Olympic opening ceremony; Obamas endorse Harris : NPR

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Today’s top stories

Barack and Michelle Obama have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president, according to a video released by Harris’ campaign this morning. The endorsement caps a whirlwind week of campaigning for Harris. Yesterday, she reiterated her support for Israel after she met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Still, she said she “will not be silent” about the humanitarian toll in Gaza. Harris expressed that Israel has the right to defend itself, but it’s time for the war to end.

• 🎧 “It’s noteworthy to me that it was the vice president, not the president, who delivered on-camera remarks after the Israeli leader’s visit,” NPR’s Asma Khalid tells Up First. Harris’ remarks were similar to Biden’s, but she gave what amounted to her first campaign foreign policy speech in her own voice. She also expressed empathy for Palestinian civilians more directly than Biden, “using some words this administration has not used before,” Khalid says. As she continues to balance both sides of the conflict, Harris released a statement condemning protestors in Washington, D.C., for spray painting pro-Hamas slogans on monuments.
• ➡️ How soon will Democrats choose a presidential nominee? Harris’ challengers have until tomorrow to announce their candidacy. Here’s what the timeline looks like.

One of Mexico’s most notorious drug lords, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, is now in U.S. custody. He founded the Sinaloa cartel along with Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. U.S. authorities announced last night that he was arrested in El Paso, Texas. He will appear before an American judge soon. Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the son of El Chapo and one of the cartel leaders, was also arrested. Zambada is arguably the most important drug lord in Mexico, and he had never been caught before.

• 🎧 U.S. officials have accused Zambada of shipping tons of drugs into the country and bribing some of Mexico’s most powerful public officials, NPR’s Eyder Peralta tells Up First. The Sinaloa cartel is one of the biggest exporters of synthetic drugs worldwide, including fentanyl, which kills tens of thousands of Americans each year. Peralta says the arrest will not stop the U.S. fentanyl crisis, but it’s a huge hit for the cartel and will leave a “huge power vacuum” in Mexico. He adds that it is “undoubtedly” a win for the Biden administration.

Hours before the Olympic opening ceremony is set to begin, SNCF, the French national state-owned railway company, was severely disrupted by what it described as a “massive attack.” The incidents, which included arson, aimed at paralyzing several high-speed lines linking Paris to the rest of France. The Paris prosecutor has opened an investigation into the “willful damage.” Many trains have been diverted, others canceled altogether, and repairs are expected all weekend. Even so, the ceremony is expected to go off without a hitch. Athletes and performers will float on boats down the River Seine, where Coco Gauff and LeBron James will be U.S. flag bearers. Here’s how to watch the opening ceremony.

• 🎧 NPR’s Becky Sullivan, who is in Paris, says Olympic fever is in full force. Team USA women’s soccer opened with a 3-0 win over Zambia, and this is just the beginning of what to look forward to. Basketball star Steph Curry is playing for the U.S. in his first Olympics. Swimming kicks off tomorrow with the women’s 400-meter freestyle, which will feature the U.S.’s Katie Ledecky, Australia’s Ariarne Titmus and Canada’s Summer McIntosh. Simone Biles will compete in the big women’s team final for gymnastics on Tuesday.
• ➡️ Here are the stories to watch for as the games commence.

NPR’s reporters are in Paris, keeping you up-to-date with the events. See all of their Olympic coverage here.

From our hosts

by Steve Inskeep, Morning Edition and Up First host

NPR’s Steve Inskeep and Taylor Haney speak to voters in Middle Hill, a historically Black neighborhood in Pittsburgh, July 24, 2024.

NPR

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NPR

I’ve done this in just about every election for twenty years: show up in a politically interesting place and talk with any voter who will talk with me. I knock on doors; you learn so much when you meet people at home. If nobody is answering their door I try parks, parking lots, markets, anything. I ask people how they’re voting but try also to learn a little bit about their lives. Few people are political experts but everyone is expert in their experience.

Twenty or so interviews around Pittsburgh are not enough for a poll but are enough for impressions. I came away with three about Kamala Harris:

1. The enthusiasm for her among many Democrats is genuine and warm. There’s a great feeling of relief after the weeks when it seemed their side might forfeit the game.
2. It’s also true that some Democrats feel left out of the selection process and have wished for something more open.
3. Many voters, regardless of party, have already picked up the early Republican criticisms of Harris — for example, associating her with Biden’s border policies. The work by both sides to define the new contender has only begun.

Weekend picks

Ryan Reynolds is Deadpool and Hugh Jackman is Wolverine.

Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios

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Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios

Check out what NPR is watching, reading and listening to this weekend:

🍿Movies: Ready for a Marvel-ous weekend? Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman finally team up in Deadpool & Wolverine to save the world. The film is full of fan service and Easter eggs.

 📺 TV: Tennis legends like John McEnroe and Billie Jean King discuss their legacies in the new PBS documentary series Gods of Tennis. The first episode features King, who faced sexism, and Arthur Ashe, who confronted racism.

📚 Books: Wicked director Jon M. Chu talks about taking inspiration from his Chinese immigrant dad, growing up in Silicon Valley, how meeting Steven Spielberg changed his life and the movies he has worked on in the memoir Viewfinder.

🎵 Music: Chappell Roan, a rising 26-year-old pop star from the Midwest, is dominating festival stages with addictive songs like “HOT TO GO!.” She’s made a name for herself by not shying away from political topics.

🎭 Theater: Cats: The Jellicle Ball, a revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats, gets 10s across the board. In the reimagined version, they ditch the furry ears and velvet tails as the characters compete in the ballroom scene for trophies and a new chance at life.

3 things to know before you go

Southwest Airlines unveiled big shifts in how it does business Thursday, saying it will throw out the open-seating model it has used for decades and introduce redeye flights. Here, an employee and passenger are seen at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport last year in Austin, Texas.

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Brandon Bell/Getty Images

1. Southwest Airlines will soon introduce assigned and premium seats and a revamped boarding model after some 50 years of its open seating process.
2. In a twist of events, “boneless” chicken wings are not guaranteed to be free of bones, as decided by the Ohio Supreme Court yesterday.
3. A controversial plan to commercially farm octopus for meat has led to a bipartisan bill in the U.S. Congress that would ban the practice, along with any imports linked to it.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.