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Former President Joe Biden blamed ‘Barack’ and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for his political ousting amid the election cycle in 2024, President Donald Trump shared in an interview reflecting on his conversations with the 46th president. 

‘I went to the White House a few months before this all happened. … But I went there and he asked for a meeting, and I went and we talked for a little while, and at first I couldn’t… You couldn’t… He talked so low,’ Trump said in an interview with The Spectator’s Ben Domenech on Thursday afternoon at the White House. 

Trump’s comments came after Domenech asked about Biden’s apparent warm attitude toward Trump following the November 2024 election. He explained that Biden invited Trump to the White House following his electoral win over former Vice President Kamala Harris and asked him whom he ‘blamed’ for the loss. 

‘I asked him, I said, ‘So who do you blame?’ Because he was very angry, you know, he was a very angry guy, actually,’ Trump said. ‘And he said, ‘I blame Barack.’ And I never think of him as ‘Barack.’ You know, you always hear ‘Obama.’ You say, you have to think about that for a second. And he said, ‘and I also blame Nancy Pelosi.’’

Biden noted in his conversation that he did not blame Harris for the disarray in the Democratic Party during the election year, Trump said. 

‘I said, ‘What about the vice president?’ He said, ‘No, I don’t blame her,’ which was interesting,’ Trump said. ‘He didn’t blame her. He blamed… he told me he blamed those two people.’ 

The year 2024 kicked off with Biden in the driver’s seat of the Democratic Party as he keyed up a re-election effort in what was shaping up to be a second match-up against Trump. 

In February 2024, however, Biden’s 81 years of age and mental acuity fell under public scrutiny after years of conservatives questioning the commander in chief’s mental fitness. 

Special counsel Robert Hur, who was investigating Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents as vice president, announced he would not recommend criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials after his vice presidency, calling Biden ‘a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.’

The report renewed scrutiny over Biden’s mental acuity, which rose to a fever pitch in June 2024 after the president’s first and only presidential debate against Trump. 

Biden faced backlash for a handful of gaffes and miscues in the days leading up to his ill-fated debate against Trump, including Obama taking Biden’s wrist and appearing to lead him off a stage during a swank fundraiser, and also abroad when Italian Prime Minister Giogia Meloni guided Biden back to a group of world leaders when he appeared to wander off to give a thumbs-up to a parachutist during the G-7 summit. 

When the big debate day arrived, Biden missed his marks repeatedly, tripping over his responses and appearing to lose his train of thought as he squared up against Trump. The disastrous debate performance led to an outpouring from both conservatives and traditional Democrat allies calling on the president to bow out of the race in favor of a younger generation. 

On July 21, 2024, Biden issued a post announcing he would bow out of the race. He endorsed Harris to take the reins of the election in a follow-up post. 

Pelosi’s relationship with Biden hit the rocks amid the speculation and the ultimate decision to bow out of the race, with Pelosi revealing on MSNBC earlier in February that she still has not spoken to Biden or former first lady Jill Biden in months but hopes to patch up their yearslong friendship. 

Some Democrats and insiders have pointed to Obama for the 2024 loss, after Obama reportedly worked in the background in summer 2024 to encourage Biden’s ouster from the race. 

A handful of Obama’s allies and former advisers helped lead the charge in calling on Biden to drop out of the race earlier in the summer of 2024, including former Obama adviser David Axelrodsaying that Biden was ‘not winning this race;’ longtime Obama friend George Clooney calling on the president to drop out of the race in a bombshell op-ed; and Jon Favreau, who served as former director of speech writing for Obama, also calling on Biden to drop out of the race ahead of his eventual departure. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the respective offices for Pelosi, Obama and Biden regarding Trump’s comments but did not immediately receive replies. 

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., warned Friday that children, families, seniors and everyday Americans with disabilities will be ‘devastated’ after House Republicans this week ‘passed the budget resolution that sets in motion the largest Medicaid cut in American history.’ 

‘Children will be devastated in the city of New York and beyond. Families will be devastated. Seniors will be devastated. Everyday Americans with disabilities will be devastated,’ the New York Democrat said. ‘Hospitals will potentially close here in New York state, in rural America and across the country. And nursing homes will certainly be shut down. 

‘Every single House Democrat from New York City, from New York State and across the country oppose this reckless Republican budget, and we will continue to do so as long as the health care of the American people is being targeted, as long as nutritional assistance for children and families is being targeted by the extreme MAGA Republicans,’ Jeffries added. 

Jeffries spoke Friday as Republicans in Congress searching for a way around the $880 billion budget shortfall needed to be covered in order to extend President Donald Trump’s tax cuts are considering changing the way Medicaid is funded, according to Politico. 

As it stands, states must contribute their own matching funds to qualify for federal Medicaid dollars, but Republicans are weighing whether to prevent states from taxing insurers and healthcare providers as a way to raise that cash, a Politico report said Wednesday. Doing so would leave states with a $612 billion hole in their budgets over the next 10 years, the report said.

GOP leaders argue that states are inflating Medicaid costs because they are kicking back the taxes to those sources through higher payment rates, the report added. 

‘States and providers scheme so that the provider gets an enormous flow of federal dollars with no state cost exposure,’ Brian Blase of the Paragon Health Institute think-tank told the outlet. 

However, the American Hospital Association is calling on Congress to ‘reject changes to states’ use of provider taxes, which help fund their Medicaid programs,’ as ‘[e]ven small adjustments in the use of this financing source would result in negative consequences for Medicaid beneficiaries as well as the broader health care system.’ 

‘States’ approaches to financing their share of the program are subject to federal rules and oversight, including limits on the amount of revenue that states can generate through provider taxes. Congress is contemplating further restrictions on states’ ability to finance their share of Medicaid spending through such taxes,’ it said earlier this month. 

‘Most states would be unable to close the financing gap created by further limiting states’ ability to tax providers,’ it warned. ‘States would need to make significant cuts to Medicaid to balance their budgets, including reducing eligibility, eliminating or limiting benefits, and reducing already low payment rates for providers.’ 

‘States can use various sources to finance the non-federal share and would look to other sources if Congress limited their ability to use provider taxes,’ it also said. ‘This means that some states would have to consider increasing other forms of taxes, including income and sales tax, levied on all state residents.’ 

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Edwards picked up two technicals and was tossed with five minutes left in the third quarter of Minnesota’s 111-102 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Unless the league rescinds one of the technicals, Edwards will miss Friday night’s game against the Jazz in Utah.

Edwards’ first technical foul of the night came in the first quarter after he and Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt got into a shoving match.

His complaining about a no-call in the third after he thought he was fouled got him tossed, and Edwards said later that the league should rescind the second one.

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But after the game, official James Williams said Edwards cursed at an official, leading to his ejection.

Edwards is averaging 27.3 points, six rebounds and 4.6 assists for Minnesota this season.

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The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles went back to college — to find their new quarterbacks coach.

On Friday, Bowling Green announced its football coach, Scot Loeffler, was leaving the program to become the quarterbacks coach for the Eagles. Doug Nussmeier previously held the position for Philadelphia before he followed former offensive coordinator and newly hired New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore to the NFC South.

‘BGSU is a special university and community that truly embraces relationships, people and the student experience,’ said Derek van der Merwe — Bowling Green vice president for athletics strategy — in a statement. ‘In these last six seasons, Scot built a very successful program in a challenging climate in collegiate sports.

‘More importantly, he built this program while ensuring his team and coaches were truly committed to the values and mission that make this university great.’

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The 50-year-old took over the Falcons program in November 2018 as a first-time head coach, producing a 27-41 record in six seasons. However, Bowling Green went 20-19 in the last three seasons, which included 7-6 seasons in 2023 and 2024 and three straight bowl appearances — the second-longest streak in program history.

Loeffler will now be paired with new Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo to keep the Eagles offense humming. He will get to work with quarterback Jalen Hurts, who won Super Bowl MVP honors with three total touchdowns in a 40-22 victory over the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Scot Loeffler coaching career

Loeffler joined Lloyd Carr’s Michigan staff as a student assistant in 1996 after playing quarterback for the Wolverines from 1993-96. In 2000, he took over as quarterbacks coach at Central Michigan before returning to his alma mater in the same role from 2002-07.

His only prior NFL experience was as the Detroit Lions’ quarterbacks coach, during the 2008 season. He also served as a quarterbacks coach with Florida under Urban Meyer during the 2009 and 2010 seasons, working with Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, who had his most efficient season in 2009 under Loeffler.

As noted in Bowling Green’s statement, Loeffler has worked with eight college quarterbacks who went on to the NFL: Tebow, Tom Brady, Brian Griese, Chad Henne, Drew Henson, John Navarre, Logan Thomas and Anthony Brown.

Here’s a look at Loeffler’s complete coaching history:

1996-97: Michigan (student assistant)
1998-99: Michigan (graduate assistant)
2000-01: Central Michigan (QB coach)
2002-07: Michigan (QB coach)
2008: Detroit Lions (QB coach)
2009-10: Florida (QB coach)
2011: Temple (offensive coordinator/QB coach)
2012: Auburn (offensive coordinator/QB coach)
2013-15: Virginia Tech (offensive coordinator/QB coach)
2016-18: Boston College (offensive coordinator/QB coach)
2019-24: Bowling Green (head coach)

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INDIANAPOLIS – Travis Hunter stepped to the podium on Thursday wearing the official NFL combine-issued shirt that identified him as “DB 15.”

What a misnomer that was. In multiple ways.

Hunter is, well, arguably No. 1 when it comes to ranking the talent, cornerbacks or otherwise, lined up for the upcoming NFL draft. And to ID the Heisman Trophy winner these days as merely a DB misses the point, too.

As Hunter prepares to make the leap from Colorado to a much greater stage in the NFL, he’ll bring significant intrigue with hopes to play both ways – as cornerback and wide receiver – as demonstrated in college under the watch of Coach Prime.

“They say nobody has ever done it the way I do it,” Hunter, 21, declared before a thick pack of media. “But I tell them I’m just different. I’m a different person.”

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Shoot, if any player needs a shirt with a slash – as in CB/WR – this is your guy.

Hunter undoubtedly possesses immense talent. Yet he might have even more self-confidence as he doesn’t blink when sharing his vision of full-time double duty. If only there was a combine measurable for that trait.

“I’ve got my own unique case that I can play both sides of the ball,” he said. “Not that many people in the NFL have done it.”

Especially since Chuck Bednarik went both ways for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1960s.

Conventional wisdom suggests Hunter would establish himself as a full-time player at one position, then handle a lesser amount of snaps at the other position. After all, it’s the highest level of competition that we’re talking about. It will be tough enough, even for an immense talent like Hunter, to prove elite at one position.

Then again, they told Hunter coming out of high school that there was no way he would excel as a two-way player on the major college level. Just one coach, Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, was willing to let him go for it.

And well, this past season en route to the award for the best player in college football, Hunter averaged an astonishing 113 snaps per game – with basically a 50-50 split between offense and defense.

But still. Several NFL personnel shot-callers told me recently that they projected Hunter as a cornerback who could get spot duty as a receiver.

At the combine this week, Eliot Wolf, the New England Patriots’ top personnel executive, echoed that theme. The Patriots, by the way, could have a shot at drafting Hunter while holding the fourth pick overall.

“He’s probably going to major in one and minor in the other,” Wolf said. “But I think there’s a scenario where he could play both ways.”

This intrigue includes whether he’s a cornerback first (as the shirt suggested) or a receiver first. Part of the cornerback-first argument: It is much more difficult to find an elite cornerback than an elite receiver. So, maybe there’s a supply-and-demand quotient in play.

Yet the receiver-first argument includes this: Size. Hunter is listed at 6-1, 185 pounds. No, he wouldn’t be a “big” cornerback. Besides, what makes him special are his “ball skills.”

“Well, I’d say this, in terms of Travis Hunter, cornerback or receiver? The answer is yes,” Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry said. “So, he can play both and I think that’s what makes him special.

“We would see him as a receiver primarily first, but I think part of what makes him a bit of a unicorn is the fact that he can do both at a high level.”

Berry, holding the second pick overall, said he sees Hunter as a receiver first because of the opportunities he would have to impact the game.

“His superpower, they’re really his ball skills, and that’s a position where you can use it 100 times during the season versus maybe 30 on the high end,” Berry maintained. “But look, we’ll have our coaches and scouts fight it out.”

Although Hunter doubled down on his desire for full-time double-duty, he also said he wouldn’t push back if the team that drafts him prefers to concentrate on one position.

 “Yeah, I would hope for them to go out there and let me earn the other position,” he said. “But that’s up to them, not me.”

In the meantime, Hunter hopes to convince teams that his body can withstand the rigors of double duty. He talked up the training and recovery methods employed during his college career as proof.

“Cold tubs, hot tubs, cardio, (hyperbaric oxygen) chamber, red-lighting,” he said. “A lot of stuff.”

It should also be noted that hundreds of top-tier athletes in the NFL employ such methods to maintain peak performance. And many have reputations similar to Hunter for extreme endurance.

Go ahead, question what makes him special with this. The doubt might be part of the equation that triggers his superpower.

“Nobody has done it, but I feel like I have put my body through a lot,” Hunter said. “I do a lot of treatment. People don’t get to see that part, what I do for my body to make sure I’m 100 percent each game. I feel like nobody can do it. I did it at the college level, where you rarely get breaks. There are a lot more breaks in the NFL.”

Say what?

Let’s hear it for youthful vigor and fresh legs.

It makes you wonder: If Travis Hunter the cornerback covered Travis Hunter the wide receiver, who wins that matchup?

“Travis Hunter,” he said.

Then again, even Hunter has his limits. Someone asked him whether he expects that he will also return kickoffs and punts in the NFL.

“I don’t know about returner,” he replied. “I’ve already got two jobs on my hand.”

And if it’s up to Hunter, it will prove quite the point. Again.

Follow Jarrett Bell on social media @JarrettBell

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INDIANAPOLIS — There’s no real movement on Myles Garrett’s trade request.

The Cleveland Browns don’t want to trade the star defensive end as Browns general manager Andrew Berry stated at the NFL combine. However, the Browns have had preliminary dialogue with teams about a trade, per a person with knowledge of the situation. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. No trade is imminent.  

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Stephen Curry took a run at the NBA single-game 3-point record he once held Thursday night, hitting 12 and scoring 56 points in the Golden State Warriors’ 121-115 win over the Orlando Magic.

It was a throwback performance for Curry, whose previous season-high was 38 points. He went 16-for-25 from the field, including 12-for-19 from beyond the arc. He also hit all 12 of his free throws.

This marks the third time Curry, the NBA’s all-time leader in 3-pointers, has hit 12 in a game. He matched the then-record of 12 for the first time in February 2016 before breaking it by hitting 13 in a game that November. Former teammate Klay Thompson broke Curry’s mark and holds the current record, having hit 14 in a 2018 game.

Though Curry no longer has the single-game record, no one really comes close to him when it comes to hitting 3-pointers in volume. Per The Athletic, Curry has 45 games with at least nine made 3-pointers. Second place? Damian Lillard … with 14.

Curry was cooking Thursday night and was particularly hot in the third quarter, outscoring the Magic by himself, 22-21. He capped the first half by hitting a 3-pointer from well beyond half court.

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Steph Curry highlights vs. Magic

Steph Curry stats vs. Magic

Points: 56
FG: 16-for-25
3PT: 12-for-19
FT: 12-for-12
Rebounds: 4
Assists: 3
Steals: 2
Blocks: 0
Turnovers: 4
Fouls: 0
Minutes played: 34

This story was updated with new information.

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INDIANAPOLIS – Brian Schottenheimer’s life hasn’t changed all that much.

Yet.

It’s been five weeks since the Dallas Cowboys promoted their 51-year-old offensive coordinator to his first NFL head coaching gig. And while it’s been two months since the season ended for “America’s Team” – and more like four months since it effectively did – Schottenheimer feels like he and his staff have remained in regular-season mode. He certainly hasn’t made time to hit the Indy bar scene during the league’s annual scouting combine.

“I haven’t gotten out much to be honest with you,” he said Thursday. “It’s been nonstop, there’s a lot of work to be done. Again, other than a few autograph seekers, it’s been pretty normal.

“It feels like we’re in in-season a little bit right now in terms of the hours.”

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That’s because he and newly hired coordinator Klayton Adams have been redesigning an offense that ranked 17th in 2024. Former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus is doing the same for a defense that just surrendered the second-most points in the league. In his spare time, Schottenheimer is having cram sessions ahead of free agency … when not participating in interviews for this year’s draft prospects.

“I haven’t had a whole lot of time,” said Schottenheimer. “It’s been a lot of long hours, and I really haven’t had time to say what feels different.”

Even his working environment seems similar after team owner Jerry Jones agreed to transplant the entire Dallas staff from Frisco, Texas, to the combine.

“We all got in here on Sunday, and Monday morning was no different than working out of The Star,” said Schottenheimer, referencing the Cowboys’ headquarters.

And there’s more. So much more.

Schottenheimer is closely monitoring Dak Prescott’s recovery and rehabilitation from a serious hamstring injury that ended the season for the league’s highest-paid quarterback at the midway point. He’s considering what life will look like without perennial All-Pro guard Zack Martin, who is expected to retire. He’s hoping 2025 won’t bring the same contractual distractions that 2024 did with Prescott and wideout CeeDee Lamb – especially with All-Pro linebacker Micah Parsons now in line for his own payday.

And then there’s the matter of just getting more familiarized with the entire team, particularly the defensive players Schottenheimer hasn’t worked as closely with.

“I would say most of my day is spent walking the hall and getting a feel for the players,’ said Schottenheimer, who often patrols the weight room and training room at The Star.

Bring it on – even for a highly flawed team coming off a 7-10 season after Schottenheimer’s predecessor, Mike McCarthy, had run off three consecutive 12-win campaigns.

“I’m ready for it, always have been,” said Schottenheimer, “way more ready for it now than I was probably when I was 32 and had some opportunities.

“But I think the biggest thing for me would be it’s way more clear to me now what I want to do, how I want to do it – with a special culture about winning, about doing it with the right type of people.”

It seems the right type of people have already been helping Schottenheimer – namely his peers.

“I’d say the other head coaches have been amazing,” said Schottenheimer, who’s been patrolling NFL sidelines in various capacities since 1997, minus a few brief stints in the college ranks.

“They’ve reached out to me. They’ve been awesome as sounding boards.”

That includes Eberflus, whom the Bears fired after Thanksgiving, the first time they’d ever made a midseason coaching change. Now he’s back in North Texas after being the Cowboys’ linebackers coach from 2011 to ’17. Schottenheimer, who admits issues he hasn’t anticipated in his new role arise nearly every day, is leaning on him for advice and counting on Eberflus to deploy a defense that gets back to generating takeaways.

“(T)hink the world of him,” said Schottenheimer. “I think that that was just an incredible hire for us – and one that, quite honestly, that a lot of people were trying to get him. And we were able to get him, which is great for me – not just as a coach, but as a man.”

However Schottenheimer, the son of Marty Schottenheimer, whose 200 regular-season wins are the most in league history for a coach who never won a championship, reserved his loftiest praise for his two most recent bosses, McCarthy and Pete Carroll.

“Mike and Jerry had a lot of hard conversations and it ended up not working out, but I will never talk about Mike McCarthy in any way but holding him in the highest regard,” Schottenheimer said of his predecessor, whose contract expired in January.

“He is one of my best friends in football. An amazing coach, an amazing mentor to me. And he’ll be back on the sidelines before too long.”

Carroll, 73, who fired Schottenheimer when he was the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator four years ago, is back himself as the Las Vegas Raiders’ new boss.

“Pete’s been incredibly impactful to me,” said Schottenheimer. “And what do I mean by that? I mean the way he looks at the game, the way he wants people to let their own personality shine and not kinda put people into a box, per se, I think that’s one of his greatest strengths – even at his age – his energy, his juice, his passion.

“He challenged me,” he continued, admitting they had a “hard breakup” in Seattle.

“He said, ‘Schotty, in a lot of ways you’re a football savant. You’ve been around the game your whole life, there’s things that you’ve learned along the way that you don’t even know you’ve learned. But what do you really believe in?’

“And I thought that was really, really cool. And he didn’t have to do that. But, yeah, amazing coach. Truly of all the coaches, including my father, he’s the guy I probably model myself the most after.”

And if, like Carroll and McCarthy have already done in their own careers, Schottenheimer can capture the Lombardi Trophy that always evaded his dad and the Cowboys for nearly the past three decades, then his life truly will change.

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Travis Kelce’s self-reflection has paved the way for a 13th season with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The 10-time Pro Bowl tight end will return to action in 2025, putting to rest speculation about his future. Kelce confirmed the news Thursday on the X account of ‘New Heights,’ the podcast he co-hosts with his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce.

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said Tuesday at the combine that he expected Kelce to be back based on their most recent conversation.

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“How we left it at the end of the season is that he was fired up. He has one more year under contract and still think he has that fire and desire to play,” Veach said of Kelce.

‘I think I owe it to my teammates that, if I do come back, it’s going to be something that it’s a whole-hearted decision … I’m fully here for them, and I think I could play,’ Kelce said on a ‘New Heights’ episode that aired Jan. 12. ‘It’s just whether or not I’m motivated or it’s the best decision for me as a man, as a human and as a person to take on all of that responsibility.’

Kelce, 35, is coming off a season in which his 823 receiving yards and three touchdowns catches represented his lowest output since his rookie campaign, with defenses regularly blanketing him and forcing Patrick Mahomes to look to other options in a largely unproven receiving corps.

In a November story by the Wall Street Journal, Kelce acknowledged that injuries had taken a significant toll on him throughout his career and prompted his contemplation of retirement. After the Super Bowl, Kelce, who has started 21 playoff games since Mahomes first took over behind center in 2018, said this season had been particularly challenging from a physical standpoint.

‘The fact that we keep going to these AFC championships and these Super Bowls, that means I’m playing an extra three games more than everybody else in the entire league,’ Kelce said on ‘New Heights.’ ‘That’s a lot of wear and tear on your body, and it’s a lot of time spent in the building, focusing on your craft, focusing on the task at hand and every challenge that you set up for yourself.

‘That process can be grueling. It can weigh on you. It can make you better. It can drive you crazy at the same time. And right now, it’s one of those things where it was driving me crazy this year. It happens as you kind of tail off towards the back nine of your career, as SVP (ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt) would say.’

Prior to the Super Bowl, Kelce acknowledged that he had been ‘setting myself up for other opportunities in my life.’ After being thrust into a heightened level of fame amid his relationship with pop superstar Taylor Swift, he has pursued several entertainment projects – including a role in the FX series ‘Grotesquerie’ – while ‘New Heights’ has remained popular.

Kelce’s return provides a significant dose of stability for a Chiefs team looking to bounce back after it was denied a historic Super Bowl three-peat. Despite the attention he received from defenses, Kelce has 35 more targets than the next closest player, receiver Xavier Worthy. Outside of the rookie wideout, no other player had even half of Kelce’s 97 receptions. Go-to target Rashee Rice was lost for the season to a lateral collateral ligament injury in October, and his recovery and potential discipline for his role in a six-vehicle crash last year could leave his return on uncertain ground.

Kelce has one year remaining on his contract and is due a $11.5 million roster bonus on March 15, five days after NFL free agency first opens with the opening of the negotiation window.

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Former United States Agency for International Development (USAID) employees were seen collecting their belongings and exiting the federal building a final time following a slew of layoffs, video obtained by Fox News Digital showed.

Dozens of individuals gathered outside the USAID building in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to support the ex-USAID employees who were recently placed on leave, holding signs that read ‘you’re not the federal worker that should be fired’ and ‘make America compassionate again.’

The ex-USAID employees were met by supporters outside protesting the layoffs, carrying their belongings and flowers as they left the building together in a line.

‘DOGE fired me illegally, and all I got was this stupid sign,’ one employee’s poster read.

Workers and supporters were seen getting emotional as the former employees left the building, images captured by Fox News Digital showed.

The slew of layoffs came after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by billionaire Elon Musk, conducted a sweep of the agency and recommended cuts after identifying ‘wasteful’ spending on programs and initiatives around the world.

Following the DOGE probe, the Trump administration placed nearly 1,600 USAID employees on administrative leave globally on Sunday.

Those fired or placed on administrative leave were given two days, Thursday and Friday, to enter the building and collect their belongings, according to instructions from USAID.

Employees were given about 15 minutes to collect personal belongings from their workspaces.

‘Staff will be given approximately 15 minutes to complete this retrieval, and must be finished removing items within their time slot only,’ USAID stated in their instructions. 

‘Staff with a significant amount of personal belongings to retrieve must be cognizant of time; however, flexibility may be granted in select circumstances with the approval of the Office of Security,’ the agency said.

USAID did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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