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Jerry Jones’ search for Mike McCarthy’s replacement didn’t take the Dallas Cowboys owner very far.

The Cowboys are hiring offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as their new head coach, the team announced Friday.

“Brian Schottenheimer is known as a career assistant,” Jones told ESPN. “He ain’t no assistant anymore. He is now known as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.”

Schottenheimer is scheduled to be introduced as head coach at a news conference at noon ET on Monday.

Schottenheimer, 51, interviewed with the team on Tuesday and again on Wednesday. The Cowboys formally met with only three other candidates – former New York Jets coach Robert Saleh, Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach Leslie Frazier – in what was the smallest group of interviewees for any of the seven vacancies in this cycle.

All things Cowboys: Latest Dallas Cowboys news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Colorado coach and former Cowboys great Deion Sanders spoke with Jones regarding the vacancy, but talks never advanced beyond that initial stage.

Schottenheimer served as offensive coordinator for the team for the last two years after McCarthy parted ways with Moore and took over play-calling duties. The Cowboys ranked first in scoring in 2023 at 29.9 points per game, but the unit finished just 21st this season after quarterback Dak Prescott was lost for the remainder of the season to a partial tendon avulsion of his right hamstring suffered in November.

McCarthy and the Cowboys parted ways following a 7-10 season, with Jones saying the search to find a replacement would begin ‘immediately.’

The Cowboys’ hire leaves the New Orleans Saints as the only team remaining with a head coaching vacancy.

Who is Brian Schottenheimer?

The son of the late Marty Schottenheimer, a longtime NFL coach, Brian Schottenheimer has held the position of offensive coordinator for three other NFL teams – the New York Jets (2006-11), St. Louis Rams (2012-14) and Seattle Seahawks (2018-20). He coached under his father in stops with the Kansas City Chiefs (1998), Washington (2001) and San Diego Chargers (2002-05).

Prior to being hired by the Cowboys, he was the Jacksonville Jaguars’ passing game coordinator under Urban Meyer.

Prior to this week, Schottenheimer had not interviewed for a head coaching position with an NFL team since 2013, when he met with the Jaguars.

This story was updated with new information.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates offered a king’s ransom for rookie pitcher Paul Skenes’ 1/1 debut patch card, but the Los Angeles preteen who pulled the incredibly rare trading card is saying no deal.

The 11-year-old collector and his family declined the Pirates’ offer to exchange Skenes’ debut card for two season tickets behind home plate at PNC Park for the next 30 years, an exclusive meet-and-greet with Skenes, two autographed Skenes jerseys and more, Topps announced Friday.

‘The collector has decided to forego the Pirates offer, and is sending the card to auction,’ Topps wrote on X. The Pirates responded, ‘Well…we’re bummed that we won’t be seeing you behind home plate for 30 seasons. But we’d still love to bring you to Pittsburgh for a special day at PNC Park this season.’

The card features a patch worn on the sleeve of Skenes’ jersey from his major league debut and an autograph from the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year. It will hit the auction block in March. Fanatics Collect said its proceeds from the auction ‘will be directly donated to LA Fire Relief funds.’

Pirates offer Paul Skenes meet-and-greet to young fan

The unidentified 11-year-old collector may have passed up the Pirates’ offer for the card, but the ball club is not taking everything off the table. Pirates owner Bob Nutting said he would still love to host a meet-and-greet with Skenes, the team and the young fan, despite the fan declining to exchange the rare trading card.

All things Pirates: Latest Pittsburgh Pirates news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

‘We had a lot of fun with the idea of a bounty, but we couldn’t be happier for this young baseball fan and his family,’ Nutting said in a statement. ‘Reading his story on how he pulled the card on Christmas morning, what a magical moment. That family bond is what baseball is all about. I would love to host him and his family and follow through with a meet-and-greet with Paul and his teammates, either here in Pittsburgh or when we travel to L.A.’ 

‘A dream come true’

Topps shared diary entries from the 11-year-old collector, who documented how he came into possession of the Skenes 1/1 debut patch card on Christmas morning. The collector called the pull ‘a dream come true.’

‘It was November 13, 2024 and Topps had released (the) 2024 Chrome Update. It was $200, which was a lot, but considering the players and rookies, it was fair. I started begging my mom for it for Christmas. … Since they are awesome they got the box. They told me when I got home from school and I was so excited. Fast forward to Christmas… First I woke up at like 4:00 a.m. and woke my brother (whoops). We waited till 6:30 a.m. and we woke up our parents. The first present we opened was the hobby box. … I opened two more packs and on the second pack I got the Paul Skenes redemption card. … Me, my brother and my Dad were like OMG! (My mom was very excited, but she never collected cards so she didn’t know what it means.) Then my brain pooped and I started bouncing all over the place.’

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The San Francisco 49ers officially named Robert Saleh the team’s new defensive coordinator Friday night.

Saleh, 45, previously served as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator from 2017-2020 before leaving to become the head coach of the New York Jets. He was fired by the Jets in October just five games into his fourth season, finishing his tenure with a 20-36 record. Though the Jets struggled under Saleh, particularly on offense, the coach’s defensive acumen appears to remain top-notch.

The Jets were a top-five defense in yards against the past three seasons (fourth in 2022, third in 2023, third in 2024). Saleh also oversaw two top-five units in his first go-around with the 49ers (second in 2019 when San Francisco won the NFC, fifth in 2020).

Though San Francisco has generally remained stout on defense since Saleh’s departure after the 2020 season, the defensive coordinator position has become something of a revolving door for Kyle Shanahan.

DeMeco Ryans excelled after taking the reins from Saleh — so much so that he left to become head coach of the Houston Texans after two seasons. Steve Wilks took over in 2023 and the 49ers reached the Super Bowl, but Wilks was fired after the season.

All things 49ers: Latest San Francisco 49ers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Nick Sorensen took over as DC but was ousted after the 49ers’ disappointing 2024 season. The 49ers finished eighth in yards against for the second consecutive year, but plummeted from third in points against to 29th — their worst showing in that department since they finished last in the league in 2016’s 2-14 debacle.

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The Senate will hold votes over the weekend to accelerate the confirmation of one of President Donald Trump’s key Cabinet nominees.

Lawmakers will meet for a rare Saturday session to hold a vote on whether to confirm South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, to the top Cabinet position. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., indicated earlier in the week that the Senate would stay over the weekend to push through the confirmation process if Democrats blocked voting efforts.

‘Do we want a vote on these folks on Tuesday or vote on them on Friday, Saturday and Sunday? Because that’s what we’re going to do,’ Thune said after Democrats blocked a confirmation vote for Trump’s CIA director nominee, John Ratcliffe, who has bipartisan support. ‘This can be easy or this can be hard.’  

‘This is about America’s national security interests, and we’re stalling, so that’s not going to happen,’ Thune said.

Noem was questioned by lawmakers on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee during her confirmation hearing earlier in the week.  

The Department of Homeland Security deals with national security and immigration issues, making Noem’s confirmation top of mind for Trump as he makes the crisis at the southern border a priority during his second term.

Several of Trump’s nominees remain unconfirmed after the 47th president’s first week in office. But Thune promised while speaking on the Senate floor on Friday that he ‘will continue to ensure that the Senate works as quickly as possible to get President Trump’s team in place.’

Fox News’ Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.

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Before he left office, President Joe Biden followed his unprecedented pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, by issuing additional preemptive pardons to family members, dating back to his time as vice president. I believe these preemptive pardons serve as a confession that the Biden family sold out the American people to enrich themselves. In fact, Biden’s own Justice Department has argued that accepting a pardon implies an admission of guilt.  

When the House Oversight Committee began our investigation of Biden and his family’s alleged influence-peddling schemes, the narrative pushed by the legacy media was that the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop were disinformation. Biden claimed that his family’s business dealings were ‘ethical.’ But our investigation blew through these lies and more as we followed the money trail and conducted a forensic accounting of the Biden family ‘business.’ 

During our investigation, the House Oversight Committee reviewed hundreds of pages of documents at the U.S. Department of the Treasury generated by the Bidens’ and their associates’ high-dollar transactions. These documents are filed by experts at banks when there is evidence of potential money laundering or other criminal activity. Additionally, we obtained the bank records for Hunter Biden, James Biden, their shell companies, and business associates.  

Bank records don’t lie. Through these records, we identified over 20 companies that the Bidens and their associates created – most of which were created after Joe Biden became vice president of the United States. The Bidens and their associates then used these shell companies to accept payments from foreign entities and individuals. Once the payments arrived in the shell companies’ bank accounts, incremental payments were made from them to members of the Biden family. In fact, we identified 10 members of the Biden family who received these payments, some of which were sent directly to Joe Biden’s home in Delaware.  

Including loans that do not appear to have been paid back, the Biden family’s enrichment scheme generated over $30 million in payments to the Bidens and their associates from corrupt foreign entities and individuals in China, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Kazakhstan. What were they selling? I believe it was access to Joe Biden and his influence. 

After we obtained the bank records, the Oversight Committee hauled in members of the Biden family and their associates for testimony. Multiple Biden family associates confirmed Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ sold around the world and helped close the Bidens’ deals with foreign nationals. 

Devon Archer, a Biden family associate, confirmed during a transcribed interview that when Joe Biden was vice president, he dined with Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina, Kazakhstani oligarch Kenes Rakishev, and Burisma’s corporate secretary Vadym Pozharsky at Café Milano in Washington, D.C.  

These dinners occurred shortly before or after the foreign nationals or their affiliated entities were collectively paying Hunter Biden millions of dollars. Then-Vice President Joe Biden also met with Jonathan Li, a Chinese national who was Hunter Biden’s associate, and wrote a college letter of recommendation for his daughter. Even when presented with this evidence, President Biden continued to insist to the American people that he had never met with his son’s business associates.

Rob Walker, a Biden family associate who was involved in the Bidens’ dealings with Chinese and Romanian entities, confirmed during a transcribed interview that Joe Biden met with the now-missing chairman of CEFC, Ye Jianming, as Hunter Biden and his associates received $3 million from a Chinese entity CEFC controlled. 

Jason Galanis, another Biden family business associate, testified that Hunter Biden put his father on speakerphone with Yelena Baturina. Joe Biden ended the call by stating, ‘Ok then, you be good to my boy.’ A few days later, Baturina committed to a ‘hard order’ of $10-20 million to an entity benefiting Hunter Biden.  

Tony Bobulinski articulated under oath that Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ the Bidens sold to enrich the family. Biden not only knew about his family’s dealings with a Chinese Communist Party-linked energy company, but he also enabled them and participated in them. Tony Bobulinski testified he believes Biden committed wrongdoing and continues to lie to the American people about his participation in his family’s influence-peddling schemes.  

The Bidens and their associates then used these shell companies to accept payments from foreign entities and individuals. Once the payments arrived in the shell companies’ bank accounts, they would then launder money in incremental payments to members of the Biden family. In fact, we identified 10 members of the Biden family who benefited from these schemes, including Joe Biden. 

As we presented all this evidence to the American people in a transparent way, the legacy media claimed there was ‘no evidence’ of wrongdoing by Joe Biden and his family. Biden’s pardons of his family serve as an indictment of the legacy media, which lost all credibility as it covered up Joe Biden and his family’s abuse of power, corruption, and obstruction. Following the pardons, even former President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Bill Daley, said it ‘confirms that there are serious concerns about culpability.’  

The American people have seen through the Bidens’ lies and the legacy media’s coverup, and they know the truth: President Biden abused his public office to create a slush fund for his family. President Biden will go down as the most corrupt president in U.S. history, and our investigation will be remembered as one of the most successful ever conducted by Congress. Indeed, Joe Biden’s final act in office — pardoning his family — confirms it. 

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Pete Hegseth squeaked through his Senate confirmation on Friday and became America’s new secretary of defense, but he needn’t thank Republican senators Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins.

For all three long-time establishment and anti-Trump senators, the main objection to Hegseth stepping into the top Pentagon job was that they believe he lacks the prerequisite experience to run the mammoth organization. Here is how Murkowski put it in an X post: ‘Managing the Department of Defense requires vast experience and expertise as the department is one of the most complex and powerful organizations in the world, and Mr. Hegseth’s prior roles in his career do not demonstrate to me that he is prepared for such immense responsibility.’

Never mind that Hegseth was educated at Princeton and Harvard and served more than a decade in the U.S. Army infantry. Forget that he rose to the rank of major while serving tours in Afghanistan. And disregard that he is a published author who has led veteran advocacy organizations. The problem for these senators was that Hegseth lacks the traditional credential of having worked for a defense contractor, the very type that have been captured over the past two decades by the woke agenda Hegseth has vowed to eliminate.

Let’s take Trump’s last Defense Secretary, the eminently qualified Mark Esper. Like Hegseth, Esper served in the military, but upon leaving active service, he held a menagerie of high-profile jobs with legislators, the Chamber of Commerce, and eventually as a vice president for defense company Raytheon.

This is exactly the kind of resume that McConnell, Murkowski and Collins were looking for. Esper is the kind of guy who gets 90 votes in favor of confirmation, as he did in 2019, but in building that corporate CV he looked the other way as the institutions he served embraced wokeness and DEI.

Here is what Shanda Hinton, Raytheon Technologies’ chief diversity officer, had to say in 2023: ‘Advancing diversity, equity and inclusion is more than a goal – it’s our duty and a critical element of our . This recognition only encourages us to keep pushing to create generational change.’

This was the gentle cowardice of the old Republican Party, always scared of being called names by the left if they didn’t pretend men can become women and America is a deeply racist country.

I’m not trying to argue that Esper is some kind of Ibram X Kendi when it comes to things like critical race theory. But he clearly looked the other way as these perverse progressive mindsets took hold.

This was the gentle cowardice of the old Republican Party, always scared of being called names by the left if they didn’t pretend men can become women and America is a deeply racist country. But now is time for courage. This is why Hegseth is the right man for this moment. While the Mark Espers of the world stood by as DEI programs and wokeness infected the military and defense industry, Hegseth was writing books about the leftist institutional capture of our armed forces and schools.

The former ‘Fox & Friends’ weekend anchor may never have been a C-suiter at a massive corporation, but all of those companies have been complicit in the anti-merit based policies that Hegseth promised to pull the plug on during his Senate confirmation hearings.

In a very real sense, Hegseth is qualified because he isn’t ‘qualified.’ Almost anybody who checked the boxes that McConnell, Murkowski and Collins demand would be coming from the same groupthink swamp that has made our military weaker in the name of diversity.

The American people voted for Trump in large part because they know that Democrats have lost their minds in the culture war. We don’t want men in women’s sports and we do want a military focused on being lethal, not politically correct.

If Hegseth winds up in over his head we will know it pretty fast, and I will gladly apologize to his twin detractors on the Republican side of the senate aisle, but that is very unlikely to happen, and how high is the bar really when Biden’s DefSec Lloyd Austin just went missing for a few days and nobody cared?

Hegseth has a chance to fix the military the way Trump wants him to because the American people elected Trump to get that exact thing done. 

Elections, they say, have consequences and a Hegseth-led Department of Defense is a great consequence for those who want merit, fairness, and competence in the military. It is a shame, but maybe not surprising that Collins, McConnell, and Murkowski could not see this. Fortunately, Vance made sure their misguided opinions didn’t get in the way of real change at the Pentagon. 

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The Indian equities continued to trade with a corrective undertone as they ended the week on a mildly negative note. Over the past five sessions, the Nifty continued facing selling pressure at higher levels while staying mainly in a range. The markets remained in a very defined trading range and stayed decisively below key levels. The trading range widened a bit; the Nifty oscillated in 449.45 points before closing towards its lower end of the range. The volatility increased; the India VIX inched higher by 6.33% to 16.75 and stayed at elevated levels. While not showing any major reversal attempts, the benchmark index closed with a net weekly loss of 111 points (-0.48%).

The coming week will be a 6-day trading week. Both NSE and BSE shall conduct a special full-day trading session on Saturday, February 1, 2025, on account of the presentation of the Union Budget.As we commence a new week, it is important to observe that the markets remain decidedly below key levels. The Nifty Index is significantly below its 200-day moving average (200-DMA), which is situated at 23,984. Additionally, a Death Cross pattern has formed on the daily charts as the 50-day moving average (50-DMA) has crossed below the 200-DMA. On the weekly charts, we are also below the 50-week moving average (50-WMA) placed at 23,711. Consequently, even the most robust technical rebounds, should they occur, are likely to encounter resistance around the 23,700 level and higher. In summary, as long as the Nifty remains below the 23,500-23,650 range, it will likely be susceptible to profit-taking at elevated levels.

The levels of 23325 and 23500 are expected to act as potential resistance points in the coming week. The supports are at 22900 and 22650.

The weekly RSI is 40.71. It stays neutral and does not show any divergence against the price. The weekly MACD is bearish and trades below the signal line.

The pattern analysis of the weekly charts shows that the Nifty is now decisively below the 50-week MA at 23711. This means the key resistance level has been dragged lower to this point, even from a medium-term horizon. As evidenced on the chart, while the Nifty breached the 50-week MA, it also slipped below the support of the rising trend line pattern.

Overall, the markets will likely trade with a weak undertone over the immediate short-term. We are likely to see ranged markets with weak undercurrents through the week. However, we will likely see immense volatility on Saturday as we head into the Union Budget on February 1. The markets may see some risk-off sentiment playing out; this is likely to see the traditionally defensive sectors like IT, Pharma, FMCG, etc., doing well. We will also see some Budget-driven movement in a few select pockets. The markets shall fully digest the Budget the week after this one. It is strongly recommended to be very light on positions and keep leveraged exposures at modest levels. A highly cautious view is advised for the coming week.

Sector Analysis for the coming week

In our look at Relative Rotation Graphs®, we compared various sectors against CNX500 (NIFTY 500 Index), which represents over 95% of the free float market cap of all the stocks listed.

Relative Rotation Graphs (RRG) show a lack of leadership in the sectoral setup. The Nifty Realty, Banknifty, Financial Services Index, and the Midcap 100 Index are inside the leading quadrant. Except for the Midcap 100 Index, the rest are showing a decline in their relative momentum. However, these groups are likely to outperform the broader markets relatively.

The Nifty IT index has rolled inside the weakening quadrant. However, stock-specific performance may be seen from this space. The Nifty Pharma and the Services Sector Indices are also inside the weakening quadrant.

The Nifty Metal, Media, PSE, Energy, FMCG, Consumption, and Commodities Indices are inside the lagging quadrant. Most of these sectors are showing sharp improvement in their relative momentum.

The Nifty Auto has rolled inside the improving quadrant, and the Nifty Infrastructure and PSU Bank Indices are also inside the improving quadrant. However, the PSU Bank Index is seen sharply giving up on its relative momentum.

Important Note: RRG™ charts show the relative strength and momentum of a group of stocks. In the above Chart, they show relative performance against NIFTY500 Index (Broader Markets) and should not be used directly as buy or sell signals.  

Milan Vaishnav, CMT, MSTA

Consulting Technical Analyst

www.EquityResearch.asia | www.ChartWizard.ae

The Carolina Hurricanes are taking a big swing.

Carolina acquired two-time 40-goal scorer and Stanley Cup champion Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche and former NHL MVP Taylor Hall from the Chicago Blackhawks in a blockbuster trade Friday night.

Colorado received Martin Necas and Jack Drury from Carolina in the deal, along with a second-round pick and fourth-round pick. Chicago gets a third-round pick, helping to facilitate the deal by retaining 50% of Rantanen’s salary.

Carolina Hurricanes trade grade

Grade: B+

For the Hurricanes, the move for Rantanen is all about raising the ceiling.

Rantanen, 28, has been one of the NHL’s most productive wingers in recent seasons, putting up back-to-back 40-goal, 100-point campaigns (including 55 goals in 2022-23) and helping the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2022. He’s also a pending unrestricted free agent poised to see his average annual value increase from the $9.25 million he was already making.

In a perfect world, the Hurricanes and Rantanen will be able to come to an extension. The fact we don’t yet know if an extension is in place is the only thing really holding this deal back from being an A. Worst-case scenario: This is last year’s Jake Guentzel trade, on steroids.

Even if an extension doesn’t come, Rantanen is the kind of high-end difference-maker who could help Carolina finally break through. The Hurricanes have been knocking on the door for years but haven’t reached the Stanley Cup Final in 19 years, with two conference finals appearances and three second-round exits since 2019.

Hall, 33, isn’t the player he was when he won the MVP award in 2018, but he’s still a solid enough depth option and will likely put up more points playing for a significantly better team.

Colorado Avalanche trade grade

Grade: C+

This deal seems to indicate Rantanen and the Avalanche did not see a path forward. Colorado already has one of the league’s most expensive players in MVP Nathan MacKinnon ($12.6 million AAV) and it frankly will be a surprise if defenseman Cale Makar does not clear the $10 million a year mark when his contract expires after the 2026-27 season.

Losing a homegrown player like Rantanen always hurts, but for a competing Colorado team, landing Necas will help soften the blow. Necas, 26, is actually the Hurricanes’ leading scorer right now (55 points in 49 games) and has another year left on his contract at a great price ($6.5 million AAV).

Drury, 24, is a young depth option under team control. And it never hurts to add picks.

NHL insider Chris Johnston says there is ‘more to come in Colorado.’

Chicago Blackhawks trade grade

Grade: C

Not much to see here. One of the worst teams in the league ships out Hall and gets a pick to help make the deal happen. Thus is the life of a rebuilding team already thinking about the draft lottery.

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For years, conservative media, lawmakers and talking heads have been sounding the alarm about President Joe Biden’s cognitive free fall. And for years, left-wing media, lawmakers and their loyal mouthpieces waved it off with the same condescending dismissal — accusing us of lying, fear-mongering or worse. Some even went so far as to say they couldn’t keep up with Biden’s supposed brilliance and jam-packed schedule of what was mostly just one morning briefing and two mid-afternoon naps. 

Fast-forward to the post-presidency. Now that Biden has shuffled out of office, left-wing media seems to be waking up to the glaringly obvious. The New York Times of all places — yes, the same paper that acted as Biden’s PR firm — has revealed that he relied on teleprompters during intimate fundraisers in private homes. At events where he was supposed to come across as casual and personable, he needed scripted prompts. Donors weren’t exactly brimming with confidence. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson dropped a bombshell about a January 2024 meeting in which Biden was apparently stunned to learn he had signed an executive order halting liquefied natural gas exports just weeks earlier. He repeatedly denied even knowing about it. Johnson believed Biden didn’t know what he signed, leaving him with a terrifying question: ‘Who is running the country?’ 

Spoiler alert: It wasn’t Biden. And to answer Johnson’s question, there are at least five shadowy figures who might have been behind the wheel — or rather, letting the car roll downhill with no one on the brakes. 

1. Former President Barack Obama 

Remember when former President Barack Obama joked in a 2020 interview with Stephen Colbert that he’d love a third term where he could play puppet master while someone else carried out his orders? Well, guess what — he may as well have been describing the Biden presidency. 

The continuity of Obama-era policies under Biden is glaring. Biden’s radical economic and climate boondoggles — like Build Back Better and The Inflation Reduction Act — weren’t just echoes of Obama’s agenda; they were carbon copies, with Biden playing the role of a less convincing understudy. Biden’s own ‘Obamacare’ albatross was just as disastrous, except this time it was painted green, cost even more, and led to an inflation nightmare. 

And let’s not forget the Afghanistan withdrawal fiasco, which had Obama’s fingerprints all over it. The same architects of Obama-era failures were in charge, bungling timelines and ignoring warnings. Meanwhile, Biden seemed to be caught off guard at every turn, surprised by how the plan unfolded — because he probably wasn’t the one pulling the strings. Who were Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and CIA Director William Burns actually answering to? 

Obama wasn’t exactly subtle about staying in the picture. He was offering Biden advice, headlining White House events, and reportedly holding closed-door meetings with key officials. By 2023, when Biden’s mental decline became increasingly difficult to camouflage, Politico openly wondered, ‘Is Barack Obama Ready To Reassert Himself?’ He might have been asserting himself the entire time, or at least nudging the wheel while Biden tried to figure out where the car keys were. 

2. First Lady Jill Biden 

The first lady was Joe Biden’s handler, coach and babysitter. Jill Biden’s influence on Joe’s decision-making has been an open secret for years, starting with his decision to run for president in 2020, even though close advisers reportedly warned he didn’t have the stamina for a grueling campaign.  

When Joe Biden’s promise to be a one-term president came up, and Democrats began eyeing the door for their next candidate, it was Jill who convinced him to run for re-election — despite what she had to know about his obvious decline. Was this about his legacy, or was it just a desperate power grab? 

After Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump, where he looked more confused than commanding, Jill delivered the kind of praise that would make North Korean propagandists blush: ‘You answered every question! You knew all the facts!’  

It was as believable as former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas telling us the border was secure while we watched videos showing illegal immigrants streaming across it. Mayorkas lied to protect an agenda; Jill lied to protect her husband’s image — and her own grip on influence. 

Remember the infamous photo of her sitting in the president’s chair on Air Force One while ‘prepping for the G7 Summit’? Or how she led a cabinet meeting last September? Since when does the first lady run cabinet meetings? Jill was stepping in when her husband was disengaged, disoriented or otherwise absent — a role that feels more like acting president than loving partner. 

3. Chief of Staff Jeff Zients 

Biden’s Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, often called a ‘fixer,’ quietly emerged as one of the most powerful figures in the administration. Zients’ influence was evident during the early stages of the pandemic, when he spearheaded the COVID-19 response team. Since then, his role has expanded, effectively making him the behind-the-scenes manager of the White House with a president who didn’t grasp what was really going on. 

Zients played a crucial part in shaping and managing the administration’s day-to-day agenda, including overseeing staffing decisions and ensuring execution of Biden’s initiatives. He recruited a third deputy chief of staff, Natalie Quillian, to implement the administration’s initiatives, but the move was internally controversial, ruffling feathers of those who saw her as Zients’ enforcer as the ‘bad cop.’   

Given Zients’ reputation as a detail-oriented manager with significant control over White House operations, it’s certainly plausible that he orchestrated the signing of the executive order halting liquefied natural gas exports, ensuring it aligned with his broader environmental or economic goals without requiring Biden’s deep engagement. 

4. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan

His role as national security advisor positioned him as a key figure in the Biden administration, but given the president’s cognitive abilities, it may have been simply calling the shots. Too bad he wasn’t very successful. 

Sullivan was instrumental in orchestrating major policies, such as the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, where he managed the planning process. Sullivan was so involved that it caught the attention of Congressman Mike McCaul, who demanded Sullivan testify in front of a House committee. He also played a significant role in shaping the administration’s industrial strategy, promoting policies to protect U.S. manufacturing and counter China’s technological advancements. 

Given these substantial responsibilities and his central role in formulating and implementing policy, it’s plausible that Sullivan functioned as a de facto leader within the administration, especially given Biden’s capacity to govern.  

5. A purple-haired 24-year-old intern who moonlights as a TikTok influencer 

The radical shift in gender and race policies under the Biden administration screams of a progressive activist completely out of touch with mainstream America. 

Biden’s decision to let biological males compete in women’s sports — signed as an executive order on day one — showcases the extreme agenda of far-left influencers. Add to that the administration’s push for critical race theory training across federal agencies and its abandonment of meritocracy for race- and gender-conscious hiring.  

These policies feel like they were dreamed up by a 24-year-old progressive fresh out of college, fresh off a ‘gap year’ funded by their parents while they ‘roughed it’ in luxury hotels across Europe. 

Then there’s the White House’s reliance on TikTok and X influencers like Harry Sisson and Chris Mowrey. Watching influencers awkwardly dance while professing their love for an octogenarian president wasn’t just embarrassing — it was a window into who’s really shaping the administration’s messaging.  

The first lady was Joe Biden’s handler, coach and babysitter. Jill Biden’s influence on Joe’s decision-making has been an open secret for years, starting with his decision to run for president in 2020, even though close advisers reportedly warned he didn’t have the stamina for a grueling campaign.  

What kind of adult turns to TikTok twerps for serious promotion? Probably another TikTok twerp with access to Biden’s social media accounts. This cringe-worthy reliance on influencers reflects a radicalized youth presence in the White House, wielding outsized influence over both policy and messaging. 

The Rejects 

Could Vice President Kamala Harris really have been running the show? Unlikely. She treated her VP title the same way she handled her border czar role — loving the prestige while doing next to nothing. As for Hunter Biden, he may have had influence, but running a shadow presidency while hawking finger paintings for Oval Office access? That’s a full-time job all on its own. And actor George Clooney? Sure, he ended Biden’s presidency with one editorial, but let’s be real — would someone who wields that kind of influence give up power so easily? Doubt it. 

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The global climate movement is already feeling the sting of the ‘Trump effect’ after green energy policies were a target of President Donald Trump’s first executive orders, according to energy experts who reacted to the president’s first week in office.

Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States Monday, signing numerous executive orders aimed at unraveling former President Joe Biden’s climate agenda.  

‘President Trump has not wasted any time to undo Biden’s many climate policies designed to make energy more expensive and less affordable. America and the world can look forward to a brighter future because of the actions that President Trump has started on his first day in office,’ Myron Ebell, chairman of the American Lands Council, said in a statement.

But Ebell added that ‘it’s going to be a long, hard fight because of ferocious opposition’ from climate groups.

This week, Trump signed an executive order to ax the U.S. climate standards, which aimed to reduce emissions 61-66% by 2035. 

Additionally, the president ended the electric vehicle (EV) mandate and withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement, a legally binding treaty among more than 190 parties committed to international cooperation on climate change.

‘President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Accords is a victory for American workers and families, rejecting policies that prioritize the Chinese Communist Party’s interests over our own,’ said Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute and a former Texas state representative.

‘The Paris framework does nothing to mitigate a changing climate but drives up energy costs and burdens Americans with decarbonization mandates rooted in the climate hoax. By making American energy more affordable and accessible, President Trump is benefiting not only our nation but the world.’

Marc Morano, publisher of Climate Depot, a communication platform for climate issues designed by the Committee For a Constructive Tomorrow, a D.C.-based public policy group, said that Trump’s second term ‘could become one of our lifetimes’ most consequential presidencies.’

‘Trump is poised to, once and for all, put a stake through the heart of the U.N. globalist climate change scam,’ Morano said in a statement shared with Fox. ‘The Trump effect is already derailing the U.N. climate summits, canceling EV mandates, disintegrating the Wall Street climate group and Net Zero goals. Trump’s policies could have the effect of collapsing the entire climate house of cards.’

Trump’s executive orders were not accepted by many Democratic lawmakers and climate groups, who criticized the president’s executive orders. 

‘It’s the second day of the second Trump presidency, and there are three things we know for sure: there is no energy emergency; there is a climate emergency; and the policies rolled out in these past 24 hours will make the climate crisis worse,’ said Manish Bapna, president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress plan on going even deeper on reversing green energy policies enacted over the past four years. Republicans in the House have already introduced legislation to block Biden’s climate standards on household appliances.

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