Category Archives: US Politics

Oprah hosts star-studded sit-down with Kamala Harris: ‘Hope is making a comeback’

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Julia Roberts and Chris Rock tune in as vice-president attacks Trump on abortion and pledges to sign border bill

Kamala Harris sat down with Oprah Winfrey on Thursday for a “virtual rally” that included a wide ranging sit-down interview, during which Harris attacked her opponent’s stance on reproductive rights and pledged to sign a border security bill thwarted by Senate Republicans, but largely kept her guard up with the legendary television interviewer.

The event, helmed by one of the all-time masters of the television talkshow, was filled with celebrity cameos and heart-wrenching personal stories. It was live-streamed from Michigan, a key battleground state.

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Trump bemoans lack of support from Jewish voters and blames ‘Democrat curse’

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In disjointed Washington speech, nominee tells audience low numbers are because of ‘the Democrat curse on you’

Donald Trump has complained bitterly to Jewish donors that a majority of Jews vote against him in US presidential elections, suggesting that the Democratic party has a “curse on you”.

The Republican presidential candidate made the remarks during a speech on Thursday at the Israeli-American Council national summit in Washington, where he used hyperbolic language to warn that victory for his opponent Kamala Harris would result in Israel being wiped off the map.

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Ohio city’s mayor issues emergency order over false migrant rumors

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Springfield mayor Rob Rue says the order will allow city officials to ‘acquire resources to address potential threats’

The mayor of Springfield, Ohio, has issued an emergency proclamation following the continued rise in public safety threats over false rightwing rumors about the city’s migrant communities.

On Thursday, Rob Rue released a statement, saying: “Ensuring the safety of Springfield’s residents is our top priority.” He added: “We are addressing these threats with the seriousness they warrant and are taking immediate steps to ensure the security of both our community and our employees. Our commitment to preventing harm is unwavering.”

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Kamala Harris holds star-studded event with Oprah in battleground state of Michigan – as it happened

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Joe Biden will address the Economic Club of Washington DC today, one day after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in four years, marking a significant turning point for the economy.

While the president is expected to hail a “new milestone” in America’s post-pandemic economic recovery, his top officials said he would acknowledge there remains more work to do.

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California Teamsters endorse Harris after national union declines to back any candidate – live

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Union chief Sean O’Brien says ‘neither candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union’ but says member polls favored Trump

The US is still not prepared for inevitable Russian attacks on its elections, the former special counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated Russian interference in 2016 and links between Donald Trump and Moscow, warns in a new book.

“It is … evident that Americans have not learned the lessons of Russia’s attack on our democracy in 2016,” Mueller writes in a preface to Interference: The Inside Story of Trump, Russia and the Mueller Investigation by Aaron Zebley, James Quarles and Andrew Goldstein, prosecutors who worked for Mueller from 2017 to 2019.

As we detailed in our report, the evidence was clear that the Russian government engaged in multiple, systematic attacks designed to undermine our democracy and favor one candidate over the other.”

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US House federal funding bill fails to pass as shutdown deadline nears

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Contentious government funding package championed by Mike Johnson was voted down 202-220

A government funding package championed by Republican House speaker Mike Johnson failed to pass on Wednesday, with less than two weeks left to prevent a shutdown starting 1 October.

The final vote was 202 to 220, with 14 House Republicans and all but three House Democrats opposing the bill. Two Republican members voted “present”.

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Civil rights groups condemn senator’s questioning of Arab American witness

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Republican John Kennedy of Louisiana accuses thinktank director of supporting Hamas in heated hate crime hearing

A congressional hearing on hate crimes drew charges of the bigotry it was meant to address after a Republican senator told the female Muslim head of a thinktank to “hide your head in a bag” and accused her of supporting Hamas and Hezbollah.

John Kennedy, the GOP senator for Louisiana, drew condemnation from Democrats as well as Muslim, Jewish and civil liberties groups for the remark, aimed at Maya Berry, the executive director of the Arab American Institute, at a hearing staged by the Senate judiciary committee.

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Trump-allied Pac fires canvassing vendor in crucial states weeks before election

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Elon Musk’s America Pac replaces voter turnout operations in Arizona and Nevada with less than 50 days until election

America Pac, one of the largest and the most ambitious of the groups supporting Donald Trump’s campaign, is replacing its voter turnout operations in the crucial battleground states of Arizona and Nevada, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The political action committee, backed by billionaire Elon Musk, has ended its contract with the September Group and will hire a new company to knock on doors with fewer than 50 days left until the election.

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JD Vance defends pet-eating remarks: ‘The media has a responsibility to fact-check’

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Republican VP nominee claims at Wisconsin rally that constituents told him ‘they’d seen something in Springfield’

JD Vance defended his comments about Haitian immigrants eating pets during a Tuesday rally, saying that “the media has a responsibility to fact-check” stories – not him.

The rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, came two days after the Ohio senator told CNN host Dana Bash it was OK “to create stories” to draw attention to issues his constituents care about, regarding inflammatory and unfounded claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, had eaten residents’ pets.

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Trump recounts apparent assassination attempt as new details emerge

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Former president praises Secret Service as cellphone records show alleged gunman camped out near golf course for about 12 hours

Donald Trump has given his first detailed account of what he experienced on Sunday during what the FBI has said “appears to be an attempted assassination of the former president”, as authorities revealed new details about the incident at his West Palm Beach golf club.

Trump said he was playing golf with friends, including businessman Steve Witkoff, when he heard gunshots.

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Trump appears at town hall in Michigan – as it happened

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As far as the election campaign is concerned, this week the Kamala Harris team has its focus on youth turnout to coincide with today’s National Voter Registration Day.

In a statement campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez said: “The stakes this November couldn’t be higher, and vice-president Harris knows our democracy is stronger when we all vote. We are focused on meeting young Americans where they are to drive home the stakes of this election on the issues they care most about.”

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Election officials ‘look over our shoulders more’ as US political violence surges

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Public officials lower on the ticket, who don’t have Secret Service protection, say they are concerned after the gunman on Trump’s golf course underscored the rising threat of violence

The second apparent attempt on Donald Trump’s life on Sunday is the latest episode this year to underscore the way that the threat of violence has become ubiquitous for public officials in American life.

It is a threat that touches officials at every level, from presidential candidates like Trump, who have around-the-clock protection from the Secret Service, to lower level judges and election officials, who do not have that level of security.

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Democrats campaign carefully after apparent Trump assassination plot

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The party has been quick to condemn political violence – and is focusing its criticism on Trump’s unpopular policies

In comments to Fox News Digital on Monday, Donald Trump blamed Democrats for the repeated attempts on his life. “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country and they are the ones that are destroying the country – both from the inside and out,” he said.

Also on Monday, the former president released a list of quotes that the campaign described as incendiary. At the top of that list was a quote from Kamala Harris saying: “Trump is a threat to our democracy and fundamental freedoms.”

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Biden tells Trump of his relief he is safe; Secret Service says golf club visit was unscheduled – live

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President and predecessor share ‘cordial conversation’, White House says; acting director Ronald Rowe defends Secret Service actions

A law enforcement source has told CNN that they “expect a federal court in South Florida will require ‘a mental health assessment’ of Ryan Wesley Routh before any possible criminal proceedings”.

Several prominent foreign leaders have commented on what appears to have been an assassination attempt on Donald Trump yesterday.

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RFK Jr’s name will remain on ballot in swing state Wisconsin, judge rules

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Law states that candidates who submit nomination papers cannot be removed from ballot unless they die, says judge

Robert F Kennedy Jr’s name will remain on the ballot in the swing state of Wisconsin, a judge ruled on Monday.

Dane county circuit judge Stephen Ehlke ruled that Wisconsin law clearly states presidential candidates who have submitted nomination papers can’t be removed from the ballot unless they die. Kennedy’s campaign submitted nomination papers before the state’s 6 August deadline.

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White House blasts Elon Musk for X post about Biden and Harris assassination

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‘No one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala,’ X owner tweeted after apparent Trump assassination attempt

The White House has condemned Elon Musk for tweeting “no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala” in response to an X user asking “Why they want to kill Donald Trump?”

The president’s office issued a statement Monday criticizing the “irresponsible” post, which was accompanied by an emoji face with a raised eyebrow. The White House said: “Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about. This rhetoric is irresponsible.” The statement added that there should be “no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country”.

This article was amended on 16 September 2024. An earlier version stated that Elon Musk had tweeted “Why they want to kill Donald Trump?” It was later corrected to make clear he was replying to that tweet.

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Violence and instability have become a feature, not a bug, of US political life

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Another apparent Trump assassination attempt happened – as we brace for what has been dubbed ‘a tinderbox election’

It has happened again. Another serene and sunny weekend. Another lone suspect wielding a rifle. Another apparent bid to assassinate Donald Trump. And a nation hurtling into uncharted territory 50 days from a presidential election.

On Sunday, Secret Service agents opened fire after seeing a man with a rifle near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club in Florida while the Republican candidate was playing. The suspect fled in an SUV and was later apprehended by local law enforcement.

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‘It’s such a dramatic contrast’: Harris turns North Carolina into a toss-up

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The state, usually a Republican stronghold, is in play in a nail-bitingly tight contest for the presidency

Landon Simonini found himself standing in the middle of a Charlotte highway lane at 2.30 in the afternoon, stuck in an artificial traffic jam while drivers waited for Kamala Harris’s plane to land and the motorcade to clear for the rally later that day.

He was out of his car, because why not? He wasn’t going anywhere soon. His red Make America great again cap stood out among others cursing the traffic gods.

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Real v fake: how the Harris-Trump debate laid out different takes on AI

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One candidate revels in AI-generated images of cats and geese, while the other posts real photos of her grandparents

In their first, and likely only debate, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump argued about artificial intelligence. They spoke of China, chips and “domestic innovation”. The country learned how Harris, Trump and their allies would – or intentionally wouldn’t – use artificial intelligence for their own ends.

But the real lessons were in the aftermath. The online furor over the IRL confrontation revealed that Republicans use AI to illustrate their political points. Democrats do not.

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More bomb threats hit Springfield, Ohio, after Trump elevates false claims about Haitians

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Two hospitals sent into lockdown, government buildings shut down and local schools evacuated

Two hospitals in Springfield, Ohio, were sent into lockdown after bomb threats, police said Saturday, marking the fourth such case in as many days that appears linked to false claims circulating among the far right that Haitian immigrants there are eating domestic pets and wildlife.

Saturday’s threats came even after the woman who started the rumors acknowledged to NBC News that they were unfounded and publicly apologized.

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