Homes are threated as the Hawarden Fire burns in Riverside, Calif., July 21, 2024. (David Swanson/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Officials in Southern California said they are searching for suspects in a fire sparked by illegal fireworks that has caused more than $10 million in damages.
The Hawarden Fire in Riverside County ignited Sunday afternoon and within three hours had burned more than 500 acres, according to Riverside Mayor Lock Dawson.
Six homes have been completely destroyed and seven others damaged in the “horrendous fire,” Dawson said during a press briefing Monday evening.
The fast-moving fire has resulted in an estimated $10 million in damage to homes and more than $1 million in response costs, Dawson said, who noted that damage assessments were still ongoing.
The blaze was determined to be sparked by fireworks, which are illegal in Riverside County, the mayor said.
“This tragic event serves as a stark reminder of why fireworks are illegal in our community,” Dawson said. “We live in an area with dry brush, varied terrain and high temperatures, making it ideal for such disasters.”
Camera footage showed suspects fleeing the area, and a vehicle of interest is being reviewed by investigators, Dawson said. No additional details were released on the suspects and vehicle.
“We will ensure they are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Dawson said.
Investigators are pursuing all video and social media leads, according to Greg White with the Riverside arson investigations team.
White said they will seek restitution from those responsible.
The Hawarden Fire was 40% contained as of Tuesday morning, according to Cal Fire. It is one of 20 active fires in the state, according to the agency.
(PHILADELPHIA) — A 28-year-old man who was wounded in a mass shooting that broke out at a West Philadelphia party early Sunday in which nine people were shot, three fatally, has been arrested and accused of being one of the gunmen involved in the violence, authorities said Tuesday.
The suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was charged with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder, Philadelphia Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore announced in a statement posted on X.
Vanore said detectives with assistance from the Philadelphia district attorney’s office “developed evidence to charge one of our shooting victims.” Vanore did not comment on the evidence that led police to the suspect.
Investigators are continuing work to identify other suspects in the shooting, officials said.
The mass shooting unfolded around 2 a.m. on the 1200 block of North Alden Street in the Carroll Park neighborhood of West Philadelphia, where a party attended by more than 100 people was taking place, according to police.
When officers arrived, they found victims suffering from gunshot wounds and multiple spent shell casings scattered in the area, officials said.
“It appears that there were multiple shooters. It’s unclear at this time how many. But we have counted at least 25 to 30 spent shell casings at this time,” Pace told reporters at the scene Sunday morning.
One gun was recovered at the scene, officials said.
“Preliminary information indicates an exchange of gunfire between multiple parties resulting in a nonuple shooting and triple homicide,” police said in a statement.
The shell casings recovered from the scene indicate different caliber weapons were used in the shooting, which is “consistent with an exchange of gunfire between individuals on location,” according to the police statement.
Three men ages 23, 29 and 33 were killed in the shooting, police said. One died at the scene and two were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead, police said.
The other shooting victims were a 26-year-old woman and five men ranging in age from 26 to 30, according to police. All were listed in stable condition, police said.
Two of the victims who survived the shooting were taken to hospitals in private vehicles, police said.
The shooting occurred when a fight broke out at the party, police said.
Police say two of the fatally shot victims were brothers.
“My condolences to the family, particularly the parent who lost two sons,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel said at a news conference on Monday. “It was not some individual who came up and just randomly started to shoot down the block and shoot nine people. There is an absolute gun battle that goes on, for, though it seems long, it was a short period of time.”
Surveillance video reviewed by investigators captured the shootout, police said.
“This tragedy reminds us that while gun violence continues to decline in Philly and nationwide, we as elected and community leaders still have much work to do,” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers a prime-time address to the nation in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Sunday, July 14, 2024. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden, in a rare Oval Office address to the nation, will speak extensively for the first time on his decision to withdraw from the 2024 race and his plans for what will now be the final few months of his long political career.
Biden will deliver remarks at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, three days after his bombshell announcement in a letter addressed to “my fellow Americans” that he was stepping away from the campaign trail.
He is also set to discuss how he will “finish the job” — the phrase that became his reelection motto as he campaigned for a second term against his 2020 rival Donald Trump.
That election battle came to an end on Sunday as Biden acquiesced to a month of intense pressure from Democrats to change course after his poor debate performance reignited questions about his age and whether he could successfully take on Trump to win another four years in office.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden wrote in the letter posted to social media as he recovered from COVID-19 at his residence in Rehoboth, Delaware.
“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,” he wrote. “I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision.”
Biden quickly passed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris, who began campaigning in earnest to become the Democratic nominee. Her first stop was to the Biden-Harris team’s headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday.
The president called in to the event to address his staff and reiterate his support for Harris.
“I know yesterday’s news was surprising and hard for you to hear,” Biden said. “But it was the right thing to do.”
He also told them their mission hasn’t changed and that he will be by Harris’ side from now until November.
“And by the way, I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be out there on the campaign with her, with Kamala. I’m going to be working like hell, both as a sitting president getting legislation passed as well as in campaigning,” he said.
Still, Wednesday’s formal speech on his 2024 exit is bound to be an emotional moment for Biden, as it marks the beginning of the end of his decades-long career in public service.
Biden began as one of the youngest senators in United States history and spent 36 years representing Delaware on Capitol Hill. In 2008, he was tapped as President Barack Obama’s running mate and spent eight years as his vice president.
In 2020, Biden reached the long-sought pinnacle of his career as he clinched the Democratic nomination for president after failed attempts in 1988 and 2008, and went on to defeat Trump in the general election.
Biden launched his reelection bid in April 2023, saying now was not the time to be “complacent,” as Trump had already said he was going to be running again on the Republican ticket.
While questions about his age (at 81 he is the oldest sitting president and would be 86 at the end of a second term) plagued his campaign from the start, they reached a fever pitch following the CNN debate in late June. Biden chalked up the performance as a “bad night” but faced growing calls from those within his own party to step aside.
Biden’s withdrawal marks the first time in 50 years that an incumbent president has chosen not to run again.
In March 1968, as Americans grappled with divides over the Vietnam War, Lyndon B. Johnson shocked the nation when he announced on television that he “shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president.”
“But let men everywhere know, however, that a strong, a confident, and a vigilant America stands ready tonight to seek an honorable peace — and stands ready tonight to defend an honored cause — whatever the price, whatever the burden, whatever the sacrifice that duty may require,” Johnson said from the Oval Office, the same setting for Biden’s big moment on Wednesday.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden will deliver an Oval Office address on Wednesday night on his decision not to seek reelection and how he plans to finish his tenure as commander in chief.
What time is President Biden’s address from the Oval Office?
Biden said he will speak “on what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people” at 8 p.m. ET.
How to watch or livestream Biden’s address
ABC News Live will carry the network’s special report on the president’s speech.
The White House is also expected to stream the remarks live on their website and on YouTube.
It will be Biden’s first extensive, on-camera comments on his decision to step away from the 2024 campaign trail and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris.
The president first announced he would “stand down” from the race and focus his attention on the remaining six months of his term in a letter posted to social media on Sunday.
In the letter, addressed to his “fellow Americans,” Biden said it was the “greatest honor of my life to serve as your President.”
While he said his in-depth remarks on his decision would come later, Biden expressed his “deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected.”
“I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work,” he wrote. “And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me. I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can’t do — when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America.”
Biden’s decision to drop out of the race came after weeks of intense scrutiny from fellow Democrats about his ability to campaign and serve a second term after his poor debate performance against Donald Trump in June.
Biden was initially defiant, insisting he would stay the course and that only the “Lord Almighty” could tell him to step aside in the 2024 race.
But after a drumbeat of Democrats publicly called on him to step aside from his reelection bid, and other prominent leaders like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries privately suggesting he do so, Biden made the decision to bow out.
Biden went on to endorse Harris to take his place atop the ticket.
“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President,” he wrote in another social media post on Sunday. “And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”
(NEW YORK) — McDonald’s is extending its popular $5 meal deal as the value meal battle between fast food chains wages on.
In a company memo obtained by ABC News, McDonald’s executives said most U.S. locations will extend the deal through August.
The deal that first launched on June 25 was only supposed to stay on menus for a month, but executives said the deal has resonated with millions of customers and has helped boost traffic at restaurants.
The meal combo includes a choice of a McDouble or McChicken sandwich, small french fries, four-piece chicken nuggets and a small soft drink.
Several other fast food chains including Burger King, Wendy’s, Starbucks and Taco Bell have rolled out comparable discounts this summer to entice customers voicing frustrations over fast food high prices.
Wendy’s upped the ante on Monday, announcing a new mobile app exclusive where customers can get the Honey Buddy — its Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit breakfast sandwich — for just $1 every Monday through the end of September with any purchase.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, the cost of going out to eat has outpaced the cost of groceries each month this year.
(WASHINGTON) — “I know Donald Trump’s type,” Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday to cheers at her first stop as a presidential candidate.
Speaking to staff and supporters at her campaign headquarters in Delaware, Harris cast herself, as she has before, as a tough prosecutor with a winning record prior to becoming a Washington politician.
“Before I was elected as vice president, before I was elected as United States senator, I was elected attorney general, as I’ve mentioned, to California,” she said. “Before that, I was a courtroom prosecutor. In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds.”
“Predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters, who broke the rules for their own gain,” Harris continued. “So, hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type. And in this campaign, I will proudly put my record against his.”
She used the same, well-timed attack line against Trump — almost word for word — at her first rally in battleground Wisconsin on Tuesday, where it again garnered applause and even chants of “Lock Him Up!”
As Democrats rallied around Harris in the 24 hours after Biden’s stunning announcement he would not seek reelection, her prosecutorial background has generated party enthusiasm as a stark point of contrast against Trump, who was convicted of 34 felony counts in May.
Trump is set to be sentenced in his criminal hush money case in New York on Sept. 18, which will be in the height of the general election campaign. The former president has vowed to appeal the guilty verdict.
“It’s a beautiful split screen,” said Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist and former senior adviser to Hillary Clinton and former communications director for the Democratic National Committee.
“She went after bad people who hurt the people that she was representing and that’s exactly what she’s doing now,” Cardona said of Harris.
Harris was elected San Francisco District Attorney in 2004 and several years later became California’s attorney general. She was the first female, Black and South Asian attorney general in the state’s history.
Brian Brakow, who managed Harris’s 2010 attorney general campaign, said Democrats should lean into the narrative of Harris representing the rule of law and that her prosecutorial background could give her a big advantage in a presidential campaign.
“I think she learned to be tough as nails,” he said. “She is someone who prepares and takes her job responsibilities very seriously. I mean, when you’re a prosecutor, one little mistake can cost you, you know, a verdict. And so she’s somebody who has always done the work and not shied away from tough fights or tough opponents.”
Those skills served her well in the Senate, where she frequently made headlines for her forceful questioning of Trump officials and court nominees appearing before her and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh froze for several seconds when Harris pressed him about reproductive rights during his confirmation hearing, asking him: “Can you think of any laws that give government the power to make decisions about the male body?” The moment made the rounds on late night shows and on social media.
“If you look at why she ran for president in the first place, it’s because she was a star in the Senate in that environment where she’s having an adversarial conversation with someone across the witness stand,” said Jim Kessler, the co-founder of center-left think tank Third Way.
But much of that style was lost in her first years as vice president as she struggled to find her footing and reports of dysfunction plagued her office. At one point not too long ago, columnists and pundits questioned whether Biden should drop her from the ticket.
Both Cardona and Brakow attributed her early stumbles to the inherent complications involved in being number two to the president, noting she took on tough tasks on politically unpopular issues like immigration — which Republicans continue to attack her over, claiming she failed as “border czar” when, in fact, she was assigned to address the root causes of migration in Central and South America.
“I think she came away from those assignments with some bruises, but also a lot of valuable experience and knowledge,” Brakow said.
After Roe v. Wade was overruled, though, Harris seemed to find her stride as the face of the administration’s fight for reproductive rights and abortion access, traveling the country to speak forcefully on the issue. Earlier this year, she visited an abortion clinic in Minnesota, a trip believed to be the first of its kind for any president or vice president.
“I think she’s been unleashed,” said Cardona.
Going forward, strategists stressed Harris not only needs to make the case against Trump but also for the agenda and achievements of the Biden administration — two issues Democrats were most concerned Biden wouldn’t be able to communicate forcefully enough on the trail after seeing his poor debate performance against Trump.
“I think this is phase one, where they’re going to show her as that prosecutor and make the case against criminal Donald Trump that maybe some folks feel Biden didn’t think strongly enough,” Kaivan Shroff, a Democratic strategist, said on ABC News Live.
“But they’re also going to have a different phase of this campaign, and I think they’re going to be somewhat concurrent, which is making the case on policy: the wins of the Biden-Harris administration and what is on the table. She’s going to be talking about Roe, she’s going to be talking about Project 2025,” referring to the conservative blueprint for a second Trump term she has called extreme.
The Trump campaign is already pivoting their attacks toward Harris, who they argue “owns all of the bad policies of the Biden administration.”
Many Republicans, including Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung, are trying to paint her as “soft on crime” through her record as attorney general implementing some criminal justice reforms and more recent support for bail reform.
Harris defended her record as being “smart on crime” during her 2020 campaign, when she faced not only Republican attacks but also criticism from progressives who said she was too tough on issues like the death penalty or her anti-truancy program.
Recently, Trump himself has taken to amplifying his recent victories in delaying his other legal cases and adding Harris to his attacks on the justice system.
“All of these Biden/Harris cases against me are a Weaponization of Justice against their Political Opponent, Me,” Trump wrote on his social media site on Monday.
(NEW YORK) — Several health departments in the U.S. say they have detected West Nile virus in mosquito samples.
Although the average number of actual West Nile cases is significantly lower than the same time last year, experts are urging the public to take precautions.
On Monday, the Cape May County Health Department in southern New Jersey sent out a press release reporting that seven mosquito collections during the months of June and July had tested positive for West Nile virus.
Denton County Public Health in Texas also reported on Monday that five positive West Nile virus mosquito traps had been collected in unincorporated Denton County, with health officials saying the locations would be fogged for treatment.
In Suffolk County, New York, the health department announced on Monday that 16 mosquito samples have tested positive for West Nile virus, bringing the total to 32 so far this season. Meanwhile, data from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene shows West Nile-positive mosquitoes have been detected in all five boroughs.
“The confirmation of West Nile virus in mosquito samples indicates the presence of West Nile virus in the area,” Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott said in a press release. “While there is no cause for alarm, we advise residents to cooperate with us in our efforts to reduce exposure to West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases.”
So far, only 25 cases of West Nile virus have been reported in 14 states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is lower than the 117 cases reported at the same time last year.
West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the contiguous United States, according to the CDC. It was first introduced in the Western Hemisphere during the summer of 1999 after people were diagnosed in New York City.
Mosquitoes typically become infected with the virus after feeding on infected birds and then spread it to humans and other animals, the federal health agency said. Cases typically begin rising in July and are highest in August and September, CDC data shows.
The majority of people with the virus do not have symptoms, but about one in five will experience fever along with headaches, body aches, joint pain, diarrhea, vomiting or a rash. Most symptoms disappear but weakness and fatigue may last for weeks or months.
About one in 150 will develop severe disease leading to encephalitis, which is inflammation of the brain, or meningitis, which is inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord — both of which can lead to death. So far this year, 11 of the 25 cases have resulted in neuroinvasive disease, according to the CDC.
There are currently no vaccines or specific treatments available for West Nile virus. The CDC recommends rest, fluids and over-the-counter medications. For those with severe illness, patients often need to be hospitalized and receive support treatments such as intravenous fluids.
To best protect yourself, the CDC suggests using insect repellant, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, treating clothing and gear and taking steps to control mosquitoes. This last step includes putting screens on windows and doors, using air conditioning and emptying out containers with still water.
(WASHINGTON) — Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly is seen as one of the front-runners to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, sources have told ABC News.
Kelly hasn’t immediately commented on speculation on his possibly joining the presidential ticket.
While relatively new to Capitol Hill — having been first elected in 2020 — the border state senator and former NASA astronaut has long been involved in national issues.
Kelly, 60, was born and raised in New Jersey with his twin brother, Scott. After graduating high school, he attended United States Merchant Marine Academy where he graduated in 1988 with highest honors.
Kelly became a U.S. Navy pilot and was deployed to Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. He flew 39 missions during the war, according to his service record. Scott Kelly was also deployed as a U.S. Navy pilot during the war, but operated on a different ship.
Kelly continued to serve as a Navy pilot following the war and in 1996 NASA selected him and his brother to be space shuttle pilots. During his 15-year NASA career, Mark Kelly logged in 54 days in space, including several missions to the International Space Station, according to his NASA records.
Kelly became closer to the world of Washington, D.C., politics after he married his second wife, Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords in 2007, just months into her first term. Kelly was at Giffords’ bedside after she was shot during an event with constituents in January 2011.
He would retire from NASA later that year as he helped his wife recuperate from her near-fatal wounds.
The couple became vocal gun control advocates and started a political action committee — Americans for Responsible Solutions — in 2013 which eventually evolved into the gun control non-profit Giffords. For years, Kelly would advocate for tighter gun control legislation including universal background checks, red flag laws and other measures.
Kelly, who is a gun owner, has worked with local, state and federal officials on this issue and backed candidates who shared those views.
In 2020, Kelly announced that he would get more involved in Washington and ran on the Democratic ticket for the special election that year for Arizona’s U.S. Senate seat.
Kelly won the highly watched election with just roughly 78,000 votes, beating out Republican incumbent Martha McSally. The election helped Democrats gain power in the Senate.
Kelly would be reelected two years later, beating out Republican challenger Blake Masters with over 125,000 votes.
Since he joined the Hill, Kelly has positioned himself as a moderate Democrat who has been vocal on the issues.
Kelly continues to advocate for laws and policies that enact gun control, including universal background checks.
Last month, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that ruled a ban on federal ban on bump stocks was illegal, the senator vowed to introduce legislation that would make them illegal nationwide.
“Banning bump stocks is common sense. They make semi-automatic guns even deadlier, and as a gun owner and someone who knows personally the damage a gun can do, I will always support efforts to protect Americans from the most dangerous weapons and devices,” he said on a statement on his X page.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overruling Roe v. Wade guaranteeing nationwide access to abortion, Kelly has been pushing for abortion access for women both in Arizona, which has a ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy, and around the country. The state legislature repealed an Arizona State Supreme Court ruling that banned all abortions this year.
“Right now, as Arizona whiplashes between two abortion bans, physicians are choosing not to come to our state and others are considering leaving, putting women’s lives at risk. We must write abortion rights into law to eliminate once and for all the catastrophic consequences of Roe v. Wade being overturned,” he said in a statement in May.
In the past, Kelly has criticized President Joe Biden over his policies on immigration, specifically ending Title 42, which allowed the U.S. to turn away asylum seekers during the pandemic.
“When the president decided he was going to do something dumb on this and change the rules that would create a bigger crisis, I told him he was wrong. So I pushed back on this administration multiple times,” Kelly said during a 2022 debate.
Kelly has been calling for more border agents and support in Arizona to handle the influx of migrants.
The senator commended Biden recently after the president issued an executive order in June that turned away migrants who cross illegally between ports of entry and try to claim asylum after seven consecutive days of more than 2,500 encounters.
“This doesn’t change the ability for individuals to come here and seek asylum,” Kelly said in an interview with PBS last month. “There will be pathways.”
Kelly chastised former President Donald Trump for calling on Republicans to block a bipartisan bill that would have addressed the migrant crisis.
“The politics of the presidential election superseded everything,” he told PBS. “To run away from a comprehensive piece of legislation that was going to help the Border Patrol, help CBP, [and] help communities in Southern Arizona and other states…I have never seen [it].”
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris has received a flurry of endorsements from many of the nation’s largest labor unions since she announced her candidacy for president.
Concern has emerged within the labor movement, however, over the potential selection of Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., as a running mate because he has not signed onto a key piece of labor reform legislation.
Current and former union officials told ABC News that the possible selection of Kelly sounds alarm bells due to his unwillingness to back the PRO Act, legislation that would ease the path toward forming unions and winning labor contracts. Some officials outright oppose the pick, while others say the policy position should be part of a wider assessment of Kelly.
At least one labor leader who backs Harris said Kelly’s position on the measure should not reflect on his support toward labor or deter his selection as vice president.
Kelly and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro are the two leading candidates for the nod as vice president on a Harris-led ticket, a senior administration official told ABC News on Tuesday. Harris is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee after receiving more than half of the party’s delegates.
“Why would the Democrats even consider a senator for the vice presidency if the senator doesn’t support the PRO Act?” John Samuelsen, president of the Transport Workers Union and an ally of President Joe Biden, told ABC News. “It’s the most important piece of national legislation workers have right now.”
The Transport Workers Union is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, a 12.5 million member union federation that endorsed Harris on Monday. Samuelson, who said he did not attend the meeting at which the AFL-CIO endorsed Harris, will not decide on his union’s endorsement of Harris until after she selects her vice presidential nominee.
Kelly, who took office in 2020, has declined to sign onto the PRO Act throughout his tenure. The latest version of the bill, known as the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act, boasts the support of 48 of the 51 U.S. Senators who caucus with Democrats.
Richard Bensinger, former organizing director at the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor organization, said in a post on X that he opposes Kelly due to his position on the PRO Act.
“Only 3 Democrats refused to sign on to the Pro Act, one of whom was Mark Kelly,” Bensinger said on Sunday, after Harris announced her candidacy. “The right to organize unions is the most important thing to labor so that’s a hard no.”
In a statement, Kelly’s office said the Arizona senator has robustly backed labor.
“Senator Kelly is the son of two union police officers and has been a strong supporter of workers throughout his time in the Senate,” Kelly spokesperson Jacob Peters told ABC News.
Peters pointed ABC News to a statement Kelly made to the Huffington Post in 2021 in which he said he supports “the overall goals” of the legislation while acknowledging that he had “some concerns.”
In 2022, Kelly’s Senate campaign was endorsed by the Arizona AFL-CIO and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, among other unions.
At least one labor leader whose union endorsed Harris told ABC News that the position taken by Kelly on the PRO Act should not reflect negatively on his perceived support for labor or deter Harris from selecting him for vice president.
The legislation has stood well short of passage in both chambers during Kelly’s tenure in office, the person said. In turn, the person added, Kelly has chosen to prioritize his standing among voters in the highly contested state that he represents. The labor leader requested that their name not be used due to the sensitivity surrounding the Harris campaign.
“I think that Kelly voted against the PRO Act when he felt his vote was not going to make a difference but might have been necessary in order to achieve labor’s bigger objective, which was to control the U.S. Senate,” the labor leader said.
“We don’t question his support for working people,” the labor leader added.
A union president who backs Harris, however, told ABC News they oppose the potential selection of Kelly on account of his position on the labor reform measure. The union president requested that their name not be used due to the sensitivity surrounding the Harris campaign.
“The Democrats cannot afford to have someone on the ticket who is identified as soft on labor,” the person said, referring to Kelly. “This is a huge problem.”
Larry Cohen, former president of the Communications Workers of America, said Kelly’s position on the PRO Act raises concern but the primary consideration in assessing his selection as vice president should be whether he helps the Democratic ticket win in November.
“I wouldn’t rule out Mark Kelly but he certainly wasn’t quick to support what I would call moderate labor reform in a democracy near the bottom in terms of workers’ rights,” Cohen told ABC News.
MORE: Kamala Harris rallies new campaign to fight against Trump after Biden’s endorsement “I would tend to go back to the issue of the swing states. Who can move the needle?” Cohen added, noting Arizona is a battleground state. “The number one goal is beating Trump.”
The AFL-CIO did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nor did the Service Employees International union, the nation’s largest private sector union, which endorsed Harris.
(WASHINGTON) — New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez will resign his office on Aug. 20 following the conviction in his federal corruption trial, according to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.
Murphy, who will select an interim replacement, said Tuesday afternoon he has received Menendez’s resignation letter.
In the resignation letter to Murphy, obtained by ABC News, Menendez said he intends to appeal the verdict but does not want the “Senate to be involved in a lengthy process that will detract from its important work.”
“Furthermore, I cannot preserve my rights upon a successful appeal, because factual matters before the ethics committee are not privileged. This is evidenced by my Committee’s Staff Director and Chief Council being called to testify at my trial,” he stated in the letter.
Menendez said in his letter that the Aug. 20 date will “give time for my staff to transition to other possibilities, transfer constituent files that are pending, allow for an orderly process to choose an interim replacement, and for me to close out my Senate affairs.”
Staff members were informed of the senator’s decision earlier Tuesday, multiple sources told ABC News.
A Manhattan federal jury found the New Jersey Democrat guilty on all charges, including bribery, fraud, acting as a foreign agent and obstruction, on July 16 following a two-month-long trial. Federal prosecutors said he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, mortgage payments and more in exchange for the senator’s political clout.
Menendez was not required to resign due to the conviction.
Following the guilty verdict, several political leaders called for Menendez’s immediate resignation, including Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
“In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” Schumer said at the time.
Sen. Cory Booker, Menendez’s New Jersey counterpart, and Murphy had also joined in the calls for his immediate resignation. Murphy said at the time that he would call on the U.S. Senate to expel him if the senator refused to resign and make a temporary appointment in the event of a vacancy.
Menendez is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 29 and faces decades in prison.
Following the verdict, he vowed to appeal his conviction. He told reporters he was “deeply disappointed” by the jury’s decision while maintaining his innocence.
“I have never violated my oath,” Menendez said outside the courthouse following the verdict. “I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent.”
He added that the jury’s decision would “put at risk every member of the United States Senate in terms of what they think a foreign agent would be.”
Menendez, who served as senator for New Jersey since 2006, became the first sitting member of Congress to be charged with conspiracy by a public official to act as a foreign agent.
He refused to resign following the initial indictment in September 2023 despite calls from a majority of Democrats to do so, though he did step down as the chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
In June, he filed a petition to get on the U.S. Senate ballot in New Jersey as an independent candidate.
