Dam bursts on Biden’s Democrat support as Pelosi publicly expresses concern
Top national Democrats are coming forward with their concerns about President Biden’s candidacy nearly a week after his poor showing at a debate against former President Trump.
Hours after former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., admitted on MSNBC that discussions about Biden’s mental health are “legitimate,” several high-profile figures on the left went even further with their thoughts on the president’s fitness for office.
Former Obama administration Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro told the network a short while later, “[I] believe that another Democrat would have a better shot at beating Trump. … I think Democrats would be well to find another candidate.”
Adam Frisch, who is running to flip Rep. Lauren Boebert’s current Colorado district from red to blue, came out with his own statement on Tuesday in which he called on Biden to step aside.
FETTERMAN CITES OWN ‘DIFFICULT’ DEBATE IN ARGUING BIDEN CAN STILL WIN
“It has been clear to me for some time, and the debate only reinforced it, neither candidate should be running for president,” Frisch said. “We deserve better. President Biden should do what’s best for the country and withdraw from the race.”
And Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, became the first sitting House Democrat to outright call for Biden to end his campaign.
“My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved,” Doggett said in a statement.
“Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so.”
Hours later, a staunch Biden ally, Sen. Pete Welch, D-Vt., was asked on MSNBC whether the door should be left open to other Democrat candidates.
“It is open, let’s be candid,” Welch said. He added, referring to the debate, “What we saw can’t be unseen. That was an unsteady performance, and it raises questions about his physical condition.”
Welch said Democrats beating Trump was “more important than anything” and that Biden’s campaign was reviewing “how to proceed.”
BIDEN’S INNER CIRCLE SILENT AS PARTY REELS FOLLOWING ‘EMBARRASSING’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE
Another top Biden ally, Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., did not go so far as to call for Biden to step aside, but he told MSNBC that he would support Vice President Harris for president if Biden did as well.
The outpouring of doubt comes after Pelosi told “MSNBC Reports,” “I think it’s a legitimate question to say, ‘Is this an episode or is this a condition?’ When people ask that question, it’s completely legitimate of both candidates.”
She also lauded Biden’s record over the last four years, but her comments are a damning acknowledgment of growing public concern about the 81-year-old president’s fitness for office.
Biden has not indicated he would step aside. His campaign also indirectly attempted to refute concerns by announcing a $264 million fundraising haul for the second quarter of 2024, including $127 million that came in during June.
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But questions have mounted since his Thursday night debate performance, where he spoke with a hoarse voice, reportedly due to a cold, and stumbled over his own answers several times during the prime-time event. Viewers also observed him appearing tired and noticeably less sharp than he looked the last time he faced Trump in 2020.
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A new CBS News and YouGov poll released over the weekend showed nearly three-quarters of Democrat voters believe Biden does not have the cognitive health to serve as president.
A USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Monday shows Trump leading Biden 41% to 38% among nationwide voters.
Biden’s son causes confusion in days after debate debacle: ‘What the hell is happening?’
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.”
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“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.
WNBA rookie stuns with pregame outfit but fans want her on the court
Seattle Storm rookie Nika Mühl turned heads on Monday night as she entered the Climate Pledge Arena for the team’s game against the Dallas Wings.
Mühl wore a black jacket and pants and showed her bare torso with her bellybutton piercing. Storm fans appreciated the look but were mostly interested in when she was going to get some playing time.
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The former UConn standout played 6 minutes in the Storm’s 95-71 victory. She had one shot attempt, a 3-pointer, but failed to score in the limited minutes.
The Storm selected Mühl with the second pick in the second round of the draft in April. She is in the same rookie class as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and others. She has appeared in 10 games, has averaged 2.6 minutes per game and has yet to score.
Fans made it clear – they want to see her on the floor.
MERCURY’S SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM DAZZLES AHEAD OF GAME AGAINST STORM
Mühl was a two-time All-Big East selection and a two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year winner. She averaged 6.9 points, 6.5 assists and 1.2 steals in her senior season at UConn.
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Seattle moved to 13-6 with the win over Dallas. They are in fourth place in the WNBA standings, just behind the New York Liberty, Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx.
Judge responds to Trump’s requests to delay sentencing in Manhattan criminal case
Judge Juan Merchan has delayed former President Trump’s sentencing in New York v. Trump until September, following requests from the presumptive Republican nominee to do so, and no opposition from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Trump was found guilty in an unprecedented criminal trial last month on all counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, following a six-week trial stemming from Bragg’s investigation.
BRAGG DOES ‘NOT OPPOSE’ TRUMP REQUEST TO DELAY SENTENCING; AWAITS JUDGE MERCHAN’S APPROVAL
Trump on Monday moved to overturn his criminal conviction in the Manhattan case after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a former president has substantial immunity for official acts committed while in office. He also requested to delay his sentencing, which was set for July 11 — just days before the Republican National Convention where he is set to be formally nominated the 2024 GOP presidential nominee.
Bragg, on Tuesday morning, said Trump’s request to toss the verdict was without merit, but did not oppose the request to delay sentencing.
Merchan on Tuesday afternoon delayed Trump’s sentencing date to September 18 at 10:00 a.m.
TRUMP IMMUNITY CASE: SUPREME COURT RULES EX-PRESIDENTS HAVE SUBSTANTIAL PROTECTION FROM PROSECUTION
“The July 11, 2024, sentencing date is therefore vacated. The Court’s decision will be rendered off-calendar on September 6, 2024, and the matter is adjourned to September 18, 2024, at 10:00 AM for the imposition of sentence, if such is still necessary, or other proceedings,” Merchan wrote in a letter to Trump attorneys and New York prosecutors.
TRUMP MOVES TO OVERTURN MANHATTAN CASE AFTER SCOTUS IMMUNITY DECISION
Merchan’s decision comes after the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on presidential immunity — a question that stemmed from charges brought against Trump in a separate, federal case brought by special counsel Jack Smith related to the events of the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol breach and any alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
But Trump’s attorneys swiftly acted in seeking to apply the new standard to the Manhattan case, too.
Feds identify likely cause of plane crash that wiped out Georgia family
The family of five from Georgia who died in a small plane crash in upstate New York over the weekend was flying through an area of “storm activity,” the National Transportation Safety Board revealed Tuesday.
An NTSB spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement that flight tracking data for the single-engine Piper PA-46 aircraft “was lost about 12 minutes after departure” from Alfred S. Nader Regional Airport in Oneonta on Sunday afternoon.
“Preliminary information indicates that the plane was flying from Oneonta, New York to Charleston, West Virginia when it crashed under unknown circumstances,” the NTSB spokesperson added. “Meteorological data shows storm activity along the flight path.”
New York State Police on Monday identified the five victims in the crash as Harrison VanEpps, 10, James VanEpps, 12, Ryan VanEpps, 42, Laura VanEpps, 43, and Roger Beggs, 76.
FAMILY DIES IN NEW YORK PLANE CRASH FOLLOWING COOPERSTOWN BASEBALL TOURNAMENT: POLICE
“All of the passengers are family members from the state of Georgia and were in Cooperstown, NY for a baseball tournament,” police said, noting that the plane went down in the town of Masonville.
The NTSB said Tuesday that the debris path from the wreckage is about a mile long and that “all major portions of the plane” have been found except for the rudder.
They are urging witnesses who spot any potential debris from the plane to contact investigators.
“Today, the plane will be recovered to an offsite facility for further evaluation,” the NTSB also said, adding that the investigation will delve into flight track data, aircraft maintenance records and air traffic control recordings, among other areas.
SMALL PLANE CARRYING 5 PEOPLE CRASHES IN NEW YORK, OFFICIALS SAY
“The plane departed from Alfred S. Nader Regional Airport in Oneonta, NY and was traveling to West Virginia to refuel with its ultimate destination as Cobb County International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia,” New York State Police said Monday.
Cooperstown is the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday called the incident “tragic,” and asked the public to join him and his family “in praying for the loved ones of the Beggs and VanEpps families,” WSB-TV reported.
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“We offer our deepest condolences to all who knew and loved them,” the governor reportedly added.
NASA comes clean about what exactly slammed into mountain resort from space
Space junk made a crash landing in a land of North Carolina luxury.
A landscaping crew working at The Glamping Collective, a mountaintop resort near Asheville in Haywood County, found a large mysterious object on May 22 that NASA confirmed is a piece of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule that reached the International Space Station (ISS) in 2023.
There was one large piece – about the size of a standard car hood and covered in a carbon fiber weave – found on a hiking trail, and several other smaller pieces fell in the backyards of nearby homes, according to a report by Space.com.
The objects were from the “Dragon spacecraft trunk hardware” that was “predicted to burn up fully,” ABC 13 in North Carolina reported.
SPACE TRASH RIPS THROUGH FLORIDA FAMILY’S HOME
Other pieces of the Elon Musk-funded SpaceX‘s capsule were found in Canada in February and more recently in Saudi Arabia around the time the piece in North Carolina was located, NASA said in its statement.
“NASA is unaware of any structural damage or injuries resulting from these findings,” the space agency said in its statement.
BOEING’S PLAGUED STARLINER CAPSULE WOULD’VE BEEN ASTRONAUTS’ ‘LIFEBOAT’ IF SHATTERED RUSSIAN SATELLITE HIT THE SPACE STATION
A Florida family had a similar, albeit a much scarier, run-in with space junk that didn’t burn up as expected.
In March, a 1.6-pound metal alloy object burrowed through the roof and two floors of a Naples, Florida, home while a family member was inside.
The homeowner, Alejandro Otero, said on X that it, “Tore through the roof and went thru (sic) 2 floors. Almost his (sic) my son.”
Just like the object that crashed in North Carolina, the object that hit the Otero family’s home was supposed to “heat up and break apart during atmospheric re-entry,” NASA told Fox News Digital in a previous email.
No one was hurt in either situation, but the Otero family’s lawyer, Mica Nguyen Worthy, said, “A ‘near miss’ situation such as this could have been catastrophic.
“Space debris is a real and serious issue because of the increase in space traffic in recent years,” Worthy said.
NASA PREDICTS ‘ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME EVENT’ THIS SUMMER
NASA said it’s performing a “detailed investigation of the jettison and re-entry analysis to determine the cause of the debris survival and to update modeling and analysis.”
“NASA remains committed to responsibly operating in low Earth orbit, and mitigating as much risk as possible to protect people on Earth when space hardware must be released.”
To further Worthy’s point, a defunct Russian satellite imploded near the ISS last week, prompting a brief discussion during Friday’s teleconference with NASA and Boeing officials.
The teleconference with reporters was largely focused on Starliner’s helium leaks and faulty thrusters, but officials expressed little concern that the satellite debris would reach Earth.
The threat was avoided after the pieces missed the ISS.
SUCCESSFUL RETURN OF BOEING SPACECRAFT IS ‘INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT’ TO FUTURE OF MANNED SPACE EXPLORATION
The resort marketed the space debris as an attraction.
“We invite you to come experience this yourself! Starting Monday June 3rd,” the resort said on its website. “We will have the space debris on display for your viewing at the start of our Sunset Summit Trail!”
The Florida family took a more stern approach to the object that hit their house.
Worthy filed a claim to NASA on behalf of the Otero family and said this is an opportunity for NASA to “set a precedent as to what responsible, safe, and sustainable space operations ought to look like.”
“If the incident had happened overseas, and someone in another country were damaged by the same space debris as in the Oteros’ case, the U.S. would have been absolutely liable to pay for those damages.”
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She implored NASA and the U.S. government to follow the same legal principle.
NASA declined to comment on pending legal action.
Migrant accused of raping teen released on $500 bail — despite pleas from border officials
A Haitian migrant charged with the rape of a 15-year-old girl at a Massachusetts hotel was released on $500 bail last week despite ongoing requests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to transfer him to its custody.
Cory Alvarez, a 26-year-old Haitian national who was allowed into the U.S. via a controversial parole program that allows up to 30,000 migrants to fly in each month, was charged with aggravated rape of a child in March.
ICE said in a statement that Boston’s branch of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) filed a detainer against Alvarez with the local sheriff’s office March 14. A detainer is a request by which authorities alert ICE about an individual they believe to be subject to deportation so they can take the individual into federal custody and deport that person.
HAITIAN MIGRANT CHARGED WITH RAPE OF 15-YEAR-OLD GIRL ENTERED VIA CONTROVERSIAL PAROLE PROGRAM: SOURCES
In this case, as in many “sanctuary” jurisdictions, the detainer was not adhered to, and Alvarez was released on bail.
“On June 27, Plymouth Superior Court refused to honor ERO Boston’s immigration detainer and released Alvarez from custody on a $500 bond,” ICE Boston ERO spokesperson James Covington said.
The Boston Globe reported that prosecutors had asked bail to be set at $25,000, but the judge set bail at $500 on the condition he submit to various stipulations, including home confinement and other forms of monitoring.
Brian A. Kelley, Alvarez’s attorney, told Fox News Digital Alvarez was released after a three-part hearing that looked at medical records, surveillance and testimony.
“No injuries were found on the alleged victim. The video surveillance depicts her going into the room and coming out eight minutes later, her clothing undisturbed and walking by two members of the National Guard without comment,” Kelley said, confirming that Alvarez was released on bail.
MAYORKAS CALLS POLICY TO LET 30K MIGRANTS FLY IN EACH MONTH A ‘KEY ELEMENT’ OF BORDER PLAN AFTER LEGAL WIN
He also said Alvarez’s bail condition included home confinement and the surrender of his passport, with which he complied. He also pointed to a Massachusetts court ruling that found no authority to hold an individual solely on the basis of an ICE detainer.
“I’m hopeful that all Karen Read supporters now find a new cause; supporting the innocence of Cory Alvarez,” Kelley added.
Alvarez arrived in June under the parole process for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezeualans (CHNV). The policy was first announced for Venezuelans in October 2022, which allowed a limited number to fly directly into the U.S. as long as they had not entered illegally, had a sponsor in the U.S. already and passed certain checks.
In January 2023, the administration announced the program was expanding to include Haitians, Nicaraguans and Cubans and that the program would allow up to 30,000 people per month into the U.S. It allows for migrants to receive work permits and a two-year authorization to live in the U.S. and was announced alongside an expansion of Title 42 expulsions to include those nationalities.
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The Department of Homeland Security has said the process, which it describes as a “safe and orderly way to reach the United States” is a “key element” of the administration’s efforts to address high levels of migration throughout the hemisphere. Republicans have accused the administration of abusing the parole process with the program.
According to official data, the Biden administration has brought over 138,000 Haitians into the U.S. via the CHNV parole program since January 2023.
Singer Ann Wilson reveals diagnosis, change of tour plans: ‘I’ve much more to sing’
Ann Wilson, the lead singer of the band Heart, announced on Tuesday that she has been diagnosed with cancer.
“I recently underwent an operation to remove something that, as it turns out, was cancerous,” the 74-year-old wrote in a statement posted to social media.
She said the operation was “successful” and she’s “feeling great,” but “my doctors are now advising me to undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy & I’ve decided to do it.”
SHANNEN DOHERTY ADMITS CANCER MAKES DATING DIFFICULT BECAUSE SHE ‘MIGHT HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE’
She added that her doctors have advised her to take the rest of the year away from performing and that Heart’s North American tour will be postponed until next year.
The band is currently on its “Royal Flush” tour of the U.S. and Canada, which was set to continue at the end of July in Ohio and close in Las Vegas on Dec. 15.
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Along the way, they planned to make stops in dozens of other cities.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band is known for hits like “Magic Man,” “Crazy on You,” “Barracuda” and “Alone.”
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Wilson told ticket buyers, “I really do wish we could do these gigs,” adding that she “absolutely” plans to return to the stage next year.
“My team is getting those details sorted & we’ll let you know the plans as soon as we can,” adding that this was the “last public statement” she wanted to make on the subject.
She thanked fans for “all the support,” calling it merely a “pause.”
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“I’ve much more to sing,” she added.