Vice President Kamala Harris was reportedly able to overcome the distraction of the market bloodbath in order to narrow her choice of a right-hand man to either Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz or 51-year-old Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. She is expected to reveal her choice of Democratic running mate prior to her Tuesday rally in Philadelphia. While both finalists share a leftist reflex in common with the vice president, Shapiro appears favored to win — particularly by bookies. While Harris' potential running mate confidently accused clerics living and dead of abuse, he apparently had trouble flushing out possible predators in his own inner circle. Shapiro served as a state representative from 2005 until starting a new chapter in 2011 on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. In 2016, he ran for state attorney general and succeeded in that effort aided by an endorsement from former President Barack Obama. While Shapiro handily beat Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R) in the 2022 gubernatorial race, taking over 56% of the vote, it's unclear whether he would be able to replicate that success in the Keystone State for its 19 electoral votes while hitched to Harris' wagon — especially with President Donald Trump consistently leading Harris in the state. Shapiro's approval rating in Pennsylvania is 49% according to a recent Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D) suggested last month to WPVI-TV that in terms of the vote, Shapiro could help fetch Harris up to 1.5% "and that might be the difference." Nationally, having Shapiro on the ticket could help the campaign reassure moderate voters that a Harris administration would not be any weaker on anti-Semitism than the current administration. After all, Shapiro is a proud Jewish American who let people believe for decades that he volunteered for the Israeli military and has reportedly compared anti-Israel protesters to the KKK. Shapiro's identity with and support for Israel may alternatively prove problematic for Harris, as both seem to rankle the pro-Hamas elements of the Democratic Party, particularly those who would overlook his suggestion that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "one of the worst leaders of all time" and seize upon his 1993 article titled "Peace Not Possible," which states, "Peace between Arabs and Israelis is virtually impossible and will never come." Some Democrats have also voiced concern about Shapiro on account of his backing of school vouchers. He could, however, win them over with his radicalism on other issues. For instance, he has supported allowing transvestites to use girls' bathrooms; fought to ensure that men can compete in women's sports; played a role in making it harder to save Pennsylvanian children from sex changes; and underscored that abortion should always be legal. Shapiro would also likely complement Harris' overt anti-Catholic prejudice with what Mastriano characterized as a "grudge" all his own. Blaze News previously reported that in 2017, then-state Attorney General Shapiro announced at a Planned Parenthood center that he was suing the Trump administration for providing religious nonprofits with an exemption from having to provide insurance coverage for contraceptives and other services at odds with their deeply held religious convictions. Despite Shapiro's best efforts, the Little Sisters of the Poor, a group of nuns who were threatened with the prospect of millions of dollars in fines for noncompliance, ultimately fought back and won. While state attorney general, Shapiro also waged a crusade against alleged pedophile clerics in the Catholic Church, which served to boost his profile outside the state. Without apparently cross-examining witnesses or affording the accused an opportunity to rebut the claims, the report resulting from then-state Attorney General Shapiro's grand jury investigation claimed that 301 Catholic priests — some of whom were dead or no longer priests — were predators. Only two were apparently prosecuted. The dioceses implicated in the report later paid out $84 million to settle claims by 564 alleged victims. Shapiro's conduct relating to the investigation, his extrajudicial comments concerning the accused, the nature of the investigation, and the corresponding claims about abuse in the church were met with fierce criticism, with some suggesting the secret grand jury's report was "misleading." Shapiro was, however, largely celebrated by the liberal media for the report and his routine condemnations of the church. While Harris' potential running mate confidently accused clerics living and dead of abuse, he apparently had trouble flushing out possible predators in his own inner circle. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Shapiro's administration agreed to pay nearly $300,000 last year to quietly settle a sexual harassment complaint made against one of his closest allies and senior aides, Mike Vereb. An employee accused Vereb of repeatedly harassing her, making foul remarks, and making sexual advances. When she complained, Vereb allegedly retaliated against her. Vereb also apparently remained in his role in Shapiro's administration for six months after the woman's complaint was filed and only resigned weeks after the settlement had been reached. When the alleged abuser finally left, Shapiro's office celebrated him for his "dedicated service," reported the New York Times. The scandal has come back to bite Shapiro. In a recent post on X suggesting North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) would be an optimal VP pick, Pennsylvania's Democratic nominee for treasurer, Erin McClelland, took a swipe at Shapiro, writing, "I want a VP pick that's secure enough to be second under a woman, is content to be VP & won't undermine the President to maneuver his own election & doesn't sweep sexual harassment under the rug." The National Women's Defense League noted in a statement Monday, "What we know of Gov. Shapiro's actions indicate an alarming negligence and a pattern of endangering women that work for and with his office. His failure to be forthcoming and take greater accountability – even as more concerning information comes to light – should be of serious concern to Pennsylvanians, and as a Vice President frontrunner, to the Harris Campaign and the American people." Although Shapiro ostensibly has a blind spot when it comes to abusers under his command, Time magazine zeroed in Saturday on something besides moral consistency that he might be able to help the Harris campaign with: intelligibility when speaking in public. While some may have forgotten the appeal and importance of a gifted orator after nearly eight years of Trump and Biden, voters must not forget the many [sic] of the memorable speeches delivered by President Barack Obama. Some commentators have compared Governor Shapiro's speaking abilities to those of Obama, noting that they even sound alike. The authors of the Time piece carefully avoided any mention of Harris' often-mocked speeches but nevertheless acknowledged that Shapiro could satisfy those "long[ing] for skilled speakers." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Boeing's spacecraft may require a rescue from Elon Musk's SpaceX program but has yet to publicly ask for help, reports have stated.Aerospace and defense corporation Boeing launched its Starliner spacecraft in early June 2024 with the intention of having the craft and crew travel to the International Space Station and return within two weeks. It has now been eight weeks since the vessel was launched.At the time of the launch, NASA officials reportedly said that crew members Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams could come back to Earth as soon as June 14, just eight days after launch. 'Our prime option is to complete the mission.'Also around that time, a report from ZeroHedge noted that it was actually the third attempt at launching the Boeing CST-100 Starliner. The first attempt was scrapped due to a leak, and then the month after another launch was pushed back a few days due to what was described as a computer glitch.The Starliner's trip to the space station apparently involved helium leaks and failing thrusters, but officials downplayed them as minor distractions.Mark Nappi, vice president and manager of Boeing's Commercial Crew Program, said the issues were "pretty small, really, issues to deal with," according to Ars Technica. "We'll figure them out for the next mission. I don't see these as significant at all," Nappi added during a post-docking news conference.After testing, NASA officials declined to state whether or not they would seek outside assistance should the Starliner's thrusters not be reliable enough to return home."Our prime option is to complete the mission," NASA program manager Steve Stich said. "There are a lot of good reasons to complete this mission and bring Butch and Suni home on Starliner. Starliner was designed, as a spacecraft, to have the crew in the cockpit."However, an alleged inside source told Ars Technica that there was a greater than 50/50 chance that the Starliner crew would return to Earth on a Crew Dragon spacecraft, which is operated by SpaceX.When asked about that possibility, NASA spokesperson Josh Finch told the outlet, "NASA is evaluating all options for the return of agency astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the International Space Station as safely as possible. No decisions have been made and the agency will continue to provide updates on its planning."While it has all but been confirmed that a plan involving SpaceX is being mapped out, NASA posted in a recent blog that it is "continuing to prepare for undocking by participating in integrated simulations with space station operations teams.""Following the completion of Starliner's return planning, which is expected to continue into next week, more information will be shared about the agency's return readiness review preparations [in the] subsequent media briefing."At the same time, SpaceX has reportedly been testing scenarios where it would accommodate two extra crew members back to Earth on Crew Dragon, and has already identified flight suits that would fit the two Boeing astronauts. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Pollster Frank Luntz argued last week that Donald Trump can sink Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign with just 10 words.Thanks to a boost from the media, Harris has gained significant ground on Trump in the two weeks since she became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee without having earned a single primary vote.'How many times have campaigns come down to, as Ronald Reagan said, 'Are you better off now than you were four years ago?''But that momentum could grind to a halt, according to Luntz, if Trump focuses on one basic question."Can you name one thing she did as vice president? And leave it at that," Luntz told KTTV-TV of the question he should pose to voters."Can you name one thing she accomplished as vice president? Ten words," he reiterated. — (@) From Luntz's perspective, it's not beneficial for Trump to attack Harris. Rather, the Republican pollster argued that voters prefer "accountability" to attacks, which is why the 10-word question is powerful: It forces voters to wrestle with Harris' accomplishments — or lack thereof."It's a legit criticism. She was No. 2 in the country and given the responsibility for immigration. Now, I'm going to upset the other side. How is her immigration working out?" Luntz said. "How successful has she been? What else did Joe Biden task her to do?""In our lifetime, we've seen Dick Cheney — who was arguably as powerful as the president, a vice president — and Joe Biden, when he was vice president, had specific responsibilities under the Obama administration," he continued. "She did nothing."Republican strategists and lawmakers are offering Trump similar advice: Stick to the issues.The election will likely be decided by a relatively small number of undecided voters in a handful of key battleground states. Those voters care about real solutions, and they care about a candidate's record. If Trump sticks to promoting his plan for the economy, immigration, and foreign policy, there is a good chance he wins in November. His record, after all, stands in stark contrast to the Biden-Harris record.Mark Campbell, a Republican strategist who ran Glenn Youngkin's winning gubernatorial campaign in 2021, also believes the race could come down to a single question — one voters have to ask for themselves."How many times have campaigns come down to, as Ronald Reagan said, ‘Are you better off now than you were four years ago?' This year, the answer is a resounding no," he told the Associated Press. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Secret Service leaders, including then-Director Kimberly Cheatle, tried to crush an investigation into the bag of cocaine that was found in the White House in July 2023, according to yet another explosive report about the federal agency by Susan Crabtree of RealClearPolitics.On July 2, 2023, a bag filled with white powder later identified as cocaine was discovered by a Secret Service Uniformed Division officer who was conducting a routine inspection of the White House after the Biden family had left for Camp David for the Fourth of July holiday weekend.Matt White ... allegedly received a call from either Cheatle or someone claiming to represent her, ordering White to destroy the cocaine evidence so that the case could be closed.Because of first son Hunter Biden's known history of abusing illegal drugs, including crack and cocaine, and his recent visit to the White House, members of the press immediately began asking whether the bag belonged to him. Such questions were later labeled "irresponsible."Congressional Republicans also sent a letter to Cheatle, demanding more details about the apparent breach of security that permitted a bag of cocaine to be brought to the White House in the first place."The presence of illegal drugs in the White House is unacceptable and a shameful moment in the White House's history," House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer wrote Cheatle in a letter dated five days after the bag was discovered, as Blaze News previously reported.DNA material was eventually extracted from the bag, and investigators did find a "partial" match. However, as the investigation yielded "no surveillance video footage found that provided investigative leads," no latent fingerprints, and "insufficient DNA," the Secret Service's investigation into the incident was ultimately "closed due to a lack of physical evidence," said a statement from the agency.Now, more than a year later, the Secret Service is under tremendous scrutiny once again after a series of deadly security blunders allowed 20-year-old Thomas Crooks to fire several rounds at former President Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. One bullet tore through Trump's ear, missing his head by less than an inch. Other bullets took the life of former fire chief Corey Comperatore and critically wounded two others.Cheatle, who initially defied calls for her resignation following the shooting, eventually stepped down, and Ronald Rowe became acting director in her stead. According to Crabtree, at least one Secret Service Uniformed Division officer told Cheatle, Rowe, and others last year that he intended to follow crime-scene protocols regarding the cocaine bag found at the White House. Shortly following that conversation, he was apparently reassigned from the case.Furthermore, Matt White, who was then supervising the vault in which the cocaine evidence had been stored, allegedly received a call from either Cheatle or someone claiming to represent her, ordering White to destroy the cocaine evidence so that the case could be closed, Crabtree reported, citing two sources in the Secret Service community.Despite apparent pressure from Cheatle, the Forensic Services Division at the Secret Service stood firm and denied the alleged request to destroy the cocaine evidence, Crabtree claimed."A decision was made not to get rid of the evidence, and it really p***ed off Cheatle," a source told RCP."That’s because they didn’t want to know, or even narrow down the field of who it could be," a source also told RCP. "It could have been Hunter Biden, it could have been a staffer, it could have been someone doing a tour — we’ll never know."In addition, Crabtree indicated that Richard Macauley, former acting chief of the Secret Service Uniformed Division, may have been passed over for the permanent position because he supported those who refused to destroy the cocaine evidence.Cheatle has a close relationship with the Biden family, particularly first lady Jill Biden, stemming from Joe Biden's time as vice president during the Obama administration. Reports suggest that because of these close family ties, Biden appointed Cheatle to become Secret Service director in 2022.Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi did not respond immediately to RCP's request for comment.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Former interim-lightweight UFC champion Tony Ferguson said he will not stop competing and has felt better than ever despite losing his eighth-straight fight.Following an August 3 loss in Abu Dhabi, Ferguson broke the record for the most consecutive losses in UFC history, which was previously held by former two-division champion B.J. Penn, who lost seven in a row before retiring. Veteran fighter Sam Alvey has the most UFC fights without a win, nine, placing a draw between a pair of four-fight losing streaks.In his post-fight interview, Ferguson was asked by UFC commentator Daniel Cormier if it was his final fight, a question that has become a formality for the 40-year-old."I don't want to retire. I really don't, but I love the UFC and I don't want to go anywhere else," Ferguson told Cormier. "I'm not going to put both gloves down, I'm going to put one and I'm going to keep the other one just in case," he added.Leaving their gloves in the Octagon is a traditional move for fighters when they retire.'No matter what I'm doing, I'm gonna get better and better and better and better.'"I'm kinda like, no, I still wanna fight," Ferguson later continued, according to MMA Mania. "I still wanna compete and I still wanna do this ... I wanna do a whole bunch of stuff. If I didn't have the love, both those gloves would have been left in that f***ing ring."Since his last win in 2018, Ferguson has consistently fought contenders and big-name fighters despite losing each time. The California native became the interim lightweight champion in 2017 but was stripped of the belt in April 2018 due to injury. He would fight for the same interim belt again in 2020 against Justin Gaethje, but lost when the fight was stopped by the referee in the fifth round. The brutal beating marked the beginning of Ferguson's record-setting losing streak.When asked what he would do if the UFC decided not to re-sign him, Ferguson replied, "what we do is we go do something else."At 25-11, Ferguson has been a fan-favorite for more than a decade since winning "The Ultimate Fighter 13" in 2011. His unorthodox personality has continued to make him a draw despite his losses and has led to him consistently appearing on the main card at big events. "I wanna be real. If those fans out there are willing enough to come [to Abu Dhabi] and fly and spend thousands of dollars to come watch me compete somewhere, I can f***ing tell you they’re gonna follow me somewhere. And that's the humblest thing I could say because no matter where I'm at, no matter what I'm doing, I'm gonna get better and better and better and better," he added.Ferguson then alluded to a possible stint in other sports like boxing or grappling."I'm not gonna f***ing stop competing. That's just in my blood. That's just how I am," he concluded.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Sheriff Pat Garrett fatally shot Billy the Kid in 1881, but their legendary showdown was far from their first meeting — and some have even suggested that they were once friends. The post The Wild Story Of Pat Garrett, The Old West Sheriff Who Killed Billy The Kid And Then Wrote His Biography appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Research shows that the Roman dictator smelled like a blend of rock roses, citrus, and amber. The post Scientists Just Used Ancient Sources To Recreate Julius Caesar’s Signature Perfume appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Reminder: Kamala Harris Vowed to Ban Off Shore Drilling ('Cuz We Don't Pay Enough for Energy Already)

Master CLASS! Justice Neil Gorsuch SCHOOLS CBS Journo About ALL THE THINGS and It's GLORIOUS (Watch)

'Republicans for Harris' Asks Why People Are Voting for Kamala, TDS EXPLODES in the Replies