Michigan presidential primary election live updates and latest news

“Frustrated with the lack of response, we are now turning to a more traditional method of democratic expression: our voting power,” the group’s website reads.

Here’s what you need to know:

The Daily Show guest host Desi Lydic has called out the characterisation of Nikki Haley as a “moderate” Republican, arguing that she has long been a conservative through and through.

“When you actually take a look at her policies, they aren’t that different from Trump,” the comedian said of Ms Haley on Thursday.

Martha McHardy has the story:

Today, President Biden and Vice President Harris met with Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Speaker Johnson, and Leader Jeffries in the Oval Office about the urgency of keeping the government open and passing the bipartisan national security supplemental. The President made clear that Congress must take swift action to fund the government and prevent a shutdown. A shutdown is unacceptable and would cause needless damage to hardworking families, our economy, and our national security. He emphasized that the only path forward is through bipartisan funding bills that deliver for the American people and are free of any extreme policies. The President also emphasized the urgent need for Congress to continue standing with Ukraine as it defends itself every day against Russia’s brutal invasion. He discussed how Ukraine has lost ground on the battlefield in recent weeks and is being forced to ration ammunition and supplies due to Congressional inaction. He underscored the importance of the bipartisan national security supplemental, which passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support and would pass in the House if it was brought to a vote. He made clear that in addition to arming Ukraine and investing in America’s defense industrial base, the bill would help Israel defend itself against Hamas, and provide more humanitarian aid for those impacted by conflicts around the world, including Palestinian civilians who are experiencing dire humanitarian conditions.

Speaking to reporters, Speaker Mike Johnson called the White House meeting “frank and honest”, adding that he also had a “one-on-one” meeting with Joe Biden in which he pressed the president on the need for a plan for the southern border.

“The first priority of the country is our border and making it secure,” he said.

Mr Johnson also said that the “House is actively pressing all the options” on Ukraine, adding it will get done in a “timely” but did not offer specifics.

He expressed optimism that they will agree to a plan to fund the government and avert a shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says the Big Four meeting was “one of the most intense” he’s ever been in because of how everyone impressed on House Speaker Mike Johnson the urgency of doing Ukraine aid now.

“This is an existential moment for the free world… we can’t say we won’t do Ukraine until we do border.”

Here’s what we wrote in our guide to the candidates:

“We have to be unified,” Mr Binkley, 55, said at one event.

“We have to be in this place, because if we’re in a time of uncertainty, what it’s going to take is faith in God and faith in each other to get us through, and it’s not time for us to back down. It’s time for us to believe.”

Mr Binkley has said he is “absolutely” confident that he could take on Mr Trump, despite having little name recognition and no experience holding elected office.

Today, he dropped out of the race, posting this message to his supporters:

Today, I am suspending my campaign for the Presidency of the United States of America and offering my endorsement and unwavering support for President Trump. I would like to thank my family, friends, campaign team, 80,000 plus financial supporters, and the hundreds of volunteers who helped share my vision. Without your efforts, prayers, love, and generosity, none of this would have been possible.

When I began this journey, it was with a message in my heart that our country needs to awaken to the fact that the unsustainable deficit spending and debt path we are on will undoubtedly lead us to a generational economic disruption. I believe that we can get off that path and begin a journey to balance the federal budget by transforming and demonopolizing the healthcare system which has been bankrupting our nation. I also felt deeply that as bad as the U.S. fiscal and monetary policy is, the political corruption and cultural divide in our country is an even greater threat. Throughout my campaign, I have seen our party struggle to find a place for a new vision while weighing the corrupt allegations and indictments against President Trump. He will need everyone’s support, and he will have mine moving forward.

While it is time for me to go back to my family, business, and church and care for the responsibilities I have been given, I remain steadfast in my commitment to my plans for the economy, border security, and healthcare. I look forward to considering other ways I can make an impact and promote my policy positions. Thank you again for being with us on this journey. Let’s continue to pray for our nation, and our leaders. When we look to each other for wisdom and strength, our future can be better than we can imagine. I look forward to seeing what tomorrow holds.

Mr Binkley “loaned himself more than $10m and only earned just more than 2,000 votes across the four early-state nominating contests,” according to Politico.

The former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, who has been charged with lying about Joe and Hunter Biden, has been ordered by a California judge to stay in jail.

The 43-year-old appeared in a federal court in Los Angeles on Monday after being transported to the Golden State from Las Vegas, Nevada.

“There is nothing garden variety about this case,” Judge Otis Wright said on Monday, the AP reported. “I have not changed my mind. The man will be remanded pending trial.”

His court hearing comes after he was arrested twice within a week, being detained by US Marshals on Thursday morning at his lawyer’s office in Las Vegas.

Andrew Feinberg reports for The Independent:

Last week, the probe shifted its’ focus from Washington to Federal Prison Camp Montgomery in Alabama, where House investigators travelled to interview Jason Galanis, known there as Inmate 80739-198.

There, as The Independent previously reported, they sought to question him about business activities he had participated in with fellow convicted criminal Devon Archer – a former business partner of Mr Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.

A source familiar with the outcome of the transcribed interview told The Independent that the jailhouse interview turned up nothing in the way of incriminating evidence or testimony linking the president to his son’s activities.

Specifically, the source said that Galanis said under oath that Mr Biden never held any role with any business entity connected to his son.

President Joe Biden told Congressional leaders they have “a lot of work to do” in order to enact legislation that will keep the federal government operating for the rest of this fiscal year and fund “urgent” defence assistance for Ukraine, Israel and other American allies.

Mr Biden told House and Senate leaders in the Oval Office on Tuesday morning that the consequences of a failure to include the defence spending package in any deal to keep the government open would be “dire” for America’s Ukrainian allies based on conversations with other Group of Seven leaders.

He also urged passage of the supplemental funding bill because it includes needed aid for Israel and humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza, and stressed that Congress has there responsibility of funding the government and preventing the economic damage that a shutdown would cause.

And that fire is roaring…