Game On

If you like your political news best as a horse race, this one’s for you. At least for now. Donald Trump seems stunned by the rise of Kamala Harris. And for once, you can trust the polls. She is rising.

Three weeks ago, it looked like the outcome would be Trump in a runaway. But to mix up sports metaphors, the Democrats changed quarterbacks at halftime, and so far the Republicans don’t have an answer.

As it seems it will not be a slam dunk for either team (this is fun), there’s a chance they’ll have to fight way into overtime, extra innings, penalty kicks. You get the point.

Harris’s choice of Walz is classic sports strategy — build good teamwork on your way to a championship run. Trump’s strategy hasn’t changed since 2015; he’s badly out of date.

But let’s be clear. This one is too close to call and it probably will remain so until the bottom of the 9th or until one side breaks the tape.

All sportiness aside, the Democrats have one big advantage over Republicans — hope. Meanwhile, the operative emotional state surrounding yet another Trump candidacy is resentment.

I’m not a betting man but I’ll take hope.

HEADLINES:

• A UC Berkeley linguist explores what Kamala Harris’s voice and speech reveal about her identity (UCB)

• The attacks on San Francisco have begun (48 Hills)

• Good vibes and midwestern appeal - why Harris picked Walz (BBC)

• Why Tim Walz Will Be a Potent Weapon for Kamala Harris (NYT)

• What Walz Brings to Kamala Harris’s Campaign to Beat Donald Trump (New Yorker)

• Michigan’s GOP primary faces 2020 election conspiracy theories (AP)

• Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to lead Bangladesh interim government (Al Jazeera)

• Bangladesh’s ‘Gen Z revolution’ toppled a veteran leader. Why did they hit the streets and what happens now? (CNN)

• Biden meets national security team as fears of Iran attack on Israel grow (BBC)

• Israel’s Disaster Foretold (Atlantic) 

• Washington and Arab states scramble to avert an all-out Middle East war (WP)

• US passes message to Iran not to escalate at 'critical moment' for Middle East (Reuters)

• ‘Google Is a Monopolist,’ Judge Rules in Landmark Antitrust Case (NYT)

• 6 ways the Google antitrust ruling could change the internet (WP)

• Struggling AI Startups Look for a Bailout from Big Tech (WSJ)

• New AI-Powered Humanoid Robot Just Dropped: Meet Figure 02 (CNET)

• Wall Street sees 'buying opportunity' amid AI pullback (Yahoo)

• Elon Musk Revives Lawsuit Against OpenAI and Sam Altman (NYT)

• Mom Thinks You’d Enjoy Restaurant She Can’t Remember Name Of Right Now (The Onion)