Biden drops out, and the prosecutor takes on the felon

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Support our nonprofit journalism]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     July 22, 2024 Where were you at 1:46 p.m. ET yesterday? I was in the library, having just sat down to get back to reporting, when the news that President Biden was [dropping]( his bid for reelection—and then, minutes later, that he was endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee—reverberated across the internet and through the Mother Jones Slack universe. (Trump, for his part, promptly [lashed out](.) The timing of the announcement was unexpected, coming on a Sunday afternoon after Biden and his aides had been insistent for weeks that he was staying in the race. But the news itself was less surprising, following the weeks of [dismal polling]( for Biden following his [disastrous debate performance](. So what next? While Harris still has to officially earn the Democratic nomination, it seems all but certain she'll clinch it. But as my colleague Jamilah King—who [profiled]( Harris in 2018—[writes](, it will not necessarily be easy (though, as I [reported]( yesterday, Harris has established herself as a strong leader on abortion rights, a winning issue for Democrats). Perhaps unsurprisingly, the racist and sexist [attacks]( on Harris—which my colleague Kat Abughazaleh [reviewed]( in a brilliant recent video—have already emerged in earnest. Make sure to check out the half dozen stories (and counting) we've published on yesterday's news since it dropped, and [let us know](: Do you support Harris as the new Democratic nominee? —Julianne McShane P.S. Did you catch [this weekend's episode of Reveal](, in collaboration with the Associated Press? It's all about how the Mormon Church has covered up evidence of sex abuse. (The episode, which first aired in December 2023, was updated this week to include a major update on the case.) Make sure to [listen]( wherever you get your podcasts. Advertisement [Drug Policy Alliance]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [It’s Kamala’s Campaign Now]( Her path to victory might hinge on her ability to unify the party around the one issue that nearly all Democratic women agree on: abortion. BY JAMILAH KING SPONSORED CONTENT FROM DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE   Drug Policy Alliance: Take action for marijuana decriminalization Here’s the truth: the Biden Administration’s current rescheduling proposal isn’t enough. It keeps marijuana federally illegal. Moving it to Schedule III will benefit marijuana businesses. But criminalization and its lasting harms would remain. We need your voice. [Please, take one minute to tell Biden that you support full marijuana decriminalization.]( [Trending] [Abortion rights advocates see Harris as an ideal messenger]( BY JULIANNE MCSHANE   [The myth of Kamala Harris as “border czar”]( BY ISABELA DIAS   [Nancy Pelosi did what she’s always done]( BY TIM MURPHY   [What Project 2025 would mean for America's climate policies]( BY ZOYA TEIRSTEIN Advertisement [Drug Policy Alliance]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [The secret to understanding Kamala Harris]( And why it’s making her a flash point in the Democratic Party. BY JAMILAH KING MOTHER JONES MEMBERSHIP UPDATE   GREAT JOURNALISM, SLOW FUNDRAISING Our team has been on fire lately—publishing sweeping, [one-of-a-kind]( investigations, ambitious, [groundbreaking]( projects, and even [releasing]( “the holy shit documentary of the year.” And that’s on top of [protecting free and fair elections]( and [standing up]( to bullies and BS when others in the media don’t. Yet, we just came up pretty short on our fundraising campaign. So even though we’re done screaming about [the donations we need]( for a while, if you value the journalism we do but haven’t pitched in recently, please [consider doing so now](—we urgently need a lot of help to make up for lost ground. And of course, THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has pitched in. It means the world to us. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Share it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755