Joe says no to presidential bid; VP Biden stays out of race in a boost for Clinton
Joe says no to presidential bid; VP Biden stays out of race in a boost for Clinton
WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of tortured indecision, Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday he won’t be a candidate in the 2016 White House campaign, solidifying Hillary Rodham Clinton’s status as the Democratic front-runner and the party’s likely heir to President Barack Obama’s legacy.
Standing under bright sun in the White House Rose Garden, Biden spoke movingly about mourning the recent death of his son, Beau, a process he said does not match the political calendar. While he said his family was emotionally prepared to undertake a grueling presidential campaign, they arrived at that decision too late for him to mount a credible bid for a job that has long been the north star of his political ambitions.
“Unfortunately, I believe we’re out of time,” said Biden, flanked by his wife, Jill, and the president.
Biden’s decision puts to rest the uncertainty hanging over the Democratic primary. The race now will likely settle into a two-person contest between Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has energized the party’s liberal base but lacks Clinton’s campaign infrastructure and support from party leaders.
Biden was seen by some Democrats as an ideal blend of Clinton’s establishment credentials and Sanders’ populist appeal. Interest in his potential candidacy was fueled both by an outpouring of affection after his son succumbed to cancer in May and the persistent questions about Clinton’s viability, particularly amid revelations about her controversial email use at the State Department.
Fractious House conservatives resist Paul Ryan’s call to unify around his bid for speaker
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fractious conservatives resisted Paul Ryan’s appeals to rally around him for House speaker Wednesday, suggesting fresh trouble ahead in the Republican-on-Republican struggle between pragmatists and purists. The fight has rendered Congress almost dysfunctional and shaken the party’s presidential campaign.
The conservatives’ reactions cast doubt on whether Ryan, the GOP’s 2012 vice presidential nominee, can get the buy-in from all factions of the House he says he needs to run for speaker.
The Wisconsin congressman, a reluctant candidate for the post, has been asked to run by mainstream party leaders seeking to resolve a crisis set in motion when compromise-averse conservatives pushed Speaker John Boehner to resign and then pressured his likely successor into withdrawing.
The same intraparty divide is roiling the Republicans’ presidential campaign, with outsiders led by Donald Trump dominating the field for months.
On Wednesday, some House members quickly took issue with Ryan’s suggested changes to congressional rules and even his desire to balance family life with the demands of the job.
Assad-Putin talks signal diplomatic push to end Syria crisis; Kerry-Lavrov to meet in Vienna
MOSCOW (AP) — Bashar Assad’s surprise meeting with Vladimir Putin could signal that Russia ultimately seeks a political settlement after weeks of heavy airstrikes in Syria. But the terms of such an arrangement are uncertain, and questions remain about whether Moscow will seek the departure of its longtime ally or try for a power-sharing agreement.
In a further sign that a diplomatic push might be underway to end the four-year crisis, Russia announced Wednesday that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had agreed to meet Friday in Vienna with their counterparts from Saudi Arabia and Turkey — both firm Assad critics.
The Syrian president’s visit to Moscow, his first known trip abroad since war broke out in 2011, was announced on Wednesday, the morning after it happened, and raised intense speculation about the two leaders’ motives — and a strong response from Washington.
“We view the red-carpet welcome for Assad, who has used chemical weapons against his own people, at odds with the stated goal by the Russians for a political transition in Syria,” said White House spokesman Eric Schultz.
If nothing else, it underscored how emboldened the embattled Syrian leader has become in the wake of the Russian airstrikes that began on Sept. 30 and Iran’s deployment of hundreds of ground forces to fight alongside Syrian government troops.
Netanyahu heads to Berlin for high-profile meeting with Kerry aimed at restoring calm
JERUSALEM (AP) — With no end in sight to weeks of Israeli-Palestinian violence, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to Germany on Wednesday as part of a high-profile diplomatic push to restore calm.
The trip, which included a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and talks with U.S. Secretary state John Kerry on Thursday, came on a day of new Palestinian attacks in the West Bank.
Israeli officials said a female Israeli soldier was stabbed and seriously wounded by a Palestinian man who was shot dead, while late Wednesday, the army said a Palestinian motorist wounded four Israelis in a hit and run in the southern West Bank. Israeli soldiers opened fire, and the fate of the driver was not immediately clear. Meanwhile, Israeli troops shot and wounded a 14-year-old Palestinian girl whom they said was carrying a knife and trying to infiltrate a Jewish settlement.
It remains unclear whether the diplomatic push will be able to succeed. The Israeli and Palestinian leaders have vast differences over the causes of the violence. It also is unclear whether anyone can rein in the attackers, who have been young “lone-wolf” Palestinians, often in their teens, acting on their own.
At a news conference with Merkel, Netanyahu reiterated his belief that Palestinian incitement has fueled the unrest. He pointed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ refusal to condemn attacks on Israelis and accusations that Israel is changing delicate prayer arrangements at Jerusalem’s holiest site.
Albuquerque police press public for tips on driver who killed girl, 4, in road rage shooting
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Officials in New Mexico’s largest city pleaded for the public’s help Wednesday in finding a man they say killed a 4-year-old girl in a road rage shooting soon after her father picked up her and her 7-year-old brother from school.
The girl’s father drove onto Interstate 40 in Albuquerque after Lilly Garcia and her brother left school Tuesday and got into the backseat of his pickup truck, Police Chief Gorden Eden said at a news conference.
The assailant and the father, who has not been identified, were heading west when one car pulled up to the other and the shooter opened fire, police said. It’s not clear what led the incident to escalate.
Police say they struggled with the initial investigation and search for the shooter because of a storm that swept over the Albuquerque area soon after the shooting, witnesses’ varying descriptions of the suspect and a crime scene that could span 2 miles.
Authorities are pressing for tips, offering roughly $25,000 for information that leads to the arrest of the shooter, who was driving a newer model maroon or dark red Toyota Corolla or Camry with a spoiler on the trunk and dark tinted windows. The car also had a University of New Mexico license plate.