Former Vice President Kamala Harris revealed in her upcoming book, ‘107 Days,’ that then-President Joe Biden rattled her right before she went head-to-head with then-candidate Donald Trump on the debate stage.

Biden reportedly called Harris as she sat in a hotel room preparing for the only debate of her abbreviated campaign. He apparently wanted to wish her luck — and to scold her.

The then-president said, ‘My brother called. He’s been talking to a group of real power brokers in Philly,’ according to an excerpt of the book in The Guardian. He then allegedly asked if Harris was familiar with several people related to the matter, which she was not.

‘His brother had told him that those guys were not going to support me because I’d been saying bad things about him. He wasn’t inclined to believe it, he claimed, but he thought I should know in case my team had been encouraging me to put daylight between the two of us,’ Harris wrote in the book, according to an excerpt of the book in The Guardian.

Biden then went on to talk about his past debate performances, leaving Harris confused, ‘angry and disappointed,’ according to The Guardian. She was upset that her boss had called before a critical moment in her political career and made ‘it all about himself.’ Harris added that Biden was ‘distracting me with worry about hostile power-brokers in the biggest city of the most important state.’

Then-first gentleman Doug Emhoff apparently noticed his wife was in distress and advised her to ‘let it go’ before facing off against Trump.

While Harris avoided criticizing Biden during her campaign, she has used her upcoming book to shed light on the tensions between them as she took his place as the Democratic presidential nominee. Harris’ book is set to hit shelves on Sept. 23, but it has already sparked conversations about the 2024 election cycle.

In another section, Harris said while ‘it’s Joe and Jill’s decision’ became a mantra ahead of the 2024 election cycle, she said it was ‘recklessness,’ rather than ‘grace,’ according to an excerpt released by The Atlantic.

”It’s Joe and Jill’s decision.’ We all said that, like a mantra, as if we’d all been hypnotized. Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness. The stakes were simply too high. This wasn’t a choice that should have been left to an individual’s ego, an individual’s ambition. It should have been more than a personal decision,’ Harris wrote.

Harris also revealed in her book that then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was her ‘first choice’ as running mate, not Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. However, she said it was ‘too big of a risk’ because the campaign was ‘already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man.’

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey and Greg Norman contributed to this report.

Recently, Rebecca Taibleson appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing to a Wisconsin-based seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, a key step toward further solidifying President Trump’s strong judicial legacy. In choosing Taibleson, Trump selected a standout from a highly qualified field. She’s not only a seasoned prosecutor and sharp legal thinker, but she’s a proven defender of the Constitution and conservative values.

Taibleson spent over a decade as a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, putting violent criminals behind bars. She doesn’t just theorize about public safety–she delivers it. She handles complex appeals and knows how to write strong legal arguments, and she wins cases and protects communities. Every day in her career, she applies the law with clarity, discipline, and purpose.

Most importantly, in her role as the co‑chief of the Appellate Division of that U.S. Attorney’s office for nearly a decade, not only did Taibleson imprison violent and dangerous criminals who were terrorizing the community, she ensured they stayed there. There are too many weak judges who free criminals when they should rot in prison for their crimes. Rebecca Taibleson is not one of them.

Her credentials speak for themselves. She clerked for the late, great Justice Antonin Scalia and then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh. She embraced a constitutionalist philosophy early in her career and never wavered. At her Senate confirmation hearing, she made it crystal clear: judges must interpret the law as written, not how they wish it were written. Judges must not rewrite laws based on personal views or political trends. She follows the original public meaning of the law and honors the Constitution.

Taibleson also knows how to stand her ground. During one of the most brutal nomination fights in recent memory, she stepped up and testified in support of her former boss Brett Kavanaugh, a nomination fight for which I helped lead the charge as Chairman Chuck Grassley’s chief counsel for nominations on the Senate Judiciary Committee. While the left smeared and attacked, Rebecca Taibleson didn’t flinch. She stood firm in defense of the rule of law and the truth. That moment proved her courage and character.

She also served in President Trump’s solicitor general’s office — the top government appellate advocates. She fought and won legal battles at the Supreme Court. She defended Trump administration policies on immigration, religious liberty, and constitutional limits. She didn’t just serve under President Trump, she helped him win. Her record shows loyalty, competence, and backbone.

Some groups have raised concerns—and even opposition before they had a chance to watch her testimony at her Senate confirmation hearing. Some are fair points; most are not. They wanted someone else. They’re circulating misleading claims and ignoring facts. They’re criticizing a nominee who far exceeds the standard for confirmation. President Trump and his team reviewed many good candidates. Like with any nominee, they balanced all the pros and cons. While no nominee is ever perfect, Rebecca Taibleson proved through her long record and unflinching public testimony that she is outstanding. She has a proven track record of being bold and fearless.

Taibleson handled her confirmation hearing exactly the way a strong nominee should. She didn’t dodge questions or pander. She answered directly and confidently and laid out her commitment to textualism, originalism, and constitutionalism. She emphasized the separation of powers and reminded the Senate that judges don’t make policy. Elected officials do.

On precedent, she spoke with clarity. She said Dobbs v. Jackson controls abortion law, and she will follow it. She refused to play politics with hot-button issues, but she left no doubt about her commitment to the Constitution.

She also promised to bring civility and discipline to the bench. She won’t use opinions to take swipes at parties, public officials, or opposing views. She respects the role of the judiciary and knows the difference between law and politics. She pledged to uphold judicial restraint.

Taibleson’s background shows real-world depth. Early in her career, she worked with Israel’s national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance, and blood bank service Magen David Adom during the Second Intifada. She helped defend civilians from terrorist attacks. That experience gave her a deeper understanding of law, national security, justice, and what is at stake for Western civilization. It also showed her values: courage, service, and loyalty to free societies under attack.

Taibleson has answered the questions raised by her detractors from the left and the right. She addressed every issue and demonstrated exactly why she belongs on the Seventh Circuit. Her hearing and record proves her fitness. She showed strength, clarity, and deep legal knowledge. And she put to bed any concerns.

President Trump built the best judicial legacy in a generation. He transformed the Supreme Court into the first constitutionalist Court in 90 years. He reshaped the federal judiciary with principled, constitutionalist judges. He made those choices carefully, and he made the same careful decision here. Rebecca Taibleson fits that mold. She brings real experience, proven loyalty, and a first-rate legal mind.

The Senate must confirm this bold and fearless judicial nominee. She earned this seat by standing up when it counted. She served President Trump with distinction and fought for her country in the courts. She prosecuted criminals and protected communities. She embraces originalism and the rule of law.

President Trump chose right. The Senate must finish the job.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he believes Senate Democrats are posturing for a government shutdown to score a political win with their base, and he’s trying to prevent it.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Thune argued that Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., lack a real reason for not backing the GOP’s short-term government funding extension other than to appease the ‘far left.’

Thune said that in March, when Democrats last joined Republicans to keep the government open, Schumer and his caucus made a ‘very different argument’ about averting a partial government shutdown, but the move was unpopular with their political base.

‘It’s getting to the point now where their base [has] got so much influence in the party, and they’re so demanding on just resisting and fighting everything, with respect to the Trump administration, that they can’t see straight,’ Thune said.  

‘It is borderline pathological. It’s like a disease,’ he continued. ‘They just — that this is something with which they’re afflicted, and I think it really blurs their vision. And I think they run the risk with this, again, of putting themselves in a position of where they are viewed as the party that’s trying to block the government from being funded.’

House Republicans unveiled their stopgap bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), earlier this week that would keep the government open under current spending levels until Nov. 21.

The bill is ‘clean,’ meaning there aren’t partisan policy or spending riders, save for the millions meant for beefing up security measures for lawmakers, the judicial branch and the administration, and funding meant for Washington, D.C.’s budget.

While the Republican-controlled House is expected to pass the bill on Friday, the Senate is a different story. Despite Thune commanding a majority in the upper chamber, he will need Senate Democrats to support the bill. And so far, they aren’t budging.

Thune contended that the bill is everything that Democrats — when they controlled the Senate under former President Joe Biden — dreamed of: a clean, short-term bill. But the issue at hand now is a matter of communication.

Schumer has accused Thune of not speaking with him, or Senate Democrats more broadly, about the bill, and he has labeled the GOP’s push to avert a partial government shutdown a partisan effort led by President Donald Trump.

But Thune said he did try to talk to Schumer last week when the GOP was gearing up to change Senate rules to blast through Democrats’ blockade of Trump’s nominees.

Thune went to Schumer on the floor to discuss the then-ongoing talks between Republicans and Democrats on a since-failed deal for confirmations, but he recalled that the Democratic leader brushed him off.

‘He couldn’t get out of the conversation fast enough,’ Thune said. ‘He was, like, running off the floor. So, I mean, there was certainly an opportunity there to say, ‘We need to sit down and talk about, you know, a CR and how to fund the government.’ I just think this is more political posturing.’

‘That’s the way it’s supposed to work. But the way Schumer likes it to work, and I think this is, again, part of his business model, is you go into his back office, behind closed doors and write this, you know, in the dark of night, and that’s just not the way we’re doing business,’ he continued.

Senate Democrats unveiled their own counter-proposal to the GOP’s bill late Wednesday night that includes a slew of their priorities not included in the clean CR, like permanently extending expiring Obamacare premium subsidies, undoing the ‘big, beautiful bill’s’ Medicaid cuts, and clawing back the canceled funding for NPR and PBS.

Thune said that some of the issues that Democrats were pushing in a short-term extension ‘don’t fit there,’ but that conversations, particularly on finding a deal for the healthcare insurance tax credits, could be had later on.

Still, he viewed Democrats’ resistance as not ‘serious,’ given that the end goal of the short-term extension is to actually pass the dozen spending bills to fund the government — a feat that hasn’t been pulled off in Congress since the 1990s.

The House and Senate are currently working on a path forward for three spending bills, which both chambers have already passed. Thune hoped that if lawmakers were able to avert a partial shutdown, that work could continue with the remaining nine funding bills.

‘This will test the seriousness of whether or not they actually want a real appropriations process, and whether they want to have a bipartisan way of funding the government,’ Thune said.

‘And if the Democrats would give us consent to get on them and work with us, we could have a bipartisan process on the floor like we did with those other three, and we could fund most of the government the old-fashioned way, which is the way it’s supposed to be done,’ he continued.

But before any of that can happen, the bill has to make its way to the upper chamber. Thune is leaving the door open for the Senate to work into the weekend, but the Sept. 30 deadline is fast-approaching.

Congress also has a recess scheduled for next week to observe the Jewish New Year, and a vast majority of Republicans will be in Arizona for conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s memorial service. 

There are also several procedural hurdles in the Senate that will have to be dealt with, further bogging down the process. Ultimately, Thune believed that it would be ‘up to the Democrats.’

‘If they want to put a vote up sooner, later, and our members again — if the Democrats are going to fight us and make us do this the hard way — may just decide, let’s just set this up for votes,’ Thune said. ‘When we get back here, and we get up against the deadline, when it becomes real, then we use live ammo.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer’s office for comment, but did not immediately hear back. 

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., requested that Attorney General Pam Bondi undertake an investigation into Doctors Without Borders under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

In a copy of Stefanik’s letter reviewed by Fox News Digital, she accuses Doctors Without Borders, often known by its French acronym MSF, of having gone on a media offensive against U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, accusing the organization of ‘orchestrated killing.’ 

Stefanik claimed the attacks ‘mirror propaganda continuously pushed by Hamas and threaten to undermine the only large-scale humanitarian food operation currently working in Gaza.’ 

GHF has distributed 167 million meals to Gazans since it started operations in May. During the same period, less than 18% of aid sent into Gaza by the U.N. has reached its destination due to theft and armed looting, per the United Nations Office for Project Services.

Stefanik stated in her letter to Bondi that by ‘using its platform and resources to amplify Hamas-aligned disinformation,’ MSF ‘may cross well into unlawful activity.’ Stefanik noted, the Anti-Terrorism Act ‘makes clear that no individual or organization may provide material support to a designated terrorist group, including through propaganda.’

Stefanik pointed out several indicators that demonstrate MSF ‘are in fact not neutral in the Gaza conflict and in fact only seem to promote Hamas-supported rhetoric.’ She said MSF ‘has made no reference to hostages illegally held by Hamas in Gaza,’ and has not ‘campaigned for them to receive medical treatment.’

Stefanik described several hostages who required specialized care. One hostage was being treated for cancer on Oct. 7. Another lost his hand during a grenade explosion at the Nova festival. A third was kidnapped while nine months pregnant and gave birth while held captive. ‘None is included in MSF’s ‘humanitarian’ advocacy,’ Stefanik said.

Stefanik also called into question the ‘extremist actions and rhetoric’ of MSF staff, which have led to criticism of the organization. In one case, after MSF lamented the death of a staffer who was killed in Gaza in June 2024; the Israel Defense Forces confirmed he was a rocket expert for Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In another, a staffer publicly called for Palestinians to ‘fight and die as martyrs’ according to the French publicationLe Journal du Dimanche in March 2024. 

Stefanik also questions whether MSF, a registered 501(c)(3), has violated the ‘strict prohibitions’ that come with nonprofit status. She asked that Bondi’s office review MSF’s ‘political attacks’ and, if necessary, refer the group to the Internal Revenue Service. 

‘This is not a matter of routine oversight,’ Stefanik concluded. ‘It is a matter of national security, the protection of U.S. taxpayers and donors, and the defense of legitimate humanitarian organizations in one of the most dangerous conflict zones in the world. President Trump has made clear that the United States will never tolerate support for terrorist organizations in any form, and this case demands that same clarity and resolve.’

MSF did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions about Stefanik’s letter.

NEW YORK – Meghan McCain believes ‘the U.S.-Israel alliance is incredibly strong’ even amid rising antisemitism across the country and increasing political pressure from both sides of the aisle. 

Fox News Digital sat down with McCain on Tuesday evening before she received the ‘Champion of Israel’ award from the American Friends of Magen David Adom (AFMDA), which supports Israel’s emergency medical and disaster response service. She noted that in her observation, issues surrounding the U.S.-Israel relationship appear to be more partisan as far as the left is concerned. 

McCain said that she sees some pro-Israel Democrats, specifically pointing to Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., ‘hedging in different places.’ During her award acceptance speech at this year’s AFMDA New York City gala, she also called out New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who has taken heat for previous acceptance of antisemitic rhetoric such as ‘globalize the intifada.’ 

‘Pray for this city,’ McCain said, adding, ‘he’s an animal.’ The statement garnered applause from the audience, which gathered at Manhattan’s Cipriani Wall Street.

McCain also acknowledged that there are political elements not just on the left, but also on the right that oppose Israel, all of which she condemned. She urged those in attendance to ‘fight together to combat this destructive message of the radical left and within my own party on the alt-right.’

Despite this, the White House’s ties to Jerusalem give McCain hope that the relationship between the two nations is ironclad.

‘Of many of the reasons that I’m glad that President Trump is president is his wholehearted support of Israel is definitely one of them,’ McCain told Fox News Digital. ‘I think that we have an incredibly strong alliance and shared values and shared political interests and shared global interests.’

The former co-host of ‘The View’ also said that she believes the majority of the American public understands that ‘the interests of Israel and the interests of the United States of America are shared, especially in our fight against Islamic extremism.’

Charlie Kirk – who was also a steadfast supporter of Israel – came up both in McCain’s speech and her conversation with Fox News Digital.

‘I think we’re all sort of struggling with his assassination,’ she told Fox News Digital. ‘I am not satisfied with the reaction of the broad swath of Democrat leaders. When you have people like Ilhan Omar that are still accepted in Democrat spaces after what she said about Charlie Kirk in the wake of his passing, I mean, it’s hideous.’

Speaking to the audience of first responders and their supporters, she pointed out the contrast between those who save lives because of their beliefs and those who end them.

‘Where what you do here is about saving lives, the other side has nothing to offer but destruction. There are people all around the world and even in this country who do not want to participate in debate. They do not want to be proven wrong,’ McCain said.

‘And in the instance of people brave enough like Charlie Kirk to stand for Judeo-Christian values and the values of family and life and freedom and the right of Israel to defend itself against its enemies, they will try to destroy you by any means necessary and dance in celebration when you fall,’ she later added.

Addressing gala attendees, McCain delivered a strong defense of the U.S.-Israel alliance, as well as her personal unwavering support for the Jewish state.

‘No matter how much of the world — motivated by moral cowardice, material interest, or the sublimated antisemitism that still stalks the globe — turns away from Israel, I will not. I will never. And I speak for millions and millions of Americans who feel exactly the same,’ McCain said to a cheering crowd.

McCain credited her father, the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his relationship with the late Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., for her desire to deliver a strong defense of the U.S.-Israel relationship.

‘My father always understood the importance of the connection between America and Israel. His deep friendship with the man who was for all intents and purposes my uncle, the late Senator Joe Lieberman, was what exposed me to Jewish life, thought, and practice from a young age,’ McCain said. Later in her speech, she added that she and her husband, Ben Domenech ‘feel the same way, as so many Americans do: that Israel’s cause is right, Israel’s fight is noble, and Israel’s means are just.’

Magen David Adom (MDA), which is essentially Israel’s version of the Red Cross, handles a wider range of issues than its American counterpart, the Red Cross, such as disaster relief and blood services. 

On Oct. 7, 2023, MDA handled over 21,600 emergency calls, five times more than the number of calls it gets on an average Saturday. Additionally, MDA dispatched 1,430 ambulances and intensive care units alongside hundreds of emergency motorcycles, three helicopters, command and control vehicles, and 24 mass casualty response vehicles equipped to deploy mobile treatment sites. Since the Israel-Hamas war began, 38 MDA personnel lost their lives.

McCain concluded her speech with a stark warning — that Israel’s fight is America’s fight and that ‘If Israel were to lose its war — God forbid — the armies of darkness would march toward us here in America, too.’

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., accused President Donald Trump of exploiting the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in order to go after critics.

Schumer’s charge came as Senate Democrats teed up legislation called the ‘No Political Enemies Act,’ which would prohibit Trump and his administration from weaponizing government agencies. It comes in the wake of late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel’s sidelining by ABC over comments he made related to Kirk.

The top Senate Democrat said freedom of speech is ‘one of the great hallmarks of our country’ but that the Trump administration ‘is trying to snuff it out.’

‘Those who break the law, of course, resort to any source of violence ought to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,’ Schumer said. ‘But using the tragic death of Charlie Kirk as an excuse to supercharge the political witch hunt against critics is abhorrent, obnoxious and as un-American as it gets.’

‘To attack civil society, whether it’s Jimmy Kimmel, civil society organizations or the Trump administration’s perceived political enemies, its crusade is unending,’ he continued. ‘And this is one of the saddest parts of all, because of congressional Republicans’ obeisance to Trump, it’s unchecked because they are scared to stand up to Trump.’

Democrats’ legislation would prevent the administration from using agencies like the Justice Department, FBI and the IRS from going after people for criticizing the government, according to a one-page description of the bill.

It would also hold officials accountable for using their office to go after critics, ensure courts quickly dismiss ‘abusive actions,’ and provide due process for U.S. nonprofits that the government tries to ‘label as criminal or terrorist organizations.’

Their legislative push also comes after Attorney General Pam Bondi said earlier this week that the administration would ‘go after you if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.’

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., called her comments ‘bone chilling.’

‘The shooting of Charlie Kirk was a national tragedy,’ he said. ‘It should have been a line in the sand, an opportunity for President Trump to bring this country together to do whatever is necessary to stamp out political violence that’s targeted both Republicans and Democrats, political violence that emanates from both right-wing and left-wing radicalization.’

‘But Trump and his lieutenants are choosing a different path,’ he continued. ‘They are choosing to exploit this tragedy, to weaponize the federal government to destroy Donald Trump’s political opposition.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Justice Department for comment but did not immediately hear back. 

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

A top conservative watchdog is suing the federal health care bureaucracy alleging they are stonewalling results of a study started under the Obama administration looking into the effects of transgender therapy pharmaceuticals on youth.

Oversight Project president Mike Howell told Fox News Digital in a Wednesday interview that administering puberty blockers and other nascent drugs to teens is akin to ‘modern-day Tuskegee experiments’ and that the National Institutes of Health and the study’s proctor should not be allowed to keep their results secret.

In 2014, NIH awarded a grant to children’s hospitals that led to a study helmed by a Los Angeles pediatrician to discern the long-term effects of puberty blockers on pediatric transgender people, Howell explained, citing his organization’s lawsuit.

In 2024, Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., wrote to the Biden-led NIH questioning why ‘principal investigator’ Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy was ‘withholding publication’ of the $9.7 million study’s findings.

‘In light of the NIH grantee’s unwillingness to release the research project’s findings, we ask that you provide documents and information to assist the Committee’s oversight of this matter,’ McClain wrote, citing her role as chair of a House Oversight subcommittee.

One year later, Howell’s group sought the files through a public request in July, and sued this week, claiming officials ignored them. 

Both McClain, in her letter, and Howell, in his interview, raised concerns over Olson-Kennedy’s remarks about critics potentially weaponizing results from the NIH-funded study.

‘NIH is responsible for overseeing its extramural research projects to ensure supported researchers practice transparency, exemplify scientific integrity, and are proper stewards of taxpayer funds,’ McClain wrote to the Biden NIH.

Howell said he wants the NIH, under the Trump administration, to make the results public, citing troubling hints from Olson-Kennedy in a New York Times article that quoted her saying about one-quarter of participants reported some type of depression.

‘In light of the recent spate of transgender ideology-inspired violent extremism and domestic terrorism, Including some of the shootings at schools and churches and most recently, Charlie Kirk, the Oversight Project and I want to know what the government knows about the psychological conditions of this new and coveted population of transgender children who are now growing into adults,’ Howell said.

‘It seems to me, in light of recent disclosures, including the America First Legal v. FDA [suit] that the government was well aware that these types of therapies, surgeries and cultural celebration and praising of this class of people was dangerous and led to increases in suicide rates, depression and other psychological conditions which all too often are manifesting in violent tendencies.’

In 2024, America First Legal – founded by Trump confidant Stephen Miller – sued for the release of any FDA records on off-label uses for puberty blockers and ‘cross-sex hormones.’

Howell said there is public interest in the study’s publication because it may ‘map out’ why or whether the government has been aware of the ‘massive, growing problem’ but declined to publicize for ‘politically-correct reasons.’

While NIH declined comment to Fox News Digital citing ongoing litigation, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been very critical of the types of drugs the Oversight Project is also concerned about.

Kennedy has called puberty blockers for minors ‘castration drugs,’ and suggested young people cannot be considered prescient enough to make such life-changing medical decisions.

‘Minors cannot drive, vote, join the army, get a tattoo, smoke, or drink, because we know that children do not fully understand the consequences of decisions with life-long ramifications,’ he wrote on social media.

‘The more I learn, the more troubled I have become about giving puberty blockers to youth,’ Kennedy said in May 2024.

As secretary, Kennedy urged doctors to reconsider child sex-change operations in a formal letter obtained by the Daily Caller in May.

‘HHS expects you promptly to make the necessary updates to your treatment protocols and training for care for children and adolescents with gender dysphoria to protect them from these harmful interventions,’ it read.

Neal Cornett, a lead attorney in the case, told Fox News Digital he would also like to see any internal NIH reports on the physiological effects of related drugs Lupron and Supprelin.

‘Imagine that you’re 14 years old – you take some kind of puberty blocker – you’re basically stunted, your bones aren’t growing, you have osteoporosis at the age of 15… that’s going to do a psychological number on you,’ Cornett said.

Howell said there is an absolute connection, if allegations bear out, between the Tuskegee Experiments of the mid-20th century on African Americans and studies testing out puberty blockers on 21st century children.

‘When I first read [of the study] – I was reminded of Tuskegee Experiments on African Americans [where the uniformed U.S. Public Health Service] gave them drugs… to test out treatments there; horrific events,’ he said.

Fox News Digital also reached out to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, which was listed as the affiliate medical center for Olson-Kennedy. A number listed for Olson-Kennedy’s California practice was disconnected.

She told the Times in October 2024 she intended then to publish the data but blamed delays on funding cuts — a claim the NIH denied, the paper reported.

President Donald Trump renewed his criticism against former President Joe Biden and his administration over the use of an autopen to sign off on important orders — including pardons — during Biden’s tenure in the White House. 

Trump has railed against Biden’s use of the autopen for months, claiming thousands of pardons Biden signed were void and that the former president did not know what documents he was signing through the automated device. 

‘It was illegally used. He never gave the orders,’ Trump told reporters Thursday during a trip to the U.K. ‘He never told them what to do. And I guess the only one he signed, or one of the few he signed, was the pardon for his son.’

A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

A White House official previously told Fox News Digital that Trump uses his hand signature for every legally operational or binding document. Even so, Trump has admitted that he uses an autopen for letters. 

Meanwhile, Biden’s chief of staff issued final approval for multiple high-profile preemptive pardons during Biden’s final days in office, the New York Times reported in July. 

Although Biden reportedly made the decision about the pardons in a meeting, Biden’s chief of staff Jeff Zients is the one who gave final approval for the use of the autopen — at least in the case of former chief medical advisor to the president, Anthony Fauci, and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, the Times reported. 

Even so, Biden told the Times that he made every clemency decision of his own accord. 

Meanwhile, Trump’s comments come as Zients is slated to appear before the House Oversight Committee Thursday for its probe into Biden’s mental acuity. Part of that investigation is also examining if the former president was fully cognizant of clemency orders and executive actions he signed using the autopen. 

Biden granted a total of 4,245 acts of clemency during his administration, 96% of which were granted during his final months in office between October 2024 and January 2025, according to the Pew Research Center. 

An autopen is a machine that physically holds a pen and follows programming to imitate a person’s signature.

Unlike a stamp or a digitized print of a signature, the autopen has the capability to hold various types of pens, from  a ballpoint to a permanent marker, according to descriptions of autopen machines for sale online. 

Fox News’ Liz Elkind contributed to this report. 

Hunter Biden was involved in discussions about pardons toward the end of his father’s White House term, a source familiar with Jeff Zients’ interview with the House Oversight Committee told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

Zients met with House investigators behind closed doors for over six hours — the final former Biden administration official to appear in House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer’s probe into ex-President Joe Biden’s use of the autopen.

Comer, R-Ky., is also investigating whether Biden’s top aides covered up signs of mental decline in the former president, and whether executive decisions signed via autopen — including myriad clemency orders Biden approved — were executed with his full awareness.

Zients told investigators that Hunter was involved in some of those pardon discussions and attended a few meetings on the subject with White House aides, the source said.

It’s not clear how much say Hunter had in those meetings, or if he was involved in discussions about his own controversial pardon.

The former president issued a ‘full and unconditional’ pardon for his son in early December, just under two months before leaving office. 

That’s despite Biden and his staff denying the possibility of such a move on several occasions.

Biden approved nearly 2,500 commutations on Jan. 17, just days before leaving the White House, setting a record for most clemency orders ever granted by a U.S. president — more than 4,200 in total — and the most ever in a single day.

Weeks earlier, he issued pardons for several family members, including Hunter.

It had been previously reported by NBC News and other outlets that Hunter sat in on White House meetings with Biden’s aides in the wake of the former president’s disastrous June 2024 debate against then-candidate Donald Trump.

Zients is the final former Biden aide expected to appear before the House Oversight Committee in its autopen probe.

The source familiar with his sit-down told Fox News Digital that Zients ‘admitted that President Biden’s speech stumbles increased as he aged.’

‘He also noted that the president’s difficulty remembering dates and names worsened over time, including during the administration,’ the source said.

A second source familiar with Zients’ comments to the House Oversight Committee defended his comments. 

‘As chief of staff, Jeff’s job was to ensure that the president met with a range of advisors to thoroughly consider issues so that the president could make the best decisions,’ the second source told Fox News Digital.

‘Throughout Jeff’s time working with him, while President Biden valued input from a wide variety of advisors and experts, the final decisions were made by the president and the president alone,’ the second source said.

‘Jeff had full confidence in President Biden’s ability to serve as president and is proud of what President Biden accomplished during his four years in office.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Zients’ attorney and the law firm of Abbe Lowell, who was known to have defended Hunter previously, for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Shortly after announcing a strategy to go after deceptive direct-to-consumer advertising by the pharmaceutical industry, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Department of Health and Human Services released a parody video of a drug advertisement – a pointed way of emphasizing the fact that the United States is largely unique in allowing drug ads.

‘Tired of endless drug ads promising quick fixes but leaving you sicker than you were before? That can change today. Ask your doctor about MAHA,’ the parody commercial begins, referring to Kennedy’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ initiative. 

‘MAHA may cause healthier living, fewer chronic diseases, and lower drug costs,’ the video’s narrator continues. ‘Some Americans reported more time spent with family instead of at the pharmacy. Other side effects may include healthier children, a stronger nation, more transparency in healthcare, honest advertising, and accountability from Big Pharma.’

The drug advertisement parody comes after Kennedy and HHS laid out their plans to target direct-to-consumer drug advertising – something that isn’t widely allowed outside the United States – in a new children’s health strategy released earlier this month. 

The strategy said it will ramp up enforcement of current prescription drug advertising laws, with a priority on ‘egregious violations demonstrating harm from current practices.’ The strategy noted these violations could include the dissemination of ‘risk information and quality of life through misleading and deceptive advertising on social media and digital platforms.’

The strategy to go after direct-to-consumer drug ads will also include inter-agency cooperation to explore the development of potential new industry guidelines that limit direct-to-consumer advertising for certain ‘unhealthy foods’ to children. These efforts include ‘evaluating the use of misleading claims and imagery,’ the MAHA children’s strategy stated. 

Kennedy said alongside the release of HHS’s parody advertisement that the Trump administration plans to begin holding the pharmaceutical industry accountable for not sharing full safety information in their drug ads on television, radio and beyond.

‘No more hiding vital information in small print, or pushing it off to a website, or a 1-800 number,’ Kennedy said in a video released in conjunction with the parody advertisement. He also noted that regulators have been letting pharmaceutical manufacturers avoid providing complete warnings in their marketing materials.

Kennedy said in the accompanying video that, in the past, regulators let companies mention a vague ‘major statement’ of risk that required consumers to go elsewhere for important details about the drug. The secretary said this ‘loophole’ opened the door to a ‘tsunami’ of misleading advertisements.

‘Drug ads drove up prescription drug costs and distorted doctor-patient conversations. Patients saw glossy ads and often asked for new medications,’ Kennedy continued. ‘Big Pharma’s marketing hooked the country on prescription drugs. We’re taking action to end that practice.’