2020 Election Puts Focus on Twitter, Facebook Content Moderation

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The nation’s top technology leaders urged U.S. lawmakers Wednesday to keep content moderation protections in place, despite growing calls from Republicans to address perceived bias in the way social media companies handle free speech online.  Online companies are shielded from liability for content on their sites under Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act.  Those protections apply to companies of all sizes operating online that use third-party content. But some Republicans contend Section 230 is a “carve-out” for larger companies such as Facebook and Twitter, allowing them to censor content based on political viewpoints and use their considerable reachmore

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71 Million Americans Have Already Voted 

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Americans are voting early for next Tuesday’s presidential election in unprecedented numbers, a product of strong feelings for or against the two main candidates and a desire to avoid large crowds at Election Day polling stations amid the coronavirus pandemic. More than 71 million people have already voted six days ahead of the official election day, totaling more than half of the overall 2016 vote count, which was 138.8 million. FILE – Returned ballots are shown at elections management center at the Salt Lake County Government Center Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, in Salt Lake City.About two-thirds of the early voters have mailed inmore

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Maintaining Lead in Polls, Biden Plays Offense in Campaign’s Last Days

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One week before the November 3 election, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is making a push into Republican-leaning states, while President Donald Trump plays defense, focusing on states he won in 2016 but where polls now show him trailing. On Tuesday, Biden made two campaign stops in Georgia, a state not carried by a Democratic presidential contender since 1992. He plans to visit Iowa, Florida, Wisconsin and Michigan later this week. Trump won those states in 2016, but Democrats believe Biden has a chance to claim them in 2020.  Analysts say Biden’s foray into so-called “red” states like Georgia and Iowamore

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Where Trump and Biden Differ on Key Issues

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Voters choosing between President Donald Trump and former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden in the U.S. presidential election should have no difficulty distinguishing between the two men on policy questions.  The differences in the candidates’ positions on a large variety of issues – climate, taxes, trade, race relations, national security, immigration, and above all the handling of the coronavirus pandemic – are stark and provide voters with two very distinct options for the direction of the country over the coming four years. In general, President Trump has governed as he campaigned four years ago, as a norm-busting Republican iconoclast who forges his ownmore

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US to Open Embassy in Maldives Amid Geopolitics Competition with China    

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The United States is opening an embassy in the Maldives to strengthen economic and security cooperation five decades after the two nations established diplomatic ties.  The move reflects “the continued growth of the U.S.-Maldives relationship and underscoring the United States’ unshakeable commitment to Maldives and the Indo-Pacific region,” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement Wednesday after his meetings in the Maldives with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo walks to board an aircraft to leave for Maldives, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Oct. 28, 2020.The latest move is seen as part of Washington’s push for a free andmore

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More Than 3M in Pennsylvania Apply for Mail-in Ballots

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A week ahead of the Nov. 3 election, applications in the presidential battleground state of Pennsylvania for mail-in or absentee ballots exceeded 3 million, with Tuesday the last day to request one and legal wrangling creating uncertainty over the deadline to receive them. State data shows that, of those applications, about 1.9 million, or more than 62%, have been returned to counties. More than 9 million Pennsylvanians have registered to vote, a record high. If turnout is 70%, which was the rate in 2016’s presidential election in Pennsylvania, that means 6.3 million people will vote. The majority of people, 1.9more

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America’s Youth Mull Potential High Court Changes Over Abortion

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A possible challenge to Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States in 1973, has young people considering how it might impact their lives.Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative judge from Indiana who was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court Monday evening, has previously disagreed with the decision, as well as the Affordable Care Act, which provides many women with free or low-cost contraception. Among 18- to 29-year-old Americans, 70% support abortion rights, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center study. Among all ages, 60% of Americans support legalized abortions.  “I am scared, because amore

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How Media Organizations Report Election Results in Real Time

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As Americans prepare to go to polling stations on Election Day this Nov. 3, U.S. news organizations are preparing to report the count which will determine the winners of more than 7,000 races, including the White House, House and Senate seats, state offices, and local legislative positions.In the United States, news organizations observe the vote count in real time and use a variety of information to determine when they can declare a winner in each race, including overall vote totals, exit polling of voters, and the estimated number of votes still uncounted in each precinct.  Here’s how it works and whatmore

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