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US, China standoff over Olympic athlete drug testing prompts new House GOP probe

US, China standoff over Olympic athlete drug testing prompts new House GOP probe

FIRST ON FOX: A group of House Republicans is jumping into the fight between the U.S. and China’s dispute over the global agency charged with regulating athletes’ use of performance-enhancing drugs. “We, the undersigned members of Congress, are writing to express our grave concern regarding recent developments involving the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and its handling of doping allegations,” a letter to WADA President Witold Banka read. “The transparency and integrity of global sports are at stake, and we believe it is imperative to address these issues promptly and thoroughly.” BALANCE OF POWER: TRUMP CAMPAIGN SLAMS SEN TESTER AS ‘RADICALLY OUT OF TOUCH’ AFTER ABORTION AD ROLLOUT The letter by Reps. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., and Morgan Griffith, R-Va., first pointed to allegations that WADA kept secret that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for banned substances before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, news it was forced to disclose after being uncovered by journalists. “It has now come to light that two additional Chinese swimmers, including one member of China’s 2024 Paris Olympics team, tested positive in 2022 for a banned drug,” the lawmakers wrote. An investigation by China’s anti-doping body blamed contaminated hamburger meat for the drug’s existence in the two swimmers’ bodies, a finding WADA did not dispute. U.S. officials have accused WADA of a lack of transparency for weeks leading up to the recently ended Paris Olympics. A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee held a hearing in June with star swimmers Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt, when they said athletes had lost faith in the international agency. CHINESE SHIPBUILDING CAPACITY OVER 200 TIMES GREATER THAN US, NAVY INTELLIGENCE SAYS WADA has defended itself by accusing the U.S. of putting it in the middle of the country’s own geopolitical disputes. A top WADA official told the BBC in late July, “Certain individuals [in the US] are attempting to score political points purely on the basis that the athletes in question are Chinese.” The GOP lawmakers are asking the body to hand over “a detailed account” of its probe into the 23 Chinese swimmers it cleared and explain why it did not disclose the results publicly sooner, as well as a demand to commission a third-party independent investigation into the decision. “The American public, athletes, and the global sports community deserve answers. We stand by the principle that sports should be free from corruption and that those who violate anti-doping rules must be held accountable, regardless of nationality,” the letter said.  The sporting tensions are part of the growing rift between the U.S. and China, with relations between the two superpowers at their frostiest level in modern history. CCP-TIED EV COMPANY BACKED BY DEMS BUYS UP MICHIGAN LAND MILES FROM US MILITARY BASES China has responded to the U.S.’s allegations with accusations of double-standards, calling for more drug testing for American athletes. However, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) told Fox News Digital that it supports Lesko’s letter. “Those with nothing to hide would embrace the opportunity to answer questions and provide the information stakeholders need to feel confident that the rules are being evenly enforced,” said USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart. “We deeply appreciate every effort to ensure accountability, transparency, and a strong global anti-doping regulator on behalf of clean athletes.” Fox News Digital reached out to WADA for comment.

Harris, Trump favorability ratings are on the rise among American voters, poll finds

Harris, Trump favorability ratings are on the rise among American voters, poll finds

The favorability ratings of both Vice President Harris and former President Trump are on the rise as a greater number of Americans are saying they are “extremely motivated” to vote in this November’s election, a new poll has found.  The Pew Research Center survey of 9,201 adults – including 7,569 registered voters – has revealed that Harris’ overall favorability rating has increased from 36% to 44% since May, while Trump’s has gone up from 39% to 42%.  Among voters who identify as Democrats or Democrat-leaning independents, Harris’ approval has jumped from 65% to 83%, while Trump’s is at 79% among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.  Nationally, Harris is slightly leading Trump among all voters, 46% to 45%, while Robert F. Kennedy Jr. trails in third with 7%, according to the poll.  FOX NEWS POLL: NEW MATCHUP, SAME RESULT – TRUMP BESTS HARRIS BY ONE POINT  The poll also found that 70% of Harris supporters are saying they are “extremely motivated” to vote, up from 63% of Biden supporters who felt the same way in early July when he was still in the presidential race.  Meanwhile, 72% of Trump supporters that were surveyed reported feeling the same way, up from 63% in July.  Even though Biden has abandoned his re-election bid, the poll found that he still has just a 37% approval rating among the American public.  POLLING GURU CAUTIONS PUBLIC AGAINST OVER RELYING ON POLLS: IN LAST TWO ELECTIONS, ‘THEY UNDERESTIMATED TRUMP’  But one number that has changed is the number of “double negative” voters who earlier this year indicated to pollsters that they did not like either candidate, according to the Pew Research Center.  In May, a quarter of American voters said they held both unfavorable views of Trump and Biden, but now with Harris in the race, that number has fallen to 14%.  The poll was conducted from Aug. 5-11. 

New Jersey Gov. Murphy to appoint former chief of staff, George Helmy, to vacated Menendez Senate seat: report

New Jersey Gov. Murphy to appoint former chief of staff, George Helmy, to vacated Menendez Senate seat: report

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is expected to appoint his former chief of staff, George Helmy, to fill the seat that will be vacated by convicted U.S. Sen Bob Menendez, D-N.J., next week, multiple state media reports say.  Helmy served as Murphy’s chief of staff for more than four years and most recently was employed as an executive and head of external affairs for RWJBarnabas Health. Murphy’s appointment means Helmy will serve out the remainder of Menendez’s term, which expires on Jan. 3.  The seat was already up for election on Nov. 5. Democrats have nominated U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, who’s in a strong position in the Democratic-leaning state. He faces Republican Curtis Bashaw. While still on trial in July, Menendez filed to run as an independent candidate for re-election.  Helmy, who also previously served as state director for Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., will now serve beside him in the upper chamber until the end of the 118th Congress.  Murphy could have handed Kim a possible seniority advantage by appointing him to the vacated seat. Kim competed against the governor’s wife, Tammy Murphy, in the Democratic primary. The New Jersey first lady later withdrew her candidacy in late March.  DEMOCRATIC SEN. BOB MENENDEZ GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES IN FEDERAL CORRUPTION TRIAL Helmy is not the first former senior aide to earn caretaker senator appointments from former bosses. New Jersey Republican Jeffrey Chiesa, Massachusetts Democrat Mo Cowan and West Virginia Democrat Carte P. Goodwin did the same, according to Roll Call.  Menendez will resign Aug. 20 following his conviction for taking bribes for corrupt acts including acting as an agent of the Egyptian government. The senator had insisted after the July 16 verdict that he was innocent and in a July 23 letter announcing his upcoming resignation to Murphy, a fellow Democrat, Menendez promised to appeal “all the way,” including to the Supreme Court.  The roughly monthlong delay in leaving gives Murphy’s staff time for an orderly transition, Menendez wrote. The date also coincides with a Senate payday, according to the Associated Press.  Menendez, 70, was convicted of charges that he sold the power of his office to three New Jersey businessmen who sought a variety of favors. Prosecutors said Menendez used his influence to meddle in three different state and federal criminal investigations to protect his associates. They said he helped one bribe-paying friend get a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund and another keep a contract to provide religious certification for meat bound for Egypt. COULD BOB MENENDEZ RUN FOR RE-ELECTION AFTER BEING FOUND GUILTY OF CORRUPTION? He was also convicted of taking actions that benefited Egypt’s government in exchange for bribes, including providing details on personnel at the U.S. embassy in Cairo and ghostwriting a letter to fellow senators regarding lifting a hold on military aid to Egypt. FBI agents found stacks of gold bars and $480,000 in cash hidden in Menendez’s house. After his conviction, Menendez denied all of those allegations, saying “I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent.” But numerous fellow Democrats had urged him to resign, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Murphy had urged the Senate to expel Menendez if he didn’t quit. Only 15 senators have ever been expelled. Sen. William Blount, of Tennessee, was ousted in 1797 for treason. The other 14 were expelled in 1861 and 1862 for supporting Confederates during the Civil War. Menendez faces the possibility of decades in prison. A judge scheduled his sentencing on Oct. 29, a week before the election. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

‘Not my governor’: Minnesota small business owner rips Harris VP pick’s ‘radical’ COVID-era policies

‘Not my governor’: Minnesota small business owner rips Harris VP pick’s ‘radical’ COVID-era policies

COTTONWOOD COUNTY FAIR, Minn. – A local small business owner railed against Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz as “the worst governor we’ve ever had in Minnesota.”  Diane Kruger, who runs a business selling Scentsy products in Minnesota, detailed how she feels negatively impacted by Walz’s policies since he took office. “He has ruined our state. I am angry and disgusted,” Kruger told Fox News Digital while working her booth at the Cottonwood County Fair in Minnesota. “Him and the Democrats, once they got the trifecta in the House and Senate and the governor, they have absolutely ruined our state. We are now probably more communist than California.” Kruger said that her business is still recovering in the aftermath of policies enforced by Walz during the coronavirus pandemic. FORMER MINNESOTA RESIDENT UNLOADS ON GOV WALZ AFTER MOTHER DIED ‘OF LONELINESS’ DURING PANDEMIC “During COVID year of 2020, my business income fell by at least 50% because when he shut down the economy in Minnesota in March, I couldn’t do any house parties. I couldn’t do any shows. I couldn’t do any events,” Kruger said. “And I still haven’t recovered from that.” RURAL RESIDENTS REVEAL HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT GOV. WALZ’S ‘VERY LIBERAL’ POLICIES: ‘WE’RE MINI CALIFORNIA’ Kruger also said Walz pushed “radical” policies in the state after expanding access to abortion and requiring school bathrooms to keep tampons in male restrooms for transgender-identifying individuals. “Walz is the worst governor we’ve ever had in Minnesota. I don’t care what anybody says,” she said. “I always called him tyrant Timmy or dictator Walz. I wouldn’t call him Governor Walz because he’s not my governor.” The Minnesotan added that she believes “we won’t have a country left” if Walz is elected as the vice president in November. Kruger added that a Harris-Walz administration would make the United States a “communist country within a year” and would be the “worst thing that we’d never, probably ever get our country back.” Several small business owners and residents in Minnesota have talked to Fox News Digital in recent days and have echoed Kruger’s sentiment about Walz’s tenure as governor. Rep. Pete Stauber, who represents Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District, told Fox News Digital he has “talked to a lot of businesses that either have left or, when they expand, are not expanding in Minnesota.” “He’s supported the highest income tax rate in the nation at 10%, he has taken a $19 billion surplus and the next year added a $10 billion tax on the hardworking Minnesotans,” he added. Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Charles Lutvak previously told Fox News Digital that “Gov. Walz led Minnesota back with strong leadership, competent management, and smart policies — cutting taxes for working families and reaching the lowest state unemployment rate in recorded history.” Long Her, owner of New Fashion Tailoring and Alteration in St. Paul, Minnesota, told Fox News Digital that he watched hopelessly as his St. Paul establishment was destroyed during the 2020 George Floyd riots and that Walz failed to protect business owners like him. Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign.