Розділ: Політика
Walmart Pulls Firearms, Ammunition from US Store Floors as Civil Unrest Flares
Walmart Inc removed firearms and ammunition from U.S. store floors this week to protect customers and employees as tensions across the country have been rising, the world’s largest retailer said on Thursday.The move comes days before the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 3, with many worried that the result could be contested or spark violence.”We have seen some isolated civil unrest and as we have done on several occasions over the last few years, we have moved our firearms and ammunition off the sales floor as a precaution for the safety of our associates and customers,” a Walmart spokesperson said. The company does not have a date for when it will place the guns and ammunition back on the shelves, he added.The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer, which sells firearms in approximately half of its more than 5,000 U.S. stores, will still sell the items upon request, it said.Retailers have been on edge after people earlier this year smashed windows, stole merchandise and, at times, set stores ablaze in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Portland and other U.S. cities. In an another trend that has fed concern, gun sales in the United States this year have reached record highs, and more first-time buyers have purchased firearms recent months.In June, Walmart pulled firearms and ammunition from some U.S. sales stores amid nationwide protests over the death of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, while in police custody in late May.Last year, the retailer stopped selling ammunition for handguns and some assault-style rifles in all its U.S. stores.It has also in the past called for a strengthening of background checks for gun buyers and action to take guns out of the hands of those who pose a risk of violence.Shares of the retailer were trading roughly flat after the bell.
…
By Polityk | 10/30/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Supreme Court Issues Flurry of Last-Minute Election Orders
North Carolina, yes. Pennsylvania, yes. Wisconsin, no. That is how the Supreme Court has answered questions in recent days about an extended timeline for receiving and counting ballots in those states. In each case, Democrats backed the extensions and Republicans opposed them. All three states have Democratic governors and legislatures controlled by the GOP. At first blush, the difference in the outcomes seems odd because the Supreme Court typically takes up issues to harmonize the rules across the country. But elections are largely governed by states, and the rules differ from one state to the next. These cases are being dealt with on an emergency basis in which the court issues orders that either block or keep in place a lower court ruling. But there is almost never an explanation of the majority’s rationale, though individual justices sometimes write opinions that partially explain the matter. FILE – A worker prepares tabulators for the upcoming election at the Wake County Board of Elections in Raleigh, N.C., Sept. 3, 2020.There also is a difference in how the justices act based on whether they are ruling on a lawsuit that began in state or federal court. Conservative justices who hold a majority on the Supreme Court object to what they see as intrusions by federal judges who order last-minute changes to state election rules, even in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. The power to alter absentee ballot deadlines and other voting issues rests with state legislatures, not federal courts, according to the conservative justices. The court also is divided, but so far has been willing to allow state courts interpreting their own state constitutions to play more of a role than their federal counterparts. The justices did not finally resolve the legal issues involved, but they could do so after the election. A more thorough examination could come either in a post-election challenge that could determine the presidential winner if, for example, Pennsylvania proves critical to the national outcome, or in a less tense setting that might not affect the 2020 vote but would apply in the future. Even a decision that only looked ahead to future elections would be “concerning given that state courts have often been more protective of the right to vote under state constitutions than the federal courts have under the U.S. Constitution,” University of Kentucky law professor Joshua Douglas said. Also, new Justice Amy Coney Barrett has not taken part in any of these last-minute orders but could participate going forward. Here are some state-specific explanations of what has taken place over the past 10 days. Pennsylvania Last week, before Barrett had been confirmed, the justices divided 4-4, a tie vote that allowed the three-day extension ordered by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to remain in effect. On Wednesday, the court said it would not grant a quick, pre-election review to a new Republican appeal to exclude absentee ballots received after Election Day in the battleground state. FILE – Media members photograph and record a sorting machine at Philadelphia’s mail-in ballot sorting and counting center in preparation for the 2020 U.S. general election in Philadelphia, Oct. 26, 2020.But it remained unclear whether those ballots will ultimately be counted. The court’s order left open the possibility that the justices could take up and decide after the election whether a three-day extension to receive and count absentee ballots ordered by Pennsylvania’s high court was proper. The issue would take on enormous importance if Pennsylvania turns out to be the crucial state in next week’s election, and the votes received between November 3 and November 6 are potentially decisive. The Supreme Court ruled hours after Pennsylvania’s Department of State agreed to segregate ballots received in the mail after polls close on Tuesday and before 5 p.m. on November 6. Without keeping those ballots separate, Pennsylvania might have risked having the state’s overall vote count called into question. Three conservative justices signaled their interest in the court’s eventual review of the case. North Carolina The court on Wednesday refused to block an extra six days to receive and count absentee ballots in North Carolina. The State Board of Elections lengthened the period from three to nine days because of the coronavirus pandemic, pushing back the deadline to November 12. The board’s decision was part of a legal settlement with a union-affiliated group. The extension was approved by a state judge. Lawmakers had previously set November 6 as the deadline for mailed ballots because of the pandemic. There is no order or recommendation in North Carolina that ballots received after November 6 be kept apart. Justice Neil Gorsuch said courts should not be second-guessing the legislature. The election board and the state judge “worked together to override a carefully tailored legislative response to COVID,” Gorsuch wrote. Wisconsin In Wisconsin, ballots must arrive by Election Day, November 3, to be counted. The Supreme Court on Monday refused to reinstate a lower-court order that would have added six days to the deadline, identical to the extension granted primary voters in April. A federal appeals court already had blocked the additional days. FILE – A person drops off their absentee ballot at a drop box at City Hall as early voting for the upcoming presidential election begins in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Oct. 20, 2020.This time, it was the court’s liberals who objected. “As the COVID pandemic rages, the court has failed to adequately protect the nation’s voters,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in dissent. Again, there was nothing from the court explaining its order, but Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Gorsuch all wrote separate opinions. “Different bodies of law and different precedents govern these two situations and require, in these particular circumstances, that we allow the modification of election rules in Pennsylvania but not Wisconsin,” Roberts wrote, before the court had acted in the North Carolina case. Kavanaugh’s opinion drew outsized attention because he invoked the court’s Bush v. Gore case that effectively resolved the 2000 presidential election in favor of Republican George W. Bush. The Supreme Court has never cited Bush v. Gore in an opinion of the court. In 2000, in its unsigned majority opinion, the court wrote, “Our consideration is limited to the present circumstances.” But three lawyers who worked for Bush’s cause in 2000 — Roberts, Kavanaugh and now Barrett — sit on the court.
…
By Polityk | 10/30/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Former DHS Official Says He Wrote NY Times ‘Anonymous’ Trump Critique
A former Trump administration official who penned a scathing anti-Trump op-ed and book under the pen name “Anonymous” revealed himself Wednesday as a former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security.
The official, Miles Taylor, came forward six days before Election Day to criticize President Donald Trump as “a man without character.” He said he hoped other former administration officials will “find their conscience when they wake up tomorrow” and speak up, too.
Taylor has been an outspoken critic of Trump’s in recent months and had repeatedly denied he was the author of the column and subsequent book — even to colleagues at CNN, where he has a contributor contract. He left the Trump administration in June 2019 and endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president this summer.
Trump and White House officials moved quickly to describe Taylor as someone with little standing and clout.
“This guy is a low-level lowlife that I don’t know. I have no idea who he is, other than I got to see him a little while ago on television,” Trump told a campaign rally crowd in Arizona. As he belittled Taylor as a “sleazebag” and called for his prosecution, the crowd broke into cheers of “drain that swamp.”
But as DHS chief of staff, Taylor was in many White House meetings with the president on his border policy and other major Homeland Security issues. During Taylor’s time as chief of staff, Trump threatened to shut down the border and his administration developed the policy to force asylum seekers to wait across the U.S.-Mexico border.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows called Taylor’s revelation “a monumental embarrassment,” tweeting, “I’ve seen more exciting reveals in Scooby-Doo episodes.”
During a CNN appearance with Chris Cuomo Wednesday night, Taylor said he didn’t unmask himself earlier because the story would have disappeared within 48 hours.
“No one would pay attention and they wouldn’t care,” he said. “Right now, Americans are reviewing the president’s resume, his record and his character and it is mission critical that people like me, but others, come out now when the voters are listening and tell them who this man really is.”
Taylor’s anonymous essay was published in September 2018 by The New York Times, infuriating the president and setting off a frantic White House leak investigation to try to unmask the author.
In the essay, the person, who identified themselves only as a senior administration official, said they were part of a secret “resistance” force out to counter Trump’s “misguided impulses” and undermine parts of his agenda.
The author wrote, “Many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump’s more misguided impulses until he is out of office.”
The Times identified the author as a “senior official” in the administration and received some criticism online Wednesday for inflating Taylor’s credentials. The newspaper, which said it had granted Taylor anonymity because his job would be jeopardized if his identity was revealed, on Wednesday confirmed Taylor was the author because he has waived his right to confidentiality, and had no other comment.
The allegations incensed the president, bolstering his allegations about a “deep state” operating within his government and conspiring against him. The president, who had long complained about leaks in the White House, also ordered aides to unmask the writer, citing “national security” concerns to justify a possible Justice Department investigation.
Instead, the author pressed forward, penning a follow-up book published last November called “A Warning” that continued to paint a disturbing picture of the president, describing him as volatile, incompetent and unfit to be commander in chief.
To a certain extent, he’s since been overshadowed by other former government officials, both during the impeachment hearings and after, who went public condemning Trump’s behavior with their names attached.
Taylor’s behavior also leaves questions for CNN. He was asked directly by the network’s Anderson Cooper in August whether he was “Anonymous” and answered: “I wear a mask for two things, Anderson, Halloween and pandemics. So, no.”
Josh Campbell, a national security correspondent for CNN, tweeted that he had also asked Taylor if he was “Anonymous” and was told no.
Taylor said Wednesday that he owed Cooper a beer and a mea culpa. He said he wrote in his book that he would deny being “Anonymous” if asked, because he wanted to keep the focus on his arguments, instead of who was writing them.
“You know what the problem is with having lied is: Now you’re a liar, and people will be slow to believe you,” Cuomo said.
But he continued with a half-hour interview where Taylor denounced Trump. CNN said Taylor would remain a network contributor.
Taylor said he believed Trump would double down on damaging policies, particularly the separation of families at the southern border, if he won a second term.
“They want to turn this country into fortress America rather than a shining city on the hill,” he said.
He said he considered resigning from the Trump administration a year before he did and wishes now that he had.
Former GOP consultant Reed Galen, one of the founders of the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project, tweeted that Taylor “isn’t a hero.” He added: “He sat in those rooms, in those councils of power and allowed the banality of evil to work. … Heroism isn’t silence until it’s convenient and personally advantageous to stand up.”
…
By Polityk | 10/29/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump, Biden Campaign in Florida Thursday
With days until voters cast the last ballots in the U.S. presidential election, the top candidates are focusing their campaign efforts Thursday in the southeastern state of Florida.In every election since 1996, the winner of Florida has won the presidency. The winner there earns 29 of the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the election.President Donald Trump begins his campaigning day with a rally in the city of Tampa before traveling for an evening rally in the state of North Carolina.Former Vice President Joe Biden is set to speak to supporters in Broward County in the afternoon and then head to his own event in Tampa in the evening.According to anAbout two-thirds of America’s early voters have mailed in their ballots, and the rest voted in person at polling places throughout the country. Biden voted Wednesday in Wilmington, Delaware, while Trump cast his ballot on Saturday at a library in West Palm Beach, Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago resort. Voting experts say voter turnout for the contest between Republican Trump and Democratic challenger Biden could be the highest percentage of the electorate since 1908, when 65% of the country’s eligible voters cast ballots.
…
By Polityk | 10/29/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Lawmakers Attack Social Media CEOs for Taking Down and Labeling Some Speech
The CEOs of Facebook, Google and Twitter testified before a Senate committee hearing Wednesday, just days before the U.S. election. Tina Trinh reports.
Producer: Matt Dibble
…
By Polityk | 10/29/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Veterans Lean Toward Trump this Election, But Some Are Disillusioned
U.S. military veterans tend to vote Republican in presidential elections, and a majority will likely do so again this year. But VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb talked to some veterans who are reconsidering their political leanings and voting on the issues that matter most to them.
Camera: Adam Greenbaum and Mike Burke
…
By Polityk | 10/29/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Deploys Obama to Campaign, Trump Sends His Children
Days before the November 3 election, the campaigns of President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden are making their last pitch to voters, sending high-profile surrogates including former President Barack Obama and the Trump family children. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the story.
Produced by: Bakhtiyar Zamanov
…
By Polityk | 10/29/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Surge in Rejected Mail Ballots Heightens Specter of Post-Election Uncertainty
During every U.S. presidential election, hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots are discarded by election officials for a variety of reasons, from arriving too late to missing a proper signature on the outer envelope.But this year, with more than half of U.S. voters casting ballots early or by mail, even more absentee ballots are being tossed out, raising questions about voting rights and heightening the specter of post-election uncertainty in key battleground states.Consider Florida and Georgia, two Southern states where President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, have been running neck and neck ahead of the November 3 election.While Florida and Georgia don’t publish data on ballot rejections before the election, two academics — Dartmouth College professor Michael Herron and University of Florida professor Daniel Smith — have analyzed the states’ official mail-in data to tally the number of votes at risk of rejection.In Florida, out of 3.8 million mail-in ballots cast so far, more than 15,000 face dismissal, a rejection rate of 0.4 percent, according to Herron and Smith. In North Carolina, the rejection rate is even higher. As of October 25, out of more than 780,000 ballots mailed in the state, more than 10,000 face possible rejection, a disqualification rate of about 1.3%, their research found.Minority votersAs in some recent elections, more minority than white voters are facing ballot rejections. In North Carolina, for example, Black voters were three times more likely than white voters to have their ballots flagged, the researchers found. This is something the Democrats could use as an issue should they decide to challenge the results of close races.To be sure, not every ballot marked as deficient will be automatically rejected. In both states, as in many others, voters are given an opportunity to “cure” or correct mistakes on their ballots.“It would be premature at this juncture to conclude that those returned ballots have been rejected by the canvassing board and not counted,” said Mark Ard, interim communications director for the Florida Department of State.In North Carolina, officials have started contacting voters with erroneous ballots, said Patrick Gannon, public information director for the North Carolina State Board of Elections.“A voter who for any reason does not have time to cure the ballot may vote in person during the early voting period through October 31 or on Election Day,” Gannon said via email.At first glance, the number of Florida and Georgia ballots flagged for rejection appears modest. However, in Florida and Georgia, as in other states with historically close elections, 10,000 votes can sometimes be the difference between victory and defeat.The outcome of the 2000 presidential election between Republican George W. Bush, the ultimate victor, and Democrat Al Gore came down to 537 votes in Florida. And during the 2018 primary election for a U.S. Senate seat from Florida, Republican Rick Scott won by just 10,033 votes, the researchers noted.As more mail ballots arrive in the coming days, the number of rejected ballots is likely to grow, in some cases potentially surpassing the margin of victory between candidates in closely fought presidential, congressional, state or local races in battleground states.“That’s a really nightmarish scenario when an election is so close that the number of rejected ballots is greater than the margin,” Herron said in an interview.As of Wednesday, 49 million Americans had voted by mail, according to a tally by the U.S. Elections Project.Herron and Smith first published their findings in The Conversation, a research publication. They shared more up-to-date data from Florida and North Carolina with VOA.Court battlesThe issues of how to handle ballots with signature problems and how long past November 3 mail-in ballots can arrive and still be counted have been the subject of months-long court battles by Republicans and Democrats throughout the country.With more Democrats than Republicans voting by mail, Republicans have sought court intervention, with varying degrees of success, to prevent late-arriving ballots from being entered into the final tally.In recent weeks, the conservative-controlled U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against efforts to change election procedures, including ballot receipt deadlines, invoking a doctrine that holds election rules should not be changed close to a vote.On October 19, before Trump’s latest Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, was confirmed, the justices split 4-4 over Pennsylvania’s plan to count the votes until three days after Election Day, even if they don’t have a legible postmark. On Wednesday, the justices refused to fast-track a new Republican challenge to Pennsylvania’s extended vote-counting deadline.But earlier this week, in a ruling viewed as a major setback for the Democrats, the high court blocked a Wisconsin plan to count mail-in ballots for up to six days after the election.Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington, said rejected mail-in ballots are ripe for post-election litigation.“I suspect we may have big delays in the counting of ballots if there is a significant increase in absentee ballots, and I think there may also be litigation over the rejection of absentee ballots that did not comply with state law,” von Spakovsky, a former Republican member of the Federal Election Commission, said in a recent interview.Historically, less than 1% of absentee votes get rejected because of administrative errors. But with record numbers of people voting by mail this year, many of them first-time voters, at least 1 million ballots could be discarded, according to a recent projection by a joint investigation by USA Today, Columbia Journalism Investigations and the PBS series Frontline.During this year’s presidential primaries, more than 550,000 mail-in ballots were discarded in 30 states, far more than the total for the 2016 presidential election, according to an analysis by NPR in August. That happened in large part because states were unprepared for the surge in voting by mail during the pandemic, noted Tammy Patrick, a former Arizona election official now with the foundation Democracy Fund.In the months since the primaries, however, many states have adopted a number of voting-by-mail best practices, changes that will likely reduce the number of rejected ballots, Patrick said.“They have redone their voting instructions. They have redone the design of their ballot envelopes. They have adopted practices like ballot tracking,” Patrick said.Voters can now check their voting status online and in at least 19 states are notified when their mail ballots need to be corrected. In Colorado, voters with deficient ballots are notified by text message and allowed to correct the error on their smartphones.As a result, Patrick said, fewer ballots will ultimately be rejected during the general election.“It might be a little bit higher than a traditional presidential election because there still will be so many new voters, but I’m hopeful that we won’t see the same kind of numbers we saw in the primary,” Patrick said.One wild card, however, is the number of mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day. While some states have extended their ballot receipt deadlines, 32 states, including Florida, don’t accept ballots that arrive after Election Day, giving voters little time to cure their ballots. North Carolina accepts ballots up to six days after Election Day if they are postmarked on or before November 3. Republicans have asked the Supreme Court to block the plan.“I think the big, lurking question out there is how many ballots arrive after Election Day,” Herron said.
…
By Polityk | 10/29/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
71 Million Americans Have Already Voted
Americans are voting early for next Tuesday’s presidential election in unprecedented numbers, a product of strong feelings for or against the two main candidates and a desire to avoid large crowds at Election Day polling stations amid the coronavirus pandemic. More than 71 million people have already voted six days ahead of the official election day, totaling more than half of the overall 2016 vote count, which was 138.8 million. FILE – Returned ballots are shown at elections management center at the Salt Lake County Government Center Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, in Salt Lake City.About two-thirds of the early voters have mailed in their ballots, and the rest voted in person at polling places throughout the country. Voting experts say voter turnout for the contest between Republican President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden could be the highest since 1908, when 65% of the country’s eligible voters cast ballots. President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at Eppley Airfield, Oct. 27, 2020, in Omaha, Neb.Trump, Biden and their respective running mates — Vice President Mike Pence and California Senator Kamala Harris — are continuing to make their closing arguments to voters on Wednesday. Focus on Arizona Both Trump and Harris are campaigning in Arizona, the southwestern state along the Mexican border that Trump won in 2016 against Democrat Hillary Clinton en route to a four-year term in the White House. But polls in the state, where no Democratic presidential candidate has won since 1996, now show Biden narrowly ahead. The state has 11 of the 270 electoral votes that either Trump or Biden will need to claim the presidency and be inaugurated on January 20. U.S. presidential elections are decided in an indirect form of democracy in the 538-member Electoral College, not the national popular vote. Typically, all of a state’s Electoral College votes go to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in each of the 50 states, with the most populous states holding the most sway. Trump is holding two afternoon rallies in Arizona, in Bullhead City and Goodyear. Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks at a campaign event, Oct. 27, 2020, in Las Vegas.Harris is meeting with Latina business owners in the morning in Tucson and later in the day with a group of Black leaders in the state’s biggest city, Phoenix. She is finishing her day with a speech at a rally where pop singer Alicia Keys is performing. Biden briefed on virus Biden, who has cast blame on Trump for the country’s world-leading coronavirus death toll of more than 226,000, is being briefed by public health experts on the pandemic and then delivering remarks on his plans to curb the spread of the virus. Later, he is attending a virtual campaign fund-raising event. Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about the coronavirus and health care at The Queen theater, Oct. 28, 2020, in Wilmington, Del.Trump this week has continued to assert the country has “rounded the corner” in dealing with the virus, even as the number of U.S. infections is surging. Pence is holding rallies in two key Midwest states, Wisconsin and then Michigan, that Trump captured in 2016 but where he now trails Biden. Vice President Miek Pence speaks to hundreds of supporters during a rally at an airplane hangar on Oct. 27, 2020, in Greenville, S.C.National polls typically show Biden with a 7- or 8-percentage point lead over Trump, but with about half that margin in key battleground states that are likely to determine the outcome in the Electoral College. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 3 MB480p | 5 MB540p | 6 MB720p | 12 MB1080p | 23 MBOriginal | 29 MB Embed” />Copy Download Audio
…
By Polityk | 10/29/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
2020 Election Puts Focus on Twitter, Facebook Content Moderation
The nation’s top technology leaders urged U.S. lawmakers Wednesday to keep content moderation protections in place, despite growing calls from Republicans to address perceived bias in the way social media companies handle free speech online. Online companies are shielded from liability for content on their sites under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. Those protections apply to companies of all sizes operating online that use third-party content. But some Republicans contend Section 230 is a “carve-out” for larger companies such as Facebook and Twitter, allowing them to censor content based on political viewpoints and use their considerable reach to influence public discourse. U.S. President Donald Trump called for an end to Section 230 in a Tweet Wednesday, saying “The USA doesn’t have Freedom of the Press, we have Suppression of the Story, or just plain Fake News. So much has been learned in the last two weeks about how corrupt our Media is, and now Big Tech, maybe even worse. Repeal Section 230!” President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at MotorSports Management Company, in West Salem, Wis., Oct. 27, 2020.At issue is whether or not a company that moderates content is a publisher instead of a platform and if the reach of companies such Facebook, Google and Twitter constitutes a monopoly. “Companies are actively blocking and throttling the distribution of content on their own platforms and are using protections under Section 230 to do it. Is it any surprise that voices on the right are complaining about hypocrisy, or even worse?” Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker said Wednesday. Section 230 has received renewed attention during the 2020 presidential election cycle due to online companies’ new approaches to content moderation in response to foreign interference on online platforms during the 2016 elections cycle. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey pushed back against that in prepared testimony Wednesday, saying, “We should remember that Section 230 has enabled new companies—small ones seeded with an idea—to build and compete with established companies globally. Eroding the foundation of Section 230 could collapse how we communicate on the Internet, leaving only a small number of giant and well-funded technology companies.” Dorsey told lawmakers one possible approach that is “within reach” would allow users to choose between Twitter’s own algorithm that determines what content is viewable, and algorithms developed by third parties.Wicker said his staff had collected “dozens and dozens” of examples of conservative content that he says has been censored and suppressed over the past four years by Twitter. He alleged the social media company had allowed Chinese Communist propaganda about COVID-19 to remain up for two months while President Donald Trump’s claims about mail-in ballots were immediately taken down. Earlier this month, Twitter blocked users from sharing a link to a news story on Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. Twitter also locked the accounts of President Trump and White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany for sharing the story, citing its policies for how hacked materials are shared on its website. Based on these actions, Republican Senator Ted Cruz accused Twitter of attempting to influence U.S. elections. “Your position is that that you can sit in Silicon Valley and demand of the media that you can tell them what stories they can publish; you can tell the American people what reporting they can hear,” Cruz said to Dorsey Wednesday. The Twitter CEO has apologized for the decision, tweeting, “Straight blocking of URLs was wrong, and we updated our policy and enforcement to fix. Our goal is to attempt to add context, and now we have capabilities to do that.” Facebook also restricted sharing of the Hunter Biden story, saying it would first need a third-party fact check. The social media company had allowed Russian disinformation to flood the site during the 2016 election, but Facebook instituted new policies this election cycle. According to its website, Facebook’s response includes the removal of 6.5 billion fake accounts in 2019, adding third-party factcheckers to go over content posted on the site as well as removing 30 networks engaged in coordinated, inauthentic behavior. “Without Section 230, platforms could potentially be held liable for everything people say. Platforms would likely censor more content to avoid legal risk and would be less likely to invest in technologies that enable people to express themselves in new ways,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told lawmakers Wednesday. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears on a screen as he speaks remotely during a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee on Capitol Hill, Oct. 28, 2020, in Washington.Congressional Democrats expressed concern about the growth of extremist groups online as well as continuing attempts at foreign election interference on social media platforms, questioning the timing of the hearing.“I am appalled that my Republican colleagues are holding this hearing literally days before an election, when they seem to want to bully and browbeat the platforms here to try to tilt toward President Trump’s favor. The timing seems inexplicable except to game the referee,” said Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal. “President Trump has broken all the norms. And he has put on your platforms, potentially dangerous and lethal misinformation and disinformation.” In an earlier line of questioning, Dorsey told lawmakers Twitter does not maintain lists of accounts to watch, but bases content moderation based on algorithms and service user requests. Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer at Google, also stated the company’s commitment toward independence, telling lawmakers, “We approach our work without political bias, full stop. To do otherwise would be contrary to both our business interests and our mission, which compels us to make information accessible to every type of person, no matter where they live or what they believe.”
…
By Polityk | 10/29/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
More Than 3M in Pennsylvania Apply for Mail-in Ballots
A week ahead of the Nov. 3 election, applications in the presidential battleground state of Pennsylvania for mail-in or absentee ballots exceeded 3 million, with Tuesday the last day to request one and legal wrangling creating uncertainty over the deadline to receive them.
State data shows that, of those applications, about 1.9 million, or more than 62%, have been returned to counties.
More than 9 million Pennsylvanians have registered to vote, a record high. If turnout is 70%, which was the rate in 2016’s presidential election in Pennsylvania, that means 6.3 million people will vote.
The majority of people, 1.9 million, applying for mail-in or absentee ballots are Democrats, according to state data. About 760,000 are Republicans and 350,000 are registered independents or third-party voters.
Abby Leafe, a registered Democrat who lives in suburban Philadelphia’s Bucks County, checked her mailbox Tuesday in vain for her mail-in ballot.
“I am desperately, desperately waiting for my ballot to arrive,” said Leafe, a 46-year-old market researcher from Newtown, one of the millions of suburban moms that both parties hope to reach this year.
Leafe hopes to vote by mail, but will go to the polls if need be.
“Making sure we have free and fair elections is worth getting COVID for,” she said.
The crush of mail-in votes is a record, more than 10 times the amount received by counties in 2016’s presidential election when President Donald Trump edged out Democrat Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, helping him win the White House.
This year, Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democrat, are locked in a battle to win Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes, with Trump warning that the only way he can lose Pennsylvania is if Democrats cheat. Democrats counter that Trump is mounting a massive voter intimidation and suppression campaign in Pennsylvania.
Counties have staffed up and bought new high-speed sorting equipment to process the ballots as they prepare to hold an election with fast-rising coronavirus numbers, new voting machines and the U.S. Supreme Court potentially deciding the return deadline for mail-in ballots.
In that lawsuit, Luzerne County on Tuesday asked Justice Amy Coney Barrett to recuse herself from consideration of the state Republican Party’s request that the U.S. Supreme Court block counties from counting mailed-in ballots received up to three days after the Nov. 3 election.
The filing by Luzerne County came shortly after Barrett was formally sworn in as the Supreme Court’s ninth justice.
The justices last week divided 4-4 on the GOP’s request to put a hold on the deadline extension, which left it in place while justices decide whether to consider the underlying case. There is no timeline for them to vote on whether to take the case, which seeks to return the deadline to the one in state law, which is when polls close on Election Day.
The state Supreme Court ruled in September that county election officials must count mailed-in ballots that arrive up until Nov. 6, even if they don’t have a clear postmark, as long as there is no proof it was mailed after the polls closed.
Meanwhile, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration pushed back on Trump’s claims in his three rallies on Monday in Pennsylvania.
Trump claimed that Wolf’s administration tried to prevent him from holding rallies, but the administration said it had had no contact with the campaign about its rallies Monday. Trump’s campaign presumably deals with property owners and local governments, Wolf’s office said.
Trump also complained, falsely, during a rally in Allentown the day before and on Twitter overnight that Philadelphia is blocking his campaign from having observers at polls.
“We can’t have poll watchers, the judge said,” Trump told rally goers. “They fought us on that, they didn’t want people watching them count.”
Trump’s campaign has not been blocked from having poll watchers.
Rather, Trump’s campaign sued Philadelphia’s elections board to force it to allow campaign representatives to monitor satellite election offices, where people can register to vote, apply for a mail-in ballot, fill it out and return it.
A Philadelphia judge and a statewide appellate court judge both reached the same conclusion, that Pennsylvania law does not allow such monitoring of those activities.
Wolf’s top election official, Kathy Boockvar, suggested Trump is spreading disinformation and said every county will appoint poll watchers before Election Day.
“Philadelphia and every other county in the state can have poll watchers,” Boockvar said at a news conference Tuesday. “That hasn’t changed. His tweets, again, voters need to ignore the disinformation. There’s so much disinformation out there, people should not retweet, should not repost, this information is inaccurate. Pennsylvania has very clear laws.”
…
By Polityk | 10/28/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US to Open Embassy in Maldives Amid Geopolitics Competition with China
The United States is opening an embassy in the Maldives to strengthen economic and security cooperation five decades after the two nations established diplomatic ties. The move reflects “the continued growth of the U.S.-Maldives relationship and underscoring the United States’ unshakeable commitment to Maldives and the Indo-Pacific region,” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement Wednesday after his meetings in the Maldives with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo walks to board an aircraft to leave for Maldives, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Oct. 28, 2020.The latest move is seen as part of Washington’s push for a free and open Indo-Pacific to curb Beijing’s influence in the region.
The United States does not have a consulate or embassy in Maldives currently but operates an American Center in Malé. The U.S. ambassador and embassy staff in Sri Lanka are accredited to Maldives and make regular visits to the island archipelago. FILE – A construction worker looks on as the China-funded Sinamale bridge is seen in Male, Maldives, Sept. 18, 2018.Pompeo’s travel to the South Asian nation comes after the U.S. and Maldives signed a defense agreement on September 10 to “deepen engagement and cooperation” in the peace and security of the Indian Ocean, according to the State Department. India, historically skeptical of foreign military presence close to its borders, has blessed the deal, U.S. officials say. In recent years, U.S. naval vessels have regularly conducted port calls at Maldives. The nation of islands has provided support to U.S. efforts to combat terrorism and terrorist financing. The U.S. has provided $2 million in assistance to Maldives for COVID-19 recovery during the pandemic. Washington has also pledged millions in economic support aimed at strengthening Maldives’ fiscal transparency, maritime security, and counterterrorism. The U.S. established diplomatic relations with Maldives in 1966 following its independence from Britain. After Maldives, Pompeo heads to Jakarta, Indonesia, where he will underscore religious freedom and human rights in the world’s most populous Muslim majority nation, according to U.S. officials. The secretary of state has told reporters that it is in the best interest of Southeast Asian nations to protect “their maritime rights” and the ability to conduct business, ensuring “that their sovereignty is protected against” threats from the Chinese Communist Party. Beijing has built strong economic and diplomatic ties with Jakarta. China was the second largest source of foreign direct investment in Indonesia in the first half of this year. Southeast Asia is the region most impacted by While Indonesia is not seen as a party to the South China Sea disputes, it has on multiple occasions detected Chinese fishing or coast guard ships in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone off the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea.
…
By Polityk | 10/28/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
How do Media Organizations Report Election Results in Real Time?
As Americans prepare to go to polling stations on Election Day this Nov. 3, U.S. news organizations are preparing to report the count which will determine the winners of more than 7,000 races, including the White House, House and Senate seats, state offices, and local legislative positions.In the United States, news organizations observe the vote count in real time and use a variety of information to determine when they can declare a winner in each race, including overall vote totals, exit polling of voters, and the estimated number of votes still uncounted in each precinct. Here’s how it works and what news organizations do to help ensure they do not make a mistake.Who announces winners in U.S. elections?State election officials are the ones who certify the vote count, but long before every ballot has been counted, the American news media use a variety of data sources and tools to project the winners. Using a collection of raw vote totals, statistical techniques, and projections, the news organizations, which have been covering American presidential elections continuously since 1848, have had an excellent – but not perfect – record of calling race winners.How do news organizations count the vote returns on election night?Votes are tabulated county by county by the Associated Press, a non-profit news agency which uses its national network of more than 4,000 reporters on election night to record the vote tallies from county clerks and other local officials. The AP also gathers information from state websites that post election returns. Reporters feed that information back to AP’s vote counting operation, where analysts make decisions about which races are ready to be called.Workers with the Philadelphia City Commissioners office sort election materials for the 2020 General Election in the United States at the city’s mail-in ballot sorting and counting center, in Philadelphia, Oct. 26, 2020.Who does the counting?Local election workers collect the ballot tallies in each precinct. How and when the ballots are counted is determined by local and state laws. For example, some states such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin require that no ballots be counted until Election Day, even if they arrived at election offices weeks earlier. Once the votes from a precinct are counted, election workers pass the information to county and state officials, who then make the tallies available to reporters and the public.What do reporters do with the local tallies?AP reporters across the country phone the results to data entry people in specially set up election centers where they are entered into an electronic system. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the election centers are virtual in 2020. All vote counts are subject to a series of checks and verifications, including computer programs that set off alerts if there are inconsistencies with the vote count because of previous voting history or other data.Who decides the winners?At the AP, a team of race callers on the Decision Desk determines when they have enough information to declare a winner. The team is looking at more than just the overall vote total, taking into account the incoming vote as well as how many ballots are left to count and where those uncounted votes were cast.This election, the AP is not using exit polling data conducted by the National Election Pool as it has done in years past. This data is collected by pollsters who ask voters questions as they are leaving their polling places. AP says that it does not believe such data is effective when large numbers of people vote early.Other news media, including the major TV networks — ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC — continue to be a part of the National Election Pool and will have access to the exit polling data to help make election projections. The networks also use specially set up election desks to make calls on election night.This means that different media organizations may declare winners in elections at different times, using their own models and data. A voter drops off her absentee ballot during early voting at the Park Slope Armory YMCA, in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Oct. 27, 2020.How do they count ballots since so many people are voting early?Because of the coronavirus pandemic, many more Americans are voting early this year and many of those votes are being cast by mail. Mail ballots usually take longer to count than those cast in person. Election officials must open the ballots, make sure a voter is registered, and oftentimes verify their signature.Because of this, the AP is predicting, “extended vote counts” in more states than previous years, which could drag on for days or weeks. The AP developed its own survey in 2018 designed specifically to account for the rise in votes cast before Election Day. The survey, called AP VoteCast, captures the opinion of those who voted early as well as those who voted on Election Day and will help the AP to factor in the early vote when calling races.How accurate is the media at announcing results?The media have largely been accurate in calling election winners. However, their credibility was hugely damaged during the 2000 presidential race when most news outlets prematurely called the race for Al Gore around 8 p.m. on Election Day, then called it again for George W. Bush after 2 a.m. the following morning, then rescinded all calls as an automatic recount of the votes began in Florida.The AP has been counting votes for over 120 years and says that in 2016 it was 99.8% accurate in calling all U.S. races and 100% accurate in calling the presidential and congressional races for each state. AP declared Donald Trump the winner in 2016 at 2:29 a.m. on Wednesday, November 9.
…
By Polityk | 10/28/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Senate Races Tighten Ahead of Election
With days left until the U.S. election, Democrats are in a position to win a handful of Senate races that could give them control of the chamber in 2021. No matter who wins the White House, party control of the Senate will be a key factor determining how much work gets done in Washington for the next two years.Republicans currently have a 53-47 Senate majority. If Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wins the presidency, Democrats would need a net pickup of just three Senate seats to assume the majority. If U.S. President Donald Trump is elected to a second term, Democrats would need to gain four Senate seats to have a working majority.According to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, seven of the 35 U.S. Senate seats up for reelection November 3 are races that are too close to call. All seven of those seats are currently Republican-held. Additionally, in this cycle Republicans are defending nearly twice as many seats as Democrats, making it more challenging for Republicans to maintain their numbers.Of the 12 Democrat-held U.S. Senate seats up for reelection, only one is rated by Cook Political Report as leaning Republican – the Alabama race between Senator Doug Jones and his Trump-endorsed Republican challenger Tommy Tuberville. The former football coach has been leading Jones in the polls by double digits since the summer.Casey Burgat, director of the Legislative Affairs program at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management, said polling data showing a shift in Democrats’ favor reflect how many races have been nationalized by Trump’s presence at the top of the ticket.“If we think of elections as referendums on those incumbents, Republicans are in a really tight spot right now, led by President Trump,” he said. “Candidates are having to work in their seats to distance themselves, to show a streak of independence to say that ‘I’m just not a vote for an unpopular president.’ States where just four years ago he was incredibly popular – being that he brought in some senators to the Senate based on his election tally. So quite a shift in a few short years.”Here’s where a handful of key races stand:Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) walks on Capitol Hill, February 3, 2020, in Washington.IowaEarlier this year, the central state of Iowa looked to be one of the states holding strong for Republicans. But while Trump carried the state by 9 percentage points in 2016, his trade wars have had an impact on its heavily agricultural economy.Incumbent Republican Senator Joni Ernst supported Trump’s policies and government payments to farmers to supplement the lost income. She has either trailed or tied her Democratic challenger, real estate developer Theresa Greenfield, in almost all polls throughout the year.Iowa farmer Doug Thompson, a Greenfield supporter, said Ernst’s political fortunes are tied to the president.“Her success or failure is going to be based on Trump’s success or failure in Iowa,” Thompson told VOA. “Agriculture has been devastated even though we’ve been paid off [received federal aid]. There’s still a lot of stress out here – a lot of stress on balance sheets.”Ernst stumbled in a recent debate answering a question about commodities prices, but farmer and Iowa State Senator Dan Zumbach said she understands agriculture in Iowa.“President Trump will get our trade settled down so that we can get better prices long term. Joni Ernst is genuine, honest and knowledgeable, and she works hard for our agriculture because she understands it – it’s where her roots are.”North CarolinaEarly October was a tumultuous time for both candidates in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races: North Carolina. Considered a bellwether for American politics because its demographic makeup reflects a diverse range of areas, ages and ethnicities, North Carolina is fiercely fought over in the presidential election and features a marquee contest between incumbent Republican Senator Thom Tillis and his Democratic challenger, former state senator Cal Cunningham.FILE – Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) talks to reporters prior to the resumption of the Senate impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, January 30, 2020.Earlier this month, Tillis was diagnosed with COVID-19 as a part of the outbreak of cases that impacted the White House and the U.S. Congress. While Tillis has since quarantined and recovered, the virus kept him from the campaign trail. At the same time, his opponent was facing questions about revelations he had been texting a woman who was not his wife. Cunningham ended up admitting to an intimate encounter earlier in the summer and apologized publicly to his family. According to a Real Clear Politics average of polls, Cunningham appears not to have been significantly damaged by those events. He leads Tillis by an average of 1.8 percentage points in political surveys.FILE – Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Cal Cunningham speaks to supporters during a primary election night party in Raleigh, N.C., March 3, 2020.MaineFacing a tough reelection race, Senator Susan Collins crossed the aisle Monday to vote against the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. Collins made it clear she was not voting against Barrett based on her qualifications but on timing.“I do not think it is fair nor consistent to have a Senate confirmation vote prior to the election,” Collins said in a statement Monday.FILE – Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) talks to reporters before attending the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, January 28, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.Making decisions in the national spotlight is a familiar role for Collins, who cast a key vote earlier this year in the Senate impeachment trial of Trump. Her opponent, Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, raised funds on the basis of Collins’ vote confirming Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, another decision that led some Maine voters to question whether Collins had maintained her reputation as an independent voice in the U.S. Senate.“Her vote for Brett Kavanaugh was kind of that breaking point, or at least one of the flashpoints in saying we like when you’re independent, but only so far as when you are agreeing with what we do as a state,” said Burgat. “She’s been kind of fighting back against that narrative ever since.”Gideon, a Maine state representative, leads Collins by an average of 4.2 percentage points in a Real Clear Politics average of polls conducted in September and October prior to the Supreme Court vote.South CarolinaThe home state of one of Trump’s strongest Senate defenders is a relatively late entry into the list of close races. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is leading his Democratic challenger, former South Carolina Democratic party chairman Jaime Harrison by 6 percentage points in the latest New York Times/Siena poll conducted the week of October 9. But a Quinnipiac University poll has shown the two candidates in a tie in multiple polls since July.FILE – Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jaime Harrison speaks at a campaign rally on Oct. 17, 2020, in North Charleston, S.C.Money is keeping this race competitive. Graham notably complained about Harrison’s fundraising abilities in the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Barrett last week. Harrison, the former South Carolina Democratic party chairman, has broken the record for the largest three-month fundraising effort ever in a Senate race – a record $57 million.“His fundraising numbers have been astronomical, but a lot of that money has been coming from outside the state where voters are looking to him as an opportunity for a Democratic pickup,” said Burgat. “So they are funneling money into that race, for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that Lindsey Graham has become kind of the face of Trump-enabling, Trump-supporting and going along with the Trump agenda.”Harrison has been careful not to focus his campaign on criticism of Trump – part of a balancing act intended to appeal to voters in a state that went for the president over Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton by 14 percentage points in 2016.Toss-upsOther toss-up races include both Georgia Senate races. Polls show Republican incumbent U.S. Senator David Perdue leading Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff by 1.5 percentage points. In an open race for Georgia’s other Senate seat, a Democratic political newcomer, the Rev. Raphael Warnock, leads a crowded field by an average of 8.5 percentage points. The Montana Senate race shows encouraging signs for Republican incumbent Senator Steve Daines, who leads his Democratic challenger, Steve Bullock, by 3.3 percentage points.Kane Farabaugh contributed to this report.
…
By Polityk | 10/28/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
With US Election a Week Away, Trump and Biden Campaign in Contested States
With one week until Election Day, Republican U.S. President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, headed Tuesday to political battleground states in a frantic push to shore up critical support to win a four-year term in the White House.Their travel plans reflect the state of the race, with polls showing Biden ahead of Trump by seven to nine percentage points nationally and about half that in contested states that are likely to determine the overall outcome.On Tuesday, Trump is on defense, headed to three midwestern states he won in his upset victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 — Michigan, Wisconsin and Nebraska – and likely needs to capture again to win a second term. But polls show him trailing in Michigan and Wisconsin and, while he is ahead statewide in reliably Republican Nebraska, he trails in the race to win a single elector in an Omaha-based congressional district that could play a role in deciding next week’s national winner. Meanwhile, the seemingly confident Biden is on offense, headed to two stops in the southern state of Georgia, which has not backed a Democrat for president since 1992. Pollsters show Biden and Trump locked in a tossup to win the state’s 16 Electoral College votes.Typically, all of a state’s Electoral College votes go to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in that state. Both Trump and Biden are looking to piece together state-by-state victories to get to a majority of 270 in the 538-member Electoral College, where the most populous states hold the most sway.Trump lost the national popular vote four years ago and is likely to again this time, but he retains a chance to win the presidency a second time in the Electoral College if he can claim wins in key battleground states he is visiting in the final days of the contentious campaign.
Four years ago, Trump narrowly won three northern states – Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – that traditionally have voted for Democrats. He likely needs to capture at least Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes, along with holding other key states he won in 2016, in order to remain the U.S. leader.Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden arrives to speak with supporters outside a voter service center, in Chester, Pennsylvania, Oct. 26, 2020.Forecasts show Biden has numerous paths to 270 votes in the Electoral College, including recapturing Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin while holding on to all the states Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton won in 2016. Currently, polls show Biden ahead of Trump in all the states she captured, making Trump’s climb to winning even steeper.Later in the week, Biden is headed to another state Trump won last time — the Midwest farm state of Iowa. Biden’s vice-presidential running mate, California Senator Kamala Harris, is visiting two more 2016 Trump states — Arizona, where polling shows Biden narrowly pulling ahead, and populous Texas with 38 electors, where Trump is maintaining a slight advantage.But the former vice president is also mindful of Clinton’s downfall at the end of the 2016 campaign when she shunned a last-minute stop in Wisconsin. Biden is visiting there later in the week, as well as Michigan and the pivotal southeastern state of Florida, Trump’s adopted home state where he maintains a mansion along the Atlantic coastline.On Tuesday, Trump, fresh from presiding over Monday night’s White House swearing-in ceremony for newly confirmed Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, is heading to a rally in the Michigan capital of Lansing and a stop in the small city of West Salem, Wisconsin, before leaving for the visit to Omaha, Nebraska’s biggest city.At large outdoor rallies, Trump has contended that he successfully helped build the American economy before it was decimated this year by the onslaught of the coronavirus, and that he can restore the economy again.Trump has several times this week said the national news media continue to report extensively on the devastation the pandemic has wrought on the U.S., which has recorded a world-leading 225,000 deaths and 8.7 million infections, according to the Johns Hopkins University.In all caps, Trump tweeted, “ALL THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA WANTS TO TALK ABOUT IS COVID, COVID, COVID. ON NOVEMBER 4th, YOU WON’T BE HEARING SO MUCH ABOUT IT ANYMORE. WE ARE ROUNDING THE TURN!!!”ALL THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA WANTS TO TALK ABOUT IS COVID, COVID, COVID. ON NOVEMBER 4th, YOU WON’T BE HEARING SO MUCH ABOUT IT ANYMORE. WE ARE ROUNDING THE TURN!!!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 27, 2020But Biden has regularly assailed Trump’s handling of the virus, saying in a statement that the moment “required presidential leadership – and when we needed it, President Trump panicked. He froze. And today, eight months into this crisis, he still has no plan to get the virus under control, no interest in listening to the scientists, and no ability to lead our country through this moment.”More than 66 million Americans have already cast early ballots, two-thirds of them by mail and one-third in person at polling stations. Many voters say they are looking to avoid coming face-to-face with others in the expected long lines of people waiting to cast ballots next Tuesday.
…
By Polityk | 10/28/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Judge: US Can’t Replace Trump in Columnist’s Slander Suit
A federal judge on Tuesday denied President Donald Trump’s request that the United States replace him as the defendant in a defamation lawsuit alleging he raped a woman in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan came after the Justice Department argued that the United States — and by extension the American people — should replace Trump as the defendant in a lawsuit filed by the columnist E. Jean Carroll.
The government’s lawyers contended that the United States could step in as the defendant because Trump was forced to respond to her lawsuit to prove he was physically and mentally fit for the job.
The judge ruled that a law protecting federal employees from being sued individually for things they do within the scope of their employment didn’t apply to a president.
“The President of the United States is not an employee of the Government within the meaning of the relevant statutes,” Kaplan wrote. “Even if he were such an employee, President Trump’s allegedly defamatory statements concerning Ms. Carroll would not have been within the scope of his employment. Accordingly, the motion to substitute the United States in place of President Trump is denied.”
Lawyers for Carroll had written that “only in a world gone mad could it somehow be presidential, not personal, for Trump to slander a woman who he sexually assaulted.”
The Justice Department relied solely on written arguments in the dispute after its lawyer was banned from a Manhattan federal courthouse last week because he had not quarantined for two weeks after traveling to New York from a state on a list of those whose coronavirus test rates were high.
Carroll, a former longtime advice columnist for Elle magazine, said in her lawsuit that in the fall of 1995 or spring of 1996 she and Trump met in a chance encounter when they recognized each other at the Bergdorf Goodman store.
She said they engaged in a lighthearted chat about trying on a see-through lilac gray bodysuit when they made their way to a dressing room, where she said Trump pushed her against a wall and raped her.
Trump said Carroll was “totally lying” to sell a memoir and that he’d never met her, though a 1987 photo showed them and their then-spouses at a social event. He said the photo captured a moment when he was standing in a line.
Carroll, who wants unspecified damages and a retraction of Trump’s statements, also seeks a DNA sample from Trump to see whether it matches as-yet-unidentified male genetic material found on a dress that she says she was wearing during the alleged attack.
The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll has done.
…
By Polityk | 10/27/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Senate Approves Trump’s Third Supreme Court Nominee
The U.S. Senate approved President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, on Monday. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports on the crucial vote that is happening a little over a week before Election Day.Produced by: Katherine Gypson Camera: Adam Greenbaum
…
By Polityk | 10/27/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Campaign Focuses on Hunter Biden Emails as October Surprise
Trailing in the polls, President Donald Trump has seized upon recently disclosed emails allegedly from the son of Democratic candidate Joe Biden as an “October Surprise” that could alter the race. VOA’s Brian Padden reports on how this development compares to past October Surprises.Producer: Brian Padden
…
By Polityk | 10/27/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Supreme Court Upholds Wisconsin Mail-In Ballot Deadline
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that voters in the U.S. state of Wisconsin need to return their ballots to election officials by the time polls close on November 3 in order to be counted. The court sided with Republicans who challenged an earlier decision by a lower court judge to extend the deadline to accept any ballots that were postmarked by November 3 but arrived by November 9. Ballot deadlines vary by state, and as legal challenges have played out in recent weeks, the courts have generally supported rules put in place by state legislatures or election officials. “No one doubts that conducting a national election amid a pandemic poses serious challenges,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in a concurring opinion. “But none of that means individual judges may improvise with their own election rules in place of those the people’s representatives have adopted.”Signs for Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump mark neighboring properties in a middle-class neighborhood of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Sept. 29, 2020.Republicans in multiple cases have argued there is enough time for voters to return their ballots by November 3, while Democrats argued extensions are necessary with historic numbers of people casting mail-in ballots in order to avoid gathering at polling sites on election day due to the coronavirus pandemic. Justice Elena Kagan, one of three liberals on the Supreme Court who dissented in the 5-3 decision, wrote that the ruling “will disenfranchise large numbers of responsible voters in the midst of hazardous pandemic conditions.” The Wisconsin Elections Commission reported Monday that 1.7 million people had requested to vote by absentee ballot, and that 1.34 million had either cast a ballot by mail or voted absentee in person. Nationwide, more than 64 million people had either cast mail-in ballots or voted early in person as of Monday night, according to the U.S. Elections Project. About 20 of the 50 U.S. states currently allow ballots to come in after Election Day as long as they are postmarked by November 3.
…
By Polityk | 10/27/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Senate Approves Trump High Court Pick With Partisan Vote
The U.S. Senate confirmed federal appellate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to a seat on the Supreme Court in a 52-48 vote late Monday.Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine joined the entire Democratic caucus voting against Barrett’s confirmation. Collins said she would not vote for Barrett’s confirmation because of the proximity of the vote to next week’s presidential election. According to the AP, no other Supreme Court justice has been confirmed on a recorded vote with no support from the minority party in at least 150 years.Barrett is the third justice on the nine-member court to be nominated by President Donald Trump and significantly tip its ideological balance toward a 6-3 conservative majority. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is expected to swear Barrett in at a White House ceremony planned later Monday evening. Democrats argued that the decision of picking a nominee for the seat should have been left up to whichever candidate wins the presidential election, a stance Republicans held when there was an election-year vacancy in early 2016. Republicans then refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obama’s nomination of another appellate judge, Merrick Garland. “The Senate is doing the right thing” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday when advancing Barrett’s confirmation. “We’re moving this nomination forward.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called the vote “illegitimate” and “the last gasp of a desperate party,” the AP reported.Barrett could potentially consider election disputes involving Trump, although it is unclear whether she might recuse herself since Trump named her to the court. She declined to say at her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee two weeks ago whether she will avoid hearing disputes over extended deadlines for voters to return mail-in ballots and other issues Republicans and Democrats are contesting. Barrett almost assuredly would be among the justices hearing a new challenge November 10 on whether to invalidate the country’s Affordable Care Act, which Trump has sought to overturn. The law, popularly known as Obamacare after the former president who championed its passage in 2010, is a measure that helps provide health care to millions of Americans. Its fate is a crucial concern for many people amid the surging number of new coronavirus cases in the United States. Republicans have long argued that Obamacare costs taxpayers too much and gives government too much control over health care. The Republican-led Congress in 2017 eliminated the law’s mandate requiring that people buy health insurance if they could afford to do so. They now want the Supreme Court to invalidate the entire statute, saying that without that key insurance provision, the rest of the legislation is invalid.
…
By Polityk | 10/27/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Senate Set to Confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to Vacancy on US Supreme Court Monday
The U.S. Senate is set to confirm federal appellate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to a seat on the Supreme Court in a vote late Monday. If confirmed, Barrett would be the third justice on the nine-member court to be nominated by President Donald Trump and significantly tip its ideological balance toward a 6-3 conservative majority. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and Senator Susan Collins of Maine is the only Republican to say she would not vote for Barrett’s confirmation because of the proximity of the vote to next week’s presidential election. Collins says either the Republican Trump or his Democratic challenger Joe Biden should make the court selection next year after one of them wins the election and is inaugurated to a new presidential term in January. Democrats have opposed Barrett’s nomination, both objecting to her credentials and to the process of filling the seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal icon, in such rapid fashion, a month after Trump nominated her. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell arrives for a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans as they work toward the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, at the Capitol in Washington, October 26, 2020.Assuming she is confirmed, the White House is planning a Monday evening swearing-in ceremony for Barrett. Several people who attended a similar event when Trump nominated her September 26 later contracted coronavirus. Democrats opposed to Barrett have argued that the decision of picking a nominee for the seat should have been left up to whichever candidate wins the presidential election, a stance Republicans held when there was an election-year vacancy in early 2016. Republicans then refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obama’s nomination of another appellate judge, Merrick Garland. “The Senate is doing the right thing” in advancing Barrett’s confirmation, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday. “We’re moving this nomination forward.” The Senate voted 51-48 Sunday to end Democrats’ filibuster on Barrett’s nomination, starting a period of 30 hours of debate before the final vote. “Senate Democrats are taking over the floor all night to fight this sham process by Senate Republicans,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said. “We will not stop fighting.” Barrett could immediately hold a seat on the court to consider election disputes involving Trump, although it is unclear whether she might recuse herself since Trump named her to the court. She declined to say at her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee two weeks ago whether she will avoid hearing disputes over extended deadlines for voters to return mail-in ballots and other issues Republicans and Democrats are contesting. Barrett almost assuredly would be among the justices hearing a new challenge November 10 on whether to invalidate the country’s Affordable Care Act, which Trump has sought to overturn. The law, popularly known as Obamacare after the former president who championed its passage in 2010, is a measure that helps provide health care to millions of Americans. Its fate is a crucial concern for many people amid the surging number of new coronavirus cases in the United States. Republicans have long argued that Obamacare costs taxpayers too much and gives government too much control over health care. The Republican-led Congress in 2017 eliminated the law’s mandate requiring that people buy health insurance if they could afford to do so. They now want the Supreme Court to invalidate the entire statute, saying that without that key insurance provision, the rest of the legislation is invalid.
…
By Polityk | 10/27/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Barrett Likely to be Confirmed to US Supreme Court Monday
The U.S. Senate is expected to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to a seat on the Supreme Court in a vote late Monday. If confirmed, Barrett would be the third justice on the nine-member court to be nominated by President Donald Trump and significantly tip its ideological balance toward a 6-3 conservative majority. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and Senator Susan Collins is the only Republican to indicate she would not vote on Barrett’s nomination due to the close proximity to next week’s presidential election. Democrats have opposed Barrett’s nomination both objecting to her credentials and to the process of filling the seat of late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in such rapid fashion.Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett testifies during the third day of her confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 14, 2020.The Democrats have argued that the decision of picking a nominee for the seat should have been left up to whichever candidate wins the presidential election, a position Republicans held when there was an election-year vacancy in early 2016. “The Senate is doing the right thing,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday.“We’re moving this nomination forward.” The Senate voted 51-48 Sunday to end Democrats’ filibuster on Barrett’s nomination, starting a period of 30 hours of debate before the final vote. “Senate Democrats are taking over the floor all night to fight this sham process by Senate Republicans,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said. “We will not stop fighting.” Barrett almost assuredly would be among the justices hearing a new challenge Nov. 10 on whether to invalidate the country’s Affordable Care Act, which Trump has sought to overturn. The law, popularly known as Obamacare after former President Barack Obama who championed its passage in 2010, is a measure that helps provide health care to millions of Americans. Its fate is a crucial concern for many people amid the surging number of new coronavirus cases in the United States. Republicans have long argued that Obamacare costs taxpayers too much and gives government too much control over health care. The Republican-led Congress in 2017 eliminated the Act’s mandate that people who could afford to buy health insurance do so. They now want the Supreme Court to invalidate the entire Act, saying that without that key provision, the rest of the legislation is invalid.
…
By Polityk | 10/26/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Top Aide to US Vice President Pence Tests Positive for Coronavirus
A close aide to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has tested positive for COVID-19, a spokesperson for the office said late Saturday.“Today, Marc Short, chief of staff to the vice president, tested positive for COVID-19, began quarantine and assisting in the contact tracing process,” Devin O’Malley said, adding that Pence and his wife, Karen, tested negative Saturday and were in good health.Pence “will maintain his schedule in accordance with the CDC guidelines for essential personnel,” O’Malley said. On Sunday the vice president is to address a campaign rally in North Carolina.Asked about Short when he returned to Washington Saturday evening, after rallies in three U.S. states, President Donald Trump said, “I did hear about it just now. I think he’s quarantining. I did hear about that. He’s going to be fine. But he’s quarantining.”
…
By Polityk | 10/25/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Alaska’s Murkowski to Support Barrett for Supreme Court
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski announced Saturday that she would vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett, giving crucial support to President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee before the conservative judge faces a final vote expected Monday.The Alaska Republican had been a rare holdout on Barrett, expressing concern that the nomination had proceeded so close to a presidential election. Even though Barrett already appeared to have sufficient support for confirmation from Senate Republicans who hold the majority in the chamber, Murkowski’s vote now gives Trump’s nominee additional backing.Murkowski announced her support for Barrett in a speech during Saturday’s session. “While I oppose the process that has led us to this point, I do not hold it against her,” she said.The Senate opened a rare weekend session Saturday as Republicans raced to put Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court and seal a conservative majority before Election Day despite Democratic efforts to stall the confirmation.No chance for DemocratsDemocrats are poised to mount more time-consuming procedural hurdles, but the party has no realistic chance of stopping Barrett’s advance in the Republican-controlled chamber. Barrett, a federal appeals court judge, is expected to be confirmed Monday and quickly join the court.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, noted the political rancor, but defended his handling of the process.FILE – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell holds a face mask while participating in a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Oct. 20, 2020.“Our recent debates have been heated, but curiously talk of Judge Barrett’s actual credentials or qualifications are hardly featured,” McConnell said. He called her one of the most “impressive” nominees for public office “in a generation.”The fast-track confirmation process is like none other in U.S. history so close to a presidential election. Democrats call it a “sham” and say the winner of the November 3 presidential election should name the nominee to fill the vacancy left by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York warned Republicans the only way to remove the “stain” of their action would be to “withdraw the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett until after the election.”With the nation experiencing a surge of COVID-19 cases, Democrats were expected to force a series of votes throughout Saturday on coronavirus relief legislation, including the House-passed Heroes Act that would pump money into schools, hospitals and jobless benefits and provide other aid.Majority Republicans were expected to turn aside the measures and keep Barrett’s confirmation on track, which would lock a 6-3 conservative majority on the court for the near future. Senators planned to stay in session Saturday and Sunday.FILE – Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett testifies during the third day of her confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 14, 2020.Barrett, 48, presented herself in public testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee as a neutral arbiter of cases on abortion, the Affordable Care Act and presidential power — issues soon confronting the court. At one point she suggested, “It’s not the law of Amy.”But Barrett’s past writings against abortion and a ruling on the Obama-era health care law show a deeply conservative thinker.Trump said this week he was hopeful the Supreme Court would undo the health law when the justices take up a challenge November 10, the week after the election.At the start of Trump’s presidency, McConnell engineered a Senate rules change to allow confirmation by a majority of the 100 senators, rather than the 60-vote threshold traditionally needed to advance high court nominees over objections. The GOP holds a 53-47 majority in the chamber.Collins to vote ‘no’Most Republicans are supporting Barrett’s confirmation. In the wake of Murkowski’s announcement on Saturday, only Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has said she won’t vote for a nominee so close to the presidential election.Republicans on the Judiciary Committee powered Barrett’s nomination forward Thursday despite a boycott of the vote by Democrats.Senator Lindsey Graham, the committee chairman, acknowledged the partisan nature of the proceedings, but said he could not live with himself if the Senate failed to confirm someone he said was such an exceptional nominee. The South Carolina Republican called Barrett a “role model” for conservative women and for people of strongly held religious beliefs.Democrats decried the “sham” process and said Barrett would undo much of what was accomplished by liberal icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg.By pushing for Barrett’s ascension so close to the November 3 election, Trump and his Republican allies are counting on a campaign boost, in much the way they believe McConnell’s refusal to allow the Senate to consider President Barack Obama’s nominee in February 2016 created excitement for Trump among conservatives and evangelical Christians eager for the Republican president to make that nomination after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death.FILE – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., attends the second day of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 13, 2020.Graham, for example, with his high-profile role leading the hearings, has been raking in about $1 million a day this month for his reelection campaign. That rate outpaces Graham’s third-quarter total of $28 million, which his campaign said represented the largest amount ever raised by any Republican Senate candidate in a single quarter, in any state.Barrett was a professor at Notre Dame Law School when she was tapped by Trump in 2017 for an appeals court opening. Two Democrats joined at that time to confirm her, but none is expected to vote for her in the days ahead.During the three days of testimony, and subsequent filings to the Senate committee, Barrett declined to answer basic questions for senators, such as whether the president can change the date of federal elections, which is set in law. Instead, she pledged to take the cases as they come.
…
By Polityk | 10/25/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Holds Rallies in 3 States While Biden Focuses on Pennsylvania
U.S. President Donald Trump was holding three large rallies in North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin on Saturday while his challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, focused on the battleground state of Pennsylvania where he held two drive-in campaign events.Trump, the Republican incumbent, attacked the Democrats and the media for continuing to focus on the coronavirus, accusing them of deflecting what he termed scandals involving Biden and his son Hunter.“You’re trying to scare people” by reporting on the pandemic, the president told reporters at the Columbus airport before his second rally. “Don’t scare people.”At his first event in Lumberton, North Carolina, he spoke about testing for COVID-19, a day after the United States registered a single-day record number of cases.”In some ways it’s good. In many ways it’s foolish,” Trump said of increased testing. “Cases are up. If we tested half, cases would be half.”The record number of cases gives “the fake news media something to talk about,” added the president.Trump made the remark at a packed rally in defiance of pandemic social distancing guidelines in Lumberton.At a second, similar event in Circleville, Ohio, the president said the coronavirus “is going away” but the media only talk about “cases, cases, cases” and not a drop in COVID-19 deaths.Hospitalizations, however, for the virus are increasing in many states.Prior to his Saturday appearances, Trump cast an early vote for himself in his home state of Florida, to which he switched his official residence from New York last year.“It’s an honor to be voting,” the president told reporters immediately after depositing his ballot at a library in West Palm Beach after spending the night at his nearby Mar-a-Lago resort. “I voted for a guy named Trump.”At Biden’s second event of the day, rock musician Jon Bon Jovi played three songs before the nominee addressed the drive-in rally in a high school parking lot in Dallas, Pennsylvania, where honking of horns substituted for applause.“These days on the radio and at the [Trump] rallies on the TV, I always hear a lot of ‘me, me, me,’ but I really do believe that Joe believes in the power of we,” said the singer, a New Jersey native who spent boyhood summers in Erie, Pennsylvania.The event took place in the pivotal county of Luzerne, which voted for the ticket of Barack Obama and Biden in 2012 but helped to deliver Pennsylvania to Trump four years ago.Biden earlier in the day also held a socially distanced drive-in event in Bucks County, a suburban county near Philadelphia that Hillary Clinton captured by a slim margin in 2016.On the coronavirus, the former vice president warned, “There’s going to be a dark winter ahead unless we change our way.”Trump at his first rally of the day mocked that comment, sarcastically calling his opponent “a very inspiring guy.”Obama, meanwhile, spoke Saturday at a drive-in rally in North Miami, Florida.“What we do in the next 10 days will matter for decades to come,” said the former president.Obama contended that his successor has failed in the job and “doesn’t even acknowledge the reality of what’s taking place across the country” with the pandemic.Trump, said Obama, has treated the presidency “like a reality show to give himself more attention.”Although the presidential election is less than two weeks away, more than 57 million people have already voted. Another 100 million or so are expected to cast ballots before a winner is declared.Most nationwide polls show Biden comfortably ahead of Trump and the challenger with slight leads in key states expected to swing the outcome of the election.
…
By Polityk | 10/25/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Casts Vote in Florida Before Hitting Campaign Trail
U.S. President Donald Trump cast his ballot for the November 3 presidential election in his adopted home state of Florida Saturday, while his Democratic challenger Joe Biden spends the day focusing on the key swing state of Pennsylvania.
Trump, who switched his official residence from New York to Florida last year, voted early in the day in West Palm Beach after spending the night at his nearby Mar-a-Lago resort.
“It was a very secure vote. Everything was perfect,” Trump told reporters as he left the Palm Beach county library, which serves as a polling location. “It’s an honor to be voting.”
Asked who he voted for, the president said, “I voted for a guy named Trump.”
The president is on his way to Lumberton, North Carolina, for a campaign rally. He will also hold rallies in Circleville, Ohio, and Waukesha, Wisconsin.FILE – Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at The Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware, Oct. 23, 2020.Former Vice President Biden, meanwhile, holds drive-in events in Bucks County, a suburban Philadelphia county that Hillary Clinton captured by a slim margin in 2016, and in nearby Luzerne County. Former President Barack Obama won Luzerne County twice before voters there cast ballots overwhelmingly for Trump in 2016.
Biden’s campaign also seeks voter support Saturday in the key state of Florida, with Obama holding a drive-in rally in North Miami on behalf of his former vice president.
Although the presidential election is less than two weeks away, more than 52 million people have already voted. Another 100 million or so are expected to cast ballots before a winner is declared.
…
By Polityk | 10/24/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
