
Trump’s comments about Harris’ race kicks off a new – yet familiar – chapter in the 2024 presidential campaign
CNN
Meet the new Donald Trump, same as the old Donald Trump.
Meet the new Donald Trump, same as the old Donald Trump. The former president’s rant about likely Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ racial identity, headlined by the false and offensive claim that the first Black woman elected vice president “happened to turn Black” only recently, as an act of political expedience, kicked off a fresh yet disturbingly familiar chapter in this increasingly bitter presidential campaign. Not three weeks ago, Trump and some hopeful allies suggested that his narrow escape from a would-be assassin’s bullet would set about a renaissance in the 78-year-old’s worldview. In his scripted remarks at the Republican convention a few days later, Trump declared, “The discord and division in our society must be healed.” That high-minded rhetoric lasted a few minutes. Ditching the teleprompter and diving back into his typical fare, the GOP nominee delivered a historically long and often petty acceptance speech. Wednesday’s interview-turned-confrontation with reporters at a convention of Black journalists in Chicago made perfectly clear that nothing has changed. Alongside his comments about Harris, Trump berated one of the journalists onstage, ABC News senior congressional correspondent Rachel Scott, and belittled his own running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, saying his pick was unlikely to “have any impact” on the election. After President Joe Biden announced, 10 days earlier, that he would stand down and effectively pass the Democratic nomination to Harris, Trump’s rivals – and some of his supporters – wondered aloud how a man with a history of making racist and sexist remarks would handle running against a Black woman. His appearances Wednesday made that answer clear.

White House officials are heaping blame on DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro over her office’s criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, faulting her for blindsiding them with an inquiry that has forced the administration into a dayslong damage control campaign, four people familiar with the matter told CNN.

The aircraft used in the US military’s first strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a strike which has drawn intense scrutiny and resulted in numerous Congressional briefings, was painted as a civilian aircraft and was part of a closely guarded classified program, sources familiar with the program told CNN. Its use “immediately drew scrutiny and real concerns” from lawmakers, one of the sources familiar said, and legislators began asking questions about the aircraft during briefings in September.

DOJ pleads with lawyers to get through ‘grind’ of Epstein files as criticism of redactions continues
“It is a grind,” the head of the Justice Department’s criminal division said in an email. “While we certainly encourage aggressive overachievers, we need reviewers to hit the 1,000-page mark each day.”

A new classified legal opinion produced by the Justice Department argues that President Donald Trump was not limited by domestic law when approving the US operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro because of his constitutional authority as commander-in-chief and that he is not constrained by international law when it comes to carrying out law enforcement operations overseas, according to sources who have read the memo.









