shortly after the exchange.

United States President Donald Trump has said that he will throw out all executive orders issued under predecessor Joe Biden that he believes were signed using an autopen, pushing a dubious claim to delegitimise Democratic policies.

In a social media post on Friday, Trump, a Republican, estimated that the majority of Biden’s orders were executed with autopen, a machine that mimics a given signature.

“Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect,” Trump wrote.

Trump has long maintained that Biden — who was 82 when he left office in January — was not in control of the executive office due to his advanced age and declining mental state.

The Republican leader, himself 79 years old, reiterated that message in Friday’s post and threatened to prosecute Biden if the Democrat denied it.

“I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally,” Trump said.

“Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury.”

The autopen and similar mechanical signature devices have a long history in the White House, stretching back to the third US president, Thomas Jefferson, in the early 19th century. Trump himself has used the device, particularly during his first term.

But Trump has had an acrimonious relationship with his Democratic predecessors, including Biden and former President Barack Obama.

He has trolled Biden in particular for his age and his use of the autopen while in office. After setting up a “presidential walk of fame” near the White House Rose Garden earlier this year, Trump replaced Biden’s portrait with a picture of the mechanical device.

He recently showed off the picture to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit this month.

Biden and Trump faced each other twice in presidential elections: once in 2020, when Trump lost, and once in 2024, when Biden dropped out of the race. Trump ultimately won the latter.

He has also consistently denied his defeat in the 2020 election, falsely claiming widespread voter fraud.

Trump has made other misleading and unfounded statements about Biden, including that White House staffers took advantage of the Democrat’s declining age to sign policy documents without his knowledge.

There is, however, no definitive proof that the autopen was used under Biden without his consent. Biden himself denied the allegation in a June statement.

“Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,” he wrote. “I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”

Nevertheless, Trump revisited that allegation in Friday’s message on his platform Truth Social.

“The Radical Left Lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the Presidency away from him,” the Republican leader wrote.

Friday’s announcement is the latest effort by Trump to frame the actions of his political rivals as illegitimate.

In March, for instance, Trump posted a Truth Social message attempting to invalidate the pardons Biden issued before his departure from the White House.

Biden had controversially awarded “preemptive” pardons to politicians who served on a House select committee investigating Trump for his actions on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the US Capitol.

“The ‘Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, and OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen,” Trump wrote in March, reiterating familiar claims.

“Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!”

Legal experts largely dismissed the president’s post at the time as unconstitutional, as US law does not require presidential pardons to be signed in any given way — or even that they be written down.

A 2005 memo from the US Office of Legal Counsel also explains, “The President need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill he approves and decides to sign in order for the bill to become law.”

It adds that using an autopen to “affix the President’s signature” to legislation — or “directing a subordinate” to do so — is considered acceptable.

Still, Biden did face significant public concern about whether his age had hindered his ability to carry out his duties, particularly in the final years of his four-year term.

A disastrous performance in the June 2024 presidential debate heightened those concerns, as Biden appeared stiff and struggled to maintain his train of thought.

Members of the Democratic Party afterwards pressured Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, a step he eventually took in July of that year.

Some critics have speculated whether Biden’s age diminished his ability to dedicate time and attention to areas such as foreign policy, giving senior staff members greater influence over policymaking.

This year, Biden revealed he had advanced prostate cancer, and he is currently undergoing radiation therapy.

Should Trump complete his second term, he will also be 82 years old, a few months older than Biden was at the end of his presidential term. Concerns about age and mental health have also dogged Trump’s time in the White House.

Just this week, The New York Times ran an article titled, “Shorter Days, Signs of Fatigue: Trump Faces Realities of Aging in Office”. It detailed instances where Trump appeared to fall asleep during public appearances and described how Trump has limited his public appearances during his second term.

Trump responded on social media by calling the female reporter on the story “ugly” and posting that he had “aced” his physical and cognitive exams.

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer traveled to Delaware last weekend to meet with Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s first known in-person session with a potential running mate as he nears a decision.

Whitmer visited Biden on Sunday, according to two high-ranking Michigan Democrats who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The first-term governor of the battleground state has long been on his short list of possible running mates.

Flight records show a chartered plane left Lansing’s Capital Region International Airport for Delaware Coastal Airport at 5:33 p.m. and returned at 11:16 p.m.

The governor’s office declined to confirm or deny the trip.

“We don’t discuss her personal schedule,” spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said.

Biden’s campaign declined to comment.

He has spent months weighing who would serve alongside him if he wins in November. Biden has pledged to select a woman and has conducted an expansive search, with finalists including Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, California Rep. Karen Bass and former Obama national security advisor Susan Rice.

Biden is facing calls to select a Black woman to acknowledge the crucial role of Black women in Democratic politics and in response to the nation’s reckoning with systemic racism.

Whitmer has sought to address racism and racial inequity. In April, she created a task force to address the pandemic’s racial disparities and later proposed police reforms in the wake of George Floyd’s killing. On Wednesday — days after visiting Biden — she declared racism a public health crisis, created an advisory council of Black leaders and required implicit bias training for all state employees.

If Whitmer is chosen to join the ticket and Biden wins, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II would become the country’s only Black governor.

Biden and Whitmer formed a bond after he campaigned for her in the 2018 gubernatorial election. She is a co-chair on his campaign.

Her profile has grown since delivering the Democrats’ response to President Trump’s State of the Union address in February and especially amid the pandemic. She has taken aggressive steps to curb the coronavirus in a state that was a hot spot nationally early on and — after she criticized the federal response — has drawn criticism from Trump, who in March urged Vice President Mike Pence not to call “the woman in Michigan.”

Joe Hawkins has gone from being an international exile in Exeter to helping Wales try to cope without their England-based contingent.

Steve Tandy’s men finish their autumn campaign with a daunting fixture against world champions South Africa in Cardiff on Saturday.

A game against the Springboks would be hard enough with a full squad but Wales will be forced into huge changes to the 23 that put in a spirited performance in the 52-26 defeat by New Zealand.

Tandy is without Montpellier’s Adam Beard plus 12 players who have gone back to English clubs because the money-raising encounter has been arranged outside World Rugby’s official Test window.

Hawkins, who won his first cap in two years against the All Blacks after a move to Scarlets allowed him to resume his international career, is confident that the deputies can step up.

“You’ve always got to be ready and a chance can always come earlier sometimes due to injuries,” said the centre or fly-half.

“The boys have been training hard and I’m pretty confident anyone who does come in can do a good job next weekend.”

Joe Swash has given a rare insight into his marriage with Stacey Solomon as he opened up on his ‘weakness’ and admitted that he takes a step back when it comes to Christmas

Joe Swash has offered a candid glimpse into his marriage with wife Stacey Solomon as he revealed his “weakness”.

The former EastEnders actor, 43, appeared alongside Vernon Kay, Rob Rinder and Jordan Banjo on ITV Loose Men on Wednesday (November 20), where they tackled various subjects.

But it was one particular discussion that got the blokes chatting as they explored which family members contribute more effort during the Christmas period.

Vernon kicked things off by saying: “December is just around the corner and it’s just 5 weeks till Christmas. Statistics show that it’s the woman of the house that put the most effort in when preparing for the festive season.”

Focusing on his colleague Joe, the TV host then enquired: “So Joe, Stacey is Mrs Christmas. Is there any pressure on you when she gets cracking?”, reports OK!.

Joe confessed: “All year there is a pressure on me. If you are ever wondering what month of the year it is, just pop around my house and my door will tell you.

“If it’s summer we will have a summer display on. We just got rid of the Halloween display and Christmas is going up now.”

Speaking candidly about his marriage, the celebrity went on: “I feel like a good relationship is about knowing the strengths and weaknesses and one my weaknesses is getting involved. I like to take a step back because Stacey has got a vision and I’ll do the running around.”

He quipped: “Stacey is the site manager and I’m a tradie so I’ll be going to pick all the stuff up and Stacey makes it look beautiful. You know what they say, there is no I in the team.”

The room erupted into laughter as Jordan chimed in with a joke: “Well there is an on- site manager.”

Later in the programme, Joe couldn’t resist highlighting one of Stacey’s habits that “gets on his nerves so much.” During a panel discussion about pet peeves, Joe was quick to confess his dislike for noisy eaters.

To add insult to injury, Joe confessed that Stacey isn’t exactly quiet when munching on a packet of crisps. He said: “My Stacey, somehow she can project the volume of the crisps she is eating. How can you make that louder than it needs to be? That gets on my nerves so much.”

Joe added another gripe: “There is one more. You know when someone puts something in the dish washer and they don’t take the stuff out of the dishwasher so when I go in there to get a cup I’m then made to take everything out of the dishwasher like it is my job.”

Stacey and Joe tied the knot in 2022 and together they have three children – Rex, five, Rose, three, and one year old Belle. Stacey has two sons and Joe has one son – teenagers Zachary, Leighton and Harry – from previous relationships.

Loose Woman airs weekdays from 12.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX

“It’s been tough to deal with at times and it’s made me not want to be playing and competing at times throughout the year,” he said.

“It’s definitely a lot in the stomach – you feel sick to your stomach. I’ve been struggling to sleep and then, because of the feeling in the stomach, struggling to eat well, eat enough.

“It’s almost like a feeling of dread – that something bad is going to happen.”

He may allow himself an occasional social hit but will otherwise switch off from tennis until the spring.

Salisbury has plenty of plans in place, including a safari in Kenya, a skiing trip with his girlfriend’s family, and Christmas at home – which is not always possible for tennis players before a season which starts in Australia in early January.

The current world number 10 played the whole of this season with fellow Briton Neal Skupski, and even though they did not win a title, they were runners-up at six events including the French Open, the US Open and last week’s ATP Finals in Turin.

“I wouldn’t say it affected my tennis that much,” Salisbury said of his anxiety.

“We’ve played well, especially the past six months. I feel like I’ve dealt with it well and managed to get myself into a good enough state on court to perform well in most of the matches that I have played.

“But I think it’s taken an extra toll emotionally and mentally to do that. It’s meant that it’s just not been enjoyable being at a lot of the tournaments that I have played.

“I haven’t spoken to too many people about the struggles that I have had – mainly my team, friends and family, so not too many people in the tennis world.

“I think a lot of people don’t want to share too much because they don’t want other people to know about that, when you are having to go and compete against them.

“But to be honest I don’t really mind if people do know. I’m sure it’s something which a lot of other people are having to deal with and I don’t think it would have any impact on me, as if anything over the past year it’s made me mentally stronger than before.”

Boland looked likely to be a reserve to the first-choice Australia pace attack in this series, but will now be in the Australia XI for the opening Test following injuries to captain Pat Cummins and fellow seamer Josh Hazlewood.

Boland and Mitchell Starc will probably be joined by uncapped 31-year-old Brendan Doggett as the specialist seamers.

“Obviously you don’t want to be missing two great players like Josh and Pat,” said Boland.

“Our bowling stocks have been really strong for quite a while – no one has been able to break in.

“It’s going to be an exciting time. A new guy or two will get a look in. They’re not inexperienced guys. Brendan is 31 years old, he’s played a lot of first-class cricket and he knows his game. He knows what he’s going to need to do to express his skills out on the big stage.”

Cummins appeared to be bowling at full pace in the nets on Monday as he builds towards a return for the second Test in Brisbane.

England’s method of attacking batting is going to be tested on what is expected to be a lively surface at Perth Stadium.

The tourists’ stroke-makers will also have to adapt to vast playing areas at Australian grounds, much larger than the Test venues in the UK.

“I’m sure it will help us,” said Boland, speaking at Perth Stadium. “Balls that would go over the fence in England have a longer way to go at grounds like here, the MCG and the Gabba in Brisbane.

“It’s the same for them. Their bowlers when they bowl their short balls, you have to hit it 85 metres instead of 65, so it’s a big difference.”

I can’t name a single song by the Jonas Brothers, but I can tell you their names — Joe, Kevin and Nick — and that they made a sitcom, “Jonas” (second season titled “Jonas L.A.”), back in 2009 that I liked a lot. The memory of that show was enough to get me kind of excited for “A Very Jonas Christmas Movie,” premiering Friday on Disney+ — which, as it happens, I also like. The humor is self-deprecating, the setting international, the weather wintry, the company good.

The plot, which is basically “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” minus Steve Martin, John Candy and Thanksgiving, plus the Jonas Brothers, Christmas and magic, finds the boys — are they boys or are they men, it’s a point of discussion — in London, a few days before Christmas on the last night of a six-month tour. While they are good at being the capital-B Jonas Brothers onstage facing screaming thousands, they are less adept at being the small-b brothers after the curtain comes down. Their relationship seems pretty normal to me, but to each his own necessity.

Here they delineate their characters.

Joe (to Nick): You’re the uptight responsible one.

Kevin (to Joe): You’re the relatable tramp. I’m the relatable —

Nick: — human cardboard.

Joe: — forgettable Curly.

Nick: — the world’s most unlikely rock star.

Joe: Not Nick or Joe.

Kevin: I was going to say “handsome, relatable everyman,” but fine.

Anyway! The tour is over and the relatable tramp wants to go out and party, suggesting it could be epic. “We are three extremely exhausted dads in our 30s,” replies the uptight one, “how epic could it be?” And so, while his siblings FaceTime with their IRL families, Joe finds himself on a British barstool — a pubstool — beside a bearded stranger in a red leather jacket. You will recognize the actor as Jesse Tyler Ferguson and the character as St. Nick, barely disguised. Touched by Joe’s story of sibling alienation — “Our Christmas plans are to get the hell away from each other” — Santa works his wonders to keep them together until they get their brotherly magic back. For a start, he sends lightning to blow up the plane they’re scheduled to fly home on. (No one was aboard, we assume.)

“We should be able to function in the real world,” says Nick to Joe, who is about to phone their manager (Randall Park) to fix things.

“That would be ideal,” replies Joe, “but we’ve been famous since we were little kids, so it is what it is.”

Further supernatural complications ensue, allowing Joe to have a “Before Sunrise” episode with childhood friend Lucy (Chloe Bennet), cute-met on a train that should be going to Paris but is headed to Amsterdam, and Nick to hate-duet with frenemy Ethan (Andrew Barth Feldman), whose father he played in a fictional version of “Home Alone: The Musical” (“Being home alone / It’s like being with no / With no people”). Other talents swelling the ranks: Laverne Cox as their agent; Billie Lourd as travel agent Cassidy; Will Ferrell as Will Ferrell, No.1 Jonas fan; and Andrea Martin as a rideshare driver.

The songs feel mechanical — easy on the auto-tune, fellas, I’ve seen your Tiny Desk concert and you don’t need it — though the accompanying production numbers are fun. (You knew there would be production numbers.) But like the Beatles and Monkees before them, the brothers are natural, genuine actors; it’s my own Christmas wish that they find more to do in this line. A little breeze would blow the plot away, but keep the windows shut and you’ll be fine.

England coach Marcus Trescothick says he has full confidence in Joe Root to perform against Australia in the Ashes, despite the fact the batter has never scored a century down under during an away Ashes series.

READ MORE: Why has Root never made a century down under?

As he tried to calm the concern after defeat at Nottingham Forest, manager Daniel Farke admitted Leeds United supporters could be described as “emotional”.

Which could go a long way to explaining why Joe Rodon has fitted in so well with them.

The Wales defender not only wears his heart on his sleeve, but displays it on his face.

You didn’t have to be a body language expert to see the 28-year-old’s City Ground frustration as Leeds managed to concede three goals for a second week in a row.

Nor what it has meant to be a match-winner in the Premier League after his first top-flight goals last month.

As Leeds’ former title-winning centre-back Jon Newsome puts it: “He wouldn’t make a very good poker player”.

But Rodon has become something of an ace in the pack at Elland Road, with his fan favourite status going beyond just simply showing what it means.

And you don’t make a near century of consecutive league appearances – and mentions alongside Norman Hunter as a result – for pure passion alone.

Instead, Rodon is showing why he had been tipped for the very top after breaking through at Swansea, and what Wales fans heading to Liechtenstein this weekend have known for some time.

“He has all the attributes to belong in the Premier League,” said boss Craig Bellamy. “When we were at Burnley [in the Championship], we wanted to bring him in. We felt he was a player for the high level.

“What we’re seeing now is that player.”

England squad: AJ Brimson, Joe Burgess, Daryl Clark, Herbie Farnworth, Tom Johnstone, Mikey Lewis, Harry Newman, Mikolaj Oledzi, George Williams (capt), Harry Smith, Mike McMeeken, Jez Litten, Matty Lees, Kai Pearce-Paul, Kallum Watkins, Morgan Knowles, Owen Trout, Alex Walmsley, Morgan Smithies.

Australia XIII: Reece Walsh, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Kotoni Staggs, Gehamat Shibasaki, Josh Addo-Carr, Cameron Munster, Nathan Cleary, Patrick Carrigan, Harry Grant, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Angus Crichton, Hudson Young, Isaah Yeo (captain).

Interchanges: Tom Dearden, Lindsay Collins, Reuben Cotter, Keaon Koloamatangi.

Reserves: Bradman Best, Lindsay Smith, Mitchell Moses.

NASHVILLE — The Chargers won the battle but lost the warrior.

They held off the Tennessee Titans 27-20, but saw their outstanding left tackle Joe Alt go down with the same injured ankle that sidelined him earlier this season.

It was a troubling and ominous blow Sunday to a franchise that’s in a constant state of reshuffling its offensive line and unable to sufficiently protect quarterback Justin Herbert. Before losing Alt, the Chargers lost right tackle Bobby Hart to what they called a groin injury (but looked to be a hurt leg).

On a cool and overcast day, the Chargers had enough to get past the one-win Titans — the Chargers (6-3) were favored by 9½ points — but will face far stiffer competition in the second half of the season. The Titans haven’t won at home since last Nov. 4.

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh helps offensive tackle Bobby Hart off the field in the first half.

(John Amis / Associated Press)

Herbert, who ran for 62 yards in the Week 8 win over Minnesota, again provided the bulk of the Chargers’ running game. He led all rushers with 57 yards in nine carries, including a one-yard touchdown.

The Titans fired coach Brian Callahan last month after the team got off to a 1-5 start, putting in place interim coach Mike McCoy, who was head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 2013 to 2016.

The Chargers absorbed a huge blow in the second quarter when Alt went down with an ankle injury, the same ankle that caused him to miss three games earlier this season. Alt, the best player on the offensive line, had returned for the Week 8 game against Minnesota and his presence was noticeable in both run blocking and protection of Herbert’s blind side.

Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston catches a touchdown pass next to Tennessee Titans cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis during the first half Sunday.

(John Amis / Associated Press)

But Sunday, he was felled by 285-pound Titans edge rusher Jihad Ward, who was blocked into the back of Alt’s legs. Alt sat on the turf for a few minutes, surrounded by Chargers medical staff, before a cart rolled onto the field to take him off.

It was the latest setback for an offensive line besieged by them this season, and an indication that Herbert will remain the most hit and harassed quarterback in the league this season.

Even though the Titans were without defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons, their best player, Herbert was still under near-constant pressure.

Herbert threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half, although his first throw was abysmal. It was straight into the arms of Tennessee linebacker Cody Barton, who turned the visitors’ second play from scrimmage into a 24-yard pick-six.

As he does virtually every week, Herbert picked up some big gains with his feet. He had a 39-yard scramble in the second quarter, and rolled out in the fourth and scored his first rushing touchdown of the season, sliding in from a yard out. That capped a 15-play, nine-minute, 99-yard drive in response to a goal-line stand.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is sacked by Tennessee Titans linebacker Jihad Ward during the second half Sunday.

(George Walker IV / Associated Press)

The Titans (1-8), who have had troubles moving the ball in the red zone, scored their second touchdown of the half on a 67-yard punt return by rookie Chimere Dike, who leads the NFL in all-purpose yards.

Those issues in the red zone were on display in the third quarter, when the Titans had four plays inside the 10 and couldn’t score, including third and fourth downs from the one.

Anchoring the middle of the Chargers’ defense was Daiyan Henley, playing two days after his older brother was shot and killed. After a sack in the first half, the third-year linebacker dropped to his knees and turned his palms to the sky and held out his hands in prayer.

Edge rusher Odafe Oweh had a pair of sacks, bringing his total to four in four games since being traded to the Chargers by Baltimore last month.

This major investigative documentary examines the facts surrounding the murder of Palestinian American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, as she was reporting in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, in May 2022.

It sets out to discover who killed her – and after months of painstaking research, succeeds in identifying the Israeli sniper who pulled the trigger.

It gets through the smokescreens of both the Israeli and US governments and reveals how the close political relationship between them frustrated efforts to obtain justice at the time.

Through interviews with an Israeli former national security adviser, a former deputy assistant US secretary of state for Israeli-Palestinian affairs, Israeli soldiers and Shireen’s colleagues and family, the film challenges official versions of events – and, in doing so, highlights issues of accountability, press freedom and the geopolitical dynamics surrounding the case, particularly in the light of the Israeli killing of Anas al-Sharif and four of his Al Jazeera colleagues in Gaza in August 2025.