South
Trump targets Biden, Harris over federal response to hurricane: 'Incompetently managed'
As President Biden spends a second straight day surveying damage and getting briefed on recovery and relief efforts in the storm-damaged Southeast, he’s once again coming under political attack from former President Trump.
As the death toll from Hurricane Helene climbs to close to 200 people, with hundreds still missing, millions still without power or running water, and damage estimated in the billions, Trump took to social media on Thursday morning to paint Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris as incompetent.
“Kamala and Sleepy Joe are universally being given POOR GRADES for the way that they are handling the Hurricane, especially in North Carolina,” Trump charged in a social media post. “It is going down as the WORST & MOST INCOMPETENTLY MANAGED ‘STORM,’ AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, EVER SEEN BEFORE.”
Trump, who’s locked in a margin-of-error race with Harris with less than five weeks to go until Election Day in November, has been attacking the vice president and her boss over the federal response to the powerful storm for nearly a week.
BIDEN, HARRIS, INSPECT STORM DAMAGE WITH TRIPS TO SOUTHEAST
Former President Trump visits Valdosta, Georgia, a town impacted by Hurricane Helene, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
And with two of the hardest hit states – North Carolina and Georgia – two of the seven key battlegrounds that will likely determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, the hurricane has become front-and-center in the White House race.
Trump this past weekend accused the president of “sleeping” at his beach house in Delaware as the storm blasted the Southeast.
NORTH CAROLINA RESIDENTS FIGHT FOR THEIR SURVIVAL
And speaking with reporters as he arrived in Valdosta, Georgia, on Monday to survey storm damage and bring relief aid, the former president charged that “the federal government is not being responsive.”
And he falsely claimed that Biden had not spoken with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a conservative Republican.
Pushing back against the political attacks, Biden has noted that he was on the phone with federal, state and local officials throughout the weekend and returned to the nation’s capital on Sunday afternoon to monitor storm rescue and relief efforts.
“We had over 1,000 federal personnel, including search and rescue teams, at the ready on the ground before it hit,” the president said on Tuesday. “Over the past several days, I’ve been in regular contact with the governors, the mayors, the county officials, and all the affected areas. That includes Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Virginia.
And Biden emphasized that his administration has sent “every available resource that we have at our disposal to the affected region” and pledged “we’ll be there until this work is done.”
HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON HELENE’S HAVOC
More than half of the deaths from the storm are in North Carolina, where entire communities in the western part of the state were demolished by fast-moving waters.
As the floodwaters from the storm receded, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper lamented that, in the western part of his state, “communities were wiped off the map.”
President Biden and Gov. Roy Cooper greet first responders after touring areas impacted by Hurricane Helene, at the ariport in Greenville, South Carolina, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
The president on Wednesday was in North Carolina, where he surveyed damage from a helicopter flight over the city of Ashville, one of the hardest hit areas. Biden also visited a rescue command center in the state before also stopping in neighboring South Carolina.
“My top priority is to ensure the communities devastated by this hurricane get the help and support they need as quickly as possible,” Biden told reporters Tuesday as he spoke during a Cabinet meeting focusing on the federal response.
And the president ahead of his trip to the region green-lighted the use of up to 1,000 active duty troops to support relief efforts.
And huddled with Democratic and Republican politicians from the region on Wednesday, Biden emphasized that “in a moment like this, we put politics aside, at least we should put it all aside. We have here – there are no Democrats or Republicans, only Americans – our job is to help as many people as we can, as quickly as we can, and as thoroughly as we can.”
Trump on Sunday attacked Harris for attending “fundraising events with her radical left lunatic donors” in California over the weekend. And he argued that Harris “ought to be down in the area” where the storm caused destruction.
On Monday during his stop in Georgia, Trump repeated the dig, saying, “The vice president, she’s out someplace campaigning looking for money.”
The White House has highlighted that the vice president over the weekend was on the phone with federal, state and local officials.
Harris said on Saturday that she and the president “remain committed to ensuring that no community or state has to respond to this disaster alone.”
On Monday, Harris visited FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she received a briefing on relief and rescue efforts.
“We will do everything in our power to help communities respond and recover,” Harris vowed.
Harris on Wednesday traveled to Georgia to survey the impacts of the storm and receive an on-the-ground briefing and provide updates on the federal response.
“We are here for the long haul,” Harris told residents in Augusta, Georgia. “There’s a lot of work that’s going to need to happen over the coming days, weeks, and months, and the coordination that we have dedicated ourselves to will be long-lasting to get families, to get residents, to get neighborhoods back up and running.”
Harris was originally scheduled to take part Wednesday in a campaign bus swing through central Pennsylvania, another key battleground state, with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
With the vice president headed to Georgia, Walz headlined the bus tour, which came the day after he faced off in the running mates debate against Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, the GOP vice presidential nominee.
During his Monday stop in Georgia, Trump highlighted that “I’ve come to Valdosta with large semi-trucks, many of them filled with relief aid. A tanker truck filled up with gasoline, a couple of big tanker trucks filled up with gasoline, which they can’t get now. And we’ll be working to distribute it throughout the day.”
And a GoFundMe page set up by the Trump campaign earlier this week has raised over $4 million so far for storm victims.
“I’m committed to traveling to the impacted areas as soon as possible, but I’ve been told that it would be disruptive if I did it right now. We will not do that at the risk of diverting or delaying any of the response assets needed to deal with this crisis,” Biden told reporters on Monday.
And Harris said on Tuesday, “I plan to be on the ground as soon as possible – but as soon as possible without disrupting any emergency response operations, because that must be the highest priority and the first order of business.”
Vice President Kamala Harris greets people who were impacted by Hurricane Helene in Augusta, Georgia, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, as Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson watches at right. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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But the optics of Trump’s Monday stop in Georgia may have put some political pressure on Biden and Harris.
Longtime Republican strategist David Kochel said Trump had been “very aggressive” with his quick trip to the storm-damaged region.
“I think he put a lot of pressure on them to try to do something,” Kochel, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns, told Fox News. “He’s out there pushing a line that they don’t care – they’re not doing anything and I think they’re reacting to it.”
The response by elected officials to natural disasters can impact their political standing.
President George W. Bush was heavily criticized in the summer of 2005 for his initial response to Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans.
And Trump faced criticism early in his White House tenure as Puerto Rico struggled to recover from a powerful storm. The president was pilloried for throwing paper towels to the crowd as he stopped by a relief center during a storm-related visit to the island.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
As week five of the NFL season approaches, discussion of which NFL head coaches are on the hot seat is trending. One big name is Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy. Why is McCarthy on the hot seat? McCarthy’s 1-3 NFL playoff record with Dallas leaves much to be desired. He is on the final year of his contract with the Cowboys.
One college football coach to keep an eye on is USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley. Coach Riley’s name is already in discussion to be a top candidate, along with legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick.
On the first Sunday of the 2024 NFL season, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott signed a four-year extension. This contract makes Prescott the Cowboys quarterback for the foreseeable future. If there is one coach that can bring out the best in Prescott it is Coach Riley. He has coached several NFL quarterbacks, including Caleb Williams, Jalen Hurts, Kyler Murray, and Baker Mayfield.
Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb also signed a four-year extension with the Cowboys in September. This keeps Prescott and Lamb together. With the top offensive pieces already there, Coach Riley would be coming into a team with some elite talent.
The Cowboys are 2-2 coming off of an NFC East win against the New York Giants. Dallas lost to the New Orleans Saints and the Baltimore Ravens.
So far, Prescott has thrown for 1,072 passing yards and six touchdowns, with two interceptions and has been sacked 10 times this year. There has been little to no run game for the Cowboys offense. They have a total of 301 rushing yards this year. The leading rusher is running back Rico Dowdle with 134 yards.
McCarthy was hired as the Cowboys head coach in January 2020. The 2020 season was the worst by the Cowboys under McCarthy’s reign only winning six games. From 2021 to 2023 the Cowboys ended the regular season with a 12-5 record. The issue has not been in the regular season as much as it has been in the playoffs.
The Cowboys have not made it past the divisional round with McCarthy as the coach. Dallas lost in the wildcard round in 2021 and 2023 and lost in the divisional round in 2022. The wild card loss from the 2023 season was a blowout by the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys were the number two seed, and the Packers were the seventh.
Even if McCarthy and the Cowboys turn it around in the regular season, it is the playoffs that matter. If they lose in playoffs early again, it is expected that this is the end of Coach McCarthy’s time in Dallas.
Throughout Coach Riley’s career, he has not yet made the move to the NFL. There is no indication of if he would be interested in the job yet. He is currently focusing on the 2024 USC season. Riley is a constant name brought up during NFL coaching changes though, and this could be the year he does move to the league.
Before the Cowboys hired McCarthy in 2020, Riley was the name to watch during that time as well. Considering Coach Riley’s name has been involved with the Cowboys since the 2019 season if McCarthy does lose his head coaching job, Coach Riley’s name will be one to watch.
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If you’re thinking about buying a condo in Miami, you might want to hold off.
According to a new report from UBS, Miami has the highest bubble risk among all the cities it surveyed globally.
UBS (UBS) said that while the boom in Miami housing has “somewhat” cooled thanks to higher mortgage rates, prices in the city have risen by almost 50% since the end of 2019. Seven percent of that growth happened in the last four quarters.
“Price rises in recent years have strongly decoupled from income and rental growth, leading to significant imbalances in the residential property market and a high bubble risk,” UBS said.
The Miami market, according to the report, has been fueled by rich people competing with each other for a select amount of luxury oceanfront property.
Another factor contributing to the high bubble risk is new regulatory requirements for condos older than 30 years, which has led to a flood of those properties on the market. And when interest rates further drop, “lower mortgage rates will likely bring significantly more existing inventory to market and potentially lead to some price erosion,” UBS said.
Insurance costs are another factor creating high bubble risk, as plans continue to skyrocket due to climate change and environmental hazards, which UBS said “puts the future of Miami’s price levels into question.”
Other cities with a high bubble risk include Tokyo and Zurich, which rank second and third for the highest bubble risk. Los Angeles and Toronto took the fourth and fifth spots respectively and were classified as elevated risk.
When the Atlanta Falcons’ defense takes the field Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, rookie linebacker JD Bertrand is expected to be in the middle of it.
Bertrand, drafted in the fifth round out of Notre Dame this April, is next-in-line for Atlanta at linebacker after Troy Andersen was ruled out Wednesday with a knee injury. Andersen started the past three games in place of Nate Landman, who’s on injured reserve with quad and calf ailments.
The 24-year-old Bertrand played eight defensive snaps Sunday after seeing just one — the first of his NFL career — the week prior. Bertrand has recorded two tackles thus far, both on special teams, where he’s played 85% of Atlanta’s snaps.
Now, Bertrand is in the spotlight, seeing his first taste of extensive action on Thursday Night Football — and he feels prepared.
“Any opportunity, I’m going to continue to be ready and I think that’s been my job up to this point as a backup,” Bertrand said. “If the opportunity appears Thursday, then I’ll be sure I’m ready.”
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, who’s often referred to Bertrand by his “Captain America” nickname, echoed similar sentiments surrounding his belief in Bertrand’s readiness.
“I told you I was really confident in JD a long time ago,” Morris said. “It’s his opportunity to go out there and get ready to go play, and play alongside Kaden [Elliss], and I feel really good about what he’s done. I feel really good about his progress. I feel really good about what he did in the preseason.
“Then we had a chance to get him out there and go with some of our guys, get ramped up in special teams, the proving ground for us, and now we get a chance to get him out there, get some live bullets, man. I’m fired up to see him.”
Confidence in Bertrand stems from the way he’s played since the Falcons started rookie minicamp May 10. Be it OTAs, training camp or the preseason, Bertrand continually turned heads.
But he also proved Atlanta’s coaching staff correct in its pre-draft evaluation of his skill set, defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake said.
“He sees it really, really well — it’s the reason why we drafted him,” Lake said. “We can see and feel his football instincts. Once he arrived here, all of those traits showed up in practice. He got a few reps this last Sunday, played really well.”
Bertrand, who stands 6-foot-1, 233 pounds, has spent much of the early part of the season preparing for his special teams snaps. This week, ahead of his expected starting opportunity, he’s shifted the balance to be more defense-heavy.
That process includes understanding the game plan as its installed, watching previous games and matching defensive calls to different plays their opponents have run this year.
Once Bertrand feels comfortable and confident pairing any call to any offensive play shown on film, he feels ready — but the chance he received to get his feet wet Sunday against the New Orleans Saints gave him another sense of belief.
“I think last game, it’s just continuing each time you play, you gain a little bit more confidence and a little bit more [of] knowing you can do it,” Bertrand said. “So, that’s what I gained from last week.”
Bertrand also banked more reps with Elliss, who’s played every defensive snap this season for the Falcons. Bertrand noted he has a strong off-field relationship with Elliss which leads to strong communication on it.
At middle linebacker, communication is critical. It’s particularly important Thursday, as Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s history with Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay spearheads an offense with shifts, motions and a chance to stress defensive communication.
But the Falcons believe Bertrand is more than capable of rising to the occasion, even on a short week.
“He’s such an adult and a mature young man,” Morris said. “He takes care of himself. He’s one of the guys you would say, if it was a rookie, you’d worry about him in a short week, but he’s just not like that. He takes care of his body. He’s always conscientious of what he needs to do.
“He’s always conscientious in his book and his study habits, the things that he does with his position coach, the things that he does with his coordinator. He’s been in the mix so much.”
From his habits and offseason performance to the film the Falcons watched when they drafted him, Bertrand has given Atlanta many reasons to believe. It doesn’t mean there’s nothing to fear, but rather the Falcons are confident in who Bertrand has proven to be.
“I’m not saying I don’t have any concerns with him, but I got very few or very limited that don’t really come to mind,” Morris said.
Bertrand prepared like a starter even during his time as Atlanta’s fourth-string linebacker, Morris said. He took plenty of reps with the first-team defense during camp, giving Morris a baseline to predict a strong outing from Bertrand on Thursday night.
“I got a feeling he’s going to go out there and play really well,” Morris said.
Lake agreed.
“Us as coaches, we’re expecting no drop-off,” Lake said. “We have a lot of confidence in JD.”
Now, Bertrand gets the opportunity to prove the Falcons right — in front of a national audience under the primetime lights. Toss in the allure of the Alpharetta, Ga., native making his first start in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and Bertrand is under immense pressure.
But rather than feeling stressed, Bertrand has a different emotion — one that properly represents the Falcons’ internal feelings ahead of the first start any of their rookies have made this season.
“It’s definitely exciting,” Bertrand said. “I think probably leave it at that — it’s just an exciting time and I’m excited for whatever opportunity I do get going forward.”
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