KAMALA RUNNING: Vice President Kamala Harris has hit the ground running. Only two days after being passed the Democratic torch, she’s campaigning without missing a step.

  Harris told cheering voters in Wisconsin, “I am so very honored and I pledge to you I will spend the coming weeks continuing to unite our party so that we are ready to win in November.”

  In a jab at Donald Trump, she spoke about being a local prosecutor and attorney general in California who investigated “fraudsters” and “cheaters.” She reminded the crowd that Trump was found liable for sexual assault by a Manhattan civil court. “So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type,” she said. 

  Harris already has the endorsement of top Democratic leaders and the pledge of enough delegates to the lock up the party’s nomination.

  Enthusiasm also shows in money. Harris brought in a record $100 million in campaign donations in the first 36 hours after Joe Biden announced that he’s out. Even a political action committee devoted to Republican Nikki Haley has thrown in with Harris. 

  On a cultural note, Harris has chosen Beyonce’s song “Freedom” as her “walk on” music for campaign appearances.

BIDEN TO SPEAK: President Biden says he will address the nation tonight in his first speech since announcing on social media that he was dropping out of his campaign for re-election.

  Some Republicans have called for him to resign, saying that if he doesn’t have the strength to run he shouldn’t be President.

  Colorado’s Lauren Boebert, one of the dimmest members of Congress, issued a call on social media for Biden to offer “proof of life” while he was isolated in Delaware with Covid. She said, “He needs to get in front of some camera and discuss if he’s aware that he dropped out.”

OLD AND IN THE WAY: After months of complaining about President Biden’s age and acuity, Donald Trump at 78 is now the oldest ever nominee for president. Trump has begun his attacks on Harris and says he’s willing to debate her, but not on ABC as agreed with Joe Biden.

  As a candidate, like his tax returns, he has refused to reveal any of his health information other than to claim it’s fantastic.

   Trump has a history of heart disease and he’s obviously overweight. And you only have to listen to Trump ramble on for 90 minutes at campaign stops to wonder about his mental health.

TAKING A BULLET: Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned yesterday after taking a beating in front of the House Oversight Committee Monday by members demanding to know who’s responsible for the security gap leading to the near assassination of Donald Trump

  “I do not want my calls for resignation to be a distraction,” Cheatle said in an email message to the Service making her announcement. 

  Cheatle’s performance before the Oversight Committee was woeful. Repeatedly saying that the investigation is still under way, she was short on specific answers. She couldn’t say how long before the first shots the shooter had been identified as a threat. She refused to say why Secret Service sharpshooters did not know there was a man on a nearby roof after spectators had already pointed him out.

  “I have a timeline that does not have specifics,” Cheatle said, bringing laughter from the room.

THE WAR ROOM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address Congress today, just two days after another military strike killed dozens of people in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

  Many Democrats who disapprove of Netanyahu’s conduct of the war, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, will be absent.   

  On Monday Israeli forces killed as many as 70 people and wounded 200 others in what had been a “safe zone” for citizens.  Israel said they hit that area because Hamas militants had fired rockets from there.

 The number of dead in Gaza is now close to 40,000 since the opening of the war last fall.

THE OBIT PAGE: Duke Fakir, the last surviving member of the Four Tops Motown group, has died at 88. Fakir sang tenor on hits like “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” “Reach Out, I’ll Be There” and “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch).”

  The Four Tops with Fakir had a long list of hits in the 1960s including “Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” “It’s The Same Old Song,” “Standing In the Shadows of Love” and “Bernadette.”

  From “Baby I Need Your Loving”:

    
    Another day, ‘nother night
    I long to hold you tight
    ‘Cause I’m so lonely

    Baby, I need your lovin’
    Got to have all your lovin’
    Baby, I need your lovin’
    Got to have all you lovin’

THE SPIN RACK: Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the Democrat who was convicted in a federal corruption trial last week, said he would resign effective in August. He was almost certain to be expelled but still claims he’s innocent. — The remains of a Canadian couple who attempted a voyage from Nova Scotia to the Azores using only solar electricity on their sailboat to prove the utility of green energy were found washed up in a rubber lifeboat on the shore of Sable Island National Park Reserve east of Nova Scotia. It had been a month since James Clibbery, 70, and his wife, Sarah Packwood, 60, were last seen.  — Tesla billionaire Elon Musk told an interviewer that his estranged transgender child was “killed by the woke mind virus” after he was tricked into giving his consent for puberty blockers. Musk’s son Xavier is now Jenna.

BELOW THE FOLD: Olympic athletes in Paris are complaining about the cardboard beds in the dormitories they say are designed for sleep only. The Olympics are a notorious venue for young athletes to meet and greet … in bed. But the athletes say they’ve been provided with “anti-sex” beds in the City of Love. 

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