Wednesday Briefing: A turbulent moment in U.S. politics

July 17, 2024

	By Daniel E. Slotnik

Good morning. We’re covering the push by some Democrats to nominate President Biden and Israeli strikes in Gaza.

Plus, a poet leading rebels in Myanmar.

President Biden standing at a lectern during a rally in Detroit.

President Biden has said repeatedly that he is not leaving the race. Tierney L. Cross for The New York Times

Democrats are pushing to nominate Biden, despite doubts

Leaders of the Democratic National Committee are moving to confirm President Biden as the party’s nominee before the end of July, according to four people briefed on the matter. The move would quiet disagreement among Democrats about Biden’s viability as a candidate against Donald Trump in the November election.

Doubts about Biden have persisted since his poor debate performance last month. Adam Schiff, a Democrat running for the Senate, told a private meeting of donors on Saturday that “I think if he is our nominee, I think we lose.” He warned that the party could lose the Senate and miss a chance to take the House if the president did not drop out.

A group of Democratic representatives is trying to rally support for delaying the official nomination to allow potential challenges to it at the party convention in Chicago next month. But under party rules, it is virtually impossible to replace Biden unless he steps aside. He said in a televised interview on Monday that he had no plans to do so. The president’s inner circle has tightened since the debate, and he is now consulting mainly with a group of true believers.

Trump shooting: The Secret Service faced growing questions over its failure to stop the attempted assassination of Trump, including about how the agency handled reports of a suspicious person at the Pennsylvania rally. In the weeks before the shooting, U.S. intelligence agencies were tracking an unrelated Iranian plot to assassinate Trump, officials said.

Republicans: On a leaked phone call, Trump tried to coax Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as a third-party candidate, into his camp. Here’s our coverage of the second day of the Republican National Convention. Also, read about how J.D. Vance came to be Trump’s pick for vice president.

A man is embracing a child, whose lifeless body is also being kissed on the forehead by a woman.

A Palestinian father mourned his son who was killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza. Haitham Imad/EPA, via Shutterstock

Israeli strikes kill more than 20 people in Gaza

Two Israeli strikes, including one that hit a U.N. school turned shelter, killed more than 20 people in the Gaza Strip yesterday, Palestinian health officials said.

Roughly 17 people were killed in an Israeli strike in Mawasi, a coastal area that Israel has designated a safer zone, the Gaza Health Ministry said. At least five people were killed and eight wounded at the school, in Nuseirat in central Gaza, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. The Israeli military said it had been targeting militants who operated inside the school.

The school was the sixth U.N.-run educational institution in Gaza to be hit in just 10 days, according to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

Hamas: The C.I.A. director said that the leader of Hamas in Gaza was under pressure from his military commanders to end the war with Israel.

Senator Robert Menendez, in a blue suit and red tie, leaves Federal District Court in Manhattan. In front of him are microphones from news media.

Robert Menendez is the first U.S. senator ever to be convicted of acting as a foreign agent. Jefferson Siegel for The New York Times

U.S. senator convicted of corruption

Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey was found guilty in a sweeping scheme to sell political favors in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, a luxury car and solid gold bars.

Prosecutors had argued that Menendez, a Democrat, acted as an agent of Egypt and interceded to quash criminal prosecutions in exchange for the payoffs, which he then sought to cover up. Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, called on him to resign after the verdict was read. Menendez has vowed to appeal. Here’s what to know about the conspiracy stretching from New Jersey to Egypt.

MORE TOP NEWS

A family sits on a rickshaw trudging through brown floodwater.

A flooded street in Dhaka, Bangladesh, last week. Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters

Climate: Torrential rainfall and floods have killed more than 200 people in recent weeks and displaced millions across South Asia.
North Korea: A defector said that two senior diplomats were purged — one was executed, the other imprisoned — after negotiations with the U.S. broke down.
Ukraine: Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, wrote to a top E.U. official that Donald Trump had told him he was planning a swift push for a peace deal with Russia.
Thailand: Six people were found dead in a room at a Grand Hyatt hotel in Bangkok. The police said they appeared to have been poisoned.
Oman: A rare attack that targeted worshipers near a mosque in Muscat left six people dead on a Shiite day of mourning. Many of the victims were from Pakistan.
U.S.: Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese billionaire and favorite of the American right, was convicted of defrauding investors of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Taiwan: Tensions between China and Taiwan have entered a more precarious phase since President Lai Ching-te took office.
Russia: A court sentenced in absentia Masha Gessen, a Russian-born journalist and New York Times staff member, to eight years in prison for their comments about the Russian military.
Oil: The American oil industry is booming, extracting more crude oil than ever, despite much focus on the transition to green energy.
Iran: President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian portrays himself as a social and economic reformer. Numerous obstacles are in his path.
Kenya: The police arrested a suspected serial killer who they said confessed to killing 42 women in the past two years.

Sports

Gareth Southgate holds his hands high and applauds in a crowded stadium.

Gareth Southgate coached England to the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup and the finals of two European Championships. Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

Soccer: Gareth Southgate, the manager of the English men’s soccer team, resigned after England lost to Spain in the Euro championship.
Olympics: Here’s what to know about breaking, the street dance style that will debut as an Olympic sport this year.
Baseball: Teoscar Hernández of the Los Angeles Dodgers won the Home Run Derby.

MORNING READ

Ko Maung Saungkha sits in a dim room, smiling, holding a small book open.

Ko Maung Saungkha with a book of his poetry. Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times

Ko Maung Saungkha commands a militia of 1,000 soldiers fighting Myanmar’s junta, but his background is not in the military. He is a poet, one of at least three leading rebel forces and inspiring young people to fight.

Lives lived: Bengt Samuelsson, a biochemist and Nobel laureate, died at 90. His discoveries led to drugs that treat inflammation, glaucoma and allergies.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

Ant orgy: Every summer in Britain, millions of winged ants take to the air to find mates, an annoying but environmentally important spectacle.
“The Rain” on Venus: NASA beamed the Missy Elliott hit “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” to Venus for the benefit of whatever life-forms might have been around.
Miu Miu: Why are so many men sporting this high-fashion women’s wear brand?

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times .

ARTS AND IDEAS

A hand tacks up a sheet of paper showing a photo of Pete Wells and others. It reads, “NYC Restaurant Critics. Alert Management.”

A photo of Pete Wells and other critics in a New York restaurant kitchen, with a message: “Alert management immediately if seen.” Liz Clayman for The New York Times

Pete Wells leaves the table

After 12 years as the restaurant critic at The Times, Pete Wells realized that he was no longer hungry.

Pete wrote about 500 reviews, each of which often required three three-course meals at restaurants, and he often ate “reference meals,” trying several iterations of a dish, like smash burgers, to stay on top of the food scene. A recent physical showed that he had developed health problems, like pre-diabetes and obesity, that often come with the job.

Restaurant critics “avoid mentioning weight the way actors avoid saying ‘Macbeth,’” he writes. It was time for something new.

Read Pete’s farewell here, and check out some of his most memorable reviews.

RECOMMENDATIONS

A bowl of pasta topped with broccoli, walnuts and grated pecorino.

Andrew Purcell for The New York Times

Cook: This pasta combines blistered broccoli with walnuts and cheese.

Read: Sex educators and counselors recommend these eight books for better sex.

Listen: The “godmother of rock ’n’ roll” could shred. Hear for yourself.

Watch: My colleague recommended four compelling true-crime stories.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Dan

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