Crime victims’ families to speak as RNC turns to immigration and Trump’s son signals softer rhetoric
The Republican National Convention is resuming with a focus on immigration and crime with families impacted by violent crime slated to speak at the convention Tuesday night. Immigration is central to former President Donald Trump’s political brand that helped endear him to the GOP base when he began his first campaign in 2015. Tuesday’s speakers will include several Republican U.S. Senate candidates in states with close races, such as Ohio, Nevada and Montana, according to a source familiar. Tuesday’s primetime program also includes remarks from some of Trump’s top GOP primary rivals.
Sen. Bob Menendez guilty of taking bribes in cash and gold and acting as Egypt’s foreign agent
Sen. Bob Menendez has been convicted of all charges at his corruption trial, including accepting bribes of gold and cash from three New Jersey businessmen and acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government. Two co-defendants also were convicted Tuesday. Prosecutors said the Democrat abused his power to protect allies from criminal investigations and enrich associates including his wife. And they said he took bribes for helping Egypt access military aid worth millions of dollars. Menendez says he’ll appeal, adding he never violated his public oath. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says he should resign. Gov. Phil Murphy says the Senate should expel him if he doesn’t quit.
A dam fails after rain, wind, tornadoes pound the Midwest. The Chicago area is cleaning up
Severe storms in the Midwest have overtopped a dam in southern Illinois and left the Chicago area cleaning up. Officials say a reservoir dam failed near the Illinois community of Nashville. First responders tried Tuesday to ensure all 300 people in the evacuation zone got out safely. There were no reports of injuries there. National Weather Service employees at a suburban Chicago office had to run for cover late Monday as storms swept through. The service says it is sending teams to check 29 paths of damage in Illinois and Indiana for evidence that tornadoes caused them. A woman in Indiana died after a tree fell on a home.
Biden is trying to sharpen the choice voters face in November as Republicans meet in Milwaukee
President Joe Biden is returning to the campaign trail for the first time since the attempted assassination of his Republican rival, former President Donald Trump. He’s aiming to sharpen the choice voters will face this November in the wake of the attack. Biden will speak Tuesday at the NAACP convention in Las Vegas, aiming to showcase his administration’s support for Black voters who are a tentpole of the Democratic coalition. He’ll also participate in an interview with BET. And a day later he’ll address UnidosUS, looking to bolster his appeal to Latino voters, another crucial Democratic-leaning bloc. It’s all counterprogramming to Trump and the Republican National Convention under way in Milwaukee.
JD Vance is a relative political unknown. He’s been asked to help Donald Trump avenge his 2020 loss
Ohio Sen. JD Vance is supposed to help Donald Trump win the Midwest this fall. But almost immediately after he was announced as Trump’s vice presidential pick on Monday, one thing became clear: The 39-year-old Republican with less than two years in Congress is barely known among many Republicans even in the swing states Trump hopes he’ll deliver. Trump’s team has less than four months to strengthen Vance’s profile. Already, a collection of political foes is working to fill the information void with a series of attacks seizing on Vance’s inexperience in government, his nationalist views and his history of condemning Trump himself.
Violence plagued all levels of American politics long before the attempt on Trump’s life
The fuse of political violence has been burning across America long before a would-be assassin shot and wounded former President Donald Trump. Members of Congress have been shot, and a man attacked another lawmaker’s staff with a baseball bat. A private investigator put a tracking device on a Nevada mayor’s personal vehicle, and she still doesn’t know why. In upstate New York, a man threw a dummy pipe bomb through the front window of a candidate for county clerk’s home. The attempt to kill Trump horrified people across the political spectrum but came out of a political climate where violence has long punctuated intense partisanship.
Israeli military says it will begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men. That could rattle the government
The Israeli military says it will begin sending draft notices to Jewish ultra-Orthodox men on Sunday. The step could destabilize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Hundreds of men protested after the announcement. It follows a landmark Supreme Court order for young religious men to begin enlisting for military services. Under long-standing political arrangements, ultra-Orthodox men had been exempt from the draft, which is compulsory for most Jewish men. The system created widespread resentment among the general public in Israel, especially after more than nine months of war against Hamas militants in Gaza. The court ruled that the system of exemptions was discriminatory.
Six people are found dead in a hotel in downtown Bangkok, with poisoning a possibility
Police in Thailand say the bodies of six people were found in a luxury hotel in downtown Bangkok, with poisoning a possibility. Police identified the dead as two Vietnamese Americans and four Vietnamese nationals. They say there were no signs of a struggle and the bodies were found foaming at the mouth in a room at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel. Bangkok’s police chief says the residents of the room were supposed to have checked out earlier Tuesday, and their bodies were discovered by a maid who went to investigate after they failed to do so. He says there were beverages in the room that had been consumed and the room was locked from the inside.
Amazon Prime Day is a big event for scammers, experts warn
Amazon Prime Day is here. And experts are reminding consumers to be wary of scams. Deceptions such as phony emails from people impersonating online retailers like Amazon are nothing new. But the Better Business Bureau says phishing attempts increase amid the heavy spending seen during significant sales events. Amazon’s two days of discounts for Prime members start on Tuesday. The Better Business Bureau advises consumers to watch out for lookalike websites, too-good-to-be-true social media ads, and unsolicited emails or calls. A spokesperson for the organization that because Prime Day is a huge moment on the retail calendar, “it represents an enormous opportunity for a scammer, con artist or even just an unethical business or organization.”
Educators wonder how to teach the writings of Alice Munro in wake of daughter’s revelations
For decades, Robert Lecker has read, taught and written about Alice Munro, the Nobel laureate from Canada renowned for her short stories. A longtime professor at McGill University in Montreal, and author of a critical study of Munro, he has thought of her as the “jewel” in the crown of Canadian literature. But since learning that Munro declined to leave her husband after he had sexually assaulted and harassed her daughter, Lecker now wonders how to teach her work, or if he should even try. Other educated face similar dilemmas.
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