Northeast
Harris leaning into 'pro-Hamas,' 'progressive' wings of Democrat Party with Walz VP pick: GOP strategist
Vice President Kamala Harris’ selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate two weeks out from the Democratic National Convention comes as a bit of a “shock,” and GOP strategists suggest it could hurt her in key battleground states like Pennsylvania, where Gov. Josh Shapiro was purported to have been the favored choice.
“Kamala Harris did not pick Josh Shapiro because antisemitic progressives did not like that he is Jewish,” Mike Berg, spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee told Fox News Digital in a statement. “It was Harris’ first major decision as the nominee, and she caved to the pro-Hamas contingency within the Democratic Party.”
Berg continued that Walz “reinforces” Harris’ “biggest weaknesses: crime and immigration.”
MINNESOTA GOV TIM WALZ, UP FOR HARRIS VP, CRITICIZED FOR ‘REMARKABLE LACK OF LEADERSHIP’ DURING COVID, RIOTS
Vice President Kamala Harris’ selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate two weeks out from the Democratic National Convention comes as a bit of a “shock.” (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
“Kamala Harris helped bankroll the 2020 riots in Minnesota when she promoted the Minnesota Freedom Fund. Walz let Minnesota burn. Kamala Harris supported decriminalizing illegal immigration and abolishing ICE — Walz supported making Minnesota a sanctuary state,” he said.
Earlier this week, a decades-old article resurfaced in which Shapiro wrote of being an Israeli army volunteer and disparaged the Palestinian people. The Philadelphia Inquirer uncovered the essay that he wrote for the Campus Times, the student newspaper of the University of Rochester, from which Shapiro graduated in 1995. In the article, Shapiro stressed his view that “Palestinians will not peacefully coexist,” because “they do not have the capabilities to establish their own homelands and make it successful even with the aid of Israel and the United States.”
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Walz will now join Harris on a multi-state campaign tour in key battleground states over the next few days. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)
Strategists are speculating that Harris may have been primed to pick Shapiro up until the resurfaced op-ed, which could have distanced some of the party’s more progressive base who believe an Israeli ceasefire will put an end to Palestinian casualties.
“That’s 100% of the reason she was willing to sacrifice essentially locking up Pennsylvania for her campaign, dramatically helping them hold the Senate seat in Pennsylvania, and there are three congressional swing seats in Pennsylvania that Shapiro all won overwhelmingly in 2022,” a House Republican strategist told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“All of that would have been taken off the map for Republicans. But because he was pro-Israel, it was effectively disqualifying for her, and she caved to the far left, pro-Hamas wing of the Democratic Party,” the strategist said.
Walz will now join Harris on a multi-state campaign tour in key battleground states over the next few days, as Harris attempts to rebrand herself as a moderate candidate and distance herself from her past progressive positions.
TRUMP CAMP SAYS HARRIS-WALZ ‘DANGEROUSLY LIBERAL’ TICKET IS ‘EVERY AMERICAN’S NIGHTMARE’
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is believed to be a top candidate to be VP for Kamala Harris.
Nate Benefield, senior vice president at the Commonwealth Foundation, told Fox News Digital, “This move really seems like it was more focused on solidifying the progressive base of the Democratic Party.”
“I don’t know that the VP choice really makes a dramatic difference nationwide, but, a couple of points in Pennsylvania, may be the margin,” Benefield said. “I think this does indicate that their decision was less about the swing states but energizing the progressive base.”
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Meanwhile, when it comes to Harris attempting to appear more moderate with the launch of Republicans for Harris this week, Benefield said, “There’s a long track record there of these progressive ideas that really don’t appeal to voters in in Pennsylvania and Michigan, Wisconsin and other swing states.”
Walz, 60, is a former U.S. Army National Guard member and a former teacher who has raised his profile in recent weeks as an effective advocate for Harris. He grew up in a small town in Nebraska, and was also a football coach and union member at a high school in Minnesota before getting into politics. Recently, he attacked former President Trump and his running mate JD Vance as “weird,” a viral insult the Harris campaign has embraced.
A former member of Congress from a Republican-leaning district, Walz has proven appeal with rural, white voters, though he has also championed progressive policies as governor, such as free school meals and expanded paid worker leave. While Minnesota is a solidly Democratic state, it is close to Wisconsin and Michigan, two crucial battlegrounds.
Fox News Digital’s Peter Aitken, Andrew Mark Miller and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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Northeast
Video shows masked thieves using sledgehammer in brazen Lululemon heist before fleeing in U-Haul
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Pennsylvania authorities revealed Tuesday that surveillance video captured a brazen Lululemon smash-and-grab, with two masked individuals using a sledgehammer to carry out the overnight break-in.
The suspects, seen grabbing armfuls of merchandise during multiple rounds of theft, reportedly fled in a U-Haul truck, Lower Merion Police told Fox 29 Philadelphia.
The incident in the Ardmore shopping center reportedly occurred just before 2 a.m. Tuesday and resulted in an estimated $5,000 in stolen merchandise.
In the video released by police, two masked suspects dressed in all black swung what appeared to be a sledgehammer into the store’s windowed entrance. They then quickly rushed through the opening without hesitation, immediately targeting winter coats and shirts in the men’s section.
Surveillance footage shows a masked suspect smashing through a Lululemon store entrance during an overnight break-in. (Lower Merion Police/Fox 29 Philadelphia)
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The suspects appeared to grab entire racks of puffer jackets and sweatshirts before returning outside. The video then shows the men returning to the store a second time after dropping off the stolen items to take even more merchandise.
The footage shows the heist lasted roughly five minutes.
The thieves fled after loading the stolen merchandise into the bed of a U-Haul pickup truck parked outside, Fox 29 reported.
SUSPECTED THIEVES CAUGHT ON CAMERA SMASHING WASHINGTON STATE STOREFRONT WITH TRUCK IN ATM HEIST ATTEMPT
Police say suspects fled in a U-Haul truck after the overnight Lululemon smash-and-grab. (Lower Merion Police/Fox 29 Philadelphia)
By the afternoon, the store had reopened, but the front door’s glass remained shattered, with a large banner placed in front of the entrance, the local station reported.
According to an employee from another business nearby, Tuesday’s incident was not the first time the Lululemon store was targeted.
“I walked out here with my bartender, and we looked, and it’s scary that it’s happening right across the way from us,” Gina Picciano, general manager of Lola’s Garden, told Fox 29.
MASKED LOOTERS CAUGHT ON CAMERA TRASHING FLORIDA STORE, STEALING CLOTHES
The Lululemon store’s glass entrance was left shattered after the smash-and-grab burglary, authorities said. (Lower Merion Police/Fox 29 Philadelphia)
Last year, Picciano said, a theft occurred during store hours.
“All of the sudden, a bunch of people were just running out with armfuls of stuff. So, it happens in broad daylight,” Picciano added. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s night or day, and that’s crazy.”
The Lower Merion Police told Fox 29 that delayed alarm alerts can delay response times, emphasizing crime prevention and partnerships with merchants.
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“Sometimes there’s a delay in receiving these calls with Lululemon because their operations center, they’re the ones that receive the video and the alarm,” Superintendent of Police Andy Block said. “Prevention here is the key for this, and we’re always concerned about the criminal element coming into our communities. And our officers work all the time to try to prevent this. We want to work with our merchants to try to make our community safer.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Lower Merion Police and Lululemon for more information.
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Boston, MA
Ex-Yankees 1st-rounder among non-roster invitees to Red Sox spring training
Come February a former New York Yankees first-round draft pick, will get a chance to prove himself to their longtime rivals.
Left-hander T.J. Sikkema, 27, is one of seven non-roster invitees to Red Sox spring training, the club announced Tuesday.
Catcher Jason Delay, infielder Vinny Capra, lefty Alec Gamboa, and right-handers Osvaldo Berrios, Hobie Harris and Devin Sweet round out the group.
The Yankees drafted Sikkema 38th overall in the ‘19 draft. He was one of three minor league pitchers they dealt to the Kansas City Royals for former Red Sox star Andrew Benintendi at the ‘22 MLB trade deadline.
Sikkema spent the last two years in the Cincinnati Reds organization. Last year he reached Triple-A for the first time, and pitched to a 3.47 ERA over five games (four starts) with nine earned runs allowed over 23.1 innings, following the late-August promotion.
While the Red Sox had a top-ranked farm system last year, their catching depth is notoriously thin. Delay, 30, has 134 games of big-league experience with the 2022-24 Pittsburgh Pirates, including 131 behind the dish, a career .231/.333/.400 line in the majors. He spent last season with the Double-A and Triple-A levels of the Atlanta Braves organization.
Capra, 29, appeared in 47 major league games last season, 24 with the Milwaukee Brewers and 23 with the Chicago White Sox. Since his debut with the ‘22 Toronto Blue Jays, he has played 67 big-league games over the last four years.
Though a lifetime .133/.181/.188 hitter in the majors, Capra brings defensive versatility to the table. In just 58 fielding games, he has already covered third base, second, shortstop, left and right field, and made three pitching appearances.
Gamboa, 28, comes to the Red Sox after a season split between the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets and the Lotte Giants of the Korean Baseball League. He was the Dodgers’ ninth-round pick in ‘19, and owns a 4.23 ERA over 131 career minor league games, including 41 starts.
Berrios is one of several former St. Louis Cardinals who will be in Red Sox camp next month. The Puerto Rico native split last season between Cardinals’ Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis. Working primarily in relief, he logged a 5.12 ERA and struck out 62 over 58 innings (40 games, four starts).
Harris’ name will likely be familiar to Red Sox fans, as he spent all of last season in Triple-A Worcester. The 32-year-old righty posted a 4.05 ERA with 45 strikeouts over 31 relief appearances and one start. He also has 16 games of major league experience, from his time with the ‘23 Washington Nationals.
Like Sikkema, Harris is a former Yankees draft pick; they selected him in the 31st round in 2015.
The Red Sox signed Sweet to a minor league deal last month. He has seven games of big-league experience between the ‘23 Seattle Mariners and then-Oakland Athletics. He spent last season with the Philadelphia Phillies’ Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, with whom he posted a 5.08 ERA over 46 games, including two starts, and struck out 49 batters in 51.1 innings.
Tumbling from top spot
Entering last spring training, the Red Sox earned the top spot in Baseball America’s farm system rankings for the first time since the publication began their assessments in 1984.
“The Red Sox have returned to the top of the farm system rankings, even after dealing four prospects to the White Sox to bring Garrett Crochet to Boston,” Baseball America’s explanation stated. “No other organization can match the trio of Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer, and Boston’s pitching depth has improved as well.”
The publication’s annual Prospect Handbook ranks the Red Sox 14th.
Chalk some of that up to the aforementioned trio making their respective big-league debuts and progressing out of prospect eligibility. Players like Anthony don’t exactly grow on trees.
Other top prospects, like slugging outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia, have since been traded away. (Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow has made a staggering 49 trades since taking the reins in November ’23.)
At present, most of Boston’s current top prospects are in the lower levels of the farm system. Three of the organization’s top five on MLB Pipeline are expected to debut in 2027 or later; the exceptions are lefties Payton Tolle (No. 2) and Connelly Early (No.4), who both debuted late last season but remain prospect-eligible.
Pittsburg, PA
Puppy zipped in suitcase almost ready for adoption at Pittsburgh rescue
A puppy is being cared for by the Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh in Homewood after police said his owner zipped him inside a suitcase on Christmas Day.
When you see him, you would never know how his little life got started. The little white dog loves to play and has quickly become a favorite at HARP.
However, nearly two weeks ago, Pittsburgh police said his owner, 56-year-old Jayme White, zipped him inside a suitcase she was carrying on Christmas Day. They said a witness told them she was yelling at the dog and hit it several times before putting it in the bag.
Now White is facing several charges, including animal neglect and public drunkenness.
HARP executive director Dan Cody said animal control brought them the puppy the next morning.
“When the dog arrived, he was in relatively good condition, given the circumstances,” Cody said.
They couldn’t find any signs of physical abuse.
“He was a little bit shy, but he very quickly warmed up,” Cody said.
They believe he’s about two and a half months old now, and expect he’ll be a large breed. Most importantly, they said he’s completely healthy.
“He’s just so energetic and loving,” Cody said.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office told KDKA that White has surrendered custody of the animal to the rescue, so once he’s neutered, microchipped and vaccinated, he should be up for adoption in the coming days.
“We’ll find a great home for him,” Cody said.
While the circumstances remain unclear, Cody hopes this case serves as a reminder that owning a pet comes with a great responsibility.
“If you do know someone who is struggling or needs help, we are a place where you can come for resources,” Cody said.
White is now out of jail after a judge ruled she get a mental health evaluation. Her preliminary hearing is set for April.
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