CHICAGO — It was U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s big night Thursday, but she wasn’t the only U.S. Democrat to knock it out of the park during a week of rousing speeches, celebrity cameos and lashings of hope and joy.

Here are some takeaways from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago:

Star-studded convention

Oprah Winfrey stole the show, exhorting voters to “choose joy” and Stevie Wonder took the convention to Higher Ground.

John Legend lit up the United Center with a tribute to Prince, while comic actress Mindy Kaling shared stories of cooking lessons from the vice president.

And there was comedy with a serious message from Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson, who brought a giant book on stage to represent the radical Trump-linked Project 2025 governing agenda.

There was feverish speculation over a potential appearance by global superstar Beyonce, but it didn’t pan out.

Family affair

On the biggest stage of their careers, political leaders often look to dewy-eyed family moments that, if seen as genuine, can humanize them and make them relatable to voters.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s 17-year-old son, Gus, touched a nation as he wiped away joyous tears, pointed to his father accepting the vice presidential nomination and sobbed: “That’s my dad!”

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff provided another indelible memory, referring to Harris as “my wiiiiife” as he recounted the goofy, endearing story of their romance.

And President Joe Biden’s daughter Ashley was a highlight of the opening night as she paid tribute to “the O.G. Girl Dad.”

Obamas sizzle

Barack and Michelle Obama — the undisputed power couple of Democratic politics — partied like it was 2008 as they gave the convention a shot of star power on Day Two.

The 44th president got the night’s biggest laugh as he goaded Donald Trump over the Republican’s “obsession with crowd sizes.”

But he was upstaged by the former first lady — by far the country’s most popular Democrat — who spoke of the “contagious power of hope” in the most cheered speech of the week.

The party made use of a deep bench of luminaries, including former president Bill Clinton, whose raspy speech was more than twice the allotted time but included some memorable applause lines.

Gaza fizzles

There were protests across Chicago against the administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, and particularly over the decision not to allow a Palestinian American to speak from the main stage.

The largest protest Thursday featured several thousand marchers but was still much smaller than the demonstrations of tens of thousands predicted by organizers, and it was not the fly in the ointment that the Democrats had feared.

Protests were largely peaceful, although several demonstrators were arrested when they broke through a security fence earlier in the week around the United Center where the main program was staged.

Although the activists were largely pro-Palestinian, they were joined by others marching against a variety of progressive causes, from reproductive rights to migrant welfare.

Bye-bye Biden

The president gave an emotional keynote speech to open a conference that he thought just weeks ago he would be headlining.

Biden took to the stage, dabbing his eyes, and spoke at length about his achievements while making a case for Harris that was criticized for lacking the pizzazz of the Obama endorsements.

Flanked by first lady Jill Biden and Harris, the veteran Democrat’s final bow marked at long last the passing of the torch for a politician who has been in the public eye for more than half a century.

“Democracy has prevailed. Democracy has delivered. And now democracy must be preserved,” he declared, to one of many standing ovations from the rapt audience. 
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CHICAGO — Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted her party’s nomination for president on Thursday with a rousing call to end the war in Gaza and to fight tyranny around the world.

“In the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs,” Harris said, drawing a sharp contrast with Republican Donald Trump.

On the final, and most anticipated, night of the convention, Harris, 59, sought to redefine herself for America as she and Trump enter the final 11 weeks of the razor-close campaign.

After days of protests from Palestinian supporters who were disappointed at not getting a speaking spot at the convention, Harris delivered a pledge to secure Israel, bring the hostages home from Gaza and end the war in the Palestinian enclave.

“Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done,” she said to cheers. “And let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself.”

“What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost, desperate hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking,” she said.

“President [Joe] Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are release, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”

Harris emerged as the Democratic candidate little more than a month ago when allies of President Biden, 81, forced him to quit the race. If successful, she stands to make history as the first woman elected U.S. president.

Trump, who had promised to respond to Harris’ speech in real time, posted a series of messages on Truth Social as she spoke about him, including: “She stands for Incompetence and Weakness – Our Country is being laughed at all over the World!” and “She will never be respected by the Tyrants of the World!”
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CHICAGO — Pro-Palestinian protests during the final hours of the Democratic National Convention began Thursday night much like they had earlier this week — largely peaceful with a family-friendly atmosphere.

The crowd of thousands slowly snaked through residential areas surrounding the United Center. Some wore red T-shirts that said “Not In Our Name” while others held signs that said “End U.S. Aid to Israel.” Pausing at the edge of a park to turn toward the convention center, they chanted: “DNC, you will see. Palestine will be free.”

There was heavy police presence as protesters walked the blocks by the United Center, including at a park where a small group of activists breached an outer perimeter fence earlier in the week. In addition to police on bikes along the route, about 100 officers in riot gear and more than 20 law enforcement vehicles followed the marchers.

Stephen Watts, a 28-year-old from Tennessee, said he came to Chicago out of frustration with feeling ignored by the Democratic Party. He said he was heartened by the size of the protests, but felt the presence of hundreds police officers was “a threat.”

At Union Park ahead of the march, the grassy field teemed with Palestinian flags, and a speaker system played Palestinian dance songs. The gathering was organized by the Coalition to March on the DNC, a group of more than 200 organizations that also ran a similar event on Monday night.

The largely festive atmosphere was briefly interrupted by the arrival of Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate, who said he was interested in “hearing alternative points of view.” After describing himself as a supporter of Israel, Ramaswamy was driven from the park by protesters chanting “racists go home.”

Protesters attempted to call attention to what they see as a lack of Palestinian voices within the arena hosting the DNC. Standing at the edge of the crowd, Lisa Pint, a 61-year-old volunteer wearing buttons in support of the Democratic ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, said she wanted to see the protest as a “neutral” observer. But after speaking with an activist, Pint said she’d come to the conclusion that a Palestinian voice should have been represented on the convention stage.

“I didn’t think of it until a protester said it. It’s a good point,” said Pint, a nurse in the Chicago suburbs. “I’m very strong for Kamala and Walz, but they should have been included.”

Leaders of an “Uncommitted” movement, which garnered hundreds of thousands of votes in Democratic primaries across the nation in protest of the Israel-Hamas war, expressed frustration ahead of the convention when weekslong negotiations to secure a speaking slot for a Palestinian American at the DNC stalled.

Chicago police said Thursday that they are not changing any of their tactics and are ready for a final night of pro-Palestinian demonstrations outside the convention, after a peaceful march that resulted in no injuries or arrests.

On Wednesday night, more than 2,000 pro-Palestinian protesters marched peacefully past a park where pro-Israel demonstrators had gathered earlier. That demonstration came a day after violent clashes between police and protesters led to 56 arrests at a much smaller, unsanctioned protest outside the Israeli Consulate in downtown Chicago.

Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said the protest Wednesday night ended without arrests and that no one was injured.

Snelling praised the organizers of the Wednesday protest, saying it’s an example of how people can hold First Amendment-protected demonstrations peacefully by collaborating in advance with law enforcement.

“Did we have a couple dustups? Sure, but those things were quickly rectified,” he said.

The biggest protest so far, which attracted about 3,500 people on Monday, was largely peaceful and resulted in 13 arrests, most related to a breach of security fencing. They did not gain access to the inner security perimeter at the United Center, where the convention is taking place.

Two people were arrested Sunday night during another mostly peaceful march.
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a Republican push that could have blocked more than 41,000 Arizona voters from casting ballots for president in the state that President Joe Biden, a Democrat, won by fewer than 11,000 votes four years ago.

But in a 5-4 order, the court allowed some enforcement of regulations barring people from voting if they don’t provide proof of citizenship when they register.

The justices acted on an emergency appeal filed by state and national Republicans that sought to give full effect to voting measures enacted in 2022 following Biden’s narrow win over Republican Donald Trump.

The court did not detail its reasoning in a brief order. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch would have allowed the law to be fully enforced, while Justice Amy Coney Barrett would have joined with the court’s three liberals in fully rejecting the push, the order states.

The legal fight will continue in lower courts.

The court’s action came after a lower court blocked a requirement that called for state voter registration forms to be rejected if they are not accompanied by documents proving U.S. citizenship. A second measure, also not in effect, would have prohibited voting in presidential elections or by mail if registrants don’t prove they are U.S. citizens. Federal law requires voters to swear they are U.S. citizens under penalty of perjury but does not require proof of citizenship either to vote in federal elections in person or cast ballots by mail.

The measures were passed on party-line votes and signed into law by then-Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, amid a wave of proposals that Republicans introduced around the country after Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump, including in Arizona.

For state and local elections, voters must provide proof of citizenship when they register or have it on file with the state. Since that isn’t a requirement for federal elections for Congress or president, tens of thousands of voters who haven’t provided proof of citizenship are registered only for federal elections.

There were 41,352 of those voters registered as of August 9 in Arizona, said Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat.

Fontes warned in a court filing that an order in favor of the state and national Republicans this close to the November election “will create chaos and confusion.”

The voters most affected would include military service members, students and Native Americans, Fontes said. About 27% of those voters are registered Democrats and 15% are Republicans. More than half, 54%, are registered independents, according to state data.

Voting rights groups and the Biden administration had sued over the Arizona laws.

Federal-only voters have been a subject of political wrangling since the Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that Arizona cannot require documentary proof of citizenship for people to vote in national elections. The state responded by creating two classes of voters: those who can vote in all races and those who can vote only in federal elections.

One of the new laws sought to further divide voters, allowing votes in congressional elections without proof of citizenship, but denying the vote in presidential contests.

The 2022 law has drawn fierce opposition from voting rights advocates, who described the statute as an attempt to get the issue back in front of the now more-conservative Supreme Court.

Proponents say the measure is about eliminating opportunities for fraud. There is no evidence that the existence of federal-only voters has allowed noncitizens to illegally vote, but Republicans have nonetheless worked aggressively to restrict federal-only voting.

The Legislature’s own lawyers had said much of the measure was unconstitutional, directly contradicted the earlier Supreme Court decision and was likely to be thrown out in court.
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TORONTO — Both of Canada’s major freight railroads have come to a full stop because of a contract dispute with their workers, an impasse that could bring significant economic harm to businesses and consumers in Canada and the U.S. if the trains don’t resume running soon.

Canadian National and CPKC railroads both locked out their employees after the deadline of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Thursday passed without new agreements with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference that represents some 10,000 engineers, conductors and dispatchers.

All rail traffic in Canada and all shipments crossing the U.S. border have stopped, although CPKC and CN’s trains will continue to operate in the U.S. and Mexico.

Billions of dollars of goods each month move between Canada and the U.S. via rail, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“If rail traffic grinds to a halt, businesses and families across the country will feel the impact,” Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, said in a statement. “Manufacturing workers, their communities and consumers of all sorts of products will be left reeling from supply chain disruptions.”

There will be other impacts as well, including on the more than 30,000 commuters in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal who will be scrambling to find a new way into work because their trains won’t be able to operate over CPKC’s tracks while the railroad is shut down.

Business groups had urged the government to intervene, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has declined to force both sides into arbitration.

CN said it was waiting for a response on one final offer made late Wednesday when it locked the workers out. CPKC spokesperson Patrick Waldron said the union rejected its last offer that CEO Keith Creel made at the table in person. Both railroads have said they would end the lockout if the union agreed to binding arbitration.

“Despite the lockout, the Teamsters remain at the bargaining table with both companies,” the union said in a statement.

CN had been negotiating with the Teamsters for nine months while CPKC had been trying to reach an agreement for a year, the unions said.

Many companies across all industries rely on railroads to deliver their raw materials and finished products, so without regular rail service they may have to cut back or even close.

That’s why the U.S. government kept rail workers from going on strike two years ago and forced them to accept a contract despite their concerns about demanding schedules and the lack of paid sick time.

Canada’s railroads have sometimes shut down briefly in the past during contract negotiations — most recently CPKC was offline for a couple of days in March 2022 — but it is rare for both railroads to stop at the same time. The impact on businesses will be magnified because both CN and CPKC have stopped.

Both CN and CPKC had been gradually shutting down since last week ahead of the contract deadline. Shipments of hazardous chemicals and perishable goods were the first to stop, so they wouldn’t be stranded somewhere on the tracks.

As the Canadian contract talks were coming down to the wire, one of the biggest U.S. railroads, CSX, broke with the U.S. freight rail industry’s longstanding practice of negotiating jointly for years with the unions. CSX reached a deal with several of its 13 unions that cover 25% of its workers ahead of the start of national bargaining later this year.

The new five-year contracts will provide 17.5% raises, better benefits and vacation time if they are ratified. The unions that have signed deals with CSX include part of the SMART-TD union representing conductors in one region, the Transportation Communications Union, the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen and the Transport Workers Union. TCU President Artie Maratea said he’s proud that his union reached a deal “without years of unnecessary delay and stall tactics.”

Trudeau has been reluctant to force arbitration because he doesn’t want to offend the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference and other unions, but he urged both sides to reach a deal Wednesday because of the tremendous economic damage that would follow a full shutdown.

“It is in the best interest of both sides to continue doing the hard work at the table,” Trudeau said to reporters in Gatineau, Quebec. “Millions of Canadians, workers, farmers, businesses, right across the country, are counting on both sides to do the work and get to a resolution.”

Numerous business groups have been urging Trudeau to act.

Trudeau said Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon met with both sides in the CN talks in Montreal on Tuesday and would be on hand for the CPKC talks in Calgary, Alberta. MacKinnon later said he wrapped up his meetings with the rail companies and the Teamsters.

‘Workers, farmers, commuters and businesses can’t wait. Canadians need urgency at the table. The parties need to get deals done now,” he posted on the social platform X.

The negotiations are stuck on issues related to the way rail workers are scheduled and concerns about rules designed to prevent fatigue and provide adequate rest to train crews. Both railroads had proposed shifting away from the existing system, which pays workers based on the miles in a trip, to an hourly system they said would make it easier to provide predictable time off.

The railroads said their contract offers have included raises consistent with recent deals in the industry. Engineers make about $150,000 a year on Canadian National while conductors earn $120,000, and CPKC says its wages are comparable.

Similar quality-of-life concerns about demanding schedules and the lack of paid sick time nearly led to a U.S. rail strike two years ago until Congress and President Joe Biden intervened and forced the unions to accept a deal.

Manufacturing companies may have to scale back or even shut down production if they can’t get rail service, while ports and grain elevators will quickly become clogged with shipments waiting to move. And if the dispute drags on for a couple weeks, water treatment plants all across Canada might have to scramble without new shipments of chlorine.

Some companies would undoubtedly turn to trucking to keep some of their products moving, but there’s no way to make up for the volume railroads deliver. It would take some 300 trucks to haul everything just one train can carry.
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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz accepted his party’s nomination as vice president during the third day of the Democratic National Convention. VOA Midwest Correspondent Kane Farabaugh has more from Chicago.
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MEXICO CITY — The strange saga of how two Mexican drug lords were detained after landing in a plane in the United States in July just got stranger.

The Mexican government now says it is bringing charges against Joaquín Guzmán López, but not because he was a leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel founded by his father, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Instead, Mexican prosecutors are bringing charges against the younger Guzmán for apparently kidnapping Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada — an older drug boss from a rival faction of the cartel — forcing him onto the plane and flying to an airport near El Paso, Texas.

The younger Guzmán apparently intended to turn himself in to U.S. authorities, but may have brought Zambada along as a prize to sweeten any plea deal.

Federal prosecutors issued a statement saying “an arrest warrant has been prepared” against the younger Guzmán for kidnapping.

But it also cited another charge under an article of Mexico’s criminal code that defines what he did as treason. That section of the law says treason is committed “by those who illegally abduct a person in Mexico in order to hand them over to authorities of another country.”

That clause was apparently motivated by the abduction of a Mexican doctor wanted for allegedly participating in the 1985 torture and killing of Drug Enforcement Administration agent Kiki Camarena.

Nowhere in the statement does it mention that the younger Guzmán was a member of the “little Chapos” faction of the Sinaloa cartel, made up of Chapo’s sons, that smuggles millions of doses of the deadly opioid fentanyl into the United States, causing about 70,000 overdose deaths each year.

The federal prosecutors’ statement also included an unusually harsh and revealing description about evidence presented by prosecutors in the northern state of Sinaloa that has since proved to be false.

Sinaloa state prosecutors were apparently trying to distance the state’s governor, Rubén Rocha, from the killing of a local political rival, Hector Cuén, who was at a meeting that was used as a pretext for luring Zambada to the abduction site. Zambada has said he expected the governor to be at that meeting; Rocha has said he made a trip out of the state that day.

To play down reports of the purported meeting, state prosecutors published a video of an apparent shooting during what they claimed was a botched robbery at a local gas station. They said Cuén was killed there, not at the meeting site, where Zambada said Cuén was murdered.

While federal prosecutors stopped short of saying the gas station video was a fake, they earlier noted that the number of gunshots heard on the video didn’t match the number of gunshot wounds on Cuén’s body.

On Wednesday, the federal prosecutors went further, saying the video “is unacceptable, nor does it have sufficient value as evidence to be taken into account.”

Zambada has said that Guzmán, whom he trusted, had invited him to the meeting to help iron out the fierce political rivalry between Cuén and Rocha. Zambada was known for eluding capture for decades because of his incredibly tight, loyal and sophisticated personal security apparatus.

The fact that he would knowingly leave that all behind to meet with Rocha means that Zambada viewed such a meeting as credible and feasible. The same goes for the idea that Zambada, as the leader of the oldest wing of the Sinaloa cartel, could act as an arbiter in the state’s political disputes.

The governor has denied he knew of or attended the meeting where Zambada was abducted.
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CHICAGO — More than 2,000 pro-Palestinian protesters marched Wednesday past a park where pro-Israel demonstrators had gathered earlier and toward the arena hosting the third night of the Democratic National Convention.

The demonstration, which stayed largely peaceful, came a day after violent clashes between police and protesters led to 56 arrests at a much smaller unsanctioned protest outside the Israeli Consulate.

Organizers of Wednesday’s demonstration drew on the Chicago area’s Palestinian community, one of the largest in the country, by bringing buses from suburban mosques.

Raed Shuk, 48, came with his children from the suburbs, including his 2-year-old son, who sat on Shuk’s shoulders ahead of the march. Shuk, whose parents are Palestinian, said they have come to so many rallies that his son knows the chants by heart.

“Everybody’s humanity needs to be equally addressed here and there,” he said of Gaza. “I want to help my children learn from this experience that you always like to stand up for your rights and always peacefully protest.”

The march, one of the largest anticipated demonstrations of the week, took on a festive tone at times as a drum line led marchers and a sea of Palestinian flags waved above the crowds. Some kids ate popsicles as they walked, and others were pushed in strollers or rode in wagons.

The crowd stopped outside a park that is roughly a block from the United Center and used megaphones and air horns to call out elected leaders, including Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, for being “complicit” in the war in Gaza. The two-term Democrat, who was under consideration as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, criticized a cease-fire resolution Chicago approved in January.

The crowds of pro-Palestinian protesters included many families and people of different faiths. Small groups of Muslims gathered in prayer at a park just ahead of the march’s kickoff, using keffiyeh as prayer rugs. Rabbis were among the leaders of the march, and a small group marched through in the crowd holding a sign that said, “Christians for Ceasefire.”

Rabbi Brant Rosen, a founder of the Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council, condemned Democrats for not speaking out about the war in Gaza at the convention.

“The word Palestine is not allowed inside the Democratic National Convention. The word cease-fire has barely been uttered,” he said. “This is a Hollywood-style coronation of a candidate. They assume they are entitled to our votes, but they are not entitled to our votes.”

Earlier in the day, police escorted pro-Israel demonstrators out of a park near the United Center as the area was blocked off ahead of the march of activists heading there.

The rally near the United Center was organized by the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, a Palestinian and Arab community-based organization. It was in stark contrast to the protest Tuesday night outside the Israeli Consulate. Protesters not affiliated with a coalition of more than 200 groups that have the city’s permission for demonstrations ended up in an intense standoff with Chicago police.

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said those arrested Tuesday night outside the Israeli Consulate, about 3.2 kilometers from the United Center, “showed up with the intention of committing acts of violence, vandalism.” Snelling called the police response “proportionate.”

Thirty of the people detained by police were issued citations for disorderly conduct, according to Chicago police. One person was arrested on a felony charge of resisting police, while nine were charged with misdemeanors including disorderly conduct, resisting officers, battery, assault and criminal damage to property, police said.

Snelling said that two people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, one for knee pain and one with a finger injury. Two officers were injured, but they refused medical attention because they did not want to leave fellow officers, Snelling said. He said three journalists were among those arrested, but he did not have details on charges.

Hatem Abudayyeh, co-founder of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, put the onus on police to keep the peace when asked about the clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and police. The police “only have one responsibility here,” he said. “They have the responsibility of not infringing on our First Amendment rights.”

The Israeli Consulate has been the site of numerous demonstrations since the war in Gaza began in October, and protests during the DNC have largely focused on opposing the Israel-Hamas war.

The largest protest so far, which attracted about 3,500 people on Monday, was largely peaceful and resulted in 13 arrests, most related to a breach of security fencing. Two were arrested Sunday night during another mostly peaceful march. 
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WASHINGTON — An attorney who represented the far-right Oath Keepers pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges stemming from a mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including members of the extremist group. 

Kellye SoRelle, who was general counsel for the anti-government group and a close associate of its founder, is scheduled to be sentenced on January 17 by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C. 

SoRelle, 45, of Granbury, Texas, answered routine questions by the judge as she pleaded guilty to two charges: a felony count of obstructing justice and a misdemeanor count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. The felony carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, but her estimated sentencing guidelines recommend a maximum of 16 months behind bars. 

SoRelle was arrested in Junction, Texas, in September 2022. Her case remained suspended for months amid questions about her mental health. 

More than a year ago, medical experts concluded that SoRelle was mentally incompetent to stand trial. In November 2023, she reported to a federal Bureau of Prisons facility for treatment. Last month, Mehta ruled that SoRelle had recovered to an extent that she could understand the nature of her charges and could assist in her defense. 

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is serving an 18-year prison sentence for orchestrating a plot to keep Donald Trump in the White House after the 2020 presidential election. After Rhodes’ arrest, SoRelle told media outlets she was acting as the president of the Oath Keepers in his absence. 

SoRelle, a former Texas prosecutor, was photographed with Rhodes outside the Capitol on January 6. As the riot erupted, she posted a chat message for other Oath Keepers that said, “We are acting like the founding fathers — can’t stand down. Per Stewart, and I concur.” 

“Although SoRelle did not personally enter the Capitol Building on January 6, she understood the role those inside and outside the building, like herself, played in delaying the certification proceeding that had been taking place inside the Capitol,” said a court filing accompanying her guilty plea. 

The night before the riot, she joined Rhodes in meeting with other extremist group members in an underground garage in Washington, D.C. The meeting also included former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio, who is serving a 22-year prison sentence for his role in a separate plot to stop the peaceful transfer of power from Trump to Joe Biden after the election. 

Rhodes, a former U.S. Army paratrooper, founded the Oath Keepers in 2009. The group recruits current and former military, police and first responders and pledges to “fulfill the oath all military and police take to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” 

During the trial for Rhodes and other Oath Keepers charged with seditious conspiracy, jurors heard testimony that SoRelle had a romantic relationship with Rhodes. 

SoRelle pleaded guilty to obstructing justice for encouraging others to destroy electronic evidence of their participation in the plot. Two days after the riot, Rhodes and SoRelle both sent messages from her cellphone encouraging Oath Keepers to delete any incriminating evidence. 

She was indicted on other charges, including conspiring with Rhodes and other Oath Keepers to obstruct Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote. But she did not plead guilty to the conspiracy charge. 

Also on Wednesday, a judge set a February 3 trial date for an Illinois man charged with firing a gun during the riot. John Banuelos climbed scaffolding outside the Capitol, took out his revolver and fired two shots into the air, according to prosecutors. 

Banuelos, of Summit, Illinois, was arrested in March. U.S. District Judge Judge Tanya Chutkan refused on Wednesday to free Banuelos from pretrial custody. She ruled that he poses a flight risk and a danger to the public. 

“It could have been much more tragic,” the judge said of the gunshots.
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Seoul, South Korea — China on Wednesday said it was “seriously concerned” after a report alleged the United States recently approved a secret plan to shift some of the focus of its nuclear strategy away from Russia to deal with Beijing’s nuclear weapons buildup.

In a report late Tuesday, The New York Times reported that U.S. President Joe Biden in March approved a new “nuclear employment guidance,” a highly classified document outlining how the U.S. would use nuclear weapons in a potential conflict.

The report said the document, updated every four years, reorients U.S. nuclear deterrent strategy to deal with China’s massive expansion of its nuclear arsenal. The document also orders U.S. forces to prepare for the possibility of “coordinated nuclear challenges” from China, Russia, and North Korea, according to the report.

Asked about the report during a press briefing Wednesday, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson accused the United States of “peddling the China nuclear threat narrative” and “finding excuses to seek strategic advantage.”

“China is seriously concerned about the relevant report, and the facts have fully proven that the United States has constantly stirred up the so-called China nuclear threat theory in recent years,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

Russia has not responded to the report.

For decades, U.S. nuclear policy has been primarily focused on Russia, the only other country with comparable nuclear weapons capabilities.

However, U.S. officials have increasingly warned that China’s nuclear buildup under President Xi Jinping is proceeding faster than previously expected.

In an unclassified document released late last year, the Pentagon estimated that the Chinese military had more than 500 operational warheads in its arsenal and will have more than 1,000 warheads by 2030.

That compares to the United States, which possesses a nuclear stockpile of about 3,700 active warheads, according to estimates compiled by the U.S.-based Arms Control Association.

Russia has roughly 4,380 nuclear warheads, including about 1,550 on strategic delivery systems, according to estimates cited by the group.

Given those numbers, Russia remains the “major driver” behind U.S. nuclear strategy, said Daryl G. Kimball, the director of the Arms Control Association, in a post on social media site X.

The Times report overstates the changes outlined in the U.S. nuclear weapons guidance document, according to Kimball, who insisted there has been no reorientation away from Russia toward China.

“Despite China’s nuclear expansion, Russia’s arsenal significantly exceeds that of China’s – even after Xi’s ambitious plan is complete. Until that changes, focus will remain on Russia’s arsenal,” said Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists.

“But planning against China is increasing, as reflected in the document,” Kristensen added in a post on X.

U.S. officials have publicly referred to the nuclear weapons document at least twice, without offering much detail on its contents.

In June, Pranay Vaddi, the White House National Security Council’s senior director for arms control and nonproliferation, said the new guidance “emphasizes the need to account for the growth and diversity” of China’s nuclear arsenal, as well the need to deter Russia, China, and North Korea simultaneously.

According to Vaddi, the U.S. will continue to pursue nuclear arms restraints with Russia and China, but “without a change in the trajectory that Russia, [China], and North Korea are on,” the U.S. “will need to continue to adjust our posture and capabilities to ensure our ability to deter and meet other objectives going forward.”

Vipin Narang, an MIT nuclear security specialist who until recently focused on nuclear policy in the Pentagon, said earlier this month that Biden “recently issued updated nuclear weapons employment guidance to account for multiple nuclear-armed adversaries, and, in particular, the significant increase in the size and diversity of [China’s] nuclear arsenal.”

“It is our responsibility to see the world as it is, not as we hoped or wished it would be,” said Narang. “It is possible that we will one day look back and see the quarter century after the Cold War as ‘nuclear intermission’.”

U.S. and Chinese officials both frequently speak of the dangers of nuclear war, but efforts to hold dialogue on the issue have failed.

Last year, U.S. and Chinese officials agreed to negotiations on nuclear non-proliferation and arms control, ahead of a meeting between Biden and Xi. But China suspended the talks last month, citing U.S. arms sales to the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own.

Many analysts are also concerned about growing military and diplomatic cooperation between Russia and China. In 2022, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on a “no-limits” partnership and have recently expanded joint military exercises and other cooperation.

Earlier this year, Russia also restored a Cold War-era mutual defense treaty with nuclear-armed North Korea and hinted at further defense cooperation.

Since invading Ukraine in 2022, Putin has repeatedly issued thinly veiled threats about using nuclear weapons against Western-backed forces there.
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Former President Barack Obama addressed Democrats in his home city of Chicago Tuesday, saying Vice President Kamala Harris is the right choice to take on Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election this November. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson has more from the second night of the Democratic National Convention.
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CHICAGO — The Democratic National Convention’s second night showcased a double dose of Obama firepower to validate Vice President Kamala Harris and deliver an unsparing indictment of Republican Donald Trump. The convention also served up a raucous roll call of states that was essentially one big dance party.

Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, ducked out of Chicago to hold a rally just up the interstate in Milwaukee, wooing voters in battleground Wisconsin. It was a recognition that, regardless of whatever good vibes may exist at the convention, Democrats expect this presidential election to be razor-close.

Here are some takeaways from the convention’s second night.

The ex-presidents club

If the Republican convention was all about Trump, the Democrats on Tuesday wanted to put Harris in a pantheon with past presidents.

The biggest validators of the night were former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle. The latter linked Harris with her husband by telling the rapt crowd, “America, hope is making a comeback.”

Barack Obama, for his part, reached back to his own 2004 convention speech to tie Harris to his legacy. “I am feeling hopeful — because this convention has always been pretty good to kids with funny names who believe in a country where everything is possible,” he said.

It wasn’t just the Obamas making the case for the vice president. The grandsons of Jimmy Carter and John F. Kennedy also portrayed her as the natural heir of past Democratic leaders.

As groundbreaking as Harris’ candidacy is as the first woman of color to be her party’s nominee, these speeches by an ex-president and presidential progeny were all about linking her to a broader historical arc and evoking the excitement of Obama’s 2008 run that Harris hopes to replicate.

Diverting from the high road

The Obamas did not hold back in lacing into Trump. Michelle Obama’s well-worn adage from years past that “when they go low, we go high” no longer seemed operative.

Barack Obama called Trump “a 78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago.”

Michelle Obama also took a personal swipe, saying: “For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be Black.”

Playing off her famous line about Republicans going low, Michelle Obama suggested that Trump was going “small” and that “it’s unhealthy, and quite frankly, it’s unpresidential.”

DNC dance party

Political conventions technically happen so that delegates can nominate presidential and vice presidential candidates.

This year, the Democrats took care of that job in advance. But that didn’t stop them from holding a ceremonial do-over and turning it into a raucous dance party.

DJ Cassidy strode on stage in a bright blue double-breasted suit and spun tunes for every state as they nominated Harris and Walz. Minnesota got “1999” by native son Prince, Kansas got “Carry on Wayward Son” by, well, Kansas. “Born in the U.S.A.” by Bruce Springsteen played as New Jersey weighed in.

Usually it was governors or state party chairs calling out the votes, but some states passed the mic to make serious points. Kate Cox, who unsuccessfully sued her home state of Texas while seeking an abortion for a non-viable fetus, announced Texas’ votes. A survivor of the 2017 Las Vegas strip gun massacre announced Nevada’s votes.

The roll call highlight was when Atlanta rapper Lil Jon strode through the United Center to the beats of “Turn Down for What,” his song with DJ Snake, and rapped his support for Harris and Walz.

Democrats are eager to highlight how Harris’ ascension has energized the party. The roll call fit that vibe.

America’s blind date with Doug Emhoff

Doug Emhoff wants America to love his wife as much as he does.

His convention speech Tuesday night focused on their love story and offered a personal glimpse meant to pull in voters, too. He dished on the deets of their first phone call, after he left her a rambling voicemail that she still makes him listen to every year on their anniversary.

“I love that laugh,” he said adoringly, a rebuttal to Trump’s criticism of Harris’ laughter.

As Harris flew back to Chicago from Milwaukee after her rally there, Air Force Two spent an extra 10 minutes in the air so she could watch her husband speak, according to an aide.

Emhoff said he “just fell in love fast” with Harris, adding that she finds “joy in pursuing justice” and “stands up to bullies.” It’s not how most husbands describe their partners, but, then, Emhoff is trying to convince voters that the woman he’s been married to for 10 years this Thursday knows how to take on Trump.

A message for Republicans: It’s OK to quit Trump

The Democrats are making a play for disaffected Trump voters — and they used one of his former White House staffers to make their case.

Stephanie Grisham worked in various roles in the Trump White House, including communications director and press secretary, allowing Democrats to argue that those who know Trump best have seen him at his worst.

“He has no empathy, no morals, and no fidelity to the truth,” Grisham said. “I couldn’t be part of the insanity any longer.”

Kyle Sweetser, a Trump voter from Alabama, told the convention the former president’s tariffs made life harder for construction workers like him. Republican Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona, also spoke about why he’s backing Harris. Giles sees Trump’s policies as hurting cities like his.
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CHICAGO — Warning of a difficult fight ahead, former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama on Tuesday called on the nation to embrace Kamala Harris in urgent messages to the Democratic National Convention that were at times both hopeful and foreboding.

“America, hope is making a comeback,” the former first lady declared. She then tore into Republican Donald Trump, a sharp shift from the 2016 convention speech in which she told her party, “When they go low, we go high.”

“His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be Black,” Obama said of Trump.

Her husband, the nation’s first Black president pushing for America to elect its second, called Trump “a 78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago.”

“It’s been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that’s actually gotten worse now that he’s afraid of losing to Kamala,” he charged.

The fiery messages from two of the Democratic Party’s biggest stars underscored the urgency of the moment as Harris works to stitch together a broad coalition in her bid to defeat Trump this fall. She is drawing on stars like the Obamas and other celebrities, officials from the far left to the middle, and even some Republicans to boost her campaign.

And while the theme of the night was “a bold vision for America’s future,” the disparate factions of Harris’ evolving coalition demonstrated, above all, that they are connected by a deep desire to prevent a second Trump presidency.

Just ahead of the Obamas’ remarks, Harris addressed an estimated 15,000 people in battleground Wisconsin in the arena where Republicans held their convention last month. She declared that she was running “a people-powered campaign.”

“Together we will chart a new way forward,” the vice president said in remarks that were partially broadcast to the DNC. “A future for freedom, opportunity, of optimism and faith.”

Back in Chicago, Senators Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, and Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent beloved by progressives, both praised Harris. And in an appearance perhaps intended to needle Trump, his former press secretary Stephanie Grisham — now a harsh critic of her former boss — also took the convention stage.

Trump “has no empathy, no morals and no fidelity to the truth,” Grisham said. “I love my country more than my party. Kamala Harris tells the truth. She respects the American people. And she has my vote.”

Still, it was not all serious on the second night of the four-day convention.

A symbolic roll call in which delegates from each state pledged their support for the Democratic nominee turned into a party atmosphere. A DJ played a mix of state-specific songs — and Atlanta native Lil Jon ran out during Georgia’s turn to his hit song with DJ Snake, “Turn Down for What,” to the delight of the thousands inside the cavernous United Center.

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who will become the nation’s first gentleman if his wife wins the presidency, shared personal details about his relationship with Harris — their cooking habits, their first date and her laugh, which is often mocked by Republican critics.

“You know that laugh. I love that laugh!” Emhoff said as the crowd cheered. Later, he added, “Her empathy is her strength.”

Trump, meanwhile, was out on the campaign trail as part of his weeklong swing-state tour during the Democratic convention. He went to Howell, Michigan, on Tuesday and stood aside sheriff’s deputies as he labeled Harris the “ringleader” of a “Marxist attack on law enforcement” across the country.

“Kamala Harris will deliver crime, chaos, destruction and death,” Trump said in one of many generalizations about an America under Harris.

Harris, meanwhile, cast the election in dire, almost existential terms. She implored Americans not to get complacent in light of the Supreme Court decision carving out broad presidential immunity, a power she said Trump would abuse.

She has also seized on Trump’s opposition to a nationally guaranteed right to abortion.

“They seemingly don’t trust women,” she said of Trump and his Republican allies. “Well, we trust women.”

The vice president’s speech evoked some of the same themes that underlaid Biden’s case for reelection before he dropped out, casting Trump as a threat to democracy. Harris argued that Trump threatens the values and freedoms that Americans hold dear.

Someone with that record “should never again have the opportunity to stand behind the seal of the president of the United States,” Harris said. “Never again.”
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CHICAGO — Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters charged a line of police in an intense standoff with hundreds of officers outside the Israeli consulate Tuesday on the second night of the Democratic National Convention.

After the larger gathering began to disperse, splintering off into smaller groups, other interactions with police led to more than a dozen arrests. Officers called the demonstrations “an unlawful assembly.”

Earlier in the night, officers carrying wooden clubs shouted “move” and penned the demonstrators in on the street, preventing them from marching.

Some demonstrators set an American flag on fire in the street as the celebratory roll call for Vice President Kamala Harris took place inside the United Center about 3.2 kilometers away. Others carried Palestinian flags, while many others wore black and covered their faces.

As protesters regrouped and approached a line of police in riot gear in front of a Chicago skyscraper that houses the Israeli consulate, an officer said into a megaphone, “You are ordered to immediately disburse.” A woman in the front of the march shouted back with her own megaphone: “We’re not scared of you.”

A man in a Chicago Bulls hat, his face covered by a balaclava, called on protesters to “shut down the DNC.” The group, which is not affiliated with the coalition of over 200 groups that organized Monday’s protests, advertised the demonstration Tuesday under the slogan of “Make it great like ’68,” invoking the anti-Vietnam War protests that seized the city during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

The atmosphere with rows of police in riot gear was a stark contrast to a day earlier when thousands of pro-Palestinian activists, including families pushing babies in strollers, marched near the convention site calling for a cease-fire.

Police kept protesters confined to a block of Madison Street, a normally bustling downtown thoroughfare where traffic was halted on both ends Tuesday evening.

Law enforcement had closed down most of the entrances to the building on Tuesday, allowing commuters to come in only one entrance where armed officers were also posted. Many of the building’s shops were closed. Martha Hill, a spokeswoman for the Metra commuter rail service, said train service was running as normal.

The consulate has been the site of numerous demonstrations since the war in Gaza began in October. It is in a building connected to the Ogilvie Transportation Center, a major commuter rail station.

Mohammed Ismail, a 29-year-old psychiatry resident who lives in Chicago, described the police presence as “excessive,” and questioned why the group had been blocked from marching. He said he joined the protest to urge Democrats to cease funding to Israel.

“It’s not right that we’re sending our tax money to fund an ongoing slaughter, an ongoing genocide,” Ismail said. “We’re a part of this conflict because our money is paying for it.”

Meanwhile, the sites of demonstrations from the previous night were largely quiet. Thirteen people were arrested during Monday’s protests, most them related to a “brief breach” of security fencing “within sight and sound of the United Center,” the city’s police superintendent said.

Israel supporters, including some relatives of people kidnapped by Hamas, gathered earlier in the day at a pro-Israel art installation not far from the consulate to call on U.S. leaders to continue backing Israel and pushing for the release of hostages. The art installation included giant milk cartons bearing photos of some of the hostages.

Elan Carr, CEO of the Israeli-American Council, condemned the pro-Palestinian protesters who have descended on Chicago this week, calling them “fringe crazies” and demanding that U.S. leaders “stand unequivocally with the state of Israel.”

More protests were planned throughout the week. However, attendance at the main rally on Monday was far below estimates of organizers who had predicted more than 20,000 would show up.

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said Tuesday that the crowd was around 3,500 strong and that the vast majority of the protesters were peaceful.

However, some clashed with police, used pepper spray against them and threw water bottles at officers during the clash in the park where there was a breach in security fencing, Snelling said. He said officers did not use any chemical sprays.

“Our officers showed great restraint,” he said at a news conference. “We’re not going to tolerate vandalism and violence in our city. … We’re going to continue to protect the city.”

Snelling said with more protests planned, his department is prepared to de-escalate situations whenever possible.

“Again, we’re up to the challenge,” Snelling said. “The city is up to the challenge.”

The park where the most arrests were made, located a block from the convention arena, served as a destination point for a march of thousands calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. Several dozen activists broke off from the main group, breached the fencing, and were pushed back by police.

Authorities said the inner security perimeter surrounding the United Center was not breached and there was no threat to those attending the convention.

On Tuesday morning, an extra line of fencing was installed at the park and the tall metal barriers were reinforced to prevent protesters from lifting and removing the panels. No police officers or protesters were in the park early Tuesday.

The 13 people arrested during Monday’s protest were detained on charges ranging from criminal trespass and resisting and obstructing an arrest, to aggravated battery of police officers, Snelling said.

At least 10 of them were arrested in connection with the fence, he said.

Snelling said he did not connect those who tore down the fence with the entirety of the march. He said the vast majority of participants were peaceful, and he praised his officers’ conduct in the moment.

The Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild said two of the people arrested were hospitalized. Snelling said they were not taken to the hospital for injuries, but “so they could be provided the treatment they needed when it came to their medications.”

Two people were also arrested on misdemeanor property damage and resisting arrest charges during a protest march Sunday night. As of Tuesday morning, 15 people had been arrested.

Most of the largest demonstrations have been organized by the Coalition to March on the DNC, which has focused on calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. But smaller protests have popped up around the city, during the convention’s welcome party at Navy Pier.
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Xolo Maridueña is currently starring in the sixth and final season of the hit karate series “Cobra Kai,” which premiered on Netflix in July. But he also made waves last year when he was cast as the first Latino superhero lead in “Blue Beetle.” The actor spoke with Veronica Villafañe about the impact of these roles in his career and the need for Latino representation in Hollywood.
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WASHINGTON — The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Haiti’s former president, Michel Joseph Martelly, over drug trafficking, accusing him of playing a significant role in perpetuating the ongoing crisis in the country.

The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said Martelly “abused his influence to facilitate the trafficking of dangerous drugs, including cocaine, destined for the United States.”

The department said he also worked with Haitian drug traffickers, sponsored multiple gangs and engaged in the laundering of illicit drug proceeds.

“Today’s action against Martelly emphasizes the significant and destabilizing role he and other corrupt political elites have played in perpetuating the ongoing crisis in Haiti,” Treasury’s Acting Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith said in the statement.

“The United States, along with our international partners, is committed to disrupting those who facilitate the drug trafficking, corruption and other illicit activities fueling the horrific gang violence and political instability.”

Tuesday’s action freezes any of Martelly’s U.S. assets and generally bars Americans from dealing with him.

Gang wars have displaced more than 578,000 Haitians, while nearly 5 million — almost half the population of 11.7 million — face acute hunger, with 1.6 million of those people at risk of starvation, the United Nations says.

Armed gangs have formed a broad alliance while carrying out widespread killings, ransom kidnappings and sexual violence.
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Washington — 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. A lower Fed benchmark rate would eventually lead to lower rates for auto loans, mortgages and other forms of consumer borrowing.

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. It’s a platform that Powell and his predecessors have often used to signal changes in their thinking or approach.

Powell will likely indicate that the Fed has grown more confident that inflation is headed back to the 2% target, which it has long said would be necessary before rate cuts would begin.

Economists generally agree that the Fed is getting closer to conquering high inflation, which brought financial pain to millions of households beginning three years ago as the economy rebounded from the pandemic recession. Few economists, though, think Powell or any other Fed official is prepared to declare “mission accomplished.”

“I don’t think that the Fed has to fear inflation,” said Tom Porcelli, U.S. chief economist at PGIM Fixed Income. “At this point, it’s right that the Fed is now more focused on labor versus inflation. Their policy is calibrated for inflation that is much higher than this.”

Still, how fast the Fed cuts rates in the coming months will depend on what the economic data shows. After the government reported this month that hiring in July was much less than expected and that the jobless rate reached 4.3%, the highest in three years, stock prices plunged for two days on fears that the U.S. might fall into a recession. Some economists began speculating about a half-point Fed rate cut in September and perhaps another identical cut in November.

But healthier economic reports last week, including another decline in inflation and a robust gain in retail sales, have largely dispelled those concerns. Wall Street traders now expect three quarter-point Fed cuts in September, November and December, though in December it’s nearly a coin-toss between a quarter- and a half-point cut. Mortgage rates have already started to decline in anticipation of a rate reduction.

A half-point Fed rate cut in September would become more likely if there were signs of a further slowdown in hiring, some officials have said. The next jobs report will be issued on Sept. 6, after the Jackson Hole conference but before the Fed’s next meeting in mid-September.

Raphael Bostic, president of the Fed’s Atlanta branch, said in an interview Monday with The Associated Press that “evidence of accelerating weakness in labor markets may warrant a more rapid move, either in terms of the increments of movement or the speed at which we try to get back” to a level of rates that no longer restricts the economy.

Even if hiring stays solid, the Fed is set to cut rates this year given the steady progress that’s been made on inflation, economists say. Last week, the government said consumer prices rose just 2.9% in July from a year ago, the smallest such increase in more than three years.

Bostic noted that the economy has changed from just a couple of months ago, when he was suggesting that a rate cut might not be necessary until the final three months of the year.

“I’ve got more confidence that we are likely to get to our target for inflation,” he said. “And we’ve seen labor markets weaken considerably relative to where they were” last year. “We might need to shift our policy stance sooner than I would have thought before.”

Both Bostic and Austan Goolsbee, president of the Fed’s Chicago branch, say that with inflation falling, inflation-adjusted interest rates — which are what many businesses and investors pay most attention to — are rising even as inflation has slowed. When the Fed first set its key rate at its current 5.3%, inflation — excluding volatile energy and food costs — was 4.7%. Now, it’s just 3.2%.

“Our policies are getting tighter with every moment in that type of situation,” Bostic said. “We have to be concerned” that rates are so high they could cause an economic slowdown.

Still, Bostic said that for now, the job market and the economy appear mostly healthy, and he still expects a “soft landing,” whereby inflation falls back to the Fed’s 2% target without a recession occurring.

With the economy’s outlook unclear and the Fed focusing heavily on what future data shows, there may be only so much Powell will be able to say Friday about the central bank’s next steps.

Given the Fed’s focus on how the economic data comes in, “it will be difficult for Powell to pre-commit to a particular trajectory at Jackson Hole,” Matthew Luzzetti, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, said in a research note.
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LEWISTON, Maine — After more than a dozen public meetings, scores of witnesses and thousands of pages of evidence, a special commission created to investigate the deadliest shooting in Maine history is ready to issue its final report on Tuesday.

The independent commission began its work a month after the Oct. 25 mass shooting by an Army reservist that killed 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar and grill in Lewiston. Over nine months, there has been emotional testimony from family members and survivors of the shooting, law enforcement officials and U.S. Army Reserves personnel, and others.

The commission created by Gov. Janet Mills will hold a news conference to release the full report at Lewiston City Hall — less than 5 kilometers from the two sites where the shootings took place.

It’s unclear if the report will contain any surprises. An interim report released in March said law enforcement should have seized the shooter’s guns and put him in protective custody weeks before the shootings.

The commission’s public hearings revealed the swift response by police to the shootings, but also the ensuing chaos during the massive search for the gunman. Also revealed were missed opportunities to stop the shooter, 40-year-old Robert Card, an Army Reservist whose mental health was spiraling.

Card’s sister testified at a hearing, her hand resting on his military helmet as she spoke.

Kathleen Walker, whose husband Jason was killed while rushing at Card to try to stop him, also testified, and said: “The system failed, and we can’t allow this to happen again.”

Family members and fellow reservists said Card had exhibited delusional and paranoid behavior months before the shootings. He was hospitalized by the Army during training in July 2023, but a commanding officer acknowledged not checking to ensure compliance on follow-up care.

The starkest warning came in September when a fellow reservist texted an Army supervisor, saying, “I believe he’s going to snap and do a mass shooting.” Card was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a search that followed the shootings.

Army officials conducted their own investigation after the shootings that Lt. Gen. Jody Daniels, then the chief of the Army Reserves, said found “a series of failures by unit leadership.” Three Army Reserve officers were disciplined for dereliction of duty, according to the report, which noted communication failures within the chain of command and between military and civilian hospitals.

Maine’s legislature passed new guns laws for the state, which has a tradition of firearms ownership, in the wake of the shootings. A three-day waiting period for gun purchases went into effect earlier this month.

The Lewiston commission is chaired by Daniel Wathen, a former chief justice of Maine’s highest court. The seven-member commission also included two former federal prosecutors, two additional former judges, a psychiatrist and executive at a psychiatric hospital, and the state’s former chief forensic psychologist.
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