Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday for about 30 minutes. The leaders shared very brief remarks on how long they have known each other, adding that Biden’s first encounter with an Israeli prime minister was Golda Meir, about 50 years ago. “Mr. President, we have known each other for 40 years, and you’ve known every Israeli prime minister for 50 years, from Golda Meir,” Netanyahu said. “From a proud Jewish Zionist to a proud Irish-American Zionist, I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the state of Israel.” “I look forward to it as well,” Biden responded. “That first meeting with Prime Minister Golda Meir, and she had an assistant sitting next to me, a guy named Rabin, that’s how far back it goes,” he said referring to former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Netanyahu is one of the first high-profile figures Biden has met with since he announced he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. The meeting was the first time Biden hosted Israel’s prime minister in the White House since Netanyahu was reelected in 2022.  The two leaders will also meet with families of American hostages held captive in Gaza by Hamas. Relations between the two leaders have grown tense in recent years after Biden opposed Israeli judicial reform and held up weapon shipments with aerial bombs for the Israeli Defense Forces. After Iran attacked Israel with hundreds of missiles and bombs in April, Biden told Netanyahu he would not support a counterattack. Instead, Biden praised the successful interception of most projectiles as a “win” and warned against escalation. Netanyahu was originally scheduled to meet with Biden on Tuesday but the meeting was delayed due to the president’s COVID-19 diagnosis. Netanyahu praised Biden during his joint-address to Congress on Wednesday, thanking him for condemning Hamas after October 7, sending two aircraft carriers, and calling himself a “proud Irish-American Zionist.” “He came to Israel to stand with us during our darkest hour—a visit that will never be forgotten,” Netanyahu said. “President Biden and I have known each other for over 40 years. I want to thank him for half a century of friendship to Israel.” During his speech, Netanyahu requested the United States speed up weapons shipments to help them defeat Hamas quicker and proposed creating an “Abraham Alliance” between Israel and Arab states to combat Iran and its proxies. Outside the speech blocks away, anti-Israel and anti-American protesters lowered American flags from the poles outside Union Station, burnt them while shouting “Allahu Akbar” and “burn that sh**.” The flags were replaced with Palestinian flags until several House Republicans restored Old Glory on the poles Wednesday night. Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. ET.

California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered homeless encampment sweeps across the state after a Supreme Court decision last month gave cities more authority to deal with the issue. Newsom’s executive order advises county and city officials to clean up thousands of homeless encampments, although the order does not force officials to do cleanups, The New York Times reported. “The state has been hard at work to address this crisis on our streets,” Newsom said in a statement. “There are simply no more excuses,” he said. “It’s time for everyone to do their part.” The Supreme Court ruled last month that cities can enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside in public places even if there is not enough shelter space to accommodate them, saying such laws do not violate the Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The original case involved the Oregon town of Grants Pass, which tried to fine people $295 for sleeping outside when tents began crowding the town’s public parks. Before the court’s decision, homeless encampments continued to spread in California, Oregon, and Washington while city officials remained limited in what they could do to address the problem, especially since homeless people often refuse shelter beds. Newsom’s order reportedly requires state agencies to work with local governments to house homeless people and provide them with services, not simply move them along. Newsom’s administration has poured about $24 billion into the homeless issue since 2019. After the Supreme Court’s decision, Newsom said the ruling “provides state and local officials the definitive authority to implement and enforce policies to clear unsafe encampments from our streets.” “This decision removes the legal ambiguities that have tied the hands of local officials for years and limited their ability to deliver on common-sense measures to protect the safety and well-being of our communities,” the governor said at the time, adding that California remains “committed to respecting the dignity and fundamental human needs of all people.” Homelessness has plagued California for years. The state has the highest homeless population in the country by far. About 180,000 people were homeless last year across the state, and about 123,000 are unsheltered on a given night, according to the latest homeless count. Last week, San Francisco Democratic Mayor London Breed announced the city plans to be “very aggressive and assertive in moving encampments.” The city has struggled for years with rampant homelessness, crime, and open-air drug use driven by fentanyl, all of which have driven people and businesses out of downtown. About 38,000 people are homeless in the Bay Area on a given night. That’s up 35% since 2019. Homeless encampments near freeways, under overpasses, and near exit ramps have also become so common that California’s transportation department now has its own protocol and workers for clearing encampments.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is pushing legislation that may give former President Donald Trump a tool against sentencing in the New York hush-money case while he runs for the White House. The bill, called the “Prevention of Election Interference Act of 2024,” seeks to prevent “major party” presidential candidates from being sentenced in court for a state criminal offense 120 days prior to a general presidential election — a deadline that has already passed for this year — and 60 days after the contest. “During the covered time period, a major party candidate may submit an application to a State or Federal court of jurisdiction demonstrating that” such a sentence “may interfere with the campaign activities of the major party candidate,” the legislation says. For a “remedy,” the bill states, “Upon receipt of an application … the State or Federal court of jurisdiction shall amend a sentence relating to the major party candidate, including by staying the sentence for the duration of the covered period or vacating such sentence.” Republicans control the House, but Democrats lead the Senate. And with President Joe Biden — who is now backing Vice President Kamala Harris to be his successor — in the White House, Gaetz’s bill faces long odds of being enacted. In May, a jury convicted Trump on dozens of felony counts in a New York hush-money case. Sentencing has been postponed until at least September as Trump seeks to get the conviction thrown out. Trump is also facing a Georgia 2020 election case, which likely will not reach the trial phase before the November election. Breitbart News, which first reported on Gaetz’s bill on Thursday, noted that Trump has repeatedly declared “election interference” when discussing the New York case. “President Trump deserves the ability to campaign without undue interference by federal or state officials!” Gaetz said in a post to X. “Over the past two years, state officials and unelected bureaucrats have been keeping President Trump tied up in court with dubious charges, hindering his ability to campaign nationwide.” Trump has broadly denied any wrongdoing and has argued that politically motivated prosecutors are conducting a “witch hunt” against him. During a news conference after the verdict in the hush-money case, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said that his team followed “the facts and the law without fear or favor,” and he thanked the jurors for performing a service that he described as “literally the cornerstone of our judicial system.” On the federal level, special counsel Jack Smith was tasked with taking over the investigations into Trump’s retention of classified documents after leaving office and a second related to the 2020 election. Both have led to charges against Trump, but a judge tossed the classified documents case in mid-July. Smith has appealed the dismissal. The Daily Wire broke the story in March that Gaetz was asking the independent watchdog of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate Smith over whether the prosecutor is allowing the 2024 election to impact the timeline of his case against Trump.

On Wednesday, actress Gina Carano, who starred in Disney’s “The Mandalorian” but was fired after she posted a screenshot of another social media post that warned of the current political climate resembling Nazi Germany, among other personal opinions, took a major step forward in her court case against Disney. Shortly after the high-profile termination in 2021, The Daily Wire announced that it had partnered with the former mixed martial arts fighter for a movie deal that resulted in the feature film “Terror on the Prairie,” which premiered in June 2022. Carano had filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Disney — with financial assistance from Tesla CEO Elon Musk — and Disney responded by asking for the case to be dismissed on the basis of First Amendment rights, per The Hollywood Reporter. But Central District of California Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett ruled against Disney, stating, Where an organization claims protection under “the First Amendment’s expressive associational right,” a court “must determine whether the group engages in ‘expressive association.’” Here, although [Disney] indisputably engage[s] in expressive activity—including, but certainly not limited to, producing and disseminating The Mandalorian—they have failed to establish that they engage in expressive association. Furthermore, at this stage in the litigation, the Court cannot conclude, as Defendants urge it to, that [Carano’s] continued employment by Defendants would inhibit or intrude upon Defendants’ rights to expressive association. Carano told The Daily Wire that her “initial reaction” to the decision “was jumping up and down looking at my phone with the biggest smile on my face and yes maybe a bit of a squeal… and today I feel like I can fly.” “This experience truly gives me more sympathy for anyone who has been demonized in this way,” she added. “I think this world is craving justice and transparency more than ever before and I believe America has a great opportunity in leading the way. America, take that opportunity please!” Carano said the judge’s rejection of Disney’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit means “It’s game on. Moving forward into discovery.” “We have a road ahead of us I won’t pretend will be easy as this is my first time in court and these things take time. But in the meantime, I’m getting back to work with a sense of liberation, determination, and discipline. I feel free to enjoy making art again or maybe I actually feel free for the first time to actually make my own art,” she continued. “My heart craves justice and at the same time, a desire to help bring the people who are hurting and lost comfort — not only my world got flipped upside down these past few years, and I want to bring those people hope. I am so tired of the division and hatred. Bring back treating each other like human beings again.” After the judge issued her ruling, Carano also celebrated online, writing: I am moved to tears. After a brutal 3 1/2 years, I am being given the opportunity to move forward in the court of law before the judge and my peers to clear my name. I am so grateful for this opportunity. What happened to me was unacceptable, absurd and abusive, among other things. It should not have happened to me, and it should not happen to anyone else moving forward.  Let it stop here. I quite literally fought to get to where I got to in my career through intense ups and downs, and I’ll keep up that fight to continue doing what I love. I appreciate all of you who stood by me and defended me, and I am so sorry that similar situations have happened to some of you. I want you to know that I see you and I stand with you.  Carano thanked Musk, then cited an interview she did with Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro in February 2021: “At my lowest point. I was wounded and in so much pain, but I feel that pain lifting now. … God’s given me the ability to take some punches and give some back. My feet are on solid ground. Imagine what your voice can do.” In the 2021 interview, Carano stated, “I read this somewhere. It’s like, ‘Don’t try to ruin my life with lies when your life can be ruined with the truth.’ You got billion-dollar companies raining down on me from every different place. And do I really even need to say anything? You’re showing it. You’re showing what you do to people. You’re showing you don’t give them a voice, you’re showing them you’re not gonna listen; you’re not going to see a person past what you read in a very skewed article. You’re showing what bullies you are against one voice here. One. … This is what they’re afraid of. They’re afraid of one voice. Imagine.” “the court DENIES defendants motion.” I am moved to tears. After a brutal 3 1/2 years, I am being given the opportunity to move forward in the court of law before the judge and my peers to clear my name. I am so grateful for this opportunity. What happened to me was… pic.twitter.com/q7r3MLhCEr — Gina Carano ? (@ginacarano) July 25, 2024 “Notably, not only does this spell trouble for Disney on a legal and reputational level, but it also opens them up to the process of discovery,” Bounding Into Comics noted. Katie Jerkovich contributed to this article. Related: Judge Considering Whether Gina Carano’s Wrongful Termination Suit Against Disney Can Proceed

On Wednesday night, President Biden came forth to show proof of life. He didn’t. Biden’s speech was supposed to be his valedictory address, his explanation for why he was leaving the race. It was supposed to be similar to Ronald Reagan’s farewell address in which he talked about a shining city on a hill. The only problem is that Biden is no longer capable of speaking, and he wasn’t willing to admit that he’s no longer capable of speaking or thinking because he wants to remain president through January. That made this very awkward. Just to recap: It has not even been a month since the June 27 debate that basically ended Biden’s presidential campaign. That debate showed that Biden was non compos mentis, and he was not mentally capable of carrying forward the race. He didn’t quit until his poll numbers dropped. Next was the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Biden’s polls continued to drop. Then, there was the Republican National Convention, where Republicans came together in historic ways around President Trump. Biden’s polls dropped even further, and Democrat after Democrat began to sound off that Biden should drop out. Then the donors, Barack Obama, and Nancy Pelosi simply pushed the old man off the cliff. On July 21, he announced via X that he would not be running. And then the media worship began: Biden was a patriot. He went from this terrible, narcissistic old man who wouldn’t leave to “Whoa. He’s amazing!” Within two days, Kamala Harris secured the nomination with the intervention of the Democratic gods, Obama and Pelosi. On Sunday, Biden said he would give an address on Wednesday night explaining why exactly he dropped out. So, on Wednesday night, he gave that address, and he answered precisely zero questions. The only question that was answered by the address was whether he is alive. And the answer was: just barely. WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show Leading up to the speech, the big question was if Biden would explain why he was dropping out. Was he doing so for health reasons? It was perfectly evident the president is failing. He could not make it through with a teleprompter in front of him. He stumbled over his words. It was obvious to everyone who was watching that the reason Biden dropped out of the race is that he is in the throes of some form of senility. But he couldn’t say that because that would betray the reality, which is that he and the media have been lying about it for years. Kamala Harris, his vice president, has been lying about it for years. He dropped out because he was losing. But the message he put forth is that this election was too important for him to be in it. Why did he keep saying that this is all about preservation of democracy? The fact of the matter is that if Joe Biden wanted the American public to give a referendum on him and his presidency, he could have just stayed in the race. But he did not. He said, “The defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it’s more important than any title.” Yet his defense of democracy amounted to a stated desire to rewrite the rules of the Supreme Court, to make clear that the current status of our institutions is no good. “I believe America is at an inflection point, one of those rare moments in history when the decisions we make now will determine our fate of our nation and the world for decades to come. America is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division,” he said. Between unity and division? And if Kamala Harris were rejected, it would be a rejection of honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy? Those are the words that he used. “Honesty”: Kamala Harris is not an honest person. “Decency”: She’s certainly not a decent person. “Respect”: Respect for what? “Freedom”: She is not in favor of freedom from government. “Justice”: By “justice,” Harris means tribal, social justice. “Democracy”: She’s certainly not in favor of the idea that, in the United States, the people rule, as opposed to government bureaucrats and agencies. If you were an alien, you traveled down to earth, and this is the first speech you saw from President Biden, you would have no idea what in the hell he was talking about. He just kept coming back to the platitude over and over that effectively speaking, democracy is at stake. He did nothing to actually explain why that was the case or why that necessitated him dropping out. The only reference he made to why he dropped out was to say that it was clear to him he needed to unite his party in this critical endeavor. So he blamed other people in his party. He basically said in his speech that he was stabbed in the back by his own party and the only way to get his party together in order to run against Trump was for him to step out of the picture. He actually said that his record as president and leadership in the world merited a second term, stating, “I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future all merited a second term, but nothing — nothing — can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition. So, I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That’s the best way to unite our nation.” He said it was time for new voices, fresher, younger voices, that the time and place is now. Why wasn’t it that time and place three years ago? Hell, why wasn’t it that time and place four years ago when he was running for president and it was clear that he was in a declining state. Why? Here is my question: After watching Joe Biden speak, do you think that man has the capacity to be the president of the United States right now, today? If you do, how? He could not get through a sentence from a televised speech that was supposed to be the apex of his career. Meanwhile, Harris, Jill, or whoever is allowing him to continue to run the show — because that man is not in charge. In the end, he said over and over that this is a republic and it would turn into some sort of dictatorship if Donald Trump is elected. He finished by saying, “Remember who we are. We are the United States of America, and there is simply nothing — nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. So, let’s act together, preserve our democracy.”  That’s the biggest lie of all, that if you vote for Harris, democracy is somehow being preserved, but if you vote for her opponent, democracy will be overthrown. It’s precisely that lie that leads people to think it is a good idea to take a shot at your rival. You want to know why there was an assassination attempt against President Trump? When you create a climate in which you say the election of your rival will lead legitimately in real time to the end of the republic, what do you think is going to happen? The only thing we learned from this speech is that Biden is not technically dead.

'every resource is used wisely'

'Hard to understand'

I hope this lives up to the hype

And there you go, ladies and gentlemen

'Typical of the gentlemen's residences starting at the end of the 3rd century AD'