
Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, vulnerable Democrat up for reelection, calls on Biden to drop out of the race
CNN
Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a vulnerable Democrat up for reelection in a deep-red state, has called for President Joe Biden to end his bid for a second term.
Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a vulnerable Democrat up for reelection in a deep-red state, has called for President Joe Biden to end his bid for a second term. ”I have worked with President Biden when it has made Montana stronger, and I’ve never been afraid to stand up to him when he is wrong,” Tester said in a statement Thursday. “And while I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term.” Tester is the second Democratic senator to ask Biden to withdraw as the party’s presumptive presidential nominee. Earlier this month, Vermont Sen. Peter Welch called on Biden to “withdraw from the race” earlier this month in a Washington Post op-ed. Tester’s announcement comes hours after CNN reported that many senior-ranking White House and Biden campaign officials now privately believe that the president must abandon his reelection campaign soon. “The next 72 hours are big,” one Democratic governor in close touch with party officials relayed to aides on Thursday. “This can’t go on much longer.” Democrats continue to wrestle with not only Biden’s reelection bid but also its ability to hurt the party in down-ballot races. CNN reported Wednesday that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi privately told Biden that he could destroy Democrats’ chances of winning the House. In the Senate, Democrats and the independents who caucus with them have a difficult road to maintain their majority, with 23 seats to defend compared with just 11 for Republicans.

Two top House lawmakers emerged divided along party lines after a private briefing with the military official who oversaw September’s attack on an alleged drug vessel that included a so-called double-tap strike that killed surviving crew members, with a top Democrat calling video of the incident that was shared as part of the briefing “one of the most troubling things” he has seen as a lawmaker.

Authorities in Colombia are dealing with increasingly sophisticated criminals, who use advanced tech to produce and conceal the drugs they hope to export around the world. But police and the military are fighting back, using AI to flag suspicious passengers, cargo and mail - alongside more conventional air and sea patrols. CNN’s Isa Soares gets an inside look at Bogotá’s war on drugs.

As lawmakers demand answers over reports that the US military carried out a follow-up strike that killed survivors during an attacked on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a career Navy SEAL who has spent most of his 30 years of military experience in special operations will be responsible for providing them.










