RFK Jr. suspends his presidential bid and backs Donald Trump before appearing with him at his rally

PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his independent campaign for the White House and endorsed Donald Trump on Friday, a late-stage shakeup of the race that could give the former president a modest boost from Kennedy’s supporters.

Hours later, Kennedy joined Trump onstage at an Arizona rally, where the crowd burst into “Bobby!” cheers.

Kennedy said his internal polls had shown that his presence in the race would hurt Trump and help Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, though recent public polls don’t provide a clear indication that he is having an outsize impact on support for either major-party candidate.

Kennedy cited free speech, the war in Ukraine and “a war on our children” as among the reasons he would try to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states.

“These are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent, and now to throw my support to President Trump,” Kennedy said at his event in Phoenix.

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The 'joyful' Democratic convention is over. The real test for Kamala Harris' campaign now begins

CHICAGO (AP) — Over and over, from the massive stage in the electric convention hall, the Democrats this week predicted Kamala Harris would defeat Donald Trump. They described her as a historic figure, the embodiment of hope, “the president of joy.”

But amid the extraordinary optimism, former first lady Michelle Obama offered a sober warning: “No matter how good we feel tonight or tomorrow or the next day, this is going to be an uphill battle.”

The word of caution was quickly drowned out by the excitement that overwhelmed the standing-room-only 17,000-person arena in downtown Chicago. But as activists, operatives and party leaders leave the Democratic National Convention and fan out across America, a stark reality exists: The real test for Harris has only just begun.

More than a month after President Joe Biden stepped aside and endorsed her, Harris has barely started to outline detailed plans she would pursue as president to address the nation's biggest challenges — immigration, crime and climate change, among them. She has yet to sit down for even one comprehensive media interview to face difficult questions about her flip-flops on policy in recent years, her leadership style and the focus on race and gender that looms over her historic candidacy.

“We can't put our heads in the sand. She’s a Black woman. The bar is going to be higher for everything,” said John Anzalone, a pollster who has served the last three Democratic presidential nominees. “And guess what? That means, even mistakes. Mistakes are going to be magnified.”

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Harris confronts Democratic divisions over Gaza war in convention speech

WASHINGTON (AP) — With anger over the war in Gaza simmering, Vice President Kamala Harris tried to defuse one of the most divisive issues within the Democratic Party on the biggest political stage of her life.

Her remarks Thursday night in her speech accepting the party's presidential nomination hewed closely to previous statements on the conflict, which began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

Harris said she “will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself.” She's opposed restrictions on arms sales to Israel.

Then Harris pivoted to the destruction that Israel has caused in Gaza, where 40,000 Palestinians have been killed.

“So many innocent lives lost,” she said. “Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking.”

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An attack at a festival in a German city kills 3 people and seriously wounds at least 5

SOLINGEN, Germany (AP) — An attacker with a knife killed three people and seriously wounded at least five late Friday at a festival in the western German city of Solingen, authorities said.

Witnesses alerted police shortly after 9:30 p.m. to an unknown attacker having wounded several people indiscriminately with a knife on a central square, the Fronhof. Police said the perpetrator was on the run, and they had only very little information on the man so far.

They said they believe the stabbings were carried out by a lone attacker.

One of the festival organizers, Philipp Müller, appeared on stage and asked festivalgoers to “go calmly; please keep your eyes open, because unfortunately the perpetrator hasn't been caught.”

He said many people had been wounded by “a knifeman.”

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Takeaways from Fed Chair Powell's speech at Jackson Hole

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell all but proclaimed victory in the fight against inflation and signaled that interest rate cuts are coming in a much-anticipated speech Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Under Powell, the Fed raised its benchmark rate to the highest level in 23 years to subdue inflation that two years ago was running at the hottest pace in more than four decades. Inflation has come down steadily, and investors now expect the Fed to start cutting rates at its next meeting in September — an expectation that essentially got Powell's endorsement Friday.

“My confidence has grown that inflation is on a sustainable path back to 2%,” Powell said in his keynote speech at the Fed’s annual economic conference in Jackson Hole.

He noted that inflation, according to the Fed's preferred gauge, had fallen to 2.5% last from a peak of 7.1% two years ago. Measured by the better known consumer price index, inflation has dropped from a peak 9.1% in mid-2022 to 2.9% last month. Both are edging closer to the Fed's 2% target.

Powell sounded confident that the Fed would achieve a so-called soft landing — containing inflation without causing a recession. "There is good reason to think that the economy will get back to 2% inflation while maintaining a strong labor market,'' he said.

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A 2nd ex-Memphis officer pleads guilty in Tyre Nichols' death. He could serve 40 years in prison

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Federal prosecutors agreed to recommend a prison sentence of no more than 40 years for a former Memphis police officer who pleaded guilty Friday to federal civil rights violations in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols.

Emmitt Martin is the second former officer to plead guilty in the killing that sparked outrage and renewed calls for police reform. Three former officers still face trial in federal court next month, and two of their former colleagues could testify against them.

Martin entered his change of plea before U.S. District Judge Mark Norris in Memphis under an agreement with prosecutors, pleading guilty to excessive force and witness tampering charges. Sentencing is set for Dec. 5.

Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells, was in the courtroom. She nodded her head and smiled when the judge accepted Martin's change of plea.

In a news conference with civil rights attorney Ben Crump after the hearing, Wells said it was “very emotional” and “bittersweet.” She said the latest plea is a step in the right direction, but that she won’t be content until all of the officers are brought to justice.

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At least 5 Secret Service agents have been placed on modified duty after Trump assassination attempt

At least five Secret Service agents have been placed on modified duty after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in July, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

They include the special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office and three other agents assigned to that office, which was responsible for the security planning ahead of the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, according to the law enforcement official who had direct knowledge of the matter. One of the five agents was assigned to Trump's protective detail, the official said.

The official was not authorized to publicly disclose details of the personnel investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The agents are on administrative leave, meaning they cannot do investigative or protective work.

Multiple investigations have been launched as officials probe a complicated law enforcement failure that allowed a man with an AR-style rifle to get close enough to shoot and injure Trump at the rally.

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Competing measures to expand or limit abortion rights will appear on Nebraska’s November ballot

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska voters will choose between two competing abortion measures to either expand abortion rights or limit them to the current 12-week ban — a development likely to drive more voters to the polls in a state that could see one of its five electoral votes up for grabs in the hotly contested presidential race.

Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen announced Friday that the rival initiatives each gathered enough signatures to get on the November ballot, making Nebraska the first state to carry competing abortion amendments on the same ballot since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Nebraska also becomes the last of several states to put an abortion measure on the November ballot, including the swing states of Arizona and Nevada where abortion ballot measures could drive higher voter turnout. Others are Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana and South Dakota. New York has a measure that supporters say will effectively guarantee access, though it doesn’t mention abortion specifically.

In Nebraska, organizers of the competing efforts announced last month that they turned in far more signatures than the approximately 123,000 required.

One of the initiatives, like measures on ballots elsewhere in the U.S., would enshrine in the state constitution the right to have an abortion until viability or later to protect the health of the pregnant woman. Organizers said they submitted more than 207,000 signatures.

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Arbitration hearing between Canadian railroads and union ends with no decision on back-to-work order

TORONTO (AP) — A workers union on Friday threatened a strike at one of Canada’s two major freight railroads, only hours after the company’s trains restarted following a potentially devastating stoppage. A government-ordered arbitration hearing wrapped up without a decision, and Canadian National trains were expected to keep moving at least through Monday morning.

CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. locked out their workers on Thursday when negotiations over a new labor contract reached a deadline without an agreement. That resulted in a near total shutdown of freight rail in the country for more than a day, until Canadian National resumed its service on Friday morning. Trains operated by CPKC remain parked and its workers, who had already been on strike since Thursday, stayed on the picket line Friday.

The government forced the companies and the union, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, into arbitration overseen by the Canada Industrial Relations Board — an order the union is challenging. Friday's nine-hour hearing ended with no order from the board.

The union filed a 72-hour strike notice against CN on Friday morning shortly after it announced that it planned to challenge the arbitration order, union spokesperson Marc-André Gauthier said.

If the board orders the union back to work, “the TCRC will lawfully abide by the decision, but will undertake steps to challenge to the fullest extent," the Teamsters said in a statement. “Unfortunately this will not provide immediate relief but the Union is prepared to appeal to federal court if necessary.”

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Prosecutor says ex-sheriff's deputy charged with manslaughter in shooting of an airman at his home

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A Florida sheriff’s deputy was charged with manslaughter with a firearm, launching a rarely seen criminal case against a Florida law officer after a Black U.S. Air Force senior airman was killed after answering his apartment door while holding a gun pointed toward the ground.

Former Okaloosa County deputy Eddie Duran, 38, was charged in the May 3 shooting death of 23-year-old Roger Fortson, Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille said. The charge is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

Marcille said a warrant has been issued for Duran’s arrest but he was not in custody as Friday afternoon.

"Let this be a reminder to law enforcement officers everywhere that they swore a solemn oath to protect and defend, and their actions have consequences, especially when it results in the loss of life,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the airman's family, said Friday.

Sabu Williams, president of the local branch of the NAACP, told The Associated Press that “I think this is the best that we could have hoped for in this particular case.”

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