1:40 p.m. EDT National News Summary

Obama made his DNC debut 20 years ago. He’s returning to make the case for Kamala Harris

Barack Obama is returning to the Democratic National Convention stage two decades after his memorable debut. His job is different this time. In 2004, Obama was a young state senator from Illinois stumping for nominee John Kerry and introducing himself to the nation. That speech came months before his election to the Senate and put him on course to the presidency four years later. This time, Obama is the 63-year-old elder statesman eight years removed from serving two terms as the nation’s first Black president. He’ll be making the case for another historic figure: Vice President Kamala Harris. Michelle Obama will speak Tuesday as well.

The Latest: Day 2 of the DNC will feature the Obamas and second gentleman Doug Emhoff

The Democratic National Convention heads into its second day Tuesday. Former President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will speak at the DNC, a day after the unofficial farewell for President Joe Biden, who served eight years as Obama’s vice president. Biden won’t be in the hall to see his former running mate speak, as he departed Chicago after delivering his own speech. With President Biden having addressed delegates, the week’s full focus now turns to Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov Tim Walz.

Trump is visiting battleground states this week as he struggles to adjust to Harris as his new rival

YORK, Pa. (AP) — As Democrats kick off their convention in Chicago, Donald Trump is trying to regain his footing after weeks of struggling to adjust to Vice President Kamala Harris as his rival. The former president and GOP nominee on Monday delivered a speech at a factory in Pennsylvania as he attempts to undercut the Democratic celebration with a jam-packed schedule. He is holding daily events in battleground states tied to subjects where Republicans think they hold an advantage, including the economy, crime and safety, national security and the border.

Why is Israel demanding control over 2 Gaza corridors in the cease-fire talks?

Israel wants lasting control over two strategic corridors in Gaza, which Hamas has long rejected. The dispute threatens to unravel cease-fire talks aimed at ending the war and freeing scores of hostages. Officials familiar with the negotiations say Israel wants a lasting military presence in a buffer zone along the Gaza-Egypt border and in an area Israeli forces carved out to cut off northern Gaza from the south. It’s unclear whether Israeli control over these areas is part of a proposal the U.S. has called on Hamas to accept to break the cease-fire impasse. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Israel had agreed to the proposal, without saying what it entails.

Ukraine has destroyed or damaged all three bridges over Russia’s Seym River, Russian sources say

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian sources say that Ukrainian forces have either destroyed or damaged all three of the bridges over the Seym River in western Russia as Kyiv’s incursion into western Russia enters its third week. Kyiv’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk oblast is changing the trajectory of the war and boosting morale among Ukraine’s war-weary population, though the ultimate outcome of the daring incursion remains impossible to predict. Meanwhile Tuesday a massive fire burned for the third consecutive day elsewhere in western Russia after an oil depot was hit by Ukrainian drones. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the Ukrainians of “trying to destabilize our country” and vowed revenge.

What is known about the sinking of a luxury yacht off the coast of Sicily and those aboard

PORTICELLO, Sicily (AP) — Specialist cave divers working in 12-minute underwater shifts are searching for six missing passengers and crew, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, believed to be in the submerged wreck of a luxury yacht that was slammed by a powerful storm and swiftly sank off Sicily. The sleek Bayesian yacht was carrying a crew of 10 people and 12 passengers when it suddenly sank near the Mediterranean island that is part of Italy at about 4 a.m. on Monday. One body has been recovered and 15 people survived. This is what we know so far about the sinking and those who were on board.

Army and police missed chances to intervene before Maine mass shootings, final report says

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — A special commission has concluded that the Army Reserve and local police missed opportunities to intervene and potentially stop the deadliest shootings in Maine history. The independent commission released its final report Tuesday on the shootings by an Army reservist who killed 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston on Oct. 25, 2023. It cited shortcomings by police for failing to seize the gunman’s weapons and by the Army Reserve for failing to get proper psychiatric care for the reservist responsible for the attack. Commission chair Daniel Wathen defended the panel’s decision to avoid making recommendations. He says it’s up to others to implement changes based on the report.

‘Hitting kids should never be allowed’: Illinois bans corporal punishment in all schools

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois will soon become just the fifth state in the nation to prohibit corporal punishment in all schools. Legislation that Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law this month bans physical punishment in private schools while reiterating a prohibition on the practice in public schools, first implemented 30 years ago. The law takes effect in January. Illinois will join New Jersey, Iowa, Maryland and New York in prohibiting paddling, spanking or hitting in all its schools. Chicago Democratic Rep. Margaret Croke was inspired to take up the issue after the American Association of Pediatrics’ updated call to end the practice. Seventeen U.S. states allow some sort of corporal punishment in all schools.

Powell may use Jackson Hole speech to hint at how fast and how far the Fed could cut rates

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials have said they’re increasingly confident that they’ve nearly tamed inflation. Now, it’s the health of the job market that’s starting to draw their concern. With inflation cooling toward its 2% target, the pace of hiring slowing and the unemployment rate edging up, the Fed is poised to cut its benchmark interest rate next month from its 23-year high. How fast it may cut rates after that, though, will be determined mainly by whether employers keep hiring. Chair Jerome Powell will likely provide some hints about how the Fed sees the economy and what its next steps may be in a high-profile speech Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at the Fed’s annual conference of central bankers.

Same-sex couples and LGBTQ+ activists rally in Nepal’s capital during the annual Pride parade

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Hundreds of LGBTQ+ people and their supporters have rallied in Nepal’s capital during the annual Pride parade, the first one since gay couples were able to register same-sex marriages officially in the Himalayan nation. The annual event brings together the sexual minority community and their supporters in Kathmandu during the festival. Tuesday’s rally was participated by a government minister, diplomats and officials, which began at the city’s tourist hub and went around its main streets. After years of struggle, gay couples were able to register same-sex marriages for the first time in Nov 2023, following a Supreme Court order.

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