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Kamala's big speech, Canadian rail talks and new Covid boosters

 
Today's NATIONAL story

In DNC finale, Harris asks America to turn the page

What happened
Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night, capping a spirited four-day Democratic National Convention in Chicago — and a "turnaround with no precedent in American politics," Semafor said.

Who said what
Just 32 days after President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid and endorsed her, Harris used the "most consequential speech of her political career to cast herself as an avatar of America's middle class" and a safe path away from the "abrasive" chaos of Donald Trump, The Washington Post said. Harris mixed her background as a daughter of immigrants and public prosecutor with a paean to American greatness and a cutting critique of Trump.

"My entire career I've only had one client: the people," Harris said. Trump's "only client" has always been "himself." Trump is "in many ways" an "unserious man," she said, but the consequences of putting him back in the White House, now with "no guardrails," are "extremely serious." She urged Americans to embrace this "precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past — a chance to chart a new way forward," together.

Trump criticized Harris' speech in real time on social media, then on Fox News. "It was a lot of complaining" about things she could have already solved, he said on Fox. Harris is "not having success — I'm having success," with "the Hispanic voters, doing great with Black men, I'm doing great with women."

What next?
Harris now has to "maintain the momentum of the first month of her candidacy," The Wall Street Journal said. Some Democrats are "privately beginning to dream" her momentum will "carry her for another 10-plus weeks," The New York Times said, but "many are bracing for the likelihood of stumbles against the most unpredictable of opponents."

 
 
Today's international story

Brief Canada rail lockout ends with arbitration

What happened
The Canadian government on Thursday ordered the country's two main freight railroads and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference union into binding arbitration, forcing an end to a 17-hour shutdown. The railroads, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Southern (CPKC), had locked out 10,000 union engineers, conductors and dispatchers at midnight amid an impasse in labor contract negotiations.

Who said what
A "prolonged shutdown could have brought severe economic repercussions" for Canada's "export-driven economy," The New York Times said. Roughly half of Canada's exports, mostly to the U.S., may have come to a halt, snarling supply chains and harming "several sectors of Canada's economy, including agriculture, mining, forestry, oil and manufacturing."

"We gave negotiations every possible opportunity to succeed," said Steve MacKinnon, Canada's labor minister. But "impacts of the current impasse are being borne by all Canadians," and the government has a "responsibility to ensure industrial peace." Teamsters Canada Rail Conference President Paul Boucher said his union is "deeply disappointed by this shameful decision," saying Canadian National and CPKC "manufactured this crisis" and "took the country hostage." The railways, which had asked the government for binding arbitration and been rejected, praised the decision.

What next?
MacKinnon said he expected the trains to start moving again "within days." 

 
 
Today's POLITICS Story

FDA approves new Covid vaccine, available soon

What happened
The Food and Drug Administration approved updated Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna on Thursday. The new boosters target the KP.2 strain and related offshoots of the Omicron variant that have been spreading in late summer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the new shot for everyone six months and older.

Who said what
Last year's vaccines, which inoculated against a strain no longer in circulation, "offered moderate protection against getting infected" and a "stronger guard against severe disease," The New York Times said. When the match between virus and vaccine "is very good, as we anticipate it would be with the current circulating strains, you get actual protection from infection for several months," said Dr. Paul Sax at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

What next?
The updated vaccines should be available in pharmacies and clinics within days, at no cost to most people with health insurance and uninsured children. But "unless you're very concerned about acquiring Covid right now, my recommendation would be to get it in September or October," Dr. William Schaffner at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine told The Wall Street Journal. "That will provide the best protection throughout the winter season."

 
 

It's not all bad

Texas high schoolers Justin Huang and Victoria Ou have developed an innovative water filtration device that uses high-frequency sound waves to remove up to 94% of microplastic particles from water in a single pass. Their device, no bigger than a pen, earned them the prestigious Gordon E. Moore Award at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. The prize included $50,000 to further advance their invention for potential large-scale applications, such as in wastewater treatment plants and industrial textile factories.

 
 
Under the radar

Bananas are in danger. The tropical fruit is being infected by a disease called Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB), caused by a fungal pathogen called Fusarium oxysporum TR4. This new variety of the Fusarium fungus contains accessory genes "linked to the production of nitric oxide, which seems to be the key factor in TR4's virulence," said Li-Jun Ma, the senior author of a study published in the journal Nature Microbiology. The gas is toxic to Cavendish bananas, the world's current most popular breed. "This sudden burst of toxic gases facilitates infection by disarming the plant's defense system," Ma said in The Conversation. 

But there's hope. Researchers were able to determine that the intensity of TR4 was "greatly reduced if the two genes that control nitric oxide production were eliminated," the study authors said in a press release. "Identifying these accessory genetic sequences opens up many strategic avenues to mitigate, or even control, the spread of Foc TR4," said study lead author Yong Zhang.

Crops like bananas, with one breed overwhelmingly prevalent, are vulnerable to extinction. "When there's no diversity in a huge commercial crop, it becomes an easy target for pathogens," Ma said. Cavendish bananas are not the only existing variety of the fruit, but because of their popularity, they are bred in much larger numbers than others. The public can also play a role in encouraging more diverse agricultural practices by opting to buy different varieties of fruits and vegetables, as well as supporting local produce species, Ma told The Conversation. "Collaboration among scientists, farmers, industry and consumers around the world can help avoid future shortages of bananas and other crops."

 
 
On this day

August 23, 1973

An attempted bank robbery in Stockholm led to a six-day hostage crisis between the robbers and Swedish police. After the crisis ended, none of the hostages agreed to testify against their captors and even helped with their defense. The event gave rise to the psychological theory "Stockholm syndrome," in which hostages end up sympathizing with their captors.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

Vice President Kamala Harris "vows 'a new way forward'" in her Democratic National Convention acceptance speech, the Los Angeles Times says. "After uneven path, a historic nominee," The Washington Post says. Harris is "making history while putting her faith in the art of the possible," The New York Times says. "It's Harris' party as Democrats prepare for battle," The Boston Globe says. "Democrats are euphoric with optimism," says The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. But "delegates know the real work comes next," moving "from words to action," the Chicago Tribune says.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Gin dummy

The mayor of Thomson, Georgia, faces felony charges of furnishing prohibited items to inmates after allegedly leaving a bottle of Seagram's Extra Dry Gin in a ditch to be found by a prison work crew. Mayor Benjamin "Benji" Cary Cranford was arrested last week and has since been released on bail. The first-term mayor, who previously worked as a paving contractor, could be suspended if a state panel determines the charges "harm Cranford's ability" to serve, The Associated Press said.

 
 

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: Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images; Graham Hughes / Bloomberg via Getty Images; Kim Hairston / The Baltimore Sun / Tribune News Service via Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images