--:-- Tracy Mumford: From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Wednesday, August 21st.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Here's what we're covering. Yeah, so just wanted to get your thoughts on the convention. How are you feeling going into November? What's your mood?
--:-- Tracy Mumford: A lot better than it was a month ago. Yeah, oh my God, yeah. Definitely motivated to, like, volunteer a little bit more.
--:-- [Sound of crowd cheering]
--:-- Tracy Mumford: In Chicago, the Democratic National Convention is rolling on with an energized crowd that's excited and relieved to have Kamala Harris as the party's nominee.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Somebody actually described it. They said they weren't expecting this many people because they were really planning for more of a week. And then the amount of enthusiasm and attendance that they've seen has just been so off the charts and it's more of a celebration.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The Democrats have been riding a wave of enthusiasm since President Biden stepped aside for Harris. And the energy has been on full display at the convention. Hope is making a comeback.
--:-- [Sound of crowd cheering]
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Last night, the headliners were Michelle and Barack Obama, who took the stage for back-to-back speeches where they praised Harris and zeroed in on Donald Trump.
--:-- Michelle Obama: For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black.
--:-- Michelle Obama: The former First Lady called Trump out for, quote, doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies. Tying Trump's attacks on her husband's background to how he's now questioned Harris's Black identity.
--:-- Michelle Obama: And she brought people to their feet as she urged the crowd to make sure everyone they know has a plan to vote in November.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: I am feeling ready to go. Even if even if I am the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama
--:-- Barack Obama: The former president, meanwhile, credited Harris with rekindling the energy that carried him to the White House 16 years ago.
--:-- Barack Obama: And he denounced Trump as whiny and selfish. We do not need four more years of bluster and bumbling and chaos. We have seen that movie before, and we all know that the sequel is usually worse.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Tonight, Harris's running mate Tim Walls will speak for the third night of the convention.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The Times has learned new details about how the U.S. government is preparing for a nuclear threat and where they think the threat might come from.
--:-- David Sanger: For decades, the U.S. had been mainly preparing for an attack by Russia. But in a new top-secret nuclear deterrence plan that President Biden approved earlier this year, the government has shifted its strategy toward a broader range of threats, which now includes China.
--:-- David Sanger: The new nuclear strategy is what's called a nuclear employment guidance. And every president revises one. But since the last one was written, the U.S. has seen the nuclear world change considerably.
--:-- David Sanger: China's growing capabilities and Russia's friendlier relationship with North Korea has changed the equation. China has undergone the biggest change. It has been rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal.
--:-- David Sanger: Russia has threatened the use of nuclear weapons, particularly small battlefield weapons, against Ukraine. And even North Korea which a few years ago had just a few nuclear weapons that it was beginning to test now has a stockpile of 60 or more and the capacity to expand that dramatically.
--:-- David Sanger: That gives the North far greater strategic capability to strike at the U.S. or coordinate with Beijing and Moscow. The big question is, can the U.S. handle multiple nuclear crises?
--:-- David Sanger: No one is certain. Imagine, for example, that Russia is threatening to use a weapon against Ukraine or a NATO member and that China or North Korea exploit that crisis to make similar threats against Taiwan or South Korea.
--:-- David Sanger: David says that in response to the growing threats, the U.S. has moved to deploy more conventional weapons in places like Germany and Japan. He said there have also been attempts to use diplomatic efforts to lower the temperature, but so far those have mostly gone nowhere.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The Biden administration's effort to ban non-compete agreements hit a wall yesterday when a federal judge in Texas blocked the ban from going into effect.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission issued a rule prohibiting most companies from mandating that their employees sign non-competes, contracts that limit their ability to go work for rival companies.
--:-- Lena Kahn: The contracts have become incredibly common in recent years. The FTC estimated that one in five Americans deal with them, including everyone from hairdressers to computer engineers to company executives.
--:-- Lena Kahn: FTC Chair Lena Kahn argued getting rid of non-competes would lead to more innovation and new startups and could increase workers' earnings by $400 billion over the next decade.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The ban was supposed to take effect next month, but several business groups sued, saying non-competes are necessary to protect trade secrets.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And the judge's decision, which upholds a ruling from earlier this summer says that the FTC lacks the authority to put the ban in place
--:-- Tracy Mumford: A spokesman for the commission said it is quote seriously considering a potential appeal
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And finally, a new study has found a link between diabetes and eating meat, specifically red meat like steak or processed meat like sausage or bacon.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The study, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology this week, looked at research data for 2 million adults across 20 countries, including the U.S. and parts of Europe and Asia.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: After adjusting for risk factors like smoking or physical inactivity, they found that for every 3.5 ounces of red meat someone ate each day, like a small steak, their risk of getting type 2 diabetes increased by 10 percent.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And for roughly every two ounces of processed meat that someone ate each day, like a sausage or a couple slices of bacon, their risk increased by 15 percent.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The data also suggested consuming poultry was associated with increased risk, but the finding was less consistent.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: A researcher who led the study said there are a couple of possible explanations. People who eat more meat may also be eating fewer fruits and vegetables.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Another is that cooking meat at high temperatures, like frying and grilling, can form compounds that can damage cells and contribute to type 2 diabetes.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: There are also other proposed explanations related to saturated fat levels and a specific iron compound.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: A medical professor and cardiologist not involved with the study told the Times this does not mean you should never eat processed meat, if that's your thing, but to instead think of it as an occasional treat.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, a look at the strategy behind Ukraine's surprise attacks into Russia and how Russian President Vladimir Putin may respond.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: You can listen on The Times audio app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.
