The Headlines - Trump Tries to Retake the Spotlight, and Ukraine Pushes Into Russia

Episode Date: August 9, 2024

Plus, Noah Lyles’s Olympic run with Covid.   Tune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter. Tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. On Today’s Episode:Trump Tries to Wrestle Back Attention at Mar-a-Lago News Conference, by Maggie Haberman, Shane Goldmacher and Jonathan SwanABC Says Trump and Harris Have Agreed to Debate on Sept. 10, by Michael M. GrynbaumUkraine’s Push Into Russia Is a Surprising Turn in the War, by Andrew E. KramerBiden and the Leaders of Qatar and Egypt Plan ‘Final’ Cease-Fire Proposal, by Peter BakerU.S. Mortgage Rates Drop Sharply, With 30-Year at 6.47%, by Danielle KayeNoah Lyles Wins Bronze in 200 Meters, Then Reveals He Has Covid, by Talya Minsberg and Ben Shpigel

From The New York Times, it's The Headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Friday, August 9th. Here's what we're covering. She has 1,500 people, 1,000 people, and they talk about, oh, the enthusiasm. Let me tell you, we have the enthusiasm. 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. 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. 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. And I saw it yesterday on ABC.

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. That's why I'm always... 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.

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. 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. 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. Polling suggests that Trump is still in a very good place to do that. So even though they recognize that she has made it a real race now, the Trump team, I think, is very confident that he will prevail. 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. Trump also said he'll debate Harris two more times this fall, but the Harris campaign has not yet agreed to those dates. 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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. President Biden, along with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, say they've prepared what they call a final ceasefire proposal to end the war in

Gaza. 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. 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. Minutes after the statement was released, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would participate in the talks. But in the past, Netanyahu has been criticized by his own security officials for derailing negotiations by demanding new concessions. 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. 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. 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. 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. But the Fed is expected to start lowering those rates next month, which could drive mortgages down even more. 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.

And it's Noah Lyles at the moment and Tobogo and Lezili Tobogo and Lezili Tobogo coming through to take the gold. But Lyles wasn't able to pull off another gold, lagging in the final seconds and ultimately finishing with bronze. After the race, he laid down. And Noel Isles collapses now on the track. It heard suggestions that he might not be feeling 100 percent, but listen... 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.

You know, my first thought was not to panic. I'm thinking, you know, I've been in worse situations. I've run with, you know, worse conditions, I felt. And we just took it day by day, trying to hydrate as much, quarantined off. And I 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Original theme by Dan Powell. The headlines will be back on Monday.