2024 Election Latest: Harris urges people to vote as campaign heats up, Trump meets with Netanyahu

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have endorsed Kamala Harris in her White House bid, giving the vice president the expected but still crucial backing of the nation’s two most popular Democrats.

The endorsement comes a day after Harris and President Joe Biden each met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Donald Trump met with Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago on Friday. It’s the first time in nearly four years that Trump and Netanyahu have met.

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Here's the Latest:

FBI says Trump was indeed struck by a bullet during the assassination attempt

The FBI says former President Trump was struck in the ear by a bullet as it moved to clarify what happened after nearly two weeks of confusion and conflicting accounts.

In a statement issued Friday evening, the FBI said that “what struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle.”

The statement came two days after FBI Director Christopher Wray said during congressional testimony that it was not clear whether Trump’s injuries were caused by a bullet or shrapnel.

Rep. Jayapal keeps the party agenda in focus

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, says she likes her former House colleague and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as a potential running mate for likely Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, though she notes she is not making a specific endorsement and has not weighed in personally with the vice president as she considers her options.

“I think we need somebody who’s really pro-labor. I think we need somebody who really gets those Midwestern states, small towns, rural areas,” Jayapal said. “And I think we need somebody who is 100% on board with the agenda, because at the end of the day, the vice presidential pick is important, but it’s really the agenda and the ability to convey to working people that we are going to fight for them.”

Harris’s campaign is vetting about a dozen contenders.

Walz’s name has been mentioned publicly but the political conversation has focused more intently on three other Democratic governors — Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania — and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.

Trump will return to campaign in the city where he survived assassination

Former President Trump says he will be returning to Butler, Pennsylvania — where he narrowly survived an assassination attempt — for a rally to honor those killed and injured when a gunman opened fire earlier this month.

“WILL BE GOING BACK TO BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, FOR A BIG AND BEAUTIFUL RALLY, HONORING THE SOUL OF OUR BELOVED FIREFIGHTING HERO, COREY, AND THOSE BRAVE PATRIOTS INJURED TWO WEEKS AGO,” he wrote Friday on his Truth Social network Friday. “WHAT A DAY IT WILL BE.”

Beshear gets a warm embrace in flood-stricken parts of Kentucky where he and Trump are both popular

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is one of several Democrats who is said to be in consideration as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. Beshear has proven his small-town political appeal in a region that doesn’t hide its allegiance to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Beshear is making several stops in eastern Kentucky on Friday to discuss progress in the recovery from a massive flood from two years ago.

While Beshear narrowly carried those Appalachian counties, Trump won them in landslide fashion four years ago despite losing to Joe Biden, and the Republican leader remains popular there.

▶Read more about Beshear, who is under consideration to be Harris’ running mate

Biden administrati

on pushing forward with efforts to seal a cease-fire deal

While former President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, the Biden administration continued efforts to seal a cease-fire deal that will bring home hostages in Gaza.

President Joe Biden is dispatching CIA Director Bill Burns to Rome on Sunday to meet with Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari officials about the ongoing hostage and cease-fire negotiations, according to a U.S. official familiar with his travel plans.

The official, who was not authorized to discuss the CIA director’s travel plans and requested anonymity, said Burns would be meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani, Mossad director David Barnea and Egyptian spy chief Abbas Kamel.

Separately, Brett McGurk, the White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, is expected to head back to the Mideast next week for talks with regional leaders about the effort to reach a hostage agreement.