Good morning.
Sexual assault allegations against a key Democratic Senate challenger raise big questions for the party.
This is a must-win seat for them if they want any realistic shot at capturing control of the Senate.
Hearings for the suspect charged with killing Charlie Kirk begin.
In the Manhattan high-rise evacuated over fears of a partial collapse.
It’s Wednesday, July 8th.
I’m Gideon Resnick in for Shamita Basu.
This is Apple News Today.
An accusation of sexual assault against Graham Plattner, the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine,
has imploded his campaign over the past 48 hours,
and with it, potentially the ability for Democrats to regain a majority in the Senate.
Yesterday, Senator Bernie Sanders became the latest lawmaker to call on Plattner to exit the race.
For weeks now, Plattner has been struggling to move on from accusations of inappropriate behavior towards previous partners,
leaving some Democrats concerned that more could be out there.
On Monday, a new allegation emerged from Jenny Rasicot, who had been in a relationship with Plattner years ago.
She told a number of outlets that he forced himself on her in 2021.
Plattner denies the allegation but has said that he is weighing his next steps.
Big picture, this is nothing short of a political earthquake for the Democratic Party.
Sahil Kapur is a senior national politics reporter at NBC News, who’s been covering the race.
Democrats need a net gain of four seats in order to win the Senate majority,