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On the pier in California’s Manhattan Beach, 21-year-old Stella and her friends are crowded round a phone watching videos of two old men rowing about their golf handicap.

It’s not the level of discourse they, or anyone else, hoped for from the presidential debate.

“It sounds like a drunk, blackout conversation they’re having at 3am,” one young woman says.

“I think Joe Biden is cognitively declining,” says another. “I think he was never fit to be president, and I don’t think he is now. I think there’s a clear, obvious answer to who is fit and that is Trump 2024.”

21-year-old Stella (right) and her friends looking at clips of the debate on a phone
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Stella (right) and her friends looking at clips of the debate on a phone

In affluent Manhattan Beach, 65% voted for Joe Biden in 2020 but some Democrat voters here are troubled by the version of the president they saw during the debate: Feeble voiced, stumbling over his words and unable to sell his vision for America.

“I felt disappointed, forlorn, despairing,” says Loretta. “He didn’t speak well at all. I believe that he’s not demented as people accuse him of, but his communication difficulties were evident.”

Read more:
The loophole that could force Biden out – and who could replace him

More on Joe Biden

Loretta is a lifelong Democrat voter, but Biden’s debate performance might have changed her mind.

“I might have to hold my nose and vote for Trump,” she says. “He has bad character traits. But it’s certainly given me food for thought. Bad food, food poisoning.”

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Biden’s debate performance is one that has already spawned a thousand memes as well as panic in his own party that he might not have the vitality to prevail over Trump in an election campaign.

Genie, from Manhattan Beach, is 81, the same age as Biden. “Maybe at our age we’re a bit slower to articulate what we’re thinking, but I think he’s still viable and has the mental capacity to do the job,” she says. “My concern is the energy level.”

Genie,  81, thinks Joe Biden is 'still viable and has the mental capacity to do the job. My concern is the energy level.'
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Genie, 81, thinks Biden is ‘still viable’ but is concerned about ‘the energy level’

Harry Swanson, a Trump voter from New York, visiting his daughter in California, was not so forgiving in his assessment. “Biden’s out to lunch,” he says. “It’s no fault of his own. He’s just an older guy, put in an awkward position.”

“I don’t know who pulls the strings to put these people where they are,” he adds. “If Trump, who I like, was mentally like Biden, there’s not a chance I’d consider him. I mean, how could you?”

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‘I don’t walk as easy as I used to’

Biden has insisted he won’t step down as the Democratic Party’s nominee, but chatter has intensified about potential alternatives, including the governor of California.

Gavin Newsom is a rising star in the Democratic Party, tipped as a successor to Biden. But he’s standing squarely behind the leader for now.

“We’ve got to have the back of this president,” he says. “You don’t turn your back because of one performance.”

Scott, from Manhattan Beach, says he would prefer to see Newsom as the nominee. “He’s a very powerful presence and someone younger would be good,” he says. “I think he’d have more chance of beating Trump.”

Martin, from Chicago, agrees. “It would be in their best interests to get Biden to step down and have somebody else run for the Democrats because by the looks of it, it’s not looking good,” he says. “I just know that I would vote for anyone but Biden or Trump.”

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Trump at a campaign rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, after facing off against Biden in the debate

Read more:
Democrats angry Biden’s ego could lose election
The key moments from Trump v Biden
Biden’s performance one of – if not the worst – in history

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Martin is one of the “double haters”, a phrase used to describe voters who are dismayed that Biden or Trump is likely to be their choice in November.

After Thursday’s debate, those double haters may well have swelled in number.

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Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party leads in first round of French election

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Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party leads in first round of French election

Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party will get the biggest vote share in the first round of France’s parliamentary elections, according to exit polls.

As polls closed on the first round of voting on Sunday, National Rally had a strong lead at 33%, followed by the left-wing New Popular Front coalition on 28.5%.

President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party are polling third with an estimated 22%.

Addressing supporters in Henin-Beaumont, northern France, Ms Le Pen said: “For the moment nothing is won, and the second round will determine the outcome.”

She warned voters to “be careful” in the coming days, and urged them to “mobilise” ahead of the second round on 7 July.

The result is almost double the 18% National Rally achieved in the 2022 elections and puts them in good stead to become the largest party in France’s lower house.

Supporters of Marine Le Pen, French far-right leader and far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally - RN) party candidate, celebrate after partial results in the first round of the early French parliamentary elections, in Henin-Beaumont, France, June 30, 2024. REUTERS/Yves Herman
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Supporters of Marine Le Pen, French far-right leader and far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally – RN) party candidate, celebrate after partial results in the first round of the early French parliamentary elections, in Henin-Beaumont, France

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Who are National Rally?

More on France

France has a semi-presidential system – these elections are for the 577 seats in the National Assembly.

Mr Macron is the president and was elected in a separate presidential vote.

The system means there is both a president and prime minister – who have separate powers.

Mr Macron called an early parliamentary election after his Renaissance party was decimated by Ms Le Pen’s anti-immigration one in the European elections.

Her 29-year-old protégé and party leader Jordan Bardella has enjoyed a spike in popularity, particularly among younger voters on TikTok, amid increasing discontent with Mr Macron.

Jordan Bardella, President of the French far-right Rassemblement National. Pic: Reuters
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Jordan Bardella, President of the French far-right Rassemblement National. Pic: Reuters

He told supporters in Paris on Sunday evening: “Three weeks after the European elections the French people have given a verdict and they have confirmed their clear hopes for change.

“This is giving us hope throughout the country.”

He warned of the “dangers” of the second-place left-wing coalition and said its leader Jean-Luc Melenchon could put France in “existential peril”.

Mr Bardella therefore urged his supporters to rally ahead of the next vote and said “victory is possible” on 7 July.

Although the two-round vote means the final result may not be totally clear until next week, if National Rally ends up as the largest party, Mr Macron would be compelled to make him prime minister.

The French president and prime minister have been from different political parties only three times in its history.

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France faces a new political reality as Le Pen’s prodigy stands on the brink of power

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France faces a new political reality as Le Pen's prodigy stands on the brink of power

A new political reality has been revealed in France, it has a new face and a new name – 28-year-old Jordan Bardella.

Frontman of the hard-right, he has helped propel National Rally to a clear-cut lead in the first round of parliamentary elections.

Bardella, the party’s choice for prime minister, stands on the brink of power if National Rally secures a majority in the second round of voting.

“I want to tell our supporters to mobilise so that they carry out a final effort next Sunday – next Sunday’s vote will be one of the most important in the history of modern France,” he said.

With roots in the collaborationist regime of Vichy France, National Rally has been re-engineered by Marine Le Pen as she has worked to make it electable – and acceptable – to the public.

Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella campaigning for the National Rally. Pic: AP
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Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella campaigning for the National Rally in June. Pic: AP

A key part of that scheme rests with Le Pen’s fresh-faced prodigy. Bardella told the media that a National Rally government would respect the country’s traditional republican values.

“I will always be the guarantor of your rights and freedoms and our republican values which unite us all. I promise you freedom, equality and fraternity,” he said.

More on Emmanuel Macron

They were challenged from the left by the New Popular Front, a hastily organised alliance of socialists, communists, greens and hard-left grouping France Unbowed.

Early results suggest they have finished a strong second, around 28% of the vote.

There is no doubt about losers here. Emmanuel Macron‘s centrist coalition, Ensemble, performed poorly, gaining just 21% of the vote.

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Extreme right is at ‘gates of power’

Now a case of damage control

When he called this snap election, Macron was taking a gamble the drubbing his alliance received in recent European elections would not be repeated. He was wrong.

Macron’s prime minister, Gabriel Attal, said it’s now a case of damage control: “Our goal is clear, we must stop the right from gaining an absolute majority in the first round.”

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Read more
Who are National Rally?
Macron calls snap French election
Profile of National Rally leader Bardella

What happens next? Well, we will see a feverish week of campaigning as those candidates who have entered the final round seek to cement their advantage.

In constituencies where three people advance into the second round, parties will engage in frantic horse-trading to give their candidate the advantage.

People climbed on the statue at Republique plaza during a protest against the far-right National Rally party which came out strongly ahead in first-round legislative elections, Sunday, June 30, 2024 in Paris. France's high-stakes legislative elections propelled the far-right National Rally to a strong but not decisive lead in the first-round vote Sunday, polling agencies projected, dealing another slap to centrist President Emmanuel Macron. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
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Protesters against National Rally clamber on to the statue at the Republique Plaza in Paris on Sunday

Protesters and police clash

The country’s new political reality is also a moment of instability – both politically and on the streets.

After the results were announced, protesters erected barricades and broke windows in cities around the country.

Police responded with tear gas and baton charges.

The hard-right now have the national assembly within their grasp – but the implications of their success are unpredictable.

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Jay Slater: Search for missing British teenager in area of Tenerife called off by police

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Jay Slater: Search for missing British teenager in area of Tenerife called off by police

The search for Jay Slater in an area of Tenerife has been called off, police have said, nearly two weeks after his disappearance.

The British teenager, from Oswaldtwistle, near Blackburn in Lancashire, has been missing in Tenerife since 17 June, when he vanished the morning after a rave.

The Civil Guard called for volunteers to join a new search in the Masca area – near his last-known location – on Saturday.

It has now confirmed to Sky News that the search has ended. Police are keeping the investigation open and could yet open up searches in the south of the island, but have not provided an update.

A handful of volunteers turned up to help rescue teams on Saturday, forming a total group of 30 to 40 people scouring a huge area of rugged and hilly terrain.

view of the Los Carrizales ravine where British teenager Jay Slater is being searched for, with the island of La Gomera in the distance, on the island of Tenerife, Spain, June 27, 2024. REUTERS/Borja Suarez
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The Los Carrizales ravine where Jay Slater was being searched for. Pic: Reuters

Mr Slater, 19, had been on holiday with friends on the Spanish island and was last pictured at Papayago, a nightclub hosting the end of the NRG festival, late on 16 June.

After the event ended, he got in a car travelling to a small Airbnb in Masca with two men, who police said on Saturday are “not relevant” to the case.

His last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the island – which is about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.

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‘I just want him back’

A local cafe owner told Sky News he tried to catch a bus back to Los Cristianos, where he was staying.

Ofelia Medina Hernandez said she spoke to the teenager at 8am on 17 June, telling him a bus was due at 10am – but he set off walking and she said she later drove past him “walking fast”.

A missing persons poster for Jay Slater in Tenerife
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A missing persons poster for Jay Slater in Tenerife

The apprentice bricklayer called a friend holidaying with him at around 8.30am on 17 June and said he was going to walk back after missing the bus.

He also told his friend he was lost and in need of water, with only 1% charge on his phone.

Read more:
Jay Slater’s family welcomes TikToker in search
Teen’s disappearance in Tenerife shrouded in speculation

On Friday, Mr Slater’s friend Brad Hargreaves told ITV’s This Morning he had been on a video call with him before his disappearance when he heard him go off the road.

He said he could see his friend’s feet “sliding” down the hill and hear he was walking on gravel.

Meanwhile, Mr Slater’s family shared a blurry image of what they believe could be the missing teenager captured on CCTV in a nearby town 10 hours after he was first reported missing.

Mr Slater's family have shared a blurry image of what they believe could be the missing teenager
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Mr Slater’s family shared a blurry image of what they believe could be the missing teenager

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Local police and the Civil Guard, along with Mr Slater’s family, have been involved in the search.

Since his disappearance, rumours and conspiracy theories have emerged amid online speculation on social media.

Some social media sleuths have even travelled to Tenerife to try and find him.

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