Details emerge after an ICE officer fatally shoots a man in Houston. At least half a dozen Maine Democrats vie to replace Graham Platner. And Sony’s decision to stop selling physical PlayStation discs sparks pushback.
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Democrats launch a mad dash to replace Graham Platner
The Democratic Party has less than three weeks to replace Graham Platner after he withdrew from Maine’s Senate race as the Democratic candidate, creating unprecedented chaos as new candidates make their pitch.
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At least half a dozen Democrats have entered the race, including three people who ran and lost — or withdrew — in the Senate primary against Platner and three people who unsuccessfully ran in the party’s gubernatorial primary. Some are eyeing the progressive mantle, while others are billing themselves as an anti-establishment outsider or center-left leader.
Nirav Shah, who ran the state’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention during the Covid pandemic, is turning his unsuccessful bid for governor into a new campaign. At his launch event, volunteers were repurposing “Shah for Governor” signs and even some of Platner’s old materials.
Maine voters realize the countdown to the July 27 deadline will be messy. And the question of whether anyone will beat Republican Susan Collins, who has been in office since 1997, looms large.
Here’s what we know about the candidates.
More politics news:
- For subscribers: The Trump administration ousted all three sitting members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, crippling the bipartisan agency that helps state and local officials run elections.
- For subscribers: President Donald Trump’s effort to use the Alien Enemies Act to justify deporting Venezuelans has fizzled as the case remains mired in litigation and the administration undermines its own rationale.
- A key federal commission approved plans for Trump’s proposed 250-foot arch, signaling unprecedented leniency under a 116-year-old law regulating the height of buildings in the capital.
- Ministry leader Victor Marx, who gained notice after claiming he killed a man when he was a child, won the Republican primary for governor of Colorado.
Iran’s supreme leader is buried after funeral that drew millions
A week of mourning and massive funeral processions came to an end Thursday when Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was buried at the country’s holiest shrine in his home city, Mashhad.
The ceremonies coincided with a renewed burst of tit-for-tat strikes with the U.S. that is threatening to collapse the agreement to end the war. The U.S. and Iran traded attacks after Trump said this week that he considered the tenuous ceasefire between the two countries “over.”
Photos and video broadcast on state media showed people reaching out to touch the truck carrying Khamenei’s coffin, while others threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the casket, a practice common in the Islamic Republic. The crowd of black-clad mourners were also heard chanting slogans demanding revenge on Trump for Khamenei’s death.
Read more about Khamenei’s funeral.
ICE was searching for a different person when man was killed in Houston, lawmaker says
Immigration officers were not targeting Lorenzo Salgado Araujo when he was shot and killed this week in Houston, U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia said. Garcia said she spoke to David Venturella, the acting director of ICE, who confirmed to her that Salgado Araujo was not the person officials were looking for.
None of the officers involved in the shooting were wearing body cameras, two Department of Homeland Security officials and a source familiar with the investigation told NBC News.
Salgado Araujo’s death has sparked an onslaught of demands for accountability from state and local officials. The Department of Homeland Security claims Salgado Araujo was trying to evade arrest when an ICE officer fired his weapon “in self-defense.” Salgado Araujo’s family said he was on his way to a jobsite with several other employees in the vehicle and that he had no criminal history.
What else officials and Salgado Araujo’s family have said.
France moves on to the semifinals
Kylian Mbappé scored yesterday in France’s 2-0 win against Morocco — the 20th of his World Cup career and one behind Argentinian icon Lionel Messi’s all-time World Cup scoring record of 21 (and counting). Mbappé also assisted an Ousmane Dembélé goal. The win propels Les Bleus to the semifinals on Tuesday where they will face the winner of today’s Spain vs. Belgium match, which begins at 3 p.m. ET.
Messi will get the chance to add to his tally on Saturday when Argentina take on Switzerland. He and Mbappé are vying for what some commentators are calling the greatest race for the Golden Boot in World Cup history. Both are currently on eight goals. The other quarterfinal this weekend is England vs Norway, whose striker Erling Haaland is also in the running with seven.
Read the full recap of France vs Morocco.
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Staff Pick: The fight to ‘save the disc’ is about more than nostalgia
Why are gamers so riled up over Sony’s decision to abandon physical discs for future PlayStation games? Starting in 2028, new releases will only be purchasable online. I talked to players about why the move has triggered such intense pushback. They say it’s a broader fight over the ability to truly own, trade, and preserve the games they pay for: A digital purchase, after all, only grants users a revocable license to play the software. — Angela Yang, trending reporter
Read All About It
- Tyler Robinson, the 23-year-old accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk, expressed regret the day after the shooting, his roommate said.
- For subscribers: An investigation is underway into the death of Nolan Wells, the 18-year-old who vanished after a July Fourth boating trip.
- For subscribers: The FTC announced a “right to repair” settlement with John Deere, but farmers and advocates remain skeptical.
- For subscribers: “Heartfelt” or “creepy”? A video from “It Ends With Us” director and actor Justin Baldoni after his legal battle with Blake Lively has drawn mixed reactions.
NBC Selected: Online Shopping, Simplified
It’s midway through pickleball season and, if your soles are wearing out, you might want to consider replacing them with shoes that’ll support your ankles on (and off) the court. Got sunburned during a game (or while spending time at the beach)? Try one of these dermatologist-approved treatments to help your burn heal correctly.
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