JD Vance introduces himself as Trump’s running mate and makes direct appeal to his native Rust Belt
MILWAUKEE (AP) — JD Vance used his Wednesday night address to the Republican National Convention to share the story of his hardscrabble upbringing and make the case that his party best understands the challenges facing struggling Americans. The 39-year-old Ohio senator is a relative political unknown. In his first prime-time speech since becoming the nominee for vice president, Vance spoke of growing up poor in Kentucky and Ohio, his mother addicted to drugs and his father absent, and how he later joined the military and went on to the highest levels of U.S. politics.
Multiple failures, multiple investigations: Unraveling the attempted assassination of Donald Trump
BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — Multiple investigations have been launched into the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. They include probes into the crime itself and how law enforcement allowed it to happen at all. But it’s becoming increasingly clear this was a complicated failure involving multiple missteps and at least nine different local, county and federal law enforcement divisions that were supposed to be working together that day at the campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The gunman prepared for carnage. He was found with a detonator in his pocket to set off crude explosive devices that were stashed in his car parked nearby. That’s according to law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Democrats making a fresh push for Biden to reconsider running in runup to their own party convention
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats worried about President Joe Biden’s ability to win this November are making a renewed push for him to reconsider his reelection bid. They’re encouraging him to reassess by using mountains of data, frank conversations and now, Biden’s own time off the campaign trail after testing positive for COVID. Biden has insisted he is not backing down. He’s adamant that he is the candidate who beat Republican Donald Trump before and will do it again in November. But key Democrats publicly and privately are sending signals of concern in the runup to the party’s own nominating convention next month.
Far-right Israeli minister visits sensitive Jerusalem holy site, threatening Gaza peace talks
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s far-right national security minister visited Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site on Thursday morning, threatening to disrupt Gaza cease fire talks. Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ultranationalist settler leader, said he had gone up to the contested Jerusalem hilltop compound of Al Aqsa Mosque to pray for the return of the hostages “but without a reckless deal.” The move by Itamar Ben-Gvir threatens to disrupt sensitive talks aimed at reaching a cease fire in the 9 month Israel-Hamas war. Jews and Muslims both claim the Jerusalem hilltop compound and visits like Ben-Gvir’s, while legal, are seen as a provocation.
Bedwetting, nightmares and shaking. War in Gaza takes a mental health toll, especially on children
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are struggling to maintain their mental health, with few resources and no safe places to recover after nine months of war. Mental health experts say anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation and aggression are prevalent. Children are especially vulnerable. Some wet the bed and have nightmares. One expert says essentially every child in Gaza needs mental health support. One mother says she tries to calm her children by saying that dying as a martyr is an opportunity to meet God and ask for the fruits and vegetables they didn’t have in hunger-ravaged Gaza.
Uncertainty is the winner and incumbents the losers so far in a year of high-stakes global elections
LONDON (AP) — Discontented, economically squeezed voters have turned against sitting governments on both right and left during many of the dozens of elections held this year, as global power blocs shift and political certainties crumble. From India to South Africa to Britain, voters dealt blows to long-governing parties. Elections to the European Parliament showed growing support for the continent’s far right, while France’s centrist president scrambled to fend off a similar surge at home. More than 40 countries have held elections already this year. More uncertainty awaits. Nations home to over half the world’s population are going to the polls in 2024.
The uncertainty that plagues life in crisis-ridden Venezuela is also wreaking havoc on relationships
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — In crisis-ridden Venezuela, nothing has been spared the uncertainty that plagues everyday life. The country has seen several million people leave in the last decade or so, and that is wreaking havoc not only on the nation’s politics and economy but also its dating scene. As a presidential election looms later this month along with questions about Venezuela’s future, many more are considering leaving. And so young people are debating online and among themselves whether it’s worth it to start a relationship — or whether to end one. Others are wondering when it is too soon or too late to ask the crucial question: Will you leave the country?
European leaders will discuss migration and Ukraine at a UK summit amid worry about Trump
WOODSTOCK, England (AP) — Leaders from across Europe are gathering at an English country mansion for a summit of the European Political Community. The focus is on migration and Ukraine. But the meeting will be clouded by worries about whether the United States will remain a reliable ally if Donald Trump secures a second presidency. Newly elected U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is welcoming some 45 national leaders to Blenheim Palace, a country mansion northwest of London. Starmer aims to use the conference to help restore relations between the U.K. and its European Union neighbors in the wake of Brexit. An EU official says the prospect of Trump’s return and its implications for European security is a key issue on the minds of the leaders.
‘One screen, two movies’: Conflicting conspiracy theories emerge from Trump shooting
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two very different conspiracy theories are spreading in the days following former President Donald Trump’s attempted assassination. For some Trump supporters, the failure of the Secret Service to stop the shooter before he fired at Trump suggests a conspiracy orchestrated by President Joe Biden. For some Trump critics, however, the same video footage is being used to suggest Trump staged the shooting. There’s no evidence to support either claim, and authorities haven’t suggested a motive for the suspect. That lack of information is prompting many people to go online for information. Often, the misleading claims they encounter say less about the shooting than the country’s political polarization.
Storms flood the Ozarks and strand drivers in Toronto. New York community is devastated by tornado
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Much of the U.S. and Canada is cleaning up or still dealing with a new wave of severe storms that have caused deaths and damage this week from the Plains to New England. Water rescues and evacuations took place in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and Missouri on Wednesday after as much as 11 inches of rain fell overnight. A confirmed tornado was strong enough Tuesday to move an old B-52 bomber in Rome, New York. Some buildings in Rome are destroyed and streets are clogged with debris. Flooding left drivers stranded around Toronto. The East Coast from Maine to the Carolinas is being warned of dangerous heat.
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