INTERNACIONAL
Biden’s chief of staff scolded Obama campaign architect for calling Biden’s age an issue, book reveals

Former President Joe Biden’s decision to run for re-election divided longtime Democratic advisors, a new book about Biden’s cognitive decline and his administration’s alleged cover-up revealed.
Biden’s former Chief of Staff, Ron Klain, shut down former President Barack Obama advisor David Axelrod for repeatedly calling Biden’s age an issue.
«The presidency is a monstrously taxing job and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue,» Axelrod told The New York Times.
Soon after the Times’ story was published in June 2022, Klain called Axelrod fuming, CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios political correspondent Alex Thompson revealed in their book, «Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.»
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Advisors to President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama disagreed on whether Biden should run for re-election in 2024. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
«Who’s going to beat Trump? President Biden is the only one who has done it. You better have a lot of certainty about a different candidate before you say the president should step aside. The future of the country depends on it!» Klain told Axelrod on the phone, according to Thompson and Tapper.
FOX NEWS’ PETER DOOCY REVEALS HISTORY OF QUESTIONING BIDEN’S MENTAL FITNESS
Klain believed it was «sloppy thinking» that anyone other than Biden could beat Trump, the journalists said in the book.
But Axelrod, like most Americans, worried about the first octogenarian president’s age and his ability to serve four more years.
The chief strategist for Obama’s back-to-back winning campaigns, Axelrod was one of the last advisers to meet with Biden before Obama chose him as his running mate in 2008. Axelrod told Tapper and Thompson that they didn’t expect Biden to run for president at 73 and eventually discouraged Biden from running for president in 2015.
They certainly didn’t expect Biden to run for president at 77.

President Barack Obama presents Vice President Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
After Axelrod made some friendly comments about Biden to a reporter in 2018, Biden invited him to his rental home in Virginia, according to the book.
«He was stunned by how much Biden had aged,» Tapper and Thompson wrote.
Axelrod told Biden that age would be an issue for his campaign but encouraged him to lean on his experience and wisdom, the journalists said.
Axelrod’s apprehension about Biden’s age only grew, and when it came time for Biden to make a decision about his re-election, he knew Biden shouldn’t run in 2024. The longtime political advisor told Tapper and Thompson he wished someone in the White House had «come to their senses and [convinced] Biden and his family that this just wasn’t tenable.»

Joe Biden speaks during an Inflation Reduction Act event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Pointing to unfavorable battleground polls from 2023, Axelrod encouraged Biden to drop out of the race in a series of social media posts. He said the «stakes of miscalculation here are too dramatic to ignore.»
«Only @JoeBiden can make this decision. If he continues to run, he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party. What he needs to decide is whether that is wise; whether it’s in HIS best interest or the country’s?» Axelrod questioned on social media.
Klain fired back, this time for the public to see: «Man who called Biden ‘Mr Magoo’ in Aug 2019 is still at it,» in reference to Axelrod’s comments following the 2019 Democratic presidential primary debate.

Ron Klain, former White House chief of staff, speaks during a chief of staff transition event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
An excerpt from the book reads: «In response to Axelrod’s 2023 post, Biden called Axelrod a ‘prick’ – a private insult until someone leaked it to Jonathan Martin of Politico. Axelrod received confidential messages of agreement from prominent Democrats who remained silent, they explained, because they were resigned to Biden’s candidacy and did not want to weaken him as a looming rematch with Trump approached.»
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Fox News Digital has written extensively, dating back to the 2020 presidential campaign, about Biden’s cognitive decline and his inner circle’s role in covering it up.
«There is nothing in this book that shows Joe Biden failed to do his job, as the authors have alleged, nor did they prove their allegation that there was a cover-up or conspiracy,» a Biden spokesperson told Fox News Digital. «Nowhere do they show that our national security was threatened or where the president wasn’t otherwise engaged in the important matters of the presidency. In fact, Joe Biden was an effective president who led our country with empathy and skill.»
Politics,Elections,Democratic Party,Biden Cover-Up
INTERNACIONAL
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Brennan pushed reports Putin preferred Trump in 2016

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Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening…
– Coast Guard overhaul takes off amid Trump administration’s immigration, narcotics crackdown
– ‘Big beautiful bill’ tax cuts touted in ad blitz as Senate GOP gears up for midterms
– NYC council member sounds alarm over Mamdani voters falling for ‘pipe dream’
Brennan directed publication of ‘implausible’ reports claiming Putin preferred Trump in 2016, House found
FIRST ON FOX: The intelligence community did not have any direct information that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to help elect Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential election, but, at the «unusual» direction of then-President Barack Obama, published «potentially biased» or «implausible» intelligence suggesting otherwise, the House Intelligence Committee found.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified a report prepared by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence back in 2020… READ MORE.
Former President Barack Obama nominates John Brennan, to be CIA director during an event in the East Room at the White House on Jan. 7, 2013, in Washington, D.C. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
White House
WAR OF WORDS: Trump border czar Tom Homan slams ‘former first drug addict’ Hunter Biden over inflammatory immigration rant
HIDDEN HANDS: 7 details revealed in newly released MLK files
‘INSTRUMENTAL’: Coast Guard overhaul takes off amid Trump administration’s immigration, narcotics crackdown
World Stage
ALGORITHM OF WAR: AI arms race: US and China weaponize drones, code and biotech for the next great war
POWER PLAY POLITICS: How China ‘weaponized’ the battery supply chain to control over 80% of the materials needed for batteries in defense tech
HUNGER ON THE FRONT: News agency says its Gaza journalists suffering health woes as union warns they will die without intervention

An airstrike hits a building in the Al-Nasr neighborhood in Gaza City, Gaza on July 21, 2025. (Saeed M. M. T. Jaras/Anadolu via Getty Images)
BACKSTABBING ALLIES: Huckabee hits back at Western countries that ‘side’ with terror group Hamas
REAL ‘WONDER WOMAN’: ‘Wonder Woman’ actress Gal Gadot praises ‘strength’ of freed Hamas hostages during emotional visit
PRICE WAR SHOWDOWN: Trump says he may use trade to force countries, pharma companies to buy into his most favored nation provision
POWER GRAB BACKLASH: Ukraine sees sweeping protests over bill weakening anti-corruption agencies
Capitol Hill
‘QUIET PART OUT LOUD’: Immigrants needed for ‘redistricting purposes,’ House Dem admits in viral clip: ‘Quiet part out loud’
PASSING GRADE: Senate weathers Dem opposition, advances first government funding bill
CASHFLOW: WATCH: Lawmakers break down how billions in the ‘big, beautiful bill’ boost Trump’s immigration crackdown
JUDICIAL SHOWDOWN: Senate votes to consider former Trump lawyer for lifetime as appeals court judge

Emil Bove, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit, is sworn in before testifying during his Senate Judiciary Committee nomination hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on June 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. A whistleblower alleged that Bove, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, told Justice Department staff to defy court orders and continue to carry out Trump’s deportation plans. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
‘POTENTIALLY BIASED’: Brennan directed publication of ‘implausible’ reports claiming Putin preferred Trump in 2016, House found
STAYING PUT: After meeting with Trump, Republican in key House battleground announces major decision on ‘Fox and Friends’
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: ‘Big beautiful bill’ tax cuts touted in ad blitz as Senate GOP gears up for midterms
‘KEEP SHOOTING, DAD’: Grieving mom testifies about Marine vet son’s death at hands of violent illegal aliens
Across America
LEGAL LEGEND LOST: Roy Black, famed defense attorney for Rush Limbaugh and Jeffrey Epstein, dies after illustrious career
COURT ORDER: New Jersey’s ban on privately operated ICE detention centers struck down by court
CRACKING DOWN: Trump’s immigration enforcement push results in skyrocketing arrests of criminal illegal aliens
‘PROHIBITS SPEECH’: Federal judge partially blocks law banning adults from helping minors get out-of-state abortions

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti leaves a press conference discussing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision that upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender transition treatments for transgender minors at the Tennessee Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (The Tennessean )
STEALTH AGENDA: WATCH: DEI efforts were rebranded at 2 red-state colleges to skirt Trump orders, staffers admit
‘CULTURE OF SHAME’: NYC council member sounds alarm over Mamdani voters falling for ‘pipe dream’
‘DEADLY FORCE’: ICE chief warns AI technology could lead to safety risks for agents: ‘Fringe organizations’
Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
INTERNACIONAL
China experimenting with brain-computer interfaces in global race for AI dominance: report

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China is reportedly working to cognitively merge humans with machines as part of its ongoing efforts to compete in the artificial intelligence race.
The communist country is using brain-computer interface (BCI) technology — systems that allow for communication between the brain and an external device — to «augment human cognition and human-machine teaming,» The Washington Times reported, citing a presentation from Georgetown experts delivered to U.S. officials.
AI ARMS RACE: US AND CHINA WEAPONIZE DRONES, CODE AND BIOTECH FOR THE NEXT GREAT WAR
These include invasive, minimally-invasive and non-invasive BCIs, according to The Washington Times.
China’s national flag flutters on Pingtan island, the closest point in China to Taiwan’s main island, in southeast China’s Fujian province on December 11, 2024. (Adek Berry)
Invasive BCIs involve surgery to implant electrodes into the brain, while non-invasive BCIs use sensors on the scalp to monitor brain activity. Meanwhile, minimally-invasive BCIs involve implanting devices, but they do not penetrate brain tissue, according to a report in the National Library of Medicine.
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The U.S. has primarily focused on building up language models to develop AI technology. However, China is going against traditional thinking about how to achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI) — a type of AI that has the ability to perform as well as or better than a human being in cognitive tasks, according to William Hannas, lead analyst at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.

A photo illustration of a robot and a human touching fingers. (iStock)
«There are all kinds of possibilities out there, but if you want human equivalent AI, you’re not going to get it just by increasing the parameters [of models],» Hannas told The Washington Times.
PARALYZED MAN SPEAKS AND SINGS WITH AI BRAIN-COMPUTER INTERFACE
Hannas, who formerly worked for the CIA, collected Chinese government documents that contained information about the country’s AI funding plans for this year and last year. The plans include several brain-inspired AI approaches, The Washington Times reported.
Additionally, Chinese state-run media have quoted statements saying the future involves making AI a physical part of humans, according to the Washington Times.

Close-up of the icon of the ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot app logo on a cellphone screen. (iStock)
In 2018, two technologists working on brain-inspired approaches to AI were also recruited by Chinese officials, they told The Washington Times.
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China’s innovation in artificial intelligence is «accelerating,» Michael Kratsios, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology, told Fox News Digital in April. But he maintained that the United States remains the world’s dominant power in AI and the Trump administration’s «promote and protect» strategy will solidify that standing.
Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
INTERNACIONAL
Mendicidad en las calles y basura como sustento: el rostro de una Cuba en crisis que la dictadura se niega a admitir

En las calles de La Habana, la imagen de personas rebuscando entre la basura para alimentarse se ha vuelto cotidiana. William Abel, de 62 años, es uno de ellos. Desde que su vivienda colapsó hace dos años, duerme al aire libre y sobrevive hurgando en contenedores. “He estado hurgando en los basureros por dos años para comer”, declaró.
Abel no es un caso aislado. La visibilidad cada vez más común de personas sin hogar refleja el deterioro profundo de la economía cubana, considerada por analistas como la peor crisis en más de tres décadas. La escasez de alimentos, la inflación descontrolada y el colapso de servicios sociales han expulsado a miles de cubanos a la indigencia.
En una isla donde el régimen evita reconocer la existencia de pobreza con cifras o términos precisos, el fenómeno se agrava mientras las autoridades insisten en utilizar eufemismos como “personas vulnerables”.

Oficialmente, 350.000 personas reciben ayuda social en Cuba, según datos de la propia dictadura. No obstante, especialistas aseguran que esa cifra está lejos de reflejar la magnitud real de la crisis.
La reciente renuncia de la ministra de Trabajo y Seguridad Social, Marta Elena Feito, dejó en evidencia la desconexión entre el discurso oficial y la realidad en las calles. Feito provocó una ola de indignación al declarar que “en Cuba no hay mendigos”. Las críticas obligaron al dictador Miguel Díaz-Canel a intervenir públicamente: “Son expresiones concretas de desigualdades sociales que debemos atender”, dijo ante la Asamblea Nacional, distanciándose del discurso de su ex ministra.
La reacción del régimen fue inusual, ya que históricamente ha minimizado cualquier señal de desigualdad social. El primer ministro, Manuel Marrero, también reconoció la gravedad de la situación: “Tenemos un problema real”, afirmó.

Para los cubanos afectados, como Juan de la Cruz, de 63 años, el problema es más que evidente. Tras perder una pierna por diabetes, recibe una pensión estatal equivalente a menos de tres dólares mensuales al cambio informal. “No me alcanza ni para un kilo de pollo”, comentó mientras pedía comida en una calle del centro habanero. Su vivienda, aunque “muy pequeña”, está vacía.
El país enfrenta una inflación acumulada que ha hecho subir los precios de los alimentos hasta un 500% en los últimos cuatro años. La libreta de racionamiento, históricamente utilizada para distribuir productos subsidiados, ya no garantiza ni lo básico. Mientras tanto, el la dictadura reconoce que no tiene divisas suficientes para mantener los programas sociales que fueron emblema de la llamada “revolución”.

El colapso económico tiene múltiples causas. Entre ellas, los analistas destacan el impacto prolongado de la pandemia sobre el turismo, la ineficiencia estructural de la economía centralizada y las sanciones de Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, muchos expertos señalan que las decisiones internas del régimen han tenido un peso determinante en la actual crisis.
La socióloga cubana Mayra Espina Prieto ha estimado recientemente que “entre el 40 y el 45 por ciento de los cubanos vive en condiciones de pobreza”. La cifra contrasta con el silencio oficial sobre estos indicadores, ya que Cuba no publica datos de pobreza ni permite estudios independientes sistemáticos sobre desigualdad social.
El deterioro también golpea a los más jóvenes. UNICEF informó en 2023 que casi uno de cada diez niños cubanos vive en condiciones de “pobreza alimentaria severa”, lo que significa que sólo acceden a uno o dos grupos de alimentos al día, en ocasiones menos.

En las afueras de La Habana, Arnaldo Victores, de 65 años y con discapacidad visual, duerme en un taller de motos sobre bolsas plásticas. Al no tener dirección fija, no puede acceder a los beneficios sociales. “Mi sueño es un cuartico con baño”, afirmó a la prensa internacional. Frente al lugar donde pide limosna cada día se levanta un hotel estatal de 42 pisos, el más alto de la capital. Para muchos, es un símbolo de prioridades distorsionadas.
En un país donde durante décadas se presumió de haber eliminado la indigencia, la realidad diaria desmiente el discurso. Las imágenes de ancianos durmiendo en portales y buscando sobras entre desechos evidencian una fractura social que el régimen ya no puede ocultar.
(Con información de AFP)
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