Watch Live: Biden addresses National Bar Association in Chicago
His visit comes after publicly disclosing he has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Biden stepped back into the spotlight following the end of his term earlier this year and gave his first post-presidency interview to the BBC in May. He also sat down with 'The View' that month.
The National Bar Association is the oldest and largest network of African American lawyers, judges, law professors and law students in the United States
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Axios
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Early data shows major homicide drops in 2025 so far
Homicides declined in major U.S. cities — by more than 50% in some communities — during the first six months of the year, according to new data from an organization of law enforcement executives. Why it matters: The stats are the latest signs that violent crime in America is falling from the COVID crime wave, and that drop appears to be accelerating during President Trump's first months in office. The big picture: Violent crime ticked up early in President Biden's term, but reports show it's dropped significantly since then as law enforcement agencies responded to the pandemic surge and adopted more detailed recordkeeping. The recent downward trend in crime also counters Trump's false claims that immigration had sparked rising crime nationwide — a reason he gave for his mass deportation plan. By the numbers: Reports from 68 law enforcement agencies showed a 19% drop in homicides in the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to stats compiled by the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA). An Axios analysis of the MCCA data found that Denver, Honolulu, Orlando, Portland and Tampa all had a 50% or more decrease in homicides during that period. Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Louisville, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Seattle all had declines in homicides of more than 30%. The intrigue: Aurora, Colorado — a city Trump repeatedly and falsely singled out as being overrun by Venezuelan immigrant gangs during the 2024 election — saw a 16% drop in homicides. Phoenix, another city Republicans claimed was besieged by violent crime because of undocumented immigrants, had an 11% decline in homicides during the first six months of this year. The data from MCCA's self-reported agencies included New York City in this report. Its previous reports didn't have New York City, which saw a 27% drop in homicides. Yes, but: Some communities did see a jump during this period. Boston experienced a 143% surge in homicides during the first six months of 2025. Cincinnati, El Paso, Fort Worth, Kansas City, Mo., and Milwaukee also saw increases, the Axios analysis found. Zoom in: Overall, violent crime appears to be falling in every category. Rape was down 9%, robbery decreased 18% and aggravated assaults fell 10%. What they're saying: "President Trump is delivering on his promise to Make America Safe Again — and the results speak for themselves," White House Assistant Press Secretary Liz Huston told Axios. "The safety of the American people is President Trump's top priority, and he's taking decisive action to protect our communities, including removing dangerous illegal aliens from our streets." The other side: "The only thing the Trump administration deserves credit for is attempting to kneecap Baltimore's progress," Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott's office said in a statement to Axios. Baltimore saw a 23% decline in homicides. "Earlier this year, the Trump Department of Justice cancelled more than $800 million in violence prevention grants." The mayor's office credited the city's Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan and investments in new parks, playgrounds, rec centers, schools and libraries. "These historic lows are the result of a comprehensive public safety strategy that treats gun violence as a public health issue." Zoom out: The quarterly reports from MCCA typically have been a good measure of trends that are reflected in the annual FBI crime data released a year later. What we're watching: Trump has said he will tie federal grants to local police departments based on a requirement that they participate in his plans to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
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Key aide in IRS' Tea Party targeting controversy put on leave after allegations of new anti-GOP effort
A former deputy to Lois Lerner — who oversaw the IRS division accused of targeting conservative groups during the Obama years — was placed on leave after lawmakers raised alarms that a new sub-department she was leading was becoming politicized. In 2013, Lerner was hauled before Congress, where it was revealed her agency had wrongfully scrutinized tax-exempt applications related to the phrases "Tea Party," "9/12" and "Constitution." The Treasury's inspector general later confirmed "inappropriate criteria" was used to target conservative groups and criticized ineffective oversight of systemic bias. IRS Commissioner of Large Business and International Division Holly Paz – Lerner's then-deputy – was placed on leave last week as lawmakers drew attention to a subordinate work-unit aimed at auditing pass-through businesses that Biden-era Commissioner Danny Werfel had created and assigned her to lead. Werfel called the new work-unit a big step in "ensur[ing] the IRS holds the nation's wealthiest filers accountable," and Paz called it an "important change" in the IRS structure. However, by 2025, lawmakers, including Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., warned that the pass-thru-business compliance unit had transformed to be "motivated by ideology rather than principles of sound tax administration." "Pass-through entities form the bulk of Main Street businesses across the country. This includes countless family businesses, professional services firms, and real estate ventures that serve as the backbone of our local economies," Blackburn and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., wrote to the Treasury in May. Around that time, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa., warned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that Paz's team "has made tongue-in-cheek political comments," including their stated wish to "make basis great again" – a phrase regarding taxation loss/gain that hearkens to President Donald Trump's MAGA slogan. In that regard, Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., wrote to IRS Commissioner Billy Long in July that a Biden-era "basis-shifting transaction rule" had "extended the scope" of enforcement. "American taxpayers and businesses deserve clear and consistent tax rules that allow them to confidently comply with the law," Smucker wrote, adding he and Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., are seeking to have that rule "reconsidered" for the sake of unburdening "Main Street" businesses. Chuck Flint, a former top aide to Blackburn and president of the Alliance for IRS Accountability, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that Paz's past targeting of conservative groups makes her "unfit for government service." Flint said her statements to Congress and role as LB&I chief "places a cloud over the IRS." "Paz's Biden-era pass-through unit is now bludgeoning conservative businesses with fines and must be disbanded. Commissioner Long is flexing his muscles on the IRS Deep State and sending a signal to rogue bureaucrats by placing Paz on leave." Blackburn warned in her letter to Bessent that an IRS news release referencing targeting "complex arrangements" lacked clear definitions and created the impression that legitimate business structures could be unfairly targeted based on legal structure versus actual tax compliance risk. "Even more concerning, the announcement explicitly states that the bureaucratic changes were designed primarily to 'achieve its goal of increased audit rates in this complex area'." "This focus on increasing audits rather than improving compliance suggests an agenda-driven approach to enforcement," Blackburn said. In her letter, Ernst warned Bessent that Paz's team members "have also undermined their appearance of impartiality by comparing legally acceptable transactions to obscene material, saying, 'It's one of those 'You know it when you see it' – a joking reference to [Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart's] attempt to define pornography. "This team is reportedly acting independently and duplicating existing IRS processes, wasting taxpayer money, and not coordinating with the pre-existing offices," Ernst said. "Most concerning of all, the new pass-through auditors even use a new template for requesting taxpayer information they've deemed 'The Art of the IDR,' (versus 'The Art of the Deal') which treats taxpayers as guilty until proven innocent." "Unfortunately, the Biden administration picked up right where Ms. Lerner and her team left off. On September 20, 2023, then-Commissioner Daniel Werfel announced, with language that resembled Democrat talking points, the creation of a duplicative new work unit [led by Paz] to specifically audit pass-through businesses and partnerships. The new office subjects these businesses to potentially two separate IRS examinations in the same year. "One would think Commissioner Werfel would go to great lengths to avoid hearkening back to previous scandals. Instead, he thumbed his nose at taxpayers by placing Lois Lerner's deputy— Holly Paz—at the helm," Ernst wrote. Lerner was front-and-center during the Obama-era scandal, testifying before Congress as head of the tax-exempt organizations division, as a deluge of reports of targeting right-leaning nonprofits abounded. During the 2013 investigation by the House Oversight Committee, Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Darrell Issa, R-Calif., demanded Paz answer for "inconsistencies" from a transcribed interview with committee staff involving statements about "intervention" against Tea Party groups. A 2015 report by then-Senate Finance Committee leaders Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Ronald Wyden, D-Ore., found that in other cases, some liberal terminology was also flagged, including "ACORN," "progressive" and "medical marijuana." "While handled poorly, groups on both sides of the political spectrum were treated the same in their efforts to secure tax-exempt status," Wyden said at the time, while then-Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said Democrats should be equally outraged as Republicans. Fox News Digital reached out to Treasury, the IRS and an email connected to Paz for comment.
