Donald Trump’s former political opponents give him their full support at the Republican National Convention. New research shows how melting ice is slowing down Earth’s spin. And fans of this track and field rivalry will be watching at the Paris Olympics.
Here’s what to know today.
Trump’s ex-rivals sing his praises and preach party unity
Donald Trump attended the second night of the Republican National Convention, arriving just in time to see his former opponents, one by one, speak in his support while pledging party unity.
Among them was Nikki Haley, who took more than two months to endorse Trump after ending her White House bid. Met with a smattering of jeers, Haley was quick to win over the crowd as she declared, “Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period.”
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Other past challengers included Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who unleashed an attack on President Joe Biden, and Sen. Ted Cruz, who eight years ago was booed when he told conventiongoers to “vote your conscience.” Then, Sen. Marco Rubio, who was one of Trump’s fiercest rivals and critics in 2016, gave a keynote address focusing on the assassination attempt on Trump and the man who was killed at the rally.
The continued push for GOP unity also saw speakers appeal to Gen Z voters and Trump skeptics. Read more highlights from Day 2.
More RNC coverage:
- Follow our live blog for the latest updates on Day 3 of the convention.
- The feud between Rep. Matt Gaetz and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was on public display on the convention floor.
- When Trump formally accepts the Republican presidential nomination, he will be surrounded by his most valued set of advisers and surrogates: his family. This time around, these three relatives have emerged as the most influential.
- “This is the most unified Republican convention I’ve been to since George W. Bush’s 9/11-themed second convention in New York City in 2004,” NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd writes. And that unity around Trump is a stark contrast to the Democrats right now. Read the full analysis.
- Vice presidential candidate JD Vance’s book “Hillbilly Elegy” is back in the spotlight.
- Who is Usha Vance? JD Vance’s wife is a lawyer and daughter of immigrants.
Pennsylvania official defends local police at Trump rally
Butler, Pennsylvania, has received a barrage of hate mail and angry phone calls blaming its officers for failing to keep Trump safe when a gunman tried to assassinate him. But Butler Township Manager Tom Knights is pushing back. “They couldn’t be more wrong,” he said in an interview with NBC News.
Knights said it was four Butler Township officers assigned to traffic duty who bolted from their post and raced to confront the gunman, with one clinging to the roof where the would-be assassin was perched. He described the moments officers leapt into action after receiving a call about a suspicious person — and how one officer scaled a building to get a better view before an 8-foot fall.
Knights’ response comes amid a wave of finger-pointing across multiple law enforcement agencies as to who was responsible for securing the building the gunman used. The attempt on Trump’s life has also prompted strong criticism of the Secret Service.
More Trump shooting coverage:
- Trump and his campaign have revealed next to nothing about his medical condition in the days since the shooting.
- An alleged Iranian plot to kill Trump led the Secret Service to increase security around him in recent weeks, according to U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter.
Melting ice is slowing Earth’s rotation
Two recent studies suggest climate change is altering Earth to its literal core and could cause shifts that not only have implications for how we keep time, but also could one day rival the influence of tidal forces caused by the moon, one scientist said, if carbon emissions continue at extreme levels.
In one study, researchers found that as polar and glacial ice melt, water that was once concentrated at the top and the bottom of the globe will redistribute toward the equator and slow the planet’s rotation. A second study further suggested that changes to the planet’s ice have been profound enough to affect Earth’s axis, the invisible line at its center around which it rotates. With these changes comes a significant shift deep below Earth’s surface, said Benedikt Soja, an author of the two studies.
Biden is losing patience with calls to drop his re-election bid
President Joe Biden has had enough with the meetings and phone calls to address Democrats’ concerns about his candidacy and in the past few days has started to convey a new message to his party: The conversation about my future is over, and I’m getting irritated that you’re not realizing that.
In private calls with Democrats last weekend, those familiar with the conversations say, the president grew exasperated and frustrated at times. A note one of Biden’s aides handed to him during a call read “Stay positive you are sounding defensive.”
The shift nearly three weeks after Biden’s rocky debate performance also includes tightening his inner circle to be “smaller than ever,” said one source familiar with the internal dynamics. The thinking among Biden’s allies is that if he can weather the coming week or so, without a significant misstep or devastating poll, the calls for him to step aside will subside.
‘Rust’ armorer’s lawyers push to get her released from prison
Convicted “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers have filed a motion for a new trial or dismissal, according to court documents, after actor Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter case was dismissed in stunning fashion last week. Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced to 18 months in prison after she was convicted in a separate involuntary manslaughter trial this year. Her attorneys called the discovery violation revealed during Baldwin’s trial “egregious.” The filing also asked for the removal of the special prosecutor who was found to have suppressed evidence in the fatal 2021 on-set shooting.
Paris 2024: Team Mongolia can already take a victory lap for its uniforms
If it were up to the internet, Team Mongolia’s uniforms for the Paris Olympics would win gold in the competition for most drip.
The uniforms, by Mongolian couture brand Michel & Amazonka, have a hold on people across social media. Fans have been praising the striking designs and intricately embroidered vests, dresses and accessories, that heavily feature cultural motifs and will be worn during the opening ceremony July 26. To create the uniforms, the brand took detailed measurements of each athlete’s body, and it took more than three months to complete the looks, with one set taking an average of 20 hours to finish.
Mongolia joins several other nations that have generated buzz for their Olympic swag. Team Haiti has gotten a lot of love on social media for its vibrant uniforms that incorporate Haitian painter Philippe Dodard’s artwork, created by designer Stella Jean. Team Nigeria, dressed by the Los Angeles-based, Black-owned label Actively Black, has also drawn praise for its green-and-white sportswear.
More Olympics highlights:
🏀 Basketball in rain in 40 mph winds? Go inside the world of 3×3 hoops. It’s “definitely challenging,” one player said.
Politics in Brief
Supreme Court: Biden is preparing to endorse significant proposals to reform the Supreme Court, including legislation to establish term limits for justices and an updated code of ethics, sources said.
Menendez verdict: Democrats are turning up the heat on Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, with more senators calling on him to resign and threatening to expel him after he was found guilty on all counts in his federal corruption trial. He was charged with accepting bribes, including cash and gold bars, to benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
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Staff Pick: How to break AI, sort of
“Ignore all previous instructions.” Those four simple words may come in handy next time you hop onto X. After one user noticed a suspicious account spouting abnormal political takes, he replied with the short, yet powerful, phrase and asked the user instead to write a poem. To his surprise, he received a reply in the form of a rhyme that compared Biden to a tangerine. I thought I was a social media connoisseur as a young person. It wasn’t until I read this piece that I realized that AI could be all over my favorite social media platforms without me knowing it.— Muskaan Arshad, platforms intern
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
It’s the last day of Prime Day 2024, but there are still thousands of deals to take advantage of:
- Many products from well-known brands are marked down to their lowest prices ever.
- NBC Select’s editors are still curating all the best buys you can shop, in real-time.
- NBC Select also put together a list of bestsellers from Day 1, plus, the products our editors have purchased (so far).
Sign up to The Selection newsletter for hands-on product reviews, expert shopping tips and a look at the best deals and sales each week.
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