JD Vance and his aunt reveal how his upbringing shaped his sharp opinions; Already-crisis hospitals in Lebanon are preparing for war with Israel; and security measures are being stepped up for the final European show of Taylor Swift’s ‘Erath Tour’.
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How J.D. Vance’s family shaped his sharp rhetoric
In his first month as former President Donald Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance drew attention for his past comments about “childless cat ladies” and his views on marriage, children and family. Democrats have used his sometimes vocal support for more traditional family relationships as a basis for opposing him as a national candidate.
But those close to Mr. Vance, Ohio’s first-ever senator, say his relationships with the women who raised him are key to understanding his worldview on the tough cultural issues for which he has become famous. Mr. Vance also acknowledged in a recent interview that his upbringing shaped his sharp opinions.
In his book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” Vance portrays his grandmother as a vulgar but loving matriarch who held together a family often in crisis. His mother, he writes, struggled with drug addiction and once “beat her son viciously.”
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“She had five husbands, men that she didn’t marry before she got her life together, that came and went in her life,” Lori Meevers, Vance’s aunt and one of the women who took in Vance when his mother couldn’t, told NBC News in an interview. “She saw that side of life and living.”
In his book, Vance congratulated his sister for marrying “someone who cared about her and had a decent job,” breaking the cycle of abandonment and dysfunction that had defined her childhood.
During the interview, Vance and Meevers shared new details about his upbringing and discussed how it shaped his opinions.
Read the exclusive article here.
More 2024 election coverage:
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will perform together in Maryland. Tim Walz will tour the Northeast while Vance heads to Pennsylvania. Follow our live blog. At a rally in Asheville, North Carolina, Trump laid out some economic policy proposals while repeatedly digressing about Biden, Harris and Walz. Walz accepted an invitation to debate Vance on October 1. Republicans are outraged that a major pro-cryptocurrency group endorsed Democrats in two high-profile Senate races. Pro-Palestinian protest groups say tens of thousands will gather in Chicago next week to demonstrate outside the Democratic National Convention.
Lebanese hospitals prepare for all-out war
Medical workers prepare Hariri Hospital for all-out war between Israel and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah. Marwan Na’amani / dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images file
Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia have been fighting a small-scale war for 10 months, but following successive assassinations of senior Hezbollah and Hamas officials last month, many in the region, including in hospitals, are preparing for the possibility of all-out war.
Beirut’s largest public hospital, Rafik Hariri University Hospital, has a new triage system that can route critical patients to advanced care “within seconds,” said Dr. Jihad Saadeh. The newly completed facility can flush out weaponized toxins, and its specialization can quickly shift to trauma surgery. But Dr. Saadeh estimates the hospital could only withstand a war for about 10 days, after which it would need outside supplies.
Doctors have learned from the last war with Israel in 2006, but Lebanon’s myriad crises have cast a shadow over the health sector, raising concerns about how it would survive a new conflict.
Security to be stepped up for Erastour’s European final
Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images, TAS24 files
It’s the end of Eras! Starting tonight, five shows in London will mark the end of the European leg of Taylor Swift’s record-breaking “Eras Tour.”
With the show scheduled to take place one week after a thwarted terror plot at her show in Vienna, Austria, Swift’s team has worked with British organizers to beef up security at London’s Wembley Stadium. Measures include that fans who are unable to get tickets will not be able to stand outside the stadium and listen to the performance from a distance, as has been allowed for previous shows, and “tay-gating” will not be allowed.
Fans, some of whom traveled from the US to see Swift in concert, said they felt reassured by the security measures and were determined to have a memorable night. Read the full story here.
Political Overview
Immigrants: Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently doubled down on his promise to send buses full of immigrants to Democratic cities. The problem is, there just aren’t enough of them.
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Staff Pick: LA28 is preparing for a Los Angeles that’s not like 1984 or 1932
After the huge success of the Paris Olympics, it was only natural to look at the next host city’s preparations. The last time Los Angeles hosted the global sporting event, in 1984, it was a very different city then: less people, less traffic, less heat, less homelessness. We examine the hurdles facing LA 2028 as it prepares to capture the world’s attention in four years’ time. — Amanda Covarrubias, News Editor
NBC Select: Making Online Shopping Simple
The 18 Best Tools Every Gardener Should Own includes a number of tried-and-true basic tools and other products to keep your plants looking pristine. For beginner gardeners, raised flower beds are especially useful, as they’re like “gardening with training wheels.”
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