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BIDEN OUT: President exits race, endorses VP Harris as his successor

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From The Center Square

President Joe Biden ended his bid for reelection Sunday, opening the door for Vice President Kamala Harris or another top Democrat to replace him atop the ticket.

In a statement posted to X, Biden said he is stepping aside “in the “best interest of my party and the country.”

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden said. “And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.”

The historic withdrawal comes just weeks before the Democratic National Convention is set to take place Aug. 19 in Chicago, where Biden’s pledged delegates will face tough decisions on who to replace him with.

Concerns over Biden’s age, declining cognitive abilities and physical health led more and more elected Democrats in Congress to call for his exit, seemingly on a daily basis.

Biden’s support among Democrats began to freefall after his performance in the June 27 debate with former President Donald Trump, when Biden stumbled over his own words and often lost his train of thought.

At a NATO news conference a couple of weeks later, Biden referred to Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump” when asked if he thought Harris was ready to be president if he were to step aside, one of many gaffes during the summit.

During the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last week, where Trump officially accepted the GOP nomination for president just days after a failed assassination attempt on his life at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Biden was hunkered down at his Delaware home, recovering from his third bout with COVID-19.

Biden has not fared well in 12 major polls tracking the 2024 general election in recent weeks, leading down-ballot Democratic candidates for Congress to raise concerns that his declining support could help Republicans to retake the White House and the U.S. Senate and solidify their majority in the U.S. House.

Trump led by an overall average of 3 points in the 12 polls. Biden only led in one poll, where he had a 2-point edge in the NPR/PBS/Marist poll. Trump and Biden were tied in the ABC News/Washington Post poll. Trump led in the 10 other polls as of Thursday.

In The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll of nearly 2,300 likely voters, conducted after the June 27 debate but before the attempted assassination on Trump, Biden’s deficit grew to three full percentage points nationally. The poll has a margin of error of 2.1%.

Until Sunday, Biden defiantly opposed calls to step aside.

While his June debate performance seemed to seal Biden’s fate, his deteriorating cognitive abilities made news months earlier.

In February, the Report of the Special Counsel investigating Biden’s taking classified documents to his home revealed the president had issues with his memory.

“We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” the report stated.

The report also stated, “Mr. Biden’s memory also appeared to have significant limitations – both at the time he spoke to [Biden ghost writer Mark] Zwonitzer in 2017, as evidenced by their recorded conversations, and today, as evidenced by his recorded interview with our office. Mr. Biden’s recorded conversations with Zwonitzer from 2017 are often painfully slow, with Mr. Biden struggling to remember events and straining at times to read and relay his own notebook entries. In his interview with our office, Mr. Biden’s memory was worse. He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended (‘if it was 2013 – when did I stop being Vice President?’), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began (‘in 2009, am I still Vice President?’). He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died.”

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One of the world’s oldest Christian Communities is dying in Syria. Will the West stay silent?

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This article supplied by Troy Media.

Troy Media By Susan Korah

The murder of Christians during Mass demands more than statements. Canada and its allies must act or share the blame

The June 22 suicide bombing at St. Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Damascus, which killed more than 25 people and injured over 60 during Mass, has devastated Syria’s Christian community and raised urgent concerns about their safety in a fragile, post-Assad Syria.

Activists close to the victims say the attack exposes the failure of the transitional Syrian government to protect religious minorities and underscores the need for immediate international pressure to hold the regime accountable. Without it, they warn, Syria’s ancient Christian presence could vanish.

Syria is home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, dating back to the first century. Though once numbering in the millions, its Christian community’s population has plummeted due to years of war, persecution and mass emigration. The attacker, linked to a shadowy extremist group called Saraya Ansari al-Sunna, opened fire on the 350-person congregation before detonating an explosive vest. The massacre has shattered the cautious optimism held by some Christians who believed Syria had turned a corner after 14 years of civil war.

“Immediately after the vicious attack, no official from the al-Sharaa government came forward to offer support except the only Christian in the cabinet, Hind Kabawat, Minister of Social Affairs,” said a Syrian Christian activist in the Toronto area who requested anonymity as he feared for his safety, even though he had emigrated to Canada years ago and serves on the refugee committee of a Melkite (Eastern rite Catholic) church.

“Our Patriarch John X issued a statement, respectfully appealing to the interim government to protect the lives and religious freedom of all Syria’s
faith groups,” he said.

Mario Bard, head of information with the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need Canada, said it’s imperative for the international community to take action.

“What a horrific attack,” he said. “Once again, a Christian minority community in the Middle East finds itself targeted. The local Church is already speaking of the death of its martyrs. It is a testament to the incredible faith, resilience and unshakable conviction of these communities. But that does not mean we can remain idle—far from it. ACN urges the international community not to look away and to act to ensure the protection of all religious communities in the Middle East.”

While urging governments to act, Bard reiterated that ACN will stand by its partners in Syria.

“We will continue to support the Christian community in Syria, as we have since the beginning of the war, including the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, with whom we have stood in the past and will continue to stand with now,” he said.

Nuri Kino of A Demand for Action, the Sweden-based humanitarian and advocacy organization he founded over 10 years ago to rally international support for Christians in Syria and Iraq targeted by ISIS for genocide, says the attack is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern in post-Assad Syria.

“It should be a wake-up call for the international community,” he said. “We are producing video clips and a report documenting atrocities against Christians after Assad’s fall, which will be distributed to governments that defend human rights. Our aim is to pressure the international community to ensure that financial aid given to Syria is conditional on the regime protecting the security and equal rights of Christians and all other citizens.”

As a major donor to Syria’s humanitarian recovery, Canada has leverage to tie funding to human rights protections. But so far, the Canadian government’s response has been muted, save for the usual diplomatic clichés

“Canada strongly condemns the terrorist attack at St. Elias Church in Damascus, which killed and injured civilians attending Mass on June 22, 2025. The targeting of civilians in a place of worship is deplorable,” said an email from the media relations team in response to a question posed to Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand. “Canada stands in solidarity with Syria’s Christian community and encourages the Syrian transitional authorities to work with partners to strengthen protections for all religious and ethnic minorities. Civilians must be protected, the dignity and human rights of all religious and ethnic groups must be upheld and perpetrators must be held accountable.”

Global Affairs has acknowledged that Syria’s security apparatus is under resourced and is not in full control of the country, as have others.

“The government’s military and security forces have not yet become organized under a central command and there is a power vacuum in that space,” said Ouhanes Shehrian, a Christian journalist based in Aleppo, Syria. “Different militias are in control of different parts of Syria, and this is a problem for the government.”

Although President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) coalition led the effort to topple Assad, it now governs amid deep internal fractures. Al-Sharaa has tried to distance his party from its Islamist roots and has made some gestures toward minority groups, but observers warn that extremist factions still exert influence across various regions.

Canada, the U.S. and the EU lifted sanctions on Syria after the fall of the Assad government, a move Syriac Catholic Archbishop Jacques Mourad of Homs praised as a hopeful step for the Syrian people. Canada pledged $84 million in new funding for humanitarian assistance and temporarily eased existing sanctions to support democratization, stabilization and aid delivery during this transitional period.

Unless the international community demands real reforms and enforces conditions tied to aid, Christian leaders fear a future where minority
communities are simply left to endure or vanish.

As one local priest said after the bombing, “We prayed for peace, and we thought it had come. But now we bury our dead and wonder if we were wrong to hope.” Without swift action, what remains of Syria’s Christian presence may not survive the peace.

Susan Korah is Ottawa correspondent for The Catholic Register, a Troy Media Editorial Content Provider Partner

Troy Media empowers Canadian community news outlets by providing independent, insightful analysis and commentary. Our mission is to support local media in helping Canadians stay informed and engaged by delivering reliable content that strengthens community connections and deepens understanding across the country.

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Food

Trump says Coca-Cola will switch to real cane sugar in U.S.

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MXM logo MxM News

Quick Hit:

President Trump announced Wednesday that Coca-Cola will start using real cane sugar in its U.S. beverages, calling the decision “a very good move.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said he had spoken directly with the company and thanked its leadership for the change.

Key Details:

  • Trump wrote, “I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so.”
  • He praised the company’s leadership, saying, “This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!”
  • U.S. Coca-Cola currently uses high fructose corn syrup, unlike versions in Mexico and the UK that use cane sugar.

Diving Deeper:

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Coca-Cola is set to bring real cane sugar back into its U.S. soft drinks — a switch many longtime Coke fans have long desired. Posting on Truth Social, Trump wrote: “I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so.”

The president continued, “I’d like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them — You’ll see. It’s just better!”

Coca-Cola has used high fructose corn syrup in the United States since the 1980s, largely due to domestic corn subsidies and the higher cost of imported sugar. However, the cane sugar version — still available in Mexico and much of Europe — remains popular among American consumers, with many saying it offers a cleaner, smoother flavor.

Trump’s comments immediately drew attention both for the policy implication and the personal touch. Though the president is known for his affinity for Diet Coke, which contains no sugar at all, his interest in restoring cane sugar to the classic formula taps into a broader nostalgia many Americans have for pre-1980s Coke.

No formal announcement has yet been made by Coca-Cola itself, and it remains unclear if the reported agreement pertains to all Coke products or specific regional lines. But Trump’s declaration is already generating buzz among fans of the brand and supporters.

(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
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