Fatal shooting at DC Jewish Museum a ‘red line’ crossed, says Israeli ambassador
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations
says the fatal shooting of two embassy staffers outside the Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. was a depraved act and his country will continue to act to protect it’s citizens.
“The fatal shooting that took place outside the event that took place at the Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. is a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism. Harming the Jewish community is crossing a red line,” said Danny Danon.
“ We are confident that the US authorities will take strong action against those responsible for this criminal act. Israel will continue to act resolutely to protect its citizens and representatives – everywhere in the world,” he continued.
The ambassador believes that world leaders are in dire need to do more to stop these hate crimes.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said early Thursday morning that the suspect linked to the fatal shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., is currently being interviewed by DC Metro Police and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces.
“The shooting happened a short distance from our Washington Field Office. Our FBI police officer, assigned to the external post on the WFO property, immediately responded and rendered aid after the attack,” Bongino said. “Early indicators are that this is an act of targeted violence. Our FBI team is fully engaged and we will get you answers as soon as we can, without compromising additional leads.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is also at the scene reviewing evidence to determine what additional actions need to be taken, Bongino said.
The CEO of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles said the deadly shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday must be “recognized for what it is: a depraved act of antisemitic terrorism.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Jim Berk said the shooting “was not a random act of violence,” but a “targeted assault on Israeli diplomats and the Jewish community in the very heart of the nation’s capital.”
The victims, identified as a young couple on the verge of engagement, were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum when they were allegedly shot and killed by Elias Rodriguez, a 30-year-old man who yelled “Free, free Palestine!” after he was detained.
“This horrific act is the result of months of silence, excuse-making, and moral cowardice in the face of escalating antisemitism. When Israel is demonized as evil, when Jews are targeted under the guise of ‘anti-Zionism,’ it emboldens hate and incites violence. Jew-hatred is not a political position,” Berk said.
“Let us be clear: this is the outcome when antisemitic hate is normalized on our campuses, in our streets, and online. When leaders fail to call it what it is, hate festers, metastasizes, and erupts in bloodshed,” he continued. “This can no longer be tolerated, and our political and religious leaders, as well as each and every one of us, must lead by example and condemn this act without qualification. We extend our deepest condolences to the victims’ families, to the Israeli diplomatic community, and to the Jewish community of Washington, D.C.”
According to its website, the Simon Wiesenthal Center is “a global Jewish human rights activist organization that confronts antisemitism, hate, defends the safety of Israel and Jews worldwide, and teaches the lessons of the Holocaust for future generations through its advocacy and education programs, investigations, research, reporting, media, films, and museum.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
said his “heart aches” after two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C. were shot and killed by a gunman outside a cultural event late Wednesday.
“My heart aches for the families of the beloved young man and young woman, whose lives were abruptly cut short by a despicable antisemitic murderer,” Netanyahu wrote in a post on X early Thursday. “I have instructed to strengthen security arrangements at Israel’s missions worldwide and the protection of the state’s representatives.”
The prime minister’s office said he had spoken with Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Yehiel Leiter, as well as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Bondi said the United States will “ensure the murderer is brought to justice,” according to the prime minister’s office.
“We are witnessing the terrible cost of antisemitism and the rampant incitement against the State of Israel. The blood libels against Israel are paid for in blood, and we must fight them relentlessly,” Netanyahu said.
A pro-Palestinian man is in custody after allegedly killing two Israeli embassy staff members who were leaving an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night, authorities confirmed.
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said during a news conference that officers responded to multiple calls of a shooting near the museum at around 9:08 p.m. on Wednesday.
When authorities arrived at the scene, a man and a woman were found unconscious and not breathing. Despite life-saving efforts from first responders, Smith said both were pronounced dead.
A 30-year-old man identified as Elias Rodriguez, of Chicago, is believed to have committed the act alone and is in custody, Smith said, adding that his gun was also recovered.
Click here to read the full story from Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Pritchett.
Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ advances in overnight committee vote amid GOP divisions
President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” could be headed for a House-wide vote as soon as Wednesday night after its approval by a key committee in an 8-4 vote.
The House Rules Committee, the gatekeeper for most legislation before it gets to the full chamber, first met at 1 a.m. Wednesday to advance the massive bill in time for Speaker Mike Johnson’s Memorial Day deadline for sending it to the Senate.
The panel adjourned shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday after all four Democrats voted against the measure and all present Republicans voted for it. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, was the lone lawmaker to miss the vote.
Proceedings crept on for hours as Democrats on the committee repeatedly accursed Republicans of trying to move the bill “in the dead of night” and of trying to raise costs for working class families at the expense of the wealthy.
WHITE HOUSE URGES IMMEDIATE VOTE ON GOP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’
Democratic lawmakers also dragged out the process with dozens of amendments that stretched from early Tuesday well into Wednesday.
Republicans, meanwhile, contended the bill is aimed at boosting small businesses, farmers, and low- and middle-income families, while reducing waste, fraud, and abuse in the government safety net.
In a sign of the meeting’s high stakes, Johnson, R-La., himself visited with committee Republicans shortly before 1 a.m. and then again just after sunrise.
But the committee kicked off its meeting to advance the bill with several key outstanding issues – blue state Republicans pushing for a raise in state and local tax (SALT) deduction caps, and conservatives demanding stricter work requirement rules for Medicaid as well as a full repeal of green energy subsidies granted in former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
A long-awaited amendment to the legislation aimed at fixing those issues debuted around 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening.
HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS HEADING TO WHITE HOUSE AFTER DELAY PLAY ON TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’
The amendment would speed up the implementation of Medicaid work requirements for certain able-bodied recipients from 2029 to December 2026, and award states that did not follow Obamacare-era expansion plans with more federal dollars.
It would also end a host of green energy tax subsidies by 2028 if they did not demonstrate relatively quick return on investment.
Democrats, meanwhile, accused Republicans of hastily trying to change the legislation without proper notice.
Johnson told Fox News Digital during his Wednesday 1 a.m. that he was “very close” to a deal with divided House GOP factions.
Returning from that meeting, Johnson signaled the House would press ahead with its vote either late Wednesday or early Thursday.
But the legislation’s passage through the House Rules Committee does not necessarily mean it will fare well in a House-wide vote.
A pair of House Rules Committee members, Roy and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and were two of the conservative House Freedom Caucus members who had called for the House-wide vote to be delayed on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the White House bore down hard on those rebels, demanding a vote “immediately” in an official statement of policy that backed the House GOP bill.
Several of those fiscal hawks were more optimistic after a meeting at the White House with Trump and Johnson, however.
Republicans are working to pass Trump’s policies on tax, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt all in one massive bill via the budget reconciliation process.
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Budget reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, thereby allowing the party in power to skirt the minority — in this case, Democrats — to pass sweeping pieces of legislation, provided they deal with the federal budget, taxation or the national debt.
House Republicans are hoping to advance Trump’s bill through the House and Senate by the Fourth of July.
Oval Office meeting erupts into tense Trump exchange with NBC reporter
President Donald Trump ripped an NBC reporter for questions about the Department of Defense accepting a jumbo jet from Qatar to serve as Air Force One.
“The Pentagon announced that it would be accepting a Qatari jet to be used as Air Force One,” an NBC reporter asked Trump in a news conference during the South African president’s visit Wednesday to the White House.
“What are you talking about? You know, you ought to get out of here,” Trump responded.
The question regarding the Qatari jet was asked immediately after Trump directed his staff to lower the lights and show video footage of the treatment of White farmers in South Africa during his meeting with the African nation’s president.
ESPIONAGE, CONSTITUTIONAL CONCERNS ABOUND FROM TRUMP DETRACTORS, ALLIES OVER QATARI JET OFFER
The Trump administration began welcoming white Afrikaners from South Africa to the U.S. in the past week as they face “unjust racial discrimination” in their home country, according to the administration.
“What does this have to do with the Qatari jet?” Trump shot back at the reporter, believed to be NBC News’ Peter Alexander, before slamming NBC News for trying to divert the meeting’s topic from genocide in South Africa.
“They’re giving the United States Air Force a jet. OK? And it’s a great thing. We’re talking about a lot of other things. It’s NBC trying to get off the subject of what you just saw,” Trump said. “You are a real … you know, you’re a terrible reporter. No. 1, you don’t have what it takes to be a reporter. You’re not smart enough. But for you to go into a subject about a jet that was given to the United States Air Force, which is a very nice thing.
“They also gave $5.1 trillion worth of investment in addition to the jet. Go back, you ought to go back to your studio at NBC because Brian Roberts and the people that run that place, they ought to be investigated. They are so terrible the way you run that network. And you are a disgrace. No more questions from you,” Trump continued.
“His name is Peter something. He’s a terrible reporter,” Trump added as he began calling on other reporters for questions.
FLASHBACK: DEM CRITICAL OF TRUMP’S QATARI JET GIFT RODE CAMEL IN EXPENSES-PAID 2021 TRIP TO GULF EMIRATE
Fox News Digital reached out to NBC News for comment on the matter but did not immediately receive a reply.
Fox News confirmed earlier Wednesday that the Department of Defense had formally accepted a 747 jetliner from Qatar.
Both Democrats and Republicans have criticized Trump after he announced the Department of Defense planned to accept a jumbo jet from the government of Qatar earlier in May, arguing the gift is riddled with both espionage concerns and constitutional questions.
HOUSE DEMOCRAT CALLS FOR ‘IMMEDIATE’ ETHICS PROBE OF QATARI PLANE GIFT TO TRUMP
At the heart of Democrats’ concern over the matter is the emoluments clause in the Constitution, which states, “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”
It’s questionable if the emoluments clause even applies to the president, however, because the Constitution typically stipulates when a clause specifically affects a president and cites the title, such as in the impeachment clause, Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, previously told Fox News Digital.
TRUMP CLARIFIES OWNERSHIP OF AIRCRAFT IN DEFENSE OF QATAR’S GIFT
“The clause was specifically inserted because of concerns by the founders at the Constitutional Convention over corruption of our foreign diplomats, especially by the French government,” von Spakovsky explained.
“It is questionable whether the emoluments clause even applies to the president since he is not named, and the Constitution usually names the president when a provision applies to him. That is why the impeachment clause specifically provides that it applies to the ‘president, vice president and all civil officers of the United States.’ If ‘officers’ of the U.S. included the president, there would be no need for him to be separately listed.”
Von Spakovsky said if the plane is a government-to-government gift — meaning if Qatar gave the plane to the Department of Defense and not as a personal gift to the president — the Trump administration is likely in the legal clear to accept the gift.
“If this gift is being considered as a gift to the government of the U.S., there is no legal issue to consider, since there is no constitutional or legal problem with such a gift. If this is a personal gift to the president, the Justice Department would be weighing the constitutional issue I have raised — whether the emoluments clause even applies to the president,” he said.
TRUMP DEFENDS QATAR JUMBO JET OFFER AS TROUBLED BOEING FAILS TO DELIVER NEW AIR FORCE ONE FLEET
Trump and his administration have previously and repeatedly said the jet would be given to the Department of Defense and used as a temporary Air Force One because Boeing has not yet delivered a new fleet of Air Force One aircraft.
“We’re very disappointed that it’s taking Boeing so long to build a new Air Force One,” Trump said during a press conference on drug prices Monday morning. “You know, we have an Air Force One that’s 40 years old. And if you take a look at that, compared to the new plane of the equivalent, you know, stature at the time, it’s not even the same ballgame.
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“When I first came in, I signed an order to get (the new Air Force One fleet) built,” he added. “I took it over from the Obama administration, they had originally agreed. I got the price down much lower. And then, when the election didn’t exactly work out the way that it should have, a lot of work was not done on the plane because a lot of people didn’t know they made change orders. That was so stupid, so ridiculous. And it ended up being a total mess, a real mess.”
Surgeon testifies John O’Keefe died from head trauma after falling on frozen ground
John O’Keefe died from falling backwards and hitting his head on frozen ground, according to a Yale-educated brain surgeon who testified Wednesday in the murder trial of Karen Read.
Read, 45, is accused of killing her then-boyfriend, the 46-year-old O’Keefe, by hitting him with her 2021 Lexus SUV on Jan. 29, 2022, then leaving him to die on the ground in a blizzard in Canton, Massachusetts, about 20 miles south of Boston.
The head trauma and skull fractures he sustained, coupled with hypothermia from the cold, would not have killed him immediately, according to Dr. Aizik Wolf, who testified he treated many similar injuries in his career working in Minneapolis.
“The only way he could get this kind of an injury was to fall backwards, hit the back of his head, and then the resulting energy forces going into his brain, into the base of his skull,” he told the jury during questioning from special prosecutor Hank Brennan.
KAREN READ TRIAL WITNESS FACES BRUTAL CROSS-EXAMINATION OVER VEHICLE DATA
O’Keefe suffered “a classic blunt-trauma injury,” Wolf said.
O’Keefe fell backwards and hit his head, Wolf said, and the force of the impact fractured his skull and later resulted in “raccoon eyes,” which look like black eyes.
“This is what happens when soft tissue hits a solid ground,” he testified.
Swelling in the victim’s brain would have killed him under normal circumstances, usually within 24 to 48 hours, according to Wolf. Some victims have died in as little as one to three.
In the January nor’easter, O’Keefe’s body temperature also tanked. When paramedics found him at 6 a.m., his temperature was just 80 degrees, below the threshold for what medical professionals call “severe hypothermia.”
Wolf said he treated many patients with similar injuries early in his career, when he worked in a Minneapolis trauma center. The city can be brutally cold during winter. Many of the wounds were fatal. Some were inflicted on drunken patients who slipped on the ice. Others involved people who fell over after suffering a heart attack.
“This testimony from Dr. Wolf sets up the commonwealth’s argument for count 2, the involuntary manslaughter charge,” said Grace Edwards, a Massachusetts defense attorney who is following the case. “The commonwealth will argue to the jury that if they cannot find that Karen Read caused John O’Keefe’s death intentionally, counts 1 and 3, then her driving or sideswipe of him and then leaving him injured was the wanton and reckless act, which contributed to his death, then they should find Karen Read guilty of count 2.”
EXPERT WITNESS IN KAREN READ MURDER TRIAL CAUGHT WITH ‘ERRORS’ INFLATING HIS CREDENTIALS
According to Wolf’s bio at the Miami Neuroscience Center, he is a world-leading authority in his field and the clinic’s director.
A short cross-examination by defense attorney Robert Alessi discussed separate injuries that O’Keefe sustained, which were not connected to the head trauma that killed him.
STATE TROOPER POINTS TO POSSIBLE WEAPON IN JOHN O’KEEFE DEATH – AND IT’S NOT KAREN READ’S CAR
“I thought Attorney Alessi did a good job redirecting Dr. Wolf from the back of the head to the front of the head and eliciting testimony that those injuries were likely not from a fall,” Edwards told Fox News Digital. “This supports the defense theory that John O’Keefe was not hit by a vehicle and suggests it was something else because of the laceration to his face and the injuries to the arm, and the investigation did not pursue any other leads to determine how John O’Keefe sustained those injuries.”
Wolf started the day on the stand. After his testimony, Christina Hanley of the Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab returned to the witness stand. She is an expert on glass and plastic fragments who analyzed the broken cocktail glass found outside 34 Fairview Road and on the back bumper of Read’s Lexus SUV, as well as pieces of the broken taillight.
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Her testimony had been interrupted at the early end of the day on Tuesday.
She said Wednesday afternoon that some of the plastic debris recovered from O’Keefe’s clothing was “consistent” with the materials used in Read’s Lexus but could have come from another source with similar characteristics.
During cross-examination, she revealed that none of the broken glass on Read’s bumper matched the shattered cocktail glass found in the yard near O’Keefe.
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Defense attorney Alan Jackson had her explain that the only thing any of the bumper glass matched was a glass sample recovered by former Trooper Michael Proctor, who was fired in March after an internal probe into inappropriate text messages he sent during the investigation.
Earlier in the trial, the defense played video showing Proctor standing near the rear of the vehicle, out of camera view, while it was at the Canton Police Department headquarters.
Proctor, through his family, has maintained that his investigation was in line with the evidence and conducted with integrity.
Read could face life in prison if convicted of the top charge, second-degree murder. She is also accused of drunken driving, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a deadly accident.
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Disney workers face job termination after court’s immigration decision
The Walt Disney Company has put dozens of Florida-based Venezuelan employees on unpaid leave as they face the possibility of losing Temporary Protected Status (TPS) as soon as next month, according to reports.
Bloomberg reported that Disney notified the employees on Tuesday that their jobs will be terminated next month because of a ruling from the Supreme Court that allows the Trump administration to revoke protections in the U.S. for some 350,000 Venezuelans.
The workers were reportedly told they were being placed on 30-day unpaid leave beginning May 20.
If any of the employees are not able to provide the company with new work authorization by the end of the 30 days, Disney reportedly told them they will be fired.
SPIRIT OF SERVICE LIVES ON 70 YEARS AFTER VETERANS BUILT ORIGINAL DISNEY PARK
A Disney spokesperson told FOX Business that about 45 cast members were placed on leave.
“As we sort out the complexities of this situation, we have placed affected employees on leave with benefits to ensure they are not in violation of the law,” the spokesperson said in an email. “We are committed to protecting the health, safety, and well-being of all our employees who may be navigating changing immigration policies and how they could impact them or their families.”
The move comes after the Supreme Court agreed on Monday to lift a lower court injunction that blocked President Donald Trump’s decision to terminate the protected legal status of hundreds of thousands of migrants living in the U.S.
DISNEY’S MAGIC KINGDOM HONORS 100-YEAR-OLD WWII VETERAN DURING FLAG RETREAT CEREMONY
The decision clears the way for the Trump administration to move forward with plans to terminate Biden administration-era TPS protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants living in the U.S. It also allows the administration to move forward with plans to immediately remove those migrants, which lawyers for the administration argued they should be able to do.
The protections were extended during the end of the Biden administration, shortly before Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in February terminated the program for a specific group of Venezuelan nationals, arguing they were not in the national interest.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 110.46 | -1.90 | -1.69% |
In March, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California agreed to keep the protections in place, siding with plaintiffs from the National TPS Alliance in ruling that the termination of the TPS program, which is extended in 18-month increments, is “unprecedented” and suggested that the abrupt termination may have been “predicated on negative stereotypes” about Venezuelan migrants.
NEARLY 50 MAKE-A-WISH FAMILIES BECOME ROYALTY AT WALT DISNEY WORLD
TPS was established in the 1990s, and it allows the government to designate countries unsafe for nationals to return to, granting nationals already in the U.S. work permits and protection from deportation if they are here illegally or if their legal status expires.
In 2021, the Biden administration offered temporary legal status under TPS to Venezuelans who illegally entered the U.S. after fleeing the nation’s economic crisis.
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Prior to the Biden administration’s move, Trump imposed severe sanctions on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s regime but resisted bipartisan calls to grant a TPS designation for Venezuelans during Trump’s first term in office. In January 2021, Trump enacted the Deferred Enforced Departure program to protect some Venezuelan nationals from deportation for an 18-month period.
FOX News’ Doocy shares videos challenging former President Biden’s mental fitness
Fox News’ Peter Doocy has some unique insight on former President Joe Biden as questions continue to persist about whether there was a coverup to hide his declining mental state while serving as commander-in-chief.
Doocy, a senior White House correspondent, posted multiple videos to X on Wednesday showing him questioning Biden and the White House about the then-president’s cognitive decline.
“I have some unique insight on President Biden, having dedicated six years of my life to covering him,” he wrote. “If you are wondering why nobody asked about his mental fitness, and why nobody asked if White House staffers were covering up his decline… then you weren’t paying attention.”
WASHINGTON POST URGES CONGRESS TO ACT TO PREVENT ANOTHER COVER-UP OF PRESIDENT’S HEALTH AMID BIDEN REVELATIONS
In one video, Doocy is seen questioning Biden about Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report that concluded that one of the reasons Biden wasn’t charged for his handling of classified Obama-era documents found in his former office and at home was because he was a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
“I’m well-meaning and I’m an elderly man and I know what the hell I’m doing. I put this country back on its feet. I don’t need his recommendation,” Biden replied.
Doocy then asked how bad Biden’s memory was and would he be able to continue to serve as president.
“My memory is so bad, I let you speak,” Biden shot back.
Much of the media has been criticized for its reluctance to question Biden or the White House about his health concerns. The former president’s health is once again in the headlines after CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios correspondent Alex Thompson’s new book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” was released on Tuesday.
The book alleges that Biden’s inner circle concealed his cognitive decline for years and was released just days after news broke that Biden had been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer.
In one instance, during a news briefing, Doocy questioned then-White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about a campaign event in which Biden was present.
“At a fundraiser this week, President Biden told donors about how Charlottesville inspired his campaign, and according to the pool, a few mins later he told the story again nearly word for word. What’s up with that?”
CBS NEWS REPORTER SAYS WSJ’S ‘COURAGEOUS’ 2024 REPORT ON BIDEN’S DECLINE SHOULD HAVE WON THE PULITZER
“What I can tell you is, and I’m going to be careful not to talk about it because this was a campaign event,… the president was making very clear why he decided to run in 2019,” Jean-Pierre responded.
In another briefing, Jean-Pierre said Biden was making a “light-hearted joke” and “speaking off the cuff” when she was asked by Doocy about Biden’s remarks that his “health is fine. It’s just his brain.”
In another video, Jean-Pierre was asked about Biden’s gaffe when he appeared to mix up French President Emmanuel Macron with François Mitterrand, the former president of France who died in 1996.
“How is President Biden ever going to convince the three-quarters of voters who are worried about his physical and mental health that he’s OK even though in Las Vegas he told a story about recently talking to a French president who died in 1996?”
WALL STREET JOURNAL CALLS OUT TAPPER FOR SNEERING AT PAPER’S STORY ABOUT BIDEN’S DECLINE
“I’m not even going to go down that rabbit hole with you,” she replied.
Doocy also asked if Biden had been tested for Parkinson’s Disease or dementia following his disastrous debate performance against then-candidate Donald Trump.
“What we shared with you was comprehensive, but he’s had a full physical. We’ve shown the results of those this past three years,” Jean-Pierre said. “We showed it just four months ago, and it is in line with what we have done, similar to President Obama, similar to George W. Bush. We are committed to continue to be transparent. We are committed to continue to show the results of those physicals, and look, it’s the president’s medical team that makes a decision.”
In another briefing, Jean-Pierre was questioned about why Biden was treated by White House staffers “like a baby.”
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“No one treated the president of the United States, the commander-in-chief, like a baby,” she replied. “That’s a ridiculous claim.”
Louisiana Dems call for Orleans Parish Sheriff to resign after jailbreak
Two Democratic lawmakers in Louisiana called on Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson to resign following the escape of 10 jail inmates.
Louisiana House Rep. Aimee Adatto Freeman, who represents a portion of New Orleans, called for Hutson to resign on Monday. In a Facebook post, Freeman said the escape of 10 inmates represents an “alarming failure of leadership.” Law enforcement officials have arrested five escapees after they broke out of the Orleans Justice Center on Friday
“Susan Hutson’s most fundamental responsibility is to keep inmates in custody – and she failed. Rather than take accountability, she’s pointed fingers elsewhere,” Freeman said. “She’s also blamed a lack of funding, despite her office holding $14 million in reserve. Furthermore, I’ve been working this legislative session to secure state funding for the Sheriff’s Office for domestic violence programs. If she needed additional resources to ensure security, she could have simply asked.”
“I would have fought for it. Blaming funding is a deflection – not an excuse,” she added. “Leadership matters, and right now, the people of New Orleans deserve better. Sheriff Hutson should resign.”
NEW BOOKING PHOTOS RELEASED OF RECAPTURED LOUISIANA INMATES AS MANHUNT CONTINUES
State Rep. Jason Hughes, who represents a portion of New Orleans, also called for Hutson to resign, according to the Louisiana Radio Network.
“How 10 people can escape a jail is perplexing to me. But at the end of the day, this is a public safety issue, and it boils down to leadership,” Hughes said.
Hutson took “full accountability” for the jailbreak in a statement given to the New Orleans City Council on Tuesday.
“It is deeply troubling to me as your sheriff, and I know it is equally troubling to you and the public that we are sworn to protect. As your sheriff, I take full accountability for this failure, and it is my responsibility to make sure it is addressed with urgency and transparency,” she told the council. “Since the moment this breach was discovered, we have been clear. Our community deserves answers, and more importantly, it deserves action.”
According to FOX 8, Hutson announced on Tuesday evening that she’s “temporarily” suspending her re-election campaign.
FIFTH ESCAPED INMATE FROM NEW ORLEANS JAIL RECAPTURED AFTER DAYS ON THE RUN
Kendell Myles, Robert Moody, Gary Price, Dkenan Dennis and Corey Boyd have been recaptured by law enforcement, leaving five inmates at large.
Boyd, the most recent inmate to be recaptured, was in jail on charges of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, aggravated battery and threatening a public official.
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The following inmates are still at large:
- Lenton J. Vanburen Jr., 26, faces charges of illegal carrying of weapons, possession of a firearm or weapon by a felon, obstruction of justice, and introducing contraband in prison.
- Jermaine Donald, 42, faces charges of second-degree murder, aggravated battery, possession of a firearm or weapon by a felon, and obstruction of justice.
- Antoine Massey, 32, faces charges of domestic abuse involving strangulation, theft of a motor vehicle, and a parole violation.
- Derrick Groves, 27, faces three counts of attempted second-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, and battery of a correctional facility employee.
- Leo O. Tate Sr., 31, faces charges of simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling, possession of a firearm or weapon by a felon, illegal carrying of a weapon, motor vehicle theft, and multiple drug counts.
Aaron Rodgers disavows transgender movement after Trump’s executive order
NFL star Aaron Rodgers became one of the highest-profile athletes to speak out against allowing biologically male transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports Wednesday.
During an interview with Joe Rogan, Rodgers made his stance on the issue clear, calling the transgender movement “anti-woman.”
“The trans woman movement is actually anti-woman,” Rodgers told “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
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Rodgers then clarified the belief applies mainly in sports.
“That’s what I mean — sports. You’re not seeing trans men dominating anything. It’s because there’s a biological difference.”
Rodgers is an unsigned free agent after departing the New York Jets after two seasons. The 41-year-old former MVP has been a lightning rod of controversy in the media for expressing conservative opinions during podcast appearances the last four years.
The quarterback was invited to become the running mate of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during Kennedy’s independent presidential campaign in 2024.
Now, Rodgers joins fellow former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre and wide receiver Donald Driver in taking a vocal stance against allowing trans athletes to compete in women’s sports. Favre has been outspoken about the topic since 2021.
TEEN GIRLS OPEN UP ON TRANS-ATHLETE SCANDAL THAT TURNED THEIR HIGH SCHOOL INTO CULTURE WAR BATTLEGROUND
Rodgers spoke out at a critical time in the ongoing debate over the issue. President Donald Trump signed an executive order mandating that institutions across the country allow only biological females to compete in women’s and girls athletics.
However, many Democrat-run states have openly defied Trump’s order, prompting both internal and federal backlash. The U.S. Department of Education is investigating multiple states’ high school sports leagues for potential Title IX violations, and the Department of Justice is engaged in legal battles with Maine and Minnesota over the issue.
A January New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don’t think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women’s sports.
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“Thinking about transgender female athletes — meaning athletes who were male at birth but who currently identify as female — do you think they should or should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports?” the survey asked.
Of the 2,128 respondents who participated, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports.
Of the 1,025 respondents who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.
Among 1,022 Republicans, that number was 94%.
Pro golf greats weigh in as Trump confronts South African president on farmers
A pair of high-profile South African golfers were thrown into a tense exchange at the White House Wednesday.
Ernie Els and Retief Goosen joined Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, for a meeting in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump.
While the meeting between the two leaders got off to a cordial start, the tenor of the meeting took a noticeable turn when Trump confronted Ramaphosa with a video that allegedly showed grave treatment of white farmers. Trump also presented Ramaphosa with documents he claimed were accounts of killings of “thousands” of Afrikaners.
Ramaphosa offered multiple denials to the claims and made it clear the statements made in the videos were not representative of his government’s policies. Els and Goosen were then brought into the discussion.
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Trump welcomed the golfers as he introduced the South African president.
“I really appreciate that you guys came along. It really helps us in our thought process,” Trump said. “You two guys are fantastic,” Trump added. “What a group of golfers South Africa has had.”
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Els previously held the world’s No. 1 golf ranking. He presented his passport and said he was a “proud South African” before referencing “the apartheid era” and calling for unity.
“I know there was a lot of anger through the transition. There was a lot of stuff happening in the apartheid days,” he said. “We grew in the apartheid era, but I don’t think two wrongs make a right.”
Els added he was eager to attend the meeting and hoped it would prove beneficial for his country.
“We really wanted to meet you, meet the administration and see our way forward because we still want to see our country flourish,” Els added.
Goosen, a two-time U.S. Open winner, was asked about the farms in South Africa.
“My dad was a property developer as well as a part-time farmer, and, yeah, some of his buddy farmers got killed. The farm is still going. My brothers run it, but it’s a constant battle with farms. … They’re trying to burn the farms down, to chase you away. So it is, it is a concern to try make a living as a farmer. … Without our farmers, there’s no food on the plate.”
Goosen said his family members who lived on farms had electric fences and lived in fear of crime.
“They left behind electric fences, you know, try to be, at night, safe. But it is constant whenever you leave that something could happen. … Both of them have been attacked in their houses. My mom’s been attacked in our house when she was 80. It is difficult. But the guys live a great life despite everything going on.”
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Els and Goosen are well acquainted with the sitting U.S. president. Prior to Trump’s first term in office, he posted a photo on social media of himself and Els.
“Ernie Els and myself at Trump National Doral,” he captioned the 2013 Facebook post.
Trump is an avid golfer. His real estate portfolio also includes golf courses.