Biden affirms human rights commitment as he warms to Saudis
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — President Joe Biden said Friday he hasn’t changed his views on human rights despite his administration’s praise of Saudi Arabia — which he’d pledged to make a “pariah” over its abuses — for getting key oil producers to step up production.
Biden said he wasn’t sure whether he was going to Saudi Arabia and has “no direct plans at the moment” to visit the kingdom. He acknowledged he expects to meet with the leaders of Israel and some Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, at some point.
“Look, I’m not going to change my view on human rights,” Biden told reporters after delivering remarks on the May jobs report, when asked about possible travel to Saudi Arabia. “But as president of the United States, my job is to bring peace if I can, peace if I can. And that’s what I’m going to try to do.”
As a candidate for the White House, he pledged to treat Saudis as a “pariah” for the 2018 killing of U.s.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s brutal ways. U.S. intelligence officials determined that the crown prince likely approved the killing.
Biden sidestepped questions from reporters about whether he would meet with the prince, should he visit the kingdom.
“We’re getting way ahead of ourselves here,” Biden said. “What I want to do is see to it that we diminish the likelihood that there’s a continuation of this, some of the senseless wars between Israel and the Arab nations, and that’s what I’m focused on.”
The OPEC+ group — OPEC nations plus Russia — announced Thursday they would raise production by 648,000 barrels per day in July and August, offering modest relief for a struggling global economy impaired by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
OPEC, whose de facto leader is Saudi Arabia, had for months resisted White House pressure to increase oil supply more quickly.
Biden on Friday called the move by OPEC+ “positive,” but said he did not know if it would be significant enough to help Americans at the pump. White House press secretary Karine Jeanpierre on Thursday credited Saudi Arabia for its role “in achieving consensus” within the oil producers’ bloc.
Queen’s jubilee: Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, joined other members of Britain’s royal family on Friday for a church service honoring Queen Elizabeth II’S 70 years on the throne, making their first public appearance in the U.K. since stepping back from royal duties two years ago.
The queen skipped the event at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, which came on the second of four days of festivities marking her Platinum Jubilee. The 96-year-old monarch experienced “some discomfort” after smiling and waving to throngs of supporters Thursday afternoon from the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
But royal-watchers quickly shifted their focus to Harry and Meghan, who held hands as they walked down the central aisle accompanied only by a military officer in a scarlet dress tunic. Other guests craned their necks to watch the couple take their places in the second row, underscoring their lesser roles as nonworking members of the royal family.
Harry and Meghan sparked tensions within the royal family when they moved to California and signed lucrative media contracts. The rift deepened after they made allegations of racism and bullying in the royal household.
New Chinese carrier: China’s most advanced aircraft carrier to date appears to be nearing completion, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press showed Friday, as experts suggested the vessel could be launched soon.
The Type 003 carrier has been under construction northeast of Shanghai since 2018. Satellite images taken May 31 suggest work on the vessel is close to done.
The launch, long anticipated, constitutes what the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank called a “seminal moment in China’s ongoing modernization efforts and a symbol of the country’s growing military might.”
The U.S. Department of Defense estimates that the carrier won’t be fully operational until 2024, first needing to undergo extensive sea trials. Its development is part of a broader modernization of China’s military as it seeks to extend its influence in the region.
Iowa church shooting: A man who fatally shot two women before killing himself in the parking lot of an Iowa church had been romantically involved with one of the women and faced a court hearing next week on a charge of harassing her, investigators said Friday.
Johnathan Lee Whitlatch, 33, of Boone, pulled up in a pickup truck to 22-year-old Eden Montang, 21-year-old Vivian Flores and another woman just before 7 p.m. Thursday outside Cornerstone Church on the outskirts of Ames and began shooting with a 9 mm handgun, they said.
Montang and Flores were killed, Story County Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald said, and Whitlatch shot himself. The women were friends and students at Iowa State University who were walking together to the church for a weekly service, the sheriff said.
Whitlatch and Montang had recently broken up, Fitzgerald said, and investigators believe Whitlach’s intent was to kill her.
Texas escapee: A convicted murderer on the run since escaping a prison bus last month was fatally shot by law enforcement in Texas after he killed five members of the same family, including four children, and stole a truck from their rural cabin, officials said.
Gonzalo Lopez, 46, died in a shootout with police late Thursday in Jourdanton, about 35 miles south of San Antonio, after driving the pickup more than 200 miles from the cabin, said Jason Clark, spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He had been on the run since stabbing a prison bus driver on May 12.
When Lopez was shot, he had an Ar-15-style rifle and a pistol that authorities say may have been taken from the cabin, Clark said.
Monkeypox in US: Genetic analysis of recent monkeypox cases suggests there are two strains in the U.S., health officials said Friday, raising the possibility that the virus has been circulating undetected for some time.
Many of the U.S. cases were caused by the same strain as recent cases in Europe, but a few samples show a different strain, federal health officials said. Each strain had been seen in U.S. cases last year, before the recent international outbreak was identified.
Analysis from many more patients will be needed to determine how long monkeypox has been circulating in the U.S. and elsewhere, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.