Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at Background Briefing.org.

I'm Ian Masters, and today we'll examine a number of stories and issues in the news.

We'll begin with President Biden's acknowledgement of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators

at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in his speech last night when he said,

quote, they have got a point, referring to the desperate need for a ceasefire as the death

count in Gaza passes 40,000.

Joining us is Wendy Perlman, a professor of political science and director of the Middle East and North Africa Studies Program at Northwestern University.

Her books include violence, nonviolence in the Palestinian National Movement,

triadic coercion, Israel's

Targeting of States that host non-state actors, and her forthcoming book, The Home I Work to Make,

Voices from the New Syrian Diaspora.

Yesterday, she spent the day with the pro-Palestinian protests outside of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Then we'll get an appraisal of last night's speeches at the DNC and speak with Tom Lobianco,

a national political reporter, 424 site, covering Trump's third run for the White House,

who covered the recent Republican

Convention in Milwaukee. He's the author of the biography of Vice President Mike Pence,

Piety and Power, Mike Pence in the taking of the White House, and he previously covered

the Trump-Russia investigation and the White House for the Associated Press and the 2016 campaign and Congress

for CNN. We'll discuss his latest article at 24th site. Biden finds a winning message

heading for the exit and he joins us from the DNC in Chicago. Then finally we'll assess the turnaround in the polls as the Harris-Walt's campaign surges

ahead of Trump as they concentrate on the key swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania

with their economic message for working Americans and Union members.

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