The image of Donald Trump, his face smeared with blood after a bullet grazed his ear, marked a watershed moment in the already high-stakes 2024 US presidential election campaign. Opening our special report on the Pennsylvania rally shooting, Washington bureau chief David Smith examines how it could fuel Trump’s base and stoke further division in American politics.
Almost immediately after Trump was bundled off stage, questions began to be asked about security measures at the rally that allowed the shooter to take aim from a nearby rooftop. We look at the FBI and police response and at the speed with which conspiracy theorists are creating an online whirl of disinformation even as investigators began to piece together scarce information about Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old gunman.
On Sunday, as Joe Biden expressed sympathy and urged American voters to “lower the temperature” of their political disagreements in his Oval Office address, preparations continued for Monday’s opening of the Republican National Convention. As Lauren Gambino reports, that assault on Trump may have quietened calls for Biden to step aside but the doubts over his fitness to stand for a second term remain.
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Five essential reads in this week’s edition
1
Spotlight | On paw patrol in Sumatra
National Geographic explorer and photographer Danielle Khan Da Silva joins an all-female group of Indigenous rangers who protect a rare Indonesian rainforest ecosystem.
2
Spotlight | Evasive action
The doctors who treat cancer share their expert advice on what simple things we can all do to lessen the risk of getting the disease with Sarah Phillips.
3
Feature | Too hot to handle
As heatwaves become a common occurrence, outdoor workers are particularly vulnerable, explains Samira Shackle, as she documents the death from heat of one French labourer.
4
Opinion | Simon Tisdall on the Nato summit
The 75-year-old alliance was created to counteract Moscow’s power and needs to keep its focus on containing Russian ambition.
5
Culture | Selfies with Cindy Sherman
The US artist whose work changed the way we see women talks image, AI and Instagram to Nadia Khomami.
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What else we’ve been reading
The long read on Britain’s last remaining court reporters was fascinating. It was 35 years ago that Guy Toyn turned his back on a dream of living in Paris, drinking absinthe and writing novels to become a court reporter. A dying art due to the demise of local news outlets and yet a service, Toyn argues, that tells us what is actually going on in society, if only the general public cared to listen. Emily El Nusairi, deputy production editor
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Other highlights from the Guardian website
• Video | Is a new opioid crisis about to devastate the UK?
• Audio | Inside the biggest art fraud in US history
• Gallery | ‘You never know what you’ll bump into’: a wander around Britain
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