DETROIT, MI — United Auto Workers leaders announced the organization’s endorsement of Kamala Harris for president on the eve of the Democrat’s planned rally in a city synonymous with auto manufacturing.

“Our job in this election is to defeat Donald Trump and elect Kamala Harris to build on her proven track record of delivering for the working class,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement.

Along with the endorsement, the UAW statement revealed Harris would host a rally in Detroit on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

While the Harris campaign earlier had announced plans for a rally next week, the specific date of the event was not revealed until the UAW statement. Campaign officials later confirmed the rally was scheduled for Wednesday evening.

The venue has yet to be announced.

UAW officials said union members plan to attend the rally to support Harris.

Why? Fain, in his statement, said the U.S. stands “at a crossroads.”

“We can put a billionaire back in office who stands against everything our union stands for, or we can elect Kamala Harris who will stand shoulder to shoulder with us in our war on corporate greed,” Fain said. “This campaign is bringing together people from all walks of life, building a movement that can defeat Donald Trump at the ballot box. For our 1 million active and retired members, the choice is clear: We will elect Kamala Harris to be our next president this November.”

The Harris campaign revealed a packed schedule next week for the vice president. It’s a calendar that sends her across battleground states which, like Michigan, could determine the outcome of this fall’s election.

Harris will travel to Philadelphia on Tuesday, Aug. 6; to Eau Claire, Wisconsin on Wednesday, hours before her stop in Detroit; to Research Triangle, North Carolina on Thursday, Aug. 8; to both Savannah and Phoenix on Friday, Aug. 9; and to Las Vegas on Saturday, Aug. 10.

The Harris campaign said the rallies will include the Democrat’s running mate, who has yet to be named.

Since President Joe Biden exited the 2024 race for the White House last week and endorsed his vice president, Harris has been on the campaign trail in key battleground states. This week, Harris campaigned in Atlanta and Houston.

She has yet to visit Michigan as a presidential candidate. She did campaign as a vice presidential incumbent in Kalamazoo on July 17, five days before Biden bowed out in her favor.

Detroit has served as a frequent stop for presidential candidates this year.

The week before Biden dropped out, he hosted a rally inside Detroit’s Renaissance High School gymnasium. It was the president’s third trip to Detroit in 2024.

Trump, the Republican nominee seeking to return to the White House, campaigned in the city in June.

Following Wednesday’s heat that reached a heat index near 100 degrees, southeast Wisconsin is expected to see scattered storms and rain Thursday afternoon and into the night.

While there could be some scattered storms through the morning, the bulk of potential stormy weather will come later in the afternoon and through the evening, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Michaela Heeren.

“With these storms, we do have a lot of instability, so there is that potential for some gusty winds and hail with the stronger storms,” Heeren said.

Going into the afternoon, there is a line of storms developing in central Wisconsin moving southeastward. The storms won’t be a “fast moving line,” but more of a “broken line,” affecting areas on and off throughout the afternoon and evening hours, Heeren said.

The storms are expected in the Milwaukee area around 5 p.m. but could arrive as early as 3 p.m. Strong storms exit the area around 9 p.m., but there is a chance of scattered storms through Friday morning.

Heeren said precipitation would likely be “closer to a tenth of an inch,” but that any of the storms have the possibility for heavy rain potential and an “inch is definitely in the realm of possibilities.”

Tristan Hernandez can be reached at thernandez@gannett.com.

MINNEAPOLIS — For the third summer in a row, law enforcement is targeting illegal guns and the most violent criminals in Minneapolis.

WCCO’s Reg Chapman rode along to see what’s being done to cool some of the city’s hottest spots for crime.  

It’s roll call for all local, county, state and federal law enforcement officers working together with a single focus: get the most violent offenders and guns off Minneapolis streets.

The day begins with a moment of silence for a comrade killed in the line of duty.

Then, a quick recap of last night’s activities. A warrant served on a violent offender resulting in a north Minneapolis standoff before an arrest.   

“It’s allof  these jurisdictions working together collaboratively to make sure that they can get the best result possible,” said Mayor Jacob Frey.

On the first two days of Operation Safe Summer, 13 guns were recovered and 44 people arrested.

“What’s so important is not just the illegal guns that are removed from the street, it’s all of the investigative efforts that go into addressing areas that have been problematic for violence, as well as specific people that we know have been active in causing harm in the community,” said Chief Brian O’Hara.

They concentrate on hot spots in the city and the violent criminals who operate there.

Criminal intelligence divisions from local, state and federal agencies work together to compile this information. 

“They identify areas that we should be working, they identify targets. They really dig in deep into the intelligence so that we are really doing intelligence-led policing,” said Major Rick Palaia.

Photojournalist Chris Cruz and Chapman rode with an undercover Hennepin County deputy. He took them to hot spots in south Minneapolis.

“The Franklin corridor from Cedar to Lyndale and in the middle of that is Chicago and Franklin where there’s been a lot of shootings,” said the undercover eputy.

For his safety WCCO is not showing his face or naming him. 

Cruz and Chapman witnessed a narcotics stop near that Chicago and Franklin corridor.

“Undercovers will do the investigation and then call in the marked units to make the stops,” said the undercover deputy.

In the past, law enforcement has taken guns and drugs and arrested the most violent offenders, and they hope to increase their efforts this summer.

Operation Safe Summer kicked off a bit later this year. It was supposed to start the day Minneapolis police officer Jamal Mitchell was killed in the line of duty.