Free Republic

Former President Barack Obama is anxious about President Joe Biden’s chances of reelection, so he has “increasingly involved” himself in the Biden campaign, sources told New York Magazine. Obama’s involvement reportedly began after Biden campaign officials realized in late 2023 that they would face former President Donald Trump in a historic rematch. Trump has about a two-in-three chance of completing the greatest political comeback in modern American politics, an Economist model forecast in June. In addition, 73 percent of voters think Biden is too old to be an effective president, a New York Times/Siena College survey in March showed, including...

NBC) New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman on Sunday said former President Trump is “very anxious” about possibly being indicted as part of a New York probe into an alleged hush-money payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels. Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday to say he thinks he’ll be arrested on Tuesday as the Manhattan district attorney’s office pursues the payment that came amid his 2016 presidential run. “Protest, take our nation back!” Trump wrote.

Former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), now an MSNBC contributor, said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Deadline” that Senate Democrats are “anxious” to make the Republicans feel the pain they did during the 27-day process that confirmed Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Discussing a replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, Nicolle Wallace said, “What is your sense of how prepared the Senate is to run this through right now?”

Americans are stressed out. People are plagued by financial anxiety, according to the results of an annual poll of 1,004 adults conducted by the American Psychiatric Association released Monday. This year’s national anxiety score — derived by mean scores on a scale of zero to 100 — is 51, a five-point jump since 2017. Two-thirds of respondents said they were extremely or somewhat anxious about paying their bills or expenses. Last year, 56 percent of people reported financial worries. But some people are more worried than others about finances. Women are more anxious than men and also had a greater...

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell didn’t break much news when he acknowledged that Republicans are facing the possibility of a major wave election threatening their congressional majorities. But his public statement was an unmistakable sign that he considers the GOP’s Senate majority, once seen as untouchable because of the historically favorable map, under serious threat as President Trump’s political troubles worsen. Leading GOP Senate strategists now worry that Democrats won’t necessarily need a perfect storm to net the two seats necessary to win back a majority—just enough lackluster GOP campaigns and a little bad luck along the way. And while...

The top public health official in Los Angeles County stood at a swine flu vaccination site in Compton, Calif., on Tuesday and gently told elderly residents that they really ought to go home. “I explained to people 65 or older, ‘The reason we are doing this is for children,’ ” said the official, Jonathan E. Fielding, the director of the county’s Department of Public Health. “I told them: ‘They are at very high risk for this flu, and you’re at low risk. I am sure you wouldn’t want to get a shot that left a kid who is at risk...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2006 – Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is anxious to take more responsibility for his country’s security, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq said today. Currently just two Iraqi army divisions are completely under Iraqi control, and they still require coalition support for some operations, Zalmay Khalilzad said. Though Iraq controls its police forces, the coalition remains in control of all other Iraqi forces. “He wants to have appropriate capability and command and control of forces,” Khalilzad told Wolf Blitzer, host of CNN’s “Late Edition.” “We welcome his desire to have more forces, to have more capable and...

Stressed out and anxious in Beirut By Hugh Sykes BBC News, Beirut For many in Beirut the bombing feels like collective punishment People keep asking me, "Do you know when it will stop?" I shrug my shoulders, and say: "Your guess is as good as mine." Then they ask: "But Beirut - will they bomb Beirut again?" "What would be the point?" I reply. Then they bombed Beirut again. Dozens of displaced children living in a school in a quiet neighbourhood near the city centre heard terrifying loud bangs in the middle of the night. Four massive thumps one night,...

Hezbollah getting anxious? Analyst says terrorist group's TV network losing confident tone -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: July 27, 2006 9:57 a.m. Eastern By Aaron Sichel © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com WASHINGTON – The tone of broadcasts from Hezbollah's Al-Manar television network has turned increasingly unsettled over the last few days, with members of the Lebanese terror group appearing to prepare the audience for military setbacks, according to a report released yesterday by an Arabic communications expert. "The mood of the broadcasts has been growing marginally darker for three to four days … and there was a more dramatic change starting Tuesday night," said Michael...

LOS ANGELES Many expatriate Mexicans who supported presidential winner Felipe Calderon weren't celebrating Thursday. Instead, they worried that the refusal of leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's to accept the official results could spark violent protests back home. "Calderon might have won, but the people have lost," said Roxana Escarcega, 35, a massage therapist in Los Angeles who cast an absentee ballot for Calderon. "Many won't trust the results, and that could create problems." Absentee voting was low among expatriates, who were allowed to cast ballots for the first time in a presidential election. More than 58 percent supported Calderon,...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2005 – After 15 months in Iraq and a deployment to Afghanistan that landed him in the hospital recovering from gunshot wounds, Army Sgt. Erik Aass is anxious to join his fellow soldiers in supporting what he considers an important cause. "It's tough to be on the sidelines," said Aass, an infantryman with the 173rd Airborne Brigade who's undergoing physical therapy in Vicenza, Italy. "You feel like you're letting your fellow soldiers down, not participating." Aass, a native of Norway who gained his U.S. citizenship in 2004, said he's known almost since he first came to live...

FOLSOM, Calif. (AP) - Using a lunchtime crowd at suburban Italian restaurant as a backdrop, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger criticized Democratic leaders Thursday for the snail's pace of budget negotiations. But a few hours later, Democratic legislative leaders said they believe they're close to a deal with Schwarzenegger that would pass an on-time budget before the June 30 end of the fiscal year. While saying there a lot of details that need to be addressed, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez said he thought an agreement was imminent. "We'd like to get this done by tomorrow night," said Nunez, D-Los Angeles. "I'm hopeful...