Google blames AI as its emissions grow instead of heading to net zero
Three years ago, Google set an ambitious plan to address climate change by going “net zero”, meaning it would release no more climate-changing gases into the air than it removes, by 2030. But a report from the company on Tuesday showed it is nowhere near meeting that goal. Rather than declining, its emissions grew 13 percent in 2023 over the year before. Compared with its baseline year of 2019, emissions have soared 48 percent. Google cited artificial intelligence and the demand it puts on data centres, which require massive amounts of electricity, for last year’s growth. Making that electricity by burning coal or natural gas emits greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide and methane, which warm the planet, bringing more extreme weather. The company has made one of industry’s most significant climate commitments and has been seen as a leader. Lisa Sachs, director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, said Google should be doing more to partner with cleaner companies and invest in the electrical grid. “The reality is that we are far behind what we could already be doing now with the technology that we have, with the resources that we have, in terms of advancing the transition,” she said. Google Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt told The Associated Press news agency, “Reaching this net zero goal by 2030, this is an extremely ambitious goal. “We know this is not going to be easy and that our approach will need to continue to evolve,” Brandt added, “and it will require us to navigate a lot of uncertainty, including this uncertainty around the future of AI’s environmental impacts.” AI electricity demand Some experts said the rapidly expanding data centres needed to power AI threaten the entire transition to clean electricity, an important part of addressing climate change. That’s because a new data centre can delay the closure of a power plant that burns fossil fuels or prompt a new one to be built. Data centres are not only energy-intensive, but they also require high-voltage transmission lines and need significant amounts of water to stay cool. They are also noisy. They often are built where electricity is cheapest, not where renewables, such as wind and solar, are a key source of energy. Global data centre and AI electricity demand could double by 2026, according to the International Energy Agency. Other major tech company sustainability plans are also challenged by the proliferation of data centres. They caused Microsoft’s emissions to grow 29 percent above its 2020 baseline, the company said in an environmental sustainability report in May. Tech companies make the case that while AI is contributing to climate change, it’s also helping to address it. In the case of Google, that could mean using data to predict future flooding or making traffic flow more efficiently to save petrol. Amanda Smith, senior scientist at the climate nonprofit Project Drawdown, said those who use AI – both large companies and individuals just making memes – need to do so responsibly, meaning using the energy only when it benefits society. “It’s up to us as humans to watch what we’re doing with it and to question why we’re doing that,” Smith added. “When it’s worth it, we can make sure that those demands are going to be met by clean sources of power.” Google’s emissions grew last year in part because the company used more energy; 25,910 gigawatt hours more, an increase from the year before and more than double the hours of energy consumed just four years earlier. A gigawatt hour is roughly the energy that a power plant serving several hundred thousand households puts out in one hour. On the positive side, as Google’s consumption grows, so has its use of renewable power. The company said in 2020 it would meet its enormous need for electricity using only clean energy every hour of every day by 2030 all over the world. Last year, Google said, it saw an average of 64 percent carbon-free energy for its data centres and offices around the globe. The company said its data centres are on average 1.8 times as energy efficient as others in the industry. Sachs credited Google for its ambition and honesty but said she hopes “that Google would join us in a more rigorous conversation about how to accelerate” clean energy amid the climate crisis, “so that it doesn’t get much worse before it starts getting better”. Adblock test (Why?)
Judge delays Trump’s New York sentencing until closer to US election
Trump became the first former US president convicted of felony charges and was originally set to be sentenced next week. The judge in Donald Trump’s hush money case has granted a request to delay the former United States president’s sentencing until at least September. The decision on Tuesday follows a ruling by the US Supreme Court that ordered broad criminal immunity for presidents in their official acts. Trump’s legal team had cited the top court’s decision in a letter to Judge Juan Merchan requesting the delay in the sentencing, which was originally scheduled on July 11. The lawyers representing Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, told Merchan they needed time to build their case that Trump’s conviction on 34 felony charges of falsifying business documents to cover up hush money payments made to an adult actress should be overturned in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling. Before Merchan’s decision, prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office said Trump’s argument was “without merit” but agreed to delay the sentencing. Merchan said the sentencing would be delayed until at least September 18, less than two months before the November 8 elections. Prosecutors had argued that Trump falsified business records to cover up his former lawyer Michael Cohen’s $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence on an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with Trump. They directly connected the payments to a wider scheme to influence the 2016 presidential election. In their letter to Merchan, Trump’s lawyers argued that during the trial, prosecutors had presented evidence involving Trump’s official acts as president, including social media posts he made and conversations he had while in the White House. That evidence should have been protected under presidential immunity, the lawyers said, per the Supreme Court’s Monday ruling. The ruling from the majority of six justices on the nine-member bench said presidents have “absolute immunity” from criminal liability for any acts within their “core constitutional powers”. Evidence related to those official acts also may not be presented at a trial, the majority opinion said. However, the ruling, which was assailed by the court’s three liberal justices, said presidents could still be prosecuted for acts outside those powers. The exact delineations remain unclear. In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned the decision opened the door to “nightmare scenarios”, including possible immunity for assassinating a political rival. “In every use of official power, the president is now a king above the law,” she wrote. Political implications The Supreme Court ruling bodes well for Trump, who faces three additional criminal trials. It is expected to be the most bedeviling to the legal argument at the heart of a federal case related to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results after his loss to President Joe Biden. It could also have implications for a state trial in Georgia related to efforts to pressure officials to change the 2020 vote count as well as a second federal trial related to Trump allegedly hiding and hoarding classified White House documents at his Florida estate. The New York trial, however, was the only trial expected to finish before the election. While the initial guilty verdict did not show a major shift in support for Trump, analysts have argued that a severe sentence could turn off some would-be Trump voters. Merchan’s decision comes five days after Biden delivered a dismal performance in the first presidential debate against Trump, which has sent the Democrat’s campaign into damage control while bringing concerns over the 81-year-old’s age to the fore. On Tuesday, a Reuters/Ipsos poll was released showing one in three Democrats think Biden should end his re-election bid after the debate performance. Still, the poll found no prominent elected Democrat would perform any better than Biden in a hypothetical matchup against Trump. On Wednesday, Biden was reportedly set to meet with Democratic governors in an effort to allay their concerns. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre also said Biden would give his first post-debate interview to ABC News on Friday and would hold a news conference during a NATO conference next week. She reiterated that Biden has no intention of dropping out of the race. Adblock test (Why?)
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Texas death row inmate’s petition
Reed, on death row for more than 25 years, says he is innocent of the 1996 killing of Stacey Stites in Bastrop County.
Abortion on the ballot: Amarillo set to vote on abortion travel ban this election
This will be the first time Texans will vote on abortion rights since Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022.
Fox News Politics: Doggett Determination
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington, D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. Here’s what’s happening… – White House staffers are reported to be literally afraid of President Biden – Congressional Democrats plot revenge on the Supreme Court – How potential Biden replacements stack up against Trump Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first elected Democrat to call on President Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, saying the president “failed” to defend his record and reassure voters that he’s the man for the job during last week’s debate. Acknowledging Biden’s accomplishments for his party, Doggett said in a Tuesday statement that “many Americans have indicated dissatisfaction with their choices in this election.” “President Biden has continued to run substantially behind Democratic senators in key states and in most polls has trailed Donald Trump. I had hoped that the debate would provide some momentum to change that. It did not. Instead of reassuring voters, the President failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump’s many lies,” the 77-year-old Democrat said ….Read more PSAKI CIRCLES BACK: Ex-Biden press secretary to meet with House GOP panel over Afghanistan withdrawal …Read more ‘ATTACK’ ON JUSTICE: Biden savages SCOTUS on immunity ruling after urging respect for justice system …Read more GRILLING SEASON: White House takes questions on camera for first time since debate …Read more ‘SCARED S—LESS’: White House disputes a report that staffers are afraid of Biden …Read more ‘HIS DECISION’: Democratic congressman urges Biden to consider effect of debate on the party …Read more ‘DEMOCRACY’: Congressional Dems plot revenge for high court’s ruling in Trump case …Read more COURT JESTERS: Press defended Biden’s mental fitness before debate disaster …Read more GET ‘CANDID’: Sen. Whitehouse says people ‘horrified’ with Biden’s debate performance …Read more BATTING FOR BIDEN: How potential replacements on the Dem ticket stack up against Trump …Read more TIME FOR KAMALA: Longtime Democrat urges Biden to step aside and allow VP Harris to take over as party’s 2024 nominee …Read more ‘IT’S ARMAGEDDON’: Biden donors rally around ‘Plan B’ after debate debacle …Read more POLL POSITION: Debate gives Trump a boost over Biden, according to new national survey …Read more ‘MALAISE’ PART DEUX: NY GOP chair says Trump can win big blue prize …Read more CASH DASH: Biden campaign spotlights massive June fundraising haul …Read more OUT OF TIME: Legal experts say Trump immunity ruling likely pushes election interference trial beyond Election Day …Read more PARTY ELDERS: A look at recent progressive figures who refused to step down over age concerns …Read more SUPREME IMPACT?: How the blockbuster Supreme Court presidential immunity ruling impacts the Biden-Trump 2024 rematch …Read more SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER: Judge Merchant moves back Trump sentencing date …Read more ANTISEMITISM EXPOSED: Jewish prosecutors raise alarm in America’s largest DA office …Read more DOZENS RELEASED: 43 illegal immigrants accused of El Paso border stampede set free in US …Read more POLITICALLY MOTIVATED?: EXCLUSIVE: Photos surface of election worker accused of theft hobnobbing with Dem politicians …Read more WAIT AND SEE: Supreme Court declines to get in the middle of ongoing Illinois gun ban cases …Read more ‘BOOMING’: New report exposes eye-popping amount of money transgender surgery industry is raking in …Read more DOUBLE STANDARD: Viral clip shows media pushing 25th Amendment on Trump over 600 times …Read more BIG DECISION: 5 key lines from Supreme Court Trump immunity decision …Read more UK RUMBLE: These are the key contenders in the UK’s fast-approaching national election …Read more NO LAUGHING MATTER: BBC host defends post calling for Trump assassination after SCOTUS ruling …Read more Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
US to pay for flights to help Panama remove migrants who may be heading north
The United States is going to pay for flights and offer other help to Panama to remove migrants under an agreement signed Monday, as the Central American country’s new president has vowed to shut down the treacherous Darien Gap used by people traveling north to the United States. The memorandum of understanding was signed during an official visit headed by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to Panama for the inauguration Monday of José Raúl Mulino, the country’s new president. DARIEN JUNGLE, A TREACHEROUS ROUTE FOR MIGRANTS, BECOMES MORE ACCESSIBLE AS PANAMA SEES UPTICK IN ARRIVALS The deal is “designed to jointly reduce the number of migrants being cruelly smuggled through the Darien, usually en route to the United States,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. The efforts to send some migrants back to their homelands “will help deter irregular migration in the region and at our southern border, and halt the enrichment of malign smuggling networks that prey on vulnerable migrants,” she said. “Irregular migration is a regional challenge that requires a regional response,” Mayorkas said in a statement. Shortly after Mulino’s inauguration, the Panamanian government released a statement saying Mayorkas had signed an agreement with Panama’s Foreign Affairs Minister Javier Martínez-Acha in which the U.S. government committed to covering the cost of repatriation of migrants who enter Panama illegally through the Darien. The agreement said the U.S. would support Panama with equipment, transportation and logistics to send migrants caught illegally entering Panama back to their countries, according to Panama. Mulino, the country’s 65-year-old former security minister and new president, has promised to shut down migration through the jungle-clad and largely lawless border. “I won’t allow Panama to be an open path for thousands of people who enter our country illegally, supported by an international organization related to drug trafficking and human trafficking,” Mulino said during his inauguration speech. Under the terms of the agreement, U.S. Homeland Security teams on the ground in Panama would help the government there train personnel and build up its own expertise and ability to determine which migrants, under Panama’s immigration laws, could be removed from the country, according to two senior administration officials. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to give details of the agreement that had not yet been made public. For those migrants who are to be removed, the U.S. also would pay for charter flights or commercial airplane tickets for them to return to their home countries. The officials didn’t specify how much money the U.S. would contribute overall to those flights or which countries the migrants would be removed to. The officials said the U.S. would be giving assistance and expertise on how to conduct removals, including helping Panama officials screen migrants who might qualify for protections. But the U.S. is not deciding whom to deport, the officials said. The program would be entirely under Panama’s control, aligning with the country’s immigration laws, and the decisions would be made by that government, the U.S. officials said. They added that Panama already has a repatriation program but that it’s limited. The agreement comes as Panama’s Darien Gap has become a superhighway of sorts for migrants from across the Southern Hemisphere and beyond who are trying to make it to the United States. The Darien Gap connects Panama and Colombia to the south. More than half a million people traversed the corridor last year and more than 190,000 people have crossed so far in 2024, with most of the migrants hailing from Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia and China. The agreement comes as the Biden administration has been struggling to show voters during an election year that it has a handle on immigration and border security. Former President Donald Trump, who’s made immigration a key election year issue, has starkly criticized Biden, saying he’s responsible for the problems at the border. In early June President Joe Biden announced a new measure to cut off access to asylum when the number of people arriving at the southern border reaches a certain number. Homeland Security officials have credited those restrictions with cutting the number of people encountered by Border Patrol by 40% since they were enacted. The administration has also moved to allow certain U.S. citizens’ spouses without legal status to apply for permanent residency and eventually citizenship without having to first depart the country. The action by Biden, a Democrat, could affect upwards of half a million immigrants.
Dems ‘coming to terms’ that Biden ‘not in control’ following disastrous debate: former WH doc
The Democratic Party and its allies are “coming to terms” with the fact that President Biden is “not in control” of his administration following the president’s disastrous debate performance, according to a congressman who served as a physician in the White House under three administrations. Democrats are “now coming to terms with the reality that concerned Americans and I have shared for many years, which is that President Biden is not in control and he is not in charge. They are for the first time acknowledging that this is a grave concern for our national security and the integrity of our democracy,” Rep. Ronny Jackson told Fox News Digital this week. “I’ve gone to no lengths to hide my true opinions about Joe Biden and his policies that are wrecking our country. In tandem, I have consistently shared my concerns as a former doctor of three United States Presidents regarding his fitness for office. Joe Biden was never fit for the job, and he sure as heck isn’t fit for the job moving forward. It is absolutely crazy to think he could lead this country 4-year term as our President,” Jackson added. The Texas Republican previously served as physician to the president under both the Obama and Trump administrations, after previously serving in the White House Medical Unit in the George W. Bush administration. Jackson has been at the forefront of sounding the alarm on Biden’s mental acuity since he announced his candidacy for the White House in 2020. BIDEN STAFF ‘SCARED S—LESS’ OF HIM, SENIOR ADMIN OFFICIAL SAYS; WH HITS BACK Jackson’s comments come as former Homeland Security Secretary under the Obama administration, Jeh Johnson, said in an MSNBC interview this week hat he still supports Biden’s re-election campaign due to Biden’s cabinet members. “A presidency is more than just one man,” Johnson said on MSNBC on Tuesday. “I would take Joe Biden at his worst day at age 86 so long as he has people around him like Avril Haines, Samantha Power, Gina Raimondo supporting him, over Trump any day.” Concern over the president’s mental fitness and age is at a fever pitch this summer, following last Thursday’s debate performance where the president tripped over his words, lost his train of thought at times, delivered responses with a raspy voice, and was overall slammed for having a slow and weak demeanor while squaring up against former President Donald Trump. “We finally beat Medicare,” Biden said amid one his debate gaffes, with Trump responding that Biden is destroying the senior-focused health insurance program. Moments later, when Biden and Trump traded barbs over the immigration crisis, Trump slammed Biden for his rambling response. EX-WHITE HOUSE DOCTOR RONNY JACKSON CALLS ON BIDEN TO TAKE DRUG TEST BEFORE TRUMP DEBATE “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either,” Trump shot back. Jackson continued in his comments to Fox News Digital that President Biden is “not the same man” that America knew during his tenure as former President Obama’s veep. “In 2020, I was criticizing candidate Joe Biden for his apparent lack of fitness for his first potential term,” he said. “I was in the White House when Joe Biden was VP, and the man we’ve seen since announcing his candidacy is not the same man who was VP for eight years.” BIDEN FAMILY BLAME STAFF FOR DEBATE PERFORMANCE AS HE LAYS LOW AGAIN AT CAMP DAVID: REPORTS “I’ve gone to no lengths to hide my true opinions about Joe Biden and his policies that are wrecking our country. In tandem, I have consistently shared my concerns as a former doctor of three United States Presidents regarding his fitness for office. Joe Biden was never fit for the job, and he sure as heck isn’t fit for the job moving forward. It is absolutely crazy to think he could lead this country 4-year term as our President.” The White House brushed off Jackson’s comments when approached by Fox News Digital, comparing Jackson to a doctor character from “The Simpsons.” “We’ll put this in the same box where we keep the rest of Dr. Nick Riviera’s fan mail,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said. Following the debate, Jackson argued the Democratic Party made an about-face with its support of Biden. Left-wing media pundits were among the first to express concern over the debate performance, taking over the airways immediately after the debate ended, expressing shock over the president’s performance. ‘NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE’: EX-WH DOCTOR RAISES ALARMS ON BIDEN’S MENTAL HEALTH AFTER BOMBSHELL REPORT “I just want to speak from my heart,” CNN political commentator and former Obama adviser Van Jones said in an emotional response on Thursday evening. “I love that guy. That’s a good man. He loves his country. He‘s doing the best that he can, but he had a test to meet tonight to restore confidence of the country and of the base. And he failed to do that. And there‘s a lot of people who are going to want to see him consider taking a different course now.” “We‘re still far from our convention, and there is time for this party to figure out a different way forward, if he will allow us to do that,” he continued. “But that was not what we needed from Joe Biden, and it’s personally painful for a lot of people. It‘s not just panic, it’s pain of what we saw tonight.” Vice President Kamala Harris soon hit the news channels following the debate to defend the president’s performance, including having a testy exchange with CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “Democratic lawmakers watching the debate were worried about the performance. One said it was a disaster and another called it a train wreck. Those are Democrats especially worried that Biden did not punch back on Trump‘s lies,” Cooper said. NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD CALLS FOR BIDEN TO DROP OUT: HIS CANDIDACY IS A ‘RECKLESS GAMBLE’ Harris attempted to pivot to lambasting
Karine Jean-Pierre answers point-blank if Biden suffers from dementia following disastrous debate
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answered point-blank that President Biden does not suffer from Alzheimer’s or any form of dementia following last Thursday’s disastrous debate. “Does President Biden, at 81 years old, have Alzheimer’s, any form of dementia or degenerative illness that cause these sorts of lapses? And it’s a yes or no question,” a reporter asked Jean-Pierre Tuesday afternoon. “Are you ready for it? It’s a no. And I hope you’re asking the other guy the same exact question,” Jean-Pierre responded, referring to former President Trump. Tuesday’s press briefing marked the first since Biden’s disastrous debate performance last week that sparked calls among Democrats and legacy media outlets that the president should drop out of the election over mounting concerns over his age and mental acuity. Biden was seen tripping over his words during the debate, losing his train of thought at times, responding with a raspy voice, and was overall slammed for having a slow and weak demeanor while squaring off against Trump. TRUMP CAMPAIGN DEMANDS APOLOGY FROM BIDEN AFTER ‘RIDICULOUS’ CHEAP FAKE NARRATIVE Concerns over the president’s mental fitness have circulated for years, heightening in recent months after Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report described Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” Last month, the White House dismissed repeated recorded instances of Biden’s gaffes or miscues during public events as “cheap fakes,” such as the viral video showing the president standing relatively motionless during a Juneteenth concert event at the White House. NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD CALLS FOR BIDEN TO DROP OUT: HIS CANDIDACY IS A ‘RECKLESS GAMBLE’ Jean-Pierre doubled down during the White House press briefing that the administration has no regrets over promoting the cheap fake narrative – even after the debate sparked widespread concern over the president’s mental acuity, most notably among traditional left-wing allies. Cheap fakes, under the White House’s definition, are understood as real videos that are cropped or edited in an allegedly deceptive manner. “Not at all, not at all,” she answered when Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich asked if the administration regretted using the terminology. “…Independent, mainstream fact-checkers in the press, and misinformation experts, have been calling out cheap fakes. And at the end of the day, they’re fakes. That’s what they were – targeting the president. They have said, the reporters and these misinformation experts, said that this president was being targeted. And what we did was echo them. That’s what we did. And look, we’ll certainly continue to call that out.” Jean-Pierre noted that she did not coin the phrase, and that the administration took the phrase from the media. BIDEN FAMILY BLAME STAFF FOR DEBATE PERFORMANCE AS HE LAYS LOW AGAIN AT CAMP DAVID: REPORTS “That came from the media. They called it cheap fakes. And they said this president, President Biden, was being targeted on misinformation. It was purposefully being done to this president. And what we did is we echoed that. So I don’t regret it at all. It was just the facts.” The Trump campaign called for an apology over the phrase last week, arguing that following Biden’s debate performance, “everyone sees there’s NOTHING fake about Biden’s decline.” “The Biden White House and entire Democrat Party are both directly implicated in the greatest coverup in U.S. political history – and the mainstream media is complicit in their lies to the American public about Joe Biden’s mental state. They owe an apology to not just our campaign, but more importantly to the American people, for this major scandal that has led to the demise of our country over the past four years,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital last week. The majority of questions Jean-Pierre fielded Tuesday afternoon revolved around Biden’s mental and physical health, with the press secretary underscoring that Biden and his allies, such as former President Obama, have noted the debate did not go well for the president, but that he’s “fighting” for the American people. “Is anyone in the White House hiding information about the president’s health or his ability to do the job day to day?” one reporter fired at Jean-Pierre. “Absolutely not,” the press secretary answered. CELEBS SHOWER BIDEN WITH CAMPAIGN CASH, BUT COULD UNDERCUT ‘SCRANTON JOE’ IMAGE “After the debate, did the president get examined by a doctor, or did he get a neurological scan?” another reporter asked. “A neurological scan? Look, what I can say is that, just to take a step back, it was a bad night. We understand that it was a bad night, and the president has spoken to this, and he understands that,” she responded. Jean-Pierre continued in the press briefing that the administration has been “transparent” regarding the president’s health history, saying they have released comprehensive medical reports for Biden’s annual checkups. GAY TRUMP VOTERS SHATTER DEM ‘LIE’ LGBT AMERICANS ONLY VOTE BLUE, SAYS LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS CHIEF The press conference comes the same day as Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, called on Biden to withdraw from the presidential race, marking the first time an elected Democratic official called on the president to bow out. TRUMP’S ‘MODERN DAY SALEM WITCH TRIAL’ VERDICT SIGNALS ‘OPEN SEASON’ ON FORMER PRESIDENTS: EXPERTS “President Biden has continued to run substantially behind Democratic senators in key states and in most polls has trailed Donald Trump. I had hoped that the debate would provide some momentum to change that. It did not. Instead of reassuring voters, the president failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump’s many lies,” Doggett said. Legacy media outlets, such as the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune, published opinion pieces calling on Biden to bow out of the race following the debate, while former elected officials and other traditional allies of the party have made similar remarks.
Hunter Biden joins White House meeting, befuddles Biden staff: report
President Biden’s son Hunter Biden has joined meetings with the president and close staff at the White House this week following a Biden family meeting at Camp David on Sunday. Hunter Biden has joined the president in meetings with top aides, closely advising his father and popping into meetings and phone calls with the president, according to a report from NBC News, citing multiple White House sources. The White House sources told NBC News that the president’s son’s sudden presence at meetings has caused confusion for some White House staff, with the reaction being, “What the hell is happening?” HUNTER BIDEN HAS MAJOR CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AS TOP ADVISER TO THE MAN WHO COULD PARDON HIM The report noted that while it is not unusual for Hunter Biden to be around the White House for events, his participation in meetings with top aides is not a common occurrence. Fresh off a conviction last month in a federal court in Delaware over gun charges, Hunter Biden remains under indictment for tax-related felonies. Like the case in Delaware, the president’s son has pleaded not guilty to those charges. Hunter Biden was also reported to be one of the biggest advocates for his father staying in the race during a gathering at Camp David in the aftermath of the president’s poor debate performance, with some critics arguing the president using his son as a top adviser has become a conflict of interest. EX-REP. CHARLIE RANGEL, 94, QUESTIONS WHETHER BIDEN BELONGS IN NURSING HOME, NOT WHITE HOUSE “It’s just a pure and simple massive interest in his dad staying president so he can pardon not only Hunter, but Joe and the rest of the family for the crimes they committed, and probably Merrick Garland, too, for his role in the cover-up,” Mike Howell, the executive director of the Oversight Project at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. Meanwhile, White House spokesman Andrew Bates downplayed concerns over Hunter Biden’s sudden presence, telling NBC News that the president’s son “came back with the President from their family weekend at Camp David and went with the President straight into speech prep.” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre similarly downplayed the concerns during a Tuesday news conference, telling reporters that the president “is very close to his family.” “This is a holiday week, 4th of July,” she said. “He spent time with his family, as you all know, and reported at Camp David. Hunter came back with him and walked with him into that meeting, that prep, that speech prep.” The White House did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Newsom’s progressive activism, debate skills among vulnerabilities in potential national campaign: expert
While Gavin Newsom is being floated as a potential replacement should President Biden drop out of the 2024 presidential race, the liberal governor may not be the strongest candidate to take on former President Trump, a California political observer tells Fox News Digital. Newsom may be popular among Democratic leaders and the progressive caucus for the Golden State’s liberal policies, but it’s unclear how popular he would be on a nationwide ticket. In his own state, Republicans have railed against the governor’s policies on the economy, homelessness and crime. “Nevertheless, his popularity even here in California is sliding, with one recent poll showing that a majority of voters think the state is headed in the wrong direction,” California Policy Center president William Swaim told Fox News Digital. “And he doesn’t seem to have captured the national party’s enthusiasm as anything more than a Biden surrogate,” Swaim added. “There’s this important strategic consideration for Democrats: Newsom brings nothing to a national ticket.” NEWSOM TO HEADLINE DEMOCRATIC CAMPAIGN EVENT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE EVENT Regardless of which Democrat runs for president, California’s electoral votes will go to the Democrats, Swaim said, but if Democrats turned to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer or Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to top the presidential ticket, they could potentially win over their respective and very crucial swing states in November. Last year, Newsom debated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hosted by Fox News’ Sean Hannity. The two governors particularly exchanged blows over their states’ different approaches to taxes and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in a debate with Trump, “he might persuade undecideds who don’t follow California politics that he’s worked miracles here.” “And like Trump, he’s a clever debater, a counterpuncher who shifts any attack onto more hospitable terrain and then simply makes stuff up on the fly,” Swaim said. “That’s a real skill – diabolical but effective with low-information voters. You saw this in his televised debate with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: in one instance, he accused DeSantis of lying California has the nation’s highest taxes. We all know the truth, and in May, Newsom admitted the truth and said the state has the highest taxes in the nation.” LIBERAL COLUMNIST PRAISES ‘PATRIOTIC’ NEWSOM FOR ‘SHADOW CAMPAIGN,’ SLAMS DEMOCRATS FOR BACKING BIDEN Nonetheless, all eyes are on his purported shadow campaign, despite Newsom’s fervent assertion that he supports the Biden-Harris ticket. “I will never turn my back on President Biden,” Newsom said on Thursday in a comment that appeared designed to dispel rumors that he’s running a shadow campaign. “I don’t know a Democrat in my party that would do so. And especially after tonight, we have his back.” Newsom added: “I spent a lot of time with him. I know Joe Biden. I know what he’s accomplished in the last three and a half years. I know what he’s capable of. And I have no trepidations.” DESANTIS VS NEWSOM FACE OFF ON ABORTION, TRANSGENDERISM, WOKENESS AND MORE Newsom is also headed to New Hampshire to headline a Democratic campaign event just days after the Biden-Trump presidential debate, fueling more speculation that he may be preparing to step in if Biden backs out of the 2024 race. The July 8 event, called the “Blue Summer Campaign Kick-Off,” is being spearheaded by the New Hampshire House and Senate Democrats. New Hampshire is a key swing state in the general election and Newsom, who is a top surrogate for Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign, will also be campaigning for the president and other Democrats up and down the ticket during his stop in the Granite State, according to sources familiar with his plans. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.