President Biden called former President Trump and his allies in Congress losers while rallying House Democrats Thursday.

Biden projected confidence ahead of 2024, when House Democrats are looking to win back the lower chamber, and noted that 2022 marked a good year for Democrats who experienced better-than-expected midterm results and created razor thin margins in the House.

“When voters have a choice between what we stand for and what Trump and the MAGA Republicans stand for, we win,” he said. “Which makes Trump and his MAGA friends losers.”

“We’re investing in America, bringing back pride to communities, pride to our country. I want to thank you for doing the job you’re elected to do. It matters to the American people, and we’re in a position to win in 2024, I think,” the president said at the caucus’s annual strategy retreat in Leesburg.

Biden also blasted Trump for his role in torpedoing the bipartisan border deal, accusing him of trying to intimidate Republican lawmakers into opposing the bill.

“You had worked so hard, a bipartisan group, so hard for so long to deal with the border,” he said. “And, guess what? Donald Trump allegedly — I can’t prove this, I’m told — called people and said, ‘if you support that, I’m coming after you.’”

“Are we here to solve a problem or just to weaponize for political attacks those problems?” Biden added.

“We’re here to serve the American people,” he said of Democrats.

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US President Joe Biden "wilfully retained and disclosed classified materials", a special counsel has found, but he will not be charged.

The report says it would be difficult to convict him as he comes across as an "elderly man with a poor memory".

The investigation began more than a year ago after secret documents were found at Mr Biden's home and former private office.

The files were returned to US officials once discovered.

The special counsel's report revealed for the first time that the documents were classified as Top Secret - the highest level of secrecy, and were about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan.

The files recovered included notebooks containing Mr Biden's entries about national security and foreign policy matters "implicating sensitive intelligence sources and methods".

The report by justice department Special Counsel Robert Hur says: "We conclude that the evidence does not establish Mr Biden's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

"Prosecution of Mr Biden is also unwarranted based on our consideration of the aggravating and mitigating factors."

Read the special counsel's report on Biden's handling of classified documents

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The Environmental Protection Agency just tightened standards for tiny, pervasive soot particles from construction sites, smokestacks, tailpipes, wildfires and other sources.

Why it matters: This form of air pollution is dangerous. It's linked to asthma, irregular heartbeats, bronchitis, even premature death in people with heart or lung disease, per the EPA.


  • Environmental groups — a key Democratic political constituency — loudly cheered, calling it an important public health move.
  • But business groups, citing steady improvements in air quality, say ratcheting down requirements again would throttle development and jobs.


State of play: The agency is imposing a new annualized exposure mandate for fine particulates of 9 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3), down from the current 12 µg/m3 requirement.

Zoom in: The agency estimates the rule will provide $46 billion in net health benefits in 2032, the earliest date that states must begin achieving the lower levels.


  • These projected upsides in 2032 include up to 4,500 avoided premature deaths and 800,000 avoided cases of asthma symptoms.
  • EPA says compliance costs are a tiny fraction of the benefit value. It rejects claims the rule hurts the economy, noting that since 2000, this pollution has fallen 42% while gross domestic product climbed 52%.


Yes, but: Many industries — petroleum, metals, mining, and forest and paper, to name just a few — allege dire economic outcomes from tougher mandates.


  • A late 2023 letter to the White House warns of "permitting gridlock" and "no room" for further development — even climate-friendly infrastructure — in some areas.
  • "For each level of increased stringency of the standards, the burdens on states and manufacturers increase exponentially," a suite of industry groups wrote.


The intrigue: This is among the most heavily lobbied EPA rules of the Biden era.


  • Backers and critics held dozens of closed-door talks with White House and EPA staff to sway the outcome (check this "meetings" link).


Threat level: Multiple studies show people of color face higher exposure to fine particulates.

There have been improvements in lowering soot concentrations, but a significant number of places would not currently meet the new limits (see above).


  • It's a broad national snapshot based on 361 monitoring sites, so your mileage may vary.


Yes, but: "EPA expects that 99% of U.S. counties will be able to meet the revised PM2.5 annual standard with actions already in place as of 2032," EPA said.

What we're watching: Potential litigation, and whether a potential Trump administration would seek to alter the rule, or stop defending it in court.


  • When he was president, Trump officials decided not to lower the standards.


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The S&P 500 finished little changed on Thursday after briefly topping the 5,000 milestone for the first time on record.

The broad-based index edged up 0.06% to finish at 4,997.91 after reaching a high of 5,000.40 heading into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 48.97 points, or 0.13%, to end at 38,726.33, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.24% to close at 15,793.71.