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A man accused of pulling the trigger in the 2010 shooting death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, whose death exposed the botched President Obama-era gun operation known as “Fast and Furious,” has been overturned, a U.S. appeals court said.
The bombshell reversal comes after Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes was convicted of first-degree murder, among other charges, after being extradited from Mexico. He was among seven defendants tried and convicted in the Dec. 14, 2010, killing of Terry.
On Friday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals released its decision to overturn the conviction after Osorio-Arellanes argued his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel were violated during his trial and subsequent conviction.
“Because Osorio established his Sixth Amendment claim, the panel did not need to reach his Fifth Amendment claim,” the ruling stated. “The panel rejected the Government’s argument that the absence of a Fifth Amendment violation would bar Osorio’s Sixth Amendment claim.”
MAN CONVICTED IN BORDER AGENT BRIAN TERRY’S MURDER BROUGHT ATTENTION TO ‘FAST & FURIOUS’
Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, right, was among seven people charged in the Dec. 14, 2010, slaying of 40-year-old Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, left, north of Nogales, Ariz.(U.S. Border Patrol)
The doomed “Fast and Furious” operation involved federal agents allowing criminals to buy guns with the intention of tracking them to criminal organizations.
But the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives lost track of most of the guns, including two found at the site of Terry’s death.
FAST AND FURIOUS HEARING RIPS HOLDER, DOJ FOR DECEPTION IN GUN-RUNNING SCANDAL
The failed Obama-era plan was exposed after Terry’s death and prompted his family to sue the government.
Terry’s killing publicly revealed the “Fast and Furious” operation, by which U.S. federal agents allowed criminals to buy guns with the intention of tracking them to criminal organizations. (U.S. Border Patrol)
Terry was part of a four-man team in an elite Border Patrol unit staking out the southern Arizona desert on a mission to find “rip-off” crew members who rob drug smugglers.
They encountered a group and identified themselves as police when trying to arrest them.
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The men refused to stop, prompting an agent to fire bean bags at them.
The crew members responded by firing AK-47-type assault rifles. Terry was struck in the back and died shortly afterward.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for comment.
Marlin Wakeman, 24, fell into a ‘shark den’ after a misstep at the Bahamas dock where he was working April 26. He was swarmed by 20 sharks when he hit the water, he said, but he managed to wrest himself away. (Credit: WSVN)
A 15-year-old girl from Aspen, Colorado, was severely injured in a shark attack while scuba diving in Belize this week, according to reports and a fundraising page set up for the teen.
Annabelle Carlson had just finished scuba diving with her family and a tour group and had gotten back onto the tour boat on Tuesday, when she decided to jump back in the water for a quick swim, the fundraising page set up by a friend of the family explained.
The teen lost her leg in the attack, the Belize Coast Guard told ABC News.
“That’s when the unimaginable encounter happened. The odds are 1 in 11.5 million that this could happen. That unimaginable encounter was a shark attack. It was a very aggressive, very traumatic, terror-filled fight for her life,” the fundraising page said.
US LEADS THE WORLD IN UNPROVOKED SHARK BITES
A 15-year-old from Colorado was severely injured in a shark attack while scuba diving in Belize this week, according to reports and a fundraising page set up for the teen. (Getty)
“Annabelle was able to fight off the attack as best as she could but was critically injured in the fight.”
Carlson was airlifted to a hospital in Belize City, it said, adding, “The quick action from the emergency response team in Belize saved her life.”
Carlson has since been flown back to the U.S., where she remains in a hospital receiving care, the fundraising page said.
US LEADS THE WORLD IN UNPROVOKED SHARK BITES
Scuba divers explore the stalactites inside the Great Blue Hole, a giant marine sinkhole, Lighthouse Reef Atoll, Belize. (Andre Seale/VW PICS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Carlson’s tour group was in Half Moon Caye in the Gulf of Honduras around 50 miles south of Belize City when she was attacked, ABC reported.
AUSTRALIAN SURFER SPEAKS OUT AFTER ‘BIGGEST SHARK I’VE EVER SEEN’ RIPPED HIS LEG OFF
Andre Perez, minister of Belize’s Blue Economy, told a local TV station, “We’re being informed that the victim is OK, is alive, made it. What is the magnitude of the damage? We don’t know as yet.”
Carlson was airlifted to Belize City after the attack before being taken back to the U.S. (Johan Ordonez/AFP via Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Belize Coast Guard for comment.
A California sheriff was less than pleased to find out he was featured in a new political ad for Kamala Harris in which she touts border security, which he says distorts the record.
“In light of a recent political ad put out by Kamala Harris featuring Sheriff Boudreaux, as well as other local law enforcement, the Sheriff wants to make it abundantly clear that his image is being used without his permission, and he does NOT endorse Harris for President or any other political office,” Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said in a statement issued to Fox News Digital.
Boudreaux, who has spent 37 years in the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office and is currently president of the California State Sheriffs’ Association, described a visit Harris made to the Central Valley in 2013 when she was serving as the California attorney general.
The video features Boudreaux and other local and state law enforcement when Harris was in the Central Valley under circumstances that he couldn’t recall, but he did remember her attitude during the visit.
DEMOCRATS HAPPY HARRIS ISN’T BEING FORCED TO GET SPECIFIC: ‘WHY WOULD WE START TALKING ABOUT POLICY?’
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux holds a press conference in Vasalia, California, on Jan. 17, 2023.(Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“As a matter of fact, I would like to point out the misleading information projected in that same political ad. In the ad, Harris claims to have spent decades fighting violent crime as a ‘border state prosecutor.’ The facts are that ‘then California Attorney General Kamala’ came to the Valley in 2014 touting a years-long investigation into a multi-national drug operation, with ties to Mexican drug cartels and prison gangs,” Boudreaux said.
Boudreaux said in that particular case, 11 people were arrested, including suspected “kingpin” Jose Magana of Dinuba.
“The truth is, Harris never cared about the cartels and did nothing to stop people from illegally crossing the border,” Boudreaux said.
Boudreaux added that the appearance by Harris was all “smoke and mirrors.”
“We were in the green room. She never came in and said hello to any of us. She walked up front, gave her presser, literally walked out, never said hi to any of us,” Boudreaux said. “I’m disgusted because, you know, she didn’t shake hands. She didn’t say hello. And she’s taken credit for all this work that the locals did.”
TRUMP CLAIMS ‘NOBODY’ CHEERED HARRIS OUTSIDE AIR FORCE TWO DESPITE VIDEO, IMAGES OF CROWDS
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said he is outraged after his image appeared in a new campaign ad for Kamala Harris.(Golden State Justice)
Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward, who is also featured in the ad, echoed Boudreaux’s reaction to the video.
“The hypocrisy knows no bounds. It’s disingenuous and her campaign ad, somehow now, touting her reputation as a prosecutor as a positive thing, she was attorney general under three of the worst tragedies that had befallen the citizens of the state of California.,” Ward told Fox News Digital.
Boudreaux’s political action committee, Golden State Justice, also issued a statement about the new campaign ad.
“As Attorney General, Kamala Harris undercut efforts by California law enforcement officials to stop criminals from flooding our state with guns and drugs across the border,” the statement read.
“She repeatedly defunded and shuttered task forces designed to protect our residents, leaving the Valley and our state vulnerable,” the statement continued. “Kamala’s sad attempt to paint herself as tough on the border by implying my support – and the support of neighboring law enforcement leaders – is pathetic.”
The statement finishes by stating that “a politician crowding the podium at a press conference clearly hasn’t solved our border crisis. Neither has Kamala Harris.”
KAMALA HARRIS DECLINES TIME MAGAZINE INTERVIEW AS SHE CONTINUES TO AVOID THE PRESS
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux says a new political ad featuring an old video of him from 2013 is upsetting.(X/@MediumBuying)
The new ad, which promotes Harris’ work as a border state prosecutor, claims she will “hire thousands more border agents and crack down on fentanyl and human trafficking.”
“How can you go in and promote that you were this tight border person when all the troops are coming across the border, and you literally are eliminating all these task forces? I mean, that completely made us mad,” Boudreaux said.
Boudreaux said at the time there were many layoffs and people looking for jobs because the Department of Justice was eliminating people.
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“When you see that advertisement, if you do a little research, you’ll find that what she’s (Harris) touting goes completely against what was happening at the time, so when she put that picture out there with me in it, I got really upset, that ad is all smoke and mirrors,” Boudreaux said. “I do not support her.”
Ward also agreed with Boudreaux saying that all it took was a professional courtesy to let them know that they would be featured in a campaign ad.
“We’re not hard people to find or to contact. Simple professional courtesy would have been warning us that it was going to be used. And I think that we are well within our rights to clarify the records,” Ward said. “Just as Sheriff Boudreaux said, I do not in any way want the use of that photo to be construed as support of her (Harris) either in her candidacy, current candidacy, or even in her tenure as attorney general of the State of California.”
BUTLER, Penn. – Local artist Bill Secunda not only describes Donald Trump as “tough as nails” after the former president shook off an assassination attempt here, he created a life-size sculpture to hammer the idiom home.
Secunda was so inspired by Trump’s actions, in which he raised his fist defiantly and exhorted rallygoers to “Fight, fight, fight” moments after being grazed by an assassin’s bullet, that he built a unique likeness of the former president out of nails. Secunda unveiled the statue at the Butler Farm Show on Saturday, the same venue where the deadly shooting took place on July 13.
“I tried to give him the expression of ‘Let’s fight,’ but let’s do it nonviolent[ly]. Let’s do it right,” Secunda told Fox News Digital at his garage studio.
Like many Americans, Secunda was inspired seeing Trump raising his fist in the air as Secret Service agents whisked him to safety seconds after shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks clipped his ear with a rifle shot.
BUTLER RESIDENTS STILL FURIOUS ABOUT TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, SAY MORE THAN INCOMPETENCE TO BLAME
Butler artist Bill Secunda stands in front of his nail-based structure of former President Trump.(Michael Dorgan/Fox News digital)
His carefully curated installation – made up of around 4,000 twisted and bent metal nails – portrays Trump in a light navy suit with his arm upraised.
“I tried to give him that look of firm determination,” Secunda said. “When he got shot a lot of Butler people, they didn’t run away. They were upset [but] they were going to stay there and make sure he was OK.”
The life-size statue is made from 4,000 twisted and bent metal nails and portrays Trump defiantly raising his right fist in the air.(Michael Dorgan/Fox News digital)
“I hope [the statue] helps people get a little bit more strength,” he continued. “This guy is tough, he’s strong. You know, maybe we need to be a little stronger. This is kind of a tough time for our country and I kind of hope it helps. People were upset that it happened here, and I think they’re more upset that it happened at all.”
The 6-foot 3-inch high sculpture is made entirely from traditional flat-headed cut nails which Secunda says are typically driven into concrete. It’s a technique Secunda often uses in his artwork.
“I build an armature first and then I start welding each nail, a lot of them need heating up and [are] bent into place,” Secunda said of his nail-based structures, many of which pepper his expansive garden, including a life-size moose. He’s made plenty of other life-size animals during his 30-year career, including a bear, a bison and a lion, while other installations include a giant tin man made out of wood that features imposingly on his property.
“The hair was a lot of fun,” Secunda says of Trump’s iconic hairdo in his piece. “I did a lot of research on his ears and a lot of research on his hair. Once I got it formed right, I used a brazing rod and welded it on there to give it the yellow [finish].”
He says the Trump structure is his first politically themed creation, although he’s also made two giant statues of Jesus Christ on a cross.
Secunda’s Trump statue is being displayed at the Butler Farm Show.(Bill Secunda)
Secunda had a head start on his latest project. In 2020, he created a sculpture depicting Trump ripping open his shirt like Superman to reveal a gold-colored letter “T.” After the assassination attempt, his cousin suggested he revamp it to reflect the shooting, so Secunda got back to work.
He removed Trump’s right arm and then re-welded it to show him now raising it with a clenched fist. He got rid of the “T” on his chest, re-made the shirt and chest area and then finally burned a hole in his right ear to represent the bullet striking it.
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Secunda says he turned down an offer to sell the original piece back then, yearning to some day proudly show his handiwork to Trump. His hope now is that if the former president returns to Butler for another campaign rally, as he has hinted he will, he’ll finally get that opportunity after all these years.
“I turned down a sale a long time ago on it just because I wanted to see if I could show it to [Trump]. After all these years… maybe the reason I still had it was to make it better… This is a much better message.”
The base of the structure contains the words “tough as nails.”(Michael Dorgan/Fox News digital)
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
On Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. On Aug. 9, 1945, a second bombing was dropped on Nagasaki.
The atomic bombs instantly took thousands of lives and thousands more in the aftermath from radiation and injury.
The bombings led to Japan’s surrender, bringing an end to World War II, which claimed the lives of 418,500 American civilians and soldiers, according to The National WWII Museum.
Theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer was a leader in the creation of the atomic bomb.(Getty Images I Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
MORE PEOPLE EXPOSED TO MANHATTAN PROJECT CHEMICALS DESERVE COMPENSATION, ADVOCATES SAY
The controversial decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan is still debated today.
Below is more information about the development of the atomic bomb and the causalities that resulted in the bombings.
Who invented the atomic bomb?
How many people died during the Hiroshima bombing?
Why did the U.S. bomb Hiroshima?
1. Who invented the atomic bomb?
The atomic bomb was developed in a secret government initiative known as the Manhattan Project, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. Army Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves was appointed director of the Manhattan Project and chose theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to lead the physics aspects involved in the making of the atomic bomb, according to the source.
AL JAZEERA VIDEO SLAMMING ‘OPPENHEIMER’ FOR NOT CHALLENGING US ‘WAR CRIMES’ AGAINST JAPAN GOES VIRAL
Oppenheimer became known as the “father of the atomic bomb.”
More than 130,000 people were employed in the highly classified mission to create the first atomic bombs, according to the Department of Energy.
Cillian Murphy played J. Robert Oppenheimer in the 2023 Oscar-winning biographical film.(Universal Pictures)
The project had a budget of over $2 billion, according to the source. On July 16, 1945, the first nuclear explosion occurred in a test near Los Alamos, New Mexico, according to the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center. The atomic bomb test was code named “Trinity” and was a success.
In 2023, the Christopher Nolan directed film “Oppenheimer” was released, telling the story of the life of the theoretical physicist who had a large hand in the invention of the atomic bomb.
‘OPPENHEIMER’ PREMIERES IN JAPAN MONTHS AFTER US RELEASE, SPARKING EMOTIONAL REACTIONS
2. How many people died during the Hiroshima bombing?
Thousands of people died during the Hiroshima bombing, both immediately and from radiation symptoms weeks later.
The final causality numbers from the Hiroshima bombing are unknown. Though the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, code-named “Little Boy,” directly killed around 70,000 people, according to History.com. Others died from injuries and radiation sickness, which increased the death toll to over 100,000.
In the years following the bombing, even more people were killed in the aftermath of the bomb, due to cancer and other long-term radiation effects, according to History.com.
‘MINUTES TO HIROSHIMA’: THE STORY BEHIND THE ATOMIC BOMBINGS THAT ENDED WWII
Three days after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a second bomb, code-named “Fat Boy,” was dropped on Nagasaki. It is estimated that between 60,000 and 80,000 were killed in Nagasaki, according to History.com. This includes those that died from direct exposure and from the long-term side effects of radiation.
3. Why did the U.S. bomb Hiroshima?
The United States bombed Hiroshima during World War II. The bombs were dropped so that Japan would quickly surrender, and the war would end.
On Aug. 6, 1945, the first of two atomic bombs was dropped on Japan, in the city of Hiroshima. The 9,700-pound bomb, according to the Nuclear Museum, was dropped by The Enola Gay, a B-29 Superfortress plane. The second of the two bombs was dropped three days later on Nagasaki.
On Aug. 6, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.(Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)
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The atomic bombs did lead to the end of the war and President Truman announced Japan’s surrender on Aug. 14, 1945.
Truman’s decision to drop the bombs is still debated today.
Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.
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BUTLER, Pa. – FIRST ON FOX: Police bodycam footage obtained by Fox News Digital on Thursday through a records request shows two officers attempting to intercept Thomas Matthew Crooks on a roof seconds before he allegedly tried to assassinate former President Trump at a campaign rally last month.
The footage is taken from two officers from the Butler Township Police Department who made a desperate attempt to stop Crooks moments before he fired his DPMS AR-15 rifle, striking Trump in the ear, killing Corey Comperatore and injuring two others.
“F—ing this close, bro. Dude, he turned around on me,” the officer who was hoisted can be heard saying later on in bodycam video released Thursday.
One officer can be seen hoisting another officer onto the roof where Crooks was stationed, which is about 12 feet above the ground.
PAKISTANI MAN WITH TIES TO IRAN CHARGED IN FOILED ASSASSINATION PLOT POTENTIALLY TARGETING TRUMP, DOJ SAYS
One officer signals to hoist another officer onto the roof where would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was stationed.(Butler Township Police Department)
Crooks pointed his weapon at the officer who scaled the building, before the officer ultimately ducks his head and loses his grip on the roof’s edge and falls about 8 feet to the ground, spraining his ankle, Butler Township Manager Thomas Knights previously told Fox News Digital.
The footage captures Crooks toward the end as officers surround his body after countersnipers fatally shot him.
“I’m f—ing p—ed. We couldn’t find him,” another officer can be heard saying in the bodycam footage.
Bodycam footage shows an officer spotting Thomas Matthew Crooks on the roof of the AGR building seconds before he opened fire.(Butler Twp Police Dept.)
Buildings that are adjacent to The Butler Farm Show, site of a campaign rally for former President Trump, are seen on July 15 in Butler, Pennsylvania.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
“Before you motherf—ers came up here, I popped my head up there like an idiot by myself, dude,” the officer who was boosted onto the roof says. “Then he turned around and I f—ing dropped, and I started f—ing, I was calling out, ‘Bro, f—ing on top of the roof.’ F—ing, we’re not on the same frequency?”
“F—ing we’re not on the same frequency?”
— Officer in bodycam footage
Butler Township PD Lt. Matthew Pearson told a local outlet that the officer was unable to draw his weapon since he was hanging from the building.
Seconds later, Crooks opened fire and grazed Trump’s right ear. Three rallygoers were also shot, including Comperatore, 50, who was killed protecting his family from danger.
Additional footage from the Butler Township police department shows officers immediately after Crooks was neutralized:
BODYCAM SHOWS PA POLICE RESPONSE TO ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT:
David Dutch and James Copenhaver were injured after being shot at the rally. They have both since returned home, and Copenhaver’s attorney provided an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital as he continues to recover.
Officers can be seen standing over Crooks’ body on the roof in the footage released Thursday.
Officers surround Thomas Matthew Crooks on the AGR roof after countersnipers killed him.(Butler Twp Police Dept.)
In other bodycam video, officers are clearly confused about why the roof of the American Glass Research (AGR) building, where Crooks shot from, was unmanned.
“I thought you were on the roof?” one officer says.
“Why were we not on the roof…why weren’t we?”
— Officer in police-worn bodycam footage
There also appears to be confusion about whether the shooter was neutralized and why the shooter wasn’t taken out before he opened fire.
PA OFFICERS ASK WHY ROOF CROOKS SHOT FROM WAS UNMANNED
“If you’d all had a gun up there … I’d have shot him. He wouldn’t have ripped out a gun up there,” one officer says in the bodycam.
“I’d say this is a f— up…somebody f—ed up.”
— Officer in police-worn bodycam footage
The footage is the latest crucial piece of publicly available information released that attempts to shed light on exactly what transpired that day and what efforts were put in place to stop Crooks.
The Butler Farm Show, site of a campaign rally for former President Trump, is seen July 15 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump was wounded on July 13 during an assassination attempt while speaking at the rally. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
The security breaches that paved the way for the shooting have been muddied by finger-pointing among the various agencies involved at the local, state and federal levels.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said video of someone moving along a roof minutes before Trump was shot confirms a “failure.”
The video, taken by Copenhaver and exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, shows a figure moving across the roof of the AGR building just minutes before gunfire rang out at Trump’s rally.
VIDEO SHOWS TRUMP SHOOTING VICTIM’S POV
The FBI previously revealed that Crooks had driven to the rally site at 11 a.m. on the day of the shooting and spent an hour there before heading home.
Crooks did not return to the scene until 3:50 p.m. Local law enforcement officers, in their designated positions, spotted him for the first time around 5:10 p.m. — approximately 50 minutes before Trump took the stage, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who obtained them from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit (ESU).
BUTLER POLICE GATHER WITNESSES AFTER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT:
On his return to the rally site, Crooks flew a drone about 200 yards away from where Trump was going to be speaking, according to the FBI. The FBI later said that no photos or videos were taken from the drone and that the agency found no memory card in the drone.
Thomas Matthew Crooks is seen crawling on a roof moments before he attempted to assassinate former President Trump.(DJ Laughery (background))
TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: NEW TEXTS SHOW LOCAL POLICE SCRAMBLE TO ASSIST WITH COVERING RALLY
At 5:30 p.m., local law enforcement snapped a picture of Crooks and escalated it to command.
“Kid learning around building we are in,” an officer wrote in a text message, along with an image of Crooks. “AGR I believe it is. I did see him with a range finder looking towards stage. FYI. If you wanna notify SS snipers to look out.”
A map details the locations of interest pertaining to the investigation of Thomas Crooks’ attempted assassination of former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. (Sen. Chuck Grassley )
“I lost sight of him,” the officer added.
A follow-up message said: “Call it in to command and have a uniform check it out.”
By 6:12 p.m., the “kid” would be killed by a counter-sniper after he opened fired on the rallygoers.
Law enforcement circulated a picture of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the texts showed.(Fox News)
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On the day of the rally, Crooks parked his vehicle and flew a drone between about 3:50 p.m. and 4 p.m. about 200 yards from where the former president would be speaking on July 13. FBI Director Christopher Wray testified during a July 17 congressional hearing that Crooks had been at the rally site for about 70 minutes the morning of the assassination attempt.
Fox News Digital is reviewing the bodycam footage. This post will be updated.
Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
Charles Barkley made his expectations for the U.S. men’s basketball team clear.
The legendary former NBA player wants to see Team USA return from the Paris Olympics with the gold medal in their possession. Barkley was so steadfast in his belief that he suggested the players should find another country to call home if they somehow fall short of his expectations.
“Listen, if they lose, we can’t let them back in the country,” Barkley said during a recent appearance on Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George’s “P Podcast.” “We can’t. I’ll tell them, ‘You can’t come back.’”
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NBA great Charles Barkley is honored for being selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team during halftime in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Feb. 20, 2022.(Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
Barkley is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He was a member of the U.S. men’s national basketball team during the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, better known as the “Dream Team.” Barkley and Team USA also won gold on American soil during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Many have attempted to draw comparisons between the 2024 edition of the U.S. men’s basketball team and the storied roster from 1992. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing and other all-time NBA greats played on the “Dream Team.”
2024 OLYMPIC ODDS: LEBRON JAMES LEADS GROUP OF NBA SUPERSTARS FOR OLYMPIC MVP
This year’s team is led by four-time NBA champion LeBron James and also features 2014 NBA MVP Kevin Durant, Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis and rising NBA star Anthony Edwards, among others.
Charles Barkley poses during the Summer Olympics at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Aug. 3, 1996.(Manny Millan/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
On Tuesday, Team USA took another step in the right direction by defeating Brazil in the quarterfinals. The squad is set to return to the court on Thursday for a game against Serbia.
After winning the bronze medal at the Athens Olympics, the men’s basketball team took care of business at the next four Games, which were held in Beijing, London, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.
Leo Meindl of Team Brazil defends against LeBron James of Team United States during the men’s quarterfinal match of the Summer Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on Tuesday.(Tom Weller/VOIGT/Getty Images)
The Americans will have to overcome a strong field of competitors this summer if they want to bring home the gold. Barkley acknowledged the challenges the team faces, but he still does not believe the U.S. team should finish the Summer Games in any place but first.
Kevin Durant of the United States reacts during the men’s basketball quarterfinal match between Brazil and the United States at the Summer Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on Tuesday. (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)
“Have the international teams gotten better, 100%,” Barkley said. “They’re still not better than the United States. You take away ‘Joker’ [Nikola Jokic] and Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and Luka [Doncic] — all three guys are great, great players. Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] is great also, but we still got the next 10 best players in every game.”
Barkley also praised Team USA’s depth.
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“Ain’t nobody bringing anybody off the bench better than Jayson Tatum,” Barkley said. Tatum earned All-NBA First Team honors this past season and helped the Boston Celtics win the NBA championship in June.
“Ain’t nobody bringing anybody off the bench better than Kevin Durant,” he continued. “The international teams have gotten better, but there’s never an excuse for the United States not to win the gold medal. We got the best team, we’ve got the best players by far.”
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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
A Florida inmate who was captured last week after faking an injury and escaping a hospital was able to flee from custody because the deputy tasked with guarding him was “likely sleeping,” according to authorities.
Flagler County Deputy Tyrique Harper resigned on Tuesday before the start of a former internal investigation into how 29-year-old Anthony Romine escaped from AdventHealth Palm Coast Hospital, prompting the facility to go on lockdown and a massive manhunt for the inmate, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
“Witnesses indicate that Deputy Tyrique Harper was likely sleeping during the time of the escape and the inmate was not properly restrained in accordance to policy,” the sheriff’s office said.
Harper had been relieved of law enforcement duties immediately following the escape on July 27 while a preliminary review of the incident was being conducted.
FLORIDA SHOOTING LEAVES 1 DEPUTY DEAD, 2 DEPUTIES WOUNDED; 2 PEOPLE ALSO KILLED: ‘THEY WERE AMBUSHED’
Anthony Romine, 29, was captured in a wooded area hours after he faked an injury and escaped from law enforcement custody at a hospital in Florida.(Flagler County Sheriffs Office)
Romine was initially arrested on July 3 on a felony warrant for petty theft, violation of his pre-trial release and counterfeiting. He was later taken to a hospital after claiming he fell, an injury that investigators eventually determined he had faked in an effort to escape and return to Ohio, where he is originally from, authorities said.
Anthony Romine, 29, seen after his capture and before his escape on security video. (Flagler County Sheriff’s Office)
The manhunt lasted about seven hours until a Flagler County Sheriff’s K-9 team tracked Romine to a wooded area by a gas station in Flagler County. He was hiding underneath some foliage and underbrush, and video footage shows a K-9 dragging a screaming Romine out from the bushes.
EX-BALLERINA CONVICTED OF MANSLAUGHTER IN HIGH-PROFILE ‘BLACK SWAN MURDER’ CASE
“Fortunately, Romine was apprehended, and no additional crimes were committed by him in his escape attempt,” said Mark Strobridge, chief of staff of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Strobridge said that Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly, pictured above, expects all deputies to follow the office’s policies, which includes not falling asleep on duty.(Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, File)
“Sheriff Staly expects all deputies will follow our policies and not sleep while on-duty,” Strobridge continued. “Our Agency motto is ‘An Honor to Serve, A Duty to Protect,’ and that did not occur in this incident by Deputy Harper.”
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After Romine’s capture, felony escape was added to the list of charges against him, as well as battery on a law enforcement officer without violence.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Video shows Trump shooting victim’s POV moments before gunfire
A new video from James Copenhaver, one of the victims critically wounded in a July 13 assassination attempt against former President Trump, shows a figure moving across a rooftop just minutes before gunfire rang out at Trump’s rally in Butler, PA.
The U.S. Secret Service and FBI on Thursday responded to a video recorded by James Copenhaver, one of the victims wounded in a July 13 assassination attempt against former President Trump, showing a figure moving across the roof of the building gunman Thomas Crooks shot from.
The video that Copenhaver shared exclusively with Fox News Digital was taken at 6:08 p.m. on July 13, minutes before Crooks fired at least eight gunshots at 6:11 before counter snipers killed him.
“The Secret Service is committed to better understanding what happened before, during, and after the assassination attempt of former President Trump to ensure that never happens again,” the agency told Fox News in a statement. “That includes complete cooperation with Congress, the FBI and other relevant investigations.”
The FBI told Fox News it is aware of the video but has no further comment.
TRUMP SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Crooks killed 50-year-old Corey Comperatore — a father and volunteer fire chief — and critically wounded 74-year-old James Copenhaver and 57-year-old David Dutch in his attempt to assassinate the former president. Because Trump turned his head at the last second to look at a projection screen displaying immigration statistics, a bullet sliced Trump’s ear, but he was rushed out of the rally otherwise unscathed.
Law enforcement officials have been working to piece together a timeline of events since that evening to determine how and why Crooks was able to carry out the assassination attempt.
VIDEO FROM TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT VICTIM’S POV SHOWS FIGURE MOVING ON ROOF MOMENTS BEFORE GUNFIRE
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is covered by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office released text messages obtained through a public records request showing that law enforcement was aware of a suspicious person near the rally site approximately 90 minutes before gunfire began and took photos of Crooks around 4:36 p.m.
FBI officials told reporters during a press call on Monday that Crooks gained access to the roof of the AGR building by climbing HVAC equipment and piping. He then traversed multiple rooftops before he found his position on top of the AGR building, where he had a direct line of sight to the former president.
TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT VICTIM JAMES COPENHAVER ‘SAD’ WITH STATE OF ‘POLITICAL DIVISION’ IN US
Pictures of Thomas Mathew Crooks taken by a sniper.(Sen. Ron Johnson’s Office)
Leading up to the shooting, on July 6, Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, researched how far Lee Harvey Oswald was from the late President John F. Kennedy when Oswald assassinated the former president in 1963.
On July 7, he traveled to the rally site and spent approximately 20 minutes in the area, according to Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge at the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office.
A sniper spots Crooks looking at his phone and a range finder. At 5:38 p.m., the sniper then sends a message to the “Sniper Group” regarding the suspicious person, later identified as Crooks, according to Johnson’s office.(Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office)
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On the day of the rally, Crooks parked his vehicle and flew a drone between about 3:50 p.m. and 4 p.m. about 200 yards from where the former president would be speaking on July 13. FBI Director Christopher Wray testified during a July 17 congressional hearing that Crooks had been at the rally site for about 70 minutes the morning of the assassination attempt.
Fox News’ CB Cotton and Seth Andrews contributed to this report.
Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to audrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants.
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FBI Director Christopher Wray offered new details about the explosive devices found in Thomas Matthew Crooks’ car and home during testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
Wray is facing questions from lawmakers about the FBI’s investigation into Crooks’ attempted assassination of former President Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Here are the key details Wray offered regarding the explosives.
The FBI found 3 ‘relatively crude’ devices:
Wray says investigators have so far found three explosive devices they believe belonged to Crooks. Two were found inside Crooks’ vehicle near the Butler rally, and one more was found inside his home.
ROOFTOP BODYCAM VIDEO SHOWS CONFUSION AMONG OFFICIALS, RIFLE SHOOTER USED IN DEADLY ATTEMPT ON TRUMP
Thomas Matthew Crooks had three explosive devices in his vehicle and home when he attacked former President Trump.(Bethel Park School District/Getty Images)
Wray described the bombs as “relatively crude,” but he added they still posed a major threat.
The bombs were rigged for remote detonation:
Despite the crude nature of the explosives, Wray said they were rigged for remote detonation.
Wray did not offer details about the range of the remote detonators, but he said it does not appear that Crooks attempted to set them off before being killed by Secret Service counter snipers.
SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR CHEATLE RESIGNS AFTER MOUNTING PRESSURE IN WAKE OF TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
FBI Director Christopher Wray offered new details about the explosive devices found in Thomas Matthew Crooks’ car and home during testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Crooks had the detonator on the rooftop:
Crooks had the remote detonator for the explosives with him on the rooftop when he opened fire at Trump.
Wray did not detail the size of the detonator but said Crooks was able to carry it with him onto the rooftop along with his rifle. The FBI director said that the state of the on-off switch on the detonator indicated it would not have worked had Crooks attempted to activate the bombs after opening fire on Trump.
Crooks used encrypted messaging apps:
Wray confirmed that the FBI has gained access to Crooks’ phone, but he said their efforts have been hampered thanks to Crooks’ routine use of encrypted messaging apps.
Wray said the investigation has not ruled out the possibility that Crooks was working with one or more accomplices.
FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed that the FBI has gained access to Thomas Crooks’ phone, but he said their efforts have been hampered thanks to Crooks’ routine use of encrypted messaging apps.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
The FBI recovered Crooks’ drone:
Wray said FBI investigators have found and recovered the drone Crooks used to scout out the area where Trump’s rally was taking place.
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He said both the drone and the controller were in Crooks’ vehicle at the time of the shooting.
Investigators believe Crooks flew the drone around near the venue between 3:50 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on the day of the rally. The drone was roughly 200 yards away from the stage during the flight.
