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Harris Gains Ground in Polls as Trump Tries to Brand Her a Marxist 

Former US President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump points to supporters in the crowd after speaking during a campaign rally at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 24, 2024. (AFP)
Former US President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump points to supporters in the crowd after speaking during a campaign rally at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 24, 2024. (AFP)
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Harris Gains Ground in Polls as Trump Tries to Brand Her a Marxist 

Former US President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump points to supporters in the crowd after speaking during a campaign rally at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 24, 2024. (AFP)
Former US President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump points to supporters in the crowd after speaking during a campaign rally at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, on July 24, 2024. (AFP)

Vice President Kamala Harris took her presidential campaign blitz to the largest US teachers' union on Thursday, promising a "fight for the future" as new opinion polls showed her narrowing the gap with Republican rival Donald Trump.

Harris' swift emergence as the successor to President Joe Biden, 81, as the Democratic presidential candidate in the Nov. 5 election has shaken up a stagnant presidential race, with polls showing her narrowing former President Trump's advantage.

In an address in Houston to the American Federation of Teachers, Harris, 59, focused on economic policy and workers' rights, touting plans for affordable healthcare and child care and criticizing Republicans for blocking gun limits in the wake of school shootings.

"Ours is a fight for the future," Harris told a crowd of about 3,500 people. "We are in a fight for our most fundamental freedoms. And to this room of leaders, I say: Bring it on."

More than 100,000 predominantly white women later joined a Zoom call to raise money for Harris and discuss strategy, organizers of #AnswerTheCall said. The call followed similar ones recently among Black women, Black men and Latinas.

A series of polls conducted since Biden ended his reelection bid on Sunday, including one by Reuters/Ipsos, show Harris and Trump beginning their head-to-head contest on roughly equal footing, setting the stage for a close-fought campaign over the next three-and-a-half months.

A New York Times/Siena College national poll published Thursday found Harris has narrowed what had been a sizable Trump lead. Trump was ahead of Harris 48% to 46% among registered voters, compared with a lead of 49% to 41% over Biden in early July, following Biden's disastrous debate performance that led to a wave of Democratic calls for him to step aside as candidate.

While nationwide surveys give important signals of American support for political candidates, a handful of competitive states typically tilt the balance in the US Electoral College, which ultimately decides who wins a presidential election.

Harris also got good news on that front as Emerson College/The Hill published a poll finding that she had begun to close the gap with Trump in five critical battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Trump still narrowly leads Harris in all but Wisconsin, which is tied, according to the poll of registered voters in those states.

Together, the polls suggest that while Trump, 78, retains a narrow advantage, he has not seen the sort of bump in support following last week's Republican National Convention that candidates hope to get out of the highly scripted, televised and expensive events.

Trump on Wednesday night laid into Harris in his first rally since she replaced Biden atop the ticket, then continued his criticism online on Thursday.

"We're not ready for a Marxist President, and Lyin' Kamala Harris is a RADICAL LEFT MARXIST, AND WORSE!" Trump posted on his social media platform.

DEBATE UP IN THE AIR

Trump's campaign on Thursday cast doubt about a Sept. 10 debate that had been previously scheduled against Biden. Harris has said she is prepared to debate Trump that day, but the Trump campaign said in a statement that debate details cannot be finalized until the Democrats formally name a candidate, which could happen the first week of August.

More than 40 former US Justice Department officials, primarily from Democratic administrations, signed a letter endorsing Harris and calling Trump a threat to the rule of law in the US.

"Former President Trump presents a grave risk to our country, our global alliances and the future of democracy. As President, he regularly ignored the rule of law," reads the letter, a copy of which was seen by Reuters and signed by former US Attorney General Loretta Lynch and other former officials.

Former President Barack Obama has been in regular contact with Harris and plans to soon endorse her as the Democratic presidential candidate, a source familiar with his plans said on Thursday.

The Harris campaign released its first video advertisement online on Thursday. Harris narrates the ad, framing the campaign as a battle to protect Americans' individual liberties to the sound of Beyonce's song "Freedom."

Harris also reached out to younger voters by creating an account on TikTok, amassing over 500,000 followers in a few hours.

The next highly anticipated development will be Harris' choice of a vice-presidential candidate to counter Trump's selection of US Senator JD Vance of Ohio.

The list of contenders amounts to a who's-who of rising Democrats, including US Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, Governors Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Andy Beshear of Kentucky, as well as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Harris' rise has largely pushed Trump out of the headlines, a week after the Republican National Convention and 12 days after he narrowly survived an assassination attempt that wounded his ear.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told a House panel on Wednesday that investigators are not certain whether Trump's injury was caused by a bullet or by shrapnel. Trump has said a bullet hit his ear.

A Trump campaign spokesperson, Jason Miller, called the idea that Trump was not hit by a bullet a "conspiracy," adding an expletive.

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Saboteurs Paralyze French High-Speed Rail Network Hours Before Start of Olympics 

Passengers wait for their train departures at the Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris on July 26, 2024 as France's high-speed rail network was hit by malicious acts disrupting the transport system hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AFP)
Passengers wait for their train departures at the Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris on July 26, 2024 as France's high-speed rail network was hit by malicious acts disrupting the transport system hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AFP)
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Saboteurs Paralyze French High-Speed Rail Network Hours Before Start of Olympics 

Passengers wait for their train departures at the Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris on July 26, 2024 as France's high-speed rail network was hit by malicious acts disrupting the transport system hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AFP)
Passengers wait for their train departures at the Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris on July 26, 2024 as France's high-speed rail network was hit by malicious acts disrupting the transport system hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (AFP)

France's high-speed rail network was hit with widespread and “criminal” acts of vandalism including arson attacks, paralyzing travel to Paris from across the rest of France and Europe only hours before the grand opening ceremony of the Olympics. 

French officials described the attacks as “criminal actions" and said they were investigating whether they were linked to the Olympic Games. The disruptions as the world's eye was turning to Paris were expected to affect a quarter of a million people alone on Friday and endure through the weekend, and possibly longer, officials said. 

Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete described people fleeing from the scene of fires and the discovery of incendiary devices at the site. 

“Everything indicates that these are criminal fires,” he said. 

The incidents paralyzed several high-speed lines linking Paris to the rest of France and to neighboring countries, Vergriete said, speaking on BFM television, Vergriete 

The attack occurred against a backdrop of global tensions and heightened security measures as the city prepared for the 2024 Olympic Games. Many travelers were planning to converge on the capital for the opening ceremony, and many vacationers were also in transit. 

As Paris authorities geared up for a spectacular parade on and along the Seine River amid tightened security, three fires were reported near the tracks on the high-speed lines of Atlantique, Nord and Est. The disruptions particularly affected Paris’ major Montparnasse station. Videos posted on social networks showed the hall of the station saturated with travelers. 

The Paris police prefecture “concentrated its personnel in Parisian train stations” after the “massive attack” that paralyzed the TGV high-speed network, Laurent Nuñez, the Paris police chief, told France Info television. 

Many passengers at the Gare du Nord, one of Europe’s busiest train stations, were looking for answers and solutions on Friday morning. All eyes were on the central message boards as most services to northern France, Belgium and the United Kingdom were delayed. 

“It’s a hell of a way to start the Olympics,” said Sarah Moseley, 42, as she learned that her train to London was an hour late. 

“They should have more information for tourists, especially if it’s a malicious attack,” said Corey Grainger, a 37-year-old Australian sales manager on his way to London, as he rested on his two suitcases in the middle of the station. 

Travel to and from London beneath the English Channel, to neighboring Belgium, and across the west, north, and east of France was affected by what the French national rail company SNCF called a series of coordinated overnight incidents. 

Government officials denounced the acts, though they said there was no immediate sign of a direct link to the Olympics. National police said authorities were investigating the incidents. French media reported a major fire on a busy western route. 

Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castera said authorities were working to “evaluate the impact on travelers, athletes, and ensure the transport of all delegations to the competition sites” for the Olympics. Speaking on BFM television, she added, “Playing against the Games is playing against France, against your own camp, against your country.” She did not identify who was behind the vandalism. 

Passengers at St. Pancras station in London were warned to expect delays of around an hour to their Eurostar journeys. Announcements in the departure hall at the international terminus informed travelers heading to Paris that there was a problem with overhead power supplies. 

SNCF said it did not know when traffic would resume and feared that disruptions would continue “at least all weekend.” SNCF teams “were already on site to carry out diagnostics and begin repairs,” but the “situation should last at least all weekend while the repairs are carried out,” the operator said. 

SNCF advised “all passengers to postpone their journey and not to go to the station,” specifying in its press release that all tickets were exchangeable and refundable. 

Valerie Pecresse, president of the regional council of the greater Paris region said “250,000 travelers will be affected today on all these lines.” Substitution plans were underway, but Pecresse advised travelers “not to go to stations.” 

The troubles comes ahead of an opening ceremony has been planned for later Friday in which 7,000 Olympic athletes are due to sail down the Seine past iconic Parisian monuments such as Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre Museum, and the Musee d’Orsay.