| | | | |  | | By Myah Ward | Presented by Citi | | 
Vice President Kamala Harris smiles next to Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) as she departs for the U.S.-Mexico border from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. | Pool photo by Kevin Lamarque | PACKING HEAT — Kamala Harris wants voters to know she owns a gun. She mentioned it during her debate with Donald Trump. And during her panel interview with the National Association of Black Journalists. It also came up in her WIRED Autocomplete interview, when she reiterated her support for the Second Amendment. At an event with Oprah Winfrey in Michigan last week, Harris took her gun ownership a step further. “If someone breaks into my house,” she said, “they’re getting shot.” The gun-toting bravado might seem a little jarring, especially for the nominee of a party that’s more closely associated with gun control measures. But it serves her political objectives as Harris attempts to project strength and seeks to expand her support in rural and small-town America, where gun ownership is more common. The frequent reminders that she owns a firearm also makes it harder to caricature her record — which includes support for an assault weapons ban, universal background checks and red-flag laws — as that of a gun-grabbing California liberal. “Kamala Harris acknowledging that she is a gun owner is a powerful statement and a message that resonates with those of us who are responsible gun owners. It defuses these false narratives that her plan is to take everyone’s guns,” said Olivia Troye, executive director of 97Percent, a bipartisan group that conducts research on gun safety policies. Troye, a former Trump White House staffer who is supporting Harris, added: “To me, as a Republican-leaning voter and gun owner, it spoke to the broader coalition that she is working on. We are working on Republicans, Independents, and honestly, seeing her do that last night probably will help her with those populations because they’re watching her closely.” Harris’ campaign says it hasn’t message tested the line about owning a gun. One campaign aide, granted anonymity to discuss strategy, said her gun ownership strengthens her message to independents and gun owners. Harris will also continue to push for the gun restrictions she’s mentioned on the campaign trail, the aide said — a policy stance the campaign believes is in line with what the majority of Americans believe. Tim Walz, her running mate, is also burnishing his gun-owning bona fides. He enacted stronger state gun laws as a governor, but prior to winning statewide office, as a congressman representing a pro-gun district, Walz earned an A rating from the National Rifle Association. On the campaign trail, Walz has bragged about his own sharpshooting skills and smacked down GOP vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance, insisting in one interview “I guarantee you he can’t shoot pheasants like I can.” Harris’ profile — a woman who owns a handgun for self-defense — matches one of the fastest growing demographics among gun owners. While men have the highest rates of gun ownership in the U.S., about 22 percent of women said they personally own a gun in the most recent Gallup survey, a figure that has nearly doubled over a 15-year period. Black women specifically also make up a growing share of gun ownership. Among gun owners, women are more likely to favor stricter gun laws than men. This campaign isn’t the first time Harris has publicly discussed her gun ownership. She also mentioned it during the 2020 Democratic primary, when she said she bought a firearm for “personal safety.” “I was a career prosecutor.” she explained. The handgun is kept in a secure location in her home in California, the campaign said. But the vice president’s exchange on the debate stage with Trump — which was unscripted, per a Harris campaign aide — marked the first time she brought up her gun ownership this year. The revelation of the little-known fact about Harris made waves on the internet and came as a surprise to voters still learning about the Democratic nominee. Since then, Harris has appeared increasingly comfortable leaning into this part of her bio while at the same time advocating for new gun laws. During her campaign event with Oprah last week, Harris sought to stake out a middle ground. “I think for far too long on the issue of gun violence, some people have been pushing a really false choice — to suggest you’re either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away,” she said. “I’m in favor of the Second Amendment, and I’m in favor of assault weapons bans, universal background checks, and red flag laws.” Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight’s author at mward@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @MyahWard.
| | A message from Citi: How will digital currencies shape the future of finance? As blockchain technology advances, digital currencies are poised to disrupt traditional banking models and could redefine the global monetary landscape. Central banks are working across global stakeholders to help determine what future adoption might look like – presenting both challenges and opportunities for businesses. Explore in-depth analysis from Citi on the potential implications in the Citi GPS Report, Money, Tokens, and Games. | | | | | — Florida takes stock of damages after destructive Hurricane Helene: Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida overnight with 140 mile per hour winds and a deadly storm surge that killed at least two residents, and Gov. Ron DeSantis said crews are now assembling an assessment of the destruction left by the Category 4 storm. DeSantis said during a morning news conference today at the state Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee that Helene’s eye passed over a stretch of Florida’s Big Bend region that has already been hit by two weaker hurricanes in just over a year. — Eric Adams pleads not guilty to five-count criminal indictment: Mayor Eric Adams pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court today to charges that he engaged in a yearslong conspiracy to receive illegal foreign campaign contributions, wire fraud and bribery. “I am not guilty, your honor,” Adams told U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker in a flat tone. With that 22-minute appearance, New York City’s 110th mayor became the first in modern history to plead to a criminal charge while holding the office. — Three Iranians charged in hacking of Trump presidential campaign: Three members of Iran’s military have been charged with hacking email accounts connected to Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, the Justice Department said today. The Treasury Department also announced a fresh round of sanctions against Iranians it said interfered in the 2020 and 2024 elections. The indictment, approved by a grand jury in Washington on Thursday and made public today, accuses three people — Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, and Yasar Balaghi — of carrying out a “sophisticated” operation to obtain confidential presidential campaign materials and share them with journalists and individuals associated with another presidential campaign. The defendants are charged with 18 criminal counts, including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
| | CLAMPDOWN — Vice President Kamala Harris plans to announce today that not only would she keep in place President Joe Biden’s sweeping asylum crackdown if she wins the White House, but that she would take it even further. During her border visit in Douglas, Arizona, the vice president will propose toughening the president’s policy that suspends asylum claims in between ports of entry when border crossings reach a certain threshold, per a senior campaign official, who was granted anonymity to not get ahead of the vice president’s speech. The senior campaign official did not provide further details of Harris’ proposal. SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a two-hour dinner with U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump in the first face-to-face meeting between the pair. The Labour leader and former president dined at Trump Tower in New York on Thursday night after Starmer delivered a speech at the U.N. General Assembly. The two men discussed the “longstanding friendship between the United Kingdom and the United States and the importance of continuing to develop the strong and enduring partnership between our two countries,” according to a U.K. government readout. The prime minister was unable to fix a time to meet Trump’s Democratic electoral rival Kamala Harris. The fact he was still willing to meet one candidate and not the other — an unorthodox approach — indicates the new British government’s eagerness to win over the possible next occupant of the Oval Office. The Labour administration is in charm-offensive mode after senior figures criticized Trump in the past. DIRTY TRICKS — A Bala Cynwyd voter got a detailed letter this week from the made-up Pennsylvania Congressional Office of Immigration Affairs notifying her that her household had been selected to house five migrant refugees, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. No office exists, nor does such a government-mandated housing program, but the letter, doctored to look like an official government document, provided specific details designed to mislead someone less attuned to a scam — and laid the blame for the fake program at the feet of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris during a heated and close election in which immigration has increasingly become a focal point. RFK IN THE SWING STATES — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to fight to get his name off the presidential ballot in key battleground states — an effort to draw any remaining support he had to former President Donald Trump. When Kennedy suspended his campaign and backed Trump on Aug. 23, his once-strong position as the biggest spoiler in decades had withered greatly during his 10-month campaign as an independent presidential candidate. Kennedy has now successfully removed his name from four battleground states — Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada — where moving even a fraction of Kennedy’s former supporters to Trump could be decisive. But the effort to withdraw from state ballots is an unprecedented move for any independent or minor party candidate — and it’s unclear exactly how successful he will be in the remaining swing states by the start of early and absentee voting.
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Lebanese army soldiers gather over the rubble of leveled buildings following Israeli air strikes in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs today. | Ibrahim Amro/AFP via Getty Images | HEAD HUNTING — Israel targeted the leader of Hezbollah in a massive airstrike against the militant group’s headquarters in Beirut today, according to a U.S. official, two Israeli officials and two people familiar with the matter. The attack dramatically escalates the conflict in Lebanon and throws into doubt whether the Biden administration can clinch a cease-fire deal to head off a full-scale war. It remains unclear whether the strike successfully killed or wounded Hassan Nasrallah, or if he was even in the building that was hit. If Nasrallah were to be killed, it would mark one of the most significant Israeli blows against Hezbollah in decades; Nasrallah has led the Iran-backed militant group since 1992, after Israel assassinated its previous leader. CEASEFIRE WHEN — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted today that Israel has “no choice” but to keep fighting Lebanon-based Hezbollah, while neglecting to mention a U.S.-backed 21-day cease-fire proposal in the spiraling battle. His comments — or lack thereof — to the U.N. General Assembly are likely to undermine the U.S. and French-led effort to pause the fighting, and further frustrate Western officials already annoyed by Netanyahu’s vacillation. “As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice,” the Israeli leader said. “Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.” Netanyahu has over the past 48 hours sent mixed messages on the ceasefire proposal, which the U.S. is presenting as a temporary step to lay the groundwork for a more long-lasting truce. Shortly after his address, explosions rocked Beirut. The Israel Defense Forces said it struck Hezbollah’s headquarters, embedded under residential buildings.
| | | | A message from Citi:   | | | | | | | Nearly $2.5 million The amount of money that the DNC is doling out across all 50 states, to every state Democratic party in the country for the first time in its history, to bolster down-ballot races in the final sprint toward November. | | | | | | CELEBRITY SKIN — If you’ve been on the internet in the past couple of weeks, you’ve probably seen some photos or videos of Moo Deng, an extremely cute pygmy hippopotamus currently at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand. Moo Deng’s species, though, native to West Africa, is in danger. Pygmy hippos are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature “Red List,” and when they were last assessed in 2015, there were fewer than 2,500 alive on earth. In Nigeria, where they were once endemic, they are believed to be extinct. For the BBC, Isabella Kaminski looks into the conditions under which these hippos live and how it came to be that their population has dwindled to the brink of total extinction.
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On this date in 1994: President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin during an arrival ceremony for Yeltsin on the South Lawn of the White House. | Joe Marquette/AP | Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.
| | A message from Citi: How will digital currencies shape the future of finance?
As blockchain technology advances, digital currencies are poised to disrupt traditional banking models and could redefine the global monetary landscape – presenting both challenges and opportunities for businesses.
Blockchain-based products can make a significant impact in terms of wide consumer adoption in digital currency, especially central bank digital currency (CBDCs), gaming, and social. Momentum on adoption has positively shifted as governments, large institutions, and corporations have moved from investigating the benefits of tokenization to trials and proofs of concept.
Explore in-depth analysis from Citi on the potential implications in the Citi GPS Report, Money, Tokens, and Games. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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