Biden to award Medal of Freedom to Biles, McCain, Giffords
The White House says President Joe Biden will present the nation's highest civilian honor to 17 people, including gymnast Simone Biles, actor Denzel Washington and the late Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, with whom Biden served in the Senate.
Former Rep. Giffords tells Congress 'be bold' on gun reform
Eleven years after her own life was massively altered by gun violence, former congresswoman Gabby Giffords stood in front of the Washington monument and once again lobbied for stricter gun laws after yet another string of mass shootings in America.
Lawsuit: NRA illegally funded Trump, other GOP candidates
A federal lawsuit accuses the National Rifle Association of violating campaign finance laws by using shell companies to illegally funnel up to $35 million to Republican candidates, including former President Donald Trump, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri and others.
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GOP state lawmakers seek to nullify federal gun limits
Some bills would make it a crime for local police officers to enforce federal gun laws. Federal law plays a big role in some areas, such as keeping guns away from domestic violence offenders. Many Republican state lawmakers see attempts to pass federal firearms restrictions as a threat to the Second Amendment. Biasiucci compares his plan to Arizona voters' move to legalize recreational marijuana even though it remains against federal law. โThe main issue there is the Supremacy Clause," the part of the Constitution that says federal law supersedes state law, said Jacob Charles, executive director of the Center for Firearms Law at Duke Law School.
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Victims in 2011 Giffords attack see parallel to Capitol riot
โAs I sat waiting for information about @SenMarkKellyโs safety today, I couldnโt stop thinking about what you must have gone through 10 years ago this week,โ Giffords wrote on Twitter on Wednesday after it was clear lawmakers were unharmed. Gabe Zimmerman, Giffords' community outreach director, was the first congressional staffer killed on the job in the United States. She went to see her congresswoman with a childโs optimism and a belief that public service is exciting and hopeful. A decade later, in the aftermath of an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, his words carry new meaning. All of us โ we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our childrenโs expectations.โ
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Fatal shooting of Black teen roils liberal town in Oregon
The fatal shooting of Ellison, a young Black man, by Robert Keegan, a white man who complained that Ellison was playing loud music, has roiled Ashland. Keegan, 47, is from the nearby small town of Talent, which was heavily damaged in a wildfire in September. โItโs not a coincidence that a white man, according to police, chose to take the life of a young Black man for the offense of playing his music. Sprinkled with cafes and trendy restaurants, Ashland is considered a hip town in a conservative part of Oregon. Only 1.4% of Ashland residents are Black, and 92.5% are white, according to the census.
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Arizona's Kelly is sworn into Senate, narrowing GOP edge
(Nicholas Kamm/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON โ Arizona Democrat and former astronaut Mark Kelly was sworn into the Senate on Wednesday, narrowing Republican control of the chamber and underscoring his state's shift from red to blue. Kelly, 56, defeated GOP Sen. Martha McSally in last month's election, making her one of only three incumbents to lose. Kelly's Arizona colleague, Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, held the Bible on which he took his oath. In what was one of the country's most expensive Senate races, Kelly raised $89 million. That was second only to the $108 million collected by defeated South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Jaime Harrison, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
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Judge allows John Hinckley to publicly display his artwork
FILE - In this Nov. 18, 2003, file photo, John Hinckley Jr. arrives at U.S. District Court in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)The man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan can now publicly display his writings, artwork and music, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. Hinckley, who shot and wounded Reagan in 1981, must inform his treatment team of his plans to display his works. Barry Levine, who represents Hinckley, said at a September court hearing that Hinckley should eventually be granted unconditional release. Around the time that then-Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in January 2011, Hinckley told one of his doctors: โWow.
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Arizona Senate race could play crucial role in confirmation
If Arizona Democrat Mark Kelly wins a seat in the U.S. Senate, he could take office as early as Nov. 30, 2020. A Kelly victory would shrink the GOP's Senate majority at a crucial moment and complicate the path to confirmation for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)PHOENIX โ If Arizona Democrat Mark Kelly wins a seat in the U.S. Senate, he could take office as early as Nov. 30, shrinking the GOP's Senate majority at a crucial moment and complicating the path to confirmation for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee. โIf Mark Kelly comes out on top, HE could block President Trumpโs Supreme Court Nominee from being confirmed,โ she wrote. The Supreme Court vacancy could shake up the race and boost McSally's lagging campaign by keeping those voters in her camp.
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Democratic convention takeaways: Make history, pound Trump
(Democratic National Convention via AP)There has been one persistent theme in the Democratic National Convention so far: to portray President Donald Trump in highly personal ways as one unsuited for the White House both in skills and temperament. Here are some key takeaways from the third night of the convention. Donald Trump hasnt grown into the job because he cant, Obama said, according to his prepared remarks. Thats been a theme of the entire Democratic Convention, but having the most recent former president make it explicit demonstrates that this time Democrats are taking Trump seriously, and literally. The Democratic party is increasingly dependent on female voters, as a gender gap grows in U.S. politics.
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Democrats pound their message: To oust Trump, you must vote
Our democracy.Throughout their convention, the Democrats have summoned a collective urgency about the dangers of Trump as president. Yet on the third night of the Democrats four-day convention, party leaders also sought to put forward a cohesive vision of their values and policy priorities, highlighting efforts to combat climate change and tighten gun laws. Democrats hope that Harris and Obama in particular can help bridge the divide between those reassured by Bidens establishment credentials and those craving bolder change. I have sat in the Oval Office with both of the men who are running for president, Obama continued, describing Biden as his brother. Beyond the carefully scripted confines of the virtual convention, there were modest signs of tension between the moderate and progressive wings of Bidens Democratic Party.
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WHAT TO WATCH: Biden agenda and reviving Obama enthusiasm
THE BIDEN AGENDAThough Obama will offer Democrats nostalgia for his election to and tenure in the White House, the party hopes to send a message that a Biden presidency wont be a 2008 redux. TRUMPTrump is working to stay in the mix this week with a series of trips to counter the Democratic convention programming. He made appearances Monday in Wisconsin and Minnesota and on Tuesday in Arizona, with speeches taking on Biden and the Democrats. The president plans to travel to Pennsylvania, where Biden was born, on Thursday, hours before the Democrats acceptance speech. The president doesnt have any travel planned for Wednesday but is likely to continue delivering his reactions to the Democratic convention on Twitter.

US tested new missile in the Pacific as China paraded weapons
The Naval Strike Missile (NSM) is a sea-skimming cruise missile that is difficult to spot on radar, and can maneuver to avoid enemy defenses. HAGTA, Guam - As China paraded some of its most powerful weaponry during celebrations marking the Communist state's 70th anniversary on Tuesday, the United States Navy tested its newest piece of firepower in the Pacific. In the waters off Guam, the USS Gabrielle Giffords fired off a Naval Strike Missile (NSM), a sea-skimming cruise missile that is difficult to spot on radar, and can maneuver to avoid enemy defenses. The Giffords is the first US Navy ship to deploy with the Naval Strike Missile, and analysts say it helps even the equation in the Pacific, where China has been increasing its missile arsenal in terms of quality and quantity. China now enjoys a 3-to-1 advantage in cruise missiles over the US, but the Naval Strike Missile can eventually "change the game," said Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain now an instructor at Hawaii Pacific University.