Texas Weekly Online

Texas-trans-white
Menu
Menu

Author:

GOP senators react to acting Secret Service Director Rowe’s press conference: ‘Clearly a cover-up’

GOP senators react to acting Secret Service Director Rowe’s press conference: ‘Clearly a cover-up’

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, was among a number of Republican lawmakers who reacted to acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe’s press conference Friday about the assassination attempt on former President Trump at a rally in July. Lee said he believes there’s more to the story than what Rowe told reporters.  “It is clear that the American people still have not been given the full story,” Lee told Fox News Digital in a statement. “From the beginning, rally attendees and people with cellphone footage seem to have been more invested in stopping the shooter and figuring out what happened than the Secret Service itself. It is shocking that more officials have not been held accountable.” Lee added that he would “not stop hounding” the Secret Service for “this egregious failure.” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said there was “clearly a cover-up.”  TRUMP RALLY VIDEO AFFIRMS SECRET SERVICE ‘FAILURE’ AFTER FIGURE SEEN ON ROOF BEFORE SHOOTING: ACTING DIRECTOR “I do not believe acting Director Rowe was forthcoming, as the government rarely admits to being wrong,” Johnson told Fox News Digital. “I suspect that Rowe knows precisely who was responsible for this massive security failure and that this is clearly a cover-up. We need a detailed investigation and transcribed interviews to uncover the truth.” Only three in 10 Americans are extremely or very confident the Secret Service can keep presidential candidates safe since Trump’s assassination attempt, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.  Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital he appreciated Rowe’s willingness to hold the press conference.  “It’s obvious that this was an epic failure by the leadership of the Secret Service and DHS, whose main responsibility was to protect President Trump at this rally,” Scott said. “Since the shooting, it seemed we got new information from outside sources but nothing from the agencies investigating this failure. So, I appreciate acting Director Rowe’s decision to give an update to the American people in a press conference today, and I encourage him to continue.” He added that the FBI must follow suit. “Unless we start getting daily press conferences, conspiracy and rumor will run wild, and trust will permanently disappear,” he said. “The American people still have unanswered questions, and they want to know people are being held accountable for the admitted failures.”  Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital: “When the Secret Service fails to accomplish its mission, people die. The tragic events that occurred in Butler, Pennsylvania, were a direct consequence of their failure, and the agency must listen to the concerns of every whistleblower that comes forward. We will be watching to ensure the Secret Service’s internal investigation results in real accountability.”  Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Miss., reacted on social media Friday to a reporter writing about Rowe insisting the Secret Service didn’t know the shooter had a gun until he started firing.  “But Secret Service was IN CHARGE of this event, and in charge of local law enforcement,” Hawley wrote on X. “USSS lack of knowledge about events transpiring over nearly *two hours* at their own event is inexcusable.” TRUMP SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT During Friday afternoon’s press conference, Rowe gave updates on the investigation into the ill-fated Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, saying the Secret Service takes “full responsibility” for the security “failure” when Thomas Matthew Crooks shot Trump in the ear.  A rallygoer, Corey Comperatore, was killed in the shooting, and two others were critically injured.  “The Secret Service takes full responsibility for the tragic events of July 13. This was a mission failure. The sole responsibility of our agency is to make sure our protectees are never put in danger. We fell short of that in Butler, and I’m working to make sure that this failure does not happen again,” Rowe said Friday.  He pledged to fully cooperate with congressional oversight investigations and an independent review ordered by President Biden. The Secret Service is also conducting its own internal review.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “If policy violations by Secret Service personnel are identified by the agency’s mission assurance review, those individuals will be held accountable, and they will be held accountable to our fair and thorough disciplinary process,” Rowe said. Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.

Uganda’s Cheptegei wins men’s 10,000m gold at Paris Olympics 2024

Uganda’s Cheptegei wins men’s 10,000m gold at Paris Olympics 2024

Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei withstood surging Ethiopian team tactics to claim gold in the men’s Olympic 10,000-metre at the Stade de France. The three-time world champion timed an Olympic record of 26 minutes and 43.14 seconds for victory on Friday. Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi edged American Grant Fisher by two-hundredths of a second to take silver in 26:43.44. The world record holder added the Olympic 10,000 metres title to his remarkable haul to take the Games’ first track gold. The Ugandan, who took silver in Tokyo and gold over 5,000 metres, produced a devastating last 600 metres and his finishing time took 18 seconds off Kenenisa Bekele’s 2008 Olympic record. Aregawi, who had been part of a three-pronged Ethiopian front-running group almost from the start, finished strongly. A pack of 13 athletes ran the last two-thirds of the race together and, remarkably, all of them finished in under 27 minutes. The first surge came after just two laps of the 25-lap race, defending champion Selemon Barega and Ethiopian teammate Yomif Kejelcha accelerating away to split the field. The 25-strong field dissipated but all runners held on. Aregawi had his turn after Kejelcha as the Ethiopian trio dictated the pace in front of a noisy near-capacity 69,000 crowd at the Stade de France in perfect warm conditions. Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo saw their team tactics take a dent when Martin Magengo Kiprotich fell off the pace early on. Aregawi and Kejelcha again increased the rhythm through the halfway stage, the main pack now cut to 15. Barega was back at the helm with 10 laps to run, Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed and Kenya’s Benard Kibet muscling their way through to sit on Kejelcha’s shoulder. As Cheptegei and Fisher made their way up through a bunching pack, Kejelcha was again on hand to offer a spurt of acceleration. Into the last kilometre, Aregawi took up the running, but the race promised a pulsating finish as the pack of 12 all clung on. Just before the bell rang for the final 400 metres, Cheptegei surged to the front and the race to the line was on. Ahmed followed and Fisher fell off the pace, but made a remarkable recovery to medal. There was no coup de grace for Barega, however, as Cheptegei held on for victory in the first medal event at France’s national stadium. Barega eventually finished seventh in 26:44.48, one spot behind Kejelcha, with Ahmed taking fourth and Kibet fifth. Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda celebrates after winning the men’s 10,000-metre final [David J Phillip/AP] USA set new world record in 4×400 mixed relay Earlier on the purple track, the USA broke their own world record in the 4×400 mixed relay in the opening heats, crossing the line in three minutes 7.41 seconds amid a party atmosphere. They set the previous mark of 3:08.80 at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. Team USA led midway through the second lap in a textbook performance, overcoming a fast field in the opening heat in which four national records were broken as well as the world mark. “I always knew we were going to run fast, and we talked about how it was going to take a record to win a medal,” said American Shamier Little. “It took a record to win our prelim.” The French team were willed across the finish by a partisan home crowd, as they held off Belgium (3:10.74) and Jamaica (3:11.06) to finish second in 3:10.60 in the rarely contested event. The crowd had to be shushed as they chanted for the French team on the first day of the athletics programme at the Stade de France and they broke into a loud roar as France took a slender lead. Little pulled ahead for the US, however, and Bryce Deadmon extended the lead. The Americans were eager to avoid the drama of three years ago, when they were disqualified from the Olympic final – and later reinstated due to an official’s error – before eventually claiming bronze. Kaylyn Brown, Bryce Deadmon, Shamier Little and Vernon Norwood of the USA pose with a time board as they celebrate after setting a new world record [Phil Noble/Reuters] Adblock test (Why?)

Marvelous Marchand wins fourth Olympic swimming gold, McKeown does double

Marvelous Marchand wins fourth Olympic swimming gold, McKeown does double

Leon Marchand fulfilled what French fans may regard as destiny as he swept to a fourth gold medal at his home Paris games by winning the men’s 200-metre individual medley in an Olympic record time. Roared on by a delirious crowd at La Defense Arena on Friday, Marchand took control from the second backstroke leg, stretched his lead through the breaststroke, then powered home with a time of 1 minute, 54.06 seconds, only 0.06 seconds short of Ryan Lochte’s 13-year record. Britain’s Duncan Scott won the silver, more than a second behind Marchand, while China’s defending champion Wang Shun took the bronze. The win made Marchand the first French athlete to take four individual golds, as opposed to team ones, at a single Summer Games and only the third male swimmer to do so after Americans Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz. The 22-year-old won the 400-metre individual medley last Sunday and then both the 200-metre butterfly and 200-metre breaststroke within the space of two incredible hours on Wednesday. The great expectations might have been too much for other swimmers at their home games, but Marchand only drew energy from them and lived up to his nickname, the French Michael Phelps. Leon Marchand celebrates on the podium after winning gold [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters] ‘He runs France now’ A delighted French President Emmanuel Macron punched his fist in the air in celebration from the terraces packed with the country’s flags. “It was my last individual final so I said to myself, I really have to enjoy it,” Marchand told reporters. “I had a lot more energy than yesterday so I felt better, more relaxed. “And I really wanted to have fun in my last final and it happened, so it was huge.” Just as he had done three times before, the 22-year-old from Toulouse mounted the podium and belted out the Marseillaise with the entire stadium accompanying him. “Leon’s name’s now in the national anthem it seems, which is pretty cool,” said Scott, who extended his British record haul to eight Olympic medals. “As much as what Phelps did was pretty sensational, he never did it in his home country and so he’s becoming a sort of global superstar now. He kind of runs France now.” Marchand Mania! 🥇 Leon Marchand finishes just shy of the world record while winning #gold for France in the men’s 200m individual medley. 🇫🇷 The 22-year-old captured his 4th gold of #Paris2024.@FranceOlympique | @WorldAquatics | #Swimming #Samsung | #TogetherforTomorrow pic.twitter.com/I39kwQqL9l — The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 2, 2024 Kaylee McKeown completes backstroke double – again A few minutes before Marchand took to the pool, Australia’s Kaylee McKeown retained her 200-metre title in an Olympic record of 2 minutes 03.73 seconds ahead of American Regan Smith (2:04.26) and Canada’s Kylie Masse (2:05.57). McKeown admitted that “not in a million years” could she have dreamed of completing the Olympic backstroke double – twice. The 23-year-old achieved the rare feat after winning the 100-metre gold to match her exploits from Tokyo, with the unassuming swimmer flawless over two Olympics with four golds from four individual events. No Australian swimmer, man or woman, had ever completed the 100-200-metre backstroke double at consecutive Olympics. “Not in a million years,” she said in Paris after being asked if she had ever envisaged such an accomplishment. “Growing up, I’ve always just idolised my sister [Taylor] and Emily Seebohm and seeing what they do in the sport,” she said. Kaylee McKeown won her second gold of the Paris Olympics [Natacha Pisarenko/AP] McEvoy pips Proud to 50-metre freestyle gold McKewon’s compatriot Cameron McEvoy pipped Britain’s Ben Proud to win gold in the men’s 50-metre freestyle. McEvoy won with a time of 21.25 seconds, with Proud 0.05 seconds behind to take silver and France’s Florent Manaudou collecting bronze. For Manaudou, it was the fourth straight games in which he has earned a medal in the shortest of the freestyle events. The 30-year-old McEvoy won his first Olympic gold after picking up two bronze medals in relays in Rio and a third in Tokyo. The Queenslander opted to switch his focus purely to the 50-metre freestyle after Tokyo, radically changing his training routine to best suit the explosive race. Gold medallist Cameron McEvoy of Australia celebrates on the podium with silver medallist Benjamin Proud of Britain and bronze medallist Florent Manaudou of France [Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters] Adblock test (Why?)

US to deploy additional military resources to the Middle East

US to deploy additional military resources to the Middle East

Pentagon announces deployment as tensions build between Iran and Israel after the high-profile Haniyeh assassination. The United States military has announced the deployment of additional resources to the Middle East, including an aircraft carrier, amid growing concerns about the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. On Friday, the Pentagon revealed it would send an additional fighter jet squadron, Navy cruisers and destroyer ships to the Middle East. “We’ve demonstrated since October and again in April [that] the United States’s global defense is dynamic, and the department retains the capability to deploy on short notice to meet evolving national security threats,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters on Friday. “As a result, the secretary will be directing multiple, forthcoming force-posture moves to bolster force protection for U.S. forces region-wide, to provide elevated support to the defense of Israel and to ensure the United States is prepared to respond to this evolving crisis.” The announcement comes after the recent, high-profile killings of officials of Hamas and Hezbollah, two groups linked to Iran. Israeli forces are believed to be behind the assassinations, and media reports indicate that Iran appears likely to retaliate, particularly after one of the killings took place on its soil. That, in turn, has heightened fears of a widening conflict that could unleash destruction across the region. Singh told reporters on Friday that the decision to increase the US’s military capabilities in the Middle East came after high-level calls with Israeli officials. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin held a call with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant earlier that morning, she explained. An earlier call had occurred between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. Austin “committed to Minister Gallant — and the president committed to Netanyahu — that we will be bolstering our force protection in the region,” Singh said on Friday. “We will stand with Israel in their self-defence, and that is something that the secretary reiterated to Minister Gallant on his call this morning.” The increased military presence is the latest effort from the US to discourage attacks on Israel and avoid a regional war. But it comes at a tense time. Israel’s controversial war in Gaza will soon enter its 11th month, amid continued fears of genocide and famine in the Palestinian territory. The Biden administration has already signalled full support for Israel in the event of a wider war. While it has criticised civilian suffering in Gaza, US officials have thus far refused to openly pressure Israel to bring the war in Gaza to a close. Biden, however, did address the consequences of the assassinations on Friday, describing them as a setback to the ongoing ceasefire talks. “It doesn’t help,” he said in a short statement to reporters. The Pentagon’s announcement comes less than three days after Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran. He had been one of the chief negotiators in the effort to secure a ceasefire, and his death is viewed as a serious setback for negotiations. Haniyeh had been in Iran to attend the swearing-in ceremony for the country’s new president. Reports indicate an explosive device had been planted in the residence where he was staying. A day before Haniyeh’s death, on July 30, Fuad Shukr — a commander with the powerful Lebanon-based group Hezbollah — was also killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut. The Israeli Air Force claimed responsibility for that attack. Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group, has exchanged fire with Israel across Lebanon’s border since the war in Gaza began in October. However, the Biden administration has expressed hope that tensions can still be lowered. “I don’t think war is inevitable. I maintain that. I think there’s always room and opportunities for diplomacy,” Austin said earlier this week. Adblock test (Why?)