After two weeks of speculation over who would join her at the top of the Democratic Party’s presidential ticket, Vice President Kamala Harris chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Aug. 6.
Harris wrote in a post on X that she was “proud” to have Walz join her campaign, and that he has “delivered for working families” in the North Star State.
Walz called it the “honor of a lifetime” in his post after the announcement, adding that Harris is “showing us the politics of what’s possible.”
He joined the vice president at a campaign rally later the same day in Philadelphia, the beginning stop in a six-state battleground tour that will also take them to Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Arizona, and Nevada.
The governor served in the Army National Guard for 24 years and worked as a high school teacher and football coach before representing Minnesota’s First Congressional District from 2007 until 2019.
Walz is known for spearheading a plan to provide universal free school meals for Minnesota students, pushing to get the state on 100 percent “clean electricity” by 2040, and expanding paid leave for workers.
He is also seen as someone who can appeal to swing state voters, strategist Brian Darling told The Epoch Times, even though Walz hails from a state that hasn’t voted for a Republican president in 52 years.
Many prominent Democrats, including President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) rallied behind Walz after the announcement.
“There’s no doubt the Harris/Walz ticket will lead us to victory in November and build a future Americans can be proud of,” Schumer said.
Republicans, including former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, criticized Walz for his liberal policies, including his response to the 2020 George Floyd protests in Minneapolis.
—Jacob Burg
5 US Troops, 2 US Contractors Wounded in Iraq Attack
Five U.S. service members and two American contractors were injured on Aug. 5, when a pair of rockets struck the Asad Air Base in Iraq, a U.S. defense official told The Epoch Times on Aug. 6.
The defense official said all seven personnel were in stable condition, but two had to be evacuated from the airbase for further care. The official said the U.S. military is assessing the damage at the base.
No group has claimed responsibility for the rocket attack. The strike comes amid heightened tensions across the Middle East after Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an explosion on July 31 while visiting Tehran.
No party has claimed responsibility for the July 31 blast. But Iranian leaders were quick to point the finger at both Israel and the United States and have indicated a response is coming.
Iran’s partners in the region have escalated their existing pattern of low-level attacks on Israel. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several drone and rocket strikes across the Israel-Lebanon border over the weekend.
Both Israel and the United States have been bolstering their defenses throughout the region, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) urged President Joe Biden to push more military aid to Israel. That includes releasing any weapons shipments currently on hold.
The Biden administration placed on hold at least one shipment, which included 2,000-pound bombs, back in May, citing concerns about civilian casualties from their use.
—Ryan Morgan
Iran-Linked Pakistani Indicted for Planning to Kill US Officials
A Pakistani man was indicted on July 14 for allegedly planning to assassinate U.S. politicians and government officials at the behest of Iran, according to an indictment unsealed on Aug. 6.
Asif Merchant, a 46-year-old Pakistani citizen, arrived in the United States on April 13 after a period of stay in Iran, the indictment reads. Prosecutors allege that he contacted a person in New York City—who became a confidential source for the FBI—to help assassinate a politician or government official, with a plan that allegedly involved 25 people.
Merchant allegedly traveled around New York City to meet supposed hitmen, who were, in reality, undercover FBI agents and paid one of them $5,000 as an advance payment.
Merchant was arrested by FBI agents on July 12 as he was allegedly preparing to leave the United States. He has been charged with one count of using interstate commerce for “murder for hire.”
“This dangerous murder-for-hire plot exposed in today’s charges allegedly was orchestrated by a Pakistani national with close ties to Iran and is straight out of the Iranian playbook,” wrote FBI Director Christopher Wray in a press release.
Merchant’s arrest was made one day before an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump was shot by the now-deceased 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks during a campaign event.
U.S. officials had intelligence about an Iranian-backed plot to assassinate Trump before the shooting, though it is believed to be unconnected to Crooks’s attempt.
Merchant’s target was unspecified. However, the press release suggests that he was also targeting “former” government officials, a designation that includes Trump.
“The targeting of former and current officials by foreign actors is an affront to our sovereignty and our democratic institutions,” wrote Matthew Olson, the Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division.
—Arjun Singh
BOOKMARKS
Grok, the AI chatbot from Elon Musk’s X platform, is allegedly giving incorrect answers about ballot deadlines in nine states. When queried, the chatbot falsely said that the deadline to change names of candidates on the ballot had passed in Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.
Opposition leaders in Venezuela’s contested election are facing a criminal probe by the government after telling military and police to “stand on the side of the people.” Presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado are facing a list of charges including “usurpation of functions, dissemination of false information to cause distress,” and “instigation to insurrection” after declaring victory in the election.
Australian police confiscated $12 million of methamphetamine from a Canadian woman at an airport in Brisbane late last month. The drugs were wrapped in coffee and towels soaked in vinegar, presumably to evade drug-sniffing dogs.
Reps. Young Kim (R-Calif.) and Colin Allred (D-Texas) have introduced legislation to stop Chinese “exploitation of African nations as they subject their people to harmful ecological and public health risks.” The legislation takes aim at the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative in Africa, which they say will harm the environment and increase China’s influence on that continent.
Zamira Hajiyeva, wife of jailed banker Jahangir Hajiyev, has been forced to relinquish their 14 million pound London home and golf course following a UK investigation. Jahangir Hajiyev has been convicted of fraud and embezzlement from banks in Russia and Azerbaijan.
—Stacy Robinson