Donald Trump is being encouraged to stop talking about Kamala Harris’ racial identity and start talking about policy. A study of long Covid doesn’t bring researchers any closer to finding a diagnostic test. And the new sports we’re looking forward to at the Los Angeles Olympics.
Here’s what you need to know today.
Allies want Trump to refocus his campaign message
Former President Donald Trump is under increasing pressure to stop his attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity and criticism of his other political opponents, and instead talk about policy and the issues at stake in the race. The feedback is coming both privately and publicly, with lawmakers, donors and informal outside advisers asking Trump and his top campaign aides to address the issues head-on and drop the race- or personality-based attacks, according to four sources familiar with the discussions.
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They also want Trump to ramp up the intensity of his campaign. Last week, Trump said at his home in Florida that he was not on the campaign trail because he is ahead in the race.
To prevent Trump from attacking Harris, his staff is achieving what they call “incremental victories” by refusing to pay attention to his comments and showing him the bad press it generates, a senior member of Trump’s campaign said.
And some of the feedback is public. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy went on Fox News on a program Trump watches often and urged him to investigate Harris’ positions on the border, crime and inflation.
Trump’s allies agreed that he needs a level of discipline in his message, something he’s lacked in recent weeks. Still, they stressed that the enthusiasm for Harris’ campaign, which has built since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, will wane.
Read the whole story here.
More coverage of the 2024 elections:
Ukraine says it has seized nearly 400 square miles of Russian territory
Ukraine said it had seized 1,000 square kilometers, or 386 square miles, of Russian territory, a week after a surprise border attack in the Kursk region that sent the Kremlin into a frenzy. The statement by Ukrainian Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi came hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to “expel” Ukrainian troops from the country.
Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk has embarrassed the Kremlin and boosted morale, but many observers have questioned what Kiev hopes to achieve. Putin has suggested the attack is intended to strengthen Ukraine’s position in future peace talks.
Kursk’s acting governor, Alexei Smirnov, told Putin that 28 settlements in his region were under Ukrainian control. Residents were also evacuated from parts of a neighboring region in the latest sign that the Kremlin has failed to the threat of an increasing offensive.
An Early Look Ahead at LA 2028
Now that the Olympic flame has been extinguished in Paris, all eyes are on the next Games in Los Angeles — and the changes and challenges that will come with them. Lacrosse, cricket, baseball and softball are making their Olympic returns. Flag football and squash are making their first appearances. And two sports — one of which made its Olympic debut less than a week ago — are on the chopping block.
And what of L.A. itself? Los Angeles and traffic go hand in hand, but Mayor Karen Bass is promising that 2028 will be a “no-car Games,” bolstered by a fleet of 3,000 buses and a call for work-from-home schedules for the duration of the Games. It seems like an incredible boast from a city that still doesn’t have a direct rail line to its airport.
More Olympic coverage:
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🥉 USA Gymnastics said it is reversing its efforts to overturn the ruling that stripped Jordan Chiles of his bronze medal have been rejecteddespite the fact that he provided evidence that the coach’s appeal was not 4 seconds late.
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👏 Pakistan’s first individual gold medalist returns home a feast fit for a king.
Why there is no test yet for long-term Covid
An estimated 17 million people have long Covid, but identifying people with the condition still can’t be achieved with a single diagnostic test, researchers said this week. In a new study, researchers explained that after looking at data from more than 10,000 patients across the country — including lab results for routine blood counts, kidney and liver test results and more — they found no differences between those with long Covid and those without. So “clinicians should continue to do what we’ve done in the past,” which is rule out other potential health problems rather than diagnosing long Covid, they said.
The study is part of the National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER Initiative, a billion-dollar effort launched in 2021 to investigate the causes and treatments for long Covid. Dr. Kristine Erlandson, the study’s lead author, expressed disappointment with the results, but said More specialized tests are being performed.
Meanwhile, new Covid vaccines are expected to be rolled out in the coming weeks. But with the US already in the midst of a summer outbreak, will the new round of jabs make a difference? Maybe not for this wave, immunologists and infectious disease experts said. But they will be important as the US heads into fall and winter.
Funding demands from conservative lawmakers raise risk of shutdown
The far-right Freedom Caucus is calling on House Republican leaders to tie government funding to new citizenship requirements for voting and set a new deadline for funding. The move is facing stiff opposition in the Senate.
It’s already likely that lawmakers will need a short-term funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, or CR, to fund the government after the Oct. 1 deadline. Congress is on recess until Sept. 9, and little progress has been made on appropriations so far.
Yesterday, the Freedom Caucus added another layer to the funding fight, saying that the CR should “include the SAVE Act,” a bill that would “prevent noncitizens from voting.” Trump and other leading Republicans have claimed that undocumented immigrants vote to favor Democrats in elections, even though noncitizen voting is illegal and extremely rare. The Freedom Caucus added that in the event of a relief bill, funding should be extended “into early 2025” to prevent the passage of a funding bill that “preserves Democratic spending.” Both demands would cause a stalemate with Democratic lawmakers.
Politics in brief
Today’s primaries: Races in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Connecticut and Vermont will determine Republican challengers to four Democratic senators: Tammy Baldwin, Amy Klobuchar, Chris Murphy and Bernie Sanders. Additionally, the matchups for some high-profile seats in the House of Representatives will be determined. These are the most important races to watch.
Investigations into Trump: Trump plans to sue the Justice Departmentt and the FBI for $115 million, alleging an unlawful search for classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate and “malicious political persecution.”
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Staff selection: ‘Brainrot’ Language Is Real – And Incomprehensible
If you’re familiar with the phrase “skibidi toilet Ohio rizzler,” you’re either chronically online or the parent of a Gen Alpha kid. The newest crop of kids on the Internet are making waves with their nonsensical-sounding slang. We spoke to parents who say dinner-table conversations with their kids require Google to be open at all times. The kids weighed in, too, saying they know they’re confusing older people — and they enjoy it. Here is a guide what some of this new slang means. — Sakshi VenkatramanNBC Asian America Reporter
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NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
A lot of the offers you can’t miss this week discounts on clothing, shoes and school supplies. And just because fall is here, doesn’t mean fall weather is here. NBC Select editors got tips from the pros on simple ways to lower your air conditioning without drastically changing how you use your air conditioning.
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