--:-- Tracy Mumford: From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Friday, August 9th.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Here's what we're covering. The Republican Party, and me as a candidate, but the Republican Party has the enthusiasm. At Mar-a-Lago yesterday, Donald Trump called a news conference to try and take back the national conversation that has turned to Kamala Harris in recent weeks.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: She's not doing any news conference. You know why she's not doing it? Because she can't do a news conference. She doesn't know how to do a news conference. She's not smart enough to do a news conference. And I'm sorry.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: In the hour-long event, Trump went after Harris's intelligence and warned that the country would be in grave danger if he doesn't win the presidency. Trump was visibly annoyed when asked about the size of Harris's recent crowds.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And I saw it yesterday on ABC, which they said, oh, the crowd was so big. I have 10 times, 20 times, 30 times the crowd size. And they never say the crowd was big.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Donald Trump and his team have been very, very frustrated the last two weeks since Kamala Harris replaced Joe Biden. For the first time in Donald Trump's political life, he's facing an opponent who is dominating the news cycle.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: So he's trying to get his way back in. Times political reporter Jonathan Swan was at Mar-a-Lago. He says the Trump campaign is eager to reclaim the spotlight.
--:-- Jonathan Swan: But they don't believe the early excitement over Harris will necessarily carry into November. There is obviously this relief and enthusiasm on the Democratic side, and that shouldn't be underestimated.
--:-- Jonathan Swan: But when you boil it down the way the Trump people see it is all they need to do to win this election is win North Carolina again, which polling suggests he will. and then win Georgia and Pennsylvania. That's it.
--:-- Jonathan Swan: Polling suggests that Trump is still in a very good place to do that So even though they recognise that she has made it a real race now the Trump team I think is very confident that he will prevail
--:-- Tracy Mumford: At the press conference, Trump announced he will debate Harris on September 10th and will be hosted by ABC. Trump had agreed months ago to debate President Biden on that date, but then wavered after Biden withdrew from the race.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Trump also said he'll debate Harris two more times this fall, but the Harris campaign has not yet agreed to those dates.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: This morning, Ukrainian forces are fighting miles inside Russia after a surprise attack on the border that has opened up a new front in the war.
--:-- Andrew Kramer: Ukrainian troops punched through Russian border defenses earlier this week and have seized several settlements. It's the largest and most dramatic attack on Russian soil since the war began.
--:-- Andrew Kramer: This has been described as a Hail Mary pass for Ukraine. They were in desperate straits in the east. They were losing ground, outgunned and outmanned, and they needed a new tactic.
--:-- Andrew Kramer: Andrew Kramer is the Times bureau chief in Kiev. I had a conversation yesterday with a senior Ukrainian security official who told me that it's a classic strategy of when you're attacked at point A, you counterattack at point B.
--:-- Andrew Kramer: So they found a weak spot in Russian defenses on the border and are hoping this will shift focus of the war away from eastern Ukraine. Now, military analysts have been quite skeptical that this will succeed.
--:-- Andrew Kramer: And it's an audacious and extremely risky operation. But there's also potential for an upside for Ukraine if it does distract Russia from the war inside the country.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: President Biden along with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar say they prepared what they call a final ceasefire proposal to end the war in Gaza
--:-- Jonathan Swan: In a statement released yesterday they said quote There is no further time to waste nor excuses from any party for further delay And they insisted that negotiators meet this coming week.
--:-- Jonathan Swan: They said that they've drafted a proposal that would free hostages being held in Gaza and release Palestinians who've been detained in Israel.
--:-- Jonathan Swan: Minutes after the statement was released, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would participate in the talks.
--:-- Jonathan Swan: But in the past, Netanyahu has been criticized by his own security officials for derailing negotiations by demanding new concessions.
--:-- Jonathan Swan: It's not immediately clear how Hamas will respond to the new proposal. The militia's top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who had been leading negotiations, was assassinated in Tehran last month in an attack that's been widely blamed on Israel.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: This week, U.S. mortgage rates have dropped to their lowest level in more than a year. The average rate on 30-year mortgages, which are the most popular home loans in the country, is now at 6.47 percent.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The downward trend is good news for Americans looking to buy a new house and offers potential relief for people who've been wanting to sell but have stayed in their homes because they felt their existing loans were too good to give up.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Overall, the average mortgage rate is still twice what it was back in 2021. It shot up after the Federal Reserve started raising interest rates to fight inflation.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: But the Fed is expected to start lowering those rates next month, which could drive mortgages down even more.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And finally Days after his nail-biting photo finish win in the men's 100-meter dash American sprinter Noah Lyles took to the track in Paris Thursday for the 200-meter An event he hadn't lost in three years
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And it Noah Lyles at the moment And Tobago And Let see Le Tobago And Let see Le Tobago coming through to take the gold But Lyles wasn able to pull off another gold lagging in the final seconds and ultimately finishing with bronze
--:-- Tracy Mumford: After the race, he laid down. And Noah Lyles collapses now on the track. We've heard suggestions that he might not be feeling 100 percent, but listen.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: He was escorted off the track in a wheelchair. And less than an hour later, he told reporters he had COVID. He tested positive two days earlier.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: My first thought was not to panic, thinking I've been in worse situations. I've run with worse conditions, I felt. And we just took it day by day, trying to hydrate as much, quarantined off.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: And I'd definitely say that it's taken its toll for sure. Lyle's COVID reveal underscores how differently the virus is being treated at this year's Olympics.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Unlike the last two games, there are no testing requirements for athletes in Paris, and officials aren't tracking cases. If an athlete does test positive, they're given separate housing and told to wear a mask indoors, but aren't prohibited from competing.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Multiple athletes, including some who've meddled, have said they've tested positive. Every country's been left to essentially set their own health protocols.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The U.S. committee has said that any of its athletes can compete as long as they feel up to it. sharing the tagline, Don't let a cold keep you from the gold.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, the story of how the newest Olympic sport made its way from basement parties in the Bronx to the Paris Games.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: You can listen on the Times audio app or wherever you get your podcasts. This show is made by Jessica Metzger, Jan Stewart, and me, Tracy Mumford.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: Original theme by Dan Powell. Special thanks to Larissa Anderson, Andy Doss, Mukul Devishand, Sam Dolnik, Jake Lucas, Jeffrey Miranda, Corey Shreppel, Julia Simon, and Paula Schumann.
--:-- Tracy Mumford: The headlines will be back on Monday.
