Vice President Kamala Harris begins a 103-day sprint for the presidency in a virtual tie with former President Donald J. Trump, according to the latest New York Times/Siena College poll, as her fresh candidacy was quickly reuniting a Democratic Party that had been deeply fractured over President Biden.

Just days after the president abandoned his campaign under pressure from party leaders, the poll showed Democrats rallying behind Ms. Harris as the presumptive nominee, with only 14 percent saying they would prefer another option. An overwhelming 70 percent of Democratic voters said they wanted the party to speedily consolidate behind her rather than engage in a more competitive and drawn-out process.

Her swift reassembling of the Democratic coalition appeared to help narrow Mr. Trump’s significant advantage over Mr. Biden of only a few weeks ago. Ms. Harris was receiving 93 percent support from Democrats, the same share that Mr. Trump was getting from Republicans.

Overall, Mr. Trump leads Ms. Harris 48 percent to 47 percent among likely voters in a head-to-head match. That is a marked improvement for Democrats when compared to the Times/Siena poll in early July that showed Mr. Biden behind by six percentage points, in the aftermath of the poor debate performance that eventually drove him from the race.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/25/us/politics/poll-kamala-harris-donald-trump.html?unlocked_article_code=1.900.BIOJ.2FmNVs_IWqZp&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

Most politicians go to great lengths to conceal their dirty laundry.
 And then there’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.


Over the years, the Israeli leader has developed a reputation among the staff at the U.S. president’s guesthouse for bringing special cargo on his trips to Washington: bags and suitcases full of dirty laundry, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
The clothes are cleaned for the prime minister free of charge by the U.S. staff, a perk that is available to all foreign leaders but sparingly taken advantage of given the short stays of busy heads of state.


“The Netanyahus are the only ones who bring actual suitcases of dirty laundry for us to clean,” said one U.S. official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the details of a foreign leader’s visits. “After multiple trips, it became clear this was intentional.”

Israeli officials denied that Netanyahu overuses his American hosts’ laundry services, calling the allegations “absurd,” but they acknowledged that he has been the target of laundry-related accusations in the past. In 2016, Netanyahu sued his own office and Israel’s attorney general in an effort to prevent the release of his laundry bills under the country’s freedom of information act. The judge sided with Netanyahu, and the details of his laundry bills remain secret pending an appeal in the Supreme Court.

https://wapo.st/46yZhgl

Musician John Mayall, often referred to the “godfather of the British blues,” whose bands of the late ’60s and early ‘70s featured some of the most notable rock instrumentalists of the era, died Monday at home in California, according to a statement posted by his family on his social media accounts. He was 90.

Among the fans and organizations posting condolences was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which was set to induct him into its ranks in October. Although he was not part of the standard voting round, the hall’s committee had selected him this year to be ushered in under the Musical Influence Award, along with Alexis Korner and Big Mama Thornton.

No cause of death was given in the family’s initial statement, although it did refer to Mayall’s recent health setbacks. “It is with heavy hearts that we bear the news that John Mayall passed away peacefully in his California home yesterday, July 22, 2024, surrounded by his loving family,” the statement read. “Health issues that forced John to end his epic touring career have finally led to peace for one of this world’s greatest road warriors.”

Mayall, whose keening, jazz-inflected tenor vocals reflected the heavy influence of the American singer Mose Allison, fronted his group – known variously as the Blues Breakers or Bluebreakers in its earliest incarnation – on keyboards, harmonica and occasional guitar, and penned dozens of original songs. Among the players he brought into his bands were such legends as Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Jack Bruce, John McVie, Mick Fleetwood and Aynsley Dunbar.

Mr. President,

It is with great emotion that I learned of your decision to withdraw from the race for the 2024 presidential elections. Please believe that I understand the gravity of this moment for you, your loved ones, and the entire American people, as well as the courage, sense of responsibility, and sense of duty that led you to this decision.

In these exceptional circumstances, I wanted to assure you once again of my friendship and thank you for the unwavering commitment you have always shown to strengthening Franco-American relations. Our respective State visits will remain in this regard important milestones, which testify to the historic and unbreakable friendship between France and the United States.

I also wanted to express France's gratitude for the exemplary way in which you have led the Atlantic Alliance when it was facing one of the most serious crises in its history. The Washington Summit was in this respect a unique opportunity to reaffirm the importance of the Alliance's unity in the face of Russian aggression.

As we have just celebrated together the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, I hope that this spirit of partnership between the two sides of the Atlantic continues to inspire the historic relations between our two countries.

Please accept, Mr. President, the expression of my highest consideration.

With one friendship from Brigitte and me to fill and you,

Emmanuel Macron