Fox News 2024-08-23 12:08:53


Vivek Ramaswamy sounds off on potential role for RFK Jr in Trump administration

Vivek Ramaswamy is responding to former President Trump’s comments that he would consider Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for an administration role if the third-party 2024 candidate were to drop out and endorse him for re-election. 

Ramaswamy declined to go into specifics when asked by Fox News Digital, but suggested the liberal political family scion could have a hand in crafting U.S. pandemic policies. 

Kennedy was an outspoken critic of vaccine mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic — a stance that earned him ire from others on the left.

“Look, I think let’s let what’s going to happen play out without stepping on any announcements that he’s going to make,” Ramaswamy said in an interview. “But I think RFK Jr. has been thoughtful on a number of issues, particularly on COVID policies. So the failed COVID policies is something that he has been particularly incisive about and insightful about, and so a lot of that requires rectifying those wrongs.”

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He pointed specifically to mandates that forced military service members to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or risk being discharged.

“Think about going back and understanding what the adverse events were for those vaccines that have maybe gone underreported or suppressed — some of those errors related to COVID policy and rectifying past wrongs is somewhere where I could imagine a guy like that being pretty helpful,” Ramaswamy said.

The comments come after Kennedy said he would “address the nation” on Friday amid reports that he’s considering dropping out and endorsing Trump.

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Trump called Kennedy “brilliant” and “very smart” in comments to CNN, and said of a potential role in his administration, “I didn’t know he was thinking about getting out, but if he is thinking about getting out, certainly I’d be open to it.”

As for his own political future under a possible Trump administration, Ramaswamy suggested he was looking at statewide elected roles in his home state of Ohio. 

He was among the possible replacements floated last month after Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, was named Trump’s running mate. If they win, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine would have to appoint someone to serve the remainder of Vance’s term.

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“What I hear a lot about, certainly from people nationally is, of course, my friend JD Vance is hopefully going to be the next vice president. That would leave an important vacuum to fill in the U.S. Senate,” Ramaswamy said.

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“At the same time, a lot of people on the ground are recruiting me in Ohio to even consider options I hadn’t thought about six months ago, like running for governor. So those are all options on the table.”

DNC attendees struggle to name their favorite Harris policy: ‘Like her as a person’

An intern with The Free Press spoke to multiple supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for the presidency, but they struggled to name specific policies of hers they support.

Harris’ campaign has been criticized for not having the vice president hold a press conference or sit down for a formal interview, to explain what her policy agenda would be as president. 

The Free Press intern Julia Steinberg, who also serves as editor-in-chief of Stanford Review, asked multiple DNC attendees to name their “favorite policy” from Harris. 

“Can Democrats at the DNC pick their favorite policy of Kamala’s?” The Free Press account on the X platform wrote.

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“Her being president,” one older man answered to the intern, later adding, that this “because it covers everything that she defends.”

One woman specifically answered, “I’m really excited for her to restore reproductive rights across America.” However, when asked about how Harris would do so, she awkwardly paused, looked at the camera and said “…I don’t know.”

Another attendee had a similar exchange, first answering “Her willingness to move forward on affordable healthcare,” but when asked about how she would do so, replied with a similarly vague answer, “I think she’ll work to motivate the legislature to vote in favor of it.”

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“All of her policies,” an older, grey-bearded attendee said. “Everything fromI’m nonbinary, and soall of the policies for basic human rights. Rights to have our own bodies and do with them as we please, you know?”

“Like, her as a person just, like, tops out any policy. I just — I really admire her,” a young woman said. 

A young man replied by telling the interviewer one must look at things “broadly.”

“So, you have to look at it broadly, right?” he said. “It’s about what she stands for right now.”

Anti-Israel agitators call for ‘intifada revolution’ in Chicago on final night of DNC

CHICAGO – Anti-Israel protesters took to the streets for a fourth night in Chicago Thursday on the last night of the Democratic National Convention where nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, was set to make a historic speech, addressing her supporters. 

Demonstrators met around 5 p.m. before marching, led by Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling and officers. 

The march on Thursday, passing by Park 578, was further away from the United Center, the stadium hosting the DNC, than in previous marches. A large group of riot cops positioned themselves between the marchers and the DNC. 

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Minor skirmishes broke out during the march Thursday, including one involving a counter protester with an American flag. Some of the anti-Israel side also taunted police with a megaphone, saying, “You guys are the ones with guns!” 

Another attendee wearing a “BLM” shirt waved a huge black while taunting police, saying “You guys are scared.” 

Waving signs and Palestinian flags, protesters chanted on bullhorns: “There is one solution, intifada revolution” and “long live the antifada.” 

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Closer to sundown, some attendees started splintering off from the main group and leaving the demonstration. 

Later in the evening, protesters burned an American flag. 

Yacht maker says ‘indescribable’ crew errors led to fatal Sicily shipwreck

The CEO of a manufacturing company responsible for building the yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily this week blamed a series of “indescribable, unreasonable errors” by the crew for the vessel’s demise.

Reuters reported that Giovanni Costantino, CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which includes Perini Navi, the Italian high-end yacht maker that built the British-flagged Bayesian in 2008, directed blame at the crew of the 183-foot superyacht that sank after capsizing Monday.

“The boat suffered a series of indescribable, unreasonable errors. The impossible happened on that boat … but it went down because it took on water. From where, the investigators will tell,” Costantino said in an interview.

Bayesian had 22 people on board — 12 passengers and 10 crew — when it capsized and sank within minutes of being hit by a predawn storm while anchored off the coast of northern Sicily.

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The yacht has been refitted twice since it was built, the most recent time in 2020, but not by Perini.

Costantino ruled out design or construction flaws as reasons the ship sank, saying it was unlikely after 16 years of trouble-free navigation, including in more severe weather than Bayesian encountered this week.

Instead, he blamed the yacht’s crew for the “incredible mistake” of not being prepared for the storm, which was included in shipping forecasts.

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“This is the mistake that cries out for vengeance,” Costantino said.

The passengers should have been called out of their cabins and assembled at a safety point as the ship was preparing for the storm by pulling up the anchor, the CEO said. Additionally, doors and hatches should have been closed, and the keel should have been lowered to increase stability, among other safety measures, Costantino declared.

Had correct procedures been followed, all passengers would have gone back to sleep after one hour, “and the next morning they would have happily resumed their wonderful cruise,” Costantino added.

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Billionaire tech mogul Mike Lynch’s body was among the five recovered from the luxury superyacht after it sank.

Lynch, a British tech titan, was apparently aboard the Bayesian to celebrate his recent acquittal in a U.S. fraud case with associates who helped him through the trial.

Included among the six missing people were Lynch; his 18-year-old daughter Hannah; Christopher Morvillo, an American lawyer with Clifford Chance who defended Lynch in the fraud case; and Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer, who testified in Lynch’s defense.

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Morvillo’s wife, Neda, and Bloomer’s wife, Judy, were also among the missing.

Divers have been searching for the missing in the hull of the Bayesian, which now rests on the seabed 164 feet underwater. Though the sixth person, whom officials said is a woman, remains missing, the operation is considered a recovery since there have been no signs of life over three days of searching.

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A nearby sailboat rescued 15 people, including a 1-year-old girl. The body of onboard chef Recaldo Thomas, an Antiguan citizen, was recovered Monday.

Investigators are seeking to learn why the superyacht sank so quickly.

Supreme Court gives partial victory to Republicans in Arizona voting case

In a 5-4 ruling Thursday, the Supreme Court gave a partial victory to Republicans trying to enforce proof of citizenship when voting in Arizona.

The court was asked to allow enforcement of sections of Arizona law requiring documented proof of citizenship to cast a ballot in the presidential election, including when voting by mail.

The Republican Party of Arizona said on Aug. 15 that it had filed the emergency application pending appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit “in support of HB 2492, our law requiring proof of citizenship to vote in presidential elections.”

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A federal judge had blocked enforcement of the law, which prompted the appeal to the high court for temporary relief.

“The Constitution gives states the power to set voter qualifications, and Arizona is leading the charge to ensure ONLY CITIZENS vote in our elections,” the Arizona GOP tweeted. “This case has the potential to prevent non-citizen voting once and for all, which should have been the case all along.”

An emergency application for stay by the Republican National Committee argues that voter integrity is a “problem” that’s gone unchecked, particularly with so many “illegal aliens” in the country.

When it came to ruling, Justice Thomas, Justice Alito and Justice Gorsuch would have granted the application in full, while Justice Sotomayor, Justice Kagan, Justice Barrett and Justice Jackson would have denied the application in full.

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Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kavanaugh provided a compromise of sorts with their deciding votes.

The now-stalled 2022 state law requiring proof of citizenship was challenged by civil rights groups and the Arizona Democratic Party. 

A 2013 Supreme Court ruling limited when states could impose such restrictions when voting in federal elections.

Stranded astronauts’ spacesuits are incompatible with rescue craft

Two astronauts stranded at the International Space Station after their Boeing spacecraft malfunctioned could be there much longer than anticipated because of an incompatibility with their spacesuits.

NASA told Fox News Digital their Boeing spacesuits are made to work with the company’s spacecraft, while SpaceX’s spacesuits are made to work with its own Dragon vessel, which NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams may ride in on their descent back to Earth.

The two astronauts arrived in the Starliner vehicle June 5 and were only supposed to stay until the middle of the month.

Authorities have been discussing how to safely return them home after discovering helium leaks and propulsion problems.

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Both astronauts are “very familiar” with the International Space Station, said Russ DeLoach, NASA’s chief of safety and mission assurance. The Starliner test flight marked the third mission to the ISS for each of them.

With the commercialization of space, NASA is not as deeply involved as it once was with every aspect of mission and spacecraft design.

As a result, an incompatibility between the spacesuits designed by SpaceX and Boeing has reportedly created an issue returning Wilmore and Williams to Earth.

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“The Boeing spacesuit is made to work with the Starliner spacecraft, and the SpaceX spacesuit is made to work with the Dragon spacecraft,” NASA told Fox News Digital. “Both were designed to fit each unique spacecraft.”

NASA did not confirm whether the issue is detrimental to the astronauts’ return.

Fox News Digital has also reached out to Boeing on the matter.

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On Saturday, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and agency leaders will hold an internal agency test flight readiness review in connection to the Boeing crew flight test. During the review, “any formal dissents will be presented and reconciled,” NASA said.

After the test, NASA is expected to host a live news conference at 1 p.m. from Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The decision to return the Starliner spacecraft to Earth with astronauts is expected to be made no earlier than Saturday.

According to NASA’s website, if the decision is made to return Starliner to Earth without a crew, Wilmore and Williams will remain on the space station until late February 2025.

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NASA would then plan to have the SpaceX Crew-9 mission have only two crew members, instead of four, travel to the space station in September and Wilmore and Williams would return to earth with the two-person crew early next year.

Hamas terror chief reportedly has very personal condition for cease-fire deal

Negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a cease-fire continue to hit stumbling blocks, with the terrorist group’s leaders holding out for guarantees of safety among other demands. 

“Sinwar emphasizes that the security of his life and well-being must be ensured,” an Egyptian official told Israeli outlet Ynet. The officials noted that Sinwar has delivered short and clear messages to avoid confusion as they pass through the “many hands” involved in discussions.

American, Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari officials have pursued cease-fire talks in recent days. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week “accepted” the deal, according to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but reports indicated that Hamas representatives found the deal wholly unsatisfying. 

“The Americans are offering promises, not guarantees,” an unnamed Egyptian official told The Associated Press. “Hamas won’t accept this, because it virtually means Hamas will release the civilian hostages in return for a six-week pause of fighting with no guarantees for a negotiated permanent cease-fire.”

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He also said the proposal doesn’t clearly say Israel will withdraw its forces from two strategic corridors in Gaza, the Philadelphi corridor alongside Gaza’s border with Egypt and the Netzarim east-west corridor across the territory. Israel has offered to downsize its forces in the Philadelphi corridor, with “promises” to withdraw from the area, he said.

Egyptian officials have taken issue with how Netanyahu has acted publicly regarding negotiations. Israeli outlet Haaretz reported that Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told Blinken in a recent meeting that “even if Netanyahu intended to reach temporary understandings with Egypt, he shouldn’t have done it publicly and in the way he did.”

Egypt also continues to press the Palestinian Authority to handle the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, and Israel has rejected Egyptian proposals for a multinational task force that would handle the Philadelphi corridor. 

Chief among the demands remains Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar’s insistence on guarantees of his safety. Sinwar took over as the top official of the terrorist group after former chief Ismail Haniyeh died last month in an explosion in Tehran, for which Iranian officials have blamed Israel. 

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An Israeli official told The Times of Israel, “We are fighting Hamas as if there are no negotiations, and we are negotiating as if there is no war,” citing Netanyahu’s position “that we must apply military and diplomatic pressure on Hamas to reach a deal.” However, the official stressed that Netanyahu stands behind the U.S.-offered “bridging deal” offered last week in Doha, Qatar. 

“So long as Hamas doesn’t agree to a deal, we will continue fighting,” the official said. “Of course, if there is a deal, there will be a lull in the fighting in the first stage. But we will continue fighting until we achieve all of our war aims.”

Sinwar called the tens of thousands killed during Israel’s campaign in Gaza “necessary sacrifices,” pointing to the deaths in Algeria in their fight for independence from France as an example. 

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“We have Israelis right where we want them,” Sinwar said in messages to Hamas officials involved in negotiations in June, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Journal reviewed messages between Sinwar and negotiators in which the Hamas official made clear he believed Israel had more to lose from the war. 

Sinwar had made similar comments about his sons’ deaths, claiming their sacrifices “infuse life into the veins of this nation, prompting it to rise to its glory and honor.” 

Some of Hamas’ supporters around the Arab region have also started to question the logic behind Sinwar’s push, with Palastinian-Syrian commentator Mohamad Kial claiming that “10 times the number of Palestinians killed during the four years” of the second intifada have died since Oct. 7, equating to around a rate of one Israeli for every 30 Palestinians.” 

“It is puzzling how the ‘resistance’ forces who place risky bets on internal crises in Israel fail to see – or do not want to see – that the Palestinian situation is in free fall and have no understanding of the international and regional facts that tend to Israel’s side,” Kial wrote in an article published in an Arab media outlet, according to Haaretz. 

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Sinwar also claimed that “Israel’s journey in Rafah won’t be a walk in the park,” but Israel on Wednesday claimed that “the [Hamas] Rafah brigade has been defeated, and over 150 tunnels have been destroyed in the region.” 

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant during a situational assessment with senior IDF officials in Gaza said, “It is critical to remember the goals of the war and to achieve them – regarding Hamas, regarding the hostages [held by Hamas], and we also understand why we are looking toward the north.”

Researchers make new finding on Turin Shroud that many believe was Christ’s burial cloth

Scientists in Italy have announced stunning new results regarding the age of a controversial relic believed by many of the faithful to be the death shroud of Jesus Christ.

The Institute of Crystallography in Italy shared its findings this week regarding the famous Shroud of Turin, which skeptics have historically called a forgery. It is arguably the most studied relic in history, according to a 2023 Harvard study.

According to the Institute, their dating process involved WAXS, or Wide-angle X-ray scattering. WAXS helped determine that the Shroud appears to consistently date as a 2000-year-old plus relic.

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“The experimental results are compatible with the hypothesis that the T[urin Shroud] is a 2000-year-old relic, as supposed by Christian tradition,” said the Institute of Crystallography on their website.

“We obtained one-dimensional integrated WAXS data profiles for the T[urin Shroud] sample, which were fully compatible with the analogous measurements obtained on a linen sample whose dating, according to historical records, is 55–74 AD, Siege of Masada (Israel),” the Institute added.

The Institute of Crystallography’s 2024 findings contradict the results of a dating test conducted on the Shroud in 1988, which found that it only dated back to about 1350. During the 1988 dating, the Shroud was analyzed by three separate labs. Those results bolstered serious doubts over the Shroud’s authenticity.

The Institute’s new results indicate that “the T[urin Shroud] fabric is much older than the seven centuries proposed by the 1988 radiocarbon dating.”

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The Institute notes that its findings are “experimental,” but that they are compatible with “13 centuries of unknown history, in addition to the seven centuries of known history in Europe.” 

Beyond the scientific world, the faithful worldwide have taken great interest in the Shroud of Turin as potential proof of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

Fox News Digital reached out to Bishop Robert Barron, founder of Word on Fire ministry, regarding the findings.

“I have had a long fascination for the Shroud of Turin. It first came to my attention when I was 16 and I read everything I could about the Shroud- its history and provenance, arguments regarding its authenticity, and the scientific research,” said the Bishop.

“As such the recent news that the use of new technology had led to a different conclusion than a carbon dating test conducted in 1988.  It seems that there is now new evidence that strengthens the hypothesis that the cloth of the Shroud is contemporary to the time of Christ.”

The Bishop clarified, “our faith in Christ’s resurrection is in no way dependent on the Shroud but its uncanny power to capture our attention and many other mysteries have strengthened the faith of many.”

“I believe the continued fascination people have for the Shroud is an indication of the continued relevance of Christ to even a culture as secular as our own. But it also reveals that in the midst of a prevailing secularism people remain drawn to the uncanny, spiritual aspects of our existence and desire to experience for themselves the mysteries of God.”

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The Institute of Crystallography did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.