President reportedly sour with top Democrats as they plan to formally usher him out the door
President Biden remains bitter toward the top Democrats who organized his ouster from the 2024 presidential race, even as the party prepares a massive sendoff at the Democratic National Convention, according to a report.
Biden remains frustrated that former President Obama did not tell him to drop out face to face, but rather relied on his influence behind the scenes, Politico reported Tuesday. Biden is also angry at former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who he believes played the major role in forcing him to withdraw, alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the outlet reported, citing three sources familiar with Biden’s thinking.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
A White House source told Politico that Biden views Pelosi as “ruthless” following the events of July.
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News of Biden’s frustration comes as the Democratic Party plans a massive celebratory sendoff for Biden at the DNC. The very party members who forced him to drop out now hail him as an elder statesman.
“President Joe Biden is a patriotic American who has always put our country first. His legacy of vision, values and leadership make him one of the most consequential Presidents in American history,” Pelosi wrote in July just moments after Biden announced his withdrawal.
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“With love and gratitude to President Biden for always believing in the promise of America and giving people the opportunity to reach their fulfillment,” she added. “God blessed America with Joe Biden’s greatness and goodness.”
The schedule for the DNC reveals how Democrats plan to formalize the transfer from Biden to Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden will deliver his address on Monday night after Hillary Clinton and others. Two other Democratic former presidents will take the stage the following nights, with Obama headlining Tuesday and Bill Clinton on Wednesday, followed by Gov. Tim Walz. Harris will take the stage on Thursday, completing the transition.
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Pelosi addressed whether she believes there is a way to repair her relationship with Biden after the party coup against him this week.
“Is there a way back for your friendship?” former Biden administration White House press secretary Jen Psaki asked Pelosi during a segment of her MSNBC show “Inside with Jen Psaki” that aired Sunday.
Pelosi focused her attention on the generational love her family has for Biden and on sustaining the 46th president’s legacy when answering the question.
“In our family, we have three generations of love for Joe Biden. My husband and I, of course, we’ve known him for a very long time – respect him, love him and Jill. He and Jill are so remarkable, and their family. Our kids have always loved them. I had pictures with him from our children growing up and now our grandchildren growing up,” she said.
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“But the most important thing we have to do is to win the election, just to sustain his legacy and to have the legacy be to do even more in the presidency and the vice presidency of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz,” Pelosi continued.
Representatives for Obama and Schumer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
ESPN star ‘done giving any s—s’ about pushback over stance about men in women’s sports
ESPN star Kirk Herbstreit weighed in on the debate over transgender athletes playing women’s sports last week when he was asked on social media, “Do men belong in women’s sports?”
Herbstreit made his stance clear, “Of course not.”
He explained on Tuesday in an interview on OutKick’s “Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich” that he didn’t give a s—” about what the reaction was going to be.
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“I’m done giving any s—s at all about any of it. It’s almost like there are two different sets of rules, and if you have a view that’s a little more traditional, or I’m a Christian guy, it’s like there is a different set of rules for that viewpoint,” he explained. “It’s hard to just turn the other cheek time after time after time.
“So, yeah, I didn’t really care, and I don’t care at all. Which is a good thing, I think it’s good and healthy to get to that place compared to, ‘Oh gosh, I don’t want to get canceled. I don’t want to get people upset.’ I don’t give a s—. I’m just going to say certain things. My problem is I have a temper, and so if I get to that point, if that fuse gets lit, I let it go, and then I’ll explode and say something. That I have to be careful of.”
Herbstreit said he didn’t receive any blowback from ESPN.
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“I think I have been biting my tongue on a lot of topics for three years. I sent a tweet out – I get pretty quiet in the offseason – I sent a tweet out about something. It might have been about college football coming up, and I’ve gotten into a habit of not scrolling and looking at the comments because it’s obviously pretty bad. I happened to see somebody say what he said. I think he said, ‘Should men be able to play in women’s sports?’ and I just was like, I’m just going to give a quick answer: ‘Ridiculous question, of course not.’
“I didn’t dwell on it, I didn’t give a long answer, that was it. I didn’t realize it would be – way more positive than negative. I’m sure people were upset about it. I think it’s kind of a no-brainer. I don’t have a daughter; I have four sons. If I had a daughter, I would probably be way more outspoken about this discussion on this topic. I just kind of made it sound like, ‘Why are you even asking this question,’ is the way I took it.
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“But yeah, man, Lee Corso used to give a speech, and one of the things he would say within that speech was, ‘Don’t ask me about race, religion or politics, or don’t talk publicly about race, religion or politics,’ and now I think that’s all anybody talks about is race religion and politics. … I try to stay on the sidelines for a lot of that, but you can only take so much until you want to start to speak up a little bit and actually say what you think. When I retire or get in the position that you’re in, I’ll be able to say a lot more.”
Americans say which candidate they find more honest — but lack confidence on key issues
A new poll has found that American adults view Vice President Kamala Harris as a more honest person than former President Trump, but are less likely to trust her when it comes to handling key issues such as the economy and immigration.
The AP-NORC survey of 1,164 adults revealed that around 4 in 10 say “honest” better describes Harris, compared to 24% for Trump. About 4 in 10 respondents also say Harris is someone who “cares about people like you,” compared to around 3 in 10 saying that about Trump.
Yet when it comes to the economy, 45% of those surveyed said they believe Trump is more likely to do a better job handling it, compared to 38% for Harris, according to The Associated Press. A similar difference was reported on the topic of immigration, while independent voters are nearly twice as likely to trust Trump over Harris on handling economic issues.
Harris has more of an advantage over Trump when it comes to handling issues related to race and racial inequality, abortion policy, and health care.
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Roughly half of U.S. adults say Harris would do a better job than Trump handling each of those issues, compared with about 3 in 10 for Trump. Harris is especially strong among Democrats, independents and women on the issue of abortion policy.
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About two-thirds of Democrats also say they are “excited,” describing either extremely well or very well how they would feel if Harris were to be elected.
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The enthusiasm represents a sharp reversal from when Biden was the Democrats’ candidate: an AP-NORC poll from March found that only 4 in 10 Democrats said “excited” would describe their feelings extremely or very well if he won another term.
Viral montage shows Tim Walz being falsely identified over a dozen times
A viral video showing Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz put a spotlight on his decades-long falsehood that he’s a “retired command sergeant major.”
Since being tapped as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Walz’s military service record has faced intense scrutiny in the media. The 24-year veteran of the Minnesota National Guard repeatedly referred to himself as a “retired command sergeant major.” But according to the Minnesota National Guard, while Walz served as command sergeant major, “He retired as a Master Sergeant in 2005 for benefit purposes because he did not complete additional coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.”
But that didn’t stop him from either identifying himself as a “retired command sergeant major” or allowing others to call him that without correction.
A two-and-a-half minute montage posted Tuesday on X by NOVA Campaigns showed Walz’s falsified ranking a whopping 16 times since 2006, several of them from the Minnesota governor himself.
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An old Walz campaign ad tells viewers “Tim Walz is one of those everyday people; coach to the state champs, teacher of the year, command sergeant major.”
In another clip, Walz touted himself as being “the highest ranking enlisted personnel to ever serve in Congress.”
“Oh good,” an interviewer said in the exchange. “What rank was that?”
“Command sergeant major,” Walz quickly replied.
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The compilation video was quickly shared among Walz’s critics.
“This is textbook Stolen Valor,” Minnesota GOP strategist Dustin Grage reacted.
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“If @JDVance had one instance stolen valor this egregious, it’s all the mainstream media would talk about it. @GovTimWalz stole valor repeatedly for nearly 20 years and the press wants to move on. No way,” Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Victor Joecks said.
Last week, the Harris campaign changed the language in Walz’s bio on their website after the dust-up. The biography initially said Walz was a “retired Command Sergeant Major,” but was then updated to say he “served as a command sergeant major.”
Walz has also been facing scrutiny over the timing of his retirement as he’s accused of dodging deployment to Iraq, failing to correct those who incorrectly say he served in Afghanistan as well as his past assertion that he carried weapons of war “in war,” which the Harris campaign alleged he “misspoke.”
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“In his 24 years of service, the Governor carried, fired and trained others to use weapons of war innumerable times. Governor Walz would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country – in fact, he thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country. It’s the American way,” the Harris campaign said in a statement.
What to know about new NFL rule that’s changing the game as you know it
With preseason games already underway in the 2024 NFL season, fans are getting to see what the new Dynamic Kickoff looks like in action.
As fans have seen in these early instances, players are still trying to get used to the new rules, let alone fans trying to understand them at home.
So, before every play starts to really count in the NFL season, let’s break down how the new kickoff, “borrowed” from the XFL, will play out.
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Setting it up
First, the ball is still to be kicked from the team’s own 35-yard line, and kicks following a safety will be from the 20-yard line. That part of the kickoff has not changed, but the alignment is vastly different.
As fans may have seen during preseason games, all kicking team players will be lined up with one foot on the receiving team’s 40-yard line. However, unlike the usual start of motion after the kicker makes contact with the football, the kicking team players must wait until the ball hits the ground or the player in the landing zone or end zone.
The landing zone is from the receiving team’s 20-yard line until the goal line.
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For the receiving team, their “setup zone” will be a five-yard area from the 35-yard line to the 30-yard line, where at least nine players must line up facing the kicking team.
There, at least seven of those nine players must have a foot on the 35-yard line. Those not on the 35-yard line will need to be in the setup zone outside the hash marks. Additionally, like the kicking team, the receiving team players cannot move until the kick has hit the ground or a player in the landing zone or the end zone.
Finally, there can only be a maximum of two returners during these kickoffs, and they are free to move at any point during the play.
Landing zone, explained
The landing zone, again from the goal line to the 20-yard line, provides some different rules that special teams coordinators will try to use to their advantage instead of blasting the ball out of bounds every time.
First, NFL fans know what happens when the ball is kicked out of the back of the end zone and the same thing applies here: touchback. However, the ball will be spotted at the 30-yard line – not the 25.
For the return team, though, any kick that hits within the landing zone must be returned. However, if it hits in the landing zone and goes back into the end zone, the receiving team has the choice to down it and the ball will be placed at the 20-yard line.
If a kick hits the end zone, stays in bounds and is ruled a touchback, the ball will be placed at the 30-yard line. The same counts for the ball flying out the back of the end zone in the air or bouncing.
What is the reason for the different touchbacks? Promoting more returns.
Also, any kick that falls short of the landing zone will be treated like the kick went out of bounds, meaning the ball is spotted at the 40-yard line for the offense to start its drive. In short, kickers need to avoid this at all costs.
Because of the landing zone, kickers may be focused more on precision than strength with their kickoffs to ensure the receiving team runs them back to improve ball placement.
Fans have already seen special teams coordinators trying to bend their strategies a bit this preseason to see what might work.
What about penalties?
There are many instances during the NFL season where penalties are enforced during kickoffs.
How does that affect special teams in this new dynamic format? Well, the same thought process applies in terms of encouraging returns.
The setup zone and landing zone will not change for kickoffs. Instead, only the spot of the kick will be affected.
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So, the kicker will be the only one moving back from the 35-yard line. In turn, it will make it harder for him to get the ball inside the landing zone, but the other players on the field are in their normal sports.
What is also different is that penalties on scoring plays will not carry over. Instead, it will be taken on the try attempt for one or two points.
Government contractor charged after trying to flee country with backpack full of classified docs
An electrical engineer working with the Air Force is accused of printing over 150 pages of “top secret” government documents before attempting to flee the country for Mexico, according to prosecutors.
Gokhan Gun, 50, was arrested Friday as he was departing for a flight to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Gun, a northern Virginia resident who was born in Turkey and holds dual citizenship, was charged with unauthorized removal and retention of classified material, according to Fox 5 DC.
On Friday morning, Gun was leaving for the airport when FBI agents executed a search warrant on him and two of his homes. Agents discovered documents marked as “TOP SECRET” inside a backpack in front of his home. They also found stacks of documents in the dining room of his home with visible classification markings, including some marked as Top Secret and SCI, or Sensitive Compartmented Information.
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It is unclear what the contents of the documents were.
Gun told the agents that he was headed to Mexico for what he later claimed was a “fishing trip,” a story investigators called “nonsensical” in court documents. The investigators said “it is unclear how highly classified U.S. Government information would help him in this endeavor.”
According to investigators, Gun on several occasions printed documents as early as May and took them home without authorization.
In August, investigators watched Gun leave his workplace with a bag full of hard copy documents before entering two different residences he owned in Fairfax and Falls Church, Virginia.
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Investigators subsequently obtained search warrants for Gun.
Since starting with the Air Force in 2020, Gun has printed around 3,400 pages of classified and non-classified materials. He reportedly transported the documents from the office in rolled-up wads in plastic shopping bags, according to The New York Times.
Last week, Gun printed 406 pages, including 82 marked top secret, according to court documents.
Gun provided “demonstrably false information” in his interview with the FBI, according to court documents, including the claim that he never took any classified documents home and that if they were in his home, the classifications had “expired.”
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Prosecutors have requested that Gun be kept in custody in the U.S. over concerns he is a flight risk, citing his various trips over the years and that his parents still live in Turkey.
Gun faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted on the charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material, and government officials plan to file additional felony charges.
The contractor’s public defender reiterated to the court on Friday the claim that he was heading to Mexico for a fishing trip when arguing that he is not a flight risk.
Simone Biles’ estranged birth mother pleads for Olympian to forgive her
Simone Biles is the greatest American Olympic gymnast of all time, and she solidified that notion at the Paris Games with four medals in the two-week span.
Biles’ backstory is not one that is told too often.
Her birth mother, Shanon Biles, was unable to care for the gymnast and her three other children as they were placed into foster care. Biles’ maternal grandfather, Ronald, and his second wife, Nellie Cayetano Biles, began to care for the children and later adopted them.
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Ronald Biles told the Houston Chronicle in 2016 that his daughter struggled with substance abuse and drug addiction. Nellie Biles added at the time that she and her husband were open to Simone and her siblings having a “defined relationship” with her birth mother.
Shanon Biles talked to The Daily Mail on Tuesday and talked about how her struggles affected her relationship with her children. She said it was hard to give up her children, but her father did not want her to come in and out of their lives while she was still doing drugs.
Shanon Biles added that she is “clean and sober” now and working at a grocery store in Ohio. She said she wanted Simone to reach out to her.
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“I want her to reach out to me. She’s 27 now. She’s married. I would have liked to have been a part of that, but I just have to wait for her,” she told The Daily Mail. “You can’t push anybody. It hasn’t happened yet, but I have patience. I’m waiting on her.”
“I would like to make amends with Simone personally,” she said, adding she would like to ask her daughter for forgiveness and “move forward.”
It is unclear whether Biles would entertain that.
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For now, Biles will focus on the Olympic tour and healing from a calf injury she suffered during the games.
Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh could get new trial — thanks to court clerk who’s in hot water
The South Carolina Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to take on Alex Murdaugh’s appeal based on jury tampering allegations.
Murdaugh, 56, was convicted in 2023 for killing his wife and son on a family hunting estate in 2021 as a means to get access to life insurance funds as his ever-growing stack of financial crimes came to light in 2021. He is serving two life sentences for the murders.
The former South Carolina legal scion appealed the decision on allegations that former Colleton County Court clerk Becky Hill, who presided over the infamous double murder trial, tampered with the jury.
The state Supreme Court took on that case earlier this year. In January, retired South Carolina Supreme Court Justice Jean Toal ruled that she did not believe a new trial was needed for Murdaugh after hearing from all 12 jurors who convicted Murdaugh in court; only one of those 12 said Hill influenced her decision.
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The juror, referred to as Juror Z, said Hill told jurors to watch Murdaugh “closely” and watch his “actions,” adding that she reached a guilty verdict because of the clerk’s comments. Juror Z also testified that other jurors also made her feel pressured to deliver a guilty verdict, as her affidavit stated.
“To me…she made it seem like he was already guilty,” Juror Z, the first to testify Monday, said when asked how the clerk inspired her verdict.
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Toal said before her ruling that while Hill was “attracted by the siren call of celebrity” and had made “fleeting and foolish comments,” the jurors took their assignments seriously in convicting Murdaugh.
Hill, who co-authored a book about the Murdaugh trial — and later admitted that a passage in the book had been plagiarized — is also facing 76 counts of misconduct. She is accused of using her official position as Colleton County clerk for financial gain, specifically to promote her book.
Hill resigned as court clerk in March.
The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office declined to comment on the Supreme Court’s decision.
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Murdaugh was also sentenced to 27 years in November 2023 for his financial crimes. He agreed to plead guilty to 22 counts — including breach of trust, money laundering, forgery and tax evasion — out of about 100 counts totaling as much as $10 million in exchange for the 27-year prison sentence.
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Murdaugh previously pleaded guilty to 22 counts of financial fraud and money laundering in federal court.