ARI FLEISCHER

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav at the perfume launch in the Indian city of Lucknow

No surprise, kitchens were a big priority this year.

President Biden is paying his respects on Veterans Day, attending the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang has more on the president's day, his plans for signing the bipartisan infrastructure bill, and what lies ahead for his Build Back Better agenda.

Fox NewsFox News anchor Harris Faulkner had her conspiratorial bubble surprisingly burst on Thursday by Ari Fleischer of all people, who unequivocally told her that President Joe Biden does actually control the White House.After spending an inordinate amount of her Thursday morning interview with the former Bush flack discussing the right-wing outrage du jour—that Vice President Kamala Harris supposedly used a French accent—Faulkner, who has long been touted by Fox News as one of its “straight n

For the first time, Joe Biden will hold the rank of commander in chief as he marks the anniversary of the nation’s worst terror attack.

Former President Donald Trump insists he’s enjoying his life off Twitter.

Biden's meticulous approach to the presidency is intended to serve as a stark departure from the chaos of his predecessor, Donald Trump. Two Democratic senators, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, condemned the lack of diversity in Biden's Cabinet. AdDuckworth said she raised her concerns with the White House on Tuesday and she and Hirono threatened to withhold their votes on nominations until the administration addressed the matter. Just before news of the Colorado shooting, White House aides leaked preliminary word about their next priority, a potentially $3 billion package with money for developing roads, hospitals, schools and green energy systems. But for that program, like other legislative priorities, the White House faces tough prospects for any Republican support and would be forced to proceed along a party-line vote.

The votes also suggest that Washington Republicans are unable, or unwilling, to purge far-right radicals from their party, despite some GOP leaders' best wishes. And whether Washington Republicans like it or not, those who think like Greene make up a significant portion of the party's base. AdGiddy Democrats celebrated the obvious perils of their rivals' political dilemma, particularly after all but 11 House Republicans voted to defend Greene's committee assignments on Thursday. AdBut it was the House Republicans' refusal to distance themselves from Greene that threatened to haunt the party for the foreseeable future. Republican strategist and former White House aide Ari Fleischer was among the optimists.

He added that Biden in many ways is ”the perfect president for the moment, because he is not hyperbolic, he’s not a bomb thrower, he’s surrounded himself with policy wonks who already have all these plans. I think what we are going to hear him talk about is ‘Here’s where we are, here’s what we have to get done.' I think that’s going to go a long way just to making people feel better." His speechwriting team is led by longtime Biden collaborator Vinay Reddy. “There really is no parallel to what Biden faces.”___Associated Press writer Alexandra Jaffe contributed reporting.

Trump still has supporters, especially among the many rank-and-file Republican voters and conservative activists beyond Washington. That makes Trump the first outgoing president since Andrew Johnson 152 years ago to skip the swearing-in of his successor. Meanwhile, there is no clear path for the Republican Party without Trump. “We need a Republican Party,” Biden said, noting that he spoke with Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, a leading Trump critic. Doug Deason, a Texas-based donor who served on the Trump campaign's finance committee, said this week's events have done nothing to shake his confidence in the Republican president.

Trump still has supporters, especially among the many rank-and-file Republican voters and conservative activists beyond Washington. That makes Trump the first outgoing president since Andrew Johnson 152 years ago to skip the swearing-in of his successor. In the hours after this week's riot, 147 Republicans in Congress still voted to reject Biden's victory, including eight senators. “We need a Republican Party,” Biden said, noting that he spoke with Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, a leading Trump critic. Doug Deason, a Texas-based donor who served on the Trump campaign's finance committee, said this week's events have done nothing to shake his confidence in the Republican president.

President Donald Trump speaks during an "Operation Warp Speed Vaccine Summit" on the White House complex, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has been highlighting lots of really big numbers this week: New highs for the stock market. It was part of a fundraising pitch tied to Senate races in Georgia and to Trump’s unsupported claims that Democrats are trying to “steal” the presidential election he lost. But Trump's three-minute internet address hailing the vaccine made no mention of the toll the virus has taken. It's not just Trump who is fazed by how best to acknowledge the toll of the virus.

President Donald Trump speaks during an "Operation Warp Speed Vaccine Summit" on the White House complex, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has been highlighting lots of really big numbers this week: New highs for the stock market. On Friday, Trump's team blasted out a text with this strong, high-minded presidential message: “We will not bend. It was part of a fundraising pitch tied to Senate races in Georgia and to Trump’s unsupported claims that Democrats are trying to “steal” the presidential election he lost. It's not just Trump who is fazed by how best to acknowledge the toll of the virus.

WASHINGTON – Donald Trump, who defied political gravity with his extraordinary rise from reality star and businessman to the presidency, has fallen back to earth. “Even in defeat, Donald Trump has exceeded expectations and helped other Republicans do the same,” said GOP consultant Michael Steel, who has worked on Capitol Hill and for campaigns. “When Donald Trump loses there will never be a peaceful transition to power,” said Trump’s longtime lawyer and fixer-turned-critic Michael Cohen. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., has become a particular favorite with the president’s loyal supporters on the campaign trail, meaning the Trump name could endure. Many of Trump’s supporters see his influence continuing.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump's wild and unsupported claims of voter fraud have emerged as a high-stakes Republican loyalty test that illustrates the tug of war likely to define the future of the GOP whether he wins or loses the presidency. Larry Hogan, a second-term Republican who has not ruled out a 2024 White House bid. ... We've always been a noisy democracy.”Yet history suggests that Trump's rhetoric and actions go well beyond the normal trappings of democracy. With polls showing him lagging, Trump raised questions about the integrity of the voting system for much of the year. Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, highlighted the obvious downside of Trump's questions about the integrity of the voting process.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s wild and unsupported claims of voter fraud have emerged as a high-stakes Republican loyalty test that illustrates the tug of war likely to define the future of the GOP whether he wins or loses the presidency. Larry Hogan, a second-term Republican who has not ruled out a 2024 White House bid. ... We've always been a noisy democracy.”Yet history suggests that Trump's rhetoric and actions go well beyond the normal trappings of democracy. With polls showing him lagging, Trump raised questions about the integrity of the voting system for much of the year. Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, highlighted the obvious downside of Trump's questions about the integrity of the voting process.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump stood before a crowd in a state that had once been firmly in his grasp. That moment Wednesday in Iowa, a state Trump won comfortably four years ago but is now seen as competitive, underscored a fundamental challenge facing his reelection campaign: It’s not 2016. The president’s attempts to recycle attacks he used on Hillary Clinton that year have so far failed to effectively damage Democrat Joe Biden. “The president’s message is clear: he has accomplished more for America in 47 months than Joe Biden has in 47 years,” said Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh. “This boils down to a choice between a political outsider who has shaken up Washington and a failed career politician.”The Trump campaign believes it has a viable, if narrow path to victory.

This year's campaign, other Republicans worry, may instead resemble 1980 or 2008: a close race until, at the end, it decidedly wasn’t. Reviewing data afterward, campaign aides worried as they started to see Trump’s support begin to slip. Trump’s campaign worries that it is losing support among suburban voters, women and older voters. The Democrat on Monday will make a trip to Ohio for his general election campaign, another state Trump won convincingly in 2016. Trump’s campaign believes the hearings could change the political narrative away from the virus and draw attention to Biden’s refusal to say whether he would expand or “pack” the Supreme Court.

FILE - In this Aug. 24, 2020, file photo President Donald Trump speak at the 2020 Republican National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. Though Trump has been president for three-and-a-half years, his rhetoric on the state of the nation has remained bleak. Though Trump has been president for three-and-a-half years, his rhetoric about the state of the nation has remained bleak. Trump will describe America as a work in progress, one that is not perfect but has achieved much. It's an argument meant to offer a contrast with Democrats whom the president has described as not loving their country.

In this image from video, House Minority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise, R.La., speaks from Washington, during the first night of the Republican National Convention Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. Republicans went all-out to depict a gentler Trump on Night One of their convention. First lady Melania Trump and two of the presidents children were due to speak Tuesday night about Trumps personal side. Campaign surveys showed Trump trailed Biden badly in how voters perceived them relating to and understanding Americans troubles. In one of the taped pieces shown Monday night, Trump talked to a half-dozen former hostages his administration had freed from foreign prisons.

FILE - In this June 20, 2020, file photo President Donald Trump arrives on stage to speak at a campaign rally at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Trump is privately reassuring Republicans anxious about his deficits to Democrat Joe Biden, noting there are three months until Election Day and reminding them of the late-breaking events that propelled his 2016 comeback. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

And they warned that time is running out: The first state to hold early voting, the vital battleground of North Carolina, begins the process Sept. 4. Trump campaign officials said the focus in August will be on states where more than half of the ballots will be cast before Election Day. The digital countdown clock on the wall may say 90-some days, but we all know the calendar is condensed with early voting, said campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh. Still, the Trump campaign has been wavering for weeks. They also downplayed the chances of losing reliably Republican states, though Trump did make a campaign stop in Texas last week.

Put your hand over your heart for the star spangled banner Tim Ryan!!! #DemocraticDebate Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) July 31, 2019Rep. Tim Ryan didnt put his hand over his heart during the national anthem. "The View" host Meghan McCain, daughter of war hero and late Sen. John McCain, tweeted "Put your hand over your heart for the star spangled banner Tim Ryan!!! "Ryan's campaign said in a statement he wasn't protesting and "didn't mean to make any statement. "The campaign called it "a moment of absent-mindedness while on a debate stage that won't happen again.