- Kamindu and Asalanka power Sri Lanka to 179 against West Indies
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record as Korir wins in Chicago
- Spain send injured Yamal home 'to prioritise player's health'
- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Iraq walks fine line with pro-Iran factions to avoid war
- Race four abandoned after New Zealand breeze into 3-0 lead in America's Cup
- West Indies win toss, put Sri Lanka in to bat in first T20
- Sudan rescuers say air strike killed 23 in Khartoum market
- Netanyahu tells UN to move Lebanon peacekeepers out of 'harm's way'
- Bangladeshi Hindus defy attack worries to celebrate festival
- Kiwis three up in America's Cup as Ineos pay for time penalty
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Dominant England crush Scotland at Women's T20 World Cup
- Dropped: The rise and fall of Pakistan batting maestro Babar Azam
- Israel fights Hezbollah on the ground, pounds Lebanon from the air
- Sabalenka outlasts local hero Zheng to win third Wuhan Open title
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Former Pakistan captain Azam dropped for second England Test
- 'Opportunist' Dupont dazzles on Toulouse return
- Australia replace injured Vlaeminck with Graham at Women's T20 World Cup
- Sinner wins Shanghai Masters to deny Djokovic 100th career title
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Israel hits Lebanon from the air and fights Hezbollah on the ground
- China's Yin has 'goosebumps' as she romps to LPGA win in Shanghai
- Pakistan to re-use Multan pitch for second England Test
- Blair and King Charles hail Salmond's 'devotion' to Scotland
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- England captain Stokes in line for second Pakistan Test return
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- Israel widens Lebanon strikes as troops fight Hezbollah along border
- Bowlers' graveyards: Pakistan's placid pitches under fresh fire
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Vietnam, China to expand rail links, cross-border payments
- Americans get their belief back as Pochettino makes his mark
- Vietnam, China to boost economic, defence cooperation
- Winning start for Pochettino's American adventure
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- US firms brace for more tariffs as election approaches
- Winning start for Poch's American adventure
- Morocco's tribeswomen see facial tattoo tradition fade
- Centre-left set to win as pro-Ukraine Lithuania votes
- Colombia guerilla group urges delegations not to attend COP16 in Cali
- Pakistan frets over security ahead of SCO summit
- Ronaldo scores 133rd Portugal goal in Nations League win over Poland
- 40 nations contributing to UN Lebanon peacekeeping force condemn 'attacks'
- Eight dead as heavy rain thrashes Brazil after long drought
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
In Biden's America, even the babies are upset
If kissing babies has long been the politician's dream photo-op, then Joe Biden’s clumsy response to a national baby food shortage is quickly turning into a political nightmare -- and the symbol of a presidency struggling to stem discontent.
With his old school Washington ways, decades of political and diplomatic experience, and obvious decency, Biden won election in 2020 on a promise to "heal" the nation after four years of Donald Trump.
But this week made clear again that the healing is not happening and that Biden -- fairly or not -- is being blamed.
Courtroom exhibit A is the ramshackle response to a hole in supplies of baby formula, with supermarket shelves emptying and parents worrying about how to feed their newborns.
The Biden administration had already been battered by anger over inflation and supply chain breakdowns for things like cars and building materials.
There's also grumbling over the unusually last-minute organization of what's meant to be a major regional forum in Los Angeles next week, the Summit of the Americas. It's not even clear which heads of state are coming.
And now, the nation's babies, or at least their parents, are joining the ranks of the upset.
- Competency? -
The baby formula problem didn't begin with Biden.
It began in February when Abbott, which controls about 40 percent of the US market, shut a plant and issued a product recall.
As supply shocks rippled through retailers, parents were presented with the seemingly unlikely scenario in the world's wealthiest nation of not being sure how to feed their infants.
To reassure Americans, the White House organized a slickly produced baby formula summit Wednesday featuring the president, top officials and executives from major producers.
The discussion was meant to highlight the administration's scramble to procure more formula, including by easing importation rules and providing military transport for shipping.
But the glossy messaging fell apart right in front of the television cameras when Biden tried to get the executives to agree that no one could have foreseen Abbott's recall leading swiftly to a nationwide crisis.
They contradicted him, saying they could.
"From the very beginning," as one said.
- Messaging muddle -
The White House's ability to get out from under piles of bad news has been complicated by a reshuffle in the communications department.
Gone is the widely admired press secretary Jen Psaki. Her successor and previous deputy, Karine Jean-Pierre, is having a baptism of fire -- while simultaneously bringing in replacements for a slew of departing assistants.
And this week's daily press briefings brought intense questioning.
Why didn't the president understand the severity of the baby formula issue earlier?
Does the president admit he was wrong to say inflation would be temporary?
Why, in the wake of the Texas school mass shooting and other slaughters, isn't he personally pushing senators to enact gun ownership reforms?
Jean-Pierre found herself on the defensive.
Pressed over the 11th hour lack of a guest list for the Summit of the Americas, less than a week before the event, Jean-Pierre responded Wednesday with a frank admission.
"If you've been following this administration for the past year and a half, one week is not the eleventh hour when it comes to ... how things move," she said. "That is a lifetime away for us."
- Beach time -
Biden's approval ratings have been below 50 percent since last year, and his Democrats are forecast to lose their slender control of Congress to the Republicans in the November midterm elections.
Things are so bad that even a six-point spike in his latest rating, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released this week, still only brought him to a measly 42 percent.
The cause of many of the president's woes would be familiar to previous Oval Office occupants: without a workable majority in Congress, he simply doesn't have as much power as people think.
In a speech about gun reforms -- hastily scheduled with a few hours' notice on Thursday -- Biden made an emotional appeal for Congress to outlaw assault rifles. But analysts said there is little chance of him changing the minds of his Republican opponents.
Biden left for a weekend at the beach as soon as he finished his address.
On Friday, far from the Washington storm, he could celebrate his wife Jill's 71st birthday at their vacation home in Delaware.
Washington -- and that Americas summit -- wait for him next week.
D.Moore--AMWN