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American Coco Gauff had to navigate an unexpected obstacle Wednesday in her march to the third round of the Australian Open.

Up a set and seemingly cruising to victory over Jodie Burrage of Great Britain, Gauff mysteriously couldn’t hold her serve as Burrage fought her way back into the match. After breaking Gauff twice, the 85th-ranked Burrage had a chance to serve for the set and pull even.

However, the moment was too much for her as a double-fault to drop serve gave Gauff the opening she needed and the tournament’s No. 3 seed closed out a 6-3, 7-5 victory.

‘I think it was just one of those things, just step up my level against her,’ she told reporters afterward.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN STORYLINES: Coco Gauff ‘confident’ in bid for second Grand Slam title

Gauff, the 2023 U.S. Open champion, will next face Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the third round in Melbourne.

Gauff previously trained with left-handed compatriot Robin Montgomery to prepare for Fernandez and beat the Canadian 6-3 6-2 in their first tour-level match at the recent United Cup.

‘We’ll see two days from now if it makes a difference or not,’ she said. ‘It’s a different match, different story. Anything can happen.’

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CIA nominee John Ratcliffe is telling senators on Wednesday about how he’ll reshape the intelligence community in what he calls ‘the most challenging national security environment in our nation’s history.’ 

Ratcliffe, who served as director of national intelligence during President-elect Trump’s first term, is testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee. The committee will then vote on his nomination before a full Senate vote to confirm him as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. 

Ratcliffe ticked off the nation’s biggest threats – China, the border, the Russia-Ukraine war and risk of nuclear fallout, Iran, North Korea and ‘increasing coordination among America’s rivals.’

At a time when intelligence and law enforcement agencies have found themselves front and center in the political realm, a source familiar with Ratcliffe told Fox News Digital he’s focused on ‘depoliticizing’ the agency, and ‘eliminating any distractions’ to its core mission of obtaining intelligence. 

Ratcliffe is also expected to push for more aggressive spying operations, particularly on Beijing, where CCP operatives have been spying on the U.S. for years. 

‘With Trump and Ratcliffe, the days of China pillaging American companies, infecting American infrastructure, and otherwise targeting and abusing the American people are over. The jackals can only scavenge in the lion’s domain for so long before they get their heads ripped off,’ the source said. 

Ratcliffe signaled plans in his opening statement to increase the agency’s capacity to obtain human intelligence ‘in every corner of the globe, no matter how dark or difficult.’

‘We will produce insightful, objective, all-source analysis, never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgment or infect our product,’ Ratcliffe will say in his opening statement. 

‘We will conduct covert action at the direction of the president, going places no one else can go and doing things no one else can do. To the brave CIA officers listening around the world, if all of this sounds like what you signed up for, then buckle up and get ready to make a difference. If it doesn’t, then it’s time to find a new line of work.’

Ratcliffe said he would try to recruit agents that could be described as ‘a Ph.D. who could win a bar fight,’ but promised to fully investigate anomalous health incidents like Havana Syndrome. 

Ratcliffe also hopes to increase coordination with the CIA and the private sector – potentially through rotations that allow CIA agents to do a stint in the private sector or allowing private employees at AI and tech companies to join the CIA in mid-career appointments, according to the source. 

Ratcliffe’s hearing is expected to have a more policy-heavy focus than some of Trump’s more controversial nominees like Pete Hegseth, picked to lead the Defense Department. Hegseth faced senators on the Armed Services Committee on Tuesday where he was questioned on his drinking, sexual assault allegations and reports of financial mismanagement. 

Trump’s choice to oversee all intelligence agencies, Tulsi Gabbard, has also been met with skepticism by some in the Senate over her past opposition to U.S. surveillance laws and seeming closeness to U.S. adversaries, in particular a meeting she took with former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. She’s since walked back her opposition to a surveillance program known as Section 702.

Gabbard’s hearing is not yet on the books, neither is Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel. 

Trump’s national security nominees are in lockstep on at least one thing – the threat of China – and the need to update technologies and defenses to thwart the CCP’s chronic attacks on U.S. infrastructure. 

‘We have to stop trying to just play better and better defense,’ Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser pick, recently told FOX Business. ‘We need to start going on offense.’

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President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team tapped a former senior health official from Trump’s first administration and an ally to top Trump loyalist, Harmeet Dhillon, to be Health and Human Services Secretary-nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s chief of staff, a new report indicated Monday. 

Heather Flick, a lawyer who previously served in multiple top roles at the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department during the first Trump administration, has been working closely with Kennedy over the last few weeks as an informal chief of staff, according to Politico. The outlet added Monday that she had been tapped by Trump’s transition team to fill the role permanently, according to four sources familiar. The announcement has yet to be made public.

Meanwhile, the law firm that currently employs Flick, as well as its founder, congratulated her on the new position this week on their social media accounts. Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump-Vance transition team for confirmation but did not hear back in time for publication. 

Flick’s selection to work in Trump’s second administration is just the latest pick among a list of Trump loyalists who have been given jobs in the administration during his second term. When Flick first joined the Trump administration, she was HHS’ acting general counsel before becoming its acting secretary for administration and then eventually a senior adviser to then-HHS Secretary Alex Azar.

Before joining HHS the first time, Flick was an attorney at Dhillon Law Group, a firm founded by Dhillon, who Trump has tapped this time around to be his assistant attorney general. 

Dhillon has represented clients in big conservative civil rights cases and defended Trump supporters in court. During the pandemic, she challenged Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home orders, and in 2020, she served as the co-chairwoman of Lawyers For Trump, a conservative group of lawyers supporting Trump throughout the 2020 election. Most recently, Dhillon helped lead Trump’s election integrity team in Arizona during the 2024 election.

‘Heather Flick is outstanding and will most definitely help soon to be Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,’ former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn said in a post on X after news of Flick’s new role.

Flick’s appointment comes amid rumblings from some of Kennedy’s allies that he could advance an agenda that is not completely in line with the Trump world, but rather more centered around Kennedy’s priorities, Politico reported.

The potential HHS secretary has been taking meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill recently in an attempt to shore up support. Democrats and Republicans have both been very critical of the HHS secretary-nominee’s opinions about vaccines, while Republicans have also been probing Kennedy during meetings about his past pro-choice views on abortion.

Critics of Kennedy have questioned his ability to handle major crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and posited that Kennedy pushes conspiracy theories about things like vaccines and antidepressants. Meanwhile, business leaders have suggested there is reason to worry as well, on account of past claims Kennedy has made about the dangers of food additives, pesticides and vaccines.

Flick will be tasked with helping Kennedy clean up some of those criticisms. One former Food and Drug Administration Official, granted anonymity to speak openly, told Politico that depending upon how involved HHS Secretaries are in the agency’s work, their chief of staff can end up being ‘very, very involved.’

‘On really high-profile things, if she’s an effective chief of staff, she could be super involved,’ the former official added. ‘I certainly saw that happen across multiple administrations.’ 

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President Biden is set to deliver his farewell address to the nation Wednesday evening as he closes out four years in the White House.

Biden will deliver the address at 8 p.m. ET from the Oval Office, having earlier Wednesday published a farewell letter to the country. 

‘Four years ago, we stood in a winter of peril and a winter of possibilities. We were in the grip of the worst pandemic in a century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War,’ Biden wrote.

 ‘But we came together as Americans, and we braved through it. We emerged stronger, more prosperous, and more secure.’

Biden will officially exit the Oval Office on Jan. 20, when President-elect Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president around noon that day. 

Biden has spent more than 50 years in public office, making his mark on the national map in 1972, President Richard Nixon’s landslide re-election year, when he beat a Republican incumbent in a long-shot Senate race in Delaware at the age of 29.

‘I ran for president because I believed that the soul of America was at stake. The very nature of who we are was at stake. And, that’s still the case,’ he added in his farewell letter. 

‘America is an idea stronger than any army and larger than any ocean. It’s the most powerful idea in the history of the world. That idea is that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We’ve never fully lived up to this sacred idea, but we’ve never walked away from it either. And I do not believe the American people will walk away from it now.’

Biden served 36 years in the U.S. Senate, one of the longest Senate careers in the chamber’s history, before joining former President Barack Obama’s ticket during the 2008 election and serving as vice president for eight years. 

The 46th president defeated Trump during the 2020 election, and was set to square up against him again last year, but abruptly dropped out of the presidential race as concerns surrounding his mental acuity mounted. Vice President Kamala Harris was soon quickly endorsed by Biden and other high-profile Democrats to take up the mantle as the party’s presidential nominee, but lost the election as Trump swept all seven battleground states. 

Biden has been an outspoken and repeated critic of Trump’s, calling him a ‘genuine threat to this nation,’ but vowed to ensure a peaceful transfer of power and that ‘of course’ he will attend Trump’s inauguration.

Ahead of his final address to America, Biden also delivered a foreign policy-focused farewell address at the State Department on Monday.  

‘The United States is winning the worldwide competition compared to four years ago,’ Biden said in his final foreign policy speech Monday. 

‘America is stronger. Our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are weaker,’ he added. 

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More than half of Americans say that President Biden will be remembered as a below-average or one of the worst presidents in the nation’s history, according to a new national poll.

Just over a third of adults nationwide questioned in a Marist poll released on Wednesday said Biden will be remembered as one of the worst presidents in American history, with another 19% saying he will be considered a below-average president.

Twenty-eight percent of participants offered that Biden’s legacy will be considered average, with 19% saying he would be regarded as an above average or one of the best presidents in the nation’s history.

The poll was released just hours before the president delivers his farewell address to the nation, with just days left before Biden’s term ends and he is succeeded by President-elect Trump in the White House.

In his Oval Office speech, Biden will likely aim to cement his legacy as a president who pushed to stabilize politics at home while bolstering America’s leadership abroad, and as a leader who steered the nation out of the COVID-19 pandemic and made historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy.

Biden, in a letter to Americans released early Wednesday morning, emphasized that when he took office four years ago ‘we were in the grip of the worst pandemic in a century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.’

And he touted that ‘today, we have the strongest economy in the world and have created a record 16.6 million new jobs. Wages are up. Inflation continues to come down. The racial wealth gap is the lowest it’s been in 20 years.’

But the Marist poll is the second straight national survey to indicate history will likely not view Biden kindly.

According to a USA Today/Suffolk University survey released on Tuesday, 44% of voters nationwide said history will assess Biden as a failed president, with another 27% saying he will be judged as a fair president.

Twenty-one percent of those questioned said history will view Biden as a good president, with only 5% saying he will be seen as a great president.

The president’s single term in the White House ends next Monday, Jan. 20, as Trump is inaugurated as Biden’s successor.

However, according to the USA Today/Suffolk University poll, 44% also said that Trump will be seen by history as a failed president. 

One in five said that Trump would be viewed as a great president, with 19% saying good and 27% saying he would be judged a fair president.

Trump ended his first term in office with approval ratings in negative territory, including 47% approval in Fox News polling from four years ago.

In Marist polling four years ago, as Trump finished his first term, 47% thought he would be remembered as one of the nation’s worst presidents.

Biden stands at 42% approval and 50% disapproval in Marist’s new survey, as the president departs the White House. He stood at 43%-54% approval/disapproval in the USA Today/Suffolk University poll.

Biden’s approval rating hovered in the low to mid 50s during his first six months in the White House. However, the president’s numbers started sagging in August 2021 in the wake of Biden’s much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan, and following a surge in COVID-19 cases that summer that was mainly among unvaccinated people.

The plunge in the president’s approval rating was also fueled by soaring inflation – which started spiking in the summer of 2021 and remains to date a major pocketbook concern with Americans – and the surge of migrants trying to cross into the U.S. along the southern border.

Biden’s approval ratings slipped underwater in the autumn of 2021 and never reemerged into positive territory.

As Trump gets ready to once again assume the presidency, the Marist poll indicates opinions of him remain low, with 44% of Americans viewing him favorably and 49% holding an unfavorable opinion of the incoming president.

However, opinions about Trump’s first term have risen in numerous polls conducted since his convincing victory in November’s presidential election over Vice President Kamala Harris. The vice president succeeded Biden in July as the Democrats’ 2024 standard-bearer after the president dropped out of the race following a disastrous debate performance against Trump.

The poll also indicates that Americans have high expectations for Trump when it comes to the economy.

‘While many Americans feel the current economy is not working well for them, residents nationally have grown more optimistic about the future of their own finances,’ the poll’s release highlights.

The survey also indicates Americans are divided about Trump’s proposed mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. 

According to the poll, more than six in 10 disapprove of Trump’s pledge to pardon his supporters who were convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The Marist poll was conducted Jan. 7-9, with 1,387 adults nationwide questioned. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

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PHILADELPHIA – Jordan Love didn’t see Zack Baun, but the Philadelphia Eagles linebacker was right where he was supposed to be. 

Baun lined up between the hashmarks and dropped back into coverage as the Green Bay Packers quarterback scanned the middle of the field in Sunday’s wild-card playoff contest. The former New Orleans Saint, who primarily played on special teams before signing with the Eagles on a one-year deal this offseason, had the wherewithal thanks to his preparation and coaching to peel off his man (tight end Tucker Kraft) and pick off Love – who was targeting Malik Heath on an intermediate in-breaking route – near midfield as the Eagles had a 10-0 lead with less than a minute before halftime. 

After the Eagles’ win, Baun called the play “a dream interception.” Not because it was the playoffs or any reason other than it was an example of the freedom and trust he earned from his teammates and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. 

“I think with Vic, you have to earn that type of freedom,” said Baun, who described the interception as a “you take it, you make it” type of play. 

He added: “Because obviously you hit the guy over the ball, that’s a 10-yard gain. … Just people trusting me and me trusting my own abilities … I trusted it and went and got it.”  

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That’s actually a mutual trust between Baun and Fangio – the coach to make the proper calls and the player to execute them – that has developed over the course of the season, which has been “really cool,” Baun said.

“Because it takes a long time for us to figure out the scheme and Vic and the coaches to figure out who we are and what we can do,” he said in a joyful Eagles locker room following their 22-10 victory to set up a date with the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round. “So that influences what he can call at certain times.” 

Baun couldn’t pinpoint when he earned that trust. 

“I don’t know,” he said with a laugh. “I just kind of did it. It’s there now.” 

In the process, Baun turned in a 2024 season that landed him on the first-team All-Pro squad at inside linebacker. 

Not bad for somebody who took 27.7% of the Saints’ defensive snaps his final season with the team. 

How Fangio, Eagles unlocked the best of Baun

Not even Fangio could have predicted Baun’s season, even if the longtime defensive coordinator and Denver Broncos head coach from 2019-21 had the sense to move Baun to off-ball linebacker. 

“It’s hard to say … but I think you don’t put any limits on players,” Fangio said. “If you put limits on them, you’ll get limited production. Take them to the ceiling that they can go to.” 

“Obviously he’s had a great year. I think exceeded most everyone’s expectations, probably even himself. But now there (are) no limitations. He’s set a standard for himself. He’s got to show up and do it every week.”

Fangio didn’t want to compare Baun’s campaign to that of other inside linebackers he’s coached, but he said Baun “is playing really good, and we’re thrilled to have him.”

Baun started more games this season (16) than he had in four years with the Saints (14). He equaled his career sack total (2.0) during the season opener in Brazil against the Packers. His sack production fell off from there, but that’s not what Fangio and his teammates need him to do, despite his success in college rushing the passer off the edge (12 ½ sacks in 2019, his final season at Wisconsin). 

He racked up 15 tackles (11 solo) against Green Bay in Week 1 and hit the ground running, fellow inside linebacker Oren Burks said after the wild-card victory over the Packers. 

“Really from the (first) Packers game, he just came out firing away, letting the game come to him, just flowing, being who he is as a playmaker,” Burks said of Baun. 

Baun’s versatility and experience at outside linebacker is a bonus, but Fangio was reluctant to move him there even when the Eagles lost Brandon Graham for the season.

“He’s obviously had a hell of a year,” Burks said. “I feel like that’s a testament to the work that he’s had during his whole career, just finding a great fit here in Philadelphia. It’s been cool to see, like a team guy playing a lot more on defense and taking advantage of the opportunity. He’s worked his (expletive) off and, just really proud of him.” 

The inside linebacker position was a weakness of recent Eagles defenses, and Fangio knew he had to address the position upon his arrival. 

“I tell you what, I’m happy for him, but once he made those first couple big plays for him this year, the sky was the limit for him,” outside linebacker Josh Sweat told USA TODAY Sports. “(I’m) telling you, especially like here, where we’ve been struggling with linebackers over the years – just saying how it is – we couldn’t do it without him.”

Nakobe Dean, a third-round draft pick from 2022, was ready to step into a starting role and was the defensive play-caller on the field with the “green dot” connected to Fangio’s headset. But a knee injury suffered against the Packers last Sunday will cost him the rest of the playoffs. Baun will have to step up and be the liaison between Philadelphia’s 10 other defensive players in action and Fangio. 

Baun referred to Dean as “my brother” and someone who teaches him a lot in addition to being the “ultimate leader of the defense.” 

“To see anyone go down, especially him, it really hurts,” Baun said. 

How much more will the Eagles have to rely on Baun in Dean’s absence?

“(Expletive), man, a little more,” Sweat said. “We’re gonna have people step in, they’re ready to go, you see Oren already. We’d love to have Nakobe for sure, but unfortunately, that’s the way it’s gotta be.”

Burks took over for Dean against the Packers, and Fangio said to expect rookie Jeremiah Trotter Jr. to receive more playing time. 

Burks called Dean the unsung hero of the defense who commanded respect by playing physical ball and helping position his teammates in the right spot. That responsibility now falls to Baun, who has learned Fangio’s team along with the rest of his teammates, which has made the entire unit closer, Burks said. 

“Just a lot of respect for our room, everybody from top down has handled their business,” Burks said. “It’s fun to learn from each other. We’re learning all at the same time.”

For Baun, that meant becoming familiar with Fangio’s coverages as much as he once worked on pass-rush moves. 

“He doesn’t do a lot of exotic fronts or third-down pressures, but a lot of exotic stuff coverage-wise,” Baun said. “That takes a really smart and communicative defense to handle something like that. Then I really think what sets Vic apart is his situational play-calling, and when to call plays, is really good.” 

Baun had his letdowns despite an overall successful year. Fangio would have liked to see him stick with Washington Commanders receiver Jamison Crowder longer in zone coverage on the game-winning touchdown in Week 16 to prevent Jayden Daniels from having such an open window to throw into, for example. 

But without Fangio’s scouting capabilities, Baun may have never had a chance to start in the league. When Fangio evaluates players, he told reporters during the regular season, there are no boxes to check. The 66-year-old evaluates movement patterns and doesn’t hold much regard for league-wide opinions. 

“I trust my own eyes, my own experience and go by that,” Fangio said. “There are a lot of people that want to know what the majority is thinking and take the easy way out, but I’ve never been that guy.” 

Eagles executive vice president Howie Roseman first brought up the idea of signing Baun, but he had a vision for him as a backup outside linebacker and special teams “demon,” Fangio said. 

“After I watched (the film), I said ‘No, I think he’s an inside linebacker,’” Fangio said. “Luckily, it hit.” 

Luck is one minor factor of Baun’s ascension. The pairing with Fangio, the preparation throughout the week and results on the field are other, larger reasons. And Love may disagree, but by being in Philadelphia, Baun became impossible to miss in 2024. 

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

If one were compile a list of the greatest defensive players in baseball history at each position, the consensus choice in center field would be Willie Mays. But right behind him, Andruw Jones has a very strong case.

His highlight-reel catches, his strong throwing arm and his ability to cover so much ground in the outfield made him one of the cornerstones of a Atlanta Braves dynasty that won division titles in each of his first 10 major league seasons.

Jones, a two-time USA TODAY Minor League Player of the Year, was a phenomenal defender from the moment he reached the majors as a 19-year-old in 1996. He made his mark on a national stage later that season when he hit two home runs against the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series.

The Curacao native became a tremendous power hitter in the middle of the Atlanta lineup, hitting 25 or more home runs for 10 consecutive seasons – and driving in at least 90 runs nine times during that span.

By the time he left Atlanta after his age-30 season in 2007, Jones was clearly on a Hall of Fame track with 10 Gold Gloves, five All-Star appearances and a home run title on his resume. But his skills declined precipitously as he bounced around four teams over the next five years and concluded his playing career in 2012 as a part-time corner outfielder and DH.

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The case for Andruw Jones

Jones was an elite player, especially on defense, for his entire 12 seasons in Atlanta. During that time, he hit 330 home runs and put up a .263/.342/.497 slash line.

He had seven seasons of 30 or more homers, including a major league-leading 51 in 2005 – a season in which he won a Silver Slugger award and finished as the runner-up to Albert Pujols in the NL MVP balloting.

But defense is really where Jones excelled. He won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves in center field from 1998-2007 (only Mays won more), and ranks first all-time among outfielders (second overall to Brooks Robinson) in Total Zone Runs above average.

Over his career, Jones produced 62.7 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball-Reference.com.

The case against Jones

Though he slugged a total of 434 homers in 17 big-league seasons, Jones didn’t quite reach the 2,000-hit mark (1,933) and finished with a career average of .254.

The biggest drawback to his candidacy is that his career declined rapidly after age 30. He was a colossal flop as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008, missing time with an injury for the first time in his career.

Knee problems continued to plague him going forward, severely limiting his once-great defensive skills and making him a liability at the plate. After a brilliant start to his career, Jones added just 1.7 WAR to his total from age 31 to 35.

Voting trends

According to Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall of Fame Tracker, Jones has been named on 74.3% of public votes collected as of Jan. 14.

Now in his eighth year on the ballot, Jones has seen his voting percentages rise steadily since he first became eligible. That seems to bode well for his eventual election as many borderline candidates get a significant push as they approach their final year on the ballot.

2018: 7.3%
2019: 7.5%
2020: 19.4%
2021: 33.9%
2022: 41.4%
2023: 58.1%
2024: 61.6%

Bottom line

Momentum seems to be on Jones’ side as the passage of time has only seemed to bolster his stellar defensive reputation.

While Jones may not make it all the way to the 75% threshold in Year 8, he stands a pretty good chance of being the top returning candidate on next year’s ballot. (Unless Carlos Beltran passes him, but fails to get elected.)

In addition, next year’s class of first-time eligible players doesn’t include any slam-dunk candidates, so Jones could be the player most deserving of enshrinement on the 2026 ballot.

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President Biden’s 11th-hour executive action banning new drilling and further oil and natural gas development in coastal waters in the name of protecting the environment could end up causing harm to the environment, according to experts who spoke to Fox News Digital.

Earlier this month, Biden announced the ban will affect more than 625 million acres of U.S. coastal and offshore waters while invoking the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which could mean President-elect Donald Trump will be limited in his ability to revoke the action without Congress.

Biden released a statement defending his action, arguing that the ‘relatively minimal fossil fuel potential in the areas I am withdrawing do not justify the environmental, public health, and economic risks that would come from new leasing and drilling.’

Experts who spoke to Fox News Digital suggested that the environment could ultimately end up being harmed, not helped, by Biden’s decision. 

‘President Biden’s offshore oil and gas ban is not only harmful to our economy and national security, but also jeopardizes the future of conservation in America,’ Gabriella Hoffman, Independent Women’s Forum Center for Energy & Conservation director, told Fox News Digital. 

Hoffman pointed to, among other concerns, the Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which is funded in large part by $900 million in royalties from oil and gas companies.

‘It was a simple idea: use revenues from the depletion of one natural resource – offshore oil and gas – to support the conservation of another precious resource – our land and water,’ the fund’s website states. That fund will presumably lose out on those royalties as a result of Biden’s decision, Hoffman warned. 

‘President Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law in 2020 to permanently fund the LWCF,’ Hoffman said. ‘Biden’s recent actions will weaken this law and set back true conservation efforts by decades.’

The Western Energy Alliance, a nonprofit trade association, issued a press release earlier this month warning that conservation funding will take a hit as a result of Biden’s drilling ban. 

‘By attempting to restrict offshore access before walking out the door, President Biden also threatens treasured outdoor spaces across the country. The president completely ignores the fact that the Land and Water Conservation Fund is exclusively funded by offshore oil and natural gas leasing and production,’ Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Alliance, said in the press release. 

‘Nearly every community nationwide has a park or outdoor recreation facility that has received funding from the LWCF. National parks that have struggled with dilapidation and damages from overcrowding similarly benefit from offshore revenues. These funds help protect water ways, support wildlife, and build trails and playgrounds. President Biden put the future of these projects at risk with his Executive Order.’

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior, who oversees the LWCF, said, ‘There would be no effect to any existing leases (or royalties derived from them for the U.S. treasury), nor the LWCF.’

The spokesperson added, ‘The Central and Western Gulf, where funding from LCWF comes from, is not impacted by the President’s withdrawal.’

Hoffman told Fox News Digital that Biden’s directive, ‘won’t impact LWCF in the short-term, with Trump-era leasing grandfathered in, the long-term impact could put $2.8B of conservation funding- including $900M from offshore royalties – at risk.’

Additionally, cutting oil drilling in the United States is likely to drive the United States to become more dependent on foreign sources of oil, often in countries with less environmental protections than those that exist in the United States. 

‘Biden’s anti-oil and gas decree could undermine president-elect Trump’s ‘drill baby drill’ agenda and make us more dependent on imports from foreign countries that don’t respect the environment,’ Hoffman told Fox News Digital. 

Power The Future founder and Executive Director Daniel Turner echoed the concerns about the environment as well as human rights to Fox News Digital. 

‘We are driving responsible, ethical, environmentally sensitive resource development out of America and into developing nations, often managed by communist China, where pollution and slave labor are unchecked and accepted,’ Turner said. ‘In fact, oftentimes those conditions help with profit margins, and we say ‘these goods are cheaper made in China.’ They are cheaper because of what China does, and our standards must force us to choose.’

Turner continued, ‘Saudi Arabia and Kuwait flare methane. In most of America, this is illegal. Coal is mined by children in China and Indonesia and across Southeast Asia. Rare Earths are mined by slaves in Africa, and green activists ensure this continues by preventing such mining to occur ethically and responsibly in America.’

Turner questioned how the Biden administration can argue that ‘oil produced irresponsibly in foreign countries and landed on tankers burning millions of gallons of diesel’ is considered ‘green.’

‘If we truly want to be green, we will do everything we can to produce all our energy and mine all our raw materials here in America,’ Turner said. ‘It is not only greener, it is better for our economy and our national security.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response. 

Trump has said he plans to immediately reverse the drilling ban along most of the U.S. coastline, but he faces major roadblocks under a 70-year, irrevocable law.

‘This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill,’ Trump’s spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, said in a statement. 

Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report

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A Democrat senator admitted Tuesday that he would support Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s confirmation again if the vote was held today despite Austin’s many controversial actions and repeatedly grilling Trump’s SecDef nominee Pete Hegseth over his qualifications earlier in the day.

Would you vote for Lloyd Austin if there were a vote on him today?’ Fox News Digital asked Blumenthal on Tuesday. 

I would support General Austin as Secretary of Defense,’ Blumenthal responded. ‘I did when he was nominated. I would support Secretary Mattis that was nominated by President Trump during his first term. I would not support this nominee because [Hegseth] lacks the financial management skills, the character and confidence, as well as the moral compass.’

During the hearing, Blumenthal told Hegseth, ‘I don’t believe that you can tell this committee, or the people of America that you are qualified to lead them. I would support you as the spokesperson for the Pentagon. I don’t dispute your communication skills, but I believe that we are entitled to the facts here.’

Austin has been widely criticized by conservatives, as well as some Democrats, for presiding over the chaotic and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan as well as several other perceived missteps during his tenure, including a situation where he was forced to directly apologize to President Biden for not informing him that he was hospitalized. 

‘Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin oversaw the catastrophic Afghanistan withdrawal, let the Chinese make rapid advancements to catch up to our defense capabilities, went MIA for days leaving the Pentagon without a leader, prioritized DEI policies over defense needs, and allowed Biden’s policy of appeasement,’ GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson posted on X on Tuesday. ‘We need a DECISIVE leader who can focus the Department of Defense on its mission of protecting America. We need Pete Hegseth.’

Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., an Army veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, unsuccessfully handed Austin articles of impeachment in 2023, blaming him for a ‘25,000-plus recruitment shortage’ and saying there were ‘8,400 people who were unconstitutionally purged from the military … you’ve got pronouns and DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] being taught at our military academies when we need to be focusing on what the next threat is and how we mitigate it.’

‘Not only do I believe that you should have resigned … I myself perceive this as a dereliction of duty, and I take that very seriously,’ Mills told Austin during the hearing before recounting what he believed were Austin’s failures during the Afghanistan withdrawal. ‘Political optics was placed above the true military strategy, where we should have held Bagram Air Base, held the detention center … not shut down and entrap Americans by taking over HKIA (Hamid Karazai International Airport), the commercial airspace and abandoning thousands of Americans.’

Conservatives on social media also brought up a controversy from 2010 when Blumenthal was first running for Senate, where he suggested on multiple occasions he had served in Vietnam when he had not. Blumenthal, who received several draft deferments before serving in the Marine Corps. Reserve,  ultimately acknowledged that he had ‘misspoken’ about his record but described those instances as few and far between.

‘Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal, who lied about serving in Vietnam to get elected, berating combat vet Pete Hegseth is a bit hard to take,’ Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich posted on X on Tuesday.

‘Reminder: Sen. Blumenthal lied for his entire adult life about fighting in a war that he did not,’ Fox News contributor Guy Benson posted on X. 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Sen. Blumenthal made the case that Tuesday’s hearing was about Hegseth’s record and not his. 

‘The people of Connecticut have always been clear about my record of military service, which is why they overwhelmingly elected me three times to the United States Senate,’ Blumenthal said. ‘This hearing was about Pete Hegseth’s record of alleged sexual assault, alcohol abuse, and financial mismanagement that showed him to be unqualified and unprepared to command 3.4 million Americans who protect our nation’s security.’

Fox News’ Michael Lee contributed reporting.

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Government inspectors documented unsanitary conditions at several Boar’s Head deli meat plants, not just the factory that was shut down last year after a deadly outbreak of listeria poisoning, federal records show.

Newly released reports from Boar’s Head plants in New Castle, Indiana; Forrest City, Arkansas; and Petersburg, Virginia, described multiple instances of meat and fat residue left on equipment and walls, dripping condensation falling on food, mold, insects and other problems dating back roughly six years. Last May, one inspector documented “general filth” in a room at the Indiana plant.

The U.S. Agriculture Department released the inspection records in response to Freedom of Information Act requests from The Associated Press and other news organizations.

The problems documented at the three factories echo some of the violations found at the Jarratt, Virginia, plant linked to the food poisoning outbreak. The newly released reports describe:

Boar’s Head officials said in an email Monday that the violations documented in the three factories “do not meet our high standards.” The company’s remaining plants continue to operate under normal USDA oversight, they added. The Sarasota, Florida-based company has marketed itself for decades as a premier provider of deli meats and cheeses, advertising “excellence that stands apart in every bite.”

Records from a fourth Boar’s Head plant in New Holland, Michigan, do not show similar problems.

Boar’s Head stopped making liverwurst and shuttered its Jarratt, Virginia, plant in September after listeria poisoning tied to the product sickened more than 60 people in 19 states, including 10 who died.

Health officials in Maryland initially discovered listeria contamination in a package of unopened liverwurst. The company recalled more than 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat deli meat and poultry sold nationwide. About 2.6 million pounds was eventually recovered, according to the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The conditions revealed at the other Boar’s Head plants are “really concerning,” said Thomas Gremillion, director of food policy at the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit advocacy group.

“It’s reasonable for some people to decide they don’t want to eat deli meat,” he said. “Companies like Boar’s Head, they should have to earn consumers’ trust.”

Boar’s Head faces multiple lawsuits connected to the outbreak.

“This makes me extremely angry and sad,” said Garett Dorman, whose mother, Linda Dorman, 73, of Oxford, Pennsylvania, died in July after eating Boar’s Head liverwurst. She had cancer, and liverwurst was one of the few foods she would eat, he said. He is suing the company, according to court documents filed by Marler Clark, a Seattle law firm.

“I believe Boar’s Head needs to completely revamp their program at all of their facilities,” Dorman said in an email. “Boar’s Head needs to put the welfare of people as their highest priority.”

Lawmakers including Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Rosa DeLauro have sharply criticized USDA officials for not taking stronger action against the company, despite documentation of repeated problems. The USDA inspector general is reviewing the agency’s handling of the situation. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether criminal charges are warranted.

“The new records released by FSIS should be considered by the DOJ, especially as they potentially point to a wider, systemic problem,” the lawmakers said in a statement. “These reports make clear that there is a culture of noncompliance of critical safety and sanitary protocols.”

In a report released Friday, USDA officials said “inadequate sanitation practices” contributed to the outbreak. Product residue, condensation and structural problem in the buildings were key factors, the agency found. State inspectors working in partnership with USDA had documented mold, insects, liquid dripping from ceilings, and meat and fat residue on walls, floors and equipment, the AP previously reported.

USDA officials have promised new measures to control listeria in plants that make ready-to-eat foods, including broader testing, updated training and tools, increased inspections, more food safety reviews and stronger oversight of state inspectors who act on behalf of the agency.

Boar’s Head is hiring a “food safety culture manager,” according to Frank Yiannas, a former official at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration who is now advising the company.

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