The Democratic Party rallies around Kamala Harris, with the vice president securing enough delegate support to be the party’s nominee. And the story of a 21-year-old archer looking to make her mark at the Olympics. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Tuesday, July 23, 2024.
VP Harris secures enough delegate support to become Democratic nominee
Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the majority of Democratic delegates’ support across more than half of U.S. states — enough to potentially win the party’s nomination to become the presidential candidate. Harris will make her first campaign stop in Wisconsin Tuesday, July 23, as endorsements and donations continue to pour in.
She could become the party’s nominee by Aug. 7, when delegates vote in a Democratic National Convention “virtual roll call” well ahead of the actual convention on Aug. 19.
Harris has also secured another big endorsement — former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And in the first 24 hours of campaigning, Harris raised a staggering $81 million.
On the Republican side, former President Donald Trump’s newly announced vice presidential pick J.D. Vance made his first solo campaign appearance in Virginia on Monday, July 22, during which he said Vice President Harris “is a million times worse” than President Joe Biden at the head of the Democratic ticket.
Netanyahu visits the U.S. to meet with Biden, Harris, Congress
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived in the U.S. for a visit with top political leaders. A meeting with President Joe Biden is reportedly to take place on Thursday, July 25, as the president recovers from COVID-19, with the White House saying he’s nearly symptom-free.
On Wednesday, July 24, Netanyahu is set to deliver a speech to Congress. He’s expected to thank the U.S. for its ongoing support for Israel in its war against Hamas.
However, some Democratic lawmakers are expected to boycott Netanyahu’s speech. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has already threatened to have anyone who disrupts the event arrested.
Netanyahu is focused on shoring up bipartisan support for Israel as the country continues to fight not only Hamas but is facing growing security threats from Iranian-backed groups in Lebanon and Yemen.
Netanyahu says Israel will still be a “key U.S. ally” to whoever replaces lame-duck President Joe Biden.
The prime minister is also expected to meet with presidential candidate Kamala Harris during his visit. Reports show he has also reached out to former President Trump to potentially meet with him before departing the U.S., but it’s unclear if that meeting will take place this week.
Trump appealing nearly $500M civil fraud judgment
Former President Trump is appealing his New York civil fraud conviction. He says the $454 million judgment against him is “excessive.”
In their appeal Monday, July 22, Trump’s attorneys called the ruling “draconian” and repeated arguments they used during the bench trial The attorneys said allegations made by New York’s attorney general were outside the statute of limitations and revolved around deals that had “no victims and no losses.”
A spokesperson for the New York State attorney general said they are confident this appeal will go nowhere.
An appeals court says it will hear oral arguments in late September.
House Republicans want CrowdStrike CEO to testify over outage
Congress is calling on CrowdStrike’s CEO to testify over the July 19 outage that grounded multiple airlines, knocked banks and hospitals offline, and impacted millions around the world. Impacts from the software glitch are still being felt, especially by Delta Air Lines.
Delta saw hundreds more flight cancellations on Monday, July 22, due to its “crew-tracking software” still not working right after CrowdStrike’s disruption.
Republican leaders of the House Homeland Security Committee said they want CEO George Kurtz to explain what exactly went wrong.
So far, it has been revealed a glitched update to CrowdStrike’s security software caused computers powered by Microsoft Windows to crash. Microsoft said on Saturday, July 20, about 8.5 million devices were affected.
House leaders want Kurtz to schedule a hearing by Wednesday, July 24.
Lawmakers call on Secret Service director to resign during testimony
On Monday, July 22, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified before Congress. She answered questions surrounding Trump’s near assassination at a Pennsylvania rally.
Since her testimony, both Democrats and Republicans are ramping up their calls for the director to resign over what they call a “botched operation.”
“It is my firm belief, Director Cheatle, that you should resign,” Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., told her.
“If you have an assassination attempt on a president, a former president or a candidate, you need to resign,” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., added.
Cheatle responded, saying, “I think that I am the best person to lead the Secret Service at this time.”
Members were openly frustrated with Cheatle and demanded answers about the agency’s planning for the rally and the ongoing investigation into the shooting. She was largely unable or unwilling to provide information.
“I’m unable to answer details of exactly how the individual accessed the roof at this time,” Cheatle said. “I personally do not review security plans for events that take place across the country.”
You can read more in Ray Bogan’s full report here.
FAA investigating Southwest flight that flew just 150 ft. over Tampa waters
Federal investigators want to know why a Southwest Airlines jet flew as low as 150 feet above water while still five miles out from the Tampa Bay airport where it was set to land. The incident happened on July 14.
The Federal Aviation Administration says that far out from its designated landing spot, the plane should have been more than 1,000 feet above the water.
The flight from Columbus, Ohio was flying through stormy weather when it happened and ended up being rerouted to Fort Lauderdale as a result of the storms.
A similar incident happened last month in Oklahoma City, when a Southwest jet flew unusually low while still miles away from the airport. The FAA is still investigating that incident, as well.
21-year-old archer looking to make her mark at Olympic games
A 21-year-old archer is looking to make her mark at her first Olympic games as a member of Team USA. San Diego’s Catalina Gnoriega is on target for the Paris games.
“It’s a dream come true,” Gnoriega said. “There are so many people who dream of that for so long and work so hard. It’s really such a good feeling. It’s a dream come true to be able to say I made it. I’m going to go compete there.”
First picking up the bow and arrow at age 12, Gnoriega gravitated to the independence the sport provides an athlete and the opportunity to hone your craft while staying in the zone.
“It’s hard to pinpoint what it is exactly, but I like that it’s individual and like I’m able to focus on myself, I was always like that, especially when I was a kid, that drew me in,” Gnoriega said. “All I had to do was show up and shoot.”
Now 21, whether she’s competing as an individual or part of a team, Gnoriega will have her parents there in Paris to cheer her on. She says they’re the ones who supported her through it all, as she proudly represents her Mexican-American heritage as a member of Team USA.
“It’s crazy,” Gnoriega said. “It’s such an honor. It’s crazy to think that I’m on the same team as someone like Simone Biles and these other people who are incredible — I’m on that same team. That’s such an incredible feeling. I just can’t believe it.”
And she’s now on the hunt for her next target — Olympic medals.
“The goal would be to get medals, but overall, I just want to go have fun,” Gnoriega said. “Do what I know how to do. Just shoot and trust myself and enjoy it because it, hopefully, it’s not just once, but it’s kind of like a once in a lifetime opportunity. I just want to enjoy it.”