focus

Germany has approved almost 800 million euros ($913m) in arms export licences to Israel in the first five months of 2026, more than in the previous 20 months combined, the government in Berlin has confirmed.

According to a Federal Foreign Office reply to a parliamentary question by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, nearly all the approvals were cleared in April and May.

The approvals portend a dramatic surge in weapons exports to Israel from one of the country’s most steadfast allies in Europe despite the German government’s insistence that it is concerned about the devastation wrought by Israel’s military in Gaza.

The big spend

The government said more than 60 percent of the value of the arms licences is earmarked for a single, unnamed “major maritime project”.

The most likely candidate, analysts said, is a submarine built by the German manufacturer TKMS.

The INS Drakon, a nuclear-capable Dolphin II-class submarine, underwent its maiden voyage last year at a shipyard in Kiel on the Baltic Sea. Its estimated value is 480 million euros ($548m). It was officially handed over to the Israeli Navy last week, according to German media reports.

According to several reports, it could feature a vertical launching system (VLS), enabling it to launch nuclear-tipped cruise missiles or ballistic missiles. Israel would become only the second navy after South Korea known to field a VLS on a modern, air-independent propulsion (AIP), conventionally powered submarine.

During its sea trials, the submarine’s tower was covered with tarpaulins and fibreglass plates to prevent observers from determining its weapons configuration. Strategically, submarines of this class could provide a sea-based second-strike capability – the ability of a country to fire back nuclear weapons after it has itself faced a nuclear attack.

In May, TKMS signed a memorandum of understanding on future collaboration with Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest private defence contractor.

The German Foreign Office and Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, under whose purview arms export licences fall, both declined to comment on the matter.

Max Mutschler, a senior researcher with the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies, told Al Jazeera: “Unfortunately, the fact that the federal government does not explicitly mention this is also typical of the lack of transparency surrounding arms exports.”

Last year, reports conflicted over whether the export licence for the submarine had been granted. The order dates back to 2012. While TKMS indicated approval, the German government denied it at the time.

Germany’s shifting positions

The hesitation might have stemmed from legal concerns surrounding proceedings against Germany at the International Court of Justice in The Hague as well as shifting public opinion in Germany, which has largely turned against arms exports to Israel. According to media reports, Germany is helping finance about 30 percent of the costs for the Drakon and roughly one-third of those for the future Dakar class.

This month, TKMS was also selected by Canada as the preferred bidder to build up to 12 submarines in what would be the largest order in TKMS’s history. The value of the vessels alone is estimated at 12 billion euros ($13.7bn) to 18 billion euros ($21bn).

For years, submarine deals with Germany have been under investigation by the Israeli judiciary over bribery allegations involving close associates of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Ruth Rohde from the British research organisation Shadow World Investigations told Al Jazeera: “Israel has used German ships to fire at Gaza, to blockade and starve Gaza, and is using submarines to station nuclear weapons. At a time when Israel is waging brutal wars on its neighbours and is committing a genocide in Gaza, this submarine export would give Israel another tool in its arsenal of mass destruction.”

Berlin’s arms export policy towards Israel has been marked by reversals. In early August, Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that Germany would issue no further licences for military equipment that could be used by Israel in the Gaza Strip. By that time, an Al Jazeera investigation had shown that Germany had already exported almost $12m worth of weapons consignments to Israel since October 2023 when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

And the partial suspension proved short-lived: In November, the government lifted the restrictions and returned to reviewing export applications on a case-by-case basis. Even during the suspension, previously approved deliveries continued. In September, for instance, a $794,000 weapons consignment from Germany landed at Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.

Mutschler told Al Jazeera that some people in government “found the export of certain weapons to Israel problematic in light of numerous and credible reports of Israeli war crimes during the military operation in Gaza”. However, it was not enough to “bring about a generally restrictive arms export policy toward Israel”.

The economic calculation

Germany is one of the world’s largest arms exporters. In the first six months of 2026, licences were granted for arms worth 13.87 billion euros ($15.8bn), according to the Arms Export Report of the Ministry of Economics, published in mid-July. That is more than four times as much as during the same period in 2025. Ukraine remains the primary recipient of German arms exports.

Mutschler explained: “Arms exports have been and continue to be viewed by most federal governments primarily from an economic perspective and welcomed as a means of strengthening the defence industry.” He added: “The fact that these arms shipments can also be used to commit war crimes seems to play a significantly smaller role in the decision-making process.”

As a crisis in Germany’s economy – whose strength has relied primarily on exports, particularly in the car industry – has intensified, its defence industry has boomed in recent years. This development was publicly attributed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine although plans for increased defence spending had already been prepared beforehand, according to reports.

Pieter D Wezeman, a senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, sees this as a general trend. He told Al Jazeera: “The demand for arms in Europe has increased dramatically over the past few years whereas the demand for arms in many other parts of the world does not seem to be decreasing or is likely to increase.”

The German market remains very important to the country’s arms industry as Germany is set to double its military spending from well below 2 percent of it gross domestic product to a stated goal of 3.5 percent of its GDP within a few years, Wezeman explained. “Germany is now the largest military spender in Europe [not counting Russia], and its arms industry is a core component of the European military-industrial base.”

Political analyst Eric Ham argues President Donald Trump’s renewed focus on election security and his push for the SAVE Act are attempts to expand federal authority over US elections ahead of November’s midterms.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday convened leaders from more than 60 countries to take part in the Trump administration’s latest effort to quell what it calls “left-wing” political terrorism, a marquee issue for Republicans heading into the midterm elections.

This focus comes even as studies show that there are very few reported cases of such incidents in the U.S., especially compared to historically higher levels of far-right violence.

With sweeping statements about the “alarming rise” of political violence by the left, Rubio and other U.S. officials painted a dark image of the future if the “communists and Marxists” perpetrating these supposed acts are not defeated. He urged officials in attendance — mostly from European and Latin American countries — to unite to address the issue, which he says has been a “blind spot” in counterterrorism doctrine.

“So many people in positions of power have repeatedly dismissed acts of violence and even terrorism as legitimate forms of political expression, so long as they served a left-wing cause,” Rubio said in opening remarks. “A bomb planted by a neo-Nazi group was ‘a nefarious and murderous act of evil.’ It is, but a bomb planted by a Marxist revolutionary, well, that’s just merely a tragic excess of idealism.”

A report published last year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that left-wing terrorism attacks as of July 4, 2025, had surpassed those from the far right for the first time in more than 30 years. However, a closer look at the data reveals that the uptick reflects a very low starting level and a concurrent drop on the far right.

There was an average of 0.6 left-wing incidents annually from 1994 through 2000, compared with an average of 20.6 on the right, the report shows. From 2016 to 2024, there was an average of four per year on the left and 22.7 per year on the right. Those numbers had dropped dramatically on the right as of early July 2025, with only one incident. Meanwhile, there had been five from the left.

But the report’s authors note that right-wing terrorism could easily return to elevated levels and that it is important to fight terrorism on both sides of the political spectrum.

President Trump and his allies have prioritized talking points against the far left ahead of the congressional elections this November. Trump has repeatedly stated that the Democratic Party’s ascendant left are communists who want to “completely destroy the traditional American way of life” and even engage in assassinations.

Vice President JD Vance has similarly called out communism as a political shift that is “something we haven’t seen in the U.S.” House Speaker Mike Johnson has decried “radical candidates” who are “self-described, self-identifying Marxists.”

For Rubio, his worldview on this issue has been largely shaped by his own history: he is the son of Cuban immigrants who arrived in Miami in May 1956, a few years before communist leader Fidel Castro rose to power in Havana. The former Florida senator said Thursday that it was that same government’s sprawling intelligence and ideological network that “helped to build the far left in our country and in our hemisphere.”

Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff and main architect of the administration’s immigration policy, followed Rubio’s remarks, aiming to drive home the immediacy of the perceived threats he saw to American institutions coming from the left, and what response is needed in return.

“If your civilization is your home, you must defend it with the same passion and force as if an enemy intruder is inside your own house where your family lives,” Miller said. “That is the level of dedication and urgency that is required.”

This ideological focus has repeatedly conflated democratic socialism — which often centers on securing universal healthcare, higher taxes on the wealthy and stricter corporate regulation — with communism, under which private ownership is largely eliminated.

It has only intensified in the last year, after the election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani to become New York City mayor and several of his proteges who won their New York City congressional primaries last month, beating out incumbents.

One of the ways the administration has started to target left-wing efforts is through sanctions. In November, the State Department designated four antifa or anti-fascist groups in Europe as foreign terrorist organizations. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in his remarks Thursday that targeting these entities’ financial networks is the best way to circumvent their efforts.

“We have spent decades developing the world’s most sophisticated financial counterterrorism capabilities, and now we are mobilizing some of the same tools that we have deployed against terrorists abroad to confront this emerging threat here at home,” he told the conference.

Amiri and Kinnard write for the Associated Press. Amiri reported from New York and Kinnard from Columbia, S.C. AP writer Melissa Goldin in New York contributed to this report.

AXT (AXTI) was in focus on Tuesday as Wedbush Securities said it believes demand is “tracking better” than investors currently believe.

Shares rose 6.6% in premarket trading.

“As a reminder, AXTI’s guidance was dictated by export licenses the company had received

July 7 (UPI) — Leaders of the Western world’s premier military alliance will gather in Ankara on Tuesday for the start of this year’s NATO summit, with support for Ukraine and questions over U.S. President Donald Trump‘s commitment to the pact expected to dominate the two-day meeting.

The summit in Turkey’s capital is formally focused on reviewing progress made since last year, when the leaders of NATO’s 32 members agreed to raise their annual defense-related spending from the previous 2% target to 5% of gross domestic product by 2035 amid growing global security concerns.

Major new policy pronouncements are not expected, though several large arms deals are. The focus of the two-day summit will be on progress toward that defense-investment plan and how allies intend to spend the money to increase weapons production, cooperation and joint procurement.

Attention will also be on Trump and the U.S. commitment to NATO after his administration announced earlier this year that it would withdraw some American troops from Germany.

Long a demand of Trump’s, the increase in defense spending has done little to curb the American president’s long-held criticism of the alliance, which has intensified since NATO allies offered limited support for the U.S. war against Iran.

Trump departed Maryland’s Joint Base Andrews aboard Air Force One for Turkey a little after 9:40 EDT Monday, with State Secretary Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and a number of aides with him.

Trump is expected to meet with Zelensky during the summit.

The two spoke Saturday, according to the Ukrainian leader, who said he called the U.S. president to congratulate him on the United States’ Independence Day.

“We are grateful to the United States for all the assistance we have received — from Javelins and Patriots to political support — and we deeply value that America stands by us in defending our independence,” he said online, adding that they had discussed the situation in the Ukraine-Russia war.

“We have agreed to continue these discussions during the NATO Summit in Ankara,” he said.

On the eve of the Fourth of July, Trump also spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for nearly 90 minutes, according to the Kremlin, which said in a statement that they discussed “the Ukrainian settlement, including in light of Donald Trump’s upcoming participation in the NATO Summit.”

The Kremlin said Putin framed the current situation of the war as Russia “steadily advancing” despite Ukraine making recent gains and expanding its long-range attacks.

However, Russia has been targeting Kyiv with massive attacks leading up to the summit. Zelensky has been calling on allies for additional long-range weaponry, or the ability to produce the arms themselves, arguing that if Ukraine can batter Moscow how the Kremlin has been hitting Kyiv, an end to the war could be rapidly secured.

“We have proven to all our partners both the need, and more importantly, the possibility of providing greater protection of lives,” Zelensky said in a Monday statement.

“It is simply nonsensical that, in today’s world, production has still not been scaled up to the level that is actually needed to protect people from ballistic terror. We have long made the case that we are capable of producing such defensive weapons ourselves. If Ukraine were granted U.S. licenses to produce Patriots, our own production would be sufficient both to protect Ukraine and to help partners in need.”

The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War said Monday night that Russian forces were likely timing these large-scale strikes to send a political message ahead of the summit.

South Korean stocks ended nearly 1 percent higher Tuesday, led by gains in technology shares, as investors watched for a possible resumption of U.S.-Iran talks in Qatar aimed at easing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. The Korean won weakened against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 81.83 points, or 0.97 percent, to close at 8,476.47.

Investor sentiment improved after the United States and Iran were set to resume talks in Qatar aimed at easing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, alleviating concerns over a prolonged disruption to global oil supplies.

Overnight, Wall Street rebounded sharply as investors returned to tech stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.59 percent to close at a record high, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 2.07 percent and the S&P 500 advanced 1.18 percent.

Crude prices rose modestly as investors monitored implementation of the U.S.-Iran peace framework.

Trade volume was moderate at 444.61 million shares worth 41.08 trillion won (US$26.51 billion), with losers outnumbering losers 621 to 261

Institutions and individuals bought a net 2.93 trillion won and 833.45 billion won worth of shares, respectively, while foreigners sold a net 3.79 trillion won.

“Investors scooped up semiconductor shares following recent losses, while IT infrastructure and electricity stocks rose on hopes for major investment in semiconductor infrastructure in the southwestern region announced by the government and chipmakers,” said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Daishin Securities.

Tech shares lifted the overall market.

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 3.41 percent to 334,000 won, and chip giant SK hynix gained 0.84 percent to 1.65 million won. SK Square, the parent of SK hynix, advanced 3.48 percent to 1.69 million won.

Chip components maker Samsung Electro-Mechanics jumped 7.16 percent to 1.18 million won after announcing a 454 billion-won supply deal for multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) for artificial intelligence servers to a U.S.-based customer.

Battery shares retreated on profit-taking after sharp gains the previous session.

LG Energy Solution plunged 9.61 percent to 362,000 won, and its smaller rival Samsung SDI sank 4.88 percent to 487,000 won.

The Korean won was quoted at 1,549.4 won per U.S. dollar as of 3:30 p.m., down 4.2 won from the previous session.

Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.

Uzbekistan’s largest-ever public market transaction has highlighted growing investor interest in the country and its economic reforms, while shifting attention to the next stage of developing its financial markets.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

The listing of the National Investment Fund of Uzbekistan, managed by Franklin Templeton, raised more money than all previous IPOs in the country combined over the past 30 years, according to Marius Dan, Central Asia CEO at Templeton Global Investments.

For investors and market operators, the transaction has drawn attention to a wider issue: how Uzbekistan develops the rules, institutions and market depth needed to support capital markets, debt financing, venture capital and private investment.

“What investors really want to know is that they’ll put their money in and that they will get their money back,” Julia Hoggett, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, told Euronews.

Hoggett said investors usually begin by looking at a country’s fundamentals, including currency stability, inflation, economic growth, population trends and assets, before turning to the regulatory environment.

Building the infrastructure behind investment

Uzbekistan is preparing new financial legislation as it seeks to expand the range of financing available to companies and investors.

Laziz Kudratov, the country’s minister of Investment, Industry and Trade, told Euronews that legislation establishing the Tashkent International Financial Centre is expected to be signed soon.

The project would create a separate jurisdiction based on common law principles. Kudratov said the aim is to give foreign financial companies a legal environment based on international standards rather than requiring them to operate solely through local legislation.

He also said the planned jurisdiction would include 50 years of tax incentives, including exemptions from corporate income tax, value-added tax (VAT), property tax and customs duties.

The government is also preparing legislation covering alternative investment structures, including venture capital, private equity and limited partner-general partner investment models.

“We are also coming up with a new law on alternative investments,” Kudratov said. “It will create a framework to protect venture capital, LP and GP investment, and private equity investment in Uzbekistan.”

Dan said the National Investment Fund listing showed that international investors were willing to participate when transactions were structured in the right way.

“The initial public offering of the National Investment Fund shows that, in the right structure, investors are very keen to participate in the capital markets of the country,” he said.

Creating a deeper market

Dan said Uzbekistan’s capital market would need more companies, greater liquidity and more foreign institutional investors in the coming years.

He said continued listings of state-owned enterprises, both within and outside the National Investment Fund’s portfolio, would be important in broadening the investment universe.

Local debt markets are also beginning to attract more attention, he said, with retail investors looking more closely at investment opportunities inside Uzbekistan.

Kudratov said reforms introduced since 2017 had changed the investment environment through tax reforms, currency liberalisation and the removal of restrictions on profit repatriation.

“Any investor can come, invest and get their revenues out of the country within one day,” he said.

For Hoggett, investor confidence also depends on a proven track record.

“You can’t change things overnight and say people need to believe it. They need the evidence to see it,” she said.

Broadening participation

The growth of local debt markets and the entry of more retail investors are early signs that Uzbekistan’s financial market is beginning to widen beyond foreign institutional capital, according to Dan.

Hoggett said public markets can play a wider role by opening investment opportunities to more participants.

“The public markets are democratising,” she said.

Hoggett added that private companies are often owned by a relatively small group of investors, while public markets allow a broader range of investors to access company growth. That wider access comes with stronger disclosure requirements for issuers.

For Uzbekistan, broader participation would mean more than attracting foreign capital. It would also involve creating opportunities for domestic investors to participate in the growth of listed companies, debt markets and other financial products.

Governance and market discipline

Governance remains central to the development of Uzbekistan’s capital markets.

Dan said several companies within the National Investment Fund’s portfolio had already introduced board-level changes, including the appointment of independent directors.

“Corporate governance is key,” he said.

He described stronger oversight of state-owned companies as part of improving their operations.

Hoggett said public markets also impose discipline on companies seeking capital.

“The first rule of doing an IPO is meet your estimates, hit what you say you’re going to do,” she said.

That requires companies to build systems, controls, accounting capacity, finance teams and planning processes, she said. Hoggett added that such structures can help companies operate at scale and grow faster.

WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee is organizing hundreds of community events across the country this weekend in hopes of harnessing the same concerns about affordability that President Trump capitalized on to return to the White House.

The events include school supply giveaways, food bank drives, neighborhood door knockings and organizer trainings.

“Everything costs too damn much under Donald Trump and the Republicans,” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in a statement.

Martin said party members planned “to reach, engage, register, and mobilize voters who will make the difference in races up and down the ballot.”

Two years ago, Democrats were the ones accused of being indifferent to Americans’ anger about rising prices. Now they’re pointing the finger at Trump, who has downplayed the effect of lingering inflation.

He has described affordability concerns as a “hoax” and recently said, “I love the inflation” because he expects costs to drop as he tries to resolve his war with Iran.

About one-third of U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling the economy, according to an AP-NORC poll from June. That’s down from the start of his second term, when 40% approved.

About 7 in 10 U.S. adults say the country’s economy is “poor,” according to an AP-NORC poll from June. That’s up from 65% in March, and underscores Americans’ ongoing unhappiness with the cost of living, which is being compounded by high gas prices because of the war in Iran.

Slightly more U.S. adults say the Democratic Party would do a better job than the Republican Party in handling inflation and the cost of living, according to a Marquette Law School/SSRS poll from May. Roughly one-third of U.S. adults — 35% — said the Democrats would do a better job, while 28% believe the Republicans would. Roughly one-third say the parties would be the same, or neither would be good.

This weekend’s events vary by region.

In New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Luján Grisham will convene a training for 150 potential campaign staffers. Nevada’s statewide campaigns will knock on doors in rural and working class neighborhoods. Others will call voters in swing districts with competitive U.S. House races to talk about the rising price of gas.

Some events are geared toward directly helping voters to persuade them that Democrats are concerned about affordability.

For instance, the local party in Kenosha County, Wis., plans to collect and distribute school supplies to poor families. And canvassers will fan out to discuss affordability issues in Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The Republican National Committee dismissed the weekend’s events.

“Despite being millions of dollars in debt, the DNC is choosing to throw pitiful pep rallies to distract from the fact they created the inflation crisis,” said Delanie Bomar, an RNC spokeswoman. “Meanwhile, Republicans are hard at work fixing the economic mess Joe Biden and the Democrats created.”

Democrats hope that the events will show that their time in the political wilderness has made them more serious and effective at tackling kitchen table issues. But some fear their agenda may not be heard by voters in an increasingly fractured media environment.

“One of Donald Trump’s greatest strengths is that he’s so loud,” said Brian Derrick, a Democratic strategist. He said that events like the weekend’s itinerary help Democrats focus on an “Achilles’ heel” issue for Trump, “which right now is his lack of interest in addressing everyday costs for people.”

Brown writes for the Associated Press.

The first places to be investigated in a national independent inquiry into grooming gangs will be Oldham, Bradford and Keighley, and London.

The Statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs, which will be chaired by Baroness Anne Longfield CBE, will compel individuals and institutions to explain what they “did or did not do to protect children from being sexually abused”, the organisation said.

The review will also examine if changes have been made in places where there have been past reviews, such as Oxford and Rotherham.

Abuse survivor Fiona Goddard, who resigned from the inquiry in October 2025, said it had been “a long fight”.

“Bradford has evaded inquiries for many, many years and it’s time that the full truth about what happened comes out,” she said.

Goodard left the panel over concerns that two of the shortlisted chairs had backgrounds in policing and social services.

Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore, who called on the government to include Bradford in the inquiry, said it marked “a significant turning point”.

“This inquiry must seek the truth – however horrific it may be. And bring about justice to those who have been failed for far too long,” he said.

MACUNGIE, Pa. — President Trump visited a Mack Trucks facility in battleground Pennsylvania on Tuesday, attempting to shift attention to the U.S. economy in his first major public event outside the nation’s capital since he signed an interim agreement to end the Iran war.

The trip to Macungie, in the Allentown suburbs, came as Trump works to put the conflict — and the higher gasoline prices it caused — in the rearview mirror as the November midterm elections draw closer.

Trump had a private tour of the facility, but his speech often felt more like a reelection rally from two years ago than an effort to promote his second-term accomplishments.

The president listed longstanding political grievances, and made only passing mentions of promoting Republicans ahead of Election Day — while spending more time bragging about the UFC fight he staged on the White House lawn in honor of his own 80th birthday than he did the economy.

At one point, Trump even called UFC fighters Bo Nickal and Anthony Cassar to the stage and mused about whether he could beat either one of them in a wrestling match if he were to “work out for the next couple of months.”

It was Trump’s fifth second-term visit to Pennsylvania, a state whose support in 2016 and 2024 helped him to win the White House. The truck factory is in a district where incumbent Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie faces Democratic challenger Bob Brooks in November.

“For more than 100 years, this legendary company has been making trucks right here in eastern Pennsylvania,” Trump said, “building the heavy duty machinery that keeps our economy rolling, our factories moving, and our industries roaring all across the nation.”

His visit coincided with rising prices that could color the verdict voters render on Trump’s stewardship in the fall. About one-third of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s approach to the economy, according to a June Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. That’s in line with last month for Trump on the issue.

The Iran war, which began Feb. 28, has also been a politically difficult issue for the president. Most Americans continued to disapprove of his handling of Iran, according to the June AP-NORC poll, which was being fielded as Trump announced a tentative deal with Iran and concluded just before the interim agreement was signed last week. It found that 65% of U.S. adults disapprove of how the president is handling issues with Iran, unchanged from May.

Still, while most Democrats and independents view Trump’s actions negatively, only about 3 in 10 Republicans are unhappy.

This is the kind of district that matters in November elections

Trump addressed a cheering crowd from a stage erected on the factory floor, flanked by two red, white and blue trucks and rows of workers in fluorescent safety vests under a large “American Workers First” banner.

It’s the kind of district that may prove pivotal to Republicans holding narrow control of the House, where a loss could hobble the president’s final two years in office.

Mackenzie, a freshman lawmaker, is looking to hold on to a district Democrats have targeted to flip. Brooks, president of the state firefighters’ union, has support from Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who’s also seeking reelection this year.

Trump urged the crowd to support Mackenzie, saying of his trip, “I’m not doing this for my health.” But he devoted more energy to issues such as the U.S.-Mexico border, opposing transgender rights and decrying “Marxist” judges, while also referencing his administration’s efforts to lower prescription drug prices.

“We gotta win the midterms,” Trump said, in one of the few references he made to the midterms. Later, however, he suggested it wasn’t actually a “political season,” perhaps because he himself won’t be on the ballot in November.

On Iran, Trump suggested that the country would be smart and keep negotiating during the ceasefire. “Otherwise we’ll have to finish the job, which will take about, maybe less than a week,” he said.

An odd moment came when the president offered, “The ideology of the Muslims is slightly different than the ideology of the Catholics. We have the Catholics and the Muslims slightly different.” He didn’t elaborate.

Biden came to the same plant previously

Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, visited the same Mack Trucks facility in 2021 to highlight regulations aimed at promoting manufacturing jobs. Manufacturing employment peaked in 1979 at nearly 19.6 million jobs. It trended downward after the 2001 recession and the 2007-9 Great Recession. The figure now stands at 12.6 million as of May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In 2025, the truck facility got hit by market uncertainty, including sweeping tariffs that Trump’s administration imposed, and about 170 people were laid off, according to Mack spokesperson Kimberly Pupillo. She added that by the end of last year, almost 150 people were recalled to work and anyone laid off last year was given the chance to return.

There are about 2,800 workers at Mack, Pupillo said.

At a pizzeria down the road from the truck facility, workers and diners said they’d heard about the president’s visit and recalled Biden’s trip to the plant.

George Carver, a retired elementary school principal, said he wasn’t a fan of Trump’s. “I’m looking for a president who’ll clean up this mess,” he said, meaning improve the economy and better handle the war in Iran and immigration.

“I’m looking for someone who’s gonna tell the truth — that could be a Democrat or Republican,” Carver said.

Trump’s visit underscores Pennsylvania’s status as a crucial swing state.

Trump made a trip to Mount Pocono in December 2025 to road test messages that he’s addressing affordability; in July 2025, he was in Pittsburgh to tout tens of billions of dollars of recent energy and technology investments in the state; in June 2025, he was in West Mifflin to tell steelworkers he was doubling the tariff on steel imports to protect the industry; and in March 2025, he attended the NCAA wrestling championship in Philadelphia.

Denise Green, a retired software trainer, was among a handful of people protesting the visit outside a McDonald’s across the street from the plant.

Green said she was a former Republican who became a Democrat in 2007 because her original party backed policies where “all the money” was going to the rich.

Green said her key issue was Social Security funding, which she said she’ll need but is worried could run out.

“It’s outrageous,” she said.

Catalini and Kim write for the Associated Press.

Nelly Korda watched someone else lift the trophy at last year’s U.S. Women’s Open.

This time, it was Korda — the 2025 runner-up — who did the heavy lifting.

The world’s No. 1 women’s golfer won for the fourth time in 2026 on Sunday and checked off the biggest item on her to-do list.

“To be hoisting this trophy, to hold it high and at such an iconic venue, is just a dream come true,” said Korda, the first American to win back-to-back majors since Juli Inkster in 1999.

Korda claimed her first U.S. Open title, pulling ahead on the back nine at Riviera Country Club, which was playing host to the major championship for the first time.

It was anything but a wire-to-wire win for Korda, who struggled on the tee and limped through the opening round at two over par. But she shot a pair of 67s on Friday and Saturday, then closed out the victory Sunday with a 69 on a postcard afternoon.

Korda’s scrambling was masterful. No one in the last 20 years won a U.S. Women’s Open hitting fewer greens, yet she got up and down for par 24 times out of 30.

The final putt — two feet, 10 inches — was appropriately dramatic, teetering along the left edge before curling back into the cup. With the victory comes a $2.5-million prize.

Korda gasped, covered her mouth, waved to the crowd and wiped away tears. She made her way to her family on the fringe of the green, was showered by champagne and took a swig.

She was locked in a four-way tie for first — Charley Hull of England, Gaby Lopez of Mexico and In Gee Chun of South Korea also at seven under — and broke free with a long birdie putt on No. 17.

There would be no playoff, not with Korda closing the deal with a par on No. 18. It was her fourth win in eight tournaments this year.

Hull and Lopez tied for second, one shot back.

Nelly Korda holds the Harton S. Semple trophy after winning the 81st U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club on Sunday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Korda, 27, is the youngest American player to win four majors since Mickey Wright in 1960.

What’s more, Korda is only the second American in the past 10 years to win the Open, joining former USC standout Allisen Corpuz, who won at Pebble Beach in 2023.

Korda has a championship pedigree. Her older sister, Jessica, was a six-time winner on the LPGA Tour, and brother, Sebastian, is a professional tennis player. Their father, Petr Korda, won the 1998 Australian Open in singles tennis. Their mother, Regina Rajchrtová, is a former professional tennis player who competed for Czechoslovakia in the 1988 Summer Olympics.

When the tournament started, the focus was on Korda’s feet. She was gifted a pair of Nike Victory Pro 4 golf shoes from LeBron James but changed out of them after six holes because they felt too roomy. It was a bad day for her as she was spraying her tee shots.

The focus then shifted to her head. She has worked on her mentality this year after going winless in 2025.

“I’ve tried to have a mindset shift,” she told reporters Saturday. “I’ve tried to have the attitude of instead of saying, `I’m screwed in this position. Oh, here we go again,’ I’m just going to embrace the challenges, and I’m not going to walk off the golf course. I’m just going to figure it out.”

Korda, who had the fewest bogeys of anyone in the field (seven), was typically steady Sunday, saving pars when she needed to despite crosswinds that picked up in the afternoon and made putting trickier.

There were plenty of compelling story lines taking shape as the sun began to dip on the legendary course.

Lopez, who made a great birdie putt on 18 to claim a share of the lead, was looking to become the first Mexican woman to win the Open and the second to win a major behind her mentor, Lorena Ochoa, who won the Chevron in 2008.

After making par on each of the first nine holes, Lopez made her move on the back with four birdies.

“I’ll say that at the beginning of the day I felt way more nervous than at the end,” Lopez said. “At the beginning it’s all the energy, you’re trying to get a run, but the U.S. Open it’s about waiting and waiting and waiting, and once you get your chance you kind of ride the wave.”

Hull, a runner-up in a major for the fifth time, was looking to become the third English woman to win the Open, matching Laura Davies (1987) and Alison Nicholas (1997).

Amazingly, Hull nearly missed the cut after over-par rounds of 73 and 72 on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, she shot a 65 — the lowest round of anyone in the field on any day — and followed with a 67 on Sunday.

Gaby Lopez sinks a birdie putt on No. 18 to briefly move into a share of the lead during the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open on Sunday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

According to Elias Sports Bureau, Hull matched the U.S. Women’s Open record for the lowest 36-hole score in the final two rounds (132), set by Meg Mallon when she won in 2004.

“It’s frustrating,” Hull said. “Another second place.”

She added: “I love the feel of being under the gun, under pressure. It’s not like a life-and-death situation, but you know that adrenaline that you get…”

Chun had a chance to win her fourth major and bookend Open victories, as she won this tournament in 2015. That would have been the second-biggest gap between Open victories.

Three Clausen brothers who were quarterbacks — Casey, Rick and Jimmy — have created a fall flag football league for boys and girls in an effort to help youth players learn the game. There also will be six Clausen children playing in the league.

Flag football continues to grow, with the Clausen brothers behind a fall league.

(Los Angeles Times)

Casey is a former head coach at Bishop Alemany. Rick is head coach at Westlake. And Jimmy is a former NFL quarterback.

Casey said the Rising Stars is a 7×7 league that will take place in the fall with focus on rising participation of girls playing. The breakdown of divisions for boys and girls ranges from third grade to eighth grade and will be played on Sundays beginning Aug. 16 at Agoura, Oak Park and Westlake.

Get ready for lots of Clausen cousins, brothers and sisters playing football in the coming years. The oldest is a sixth grader.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

The final episode of Football Focus was broadcast on Sunday, bringing to an end 52 years on the air.

It was an emotional episode as long-time pundit Garth Crooks returned to Focus, sitting alongside Alex Scott to reflect on the show’s past and preview the final day of the Premier League season.

Bob Wilson, the show’s first presenter, closed out the programme by saying: “All good things come to an end. Thank you to all of you at home for watching Football Focus for the last 52 years. We have had a ball.”

Launched in 1974, Football Focus provided fans with interviews, analysis and stories from across the game every lunchtime before the weekend’s fixtures begin.

The longest-running magazine show in the world began with a tribute to the programme, with its former presenters sharing their favourite memories from across the decades.

The programme’s old branding was used throughout in a nod to its history.

Crooks ended the show by presenting Scott with a picture of herself and Bob Wilson, on behalf of the “Football Focus family”.

Before handing over to Wilson, an emotional Scott said: “For 52 years, this show has done one thing. Week in, week out, it has brought football into your Saturday afternoons. Whether it was Bob Wilson or any of the brilliant people who sat in this chair after him, the thing that never changed was you – the fans.

“I won’t pretend this isn’t hard. What I know is, the football doesn’t stop, the stories don’t stop. The goals, the drama, the heartbreak, the magic, none of that stops. It just finds a new home.

“From everyone who has ever worked on Football Focus, thank you. Thank you for making Saturday lunchtime something to look forward to. It has been an honour.”

NEW YORK — Kamala Harris “wrote off rural America” during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient “negative firepower,” according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released on Thursday by the Democratic National Committee.

The committee’s chair, Ken Martin, shared the 192-page report only after facing intense internal pressure from frustrated Democratic operatives concerned with his leadership. Martin had originally promised to release the autopsy, only to keep it under wraps for months because he was concerned it would be a distraction ahead of the midterms as Democrats mobilize to take back control of Congress.

On Tuesday, Martin apologized for his handling of the situation and conceded that the report was withheld because it “was not ready for primetime.”

Although the autopsy criticizes Democrats’ focus on “identity politics,” it sidesteps some of the most controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. The report does not address former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek reelection, the rushed selection of Harris to replace him on the ticket or the party’s acrimonious divide over the war in Gaza.

“I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards,” Martin wrote in an essay on Substack on Thursday. “I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it. But transparency is paramount.”

A spokesperson for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The initial reaction from Democratic operatives was a mix of bafflement and anger over Martin’s handling of the situation.

“Why not say this in 2024, or bring in more people to finish it, instead of turning this into the dumbest media cycle for 7-8 months?” Democratic strategist Steve Schale wrote on social media.

Report says Democrats don’t ‘listen to all voters’

The postelection report, which was authored by Democratic consultant Paul Rivera, calls for “a renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South, who have come to believe they are not included in the Democratic vision of a stronger and more dynamic America for everyone.”

“Millions of Americans are suffering from poor access to healthcare, manufacturing and job losses, and a failing infrastructure, yet continue to be persuaded to vote against their best interests because they do not see themselves reflected in the America of the Democratic Party,” the report says.

The autopsy points to a reduction in support and training for Democratic state parties, voter registration shifts and “a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters.”

Thursday’s release comes as Martin confronts a crisis of confidence among party officials who are increasingly concerned about the health of their political machine barely a year into his term. Some Democratic operatives have had informal discussions about recruiting a new chair, even though most believe that Martin’s job wasn’t in serious jeopardy ahead of the midterm elections.

Were Democrats too nice?

The report found that Harris and her allies failed to focus enough on Trump’s negatives, especially his felony convictions. This was part of a broader criticism that Democrats’ messaging is too focused on reason and winning arguments, “even in cycles when the electorate is defined by rage.”

“There was a decision in the 2024 Democratic leadership not to engage in negative advertising at the scale required,” the report states. “The Trump campaign and supportive Super PACs went full throttle against Vice President Harris, but there was not sufficient or similar negative firepower directed at Trump by Democrats.”

The report continues: “It was essential to prosecute a more effective case as to why Trump should have been disqualified from ever again taking office. The grounds were there, but the messaging did not make the case.”

Trump’s attack on Harris’ transgender policies were cited as a key contrast.

Specifically, the report suggested the Democratic nominee was “boxed” in by the Trump campaign’s “very effective” ad that highlighted Harris’ previous statement of support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries for prison inmates.

Democratic pollsters believed that “if the Vice President would not change her position – and she did not – then there was nothing which would have worked as a response,” the report said.

‘The math doesn’t work’

The report criticized Harris’ outreach to key segments of America while condemning the party’s focus on “identity politics.”

“Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate. The math doesn’t work,” the report says. “You can’t lose rural areas by overwhelming margins and make it up elsewhere when rural voters are a significant share of the electorate. If Democrats are to reclaim leadership in the Heartland or the South, candidates must perform well in rural turf. Show up, listen, and then do it again.”

The report also references Democrats’ underperformance with male voters of color.

“Male voters require direct engagement. The gender gap can be narrowed. Deploy male messengers, address economic concerns, and don’t assume identity politics will hold male voters of color,” it says.

Peoples writes for the Associated Press.

Hampton’s career has been far from smooth sailing, with the ex-Birmingham City goalkeeper hitting headlines when she was dropped from the England squad in 2022 shortly after their first Euros triumph.

Reports said it was a result of her behaviour and she had to wait until March 2023 for a recall, when manager Sarina Wiegman said Hampton had “sorted out personal issues”.

Speaking about that time, Hampton said the stories were “hurtful” and she later revealed on the Fozcast podcast she had considered quitting football.

In November, Mary Earps – her former England team-mate and predecessor as number one – released an autobiography which heavily criticised Hampton.

Earps claimed she told Wiegman she was rewarding “bad behaviour” by recalling Hampton, who had previously been dropped for being “disruptive and unreliable”.

Hampton, who kept eight clean sheets in 19 WSL appearances this season, says goalkeepers need to support each other.

“I think goalkeepers hold a unique pressure that really only goalkeepers truly understand,” added Hampton.

“When I see other goalkeepers making worldie saves, it pushes me and drives me. The women’s game, and goalkeepers especially, are getting to those standards that we hold ourselves to so highly.

“We’re a group, a union. If we can’t rely on each other, then we can’t rely on anyone.”

Charlton Athletic goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse, a former team-mate of Hampton’s at Birmingham, won the WSL 2 Golden Glove award on Monday.

Hampton says Whitehouse “deserves more credit” and believes she will play a star role in Saturday’s play-off match against Leicester City (12:30 BST).

“Seeing the growth of where she’s got to right now isn’t spoken about enough,” said Hampton.

“She was always pushing herself to reach high standards at the Blues. I’m sure she will make a lot more worldie saves to make sure Charlton get to the WSL and we’ll be competing with each other next season.”