Good evening! We're wrapping up the day for you with the most important stories you need to know and your weather outlook.
Your Weather Planner
Temperatures have remained near average across the basin. But a stream of clouds from the south are moving in.
The first weekend of August promises to be hotter than normal for the interior deserts.
Watching for an increase in humidity and monsoonal moisture early Friday morning for the Antelope Valley.
Tomorrow's Highs
Get your 7-day forecast: LA West | LA East | San Fernando Valley/Ventura County | Orange County
Today's Big Stories
1. Trump falsely questions Harris' race in interview at Black journalists convention
In a heated sit down at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump falsely accused Vice President Kamala Harris — the first Black vice president in U.S. history — of only starting to identify as Black in recent years for political expediency.
Harris, the daughter of a Jamaican-American immigrant father and an Indian-American immigrant mother, identifies as both Black and Asian-American, attended a historically Black university, joined a Black sorority at Howard University and served as the president of the Black Law Students Association at the University of California College of the Law. As a senator, she was a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Trump made the remark as he was responding to a question about his fellow Republicans calling Harris a “DEI hire” and whether he believed Harris “is only on the [Democratic] ticket because she’s a Black woman.”
“I can say no, I think it's maybe a little bit different. So I've known her a long time indirectly, not directly, very much, and she was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black,” Trump said to audible gasps from the audience of Black journalists. “And now she wants to be known as Black. So I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black?”
“I respect either one, but she obviously doesn't because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden, she made a turn and she became a Black person and I think someone should look into that,” Trump added, before attacking ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott for what he described as her “hostile, nasty tone” as she queried him.
2. Long Beach’s northbound Shoemaker Bridge to close for weekend repairs
A repair project this weekend on the Shoemaker Bridge will prompt closures and detours to the northbound Long Beach (710) Freeway from downtown Long Beach and the port area, officials said Wednesday.
Work is scheduled from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on the underside of the bridge, which was damaged when cargo carried by a truck struck the span in January. Crews will assess and evaluate the steel framing on the bridge to determine what will need to be replaced at a later date.
The Shoemaker Bridge spans the Los Angeles River and connects Seventh Street to the 710 Freeway.
Motorists coming from downtown Long Beach will need to access the northbound 710 Freeway from Anaheim Street, port officials said. The Ocean Boulevard, Third Street and Seventh Street ramps will be closed as well.
3. UC President Michael Drake announces retirement
University of California President Dr. Michael V. Drake, whose tenure overseeing the 10-campus system included the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the more recent protests over the Israel-Hamas war announced Wednesday he will step down from his post after the 2024-25 academic year.
Drake, 74, has been president of the UC system since July 2020.
As UC president, Drake also oversees six academic health systems and three nationally affiliated labs, in addition to the university campuses. Prior to assuming his role as the 21st UC president, he served as Ohio State University president for six years from 2014 through June 2020.
Born in New York City and raised in New Jersey and Sacramento, Drake attended Stanford University before moving to UC San Francisco for medical school.
Drake's history with the UC system runs longer than 25 years from the onset of his academic career at UCSF, through which he has held academic and administrative roles in UCSF, UC Irvine and UC Riverside.
4. Fed keeps rates unchanged, but signals cuts on the horizon
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that greater progress has been made in reducing inflation to its 2% target, a sign that the central bank is moving closer toward cutting its key interest rate for the first time in four years.
In a statement issued after it concluded its two-day meeting, the Fed also said that “job gains have moderated” and acknowledged that the unemployment rate has risen. The Fed is required by Congress to pursue stable prices and maximum employment, and the statement said the central bank is “attentive to the risks” to both goals, a shift after several years of focusing exclusively on combatting inflation.
Fed policymakers also chose to keep their key rate at a 23-year high of 5.3%, even as many Democratic elected officials and some economists have pushed for lower rates to bolster the economy and prevent job cuts. Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, have argued that a rate cut before the election would appear politically motivated.
Your Notes for Tomorrow
- Unemployment weekly claims report
- 300th day of the Hamas-Israel conflict after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on 7 Oct 2023.
- Democratic National Committee expected to hold roll call vote to nominate the party's presidential candidate before the Democratic National Convention.
- Paris 2024 Olympic Games continues with day six. Women's all-around gymnastics is expected to feature 2016 Olympic champion Simone Biles and 2020 Olympics champion Sunisa Lee for team U.S. If either Biles or Lee win gold, they will be the first woman to win multiple Olympic all-around titles since Vera Caslavska in 1964 and 1968. In swimming, Katie Ledecky competes for the U.S. in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay. The men's golf competition begins, featuring for the U.S. defending champion Xander Schauffele alongside Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, and Collin Morikawa. U.S. teams in action today in the men's water polo against Greece, women's 3x3 basketball against Australia and Spain, women's hockey against Great Britain, men's 3x3 basketball against Lithuania and Latvia, and women's basketball against Belgium.
- Paris 2024 Olympic Games gold medal events today in artistic gymnastics (women's all-around), canoe slalom (men's kayak single), fencing (women's foil team), judo (men's -100kg and women's -78kg), rowing (double sculls and fours), sailing (men's and women's skiff), shooting (men's 50m rifle 3 positions), swimming (women's 200m butterfly, men's 200m backstroke, women's 200m breaststroke, women's 4x200 freestyle relay), and track and field (men's and women's 20km race walk)
In Case You Missed It
From WeHo's 1st drag laureate to DragCon, LA is becoming known for inclusivity
West Hollywood has long been a sanctuary for LGBTQ+ community and a beacon of acceptance and creativity. It's also the unofficial home of LA's drag culture — a culture has been thrust more and more into the national spotlight.
Click the link above for more information.