Tim Walz introduced as Harris’ VP pick and EPA bans pesticide: Morning Rundown

How Kamala Harris picked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. The EPA issues its first emergency order in almost 40 years. And controversies around YouTube star MrBeast are bubbling. 

Here’s what to know today.

Inside Harris’ ‘gut’ decision to choose Walz as her running mate

Before yesterday’s campaign rally in Pennsylvania, it’s possible that many people outside of Minnesota didn’t know who Tim Walz was. The Minnesota governor, whose recent use of the word “weird” on national TV to label the Republican opposition won him some notoriety, was considered a dark-horse contender to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. 

Many people anticipated Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro would instead be Harris’ final choice. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona was also among the final three in consideration. 

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In the end, after meetings with the three finalists, Harris concluded she had the best personal rapport with Walz and was convinced that he would have her back and not let his personal ambitions get in the way. Ultimately, people close to Harris said, it came down to trusting her “gut.” The choice was officially announced yesterday morning.

Now, Americans are getting to know Walz: a politician, a longtime teacher and football coach, and a veteran. And Harris is betting that his Midwestern dad charm will win over America like it won over her own team.

In interviews with more than a dozen Democrats, several who requested anonymity to speak candidly about what happened behind the scenes, NBC News’ politics team got the inside story on how Harris whittled down the list of potential running mates (all middle-aged white men) and got to Walz.

Read the full story here.

More campaign coverage: 

• Harris and Walz are now hitting the campaign trail together, with stops today in Wisconsin and Michigan. Follow our live blog.
• Trump and his allies reacted with a mix of relief and disbelief and moved quickly to cast the choice as liberal overload.
• Walz’s 2022 election results don’t show a clear blue-collar boost, NBC News and MSNBC national political correspondent Steve Kornacki writes.
• With Walz’s outspoken support of abortion rights and IVF, Democrats put the hot-button issue at the top of their agenda.
• A Harris-Walz win would pave the way for Minnesota’s first female and Native American governor.
• Walz’s former students, football players and colleagues have nothing but fond memories of Mantako West High’s “most inspiring teacher.”
• The 2024 campaign reset is now complete, NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd writes. Now, a few key questions will decide the winner. Read the full analysis here.

American runners dominate on the track 

Team USA racked up more gold medals in track and field, most notably in the women’s 200-meter and the men’s 1500-meter finals. Here’s what happened. 

In the women’s 200-meter race, American Gabby Thomas won the championship that had long eluded her and denied 100-meter winner St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred a double gold. Thomas finished in 21.83 seconds (Watch her impressive run here). Alfred took second, and America’s Brittany Brown won third. 

In the men’s 1500-meter, American Cole Hocker set an Olympic record in his dash to the finish line with a time of 3:27.65 — and in a surprising fashion. At 1,200 meters, Hocker was in fourth place, but he overtook two race favorites, Great Britain’s Josh Kerr and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, in the final 100 meters to win. Kerr won silver and America’s Yared Nuguse won bronze. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. women’s soccer team will play Brazil this weekend for the gold medal after beating Germany 1-0 in the group stage rematch yesterday. And the U.S. men’s basketball team is moving on to the semifinal after handily defeating Brazil 122-87. Here’s a full recap of Day 11 of the Olympics.

Stream every moment and every medal of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Peacock.

Read more

• 🏅 Coming up today: The last day of Olympic skateboarding. Noah Lyles will run for a spot in the final of the men’s 200 meters. And much more. Follow our live blog for the latest updates.
• 🏆 Simone Biles reflects on her triumphant Olympic comeback, saying she’s been “bawling my eyes out” to her teammates since finishing this year’s competition.
• 📵 Former Team USA gymnast MyKayla Skinner called on Biles to stop her followers from “cyberbullying.”
• 👟 Nonbinary runner Nikki Hiltz advanced to the women’s 1500-meter semifinals for Team USA. 
• 🤸🏻‍♂️ Gymnast Carlos Yulo is the Philippines’ first male athlete to win Olympic gold, prompting an outpouring of #PinoyPride.
• 💞 U.S. water polo star Maddie Musselman is going for gold and drawing inspiration from her husband, who is battling cancer.
• 🤼 Cuban wrestler Mijain López Núñez became the first Olympic athlete to win gold in any event at five consecutive Games and the first wrestler to win five gold medals. Now, he’s retiring.
• 🥊 Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, who is at the center of a global debate over gender eligibility, advanced to the gold medal fight.
• 🔥 The 2024 Olympics are one of the first global events fully out of the shadow of the pandemic, and the fervor in Paris — and beyond — is palpable.

▶️ Watch top highlights

• American Sam Watson breaks his own sport climbing world record
• American Caroline Marks barrels her way to gold in women’s surfing
• Anita Alvarez makes a comeback in artistic swimming after scare two years ago
• A strong defense leads the U.S. women’s water polo team to a quarterfinals win

Hamas taps Yahya Sinwar as its new leader

Hamas has announced Yahya Sinwar as its new political leader after the assassination of former chief Ismail Haniyeh last week in Iran. Sinwar, accused by the Israeli military of being the architect of the Oct. 7 attack, was allegedly last seen in a video clip three days after the attack fleeing into a tunnel in southern Gaza with his family. Israeli officials have blasted the decision to install Sinwar. 

Sinwar has long been in charge of Hamas’ governance within the Gaza Strip and reportedly helped form its security force. After spending more than 20 years of a life sentence in prison, he was released in a prisoner exchange in 2011 and rose through the ranks of the organization. Here’s what else is known about him.

EPA issues emergency order to stop using pesticide

The Environmental Protection Agency issued its first emergency order in almost 40 years to immediately stop the use of a pesticide that can harm fetuses. The herbicide, dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (that’s a mouthful) is used to control weeds on a variety of crops, including broccoli, onions, kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and strawberries. 

If a pregnant woman is exposed to DCPA or Dacthal, as it’s more colloquially known, it can cause changes to hormone levels that can have lasting consequences for the child, including low birth weight, impaired brain development, decreased IQ and impaired motor skills later in life, the EPA said. The chemical has been banned in the European Union since 2009. Read more about the ban. 

YouTube star MrBeast carries on amid controversy

Jimmy Donaldson, the YouTube personality known as MrBeast, has been subjected to some of the most intense scrutiny of his career as controversies swirl about a former collaborator and his new reality TV show. 

The recent backlash began after his former collaborator Ava Kris Tyson was accused of sending inappropriate messages to a minor. Some fans have speculated that Donaldson knew about the messages, but he said in a post on X that he didn’t know about them. Then, reports surfaced that contestants on his upcoming reality TV competition show “Beast Games” were subjected to unsafe conditions, such as inadequate access to food and medical care while on set. A spokesperson for Donaldson said the shoot was “complicated by the CrowdStrike incident, extreme weather and unexpected logistical and communication issues.” 

Amid the controversy, MrBeast is still putting out content and growing his brand. As one expert put it, “there’s really no mechanisms for accountability” for large creators. And MrBeast is the biggest YouTuber in the world.

Politics in Brief 

Primary results: Rep. Cori Bush lost the Democratic primary in Missouri, a race that exposed the party’s divisions in Israel. St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell is expected to carry the deep-blue 1st Congressional District in November.

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Staff Pick: Where Lahaina stands a year after the devastating wildfire

The incongruous sight of paradise destroyed has stayed with me since I first arrived last August on Maui after a monstrous fire reduced the historic town of Lahaina to rubble. A year later, many of the people I met remain displaced. They have bounced from hotel room to hotel room, some still living in makeshift shelters with more than a dozen relatives. Business owners are also struggling to begin anew as they cobble together loans and grants for a fresh start. But the 12 residents I recently spoke with all had the same thing to say: They can’t wait to rebuild Lahaina from the ground up.— Alicia Victoria Lozano, reporter

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

For many people, a fresh cup of coffee is essential to get the day started. Consider using one of these staff-approved coffee makers. And don’t forget to clean your machine at least once a month. Here’s how to do it.

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