Harris says she’s the underdog, touts her campaign as ‘people powered’

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Vice President Kamala Harris used her first fundraiser since becoming the Democrats’ likely White House nominee to excoriate the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump as determined to roll back Americans’ freedoms. Harris traveled to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday where she was expected to raise more than $1.4 million, her campaign announced, from an audience of hundreds at the Colonial Theatre. That would be $1 million more than the original goal set for the event. She told an excited group of supporters that she entered the race as an underdog, while expressing confidence that her surging campaign could defeatmore

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Harris freshens economic message as Trump goes after her on inflation

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WASHINGTON — All of the sudden it’s Kamala Harris ‘ economy — a major opportunity as well as a possible risk for the likely Democratic presidential nominee. Shortly after U.S. President Joe Biden left the race a week ago, Harris began to craft her own narrative around the economy by putting an emphasis on ending child poverty, promoting labor unions, reducing the costs of health and childcare and protecting “dignity” in retirement. Not once in speeches in Wisconsin, Indiana or Texas did she mention the word “inflation” — the overwhelming economic challenge that has dogged Biden’s administration and forced him inmore

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Trump will return to Minnesota to try to swing blue state

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ST. CLOUD, Minnesota — Donald Trump is taking his campaign back to Minnesota, a state that has favored Democrats but that the former president thinks could be in his reach this year. Trump is set to hold a rally Saturday night in St. Cloud, Minnesota, this time bringing along his running mate, JD Vance, and the expectation Trump will face Vice President Kamala Harris in November instead of President Joe Biden. He plans to speak at a bitcoin conference in Nashville, Tennessee, earlier in the day. In May, Trump headlined a GOP fundraiser in St. Paul, where he boasted he couldmore

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Does a US president have the power to destroy democracy?

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In the U.S. presidential campaign, Democrats say former President Donald Trump will destroy democratic institutions if he’s reelected in November. But Trump’s Republican Party says it is Democrats who are thwarting democracy by pressuring President Joe Biden to quit the race after party primary elections were over. VOA’s Dora Mekouar explores whether any one president really has the power to destroy democracy. …

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US claims TikTok collected user views on issues like abortion, gun control

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WASHINGTON — In a fresh broadside against one of the world’s most popular technology companies, the Justice Department late Friday accused TikTok of harnessing the capability to gather bulk information on users based on views on divisive social issues like gun control, abortion and religion. Government lawyers wrote in a brief filed to the federal appeals court in Washington that TikTok and its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance used an internal web-suite system called Lark to enable TikTok employees to speak directly with ByteDance engineers in China. TikTok employees used Lark to send sensitive data about U.S. users, information that has woundmore

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FBI says Trump struck by bullet during assassination attempt

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WASHINGTON — Nearly two weeks after Donald Trump’s near assassination, the FBI confirmed Friday that it was indeed a bullet that struck the former president’s ear, moving to clear up conflicting accounts about what caused his injuries after a gunman opened fire at a Pennsylvania rally. “What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle,” the agency said in a statement. The FBI statement marked the most definitive law enforcement account of Trump’s injuries and followed ambiguous comments earlier in the week from Director Christopher Wraymore

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Trump vows to return to site of assassination attempt; Obamas endorse Harris

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WASHINGTON — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Friday he will return to the Pennsylvania town where he narrowly survived an assassination attempt, while Vice President Kamala Harris capped her weeklong bid to become the Democratic presidential nominee with former president Barack Obama’s endorsement. “I WILL BE GOING BACK TO BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, FOR A BIG AND BEAUTIFUL RALLY,” former president Trump wrote on his Truth Social site, without providing details on when or where the rally would take place. Harris, the first Black woman and first Asian American to serve as vice president, swiftly consolidated Democratic support after President Joe Bidenmore

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Harris urges Netanyahu to end war; Trump says he’ll resolve it if elected  

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washington — Likely U.S. election rivals Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump offered competing views on Israel’s conduct in its war in Gaza, as they separately met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week. While reiterating support for Israel’s right to self-defense “from Iran and Iran-backed militias,” and condemning Hamas as a “brutal terrorist organization,” Harris delivered a forceful call to immediately reach a cease-fire. “As I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done,” Harris said Thursday during remarks that followed a photo opportunity with Netanyahu where she appeared polite but firmmore

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What’s in a name? Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance has had many of them

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columbus, ohio — When it comes to Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance’s name, it’s complicated. The senator from Ohio introduced himself to the world in 2016 when he published his bestselling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, under the name J.D. Vance — “like jay-dot-dee-dot,” he wrote, short for James David. In the book, he explained that this was not the first iteration of his name. Nor would it be the last. Over the course of his 39 years, Vance’s first, middle and last names have all been altered in one way or another. As Vance is being introduced to voters across themore

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Barack and Michelle Obama endorse Kamala Harris

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ATLANTA — Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have endorsed Kamala Harris in her White House bid, giving the vice president the expected but still crucial backing of the nation’s two most popular Democrats. The endorsement, announced Friday morning in a video showing Harris accepting a joint phone call from the former first couple, comes as Harris continues to build momentum as the party’s likely nominee after President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid and endorse his second-in-command against Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump. It also highlights the friendship and potentially historic linkmore

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US presidential election energizes fast-growing Indian American community

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washington — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ meteoric rise to the top of the Democratic Party’s presidential ticket has energized many Indian Americans, raising the fast-growing community’s political profile and sparking widespread excitement. Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican descent, appears set to become the first female presidential nominee of color after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday. But the fervor isn’t solely about her nomination. Many Indian Americans, regardless of political leanings, are equally electrified to see other notable figures of Indian descent in the national spotlight: Usha Vance, the wife of Republican vice presidentialmore

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Washington warns adversaries: US politics not a sign of weakness

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washington — U.S. diplomats and military officials rejected concerns that recent — and sudden — changes to the American political landscape are a sign of weakness, warning America’s adversaries Thursday against trying to seek any sort of advantage. “They should think again,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, briefing reporters. “They should be disabused of the notion that we are anything but focused on the national security challenges that the country faces,” he added. “That includes responding to our adversaries when appropriate.” At the Pentagon, officials insisted that whatever challenges U.S. adversaries might have in store, the U.S. military is ready.more

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US, Taiwan, China race to improve military drone technology  

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washington — This week, as Taiwan was preparing for the start of its Han Kuang military exercises, its air defense system detected a Chinese drone circling the island. This was the sixth time that China had sent a drone to operate around Taiwan since 2023. Drones like the one that flew around Taiwan, which are tasked with dual-pronged missions of reconnaissance and intimidation, are just a small part of a broader trend that is making headlines from Ukraine to the Middle East to the Taiwan Strait and is changing the face of warfare.  The increasing role that unmanned aerial vehicles, ormore

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Video game performers to strike over artificial intelligence concerns

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LOS ANGELES — Hollywood’s video game performers voted Thursday to go on strike, throwing part of the entertainment industry into another work stoppage after talks for a new contract with major game studios broke down over artificial intelligence protections.  The strike — the second for video game voice actors and motion capture performers under the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists — will begin at 12:01 a.m. Friday. The move comes after nearly two years of negotiations with gaming giants, including divisions of Activision, Warner Bros. and Walt Disney Co., over a new interactive media agreement.  SAG-AFTRA negotiatorsmore

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Name game begins for Harris running mate on Democrats’ ticket

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Who will she pick? That’s the big political question in America after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid and Vice President Kamala Harris became the likely Democratic nominee. The selection in question is Harris’ running mate against Republicans Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. VOA’s chief national correspondent Steve Herman is at the White House and has this report. (Camera: Anne-Marie Frederick) …

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Biden speaks, with hope and wistfulness, of decision to leave race

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washington — After three days of silence over his stunning decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, U.S. President Joe Biden took to prime time television Tuesday to give Americans, and the world, an explanation in a speech that was at times hopeful, at times determined, and at times wistful. Biden spoke of his five decades in public office, touted his presidential record of domestic and political achievements – but then called for energetic new leadership to face tomorrow’s challenges. “I revere this office,” said Biden, his hands resting on the glossy, hulking Resolute Desk, the gold-brocade drapes of themore

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Democrats poised to virtually nominate Harris and running mate by August 7

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WASHINGTON — Democratic National Convention delegates can make Vice President Kamala Harris their presidential nominee — and even start approving her yet-to be-named running mate — in online voting beginning next week, as the party races to coalesce around a new top of its ticket heading into November. The convention’s rules committee on Wednesday passed a proposal where delegates from around the country will be able to vote on potential presidential nominees to replace President Joe Biden, who abandoned his reelection bid last weekend. But Harris is the only major Democrat to announce publicly that she’s seeking the nomination, meaning she’llmore

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Biden says he’s ‘passing the torch’ to unite nation

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washington — President Joe Biden said he is “passing the torch to a new generation” as he explained his abrupt departure from the 2024 presidential race to Americans for the first time on Wednesday night, during an Oval Office address capping more than 50 years in politics. “I revere this office,” Biden said. “But I love my country more.” Biden, 81, rebuffed weeks of pressure from Democrats to step aside after a disastrous debate performance on June 27, saying at one point that only the “Lord Almighty” could convince him to go. “I have decided the best way forward is tomore

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FBI: Trump shooter searched for info on a previous assassination

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washington — The 20-year-old man who tried to kill former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally earlier this month appeared to have set his sights on the attempted assassination at least a week before the incident. FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers on Wednesday that while many questions remain unanswered, analysis of Thomas Matthew Crooks’ laptop showed the would-be assassin seemed to be fixated on high-profile public figures and searched for information on the 1963 killing of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy by lone gunman Lee Harvey Oswald. “On July 6, he did a Google search for – quotemore

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Harris was never ‘border czar,’ experts say, despite Republican claims

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washington — After President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the Democratic nominee, Republicans quickly focused on Harris and her work on immigration issues, calling her a “border czar.” Congressman Guy Reschenthaler, a Republican from Pennsylvania, said at a House Rules Committee hearing Tuesday that Biden appointed Harris as the border czar 64 days into his administration. The hearing focused on an emergency resolution addressing the “failures of the border czar position and its negative impact on our fellow citizens across the country.” “With Harris at the helm,more

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