The Headlines - Division at the Democratic Convention, and G.O.P. Efforts to Impeach Joe Biden

Starting point is 00:00:00 From The New York Times, it's The Headlines. I'm Tracey Mumford. Today's Monday, August 19. 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. President Biden is set to give the main speech tonight, saying that Harris is ready to finish

Starting point is 00:00:30 the campaign he started. 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. The DNC go home! Or we'll bring the war home! Or we'll bring the war home! 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. Meanwhile, inside the event, organizers have scheduled a wide range of speakers hoping to appease different factions of the party. They've invited the Attorney General of Minnesota, Keith Ellison, a prominent Muslim, to speak. They've given a slot to families of American

Starting point is 00:01:16 hostages held by Hamas. And Harris's husband, Doug Emhoff, is expected to talk about his own Jewish identity. 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. We're not sure what Kamala Harris will say about this issue at the convention. When you look at polling, even polling of young voters,

Starting point is 00:01:43 the war in Gaza and Israel-Palestine issues is way down, nowhere close to inflation or housing costs or abortion. So it's not at all clear that the Israel-Palestine issue really will influence the outcome of the election in November. And that leaves the Harris campaign with an interesting conundrum going into this convention. Do they speak out? Or did they say, you know, this just isn't an issue that's going to decide whether Kamala Harris is going to be the next president. Let's just let it rest. 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. Just a few months ago, polls showed Donald Trump was firmly in the lead in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina.

Starting point is 00:02:39 Now, Harris has surged to become a contender in those states. In Arizona, for example, Harris is at 50% of support among likely voters, compared to Trump's 45%. 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. 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. This report in many ways marks the end of what's been a very lengthy and intense investigation. Times congressional reporter Luke Broadwater has been covering the impeachment inquiry into Biden, which Republicans started last year.

Starting point is 00:03:33 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. They essentially accused 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. 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 believe they could influence President Biden to essentially behave corruptly. And they do not prove that in this report at all.

Starting point is 00:04:27 Essentially, what they do prove is that President Biden at times met with business partners of James and Hunter briefly, exchanged pleasantries, but they do not have any evidence of any corrupt act to benefit those businesses on behalf of President Biden. 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. 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. This is my ninth visit since October 7th to Israel, to the Middle East. 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.

Starting point is 00:05:30 Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel this morning to continue to push for a ceasefire deal. His visit comes after negotiators met last week, and while they have yet to reach an agreement, officials involved in the talks describe them as constructive. Blinken will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's defense minister later today. Ceasefire talks are expected to pick back up this week. 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. 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. Santos, who's

Starting point is 00:06:20 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. 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. One person familiar with the details of Santos' plan told The Times he'll give a statement in court today acknowledging what he did. It's not yet clear what the terms of his plea deal are or what sentence he might face. And finally, audiences love a medical drama. See 20 seasons of Grey's Anatomy. They also love a good medical documentary, even with no actors or love triangles. And now, these real-world documentaries are proving so popular that one New York hospital system, Northwell Health, is opening its own production

Starting point is 00:07:25 studio. People who watched the Netflix hit Lenox Hill about doctors and patients on the Upper East Side already know about Northwell. 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. The move is raising questions about logistics and patient privacy. Another hospital faced a multi-million dollar penalty after TV crews filmed patients without consent at their facility, though Northwell's CEO says they're very careful to get everyone's permission. He says launching the new shows is an educational opportunity for the public.

Starting point is 00:08:06 Plus, hospital executives say that all the attention on their doctors is also good advertising. And it might bring in not just viewers, but new patients. Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, Astead Herndon,

Starting point is 00:08:21 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. You can listen on the Times audio app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracey Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.

The Headlines - Division at the Democratic Convention, and G.O.P. Efforts to Impeach Joe Biden

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.