Biden campaign team taking shape

July 5, 2015: Vice President Joe Biden arrives at the airport in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, Sunday, July 5, 2015. (AP via The Canadian Press)

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Buzz Cut:
• Biden campaign team taking shape
• Ohhhh you meant that subpoena…
• Reince tries to tamp down Trump
• Walker budget win survives bomb threat
• You mess with the bull…

BIDEN’S CAMPAIGN TAKING SHAPE
With Hillary Clinton’s campaign continuing to face resistance from little-known challengers, there are new signs that she could finally get some big-name opposition.

The sea change in the Democratic race may have come two weeks ago when it was revealed that Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Beau, had encouraged his father to mount another presidential campaign. The younger Biden died in May at age 46 of complications from brain cancer, cutting short a career that many Democrats saw as having national potential.

Word from Biden’s inner circle that a long-considered campaign had Beau Biden’s blessing was the strongest sign yet that the veep might really take the plunge. A third long-shot presidential run is one thing, but one in memory of a son is quite another.

Today, the speculation begins to take shape.

Shiva Sarram, a major Obama fundraiser and grassroots organizer has joined the outside group creating a campaign-in-waiting should Biden opt for another face-off with Clinton. WashEx reports that Sarram joins another top Obama bundler, Jon Cooper, who enlisted last week as the group’s national finance chair. “The Draft Biden PAC has over 100,000 signatures, teams in the early states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, as well as volunteers in every state. While the group won’t release its fundraising numbers until the July 15 deadline, executive director William Pierce claims the cash influx exceeded all expectations. ‘This is a rebirth for the VP,’ Pierce said.”

[Byron York reminds us of when Biden, Clinton and Obama sparred over today’s hot topic of sanctuary cities.]

Sanders courts black voters - The Hill: “‘As a nation — I don’t think as a president, but as a nation — we have got to apologize for slavery,’ the 2016 Democratic presidential contender told host Joe Madison on Sirius XM’s ‘The Black Eagle.’ …With polls show[ing] him closing the gap with Clinton in early-voting states, Sanders is beginning to make a play for minority voters crucial to Democratic candidates. Sanders in the interview said the economic issues he is pushing to address, such as income inequality, would benefit minority communities, including African-Americans.”

[Bernie wants big bucks for solar - WashEx: “Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont, proposed legislation this week that would spend $3 billion on solar panels for the poor over the next 15 years.]

O’Malley tries to outdo Bernie - Former Gov. Martin O’Malley, D-Md., is set to rip Wall Street today Business Insider: “…obtained a copy of this letter where O’Malley directly blamed these ‘megabanks’ for the 2008 financial crisis and warned, ‘As President, I have no plans to let up on you.’…According to his deputy campaign manager Lis Smith, on Thursday, along with the letter, O’Malley will release a ‘detailed Wall Street white paper that continues in mold of O’Malley leading with bold, progressive policy agenda.’ ‘Governor O’Malley heard Wall Street call him Public Enemy #1 and now he’s upping the ante. He hopes that the other Democrats running for President follow his lead in standing up to the Wall Street megabanks’….Smith said.”

OHHHH YOU MEANT THAT SUBPOENA…
After Hillary Clinton’s interview with CNN Tuesday, in which she claimed she had never been subpoenaed by the House Special Committee on Benghazi, chairman of the committee Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., made the subpoena public as well as released a statement. Gowdy said he had not intended to make the subpoena, issued in March public, but after Clinton “falsely claimed” there had never been a subpoena, he felt the need to correct the public record. Clinton aides did not immediately respond to the NYT when asked to comment. Her campaign claims that Clinton understood the question to be was she under subpoena when the emails were deleted, last December. “‘The suggestion was made that a subpoena was pending at the time. That was not accurate,” Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill told CNN.

WITH YOUR SECOND CUP OF COFFEE…
If you thought Wednesday’s computer failure at the New York Stock Exchange was scary, just imagine life before Thomas Edison. Before he mastered recorded sound and the light bulb, the Prometheus of the Machine Age, perfected the stock ticker. The idea of printing stock prices from a telegraph line emerged in 1867, but the little machines were prone to getting out of whack and needed to be frequently reset by couriers from the exchanges. In addition to the hassle caused for companies like Western Union, which owned many of the stock tickers, this also created the possibility for catastrophic errors. But a 24-year-old Edison, who was helping in a Wall Street telegraphy office, struck upon an elegant solution: a universal stock ticker with a single screw that enabled remote resetting. His invention was in use for nearly a century from its inception in 1871.

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POLL CHECK
Real Clear Politics Averages
Obama Job Approval: Approve – 46.7 percent//Disapprove – 49.3 percent
Directions of Country: Right Direction – 31.2 percent//Wrong Track – 59.5 percent

REINCE TRIES TO TAMP DOWN TRUMP
WaPo: “The head of the Republican National Committee, responding to demands from increasingly worried party leaders, spent nearly an hour Wednesday on the phone with Donald Trump, urging the presidential candidate to tone down his inflammatory comments about immigration that have infuriated a key election constituency. The call from Chairman Reince Priebus, described by donors and consultants briefed on the conversation and confirmed by the RNC, underscores the extent to which Trump has gone from an embarrassment to a cause for serious alarm among top Republicans in Washington and nationwide.…

“Reluctant to engage publicly and having developed a friendship with Trump in recent years, Priebus decided to call the candidate and quietly ask him to soften his pitch, said GOP donors familiar with Priebus’s thinking. Trump had left a voice-mail message for Priebus over the weekend asking if they could catch up, making the call’s context less confrontational, the donors said. The call lasted about 45 minutes, the donors said, and Priebus was cordial, updating Trump on the party and the primary calendar while also urging him to ‘tone it down’ — a phrase used repeatedly by those with knowledge of the exchange.”

Trump responds…already - Trump took to Twitter this morning to rebut Priebus. Trump’s tweet reads, “Totally false reporting on my call with @Reince Priebus. He called me, ten minutes, said I hit a ‘nerve’, doing well, end!”

“We have the winning ideology: limited government, personal responsibility, individual liberty creates more prosperity and more advantages than any other form of political philosophy. We should focus on that and not get into a food fight that only brings energy to someone who I doubt will be president and is not a constructive force for our party.” – Former Gov. Jeb Bush on “Special Report with Bret Baier” talking about his feelings towards fighting with Donald Trump.

[A spokesman for former President George W. Bush responded to the ABC News report that he collected $100,000 to speak at a fundraiser for wounded veterans. Bush spokesperson Freddy Ford confirmed the payment, but declined to comment further only saying, “President Bush has made helping veterans one of his highest priorities in his post presidency.”]

Walker budget win survives bomb threat - Minneapolis Star Tribune: “The Wisconsin state Capitol is open after a bomb threat led to a 90-minute evacuation of the building and grounds. The evacuation occurred shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday as lawmakers in the state Assembly were in the middle of budget debate. Police cleared both the building and grounds around the Capitol square where hundreds of people were gathering for an outdoor concert. The state Department of Administration says the building was clear of any threat, but that no further details would be released Wednesday because an investigation is ongoing.”

[We have reached peak Wisconsin - LaCrosse Tribune: “Wisconsin legislators convened in a bipartisan ‘beer summit’ after a bomb threat led to the evacuation of the state Capitol on Wednesday.”]

Rubio talks entitlements in Iowa - Des Moines Register: “As [Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.,] crossed the state during a three-day swing through Iowa, he spoke of how he'd approach the presidency. Early Wednesday, Rubio called for reforms to Social Security and Medicare as a way to address the national debt. That includes a later retiring age, adjusting benefits and moving to a private plan for individuals for people of his age, 44, and younger.”

[‘Strange things are afoot at the Circle K’ - Team Rubio used an image from a highly influential film of the 1990s to mock Hillary Clinton.]

Deep pockets - Rubio’s designated super PAC, Conservative Solutions, reports having raised $16 million in the first half of the year, one of the largest hauls revealed so far. Total fundraising for Rubio’s bid, including his campaign, PAC and other outside groups, stands at $31.8 million.

Carson heading back to Iowa - Des Moines Register: “Presidential hopeful Ben Carson will return to Iowa next week for a forum on national security. Carson, who is vying for the Republican presidential nomination, will speak at the Iowa National Security Forum hosted by Americans for Peace, Prosperity, and Security at noon July 15 at the University of Dubuque. … Carson joins former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal as the third presidential candidate to attend an APPS forum.”

Carly is unknown, but working it - NHPR: “…During a recent tour of downtown Portsmouth, [Carly Fiorina] challenge was just getting recognized. Jake Ostrowski was sitting outside as Fiorina’s posse made its way into Popovers on the Square, a cafe in downtown Portsmouth. He says he started Googling when he saw the hubbub, but didn’t know who Carly Fiorina was until then…So, Fiorina is working overtime. She has among the most packed NH campaign schedules of any candidate, and her list of endorsements in this state is long.”

Kasich PAC releases TV spot in New Hampshire - Ohio Gov. John Kasich has an ad buy set to hit televisions in New Hampshire today through his anticipated July 21 announcement. The ad starts with all of the other contenders talking about themselves to highlight Kasich as the one candidate speaking for every day Americans. The PAC spent $1.5 million for the 60 second spot. Watch here.

Jindal gets hometown treatment at Right to Life - Times-Picayune: “Gov. Bobby Jindal is expected to deliver a stinging assessment Thursday (July 9) of what he sees as the Republican party's inadequate commitment to pro-life policies…According to prepared remarks released ahead of the speech, Jindal will call on his party to make abortion a central issue of the 2016 presidential campaign. Employing unusually harsh rhetoric, he says that the party will fail if it does not unequivocally embrace anti-abortion policies…His speech will be delivered the night before four of his Republican rivals -- Dr. Ben Carson, former Gov. Rick Perry, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and former Sen. Rick Santorum -- will appear on a panel on Friday morning.”

YOU MESS WITH THE BULL…
WAFF: “Boaz [Ala.] police said a homeowner on Baldwin Drive caught two people breaking into his property around 8 a.m. The homeowner gave chase as the suspects fled the home in a Chevrolet truck…Brad Lynn Hemby, who police later identified as the driver, cut across a cow pasture, and happened to grab the attention of a bull roaming the field. The bull began following Hemby, as did sheriff’s deputies. Now pursued by humans and a bovine, Hemby’s attempt to escape fell short when he fell into a barbed wire fence. He quickly surrendered to deputies.”

AND NOW A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“I really think that we spent enough time on Donald Trump, which is exactly what the problem is. It’s a catch 22.  If you want to ignore him or if you don’t ignore him, you end up in exactly what he wants: A conversation about him.” – Charles Krauthammer on “Special Report with Bret Baier.”

Chris Stirewalt is digital politics editor for Fox News. Want FOX News First in your inbox every day? Sign up here.