Politics & Government

Top Democratic leaders are calling for President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race, but his campaign says he is not going anywhere. And, key takeaways from the RNC.

Donald Trump formally accepts the Republican presidential nomination -- in a more subdued speech as he aims to widen his support. And pressure mounts on President Biden to end his reelection bid.

Donald Trump formally accepts the Republican presidential nomination, in a more subdued speech than his usual fare, as he aims to widen his support. And pressure mounts on President Joe Biden to end his reelection bid.

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Today's episode of Up First was edited by Megan Pratz, Padma Rama, Krishnadev Calamur, Olivia Hampton and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Lilly Quiroz, Ben Abrams and Mansee Khurana. We get engineering support from Arthur Laurent. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

Last Saturday, former president Donald Trump was speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania when a gunman shot at him – killing one spectator and clipping Trump in the ear. The response? Outrage, condemnations, and prayers on all sides... but there's been less chatter about the gun that shot at him. And this gun has a lot of symbolism: The AR-15. Host Brittany Luse is joined by The Wall Street Journal's Zusha Elinson, co-author of the book American Gun, and Jennifer Mascia, senior news writer and founding staffer at The Trace, a nonpartisan nonprofit newsroom that covers guns. Together, they discuss how the AR-15 style rifle went from an outcast in the gun world to the one of the biggest pro-gun symbols and why that actually reflects bigger cultural shifts.

And later - cop comedies are getting big reboots this year. But why do audiences want to see funny Black guys playing cops? And what does it mean that the characters poking fun at power are also the ones enforcing it on screen? To find out - Brittany is joined by Soraya Nadia McDonald, who wrote a deep dive on all of Will Smith's law enforcement roles, and Washington Post opinion columnist Alyssa Rosenberg, who wrote a five part series on Hollywood's long relationship with law enforcement on and off screen.