00:00Embattled Maine Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Plattner is now just embattled Graham Plattner.
00:05The scandal-plagued progressive bowed out of the race Wednesday night two days after the latest and most serious allegations
00:12against him surfaced,
00:13that he allegedly raped an ex-girlfriend back in 2021.
00:17We are suspending campaign operations.
00:23This is incredibly difficult because I know that some will think it's an admission of guilt,
00:29and it most certainly is not.
00:31We're not doing it because of the allegations.
00:32We're doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power.
00:37He went on to blame large forces, corporate media, and the political establishment for trying to force him out of
00:42the race.
00:43After the rape allegations came out this week, just about everyone on the left who backed his candidacy pulled their
00:48support.
00:49But he still spent the last two days with his staff looking for a way forward or at the very
00:54least a way to stay relevant.
00:55Plattner reportedly wanted to pick his own successor, and well, that ain't happening.
01:00Now that he's left the race, the Maine Democratic Party will do the picking, and they have until July 27th
01:05to do it.
01:06Whoever they choose will face five-term Senator Susan Collins.
01:09Before this whole Plattner fiasco, Collins was seen as vulnerable, but now it's anybody's guess.
01:17Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel appears to be making an early play for the 2028 Democratic presidential primary,
01:23and he's doing it by shifting on Israel and pandering to the far left.
01:28Speaking in Tel Aviv, Emanuel called for an end to what he described as America's blind support of Israeli Prime
01:34Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
01:36Your government has been complicit in the horrors now being inflicted on innocent families in the West Bank.
01:42That undermines your international legitimacy as a small nation at a time when you can least afford it.
01:50He argued the U.S. has done Israel no favors by standing silently behind Netanyahu's policies,
01:56which he said he believes has left the Jewish state increasingly isolated.
02:00Emanuel also called for an end to the longstanding practice of providing billions of dollars in U.S. military aid
02:06to Israel,
02:06saying that the country is wealthy enough to purchase American weapons just like other allies.
02:10He even suggested sanctions against illegal West Bank settlements
02:14and renewed his support for a Palestinian state as part of a broader regional peace agreement.
02:19Critics say the former Obama chief of staff is trying to appeal to the Democratic Party's insurgent progressive wing,
02:25which has grown increasingly critical of Israel at the risk of alienating pro-Israel voters.
02:31The family of 18-year-old Mississippi football player Nolan Xavier Wells is demanding answers
02:37after the teen was found dead following a disappearance during a Fourth of July boating trip.
02:41The Wells family has hired prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump,
02:45who says they won't rest until they know exactly what happened to the teen.
02:49Wells' body was recovered Monday off a popular barrier island located about 10 miles off the coast of Mississippi.
02:56Authorities say he was last seen Saturday afternoon during a holiday outing with friends,
03:00and investigators believe those friends left the island without him.
03:04Police are now looking into a viral video that appears to show
03:07an intense argument on the island the day that Wells disappeared.
03:11While the sheriff says foul play is not currently suspected,
03:14perhaps bringing in Ben Crump suggests the family is less convinced.
03:18Officials are asking anyone who saw or heard a disturbance to come forward.
03:22A cause of death has not yet been determined,
03:24though investigators say drowning is suspected pending the results of an autopsy.
03:28In a statement, Ben Crump said,
03:30Nolan Wells was a beloved son, teammate, and friend who went out to celebrate the Fourth of July and never
03:35came home.
03:36His family deserves answers. They deserve the truth.
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03:52The New York Posts
03:59The New York Post
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