Kamala Harris is officially crowned as the Democratic nominee to take on Donald Trump

President Joe Biden had welcomed home Americans freed from Russian prisons Thursday, and spoken and to the media about the dramatic swap - but he still had one more thing to attend to.

The president, 81, slowly climbed the steps of the jet that had ferried the group of prisoners from captivity, leaving Vice President Kamala Harris waiting behind on the tarmac at the night-time event.

The moment came after both Biden and Harris gave an emotional welcome to Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whalen, and Alsu Kurmasheva after their dramatic return from captivity. Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, hugged each of them upon his return.

The interlude for Biden lasted two minutes long after Biden left his VP behind. The president was out of view for about a minute and forty seconds while on board the plane.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer believes Donald Trump is too 'afraid' of 'strong black woman' Vice President Kamala Harris to debate her.

The veteran New York Democrat claimed the former president was scared to debate the Democratic nominee during a Thursday interview with NBC News.

'He's afraid to even debate Kamala Harris. He already said he wouldn't debate, you know?' Schumer said.

'She's a strong black woman, Donald Trump may not wanna say that, but it's true and everyone knows it's true,' the top Democrat continued. 'He's afraid to debate her.'

But Schumer is not the only Democrat to goad the former president into debating Harris, other high-ranking party members are tempting Trump too.

The Pentagon on Friday announced changes to the military’s ‘force posture’ in the Middle East amid fears of an escalating regional war.

To mitigate a possible ‘regional escalation,’ the Pentagon announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group would replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which is currently deployed to the region, according to a statement by Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh.

Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin ordered additional ballistic missile cruisers and destroyers to bolster U.S. European Command and U.S. Central Command, with other steps intended to boost readiness.

It comes amid high tensions following the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh during his visit to Tehran and an Israeli strike that took out Hezbollah commander Fu-ad Shukr in Lebanon.

Austin also ordered the deployment of an additional fighter squadron to eh Middle East.

A tweet from a Democrat has sparked chaos after it appeared to suggest that Vice President Kamala Harris picked Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker prompted confusion with a post on Friday saying: 'Proud to be back with so many leaders from across our region supporting @KamalaHarris for President and @JoshShapiroP for VP!'.

She included a video with footage of recent press conferences that ended with the message: 'Josh Shapiro for Vice President'.

Journalist Ernest Owens then claimed he had heard from sources that the post was due to be scheduled for Monday, but was accidentally published early.

Sources however told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the post was simply an endorsement and a show of support for Shapiro.

'This is not an announcement of anything. This is just the mayor showing her support for a longtime friend who we know is one of the people being considered.'

The Biden administration has paused a controversial plan that was flying hundreds of thousands of immigrants to the U.S. per year after massive fraud was discovered.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed Friday that it temporarily paused its program, which allows up to 30,000 nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela (CHNV) to enter the country each month.

The sudden freeze of the contentious program comes after an internal DHS report revealed rampant fraud among the sponsors paying for the migrants to come to the country, a source familiar with the report told Fox News.

The freeze will give the agency time to investigate if fraud has occurred in their supporter applications - forms filled by individuals who 'agree to provide financial support to a beneficiary and undergo background checks.'

Just 3,200 individual sponsors signed up to support roughly 101,000 migrants according to the report, prompting concerns at DHS that the system is being abused. The report indicating fraud also shockingly found that some of the names used to fill out sponsor forms belonged to dead people.

Hunter Biden will be sentenced on his federal gun charges on November 13, days after the general election on November 5.

Joe Biden's scandal-hit son was found guilty in June for lying about being a drug user and addicted to crack cocaine when he purchased a firearm.

The 54-year-old faces a maximum of up to 25 years in prison, but as a first-time offender will likely get a lighter term.

His father has insisted he will not pardon him before he leaves office, even though he is not running for re-election and it is less of a political liability.

The Justice Department sued TikTok and its parent company ByteDance for allegedly violating a children's privacy law.

The app with over 170 million users is being accused of making it 'too easy' for kids to create accounts.

It also began tracking information on American children, according to the legal complaint.

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said on Friday that no member of his agency has been fired for the failures that led to the Donald Trump assassination attempt.

He said the investigation is ongoing and insisted he is committed to 'accountability'.

I am committed in pursuing accountability for the Secret Services failure in Butler, Pennsylvania.

If policy violations by Secret Service personnel are identified by the agency's mission assurance review those individuals will be held accountable

Acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe admitted that this agency was responsible for the failure that led to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

Rowe told a press conference on Friday:

This was a failure. We should have had better protection for the protectee

The Secret Service takes full responsibility for the tragic events of July 13th

In no way should any state or local agency supporting us in Butler on July 13th be held responsible for a Secret Service failure

Kamala Harris has officially been crowned as the Democratic presidential nominee to take on Donald Trump in the November general election.

The Democratic National Committee held a roll call vote on Friday that confirmed she had enough delegates to secure the nod ahead of the party's convention in Chicago.

Jaime Harrison, chair of the Democratic National Committee, announced during a call with Harris' campaign:

I am so proud to confirm that Vice President Harris has earned more than a majority of votes from all convention delegates and will be the nominee of the Democratic Party following the close of voting on Monday.

Harris wrote on X not long after that she is 'honored' to be the Democratic nominee.

She plans to 'officially accept the nomination next week.'

Former top advisor for former President Barack Obama David Plouffe will join Vice President Kamala Harris' team, accoridng to Politico's Ryan Lizza, citing a 'person familar' with the move.

Plouffe's addtion to the team will reassure donors that Harris has what it takes to win and has Obama's blessing.

Plouffe was most recently in the news for launching a political podcast with former campaign manager for President Donald Trump, which angered some Democrats.

Former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau celebrated the news on social media.

'Outstanding news for everyone who wants to beat Donald Trump,' he wrote on X.

House Republicans are opening an investigation into President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' role in the controversial plea deal offered to three of the 9/11 masterminds.

The White House said it had no role in the pre-trial agreements and just learned of the deal as it was made public.

'That White House officials and you, as President and Commander in Chief, would seek to distance your Administration from this decision is understandable given how absurd it is, but it is far from believable or appropriate,' Oversight Chairman James Comer wrote in a letter to Biden.

Conservative hardliner Bob Good lost a recount of his contentious primary against Trump-backed John McGuire.

Good, whose burn-it-all-down tactics in the House had made enemies out of colleagues, had funded the recount, but ultimately it did not make up for the nearly 400-vote gap of 62,000 votes cast and the Associated Press called the race for McGuire on Thursday night.

With 99 percent of votes tallied, McGuire was ahead by 393 votes.

The initial race on June 18 had been so close that it took weeks for the results to come out.

He served two terms as vice president, and he selected Kamala Harris to run alongside him.

Now, President Joe Biden has been speaking with the vice president about her own selection, which could come any day.

Asked as he left the White House whether he had spoken to Harris about her running mate, Biden responded with a simple ‘yes.’ But he wouldn’t go further on the key qualities, saying he would leave it to her.

It comes as Harris prepares to travel the country with her selection starting Tuesday – with speculation growing about members of her short list including Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota.

California Rep. Eric Swalwell ripped Donald Trump for criticizing the prisoner swap that brought home Americans including Even Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, after Trump complained that ‘we never make good deals.’

‘Why can’t Donald Trump just be happy for these people’s release? It’s a weird emotion that you would make this about yourself. It’s not about you Donald. It’s not about you,’ said Swalwell, a favorite target of Trump’s in Congress.

‘He’s kind of like that Debbie downer character on SNL – like Donald Downer … It’s just 24 carrot creepiness that he would take. A moment like this – a mom hugging her son, and he would make it about you,’ he told CNN Friday.

It’s the latest in Democrats attempting to brand Trump as ‘weird,’ a tag Trump is vigorously disputing.

Shares across the world tumbled Friday - as investors panicked over signs of weakness in the US economy.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 suffered its second largest points drop in history and was down a staggering 5.8 percent overnight.

Then Friday morning, unemployment among Americans rose to the highest level since October 2021 - 4.3 percent - suggesting the US economy is spluttering.

Shares across the world tumbled Friday - as investors panicked over signs of weakness in the US economy.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 suffered its second largest points drop in history and was down a staggering 5.8 percent overnight.

Then Friday morning, unemployment among Americans rose to the highest level since October 2021 - 4.3 percent - suggesting the US economy is spluttering.

Vice President Kamala Harris raised $310 million in July, the most ever recorded in a presidential race over one month.

That's more than double the Trump campaign's $139 million haul and shows massive momentum for her fledgling bid for the White House since Joe Biden dropped out of the race less than two weeks ago.

Harris also has more cash on hand than Trump by over $50 million.

Turmp's VP pick Sen. J.D. Vance just turned the big 4-0 on August 2.

He is now 19 years younger than current Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, and 38 years younger than his running mate Donald Trump, 78.

Pressure is growing on Kamala Harris to reconsider Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as a running mate contender over his alleged involvement in a sexual harassment cover-up.

Shapiro has emerged as one of the favorites to take Harris’ VP slot when she announces the pick next week.

But a case that consumed his office in 2023 has sparked backlash from a group focused on preventing sexual harassment and protecting survivors.

Shapiro’s office agreed to pay $259,000 in public funds to settle a complaint made against one of his closest advisors Mike Vereb.

His liaison to the state legislature was accused of making inappropriate and sexually suggestive comments to a former female subordinate. He stepped down three weeks after the settlement.

‘The American people deserve to know that, if called to a higher office, Governor Shapiro will do more to ensure the safety and dignity of employees, volunteers and constituents in his office," the nonpartisan he National Women's Defense League (NWDL) said Wednesday in a statement.

‘As the Harris Campaign and the Democratic party consider their options for Vice Presidential Candidates, we urge them to consider the handling of past complaints of sexual harassment inside the Pennsylvania Governor's office’.

Vice President Kamala Harris was not involved in the diplomacy that got journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan freed from Russian prisons - but she was on hand to serve up some trademark word salad as they touched US soil for the first time.

Harris, the presumptive 2024 Democratic nominee to replace President Joe Biden, had just embraced the prisoner-swap duo as they got off a jet at Joint Base Andrews just before midnight, when she walked over to the gaggle of reporters and let loose.

'This is just an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy and understands the strength that rests in understanding the significance of diplomacy,' Harris said in her latest word salad.

Stuttering and seemingly stumbling over her words at times, the democrat added: '[A]nd strengthening alliances.

'This is just an incredible day', she finally concluded, as the president looked on.

Vice President Kamala Harris's search for a running mate is barreling ahead, as it was revealed her team has met with a pair of leading candidates from her short list with an announcement just days away.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly have both met with members of Harris' search team, it was reported Thursday, after both men have been on Harris' short list for days.

Each offers potential assets to the candidate, who is fighting off GOP attacks on left wing positions dating to her time as California AG and her ill-fated run for president in 2020.

The Harris campaign has announced a week full of campaign appearances starting Tuesday in Philadelphia, which would put her on Shapiro's home turf, in a state that is crucial to the Democratic 'blue wall.'

Notably, Shapiro has demonstrated an ability to win statewide and outperform Joe Biden in western Pennsylvania. He ran up big margins in suburban and exurban areas around Philadelphia in his 2022 win, beating Republican Doug Mastriano by 15 points statewide.

There was another potential clue Thursday when Shapiro abruptly cancelled a planned trip to rake in campaing cash in the Hamptons this weekend.

Vice President Kamala Harris has been branded a faker over a photo of her chatting to Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny's widow on the phone.

The presumptive Democratic nominee shared the image on social media, explaining that she spoke with Yulia Navalnaya on Thursday amid a historic prisoner swap between the United States and Russia.

Harris made the call, she said, because some of the detainees freed in the deal 'worked with Navalny to combat corruption and build a free, democratic Russia.'

'I thanked Yulia for her courage in continuing her husband's works and reaffirmed my commitment to stand with those fighting for freedom in Russia and around the world,' she added.

But some eagle-eyed users of social media criticized the 59-year-old vice president as a 'phony' for holding the phone to her ear as she spoke to the grieving widow.

A Republican senator has received 'disturbing information' on Donald Trump's near assassination from a whistleblower alleging a major protocol was broken before the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally.

The latest allegation, from an anonymous whistleblower, contends that the Secret Service's Counter Surveillance Division (CSD) - the unit tasked with evaluating event sites in advance - was not present at the deadly rally and never performed a 'typical evaluation' before the event.

The anonymous whistleblower's complaint is one of several filed to Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley in recent weeks.

In addition, the source alleges that Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe, the freshly minted agency chief after former boss Kimberly Cheatle resigned, is at fault for the huge oversight.

Rowe 'personally directed significant cuts to CSD,' the whistleblower says.

President Joe Biden has sparked fresh health concerns as he was caught on camera staring blankly ahead while his vice president took the lead during a historic prisoner swap between the United States and Russia.

The 81-year-old commander in chief appeared to be looking off into the distance as Vice President Kamala Harris gave a statement to a reporter Thursday night.

Biden only moved once in the post-midnight appearance, apparently to scratch his head, with his vacant appearance quickly noted by viewers.  He did speak earlier on and did not appear to make any verbal flubs - but nonetheless, his subsequent expression disturbed many.

Kamala Harris was just 20 feet away from a 'viable' pipe bomb left outside the Democratic National Committee's headquarters during the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, a new bombshell report claims.

The explosive device was planted in a bush just outside the building where the then-vice-president-elect spent hours on the day Congress was stormed.

Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog report obtained by ABC News said the Secret Service had not swept the outside area.

The report also states that Secret Service canine teams were 'surprised' there were so little assets assigned to sweep the building.

'[Harris], traveling in an armored vehicle with her motorcade, entered the DNC building via a ramp within 20 feet of the pipe bomb,' the report stated.

Harris would have had a smaller protected detail at the time, as she was an elected official but had not been sworn into office.

But the new report raises more questions for the agency put under furious scrutiny in the wake of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

The FBI are still trying to identify the suspect who planted bombs outside the DNC and the nearby Republican National Committee headquarters.

The hooded culprit was seen on surveillance video on the night of January 5, but federal authorities have been unable to track him down.

The explosive was found 40 minutes after Harris arrived in the building. The report states it took the Secret Service 10 minutes to evacuate her, and she spend one hour and 50 minutes inside before the all-clear was given.