The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free.
Gershkovich, Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with dual US-Russia citizenship, arrived on American soil shortly before midnight and were greeted by president Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris, before joyful reunions with their families.
The historic prisoner swap deal has been hailed as a diplomatic victory across the world, with the apparent exception of Donald Trump, who bitterly posted on Truth Social that the US never makes good deals and the negotiators were an “embarrassment”.
Meanwhile, with just over two weeks to go before the Democratic National Convention, the party’s virtual roll call has begun with Harris soon expected to become the party’s official nominee.
Voting got underway at 9am ET on Thursday and runs through 5 August. Harris will announce her running mate next week before embarking on a tour of key battleground states.
Key Points
- Evan Gershkovich and fellow freed Americans welcomed back to US by Biden and Harris
- Trump trashes prisoner swap deal as formerly detained Americans fly home to freedom
- How does the DNC virtual roll call to nominate Kamala Harris work?
- Trump claims he ‘didn’t know Harris was Black’
- Harris calls Trump's remarks to Black journalists on her heritage ‘the same old show’
Harris hails Biden as president who ‘understands importance of diplomacy’
05:51
Namita Singh
Kamala Harris praised Joe Biden after the pair welcomed back the released Americans to US soil, saying he successfully secured their release by facilitating an ambitious, multinational prisoner swap.
“This is an extraordinary day. And I’m very thankful for our president, and what he has done this entire career, but in particular, as it relates to these families and these individuals,” she said.
Journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza arrived on American soil shortly before midnight for a joyful reunion with their families.
President Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris were also there to greet them and dispense hugs all around.
In a seemingly indirect swing at former president Donald Trump’s skills to negotiate political deals, Ms Harris said: “This one, this is just an extraordinary testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy. And understands the strength that rest in understanding the significance of diplomacy.”
‘It feels wonderful and was long time coming’
05:40
Namita Singh
Speaking to the media after greeting the returning Americans, Joe Biden hailed the exchange – by far the largest in a series of swaps with Russia – as a diplomatic feat involving several Western allies.
“It feels wonderful, it was a long time coming. I meant what I said, alliances make a difference, [allies] stepped up and took a chance for us,” he said.
“I asked them to do some things that were against their immediate self interest. And really very difficult for them to do, particularly Germany and Slovenia.”
The US and its allies gave up Russians charged or convicted of serious crimes in exchange for Russia releasing journalists, dissidents and others imprisoned by the country’s highly politicised legal system on charges seen by the West as trumped-up.
As Trump spirals, major prisoner swap delivers win for Democrats
05:30
Oliver O'Connell
John Bowden writes:
They’re out, finally.
The release of a group of Americans and other westerners held in Russian detention provided a jolt of energy for an unsuspecting figure on Thursday: President Joe Biden, whose relevance as commander-in-chief has suddenly been sharply reinforced for a national news media with a short attention span. A total of 16 captives held by Russia were released, including former US Marine Paul Whelan, journalist Evan Gershkovich, and British-Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza.
It was a clear political victory for Biden at an unexpected time. He is still reeling from the political effects of withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race just weeks before his party’s national convention. Kamala Harris, his vice president, is now the presumptive nominee and has taken on a starring role in the campaign as well as back home in Washington.
And this victory couldn’t have come at a better time.
Continue reading...
Evan Gershkovich and fellow freed Americans welcomed back to US by Biden and Harris
05:20
Namita Singh
President Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris welcomed the Americans freed from Russia back to US soil late on Thursday after the biggest profile prisoner swap with the West since the end of the Cold War.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, security executive Paul Whelan and radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland at 11.37pm on a chartered plane from Ankara, in Turkey.
Biden was the first to greet each of the three as they stepped down off the plane, followed by Harris, and then there were scenes of joyful reunion with their families.
Whelan exited first, shaking hands with the president and asking him: “How you doing, sir?” He then hugged his sister to applause from those gathered on the tarmac.
Gershkovich followed, and then Kurmasheva. Biden said “ happy birthday“ to the radio journalist’s daughter, who ran up to her mother crying, saying: “I love you so much, I can’t believe you’re here.” Her husband added: “This is real.”
Report:
In pictures: Biden and Harris greet three Americans released from Russian prison
05:16
Namita Singh
‘Toughest call’ on prison exchange was from Germany and Slovenia, says Bide
05:06
Namita Singh
The United States and Russia completed a 24-person prisoner swap on Thursday, the largest in post-Soviet history, with Moscow releasing Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan in a multinational deal that set some two dozen people free, according to officials in Turkey, where the exchange took place.
The jet touched down shortly before midnight at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington. president Joe Biden, vice president Kamala Harris and relatives of the former prisoners waited to greet them.
President Biden: "The toughest call on this one is for other countries. Because I asked them to do something that was against their immediate self-interest. Really difficult for them to do. Particularly Germany and Slovenia." pic.twitter.com/DRcyyZGE1o
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 2, 2024
Addressing the media, President Biden: “The toughest call on this one is for other countries. Because I asked them to do something that was against their immediate self-interest. Really difficult for them to do. Particularly Germany and Slovenia.”
'This is momma': Tears in Oval Office as families speak to prisoners freed in swap
05:02
Namita Singh
Tears of joy flowed in the Oval Office the moment families of prisoners such as Evan Gershkovich, freed by Russia in the biggest such swap since the Cold War, first spoke by phone to their loved ones, a White House video showed on Thursday.
“This is momma. Do you hear me? It’s your mom,” Gershkovich’s mother tells her son, a Wall Street Journal reporter, in the emotional two-minute video of the virtual reunion, posted by president Joe Biden’s social media account on X.
“We just want to say how overwhelmed we are,” Mr Biden tells the released detainees as the families stand around the presidential Resolute Desk. “You’ve been wrongfully detained for a long time, and we are glad you are home.”
Russia freed Gershkovich, ex-US Marine Paul Whelan and others on Thursday as part of the elaborate multi-country exchange that the White House said involved 24 prisoners, including Russian hitman Vadim Kasikov, released by Germany.
“Every parent, child, spouse and loved one who joined me in the Oval Office today has been praying for this day for a long time,” Mr Biden posted about the deal, which was negotiated in secrecy for more than a year.
04:52
Namita Singh
Fall matchup set between 'Tennessee Three' Democrat Gloria Johnson and GOP US senator Marsha Blackburn
04:34
Namita Singh
Tennessee state Representative Gloria Johnson has won the Democratic primary for US senate and will face off against Republican senator Marsha Blackburn in November, pitting a survivor of a Republican-led expulsion effort over a gun control protest against a close ally of former president Donald Trump.
Ms Johnson defeated three primary opponents, including Marquita Bradshaw, a Memphis community activist and organiser who notably won the Democratic Senate nomination in 2020 then lost to Republican Bill Hagerty by a wide margin.
During Tennessee’s primary, Republican representative Andy Ogles also managed to defeat a well-funded opponent, Nashville council member Courtney Johnston, as he pursues a second term in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.
Ms Blackburn overcame a Republican primary challenge from Tres Wittum, a former Tennessee legislative staffer who placed last in the 5th Congressional District primary in 2022.
Tennessee has solely elected GOP statewide candidates for nearly two decades. Blackburn also heads into the fall campaign with a significant edge in campaign cash over any of the Democrats.
Ms Blackburn first won the Tennessee Senate seat in 2018, defeating Democratic former governor Phil Bredesen by almost 11 percentage points.
Trump is making his 2024 campaign about Harris’ race
04:17
Namita Singh
Donald Trump is stoking racial animus against Kamala Harris even as his own campaign team is opposing his approach.
Democrats expressed new outrage this week at the former president’s derisive and false charge that vice president Kamala Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian heritage, only recently “turned Black” for political gain.
A Trump adviser, granted anonymity on Thursday to discuss internal strategy, said the campaign doesn’t need to focus on “identity politics” because the case against Ms Harris is that she is “so liberal it’s dangerous”. The adviser pointed to Ms Harris’ record on the Southern border, crime, the economy and foreign policy.
In a sign that Trump may not be coordinating his message with his own team, the Republican presidential nominee doubled down on the same day with a new attack on Harris’ racial identity. He posted on his social media site a picture of Harris donning traditional Indian attire in a family photo.
Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Wyoming Republican who has endorsed Trump, was among a number of lawmakers on Capitol Hill who said Thursday that the rhetoric around race and identity is not “helpful to anyone” this election cycle.“People’s skin color doesn’t matter one iota,” Ms Lummis said in an interview.
Trump-backed Virginia state senator John McGuire defeats Bob Good in GOP primary recount
03:55
Namita Singh
Virginia state senator John McGuire, a former Navy Seal who was endorsed by former president Donald Trump, on Thursday defeated conservative representative Bob Good in a recount of the Republican primary results in Virginia.
Mr McGuire narrowly defeated Mr Good, one of the most conservative members of Congress and chair of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus.
Election officials previously certified a narrow McGuire win in the 18 June primary, by 374 votes out of nearly 63,000 cast. But with the margin of victory at just six-tenths of a percentage point, Mr Good was entitled to a recount.
Mr McGuire’s margin of victory narrowed by four votes to 370 following Thursday’s recount.“Mr McGuire received more votes than Mr Good and is the winner of this election,” chief judge Claude Worrell II said from the bench, concluding the recount.
The last votes arrived at the courthouse at about 9pm on Thursday — nearly 14 hours after officials began the recount process.
Around the same time, Mr McGuire arrived at the courthouse.“I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but we won on 18 June,” he told reporters before the recount result was announced.
EDITORIAL: The largest prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War is a victory for journalism – and justice
03:45
Oliver O'Connell
The largest prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War did not seem likely even a few days ago, at least to the outside world. The willingness of the Biden White House and Putin’s Kremlin to engage in such a trade could not easily have been foreseen from the condition of the two powers’ relations.
Complicated, to say the least, by the war in Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East and uncertainties about the outcome of this year’s US elections, stalemate and stasis would have been the more likely outlook. Instead, presumably with the active engagement of the ever-ambiguous President Erdogan of Turkey, two substantial job lots of assorted journalists, spies, double agents and others have been released.
Continue reading...
How the landmark US-Russia prisoner swap unfolded
03:30
Oliver O'Connell
Justin Rohrlich takes a look at the behind-the-scenes operation, as documented in meticulous detail by The Wall Street Journal, to get the detained Americans and others released.
Read the statement from Evan Gershkovich’s family
03:15
Oliver O'Connell
We have waited 491 days for Evan's release, and it's hard to describe what today feels like. We can't wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet and brave smile up close. Most important now is taking care of Evan and being together again. No family should have to go through this, and so we share relief and joy today with Paul and Alsu's families.
We are grateful to President Biden, Secretary Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Chancellor Scholz and every U.S. or foreign government official who helped get Evan released.
Our family has felt so much love and support from Evan's fellow journalists, his wonderful friends, and many, many people around the world. It made a difference to Evan and to us. And we especially thank Evan's colleagues at Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. They have taken care of Evan and our entire family since the beginning, and we are forever grateful.
The Gershkovich Family
Ella Milman, Mikhail Gershkovich and Danielle Gershkovich
Biden White House celebrate release of detained Americans
03:00
Oliver O'Connell
Today, I stood beside the families of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir in the Oval Office as they spoke to their loved ones for the first time since they regained freedom.
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 1, 2024
These families never lost hope.
And today, they'll each be reunited with the missing piece of their soul. pic.twitter.com/v4Sv4fxsPd
After enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty, the Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journeys back into the arms of their families. pic.twitter.com/1rYNBTt9tJ
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 1, 2024
Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza have endured unimaginable suffering.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 1, 2024
Today, their agony is over.
Because of President Biden’s leadership, they are on their way home. pic.twitter.com/yu6HZ7MD3P
ICYMI: Trump trashes prisoner swap deal as formerly detained Americans fly home to freedom
02:45
Oliver O'Connell
As the Americans formerly detained in Russia fly home to freedom, Donald Trump has not a kind word to say about their return home.
Instead — as usual, he trashes US diplomatic efforts because he had nothing to do with it — he calls US negotiators an “embarrassment”, says the US “never makes good deals ... especially hostage swaps”, and asks how many people the swap involves, if any “murderers, killers, or thugs, were involved, and whether any money changed hands (he assumes the worst in all cases).
A quick search shows that of the 24 people involved in the historic prisoner swap, 16 were released from Russia and eight from the West. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says no money has changed hands. More details are still forthcoming.
Here’s what the former president had to say Truth Social:
So when are they going to release the details of the prisoner swap with Russia? How many people do we get versus them? Are we also paying them cash? Are they giving us cash (Please withdraw that question, because I’m sure the answer is NO)? Are we releasing murderers, killers, or thugs? Just curious because we never make good deals, at anything, but especially hostage swaps. Our “negotiators” are always an embarrassment to us! I got back many hostages, and gave the opposing Country NOTHING – and never any cash. To do so is bad precedent for the future. That’s the way it should be, or this situation will get worse and worse. They are extorting the United States of America. They’re calling the trade “complex” – That’s so nobody can figure out how bad it is!
Watch: Biden asks why Trump didn’t get hostages out when president
02:15
Oliver O'Connell
Bit of a mic drop moment from President Joe Biden here when asked about Donald Trump saying he could have gotten the hostages out without giving anything in exchange.
Reporter: Trump said he could have gotten the hostages out without giving anything in exchange. What do you say to that?
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 1, 2024
Biden: Why didn't he do it when he was president? pic.twitter.com/VUchStDKJ5
Read Biden’s full statement on release of Americans detained in Russia
01:45
Oliver O'Connell
President Joe Biden released the following statement about securing the release of US prisoners formerly detained by Russia.
Today, three American citizens and one American green-card holder who were unjustly imprisoned in Russia are finally coming home: Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza.
The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy. All told, we’ve negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia—including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country. Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over.
I am grateful to our Allies who stood with us throughout tough, complex negotiations to achieve this outcome— including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey. This is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon. Our alliances make Americans safer.
And let me be clear: I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family. My Administration has now brought home over 70 such Americans, many of whom were in captivity since before I took office. Still, too many families are suffering and separated from their loved ones, and I have no higher priority as President than bringing those Americans home.
Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir and rejoice with their families. We remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world. And reaffirm our pledge to their families: We see you. We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong.
01:15
Oliver O'Connell
What we know about Kamala Harris’ ethnic background after Trump questioned it
Friday 2 August 2024 00:15
Oliver O'Connell
Vice President Kamala Harris has faced a barrage of attacks about her race — including one from Donald Trump, who claimed Harris “happened to turn Black” only recently.
During a question-and-answer session with the National Association of Black Journalists on Wednesday, the former president questioned: “Is she Indian or is she Black?”
In short, she’s both. The presumptive Democratic nominee is both the first Black and Asian-American vice president.
Gustaf Kilander reports.
Watch: Kamala Harris describes Sheila Jackson Lee as a ‘force’ who ‘never allowed anything to be mediocre'
Thursday 1 August 2024 23:45
Oliver O'Connell
“She was a force, but she never allowed anything to be mediocre. She always expected in all of us that we would rise to a point of excellence, knowing life was too short and there's too much to be done.” https://t.co/O6fNe2jGlL
— The Recount (@therecount) August 1, 2024
Veepstakes: Moskowitz says progressives oppose Shapiro because they ‘don’t want a Jew’
Thursday 1 August 2024 23:15
Oliver O'Connell
Florida Democratic Rep Jared Moskowitz, who is Jewish, said on X today that progressive Democrats who oppose the selection of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as running mate for Kamala Harris “don't want a Jew”.
“These Progressives don’t want a Jew. Let’s say it out loud,” he wrote. “Imagine if moderate Dems said they didn’t want a certain minority. The condemnations would be deafening. Yet now we hear much silence.”
These Progressives don’t want a Jew. Let’s say it out loud. Imagine if moderate Dems said they didn’t want a certain minority. The condemnations would be deafening. Yet now we hear much silence. https://t.co/rjQ0Yv5tej
— Jared Moskowitz (@JaredEMoskowitz) August 1, 2024
Moskowitz was reacting to an article in The Hill that cited some progressives opposing the governor because of issues relating to Israel among other policies.
How Trump’s attacks on Kamala Harris’s Black heritage are reviving racist ‘birther’ conspiracy theories
Thursday 1 August 2024 23:05
Alex Woodward
Trump’s allies have seized on his latest unhinged remarks by reviving racist “birther” claims that Trump has repeatedly used to undermine his opponents’ ethnic backgrounds. He had previously suggested that Kamala Harris wasn’t “born in this country” during the 2020 election and years earlier doubted whether Barack Obama was a US citizen by demanding to see his birth certificate.
His latest statements have turchocharged online racism that has surrounded the 2024 election, with supporters posting copies of her “birth certificate” and accusing Harris of “changing” her race for political reasons.
Just in: Trump’s attorneys push back against Manhattan prosecutors over ‘immunity’ arguments in hush money verdict
Thursday 1 August 2024 22:49
Alex Woodward
Donald Trump’s attorneys have replied to objections from Manhattan prosecutors who want to block the former president from trying to overturn his hush money verdict by claiming that the Supreme Court’s “immunity” ruling applies to his criminal case in New York.
His legal team has claimed that evidence used in the trial should have been shielded from jurors under the scope of the “immunity” decision, which shields presidents from prosecution for their “official” duties in office.
“The Supreme Court of the United States ruled conclusively and unequivocally that President Trump is protected by immunity for his official acts,” they wrote on Thursday.
“In this case, a politically motivated district attorney violated that immunity by using official-acts evidence in grand jury proceedings and at trial. Therefore, the case must be dismissed, and the jury’s verdicts must be vacated,” they added.
Trump pursued an immunity defense in the hush money case before it went to trial, which Judge Juan Merchan rejected.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg “fought President Trump’s pretrial motions and urged the Court to rush ahead to trial. That was wrong,” his attorneys wrote.
“President Trump is entitled to absolute immunity and disputes that rebuttable presumptive Presidential immunity can ever be ‘sufficient’ to protect the interests at stake, which is an issue the Supreme Court expressly left open,” they added.
“But in light of [prosecutors’] strenuous resistance to the reasonable pre-trial request to wait for the [Supreme Court] decision, they are not entitled to a post-trial rebuttal opportunity,” Trump’s attorneys argued. “The bell cannot be unrung.”
Last week, Bragg’s office argued that “the evidence that he claims is affected by the Supreme Court’s ruling constitutes only a sliver of the mountains of testimony and documentary proof that the jury considered in finding him guilty of all 34 felony charges beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“Under these circumstances, there is no basis for disturbing the jury’s verdict, and defendant’s motion should be denied,” prosecutors added.
Judge Merchan is scheduled to make a decision on the immunity claims on September 6.
Watch: Kamala Harris gaffe cheers crowd as she deliver eulogy to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee
Thursday 1 August 2024 22:45
Oliver O'Connell
Trump denies being weird
Thursday 1 August 2024 22:35
Oliver O'Connell
Donald Trump has responded to Democrat attacks on him as being “weird”.
Speaking to Clay Travis and Buck Sexton on their eponymous podcast, the former president said: “We’re not weird people.”
“Nobody’s ever called me weird. I’m a lot of things, but weird I’m not.”
“And he’s not either,” Trump said of running mate JD Vance. “I will tell you JD is not at all. They are”
Trump tells @clayandbuck on the "weird" line of attack from Democrats: "Nobody's ever called me weird. I'm a lot of things, but weird I'm not."
— Kate Sullivan (@KateSullivanDC) August 1, 2024
As Trump spirals, major prisoner swap delivers win for Democrats
Thursday 1 August 2024 22:30
Oliver O'Connell
John Bowden writes:
They’re out, finally.
The release of a group of Americans and other westerners held in Russian detention provided a jolt of energy for an unsuspecting figure on Thursday: President Joe Biden, whose relevance as commander-in-chief has suddenly been sharply reinforced for a national news media with a short attention span. A total of 16 captives held by Russia were released, including former US Marine Paul Whelan, journalist Evan Gershkovich, and British-Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza.
It was a clear political victory for Biden at an unexpected time. He is still reeling from the political effects of withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race just weeks before his party’s national convention. Kamala Harris, his vice president, is now the presumptive nominee and has taken on a starring role in the campaign as well as back home in Washington.
And this victory couldn’t have come at a better time.
Continue reading...
Bill Clinton hails Biden administration diplomatic efforts for prisoner swap
Thursday 1 August 2024 22:25
Oliver O'Connell
I’m deeply grateful that Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva are coming home thanks to the Biden Administration’s tremendous diplomatic efforts. There are still far too many journalists and other political prisoners wrongfully detained in Russia and around the…
— Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) August 1, 2024
Biden thanks European leaders for partnership in historic prisoner swap
Thursday 1 August 2024 22:22
Oliver O'Connell
From the White House:
This afternoon, the President spoke individually with Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to thank them for their partnership on today’s historic deal that brought home Americans and others detained in Russia. The President expressed his appreciation for their support during the complex negotiations and active engagement throughout the process to achieve this monumental release.
EDITORIAL: The largest prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War is a victory for journalism – and justice
Thursday 1 August 2024 22:15
Oliver O'Connell
The largest prisoner swap since the end of the Cold War did not seem likely even a few days ago, at least to the outside world. The willingness of the Biden White House and Putin’s Kremlin to engage in such a trade could not easily have been foreseen from the condition of the two powers’ relations.
Complicated, to say the least, by the war in Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East and uncertainties about the outcome of this year’s US elections, stalemate and stasis would have been the more likely outlook. Instead, presumably with the active engagement of the ever-ambiguous President Erdogan of Turkey, two substantial job lots of assorted journalists, spies, double agents and others have been released.
Continue reading...
Harris says she will never waver in commitment to bring home every American detained or held hostage
Thursday 1 August 2024 21:45
Oliver O'Connell
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to reporters before boarding Air Force Two to return to Washington, DC to join President Joe Biden and greet the Americans released in today’s historic prisoner swap with Russia as they return to US soil.
Here are her remarks:
[Evan, Paul Whelan and Vladimir Kara-Murza] will soon be reunited with their loved ones. They and their families have shown incredible courage in the face of atrocious and devastating circumstances.
Russian authorities arrested, convicted them in sham trials and sentenced them to long prison terms. This has been an appalling perversion of justice. Over many years, President Biden and I and our team have engaged in complex diplomatic negotiations to bring the strongly detained Americans home, we never stopped fighting for their release, and today, in spite of all of their suffering, it gives me great comfort to know that their horrible ordeal is timely over this exchange also includes the release of Russian political prisoners, including those who worked with Alexei Navalny.
Earlier today, I spoke with Alexei’s widow Yulia to discuss the significance of their release, and as I told her, this being an additional time from previous conversations with her, the United States stands with all of those who are fighting for freedom in Russia.
As we celebrate today's news, we must also keep front of mind that there are other Americans that are unjustly being held in places around the world, and we will never stop fighting for their release.
As Vice President, it has been my honor to work alongside our President, Joe Biden, to bring home more than 70 Americans in the last three and a half years, and we will never waver in our commitment to bring home every American who has been wrongfully detained or held hostage. That is my solemn commitment to my fellow Americans, which I will always honor. Thank you all.
Kamala Harris says she spoke with Navalny's widow today and told her, "the United States stands with all of those who are fighting for freedom in Russia" pic.twitter.com/GgrAF9z9um
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 1, 2024
Trump raised $138.7m in July, campaign says
Thursday 1 August 2024 21:31
Oliver O'Connell
The Trump campaign has announced its July fundraising totals.
Former president Donald Trump and the committees authorized to fundraise for his 2024 campaign have raised $138.7m in the month of July. The campaign now has cash on hand totaling $327m.
A statement reads: “These numbers reflect continued momentum with donors at every level and provide the resources for the final 96 days until victory [on] November 5th.”
Biden posts photo of families speaking with freed Americans for first time
Thursday 1 August 2024 21:27
Oliver O'Connell
Today, I stood beside the families of Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir in the Oval Office as they spoke to their loved ones for the first time since they regained freedom.
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 1, 2024
These families never lost hope.
And today, they'll each be reunited with the missing piece of their soul. pic.twitter.com/v4Sv4fxsPd
Watch LIVE: Kamala Harris makes remarks before departure from Houston, Texas
Thursday 1 August 2024 21:15
Oliver O'Connell
What we know about Trump’s ancestry after he pushed his rival’s into question
Thursday 1 August 2024 21:05
Gustaf Kilander
Donald Trump faced heavy criticism on Wednesday after questioning the heritage of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, while speaking to the National Association of Black Journalists.
“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage,” he said. “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?”
Harris’s father is from Jamaica and her mother was from India. The vice president said on Wednesday night that Trump’s comments were “the same old show” of “divisiveness and disrespect.”
That has sparked questions on the backgrounds of both candidates. Trump is one of five children of the real estate developer Fred Trump and the Scottish immigrant Mary Anne MacLeod Trump. The former president has five children with his three wives as well as 10 grandchildren.
Here is everything we know about Trump’s ancestry and immediate family.
Trump ally Alina Habba attacks Harris over her ‘roots’
Thursday 1 August 2024 21:00
Oliver O'Connell
Alina Habba, Donald Trump’s former lawyer and current campaign adviser, accused Vice President Kamala Harris of not knowing her “roots” shortly after the GOP nominee questioned whether Harris was Indian or Black.
Habba opened for Trump at his campaign event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Wednesday evening.
Kelly Rissman reports on what she said.
