Monday Briefing: The Democratic National Convention

August 19, 2024

	By Justin Porter

Good morning. We’re covering a big week for Democrats as well as the evacuation of Russians from Ukraine’s advance.

Plus, the dark side of a dance performance.

🇺🇸 U.S. ELECTION 2024

The presidential election is less than 80 days away. This is what we’re watching.

A woman holds a large net filled with red, white and blue balloons.

Preparing for the convention in Chicago. Kent Nishimura for The New York Times

The Democratic National Convention begins

Today in Chicago, officials and delegates assembled for the first day of the Democratic National Convention. Here’s the latest on the race.

The convention’s first day will include a speech by President Biden. The second day will focus on Democrats’ message of optimism to contrast with the Republican refrain that the country’s best days are gone. On the final two days, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, will formally accept the nomination.

Big names are scheduled to speak, like Barack and Michelle Obama. New stars also emerge at conventions, and our reporters will be looking to see who they are. Here’s how to watch.

Your questions: We asked readers what they’d like to know about the election. We gave today’s question to Lisa Lerer, who covers national politics and is on the ground in Chicago:

Why is it that abortion rights are/seem so central to the election? Is it really going to be a decisive factor? — Alex Leibik, Berlin

Lisa: While abortion rights had been perceived as a divisive issue by both parties, the reality was that majorities of Americans have supported some form of legalized abortion for decades. Many voters just didn’t believe that a right so established in American life could disappear.

When the Supreme Court overturned a federal right to abortion in 2022, the decision transformed abortion rights into a galvanizing issue for a new coalition of liberal, independent and moderate Republican voters. Conservative state legislatures have continued to pass restrictions on the procedure, keeping the topic central for this energized group of voters who’ve rewarded Democrats with a series of electoral victories.

The issue is likely to remain a dominant one in 2024: Polling shows voters continue to list abortion as a top issue.

If you’d like your question answered, send it to us here.

Here’s what else to know:

As vice president, Harris found roles to play on abortion rights, gun safety and a Supreme Court appointment.
We fact-checked Harris’s and Donald Trump’s attacks on each other.
Protests over Israel’s war in Gaza are likely. This is what Chicago’s leaders are doing to prepare.
The cover story of The Times Magazine goes inside Biden’s interrupted presidency.

Stay up-to-date: Live coverage | Poll tracker | The “Run-Up” podcast | On Politics newsletter

Two children sitting on the outside edge of a boxing ring, with belongings piled up behind the ropes.

Children sheltering at a boxing club.

Ukraine signals it will sustain its incursion into Russia

A dozen days into its startling cross-border offensive, Ukraine has destroyed a critical bridge in the Kursk region of western Russia. Analysts said it pointed to a commitment by Ukraine to a sustained fight in the area.

The move could hamper Russia’s response to the offensive, which has caused more than 130,000 people to flee or be evacuated. Many have found themselves in the city of Kursk. “Probably there will be nothing to return to,” said Alesya Torba, 41, whose daughter had given birth the day before.

Many expressed anger at Ukraine; others at Russia’s state-run media and its Defense Ministry. The border was defended thinly, largely by young, conscripted soldiers who in interviews described surrendering or abandoning their positions.

Soccer players in motion on a field, some in light blue jerseys and one in dark blue. One on his knees is in bright orange.

David Klein/Reuters

The Premier League kicked off

Yesterday, during the first weekend of the Premier League’s season, its defending champion, Manchester City, beat Chelsea for the 10th straight time, 2-0.

Manchester City will most likely win the league, Rory Smith writes in the On Soccer newsletter. But it will also face 115 charges of cheating at a trial that is likely to begin next month, and there’s the thorny issue of whether Pep Guardiola, the team’s manager, will sign a new contract. There is a faint feeling that perhaps an era is drawing to a close.

Get caught up:

The Athletic’s writers made their predictions for the title race, relegation and Manchester City’s charges.
Smith picked plucky Arsenal to finish second. It might be the season that Bukayo Saka breaks out.
The Athletic ranked the new home and away Premier League kits.

MORE TOP NEWS

A woman crying over an open coffin as people stand nearby.

Mourning Olinger Montaño, a 24-year-old barber who died in Venezuela on July 29. The New York Times

Venezuela: The country is entering a new era of authoritarianism, with more than 1,400 people detained in recent weeks.
Thailand: Parliament chose Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the 37-year-old heir to a political dynasty, to be the new prime minister.
Italy: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has pushed the country to the right on abortion, gay rights and surrogacy.
Kashmir: The Muslim-majority region, which had been stripped of its semiautonomous status by India, will hold an election for its regional legislature for the first time in a decade.
Iran: The Nobel laureate and human rights activist Narges Mohammadi was violently beaten by prison guards, her lawyer said.
Gaza: The U.S. secretary of state traveled to Israel with a “bridging proposal” after cease-fire negotiations in Qatar ended without a breakthrough.
X: Elon Musk said he would shut down the social network in Brazil instead of complying with an order to suspend accounts.
Hong Kong: At 19, a giant panda named Ying Ying became the oldest panda on record to give birth for the first time.

Sports

A black racehorse being ridden by a jockey in pink silks with black dots.

Black Caviar in Sydney, Australia, in 2013. Rick Rycroft/Associated Press

Horse racing: Black Caviar, a horse who won 25 straight races and transcended the sport to become a household name in Australia, died at 17.
Baseball: America’s greatest Little League player left a complex legacy.

MORNING READ

A man with wire-framed glasses sits on a log in a wooded area with his hands in the pockets of a blue work jacket.

Anthony Tan. Kristoffer Paulsen for The New York Times

Anthony Tan was 16 when his idea for Way to the Woods, a video game about a deer on a wondrous journey, caught the industry’s eye. Nine years later, even his most steadfast supporters have been wondering if it has been abandoned. Tan wants everybody to know that he’s still working on it, he just got a little lost on a journey of his own.

Lives lived: Alain Delon, a smoldering French cinema star of the 1960s and ’70s who could play cold Corsican gangsters as convincingly as hot Italian lovers, is dead at 88.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

At least it’s not “Jaws”: There has been a rash of dolphin attacks on beaches in central Japan. Marine experts think it might be just one “lonely” dolphin.
Office back stabbing: What should you do about a friend who deliberately undermined a colleague and then bragged about it? Our workplace columnist responds.
Healthy or not: Sales of nonalcoholic beer, wine and spirits are soaring, but are they actually good for you? Here’s what to know.

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

ARTS AND IDEAS

Dancers wearing black hold up pink paper flowers against a black background.

Daisy Wang said she sprained her ankle five times but never saw a doctor. Getty Images

The abuse and injuries behind Shen Yun’s spectacle

Shen Yun Performing Arts began two decades ago as a Chinese dance show staged at high-end venues to entertain and spread the message of the Falun Gong religious movement, which has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party. Soon the dance group was enjoying brisk ticket sales on five continents and holdings of more than $265 million.

But some of the dancers, mostly teens and young adults, told The Times that they had been coerced into performing with serious injuries, and that they were told that medical treatment was a crutch of the unfaithful. Most described feeling like an expendable commodity as the group focused on spreading its views and raking in cash.

Read our investigation.

RECOMMENDATIONS

A bowl with a base of rice that has salmon, avocado, cucumber, radish and nori arranged on top.

Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.

Cook: Add grapefruit and honey if you want to take miso salmon the next level.

Aid: This is how to help somebody get through a panic attack.

Listen: We have seven tracks for you from the most dominant women in rap.

Watch: A director of “Tiger King” brings us into the world of people with pet chimpanzees.

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

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

P.S. A group of Times employees are reading their way through Emily Wilson’s translation of the “Iliad.”

We welcome your feedback. Send us your suggestions at briefing@nytimes.com.

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