• China has been staging regular military exercises around Taiwan for four years to pressure Taipei into accepting its claim of sovereignty over the island. • The five-day war games will happen alongside the Wan'an civil defense drills, where the streets of major cities are evacuated for half an hour during a simulated Chinese missile attack, and test warning alarms will sound on mobile phones. Taiwan sent navy vessels out to sea and conducted take-off and landing exercises on Monday, July 22,...

Ahead of President Biden’s decision to forgo a reelection bid, an unusual emblem of support for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign began trending on social media: the coconut tree emoji. But why the coconut tree? The origins trace back to a speech last year by Harris at a White House event dedicated to Hispanic American opportunities. Near the end of her remarks, Harris stressed the interconnectedness of individuals within communities, declaring, “None of us live in isolation...

The Morning Joe crew applauded President Joe Biden’s “authenticity” and “commitment” to his party and nation Monday following the president’s weekend announcement that he would end his bid for a second term. “On many levels, I’m really sad,” co-host Mika Brzezinski said in reaction to Biden’s Sunday letter, which said that the president would do what is in “the best interest of my party and country” and leave the 2024 presidential race. “He had authenticity and touch. Whether you saw it or not...

IDF confirms hostages Alex Dancyg, Yagev Buchshtab killed in Hamas captivity months ago

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian apologized and offered frequent flyer miles to travelers for thousands of flight cancellations as the carrier struggled to recover from Friday’s globe-spanning IT outage, disruptions that sparked criticism from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. The Atlanta-based airline canceled over 4,600 flights from Friday through Sunday, more than any other airline, according to aviation data firm OAG. On Monday morning, Delta had already canceled...

Those who know Pelosi best say she's no Left Coast liberal zealot. Instead she's a calculating political realist — in her own words, "reptilian."

About eight years ago, while still an undergraduate, I was selected for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s annual summer honors program, a weeklong immersion into the great books at a mountain resort in Southern Washington State. I delighted in sitting among the lush forests of the Columbia River Gorge and discussing the intricacies of the past with new friends and mentors. For a student like me, who was brand new to the serious study of the Western intellectual tradition, the program was...

Wall Street’s Democrats are lining up behind Kamala Harris with a mixture of relief and genuine enthusiasm for a politician many of them supported in 2020. Finance executives’ money and convening power between now and the Democratic convention will be key to Harris’ plans to “earn and win” her party’s nomination. Several donors said Sunday they were prepared to break out checkbooks that had sat untouched since Joe Biden’s debate performance. Among those expected to aid Harris’ bid for the...

  Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president one day after President Joe Biden dropped out from the 2024 race against former President Donald Trump. NBC News' Chris Jansing reads Pelosi's statement.

A court has convicted Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, of spreading false information about the Russian army and sentenced her to 6½ years in prison after a secret trial, court records and officials said Monday. The conviction in Kazan, the capital of Russia’s central region of Tatarstan, came on Friday, the same day a court in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg convicted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan...