--:-- Tracy Mumford: From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Monday, August 19.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Here's what we're covering. In Chicago today, the Democratic National Convention kicks off as the party tries to ride the wave of energy and enthusiasm that the Harris-Walls ticket has sparked in recent weeks.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: President Biden is set to give the main speech tonight, saying that Harris is ready to finish the campaign he started.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Despite the unity that the Democrats are trying to project, one major fault line in the party will be on display. Tensions over the war in Gaza.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Protesters who have denounced the Biden administration's support of Israel and its military campaign in Gaza were already out last night, and the city's prepared for thousands more demonstrators to take to the streets over the next week.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Meanwhile, inside the event, organizers have scheduled a wide range of speakers hoping to appease different factions of the party.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: They've invited the attorney general of Minnesota, Keith Ellison, a prominent Muslim, to speak.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: They've given a slot to families of American hostages held by Hamas.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And Harris's husband, Doug Emhoff, is expected to talk about his own Jewish identity.
--:-- Jonathan Weissman: But Times political reporter Jonathan Weissman, who's at the convention, says what's less clear is how the party's nominee will navigate the divisions herself.
--:-- Jonathan Weissman: We're not sure what Kamala Harris will say about this issue at the convention.
--:-- Jonathan Weissman: When you look at polling, even polling of young voters, the war in Gaza and Israel-Palestine issues is way down, nowhere close to inflation or housing costs or abortion.
--:-- Jonathan Weissman: So it's not at all clear that the Israel-Palestine issue really will influence the outcome of the election in November.
--:-- Jonathan Weissman: And that leaves the Harris campaign with an interesting conundrum going into this convention. Do they speak out or do they say this just isn't an issue that's going to decide whether Kamala Harris is going to be the next president?
--:-- Tracy Mumford: As the convention gets underway, new polling from The Times and Siena College shows how much the switch from Biden to Harris is reshaping the presidential race.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Just a few months ago, polls showed Donald Trump was firmly in the lead in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Now, Harris has surged to become a contender in those states.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: In Arizona, for example, Harris is at 50% of support among likely voters, compared to Trump's 45%.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: This morning, House Republicans formally made the case to impeach President Biden, releasing a report that accuses the president of corruption tied to his son Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The report doesn't include any direct proof that Biden engaged in corruption, but Republicans say he can still be impeached for what they see as his betrayal of public trust.
--:-- Luke Broadwater: Times congressional reporter Luke Broadwater has been covering the impeachment inquiry into Biden, which Republicans started last year.
--:-- Luke Broadwater: What they did in this report, which is nearly 300 pages long, is they painted a very damning picture of the business practices of Hunter Biden and President Biden's brother James.
--:-- Luke Broadwater: They essentially accuse them of going around the world and enticing foreign entities into investing with them and partnering with them under the essentially false impression they could deliver big dollar deals within the United States for these foreign interests.
--:-- Luke Broadwater: And the Republicans have attempted to tie President Biden to these deals and say the only reason anyone ever paid Jim and Hunter Biden money was because they believed they could influence President Biden to essentially behave corruptly.
--:-- Luke Broadwater: And they do not prove that in this report at all. Essentially, what they do prove is that President Biden at times met with business partners of James and Hunter briefly, exchanged pleasantries.
--:-- Luke Broadwater: But they do not have any evidence of any corrupt act to benefit those businesses on behalf of President Biden.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Luke says it's unclear if House Republicans will try to call for an official vote to impeach Biden when they return to Capitol Hill in September.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: But even if a vote does pass the House, an impeachment effort will almost certainly fall flat in the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: This is my ninth visit since October 7th to Israel, to the Middle East.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And this is a decisive moment, probably the best, maybe the last opportunity to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel this morning to continue to push for a ceasefire deal.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: His visit comes after negotiators met last week.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And while they have yet to reach an agreement, officials involved in the talks describe them as constructive.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Blinken will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's defense minister later today.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Ceasefire talks are expected to pick back up this week.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Diplomats are hoping that a deal in Gaza could bring down tensions across the entire region, which have been high after Iran and Hezbollah threatened to retaliate against Israel for the assassinations of militant leaders.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The Times has learned that former New York Congressman George Santos is expected to plead guilty today to avoid a trial on the multiple felony charges that he's facing.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Santos, who's a Republican, became one of the few members of the House to ever be expelled after it was revealed that he spun an enormous tangled web of lies about his background and was charged with a series of financial crimes.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Prosecutors say he stole money from donors by charging their credit cards multiple times used campaign money for personal expenses like luxury clothing, and collected unemployment money while he was employed, among other alleged crimes.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: One person familiar with the details of Santos' plan told the Times he'll give a statement in court today acknowledging what he did.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: It's not yet clear what the terms of his plea deal are, or what sentence he might face.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And finally, audiences love a medical drama. See 20 seasons of Grey's Anatomy.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: They also love a good medical documentary, even with no actors or love triangles.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And now, these real-world documentaries are proving so popular that one New York hospital system, Northwell Health, is opening its own production studio.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: People who watched the Netflix hit Lenox Hill about doctors and patients on the Upper East Side already know about Northwell.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The system had so much success with that show and other documentaries filmed at its locations that they've opened Northwell Studios and have five new productions underway.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The move is raising questions about logistics and patient privacy.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Another hospital faced a multi-million dollar penalty after TV crews filmed patients without consent at their facility.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: though Northwell's CEO says they're very careful to get everyone's permission.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: He says launching the new shows is an educational opportunity for the public.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Plus, hospital executives say that all the attention on their doctors is also good advertising.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And it might bring in not just viewers, but new patients.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Those are the headlines.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Today on The Daily, Ested Herndon, who's been covering Kamala Harris for years, unpacks key moments in her political career and what they reveal about how she would lead the country if she's elected.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: You can listen on The Times audio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.
