Harris-Walz crowds: The presidential campaign of Vice President Harris and Gov. Tim Walz has been drawing enormous crowds to its rallies, and now Donald Trump falsely claims that nobody is showing up. Trump claims that the Harris-Walz campaign is using artificial intelligence to create fake crowds. Photographic and video evidence along with accounts from police and local government officials and people attending the rallies clearly demonstrates that what Trump said is not true.
Isaac Hayes song: The family of the late soul singer Isaac Hayes has demanded that the Trump campaign stop playing Hayes’ song “Hold on, I’m Coming” at its campaign rallies. The family also is demanding the Trump campaign pay $3 million in licensing fees for its unauthorized use of the song. The family says that if the Trump campaign doesn’t pay up by August 16 it will file a lawsuit. The Hayes family says it has repeatedly told Trump to stop using the song but his campaign went ahead and used it at least 134 times. Â
Iranian attack: News reports in Israel say the Israeli government believes that Iran will strike Israel in the next few days to retaliate for Israel killing a Hamas leader in Iran. The U.S. is staging a show of force as a deterrent. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says that he has ordered a Navy aircraft carrier strike group to expedite its travel from the Pacific to the Middle East. Austin also says he has ordered a nuclear submarine to the area.
Fighting inside Russia: Ukrainian troops remained inside Russia for a seventh day today as Russia ordered thousands of people to evacuate the area near the Ukrainian border in the Belgorod region of Southern Russia. Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy has confirmed that Ukrainian troops had invaded Russia but Ukrainian officials did not disclose details of the military operations that have been going on. They have not said how many troops crossed into Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that 12 Russians have been killed as a result of the incursion.
Storms: Tropical Storm Ernesto was expected to form today in the Caribbean and move on a path toward the U.S. Virgin Islands. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration forecasts there is a 90% chance that this year’s hurricane season will see more storms than are normal. The National Weather Service today issued new flood watches for several counties in North Carolina as a number of rivers continue to rise following heavy rains last week from the remnants of Hurricane Debby.
Olympics: The U.S. came in first in terms of medals won during the Paris Olympics, which ended yesterday. The U.S. won 40 gold medals, 44 silver medals and 42 bronze medals for a total of 126 medals. China also won 40 gold medals, but its total medal count was behind the U.S. at 91. Japan was in third place with a total of 45 medals, 20 of them gold medals. Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Olympics and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass accepted the Olympic Flag during closing ceremonies in Paris.
