“I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she said in an email to staff, obtained by NBC News. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”

In a statement, President Biden thanked Cheatle for her decades of public service and “for answering the call to lead the Secret Service during our Administration.”

“As a leader, it takes honor, courage, and incredible integrity to take full responsibility for an organization tasked with one of the most challenging jobs in public service,” Biden said, adding he wished Kim “all the best” and planned on appointing a new direction “soon.”

Cheatle’s resignation comes a day after a contentious congressional hearing over security failures that allowed a gunman to scale a roof and open fire at a campaign rally.

Cheatle was berated for hours by Republicans and Democrats, repeatedly angering lawmakers by evading questions about the investigation during the first hearing over the July 13 assassination attempt. Cheatle called the attempt on Trump’s life the Secret Service’s “most significant operational failure” in decades, and vowed to “move heaven and earth” to get to the bottom of what went wrong and make sure there’s no repeat of it.

At the hearing Monday, Cheatle acknowledged that the Secret Service was told about a suspicious person two to five times before the shooting at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally. She also revealed that the roof from which Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire had been identified as a potential vulnerability days before the rally. Cheatle said she apologized to Trump in a phone call after the assassination attempt.

Yet Cheatle remained defiant that she was the “right person” to lead the Secret Service, even as she said she takes full responsibility the security lapses. When Republican Rep. Nancy Mace suggested Cheatle begin drafting her resignation letter from the hearing room, Cheatle responded, “No, thank you.”

In a rare moment of unity for the often divided committee, the Republican chairman, Rep. James Comer, and its top Democrat, Rep. Jamie Raskin, issued a letter calling on Cheatle to step down.

“The scrutiny over the last week has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases,” Cheatle said in her note to staff.

Cheatle served in the Secret Service for 27 years. She left in 2021 for a job as a security executive at PepsiCo before Biden asked her to return in 2022 to head the agency with a workforce of 7,800 special agents, uniformed officers and other staff.

She took over amid a controversy over missing text messages from around the time thousands of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, following his 2020 election loss to Biden.

During her time in the agency, Cheatle was the first woman to be named assistant director of protective operations, the division that provides protection to the president and other dignitaries, where she oversaw a $133.5 million budget. She is the second woman to lead the agency.

Officers responded to the area of 161 State St. just after 10 p.m. for the report of shots fired.

When they arrived, they found a woman who had been shot. She was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

According to police, the victim and the alleged shooter were in a dispute and were known to each other.

Police asked people to avoid the area of State Street where the shooting happened, as well as the Meriden Green. Some police tape remains up on Tuesday morning. The Meriden Green remains closed and police expect that it will remain closed into the afternoon.

The identity of the victim is not being released at this time, police said.

Amtrak is running as scheduled, but people were not able to use the Meriden train station to board trains after the shooting, police said. The station is back open and running on Tuesday morning.

The State Street CT Transit bus stop was not be available for pickups or drop-offs while police investigated the homicide, but it has reopened.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Detective John Wagner at (203) 630-6334.

The day is starting with areas of low clouds, but it will be muggy and we will have some sunny breaks. The high temperatures will be in the high-70s to low-80s.

A few downpours will redevelop this afternoon and we will have periods of rain later tonight as well.

More scattered showers and thunderstorms are headed our way on Wednesday, Wednesday night and Thursday.

But then beautiful summer weather develops for Friday through Tuesday with warm temperatures and lower humidity.

See the NBC Connecticut weather blog here for an in-depth look at the forecast.

Officers responded to Thomaston Avenue around 11 p.m. to investigate and found an Audi A7 and a Lexus GS300 in flames after a head-on crash, according to police.

Police had identified three of the four people who were killed and have now identified the fourth.

They said 28-year-old Lawrence Jackson, of Waterbury, was the front passenger in the Audi.

Police had previously identified the driver of the Lexus as 44-year-old Mark Sousa, of Waterbury. They said no one else was in the car.

They said 26-year-old Shar’ref Mahan, of West Hartford, was driving the Audi.

Danaya Foster, 25, of Waterbury was a passenger in the back seat of the Audi, police said.

Police said the crash happened in the northbound lane in the 600 block of Thomaston Avenue.

The Waterbury Police Department Crash Reconstruction Unit is investigating the crash.

Anyone with information is asked to call 203-346-3975.

The winning numbers on Monday night were 31-36-56-58-69 and the Powerball was 20. Powerplay was X2.

The $50,000 winning ticket matched four numbers and the Powerball. There were three $50,000 winners across the country. That was the biggest prize for this drawing.

No information was immediately available on where the $50,000 winning ticket was sold in Connecticut.

The rapper, entertainer and NBC special correspondent for the 2024 Paris Olympics will take part in the Olympic torch relay ahead of Friday’s Opening Ceremony. Saint-Denis Mayor Mathieu Hanotin made the announcement Tuesday morning on X.

“Saint Denis: last step before the Eiffel Tower. An international cast @SnoopDogg for the last stretch of the Olympic Flame,” Hanotin wrote.

Snoop Dogg will be joined by French actress Laetitia Casta and French rapper MC Solaar among the final torchbearers for the Paris Olympics.

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NBC Olympics announced on New Year’s Eve that Snoop Dogg would be joining the network’s coverage for the Paris Games. He will provide reports from the French capital, visit the city’s most famous landmarks and offer his own analysis for the biggest events.

As for the actual lighting of the Olympic cauldron, it is still being kept under wraps. Paris 2024 organizing committee president Tony Estanguet said earlier this week that the person who will light the cauldron did not even know they had been selected yet.

NBC and Peacock’s coverage of the Opening Ceremony begins at 12 p.m. ET on Friday, July 26.

“The City will be leaving the lights off at Washington Park this week due to an excessive amount of littering and even vandalism, including attempts to damage park infrastructure,” Chris Bourdon, director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Meriden, said in a news release issued on Monday afternoon.

Residents have reported seeing people throwing basketballs in an attempt to break windows at the parks and recreation offices, which are located at the park, city officials said.

“With the City having invested over $500,000 into Washington Park recently, including new basketball and pickleball courts, these recreation options must be preserved for all to enjoy. We encourage park users and the public at large to assist us in achieving this goal so that additional measures are not necessary,” Bourdon said.

“We are in it to win it. We are ready to go and Kamala has our full support,” said Gemeem Davis, a Connecticut Democratic delegate.

On Monday, the state’s delegation to the Democratic National Convention voted to support Vice President Harris as the party’s presidential nominee.

“I am excited. You see $81 million and 24 hours young people on TikTok all across this country are energized. The Black African American community is energized,” said Kenneth McClary, Connecticut Democratic Delegate.

In a statement, the party chair says voters in the state had previously endorsed President Joe Biden and now after dropping out, they are following his lead to support Harris.

“This is new territory for all of us,” said Tim Malloy, a Quinnipiac University polling analyst.

A just-released national poll from Quinnipiac University, which was done over the weekend, found Harris leading the pack for who should become the Democratic nominee.

In a faceoff with former President Donald Trump, she’s within the margin of error.

“It looks like game on. Vice President Harris is within striking distance of Trump if the election were held tonight, too close to call, all of that. So she’s off to a good start,” said Malloy.

No other major candidate has stepped forward. 

Harris’ backers say they are ready to go amid this unprecedented situation.

“I think the party was so hungry to be unified. I think that the distraction that was in the party, you know, the last few weeks was taking a toll on everyone,” said Davis.

“We’re going to mobilize all across this country to make sure that we knock on every door, make every phone call,” said McClary.

The Connecticut Republicans chairman tells us former President Trump will keep making his case no matter who is the Democrat’s nominee. And he says challenges in the country right now can be blamed on both President Biden and the vice president.

That includes questions about what happens to the Biden-Harris campaign and its $96 million in cash.  

That depends on what happens with the Democratic nomination.  

Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris in his announcement Sunday. So far Harris is the only candidate after Sen. Joe Manchin, (I) West Virginia, announced he won’t try to rejoin the party and run.  

If Harris does win the nomination, she can utilize the campaign and its war chest.  

“The easiest outcome for the Democrats is if Harris is the nominee,” Quinnipiac University professor John Pavia said.  

Things become messier if Democrats opt for someone else.  

The Biden-Harris campaign could transfer the money over to the Democratic party to use in elections, including in support of the new nominee.  

The other option would be to turn it over to a political action committee, or PAC, but that would limit the ability of coooperation with any candidates.  

“The people running the PAC can’t call up the people with the campaign and say, ‘Hey, how do you want us to use this money,” Pavia said.  

That could present an advantage for Harris as she works to win support. Experts note another candidate may not have enough time to build a viable campaign, especially since some states start early voting in September.  

“I think that could be very difficult for somebody to start from scratch at this point,” University of Connecticut professor Manisha Sinha said.  

Delegates disagree on whether that should matter. Rep. Corey Paris, (D) Stamford, thinks it should.  

“The president and vice president under the Biden-Harris campaign had raised a ton of money,” Paris said. “There are thousands of staff members.”  

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, (D) Connecticut, who can participate after the first round of voting as a super delegate, thinks there’s still time for a winner.  

“I think the Democratic party is going to pick its presidential candidate on the merits,” said Blumenthal, who has endorsed Harris.  

Pavia said voters who donated in support of Biden, but don’t back Harris may be out of luck. The law appears to say that a political party is under no obligation to return or refund donations.  

“I don’t think so, but the honest answer to that is no one really knows,” Pavia said, adding modern campaign finance lawyers only go back to the 1970s.  

He said donors could ask for a refund, though, in hopes that the party does it anyway.  

Milford Mayor Anthony Giannattasio said the conversation of limiting smoke stops began after hearing concerns from residents of there being too many in the city.

“This has been happening over the past few years, we’ve seen smoke shops opening and continue to open,” said Giannatassio.

There are currently over a dozen smoke shops open in Milford, according to the mayor. 

“The time has come where we really need to look at it and have further discussion about the possibility of not increasing what’s already here,” Giannatassio said.

He added residents have expressed wanting businesses that improve the overall quality of life, such as family-oriented establishments. 

Residents of Milford had mixed reactions to the proposal.

One man said he does not believe the smoke shops are a harm to the city.

“I don’t know if I really think smoke shops are a blight upon Milford or anything,” said Matthew Cibulas.

Another resident shared he does not mind the proposal because those who want to buy smoking products will still be able to do so. 

“How many smoke shops can you have and I’m sure if people want to go to one they can get there either way,” said Donald Rudalewicz.

Mayor Ginnatassio said if the proposal is approved, it would also benefit public health.

“These products target our youth so this is something that we would also accomplish as well.”

The proposal will be presented on August 21 to Milford’s Planning and Zoning Board, where it will be up for a vote of approval. 

Police learned about a concerning profile page on Discord on June 11. A Glastonbury student reported the profile page to Youth and Family Services.

Investigators said the profile page on Discord had a bomb threat against Glastonbury High School along with references to the KKK, Hitler and included death threats towards African Americans.

“The initial reaction was shock, and then just upset, scared, worried, just very surprised to even hear that somebody would do something like this,” Bobbi Bowles, a Glastonbury High School parent, said.

Bobbi and Keith Bowles, the mom and dad of one Glastonbury High School sophomore, are shaken after learning about the social media posts made in June, including the death threats towards Black students.

“It is alarming, and though they were not on the list, most of their friend group is on the list, and our child is African American, so it is very concerning,” Bobbi Bowles said.

While investigating, police said it was determined that the minor Discord account holder was a victim, not the suspect. Officers said another 16-year-old illegally accessed the victim’s Discord account and altered the profile page to include the threats.

According to police, the 16-year-old suspect also sent direct messages from the victim’s Discord account to others with additional death threats naming specific African American students at Glastonbury High School.

“There is no place in our school community for hate, racism, or violence. This disturbing incident is a reminder to all of the importance of our work to provide safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments where all students feel respected and valued,” Glastonbury school superintendent Alan Bookman said last week about the incident.

Officers believe the threats were intended to target the Discord account holder. Police applied for and were granted an arrest warrant on Monday charging the 16-year-old suspect with intimidation based on bias or bigotry, threatening, computer crime, criminal impersonation, breach of peace, harassment and falsely reporting an incident.

The warrant was served on Monday and the 16-year-old suspect was turned over to juvenile court authorities in Hartford. As of last Friday, that student was no longer enrolled in Glastonbury Public Schools, is not allowed at school events and is not permitted on any school campus.

“It is pretty difficult, because I kind of don’t expect these things from Glastonbury High School,” Ryan Alahyari, a recent graduate in the Class of 2024, said.

The topic expected to be brought up during a town council meeting on Tuesday. Community members are planning rally at Town Hall before the meeting, which one alumna plans to attend.

“I want to know what you’re going to do about it? If I’m welcome to be here, and if so, what are you going to do to change how people react to people that are different from them?” Heaven Diaz, Class of 2019, said.

The rally is organized by worried Glastonbury parents, but getting support from the local group BLM860. Those attending say they will tell the town council the actions they want taken to protect students going into the school year.

“Monitoring the students, figuring out what the local threats are, and taking reports of bullying seriously,” Ivelisse Correa, BLM 860 Vice President, said.

The Bowles, who have had three kids attend the high school and say they have never before experienced an issue like this, are also pushing for education about bullying and racism. They believe it could make all the difference for their daughter and other black students.

“A kid doesn’t just wake up and feel these, these things in just one day. So there had to be series of events that leads up to these thoughts,” Keith Bowles said.

The Greater Hartford NAACP is calling the threats unacceptable and says they’ll be following up with town leaders.

Travelers from Connecticut and all over the world are still dealing with compounding flight chaos.

While getting stuck in Mexico and extending your vacation may sound lovely, it’s been a headache for a couple from Cromwell.

Zachary Giblin’s and Brianna Longo’s flight home was canceled Saturday, and they say they aren’t able to get out of the country until Tuesday.

That’s a three-night delay.

It’s caused them to miss work, they have a suitcase of dirty clothes, and it’s costing money they didn’t plan on spending.

“I was very stressed. It is very hectic in the airport. A lot of things going on. I was more stressed because my mom’s watching my dog and I felt bad, so we had to find a dog sitter for a couple days and the worst part is she ran out of dog food, so I had to order her more dog food,” said Zachary Giblin.

“I work in surgery, so I had to reschedule surgeries, reschedule patients. It’s just a very big inconvenience,” said his girlfriend, Brianna Longo. “We woke up today and there are over 700 Delta flights already canceled for today, so it kind of makes us a little worried are we going to be okay tomorrow.”

A viewer from Avon sent us this picture of Delta cancellations at Atlanta’s airport Saturday night.

He was stranded in Atlanta for more than 28 hours, missed his cousin’s wedding in California, and eventually made his way back to Boston.

He had to find a ride to where his car was parked at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.

NBC Connecticut sports anchor Gabrielle Lucivero had her own troubles as she made her way to Paris to cover the 2024 Olympics.

Her Sunday flight departure was changed to Tuesday — a date way too late for her planned reporting schedule.

She spent hours on the phone Sunday trying to find another flight.

Thankfully she found another one, but as you can imagine for fans or reporters flying to the games, or folks getting to important life events weddings, funerals, and already expensive vacations, the cancellations are costing them not just money, but time and patience too.

If your flight was canceled, you are entitled to a full refund back to your original form of payment, even for nonrefundable tickets.

This is if you don’t take a rebooking.

What about reimbursements for stranded travelers’ meals or hotels?

This weekend, Pete Buttigieg, the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Transportation told CNBC that his department has reminded airlines that the delays were within the airlines’ control and is pressuring carriers to cover these costs.

But there’s currently no law in the United States mandating these repayments, so travelers are at the mercy of specific airline policies.

Here’s the US DOT’s cancellation and delay dashboard, which details what airlines say they are committed to providing for controllable cancellations.

So whatever your situation, save your receipts and reach out to your airline.

There are rules in place for flights to, from, or within the European Union based on the length of delays.

FlyersRights.org explains them in detail and provides other useful information for consumers on its website.

And if you’re flying this week, check the status of your flight before you head to the airport.

Police said they responded to Route 316 around 1 p.m. after someone who was passing by saw a bicycle against a guardrail and a man in the woods.

The bicyclist had a leg injury and the person who found him applied a tourniquet to the man’s leg and flagged down other people to help until first responders arrived, police said.

The bicyclist was taken to Windham Hospital, where he died from his injuries, police said.

State police have identified the bicyclist as 38-year-old Cui Lin. They said his last known address was in Simsbury.

Anyone who saw what happened or who has information is asked to call Trooper Justin Haggerty at Troop K at 860-465-5400 or email justin.haggerty@ct.gov.

Police have identified three of the four people who were killed in a head-on crash in Waterbury on Friday night.

Officers responded to Thomaston Avenue around 11 p.m. to investigate and found an Audi A7 and a Lexus GS300 in flames after a head-on crash, according to police.

Police have identified the driver of the Lexus as 44-year-old Mark Sousa. They said no one else was in the car.

Police identified the man who was driving the Audi as 26-year-old Shar’ref Mahan, of West Hartford. Two other people were in the car he was driving.

Danaya Foster, 25, of Waterbury was a passenger in the back seat of the Audi, police said.

They are working to determine who the passenger in the front seat was with help from the Office of Chief Medical Examiner.

Police said the crash happened in the northbound lane in the 600 block of Thomaston Avenue.

Officials said both vehicles had been going fast before colliding, based on the preliminary investigation.

The Waterbury Police Department Crash Reconstruction Unit is investigating the crash.

Anyone with information is asked to call 203-346-3975.

Firefighters responded to a home on Grasshopper Lane at 11:49 a.m. Sunday after receiving a report of a medical emergency and took a child to Bay State Hospital.

Less than two hours later, at 1:40 p.m., the fire department received a second call to the same home for another medical emergency and found a patient in the driveway.

Paramedics then decided to check the residence for carbon monoxide and meters detected high levels as crews approached the front door.

The home was immediately evacuated and carbon monoxide levels that exceeded 400 parts per million were found inside the residence, according to the fire department.

Ambulances from East Windsor, Ellington and East Longmeadow also responded and eight people who were showing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning were brought to Bay State Hospital.

The fire department determined that the source of the leak was a malfunctioning hot water heater.

While carbon monoxide incidents are more commonly associated with winter, the fire department said this situation serves as a reminder of the importance of having carbon monoxide alarms homes year-round.

“I support Kamala Harris,” Lamont said. “I think she’s going to be a great nominee. I think she’s going to win and I look forward to working with her as long as I’m governor.”

News 4’s Andrew Siff asked, “Is that a full-throated endorsement?”

“I think it is,” Lamont responded.

On Sunday, Lamont released a statement on social media saying he believed Harris was the frontrunner for the nomination, but did not at that time, endorse her.

The Connecticut governor called President Joe Biden’s decision to step aside “selfless” and said he was “putting the country first.”

Lamont joined his fellow tri-state governors, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who had endorsed Harris on Sunday.

“There can be an open process, but the party will be with Kamala Harris,” Hochul told News 4’s David Ushery. “If other people want to say they had their moment in the sun and they want to put their name forward, I mean this is democracy, but it’s going to be Kamala Harris.”

Murphy said he spoke with the vice president on Sunday but declined to answer when News 4 asked if he was asked about being vetted to become Harris’ running mate.

“I just want to take this opportunity to salute the extraordinary public service career of President Joe Biden and to say how thrilled I am that Kamala Harris is overwhelmingly likely to be our nominee. I’ve endorsed her,” Murphy said. “These are two great publlic servants. For the time being, I’ve got my hands full in the great state of New Jersey and I’m loving my day job.”

News 4 spoke exclusively in-studio with the three governors for an unrelated upcoming series about teenage mental health and cellphone usage.

After Biden announced his decision Sunday to no longer run for the nomination, the president endorsed Harris to become his successor.

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Meta on Tuesday announced the latest version of its Llama artificial intelligence model, dubbed Llama 3.1. The newest Llama technology comes in three different versions, with one variant being the biggest and most capable AI model from Meta to date. Like previous versions of Llama, the newest model continues to be open source, which means it can be accessed for free.

The new large language model, or LLM, underscores the social network’s massive investment into keeping up with competition with other AI leaders, such as high-flying startups like OpenAI and Anthropic and other tech giants like Google and Amazon.

The announcement also highlights the close and growing partnership between Meta and Nvidia. Nvidia is a key Meta partner and provides the social networking giant with the computing chips called GPUs to help train its AI models, including the latest version of Llama.

While companies like OpenAI aim to make money selling access to their proprietary LLMs or offering services to help clients use the technology, Meta has no plans to debut its own competing enterprise tech business, a Meta spokesperson said during a media briefing.

Instead, similar to when Meta released Llama 2 last summer, the company is partnering with a handful of tech companies that will offer their customers access to Llama 3.1 via their respective cloud computing platform, as well as sell security and management tools that work with the new software. Some of Meta’s 25 Llama-related corporate partners include Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Databricks and Dell.

Although Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has told analysts during previous corporate earnings calls that Meta generates some revenue from its corporate Llama partnerships, a Meta spokesperson said that any financial benefit is merely incremental. Instead, Meta believes that by investing in Llama and related AI technologies and making them available for free via open source, it can attract high-quality talent in a competitive market and lower its overall computing infrastructure costs, among other benefits.

Meta’s launch of Llama 3.1 was timed to the week that Zuckerberg and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang are scheduled to speak together at a conference focusing on advanced computer graphics. The social networking giant is one of Nvidia’s top end-customers that doesn’t run its own business-facing cloud, and Meta needs the latest chips in order to train its AI models, which it uses internally for targeting and other products. For example, Meta said that Llama model announced on Tuesday was trained on 16,000 of Nvidia’s H100 graphics processors.

But the relationship is also important to both companies for what it represents.

For Nvidia, the fact that Meta is training open-source models that other companies can use and adapt for their businesses — without paying a licensing fee or asking for permission — could expand the usage of Nvidia’s own chips and keep demand high.

But open-source models can cost hundreds of millions or billions of dollars to create. There aren’t many companies that are financially able to develop and release open-source models with similar amounts of investment. Google and OpenAI, although they are Nvidia customers, keep their most advanced models private.

Meta, on the other hand, needs a reliable supply of the latest GPUs to train increasingly powerful models. Like Nvidia, Meta is trying to foster an ecosystem of developers who are building AI apps with the company’s open-source software at the center, even if Meta has to essentially give away code and so-called AI weights that are expensive to build.

The open-source approach benefits Meta by exposing developers to its internal tools and by inviting them to build on top of it, Ash Jhaveri, the company’s VP of AI partnerships, told CNBC. It also helps Meta because it uses its AI models internally, thus enabling the company to reap improvements made by the open-source community, he said.

Zuckerberg wrote in a blog post on Tuesday that it was taking a “different approach” to the Llama release this week, adding, “We’re actively building partnerships so that more companies in the ecosystem can offer unique functionality to their customers as well.”

Because Meta isn’t an enterprise vendor, the social networking giant can refer companies who inquire about Llama to one of its enterprise partners, like Nvidia, Jhaveri said.

The largest version of the Llama 3.1 family of models is dubbed Llama 3.1 405B. This giant large language model, or LLM, contains 405 billion parameters, which refers to the variables dictating the overall size of the model and how much data it can process. Generally speaking, a big LLM with a large amount of parameters can perform more complicated tasks than smaller LLMs, such as understanding context in long streams of text, solve complex math equations and even generate synthetic data that can presumably be used to improve smaller AI models.

The social networking giant is also releasing smaller versions of Llama 3.1 that called Llama 3.1 8B and Llama 3.1 70B models. These smaller models are essentially upgraded versions of their predecessors and can be used to power chatbots and software coding assistants, Meta said.

Meta also said that the company’s U.S.-based WhatsApp users and visitors of its Meta.AI website will be able to witness the capabilities of Llama 3.1 by interacting with the company’s digital assistant. Presumably, Meta’s digital assistant, which will run on the latest version of Llama, will be able to answer complicated math problems or solve software coding issues, a Meta spokesperson explained.

WhatsApp and Meta.AI users who are based in the U.S. will be able to toggle between the new, gigantic Llama 3.1 LLM or a less-capable but faster and smaller version for answers to their queries, the Meta spokesperson said.

Watch: Cramer’s Mad Dash: Meta

State police said Kraig Ronald Bressette, 60, of Preston, was driving a 1965 Ford Mustang on Middle Road just after 9:30 a.m. when he went off the road, drove onto a stone retaining wall and rolled over. Officials said the top of the convertible was open when the crash happened.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call State Trooper Christopher Brett at 860-848-6500, extension 5.

Officials from the South Fire District said they responded to a fire on Dunham Road around 8 p.m. and there were reports that people might be trapped in an upstairs apartment.

They arrived within five minutes and found heavy fire.

Four people, including two children, who live on the second floor had jumped from the windows and several people came to their rescue and caught the children and a woman, according to the fire department.

A man who jumped from the second floor was injured, according to the fire department.

Eliezer Reyes, of Bristol, says he was at a corner store on Sunday when he saw smoke coming from an apartment building, so he yelled up to a family inside and caught two children as they came out the windows.

Reyes says he and a neighbor caught one of the adults while the other jumped out.

“I had told my girlfriend to call 911 and she called 911 immediately,” Reyes said.

Chief James Trzaki, of the South Fire District, said time is of the essence when people are in a structure fire like this one and they are trapped.

He said fire was blocking the exit stairs so people couldn’t get out.

“I just encourage everybody to help each other, because like, you might need help and the other person it felt so good to help each other,” Reyes said.

And the house had asphalt shingles made out of hydrocarbon, which caused the fire to spread rapidly and emit black smoke.

All four residents who jumped from the home were taken to Middlesex Hospital to be treated for mild smoke inhalation injuries, according to the fire department. One suffered a leg injury.

The fire department asks anyone who knows who the good Samaritans are to contact South Fire District Chief James Trzaski because they were instrumental in saving the residents’ lives.

Firefighters rescued three dogs from the building and Middletown Animal Control officers provided care for them.

Five people are displaced after the fire and the American Red Cross is assisting them.

The South Fire District fire marshal’s office and Middletown police are investigating the cause of the fire, according to the fire department.

Increasing humidity can be expected tonight into the next couple of days. Dew point temperatures will begin to approach 70 degrees Tuesday through Thursday.

Showers and storms will become more numerous by Tuesday morning with locally heavy rain and strong wind gusts in some of the storms.

Scattered shower and storm chances will continue through Thursday. Drier air will arrive for Friday into the weekend.

Democrats united behind Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s front-runner for the presidential nomination Monday, and their excitement translated into a juggernaut day of fundraising for the party and for Harris’ campaign.

Late Monday night, NBC News projected that Harris had won endorsements from a majority of the Democratic party’s pledged convention delegates. The threshold is 1,976 delegates, and NBC estimates that Harris has the spoken or written backing of 1,992 delegates.

While not yet formally the party’s presumptive nominee, Harris’ position as frontrunner is rock solid, and no potential challengers have signaled they intend to vie for the nomination.

In the hours since President Joe Biden announced that he would end his teetering reelection campaign, Harris and the Democratic party have pulled in roughly $250 million in online donations and major donor commitments. 

The Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue has processed $106 million in contributions to Democratic candidates since Biden dropped out, according to an automated tracker. 

It is not clear yet how much of this money was given to House and Senate campaigns and how much went to the former Biden campaign, rebranded overnight as the Harris for President campaign. 

In addition to the online donations, a super political action committee that supports the Biden-Harris ticket announced that over the past 24 hours, major donors have made contribution commitments totaling $150 million to the Harris election effort. 

The pledges to Future Forward were described to NBC News as coming from donors who had been sitting on the sidelines for the past month, amid concerns about Biden as the nominee. 

The pledged donations to Future Forward are just that, however: promises. Until the PAC files mandatory federal campaign finance reports, these numbers cannot be verified. 

The historic fundraising numbers are energizing Democrats and breathing new life into their bid to defeat former President Donald Trump and his Republican running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.

Since Sunday, more than 888,000 small-dollar donors have contributed to the Harris campaign, according to a memo late Monday.

Harris’ momentum could be the reason that West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who recently switched his political affiliation to Independent, dropped his suggestion that he was open to challenging Harris for the Democratic nomination.

Republicans, meanwhile, are scrambling to retool a Trump campaign that was built to defeat Biden into one capable of defeating a very different candidate.

Trump spent much of the morning attacking Biden, but shifted to attacking Harris in the afternoon.

Majority of Democrats’ pledged delegates endorse Harris: NBC News

Harris has secured written or spoken endorsements from a simple majority of the Democratic party’s pledged convention delegates, NBC News estimates.

The threshold number of delegates is 1,976. NBC estimates that Harris has received statements of support from groups representing 1,992 delegates, as of 10:30 p.m. ET

The exact dates and process for the Democratic party’s nominating roll call vote will be finalized at a meeting Wednesday afternoon of the Rules Committee.

— Christina Wilkie

Harris takes the fight to Trump in fiery speech to staffers: ‘I know Donald Trump’s type’

Harris began prosecuting her case against Trump in her first speech as the Democratic presidential front-runner.

“I took on perpetrators of all kinds,” Harris told staffers at the Wilmington HQ of what is now her campaign.

“Predators who abused women. Fraudsters who ripped off consumers. Cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain,” she continued. “So hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump’s type.”

Harris’ well-timed delivery had staffers whooping and cheering in support.

She pledged to take on big corporate interests, and drew on her experience as a career prosecutor.

“During the foreclosure crisis, I took on the big Wall Street banks and won $20 billion for California families, holding those banks accountable for fraud,” Harris said.

“Donald Trump was just found guilty of 34 counts of fraud.”

— Rebecca Picciotto

Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon will helm Harris team, says VP

Harris announced a few minutes ago that Jen O’Malley Dillon, the chair of what was formerly the Biden campaign, will keep her job as the vice president moves to the top of the ticket.

“J.O.D. has been such an incredible leader of this team and that is why I’ve just asked her to work my campaign and she has accepted it,” Harris said.

O’Malley Dillon has been at the helm of the Biden campaign the entire election cycle. She also served as campaign manager during Biden’s winning 2020 presidential campaign.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Ohio state senator regrets ‘civil war’ warning at JD Vance rally

A Republican Ohio state senator said he regretted saying that “it’s going to take a civil war to save the country” if Trump loses the presidential election.

Sen. George Lang had made that incendiary comment at a rally in Middletown, Ohio, for U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, who is Trump’s running mate.

“Remarks I made earlier today at a rally in Middletown do not accurately reflect my views,” Lang wrote in a post on the social media site X. “I regret the divisive remarks I made in the excitement of the moment on stage.”

Lang added, “Especially in light of the assassination attempt on President Trump last week, we all should be mindful of what is said at political events, myself included.”

A spokesman for Harris’ campaign earlier blasted Trump and Vance over Lang’s original comment.

“Trump and Vance pay lip service to unity, but their actions are more focused on dividing Americans than bringing us together. It’s the polar opposite of everything Vice President Harris stands for,” said Harris campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa.

 “Donald Trump and JD Vance should denounce George Lang’s calls for violence and apologize for platforming this kind of violence.”

— Dan Mangan

Biden’s emotional send-off for Harris: ‘You’re the best, kid’

Vice President Harris and President Biden just exchanged sincere words of support as she opened her remarks to campaign staff at the Delaware HQ.

“I’m watching ya kid, I love ya,” Biden said to Harris over the phone as he isolated in Delaware, recovering from Covid. “You’re the best, kid.”

It was Harris’ first visit to the Wilmington campaign headquarters as the Democratic front-runner to win the party’s nomination.

“I know it’s been a rollercoaster and we’re all filled with so many mixed emotions about this,” Harris said, underscoring the emotional tenor of Biden’s decision to bow out of the race. “We love Joe and Jill. We really do. They truly are like family.”

— Rebecca Picciotto

Biden to campaign staffers: Dropping out was ‘the right thing to do’

President Biden just called into a campaign meeting to thank his staff for their hard work and to double down on his endorsement for Harris’ presidential campaign.

“I know it’s hard, because you’ve poured your heart and soul into me, to help us win this thing,” Biden said. “The name changed at the top of the ticket. The mission hasn’t changed at all.”

As Biden recovers from Covid in Delaware, he acknowledged to his staff that his Sunday announcement may have been “surprising to hear,” but that “It was the right thing to do.”

“By the way, I’m not going anywhere,” the president said, noting that he would continue to push for his legislative agenda in his last five months in office.

Biden is expected to address the nation publicly later this week, to further explain his decision to drop out of the presidential race against Trump.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Harris to campaign in battleground Wisconsin on Tuesday

Harris will make her first campaign stop as the Democratic front-runner in Milwaukee on Tuesday, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The trip comes on the heels of the Republican National Convention, which took place in Milwaukee last week.

— Josephine Rozzelle

Two major labor unions endorse Harris

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are backing Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket.

The two major unions are both the largest of their kind, and they each voted unanimously to endorse Harris.

“Vice President Harris is seasoned, tough and tenacious,” AFSCME President Lee Saunders said. “She is a dynamic leader who has been a pro-worker champion throughout her years in elected office. She understands that unions and the working class are the engines of our economy. And she has a deep respect and appreciation for the work AFSCME members do to strengthen our communities.”

“IBEW members know Vice President Harris and have engaged with her over the last four years as she’s visited our job sites, union halls and training facilities,” the union’s International President Kenneth W. Cooper said. “She has listened to us, and we stand confident that she will continue this administration’s extraordinary record on behalf of working people when she is sworn into office next January.”

— Josephine Rozzelle

Where Kamala Harris stands on health policy

During her 2020 presidential bid, Harris backed a “Medicare for All” plan to expand health-care access and lower consumer costs. She described health care as a “right,” not a “privilege.”

Harris would be unlikely to push that plan in the current presidential contest, said Drew Altman, president and CEO of KFF, a nonprofit health policy research organization.

She would more likely seek additional expansions of health coverage under the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, Altman said. She would likely try to expand Biden administration negotiations over prescription drug prices, which currently apply only to Medicare beneficiaries and some medications, he said.

Harris is also among Democrats’ “strongest, most effective voices” relative to protecting abortion access, according to Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund.

Abortion is an economic issue, said Altman. Women must generally weigh affordability and career advancement when choosing to have children, and have paid and missed work to travel out of state for the procedure following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

— Greg Iacurci

Harris team announces $81 million haul over first 24 hours of campaign

Harris’ campaign announced on Monday that its political operation raised $81 million over the past 24 hours since she officially started her run for president.

The massive haul reflects money raised through the campaign, Democratic National Committee and Harris’ joint fundraising committees, which also benefit more than a dozen state parties.

The Harris campaign called the $81 million the “largest 24-hour raise in presidential history.” The campaign also said “over 888,000 grassroots donors made donations in the past 24 hours, 60% of whom made their first contribution of the 2024 cycle.”

It also said it has “added 43,000 new recurring donors, with over half of these recurring donors signing up for weekly donations.”

“The historic outpouring of support for Vice President Harris represents exactly the kind of grassroots energy and enthusiasm that wins elections,” said Harris campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz in a statement.

— Brian Schwartz

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs backs Harris

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has endorsed Harris, joining the chorus of Democratic governors in key battleground states backing the vice president’s presidential bid.

“As the last few weeks have made clear, Americans are looking for a new generation of leadership that will move past the divisiveness and unite us around our shared American values,” Hobbs wrote in a post on social media site X. “I believe that leader is Vice President Harris.”

Hobbs’ endorsement came roughly a full day after President Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris to replace him.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Sen. Cory Booker, Harris’ onetime presidential primary rival, goes all in

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker just posted his Harris endorsement on social media site X.

— Isabel Engel

Democratic super PAC secures $150 million in new commitments for Harris after Biden drops out

A political action committee that was supporting Biden’s campaign before he dropped out of the race for president has received $150 million in new commitments since his departure from the campaign and endorsement of Harris.

Future Forward, the super PAC, confirmed to NBC News that it has secured a staggering $150 million in new commitments from donors in just the past 24 hours.

This is from donors who were previously stalled, uncertain or uncommitted, per a senior aide at Future Forward, according to NBC News.

Read more at NBC News

— Brian Schwartz

Former Obama U.S. Attorney General Holder will vet potential Harris running mates: Report

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and his law firm, Covington & Burling, will vet potential running mates for Harris’ presidential campaign, Reuters reported.

Holder was AG under then-President Barack Obama from 2009 through 2015.

CNBC has requested comment on the report from Covington & Burling.

— Dan Mangan

Massachusetts Gov. Healey backs Harris, says America’s future ‘is on the line’

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has endorsed Harris, calling her “a proven leader who has delivered for the American people again and again.”

“Kamala Harris is the best person to make the case against Donald Trump,” Healey says. “Trump is coming after our rights and our freedoms. And he will jack up costs on the middle class by gutting Social Security, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act.”

“The future of our country as we know it is on the line,” the Democrat says.

— Dan Mangan

Harris rockets Democrats past $100 million in online donations in 24 hours since Biden endorsement

The Democrats’ digital fundraising website ActBlue has raised more than $100 million since Sunday, the day Biden withdrew from the campaign for president and backed Harris, according to a website that tracks the company’s live fundraising ticker.

The gargantuan amount is historic, and it solidifies a massive amount of resources for Democrats to take on Donald Trump and the Republican Party with months to go until the November Election Day.

It also suggests that most party donors are increasingly enthusiastic about Harris’ candidacy almost a month after Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Trump.

— Brian Schwartz

Trump attacks Harris on Truth Social after spending the day slamming Biden, his former opponent

Trump issued an all-caps tirade against Harris in a Truth Social post, one of the first times today that he has gone after the new Democratic front-runner.

“Joe Biden will go down as the Worst President in the history of the United States. KAMALA, OUR HORRIBLE & INCOMPETENT BORDER CZAR, WILL BE WORSE!” Trump wrote.

Trump’s Truth Social account has spent much of the day spewing posts against President Biden, who is no longer in the presidential race. He has attacked Biden in roughly a dozen Truth Social posts in the hours since the president dropped out of the race.

Meanwhile, Trump has so far written far fewer diatribes against Harris, who has racked up party endorsements as Democrats coalesce behind her new presidential run.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Jeffries and Schumer will meet with Harris, not endorsing yet

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is not yet endorsing Harris, saying that he and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will meet with the vice president in person soon.

“Leader Schumer and I are scheduled to meet with Vice President Harris shortly,” Jeffries told reporters Monday afternoon. “I’m excited for that meeting.”

The two top Democrats are part of a shrinking list of lawmakers that have yet to endorse Harris.

“Vice President Kamala Harris has excited the community, she’s excited the House Democratic Caucus and she’s exciting the country,” he said. “And so I’m looking forward to sitting down with her in short order with Leader Schumer, and we’ll have more to say about the path forward as soon as that meeting concludes.”

Jeffries said the meeting will take place when Schumer returns to Washington, D.C. — the Senate is back in session on Tuesday — and when they get confirmation from Harris.

— Josephine Rozzelle

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green endorses Harris

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green endorsed Harris’ candidacy, saying the vice president “has the experience, the energy and the vision to carry the Democratic Party to victory in November.”

“We have an incredible vice president who is ready to lead the country forward,” the Democrat Green said.

Hawaii is one of the most reliable states for the Democratic Party in presidential elections. In the 16 presidential elections held since Hawaii became a state in 1959, Democratic nominees have won all but two, in 1972 and 1984.

— Dan Mangan

At Vance rally, Ohio state senator says it will ‘take a civil war to save’ America if Trump loses

An Ohio state senator warned at a Trump campaign rally headlined by Sen. JD Vance that, if Trump and Vance lose the presidential race, “it’s going to take a civil war to save the country.”

State Sen. George Lang yelled, “Fight, fight, fight!” as he took the stage before the GOP vice presidential nominee Vance spoke in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio.

“We’ve got time,” Lang told the crowd. “Hey, we are in the fight for the soul of our nation. We are in a fight for our kids and our grandkids, a fight that we can never imagine.”

“I believe wholeheartedly Donald Trump and Butler County’s JD Vance are the last chance to save our country politically,” Lang said.

“I’m afraid if we lose this one, it’s going to take a civil war to save the country,” Lang said. “And it will be saved.”

— Dan Mangan

Top Democrat Nancy Pelosi backs Harris

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has officially endorsed Harris to helm the Democratic ticket in the race against Trump.

“Today, it is with immense pride and limitless optimism for our country’s future that I endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for President of the United States,” Pelosi said in a statement. “My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for President is official, personal and political.”

One of Biden’s closest allies, Pelosi’s backing is a key vote of confidence for Harris as the Democratic Party rallies around her after several weeks of infighting as pressure mounted on Biden to drop out of the race.

Pelosi’s statement comes as eyes watch several other top Democrats have so far held out on their endorsements including former President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Harris wins two more backers in the Senate

Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley and Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth are both supporting Harris for the Democratic nomination.

“Kamala Harris shares my mission of taking on the powerful to deliver for the people. She will fight for reproductive rights, American jobs, and security abroad,” Merkley said. “She will champion housing, education, healthcare and equal rights. I will do all I can to help her win.”

“I am proud to endorse [Harris] and will do everything I can to ensure she has the support needed to win,” Duckworth said. “Right now, Democrats must be fully united and put ALL of our energy into preventing Trump and his MAGA allies from rolling back all the freedoms and progress we’ve made.”

— Josephine Rozzelle

Fetterman, who criticized Democrats calling on Biden to drop out, endorses Harris

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman is backing Harris as the Democratic nominee, saying he is “Proud to support and be all in for the next president.”

The notable endorsement comes from one of Biden’s most vocal defenders who criticized Democrats for calling on the president to drop out of the race.

“Democrats, stop worrying about Joe Biden’s legacy and think about yours,” Fetterman posted on July 13. “Abandon a great president after a rough debate or stand with the only person who ever beat Trump’s a– into dust. All must choose, but we’re headed for assured mutual destruction if we don’t cut the s—.”

— Josephine Rozzelle

Gov. Whitmer to serve as co-chair of Harris campaign, will not accept VP nomination if asked

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took her name off the list of potential vice president contenders. Instead, she will serve as the co-chair of the Harris campaign, she said in a post on social media platform X.

“Today, not only am I fired up to endorse @KamalaHarris for President of the United States, I’m proud to serve as a co-chair of her campaign,” she said in the post.

When asked if she would accept a job as Kamala Harris‘ running mate, she reaffirmed her commitment to Michigan.

“I am proud to be the Governor of Michigan,” she said. “I am not going anywhere.”

Gov. Whitmer joins several Democratic governors offering wholehearted support of the Harris campaign, including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers.

— Isabel Engel

Democrats’ ActBlue raises more than $90 million since Biden dropped out, endorsed Harris

The Democrats’ digital fundraising website ActBlue has raised more than $90 million since Sunday, the day Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, according to a website that tracks the company’s live fundraising ticker.

The site shows that on Sunday, ActBlue processed more than $66 million in campaign donations to Democrats. It helped raise an additional $24 million on Monday. ActBlue raised more than $12 million on Sunday during the 8:00 p.m. ET hour alone.

ActBlue boasted on Sunday that the Harris campaign launch was the company’s “biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle.”

The Harris campaign has said it alone has raised upward of $50 million since the Biden endorsement.

— Brian Schwartz

Tech billionaire donor Mark Pincus says he’s ‘undecided’ and ‘confused’ on Harris

Mark Pincus, the billionaire founder of video game company Zynga, is unsure where he stands on Harris as President Biden’s replacement in the race against Trump.

“At this point, I’m undecided,” Pincus told CNBC on Sunday.

In a follow-up on Monday, Pincus told CNBC that he feels “confused” about the election and will most likely “sit this all out.”

He added that while he is open to Harris taking the top of the ticket, he is “waiting to hear her platform” and would prefer the new nominee get selected via an open convention.

As the pressure campaign built on Biden to bow out of the race, Pincus, who has a net worth of $1.4 billion according to Forbes’ Monday estimate, was one of the voices in the Democratic megadonor class who went on the record and called on Biden to step aside.

Pincus said he wants to see a Democratic candidate with an “Obama-like, inspiring platform that speaks to innovation and growth and a level playing field that invests in education and health care along with secure borders, talent-focused immigration and defending U.S. interests abroad.”

— Brian Schwartz, Rebecca Picciotto

Billionaire Democratic donor Mike Bloomberg calls for ‘party to take the pulse of voters’

Billionaire Democratic megadonor Mike Bloomberg stopped short of endorsing Harris on Monday in a social media post, a day after Biden dropped out of the race.

Bloomberg, who has given millions of dollars in support of Biden and Democrats this election cycle, said he believes the party should take the time to engage with voters on what they want weeks before the convention in Chicago.

“Democrats now have a chance for a fresh new start, and while some elected leaders and party officials make their endorsements, there are still four weeks before the party’s more than 4,000 delegates convene in Chicago,” Bloomberg wrote. “That is more than enough time for the party to take the pulse of voters, especially in battleground states, to determine who is best positioned to win in November and lead the country over the next four years.”

Bloomberg has a net worth of just more than $104 billion, according to Forbes.

— Brian Schwartz

Kamala Harris is the Democratic front-runner. So why is everyone talking about coconut trees?

With Harris now the Democratic front-runner for president, social media is reviving one of the vice president’s most viral moments.

The meme was born in May 2023 when Harris, speaking about the important role parents and grandparents play in the lives of young people, recalled a quote from her mother.

“She would give us a hard time sometimes, and she would say to us, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people,'” Harris said.

“‘You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you,'” she quoted her mother saying.

The quote, and Harris’ unique delivery of the line, became an instant meme. Now, her supporters are using coconut and palm tree emojis to show their support.

Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz posted a picture of himself climbing a coconut tree, captioned “Madam Vice President, we are ready to help.”

After endorsing Harris as the Democratic nominee, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker similarly posted, “You think I just fell out of a coconut tree?”

Even Harris’ campaign is riffing on her viral moment. The bio of the @KamalaHQ account on social media site X states: “Providing context.”

— Josephine Rozzelle

Harris praises Biden’s legacy in White House speech

Harris praised Biden during brief remarks at an NCAA celebration held on the South Lawn of the White House, her first public address since the president endorsed her to replace him in the race against Trump.

“President Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishments over the past three years is unmatched in modern history,” Harris said. “We are deeply, deeply grateful for his service to our nation.”

It is rare for a vice president to hold events on the South Lawn of the White House. Vice presidents often host events at the Naval Observatory, the official vice presidential residence.

As Harris delivered her remarks, Biden was still isolating with Covid at his beach house in Delaware. Harris said Biden is “feeling much better and recovering fast.”

Biden is expected to address the nation about his decision to drop out of the presidential race later this week.

— Rebecca Picciotto

More than 300 Harris allies and top donors strategize on private call on how to unite Dems, raise big money

More than 300 of Harris’ allies, including dozens of her past bundlers from her failed 2020 Democratic primary campaign for president, huddled on a private Zoom call this morning to plot ways they can raise more money for the Harris campaign now that Biden has dropped out of the race.

The call, which lasted just more than 10 minutes, was organized by longtime Harris advisors Stephanie Daily Smith and Katie Prisco-Buxbaum.

Smith, Prisco-Buxbaum and Sheila Nix, Harris’ campaign chief of staff, were on the call. CNBC gained access to the call after receiving an invitation from a source.

Eleni Kounalakis, California’s lieutenant governor and a Harris supporter, was also on the call. “The invitation to join this call spans those who have been major, major bundlers to those who have been close friends,” said Kounalakis on the call.

Smith made it clear what she wants the group of more than 300 attendees to do: raise more money.

“Alright, I want to launch right into the purpose of the call,” said Smith. “A lot of people are asking right now ‘what can I do?’ ‘What do I need to do in order to make sure that we are doing whatever it takes to ensure the vice president is solidifying the nomination as quickly as possible?'”

“What I’m going to ask everybody on this call to do is to focus on giving your donations. Using the current [donation] link that you have,” she said.

“More importantly, we need every single person on this call to email elected officials and friends and contacts of Democratic organizations to ask them to support and to endorse the vice president for president. This is the most important time for us all to collaborate together and to unite together. The quicker we can unite, the quicker we can move forward,” said Smith.

The Harris campaign has said it has raised at least $50 million since Biden dropped out yesterday and endorsed Harris.

— Brian Schwartz

Harris to visit her new campaign staff HQ this afternoon in Delaware

Kamala Harris is planning to head to the campaign’s headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, to say “hello” to staff, one day after Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her to replace him.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Watch: Harris delivers first public address since Biden endorsement

[The stream is slated to start at 11:30 a.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.]

Harris is set to deliver remarks at the White House during a celebratory event for the NCAA championship teams of the 2023-24 season.

It is Harris’ first public appearance addressing the nation since Biden endorsed her to replace him in the presidential race against Trump, minutes after his announcement that he would drop out.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Disney heiress resumes funding Democrats now that Biden is out of the race, endorses Harris

Movie studio heiress Abigail Disney tells CNBC she will resume donating to Democrats, now that Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris for president.

“Yes, I will resume supporting” Democrats, she says in an email to CNBC. Disney has not replied to follow-up questions about how much she plans to give.

Disney is the granddaughter of Roy O. Disney, and her decision, first reported by CNBC, to close her checkbook to Democrats until Biden withdrew from the race sent shockwaves through the campaign finance world several weeks ago.

Disney has also said she thinks Harris could be a great nominee for the party.

“We have an excellent Vice President. If Democrats would tolerate any of her perceived shortcomings even one tenth as much as they have tolerated Biden’s (and let’s not kid ourselves about where race and gender figure in that inequity) and if Democrats can find a way to stop quibbling and rally around her, we can win this election by a lot,” Disney said earlier this month.

Disney has been a longtime supporter of Democrats. She gave $50,000 to the Jane Fonda Climate political action committee in April, according to a Federal Election Commission filing. The PAC has given $35,000 to Democrats running for congressional seats, according to data from OpenSecrets.

Disney gave $150,000 in 2014 to Planned Parenthood Votes, a PAC affiliated with the health-care nonprofit, according to OpenSecrets. That PAC this election cycle has spent more than $400,000 supporting Democrats, including $26,000 for Biden.

— Brian Schwartz

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer endorses Harris

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has backed Harris, quelling any rumblings that she would launch a challenger presidential bid.

“She’s a former prosecutor, a champion for reproductive freedom, and I know that she’s got Michigan’s back,” Whitmer wrote in a statement. “I am fired up to endorse Kamala Harris for President of the United States.”

The endorsement from Whitmer, a governor in a key battleground state, officially puts her on the list of contenders to become Harris’ running mate.

Her backing came alongside several endorsements from other VP hopefuls such as Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.

— Rebecca Picciotto

‘A tenacious leader’: Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers endorses Harris

Tony Evers — the Democratic governor of Wisconsin, a key battleground state — is backing Harris, he announced in a post on social media site X.

“Vice President Kamala Harris is a tenacious leader who has vigorously defended our democracy, fought to protect the freedoms we hold dead, and worked tirelessly to do the right thing and deliver for us,” Evers wrote.

“I’m excited today to endorse Vice President Harris as our nominee for President of the United States. She can beat Donald Trump, and I’m going to do everything I can between now and November 5th to help make sure she does,” he said.

— Josephine Rozzelle

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker endorses Harris, latest VP prospect to do so

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has officially endorsed Harris to take over the top of the Democratic ticket from President Biden.

“Vice President Harris has proven, at every point in her career, that she possesses the skills, strength, and character to lead this country and the vision to better the lives of all Americans,” Pritzker said in a statement. “I believe that she is the most qualified and capable person to be President.”

Pritzker joins Govs. Andy Beshear and Roy Cooper in endorsing Harris, all of whom had previously been floated as potential presidential candidates to replace Biden as pressure mounted on the president to drop out of the race.

— Rebecca Picciotto

‘We must learn from what happened,’ Secret Service director tells Congress

Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle told a House panel that “we failed” to maintain the agency’s “solemn mission to protect our nation’s leaders” during the attempted assassination of Trump on July 13.

“We must learn what happened and I will move heaven and earth to ensure an incident like July 13th does not happen again,” said Cheatle, who is testifying under subpoena before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.

— Dan Mangan

‘Harris 2024’ T-shirt seen on D.C. metro, day after ‘doors open’ for would-be nominee

That sure didn’t take long.

A young man was spotted on a Washington, D.C., metro train in the morning wearing a “Harris 2024” T-shirt just a day after Biden shocked the political world by withdrawing from the presidential election and endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris, as the Democrat to take his place atop the party ticket.

NBC News Supreme Court reporter Lawrence Hurley snapped the photo of the man and his shirt and tweeted it out.

“I’m about to order mine,” one follower of Hurley’s replied.

In addition to the apparently very quickly printed shirt, the “Biden for President” campaign committee was officially renamed the Harris for President committee. The move maintains the team’s infrastructure, staff and — crucially — its nearly $100 million in cash reserves to deploy for Harris’ candidacy.

— Dan Mangan

Watch: Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle testifies to House on Trump shooting

Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle is testifying to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about the attempted assassination of former President Trump on July 13.

Cheatle and her agency have faced intense criticism for failing to stop the shooting of Trump and others at a campaign rally in western Pennsylvania.

She has refused to resign in the face of calls to do so by committee chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., and other lawmakers.

— Dan Mangan

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore endorses Harris

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has endorsed Harris, writing in a post on social media site X that the vice president has the “experience, record, vision, and wisdom to unify the country.”

“The American people deserve a champion who will continue the progress of the Biden-Harris Administration, and that’s why I am proud to voice my full support and off my full endorsement to Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic Nominee for President,” he wrote.

Moore, a rising star of the Democratic Party, said Harris was one of the first people to call him after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in March.

— Josephine Rozzelle

Sen. Dick Durbin, second-highest-ranking Senate Democrat, backs Harris

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the No. 2 Senate Democrat, has officially endorsed Harris to replace President Biden at the top of the ticket.

“Proud to endorse my former Senate colleague & good friend, Kamala Harris,” Durbin wrote in a post on social media site X. “VP Harris was a critical partner in building the Biden record over the past four years. Count me in with Kamala Harris for President.”

He is the next high-ranking Capitol Hill Democrat to back Harris as the party rallies around her. Several Democratic leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York, have yet to issue endorsements.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Jim Cramer: Harris would ‘absolutely’ be a net positive for markets, businesses

If she were to be elected president, Vice President Harris would be a boon for American businesses and the stock market, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said.

“There’s no doubt about it,” Cramer replied when CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla asked whether Harris would be a “net positive” for business.

“What she offers is a level of understanding about the greatness of the megacaps that Biden wanted no part of,” Cramer added.

President Biden’s aggressive approach toward corporate America has been a cornerstone of his economic agenda, pledging to fight against big money interests to protect workers and consumers. Cramer sees the switch to Harris as the Democratic front-runner for president as an opportunity to tone down that rhetoric.

Cramer also drew a contrast between what he sees as the increasingly populist message of Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

“This nativist plan from Trump is so bad for all our companies to do business overseas,” he said.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Two top House Democrats endorse Harris

Two of the House’s top Democrats have formally endorsed U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris to replace President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket in the race against Donald Trump.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Ca., and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Ma., came out in support of Harris. Their endorsements serve as the next signal that the Democratic Party is beginning to coalesce around their new frontrunner candidate after several weeks of infighting, as Biden faced pressure to step down.

“I know Kamala to be a fierce advocate for working families and a tough-minded prosecutor who knows right from wrong,” Aguilar said in his Monday statement.

Clark echoed Aguilar’s ringing endorsement: “I’m proud to stand with Kamala and excited to get to work to elect her!”

The number one Democrat in the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has yet to endorse Harris — a notable silence as the party rallies around the vice president.

— Rebecca Picciotto

Harris ‘has to’ win the U.S. presidential election, North Carolina governor says

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, 67, emphasized that Vice President Harris is “ready to run this race” to win the presidency, while holding his cards close on whether he would consider becoming her running mate.

“I am confident that she can win this election because she has to,” he said Monday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Asked whether he would consider joining her ticket as running mate, he said, “I appreciate people talking about me, but I think the focus right now needs to be about her this week, and she needs to concentrate on making sure she secures this nomination.”

Harris has received the endorsement of current U.S. President Joe Biden, who dropped his reelection bid on Sunday, but must still formally clinch the Democratic ticket.

Cooper stressed “the vice presidential conversation needs to occur later,” while pledging that he will work to support her campaign.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Sen. Manchin rules out presidential bid

High-profile independent Sen. Joe Manchin, who left the Democratic Party in May but has the option to re-register with the faction, has ruled out throwing his hat in the ring for the top White House job during the race this fall.

“No, no. I’m not intending to run for any political office,” he confirmed during MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” stressing that he will be retiring from the Senate.

He expressed disappointment over the lack of a primary run-off following U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to drop his re-election bid, which he said would have been an opportunity to witness the “cream of the crop of the new generation.”

“It would have been great to see what their thoughts were,” he noted.

Asked whether he too would now endorse Harris, he said he wishes to “see what her platform is and her position.”

— Ruxandra Iordache

Kentucky Gov. Beshear formally endorses Harris

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, 46, formally endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, addressing questions on whether he would be willing to join as her running-mate.

“I fully endorse Kamla Harris,” Beshear said during MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday. “I’m going to do everything I can to support her.”

Asked whether he would agree to step in as Harris’ running-mate, if the position were offered, he said, “Let me first say I love my job, I love serving the people of Kentucky … The only way I would consider something other than this job is if I believe I could further help my people.”

He stressed that Harris’ record is one of “standing up for people.”

“I think if somebody calls you on that, what you do is at least listen. And I want the American people to know what a Kentuckian is, what they look like. Because I want you to know, JD Vance ain’t from here,” he said with reference to Donald Trump’s running-mate.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Harris ‘can debate,’ South Carolina representative says

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., who has endorsed Harris’ presidential bid, has underlined the strength of her debating and prosecutorial skills as assets in the upcoming campaigning period.

“She can debate. I would look forward to seeing her … on the stage, in a debate,” he said Monday during MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“She is well equipped to prosecute, I’m going to emphasize, to prosecute the case against Donald Trump,” he said, adding that Trump has previously been defeated by prosecutors — a likely reference to the former U.S. president’s legal battles — and “he will lose against this one.”

Harris has a background in law and previously served as an attorney.

— Ruxandra Iordache

‘She’s ready for it’: New York City mayor on Harris’ campaign

New York City’s Democratic mayor has praised Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s potential nominee, citing her prosecutorial background.

“I think that she is the voice that the party needs right now,” he said Monday during MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” stressing that Harris’ prosecutorial background as a former attorney would help strike “the balance of public safety and justice” currently needed in the U.S.

He noted that the public needs to see a candidate engaging with “real” issues such as housing and securing national borders.

“Moving to this very important position, I think she’s ready for it,” he said of Harris.

— Ruxandra Iordache

How Kamala Harris spent the Sunday she announced her campaign

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris held multiple phone conversations with President Joe Biden before he announced he would step down from the presidential race, according to NBC News reporting citing a source familiar with her day.

Wearing a Howard University sweatshirt, workout sweats and sneakers, Harris spent more than 10 hours at the VP residence, placing calls to shore up the support of “over 100 party leaders, Members of Congress, governors, labor leaders, and leaders of advocacy and civil rights organizations,” the source said.

The vice president arranged meals for aides, enjoying pizza and salad for dinner — with Harris’ own pie coming with her go-to topping of anchovies.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Harris ‘well poised’ to lock up Democrat nomination, former chief spokesperson says

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is “well poised” to clinch the Democrat nomination, after President Joe Biden bowed out of the race and endorsed her campaign, a former chief spokesperson to Harris said.

“I do think that she is well poised to lock up this nomination,” Symone Sanders-Townsend told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” stressing that campaigning against former President Donald Trump is “not going to be an easy race.”

Sanders-Townsend underlined that Harris was already doing the work to shore up backing for her platform as of Sunday, when she formally launched her campaign.

“The vice president was on the phone all day long yesterday, asking people for their support, not just expecting to get it,” Sanders-Townsend said, noting that Harris’ loyalty to Biden throughout the latter’s re-election bid will play into her own campaign.

“Joe Biden is a remarkable man, he is selfless, and frankly what he did yesterday, very few elected officials in this country would be willing to do,” Sanders-Townsend added.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Germany’s chancellor views Harris as ‘experienced and competent,’ spokesperson says

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz views U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris as an “experienced and competent politician,” a government spokesperson said Monday, according to Reuters.

The spokesperson added that Scholz has previously met with Harris on several occasions and established “a certain closeness and familiarity.”

Earlier in the day, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock praised U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to renounce his re-election bid and endorse Harris, as a sign of his prioritizing national interests over personal ones.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Kremlin says Harris yet to contribute to Russian-U.S. relations

Moscow is closely monitoring political developments in the United States and cannot yet give an assessment of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris as a contender for the top job in the White House, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday, according to Google-translated comments reported by Russian state news agency Tass.

He noted that Moscow had observed no contribution to U.S.-Russian ties from Harris, while claiming that the Kremlin does not anticipate “anything good for Russia” from the outgoing U.S. administration, in which she has served.

Peskov added that the Kremlin was not surprised by Biden’s decision to pull out of the electoral race, noting that the future of Russian-American relations, which are “currently experiencing the worst period in history,” is very important.

The relationship between Moscow and the White House has severely deteriorated since Russia’s February 2022 large-scale invasion of Ukraine, which Washington has backed with funds and military equipment.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Aside from the Democratic nomination, Harris would still need to convince voters

Kamala Harris has already made history as the first woman, and the first Black and Asian-American woman, to serve as vice-president in the U.S. — and she has found strong support among sections of the electorate, particularly among young female voters.

But Harris’ poll ratings have remained close to those of her boss, the 81 year-old President Joe Biden, suggesting she has not significantly differentiated herself or her political identity.

Inderjeet Parmar, professor of International Politics at City, University of London, told CNBC Monday that, even if Harris wins the Democratic presidential nomination, she will need to convince voters she offers something different to Biden.

“There are much deeper questions which had alienated a lot of Democratic voters,” with sectors of the electorate “not committed” to the Democrats, he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”

“That included Muslim and Arab-Americans in swing states, it included a very large number of Millennials and young voters around [issues of] indebtedness and lack of career prospects, and many other issues, and we haven’t even got into the wars that the U.S. has been supporting,” he said.

“So in terms of the difference it [a Harris nomination] would make in those areas I’m not sure … it may well do much more for the top of the party and its candidates than it might do for the confidence of voters that there is something significantly different on offer from Kamala Harris,” he said.

— Holly Ellyatt

Trump’s China tariffs could come with first 100 days, strategist says

Former President Donald Trump could impose sweeping new tariffs on China within the first 100 days of his presidency if elected in November, TD Securities’ head of global strategy said Monday.

Richard Kelly told CNBC that the Trump administration would be much quicker to implement restrictive trade policies in its second term than it was during its first, noting “they know how to do it, they know what they want to do.”

“The expectation is within the first few months of the Trump administration being sworn in — whether we’re talking March, April, May — I would expect those tariffs in place,” he told “Street Signs Europe.”

Kelly said Trump should be taken “at his word” that he would impose 60% tariffs on products from China and 10% levies on products from the rest of the world.

He noted that such policies would likely increase U.S. inflation by 0.5 to 1 percentage points, adding to growing concerns that Trump’s protectionist economic agenda could reignite global inflation.

— Karen Gilchrist

Kamala Harris’ campaign raises nearly $50 million after Biden drops reelection bid

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ newly launched presidential campaign has raised nearly $50 million in less than a day since incumbent President Joe Biden stepped out of the race and endorsed her as Democratic nominee.

She has yet to gain the Democrat Party’s official nomination.

“Since the president endorsed Vice President Harris yesterday afternoon, everyday Americans have given $49.6 million in grassroots donations to her campaign,” a campaign spokesperson for Biden said Monday, referring to ordinary citizens. The comment was reported by Reuters.

A few hours prior, the progressive donation platform ActBlue announced it had raised over $45 million after Harris launched her campaign, as support surged.

Harris was initially part of Biden’s reelection ticket. It remains to be seen who she will select as her running mate.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Next U.S. president will maintain good relations with Israel, country’s former minister of justice says

Yossi Beilin, a former Israeli minister of justice, expressed hopes that the successor to U.S. President Joe Biden will retain good relations with the Jewish state.

“[Biden] was, I think, one of the best leaders of the free world,” Beilin told CNBC’s Dan Murphy, disclosing a roughly forty-year acquaintance with the White House leader. “And I think that his successor, hopefully Kamala Harris, but whoever will replace him, will keep the same kind of relations because of the joint values.”

Washington has broadly backed Israel during its ongoing military offensive against Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza enclave. The White House has, however, urged restraint from the Israeli administration of Benjamin Netanyahu, which has been accused of disproportionally harming the Palestinian population. Israel maintains it is only at war with Hamas and does not explicitly target civilians.

“Despite the criticism against us, which is partially right and partially unjustified, you have Israel as a beacon of democracy in the Middle East. And I think that any American administration will continue this kind of relations,” Beilin said, noting that Biden has been a friend to both Israel and the Palestinian people.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Biden’s decision puts national interests ahead of personal ones, German foreign minister says

U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to exit the upcoming presidential race proves he is putting national interests ahead of his own, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Monday.

“I have great respect for the US president’s decision,” Baerbock said, according to comments carried by Reuters. “Biden has also done an incredible amount for transatlantic relations, and not just during his term as president.”

The U.S. has been a strong ally of Germany and the broader European region under Biden’s administration, stepping in with military equipment and funding to assist Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Trump Media shares rise 2% in premarket trading after Biden quits race

Trump Media shares rose 2% Monday in premarket trading after President Biden on Sunday dropped his reelection bid.

Shares in Trump Media & Technology were 1.6% higher in premarket trading at 4:56 a.m. ET, off earlier highs.

Trump Media, the parent company of social media platform Truth Social, has experienced volatile trading throughout the election race. The company’s stock plummeted nearly 50% in the three weeks following the felony conviction of former President Trump, who is also the firm’s majority shareholder.

— April Roach

Netanyahu said Israel to remain an ‘indispensable and strong ally’ no matter who wins U.S. presidency

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Jewish state will remain “America’s indispensable and strong ally,” irrespective of who emerges victorious in the upcoming presidential race.

Netanyahu is heading to Washington to address both houses of the U.S. Congress, amid Israel’s ongoing battle with Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Washington has backed and financed Netanyahu’s administration throughout the conflict, but has previously called on Israel to minimize damage to Palestinian civilians.

“I will tell my friends on both sides of the aisle that regardless who the American people choose as their next president, Israel remains America’s indispensable and strong ally in the Middle East,” he told reporters, according to footage shared by the Israeli prime minister on social media.

Netanyahu also said he intends to meet with Biden, whom he has known for over 40 years.

“This will be an opportunity to thank him for the things he did for Israel in the war, and during his long and distinguished career in public service,” Netanyahu noted, adding, “In this time of war and uncertainty, it’s important that Israel’s enemies know that America and Israel stand together today, tomorrow and always.”

— Ruxandra Iordache

Harris in a strong position to win this upcoming election, U.S. presidential historian says

Vice President Harris would be “in a strong position to win this upcoming election” if she becomes the next Democratic nominee, according to Allan Lichtman, U.S. presidential historian and professor at the American University in Washington.

The historian, who said he is postponing a prediction on who will clinch the presidency this year, said Harris’ campaign benefits from her charisma and incumbency in a high-profile White House job.

“If Democrats grow a spine and become smart, they will unite behind Harris and lock down the contest key” to avoid an internal battle for the nomination, Lichtman added.

— Ruxandra Iordache

California Gov. Gavin Newsom praises Harris: ‘No one is better to … guide our country’

Governor of California Gavin Newsom — who has been mooted as a potential replacement for Biden on the Democrat ticket this fall — has showered praise on Vice President Harris.

“Tough. Fearless. Tenacious,” Newsom described Harris in a social media post. “With our democracy at stake and our future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President.”

Newsom’s support of Harris comes after President Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, although she is not yet the official Democratic nominee.

Prior to joining the U.S. Senate, Harris served as district attorney of San Francisco and as attorney general of California.

Trump, who is pursuing a second presidential mandate on behalf of the Republican Party, was in late May found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Trump rains criticism after Biden’s decision to withdraw from presidential race

Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who is standing as Republican nominee in the fall elections, has fired a bevy of social media posts criticizing current White House leader Joe Biden.

“If he can’t run for office, he can’t run our Country,” Trump said in the wake of Biden’s decision to pull out of the presidential race, for which he had secured the Democrat ticket. He further stressed that Biden is “not fit to serve” and suggested that the Republican Party that Trump represents should be compensated for expenses undertaken while campaigning against Biden to date.

“So, we are forced to spend time and money on fighting Crooked Joe Biden, he polls badly after having a terrible debate, and quits the race. Now we have to start all over again,” Trump said. “Shouldn’t the Republican Party be reimbursed for fraud … Just askin’?”

There is no official national deadline to apply to run for U.S. president, though such a contender must meet the filing and timeline requirements of individual states.

— Ruxandra Iordache

‘One of our greatest presidents’: Karine Jean-Pierre on Biden

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre praised Biden as “one of our greatest presidents” after his decision to bow out as the Democrat nominee in the U.S. presidential campaign.

Extolling Biden’s achievements during his first mandate, she said in a social media post, “He is also an honorable man. A decent man. And a person who has always put the country first.”

Jean-Pierre assumed her post as White House press secretary in May 2022, succeeding Jen Psaki.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Harris issues fundraising call

Vice President Harris has issued a fundraising call after confirming she will run in the fall presidential campaign, following White House leader Biden’s withdrawal. Biden has endorsed Harris, who must still receive the official Democrat nomination.

“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she said, pledging to build on the feats achieved during Biden’s mandate of “making historic progress in reducing prescription drug costs, upgrading our nation’s infrastructure, fighting climate change and more.”

She urged supporters to split a donation between her campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, or the DSCC.

“In the coming days, as I hit the campaign trail to meet with Americans and lay out the choice in front of voters in the fall, I cannot imagine two more starkly different visions for where we want our country to go,” she said, with reference to the rival platform of former U.S. President and Republican nominee Donald Trump.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Democrats vow ‘transparent and orderly process’ to replace Biden

Jaime Harrison, chair of the Democratic National Committee, has pledged a “transparent and orderly process” to replace Biden as the Democratic candidate in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

“The work that we must do now, while unprecedented, is clear. In the coming days, the Party will undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November. This process will be governed by established rules and procedures of the Party,” he said in a statement on social media platform X.

“As we move forward to formally select our Party’s nominee, our values as Democrats remain the same — lowering costs, restoring freedom, protecting the rights of all people, and saving our democracy from the threat of dictatorship. We have and will continue to make this case to the American people,” he noted.

Biden has endorsed current Vice President Harris in the election.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Key Democrat association backs Harris

A majority of the Democratic Party’s 57 state party leaders voted to back Harris to replace incumbent U.S. President Biden as the Democratic nominee in this year’s presidential election, declaring “overwhelming support” for her candidature, according to the Association of State Democratic Committees, or ASDC.

The ASDC represents state party interests within the Democratic National Committee, which elects the presidential nominee.

No ASDC member voted against Harris, a statement said, with a handful of members abstaining for in-state procedural reasons.

“I am proud that state party chairs, vice-chairs, and executive directors across the country are overwhelmingly uniting behind Vice President Kamala Harris,” said the organization’s chair Ken Martin. “With our democracy on the ballot, there is no one more qualified than Vice President Harris to prosecute the case against Donald Trump.”

— Ruxandra Iordache

‘Trump trade’ in markets could unwind after Biden drops out of race

The “Trump trade” could unwind after Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential election, throwing his weight behind Vice President Harris.

Analysts who spoke to CNBC offered differing views on the prospects for the two parties, following Biden’s withdrawal.

Biden’s alarming debate performance and the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump had spurred markets to position price in another term for the Republican challenger.

Read the full story here.

— Lim Hui Jie

Global leaders react to Biden dropping out of U.S. presidential race

Biden’s exit from the presidential race on Sunday elicited reactions from leaders worldwide.

Biden’s “difficult” decision was acknowledged by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala as driven by the larger interest of the U.S. Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Biden “a true friend” and a “partner to Canadians.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant thanked Biden for his “unwavering support of Israel over the years.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expressed gratitude to Biden’s “unwavering support in the Russia-Ukraine war.

— Lee Ying Shan

Correction: This post was updated to reflect that Donald Tusk is the prime minister of Poland. A previous version misstated his title.

What to watch for on Monday

• 10:00 a.m. ET: Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle testifies before the House Oversight Committee
• 11:30 a.m. ET: U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers a speech at an event for college athletes at the White House.
• 1:30 p.m. ET: Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance holds a rally in Middletown, Ohio.

U.S. President Joe Biden will spend the day in Rehoboth, Delaware, where he is isolating and recovering from Covid. He does not have any scheduled public events.

— Christina Wilkie

New Haven police said officers responded to a reported shooting on Quinnipiac Avenue just before 12:45 a.m. Sunday.

A walk-in shooting victim arrived at Yale-New Haven Hospital shortly thereafter, police said.

The shooting left the victim, a 47-year-old New Haven man, with several non-life-threatening gunshot injuries, according to police.

Less than three hours later, officers were dispatched to a second walk-in gunshot victim at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

This victim, a 34-year-old New Haven man, had also sustained multiple non-life-threatening gunshot injuries, police said.

Investigators subsequently linked the shooting to ballistic evidence found in the area of Willow Street and Mitchell Drive.

Police said “there is no apparent link” between the two overnight shootings, which occurred just over a week after seven people were shot in a separate string of back-to-back shootings in New Haven.

Anyone with information pertaining to the shootings is asked to contact detectives at (203) 946-6304 or through the department’s anonymous tip-line at (866) 888-8477.

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The announcement, posted to X early Sunday afternoon, followed weeks of upheaval within the Democratic Party amid growing concerns about the 81-year-old’s ability to win reelection in November. 

Biden, who previously maintained that he was “not going anywhere,” subsequently posted to X to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the Democratic ticket.

Messages of support have poured in from Democrats across the state in the hours since, with leaders from every level of government coming forward to tout his accomplishments as president and praise his decision to pass the torch.

At the national level, Sen. Chris Murphy — highlighting that Biden’s decision to bow out of the race must have been an “agonizing” one to make — said the president’s withdrawal was emblematic of his “selflessness” and “love of country.”

“Joe Biden has always put his country first,” Murphy said. “He knows the risk Donald Trump poses to our democracy, mandating that our number one priority must be defeating Trump this fall.”

Murphy subsequently came out to endorse Harris to replace Biden at the top of the ticket, saying she has “the perfect combination of experience, accomplishment, and deep love of country to lead our great nation.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal released a statement lauding Biden’s “unwavering, steadfast commitment to the future of our nation.”

“He put the country first, which is something Donald Trump has never done,” Blumenthal later told NBC Connecticut.

Unlike Murphy, Blumenthal did not officially endorse Harris. However, he said he is backing the vice president for now.

“I feel very strongly she will provide the distinction and strength that our country needs,” he said.

Both Murphy and Blumenthal previously came out in support of the president, even as pressure for Biden to suspend his reelection bid continued to mount in the wake of his shaky debate performance in June.

Their congressional counterparts in the House of Representatives expressed similar sentiments about Biden’s decision to end his 2024 campaign.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, calling the Biden administration “the most successful Democratic administration since that of Franklin Delano Roosevelt,” commended the president for his selflessness.

“President Biden has made a courageous decision for the good of the country,” said DeLauro, the longtime Democratic congresswoman from Connecticut’s 3rd District.

The Democratic representative from Connecticut’s 2nd District, Rep. Joe Courtney, said Biden’s decision was “motivated by his patriotism and deep love for America and its democracy.”

Rep. Jahana Hayes, the Democrat representing the state’s 5th District, added that “history will remember Joe Biden for his selfless patriotism and leadership.”

Rep. John Larson of Connecticut’s 1st District maintained that Biden “would have beaten Donald Trump” had he accepted the Democratic nomination, but said the president had put “country above self and unity above division” by suspending his campaign.

The only Connecticut Democrat to publicly call for Biden to step aside, Rep. Jim Himes of the 4th District, is also the only congressperson from the Nutmeg State who has not yet commented on the president’s withdrawal from the 2024 race.

But on Monday morning, his campaign issued a statement in which he endorsed Harris.

“Vice President Harris has proven herself to be a force in one of the most productive administrations in history. As a prosecutor, a senator, and our Vice President, Kamala Harris has demonstrated the leadership, competence, and grace needed to defeat Donald Trump and lead our nation. I will do everything possible to see her elected in November,” Himes said.

At the state level, Gov. Ned Lamont called himself “one of the earliest supporters of Joe Biden almost four years ago” and testified to the “enormous” impact of the Biden administration’s policies.

Lamont did not offer an endorsement of Harris, but said he believed “she will be the front runner when our convention meets next month.”

Meanwhile, Nancy DiNardo, chairwoman of the Connecticut Democratic Party, said “the time is now to unite behind Vice President Harris and defeat Donald Trump.”

“As the President said, let’s do this,” DiNardo said.

A handful of other Connecticut leaders — including the Senate majority leader, Senate president, attorney general and comptroller — released statements following Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 race.

“President Biden’s selfless decision to step aside and pass the torch to Vice President Harris is indicative of his commitment to public service and dedication to the best interests of the American people,” said Senate President Martin Looney, Democrat of New Haven, and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, Democrat of Norwalk.

Speaking from across the aisle, Vincent Candelora, the top Republican in the state House, called Sunday “an unprecedented day in our country.”

“President Biden has been forced from the 2024 presidential election by the same insiders and career politicos who propped him up and lied to the electorate about his fitness for office. In the process, millions of voters who relied on those falsehoods have been disenfranchised,” said Candelora, who represents the towns of Northford, North Guilford, Durham and Wallingford.

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Troopers said they responded to Route 316 around 1 p.m. after getting a report of a collision involving a car and a bicycle.

State police later determined that the incident only involved a bicyclist. No other vehicles were involved.

According to state police, serious injuries have been reported.

The area was briefly closed, but has since reopened.

The investigation is ongoing.

Dated July 21, 2004, the unedited version reads as follows:

“My Fellow Americans,

Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation.

Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We’ve made historic investments in rebuilding our Nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans. We’ve provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years. Appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court. And passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today.

I know none of this could have been done without you, the American people. Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We’ve protected and preserved our Democracy. And we’ve revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world.

It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.

I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision.

For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me elected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me.

I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can’t do — when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America.

-Joe Biden”

The Harris endorsement

More coverage

Decision 2024 Jul 21

Biden drops out of 2024 presidential race, endorses Harris

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“We just don’t do this. We don’t live like you know like in this barbaric way,” Archbishop Dexter Burke with Walk In The Light Church of God said.

Community leaders in Hartford are calling for justice for a mother, Salena Collado, who was attacked during the Fourth of July weekend. They say it happened in the area of Hillside and New Britain Avenue in Hartford where a man slashed the neck of Collado with a knife. They say the man allegedly responsible lives in the area and still poses a danger to Collado and her children.

“Time can be very important when it comes to wicked evil vicious individuals out in the community let loose,” Burke said.

They say Collado is frustrated with the police, asking why it’s taking time to make an arrest and remains traumatized by the attack.

“She wants to leave Hartford. She’s begging to leave Hartford,” Burke said.

We did reach out to Hartford police about this. They say they know who the suspect is and are looking for him. Burke says this is not enough and drones are being deployed in the area to keep a watchful eye.

“As a deterrent to those who might think that they are just okay to walk up to someone and slash it is this is modern-day America,” he said.

The Fourth of July weekend was a violent one in Hartford this year where officers also responded to two shootings with one being a homicide.

According to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, officers from the Environmental Conservation Police responded around 4 p.m. Saturday to reports that a black bear had bitten an adult woman.

The woman sustained minor injuries in the attack and refused treatment, DEEP said.

Cheshire police said the bear approached the woman while she was sitting in her backyard in the area of Cornwall Avenue and Oak Avenue.

The 280-pound male bear — which police said was “slow moving” and did not appear healthy — fled the area before officers arrived on-scene.

DEEP said EnCon officers located and euthanized the the bear following a search of the area. The bear was subsequently turned over to DEEP wildlife biologists for testing.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

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New Haven police said Saturday that officers responded just after 7 a.m. Friday to a report of a man lying face-down in a stream in the area of Hemingway Street and Eastern Street.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man’s cause of death is still under investigation.

Anyone with information pertaining to the incident is asked to call detectives at (203) 946-6304.

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The discount retailer announced in its quarterly report last month that it expects to shutter as many as 40 of its stores nationwide by the end of the year.

The retailer’s website reveals that the wave of impending closures will include the following Connecticut locations:

• Pleasant Valley Road in Manchester
• Turnpike Square in Milford
• Boston Post Road in Waterford

Big Lots, which operates 16 stores in Connecticut and more than 1,400 nationwide, announced the closures in the face of a 10% decline in net sales and a potential loan default, according to the retailer’s quarterly report.

A default on the retailer’s 2022 loan — a scenario Big Lots has concluded carries a “significant likelihood” — would raise “substantial doubt” about the company’s ability to stay afloat.

But as brick-and-mortar stores continue to fall further out of favor amid the rise of online shopping, the 57-year-old bargain store is only the latest chain retailer to announce store closures.

Case in point, Bob’s Stores is slated to close the last of its remaining locations this month after filing for bankruptcy in late June.

Stop & Shop announced just last week that it plans to shutter 32 of its grocery stores — including five of its 81 Connecticut locations — by the end of the year.

Walgreens, too, is finalizing a plan that could result in hundreds of store closures in the coming years.

And going back even further, 2023 saw both Christmas Tree Shops and Bed Bath & Beyond go under.

On Saturday, Kwasi Asante-Boateng and Ama Asante-Boateng along with their children and church members of the Dimension Abundant Life Ministries Church in Rocky Hill, worked together to load a 40-foot shipping container with Ghana as its final destination.

The Asante-Boateng family recently took a trip to Ghana where they visited a village that filled them with motivation to help specifically the teachers and students who were learning out of a deteriorated school building. 

“They don’t have chairs to sit on, there’s abandoned buildings and kids are standing, they’ve never seen computers before, they don’t have books to read, kids are walking around with no shoes,” Ama Asante- Boateng said.

After returning from their trip, their son Kofi built the website, everyonecanmakeadifference.netlify.app where he posted his family’s mission, progress photos and specific donations. 

Kofi shared how it’s been special to help other kids enjoy the same things he does.

“I remember this one girl, just standing and saying ‘I want to read, we have a library with just bookshelves, we don’t have any books to read’ and as someone who loves to read, it really hit me, these students want to learn,” said Kofi.

With the help of Reverend Harris McFarlane and through the website created, the family was able to have a new roof installed at the Akyease/Dida Methodist Junior High School in Ghana, receive 400 donated school chairs and collect over 1,000 school supplies including books, computer monitors and school desks.

Kwasi shared that prior to this mission, he didn’t give the act of giving much thought, but he said his perspective completely changed after seeing the need that’s out in the world.

“These kids go through a lot just to get some form of education so to do something like this, to give them a hope, to give them that, you know what, education is important, it’s something that no one can take from you, and have a chance in life.” 

The church will be shipping the 40-foot container which is expected to arrive in Ghana in about a month-and-a-half.

They continue to ask for donations for future shipments as well as other local charities they contribute to including but not limited to, writing utensils, cosmetics, and non perishables. 

Donations can be delivered to Dimension Abundant Life Ministries at 623 Old Main St. in  Rocky Hill. 

According to Shelton police, emergency crews responded just after 10 p.m. Friday to several reports of a two-vehicle crash involving a motorcycle in the area of Walnut Tree Hill Road and Thompson Street.

Investigators found that the motorcycle had been traveling south on Walnut Tree Hill Road when it was struck by a northbound vehicle executing a left turn onto Thompson Street.

The motorcycle’s two occupants were discovered in the roadway with serious injuries and transported to Bridgeport Hospital, police said.

The 21-year-old man identified as the operator suffered critical injuries in the crash and is in the intensive care unit, according to police. The 22-year-old woman who had been a passenger on the motorcycle sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said the 17-year-old operator of the motor vehicle involved in the crash was not injured.

No law enforcement action has been taken in connection with the crash. 

The accident is still under investigation.

Police said it happened at the Conoco gas station on Main Street around 9:45 a.m.

According to investigators, an employee was doing some work when he was run over by a customer’s vehicle.

The employee was transported to the hospital to be treated for moderate to serious injuries.

The driver of the vehicle involved is cooperating with police. No arrest has been made at this time.

The investigation is ongoing.

A 51-year-old man from Old Lyme was traveling south on Route 85 around 5:20 p.m. when he lost control of his vehicle while going around a slight curve.

State police said his vehicle then went off the right shoulder, hit a stone wall and a tree.

After that, authorities said the vehicle started to roll over and ejected the driver.

He was transported to Hartford Hospital by LifeStar to be treated for serious injuries.

State police said 44-year-old Marcos Benitez Rengifo was driving near exit 24 around 3 a.m. when he veered into the right shoulder and hit the guardrail.

During the crash, authorities said Benitez Rengifo was ejected from his vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities said after the crash, another vehicle collided with Benitez Rengifo’s disabled vehicle in the right lane of the highway. The driver of that vehicle was not injured.

The crash is under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Trooper Dean #416 at Troop H at (860) 534-1098 or by email at michael.dean@ct.gov.

Officers responded to the 600 block of Thomaston Avenue around 11 p.m. after a report of a crash involving two vehicles.

According to police, a car was going south on Thomaston Avenue when it collided head-on with a car going north in the same area. Both vehicles were reportedly speeding.

Investigators said after the crash, both vehicles caught on fire and became engulfed in flames.

Three people inside of one vehicle and one person inside of the other vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said all four people were adults. Their identities have not been released.

The investigation is active and ongoing.

Back in February, Raising Cane’s announced that they planned to open a location in Wethersfield. A spokesperson had said they would begin construction on the restaurant in the spring of 2025.

This week, Wethersfield’s Planning and Zoning Commission provided conditional approval for the development of the property, which is on the Silas Deane Highway where a Denny’s used to operate.

The commission nor the restaurant chain has announced when the Wethersfield location would officially open.

Raising Cane’s, known for their chicken fingers, opened their Enfield location in February; the first one in Connecticut.

More Connecticut locations have been said to be in the works. The Raising Cane’s company website says its Simsbury restaurant is expected to open in early September.

To see the food options they offer, you can view their menu here.

“When I was seven years old, I raised money for bullet proof vests as well as medical trauma kits for K9s because it’s my dream when I’m older to become a K9 officer,” said Morgan Blann, of Brick, New Jersey.

Blann volunteers with the non-profit Running for Heroes and decided to run on Friday in honor of Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier.

“No matter the weather or the temperature, who I’m with, who I’m not with, it’s just so amazing to know that I’m carrying these loved ones names out there and honoring them forever and ever,” Blann said.

She was joined by Pelletier’s wife, Dominique, and other law enforcement officers for the one mile run on a day when heat and humidity seemed to take a break.

“I think it was a sign, definitely a sign,” said officer Patrick Ford, a K9 officer with the Department of Correction.

He came out to honor Pelletier, who once worked at the Department of Correction, and was also a fellow K9 officer.

“So, for me to show support from the department was an honor for me,” Ford said.

“As we were running, they were making jokes,” Blann said. “It was really becoming – it felt like a family that I was running with, and it was really amazing.”

The run is the second honor for Pelletier this week.

“I think the timing of this is absolutely perfect,” said State Police Sgt. Luke Davis. “Considering that Trooper First Class Pelletier was just added to the Law Enforcement Memorial. So even though he may not be officially commemorated until National Peace Officers’ Day, this was a nice tribute to his legacy.”

He says he is honored Running for Heroes chose to support the department.

“It was extremely moving. It was extremely moving for us to see that recognition and people in the community who want to give back and honor the sacrifice of a hero,” Davis said.

Blann says she tries to do one run a week and has a few more throughout the summer.

“There’s times when I’ll be running out alone in the rain  and it’s just as much inspiring to know that I’m doing it because I’m doing it mostly for these first responders to help get their names out there.”

Glastonbury school superintendent Alan Bookman sent an email to parents on Friday about the social media post threatening violence at the school.

“…we are reaching out to all families and staff in the district because the post was both highly offensive and greatly alarming to our school community,” Bookman said in the email.

He said he is limited in what he can say about the threat and the ongoing police investigation.

According to Bookman, police have identified the Glastonbury High School student responsible for the post and as of Friday, that student is no longer enrolled in Glastonbury Public Schools.

The student is no longer allowed at any school events or to be on any school campus, he said.

Glastonbury police told NBC Connecticut they could not comment on the ongoing investigation.

The superintendent said he is limited in what he can say about the threat and the ongoing police investigation, but added:

“There is no place in our school community for hate, racism, or violence. This disturbing incident is a reminder to all of the importance of our work to provide safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments where all students feel respected and valued.”

Veronica Castro was at a loss for words when Glastonbury police called her about a threat towards her daughter this week. She says the violent threats named her daughter and other students as a target at the high school, all of them either black or bi-racial. Castro says the initial communication from the school principal was vague.

“We bring our kids to Glastonbury because that’s a good education. We want to provide them good education, but we want them to be safe.,” she said.

The news also caught the attention of Bobbi and Keith Bowles. Their daughter is a student at the high school, too. They say she wasn’t named as a target of the threats, but Bobbi still made a post on social media highlighting the issue. The post gained traction from other parents.

“The parents were scared and just tired of it and glad somebody finally spoke out,” Bobbi Bowles said.

Keith Bowles believes that student responsible needs to be held accountable, but should also be given a chance to learn from their mistake.

“You can still do better in life. You can still be a better human being. This isn’t the end all be all,” he said.

Bobbi Bowles says she’d like to see the high school make an effort to have students understand tolerance and respect.

“Group activities so people can really get to know each other, working one on one with different ethnicities,” she said.

Castro hopes the district can provide greater clarity in the future to give parents like her peace of mind if any threats to students are made.

“As a parent, I deserve to know exactly what was said about my child, what exactly what the threat was, without exposing the minor course, but you can tell me the details,” she said.

The Greater Hartford NAACP is calling the threats unacceptable and says they’ll be following up with town leaders.

It’s expected to be brought up during a town council meeting on Tuesday.

“Scammers follow the news specifically to take advantage of situations like the software problem many are dealing with today,” Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said in a statement. “Scammers know many people are waiting for direction and assistance from their Information Technology teams today, creating a prime opportunity to send phishing links, impersonate IT teams, and gain access to sensitive information. It is important to remain vigilant and be wary of anything that seems suspicious in order to prevent this outage from causing even more problems.”

The department warned that you might get an unexpected email or text message that looks like it’s from someone you’re expecting to hear from today – like your IT team or customer support representatives from CrowdStrike or Microsoft.

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What to look for

Look for the most common signs it might be a scam:

• The email address the message came from isn’t correct or looks suspicious. It may have a different suffix, or extra numbers or letters added.
• The email is generic, contains typos or language that doesn’t make sense. Watch out for messages that don’t sound like the ones you normally receive from your IT department.
• The email contains links to unknown websites. Hover over any links with your mouse prior to clicking on them. If you don’t recognize the web address, don’t click on it.
• The message instructs you to provide a password, or other personal or financial information. It is unlikely your IT department will ask for this information. If you’re not sure, call or send an email to the contact information you know is correct to ask if the email is legitimate.
• If you received a phishing email or text message, report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The information you give helps fight scammers.
• If you got a phishing email, forward it to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at reportphishing@apwg.org.
• If you got a phishing text message, forward it to SPAM (7726).

Many workers saw what’s referred to as the “blue screen of death,” which has an error message and a frowned face.

CrowdStrike said the mass outage was caused by a flawed routine software update the company deployed in an effort to keep their customers safe from hackers.

CrowdStrike said a defect in one of its updates for computers running the Windows operating system caused the issue. This caused what is arguably the largest global information technology outage in history.

Dr. Frederick Scholl, director of the Cybersecurity Program at Quinnipiac University, said the system did the opposite of what it’s made to do.

“It’s designed to detect malware and then report if there are any types of attacks, and they’re probably the leading company in this field. So, a lot of businesses and agencies, as you were talking about, use this software. Consumers don’t use it, so we won’t see that,” he explained.

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Scholl, who is also an associate teaching professor of cybersecurity at Quinnipiac, said this outage concerns him for the future as it exposed a vulnerability for hackers.

“Believe me, all the hackers around the world are looking at this and they’re trying to say, ‘How can we use this?’ kind of. It’s a vulnerability, right? They’re trying to figure out how can we use this kind of vulnerability to take advantage of it. So, we don’t know if that will happen now or it might happen a year from now,” he said.

He added that the outage reveals how much companies, including emergency services, law enforcement and governmental agencies rely on CrowdStrike for protection from cyber threats.

“So, people just need to be more aware that we think all these great services that we use are 100% reliable. They’re not. So, you know, have some cash. Your ATM machine may go down, so just think through what you do and what will you do if that service isn’t working,” Scholl added.

Muzha Medardo Vayancela, 26, and Loja Klever Guanuchi, 36, both of Danbury, had been missing since they jumped off a boat on Monday night, officials said.

Five people were on the boat on Monday night when Vayancela and Guanuchi jumped in and the three who remained onboard called 911, initiating the search.

DEEP said they worked with the Connecticut State Police Dive Team and the Danbury Dive Team over several days to find the missing men and recovered their bodies on Thursday morning.

DEEP said the incident is being investigated as an accident and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will perform its examination on Friday.

“Yesterday’s weather event caused an incredible amount downed trees, limbs, branches, and debris. The area of Stratford between and around Huntington Road and Nichols Avenue felt the brunt of the storm, which the National Weather Service confirmed was likely a microburst,” the mayor’s office said in a statement.

They said police officers and firefighters went out to assess damage just after 6 p.m. and Stratford’s Department of Public Works immediately responded and called in crews to remove and clear trees that were blocking roads.

Public Works and the public safety director worked with United Illuminating.

The mayor’s office said public works removed affected trees after UI determined that the power lines were safe so power could be restored.

The massive IT outage affecting computers systems worldwide has been linked to a software update on Microsoft Windows operating systems issued by Crowdstrike, a cybersecurity firm.

The outage grounded flights, knocked banks offline and media outlets off air in a massive disruption that affected companies and services around the world and highlighted dependence on software from a handful of providers.

What is Crowdstrike Falcon?

Founded in 2011, the Texas-based Crowdstrike is a cloud-based cybersecurity platform used by a major share of the global tech market. More than half of Fortune 500 companies use their software known as Falcon to keep their systems safe from malware and cyberattacks, according to Crowdstrike.

How does Crowdstrike work?

Falcon provides what’s known as “endpoint detection response” capabilities. That means if Falcon detects a threat, it has the ability to stop itself instead of just alerting a company.

“Falcon Prevent can stop execution of malicious code, block zero-day exploits, kill processes and contain command and control callbacks,” the company says in its FAQs.

In order to do this, the software must have broad privileges to run across a computer’s internal systems and programs. This web of integration between Falcon and a computer’s core software — in this case Microsoft 365 — means if Falcon crashes or malfunctions, it can have a ripple affect within the core system.

What caused the global IT outage on Friday?

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz said Friday’s outage was not a security incident or cyberattack. Kurtz said there was a defect in a “single content update for Windows hosts.” The issue affected Microsoft 365 apps and services.

Mac and Linux hosts were not affected.

Meta on Tuesday announced the latest version of its Llama artificial intelligence model, dubbed Llama 3.1. The newest Llama technology comes in three different versions, with one variant being the biggest and most capable AI model from Meta to date. Like previous versions of Llama, the newest model continues to be open source, which means it can be accessed for free.

The new large language model, or LLM, underscores the social network’s massive investment into keeping up with competition with other AI leaders, such as high-flying startups like OpenAI and Anthropic and other tech giants like Google and Amazon.

The announcement also highlights the close and growing partnership between Meta and Nvidia. Nvidia is a key Meta partner and provides the social networking giant with the computing chips called GPUs to help train its AI models, including the latest version of Llama.

While companies like OpenAI aim to make money selling access to their proprietary LLMs or offering services to help clients use the technology, Meta has no plans to debut its own competing enterprise tech business, a Meta spokesperson said during a media briefing.

Instead, similar to when Meta released Llama 2 last summer, the company is partnering with a handful of tech companies that will offer their customers access to Llama 3.1 via their respective cloud computing platform, as well as sell security and management tools that work with the new software. Some of Meta’s 25 Llama-related corporate partners include Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Databricks and Dell.

Although Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has told analysts during previous corporate earnings calls that Meta generates some revenue from its corporate Llama partnerships, a Meta spokesperson said that any financial benefit is merely incremental. Instead, Meta believes that by investing in Llama and related AI technologies and making them available for free via open source, it can attract high-quality talent in a competitive market and lower its overall computing infrastructure costs, among other benefits.

Meta’s launch of Llama 3.1 was timed to the week that Zuckerberg and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang are scheduled to speak together at a conference focusing on advanced computer graphics. The social networking giant is one of Nvidia’s top end-customers that doesn’t run its own business-facing cloud, and Meta needs the latest chips in order to train its AI models, which it uses internally for targeting and other products. For example, Meta said that Llama model announced on Tuesday was trained on 16,000 of Nvidia’s H100 graphics processors.

But the relationship is also important to both companies for what it represents.

For Nvidia, the fact that Meta is training open-source models that other companies can use and adapt for their businesses — without paying a licensing fee or asking for permission — could expand the usage of Nvidia’s own chips and keep demand high.

But open-source models can cost hundreds of millions or billions of dollars to create. There aren’t many companies that are financially able to develop and release open-source models with similar amounts of investment. Google and OpenAI, although they are Nvidia customers, keep their most advanced models private.

Meta, on the other hand, needs a reliable supply of the latest GPUs to train increasingly powerful models. Like Nvidia, Meta is trying to foster an ecosystem of developers who are building AI apps with the company’s open-source software at the center, even if Meta has to essentially give away code and so-called AI weights that are expensive to build.

The open-source approach benefits Meta by exposing developers to its internal tools and by inviting them to build on top of it, Ash Jhaveri, the company’s VP of AI partnerships, told CNBC. It also helps Meta because it uses its AI models internally, thus enabling the company to reap improvements made by the open-source community, he said.

Zuckerberg wrote in a blog post on Tuesday that it was taking a “different approach” to the Llama release this week, adding, “We’re actively building partnerships so that more companies in the ecosystem can offer unique functionality to their customers as well.”

Because Meta isn’t an enterprise vendor, the social networking giant can refer companies who inquire about Llama to one of its enterprise partners, like Nvidia, Jhaveri said.

The largest version of the Llama 3.1 family of models is dubbed Llama 3.1 405B. This giant large language model, or LLM, contains 405 billion parameters, which refers to the variables dictating the overall size of the model and how much data it can process. Generally speaking, a big LLM with a large amount of parameters can perform more complicated tasks than smaller LLMs, such as understanding context in long streams of text, solve complex math equations and even generate synthetic data that can presumably be used to improve smaller AI models.

The social networking giant is also releasing smaller versions of Llama 3.1 that called Llama 3.1 8B and Llama 3.1 70B models. These smaller models are essentially upgraded versions of their predecessors and can be used to power chatbots and software coding assistants, Meta said.

Meta also said that the company’s U.S.-based WhatsApp users and visitors of its Meta.AI website will be able to witness the capabilities of Llama 3.1 by interacting with the company’s digital assistant. Presumably, Meta’s digital assistant, which will run on the latest version of Llama, will be able to answer complicated math problems or solve software coding issues, a Meta spokesperson explained.

WhatsApp and Meta.AI users who are based in the U.S. will be able to toggle between the new, gigantic Llama 3.1 LLM or a less-capable but faster and smaller version for answers to their queries, the Meta spokesperson said.

Watch: Cramer’s Mad Dash: Meta

The breadth of the outages highlighted the fragility of a digitized world dependent on just a few providers for key computing services.

The trouble was sparked by an update issued by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike and only affected its customers running Microsoft Windows, the world’s most popular operating system for personal computers. It was not the result of hacking or a cyberattack, according to CrowdStrike, which apologized and said a fix was on the way.

Businesses and governments worldwide experienced hours-long disruptions — their computer monitors glowing blue with error messages — and scrambled to deal with the fallout. CrowdStrike’s CEO said some of their systems will require manual fixes.

Thousands of flights were canceled and tens of thousands were delayed, leading to long lines at airports in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Airlines lost access to check-in and booking services in the heart of the summer travel season.

Several local TV stations in the U.S. were prevented from airing the news early Friday, and some state and local governments reported problems at courts, motor vehicles departments, unemployment agencies, emergency call centers and other offices.

Affected hospitals had problems with appointment systems, forcing them to suspend patient visits and cancel some surgeries.

Alison Baulos said her 73-year-old father’s heart surgery in Paducah, Kentucky was canceled Friday morning because of the tech outage, leaving her family scared and worried.

“It does really make you just realize how much we rely on technology and how scary it is,” Baulos said in an interview. She said her father was waiting at Baptist Hospital to find out what will happen next. A phone message left with the hospital was not immediately returned.

American Express said it temporarily had some difficulties processing transactions, while TD Bank responded to online complaints by saying it was working to “restore” customers’ ability to access their accounts.

Elsewhere, people experienced minor inconveniences, including trouble ordering ahead at Starbucks, causing long lines to form at some of the coffee chain’s stores.

In New York City’s Times Square, right before 12:30 a.m., the blue “recovery” screens popping up on laptops appeared on several giant electronic billboards. A few were dark Friday afternoon.

A disturbing reminder of vulnerability

Cyber expert James Bore said real harm would be caused. “All of these systems are running the same software,” Bore said. “We’ve made all of these tools so widespread that when things inevitably go wrong — and they will, as we’ve seen — they go wrong at a huge scale.”

The head of Germany’s IT security agency, Claudia Plattner, said “we can’t expect a very quick solution.” A forecast for when exactly all systems will be up and running is difficult, but “it won’t be hours,” she added.

CrowdStrike said in a recording on its customer service line that the problem was related to “the Falcon sensor,” referring to one of its products used to block online attacks. The company says it has 29,000 customers.

In an interview on NBC’s “Today Show,” CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz apologized, saying the company was “deeply sorry for the impact that we’ve caused to customers, to travelers, to anyone affected by this, including our companies.”

“We know what the issue is” and are working to fix it, Kurtz said. However, he noted it could take “some time” for customers needing a manual fix, which could be burdensome for businesses and government offices that don’t have adequate in-house expertise.

Shares of the company, which is based in Austin, Texas, fell nearly 10% on Friday. Microsoft’s stock price fell more than 3%.

Though the outage’s impact could be felt far and wide, the forecasting firm Capital Economics said it was likely to have little impact on the world economy.

Cybersecurity experts said those affected by the outage also needed to be wary of bad actors reaching out claiming they can help. “Attackers will definitely prey on organizations as a result of this,” said Gartner analyst Eric Grenier.

Air travel delayed everywhere

By midday on the East Coast, more than 2,200 U.S. flights had been canceled and more than 6,000 others delayed, according to tracking platform FlightAware. Worldwide, more than 3,500 flights were canceled. Those numbers were certain to rise throughout the day.

Earlier Friday, travelers arriving at Midway Airport in Chicago for Delta flights Friday morning were just learning of the outage because the airline’s communication systems were down. Delta told NBC Chicago that they have no way of rerouting passengers to their destinations, leaving customers to either return home or find flights on other carriers. Currently, Southwest Airlines and Frontier appear to be operating normally.

Hoards of travelers crowded Philadelphia International Airport, where NBC Philadelphia reports “no flights are coming in or out of Philly.”

Most airlines attributed the problems to their booking systems. Thousands of flights were affected in the U.S. alone, though by late morning on the East Coast airlines said they were beginning to mitigate problems and resume some service.

At Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, Sarah Schafer was delayed getting to her cousin’s 50th birthday party in Florida. She had been waiting for almost three hours with no indication of when her flight would be rebooked.

“I seem calm,” said Schafer, who was using a cane because of ankle injury. “But my angry side might come out.”

Airlines and railways in the U.K. experienced long wait times. And airports across Europe suspended landings or halted takeoffs for several hours due to difficulties in checking in passengers.

Saskia Oettinghaus, a member of the German Olympic diving team, was among those stuck at the Berlin Airport.

“We are on our way to Paris for the Olympic Games and now we are at a standstill here for the time being,” Oettinghaus said.

Other athletes and spectators traveling to Paris were delayed, as were their uniforms and accreditations, but Games organizers said disruptions were limited and didn’t affect ticketing or the torch relay.

In Cancun, Mexico, the main tourist destination in the Caribbean coast, the state government said there were 24 cancellations and 100 delayed flights. Some travelers tried to liven up the long waits by singing the traditional Mexican song, “Cielito Lindo,” while a band that was also stranded was playing in the Cancun airport.

How are trains and metros being impacted by the global IT outage?

In Washington, D.C., the outage knocked Metro’s website offline. The agency said trains are running on time, however, commuters are not able to use train tracker, bus tracker and “Plan My Trip” services because the website is down, NBC Washington reports.

Amtrak said trains are also running on time, however, the platform arrival and departure display boards are down. In New York, Long Island Rail Road said its train service is unaffected, but their platform signs are temporarily offline.

In the U.K., train operators TransPennine Express and Govia Thameslink Railway are among those affected.

What else is impacted by the global IT outage?

In Virginia, the City of Fairfax Police Department said that it was experiencing technical difficulties with its phone systems, including 911, NBC Washington reported. The department shared a nonemergency number for callers and said 911 could still be used, but calls wouldn’t go directly to the dispatch center. In Iowa, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office warned on social media that phone lines were down and 911 calls might be routed to neighboring counties, but emergency calls would be promptly redirected to the sheriff’s office.

In New England, the outage led some hospitals to cancel appointments, NBC Boston reports.

A spokesman at Mass General Brigham, the largest health care system in Massachusetts, said the outage had resulted in all scheduled nonurgent surgeries, procedures and medical visits being canceled for Friday. Emergency departments remain open and care for patients in the hospital hasn’t been impacted.

n Australia, national news outlets — including public broadcaster ABC and Sky News Australia — were unable to broadcast on their TV and radio channels for hours. Some news anchors went on air online from dark offices, in front of computers showing blue error screens. Internet and phone providers were also affected.

In the U.S., KSHB-TV in Kansas City, Missouri, aired Scripps News instead of local news until about 5:35 a.m., the stations said on its website. IT teams and engineers worked through the night to resolve the glitch, the station said. Other local stations owned by Scripps reported similar problems, though Scripps spokesman Michael Perry said in an email early Friday that 90% of stations were able to air local news.

Hospitals in different countries also reported problems.

Britain’s National Health Service said the outage caused problems at most doctors’ offices because appointment and patient-record systems were affected.

At Mass General Brigham, the largest health care system in Massachusetts, all scheduled non-urgent surgeries, procedures, and medical visits were canceled Friday because of the outage, according to a spokesperson.

Some international shipping was disrupted, too.

A major container hub in the Baltic port of Gdansk, Poland said it was battling problems. And at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, marine terminals were affected, although the outage didn’t cause significant disruptions.

Businesses worldwide grappled with an ongoing major IT outage Friday, as financial services and doctors’ offices were disrupted, while some TV broadcasters went offline. Air travel has been hit particularly hard, with planes grounded, services delayed and airports issuing advice to passengers.

The outage came as cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike experienced a major disruption early Friday following an issue with a recent tech update.

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz has since said that the company is “actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts,” stressing that Mac and Linux hosts are not affected.

“This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed,” he said on social media.

One expert suggested it may be the “largest IT outage in history.”

Separately, Microsoft cloud services were restored after an outage, the company said on Friday, even as many users continued to report issues.

Shares of CrowdStrike closed down 11%.

Read more:

• How a software update from cyber firm CrowdStrike caused one of the world’s biggest IT blackouts
• Flights grounded, passengers to see delays amid global IT outage
• CrowdStrike shares fall after major outage hits businesses worldwide
• Microsoft, CrowdStrike IT outage hits global supply chain, with air freight facing days or weeks to recover
• Global tech outage hits financial services companies, including Charles Schwab

FTC Chair Lina Khan connects outage to competition and ‘fragile systems’

FTC Chair Lina Khan weighed in on the ongoing CrowdStrike outage in a series of posts on X on Friday. Without mentioning CrowdStrike or Microsoft, she appeared to blame the outage on concentrated market power, which creates “fragile systems,” she wrote.

“Concentrating production can concentrate risk, so that a single natural disaster or disruption has cascading effects,” Khan wrote in the series of posts.

Khan did not announce an FTC investigation of the incident, but she linked to unrelated past actions she has taken, including opening up a query on cloud computing companies, and seeking public comment on companies that frequently buy smaller competitors, like in the technology industry.

— Kif Leswing

Amazon warehouses and internal software disrupted by outage

Some Amazon warehouses in the U.S. were grappling with disruptions set off by the global IT outage.

Three Amazon warehouse staffers said the outage took down an app used by employees to manage their schedules and submit time off requests, called A to Z, early Friday morning, though it has since been restored in some areas. The employees asked to remain anonymous because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the situation.

The outage also disrupted some Amazon employees’ ability to access an internal service called “Anytime Pay,” which allows staffers to withdraw earnings before their next paycheck. “Anytime Pay is unavailable due to a global outage impacting users to access internal IT services,” according to a notice on Amazon’s internal payroll site for warehouse staffers, which was viewed by CNBC.

At some sites, operations were briefly halted. An Amazon warehouse worker in South Carolina, who asked to remain anonymous, said their site passed the time by performing karaoke in exchange for “cola cash,” or credits that can be used to purchase snacks and drinks at the facility.

The disruptions also touched Amazon’s trucking operations. Truck drivers who use Relay, a platform that lets them book jobs moving Amazon cargo, said they were briefly unable to pick up loads at Amazon warehouses due to system issues.

“Everything was bluescreened,” said Dwight Evitt, a truck driver in San Marcos, Texas.

Representatives from Amazon didn’t respond to requests for comment.

— Annie Palmer

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz apologizes for global outage in blog post

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz apologized in a blog post for the global outage Friday and reiterated that his company is working closely with impacted customers and partners to restore all systems.

Kurtz encouraged customers to “remain vigilant” in ensuring they engage with official CrowdStrike representatives as they seek support.

“We know that adversaries and bad actors will try to exploit events like this,” he wrote.

He added that the company’s blog and technical support portal will remain the official channels for updates.

Kurtz reiterated the outage was caused by a defect in a Falcon content update for Windows hosts, and Mac and Linux hosts were not impacted. He emphasized again that the outage was not caused by a security breach or cyberattack.

“As we resolve this incident, you have my commitment to provide full transparency on how this occurred and steps we’re taking to prevent anything like this from happening again,” he wrote.

— Katie Bartlett

Railroad Union Pacific returns to full capacity

Railroad Union Pacific is now back to full capacity after facing processing delays and “varying levels of impact” earlier Friday.

“The vast majority of our customers’ freight is moving and full fluidity is returning to our network after this morning’s CrowdStrike software outage,” Union Pacific told CNBC. “In response to the outage our teams swiftly implemented protocols and communication plans, which allowed us to safely keep our trains running.”

— Ece Yildirim

CommonSpirit Health bringing computers back online one by one, CIO says

At CommonSpirit Health, which provides care across 150 hospitals in 24 states, employees noticed that many of the health systems’ desktop computers were displaying a blue error screen in the early hours of Friday morning.

The health system has tens of thousands of computers, and they serve as a “window” into all of the organization’s other systems, Daniel Barchi, CIO at CommonSpirit, told CNBC.

“It’s the way our physicians who are doing surgery have access to the images that have been made on a patient’s MRI,” Barchi said. “It’s the way the nurse knows which drugs to give to the patient.”

Barchi said the disruption was deemed a “priority one event,” and that he and other senior IT leaders began working to identify the issue around 2 a.m. They determined the problem was related to an update that CrowdStrike had pushed out, and they were able to contain it before it had finished rolling out to all the computers within CommonSpirit.

But though some computers remained operational, the compromised computers must be fixed manually, one by one.

“We were all stunned by the fact that if a computer gets this blue screen lock up, there’s no way to push a software patch to fix it,” he said. “You literally have to go up to it, login as an administrator, a technology person, and then delete a line of code and make that enabled to come back online.”

Barchi said CommonSpirit has managed to bring many of its computers back online, and many hospitals are returning to business as usual. The health system will continue its remediation process and work to fix its servers through the rest of the day, he said.

— Ashley Capoot

Tesla temporarily halts production at some manufacturing facilities after outage

Electric vehicle maker Tesla temporarily halted production on lines at some of its manufacturing facilities on Friday after an unprecedented IT outage impacted global operations due to system issues at cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

According to correspondence obtained by CNBC, Tesla’s IT teams notified employees that there was a “windows host outage,” and different systems were affected including “servers, laptops and manufacturing devices.” The IT teams informed Tesla employees that they may see a “blue screen” on their various devices.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who also owns social media platform X, posted several complaints about the CrowdStrike outages to his account, which has more than 190 million followers, throughout the morning.

Two Tesla employees who spoke with CNBC, but asked to remain unnamed because they were not authorized to speak on behalf of the company, said that some manufacturing lines were slow to start on Friday morning, and others were temporarily halted in California and Nevada. They also said managers were telling some workers to prepare for canceled shifts or to go home early.

Business Insider, which first reported on the IT memo, wrote that workers in Tesla’s Texas vehicle assembly plant were sent home overnight in response to the outages as well.

As a key Tesla vendor, Microsoft, scrambled to restore its apps and services Friday morning, CEO Satya Nadella wrote in a statement on X that an update from CrowdStrike on Thursday impacted global IT systems.

In replies to Nadella on X, Musk wrote that the outages had caused a “seizure” to the automotive supply chain, adding, “We just deleted CrowdStrike from all our systems, so no rollouts at all.”

Employees confirmed that Tesla was using CrowdStrike as of Friday.

Tesla shares were down more than 3% in afternoon trading on Friday. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for further information.

— Lora Kolodny

Outage hits Starbucks mobile ordering, causing chaos at stores

The outage has also halted the ability to order Starbucks through its mobile app.

The issue has caused chaos for baristas and other Starbucks employees, leading to temporary store closures and frantic posts online seeking assistance.

At some stores, employees created various handwritten signs for customers, announcing store closures or asking customers to walk up or show an employee a mobile receipt.

Read the full story here.

— Kat Tenbarge, NBC News

More than 4,000 flights cancelled globally due to outage, data shows

Nearly 4% of all scheduled flights around the world have been cancelled due to the disruption, according to new data from the aviation analytics firm Cirium on Friday. The firm said 4,295 flights had been cancelled as of 12 p.m. ET.

In the U.K., 4.6% of all scheduled departures, or 143 flights, have been cancelled, according to Cirium. Around 140 inbound arrivals have also been cancelled.

— Ashley Capoot

Timelapse shows how air traffic over the U.S. was impacted by global IT outage

Video from flight tracker Flightradar24 shows how passenger flights over the U.S. were affected during the early morning hours after a global IT outage hit airlines and airport services nationwide.

— Gabriel Cortes, Riya Bhattacharjee

Microsoft CEO says company working closely with CrowdStrike

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that the company was working with CrowdStrike to address the global outage.

“We are aware of this issue and are working closely with CrowdStrike and across the industry to provide customers technical guidance and support to safely bring their systems back online,” Nadella said in a post on X.

CrowdStrike and Microsoft have had an adversarial relationship, since CrowdStrike does a brisk business pitching clients on its ability to address vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s systems. CEO George Kurtz roundly criticized Microsoft in an interview with CNBC last year.

— Rohan Goswami

Tired travelers cope … and drink

Travelers stuck this morning at JFK Airport in New York met the delays with resignation, weariness and a need to hit the bar.

Colby Black, 45, took the delays in stride, even though he wasn’t sure when his rescheduled flight to Los Angeles would take off. It was originally set to depart at 6 a.m. 

“I’m just tired. I want to sleep,” said Black, who woke up at 3 a.m. “But otherwise, yeah, it happens.”

One mother said she hadn’t slept the night before, just so she and her infant son could get to JFK on time.

“I’m still up, running on no sleep,” she said as she was seated on a barstool beside a heavy pour of chilled white wine. She wasn’t originally planning to order a preflight drink.

“Hell no. I got to the airport at 4 o’clock this morning,” she said.

— Kevin Breuninger

U.S. securities regulators are monitoring the situation, as impacted stocks pare back losses.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said it isn’t impacted by the outage but is “monitoring for market-related impacts.”

CrowdStrike shares are down around 9% in midday trading, significantly paring back earlier losses. It traded down as much as 20% in pre-market trading. Microsoft shares are flat for the day.

Shares in United Airlines and American Airlines, both of which issued ground stop orders earlier today, have recovered earlier losses as well.

– Rohan Goswami

CrowdStrike headed for worst week since November 2022

CrowdStrike‘s major IT outage, which has affected businesses globally, is leading the stock to its worst weekly performance since November 2022.

Shares were 9% lower Friday, pulling the stock down by nearly 16% week to date.

CrowdStrike shares are still higher by 22.5% in 2024.

— Hakyung Kim

Drugmaker Amgen is working to recover impacted systems

Drugmaker Amgen, a CrowdStrike customer, said Friday it is assessing the impact of the global outage and working to recover affected systems “as quickly as possible.” 

Amgen did not disclose what kind of systems were impacted.

In a statement on its website, the California-based company urged employees with impacted devices to only follow its guidance. — Annika Kim Constantino

Epic Systems says outage is preventing some health organizations from accessing some patient records

The health-care software vendor Epic Systems, which houses more than 305 million patient medical records, said the outage has caused technical issues that are preventing some health-care organizations from using its systems. 

An Epic spokesperson said the disruption is not affecting the company’s services directly, but it has received reports that the laptop and desktop workstations that some groups use to access Epic are down. Additionally, some groups have reported problems with their data center software, which means they are unable to access patient records through Epic.

“Organizations that have been affected are following pre-established downtime protocols to continue delivering patient care,” an Epic spokesperson told CNBC in a statement. “Epic staff are working with customer IT teams to restore access as fixes or mitigation approaches are available from CrowdStrike.”

Epic said its platform for cloud-based applications called Nebula was impacted by the outage. Features like its telehealth offering were temporarily unavailable, but Epic said access has been restored. Epic is continuing to monitor Nebula, the company added. 

— Ashley Capoot

United ground stop lifted for all flights

United Airlines’ ground stop has been lifted for all airports, according to an Air Traffic Control System Command Center advisory.

Earlier Friday, the airline had resumed some flights but told CNBC it expected “schedule disruptions to continue throughout Friday.”

— Ece Yildirim

England’s National Health Service says majority of general practitioners disrupted

England’s National Health Service on Friday said the global outage has impacted its system for booking doctors’ appointments and managing patient records, which is disrupting the majority of general practitioner practices.

That appointment and records system, known as EMIS, is used by nearly 60% of England’s general practitioner practices, which provide medical services to patients of all ages.

NHS, a publicly funded healthcare system, is also experiencing issues with some administrative systems in hospitals, a spokesperson said in a statement. Staff is working manually from paper as a result, but “care is continuing as normal” in the majority of hospitals, they added.

“The NHS has long standing measures in place to manage the disruption, including using paper patient records and handwritten prescriptions, and the usual phone systems to contact your” general practitioner, the spokesperson said.

Emergency services are currently not affected, according to the spokesperson.

– Annika Kim Constantino

Sec. Buttigieg expects transportation delays to be ‘resembling normal’ by Saturday

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” that he expects the transportation delays to be smoothed out and “resembling normal” by Saturday.

“The issue has been identified. It’s really a matter of the kind of ripple or cascade effects as they get everything in their networks back to normal,” Buttigieg said. “These flights, they run so tightly, so back-to-back that even after a root cause is addressed, you can still be feeling those impacts throughout the day.”

Buttigieg added that there is no indication on any impact to the Department of Transportation’s own systems including air control, but that he is expecting more issues on the airlines’ side.

“We’re tracking all of the various impacts hitting different forms of transportation. The one that I think most people are likely to experience directly is those airline cancellations and delays if you’re planning to fly today,” Buttigieg said.

Nearly 28,000 flights had been delayed globally as of about 11 a.m. ET Friday, with roughly 4,700 of those delays within, into or out of the United States, according to FlightAware data. More than 2,950 flights have been cancelled, with almost 1,800 of them U.S. flights.

— Ece Yildirim

CrowdStrike CEO apologizes, says that outage is not related to cybersecurity

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz wrote in a post on X that Friday’s incident was not related to cybersecurity and that the issue — related to a Falcon content update for Windows Hosts — was identified earlier, with a solution deployed. He added that customers “remain fully protected.”

“We understand the gravity of the situation and are deeply sorry for the inconvenience and disruption,” Kurtz wrote. “We are working with all impacted customers to ensure that systems are back up and they can deliver the services their customers are counting on.”

— Hayden Field

Federal Reserve says critical systems are ‘operating normally’

The Federal Reserve said its systems are working amid the global tech outage.

“Critical Federal Reserve Systems are operating normally. We are monitoring the situation and working closely with industry and other government agencies to assess the situation,” the central bank said in a statement to CNBC.

— Leslie Picker

Charles Schwab says some online features can be ‘intermittently slow or unavailable’ after outage

Charles Schwab, which operates trading services including Think or Swim, said in a Friday X post that “certain online functionality may be intermittently slow or unavailable.”

“Please do not place trades twice, as duplicate trades may be created,” Charles Schwab said in a message sent to account holders through the Charles Schwab app. “We’re actively working with the vendor to resolve the issue. Phone services may be disrupted and hold times may be longer than usual.”

Vanguard and Fidelity were not impacted by outages.

“After the widespread third-party outage, Vanguard’s portfolio management trading functions across all regions are operating as normal and there is no current impact to our products or pricing,” a Vanguard spokesperson said, noting they will continue to “monitor the situation.”

Fidelity told CNBC they are aware of the issues and the company did not appear to be impacted as of mid-day Friday.

— Jordan Novet and Kate Dore

Union Pacific facing processing delays, other railroads operating normally

Railroad Union Pacific is seeing “varying levels of impact” across its network, the company told CNBC in a statement, with back-up protocols enabling communication between teams and dispatchers.

“We are doing everything possible to keep freight moving, but there have been some processing delays in customer shipments as we address targeted areas impacted on our network,” Union Pacific said.

Other major railroad companies Norfolk Southern, BNSF and CSX told CNBC they were unaffected. A BNSF representative told CNBC that it will continue to monitor the situation for potential impacts.

— Ece Yildirim and Lori Ann LaRocco

FedEx says ‘substantial disruptions’ from outage, UPS also impacted

FedEx said it’s experiencing “substantial disruptions” due to the global tech outage. UPS is also reporting an impact, according to statements from the companies.

FedEx said that there could be delays for package deliveries that were expected to arrive Friday, but the shipping company is attempting to mitigate impacts. The company has activated contingency plans to address the disruption throughout its networks, according to the statement.

UPS also said there may be service delays, as it works to resolve all issues. The software outage is impacting some UPS computer systems in the U.S. and Europe, but the company’s airline and driver delivery systems are still operating effectively, according to the statement.

DHL, for its part, said in a statement the outage currently had “only very limited and local impact.” DHL also said that some suppliers and business partners are affected, and that it’s monitoring the situation.

— Justine Fisher

Amazon Web Services says some ‘connectivity issues’ caused by CrowdStrike glitch

Amazon’s cloud computing service alerted its customers to some “connectivity issues and reboots” that may be experienced as a result of the CrowdStrike outage.

AWS services “continue to operate normally,” but some “Windows Instances, Windows Workspaces and Appstream Applications” that use CrowdStrike encountered issues early Friday morning, according to a notice on AWS’ service dashboard.

The company provided users with a number of recovery options to bring their applications back online, including to “delete the CrowdStrike Falcon agent file on the affected” instance, or server.

— Annie Palmer

President Biden briefed on outage, in touch with CrowdStrike and affected entities

President Biden has been briefed on the global outage, and the administration is in touch with both CrowdStrike and impacted entities, according to a White House official.

“His team is engaged across the interagency to get sector by sector updates throughout the day and is standing by to provide assistance as needed,” the official said.

— Hayden Field

DHS working with CrowdStrike, others to ‘assess and address’ outage

The Department of Homeland Security says it’s working with CrowdStrike, Microsoft and government agencies to evaluate the outage. 

“The Department, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (@CISAgov) are working with CrowdStrike, Microsoft and our federal, state, local and critical infrastructure partners to fully assess and address system outages,” the department said in a post on X.

— Sean Conlon

Health systems across the U.S. facing outages

The Mount Sinai Health System in New York City said Friday that it has “identified and isolated” systems that have been affected by the disruption. The health system is made up of eight hospital campuses and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The organization’s technology team is actively working to restore impacted systems, it said.

“Patient safety remains our top priority and we will provide updates as the situation evolves,” Mount Sinai said in a statement to CNBC. “We are thankful to our staff who are working to ensure care continues with minimal interruption.”

The University of Miami Health System, which operates several hospitals in South Florida, on Friday said it is experiencing “connectivity issues across various applications,” including its electronic medical record system. The global outage did not compromise its data security and confidentiality, the health system said in a Facebook post. 

All University of Miami hospitals and clinics will remain open, but patients should expect delays until systems are fully restored, according to the post. Impacted facilities are using paper orders to distribute information.

The University of Miami’s information technology team “is actively working to resolve the disruption and bring all systems back online,” the post added. 

UVA Health, a health system associated with the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, said in a statement Friday that it is operating on a “modified schedule” due to the global outage. Most ambulatory clinics will be closed.

Other clinics are also closed as of Friday morning but may reopen, according to the UVA website.

UVA Health operates an academic medical center, three community hospitals, a specialty rehabilitation hospital and primary and specialty care clinics throughout Virginia.

Penn Medicine in Pennsylvania said it may have to cancel and reschedule appointments in some locations because of the outage, according to an alert on its website. The health system said its hospitals are staffed and continuing to provide care to patients.

“We are making every effort to contact patients whose appointments need to be canceled,” Penn Medicine said.

The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio told CNBC that patient care is not affected by the outage, but some of its tech has been impacted. The health system said it is continuing to provide care at all locations.

CommonSpirit Health, which provides care across more than 2,200 sites in 24 states, said some of its facilities have been impacted by the disruption. The health system said patients will be contacted directly if their appointments are affected.

“We continue to provide safe, high-quality care to our patients and thank everyone for their patience as our teams take immediate action to restore any impacted systems,” CommonSpirit told CNBC in an interview.

– Annika Kim Constantino, Ashley Capoot

Crowdstrike CEO: Working with ‘every’ customer

Crowdstrike CEO George Kurtz said that the company was working aggressively with every customer to fix outages, but said that because of idiosyncrasies with each corporate network, the repair speed would vary.

“We’re working individually with each and every customer to make sure we can get them up and running,” Kurtz said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”

Kurtz sidestepped a question about the legal risk to the company should customers opt to sue. Kurtz noted that he has been in cybersecurity “for a long time” and that CrowdStrike has a strong reputation and level of trust with customers.

— Rohan Goswami

U.S. markets operating normally

New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq officials said the exchanges are up and running Friday.

“NYSE markets are fully operational and we expect a normal open this morning,” a spokesperson for the exchange said Friday.

The Nasdaq said its European markets and US pre-market are operating normally. “We expect our US markets to open normally,” the firm said.

— Jeff Cox

Passengers face flight delays

Passengers at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport faced flight delays as part of the major worldwide IT outage.

Several airlines had requested assistance early Friday with ground stops for their fleets until issues were resolved, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines said they were resuming some flights. But they warned of delays, and both Delta and United issued waivers to allow customers to change their travel plans.

Read the full story here.

— Kevin Breuninger and Michele Luhn

Two South African banks say services fully restored

Two South African lenders said they have wholly resumed services that were temporarily affected by the ongoing global cyber outage.

“Phew! That was rough, but all of our services are now back up and running,” retail bank Capitec said in a social media update, after alerting customers it was experiencing “nationwide service disruptions” earlier in the day because of “an unexpected issue with an international service provider.”

Its card payments and ATM were not impacted at the time.

Absa Group also said that “the technical matter relating to the global outage has been resolved” with respect to its own services, after flagging difficulties a few hours prior.

“Absa’s digital banking channels, point-of-sale services and ATMs are all functional and available for you to continue banking,” it noted on social media platform X.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Mass General Brigham cancels non-urgent surgeries, hospital visits

Mass General Brigham is canceling all previously scheduled non-urgent surgeries, procedures and medical visits on Friday “due to the severity” of the global IT outage, the integrated healthcare system said in a post on X.

It added that its clinics and emergency departments are still open for urgent health concerns and patients already receiving care. The system has “dedicated every available resource to resolve this issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize for the inconvenience this has caused our patients.” 

Mass General Brigham operates two of the U.S.’s top-ranked hospitals, Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, along with several other clinics and labs.

— Annika Kim Constantino

MTA says New York City’s transit system is operating normally

The MTA said that train and bus service was unaffected by the outage, but that some customer-facing systems were down and that passengers should follow instructions from crew and in the station.

– Rohan Goswami

CrowdStrike CEO: ‘We’re deeply sorry’

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz apologised Friday for the systems update that caused a global IT outage, telling NBC “we’re deeply sorry.”

Businesses are still reeling, with many flights grounded and payments systems downed after the cybersecurity giant’s antivirus software update went awry.

“The system was sent an update, and that update had a software bug in it and caused an issue with the Microsoft operating system,” he told NBC’s “Today”.

The CEO reiterated that it was not a security incident or cyberattack, and that the company is working with customers to get them back online.

He said the update was normal and part of the firm’s routine process to prevent security risks. However, he noted that a thorough investigation would need to be carried out into what went wrong.

“We have to go back and see what happened here. But if there’s a negative interaction with the way some of these operating systems work — in this particular case, it was, it was only a Microsoft operating system that was impacted — you’ll see a reaction like this,” he said.

– Karen Gilchrest

British hospital declares critical incident in the wake of IT outage

Britain’s Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford has declared a “critical incident” due to external IT issues that are affecting its services, as well as Varian — the IT system that it deploys for radiotherapy treatments.

A critical incident can be declared when hospitals and staff face extraordinary pressures.

The institution said that it is now able to deliver radiotherapy services, but it has had to reschedule appointments due to take place this morning. The disruptions may affect appointments into next week, Royal Surrey noted.

— Ruxandra Iordache

UK retailers impacted by IT outage

Several major U.K. companies were also impacted by Friday’s IT outage, with food retailer Waitrose temporarily halting contactless payments.

The British grocer said in a statement that all payment methods had resumed following a brief suspension, and that its John Lewis stores had not been impacted.

Other stores such as the Co-op appeared to resort to cash-only payments as the outage impacted self-checkout and cashier payment systems, according to posts shared on social media platform X.

Photos showed supermarket shelves with “cash-only” signs, while another post suggested bakery chain Gail’s was not taking card payments. Gail’s did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

– Karen Gilchrest

Ongoing tech disruption is set to be the ‘largest IT outage in history,’ cybersecurity researcher says

Troy Hunt, the respected cybersecurity researcher behind the popular password-breach monitoring service HaveIBeenPwned, labeled the ongoing global tech disruption as “the largest IT outage in history.”

The CrowdStrike outage has caused cascading failures across multiple industries, with myriad airlines issuing ground stops, broadcast networks going off-air and critical services rushing to ameliorate the damage.

– Rohan Goswami

IT outage might not have an ‘incredibly straightforward’ fix, tech expert says

The ongoing global IT outage might not have an “incredibly straightforward” fix, according to Tom Lysemose Hansen, Chief Technology Officer at Norwegian cybersecurity company Promon.

“Crowdstrike’s affected customers will have to effectively break into their own systems to get everything back online by logging into the admin console and booting their systems in safe mode,” he said in emailed comments.

He added that CrowdStrike underpins the everyday operations of many organizations, “being present in anything from point of sale to ATMs as well as being used on Microsoft Windows systems.”

CrowdStrike earlier on Friday said it was applying a fix to an identified and isolated defect in a single-content update for Windows hosts. The company did not immediately disclose what this measure would entail.

— Ruxandra Iordache

‘We’ve never seen anything like this before,’ Tenable’s Satnam Narang says

The global IT outage is having a “profound impact,” and nothing similar has ever been seen before, Satnam Narang, senior staff researcher at cybersecurity firm Tenable, told CNBC on Friday.

“It’s very far reaching and we’re still just in the beginnings of this right now,” he said. Attempts to resolve the issue would take time, according to Narang.

“The challenge here is that security software — because it’s doing its job to protect organizations — it has to have more privileged access to these machines. So … while people may be seeing these as Windows failures, they’re looking at it and seeing a little blue screen pop up, it’s not actually a Windows issue, it’s related to a faulty or bad update from those security software,” he explained.

“We’ve never seen anything like this before, it’s very unprecedented.”

Speaking to CNBC from a hospital, Narang said health care was one of the key areas that has been impacted.

“Systems are offline which means, you know, patient records cant be accessed and medication can’t be administered properly to patients,” he said.

— Sophie Kiderlin

German institutions working with partners to resolve IT outage

German security institutions are working with international partners to resolve an IT outage that has affected air travel, banking and several companies, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Friday, according to Reuters.

Scholz, who is currently visiting Belgrade, went on to say that he had no further details to add on the situation at this time.

— Ruxandra Iordache

U.S. National Security Council is ‘aware of the incident.’

A spokesperson for the U.S. National Security Council told CNBC that they were “aware of the incident and are looking into the issue and impacts.”

CrowdStrike has a comprehensive government contracting practice.

— Rohan Goswami

‘Blue screen of death’ error message affects Microsoft users globally

Microsoft users around the world are being hit with the “blue screen of death” error message.

The U.S. tech giant was impacted by an update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which led to a major outage. Many other businesses have also been affected.

“We have been made aware of an issue impacting Virtual Machines running Windows Client and Windows Server, running the CrowdStrike Falcon agent, which may encounter a bug check (BSOD [blue screen of death) and get stuck in a restarting state. We approximate impact started around 19:00 UTC on the 18th of July,” Microsoft said in an update at 5:40 a.m. ET.

“We can confirm the affected update has been pulled by CrowdStrike. Customers that are continuing to experience issues should reach out to CrowdStrike for additional assistance,” the company added.

Read the full story here.

— Katrina Bishop

Swiss National Cyber Security Service says ‘system failures’ caused by CrowdStrike

Switzerland’s National Cyber Security Service (NCSC) said it has received “corresponding reports from various companies and critical infrastructures in Switzerland” amid ongoing global system failures that the agency blamed on CrowdStrike.

“It is a faulty update or misconfiguration by the company CrowdStrike that is causing these system failures,” the NCSC said in an emailed statement. “The NCSC is in contact with the affected companies.”

CrowdStrike CEO George Kutz earlier in the day said that the company had deployed a fix to a defect found in an update for Windows hosts.

— Ruxandra Iordache

CrowdStrike CEO says company is resolving a defect

CrowdStrike is resolving a defect found in a single-content update for Windows hosts, the company’s CEO George Kurtz said on social media on Friday.

He added that Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted by the disruption.

“This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed,” he said, without supplying a timeline for when the outage is likely to be fully resolved.

— Ruxandra Iordache

American Airlines says it has resumed operations

American Airlines said it has resumed operations after the Microsoft outage, though disruptions have continued for many airline passengers on Friday.

“Earlier this morning, a technical issue with a vendor impacted multiple carriers, including American. As of 5 a.m. ET, we have been able to safely re-establish our operation,” American said in a statement. “We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”

— Leslie Josephs

German hospitals cancel elective procedures

Two German hospitals on Friday canceled elective procedures and closed their outpatient units due to the global IT outage impacting businesses around the world.

In a statement that was translated by CNBC, the University Clinic Schleswig-Holstein said both of its hospital locations — Kiel and Lübeck — were impacted by the issues.

Care for the patients who were already in the hospitals, as well as emergency care, have been secured, the statement said.

— Sophie Kiderlin

FAA halts Delta, American and United departures because of outage

Departures of major U.S. airlines were halted on Friday as the carriers grappled with the Microsoft outage.

The Federal Aviation Administration had a ground stop in place for American, Delta and United as of Friday morning.

“The FAA is closely monitoring a technical issue impacting IT systems at U.S. airlines,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. “Several airlines have requested FAA assistance with ground stops for their fleets until the issue is resolved.” The agency said to monitor fly.faa.gov for updates.

Images posted on social media showed blue screens in airports as travelers complained that they were unable to retrieve bags or rebook flights, with some of them facing disruptions overnight, local time, when staffing was thin.

“We’re aware of a technology issue with a vendor that is impacting multiple carriers. American is working with the vendor to resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” American said on social media platform X.

—Leslie Josephs

India’s IT minister ‘in touch with Microsoft’

Indian IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said his department was “in touch with Microsoft and its associates regarding the global outage.”

“The reason for this outage has been identified and updates have been released to resolve the issue,” Vaishnaw said on social media platform X.

The National Informatics Centre, a partner of the Indian government, is not affected, he added.

— Jenni Reid

Britain’s public health service says most general practitioners’ services suffering disruptions

Britain’s National Health Service said it is experiencing disruptions in the majority of general practitioners offices as a result of the ongoing IT outage and an issue with an appointment and patient record system.

“The NHS has long standing measures in place to manage the disruption, including using paper patient records and handwritten prescriptions, and the usual phone systems to contact your GP.”

It added that there is currently no known impact on emergency services, including the 999 life-threatening emergency phone service.

— Ruxandra Iordache

BBC children’s channel unable to broadcast

CBBC, the children’s television channel of U.K. public service broadcaster the BBC, was still offline at 10:11 a.m. in London (5:11 a.m. ET).

The screen displayed a message saying: “Sorry! Something’s gone wrong.” It was the only BBC channel impacted, according to updates from the organization.

Sky News was unable to broadcast earlier in the morning, but has since resumed service.

— Jenni Reid

Germany’s Allianz says employees’ ability to log into computers affected by outage

German insurer Allianz said its services have been impacted by the IT outage that has been enveloping businesses worldwide and is working to minimize the effect on customers and operations.

“We are currently experiencing a major outage that is impacting employees ability to log into their computers,” it said by email. “It impacts multiple companies besides Allianz, specifically affecting the Windows login and is caused by an incident at our provider CrowdStrike.”

The company did not immediately specify the number of employees affected.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Air travel passengers warned of delays

Airports and airlines have been issuing advice to passengers as the global IT issues hit their systems, with many warning of delays.

London’s Gatwick Airport confirmed it began experiencing issues “early this morning” which were affecting “some airlines’ check-in systems, baggage and security, including eGates.”

“We are using our backup process, but some passengers may experience delays while checking in and passing through security. Passengers should still arrive for their normal check-in time, which is typically two hours ahead of the flight time for short-haul, and three hours for long-haul,” the airport said in a statement.

Australia’s Qantas said its flights were still operating with some delays.

Air New Zealand said it was dealing with a high number of customer calls and advised people to only contact customer service agents if they were due to fly within the next 48 hours. It said some customers would be experiencing payment issues, if they are customers of impacted banks.

Cathay Pacific said at 2:45 p.m. Hong Kong time (2:45 a.m. ET) that self-service check-in facilities at Hong Kong International Airport were not working.

“We ask all customers to check in online via our website or mobile app and obtain their mobile boarding pass before coming to the airport,” the airline said. It also advised that its flight booking service is currently unavailable.

— Jenni Reid

Sky News temporarily unable to broadcast

Television channel Sky News was temporarily unable to broadcast live this morning, citing a “global technical issue.”

David Rhodes, executive chairman of Sky News Group, said shortly after 9 a.m. London time that live broadcasting had been restored, but “without full capabilities.”

Sky News and CNBC’s parent organization, NBCUniversal, are both owned by Comcast.

— Jenni Reid

KLM suspends ‘most’ of its operation due to global computer outage

The Dutch arm of Air France-KLM said Friday it has been forced to suspend “most” of its operation due to a global computer outage.

The outage has made it “impossible to handle flights,” KLM said in a statement. “We realize that, especially given the summer vacations, this is extremely inconvenient for our customers. We are working hard to resolve the problem.”

Earlier Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport said a “global system failure at Microsoft” had disrupted flights to and from the airport. 

– April Roach

Microsoft says services ‘continuing to see improvements’

In an update at 8:55 a.m. U.K. time (3:55 a.m. ET), Microsoft 365 said on social platform X that “multiple services are continuing to see improvements in availability as our mitigation actions progress.”

According to a Microsoft web page tracking the status of its services, “users may be unable to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services.” Issues are affecting apps including Microsoft Fabric, Teams, Purview, Defender, SharePoint and OneNote, according to the tracker.

— Jenni Reid

CrowdStrike, Microsoft shares lose ground

Shares of tech titans CrowdStrike and Microsoft were losing ground in premarket trading, after both reported significant outages that rippled across businesses worldwide.

CrowdStrike stock was down 14.08% at 09:27 a.m. London time, with Microsoft shares lower by 2.12%.

— Ruxandra Iordache

London Stock Exchange says investigating technical issues

London Stock Exchange Group on Friday said it is investigating technical issues after it was hit by a global IT outage affecting its pricing data and news communications.

In a notice on its website, LSEG said that it is “currently experiencing a 3rd party global technical issue, preventing news from being published on www.londonstockexchange.com.”

“Technical teams are working to restore the service. Other services across the Group, including London Stock Exchange continue to operate as normal,” the exchange group added.

LSEG’s Eikon data platform was also affected by technical issues Friday morning.

When logging into the platform, a notice at the top of the site reads: “We’re sorry for the inconvenience. You will need to restart workspace. If you need help, please contact us.”

LSEG was not immediately available to provide a comment when contacted by CNBC Friday.

CrowdStrike rolls back update after major outage

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike suffered a major outage on Friday, the company told NBC, impacting businesses globally.

The outage resulted from an issue with the latest update, the company said. CrowdStrike is now in the process of rolling back that update globally.

— Katrina Bishop

Microsoft reports disruption

Microsoft’s cloud services have been restored after suffering an outage, the company said on Friday.

The U.S. tech giant said late on Thursday that customers in the Central U.S. region may experience issues with multiple Azure services and its Microsoft 365 suite of apps. This could include “failures with service management operations and connectivity or availability of services.”

On Friday, Microsoft said it determined the underlying cause and the majority of services were recovered. However, the company said that some customers may still experience issues in the region.

“A small subset of services is still experiencing residual impact,” Microsoft said.

Read the full story here.

— Arjun Kharpal

The truck became disabled in the middle of the highway between Exits 18 and 17 and caused a sizeable diesel fuel spill, according to Westport fire officials.

The highway was down to one lane in the area as crews worked to clean up the spill.

The truck was removed and the highway was later fully reopened.

A 26-year-old man and a 38-year-old man, both residents of Danbury, had been missing since they jumped off a boat on Monday night, officials said.

DEEP said they worked with the Connecticut State Police Dive Team and the Danbury Dive Team to find the missing men and recover their bodies, which will be turned over to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Five people were on the boat Monday night when the men jumped in and the three who remained onboard called 911, initiating the search.

Danbury Jul 17

Search and recovery efforts for swimmers missing at Candlewood Lake in Danbury suspended

Danbury Jul 16

Water safety stressed as search continues for missing men at Candlewood Lake in Danbury

Danbury Jul 16

Search for 2 men missing in Candlewood Lake in Danbury no longer a rescue effort: official

The search was temporarily suspended early Tuesday morning before resuming later in the morning.

Then additional divers and resources were deployed on Wednesday and the search continued until around 4 p.m. when it was suspended because of storms.

The search resumed around 7 a.m. Thursday and the two men were found this morning, according to DEEP.

Saturday, Aug. 17 will be the last day for the Elmwood institution that greets customers with a casual pub feel and lots of photos of pugs.

Ted Vetter said in a statement that there are several reasons they are not renewing their lease and liquor and food permits.

“Since the pandemic our business plan has changed. Prices have skyrocketed, from chicken wings to insurance coverage, and dramatic labor costs,” Vetter said.

“I’m 75 years old now and I think it’s time to bow out. 25 years operating “The Pug” and 33 years at “Tapas” from 1986. It’s been a good run,” he added.

“I can’t say enough about our staff over the years. Top notch!,” Vetter wrote. “It’s been a pleasure watching them make our customers their first priority.”

The Corner Pug was established in 2001.

It is located at 1046 New Britain Ave. in West Hartford. You can find the menus for lunch, dinner and happy hour online here.

City officials anticipate more than 150,000 people will attend the 33rd annual Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz over the next three days. The festival is from Friday, July 19 to Sunday, July 21.

Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam said the city expects an estimated $3.1 million in revenue from the festival and its attendees.

“We are so proud to put on this jazz festival every year. We are so proud to be a center that people come to, not just from Connecticut, not just from New England, from all over the East Coast to this incredible jazz fest,” Mayor Arulampalam said. “And I’m going to tell you if you are sitting at home, there is no better way to spend an evening this weekend.”

The festival has a slate of artists attending, including Luisito Quintero & 3rd Element, Elan Trotman, Jonathan Suazo and Ricano, Art Frm Da Hart and many more.

There will also be 62 vendors selling art, crafts and clothing and 26 food vendors.

The event is free of charge and the first live performance begins at 6 p.m. Friday.

Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz 2024 schedule

Friday, July 19

• 6 p.m.: Nigel Bello & Friends
• 7:50 p.m to 7:55 p.m.: Art Frm Da Hart – Kevin “Panda” Mendez
• 8 p.m.: Jonathan Suazo & Ricano
• 9:50 p.m. to 9:55 p.m.: Jani “CTMonae” Perry
• 10 p.m.: Luisito Quintero & 3rd Element

Saturday, July 20

• 2:30pm – The New Mosaic
• 4:30 p.m.: Four 80 East with Jeff Kashiwa
• 6:30 p.m.: Elan Trotman featuring Larry Braggs – 85th Birthday Tribute Show to Marvin Gaye
• 8:15 p.m. to 8:25 p.m.: Art Frm Da Hart – Khaiim Rapoet
• 8:30 p.m.: Marion Meadows & Alex Bugnon featuring Eric Leone
• 10:30 p.m.: Loose Ends featuring Jane Eugene

Sunday, July 21

• 10 a.m.: The Hot Cat Jazz Band Jazz Mass at Christ Church Cathedral Downtown Hartford
• 12:30 p.m.: Hall High School Jazz Band and Sherman Irby
• 2:30 p.m.: Matt Dwonszyk
• 4:15 p.m. to 4:25 p.m.: Art Frm Da Hart – Studio 860
• 4:30 p.m.: Jon Coffe’
• 6:30 p.m.: Ralph Peterson Legacy featuring: Zaccai Curtis, Luques Curtis, Jeremy Pelt, Wayne Escoffery, Tia Fuller, Jerome Jennings and Reinaldo De Jesus Parker – Celebrating the Life, Spirit & Music of Ralph Peterson
• 8:30 p.m.: The BlackByrds

For more information go to hartfordjazz.org.