Trump in Turkey for NATO Summit; Democratic Leaders Call for Platner to Exit Senate Race | NTD Good Morning (July 7)

U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Ankara, Turkey, on July 7 for a NATO summit. Senior administration officials, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, are traveling with the president. He will also meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Leaders from NATO’s 32 member states are expected to review progress on defense spending commitments and burden-sharing goals.

Democratic leaders are calling for U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner to exit the race after an allegation of sexual assault. Platner is the embattled Democratic nominee facing incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) are now asking him to step down. Maine’s Democratic Party leadership is also calling on Platner to withdraw, and the Senate Majority PAC announced it is redirecting resources away from the race. The deadline for candidates to drop out with time for the party to replace a nominee is July 13.

Severe thunderstorms across parts of the United States have knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of customers. More than 373,000 homes and businesses were without electricity on July 6, according ‌to data from PowerOutage.us.

Strong winds, heavy rain, and storm damage affected several regions. Pennsylvania was among the hardest-hit states, with more than 70,000 outages reported. Utility crews continue repairs as some areas recover from the severe weather.