Harris visits battleground Wisconsin in first rally as Democrats coalesce around her for president
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is making her first visit to a battleground state after locking up enough support from Democratic delegates to win her party’s nomination to challenge Republican former President Donald Trump, two days after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid. As the Democratic Party continues to coalesce around Harris, she is traveling to Milwaukee on Tuesday. Harris will hold her first campaign rally since she launched her 2024 campaign on Sunday with Biden’s endorsement. Harris has raised more than $100 million since Sunday afternoon and has scored the backing of Democratic officials and political groups.
Kamala Harris is preparing to lead Democrats in 2024. There are lessons from her 2020 bid
ATLANTA (AP) — Kamala Harris stepped onto the national political stage as Barack Obama was leaving. The loftiest forecasts in 2017 suggested the California senator could reach the same heights as the barrier-breaking 44th president. Harris ran for president but ran out of money after struggling to break through and ended her campaign before the Iowa caucuses. Harris’ first effort showed potential on the debate stage but also involved a struggle to find a core message. Democrats say that was as much about the difficult scramble in a big primary field. Democrats argue in 2024 Harris will be able to leverage the best of her 2020 effort in a matchup against one man: Republican former President Donald Trump.
Biden passed that torch slowly, hanging on until the wheels finally came off
WASHINGTON (AP) — Insiders who were close to Joe Biden’s struggles are describing a president who was dogged in his determination to keep his candidacy alive — but ultimately not in denial about the odds. A number of firsthand observers of Biden’s crisis say he was privately contemplative during his days of decision, before announcing Sunday that he was quitting the presidential race. He is said to have told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on July 13 that he needed a week to decide what to do. Publicly, Biden never wavered from his vow to continue his candidacy — up until the day he ended it.
Rivals Hamas and Fatah sign a declaration to form a future government as war rages in Gaza
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah say they have signed a declaration in Beijing vowing to form a government together. It’s their latest attempt at resolving their long rivalry. The accord provides no guarantees or timeline. Both sides call it only an initial step. Previous such declarations have failed. Israel swiftly denounced the agreement. The U.S. and other Western countries have refused to accept any Palestinian government that includes Hamas unless it expressly recognizes Israel. The declaration comes at a sensitive time as Israel and Hamas weigh a cease-fire proposal. China is trying to have a growing role in Middle East diplomacy.
Israeli government quietly sends millions to unauthorized West Bank settler outposts
JERUSALEM (AP) — A groups that monitors settlements in the West Bank says Israel has budgeted millions of dollars to protect and support the growth of small, unofficial Jewish farms in the Israeli-occupied territory. Documents uncovered by Peace Now illustrate how Israel’s pro-settler government has quietly poured money into the unauthorized outposts, some of which have been linked to violence against Palestinians and have been sanctioned by the U.S. The Ministry of Settlements and National Mission, which is headed by a far-right settler leader, has confirmed it budgeted over $20 million last year for security equipment for unauthorized Jewish farms and outposts. The money was quietly authorized in December while the country’s attention was focused on the war against Hamas.
Death toll in southern Ethiopia mudslides rises to at least 157 as search operations continue
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — At least 157 people have been killed in mudslides in a remote part of Ethiopia that has been hit with heavy rainfall. Local authorities say many of the victims were killed while they were trying to rescue survivors of an earlier mudslide in the Kencho Shacha Gozdi district of southern Ethiopia. They say the death toll rose from 55 late Monday to 157 on Tuesday as search operations continued in the area. Landslides are common during Ethiopia’s rainy reason, which started in July and is expected to last until mid-September.
Secret Service director, grilled by lawmakers on the Trump assassination attempt, says ‘we failed’
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Secret Service’s director says the roof where a shooter opened fire at Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania rally was identified as a potential vulnerability days before the event. Director Kimberly Cheatle made the comments Monday as she was grilled by lawmakers over the July 13 assassination attempt of the Republican presidential nominee. Cheatle acknowledges the agency was told about a suspicious person “between two and five times” before the assassination attempt of the former president. Cheatle told lawmakers during a congressional hearing, “On July 13, we failed.” Cheatle was berated for hours by Republicans and Democrats, repeatedly angering lawmakers by evading questions about the investigation into the shooting.
Bodycam video reveals chaotic scene of deputy fatally shooting Sonya Massey, who called 911 for help
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Officials have released body camera video that reveals a chaotic scene in which a Black woman in Springfield, Illinois, who called 911 for help was shot in the face in her home by a white sheriff’s deputy. The video released Monday shows a tense moment in which former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson yells at Sonya Massey over moving a pot from the stove. He threatens to shoot her, Massey ducks and Grayson fires his pistol at her three times. Grayson has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.
Biles, Osaka and Phelps spoke up about mental health. Has anything changed for the Paris Olympics?
Athletes heading to the Paris Olympics have more access than ever to resources in the once-taboo realm of mental health and many sound more willing than ever to use them. That seems significant given that the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s senior director of psychological services says about half of the country’s athletes at the past two Olympiads were flagged for at least one of the following: anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, eating disorders, substance use or abuse. Among the key questions at the Summer Games that start Friday is whether everyone will seek the help they need and is enough help available?
As doctors leave Puerto Rico in droves, a rapper tries to fill the gaps
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico has lost thousands of its doctors in the past decade, many having fled to the U.S. mainland for better pay. The island’s health care system is grappling with severe understaffing and power outages, and the flight of workers seeking better wages is expected to worsen. That’s why one doctor, Pedro Juan Vázquez, who is better known by his stage name PJ Sin Suela, is trying to fill the gaps. He has been treating patients during the day and performing his rap sets at night, singing about the many challenges Puerto Ricans on the island face.
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