JD Vance introduces himself as Trump’s running mate and makes direct appeal to his native Rust Belt
MILWAUKEE (AP) — JD Vance used his Wednesday night address to the Republican National Convention to share the story of his hardscrabble upbringing and make the case that his party best understands the challenges facing struggling Americans. The 39-year-old Ohio senator is a relative political unknown. In his first prime-time speech since becoming the nominee for vice president, Vance spoke of growing up poor in Kentucky and Ohio, his mother addicted to drugs and his father absent, and how he later joined the military and went on to the highest levels of U.S. politics.
Multiple failures, multiple investigations: Unraveling the attempted assassination of Donald Trump
BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — Multiple investigations have been launched into the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. They include probes into the crime itself and how law enforcement allowed it to happen at all. But it’s becoming increasingly clear this was a complicated failure involving multiple missteps and at least nine different local, county and federal law enforcement divisions that were supposed to be working together that day at the campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The gunman prepared for carnage. He was found with a detonator in his pocket to set off crude explosive devices that were stashed in his car parked nearby. That’s according to law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID-19 while campaigning in Las Vegas, has ‘mild symptoms’
LAS VEGAS (AP) — President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 while traveling in Las Vegas and is experiencing “mild symptoms” from the infection. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says Biden will fly to his home in Delaware, where he will “self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time.” The news had first been shared by UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía, who told guests at the group’s convention in Las Vegas that president had sent his regrets and could not appear because he tested positive for the virus.
Nearly two-thirds of Democrats want Biden to withdraw, new AP-NORC poll finds
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly two-thirds of Democrats say President Joe Biden should withdraw from the presidential race and let his party select a different candidate, according to a new poll. It sharply undercuts his post-debate claim that “average Democrats” are still with him even if some “big names” are turning on him. The new survey by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, conducted two weeks after Biden’s debate flop, also found that only about 3 in 10 Democrats are extremely or very confident that Biden has the mental capability to serve as president, down from 40% in an AP-NORC poll from February. The findings underscore the challenges the 81-year-old president faces as he works to silence calls from within his own party to leave the race.
Bedwetting, nightmares and shaking. War in Gaza takes a mental health toll, especially on children
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are struggling to maintain their mental health, with few resources and no safe places to recover after nine months of war. Mental health experts say anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation and aggression are prevalent. Children are especially vulnerable. Some wet the bed and have nightmares. One expert says essentially every child in Gaza needs mental health support. One mother says she tries to calm her children by saying that dying as a martyr is an opportunity to meet God and ask for the fruits and vegetables they didn’t have in hunger-ravaged Gaza.
Uncertainty is the winner and incumbents the losers so far in a year of high-stakes global elections
LONDON (AP) — Discontented, economically squeezed voters have turned against sitting governments on both right and left during many of the dozens of elections held this year, as global power blocs shift and political certainties crumble. From India to South Africa to Britain, voters dealt blows to long-governing parties. Elections to the European Parliament showed growing support for the continent’s far right, while France’s centrist president scrambled to fend off a similar surge at home. More than 40 countries have held elections already this year. More uncertainty awaits. Nations home to over half the world’s population are going to the polls in 2024.
European leaders will discuss migration and Ukraine at a UK summit amid worry about Trump
LONDON (AP) — Leaders from across Europe are gathering at an English country mansion for a summit of the European Political Community. The focus is on migration and Ukraine. But the meeting will be clouded by worries about whether the United States will remain a reliable ally if Donald Trump secures a second presidency. Newly elected U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is welcoming some 45 national leaders to Blenheim Palace, a country mansion northwest of London. Starmer aims to use the conference to help restore relations between the U.K. and its European Union neighbors in the wake of Brexit. An EU official says the prospect of Trump’s return and its implications for European security is a key issue on the minds of the leaders.
Ex-North Korean diplomat appointed a vice minister in South Korea, the highest post for any defector
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president has appointed a prominent North Korean defector as a vice minister, the highest-level government job for any of the thousands of North Koreans who have resettled in South Korea. President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office said Thursday that Tae Yongho was named secretary general the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council. Tae was a minister of the North Korean Embassy in London when he defected in 2016, saying he did so because he didn’t want his children to live “miserable” lives. About 34,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea.
Storms flood the Ozarks and strand drivers in Toronto. New York community is devastated by tornado
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Much of the U.S. and Canada is cleaning up or still dealing with a new wave of severe storms that have caused deaths and damage this week from the Plains to New England. Water rescues and evacuations took place in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas and Missouri on Wednesday after as much as 11 inches of rain fell overnight. A confirmed tornado was strong enough Tuesday to move an old B-52 bomber in Rome, New York. Some buildings in Rome are destroyed and streets are clogged with debris. Flooding left drivers stranded around Toronto. The East Coast from Maine to the Carolinas is being warned of dangerous heat.
Selena Gomez gets her due, Netflix and FX top HBO and 2 Queen Elizabeths get nominated for Emmys
The Emmy nominations are out and it’s good to be Netflix and FX. Netflix leads overall with 107 nods for shows like “Ripley” and “Reindeer Games.” FX follows, besting HBO, with 93 nominations for a roster that includes “Shogun” and “The Bear,” plus long-time critical favorites “Reservation Dogs” and “What We Do in the Shadows.” Other nomination surprises include historic nominations for Lily Gladstone and Kali Reis as the first female Indigenous actors to receive Emmy nominations. Selena Gomez also earned a best actress nomination for Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” after three seasons. The Emmy Awards will be handed out Sept. 15 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and air on ABC.