10 things you need to know today: December 10, 2021

Biden urges world leaders to step up defense of democracy, Bob Dole lies in state at the Capitol, and more

The casket of former Sen. Bob Dole lies in state
The casket of former Sen. Bob Dole lies in state
(Image credit: Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images)

1. Biden urges world leaders to 'lock arms' to defend democracy

President Biden on Thursday called on fellow world leaders participating in the first White House Summit for Democracy to "lock arms" to show that democracies can deliver progress better than autocracies. Biden said global democratic institutions are under assault, and he called for leaders everywhere to step up efforts to strengthen democracies. "This is an urgent matter," Biden said as he opened the two-day virtual summit. "The data we're seeing is largely pointing in the wrong direction." The video gathering came as the U.S. and key allies are warning Russia that it will face strong sanctions if it invades Ukraine. Russia and China, adversaries who were not invited to participate in the summit, accused the Biden administration of trying to "stoke up ideological confrontation and a rift in the world" with a "Cold-War mentality."

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.