US election merchandise sales offer insight on presidential winners 

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washington — As political scholars and pollsters try to predict the winner of the U.S. presidential election, some outsiders believe insight into the results can be found in a less conventional way — by looking at the sales of campaign merchandise. “It’s nine out of the last 11 elections. Our sales of the successful candidates’ [campaign merchandise] outpaced that of the candidates who lost in the elections,” Steve Ferber, co-owner of Lori Ferber Collectibles, told VOA Mandarin. “We found that pretty amazing — that there is a direct correlation between the items that are most popular of campaign items and themore

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Economic sentiment improves ahead of US elections 

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With the November presidential election less than a week away, some evidence has emerged that U.S. consumers, who have harbored negative sentiments about the state of the economy since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, are beginning to appreciate its surprisingly robust performance over the past year or more. On Tuesday, the widely watched U.S. Consumer Confidence Index, an indicator that is correlated with economic growth, rose from 99.2 in September to 108.7 in October, the largest upward jump in more than three years. The Conference Board, which releases the index, also said its index tracking expectations about futuremore

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Harris, Trump head to political battleground states

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U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump headed to political battleground states on Wednesday in search of any edge they could find six days before the presidential election that may be the closest in decades. Harris, the Democratic candidate, and Trump, her Republican challenger, both appeared in the mid-Atlantic state of North Carolina before heading to the Upper Midwest state of Wisconsin, with Harris also campaigning in another key state, Pennsylvania in the East. The three states are among seven, along with Michigan in the Midwest, Georgia in the Southeast and Nevada and Arizona in the Southwest,more

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Harris promises to ‘represent all Americans’ after Biden ‘garbage’ remark

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WASHINGTON — Kamala Harris said she disagrees “with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” reacting after U.S. President Joe Biden’s reference to Donald Trump’s supporters and “garbage.” “I will represent all Americans, including those who don’t vote for me,” the vice president said. Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, made the comment to reporters as she prepared to campaign in three states. Her words were an attempt to blunt the controversy over Biden’s rhetoric with less than a week until the end of the campaign. The tumult began Tuesday night around the time that Harris was deliveringmore

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Will there be a second term for former US first lady Melania Trump?

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Successful Slovenian model turned U.S. first lady, Melania Trump has had a bittersweet experience in the limelight since her husband, Donald Trump, was elected president in 2016. With the possibility of Melania Trump returning to the White House next year, here’s a look at her life and some voter expectations for her potential second term. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the story. …

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Is America about to make history with its first ‘first gentleman’?

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If Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris makes history in November by being elected America’s first female president, her husband Doug Emhoff would also break barriers as the country’s first ‘first gentleman.’ It would be the second time the former entertainment lawyer has made history, after spending almost four years as the nation’s first ‘second gentleman.’ VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports. …

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For expats in Ukraine, election back in US hits home

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The outcome of the U.S. election and the possible changes in Washington’s foreign policy are of special significance to the 3 million American expatriates eligible to vote in next week’s U.S. presidential elections. In few places is that outcome more tangible than in Ukraine, where a few thousand Americans have, for various reasons, chosen to live after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion. Lesia Bakalets speaks to several expatriates in Ukraine and sends this report from Kyiv. …

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US court declines RFK Jr’s request to order 2 states to drop him from ballot

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The U.S. Supreme Court denied a bid Tuesday by former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be removed from the ballot in Wisconsin and Michigan for the Nov. 5 election. Kennedy has said he wants voters who would have backed him to cast ballots for the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump.  The court declined Kennedy’s emergency requests to order the Wisconsin Elections Commission and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to take him off the ballot in those states. Michigan and Wisconsin are among a handful of closely contested states expected to decide the outcome of themore

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Judge dismisses Republican lawsuit targeting Pennsylvania overseas ballots

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A U.S. judge on Tuesday dismissed a Republican lawsuit seeking to force election battleground state Pennsylvania to strengthen its procedures for verifying ballots submitted by military and overseas voters.  Six Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives seeking reelection on November 5 had sued Pennsylvania’s top election officials on September 30. The Republicans had argued that the state was improperly exempting overseas voters from a requirement that their identity documents be verified, creating a vulnerability for fraudulent votes to be submitted.  Pennsylvania is one of a handful of closely contested states that are expected to decide the outcome ofmore

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With a week to go, Harris, Trump trade insults

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The highly contentious, tightly contested U.S. presidential election is now a week away. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, is set to deliver her so-called “closing argument” to voters in a Tuesday evening speech near the White House. Republican former President Donald Trump is campaigning in Pennsylvania, one of the seven political battleground states likely to determine the overall national outcome. Both candidates, each disparaging the other as unfit to lead the country for a new four-year term, are looking for any small advantage to woo the sliver of voters who have not made up their minds in whatmore

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The potential impact of Trump’s tariff proposal

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed sweeping tariffs if elected for a second term: a 20% universal tax and 60% tax on goods from China. He argues that the policy will help create jobs, shrink the national debt and boost government revenue for public services, such as child care. Most economists, however, agree that it is ultimately U.S. consumers who will pay more. Economists also warn of unintended ripple effects that could do more harm than good to the U.S. economy. This explainer video explores how increased tariffs might affect U.S. buyers, domestic and foreign producers, and the budget.more

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Fast facts about the US election

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The U.S. presidential election takes place Nov. 5. Here is a primer on some basic facts and information regarding the election. Who is running in the US elections? Apart from the most prominent contest — the presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump — there are myriad other races on the ballot, spanning national, state and local levels. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election as they are every two years, with members of the House serving two-year terms. In the Senate, where members serve six-year terms, 34 of themore

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US ballot boxes under attack; Homeland Security warns of ‘heightened, dynamic’ threat environment

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Washington — A series of attacks on ballot collection boxes across the United States is ratcheting up the pressure on state and local officials, who are hoping to oversee a safe and peaceful presidential election, both for early voting underway across much of the country and for when millions of Americans go to the polls next week. The Northwest U.S. state of Washington confirmed to VOA Monday that local police and the FBI are investigating reports of a suspected “incendiary device” that was placed in a ballot drop box in Vancouver, Washington, early Monday. Officials said no one was injured butmore

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Explainer: Where do Harris and Trump stand on social welfare?

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washington — With the U.S. presidential election coming November 5, the importance of social welfare — such as government-run programs for pensions and health care, known as Social Security and Medicare, along with affordable housing, and support for families — is again in the spotlight. More than 71 million people in the U.S. received benefits from programs administered in 2023 by the Social Security Administration, which helps retired workers and people with disabilities. But the Social Security Trust Fund and Medicare, a federal health insurance program for the elderly, are running out of funds, and without a new source of fundingmore

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Biden casts 2024 election ballot near his Delaware home

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NEW CASTLE, Delaware — President Joe Biden has cast an early ballot in the 2024 general election.  It’s a bittersweet moment for Biden, who decided to end his reelection campaign in July because of growing concerns about his health and Democrats’ worries about his chances of defeating former President Donald Trump. Biden voted on Monday at the state of Delaware Department of Elections, not far from his home outside Wilmington, Delaware at an early voting site, where voters were lined up on the street to cast ballots.  Biden chatted with voters as he waited in line to cast his ballot, andmore

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