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.
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.
Blinken visits Gaza mediators in pursuit of cease-fire deal as Hamas, Israel signal challenges
JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar as he presses ahead with the latest diplomatic mission to secure a cease-fire in the war in Gaza, even as Hamas and Israel signal that challenges remain. Hamas in a new statement calls the latest proposal presented to it a “reversal” of what it had agreed to previously and accuses the U.S. of acquiescing to what it called “new conditions” from Israel. There is no immediate U.S. response. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, says a key goal is to “preserve our strategic security assets in the face of great pressures from home and abroad.”
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.
A massive fire rages for a third day at a Russian oil depot targeted in a Ukrainian drone attack
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian authorities are struggling to put out a massive fire in the southern Rostov region for a third day after an oil depot was hit by Ukrainian drones as Ukrainian forces push into Russia’s Kursk region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the daring Kursk incursion has allowed his army to capture a significant number of prisoners who could be used in exchange for captured Ukrainians, expanding on Kyiv’s objectives. A day earlier he said Ukraine sought to create a buffer zone that might prevent further attacks by Moscow across the border, especially with long-range artillery, missiles and glide bombs.
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 Reserves and local police missed out on 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. The panel held more than a dozen public meetings, heard from scores of witnesses and reviewed thousands of pages of evidence. It cited shortcomings by police for failing to seize the gunman’s weapons and by the Army Reserves for failing to get proper psychiatric care for the reservist responsible for the attack.
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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