Morning Headlines - Monday, July 22, 2024 | Recent News

U.S. and World Headlines

Inside Biden's Historic Decision To Drop His Re-Election Bid

Surrounded by a handful of trusted advisers and first lady Jill Biden at his vacation home on the Delaware coast Saturday evening, President Joe Biden reflected on a political career that spanned more than half a century and began to conclude that it would reach its end earlier than planned, according to people familiar with his decision.

Isolated, frustrated and angry, he felt betrayed by allies who turned on him in his hour of need.

“He’s really pissed off,” said a person in touch with Biden’s inner circle.

Mad as he was — and still is — Biden came grudgingly to accept that he could not sustain his campaign with poll numbers slipping, donors fleeing and party luminaries pushing him to exit. He may have been slower than other Democratic insiders to make that calculation, but he fully understood it by Saturday night.

Kamala Harris Says She Intends To "Earn And Win" Democratic Presidential Nomination

Vice President Kamala Harris said Sunday that she intends to "earn and win" the Democratic presidential nomination after President Biden announced he would be bowing out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed her for Democratic presidential nominee.

"I am honored to have the president's endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination," she said in a statement. "Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda."

Secret Service Director To Be Grilled Over Trump Assassination Attempt

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle is set to face a grilling from a GOP-led House panel Monday over the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

Cheatle is facing mounting calls to resign and intense scrutiny amid a flurry of probes into the shooting earlier this month that wounded the Republican presidential nominee, left one dead and two others seriously injured.

Who Could Be Harris’s Running Mate?

President Biden dropped out of the 2024 race on Sunday and endorsed Vice President Harris to become his replacement, a historic move that now raises the question of who would be Harris’s running mate if she gets the nod.

It’s not guaranteed that will happen. Harris still has to win the support of enough delegates heading into next month’s Democratic National Convention in order to become the official nominee. But as the current vice president and Biden’s handpicked successor, she is the clear favorite.

As for who could be her VP pick, there’s no shortage of potential candidates.

Here are some of the possible picks:

Salt Lake City Wildfire Prompts Mandatory Evacuations; Over 100 Firefighters Respond

A wildfire in Salt Lake City forced people living uphill from Utah's state capitol to evacuate, and it remained uncontained Sunday as more than 100 firefighters worked to protect nearby homes.

Helicopters and airplanes were dropping buckets over the flames as ground crews tried to contain the fire on Ensign Peak. Firefighters were working to save homes about 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometers) up East Capitol Boulevard, and evacuees were offered a space in the capitol complex where they could escape the heat.

1 Dead, 9 Injured In Mass Shooting At Milwaukee's Dineen Park

A 17-year-old girl was killed and nine other people were injured in a shooting at Milwaukee's Dineen Park early Monday.

According to a news release from the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office, several dozen people, many of them teenagers, gathered in a parking lot at Dineen Park Sunday night for a "car party."

Some of the attendees got into what the Sheriff's Office calls a "verbal altercation," and at least one 911 call was placed shortly before 12:30 a.m. Monday.

Conservative Wisconsin Law Firm Strengthening Ties With Local School Boards

Erica Kochanski has been paying attention to the Waukesha School board since moving to the district in 2021.

That was the same year the board gained national attention for deciding not to participate in a federal program that would have provided free school lunches to families. The district has since gotten notice for its handling of LGBTQ+ issues.

But it’s the district’s recent decision to attend a School Board Summit sponsored by the conservative law firm, the Wisconsin Institute For Law & Liberty, or WILL, that has upset Kochanski.

With 2024 RNC Convention Over, Milwaukee Weighs Benefits Of Hosting Political Rivals

Downtown Milwaukee turned red last week as thousands of Republican National Convention delegates and other party stalwarts gathered in Wisconsin’s largest Democratic stronghold to formally rally behind Donald Trump as their candidate for president in the pivotal swing state.

Outside the security zone where the convention took place, residents grumbled, ignored or shrugged their way through the event that served to galvanize the GOP and give Trump momentum.

Gov. Evers, DWD Announce Record-High Employment In June

Gov. Tony Evers today, together with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD), announced Wisconsin achieved new record highs for employment and total nonfarm jobs during June 2024, according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The new record for total employment, released today by DWD, breaks the record announced last month for May data.

Five Wisconsin Communities Offering A New Option For Mental Health Treatment

People on the verge of a mental health crisis or a relapse of substance abuse often face a catch-22. They know that they need help, but their situation isn’t yet dire enough to merit hospitalization. And so they’re forced to struggle as best they can, either waiting to hit rock bottom or struggling to find stability.

Earlier this year, regional crisis stabilization centers opened in five communities — Waukesha, Beaver Dam, Madison, La Crosse and Wausau — to help people in that precarious gray zone where services are lacking.