Biden and Trump news live: Latest updates today

Germany hopes the US will agree to joint sanctions against China and Russia over human rights abuses, the country’s foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Speaking at event run by the Brookings Institution, Heiko Mass expressed optimism for the future of the partnership between the US and Germany.

“I hope that we will be able to return to a common trans-Atlantic position on targeted sanctions, something that was not possible over the last four years,” he said.

Alaska has become the first US state to offer coronavirus vaccinations to anyone over the age of 16 who lives or works there.

“I couldn’t be prouder of Alaska’s response,”  state governor Mike Dunleavy said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

The Pfizer jab will be administered to over 16s while the Johnson & Johnson and Moderna vaccines will be given to over 18s, the state government has said.

President Joe Biden will hold a virtual meeting with the leaders of Australia, India and Japan on Friday, as part of his administration’s attempt to balance China’s power in the region.

The leaders of the “Quad” countries will discuss topics ranging “from the threat of COVID, to economic cooperation and, of course, to the climate crisis,” according to the White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

A senior Biden official told Reuters separately: “This sends a very strong signal of common cause and purpose. And the goal here is basically to introduce the Quad as a new feature of regular diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific.”

An in-person meeting between the four leaders is expected to take place later this year.

More than three times as many unaccompanied children are in custody at the US border than two weeks ago, according to a New York Times report.

Asked whether the spike in crossings was a “crisis”, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday: “Look, I don’t think we need to sit here and put new labels on what we have already conveyed is challenging, what we have conveyed is a top priority for the president.”

Three days after their arrival at the border, the Department of Health and Human Services assumes care for the children. It is currently housing 8,100 minors while they await processing and sponsorship.

My colleague Griffin Connolly reports:

South Korea will pay an additional 13.9 per cent towards to the cost of the 28,500 US troops stationed in the country this year, the government has announced.

The increase, which takes the contribution in 2021 to 1.18 trillion won ($1.03 billion), comes after former president Donald Trump accused Seoul of “free-riding” on US military support.

Jeong Eun-bo, South Korea’s chief negotiator, said: “It provided a chance to reaffirm the importance of the alliance and the need for stable stationing of U.S. Forces.”

Unlike his predecessor Donald Trump, Joe Biden will not put his signature on stimulus checks.

On Tuesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said: “This is not about him — this is about the American people getting relief.”

There were allegations last year that Mr Trump’s desire to have his signature on checks delayed payments, something the IRS denied at the time.

Chris Riotta has the details:

The Biden administration will finish its North Korea policy review “within the next month or so”, a senior official has said.

Speaking to Reuters, the…