Politics and views in the United States.

VP Kamala Harris and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance respond to former President Donald Trump's comments on her race. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershcovich is freed from Russian prison. And U.S. Senate takes on a bill to regulate AI.

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to 2024 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

And it was the same old show, the divisiveness and the disrespect.

And let me just say, the American people deserve better.

Speaking to a black sorority in Houston, Vice President Kamala Harris responded to former President Donald Trump's comments about her race.

Trump said falsely that Harris became black only recently after emphasizing her Indian heritage.

Harris joined a separate black sorority when attending Howard University, one of the nation's most prominent historically black colleges.

Many condemned Trump's remarks as weird and repulsive, but some see the Trump campaign trying to define Harris just as voters are starting to focus on her.

Republican Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance doubled down at an Arizona campaign event.

Kamala Harris is a phony who caters to whatever audience is in front of her.

Harris replacing President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee may solidify some black votes.

Before Biden stepped aside, a Pew research poll found black voters had deep doubts about both major party candidates.

As part of a huge prisoner exchange, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been freed after being held on espionage charges in Russia since March.

Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and dissidents like Vladimir Karamurza were also released.

President Joe Biden says it took close work with allies.

The deal that made this possible was a feat of diplomacy and friendship.

Multiple countries helped get this done.

They joined the difficult, complex negotiations at my request, and I personally thank them all again.

A bipartisan group of senators has introduced a bill to ban the use of AI-generated deepfakes of federal candidates.

Democratic Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar says the No Fakes Act would let people sue those producing, hosting, or sharing the digital deceptions.

This is a hair-on-fire moment.

AI has the potential to turbocharge the spread of disinformation and deceive voters.

Election surveys show nearly two-thirds of Americans are confident the upcoming election will be fair and accurate.

But Maine Secretary of State Shana Bello says if people have doubts, they should get involved.

People who are anxious about election security, this is a good conversation to have with their local municipal clerk, because the clerks are working very hard in partnership with us and law enforcement to ensure that security.

A Forbes magazine survey ties international student enrollment to American elections.

It finds nearly half of foreign students say they would be more likely to pick the U.S. as a college under a Democratic administration, citing a more welcoming atmosphere.

But Kaitlin Anderson, founder of a graduate admissions consulting firm, says others tell them a Republican administration would make them more optimistic.

Thirty percent of people that said they would be more likely to consider studying the U.S. under a Trump presidency said that the reason was because it's inspiring us, because there'll be more jobs, there'll be more opportunities, and there'll be less focus on intervening in international affairs.

I'm Edwin J. Vieira for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

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