HONOLULU, HAWAII — Tropical Storm Hone was approaching the southern edges of Hawaii on Saturday with gusts of wind and heavy rain, potentially inflicting flooding and wind damage on the Big Island over the weekend and raising the risk of wildfires on the drier sides of the islands.

The National Weather Service has issued a tropical storm warning for Hawaii County, which includes all of the Big Island, and a red flag warning for the leeward sides of all islands.

Hone, which means “sweet and soft” in Hawaiian, had top winds of 105 kilometers per hour (65 miles per hour) early Saturday. It will likely strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane as it passes near or south of the Big Island from Saturday night into early Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority told travelers it’s still safe to come to the islands but recommended that people postpone outdoor activities.

“We are not advising visitors to cancel their trips,” the agency said in a news release.

Hone was centered 465 kilometers (290 miles) east-southeast of Hilo and 805 kilometers (500 miles) east-southeast of Honolulu early Saturday.

The eastern and southeastern parts of the Big Island could get 11 to 25 centimeters (5 to 10 inches) of rain. The island could get sustained winds of 32 to 64 kph (20 to 40 mph) and gusts near 97 kph (60 mph).

The dry air north of the storm will spread arid conditions across the archipelago on Saturday, combining with strong winds to raise wildfire risks. Most of the state is already abnormally dry or in drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The weather service’s red flag warning will be in effect from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. It issues the alert when warm temperatures, very low humidity and stronger winds combine to raise fire dangers. Winds are expected to be strongest where they blow downslope from higher terrain, over headlands and through passes, the hurricane center advised.

The situation recalls last year’s deadly wildfires on Maui, which were fueled by hurricane-force winds. But Hone’s wildfire risks are lower, said Laura Farris, a weather service meteorologist in Honolulu.

The August 8, 2023, blaze that torched the historic town of Lahaina caused the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. Powerful winds whipped up in part by a hurricane passing to Hawaii’s south helped fuel the flames that killed 102 people. Dry, overgrown grasses and drought helped spread the fire.

The state’s two power companies, Hawaiian Electric and the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, said they would be monitoring conditions this weekend and ready to shut off power if necessary to reduce the chance that live, damaged powerlines could start fires.

The cause of the Lahaina blaze is still under investigation, but it’s possible it was ignited by bare electrical wire and leaning power poles toppled by the strong winds.

Moving westward across the Pacific behind Hone was Category 2 Hurricane Gilma, but it was expected to weaken over cooler waters as it encounters drier air in coming days and was forecast to become a tropical depression by Wednesday. Gilma may bring rain to Hawaii, but it’s not clear how much, Farris said.
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Seoul, South Korea — North Korea vowed Saturday to advance its nuclear capabilities, reacting to a report that the United States had revised its own nuclear strategic plan.

The country will “bolster up its strategic strength in every way to control and eliminate all sorts of security challenges that may result from Washington’s revised plan,” the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

The New York Times reported this week that a U.S. plan approved by President Joe Biden in March was to prepare for possible coordinated nuclear confrontations with Russia, China and North Korea.

The highly classified plan for the first time reorients Washington’s deterrent strategy to focus on China’s rapid expansion in its nuclear arsenal, the Times said.

KCNA said North Korea’s foreign ministry “expresses serious concern over and bitterly denounces and rejects the behavior of the U.S.”

It added North Korea vowed to push forward the building of nuclear force sufficient and reliable enough to firmly defend its sovereignty.

Pyongyang and Moscow have been allies since North Korea’s founding after World War II and have drawn even closer since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The United States and Seoul have accused North Korea of providing ammunition and missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Pyongyang, which has declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear weapons power, has described allegations of supplying weapons to Russia as “absurd.”

However, it did thank Russia for using its United Nations veto in March to effectively end monitoring of sanctions violations just as UN experts were starting to probe alleged arms transfers.

China, also a key ally of North Korea, presents itself as a neutral party in Russia’s offensive on Ukraine and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.

But it is a close political and economic ally of Russia, and NATO members have branded Beijing a “decisive enabler” of the war.

Moscow has looked to Beijing as an economic lifeline since the Ukraine conflict began, with the two boosting trade to record highs as Russia faces heavy sanctions from the West.
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williamsburg, virginia — Archaeologists in Virginia are uncovering one of colonial America’s most lavish displays of opulence: an ornamental garden where a wealthy politician and enslaved gardeners grew exotic plants from around the world. 

Such plots dotted Britain’s colonies and served as status symbols for the elite. They were the 18th-century equivalent of buying a Lamborghini. 

The garden in Williamsburg belonged to John Custis IV, a tobacco plantation owner who served in Virginia’s colonial legislature. He is perhaps best known as the first father-in-law of Martha Washington. She married future U.S. President George Washington after Custis’ son Daniel died. 

Historians also have been intrigued by the elder Custis’ botanical adventures, which were well-documented in letters and later in books. And yet this excavation is as much about the people who cultivated the land as it is about Custis. 

“The garden may have been Custis’ vision, but he wasn’t the one doing the work,” said Jack Gary, executive director of archaeology at Colonial Williamsburg, a living history museum that now owns the property. “Everything we see in the ground that’s related to the garden is the work of enslaved gardeners, many of whom must have been very skilled.” 

Posts, paths

Archaeologists have pulled up fence posts that were 3 feet (1 meter) thick and carved from red cedar. Gravel paths were uncovered, including a large central walkway. Stains in the soil show where plants grew in rows. 

The dig also has unearthed a pierced coin that was typically worn as a good-luck charm by young African Americans. Workers have also found the shards of an earthenware chamber pot, or portable toilet, that likely was used by people who were enslaved. 

Animals appear to have been intentionally buried under some fence posts. They included two chickens with their heads removed, as well as a single cow’s foot. A snake without a skull was found in a shallow hole that had likely contained a plant. 

“We have to wonder if we’re seeing traditions that are non-European,” Gary said. “Are they West African traditions? We need to do more research. But it’s features like those that make us continue to try and understand the enslaved people who were in this space.” 

The museum tells the story of Virginia’s colonial capital through interpreters and restored buildings on 300 acres (120 hectares), which include parts of the original city. Founded in 1926, the museum did not start telling stories about Black Americans until 1979, even though more than half of the 2,000 people who lived there were Black, the majority enslaved. 

In recent years, the museum has boosted efforts to tell a more complete story, while trying to attract more Black visitors. It plans to reconstruct one of the nation’s oldest Black churches and is restoring what is believed to be the country’s oldest surviving schoolhouse for Black children. 

There also are plans to re-create Custis’ Williamsburg home and garden, known then as Custis Square. Unlike some historic gardens, the restoration will be done without the benefit of surviving maps or diagrams, relying instead on what Gary described as the most detailed landscape archaeology effort in the museum’s history. 

The garden disappeared after Custis’ death in 1749. But the dig has determined it was about two-thirds the size of a football field, while descriptions from the time refer to lead statues of Greek gods and topiaries trimmed into balls and pyramids. 

Correspondence with Briton

The garden’s legacy has lived on through Custis’ correspondence with British botanist Peter Collinson, who traded plants with other horticulturalists around the globe. From 1734 to 1746, Custis and Collinson exchanged seeds and letters via merchant ships crossing the Atlantic. 

The men possibly introduced new plants to their respective communities, said Eve Otmar, Colonial Williamsburg’s master of historic gardening. For instance, Custis is believed to have made one of Williamsburg’s earliest written mentions of growing tomatoes, known then as “apples of love” and native to Mexico and Central and South America. 

Custis’ gardeners also planted strawberries, pistachios and almonds, among 100 other imported plants. It’s not always clear from his letters which were successful in the Virginia climate. A recent pollen analysis of the soil indicates the past presence of stone fruits, such as peaches and cherries, which weren’t a big surprise. 

The garden existed at a time when European empires and slavery were still expanding. Botanical gardens often were used for discovering new cash crops that could enrich colonial powers. 

But Custis’ garden was primarily about showing off his wealth. A study of the area’s topography placed his garden in direct view of Williamsburg’s only church house at the time. Everyone would have seen the garden’s fence, but few were invited inside. 

Exotic lily

Custis delighted his guests with the likes of the crown imperial lily, which was native to the Middle East and parts of Asia, and boasted clusters of drooping, bell-shaped flowers. 

“In the 18th century, those were unusual things,” Otmar said. “Only certain classes of people got to experience that. A wealthy person today — they buy a Lamborghini.” 

The museum is still trying to learn more about the people who worked in the garden. 

Crystal Castleberry, Colonial Williamsburg’s public archaeologist, has met with descendants of the more than 200 people who were enslaved by the Custis family on his various plantations. But there is too little information in surviving documents to determine if an ancestor lived and worked at Custis Square. 

Two people, named Cornelia and Beck, were listed as property with the Williamsburg estate after Daniel Custis died in 1757. But their names prompt only more questions about who they were and what happened to them. 

“Are they related to one another?” Castleberry asked. “Do they fear being split up or sold? Or are they going to be reunited with loved ones on other properties?”
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Chicago — Hundreds of pro-Palestinian delegates were sidelined at the Democratic National Convention that ended with Vice President Kamala Harris reaffirming her support for Israel.

“The people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7,” she said in her speech accepting the party’s presidential nomination Thursday evening.

As anti-war protesters filled the streets throughout the week, 270 pro-Palestinian Democrats calling themselves “cease-fire delegates” signed a petition demanding Harris, if she’s elected, enact an arms embargo on Israel.

The unheeded petition was pushed by leaders of the “Uncommitted” movement, which garnered hundreds of thousands of votes in Democratic primaries across the nation.

These delegates staged a sit-in outside Chicago’s United Center, the convention’s venue, to protest the Democratic National Committee, who denied a speaking request for Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric doctor who treats wounded children in Gaza.

The DNC, according to Uncommitted National Movement spokesperson Layla Elabed, didn’t want Harris to be “overshadowed.”

Asked by VOA for a reaction to Elabed’s claim, the Harris campaign said, “There have been a number of speakers who have spoken about the war in Gaza and the need to secure a cease-fire and hostage deal.”

Uncommitted delegates

Elabed spoke to VOA on behalf of the 30 “Uncommitted” delegates who voted present in the nomination roll call. That’s less than 1% of the roughly 4,700 delegates who voted for Harris.

The pro-Palestinian group, however, was given a speaking opportunity Monday in a panel event outside of the convention.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Muslim sympathetic to the Palestinian cause who spoke on the panel, was given time at the convention main stage on Wednesday. However, he did not mention Gaza in his speech.

The war in Gaza is “not the topic that I would decide” to speak about, Ellison told VOA before his speech, indicating that pragmatism is key to affect change within the party.

“I’m not one of those people who believe that we vote for perfection. What we vote for is conversation,” he said.

Party platform supports Israel

As the convention kicked off, Democrats voted to adopt the party’s platform that recommitted support for Israel, a cease-fire for hostage release deal and the two-state solution.

Pro-Palestinian delegates tried to include language backing enforcement of laws that ban giving military aid to individuals or security forces that commit gross violations of human rights.

“What we are asking is that our tax dollars not be used to kill men, women and children. This is not a controversial demand and is actually more aligned with our Democratic values,” Elabed said.

Compared to Biden, Harris appears to offer more sympathy for Palestinian suffering, repeating Thursday of the “devastating” situation in Gaza over the past 10 months.”

“So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again,” she said in her convention speech. “The scale of suffering is heartbreaking.”

But policy-wise she signaled continuity from the current administration.

“President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination,” she said in her speech to thunderous applause.

Harris’ current and former aides say her Israel policy is unlikely to diverge from President Joe Biden. Halie Soifer, national security adviser to Harris while she was in the Senate, said that the vice president has always been a “strong supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship,” while upholding humanitarian values.

“She does not want to see the suffering of innocent civilians, nor do the vast majority of Americans and Jewish Americans,” said Soifer, who is now CEO of Jewish Democratic Council of America.

“We don’t have to view it through binary lens,” she told VOA. “We support both.”

Not discouraged

Uncommitted delegates say they’re not discouraged.

Inga Gibson, a delegate from Hawaii, a state where seven out of 31 delegates are uncommitted, said she has made “tremendous progress” with her fellow delegates.

“I found that a lot of people are really with us on this issue, but they don’t know where to begin or how to get involved,” she told VOA.

She and other uncommitted delegates gave out keffiyehs, “Democrats for Gaza” flyers and “No More Bombs” pins. The pro-Palestinian symbols are emblematic of a key area of disagreement among Democrats – how much support to give to Israel.

Pro-Israel delegates say it should not create division within the party.

“We can all do better to try to understand the complications of the conflict,” Andrew Lachman, a delegate from California told VOA. “We’re all concerned about the civilians of Gaza, but we’re also concerned about the people of Israel and their safety and security.”

Polls show an increasing number of Americans want their leaders to reduce support for Israel. Some say Harris missed an opportunity.

As a former prosecutor, Harris can and should strictly enforce laws and suspend weapons even to allies who violate international or U.S. law, said Nancy Okail, president and CEO of the Center for International Policy, a left-leaning think tank.

“She could make clear this doesn’t just apply to their misuse by Israel to cause disproportionate civilian harm in Gaza, but to their misuse by Netanyahu’s extremist government to dispossess and abuse Palestinians in the occupied West Bank,” she told VOA.

Turning protest into agenda

Scholars of social movements say it takes time and work to turn protests into a political agenda. Elisabeth Clemens, a sociologist from the University of Chicago, said that includes building coalitions, negotiating and compromising.

“Finding a way forward that almost never gets all the way to where the protesters hoped it would get but is nevertheless an important change,” she told VOA.

And on an issue as complicated as the Middle East peace process, there are different pressures exerted on multiple sides.

“American domestic politics only garners a slice of that,” she said.

Elabed said they’re in for the long game.

“Our strategy is not to abandon the Democratic Party, but to essentially revolutionize the Democratic Party and listen to its core base.”

For now, the vice president is their best bet.

“I don’t care what you think, you need to win to have power,” Ellison said. “Harris, the numbers are up everywhere. The chances for success are higher.” 
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Vice President Kamala Harris reaffirmed support for Israel in her Democratic National Convention acceptance speech. Pro-Palestinian delegates say they will push to condition U.S. military aid to Israel. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports from the convention in Chicago, Illinois.
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washington — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent presidential candidate with a famous political pedigree but whose bid was overshadowed by a brain worm and a dead bear, has announced the suspension of his campaign, endorsing the Republican Party’s nominee, former President Donald Trump. 

“In my heart, I no longer believe I have a realistic path to an electoral victory,” Kennedy said to a group of reporters and supporters in Phoenix. “I am not terminating my campaign. I am simply suspending it,” he added, explaining he did not want to help Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s nominee.  

In 10 states where he could be a spoiler, Kennedy said he would have his name removed, but it would stay on the ballot in others where he said supporters could safely vote for him without risk of aiding the Democrats. 

On Thursday, Kennedy filed paperwork withdrawing from the ballot in Arizona, one of the swing states likely to determine the outcome of November’s presidential election. 

“My joining the Trump campaign will be a difficult sacrifice,” Kennedy told a crowd in Phoenix, Arizona. But, he added, it will be worthwhile if he gets a chance in a Republican administration to end what he contends is a wave of chronic diseases among America’s children. 

“In an honest system, I believe I would have won the election,” said Kennedy, alleging that the mainstream media censored him while the Democratic Party thwarted his access to the ballot in numerous states. 

He said Trump’s promise to negotiate an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine “alone would justify my support for his campaign.” 

Kennedy stepped off the podium after 50 minutes, taking no questions.  

He was expected to appear at a Trump rally later in the day in neighboring Glendale. 

“I want to thank Bobby, that was very nice,” Trump said about Kennedy’s endorsement before heading to Arizona. 

Famous name 

A 70-year-old environmental lawyer, Kennedy labeled himself a political outsider despite his lineage. He entered the presidential race as a longshot Democratic Party candidate before dropping that bid last October and announcing he would mount an independent campaign.  

With a surname almost synonymous with the Democratic Party (he is the nephew of President John. F. Kennedy and son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, both of whom were assassinated in the 1960s), RFK Jr. began his campaign polling in the low double digits in some states.  

Many in the extended Kennedy family expressed embarrassment and denounced their relative’s campaign after he dropped out of the Democratic Party, choosing instead to support the reelection of President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the race and was replaced by Harris last month.  

Kennedy on Friday likened Harris’ move to the top of the Democratic ticket to “a palace coup.”  

The shakeup in the Democrats’ lineup further eroded support for Kennedy, who had benefited from those unenthused about a rematch of the 2020 election between Biden and Trump.  

“The more voters learned about RFK Jr. the less they liked him. Donald Trump isn’t earning an endorsement that’s going to help build support, he’s inheriting the baggage of a failed fringe candidate. Good riddance,” said Democratic National Committee senior adviser Mary Beth Cahill in a statement following Kennedy’s announcement.  

Fringe appeal 

Kennedy, labeled a conspiracy theorist by his critics, appealed to some anti-establishment voters attracted by his contrarian foreign policy and long-standing campaign against vaccines. But he faced mainstream disdain and even ridicule.  

In May, Kennedy said a “brain fog” he suffered a decade ago was caused by a parasitic worm that had eaten part of his brain.  

Kennedy more recently was the target of late-night TV comedians and social media satire after he revealed that he had dumped a dead bear cub in New York City’s Central Park in 2014 as a prank.

A magazine article in July alleged Kennedy had molested a family babysitter decades ago. Asked about the allegation on a podcast, he said he was “not a church boy” and had “many skeletons” in his closet.  

“Third-party candidates often lose steam as the election approaches, but Kennedy’s trajectory has been particularly ignominious,” noted Nate Silver, a statistician and prominent election forecaster, in a Substack posting on Thursday. 

“In three-way polls against Biden and Trump, he initially polled at 10 or 11 percent, then gradually faded to 8 (save for a bounce just after Biden’s awful debate). In the Trump-Harris matchup, though, he’s dropped to about 4 percent.”

Trump has offered to “enlist” him in a second administration, Kennedy said on Friday.  

Trump, the previous day, acknowledged he had spoken with Kennedy several times but not recently.  

Trump told CNN Tuesday that he would “be open” to Kennedy playing a part in his administration if Kennedy dropped his presidential bid and endorsed the Republican nominee. 

Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, suggested in an interview Tuesday that Kennedy would do “an incredible job” as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Kennedy has claimed that agencies under HHS, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, have been captured by corporate interests, making them predators on the American public.  

“I love the idea of giving him some sort of role in some sort of major three-letter entity or whatever it may be and let him blow it up,” the Republican nominee’s son, Donald Trump Jr., told a conservative radio talk show on Wednesday.

‘Spoiler’ for MAGA? 

Democratic National Committee adviser Ramsey Reid argued in a memo released Friday that Kennedy’s role from the beginning had been to serve as a “spoiler” who would help Trump by drawing votes away from the Democratic candidate. 

“He was recruited into the race by MAGA Republicans like Steve Bannon, his candidacy was propped up by Trump’s largest donor, and he parroted MAGA attacks on President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris,” Reid said.  

On Thursday, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, some delegates looked forward to Kennedy’s withdrawal from the race. 

Montana delegate Mary Jo O’Rourke, whose father worked for RFK Jr.’s father in the Justice Department, told VOA she is a devotee of the Kennedy family, but it is time for the former Democrat “to go home and enjoy the rest of his life.”  

Kennedy had initially been viewed as siphoning more votes from Biden than Trump, but recent polls indicated he was appearing to attract more voters who would otherwise be inclined to cast a ballot for the Republican nominee.  

Of those who supported Kennedy in July, 4 in 10 shifted to Harris (compared with 2 in 10 who switched to Trump), according to Pew Research Center polling released last week.

Most voters, as the election day approaches, “go back to their parties. They’re not looking for an independent candidate. They’re looking to vote for one of the two likely winners,” John Fortier, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told VOA.

In a tight election in the half dozen or so swing states that will tip the balance of the electoral vote count, the presence or absence of a third party or independent candidate on the ballot could determine the overall outcome.  

The victor of the U.S. presidential race must win 270 electoral votes, with each state’s allocation equal to the number of senators and representatives it has in the Congress. It is possible for a candidate to receive the most total votes but lose the electoral vote count and thus the presidency.  

Kennedy told reporters on Friday he could still win if the Electoral College vote for Trump and Harris ends up tied at 269. In that case, members of the new Congress would select the president in early January. 
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Fires broke out Friday on a Greek-flagged oil tanker that was attacked by Yemen’s Houthi rebels this week, with the vessel now appearing to be adrift in the Red Sea, authorities said.

It wasn’t immediately clear what happened to the oil tanker Sounion, which was abandoned by its crew Thursday and reportedly anchored in place.

The Houthis didn’t immediately acknowledge the fire. The rebels are suspected to have gone back and attacked at least one other vessel that later sank as part of their monthslong campaign against shipping in the Red Sea over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. The attacks have disrupted a trade route that typically sees $1 trillion in goods pass through it annually.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported the fires in a note to mariners Friday night.

“UKMTO have received a report that three fires have been observed on vessel,” the center said. “The vessel appears to be drifting.”

A U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said American officials were aware of the fires and continued to monitor the situation.

The vessel had been staffed by a crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, who were taken by a French destroyer to nearby Djibouti, the EU’s Aspides naval mission in the Red Sea said Thursday.

The Sounion has 150,000 tons of crude oil aboard and represents a “navigational and environmental hazard,” the mission warned. “It is essential that everyone in the area exercises caution and refrains from any actions that could lead to a deterioration of the current situation.”

The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors.

Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a U.S.-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets.

The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the United States or Britain to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

As Iran threatens to retaliate against Israel over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the U.S. military told the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area. Early Thursday, the U.S. military’s Central Command said that the Lincoln had reached the waters of the Middle East, without elaborating.

Washington also has ordered the USS Georgia guided missile submarine to the region, while the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group was in the Gulf of Oman.

Additional F-22 fighter jets have flown into the region, and the USS Wasp, a large amphibious assault ship carrying F-35 fighter jets, is in the Mediterranean Sea.
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BEIJING/SINGAPORE/NEW YORK — State-linked Chinese entities are using cloud services provided by Amazon or its rivals to access advanced U.S. chips and artificial intelligence capabilities that they cannot acquire otherwise, recent public tender documents showed.

The U.S. government has restricted the export of high-end AI chips to China over the past two years, citing the need to limit the Chinese military’s capabilities.

Providing access to such chips or advanced AI models through the cloud, however, is not a violation of U.S. regulations since only exports or transfers of a commodity, software or technology are regulated.

A Reuters review of more than 50 tender documents posted over the past year on publicly available Chinese databases showed that at least 11 Chinese entities have sought access to restricted U.S. technologies or cloud services.

Among those, four explicitly named Amazon Web Services, or AWS, as a cloud service provider, although they accessed the services through Chinese intermediary companies rather than from AWS directly.

The tender documents, which Reuters is the first to report on, show the breadth of strategies Chinese entities are employing to secure advanced computing power and access generative AI models. They also underscore how U.S. companies are capitalizing on China’s growing demand for computing power.

“AWS complies with all applicable U.S. laws, including trade laws, regarding the provision of AWS services inside and outside of China,” a spokesperson for Amazon’s cloud business said.

AWS controls nearly a third of the global cloud infrastructure market, according to research firm Canalys. In China, AWS is the sixth-largest cloud service provider, according to research firm IDC.

Shenzhen University spent $27,996 (200,000 yuan) on an AWS account to gain access to cloud servers powered by Nvidia A100 and H100 chips for an unspecified project, according to a March tender document. It got this service via an intermediary, Yunda Technology Ltd Co, the document showed.

Exports to China of the two Nvidia chips that are used to power large-language models, or LLM, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, are banned by the United States.

Shenzhen University and Yunda Technology did not respond to requests for comment. Nvidia declined to comment on Shenzhen University’s spending or on any of the other Chinese entities’ deals.

Zhejiang Lab, a research institute developing its own LLM, called GeoGPT, said in a tender document in April that it intended to spend 184,000 yuan to purchase AWS cloud computing services as its AI model could not get enough computing power from homegrown Alibaba.

A spokesperson for Zhejiang Lab said that it did not follow through with the purchase but did not respond to questions about the reasoning behind this decision or how it met its LLM’s computing power requirements. Alibaba’s cloud unit, Alicloud, did not respond to a request for comment.

Reuters could not establish whether the purchase went ahead.

Moving to tighten access

The U.S. government is now trying to tighten regulations to restrict access through the cloud.

“This loophole has been a concern of mine for years, and we are long overdue to address it,” Michael McCaul, chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, told Reuters in a statement, referring to the remote access of advanced U.S. computing through the cloud by foreign entities.

Legislation was introduced in Congress in April to empower the Commerce Department to regulate remote access of U.S. technology, but it is not clear if and when it will be passed.

A department spokesperson said it was working closely with Congress and “seeking additional resources to strengthen our existing controls that restrict PRC companies from accessing advanced AI chips through remote access to cloud computing capability.”

The Commerce Department also proposed a rule in January that would require U.S. cloud computing services to verify large AI model users and report to regulators when they use U.S. cloud computing services to train large AI models capable of “malicious cyber-enabled activity.”

The rule, which has not been finalized, would also enable the Commerce secretary to impose prohibitions on customers.

“We are aware the Commerce Department is considering new regulations, and we comply with all applicable laws in the countries in which we operate,” the AWS spokesperson said.

Cloud demand in China

The Chinese entities are also seeking access to Microsoft’s cloud services.

In April, Sichuan University said in a tender document it was building a generative AI platform and purchasing 40 million Microsoft Azure OpenAI tokens to support the delivery of this project. The university’s procurement document in May showed that Sichuan Province Xuedong Technology Co Ltd supplied the tokens.

Microsoft did not respond to requests for comment. Sichuan University and Sichuan Province Xuedong Technology did not respond to requests for comment on the purchase.

OpenAI said in a statement that its own services are not supported in China and that Azure OpenAI operates under Microsoft’s policies. It did not comment on the tenders.

The University of Science and Technology of China’s Suzhou Institute of Advanced Research said in a tender document in March that it wanted to rent 500 cloud servers, each powered by eight Nvidia A100 chips, for an unspecified purpose.

The tender was fulfilled by Hefei Advanced Computing Center Operation Management Co Ltd, a procurement document showed in April, but the document did not name the cloud service provider. Reuters could not determine its identity.

The University of Science and Technology of China, or USTC, was added to a U.S. export control list known as the “Entity List” in May for acquiring U.S. technology for quantum computing that could help China’s military, and for involvement in its nuclear program development.

USTC and Hefei Advanced Computing Center did not respond to requests for comment.

Beyond restricted AI chips

Amazon has offered Chinese organizations access not only to advanced AI chips but also to advanced AI models such as Anthropic’s Claude, which they cannot otherwise access, according to public posts, tenders and marketing materials reviewed by Reuters.

“Bedrock provides a selection of leading LLMs, including prominent closed-source models such as Anthropic’s Claude 3,” Chu Ruisong, president of AWS Greater China, told a generative AI-themed conference in Shanghai in May, referring to its cloud platform.

In various Chinese-language posts for AWS developers and clients, Amazon highlighted the opportunity to try out “world-class AI models” and mentioned Chinese gaming firm Source Technology as one of its clients using Claude.

Amazon has dedicated sales teams serving Chinese clients domestically and overseas, according to two former company executives.

After Reuters contacted Amazon for comment, it updated dozens of posts on its Chinese-language channels with a note to say some of its services were not available in its China cloud regions. It also removed several promotional posts, including the one about Source Technology. Amazon did not give a reason for removing the posts and did not answer a Reuters query about that.

“Amazon Bedrock customers are subject to Anthropic’s end user license agreement, which prohibits access to Claude in China both via Amazon’s Bedrock API [application programming interface] and via Anthropic’s own API,” the AWS spokesperson said.

Anthropic said it does not support or allow customers or end-users within China to access Claude.

“However, subsidiaries or product divisions of Chinese-headquartered companies may use Claude if the subsidiary itself is located in a supported region outside of China,” an Anthropic spokesperson said.

Source Technology did not respond to a request for comment.
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Just a month after US President Joe Biden announced he would not seek reelection, Kamala Harris accepted the nomination to be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. She contrasted her record and vision to that of her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
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CHICAGO — It was U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s big night Thursday, but she wasn’t the only U.S. Democrat to knock it out of the park during a week of rousing speeches, celebrity cameos and lashings of hope and joy.

Here are some takeaways from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago:

Star-studded convention

Oprah Winfrey stole the show, exhorting voters to “choose joy” and Stevie Wonder took the convention to Higher Ground.

John Legend lit up the United Center with a tribute to Prince, while comic actress Mindy Kaling shared stories of cooking lessons from the vice president.

And there was comedy with a serious message from Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson, who brought a giant book on stage to represent the radical Trump-linked Project 2025 governing agenda.

There was feverish speculation over a potential appearance by global superstar Beyonce, but it didn’t pan out.

Family affair

On the biggest stage of their careers, political leaders often look to dewy-eyed family moments that, if seen as genuine, can humanize them and make them relatable to voters.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s 17-year-old son, Gus, touched a nation as he wiped away joyous tears, pointed to his father accepting the vice presidential nomination and sobbed: “That’s my dad!”

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff provided another indelible memory, referring to Harris as “my wiiiiife” as he recounted the goofy, endearing story of their romance.

And President Joe Biden’s daughter Ashley was a highlight of the opening night as she paid tribute to “the O.G. Girl Dad.”

Obamas sizzle

Barack and Michelle Obama — the undisputed power couple of Democratic politics — partied like it was 2008 as they gave the convention a shot of star power on Day Two.

The 44th president got the night’s biggest laugh as he goaded Donald Trump over the Republican’s “obsession with crowd sizes.”

But he was upstaged by the former first lady — by far the country’s most popular Democrat — who spoke of the “contagious power of hope” in the most cheered speech of the week.

The party made use of a deep bench of luminaries, including former president Bill Clinton, whose raspy speech was more than twice the allotted time but included some memorable applause lines.

Gaza fizzles

There were protests across Chicago against the administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, and particularly over the decision not to allow a Palestinian American to speak from the main stage.

The largest protest Thursday featured several thousand marchers but was still much smaller than the demonstrations of tens of thousands predicted by organizers, and it was not the fly in the ointment that the Democrats had feared.

Protests were largely peaceful, although several demonstrators were arrested when they broke through a security fence earlier in the week around the United Center where the main program was staged.

Although the activists were largely pro-Palestinian, they were joined by others marching against a variety of progressive causes, from reproductive rights to migrant welfare.

Bye-bye Biden

The president gave an emotional keynote speech to open a conference that he thought just weeks ago he would be headlining.

Biden took to the stage, dabbing his eyes, and spoke at length about his achievements while making a case for Harris that was criticized for lacking the pizzazz of the Obama endorsements.

Flanked by first lady Jill Biden and Harris, the veteran Democrat’s final bow marked at long last the passing of the torch for a politician who has been in the public eye for more than half a century.

“Democracy has prevailed. Democracy has delivered. And now democracy must be preserved,” he declared, to one of many standing ovations from the rapt audience. 
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CHICAGO — Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted her party’s nomination for president on Thursday with a rousing call to end the war in Gaza and to fight tyranny around the world.

“In the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs,” Harris said, drawing a sharp contrast with Republican Donald Trump.

On the final, and most anticipated, night of the convention, Harris, 59, sought to redefine herself for America as she and Trump enter the final 11 weeks of the razor-close campaign.

After days of protests from Palestinian supporters who were disappointed at not getting a speaking spot at the convention, Harris delivered a pledge to secure Israel, bring the hostages home from Gaza and end the war in the Palestinian enclave.

“Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done,” she said to cheers. “And let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself.”

“What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost, desperate hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking,” she said.

“President [Joe] Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are release, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”

Harris emerged as the Democratic candidate little more than a month ago when allies of President Biden, 81, forced him to quit the race. If successful, she stands to make history as the first woman elected U.S. president.

Trump, who had promised to respond to Harris’ speech in real time, posted a series of messages on Truth Social as she spoke about him, including: “She stands for Incompetence and Weakness – Our Country is being laughed at all over the World!” and “She will never be respected by the Tyrants of the World!”
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CHICAGO — Pro-Palestinian protests during the final hours of the Democratic National Convention began Thursday night much like they had earlier this week — largely peaceful with a family-friendly atmosphere.

The crowd of thousands slowly snaked through residential areas surrounding the United Center. Some wore red T-shirts that said “Not In Our Name” while others held signs that said “End U.S. Aid to Israel.” Pausing at the edge of a park to turn toward the convention center, they chanted: “DNC, you will see. Palestine will be free.”

There was heavy police presence as protesters walked the blocks by the United Center, including at a park where a small group of activists breached an outer perimeter fence earlier in the week. In addition to police on bikes along the route, about 100 officers in riot gear and more than 20 law enforcement vehicles followed the marchers.

Stephen Watts, a 28-year-old from Tennessee, said he came to Chicago out of frustration with feeling ignored by the Democratic Party. He said he was heartened by the size of the protests, but felt the presence of hundreds police officers was “a threat.”

At Union Park ahead of the march, the grassy field teemed with Palestinian flags, and a speaker system played Palestinian dance songs. The gathering was organized by the Coalition to March on the DNC, a group of more than 200 organizations that also ran a similar event on Monday night.

The largely festive atmosphere was briefly interrupted by the arrival of Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate, who said he was interested in “hearing alternative points of view.” After describing himself as a supporter of Israel, Ramaswamy was driven from the park by protesters chanting “racists go home.”

Protesters attempted to call attention to what they see as a lack of Palestinian voices within the arena hosting the DNC. Standing at the edge of the crowd, Lisa Pint, a 61-year-old volunteer wearing buttons in support of the Democratic ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, said she wanted to see the protest as a “neutral” observer. But after speaking with an activist, Pint said she’d come to the conclusion that a Palestinian voice should have been represented on the convention stage.

“I didn’t think of it until a protester said it. It’s a good point,” said Pint, a nurse in the Chicago suburbs. “I’m very strong for Kamala and Walz, but they should have been included.”

Leaders of an “Uncommitted” movement, which garnered hundreds of thousands of votes in Democratic primaries across the nation in protest of the Israel-Hamas war, expressed frustration ahead of the convention when weekslong negotiations to secure a speaking slot for a Palestinian American at the DNC stalled.

Chicago police said Thursday that they are not changing any of their tactics and are ready for a final night of pro-Palestinian demonstrations outside the convention, after a peaceful march that resulted in no injuries or arrests.

On Wednesday night, more than 2,000 pro-Palestinian protesters marched peacefully past a park where pro-Israel demonstrators had gathered earlier. That demonstration came a day after violent clashes between police and protesters led to 56 arrests at a much smaller, unsanctioned protest outside the Israeli Consulate in downtown Chicago.

Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said the protest Wednesday night ended without arrests and that no one was injured.

Snelling praised the organizers of the Wednesday protest, saying it’s an example of how people can hold First Amendment-protected demonstrations peacefully by collaborating in advance with law enforcement.

“Did we have a couple dustups? Sure, but those things were quickly rectified,” he said.

The biggest protest so far, which attracted about 3,500 people on Monday, was largely peaceful and resulted in 13 arrests, most related to a breach of security fencing. They did not gain access to the inner security perimeter at the United Center, where the convention is taking place.

Two people were arrested Sunday night during another mostly peaceful march.
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a Republican push that could have blocked more than 41,000 Arizona voters from casting ballots for president in the state that President Joe Biden, a Democrat, won by fewer than 11,000 votes four years ago.

But in a 5-4 order, the court allowed some enforcement of regulations barring people from voting if they don’t provide proof of citizenship when they register.

The justices acted on an emergency appeal filed by state and national Republicans that sought to give full effect to voting measures enacted in 2022 following Biden’s narrow win over Republican Donald Trump.

The court did not detail its reasoning in a brief order. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch would have allowed the law to be fully enforced, while Justice Amy Coney Barrett would have joined with the court’s three liberals in fully rejecting the push, the order states.

The legal fight will continue in lower courts.

The court’s action came after a lower court blocked a requirement that called for state voter registration forms to be rejected if they are not accompanied by documents proving U.S. citizenship. A second measure, also not in effect, would have prohibited voting in presidential elections or by mail if registrants don’t prove they are U.S. citizens. Federal law requires voters to swear they are U.S. citizens under penalty of perjury but does not require proof of citizenship either to vote in federal elections in person or cast ballots by mail.

The measures were passed on party-line votes and signed into law by then-Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, amid a wave of proposals that Republicans introduced around the country after Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump, including in Arizona.

For state and local elections, voters must provide proof of citizenship when they register or have it on file with the state. Since that isn’t a requirement for federal elections for Congress or president, tens of thousands of voters who haven’t provided proof of citizenship are registered only for federal elections.

There were 41,352 of those voters registered as of August 9 in Arizona, said Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat.

Fontes warned in a court filing that an order in favor of the state and national Republicans this close to the November election “will create chaos and confusion.”

The voters most affected would include military service members, students and Native Americans, Fontes said. About 27% of those voters are registered Democrats and 15% are Republicans. More than half, 54%, are registered independents, according to state data.

Voting rights groups and the Biden administration had sued over the Arizona laws.

Federal-only voters have been a subject of political wrangling since the Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that Arizona cannot require documentary proof of citizenship for people to vote in national elections. The state responded by creating two classes of voters: those who can vote in all races and those who can vote only in federal elections.

One of the new laws sought to further divide voters, allowing votes in congressional elections without proof of citizenship, but denying the vote in presidential contests.

The 2022 law has drawn fierce opposition from voting rights advocates, who described the statute as an attempt to get the issue back in front of the now more-conservative Supreme Court.

Proponents say the measure is about eliminating opportunities for fraud. There is no evidence that the existence of federal-only voters has allowed noncitizens to illegally vote, but Republicans have nonetheless worked aggressively to restrict federal-only voting.

The Legislature’s own lawyers had said much of the measure was unconstitutional, directly contradicted the earlier Supreme Court decision and was likely to be thrown out in court.
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TORONTO — Both of Canada’s major freight railroads have come to a full stop because of a contract dispute with their workers, an impasse that could bring significant economic harm to businesses and consumers in Canada and the U.S. if the trains don’t resume running soon.

Canadian National and CPKC railroads both locked out their employees after the deadline of 12:01 a.m. Eastern Thursday passed without new agreements with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference that represents some 10,000 engineers, conductors and dispatchers.

All rail traffic in Canada and all shipments crossing the U.S. border have stopped, although CPKC and CN’s trains will continue to operate in the U.S. and Mexico.

Billions of dollars of goods each month move between Canada and the U.S. via rail, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“If rail traffic grinds to a halt, businesses and families across the country will feel the impact,” Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, said in a statement. “Manufacturing workers, their communities and consumers of all sorts of products will be left reeling from supply chain disruptions.”

There will be other impacts as well, including on the more than 30,000 commuters in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal who will be scrambling to find a new way into work because their trains won’t be able to operate over CPKC’s tracks while the railroad is shut down.

Business groups had urged the government to intervene, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has declined to force both sides into arbitration.

CN said it was waiting for a response on one final offer made late Wednesday when it locked the workers out. CPKC spokesperson Patrick Waldron said the union rejected its last offer that CEO Keith Creel made at the table in person. Both railroads have said they would end the lockout if the union agreed to binding arbitration.

“Despite the lockout, the Teamsters remain at the bargaining table with both companies,” the union said in a statement.

CN had been negotiating with the Teamsters for nine months while CPKC had been trying to reach an agreement for a year, the unions said.

Many companies across all industries rely on railroads to deliver their raw materials and finished products, so without regular rail service they may have to cut back or even close.

That’s why the U.S. government kept rail workers from going on strike two years ago and forced them to accept a contract despite their concerns about demanding schedules and the lack of paid sick time.

Canada’s railroads have sometimes shut down briefly in the past during contract negotiations — most recently CPKC was offline for a couple of days in March 2022 — but it is rare for both railroads to stop at the same time. The impact on businesses will be magnified because both CN and CPKC have stopped.

Both CN and CPKC had been gradually shutting down since last week ahead of the contract deadline. Shipments of hazardous chemicals and perishable goods were the first to stop, so they wouldn’t be stranded somewhere on the tracks.

As the Canadian contract talks were coming down to the wire, one of the biggest U.S. railroads, CSX, broke with the U.S. freight rail industry’s longstanding practice of negotiating jointly for years with the unions. CSX reached a deal with several of its 13 unions that cover 25% of its workers ahead of the start of national bargaining later this year.

The new five-year contracts will provide 17.5% raises, better benefits and vacation time if they are ratified. The unions that have signed deals with CSX include part of the SMART-TD union representing conductors in one region, the Transportation Communications Union, the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen and the Transport Workers Union. TCU President Artie Maratea said he’s proud that his union reached a deal “without years of unnecessary delay and stall tactics.”

Trudeau has been reluctant to force arbitration because he doesn’t want to offend the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference and other unions, but he urged both sides to reach a deal Wednesday because of the tremendous economic damage that would follow a full shutdown.

“It is in the best interest of both sides to continue doing the hard work at the table,” Trudeau said to reporters in Gatineau, Quebec. “Millions of Canadians, workers, farmers, businesses, right across the country, are counting on both sides to do the work and get to a resolution.”

Numerous business groups have been urging Trudeau to act.

Trudeau said Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon met with both sides in the CN talks in Montreal on Tuesday and would be on hand for the CPKC talks in Calgary, Alberta. MacKinnon later said he wrapped up his meetings with the rail companies and the Teamsters.

‘Workers, farmers, commuters and businesses can’t wait. Canadians need urgency at the table. The parties need to get deals done now,” he posted on the social platform X.

The negotiations are stuck on issues related to the way rail workers are scheduled and concerns about rules designed to prevent fatigue and provide adequate rest to train crews. Both railroads had proposed shifting away from the existing system, which pays workers based on the miles in a trip, to an hourly system they said would make it easier to provide predictable time off.

The railroads said their contract offers have included raises consistent with recent deals in the industry. Engineers make about $150,000 a year on Canadian National while conductors earn $120,000, and CPKC says its wages are comparable.

Similar quality-of-life concerns about demanding schedules and the lack of paid sick time nearly led to a U.S. rail strike two years ago until Congress and President Joe Biden intervened and forced the unions to accept a deal.

Manufacturing companies may have to scale back or even shut down production if they can’t get rail service, while ports and grain elevators will quickly become clogged with shipments waiting to move. And if the dispute drags on for a couple weeks, water treatment plants all across Canada might have to scramble without new shipments of chlorine.

Some companies would undoubtedly turn to trucking to keep some of their products moving, but there’s no way to make up for the volume railroads deliver. It would take some 300 trucks to haul everything just one train can carry.
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Minnesota Governor Tim Walz accepted his party’s nomination as vice president during the third day of the Democratic National Convention. VOA Midwest Correspondent Kane Farabaugh has more from Chicago.
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MEXICO CITY — The strange saga of how two Mexican drug lords were detained after landing in a plane in the United States in July just got stranger.

The Mexican government now says it is bringing charges against Joaquín Guzmán López, but not because he was a leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel founded by his father, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Instead, Mexican prosecutors are bringing charges against the younger Guzmán for apparently kidnapping Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada — an older drug boss from a rival faction of the cartel — forcing him onto the plane and flying to an airport near El Paso, Texas.

The younger Guzmán apparently intended to turn himself in to U.S. authorities, but may have brought Zambada along as a prize to sweeten any plea deal.

Federal prosecutors issued a statement saying “an arrest warrant has been prepared” against the younger Guzmán for kidnapping.

But it also cited another charge under an article of Mexico’s criminal code that defines what he did as treason. That section of the law says treason is committed “by those who illegally abduct a person in Mexico in order to hand them over to authorities of another country.”

That clause was apparently motivated by the abduction of a Mexican doctor wanted for allegedly participating in the 1985 torture and killing of Drug Enforcement Administration agent Kiki Camarena.

Nowhere in the statement does it mention that the younger Guzmán was a member of the “little Chapos” faction of the Sinaloa cartel, made up of Chapo’s sons, that smuggles millions of doses of the deadly opioid fentanyl into the United States, causing about 70,000 overdose deaths each year.

The federal prosecutors’ statement also included an unusually harsh and revealing description about evidence presented by prosecutors in the northern state of Sinaloa that has since proved to be false.

Sinaloa state prosecutors were apparently trying to distance the state’s governor, Rubén Rocha, from the killing of a local political rival, Hector Cuén, who was at a meeting that was used as a pretext for luring Zambada to the abduction site. Zambada has said he expected the governor to be at that meeting; Rocha has said he made a trip out of the state that day.

To play down reports of the purported meeting, state prosecutors published a video of an apparent shooting during what they claimed was a botched robbery at a local gas station. They said Cuén was killed there, not at the meeting site, where Zambada said Cuén was murdered.

While federal prosecutors stopped short of saying the gas station video was a fake, they earlier noted that the number of gunshots heard on the video didn’t match the number of gunshot wounds on Cuén’s body.

On Wednesday, the federal prosecutors went further, saying the video “is unacceptable, nor does it have sufficient value as evidence to be taken into account.”

Zambada has said that Guzmán, whom he trusted, had invited him to the meeting to help iron out the fierce political rivalry between Cuén and Rocha. Zambada was known for eluding capture for decades because of his incredibly tight, loyal and sophisticated personal security apparatus.

The fact that he would knowingly leave that all behind to meet with Rocha means that Zambada viewed such a meeting as credible and feasible. The same goes for the idea that Zambada, as the leader of the oldest wing of the Sinaloa cartel, could act as an arbiter in the state’s political disputes.

The governor has denied he knew of or attended the meeting where Zambada was abducted.
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CHICAGO — More than 2,000 pro-Palestinian protesters marched Wednesday past a park where pro-Israel demonstrators had gathered earlier and toward the arena hosting the third night of the Democratic National Convention.

The demonstration, which stayed largely peaceful, came a day after violent clashes between police and protesters led to 56 arrests at a much smaller unsanctioned protest outside the Israeli Consulate.

Organizers of Wednesday’s demonstration drew on the Chicago area’s Palestinian community, one of the largest in the country, by bringing buses from suburban mosques.

Raed Shuk, 48, came with his children from the suburbs, including his 2-year-old son, who sat on Shuk’s shoulders ahead of the march. Shuk, whose parents are Palestinian, said they have come to so many rallies that his son knows the chants by heart.

“Everybody’s humanity needs to be equally addressed here and there,” he said of Gaza. “I want to help my children learn from this experience that you always like to stand up for your rights and always peacefully protest.”

The march, one of the largest anticipated demonstrations of the week, took on a festive tone at times as a drum line led marchers and a sea of Palestinian flags waved above the crowds. Some kids ate popsicles as they walked, and others were pushed in strollers or rode in wagons.

The crowd stopped outside a park that is roughly a block from the United Center and used megaphones and air horns to call out elected leaders, including Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, for being “complicit” in the war in Gaza. The two-term Democrat, who was under consideration as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, criticized a cease-fire resolution Chicago approved in January.

The crowds of pro-Palestinian protesters included many families and people of different faiths. Small groups of Muslims gathered in prayer at a park just ahead of the march’s kickoff, using keffiyeh as prayer rugs. Rabbis were among the leaders of the march, and a small group marched through in the crowd holding a sign that said, “Christians for Ceasefire.”

Rabbi Brant Rosen, a founder of the Jewish Voice for Peace Rabbinical Council, condemned Democrats for not speaking out about the war in Gaza at the convention.

“The word Palestine is not allowed inside the Democratic National Convention. The word cease-fire has barely been uttered,” he said. “This is a Hollywood-style coronation of a candidate. They assume they are entitled to our votes, but they are not entitled to our votes.”

Earlier in the day, police escorted pro-Israel demonstrators out of a park near the United Center as the area was blocked off ahead of the march of activists heading there.

The rally near the United Center was organized by the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, a Palestinian and Arab community-based organization. It was in stark contrast to the protest Tuesday night outside the Israeli Consulate. Protesters not affiliated with a coalition of more than 200 groups that have the city’s permission for demonstrations ended up in an intense standoff with Chicago police.

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said those arrested Tuesday night outside the Israeli Consulate, about 3.2 kilometers from the United Center, “showed up with the intention of committing acts of violence, vandalism.” Snelling called the police response “proportionate.”

Thirty of the people detained by police were issued citations for disorderly conduct, according to Chicago police. One person was arrested on a felony charge of resisting police, while nine were charged with misdemeanors including disorderly conduct, resisting officers, battery, assault and criminal damage to property, police said.

Snelling said that two people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, one for knee pain and one with a finger injury. Two officers were injured, but they refused medical attention because they did not want to leave fellow officers, Snelling said. He said three journalists were among those arrested, but he did not have details on charges.

Hatem Abudayyeh, co-founder of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, put the onus on police to keep the peace when asked about the clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and police. The police “only have one responsibility here,” he said. “They have the responsibility of not infringing on our First Amendment rights.”

The Israeli Consulate has been the site of numerous demonstrations since the war in Gaza began in October, and protests during the DNC have largely focused on opposing the Israel-Hamas war.

The largest protest so far, which attracted about 3,500 people on Monday, was largely peaceful and resulted in 13 arrests, most related to a breach of security fencing. Two were arrested Sunday night during another mostly peaceful march. 
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WASHINGTON — An attorney who represented the far-right Oath Keepers pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges stemming from a mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including members of the extremist group. 

Kellye SoRelle, who was general counsel for the anti-government group and a close associate of its founder, is scheduled to be sentenced on January 17 by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C. 

SoRelle, 45, of Granbury, Texas, answered routine questions by the judge as she pleaded guilty to two charges: a felony count of obstructing justice and a misdemeanor count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. The felony carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, but her estimated sentencing guidelines recommend a maximum of 16 months behind bars. 

SoRelle was arrested in Junction, Texas, in September 2022. Her case remained suspended for months amid questions about her mental health. 

More than a year ago, medical experts concluded that SoRelle was mentally incompetent to stand trial. In November 2023, she reported to a federal Bureau of Prisons facility for treatment. Last month, Mehta ruled that SoRelle had recovered to an extent that she could understand the nature of her charges and could assist in her defense. 

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is serving an 18-year prison sentence for orchestrating a plot to keep Donald Trump in the White House after the 2020 presidential election. After Rhodes’ arrest, SoRelle told media outlets she was acting as the president of the Oath Keepers in his absence. 

SoRelle, a former Texas prosecutor, was photographed with Rhodes outside the Capitol on January 6. As the riot erupted, she posted a chat message for other Oath Keepers that said, “We are acting like the founding fathers — can’t stand down. Per Stewart, and I concur.” 

“Although SoRelle did not personally enter the Capitol Building on January 6, she understood the role those inside and outside the building, like herself, played in delaying the certification proceeding that had been taking place inside the Capitol,” said a court filing accompanying her guilty plea. 

The night before the riot, she joined Rhodes in meeting with other extremist group members in an underground garage in Washington, D.C. The meeting also included former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio, who is serving a 22-year prison sentence for his role in a separate plot to stop the peaceful transfer of power from Trump to Joe Biden after the election. 

Rhodes, a former U.S. Army paratrooper, founded the Oath Keepers in 2009. The group recruits current and former military, police and first responders and pledges to “fulfill the oath all military and police take to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” 

During the trial for Rhodes and other Oath Keepers charged with seditious conspiracy, jurors heard testimony that SoRelle had a romantic relationship with Rhodes. 

SoRelle pleaded guilty to obstructing justice for encouraging others to destroy electronic evidence of their participation in the plot. Two days after the riot, Rhodes and SoRelle both sent messages from her cellphone encouraging Oath Keepers to delete any incriminating evidence. 

She was indicted on other charges, including conspiring with Rhodes and other Oath Keepers to obstruct Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote. But she did not plead guilty to the conspiracy charge. 

Also on Wednesday, a judge set a February 3 trial date for an Illinois man charged with firing a gun during the riot. John Banuelos climbed scaffolding outside the Capitol, took out his revolver and fired two shots into the air, according to prosecutors. 

Banuelos, of Summit, Illinois, was arrested in March. U.S. District Judge Judge Tanya Chutkan refused on Wednesday to free Banuelos from pretrial custody. She ruled that he poses a flight risk and a danger to the public. 

“It could have been much more tragic,” the judge said of the gunshots.
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