In the news today: President Biden pardons his son; the impact of Trump’s masculine appeals on young male voters and what to know about the sudden rebel gains in Syria’s 13-year war. Also, a Japanese artist finds solace in intricate leaf-cutting.
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President Joe Biden and Hunter Biden at the Delaware Air National Guard Base, June 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Joe Biden pardons his son Hunter Biden
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President Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, on Sunday night, sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions, and reversing the elder Biden’s past promises. It caps a long-running legal saga for the younger Biden, who publicly disclosed he was under federal investigation in December 2020 — a month after his father’s 2020 victory — and casts a pall over the elder Biden’s legacy. Read more.
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The move comes weeks before Hunter Biden was set to receive his punishment after his trial conviction in the gun case and guilty plea on tax charges, and less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House. The president’s sweeping pardon also covers any other “offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024.”
Biden is hardly the first president to deploy his pardon powers to benefit those close to him. But it was still a surprising reversal for a man who pledged to restore norms and respect for the rule of law. In a statement released Sunday evening, Biden said, “I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice.”
- In his statement Sunday, Biden said that his son had been “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.” Biden has been concerned — as Hunter Biden was — about his political adversaries.
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Young men swung to the right for Trump after a campaign dominated by masculine appeals
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Donald Trump already had an edge among young white men four years ago, although he widened the gap this year. His support among both groups increased by about 20 percentage points this year, according to AP VoteCast — and their feelings toward Trump got warmer, too. Read more. |
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More than half of men under 30 supported Trump, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters. White men under 30 were solidly in Trump’s camp this year — about 6 in 10 voted for Trump — while young Latino men were split between the two candidates. Most Black men under 30 supported Democrat Kamala Harris, but about one-third were behind Trump. But it wasn’t just Trump. The share of young men who identified as Republicans in 2024 rose as well.
With a policy agenda centered on a more macho understanding of culture, Trump framed much of his campaign as a pitch to men who felt scorned by the country’s economy, culture and political system. It’s unclear how many men simply did not vote this year. But there’s no doubt the last four years brought changes in youth culture and how political campaigns set out to reach younger voters.
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The 13-year civil war in Syria roars back into prominence with a surprise rebel offensive on Aleppo
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The rebel gains in one of Syria’s largest cities and an ancient business hub has raised the prospect of another violent front reopening in the Middle East, at a time when U.S.-backed Israel is fighting Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both Iranian-allied groups. Read more. |
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Insurgents led by jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched the two-pronged attack in which they seized Aleppo last week and moved into the countryside around Idlib and neighboring Hama province. The Syrian military has rushed reinforcements and launched airstrikes as they attempted to stall their momentum. The push is among the rebels’ strongest in years.
Syrian President Bashar Assad has been at war with opposition forces seeking his overthrow for 13 years, a conflict that’s killed an estimated half-million people. Some 6.8 million Syrians have fled the country, a refugee flow that helped change the political map in Europe by fueling anti-immigrant far-right movements.
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Intervention by Russia, Iran and Iranian-allied Hezbollah and other groups has allowed Assad to remain in power, within the 70% of Syria under his control. The roughly 30% of the country not under Assad is controlled by a range of opposition forces and foreign troops. The U.S. has about 900 troops in northeast Syria, far from Aleppo, to guard against a resurgence by the Islamic State.
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Japanese leaf-cutting artist Lito holds his freshly cut work featuring a frog with an umbrella. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
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A Japanese artist finds solace and global fans with his intricate leaf-cutting
A frog holding a taro-leaf umbrella. A parade of frolicking animals. Mount Fuji. Giant waves. A Japanese artist who goes by the name Lito carves these delicate designs on fallen leaves, giving life back to them. |
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Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Sarah
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