Harris and Walz say they’re ‘joyful warriors,’ narrowly miss tarmac confrontation with Vance
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has declared herself and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz “joyful warriors” as they spent their first full day as running mates rallying Democrats across the Midwest. But they got an idea of just how hotly contested the region will be when they overlapped on a Wisconsin tarmac with Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance. Meanwhile, the Harris campaign said Wednesday that it had raised $36 million in the first 24 hours after the vice presidential announcement. Wednesday’s trip was aimed at shoring up support among the younger, diverse, labor-friendly voters who were instrumental in helping President Joe Biden win the 2020 election. That coalition has shown signs of fraying over Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Vance and other Trump allies amplify a false claim about Harris’ racial identity
Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, is defending a false claim the former president made about Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity. Trump suggested wrongly that Harris had downplayed her Black heritage in trying to suggest she’s inauthentic. Vance says, “What I took it as was an attack on Kamala Harris being a chameleon.” Harris is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants. The Harris campaign has declined to comment specifically on Trump’s false claim. The vice president, speaking to a Black sorority last week, accused Trump of “the same old show: the divisiveness and the disrespect.”
Organizers cancel Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna over fears of an attack
VIENNA (AP) — Organizers of three Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna this week called them off on Wednesday after officials announced arrests over an apparent plot to launch an attack on an event in the Vienna area such as the concerts as part of her Eras Tour. Swift was scheduled to play at the Austrian capital’s Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Event organizer Barracuda Music said in a post on its Instagram channel late Wednesday that “we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety.”
9/11 hearings at Guantanamo Bay in upheaval after surprise order by US defense chief
FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) — Military-run hearings for accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, are in upheaval following Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s decision to throw out a plea agreement. Defense attorneys contend the plea deal still stands and suspended participation in the pre-trial hearings while legal challenges to Austin’s action play out. The judge overseeing the case acknowledged concerns over outside pressure on the case. The events of the past week are the latest significant disruption of the U.S. military prosecution of defendants accused in the 2001 killings of nearly 3,000 people, in an al-Qaida plot.
Lin Yu-ting advances to gold-medal Olympic bout, excelling amid misconceptions about her gender
PARIS (AP) — Boxer Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan has advanced to the gold-medal bout in the women’s featherweight division at the Paris Olympics. She beat Esra Yildiz Kahraman of Turkey 5:0 for her third consecutive victory in the tournament while dealing with widespread scrutiny regarding misconceptions about her gender. Both Lin and Imane Khelif have responded to the scrutiny generated by the International Boxing Association’s decision to disqualify them from last year’s world championships by going on two of the best runs of their careers in Paris. Lin again used her superior height and technique to beat the more physical Kahraman. Lin will fight for gold on Saturday, taking on Julia Szeremeta of Poland.
Tropical Storm Debby doles out repeat deluges for weather-weary residents
HUGER, S.C. (AP) — Tropical Storm Debby is still pushing bad weather up the East Coast, but floodwaters are starting to recede in South Carolina. Residents there began the near-ritualistic task of assessing the damage Wednesday. Some people whose homes were flooded say they were prepared after enduring so many previous storms. Gene Taylor lives north of Charleston along French Quarter Creek in the community of Huger. He estimates that this is the fourth time he has had floodwater in his home in the past nine years. Meanwhile, residents as far away as the Great Lakes and New Jersey have also experienced heavy rains connected to the slow-moving tropical storm.
NASA says chances are growing that astronauts may switch from Boeing to a SpaceX ride back to Earth
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA says chances are growing that two test pilots who flew a new Boeing capsule to the International Space Station in June may have to switch to SpaceX for a ride home. Officials said Wednesday it’s still possible astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams can return aboard Boeing’s Starliner next month. But if the spacecraft’s leaks and thruster problems are not better understood, the two could find themselves up there until February, returning on a SpaceX capsule. Inside NASA, there’s dissent over which way to go. NASA is bringing in extra experts to figure out the best path forward.
US abortion numbers have risen slightly since Roe was overturned, study finds
A new report shows the number of monthly abortions in the U.S. went up slightly in the first three months of 2024 compared with before the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade. The #WeCount report says a major reason for the increase is that some Democratic-controlled states have laws to protect prescribers who use telemedicine to see patients in places with abortion bans. The latest edition of the survey counted an average of just under 99,000 abortions per month, compared with 84,000 in the two months before Dobbs. January was the first time since the survey began that it has counted more than 100,000 abortions across the country in a single month.
Hamas has a new leader. How will that affect the war in Gaza and cease-fire efforts?
Yahya Sinwar’s appointment as the top leader of Hamas formalizes a role he assumed in the early hours of Oct. 7, when the surprise attack into Israel that he helped mastermind ushered in the bloodiest chapter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He’s seen as a hard-liner with closer ties to Hamas’ armed wing than his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in a Tehran explosion last week that was widely blamed on Israel. Sinwar was already seen as having the final word on any cease-fire agreement for Gaza and the release of dozens of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas. He’s hiding deep inside Gaza. That raises questions as to how he’ll manage Hamas, with cadres across the Mideast.
Great Barrier Reef waters were hottest in 400 years over the past decade, study finds
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ocean temperatures in the Great Barrier Reef reached the highest they’ve been in 400 years over the past decade, research published Wednesday in the journal Nature found. Researchers from Melbourne University in Australia were able to compare recent ocean temperatures to historical ones by using coral skeleton samples from the Coral Sea to reconstruct sea surface temperature data from 1618 to 1995. They found mostly stable temperatures before 1900, and steady warming from 1960 to 2024. Temperatures were significantly higher over the past decade, when mass bleaching took place. The scientists warned that the reef likely won’t survive if planetary warming isn’t stopped.
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