Elections

More than 13 million people were under tornado warning or watch alerts on Monday night in Chicago, and parts of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.Multiple tornadoes were reported in the Midwest as thunderstorms battered the region on Monday. More than 13 million people were still under tornado warning or watch alerts.A line of “destructive thunderstorms” was moving through northeastern Illinois, including Chicago, on Monday night, and several tornadoes had been reported, the National Weather Service’s Chicago bureau said. It added that the agency’s staff had to briefly seek shelter from a tornado.Just before 9 p.m., the agency reported a tornado near Sugar Grove, about 40 miles west of Chicago, that was confirmed by radar.The storms would soon move east into northwestern Indiana, the Weather Service said.A tornado warning was in place for parts of DuPage, Lake and Cook counties in northeastern Illinois, which included O’Hare Airport, until 10 p.m., with the Weather Service warning of flying debris and likely damage to mobile homes, roofs, windows and vehicles.A tornado watch alert was in place until 1 a.m. on Tuesday for parts of Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana.This is a developing story. More

El atentado contra Donald J. Trump fue la última escalada de violencia política y un recordatorio de la creciente fragilidad de la democracia pacífica en Estados Unidos.[Estamos en WhatsApp. Empieza a seguirnos ahora]El intento de asesinato contra Donald Trump del sábado en su mitin en Pensilvania sumió la contienda presidencial de 2024 en un estado de conmoción e incertidumbre.La campaña del presidente Joe Biden se apresuró a retirar sus anuncios de televisión de los medios de todo el país e interrumpió todas las comunicaciones oficiales externas. No habría ningún llamado a recaudar fondos ni comunicados de prensa. Una orden interna de la campaña de Biden pedía a todos los miembros de su personal que “se abstuvieran de hacer comentarios en las redes sociales o en público”, lo mismo dictó un lineamiento interno de la campaña de Trump.Biden, quien estaba la iglesia en el momento del atentado, condenó la violencia como “enfermiza” en un breve discurso a la nación desde un departamento de policía local en Delaware, luego cambió de planes y regresó a la Casa Blanca después de la medianoche. Él y Trump hablaron el sábado a última hora, una llamada que un funcionario de la Casa Blanca describió como “buena, respetuosa y breve”.Trump emitió su propio relato gráfico del momento difícil en una publicación en sus cuentas de redes sociales mientras regresaba a Nueva Jersey antes de la Convención Nacional Republicana que, según las autoridades, continuará como estaba previsto el lunes en Milwaukee: “Oí un zumbido, disparos e inmediatamente sentí la bala desgarrándome la piel”.“¡Nunca me Rendiré!”, escribió Trump en un mensaje de texto a sus seguidores.Sus dos principales asesores, Susie Wiles y Chris LaCivita, escribieron en un mensaje público la noche del sábado que Trump no dejaría de asistir a la convención para reunirse con sus partidarios. Y en un mensaje interno al personal de la campaña de Trump, escribieron que estaban “reforzando la presencia de seguridad armada con oficiales en todo momento en el lugar” tanto en Washington como en West Palm Beach, Florida, en las oficinas de campaña.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

For nearly nine years, Donald J. Trump has been the singular face of Republican politics and the undisputed leader of the Make America Great Again movement. On Monday, the former president came as close as he may ever come to anointing a successor.The choice of J.D. Vance as Mr. Trump’s running mate, a politician nearly 40 years his junior, immediately vaults the first-term senator to the forefront of a G.O.P. future that is not so far away.If elected in November, Mr. Trump, 78, can serve only a single term — the 22nd Amendment states that no person shall be elected president more than twice — a rarity for a candidate naming a potential vice president. That short tenure has added extra urgency to the question of what comes next for Trumpism, a movement inextricably tethered to one man who has so thoroughly transformed the Republican Party.Mr. Vance, 39, is the first millennial to make a major presidential ticket, a Marine veteran and a politician who has thoroughly remade himself as a full-throated MAGA enthusiast. In recent months, it was Mr. Vance’s aggressive defense of Trumpism and Mr. Trump, even on mainstream news outlets, that helped him stand out for the former president as a worthy inheritor.“Trump is going to hold on to the MAGA baton for as long as he can,” said Chip Saltsman, a longtime Republican strategist. But Mr. Vance, he added, is “somebody that’s going to have an inside track, a head start on getting the MAGA baton in four years.”The changing of the ideological guard was clearly, and at times uncomfortably, apparent on the convention floor on Monday. Mentions of Mr. Vance’s name earned roars of approval. The face of Senator Mitch McConnell, an avatar of the pre-Trump G.O.P., inspired boos when he appeared on the big screens above delegates.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Some of Elon Musk’s closest friends have helped start a new super PAC meant to help former President Donald J. Trump, creating an avenue for Mr. Musk and his $250 billion fortune to potentially play a significant role in the 2024 presidential race.The group, America PAC, is likely to draw significant support from Mr. Musk, according to three people close to the group who spoke on the condition of anonymity; it is not confirmed whether he has already donated. The group’s founding donors span Mr. Musk’s social circle and include a tight-knit network of wealthy tech entrepreneurs who frequently finance one another’s startups, philanthropic projects and favored political candidates.Mr. Musk had not donated to the super PAC as of June 30, the end of the most recent disclosure period, according to a Monday filing with the Federal Election Commission. But his tilt to the right, especially in his commentary on his social media site X, has left Republicans hoping he will wade more into funding conservative candidates and causes. On Saturday, soon after Mr. Trump survived an assassination attempt, Mr. Musk went on X to issue a full-throated endorsement of the former president.The super PAC, according to three people close to the organization, is led in part by Joe Lonsdale, a co-founder of the software company Palantir and a politically ambitious venture capitalist in Austin who serves as a political confidant to Mr. Musk. Mr. Lonsdale, the people say, has played a key role in fund-raising for the group in its opening weeks, encouraging his network of influential entrepreneurs to support the super PAC. His personal company donated $1 million to the group.The top early donors to America PAC include several powerful conservatives from the tech industry. Contributions include $1 million from Antonio Gracias, a private-equity mogul and a board director at SpaceX; $1 million from Ken Howery, an early executive at PayPal alongside Mr. Musk who served as Mr. Trump’s ambassador to Sweden; and $500,000 from Shaun Maguire, an investor at Sequoia Capital who is close to Mr. Musk.The group has released few details about its operations and its strategy, other than that it has been running field and digital programs on behalf of the former president, mostly encouraging early and mail-in voting. People close to it say that a key operative is Dave Rexrode, a top political operative who most recently has served as a key ally to Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia. Mr. Rexrode did not respond to requests for comment in recent days.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Kelly Richardson makes her New York Times Crossword debut.Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesTUESDAY PUZZLE — I really think that you’re going to love today’s crossword puzzle, constructed by Kelly Richardson. On the off-chance that you don’t, Ms. Richardson has done you the favor of including the most diplomatic way of saying so right here in her grid.Today’s puzzle also continues our recent streak of unusually tough Tuesdays; one misdirection in the top right quadrant is especially dastardly. That said, don’t be intimidated if you’re just beginning your crossword journey! The challenge makes you a better solver. (And don’t make me tap the “It’s OK to look things up” sign.)Today’s ThemeThe more you sit with this theme, the stronger it becomes. I am alluding, of course, to the [blend at the heart of this puzzle] (51A), which stacks three varieties of tea: PEACH (37A), which is [popular in the South]; PEKOE (43A), [a major export of Sri Lanka]; and ASSAM (46A), [named for a region in India]. And they’re in a teacup of black squares!You may prefer to drink tea over ice, but, as pointed out by a [1959 Marilyn Monroe film] (14A) that doubles as a comment on the drink, SOME LIKE IT HOT.And, should you take a sip of the maximalist blend at the heart of the puzzle, you may be tempted to utter the final revealer phrase, which, as I mentioned, is also a diplomatic option for sharing crossword opinions: NOT MY CUP OF TEA [51A].We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

The Republican National Convention is underway in Milwaukee, the largest city in the key swing state of Wisconsin. The four-day affair has put the city in an international spotlight just four years after Covid-19 spoiled the Democrats’ plans to hold their own convention in Milwaukee. But how much do you know about the host city? Take our quiz to find out. More

Former President Donald J. Trump has gone from being an instigator of political violence to a victim of it. The assassination attempt raised questions about how far language should go in a heated campaign.For months, the message from the White House and Wilmington was as stark as it was simple: This year’s election amounts to an existential choice between a defender of democracy and a destroyer of democracy. Nothing less than the future of America is at stake.And then the bullets started flying.The assassination attempt over the weekend has complicated President Biden’s argument now that former President Donald J. Trump has gone from being a longtime instigator of political violence to a victim of it. Republicans, including Mr. Trump’s newly anointed running mate, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, instantly blamed Mr. Biden, citing his sharp rhetoric.No one in Mr. Biden’s camp thinks that is a good-faith argument, especially from allies of a former president who sent the mob that marauded the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and did nothing to stop its assault, and has now vowed to pardon rioters convicted of violent crimes. But the images of Mr. Trump with blood streaked across his face after being grazed by a would-be assassin’s bullet raise the question of how far language should go in a heated campaign.Mr. Biden, who has long preached unity and civility, conceded on Monday that it was “a mistake” to tell supporters a week ago that he wanted to “put Trump in a bull’s-eye,” an expression that was certainly metaphorical but opened the president to criticism after his opponent found himself in literal cross hairs. At the same time, Mr. Biden and his team have made clear that they will not back off efforts to demonstrate that Mr. Trump is a budding dictator who is dangerous to the country.“How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says?” Mr. Biden asked Lester Holt of NBC News on Monday during his first interview since the assassination attempt. “Do you just not say anything because it may incite somebody? Look, I’m not engaged in that rhetoric. Now, my opponent is engaged in that rhetoric.”Mr. Biden responded to the shooting in Butler, Pa., on Saturday by calling Mr. Trump to express relief that he was not more seriously wounded and urging Americans to “lower the temperature” this campaign season. His campaign suspended television ads and its regular barrage of attack emails.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More