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Rowlands, best known as the star of groundbreaking movies directed by her husband John Cassavetes, has died aged 94. Here we look back on her career highs

Make the Road Action supports Kamala Harris in its first-ever general election presidential endorsementThe immigrant rights group Make the Road Action is backing Kamala Harris in its first-ever general election presidential endorsement.The 15-year-old organisation dedicated to Latino voter engagement in key swing states including Nevada and Pennsylvania, had previously supported Bernie Sanders in the 2020 presidential primaries but has otherwise avoided endorsing any presidential candidates. The voter mobilization group's endorsement on Thursday, provided first to the Guardian, comes amid a rush of enthusiasm for Harris's nascent campaign. Continue reading...

In a world of swiping and DMs I hoped to be able to put myself out there more - but it turns out the comfort zone is really comfyLast December, after consuming a few red wines, my friend Hana and I set ourselves the new year resolution to ask someone out in person each month.With Hana visiting Melbourne from Canberra a couple of times a year, it was typical for our boozy biannual catch-ups to end in questions about our dating lives. This night was not much different. Continue reading...

NBC News finds major Democratic-run cities have not seen any buses of asylum seekers from Texas governor this yearThe controversial effort by Greg Abbott, the Texas governor, to bus people seeking asylum to Democratic-run cities has reportedly been foiled - because there are not enough migrants crossing the border.Abbott claimed at the Republican national convention in July that he had continued bussing migrants to sanctuary cities all across the country", adding: Those buses will continue to roll until we finally secure our border." Continue reading...

After opening his Famous Amos bakery in 1975, the entrepreneur and literary advocate built a cookie empireWallace Wally" Amos, the entrepreneur and founder of Famous Amos cookies who later became a children's literary advocate, died on Tuesday at the age of 88, his family said.With his Panama hat, kazoo, and boundless optimism, Famous Amos was a great American success story, and a source of Black pride," said a statement from his children, Sarah, Michael, Gregory and Shawn Amos. Continue reading...

Independent presidential candidate reportedly reached out to campaign to discuss dropping out and endorsing HarrisRobert F Kennedy Jr, the beleaguered independent presidential candidate, reached out to the Kamala Harris campaign last week to discuss dropping out of the race and endorsing the Democrat, according to multiple reports.Kennedy attempted to set up a meeting with Harris to propose him serving in her administration, possibly as a cabinet secretary, in exchange for his endorsement, the Washington Post reported. Continue reading...

Colonel Custard found in Pennsylvania arcade game and released into nearby field: He got set free. No one got bit'A Pennsylvania groundhog is making a name for himself for something other than predicting an early or late spring.An intrepid varmint dubbed Colonel Custard - so named for the frozen custard shop and mini-golf outlet where he was discovered - was found stowed away with a passel of stuffed animals prizes in an arcade game two weeks ago. Players were maneuvering a mechanical claw to pluck toys from the glass game case when they suddenly realized a real live groundhog was blinking back at them. Continue reading...

Chicago Fire fans hoped the former Liverpool and Bayern Munich star would transform their club. Instead he was largely an expensive non-entityEven if you had never watched Xherdan Shaqiri play a full match, it's likely you have seen one of his highlights. There is no shortage of them. That breakaway goal and controversial celebration against Serbia in the 2018 World Cup. That assist in the Liverpool-Barcelona comeback. That ridiculous bicycle kick against Poland at Euro 2016. Any of his pinpoint free-kick goals for Stoke.This week, that career reached its low point - a disappointing two and a half seasons in Major League Soccer ended via mutual contract termination. Heralded as a potential franchise-altering acquisition for a desperate Chicago Fire team in 2022, the 32-year-old leaves the US having rarely looked above average in MLS. Often, he was significantly below that level. Given the money involved in his acquisition, there's a compelling case to be made for Shaqiri as the league's worst-value signing of all time. Continue reading...

Brian Niccol, who was poached from Chipotle, will get package worth four times that of his predecessorThe new chief executive of Starbucks is in line for a sign-on pay package worth up to $113m (88m), in one of the largest such executive deals in corporate history and which is four times larger than that of his predecessor. .The American coffee chain poached the boss of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Brian Niccol, naming him as its new chief executive this week in a surprise management shake-up, ousting Laxman Narasimhan from the job after just 17 months. Continue reading...

Latinos had ranked among the Democrats' most reliable bases - but the party's once dominant advantage has shrunkThe abrupt substitution of Kamala Harris for Joe Biden as the Democratic party's presidential nominee has energized two of the party's bedrock bases of support - pro-choice women and African Americans - along with millions of young voters who felt dismay at the Hobson's choice posed by two old white guys in the presidential contest.But the country's estimated 36 million eligible Latino voters could be another story. Continue reading...

Experts urge accelerated access to vaccines and testing. Plus, Columbia University president resigns Don't already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereGood morning.An outbreak in Africa of mpox, the disease formerly known as monkeypox, has been declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization.How is the WHO responding? Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general, said the situation warranted the highest level of alarm under international health law". The WHO released $1.5m from its contingency fund, and called on donors to help reach the $15m it needed for the response.What are experts saying? Trudie Lang, a professor of global health research at Oxford University, said: I have heard so many people refer to this as being very similar to the early days of HIV." Dr Ayoade Alakija, the chair of Africa Vaccine Delivery Alliance, said if the outbreak was in Europe, mpox would have already been considered a major international health emergency.What are the details? Palestinian civilians, mostly young men, are picked up by Israeli soldiers, who dress them in Israeli army uniforms and send them into tunnels and damaged houses ahead of Israeli forces, soldiers told Haaretz and Breaking the Silence. Their hands are tied together and a camera is attached to their bodies as they go in.What's the latest with ceasefire talks? A new round is expected to begin today, although expectations of success are low. Israel has hardened its position in recent weeks and Hamas has indicated it is unlikely to attend the talks in Qatar. Continue reading...

Progressive film-maker says he's more optimistic than he's ever been since Trump announced first run eight years agoWith Joe Biden looking for re-election Democrats feared they were looking at an electoral catastrophe. Now, with Biden dropping out and Vice-President Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket, it suddenly feels like it is Donald Trump who is staring at possible defeat.The liberal film-maker and Democratic whisperer Michael Moore says he's more optimistic than he has ever been since Trump stepped on to the escalator in Trump Tower to announce his first run for the presidency eight years ago. Continue reading...

The English coach benefited from a degree of fortune at Paris 2024 but she had the skill and pool of talent to exploit itIn evaluating any athlete, team or coach, the danger is always in drawing broad conclusions from results determined by the width of a toe or a bit of luck.So many crucial moments in the history of the USWNT could have gone the other way. Kristine Lilly clearing a goalbound shot in extra time of the 1999 World Cup. Carli Lloyd's long-range shot in 2008, which many goalkeepers would have saved. Questionable penalty kicks all through the 2019 World Cup knockout rounds. Continue reading...

People who have fled Afghanistan encourage the international community to sever ties with our government. That only harms those of us still here

Son faces attempted murder charge after stinky feet' remark set off heated argument, police sayA man shot his father in the face after the victim complained about the son's smelly feet, according to authorities in Iowa.David Carpenter, 48, faces a charge of attempted murder after investigators arrested him in a case that illustrates how quickly relatively minor, interpersonal quarrels can escalate into shootings in the US, which - according to some estimates - has more guns in circulation than people. Continue reading...

Shafik, criticized for handling of student demonstrations, says this period has taken a considerable toll on my family'The president of Columbia University, Minouche Shafik, has resigned following months of criticism of her handling of campus protests over the war in Gaza.This period has taken a considerable toll on my family, as it has for others in our community," Shafik wrote in an email to staff and students on Wednesday. It has also been a period of turmoil where it has been difficult to overcome divergent views across our community." Continue reading...

Democratic nominee to draw with contrast with Trump on tax and tariffs when she lays out details on Friday, aides sayKamala Harris will announce plans to tackle high grocery costs by targeting corporations in the food and grocery industry, as she previews her economic agenda ahead of the November election.She will also tackle prescription drug and housing costs, drawing a contrast with Trump on tariffs and taxes, according to a Harris campaign statement. Continue reading...

This blog is closing now, thanks for following along. You can read our story on Kamala Harris's economic plan at the link below:

Easter Leafa, who had been holding knife, had moved to Anchorage seeking a better life and opportunities in schoolAnchorage police officers fatally shot a 16-year-old girl holding a knife, the fourth deadly officer-involved shooting in Alaska's largest city since mid-May.The girl's family has since identified her as Easter Leafa, telling local television station Alaska's News Source she had moved to Anchorage from American Samoa four or five months ago, seeking a better life and better opportunities in school. Continue reading...

Harris's VP pick says: See you on October 1, JD,' in reply to CBS invitation to both candidates for a debate in New YorkTim Walz, the Minnesota governor and Kamala Harris's running mate, said he would be willing to debate JD Vance, Ohio senator and Donald Trump's running mate, on 1 October.Walz, in a post to Twitter/X, was responding to a CBS News statement that said it had invited both vice-presidential candidates to participate in a debate in New York City. Continue reading...

Ruling on language in document comes as voters to decide in November whether to add right to abortion to state constitutionAn official informational pamphlet for Arizona voters who will decide in the fall whether to guarantee a constitutional right to an abortion can refer to a fetus as an unborn human being", the state's highest court ruled on Wednesday.Arizona voters will get to decide in November whether to add the right to an abortion to the state constitution. Continue reading...

Elected official Robert Telles pleaded not guilty to murder of Jeff German, who had written stories critical of himOpening statements began on Wednesday in the trial of Robert Telles, a Las Vegas politician accused of killing Jeff German, a veteran investigative journalist.German, a journalist at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, was found stabbed to death outside his home on Labor Day weekend in 2022. Continue reading...

Syrian government denies claims that Tice, who vanished while reporting in Daraya 12 years ago, is being held captiveJoe Biden has called for the immediate release of Austin Tice, the American journalist and former marine who disappeared in Syria in 2012, and who US authorities believe is being held by the Syrian government.This week marks 12 long, terrible years since American Austin Tice was abducted in Syria," the US president said on Wednesday. We have repeatedly pressed the government of Syria to work with us so that we can, at last, bring Austin home. Today, I once again call for his immediate release." Continue reading...

Man says wife died of allergic reaction at Disney World but company claims streamer's terms block him from filing suitAttorneys for Disney World are seeking to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit brought by a husband over the death of his wife last year because of the terms and conditions he agreed to when signing up for Disney+ streaming service several years earlier.In February of this year, Jeffrey Piccolo filed a wrongful death suit against Disney on behalf of his wife, Dr Kanokporn Tangsuan, a medical doctor from New York who died last year. His lawsuit claims that her death was a result of suffering an allergic reaction while dining at a resort restaurant in Disney Springs at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Continue reading...

To say the conflict has been forgotten is too kind: the world is largely indifferent - apart from those who hope to profit thereIt's hard to get aid to Sudanese civilians, but weapons flow towards them endlessly through each of the country's neighbours. The destruction they wreak forces people to flee: 10,000 children are displaced each day. The suffering now will be matched by future pain. Girls as young as eight are being raped by fighters,Unicef has reported, and babies born of sexualviolence are being abandoned.Famine is intensifying and 25 million people are experiencing acute hunger, as the belligerents blockaiddeliveries: Tom Perriello, the US special envoyto Sudan, warned that they are using starvingwomen and children as their arsenal. But thedestruction in the country's agricultural heartlandbodes ill for what lies ahead. The last hospital in the besieged city of El Fasher, in Darfur, isunder assault. Continue reading...

The Democrat has yet to settle on a defining style. But a Black trailblazer offers bold fashion inspirationThe energy that Kamala Harris's candidacy has injected into the Democratic party has taken over the election. With standing-room only rallies that have rock concert vibes, Harris has not only sharpened her rhetoric and message since her 2020 bid for the presidency, but she has also brought new spirit for the campaign.However, Harris's style - which could be employed as a political tool to aid her candidacy and connection with voters - has shifted only slightly. Despite wearing a few outfits that have more color than her usual choice of navy and black, Harris has so far shied away from bold fashion statements that would convey the historic nature of her candidacy, or the excitement she stirs. While the campaign has certainly expanded the political imagination of what Harris can achieve, it still needs to hone in on what image defines her new status as a presidential nominee. Continue reading...

After a painfully long Olympics closing ceremony, I've come to the realisation that everything - from the opera to Meat Loaf to this column - goes on far too longIs it just me, or do most events go on a bit too long? Or, as in the case of the Olympics closing ceremony, a lot too long. The Olympics themselves were simply wonderful and far too short. The last football World Cup saw 64 matches played over nearly a month. At the Olympics countless contests are played out in barely two weeks. I've never understood what the hurry is all about. Perhaps this is the point: it's about leaving us wanting more. Unlike its opening and closing ceremonies about which the opposite plainly applied.I don't think I've ever come out of a church service, a theatre, or a concert venue, and said to whomever I was with: You know what, I'd like that to have gone on a bit longer." Indeed, rare is the event that I didn't think could have benefited from being shorter. I don't think I'm the only one who feels this way. I'm just honest enough to admit it, and unbothered about being thought a philistine. I'd like to conduct lie detector tests on punters filing out of the Royal Opera House. Were you in any sense thankful when the curtain came down? Did you want more? If you answer no and yes then your pants are on fire. Continue reading...

Michael Caughran's history raises questions about extent to which his far-right and survivalist activities overlapped with his enlistmentA former US air force survival expert with militia and Christian nationalist connections is running survival and live-fire combat trainings in remote locations throughout the Pacific north-west, boasting on his website that the training incorporates trained law enforcement officers, church security" operatives, and current and former US military members.Michael Patrick Caughran's new training business, American Reconstruction Concepts (ARC) shows organizational and personnel continuities with an earlier organization that explicitly offered biblical training on war" to young people. That organization, Team Rugged, was directly connected with both a neo-Confederate pastor and a former Washington state legislator who has advocated for Christian nationalism, who a state house investigation found to have participated in domestic terrorism". Continue reading...

Trump frantically attempts to find the key to a negative campaign against Harris. But, like the mad King Lear, he spins into agitation and confusionThe madness of King George III was never diagnosed. He likely suffered from bipolarity. One of his uncontrollable bouts of madness was triggered by his reading of Shakespeare's play of a mad king, King Lear. This morning he is ... more agitated and confused, perhaps from having been permitted to read King Lear," wrote his doctor, in papers released only six years ago. The story upset King George, his equerry recounted: His Majesty became so ungovernable that recourse was had to the strait waistcoat."King George's straitjacketing occurred in 1788, a year after the constitutional convention created the United States government to prevent the rise of any king - mad or not. The American revolution, waged against the absolute sovereignty of a monarch, had the madness of King George in mind as the office of president of the United States was being framed. The president, wrote Alexander Hamilton in Federalist Paper No 69, would be subject to impeachment and removal, and liable to prosecution and punishment in the ordinary course of law. The person of the king of Great Britain is sacred and inviolable; there is no constitutional tribunal to which he is amenable; no punishment to which he can be subjected without involving the crisis of a national revolution." Continue reading...

The US is transferring $3.8bn to Israel in military aid per year. Biden has leverage to force a deal, but he refuses to use itJoe Biden is making a last-ditch effort to salvage the Gaza ceasefire agreement he has been pushing for months. The US president, along with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, have called on Israeli and Hamas negotiators to resume indirect talks on Thursday to hammer out an agreement. But Biden and his administration won't name and shame the biggest obstacle to reaching a deal: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister. For months, Netanyahu has tried to block an agreement by backtracking and adding new conditions, prompting Israeli security officials to accuse him of sabotaging the negotiations to stay in power.Since a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas collapsed on 1 December, Biden has invested nearly all of his administration's efforts into resurrecting a ceasefire. But Biden refuses to impose any cost on Netanyahu for his obstinacy and prolonging the conflict. Since Israel launched its brutal war on Gaza 10 months ago, Biden has failed to use the two most effective levers of power at his disposal: withholding billions of dollars in US weapons shipments, and denying Israel political cover at the United Nations security council and other international bodies.Mohamad Bazzi is director of the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies, and a journalism professor at New York University. He is also a non-resident fellow at Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn) Continue reading...

Vice-presidential candidate, once a high school teacher in Nebraska and Minnesota, warmly remembered by alumniImagine your teacher in the White House.For Tim Walz's former students, the hypothetical could become real. And they're stoked. Continue reading...

Ruling marks first time a US judge has gone against a university over demonstrations against Israel-Hamas warThe University of California, Los Angeles, cannot allow pro-Palestinian protesters to block Jewish students from accessing classes and other parts of campus, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.The preliminary injunction marks the first time a US judge has ruled against a university over the demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war on college campuses earlier this year. Continue reading...

Biden wrote to then US ambassador to Rome on behalf of the energy firm while his father was vice-presidentHunter Biden lobbied the US government for help in securing a lucrative energy contract in Italy while his father Joe Biden was vice-president, newly released documents show.A tranche of previously undisclosed documents now made public under a Freedom of Information Act (Foia) request reveals that the president's son wrote to the then US ambassador to Rome, John Phillips, in 2016 seeking assistance on behalf of the Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, of which he was a board member. Continue reading...

Juan Merchan again denied recusal request from Trump's lawyers ahead of ex-president's sentencing on 18 SeptemberA New York judge declined for a third time to step aside from the case in which Donald Trump was convicted of charges involving hush money paid to an adult film star, dismissing the former US president's claim of conflict of interest related to political consultancy work by the judge's daughter.As he did last April and in August 2023, Juan Merchan in a decision released on Wednesday denied a request by Trump's lawyers that the acting justice of the New York supreme court recuse himself from the first case involving criminal charges against a former US president. Merchan is scheduled to sentence Trump on 18 September. Continue reading...

The American sports writer Beau Dure explains how an incorrect ruling made in haste has resulted in the US gymnast Jordan Chiles being asked to return her Olympic bronze medal, despite potential evidence that she is indeed deserving of it. During the Paris Games, Chiles was not awarded points that she should have been for one of her routines. USA Gymnastics put in an inquiry which was accepted, however the court of arbitration for sport (CAS) concluded that they were four seconds too slow in doing so. USA Gymnastics however has now submitted new evidence proving otherwise but the CAS refuses to accept an appeal of its decision

Brash, charismatic figures from Russell Brand to Sneako have seduced a disillusioned demographic. Will they turn to Donald Trump in November?

The things that happen with lips and tongues and hands are completely discounted in the latest misguided sex studyWomen are having fewer orgasms than men. No kidding. I can already picture the sardonic comments piling in: This isn't news!" What might be news, possibly, is the fact that women continue to have fewer orgasms than men throughout their lives, despite what we might assume would be an increase in experience and confidence, and an understanding (on both sides) of what they enjoy in bed.A new study, published in the journal Sexual Medicine, found that not only do men report higher rates of orgasm during sex than women, but also that these stats remain consistent with age. Researchers surveyed 24,000 single Americans aged from 18 to 100. Men's orgasm rates ranged from 70% to 85%, while women's ranged from 46% to 58%. Any hope that we might achieve parity with age quickly went out the window. Women's orgasm rates remained 22 to 30 percentage points lower than men's across all age groups.Franki Cookney is a freelance journalist specialising in sex, gender politics and social development, and hosts the sex podcast The Second Circle Continue reading...

Mohamed Abuel-Qomasan's wife and mother-in-law also killed in the strike. Plus, ex-Twitter worker wins $600,000 from Musk

Largest regional airline in North America also sued by flight attendant union for alleged retaliatory firingsSkyWest Airlines, the largest regional airline in North America, is facing legal action over an alleged fake" company union that the airline operates and the allegedly retaliatory firings of flight attendants who were engaged in union organizing efforts.A lawsuit was filed by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) in October 2023. The US Department of Labor also filed a lawsuit last month against the company over the company union", alleging SkyWest Inflight Association (SIA) did not perform its legal duties as a representative agency and barred two employees from running in an election for leadership positions due to their support for an independent union at the airline. Continue reading...

While tech bros pour money into cryopreservation, centenarians have a very different story to tellHealth and wellness advice tends to be obvious and irritating. Eat more vegetables! Drink less booze! Exercise! Who wants to hear all that, eh? Not me. Which is why my favourite genre of health advice is weird wisdom from the uber-elderly.Every now and then there will be a profile of one of the oldest people alive where they say something delightful such as: My secret to a long and healthy life is eating crisps and drinking gin." Admittedly, I'm not sure I have ever seen that exact advice imparted, but there have been some gems over the years. Plymouth resident Doris Olive Netting, who died aged 100, for example, credited her long life to drinking a glass of Guinness a day. Susannah Mushatt Jones, who died at 116, swore by a daily breakfast of bacon. Richard Overton, who died at 112, smoked cigars and liked a little whiskey in his coffee. And, several years ago, at the age of 102, Eunice Modlin extolled the health-giving properties of chocolate. Continue reading...

Driving a car from Asia to Europe seemed like madness in the early 20th-century. And yet rivals teams attempted the task in a remarkable feat of enduranceItalian journalist Luigi Barzini remembered the unexpected welcome he received in Russian villages east of the Ural Mountains in 1907. Peasant women spat in his direction, and made what he described as strange signs of exorcism." This treatment had to do with the mysterious contraption Barzini and his companions used to pass through the villages. It was a motorcar - an Itala, to be exact - and its occupants were heading on an extraordinary endeavor, an 8,000-mile race from Beijing, then called Peking by those in the west, to Paris. With Prince Scipione Borghese directing progress, aided by his chauffeur Ettore Guizzardi and Barzini, the Itala had been comfortably pacing the field as it motored toward the Urals.At the time, the future of the car seemed in doubt. It was widely viewed as a luxury item that paled in comparison to the horse as a means of transport. Driving a car from Asia to Europe seemed madness given the scarcity of roads, much less good roads - to one newspaper, the Peking-Paris seemed as improbable as sending humans to the moon via telegraph. Yet the eventual winner, Prince Borghese, proved that the race could be completed - and so did the international rivals he left in the dust, including a memorable French conman named Charles Godard and his Dutch-made Spyker. The Peking-Paris helped usher in the age of the automobile, a radical change of society at all levels that we're still grappling with today, as examined in a new book by British author Kassia St Clair, The Race to the Future: 8,000 Miles to Paris. Continue reading...

In first on-camera remarks in decades, Peterson, convicted in 2004 of murder, denies killing his pregnant wifeIn his first on-camera remarks in two decades, the convicted double murderer Scott Peterson called himself a total a-hole" for cheating on his pregnant wife, Laci, before her slaying - but he insisted he did not murder her or their unborn son, Conner.It's horrible. I was a total a-hole to be having sex outside our marriage," the 51-year-old Peterson said in an interview shown as part of a three-part documentary series premiering on the NBC streaming platform Peacock on 20 August, according to People.com. But, during the interview conducted over a video call from California's Mule Creek state prison, he added: I didn't kill my family." Continue reading...

If only we could recognise the wonderful creativity of Laurent Schwarz for its own sake, rather than use it to sell stuffIf you've ever spent 40 and a whole weekend trying to paint out the scrawling of your young children from your rental walls in the futile hope that this will save your 1,300 deposit, you may greet the following news as I did: with a noise somewhere between a hot-water bottle being emptied and a cry of pain.A Bavarian toddler, known already within the art world as Laurent Schwarz, has reportedly just landed himself a hefty brand deal with the German paint manufacturer Relius to create a range of colours, and another, separate deal with a wallpaper company - worth, presumably, thousands - all inspired by his own artwork. Continue reading...

Minnesota race is last in series of heated primaries for progressive Democrats who have criticized the Gaza warRepresentative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota has won the state Democratic primary for her seat, according to the Associated Press, in a rematch against Don Samuels that comes two years after she barely eked out a victory against him.With 216 of 217 precincts reporting results, Omar was leading Samuels 56.2%-42.9%, according to Minnesota Secretary of State tallies.

Harris's VP pick emphasizes his labor background at LA event and says Trump and Vance waged war on workers'Tim Walz held his first solo campaign event since being selected as Kamala Harris's vice-presidential nominee on Tuesday, rallying union members in Los Angeles and denouncing Donald Trump's record on labor rights.The Minnesota governor's appearance, at an event hosted by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, was the first in a five-state fundraising campaign as Walz ramps up support for the still-young Democratic ticket. Continue reading...