Jonathan Isaac, the NBA star who made international headlines for opposing his team’s kneeling during the National Anthem, just signed an enormous eight-figure contract extension, another indication that the league’s racial reckoning in the wake of George Floyd’s 2020 death is subsiding.

Isaac, who is Black, proudly stood at the beginning of each game in the 2020-2021 season as the Orlando Magic navigated cultural landmines about to what extent players should address the long-simmering debate about police brutality among African-Americans. Rather than take a knee, a popular form dissent at the time, Isaac stood and bowed his head at the National Anthem played.

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Politics don’t appear to have played a role in the Magic’s decision to renew Isaac’s contract to the tune of $84 million over five years, according to Fox News. It will keep the 26-year-old on the court into 2029. A native of New York, Isaac had a standout collegiate career at Florida State before receiving a first-round pick by the Magic in 2017. His auspices have only grown since then; in the 2023-2024 season Isaac played in 58 games, the most of his career, while averaging 6.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. For his efforts Isaac was among the youngest players to receive votes for the league’s 6th Player of the Year Award.

His patriotism first captured the public’s imagination at a time when the NBA was reeling from both the Black Lives Matter protests and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, forcing the league into an awkward season where players were confined to separate “bubbles” and games were held in airtight, empty arenas. Isaac has previously opened up about the tremendous pressure he and his teammates were under to use their positions to address the racial unrest roiling the country.

“For me, that was kind of the highlight of my early career of being in the NBA, was 2020. It was after the tragic death of George Floyd, and we were ushered into the NBA ‘bubble,’ where there was just so much pressure,” Isaac told OutKick contributor Riley Gaines on her “Gaines for Girls” podcast in October. Not even just in the bubble, but just around the world with the rise of the Black Lives Matter organization and movement.”

“For me, it was simply about offering another solution. I saw the issue. I saw the problem. I saw what happened to George Floyd. And as I listened to the tone and the rhetoric of the Black Lives Matter organization and movement, I never truly felt comfortable,” he added. Isaac has also attacked other liberal NBA stars like Charles Barkley for defending the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports and launched his own athletic apparels brand rooted in Christian values.

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Embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is waging war on multiple fronts as she clings to the appearance of prosecutorial power in the wake of her disastrous scandal with former romantic partner and prosecutor Nathan Wade. Her trial against former President Donald Trump, already facing significant delays as a result, is being joined by another high-profile case that has just run into a buzzsaw.

The trial of Young Thug, an Atlanta-area rapper accused of leading a small criminal empire, has been indefinitely paused following motions by defense attorneys seeking dismissal of the judge in the case. Monday’s ruling by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville now gives prosecutors just one week to file their rebuttal. Young Thug, whose given name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, has through his lawyers accused Judge Glanville of conspiring with prosecutors to continue the case without affording them invitations to all germane discussions.

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Last month Brian Steel, the artist’s lead attorney, was held in contempt of court for brandishing arguments as to why Glanville held a private meeting with prosecutors in Willis’s office and failed to notify him. Judge Glanville refused to answer questions about what was discussed — including the potential pressuring of a key witness — leading to a heated back-and-forth that left Steel on the verge of being jailed. “This is crazy! This is like communist Russia!” Steel complained at the time, according to the Washington Post.

Already, the Young Thug trial has earned the title of Georgia’s longest-running criminal case in history. The rap star, who may have been romantically involved with Willis at one point, is accused of directing or participating in violent crimes by his gang, including carjackings and robberies at gunpoint. Jury selection has already dragged on for 10 months, and the case is not expected to go to trial until next year. Judge Glanville has dismissed previous attempts to dismiss the trial entirely.

The Post also reported that prosecutors appeared stunned by the judge’s decision, signaling another round of recriminations by Willis as she faces a high-stakes battle to salvage her political career in an election year. Legal observers closely watching the case compare it to the sprawling set of charges she brought against President Trump and 18 co-defendants, some of whom have agreed to testify against their former colleagues. At the same time, attorneys for others have introduced damning evidence of corruption inside Willis’s office, including the nepotism of hiring Wade while they were dating and potentially diverting federal anti-gang resources to continue her case against the former president.

State and federal officials have launched separate probes into Willis’s handling of taxpayer dollars. A Georgia lawmaker has publicly accused her of protecting her stalker. In November, she faces opposition from a credible Republican challenger. And a Georgia court of appeals is currently considering whether to pull her from the case.

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As a lifelong liberal (James) and a lifelong conservative (Quin), we have been on opposite sides of almost every election in memory. There are things on which we agree, though, starting with our reverence for the idea of America itself and the need to preserve it.

Part of preserving it involves finding common ground. And yes, there is common ground on matters big and, well, less big.

Starting with what’s at the top of the news these days, we agree that neither President Joe Biden nor former President Donald Trump should be inaugurated for a new term next January.

Nobody should come anywhere near the Oval Office after trying to throw out an obviously legitimate election, instigating a mass-casualty riot and refusing to call it off, and publicly berating his own vice president even when knowing the veep’s life may be in danger. Trump is a menace who cannot be entrusted with power, period.

But nobody should re-up for president until age 86 when, at 81, he is already intermittently (but increasingly) incapacitated. Even for a good man, it is flat-out irresponsible and unfair to the nation and world to ask for that massive responsibility in these circumstances. Biden should not be renominated.

On policy, we both agree on a hodgepodge of issues. We agree that extreme identity politics and woke obsessions are unnecessarily divisive. We agree that Biden’s student loan forgiveness plans are ill advised and more helpful to those who don’t need assistance than to those who do. And we agree that huge university endowments should be tapped or taxed to aid those who really do face long financial odds.

We agree that the Supreme Court’s recent decision awarding presidents a vast degree of “immunity” from criminal prosecution is wrong constitutionally and profoundly dangerous. We agree that high-paid corporate executives shouldn’t escape Social Security taxes. We agree that today’s economy is better than most people credit and trending better still — but that plenty of workers still need more help.

And while we disagree strongly on which policies achieve the goal, we agree that, aspirationally, a primary goal of public policy should be to make it easier for those at the bottom of the economic ladder to climb the rungs. We absolutely have an obligation to the “least among us.” And we also agree that U.S. policy and the tax code favor older people who have it made at the expense of younger people who are trying to make it. This should change.

Abroad, we agree that the United States must be, and usually is, a force for good in the world. We agree that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a thug and that Ukraine deserves American support against his thuggery. And we agree that it isn’t justifiable for our leaders, especially presidents, to express repeated, extravagant praise for vicious foreign dictators.

But look, specific issues aren’t the main point here. We’re not legislators trying to compromise on some frigging foreign aid bill or social program. What matters more is the big picture. We love America and it’s worth saving. We’ve gotta protect our Constitution that guarantees our liberties and the rule of law. We need to stand up for democracy. We need to be sure we keep our disagreements within what only seems like rough-and-tumble politics rather than in the real rough and tumble of violence.

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That’s what our Constitution and our culture are supposed to do: force us to fight each other inside our political system with rules by which we (mostly) abide and then eventually suck it up and find things to agree on so we can move on to other political fights — all while trusting the whole system isn’t going to implode.

Come on, America, it’s time to get serious. Let’s put aside extremist nonsense and get to work.

Quin Hillyer, deputy commentary editor of the Washington Examiner, grew up in Louisiana Republican politics. James Carville, veteran campaign consultant and analyst, grew up in Louisiana Democratic politics.

On this Independence Day, consider how a very few people, in very dire straits, made the difference for the very existence of the nation we now know as the United States.

Consider, too, how one of those very few people was also the final president of the founding generation and how his legacy is forever connected to the Fourth of July.

By December 1776, the American Revolution was all but dead. Gen. George Washington commanded only some 3,500 troops, almost none decently trained for battle. The British had about 20,000 well-trained regulars, plus thousands more Hessians and other mercenaries. Worse for Washington, the enlistments of almost all his men were scheduled to end on Dec. 31. They were ill-fed, ill-equipped, ill-dressed, and mostly shoeless. And, after four significant battle losses in a row, they fought for a populace that had all but given up on the revolution, with large numbers redeclaring their loyalty to the British king.

Without a significant victory before Dec. 31, the revolution effectively would be kaput.

Facing those grim odds against horrible weather and with sleep-deprived men trudging on bloody, frost-bitten feet, Washington took 2,400 troops to attack a British-Hessian outpost at Trenton, New Jersey, after midnight on Dec. 26. Their breathtakingly dangerous crossing of the Delaware River was followed by a forced march of 9 miles through the dark of a brutal snowstorm. Still, with the element of surprise, their attack at dawn gained early success on the main streets of the town.

That’s when the Hessians, rallying, readied a cannon in the middle of King Street to mow down Washington’s men. If the cannon had succeeded in reversing the tide, the whole Revolutionary War effectively would have ended.

Instead, six Americans rushed the cannon. In hand-to-hand combat, they gained control of the weapon, stopping the last Hessian counterattack. The Hessians were routed, the revolution was reinspired, and a call for new enlistments was successful. The cause of American liberty quite arguably had rested on control of that cannon. Because the cannon was taken, liberty survived.

One of those six Americans who rushed that cannon, who saved the day, was badly injured, with a severed artery leaving him close to death. Yet he survived. He was just 18 years old, a Virginian by the name of James Monroe.

Monroe then served for half a century in a host of elective and appointive roles famous for their successes. He played a key role in writing the Northwest Ordinance, which provided for the administration of vast new territory without slavery. His diplomacy was largely responsible for doubling the size of the United States through the Louisiana Purchase. His leadership as secretary of state and secretary of war helped turn the tide in the War of 1812, snatching what was treated as victory from the very mouth of defeat.

Elected president in 1816, Monroe so deftly navigated the politics of the day that his two terms have forever since been known as “The Era of Good Feelings,” with almost no organized opposition. He secured Florida from Spain, gained joint occupation, with Great Britain, of the vast Oregon Territory, and proclaimed the famous “doctrine” that bears his name, saying the Western Hemisphere would henceforth be off limits to foreign colonization.

Barely more than a year after Monroe left office, the two main authors of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, died on the declaration’s 50th anniversary on July 4, 1826. Five years later, to the day, suffering from heart failure and tuberculosis, Monroe followed suit.

In his last presidential message to Congress 200 years ago this year, Monroe wrote with civic pride about the Spirit of ’76 — of “the great cause in which we were engaged and the blessings which we have derived from our success in it. The struggle was for independence and liberty, public and personal, and in this we succeeded.”

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“There is no object which as a people we can desire which we do not possess or which is not within our reach. … We have every motive to cling together which can animate a virtuous and enlightened people. The great object is to preserve these blessings, and to hand them down to the latest posterity,” he added.

Our job, then, is to seize and neutralize the cannon. Happy Independence Day.

Voters in the United Kingdom will head to the polls on July 4 to choose their next government, with polls indicating that the results will be historic.

After 14 years of Conservative rule, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to lead the party into one of the greatest defeats in electoral history, going from a majority to its lowest share of votes since being established in 1834. The party has managed to whip up the anger of the left-wing and center parties through its economic policies while enraging further right-wing voters by failing to follow through with promises to reduce immigration, instead sending it to record highs.

The next prime minister will be decided by which party, or coalition of parties, wins the majority of seats.

Here are all the key players to know in the U.K. election:

Rishi Sunak — Conservatives

Sunak took over as prime minister in October 2022 after the record-short tenure of former Prime Minister Liz Truss. He was credited with providing a degree of much-needed stability to the government and bringing some modest economic gains. However, it was a string of unfulfilled promises that cratered his perception.

Upon his accession to the premiership, Sunak delivered five promises: to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut National Health Service waiting lists, and “stop the boats,” referring to the trafficking of illegal immigrants coming to Britain across the English Channel.

Nearly two years later, Sunak only accomplished a single goal, more than halving inflation, while failing on the rest. One of the failures was spurring economic growth, one of the U.K.’s worst economic malaise.

One of the most important issues that has helped bleed support was his handling of illegal immigration. He oversaw a small decrease in illegal boat arrivals in 2023, after a record high in 2022, but the first half of 2024 saw a resurgence of arrivals. 

He staked much of his immigration plan on a scheme to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda. As of the election, not a single migrant had been deported to Rwanda. The result was disappointment from the Right and Left.

His move to call early elections in May baffled observers, as the polls were already clear and he still had until the end of the year to wait – time he could have spent improving his record.

Sunak’s perception has been further crippled by a series of gaffes, particularly one surrounding the 80th commemoration ceremony of the D-Day landings. After some initial commemorations, the prime minister left Normandy to fly back to the U.K. to record an interview. He left before the main event featuring surviving World War II veterans, leaving one of the key participants of the landings out of the central photos with President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron. Nearly all segments of British society roundly decried the episode, made worse after a half-hearted apology.

His series of missteps, along with longstanding dissatisfaction with Conservative rule, has set the table for what appears could be the greatest electoral defeat in U.K. history.

Keir Starmer – Labour

Following a blistering defeat in the 2019 elections, the Labour Party underwent a period of soul-searching. Sir Keir Starmer seized control from the former party head Jeremy Corbyn, whose socialism had turned off much of the electorate, in 2020. He spent the next four years rebranding Labour into a moderate, center-left party. He cracked down on long-standing allegations of antisemitism and departed from the far-left leanings of the party.

His efforts appear to have largely been successful, given the expected sweep from Labour. Starmer has touted his remolding of the party as one of his prime accomplishments.

“I have changed this Labour Party, dragged it back to service, and I will do exactly the same for Westminster,” he said.

He has pushed Labour to take positions at odds with its traditional standing, such as becoming tougher on crime, but which translate to a greater appeal to swing voters. Starmer’s stress on law and order can be found in his former career as a lawyer and prosecutor.

But Starmer himself represents something of an enigma – he is best characterized by his pragmatism, flexibility, and desire to get Labour back into power. One descriptor never found alongside his name is “charismatic.” The New York Times described his rhetorical style as “bland,” and the Telegraph described his manifesto as the “dullest on record.”

Starmer’s cautious approach to campaigning has drawn him heavy criticism, especially from his left flank. But the strategy appears to have pulled off – a WeThink/Economist “mega-poll” found that Labour is expected to win 465 of the 632 total parliamentary seats, a stunning turnaround from their embarrassing 2019 loss. He is expected to become the U.K.’s next prime minister.

For all its criticism, the Labour leader’s reserved, cautious approach will likely serve as a vindication of Napoleon Bonaparte’s famous maxim – “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”

Ed Davey – Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats, liberal economically and socially, are in an odd position in U.K. politics, seen by many as the eternal loser. The last Lib Dem (in the form of the then-Liberal Party) prime minister departed office before the Soviet Union was established. They have played roles in some governments since, but have remained a clear minority party.

Sir Ed Davey, 58, took over as head of the party in 2020 and has gambled on a series of publicity stunts, perhaps hoping to inject fun and dynamism into the bland campaigns of Labour and the Tories.

In one recent stunt, he went bungee jumping, yelling “Do something you’ve never done before: vote Liberal Democrat!” as he bounced on the cord.

In another, he raced a farmer in a yellow tractor – the color of the Lib Dems. He’s purposefully fallen off a paddle board, gone down water slides, played Jenga, baked bread, rode bicycles, done group exercises in a pool, and tried “Wipeout” style obstacle courses.

In an op-ed for the Guardian, Davey said that his stunts were meant to show he doesn’t take himself too seriously.

“The ‘stunts’ hopefully show that I do not take myself too seriously,” he wrote. “But what I do treat with the utmost importance are the issues that people have raised with me and the stakes at this election, which could not be higher.”

While it can’t be guaged how much of the likely impending success can be owed to the amusing publicity stunts, the Lib Dems are set to see their best electoral results since 2010. The Economist even estimated that there’s a chance they could win more seats than the Tories, a historic accomplishment.

Nigel Farage – Reform U.K.

Nigel Farage used his charisma and populist sentiments to become one of the most influential politicians in the U.K., playing a key role in pushing the biggest geopolitical development in recent U.K. history – Brexit. After the successful vote, Farage resigned as head of the U.K. Independence Party, arguing that he never wanted to be a career politician.

He kept a lower profile in U.K. politics since, departing Parliament in 2020 and announcing his official retirement in March 2021. He spent his retirement partly by making paid Cameo videos exalting Irish Republicans, “Big Chungus,” and other memes upon user request.

Then, in a shock move, Farage announced his surprise return to politics on June 3, 2024, running as head of the Reform Party and the minister of Parliament for the coastal constituency of Clacton.

The move will likely go down as one of the final nails in the coffin of Sunak and the Tories – offering disgruntled conservatives a further-right alternative to the Conservatives, especially those angry over the party’s failure on immigration.

Farage has been speaking to packed crowds denouncing the Tories and forcing the insecure Conservatives further right.

With Farage’s leadership, Reform, which hasn’t won a seat before, is expected by the Economist to win 14% of the national vote and three seats.

Count Binface – Independent

Sunak faces a daunting, direct challenge in his constituency in the form of the supposed 5,900-year-old space warrior, Count Binface.

The satirical candidate is the doing of comedian Jonathan David Harvey, who ran in earlier elections as Lord Buckethead. He was forced to retire the persona amid a copyright dispute.

Count Binface, dressed in a cartoonish space costume and trash-bin-looking mask, has touted outlandish electoral promises, such as nationalizing the musician Adele, price-capping croissants at £1.10, and to “make water bosses take a dip in British rivers, to see how they like it,” 1843 Magazine reported.

His first election showing was against Boris Johnson in 2019.  In a surprise defeat in the 2021 London mayoral election, he earned just 1% of the vote, 24,775 votes, losing to Labour’s Sadiq Khan.

One of Binface’s primary motives is the procedure of all candidates being photographed beside one another, meaning the prime minister of one of history’s greatest empires will be pictured next to a man wearing a trash can.

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The British political system requires that candidates only need to pay a £500 fee and get the signatures of 10 constituents, making prank candidates a common occurrence.

In a self-aware moment, Harvey expressed pride in his native country over his ability to pull off the stunt.

“I want to prove to the omniverse that it’s still possible for anyone from any planet to stand for election, whatever your platform,” Binface told the 1843 Magazine. “And I just think that says everything about what makes Britain great.”

Duck Dynasty stars Jep and Jessica Robertson released a new children’s book, Dear Valor, from BRAVE Books that celebrates and encourages child adoption.

“Our youngest is adopted. We adopted him when he was three days old,” Jessica Robertson said of their son Gus Robertson who inspired the book.

In describing Dear Valor, Jessica said, “It’s about the trials you may face and teaching children about empathy on what it’s like in an adopted child’s life and their family.”

The children’s book was published by the up-and-coming Christian book publisher BRAVE Books. The story is about a tiger named Valor who is adopted by two lions who love him unconditionally. The story explores the “sweet” joys and challenges of adoption.

Jep Robertson explained to WMAL radio that he’s been told that if every church had just one family adopting a child, then “we wouldn’t have foster care.”

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The husband and wife team is best known for their roles in the A&E reality TV series Duck Dynasty and spinoff shows Jep & Jessica: Growing the Dynasty and Duck Family Treasure.

The Robertsons are based in West Monroe, Louisiana, with their five children. They have long been involved in the adoption nonprofit group All God’s Children International ministry.

Dove‘s global chief marketing officer, Alessandro Manfredi, announced on Wednesday that he was leaving the soap’s parent company, Unilever, after two decades amid product backlash over numerous controversial marketing campaigns and new leadership seeking to improve competitiveness.

“Even the most beautiful love stories come to an end. A few months ago, I have decided to leave Unilever and the past few days were my last as the leader of the Dove brand. I am leaving with a deep feeling of Pride and Gratitude,” he wrote on LinkedIn, “I had the privilege to lead a brand that has become the #1 provider of body confidence education in the world.”

“I will always carry the torch of this humanity, wherever I go, whatever I do next,” he said.

Manfredi has been behind the soap company’s “Campaign for Real Beauty” which launched in 2004 to challenge digital distortions and unrealistic beauty standards in society at large.

His exit comes a year after Unilever’s CEO, Hein Schumacher, who took over leadership of the company in July 2023, claimed the company’s competitiveness was “disappointing” and the “overall performance” needed to improve.

The company has recently received backlash for various “woke” partnerships and marketing campaigns.

In 2022, Dove promoted Dove Dry Spray by doing a body positivity campaign and promoting a movement “rejecting negative armpit stereotypes.” On Instagram, Dove showed a plus-sized woman with hairy armpits who was embracing her “big pit energy.” On New York City billboards, the Dove campaign used the hashtag #freethepits.

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In September 2023, Dove partnered with Black Lives Matter activist Zyahna Bryant to push a “fat liberation” campaign in the soap company’s “Campaign For Size Freedom.”

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Bryant shared an Instagram video about her Dove partnership and said, “My belief is that we should be centering the voices and experiences of the most marginalized people and communities at all times. So when I think about what fat liberation looks like to me, I think about centering the voices of those who live in and who maneuver through spaces and institutions in a fat body.”

The campaign led to backlash and boycott threats.

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In February during the Super Bowl, the beauty product company ran a television advertisement that showed a montage of young girls playing sports but 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy took aim at the company by bringing attention to its history of embracing transgender athletes as it went “out of its way to publicly celebrate men competing in women sports.”

Dove also had to apologize for a social media post in 2017 that showed a black woman removing her dark-colored shirt to reveal a white woman in a light-colored shirt. The company apologized for missing “the mark in representing women of color thoughtfully.”

Illegal fireworks are a predictable crime that Southern California law enforcement agencies are tasked with responding to come nightfall as Fourth of July celebrations get underway.

“It’s an all hands on deck day for us,” Lt. Thoby Archer with the Huntington Beach Police Department told the Orange County Register. “We’re stretched thin like every coastal city is.”

Law enforcement and fire agencies experience a rise in service calls on July Fourth each year due to illegal fireworks activity, fireworks-related injuries, and fires.

Last year, dispatchers in Huntington Beach, which is a coastal community about 35 miles south of Los Angeles, reportedly received more than 700 calls related to fireworks, an increase of 250 calls compared to 2022.

Archer said his department planned an increase of patrols in neighborhoods that have previously had problems with illegal fireworks.

Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes also said his department receives a 200% increase in 911 calls on July Fourth each year, “especially when it gets to the sundown hours when fireworks start to detonate.”

Riverside, a city about 50 miles east of Los Angeles, also beefed up its patrols. Riverside City Councilman Jim Perry said the city created task forces that are comprised of a police officer, a firefighter, and a code enforcement officer.

“That’s their sole responsibility,” Perry said. “The exception to that would be if the officer is the closest unit to an emergency call.”

Other cities, including Corona and San Bernardino, noted that they also created special teams to patrol their jurisdictions and investigate those who sell illegal fireworks ahead of the holiday.

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Fines for illegal fireworks can range from $1,000 to as high as $50,000 in some Southern California cities. 

To help combat the use of illegal fireworks, several law enforcement agencies created a phone app that their residents can use to report illegal fireworks activity.

Democratic governors are backing President Joe Biden after they convened a sudden meeting to share concerns and assess the party’s future with Biden as its leader.

On Wednesday evening, every Democratic governor across the country, except for Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI), met in person at the White House or virtually as concerns in the Democratic Party grow that the 81-year-old commander in chief’s mental state is compromised. 

In remarks to reporters following the meeting, Govs. Wes Moore (D-MD), Tim Walz (D-MN), and Kathy Hochul (D-NY) expressed confidence in the president’s ability to lead the party. 

“We were honest about the concerns we were hearing from people,” Moore said, admitting the Democratic Party is “behind” but expressing enthusiasm that Biden’s path to reelection is “real.” He also said the conversation was “candid.”

Walz added that “the feedback was we’re all looking for the path to win.” He told reporters, “The governors have his back.”

Hochul finished out the trio’s remarks to the media by saying Biden is “in it to win it!”

Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), both widely considered to be presidential “backups” for Biden, shared their support in statements on social media. 

“I heard three words from the President tonight — he’s all in. And so am I,” Newsom said. The California governor urged his party to get behind their nominee, saying, “[Joe Biden’s] had our back. Now it’s time to have his.”

Whitmer fell in line with a similar message. 

“[Joe Biden] is our nominee,” the Michigan Democrat posted on Wednesday. “He is in it to win it and I support him.”

Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC), who governs a swing state that will be critical to securing a win for Biden this November, chimed in his support. 

“[Biden] will be our nominee, and we’ll continue doing everything we can to deliver North Carolina for him,” Cooper said in a statement.

Trump secured a narrow victory in North Carolina in 2020. The former president has widened his lead by a substantial margin heading into July. 

The Biden campaign celebrated the meeting as a success in its efforts to shore up support with key Democrats. 

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“All participants reiterated their shared commitment to do everything possible to make sure President Biden and Vice President Harris beat Donald Trump in November,” the campaign said in a statement following the meeting. 

The White House called the meeting after Biden came under fire for his performance during last week’s first presidential debate with former President Donald Trump. Top Democratic strategists and officials voiced concerns that the president is unable to lead their party to victory this November after a debate performance full of memory lapses, trailed-off sentences, and jumbled thoughts.

One of the 14 people injured during a shootout in Oakland, California, last month has been charged as one of the gunmen. 

JaJuan Kelly, 23, was charged with four counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.

Kelly is one of four suspected shooters identified in court documents. The charges against the California resident come after a June 19 shooting that injured 14 people. Kelly was among those injured. According to court records, law enforcement found the suspected shooter with a loaded gun. 

The shootout happened after a Juneteenth celebration last month. Thousands attended the event, which, although peaceful, was not authorized by the police. As the celebration came to a close on the evening of the 19th, a sideshow involving at least 20 vehicles, including dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles, took over the intersection of Grand and Bellevue avenues. Chaos ensued as two rival groups became violent and a fight broke out between numerous people. 

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Records indicated Kelly was on probation for second-degree robbery at the time of his involvement in the shootout. He has a prior conviction for possession of an assault weapon. 

 Investigators have yet to identify all the gunmen involved in the conflict.