U.S. and British leaders opened a White House press conference Thursday by highlighting crises close to home.
President Biden committed new resources to fighting the wildfires in Canada, and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak offered to help France after a knife-wielding attacker targeted young children, including a British national.
Mr. Biden on Thursday said he is sending air tankers to Canada to help stamp out wildfires that are causing dangerous smoke hazards across the northeastern U.S. and forced the White House to push a major Pride Month event to Saturday.
Mr. Biden said he spoke to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday and offered any assistance Canada needs “to rapidly accelerate the effort to put out these fires, particularly those in Quebec, where the fires are having the most direct impacts on American communities.”
More than 600 U.S. firefighters have deployed to assist Canada since May. The U.S. has also provided firefighting equipment.
Mr. Biden said he directed Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to keep him updated on efforts to manage the air traffic amid the haze.
He said the Environmental Protection Agency is monitoring air quality and providing updates for impacted zip codes, which can be found at AirNow.gov, and that the Centers for Disease Control has tips on how to stay healthy in wildfire smoke at CDC.gov.
“Stay safe and follow the guidance of your local officials,” Mr. Biden said.
Mr. Sunak, meanwhile, said he offered assistance to French President Emmanuel Macron after a knife-wielding man attacked children in a park near the southeastern Alpine lake town of Annecy.
Four children aged three or younger were stabbed and are in critical condition, according to the BBC.
Police overpowered the suspect and identified him as a 31-year-old Syrian with refugee status in Sweden.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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