Trump holds first rally after assassination attempt with his new running mate, Vance, by his side
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Republican Donald Trump held his first public campaign rally since he was injured in an assassination attempt, an event in the battleground state of Michigan alongside his new running mate. The joint rally with Ohio Sen. JD Vance on Saturday was the first for the pair since they became the GOP’s nominees at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. After appearing uncharacteristically subdued and emotional during the Republican convention, Trump on Saturday returned to his usual rally mode, insulting his Democratic rivals, repeating his lies about the 2020 election, and peppering his address with jokes that sparked laughter from an enthusiastic audience.
Beyond Biden, Democrats are split over who would be next —VP Harris or launch a ‘mini primary’
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are not only split on whether President Joe Biden should quit his reelection race, they’re also not on the same page about what to do if he goes. Some Democrats want the president to tap Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him on the ticket. Other Democrats favor an open process at the party convention next month in Chicago to nominate their candidate, with Harris among those participating. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi is among those who favor an open process, her thinking being that whoever emerges as the candidate will be in the strongest position to challenge Republican Donald Trump for the presidency.
Gunman in Trump rally attack flew drone over rally site in advance of event, official says
WASHINGTON (AP) — The gunman in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump is believed to have flown a drone around the Pennsylvania rally site ahead of time in an apparent attempt to scope out the site before the event. That’s according to a law enforcement official familiar with the situation. The drone has been recovered by the FBI, which is leading the investigation into last Saturday’s shooting at the rally by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. Details of the drone were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Israeli military says it has struck Houthi targets in Yemen in response to attacks
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The Israeli army says it has struck several Houthi targets in western Yemen following a fatal drone attack by the rebel group in Tel Aviv the previous day. Saturday’s strikes appeared to be the first by Israel on Yemeni soil since the Israel-Hamas war began in October. The Israeli army says a number of “military targets” were hit in the port city of Hodeidah, a Houthi stronghold. The army adds that its attack was in response to “hundreds of attacks” against Israel in recent months. A Houthi spokesman says the “blatant Israeli aggression” targeted fuel storage facilities and the province’s power station.
Malicious actors trying to exploit global tech outage for their own gain
As the world continues to recover from massive business and travel disruptions caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, malicious actors are trying to exploit the situation for their own gain. Government cybersecurity agencies across the globe and even CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz warned about phishing schemes that involve malicious actors posing as CrowdStrike employees offering to assist those recovering from the outage. Meanwhile, Microsoft said 8.5 million devices running its Windows operating system were affected by the faulty cybersecurity update Friday that led to worldwide disruptions.
Curfew extended in Bangladesh as top court is set to rule on job quotas that sparked deadly unrest
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladeshi authorities have extended curfew across the country as the nation’s top court is set to rule on a civil service hiring quota that has led to scores being killed in clashes between police and protesters. The demonstrations — called for mainly by student groups — started weeks ago to protest a quota system that reserves up to 30% of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971. The clashes have seen police fire at protesters in the streets and on university campuses. Authorities have also blocked online communications by banning mobile and internet services. Local media say at least 100 people have been killed. Bangladeshi authorities haven’t shared any official numbers of those killed.
Heat-related Texas deaths climb after Beryl left millions without power for days or longer
SPRING, Texas (AP) — A rising number of heat-related deaths in Texas among residents who lost power during Hurricane Beryl has pushed the number of storm fatalities to at least 23. Most Houston-area residents had their power back after more than a week of widespread outages across the nation’s fourth-largest city. Beryl knocked out electricity to nearly 3 million people in Texas at the height of the outages. Hospitals reported a spike in heat-related illnesses. Experts say that while it may be weeks or even years before the full human toll of the storm in Texas is known, understanding that number helps plan for the future.
As Georgia presses on with ‘Russia-style’ laws, its citizens describe a country on the brink
In Georgia, campaign groups and independent media say a new law purportedly to curb “foreign influence” represents an existential threat to them. The foreign influence law was passed by the Georgian Parliament in May and resembles similar legislation in Russia. Opinion polls suggest nearly three-quarters — 74% — of Georgians want to join the European Union, but the new law could jeopardize this ambition. The government argues the law is needed to curb harmful foreign actors trying to destabilize the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million. Many journalists and activists say its true goal is to stigmatize them and restrict debate ahead of elections scheduled for October.
Blinken points to wider pledges to support Ukraine in case US backs away under Trump
ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Ukraine is on its way to being able to “stand on its own feet” militarily and more than 20 other countries have pledged to maintain their own military and financial aid to the country even if the U.S. were to withdraw its support under a different president. Blinken for the first time directly addressed the possibility that former President Donald Trump could win the November election and back away from commitments to Ukraine. Trump’s public comments have varied between criticizing the U.S.’s backing of Ukraine’s defense and supporting it.
Vatican’s Pius XII archives shed light on another contentious chapter: The Legion of Christ scandal
VATICAN CITY (AP) — The recently opened archives of Pope Pius XII are providing details about the scandal over the founder of the Legionaries of Christ. Entire books have already been written about the copious documentation that arrived in the Holy See starting in the 1950s proving its officials had evidence of the Rev. Marciel Maciel’s dubious morals, drug use, financial recklessness and sexual abuse of his young seminarians. The newly opened archives of the Pius papacy, which spanned 1939-1958, are adding to that. They confirm that Pius’ Vatican was cracking down on Maciel and was poised to take even tougher measures against him — including suspending him from priestly ministry — but that Pius’ 1958 death enabled Maciel’s supporters to take advantage of the leadership vacuum to salvage his name.
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