Justices to Weigh Trump Census Plan to Exclude Noncitizens

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The Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up President Donald Trump’s policy, blocked by a lower court, to exclude people living in the U.S. illegally from the census count that will be used to allocate seats in the House of Representatives.Never in U.S. history have immigrants been excluded from the population count that determines how House seats, and by extension Electoral College votes, are divided among the states, a three-judge federal panel said in September when it held Trump’s policy illegal.The justices put the case on a fast track, setting arguments for Nov. 30. A decision is expected by themore

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DC Court Rules in Dispute Over Open Technology Fund Board

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The Superior Court in Washington, D.C., has ruled that actions taken by the U.S. Agency for Global Media’s chief executive against the board of the Open Technology Fund are invalid.The court ruling came in response to a July lawsuit regarding who controls the OTF. The suit was filed by the office of the District of Columbia’s attorney general under the district’s Nonprofit Corporations Act.OTF, an independent, nonprofit grantee of USAGM, In one of his first acts as chief executive of USAGM, the federal agency that oversees Voice of America and other networks and grantees, including OTF, Michael Pack fired themore

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Trump, Biden Return to Campaign Trail After Separate Town Hall Events

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U.S. Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden return to the campaign trail Friday after sparring the night before in separate televised town hall events.   Trump and Biden visit three battleground states as the November 3 presidential election draws closer in an ongoing effort to capture support from voters, 18 million of whom have already cast ballots, according to the U.S. Elections Project at the University of Florida.   Trump makes stops in Florida and Georgia, two southern states that are considered crucial to his chances of winning a second term in the White House. Themore

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Coronavirus Fuels Unprecedented Early Voting in US

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The US is seeing unprecedented numbers of voters who are choosing to cast ballots ahead of the November 3rd presidential election.  More than 14 million Americans have voted already, at least 10 times the norm at this point, and millions more are expected to do so before Election Day.  VOA’s Carolyn Presutti examines who is voting and how that could affect the outcome of the presidential election. Camera: Miguel Amaya, Aleksandr Bergan   Producer: Miguel AmayaLesia Bakalets contributed to this report in Miami …

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Young People Tire of Coronavirus Stereotypes

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Darla Veitch, a 19-year-old student attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is not the stereotypical college student, gathering in crowds at the beach or in bars. The farthest she strays from home, she said, is her backyard. “The last time I went out was probably three months ago, to Home Depot to get some plants to put in our garden,” said Veitch. “Very crazy.” Images of parties and bars frequently paint a picture of young people who are ignoring social distancing guidelines, like wearing masks during the coronavirus pandemic. As students have returned to college campuses, cases have risen.   But not allmore

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Avalanche of Early Votes Transforming 2020 Election

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More than 17 million Americans have already cast ballots in the 2020 election, a record-shattering avalanche of early votes driven both by Democratic enthusiasm and a pandemic that has transformed the way the nation votes.   The total represents 12% of all the votes cast in the 2016 presidential election, even as eight states are not yet reporting their totals and voters still have more than two weeks to cast ballots. Americans’ rush to vote is leading election experts to predict that a record 150 million votes may be cast and turnout rates could be higher than in any presidentialmore

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Biden, Trump Hold Competing Town Halls

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U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden held competing town halls Thursday, reaching out to voters in separate forums at the same time. Mike O’Sullivan has more on the televised events, just weeks before the election Nov. 3. Producers: Mike O’Sullivan, Rod James …

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Trump Supreme Court Pick Nears Confirmation Vote

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Judge Amy Coney Barrett, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee to fill the vacancy left on the Supreme Court by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last month, cleared the first hurdle to her confirmation this week. In four marathon hearing days, Barrett deflected questions on how she would rule on issues from abortion to the election to gun rights. VOA Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports on the next steps in the process. Camera: Adam Greenbaum      Producers: Katherine Gypson, Emma Morris, Michael Rummel  …

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In Split-Screen Town Halls, Trump and Biden Squabble over Coronavirus Response

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Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Thursday criticized what he called President Donald Trump’s “panicked” response to the coronavirus pandemic, while Trump defended his handling of a crisis that has killed more than 217,000 Americans.The rivals spoke in simultaneous town halls broadcast on separate television networks after a debate originally scheduled for Thursday was called off after Trump contracted COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.The split-screen showdown offered a stark reminder of the many ways the campaign season has been changed by a pandemic that has prompted more than 18 million people to cast ballots more than two weeksmore

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In Blocking Tweets, Is Twitter Protecting the Election or Interfering?

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The decision by Twitter to block the dissemination of a story on its site about Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, has added to an already heated discussion in the U.S. about whether internet companies have too much power and are making decisions that could affect the U.S. elections.Some have applauded Twitter’s move as a stand against misinformation. Others have criticized Twitter’s decision as biased, curtailing speech in a way that could affect the outcome of the U.S. election.In recent weeks, Twitter, Facebook and Google, the owner of YouTube, have increasingly taken steps to restrict themore

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