--:-- Tracy Mumford: From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Friday, August 23rd. Here's what we're covering. Thank you all.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Okay, we gotta get to some business. We gotta get to some business. Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president last night in front of a packed house at the United Center in Chicago. Just a month ago, she was best known as Joe Biden's vice president. Now she's the candidate herself, and her acceptance speech gave her the widest audience she's had yet to introduce herself to the country.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: So, America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected. But I'm no stranger to unlikely journeys. A lot of voters still don't know very much about her personal story, her personal journey, what she's overcome, and that made up a big chunk of her speech.
--:-- Nicholas Nehamas: Times reporter Nicholas Nehamas was in Chicago covering the convention. He says Harris walked through her biography, being raised by a single mother, growing up in a working-class neighborhood in California, and feeling called to become a prosecutor.
--:-- Nicholas Nehamas: I fought against the cartels who traffic in guns and drugs and human beings, who threaten the security of our border and the safety of our communities. It was also clear that she was trying to hit back against some of the attacks that Donald Trump and Republicans have made against her, namely that she's weak on the border, that she's weak on crime.
--:-- Nicholas Nehamas: So there was definitely a law and order theme to her remarks. And let me say, I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know, I promise to be a president for all Americans. She made a lot of points about taking care of our fellow citizens, which is not something we often hear from Trump, who tends to demonize groups of people.
--:-- Nicholas Nehamas: He perceives as others, whether that's certain kinds of immigrants or Democrats. It's a very different message Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.
--:-- Nicholas Nehamas: I think that the other contrast she's really trying to draw with Trump is that her campaign represents the future, her campaign represents progress, and Trump represents going back to, I think one of the phrases she used was chaos and calamity. But America, we are not going back. We are not going back.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The vice president gave this speech in the absolutely most friendly environment a Democrat could ever imagine, the national convention full of rank-and-file party members. How the people in the room reacted matters a lot less than how the viewers on TV watching will react, especially those viewers who are undecided and live in the handful of battleground states that will really decide this election.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: That's not something we can know tonight, but I think over the next few weeks, we'll see if there's a polling bump. We'll see if there's a lot of grassroots fundraising, and we'll start to see how successful a speech this was.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators were outside the convention hall last night while Harris was speaking to protest the war in Gaza. U.S. support for Israel's military campaign is the most divisive issue within the party right now. Some had expected protests to disrupt the convention, but the week passed without major clashes.
--:-- Nicholas Nehamas: In her speech, Harris did address the war. Her messaging signaled she would pick up almost exactly where Biden left off. A balancing act of supporting Israel, while also calling out the toll the war has taken on civilians in Gaza.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: In Venezuela, the country's authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro, has strengthened his grip on power after the country's Supreme Court, which is stacked with his allies, ruled that he officially won last month presidential election The ruling came despite overwhelming evidence that the opposition candidate won the most votes
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The court said its decision was supported by a tally from voting machines but the government has not released detailed results. The election had widespread irregularities and was condemned internationally. Many Venezuelans took to the streets in protest after Maduro claimed he won.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: In response, the government unleashed an intense crackdown, launching what it called Operation Knock Knock to round up people who questioned the results. More than 2,000 people have been arrested in what human rights groups say is a wave of repression the country hasn't seen in decades.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Maduro's victory in court means he's now set to be in office until 2031.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The Food and Drug Administration has approved new COVID vaccines that are expected to ship to pharmacies and doctors' offices in the next few days. The updated vaccines are expected to be effective against several strains of the virus that have been causing a recent surge in infections.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: In the past few weeks, Americans have been hospitalized for COVID at almost twice the rate as the same time last year. While most people have acquired immunity against the virus from earlier infections or vaccinations, older people and those who are immunocompromised are particularly at risk, and experts say they should get the new vaccine as soon as possible.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Most Americans haven't been getting COVID boosters. As of earlier this year, just one in five adults had gotten the latest vaccine.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Canadians must be assured that their government will not allow them to suffer when parties do not fill their responsibility to them at the bargaining table. In Canada yesterday, just over 16 hours after a labor dispute brought the country's freight trains to a near total standstill, the government stepped in.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The labor minister said rail companies must end their lockout of workers. and that their dispute with the union representing their employees has to be resolved in arbitration. Trains are expected to start rolling again within days, preventing a longer shutdown that had threatened to disrupt billions of dollars in trade.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And finally It was the love story that captured the world Sven and Magic, the two male Gen 2 penguins whose family made global headlines. An aquarium in Sydney, Australia announced that Sven, a penguin famous for hatching eggs with his same-sex partner Magic, has died.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Sven and Magic's story began six years ago when they started bowing to each other. That's penguin for flirting. Then they started bringing each other pebbles, very romantic, and eventually they sang to each other.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The timing felt symbolic for some people. The penguins got together not long after Australia legalized gay marriage, and debates over the law had stirred up religious and political tensions across the country. The queer community embraced the penguins. Images of Sven and Magic appeared in gay pride parades.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Over the course of the penguins' relationship, the birds' keepers gave Sven and Magic two eggs that heterosexual penguin couples seemed to be neglecting. They took turns incubating them and keeping them warm, successfully hatching chicks in 2018 and 2020.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Their story echoes that of another male penguin couple that became a symbol of equality, Roy and Silo, who lived at the Central Park Zoo in Manhattan and hatched a chick named Tango, inspiring the best-selling children's book and Tango makes three.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The Sea Life Sydney Aquarium said the loss of Sven is heartbreaking for the staff, for the penguin colony, and for Magic. To help him mourn the loss, they took Magic to see Sven after he died. Magic started singing. And the aquarium says the rest of the colony joined in.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, the big takeaways from the Democratic National Convention, from Times reporters who've been on the ground all week. And for a deep dive into how Harris is landing as a candidate, listen to The Run-Up.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: You can catch both shows on the Times audio app or wherever you get your podcasts. This show is made by Jessica Metzger, Jan Stewart, and me, Tracy Mumford, with help from Isabella Anderson and Jake Lucas. Original theme by Dan Powell. Special thanks to Larissa Anderson, Robert Jemison, Zoe Murphy, and Paula Schumann. The headlines will be back on Monday.
