Ohio Secretary of State says Biden admin, leftist groups are pushing back on voter roll audits
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose detailed efforts by the Biden-Harris administration and liberal groups to push back on audits of voter rolls across the country ahead of Election Day. LaRose highlighted his own lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) aimed at forcing the administration to share data he says would help identify non-citizens who are registered to vote. The ACLU and other left-leaning groups have also challenged efforts to clean up voter rolls in Ohio and other states. “It should come as no surprise that the irresponsible Biden-Harris administration, who has thrown open the doors on the southern border; who has allowed our nation to be invaded in many ways… are also not allowing me as an election official to access data to prove that only American citizens are able to vote,” LaRose said. “It’s shocking, and they left me no choice but to sue them,” he added. NONPARTISAN WATCHDOG RELEASES REPORT OUTLINING TOP ELECTION SECURITY THREATS FOR 2024: ‘A LOT CAN GO SIDEWAYS’ The lawsuit claims there were four instances in which Ohio’s requests for access to federal Person Centric Query Service (PCQS) and Central Index System 2 (CIS2) records were ignored or denied. “On October 10, 2024, nearly three months after first requesting assistance, Secretary LaRose received a response from DHS. The letter claimed that Ohio’s access to the SAVE program was sufficient—despite Ohio’s previous letters explaining why SAVE is largely useless here because Ohio lacks the identifiers needed to find specific individuals in SAVE,” the lawsuit reads. Ohio’s ongoing search for wrongful voter registrations relies on analysis and cross-checks against records provided by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the DHS Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, the Social Security Administration, federal jury pool data and other resources. HARRIS REPEATS DEBUNKED CLAIM TRUMP WANTS TO ‘BAN’ ABORTION While LaRose’s office can access the SAVE database, states using it have to pay $1.50 for each query for records, and finding the information required to properly search the data is cumbersome, LaRose says. The PCQS data the Biden administration has declined to share would provide a more comprehensive picture of whether any non-citizens remain registered to vote in Ohio, LaRose says. When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a DHS spokesperson said they are “engaged with Ohio and will continue to correspond with them directly through official channels.” The DHS also pushed back on LaRose claim that the additional federal data would be helpful. “A manual review of hundreds of thousands of records by the PCQS only allows users to submit one query at a time and would still not lead to a definitive result. Moreover, it would not be an efficient or accurate way to verify U.S. citizenship,” the DHS said. CNN COMMENTATOR SCORCHES DEMS BLAMING TRUMP AT DNC: ‘SHE’S IN THE WHITE HOUSE RIGHT NOW’ “PCQS returns aggregated results across many different immigration systems for a single query at a time. Use of PCQS would require manual review of the results in each case to determine immigration status, as the systems may return disparate or conflicting results. As such, PCQS is not an option for state and local agencies to use for voter verification purpose,” it added. LaRose went on to detail efforts by liberal groups to block the removal of registrations. “Just yesterday we won a major lawsuit in federal court where the ACLU sued me – this sounds like something that’s in the Babylon Bee – they sued me to say that we should accept non-citizen ID cards and then just allow people to vote without any citizenship verification.” “Thankfully, common sense prevailed and the ACLU lost that. Of course, if your state-issued driver’s license says ‘non-citizen’ on it, we’re not going to simply hand you a ballot. We’re gonna ask for you to verify your citizenship,” he added. The ACLU’s lawsuit pertained to naturalized citizens attempting to vote with an ID that labeled them a non-citizen due to it being obtained prior to their naturalization. The ACLU argued such citizens should be able to affirm their naturalization on a government document at the polling site, while LaRose argued such an individual must provide their naturalization documents before casting a ballot. “Requiring naturalized citizens to bring additional documentation to verify their eligibility to vote is not only burdensome and discriminatory, it’s unlawful,” Freda Levenson, legal director of the ACLU of Ohio, said of the suit. A federal judge sided with LaRose on the issue last week. LaRose added that the Justice Department has also sued states for attempting to remove bad registrations. Such DOJ lawsuits accuse state officials of violating the federally mandated “quiet period” that prohibits the systematic removal of registered voters within 90 days of Election Day. The DOJ sued Virginia earlier in October in exactly this fashion, though the Supreme Court sided with state officials in a ruling last week.
Harris makes last-ditch appeal to Michigan’s Muslim voters
Vice President Kamala Harris made a last-minute appeal to Muslim voters in the swing state of Michigan, a group that continues to express anger over the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict in Gaza. “I want to say this year has been difficult given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and given the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon, it is devastating,” Harris said Sunday at a rally in Michigan. “And as president, I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza, to bring home the hostages, end the suffering in Gaza, ensure Israel is secure, and ensure the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, security and self-determination.” The remarks came just over a week after multiple Muslim leaders from Michigan joined former President Trump on stage during a rally in Novi, Michigan, to express their support for him, with Trump boasting that he was “thrilled to accept the endorsement of these highly respected leaders.” TRUMP EARNS ENDORSEMENT FROM ‘HIGHLY RESPECTED’ MUSLIM LEADERS IN BATTLEGROUND STATE Imam Belal Alzuhairi and Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi were among the group of four Muslim leaders to officially endorse Trump on stage, boasting about the former president’s ability to avoid international conflicts. “We, as Muslims, stand with President Trump because he promises peace, not war!” Alzuhairi said during his remarks. “The bloodshed has to stop all over the world, and I think this man can make that happen. I personally believe that God saved his life twice for a reason.” During her rally Sunday, Harris said she was “joined today by leaders of the Arab American community,” though the leaders did not join her on stage and it is unclear which leaders she was referring to. ‘KIND OF DISGUSTING’: HARRIS MAKES MOVE THAT COULD BACKFIRE IN CRITICAL SWING STATE The rally also took place on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, which is located nearly 90 miles northwest of Dearborn, a city with the nation’s highest per capita Muslim population, which has been at the center of resistance to her campaign. The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. A large percentage of Michigan’s Muslim population, which in recent years has been a dependable Democratic voting bloc, has spent much of 2024 resisting the party’s presidential candidates. During the state’s primary campaign, a movement to “Abandon Biden” over the president’s handling of the conflict in Gaza led to over 100,000 Michigan residents voting “uncommitted” in place of supporting his bid for re-election. That movement has since bled over to Harris’ campaign, a reality Trump has tried to capitalize on while pushing a message of ending ongoing wars overseas and bringing peace and stability to the world. That message has seemingly appealed to some Michigan Muslim leaders. “We’re going to stop the wars, we’re going to make the United States safe again, and we’re going to make the world safe,” Bazzi said during his remarks in Novi. “What a nice endorsement,” Trump said after Bazzi’s speech. “These are great people.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Arizona county defends restoring 98,000 with unconfirmed citizenship to voter rolls
The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office is standing by its choice to restore voter registration status of individuals affected by a glitch that impacted 218,000 voters. “Maricopa County did not receive a complete list from the Secretary of State’s Office regarding who may have been impacted by the MVD data oversight,” the Recorder’s Office said in a statement to Fox News in part. “However, if impacted voters submitted a new voter registration form after the oversight was found, they appeared in our system as needing to provide DPOC upon their new registration form being processed. These voters were contacted individually to let them know their registration was incomplete. However, after further consideration, the decision was made to fully restore those voters from the not registered status, only if they were previously an existing, registered voter,” the statement read. ARIZONA HIGH COURT RULES SECRETARY OF STATE MUST TURN OVER LIST OF NONCITIZENS ON VOTER ROLL Now, these voters can participate in the upcoming election as they did before, the recorder’s office said. “Additionally, we know roughly 2,000 voters who were impacted in the MVD data oversight submitted voter registration updates and some of those may have been contacted about providing DPOC,” the statement read. The county recorder added, “but since then, regardless of if they have provided that additional information, they have since been restored their original status for this election.” Arizona’s high court ruled last Thursday the county must provide a conservative watchdog group with a list of noncitizens currently registered to vote after a lawsuit was lobbed against the county last year. During an evidentiary hearing, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes testified that a system error had affected approximately 218,000 registered voters, the court document states. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ON VOTER ROLLS SPURS WATCHDOG GROUP TO SUE MARICOPA COUNTY The order notes that Fontes acknowledged having a partial list of about 98,000 voters who have not confirmed their proof of citizenship but stated that no complete list of all 218,000 affected voters exists. Fontes attributed a government press release’s mention of a complete list to “hasty drafting” and unclear language. He also claimed that the Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) had not provided him with any list containing personal information for the additional voters potentially lacking sufficient documentation. However, the court concluded his testimony was inconsistent; Fontes initially denied possessing the list of 98,000 voters before amending his statement. “His testimony suggested that he lacked detailed familiarity with the AZSOS’s [Arizona Secretary of State] efforts with regard to the issue and with regard to the records in the possession of the AZSOS related to the 218,000 individuals,” the court document states. The decision comes after AFL filed suit on behalf of the nonprofit group Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona and Yvonne Cahill, a registered voter and naturalized citizen in Maricopa County. IN ARIZONA SPEECH, VANCE SAYS NEXT PRESIDENT MUST PUT AMERICANS FIRST, SLAMS FEMA MONEY FOR MIGRANTS AFL had previously given Maricopa County one week to address the alleged noncitizens on its voter rolls. The lawsuit claims that, as of April 2024, more than 35,000 registered voters in Arizona had not provided proof of citizenship, limiting them to voting only in federal races, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office. Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, through his attorney, stated that he would not take any action, “citing, among other things, concerns for the safety of voters, and concerns about the accuracy of the list,” and claimed his office is already complying with the law, the Arizona high court document read. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Republicans sue Milwaukee over late-game limits on poll watchers
The Republican National Committee announced Monday that it filed a lawsuit against the Milwaukee Election Commission over a city plan to cap the number of poll watchers allowed on Election Day in certain precincts. The RNC stated that the plan, announced over the weekend, could limit poll observers to just one Democrat and one Republican in certain precincts, which the lawsuit claims violates state law. “Defendant Milwaukee Elections Commission has been arbitrarily limiting and prohibiting members of the public from observing all aspects of the voting process at polling locations in the City of Milwaukee,” the complaint states, accusing the commission of violating Wis. Stat. § 7.41, which says that “observation areas shall be so positioned” in polling sites “to permit any election observer to readily observe all aspects of the voting process.” “Wisconsin voters deserve to know that there are poll watchers from both parties in the room as votes are being cast and counted on Election Day,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-Chair Lara Trump said in a joint statement. “The RNC has not recruited and trained thousands of volunteers in the Badger State simply to back down from misguided officials who want to prevent a full measure of poll-watching transparency. This lawsuit will compel officials in Milwaukee to ensure robust poll watcher access for the Republican Party.” MILLIONS OF VOTERS HAVE ALREADY CAST BALLOTS FOR NOV. 5 ELECTION The RNC noted in a press release that Milwaukee has yet to state which precincts will face limits on poll watchers, but the complaint points to certain specific sites where “the number of observers allowed was arbitrarily limited during in-person early voting[.]” One location, the complaint notes, was Serb Hall, a venue that they claim is “designed to serve up to 2,000 patrons at one time,” but only had two poll watchers permitted. ON ELECTION EVE, HARRIS AND TRUMP HOLD DUELING RALLIES IN THE BIGGEST OF THE BATTLEGROUNDS “Interest in this election is at unprecedented levels in American history, as that has generated corresponding interest in observing the voting process in the City of Milwaukee,” the lawsuit states, noting that the restrictions do not just affect them and their opponents, but outside groups, which they say would be barred from watching. “[S]everal large nonprofit organizations interested in suffrage issues such as the ACLU and the League of Women Voters have all expressed interest in observing election processes in Milwaukee,” the complaint continues, further asserting that according to social media, there are “unprecedented levels of excitement and interest in observing the voting process in the City of Milwaukee by independent groups and individual citizens.” The commission, however, took issue with the lawsuit and its allegations, denying that they are “arbitrarily” limiting poll watchers. “The City of Milwaukee favors the greatest possible transparency during elections. That includes accommodating all observers at election locations,” the commission said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The Milwaukee Election Commission (MEC) refutes the claims made by the RNC,” the statement continued. “Despite the MEC maintaining open communications with the RNC, including meeting as recently as last night, it seems that filing a lawsuit was their goal all along. The MEC denies the allegation that observers will be arbitrarily limited. However, observers may be subject to reasonable limitations, a power given to chief inspectors under Wisconsin law. At no point was the Republican Party denied the presence of an observer during the in-person absentee voting period, nor will they be denied that presence on Election Day.” The lawsuit seeks a restraining order and an injunction against the commission that keeps them from “precluding or restricting observers representing the Plaintiff and other members of the public” from poll watching, and a declaration that the commission violated state law.
Texans pour cold water on Democratic hopes for a blue Lone Star State
Texas residents aren’t sold on claims that the Lone Star State could flip blue in either the presidential or senatorial races, despite Democrats’ forecasts. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital that there is a national characterization of Texas becoming more blue, and thus more vulnerable in statewide elections. But, “I think that’s often overstated,” he said Wednesday on the sidelines of a Georgetown rally for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. TED CRUZ KNOCKS MCCONNELL-ALIGNED SUPER PAC FOR ‘ZERO SUPPORT’ IN COMPETITIVE RACE “We’ve got a big state where, you know, 30 million people and the seventh- or eighth-largest economy in the world with a diverse state. But it’s a solid conservative state. And I don’t think it’s going to be that close in the end.” Vice President Kamala Harris recently held a campaign event in traditionally red Texas with celebrity guest Beyoncé, signaling a Democratic effort to get out the vote in the state. Her appearance in the state comes as Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, is hoping to unseat Cruz. The Republican led Allred 50% to 46% in a recent New York Times/Siena College Poll. SCHUMER POINTS TO NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE AS DEMOCRAT GAIN AMID DARK MONEY SCRUTINY The survey interviewed 1,180 voters in Texas between Oct. 23 and 26. The margin of error is +/- 3.3 percentage points. Despite the single-digit margin, Texans were confident in the state staying red. “I don’t think Texas is getting more competitive,” said Texas resident Jeff Solomon. “I think there’s a perception that is an inaccurate perception through polling. And I think the polling tends to oversample left-leaning voters. And I think that gives the impression that things are closer than they are.” ‘WHAT A DISGRACE’: TRUMP TAUNTS MCCONNELL’S ENDORSEMENT AS GOP SENATE LEADER RACE LOOMS Williamson County GOP Chair Michelle Williams said she thinks Democrats are ambitious about the state, “because, like [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] says, if they transform Texas, they transform it for generations.” “But unfortunately, they are absolutely in over their skis,” she predicted. While most were optimistic about Republicans’ results in Texas, resident Bob Elliott expressed some concern, wishing that former President Trump “spent some more time” in Texas or discussed races in the state more. REPUBLICANS CALL ON MAYORKAS TO REINSTATE COVID-ERA BORDER POLICY AMID TUBERCULOSIS ‘SURGE’ “I think Trump’s going to win Texas. But for Ted Cruz,” he said, “I wish [Trump] would have gave more lip service for talking about Ted Cruz in Texas.” The former president only endorsed Cruz in his re-election bid last month. “While I have Endorsed Ted, on numerous occasions, verbally, because of the Importance of the Race, and Ted’s Importance to the future of our Country, I thought the Endorsement should be memorialized in writing,” Trump said at the time. Texas is favored to go Republican in both the Senate and presidential elections in 2024. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
In battle against Trump, Harris crisscrosses biggest of the battlegrounds on election eve
ALLENTOWN, PA. – Vice President Kamala Harris is urging her supporters to “get out to vote… let’s win.” The Democratic presidential nominee, at a canvass kickoff Monday afternoon at a ski area in Scranton, Pennsylvania, told the crowd, “Let’s get to work. Twenty-four hours to go.” On the final full day of campaigning ahead of her Election Day face-off against former President Trump, the Democratic Party nominee was crisscrossing the largest of the battleground states. Following her event near Scranton, Harris headed south to Allentown, a majority Latino city, to hold her first rally of the day. CLICK HERE FOR LIVE FOX NEWS UPDATES FROM THE 2024 ELECTION CAMPAIGN TRAIL The vice president was then scheduled to make a stop at a Puerto Rican restaurant in Reading, where she would be joined by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a rising Democratic Party star, and by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, the high-profile member of progressive and diverse House members known as the Squad. The spotlight on courting Pennsylvania’s crucial Puerto Rican voters comes as polls suggest Trump has made gains with Latinos, and in the wake of a controversy sparked by a racist joke by a comedian who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” as he spoke ahead of the former president last month at a large rally in New York City’s Madison Square Garden. NOVEMBER SURPRISE: DISMAL JOBS REPORT HANDS TRUMP INSTANT AMMUNITION TO FIRE AT HARRIS Harris will close out her election eve swing through Pennsylvania with two star-studded rallies – an evening one in Pittsburgh and a late-night one in Philadelphia, by the famed “Rocky Steps” outside the city’s Art Museum. But Harris doesn’t have the state to herself on this final full day of campaigning. Trump, who is also making stops Monday in battlegrounds North Carolina and Michigan, holds two rallies in Pennsylvania – in the afternoon in Reading followed by an evening one in Pittsburgh. And he held a rally Sunday in Lititz, outside of Lancaster. “With your vote, we’re going to win Pennsylvania. And we’re going to defeat Kamala and the radical left,” the former president said at his Reading campaign event. And he told his supporters “we’ve been waiting for this. I’ve been waiting four years for this.” VICE PRESIDENT KEEPS HER DISTANCE FROM BIDEN IN FINAL STRETCH TO ELECTION DAY With 19 electoral votes up for grabs, it’s the biggest prize among the seven key battlegrounds whose razor-thin margins decided President Biden’s 2020 election victory over Trump and are likely to determine if Trump or Harris succeeds Biden in the White House. “Pennsylvania is the one state that it’s hard to see someone losing and then still winning the presidential race,” Mark Harris, a Pittsburgh-based longtime Republican national strategist and ad maker, told Fox News. “It’s clearly ground zero.” Harris, a veteran of multiple GOP presidential campaigns, called Pennsylvania “a big tipping point state.” And pointing to the state’s major cities – Philadelphia and Pittsburgh – its electorally crucial suburban areas, and its vast swath of rural counties, Harris highlighted, “I think it’s a good microcosm of America.” Harris, Trump, and their running mates – GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance and his Democratic counterpart, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz – as well as top surrogates, have repeatedly stopped in the state this summer and autumn. And while the campaigns and their allied super PACs have poured resources into all seven battlegrounds, more money has been spent to run spots in Pennsylvania than any of the other swing states, according to figures from AdImpact, a top national ad tracking firm. Pennsylvania, along with Michigan and Wisconsin, are the three Rust Belt states that make up the Democrats’ so-called “Blue Wall.” CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION The party reliably won all three states for a quarter-century before Trump narrowly captured them in the 2016 election to win the White House. Four years later, in 2020, Biden carried all three states by razor-thin margins to put them back in the Democrats’ column and defeated Trump. A New York Times/Siena College poll in Pennsylvania conducted last Tuesday through Saturday and released on Sunday indicated Harris and Trump deadlocked at 48% among likely voters in the state. It was the latest survey to indicate a tied or margin-of-error race in the Keystone State. Senior Harris campaign officials, taking questions from reporters on Sunday evening, noted that roughly three-quarters of Keystone State voters will cast ballots on Tuesday “because unlike other states, the guidelines, and availability of early voting is just more limited in Pennsylvania.” But they added that when it comes to the early vote in the state, “we really like what we’re seeing.” And they predicted that “we expect in Pennsylvania, we’ll have a very strong Election Day.” The Harris campaign also confirmed to Fox News on Monday that the vice president made an intentional choice while stumping in swing state Michigan on Sunday not to mention Trump by name. Senior campaign officials say the plan is to “close fully positive”. On Monday, Harris called Trump “the other guy” a couple of times in her comments at the Scranton event. But Pennsylvania is the state where Trump survived an assassination attempt in July – two days before the start of the Republican National Convention. And the former president returned to the site in Butler, in the western part of the state, for a massive rally last month. While Harris closes out her campaign with a late-night rally in Philadelphia, Trump will be in Grand Rapids, in battleground Michigan, for his final rally. For Trump, it’s tradition. He closed out his 2016 and 2020 campaigns in the southwestern Michigan city. Trump campaign senior officials told Fox News they were cautiously optimistic as they pointed to early voting leads in some of the key battlegrounds. And they argued that the Democrats’ early voting advantage in Pennsylvania is substantially behind where it was in 2020 and wouldn’t be
Any Trump deal to end Gaza would likely be “tenuous”
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Akbar Shahid Ahmed talks about how Trump, if re-elected, might try for a quick deal to end Israel’s war on Gaza.
At least 12 killed in Gaza attacks as Israel bombards Kamal Adwan hospital
Hospital director says staff and patients were wounded in Israeli attacks on the last partially functioning hospital in northern Gaza. At least 12 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes on Gaza, medics said, as Israeli forces continue to press their siege and ground assault on the northern part of the Palestinian territory. Medics in Gaza told the Reuters news agency on Monday at least seven people were killed in an attack on the north Gaza city of Beit Lahiya. Five others were killed in attacks in central and southern Gaza. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said that the Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last partially functioning hospital in the north of the enclave, was being attacked by Israeli forces. “At this moment, occupation forces are continuing to violently bombard and destroy Kamal Adwan Hospital, targeting all parts of the hospital,” the ministry said. Hospital director Hossam Abu Safieh said in a statement that the situation was “catastrophic”, and that “the army did not contact the hospital before directly targeting it”. “Several of our staff have been injured, and we are unable to leave the hospital,” he said. “We do not understand the purpose behind this bombing that is targeting the hospital.” Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said this is the second time in recent weeks that the hospital had been attacked. “The hospital does not operate as a health facility now. It’s more of accommodating injuries and the dead who are brought to the hospital,” Mahmoud said. “The entire northern part of the strip is left without any proper healthcare facility, the whole healthcare system is gone, is completely collapsing … and civilians are left without any proper access to that,” he added. Israel’s military began a siege and ground assault on northern Gaza on October 5 in what it said was an operation to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping there. Palestinians say the new offensives and orders for people to leave were aimed at emptying two northern Gaza towns and a refugee camp to create buffer zones. Israel denies this. Since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, at least 43,374 people have been killed in the enclave, and 102,261 others wounded, according to Palestinian health authorities. The Israeli assault came in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7 2023, in which at least 1,139 people were killed, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics, and around 250 others were seized as hostages. ‘Unspeakable suffering’ Earlier on Monday, Israel announced that it had informed the United Nations it was ending its relations with the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), despite international calls for the importance of the UN agency in providing aid. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that along with banning the agency, Israel had also scaled back the entry of aid trucks into Gaza to an average of 30 trucks a day, which “cannot meet the needs of two million people.” “Restricting humanitarian access and at the same time dismantling UNRWA will add an additional layer of suffering to already unspeakable suffering,” Lazzarini said. An Israeli government spokesperson said no limit had been imposed on aid entering Gaza, with 47 aid trucks entering northern Gaza on Sunday. Adblock test (Why?)
Nigeria president orders release of minors charged over protests
At least 30 minors were charged with treason and inciting a military coup after they took part in August protests against the rising cost of living. Nigeria’s president has directed that all minors detained during protests against the rising cost of living in August be freed and treason charges against them dropped, Information Minister Mohammed Idris has said. “The president has directed that these children, these minors, be released immediately,” Idris said on Monday. At least 76 people, including 30 minors, were charged with treason and inciting a military coup after they took part in deadly August protests against economic hardship. The minors’ arraignment sparked public outrage and criticism of the government after they were paraded in court last Friday. Frustration over the cost-of-living crisis has led to several protests in recent months that demand better opportunities and jobs for young people. In August, protesters rallied in Abuja, the commercial capital Lagos and several other cities to show discontent with economic reforms that have led to rampant inflation and the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation in Nigeria. Rights group Amnesty International said at least 22 people died during the demonstrations in clashes with security forces. President Bola Tinubu has since vowed to pursue the changes, which he says are needed to keep the economy afloat. In addition to the severe financial crisis, Nigerians are living with widespread insecurity that has damaged the farming sector, with armed gangs kidnapping residents and schoolchildren for ransom in the north. Adblock test (Why?)
Liberty bellwethers: Five Pennsylvania counties to watch on election night
Pennsylvania is once again likely the closest-watched state on election night, as the commonwealth’s 19 electoral votes are poised to swing the election one way or another. Five counties — Bucks, Northampton, Erie, Centre and Luzerne — out of 67 are likely the ones that will tell the tale of whether former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris will win the 2024 presidential election. BUCKS COUNTY – COUNTY SEAT: DOYLESTOWN Bucks County made national headlines last week after the RNC and the Trump campaign took legal action against county officials after lines for “on-demand” voting were truncated prior to the stated closing time. A judge ultimately allowed Bucks voters involved in the process until Friday to cast their early ballots. Bucks is also known as one major county where voters typically split their votes. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and his late brother, Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, both Republicans, enjoyed consistent-but-close wins in the county, while national and gubernatorial results are often a mixed bag. Brian was re-elected in 2020 just as Biden won the county. The county also flipped to a GOP voter registration advantage this cycle, with the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting the Republicans enjoy just under a 1,000-registrant majority. While Trump lost all of Philadelphia’s once-Republican collar counties — Delaware, Chester, Montgomery and Bucks — in 2016, only the latter appears in play this cycle. NORTHAMPTON COUNTY – COUNTY SEAT: EASTON Bordering Bucks, Lehigh and Northampton counties geopolitically unite to form the key, postindustrial Lehigh Valley region. The congressional seat currently held by Rep. Susan Wild, a Democrat, is always a tight contest. While Lehigh typically remains in Democrat hands due to Pennsylvania’s third-largest city — Allentown — as its anchor, neighboring Northampton County surprised everyone when Trump took it in 2016. CRISSCROSSING PA TO REGISTER VOTERS, SCOTT PRESLER SEEKS TO FLIP KEY COUNTIES RED Northampton’s Republican Party leader, Andrew Azan III, said in a recent interview he is very optimistic again this year, and said there was recently a “waitlist” for Trump yard signs. ERIE COUNTY – COUNTY SEAT: ERIE Far to the west, Erie sticks up into the great lakes like a thumb, and its electorate could put their collective thumb on the scale for either candidate. Erie GOP chair Tom Eddy recently said that Erie is “unique… in the fact it’s able to pick the winners.” Trump won Erie County and the election in 2016, and Biden won in 2020. Eddy called the county “Little Pennsylvania” — as it has a bit of every piece of the state within its bounds: an urban area, agricultural lands and industry. LUZERNE COUNTY – COUNTY SEAT: WILKES-BARRE Meanwhile, in Luzerne County, anchored by Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton, Republicans recently shocked observers in September by becoming a majority there. The union-heavy county neighboring Biden’s Lackawanna went for Trump in 2016 and 2020 despite its then-Democratic bent. “We’d all like to thank the Democrats and the Democratic platform because they’re the ones that really inspired people to leave the party and become Republicans,” Luzerne County GOP 119th District Chairman T.J. Fitzgerald said. Early Vote Action leader Scott Presler, who has crisscrossed Pennsylvania to register Republican voters, previously said it was a major feat ahead of an expectedly-close election. PENNSYLVANIA LEADERS TALK ‘EXCITING’ GROUND GAME ON BOTH SIDES, AS GOP SEEKS TO UNDO DEM GAINS When Fox News Digital covered a weekend of Presler’s work in red counties like Lancaster and Dauphin, he also identified Bucks, Luzerne and Centre as those most ripe for Republicans’ picking. CENTRE COUNTY – COUNTY SEAT: BELLEFONTE Centre County is the rare blue dot in the middle of northwestern Pennsylvania’s forested expanse. Much of the county reflects the Republicanism of neighboring Clinton, Huntingdon and Blair — but the presence of Penn State University in State College skews it Democratic. Of the approximately 110,000 voters there, 41.2% are Democrats and 40.3% are Republicans. Prior to the Nittany Lions’ blowout of Kent State in September, however, Presler and volunteers registered tailgaters to vote and encountered students who were fervently pro-Trump. State Sen. Cris Dush, a Republican who represents Centre and six other neighboring counties, said the prospect of flipping the blue enclave is “actually getting very exciting.” Dush said one of them — rural Clinton County — was solidly Democratic until the Trump era and recently went “over 3-1 Republican.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Centre may have a shot at the red column this year in part because Gen Z is suddenly battling a rough economy for young hires. While Pennsylvania industry faces hurdles in regulation and more, Dush commented, the most regrettable outsourcing has been among those young voters. “The fact that they’re putting such restrictions on the development of businesses in the northern tier and western Pennsylvania: There’s not a state in the United States that doesn’t have a Steelers bar in it, and that’s because working-class kids have become our best export. I want them back,” he said.