CBS News
New Harris ad aims to win over Black men in Pennsylvania
If you’re a man in the Philadelphia area who’s inclined to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris but still not entirely sold on the idea, her team hopes you’ll listen to Duke, a Southwest Philadelphia resident and star of “She Can Do It,” a 30-second ad that begins airing on broadcast and cable television stations in the Philadelphia area on Thursday.
Sitting on a stoop, Duke tells someone off camera, “When I look at Kamala, I look at my aunt. I mean, we’ve got this Black lady, strong, who stands on business, who means what she says, is relatable. I see the empathy, that’s just, like, in their heart, the nature of a female.”
As footage of Harris flashes on screen, he adds: “She shows a lot of empathy when she speaks. Her actions — Kamala’s strong, she’s powerful. She stern, she means everything that she says. This November, I’m standing with Kamala.”
The ad is set to air during local broadcasts of Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball games, and during local cable ad breaks during TNT coverage of NBA games and its popular “Inside the NBA” pregame show, as well as on networks popular with Black viewers, including BET, OWN, and VH1. The ad is part of an ongoing $370 million national ad campaign that stretches from Labor Day to Election Day.
The message is clearly tailored to reach Black men in Pennsylvania — and any other man who may be wary of supporting a woman as the next president. (The Harris campaign officially calls them “persuadable voters.”) The spot comes as Harris trails former President Donald Trump among men by double digits in some recent polls and amid signs he’s chipping away at traditionally strong support for the Democratic Party among Black voters. Failure to sustain high levels of minority voter support in Pennsylvania could cost Harris the state if she can’t make up those losses with other groups.
But in a nod to the realities of modern media consumption and political advertising, the ad first surfaced on streaming media. During the Fox telecast of the Philadelphia Eagles – New York Giants NFL game last Sunday, certain viewers streaming the game on Hulu spotted the message — an example of how digital video advertising can be targeted, in this case to male viewers watching the game in the Philadelphia area. That’s how a traveling CBS News correspondent first spotted the ad — watching the game on the Hulu app Sunday afternoon while riding a train into Philadelphia.
CBS News
Menendez brothers resentencing decision to be announced today by Los Angeles County DA
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is expected to announce a recommendation Thursday on possible resentencing in the case of Erik and Lyle Menendez, decades after the brothers were sentenced to life without parole for the 1989 killings of their parents in Beverly Hills.
Los Angeles County D.A. George Gascón is holding a news conference at 1:30 p.m. PT (4:30 p.m. ET) to announce his decision following growing calls to consider resentencing for the brothers, who are serving life in prison without the possibility of parole after they were convicted of first-degree murder in the slayings of their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in 1989. Gascón could also recommend a new trial, or make no recommendation at all, keeping their conviction and sentencing as is.
Gascón said earlier this month that his office had been looking into the Menendez brothers’ case for about a year. The focus of the case has been on why the brothers killed their parents.
During their highly publicized first trial in 1993, prosecutors argued that the murders were committed out of greed, while defense attorneys said the killings were done in self-defense. The brothers admitted they killed their parents but claimed that they had been sexually, emotionally and physically abused by them. Prosecutors suggested those claims were false. A mistrial was declared, and in a second trial, what defense attorneys called evidence of abuse was excluded.
In May 2023, the brothers’ appellate attorney, Cliff Gardner, filed a habeas petition to challenge the convictions. The petition cited a 1988 letter from Erik Menendez to a cousin where he detailed alleged abuse by his father as new evidence.
Roy Rosselló, a former member of the boy band Menudo, has also alleged that he was abused by José Menendez, who was an executive at RCA Records, where the band had a recording contract. Gardner has said these circumstances mean the brothers should have been convicted of first-degree manslaughter, not murder, and have received shorter sentences that would have seen them released from prison years ago.
Two recent high-profile Netflix projects have brought renewed attention to the brothers’ case. Gascón said this has helped speed the decision-making process. Family members have also called for the brothers to be freed.
CBS News
Menendez brothers potential resentencing recommendation coming
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
CBS News
Trump, Harris offering contrasting plans on how they’ll deal with Middle East conflicts
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.