Trump, Biden Spar as Last Debate Opens

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U.S. Republican President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, sparred sharply Thursday night about the country’s world-leading coronavirus death toll at their second and final debate 12 days before the Nov. 3 national presidential election.“He says we’re rounding the corner” in dealing with the pandemic, Biden said of Trump, as the increasing U.S. death toll has topped more than 220,000. “Anyone responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president. This is the same fella who told you it would be gone by Easter.”Trump accused Biden of wanting to shut down the country tomore

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US Warns of More Election Meddling from Russia, Iran

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Russia and Iran are ramping up attacks on U.S. government networks and computer systems while also amplifying their disinformation campaigns, hoping to rattle the confidence of American voters with less than two weeks until the Nov. 3 presidential election.The warning Thursday from U.S. intelligence and election security officials came less than 24 hours after the director of national intelligence blamed Iran for launching the first sensational attack on the upcoming election, accusing Tehran of being behind thousands of spoofed emails designed to intimidate voters.Thursday’s advisories from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency suggested thatmore

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Harvard Sees Steep Decline in Revenue

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Harvard University lost $10 million in operating expenses at the end of the fiscal year in September, compared with a $308 million surplus last year.Revenue declined $138 million, mostly in the final quarter of the fiscal year that ended the last day of June 2020, according to the University’s Annual Financial Report. Refunds costlyThe biggest toll was from refunding student room and board fees — $32 million — when students were sent home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.Total student revenue decreased by 11% to $1.1 billion.Harvard also lost revenue from its lucrative executive education programs in which the university earned $500more

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Biden Proposes Panel to Study Reforming ‘Out of Whack’ US Judiciary

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Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden said that if elected, he would put together a bipartisan commission of scholars to examine reforming a federal judiciary he called “out of whack,” noting that there are alternatives to consider besides expanding the Supreme Court. Biden, challenging Republican President Donald Trump in the November 3 election, made the comments in an interview with the CBS program “60 Minutes” to air this weekend. Excerpts were released Thursday. The former vice president said he would create a bipartisan commission of constitutional scholars including Democrats, Republicans, liberals and conservatives to review the U.S. judiciary. FILE – Democratic presidential candidatemore

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Scammers Scare Students Into Giving Up Personal Information

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The call comes late at night, waking up a student with an angry voice that issues a threat about the student’s visa status.Your visa is out of compliance, the aggressive caller says, and instructs the student to send thousands of dollars to an account that he says belongs to “U.S. Immigration and Customs Services.”When the student says she or he has to call home — which can be many time zones away for many international students — the caller warns that if there is any delay, the student will be deported.The threat is a scam designed to make the unsuspectingmore

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Trump Posts ’60 Minutes’ Interview After Complaining Anchor Was Biased

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U.S. President Donald Trump has released an unedited interview with “60 Minutes” anchor Lesley Stahl before its scheduled Sunday broadcast after complaining she was biased against him.   The footage Trump posted on Facebook Thursday shows him becoming increasingly irritated as Stahl questioned him on a number of topics, including his handling of the coronavirus crisis, the “Obamacare” replacement plan he has long touted but failed to produce and his apparent loss of support among suburban women.   “Look at the bias, hatred and rudeness on behalf of 60 Minutes and CBS,” Trump wrote in a tweet that included amore

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Theater World to Unite for Get-Out-The-Vote Event on Oct. 29

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Playwright and “The Walking Dead” star Danai Gurira, Tony Award-winning director Stephen Daldry and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner playwright Lynn Nottage are spearheading a night of music and short monologues as part of a national get-out-the-vote effort. The hourlong, nonpartisan “Act Out: Vote 2020” will be performed by Yvette Nicole Brown, Ryan J. Haddad, Brian Tyree Henry, Lloyd Knight, Sandra Oh and Ephraim Skyes. The event will be available to stream for free at ActOutVote2020 on Oct. 29 at 9 p.m. ET and then live on YouTube until Nov. 2. “Voting matters for every election,” said Nottage in a statement,more

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US Arenas, Stadiums Find New Life as Safer Options for Voting

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With long waits making headlines during early voting across the country, professional sports venues have emerged as bright spots, repurposing huge spaces mostly devoid of fans into efficient and relatively safe polling places. Featuring rows and rows of voting machines, ample space for social distancing and staff accustomed to large crowds, these mega voting sites are proving attractive to voters looking for the best way to cast their ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic. “This was an amazing, fantastic experience,” Jen Cox said after voting at State Farm Arena, home of the Atlanta Hawks. Other voters leaving the arena and postingmore

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Will US Policy on Iran Change After Election?

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Since his election in 2016, U.S. President Donald Trump has withdrawn from the Iran nuclear agreement signed in 2015 by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and imposed tough sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy. How might the relationship between Washington and Tehran change after the U.S. election on November 3?2020 began with the United States and Iran on the verge of war. The U.S. targeted killing of revered Iranian General Qassem Soleimani January 3 – whom Washington accused of masterminding numerous attacks in the region – sparked fury in Tehran.It retaliated with missile strikes on U.S. bases in Iraq. Nomore

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Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Barrett Supreme Court Nomination Despite Democrats’ Boycott

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The Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee has approved Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court, sending the matter to the full Senate for consideration. Democrats on the committee boycotted the vote Thursday, resulting in a 12-0 vote in favor of the nomination.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer reiterated his party’s objection to President Donald Trump moving ahead with replacing the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the court so close to an election, arguing that such a move should be left to whichever candidate wins the November 3 U.S. presidential election.He cited the Supreme Court vacancy in 2016, when then-President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland butmore

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Campaigning for Biden, Obama Says Trump ‘Incapable of Taking Job Seriously’

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Former U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday that President Donald Trump is “incapable of taking the job seriously,” as Obama campaigned for Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the key state of Pennsylvania.The drive-in rally in the city of Philadelphia was Obama’s first in-person event in support of Biden, who served as vice president during his two terms in office.”I never thought Donald Trump would embrace my vision or continue my policies, but I did hope for the sake of the country that he might show some interest in taking the job seriously,” Obama told the crowd sitting in nearly 300more

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Trump, Harris Campaign in North Carolina 13 Days Ahead of the Election

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With the U.S. presidential election less than two weeks away and the focus on a handful of states expected to determine the outcome, incumbent Republican Donald Trump was back in North Carolina on Wednesday, where Democratic challenger Joe Biden’s running mate, U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, also made appearances earlier in the day.“We’re going to win this state,” Trump predicted at an evening rally in Gastonia. Later at the event, he told the crowd of thousands, “I’ve been all over your state. You better let me win.”North Carolina is a key prize in the election as the victor gets 15 ofmore

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Senate Democrats Release Foreign Policy Road Map Criticizing Trump

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The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee charged Wednesday that the Trump administration’s foreign policy has broken with a precedent set by past U.S. presidents showcasing the U.S. as a model for democracy and freedom.“The consequences of both Donald Trump’s words and actions have been almost unequivocally negative for the American people and for broader United States interests globally,” ranking member Senator Bob Menendez said Wednesday while introducing a report, “The Costs of Trump’s Foreign Policy,” to reporters.Among its recommendations, the report calls for renewed U.S. engagement with multilateral institutions, while communicating to allies and partners that U.S.more

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Maryland Man Arrested Over Biden Death Threat

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A Maryland man was arrested and accused of making death threats against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Wednesday.   The suspect was identified as James Dale Reed, 42, who was also charged with threatening sexual violence against Sen. Kamala Harris, Biden’s running mate, in a letter he left at a neighbor’s house that bore a sign supporting the Democratic ticket.   The resident of Frederick, Maryland, who initially denied threatening violence against the candidates, was captured on the neighbor’s video doorbell on October 4 delivering the letter at their doorstep.   Prosecutors said Reed was questioned at home andmore

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The Last Encounter: Trump, Biden Debate Thursday Night

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Republican President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, are debating Thursday night in their last face-to-face confrontation before the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election.The two candidates, both in their 70s, repeatedly interrupted each other, Trump more so than Biden, at their 90-plus-minute debate in late September, a standoff that some U.S. political pundits described as the worst-ever U.S. presidential debate.   But this time, the independent Commission on Presidential Debates is muting each candidate’s microphone while the other speaks for two minutes in response to questions on six current affairs issues selected by moderator Kristenmore

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Thai Parliament Recalled Amid Ongoing Protests

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Thailand will recall its Parliament from recess to discuss ongoing pro-democracy protests in the country, the cabinet announced Tuesday.Lawmakers are expected to meet for a non-voting session October 26 to October 27, a move that embattled Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-Cha said he approved. Protests, largely led by students, have called for Prayuth’s resignation and several other changes to Thailand’s constitution.Protest leaders called for a day of rest Tuesday after six straight days of demonstrations, despite a ban on gatherings of more than four people.The Thai government also ordered the closing Tuesday of Voice TV, a network partly owned by the familymore

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NYT Report: Trump Tax Records Show He Tried to Land China Projects

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President Donald Trump spent a decade unsuccessfully pursuing projects in China, operating an office there during his first run for president and forging a partnership with a major government-controlled company, The New York Times reported Tuesday. China is one of only three foreign nations — the others are Britain and Ireland — where Trump maintains a bank account, according to a Times analysis of the president’s tax records. The foreign accounts do not show up on Trump’s public financial disclosures, where he must list personal assets, because they are held under corporate names. The Chinese account is controlled by Trumpmore

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Trump Campaign Warns Biden Will Undermine American Democracy

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With Democratic candidate Joe Biden holding a substantial lead in presidential election polls, President Donald Trump’s campaign is trying to appeal to independent and disaffected Republican voters. Trump is warning that if Democrats win, they will enact radical changes to the American system of democracy. VOA’s Brian Padden reports on concerns the Democrats might change the filibuster rule in the Senate to pack the Supreme Court, abolish the Electoral College or admit new Democratic majority states into the union. …

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African Reporters Try to Unpack Complex, Contested US Election

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The world is watching as the U.S. prepares for a crucial election for president and thousands of other representatives at all levels of government. In Africa’s most mature democracy, South Africa, citizens are watching the drama with interest — and with the aid of a few seasoned journalists who are attempting to explain the quirks and developments of this historic poll. For 12 years, South African reporter Sherwin Bryce-Pease has had the job of explaining America — and U.S. politics — for his nation’s state broadcaster from his base in New York.   2020, however, is posing a new storytelling challenge, withmore

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Foreign Students Could Buoy Cash-strapped US Universities 

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International students might be a boon for many colleges and universities to offset losses during the coronavirus pandemic, say experts.  “U.S. education is an extremely valuable service export, roughly equivalent to total exports of wheat, corn, coal, and natural gas,” according to the FILE- People walk on the Stanford University campus beneath Hoover Tower in Stanford, Calif., March 14, 2019.In April, when the infection continued to shutter campuses nationwide, then-University of California President Janet Napolitano pleaded for funding assistance in a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom. “I am bringing to your attention these significant, unanticipated costs to UC in many areasmore

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Caught in America’s Election Battle, Ukraine Hopes for More US Military Support

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Ukrainians are watching with added interest as Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden enter the final days of the U.S. presidential race. Ukraine has taken on huge strategic importance for the United States and its NATO allies since Ukraine’s ongoing 2014 war with Russia, while allegations of corruption linked to Ukraine continue to cloud the election campaign.The alliance was underscored last month as U.S. military personnel took part in “Exercise Fiction Urchin” alongside Ukrainian special forces in the west of Ukraine. U.S. Air Force CV-22 Ospreys and other aircraft flew low over the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, drawing attention from residentsmore

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US Court Upholds Extension of North Carolina Mail-In Voting Deadline

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A U.S. federal appeals court has ruled that as long as a voter in the state of North Carolina has mailed their absentee ballot no later than Election Day, election officials can count it even if it arrives after Election Day. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied a challenge to a North Carolina State Board of Elections rule that said it will accept mail-in ballots as late as November 12. The original regulations would have made the cutoff November 6. The 12-3 ruling involved all of the court’s active judges, instead of a more typical three-judge panel, signaling the importance of the case. The issue is playing out in courtsmore

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