House Republicans have released their initial impeachment inquiry report into President Joe Biden, alleging an abuse of power and obstruction of justice in the financial dealings of his son Hunter Biden and family associates.The nearly yearlong inquiry by Republicans stops short of alleging any criminal wrongdoing by the president. Instead, the almost 300-page report out Monday ahead of the Democratic National Convention covers familiar ground, asserting the Biden family traded on its brand in business ventures in corrupt ways that rise to the Constitutions high bar for impeachment.With Biden no longer running for reelection, next steps are highly uncertain. House Republicans have not had support from their own ranks to actually impeach the president, and removal by the Senate is even further afield. Many Republicans prefer to focus attention on the Democratic Partys presumptive presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, with some probes getting underway.The White House has dismissed the House impeachment inquiry as a stunt and encouraged House Republicans to move on.The totality of the corrupt conduct uncovered by the Committees is egregious, wrote the House Oversight and Accountability, Judiciary and Ways & Means panels leading the inquiry.The report said the Constitutions remedy for a Presidents flagrant abuse of office is clear: impeachment by the House of Representatives and removal by the Senate.Republicans have spent the better part of their time in the House majority with a hyper focus on Biden and his familys businesses, encouraged by Donald Trump as the twice impeached and indicted former president makes a comeback bid for the White House.The impeachment inquiry has been a cornerstone of the House GOP’s effort, launched by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy shortly before he was booted from leadership and formalized in December under new Speaker Mike Johnson. Republicans are investigating many aspects of Biden family finances going back to 2009 when he was vice president to Barack Obama.Through bank records, interviews from some 30 witnesses, whistleblower accounts and millions of documents, House Republicans allege a years-long practice by Hunter Biden and his associates to solicit foreign business deals using the familys proximity to power in Washington.Much of the focus of the report is not on Biden’s time as president, but on the years when the Biden family was in turmoil after the 2015 death of his oldest son, Beau, and as the vice president was bowing out of elected office, declining to run for president in 2016.Hunter Biden has acknowledged a serious addiction to crack in these years. He was convicted in June of felony gun charges and is set to stand trial next month on federal tax charges.Former Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer, who was sentenced to a year in prison in 2022 in another matter, told the committee, At the end of the day, part of what was delivered is the brand.”To tie the elder Biden to his sons actions, the Republicans rely on a series of phone calls and pop-by dinner meeting visits Joe Biden made while Hunter was conducting business. At times, Hunter would put his dad on speakerphone for his guests as the father and son exchanged pleasantries.The Bidens are a famously tight-knit family and acknowledge they speak almost daily, including during this time, with the father checking on his sons well-being.In his own defiant closed-door deposition to House investigators, Hunter Biden insisted he did not involve his father in his business.All told, the House Republicans allege the Biden family and its associates received some $27 million in business payments from partners or clients in Russia, China and other countries. They allege another $8 million in loans, including some from Hunter Biden benefactor Kevin Morris, a Hollywood attorney, and question the purchases of the sons artwork.The report said it is inconceivable that President Biden did not understand what was going on.President Biden participated in a conspiracy to monetize his office of public trust to enrich his family, the report claims.Biden himself declined a request to testify before the House.Touchbacks to Trumps impeachments at the hands of Democrats run throughout the reports pages as Republicans work to contrast his grounds for removal to Biden familys dealings and grift.But the difference are stark, as the indicted Trump faces actual criminal charges, including in the conspiracy to overturn Bidens 2020 election and draw supporters to Washington on the day of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.The report also accuses Biden of obstructing justice in the probe, revisiting previously aired complaints about the Justice Departments handling of investigation into Hunter Biden. Attorney General Merrick Garland has forcefully denied those accusations, defending the department against claims of political influence.It focuses heavily on what Republicans have long alleged was a pattern of slow-walking investigative steps and delaying enforcement actions to the benefit of the presidents son.But the report provides no evidence that Biden had any involvement in his sons investigation, which was launched under Trumps presidency and has been led by a Delaware U.S. attorney appointed by Trump. The U.S. attorney, David Weiss, was kept on by Garland to insulate the probe from claims of political interference.Garland has insisted that no one at the White House gave him or other senior officials at the Justice Department direction about the handling of the Hunter Biden investigation.Beyond Hunter Biden, the report includes details of the involvement of Joe Bidens brother, James, in the various family businesses.Republicans have pointed to a series of payments that they claim show the president benefited from his brothers work. They point to a $200,000 personal check from James Biden to Joe Biden on the same day in 2018 that James Biden received an equal amount from Americore, a healthcare company.House Democrats have defended the transaction, pointing to bank records they say indicate James Biden was repaying a loan provided by his brother, who had wire transferred $200,000 to him about six weeks earlier. The money changed hands while Joe Biden was a private citizen.Short of impeaching Biden, the House Republicans have issued criminal referrals recommending the Justice Department prosecute Hunter Biden and James Biden, accusing them of making false statements to Congress as part of the GOP investigation. Attorneys for those men have argued those claims are baseless or a distraction.Until recently, the president had been a focal point for Republicans in Congress, but his decision last month to drop out of the presidential race and Harris ascent to the top of the ticket have forced GOP leaders to reevaluate their marquee investigation.A year ago, GOP lawmakers had hoped the Biden inquiry would build a strong enough case for impeachments high crimes and misdemeanors. But the longer the inquiry dragged and the little direct evidence against Biden investigators were able to produce in public hearings or even in closed-door sessions, the more concerns grew from moderate Republicans wary of a vote on the matter.The report released Monday makes more than 20 mentions of the Biden-Harris administration, while previous releases from the committees investigating Biden typically only made direct references to him.And while Harris is not mentioned on her own in the report, the same committees leading the inquiry have begun to open new probes into her and her vice presidential pick, Tim Walz.__Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer, Gary Fields, Fatima Hussein and Nicholas Riccardi contributed to this report.
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A giant panda has given birth to twins after more than a decade of trying to mate successfully, becoming the oldest known first-time panda mother.Ying Ying delivered the cubs in the early hours of Thursday on the eve of her 19th birthday equivalent to age 57 in human years, a spokesperson for Hong Kong’s Ocean Park said.Photos released by the theme park showed Ying Ying just before she went into five hours of labor, and her palm-sized, pink-colored twins the first giant pandas born in Hong Kong.The cubs, a female weighing 122 grams (4.2 ounces) and a male at 112 grams (nearly 4 ounces), finally arrived following years of unsuccessful efforts by Ying Ying to mate with her partner Le Le after they were gifted to the city in 2007 by the Chinese government.”This birth is a true rarity, especially considering Ying Ying is the oldest giant panda on record to have successfully given birth for the first time,” said Paulo Pong, chairman of Ocean Park Corporation, in a statement.But visitors will have to wait a few months for the cubs’ official debut as the newborns receive round-the-clock intensive care.”Both cubs are currently very fragile and need time to stabilize, especially the female cub who has a lower body temperature, weaker cries, and lower food intake after birth,” the park said.Ying Ying had previously suffered a series of miscarriages and her five-month pregnancy wasn’t easy, the park added.”Giant pandas have a notoriously difficult time reproducing, especially as they age,” the statement said. “As a first-time mother, Ying Ying was understandably nervous throughout the process. She spent much of her time lying on the ground and twisting.”Giant pandas have one fertile period throughout the year, lasting just one to three days, and their preference to live alone in their natural habitats means they rarely mate.Native to southwest China, Beijing has spent decades attempting to boost the population of the iconic bears, creating sprawling reserves across mountain ranges in an effort to save them from extinction.Giant pandas are infamously hard to breed in captivity, but after years of decline, their numbers in the wild have increased in recent years.In 2017, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) upgraded the species from “endangered” to “vulnerable” after their population grew nearly 17% over the previous decade.It is estimated that around 1,800 pandas remain in the wild, mostly in the mountains of Sichuan, western China. There are around 300 pandas in captivity and Beijing loans some of them to about 20 countries.
Here are all of the Rossen Reports from this past week.Save on energy bills with these simple hacksElectric bills have surged 4.4% in the last year, according to the June 2024 Consumer Price Index.Watch the video for this story in the player above.Rossen Reports is sharing ways to cut costs on your energy bill without spending any money upfront.Cook with countertop appliancesDon’t use your oven unless necessary; it consumes a lot of energy, and opening it releases heat into your home, making your AC work harder.Read the full story here.Hidden costs of owning a car revealedIt’s car shopping season, and a new study from Bankrate reveals the hidden costs of owning a car.These costs include insurance, gas, maintenance, and vehicle taxes, which can add up to $6,684 annually, on top of your monthly auto loan payment. Insurance is the biggest expense, averaging $2,329 per year, or $194 per month. Gas costs come in at $1,837 annually or $153 per month.Read the full story here.How to claim $2,500 from Cash App settlementCash App users may be able to claim up to $2,500 as part of a $15 million class-action settlement.Earlier this year, Cash App and its parent company, Block, agreed to settle a lawsuit over recent data breaches while denying any wrongdoing. If you lost money due to these data breaches, for example, if you had fraudulent charges on your account, or you paid out of pocket for credit monitoring services as a precaution, you may be eligible for compensation up to $2,500.The losses must have occurred between Aug. 23, 2018, and Aug. 20, 2024.Read the full story here.What is the ‘American Community Survey’ and is it legit?Some viewers have received letters claiming they are legally required to participate in the American Community Survey, prompting questions about its legitimacy.We can confirm that the American Community Survey is real. It is conducted annually by the U.S. Census Bureau to gather data that helps determine the distribution of trillions of dollars in federal funds. Recipients are legally required to participate, and not doing so could result in a fine of up to $5,000. However, the U.S. Census Bureau will make multiple attempts to contact you sending additional letters, making phone calls, and even potentially visiting your home if you do not respond.Read the full story here.
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