Joe Biden leaves Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base. REUTERS/Tom Brenner
Democrats have other ideas: Some officials think it’s only a matter of time before Joe Biden takes himself out of the race, though nobody can say how the party’s presidential-nomination process will unfold if he drops out. Reports say he’s taking seriously calls within the party to quit because of concerns about his cognitive ability, his age and his health. Fundraisers are on hold and July donations plummeted, sources say.
The kinder, gentler Donald Trump: His appeal at the Republican National Convention to unity following his near-assassination last week hinted at a changed character. The transformation lasted about 30 minutes before he returned to the hectoring and strident campaigner we know so well. Trump will hold his first campaign rally since the shooting, appearing with his vice-presidential pick, Sen. J.D. Vance, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Israel reacts: The foreign ministry rejected the International Court of Justice’s non-binding ruling as fundamentally wrong and one-sided. “The Jewish nation cannot be an occupier in its own land,” Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said. Finance Minister and settler Bezalel Smotrich said, “Sovereignty now,” apparently code for formal annexation of the occupied West Bank. Read more in our story out today about West Bank settlers and their ties to U.S. Republicans.
‘Sham conviction’: The Wall Street Journal attacked the verdict on its reporter, calling it disgraceful. The 32-year-old Gershkovich was accused of trying to gather sensitive information about a tank factory. He was the first U.S. journalist accused of spying in Russia since the Cold War. Who are Russia’s imprisoned Americans? And who might feature in a Russia-U.S. prisoner swap?
Bangladesh imposed a curfew and three people were killed as police cracked down on student-led protests against government job quotas despite a ban on public gatherings, local media said.
Alberto Fujimori, who governed Peru with an iron fist and fled the country amid corruption scandals and human rights violations, plans to run for president. The 85-year-old Fujimori got out of jail last December.
The first Black head of government in Europe quit as first minister of Wales after just four months in office. Vaughan Gething’s departure came after ministerial resignations from the devolved Welsh government in protest over his leadership.
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