Wednesday morning news: July 17, 2024

RNC day three » Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance will take center stage tonight in Milwaukee on day three of the GOP convention.

Last night, speakers included Trump’s former rival in a sometimes harsh and heated primary race, former Ambassador Nikki Haley:

HALEY: President Trump asked me to speak to this convention in the name of unity.

Haley said Trump has her full endorsement, and she made a direct appeal to Republican voters who still can’t see themselves pulling the proverbial level for Trump.

HALEY: You don’t have to agree with Trump 100 percent of the time to vote for him.

Another former GOP rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said not long ago, Florida was deep purple, the biggest swing state in the country, but now, it is solidly Republican.

DESANTIS: Now, electing Donald Trump gives us a chance to do this all across America.

And Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who was a finalist on Trump’s vice presidential shortlist rallied the crowd. He said when Donald Trump was president, Americans had more money and lower prices …

RUBIO: Our borders were secure and our laws were enforced. Iran was broke, the Taliban stopped killing Americans, and Putin didn’t invade anyone.

Secret Service investigations/Trump security threat from Iran » House Speaker Mike Johnson also spoke last night, vowing a thorough investigation into the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

According to new reports, a threat against Trump’s life from Iran prompted the Secret Service to add additional security around the president in the days before Saturday’s (apparently unrelated) shooting.

But Republicans say that makes Saturday’s catastrophic security failure that much harder to fathom. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise:

SCALISE:  We're going to have a hearing Monday and we're going to have some serious questions that she's going to have to answer and I'm real concerned about her competence.

The majority leader referring there to the head of the Secret Service Kimberly Cheatle.

Recent media leaks from the Secret Service seemed to lay blame for the lapse on local police.

SCALISE:  The head of the Secret Service herself will not come and address the public, which is a major concern, but they're leaking, trying to blame this on local law enforcement. Look, if they farmed out their major duties to other agencies, it's still their responsibility.

Despite reports that security around Trump was stepped up, some Republican lawmakers say they’ve heard directly from agents who say requests for additional resources were denied.

Menendez vows to appeal conviction » New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez says he will appeal after a federal jury found him guilty of federal corruption charges.

The 70-year-old was accused of accepting bribes, including cash, gold bars, and a Mercedes in exchange for political favors. He was also accused of acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government.

MENENDEZ: I have never, ever been a foreign agent and the decision rendered by the jury today would put at risk every member of the United States senate in terms of what they think a foreign agent would be.

The senator faces sentencing in October. This comes 7 years after he was acquitted of unrelated corruption charges … after a trial ended in a hung jury in 20-17.

The three-term senator has refused calls by fellow Democrats to step down. Instead, he is running for reelection as an independent.

Texas Title IX » A school district in Texas has approved a resolution denouncing the Biden administration’s pro-LGBT activism with its attempts to re-shape Title IX protections.

The Argyle Independent School District near Fort Worth says the administration’s push to allow males who identify as female to compete in female sports poses safety risks to girls.

Superintendent Courtney Carpenter.

CARPENTER: What this resolution does is allows us as a district and as a board to make sure our students know that they will be safe and protected from any attempted elimination of safe and private spaces for girls.

The board’s decision comes days after two federal district judges in Texas temporarily blocked the changes.

Title IX is intended to protect the rights of women and girls and bar discrimination based on sex. The Biden administration wants to expand the rules to cover one’s so-called gender identity.

California Parental notification » Meantime, in California school districts can no longer require teachers or administrators to inform parents if their child starts using a different name or changing their pronouns at school. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports:

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law Tuesday curbing parental rights. He and other state Democrats claim the so-called safety act will protect LGBT kids from “forced outings” to parents.

But many families and school districts say the changes don’t protect kids at all … quite the opposite. The California Family Council said the legislation “violates parents’ rights undermines their fundamental role, and places boys and girls in potential jeopardy.”

California is the first state to enact such a law.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Israel draft protests » While talks continue in the Middle East aimed at achieving a cease-fire agreement in Gaza … hundreds of Orthodox Jewish men have taken to the streets in Israel.

SOUND: [Israel protest]

Demonstrators clashed with police near Tel Aviv …

SOUND: [Israel protest]

as they protested June Supreme Court decision that made them eligible for the country's military draft. Ulta-Orthodox Jews studying the Torah had been largely exempted.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: a report from the Republican National Convention on Washington Wednesday. Plus, World Tour.

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