Dramatic twist in Kamala Harris' veepstakes as top contender CANCELS major events before the announcement

From Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro canceled a trip to the Hamptons this coming weekend just days before Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to announce her running mate.

Shapiro is one of the top names floated for the Democratic vice presidential nomination.

'The Governor’s trip was planned several weeks ago and included several fundraisers for his own campaign committee,' his spokesperson Manuel Bonder told DailyMail.com in a statement.

'His schedule has changed and he is no longer traveling to the Hamptons this weekend,' Bonder added.

Vice President Kamala Harris gave brief remarks on the tarmac before leaving Houston on the release of Paul Whelan, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and others detained in Russia.

Harris said the prisoners and their families have shown 'incredible courage in the face of atrocious and devastating circumstances.'

She called their imprisonment an 'appalling perversion of justice.'

The vice president said for many years the administration engaged in complex negotiations, and the U.S. never stopped fighting for their release.

She said it gives her great comfort to know their 'horrible ordeal is finally over.'

Harris also said while they celebrate their release, the U.S. needs to keep in mind there are other Americans 'unjustly being held' at other places around the world.

Republicans are ripping the Olympics for allowing a 'biological male' to pummel an Italian female athlete, calling the competition 'dangerous' and 'immoral.'

The outrage stems from a 46-second Olympic boxing match between Italian female boxer Angela Carini and her Algerian opponent Imane Khelif, who's considered to be 'biologically male.'

Khelif, who had been banned from a major boxing contest before the Olympics due to issues regarding her gender, savagely rocked Carini with two haymakers early in the fight.

These devastating blows prompted Carini to yell 'This is unjust' before she fell to the canvas and wept over her Olympic dreams getting crushed.

The brutal display infuriated members of the GOP, prompting immediate outcry from the right, who have long championed the separation of genders while competing in sports. Now, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is trying to crowdfund the $196,000 gold metal cash prize Carini was deprived of.

Former President Donald Trump's campaign announced on Thursday that it along with its authorized committees raised $138.7 million in July.

It had $327 million cash on hand at the end of last month.

The campaign said that the numbers 'reflect continued momentum with donors at every level' as the campaign season heads into the final stretch.

It comes after the Harris campaign revealed it raised $200 million in less than a week alone after President Biden exited the race on July 21.

The Harris campaign also has access to the massive Biden campaign war chest. It has not released total fundraising from last month.

The crowd at the memorial service for late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee went absolutely wild when Vice President Kamala Harris accidentally called herself president.

Harris was talking about Jackson Lee's bill that made Juneteenth a federal holiday.

'As a United States senator, I was proud to co-sponsor and then as pres - as vice president,' Harris said, catching herself.

'It was my honor with the president, with the president,' Harris emphasized with a smile.

But the crowd loved it and broke into loud applause and cheers.

While in Houston, Harris also received a warm welcome from former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton:

Vice President Kamala Harris is in Houston to deliver the eulogy at the memorial service for late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

Harris remembered her as a champion of justice as well as a person of deep faith and compassion and recalled working with her over the years in Congress.

'She truly was a force of nature,' Harris said. 'When it came to her constituents there was no task that was too big or too small for the congresswoman. If it needed to be done, she made sure it was done and done right.'

The vice president called Jackson Lee one of the smartest and most strategic legislators in Washington, DC.

She also joked that when she would see the congresswoman walking down the hall she would 'almost want to hide' because she knew whatever was on her mind, Jackson Lee would require a specific conversation about what she had on her mind.

'Then she would tell you exactly what she needed you to do to help her get it done,' Harris said to applause. 'She never lost an opportunity to fight for the people she served.'

President Joe Biden will be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris to welcome home American hostages at Joint Base Andrews when they arrive on U.S. soil Thursday night.

White House National Security Advisor revealed the visit while briefing reporters on how the historic hostage deal came about.

‘She’ll be part of this when they land tonight at [Joint Base Andrews], said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, confirming the information. ‘And so the president and the vice president will be there to greet them.’

She also talked up Harris’ own role, noting she spoke with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Munich security conference amid the talks.

‘She played really a key role here. A critical role during some key moments,’ said Jean-Pierre.

The Biden administration's plea deal that will allow three terrorist 9/11 plotters to escape the death penalty even has Democrats concerned.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawasawi, plotters of the evil 9/11 terrorist attacks, have all agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in exchange for life sentences.

The New York Times reported that the pleas, which will see the men dodge a death penalty trial, have been approved by Pentagon officials.

But the terrorist trio escaping from capital punishment due to the Biden administration's agreement is worrying both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate.

'I am very concerned about this plea deal,' Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Thursday. 'I think we ought to scrutinize it very carefully.'

US hostages Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva have been seen for the first time since being released from Russian jail in a historic prisoner swap.

In a government photograph shared online, the trio posed with an American flag, each looking thinner but happy to have escaped the hell-hole labor camps.

Gershkovich's release was negotiated along with that of former marine Whelan  and Russian-American journalist Kurmasheva on Thursday.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kans., sent a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai demanding answers about the alleged suppression of search terms related to the Trump assassination attempt.

He reminded Google that if it wants to act like a publisher instead of a search engine, Congress could strip away its Section 230 protections.

Marshall demanded a congressional hearing and answers to a list of questions, including 'Why did Google’s search suggestion function create automated entries for “assassination attempt on President Truman” but not “assassination attempt on President Trump”?'

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan choked up briefly at the White House briefing as he described the effort that helped bring about the swap that freed detained Americans held in Russia.

‘Today – excuse me – today was a very good day,’ Sullivan said. He called it the result of a ‘a monumental level of effort’ by an array of staff.

Sullivan and his team have been involved in the effort since the start of the administration – Biden said the effort began even before he took office.

He also confirmed that the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny had once been part of the talks.

‘We had been working with our partners on a deal that would have included Alexey Navalny. Unfortunately, he died. In fact, on the very day that he died I saw Evan’s parents and I told them that the president was determined to get this done even in light of that tragic news.’

President Joe Biden celebrated the end of the 'brutal ordeal' for Americans 'imprisoned unjustly' inside Russia as he announced a complex prisoner swap and then led a rendition of 'happy birthday' to the teen daughter of a freed prisoner.

Biden made a surprise appearance inside the State Dining Room at the White House hours after the deal that freed American ex-Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

All were held inside Russia, Whelan since 2018, for 'no legitimate reason whatsoever - none,' Biden said. 'And now they're brutal ordeal is over and they're free.

The president appeared with family members of freed Americans as he announced the intricate swap that released 24 prisoners and involved seven countries.

Biden, who hasn't been seen publicly since early Tuesday, hailed the 'feat of diplomacy' and friendship involving multiple nations. In one awkward moment, he led the room in a round of 'Happy Birthday' for Miriam Butorin, the 13-year old daughter of Alsu Kurmasheva, a freed Russian-American journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Biden interrupted his remarks to bring Butorin in close, then encouraged people to join in singing, which attendees did, calling it a Biden family tradition.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the trio of newly freed Americans Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva Thursday, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Blinken was able to get in touch with them during a refueling stop in Japan en route back to D.C. from Mongolia, CNN reported.

Blinken told the Americans that had been imprisoned in Russia that he was happy they were home and that President Joe Biden had been determined to get them home.

A new poll shows Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump by seven points.

The Leger poll shows Harris on 48 per cent, with Trump on 41 percent, and Robert F. Kennedy on 5 percent.

It also shows Harris leading Trump by 13 points in the Mid West.

The online survey polled 1,002 Americans between July 26 and 28.

A hitman, a weapons dealer and a money launderer are among eight prisoners released by the US as part of a historic prisoner swap with Moscow.

The convicts were let go in exchange for the release of 16 prisoners from Russia, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US marine Paul Whelan.

The exchange of 24 inmates is the biggest prisoner swap by Russia with the West since the end of the Cold War.

The trade involves seven countries and got underway on the runway at Esenboga Airport in Ankara, Turkey on Thursday.

Among those on the plane was assassin Vadim Krasikov, the so-called bicycle killer, who was serving a life sentence in Germany for murder.

Norah O'Donnell has announced she is leaving after the presidential election as anchor of the 'CBS Evening News,' a post she has held for five years.

Trump wrote on Truth Social:

So sad that Norah O’Donnell of CBS News lost her show. They had Norah at a “steal” at $12 Million Dollars a year.

Will she be doing Deface the Nation anymore, where she was so wonderful? Was she better than the Late, Great Walter Cronkite, also of CBS News? That is the only question left!

President Joe Biden will give remarks from the White House at noon on the release of three American citizens and one American green-card holder who were imprisoned in Russia.

Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza were among sixteen people released from detention in Russia in a prisoner swap for eight individuals held in the U.S. and four other European countries.

The White House also put out a statement from the president:

The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy. All told, we’ve negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia—including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country. Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over.

I am grateful to our Allies who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome— including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey. This is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon. Our alliances make Americans safer.

And let me be clear: I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family. My Administration has now brought home over 70 such Americans, many of whom were in captivity since before I took office. Still, too many families are suffering and separated from their loved ones, and I have no higher priority as President than bringing those Americans home.

Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir and rejoice with their families. We remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world. And reaffirm our pledge to their families: We see you. We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong.

An appeals court in New York rejected former President Donald Trump's attempt to throw out his gag order in the hush money case.

He was convicted in May for crimes related to paying off porn star Stormy Daniels.

Trump is set to be sentenced by Judge Juan Merchan on September 18, so he won't be able to post about the prosecutors and others involved until after then.

From Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

J.D. Vance made his first visit to the border as Donald Trump's running mate where he went on the attack against Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Ohio senator made his appearance this morning in Cochise County, AZ as he makes a swing through western battleground states.

It comes as Republicans have seized on border security as they go after the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

'It's just unbelievable what we're letting happen at this southern border, and we're letting it happen because Kamala Harris refuses to do her job,' he said.

Vance claimed 'it's not hard to secure the southern border' and suggested they could 'implement some common sense policies.'

He called for the end of catch and release and finishing the border wall. He did not mention Trump's call for a mass deportation of all undocumented immigrants.

The Trump campaign also launched its first attack ads against Harris focused on the border earlier this week.

The vice president and her campaign have pushed back, arguing Trump with Vance's help tanked the bipartisan border security bill earlier this year.

By Morgan Phillips, Political Reporter

The family of a police officer who was killed by a repeat criminal in Missouri found itself at the center of a contentious GOP primary in the state.

The two Republican candidates for state attorney general - current AG Andrew Bailey and Trump attorney Will Scharf - are running on very similar platforms.

They also both received strong endorsements from former President Donald Trump, in a unique feat.

Despite almost no daylight policy-wise between Scharf and Bailey, the race has become so intense that it is now one of the most expensive down-ballot races in the country at nearly $20 million.

Bailey's record on crime is in the spotlight in a new ad and mailers being funded by a political action committee supporting Scharf.

Arizona's Abe Hamadeh won a House race against Blake Masters in an unusual primary that at first pitted J.D. Vance and Donald Trump against each other - until Trump decided to endorse both candidates.

On Wednesday evening Hamadeh declared victory and Masters conceded as ballots were still being counted.

'What a race. Many headwinds! But, can’t cry over spilt milk. It is done,' Masters wrote on X.

Donald Trump running mate J.D. Vance tore into Joe Biden and Kamala Harris over a plea deal that will allow terror mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed to avoid the death penalty.

The Pentagon said Wednesday that KSM and two accomplices being held at Guantanamo Bay had agreed to the deal in prosecution that has spanned decades.

‘Just today, I heard that the Biden-Harris Department of Justice has cut a deal for al-Qaeda terrorist Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to avoid the death penalty. Did you see this?’ Vance said at a campaign event in Glendale, Arizona. ‘As someone who enlisted to serve in the Marines after 9/11, I was outraged,’ he said.

‘But sadly I wasn’t surprised. Just think about the point we’ve gotten to - Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s Justice Department prosecutes their political opponent while cutting a sweetheart deal with the Mastermind of 9/11,’ Vance said, connecting the prosecution of the terror leaders to Trump being charged over January 6 and alleged retention of national security documents.

Democratic lawmakers are fiercely defending Vice President Kamala Harris as she takes on former President Donald Trump, despite her record as the 'most liberal' senator.

Republicans are attacking the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, and former California senator, as a 'radical' San Francisco progressive.

They say she's even more progressive than self-proclaimed Democratic socialist Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

And millions are fueling attack ads reminding American voters how she backed health care for illegal immigrants, banning fracking and eliminating private health insurance.

However, her former Democratic colleagues are insisting she's always been a 'centrist' and moderate.

'Her record is very centrist,' Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told DailyMail.com this week.

The White House slammed Donald Trump on Wednesday for his comments on Kamala Harris' race, saying his allegation she 'became a black person' was 'repulsive.'

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre led the response from President Joe Biden's administration. Jean-Pierre, a black woman, said Trump's comment was 'insulting.' She also said, as vice president, Harris deserves 'respect.'

'No one has any right to tell someone who they are, how they identify,' Jean-Pierre said.

Trump, in a confrontational, testy interview at the National Association of Black Journalist conference, repeatedly questioned Harris' racial origins. His comments resulted in gasps from the audience of black reporters and push back from the journalists on stage questioning him.

Kamala Harris has responded to Donald Trump's Wednesday rant where he claimed she 'happened to turn black' a few years ago.

Taking the stage at the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc.'s 60th International Biennial Boulé in Houston, Harris addressed the interview hours before, where Trump insisted that 'all of a sudden, she made a turn'.

His comments came at a gathering of black journalists in Chicago, as an interviewer asked him whether he agreed with Republican sentiment that his rival is a 'DEI hire.'

Asking the journalist 'to define DEI', he went on to question Harris's heritage.

The Vice President, in turn, said 'the American people deserve better,' in a speech that also urged the African-American sorority to 'fight' because 'there is so much at stake.'

Donald Trump brought on stage the staff member he credits with saving his life and said he decided he didn't need to be more 'nice' to Democrats after he came close to death.

The former president returned to Pennsylvania just 17 days later after the historic assassination attempt where he referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as Margaret Thatcher as he looked to woo voters in the battleground state.

If Trump had not turned his head to look at an immigration chart on the screen at his Butler rally, it's likely the bullet would have gone into his head rather than graze his ear.

The Republican nominee said the woman who made the graphic is the reason he is alive and brought her on stage.

While many speculated Trump was 'changed' after the shooting, he continued the attacks and unveiled even more nicknames for his new 2024 rival Kamala Harris at his latest rally – just his third since being shot.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. marine Paul Whelan have been released from jail in Russia.

The men were let go as part of a major prisoner swap with Moscow, said to involve around 20 to 30 political prisoners.

Gershkovich was detained in March 2023 on espionage charges that the United States says are illegitimate. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in July.

Whelan has been imprisoned in Russia since 2018 on spying charges. The US has denied he was involved in espionage operations.

was the first outlet to rpeort the news.

The families of victims of 9/11 said they were 'deeply troubled' after the architect of the attacks and two others agreed to plea deals after decades in US detention.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawasawi have all agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in exchange for a life sentence.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday evening that the pleas, which will see the men dodge a death penalty trial, have been approved by Pentagon officials.

'We are deeply troubled by these plea deals. While we acknowledge the decision to avoid the death penalty, our primary concern remains access to these individuals for information,' said 9/11 Justice President Brett Eagleson.

'These plea deals should not perpetuate a system of closed-door agreements, where crucial information is hidden without giving the families of the victims the chance to learn the full truth.'

J.D. Vance called Donald Trump's comments questioning Kamala Harris' racial heritage 'hysterical' and compared the Vice President to a 'chameleon'.

Trump's running mate was on board his campaign plane speaking to reporters when he defended the Republican candidate for taking on 'hostile audiences'.

It came hours after Trump claimed that Harris 'became a black person'.

'I frankly just think it’s hysterical how much the media is overreacting to it,' Vance said.

'The President doesn’t do scripted BS stuff. He actually goes into hostile audiences, he answers tough questions, he pushes back against them, but he actually answers them and how nice it is to have an American leader who’s not afraid to go into hostile places and actually answer some tough questions,' he added.

'So what he said, I thought it was hysterical. I think he pointed out the fundamental chameleon-like nature of Kamala Harris.

She’s flip-flopped on every issue. She’s fake.

'She’s phony. And I think our whole campaign is going to have a very fun time pointing that out. And it sounds like the president kicked us off in stride.'

The remarks were first reported by NOTUS.