It’s Thursday. The Olympic opening ceremony is happening tomorrow! Eeeeeeeeeek! My FYP is filled with content from athletes in the Olympic Village. U.S. Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher is my favorite to follow so far. Her posts are hilarious. Like this and this. Here’s what’s happening today:

• Protesters burned American flags in D.C. while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered his address to Congress. Members of both parties have been strongly condemning the protesters.

• White House staffers surprised President Biden with a pizza, wine and ice cream party after his Oval Office speech last night.
• New polling shows a *very* tight race between former President Trump and Vice President Harris in battleground states. All but one are in the margin of error.
• Southwest is scrapping its signature open seating plan for assigned seats.

I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@digital-release.thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.  

©  AP

President Biden explained his rationale for withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race in an Oval Office address Wednesday evening. He did not cite his health or the opinions of his doctors, but said his decision was to unite Democrats after weeks of intraparty chaos following the debate.

In Biden’s words: “Nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition. So, I decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It’s the best way to unite our nation.”

💻 Watch Biden explain his decision

What you couldn’t see on TV: He was joined by first lady Jill Biden, his children and their spouses, his grandchildren and some of his longtime aides. Here are notes from the White House pool report — it gives you a sense of the mood.

Hundreds of White House staffers gathered in the Rose Garden after Biden made his announcement. The Daily Mail’s Nikki Schwab reports that there was pizza, wine and ice cream. The pizza was from Andy’s.

📹 Watch Biden walk out to the celebration

📸 Biden’s reaction: Ice cream was a nice touch. 

📸 Watch staffers file in

📸 View from the Rose Garden

📸 Throwback: Presidential historian Michael Beschloss posted a photo of former President Lyndon B. Johnson announcing he wouldn’t seek reelection in 1968. This was also in the Oval Office.

Former President Trump is narrowly leading Vice President Harris in several battleground states, and the two are tied in Wisconsin, according to a new poll from Emerson College Polling and The Hill.

• Wisconsin: Trump 47 percent; Harris 47 percent — Tied
• Arizona: Trump 49 percent; Harris 44 percent — Trump +5
• Georgia: Trump 48 percent; Harris 46 percent — Trump +2
• Michigan: Trump 46 percent; Harris 45 percent — Trump +1
• Pennsylvania: Trump 48 percent; Harris 46 percent — Trump +2
  

^ Keep in mind: In every state except Arizona, the polling falls within the poll’s margin of error. That means they’re essentially tied in these states.

Compare this to Biden’s polling: Harris outpaces Biden’s polling from a similar survey released earlier this month.

See the latest polls ➡️ Decision Desk HQ and The Hill’s polling hub

Trump is currently leading Harris by 2 points nationally, according to The Hill and Decision Desk HQ’s polling average. But the situation is very fluid. Less than a week ago, Biden was still at the top of the ticket.

The Hill’s Niall Stanage boils it down to six battleground states that will likely determine who wins: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Read his breakdown of the polling in each of those states

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) has emerged as an attack dog for Vice President Harris, trading barbs with former President Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).

Beshear told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins: “JD Vance is a phony. He’s fake. I mean, he first says that Donald Trump is like Hitler and now he’s acting like he’s Lincoln.”

The line I’m seeing all over social media: “The problem with JD Vance is he has no conviction, but I guess his running mate has 34.” 💻 Watch the clip (around the 50-second mark)

Read more of their tit for tats, via The Hill’s Julia Mueller

What Beshear has to gain: He is considered one of the top candidates to be Harris’s running mate.

DEEP DIVE ON THE BIDEN-HARRIS SWAP:
Check out The Hill’s new episode of the “Switch-Up” podcast. White House reporter Alex Gangitano joins race and politics reporter Cheyanne M. Daniels in a deep diver on what Harris’s recent rise means for November. Listen

©  AP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered his joint address to Congress on Wednesday, “a speech that shook Washington, divided Democrats and inflamed the political divide over the Israel-Hamas war,” writes The Hill’s Mychael Schnell.

Memorable moments from the address

Outside the chamber: Thousands of protesters gathered near the Capitol during Netanyahu’s address. At Union Station, protesters removed American flags from their poles and replaced them with Palestinian flags. Then, they burned the U.S. flags.

Democrats have joined Republicans in condemning the protests:

• The White House condemned what it called “disgraceful” protests outside Union Station. A group of House Republicans later restored the U.S. flags.
  
  
• Vice President Harris called the display “despicable acts by unpatriotic protestors.”
  
  
• House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) wrote in a statement that “defacing public property, desecrating the American flag, threatening Jews with violence and promoting terrorist groups like Hamas is not acceptable under any circumstance.”
  
  
• Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg denounced the protesters, saying their concern does not justify “support for terrorism.”

 📸 Scenes of the protests and vandalism

📸 Crews removing graffiti from yesterday’s protests

Inside the chamber: Some Democrats, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), boycotted the address. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian American serving in Congress, attended but held up a sign that said “war criminal” and “guilty of genocide.”

Happening today: President Biden and Vice President Harris are holding separate meetings with Netanyahu. Harris did not attend Netanyahu’s address to Congress.

🍷🧀 Celebrate: Today is National Wine and Cheese Day!

✈️ Whoa, Southwest has ditched open seating: Southwest Airlines will start assigning seats for the first time in its 50-year history. Why?: The airline said 80 percent of its customers want an assigned seat. Oh, and Southwest said it will also start offering overnight, red-eye flights. What we know about the changes

^Well, this is good news for anyone who doesn’t love playing competitive, 24-hour check-in games.

👗 This dress truly is everywhere: The Washington Post’s Rachel Tashjian writes how one Tuckernuck tweed dress is taking over Capitol Hill. I can also personally attest to the fact that it was everywhere at the Republican National Convention. This is the dress

The House and Senate are in. President Biden is in Washington, and Vice President Harris is returning to D.C. from Texas this afternoon. (all times Eastern)

• This morning: The House held its final votes before August recess.
• 1 p.m.: Biden hosts a bilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office.
• 1:30 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream
• 2:15 p.m.: The Senate holds a cloture vote on the children’s safety and privacy bills. 📆 Today’s agenda
• 2:30 p.m.: Biden and Netanyahu meet with the families of the Americans held hostage by Hamas.
• 4:30 p.m.: Harris meets with Netanyahu in the Vice President’s Ceremonial Office.
• 1:30 p.m. Friday: The Olympic opening ceremony begins!

Before I let you go: Can we please make some space for Odin? His bed has been taken.