Good Thursday morning! Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s VP pick, outlines vision for the White House at RNC; Biden faces more pressure to drop out of race; and an inside look at hostage negotiations around the world.

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Good morning,

Adele is going from singing “Hello, it’s me,” to goodbye (at least, goodbye for now). The British superstar says she’s taking “a big break” following a residency in Munich, Germany.

• “My tank is quite empty from being on stage every weekend in Las Vegas. I don’t have any plans for new music, at all.”

• She is going to spend the five weekends of August in Munich, playing two concerts per week. And after two full years, her residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas will end Nov. 23.

🎫 Grab your tickets!

Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren

PS: Don’t forget to refer friends & family to subscribe to the Mo Newsletter… you could get free Mo News merch — DETAILS at the bottom of this newsletter!

📌 JD VANCE INTRODUCES HIMSELF TO AMERICA IN GOP CONVENTION SPEECH

Ohio Senator JD Vance highlighted his personal story, including his upbringing in a poor family that struggled with addiction, as part of his primetime Republican National Convention speech last night. He also took aim at President Biden for being apart of the “ruling class” that ignores average Americans.

The first-term Senator (elected in 2022) also portrayed former President Trump as a ‘unifier’ who will change Americans’ economic future.

A LIVING AMERICAN DREAM
Vance appeared to choke up when he introduced his mother mid-speech, who he said is “10 years clean and sober.” Centered on his challenging upbringing, Vance argued the socioeconomic and drug crises he saw growing up in the Rust Belt and Appalachia were brought about by policies Biden supported. “Joe Biden screwed up and my community paid the price,” he said.

• Military service: Unlike Biden, Trump or Harris, Vance is a veteran—having served in the US Marines. He was stationed in Iraq, and the GI Bill helped him pay his way through college.

• Family man: His wife Usha introduced him. In her RNC debut, she spoke of Vance as a family man who exemplifies the American dream. She is the daughter of Indian immigrants and met Vance at Yale Law School. She clerked for Supreme Court Justice John Roberts.

• Next generation MAGA: The author of “Hillbilly Elegy”—turned venture capitalist—turned politician will turn 40-years-old next month. He would be the 3rd youngest VP in American history.

VISION FOR AMERICA
Vance’s “America First” agenda focuses on blue-collar workers in what he called the “forgotten communities” of the Midwest. “The people who govern this country have failed and failed again. That is until a guy named Donald J. Trump came along.”

• Economy & Cost of Living: He asked the crowd, “Were you better off four years ago?” Vance blames the Biden-Harris administration for inflation and wage stagnation.

• Guns: Vance is pro-gun rights, and told a story of his grandma, who raised him, and had 19 loaded handguns stashed around her house as she aged to keep her safe.

• Immigration: After previously endorsing Trump’s plans for mass deportations of undocumented migrants, Vance gave a nod Wednesday to inclusivity, saying that people need to come in legally like his wife’s parents.

• Disagreement is Good: In his closing remarks, Vance said, "We won’t always agree on every issue, of course, not even in this room … That’s fine. In fact, it’s more than fine, it’s good."

📌 BAD NEWS FOR BIDEN: COVID, MORE CALLS TO DROP OUT OF RACE FROM DEMS

President Biden faced new calls Wednesday from fellow Democrats to drop out of the race. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently told him that he has no chance of winning, and could take Congressional Democrats down with him. It comes as Biden learned yesterday that he has COVID, and has flown to Delaware to isolate. Rough week.

• Additionally, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) became the highest profile lawmaker to publicly call on the president to step aside.

  • He argues that Biden won’t win, but could "secure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election” with someone else.

It comes as new polling shows Trump trouncing Biden in battleground states that Democrats need to win in order to keep the White House. VP Kamala Harris fares better than Biden, but may not be the strongest Democrat against Trump.

THE NUMBERS
A recent AP-NORC poll shows nearly two-thirds of Democrats want Biden to drop out of the race.

• Who could win? Other polling from BlueLabs Analytics finds Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro are all stronger contenders.

  • Why? Voters want a fresh face.

WILL THE DNC GET THE MEMO?
The Democratic National Convention's rules committee plans to meet tomorrow to discuss plans to secure Biden as the party’s nominee.

• The group agreed to delay the virtual nomination process of Biden from as early as this Sunday to the middle of August. The in-person Democratic National Convention starts in Chicago on Aug. 19.

BOTTOM LINE: The decision on whether Biden stays in the race is still his to make, and so far, he says he’s in it to win it. But, campaigning will have to be put on hold for at least a few days, with Biden testing positive for COVID.

📌 STATE OF HOSTAGE NEGOTIATIONS FROM RUSSIA TO GAZA

There are nearly 50 Americans wrongfully detained abroad right now. In Gaza, eight (five living and three presumed dead) of the more than 100 hostages are Americans.

• Just yesterday, Israeli officials landed in Egypt for hostage and cease-fire talks. International mediators are pushing Israel and Hamas toward a phased deal that would halt the fighting and free the remaining hostages.

  • US officials have consistently said that at this point, Hamas is the hold up.

  • It comes after critical reports inside Israel quoting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying, “Hamas is the one that should be anxious. The hostages are suffering but they are not dying.“ Meanwhile, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned in a recent private meeting that if a deal “is not signed in the next two weeks - the fate of the hostages is sealed."

To get an inside look at high-stakes hostage negotiations, Mo News spoke with Mickey Bergman, who has worked for two decades to free hostages from Iran to North Korea and Russia.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE
Bergman says he knows “two cardinal truths” about hostage negotiations: First, “the deals never get better over time,” and second, “that time is terrible for the hostages.”

• He says that as more time goes by, people can get sick or mentally deteriorate.

• Tracking the numbers: Hostages in Gaza have been held for over nine months. American journalist Evan Gershkovich has been wrongfully imprisoned in Russia for nearly 16 months. Six other Americans have been held for more than 10 years.

A DEAL IN RUSSIA
Today, Gershkovich’s secret espionage trial proceedings are set to resume.. It’s not clear how long a trial would last, but Russia has yet to present any evidence of their charges. Bergman says don’t expect any deal soon.

• Bergman says Russia keeps taking Americans who are more public-facing and high-stakes in order to get the US to free prisoners it wants back. That’s why Gershkovich was taken into custody after WNBA star Brittney Griner was released in Dec. 2022.

• No end in sight: Bergman explains that Putin “doesn't want to make Biden look good in an election year,” so there is little hope before the November elections.

🎧 For the full interview check out our ‘Mo News The Interview’ podcast on Apple | Spotify 🎧

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Powerful Moment: Families of US troops killed in Afghanistan criticize Biden at Republican convention (AP NEWS)

📌 Speaker Mike Johnson calls on Secret Service director to resign after assassination attempt on Trump (NBC NEWS) USSS was told by local police they couldn’t protect building (WASHINGTON POST)

📌 Jack Smith appeals dismissal of Trump's classified documents case (AXIOS)

📌 California school district sues Gavin Newsom over new gender-identity law (GUARDIAN)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Hezbollah leader threatens new attacks on Israeli towns as tensions rise (REUTERS)

📌 Uncontacted Indigenous Amazon tribe spotted (NBC)

📌 Paris mayor swims in Seine as city cleans up river for Olympics (WIRED)

📌 King Charles III unveils Keir Starmer’s plans for Britain, in state opening of new parliament (CNN)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Psilocybin in magic mushrooms can influence brain for weeks, study finds (GUARDIAN)

📌 Samsung’s new AI image generation tool is a little too good (THE VERGE)

📌 Amtrak passengers face record delays from extreme weather (NY TIMES)

📌 US housing market turning more buyer friendly (YAHOO FINANCE)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 ‘Shogun’ leads all Emmy nominees with 25 and ‘The Bear’ sets comedy series record with 23 (AP)

📌 Bob Iger and wife Willow Bay will be Angel City FC controlling owners (FOX BUSINESS)

📌 Alec Baldwin says he may sue prosecutor, sheriff over 'Rust' trial (REUTERS)

📌 Drake’s Toronto mansion seriously flooded amid record-breaking storms (USA TODAY)

🗓 ON THIS DAY: JULY 18

• 1925: The first volume of Mein Kampf, the political manifesto written by Adolf Hitler that became the bible of Nazism, was published. It sells less than 10,000 copies in the first year.

• 1976: Romania’s Nadia Comăneci became the first gymnast to ever get a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic event during the Summer Games in Montreal.

• 1988: Aruba, Jamaica…….The Beach Boys released ‘Kokomo.’

• 1995: A little-known college professor named Barack Obama published a memoir “Dreams from My Father.” 13 years later he is elected president.