Dem governor caught in hot mic moment with Harris is walking back Trump criticism
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signaled willingness to work with Donald Trump in an interview this week, saying the president-elect clearly cared about her state.
“People in Michigan, like a majority of Americans, voted for Donald Trump, and my oath is to Michigan,” Whitmer told CNN at a meeting of Democratic governors in Los Angeles. “Obviously, I’ve got experience in this type of environment that will help inform how I continue to fight for Michigan. But I know Donald Trump cares about Michigan. And I’m hoping that because of that, we’ll be able to find some common ground in some important ways.”
Trump won back Michigan in the 2024 election en route to re-capturing the White House. Whitmer is widely seen as a possible White House contender in 2028 given her status as a 2-term governor of a battleground state.
Whitmer seemed to be employing the tactic of not antagonizing Trump in public, given the federal government’s ability to allocate aid and prioritize certain states’ initiatives.
CNN AVOIDS ASKING GRETCHEN WHITMER ABOUT BIZARRE VIRAL DORITOS VIDEO
Whitmer and Trump butted heads in the media during his first term, particularly over his administration’s COVID-19 response. She was floated as a possible running mate for Vice President Harris, but declined consideration so she could conclude her second term in office, which is up in 2027.
In the final weeks of the 2024 campaign, Whitmer was notably at the center of a hot mic moment with Harris. While the two Democrats were sitting at a bar in Michigan, Harris was overheard admitting she was struggling with male voters.
“So, my thing is we need to move ground among men,” Harris was heard telling Whitmer at the Trak Houz Bar and Grill in Kalamazoo. Harris immediately noticed the microphones and ended her conversation with the Democratic governor.
Another governor at the Los Angeles meeting who spoke to CNN, New York’s Kathy Hochul, revealed she’d already had a phone conversation with Trump where she played up his status as an iconic New Yorker.
Hochul called him a “president who is a New Yorker, has been a New Yorker, would understand how important it is for the success of our state.”
DEMOCRAT GOVERNORS SPOTLIGHT THEY’RE THE ‘LAST LINE OF DEFENSE’ AGAINST TRUMP
Other Democratic governors at the meeting played up being the last line of defense against a second Trump administration.
“It would be irresponsible of me not to anticipate all scenarios of what could happen, especially listening to what the president said, what his advisers have said, what his appointees have said, what his candidates for various positions have said, and what Project 2025 says,” Hochul told CNN. “I have to be keenly aware of all those potential challenges and have a strategy to respond to each if they actually occur. So it’s playing some defense right now, getting the game plan together and being willing to work.”
Democrats find themselves without a clear national leader as the Biden administration comes to a close. President Biden has been largely absent from public view, as has Harris after her bruising loss to Trump.
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The 2028 Democratic primary is wide-open and could feature several governors, including Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
Accused Ivy League killer’s alma mater silent after former student’s arrest in CEO slaying
The University of Pennsylvania, where suspected gunman Luigi Mangione earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees, has refused to comment publicly on its alum’s arrest in the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
When asked multiple times for comment via email and phone, a UPenn spokesperson would only share that Mangione graduated on May 18, 2020 with bachelors and master’s degrees and minored in mathematics. He earned degrees in engineering and was part of the Eta Kappa Nu Honor Society for Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Cornell Law Professor William Jacobson, president of the Legal Insurrection Foundation and of EqualProtect.org, told Fox News Digital that the school could be withholding comment because it is “afraid of the students” at the liberal institution, considering that “[its] campus has been a hotbed for anti-American, anti-Israeli, antisemitic outbursts and protests.”
COULD IVY LEAGUE MURDER SUSPECT LUIGI MANGIONE FACE FEDERAL CHARGES?
“I’m not sure why, on something like this, they wouldn’t be able to give some sort of statement – not necessarily convicting him in the media but expressing condolences to the family of the deceased or something like that,” Jacobson said.
UPENN PRESIDENT’S FATE HANGS IN BALANCE AS ANGRY BOARD CONVENES FOR EMERGENCY MEETING
Julia Alekseyeva, an assistant professor of English at the school, posted several TikTok videos seeming to praise Mangione.
Alekseyeva identifies as a “socialist and ardent antifascist” on her website and posted the videos under the name “The Soviette.” In one, she holds her hand over her heart as the song “Do You Hear the People Sing?” from the musical “Les Miserables” plays in the background.
FRIENDS, ACQUAINTANCES DEFEND MANGIONE’S FAMILY AS MEDIA DESCENDS ON ALLEGED CEO KILLER’S HOMETOWN
“Have never been prouder to be a professor at the University of Pennsylvania,” she wrote.
LUIGI MANGIONE SUPPORT FUNDRAISERS, MERCHANDISE YANKED BY GOFUNDME, ETSY
A UPenn spokesperson said that Alekseyeva had “retracted” her comments after realizing they were “insensitive and inappropriate.”
“Much concern was raised by recent social media posts attributed to Assistant Professor Julia Alekseyeva,” the spokesperson wrote. “Her comments regarding the shooting of Brian Thompson in New York City were antithetical to the values of both the School of Arts and Sciences and the University of Pennsylvania, and they were not condoned by the School or the University.”
However, the school did not name Mangione or condemn Thompson’s assassination.
“It seems odd that they can’t offer generic condolences about his death without commenting on the guilt or innocence of their alum,” Jacobson said.
In contrast, the headmaster of the small private academy where Mangione attended high school issued a statement the same day that the former valedictorian was arrested.
“We recently became aware that the person arrested in connection with the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO is a Gilman alumnus, Luigi Mangione, Class of 2016,” Henry P. A. Smyth, headmaster of the Gilman School in Baltimore, said. “We do not have any information other than what is being reported in the news… This is deeply distressing news on top of an already awful situation. Our hearts go out to everyone affected.”
The Ivy League university’s silence on the national news involving its graduate comes a year after former Penn President Liz Magill declined to outright state that calls for the genocide of Jewish people constitute bullying or harassment under Penn’s code of conduct during a congressional hearing.
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Magill resigned four days after the hearing, on Dec. 11 of last year, ahead of a Board of Trustees meeting on whether she could continue to effectively fundraise and lead the university after the backlash against her handling of antisemitism at the school.
“I don’t know if [refusing to comment is] the lesson they’ve learned, but I do know that schools and companies in general, their standard PR pattern is to not comment on things – it may be in completely good faith, what they’re saying,” Jacobson said. “Or it might be something else.”
Informant accused of feeding FBI bogus Biden information reaches plea deal
Alexander Smirnov has reached a plea agreement with the office of special counsel David Weiss, agreeing to plead guilty on several counts.
The plea agreement notes that Smirnov is consenting to “Count Two of the indictment in United States v. Alexander Smirnov … which charges defendant with causing the creation of a false and fictitious record in a federal investigation…”
He is also agreeing to plead guilty to several counts of tax evasion.
Smirnov has been accused of providing “false derogatory information to the FBI[.]”
State outraged at federal oil lease sale setup being ‘fitting finale’ for Biden presidency
Multiple top Alaskan officials are expressing outrage at the way the Biden administration is orchestrating its final congressionally mandated leasing of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) Section 1002 land for fossil fuel exploration.
Both of Alaska’s U.S. senators, the state’s governor and local officials in the remote communities nearest the North Slope refuge collectively expressed that the Department of Interior’s planned January sale was set up in bad faith.
“These leases should be executed in good faith along the established historical processes. And obviously, the Biden administration in the past four years has just been brutal on Alaska,” said Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
“And, you know, they’re in the twilight of their term here. But nonetheless, they’re going to continue to double-down on denying Alaska opportunities, denying our people opportunities, denying America the opportunity to potentially get some more oil [exploration] going to the future.”
AK GOV: BIDEN IS SEARCHING FOR OIL EVERYWHERE BUT AT HOME
Dunleavy added that, despite his top perch in Juneau, he remained unclear on exactly what the Biden administration sought to gain by treating Alaska as alleged while buying energy from America’s rivals and working to shepherd in alternative fuels.
“I think when we look back on this over time, there’s going to be a lot of head-scratching as to what was the purpose of all this?” he said.
“I keep telling people the idea that nobody’s going to want oil if you don’t allow drilling in Alaska: it makes no sense.”
For his part, Dunleavy has expressed an openness to pursuing alternative fuels, including the idea of harnessing tides in the Kenai Peninsula’s Cook Inlet — the second-strongest in the world — to produce energy.
The governor said that just as the Biden administration cancelled leases in ANWR-1002, President-elect Trump could nix those moves.
ALASKA GOV SAYS INLET TIDES THE NEXT RENEWABLE RESOURCE
“They defied the spirit of the law itself,” he said. “So I look forward to January 20th.”
Meanwhile, leaders in the Inupiat village of Kaktovik — the only community within ANWR-1002 — slammed the structure of the lease sale.
Green interests have long claimed local residents and Native communities oppose development on their lands, but in a statement to Fox News Digital, Inupiat leaders disagreed.
“The release of the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Record of Decision by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has left the community of Kaktovik, Alaska… frustrated and discontented,” a community representative said.
“The lands under question are the traditional lands of the Kaktovikmiut. However, it is apparent once again that outside, well-funded environmental groups have had the preferential voice during the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) process.”
Local leaders accused the administration of siding with outside interests, rather than hearing from locals who may not see it their way.
“Kaktovik does not support this outcome nor condone the process by which it was reached,” community leaders jointly said of the lease sale structure.
Edward Rexford, the Native village president, called it a “predetermined outcome,” and that as a small tribal entity, they were not afforded adequate opportunity to participate in the impact statement process.
WESTERN NATIONS HAVE BOUGHT $2B IN RUSSIAN OIL THIS YEAR THROUGH SANCTIONS WORKAROUNDS
“The City of Kaktovik is outraged by this result,” said Mayor Nathan Gordon, Jr.
Officials at the Alaska Industrial Development & Export Authority (AIDEA) concurred, adding their analysis found the Biden administration’s record-of-decision blocked “nearly all development of even a small part” of ANWR-1002.
“Sadly, the Biden administration continues to take illegal actions to stop all natural resource development in Alaska,” said AIDEA executive director Randy Ruaro.
“Jobs from developing ANWR would offer high wages to Alaskans at a level that can keep families in-state.”
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In a statement, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said the sale is an “eleventh-hour” decision and “yet another charade aimed at subverting the will of Congress in the 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act.”
The Trump-era law was the policy that set the timeline and compelled the Biden administration to conduct the sale.
“It’s a fitting finale for an administration that has routinely allowed Iran, Venezuela and other adversaries to produce their resources, regardless of the consequences, while attempting to shut everything down in Alaska,” added Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of the Interior and the White House for response to the collective criticism, but did not receive a response by press time.
DC councilman who won reelection in landslide faces possible expulsion
Washington, D.C., councilman Trayon White edged closer to expulsion this week after an investigative report found he violated multiple city code of conduct provisions.
Despite being arrested by the FBI on a federal bribery charge in August, White, a Democrat representing Ward 8, recently secured a third term on Election Day in a landslide victory.
While the federal criminal case remains pending, the report, commissioned by an ad hoc committee and conducted by the law firm Latham & Watkins LLP, was submitted to the council on Monday following an independent probe into whether White violated applicable D.C. law, the D.C. Code of Conduct, or Council Rules. The council is meeting next Monday to deliberate the findings and consider whether to recommend sanctions against White.
The councilman has pleaded not guilty to allegations he accepted $156,000 in cash payments in exchange for using his position to pressure government employees at the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) and Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) to extend several D.C. contracts. The federal complaint says the contracts were valued at $5.2 million and were for two companies to provide “Violence Intervention” services in D.C.
DC COUNCILMEMBER FACING FEDERAL BRIBERY CHARGES WINS LANDSLIDE RE-ELECTION, BUT COLLEAGUES MAY OUST HIM
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson established the ad hoc committee in August.
White has declined multiple offers to meet with the committee since.
Councilman Kenyan McDuffie, who chairs the ad hoc committee, said the investigation found “substantial evidence” that White’s alleged conduct connected to the bribery claims violated several provisions of the D.C. Council’s Code of Official Conduct, FOX 5 DC reported. McDuffie said that the report does not support allegations White violated residency requirements outlined in the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973.
DC COUNCILMAN STUFFED POCKETS WITH ENVELOPES OF CASH IN ALLEGED BRIBERY SCHEME, FEDS ALLEGE
White has not publicly commented on the report’s findings.
The investigation spanned 11 weeks and involved 22 interviews with officials from multiple D.C. agencies, including DYRS, ONSE and the Office of Risk Management; current and former members of White’s staff; leaders in the violence intervention community and other individuals believed to have information related to the allegations against White.
The law firm also reviewed relevant documents and records obtained from D.C. agencies and thousands of emails from the official accounts of White and his staff.
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The report says White declined both requests to be interviewed by the law firm.
Five biggest FBI scandals during Christopher Wray’s tenure as director
FBI Director Christopher Wray announced that he will step down from the helm of the federal law enforcement agency ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
“After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the Bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current Administration in January and then step down,” Wray said during a town hall on Wednesday, announcing his resignation.
“My goal is to keep the focus on our mission – the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.”
Fox News Digital looked back on the director’s last seven years with the federal agency, compiling five of the biggest controversies that rocked the bureau, as well as the Biden administration overall.
WHO IS KASH PATEL? TRUMP’S PICK TO LEAD FBI HAS LONG HISTORY VOWING TO BUST UP ‘DEEP STATE’
Trump slams Wray for ‘illegal raid’ on Mar-a-Lago
Approximately 30 armed FBI agents converged on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida in August 2022 to execute a search warrant regarding classified documents in the former president’s possession.
The unprecedented raid included agents rifling through former and upcoming first lady Melania Trump’s wardrobe. The agents seized 33 boxes of documents amid the search warrant.
“He invaded my home. I’m suing the country over it. He invaded Mar-a-Lago. I’m very unhappy with the things he’s done. And crime is at an all-time high. Migrants are pouring into the country that are from prisons and from mental institutions, as we’ve discussed. I can’t say I’m thrilled,” Trump said of Wray during an interview with NBC that aired Sunday.
Earlier this year, it was revealed the Biden administration authorized the use of deadly force during the raid. The jarring revelation added fuel to the fire of conservatives slamming the raid, though the FBI clarified that the same language was used in a similar search warrant for President Biden’s Delaware home.
SPECIAL COUNSEL, IRS WHISTLEBLOWERS SAY DON’T BUY BIDEN ‘SPIN’ ABOUT HUNTER BIDEN LEGAL SAGA
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who called for Wray’s resignation in a scathing letter earlier this week, argued there were “serious questions” revolving around the raid considering Trump had been cooperating with investigators regarding the classified documents.
“This raid occurred despite serious questions about the need for it. President Trump apparently was cooperating with the investigation, notwithstanding liberal press reports. He voluntarily turned over 15 boxes of documents months before the FBI’s drastic escalation,” Grassley continued, adding that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton never faced such a raid “even though she and her staff mishandled highly classified information while using a non-government server.”
Trump, in reaction to Wray’s resignation, again railed against the “illegal” raid on Mar-a-Lago.
RAID ON TRUMP’S MAR-A-LAGO ESTATE QUESTIONED BY SOME LEGAL SCHOLARS
“Under the leadership of Christopher Wray, the FBI illegally raided my home, without cause, worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicting me, and has done everything else to interfere with the success and future of America. They have used their vast powers to threaten and destroy many innocent Americans, some of which will never be able to recover from what has been done to them,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Wray testified before the House Judiciary Committee in July and defended that he “would not call it a raid” on Mar-a-Lago, instead saying the FBI conducted “the execution of a lawful search warrant.”
GRASSLEY RIPS WRAY’S ‘FAILED’ LEADERSHIP AT FBI WITH 11 PAGES OF EXAMPLES IN BLISTERING ‘NO CONFIDENCE’ LETTER
The FBI’s ‘Richmond memo’ on traditional Catholics
In January 2023, conservative lawmakers slammed an internal FBI memo from the Richmond field office, titled “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.”
The memo identified “radical-traditionalist Catholic[s]” as potential “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists” and said that “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) in radical-traditionalist Catholic (RTC) ideology almost certainly presents opportunities for threat mitigation through the exploration of new avenues for tripwire and source development.”
The memo was rescinded, but lawmakers scrutinized Wray as to why Americans were targeted due to their religious beliefs – which defies the U.S. Constitution.
Twenty Republican lawmakers wrote in a letter to Wray last year, saying that the memo “singled out traditional Catholics for their pro-life views, accusing RTCs of ‘hostility towards abortion-rights advocates’ in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision…”
“This specific call out to pro-life views is of even greater concern, considering the slow rate of investigation and response to the violent attacks that a number of pro-life pregnancy centers and Catholic Churches have experienced since the Dobbs decision was leaked in May of last year,” they wrote.
Wray said in a 2023 Senate Judiciary hearing that, “We do not and will not conduct investigations based on anybody’s exercise of their constitutionally protected religious [expression].”
HEAVILY REDACTED RECORDS SHOW FBI’S TARGETING OF CATHOLICS WENT BEYOND WHAT IT CLAIMED: WATCHDOG
The FBI also came under fire during Wray’s tenure when the FBI raided a home and arrested a pro-life man in Pennsylvania in 2022.
Mark Houck, a Catholic dad of seven who would often pray outside a Philadelphia abortion clinic, was arrested at his rural Pennsylvania home in Kintnersville by the FBI. The arrest stemmed from an altercation he had with a Planned Parenthood escort in Philadelphia in October 2021. Houck was accused of pushing the abortion clinic escort, who allegedly verbally harassed Houck’s 12-year-old son outside the clinic.
The Biden administration alleged Houck violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which makes it a federal crime to use force with the intent to injure, intimidate and interfere with anyone because that person provides reproductive health care.
Houck was acquitted by a jury last year after arguing that he was protecting his son. He and his wife Ryan-Marie argued the FBI used excessive force during the arrest, filing a lawsuit against the DOJ earlier this year alleging the arrest followed a “faulty and malicious investigation.”
Parents outraged over DOJ targeting school board meetings
The DOJ and FBI were heavily criticized by parents nationwide in 2021, when Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo directing the FBI to use counterterrorism tools related to parents speaking out at school board meetings against transgender-related issues and critical race theory curricula.
The memorandum followed the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sending a letter to President Biden, asking that the federal government investigate parents protesting at school board meetings, claiming school officials were facing threats at meetings.
The NSBA requested that parents’ actions should be examined under the Patriot Act as “domestic terrorists,” sparking Garland’s eventual memo, which did not use the phrase “domestic terrorist.”
“After surveying local law enforcement, U.S. Attorney’s offices around the country reported back to Main Justice that there was no legitimate law-enforcement basis for the Attorney General’s directive to use federal law-enforcement and counterterrorism resources to investigate school board-related threats,” the House Judiciary Committee stated in an interim report on the memo last year.
Garland testified before the Senate last year that the memo “was aimed at violence and threats of violence against a whole host of school personnel,” not parents “making complaints to their school board,” but the memo set off a firestorm of criticism from parents, nonetheless.
HOUSE JUDICIARY SUBPOENAS FBI DIRECTOR WRAY ON TARGETING OF PARENTS AT SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS
“The premier law enforcement agency of the United States of America, the FBI, was used as a weapon by the DOJ against parents who dared to voice their concerns at the most local level – their school board,” Moms For Liberty founder Tiffany Justice told Fox News Digital last year.
Alleged Biden family corruption investigation
In Grassley’s blistering 11-page letter to Wray on Monday, he slammed the FBI for acting as an “accomplice to the Democrats’ false information campaign” surrounding his investigation into “alleged Biden-family corruption.”
Grassley said that the FBI “sat on bribery allegations” against Biden when he served as vice president, as well as Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and Ukrainian officials.
“Consistent with that FBI failure, yet another glaring example of FBI’s broken promises under your leadership is its inexcusable failure to investigate bribery allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden, while strictly scrutinizing former President Trump. You’ve repeatedly claimed you would ensure the FBI does justice, ‘free of fear, favor, or partisan influence.’ The FBI under your watch, however, had possession of incriminating information against President Biden for three years until I exposed the existence of the record outlining those allegations, but did nothing to investigate it,” he wrote.
BIDENS ALLEGEDLY ‘COERCED’ BURISMA CEO TO PAY THEM MILLIONS TO HELP GET UKRAINE PROSECUTOR FIRED: FBI FORM
At question in the investigation was an FBI-generated FD-1023 form that allegedly described a multimillion-dollar criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions. Grassley ultimately acquired the document through legally protected disclosures by Department of Justice whistleblowers.
That document reflects the FBI’s interview with a “highly credible” confidential human source who described meetings and conversations they had with an executive of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings over the course of several years, starting in 2015. Hunter Biden sat on the board of Burisma at the time.
Biden denied the accusations, calling the bribery allegations a “bunch of malarkey” last year.
“Still, to-date, the DOJ and FBI have neither answered whether they investigated the substance of the FD-1023, nor have they provided an explanation for any effort undertaken to obtain the financial records and other pieces of evidence referenced within the document,” Grassley wrote to Wray on Monday. “This sounds a lot like Director Comey’s leadership of the FBI, which was nothing short of shameful.”
FIVE MOST SIGNIFICANT ALLEGATIONS AGAINST THE BIDENS IN FBI FD-1023 FORM
When asked about Grassley’s letter earlier this week, the FBI said it “has repeatedly demonstrated our commitment to responding to Congressional oversight and being transparent with the American people.”
“Director Wray and Deputy Director Abbate have taken strong actions toward achieving accountability in the areas mentioned in the letter and remain committed to sharing information about the continuously evolving threat environment facing our nation and the extraordinary work of the FBI.”
Wray suggests Trump was hit by ‘shrapnel’ during first assassination attempt
Trump faced a shocking assassination attempt in July during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was hit on the side of his face as the suspect opened fire on the crowd.
Trump survived the attempt, while local dad and volunteer firefighter Corey Compatore lost his life protecting his family.
Wray came under fire regarding the assassination attempt when he appeared before the House Judiciary Committee and cast doubt on whether a bullet actually struck Trump.
“I think with respect to former President Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that, you know, hit his ear,” Wray said at the hearing.
Trump blasted him online for the comment.
“FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress yesterday that he wasn’t sure if I was hit by shrapnel, glass, or a bullet (the FBI never even checked!), but he was sure that Crooked Joe Biden was physically and cognitively ’uneventful’ – Wrong!” Trump wrote on Truth Social in July.
”No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel. The hospital called it a “bullet wound to the ear,” and that is what it was. No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!”
The FBI later confirmed a bullet, “whether whole or fragmented,” struck Trump.
The FBI did not provide Fox News Digital with additional comment when presented with the scandals on Wednesday afternoon. The FBI later followed up and, while the agency did not address any of the scandals, provided a lengthy list of what the bureau said it believes are Wray’s accomplishments.
Wray stepping down as FBI director clears the path for Trump’s pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, to begin the confirmation process in earnest. Wray, whom Trump appointed during his first administration, was in the midst of a 10-year appointment that did not end until 2027. If Wray had not announced that he would voluntarily step down, Trump would have needed to fire him in order for Patel to potentially take his spot if confirmed by the Senate.
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“Kash Patel is the most qualified Nominee to lead the FBI in the Agency’s History, and is committed to helping ensure that Law, Order, and Justice will be brought back to our Country again, and soon. As everyone knows, I have great respect for the rank-and-file of the FBI, and they have great respect for me. They want to see these changes every bit as much as I do but, more importantly, the American People are demanding a strong, but fair, System of Justice. We want our FBI back, and that will now happen. I look forward to Kash Patel’s confirmation, so that the process of Making the FBI Great Again can begin,” Trump added in his reaction to Wray’s resignation.
Belichick’s girlfriend delivers perfect one-liner in response to UNC announcement
Bill Belichick’s girlfriend had the perfect response to celebrate the former NFL coach’s return to the sidelines.
North Carolina announced Wednesday that the university and Belichick had agreed to a five-year deal, reportedly worth upwards of $50 million, marking the six-time Super Bowl champion’s first stint in the college football ranks.
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“I am excited for the opportunity at UNC-Chapel Hill,” Belichick said in a statement. “I grew up around college football with my dad and treasured those times. I have always wanted to coach in college and now I look forward to building the football program in Chapel Hill.”
Belichick’s father, Steve, was an assistant coach at North Carolina from 1953 to 1955.
The announcement was met with great approval by many, including the former New England Patriots coach’s girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, who expressed her thoughts on the move with a cheeky response on social media.
BILL BELICHICK SEEMINGLY GETS SUPPORT FROM GIRLFRIEND AMID NORTH CAROLINA FOOTBALL HEAD COACH RUMORS
“We are onto Chapel Hill!!!” she wrote in a post to her Instagram Stories sharing the official announcement.
The comment was a nod to Belichick’s famous “We’re on to Cincinnati” quote.
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Belichick’s return to the sidelines comes after he was linked to several NFL head coaching jobs last spring following his departure from New England. He was briefly linked to the Atlanta Falcons’ job, but failed to land it before eventually venturing into the sports broadcast world.
‘Seat squatters’ on planes are the latest travel trend taking over social media
When it comes to choosing seats on a flight, some travelers make sure to book more desirable seats while others may just wing it.
The term “seat squatters” has been circulating on social media, with flyers calling out those who rob seats that were assigned to others.
Gary Leff, a Virginia-based travel industry expert and author of the blog “View From the Wing,” told Fox News Digital that the person holding the seat assignment on their boarding pass is entitled to that seat.
DELTA PASSENGER SHARES RARE MOVE MADE BY GATE AGENT WHO ALTERED SEAT ASSIGNMENTS ON FLIGHT
“[Flyers] may not be able to get what they want from the airline when reserving seats, or the airline may want a fee for the seats they want and the passenger doesn’t want to pay — so they’ll try their luck on board,” said Leff.
One traveler shared an experience on Reddit in the “r/delta” forum with the caption, “My First Class Seat Squatter.”
“Well after the boarding door closed, an agent approached me and let me know someone didn’t show, so they had a first class seat (3A) available for me. Score,” posted the user.
The user went on to say, “I noticed a woman in the seat. I figured the computer was wrong and the person originally booked for the seat had made the flight. I approached the attendant just to double-check, and she confirmed that 3A was now assigned to me.”
The user claimed that “this lady had just seen an open seat in first class and figured she’d see if she could get away with sitting there.”
FLIGHT PASSENGER SPARKS DEBATE ABOUT ‘MANSPREADING’ ON PLANES AFTER FELLOW FLYER RESTS FOOT IN HER SPACE
The Redditor went on to share that the woman ordered a beer while occupying the seat, which was later delivered to her [the rightful seat owner] and she “gladly drank.”
On the “r/unitedairlines” forum, another flyer shared a post of a run-in with a “squatter.”
“So midway through my flight, a swarm of FAs [flight attendants] approached the woman in the seat across from me. She had apparently snuck into the seat a few hours in, and [the] main FA had only just realized it,” said the Redditor.
Users took to the comments section, replying, “I would be so ashamed to be caught for something like this in the confined space of a plane on a long trip,” said one.
“Ah, the thought of being confronted for doing that gives me anxiety, lol,” added another.
A post titled “Main Extra Squatter” in the “r/americanairlines” subreddit shared a passenger’s story of witnessing a squatter getting away with staying in the seat.
“I booked a Main Extra seat near departure because I saw an empty row and thought I’d take advantage of a whole row to myself,” the person wrote.
“Upon boarding and just before the door was closed, a person came along and sat in the seat I had presumed was empty.”
The Redditor said he or she assumed the seat was booked at the last minute and did not suspect anything — until a flight attendant approached the fellow flyer.
That flyer could not locate a ticket for the assigned seat.
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“When the FA returns she asks my neighbor her name again and calls them out for being 10 rows forward of where they’re supposed to be,” said the post.
The user continued, “FA pauses a moment before telling them, ‘Ah, you can just stay there’ and just walks away. After all the lies and posturing my neighbor gave, the FA didn’t relocate them to their seat.”
Leff suggested that instead of stealing seats, flyers can try their luck on board by simply asking others to swap seats.
“Have a compelling reason that will resonate with the person you’re asking, and have something decent to offer in return so it isn’t as much of a hardship for the person to give you what you want,” he said.
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Leff added, “You need decent trade bait! Don’t offer a middle seat in the back in exchange for an extra legroom aisle.”