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Tulare Lake, once a vast freshwater body in California, has reappeared after 130 years due to heavy snowmelt, highlighting historical water management practices and impacting the San Joaquin Valley.
The audio of ex-president Joe Biden’s bombshell interview in which he struggles to recall his son Beau’s death during a 2023 probe has been leaked.
A special counsel report by Robert Hur at the time declared Biden “wilfully retained and disclosed classified materials” but declined to charge him with a crime.
Biden delivers remarks at the House Democratic Caucus Issues Conference, in Leesburg, Virginia, USA[/caption]
US Attorney Robert Hur arrives at US District Court in Baltimore in 2019[/caption]
Biden (R) talks with his son, US Army Captain Beau Biden (L) at Camp Victory in 2009[/caption]
The investigation said the ex-president was unable to recall significant life events such as the dates he served as VP, and the year his son Beau died.
Explaining the lack of charges at the time, Mr Hur said: “At trial, Mr Biden would likely present himself to a jury as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
While the transcripts of the interview with Hur became public last year, now the first audio recording of the bombshell interview has surfaced.
The ex-president sat and spoke with Hur for five hours over two days in the fall of 2023 as part of the special counsel’s probe.
In one clip published by Axios, Biden was asked where he kept papers on matters he was “actively working” on after he left office as vice president to Barack Obama in 2017.
He takes a long pause before saying: “I don’t know”.
And at another point, Biden is even heard asking: “Am I making any sense to you?”
The Democrat also struggled to remember when his eldest son Beau died, and looked for confirmation from those sat in on the interview.
Biden asked: “What month did Beau die? Oh, God, May 30th.”
Two people in the room then finish his sentence, confirming “2015”.
Biden then questioned: “Was it 2015 he had died?”
The ex-president then proceeds to talk about unrelated things that occurred during that time period, like those around him encouraging him to run for president in 2016.
Biden is heard saying: “Remember, in this time frame, my son is… uh… would’ve been deployed or is dying and so… it was… and by the way there were still a lot of people at the time, when I got out of the Senate, that were encouraging me to run in this period – except the president.”
In another bombshell clip from Axios, upon being asked whether he knew he’d kept a memo related to Afghanistan, Biden first responded: “I don’t know that I knew.”
But when pressed more, he said: “I guess I wanted to hang onto it just for posterity’s sake.”
Straight after, one person from Biden’s team interjected and tried to clarify the ex-president’s answer.
They said: “I just really would like to avoid for the purpose of a clean record, getting into speculative areas.
“His recollection, as I understand it, is he does not recall specifically intending to keep this memo after he left the vice presidency.”
President Joe Biden endured weeks of calls to step aside before he announced on July 21 that he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race. Here are key developments leading up to his decision.
June 27: Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump sparks calls for him to step aside. His voice was raspy and he trailed off several times after having already endured questions about his age and mental capacity following a series of blunders at public events.
July 2: Polls after the debate indicate that Trump is pulling ahead. Texas Representative Lloyd Doggett was the first Democratic congressman to publicly urge Biden to drop his bid for re-election, and big Democratic donors issued the same call a day later.
July 5: Biden does a live TV interview with George Stephanopoulos where he tries to quell fears about his age and debate performance. He called the debate “bad night” and said he was under the weather and “exhausted.”
July 10: Vermont Senator Peter Welch becomes the first senator to call for Biden to drop out.
July 11: Biden refers to Ukrainian President Zelensky as President Putin at a NATO event.
July 13: Trump is shot at a campaign rally by a wannabe assassin. His popularity and favorability rating soared after he was seen bloodied on stage but walked off with a fist in the air, telling the crowd to “fight!”
July 17: California Representative Adam Schiff and a series of other Democrats call for Biden to step aside. Even former President Barack Obama tells allies that Biden’s path to victory has “greatly diminished.” Biden tests positive for Covid-19 hours after saying he would consider ending his bid if he were diagnosed with “some medical issue.”
July 19: Biden insists he will continue campaigning in his first statement since Obama’s U-turn, despite reports that he would decide to drop out by the weekend.
July 21: Just before 2 pm, Biden announces he is stepping aside in the 2024 election and endorses Vice President Kamala Harris.
Despite Hur declining to bring charges against Biden, in a final report he said how keeping the documents on foreign policy still presented “serious risks to national security”.
Biden and his team slammed Hur’s characterization of the former president as inaccurate and unfair.
The ex-president defended himself at the time, insisting: “My memory is fine.”
A bombshell new book alleges the White House covered up Biden’s condition, which at one point last year was said to be so severe that aides even discussed putting him into a wheelchair.
In the book called Original Sin by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, it’s claimed that Biden was even unable to recognise Hollywood legend George Clooney or remember the names of key aides.
In February, Trump told Joe Biden “YOU’RE FIRED” after halting his access to daily intelligence briefings as revenge for the ex-president doing the same to him four years prior.
Trump slammed the Democrat on his Truth Social platform, saying there was “no need” for him to “continue receiving access to classified information”.
The Republican already revoked the security clearance of over four dozen former intelligence officials whom he accused of fiddling with the 2020 election which he branded the “greatest fraud in US history”,
He posted on Friday evening that the Democrat “set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (ME!) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents.”
Biden barred Trump from receiving intelligence briefings that are usually given to former presidents, justifying his actions by claiming Trump’s behavior before the Capital attack was concerning.
The precedent set by the Democrat means Trump can too stop his predecessor’s access to daily intelligence briefings.
But Trump also says he wants to revoke Biden’s security clearance.
The Republican added that he “could not be trusted with sensitive information,” pointing to a justice department inquiry into Biden’s storage of classified files from his time as Barack Obama’s vice-president.
Joe Biden meets with Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in late 2024[/caption]
Britain is working with the U.S. to ensure a ceasefire between India and Pakistan endures and that “confidence-building measures” and dialogue take place, foreign minister David Lammy said on Saturday. How do Indians feel about the ceasefire? Details …
The incident was just hours after Moscow and Kyiv held their first direct peace talks in years.
Gaza health officials say more than 250 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since Thursday, in a return to some of the deadliest bombing campaigns of the war
THIS is the shocking moment ten inmates – some even convicted killers – broke out of a New Orleans jail while a staff member was on her food break.
Only three fugitives have been recaptured, three jail staff have been suspended – and seven men are still on the loose.
Two inmates can be seen yanking open a cell door[/caption]
The ten men bolted out of the prison building[/caption]
Inmates ran onto the streets – where seven still roam free[/caption]
Police discovered the prisoners were missing from the Orleans Parish Justice Center in New Orleans during an 8.30 am head count on Friday morning.
The men escaped through a hole in their cell behind the toilet, according to The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, who released images of the scene.
They reportedly crawled into a pipe chase, made their way to a loading dock and and then scaled the prison wall.
In shocking surveillance footage, two men are seen kicking and pulling at a door before yanking it open.
Separate footage shows the moment all ten inmates bolt from their cell block.
Another video then reveals the men exiting the prison premises, using blankets to scale a barbed wire fence.
Finally, the inmates can be seen sprinting across a dimly lit motorway.
Police have revealed that only one staff member was assigned to their cell pod.
The civilian technician was eating at the time of their escape – and it was only after several hours that the prison break discovered.
Three prison staff have been suspended, according to The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office.
It is unclear whether the woman on her food break was among them.
Hours after the escape, inmate Kendell Myles was found hiding underneath a car in a hotel parking garage in the French Quarter.
Later on in the day, Robert Moody and Dkenan Dennis were the second and third escaped inmates to have been captured by cops.
The remaining seven are still at large.
It remains unclear how the fugitives were able to break loose, but officials said they were investigating whether any correctional officers had helped them out.
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said on Friday that the inmates could have been given tools to assist with their escape.
She said: “It’s almost impossible, not completely, but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help.”
She said the men were able to get out of as a result of “defective locks”.
It is also unclear how some of the men obtained regular clothes.
Hutson said her department was working with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to search for the inmates.
She added: “We are launching a full investigation to determine how this escape occurred, including reviewing facility protocols, staff performance and physical security measures.”
Orleans Parish district attorney Jason Williams said: “These inexcusable failures have put lives in danger.
“This represents a complete failure of the most basic responsibilities entrusted to a sheriff or jail administrator.”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill similarly said the escape was “beyond unacceptable”.
She said local authorities should have informed the public sooner.
She added that the inmates have had plenty of time to get to “frankly anywhere across the country”.
The inmates left taunting messages above the hole where they escaped[/caption]
They wrote ‘we innocent’, ‘catch us when you can’ and ‘to easy lol’[/caption]
A huge chunk of the wall was ripped out by the inmates[/caption]
Kendell Myles, a 20-year-old who has a history of breaking out of jail, was the first inmate to be captured[/caption]
The inmates behind the prison break were identified as Antoine Massey, Lenton Vanburen, Leo Tate, Kendell Myles, Derrick Groves, Jermain Donald, Corey Boyd, Gary Price, Robert Moody, Decannon Dennis, and Keith Lewis.
Myles, 20, faces charges for concealing a weapon, bringing contraband into prison, and possession of contraband.
He has a history of escape. In July 2022, he escaped Bridge City Center, then was accused of carjacking and shooting a man in Uptown New Orleans.
He was indicted in that case.
Groves, 27, is an accused killer who was arrested on a second-degree murder charge and an attempted second-degree murder charge.
Donald, 42, has also been arrested on a second-degree murder charge and has been accused of aggravated battery and possession of a firearm.
Boyd, 20, is another at-large criminal who is accused of second-degree murder and aggravated battery.
Massey, 33, was jailed on domestic abuse charges involving strangulation and car theft.
Vanburen, 27, was arrested for illegally carrying weapons, obstruction of justice, and introducing contraband into prison.
Tate, 31, was arrested for burglary, possession of a firearm, and illegally carrying a weapon with a controlled substance.
Moody, 21, was arrested on weapons and drug charges.
Price, 21, was arrested for simple assault, criminal damage, domestic abuse, battery, and assault with a weapon.
Dennis, 24, was arrested for multiple illegal weapons charges, extortion, kidnapping, armed robbery, and theft.
All the fugitives are considered armed and dangerous, according to police[/caption]
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Russian Drone Strikes Civilian Shuttle Bus in Ukraine The New York TimesNine reported killed in Russian strike on civilian bus in Ukraine BBCNine killed in strike on bus in Ukraine’s Sumy region, officials say The Washi…
President Trump announced plans for the call after a Russian drone attack killed nine on a civilian bus in northeastern Ukraine.
Pluto is no longer considered a planet because it doesn’t meet all the criteria set by the International Astronomical Union.