'It was a tough decision to miss the game'

'How is that supposed to inspire confidence?'

'Man those White House military doctors are going to have to load him up with a lot of drugs after'

'No one wanted to talk to me'

Over the past three years‚ rent costs have risen dramatically for Americans as inflation and housing constraints push expenses up‚ according to data from Harvard’s “America’s Rental Housing 2024″ report. Renting unaffordability has reached an all-time high‚ with 22.4 million households spending more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities‚ up by 2 million in just three years‚ canceling out increases in affordability seen in 2014 and 2019‚ according to the report from Harvard. The resulting increases in costs have raised the number of cost-burdened renters to 50%‚ up 3.2 percentage points since 2019. The number of low-rent units‚ those below $600 a month‚ adjusted for inflation‚ has fallen by 2.1 million since 2012‚ totaling just 7.2 million units in 2022‚ according to the report. The constriction in supply was especially pronounced from 2019 to 2022‚ with the number of low-rent units dropping by more than half a million. The trend of median rents rising faster than income has continued over the past few years‚ with rents being 21% higher in 2022 as compared with 2001 in inflation-adjusted terms‚ while incomes have only increased 2%‚ according to the report. Following the increases in the costs of rent‚ the number of homeless people has increased by 48% from 2015 to 2023‚ rising by 83‚000 people‚ according to the report. States such as California‚ Washington and Oregon had quick growth in homeless populations due to constraints in housing supply and high costs. Shelter has been hit disproportionately hard by price increases from inflation‚ rising 18.7% since January 2021‚ when Biden first took office‚ according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. In contrast‚ general inflation has risen 17.7% in that same time frame. Unaffordability for homes has also increased dramatically‚ with home prices reaching an all-time high in October‚ rising 4.8% year-over-year. The supply of new homes has been constricted in part by a lack of construction workers‚ with the Home Builders Institute estimating that the U.S. will need 723‚000 new construction workers every year to keep up with current demand. An estimated 1.5 million new homes will need to be built before 2030 to meet growth expectations. Mortgage rates have also pushed housing costs up‚ with the average for a 30-year mortgage nearly exceeding 8% in October. Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Americans Getting Nailed by Through-the-Roof Rents appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Tucker Carlson released his much-anticipated interview with Vladimir Putin‚ a two-hour conversation recorded Tuesday in Moscow. It was the first interview between the Russian leader and an American journalist since the conflict in Ukraine escalated in 2022. Asked by Carlson if he had achieved his goals in Ukraine‚ Putin said bluntly‚ “No. We haven’t achieved our aims yet.” Ep. 73 The Vladimir Putin Interview pic.twitter.com/67YuZRkfLL— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 8‚ 2024 Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Tucker Carlson Presses Putin on Ukraine. Here’s How the Russian Leader Responds. appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Sexual Tension: Erin Burnett‚ Volodymyr Zelensky Star in the Pas De Deux From 'Swoon Lake'

Hawaii's Supreme Court Attempts to Sidestep the 2nd Amendment

The spotlight was on President Biden’s failing mental faculties Thursday night following Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on the classified documents in his garage. The report declined to indict the President partially because investigators thought Biden’s failing memory would give a jury pause. And in a press conference to address the report‚ Biden lashed out at the special counsel and journalists like Fox News’s Peter Doocy and made multiple mental fumbles that only added evidence to the argument. Instead of calling on pre-selected members of the White House press pool picked out by his staff‚ as usual‚ Biden opened the floor to questions after his remarks. The first journalist to jump in‚ without challenge‚ was Doocy. Doocy wasted no time in grilling Biden on what the special counsel said about his poor memory and got an angry response for the effort: DOOCY: President Biden‚ something special counsel said in his report is that one of the reasons you were not charged is because‚ in his description‚ “you are a well-meaning‚ elderly man with a poor memory.” BIDEN: I'm well-meaning and I'm an elderly man and I know what the hell I'm doing. I've been president and I put this country back on its feet. I don't need his recommendation. It’s totally-- DOUCY: How bad is your memory? And can you continue as president? BIDEN: My memory is so bad I let you speak! Surprisingly‚ ABC’s MaryAlice Park followed up with this fastball: “Do you feel your memory has gotten worse‚ Mr. President?” “My memory has not gotten – My memory is fine. My memory – Take a look at what I've done since I’ve become president. None of you thought could I pass any of the things I got passed. How did that happen? You know‚ I guess I just forgot what was going on‚” Biden rambled.     The Washington Post’s Tyler Pager kept the questions about Biden’s memory flowing‚ much to Biden’s chagrin: PAGER: Mr. President‚ the voters have concerns about your age. How are you going to assuage them and do you fear this report only going to fuel further concern about you? BIDEN: Only by some of you. CNN’s MJ Lee was the one to receive Biden’s full anger about the subject. After daring to mention that his mental acuity was a major concern for Americans‚ the president shouted at her: LEE: Mr. President‚ for months when you were asked about your age‚ would you respond with the words‚ “Watch me.” Many American people have been watching and they have expressed concerns about your age. BIDEN [interrupting]: That is your judgment! That is your judgment! That is not the judgment of the press! “They express concerns about your mental acuity. They say you are too old‚” she pushed back. “Mr. President‚ in December you told me that you believed there are many other Democrats who could defeat Donald Trump. So why does it have to be you now? What is your answer to that question?” Biden snapped: “Because I'm the most qualified person in this country to be president of the United States and finish the job I started.”   During his address‚ where Biden claimed his mental faculties were fine‚ he appeared to claim Mexico shared a border with Israel. He says he spoke with the president of Mexico to open the gates to let humanitarian aid in. pic.twitter.com/YGY3DlX29E — Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) February 9‚ 2024   The president didn’t do himself any favors during the presser. At one point he claimed President El-Sisi was the leader of Mexico. He’s the president of Egypt: I'm of the view‚ as you know‚ that the conduct of the response [long pause] in Gaza‚ in the Gaza Strip has been‚ um‚ over the top. I think that [long pause]‚ as you know‚ initially‚ the president of Mexico‚ El-Sisi did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in. I talked to him. I convinced him to open the gate. I talked to Bibi to open the gate on the Israeli side. I've been pushing really hard. Really hard to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Biden also lashed out at Hur for including how he forgot when his son Beau passed away: In addition‚ I know there's some attention paid to some language in the report about my recollection of events. There's even reference that I don't remember when my son died. How in the hell dare he raise that? Frankly‚ when I was asked the question‚ I thought to myself‚ “It wasn't any of their damn business.” But at no point did the President put the suggestion to rest by simply stating the date of Beau’s passing. The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 February 8‚ 2024 8:01:26 p.m. Eastern (…) PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: In addition‚ I know there's some attention paid to some language in the report about my recollection of events. There's even reference that I don't remember when my son died. How in the hell dare he raise that? Frankly‚ when I was asked the question‚ I thought to myself‚ “It wasn't any of their damn business.” Let me tell you something. Some of you have commented‚ I'm aware since the day he died‚ I wear every day the rosary he got from our lady of – [trails off]. Every Memorial Day we hold a service remembering him attended by friends and family and the people who loved him. I don't need anyone‚ I don't need anyone to remind me when he passed away. When he passed away. (…) 8:02:53 p.m. Eastern BIDEN: Thank you‚ and I’ll take some questions. PETER DOOCY: President Biden‚ something special counsel said in his report is that one of the reasons you were not charged is because‚ in his description‚ “you are a well-meaning‚ elderly man with a poor memory.” BIDEN: I'm well-meaning and I'm an elderly man and I know what the hell I'm doing. I've been president and I put this country back on its feet. I don't need his recommendation. It’s totally-- DOUCY: How bad is your memory? And can you continue as president? BIDEN: My memory is so bad I let you speak! That's -- MARYALICE PARKS: Do you feel your memory has gotten worse‚ Mr. President? BIDEN: My memory has not gotten – My memory is fine. My memory – Take a look at what I've done since I’ve become president. None of you thought could I pass any of the things I got passed. How did that happen? You know‚ I guess I just forgot what was going on. TYLER PAGER: Mr. President‚ the voters have concerns about your age. How are you going to assuage them and do you fear this this report only going to fuel further concern about your? BIDEN: Only by some of you. (…) 8:04:34 p.m. Eastern MJ LEE: Mr. President‚ for months when you were asked about your age‚ would you respond with the words‚ “watch me.” Many American people have been watching and they have expressed concerns about your age. BIDEN [interrupting]: That is your judgment! That is your judgment! That is not the judgment of the press! LEE: They express concerns about your mental acuity. They say you are too old. Mr. President‚ in December you told me that you believed there are many other Democrats who could defeat Donald Trump. So why does it have to be you now? What is your answer to that question? BIDEN: Because I'm the most qualified person in this country to be president of the United States and finish the job I started. (…) 8:08:05 p.m. Eastern BIDEN: I'm of the view‚ as you know‚ that the conduct of the response [long pause] in Gaza‚ in the Gaza strip has been‚ um‚ over the top. I think that [long pause]‚ as you know‚ initially‚ the president of Mexico El-Sisi did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in. I talked to him. I convinced him to open the gate. I talked to Bibi to open the gate on the Israeli side. I've been pushing really hard. Really hard to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza. (…)

GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen that she is a "good sport" to attempt to "defend Bidenomics‚" an endeavor that he compared to seeking to put up a defense of "fungal infection."During the hearing‚ Kennedy described Bidenomics as "paying more to live worse."Yellen‚ unsurprisingly‚ disagreed with the senator's description of Bidenomics‚ claiming instead that Bidenomics sought to tackle the "pain" resulting from the pandemic and that it seeks to help middle-class families.But as Yellen was delivering her spiel about Bidenomics‚ Kennedy interrupted her. "Good try‚" he said. He asked Yellen whether high prices resulting from Bidenomics will stick around. Yellen rejected the notion that Bidenomics caused high prices‚ but when pressed again by Kennedy on whether the high prices will remain in place‚ she said‚ "I don't expect the level of prices to go down." She said that "some prices will be higher than they were before the pandemic‚ and will stay higher‚ but wages have risen considerably."Kennedy pointed out that those who don't receive increased pay are "screwed." — (@) When Federal Reserve board of governors chair Jerome Powell was asked during a "60 Minutes" interview whether prices will fall‚ he said that "prices of some things will decline‚ others will go up. But we don't expect to see a decline in the overall price level."Powell noted that the prices of staples such as bread‚ milk‚ and eggs "are substantially higher than they were before the pandemic" and noted that this is thought to be a significant reason that people feel "relatively dissatisfied with what is otherwise a pretty good economy." Fed Chair Jerome Powell: The 2024 60 Minutes Interview www.youtube.com Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!