ETF Summary

A forthcoming book about the Kennedy family is alleging that the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis fought to nip in the bud a particular problem in her Cape Cod garden.

In the book ‘White House by the Sea’ by Kate Storey, the former first lady learned that marijuana was growing in her garden, much to her horror.

According to an excerpt obtained by Town & Country, it was around 1975 when Kennedy’s assistant noticed some of the family members poking around in the garden, which piqued her interest. After realizing she had stumbled upon something nefarious, she told former police chief Jack Dempsey, who frequented the property with the Secret Service. 

Neither her assistant, Kathy McKeon, nor Dempsey believed the gardeners were responsible, so they told Onassis about their discovery.

‘Are you kidding me?’ she allegedly said to McKeon, who told her the news directly. ‘Oh my God, this can’t get out. How are we going to fix this?.’

McKeon led her to Dempsey, and the former officer told Onassis, according to the book, ‘Just ignore it… we’ll pull it.’

The book said she was satisfied with this and replied, ‘Good… I don’t want this to get out.’

Later that day, Dempsey and the Secret Service destroyed the plant. Neither of Onassis’ children, Caroline and John, were suspected of planting the marijuana.

A representative for her only living child, Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Australia, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment nor did the John F. Kennedy Foundation.

The book divulges stories of the Kennedy family in their oasis – Hyannis Port, Massachsuetts. 

The late President John F. Kennedy and his family were known to spend many summers in the area. Following Kennedy’s death in 1963, his wife continued to go there after her second husband, Aristotle Onassis, died in 1975.

Onassis thoroughly enjoyed her time on the Cape, inviting extended family on a regular basis. According to the book, the beloved Onassis enjoyed sunbathing nude and painting in her sunroom.

‘Jackie O,’ as she was famously known, died in 1994. She was predeceased by both of her husbands and another son who died as a newborn, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Americans reacted to President Biden’s handling of the economy as he and his cabinet tout ‘Bidenomics’ across the country.

‘Biden, you know, he’s not really handling it all that well,’ Anthony told Fox News. ‘All the funds is going to other countries, he’s not really focusing here on the problems in the states.’

‘The economy is kind of messed up,’ he added. 

WATCH: AMERICANS REACT TO BIDENOMICS

But Christine gave Biden an A on his handling of the economy, saying he’s doing a ‘wonderful job.’

The Biden administration ‘will continue to make a full-court press on Bidenomics this week — highlighting how the president’s economic plan is investing in America and increasing competition to lower costs for hardworking families,’ White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt said.

The president visited South Carolina on Thursday to announce new clean energy manufacturing spending, while Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to the Gila River Indian Reservation in Arizona to speak on administration’s infrastructure investments. Other officials joining in include Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in Washington state, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra in Ohio and Interior Secretary Debra Haaland in New York.

One man told Fox News he was skeptical when Biden first took office but is happy with the way the president is handling the economy now.

‘At first, I believed the inflation was a little iffy starting off when he first got elected, but it’s getting better now, in my opinion,’ he said. ‘Stuff’s been going down, and I like how he’s handling the situation now.

‘I’m not too sure or fond of the Bidenomics, but I believe he’s going to head in the right direction,’ the man added.

Nathaniel echoed him, saying he thinks ‘the economy is doing better.’

‘He’s doing well so far with prices and the general economy,’ he said.

But Ashli gave Biden an F.

‘At the end of the day, I don’t feel like he’s doing what he’s supposed to do for all the people,’ she said, adding that she thinks Biden is only helping the upper class.

Biden’s approval rating on the economy was 60%, a 7% improvement from last year, according to a Fox News poll released in June. When the president took office, inflation was at a rate of just over 1%, but rose to a 40-year high of 9.1% by June 2022 and has since dropped to under 4%.

Another man told Fox News he thought ‘Trump did better.’

Dominique rated Biden’s handling of the economy a five and said that ‘it’s neither here nor there.’

‘I don’t think anybody’s plan has worked out,’ he said of the Bidenomics plan. ‘His, Trump’s when he was in office, the person in office before that. It’s a constant hamster wheel.’

Donn also saw both sides.

‘So far, so good, but some things can be more looked at,’ he said. ‘Some people are not getting the full benefits of the economic plan.’

Sarah gave Biden a B.

‘I haven’t seen any major crash and burn,’ she said. ‘It kind of seems to me like we are mostly staying the same and that’s coming out of a really tough time with the pandemic.’

Click here to hear more from American’s about their thoughts on Bidenomics.

Ramiro Vargas contributed to the accompanying video.

EXCLUSIVE: Afghanistan war veteran Sam Brown will officially launch a second bid for the U.S. Senate on Monday, this time to unseat Nevada’s other vulnerable Democrat senator, Jacky Rosen.

Fox News Digital spoke with Brown, a Republican, ahead of his planned announcement at an event in Reno, Nevada, where he will lay out his vision on how to take the country in a different direction from where he says it’s headed under the leadership of politicians like Rosen and President Biden.

‘This bid for the Senate is really rooted in the fact that Nevadans are worried about losing the American dream and what our kids are going to inherit,’ Brown said when asked why he decided to toss his hat into the ring once again.

‘People are hurting. Inflation is high, the economy is as unstable and people want a leader and a champion for them in D.C., and that’s me,’ he said.

Brown is a retired Army captain and a Purple Heart recipient who sustained serious injuries from an IED explosion during a 2008 deployment in Afghanistan, which left his face severely burned.

The Army veteran was a first-time Senate candidate in 2022 as he sought to oust Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, but he came in second to former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt in Nevada’s GOP primary. He lost by 22 points to Laxalt, who had the backing of former President Donald Trump and the Senate Leadership Fund.

This time, Brown is backed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and is so far seen as the front-runner for the nomination and a potential shot at Rosen, who is seeking a second term.

‘Sam Brown’s life of service and sacrifice is an inspiration to all Americans. I am very pleased that Sam is stepping up to run for the U.S. Senate,’ NRSC chair Sen. Steve Daines of Montana said in a statement.

Despite the support, and the likely access to improved fundraising from his previous campaign, Brown says ‘what’s most important is gaining the trust and support of Nevadans’ and that his campaign is ‘laser-focused’ on growing his grassroots network.

‘Under Jacky Rosen, we’ve seen massive inflation that’s led to higher food and gas prices; the state unemployment rate rise to the worst in the nation; and crime take over our streets. Everyday Nevadans are frustrated and disappointed in our do-nothing senator, and they’re looking for someone to step up and solve these problems for all Nevadans,’ he argued.

Brown went on to call Rosen ‘extreme’ and ‘out of touch’ and a ‘huge disappointment.’

‘Specifically, she’s out of touch when it comes to economic policy, which is making it harder for business owners and jobs. She’s extremely out of touch on what the benefits of an American energy independence-focused policy would deliver for Americans. And she’s also extreme on education,’ he charged, referencing what he said was her support for the teaching of critical race theory in schools.

Brown also touted his years in the military as experience that taught him how to prioritize people and a mission over himself. He said that politicians in Washington, D.C., have lost touch with that principle and that his mission, if elected, would be to represent the people and ‘help them to realize a successful life and to achieve the American dream.’

‘When I was in a combat environment, nobody cared what sort of political party you were affiliated with or how you grew up. They just cared that you were going to get the job done and that everyone would be able to accomplish the mission,’ he said.

‘Something I bring is leadership and being focused on the mission and the people. That’s what I’ve been trained to do and that’s what I’ve done,’ he added.

Brown will be the fourth candidate to enter the Republican field, which includes former state Assemblyman Jim Marchant, civil rights attorney Ronda Kennedy and real estate broker Stephanie Phillips.

The Nevada Senate seat currently held by Rosen is considered a top target for Republicans in 2024, similar to 2022, as the party looks to capitalize on President Biden’s unpopularity across the country. Cortez Masto won reelection with 49% of the vote and by a margin of less than 8,000 votes over Laxalt.

Laxalt, a longtime friend and ally of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, is currently helping to lead Never Back Down, a super PAC that’s backing the Florida governor’s 2024 presidential bid. He’s indicated he won’t make another Senate run next year.

Democrats currently hold a 51-49 majority in the chamber, which includes three independent senators who caucus with the Democratic conference.
But the math and the map favor the GOP in 2024. Democrats are defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs, including three in red states and a handful in key general election battlegrounds.

However, Republicans, stung by an expected red wave that ended up being a trickle in last year’s midterms, are trying to avoid a replay of their 2022 recruitment battles, when a handful of Senate nominees handpicked by Trump and supportive of the former president’s repeated re-litigating of his 2020 election loss, stumbled in the general election and arguably cost the GOP the chamber’s majority.

Rosen won’t be easy to defeat in the crucial western battleground state. The former one-term congresswoman who was elected to the Senate in 2018 hauled in $2.7 million during the April-June second quarter of 2023 fundraising and had $7.5 million in her campaign coffers as of the start of April, her campaign reported on Monday.

A Democrat-backed bill making its way through the California Legislature would require judges in the state to consider a convicted criminal’s race when determining how long to sentence them to prison.

Assembly Member Reggie Jones-Sawyer, the Democratic chair of the California Assembly’s Public Safety Committee, quietly introduced Bill 852 in February. The Assembly went on to pass the little-known legislation in May, and the measure is currently being considered in the state Senate. 

The bill would add a section to the Penal Code of California requiring courts, whenever they have the authority to determine a prison sentence, to ‘rectify’ alleged racial bias in the criminal justice system by taking into account how historically persecuted minorities are affected differently than others.

‘It is the intent of the Legislature to rectify the racial bias that has historically permeated our criminal justice system as documented by the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans,’ the proposed new section to the Penal Code reads. ‘Whenever the court has discretion to determine the appropriate sentence according to relevant statutes and the sentencing rules of the Judicial Council, the court presiding over a criminal matter shall consider the disparate impact on historically disenfranchised and system-impacted populations.’

The California task force referenced in the bill was created by state legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020 to examine the possibility of implementing statewide reparations as a way to make amends for slavery and racism.

Late last month, the task force released its final recommendations, which the state legislature will now consider whether to implement and send to the governor’s desk to be signed into law.

In its 1,00-page report, the task force proposed dozens of statewide policies and ways to calculate monetary reparations designed to redress slavery and historical injustices against Black Americans. According to the task force, such history has created lingering consequences that exist today in the form of systemic racism.

The task force estimated the minimum dollar amount in harm that California has caused or could have prevented totals at least $1 million per eligible Black Californian.

In terms of criminal justice specifically, the task force determined that qualifying Black residents could be owed over $115,000, or around $2,352 per year of residency in California from 1971 to 2020, as compensation for over-policing in Black communities, excess felony drug arrests, and disproportionate prison time during the so-called war on drugs. The final report also included proposals to end cash bail and the prosecution of low-level crimes.

Bill 852 seeks to build off the task force’s findings and recommendations by mandating that California courts fight what it describes as racial bias in sentencing that can disadvantage Black people and other minorities.

Critics argue the reparations proposals are fiscally unmanageable for a state already facing a deficit of tens of billions of dollars and say it doesn’t make sense to implement them when California never allowed slavery. The state explicitly outlawed slavery when it joined the Union in 1850.

Jones-Sawyer didn’t respond to a request for comment to elaborate on his legislation.

President Biden has a short temper and frequently lashes out at staff members with profanity-laden rants if they do not meet his expectations, according to a new Axios report.

One official in the administration told the outlet that ‘no one is safe’ from Biden’s wrath. Aides are reportedly known to meet with him in groups of two or more to diffuse potential tension.

Some of the president’s go-to attacks include, ‘How the f— don’t you know this?’ and ‘Don’t f—ing bulls— me!’

Aides have framed his outbursts as a desire for accuracy and competence, telling the outlet that many see getting shouted at by the president as a rite of passage.

‘If there is something that’s not in the brief, he’s going to find it,’ said Ted Kaufman, Biden’s chief of staff when he was in the Senate. ‘It’s not to embarrass people, it’s because he wants to get to the right decision. Most people who have worked for him like the fact that he challenges them and gets them to a better decision.’

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

It is not the first time reports from within Biden’s circle have undermined his carefully curated ‘Uncle Joe’ public persona. Biden last showed his darker side when a hot might caught him calling Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy a ‘stupid son of a b—-.’

Monday’s report comes as Biden is facing criticism from conservatives who say his latest gaffe revealed sensitive U.S. military information to global adversaries.

Biden defended his administration’s decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine in a Sunday interview, framing it as a ‘transition period’ until more munitions are produced.

‘This is a war relating to munitions. And they’re running out of that ammunition, and we’re low on it,’ Biden told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. ‘And so, what I finally did, I took the recommendation of the Defense Department to – not permanently – but to allow for this transition period while we get more 155 weapons, these shells, for the Ukrainians.’

‘Joe Biden broadcasting to the world that the US is low on 155mm shells,’ conservative communicator Steve Guest tweeted. ‘Moron. Does Biden not care that our adversaries in China are listening?’

The White House responded to the criticism by saying the U.S. and its allies ‘will have much higher production levels soon.’

Fox News’ Matteo Cina contributed to this report.

Ukraine’s war with Russia must conclude before the country can join NATO, President Biden said in an interview that aired Sunday.

Biden made the statement during a taped conversation with CNN, saying there is no agreement within NATO on when to allow Ukraine to join the military alliance. Biden also noted certain issues with Ukraine’s eligibility, such as a lack of democratization.

‘I think we have to lay out a rational path for Ukraine to be able to qualify to be able to get into NATO,’ Biden told CNN.

‘I don’t think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war,’ Biden said. ‘For example, if you did that, then, you know – and I mean what I say – we’re determined to commit every inch of territory that is NATO territory. It’s a commitment that we’ve all made no matter what. If the war is going on, then we’re all in war. We’re at war with Russia, if that were the case.’

Biden nevertheless vowed to continue sending aid to Ukraine as it works to fend of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. The U.S. has already contributed nearly $100 billion to the effort.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has lobbied to join NATO for months in the wake of Russia’s invasion. Such a move would oblige the U.S. and Western allies to join the conflict fully and declare war on Russia, a prospect Biden seeks to avoid.

The U.S. has delivered tens of thousands of artillery shells, extensive missile defense systems, and information to Ukrainian forces. Western allies have also provided modern tanks to assist in Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive. The U.S. will send 31 of its M1 Abrams tanks once Ukrainian crews have been trained to operate and maintain the vehicles.

Biden has also endorsed the idea of delivering F-16 fighter jets to Ukrainian forces. Such a move would require months of training for Ukrainian pilots, something that is already underway. While Biden had previously opposed the idea in January, he shifted his stance and called for training to begin in May.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has encouraged Ukraine’s membership in NATO more aggressively, though he has taken no action to accelerate Ukraine’s application.

‘Let me be clear, Ukraine’s rightful place is in the Euro-Atlantic family,’ Stoltenberg said in April. ‘Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO.’