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Vice President Harris leads former President Trump by 8 points in Maine about 100 days out from November’s election, according to a poll from the University of New Hampshire released Friday. The poll showed 48 percent of voters supporting Harris, 40 percent backing Trump, 4 percent for independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and 1 percent each for third-party candidates Jill Stein and Cornel West.

Maria Corina Machado has hiked overpasses, walked highways, ridden motorcycles, sought shelter in supporters' homes and seen her closest collaborators detained and persecuted. Venezuela's ruling party has blocked Machado from running in Sunday's hotly contested presidential election, but fueled by that ban, she has become the driving force for the main opposition coalition and a symbol of hope, courage and perseverance for millions of Venezuelans. (AP Video shot by Juan Pablo Arraez, Andry Rincon and Lucas Dumphreys)

STORY: Thailand's main opposition is facing a potential order to dissolve from the country's Constitutional Court in the coming weeks. But its figurehead, Pita Limjaroenrat, told Reuters this week that he's hopeful that it will survive. He led the Move Forward party to victory in elections last year, but was blocked from taking power by army-appointed lawmakers. Pita warned another investigation case could leave the party decimated. And in a Thursday interview he said Thailand's conservative establishment is again trying to control popular leaders: "This is the fifth vicious cycle in 20 years. It's been a way that the conservative elites have found a way to keep elected officials at bay. This will be the fifth time, it’s almost like an old record playing the same song over and over again" Thailand's politics has been defined by a two-decade-long struggle between the military-backed conservative establishment and popular parties like Move Forward. In January, the Constitutional Court found that a plan by Move Forward to amend the royal insult law was an attempt to undermine the crown and ordered them to drop it. The law - also called lese majeste - protects the monarchy from criticism and carries harsh jail sentences. The party now faces a possible dissolution by the same court over the same issue, with a verdict due on August 7. Move Forward however denies any wrongdoing. “I still believe in judicial fairness and judicial consistency. I think it will be dismissed by technicality. The update from our last interview and to today is that our legal team has been working the details and we found that the complaint process was legally flawed.” Pita says his party faces another challenge from a complaint by conservative activists to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. The commission hasn't said if or when it will take the case to court. But it could lead to lifetime bans for 44 lawmakers accused of breaching ethics by supporting changes to the strict royal insult law. The case could seriously weaken the progressive movement, which supports ending military conscription and breaking up monopolies. In the last two decades, a total of four Thai political parties, including those backed by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have been dissolved. The most recent was Future Forward, disbanded in 2020, with 16 senior members banned for 10 years over a loan from its founder. “Maybe it's time to stop this vicious cycle. And if the worst case scenario were to happen, I'm hoping that I'm the last one that gets this kind of treatment. Our party is the last party that gets dissolved in Thai democracy.” Pita remains Thailand's top choice for prime minister, with 46% support in a recent survey, compared to 13% for Srettha Thavisin.

With a new frontrunner at the top of the Democratic ticket in Vice President Kamala Harris, and the first millennial ever on a presidential ticket in Republican Sen. JD Vance, both campaigns have been making a concerted effort to harness the enthusiasm of young voters, who could potentially swing the election. Jo Ling Kent explains.

STORY: :: U.S. basketball star Stephen Curry gives his support to Kamala Harris :: July 25, 2024 :: Paris, France :: Stephen Curry, U.S. basketball player "Vice President Harris is trying to bring her energy to, you know, this campaign. And hopefully, you know, if she's on the ticket winning the election, like it's, it's a big, big deal, to say the least. And she represents the Bay Area. She's been a big supporter of us. And so want to get that energy right back to her and just excited, knowing, obviously, we're representing our country here. And this is a very monumental next couple of months for our country and the direction that we're at." The U.S. guard told reporters in Paris three days before his Olympics debut that the United States is set to face a ‘monumental couple of months’ and that he is 'excited for the journey ahead of her'. Harris has swiftly consolidated her party’s support after Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her as his replacement over the weekend.

The strongman leader of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, appears to be open to a fair election this year. CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon explains who his main challenger is — and how the contest could affect the US southern border.

STORY: ::July 24, 2024 ::A political analyst says he was surprised by Biden's call for Supreme Court reforms ::Darry Allen Sragow, Democratic political consultant "I think maybe the only thing that took me by surprise was his throwing in this reference to Supreme Court reform. Because in a sense, that came out of nowhere, he didn't have to put that in the speech, but the fact that he mentioned that suggested to me that in his mind, for the future of the country, this has become a high priority and what he is presumably referring to is the recent decisions coming out of a Supreme Court that is dominated by very conservative justices. // It suggests to me that he was signaling to Vice President Harris and to the party more broadly that this is a fight that the time has come to take on." ::Los Angeles, California In an Oval Office address, Biden said he had dropped out of the race against Republican Donald Trump because of his concerns about the future of the country, his first public remarks since his abrupt departure from the 2024 campaign. Sragow said the Supreme Court reforms "came out of nowhere", which suggests to him that the controvesial decisions coming out of the country's top court that's dominated by very conservative justices has become high priority to Biden and that he may be signalling to vice president Kamala Harris that "this is a fight that the time has come to take on." Biden has endorsed Harris, who is Black and Asian American, as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. Sragow said Biden's speech on Wednesday also underlined the high stakes of this election, which he believes is important to try to motivate marginal voters, who are often young voters of color, to cast their ballots in the Nov. 5 election.

President Joe Biden tells voters he won't run for re-election but urges Americans to protect democracy at the polls.

The president touted Vice President Kamala Harris's work and encouraged Americans to look at her record during the election.

In the days since President Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris has amassed support within the party as a thus far unchallenged frontrunner. However, some Democrats worry that the process is moving too fast and that other options — and voters’ opinions — should be considered before delegates make the nomination official. Yahoo News National Correspondent Andrew Romano walks through the results of a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll that reveals who Democratic voters think should be at the top of the ticket.

Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, will host Netanyahu for a meeting Friday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida Trump confirmed the meeting on his social media site Truth Social. “Looking forward to welcoming Bibi Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Thursday,” Trump said in his post. The meetings come after Netanyahu’s aides have reportedly worked for weeks to develop inroads with Trump since the relationship soured after the Israeli leader recognized President Biden’s election victory in 2020.

STORY: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris laid out her argument against Donald Trump at the first rally of her presidential campaign on Tuesday, while a new poll showed her with a slight lead over her Republican rival. Harris took aim at Trump vulnerabilities, comparing her background as a former prosecutor to his record as a convicted felon. “And in those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump's type." The rally saw a crowd of thousands in Milwaukee, the largest city in the battleground state of Wisconsin, which looks to be crucial in deciding November's election outcome. “And Wisconsin, this campaign is also about two different visions for our nation.” “Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?" The crowd's energy was an encouraging sign for Democrats hopeful that Harris can revive what had been a flagging campaign under President Joe Biden. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted early this week after Biden dropped out of the race Sunday, showed Harris taking a marginal lead over Trump 44% to 42% among registered voters. Compare that to another Reuters/Ipsos poll last week that had Biden trailing by two points. While both were within a three-point margin of error, the results could signal movement, if limited, in Democrats' direction. Still, Trump expressed confidence in his ability to defeat Harris in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. :: “I want to debate her, and she'll be no different (from Biden) because they have the same policies.” Trump offered to debate Harris multiple times, saying “I want to debate her, and she'll be no different because they have the same policies.” Harris has swiftly consolidated her party’s support after Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her as his replacement over the weekend. Her campaign said that by Monday night she had secured support from the majority of delegates who at next month's party convention will determine the nominee, effectively wrapping up the nomination, and that it had raised $100 million since Sunday. Harris also gained two more big-name party backers on Tuesday in Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, the party leaders in the Senate and House. Meanwhile, Biden returned to Washington after several days isolating at his home in Delaware with COVID-19. His doctor said Biden tested negative and no longer has symptoms. Biden said on X that he would address the nation from the Oval Office Wednesday night explaining his decision to end his campaign.

STORY: With enough Democratic delegates to be the party's nominee for president, Kamala Harris is on a glidepath to formally accept that nomination at the Democratic National Convention. All eyes are now on Chicago where the nominating event begins August 19th. HANSEN: "It looks to me like the process is already over." :: [Is the nomination locked up?] Political science professor John Mark Hansen of the University of Chicago said it is highly unlikely anyone but Harris will be the nominee. "She's already locked it up because everybody who might have been a formidable challenger to her has now endorsed her. So it's hard to see that there's anyone who would really contest it and hard to see that anyone would really want to wade into it and just create all kinds of problems for the party." LICHTMAN: "A party brawl would be a disaster for Democrats." :: [What if Democrats can't agree on Harris?] History professor Allan Lichtman of American University says not quickly unifying behind a single candidate would likely result in a loss in November. "That would create a situation where there's an open seat, since Biden is not running and an internal party fight. Under those conditions, since 1900, the White House party has never, I repeat, never been reelected. In effect, that would recreate exactly the same condition under which Donald Trump was elected in the first place." BOSE: "The timing is very tight." [Too late for alternatives?] Dr. Meena Bose, the executive dean for public policy at Hofstra University, says there simply isn't enough time for Democrats to entertain another option. "Vice President Harris, I think, has, having served in office, having run a presidential campaign before, is well-positioned to pivot and to mount in this limited time, is really probably the Democrat, would be the only Democrat, with the visibility to mount a strong campaign in this time, less than four months before Election Day.” MASON: "The ball is rolling." [Will anyone challenge Harris?] Reuters White House Correspondent Jeff Mason says delegates could still, technically, shift their support to another candidate but nobody else is stepping up. "That doesn't mean she wouldn't probably welcome a challenger. I think that they are sensitive to looking like it's a process of anointing rather than a process of earning people's support. And she used the term 'earn' in her statement after President Biden stepped aside. HARRIS: "It is my intention to go out and earn this nomination." "There aren't challengers coming forward to go against Kamala Harris, in part, because they just want to have a name, have somebody at the top, she's the natural successor to Joe Biden, and get moving, and start working on that race against Donald Trump."

A roaring crowd of battleground state voters greeted Vice President Kamala Harris in West Allis, Wisconsin as she opened her Democratic political case against Republican former President Donald Trump. In her first rally since locking up the presidential nomination, she said Tuesday that in the November election against Trump, “it's a choice between freedom and chaos.”