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Swing state voters say Biden debate performance 'really impactful' on their presidential election decision

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Swing state voters say Biden debate performance 'really impactful' on their presidential election decision

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HOOKSETT, N.H. – Voters in New Hampshire, a key northeastern swing state, say President Biden’s extremely rough performance two weeks ago in his debate with former President Trump will weigh heavily on their decision of whom to support in the 2024 election rematch.

“I’m leaning toward Donald Trump a little bit. Just because, I mean, the debate performance is really, really, really impactful for me, I was really thrown off by Joe Biden’s performance,” a New Hampshire voter named Mario, told Fox News.

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Mario and nearly a dozen other voters shared their views as they stopped Monday at a highway rest area about half between the state capital of Concord and Manchester, which is New Hampshire’s largest city.

Following his extremely rough debate performance in his first face-to-face showdown with Trump, Biden has been attempting to prove that he still has the stamina and acuity to handle the toughest and most demanding job in the world. And he’s trying to prove that he has the fortitude to defeat Trump.

NEWSOM SAYS CALLS BY FELLOW DEMOCRATS FOR BIDEN TO END HIS RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN ‘NOT HELPFUL’

President Biden and former President Trump debate in Atlanta. (Getty Images)

The debate was a major setback for Biden, who at 81 is the oldest president in the nation’s history. His halting delivery and stumbling answers at the showdown in Atlanta sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and a rising tide of public and private calls from within his own party for him to step aside as its 2024 standard-bearer.

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Over the past week and a half, six House Democrats have publicly called on Biden to end his re-election bid. And on Sunday, Fox News and other news organizations reported that four House Democrats who hold top positions on key committees said on a private conference call that the president needed to step aside.

BIDEN TELLS CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS CALLS FOR HIM TO DROP OUT ‘ONLY HELPS TRUMP AND HURTS US’

Biden, in a letter sent to congressional Democrats on Monday as they returned from the July 4th holiday recess, reiterated that he’s “firmly committed to staying in this race” and argued that “the question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it is time for it to end. We have one job. And that is to beat Donald Trump.”

“Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us,” the president added. “It is time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.”

President Biden speaks at a campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

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Mario shared, “I’m not really a Donald Trump person,” adding, “I think Donald Trump is too old, too.”

“But, I mean, out of the two, to me, he was a little bit younger, a little bit more with it. So that’s where I’m leaning toward at the moment.”

William Yacopucci, another New Hampshire voter, said Biden has “been an awesome president. I really like him. I think he can still do a good job for the remainder of this term.”

But, he added, “Three or four years from now, he’s going to be that much older. So, though I really, really like him, I think they should give someone else another shot at it.”

New Hampshire voter Al Byrnes told Fox News he “was very sad that President Biden performed like he did, but in the concept of everything, I would still totally back him tomorrow at this point.”

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“I do wish that he would drop out of the race, but, I would support him or whoever replaces him. Anything but Donald Trump,” Byrnes emphasized.

SOME TOP HOUSE DEMOCRATS URGE BIDEN TO STEP ASIDE

Rose, another New Hampshire voter who said she was leaning toward Trump, offered, “Biden doesn’t seem like he knows what he’s talking about.”

But taking aim at the debate performances of both Biden and Trump, she added, “I felt like they were both just talking circles around each other.”

The voters were interviewed minutes before Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, who’s a top surrogate for Biden’s re-election campaign, arrived at the highway rest area and took aim at the small but growing number of Democratic lawmakers urging the president to end his re-election bid. 

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“It doesn’t help. Let’s be candid here,” Newsom said as he spoke with reporters in New Hampshire, the third swing state that the governor has campaigned in on behalf of Biden since Thursday.

Asked by Fox News about the political damage from such calls from within the party, Newsom said, “Obviously, it’s not helpful, but it’s a handful of people.”

And the governor emphasized that the “overwhelming majority of the caucus” is still supporting Biden. “Every single stop that we’ve had in the six days that I’ve been out, we’ve had to change venues because there were so many people showing up. They’re not giving in to the cynicism, fear, they’re showing up.”

TRUMP GETS BOOST IN POST DEBATE POLLS AFTER BIDEN’S BOTCHED PERFORMANCE

Newsom spoke with reporters soon after White House officials defended Biden’s health and denied he was ever treated for Parkinson’s disease. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre fielded a barrage of questions on Monday afternoon over recent reports that a top neurologist at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center met with Biden’s physician at the White House in January.

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“Has the president been treated for Parkinson’s? No,” she told reporters after being pressed further on the matter. “Is he being treated for Parkinson’s? No, he’s not. Is he taking medication for Parkinson’s? No. So, those are the things that I can give you full-blown answers on.”

Asked if he had any concerns about Biden’s cognitive abilities, Newsom responded, “I don’t.”

“I have spent as much or more time than probably any other governor in the country with him,” Newsom emphasized. “I’ve spent a lot of time with him privately, been with him in many public settings. I was with him just a few days ago with other governors. Been on the phone late at night and early morning, in many, many stressful situations and very casual conversations. And no, I don’t have any doubt about that.”

A handful of national polls conducted entirely after the debate and released last week contained plenty of red flags for the president – including Trump widening his single-digit edge over Biden and deepening concerns of Americans about whether Biden was up to the task of running the country.

Despite his denials, Newsom’s name continuously comes up in media reports as a potential replacement should the president change his mind and decide to end his re-election campaign.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom, a top surrogate for President Biden, speaks with voters during a stop at a highway rest area in Hooksett, New Hampshire, on July 8, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

“I think that’s a legitimate question and I respect it,” Newsom said when asked if he would seek the nomination at next month’s convention in Chicago if the president bows out.

But, he quickly added, “It’s also exactly the question that Donald Trump is hoping everyone asks as he’s out on the golf course.”

Asked if the media attention was an intentional distraction, the governor said, “Of course it is.”

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“Look. It’s intentional. I know how these guys work,” Newsom charged, as he pointed toward conservative media. “This is all very intentionally ginned up in order to create a little mishegoss (a Yiddish word for crazy or senseless behavior or activity).” 

Newsom said, “I don’t take it personally. I don’t take it seriously except to say sometimes I do believe others do take it more seriously than they should.”

And, he argued, “I think it’s intentional mis- and disinformation and it can be very effective, and we have to counter that and that’s why I’m out here.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

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Connecticut

Family called Connecticut police about suspect in D.C. Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, Trump says

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Family called Connecticut police about suspect in D.C. Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, Trump says


Family members of the accused gunman who tried to storm the ballroom at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner alerted police in Connecticut with concerns about the man, the president said Sunday.

In an interview with Fox News Channel, President Donald Trump said the man — who was armed with guns and knives — had written about targeting Trump administration officials.

Separately, police in New London confirmed in a statement that a person contacted them at approximately 10:49 p.m., about two hours after the incident. Police said the person expressed concern about events that unfolded earlier that evening at the dinner.

“The reporting individual wanted to share information they believed to be pertinent to the matter,” the statement said.

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New London police immediately contacted federal law enforcement partners. Both local and federal officers then interviewed the person, according to the statement.

“The New London Police Department remains committed to working collaboratively with our law enforcement partners at all levels to ensure public safety,” the statement said.

New London police said their investigation into the matter is no longer active and directed further inquiries to the U.S. Secret Service. The federal agency didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The suspect, identified by law enforcement officials as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was expected to face criminal charges on Monday from the Justice Department, whose acting leader, Todd Blanche, said the suspect traveled by train from California and checked in as a guest days earlier at the Washington hotel where the Saturday night gala dinner was held with its typically tight security.

Authorities said Allen attempted to charge into the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton but was tackled to the ground in a violent scene that resulted in shots being fired, Trump being hurried off the stage and guests ducking for cover beneath their tables.

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Fox reported Sunday that the White House said Allen’s brother contacted New London police and reported Allen had sent family members “an alleged manifesto outlining his intent to target administration officials.”

During a live telephone interview, Fox News journalist Jacqui Heinrich asked the president to comment on information she said was provided by the White House about the suspected shooter and his motive.

“I’m being told that he had a manifesto saying he wanted to target Trump administration officials,” Heinrich said. “He had a lot of anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric on his social media accounts, and left a manifesto in his hotel room that his brother had notified New London police about prior to this incident.”

She added that secret service agents had been talking to Allen’s family members, and that Allen attended a No Kings protest in California. She asked Trump for his reaction to the new details.

“I heard about the London situation and I wish they would have told us about it a little bit,” Trump said. “But it is what it is.”

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A law enforcement official familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press the suspected shooter sent writings to family members minutes before the attack in which he railed against Trump administration policies and referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin.”

The writings made repeated references to Trump without naming him directly and alluded to grievances over a range of administration actions and recent events, including U.S. strikes on drug smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific, the official said Sunday.

The official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Allen’s brother contacted police in New London after receiving the writings, according to the official.

This story has been updated. Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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Maine

Maine Governor Vetoes Landmark Data Center Moratorium

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Maine Governor Vetoes Landmark Data Center Moratorium


Earlier this month, Maine was firmly on track to become the first state to institute a moratorium on AI data centers.

The state’s Democrat-controlled legislature officially passed a bill that would ban data centers that carry a load of 20 megawatts or more until November 1, 2027, and create a 13-member council to evaluate the impact of data centers. The bill had moved on to Governor Janet Mills for approval.

But this weekend, Mills vetoed the bill, and Maine joined a growing list of states that have tried and failed to instate a data center moratorium.

Mills’ opposition to the moratorium stems from a single data center project planned in a small town in Franklin County.

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“A moratorium is appropriate given the impacts of massive data centers in other states on the environment and on electricity rates,” Mills wrote in a letter announcing her veto decision. “But the final version of this bill fails to allow for a specific project in the Town of Jay that enjoys strong local support from its host community and region.”

The Town of Jay had been reeling from the job loss following the 2023 closure of a mill, and according to Mills, had been looking forward to the hundreds of temporary construction jobs and the several permanent positions that would be created by the data center that is planned for construction on the site of the old mill. Mills said that officials from the Town of Jay, Franklin County Commissioners and the regional Chamber of Commerce all sent letters to her expressing support for the data center project and asking for an exemption.

“I supported the exemption and would have signed this bill if it had included it,” Mills said.

Although she vetoed the bill, Mills announced that she would sign a separate bill that would block data center projects from participating in some state tax incentive programs and would still establish a council that would “examine and plan for the potential impacts of large-scale data centers in Maine.”

If it had passed, the Maine bill would have been the first significant regulatory outcome in the U.S. of rising public dissent against AI and the unprecedented data center buildout it has led to. Artificial intelligence has become a concept particularly unpopular in the public eye, in large part due to its negative impact on mental health, war, the environment, and the job market.

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On top of that, local activists around the country are also staunchly against data center projects, worried about the soaring utility bills, water shortages, air pollution and increased local temperature often associated with the mega structures. In some instances, the opposition has even turned violent, like in Indianapolis, where a shooting took place at the home of a local politician who is in favor of a controversial local data center project. Just a few days after the Indianapolis incident, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s home in San Francisco was hit with a molotov cocktail.

A big tenet of the anti-AI data center push calls for moratoriums on new project developments to give researchers and policymakers time to catch up to the rapidly evolving technology and understand its true impact on local communities, human health, the economy, and the environment. Moratorium supporters claim that with a clearer understanding of AI’s impact, governments can introduce adequate guardrails to ensure the responsible development of these AI data centers.

Mills’ decision in Maine could soon be judged at the ballot box. The governor is running for the Democratic Senate seat in the upcoming Maine primaries, and is currently trailing her opponent Graham Platner in polls. Platner had recently told the press that he thinks Mills should sign the bill into law.



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Massachusetts

Coast Guard search underway for a crew member overboard on Boston-bound cruise

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Coast Guard search underway for a crew member overboard on Boston-bound cruise


A search is underway after a report that a crew member of the C/S Norwegian Breakaway was seen falling from the Boston-bound cruise ship, U.S. Coast Guard officials said Sunday.

The Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England received a report from the C/S Norwegian Breakaway regarding a crew member who had fallen overboard about 12 miles east of Wellfleet. The C/S returned to the last known place of the person and deployed their rescue boat and life rings.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter arrived on scene at around 1 a.m. to assist the search along with a crew from the Coast Guard Station Provincetown, officials confirm.

Officials are currently still conducting an aerial search as of SUnday morning along with the Station Provincetown Crew.

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