Розділ: Політика
Where Trump, Biden Differ on COVID as Cases Resurge
As the United States saw its highest number of new coronavirus cases reported in a single day, former Vice President Joe Biden announced that if he defeats President Donald Trump in next month’s election, he will push for a nationwide mask mandate.“I’ll go to every governor and urge them to mandate masks in their state. And if any refuse, I’ll go to the mayors and county executives to get local masking requirements in place nationwide,” Biden said in a speech in Wilmington, Delaware, 11 days before the vote.“As president, I’ll mandate mask-wearing in all federal buildings and on interstate transportation because masks save lives,” he said.More than 80,000 new COVID-19 infections were reported Friday by Johns Hopkins University, topping the single-day record of 77,362 set July 16.All but about a half dozen of the 50 U.S. states have shown increased coronavirus cases this week compared to last week. At least 14 states have reported new highs in hospitalized coronavirus patients in the past seven days.Trump criticized Biden on Friday in Florida for emphasizing the infection, for which there is yet no vaccine or cure.“All he talks about is COVID COVID, COVID because they want to scare people, and we’ve done so well with it,” Trump said in the senior citizens’ community of The Villages.“We’re rounding the turn. We’re rounding the corner. We’re rounding the corner beautifully,” he said.Later, at a second campaign rally in Pensacola, he told a packed crowd of thousands, where few were wearing masks, “we want normal to fully resume and that’s happening.”Trump’s critics have accused him of holding “super-spreader events,” in defiance of federal health guidelines and local regulations on social distancing.Biden, laying out his pandemic response plan Friday, criticized Trump for asserting during their nationally televised debate Thursday night that the country is learning to live with the coronavirus.“As I told him last night, we’re not learning to live with it,” Biden said.“We’re learning to die with it, and there is a dark winter ahead,” he said.There are predictions from public health officials of a coronavirus case surge as cold weather sets in across the Northern Hemisphere.Biden said Friday that “once we have a safe and effective vaccine, it has to be free to everyone — whether or not you’re insured.”Trump continues to defend his administration’s handling of the pandemic amid criticism he has sidelined top career government infectious diseases experts on his coronavirus task force, in favor of outsiders such as Dr. Scott Atlas, a neuro-radiologist who has minimized the importance of masks.Atlas has also reportedly promoted the argument that lockdowns and prohibitions on gatherings and indoor activities do more damage than good and lead to increases in poverty and mental problems.COVID-19 has killed more than 223,000 people in the United States and infected nearly 8.5 million.Trump on Friday, without giving specifics, vowed “we will eradicate the pandemic and defeat this scourge from China once and for all.”
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By Polityk | 10/24/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Contrasting Views on the Coronavirus from Trump, Biden as Cases Resurge
As the United States saw its highest number of new coronavirus cases reported in a single day, former Vice President Joe Biden announced that if he defeats President Donald Trump in next month’s election, he will push for a nationwide mask mandate.“I’ll go to every governor and urge them to mandate masks in their state. And if any refuse, I’ll go to the mayors and county executives to get local masking requirements in place nationwide,” Biden said in a speech in Wilmington, Delaware, 11 days before the vote.“As president, I’ll mandate mask-wearing in all federal buildings and on interstate transportation because masks save lives,” he said.More than 80,000 new COVID-19 infections were reported Friday by Johns Hopkins University, topping the single-day record of 77,362 set July 16.All but about a half dozen of the 50 U.S. states have shown increased coronavirus cases this week compared to last week. At least 14 states have reported new highs in hospitalized coronavirus patients in the past seven days.Trump criticized Biden on Friday in Florida for emphasizing the infection, for which there is yet no vaccine or cure.“All he talks about is COVID COVID, COVID because they want to scare people, and we’ve done so well with it,” Trump said in the senior citizens’ community of The Villages.“We’re rounding the turn. We’re rounding the corner. We’re rounding the corner beautifully,” he said.Later, at a second campaign rally in Pensacola, he told a packed crowd of thousands, where few were wearing masks, “we want normal to fully resume and that’s happening.”Trump’s critics have accused him of holding “super-spreader events,” in defiance of federal health guidelines and local regulations on social distancing.Biden, laying out his pandemic response plan Friday, criticized Trump for asserting during their nationally televised debate Thursday night that the country is learning to live with the coronavirus.“As I told him last night, we’re not learning to live with it,” Biden said.“We’re learning to die with it, and there is a dark winter ahead,” he said.There are predictions from public health officials of a coronavirus case surge as cold weather sets in across the Northern Hemisphere.Biden said Friday that “once we have a safe and effective vaccine, it has to be free to everyone — whether or not you’re insured.”Trump continues to defend his administration’s handling of the pandemic amid criticism he has sidelined top career government infectious diseases experts on his coronavirus task force, in favor of outsiders such as Dr. Scott Atlas, a neuro-radiologist who has minimized the importance of masks.Atlas has also reportedly promoted the argument that lockdowns and prohibitions on gatherings and indoor activities do more damage than good and lead to increases in poverty and mental problems.COVID-19 has killed more than 223,000 people in the United States and infected nearly 8.5 million.Trump on Friday, without giving specifics, vowed “we will eradicate the pandemic and defeat this scourge from China once and for all.”
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By Polityk | 10/24/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Vice President Pence Casts Absentee Ballot in Indianapolis
Vice President Mike Pence has voted in the general election in Indianapolis.
Pence and his wife, Karen, cast absentee ballots about 8:15 a.m. Friday, shortly after the polls opened in the Indianapolis City-County Building. They voted in a drop-off ballot box outside the county clerk’s office.
“It’s a great honor and great to be back home again,” Pence said, giving a thumbs-up sign toward cameras.
Pence did not answer questions shouted at him from the news media.
Indianapolis City-County Councilman Zach Adamson, a Democrat, was outside the building on behalf of Joe Biden’s campaign.
“I’m glad he’s coming to vote. We Democrats love it when people come to vote and we’d like more people to have access to the ballot. A lot of people are here because they are dissatisfied with what they are seeing, especially with the national response on COVID,” Adamson said.
Jeanne Barber, 69, of Indianapolis, came to vote without realizing Pence would be there.
Barber, who uses a motorized wheel chair, said she had to wait a few extra minutes to vote because of Pence but didn’t mind.
“I guess he has to vote somewhere,” she said.
Annie Gresh, 42, of Noblesville, was among a handful of protesters dressed as handmaidens outside the City-County Building. She wore a red handmaiden dress with a long skirt and a bonnet.
“We are so against this administration and we want to turn the tide,” Gresh said. “Instead of a blue wave, we want to see a blue tsunami.”
She said Pence should have voted by mail like President Donald Trump.
“He could have done it by mail instead of holding up those people’s time,” Gresh said.
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By Polityk | 10/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump, Biden Spar in Final Face-to-Face Debate
President Donald Trump and his Democratic Party challenger, Joe Biden, met in Nashville, Tennessee, Thursday night for the final debate of the presidential campaign. VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan reports.
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By Polityk | 10/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump, Biden Engage in Spirited Last Debate Before Election
U.S. Republican President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, engaged in a spirited debate Thursday night just ahead of the Nov. 3 national presidential election, presenting the nation with sharply divergent views of where they would take the country over the next four years.For 90 minutes, they traded barbs. They attacked each other’s positions on controlling the coronavirus and curbing the continual advance of the country’s world-leading death toll of more than 222,000. They argued over health care, wages for low-income workers, crime, race relations in the U.S., climate change and leadership in the White House.In the end, Trump said he deserved a second term in the White House because “success is going to bring us together. We had the best economy” before the coronavirus pandemic hit the country in early 2020 and that he would restore the world’s biggest economy.But he claimed that if Biden wins, “You’ll have a depression like no one’s seen.”Biden, a fixture on the American political scene for nearly a half century as a senator and second in command to former President Barack Obama, repeatedly assailed Trump’s presidency as misguided, uncaring and chaotic — while vowing to reunite the country.“We’re going to have science over fiction, and hope over fear,” Biden said, “This election is about decency, honor, respect and treating people with dignity. You haven’t gotten that for the last four years.”While both candidates scored important points in their final meeting, neither appeared to have gotten the upper hand or delivered a telling blow that might immediately alter the course of the campaign.More civil, less rancorousEven with pointed attacks on each other, their second and last debate 12 days before the election was more civil and less rancorous than the first time they faced each other on a debate stage in late September. The debate moderator, NBC News’ White House correspondent Kristen Welker, kept the discussion under control.The two candidates, both in their 70s, interrupted each other Thursday night but not as much as three weeks ago, partly because the independent Commission on Presidential Debates alternately turned off their microphones for two minutes apiece as they began discussions of each of six new issues to allow each to answer without being interrupted by the other.The commission imposed the microphone regimen on the premise that American voters – at least the relatively few who claim they are still undecided on how they will vote – might get a clearer view of where each candidate might take the country when one of them is inaugurated Jan. 20 if each could deliver a statement uninterrupted.Millions of Americans have made up their minds about the election, with more than 47 million people having cast early ballots by mail or in person. Many have said that during the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. they wanted to avoid coming face to face with other voters in the expected long lines at polling stations on Election Day.Biden laid into Trump’s handling of the coronavirus in his opening remarks, saying, “He says we’re rounding the corner” in dealing with the pandemic. “Anyone responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president. This is the same fella who told you it would be gone by Easter.”Trump accused Biden of wanting to shut down the country to end the spread of the virus if he becomes president.“He’ll close down the country if one person in our massive bureaucracy says shut it down,” Trump said.“We have to open our country,” Trump said. “We can’t close up our nation or we won’t have a nation. … People are learning to live with it (COVID).”“Live with it? No, people are learning to die with it,” Biden shot back.Health care, minimum wage and moreOn health care, Trump accused Biden of fostering a plan for “socialized medicine” in the country, but Biden said he wants to improve the Affordable Care Act adopted under Obama in 2010 while Trump has offered no replacement plan despite repeated promises to do so while seeking a legal ruling by the Supreme Court to end the health care program for millions of Americans amid the pandemic.Biden said a national minimum wage of $15 hour an hour for workers was necessary to help low-income wage earners. But Trump said it should only be an option on a state-by-state basis because otherwise small businesses in some communities would be bankrupted by having to pay the higher wages beyond the current base wage of $7.25 an hour.Biden claimed U.S. race relations have deteriorated under Trump. The president retorted, as he often has, that no U.S. leader, possibly other than Abraham Lincoln who freed slaves in the 19th century, has done more for black people than he has.Trump attacked Biden for passage of a 1994 anti-crime bill that incarcerated far too many minorities for drug offenses. Biden acknowledged that the law was a mistake that over time he has worked to repair.He said that drug users ought to be enrolled in health care treatment programs, not jailed.“Nobody should be going to jail because they have a drug problem,” Biden said.At another point, Trump claimed that Biden and his family had received millions of dollars in payments from foreign governments including China, Russia, and Ukraine, without offering proof.“They’re like a vacuum cleaner, sucking up millions,” Trump claimed.Biden responded, “The only guy making money (from foreign sources) is him,” gesturing at the president.As Trump repeatedly attempted to reroute the debate focus back to the business deals of Biden’s son Hunter, the former vice president looked directly into the camera at the millions of voters watching the debate and said the election “is not about his family or my family. It’s about your family. We should be talking about your concerns.”Thursday’s debate may have been the last, best chance for Trump, a real estate entrepreneur and reality television show host-turned-politician, to cut into Biden’s persistent lead in national and statewide polls. Biden holds an 8-to-10-percentage-point lead over Trump in national polls, but a lead of about half that in battleground states that will likely decide the overall outcome.
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By Polityk | 10/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Supreme Court Nominee Advances to Confirmation Vote Next Week
U.S. Senate Judiciary Republicans on Thursday approved President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last month, despite protests by Democrats the vote is too close to Election Day. VOA congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson looks ahead to the Senate confirmation vote next week.
Camera: Adam Greenbaum Producers: Katherine Gypson, Emma Morris, Victoria Sneeden, Michael Rummel
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By Polityk | 10/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Proposes Panel to Study Reforming ‘Out of Whack’ US Judiciary
Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden said that if elected, he would put together a bipartisan commission of scholars to examine reforming a federal judiciary he called “out of whack,” noting that there are alternatives to consider besides expanding the Supreme Court. Biden, challenging Republican President Donald Trump in the November 3 election, made the comments in an interview with the CBS program “60 Minutes” to air this weekend. Excerpts were released Thursday. The former vice president said he would create a bipartisan commission of constitutional scholars including Democrats, Republicans, liberals and conservatives to review the U.S. judiciary. FILE – Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden arrives to participate in a town hall at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Oct. 15, 2020.”I will ask them to, over 180 days, come back to me with recommendations as to how to reform the court system because it is getting out of whack, the way in which it’s being handled, and it’s not about court-packing,” Biden added. “There’s a number of alternatives that … go well beyond packing,” Biden said. Some on the left have floated the idea of expanding the number of justices from the Supreme Court from the current nine if Biden wins to counter the court’s rightward drift in light of the actions of Senate Republicans in 2016 and now. Republicans have decried the idea as “court-packing.” Biden said last week he was “not a fan” of court-packing but has kept his options open. The number of justices has been fixed by law at nine for more than a century. His proposal of a commission allows Biden not to give a definitive answer on court expansion before the election. Biden’s comments were made public on the same day the Republican-led U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send Trump’s nomination of conservative appellate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote planned for Monday. Her confirmation would give the top U.S. judicial body a 6-3 conservative majority, which could be important in cases involving abortion, presidential powers, religious and gun rights, LGBTQ rights and other matters. Democrats were furious that Senate Republicans moved forward with Barrett’s nomination so near an election after refusing in 2016 to allow the chamber to act on a Supreme Court nomination by Trump’s Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, because it was an election year.
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By Polityk | 10/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Warns of More Election Meddling from Russia, Iran
Russia and Iran are ramping up attacks on U.S. government networks and computer systems while also amplifying their disinformation campaigns, hoping to rattle the confidence of American voters with less than two weeks until the Nov. 3 presidential election.The warning Thursday from U.S. intelligence and election security officials came less than 24 hours after the director of national intelligence blamed Iran for launching the first sensational attack on the upcoming election, accusing Tehran of being behind thousands of spoofed emails designed to intimidate voters.Thursday’s advisories from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency suggested that the emails, as well as the ability of Russia and Iran to access voter registration information, were just the start of a larger campaign to undermine the U.S. elections.According to the FBI and CISA, the attacks from Russian began in September, targeting dozens of state and local government networks involved in activities ranging from aviation to education.The Russian cyber actor known as Beserk Bear “successfully compromised network infrastructure, and as of October 1, 2020, exfiltrated data from at least two victim servers,” the advisories said.The attackers also managed to obtain credentials that could allow them to move around in the networks, seeking out critical information that they could exploit at a later date, potentially to disrupt the upcoming presidential election.”There may be some risk to elections information housed on SLTT [state, local, tribal and territorial] government networks,” the statement added. “However, the FBI and CISA have no evidence to date that integrity of elections data has been compromised.”Officials refused to share additional details about the Russian exploits, or say which government servers had been compromised, but the independent cyber security firm Mandiant said the Russian behavior appeared to be geared toward the Nov. 3 vote.”Access to these systems could enable disruption or could be an end in itself, allowing the actor to seize on perceptions of election insecurity and undermine the democratic process,” Mandiant Senior Director of Analysis John Hultquist said in a statement.Hultquist added that while there had been at least one attack on an election-related target, “we have no information which suggests these actors are capable or even willing to alter votes.”But while the Russian cyber actors appear content, for the moment, to threaten U.S. election-related networks, the FBI and CISA warned Thursday that Iranian-linked actors appear to be in position to exploit current network vulnerabilities.“These actors have conducted a significant number of intrusions against U.S.-based networks since August 2019,” according to the new advisory, pointing to possible distributed denial of service (DDos) attacks, spear-phishing campaigns and website defacements.“These activities could render these systems temporarily inaccessible to the public or election officials, which could slow, but would not prevent, voting or the reporting of results,” the advisories said.It further warned that Iranian cyber actors have also been expanding their election-related disinformation efforts, “creating fictitious media sites and spoofing legitimate media sites to spread obtained U.S. voter-registration data, anti-American propaganda, and misinformation about voter suppression, voter fraud, and ballot fraud.”The warnings from U.S. security and intelligence officials represent a shift from the cautious, but seemingly more optimistic tone they sounded as recently as last month.”Russia continues to try to influence our elections, primarily through what we would call malign foreign influence … as opposed to what we saw in 2016 where there was also an effort to target election infrastructure,” FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee Sept. 17.#Election2020-“#Russia continues to try to influence our elections, primarily thru what we would call malign foreign influence” per @FBI’s Wray “As opposed to what we saw in 2016 where there was also an effort to target election infrastructure”— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) September 17, 2020But in an interview with Hearst Television two weeks ago, the top U.S. counterintelligence official suggested the threat landscape was changing, saying Russia, Iran and China were actively targeting U.S. election infrastructure.”We are very resilient, and we’ve been very successful in pushing back the majority of these efforts,” National Counterintelligence and Security Center William Evanina said.Evanina confirms to Hearst #Russia#China#Iran have actively targeted US election infrastructure, emails/servers for both the @realDonaldTrump & @JoeBiden campaigns”We are very resilient & we’ve been very successful in pushing back the majority of these efforts”— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) October 8, 2020In the wake of the Iranian email campaign, officials are warning American voters these campaigns by Russia and Iran, are just the start.“The intelligence shared [Wednesday], while alarming, is not surprising,” CISA Director Christopher Krebs said in a statement, adding that the number of actors seeking to meddle is likely to grow.”These are desperate attempts by our adversaries to intimidate or to undermine voter confidence, but Americans can rest assured: thousands of your fellow citizens stand ready to defend your vote, every single day” per @NSAGov’s Imbordino & @US_CYBERCOM’s BrigGen Hartman— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) October 22, 2020In the meantime, some current and former U.S. officials have expressed a sense of foreboding, noting Russia and Iran may not be done making use of the voter registration data they obtained, and which Iran used in its email campaign.“The reported Iranian acquisition of voter data should be a cause for concern,” said Norman Roule, a former senior U.S. intelligence official, who said Tehran’s efforts show its cyber and influence operations have evolved.“Whether or not this data was publicly available, its acquisition by Iranian actors engaged in these operations indicates that the material will form the basis for future targeting operations,” he said. “If our response becomes an internal debate with little focus on Iran, they will learn that these operations come at little cost.”Another current U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, told VOA there is heightened concern about Tehran’s efforts, warning the Iranian regime appears to still be looking for payback following the drone strike in January that killed Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani.For now, state election officials are urging voters to remain calm and avoid falling for upsetting or sensational claims likely to pop up on social media, whether director by Iran, Russia or anyone else.“Be prepared for foreign efforts aimed at sowing division and undermining the legitimacy of the election,” a coalition of national and state officials said in a statement issued late Thursday. “Be prepared for attempts to confuse or misinform.”“The entire election community stands ready for the task ahead,” they added.NEW: @CISAgov@EACgov@NASSorg@NASEDorg on attacks vs #Election2020″We must remain steadfast…While this year has thrown unprecedented obstacles in our way, the entire election community stands ready for the task ahead & united in our goal to protect our democracy” pic.twitter.com/Go3imyxLgl— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) October 22, 2020Some experts worry that as Election Day draws near, American voters will be tested like never before.“The really tricky problem is that we’re all in a laboratory right now and we’re being experimented on by different parties,” said John Scott-Railston, a senior researcher at The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School.”We don’t know what the results will be. They [U.S. adversaries] don’t know what the results will be. But they’re very much learning,” he said.
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By Polityk | 10/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Posts ’60 Minutes’ Interview After Complaining Anchor Was Biased
U.S. President Donald Trump has released an unedited interview with “60 Minutes” anchor Lesley Stahl before its scheduled Sunday broadcast after complaining she was biased against him.
The footage Trump posted on Facebook Thursday shows him becoming increasingly irritated as Stahl questioned him on a number of topics, including his handling of the coronavirus crisis, the “Obamacare” replacement plan he has long touted but failed to produce and his apparent loss of support among suburban women.
“Look at the bias, hatred and rudeness on behalf of 60 Minutes and CBS,” Trump wrote in a tweet that included a link to the 38-minute video clip.
Trump attacked the son of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden throughout the interview and denounced the mainstream media for not reporting unsubstantiated allegations that have been published by the New York Post, a tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.
As Trump continued to make unfounded allegations against Biden and former President Barack Obama, Stahl explained that “This is ’60 Minutes,’ and we can’t put on things we can’t verify.”
As Stahl noted that Trump was repeatedly offering attacks, Trump said, “It’s defense against attacks” and added, “I’m defending myself, and I’m defending the institute of the presidency.”
As Stahl asked Trump at the beginning of the interview if he was “ready for some tough questions,” a tense Trump seemed to become more irritable.
At the end of the video, Trump said, “Are you ready for tough questions. That’s no way to talk. That’s no way to talk.”
He later told Stahl, “You’re so negative,” and eventually ended the interview. Trump also refused to appear on camera with Vice President Mike Pence as planned.
The video released by Trump was filmed by White House staffers. CBS News said Trump’s aides had promised to use the clip “for archival purposes only.”
CBS News described the White House decision to release the video “unprecedented” and noted the interview would be broadcast on Sunday as scheduled.
“The White House’s unprecedented decision to disregard their agreement with CBS News and release their footage will not deter 60 MINUTES from providing its full, fair and contextual reporting which presidents have participated in for decades,” the network said in a statement.
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By Polityk | 10/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Theater World to Unite for Get-Out-The-Vote Event on Oct. 29
Playwright and “The Walking Dead” star Danai Gurira, Tony Award-winning director Stephen Daldry and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner playwright Lynn Nottage are spearheading a night of music and short monologues as part of a national get-out-the-vote effort.
The hourlong, nonpartisan “Act Out: Vote 2020” will be performed by Yvette Nicole Brown, Ryan J. Haddad, Brian Tyree Henry, Lloyd Knight, Sandra Oh and Ephraim Skyes. The event will be available to stream for free at ActOutVote2020 on Oct. 29 at 9 p.m. ET and then live on YouTube until Nov. 2.
“Voting matters for every election,” said Nottage in a statement, “but this Nov. 3 is even more important. We believe that if the entire theatrical community — a community that has been shut down for 6 months and will be shut down for a year more — voted, we could help make real, necessary change.”
In addition to Nottage and Gurira, the writers include Luis Alfaro, Ngozi Anyanwu, Will Arbery, Jocelyn Bioh, Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi, Ryan J. Haddad, David Henry Hwang, Lisa Kron, Tarell Alvin McCraney, Martha Redbone, Heidi Schreck and Rhiana Yazzie.
Gurira, in a statement, said the effort “is our attempt to amplify American voices in this pivotal moment in history, and we implore everyone to make their voices heard and go out and vote!”
There are dozens of participating theaters, including the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Alley Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, Cleveland Playhouse, Dallas Theater Center, Guthrie Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Pittsburgh Public Theater, The Public Theater, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.
Each theater will provide voting information specific to their state, assisted by When We All Vote, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization launched by Michelle Obama to increase participation in every election.
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By Polityk | 10/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Barrett Supreme Court Nomination Despite Democrats’ Boycott
The Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee has approved Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court, sending the matter to the full Senate for consideration. Democrats on the committee boycotted the vote Thursday, resulting in a 12-0 vote in favor of the nomination.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer reiterated his party’s objection to President Donald Trump moving ahead with replacing the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the court so close to an election, arguing that such a move should be left to whichever candidate wins the November 3 U.S. presidential election.He cited the Supreme Court vacancy in 2016, when then-President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland but Senate Republicans blocked the process while making similar arguments about letting voters decide who should pick the next justice.“When Merrick Garland was nominated, eight months before an election, we have to wait for an election. Now that an election is ongoing, we are rushing through this nomination. It is one of the worst moments the Senate has ever seen,” Schumer said.He called Barrett’s confirmation proceedings “the most rushed, most partisan and least legitimate process in the history of Supreme Court nominations.”Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said the Democrats boycotting the vote “does a disservice to Judge Barrett who deserves a vote, up or down.”With Republicans holding a 53-47 majority in the Senate, Graham expressed optimism about the prospects for Barrett’s nomination.“Judge Barrett deserves to be on the Supreme Court and she will be confirmed,” he said.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to follow the Judiciary Committee’s vote with a procedural vote in the full Senate on Sunday that could bring a final vote on Barrett’s nomination on Monday.If Barrett is confirmed to the lifetime appointment, the Supreme Court would have a 6-3 conservative majority.
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By Polityk | 10/22/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Arenas, Stadiums Find New Life as Safer Options for Voting
With long waits making headlines during early voting across the country, professional sports venues have emerged as bright spots, repurposing huge spaces mostly devoid of fans into efficient and relatively safe polling places.
Featuring rows and rows of voting machines, ample space for social distancing and staff accustomed to large crowds, these mega voting sites are proving attractive to voters looking for the best way to cast their ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“This was an amazing, fantastic experience,” Jen Cox said after voting at State Farm Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks. Other voters leaving the arena and posting on social media shared that sentiment.
The Hawks were the first NBA team to commit their arena for early voting. They contacted Fulton County officials in June after long lines plagued the state’s primary election and protests over the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis roiled the streets around the arena.
“In my mind, protests are great, but protests leading to action, leading to solutions and change is better,” Hawks CEO Steve Koonin said.
Since then, 20 more NBA teams signed on to host voting or other election-related activities — including voter registration and poll worker training — in their arenas or practice facilities. Some of those commitments came after NBA players protesting racial injustice and police brutality halted the playoffs for three days in August, and the league agreed to a plan that includes encouraging voting this fall.
In a normal year, the NBA’s regular season would be starting right about now. But the coronavirus outbreak that has altered voting procedures during the presidential election also has delayed the season and left arenas sitting empty. Opening them to voters seemed a natural fit.
“We’re going to have thousands every day between now and Election Day voting in NBA arenas,” said Kathy Behrens, the league’s social responsibility and player programs president. “It feels good to be able to play such a vital role during this pandemic so people can vote safely and easily.”
The NFL, NHL and MLB also are getting involved. Half the NFL’s 32 teams are making their facilities available following offseason conversations commissioner Roger Goodell had with players about ways to leverage the league’s power against social injustice.
Vivek Ranadivé, owner of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, was instrumental in a “Rally the Vote” effort bringing together dozens of professional sports teams to encourage participation. Voters will be able to register and cast ballots at the Kings’ Golden 1 Center, blocks from California’s Capitol, starting 11 days before the Nov. 3 election.
“I wanted to make voting as easy as ordering an Uber,” he said.
After waiting five hours “in the heat and then the rain” to vote in Georgia’s primary in June, Cox decided to vote early in the general election. Lines at polling places near her home in suburban Roswell were consistently long, so she drove 20 miles south to downtown Atlanta.
“I had heard great things about the way the Atlanta Hawks staff was running the arena, and it was by far the easiest and safest and best way I’ve voted since the pandemic began,” she said.
There are 30 early voting locations scattered around Fulton County, which stretches 70 miles (112 kilometers) north to south. But with 60 check-in stations and 300 voting machines, the arena may be the best option for many, county elections director Rick Barron told reporters.
“Voters will probably save time by going to State Farm, driving from wherever they are,” he said, while noting there is a transit station right next to the arena.
A glitch with the electronic pollbooks used to activate the cards that go into the voting machines caused a backup at the arena the day it opened, but it was cleared quickly and nearly 3,000 people voted there that day, Barron said.
Voters in Dallas have enthusiastically embraced the arena experience.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban retweeted a message that said the American Airlines Center was “the coolest polling place I’ve ever voted in.” Cuban added that there are 60 polling stations set up inside.
The next day, he tweeted a photo of voting machines in the arena’s concourse, calling it “Democracy in action.”
In Detroit, the training facility for the NBA’s Pistons and Ford Field, where the NFL’s Lions play, will provide socially distant spaces for receiving boards to double check ballots after they are counted at precincts. Pistons Vice Chairman Arn Tellem said helping with this year’s election is important because the only way to bring about change is to vote.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, whose district includes parts of Detroit, said it’s appropriate for taxpayer-funded sports facilities to play this role.
“We did subsidize the building, so of course they should be using them for public good,” Tlaib said.
Florida has early voting at venues used by the NBA’s Orlando Magic, the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning and the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
When he went to vote on Monday, Anton Versch, 30, said he was surprised to see Magic coach Steve Clifford assisting poll workers inside the Amway Center. There were no lines and voters were in and out quickly.
“I felt like I was a player. I just had to make the right decisions,” Versch said.
Not every team request was approved. Miami-Dade County rejected an offer from the Miami Heat, saying they wanted only sites that can be used in the future and, in most years, the NBA and early voting seasons overlap.
In Milwaukee, election officials scrapped plans to use the Bucks basketball and Brewers baseball stadiums as early voting locations, citing concerns about legal challenges, since they would have been designated later than required by state law.
The pandemic has created a new need for socially distanced voting locations, as well as a unique opportunity with venues idled after games and other events were canceled. But Behrens said the NBA plans to continue promoting voting once it’s over.
“We don’t think there’s anything more American than encouraging people to participate in the process,” she said.
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By Polityk | 10/22/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Final Trump-Biden Debate: What to Watch For
U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden face off Thursday in their final debate ahead of the Nov. 3 election. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti reports from Nashville, Tennessee.
Camera: Miguel Amaya
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By Polityk | 10/22/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Senate Democrats Release Foreign Policy Road Map Criticizing Trump
The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee charged Wednesday that the Trump administration’s foreign policy has broken with a precedent set by past U.S. presidents showcasing the U.S. as a model for democracy and freedom.“The consequences of both Donald Trump’s words and actions have been almost unequivocally negative for the American people and for broader United States interests globally,” ranking member Senator Bob Menendez said Wednesday while introducing a report, “The Costs of Trump’s Foreign Policy,” to reporters.Among its recommendations, the report calls for renewed U.S. engagement with multilateral institutions, while communicating to allies and partners that U.S. relations with them are based on shared values. The report also recommended “autocratic leaders should be put on notice that the United States will hold them accountable for violations of human rights and efforts to repress their citizens” and the U.S. should prioritize “serious dangers Americans and the world face from global threats, including climate change, pandemics, authoritarianism and nuclear proliferation, which the Trump administration has ignored.”Prepared by the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the report draws on interviews with experts and former U.S. government and foreign government officials to examine the impact the administration’s foreign policy has had on U.S. standing globally.”Past U.S. presidents sought to showcase the United States as a model for what a society can achieve when it is based upon democracy and freedom. President Trump, on the other hand, has consistently shown disdain for pluralism, human rights, civil society, the press and rule of law,” the report says.The report cited among its examples Trump’s sudden withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria and his criticism of democratic leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau while praising authoritarian leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.Policy reversalsFour years ago while running for president, Trump vowed to “shake the rust off America’s foreign policy.” Much of his administration’s efforts overseas have been focused on reversing what he has repeatedly called a “disastrous foreign policy” of his predecessor, President Barack Obama.FILE – This image made from video broadcast by North Korea’s KRT shows a military parade with what appears to be a possible new intercontinental ballistic missile at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, Oct. 10, 2020.Menendez said that nearly four years into Trump’s term, “We see the North Korea nuclear and missile programs larger and more capable than before. We see Iran inching closer to a nuclear weapon. And instead of building alliances or coming up with a better deal as he promised, President Trump has alienated our partners and allies. Indeed, this president has repeatedly bullied and threatened our closest friends.”James Jay Carafano, vice president of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation, said that view ignores the subtleties of U.S. policy that often require responding to challenges that span presidential terms.“ ’We hate Trump’ is just kind of an excuse. ‘It’s all Trump’s fault.’ It’s really papering over kind of very significant challenges that were there when the president came into office. People forget that the Europeans were not crazy about Obama and his last few years, and they didn’t think U.S. policy was going in the right direction,” Carafano said.If Democrats win control of the Senate in the upcoming elections, Menendez would be poised to assume the chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee.“This report is the beginning of a conversation about the future of U.S. foreign policy and how to undo the damage wrought by this president. I hope it can serve as a road map for Congress and a future administration about what needs rebuilding and where the damage lies,” Menendez said.’Highly partisan’Carafano noted that “it’s a highly partisan report, as you would expect in the middle of an election cycle. I don’t think it has any more credibility than that. Do you want to look at the punditry and the rhetoric and the tweets? Or do you want to actually look at the execution of U.S. policy?”FILE – Suriname’s President Chan Santokhi and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo walk together, in Paramaribo, Suriname, Sept. 17, 2020.According to a statement on foreign policy posted on the White House website, the Trump administration aims to bolster “American influence by leading a coalition of strong and independent nations to promote security, prosperity and peace both within America’s borders and beyond. The promise of a better future will come in part from reasserting American sovereignty and the right of all nations to determine their own futures.”By those metrics, Carafano said, the United States is in a better state of relations in Africa, the Indo-Pacific and Latin America.But Menendez said, “President Trump’s foreign policy had been marked by chaos, neglect and diplomatic failures. National security decisions have been driven by his ego and domestic political calculations, not the interests of the United States. Foreign officials recounted how they don’t know who speaks for the president or whether a new policy announcement is real or will abruptly reverse.”The report specifically cites the administration’s response to the coronavirus, including its withdrawal of U.S. assistance to the World Health Organization (WHO) during the pandemic.“Our increasing absence from multilateral institutions means that our adversaries, particularly China, have a foothold to gain influence,” Menendez said. “And while we have a list of grievances with the U.N. Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization, walking away takes away our ability to effectively counter China and to improve these institutions.”GOP support in CongressCongressional Republicans have praised Trump’s tough stance on China and the WHO. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who co-chaired the China Task Force, said Republicans were proud to stand with Trump.FILE – House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, center, is joined by fellow Republican lawmakers as he walks up to the podium to begin speaking during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 31, 2019.“We confronted China head-on. Tore up bad trade deals and made better ones,” McCarthy said in a taped speech at the Republican National Convention.Republicans have also recognized the president’s efforts to end U.S. engagements abroad.“A strong America cannot fight endless wars. We must not continue to leave our blood and treasure in Middle East quagmires,” Republican Senator Rand Paul said at the Republican National Convention earlier this year. “President Trump is the first president in a generation to seek to end war, rather than start one. He intends to end the war in Afghanistan. He is bringing our men and women home.”“This administration’s national security strategy is actually predicated on working with friends and allies. That’s actually one of the key pillars, because it acknowledges the United States can’t be everywhere. It can’t do everything. It doesn’t envision withdrawing or disengaging from any part of the world. It recognizes in order to have global coverage, the United States has to have friends and allies everywhere,” Carafano said.Viewed as importantAccording to the Pew Research Center, 57% of U.S. voters rank foreign policy as an important issue, below domestic issues such as the economy, health care an, in this election year, the coronavirus.But Menendez said Biden’s foreign policy background should be an important consideration.“Joe Biden did foreign policy for a long time. He did it as a United States senator. He was chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. He did it as vice president of the United States. This is a totally different person than Donald Trump. He will restore our standing in the world, build our alliances,” Menendez said.
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By Polityk | 10/22/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump, Harris Campaign in North Carolina 13 Days Ahead of the Election
With the U.S. presidential election less than two weeks away and the focus on a handful of states expected to determine the outcome, incumbent Republican Donald Trump was back in North Carolina on Wednesday, where Democratic challenger Joe Biden’s running mate, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, also made appearances earlier in the day.“We’re going to win this state,” Trump predicted at an evening rally in Gastonia. Later at the event, he told the crowd of thousands, “I’ve been all over your state. You better let me win.”North Carolina is a key prize in the election as the victor gets 15 of the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the presidency.Trump beat Hillary Clinton in the state four years ago by fewer than 200,000 votes, capturing just under 50% of ballots cast.“We need North Carolina and that’s why I’m here, that’s why he’s (Trump) been here,” Harris told reporters at the airport in Asheville after a campaign event on a nearby college campus. “The people of North Carolina are very much going to be a very big part of deciding this election, so we’re here to encourage the vote.”Three polls in the past week have shown Biden ahead of Trump by 3 points, within the margin of error of those surveys of voters.North Carolina is often characterized as a swing state, but some there suggest it is better to list it as battleground state because prior to Barack Obama in 2008, the last time the state voted for a Democrat for president was Jimmy Carter in 1976.“The historic 1929 textile mill strikes had its epicenter in Gastonia. As the textile industry has faded in North Carolina, Gastonia has retained some of its blue-collar heritage while also moving into the metropolitan orbit of Charlotte. The Trump campaign would have to run strongly in Gaston County to match its 2016 victory in North Carolina,” said professor Ferrel Guillory, who directs the Program on Public Life at the journalism and media school at the University of North Carolina.Professor Mac McCorkle at Duke University’s public policy school, where he directs its POLIS politics center, told VOA, “Gastonia is exactly the kind of place Trump needs to be or has to be at this juncture, if being in a particular place matters. It’s one those at least partly Charlotte exurban or ‘countrypolitan’ counties where Republicans have been getting and need to get more than 60% support.”Over the years, North Carolina has seen its furniture and textile industries wither while growth in the Research Triangle and Charlotte attracts a more diverse population.“North Carolina is not as simple as partisan breakdown,” with more than 40% of its residents born outside the state, said Susan Roberts, a political science professor at Davidson College.In a statement released Wednesday, Biden said, “Trump isn’t focused on caring for working families in North Carolina who cannot make their rent or mortgage payments, parents and educators struggling to educate their kids, or small-business owners losing everything they worked so hard to build. He has given up on his responsibility to get this virus under control.”Trump at his Gastonia rally, where he spent more than 75 minutes on stage, accused the media and the Democrats of focusing too much on the pandemic.“All you hear is COVID, COVID,” said the president, who has recovered from the virus after testing positive earlier this month. “That’s all they put on because they want to scare the hell out of everyone.”This year, COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has killed about 222,000 people in the United States out of a total of 8.3 million confirmed to have been infected. It has killed more than 4,000 people in North Carolina where new coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and the percentage of COVID-19 tests that are positive are increasing statewide.Perhaps the chief issue for North Carolina voters is health care. Roberts, of Davidson College, notes that North Carolina is one of only 12 states that have opted not to adopt the expanded Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act.Trump has repeatedly railed against the act, known as Obamacare. Biden’s campaign pledges to bolster the plan with a variety of adds-on that will “insure more than an estimated 97% of Americans.”
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By Polityk | 10/22/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Maryland Man Arrested Over Biden Death Threat
A Maryland man was arrested and accused of making death threats against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Wednesday.
The suspect was identified as James Dale Reed, 42, who was also charged with threatening sexual violence against Sen. Kamala Harris, Biden’s running mate, in a letter he left at a neighbor’s house that bore a sign supporting the Democratic ticket.
The resident of Frederick, Maryland, who initially denied threatening violence against the candidates, was captured on the neighbor’s video doorbell on October 4 delivering the letter at their doorstep.
Prosecutors said Reed was questioned at home and later arrested after he admitted to the offense.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert Hur said the threats were illegal, and his office takes them seriously. Hur added that his office will “hold accountable those who make them.”
The Secret Service has since filed a criminal complaint in federal court against Reed, who said he wrote the threatening letter because he was troubled by the political situation, according to an affidavit.
Reed’s action comes days after over a dozen men were charged with plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and at a time when civil rights groups warn of election-related violence.
This is not the first time Reed has been charged with making threatening statements. In 2014, he made similar threats to an unidentified person who was under Secret Service protection.
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By Polityk | 10/22/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden’s Fundraising Overshadows Trump’s in Final Days of Campaign
As the race for the White House enters the homestretch, U.S. President Donald Trump finds himself at a major campaign cash disadvantage to Democratic challenger Joe Biden.Campaign filings with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) show the Trump re-election committee with $63 million in cash on hand as of Oct. 1, compared with Biden’s $177 million. Biden’s 3-to-1 cash advantage came as his campaign raised $489 million in August and September, compared with Trump’s just under $143 million.Overall, the Biden campaign has raised $809 million, more than any other candidate in U.S. history, excluding self-funding billionaire Michael Bloomberg, while Trump’s re-election committee has hauled in $552 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign watchdog organization. Party committees and outside groups have raised and spent even more money on the race.Big edge in final daysThe Democratic candidate’s unprecedented money advantage has enabled him to outspend Trump’s once-flush re-election campaign, flooding the airwaves and social media with advertising in key battleground states in the final days of the campaign.Biden’s financial edge means he “is going to have a lot more money to spend on basically whatever he wants,” said Douglas Weber, a senior researcher at the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington. “That can be helpful because it means he has the resources if he wants to invest in long-shot states.”FILE – Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden arrives to participate in a town hall with moderator ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Oct. 15, 2020.To be sure, money alone does not win elections. Democrat Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 presidential election despite vastly outspending Trump. But the extra cash on hand gives Biden a financial advantage in closely fought races in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Florida.“The irony in all this is that we think advertising matters the least in a presidential race because voters already know so much else about these presidential candidates,” said Travis Ridout, a professor of government and public policy at Washington State University and co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks political advertising. “That said, we think that advertising can make a difference when the race is close.”Although Biden leads Trump by as much as 10 percentage points in national polling averages, the former vice president’s lead narrows to just a couple of points in swing states that hold the key to the outcome of the election.’Huge ad advantage’“Having a huge ad advantage in those states, especially when those undecided persuadable voters are making up their minds, that could make the difference,” Ridout said.A Trump campaign spokeswoman did not respond to a question about the campaign’s cash deficit compared with that of Biden’s campaign. Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien told reporters on Monday that the Trump team had “more than sufficient air cover, almost three times as much as 2016.”The 2020 U.S. presidential and congressional races are on pace to cost nearly $11 billion, making them more than 50% more expensive than the 2016 elections when adjusted for inflation, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The presidential race alone is projected to cost $5.2 billion, double what the 2016 presidential race cost.FILE – President Donald Trump arrives at Morristown Municipal Airport to attend a fundraiser at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, Oct. 1, 2020, in Morristown, N.J.The Biden campaign’s financial advantage over the Trump team marks a sharp turnaround. Until February, the Trump campaign organization was well-funded, boasting seven times more cash on hand than Biden’s team, according to the CRP.But the president’s team burned through the money early on and fell behind as Biden’s once-flagging fundraising operation took off this year amid growing Democratic opposition to the president over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.“Biden does seem to be attracting a lot of Democrats, a lot of enthusiastic donors,” said Weber of the CRP. “Democrats in general have been doing very well in fundraising this cycle.”Records setIn August and September, the Biden campaign and affiliated Democratic fund committees set back-to-back fundraising records, hauling in nearly $750 million. The Republicans, by contrast, raised nearly $460 million during the two-month period.With more money in the bank, the Democrats have been able to out-advertise the Republicans. Ad tracking firm FILE – President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participate in their first 2020 presidential campaign debate in Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 29, 2020.While the Trump campaign has canceled TV ads scheduled for battleground states such as Wisconsin, according to ad-buying company Medium Buying, the Biden campaign has embarked on once unheard-of venture: advertising in the traditionally Republican state of Texas.“The Trump campaign has had to go into triage mode,” Ridout said. “They can’t afford advertising everywhere in all of the potentially competitive states. So, they’ve had to pull back from some of those states that they think they should win and pull back from some of those that it is pretty certain Biden’s going to win.”
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By Polityk | 10/22/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
African Reporters Try to Unpack Complex, Contested US Election
The world is watching as the U.S. prepares for a crucial election for president and thousands of other representatives at all levels of government. In Africa’s most mature democracy, South Africa, citizens are watching the drama with interest — and with the aid of a few seasoned journalists who are attempting to explain the quirks and developments of this historic poll. For 12 years, South African reporter Sherwin Bryce-Pease has had the job of explaining America — and U.S. politics — for his nation’s state broadcaster from his base in New York. 2020, however, is posing a new storytelling challenge, with a pandemic and an election that, even for many American journalists, is a tough task. But, Bryce-Pease says, the difficulty is universal. “The truth deficit that we’ve encountered with this White House, you know, whether it’s from the president’s medical team post his COVID-19 diagnosis just the other day — you’re not getting the facts necessarily from this White House. So we also always have to, sort of, put it through a prism. What has the president said? And is it actually true? And this complicates the life of a journalist here,” he said. FILE – The White House is seen on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, May 24, 2019.His election coverage focuses broadly on the presidential race and on U.S.-Africa relations. He believes his audience prefers Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in this race, largely because of Biden’s connection to former president Barack Obama and for Biden’s vice presidential pick, Kamala Harris. Also, he said, President Donald Trump’s disparaging comments about Africa have made him unpopular on the continent. In Johannesburg, retired U.S.-diplomat-turned-writer Brooks Spector also tries to make sense of American politics for a South African audience, in the Daily Maverick newspaper. This election, he says, has taken him to some strange places in his column. “About a month ago, I wrote a column which urged for international monitoring groups to check the American election to help keep it honest, straight and free and fair,” he said. His is not an isolated opinion. The African Union has even suggested an election observation mission to the U.S. — a plan that does not appear to have materialized, though smaller teams from individual African states are reportedly planning their own observation missions. In that way, says analyst Liesl Louw-Vaudran, this poll could also influence how African nations behave in the future. “There’s a paradigm shift, more than even a mind shift, in a sense that African countries and governments always feel, you know, on the back foot when it comes to everything: governance, even the responses to COVID-19,” Louw-Vaudran said. “And what we’ve seen this last six months is that actually even the developed nations have been struggling. Their systems of governance are also under threat, as much as we have huge problems here.” Bryce-Pease says this is an important time to be covering the U.S. “This is a strange moment for the United States, and I think we need to recognize that,” he said. “I mean, the fact that you are questioning the electoral process of this shining city on a hill really does give a lot of people pause. … So I don’t know how America comes out of this. The question is: What kind of leadership will you have post November 3rd? I think that will be the determinant of where we go here.” Wherever that is, Africa will be watching.
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By Polityk | 10/22/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Caught in America’s Election Battle, Ukraine Hopes for More US Military Support
Ukrainians are watching with added interest as Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden enter the final days of the U.S. presidential race. Ukraine has taken on huge strategic importance for the United States and its NATO allies since Ukraine’s ongoing 2014 war with Russia, while allegations of corruption linked to Ukraine continue to cloud the election campaign.The alliance was underscored last month as U.S. military personnel took part in “Exercise Fiction Urchin” alongside Ukrainian special forces in the west of Ukraine. U.S. Air Force CV-22 Ospreys and other aircraft flew low over the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, drawing attention from residents below.The joint exercises took place as the Kremlin staged military drills alongside Chinese and other forces as part of “Exercise Caucasus 2020” in the south of Russia.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
President Donald Trump works the crowd after speaking at a campaign rally Monday, Oct. 19, 2020, in Tucson, Ariz.In the first months of Donald Trump’s presidency in 2017, Arestovich says there were concerns in Ukraine about the closeness of the relationship with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.“However, it became clear that no matter how much Trump complimented Putin with words, in reality, the military activity (with the U.S.) has been increasing and the safety umbrella has been growing over eastern Europe and Ukraine together with the military support. So, the collective opinion (on Trump) has changed,” Arestovich said.Allegations that Donald Trump threatened to withhold military aid to Ukraine unless Kyiv launched an investigation into his Democrat rival, were at the center of the president’s impeachment by the House of Representatives in 2019. He was later acquitted in the Senate.Ukraine is back in the political spotlight amid renewed claims that as vice president in 2015, Joe Biden shielded his son Hunter Biden – who was then on the board of a Ukrainian energy firm – from an anti-corruption investigation by demanding the dismissal of Ukraine’s chief prosecutor.Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden waves as he arrives at The Queen theatre in Wilmington, Del., Oct. 19, 2020.The Bidens strongly deny the claim and accuse Republicans of carrying out a smear campaign. The FBI is investigating possible Russian disinformation.Most Ukrainians are uncomfortable with their country’s involvement in the election campaign, says Arestovich. “The collective wish of the ordinary Ukrainian is that we do not meddle in any American politics, and that we would be friends with the Americans militarily. The military safety umbrella – that’s the main interest. Protection from Russia.”Ukrainians who spoke to VOA largely echoed that view.“We have our own independent country and there is no sense in arguing or fighting with our neighbors and friends,” said Oleksandr Panasovich, a Kyiv resident.Another resident, Olena, who did not give her family name, said she has many friends living in the U.S. “I think Biden is better for Ukrainians, but my American friends are closer to Trump,” she told VOA.“Both of them supported us, so Ukraine shouldn’t lose out either way. I personally think that we have already experienced Trump, so we hope for the best with Biden,” said Kyiv resident Ivan.Analysts say Ukrainians’ greatest hope is that U.S. military support continues after the election, no matter who wins on November 3.
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By Polityk | 10/21/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
NYT Report: Trump Tax Records Show He Tried to Land China Projects
President Donald Trump spent a decade unsuccessfully pursuing projects in China, operating an office there during his first run for president and forging a partnership with a major government-controlled company, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
China is one of only three foreign nations — the others are Britain and Ireland — where Trump maintains a bank account, according to a Times analysis of the president’s tax records. The foreign accounts do not show up on Trump’s public financial disclosures, where he must list personal assets, because they are held under corporate names.
The Chinese account is controlled by Trump International Hotels Management LLC, which the tax records show paid $188,561 in taxes in China while pursuing licensing deals there from 2013 to 2015.
In response to questions from The Times, Alan Garten, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, said the company had “opened an account with a Chinese bank having offices in the United States in order to pay the local taxes” associated with efforts to do business there. He said the company had opened the account after establishing an office in China “to explore the potential for hotel deals in Asia.”
“No deals, transactions or other business activities ever materialized and, since 2015, the office has remained inactive,” Garten said. “Though the bank account remains open, it has never been used for any other purpose.”
Garten would not identify the bank in China where the account is held.
China continues to be an issue in the 2020 presidential campaign, from the president’s trade war to his barbs over the origin of the coronavirus pandemic. His campaign has tried to portray former Vice President Joe Biden as misreading the dangers posed by China’s growing power. Trump has also sought to tar his opponent with overblown or unsubstantiated assertions about Hunter Biden’s business dealings there while his father was in office.
As for the former vice president, his public financial disclosures, along with the income tax returns he voluntarily released, show no income or business dealings of his own in China. However, there is ample evidence of Trump’s efforts to do business there.
As with Russia, where he explored hotel and tower projects in Moscow without success, Trump has long sought a licensing deal in China. His efforts go at least as far back as 2006, when he filed trademark applications in Hong Kong and the mainland. Many Chinese government approvals came after he became president.
In 2008, Trump pursued an office tower project in Guangzhou that never got off the ground. But his efforts accelerated in 2012 with the opening of a Shanghai office, and tax records show that one of Trump’s China-related companies, THC China Development LLC, claimed $84,000 in deductions that year for travel costs, legal fees and office expenses.
The Times said Trump’s tax records show that he has invested at least $192,000 in five small companies created specifically to pursue projects in China over the years. Those companies claimed at least $97,400 in business expenses since 2010, including some minor payments for taxes and accounting fees as recently as 2018, the Times reported.
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By Polityk | 10/21/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Court Upholds Extension of North Carolina Mail-In Voting Deadline
A U.S. federal appeals court has ruled that as long as a voter in the state of North Carolina has mailed their absentee ballot no later than Election Day, election officials can count it even if it arrives after Election Day. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied a challenge to a North Carolina State Board of Elections rule that said it will accept mail-in ballots as late as November 12. The original regulations would have made the cutoff November 6. The 12-3 ruling involved all of the court’s active judges, instead of a more typical three-judge panel, signaling the importance of the case. The issue is playing out in courts all over the country as election officials, political parties and rights groups battle on the question of to what extent rules in each state should be changed as more people seek to avoid having to go to a polling place on November 3 due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Everyone must submit their ballot by the same date,” said the 4th Circuit ruling. “The extension merely allows more lawfully cast ballots to be counted, in the event there are any delays precipitated by an avalanche of mail-in ballots.”FILE – An election worker enters a polling station in Charlotte, North Carolina, April 24, 2019, as the station prepares for early voting.The courts have generally sided with the rules put in place by state legislatures and election officials while denying challenges from political parties and outside groups. The legal challenges have included many of the states considered key to deciding which candidate will win the presidential election, such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ruling by Pennsylvania’s top court allowing mail-in ballots to be counted if they arrive by November 6. Various courts gave voters in Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin similar extensions, but in each of those cases a higher court overturned the ruling. Voters in all three states must now make sure their ballots are received by Election Day in order to be counted. Overall, about 20 U.S. states currently allow ballots to come in after Election Day as long as they are postmarked by November 3. Many states are also allowing people to cast ballots in person ahead of Election Day. Combined with the mail-in votes, about 38 million people had already cast a ballot by Tuesday night, according to the U.S. Election Project.
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By Polityk | 10/21/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Makes Appeals to Pennsylvania Voters Two Weeks Before Election Day
U.S. President Donald Trump is demanding Pennsylvania get back to normal business operations at a time the state is seeing a spike in coronavirus cases. “What the hell is happening in Pennsylvania?” Trump asked the crowd at his Tuesday evening campaign rally at Erie International Airport, in the western part of the crucial swing state for the November 3 general election. Expressing frustration with pandemic restrictions imposed by Governor Tom Wolf, a member of the Democratic Party, the president said “Pennsylvania has been shut down long enough. Get your governor to open up Pennsylvania.” Wolfe issued a renewed plea on Monday to Pennsylvanians to work together to stop the spread of the virus. Every part of the state is seeing community spread of COVID-19, partly due to “relatively small gatherings of families and friends,” said Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s top health official. The number of people hospitalized from COVID-19 in the state has doubled in the past four weeks, but it is still more than three times lower than at its peak in late April. Trump, along with Vice President Mike Pence, has been making frequent campaign appearances in the state, seen as critical for their re-election chances in two weeks. Wolf has criticized the Trump campaign for holding “unsafe rallies that will put Pennsylvania communities at risk” of COVID-19 outbreaks. A letter signed by more than 75 physicians in Pennsylvania urged people not to attend Tuesday’s rally, saying such campaign events endanger public health and give a false impression that the coronavirus is “no longer with us.” Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden, a native of Pennsylvania, has also frequently been in the state but has followed social-distancing guidelines, minimizing the number of attendees and requiring all in attendance to wear masks.President Donald Trump points at the crowd after a campaign rally at Erie International Airport, Tom Ridge Field, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, in Erie, Pa.Former President Barack Obama is to campaign for his former vice president in Philadelphia on Wednesday at what is being called a “drive-in rally.” Polls taken in Pennsylvania this month show Biden leading Trump by just a few points and the race further narrowing. Trump acknowledged to the tightly packed crowd of thousands in Erie that he had not expected to have to campaign in their city this year. “I have to be honest. There was no way I was coming,” said the president. “And then we got hit with the plague and I had to go back to work.” During his 56-minute speech in Erie, the president said the U.S. government is “crushing the virus,” the country is doing much better than Europe, and the pandemic “is ending.” Biden did not make any campaign appearances on Tuesday, remaining in Wilmington, Delaware, where he was said to be preparing for Thursday evening’s second debate with Trump, which is to take place in Nashville, Tennessee. Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes, out of the 270 needed to capture the presidency, is a crucial prize. In 2016, Trump edged Hillary Clinton by only 45,000 popular votes in the state with the help of white, working-class voters in Erie, who had long been loyal to the Democrats. First lady Melania Trump had been scheduled to join her husband on stage in Erie on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, her office announced she was canceling her appearance due to a lingering cough following her coronavirus infection. President Trump spent three days in the hospital being treated for COVID-19. He has declared himself cured and now immune to the virus that has killed more than 220,000 people in the United States. Surveys show his administration’s handling of the pandemic has hurt him among voters. According to a New York Times/Sienna poll released Tuesday, Biden is favored over Trump to lead on the coronavirus pandemic by 12 points. Biden has repeatedly accused the president of deliberately downplaying the deadliness of the disease, calling Trump’s behavior “close to criminal.”
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By Polityk | 10/21/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Pelosi Notes ‘Progress’ with Trump Admin Over New COVID-19 Stimulus Deal
The White House and the Democratic-majority U.S. House of Representatives “are serious about finding a compromise” on a second massive round of coronavirus aid, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday. Pelosi said she and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke by telephone Tuesday afternoon, and that she hoped they could continue talks Wednesday after he returns from an overseas trip. “Our conversation provided more clarity and common ground as we move closer to an agreement. Today’s deadline enabled us to see that decisions could be reached and language could be exchanged,” Pelosi said in a letter to her Democratic colleagues. The two sides called on the heads of congressional committees “to resolve differences about funding levels and language,” Pelosi said. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell committed Tuesday to bring any Trump-approved legislation that results from such a deal to the Senate floor for a vote. “If such a deal were to clear the House, obviously, with the presidential signature or promise, we would put it on the floor of the Senate,” McConnell told reporters. If negotiations between the White House and the Democratic-majority House of Representatives fail, the next opportunity for negotiations on aid will come during a lame-duck session of Congress in November and December. “Nancy Pelosi isn’t serious,” McConnell said Tuesday on the timing of negotiations. “That’s because she doesn’t want anything to pass, she and [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer have made a calculated decision. It’s a political decision that nothing is going to pass until after Election Day because they believe that they have better chances of success on Election Day.”Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks to reporters after casting his vote in the 2020 general election at the Kentucky Exhibition Center in Louisville, Ky., Oct. 15, 2020.The president also raised the timing of the deal in relation to the election during a campaign stop in Arizona Monday, saying Pelosi “at this moment, does not want to do anything that’s going to affect the election.” U.S. lawmakers have repeatedly failed to reach an agreement on a second round of economic aid to millions of Americans impacted by the pandemic. In September, Senate Republicans failed to pass a slimmed-down $500 billion aid proposal. The House passed the $2.2 trillion Heroes Act in June and has so far rebuffed the administration’s offer of $1.8 trillion for a new round of aid. The Senate voted Tuesday on another $500 billion proposal. That bill would provide funding for a new round of unemployment benefits and the popular Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). McConnell said Senate Republicans did not feel there was a need for a second round of the $1,200 stimulus payments many Americans received as part of the CARES Act earlier this year. “We thought about $500 billion was appropriate at this juncture,” he told reporters. “No one would argue the economy’s in good shape but it’s noteworthy that [un]employment is at about 8.4% which is what it was in several years during the Obama first term.” He said the Republican proposal did provide funding for enhanced unemployment benefits. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the Senate votes this week a stunt. “Democrats want to get a big bold bill that will meet the American people’s needs as soon as we can,” he said. “Nancy Pelosi is fighting to get one now. And as you know we’ve been met just with intransigence by the Republican Senate. We will try to get one in the lame duck and we will try to get one should we win the presidency and win the senate after that, the sooner the better,” Schumer told reporters Tuesday. President Donald Trump announced an end to negotiations on a new round of aid earlier this month before reversing course and tweeting, “Go big or go home!” His expression of support for a larger topline number closer to House Democrats’ asks for close to $2 trillion and has caused discomfort among many Senate Republicans. The $2 trillion CARES Act, passed by bipartisan agreement in March, was one of the largest aid packages in U.S. history, providing $600 in weekly enhanced unemployment benefits for millions of out of work Americans. The weekly benefits expired on July 31. The U.S. economy is showing some signs of recovery from the lockdowns instituted earlier this year to contain the spread of the virus. More than 11.4 million jobs have been recovered, and there are signs of increased hiring in hard-hit industries such as tourism. New unemployment claims jumped last week to more than 890,000, the highest level since mid-August, although continuing unemployment claims dropped to 10 million. The U.S. leads the world with just over 220,000 COVID-19 deaths, as well as infections, with more than 8 million cases total, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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By Polityk | 10/21/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Congress, White House Negotiations on COVID Aid ‘Come a Long Way’
Negotiations between the White House and the Democratic-majority U.S. House of Representatives on a second massive round of coronavirus aid have “come a long way,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday. In a Bloomberg News interview ahead of an afternoon phone call with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Pelosi said the two sides were resolving disagreements over language, setting out a national testing strategy for detecting the coronavirus as well as addressing the impact of the pandemic on communities of color. The two sides are still negotiating language for emergency funding for cash-strapped state and local governments. Pelosi had set Tuesday as the final day to reach a deal with the Trump administration before the presidential and congressional elections, which are just two weeks away on November 3. But she downplayed that self-imposed deadline, saying Tuesday morning, “It isn’t that this day was a day that we would have a deal, it was a day that we would have our terms on the table to be able to go to the next step.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell committed Tuesday to bring any Trump-approved legislation that results from such a deal to the Senate floor for a vote. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell holds a face mask while participating in a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, October 20, 2020.“If such a deal were to clear the House, obviously, with the presidential signature or promise, we would put it on the floor of the Senate,” McConnell told reporters. If negotiations between the White House and the Democratic-majority House of Representatives fail, the next opportunity for negotiations on aid will come during a lame-duck session of Congress in November and December. “Nancy Pelosi isn’t serious,” McConnell said Tuesday on the timing of negotiations. “That’s because she doesn’t want anything to pass, she and [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer have made a calculated decision. It’s a political decision that nothing is going to pass until after Election Day because they believe that they have better chances of success on Election Day.” The president also raised the timing of the deal in relation to the election during a campaign stop Monday in Arizona, saying Pelosi “at this moment, does not want to do anything that’s going to affect the election.” President Donald Trump works the crowd after speaking at a campaign rally, October 19, 2020, in Tucson, Arizona.U.S. lawmakers have repeatedly failed to reach an agreement on a second round of economic aid to millions of Americans affected by the pandemic. In September, Senate Republicans failed to pass a slimmed-down $500 billion aid proposal. The House passed the $2.2 trillion Heroes Act in June and has so far rebuffed the administration’s offer of $1.8 trillion for a new round of aid. The Senate voted Tuesday on another $500 billion proposal. That bill would provide funding for a new round of unemployment benefits and the popular Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). McConnell said Senate Republicans did not feel there was a need for a second round of the $1,200 stimulus payments many Americans received as part of the CARES Act earlier this year. “We thought about $500 billion was appropriate at this juncture,” he told reporters. “No one would argue the economy’s in good shape, but it’s noteworthy that [un]employment is at about 8.4% which is what it was in several years during the Obama first term.” He said the Republican proposal did provide funding for enhanced unemployment benefits. Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y., left, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during a news conference, September 9, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the Senate votes this week a stunt. “Democrats want to get a big bold bill that will meet the American people’s needs as soon as we can,” he said. “Nancy Pelosi is fighting to get one now. And as you know we’ve been met just with intransigence by the Republican Senate. We will try to get one in the lame duck and we will try to get one should we win the presidency and win the senate after that, the sooner the better,” Schumer told reporters Tuesday. President Donald Trump announced an end to negotiations on a new round of aid earlier this month before reversing course and tweeting, “Go big or go home!” His expression of support for a larger topline number closer to House Democrats’ asks for close to $2 trillion has caused discomfort among many Senate Republicans. The $2 trillion CARES Act, passed by bipartisan agreement in March, was one of the largest aid packages in U.S. history, providing $600 in weekly enhanced unemployment benefits for millions of out-of-work Americans. The weekly benefits expired on July 31. The U.S. economy is showing some signs of recovery from the lockdowns instituted earlier this year to contain the spread of the virus. More than 11.4 million jobs have been recovered, and there are signs of increased hiring in hard-hit industries such as tourism. New unemployment claims jumped last week to more than 890,000, the highest level since mid-August, although continuing unemployment claims dropped to 10 million. The U.S. leads the world with just over 220,000 COVID-19 deaths, as well as infections, with more than 8 million cases total, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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By Polityk | 10/21/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Why 2020 Polling Numbers May Be More Accurate Than Those of 2016
Should Americans trust polling data showing Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden leading President Donald Trump ahead of the November 3 election? VOA’s Elizabeth Lee takes a look.
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By Polityk | 10/21/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US First Lady Won’t Join President at Campaign Rally
U.S. first lady Melania Trump will not join President Donald Trump on the campaign trail Tuesday because of a lingering cough from COVID-19, according to her chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham. Grisham said Tuesday that Mrs. Trump’s health continues to improve daily after she and the president announced in early October that they had contracted the infectious disease. The first lady has decided not to accompany Trump to a campaign rally Tuesday night in Erie, Pennsylvania, “out of an abundance of caution,” Grisham said. Melania Trump, who announced last week that she had recovered from COVID-19, made her last public appearance during the September 29 debate between Trump and Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden.
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By Polityk | 10/21/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
