6:07 a.m. EDT National News Summary

Debby bringing heavy rain, flooding, and possible tornadoes northeast into the weekend

LUCAMA, N.C. (AP) — Debby’s final chapter involves moving north and northeast from the Carolinas at a faster clip with soaking rains, flash flooding, and the threat of tornadoes into the weekend. Accuweather’s chief meteorologist Jon Porter said the Mid-Atlantic states and parts of New York and New England will see significant rainfall that could cause dangerous flooding into the weekend, such as on parts of Interstate 95 near bigger cities. From eastern Virginia up to Vermont, an active stretch of tornadoes was also possible on Friday. Tornadoes spawned by Debby have leveled homes, damaged a school, and killed one person. The tropical storm was downgraded to a tropical depression Thursday afternoon.

Ferguson marks 10 years since Michael Brown’s death. While there’s some progress, challenges persist

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — Michael Brown’s death was the catalyst for massive change starting in Ferguson, Missouri. Ten years later, those in the community cite significant progress but say challenges remain. Every city leader was white in the majority-Black city in 2014. Today, the mayor, police chief, city attorney, and other leaders are Black. The mostly-white police force of 2014 now has more officers who are Black than white. The municipal court system that once brought in millions of dollars in court fines and fees paid mostly by poor residents now collects only a fraction of that. But many acknowledge that race still divides the community of 18,000 residents.

Timeline of events in Ferguson, Missouri, after a police officer fatally shot Michael Brown

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — On Aug. 9, 2014, Michael Brown and a friend were walking in the middle of Canfield Drive, a two-lane street in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri when a police officer drove by and told them to use the sidewalk. After words were exchanged, the white officer confronted the 18-year-old Brown, who was Black. The situation escalated, with the officer and Brown scuffling. The officer shot and killed Brown, who was unarmed. Months of unrest followed. Friday marks the 10th anniversary of the shooting that was a pivotal moment in the national Black Lives Matter movement and helped spur a reckoning of how Black people in Ferguson and elsewhere in the St. Louis region were treated by police and the courts.

Harris and Walz head to Arizona, where a VP runner-up could still make a difference

PHOENIX (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate are campaigning in Arizona as the latest stop on their tour of battleground states. The Arizona swing is especially significant because Harris passed over the state’s junior senator, Mark Kelly, in favor of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be her running mate. That may cost her a handful of votes in a state that President Joe Biden won by less than 11,000 votes in 2020. But the state is also chock full of Midwesterners who may warm to Walz. And Democrats say the same energy that’s greeted Harris at earlier stops on her battleground tour is present in Arizona.

A win for the Harris-Walz ticket would also mean the country’s first Native American female governor

If Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz officially steps down later this year to accept the position of U.S. vice president, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan would become the first Native woman to govern a state. Flanagan is a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and became the highest-ranking Native American statewide official in the country when she was elected to office in 2018. She has helped shape Walz’s administration as one focused on improving tribal sovereignty and autonomy across Minnesota. She is one of several Indigenous women who have taken seats of power in the U.S. over the past decade, and many in Indian Country see her rise to power as an opportunity for increased Indigenous rights and visibility.

Trump recommits to a Sept. 10 debate and lashes out at Harris at a news conference

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump has recommitted to debating Vice President Kamala Harris after recently backing out. The Republican presidential nominee held a lengthy news conference Thursday in which he taunted his new rival, boasted of his crowd on Jan. 6, 2021, and lashed out at questions about the enthusiasm her campaign has been generating. As he addressed reporters at his Palm Beach, Florida estate, ABC announced that Trump and Harris have agreed to a Sept. 10 presidential debate. In taking questions from reporters for more than an hour, Trump tried to draw a contrast with Harris, who has not held a news conference since she became the likely Democratic nominee following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race.

3rd person in custody over foiled plot targeting now-canceled Taylor Swift shows in Vienna

VIENNA (AP) — A third teenager has been arrested in connection with a foiled attack on now-canceled Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna. Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said an 18-year-old was taken into custody after allegedly being in contact with the main suspect. Austrian public broadcaster PRF says Karner announced the arrest during an unrelated news conference Friday. Authorities say the plot appeared to be inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaida. Investigators are scrutinizing the “networks” of the suspects, the Austrian interior ministry told The Associated Press on Friday, adding in a statement that investigators have turned to evaluating physical and electronic evidence.

Interim leader Muhammad Yunus takes the helm in Bangladesh, to seek peace and prepare elections

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus has taken the oath of office to lead Bangladesh’s interim government after protests forced out Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina this week. The key tasks for Yunus now are restoring peace in the South Asian country and preparing for new elections following the ouster of Hasina, who fled to India after student protests over job quotas grew into an uprising against her increasingly autocratic 15-year rule. The figurehead president administered the oath to Yunus for his role as chief adviser, which is the equivalent to a prime minister, in the presence of diplomats, civil society members, and top businessmen at the presidential palace in Dhaka.

Veteran human rights advocate freed in swap says Russia is sliding back toward Stalinist times

BERLIN (AP) — A human rights activist since the 1980s, Oleg Orlov thought Russia had turned a corner when the Soviet Union collapsed and a democratically elected president became leader. But then Vladimir Putin rose to power, crushing dissent and launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Finally, the 71-year-old Orlov was himself thrown in prison for opposing the war. Freed last week in the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War, Orlov told The Associated Press that Russia is backsliding toward the days of dictator Josef Stalin. He is vowing to work from exile to try to free as many political prisoners as possible and keep their cases in the spotlight.

US and other frustrated mediators call on Israel, Hamas to resume Gaza talks, saying, ‘no excuses’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Leaders of the United States, Egypt, and Qatar are jointly demanding that Israel and Hamas return to stalled talks on the war in Gaza. The three leaders issued a statement Thursday saying “only the details” remain to get a cease-fire deal and hostage release. President Joe Biden, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, and Emir Tamim al-Thani of Qatar are signaling growing frustration, saying they would accept “no excuses from any party for further delay.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Thursday that it had agreed to attend the Aug. 15 talks. There was no immediate word from Hamas. Hamas’ top representative to the talks was killed July 31 in an assassination widely blamed on Israel.