Bill Clinton defends Biden on health reports: 'I never saw him that way'

Bill Clinton defends Biden on health reports: 'I never saw him that way'

WASHINGTON ‒ Former President Bill Clinton insisted in an interview that former PresidentJoe Bidenwas in good shape despite a new book thatchronicled Biden's cognitive and physical declineanddescribed his inner circlelimiting work hours and the access of aides. The book "Original Sin," written by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson, includesinformation from White Houseaides and officials who said he "dropped off considerably," had heavily scripted Cabinet meetings and forgot basic facts. "I thought he was a good president. The only concern I thought he had to deal with was, 'Could anybody do that job until they were 86?' And we've had several long talks. I had never seen him and walked away thinking he can't do this anymore. He was always on top of his briefs," Bill Clinton said in an interview on "CBS Sunday Morning" when asked about the reporting in the book. Clinton added, "I saw President Biden not very long ago, and I thought he was in good shape, but the book didn't register with me cause I never saw him that way." Biden took aim at the book and its authors, jokinglytelling reporterson May 30, "You can see that I'm mentally incompetent, I can't walk ‒ and I can beat the hell out of both of them." Biden was recently diagnosed withStage 4 prostate cancer, and he said he had begun treatment. Clinton said he didn't want to read the book because Biden is not president anymore. "I think he did a good job," Clinton said of Biden. "And I think we are facing challenges today without precedent in our history. And some people are trying to use this as a way to blame him for the fact that Trump was reelected." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Clinton defends Biden on health reports: 'I never saw him that way'

byAlex Perish

in

June 02, 2025

Bill Clinton defends Biden on health reports: 'I never saw him that way'

Bill Clinton defends Biden on health reports: 'I never saw him that way' WASHINGTON ‒ Former President Bill Clinton insisted in an i...

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Barack Obama and Steve Bannon agree on something: AI's role in American jobs, politics

Barack Obama and Steve Bannon agree on something: AI's role in American jobs, politics

Former PresidentBarack ObamaandSteve Bannon,a White House strategist during PresidentDonald Trump's first term, are both worried about the same thing: artificial intelligence displacing large numbers of white-collar workers. Obama sounded the alarm on social media this weekend by directing his nearly 130 million followers to two recent articles that dove into the possibility of technological transformations reshaping the U.S. economy - one of which quoted Bannon issuing similar warnings. "At a time when people are understandably focused on the daily chaos in Washington, these articles describe the rapidly accelerating impact that AI is going to have on jobs, the economy, and how we live,"Obama, the former two-term president,wrote on May 30. Thefirst article Obama cited came from Axiosand centered around an interview with Dario Amodei, the CEO of AI startup Anthropic. Amodei warned the news outlet that AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs, leading to unemployment rates of 10-20% in the next one to five years. Amodei told Axios that the mass elimination of jobs could be in the offing, especially at the entry level across the technology, finance, law, consulting and other white-collar professions. Bannon, a former top Trump 2016 campaign and White House aide who is now at podcaster, offered Axios a similar warning, saying AI will be a major issue in the 2028 presidential campaign. "I don't think anyone is taking into consideration how administrative, managerial and tech jobs for people under 30 — entry-level jobs that are so important in your 20s — are going to be eviscerated," he said. The article Obama mentioned also says experts in the AI space believe the U.S. government is not doing a great job of cautioning workers so as not create panic. Trump has not addressed job losses due to AI, though he has championed the need for the US to dominate the AI space. The president also urged the House to pass a sweeping tax and policy package that he's dubbed the "big beautiful bill" and which allocates$500 million to helpmodernize government with the help of AI. That legislation also wouldprevent statesfrom implementing existing regulations - or making new ones - that shape how AI is used or developed. There are currently no federal laws or regulations in the U.S. to regulate AI. Obama also shared a separateNew York Times articletitled "For Some Recent Graduates, the A.I. Job Apocalypse May Already Be Here," which notes that unemployment for recent graduates was heavily concentrated in technical fields like finance and computer science, where A.I. has made faster gains. "Now's the time for public discussions about how to maximize the benefits and limit the harms of this powerful new technology," Obama wrote. This is not the first time Obama has talked about AI having the potential to disrupt the white-collar job market. At theSacerdote Great Names Series at Hamilton Collegein April in Clinton, New York, Obama told the school's president that the more advanced AI models "can code better than let's call it 60%, 70% of coders now.""We're talking highly skilled jobs that pay really good salaries and that up until recently has been entirely a seller's market in Silicon Valley," Obama said. "A lot of that work is going to go away." Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY.You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Obama and Bannon agree AI will be a white-collar job killer

byAlex Perish

in

June 02, 2025

Barack Obama and Steve Bannon agree on something: AI's role in American jobs, politics

Barack Obama and Steve Bannon agree on something: AI's role in American jobs, politics Former PresidentBarack ObamaandSteve Bannon,a Whi...

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Republicans face new pressure to extend expiring Obamacare tax credits

Republicans face new pressure to extend expiring Obamacare tax credits

WASHINGTON — Kenny Capps is a cancer patient who has been battling multiple myeloma for a decade. A 53-year-old father of three children who lives in North Carolina, he was on the brink of losing his health insurance coverage due to rising costs — until Democrats passed an Obamacare funding boost four years ago. "Thanks to the enhanced premium tax credits, we were able to keep affording insurance," Capps told NBC News during a recent visit to Washington to raise awareness about the issue. "It had almost doubled to the point of my mortgage at that time, so I was getting close to the point of having to make decisions as to whether I was going to pay my bills or have health insurance." Capps makes too much money to qualify for Medicaid. He falls outside the subsidy range originally set by Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act. And his income hasn't been keeping up with the ever-rising cost of health care. "Like a lot of Americans," he said, "I'm stuck in the middle." His fortunes changed when Congress capped premiums for a "benchmark" plan to 8.5% of income. "So thanks to that, I was able to continue treatment," he said. But there's a catch: That funding expires at the end of 2025, and the Democrats who passed it along party lines (first in early 2021, before extending it the following year) have since been swept out of power. The new Republican-led Congress has made clear it won't extend the money in the "big, beautiful bill" it's using as a vehicle for President Donald Trump's domestic agenda. Some in the GOP are open to a bipartisan deal to extend the funds. But it's far from clear Republican leaders will allow it, as many in the party want the funds to expire. Letting the money lapse would save the government tens of billions of dollars, but it would strip away coverage for about 5 million Americans,according tothe nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. A new coalition called Keep Americans Covered is seeking to dial up pressure on lawmakers to continue the funding,launching a new adin a seven-figure campaign. It features a woman named Jessica, a restaurant manager in Arizona whose daughter has a chronic illness. She says the ACA tax credits "have been particularly helpful for our family" to help afford the coverage they need. "We need Congress to take action now. It's vital for us," she says in the ad. "We need these health care tax credits passed today." The spot, first reported by NBC News, is set to run in Washington, D.C., and 12 states — including Louisiana and South Dakota, home to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, respectively. The ad campaign will also run in other states like Maine, Alaska and North Carolina, which are represented by Senate Republicans who will be key to the fate of the funding. The coalition behind it includes AARP, organizations advocating for cancer patients and lobbying groups representing doctors, hospitals and insurers. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he wants to strike a separate bipartisan deal with Democrats to extend the ACA tax credits. "I think we should," Tillis, who faces re-election in a purple state, said in an interview, warning that Republicans shouldn't settle for purely party-line votes. "So we got — with the ACA subsidies and other things, we should start thinking about a stream of bipartisan bills that we can work on." But Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said the issue of the expiring funds proves that Obamacare costs more than the Democrats who enacted it claimed. "There's been a facade out there about the entire program actually paying for itself, or having money to pay for it," Rounds said. "That's part of the reason why we've got such a deficit right now. So from my perspective, we will have to take a look at any of the expenditures right now for health care." Republicans have a complex relationship with the ACA, originally voting unanimously against it in 2010 and trying unsuccessfully for years to repeal it. They'veabandoned that effort in recent years, succumbing to the law's growing popularity and mindful of the fact that their political fortunes are becoming more reliant on working-class voters in the Trump era. Still, the party has little interest in shoring up a signature Democratic achievement. In a recent House Ways and Means Committee markup for the GOP bill, Democrats offered an amendment seeking to permanently extend the ACA money. Republicans rejected it on a party-line vote, 25-19. Notably, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., who represents a swing district, didn't cast a vote. House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., who voted to sink that amendment, hasfloatedthe idea of a bipartisan deal at the end of the year to extend tax provisions with broad support. When asked if he's open to including ACA tax credits in such a bill, his office declined to comment. But Congress may not have the luxury of time. Insurers are set to finalize rates for 2026 plans in September. Open enrollment begins in early November, at which point the rates for next year will be locked in and can't change based on legislative action. The top lobbying group for insurers warned that the impacts of inaction on the ACA funding could include premium hikes for consumers, in addition to coverage losses. "Fifteen million Americans — including more than 4 million who rely on the health care tax credits — could lose their coverage, and millions more could face substantial premium hikes," said a spokesperson for America's Health Insurance Plans. If so, the higher premiums and coverage rescissions would hit during an election year, creating a political vulnerability at a time when Republicans will be fighting to hold their congressional majorities. Capps said he agrees that the current health care system and its funding streams are imperfect. But for now, he's pleading with lawmakers not to let things get worse for people like him. "We need to at least kick the can down the road until we can figure out a better system," he said. "Taking away from them in the meantime is not a solution. It's a death sentence for some."

byAlex Perish

in

June 02, 2025

Republicans face new pressure to extend expiring Obamacare tax credits

Republicans face new pressure to extend expiring Obamacare tax credits WASHINGTON — Kenny Capps is a cancer patient who has been battling mu...

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Saquon Barkley Madden cover: Eagles RB's hurdle to grace video game

Saquon Barkley Madden cover: Eagles RB's hurdle to grace video game

The popular "Madden" video game franchise announced Monday thatPhiladelphia Eaglesrunning backSaquon Barkleywould be gracing its cover in 2025. Barkley was chosen after producing just the ninth 2,000-yard rushing season in NFL history in his first year with the Eagles. He achieved the feat despite sitting out the final game of the regular season to prepare for Philadelphia's Super Bowl run. The game's cover art will feature Barkley's most iconic play from the 2024 campaign: a 14-yard reception during which he reverse hurdled overJacksonville JaguarscornerbackJarrian Jones. The move came after Barkley had already used his patented spin move to avoid another would-be tackler. THE 180 HURDLE??? DID SAQUON JUST INVENT THIS?!📺:#JAXvsPHIon CBS/Paramount+📱:https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqGpic.twitter.com/tYThjnbdgG — NFL (@NFL)November 3, 2024 SAQUON BARKLEY HURDLE:Eagles RB wows coach, fans with highlight reel play Below is a look at the "Madden 26" cover, via the team's X (formerly Twitter) account: .@Saquonhurdled his way onto the cover of#Madden26Coming 8.14.25. Pre-Order Today.🔗:https://t.co/zm14BbUaJfpic.twitter.com/l1QYWN0b7h — Madden NFL 26 (@EAMaddenNFL)June 2, 2025 Barkley referred to making the cover as a "dream come true" ina post shared to social media. "It starts with imagination," Barkley said. "Being a kid, having those moments, playing video games and saying, 'Why can't I do it in real life?'" Barkley will be the second Eagles player to be on the cover of a Madden game. Donovan McNabb was the first to do so for the 2006 iteration of the game. Barkley will also become the third-ever Eagles player to earn a 99 overall rating – the highest in the game –as the team revealedfollowing the cover announcement. Philadelphia's previous members of the 99 club were safety Brian Dawkins (2004) and kicker David Akers (2006). Madden first put an athlete on the cover in 2001, whenTennessee Titansrunning back Eddie George was chosen to front the game. Below is a look at all of the people to earn the cover art nod since then. 2001: Eddie George, RB,Tennessee Titans 2002: Daunte Culpepper, QB, Minnesota Vikings 2003: Marshall Faulk, RB, St. Louis Rams 2004: Michael Vick, QB, Atlanta Falcons 2005: Ray Lewis, LB, Baltimore Ravens 2006: Donovan McNabb, QB,Philadelphia Eagles 2007: Shaun Alexander, RB, Seattle Seahawks 2008: Vince Young, QB, Tennessee Titans 2009: Brett Favre, QB, Green Bay Packers 2010: Troy Polamalu, S, Pittsburgh Steelers and Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals 2011: Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints 2012: Peyton Hillis, RB, Cleveland Browns 2013: Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions 2014: Barry Sanders, RB, Detroit Lions 2014: Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings 2015: Richard Sherman, CB, Seattle Seahawks 2016: Odell Beckham Jr., WR, New York Giants 2017: Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots 2018: Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots 2019: Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers 2020: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs 2021: Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens 2022: Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs and Tom Brady, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2023: John Madden, Pro Football Hall of Fame coach 2024: Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills 2025: Christian McCaffrey, RB, San Francisco 49ers 2026: Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Eagles RB Saquon Barkley chosen as Madden 26 cover athlete

byAlex Perish

in

June 02, 2025

Saquon Barkley Madden cover: Eagles RB's hurdle to grace video game

Saquon Barkley Madden cover: Eagles RB's hurdle to grace video game The popular "Madden" video game franchise announced Monday...

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OKC's Mark Daigneault knows what it takes to win championships. His wife has won a ton of them

OKC's Mark Daigneault knows what it takes to win championships. His wife has won a ton of them

Oklahoma City's Mark Daigneault has the best record of any coach in the NBA this season. And he has the second-best record of any coach in his house. Daigneault is a coach, and a coach's husband, too. His wife is Oklahoma assistant women's gymnastics coach Ashley Kerr. She and the Sooners went 33-2 this season and won another national championship, their third in the last four years. So, as Daigneault chases his first NBA title — he and the top-seeded Thunder open the NBA Finals at home against the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night — his wife has now been part of seven national championships over her career on the staffs at Florida and Oklahoma, the most recent of those coming just a few weeks ago as Oklahoma City was starting this playoff run. Daigneault isn't shy about touting the strengths of his wife's resume, either. "Among my wife and I, she is — by far — the more accomplished, more impressive, better coach," Daigneault said. "She's the real deal." It is a relationship born from ties to Florida. Daigneault — a Massachusetts native — was a student manager under Jim Calhoun at Connecticut, part of the team that won an NCAA championship there in 2004, then started his assistant-coaching career at Holy Cross for three years before moving on to Billy Donovan's staff at Florida. Kerr, a Florida native, was a gymnast whose four years as a student-athlete for the Gators was ending around that time. She was brilliant, a four-time All-SEC academic selection, and Florida found a way to keep her with the program once her eligibility was exhausted. Kerr became a volunteer student manager for the 2011 season, then got promoted to team manager and eventually assistant to the head coach. Along the way, she and Daigneault started dating and over time things got serious. And then, the relationship reached a key moment. Daigneault had an offer from Oklahoma City to coach the Blue, its G League franchise. He was ready to leave. Kerr had a job in Gainesville. She was not ready to leave. "The OKC job was a no-brainer for him," Kerr told The Oklahoman newspaper for a story in 2021. "I was like, 'You have to do it. You have to.'" It became a long-distance relationship for a few years, until Kerr decided it was time to leave Florida and try to embark on a coaching career in Oklahoma. The Sooners didn't have a job for her initially, before a volunteer position opened up right around the time she was going to make the move anyway. Kerr kept that volunteer job — coaching balance beam and helping Oklahoma win three NCAA titles — for about six years, before the NCAA changed rules to allow volunteer assistant positions to be converted into full-time, paid positions. Over that time, Daigneault was promoted from the Blue to the Thunder, they got married and started a family. "She has a way of connecting with our student-athletes on a personal level and is an exceptional leader," Oklahoma coach K.J. Kindler said when Kerr was finally promoted. Daigneault likes to say the real coaches in his house right now are the couple's two children, ages 3 and 2, who basically run the show. "We are not in charge," Daigneault said. "We are just surviving." The younger of the two kids was born April 15, 2023 — a day after the Thunder were eliminated from that season's play-in tournament, and the day the Sooners were competing in the NCAA gymnastics final at Fort Worth, Texas. It was also more than a week ahead of Kerr's due date. Except she went into labor, in Fort Worth, around 5 a.m. Daigneault had been back in Oklahoma City for about an hour after the middle-of-the-night flight home from Minnesota, where the Thunder lost that play-in game. He hopped in the car and made it to Fort Worth just in time for the birth that morning, and later that night the Sooners won a national title. "Our team really rallied around her," Kindler said. There are obvious benefits to a coach being married to another coach, as Daigneault and Kerr have found. There is an understanding of the jobs, an understanding of long hours and late nights and travel and unpredictability. But when they're home, they try to be home, not still at work. "There's certainly a lot more things that define our relationship together, starting with our kids now," Daigneault said. "That's occupying the majority of our bandwidth, but even beyond that, we've always tried to compartmentalize it in a way that's pretty healthy because we both like to be home when we're home and not just using the house as an extension of our jobs." Daigneault got his master's degree from Florida, though originally intended to get it immediately after graduating from Connecticut. If he had stuck to that schedule, though, he almost certainly wouldn't have coached at Holy Cross. He might not have made it to Florida. He might not have met Kerr. He might not be married to someone with seven national championships and counting. He might not have come to Oklahoma City. He might have missed out on these NBA Finals. Right place, right time. "If you replayed my life 10 million times — I used to say a million, but now that we're playing in the NBA Finals, I'll say 10 million — this would only happen once," Daigneault said. "And so, there's never a minute that I'm not grateful." ___ AP NBA:https://apnews.com/nba

byAlex Perish

in

June 02, 2025

OKC's Mark Daigneault knows what it takes to win championships. His wife has won a ton of them

OKC's Mark Daigneault knows what it takes to win championships. His wife has won a ton of them Oklahoma City's Mark Daigneault has t...

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