With just over two months to go before Election Day in the United States, presidential nominees Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are campaigning on the economy and preparing for their first debate. VOA correspondent Scott Stearns looks at the race. …
Leave a commentwashington — Top U.S. election security officials are asking American voters to tune out the noise and reject what they describe as unfounded claims that the coming presidential election will be rigged. Instead, in the first of a series of election security briefings planned in the run-up to November’s election, they say U.S. voters should have confidence that when they go to the polls their votes will be counted accurately. “Throughout the next few months, you are going to hear a lot of different things from different sources. The most important thing is to recognize the signal through the noise, themore
Leave a commentU.S. election campaigns are some of the longest in the world. See how they compare to other countries. …
Leave a commentMILWAUKEE — Some vans at the back of a motorcade carrying Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz crashed on the highway while heading from the airport to a campaign stop in Milwaukee on Monday, but Walz was unhurt. President Joe Biden called from Air Force One and spoke to Walz a short time later, as the president was traveling to a separate campaign stop in Pittsburgh with Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris herself was campaigning in Detroit before heading to the joint event later in the day with Biden, and her campaign said that she also spoke with her running matemore
Leave a commentwashington — As a young college student, Kamala Harris made the nearly 3-mile trip from Howard University to the National Mall to protest apartheid in South Africa. In 2017, as a senator, she returned to her alma mater to deliver the commencement address. In July, when she received word that she would likely be the Democratic presidential nominee, she was wearing her Howard sweatshirt in the vice president’s residence. Howard, one of the nation’s best known historically Black colleges, has been central to Harris’ origin story, and now, as she seeks to become the first woman elected president, the university ismore
Leave a commentThe two major U.S. political parties are expressing concern ahead of November’s election about “election integrity” – meaning the process of registration, the casting of, counting and certifying of votes, as well as adequately addressing any serious issues that arise. More from VOA’s chief national correspondent Steve Herman on Capitol Hill. (Camera: Adam Greenbaum) …
Leave a commentColumbus, Ohio — A federal judge has blocked a new law banning foreign nationals and green card holders from contributing to state ballot campaigns in Ohio on the grounds that it curtails constitutionally protected free speech rights. U.S. District Judge Michael Watson wrote Saturday that while the government has an interest in preventing foreign influence on state ballot issues, the law as written falls short of that goal and instead harms the First Amendment rights of lawful permanent residents. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed the measure June 2, and it was to have taken effect Sunday. A prominent Democratic law firmmore
Leave a commentSome Gold Star families expressed support Sunday for former President Donald Trump, after his campaign was criticized for taking photos and videos at a restricted section of Arlington National Cemetery last week. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also in the race for the White House, added her voice to those condemning Trump’s visit and deemed it “a political stunt.” VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the story. …
Leave a commentATLANTA — Donald Trump’s campaign issued a statement Sunday from the Gold Star military families who invited him to Arlington National Cemetery as they defended the Republican presidential nominee and insisted that Vice President Kamala Harris is the candidate politicizing fallen U.S. service members. It’s the latest volley in an extended back and forth as Trump tries to saddle Harris with the Biden administration’s handling of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, including a suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members. Harris on Saturday accused Trump of staging a “political stunt” that “disrespected sacred ground” where many Afghanistanmore
Leave a commentWASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee in the November 5 U.S. presidential election, on Saturday called on her Republican rival, Donald Trump, to debate her with their microphones switched on throughout the event. Harris and the former president have agreed to a debate, hosted by ABC News, on September 10. “Donald Trump is surrendering to his advisors who won’t allow him to debate with a live microphone. If his own team doesn’t have confidence in him, the American people definitely can’t,” Harris said in a post on social media platform X. “We are running for President of themore
Leave a commentU.S. presidential candidate Kamala Harris is from one of America’s most politically liberal states — California. Her work as a local prosecutor, the state’s attorney general and U.S. senator is central to Harris’ presidential campaign. Her opponent, Donald Trump, says that Harris’ record in California shows she is too liberal for the rest of America. From Los Angeles, Genia Dulot tells us what Californians are saying. …
Leave a commentWASHINGTON — The high cost of caring for children and the elderly has forced women out of the workforce, devastated family finances, and left professional caretakers in low-wage jobs — all while slowing economic growth. That families are suffering is not up for debate. As the economy emerges as a theme in this presidential election, the Democratic and Republican candidates have sketched out ideas for easing costs that reveal their divergent views about family. On this topic, the two tickets have one main commonality: Both of the presidential candidates — and their running mates — have, at one point or another,more
Leave a commentCritics of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris are claiming she lacks the qualifications and skills to be president, saying she is a beneficiary of policies that aim to boost diversity, equity and inclusion in the American workplace. But supporters of policies that aim to include previously marginalized groups say Harris has earned her place. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Washington. …
Leave a commentnew york — Donald Trump asked a federal court late Thursday to intervene in his New York hush money criminal case, seeking a pathway to overturn his felony conviction and indefinitely delay his sentencing scheduled for next month. Lawyers for the former president and current Republican nominee asked the federal court in Manhattan to seize the case from the state court where it was brought and tried, arguing that the historic prosecution violated Trump’s constitutional rights and ran afoul of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity. Trump’s lawyers said moving the case to federal court following his Maymore
Leave a commentsavannah, georgia — Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday “my values have not changed,” as she was questioned along with her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, in their first major television interview of their presidential campaign. The interview with CNN’s Dana Bash gives Harris a chance to quell criticism while giving her a fresh platform to define her campaign before her debate with former President Donald Trump set for September 10. But it also carries risk as her team tries to build on momentum from the ticket shakeup following President Joe Biden’s exit and last week’s Democratic National Convention. Themore
Leave a commentThe Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” has increased health care access for millions of Americans, but it’s not clear what the future of the program will be under the next president. Neither the Harris nor the Trump campaign has provided details on its vision for the ACA, but voters are watching closely. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the story. (Camera and Produced by: Veronica Balderas Iglesias) …
Leave a commentIn this close US presidential race, the Southern state of Georgia is one of a handful of states that may decide the outcome. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns reports on what the campaigns are doing in Georgia and how they hope to carry this key swing state. …
Leave a commentWashington — The White House welcomed on Tuesday the rescue of an Israeli hostage abducted October 7 by Hamas and said a Gaza cease-fire deal is being finalized. But even if an agreement is reached, a truce is unlikely to extend beyond the six weeks of phase one of the three-phase deal. The next U.S. administration will still inherit the role of managing tensions in the region. Since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris has aimed to strike a balance between reaffirming U.S. support for Israel and advocating for Palestinian humanitarian needs — in essence, signaling a continuationmore
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