Page 16 - Us Elections

US adversaries targeting elections with disinformation: Intel officials

It's not just the presidential election: Foreign governments are targeting House and Senate races around the country in their effort to meddle with American democracy this election year, intelligence officials warned on Monday. Russia and China have launched influence operations designed to help or hurt candidates in specific congressional races. Without giving specifics about the number of affected races, an official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Monday that both countries have zeroed in on races where they believe they have a national security interest at stake. Other smaller nations may be trying their own influence operations, officials said. Cuba is almost certainly trying to boost candidates that the Cuban government believes would support their interests in America, according to a report on foreign election threats released on Monday, roughly a month out from the election. The warning from intelligence officials comes during a particularly tigh

Harris calls Trump irresponsibe for spreading falsehoods on Helene response

Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday called former President Donald Trump incredibly irresponsible for spreading falsehoods about the federal response to Hurricane Helene 's destruction, offering especially sharp words as a new storm bears down on Florida with just weeks until Election Day. "There's a lot of mis-and disinformation being pushed out there by the former president about what is available, particularly to the survivors of Helene, Harris told reporters before boarding Air Force Two to fly to New York. It's extraordinarily irresponsible. It's about him. It's not about you. Helene has killed more than 220 people in six states, and Category 5 Hurricane Milton is on a path toward Florida's Gulf Coast. Trump has made a series of false claims in the wake of Helene, including saying incorrectly that the federal government is intentionally withholding aid to Republican disaster victims. He also falsely claimed the Federal Emergency Management Agency had run out of money becaus

Democratic's VP nominee Walz supports Israel's right to defend itself

Tim Walz's opinions become significant as he has served in the American military for over 20 years

Hindu group in US questions Pakistani-American's ties with VP Kamala Harris

A Hindu political group in the US has raised questions about Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris's ties with a Pakistani-American member of the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), expressing concerns about the direction her administration might take on sensitive issues like Kashmir. The remarks by Utsav Sanduja, founder and chairman of Hindus for America First, came after the USCIRF last week released an India Country Update which alleged that religious freedom conditions in India have continued to worsen throughout 2024, particularly in the months before and immediately following the country's general elections. India described the report as malicious which only serves to discredit USCIRF further. Sanduja, a supporter of former president Donald Trump, posted a video on X in which Vice President Harris was seen praising Asif Mahmood, a Pakistani-American and now a Commissioner of the USCIRF, for supporting her campaign. He has been supporting me

Trump, with Elon Musk, addresses thousands at failed assassination bid site

Former US president Donald Trump on Saturday returned to Butler, a city in Pennsylvania where he narrowly escaped an assassination bid 12 weeks ago, and addressed thousands of his supporters in this key battleground state, urging them to elect him as the next president of the United States. Joined by high-profile figures like Tesla owner Elon Musk and his running mate, Senator J D Vance, Trump (78) made a passionate plea to "defeat" Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate in the November 5 presidential poll. "We must stop her country-destroying regime, radical-left agenda once and for all. We cannot have it happen. So you must get out and you must vote," Trump said in Pennsylvania, which in this election cycle has emerged as a must-win situation for both candidates. Trump launched a scathing attack on Harris and accused her of being a failure on multiple fronts, including border security and economy. "She imposed a natural gas export ban on Pennsylvania, which is ...

Alleged plots against US campaign examples of Iran targeting adversaries

Iran has emerged as a twofold concern for the United States as it nears the end of the presidential campaign. Prosecutors allege Tehran tried to hack figures associated with the election, stealing information from former President Donald Trump's campaign. And US officials have accused it of plotting to kill Trump and other ex-officials. For Iran, assassination plots and hacking aren't new strategies. Iran saw the value and the danger of hacking in the early 2000s, when the Stuxnet virus, believed to have been deployed by Israel and the US, tried to damage Iran's nuclear programme. Since then, hackers attributed to state-linked operations have targeted the Trump campaign, Iranian expatriates and government officials at home. Its history of assassinations goes back further. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran killed or abducted perceived enemies living abroad. A look at Iran's history of targeting opponents: A history of hacks For many, Iran's behaviour can be traced to the ..

Trump returns to site of Pennsylvania attack for rally with Vance, Musk

Former President Donald Trump plans to return Saturday to the site where a gunman tried to assassinate him in July, setting aside what are now near-constant worries for his physical safety in order to fulfil a promise really an obligation, he said recently to the people of Butler, Pennsylvania. I'll probably start off by saying, 'As I was saying ...' the Republican presidential nominee has joked, in a bit of black humour about a speech cut short when a bullet struck Trump's ear and he was whisked off stage fist aloft with blood dripping across his face. Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, also will be on hand at the Butler Farm Show grounds, as will billionaire Elon Musk, as the campaign elevates the headline-generating potential of his return with just 30 days to go in their tight campaign against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The campaign is predicting tens of thousands of people will attend what is being pitched as a "tribute to th

US elections: Harris to shore up Arab American, union voters in Michigan

Her success in Michigan depends on running up vote totals in its major cities and immediate suburbs, especially in and around Detroit

Don't know if Israel delaying peace deal to influence 2024 election: Biden

President Joe Biden had terse words for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, and said he did not know whether the Israeli leader was holding up a Mideast peace deal in order to influence the outcome of the 2024 US presidential election. "No administration has helped Israel more than I have, none. None, none. And I think Bibi should remember that," he said, referring to the Israeli leader by his nickname. "And whether he is trying to influence the election, I do not know but I am not counting on that." Biden, in a rare appearance in the White House press briefing room, was responding to comments made by one of his allies, Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who told CNN this week that he was concerned Netanyahu had little interest in a peace deal in part because of US politics. "I do not think you have to be a hopeless cynic to read some of Israel's actions, some of Prime Minister Netanyahu's actions, as connected to the American election," Murphy said. Biden and Netanyahu have l

US Presidential polls: Kamala Harris walking a tightrope few women survive

One of the clearest markers of her evolution as a candidate has been her ability to convey both strength and sympathy, and in ways that come across as authentic

Elon Musk quietly spends millions backing conservative causes, says report

Elon Musk, who publicly endorsed Donald Trump earlier this year, has emerged as a prominent supporter of the former president's re-election campaig

Musk to attend Trump rally in Pennsylvania at July assassination bid site

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and owner of X, called Republican presidential candidate Trump "tough" and officially endorsed him after he survived an assassination attempt in Butler on July 13

Melania Trump's support for abortion rights puts her at odds with GOP

Melania Trump revealed her support for abortion rights on Thursday, ahead of the release of her upcoming memoir, exposing a stark contrast with her husband, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, on the crucial election issue. In a video posted to her X account on Thursday morning, the former first lady defended women's "individual freedoms" to do what they want with their bodies -- a position at odds with much of the Republican Party and her own husband, who has struggled to find a consistent message on abortion while wedged between anti-abortion supporters within his base and the majority of Americans who support abortion rights. "Individual freedom is a fundamental principle that I safeguard," Melania Trump said in the video. "Without a doubt, there is no room for compromise when it comes to this essential right that all women possess from birth: individual freedom. What does 'my body, my choice' really mean?" The video appears to confirm excerpts of her self-titled memoir

Hurricane Helene brings climate change to forefront of US election campaign

A trio of new trials -- a devastating hurricane, expanding conflict in the Mideast and a dockworkers strike that threatens the US economy -- are looming over the final weeks of the presidential campaign and could help shape the public mood as voters decide between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump. How events shake out -- and how the candidates respond -- could be decisive as they claw for votes in battleground states. The president, Joe Biden, is still the steward of the US economy and foreign policy at this tumultuous moment and may well bear ultimate responsibility for how they play out. But how Harris and Trump approach the three disparate issues could have a rippling impact on how Americans perceive their two choices this November. "Unfortunately, there are going to be events like this, and this is where you see the leadership of a president show up," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Tuesday. "I think this should send a message t

How Donald Trump credits an immigration chart for saving his life

Ever since the assassination attempt at his rally in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump has professed a unique fondness for a bar chart he credits for saving his life. Trump was addressing the crowd in Butler about illegal immigration and reviewing a chart that detailed U.S.-Mexico border crossings during his administration and President Joe Biden's term. He had his head turned to the right to review the graphic on a projection screen when the gunfire began. One bullet nicked his right ear, coming millimeters from maiming or killing him. He has said having his head turned probably saved my life, adding at times that he loves the chart more than I even love the police and saying he will sleep with that chart for the rest of my life. He has made it a recurring campaign prop and is likely to show it again when he returns to Butler on Saturday. The chart helps the Republican presidential nominee connect an iconic moment from his 2024 campaign to his signature issue since he entered politics. It

Anti-abortion leaders undeterred as Trump says he would veto abortion ban

Anti-abortion leaders said on Wednesday that they're undeterred after Donald Trump said he would veto a federal abortion ban, the first time he has explicitly said so after previously refusing to answer questions on the subject. During Tuesday night's vice-presidential debate, the Republican presidential nominee posted on his social media platform Truth Social that "everyone knows I would not support a federal abortion ban, under any circumstances, and would, in fact, veto it". He then said that abortion rights should be left up to the states -- his most common response to questions about the issue since Roe v Wade was overturned by a conservative majority that included three of Trump's own appointees to the Supreme Court. In the two years since the ruling, abortion rights have emerged as a major vulnerability for the GOP, which has struggled to find a consistent message on the path forward, while driving turnout for Democrats. With the election less than five weeks away, Trump has

Trump 'resorted to crimes' after losing 2020 elections: Prosecutors

Donald Trump laid the groundwork to try to overturn the 2020 election even before he lost, knowingly pushed false claims of voter fraud and "resorted to crimes" in his failed bid to cling to power, according to a newly unsealed court filing from prosecutors that lays out fresh details from the landmark criminal case against the former president. The filing from special counsel Jack Smith's team offers the most comprehensive view to date of what prosecutors intend to prove if the case charging Trump with conspiring to overturn the election reaches trial. Though a months-long congressional investigation and the indictment itself have chronicled in stark detail Trump's efforts to undo the election, the new filing cites previously unknown accounts offered by Trump's closest aides to paint a portrait of an "increasingly desperate" president who while losing his grip on the White House "used deceit to target every stage of the electoral process". "So what?" the filing quotes Trump as ...

No chance of foreign adversary to change US election results: CISA head

Security for America's election systems has become so robust that Russia, Iran or any other foreign adversary will not be able to alter the outcome of this year's presidential race, the head of the nation's cybersecurity agency said Wednesday. Jen Easterly told The Associated Press in an interview that voting, ballot-counting and other election infrastructure is more secure today than it's ever been. Malicious actors, even if they tried, could not have an impact at scale such that there would be a material effect on the outcome of the election, said Easterly, director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Federal agencies have warned of growing attempts by Russia and Iran in particular to influence voters before the November 5 election and election conspiracy theories have left millions of Americans doubting the validity of election results. Easterly said those efforts are primarily aimed at sowing discord among Americans and undermining faith in the security

Trumps assassination attempt ahead of his returns grapples Pennsylvania

Donald Trump is going back to Butler, where the world last saw him pump his fist and beseech followers to fight, even as blood streaked his face from a would-be assassin's bullet. In announcing his return, the former president and current Republican nominee said he planned to celebrate a unifying vision for America's future in an event like the world has never seen before. The question is: Is Butler ready? While many are predicting a large crowd to hear Trump speak back at the very Farm Show property where a bullet grazed his right ear on July 13, there is also apprehension in town, along with a sense that Butler is still healing. I've consulted with, at least, like 500 people since this has happened, said registered nurse Shanea Clancy, who runs a mental health consulting service in Butler County and has seen people more anxious since the shooting. Some show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. The big theme, if you will, is just, How did something like that happen in our ...

Walz, Vance argue their running mates would reduce Mideast instability

Tim Walz and JD Vance on Tuesday each pointed to the crises of the day as reasons for voters to choose their respective running mates for president, opening their vice-presidential debate by addressing the growing fears of a regional war in the Middle East and a natural disaster that has ravaged the southeastern US. Walz, answering a question on whether he would support a preemptive strike on Iran as it launched missiles into Israel, quickly pivoted to painting Donald Trump as too dangerous for the country and the world in an unstable moment. "What's fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter," said Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota. "And the world saw it on that debate stage a few weeks ago, a nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment." Vance, in his reply, argued that Trump is an intimidating figure whose presence on the international stage is its own deterrent. "Donald Trump actually delivered ...