Harris Has $404 Million to Spend as Strong August Fundraising Puts Her Ahead of Trump 

A lawn sign surrounded by American flags in support of US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Berkley, Michigan, US, September 5, 2024. (Reuters)
A lawn sign surrounded by American flags in support of US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Berkley, Michigan, US, September 5, 2024. (Reuters)
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Harris Has $404 Million to Spend as Strong August Fundraising Puts Her Ahead of Trump 

A lawn sign surrounded by American flags in support of US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Berkley, Michigan, US, September 5, 2024. (Reuters)
A lawn sign surrounded by American flags in support of US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Berkley, Michigan, US, September 5, 2024. (Reuters)

Kamala Harris's presidential campaign and the Democratic Party raised $361 million in August, leaving her with a clear cash advantage over Republican rival Donald Trump with two months to go before Election Day, the campaign said on Friday.

It said the August haul left Harris with $404 million in cash on hand at the beginning of September.

Trump's campaign team said on Wednesday that it and the Republican Party raised $130 million in August, leaving $295 million cash on hand at the end of the month.

The two candidates will spend more than $1 billion in this campaign, breaking records, according to regulatory filings. Trump and Harris are using the money to run advertisements and build get-out-the-vote operations in the closely contested states that will decide the election.

The fundraising totals, which are reported to US election regulators, are closely watched for signs of momentum ahead of the tightly contested Nov. 5 election.

The totals do not include the money raised by outside groups supporting each candidate.

A key test for both candidates will come at their televised debate on Tuesday, the first since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris as his successor on July 21.

Harris' candidacy has re-energized Democrats and donors, and she has had a surge in opinion polls.

Three-quarters of the 1.3 million new donors to Harris in August did not contribute in the last presidential election in 2020, her campaign said. It said more than six in 10 donors in August were women, and nearly one in five were registered Republicans or independents.

Nonetheless, polling averages show it is a tight race in the battleground states that will decide the election, including Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia.



Ukraine Gets New Chief Diplomat as War with Russia Enters Critical Phase 

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Parliament Press Office, Ukraine's newly appointed Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha speaks in parliament in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Andrii Nesterewnko/Ukrainian Parliament Press Office via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Parliament Press Office, Ukraine's newly appointed Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha speaks in parliament in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Andrii Nesterewnko/Ukrainian Parliament Press Office via AP)
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Ukraine Gets New Chief Diplomat as War with Russia Enters Critical Phase 

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Parliament Press Office, Ukraine's newly appointed Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha speaks in parliament in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Andrii Nesterewnko/Ukrainian Parliament Press Office via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Parliament Press Office, Ukraine's newly appointed Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha speaks in parliament in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Andrii Nesterewnko/Ukrainian Parliament Press Office via AP)

Ukraine’s parliament approved the appointment of a new foreign minister Thursday, two lawmakers said, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought to breathe fresh life into his administration with the war against Russia poised for what could be a pivotal phase.

Andrii Sybiha, a former ambassador to Türkiye, is the country’s new chief diplomat. He replaced Dmytro Kuleba, who became one of Ukraine’s most recognizable faces on the international stage as he petitioned and pleaded with Western countries to support Ukraine’s war effort.

Sybiha, 49, has been working as Kuleba’s deputy since April.

Zelenskyy wants to replace almost a dozen top officials in his biggest government shake-up since Russia’s full-scale invasion started on Feb. 24, 2022. Other changes included the heads of strategic industries, justice, natural resources and farming.

Parliament’s approval is required for the changes. Ukrainian lawmakers Yaroslav Zhelezniak and Oleksii Honcharenko confirmed the vote to The Associated Press.

Zelenskyy said Wednesday of the reshuffle that Ukraine needs “new energy.”

The war, more than 900 days long, is on the cusp of what could be a key period.

A likely hard winter lies ahead, testing the country’s resolve. Ukraine’s power grid is under severe strain after Russian missiles and drones knocked out around 70% of the country’s generation capacity. That could mean going without heat and water.

On the battlefield, Ukraine is waiting to see whether the military’s gamble with its surprise thrust into Russia’s Kursk border region a month ago pays dividends. Meanwhile, outgunned Ukrainian soldiers are gradually being pushed backward by Russia’s monthslong drive deeper into eastern Ukraine, and Ukrainian civilians are at the mercy of Russia’s deadly long-range aerial strikes.

The casualty list from a Russian missile strike Tuesday on a military training school in the Ukrainian city of Poltava grew to 55 dead and 328 wounded, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said Thursday. A search and rescue operation was continuing.

No major policy changes were expected under the new administration. Zelenskyy’s five-year mandate expired in May, but he remains in power under the provisions of martial law, and his leadership is largely unchallenged.

Sybiha, the new foreign minister who also previously worked in the president’s office, takes on the role as Ukraine endeavors to prevent war fatigue from eroding the West’s commitment.

Kyiv officials will also have to navigate the result of the US election in November, which could produce important policy shifts in Washington.

Top of Ukraine’s wish list at the moment are more Western air defense systems and permission from its Western partners to let it use their weapons to hit targets on Russian soil. Some Western leaders are reluctant to grant that request, because they fear an escalation that could drag them into the fighting.

Top US military leaders, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will meet in Germany on Friday to discuss those issues with European allies.

Zelenskyy hasn’t shrunk from major decisions that risk alienating senior officials and perplexing the public.

In February, he replaced his top general in a shake-up aimed at reigniting battlefield momentum, and the then defense minister Oleksii Reznikov quit a year ago, after Zelenskyy said that he would be replaced and named his successor.