‘Obama bro’ confirms bombshell claims in Clooney’s damaging op-ed on Biden
A former adviser to President Obama broke his silence concerning President Biden’s mental fitness on Wednesday, just hours after a damaging op-ed by actor George Clooney was published in The New York Times calling on the president to quit the 2024 race.
“It was not surprising to any of us who were at the fundraiser. I was there. Clooney was exactly right, and every single person I talked to at the fundraiser thought the same thing, except for the people working for Joe Biden, or at least they didn’t say that,” Jon Favreau, a member of the group often referred to as the “Obama bros” during his tenure in the White House, said during an appearance on CNN.
Favreau was citing the same fundraiser as Clooney in his guest essay where the actor claimed the Biden that showed up there was “not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.”
‘OBAMA BROS’ GANG UP ON BIDEN AS LONGSTANDING RUMORS OF TENSION LINGER: ‘HARD TO WATCH’
Clooney wrote that Democratic Party leaders needed to stop trying to convince Americans they “didn’t see what we just saw,” and accused them of ignoring “warning signs” concerning Biden.
Favreau agreed, telling CNN, “I remember my wife, Emily, turned to me after the fundraiser and said, ‘What are we going to do?’ And I said, ‘Well, there is a debate in a week. Either he’ll do well in the debate, and we’ll think he was just tired because he flew all the way back from Europe, and that’ll be that, or he’ll be like this at the debate and then the whole country will be talking about it. So, here we are.”
Favreau’s blunt comments come just a day after he joined two of his fellow advisers and members of the “Obama bros” in dedicating the majority of their latest “Pod Save America” episode to ganging up on Biden following his poor performance in the first presidential debate and in a subsequent interview.
BIDEN CAMPAIGN SCHEDULE REVEALS PRESIDENT’S PLANS AMID CALLS TO EXIT 2024 RACE
“I thought it was bad, and, at times, very hard to watch,” former Obama adviser Tommy Vietor said during the podcast, referencing Biden’s sit-down interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos last week that came as part of an effort by Biden to quell critics calling for him to exit the presidential race.
“The debate was just a bad night. We all saw it,” fellow former adviser Jon Lovett said. “The explanations are kind of vague… That doesn’t do enough to assuage our concerns about what we saw that night. Right? So, the explanations don’t offer anything.”
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Biden has said he will not be leaving the 2024 race, and his campaign is continuing to go “full steam ahead,” as one source put it to Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
Hollywood icon and Biden supporter Michael Douglas changes his tune on president
Actor and longtime Democratic Party supporter Michael Douglas admitted Wednesday he is “deeply concerned” about whether President Biden can win re-election following his debate performance last month.
On ABC’s “The View,” he was asked about calls from the media and some of his fellow Democrats for Biden to abandon his re-election campaign. Douglas seemed torn, describing Biden’s political career in glowing terms, but wondered if this year’s race is too “crucial” to risk on him losing to former President Trump.
“This just happens to be one of these elections that is just so crucial, and it’s really hard,” Douglas said.
GEORGE CLOONEY RUBS ELBOWS WITH BIDEN AT STAR-STUDDED LA FUNDRAISER AFTER CALLING WHITE HOUSE WITH COMPLAINT
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin asked Douglas if he agreed with fellow actor George Clooney’s new opinion piece in the New York Times calling on Biden to step aside, admitting the president had clearly declined.
“Well, I think it’s a valid point,” Douglas replied. “I mean, I’m deeply, deeply concerned. I mean especially, it’s difficult because the Democrats have a big bench. I mean, they’ve got a lot of heavy hitters … A lot of talent.”
The show co-hosts also asked if he agreed with other Democratic Party leaders who seem to be cooling in their support for Biden’s re-election campaign following the debate. They specifically brought up former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., whom co-host Joy Behar noted “seems on the fence.”
CHARLAMAGNE SAYS ‘ALL I HEAR IS EGO’ FROM BIDEN, CALLS ON DEMOCRATS TO CHALLENGE HIM FOR NOMINATION AT DNC
Douglas told the panel that he’s not concerned about Biden’s age now, but he would be worried about it during a potential second term.
“I don’t worry necessarily today or tomorrow, but a year down the line, I worry. I am concerned,” he said.
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., told CNN on Tuesday he thought Biden could lose in a “landslide” to Trump. Several House Democrats have outright called on him to step aside, but Biden has repeatedly said he will continue to run.
Douglas said some Democratic politicians seem to be “going back and forth” on whether they want to keep the president on the ticket.
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“We need courage. We just generally need some strength and courage on the side of both parties,” he said.
Pelosi lashes out at reporter asking if Biden should drop out of the presidential race
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., grew testy with a reporter on Wednesday after being asked about whether she supports President Biden’s candidacy as he faces mounting pressure to drop out of the race.
ABC News reporter Rachel Scott caught up with Pelosi as she was walking in the halls of Congress and asked her if she had talked with Biden about her comments that morning calling on Biden “to decide” if he was going to stay in the race.
“I’m not having any discussions with you, or anyone else, about what I talk to the president about, with all due respect,” Pelosi told Scott in a video shared on X. “I’m not going to be making any comments today, in the hallway, about the fate of our nation, OK?”
Pelosi appeared to become more frustrated as Scott pressed her on whether she wanted Biden to stay in the race.
MEDIA FIGURES SHOCKED AT BIDEN’S ‘BAD’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE: ‘TOTAL AND COMPLETE DISASTER’
“Are you concerned whether or not he can win in November?” Scott asked.
“I think he can win in November,” Pelosi responded.
However, the Democrat lost her cool when Scott asked if she believed Biden “should run for re-election.”
“I’m not—” she said, stopping in the hallway. “Am I speaking English to you? I’m not going to be making any statements about any of that right now in the hallway.”
TRUMP ADDRESSES CALLS FOR BIDEN TO DROP OUT OF 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE: HE ‘DOESN’T WANT TO QUIT’
Fox News Digital reached out to Pelosi’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Biden has said in multiple interviews this week and in a letter to congressional Democrats on Monday that he is committed to staying in the race and believes he can beat former President Trump.
However, while on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Pelosi suggested Biden hadn’t already made up his mind.
“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” she said. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”
“I want him to do whatever he decides to do. And that’s the way it is. Whatever he decides, we go with,” Pelosi added later.
Arriving at her office, the former House Speaker told CBS News’ Jaala Brown that “there are some misrepresentations of what I have said.”
“I never said he should reconsider his decision,” Pelosi added.
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Trump hints at which of three top running mate contenders will make the cut
With the Republican National Convention set to kick off in Milwaukee in five days, speculation is soaring regarding whom former President Trump will name as his running mate.
Sources in Trump’s political orbit tell Fox News and other news organizations that three names are considered to be at the top of the presumptive GOP presidential nominee’s short list.
They are North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Sens. JD Vance of Ohio and Marco Rubio of Florida.
And the former president, in an interview Wednesday on “The Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox Radio,” handicapped his leading contenders.
“Everything’s an issue,” Trump said of concerns regarding the contenders on the list.
TRUMP DROPS MAJOR HINT IN VEEPSTAKES
Trump was interviewed the morning after he headlined a rally at his Doral golf club outside of Miami, where Rubio addressed the crowd earlier in the program.
“Marco was great last night, very popular,” Trump told Fox News’ Kilmeade.
Rubio and Trump traded fire numerous times during the divisive 2016 Republican presidential primaries, but the senator became a strong ally during Trump’s tenure in the White House.
TRUMP AND HIS ALLIES TURN UP THE VOLUME ON BIDEN AFTER LAYING LOW POST-DEBATE
But both Trump and Rubio reside in Florida, and the 12th Amendment to the Constitution states that presidential and vice presidential candidates running on the same national ticket “shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves.”
Asked if the residency issue is a deal-breaker for Rubio, Trump said no.
“But it does make it more complicated. You know, you do that, and it makes it more complicated. There are people that don’t have that complication,” the former president added.
Trump’s use of the word “complicated” three times in his answer may be potentially telling.
Burgum has been a top Trump surrogate since the governor endorsed the former president in January, a month after he ended his own White House bid.
“I think Doug is great,” Trump said of Burgum.
But asked about North Dakota’s six-week abortion ban, which the governor signed into law last year, Trump said “it’s a little bit of an issue.”
Trump, who has angered some social conservative and evangelical leaders for his opposition to a proposed federal abortion ban, said that North Dakota’s law is “a pretty strong ban.”
But Burgum has repeatedly said in recent interviews that abortion should be left up to the states, which puts him in line with Trump.
Vance is a top Trump ally in the Senate and is considered a rising star among loyalists and supporters in the former president’s MAGA orbit.
But a report on Tuesday from the conservative-leaning website The Bulwark suggested that due to Trump’s reported distaste for facial hair, Vance’s beard could potentially be a problem.
Asked about the report, Trump said, “No. I’ve never heard that one.”
“He looks good,” Trump said of Vance. “He looks like a young Abraham Lincoln.”
Trump told Kilmeade that when it comes to his decision, “I think I’m pretty well set in my own mind.”
As for the timing, Trump reiterated, “I’d love to do it during the convention. You know, in the old days, they did it during the convention, and it kept the convention very exciting, actually. So we’ll see about that.”
HALEY URGES HER DELEGATES TO SUPPORT TRUMP
Trump was interviewed the morning after former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley released all of her delegates to next week’s convention and urged them to support the former president.
“The nominating convention is a time for Republican unity,” Haley said in a statement on Tuesday. “I encourage my delegates to support Donald Trump next week in Milwaukee.”
Haley launched her presidential campaign in February of last year, becoming the first major candidate to challenge Trump, who had announced his candidacy three months earlier. She was the final rival to Trump, battling the former president in a contentious two-candidate showdown from the New Hampshire primary in late January through Super Tuesday in early March before dropping out.
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Haley is not planning on attending next week’s convention, aides told Fox News.
“She was not invited, and she’s fine with that,” Haley aide Chaney Denton said. “Trump deserves the convention he wants. She’s made it clear she’s voting for him and wishes him the best.”
Asked by Kilmeade if he’d like to see Haley attend the convention, Trump demurred, saying, “I don’t know. I’m going to take a look at it.”
He added, “There was a lot of bad blood there, and she stayed too long.”
Pointing to another former nomination rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who left the race three days ahead of the New Hampshire primary, Trump said, “DeSantis left right after Iowa. She should have left right after Iowa.”
“She just wouldn’t leave,” Trump added. “Her mistake was she continued on.”
Major ruling handed down for Arizona rancher charged in migrant shooting
An Arizona judge on Tuesday dismissed the case against rancher George Alan Kelly, who was charged with murder after being accused of shooting a Mexican national on his border property.
Kelly, 75, was accused of killing Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, 48, on his 170-acre cattle ranch near Keno Springs outside Nogales, Arizona, on Jan. 30, 2023.
Santa Cruz Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink said the State “has decided not to retry this case following mistrial because another jury would not convict the defendant based upon the same evidence.”
“At best, another hung jury would result. More likely, another jury would acquit,” Fink wrote.
ARIZONA RANCHER GEORGE ALAN KELLY DEFENSE SAYS ‘LONE HOLDOUT’ JUROR BLOCKED ACQUITTAL, STATE WEIGHS 2ND TRIAL
Santa Cruz County prosecutors in April decided not to retry Kelly after Fink declared a mistrial due to a hung jury. Jurors voted in favor of acquitting Kelly 7-1 of second-degree murder or the lower counts of manslaughter, negligent homicide or aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
In his decision, the judge cited a lack of physical evidence and witnesses despite the fact that the shooting occurred more than a year ago; the bullet that allegedly killed Ramirez was never located.
ARIZONA RANCHER DEFENSE CONSULTANT CLAIMS ‘CARTEL INFLUENCE’ IN MURDER PROBE, RIPS SHERIFF’S PAST COMMENTS
The judge also questioned whether the only witness named who came forward, Daniel Ramirez — a man who was walking with Cuen-Buitimea on the night he died — “would even be around for another trial.“
Ramirez testified that he has tried and failed to cross the border 10 times. “There is no assurance that his whereabouts would be known in the future,” Fink said.
ARIZONA RANCHER GEORGE ALAN KELLY’S WIFE TESTIFIES IN MURDER TRIAL, DESCRIBES ARMED MEN NEAR BORDERLANDS HOME
Prosecutors have said that jurors’ opinions about the border may have impacted their decision-making in Kelly’s trial, but Fink said that is only speculation.
The judge described the jury as “rational and diverse” in their 7-1 decision to acquit Kelly.
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“The court finds that the State is not able to articulate a reasonable basis for holding this case ‘open’ with a dismissal without prejudice. The interests of justice are not served by the dismissal without prejudice for a case that cannot and will not be re-tried,” Fink wrote. “The interests of justice are not advanced where the only thing to be accomplished by a dismissal without prejudice … is the harassment of the Defendant.”
Judge sides with doctor suing MSNBC parent for making false statements about him
NBCUniversal faces a defamation lawsuit after a judge ruled that MSNBC hosts, including Rachel Maddow and Nicolle Wallace, made “verifiably false” statements that a Georgia doctor performed unnecessary hysterectomies at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center.
Plaintiff Dr. Mahendra Amin, an obstetrician gynecologist who provided medical care to women detained at the Irwin County Detention Center, was accused in 2020 of performing unnecessary hysterectomies by a nurse at the facility who made a whistleblower complaint.
NBC reporters Jacob Soboroff and Julia Ainsley worked to verify the whistleblower’s claims, and eventually published an article despite initial skepticism from the network’s standards department. MSNBC quickly followed with a series of on-air reports in which the doctor was often referred to as the “uterus collector,” but the whistleblower’s claims were never proven to be true.
“NBC investigated the whistleblower letter’s accusations; that investigation did not corroborate the accusations and even undermined some; NBC republished the letter’s accusations anyway,” Judge Lisa Godbey Wood of the Southern District of Georgia wrote on June 26 in a 108-page summary.
MSNBC WEEKLY VIEWERSHIP HITS 2024 LOW DURING TIME OF CRISIS FOR BIDEN
Wallace, who identified Amin by name, according to the court document, made “multiple statements” that were defamatory when she was the first MSNBC host to discuss the story on-air, the plaintiff claims.
“We are following breaking news today. It’s about an alarming new whistleblower complaint that alleges, quote, high numbers of female detainees, detained immigrants, at an ICE detention center in Georgia received questionable hysterectomies while in ICE custody,” Wallace told “Deadline: White House” viewers.
Amin “performed only two hysterectomies on women detained at the facility,” according to court documents.
That same evening, “All In With Chris Hayes” featured an interview with the whistleblower. Hayes’ MSNBC program also spoke with a lawyer who claims as many as 15 immigrant women were given full or partial hysterectomies or other procedures for which no medical indication existed.
BIDEN DEBATE DEBACLE: 10 EYE-OPENING MEDIA RESPONSES, FROM MSNBC PANIC TO ‘THE VIEW’ CALLING FOR REPLACEMENT
Maddow, MSNBC’s biggest star who reportedly earns $30 million per year despite only hosting her program once a week, amplified the whistleblower claims by passionately covering them on “The Rachel Maddow Show.”
MSNBC regularly informed viewers of an ICE statement that “accusations will be fully investigated by an independent office, however, ICE vehemently disputes the implication that detainees are used for experimental medical procedures.”
Maddow also included a statement from Amin, in which he vigorously denied the whistleblower’s claims.
According to the court document, Maddow “initially questioned reporting on the allegations,” and suggested there was a lot of “jumping to conclusions around the complaint” but proceeded to cover it anyway. “All In with Chris Hayes” did a follow-up later in the week.
MSNBC HOST ATTACKS WHITE HOUSE PRESS CORPS’ ‘GROTESQUE’ BEHAVIOR AGAINST KARINE JEAN-PIERRE
Amin demanded that NBC retract the “false and defamatory” statements from the four MSNBC broadcasts to no avail. The United States Senate investigated the whistleblower claims but failed to confirm the accusations.
The judge detailed that “undisputed evidence has established” that “there were no mass hysterectomies or high numbers of hysterectomies at the facility,” “Dr. Amin performed only two hysterectomies on female detainees from the ICDC,” and the doctor is not a “uterus collector.”
“The Court must look to each of the statements in the context of the entire broadcast or social media post to assess the construction placed upon it by the average viewer,” the judge wrote.
“Viewed in their entirety, the September 15, 2020 episodes of ‘Deadline: White House,’ ‘All In With Chris Hayes,’ and ‘The Rachel Maddow Show’ accuse Plaintiff of performing mass hysterectomies on detainee women. It does not matter that NBC did not make these accusations directly, but only republished the whistleblower letter’s allegations,” the judge continued. “If accusations against a plaintiff are ‘based entirely on hearsay,’ ‘[t]he fact that the charges made were based upon hearsay in no manner relieves the defendant of liability. Charges based upon hearsay are the equivalent in law to direct charges.’”
Wood ordered a jury trial to determine if MSNBC engaged in “actual malice.”
MSNBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Fan pelts country star with object during concert — and the singer immediately responds
Morgan Wallen is no stranger to getting hit with strange objects while on stage.
The country star, who is currently on his “One Night At A Time” tour, stopped by the Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado, and was quite literally hit with a surprise he didn’t see coming.
In a video obtained by Fox News Digital, Wallen was singing his hit “Cowgirls,” when a fan threw a cellphone that hit him directly in the shoulder. With no hesitation, Wallen grabbed the cellphone and threw it in the opposite direction.
MORGAN WALLEN HAS UNDERWEAR THROWN AT HIS FACE DURING CONCERT
WATCH: MORGAN WALLEN HIT BY CELLPHONE DURING COLORADO CONCERT
Last month, Wallen was hit with another surprising item mid-performance: a piece of underwear.
During his show at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, the “Whiskey Glasses” crooner was serenading the crowd before a fan’s blue underwear was tossed directly at his face. Similar to the phone situation, Wallen didn’t allow the disturbance to affect his performance as he kept singing before tossing the underwear back into the crowd.
WATCH: MORGAN WALLEN HAS UNDERWEAR THROWN AT HIS FACE
This week, Bebe Rexha clapped back at a fan who tried to throw something at her mid-performance.
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The “I’m The Drama” singer, who warned she could “bring down a BIG chunk” of the music industry last week in a series of ominous posts to X, stood up for herself again over the weekend, following an incident at her concert in Norway.
Video circulating on social media highlights the moment the peeved singer threatened to take action against whomever tried to throw an object at her while on stage.
“If you hit me with something on stage, I’ll take you for everything you’ve f—ing done. Do not f—ing play with me right now,” she said, before video cut ahead to show Rexha, with the help of her security, trying to identify the problematic concertgoer in the crowd.
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“Which one? Which one?” she barked. “Point to the person. I want to see him,” she told the audience.
“Out. Get the f— out. That’s it. It’s done for you,” she told the person outed by audience members.
Rexha’s frustration likely stems from an incident in June 2023. The 34-year-old was hit in the face with a cellphone during a show in New York City, resulting in the arrest of a man and the singer getting stitches.
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Missing woman’s body found inside storage container in the woods days after disappearing
Authorities are investigating the disappearance of an Indianapolis woman who was found dead inside a storage tote in the woods one week after she was reported missing.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) confirmed to Fox News Digital that the body of Tara Capps, 36, was found in a storage container on the city’s south side in a wooded area on Sunday.
Capps’ family told police that they received a tip that she could be potentially found in a wooded area behind a food distribution center on South Keystone Avenue.
On Sunday, Capps’ family went out to search for her and found her dead inside a storage tote, FOX 59 reported.
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“It’s hard. I don’t wish this on anybody,” Virginia Summers, Capps’ mother, told FOX 59.
Summers said Capps was her oldest daughter and was identified by her fingerprints.
“She did not deserve it. Anybody that does that is just a monster. It’s just uncalled-for,” Summers told FOX 59.
SUSPECTS ARRESTED AFTER MISSING GEORGIA WOMAN FOUND DEAD IN TENNESSEE
The family told FOX 59 they are still not sure how long Capps had been in the woods before being discovered.
Police confirmed that Capps had been reported missing by her family on June 30.
MISSING ARIZONA WOMAN’S BODY FOUND DAYS AFTER HUSBAND ARRESTED
Police told Fox News Digital they are currently treating the case as a homicide investigation, and do not have any information to share on a suspect, motive or manner of death.
A police spokesperson said the department is examining several leads and hammering out some other details, but would know more after receiving the autopsy report early next week.
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“I just hope they find the people that did this. Nobody deserves to be like this ever,” Summers told FOX 59. “I won’t stop. I don’t care if it’s 10 years or 20 years. I will not stop. Until I die, I won’t stop until we have justice. I will not stop.”
Anyone with information is urged to call IMPD Detective Jeremy Ingram at 317-327-3475, or e-mail him at jeremy.ingram@indy.gov.
State considers tourism limits to stop visitors from ‘overwhelming’ its capital
Alaska will consider a new policy to limit the number of visitors to its capital, Juneau, amid concerns about the impact of overtourism, expanding on measures introduced last year.
“It’s about preserving the lifestyle that keeps us in Juneau, which is about clean air, clean water, pristine environment and easy access to trails, easy access to water sports and nature,” Deborah Craig, a resident of Juneau for decades, told The Associated Press.
“There’s this perception that some people are not welcoming of tourists, and that’s not the case at all,” Craig said. “It’s about volume. It’s about too much — too many in a short period of time overwhelming a small community.”
Juneau last year limited visitation to just five cruise ships per day, and last month Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian have agreed to limit the number of passengers visiting the shore per day as well: 16,000 per day Sundays through Fridays and 12,000 on Saturdays starting in 2026, according to the Alaska Beacon.
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The city assembly will also consider a municipal vote in October that could potentially outright ban cruise ships on Saturday. An effort from the nearby city of Sitka tried to put the passenger limits on the ballot, too, but as the measure is currently voluntary, the assembly rejected the motion.
Cruise season runs from early April to late October, and the capital continues to prove a highly popular destination with several glaciers nearby, including the Mendenhall Glacier. Residents in recent years have raised concerns about the increased traffic, congested trails and noise pollution from both cruise ships and helicopter tours.
BOEING AGREES TO PLEA DEAL TO AVOID CRIMINAL TRIAL OVER DEADLY 737 MAX CRASHES
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCLH | NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE HOLDINGS LTD. | 18.75 | +0.09 | +0.48% |
| CCL | CARNIVAL CORP. | 17.75 | -0.16 | -0.89% |
| RCL | ROYAL CARIBBEAN GROUP | 162.59 | -0.56 | -0.34% |
“I know what Juneau used to be, and I know what it could be, and it isn’t now, and so I’m fighting to bring some of that back,” Karla Hart, one of the organizers pushing for a full ban on Saturdays, told the Beacon, saying that the impacts of even decreased tourism will prove overwhelming.
“Ship-free Saturdays is a way to just give everybody in Juneau one day a week without the blanket of impacts on our lives,” she explained. “I believe that if we all have that one day a week without all of the chaos that comes with the cruise industry, that we’ll all be happier and healthier.”
THERE ARE BOATING LIFESTYLES, BUDGET POINTS FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO GET ON THE WATER
Business owners in the city oppose such limits, though, due to the heavy reliance on tourism to sustain them. Laura McDonnell, owner of the Caribou Crossings gift shop in downtown Juneau, stressed that businesses have a place in the community.
“I think that as a community, we really need to look at what’s at stake for our economy,” McDonnell told The Associated Press. “We are not in a position to be shrinking our economy.”
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The cruise industry produces around $375 million in direct investment into Juneau, mostly through passenger spending. Tourism dipped during the coronavirus pandemic, but has spiked in the past 18 months as travel resumed normal levels, with a record 1.6 million cruise passengers visiting Juneau in 2023.