Thursday morning news: July 25, 2024

BIDEN: My fellow Americans, I’m speaking to you tonight from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

Biden Oval Office address » President Biden addressed the nation last night, speaking out, for the first time, about his decision to end his reelection campaign after winning the Democratic nomination.

BIDEN: I decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That’s the best way to unite our nation.

He did not, however, say what caused him to reach that conclusion. He offered no explanation for his unprecedented decision to drop out roughly 100 days before Election Day.

In his last Oval Office address less than two weeks ago he called on the nation to dial down heated political rhetoric in the wake of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. But in the Oval Office last night, he once again suggested Trump is a threat to democracy.

BIDEN: It has been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it’s more important than any title.

Biden announced his decision to bow out last weekend via social media after a weekslong pressure campaign from top Democratic officials and donors.

Netanyahu speech » Hours earlier, another world leader delivered a historic address in Washington …

AUDIO: Mr. Speaker, the prime minister of the state of Israel. (cheers)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress seeking to bolster U.S. support for his country’s fight against Hamas and other Iran-backed terrorists.

NETANYAHU: We meet today at a crossroads of history. Our world is in upheaval. In the Middle East Iran’s axis of terror confronts America, Israel, and our Arab friends. This is not a clash of civilizations. It’s a clash between barbarism and civilization.

He began by recalling the events that sparked the war in Gaza describing the horrendous acts of terror that Hamas carried out against Israel on October 7th.

Netanyahu thanked President Biden for his support of Israel in the wake of that attack and stressed the importance of the United States and Israel standing together.

And he had a message for pro-palestinian, anti-Israeli demonstrators, some of whom gathered outside the Capitol during his speech.

NETANYAHU: When the tyrants of Tehran, who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair, are praising, promoting, and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots. (cheers)

And the prime minister vowed once more that Israel’s war against Hamas will ultimately end only when Hamas has been destroyed.

Harris skips Netanyahu's speech » More than 50 Democratic lawmakers boycotted Netanyahu’s speech in protest of the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Also skipping Netanyahu’s speech was Vice President Kamala Harris.

That decision drew sharp rebukes from some Republicans, including Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst.

ERNST: Whether she likes the prime minister of Israel or not, whether she respects him or not, she should be here.

GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham added that given the fact that Harris is now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, her absence sends the wrong message to the common enemies of the U.S. and Israel.

GRAHAM: This is really her first major foreign policy decision, and she’s gotten an F.

But White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters:

PIERRE: She continues to be supportive to Israel, making sure that Israel’s security is ironclad, as we have been as a partner, as the president has been.

And she said Harris planned to meet privately with Nentanyahu this week in Washington.

Harris campaigns on abortion » While many leaders gathered on Capitol Hill, Kamala Harris campaigned Wednesday on abortion access, condemning the Supreme Court decision that reversed Roe v Wade.

HARRIS: Well, let me tell you something, when I am president of the United States, and when Congress passes a law to restore those freedoms, I will sign it into law!

The vice president spoke to a historically black sorority in Indianapolis.

Abortion had been a central theme of President Biden’s reelection campaign. Kamala Harris is doubling down on the issue as she launches her White House bid.

SOUND: [Committee called to order]

Chris Wray testimony » FBI Director Christopher testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday as lawmakers investigate the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

Wray revealed some troubling new information about the shooter, including his recent web searches for information about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

WRAY: On July 6, he did a Google search for, quote, how far away was Oswald from Kennedy.

That, of course, a reference to Lee Harvey Oswald who assassinated Kennedy in 1963.

Wray said the attacker also had three explosive devices, two of which were discovered inside his car.

WRAY: I would say these were relatively—again, keyword relatively—crude devices themselves. But they did have the ability to be detonated remotely.

Wray said officials found detonators on his body after he’d been killed by law enforcement.

The director also testified that the would-be assassin flew a drone a couple hundred yards away from the venue in the hours before the rally and likely viewed more than 10 minutes of aerial footage.

Investigators, though, still have not determined a motive.

Oregon wildfires » Authorities say a wildfire burning in Oregon that’s kicking smoke into neighboring Idaho and beyond is now the largest active blaze in the country.

A spokeswoman for the fire management team, Jessica Reed, told reporters:

REED:  Firefighters have made progress on fire lines around the perimeter of the fire, um, but it's hard to keep up when the fire... at one point, two days ago, it grew 10, 000 acres in a half an hour.

The Durkee Fire is burning near the Oregon-Idaho border, about 130 miles west of Boise, Idaho. It shut down Interstate 84 for hours on Wednesday, and officials have evacuated hundreds of residents in its path.

Josh Smith with the National Weather Service says severely hot and dry weather hasn’t helped.

And he adds that a fire this large can, to some extent, create its own weather.

SMITH:  They've generated a lot of heat, which has helped them control their own environment. Uh, we've seen a lot of, uh, cumulus development. We call that pyrocumulus and we've seen some lightning strikes out of that.

Lightning strikes sparked the blaze last week not far from the site of another wildfire.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Analysis of Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress. Plus, becoming an Olympic athlete.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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