AP News Summary at 11:15 a.m. EDT (2024)

Harris is pushing joy. Trump paints a darker picture. Will mismatched moods matter?

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the top of his first speech as her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz turned to Vice President Kamala Harris and declared, “Thank you for bringing back the joy.” The next day, Harris took the theme a step further, branding the Democratic ticket “joyful warriors.” Contrast that with former President Donald Trump, who opened a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida later in the week saying, “We have a lot of bad things coming up.” Democrats are playing up their sunnier outlook. But the Trump campaign argues their candidate is reflecting the country's more accurate, dour mood.

Americans' refusal to keep paying higher prices may be dealing a final blow to US inflation spike

WASHINGTON (AP) — The great inflation spike of the past three years is nearly spent — and economists credit American consumers for helping slay it. Some of America’s largest companies say their customers are increasingly seeking cheaper alternative products and services, searching for bargains or just avoiding items they deem too expensive. Consumers aren’t cutting back enough to cause an economic downturn. Rather, the economy appears to be returning to pre-pandemic norms, when most companies felt they couldn’t raise prices much without losing business. A more price-sensitive consumer helps explain why inflation has appeared to be steadily falling toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, ending a period of painfully high prices that strained people’s budgets and darkened their outlooks on the economy.

Israel-Hamas war latest: Leaders of France, Germany and Britain endorse push for cease-fire in Gaza

The leaders of France, Germany and Britain in a joint statement have endorsed the latest push by mediators United States, Qatar and Egypt to broker an agreement to end the 10-month Israel-Hamas war. They also call for the return of scores of hostages held by Hamas and the “unfettered” delivery of humanitarian aid. Mediators have spent months trying to get the sides to agree to a three-phase cease-fire. The new statement also calls on Iran and its allies to refrain from any retaliatory attacks that would further escalate regional tensions after the killing of two senior militants in Beirut and Tehran.

From Biden to Gabbard, here's what Harris' past debates show before a faceoff with Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is a former San Francisco prosecutor and California attorney general, and she's long seen her debating skills as a strength. Her sharp public questioning has some highlights of her political career. But there have also been testy debate exchanges that didn’t play as well. And expectations that she will outperform former President Donald Trump might backfire. With Election Day now beginning to loom, the debate may also be one of the last chances Harris and her truncated campaign have to define the opponent and the race they want to run against him for a national audience.

Donald Trump is returning to X for a live interview with the platform's owner, Elon Musk

Donald Trump is returning — at least for one night — to X, the platform from which he was banned for nearly two years following the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol. Trump and Elon Musk, X’s owner, are slated to have a live conversation that the tech titan says will be “unscripted with no limits on subject matter.” Musk endorsed Trump’s candidacy two days after the former president was wounded during an attempted assassination at a Pennsylvania rally last month. Shortly after buying Twitter and rebranding it as X, he reinstated Trump to the platform.

Hundreds of firefighters tackle a major wildfire raging out of control on fringes of Greek capital

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A major forest fire is raging out of control on the northern fringes of the Greek capital, triggering numerous evacuation orders for Athens suburbs and outlying areas as strong winds hamper the efforts of hundreds of firefighters and dozens of water-dropping planes. The blaze that began Sunday afternoon is racing through pine forests left tinder-dry by repeated heat waves this summer. June and July of this year were the hottest months ever recorded in Greece, which also recorded its warmest winter ever. A children’s hospital, a military hospital, two monasteries and a children’s home were evacuated early Monday, while evacuation orders, were issued for more than a dozen areas, including Marathon and several Athens suburbs.

Released Palestinians describe worsening abuses in Israeli prisons

OUTSIDE OFER PRISON, West Bank (AP) — Released Palestinians have described to The Associated Press worsening abuses in Israeli prisons crammed with thousands detained since the war in Gaza began 10 months ago. Israeli officials have acknowledged that they have made conditions harsher for Palestinians in prisons. Hard-line National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has boasted that prisons will no longer be “summer camps” under his watch. Four released Palestinians told the AP that treatment had dramatically worsened in prisons run by the ministry since the Oct. 7 attacks that triggered the latest war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Some emerged from months of captivity emaciated and emotionally scarred. A fifth prisoner could only muster the strength to speak for several minutes, saying he was regularly beaten.

Russia's Putin says Ukraine's incursion into Kursk is an attempt to stop Moscow’s eastern offensive

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region is an attempt by Kyiv to stop Moscow’s offensive in the Donbas region. Speaking at a meeting Monday with top security and defense officials, Putin said the attack that began last Tuesday appeared to reflect Kyiv’s attempt to gain a better negotiating position in future talks. He argued that Ukraine may have hoped to destabilize the domestic situation in Russia, adding that it has failed to achieve the goal, and that the number of volunteers to join the Russian military has increased. He said the Russian military has pushed its offensive in the Donbas and vowed that Moscow will achieve its military goals.

Dozens of pregnant women, some bleeding or in labor, being turned away from ERs despite federal law

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 100 pregnant women in medical distress who sought help from emergency rooms were turned away or negligently treated since 2022. That's according to an Associated Press analysis of federal hospital investigations. In Texas, where doctors face up to 99 years in prison if convicted of performing an illegal abortion, medical experts worry the law is complicating decision-making around emergency care for pregnant women. The latest cases come from two women who say they were not treated for dangerous ectopic pregnancies when they sought help at two different emergency rooms in Texas. Both women lost parts of their reproductive system when the ectopic pregnancies ruptured.

Mini farm animals are adorable. There's also a growing demand for them

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans are showing more interest in owning miniature cows, miniature goats, miniature donkeys and other diminutive farm animals. The trend is driven by hobby farmers looking for easy-to-manage livestock and homesteaders who like the idea of having a petite pig or a scaled-down sheep as a pet. Animal breeders say sales of pint-sized farm animals have grown since the COVID-19 pandemic, when more people started raising backyard chickens for fun and fresh eggs. Like chickens, mini farm animals appeal to beginners without much land who want to taste a rugged, agrarian lifestyle. To be sure, raising these miniature animals come with a learning curve.