Biden Campaign Raises over $53 Mln in February Fundraising

 US President Joe Biden speaks as he visits the Wisconsin campaign headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 13, 2024. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden speaks as he visits the Wisconsin campaign headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 13, 2024. (AFP)
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Biden Campaign Raises over $53 Mln in February Fundraising

 US President Joe Biden speaks as he visits the Wisconsin campaign headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 13, 2024. (AFP)
US President Joe Biden speaks as he visits the Wisconsin campaign headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 13, 2024. (AFP)

US President Joe Biden's re-election campaign raised more than $53 million in February and has $155 million cash-on-hand after pulling in the most grassroots fundraising since the campaign's launch.

February's fundraising came just before Biden clinched the Democratic Party's nomination in March and before he raised $10 million in the 24 hours following his fiery State of the Union address.

About 1.3 million donors have made nearly 3.4 million contributions, and 97% of donations have been under $200, according to a statement from Biden's campaign, which released the figures on Sunday.

Biden in February went on a fundraising trip to California and attended fundraisers in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas.

Opposition to Donald Trump, who clinched the Republican Party's nomination, and to the GOP have motivated donors.

Biden's campaign generated $1.6 million in grassroots revenue in the 48 hours following the GOP primary in South Carolina, while Trump-focused emails have also driven donations, Biden's campaign said.

"The stakes of this election couldn't be higher for the future of this country, and our historic fundraising operation is making sure every voter knows these stakes come November," said Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden's campaign manager.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Biden had a marginal 1 percentage point lead over Trump ahead of November's election.

Some 39% of registered voters in the one-week poll said they would vote for Biden, a Democrat, if the election were held today, compared with 38% who picked Trump.



Italian Journalist Cecilia Sala Detained by Police While Reporting in Iran

An Iranian woman walks past a mural painting depicting Iran's national flag on a street in Tehran, Iran, 23 December 2024.  (EPA)
An Iranian woman walks past a mural painting depicting Iran's national flag on a street in Tehran, Iran, 23 December 2024. (EPA)
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Italian Journalist Cecilia Sala Detained by Police While Reporting in Iran

An Iranian woman walks past a mural painting depicting Iran's national flag on a street in Tehran, Iran, 23 December 2024.  (EPA)
An Iranian woman walks past a mural painting depicting Iran's national flag on a street in Tehran, Iran, 23 December 2024. (EPA)

An Italian journalist who was reporting in Tehran has been detained by the Iranian police, Italy’s foreign ministry said in a statement Friday.

Cecilia Sala was reporting in the Iranian capital when she was detained on Dec. 19, the ministry said, adding that it was working with Iranian authorities "to clarify the legal situation of Sala and to verify the conditions of her detention.”

Sala is a reporter for Italian daily Il Foglio, which said she is being held in Tehran’s Evin prison. Il Foglio said Sala was in Iran with a regular visa “to report on a country she knows and loves.”

The newspaper’s editor, Claudio Cerasa, wrote on Friday that “journalism is not a crime,” asking to “bring Cecilia Sala home.”

Sala had been allowed to make two phone calls to her relatives, the foreign ministry said. Italian Ambassador Paola Amadei visited Sala in prison Friday, and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the journalist was “in good health condition."

Iran has not acknowledged detaining Sala. However, it can take weeks before authorities announce such arrests.

Since the 1979 US Embassy crisis, which saw dozens of hostages released after 444 days in captivity, Iran has used prisoners with Western ties as bargaining chips in negotiations with the world.

In September 2023, five Americans detained for years in Iran were freed in exchange for five Iranians in US custody and for $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets to be released by South Korea.

Western journalists have been held in the past as well. Roxana Saberi, an American journalist, was detained by Iran in 2009 for some 100 days before being released.

Also detained by Iran was Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, who was held for over 540 days before being released in 2016 in a prisoner swap between Iran and the US.

Both cases involved Iran making false espionage accusations in closed-door hearings.