Wednesday morning news: August 21, 2024

DNC day-2 » Today is day-3 of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Last night former President Barack Obama fired up the crowd.

OBAMA: America’s ready for a new chapter. America’s ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris.

Obama praised his former running mate, President Joe Biden for stepping aside and making way for a younger contender.

OBAMA: The torch has been passed. Now, it is up to all of us to fight for the America we believe in.

And he added that it will, in fact, be a fight, predicting a very close race.

Democrats also heard last night from former first lady Michelle Obama and self-declared socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

SANDERS: We need to guarantee healthcare to all people as a human right, not a privilege.

Vice presidential nominee, Gov. Tim Walz will take center stage tonight.

Schumer edging closer to axing filibuster » Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also spoke last night accusing Donald Trump of antisemitism.

SCHUMER: I want my grandkids and all grandkids to never, never face discrimination because of who they are. But Donald Trump? This is a guy who pedals antisemitic stereotypes.

He also raised the stakes of the 2024 election by signaling a major power grab, should the Democrats control the White House and both chambers of Congress come January.

Schumer suggested he could maneuver around or even get rid of the Senate’s filibuster rule in order to pass sweeping abortion rights legislation at the national level.

Trump in Michigan » Meantime, Donald Trump campaigned in Michigan Tuesday, vowing to “make America safe again.”

TRUMP:  The border czar Kamala Harris has allowed hordes of illegal, illegal alien criminals to literally stampede into our country. We're going to end that on day one. We're going to close our border. We're going to get all of the bad ones out and we're going to get them out fast.

It was part of Trump’s battleground campaign swing designed to counter the Democratic National Convention.

He stood alongside sheriff’s deputies in the city of Howell and labeled Harris the “ringleader” of what he called a “Marxist attack on law enforcement.”

Tony Blinken in the Middle East » Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Middle Eastern leaders are making what some are calling one last push to broker a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Blinken spoke from Doha, Qatar on Tuesday amid the cease-fire talks.

BLINKEN: Our message is simple, it's clear, and it's urgent. We need to get the cease-fire and hostage agreement over the finish line.

Blinken met with the president of Egypt Tuesday morning before traveling to Qatar.

Ukraine latest » Russian sources claim that Ukraine’s military has either destroyed or damaged all three of the bridges over the Seym River in western Russia as Kyiv’s incursion into western Russia enters its third week.

Ukrainian forces are working to build a buffer zone … to stop future attacks on Ukraine from Russian territory.

Pentagon spokesman, Major General Pat Ryder:

RYDER: Russia has really struggled to respond, you continue to see some Ukrainian advances in that regard.

Some analysts believe Kyiv’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk oblast is changing the trajectory of the war.

New Hampshire Trans Soccer ruling » A federal judge in New Hampshire is letting a teenage boy play on a girls soccer team because he identifies as a girl despite a state law aimed at protecting girls’ sports. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act into law last month. It requires public middle and highschool students to play sports with teammates matching their sex at birth.

The judge’s order this week stems from a lawsuit aiming to overturn those protections, alleging the law is unconstitutional and discriminatory.

The order will allow the boy to compete on the girls team as the case plays out in court. For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: More from the Democratic National Convention. Plus, World Tour.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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