TrumpRx Website Launches to Offer Discounted Prescription Drugs for Cash-Paying Americans 
Pentagon Ends Military Education Programs With Harvard University 
Nighttime Shelling Causes Serious Damage in Russia’s Belgorod Region Near Ukraine Border 
Norway Opens Corruption Probe Into Former PM and Nobel Committee Chair Thorbjoern Jagland Over Epstein Links 
Iran–U.S. Nuclear Talks in Oman Face Major Hurdles Amid Rising Regional Tensions 
Trump Signs “America First Arms Transfer Strategy” to Prioritize U.S. Weapons Sales 
China Warns US Arms Sales to Taiwan Could Disrupt Trump’s Planned Visit 
Trump Endorses Japan’s Sanae Takaichi Ahead of Crucial Election Amid Market and China Tensions 
Newly Released DOJ Epstein Files Expose High-Profile Connections Across Politics and Business 
Trump Allows Commercial Fishing in Protected New England Waters 
Federal Judge Restores Funding for Gateway Rail Tunnel Project 
U.S. Lawmakers to Review Unredacted Jeffrey Epstein DOJ Files Starting Monday 
Marco Rubio Steps Down as Acting U.S. Archivist Amid Federal Law Limits 
Missouri Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Starbucks’ Diversity and Inclusion Policies 
U.S. Sanctions on Russia Could Expand as Ukraine Peace Talks Continue, Says Treasury Secretary Bessent 
Ukraine-Russia Talks Yield Major POW Swap as U.S. Pushes for Path to Peace 
South Korea Assures U.S. on Trade Deal Commitments Amid Tariff Concerns 
US President Joe Biden weighed in on the recent presidential elections in Nicaragua, which saw Daniel Ortega and his wife win another term as president and vice president, respectively. Biden criticized the nation’s elections, noting the means that secured the incumbents’ victories.
In a statement released by the White House, Biden criticized the Nicaragua elections, accusing Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo of enforcing autocracy due to the means by which they retained their positions. The elections over the weekend secured Ortega and Murillo’s victories as his administration rigged the outcome of the elections and had 39 individuals of the opposition imprisoned.
Among those that were imprisoned were potential presidential candidates, as well as political groups that drew the ire of Ortega. Biden also blasted Ortega for suppressing and “bullying” independent media, the business sector, and civil society.
“What Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo orchestrated today was a pantomime election that was neither free or fair, and most certainly not democratic,” said Biden in the statement, calling the elections a “sham.”
“Long unpopular and now without a democratic candidate, the Ortega and Murillo family now rule Nicaragua as autocrats,” said Biden. The US leader also called on Ortega to take immediate action in restoring democracy in the country and release those who have been wrongly imprisoned. Biden also warned that the US would use every diplomatic and economic means to support the citizens of Nicaragua and hold the Ortega-Murillo government accountable for its actions.
The European Union has also imposed sanctions against the Ortega-Murillo family and its allies in the midst of the arrests that led up to the elections over the weekend.
In other related news, another slot in the Federal Reserve Board is opening as Randal Quarles announced Monday that he is stepping down from his position in the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors. This would signal another opening on the board for Biden to fill. This follows speculation as well as to whether Biden would renominate Jerome Powell to lead the Federal Reserve for another term. Powell’s term ends in February.
Biden is likely to renominate Powell. However, it is also possible that he may decide to nominate Lael Brainard, the only Democrat on the board, to the position.
