Top-rated conservative journalist Tucker Carlson announced Wednesday that he has booked a long-awaited interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Looks like we’ve got the Zelenskyy interview. We’ve been trying for two years, and with particular intensity after interviewing Putin in February,” Carlson announced in an X post.

“The point is to bring Americans much-needed information about the conflict that’s completely reshaping their country’s position in the world. Coming soon we hope.”

Looks like we’ve got the Zelenskyy interview. We’ve been trying for two years, and with particular intensity after interviewing Putin in February. The point is to bring Americans much-needed information about the conflict that’s completely reshaping their country’s position in…

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) July 3, 2024

Earlier this year, Carlson conducted what was perhaps the most high-profile interview of his career when he sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

The two discussed a number of topics, including U.S.-Russia relations and the War in Ukraine, while Putin delivered a nearly hour-long overview of the history of Russia.

“Two years into a war that’s reshaping the entire world, most Americans are not informed… But they should know,” Carlson said when announcing the interview.

“They are fawning pep sessions specifically designed to amplify Zelensky’s demand that the U.S. enter more deeply into a war in Eastern Europe and pay for it. That is not journalism. It is government propaganda. Propaganda of the ugliest kind, the kind that kills people.”

Carlson has long stated that he wants to interview Zelensky and get his take on the conflict.

“I heard some messages in media, and, also, my guys who are advisers, they said. So I don’t have to do — I don’t have time to hear more than two hours of bull**it about us, about the world, about the United States, about our relations, and this interview with a killer. So I have got some briefly what were there,” Zelensky said shortly after Carlson conducted his interview with Putin.

Despite the Ukrainian state’s often hostile stance towards Carlson and Americans who question their nation’s multi-billion dollar commitment to Ukraine, Zelensky appears set to give the long-awaited interview.

The leader of right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation says the Supreme Court presidential immunity ruling could bolster a second American revolution, as defined by his group’s Project 2025 plan.

Appearing on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, foundation president Kevin Roberts outlined how the ruling might help transform the federal government with conservative policy proposals, should Donald Trump win the White House in November and adopt Project 2025.

He said the Supreme Court’s judgment on Monday, that presidents are immune from prosecution for “official acts, will free them up to introduce policy without having to “triple guess, every decision they’re making in their official capacity.”

“In spite of all this nonsense from the left, we are going to win. We’re in the process of taking this country back,” Roberts said. “We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless, if the left allows it to be.”

Roberts’ Project 2025 vision of a bloodless revolution includes an action plan to dismantle what he has described as “the deep state,” by removing civil service employment protections for all federal employees with “policy-determining, policymaking, or policy-advocating” in their job titles.

Removing the employment protections, which have been in place for 135 years, would make the civil servants at all levels of the federal government easier to fire and replace with Republican loyalists.

After replacing the civil service, the Project then proposes the implementation of several more right-wing policies.

These include eliminating the Department of Education, reducing the scope of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, rolling back renewable-energy programs to create a regulatory environment that favors the fossil fuel industry, limiting mail-order abortion pills, and removing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring policies from federal programs.

Most importantly, in relation to the Supreme Court ruling, Project 2025 wants to consolidate executive power by reducing the independence of federal agencies and increasing presidential control over policy implementation.

Roberts appeared on the War Room podcast on Tuesday, during its first broadcast without host Steve Bannon, who on Monday reported to federal prison in Connecticut to serve a four-month sentence for defying a congressional subpoena.

Bannon is a staunch advocate for Project 2025, having previously said that he envisions the Make America Great Again movement “will govern the United States for 50 years.”

In the episode, hosted by former congressman Chris Brat, Roberts said listeners ought to be encouraged by Monday’s Supreme Court ruling.

“We’re in the process of taking this country back,” he said. “No one in the audience should be despairing.”

Roberts referred listeners to Alexander Hamilton’s 1788 essay Federalist No. 70, which speaks of the need for a “vigorous executive.”

“Put politics off to the side, any president having to second guess, triple guess, every decision they’re making in their official capacity—you couldn’t have the republic that you just described,” he said.

The War Room podcast broadcasts four hours per day, five days per week, on conservative cable channel Real America’s voice.

Former President Trump is leading President Biden 49% to 43% among likely voters in the latest New York Times/Siena College poll — a three-point swing for Trump since the debate, and his largest lead in the survey since 2015.

Perhaps no single poll carries more weight among Democratic elites, who have spent the last week panicking over whether Biden should withdraw from the race after his disastrous debate performance.

The highly anticipated, post-debate poll detonated in the same hour that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris dialed into a campaign call to try to reassure staffers about the state of Biden’s candidacy.

“I am running. I am the leader of the Democratic Party. No one is pushing me out. I’ve been knocked down before and counted out my whole life. When you get knocked down you get back up,” a defiant Biden said on the call.

The poll, conducted by telephone from June 28 to July 2, found Trump’s lead is even bigger — 49% to 41% — among registered voters.

74% of voters overall believe Biden is too old to be an effective president, up five points since before the debate.

That includes 79% of independent voters, 59% of Democrats, and a majority of every demographic, geographic and ideological group surveyed.

More voters overall believe Biden should remain the nominee — but that’s driven in part by Republicans, who likely see Biden as a wounded opponent.

Biden’s campaign sent a memo to House Democrats Wednesday morning — before the results were released — suggesting that the Times/Siena poll would be an “outlier,” according to Politico.

A CNN poll conducted by SSRS from June 28-30 found Trump leading Biden 49% to 43% — another grim result for the president, but unchanged from April.

A USA Today/Suffolk University poll taken June 28-30 has Trump with a 41% to 38% lead over Biden — a shift from a May survey that found the two tied at 37%.

A Reuters/Ipsos online poll taken July 1-2 shows Trump and Biden tied at 40% in a head-to-head contest.

“Both internal and outside polling confirm that the race remains incredibly tight and I agree with the Times that today’s polling doesn’t fundamentally change the course of the race,” Biden campaign pollster Molly Murphy said in a statement.

“President Biden continues to narrow Trump’s support among independents, and we have work to do to bring home our coalition — all the while Trump appears unable to expand his coalition.”

Below the toplines, post-debate polls have been littered with red flags about Biden’s age and mental competence.

A CBS News/YouGov poll conducted June 28-29 found that an astonishing 72% of voters do not believe Biden has the mental and cognitive health to be president — similar results to the Times/Siena poll.

The USA Today poll found that 41% of Democrats want Biden replaced as nominee, while 32% said the same in the Reuters poll.

A Wall Street Journal poll, also released Wednesday, found that Trump leads Biden 48% to 42% among voters nationally — and that a staggering 80% of voters believe Biden is too old to run for a second term.

A sustained polling decline could open the floodgates for more Democrats to call for Biden to step aside, especially if the surveys suggest that Harris would perform against Trump.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) on Tuesday became the first Democrat in Congress to call for Biden to withdraw.

Two vulnerable House Democrats — Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Marie Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) — said Tuesday they expect Trump to defeat Biden.

The Washington Post is reporting that Special Counsel Jack Smith may try to convict former president Donald Trump all the way through the election and up to 11:59 am on January 20th. After the oath, the Justice Department has long maintained that it will not prosecute a sitting president.

There is also a long-standing policy of the Justice Department to abstain from criminal proceedings before an election to avoid the appearance of trying to influence the outcome.

Smith has signaled that he will discard that policy and that he is prepared to try Trump not only up to the election but through the election.

He is now reportedly willing to try Trump up to January 20th.

Smith has made trying Trump before the election the overriding priority in his two cases against the former president. He failed repeatedly to force a shorter schedule on appeal before the Supreme Court. His arguments were revealing. He suggested that the public should have a possible conviction before they cast their votes. It flipped the DOJ policy on its head in openly seeking to influence the election.

The Supreme Court was not persuaded, though Smith did succeed in effectively cutting the appellate process a bit shorter. He then lost in spectacular fashion before the Court on presidential immunity.

According to the Post, he is not giving up the ghost and is now committed to a trial running up to Inauguration Day: “Current officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, expressed … that if Trump wins the election, the clock on the two federal cases against him would keep ticking until Jan. 20, when he would be sworn in as the 47th president.”

Even with Smith’s continued push to try Trump at all costs before the Inauguration, it could be a challenge. There is a 30-day period before the Supreme Court case is effectively returned to district court.

Judge Tanya Chutkan has been highly favorable for Smith and highly motivated in seeking a trial before the election. That led to problems highlighted in the recent opinion. Chutkan was so motivated that she failed to create an adequate record on these issues. That record will now have to be established.

If Chutkan rules as she did earlier, she is expected to be hostile to Trump’s claims on his conduct falling within official functions. However, she will need to make the record and her decision could again be appealed. The Court left clear guidelines that will make it difficult for Chutkan to, again, dismiss such claims.

Moreover, the pre-trial motions were stopped with the latest appeal. They must now be addressed.

Finally, she pledged to give the Trump team over 80 days for preparation after the appeal, which will be added to the 30 days, the period for the remand record, and the pre-trial motions.

There is also the need for the court and Smith to deal with the Fischer decision limiting the use of the obstruction charges — impacting two of the four counts against Trump. As I have previously written, Smith has various options but could trigger a new reversal on appeal if he follows his signature inclination to resist legal limits.

In other words, Smith’s appetite for a trial before the Inauguration may exceed his ability to force that expedited schedule.

Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team was notified last week by federal authorities in the Southern District of New York that he is a subject of an ongoing criminal investigation, according to two sources familiar with Combs’ ongoing legal troubles.

The same sources confirmed that a federal grand jury is hearing evidence as part of the investigation but there is no indication that charges are imminent.

A subject of an investigation is someone who is within the scope of a criminal investigation, according to legal experts. An individual is designated a target when prosecutors likely intend to seek an indictment from the grand jury against the person.

A person’s status can be upgraded or downgraded during an investigation. Combs has not received a target letter, the sources said, and the Southern District of New York is not required to send one.

This news comes three months after Combs’ houses were raided in both Los Angeles and Miami by law enforcement officials.

In May, Combs apologized after a video, obtained by CNN, showed him beating his then-girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.

In a video apology posted to his Instagram, Combs admitted to the incident and said he took “full responsibility.”

“It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life, but sometimes you got to do that,” Combs said. “I was f—ed up — I mean, I hit rock bottom — but I make no excuses.”

Combs initially denied Ventura’s allegations of assault and sex trafficking, which she described in a federal lawsuit filed in November. The two settled for an undisclosed amount the following day.

At the time of Combs’ admission of the assault, an attorney for Ventura, Meredith Firetog, said, “When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday.”

Firetog added, “He was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation.”

Ventura’s attorneys did not respond to a question about whether she has been called to take part in any grand jury proceedings.

Meanwhile, Combs has been accused of a wide range of allegations in multiple civil lawsuits. The latest lawsuit was filed on Wednesday, accusing Combs of sex trafficking by a former adult film star.

The former music executive has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime. Jonathan Davis, attorney for Sean Diddy Combs, dismissed the latest lawsuit.

“No matter how many lawsuits are filed, it won’t change the fact that Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted or sex trafficked anyone,” Davis said. “We live in a world where anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason and without any proof. Fortunately, a fair and impartial judicial process exists to find the truth and Mr. Combs is confident he will prevail against these and other baseless claims in court.”

Officials in a Northern California community cancelled an annual Fourth of July fireworks celebration as an estimated 26,000 residents remained displaced by a growing wildfire, while hundreds of firefighters toiled under extreme heat to keep flames from reaching more homes.

The Thompson Fire broke out before noon Tuesday about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Sacramento, near the city of Oroville in Butte County. It sent up a huge plume of smoke that could be seen from space as it grew to more than 5.5 square miles (14 square kilometers).

Oroville Mayor David Pittman said there was a “significant drop in the fire activity” Wednesday, and he was hopeful that some residents could soon be allowed to return home.

The fire’s progress was stopped along the southern edge, and firefighters working in steep terrain were trying to build containment lines on the northern side. By Wednesday evening, containment stood at 7%.

“On that north side they have some real struggles in terms of the topography,” Pittman said.

More than a dozen other blazes, most of them small, were active across the state, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. A new fire Wednesday afternoon prompted brief evacuations in heavily populated Simi Valley, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

The state’s largest blaze, the Basin Fire, covered nearly 22 square miles (57 square kilometers) of the Sierra National Forest in eastern Fresno County and was 26% contained.

In Oroville, a state of emergency was declared Tuesday night and evacuation centers were set up. The evacuation zone expanded Wednesday into foothills and rural areas beyond the city of about 20,000 people.

With July Fourth in mind, authorities warned that fireworks are banned in many places, including most of Butte County. Authorities also cited the ongoing evacuations and damage caused by the Thompson Fire for the cancellation of Oroville’s fireworks show, which had been specially permitted.

California State Parks officials said in a statement that many agencies have a large number of resources responding to the blaze and are working to get everyone back home as quickly as possible.

“These agencies also have employees with families displaced by these evacuations who are tirelessly assisting the community of Lake Oroville,” the statement read.

Authorities warned of full legal consequences for any illegal use of fireworks.

“Don’t be an idiot, cause a fire and create more problems for us,” Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea said. “No one in the community is going to want that.”

There was no immediate official report on property losses. An Associated Press photographer saw fire burn three adjacent suburban-style homes in Oroville.

The fire ignited sprigs of grass poking from the concrete edges of Lake Oroville as gusty winds whipped up American flags lining a bend of the state’s second largest reservoir and the nation’s tallest dam.

Residents standing on hillsides watched the orange glow as aircraft made water drops. A crew of more than a dozen firefighters saved one home as goats and other farm animals fled.

The cause of the blaze was being investigated. Red flag warnings for critical fire weather conditions were in effect when it erupted.

“The conditions out there that are in our county this summer are much different than we’ve experienced the last two summers,” said Garrett Sjolund, Butte County unit chief for Cal Fire, during a briefing. “The fuels are very dense, brush is dry. And as you can see, any wind will move a fire out very quickly.”

The conditions led the utility Pacific Gas & Electric to shut off power in some parts Northern California to prevent fires from being ignited by downed or damaged wires.

In Southern California, Joshua Tree National Park officials closed Covington Flats — an area with most of the park’s important Joshua tree populations — on Wednesday because of extreme fire risk after spring rains led to abundant grass that has now dried.

Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife Willow Bay, who is Dean of the USC Annenberg School, are close to purchasing control of Angel City FC, the Los Angeles women’s soccer franchise that is the most valuable women’s sports franchise in the world.

The investment from the Bay-Iger group will be new capital at a pre-money valuation of $250 million, two people with knowledge of the transaction said — an eye-popping number that raises the stakes in women’s sports.

One of the people declined to specify the investment but said the team now values itself at more than $300 million, indicating that the new investment is at least $50 million. The couple will replace Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian as the team’s controlling shareholder.

The other person close to the transaction said the investor Marc Lasry and the Manchester United owner Avie Glazer also bid competitively, but Bay and Iger pitched their long-term commitment to the enterprise and building the brand in the long term.

They were also eager to have a woman own the team, and are stressing Bay’s role in the deal. Puck’s Dylan Byers first reported the agreement, and reported that Bay was the buyer. The team’s other shareholders include actors Natalie Portman and Eva Longoria and the soccer stars Abby Wambach and Mia Hamm.

Iger and Bay attended the Angel City defeat to the Kansas City team Sunday.

Big money has poured into sports in recent years, including professional investors. But Jessica Berman, the National Women’s Soccer commissioner, said at a Semafor event last week that while she welcomed Wall Street money — the NWSL was the first professional league to allow institutional investors to own teams outright — she seemed to prefer the simpler model: rich people.

“Knowing that there’s a human we can go to to make decisions, that can bind the capital without having to go to an investment committee or a group of people who need to get approval from investors is really important,” she said, “especially in our league that is so fast growing and we move very quickly.”

An ancient sword known as the French version of King Arthur’s legendary “Excalibur” has mysteriously vanished from the town where, according to local lore, it had remained lodged in a rock for 1,300 years.

The Durandal sword appears to have been taken by a thief from its stone in the tiny medieval town of Rocamadour, where it was one of the town’s main attractions, The Telegraph reported.

For centuries it’s been believed the sword once belonged to Roland, a semi-legendary knight who bravely fought for Charlemagne in the eighth century.

Officials in Rocamadour have launched an investigation into the disappearance of the sword, which was yanked from its spot in a cliff wall some 100 feet off the ground.

Durandal was an indestructible sword and the sharpest in the world, able to cut through stone with a single blow, according to the legend.

The sword’s magical qualities were described in the 11th-century epic poem “The Song of Roland.”

The poem, written in old French, is the oldest surviving major work of French literature, with the sole surviving copy stashed at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, according to the Telegraph.

Charlemagne received Durandal from an angel before he gifted it to his best soldier, according to the legend.

Roland, before his valiant death at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass, tried to break the sword on the rocks to prevent his enemies from taking it — but even he could not destroy the sword.

The knight threw the sword into the air, which then traveled hundreds of miles before landing in the cliff in Rocamadour, legend says.

The disappearance has devastated the locals.

”We’re going to miss Durandal. It’s been part of Rocamadour for centuries, and there’s not a guide who doesn’t point it out when he visits,” mayor Dominique Lenfant told La Dépêche, a French newspaper.

“Rocamadour feels it’s been robbed of a part of itself, but even if it’s a legend, the destinies of our village and this sword are entwined,” she added.

Police are trying to determine how someone could have scaled 100 feet of the sheer rock face to snatch the sword.

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a warning on Wednesday morning about large Fourth of July celebrations.

The security organizations say the biggest threats are lone offenders and small groups, who may have a larger agenda, and find large events such as holiday gatherings “attractive” targets, according to a bulletin.

“The political environment of the country certainly doesn’t help,” Aaron Katersky, a security correspondent, told ABC News.

“The police are being told by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security to be on watch for these types of things that are notoriously difficult to guard against.”

Katersky added that big cities including New York and San Francisco are likely potential targets.

He added that citizens should proceed with caution, however they should not panic.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, mass shootings on the Fourth of July have steadily increased over the past three years.

The organization tallied a total 80 mass shootings that occurred over the past three years between July 1-7, according to Mark Bryant, the executive director of the nonprofit that tracks US shootings.

The group defines a “mass shooting” as a shooting that kills or injures four or more people, not including the shooter.

Last year, in 2023, there were 28 mass shootings over the July 4th week, followed by 27 in 2022 and 25 in 2021.

President Biden has told a key ally that he knows he may not be able to salvage his candidacy if he cannot convince the public in the coming days that he is up for the job after a disastrous debate performance last week.

The president, who the ally emphasized is still deeply in the fight for re-election, understands that his next few appearances heading into the holiday weekend — including an interview scheduled for Friday with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News and campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — must go well.

“He knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place” by the end of the weekend, said the ally, referring to Mr. Biden’s halting and unfocused performance in the debate. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive situation.

Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, said the claim was “absolutely false” and that the White House had not been given enough time to respond.

The conversation is the first indication to become public that the president is seriously considering whether he can recover after a devastating performance on the debate stage in Atlanta on Thursday. Concerns are mounting about his viability as a candidate and whether he could serve as president for another four years.

A top adviser to Mr. Biden, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the situation, said the president was “well aware of the political challenge he faces.”

Campaign officials were nervously watching polls, recognizing that bad numbers could fuel the crisis. A CBS News poll on Wednesday showed former President Donald J. Trump edging ahead of Mr. Biden since the debate with 50 percent to 48 percent nationally and 51 percent to 48 percent in battleground states.

Mr. Biden is slowly reaching out to Democratic elected officials and has a meeting with Democratic governors at the White House scheduled for Wednesday evening.

He is also continuing to reach out to people he has long trusted and has told at least one person that he is open to the possibility that his plans to move on from his debate performance — and flip the focus back to his challenger, Mr. Trump — may not work.

Several allies of Mr. Biden, who has huddled with the family and advisers since the debate on Thursday, have underscored that the president is still in the fight of his political life and largely sees this moment as a chance to come back from being counted out, as he has done many times throughout his half-century career.

But he is also cleareyed, they said, about his uphill battle to convince voters, donors and the political class that his debate performance was an anomaly.

California Democratic delegate Areva Martin told media personality Stephen A. Smith that passing over Vice President Kamala Harris as President Biden’s replacement should he withdraw from the race would destroy the party.

“If you pick a White man over Kamala Harris, Black women, I can tell you this, we are going to walk away,” Martin said Tuesday. “We are going to blow the party up.”

As speculation over Biden’s status as leader of the party grows, Democrats are openly divided over who is qualified to run against former President Trump in the months before the election.

“Who are we agreeing [to]?” Martin asked Smith. “There’s a long list of Democrats, Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, the list goes on and on.”

“Where is their consensus?” she continued. “You’ve got to build consensus. And there is not consensus right now.”

“So where are we getting agreement from on whom this ideal Democratic candidate should be?” Martin said. “Tell me that.”

Martin, a civil rights attorney, said that the Biden administration deserved credit for its diversity.

“Joe Biden, when he gets re-elected, which my prediction is that he will, he brings with him Kamala Harris, the most diverse administration in the history of this country,” she said. “Y’all need to just stay the course. We got more Black judges appointed under Joe Biden than anyone, even President Barack Obama.”

Martin also compared the presidential race to a sports match, saying that Biden is the “star player” and deserves support.

“I don’t know anything about sports, but I know you don’t give up on your star player in the middle of a game,” she told Smith.

“We are almost at the finish line. We have an opportunity to save this democracy. And I bet you, [if] you blow up Joe Biden, you might as well give Donald Trump the keys to the White House and let him start ruling the country in August,” she said.

A new national poll from CNN indicates that three-quarters of voters say the Democratic Party would have a better chance of keeping the White House with someone else other than Biden at the top of the party’s ticket.

And the survey, released Tuesday by CNN, suggests that Harris performs slightly better than Biden in a match-up with Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee.

The poll was conducted entirely after Biden’s extremely rough performance during last Thursday’s face-to-face showdown between the two major party contenders.

President Biden’s campaign is intensely trying to quell speculation that he may drop out of the 2024 race following his lackluster debate performance last week.

Most top Democrats have voiced support for Biden continuing in the race, while members of his family, including first lady Jill Biden, have declared they also want him to remain a candidate, casting doubt on the potential for replacing Biden.

But if Biden were to step aside, several prominent Democrats could be waiting in the wings as possible successors.

Here are the top possible Biden replacements:

Kamala Harris

If Biden were to decide against seeking reelection, Vice President Harris would be the most obvious choice to replace him. Harris has defended Biden and emphasized his ability to serve another term in recent days, as have most other top Democrats who could be considered.

Serving in the country’s second-highest office has given her some amount of executive governing experience, and Biden choosing her as his running mate already made her one of the top possible candidates for the 2028 nomination.

With the presidential primaries concluded, Harris is also the only possible contender who could claim some past electoral mandate for the nomination, with the country having indirectly elected her as first-in-line to the presidency four years ago and Democratic voters backing Biden this year with the knowledge that she is the running mate.

But Harris has some vulnerabilities. Her favorability rating has often been even lower than Biden’s, though she has improved somewhat in the past couple months and has a higher net approval rating than Biden, according to FiveThirtyEight.

She also could be dogged with criticisms of the Biden administration’s policies like immigration, on which she was spearheading an initiative.

Still, Democrats could take a hit by passing over the first female Black vice president as its nominee when having the chance because Black voters will be a key constituency. A poll last month showed Harris would perform better with Black voters than Biden.

Gavin Newsom

If Harris were to be passed over, the California Gov. Gavin Newsom would almost certainly be at or near the top of many Democratic delegates’ list to be the nominee.

Newsom has become one of the most prominent Democrats in the country over the past few years, in part because of his defense of Biden and his sparring with prominent Republicans, most notably Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

Despite ongoing speculation of Newsom having presidential ambitions, he has repeatedly denied interest in running for president in 2024. Following Biden’s debate, he appeared in the spin room to argue against ditching Biden just because of one performance and called talk of Biden being replaced “unhelpful and unnecessary” in a fundraising pitch for the president on Friday.

But if Biden were to step aside, Newsom would very likely receive significant calls to throw his hat in the ring.

He would be able to run on a record as a two-term governor of one of the largest economies in the world and tout many accomplishments during his tenure for the left in the solidly blue state. He also has overcome an attempt to recall him and is seen as a top possibility to run in 2028.

Gretchen Whitmer

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer first came to office in 2018, boosted by the slogan “Fix the Damn Roads,” which put a pragmatic focus on repairing the state’s infrastructure. Since then, she has become a rising liberal star in the Democratic Party.

Her easy reelection victory in 2022 brought with it Democratic majorities in the state House and Senate, marking the first time in decades that Democrats had a trifecta of power in Michigan. She was also reelected alongside the passage of a ballot measure enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution, an initiative she championed.

Whitmer has been able to notch key victories, including the repeal of the state’s decades-old abortion ban and a “right-to-work” law to prop up unions.

Still, Whitmer has been among the clearest of the rumored choices that she is not angling to replace Biden and is fully behind him.

Politico reported the Whitmer called Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon on Friday to make clear she was not responsible for her name being floated as a possible replacement and is willing to help Biden with the campaign. She appeared in an ad supporting the Biden-Harris ticket that she posted Sunday on her account on the social platform X.

Pete Buttigieg

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was relatively unknown when he first began his run for president in 2020 but gained traction and popularity as “Mayor Pete,” having served as the mayor of South Bend, Ind.

Buttigieg became a close advocate for Biden throughout 2020, culminating in his selection as Transportation secretary, making him the first openly gay Cabinet secretary. His success has raised speculation that he may try for another presidential run down the line.

In particular, he had a high-profile moment in 2021 as Congress passed and Biden signed the bipartisan infrastructure law into effect.

Buttigieg’s youth would also be a sharp contrast to Biden despite having less experience than some other rumored possibilities. But he struggled in 2020 with rallying minority, and especially Black support, and could face controversy over the administration’s handling of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment.

Josh Shapiro

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro gradually rose to higher office in his home state before being elected state attorney general and eventually governor in 2022. He has developed a reputation over his career as a more moderate Democrat but was elected after running on key liberal issues, like protecting abortion rights and raising the minimum wage.

His ability to comfortably win the governorship in the battleground by almost 15 points, as well as his youthful energy, has sparked rumors he could be a future face of the party, possibly running for the Oval Office in four years.

But he would also likely get some attention this year if Biden were to end his presidential bid. He has been one of Biden’s top surrogates and called on his fellow Democrats to put in the work necessary to get Biden elected, saying “hand-wringing” and “fretting” are not the answer.

“Democrats, stop worrying and start working. We all have the responsibility here to do our part,” Shapiro said during a Friday interview on MSNBC.

JB Pritzker

As the governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker is already set to receive some attention next month as the host governor of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. This, along with his rising national profile, could yield some support for his name to be placed in contention for the nomination.

Pritzker is in his second term as the head of the strongly Democratic-leaning state and has been an ardent defender of Biden throughout the 2024 campaign. Also one of Biden’s top surrogates, he defended the incumbent following special counsel Robert Hur’s report on Biden’s handling of classified documents and pushed back against Democrats planning to vote for anyone other than Biden in November.

Pritzker also received attention after his abortion-rights group announced a $500,000 investment into efforts to enshrine abortion rights into the Florida state constitution.

But as with other Biden surrogates rumored as future presidential candidates, Pritzker has remained behind Biden.

As the debate was wrapping up on Thursday, Pritzker argued on X the choice was “clear” in picking Biden over Trump, saying, “Voters face a stark choice in November. A president with the experience to fight for hardworking families across the country vs a 34-count convicted felon who cares only about himself.”

Andy Beshear

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) pulled off an impressive reelection victory in his ruby-red state last year, improving his margin by a few points over his first election in 2019.

That thrust his name into the national conversation as someone who may have a future in the party, even though he will be term-limited in the next election. The governor is widely popular, only in his mid-40s and managed to win statewide as a Democrat twice in a state that hasn’t voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since the 1990s.

Beshear addressed the possibility of Biden being replaced Monday, telling reporters he will support Biden as long as the president remains the Democratic nominee.

“The debate performance was rough. It was a very bad night for the president, but he is still the candidate. Only he can make decisions about his future candidacy. So as long as he continues to be in the race, I support him,” he said.

When pressed on whether he could replace Biden, Beshear said talk of serving is “flattering” but is a “reflection of all the good things going on in Kentucky.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently flew over 100 Chinese illegal migrants back to their country, the agency announced.

In a press statement released Tuesday, the DHS explained that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “conducted a removal flight” carrying Chinese nationals over the weekend. The flight carried 116 Chinese migrants, according to the Associated Press.

The DHS disclosed that the flight was its first large charter flight since 2018. The agency’s statement did not disclose details about the migrants, but it referenced efforts to “reduce and deter irregular migration and to disrupt illicit human smuggling.”

“DHS continues to work with the PRC’s Ministry of Public Security and National Immigration Administration on additional removal flights,” the department said.

The number of encounters with Chinese migrants at the U.S. southern border has skyrocketed in recent years. Border officials arrested more than 37,000 Chinese migrants in 2023, and encounters with Chinese nationals have increased by more than 6,000% since 2021.

The press release also promised to deliver “tough consequences” for illegal migrants, and referenced measures that President Biden has taken to curb illegal immigration at a time when the president is being heavily criticized over his border policies.

The DHS also said that the flight is the result of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’s “continued efforts to engage the [People’s Republic of China] on areas of mutual interest.”

“DHS regularly engages counterparts throughout the hemisphere and around the world to accept repatriations of nationals without a lawful basis to remain in the United States and take other steps to reduce irregular migration, promote safe, lawful, and orderly pathways, and hold transnational criminal networks accountable for abusing our lawful trade and travel systems and the smuggling and exploitation of vulnerable people,” the statement read.

“To that end, the United States also welcomes the recent announcement from Ecuador to require visas for passport holders from the PRC given smugglers’ efforts to exploit that route.”

Mayorkas also added that Americans “should not believe the lies of smugglers.”

“We will continue to enforce our immigration laws and remove individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States,” he said.

Hurricane Beryl is predicted to rip through six US states, according to one terrifying model.

The ferocious category five storm already left six people dead and caused significant damage after 165mph winds battered parts of the Caribbean.

Previous modelling suggested that the hurricane could skim Texas at the weekend.

Parts of the Lone Star State have since officially been added into the hurricane’s forecast cone by the National Hurricane Center, with locals in southern parts warned to brace for heavy rains and gusty winds from Monday.

However, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky could now also be swept up in the storm’s path, one model presented by hurricane expert Dr Levi Cowan shows.

At least five of the so-called spaghetti models now indicate the hurricane will lash the US.

Spaghetti models are strands showing the potential path of tropical cyclones.

For Beryl, most of the five models which impact the US show Texas in the firing line, but one additional path suggests Louisiana could see some impact too, with one possibility the storm sweeping all six states.

‘It’s really dependent on where the hurricane is launching from by the time we get to Friday if it’s coming off the Yucatan Peninsula far enough North, it may continue gaining latitude and threaten the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico, that could mean northern Mexico or Texas and the US Gulf Coast could be threatened,’ Dr Cowan said.

‘But if it crosses farther down say if it’s a weaker storm then it would likely continue West more into Eastern Mexico.’

Beryl’s path will be determined by the level of pressure over the southeast.

If this drops, it will allow the storm to move northwards potentially spelling disaster for the US.

Gulf Coast residents are being urged to keep an eye on the record-breaking storm, which is the earliest every category five hurricane ever in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Central American basin.

On Wednesday, Beryl was roaring toward Jamaica, with islanders scrambling to make preparations.

In Kingston, people boarded up windows, fishermen pulled their boats out of the water before sitting around a table to play dominoes beside a bay, and workers dismantled roadside advertising boards to protect them from the expected lashing winds to come.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. Beryl was forecast to weaken slightly over the next day or two.

However it is predicted to be at or near major-hurricane strength when it passes near or over Jamaica, near the Cayman Islands on Thursday and into Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Jamaica was under a state of emergency as the island was declared a disaster zone hours before the impact of Hurricane Beryl.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said that the disaster zone declaration will remain in effect for the next seven days. Holness also announced an island-wide curfew between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Security forces ‘will be fully mobilized to maintain public order and assist with disaster relief.

As soon as the hurricane has passed, the security forces have developed strategic plans to counter any potential threat of looting or any other opportunistic crimes,’ Holness warned.

An evacuation order was also issued for communities across Jamaica that are prone to flooding and landslides. Holness urged Jamaicans to move away from low-lying areas.

A hurricane watch was in effect for Haiti’s southern coast and the Yucatan´s east coast. Belize issued a tropical storm watch stretching south from its border with Mexico to Belize City.

Late Monday, Beryl became the earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic and peaked at winds of 165 mph Tuesday before weakening to a still-destructive Category 4.

Early Wednesday, the storm was about 125 miles southeast of Kingston. It had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph and was moving west-northwest at 20 mph, the center said.

A report published by anti-Israel media bias watchdog HonestReporting alleges that a Gaza-based CNN freelance journalist was associated with a Hamas-run entity. Abdel Qader Sabbah appeared in photographs with senior Hamas leaders online and actively praised terrorists while also carrying out unnamed tasks for the terror organization, the report claims.

The report cites CNN’s platforming of Sabbah’s work. He has also worked for the Associated Press, and his platforming casts doubt on the journalistic integrity of the network and the Hamas terror group’s ties to it. The report also raises concerns about journalistic standards and vetting practices of reporters for the media network, in addition to the story content published by the outlet.

 

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The media watchdog identified evidence of Abdel Qader Sabbah’s Hamas affiliation on his personal Facebook page, where he identified himself as a freelance journalist, director, and photographer.

Throughout his profile, Sabbah’s links himself to senior Hamas leaders, such as Mahmoud A-Zahar, in a 2018 post. A-Zahar called for “world domination with no Zionists,” the report said.

His selfie with A-Zahar was accompanied with a caption referring to him as a teacher of literature.

In 2023, he flaunted a promotional project he completed for the Directorate’s academy, which MEMRI added trains Hamas security systems. The video was later publicly shared on the official page of the Hamas-run interior ministry.

Self-inciminating online

The report cited other Facebook posts calling those who carried out deadly terror attacks as heroes. One such example was Izz A-Din Al-Masri, who carried out a suicide attack at a Jerusalem restaurant in 2001 that left 16 dead, including children.

He also had been consistent about resharing Hamas armed wing propaganda videos as well as publicly made anti-Israel sentiments.

Sabbah also reshared content censoring media production around Hamas launch points and fighters.

The report revealed that Sabbah’s profile is awash with affiliations with members of the terror organization and the content they produced to share their hate of Israel and Jews.

Armed attackers killed a woman in front of her horrified husband as they attempted to rob the couple outside an upmarket Newport Beach mall, police have said.

The 68-year old woman, named as Patricia McKay from New Zealand, and her husband had been outside a Barnes & Noble at the Fashion Island mall when they were approached by two men at around 3.30 pm on Tuesday.

A ‘struggle’ ensued, with one of the men fleeing the scene on foot and firing several rounds with a handgun as he did so, according to reports.

The woman was then dragged into the parking lot as the two men got into a Toyota Camry being driven by a third man.

The suspects then ran over McKay as they drove away from the scene, firing shots as they led the police on a high-speed chase, Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Oberon told DailyMail.com.

No one was struck by the gunfire, police confirmed.

Cops began following the men in a cross-county pursuit shortly after the violent attack.

They chased them into Los Angeles County after a pair of suspects jumped out near Los Alamitos, CBS reports.

The suspects’ car reached speeds of 110mph in the chase on the 105 freeway. Two jumped out of the car and began running around a neighborhood in South Gate.

Police found one of the men hiding behind trash cans outside a house and arrested him.

They also tracked down and arrested two other suspects in the fatal attack.

CALIFORNIA CRIME HELL: 69-year-old wife killed in front of her terrified husband after armed robbers attack them at a Newport Beach mall before she is savagely dragged into a parking lot & then run over by the suspect’s car. pic.twitter.com/U1JLE8fhZd

— Dapper Detective (@Dapper_Det) July 3, 2024

Newport Beach Police officials identified the suspects as Jaden Cunningham, 18, of Lancaster, Malachi Eddward Darnell, 18, of Los Angeles, and Leroyernest Joseph McCrary, 26, of Compton.

All three were booked on suspicion of homicide, robbery with a firearm and conspiracy.

The woman’s husband was not injured in the attack, police said, and the gunfire did not result in any other injuries.

‘It is a shock,’ Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Oberon said. ‘It just doesn’t happen normally here.’

Mayor Will O’Neill said he was ‘furious’ after hearing news of the attack, which he described as ‘staggering’.

‘I’m horrified. I’m mourning the loss of someone who died inside of our city because of crime… This is a tragedy and I’m furious.

‘Newport Beach is a safe community and we’re mourning the loss of someone,’ he said.

‘Frankly, to hell with these guys. … These are thugs. Every community is now dealing with this. We have to do better as a society. We cannot tolerate this.’

Hunter Biden has joined meetings with President Joe Biden and his top aides since his father returned to the White House from Camp David, Maryland, on Monday evening, according to four people familiar with the matter.

The president’s son has also been talking to senior White House staff members, these people said.

While he is regularly at the White House residence and events, it is unusual for Hunter Biden to be in and around meetings his father is having with his team, these people said. They said the president’s aides were struck by his presence during their discussions.

A federal jury in Delaware found Hunter Biden guilty last month on gun-related charges.

He remains under indictment accused of tax-related felonies, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Shortly after the jury found him guilty, he returned to his home in California.

One of the people familiar with the matter said Hunter Biden has been closely advising his father since the family gathered over the weekend at Camp David after Thursday’s debate. This person said Hunter Biden has “popped into” a couple of meetings and phone calls the president has had with some of his advisers.

Another person familiar with the matter said the reaction from some senior White House staff members has been, “What the hell is happening?”

Asked to comment, White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement, “Hunter came back with the President from their family weekend at Camp David and went with the President straight into speech prep,” referring to Biden’s preparation with aides for remarks about the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity.

Hunter Biden’s presence in and around his father’s meetings comes amid questions about whether Joe Biden should continue his re-election campaign.

NBC News has reported that Hunter Biden is among the immediate family members urging the president to stay in the race. He is at the White House this week to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday with the Biden family, two people familiar with his plans said.

Some White House staffers have been forced to tiptoe around President Biden when briefing him on certain topics because they want to avoid eliciting his wrath and are “scared s–tless” of him, a new report says.

“It’s like, ‘You can’t include that, that will set him off,’ or ‘Put that in, he likes that,’”a senior administration official told Politico, referring to how some of the 81-year-old president’s aides feel they have to walk through a minefield before briefings to avoid him getting angry with them.

“It’s a Rorschach test, not a briefing,” the source said. “Because he is not a pleasant person to be around when he’s being briefed. It’s very difficult, and people are scared s—less of him.”

Biden “doesn’t take advice from anyone other than those few top aides, and it becomes a perfect storm because he just gets more and more isolated from their efforts to control it,” the source said.

The White House vehemently rejected the characterizations of the president, with Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates stressing to The Post on Tuesday, “That’s simply not who he is.”

In the past, allegations have emerged about Biden having a hair-trigger temper and reaming out aides — sometimes with profane language — when vexed by certain developments.

The president’s temper has flared publicly on occasion, too, including when faced with tough questions from The Post.

Other aides have reportedly sought to bring a colleague with them to meetings for moral support.

Biden has leaned on a very tight-knit inner circle that has tried to provide cover for him from the media and other groups.

His protective go-to people include senior adviser Anita Dunn, former chief of staff Ron Klain, Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti and Bruce Reed.

The Post learned that Biden’s son Hunter also has been participating in West Wing meetings this week, after the president’s disastrous debate against GOP foe Donald Trump.

Since President Biden’s embarrassing showing, the White House has faced tough new questions about the protective bubble around him and his cognitive state.

“There’s definitely groupthink,” an adviser to a Democratic donor told Politico, referring to Biden’s inner circle, which has been shielding him.

“They’ve known each other a long time.”

“Any reasonable person watching the debate would have concerns, and dismissing them is, to a lot of people, patronizing,” the source said, referring to some Dem elite who have publicly claimed there’s nothing to see here when it comes to Biden’s mental awareness.

A Democratic operative added of the group, “They don’t take dissent.

“If you try, then you don’t get invited to the next call, the next meeting.”

A senior House Democrat described the Biden team as “pretty insular” and one that “doesn’t really care what anybody says.”

Biden’s debate performance has thrust Democrats into disarray, panicked over their chances of winning the presidency again come Nov. 5 while finger-pointing over the whole ordeal.

Exacerbating concerns is the fact that many prominent Democrats claim Biden hasn’t reached out after the debate to reassure them or give a sense of direction during the firestorm.

A senior Democratic aide told The Post that the president isn’t directly reaching out to any of his party’s lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

“You can’t have the problem you’ve had — then go to a campaign rally and think the box is checked,” a Democratic strategist remarked, contending that Biden could have eased concerns by going on the Sunday TV talk shows.

But a White House official pushed back on the claims, telling The Post, “There has been meaningful outreach at a senior level.”

Staffers dispute characterizations of Biden’s briefing behavior

Some current and former staffers also publicly disputed the characterizations of Biden’s behind-the-scenes behavior during briefings.

“I personally helped brief President Biden many times and this was not my experience. In fact, it was the opposite — we were overinclusive about flagging downsides of any recommended course of action so he could fully evaluate costs and benefits,” wrote Bharat Ramamurti, former deputy director of the National Economic Council, on X.

I personally helped brief President Biden many times and this was not my experience. In fact, it was the opposite — we were overinclusive about flagging downsides of any recommended course of action so he could fully evaluate costs and benefits. https://t.co/qms1rrs67b

— Bharat Ramamurti (@BharatRamamurti) July 2, 2024

“Does he ask hard questions to make sure ideas hold up? Sure. If that makes you uncomfortable you shouldn’t be briefing the President of the United States.”

Bates also knocked the claims as “unfair distortions of processes that exist in every administration.

“In every administration, there are individuals who would prefer to spend more time with the president and senior officials,” Bates said in a statement.

“President Biden fights hard for families every day, working with a wide range of team members at what he is proud is the most diverse White House ever — and achieving historic results for the American people because of his determination, values, and experience.”

A White House official also told The Post that “the president actively seeks input from a wide range of staff who have had different experiences.

“On [Air Force 1], he’ll sometimes go seat to seat, checking in with folks on their portfolios, how they think a trip went, etc. He’s also very inquisitive to [National Security Council} and domestic policy subject matter experts who rotate in and out,” the official added.

“The group of people in briefings or prep meetings can be eight to 10 at times.”

The president’s campaign claims he will still participate in a Sept. 10 debate against Trump and hosted by ABC News.

Biden also has agreed to sit down for an interview with ABC that will get trickled out on air later this week.

The president has acknowledged his debate shortcomings but insisted, “I would not be running again if I did not believe with all of my heart and soul that I can do this job.”

Joe Biden will sit down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for his first interview since the fallout from his dismal debate performance.

Stephanopoulos will interview Biden on Friday, with the “extended” interview, as ABC News terms it, set to air on Sunday on This Week and Good Morning America on Monday. The first portions of the interview will air on World News Tonight on Friday evening, with more on the weekend editions of GMA.

Another interview coup for former Bill Clinton aide and longtime ABC anchor Stephanopoulos, news of the sit-down comes as calls have become louder and louder for the 81-year-old POTUS to either step aside from his rematch against Donald Trump or order a dramatic reset of his clearly faltering campaign. Having said that, Stephanopoulos has proven the go-to guy for Biden when the president has hit the political rocks.

Back in the summer of 2021, ABC News had an exclusive interview between Stephanopoulos and Biden as the administration’s tumultuous exit from Afghanistan turned into a tragic and humiliating retreat.

With silence from Biden’s Hollywood ringleader Jeffrey Katzenberg, dozens of deep pocket donors have expressed dismay and even outrage at the president’s rambling and disjointed appearance with Trump on CNN on June 27. Biden has since appeared at rallies and fundraisers and, after a stay at Camp David, returned to the White House on Monday, when he delivered a statement on the Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity. He declined to take questions from reporters.

At the White House briefing today, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that will change next week, when Biden does a press conference during the NATO summit in Washington, D.C. The summit with 31 other members of NATO will take place from July 9-11, but Biden will be doing his press conference solo and will take questions from multiple reporters, Jean-Pierre said.

Today, President Biden made a short trip from the White House to the DC Emergency Operations Center HQ for a briefing on some of the extreme weather hitting the nation this 4th of July week. As has been the case with almost all of Biden’s public appearances since the debate debacle, the president took no questions from the media.

Biden will be attending a campaign fundraiser in nearby Virginia this evening. Whether or not the president will be using a Teleprompter with his remarks before contributors is not known right now. The president’s reliance on the Teleprompter in such private events as well as his policy speeches and campaign stops has emerged in recent days as a flashpoint for both critics and fans.

Demands for a reassuring response on Biden’s capacity to run a coherent campaign against much indicted Trump, who has a lead in the polls, have been met in the fallout from last week with conference calls and Zoom meet-ups from top staffers like Jennifer O’Malley Dillon. Offering platitudes and polling estimates, the plethora of calls have come in place of direct communication from Biden himself or his long term inner circle – a situation that has caused even more anxiety, top donors tell us.

Interestingly, despite the pleas from some of Biden’s most loyal supporters, the president’s network interview will not be live. Additionally, even with a scattering of events on the president’s schedule for the Independence Day holiday, there is no other interview or town hall on the calendar for Biden – yet.

At the briefing, Jean-Pierre said that “we want to turn the page on this.” She acknowledged voters’ concerns over Biden’s age, but gave a terse “no” when asked if the president was in the early stages of Alzheimers or any form of dementia. She also suggested that reporters should ask the same question of Donald Trump.

“I have an answer for you. Are you ready for it? It’s a no. And I hope you’re asking the other guy the same exact question,” Jean-Pierre said.

“Most incumbents, for their first debate, it doesn’t go well,” she said, calling Biden’s performance a “bad night” while noting that the president has also acknowledged his debating skills and speaking style are not what they used to be. “With age comes wisdom and experience,” she said.

But reporters peppered Jean-Pierre over just what happened on Thursday evening. It’s a question that Stephanopoulos likely will ask. She said that he had a cold and continues to have one, but said that he was not taking cold medication.

All the networks have standing offers to interview the president. The choice of ABC News follows Biden’s last major sit down interview, with the same network. He spoke with World News Tonight anchor David Muir at the Normandy anniversary celebration last month.

Scientists have identified a potential new target for treating Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. The discovery promises to halt or even reverse the disease process.

Alzheimer’s disease affects roughly 5.8 million Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The progressive disease is the most common form of dementia and is associated with memory loss and cognitive decline in regions of the brain involved in thought, memory and language.

The disease is thought to be caused by the abnormal buildup of proteins in and around the brain cells.

Today, there is no known cure for Alzheimer’s, although recently approved treatments do exist that can slow the disease’s progression.

“Strategies to treat Alzheimer’s disease to date have largely focused on pathological changes prominent in the late stages of the disease,” Scott Selleck, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the Penn State Eberly College of Science, said in a statement.

“Although recently [U.S. Food and Drug Administration]-approved drugs have shown the ability to modestly slow the disease by targeting one of these changes, amyloid accumulation, drugs that affect the earliest cellular deficits might provide important tools to stop or reverse the disease process.

“We are interested in understanding the earliest cellular changes that are found not only in Alzheimer’s, but shared across other neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).”

In a new study published in the journal iScience, Selleck and colleagues from Penn State have identified a key molecule during these early stages of disease progression that may act as a potential target for future Alzheimer’s treatments.

The discovery centers around a group of cell-signaling molecules called heparan sulfate-modified proteins, which have previously been implicated in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. However, their exact role has remained unclear.

Heparan sulfate-modified proteins can be found both on the surface and in between animal cells. Among their many roles, they seem to play a key role in regulating a cellular recycling process called autophagy.

This process is known to be compromised in the early stages of several neurodegenerative diseases. And when autophagy isn’t working properly, cells can’t get rid of their dysfunctional or damaged components as easily, reducing their ability to repair themselves.

“In this study, we determined that heparan sulfate-modified proteins suppress autophagy-dependent cell repair,” Selleck said.

The team found that disrupting the structure and function of these heparan sulfate-modified proteins increased levels of autophagy in their respective cells. What’s more, reducing the function of these proteins also appeared to improve the function of the cell’s mitochondria (which are responsible for energy production in the cell), and reduced the build-up of fatty compounds inside the cells—both of which are early signs of other neurodegenerative diseases.

“We demonstrate that reduced autophagy, mitochondrial defects and lipid build-up—all common changes in neurodegenerative disease—can be blocked by altering one class of proteins, those with heparan sulfate modifications,” Selleck said.

“These findings suggest a promising target for future treatments that could rescue the earliest abnormalities that occur in many neurodegenerative diseases.”