Senate shakeup: How a secret ballot could undermine a potential Trump endorsement in race to the top
Former President Donald Trump’s historically influential endorsement could prove unconvincing in the Republican Senate leader race — if he chooses to offer one at all. Senate Republicans, including those who will be newly elected, will gather in Washington, D.C., shortly after the election in mid-November to hold a secret ballot to determine the next GOP leader. The next leader will succeed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who is the longest-serving party leader in Senate history. HARD-LINE GOP EFFORT TO DECENTRALIZE SENATE LEADER AUTHORITY DASHED BY MCCONNELL ALLY Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rick Scott, R-Fla., have announced campaigns for the role. Each of the men endorsed Trump during the Republican primary, despite Thune having first backed fellow Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. Thune has had a particularly strained past with Trump over the last several years but has been communicating with him in recent months and seemingly repairing their relationship as he looks to lead the conference. Trump has often wielded his seal of approval, or disapproval, as a weapon. In the past, the former president has quickly doomed primary and general campaigns for elected office and leadership bids with as much as a Truth Social post. He’s also held grudges against politicians who endorsed opponents, such as Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. Good endorsed Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., in the GOP presidential primary in 2024 before ultimately backing Trump. The former president then endorsed Good’s primary opponent, who went on to beat him in a tight election. JUDGE ORDERS MORE JACK SMITH TRUMP INVESTIGATION DOCS TO BE MADE PUBLIC AHEAD OF ELECTION Trump’s ability to influence Republicans to get behind his chosen candidates has often relied on fear of retribution, a former Republican leadership aide explained. But when Republicans in the upper chamber cast their ballots for a new leader, they’ll be doing it secretly. “Nobody knows how any particular senator voted,” the former aide said. “So they’re free to say whatever they want in terms of who they voted for.” “I don’t think it has anywhere near the impact that it would in a public race.” The aide pointed to the speaker election in the House of Representatives, in which Trump’s support or lack thereof played a significant role. In the lower chamber, the vote is public on the House floor, and how each representative voted is recorded. ‘DESPICABLE HUMAN BEING’: MCCONNELL’S 2020 THOUGHTS ON ‘SLEAZEBALL’ TRUMP REVEALED IN NEW BOOK Trump also runs the risk of irritating Republicans in the Senate, who “would not appreciate being told who to support from anyone outside the chamber,” said Republican strategist Ron Bonjean, a former top spokesperson to former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and former chief of staff of the Senate Republican Conference. Any such endorsement could also prove moot if Trump doesn’t win the presidential election, which will be held roughly a week prior to the leadership vote. “We may not know the outcome of the November election for who controls the White House until after the race is over,” Bonjean pointed out. HARRIS BARNSTORMS WISCONSIN IN ONE-DAY SWING STATE TOUR TARGETING YOUNG VOTERS Only two GOP senators have publicly endorsed a leader candidate, with Sens. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and Mike Rounds, R-S.D., both backing Thune early on. Mullin is a close ally of the former president and speaks with him frequently. When Trump has asked for Mullin’s opinion about the leadership race and whether he should get involved, the Oklahoma senator has ultimately deferred to the former president’s judgment, but reccommended that he not make an endorsement, as there may not be any benefit for him. For Trump, choosing to weigh in could introduce “the non-trivial risk that he endorses somebody, and they don’t win,” the former aide said. This would amount to an “out-of-the-gate rebuke from Senate Republicans.” If such an “immediate rebuke” were to take place, Trump would not have either the luxury or the capability to exact any kind of retribution, due to the vote’s secret nature, they added. “This is a true vote of conscience. And votes of conscience like that are not super-amenable to endorsement pressure.” Trump’s campaign did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication when asked whether he would get involved.
DOJ deploys district elections officers to handle ‘threats and intimidation’
The Justice Department is deploying district elections officers across the nation ahead of Election Day to ensure poll workers can “do their jobs free from threats and intimidation.” The elections officers are expected to work in coordination with the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force, which was created in June 2021 by Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco to address alleged violence against election workers. The task force, since its inception, has been engaging with the election community and state and local law enforcement to assess allegations and reports of threats against election workers, according to the Justice Department. The task force also partners with FBI field offices and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the U.S. This week, U.S. attorneys offices announced their district elections officers, which are selected each election cycle, to coordinate with the Elections Threats Task Force and federal, state and local law enforcement on Election Day. The coordination will ensure reports on the ground regarding any election-related complaints are coordinated with appropriate authorities, officials said. 3 MOST DANGEROUS TECH THREATS TO 2024 ELECTIONS The district elections officers are also responsible for overseeing their district’s handling of Election Day complaints about voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud, officials said. “The Department will address these violations wherever they occur,” the Justice Department said in a statement. IRAN IS ‘INCREASINGLY AGGRESSIVE’ IN ITS OPERATIONS TO TARGET US PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS: INTEL COMMUNITY The DOJ added that its “longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.” Just last month, Garland convened a public meeting of the task force, saying there has been an “unprecedented spike in threats against the public servants who do administer our elections” since 2020. Since the task force was created, the DOJ has charged nearly two dozen individuals related to alleged threats to election workers. “These cases are a warning: if you threaten to harm or kill an election worker or official or volunteer, the Justice Department will find you,” Garland said last month. “And we will hold you accountable.” Just this year, the DOJ charged an individual for an alleged shooting spree targeting the homes of elected officials and a candidate for office; an individual for sending threatening communications to a Michigan election official; and more. Garland said the Justice Department will continue to build on its work ahead of the Nov. 5 Election Day by holding on-the-ground meetings with election workers across the nation. Garland also announced that ahead of Election Day, in early November, the FBI will host federal partners at FBI headquarters to address events, issues and potential crimes related to the elections. “Election officials and administrators do not need to navigate this threat environment alone,” Garland said. “We are here to support them and make sure they can safely carry out their critical work.”
Interviewing Donald Trump: A last-minute blitz and new closing message
When I left Donald Trump after our interview, I was somewhat startled to pass eight men in full riot gear, marching toward his Trump Tower office. It was a stark reminder of the two assassination attempts. Trump was about to fly to Pennsylvania, and these guys were locked and loaded. I’d been told that he would use the old Reagan line that Saturday night: Are you better off now than you were four years ago? How long, I wondered, before he goes off script? BRET BAIER REVEALS TRUMP WAS OFFERED SAME INTERVIEW STYLE AS KAMALA HARRIS ON ‘SPECIAL REPORT’ Trump had told me he was going to Arnold Palmer’s hometown in the Keystone State. What I didn’t know was that he would describe the late golfer as “all man” and marvel at the supposed size of his male endowment. He also used the S-word to describe Kamala Harris. So much for sticking to the script. Critics, including the vice president, have been describing Trump as exhausted, based on one second-hand quote, but he didn’t look tired to me at all. If he was speaking in a softer voice, that’s because we were practically knee to knee in the tower’s library room. AS A CAUTIOUS KAMALA LOSES MOMENTUM, DEMOCRATS ARE PANICKING OVER A TRUMP WIN This was my second sitdown with the former president in a few months, and I pushed him on a wide range of topics. How could he call Jan. 6 a “day of love” when police were being attacked? Why, despite the “60 Minutes” editing fiasco on the Kamala interview, would you try to yank CBS’s license? How can you call your political opponents “the enemy within”? Would you engage in retribution? Will you admit the falsehood of “they’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats?” He dug in, even on that last one. Whether you like or dislike Trump, “‘Morning Joe’ producers and other producers that watch us and all the producers that watch us – this is not just rhetoric,” Steve Bannon said. “You cannot have a constitutional republic and allow what these deep-staters have done to the country.” Kash Patel says “we will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media… We’re going to come after you, whether it’s criminal or civilly,” but only based on the facts and the law. Now here’s the sense I’ve gotten from my reporting. With just over two weeks to go, Trump has settled on his closing message. It’s immigration and the economy. He may digress by cooking fries at McDonald’s, as a way of doubting Kamala’s teenage stint there, he may use more profanity, but the final appeal is based on those two issues, period. TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON CALLING JAN 6 A ‘DAY OF LOVE’ The Trump camp believes that one ad that has moved the numbers is Harris’ past embrace of taxpayer funding for federal inmates to get gender-reassignment surgery. That seemed questionable even to Charlamagne Tha God in their interview. Harris says she simply followed the law in the same way Trump did. The former president is trying to rebrand his effort by promising a New Golden Age. That seems a clear response to Harris touting a New Way Forward. Both are claiming the mantle of the “change” candidate with most voters seeing the country as on the wrong track–the incumbent vs. the former incumbent. Trump did get off a funny line with me about Kamala moving to the center. “She’s become MAGA. I’ll send her a hat.” SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES But Trump and his strategists are mystified by what they see as the vice president’s lack of a closing message and failure to win over as many Black supporters as Joe Biden had. There’s an emphasis on abortion rights, of course, and loud warnings about Trump being unstable and unhinged. But is there anything that ties it all together? Trump has a longtime habit of asking everyone around him, including makeup artists, what they think, as a kind of focus group. “Are you confident?” he’s been asking lately. “Are you confident?” The answer he’s been hearing: Yes, but you’ll win narrowly.
Pro-Khalistan group linked to Delhi CRPF school blast? Here’s what we know so far
The police have reached out to Telegram, seeking information about a group that has claimed responsibility for the explosion in a social media post on the platform
Punjab farmers urge government for permanent solution to stubble burning amid strict penalties
Earlier on Sunday, farmer leader Suresh Koth in Ambala criticised the Haryana government’s stringent measures against stubble burning, warning that these policies could incite further unrest among farmers.
Afghanistan denies permission to Vistara’s Frankfurt-bound plane to use airspace after bomb threat
There was no immediate comment from the airline on the matter. Nearly 100 flights have received bomb threats this week but they turned out to be hoaxes.
Israel ‘demolished’ watchtower in latest attack on UN Lebanon peacekeepers
UNIFIL says Israeli forces ‘deliberately’ damaged one of its positions in southern Lebanon. United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon have said the Israeli army “deliberately” damaged one of their positions in southern Lebanon, in the latest incident reported by the force that remains deployed in all of its positions. An Israeli “army bulldozer deliberately demolished an observation tower and perimeter fence of a UN position” in southern Lebanon, the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement, adding that its forces remain in all positions “despite the pressure being exerted”. “We remind the [Israeli forces] and all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times,” the statement said. It called on Israel to stop breaching UN positions, which is considered “a flagrant violation of international law”. Israel had recently claimed that the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was attacking Israel from positions located in close proximity to posts of the UN peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon – an accusation that Hezbollah denies. On Wednesday, UNIFIL said that an Israeli tank had fired on one of its watchtowers in southern Lebanon. This came after UN peacekeepers in Lebanon had come under fire several times days before, with at least four soldiers injured. Last week UNIFIL said two Israeli tanks “destroyed” the main gate at one of its positions in southern Lebanon and “forcibly entered the position”. Israel has fired on several front-line UNIFIL positions since it launched a ground incursion into southern Lebanon in early October, claiming it aims to dismantle the infrastructure of Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese group that has been trading fire with the Israeli army in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s strikes have been widely condemned, including by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said that attacks against UN peacekeepers were a violation of international law and “may constitute a war crime”. Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he demands Guterres get UNIFIL troops out of “combat zones”, alleging that their presence was providing a “human shield” for Hezbollah. But the UN maintains that the mission – with members from 50 countries – is not going anywhere. UNIFIL has monitored the border region between Israel and Lebanon since 1978. More than 10,000 troops from more than 50 countries have been deployed to the mission. Netanyahu has been pushing for the removal of UN peacekeepers as Israel escalates its attacks in southern Lebanon. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump visits McDonald’s as Harris speaks to churchgoers in swing state push
United States presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have spent the day rallying supporters in battleground states that will be critical in deciding who wins the White House, a little more than two weeks from Election Day. Former Republican President Trump made his push for voters in the state of Pennsylvania on Sunday while US Vice President Harris, a Democrat, spent the day in Georgia. At a McDonald’s in suburban Philadelphia, an employee showed Trump – a well-known fan of fast food – how to dunk baskets of fries in oil, salt them and put them into boxes using a scoop. “It requires great expertise, actually, to do it right and to do it fast,” Trump said, putting away his suit jacket and wearing an apron over his shirt and tie. “I like this job,” he added. The visit came as Trump has tried to counter Harris’s accounts of working at the fast-food chain while in college, an experience that Trump has claimed – without offering evidence – never happened. Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Phil Lavelle said the McDonald’s stop was a “photo op” that allowed him to “needle” Harris over the issue. “It really gave him a chance to just go after her in that way,” Lavelle said. Harris looks on as Stevie Wonder sings Happy Birthday to her during a service at a church in Jonesboro, Georgia, October 20 [Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters] For her part, Harris, who marked her 60th birthday on Sunday, participated in two worship services outside of Atlanta. At Divine Faith Ministries International in Jonesboro, Georgia, music icon Stevie Wonder performed, singing his hit Higher Ground and a version of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song. He also sang Happy Birthday to Harris. Earlier, the Democratic candidate spoke at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, where she drew a sharp contrast to the harsh and divisive rhetoric of the current political climate. “At this point across our nation, what we do see are some trying to deepen division among us, spread hate, sow fear and cause chaos,” Harris said, without mentioning Trump by name. “At this moment, our country is at a crossroads and where we go is up to us.” Democrats have long sought to portray Trump as a threat to democracy, particularly after a mob of his supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an effort to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election. Trump and his allies have falsely claimed that the 2020 contest, which the Republican lost to Democrat Joe Biden, was marred by widespread fraud. On Sunday, the ex-president told reporters in Pennsylvania that he would respect the results of next month’s vote “if it’s a fair election”. Experts have raised concerns that Trump is laying the groundwork to contest the November election results should he lose to Harris. Recent polls suggest the two presidential candidates are neck-and-neck as Election Day nears, with the race expected to come down to how they fare in key swing states such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona, among others. Later on Sunday, Trump held a town hall in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was then expected to attend a Pittsburgh Steelers game. Harris said she would campaign on Monday with former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney – a staunch Trump critic – in the suburbs of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Adblock test (Why?)
Priest shot dead in southern Mexico after leaving Sunday service
Community remembers Marcelo Perez as outspoken champion of Indigenous, labour rights in Mexican state of Chiapas. A priest known for his activism in defence of Indigenous and labour rights in Mexico has been killed after leaving church services, local authorities said. Catholic priest Marcelo Perez was returning home from church on Sunday when two men on a motorcycle pulled alongside his vehicle and shot him, prosecutors in the southern state of Chiapas said. “Father Marcelo has been a symbol of resistance and has stood alongside the communities of Chiapas for decades, defending the dignity and rights of the people and working toward true peace,” the Jesuits, Perez’s religious order, said in a statement. The killing comes amid a period of heightened violence in the southern state, which recorded about 500 murders between January and August this year. Along with the rights of Indigenous people and farmworkers, the Jesuits said Perez was also a vocal critic of organised criminal groups. “This region doesn’t just suffer from murders, but also forced recruitment (into criminal groups), kidnappings, threats and ransacking of its natural resources,” the religious order said. Mexican human rights activists and environmental defenders have long condemned violent harassment and intimidation by criminal groups and state security forces. Perez was himself a member of the Tzotzil Indigenous peoples and had served the community in Chiapas for two decades, developing a reputation as someone who could help settle disputes, especially over land. “We will collaborate with all the authorities so his death doesn’t go unpunished and those guilty face the courts,” Chipas Governor Rutilio Escandon said in a social media post, calling the assassination “cowardly”. But in Mexico, accountability for murder is the exception rather than the rule, with about 95 percent of all homicides going unsolved. Rights activists and Indigenous land defenders face high levels of violence and intimidation in Mexico. A 2023 Amnesty International report found that those groups face high levels of criminalisation and persecution as part of a “broader strategy of disincentivizing and dismantling advocacy for land, territorial and environmental rights”. The rights group also said Mexico “ranks among the countries with the highest number of murders of environmental defenders”. On Sunday, the United Nations human rights office in Mexico said “several national and international organizations had publicly warned about the growing number of threats, attacks and acts of criminalization against” Perez, the priest. It said those threats “have intensified in recent years due to his tireless work in favor of justice and the rights of Indigenous peoples”. Adblock test (Why?)
J-K terror: Doctor, 5 labourers killed as terrorists open fire at construction site in Ganderbal
The terrorists had attacked a camp where workers of a private company were working on an under-construction tunnel in the Gund area, as per official reports.