Kamala Harris officially accepts the Democratic presidential nomination. Donald Trump calls for mass deportations during a visit to the southern border. And the Bennifer divorce receives notably less attention than their early 2000s uncoupling.
Here’s what to know today.
Key takeaways from the DNC as Harris accepts nomination
Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on the final night of the party’s convention in a historic speech that weaved her life story into a vision for America if she is elected.
Harris spoke about her upbringing in San Francisco and her “unlikely journey” to becoming a prosecutor, senator and vice president. She broadly outlined her agenda, which includes restoring reproductive freedoms, offering a tax cut to the middle class, ending America’s housing shortage and strengthening the border. She spoke about the war in Gaza, supporting “Israel’s right to defend itself” while admonishing the deadly violence in Gaza. Read more about Harris’ speech.
Harris’ nomination acceptance capped the four-day Democratic National Convention in Chicago, putting on display the vibes and “joy” that has been unleashed within the party since President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid. Now, they have a younger candidate who could make history as the first female president and first Indian American president.
There were still plenty of tributes to Biden’s political legacy, though much of the convention and speeches sought to look forward to a potential Harris presidency.
Anti-Trump sentiment was also a unifying theme this week, with both progressive and conservative speakers warning of the consequences if former President Donald Trump wins in November. Harris hammered the point in her speech, telling the crowd: “In many ways Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.”
Read the full story for key more takeaways from the 2024 DNC.
More Democratic National Convention coverage:
- Watch highlights from Night Four of the DNC in 3 minutes.
- With Harris at the top of the ticket, Democrats have tried a new tactic against Trump: Making fun of him.
- Who is Shyamala Gopalan? What to know about Harris’ mother, who left an indelible mark on the vice president.
- Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who survived a 2011 assassination attempt, thanked President Biden and praised Harris’ “grit.”
- The exonerated “Central Park Five” slammed Trump for calling for the return of the death penalty and said he “never changed, and he never will.”
- The Democrats’ most vulnerable senators skipped the convention to campaign in their home states.
- Over 200 online content creators were given full access to the DNC and no rules about what kind of content they could make. Here’s how it went.
- In one of the most violent protests this week, members of anarchist and pro-Hamas groups clashed with police, and dozens of demonstrators were arrested.
- In hindsight, “it now turns out the GOP convention was a big, massive, wasted opportunity,” NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd writes. Harris, meanwhile, is winning the moment. “Now, the flip side of all of this: It might not matter.” Read the full analysis.
Trump promises mass deportations of undocumented immigrants
Former President Donald Trump said the cost to deport undocumented immigrants from the U.S. is justified and wouldn’t rule out separating families made up of citizens and noncitizens. Trump made the comments in an interview with NBC News during a visit yesterday to the U.S-Mexico border in Arizona.
On deporting undocumented immigrants, Trump said he was “talking about in particular starting with the criminals.” Deportation would be costly, he suggested, “but we have no choice, regardless, we have no choice. We’re going to have to deport.” Trump didn’t say how he would pay for the plan.
On deporting undocumented immigrants who are part of mixed-status families, Trump said, “Provisions will be made, but we have to get the criminals out.” He didn’t elaborate on the provisions he would make. Read the full story here.
Trump’s border visit and promises of action have been a major theme among Republicans this year, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who vowed at the Republican National Convention to keep sending buses full of migrants north until the border is “secure.” However, Abbott sent zero buses last month, data obtained by NBC News shows.
How HPV may affect men’s fertility
New research has shed more light on the suspected link between the world’s most common sexually transmitted infection, human papillomavirus, or HPV, and male infertility.
A study published Friday in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology found that strains of HPV considered high risk because of their links to cancer also appear to pose a greater threat to sperm quality, and appears to suppress key components of the immune system in the male genital tract, raising the risk of other infections that may also compromise male fertility.
Politics in Brief
Cybersecurity: The Iranian hacker group accused of breaching Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and targeting Joe Biden’s campaign a few months ago also tried to hack multiple Utah government sites, according to a notice obtained by NBC News.
Voting rights: The Supreme Court partly granted a request from the Republican National Committee to make Arizona enforce measures requiring people to show proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote.
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Staff Pick: The ‘Bennifer’ divorce is so three days ago
In the early 2000s, the media blitz around Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s relationship seemed inescapable. Their second go — which came to an end after Lopez filed for divorce this week — caused far less of a frenzy. As Bennifer 2.0 quietly comes to an end, experts say the reception to the couple’s breakup illustrates how much the media landscape has changed in the past two decades. I spoke with experts about how quickly audiences move on to the next viral drama. — Daysia Tolentino, culture & trends reporter
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