--:-- [Up First theme music plays]
--:-- Leila Faldil: Kamala Harris has a big decision to make and instead of months of careful vetting, she's only had a couple weeks. Who are the top contenders to be her running mate and what do they bring to her campaign?
--:-- A Martinez: I'm Leila Faldil, that's A Martinez and this is Up First from NPR News.
--:-- Leila Faldil: U.S. officials have arrived in Israel to try to prevent full-scale war in the region. Many embassies in Lebanon have called on their citizens to leave the country.
--:-- A Martinez: They changed the date, changed the time, so I'll miss the next flight. There's no places. How are people getting out?
--:-- Leila Faldil: And in France, world records fall. American sprinter Noah Lyles is now an Olympic champion and the U.S. women's swim team wins gold.
--:-- A Martinez: Stay with us, we've got all the news you need to start your day.
--:-- [Up First theme music continues]
--:-- Leila Faldil: This message comes from BetterHelp. It's only human to ask others for advice, like turning to your barista, hairdresser, or a taxi driver for life advice. But when you're looking for help about relationships, anxiety, depression, or other clinical issues, they may not have all the right answers. Instead, get guidance from a licensed therapist online with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash NPR for 10% off your first month.
--:-- A Martinez: This message comes from Lisa. Lisa mattresses are meticulously designed and assembled in the USA for exceptional quality, and each mattress is designed with specific sleep positions and feel preferences in mind. Plus, they back it all up with free shipping, easy returns, and a 100-night sleep trial. Visit Lisa.com for 25% off mattresses, plus get an extra $50 off with promo code NPR. That's L-E-E-S-A.com, promo code NPR.
--:-- Leila Faldil: Support for this podcast and the following message come from midi health. Women's midlife health issues have often been trivialized and ignored. It's time for a change. It's time for midi. Midi is covered by major insurance companies, making expert care accessible and affordable. Clinicians provide one-on-one consultations where they listen to your unique needs and offer data-driven solutions tailored for you. Midi works to make you feel seen, heard, and prioritized. Visit join midi.com to book your virtual visit. Midi, the care women deserve.
--:-- [Up First theme music continues]
--:-- Leila Faldil: Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to announce her running mate within the next day. The pair will then embark on a whirlwind campaign tour that kicks off tomorrow. The new duo could further shake up the electoral map as well.
--:-- A Martinez: NPR senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro has been looking at where the race stands, and he joins me now.
--:-- Domenico Montanaro: Good morning.
--:-- A Martinez: Okay, so what do we know about who's at the top of the list for Harris' vice presidential nominee?
--:-- Domenico Montanaro: Well, the three names that have gotten the most attention are Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Others have been vetted. But Harris really seems close to making the pick here.
--:-- A Martinez: And this is really one of the most important decisions a presidential candidate makes. And it's been a really compressed timeline for Harris to do this.
--:-- Domenico Montanaro: It's been such a sped-up process given that Biden dropped out only two weeks ago. And the Democrats' convention is later this month. And picking a running mate usually takes months.
--:-- A Martinez: We learned last week that once Harris makes the decision, she and her running mate will campaign in a slew of states back-to-back. They'll go to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada.
--:-- Domenico Montanaro: How important are these places to the race at this point? I mean, they happen to be the seven states that both campaigns are focused on and spending all of their money in.
--:-- A Martinez: To put it bluntly, those seven states are the whole ballgame. This tour is like the beginning of the finals in the Olympics. You know everything to this point has been preliminary.
--:-- Domenico Montanaro: This tour really signals the beginning of the sprint to the finish with this being the actual Democratic ticket Harris and whomever she winds up picking.
--:-- A Martinez: So you have a new analysis out this morning of the electoral map. When you look at these seven states, does either Trump or Harris have a clear advantage at this point? And how has the landscape changed since President Biden dropped out and Harris has gotten in?
--:-- Domenico Montanaro: Well, the vice president has really made up significant ground in the swing states, about two to four points on average when I was looking at the polls.
--:-- A Martinez: And it's happened across the board. It's why the Trump campaign has now gone on the air in places like North Carolina and are outspending Harris in five of those seven states that we talked about since she got in.
--:-- Domenico Montanaro: You know, that's all in an effort to blunt her momentum. They've seen the numbers move just like we have.
--:-- A Martinez: And looking at the so-called blue wall states, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Trump's lead there has completely evaporated. At this point, the blue wall is genuinely a toss-up.
--:-- Domenico Montanaro: And that's why the Harris campaign says it is their big focus right now. Because if Harris can win in each of those three, then she likely wins the presidency. And that really is her easiest path.
--:-- A Martinez: And what about the rest of those seven states, the four Sunbelt states?
--:-- Domenico Montanaro: Well, Harris has sliced into Trump's leads there basically in half to bring the margins in those places just within a couple of points. They do still lean ever so slightly in Trump's direction, though.
--:-- A Martinez: Democrats are feeling increasingly optimistic there, they say. That's because these are very diverse states. Harris has been doing better than Biden with younger and non-white voters.
--:-- Domenico Montanaro: Democrats also feel good about their organizing efforts in these states and have seen a boon in volunteers. 15,000 new volunteers in Georgia, 7,000 in North Carolina.
--:-- A Martinez: In Nevada, Democrats have a track record also of pulling out wins when they've been down in the polls previously.
--:-- Domenico Montanaro: A place like Arizona, someone like Senator Mark Kelly could conceivably help, but given Democrats are so close to what they need to hold in the blue wall and Arizona has fewer electoral votes than Pennsylvania, it's why someone like Pennsylvania's Josh Shapiro has gotten so much attention for VP.
--:-- A Martinez: Harris needs just a small boost there to get over the top, and a governor with a 60% approval rating probably doesn't hurt.
--:-- Domenico Montanaro: NPR's Domenico Montanaro.
--:-- A Martinez: Thank you, Domenico.
--:-- [Up First theme music continues]
--:-- A Martinez: A top U.S. general arrives in Israel today in the midst of frantic efforts to prevent a wider war in the Middle East.
--:-- Leila Faldil: And later this morning, President Biden is due to speak to the King of Jordan. Jordan has ties to both Iran and the U.S. and sent its foreign minister on a rare visit to Tehran on Sunday.
--:-- A Martinez: Iran and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah are expected to launch a major attack on Israel in retaliation for two assassinations of senior leaders of militant groups last week in the hearts of Beirut and Tehran.
--:-- Leila Faldil: That will likely trigger a blistering response in turn from Israel.
--:-- A Martinez: The U.S. Embassy has warned citizens to either leave Lebanon immediately or be prepared to shelter in place.
--:-- Leila Faldil: NPR's Jane Araf is in Lebanon, joins us from Beirut.
--:-- Jane Araf: Yeah, there's definitely apprehension, but no panic, really. The health ministry says it has an emergency plan. There aren't really any bunkers here, so people will basically have to fend for themselves.
--:-- A Martinez: And, of course, some Lebanese, including American and other citizens, are heeding their embassy's advice to leave.
--:-- Jane Araf: I was at the Beirut airport yesterday after European carriers cancelled their flights in and out. It was relatively crowded, but calm.
--:-- A Martinez: The Lebanese flag carrier is still flying to Europe and across the region. But with European carriers cancelling their flights due to insurance issues, tickets are hard to find.
--:-- Jane Araf: I spoke with Mohamed Daouli a Lebanese living in the UK. He was at the Middle East Airlines office trying to rebook a ticket to get back to work after his connecting flight was cancelled.
--:-- Mohamed Daouli: I was on vacation. I was supposed to go. They changed the date, they changed the time, so I'll miss the next flight. There's no place.
--:-- Jane Araf: Another passenger, Christian missionary Winnie Oh from South Korea, was leaving with his family for Egypt to wait things out after warnings that war could be imminent.
--:-- Winnie Oh: Actually, our embassy, they're warning us to go out to this country. So, yeah, we are worried about that.
--:-- A Martinez: Lebanon is a small country, but because of successive wars and economic crisis, more Lebanese actually live abroad than at home.
--:-- Jane Araf: In Lebanon, there are almost 90,000 U.S. passport holders. And the consistent message from the U.S. and other embassies is, don't count on us to evacuate you.
--:-- A Martinez: Wow. So the U.S. government says it may not be able to get all U.S. citizens out.
--:-- Jane Araf: Are there any other groups, Jane, trying to make that happen?
--:-- Jane Araf: There are. I spoke to Brian Stern, founder of the Gray Bull Rescue Foundation, a U.S. nonprofit organization.
--:-- Brian Stern: He says his previous outfit, Project Dynamo, rescued Americans from Israel after Hamas attacked last October, chartering a plane to fly them home when commercial flights were canceled.
--:-- A Martinez: Usually what happens is the airspace closes and everything goes bananas right around then. We've seen that time and time again.
--:-- Brian Stern: He says they've evacuated 7,000 Americans around the world, including by air from Afghanistan, Sudan, and Haiti.
--:-- A Martinez: He says this time his outfit is also lining up a sea route.
--:-- Jane Araf: Okay, now, and the head of U.S. Central Command is due to arrive in Israel today.
--:-- A Martinez: What's his role going to be?
--:-- Jane Araf: General Michael Carrilla is due to help coordinate defenses across the region if an Iranian attack is launched.
--:-- A Martinez: Last time, Iran launched rockets and drones, hundreds of them at Israel in April.
--:-- Jane Araf: U.S. warplanes and missile batteries played a crucial role in shooting down those projectiles. That operation also included Britain, France, and Jordan.
--:-- A Martinez: All right, that's NPR's Jane Araf in Jordan. Jane, thank you.
--:-- Jane Araf: Thank you.
--:-- [Up First theme music continues]
--:-- Leila Faldil: Some days at the Summer Olympics, there is amazing sport. Some days athletes make history. Yesterday was a day for both.
--:-- A Martinez: In Paris, American Noah Lyles won gold in the 100-meter sprint by five one-thousandths of a second.
--:-- Leila Faldil: Also, U.S. swimmers grabbed two gold medals and shattered two world records in the pool.
--:-- A Martinez: NPR's Brian Mann is in Paris.
--:-- Brian Mann: Brian Noah Lyles, now Olympic champion, but he needed to make up some ground late and fast.
--:-- Leila Faldil: Yeah, Lyles was slow off the blocks, eh? And he trailed everybody for almost half the race in this 100-meter final.
--:-- Brian Mann: Then he poured on that amazing speed. He bumped out his chest and by just the narrowest fraction got ahead of Jamaica's Kashane Thompson.
--:-- Leila Faldil: Here's Lyles speaking after the race.
--:-- Noah Lyles: Everybody in the field, to be honest, came out knowing that they could win this race. And, you know, that's the mindset that we have to have.
--:-- Brian Mann: Noah Lyles, now the fastest man on earth, the first time in 20 years an American man has won this Olympic race.
--:-- Leila Faldil: Yeah.
--:-- Brian Mann: And Lyles now tries for gold in the 200 meters next.
--:-- A Martinez: Meanwhile, U.S. swimmers, they were wrapping up competition in the pool. And after a very slow start in Paris, they finished with a bang.
--:-- Leila Faldil: What happened to them?
--:-- Brian Mann: Well, they showed amazing resilience. Not only did they bounce back, they bounced back big, winning two more gold medals last night.
--:-- A Martinez: But here's the big thing. They shattered two world records.
--:-- Brian Mann: The first was Bobby Fink. He swam the 1 meter That almost a mile. He was so fast right from the start it was clear he would win gold.
--:-- Leila Faldil: And the question really was would he be fast enough for the world record.
--:-- Brian Mann: Here he is talking about pushing for that mark.
--:-- Bobby Fink: Towards the end of it it was really starting to hurt a lot especially that last like 400 But I knew going in it was going to hurt. Did it with the world record. So I'm really proud about that.
--:-- Leila Faldil: So right after Bobby Fink's world record, a team of American women took to the water for the 4x100 medley relay race.
--:-- Brian Mann: Swimming against a really tough race, a field of swimmers. But they won easily. They broke another world record.
--:-- Leila Faldil: They were led by Torrey Husk, who, A, is one of the new American stars who emerged this year.
--:-- Brian Mann: Husk won three gold and two silver medals in Paris.
--:-- Leila Faldil: Fink led while he got wet. The second he got wet, he was in the lead and he never gave it up. That was an amazing race.
--:-- Brian Mann: And the U.S. has pretty much always been a powerhouse in the pool, eight Olympic gold medals this year, but it's down from an average of about 10 or 11.
--:-- Leila Faldil: Has something changed?
--:-- Brian Mann: Well, the short answer is yes. Everyone's talking about it here. The athletes, the coaches, the rest of the world is just getting better and faster.
--:-- A Martinez: The U.S. used to have this big rivalry with one team, the Australian swimmers, but now the Chinese are good. The Italians are good.
--:-- Brian Mann: There are huge French stars like Léon Marchand, Canadian stars like Summer McIntosh.
--:-- Leila Faldil: Some races where the U.S. settled for silver or bronze, the American swimmers actually set personal best times. They were performing well.
--:-- Brian Mann: Other swimmers from other countries just did better.
--:-- Leila Faldil: And one thing that I will say here is that a person who stood out was Katie Ledecky.
--:-- Brian Mann: She is now the most decorated U.S. woman athlete in Olympic history.
--:-- Leila Faldil: I hope that I'll look back on it with the same amount of joy and happiness that I feel right now and that I feel every day in training and felt so much joy going out there and racing.
--:-- Brian Mann: And I think that's what I'm going to remember the most.
--:-- Leila Faldil: So Katie Ledecky, a legend here in Paris.
--:-- Brian Mann: NPR's Brian Mann in Paris. Thanks, Brian.
--:-- Brian Mann: Thank you.
--:-- [Up First theme music continues]
--:-- Leila Faldil: And that's Up First for Monday, August 5th. I'm E. Martinez. And I'm Leila Faldil. Your next listen is Consider This from NPR. Billionaires are getting richer and calls to tax the uber-rich are getting louder. Is a global wealth tax a feasible solution? Listen to Consider This.
--:-- A Martinez: Today's episode of Up First was edited by Dana Farrington, James Heider, Russell Lewis, Jan Johnson, and Alice Woelfle.
--:-- Leila Faldil: It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams, Nia Dumas, and Julie Depenbrock.
--:-- A Martinez: We get engineering support from Carly Strange, and our technical director is Zach Coleman.
--:-- Leila Faldil: Join us again tomorrow.
--:-- A Martinez: This message comes from Lisa. Lisa mattresses are meticulously designed and assembled in the USA for exceptional quality. And each mattress is designed with specific sleep positions and feel preferences in mind. Plus, they back it all up with free shipping, easy returns, and a 100-night sleep trial. Visit Lisa.com for 25% off mattresses, plus get an extra $50 off with promo code NPR. That's L-E-E-S-A dot com, promo code NPR.
--:-- Leila Faldil: This message comes from ShipBob. Nothing ruins your holiday faster than the customer emails that say, where is my order? ShipBob helps win the holidays with reliable, scalable, fast, and cost-effective fulfillment. Go to ShipBob.com slash NPR for a free quote.
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