President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at the White House, Thursday, July 23, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
By Zeke Miller
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he has canceled segments of the Republican National Convention scheduled for Florida next month, citing a "flare-up" of the coronavirus. Convention events will still be held in North Carolina.
"To have a big convention is not the right time," Trump said of Jacksonville.
Trump moved parts of the GOP convention to Florida last month amid a dispute with North Carolina's Democratic leaders over holding an event indoors with maskless supporters. But those plans were steadily scaled back as virus cases spiked in Florida and much of the country over the last month.
A small subset of GOP delegates will still gather in Charlotte, North Carolina, to formally renominate Trump on Aug. 24. Trump said he would deliver an acceptance speech in an alternate form.
President Joe Biden on Monday will sign a sweeping executive order to guide the development of artificial intelligence — requiring industry to develop safety and security standards, introducing new consumer protections and giving federal agencies an extensive to-do list to oversee the rapidly progressing technology.
Former Vice President Mike Pence dropped his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Saturday after struggling to raise money and gain traction in the polls.
