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Walz's debut, cease-fire nudge and downward job gains

 
Today's politics story

'Coach Walz,' Oprah top DNC's third night

What happened
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ceremonially accepted the Democratic vice-presidential nomination Wednesday night, capping the third day of the Democratic National Convention. "Coach Walz," as thousands of signs read, was preceded by Oprah Winfrey, whose political convention debut had been a closely held secret. Former President Bill Clinton was among the night's other speakers. 

Who said what
Winfrey has "often shied away from overt political activity," so it was quite a coup for Kamala Harris to get the "Oprah seal of approval" at her convention, The New York Times said. Americans may have "lost trust in many institutions," but her "celebrity has the ability to transcend politics." As a "registered independent," Winfrey said, "I'm calling on all you independents and all you undecided" to reject the other candidate's "ridiculous tweets and lies and foolery" and elect Harris.

"Above all, it was Tim Walz's time in the spotlight," Politico said. "Still introducing himself to much of the country," he talked about his time as a teacher, hunter, National Guardsman, congressman, and governor, but "by the end of it, Walz was fully in coach mode." 

"I haven't given a lot of speeches like this but I've given a lot of pep talks," Walz said. "It's the fourth quarter, we're down a field goal, but we're on the offense and we've got the ball" and the "right team."

Donald Trump, who has been trying to draw attention from the DNC with daily events this week, told a rally in North Carolina that while his advisers urge him to "please stick to policy" and "don't get personal," the Democrats are "getting personal all night long." He called Harris "stupid" and former President Barack Obama "nasty."

What next?
The "four-day party extravaganza," the BBC said, will culminate with Harris' acceptance speech Thursday night.

 
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Today's international story

Biden nudges Netanyahu on Gaza cease-fire

What happened
President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, urging him to bring the Gaza "cease-fire and hostage release deal to closure," the White House said. Vice President Kamala Harris, in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention, was also on the call. Thousands of protesters against Israel's Gaza war marched outside the DNC for a third day; dozens were arrested Tuesday.

Who said what
"A Gaza cease-fire deal is tantalizingly close," David Ignatius said at The Washington Post, but U.S. and Israeli officials say "Hamas has been silent" on the proposal to bridge differences between the two sides and "Netanyahu has been slow-walking the negotiations." Netanyahu's office said "Israel will insist" on achieving "all of its objectives for the war," including "securing" the Gaza-Egypt border with Israeli forces — a nonstarter for Hamas.

What next?
U.S., Egyptian and Qatari mediators are "planning to gather Thursday in Cairo to discuss how to increase pressure on Hamas," Ignatius said. There is also "skepticism, along with fatigue, among many in Israel about Netanyahu's commitment to securing an agreement," The Associated Press said. Arab officials told The Times of Israel there's "no point" to this week's talks unless the "U.S. pressures Netanyahu to back off his new demands" to keep troops in Gaza indefinitely.

 
 
Today's ECONOMY Story

US job growth revised downward

What happened
The U.S. economy added 818,000 fewer jobs than originally reported in the 12 months ending in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday. The preliminary downward adjustment — to 174,000 new jobs a month from 242,000 — was part of the Labor Department's annual revision process, using more accurate state unemployment data.

Who said what
The weaker job growth numbers give fresh "ammunition to critics who suggest the Federal Reserve may be late to cutting interest rates," focusing too much on "curbing inflation, to the detriment of the labor market," The Washington Post said. Even with the new numbers, The New York Times said, "the big picture remains relatively unchanged: Job growth is slowing, but not collapsing. The unemployment rate is rising, but layoffs remain low."

"This doesn’t challenge the idea we're still in an expansion," but it signals more muted monthly job growth and puts "extra pressure on the Fed to cut rates" in September, Robert Frick, economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union, told The Associated Press.

What next?
Fed Chair Jerome Powell may give hints about next month's expected rate cut when he speaks in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday. The final job growth numbers for the period will be released in February.

 
 

It's not all bad

Indian entrepreneur and college student Mohammed Azhar Mohiuddin is helping tackle plastic pollution by providing stores with biodegradable bags made from sugar, cellulose and corn fibers. He launched his company, Bio Reform, in the early days of the Covid pandemic and has already replaced 6 million plastic bags at stores across India. Microplastics pollute the water, affect wildlife and are found in human bloodstreams, and "addressing this is an important and urgent problem," Mohiuddin told TBI. Bio Reform's bags decompose in 180 days.

 
 
Under the radar

For the first time in half a decade, famously insular and avowedly communist North Korea is preparing to welcome tourist groups back into parts of the country, according to tour operators Koryo Tours in China. Koryo said local partners have confirmed that "tourism to Samjiyon and potentially the rest of the country will officially resume in December," describing Samjiyon as the "most famous region in North Korea in the winter for tourism," and the "most significant and sacred place" for the entire Korean peninsula. The agency predicted it will have a "finalized itinerary for the area and more information, as well as dates and prices in the coming days and weeks."

The decision to make Samjiyon the first spot open to foreign tourism is "significant," Semafor said. The area has been a popular destination for Chinese visitors in the past, helping North Korea generate "vital revenue amid international sanctions."

But as much as North Korea's impending tourism opening may seem like the sort of opportunity an adventurous traveler should jump on, do not expect to be able to hop on a flight to Pyongyang just yet. It will likely be "only Russian tourists and possibly Chinese visiting in any real numbers at first," Chad O'Carroll, the CEO of U.S. analysis firm Korea Risk Group, told the BBC. Plus, American passport holders are banned from visiting the communist country. The U.S. State Department announced the renewal of its prohibition on travel "to, in or through the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" earlier this month.

 
 
On this day

August 22, 2004

"The Scream," an iconic artwork by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, was stolen from the artist's namesake museum in Oslo, Norway. The painting was recovered in a police operation two years later and returned to the museum. "The Scream" remains one of the most recognizable images in art history.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz "makes his national introduction" with his Democratic National Convention vice-presidential nomination speech, The Washington Post says on Thursday's front page. "'Coach' Walz rallies team at DNC," the Los Angeles Times says, and "wins fans for his humility," The Boston Globe adds. In other words, "America meets Coach Walz," The Minnesota Star Tribune says. The DNC also featured speakers who went "to MAGA and back: Republicans stumping for Harris," the L.A. Times says. One of those speakers, former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, is "now a national voice of 'Never Trumpers,'" The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Cut the mustard

Scientists say mayonnaise may hold the answer to a nuclear fusion breakthrough. A research team recently applied the condiment, which behaves similarly to molten metal at lower temperatures, to a churning wheel machine to see what conditions made it flow. This process "could help elucidate the physics that occur at ultrahigh temperatures and pressures inside nuclear fusion reactors, without having to create those extreme conditions," Live Science said. It's not clear whether the findings can be translated into real conditions.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Hannah Beier / Bloomberg via Getty Images; Haim Zach - GPO / Handout / Anadolu via Getty Images; Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images