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Today's top stories
The Democratic National Convention kicks off today in Chicago, one month after Republicans held their convention. Democratic organizers had to rework convention programming entirely after President Biden dropped out of the race. Now, Biden will be a supporting player at the Democratic Party’s coronation of Vice President Harris and he will deliver the keynote address tonight.
- 🎧 Biden is expected to get a heroes welcome at the convention for stepping aside and endorsing Harris, NPR’s Tamara Keith tells Up First. His speech will sound a lot like one he’d give if he was still the nominee, drawing contrasts with Trump, saying democracy is on the line this election and talking about the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration. But with one big exception: he will be urging voters to support Harris.
- ➡️ Here’s everything you need to know about the DNC, including how to watch and who will be speaking.
Former President Trump will be vying for some media and public attention for his campaign this week as the DNC draws tens of millions of viewers. Trump has put together a packed week of events in swing states to try countering Vice President Harris’ recent polling surge. He and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, will hit Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina and Arizona.
- 🎧 Their goal is to define Harris as weak on economy, crime and immigration, NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben says. Over the weekend, Trump held a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., where it was similar to his other rallies — a pretty full, enthusiastic crowd, he said a lot of outlandish things and made personal attacks. He even argued he’s better looking than Harris at one point. Trump went after Harris on her seeming lack of economic plans, but at his rally, he spent time defending the tariffs he wants to impose on goods from abroad. Kurtzleben says these might actually raise prices for consumers and are not paid by foreign governments.
How does the U.S. immigration system shape someone's identity and politics? NPR asked five young people who themselves and whose families have gone through it about how they view the 2024 election. Trump has made immigration a cornerstone of his platform and has vowed to carry out mass deportations, though how those pledges would be implemented is unclear. Biden has taken blame for upticks in border crossings during his presidency, though they have fallen this year, and Harris could inherit some of that political baggage. The ongoing debate over the border leaves millions of people on shaky ground due to their legal status. Here’s what the five young people NPR spoke to had to say about immigration’s role in the election.
Life advice
Before having kids, many couples have a general sense of how to split the household chores. But how does that allocation change when introducing a baby into the mix? Both parents can often feel like they’re taking on too many tasks, couples coach Aaron Steinberg told Life Kit. This can lead to resentment on top of the stress of taking care of a newborn. Here are some tips on how to create a fair workload in the postpartum period:
- 🍼 Sit down together and write out a list of household chores, including any anticipated child care duties.
- 🍼 Discuss with your partner which chores you are willing and able to take on after the baby arrives.
- 🍼 To create a sense of fairness: Play to your strengths, consider the weight of each task, and don’t split the chores 50-50 as the load may be inherently imbalanced. Also, resist the urge to assign all baby-related tasks to the birthing parent.
- 🍼 Put a regular time on the calendar to talk about how things are going and make any changes as needed.
- ➡️ Click here to read more tips, and share this story with new parents who need it.
Picture show
Elusive street artist Banksy grabbed attention this summer with a series of artworks that appeared around London every day for more than a week this month. The stencils and installations depicting animals have left fans and art critics guessing as to their meaning. The works appeared soon after the worst far-right riots in more than a decade rocked cities and towns across the U.K.
- 📷 See photos of Banksy’s surprise daily street art.
3 things to know before you go
- A statue of civil rights icon John Lewis will replace a former Confederate monument that sat in a Decatur, Georgia square for more than a century. The former congressman led sit-ins protesting segregation in the Jim Crow-era South and was beaten alongside other demonstrators during a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., in 1965. He died in 2020.
- Researchers say they’ve excavated Iowa’s first well-preserved mastodon, a roughly 13,600-year-old specimen primarily of bones from the skull. They are hoping to find evidence of human interaction with the creature, such as projectile points and knives that were used to kill the animal and do initial butchering.
- For the first time since 2011, Burning Man organizers are offering rush tickets without requiring pre-registration after an unusual drop in demand. The event typically draws a sellout crowd of at least 70,000 people. Some blame the weather, the economy and the festival’s changing culture.
This newsletter was edited by Obed Manuel.
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