New evidence China, Russia and Iran targeting US elections

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WASHINGTON — There is new evidence China, Iran and Russia are aggressively expanding their efforts to influence American voters to potentially sway the result of the upcoming U.S. elections. Two threat intelligence reports Wednesday, one from software giant Microsoft and the other from the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, detail growing activity by cyber actors linked to each country — all aiming to impact U.S. public perceptions with less than two weeks before voters go to the polls. The biggest change, according to Microsoft, comes from Chinese-linked actors known to researchers as Spamouflage or Taizi Flood. “Chinese influence operations have recently takenmore

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US Justice Department warns Musk’s super PAC over $1 million giveaways

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department has sent a letter to Elon Musk’s super PAC warning that the billionaire Tesla CEO’s $1 million giveaways may violate federal law, several media organizations reported on Wednesday, citing people briefed on the matter. A letter from the department’s public integrity section, which investigates potential election-related law violations, went to the PAC. The Justice Department and Musk’s America PAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. South African-born Musk, who has thrown his support behind Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump ahead of the November 5 election, announced on Saturday while speaking before amore

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Voting for Harris another milestone in former President Jimmy Carter’s legacy

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Plains, Ga. — In a cavernous store filled with trinkets and knick-knacks, Philip Kurland is surrounded by politics. “We’re the largest political memorabilia dealer in the United States,” he tells VOA as he sorts through numerous bins that line his shop. If there’s a button or badge supporting a political candidate, chances are Kurland has it, as he stops and inspects one button in particular. “This is the number one button people request and come in for,” as he proudly shows an image of a smiling peanut shell. Every four years, Kurland stocks up on items featuring the candidates of themore

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Eligible Latino voters reach record numbers in 2024

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With a record number of Latino voters eligible for the 2024 election, their influence will likely be felt more than previous elections. Examining how this dynamic group shaped past elections in the pivotal state of Florida and key battlegrounds across the country can offer clues about how Latinos might impact the upcoming race. …

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Britain Prime Minister Starmer plays down Trump team claims of interference 

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London — Britain’s prime minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday played down allegations made by Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump’s team of “blatant foreign interference” by his Labour Party in the U.S. election, saying it was normal for its volunteers to campaign.    Starmer also insisted that he maintained “a good relationship” with Trump, having met him for talks last month.    The former president’s legal team filed a complaint to the U.S. Federal Election Commission alleging the “British Labour Party made, and the [Kamala] Harris campaign accepted, illegal foreign national contributions.”    The filing cited media reports that Labour officials, including the primemore

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‘Made in China’ election merchandise floods US market

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WASHINGTON — As the United States presidential election enters its final phase, more and more voters are expressing support for their favored candidate by wearing election merchandise. What they may not realize is that the “Make America Great Again” Trump hat or “Childless Cat Lady for Harris” T-shirt they’re wearing quite possibly was made in China. With the help of e-commerce platforms, Chinese traders are flooding the market for U.S. election merchandise with cheap goods. Anecdotal evidence suggests U.S. makers of these products are struggling to compete. “I think the amount of stuff on Amazon and Etsy that’s coming from Chinamore

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US warns ramped-up election influence efforts aim to stoke violence

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WASHINGTON — Efforts by U.S. adversaries to divide Americans and sow growing distrust in the upcoming presidential election have already begun to intensify, according to senior U.S. intelligence officials, who warn some countries appear to be leaning toward additional measures to spark election-related violence. The latest declassified assessment, issued Tuesday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, comes just two weeks before voters head to the polls November 5 to choose a new president and vote on a series of statewide and local races and initiatives. “Foreign actors — particularly Russia, Iran and China — remain intent on fanningmore

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Russian state media flatters Trump, but Kremlin cool on him and Harris

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MOSCOW — Russian officials from President Vladimir Putin down say it makes no difference to Moscow who wins the White House on November 5. Yet anyone watching Kremlin-guided state media coverage of the U.S. election would conclude Donald Trump is strongly favored. State TV’s main Channel One news program this month showed video of billionaire Elon Musk and TV host Tucker Carlson denigrating Democratic candidate Kamala Harris before zooming in on what it cast as a series of stumbling performances. Harris’ tendency to burst into fits of laughter, something Putin himself spoke about sarcastically last month, has featured prominently in broadcastsmore

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Union endorsements play an outsized role in US presidential election

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Across the country, about 14 million voters are members of unions – workers’ organizations formed to protect their rights. But even though union members make up a small part of the American electorate, presidential candidates eagerly seek their endorsement. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports from Nevada, where unions have a powerful voice in this year’s presidential election. …

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Central Park 5 sue Trump for jogger case remarks at debate

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The men formerly known as the Central Park Five before they were exonerated filed a defamation lawsuit Monday against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. With Election Day two weeks away, the group accused the former president of making “false and defamatory statements” about them during last month’s presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. The group is asking for a jury trial to determine compensatory and punitive damages. “Defendant Trump falsely stated that plaintiffs killed an individual and pled guilty to the crime. These statements are demonstrably false,” the group wrote in the federal complaint. The men are upset becausemore

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Supreme Court rejects Cohen appeal in lawsuit against Trump

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washington — The Supreme Court rejected an appeal Monday from Michael Cohen, who wanted to hold his ex-boss, former President Donald Trump, liable for a jailing he said was retaliation for writing a tell-all memoir. The justices did not detail their reasoning in the brief, a routine order released just over two weeks before Election Day, when Trump is running for another term. Cohen had asked the high court to revive a lawsuit tossed out by lower courts. Those judges found the law doesn’t generally allow people to seek damages over claims they were jailed for criticizing a president, and thatmore

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Harris, Trump battle for 7 states in final election sprint

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The U.S. presidential campaign is culminating in a final sprint to the official Election Day on November 5, with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, focused almost exclusively on seven political battleground states that most likely will determine the outcome. More than 14 million people have already cast early ballots, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab, and more will do so in the coming days as almost all the country’s 50 states open polling stations for early voting and to accept mail-in ballots. National polls show the contest is among themore

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‘Enemy within,’ ‘unhinged,’ Trump, Harris’ campaign rhetoric heats up

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Recent comments by former President Donald Trump about the U.S. having an “enemy within” that needs to be “dealt with,” have sparked a new wave of criticism by his opponents. But the heated rhetoric that both the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees use on the campaign trail comes with a warning from analysts: it may hurt their chances to win the White House. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias, explains. …

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Last US in-person vote will be cast in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands

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ANCHORAGE, ALASKA — On a desolate slab of island tundra in western Alaska, a resident of Adak will again become the last American to cast an in-person ballot for president, continuing a 12-year tradition for the nation’s westernmost community. The honor of having the last voter in the nation fell to Adak when they did away with absentee-only voting for the 2012 election and added in-person voting. “People have a little bit of fun on that day because, I mean, realistically everybody knows the election’s decided way before we’re closed,” said city manager Layton Lockett. “But, you know, it’s still fun.”more

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Judges punishing Jan. 6 rioters fear more political violence as election nears

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WASHINGTON — Over the past four years, judges at Washington’s federal courthouse have punished hundreds of rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol in an unprecedented assault on the nation’s democracy. On the cusp of the next presidential election, some of those judges fear another burst of political violence could be coming. Before recently sentencing a rioter to prison, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said he prays Americans accept the outcome of next month’s election. But the veteran judge expressed concern that Donald Trump and his allies are spreading the same sort of conspiracy theories that fueled the mob’s January 6, 2021,more

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Demographic changes shake up Arizona presidential politics

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People in all 50 states will vote in this year’s U.S. presidential election. But it is outcomes from seven so-called swing states that will likely determine the winner. The Southwestern state of Arizona traditionally favored Republican candidates, but Democrat Joe Biden won the state in 2020, and its electoral votes are up for grabs again in 2024. From Arizona, VOA’s Dora Mekouar has our story. Videographer: Miguel Amaya …

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Don’t count on recounts to flip US elections this fall — they rarely do

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washington — With the American electorate so evenly divided, there will be elections in November close enough that officials will have to recount the votes. Just don’t expect those recounts to change the winner. They rarely do, even when the margins are tiny.  “The (original) count is pretty accurate because the machines work — they work very well,” said Tammy Patrick, a former election official in Arizona who is now with the National Association of Election Officials. “We have recounts and we have audits to make sure we got it right.”  There have been 36 recounts in statewide general elections sincemore

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Trump breaks his silence on Sinwar as Harris seizes opportunity in his death  

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washington — Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday reiterated her call to end the bloodshed in Gaza, underscoring that the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar creates an opportunity “to end this war and bring the hostages home.” She spoke between campaign events in Michigan, a state home to the largest percentage of Arab Americans in the country, many of whom are outraged over the Biden administration’s support of Israel’s targeting of Hamas militants, which has caused tens of thousands of Palestinian civilian deaths. A day earlier, in a carefully choreographed move between the White House and her campaign, the Democraticmore

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Muslim candidates surge in local elections in US

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WASHINGTON — As the United States prepares for a presidential election next month, the idyllic New York suburb of Teaneck, New Jersey, is gearing up for elections that reflect a broader trend in U.S. politics. Two Muslim women are running for local office in Teaneck, a town of 41,000 residents with a significant Muslim population. They are among hundreds of Muslim candidates in local, state and federal elections around the country. Teaneck once had a Muslim mayor but never a Muslim woman on its city council. Reshma Khan, a longtime local activist of Indian origin and a council candidate, is aimingmore

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Battleground state starts early in-person voting while recovering from Helene

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ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA — Early in-person voting began statewide Thursday in the presidential battleground of North Carolina, including in mountainous areas where thousands of potential voters still lack power and clean running water after Hurricane Helene’s epic flooding. More than 400 locations in all 100 counties were slated to open for the 17-day early vote period, said State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell. Only four of 80 sites in the 25 western counties hardest hit by the storm weren’t going to open. Helene’s arrival three weeks ago in the U.S. Southeast decimated remote towns throughout Appalachia and killedmore

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