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| President Biden embracing Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland as Kamala Harris looks on. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images |
‘Their brutal ordeal is over’
President Biden and Kamala Harris, the vice president, welcomed home Americans who had been released from Russian custody, including the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland last night. “Their brutal ordeal is over, and they’re free,” Biden said earlier in the day.
The complex deal for their release — which came together after elaborate negotiations involving seven countries — was a diplomatic victory for Biden, who has long pledged to bring imprisoned Americans home. Sixteen people in total were released by Russia, and in exchange, eight people were freed by the West.
In a statement, Gershkovich’s family thanked Biden and other officials for helping to secure his release after 16 months in a Russian prison. At the air base, after stepping off the plane and talking with Biden and Harris, Gershkovich hugged a family member and lifted her into the air.
Analysis: The linchpin of the deal for Russia was the release of the assassin Vadim Krasikov from a German prison, which President Vladimir Putin had long sought. “Russia passed a law in 2006 which formally permitted the extrajudicial killing abroad of those Moscow accuses of extremism and terrorism,” Neil MacFarquhar, a reporter for The Times who has covered the Kremlin for years, said. “In the eyes of the Kremlin, Krasikov’s assassination in Berlin of a Chechen separatist leader whom Russia labeled a terrorist was legitimate.”
Details: The Americans freed were Gershkovich, 32; Alsu Kurmasheva, 47, a Russian American editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, who was also arrested last year; and Paul Whelan, 54, a former Marine arrested in 2018.
In Russia: The deal was a triumph of a different sort for Putin, who can use it to highlight his loyalty to Russian agents who get arrested abroad.
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| Edmundo González, in a blue shirt, next to María Corina Machado, a popular opposition leader, at a rally this week in Caracas, Venezuela. Alejandro Cegarra for The New York Times |
The U.S. says Maduro’s rival won
The U.S. recognizes Venezuela’s opposition candidate, Edmundo González, as the winner of the country’s disputed presidential election, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last night.
That defies a claim of victory by the country’s authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, backed by the government-controlled electoral body. Maduro’s government has not provided a vote count. González’s campaign says it has receipts from voting machines that indicate he won by an insurmountable margin.
Blinken’s announcement is sure to anger Maduro, who has been in power since 2013. González’s candidacy has posed the most significant electoral threat to Maduro’s power since he took office.
Statement: “Given the overwhelming evidence, it is clear to the United States and, most importantly, to the Venezuelan people that Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes,” Blinken said.
U.S. ELECTION 2024
The presidential election is less than 100 days away. This is what we’re watching.
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| The formal process of making Kamala Harris the Democrats’ presidential nominee has begun. Erin Schaff/The New York Times |
Kamala Harris’s No. 2 will soon be announced
With just days until the full Democratic ticket is unveiled, contenders to be Kamala Harris’s running mate are raising money and highlighting their résumés. Here’s the latest.
Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky spoke in Oklahoma yesterday, while Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota underscored his ability to sell gun rights supporters on more restrictive measures. Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois posted a video highlighting his accomplishments, and Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary, is set to headline a fund-raiser in New Hampshire today.
Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, whose state is scheduled to host the first joint appearance of Harris and her running mate, canceled weekend appearances for reasons that were unclear.
Nomination process: An online roll call to formally select Harris as the Democrats’ presidential nominee, expected to conclude on Monday, began yesterday.
Here’s what else to know:
| Both the Harris campaign and the Republican Party dealt with fallout from Donald Trump’s false claims about her racial identity.JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, called Harris a “phony” who “grew up in Canada.” (She lived there as a teenager.)Several Senate Republicans criticized Trump’s strategy of questioning Harris’s identity, but not the substance of his comments.Trump has criticized Project 2025, a conservative policy playbook with extreme proposals. But Vance’s ties to the project have complicated the former president’s attempts to distance himself from it. |
Do you have questions about the election? Send them to us, and we’ll find the answers.
| MORE TOP NEWS |
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| Christopher Furlong/Getty Images |
| England: A judge allowed the naming of the 17-year-old charged in the stabbing rampage in Southport, to help counter false online claims that he was an undocumented immigrant.U.S.: The Secret Service failed to make proper use of technology that could have helped them prevent Donald Trump’s shooting.Sudan: A famine has been declared in a city in the Darfur region, which has been under siege by a paramilitary group since April.North Korea: South Korea offered to send humanitarian aid after the North reported extensive damage from floods. |
| Air travel: A new U.S. federal policy would require airlines to seat families together on flights without charging extra fees. |
| Inflation: The Bank of England cut interest rates for the first time in more than four years.Turkey: Critics of a new law aimed at moving stray dogs to shelters, and allowing some to be euthanized, say it has worrying political implications.Culture: Lin-Manuel Miranda, who became a household name for the musical “Hamilton,” announced a forthcoming concept album inspired by the cult 1979 film “The Warriors.” |
Middle East
| A Times investigation found that the Wednesday assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader of Hamas, was carried out with an explosive device smuggled two months ago into his Tehran guesthouse.Israel said it killed Muhammad Deif, the leader of Hamas’s armed wing, in a strike last month. He is believed to have been one of the main planners of the Oct. 7 attacks.Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said its conflict with Israel had entered a new phase this week with Israel’s strike in suburban Beirut, but he stopped short of promising an escalation. |
Olympic Games
| Medal table: Is the U.S. leading the table? It depends on how you count.Swimming: Katie Ledecky is now the most decorated American woman in Olympic history, earning a record-breaking 13th medal yesterday.Gymnastics: Simone Biles won the all-around gold medal, and her U.S. teammate, Sunisa Lee, claimed bronze.Boxing: An Italian boxer abandoned her bout after only 46 seconds, sparking a furor over her opponent’s gender.Style: The South Korean pistol shooter Kim Yeji is the internet’s new favorite Olympian.Tennis: Zheng Qinwen beat Iga Swiatek to reach the women’s tennis final. And Andy Murray’s career in the sport came to an end in a doubles defeat. |
| SPORTS NEWS |
| Soccer: Pascal Gross has completed his move to Borussia Dortmund from Brighton.Formula 1: Jonathan Wheatley is to join Audi as its new team principal.Ice hockey: Why was the beloved hockey broadcaster Jeff Marek pulled off the air? |
| MORNING READ |
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| Andre D. Wagner for The New York Times |
Meshell Ndegeocello could have had stardom. Her 1993 debut jolted the industry — but the bassist, singer and composer decided to pursue music that was bolder and more ambitious, rather than work that would necessarily yield a conventional hit. Now she is releasing a powerful album inspired by James Baldwin.
Related: Today would have been Baldwin’s 100th birthday. See images from his life.
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
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| Maja Hitij/Getty Images |
‘10 girls, two bathrooms. #olympicvillage.’
The U.S. tennis star Coco Gauff is one of the world’s biggest sports stars. But to compete on one of the world’s biggest stages, she lives in a utilitarian dorm, which became chaotic (judging from a TikTok video) as she and her teammates prepped their looks for the opening ceremony.
While the Olympic Village has its perks, including delicious muffins, athletes have complained that the communal, sustainable housing doesn’t provide optimal conditions. For some, it’s the infamous cardboard beds or rooms without curtains; for others, the food; for many, the water-cooled rooms that don’t cool enough.
Go inside the village of 14,000 elite athletes.
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
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| Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Greg Lofts. |
Cook: Pair the bold, savory taste of mapo tofu with creamy soft-scrambled eggs.
