Biden derides Trump on infrastructure, amid fury over Florida elections bill – follow live

US is seen as a bigger threat to democracy around the world than Russia or China, new poll finds

After four years of Donald Trump and rising political extremism in the United States, America is no longer the beacon of democracy it once was. At least according to a new poll that has found the US is perceived as a bigger threat to democracy than Russia and China.

Inequality is believed to be the biggest hindrance to democracy, but in the US, tech companies and their power is also seen as a threat.

The poll was commissioned by the Alliance of Democracies Foundation and they gathered data from 50,000 people in 53 countries.

Clare Hill has the report:

Jen Psaki reveals plans to step down next year

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has revealed she would likely step down from her position in the Biden administration within the next year.

“I think it’s going to be time for somebody else to have this job, in a year from now or about a year from now,” she told CNN contributor David Axelrod, who previously served in the Obama administration, on his podcast on Thursday.

Due to the high stress of working in the White House, administrations typically go through several staff members in high positions. Donald Trump, for example, had four press secretaries during his time in the White House.

Biden slams Trump on infrastructure as he outlines sweeping plans in storm-battered Louisiana

Joe Biden criticised Donald Trump for his administration’s failures to address the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, as the president promotes his $2.2 trillion “once in a generation” investment that would touch nearly every aspect of American life and tap millions of workers.

“Across the country, we have failed – we have failed to properly invest in infrastructure for half a century,” the president said in remarks from Lake Charles, Louisiana, which endured two hurricanes in 2020 in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Over the last four years, how many times did you hear this was going to be ‘infrastructure week?'” he said. “I got so tired of hearing ‘infrastructure week’ – nothing happened.”

Alex Woodward has the full report:

Elizabeth Warren calls Trump a ‘danger to democracy’ and must be kept ‘off air’

Elizabeth Warren says Donald Trump should face permanent bans from social media because he is a “danger to democracy”.

The Democrat, who is a frequent critic of Facebook, was interviewed by The Washington Post on Thursday following the tech giant’s decision to continue banning the former president on Wednesday, in remarks first reported by The Hill.

Facebook first banned Mr Trump in the aftermath of the insurrection of the US Capitol in January, with crowds fuelled by the former president’s false allegations of election fraud.

US has no plan to shoot down out-of-control Chinese rocket and hopes it lands in the ocean, defence secretary says

The US is not planning to shoot down an out-of-control Chinese rocket and will hope that it falls into the ocean, its defence secretary has said.

Lloyd Austin said there were no plans to intentionally destroy the rocket, but that the events drew attention to failings in the way that China is operating in space.

The rocket has led to concern that the spacecraft could pose a danger as it falls back to Earth. While much of it is likely to fall into the atmosphere, and it will probably fall into the sea and not pose any risk, the re-entry has nonetheless caused worry – in part because so little is known about either the rocket or its possible journey.

Biden claims 90% of infrastructure jobs created in the American Jobs Plan will not require college degrees

A big push by President Joe Biden in passing the American Jobs Plan was about the number of American workers it would put back to work.

One of the details Mr Biden emphasised in his speech in Lake Charles, Louisiana, was that 90 per cent of jobs created under the American Jobs Plan would require no college degree for workers.

“These are jobs that can’t be outsourced. They just require … hard work, grit and sweat,” he said.

Republicans have slammed the American Jobs Plan because it would cost taxpayers $2.3tn, but Mr Biden pushed for taxes to be raised on the wealthy and corporate businesses, not the middle class.

“I’m sick and tired of corporate American not paying their fair share,” Mr Biden said.

Whether this bill would pass through Congress remains largely up in the air as the president works to garner support for the plan with the American public.

Joe Biden pushes his jobs plan in Louisiana

President Joe Biden gave a speech in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to promote his $2.3tn American Jobs Plan.

Included in the speech was the president speaking about the necessity for America to improve aspects of its infrastructure, such as bridges and roads.

“I got so tired of hearing infrastructure week … Nothing happened. Nothing has happened,” Mr Biden said.

The statement was a slight jab at former President Donald Trump because the speech was held in front of the Calcasieu River Bridge, an outdated Louisiana bridge that Mr Trump promised to fix back in 2019 if re-elected.

“American Jobs Plan is a blue collar blueprint to rebuild America,” he added.

Watch live as Biden delivers remarks on American Jobs Plan

Florida condo complex votes to strip Trump from its name

A Florida condo complex has voted to strip Trump from its name.

The former Trump Plaza in West Palm Beach has now reverted to its original name of The Plaza, following the ex-president’s ties to the US Capitol insurrection.

The 32-storey complex was built in the 1980s on the Intracoastal Waterway, and the one-term president bought the complex from the Bank of New York before handing it back to his lenders in 1991 during the economic downturn.

Graeme Massie has the report:

Kamala Harris is about to meet Trump-friendly Mexican president AMLO. I have some words of advice

There are some curveballs coming the VP’s way as she travels south of the border to discuss the migrant crisis, writes Carli Pierson.