Netanyahu will meet with Biden and Harris at a crucial moment for the US and Israel
WASHINGTON (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to make a long-awaited White House visit to meet with President Joe Biden and likely Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at an important moment for all three politicians. Netanyahu’s White House visit Thursday comes during growing pressure on all three leaders to find an endgame to Israel’s war in Gaza and engineer the return of hostages held there. Biden is aiming to get Israel and Hamas to seal his proposal to release hostages in Gaza over three phases as a legacy-affirming achievement. White House officials say the negotiations are in the closing stages but there are issues needing to be resolved.
Biden delivers solemn call to defend democracy as he lays out his reasons for quitting race
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country’s democracy. In an address Wednesday he laid out his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris. Biden insisted “the defense of democracy is more important than any title.” He did not directly call out former President Donald Trump, whom he has called an existential threat to democracy. “Nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy,” Biden said in his 10-minute address from the Oval Office. “And that includes personal ambition.”
2 years after Ukrainian POW deaths, survivors and leaked UN analysis point to Russia as the culprit
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Former Ukrainian prisoners of war who survived the explosions two years ago in the Russian-held barracks at Olenivka still puzzle over the strange events leading up to that night. More than 50 Ukrainians died and dozens were wounded. An Associated Press investigation that included more than a dozen interviews with survivors, family and investigators found that all described evidence they believe points directly to Russia as the culprit. The AP also obtained an internal United Nations analysis that found the same. Russia accused Ukraine of attacking its own men with U.S.-supplied missiles. The U.N. never published its analysis in full and has not named Russia as the perpetrator. Families of the dead and missing are still seeking justice.
Kamala Harris: A Baptist with a Jewish husband and a faith that traces back to MLK and Gandhi
WASHINGTON (AP) — Black clergy who know Vice President Kamala Harris, now the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination, marvel at the fusion of traditions and teachings that have molded her religious faith and social justice values. A Baptist married to a Jewish man, she’s inspired by work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and influenced by the religious traditions of her mother’s native India as well as the Black Church. Religious leaders and theologians say Harris’ candidacy has special symbolic significance following President Joe Biden’s departure from the presidential race. Not only because she would be the nation’s first woman president, but she’s a Black American with South Asian roots and her two cultures are intrinsically linked.
Trump turns his full focus on Harris at his first rally since Biden’s exit from the 2024 race
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Donald Trump has unleashed a barrage of attack lines against his likely new Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. At a rally in North Carolina on Wednesday the Republican former president called Harris his “new victim to defeat” and accused her of deceiving the public about President Joe Biden’s ability to run for a second term before he withdrew his reelection bid. The rally was Trump’s first public campaign event since Biden dropped out of the 2024 matchup that both major political parties had spent months preparing for. It signaled the next phase of the campaign may be especially brutal and personal. Harris’ campaign calls Trump’s speech “unhinged” and “rambling.”
US economic growth increased last quarter to a healthy 2.8% annual rate
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s economy accelerated last quarter at a strong 2.8% annual pace, with consumers and businesses helping drive growth despite the pressure of continually high interest rates. The gross domestic product picked up in the April-June quarter after growing at a 1.4% pace in the January-March period. Economists had expected a weaker 1.9% annual pace of growth. The GDP report also showed that inflation continues to ease, though still remaining above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The latest figures should reinforce confidence that the U.S. economy is on the verge of achieving a rare “soft landing,” whereby high interest rates, engineered by the Fed, tame inflation without tipping the economy into a recession.
Secret DEA files show agents joked about rape in a WhatsApp chat. Then one of them was accused of it
MIAMI (AP) — A group of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents boasted in a WhatsApp chat of their “world debauchery tour,” shared lurid images of their latest sexual conquests and at one point even joked about “forcible anal rape.” Within months of that exchange, one of the agents in the chat was accused of that very crime. The 2018 case in Spain, which was ultimately dismissed, is detailed in a trove of secret documents obtained by The Associated Press that offer a never-before-seen window into a culture of corruption among agents who parlayed the DEA’s shadowy money laundering operations into a global pursuit of binge drinking and illicit sex.
Wildfires prompt California evacuations as crews battle Oregon and Idaho fires stoked by lightning
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Rapidly growing wildfires have prompted evacuations in Northern and Southern California, and powerful winds and lightning strikes are rattling eastern Oregon and Idaho, cutting power and stoking fires. Oregon has the largest active blaze in the U.S. Another fast-moving wildfire has forced thousands to abandon a town in Canada. In California, the Park Fire near Chico has quickly spread to more than 70 square miles, and was only 3% contained early Thursday. Oregon’s governor has activated National Guard troops to the Durkee Fire, which merged with another large blaze and is burning near the Idaho state. Skies filled with smoke and haze have raised air quality concerns in western U.S. states and Canadian provinces.
Uvalde school police officer pleads not guilty to charges stemming from actions during 2022 shooting
UVALDE, Texas (AP) — A former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer who was part of the slow law enforcement response to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School has pleaded not guilty during a court appearance. Adrian Gonzales was one of the nearly 400 law enforcement personnel who responded to the scene but then waited more than 70 minutes to confront the shooter inside the school. Teary-eyed family members were in the courtroom in the small Texas town Thursday to watch as Gonzales was arraigned on charges of abandoning and failing to protect children who were killed and wounded. Gonzales and former Uvalde schools police Chief Pete Arredondo were indicted by a grand jury in June.
Argentina coach slams chaotic ‘scandal’ at Olympic soccer match vs Morocco
The head of Argentina’s soccer federation said the chaotic ending to its Olympic soccer match against Morocco on Wednesday “makes no sense,” and Argentina’s coach called the scene “a scandal.” The opening match of the men’s soccer tournament was suspended for nearly two hours during added time after Morocco fans invaded the field and threw bottles in protest of a late goal by Argentina. The goal was later overturned by the video assistant referee (VAR), and Argentina lost 2-1. Paris organizers said they were trying to “understand the causes and identify appropriate actions” after the match in Saint-Etienne. Argentina’s soccer federation said it had issued a formal protest Wednesday to world governing body FIFA and would do “what is necessary” to guarantee the safety of players.
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