Closing summary
That’s all from our live politics blog for today. Thanks for joining us.
Here’s what we followed:
Joe Biden’s foreign policy objectives were laid out in his administration’s long awaited national security strategy, a 48-page document released by the White House this morning. Outcompeting China, curbing Russian aggression, and building an international alliance to do both are the main goals.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the US was better placed than any other nation to seize what he called a “decisive decade” that will determine the fate of the free world. “The actions we take now will shape whether this decisive decade is an age of conflict and discord are the beginning of a more prosperous and stable future,” he said.
Biden dedicated the Camp Hale continental divide national monument during a visit to Vail, Colorado. The proclamation preserves the lands to “honor our nation’s veterans, Indigenous people, and their legacy,” the president said.
Biden made clear he’s willing to retaliate against Saudi Arabia for backing the Opec+ oil production cut, but hasn’t yet said what measures he supports. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spoke of unspecified “consequences” for the Saudis, but not for some time.
Mitt Romney is staying out of the Senate race in Utah, declining to endorse his Republican Senate counterpart Mike Lee, or independent challenger Evan McMullin, both of whom he considers friends.
Tulsi Gabbard, who yesterday announced she was leaving the Democratic party, is heading to New Hampshire to campaign for rightwing Republican Senate candidate Don Bolduc.
Political polling by telephone has become so difficult it may soon become impossible, The New York Times warns.
Alex Jones to pay $965m for Sandy Hook lies
Rightwing InfoWars host Alex Jones must pay $965m to families of victims and those he hurt by calling the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting a hoax, a jury has decided.
The decision concludes his second defamation trial, in Waterbury, Connecticut, less than 20 miles from Newtown, where a man shot 26 children and teachers dead in 2012.
WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — Jury says Alex Jones should pay $965 million to people who suffered from his lies about the Sandy Hook school massacre.
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) October 12, 2022
Updated
