
Democratic governor says Biden ‘fit for office’ after president meets with group of state leaders
CNN
Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday that President Joe Biden is “fit for office,” following a meeting with the president as he looks to ease fears about his ability to lead the country and take on Donald Trump in November.
Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday that President Joe Biden is “fit for office,” following a meeting with the president as he looks to ease fears about his ability to lead the country and take on Donald Trump in November. “Yes, fit for office,” the governor said in response to a question from a reporter, shortly after the closed door meeting between Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and nearly every Democratic governor in the country. “None of us are denying Thursday night was a bad performance. It was a bad hit, if you will on that, but it doesn’t impact what I believe: He’s delivering.” The vote of confidence comes as Biden has faced increasing pressure and questions from some within his own party over the viability of his presidential campaign. Some Democratic lawmakers have voiced concern and called for him to step aside as the presumptive Democratic nominee amid fears that Biden remaining at the top of the ticket could risk the party’s chances of keeping the White House and winning back control of the House. The meeting between Biden and the dozens of state leaders followed a call held by Walz earlier in the week in which some governors expressed surprise that they had not heard from Biden about his disastrous debate performance. Three of the Democratic governors — Walz, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul — addressed reporters outside the White House, underscoring that they stood behind the president.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information that could have endangered US troops through his use of Signal to discuss attack plans, a Pentagon watchdog said in an unclassified report released Thursday. It also details how Hegseth declined to cooperate with the probe.

Two top House lawmakers emerged divided along party lines after a private briefing with the military official who oversaw September’s attack on an alleged drug vessel that included a so-called double-tap strike that killed surviving crew members, with a top Democrat calling video of the incident that was shared as part of the briefing “one of the most troubling things” he has seen as a lawmaker.

Authorities in Colombia are dealing with increasingly sophisticated criminals, who use advanced tech to produce and conceal the drugs they hope to export around the world. But police and the military are fighting back, using AI to flag suspicious passengers, cargo and mail - alongside more conventional air and sea patrols. CNN’s Isa Soares gets an inside look at Bogotá’s war on drugs.

As lawmakers demand answers over reports that the US military carried out a follow-up strike that killed survivors during an attacked on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a career Navy SEAL who has spent most of his 30 years of military experience in special operations will be responsible for providing them.









