Digest

The second day of the Republican National Convention featured speakers focusing on crime and public safety. Speakers included the brother of a woman killed in Maryland by an immigrant from El Salvador and the mother of a stabbing victim in New York who accused Democratic prosecutors of being soft on crime. Republicans also pushed to highlight candidates down the ballot in swing states, including Senate candidates like Carrie Lake, a Trump-endorsed Republican who has made immigration a central theme of her candidacy in Arizona. Several of Trump's former political rivals, including former tech CEO Vivek Ramaswami, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and former ambassador Nikki Haley, took the stage to present the Republican party as united behind the former president. Meanwhile, House Democrats expressed concern about President Biden's ability to win in November, circulating a letter calling on the Democratic Party to abandon plans for a virtual roll call vote. The letter reflects opposition to Biden from within his own party, which has been bubbling beneath the surface since his disappointing debate performance in May. Despite this, Biden's deputy campaign manager, Quentin Folks, insists that the party will move forward with the virtual roll call vote. In other news, retail sales in June were not as strong as expected, but they did not fall as forecasters had predicted, suggesting that consumers are still willing to spend. Stock prices for Bank of America and Morgan Stanley rose after they reported solid results in their investment banking business. United Health, one of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average companies, also reported an upbeat forecast as it rebounds from a cyber attack. Finally, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough lashed out at the decision to take his popular morning show off the air yesterday in the wake of the assassination attempt against former President Trump. MSNBC has denied an early report in CNN saying that executives were concerned about the free-wheeling punditry on the show, which is consistently hostile to Trump. Instead, the network told NPR that the show Morning Joe would be replaced by ongoing coverage from NBC News that would run across NBC and its digital platform NBC News now, as well as MSNBC. However, Scarborough noted that this did not uniformly happen, and he expressed his surprise and disappointment.

Outlines

00:00:00

Republican National Convention Focuses on Crime and Public Safety

This Chapter discusses the second day of the Republican National Convention, where speakers focused on crime and public safety. Speakers included the brother of a woman killed in Maryland by an immigrant from El Salvador and the mother of a stabbing victim in New York who accused Democratic prosecutors of being soft on crime. Republicans also pushed to highlight candidates down the ballot in swing states, including Senate candidates like Carrie Lake, a Trump-endorsed Republican who has made immigration a central theme of her candidacy in Arizona. Several of Trump's former political rivals, including former tech CEO Vivek Ramaswami, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and former ambassador Nikki Haley, took the stage to present the Republican party as united behind the former president.

00:02:15

Economic News: Retail Sales and Stock Market

This Chapter covers economic news, including retail sales in June, which were not as strong as expected but did not fall as forecasters had predicted, suggesting that consumers are still willing to spend. Stock prices for Bank of America and Morgan Stanley rose after they reported solid results in their investment banking business. United Health, one of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average companies, also reported an upbeat forecast as it rebounds from a cyber attack.

00:02:59

MSNBC Host Joe Scarborough Criticizes Network's Decision to Take His Show Off the Air

This Chapter discusses MSNBC host Joe Scarborough's criticism of the network's decision to take his popular morning show off the air yesterday in the wake of the assassination attempt against former President Trump. MSNBC has denied an early report in CNN saying that executives were concerned about the free-wheeling punditry on the show, which is consistently hostile to Trump. Instead, the network told NPR that the show Morning Joe would be replaced by ongoing coverage from NBC News that would run across NBC and its digital platform NBC News now, as well as MSNBC. However, Scarborough noted that this did not uniformly happen, and he expressed his surprise and disappointment.

00:03:58

Severe Storms in the Midwest

This Chapter reports on severe storms in the Midwest that left thousands of people without power. In Illinois, heavy rains overtopped a dam near the community of Nashville, forcing the evacuation of 300 people. The National Weather Service in suburban Chicago had to run for cover as storms moved through the area. The Weather Service is investigating 29 paths of possible tornadoes in Illinois and Indiana.

Keywords

Q&A

• What were the main topics discussed at the second day of the Republican National Convention?

  The second day of the Republican National Convention focused on crime and public safety, with speakers highlighting the impact of crime on victims and families. The convention also featured speeches from candidates running for office in swing states, emphasizing the importance of these states in the upcoming election.

• What are some of the key takeaways from the economic news discussed in the podcast?

  Retail sales in June were not as strong as expected, but they did not fall as forecasters had predicted, suggesting that consumers are still willing to spend. Stock prices for Bank of America and Morgan Stanley rose after they reported solid results in their investment banking business. United Health, one of the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average companies, also reported an upbeat forecast as it rebounds from a cyber attack.

• Why did MSNBC take "Morning Joe" off the air yesterday?

  MSNBC has denied reports that the decision to take "Morning Joe" off the air was due to concerns about the show's free-wheeling punditry, which is consistently hostile to Trump. Instead, the network said the show was replaced by ongoing coverage from NBC News that would run across NBC and its digital platform NBC News now, as well as MSNBC.

• What were the main points of Joe Scarborough's criticism of MSNBC's decision?

  Joe Scarborough expressed surprise and disappointment at the decision to take his show off the air, noting that it did not uniformly happen as the network had stated. He also emphasized that he and his co-hosts would be back in their hosting seats next time the situation arises.

Show Notes