Biden news – live: Obama returning to White House as president says Putin should face war crimes trial

As horrifying details of atrocities committed by Russian forces in Ukraine continue to emerge, Joe Biden has reiterated his view that Vladimir Putin is a war criminal – and has suggested he should face legal consequences for what his military is doing.

Speaking to reporters in Washington as he disembarked Marine One, Mr Biden said: “You remember I got criticised for calling Putin a war criminal. Well, the truth of the matter – you saw what happened in Bucha – he is a war criminal... We have to get all the details so that this can be, so we can actually have a war crimes trial. This guy is brutal, and what’s happening in Bucha is outrageous.”

On Capitol Hill, the Senate Judiciary Committee ended its vote for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court in a deadlock after Republicans responded to criticism they were too harsh in their questioning. Nevertheless, Ms Jackson looks set to become the first Black woman to sit on the court.

The tied vote by the committee does not stop the nomination from proceeding to the Senate floor, where Ms Jackson appears to already have the support of 51 senators.

Key Points

• Biden calls for ‘brutal’ Putin to face war crimes trial

• Biden has privately said Trump should be prosecuted: Report

• Obama to return to White House Obama to celebrate healthcare reform

• Secret Service ‘command post’ to protect Hunter Biden costs $360k a year

Biden administration to announce Obamacare tweaks – report

12:45 , Andrew Naughtie

Huffpost reports that at today’s Obamacare event featuring Joe Biden’s former boss – Mr Obama’s first public White House appearance since the end of his presidency – the administration will announce a change to the healthcare programme that could see prices lowered for as many as 1 million Americans while offering coverage to 200,000 who are still uninsured.

ICYMI: Biden on Putin’s war crimes

12:05 , Andrew Naughtie

Joe Biden upped the ante yesterday with impromptu remarks to a reporter reflecting on the Russian military’s atrocities in Bucha, a town near Kyiv.

Biden calls for ‘brutal’ Putin to face war crimes trial over Bucha

“You may remember I got criticised for calling Putin a war criminal,” the president said. “Well, the truth of the matter – we saw it happen in Bucha – this warrants him – he is a war criminal.

“But we have to gather the information. We have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue to fight and we have to get all the detail so this could be – actual have a war crimes trial. This guy is brutal and what’s happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyone’s seen it.”

Below, you can read a dispatch from Bucha by The Independent’s correspondent Kim Sengupta.

Mass graves and bodies ‘left to rot in bags like rubbish’: The horrors of Bucha

Jen Psaki on Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s friendship

11:29 , Andrew Naughtie

Ahead of Barack Obama’s visit to the White House for an event celebrating the impact of the Affordable Care Act, Jen Psaki described the two presidents’ relationship as a genuine friendship, not just the kind of superficial amity that’s a feature of life in US politics.

More on today’s public reunion below:

Obama to return to White House for health care event

Pentagon spokesman shares horror at Bucha atrocities

10:46 , Andrew Naughtie

John Kirby, the press secretary for the Pentagon, appeared on MSNBC last night to discuss the events that have come to light in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, where Russian soldiers have brutalised, raped and murdered scores of civilians.

Watch: Lindsey Graham threatens Democrats over future Supreme Court nominations

09:43 , Andrew Naughtie

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham spent Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination hearings in a foul mood, and he showed the same irascibility at the committee vote on her nomination yesterday.

Among his various recriminations, most of which had little if anything to do with the judge herself, was an implicit threat to block almost by default any nominee put forward by Democratic president if and when Republicans control the Senate.

This is what Lisa Murkowski worried about in her endorsement of the judge before her full Senate vote. “We are to that point where it’s almost automatic: If it is a president who is not of my party puts forth a nominee, I am somehow obligated to just barely even give consideration, not just before the name is named,” she said.

“This is an awful process, it’s just awful.”

Watch a clip of Mr Graham’s remarks below.

White House says Russian atrocities part of Putin’s ‘plan

09:03 , Andrew Naughtie

’White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday said the atrocities committed by Russian forces in Bucha and other cities of Ukraine are part of a deliberate plan to inflict terror on civilians.

Speaking at Monday’s daily White House press briefing, Mr Sullivan said the brutality of Russian forces was what “Russia was intending” for Ukraine “as a matter of policy”.“We do not believe that this is just a random accident or the rogue act of a particular individual — we believe that this was part of the plan,” he said.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Zelenskyy to address United Nations amid outrage over civilian deaths

08:17 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is likely to address UN Security Council diplomats, outraged by growing evidence that Russian forces deliberately killed civilians, after US president Joe Biden said Vladimir Putin should be tried for war crimes.

The withdrawal of Russian troops from towns around Ukraine’s capital revealed corpses on streets, that have led to calls for tougher sanctions against the Kremlin, especially a cutoff of fuel imports from Russia.

Germany and France reacted by expelling dozens of Russian diplomats, suggesting they were spies.

Cory Booker on why he felt the need to speak up for Ketanji Brown Jackson

07:43 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Senator Cory Booker defended judge Ketanji Brown Jackson after multiple Republican Senators, including Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, assailed her record on sentencing people charged with possessing child sex abuse images.

“Why didn’t you vote against every one of those Republican judges that was not following the guidelines, as most don’t?” he asked in response to Mr Hawley, who had questioned Ms Jackson before him.

After the hearing, Mr Booker told The Independent why he spoke up for her record.“She didn’t need me to defend her record,” he said.

“She could have had a committee of 22 Josh Hawleys and she would have still persevered. She’s extraordinary. I felt a need to speak to her record which, was a lot of folks felt was being disrespected or overlooked at a time that it should be celebrated and really given the honour and due that it deserves.”

Eric Garcia reports from Capitol Hill.

Cory Booker tells The Independent why he defended Ketanji Brown Jackson

ICYMI | White House condemns ‘hateful’ anti-LGBT+ bills

06:44 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday said the “Don’t Say Gay” law reflects “misinformed, hateful policies that do absolutely nothing to address the real issues”.

Ms Psaki responded to a series of questions from Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy, who asked whether Joe Biden’s administration believes it is “fair” that “biological males are competing against women” in university sports, and “at what age does the White House think that students should be taught about sexual orientation or gender identity”.

“Parents across the country are looking to national, state and district leaders to support our nation’s students, to ensure that kids are treated equally in schools, and this is not a reflection of that,” she said.

Alex Woodward reports.

White House condemns ‘hateful’ Florida measures aimed at LGBT+ students

05:58 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Bidens to host granddaughter’s reception at White HousePresident Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will host their granddaughter’s wedding reception at the White House in November.

Naomi Biden, 28, got engaged to Peter Neal, 24, in September 2021 near his family home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

She is the eldest of the Biden grandchildren and is the daughter of Hunter Biden and Kathleen Buhle.

Oliver O’Connell has more.

Bidens to host granddaughter Naomi’s wedding reception at White House

White House says Russian atrocities part of Putin’s ‘plan’ for Ukraine

05:30 , Oliver O'Connell

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday said the atrocities committed by Russian forces in Bucha, Ukraine and other parts of the country part of a deliberate plan to inflict terror on civilians.

Earlier on Monday, President Joe Biden said revelations of Russian attacks on civilians, including execution-style killings of bound captives, justifies his earlier decision to refer to Russian president Vladimir Putin as a “war criminal”.

“The truth of the matter – we saw it happen in Bucha – this warrants him – he is a war criminal,” said Mr Biden, who added that the Russian dictator “should be held accountable”.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

White House says Russian atrocities part of Putin’s ‘plan’ for Ukraine

Romney and Murkowksi support Ketanji Brown Jackson

05:29 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah announced that they would vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

The two moderates join senator Susan Collins of Maine, who announced her support Ms Jackson last week, giving Ms Jackson three Republican votes.

“After multiple in-depth conversations with judge Jackson and deliberative review of her record and recent hearings, I will support her historic nomination to be an associate justice on the US Supreme Court,” she said.

Eric Garcia reports.

Romney and Murkowksi support Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination

Senate Judiciary committee in deadlock over Ketanji Brown Jackson

05:01 , Oliver O'Connell

The Senate Judiciary Committee ended its vote for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in a deadlock after Republicans responded to criticism they were too harsh.

The confirmation vote came weeks after memnbers of the committee aggressively questioned Ms Jackson. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin lauded Republicans including ranking Republican Chuck Grassley for treating Ms Jackson with respect but chided some Republicans for interrupting the judge and “accused her of vile things in front of her parents, her husband and her children.”

He alluded to questions from Republican Senators about her record on sentencing regarding child sex abuse images.

Eric Garcia reports for The Independent from Capitol Hill.

Senate Judiciary committee goes to deadlock on Ketanji Brown Jackson nomination

Obama to return to White House for the first time since leaving office

04:51 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Former president Barack Obama will return to the White House on Tuesday for the first time since he left office in 2017.

Mr Obama will reportedly join president Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris to “deliver remarks celebrating the success of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid in extending affordable health insurance to millions of Americans”.

The White House said the president “will take additional action to further strengthen the ACA and save families hundreds of dollars a month on their health care”.

Secret Service rented ‘command post’ to protect Hunter Biden costs $360k a year

04:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Secret Service agents assigned to protect President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden use a $30,000 per month California rental house as a command post, according to an ABC News report.

Mr Biden, an attorney and former lobbyist who has recently been making a living as a visual artist, currently resides in Malibu, California, where he lives in a rented house which sources told ABC costs roughly $20,000 per month to rent.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Secret Service ‘command post’ to protect Hunter Biden costs $360k a year

Kamala Harris’ deputy chief of staff will leave White House

04:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Michael Fuchs, the former Clinton and Obama administration foreign policy adviser who has served as Vice President Kamala Harris’ deputy chief of staff since she took office, will depart the White House next month.

In an internal memorandum obtained by Reuters, Mr Fuchs wrote that he will remain on the job until May to “ensure a smooth transition” to his successor.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Kamala Harris’ deputy chief of staff will leave White House in latest shakeup

Biden on Putin’s ‘war crimes'

03:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Here’s the moment from today where Joe Biden made clear that he considers Vladimir Putin a war criminal, and that the events uncovered in the Ukrainian town of Bucha warrant a war crimes trial.

John Bowden has the story.

Biden calls for ‘brutal’ Putin to face war crimes trial over Bucha

US to call for suspending Russia from UN human rights body

02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The US’s ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, is calling for Russia to be ejected from the UN Human Rights Council. Her announcement comes as western allies consider how to increase pressure on the Kremlin after this weekend’s horrific revelations of mass murder and other atrocities committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.

US seizes its first Russian oligarch mega-yacht

01:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The Biden administration is reportedly considering ramping up sanctions on Russia given the flood of reports of war crimes being committed by Russian forces in Ukraine – but the sanctions already in place are still being enforced, with a joint Spanish-American operation seizing a super-yacht belonging to billionaire oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.

At the Marina Real in the port of Palma de Mallorca, a large group of Spanish Civil Guards and US federal agents boarded the boat, according to Associated Press reporters who were at the scene and saw the authorities early Monday morning.

Mr Vekselberg’s US assets remain frozen and American companies have been forbidden from doing business with him and his entities.

Read more:

US seizes its first oligarch mega-yacht in Putin crackdown

ICYMI: Book reports Joe Biden’s comments on Rupert Murdoch

01:00 , Oliver O'Connell

An upcoming book on the last weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency and the first year of Joe Biden’s includes a story about Mr Biden’s views on Fox News and its ultimate proprietor, billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch – whom the now-president is said to have described as “the most dangerous man in the world”.

“The Democratic president assessed Fox as one of the most destructive forces in the United States,” the authors write in This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future, “and told an associate midway through 2021 that its corporate overlord, the Australian-born News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch, was even more toxic than that.”

Read more:

Secret Service ‘command post’ to protect Hunter Biden costs $360k a year

Earlier: White House marks progress of Trucking Action Plan

Tuesday 5 April 2022 00:15 , Oliver O'Connell

White House statement on bipartisan Covid-19 funding proposal

Monday 4 April 2022 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

We are grateful for the Senate’s work on a bipartisan plan to help meet some of the country’s COVID-19 response needs. The Administration requested $22.5 billion to continue to provide critical protections like vaccines, boosters, treatments, and tests to people here at home and for help putting shots in arms around the world. Every dollar we requested is essential and we will continue to work with Congress to get all of the funding we need. But time is of the essence. We urge Congress to move promptly on this $10 billion package because it can begin to fund the most immediate needs, as we currently run the risk of not having some critical tools like treatments and tests starting in May and June. We will continue to work with Congress to fund our remaining domestic needs and will work with Senators Schumer and Romney – and others -- to build bipartisan support for a package to fund our global COVID-19 response. We must continue our work to vaccinate the world both because it is the right thing to do, and also, because as it is critical to reducing the risk of new variants, which in turn is critical to the safety of the American people.

US describes ‘litany of atrocities’ in Ukraine as Biden says Putin should face war crimes charges

Monday 4 April 2022 23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The Biden administration made a clear effort to dial up the rhetoric against Vladimir Putin and Russia on Monday with stern condemnations of reported massacres of civilians in Ukraine and promises for more action against Russia.

After horrifying images of what appeared to be civilians who had been executed with their hands tied were shared in western media outlets over the weekend, the US State Department called the reports of massacres committed by Russian troops “credible” and suggested directly that they were the result of deliberate, ordered actions that Russian military forces were carrying out.

John Bowden reports from Washington, DC.

US lists ‘atrocities’ in Ukraine as Biden says Putin should face war crimes charges

White House condemns ‘hateful’ anti-LGBT+ bills

Monday 4 April 2022 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law reflects “misinformed, hateful policies that do absolutely nothing to address the real issues” as LGBT+ students and families

“Parents across the country are looking to national, state and district leaders to support our nation’s students, to ensure that kids are treated equally in schools, and this is not a reflection of that,” she said on 4 April.

Alex Woodward has the latest.

White House condemns ‘hateful’ Florida measures aimed at LGBT+ students

Naomi Biden to celebrate wedding at White House

Monday 4 April 2022 22:00 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden’s granddaughter Naomi will celebrate her wedding at the White House in November it has been announced.

Ms Biden said: “Peter and I are endlessly grateful to my Nana and Pop for the opportunity to celebrate our wedding at the White House. We can’t wait to make our commitment to one another official and for what lies ahead.”

Schumer and Romney confirm Covid funding deal

Monday 4 April 2022 21:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Senators Chuck Schumer and Mitt Romney have confirmed the $10bn Covid funding deal.

“President Biden supports this package and has asked the Senate and House to act quickly to get this bill to his desk,” says Mr Schumer.

Watch the Judiciary Committee vote

Monday 4 April 2022 21:35 , Oliver O'Connell

Senate Judiciary committee in deadlock over Ketanji Brown Jackson

Monday 4 April 2022 21:28 , Oliver O'Connell

The Senate Judiciary Committee ended its vote for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in a deadlock after Republicans responded to criticism they were too harsh.

The confirmation vote came weeks after memnbers of the committee aggressively questioned Ms Jackson. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin lauded Republicans including ranking Republican Chuck Grassley for treating Ms Jackson with respect but chided some Republicans for interrupting the judge and “accused her of vile things in front of her parents, her husband and her children.”

He alluded to questions from Republican Senators about her record on sentencing regarding child sex abuse images.

Eric Garcia reports for The Independent from Capitol Hill.

Senate Judiciary committee goes to deadlock on Ketanji Brown Jackson nomination

Padilla arrives at Senate Judiciary Committee

Monday 4 April 2022 21:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Senator Alex Padilla has arrived at the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting room. The Supreme Court nomination vote on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson can now take place.

Biden: ‘Ludicrous’ for Russia to be on UN human rights council

Monday 4 April 2022 21:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Meanwhile, at the Senate Judiciary Committee...

Monday 4 April 2022 21:04 , Oliver O'Connell

The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to reconvene to vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson in the next hour now that Sen Padilla’s delayed flight from Los Angeles has landed.

Once the committee deadlocks, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will move to discharge the nomination.

It then needs a simple majority vote that the Democrats will get this evening.

Biden and Obama to have lunch on Tuesday

Monday 4 April 2022 20:43 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama will have lunch at the White House tomorrow, and will host an event celebrating the Affordable Care Act, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says.

“They are real friends, not just Washington friends,” she adds.

It will be Mr Obama’s first visit to the executive mansion since leaving office in January 2017.

White House says Russian atrocities part of Putin’s Ukraine ‘plan’

Monday 4 April 2022 20:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Atrocities committed by Russian troops are almost certainly an act of policy rather than poor behaviour of individual troops says NSA Jake Sullivan.

Andrew Feinberg reports for The Independent from Washington, DC.

White House says Russian atrocities part of Putin’s ‘plan’ for Ukraine

US and allies to roll out further sanctions against Russia

Monday 4 April 2022 20:26 , Oliver O'Connell

The US and its allies will roll out further sanctions this week against Russia in response to the atrocities committed in Bucha in Ukraine.

There is no official conclusion by the US that what is happening in Ukraine constitutes genocide.

NSA: ‘West will not break'

Monday 4 April 2022 20:18 , Oliver O'Connell

“The Russians have now realised that the West will not break,” says National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan detailing the Russian government’s possible next moves focused on eastern Ukraine after pulling back from Kyiv.

“Next stage of this conflict may very well be protracted,” he says. “During this renewed ground offensive in eastern Ukraine, Moscow will likely continue air and missile strikes across the rest of the country” to do military and economic damage, and “cause terror.”

Watch live as White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds briefing with US national security advisor

Monday 4 April 2022 20:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Lindsey Graham: If GOP controlled Senate, Jackson would not have gotten hearing

Monday 4 April 2022 19:47 , Oliver O'Connell

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Monday that if Republicans controlled the Senate, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson would not have received a hearing.

Mr Graham made the remarks during the Senate Judiciary Committee’s confirmation vote for Judge Jackson weeks after her confirmation hearing. The South Carolina Republican noted how this would be the first time that he would vote against a Supreme Court nominee, having voted to confirm Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, both of whom Barack Obama appointed.

“If we get back the Senate and we’re in charge of this body and there’s judicial openings, we will talk to our colleagues on the other side, but if we were in charge she would not be before the committee,” Mr Graham said during the confirmation vote hearing. “You would have had someone more moderate than this.”

Eric Garcia reports for The Independent from Capitol Hill.

Lindsey Graham: if Republicans controlled Senate, Jackson would not have a hearing

Secret Service rented ‘command post’ to protect Hunter Biden costs $360k a year

Monday 4 April 2022 19:10 , Oliver O'Connell

Secret Service agents assigned to protect President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden use a $30,000 per month California rental house as a command post, according to an ABC News report.

Mr Biden, an attorney and former lobbyist who has recently been making a living as a visual artist, currently resides in Malibu, California, where he lives in a rented house which sources told ABC costs roughly $20,000 per month to rent.

Andrew Feinberg reports.

Secret Service ‘command post’ to protect Hunter Biden costs $360k a year

Watch live as Biden outlines plans to tackle US trucking challenges

Monday 4 April 2022 19:08 , Oliver O'Connell

Trucking a ‘national priority’ says Buttigieg

Monday 4 April 2022 18:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Biden delivering remarks on Trucking Action Plan

Monday 4 April 2022 18:56 , Oliver O'Connell

Biden: Fox News ‘destructive’ and Murdoch ‘world’s most dangerous man’, according to new book

Monday 4 April 2022 18:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Joe Biden called Fox News one of the most destructive forces in America and billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch “the most dangerous man in the world”, a new book has claimed.

This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future by New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns revealed that the president allegedly made the critical assessment to an unnamed associate, according to CNN.

Shweta Sharma reports.

Revealed: The man Joe Biden thinks is the ‘most dangerous in the world’

Delay in Scotus vote until this afternoon

Monday 4 April 2022 18:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin has announced a delay in the committee’s vote on Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson due to a delay in Senator Alex Padilla’s travel plans.

“It is my intention to recess subject to the call of the chair. I believe Senator Padilla will be back in time this afternoon for us to consider this nomination & a record vote.”

Mr Padilla boarded a red-eye flight back from California only for it to return to Los Angeles due to a medical emergency.

Analysis: A moderate Republican freezes out his own party

Monday 4 April 2022 18:00 , Oliver O'Connell

New Hampshire’s Chris Sununu is one of the relatively few Republicans who has a chance of flipping a Senate seat for his party while being an outspoken Trump critic. But the New Hampshire governor has disappointed his party by declining to take on Democratic incumbent Maggie Hassan, who won her seat by only 1,000 votes when elected in 2016.

The Independent’s Eric Garcia explains why Mr Sununu matters, and what his decision means for the Senate map after the vote this November.

How one moderate Democrat is freezing out Republicans in a senatorial race

Kamala Harris’ deputy chief of staff will leave White House

Monday 4 April 2022 17:25 , Oliver O'Connell

Michael Fuchs, the former Clinton and Obama administration foreign policy adviser who has served as Vice President Kamala Harris’ deputy chief of staff since she took office, will depart the White House next month.

In an internal memorandum obtained by Reuters, Mr Fuchs wrote that he will remain on the job until May to “ensure a smooth transition” to his successor.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.

Kamala Harris’ deputy chief of staff will leave White House in latest shakeup

New study shows how Covid has hit poor Americans harder

Monday 4 April 2022 16:50 , Andrew Naughtie

As the Biden administration tries to get Congress to allocate billions of dollars of new funds for Covid-19 relief, a new study from the Poor People’s Campaign has detailed what it calls the “immoral, shocking and unjust” neglect of poor communities during the pandemic, reporting that Americans living in poorer counties died of Covid-19 at almost twice the rate of those in rich counties.

Heather Timmons has the story.

US poor died at much higher rate from Covid-19 than rich

Watch: Merrick Garland on seizure of oligarch’s yacht

Monday 4 April 2022 16:25 , Andrew Naughtie

In a statement issued at the Justice Department, Merrick Garland has provided more information about the joint Spanish-American effort to seize a yacht belonging to sanctioned oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, one of the richest members of Russia’s elite.

Biden on Putin’s ‘war crimes'

Monday 4 April 2022 15:57 , Andrew Naughtie

Here’s the moment from today where Joe Biden made clear that he considers Vladimir Putin a war criminal, and that the events uncovered in the Ukrainian town of Bucha warrant a war crimes trial.

John Bowden has the story.

Biden calls for ‘brutal’ Putin to face war crimes trial

Judiciary Committee prepares to vote on Ketanji Brown Jackson

Monday 4 April 2022 15:21 , Andrew Naughtie

After the sometimes acrimonious and bizarre hearings held a couple of weeks ago, the Senate Judiciary Committee is soon to vote on whether to send the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.

With no Republicans coming out to support the nominee – even those who went out of her way to praise her have backed away – the committee is expected to return a tied vote, after which Chuck Schumer will use procedural measures to bring the vote to the floor.

The Independent’s Eric Garcia is monitoring the proceedings as the committee’s Senators say their piece. Follow him below:

Report: Covid aid bill upcoming after White House pleas

Monday 4 April 2022 15:05 , Andrew Naughtie

Joe Biden has recently implored Congress to get on with passing a Covid-19 relief bill as the US recovers from the most acute pressures of the pandemic while the virus continues to circulate. It now seems that after a recent attempt to pass a funding package failed miserably, another is on the way – but it sounds set to fall short of the White House’s expectations.

US to call for suspending Russia from UN human rights body

Monday 4 April 2022 14:40 , Andrew Naughtie

The US’s ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, is calling for Russia to be ejected from the UN Human Rights Council. Her announcement comes as western allies consider how to increase pressure on the Kremlin after this weekend’s horrific revelations of mass murder and other atrocities committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.

US seizes its first Russian oligarch mega-yacht

Monday 4 April 2022 14:05 , Andrew Naughtie

The Biden administration is reportedly considering ramping up sanctions on Russia given the flood of reports of war crimes being committed by Russian forces in Ukraine – but the sanctions already in place are still being enforced, with a joint Spanish-American operation seizing a super-yacht belonging to billionaire oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.

At the Marina Real in the port of Palma de Mallorca, a large group of Spanish Civil Guards and US federal agents boarded the boat, according to Associated Press reporters who were at the scene and saw the authorities early Monday morning.

Mr Vekselberg's US assets remain frozen and American companies have been forbidden from doing business with him and his entities.

Read more:

US seizes its first oligarch mega-yacht in Putin crackdown

ICYMI: Book reports Joe Biden’s comments on Rupert Murdoch

Monday 4 April 2022 13:15 , Andrew Naughtie

An upcoming book on the last weeks of Donald Trump’s presidency and the first year of Joe Biden’s includes a story about Mr Biden’s views on Fox News and its ultimate proprietor, billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch – whom the now-president is said to have described as “the most dangerous man in the world”.

“The Democratic president assessed Fox as one of the most destructive forces in the United States,” the authors write in This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future, “and told an associate midway through 2021 that its corporate overlord, the Australian-born News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch, was even more toxic than that.”

Read more:

Revealed: the man Joe Biden thinks is the ‘most dangerous in the world’