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Happy Wednesday! It’s been a rough few weeks for America, but as proof that there are still good things in the world, college football “Week Zero” is now only one month away. 

Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories

• President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he will address the country from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. ET, making his first official public remarks since he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race over the weekend. Biden returned to Washington on Tuesday after recovering from COVID-19 at his residence in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries—among the last high-ranking Democratic holdouts—endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday for the Democratic nomination for president. “Vice President Harris has done a truly impressive job securing the majority of delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination,” Schumer said. “So now that the process has played out, from the grass roots, bottom up, we are here today to throw our support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.” Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is willing to debate Harris, and more than once, if she becomes the Democratic nominee. 
• Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday, 10 days after the failed assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and just one day after she faced a grilling from members of the House Oversight Committee. Cheatle had rejected calls for her resignation during the hearing. “The scrutiny over the last week has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases,” she wrote in her resignation letter on Tuesday. “As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse.” President Biden said Tuesday an independent review continues and that he will appoint a new director. House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also announced the creation of a bipartisan task force—seven Republicans and six Democrats, with subpoena authority—to investigate the attempted assassination.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress today, though many Democratic lawmakers are expected to boycott the event. Thousands of protesters are also expected outside the U.S. Capitol, prompting tight security. Netanyahu is set to meet with President Biden and Vice President Harris at the White House on Thursday, and with former President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Friday. 
• Leaders of rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah signed a joint statement in Beijing on Tuesday, agreeing to form a unity government. The statement endorses a temporary government for a Palestinian state that includes Gaza and the West Bank, though neither the statement nor Hamas and Fatah officials offered a timetable or plan for how to implement the regime. The statement would be difficult to implement, given the two factions’ history of tense relations—including a civil war in 2007—as well as Israel’s intention to eliminate Hamas’ operations in Gaza.
• The government of Moscow announced on Tuesday it would offer a bonus of 1.9 million rubles—equivalent to about $22,000—to city residents if they joined Russia’s military. In its announcement, Moscow officials also mentioned new military recruits will receive over 5.2 million rubles—$59,000—for their first year of service. The move is one of several recent ones by Russia to boost its military forces. The country has allowed some male prisoners to enlist and, as of last month, permits some female prison inmates to do the same.
• Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez reportedly told his staff on Tuesday that he will resign from Congress on August 20. Menendez was convicted earlier this month on 16 federal counts—including bribery, fraud, and acting as a foreign agent—connected to a yearslong bribery scheme that saw him take payoffs from Egyptian businessmen. Several Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Schumer and his fellow senator from New Jersey, Cory Booker, called for his resignation following the conviction and Menendez was facing the threat of expulsion. 
• Delta suspended travel for unaccompanied minors and canceled more than 400 additional flights on Tuesday, as the airline continued to struggle in the wake of Friday’s worldwide IT outage. Commenting on the decision, the Department of Transportation (DOT) told the New York Times it was “extremely concerned” about reports of unaccompanied minors being stranded at airports. The federal agency announced an investigation into the airline, potentially to look into concerns it is not complying with federal passenger protection requirements. “[DOT] has opened an investigation into Delta Air Lines to ensure the airline is following the law and taking care of its passengers during continued widespread disruptions,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted on Tuesday. “All airline passengers have the right to be treated fairly, and I will make sure that right is upheld.”
• Attorneys representing Donald Trump on Monday appealed a $454 million judgment handed down in February in his New York civil fraud trial, arguing the case stems from a “power-grab” by the state’s attorney general, Letitia James. “[The New York Court]’s erroneous decisions, if upheld, would bestow upon [James] limitless power to target anyone she desires, including her self-described political opponents,” Trump’s lawyers argued in the appeal. “Based on the ruling in this case, no company will want to come to New York to do business, and many businesses are fleeing.” In April, Trump was required to post a $175 million bond in order to appeal the decision further. 
• Two landslides in southern Ethiopia on Sunday and Monday left at least 229 people dead as of Tuesday, and local authorities predicted the death toll could continue to rise in the remote, mountainous region in the southern part of the country. The landslides followed days of heavy rains in the region.