Election 2024 updates: ‘Scandal’ alums Kerry Washington, Tony Goldwyn to host

(CHICAGO) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday unveiled her economic platform, her first major policy rollout since becoming the Democratic nominee.

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday held a press conference in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he said he’s “entitled” to insult his Democratic opponent because he doesn’t respect her and attacked her record on the economy.

Here’s how the news is developing:

Iran denies involvement in attempts to hack Trump, Biden campaigns

Iran is denying reports it was involved in attempts to hack the presidential campaigns of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, the latter of which while he was still in the race.

In a statement, the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations, said that reports of attempted hacking, which came from Google and Microsoft, are “unsubstantiated.”

“Such allegations are unsubstantiated and devoid of any standing. As we have previously announced, the Islamic Republic of Iran harbors neither the intention nor the motive to interfere with the U.S. presidential election,” the statement read. “Should the U.S. government genuinely believe in the validity of its claims, it should furnish us with the pertinent evidence—if any—to which we will respond accordingly.”

-ABC News’ Pierre Thomas

7:32 AM EDT
Bernie Sanders to speak at DNC on ‘lowering health care costs’

Lowering health care costs will be a central theme at the Democratic National Convention this week, campaign and convention officials said on Monday, with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), confirmed as one notable program speaker set to focus upon the issue — specifically on “lowering Rx drug prices” and “taking on Big Pharma.”

Speakers throughout the week like Sanders, California Rep. Robert Garcia, Illinois Rep. Lauren Underwood and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will highlight the support of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for strengthening the Affordable Care Act, convention officials shared first with ABC News.

In a Friday speech setting out a string of economic proposals, Harris pledged to “lower the cost of insulin and prescription drugs for everyone.” She also said she’d “demand transparency from the middlemen who operate between Big Pharma and the insurance companies, who use opaque practices to raise your drug prices and profit off your need for medicine.”

-ABC News’ Isabella Murray

Kerry Washington, Tony Goldwyn and more to host DNC

Actors Kerry Washington, Tony Goldwyn, Mindy Kaling and commentator Ana Navarro will serve as hosts at the Democratic National Convention this week, convention officials confirmed to ABC News.

Each will host one night of the four-day convention, starting the programming with opening remarks and reappearing onstage throughout the night.

Goldwyn will host Monday night, Navarro on Tuesday and Kaling on Wednesday. Washington will host on Thursday, the night Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepts her nomination.

CNN first reported this news.

Harris and Walz debut new campaign buses and kick off tour ahead of DNC

Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz debuted their new campaign buses Sunday and kicked off a bus tour of southwestern Pennsylvania ahead of this week’s Democratic National Convention.

Upon their arrival on Air Force Two, a few hundred supporters greeted Harris, Walz and their spouses at a hangar where the new were buses parked.

Supporters told ABC News they were thrilled by Harris’ candidacy, with one saying she had not felt this excited about politics in years. Some said they had never volunteered for a campaign before signing up to work on Harris’.

“I was excited about Biden, but I am a million times more excited about Kamala,” Nicole Molinaro, a Pittsburgh-area mom, said. “I think that we need her leadership. We need her intelligence. We need her progressive, you know, stance. I think we need her experience. We need everything about Kamala.”

Another supporter, Edward Freel, said he was unsure about Harris at first, “but then, as I started listening better and following her, [I thought] this woman is going to be good for this country.”

Trump campaign releases counterprogramming schedule for DNC week

During the week of the DNC, Former President Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance will be out on the campaign trail, holding events in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

Trump allies — including Sens. Ron Johnson and Rick Scott, and Rep. Byron Donalds — will travel to Chicago to host press conferences every day of the convention. The Trump team will also give a press conference on Thursday ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris accepting the Democratic party’s nomination.

“As they meet Americans where they are in battleground states across the country, President Trump and Senator Vance will remind voters that under their leadership, we can end inflation, protect our communities from violent criminals, secure the border, and Make America Great Again,” Trump Campaign Senior Advisors Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement.

-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Soo Rin Kim and Kelsey Walsh

Michelle Obama to speak at DNC this week

Former first lady Michelle Obama will speak at the DNC in Chicago this week, ABC News has confirmed with her office.

Her appearance, first reported by Essence Magazine, will be among a lineup of prominent Democratic leaders who are rallying in support of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Former President Barack Obama is also scheduled to speak at the DNC.

According to a source familiar with the planning, Michelle Obama will speak on Tuesday — the same day as the former president.

-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart and Gabriella Abdul-Hakim

Former Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard will help Trump prepare for presidential debate

Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard will assist Trump in preparing for his first debate against Vice President Kamala Harris.

“[Trump] does not need traditional debate prep but will continue to meet with respected policy advisors and effective communicators like Tulsi Gabbard, who successfully dominated Kamala Harris on the debate stage,” Trump campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in a statement to ABC News, confirming a development first reported by The New York Times.

Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii and a one-time Democratic presidential candidate during the 2020 election, gained brief momentum during her presidential run after challenging Harris on the debate stage on topics like criminal prosecutions.

Since leaving the Democratic Party, Gabbard has been gaining traction among Trump supporters, and more recently she has appeared on Fox and other conservative news outlets attacking Harris.

– ABC News’ Rachel Scott, Soo Rin Kim, Kelsey Walsh, and Lalee Ibssa

Election 2024 updates: ABC News Harris-Trump debate to be held in Philadelphia

The first debate between Vice President Harris and former President Trump will be held by ABC News at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

The Sept. 10 debate will be moderated by ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis.

It will air live at 9:00 p.m. ET on the network and on its 24/7 streaming network ABC News Live, Disney+ and Hulu.

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