Election 2024 Latest: Harris to sit for CNN interview; Jack Smith files new indictment against Trump

Vice President Kamala Harris has a new advertising push to draw attention to her plan to build 3 million new homes over four years, a move designed to contain inflationary pressures that also draws a sharp contrast to Republican Donald Trump’s approach.

Meanwhile, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has endorsed Trump’s presidential bid, furthering her shift away from the party she sought to represent four years ago and linking herself to the GOP nominee’s critiques of Harris and the chaotic Afghanistan War withdrawal.

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Here’s the Latest:

Donald Trump says he’s reached “an agreement” with Kamala Harris over rules for their debate next month, but Harris' campaign says that's not the case.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday that the parameters for the Sept. 10 presidential debate would be “the same as the last CNN Debate.” During that debate with Joe Biden, the candidates' microphones were muted except when it was their turn to speak.

But Harris’ campaign says Tuesday that specifics for the debate are still being worked with host ABC News. A Harris spokesperson noted: “Both candidates have publicly made clear their willingness to debate with unmuted mics for the duration of the debate to fully allow for substantive exchanges between the candidates - but it appears Donald Trump is letting his handlers overrule him. Sad!”

A spokesperson for the network did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

The back and forth over the debate has centered around the issue of microphone muting, which Biden’s campaign made a condition of his decision to accept any debates this year.

A Harris spokesperson said Monday that Harris wants microphones to be live all the time. Trump’s campaign alleged Harris’ representatives sought “a seated debate, with notes, and opening statements,” specifications the Harris campaign denied.

Vice President Kamala Harris is sitting down with CNN this week for her first interview since President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid.

She will be joined by her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in a joint interview with CNN anchor Dana Bash in Savannah, Georgia.

The interview will air at 9 p.m. Thursday Eastern time.

Harris has been criticized for not holding news conferences or granting interviews with news outlets since Biden stepped aside on July 21.

Donald Trump’s campaign has kept a tally of the days she has gone by as a candidate without giving an interview. On Tuesday, the campaign reacted to the news by noting the interview was joint, saying “she’s not competent enough to do it on her own.”

Read more here.

Special counsel Jack Smith filed a new indictment Tuesday against Donald Trump over his efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election that keeps the same criminal charges but narrows the allegations against him following a Supreme Court opinion that conferred broad immunity on former presidents.

The new indictment removes a section of the indictment that had accused Trump of trying to use the law enforcement powers of the Justice Department to overturn his election loss, an area of conduct for which the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 opinion last month, said that Trump was absolutely immune from prosecution.

The stripped-down criminal case represents a first effort by prosecutors to comply with a Supreme Court opinion likely to result in a significant revision of the allegations against Trump over his efforts to block the peaceful transfer of power. It was filed three days ahead of a deadline for prosecutors and defense lawyers to tell the judge in the case how they wanted to proceed in light of that opinion, which said former presidents are presumptively immune from prosecution for official White House acts.

The two sides will be back in court for a status hearing next week, the first such appearance in months given that the case had been effectively frozen since last December as Trump’s immunity appeal worked its way through the justice system.

Read more here.

Vice President Kamala Harris is holding her first campaign event with President Joe Biden since he stepped aside last month and Harris launched her presidential bid. Biden and Harris traveled together earlier this month for a noncampaign event on lowering costs of prescription drugs.

Harris is traveling to Detroit and then appearing with Biden in Pittsburgh on Monday, which is Labor Day. Campaign officials said the events will include Labor Day parades and visits with local union members.

Harris’ running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will spend Labor Day campaigning in Milwaukee with his wife, Gwen Walz. Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff will attend an event in Newport News, Virginia.

Some of the country’s largest labor unions have endorsed Harris, but Trump has also courted union support and has vowed to rescue the auto industry.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted Tuesday to keep Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the presidential ballot, despite his request to be removed, and also rejected a Democratic attempt to oust independent candidate Cornel West.

A move by Democratic elections commissioners to keep Green Party candidate Jill Stein off the ballot also failed. The vote to approve her came the day after the Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit by Democrats to remove Stein from the ballot.

Ultimately, the commission approved eight presidential candidates for the ballot including Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.

Republican members of the commission pushed to grant Kennedy his wish to no longer be on the ballot after he suspended his campaign last week and endorsed Trump. But the commission deadlocked under opposition from Democrats who pointed to Wisconsin state law that says once a candidate has filed for office they must remain on the ballot unless they die.

“We know Trump and Kennedy are playing games,” Democratic elections commission member Mark Thomsen said. “Whatever games they’re playing, they have to play them with Kennedy on the ballot.”

The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted Tuesday to keep independent presidential candidate Cornel West on the ballot, rejecting a challenge filed by an employee of the Democratic National Committee.

The commission ousted one presidential candidate — independent Shiva Ayyadurai, an anti-vaccine activist who was born in India to parents who weren’t United States citizens. The U.S. Constitution requires presidential candidates to be natural-born U.S. citizens.

There will be eight presidential candidates on the ballot in Wisconsin, including Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump. Six other lesser-known candidates include West, Green Party nominee Jill Stein and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who suspended his campaign last week to endorse Trump.

Kennedy’s campaign sent the Wisconsin Elections Commission a letter dated Friday asking that his name be removed from the ballot. Although Kennedy has said he would try to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states, he has made clear that he wasn’t formally ending his bid and said his supporters could continue to back him in the majority of states where they are unlikely to sway the outcome.

No one challenged Kennedy’s appearance on the ballot. The commission did not discuss his request to be removed.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday rejected an attempt by Democrats to remove Stein from the ballot.

JD Vance is continuing Republicans’ attempts to lay any blame for U.S. economic struggles at Harris’ feet.

During a campaign appearance in Big Rapids, Michigan, on Tuesday, the Republican vice presidential nominee said that Harris “is undoing the incredible work that Donald Trump did” to shore up American manufacturing.

Messaging against Vance’s visit, Harris’ campaign argued that the U.S. lost more than 150,000 manufacturing jobs during Trump’s final year in office.

That timeframe — 2020 — also encompassed the initial year of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

“You had your chance, you’ve failed and we’re not giving you a promotion,” Vance said, directing his comments at Harris.

Saying that, as much as he is “frustrated” with Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vance noted that he is “hopeful” for America’s future — provided that he and Trump are elected into office this year.

As he has been since the Republican National Convention, Vance continues to stump in battleground states this week, planning visits to Wisconsin and Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

More than 200 staffers for four previous Republican presidential nominees have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid, cautioning that the notion of a second term for GOP nominee Donald Trump “is simply untenable” and “will hurt real, everyday people.”

In a letter first published in USA Today, 238 alumni of the campaigns of former Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush, the late Sen. John McCain and Sen. Mitt Romney call on their fellow “moderate Republicans and conservative independents” to join them in backing the Democratic nominee and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, over Trump.

The appeal signals the importance of voters in the middle of the two major parties, with just more than two months until Election Day. In their letter, the former staffers note the significance of a handful of key battlegrounds to Biden’s slim margin of victory in 2020, marking the importance of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin “and beyond” in this year’s results.

In a similar letter, many of the same signatories issued a letter in 2020 supporting Biden’s candidacy over Trump.

“Of course, we have plenty of honest, ideological disagreements with Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz,” the Republicans wrote. “That’s to be expected. The alternative, however, is simply untenable.”

Trump’s campaign did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have joined Donald Trump’s presidential transition team.

Kennedy and Gabbard both recently endorsed the former president and the Republican’s campaign on Tuesday confirmed their addition to the team planning for a future Trump administration.

“We look forward to having their powerful voices on the team was we work to restore America’s greatness,” said Brian Hughes, a senior advisor to the campaign.

Kennedy last year ran as a Democrat challenging Biden for the nomination. He then ran switched to become an independent candidate. Last week he suspended his bid and endorsed Trump.

Gabbard, who ran as a Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, endorsed Trump on Monday and appeared with him at a campaign stop. She’s scheduled to hold a town hall with him Thursday in Wisconsin.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has collected enough signatures to be on the Maryland ballot as a presidential candidate despite suspending his campaign, state election officials said Tuesday.

Kennedy suspended his independent presidential campaign Friday and endorsed former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president.

Although Kennedy has said he would try to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states, he has made clear that he was not formally ending his bid and said his supporters could continue to back him in the majority of states where they are unlikely to sway the outcome.

Kennedy has said his internal polls had shown that his presence in the race would hurt Trump and help Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, though recent public polls do not provide a clear indication that he is having an outsize effect on support for either major-party candidate.

Vote.org re-launched its campaign Tuesday that urges companies of all sizes to guarantee paid time off for their employees to vote on or before Election Day.

The ElectionDay.org initiative, which was first created in 2020, intends to challenge companies during this year’s election cycle to create voter-friendly work policies. The goal is to help workers avoid work scheduling conflicts, which in past elections, has primarily kept them from the polls. Participants in this campaign also get access to Vote.org’s online registration tools and additional materials to promote civic engagement at their companies.

Kayak, OpenTable, Snap Inc., and United Talent Agency (UTA) are some of the companies that have already joined the campaign this year.

“Work-related barriers should never prevent someone from making their voice heard at the polls,” said Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey. “By joining ElectionDay.org, companies can stand for the rights of their employees while proudly demonstrating their commitment to our democracy. It’s also important to recognize that a thriving business environment goes hand-in-hand with a healthy democracy, which is all the more reason for companies to take steps to actively promote voting this election season.”

Vice President Kamala Harris has a new advertising push to draw attention to her plan to build 3 million new homes over four years, a move designed to contain inflationary pressures that also draws a sharp contrast to Republican Donald Trump’s approach.

Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, highlights her plan in a new minute-long ad that uses her personal experience, growing up in rental housing while her mother had saved for a decade before she could buy a home. The ad targets voters in the swing states including Arizona and Nevada. Campaign surrogates are also holding 20 events this week focused on housing issues.

In addition to increasing home construction, Harris is proposing the government provide as much as $25,000 in assistance to first-time buyers. That message could carry weight at this moment as housing costs have kept upward pressure on the consumer price index.

The state and national Democratic parties have sued to block two recent rules adopted by Georgia’s State Election Board that could be used by county officials who want to refuse to certify an election, potentially causing delays in finalizing the state’s results.

The lawsuit, filed Monday before a state judge in Atlanta, argues the rules violate a state law that makes certification a mandatory duty. The suit asks the judge to find the rules are invalid because the State Election Board, now dominated by allies of former President Donald Trump, is exceeding its legal authority.

The actions of the board alarm Democrats and voting rights activists, playing out against Georgia’s background of partisan struggle over voting procedures that predates even the 2020 presidential election. It’s a battle in yet another state over what had long been an administrative afterthought, state and local boards certifying results.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and wife Gwen react during the Democratic National Convention Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks at a campaign rally at the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Valdosta, Ga. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)

FILE - Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris appears on stage during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at the National Guard Association of the United States' 146th General Conference, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, left, and Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., third from right, look on as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a stop at a campaign office, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Roseville, Mich. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

This combination of photos taken at campaign rallies in Atlanta shows Vice President Kamala Harris on July 30, 2024, left, and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump on Aug. 3. (AP Photo)

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A military court in Congo handed down death sentences Friday to 37 people, including three Americans, after convicting them on charges of participating in a coup attempt.

The defendants, most of them Congolese but also including a Briton, Belgian and Canadian, have five days to appeal the verdict on charges that included attempted coup, terrorism and criminal association. Fourteen people were acquitted in the trial, which opened in June.

The court in the capital, Kinshasa, convicted the 37 defendants and imposed “the harshest penalty, that of death” in the verdict delivered by the presiding judge, Maj. Freddy Ehuma, at an open-air military court proceeding that was broadcast live on TV. The three Americans, wearing blue and yellow prison clothes and sitting in plastic chairs, appeared stoic as a translator explained their sentence.

Richard Bondo, the lawyer who defended the six foreigners, said he disputed whether the death penalty could currently be imposed in Congo, despite its reinstatement earlier this year, and said his clients had inadequate interpreters during the investigation of the case.

"We will challenge this decision on appeal,” Bondo said.

Six people were killed during the botched coup attempt led by the little-known opposition figure Christian Malanga in May that targeted the presidential palace and a close ally of President Felix Tshisekedi. Malanga was fatally shot while resisting arrest soon after live-streaming the attack on his social media, the Congolese army said.

Malanga’s 21-year-old son Marcel Malanga, who is a U.S. citizen, and two other Americans were convicted in the the attack. His mother, Brittney Sawyer, has said her son is innocent and was simply following his father, who considered himself president of a shadow government in exile.

In the months since her son's arrest, Sawyer has declined multiple interview requests and has focused her energy on fundraising to send Marcel money for food, hygiene products and a bed. He has been sleeping on the floor of his prison cell and is suffering from a liver disease, she said.

The other Americans are Tyler Thompson Jr., 21, who flew to Africa from Utah with the younger Malanga for what his family believed was a vacation, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 36, who is reported to have known Christian Malanga through a gold mining company. The company was set up in Mozambique in 2022, according to an official journal published by Mozambique’s government, and a report by the Africa Intelligence newsletter.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters in Washington on Friday that the federal government was aware of the verdict. The department has not declared the three Americans wrongfully detained, making it unlikely that U.S. officials would try to negotiate their return.

“We understand that the legal process in the DRC allows for defendants to appeal the court’s decision," Miller said. "Embassy staff have been attending these proceedings as they’ve gone through the process. We continue to attend the proceedings and follow the developments closely.”

Thompson had been invited on an Africa trip by the younger Malanga, his former high school football teammate in a Salt Lake City suburb. But the itinerary might have included more than sightseeing. Other teammates alleged that Marcel had offered up to $100,000 to join him on a “security job” in Congo.

Thompson’s family maintains he had no knowledge of the elder Malanga’s intentions, no plans for political activism and didn’t even plan to enter Congo. He and the Malangas were meant to travel only to South Africa and Eswatini, his stepmother, Miranda Thompson, told The Associated Press in May.

The Thompsons have been working with a lawyer in their home state of Utah to encourage U.S. officials to intervene. Utah’s U.S. Sens. Mitt Romney and Mike Lee have not publicly urged the U.S. government to advocate for the Americans' release.

“My thoughts are with the families during this difficult time. We will continue to work with the State Department to receive updates on this case," Lee told the AP on Friday.

“This is an extremely difficult and frightening situation for the families involved," Romney's office said in a written statement. "Our office has consistently engaged with the State Department and will continue to do so.”

Last month, the military prosecutor, Lt. Col. Innocent Radjabu, called on the judges to sentence all of the defendants to death, except for one who suffers from “psychological problems.”

Congo reinstated the death penalty earlier this year, lifting a more than two-decade-old moratorium, as authorities struggle to curb violence and militant attacks in the country.

Schoenbaum reported from Salt Lake City. Associated Press writers Monika Pronczuk in Dakar, Senegal, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

America Marcel Malanga attends a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

Back row, Tyler Thompson, 2nd left, Marcel Malanga, center, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 2nd right, all American citizens, attend a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

Tyler Thompson, left, Marcel Malanga and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, all American citizens, attend a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

America Marcel Malanga attends a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

America Tyler Thompson attends a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

American Tyler Thompson arrives for a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

Tyler Thompson, left, Marcel Malanga and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, all American citizens, attend a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

American Marcel Malanga arrives for a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

Back row, Tyler Thompson, 2nd left, Marcel Malanga, center, and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, 2nd right, all American citizens, attend a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

American Marcel Malanga, fourth right, stands with others during a court verdict in Congo, Kinshasa, Friday Sept .13, 2024, on charges of taking part in a coup attempt in May 2024. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)

FILE - From left T,yler Thompson Jr, Marcel Malanga and Benjamin Reuben Zalman-Polun, all American citizens, face the court in Kinshasa with 52 other defendants on June 7, 2024, accused of a role in last month's attempted coup in Congo led by little-known opposition figure Christian Malanga in which six people were killed. (AP Photo/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi)