Hunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, leaves the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building on June 06, 2024 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, attempted to enlist support from the U.S. Ambassador to Italy in 2016 to arrange a business meeting on behalf of Burisma for a prospective energy deal, according to his attorney.
The New York Times first reported the overture, which occurred during Joe Biden’s time as vice president.
In a statement to ABC News on Tuesday night, Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Hunter Biden, characterized Hunter Biden’s letter to John Phillips, the U.S. ambassador in Rome at the time, seeking a “simple introduction” as a “normal and proper practice.”
“No meeting occurred, no project materialized, no request for anything in the U.S. was ever sought, and only an introduction in Italy was requested,” Lowell said.
The New York Times reported that it had secured records related to Hunter Biden’s request after a lengthy legal fight with the State Department. The newspaper said in Tuesday’s news article that it initially filed the request for these records in June 2021 and later sued when the department failed to turn them over.
The Times also reported that a State Department official said the timing of the release of these particular documents — just weeks after Joe Biden ended his presidential campaign — was a coincidence.
The actual text of Hunter Biden’s 2016 letter to Ambassador John Phillips was not included in the documents obtained by the Times. But according to Lowell, Hunter Biden reached out to the embassy to see “if they could make a simple introduction of Burisma’s Geothermal company to the President of Tuscany where such projects were being considered.”
The response Hunter Biden received from an embassy aide suggested unease with official U.S. cooperation.
“I want to be careful about promising too much,” a Commerce Department official based in Rome replied to Hunter Biden, according to the Times. “This is a Ukrainian company and, purely to protect ourselves, [U.S. government] should not be actively advocating with the government of Italy without the company going through the [Commerce Department] Advocacy Center.”
Hunter Biden sat on the board of Burisma for nearly five years and earned more than $2 million from the energy firm during that time, according to court records filed as part of his tax case in California.
This latest revelation builds on recent allegations that Hunter Biden attempted to leverage his proximity to power for business gains.
Last week, prosecutors contended in court filings that the younger Biden accepted payments from a Romanian businessman who wanted him to “influence U.S. government agencies” while his father was vice president.
Lawyers for Hunter Biden criticized the allegations related to the Romanian businessman in court filings.
“The Special Counsel’s unnecessary change of tactic merely echoes the baseless and false allegations of foreign wrongdoing which have been touted by House Republicans to use Mr. Biden’s proper business activities in Romania and elsewhere to attack him and his father,” attorneys for Hunter Biden wrote.
In related news, Hunter Biden first addressed his role at Burisma in an interview with ABC News in Oct. 2019. He acknowledged at the time that he would “probably not” have been offered the role at Burisma if his last name hadn’t been Biden, but insisted he “did nothing wrong at all” by accepting overseas work while his father was vice president.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(NEW YORK) — Former Marion, Kansas Police Chief Gideon Cody has been charged over his handling of an investigation that involved raiding the offices of a local newspaper and the home of its publishers, court records showed.
Cody was charged with one count of interfering with a judicial process, a felony.
Special Prosecutor Barry Wilkerson, who was assigned to look into the case, charged Cody, saying in the court filing that Cody “induced a witness to withhold information.”
Earlier this month, Wilkerson, the Riley County, Kansas, District Attorney and the DA of Sedgewick County, Marc Bennett, concluded in a 124-page report that the paper’s staff committed no crimes before local police raided the Marion County Record offices in August of 2023.
The police raid last year was prompted by a complaint from a prominent local business owner and critic of the newspaper, who accused two city council members at a public meeting of illegally disseminating confidential information about her driving record.
This kicked off an investigation from then-Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody about whether the reporter stole the records and also led to a search of the publisher Eric Meyer and his 98-year-old mother Joan Meyer’s house.
Eric Meyer, the publisher of the Marion County Record, said at the time that his newspaper was tipped off about the business owner’s driving record but never published a story about it.
Joan Meyer died days after the raid on her home.
Seth Stern, the director of Advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, called the raid “criminal” and said he “welcomes” the news of charges against Cody.
The two prosecutors found the reporter did not commit any crimes in doing her due diligence in accessing driving records.
The special prosecutors took issue with the application of search warrants.
“The specter of ulterior motives, personal animus and conclusions based not on investigation but rather on assumptions permeates much of this case,” the prosecutors wrote in the report. “These factors arguably colored the perceptions of Marion law enforcement and civilian actors alike.”
In a statement to ABC News last August, Cody said there were exceptions to the federal law limiting federal, state and local law enforcement’s ability to conduct newsroom searches, specifically noting, “When there is reason to believe the journalist is taking part in the underlying wrongdoing.”
Eric Meyer denied his staff was involved in any wrongdoing and that his reporters even notified the Marion Police Department of the tip the newspaper got on the local business owner, but the agency never responded.
Prosecutors Wilkerson and Bennett concluded in their 2024 report that once a Marion officer spoke with a Kansas Dept. of Revenue representative and found no crime, the case should have been closed.
“Journalists, attorneys, mental health professional and members of the clergy each have long-recognized privileges in our law rooted in the freedom of religion, freedom of the press and right to legal representation. When a member of one of these professions becomes a suspect in a crime, law enforcement has the ability to investigate. However, in these situations, it is incumbent on law enforcement to take precautions to limit the scope of their investigation. Before a search warrant is sought for a press room, a law office church or the office of a mental health professional, inquisition subpoenas or other available forms of investigation should be utilized. Search warrants for law offices, press rooms and churches should be sought only in extraordinary circumstances and with extreme caution,” they wrote in the report.
A legal representative for Cody was not listed on the court filing. The former police chief hasn’t spoken out about the case and resigned in October, not long after the August 2023 raid.
(NEW YORK) — A black bear attacked and injured a child Sunday night in Montana, officials said.
The child — who had been inside a tent on a private campground near Red Lodge — was taken to a medical facility in Billings, according to a news release from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Officials did not identify the child or disclose their current condition.
The campground was evacuated following the attack, and the bear was shot and killed the next day, officials said.
Officials said “unsecured attractants,” including food and garbage, were found in the vicinity of the tent where the attack occurred.
The black bear that attacked the child “had no history of conflicts” and “had likely become food-conditioned and human-habituated after accessing unsecured attractants in the area,” officials said.
Officials warned the public that Montana is “bear country,” and visitors should take precautions to avoid bear encounters while camping.
Campers were urged to keep food outside of tents, get rid of garbage in “bear resistant bins,” and safely secure food or anything with a scent.
“People should be prepared to encounter grizzly or black bears in Montana,” the news release stated. “Avoiding conflicts with bears is easier than dealing with conflicts.”
(NEW YORK) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging schools across the state to restrict students’ cellphone usage in classrooms, he said in a letter to schools.
Los Angeles Unified School District — the second largest district in the U.S. — and Santa Barbara Unified have already implemented restrictions on the use of cellphones in schools.
In 2019, Newsom signed a bill into law granting districts the authority to regulate the use of the devices during school hours.
“Excessive smartphone use among youth is linked to increased anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 72% of high school and 33% of middle school teachers report cell phone distractions as a major problem,” Newsom wrote in the letter.
“Combined with the U.S. Surgeon General’s warning about the risks of social media, it is urgent to provide reasonable guardrails for smartphone use in schools,” the letter said.
Newsom also argued that reducing the use of phones in class leads to improved concentration, better academic outcomes and enhanced social interactions.
The push for limited cellphone usage in schools comes amid concerns from public health leaders that social media platforms are contributing to a mental health crisis among young people. In June, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy called for a warning label to be added to social media platforms stating that social media usage can be associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents.
Virginia also announced it will restrict cellphone use in public K-12 schools. Restrictions in that state are set to go into effect starting 2025.
(NEW YORK) — The prosecutor and defense attorney delivered opening remarks Tuesday in the trial of Susan Lorincz — the Florida woman charged in the fatal shooting of her neighbor Ajike “AJ” Owens through a closed door — after a six-person jury was seated on Monday afternoon.
According to a June 6, 2023, statement from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), Lorincz shot Owens, a Black mother of four, through a closed door in the presence of her now 10-year-old son after Owens went to speak with Lorincz about a dispute over Owens’ children playing near her home. Lorincz called 911 after fatally shooting Owens and admitted to the shooting.
Lorincz, who is white, was arrested on June 6, 2023, and charged with first-degree felony manslaughter for fatally shooting Owens on June 2, 2023, in Ocala, Florida. She pleaded not guilty on July 10, 2023, and was held on a $150,000 bond. If convicted, Lorincz faces up to 30 years in prison, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Anthony Thomas, attorney for the family of Ajike Owens, told ABC News in a statement Tuesday that the family is “disappointed in the all-white jury that was selected to determine the outcome” of this case.
“We would have wanted the jury to be more diverse. But we believe in equal justice, so we are going to see what happens,” added family attorney Ben Crump in a statement to ABC News.
“I am keeping faith that justice will be served for my daughter, Ajike, that the jurors will not let Susan Lorincz get away with this,” Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, told ABC News.
During opening arguments, public defender Morris Carranza argued that Lorincz was acting in self-defense because she feared for her life, while Assistant State Attorney Adam Smith stressed that Owens was “unarmed” and fatally shot through a “locked” door. Carranza claimed that Owens told Lorincz that she was going to “kill” her, while Smith told jurors that they will be hearing from witnesses who were present during the confrontation who will deny this claim.
“The death of AJ Owens is a tragedy. There is no doubt about that, but what the evidence will show is that in her mind, in her soul, in her core, Susan Lorincz felt she had no choice,” Lorincz’s defense attorney said. “It was either Susan or AJ. Susan chose to defend herself.”
Lorincz’s attorney focused on the age difference between the 59-year-old Lorincz and the 35-year-old Owens, highlighted Lorincz’s health issues and also played for jurors Lorincz’s distressed 911 call on June 2, 2023, where she claimed that Owens tried to “break down” her door and admitted to shooting at the door.
“You can hear the absolute terror that she had,” Lorincz’s attorney said, referring to the 911 call.
Meanwhile, Smith disputed the claim that Owens was trying to “break” into Lorincz’s home and stressed that Owens, who approached Lorincz’s home to talk to her about the dispute with her children, was “unarmed” and was fatally shot through a “locked” front door after Lorincz called police to come to her home.
Smith argued that Owens “doesn’t try to break into” Lorincz’s home and was shot while she was “unarmed.”
“At the end of this case, you’re going to hear that the defendant Susan Lorincz, knowing the police would come, was in her apartment with her door locked and shot through that locked front door and killed Ajike Owens, who was unarmed,” Smith said.
“After the evidence is presented, we’re going to come back to you and ask that you find the defendant guilty,” he added.
Lorincz claimed in her June 6, 2023, interrogation interview with detectives — video of which was released by MCSO — that she was acting in self-defense when she shot Owens.
“She was saying, ‘I’m going to kill you,'” Lorincz claimed in the video.
“No one that we’ve interviewed so far has made any statements about her saying that she wanted to kill you,” one of the detectives told Lorincz.
Anthony Thomas, an attorney representing the family of Ajike Owens, told ABC News in a statement on Monday that two of Owens’ four children will be called to testify during the trial and are “determined to testify” on their mother’s behalf “despite their grief.”
“Unfortunately, yes, we have confirmed that they will be called to testify. This is an unimaginably painful experience for them, as they continue to grapple with the deep emotional wounds caused by losing their mother in such a violent way,” Thomas said.
According to Thomas, Isaac, 13, and Izzy (Israel), 10, who witnessed the shooting, could be called by prosecutors and the defense to testify this week.
“They do this out of profound love and respect for her, knowing that their voices are crucial in the pursuit of justice,” Thomas said. “They understand the gravity of this moment and want to ensure that their mother’s death is not in vain.”
Judge Robert W. Hodges of Florida 5th Judicial Circuit, who is presiding over the case, said that the trial is expected to conclude by Friday.
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the U.S. military announced it is moving more forces to the Middle East.
The United States and its allies continue to plead for a cease-fire deal while Israel anticipates possible retaliatory action from Iran or Hezbollah following multiple assassinations of top Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in recent weeks.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Biden expects Iran to hold off on retaliatory attack if a cease-fire deal is reached
President Joe Biden addressed the rising tensions in the Middle East Tuesday after U.S. officials warned Iran could launch a retaliatory attack on Israel as early as “this week.”
Biden told reporters he expects Iran to hold off on carrying out a retaliatory attack against Israel if a cease-fire deal with Hamas is reached.
“That’s my expectation, but we’ll see,” Biden said after arriving in New Orleans, LA.
Last week, Biden along with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar jointly called for Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table and reach an agreement that would free hostages and end the war in Gaza.
Hamas leaders declined the new set of cease-fire conditions on Sunday, asking for negotiations to resume around what was presented in July.
US approves $20 billion more in arms sales to Israel
The U.S. State Department has signed off on several large arms transfers to Israel, notifying Congress on Tuesday that it has approved the sale of more than $20 billion worth of weaponry and military equipment.
All of the sales surpass the value threshold that requires the State Department to formally notify Congress 15 days before initiating the transfer process. Congress can move to reject the transaction by adopting a joint resolution of disapproval within that timeframe.
Some of the items aren’t scheduled to arrive in Israel for years.
Israeli forces kill two Hezbollah fighters, IDF says
Israeli forces killed two Hezbollah fighters from its Southern Front on Tuesday, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement. Hezbollah has confirmed the death of two of their fighters on Tuesday.
These attacks come as Israel awaits a response from Hezbollah and Iran for killings in recent weeks.
CIA director, Biden aide to head to Middle East to salvage hostage talks
Several U.S. officials are headed to the Middle East this week in a bid to de-escalate regional tensions and try to salvage hostage negotiations, as the window for a deal appears to be closing.
CIA Director Bill Burns is expected to arrive in Doha, Qatar, this week, where he will lead a crucial meeting on the hostages, according to a U.S. official. It’s not clear, however, whether a representative of Hamas will attend.
Meanwhile, Brett McGurk, Biden’s top adviser on the Middle East at the White House, was expected to travel separately to Cairo, according to the U.S. official.
Axios first reported the travel plans for Burns and McGurk, noting that McGurk’s plan was to nail down a security plan for the Egypt-Gaza border.
The diplomatic trip also comes as the U.S. has been scrambling to revive a coalition of countries that helped to defend Israel last April during an attack by Iran.
Israel has been bracing for Iran to launch a retaliatory attack following the assassination of a senior Hamas official in Tehran.
The U.S. official acknowledged “there have been complications” with getting some of the Arab countries on board but added they’ve been “able to put in place preparations” to defend Israel successfully.
-ABC News’ Anne Flaherty
Western leaders call on Iran to ‘stand down’
The leaders of the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Italy called on Iran to “stand down” and expressed their support for Israel’s defense “against Iranian aggression” during a call on Monday, according to a joint statement released by the White House.
“We called on Iran to stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel and discussed the serious consequences for regional security should such an attack take place,” the statement said.
The leaders also expressed their support for ongoing efforts to reach a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza, according to the statement.
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Hostage deal talks expected to move forward: State Department
As the Middle East continues its uneasy wait for Iran’s response to the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, the State Department is pressing on with its high-stakes diplomatic campaign to constrain military action from Tehran amid fresh waves of uncertainty.
“We continue to work diplomatically to prevent any major escalation in this conflict,” deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters Monday. “We obviously don’t want to see any kind of attack or response happen in the first place.”
Multiple officials within the State Department said they are still cautiously optimistic that Iran will limit the scope of its retaliation, but that they increasingly expect the country will strike at Israel before Thursday — the date the Biden administration, along with Egypt and Qatar, set to relaunch hostage/cease-fire deal talks in hopes of bringing Israel and Hamas back to the table for a final push.
A joint statement issued by the mediators last week was designed not only to pressure the parties involved, but as a message to Iran that an agreement was in the offing meant to persuade the country against military action that could scuttle a deal, according to an official.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also publicly warned Monday that Iranian military action could impede progress at a critical point in the negotiations.
However, Hamas’ earlier announcement that it would not participate in the round of negotiations and public infighting among top Israeli officials have cast significant doubt over whether the Thursday meeting will even happen — undercutting the administration’s intended message to Tehran.
At the podium Monday, Patel said mediators “fully expect talks to move forward as they should” in order to “bring this deal to conclusion.”
He declined to say whether Hamas or Israel was the bigger impediment.
“I’m not going to color it one way or the other,” Patel said while noting that “the prime minister of Israel immediately welcomed this initiative and confirmed that the Israeli team will be there, and they’ll be prepared to finalize the details of implementing the deal.”
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Retaliatory attack on Israel could come ‘this week’: Kirby
A United States assessment shows a retaliatory attack by Iran and its proxies against Israel could be launched “this week,” the White House said Monday.
“We share the same concerns and expectations that our Israeli counterparts have with respect to potential timing here. Could be this week,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “We’re continuing to watch it very, very closely.”
Kirby said it’s difficult to ascertain what a potential attack could look like at this time but that “we have to be prepared for what could be a significant set of attacks.”
Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari told reporters on Monday that Israel remains “on high alert.”
“We take seriously the threats of our enemies and that is why we are on high alert offensively and defensively,” he said.
Hagari said the IDF will “work hard to give the public time to get organized.”
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Netanyahu accuses defense minister of ‘adopting anti-Israel narrative’
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant appeared to take a swing at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Knesset committee meeting about Israel’s response to ongoing cross-border tensions with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
“I hear all the heroes with the war drums, the ‘absolute victory’ and this gibberish,” Gallant reportedly said, alluding to Netanyahu’s slogan through the war, according to Israeli media.
Netanyahu’s office released a statement shortly after, saying Gallant too is bound by the policy of “absolute victory.”
“When Gallant adopts the anti-Israel narrative, he hurts the chances of reaching a deal for the release of the abductees,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said. “He should have attacked [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar, who refuses to send a delegation to the negotiations, and who was and remains the only obstacle to the kidnapping deal.”
National Unity Party Chairman Benny Gantz warned about internal divisions in Israel during an address on Monday.
“If we don’t come to our senses, there will be a civil war here,” Gantz said.
He said there have been “heroes,” from soldiers to volunteers, in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack, but also “leadership that dissolves, networks that poison the well from which we live.”
“The patriotic Israeli majority should stop the hatred and make amends,” Gantz said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Hezbollah says it is still determined to attack Israel
While the weekend passed with no direct retaliation from Hezbollah for the killings of several top leaders by Israeli strikes, the group said it still plans to strike.
“The response is coming and inevitable and there is no turning back from it,” Ali Damoush, the deputy chairman of the Executive Council of Hezbollah, said Monday.
The Hezbollah official saif America, Great Britain, Germany and everyone who supplies Israel with weapons is a partner in the Gaza massacres.
“Israel does not find any practical and serious response to its massacres, and this is what encourages it to continue committing crimes and massacres, and without effective pressure Netanyahu will not stop his crimes,” Damoush claimed.
Israeli Air Force bans travel abroad
Amid fears that an attack from Iran may be imminent, the commander of Israel’s Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, has issued an order barring servicemembers from traveling abroad. The directive applies to career officers and non-commissioned officers, not conscripts, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
US is ‘strengthening’ military force in Middle East over ‘escalating’ tensions
The U.S. is “strengthening” its capabilities in the Middle East by sending an additional guided missile submarine to the region “in light of escalating regional tensions,” according to a statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder issued on Sunday.
The update comes the same day Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
“Secretary Austin reiterated the United States’ commitment to take every possible step to defend Israel,” according to the statement.
Secretary Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, equipped with F-35C fighters, to accelerate its transit to the Middle East, which was previously expected to get there by the end of the month.
The Lincoln was already en route to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt, but will now add to the capabilities of the Roosevelt
Additionally, Austin has ordered the USS Georgia guided missile submarine to the Middle East.
The statement doesn’t say how soon the Lincoln or the USS Georgia will arrive in the region.
Israeli forces intercept ‘projectiles’ crossing from Lebanon, no injuries: IDF
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) intercepted approximately 30 “projectiles” that were identified as crossing from Lebanon into northern Israel early Monday morning local time, the IDF said in a statement.
No injuries were reported from the attacks, the IDF said.
“The IDF is striking the sources of fire,” the IDF added.
U.S. Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on July 27, 2024 in St Cloud, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris is back in Washington and is preparing to roll out her economic plan on the road in North Carolina on Friday, which will mark her first major policy rollout since becoming the Democratic nominee. As Donald Trump looks for a campaign reset, he spoke with Elon Musk live on Tuesday and will deliver remarks on the economy in North Carolina on Wednesday.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Trump to deliver remarks on economy in North Carolina
Former President Donald Trump is set to deliver remarks on the economy in North Carolina on Wednesday as the campaign works to recenter its campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The election’s coming up, and the people want to hear about the economy,” Trump said during an interview with Elon Musk on X Monday, directly blaming the Biden-Harris administration for the current state of the economy.
The economy has been one of the Trump campaign’s central election issues this cycle — the former president often spending a considerable amount of time discussing inflation, gas prices and the job market.
“I just ask this: Are you better off now, or were you better off when I was president?” Trump said Monday night as he was wrapping up his conversation with Musk.
Omar decries ‘shameful’ opponents in primary race
Following her Tuesday night primary victory, Rep. Ilhan Omar told supporters: “We run the politics of joy, because we know it is joyful to fight for your neighbors.”
“We know it is joyful to want to live in a peaceful and equitable world,” she added, per ABC News’ St. Paul affiliate KSTP-TV.
Omar also had harsh words for her main primary opponent Don Samuels, though did not mention him by name.
“I hope that they reflect in the shameful way they decided to divide our district and the incredible people we are grateful to represent,” she said of her challengers.
Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar wins primary
Rep. Ilhan Omar has won her Congressional primary in Minnesota, multiple media outlets projected Tuesday night.
Omar’s win follows defeats by two of her fellow squad members in their primaries — Cori Bush from Missouri, and Jamaal Bowman of New York.
Omar had been expected to win in her district despite a challenge from former Minneapolis city council member Don Samuels.
Bush lost her primary earlier this month to St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell. He was backed by more than $8 million from the pro-Israel United Democracy Project.
Bowman lost to Westchester County Executive George Latimer in June. Per AdImpact, the race was the most expensive House primary on record, with most of the funding coming from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) United Democracy Project PAC in support of Latimer. Latimer was recruited to run by AIPAC.
Walz says he’s ‘damn proud’ of military record, thanks Vance for his service
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in his first solo campaign appearance, defended his military record and thanked his vice presidential opponent, Sen. JD Vance, for his service.
“I am damn proud of my service to this country,” Walz said to applause at the AFSCME convention in California. “And I firmly believe you should never denigrate another person’s service record. Anyone brave enough to put on that uniform for our great country, including my opponent, I just have a few simple words: thank you for your service and sacrifice.”
Vance has repeatedly criticized how Walz has talked about his military record, which included 24 years in the Army National Guard before he retired to run for Congress in 2005. Vance served as a combat correspondent for four years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Read more about Vance’s comments and Walz’s background here.
Biden says he would attend Trump’s inauguration if he were elected
President Joe Biden on Tuesday, as he was departing the White House, said he would go to Trump’s inauguration in January if he were to win this year’s election.
“I have good manners, not like him,” Biden told reporters after being asked if he’d attend. Trump did not attend Biden’s inauguration in 2021.
Biden also defended his calling Trump “a genuine danger to American security,” a comment he made during his CBS News interview over the weekend. Asked whether that contradicted his calls to cool heated political rhetoric, Biden shot back: “That’s just a statement. That’s a factual statement.”
-Fritz Farrow
Judge’s ruling means independent Cornel West can appear on North Carolina ballot
Independent presidential candidate Cornel West will be allowed on the general election ballot in North Carolina following a judge’s ruling that reversed a decision that would have kept him off the ballot in the battleground state.
In a ruling on Monday, U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle ordered the North Carolina State Board of Elections to certify Justice for All North Carolina as a political party in the state. That party, started by West’s campaign, is nominating him as its candidate in North Carolina and some other states. The board had previously voted to deny certifying the party over concerns about how signatures were gathered for its petition to become a certified party.
Justice for All North Carolina called the decision a “monumental day for our party” but West’s campaign still faces headwinds. The Democratic National Committee filed a complaint with the FEC alleging that West’s campaign received “illegal In-Kind Contributions” from firms it used to collect signatures for ballot access petitions in Arizona and North Carolina — allegations West has pushed back on.
“We’ve always said we’re going to ensure the third party candidates are playing by the rules, and it’s clear his campaign isn’t playing by the rules,” DNC spokesperson Matt Corridoni told ABC News after the complaint was filed.
-Oren Oppenheim
Walz to make his 1st solo campaign appearance
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday will embark on his first solo Harris-Walz campaign event as Harris’ running mate with a stop in Los Angeles for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) international convention.
Walz is set to speak at 3:35 p.m. ET.
Walz emerged as a popular candidate among labor unions during Harris’ search for a vice president pick, sources said. AFSCME represents 1.4 million public service members, and the union’s president, Lee Saunders, previously released a statement endorsing Harris for president.
Harris to roll out economic plan on Friday
Harris will outline her economic policy in a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Friday, her campaign announced, making it her first major policy rollout since jumping into the race.
Harris’ speech will detail her plan to “lower costs for middle-class families and take on corporate price-gouging,” a campaign official said.
The vice president has heavily focused her stump speech on the economy while on the campaign trail in recent weeks, saying over the weekend she would look to eliminate taxes on tips earned by service workers — a proposal Trump announced earlier this summer.
Harris’ college sorority creates PAC
The historically Black Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., of which Vice President Kamala Harris counts herself a member, started its own political PAC last week, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission posted Monday.
The committee is named Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority PAC, Inc., or AKA 1908 PAC, the filing shows.
Harris has been an AKA since her days as a student at the historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C. Harris on Monday visited the campus, her office confirmed to ABC News, but it’s not clear why she was there.
In July, before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Harris spoke at the AKA’s annual Boulé in Dallas, Texas. Since then, as a candidate, she’s also addressed similar national gatherings of two other historically Black sororities, Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho.
Trump says he will return to Butler, Pennsylvania after assassination attempt
After discussing the assassination attempt made against him in Pennsylvania in July, former President Donald Trump said he’s planning a trip back to Butler in October.
“We’re going back to Butler; we’re gonna go back in October,” Trump said, adding, “Butler is a big, great area.”
Addressing what he’ll say when he returns, Trump told Musk, “I think I’ll probably start by saying I was so horribly interrupted.”
Trump discusses assassination attempt with Musk, says he turned head at ‘perfect angle’
During his conversation with Musk, former President Donald Trump addressed the assassination attempt made against him during a campaign rally in July.
“It was amazing that I happened to be turned just at that perfect angle,” Trump said of the bullet, which grazed his right ear while his head was turned.
During the discussion, Trump mentioned the man who was killed in the shooting, saying, it was a “very sad situation.”
“We lost somebody that was firefighter, a great Trumper,” Trump said of Corey Comperatore, adding, “He was a just a fantastic family [man] and a fantastic man.”
Trump and Musk’s conversation on X appears to be delayed
The conversation between former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk appears to be delayed, with many X users reporting they cannot access the Spaces conversation.
“This Space is not available,” appeared for some users on X.
The conversation was scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Judge orders RFK Jr. off New York ballot
A New York judge ruled Monday that the thousands of signatures gathered by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign in the state were “invalidated” after a Democrat-aligned group argued he misled voters by listing as his home an address he rarely visits.
The judge, Christina Ryba, ordered the New York Board of Elections to not include Kennedy’s name on the ballot this fall.
A lawyer representing Kennedy told reporters last week they would appeal any ruling that went against them.
The ruling could prompt Democrats to bring similar lawsuits against Kennedy in other states where he gathered signatures from registered voters to appear on the ballot.
The FBI is investigating alleged attempts by Iran to target the then-Biden-Harris campaign, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.
The alleged targeting via spear-fishing emails occurred before Biden announced he would exit the 2024 presidential race, the sources said.
While the campaign was targeted, the alleged hack was not successful, sources added.
The FBI is investigating a purported hack of the Trump campaign, according to a brief statement from the agency earlier Monday.
The FBI did not attribute the hack to anyone in its statement.
A source familiar with the matter told ABC News that Trump adviser Roger Stone has also been informed that his email accounts have been compromised, and that he’s cooperating with any investigation into the matter.
The Washington Post first reported the news.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Will Steakin and Katherine Faulders
Biden, Obama, Clintons tentatively slated to speak at DNC: Sources
President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, and Bill and Hillary Clinton are all tentatively slated to speak at the Democratic National Convention next week, sources familiar said.
The working speaking schedule, which can always change, is as follows, according to the sources:
Monday: President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday: Former President Barack Obama Wednesday: Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, former President Bill Clinton Thursday: Vice President Kamala Harris
-ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks and Fritz Farrow
Trump posts on X ahead of Musk interview
Trump posted on X for the first time in nearly a year ahead of his conversation with Elon Musk scheduled for Monday night.
The video posted is a previously released campaign ad referencing his multiple indictments and telling supporters, “They are not coming after me, they are coming after you.”
The last time Trump posted on X was Aug. 24, 2023. It was a picture of his mugshot from Fulton County, when he turned himself in to authorities following his election interference indictment in Georgia.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Kelsey Walsh, Soorin Kim
Trump to be interviewed by Elon Musk tonight
Trump, in a post to his conservative social media site Truth Social, announced he will be interviewed live by Musk on X at 8 p.m. ET.
It will mark a major return for Trump to X, formerly known as Twitter, since he was banned from the site following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump was reinstated in late 2022 but declined to become active on the site again, despite boasting 88 million followers.
Musk endorsed Trump following the July 13 assassination attempt against the former president. Recently, Musk has amplified misinformation about voting and elections on his X feed.
Walz discusses ‘whirlwind’ 1st week on the campaign trail
In a video posted on his X account, the Minnesota governor discussed what he called “not a normal week” since being named as Harris’ running mate.
Walz confirmed some details reported previously by ABC News and others, including that he informed Harris’ vetting team that he had not used a teleprompter before.
“Not a normal week, which is a good thing. Started by missing a call from the Vice President, pretty important one. And then got that call and honored to join the ticket with Kamala Harris to take us in a great direction,” Walz said.
“After that, it has been a whirlwind. We got on a plane and we flew to Philly, and they told me that in an hour I’d be giving a speech and there would be a teleprompter, something I had never used in my life, so certainly terrified, but was lifted up by the folks in Philly.”
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
Harris wraps battleground state blitz, Vance makes rounds on Sunday shows
Over the weekend, Harris closed out a cross-country tour that included stops in battleground states Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Arizona, as well as North Carolina and Nevada.
New polling released Saturday showed Harris taking the lead over Trump in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin among likely voters. The New York Times/Siena College polls showed Harris at 50% among likely voters in each state, while Trump polled at 46%.
Vance, too, campaigned in key 2024 states and made the rounds on the Sunday shows. During his cable news appearances, Vance reiterated campaign talking points on immigration and repeatedly hit Harris for not sitting down for extensive media interviews and laying out her agenda. Harris has done brief gaggles with reporters and said she’d unveil an economic policy platform this week.
Vance responds to mass deportation plan: ‘Let’s start with one million’
Sen. JD Vance told ABC News he blamed Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden administration’s policies, such as ending “Remain in Mexico,” for the ongoing migrant crisis.
When asked how he and Trump would accomplish their stated goal of mass deporting as many as 20 million immigrants — a proposal experts previously told ABC News would be a “nightmare” — Vance said they would take a “sequential approach.”
“I mean do you go knock on doors and ask people for their papers? What do you do,” Karl asked.
“You start with what’s achievable,” Vance said. “I think that if you deport a lot of violent criminals and frankly if you make it harder to hire illegal labor, which undercuts the wages of American workers, I think you go a lot of the way to solving the illegal immigration problem.”
“I think it’s interesting that people focus on, well, how do you deport 18 million people? Let’s start with one million. That’s where Kamala Harris has failed. And then we can go from there,” Vance said.
Harris cautions donors to ‘not take anything for granted’
Vice President Kamala Harris attended a fundraiser in San Francisco Sunday where she maintained her campaign “will win this election,” but cautioned donors to “not take anything for granted.”
“I know there’s a lot of enthusiasm out there,” Harris said, adding, “And you know, I’ve never been one to really believe in the polls — whether they’re up or they’re down.”
“What we know is the stakes are so high and we can take nothing for granted in this critical moment,” she continued. “So we will fuel our campaign as we have, with enthusiasm and optimism, but also with a deep commitment to the hard work it’s going to take, and to campaign.”
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi introduced Harris at the event, touting the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration and the background of vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, several times calling the Harris-Walz ticket “the freedom ticket.”
“[Harris] makes us all so proud. She brings us so much joy. She gives us so much hope,” Pelosi said, calling the vice president “politically very astute.”
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump is reviving his promise to build “the best Iron Dome in the world,” a version of the air defense system built by Israel that experts say probably wouldn’t make much sense for a country with friendly neighbors like Canada and Mexico.
In a conversation Monday night with Elon Musk on his social media platform X, Trump defended his idea by saying “it just takes one maniac to, you know, start something.”
“Israel has it. We’re gonna have the best Iron Dome in the world. We need it, and we’re gonna make it all,” he told Musk.
Here’s a look at what Iron Dome is, why experts question its utility for the U.S. and how Trump might actually be talking about something else:
What is an ‘Iron Dome’?
Iron Dome was developed by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to knock down short-range rockets, such as the ones lobbed from the border of Lebanon by the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.
Together with other systems like David’s Sling, which is designed to intercept ballistic and cruise missiles, Israel’s Iron Dome is part of a nationwide missile-defense shield over the country, whose residents live under the near-constant threat of attack from its neighbors.
The multi-billion dollar system was credited with helping to knock down hundreds of missiles and drones last April when Iran launched an attack. Israel’s Iron Dome could play a major role in coming days if Iran follows through on its threat to attack Israel again, this time in retaliation for the recent killing of a Hamas leader visiting Tehran.
As part of a broader policy to help defend Israel, the U.S. has paid some $3 billion to Israel to date for Iron Dome batteries, interceptors and maintenance costs, according to a recent analysis by the Congressional Research Service.
Could the US benefit from its own ‘Iron Dome’?
The short answer from experts is probably not. With allies north and south of the U.S., and oceans on either side, the U.S. doesn’t face the same kind of short-range missile threat as Israel.
That reality probably explains why the military hasn’t asked Congress to pay to build one. A U.S. defense official told ABC News last month that U.S. Northern Command — — the military combatant command charged with defending the homeland from foreign missiles — has not expressed interest in a larger, nationwide missile defense system either.
The military already employs multiple systems “that together provide agility in responding to potential threats, which increases available options for the nation’s leaders,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in July.
Among those systems already in place in the U.S. is the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense program, which was designed to knock down rogue long-range missiles from a country like North Korea. It’s possible the U.S. could try to bolster the capability of this existing system to wipe out any threat of a large-scale attack from a country with a hefty arsenal like Russia.
But expanding that system to cover every inch of the U.S. though would likely cost billions of dollars at a time when the country also is trying to protect against attacks in cyber and space. China and Russia are now pursing hypersonic weapons, while administration officials this spring acknowledged Russia’s pursuit of nuclear capabilities in space, greatly complicating what it means for any one system to keep the U.S. safe.
So why does Trump keep talking about building an Iron Dome?
Trump often latches on to the idea of building things for the country because it’s a tangible example of a policy idea.
In the case of 2016, Trump talked about building a border wall as a way of saying he would take illegal immigration seriously, even as experts warned the idea wasn’t practical. By the time Trump left office, only about a quarter of the U.S. border with Mexico had new fencing — most of which replaced smaller existing structures.
In the case of an Iron Dome, Trump seems to be signaling another shift in U.S. policy — away from diplomatic engagements with other countries in favor of isolationist policies that rely on heavy military spending to deter adversaries.
For its part, the GOP endorsed the idea as part of its official policy platform at the Republican convention in July.
Elbridge Colby, who served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development during the Trump administration, said last July that he saw the new GOP platform as an intentional shift.
The GOP focuses on protecting the homeland, “not looking for monsters to destroy,” Colby said.
(WASHINGTON) — Despite a new Democratic opponent who entered the race some three weeks ago, former President Donald Trump appears to be still focused on the man no longer in the race — President Joe Biden.
Ever since Vice President Kamala Harris took over the top of the Democratic ticket, the Trump campaign and his allies have attempted to turn their focus toward the new Democratic rival — but on the campaign trail so far, Trump has kept up attacks on the current president as he struggles to define Harris.
At campaign rallies and during interviews, Trump has characterized Biden exiting the race as a “coup” even though Democrats rallied around the newly minted ticket and largely haven’t pushed back on the sudden change in presidential candidates. Most recently, he brought it up during his conversation with tech mogul Elon Musk on X Monday night.
“We have somebody that hasn’t received one vote for president and she’s running,” Trump said during a news conference in Mar-a-Lago last week.
He also falsely claimed that Democrats would have invoked the 25th Amendment if Biden didn’t step down willingly. The 25th Amendment says that the vice president replaces the president if they die in office or resign, or if members of the president’s Cabinet decide the president is unable to fulfill the duties of the office. Some members of Trump’s own Cabinet and his allies discussed invoking the 25th Amendment after the attacks at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
And even as he says he finds Harris to be an easier rival, Trump has repeatedly pushed baseless claims about the possibility of Harris being replaced, saying that Biden could make a “comeback” or that the Democratic Party could replace Harris with another candidate.
So far on the campaign trail, many of Trump’s attacks on Harris have centered on his old lines of attack against Biden and painting her as “worse” than the sitting president, including calling her “more radical” than Biden.
As he attacks both Biden and Harris, Trump insists that he hasn’t recalibrated his campaign to focus solely on Harris, saying, “It’s the same policies: open borders, weak on crime.”
In a direct attack against Harris, Trump has repeated the false claim that Harris was appointed “border czar,” a label that has stuck with the vice president since Biden tasked her with leading diplomatic talks to address the root causes of migration from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.
Trump has also attacked her for supporting a ban on fracking, single-payer healthcare such as “Medicare for All,” inflation and the economy.
In addition to her record as vice president, the Trump campaign has tried to differentiate themselves from Harris, scrutinizing her over the lack of media appearances since becoming the nominee.
“Kamala refuses to do interviews because her team realizes she is unable to answer questions, much like Biden was not able to answer questions, but for different reasons,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
The Trump campaign stresses that in the more than 20 days since Harris has become the nominee, she has not yet had media availability.
By contrast, in the past week, Trump held the news conference in Palm Beach, Florida, and his running mate Sen. JD Vance spoke to the press daily during a battleground blitz mirroring Harris’ trip with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Volunteers fight a wildfire near Penteli, on August 12, 2024. Greece’s civil protection authorities ordered the evacuation of several towns in the north-eastern suburbs of Athens, threatened by a violent fire that started the day before and is spreading. (Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Hundreds of firefighters battled dozens of wildfires into submission in Greece over two days, a “superhuman effort” that had been paired with a “rapid operational response” to slow fast-moving blazes that threatened Athens, officials said.
There are no active fires at the moment, the Hellenic Fire Service spokesperson said Tuesday evening local time in Greece.
“Firemen are watering the fire-affected areas today and will keep watering them [over the] next days to keep the ground moist and control possible rekindling,” the spokesperson said.
Fire crews will remain vigilant for possible flare-ups, the spokesperson added.
The European Union’s Copernicus Emergency Management Service estimates that 10,409.7 hectares, or more than 25,000 acres, were burned in the affected area in the Attica region of Greece.
Fire crews battled 41 wildfires over the past 24 hours, the Hellenic Fire Service said in an update earlier Tuesday.
The fire danger is expected to continue into Wednesday, with a “very high risk of fire” predicted in several areas in the regions of Central Macedonia, Eastern Macedonia and the North Aegean, according to the Hellenic Fire Service, which said there will be aerial surveillance patrols due to the risk.
The wildfires, which arrived amid extreme heat, had been cropping up throughout the country since at least Saturday, European officials said.
Greek officials, who said an “outbreak” began Sunday, asked the European Commission for help battling the fires on Monday, according to a notice published by the Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre.
Greek authorities said Tuesday that two minors were arrested for allegedly setting an intentional fire in a forest area in the country’s Attica region, where some wildfires have been raging.
ABC News on Tuesday visited the scene of a shop that was engulfed in flames in the north Athens suburb of Vrilissia, where local authorities said the burned body of a woman was found late Monday. The circumstances of the death were still unclear, but authorities said it appeared the woman had stayed behind or may have been trapped as others evacuated the building, which was located some 18 miles from where a wildfire erupted in the wider Attica region.
Hundreds of firefighters had been working to stop the fast-moving wildfires Monday near Athens, with tens of thousands of people under evacuation orders in the region, emergency officials said. Those fires burned some 6,600 hectares, or about 25 square miles, in the East Attica region, European officials said.
Government officials warned of heightened risk for fire in several areas, including the Athens peninsula and the region north of it. The fire risk category in those areas had been raised to “extreme,” weather officials said in a statement released Sunday.
Those fires burned in a “rugged” location, where firefighters had to navigate mountains, forests and villages, Vassilis Kikilias, the Greek climate minister, said Tuesday.
“This is the reality: despite the rapid operational response — the new doctrine combined with technological support from drones, which has been applied to hundreds of wildfires throughout the summer — when extreme conditions prevail, the problem becomes insurmountable,” he said.
But calmer winds had helped firefighters near Athens get the upper hand on several fires burning in the suburbs.
European countries were sending assistance, including firefighters and vehicles. Italy was sending two planes, and France was sending a helicopter, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said on Monday. Teams of firefighters were on their way from Czechia and Romania, she said.
Temperatures near Athens were expected to climb on Tuesday to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with daily highs expected to be over 95 degrees for the remainder of the week, according to the Hellenic National Meteorological Center.
Dozens of blazes were burning Monday along the edges of a fire that broke out in Varnavas on Sunday afternoon, Col. Vassilios Vathrakogiannis, of the country’s fire service, said in a statement on Monday.
More than 700 firefighters and nearly 200 vehicles were working with the Civil Protection agencies, he said. Eighteen helicopters and 17 other firefighting aircraft had been in use since the Varnavas blaze began spreading.
Kikilias, the climate minister, said the people in towns north of Athens knew that “the firefighters, the Police, the Local Government, the volunteers, and the Army were there, fighting with superhuman efforts to prevent worse consequences.”
“These same firefighters have been working throughout the summer, extinguishing one fire after another,” he said.
ABC News’ Emma Ogao, Ellie Kaufman, Guy Davies, Britt Clennett and Daphne Tolls contributed to this report.
