‘It sends a strong signal’: Black voters respond to Kamala Harris’ nomination From Lauren Gambinoin Wilmington and Enjoli Liston in New York: China Cochran met Kamala Harris at a campaign event in Detroit last year and was swept away by the California senator’s ambition, charisma and leadership. So when the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden named Harris as his running mate on Tuesday – making her the first Black woman on a major US party’s presidential ticket – Cochran wasn’t just struck by the history. It represented a full-circle moment for Black women, who the Democratic party often refer to as its backbone of support, yet who for generations have fought for their voices to be heard and political aspirations recognized. “It tells Black girls that they can be president,” Cochran, who recently ran for state representative in Michigan, told the Associated Press. “I think it’s important for us to look at that and see other young women of color realize that they can go after their dreams and really make change in our world.” Black women in particular helped rescue Biden’s campaign earlier this year by delivering a resounding victory in the South Carolina primary, powering him to the Democratic nomination. As he prepares for the general election on 3 November, Biden is trying to recreate the multiracial and cross-generational coalition that twice sent Barack Obama to the White House. That will hinge on Black voters in battleground states like Michigan to turn out in force in November. “We’ve seen from an electoral process what happens if we don’t vote, that can mean the difference between winning and losing a state,” said Karen Finney, a senior Democratic strategist and spokeswoman for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. “We’re in this moral inflection point of this country and Vice-President Biden is someone who’s talked about healing the soul of our country and certainly one of the ways to do that is to uplift the voices of Black women.” Strategists said that Harris will help that effort. “It sends a strong signal about not only the current state of our party but what the future of our party looks like,” Antjuan Seawright, a veteran political strategist in South Carolina, told the AP. “And what better way to reward a group of people who have been the political glue in this party than to put an African American woman on the ticket.” Just hours after Joe Biden announced Kamala Harris as his running mate, in her home state of California fierce speculation had already begun as to who might replace her in the Senate if she wins a spot in the White House. “It seems early,” said Aimee Allison, who heads She the People, a national network seeking to elevate women of color to political leadership. “But behind the scenes, conversations are already happening. And I don’t think it’s too soon to think about what the community wants, and what the state wants in a leader.” If the Biden-Harris team wins on 3 November, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, will appoint someone to replace Harris in the Senate for the duration of her term, which ends in 2022. Asked on Wednesday if people have already started pitching themselves for the position, Newsom joked with a reporter: “You may be the only one who hasn’t – unless you just did.” Later, he added that his comment was only a “slight” exaggeration. Read more about who some of the top contenders are: Israel signs historic deal with UAE that will ‘suspend’ West Bank annexation From Oliver Holmes in Jerusalem and Julian Borger in Washington: Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties in a historic Washington-brokered deal under which Israel will “suspend” its plans to annex parts of the Palestinian territories. However, cracks in the deal became quickly apparent after its announcement on Thursday, with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying there was “no change” to his annexation plans, while the UAE insisted that it “immediately stops annexation”. After Jordan and Egypt, the UAE is only the third Arab country to announce formal diplomatic relations with Israel, and the announcement will reverberate across the Middle East, which has a turbulent history with the Jewish state. Donald Trump, who is facing a tough presidential election on 3 November, played up the deal as a significant foreign policy win. “Everybody said this would be impossible,” the US president told reporters at the White House. “After 49 years, Israel and the United Arab Emirates will fully normalise their diplomatic relations. They will exchange embassies and ambassadors and begin cooperation across the board and on a broad range of areas including tourism, education, healthcare, trade and security.” He said the tenor of the three-way phone call he had with Israeli and UAE leaders “was like love”. Similar agreements were being discussed with other countries in the region, he added, without giving details. Israel has also cultivated ties with Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain. Asked about who might be next in line to establish diplomatic relations, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, said: “We have a couple who are upset that they weren’t first. “I do think that this makes it more inevitable, but it’s going to take hard work and it’s going to take trust being built and dialogue being facilitated in order for people to cross that line as well,” Kushner told journalists. “So hopefully this makes it easier for others; many are watching to see how this goes.” Surrounded by his top aides in the Oval Office, Trump described the pact as a “peace agreement”. However, the UAE’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan later tweeted that the country had agreed instead to “cooperation and setting a roadmap towards establishing a bilateral relationship”. For the Palestinians, who have long relied on Arab backing in their struggle for independence, the development will be seen as a big setback in their attempts to increase international pressure on Israel until a full peace deal has been agreed. The Palestinian politician Hanan Ashrawi accused the UAE of abandoning the Palestinians. “May you never experience the agony of having your country stolen; may you never feel the pain of living in captivity under occupation; may you never witness the demolition of your home or murder of your loved ones. May you never be sold out by your ‘friends’,” she wrote on Twitter. Angela Davis, the political activist, prison abolitionist and professor, said that Kamala Harris’ nomination makes the Democratic presidential ticket “more palatable.” “We can’t forget that she did not oppose the death penalty and we can’t forget some of the real problems that are associated with her career as a prosecutor,” Davis told Reuters. “But... it’s a feminist approach to be able to work with those contradictions. And so, in that context, I can say that I’m very excited. Davis ran for president in 1980 and 1984, on the Communist Party ticket. Here’s a recent Guardian interview with her: The president, who championed the racist conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was not born in the US, has revived birtherism at today’s press conference in an attack against Kamala Harris. “I heard it today that she doesn’t meet the requirements. I have no idea if that is right,” he said. “I would have assumed that the Democrats have checked it out.” The promotion of this racist conspiracy through questions and waffling – which allows Trump to deny that he thinks a Black American wasn’t born in the US, while noting that some people think so, and maybe that’s worth looking into – is a tried-and-true tactic that he used in his baseless attacks against Obama, as well. Harris was born in the US, and is a US citizen who is eligible to serve as president. “Do you regret all the lying you’ve done to the American people?” a reporter asked Donald Trump. He did not respond, and called on another journalist. Trump falsely claimed that foreign nations can easily “grab” and forge mail-in ballots. Experts say the assertion “defies common sense”. Here’s UC Irvine political scientist Rick Hasen, explaining why: So far, the coronavirus update has been a campaign event — with Trump delivering a prepared speech attacking Joe Biden. “We will defeat this virus but not by hiding in our basements,” Trump said. “Joe Biden needs to stop playing politics with the virus.” Pressed on his comment that he refuses to support the US Postal Service because they will handle mail-in voting, Trump said he would not veto a bill featuring postal funding. He continued to lie about fraud in mail-in voting and falsely stated that absentee voting and mail-in voting are different. They are the same. He argued baselessly that Democrats want to keep schools —which also serve as polling places — closed so that Americans cannot vote. He argued baselessly that there was fraud in the New York primary that Democrat Carolyn Maloney won. “Sleepy Joe rejects the scientific approach,” Trump said, in a peak case of projection. As we have reported before — Trump has devalued and undermined science throughout the pandemic. Here’s me, looking back at how Trump has contradicted science: Here’s my colleague Oliver Milman, on how Trump’s habit of rejecting scientific fact has raised alarm among health experts: Trump, who has lied, misled and misrepresented the reality of the coronavirus pandemic in the US, contradicting and ignoring his own public health experts, has begun by attacking Joe Biden: “At every turn, Biden has been wrong about the virus - ignoring the scientific evidence.” He said Biden’s immigration policies would allow “the pandemic to infiltrate every US community”. The pandemic is already widespread. Hi there, it’s Maanvi Singh, reporting from the West Coast. We’re expecting Trump to deliver his press conference in a few minutes — and will keep you updated with news and fact checks. Today so far Here’s a quick summary of what’s been happening today: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are continuing to make the rounds as a duo. The pair announced they are calling for a nationwide mask mandate and said every governor should implement a mask mandate in their states. The Senate adjourned today with no coronavirus stimulus package in sight and will be out of session until after 8 September. This means that millions of Americans will be left with low unemployment insurance for at least a few more weeks. Donald Trump announced a normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, with Israel agreeing to halt plans to annex parts of the West Bank. While Trump called it a “historic peace agreement”, Israel’s prime minister said on Thursday that the country will still annex parts of the West Bank but had agreed to a temporary halt. Former Trump fixer Michael Cohen released a teaser for his new book, Disloyal, which is slated to be released in September after attempts to stop publication from the Trump administration. Vice-president Mike Pence is continuing to put out some jabs toward his new Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, this time criticizing remarks she made about Americans’ eating habits and the environment. Speaking at the “Farmers and Ranchers for Trump” launch event in Iowa, Pence told the crowd that Harris said during her primary campaign that she was concerned about the impact of Americans’ diet. “She would change the dietary guidelines of this country to reduce the amount of red meat that Americans can eat,” Pence said, the crowd booing in response. “Well, I’ve got some red meat for you: we’re not going to let Joe Biden & Kamala Harris cut America’s meat!” That supporters of the Green New Deal are out to ban hamburgers altogether has long been a talking point of conservatives. While Green New Deal advocates have indicated they want to work with farmers and ranchers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a complete ban on red meat has not been a part of the plan. The teaser for Michael Cohen’s book is now out after the justice department issued a gag order, which has since been dropped, to stop the book’s publication. The book, titled Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J Trump, is slated to be released sometime in September, ahead of the presidential election in November. The book’s foreword is now available online and details Cohen’s feelings of bewilderment at seeing Trump for who he really is after being “Trump’s first call every morning and his last call every night”. “In some ways, I knew him better than even his family did because I bore witness to the real man, in strip clubs, shady business meetings, and in the unguarded moments when he revealed who he really was: a cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator, a con man,” Cohen, Trump’s former fixer, writes. Cohen was serving a three-year prison on federal charges of tax evasion, making false statements, lying to Congress and facilitating illegal payments to silence women about their affairs with Trump. But Cohen was released in May after fears of Covid-19 spreading in federal prisons. After tweeting that he was nearly finished with his book in July, Cohen was sent back to prison. The ACLU ended up joining a suit on his behalf to get him out, which was ultimately successful. A gag order from the justice department to halt the book’s publication was also dropped. The Trump administration has made very obvious efforts to stop the publication of high-profile tell-alls, all which have been ultimately unsuccessful. Former national security adviser John Bolton book The Room Where It Happened was published was published in June and Mary L Trump’s, Trump’s niece, book Too Much and Never Enough was published in July. Senate adjourns until 8 September without stimulus deal The Senate has adjourned its session this afternoon without reaching an agreement with House Democrats on a new stimulus package. The Senate is slated to go back into regular session 8 September. The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, told senators that they would be called back to Capitol Hill with a 24-hour notice if a deal is reached. McConnell that he hopes that a bipartisan deal can be reached “in the coming weeks”. Earlier today the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said that Democrats will come back to the negotiating table when Senate Republicans agree on a larger stimulus package. “We’re not inching away from their meager piecemeal proposal,” she said. At the press conference, Pelosi had beside her a chart comparing the Democrats’ $3tn Heroes Act, which passed the House in June, to the $1tn Heals Act in the Senate. One line indicated that House Democrats want $100bn for rental assistance while Senate Republicans want nothing. Without a new stimulus package, millions of Americans are left with much lower unemployment insurance since the federal government stopped giving an additional $600 a week at the end of July. The steep drop in income is expected to lead to widespread evictions. Two new speakers slated to make appearances at next week’s Democratic National Convention were announced today. Billionaire and former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg and entrepreneur Andrew Yang both announced today that they will be speaking at the virtual convention. Yang and Bloomberg will be joining a list of former candidates including senators Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar. Pete Buttigieg is also slated to speak at the virtual convention. After the Democratic National Committee, which runs the convention, announced the DNC’s speaker lineup, Yang tweeted that he was disappointed that he was not asked to speak. “I’ve got to be honest I kind of expected to speak,” he tweeted on Tuesday. Ted Lieu, a US representative from California, tweeted in response his disappointment that there was little Asian American representation at the convention. “Asian Americans are the fastest increasing group in America, including in multiple swing states,” Lieu tweeted. “The gross underrepresentation of Asian American speakers in the four days of the DNC Convention is tone deaf and a slap in the face.”