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Vice President Kamala Harris told pro-Palestine protesters at a rally in Arizona that “now is the time” to get a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to end the war in Gaza.
“So let me say I have been clear. Now is the time to get a cease-fire deal and get the hostage deal done. Now is the time and the President and I are working around the clock every day to get that cease-fire deal done and bring the hostages home. So, I respect your voices,” she said on Friday night.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump attended a rally in Bozeman, Montana, after his plane was diverted to Billings because of a mechanical issue as he flew to the state.
During the Friday night event he falsely claimed Harris would not debate him, before admitting they would face off on ABC in September.
Harris has surged to a five-point lead over Donald Trump in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, putting her at 42 percent to the Republican’s 37 percent nationally with less than three months to go to November’s presidential election.
ICYMI: Trump’s plane diverted over mechanical issue
The Associated Press reported that the plane was diverted from Bozeman, Montana due to a mechanical issue but landed safely at Billings Logan International Airport. A staff member at the Billings airport confirmed the incident.
Michelle Del Rey reports.
Oliver O'Connell10 August 2024 15:30
Capitol rioter gets 20 years in prison for attacking police
A California man with a history of political violence was sentenced on Friday to 20 years in prison for repeatedly attacking police with flagpoles and other makeshift weapons during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
David Nicholas Dempsey’s sentence is among the longest among hundreds of Capitol riot prosecutions. Prosecutors described him as one of the most violent members of the mob of Donald Trump supporters that attacked the Capitol as lawmakers met to certify Joe Biden‘s 2020 presidential election victory.
Dempsey, who is from Van Nuys, stomped on police officers’ heads. He swung poles at officers defending a tunnel, struck an officer in the head with a metal crutch and attacked police with pepper spray and broken pieces of furniture, prosecutors said.
Continue reading...
Oliver O'Connell10 August 2024 15:15
New poll sees Harris leading in three key battleground states
Kamala Harris is leading Donald Trump in three of the most important battleground states that will likely decide the election.
A new poll from The New York Times and Siena College shows the vice president has dramatically reversed the fortunes of the Democratic Party in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
In a survey of likely voters conducted between August 5 and 9, Harris leads Trump by four percentage points 50 per cent to 46 per cent.
Per the Times:
While the reshaped race is still in its volatile early weeks, Democrats are now in a notably stronger position in these three battleground states that have long been key to the party’s victories — or defeats. Still, the results show vulnerabilities for Ms. Harris. Voters prefer Mr. Trump when it comes to whom they trust to handle the economy and immigration, issues that remain central to the presidential race.
Much of the newfound Democratic strength stems from improved voter perceptions of Ms. Harris. Her favorability rating has increased 10 percentage points among registered voters in Pennsylvania just in the last month, according to Times/Siena polling. Voters also view Ms. Harris as more intelligent and more temperamentally fit to govern than Mr. Trump.
Oliver O'Connell10 August 2024 14:58
Culinary Union endorses Harris-Walz
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have won the endorsement of the powerful Culinary Union.
In a statement released on Friday evening, the group said the vice president “Has consistently championed our union and hospitality workers” and “stood by us as we negotiated and won the best union contract ever”.
As Donald Trump’s campaign promises a “no tax on tips” rule, the union nevertheless says: “Kamala has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to tackle issues that are important to guest room attendants who clean hotel rooms, cooks who make gourmet food, and the tip-earning servers who deliver cocktail and unparalleled hospitality.”
Accusing Republicans of siding with Wall Street landlords and the super-rich, the union concludes its statement by saying: “The path to victory runs through Nevada, and the Culinary Union will deliver Nevada for President Kamala Harris and Vice President Tim Walz.”
Harris for President Campaign Manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in response: “Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walz are honored to be endorsed by Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 and will never stop fighting for their 60,000 workers across the great state of Nevada.”
Oliver O'Connell10 August 2024 14:50
Sinking ship: Trump mocked for ‘ironic’ Celine Dion song choice
Shortly before the presidential candidate appeared on stage in Bozeman, Montana on Friday (9 August), his supporters watched as a clip of Dion singing her 1997 track “My Heart Will Go On” was played on a large screen.
Dion previously refused to perform at Trump’s inauguration when he was elected president in 2016.
Jacob Stolworthy reports.
Oliver O'Connell10 August 2024 14:28
The press conference you should’ve been paying attention to while Trump rambled on about nothing
Two years ago, Republican Kari Lake, the news anchor-turned-election denier, lost the governorship in Arizona by 17,117 votes. Since then, she’s filed lawsuits to overturn the results while at the same time announcing that she will be running for the US Senate seat Kyrsten Sinema will vacate at the end of this year.
“We are in a difficult time in our country and it seems that Arizona is kind of right there at ground zero for a lot of the problems that people are facing,” she said to open a press conference at the Maricopa County Republican Party office on Thursday. “Whether it be the inflation and the cost of living that has soared under the Biden-Kamala regime or whether it be the wide open border that used to be secure and is no longer secure in America.”
Eric Garcia10 August 2024 14:00
Trump’s election interference case is back in Judge Chutkan’s hands after months of delays
Donald Trump’s federal election interference case is slowly coming back to life.
The four criminal cases against the former president — spanning 88 charges in four jurisdictions — have been hung up in months of appeals and delays, creating a Russian nesting doll of courtroom battles, with court dates and side hearings on evidence, gag orders and defense arguments all designed to slow down the likelihood of another conviction before Election Day.
Alex Woodward10 August 2024 13:00
What JD Vance did in Iraq, as told by the friend who served with him
JD Vance sparked a firestorm this week when he accused fellow veteran and Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, of abandoning his unit before it deployed to Iraq.
“When the United States Marine Corps … asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it,” Vance told reporters. “When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq … he dropped out of the army and allowed his unit to go without him.”
Democrats were quick to hit back at the claim, pointing out that Walz filed to run for Congress and officially retired from the Minnesota National Guard months before his unit was alerted about deployment. But Vance’s criticism of his opponent’s record has drawn greater scrutiny of his own time as a “combat correspondent” in the Marine Corps, a role that involves gathering news and writing articles for internal Marine Corps publications and facilitating interviews and access for civilian media.
Richard Hall10 August 2024 12:00
Pence says he ‘could never vote’ for Harris and Walz
At a gathering hosted by conservative commentator Erick Erickson, former Vice President Mike Pence said he “could never vote” for Harris and Walz, but added that he’s “staying out of the presidential campaign,” according to The Washington Post.
“I cannot endorse this growing abandonment of our allies on the world stage that’s taken hold in parts of our party,” added, saying that he also couldn’t back “ignoring our national debt” and “marginalizing the right to life.”
“And between me and my running mate, I cannot endorse President Trump’s continuing assertion that I should’ve set aside my oath” to the Constitution during the 2021 Capitol riot and refused to certify the 2020 election.
Gustaf Kilander10 August 2024 11:00
Tucker Carlson teases documentary on Trump’s ‘comeback’ — just as Harris picks up momentum
Katie Hawkinson10 August 2024 10:00