Tim Walz’ claims about using IVF to have family aren’t exactly true: report
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife, first lady Gwen Walz, have clarified that they conceived their children not through IVF, as the governor had previously said or implied in interviews, but through another fertility treatment. Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, took to social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to seize on the revelation and ask, “Who lies about something like that?” after asserting that Walz had deceived the public about having children via IVF, adding to his earlier attack that Walz had “lied” about his service in the National Guard. But the Harris-Walz campaign hit back at Vance: “The Trump campaign’s attacks on Mrs. Walz are just another example of how cruel and out of touch Donald Trump and JD Vance are when it comes to women’s healthcare,” Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg told Fox News Digital. “Infertility is a deeply personal journey, but the Governor and Mrs. Walz came forward to share their story because they know that MAGA attacks on reproductive rights are putting all fertility treatments at risk.” FORMER TEACHER REVEALS WHICH STUDENTS SUFFERED ‘THE MOST’ UNDER WALZ’S PANDEMIC-ERA GUIDELINES Harris campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg argued to CNN that Tim Walz “talks how normal people talk. He was using commonly understood shorthand for fertility treatments.” The couple did not receive in vitro fertilization (IVF) but instead intrauterine insemination (IUI). In a statement shared with media, Gwen Walz said that the journey through fertility treatments is riddled with anxiety, agony and “desperation that can eat away at your soul.” “I cannot fathom the cruelty of politicians who want to take away the freedom for couples to access the care they need,” she said. “After seeing the extreme attacks on reproductive health care across the country — particularly, the efforts in Alabama that jeopardized access to fertility treatments — Tim and I agreed that it was time to formally speak out about our experience.” “Like so many who have experienced these challenges, we kept it largely to ourselves at the time — not even sharing the details with our wonderful and close family,” Gwen Walz explained. “The only person who knew in detail what we were going through was our next-door neighbor.” “She was a nurse and helped me with the shots I needed as part of the IUI process. I’d rush home from school, and she would give me the shots to ensure we stayed on track.” KAMALA HARRIS GETTING OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE MEDIA COVERAGE SINCE EMERGING AS NOMINEE: STUDY Tim Walz stated during an interview with MSNBC in July that he had IVF to thank for their children, saying, “Thank God for IVF, my wife and I have two beautiful children.” In other instances, Walz referred to “fertility treatments” and stressed that the issue of IVF rights remained “personal” for him due to the struggles he and his wife went through to have their children. Tim Walz has made his support of IVF a central cause after the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that embryos created by IVF treatments should be considered children, which would lay the groundwork for further legislation on treatments. Embryos that have been fertilized but go unused are often discarded, according to the National Institutes of Health. The “embryo disposal decision” deals with the question of storage after successful childbearing. Many couples end up donating good-quality embryos to a research program, but discarding fertilized embryos remains a common practice. IVF requires the removal of several eggs and fertilization outside the body before transfer into the uterus, while IUI directly injects the sperm into the uterus. IUI also involved “washing” sperm to separate them from seminal fluid to increase the number of sperm transferred and increase chances of successful fertilization, according to Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials. TRUMP, VANCE HITTING THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL THIS WEEK TO COUNTERPROGRAM DEMOCRATS’ CONVENTION Former President Donald Trump shortly after the Alabama ruling stressed, “We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder! That includes supporting the availability of fertility treatments like IVF in every state in America.” “Today, I am calling on the Alabama Legislature to act quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social following the decision. “The Republican Party should always be on the side of the Miracle of Life – and the side of Mothers, Fathers, and their Beautiful Babies.” The correction issued by the Harris-Walz campaign is another they have had to make regarding previous statements Tim Walz has made, including clarification on his National Guard service. The team altered its biography of Tim Walz on the campaign website amid ongoing scrutiny of Walz’s service, changing it from saying he was a “retired Command Sergeant Major” to “served as a command sergeant major.” Tim Walz retired from the Guard after nearly 25 years of service, but his rank was reduced months later, leaving him as a master sergeant. National Guard officials have said that he retired before fulfilling requirements for the position, including coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy. The subsequent lower rank was due to benefit requirements and a technicality. The Trump-Vance campaign did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment by the time of publication. Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
What is the Gaza ceasefire ‘bridging proposal’ and will it work?
The United States top diplomat landed in Israel on Monday with a message for those pleading for an end to the war in Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he consulted with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who – the American official said – had accepted a “bridging proposal” for a ceasefire in Gaza. The proposal ostensibly aims to bridge unresolved disputes between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in order to scale down violence in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 40,000 people and uprooted nearly the entire 2.3 million population during the last 10 months. Israel’s devastating war on Gaza began shortly after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, in which an estimated 1,139 people were killed and more than 250 taken captive. Despite continuous efforts this year to bring about a ceasefire, and even after a proposal announced by US President Joe Biden that he said was supported by Israel and has publicly been backed by Hamas, the US has now been forced to announce its another bridging proposal. Hamas has rejected the proposal, calling it an attempt by the US to buy time “for Israel to continue its genocide”, and urged a return to the previous proposal. With Blinken travelling the Middle East, and a new potential round of talks in Cairo this week, let’s take a closer look at the latest proposal, and what the dispute between Israel and Hamas now centres on. Paramedics carry a body from the site of an Israeli attack on a school, housing displaced Palestinians, in the Remal neighbourhood of central Gaza City on August 20, 2024 [Omar al-Qattaa/AFP] Permanent ceasefire? Israel doesn’t want a permanent ceasefire, despite engaging in “ceasefire” talks. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to reserve the right to resume attacks on Gaza after Israeli captives have been retrieved. This fits with a longstanding Israeli military doctrine of carrying out “preemptive attacks” in occupied Palestinian territory to ostensibly weaken the threat coming from Palestinian fighters, as it often does in the occupied West Bank. “Most Israelis can’t argue with what Netanyahu wants to do, which is to destroy Hamas, despite those being empty words that have no meaning,” said Ori Goldberg, an Israeli commentator on political affairs. However, Israel’s own security brass has said that Netanyahu’s stated goal of completely destroying Hamas is impossible and amounts to “throwing sand in the eyes of the [Israeli] public”. Even Netanyahu’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has rubbished the idea of a “total victory” against Hamas. Back in July, Hamas expressed willing to sign a temporary ceasefire and then indirectly continue talks that would eventually lead to a permanent one. Netanyahu, however, has continued to add conditions and has proved unwilling to compromise. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained a hardline position opposed to an end to the war in Gaza, even as pressure on him mounts from inside and outside Israel [File: Craig Hudson/Reuters] Troop withdrawals Hamas is calling for the departure of all Israeli troops from Gaza, beginning with a withdrawal from the Philadelphi corridor, a name used for the land that separates the enclave from Egypt. Netanyahu, however, insists that Israeli troops must remain in the corridor – and other locations in the enclave – to preserve Israeli security and derail the smuggling of weapons to Hamas. That, Hamas says, is a departure from the ceasefire proposal backed by Biden in May, which the Americans said at the time Israel had agreed to. Secretary of State Blinken has tried to talk Netanyahu into watering down his new condition – which is also vehemently opposed by Egypt – by agreeing to keep a minimal number of soldiers in the Philadelphi corridor, according to Hugh Lovatt, an expert on Israel-Palestine for the European Council for Foreign Relations (ECFR). “It seems, from my view, the US is accepting the latest Israeli conditions, but trying to water them down to some extent,” said Lovatt. “This [proposal] is basically a bridge between the US and Israel and not Israel and Hamas,” he added. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, right, in Tel Aviv, Israel, August 19, 2024 [Kevin Mohatt/Pool via Reuters] Right of return Israel has insisted on screening all Palestinians for weapons before allowing them to return to their homes in northern Gaza, a condition that is regarded by Palestinians as a pretext to be used to block families from returning to areas where they have been forcefully and deliberately displaced. Israel has said that it aims to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping in the north. Hamas, on the other hand, says Palestinians should have total freedom of movement and that Israeli forces must withdraw in order to guarantee the safety of people in the Strip, tens of thousands of whom have been killed by Israeli forces. The call for an unimpeded return to the north is particularly sensitive for Palestinians, who have been repeatedly expelled from their lands since the creation of Israel in 1948. Back then, some 750,000 Palestinians were uprooted by Zionist militias – a period Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or catastrophe. About 70 percent of Gaza’s population are from refugee families that had fled their homes in other parts of Palestine during the Nakba. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally to mark the Nakba anniversary in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on May 18, 2024 [File: John Lamparski/AFP] Captive exchange On Tuesday, Israeli families of the captives in Gaza met Netanyahu to gauge the likelihood of a ceasefire. After the meeting, one of them told local reporters that the prime minister is “not sure there will be a deal”. A ceasefire would, in theory, involve three phases, in which all Israeli captives are released in exchange for a certain number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Hamas wants a deal, but will not release captives unless Netanyahu agrees to withdraw troops from Gaza. Netanyahu’s new ceasefire conditions, however, make the release of
What are the prospects for a Gaza ceasefire deal?
Israeli forces continue attacks as attention moves to talks in Egypt. Israel bombs a school in Gaza, killing more Palestinians, as top United States diplomat Antony Blinken visits the region. He says talks in Egypt may be the last chance for a ceasefire in Gaza, but Hamas accuses the US and Israel of delays and adding new conditions. Can there be a breakthrough? Presenter: James Bays Guests: Professor Yezid Sayigh – senior fellow at the Malcolm H Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center and an adviser and negotiator on the Palestinian delegation to peace talks with Israel in the 1990s Akbar Shahid Ahmed – senior diplomatic correspondent at HuffPost who has covered US policy on Gaza since former President Barack Obama’s administration Daniel Levy – president of the US/Middle East Project and member of the Israeli delegation to peace talks with Palestine in the late 1990s Adblock test (Why?)
Manhunt in Kenya after suspected serial killer escapes prison
NewsFeed A manhunt is underway in Kenya for a suspected serial killer who escaped from police custody in Nairobi. Police say the suspect, Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, had confessed to murdering 42 women after dismembered bodies were found in a quarry. A preliminary investigation indicates he got away with help from ‘insiders.’ Published On 20 Aug 202420 Aug 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Lawmakers slam Columbia U’s ‘blatant inaction’ against ‘pro-terrorist’ students after damning report
A House committee released data this week depicting what its Republican chairwoman called a failure by Columbia University to properly discipline students involved in antisemitic unrest earlier this year, as panel members called out the “blatant inaction.” Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, who heads up the House Education and Workforce Committee, and panel member Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., separately called the New York City college’s leaders spineless and accused them of giving dangerous behavior a free pass. “The failure of Columbia’s invertebrate administration to hold accountable students who violate university rules and break the law is disgraceful and unacceptable,” Foxx said in a statement. Foxx noted that in the approximately four months since the “takeover of Hamilton Hall,” the majority of students involved remain in good academic standing. IRANIAN-AMERICAN LAWYER WHOSE RESPONSE TO ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS WENT VIRAL PREDICTS NEW WORLD WAR In remarks to Fox News Digital, Foxx added that Columbia’s actions therefore “only encourages more of the chaos.” “You can’t leave bad behavior unpunished and then expect good behavior instead. Columbia’s refusal to hold student perpetrators accountable … puts Jewish students, faculty, and staff at risk as they head back to campus,” she said. Bean added the school made clear via the statistics in the committee’s report that “pro-terrorist students can break the rules and get off scot-free.” “The university’s failure to hold these students accountable for spewing hatred against the Jewish community and brutalizing Jewish students is unacceptable,” he said. Bean blasted the school’s leadership, saying that by doing little or nothing to punish the students, they’ve given a pass to those who should be expelled or prosecuted. Meanwhile, Foxx suggested the Morningside Heights institution gave students a “get out of jail free card.” She went on to say no one who burglarizes campus property or creates an environment of bigotry should be given even a “single degree of latitude.” “The university’s willingness to do just that is reprehensible,” said Foxx, who represents the Great Smoky Mountains region. Fox News Digital also reached out to the top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, for his take on the report. COLUMBIA CANCELING GRADUATION SHOWS ‘INMATES ARE RUNNING THE ASYLUM’: STUDENTS Foxx said Columbia had pledged to expel students who had occupied Hamilton Hall, and said the fact many participants in the chaos remain in academic good-standing is disconcerting. Data from a chart listing dates with corresponding campus incidents and numbers of students involved in each appeared to bear out Foxx’s claim. On April 30, 22 students were arrested after taking over Hamilton Hall. Eighteen remain in good standing, three were suspended and one was put on probation. All 27 students arrested off campus on May 1 saw their scholastic cases closed due to “insufficient evidence,” and 29 of 35 students who had been placed on interim suspension on April 29 had their punishments lifted. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP A handful of the more than 30 students who camped-out during an alumni weekend were put on conditional disciplinary probation, according to Foxx’s report. Two students who, on April 20, were accused of helping “non-affiliates” enter Jerome Green Hall and “endangered other students” also remain in good standing. In response to the report, a Columbia University spokesperson said the school remains committed to combating antisemitism and all forms of discrimination. “[We remain committed to] taking sustained, concrete action toward a campus where everyone in our community feels valued and is able to thrive,” the spokesperson said. “Following the disruptions of the last academic year, Columbia immediately began disciplinary processes, including with immediate suspensions. The disciplinary process is ongoing for many students involved in these disruptions, including some of those who were arrested, and we have been working to expedite the process for this large volume of violations.”
Dem candidates bankrolled by ‘defund the police donors’ targeted by House GOP
The House GOP is setting its sights on a handful of Democratic candidates who have been bankrolled by left-wing billionaires whose money has also gone toward promoting what Republicans call “soft-on-crime” policies. At least eight Democratic House candidates who have positioned themselves as left-of-center or moderate have received donations from the same wealthy liberals who poured thousands into promoting progressive crime policies in states like California and Florida, campaign finance records show. All eight are also running in competitive districts, making them prime targets for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the House Republicans’ campaign arm. “Defund the police donors backed up the Brink’s truck to bankroll the campaigns of extreme House Democrats,” NRCC spokesman Will Reinert told Fox News Digital. “If elected, these far-left Democrats will work hand in hand with San Francisco liberal Kamala Harris to send violent crime rates soaring, reward felons and punish cops for trying to keep communities safe.” WEEKEND BEFORE CHICAGO HOSTS DNC, AT LEAST 30 PEOPLE SHOT, 5 MURDERED IN WINDY CITY Among the eight is Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kan., one of the most vulnerable Democrats this election cycle — the most recently available campaign finance data shows Davids received $3,300 in April from Quinn Delaney, a California billionaire who runs the nonprofit Akonadi Foundation. The Akonadi Foundation committed $12.5 million to an Oakland-based initiative whose goals include closing youth prisons and taking police officers out of schools, according to its website. Delaney also spent hundreds of thousands to help elect progressive Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, whose progressive reforms have been accused of making residents feel less safe during his tenure. Delaney along with California megadonor Patty Quillin were named as two of four billionaires who “channeled $22 million toward criminal justice ballot measures and allied candidates the previous two years,” Politico wrote in 2021. DNC HOST CHICAGO, HAUNTED BY 1968 CONVENTION RIOTING, BRACES FOR BLOODSHED Quillin and her husband, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, also donated $1 million to support a California measure to end the cash bail system and replace it with a risk-based assessment. Recent campaign finance records show Quillin donated $3,300 to Will Rollins, a former prosecutor running against Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif. Delaney and Quillin also both gave $3,300 to Adam Gray, who is running to unseat Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif. Gray, a former state lawmaker, has also received two $6,600 checks from Django Bonderman and Cale Bonderman respectively, both of whom donated significantly to support a 2018 Florida ballot initiative to grant most felons the right to vote. Django Bonderman is also linked to Mountain Philanthropies, which Influence Watch has classified as a left-wing dark money group that has supported causes promoting leniency in criminal justice. Campaign finance records show the Bondermans have also donated similar amounts to George Whitesides, who is running against Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif.; Laura Gillen, who is challenging Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y.; Monica Tranel, who is challenging Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont.; and former House Rep. Mondaire Jones, who is running to unseat Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. The Bondermans have also donated $3,300 each to Oregon state Rep. Janelle Bynum, who is challenging Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore. Django Bonderman has given small amounts to more moderate members of the House GOP as well, giving $1,000 each to Reps. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, and Steve Womack, R-Ark., in late June. A spokesperson for Womack said he returned the donation. CHICAGO DNC PROTESTS TO PUT ILLINOIS’ NO-CASH-BAIL LAW TO THE ULTIMATE TEST “Voters have to remember what happened when George Soros funded all of those left-wing DAs,” John Feehery, a former aide to ex-Speaker Dennis Hastert and current partner at EFB Advocacy told Fox News Digital. “Crime spiraled out of control. The same principle applies to these candidates. They will do what the billionaires want and the results won’t be pretty.” Feehery argued there was a dissonance between such Democrats running more moderate campaigns while accepting funds from progressive sources. “They can try, but voters know where their bread is buttered,” he said. Crime and perceptions of public safety are likely to play a critical role in suburban districts where Republicans have hammered big-city Democrats as soft on crime. Democrats, particularly in competitive districts, have sought to dispel those arguments during this election cycle. Both Gray and Rollins have touted campaign endorsements from local law enforcement in their areas. Gray has support from both the district attorney and the sheriff of Merced County, while Rollins is endorsed by the Palm Springs Police Association. “As a former federal prosecutor with the support of local law enforcement, I understand more than most that defendants should be detained if they’re a danger to our communities, that Prop 47 needs to be repealed so that cops aren’t put in the position of rearresting the same people for theft crimes again and again, and that our police officers need all of the support they can get to keep our families safe,” Rollins told Fox News Digital. “I believe no one is above the law and that we should fund both local police and federal law enforcement.” He also knocked rival Calvert for once claiming the FBI was “infiltrated” by “rot” and for House GOP proposals, not led by him, that would have seen funding cut to various law enforcement offices. Tranel, meanwhile, told Fox News Digital, “Over half of my donors are from Montana, while only 7% of Zinke’s contributions came from Montanans. If we’re going to talk about donors, let’s look at Ryan Zinke, who took money from a company controlled by the Chinese Communist Party that has bought up US farmland and voted to make it harder for Montana ranchers to compete with China and drive up the cost of living. Montanans deserve a representative who stands up for them, not one who continues to exploit Montana for their own personal profit.” Zinke’s campaign pointed out that Tranel also received donations from Jonathan Soros and his wife, adding, “Ryan Zinke continues to outperform perennial failed candidate Monica Tranel
Byron Donalds urges House GOP leaders to hold vote on Biden impeachment after bombshell report
EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., is urging House GOP leaders to hold a chamber-wide vote on impeaching President Biden days after a highly anticipated report accused the commander in chief of committing impeachable offenses. “I’ve felt that way for a long time. I’m on the Oversight Committee, I’ve seen all of the evidence up close and personal. It is without a doubt that he used his office when he was vice president to enrich his family as pay for play,” Donalds told Fox News Digital. “That’s public corruption.” Referencing the phone call with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy that precipitated the first impeachment of former President Trump, Donalds added, “Listen, if a phone call is quote-unquote, an impeachable offense, then public corruption absolutely is. I think the House should hold that vote.” House Republicans released a 292-page report on Monday, a joint effort by the House Oversight Committee, House Judiciary Committee and House Ways and Means Committee, arguing Biden engaged in “impeachable conduct.” HOUSE REPUBLICANS REFER HUNTER BIDEN, JAMES BIDEN FOR CRIMINAL PROSECUTION AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY Those committees have been working on a monthslong investigation into whether Biden helped enrich himself and his family through foreign business deals while he was vice president. Donalds’ public pressure is significant; while a majority of House Republicans have publicly accused Biden of at least acting improperly, it’s not clear that House leaders would risk forcing their most vulnerable GOP members to take such a weighty vote with just a razor-thin majority in the chamber. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., indicated in March that criminal referrals could be the end of the road for the probe. He told Newsmax the House “would vote to impeach Joe Biden right now,” but “the best path to accountability is criminal referrals.” In his statement on the impeachment report on Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., praised the investigation as “thorough, diligent and thoughtful” but made no mention of a House-wide vote. Johnson himself has previously said he believes Biden is guilty of wrongdoing. Donalds appeared to reference his colleagues’ hesitation when he told Fox News Digital he would make the case for an impeachment vote to Johnson the next time he spoke with the GOP leader. HUNTER DEMANDED $10M FROM CHINESE ENERGY FIRM BECAUSE ‘BIDENS ARE THE BEST,’ HAVE ‘CONNECTIONS’ “It’ll definitely probably come up, and we’ll see where it is,” Donalds said. “And look, I know members, they all are trying to figure out what they’re going to do in their re-elections, but we have a responsibility to hold the executive branch accountable. That is the job of Congress.” “I think one of the reasons why a lot of people are losing faith in our institutions is because it appears that people at the top of our politics just get away with everything and are never held accountable. And that’s wrong.” In their report, Republicans said there is “overwhelming evidence” that Biden participated in a “conspiracy to monetize his office of public trust to enrich his family.” They alleged that the Biden family and their business associates received tens of millions of dollars from foreign interests by “leading those interests to believe that such payments would provide them access to and influence with President Biden.” The committees said the Biden family and its associates received more than $27 million from foreign individuals or entities since 2014. FLASHBACK: HUNTER BIDEN IN 2017 SENT ‘BEST WISHES’ FROM ‘ENTIRE BIDEN FAMILY’ TO CHINA FIRM CHAIRMAN, REQUESTED $10M WIRE They also alleged that the Biden family leveraged Biden’s position as vice president to obtain more than $8 million in loans from Democratic benefactors. The loans “have not been repaid and the paperwork supporting many of the loans does not exist and has not been produced to the committees.” The White House said in response to the report, “This failed stunt will only be remembered for how it became an embarrassment that their own members distanced themselves from as they only managed to turn up evidence that refuted their false and baseless conspiracy theories. The American people deserve more from House Republicans, and perhaps now they will finally join President Biden in focusing on the real issues that American families actually care about.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Donalds’ remarks.
Biden DOJ defends Trump clearing 2020 George Floyd protesters from park near White House
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is willing to take responsibility for actions taken by former President Trump against protesters in 2020. The DOJ submitted a court filing on Monday certifying that Trump was acting within the scope of his office when he ordered the National Guard to disperse rioters gathered near the White House following the death of George Floyd. “On the basis of the information now available with respect to the claims set forth therein, I find that Donald J. Trump was acting within the scope of federal office or employment at the time of the incident out of which the plaintiffs’ claims arise,” wrote James Touhey Jr., head of the Torts Branch in the DOJ’s Civil Division DOJ SUDDENLY LOCATED BIDEN BIOGRAPHER TRANSCRIPTS CREATED BY ROBERT HUR: WATCHDOG Three individuals who were protesting on Lafayette Square in 2020 following Floyd’s death are seeking damages from Trump over the National Guard’s use of chemical weapons to disperse the rioting crowd. Plaintiffs claim their constitutional rights were violated when military personnel cleared and secured the square on the order of then-President Trump — officers used pepper balls and smoke bombs to force protesters away. TRUMP, VANCE HITTING THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL THIS WEEK TO COUNTERPROGRAM DEMOCRATS’ CONVENTION Law enforcement also shoved and physically forced protesters out of the area. The DOJ has already requested the plaintiffs’ cases to be thrown out for lack of evidence that any constitutional rights were violated. A federal judge tossed the majority of cases surrounding the incident in 2021. The DOJ’s certification that Trump was acting within the boundaries of his federal office means that the department will be responsible for any liabilities found against the former president. The case presents the latest opportunity for judges to implement and clarify the Supreme Court’s July ruling that recognized the president enjoys broad immunities while conducting official business.
Critics claim Biden remains president ‘in name only’ despite DNC vow to finish next 5 months of term strong
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, claimed Monday that President Biden at this point is “basically president in name only.” “Tonight, we are going to hear from President Joe Biden, who at this point is basically president in name only,” Shanahan said in a video shared to X. “You know, no matter what your opinion is of Joe Biden, if you love him or if you hate him or don’t really care, you have to realize that something feels very wrong about how the Democratic Party ran a full core pressure campaign to get him out of office after he won 14-15 million votes in the primaries,” she said. “Isn’t it strange how he bowed out because he didn’t feel like he could serve another four years, but somehow he’s OK to serve four more months as we face historic inflation, debt and war? Any impartial observer can look at that and realize the DNC machine did what they always do. They pushed someone out they couldn’t successfully puppeteer,” Shanahan said. “So much for defending democracy.” At the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, Biden said he had “a lot to do” in the remaining five months of his presidential term. Comparing himself to Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden said, “Like many of our best presidents, she was also vice president. That’s a joke…” BIDEN SPEECH DELAYED UNTIL AFTER PRIMETIME Biden appeared to be referencing how he served as former President Barack Obama’s vice president. “But she’ll be a president our children could look up to,” Biden continued. “She’ll be a president respected by world leaders because she already is. She’ll be a president we can all be proud of. And she will be a historic president who puts her stamp on America’s future. This will be the first presidential election since January 6th.” “Selecting Kamala was the very first decision I made before I became, when I became our nominee, and it was the best decision I made my whole career,” Biden said. X users on Monday questioned whether Biden is truly in charge. “Are we just forgetting that Joe Biden is still in office?” wrote Jerry Wayne, a Michigan autoworker who went viral for confronting Biden about gun control on the 2020 campaign trail. “Joe Biden is still the President for 154 more days. Pray for America,” Fox News contributor and former Trump campaign operative Steve Cortes wrote on X. At the DNC, Biden stressed that his term is not over. “Folks, I’ve got five months left in my presidency. I’ve got a lot to do. I intend to get it done,” Biden said. Regardless of the outcome of the election in November, a new president would not, under traditional circumstances, be inaugurated until Jan. 20, 2025. As of Tuesday, that means Biden has 153 days left of his four-year term. The 25th Amendment of the Constitution stipulates that if the president dies, resigns or is removed from office, the vice president automatically becomes president. After Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Republican nominee and former President Trump in June, Democratic lawmakers and donors pressured the 81-year-old president to step aside from the race amid concern his age and mental fitness would destroy the party’s chances of holding onto the White House and Senate, as well as reclaiming the House in November. In a clip shared by RNC Research, Biden stood at the podium during a stage test earlier Monday afternoon at the United Center while reporters shouted questions. One reporter asked, “Donald Trump claims that you were pushed out, put from the top of the ticket, and this amounts to a coup from your party. What do you make of these claims?” Biden started to answer, but his response was quiet and barely audible, so the reporter pressed, “his what?” The president then went silent, waved her off and other reporters began asking different questions. BIDEN SAYS DNC ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS ‘HAVE A POINT,’ RIPS TRUMP AS ‘NOT WORTHY’ OF OVAL OFFICE Biden ended his re-election campaign on July 21 and immediately endorsed Harris’ presidential candidacy. Harris secured enough delegates to become the presidential nominee on Aug. 1 during a virtual roll call conducted by the Democratic National Committee two weeks before the start of the party’s convention at the United Center in Chicago. The RNC, by contrast, did their roll call in person in Milwaukee. In his DNC speech Monday night, Biden insisted there was no bad blood and that he made the decision to back out of the race for the good of the country. “It’s been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your president. I love the job, but I love my country more. I love my country more. Now, all this talk about how I’m angry. All those people said I should step down. That’s not true. I love my country more,” Biden said. “And we need to preserve our democracy in 2024. We need you to vote, I need you to keep the Senate. We need you to win back the House of Representatives. And above all, we need you to beat Donald Trump.” Harris isn’t expected to formally accept the Democratic presidential nomination until Thursday. But Biden left the DNC immediately after what some mainstream media billed his “farewell address” Monday night. The speech concluded in the dead of night, and the president and first lady Jill Biden touched down in California early Tuesday morning. Listing priorities for the remainder of his presidency, Biden told the DNC that he would continue working with Harris to bring all Americans wrongfully detained around the world home. Biden said Monday night that his administration, namely Secretary of State Antony Blinken, is “working around the clock” to prevent a wider war in the Middle East, bring back the remaining hostages held by Hamas after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza to “end the civilian suffering of the Palestinian people” and
ICE lost track of tens of thousands of migrant kids, DHS inspector general finds
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lost track of tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors over the last five years. An internal watchdog within the Department of Homeland Security sent a report to Congress on Tuesday titled “Management Alert – ICE Cannot Monitor All Unaccompanied Migrant Children Released from DHS and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Custody.” The interim report warns that over the past five years, more than 32,000 unaccompanied migrant children [UCs] are no longer accounted for by ICE. TRUMP TO VISIT SOUTHERN BORDER IN ARIZONA, BLAMES CRISIS ON ‘CZAR’ KAMALA HARRIS “During our ongoing audit to assess ICE’s ability to monitor the location and status of UCs who were released or transferred from the custody of the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), we learned ICE transferred more than 448,000 UCs to HHS from fiscal years 2019 to 2023,” the internal watchdog reported. “However, ICE was not able to account for the location of all UCs who were released by HHS and did not appear as scheduled in immigration court. ICE reported more than 32,000 UCs failed to appear for their immigration court hearings from FYs 2019 to 2023.” A large portion of these unaccounted migrant children is a consequence of individuals failing to appear at immigration court hearings after being released from government custody. FLORIDA AG DEMANDS ANSWERS AFTER REPORT FOUND NEARLY 100 POTENTIAL TERRORIST MIGRANTS RELEASED BY BIDEN ADMIN “Despite its responsibilities for overseeing UCs [unaccompanied migrant children] through the immigration process, we found ICE cannot always monitor the location and status of UCs once they were released from DHS and HHS custody,” the report states. READ THE INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT – APP USERS, CLICK HERE: “Even though OPLA issued new guidance to verify the location of UCs who failed to appear for their court hearings and improve coordination with HHS, we found ICE often neither followed this guidance nor issued corresponding guidance for its officers in the field,” the report continued. The report was issued by Inspector General Joseph Cuffari and addressed to Patrick Lechleitner, ICE Deputy Director and Senior Official. The numbers could be even worse than documented — according to the watchdog’s findings, approximately 291,000 unaccompanied migrant children have not yet been marked for removal proceedings because ICE has routinely failed to schedule immigration court dates and serve notices. The DHS and ICE have come under intense scrutiny in recent years as inability to manage the influx of migrants from South America has led to individuals slipping through the cracks.