Supporters Turn Out for Biden, Harris in First Joint Campaign Event

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Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his newly named running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, are set to make their first joint appearance Wednesday as a team seeking to defeat President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in the November general election.The Biden-Harris campaign said the pair would speak in Wilmington, Delaware, about “working together to restore the soul of the nation and fight for working families to move the country forward.”Watch the campaign event:Ahead of their appearance at Alexis DuPont High School Wednesday afternoon, several Delaware locals — including many members of Harris’ sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, dressedmore

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Trump Congratulates Supporter of QAnon for Congressional Primary Win

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U.S. President Donald Trump has congratulated a supporter of a far-right group for her congressional primary victory in the southern state of Georgia.Trump tweeted Wednesday that Marjorie Taylor Greene was a “real WINNER!” after coming out on top in the Republican primary for Georgia’s 14th congressional district.Congratulations to future Republican Star Marjorie Taylor Greene on a big Congressional primary win in Georgia against a very tough and smart opponent. Marjorie is strong on everything and never gives up – a real WINNER! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 12, 2020Greene is a supporter of QAnon, which promotes an unfounded theorymore

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Screen College Students for COVID Every 2 Days, Researchers Advise  

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U.S.-based colleges and universities continue to struggle with how they will receive students while containing the spread of COVID-19.  Nearly 40% of schools say they will bring students back to campus, according to the FILE – A student takes classes online with his companions using the Zoom app at home.Researchers say schools would have to test their students every two days for COVID-19 to ensure their health and safety, and screening after symptoms emerge won’t control the spread, according to a study published July 31.  “We believe that there is a safe way for students to return to college inmore

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Kamala Harris’ Selection As VP Resonates With Black Women

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China Cochran met Kamala Harris at a campaign event in Detroit last year and was swept away by her ambition, charisma and leadership. She hoped the California senator would advance in politics. So when Joe Biden named Harris on Tuesday as his running mate — making her the first Black woman on a major party’s presidential ticket — Cochran wasn’t just struck by the history. It represented a full-circle moment for Black women, who for generations have fought for their voices to be heard and political aspirations recognized. “It tells Black girls that they can be president,” said Cochran, whomore

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Frequent COVID Testing Advised for Campus Students  

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U.S.-based colleges and universities continue to struggle with how they will receive students while containing the spread of COVID-19.  Nearly 40% of schools say they will bring students back to campus, according to the FILE – A student takes classes online with his companions using the Zoom app at home.Researchers say schools would have to test their students every two days for COVID-19 to ensure their health and safety, and screening after symptoms emerge won’t control the spread, according to a study published July 31.  “We believe that there is a safe way for students to return to college inmore

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Kamala Harris, Once a Presidential Candidate, Returns to Race

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U.S. Senator Kamala Harris is trying to become the first woman elected as the country’s vice president after presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden selected her as his running mate. The child of a father from Jamaica and a mother from India, both of whom immigrated to the United States, Harris is already the first Black woman and first South Asian American to be part of a U.S. presidential ticket. The 55-year-old’s resume includes being the first Black attorney general of the state of California as well as the first woman to hold the job.  Her 2016 election to a U.S. Senatemore

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Democrats Want Obama to Take on Trump

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Even though former President Barack Obama has taken a more active role recently to support presumptive Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, the ex-president has, for the most part, refrained from publicly criticizing his successor, President Donald Trump. But as VOA’s Brian Padden reports, many Democrats are urging Obama to become high profile surrogate for Biden by directly confronting Trump’s attacks and generating enthusiasm among Democratic voters. …

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Omar Among Winners in Tuesday US Primaries

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U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar won her Democratic primary election Tuesday, defeating a well-funded challenger. Voters in Minnesota’s fifth congressional district backed Omar with about 58% of the vote compared to 39% for Antone Melton-Meaux. Omar represents a solidly liberal district and is likely to win another term in Congress in the November general election. In another Minnesota race, Republican Michelle Fischbach won her party primary and will face incumbent Democratic Congressman Collin Peterson in a race Republicans are targeting as a chance to flip a Democratic seat to their party.  Voters in the district supported President Donald Trump by a 30-point margin in 2016, but Peterson is onemore

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VP Nod the Latest in a Career of Firsts for Kamala Harris

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Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s pick to be his running mate in November’s election, has been a trailblazer all her life.   “My mother used to have a saying,” the 55-year-old Harris is fond of recounting. “She would say to me ‘You may be the first to do many things but make sure you’re not the last.’”   Harris was the first black attorney general of California, the first woman to hold the post, and the first woman of South Asian heritage to be elected to the US Senate. She is now seeking to become the first female vice president of the Unitedmore

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NAACP Launches Drive to Boost Black Voter Turnout in Six Key States

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The NAACP, the largest U.S. civil rights organization, is launching a drive ahead of November’s presidential election to boost Black voter turnout in six key states, it said on Tuesday. The initiative aims to enlist the services of about 200,000 “high-propensity” Black voters, or people who turned out to vote in a high number of recent local, state and presidential elections. Those voters, in turn, will seek to mobilize so-called “low-frequency” Black voters – people who were registered to vote, but who had not voted in the most recent election cycle or several election cycles — in Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina,more

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7 Quick Facts on Kamala Harris, Biden’s VP Candidate

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Kamala Harris, a U.S. senator from California and former presidential candidate, is Joe Biden’s vice presidential running mate, the Biden campaign announced Tuesday, via a tweet to supporters. Biden’s one-time opponent has made headlines for her sharp criticism of him on the campaign trail, alongside controversy over her time as a prosecutor in California. “@JoeBiden can unify the American people because he’s spent his life fighting for us. And as president, he’ll build an America that lives up to our ideals,” wrote Harris on Twitter. “I’m honored to join him as our party’s nominee for Vice President and do what it takes to make him our Commander-in-Chief..@JoeBiden can unify the American people becausemore

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How Kamala Harris Found the Political Identity That Had Eluded Her

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Months after her presidential campaign collapsed amid questions over her political identity, Kamala Harris suddenly and forcefully found her voice – and at a fortuitous time. Harris, a 55-year-old U.S. senator from California, was chosen by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as his running mate on Tuesday, making history as the first Black woman and Asian-American on a major presidential ticket. Her selection came as little surprise. With the United States in the midst of a reckoning over its history of racial injustice, Biden had increasingly been pressed to select a woman of color. Harris, who became the Senate’s second Black woman in itsmore

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No Parties, No Trips, No Outside Guests Allowed

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As they struggle to salvage some semblance of a campus experience this fall, U.S. colleges are requiring promises from students to help contain the coronavirus — no keg parties, no long road trips and no outside guests on campus. No kidding. Administrators warn that failure to wear masks, practice social distancing and avoid mass gatherings could bring serious consequences, including getting booted from school. Critics question whether it’s realistic to demand that college students not act like typical college students. But the push illustrates the high stakes for universities planning to welcome at least some students back. Wide-scale COVID-19 testing,more

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Trump Says Party Acceptance Speech Likely at White House or Gettysburg

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U.S. President Donald Trump has announced he is likely to give the acceptance speech for his party’s nomination at either the White House or 115 kilometers to the north at the Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.   Asked by a reporter at a briefing on Monday why he is considering Gettysburg, which Trump said he had visited numerous times, the president replied, “It’s the history. It’s incredible, actually to me. It was a very important place and is a very important place in our country.”  The White House location, however, would be easier in terms of expense and security, according to Trump.  Themore

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Trump Abruptly Escorted from White House Briefing After Shots Fired Nearby

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U.S. President Donald Trump was abruptly escorted from a White House media briefing Monday afternoon by a U.S. Secret Service agent because of a shooting outside the building. Returning to the briefing room lectern minutes later, Trump said, “There was an actual shooting, and somebody’s been taken to the hospital.”  The shots were fired by law enforcement, the president said. A male subject and a Secret Service officer “were both transported to a local hospital,” a Secret Service statement said. “At no time during this incident was the White House complex breached or were any protectees in danger.”Two gunshots were heard by at leastmore

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Trump Nomination Speech to Be at White House or Gettysburg

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U.S. President Donald Trump has announced he will give his acceptance speech for his party’s nomination at either the White House or 115 kilometers to the north at the Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.“We will announce the decision soon!” the president tweeted on Monday afternoon. We have narrowed the Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech, to be delivered on the final night of the Convention (Thursday), to two locations – The Great Battlefield of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and the White House, Washington, D.C. We will announce the decision soon! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) FILE – Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice Presidentmore

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White House Open to More Coronavirus Aid Talks 

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The White House signaled Monday it is open to more negotiations with opposition Democrats on a coronavirus aid package and willing to spend more money to reach a deal. “We’re prepared to put more money on the table,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC. “The president is determined to spend what we need to spend.”  U.S. President Donald Trump signs executive measures for economic relief during a news conference amid the spread of the coronavirus disease, at his golf resort in Bedminster, N.J., Aug. 8, 2020.President Donald Trump signed executive orders Saturday extending a portion of the expired benefits to millionsmore

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College Leaders Talk While Football Players Push to Play

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After the Power Five conference commissioners met Sunday to discuss mounting concern about whether a college football season can be played in a pandemic, players took to social media to urge leaders to let them play.Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said no decisions on the season have been made, but conceded the outlook has not improved. “Are we in a better place today than two weeks, ago?” he said. “No, we’re not.”[Power Five and Big 12 are football conferences, or collections of sports teams organized at the college level, like Big 10 and Pac-12.] Bowlsby cited “growing evidence and the growing poolmore

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COVID Threatens Small Colleges, Small Towns 

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There’s a lot riding on a kickoff set for 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12. The Sterling College Warriors are scheduled to take on the McPherson College Bulldogs at home. If that familiar thud of shoe against football and cheer from the stands doesn’t happen, the college that keeps the central Kansas town’s economy humming, that gives it cultural vitality, and that separates Sterling from the hollowing out that defines so many other small Midwestern towns, might not survive. The school, after 133 years, could die and doom the town that takes such pride in the football squad and embraces the student bodymore

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Naturalized Americans Flex Growing Electoral Clout

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Brenda Cienfuegos recently became a U.S. citizen and is eager to exercise her new rights as an American. She says voting gives Latinos like her a voice.“Voting is something I’ve always done in my country,” she said. “I couldn’t do it here, but now I can.”Originally from El Salvador, Cienfuegos, a mother of two who came legally to the United States in 2010, registered to vote right after her U.S. citizenship ceremony in York, Pennsylvania, earlier this year.She demurs when asked if she is backing a candidate in the November presidential contest.“Like I learned in my country, my vote ismore

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‘Dark Money’ Campaign Contributions Headed for Record High

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Nonprofit organizations and other outside groups that don’t disclose their donors are spending record amounts of money on the 2020 U.S. presidential and congressional races, signaling their growing influence in national politics.These so-called “dark money” groups so far have funneled at least $177 million to independent political action committees, known as super PACs, in the 2020 election cycle, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based group that tracks money in politics.By comparison, those groups gave $178 million in the entire campaign cycle two years ago, according to the center. In addition, dark money groups thismore

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Trump Takes Executive Action on Economic Relief Package

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President Donald Trump acted Saturday to extend an expired jobless benefit to tens of millions of Americans who have lost their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic and defer payroll taxes after negotiations with Congress on a new package of economic aid collapsed.As the United States neared 5 million cases of the coronavirus and 162,000 deaths Saturday, Trump called for up to $400 extra in weekly unemployment payments, one-third less than the $600 people had been receiving. Congress allowed those payments to end August 1, and talks to extend them fell apart Friday, with the White House and Democrats far apartmore

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Biden Risks Alienating Young Black Voters After Race Remarks

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Joe Biden’s controversial remarks about race this week risk alienating young Black voters who despise President Donald Trump but are not inspired by his Democratic rival.When pressed by Errol Barnett of CBS News on whether he’d taken a cognitive test, Biden responded that the question was akin to asking the Black reporter if he would take a drug test to see if “you’re taking cocaine or not? … Are you a junkie?”In a later interview with National Public Radio’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Biden seemed to draw distinctions between Black and Hispanic populations in the U.S. “Unlike the African American community, withmore

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