MILWAUKEE — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris assailed Donald Trump on Tuesday at her first campaign rally since replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate.

In a 17-minute speech, Harris went after Trump’s vulnerabilities, comparing her background as a former prosecutor to his record as a convicted felon.

Harris ticked through a list of liberal priorities, saying that if elected she would act to expand abortion access, make it easier for workers to join unions, and address gun violence, drawing a sharp contrast with Trump, the Republican nominee for president in the November 5 election.

“Donald Trump wants to take our country backward,” she told a cheering crowd of several thousand at West Allis Central High School in a Milwaukee suburb in Wisconsin, a battleground state with a pivotal role in deciding the election outcome.

“Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?”

The raucous rally was a notable contrast to the smaller, more subdued events Biden held, underscoring Democrats’ hope that Harris, 59, can revive what had been a flagging campaign under Biden, 81. The audience danced and waved Harris signs, while chants of “Ka-ma-la!” broke out when she took the stage.

She emphasized her commitment to reproductive rights, an issue that has plagued Republicans since the U.S. Supreme Court — powered by three Trump-appointed justices — eliminated a nationwide right to abortion in 2022.

Trump and his allies have tried to tether Harris to some of Biden’s more unpopular policies, including his administration’s handling of the surge of migrants at the southern border with Mexico.

In a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, Trump expressed confidence in his ability to defeat Harris, noting that her previous presidential run in 2020 did not even survive until the first statewide nominating contest.

Trump offered to debate Harris multiple times. Trump and Biden had one more debate scheduled on September 10 after their encounter on June 27. Biden’s poor performance that night led to Democratic calls for him to step aside.

“I want to debate her, and she’ll be no different because they have the same policies,” Trump said.

Harris swiftly consolidated her party’s support after Biden abandoned his reelection campaign under pressure from members of his party who worried about his ability to beat 78-year-old Trump, or to serve another four-year term.

Harris has received pledges from enough delegates to win the nominations, the campaign said. But nothing is certain until next month’s Democratic National Convention, when the delegates will vote to determine the nominee.

Her campaign said it had raised $100 million since Sunday.

Most Democratic lawmakers have lined up behind her candidacy, including the party’s leaders in the Senate and House, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, who endorsed Harris on Tuesday at a joint press conference.

Harris’ rise dramatically reshapes an election in which many voters were unhappy with their options. As the first Black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president, she would make further history as the first woman elected U.S. president.

Wisconsin is among a trio of Rust Belt states, along with Michigan and Pennsylvania, that are critical to Democrats’ chances of defeating Trump.

Alyssa Wahlberg, 19, chair of the Whitewater College Democrats, said Harris had reenergized young voters, particularly women who want Harris to break the ultimate U.S. glass ceiling.

“I talked to my grandmom. We are both excited that she may live to see the first woman president,” said Wahlberg while attending Tuesday’s rally. “It’s taken too long.”
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washington — Protesters against the Gaza war staged a sit-in at a U.S. congressional office building on Tuesday, ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress. Capitol Police made multiple arrests.

Netanyahu arrived in Washington on Monday for a visit that includes meetings with President Joe Biden and a Wednesday speech before a joint session of Congress. Dozens of protesters rallied outside his hotel Monday evening, and on Tuesday afternoon, hundreds staged a flashmob-style protest in the Cannon Building, which houses offices of members of the U.Sl House of Representatives.

Organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, protesters — wearing red T-shirts that read “Not In Our Name” — took over the building’s rotunda by sitting on the floor, unfurling signs and chanting “Let Gaza Live!”

After about a half-hour of clapping and chanting, officers from the U.S. Capitol Police issued several warnings, then began arresting protesters — binding their hands with zip ties and leading them away one-by-one.

“I am the daughter of Holocaust survivors and I know what a Holocaust looks like,” said Jane Hirschmann, a native of Saugerties, New York, who drove down for the protest along with her two daughters — both of whom were arrested. “When we say ‘Never again,’ we mean never for anybody.”

Anger aimed at US president

The demonstrators focused much of their ire on the Biden administration, demanding the president immediately cease all arms shipments to Israel.

“We’re not focusing on Netanyahu. He’s just a symptom,” Hirschmann said. “But how can (Biden) be calling for a cease-fire when he’s sending them bombs and planes?”

As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, the Capitol Police said they did not have a final tally of the number of people arrested. But JVP said in a statement that 400 people, “including over a dozen rabbis,” had been arrested.

Mitchell Rivard, chief of staff for Representative Dan Kildee of Michigan, said in a statement that his office called for Capitol Police intervention after the demonstrators “became disruptive, violently beating on the office doors, shouting loudly, and attempting to force entry into the office.”

Kildee later told The Associated Press that he was confused why his office was targeted, saying he had voted against a massive supplemental military aid package to Israel earlier this year.

Netanyahu’s U.S. visit has touched off a wave of protest activity, with some demonstrations condemning Israel and others expressing support but pressuring Netanyahu to strike a cease-fire deal and bring home the hostages still being held by Hamas.

Families of some of the remaining hostages held a protest vigil Tuesday evening on the National Mall, demanding that Netanyahu come to terms with Hamas and bring home the approximately 120 Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza.

About 150 people wearing yellow shirts that read “Seal the Deal NOW!” chanted “Bring Them Home” and listened to testimonials from relatives and former hostages. The demonstrators applauded when Biden’s name was mentioned, but several criticized Netanyahu — known by his nickname “Bibi” — on the belief that he was dragging his feet or playing hardball on a proposed cease-fire deal that would return all of the hostages.

“I’m begging Bibi. There’s a deal on the table and you have to take it,” said Aviva Siegel, 63, who spent 51 days in captivity and whose husband, Keith, remains a hostage. “I want Bibi to look in my eyes and tell me one thing: that Keith is coming home.”

Anticipating protests, security boosted

Multiple protests are planned for Wednesday, when Netanyahu is slated to address Congress. In anticipation, police have boosted security around the Capitol building and closed multiple roads for most of the week.

Biden and Netanyahu are expected to meet Thursday, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the White House announcement. Vice President Kamala Harris also will meet with Netanyahu separately that day.

Harris, as Senate president, would normally sit behind foreign leaders addressing Congress, but she’ll be away Wednesday on an Indianapolis trip scheduled before Biden withdrew his reelection bid and she became the likely Democratic presidential candidate over the weekend.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he would meet with Netanyahu on Friday.
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state department — U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration said it remains “intensely focused on” its foreign policy agenda in the final six months of his term, despite the challenges often faced by so-called lame-duck leaders.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters at the State Department that the United States will continue the work, “particularly trying to bring peace to the Middle East, ending the war in Gaza,” dealing effectively with the ongoing aggression by Russia against Ukraine, and maintaining engagement in the Indo-Pacific region.

This week, Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin head to Asia to reassure allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific of the U.S. commitment, as the U.S. presidential election in November casts uncertainty over Washington’s foreign policy.

On Sunday, Biden announced he will not run for reelection and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. Earlier this month, the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, survived an assassination attempt.

By late Monday, most Democratic delegates pledged their support for Harris, making her the likely nominee.

Blinken endorsed Harris on Tuesday.

“What I’ve observed is someone who asks, time and again, the penetrating questions, who cuts to the chase and is intensely focused on the interests of the American people and making sure that our foreign policy is doing everything it can to advance those interests,” he said.

2+2 security talks

Blinken and Austin will hold the so-called 2+2 security talks with U.S. allies Japan and the Philippines.

The U.S.-Japan Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogues will discuss “extended deterrence” for the first time amid growing, unprecedented threats in the region, according to U.S. officials. The term refers to the U.S. commitment to use its nuclear and conventional forces to deter attacks on its allies.

The first U.S.-Philippines 2+2 meeting to be held in Manila follows a crucial deal reached between China and the Philippines on Sunday, amid recent collisions near the waters around Second Thomas Shoal, known as Rén’ài Jiao in China.

The agreement aims to establish a mutually acceptable arrangement at the shoal without conceding either side’s territorial claims.

“As the Philippines’ ally, we do support the diplomacy that they’ve chosen to conduct. We welcome the announcement of this outcome,” Daniel Kritenbrink told VOA during a phone briefing on Monday. Kritenbrink is the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs.

After returning to the United States, the top U.S. diplomat and the defense chief will host their Australian counterparts in Annapolis, Maryland, for the 2024 Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations, or AUSMIN, on August 6, according to the Pentagon.

Vietnam

Blinken’s 10-day trip to Asia will start in Hanoi, where he will attend the funeral of General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, head of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party, who died last Friday. In 2023, the U.S. and Vietnam elevated their bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

The United States, China, and Russia are among the countries that maintain top-tier relations with Vietnam.

ASEAN in Laos

Blinken will then attend meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, in Vientiane, Laos, where he will hold face-to-face talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

State Department officials said they do not anticipate Blinken meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov or North Korean officials on the sidelines of ASEAN-related regional talks.

Japan

In Tokyo, in addition to the 2+2 security talks, Blinken will join his Australian, Indian and Japanese counterparts for a Quad foreign ministers’ meeting to reaffirm their collective commitment to regional stability. The Quad is a security dialogue involving the four countries.

The United States and Japan will demonstrate responsibly how they will ensure not just the defense of Japan but also their contribution to regional security, according to Kritenbrink.

In April, Tokyo and Washington announced a series of initiatives to strengthen their military ties, which the Biden administration described as the most significant upgrade since the U.S.-Japan alliance began in 1951.

The Philippines

In Manila, Blinken and Austin will meet with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

They will discuss ways to deepen coordination on shared challenges, including in the South China Sea, and advance our bilateral economic agenda, according to the State Department.

Singapore

In Singapore, Blinken will meet with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and the city-state’s new leadership to discuss the U.S.-Singapore strategic partnership. U.S. officials said the focus on critical and emerging technologies highlights the partnership’s role in promoting a free, open, connected, and resilient Indo-Pacific region.

Mongolia

Tuesday, Blinken held talks with Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh at the State Department.

The inaugural U.S.-Mongolia Comprehensive Strategic Dialogue highlighted the growing ties between the two countries, as evidenced by ongoing initiatives to strengthen people-to-people connections through professional and educational exchanges, English-language programs and the establishment of direct flights.
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TRENTON, New Jersey — U.S. Senator Bob Menendez is resigning from office August 20 following his conviction for taking bribes for corrupt acts including acting as an agent of the Egyptian government, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Tuesday. 

Menendez had insisted after the July 16 verdict that he was innocent and promised to appeal. The person who told the AP about Menendez’s resignation did so on the condition of anonymity because the New Jersey Democrat’s decision hadn’t been made public. Menendez’s attorney hasn’t returned messages seeking comment. 

The resignation gives New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, the ability to appoint someone to the senate for the remainder of Menendez’s term, which expires on January 3. The seat was already up for election on November 5. Democrats have nominated U.S. Representative Andy Kim, who’s in a strong position in the Democratic-leaning state. He faces Republican Curtis Bashaw. 

Menendez, 70, was convicted of charges that he sold the power of his office to three New Jersey businessmen who sought a variety of favors. Prosecutors said Menendez used his influence to meddle in three different state and federal criminal investigations to protect his associates. They said he helped one bribe-paying friend get a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund and another keep a contract to provide religious certification for meat bound for Egypt. 

He was also convicted of taking actions that benefited Egypt’s government in exchange for bribes, including providing details on personnel at the U.S. embassy in Cairo, and ghostwriting a letter to fellow senators regarding lifting a hold on military aid to Egypt. FBI agents found stacks of gold bars and $480,000 in cash hidden in Menendez’s house. 

After his conviction, Menendez denied all of those allegations, saying “I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent.” 

But numerous fellow Democrats had urged him to resign, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Murphy had urged the Senate to expel Menendez if he didn’t quit. Only 15 senators have ever been expelled. Senator William Blount, of Tennessee, was ousted in 1797 for treason. The other 14 were expelled in 1861 and 1862 for supporting Confederates during the Civil War. 

Menendez faces the possibility of decades in prison. A judge scheduled his sentencing on October 29, a week before the election. 

His resignation bookends a career spent in politics that started with him getting elected to his local school board just a couple of years after high school graduation. He has held office at every level in his home state and had vowed to run as an independent in November for a fourth term. 

The son of Cuban immigrants and an attorney by training, Menendez was a Union City, New Jersey, school board member at age 20 — before graduating from law school — and later became the mayor of the city, where he still has deep connections. 

His own biography says he wanted to fight corruption early in his political career, testifying against Union City officials and building a reputation as tough. From there, he was elected to the state Assembly, then the state Senate before heading to the U.S. House. 

He was appointed to be a U.S. senator in 2006 when the seat opened up after incumbent Jon Corzine became governor. He was elected outright in 2006 and again in 2012 and 2018. He served as chair of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee beginning in 2013. 

Menendez’s political career looked like it might be over in 2015, when he was indicted in New Jersey on charges that he had accepted bribes of luxury overseas vacations, private jet travel and campaign contributions from a wealthy Florida eye doctor, Salomon Melgen. 

In return, prosecutors said Menendez pressured government officials on Melgen’s behalf over an $8.9 million Medicare billing dispute and a stalled contract to provide port screening equipment in the Dominican Republic. They said he also helped obtain U.S. visas for the doctor’s girlfriends. 

The defense argued that the gifts were not bribes but tokens of friendship between two men who were “like brothers.” 

A jury couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict, resulting in a mistrial in 2017. U.S. prosecutors didn’t seek a retrial. 

New Jersey voters then returned Menendez to the Senate for another term. Melgen was convicted in a separate fraud trial, but his 17-year prison sentence was later commuted by then-President Donald Trump.
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Some people who have lost the ability to speak can still move their vocal cords. California researchers are working to transform those muscle movements into audible speech. Genia Dulot reports from Los Angeles in this week’s edition of LogOn.
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has not yet won the Democratic Party’s support for her presidential candidacy, but she has the endorsement of U.S. President Joe Biden, along with several senior Democrats, after his withdrawal from the race on Sunday.

If chosen by the party, and elected president, analysts agree Harris would likely continue the Biden administration’s foreign policy, including the management of one of the most tense and consequential relationships — that with China. 

When she first became vice president, Harris, a former U.S. senator and attorney general for California, was considered by many analysts to be somewhat of a novice in foreign policy. Over the past 3 ½ years as vice president, she has visited more than 19 countries and met with more than 150 foreign leaders, according to the White House website.

VOA compiled some of Harris’s remarks on China policy during her tenure as vice president and earlier as a U.S. senator.

US-China economic relations

In September 2023, Harris traveled to attend the ASEAN summit in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. After the meeting, she spoke about U.S.-China relations and Indo-Pacific policy on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

“We, as the United States, in our policy, it is not about decoupling, it is about de-risking. It is about understanding,” she said.

“It’s not about pulling out, but it is about ensuring that we are protecting American interests, and that we are a leader in terms of the rules of the road, as opposed to following others’ rules,” Harris said.

China’s economic downturn

“It’s no secret that China is experiencing economic problems,” she said during the “Face the Nation” interview.

“And what you will find — certainly in my conversations with American business leaders — is that they are looking at the future in terms of their capital investments and taking into account which countries are engaged in practices that are about abiding by the rule of law and international rules and norms in a way that they can be guaranteed that there will be some stability so they can make long-term investments.”

“There is increasingly an understanding that China may not be the best bet when you are looking for stability, when you are looking for an investment in a place where there is an adherence to and respect for international rules and norms,” Harris added.

International aid

During her visit to Africa in March 2023, at a news conference with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, Harris reiterated her call for “all bilateral official creditors to provide a meaningful debt reduction for Zambia” — an oblique reference to China, Zambia’s top foreign creditor. However, she stressed that “our presence here is not about China.”

US-China relations

Harris’ first meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping was at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok in 2022, when she held brief talks with Xi and stressed the importance of maintaining “open lines of communication to responsibly manage the competition between our countries.”

Taiwan

In a September 2022 meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Harris reaffirmed that the U.S. would continue to support Taiwan and oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo.

The White House said Harris underscored that the effort to preserve peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is an essential element of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. 

During a visit to Japan that same month, she said aboard the destroyer USS Howard at Yokosuka Naval Base, “We have witnessed disturbing behavior in the East China Sea and in the South China Sea, and most recently, provocations across the Taiwan Strait.”

China considers Taiwan to be a breakaway province that must one day reunite with the mainland, by force if necessary, and often sends military air and watercraft nearby to assert its claim to the self-governing island. 

South China Sea

During her visit to Japan, Harris commented on China’s aggression in the South China Sea.

“China is undermining key elements of the international rules-based order. China has challenged the freedom of the seas. China has flexed its military and economic might to coerce and intimidate its neighbors,” she said.

“We will continue to fly, sail, and operate undaunted and unafraid wherever and whenever international law allows,” Harris added.

Beijing claims most of the South China Sea as its own, putting it in conflict with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Chinese ships on several occasions this year used water cannons and blocked its rivals’ ships in the disputed territories. 

Last year on “Face the Nation,” Harris said, “What is happening in terms of unprovoked actions against the Philippine interests in the South China Sea is significant and we have been very clear that we stand with the Philippines.”

Beijing and Manila on Sunday announced a deal they say aims to stop the clashes.

China’s human rights, Hong Kong

During her tenure as a U.S. senator for California, Harris actively pushed for legislation to uphold human rights in Hong Kong, which analysts say has seen its autonomy gradually stripped away by Beijing.  

In 2019, she co-sponsored the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act introduced by Republican Senator Marco Rubio, which aims to promote human rights in Hong Kong and sanction officials involved in “undermining Hong Kong’s fundamental freedoms and autonomy.” The bill was later signed into law by then-President Donald Trump.

Xinjiang

Harris also co-sponsored and facilitated the passage of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019, which became law in 2020. The bill authorizes the United States to impose sanctions on “foreign individuals and entities responsible for human rights violations in Xinjiang,” China’s westernmost province that is home to the ethnic Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim minority.        

China denies there are any rights violations in Xinjiang.

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington this week with a scheduled speech to Congress and meeting at the White House. The Israeli prime minister is landing in the middle of U.S. political turmoil following President Joe Biden’s decision Sunday to withdraw from the presidential race, which could add another layer of uncertainty to U.S.-Israel relations at a crucial moment in the Gaza war. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this preview.
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St. Louis — A Missouri judge on Monday overturned the conviction of Christopher Dunn, who has spent more than 30 years in prison for a killing he has long contended he didn’t commit.

The ruling is likely to free Dunn from prison, but it wasn’t immediately clear when that would happen. He has been serving a sentence of life without parole.

St. Louis Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser’s ruling came several weeks after he presided over a three-day hearing on Dunn’s fate.

Dunn, now 52, was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1990 shooting of 15-year-old Ricco Rogers. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore filed a motion in February seeking to vacate the guilty verdict. A hearing was in May.

Sengheiser, in his ruling, wrote that the “Circuit Attorney has made a clear and convincing showing of ‘actual innocence’ that undermines the basis for Dunn’s convictions because in light of new evidence, no juror, acting reasonably, would have voted to find Dunn guilty of these crimes beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Dunn’s attorney, Midwest Innocence Project Executive Director Tricia Rojo Bushnell, said she was “overjoyed” by the judge’s ruling.

“Now, Chris looks forward to spending time with his wife and family as a free man,” Bushnell said in a statement.

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office opposed the effort to vacate Dunn’s conviction. Lawyers for the state said at the May hearing that initial testimony from two boys at the scene who identified Dunn as the shooter was correct, even though they later recanted as adults.

“That verdict was accurate, and that verdict should stand,” Assistant Attorney General Tristin Estep said at the hearing.

Spokesperson Madeline Sieren said the Attorney General’s Office will appeal.

The decision in Dunn’s case came days after Sandra Hemme was freed from a western Missouri prison after serving 43 years for a murder that a judge determined she didn’t commit. Bailey’s office also opposed Hemme’s release.

A Missouri law adopted in 2021 lets prosecutors request hearings when they see evidence of a wrongful conviction. While Bailey’s office is not required to oppose such efforts, he also opposed another effort in St. Louis that resulted in Lamar Johnson being freed last year after serving 28 years for a murder case in which a judge ruled he was wrongfully convicted.

Rogers was shot May 18, 1990, when a gunman opened fire while he was with a group of other teenage boys outside a home. DeMorris Stepp, 14, and Michael Davis Jr., 12, both initially identified Dunn as the shooter.

In a recorded interview played at the hearing, Davis said he lied because he thought Dunn was affiliated with a rival gang.

Stepp’s story has changed a few times over the years, Gore said at the hearing. Most recently he has said he did not see Dunn as the shooter. Gore said another judge previously found Stepp to be a “completely unreliable witness” and urged Sengheiser to discount him altogether.

Dunn has said he was at his mother’s home at the time of the shooting. Childhood friend Nicole Bailey testified that she spoke with him by phone that night and he was on a phone at his mother’s house.

Estep, the assistant attorney general, said that alibi could not be trusted and Dunn’s story has shifted multiple times over the years. Dunn did not testify at the hearing.

The 2021 law has resulted in the the release of two men who each spent decades in prison. In addition to Johnson, Kevin Strickland was freed in 2021 after more than 40 years for three killings in Kansas City after a judge ruled he was wrongfully convicted in 1979.

Another hearing is next month for Marcellus Williams, who narrowly escaped lethal injection and is now facing another execution date.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion in January to vacate the conviction of Williams, who was convicted in the fatal stabbing of Lisha Gayle in 1998. Bell’s motion said three experts determined that Williams’ DNA was not on the handle of the butcher knife used in the killing.

Williams was hours from execution in 2017 when then-Gov. Eric Greitens halted it and appointed a board of inquiry to examine his innocence claim. The board never issued a ruling, and Gov. Mike Parson, like Greitens a Republican, dissolved it last year.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled this month that Parson had the authority to dissolve the board and set a new execution date of Sept. 24.
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The recent assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump should be a “wake-up call” on gun violence, says U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, who recently declared firearm violence in America a “public health crisis.” But disagreements on how to resolve the matter prevail. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has more.
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Trial of Alsu Kurmasheva a ‘mockery of justice’ says RFE/RL president as Russia sentences journalist to more than 6 years in jail
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Hours after 81-year-old President Joe Biden announced he was abandoning his bid for reelection and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the nomination, VOA spoke with Americans on the streets of New York about their reactions to the historic news.
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WASHINGTON — At 1:45 p.m. Sunday, President Joe Biden’s senior staff was notified that he was stepping away from the 2024 race. At 1:46 p.m., that message was made public.

It was never Biden’s intention to leave the race: Up until he decided to step aside Sunday, he was all in.

His campaign was planning fundraisers and events and setting up travel over the next few weeks. But even as Biden was publicly dug in and insisting he was staying in the race, he was quietly reflecting on the disaster of the past few weeks, on the past three years of his presidency and on the scope of his half-century career in politics.

In the end, it was the president’s decision alone, and he made it quietly, from his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, sick with COVID-19, the first lady with him as he talked it through with a small circle of people who have been with him for decades.

“This has got to be one of the hardest decisions he’s ever made,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., the president’s closest ally in Congress, who spoke with him Sunday. “I know he wanted to fight and keep going and show that he could beat Donald Trump again, but as he heard more and more input, I think he was wrestling with what would be the best for the country,” Coons said in an interview with The Associated Press.

This story is based on interviews with more than a dozen people familiar with the president’s thinking over the past few weeks, days and hours as he made his decision. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to talk about private discussions.

Deciding to leave the race

It wasn’t until Saturday evening that Biden began to come to the conclusion that he would not run for reelection. He started writing a letter to the American people.

Biden had been off the campaign trail for a few days, isolated because of COVID-19, when it all started to deeply sink in — his worsening chances of being able to defeat Donald Trump with so much of his party in open rebellion, seeking to push him out of the race — not to mention the persistent voter concerns about his age that were only exacerbated by the catastrophic debate.

Biden was at his beach home with some of his and Jill Biden’s closest aides: chief strategist Mike Donilon, counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti, White House deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, and Anthony Bernal, senior adviser to the first lady.

By Sunday, his decision crystalized. He spoke multiple times with Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he would endorse. He informed White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, and his longtime aide and campaign chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon.

A small group of senior advisers from both the campaign and the White House were assembled for the 1:45 p.m. call to relay Biden’s decision, while his campaign staff released the social media announcement one minute later.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote.

Just about a half-hour later came his public vote of support for Harris. It was a carefully choreographed strategy meant to give the president’s initial statement full weight, and to put a period on the moment before launching forward into the next step.

“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” Biden said in another post on X. “Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump.”

About that debate

It’s not like things had been going great before the June 27 debate. In an August 2023 poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, fully 77% of U.S. adults said Biden was too old to be effective for four more years. Not only did 89% of Republicans say that, but so did 69% of Democrats.

And it hadn’t gotten any better by April, when more than half of U.S. adults thought Biden’s presidency hurt the country on issues like the cost of living and immigration.

But Biden had insisted — to himself, to the nation, to his supporters — that he would be able to bring voters around if he got out there, told people about his record, explained it to them. Talked to them. Looked them in the eye.

He had a lifetime of experience that told him that if he stuck to it, he’d overcome. His campaign was so confident, in fact, that they arranged to go around the Commission on Presidential Debates to set up a series of faceoffs with Trump under a new set of rules.

That produced the June 27 debate that set Biden’s downfall in motion. Biden gave nonsensical answers, trailed off mid-sentence and appeared to stare blankly in front of an audience of 51 million people. Perhaps most distressing to other Democrats, Biden didn’t go after Trump’s myriad falsehoods about his involvement in the violence around the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, abortion rights or immigration.

Biden and his team blamed the night on so many different things. He had a cold. He was jet-lagged. He needed to get more sleep. That night opened the door for his party to push him out.

A slow acceptance

Publicly and privately Biden was fighting to stay in the race. He was working to convince voters that he was up for the task for another four years. He was frustrated by the Democrats coming out publicly against him, but even angrier about the leaks and anonymous sources relaying how even former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were working to get him to drop out.

It looked like he’d won out a couple times; the chorus of naysayers seemed to die down. He had some well-received speeches mixed with so-so TV interviews and a day featuring an extended news conference in which he displayed a nuanced grasp of policy but also committed a few gasp-inducing gaffes.

But the doubts didn’t go away.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer eventually invited top Biden staff to a meeting on July 11 to talk about their concerns. It didn’t go well. Senators expressed their concerns, and almost none of them said they had confidence in the president. But even afterward, Schumer was worried it wasn’t getting to Biden.

Following the meeting, Schumer called Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former President Obama. Schumer decided that day to request a meeting with Biden.

At a July 13 meeting in Rehoboth, Schumer told Biden he was there out of love and affection. And he delivered a personal appeal focused on Biden’s legacy, the country’s future and the impact the top of the ticket could have on congressional races — and how that could potentially affect the Supreme Court. That same day came the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

Schumer told the president he didn’t expect him to make an immediate decision, but he hoped Biden would think about what he said, according to a person familiar with the conversation.

Biden responded, “I need another week,” and the two men hugged.

Sunday’s decision

It was full steam ahead until Biden pulled the emergency brake.

The president had lost his voice, but he was recovering well and his doctor had sent an update to the public shortly before 1 p.m. on his condition. His small circle decided to post the statement on X on Sunday, rather than let it leak out for days before he was prepared to address the nation, which he is expected to do sometime early this week.

Much of his campaign was blindsided, and it was clear by how little had changed after he dropped out. For hours after the announcement, Biden’s campaign website reflected that he was still running and KamalaHarris.com still redirected to Biden’s page.

Even Harris’ statement announcing her intent to succeed Biden was sent from “Joe Biden for President.”

After the public announcement, Zients held a senior staff call, sent out an email and spoke with Biden’s cabinet. The president was also making personal calls.

“Team — I wanted to make sure you saw the attached letter from the President,” Zients wrote in the staff email. “I could not be more proud to work for President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and the American people — alongside all of you, the best White House team in history. There’s so much more to do — and as President Biden says, ‘there is nothing America can’t do — when we do it together.'”

Vermont Sen. Peter Welch, a Democrat who had called for Biden to bow out, was gardening with his wife when the news broke, and said he was momentarily “stunned.” Senators texted each other questioning if it was really happening.

Democratic Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal was at an event in his state, and there was spontaneous applause when it was announced to the crowd that Biden wouldn’t run, he said.

There was a sense of excitement and energy in the crowd “that has been completely lacking,” Blumenthal said.

“It was also, let’s be blunt, a sense of relief,” he said. “And a sense of reverence for Joe Biden.”

By Sunday evening, Biden for President had formally changed to Harris for President.

O’Malley Dillon told campaign staff their jobs were safe, because the operation was shifting to a campaign for Harris.
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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Malayan tigers and Aldabra tortoises are native to hot and humid lands, but that doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy a frozen treat on a hot Florida summer day.

Temperatures in South Florida this month have reached the upper 90s Fahrenheit (mid-30s Celsius) with humidity reaching 70%, combining for “feels like” temperatures regularly exceeding 100 F (38 C).

Staff at the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society use a variety of techniques to keep their animals cool. Zookeepers throw large piles of ice into the black bear enclosure for the animals to wallow in, chilling their pool to 23 C. The otters get ice blocks and frozen fish tossed into their water for playing and eating.

Tigers feast on more ingenious treats: They get frozen cow bones crammed into blocks of ice, along with a side of frozen goat milk. The big cats also like to swim.

Giant tortoises, native to the islands of the Indian Ocean, enjoy cool showers from a hose, which they can feel through their shells.

“Even though all of our animals are acclimatized to the South Florida weather, they look for ways to cool off during the hot days, just like we do,” said Mike Terrell, the zoo’s curator of animal experiences. “All of our animals that we have here at the zoo were specifically chosen because they’re used to warm climates. And so they’re totally happy in a high, high heat, high humidity environment.”

The zoo’s guests love to watch the animals cool down and children press their faces up against the glass for a better look, Terrell said.

Figuring out what cooling activities the animals enjoy requires a bit of trial and error, he said.

“They really tell us what they like,” Terrell said. “We can take our best guess, but if we’re giving them something that they don’t like or they’re not interacting with, we’re not going to continue to give it to them.”
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washington — The indictment of a former CIA analyst who allegedly worked for the South Korean government — and the abrupt resignation of the top U.S. envoy for North Korea — will not affect the coordination between Washington and Seoul in dealing with Pyongyang’s threats, said former U.S. officials who dealt extensively with relations between the United States and South Korea.

Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst and prominent North Korea expert, has been indicted by a New York grand jury on charges of secretly working for the South Korean government, serving as a secret agent for South Korea’s main intelligence agency in exchange for luxury goods, expensive meals and $37,000 for a public policy program that she controlled, according to an indictment unsealed last week.

Damning indictment

Terry served in the U.S. government from 2001 to 2011, first as a CIA analyst and later as the deputy national intelligence officer for East Asia at the National Intelligence Council, before working for think tanks.

Terry is a well-known North Korea expert with a prominent media presence. News of her indictment rattled North Korea experts in Seoul and Washington.

“At the direction of ROK government officials, Terry advocated ROK policy positions, including in published articles and during media appearances, disclosed nonpublic U.S. government information to ROK intelligence officers, and facilitated access for ROK government officials to U.S. government officials,” according to the indictment, which was released Wednesday. ROK refers to the Republic of Korea or South Korea.

Prosecutors say Terry never registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent. She faces two counts, one for failing to register under the federal Foreign Agents Registration Act and the other for conspiring to violate it.

Abrupt resignation

The indictment of Terry followed the abrupt resignation earlier this month of Jung Pak, the U.S. senior official for North Korea, who oversaw North Korean affairs at the U.S. State Department.

A State Department spokesperson told VOA’s Korean Service via email on July 9 that Pak “stepped down from her duties as U.S. senior official for the DPRK and deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs on July 5.”

DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name.

The indictment and the resignation come as North Korea escalates tensions on the Korean Peninsula while Washington is enhancing security cooperation with Seoul.

U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met on July 11 on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington. They reaffirmed their commitments to the Washington Declaration, which is designed to reinforce U.S. extended deterrence to South Korea in response to North Korea’s advancing nuclear threats.

US-ROK ties

Some South Korean news media outlets raised concerns that the indictment of Terry could affect overall ties between the U.S. and South Korea.

Former U.S. officials say these are separate events that are unlikely to affect the joint efforts by the U.S. and South Korea in addressing the North Korean issues.

Susan Thornton, who served as acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs during the Trump administration, told VOA’s Korean Service via email Friday that she doesn’t believe there would be any disruption to the U.S.-South Korea bilateral coordination.

“Sue Mi Terry is not in the government and the position of DPRK special representative was created to focus on negotiations with North Korea, which do not appear likely any time soon,” Thornton said.

“The two governments currently have ample channels for regular coordination on DPRK threats through the Departments of State, Defense, U.S. forces in Korea and the National Security Council, among others,” she added.

“I will say that I foresee no reduction in cooperation and coordination between the U.S. and South Korea, especially in the combined military relationship,” said Harry Harris, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea during the Trump administration, in an email to VOA’s Korean Service on Friday.

Close coordination

The U.S. dismissed the concerns over the possible friction with one of its closest allies in the world.

“We will continue to consult closely with the Republic of Korea, Japan and other allies and partners about how to best engage the DPRK, deter aggression and coordinate international responses to the DPRK’s violations of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions,” a State Department spokesperson told VOA’s Korean Service in a written statement Friday, referring to South Korea by its official name.

The spokesperson said that the vacancy of the U.S. official, who would solely cover the North Korean affairs, will not affect the U.S. policy toward North Korea.

“EAP Assistant Secretary Dan Kritenbrink is currently overseeing DPRK policy for the Department of State. Ambassador Julie Turner continues to serve as special envoy on North Korean Human Rights,” the spokesperson said. EAP is the State Department’s term for East Asian and Pacific affairs.

Seoul also stressed that South Korea and the U.S. are cooperating and maintaining close communication at various levels related to North Korea policy.

“The director of the Korean Peninsula Policy Bureau continues to serve as the special representative for North Korea and communicates closely with the U.S. counterpart, and the Director of Diplomatic Strategy and Intelligence Division is discussing issues that require high-level consultations,” a spokesperson for the South Korean foreign ministry told VOA’s Korean Service via email Friday.
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NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s campaign released an update on the former president’s health on Saturday, one week after he survived an attempted assassination at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The memo, from Texas Representative Ronny Jackson, who served as Trump’s White House physician, offers new details about the Republican GOP nominee’s injuries and the treatment he received in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

Jackson said Trump sustained a gunshot wound to the right ear from a high-powered rifle that came “less than a quarter of an inch from entering his head and struck the top of his right ear.”

The bullet track, he said, “produced a 2 cm wide wound that extended down to the cartilaginous surface of the ear. There was initially significant bleeding, followed by marked swelling of the entire upper ear.”

While the swelling has since resolved and the wound is beginning to heal properly, Jackson said Trump is experiencing intermittent bleeding, requiring the dressing that was on display at last week’s Republican National Convention.

“Given the broad and blunt nature of the wound itself, no sutures were required,” he wrote.

Trump was initially treated by medical staff at Butler Memorial Hospital. According to Jackson, doctors “provided a thorough evaluation for additional injuries that included a CT of his head.”

Trump, he said, “will have further evaluations, including a comprehensive hearing exam, as needed. He will follow up with his primary care physician, as directed by the doctors that initially evaluated him,” he wrote.

“In summary, former President Trump is doing well, and he is recovering as expected from the gunshot wound sustained last Saturday afternoon,” he added.

The letter is the first official update about the former president’s condition since the night of the shooting.

Jackson, a staunch Trump supporter and Trump’s former doctor, said he met Trump in Bedminster, New Jersey, late Saturday after he returned from Pennsylvania.

He said he has been with Trump since that time, evaluating and treating his wound daily. That includes traveling with him Saturday to Michigan, where the former president held his first rally since the shooting, joined by his newly named running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance.

It is unclear whether Jackson is still a licensed doctor. A spokesperson for the congressman did not immediately provide a response and Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to questions.
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VIENNA, Ohio — A plane trying to make an emergency landing at an airport in the U.S. state of Ohio crashed, killing all three people aboard, authorities said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Saturday that the twin-engine Beechcraft 60 went down near the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Ohio at about 6:45 p.m. Friday.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol post in Trumbull County, which was notified shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday, said the crash just north of the airport killed the pilot and two passengers. The families of the victims have been notified and names are to be released later, an official said.

Anthony Trevena, executive director of the Western Reserve Port Authority, told WKBN-TV that the crash came after an airplane not associated with the air reserve station at the airport came in for an unscheduled emergency landing. A mechanical failure is suspected, the station reported.

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, the FAA said in a statement.
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During the Republican National Convention, which ended Thursday, delegates approved a political platform that barely mentions abortion — a stark contrast to previous party positions. VOA’s chief national correspondent Steve Herman reports from the convention that this softer official stance on reproductive rights is aimed at making its candidate, Donald Trump, more appealing to undecided voters. VOA footage by Mary Cieslak.
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Paris — Airlines were gradually coming back online Saturday after global carriers, banks and financial institutions were thrown into turmoil by one of the biggest IT crashes in recent years, caused by an update to an antivirus program.

Passenger crowds had swelled at airports Friday to wait for news as dozens of flights were canceled and operators struggled to keep services on track, after an update to a program operating on Microsoft Windows crashed systems worldwide.

Multiple U.S. airlines and airports across Asia said they were now resuming operations, with check-in services restored in Hong Kong, South Korea and Thailand, and mostly back to normal in India and Indonesia and at Singapore’s Changi Airport as of Saturday afternoon.

“The check-in systems have come back to normal [at Thailand’s five major airports]. There are no long queues at the airports as we experienced yesterday,” Airports of Thailand President Keerati Kitmanawat told reporters at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok.

Microsoft said the issue began at 1900 GMT on Thursday, affecting Windows users running the CrowdStrike Falcon cybersecurity software.

CrowdStrike said it had rolled out a fix for the problem, and the company’s boss, George Kurtz, told U.S. news channel CNBC he wanted to “personally apologize to every organization, every group and every person who has been impacted.”

It also said it could take a few days to return to normal.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s team was talking to CrowdStrike and those affected by the glitch “and is standing by to provide assistance as needed,” the White House said in a statement.

“Our understanding is that flight operations have resumed across the country, although some congestion remains,” a senior US administration official said.

Other industries

Reports from the Netherlands and Britain suggested health services might have been affected by the disruption, meaning the full impact might not yet be known.

Media companies were also hit, with Britain’s Sky News saying the glitch had ended its Friday morning news broadcasts, and Australia’s ABC similarly reporting major difficulties.

By Saturday, services in Australia had mostly returned to normal, but Sydney Airport was still reporting flight delays.

Australian authorities warned of an increase in scam and phishing attempts following the outage, including people offering to help reboot computers and asking for personal information or credit card details.

Banks in Kenya and Ukraine reported issues with their digital services, while some mobile phone carriers were disrupted and customer services in a number of companies went down.

“The scale of this outage is unprecedented and will no doubt go down in history,” said Junade Ali of Britain’s Institution of Engineering and Technology, adding that the last incident approaching the same scale was in 2017.

Flight chaos

While some airports halted all flights, in others airline staff resorted to manual check-ins for passengers, leading to long lines and frustrated travelers.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration initially ordered all flights grounded “regardless of destination,” although airlines later said they were reestablishing their services and working through the backlog.

India’s largest airline, Indigo, said operations had been “resolved,” in a statement posted on social media platform X.

“While the outage has been resolved and our systems are back online, we are diligently working to resume normal operations, and we expect this process to extend into the weekend,” the carrier said Saturday.

A passenger told AFP that the situation was returning to normal at Delhi Airport by midnight on Saturday with only slight delays in international flights.

Low-cost carrier AirAsia said it was still trying to get back online and had been “working around the clock toward recovering its departure control systems” after the global outage. It recommended passengers arrive early at airports and be ready for “manual check-in” at airline counters.

Chinese state media said Beijing’s airports had not been affected.

In Europe, major airports, including Berlin’s, which had suspended all flights earlier on Friday, said departures and arrivals were resuming.

‘Common cause’

Companies were left patching up their systems and trying to assess the damage, even as officials tried to tamp down panic by ruling out foul play.

CrowdStrike’s Kurtz said in a statement his teams were “fully mobilized” to help affected customers and “a fix has been deployed.”

But Oli Buckley, a professor at Britain’s Loughborough University, was one of many experts who questioned the ease of rolling out a proper fix.

“While experienced users can implement the workaround, expecting millions to do so is impractical,” he said.

Other experts said the incident should prompt a widespread reconsideration of how reliant societies are on a handful of tech companies for such an array of services.

“We need to be aware that such software can be a common cause of failure for multiple systems at the same time,” said John McDermid, a professor at York University in Britain.

He said infrastructure should be designed “to be resilient against such common cause problems.”
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