VOA NEWS

From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David Byrd reporting. Hillary Clinton is the Democratic Party's nominee for president. Clinton was officially nominated as the first female candidate from a major political part at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The state of South Dakota officially put the former secretary of state over the 2,382 delegates needed to secure the nomination. "10 for the senator, Bernie Sanders who inspired us all, and 15 for the 45th president of the United States, and the first one who will be called Madam President, Hillary Rodham Clinton." The final count was 2,842 delegates for Clinton and 1,865 for her chief rival Bernie Sanders, who reaffirmed his support for Clinton when the Vermont delegation cast its votes. "Madame Chair, I move that the convention suspend the procedural rules. I move that all votes, all votes cast by delegates, be reflected in the official record. And I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States." With her nomination secured, Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, will take center stage to make the case for why Americans should vote for her in November. Meanwhile, Republican nominee Donald Trump told the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention Charlotte, North Carolina, that Clinton has been, in his words, a disaster. He told the audience of veterans they will no longer have to face delays or, in his words, die waiting for medical care. This is VOA news. The so-called Islamic State has claimed that two of its "soldiers" carried out Tuesday's attack on a Catholic Church in Normandy, France, where they killed an 84-year-old priest after taking him hostage at knife-point. French President François Hollande visited the scene of the attack Tuesday and said the attackers had claimed allegiance to Islamic State before being shot dead by police. He called on all French people to join in the fight [for] against terrorism. He said the anti-terrorist section of the prosecutor's office has been assigned this inquiry and will give every information so the prosecutor can relay what he knows. But today we must be aware that the terrorists will stop at nothing unless we stop them. French security officials said the two attackers slit Father Jacques Hamel's throat before police were able to intervene. Hollande denounced the killing as a vile terrorist attack. The United States condemned the attack in the strongest possible terms. The U.N. Syria envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, says that he hopes to restart talks on ending the Syrian civil war by late next month. Speaking in Geneva Tuesday, Mr. de Mistura said more work is needed from the United States and Russia in the coming days. "We hope that concrete progress on the Kerry-Lavrov understanding will take physically place. This will indeed create the right atmosphere, both on the ground and for the Intra-Syrian talks." Until June, there had been an August 1 deadline for having reached substantial agreement on the political transition in Syria. The United States has condemned "in strongest terms" a double bombing that took place at the main entrance of Mogadishu's airport during morning rush hour Tuesday. At least 13 people died in the blast. National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday the United States "stands squarely with Somalia and with our partners in the fight against despicable acts of terrorism." Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack on its radio station. And, extremely hot temperatures and low humidity are making it difficult for firefighters battling two major wildfires burning in drought-stricken California. About 3,000 firefighters are having a hard time bringing a blaze under control just outside the Angeles National Forest. Thermometers hit a steamy 39 degrees Celsius Tuesday in and around Los Angeles. One fire-related death has been reported. Another fire has destroyed homes near the scenic Pacific coastal town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, south of San Francisco. For more on these stories, visit our website voanews.com. I'm David Byrd in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA.