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Brazil binman finds newborn baby on garbage route
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US senator smashes record with marathon anti-Trump speech
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Trump advisor Waltz faces new pressure over Gmail usage
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Niger junta frees ministers of overthrown government
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Trump set to unleash 'Liberation Day' tariffs
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Boeing chief to acknowledge 'serious missteps' at US Senate hearing
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Real Madrid hold Real Sociedad in eight-goal thriller to reach Copa del Rey final
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Nuno salutes 'special' Elanga after stunning strike fires Forest
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PSG survive scare against Dunkerque to reach French Cup final
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Sundowns edge Esperance as crowd violence mars quarter-final
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Nottingham Forest beat Man Utd, Saka scores on Arsenal return
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Elanga wonder-goal sinks Man Utd as Forest eye Champions League berth
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Stock markets mostly advance ahead of Trump tariffs deadline
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US movie theaters urge 45-day 'baseline' before films hit streaming
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Saka scores on return as Arsenal beat Fulham
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Third-division Bielefeld shock holders Leverkusen in German Cup
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Ball-blasting 'Torpedo bats' making waves across MLB opening weekend
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Newsmax shares surge more than 2,000% in days after IPO
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Thousands of Hungarians protest against Pride ban law
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GM leads first quarter US auto sales as tariffs loom
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Tesla sales tumble in Europe in the first quarter
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No 'eye for an eye' approach to US tariffs: Mexico
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NFL club owners back dynamic kickoffs, delay tush push vote
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Trump 'perfecting' new tariffs as nervous world braces
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Trump nominee says to press UK on Israel arms
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French court says Le Pen appeal ruling could come before presidential vote
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The battle to control assets behind Bosnia crisis
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Prabhsimran powers Punjab to IPL win over Lucknow
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Mass layoffs targeting 10,000 jobs hit US health agencies
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Tiger's April Foolishness: plan to play Masters just a joke
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Myanmar quake toll passes 2,700, nation halts to honour victims
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Turkish fans, artists urge Muse to cancel Istanbul gig
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US seeks death penalty for accused killer of insurance CEO
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UK govt moves to block sentencing guidelines for minority defendants
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Trump puts world on edge as 'Liberation Day' tariffs loom
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Swedish journalist jailed in Turkey kept 'isolated': employer
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Stock markets advance ahead of Trump tariffs deadline
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Gulf between Everton and Liverpool has never been bigger, says Moyes
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Finland to withdraw from anti-personnel mine ban treaty
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UK vows £20 million to boost drone and 'flying taxi' services
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Ford's US auto sales dip in first quarter as tariffs loom
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Digging for box office gold, 'A Minecraft Movie' hits cinemas
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Southampton boss Juric desperate to avoid Premier League 'worst team' tag
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Thailand rescue dogs double as emotional support
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Five takeaways from Marine Le Pen verdict
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Stock markets split ahead of Trump tariffs deadline
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Turkish fans, artists urge Muse to cancel Istanbul gig over protest dispute
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Former captain Edwards named new England women's cricket coach
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Haaland ruled out for up to seven weeks: Man City boss Guardiola
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UK Supreme Court opens car loans hearing as banks risk huge bill

Biden touts 'enormous progress' in pandemic-blighted first year
A defiant President Joe Biden acknowledged missteps over the still-raging pandemic Wednesday but hailed a year of "enormous progress" on the US economy as he took stock of his first year in office.
In a rare news conference marking his first 12 months, Biden touted a period of unprecedented job creation, infrastructure improvements and a growing economy that he said would help counter inflation and supply chain woes plaguing his presidency.
During a marathon two-hour session in the ornate East Room of the White House, Biden faced questions on everything from soaring inflation to the confrontation with Russia over Ukraine to what he calls a threat to democracy from his predecessor Donald Trump.
"It's been a year of challenges," Biden told reporters, saying he "didn't anticipate" the level of obstruction to his domestic agenda he has encountered from Republicans in Congress.
"But it has also been a year of enormous progress," the US leader said.
"We went from two million people being vaccinated at the moment I was sworn in to 210 million Americans being fully vaccinated today. We created six million new jobs -- more jobs in one year than any time before."
Biden's first news conference of the year was at the core of an intense new effort by the White House to spin a calamitous last few weeks into a new narrative focusing on what officials say are Biden's many, if overlooked, gains during his first year in the Oval Office.
The US leader has faced a string of recent setbacks, including the highest inflation in decades and the Supreme Court striking down the administration's vaccine mandate for large businesses.
And Biden's administration is facing mounting criticism from both Democrats and Republicans over the lack of Covid-19 tests as the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus sweeps the country.
"We have faced some of the biggest challenges that we've ever faced in this country these past few years, challenges to our public health, challenges to our economy. But we're getting through it," Biden said.
"Should we have done more testing earlier? Yes. But we're doing more now," he said, as he touted steady progress on the pandemic.
On the economic front, the White House points out that in the last year, unemployment fell to 3.9 percent from 6.4 percent at the height of the pandemic's fallout on the economy.
Lowering record price hikes would "be a haul," Biden said, but he insisted the increases would subside if supply chain snarls and component shortages were resolved.
But in the meantime, he conceded, "it's going to be painful for a lot of people" -- saying high prices were being felt "at the gas pump, the grocery stores and elsewhere."
The press conference came as a new Gallup poll showed Biden with just 40 percent approval, down from 57 percent when he started. Since World War II, only Trump's first year averages were lower, Gallup said.
"I'm going to do differently now that I've gotten the critical crises out of the way, in the sense of knowing exactly where we're going," Biden said.
"Number one -- I'm going to get out of this place more often. I'm going to go out and talk to the public."
- Republican comeback? -
Biden's press conference came on the eve of the anniversary of his January 20th inauguration, which took place in the extraordinary circumstances of a pandemic and the aftermath of a violent assault by Trump supporters on Congress to try and overturn Biden's victory.
Now, with a State of the Union speech to Congress set for March 1, Biden faces the rapidly approaching likelihood of a Republican comeback in midterm congressional elections this November.
Republicans are forecast to crush his party and take control of the legislature. That risks bringing two years of complete obstruction from Congress, likely including threats of impeachment and a slew of aggressive committee probes.
Trump, who continues to perpetuate the lie that he beat Biden in 2020 and seeks to undermine Americans' faith in their election system, is eyeing a possible attempt at another run at the White House in 2024.
And the inability of Democrats to use their razor-thin majority in Congress to pass another top Biden priority -- voting law reforms that he says are needed to protect US democracy -- was highlighted Wednesday as the Senate moved to almost certain defeat for two bills.
Biden's team hopes that good news will gradually outweigh the pandemic-related gloom, with the economy continuing to rebound, the Omicron coronavirus variant tailing off, and Americans taking notice of achievements, like massive spending on infrastructure.
As White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain told Politico: "President Biden was elected to a four-year term, not a one-year term."
Y.Kobayashi--AMWN