West

Adam Schiff calls on Biden to exit presidential race as Dem confidence dwindles

Published

2 years ago

July 20, 2024

Adam Schiff calls on Biden to exit presidential race as Dem confidence dwindles

Powerful Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff called on President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race on Wednesday.

“A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November,” he said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Schiff was selected as one of the “top two” Senate primary winners in California. The winner of the Senate race will take the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

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Schiff became the 20th congressional Democrat to call on President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race. (Getty Images)

Schiff will take on Republican candidate Steve Garvey, a former professional baseball player, in November. The race is considered “Solid Democratic” by nonpartisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report, giving Schiff an edge over his opponent.

The House Democrat praised Biden’s accomplishments while in office, claiming, “Joe Biden has been one of the most consequential presidents in our nation’s history, and his lifetime of service as a Senator, a Vice President, and now as President has made our country better.”

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California’s Republican Senate candidate Steve Garvey (Steve Garvey)

“But our nation is at a crossroads,” the California representative warned.

Schiff noted that whether Biden withdraws from the race is the president’s choice, but added, “I believe it is time for him to pass the torch.”

He also suggested that Biden would “secure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election” if he follows the advice to leave the race.

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Biden has claimed he will stay in the race despite concerns. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

“But make no mistake, whoever our party ends up nominating, or if the nomination remains with the president, I will do everything I can to help them succeed,” the California Democrat made clear. “There is only one singular goal: defeating Donald Trump. The stakes are just too high.”

Schiff’s announcement made him the 20th congressional Democrat to urge Biden to exit the race. He is also the most prominent House Democrat to do so.

Others in Congress who have called on Biden to drop out of the 2024 election are Democratic Reps. Earl Blumenauer from Oregon, Ed Case from Hawaii, Angie Craig from Minnesota, Lloyd Doggett from Texas, Raul Grijalva from Arizona, Jim Himes from Connecticut, Mike Levin from California, Seth Moulton from Massachusetts, Scott Peters from California, Brittany Pettersen from Colorado, Mike Quigley from Illinois, Pat Ryan from New York, Brad Schneider from Illinois, Hillary Scholten from Michigan, Mikie Sherrill from New Jersey, Adam Smith from Washington, Eric Sorensen from Illinois, Greg Stanton from Arizona, and Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt.

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Sen. Welch was the first Democratic senator to call on Biden to drop out of the race. (Getty Images)

Schiff’s statement asking Biden to exit the race comes one day after a report that he told donors privately, “I think if he is our nominee, I think we lose,” in reference to the president.

His campaign declined to comment to Fox News Digital on the report.

In an appearance earlier this month on NBC News, Schiff publicly expressed doubt about Biden, remarking, “the performance on the debate stage I think rightfully raised questions among the American people about whether the president has the vigor to defeat Donald Trump.”

The Biden campaign did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.

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

Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.

Follow Julia’s reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to Julia.Johnson@fox.com.

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Hawaii

Records were set for June rainfall – Hawaii Tribune-Herald

Published

32 seconds ago

July 16, 2026

Press Room

Records were set for June rainfall – Hawaii Tribune-Herald

Halfway into the dry season for most of Hawaii, 11 Big Island sites experienced their wettest June on record, according to the National Weather Service.

Most prominent among those sites are: Hakalau, with 19.75 inches, seven times its usual June rainfall; Honokaa, with 19.55 inches, four times its June norm; Pahala, with 10.95 inches, five times its June average; and Kapapala Ranch, with 10.68 inches, almost seven times its normal June.

“I was struck by how wet it has been over the past couple of months,” wrote Kevin Kodama, retired National Weather Service Honolulu senior service hydrologist, in his Mauka Showers blog. “… So what produced all this rain? In a broad sense, we’ve had wetter than usual trade winds, including a few trade wind disturbances that boosted rainfall amounts along the windward slopes of the state.”

No windward Big Island spots reported below average rainfall for the month.

Hilo International Airport measured 11.39 inches, 56% above its normal June. Glenwood and Mountain View recorded 20.42 and 19.41 inches, respectively, while Pahoa reported 11.16 inches.

“Looking at Hilo airport’s data from June, the number of days with measurable rain, at least 0.01 inches, was right around normal — 25 days compared to a long-term average of 25.4 days — but the amount of rain per day was well above normal, 0.38 inches per day vs. a long-term average of 0.24 inches per day,” Kodama noted.

“The windward coast and upper slope areas, as well as much of the Puna and Ka‘u districts, fared the best in June, with well above average rainfall in most spots,” said Tina Stall, National Weather Service Honolulu hydrologist. “Much of the Kona and Kohala District coast and slopes, as well as the interior higher elevations, came in below average.”

Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport in Keahole, which averages less than an inch of rain in June, came in bone dry for the month at 0.04 inches, just 5% of its norm.

Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park had less than a quarter-inch of rain, 14% of its June average.

Unlike most of the state, the Kona coffee belt has its wet season in the summer. Two of the four coffee belt gauges — Honaunau with 6.25 inches and Waiaha with 5.39 inches — experienced a normal June. Kealakekua and Kainaliu, with 3.75 inches and 3.6 inches, respectively, were both at 62% of normal June rainfall.

The year-to-date totals for the first half of 2026 were almost all at or above normal levels.

Unsurprisingly, the most robust rainfall totals for the year were recorded on the windward side of the island.

Glenwood, in the upper Puna rainforest, had the highest rainfall total among populated areas with 125.52 inches, almost 10 inches above average.

Mountain View reported 108.22 inches, 29% above its norm for the first six months. And Waiakea Experimental Station, in the foothills above Hilo, registered 108.22 inches — 30% more than its average.

In Ka‘u, the precipitation was equally striking. Pahala received 76.44 inches and Kapapala Ranch recorded 70.9 inches — in both cases, more than twice the normal rainfall for January through June.

Even on the drier leeward side, all but two gauges recorded average or above average rainfall for the year-to-date. Puuanahulu, in the North Kona hills, received 12.04 inches of rain in the first six months, 85% of its norm, and Puhe, just south of Kawaihae on the Kohala Coast, had just 3.7 inches, or 64% of its normal rainfall for the first half of the year.

Kona airport received 9.52 inches of rain for the year, exactly 4 inches more than its half-year average, and the four Kona coffee-belt gauges all have recorded significantly higher-than-average rainfall totals, with Honaunau leading the way at 43.07 inches, 69% above its norm.

No drought remains on the Big Island, although the U.S. Drought Monitor listed 22.69% of the island as abnormally dry — with the parched areas occurring on Daniel K. Inouye Highway and along a portion of the Kohala coastline.

The bountiful rainfall is likely to end at some point in the intermediate future. The Central Pacific Basin is currently experiencing El Nino conditions, a natural climate pattern in which warmer than normal ocean surface temperatures significantly alter the weather.

“The strengthening El Nino will probably be the primary driver of rainfall conditions through the rest of the dry season and into early next year,” Kodama said, adding a computer model posted July 8 “shows probabilities favoring above normal rainfall through the rest of the dry season.”

“The last time we had a very strong El Nino was in 2015,” he noted. “It helped produce the wettest dry season in 30 years and conditions remained fairly wet into mid-December before the El Nino dry pattern finally established itself. If the models are right, this year’s event could bring an earlier start to El Nino-related statewide drought conditions.

“Once established, these conditions will likely persist into the spring of 2027.”

Email John Burnett at john.burnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.

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Idaho

How the City of Boise tests water samples to ensure the Boise River runs clean

Published

7 minutes ago

July 16, 2026

Press Room

How the City of Boise tests water samples to ensure the Boise River runs clean

NORTHWEST BOISE, Idaho — The Boise River is considered the heart of the city for many folks — floating, fishing and the gorgeous scenery on the greenbelt all rely on the waterway.

That’s why the City of Boise closely monitors the river’s water quality and the treated wastewater returned to the river from its water renewal facilities.

“The biggest question we get from people who are pedestrians and bicyclists is what are you trying to catch?,” said Bryan Dufosse, Senior Environmental Specialist with the City of Boise.

He and his team are often seen on the bridges over the Boise River with a unique crane looking contraption that they use to collect a series of water samples across the river.

WATCH | See how the city’s enviromental team tests the water quality of the Boise River

How the City of Boise tests water samples to ensure the Boise River runs clean

The city collects samples from locations upstream and downstream from Boise’s water renewal plants to ensure their treatment systems are working properly.

“We’re from the beginning of the pipe to the end of the pipe, making sure that we’re not putting anything into the river that takes away from the river’s water quality,” Dufosse said.

He says the majority of the time their samples come back nice and clean.

“We don’t see heavy pollutants fortunately here. Normally the Boise river is pretty clean, it’s pretty clean because the city citizens and the City Of Boise care about the River,” Dufosse said.

The city still conducts extensive testing to monitor for pollutants and other contaminants like heavy metals or nutrients. Samples collected from the river are brought to a portable water testing lab they built inside a camper before they’re taken to the city’s full size lab.

“Now we are splitting the samples so we can take them back to the water quality lab and then Alex and the rest of the team will test them for heavy metals and pH and all that kind of stuff,” said Corrine Smith, Water Quality Environmental Technician with the City of Boise.

If unusually high levels of metals or pollutants are detected, the city reports the findings to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and works to identify the source.

The city’s water quality team tests the Boise River 52 weeks a year to ensure the water remains clean and healthy.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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