US Senate Races Tighten Ahead of Election

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With days left until the U.S. election, Democrats are in a position to win a handful of Senate races that could give them control of the chamber in 2021. No matter who wins the White House, party control of the Senate will be a key factor determining how much work gets done in Washington for the next two years.Republicans currently have a 53-47 Senate majority. If Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wins the presidency, Democrats would need a net pickup of just three Senate seats to assume the majority. If U.S. President Donald Trump is elected to a second term,more

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With US Election a Week Away, Trump and Biden Campaign in Contested States

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With one week until Election Day, Republican U.S. President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, headed Tuesday to political battleground states in a frantic push to shore up critical support to win a four-year term in the White House.Their travel plans reflect the state of the race, with polls showing Biden ahead of Trump by seven to nine percentage points nationally and about half that in contested states that are likely to determine the overall outcome.On Tuesday, Trump is on defense, headed to three midwestern states he won in his upset victory over Democrat Hillarymore

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Amy Coney Barrett Formally Sworn In as US Supreme Court Justice

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Amy Coney Barrett was formally sworn in Tuesday as a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.   Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath to the former federal appellate judge, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a 52-48 vote late Monday.     Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine joined the entire Democratic caucus voting against Barrett’s confirmation. Collins said she would not vote for Barrett’s confirmation because of the proximity of the vote to next week’s presidential election.      According to the Associated Press, no other Supreme Court justice has been confirmed on a recorded votemore

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South Africans Watch US Election With Interest, Trepidation

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South Africa, Africa’s most mature democracy, is watching the American election with great interest — and trepidation.   Residents of the country, for the most part, say four years of U.S.-Africa relations under President Donald Trump have done nothing for their lives. VOA spoke to analysts and citizens in Johannesburg, the economic hub of the continent, about what matters to them as America votes.   VOA has, during the past four years, spoken to hundreds of South Africans of all backgrounds about U.S. politics and found few who openly support Trump. Most pin their disapproval on reports that he made disparaging commentsmore

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Judge: US Can’t Replace Trump in Columnist’s Slander Suit

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A federal judge on Tuesday denied President Donald Trump’s request that the United States replace him as the defendant in a defamation lawsuit alleging he raped a woman in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s.   The decision by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan came after the Justice Department argued that the United States — and by extension the American people — should replace Trump as the defendant in a lawsuit filed by the columnist E. Jean Carroll. The government’s lawyers contended that the United States could step in as the defendant because Trump was forced to respondmore

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Senate Approves Trump’s Third Supreme Court Nominee

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The U.S. Senate approved President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, on Monday. VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports on the crucial vote that is happening a little over a week before Election Day.Produced by: Katherine Gypson               Camera: Adam Greenbaum   …

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US Supreme Court Upholds Wisconsin Mail-In Ballot Deadline

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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that voters in the U.S. state of Wisconsin need to return their ballots to election officials by the time polls close on November 3 in order to be counted. The court sided with Republicans who challenged an earlier decision by a lower court judge to extend the deadline to accept any ballots that were postmarked by November 3 but arrived by November 9. Ballot deadlines vary by state, and as legal challenges have played out in recent weeks, the courts have generally supported rules put in place by state legislatures or election officials. “No one doubts thatmore

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Senate Approves Trump High Court Pick With Partisan Vote

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The U.S. Senate confirmed federal appellate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to a seat on the Supreme Court in a 52-48 vote late Monday.Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine  joined the entire Democratic caucus voting against Barrett’s confirmation. Collins said she would not vote for Barrett’s confirmation because of the proximity of the vote to next week’s presidential election. According to the AP, no other Supreme Court justice has been confirmed on a recorded vote with no support from the minority party in at least 150 years.Barrett is the third justice on the nine-member court to be nominated by President Donald Trumpmore

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