Wednesday Briefing: A turbulent moment in U.S. politics
Good morning. We’re covering the push by some Democrats to nominate President Biden and Israeli strikes in Gaza. Plus, a poet leading rebels in Myanmar.
Democrats are pushing to nominate Biden, despite doubtsLeaders of the Democratic National Committee are moving to confirm President Biden as the party’s nominee before the end of July, according to four people briefed on the matter. The move would quiet disagreement among Democrats about Biden’s viability as a candidate against Donald Trump in the November election. Doubts about Biden have persisted since his poor debate performance last month. Adam Schiff, a Democrat running for the Senate, told a private meeting of donors on Saturday that “I think if he is our nominee, I think we lose.” He warned that the party could lose the Senate and miss a chance to take the House if the president did not drop out. A group of Democratic representatives is trying to rally support for delaying the official nomination to allow potential challenges to it at the party convention in Chicago next month. But under party rules, it is virtually impossible to replace Biden unless he steps aside. He said in a televised interview on Monday that he had no plans to do so. The president’s inner circle has tightened since the debate, and he is now consulting mainly with a group of true believers. Trump shooting: The Secret Service faced growing questions over its failure to stop the attempted assassination of Trump, including about how the agency handled reports of a suspicious person at the Pennsylvania rally. In the weeks before the shooting, U.S. intelligence agencies were tracking an unrelated Iranian plot to assassinate Trump, officials said. Republicans: On a leaked phone call, Trump tried to coax Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as a third-party candidate, into his camp. Here’s our coverage of the second day of the Republican National Convention. Also, read about how J.D. Vance came to be Trump’s pick for vice president.
Israeli strikes kill more than 20 people in GazaTwo Israeli strikes, including one that hit a U.N. school turned shelter, killed more than 20 people in the Gaza Strip yesterday, Palestinian health officials said. Roughly 17 people were killed in an Israeli strike in Mawasi, a coastal area that Israel has designated a safer zone, the Gaza Health Ministry said. At least five people were killed and eight wounded at the school, in Nuseirat in central Gaza, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. The Israeli military said it had been targeting militants who operated inside the school. The school was the sixth U.N.-run educational institution in Gaza to be hit in just 10 days, according to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. Hamas: The C.I.A. director said that the leader of Hamas in Gaza was under pressure from his military commanders to end the war with Israel.
U.S. senator convicted of corruptionSenator Robert Menendez of New Jersey was found guilty in a sweeping scheme to sell political favors in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, a luxury car and solid gold bars. Prosecutors had argued that Menendez, a Democrat, acted as an agent of Egypt and interceded to quash criminal prosecutions in exchange for the payoffs, which he then sought to cover up. Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, called on him to resign after the verdict was read. Menendez has vowed to appeal. Here’s what to know about the conspiracy stretching from New Jersey to Egypt. |
