Team USA water polo star Maggie Steffens chokes up when she talks about the Summer Olympics. Paris will be her fourth time competing. 

“I would say there’s overwhelming pride, whether it’s opening ceremonies or just the opportunity and the gift to wear the red, white, and blue,” says Ms. Steffens, who has won four gold medals since her first Olympics in London in 2012.

In the Olympic Village, where athletes are housed, she has always considered players in different sports from hers as teammates.

“It just elevates you, and I’m really excited for that energy,” Ms. Steffens adds.

The world, like Ms. Steffens, could use a little positive energy. Wars, attempted assassinations, political unrest, and global inflation after the COVID-19 pandemic have left many feeling like hope is elusive. Certainly, the Olympics have taken place previously during tough times in history, such as the 1930s, amid a global depression and Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. But how much can a two-week sporting event do to offer a jolt of optimism to a world that appears desperately in need of a little good news?

Right now, people might indeed need the Olympics and its ideals, says Kristian Ulrichsen, a fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

“I think people definitely need breaks. They need a lift, and sport can provide that,” says Dr. Ulrichsen. “It gives a temporary kind of relief from everyday events, and I think at this moment in time, when there’s so much going on with Ukraine, with Gaza and the election in the U.S. ... It could be the right place at the right time, especially in a place like Paris.”

While so far he would describe the run-up to the opening ceremony as “low-key,” that could change when the boats holding 10,500 athletes sail down the River Seine on Friday.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports NPStrans toppic

Ryan Crouser places second in the shot put at 73-4 3/4 (22.37 m) during the London Athletics Meet at London Stadium July 20, 2024. The two-time gold medalist, who will be competing in Paris, says the world right now needs the unity and friendly competition the Olympics bring.

“Once the Olympics begin, then the excitement builds. Once it starts, often that spirit takes hold, and especially if the country is doing well, that enthusiasm builds. By the time it ends, it becomes much more of a festival or a giant street party,” Dr. Ulrichsen says.

Pageantry and sports do not guarantee global good feeling. The 1972 Olympics in Munich was marred by terrorism, and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta by a bombing. But even in Atlanta, Dr. Ulrichsen points out, people rallied.

What’s different about Paris?

And among Olympians interviewed, there is a sense that this time will be different. Tokyo, for many of them, came with an asterisk.

American shot-putter Ryan Crouser is a veteran of the Summer Games. 

Speaking at an event for reporters in New York this spring, the two-time gold medalist said athletes from different parts of the world uniting for friendly competition is what the world needs, regardless of winners or losers.

“Everyone is there to live that Olympic experience, and I feel like that’s what we missed in Tokyo,” Mr. Crouser added.

At the last Olympics, held in Tokyo in 2021, athletes were forced to wake early to take COVID-19 tests, and compete alone and without their families in attendance. No cheers fueled their efforts. Newspaper headlines spoke of caution because of mask mandates and vaccinations. This time, cheering sections will be noisy with fans eager to scream.

Energy has been growing in France since 150,000 people watched the transfer of the Olympic torch being passed off to French Olympic gold medal swimmer Florent Manaudou in the port of Marseille. This week, athletes from participating countries are arriving. The U.S. women’s gymnastics team, which moved into the Olympic Village on Monday, was all smiles on an apartment balcony, teasing “And a little girl power for your timeline!” on Instagram. Hôtel de Ville (Paris’ city hall), where the marathon will begin, hosted hundreds of partygoers, who danced and sang at a free concert in the courtyard.

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Gymnasts (from left) Joscelyn Roberson, Sunisa Lee, Hezly Rivera, Jade Carey, Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, and Leanne Wong pose after being selected for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Women's gymnastics team during team trials at the Target Center in Minneapolis, June 30, 2024.

One source of optimism for both women athletes and their fans is that the 2024 Summer Games mark a historic moment: The number of men and women competing will be equal for the first time in Olympic history. It’s a huge leap from just over 2% in 1900, the first games that allowed women Olympians.

Chellsie Memmel, a U.S. gymnastics coach and technical lead for the women, says that the defending gold medal team was in high spirits. And for them, getting the full welcome experience from the host country was new and moving, even for gymnasts who competed in Tokyo.

“For them to be able to do that and to do it together, I think they really appreciated it and it was a bit emotional,” said Ms. Memmel, herself a silver medalist, at a Monday press conference in Paris.

Brett McClure, one of the men’s team coaches and high performance director, says he sees excitement in the men, who may have a chance to medal after missing the podium in recent Olympics. “They were absolutely thrilled to get into the village. They couldn’t wait to set up their apartments, and are just having the time of their lives,” says the Athens, Greece, silver medalist.

One of the things that will make Paris more exciting will be the fans, he says. Bercy Arena can hold more than 16,000 people, he adds, which is day and night from Tokyo with its empty stands.

“It’s going to be so amazing,” he says, smiling.

When the people you love best are cheering you on

Many returning athletes spoke about what it will mean to them to be able to compete with their families there. For them, the chance to perform the sport they love in front of the people they love best is a definite source of joy. 

Lee Jin-man/AP

Diver Andrew Capobianco trains at the Olympic Aquatics Centre ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, July 24, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. The silver medalist says he’s excited for his family to get to experience the joy of the Olympics, after the pandemic forced families to stay home during the Tokyo Summer Games.

“This is my second Olympics, and the first one I didn’t get to bring my family along with me. So just being able to [be with] family and friends and having that experience is going to be really special,” says silver medalist and springboard diver Andrew Capobianco, speaking at the New York press event. This time, instead of just the stress of the trials, he adds, they’ll get to experience the fun.

“I’m so excited for that,” Mr. Capobianco says.

Ms. Steffens, who got married last fall, is also excited for her husband and her family to be with her.

“It’s an opportunity to give gratitude,” she says. “When you’re at the Games, it’s your one moment to perform and play for all of the people who have supported you.”

Now competing in his third straight Games, Mr. Crouser says that there is a stark difference between the feelings of the opening and closing ceremonies. And for him, there is no comparison.

The 6’7” champion says that the opening ceremony is regimented, with competitors appearing with their compatriots under their flag, waving.

“What stands out to me always is the closing ceremonies,” Mr. Crouser says. “You go out in whatever order you want with your new friends. And that to me is the summary of the Olympics in a time when we have so many differences right now.”

Learn more about this year’s competitors: The Olympic spirit: 7 athletes share tales of grit and sacrifice

Marko Djurica/Reuters

The Eiffel Tower stadium, where beach volleyball matches will take place, is prepared ahead of the Paris Olympics, July 21, 2024.

As one of the most visited cities in the world, the French capital of Paris is well-accustomed to tourists. But in a matter of days, the city will swell to new heights. The Olympic Games will bring an expected 15 million visitors, 10,500 athletes, and 20,000 international journalists during the more than two-week event that officially kicks off July 26.

But for all the anticipation that the Games bring, the apprehension about an overly congested city has sent many locals fleeing for the countryside. Familiar jokes on social media are about yet another metro station closed for construction or the difficulties of getting around the city due to security restrictions.

What can Parisians and tourists expect of the city during the Games? And does the excitement match reality? 

First, a clarification: The Paris Olympic Games should really be called the France Olympic Games. 

This year’s 329 events will be held at 35 venues spread across the whole of France, with sailing in Marseille, basketball in Villeneuve-d’Ascq (near Lille), and soccer matches in stadiums around the country. For those looking to really dépayser – get away – the surfing competition will be held amid the crystal-blue waters of Tahiti, in the semiautonomous region of French Polynesia.

Ben Thouard/AP

France’s Vahiné Fierro takes part in a surfing training session in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, in the semiautonomous region of French Polynesia, ahead of the 2024 Olympics, July 21, 2024.

That’s in line with the Paris organizers’ goals of making this year’s Games as sustainable as possible, and hopefully avoiding mistakes of Olympics past that have left dozens of costly buildings in disuse.

For that reason, many of the sporting venues in Paris, which will hold the majority of events, are either temporary or built on existing infrastructure. Buildings constructed expressly for the Games – and there are only two – have been done so with legacy in mind. The Olympic Aquatics Centre and Le Bourget Sport Climbing Venue will serve the local population in Seine-Saint-Denis, a region seriously lacking sporting facilities, after the Games.

However, that’s not to say that Parisians, or those who’ve visited the city before, will find the French capital unchanged. Many of the temporary venues have been erected at beloved tourist sites in the city center. 

The Champ de Mars – the lawn that cascades out from the Eiffel Tower – has been transformed into a giant sand pit with ringside portable bleachers for beach volleyball events. La Concorde Urban Park, just off the avenue Champs-Élysées, will hold events for skateboarding and the newly added sport of breakdancing. And an ephemeral structure has been built off the Champ de Mars to host judo and wrestling.

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Paris 2024

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In order to monitor security and crowd control around those venues, City Hall has closed Paris to most vehicles as well as several metro stations. Visitors are being encouraged to walk whenever possible. 

The city has also erected a maze of metal barricades around venues in the center ring, which are only accessible by showing a special QR code. It’s already created a few problems. While residents of those neighborhoods have had since May 10 to apply for the QR code, many tourists are only getting wind of it upon their arrival. 

“We can go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, but we can’t cross the street,” says Kai Herzberg, an Australian visitor who came with a tour group to visit Paris. They have struggled to do simple things around the city, like cross the River Seine, due to security barricades. But, he says, they’re dealing with it. 

“We don’t really have a choice,” says Narelle Warwick, a fellow tour group member. “In this case, we’ll just go the other way.”

The restrictions are also having an impact on some local businesses.

“We’re a neighborhood restaurant that usually serves locals, but they’ve all gone on vacation, and the tourists aren’t able to get past the security barriers to reach us,” says Pierre, a server at a French bistro near the Seine, who requested anonymity for himself and his restaurant. “I hope it gets better as the Olympics go on, but we haven’t served any customers today. Not a single one.”

Apart from the center of the city, however, visitors will likely find the rest of Paris unchanged – and empty. Many locals have taken advantage of the high price of hotels during the Games to put their apartments up for rent on Airbnb and skip town. “In the Paris region alone, we’ve seen a 40% rise in active listings in the first quarter, compared to the same period in 2023,” the company writes on its site. 

At the same time, fewer visitors are coming to the Games than initially expected. Air France has reported an expected loss of €180 million ($196 million) in the current quarter, and Delta reported a $100 million reduction in bookings to Paris.

While that may not please Olympic organizers, fewer visitors to Paris could actually be a good thing for visitors themselves. 

“What we’ve experienced so far is a very calm city,” says Christelle Kieffer, who visited the Eiffel Tower one week before the Games began with her husband and son. “It’s really enjoyable.”

President Joe Biden spoke softly, but his words carried enormous weight as he declared that “the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation” and delved into his decision to drop his reelection bid.

In a televised address Wednesday night, the president framed his choice in almost existential terms. The defense of democracy, Mr. Biden said, “is more important than any title.” 

He did not utter former President Donald Trump’s name, but the implied warning was clear: that, in Mr. Biden’s view, electing his predecessor to another term could imperil American democracy. 

The Oval Office – where this reporter had the privilege of witnessing history as the only print journalist present – was packed. Much of the space was consumed by the equipment and crew broadcasting Mr. Biden’s speech and running the teleprompter. Biden aides squeezed in. Seated along the wall were his wife, children, grandchildren, and spouses. The only non-family member accorded that honor was decadeslong adviser Mike Donilon. The “restricted press pool” included a print reporter, a still photographer, and a network TV crew.

It was like being on a TV set. But the import could not have been more real. The last time an American president opted not to run for a second term was in 1968, when Lyndon Johnson announced his decision from the same room, as the nation was embroiled in war abroad.  

Linda Feldmann/The Christian Science Monitor

A reporter's view of an Oval Office address from the inside: President Joe Biden makes a televised address to the nation July 24, 2024. Biden family members, including son Hunter Biden and first lady Jill Biden, were seated off to the right.

Mr. Biden spoke faintly, haltingly, solemnly. The speech was laced with pride and a sense of what might have been, had he felt able to continue his campaign. He highlighted what he sees as the main accomplishments of his presidency, a reprise of his campaign pitch. 

In a preview of many more “farewell” moments to come, Mr. Biden cited the nation’s postpandemic economic recovery, and bringing manufacturing back to the United States, reducing illegal border crossings (after they surged in his term), battling climate change, and appointing diverse leadership in his administration. Winning the 2020 election was itself a major triumph, in Mr. Biden’s eyes. And preventing his predecessor from retaking the White House remains his overarching goal.

“I ran for president four years ago because I believed, and still do, that the soul of America was at stake,” the president said. “America is an idea, an idea stronger than any army, bigger than any ocean, more powerful than any dictator or tyrant.”

Now Mr. Biden is making the case to elect his vice president, Kamala Harris, who almost certainly will carry the Democratic torch to November, amid a remarkably fast transformation of the Biden campaign into the Harris campaign. 

“I would like to thank our great Vice President Kamala Harris,” the president said toward the end of his remarks. “She’s experienced. She’s tough. She’s capable.”

Mr. Biden didn’t say, “Vote for Vice President Harris,” reflecting his apparent desire to maintain a bit of separation between official duties and politics. On Sunday, when he released the letter announcing his decision to step aside from his reelection campaign, he did not endorse Ms. Harris as his replacement for the Democratic nomination. That came a half hour later in a social media post. 

But Wednesday’s speech was not devoid of politics. Mr. Biden has spent more than 50 years in the highest levels of elective office, and it infuses his being. He clearly relishes the game. And now, as much as he wanted to defeat Mr. Trump again, he decided to put “personal ambition” aside, as he put it. His badly faltering debate performance last month against Mr. Trump eventually left little choice but to leave the race, under pressure from his own party.

Evan Vucci/AP

President Joe Biden hugs daughter Ashley Biden after addressing the nation from the Oval Office about his decision to drop his presidential reelection bid. Also present are first lady Jill Biden, son Hunter Biden, and granddaughter Finnegan Biden (right).

Speaking at her regular briefing Wednesday afternoon, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Mr. Biden’s exit “has nothing to do with his health.” 

But, his recent bout with COVID-19 aside, the president’s increasing frailty in recent months has become impossible for even his most loyal allies to avoid. His childhood stutter, which he noted in his address, has been evident more frequently. Mr. Biden faces calls from some Republicans to resign the presidency itself, but his aides scoff at the idea, asserting that he has the acuity and stamina necessary to finish his term.

Mr. Biden finished his remarks with a call for national unity – and a final implied warning of what a second Trump term might bring. 

“Let’s act together, preserve our democracy,” he said. 

The broadcast over, aides and family burst into applause. First lady Jill Biden walked over to the Resolute Desk and stood beside her husband. Moments before, daughter Ashley seemed close to tears as she reached for her mother’s hand. 

Mr. Biden addressed the room. “This has been the honor of a lifetime,” he said, followed by other words of gratitude. 

As this reporter was exiting the Oval Office, per the staff’s instruction, more applause could be heard – both from inside the presidential suite and outside in the Rose Garden. Staff had been attending a watch party there and eating ice cream, the boss’s favorite treat.

Evan Vucci/AP/File

President Joe Biden walks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral, Feb. 20, 2023, in Kyiv. Experts say history will be kinder to Mr. Biden than voters have been.

For America, it was a passing of the torch. But for world leaders, Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection campaign signaled something even more profound.

It is the passing of an era.

Mr. Biden is the last in a long line of U.S. presidents viscerally wedded to America’s post-World War II vision of itself and its place in the world: as architect, leader, and linchpin in a web of alliances dedicated to promoting and protecting democratic friends over autocratic rivals.

Key U.S. allies – above all, Ukraine – know that the real-world impact of Mr. Biden’s departure from office will still depend on who wins in November.

Donald Trump has shown disdain for the vision of American leadership – rooted not just in power and self-interest but also in values – put in place after the world war, and for the overseas alliances forged along the way.

Kamala Harris, Mr. Biden’s vice president and now Democratic candidate for the presidency, has stood shoulder to shoulder with her boss on Ukraine. She is likely to stay broadly on the path he has charted over the past four years.

Yet the continued commitment to Ukraine that Ms. Harris feels, along with many fellow Democrats and some Republicans, comes from a different place than Mr. Biden’s.

Susan Walsh/AP

Mr. Biden (center left) and Mr. Zelenskyy (center right) speak at an event with NATO leaders announcing the Ukraine Compact in Washington, July 11, 2024.

It has been shaped by a very different world, one in which politicians from both major parties have increasingly come to recognize the practical limits of America’s ability to deploy its resources, reach, and power overseas.

And it comes from a different age.

Mr. Biden, born in 1942, grew up in an America whose idea of itself was shaped by Washington’s extraordinary vision of U.S. leadership after the world war.

Despite the postwar impulse of many Americans to retreat from the world – as one top U.S. diplomat put it at the time, to “go to the movies and drink Coke” – the United States extended billions of dollars in Marshall Plan aid to the battered economies of Western Europe, formed the transatlantic NATO defense pact, and championed its support for free nations, free-market economies, and free trade worldwide as the best way to “contain” Josef Stalin’s Soviet Union.

In the decades since, U.S. foreign policy has not always matched that lofty vision.

America has allied itself not just with democrats but with dictators, too. It has fought wars – Vietnam in the 1960s and ’70s, Afghanistan after 9/11, and Iraq in the early 2000s – that caused huge casualties and ended in chaotic retreats.

But the ideal – the assumption that America had a special role in the world and a responsibility toward its allies and the world – was the North Star for American politicians who came of age politically in the postwar years.

Even the younger ones.

John F. Kennedy is remembered for a 1961 inaugural address urging citizens to rededicate themselves to moving America forward. But at its core, his speech was about America’s special postwar place in the world.

“The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans,” he declared, “born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace.” They would be “unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed” – whether at home or “around the world.”

This expansive view of American leadership, and the sense that it was key to defining what America is, has been an article of faith for Mr. Biden. It was critical in his response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Other presidents might well have opposed Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked assault on a neighboring state. They might well have responded with U.S. sanctions and urged allies to follow suit.

That was pretty much the approach taken by then-President Barack Obama, a child of the 1960s, to Mr. Putin’s first attack on Ukraine and annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Mr. Biden’s response has been of a completely different order.

He brought to bear the full weight of his office in assembling and leading key allies, in Europe and beyond, in providing sustained financial and military support for Ukraine’s fighting forces.

The closest recent parallel also came under a U.S. leader whose view of America was forged by the world war: Republican President George H.W. Bush’s response to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s attempted annexation of Kuwait in 1990.

Mr. Bush, who fought in the world war, took a similarly personal lead in assembling a coalition of some 30 countries, including Middle East rivals, behind a U.S.-led invasion to dislodge the Iraqis six months later.

It’s not yet clear how long and how assertively America will hold to Mr. Biden’s pledge to back Ukraine for “as long as it takes” once he has left office.

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, one of dozens of leaders to pay tribute to Mr. Biden after his decision, made clear his understanding of the president’s indispensable personal role in helping Kyiv fight back.

“We sincerely hope that America’s continued strong leadership will prevent Russian evil from succeeding or allowing its aggression to pay off,” he said.

Just days into her nascent 2024 presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris is already facing her first big decision: picking a running mate.  

The vice-presidential search process – which typically involves a months-long vetting of several candidates – is now happening in a fraction of that time. Democrats reportedly are planning to nominate their ticket as soon as August 7, with a virtual roll call vote before the party’s convention in Chicago later that month.

So far, speculation as to whom Ms. Harris may ask to join the ticket has largely focused on a small group of popular governors and senators from key battleground states. That would be a departure from recent history, in which campaigns have largely discounted vice-presidential candidates’ ability to “deliver” a state, and the picks have often been driven by other factors, like an impressive résumé or personal chemistry.

“There are very few examples over the last 60-something years where a presidential candidate has chosen a running mate to carry their home state,” says Joel Goldstein, a professor at Saint Louis University Law School and expert on the vice presidency. But in an election that could come down to a handful of voters in a handful of states, as occurred in the two most recent presidential cycles, the calculus changes. “If you find [a good candidate] in one of those states, then maybe [Harris] is more likely to choose them than would have been the case in previous cycles, when the battlefield was larger.”

The Harris campaign also appears to be taking demographic and ideological considerations into account. Most of the candidates who have reportedly been asked to submit vetting documents are moderate, middle-aged white men who might appeal to a different set of voters than a Black, female politician from California. It’s the same kind of calculation President Joe Biden made, in reverse, when he tapped Ms. Harris in 2020. Above all, the campaign’s priority will be picking a vice president who’s ready for primetime and whom America could envision as a plausible president. 

While it’s possible a dark-horse candidate could wind up getting the nod, among those reportedly under consideration, three high-profile, swing-state officials are generating the most buzz. 

Kevin Mohatt/Reuters

Supporters of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris cheer at a campaign event at West Allis High School in West Allis, Wisconsin, July 23, 2024.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro

Arguably no state is more important for Democrats in November than Pennsylvania, which Mr. Biden won by less than two percentage points in 2020. Two years later, then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro won the governorship by almost 15 points – albeit against a weak Republican candidate – setting a record for the most votes ever received by a gubernatorial candidate in the Keystone State. One poll found Mr. Shapiro to have the highest approval rating among his four immediate predecessors at the one-year mark, with almost half of all voters saying he is doing an “excellent” or “good” job. Another poll found that 59% of Pennsylvanians – including 36% of Republicans – approved of Mr. Shapiro’s first year in office. 

In his short time in office, Mr. Shapiro has been praised for his quick reopening of I-95 after a fire caused a section of the highway to collapse, as well as his unifying response to the attempted assassination of Mr. Trump in his state. Mr. Shapiro, who would be the first Jewish vice president if chosen and elected, could also help Ms. Harris refute Republican attacks on the Democratic Party as being pro-Hamas. He has said he feels a unique responsibility to speak out on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, and he has been critical of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while also condemning a rise in antisemitism and the protests on college campuses this spring. 

“It’s rare that a vice-presidential nominee can deliver a state, but the thing about Josh Shapiro is that he is popular across party lines,” says Mike Mikus, a Democratic strategist based in Pittsburgh who worked with former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf. “Democrats like him. Independents like him. A sizable number of Republicans like him.”

The Harris campaign is likely eyeing the 17% of Pennsylvania Republican primary voters who voted for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley over former President Donald Trump in the state’s GOP primary earlier this year. These anti-Trump Republicans might be open to voting for the Democratic ticket if their own popular governor was the vice-presidential nominee.

“[Shapiro] is a very talented political tactician,” says Mr. Mikus. “He always seems to strike the right tone at the right moment.”

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly

Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports NPSTrans TopPic

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, a former astronaut, and his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords, wave to the crowd before the game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, Jan. 2, 2023.

Like Mr. Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly has experience running – and winning – campaigns against MAGA-aligned candidates. 

After serving as a U.S. Navy pilot and NASA astronaut, including four trips into space, Mr. Kelly was first elected to the U.S. Senate in a 2020 special election to fill the seat of the late Sen. John McCain. His win marked the first time since the 1950s that Arizona had two Democratic senators. After less than two years in Washington, Mr. Kelly then ran for a full term against venture capitalist Blake Masters, winning by almost 5 points. 

Mr. Masters, like Mr. Trump’s newly named vice president, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, was backed by Silicon Valley executive Peter Thiel and leaned into a strong MAGA message on the campaign trail – an experience that could help Mr. Kelly run against his Republican counterpart if picked, says Tony Cani, a Democratic strategist and 2020 deputy director for the Biden-Harris campaign in Arizona. 

“When you are running to win in states like Arizona, where in recent elections you won by under 11,000 [votes], you are looking for every possible advantage,” says Mr. Cani, referring to Mr. Biden’s 0.3% win over Mr. Trump in 2020. Thus far in polls, Mr. Trump has been running ahead in many of the states that Mr. Biden flipped in 2020, including Arizona.

On the other hand, if Mr. Kelly were selected, Democrats would risk losing a Senate seat. Arizona Democrats would have to find another candidate to run in what would likely be a close campaign, several years earlier than expected. 

Still, Mr. Kelly could help Ms. Harris on the issue of immigration, which the Trump campaign has already telegraphed will be a main line of attack. The Arizona senator has publicly urged his party to take a tougher approach on border security, and he has criticized Republicans for rejecting solutions like the bipartisan bill that was proposed earlier this year. On the issue of guns, Mr. Kelly offers a nuanced perspective: a gun owner himself, Mr. Kelly has pushed for “common sense” gun laws after the 2011 attempted assassination of his wife, then-Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. In the years since, Mr. Kelly and Ms. Giffords have run one of the most successful “gun safety” advocacy organizations. 

“Voters of all ages react well to knowing the love and conviction he has for his wife, who was also a massive figure in Arizona when the shooting happened,” says Mr. Cani. “In this time when political rhetoric is so overheated, having someone who has consistently stood up against that because of his own experience and offered common-sense solutions, I think that is something that voters will appreciate on the national stage.” 

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper

Matt Kelley/AP

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper smiles at a campaign rally for President Joe Biden in Raleigh, North Carolina, June. 28, 2024.

Like Mr. Shapiro and Mr. Kelly, Mr. Cooper is reportedly being closely considered for the VP spot. A stalwart of North Carolina Democratic politics for almost 40 years, Mr. Cooper began his political career in both state houses before being elected attorney general and then governor in 2017. Like Mr. Shapiro in Pennsylvania, Mr. Cooper has a favorability rating that’s ahead of Mr. Biden’s by double digits in North Carolina. And he could give Democrats a leg up in one of the seven closest states from 2020, where current polling shows them running well behind. 

Mr. Cooper can also point to successes working across the aisle. After taking office in early 2017, he set about trying to persuade North Carolina’s GOP legislature to join a majority of U.S. states in opting into a Medicaid expansion program through the Affordable Care Act, which covers Americans who make too much money to qualify for traditional Medicaid but not enough to afford private health insurance. His persistence paid off: Last year the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed legislation approving of the expansion, and Mr. Cooper signed it into law. So far, more than 500,000 North Carolinians have enrolled.

During Governor Cooper’s tenure, North Carolina has been rated “Best for Business” by CNBC two years in a row. A former Sunday School teacher who has never lost an election, Mr. Cooper, who was raised in rural Nash County, could also help Ms. Harris expand her southern and rural support, a useful counter to her own West Coast biography.

When picking a vice president, “You’re trying to compliment your own strength or address your perceived weaknesses,” says Mr. Goldstein. “But you’re also sending messages that you ‘get it.’ You’re saying, ‘This matters to me.’”

Other names in the mix  

Timothy D. Easley/AP/File

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear responds to a question during an interview, Dec. 19, 2023, in Frankfort, Kentucky.

Several other officials have reportedly been asked to provide information to the Harris campaign, including Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat from a deep-red state whom voters praised for his reassuring nightly briefings during the early days of the COVID-19 lockdown. Although Kentucky won’t be a competitive state for Democrats in the presidential election, Mr. Beshear speaks easily to rural and religious voters, often mentioning his own Christian faith, which could help the Democratic ticket elsewhere. 

Illinois also isn’t considered up for grabs this November – Democrats should win the state handily – but its governor, JB Pritzker, is also reportedly being considered. Many Democrats have taken note of his sharp, fearless jabs at Mr. Trump over the years. There’s also his personal fortune – Mr. Pritzker is a billionaire – which could be useful in what’s sure to be an expensive race. 

Other names in the mix include Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who ran for president in 2020 and has impressed many Democrats with his deft media appearances, including on Fox News. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has been on a book tour promoting a new memoir, has refuted reports that the Harris campaign has asked her to provide vetting materials. She has reiterated that she plans to finish out the next two and half years of her term as governor. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on the other hand, whose name was not on many original short lists, has drawn attention in recent days for strong cable news hits. The former high school teacher has been making the case for Ms. Harris’ candidacy, leading Mr. Trump to criticize Fox News for inviting Mr. Walz on as a guest. He’s also been joking on social media about how he came to lack a full head of hair.  

With the exception of Ms. Whitmer, however, none of these candidates could help deliver a swing state.

“We’ve got some really compelling people who have won difficult races,” says Mr. Cani. “When you have so many good options, you’ll still consider the geography question even if it’s not the primary one.”

Naveen Sharma/SOPA Images/Sipa/AP/File

Indian students celebrate the 75th anniversary of India's independence, in New Delhi Aug. 9, 2022.

Ask nearly anyone how the world is doing, and they are likely to tell you things aren’t going so well. And they would have plenty of evidence to point to, from war and political uncertainty to social divisions and pollution.

Yet ask someone near you how they personally are doing, and the response will probably be something closer to “Not so bad, actually.”

At least that’s what the latest Gallup Global Emotions report finds. Positive emotions have rebounded since the start of the pandemic, and negative emotions, including worry, sadness, and stress, have dropped for the first time since 2014.

Over 70% of those surveyed around the globe in 2023 reported feeling well rested, experiencing a lot of enjoyment, and smiling or laughing a lot. Nearly 9 in 10 people said they feel they’re treated with respect. And young people – a source of continual concern for older generations – are the most positive of all.

The yearly study, which has measured the emotional well-being of around 1,000 participants in each of 142 participating countries since 2006, is meant to capture the intangibles of life that “traditional economic indicators such as GDP were never intended to capture,” as the authors write.

As imperfect as those indicators have proved to be, both the positive and negative experience indexes are highly correlated with gross domestic product per capita, says Julie Ray, lead author of the report.

But they are not everything. Countries in Latin America and Southeast Asia lead the world in positive experiences, which Ms. Ray says may have to do with a culture of emotional resilience that goes beyond one’s circumstances.

“Life can from the outside look pretty terrible and negative, and you don’t have a lot,” she says. “But you do have family and social networks. And so, ‘Things are awful, but do I feel OK? I might as well.’ Why worry about what you can’t change?”

That is not to say politics are unimportant. In 2022, Israel ranked 125th in the world for stress levels. Since the Oct. 7 attack last year, Israel has jumped to first with northern Cyprus; the numbers of citizens feeling stress has leaped from 24% of the population to 62%.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan saw the world’s largest drop in stress after the Nagorno-Karabakh cease-fire agreement last fall.

A pleasant surprise in this year’s data? A record 54% of the world learned or did something new in the day before taking the survey, with sizable jumps for both China and India. That could be a sign of more good to come.

SOURCE:

Gallup

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Jacob Turcotte/Staff

AP

People in Khartoum, Sudan, gather at the home of a volunteer to charge their mobile phones.

It may be the world’s worst hunger crisis. And the world’s largest displacement of civilians fleeing war. Yet in Africa’s third-largest country, Sudan, a 15-month-old conflict between two rival militaries has become something else.

It has become a model of how everyday people who were once strangers to each other can bond and band together during a war to build the kind of society they want after a war.

A key fact illustrates the point: Sudanese families have opened their homes to more than half of the people displaced by the war, according to the International Organization for Migration.

These host families have several reasons to provide food, shelter, and comfort to others who may be of different religions or ethnicities. For one, the front lines of the war keep moving, so anyone could suddenly be forced to flee.

Two, Sudan has a strong tradition – reflected in the Arabic word nafeer (meaning “a call to come together”) – of organizing local, voluntary responses to urgent needs, whether they be a harvest or a flood.

“We feel that any person in Sudan can go through this humiliation, so solidarity is our duty in order to relieve each other,” one man told The New Humanitarian after opening his home to 40 people across six families.

Yet thirdly, Sudan has a new tradition that began during a popular uprising in 2019 that ousted a dictator but later led to the current military conflict.

Local pro-democracy groups that led the protests have repurposed themselves into youth-driven “emergency response rooms.” They provide charity kitchens, alternative schools, and other services for displaced people.

These activists are doing more than humanitarian work. They are “working towards a vision of Sudan that is peaceful, just and equitable,” wrote Michelle D’Arcy, Sudan country director for Norwegian People’s Aid.

In the midst of war, these groups are creating “the kind of governance – democratic, equitable, people-centered – that Sudanese communities have long craved,” said Samantha Power, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s administrator.

The war may soon end – peace talks are planned for mid-August in Switzerland. But Sudan’s democratic spirit and nafeer mobilization are already laying the groundwork for peace.