Fetterman unleashes expletives aimed at Trump in CNN interview, concedes 45 has ‘connection’ with PA voters
Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman said on CNN that former President Donald Trump has a “connection” with Keystone State voters, before launching expletives aimed at Trump and mocking the former president’s campaign in Pennsylvania. “I’ve been saying this, whether it was Biden or then became Harris, I said it’s going to be very close. And Trump definitely has a connection with voters here in Pennsylvania, and that’s why it’s going to be close,” Fetterman said Sunday morning on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Fetterman joined host Dana Bash, who pressed the senator about Trump recently highlighting voter fraud concerns in the battleground state, which Fetterman brushed off with expletives. VOTER REGISTRATION PROBES LAUNCHED IN CRUCIAL KEYSTONE STATE COUNTIES AMID CLAIMS OF POTENTIAL FRAUD “It‘s the same sh-t he played in ’20, and it didn’t go anywhere,” Fetterman said. FETTERMAN CALLS TRUMP’S SUPPORT IN PENNSYLVANIA ‘ASTONISHING’: ‘YOU CAN SEE THE INTENSITY’ “It’s the same, sad story that he had in ’20, and I would like to remind everybody that Biden wrecked his sh-t by 80,000 votes,” the Pennsylvania senator continued. “… He’s gonna try to lie and claim these baseless things. But we’re gonna have a new team leading America and that’s going to be Harris—but it is going to be close.” Bash asked Fetterman about one Truth Social message specifically that Trump posted on Thursday about alleged “cheating” in the toss-up state. Election investigations were launched in both Lancaster and York Counties last month, after election officials discovered likely fraudulent voter registration applications, not ballots. “We caught them CHEATING BIG in Pennsylvania. Must announce and PROSECUTE, NOW! This is a CRIMINAL VIOLATION OF THE LAW. STOP VOTER FRAUD! CHECK OUT KAMALA’S NEW SLEAZEBAG LAWYER. WE ARE ON THEM ALL THIS TIME! Who would have ever thought that our Country is so CORRUPT?” Trump posted to Truth Social last week. FETTERMAN ISSUES WARNING TO DEMOCRATS AFTER ELON STUMPS FOR TRUMP IN PENNSYLVANIA Fetterman responded to Trump’s message by putting his hands to his face to feign anxiety before saying: “It made me tinkle hearing that.” “But that’s why I’m asking you this question. How worried are you about this being a repeat? Because he didn’t win, but it caused a lot of problems,” Bash later asked of Trump’s Truth Social post and concerns over potential voter fraud. TRUMP CAMP TAKES VICTORY LAP FOLLOWING ELECTION CASE LEGAL WIN IN BATTLEGROUND STATE “I’m not worried about it. It’s just like a thing. It’s the same thing that he tried in 2020. And, you know, we had an absolutely a secure election. And now, there are there was voter fraud in Pennsylvania and there was a handful of Republicans and they had their dead moms voting for Trump,” he responded. Political eyes have been locked on Pennsylvania as Keystone State voters are championed as the ones who will likely determine the outcome of the federal election. Trump narrowly won the state in 2016 when he successfully campaigned against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but lost the state in 2020 against President Biden.
JD Vance tells NC crowd Harris can’t deal with China, Russia if she ‘runs’ from ‘friendly American media’
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, argued Sunday that Vice President Harris can’t be trusted to negotiate on the world stage if she already “runs from the friendly American media.” At a rally in Sanford, North Carolina, Vance recalled to a crowd in the key battleground state his conversation with his running mate, former President Trump, after the second assassination attempt in West Palm Beach, Florida. An armed gunman was accused of lying in wait near Trump’s golf course with a rifle before a Secret Service agent opened fire, preventing any potential bloodshed. It happened weeks after Trump survived a gunman’s bullet at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. “After a second assassination attempt, the president called me and told me what had just happened. And, you know, I said, ‘oh, my God, sir, are you okay? Clearly, you’re physically okay. But, you know, that’s a traumatic thing to happen,’” Vance told the crowd. “A second assassination attempt in as many months. And he says, ‘yeah, I’m doing fine. I’m kind of pissed off, though, because I was going to make a birdie on the sixth hole and the Secret Service wouldn’t let me finish.’” VANCE CALLS HARRIS THE MICHAEL JORDAN OF WORD SALADS, SAYS SHE LIES LIKE HIS YOUNG CHILD “And, you know, it kind of occurred to me in that moment that that’s the kind of person you want in the Oval Office when the world goes to hell, because you never know how somebody is going to react under a moment of crisis until you actually see their response under that moment of crisis,” Vance said. Vance contrasted that interaction with Trump against Harris “who runs from the friendly American media.” “Can we trust that person to negotiate for us with Vladimir Putin, the leader of Russia? Xi Jinping, the leader of China? No, of course we can’t, because she can’t even talk to the friendly American media,” Vance said. “She sure as hell can’t be trusted to negotiate on our behalf on the world stage.” “But you know who I do trust?” he added. “The guy who took a second assassination attempt with good humor and didn’t lose his cool and went back to work the very next day.” When Harris does do interviews, Vance said the Democratic nominee helps the Trump campaign. “It’s funny to watch Kamala Harris, you know, she gives these interviews,” Vance said. “And, you know, on the one hand, obviously, I disagree with Kamala Harris on all these issues. I criticize her every single day on the campaign trail. I criticize what she has done to the United States of America. And then, on the other hand, she goes and does an interview, and I think she picks us up about 100,000 votes. So, you know, Kamala Harris isn’t, isn’t all bad.” JOE ROGAN SAYS HARRIS SITDOWN WAS SCRAPPED AFTER CAMPAIGN TOLD HIM SHE ‘ONLY WANTED TO DO AN HOUR’ Vance referenced Harris’ interview on “The View” when she was asked what she would have done differently over the last four years of President Biden’s administration, and she responded “nothing comes to mind.” The Republican vice presidential nominee said Harris’ interview was a “gift.” “As much as she’s got these slogans about how she’s going to somehow do something in the next four years that she hasn’t done while she’s actually been the sitting vice president again, she gives us the gift of going out there and giving interviews,” Vance said. “And even though they’re always softball interviews, and even though our friends in the press never ask Kamala Harris difficult questions, sometimes they don’t. They ask her easy questions, and she still screws those up. And the definition, you know, of a Kamala Harris gaffe is when she accidentally tells the truth. Because sometimes she does do that.” “How is the person who admits that she would have done nothing different over the last four years? How is she going to solve the problems that have been created by the last four years of policy?” Vance said. “So for the people of North Carolina, the choice is very clear. It’s a choice between more of the same, more high grocery prices, more unaffordable housing, more open borders, more fentanyl in our communities. Or the choice is, do we take this country in a different direction? Do we get back to peace and prosperity? Do we get it back to the leadership of Donald J. Trump?”
Chicago authorities under microscope after antisemitic shooting: ‘National scandal’
After an Orthodox Jewish man was shot while walking to his synagogue on the Sabbath in Rogers Park, Chicago, last weekend, media outlets quickly gathered and disseminated information about the victim’s background. It was the media that also first confirmed that the suspect, 22-year-old Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, was a Mauritanian national who was in the U.S. illegally. After the attack, fear rose within Chicago’s Jewish community about the lack of information from the Chicago Police Department and Mayor Brandon Johnson, who took five days to acknowledge the religious background of Abdallahi’s Jewish victim. Police also did not tell the public what Abdallahi shouted while shooting at officers, refusing to confirm the substance of Ring camera footage that was circulating, although they did acknowledge that “there was something stated.” Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that “there is a clear cover-up going on to seal off information flow before next week’s election. They knew about the shooter’s illegal status from the moment they ran his ID.” “This should be a national scandal,” Goldberg added. GROWING CALLS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TO BE CHARGED WITH HATE CRIMES IN JEWISH MAN’S SHOOTING Abdallahi’s address, listed in a police news release, is 27 miles from Rogers Park. Goldberg noted that he went out of his way to travel a significant distance for the alleged attack. The suspect’s alleged antisemitic motives then became a key theme during the Oct. 31 news conference where Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling announced long-awaited additional felony charges against Abdallahi for a hate crime and terrorism, bringing the total number of charges against Abdallahi to 16. “We did not secure these charges because of public pressure or because of media attention,” Snelling told reporters. “Gathering evidence and facts takes time.” Snelling explained that detectives had been unable to interview Abdallahi, who remains hospitalized after being shot by police. Evidence on the suspect’s phone “indicated he planned the shooting and specifically targeted people of the Jewish faith.” Chicago officials did not provide details about Abdallahi’s immigration status in their news conference. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson Erin Bultje confirmed to Fox News Digital that Abdallahi was apprehended while entering the country near San Ysidro in March and was subsequently released inside the U.S. “It’s pretty obvious what happened here,” said Goldberg, a former NSC official in the Trump administration. “We have an act of terrorism committed by someone who entered the country illegally and was allowed to stay under Biden-Harris policies. And the second Democratic officials realized the potential impact that might have on the presidential election, they panicked and tried to lock down information flow. But the Jewish community fought back.” ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION STATUS REVEALED IN SHOOTING OF JEWISH MAN IN DEM-CONTROLLED CITY Just two months ago, Canadian authorities arrested a 20-year-old Pakistani man who had plotted to carry out an attack on the Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York. At Thursday’s news conference, a WGN journalist brought up ICE’s confirmation of Abdallahi’s Mauritanian nationality and asked whether State’s Attorney Kim Foxx planned to comply with the ICE detainer for Abdallahi lodged with the Cook County jail. “What we’re doing today is announcing the charges,” Foxx replied. “Next week, when we do the full-on proffer, we can confirm the information that you have.” Because the suspect “is presumed innocent until proven guilty” and “has not had the opportunity to appear before a judge and face the charges,” Foxx said she was “not going to give a level of specificity that has not been afforded to him.” Pat Brady, former federal and state prosecutor in Illinois, confirmed to Fox News Digital that “it’s not unusual that the details are not made publicly available until the formal arraignment.” Stay-at-home mother Malka Reich, who reportedly witnessed a portion of the attack that partially took place in her front yard – Ring camera footage of the incident taken at her home has been widely disseminated – told Fox News Digital that she believes “the mayor and potentially people in the federal government are trying to hide” key elements of the hate crime. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT FACES HATE CRIME, TERRORISM CHARGES IN SHOOTING OF JEWISH MAN IN CHICAGO During Thursday’s press conference, Johnson was asked why he had failed to identify the victim’s religious background in previous statements. Johnson was widely condemned for sending “heartfelt thoughts and prayers” to the victim without describing him as being Jewish. Rather than answer the question, Johnson explained that “my responsibility as the mayor of Chicago is to keep every single community safe, and I take that responsibility seriously.” Johnson added that “terror wants to incite and ignite and make people feel isolated and alone. But the Jewish community is not alone. We’re standing firm with our Jewish siblings as I always have.” Johnson has received condemnation in the past for adding to an environment of antisemitism inside Chicago, including through his tie-breaking vote in support of a January cease-fire resolution passed by the City Council. According to the Chicago Police Department’s Hate Crime Dashboard, there have been 71 anti-Jewish hate crimes in the city in 2024, up from 50 in 2023, and 39 in 2022. Among many Jewish Chicagoans dissatisfied with early responses to Saturday’s shooting was Alderman Debra Silverstein, who spoke with Fox News Digital before Abdallahi’s hate crime charge was announced. Silverstein expressed the feeling in Chicago’s Jewish community that “City Hall does not have their back.” Silverstein is also worried about antisemitism in Chicago Public Schools. After the Chicago City Council cease-fire resolution was passed, students staged a pro-Palestinian walkout in which Silverstein said that some Chicago students “were told not to wear blue and white” because the schools “weren’t sure that they would be able to protect them.” Amid the battle over facts in Abdallahi’s shooting, the Jewish Insider broke a story that the newly appointed president of the Chicago Board of Education, the Rev. Mitchell Johnson, had “a lengthy history of posting
Major pollster drops final battleground poll numbers
The final New York Times/Siena College Battleground poll of the 2024 race shows a razor-tight election in the battleground states just days before the election. Former President Trump leads Vice President Kamala Harris in Arizona, while Harris enjoys a lead in Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada and Wisconsin. Michigan and Pennsylvania are tied between the two candidates, according to the poll. “Too close to call,” Siena Research declared in a social media post about the poll. FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: ARIZONA IS TRUMP’S TO LOSE, BUT THIS ELECTION IS ANYONE’S TO WIN In Arizona, the only state where Trump has a lead, the former president is up four points on Harris, 49-45. Meanwhile, Harris has a one-point lead in Georgia (48-47), two points in North Carolina (48-46), three points in Nevada (49-46) and two points in Wisconsin (49-47). The poll comes just two days before an election that promises to be one of the closest in recent memory, with the New York Times/Siena poll not being the only one showing tight margins. 5 NUMBERS THAT WILL DECIDE THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION According to the Real Clear Politics polling average, Trump enjoys a 2.9 point lead in Arizona, a 1.2 point lead in Nevada, a 0.3 point lead in Pennsylvania, a 1.4 point lead in North Carolina, and a 2.3 point lead in Georgia. Harris, meanwhile, has a slim lead of 0.3 points in Wisconsin and a 0.6 point lead in Michigan. The New York Times/Siena College battleground poll also sampled the Senate races in the battleground states for the final time, showing Democrats Rep. Ruben Gallego in Arizona, Elissa Slotkin in Michigan, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, Sen. Jacky Rosen in Nevada, and Sen. Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin, with a lead in their respective races. No Republican Senate candidate held leads in their races, the poll showed. The New York Times/Siena College poll interviewed 7,879 voters in seven battleground states between Oct. 24 and Nov. 2, with a margin of errors of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points in Arizona, 4.1 percentage points in Georgia, 3.7 points in Michigan, 3.6 points in North Carolina, 3.6 points in Nevada, 2.9 points in Pennsylvania, and 3.4 points in Wisconsin. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
National polls show Trump, Harris in tight race as electorate is unhappy with choices
Two new national polls released Sunday show former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are engaged in an extremely close race for the White House, even if a majority of voters are dissatisfied with having to choose between either of the candidates. An ABC News/Ipsos poll of 2,267 likely voters has Harris leading Trump 49%-46%, with a 2% margin of error. Seventy-four percent of those voters say they feel the country is heading on the “wrong track,” including 50% of those who are backing Harris, the results show. Among Trump supporters, that figure rises to 98%. The poll, which was taken from Oct. 29-Nov. 1, also revealed that 60% of voters are dissatisfied with the candidates presented to them in this race for the presidency. TRUMP, HARRIS NECK AND NECK IN BATTLEGROUND STATES WITH UNDER 48 HOURS UNTIL ELECTION DAY, POLLS FIND Meanwhile, 42% of likely voters say their personal financial situation has worsened under the Biden-Harris administration, according to the poll. In another national survey, Trump and Harris are tied at 49%. The NBC News poll of 1,000 registered voters, which was conducted from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2, has a margin of error of 3.1%. BILL MAHER JOKES ABOUT UNDECIDED VOTERS BEFORE ELECTION: ‘CHRISTMAS EVE SHOPPERS OF POLITICS’ Of those who responded, Harris leads Trump among Black voters by 87%-9%, voters under 30 years old by 57%-41% and White voters with college degrees 55%-43%, according to NBC News. Trump leads among rural voters 75%-23%, White voters in general 56%-42% and white voters without college degrees 64%-34%, the outlet added. Between genders, Harris leads Trump 57%-41% among women, while men back Trump over Harris 58%-40%, NBC News reported. The poll also found that 60% of registered voters think America will still be divided no matter who prevails on Election Day.
Michigan Arab-American mayor who endorsed Trump reveals one of the ‘most important’ factors of his decision
The Michigan Arab-American mayor who made headlines for endorsing former President Trump says the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the Middle East is one of the “most important determining factors” of his decision. Mayor Amer Ghalib, the Democrat leader of Hamtramck – a city outside of Detroit – said on “Sunday Morning Futures” that his choice to back Trump “was like sailing against the waves” and has brought him some pushback. “It was a combination of both disappointment and hope – disappointment [with] the current administration on how they handled the situation in the Middle East, because that is one of the most important, determining factors of our decision, who to vote for as Arab-Americans this time,” Ghalib said when asked to explain his endorsement. Ghalib added there is “a hope that some change will bring peace to the Middle East and we found President Trump is so determined about that.” WHO IS AMER GHALIB, THE TRUMP-ENDORSING MAYOR OF THE US’ ONLY MUSLIM-MAJORITY TOWN? “The priority for us at this time is accomplishing a cease-fire and bringing peace to the Middle East. Kamala Harris has been in the office for the past three years and during the whole year of war in the Middle East, I supported the Uncommitted movement in Michigan to send a strong message to the current administration, to take our concerns into consideration but nothing was happening,” he continued. “In fact, they completely neglected us and negligence become the norm.” “We are hoping that President Trump will come and do something different to bring peace – that is all we want,” Ghalib continued. The mayor also said Trump “is doing everything possible to show respect to this community,” including visiting his city following his endorsement. “The other side decided to neglect us and I think they should be punished for what they have been doing,” he added. MAYOR OF MUSLIM-MAJORITY MICHIGAN CITY ENDORSES TRUMP: ‘RIGHT CHOICE FOR THIS CRITICAL TIME’ Ghalib, who became Hamtramck’s first Muslim mayor after being elected in 2021, was born in Yemen and immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager in 1997, according to a profile of the mayor posted by Henry Ford College. Ghalib spent most of his career as a medical professional in Hamtramck, an enclave of Detroit with about 28,000 residents. The town was known as a mostly Polish settlement until recent decades, with a large influx of Middle Eastern immigrants eventually making it the nation’s first Muslim-majority city. He made history when he defeated former Hamtramck Mayor Karen Majewski, breaking an over 100-year streak of the city being represented by a Polish-American mayor. The city also became the first in the nation with an all-Muslim elected leadership that same year, with Hamtramck’s six city council seats being won by Muslim candidates. Fox News’ Michael Lee contributed to this report.
FCC commissioner rips NBC over Harris’ last-minute SNL appearance: ‘Plainly designed to evade’ the rules
The senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission lambasted NBC’s decision to host Vice President Kamala Harris on “Saturday Night Live” in the final episode ahead of Election Day, while not offering equal time to former President Trump or other candidates in the presidential cycle. “This has all the appearances of, at least some leadership at NBC, at SNL, making clear that they wanted to weigh-in in favor of one candidate before the election. That’s exactly why, for decades, we’ve had an equal time rule on the book, is to prevent that. Because remember, broadcasters are placed in a special position of trust. They’re not just like any other person with a soapbox on the corner. They have a license from the federal government that obligates them to operate in the public interest,” FCC commissioner Brendan Carr told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview Sunday morning. Carr was reacting to Harris’s last-minute appearance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” just days ahead of Election Day. The FCC commissioner had weighed in on X this weekend that the broadcasting company had violated the FCC’s equal time rule by hosting the Democratic presidential nominee, but not Trump or other presidential candidates such as Jill Stein or even Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – who is still on election ballots after dropping out of the race earlier this year and endorsing Trump. The Federal Communications Commission’s equal-time rule was established in 1934 and requires radio and television broadcast stations to provide the same amount of time for competing political candidates. There are exceptions to the rule such as newscasts, documentaries and political debates. TRUMP, HARRIS CAMPAIGNS MAKE FINAL PLAYS AS NATION SITS BARELY ONE DAY FROM ELECTION DAY “NBC has structured this in a way that’s plainly designed to evade the FCC’s rules. We’re talking 50 hours before Election Day starts, without any notice to other candidates, as far as I can tell,” Carr continued. “And after previously coming out and saying they weren’t going to do this precisely because they did not believe that they could do this consistent with election laws and the FCC’s equal time rule.” “I think every member of the FCC needs to speak up immediately, given how close we are to an election and make clear that we will follow through, enforce our laws. And I think every single remedy needs to be on the table in these circumstances,” he said. KAMALA HARRIS APPEARS ON ‘SNL’ IN FINAL EPISODE BEFORE ELECTION Harris was scheduled to fly to Detroit on Saturday evening, but her flight landed at Laguardia, teeing up speculation she would appear on “SNL” during its final airing ahead of Election Day. Harris did in fact appear on Saturday evening, depicting the “mirror image” of herself while speaking with former “SNL” cast member Maya Rudolph, who was depicting the Democratic nominee for president. Harris’ appearance came at the end of the cold open, which poked fun at Trump for wearing a sanitation vest at a rally last week, as well as Joe Biden’s repeated gaffes. Rudolph, depicting Harris, wondered during the sketch: “I wish I could talk to someone who’s been in my shoes. You know, a Black, south Asian woman running for president. Preferably from the Bay Area.” Harris then was revealed to be sitting across the table from her, leading to cheers from the audience. Harris grinned and said, “You and me both, sister.” “I’m just here to remind you, you got this. Because you can do something your opponent cannot do. You can open doors,” she said in a shot at Trump, referring to him climbing into a garbage truck last week while on the campaign trail. KAMALA HARRIS TO APPEAR ON ‘SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’ TONIGHT: REPORTS “The American people want to stop the chaos,” Rudolph said at a later point in the sketch, with Harris adding, “And end the drama-la.” “With a cool new step mom-ala. Get back in our pajama-las. And watch a rom-com-ala,” Rudolph said, with the two later touting their “belief in the promise of America.” Carr is urging his fellow FCC commissioners to join him in calling for action and investigation into NBC hosting Harris on Saturday evening. “One commissioner standing alone, there’s no real consequence that I can impose at this point. You need the FCC chairperson or at least three commissioners on the FCC to agree to take action. We’ll see if we end up there with this commission or otherwise,” he said. “At the end of the day, the penalties range all the way up to potentially, in egregious situations, license revocations. And in my view, every single remedy needs to be on the table, at least as an initial matter. What we investigate more and find out – maybe they have some defense that I’m not aware of – but all remedies should be on the table because you obviously have to engage in some sort of response that if this proves to be an entire violation, there is a consequence sufficient enough that no broadcast station does this again. Whether it’s to benefit Republican or Democrat, that doesn’t matter to me. We have rules on the books, we have to uphold them.” ‘SNL’ TAKES AIM AT KAMALA HARRIS’ ‘MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILY’ FAMILY RESPONSE DURING ‘FAMILY FEUD’ SKIT Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller told the Fox News Channel earlier this weekend that SNL did not extend an invitation to Trump. Campaign spokesman Steven Cheung lambasted Harris’ appearance as a sign of desperation to appeal to voters as “her campaign spirals down the drain into obscurity.” “Kamala Harris has nothing substantive to offer the American people, so that’s why she’s living out her warped fantasy cosplaying with her elitist friends on Saturday Night Leftists as her campaign spirals down the drain into obscurity. For the last four years, Kamala’s destructive policies have led to untold misery and hurt for all Americans. She broke it, and President Trump will fix it,” Cheung told Fox News Digital
Cruz: Harris made mistake by tapping Walz instead of PA’s Shapiro for VP
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, took aim at Vice President Kamala Harris for her lack of support for Israel, arguing that the decision not to tap Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate was a result of the vice president caving to the “pro-Hamas” wing of the Democratic Party. “You oughta ask yourself why didn’t she pick Josh Shapiro as her VP?” Cruz said during an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo on Sunday. “The answer is, in today’s Democrat Party, they could not stomach a candidate who was Jewish.” Cruz’s comments come just two days before polls open on Election Day, with both Harris and former President Trump making their final pitches in the seven key battleground states that promise to decide the race. FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: ARIZONA IS TRUMP’S TO LOSE, BUT THIS ELECTION IS ANYONE’S TO WIN Two battlegrounds in particular, Michigan and Pennsylvania, show the struggle Harris has had cobbling together a winning coalition, Cruz argued, noting that the vice president has tried to appease Jewish voters in Pennsylvania despite the administration she serves in being the “most anti-Israel” one in American history. “Kamala Harris is lying to people in Pennsylvania, and we know that because she’s not just some random person off the street, she’s been the sitting vice president for four years,” Cruz said. “Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have been the single most anti-Israel administration this country has ever seen.” The Real Clear Politics polling average shows an extremely tight race in Pennsylvania in the final days of the election, with Trump currently holding a slim 0.3 point lead in the critical battleground state. 5 NUMBERS THAT WILL DECIDE THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Betting odds for the race are similarly close, with ElectionBettingOdds.com showing Trump with 53.5% chance of winning Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the latest Fox News Power Rankings rate the swing state as a toss-up. Cruz suggested Sunday that Shapiro, who currently enjoys positive approval ratings among voters in his state, could have helped win the key state for Harris if she had chosen him. “Shapiro might well have won the state of Pennsylvania for her, but the pro-Hamas wing of the Democrat Party could not imagine, could not tolerate, such a thing,” Cruz said. The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Rights group calls for release of minors charged over Nigeria protests
Scenes of young Nigerians fainting while in court in the capital Abuja sparked uproar from politicians, civil society. The Nigerian government is facing increasing pressure to drop charges against dozens of minors amid an uproar over detention conditions since they were arrested over their alleged participation in protests against the high cost of living. A total of 76 people, including 30 children, were arraigned on Friday and charged with 10 felony counts, including treason, destruction of property, public disturbance and mutiny. The minors ranged in age from 14 to 17 years old, the Associated Press news agency reported. Scenes of the young Nigerians fainting while in court in the capital, Abuja, sparked an uproar from politicians and civil society. They have been under detention for three months following their arrests in August. “The footage reveals minors, some so weak that they could barely stand, others fainting from sheer exhaustion and lack of nourishment,” said politician Peter Obi, who unsuccessfully contested the 2023 presidential election. Amnesty International also condemned the minors’ “horrifying detentions for participating in protests against hunger and corruption”, calling it “one of the deadliest attempts to suppress freedom of assembly” so far. The office of the Nigerian Inspector General of Police denied having subjected the detainees to ill-treatment, saying that medical aid was provided to the defendants. It said “age does not exempt individuals from facing legal consequences”. On Friday, police spokesperson Muyiwa Ogunjobi told Nigerian television that “once you are more than seven years old, you can be” arraigned. The minors were granted bail, and their lawyers said the case would come to trial in January. On Sunday, The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a Nigerian human rights group, called on President Bola Tinubu to use his “leadership position” to release the minors “within the next 48 hours”. “These children and other protesters are detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights,” SERAP said in a statement posted on its website. The group also called on President Tinubu to order an investigation into the “circumstances surrounding the grave violations of the human rights of the children” and other protesters. Nigeria’s Punch news website reported on Sunday that the Minister of Justice and Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi had “commenced” moves to drop the charges against the minors. Frustration over the cost-of-living crisis has led to several large protests in the country in recent months. In August, at least 20 people were shot dead, and hundreds more were arrested at a protest demanding better opportunities and jobs for young people. Adblock test (Why?)
Purging voters: Inside Republican efforts to restrict 2024 election vote
On Wednesday, the United States Supreme Court’s conservative majority gave the Republicans a win, voting to uphold Virginia’s efforts to purge voters less than a week before the 2024 election. A federal judge had previously found that Virginia had illegally purged 16,000 voter registrations over the previous two months, however, the Supreme Court granted the largely Democratic-voting state’s Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin an emergency appeal this week. A coalition of independent groups, including the US Department of Justice, had previously sued the state for violating federal election law, arguing the efforts were stripping eligible voters of their right to vote. Youngkin said voters who believe they were improperly removed from the rolls can still vote in the election because Virginia has same-day registration. “There is the ultimate, ultimate safeguard in Virginia, no one is being precluded from voting, and therefore, I encourage every single citizen – go vote,” Youngkin told reporters. On social media, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had previously blasted the Virginia court’s initial ruling as a “totally unacceptable travesty.” “Only US Citizens should be allowed to vote,” the former president added. The legal win, which comes as Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris duke it out in the dying days of their respective campaigns, represents a broader strategy by the GOP to tighten voting regulations across key states, including Arizona, Michigan, and Nevada. A privacy booth is seen at a polling station located in the Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) Gymnasium in Baltimore, during early voting in Maryland, US, October 26, 2020 [File: Hannah McKay/Reuters] Why is this happening? Across the country, the GOP is targeting voter rolls and absentee ballots, and also monitoring elections. It says this is an attempt to ensure that the election is fair, but its opponents say these are actually attempts to suppress the vote. The Republican focus on election-related legal battles dates back to lingering distrust from the 2020 presidential election. Former President Trump’s false claims that the election was stolen have fuelled enduring scepticism within the party, where a significant number of GOP voters continue to believe in election fraud without substantial evidence. These lawsuits have become a strategy not just for election integrity but for appealing to a base that feels disenfranchised by the previous electoral outcome. How and where else is the GOP challenging the vote? In recent months, Republicans have launched lawsuits in multiple battleground states challenging voting access in attempts to purportedly boost election integrity and oversight. This strategy includes lawsuits aimed at purging suspected non-citizens from voter rolls, restricting the votes of convicted felons, contesting absentee ballot processing, and challenging election worker protections. The results have been mixed. In Alabama, a federal judge ordered Republicans to stop attempting to purge the voter rolls. In Nebraska, another judge upheld the right to vote for those who have completed their felony sentences. And in Georgia, a court declared new rules unconstitutional that would have allowed election results to be more easily contested. A person previously convicted of a felony holds a sign about voter suppression during a Poor People’s Campaign assembly, April 19, 2021, in Jackson, Mississippi [File: Rogelio V. Solis/AP Photo] Here’s a breakdown of what’s happening in some other states: Nevada: Republicans, including Trump-aligned groups, unsuccessfully filed lawsuits challenging voter registration procedures, which sought to remove alleged non-citizens from Nevada’s voter rolls. These legal efforts focused on specific matches between the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles records and current voter rolls. Republicans argued, without evidence, that voters with addresses flagged in a national database may have mail ballots sent to addresses where others could fill them out on their behalf. The move could have potentially axed 19,000 registered voters from Clark County and an additional 11,000 in Washoe County, according to the ACLU of Nevada, which filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit. Republicans have abandoned the effort after the ACLU and others raised technical objections, Nevada Public Radio reported. Arizona: Several lawsuits backed by GOP and conservative groups also challenged Arizona’s election procedures, including absentee ballot handling and voter roll management, aiming to enforce stricter eligibility standards for voting. In May, a Maricopa County judge in Arizona dismissed portions of a GOP-led lawsuit challenging the revised state Elections Procedures Manual, citing concerns that some elements of the lawsuit might lead to voter intimidation. North Carolina: A Republican National Committee (RNC) legal effort aiming to purge 225,000 voters in the state, alleging issues with voter registration accuracy, stalled after the state’s Board of Elections won an appeal that will keep the litigation in federal court. The lawsuit, filed in late August, demanded the court make the state’s Board of Elections formulate a strategy to remove those voters from the rolls by September 6, despite federal law barring the systematic purging of voters 90 days before an election, according to the Carolina Journal. The North Carolina State Board of Elections has criticised the GOP efforts as baseless, arguing the timing could cause confusion and disruptions on Election Day. Republicans also argued that ballots with improperly sealed envelopes should be excluded, targeting absentee voting, which has favoured Democrats in previous elections. North Carolina elections officials claim they’ve removed 750,000 ineligible voters from voter rolls since the beginning of 2023. The state has 7.7 million registered voters. Michigan: Republicans in Michigan have challenged absentee ballot verification processes, arguing for stricter enforcement, with ongoing court proceedings to clarify standards. The GOP also sued the state’s Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson over guidance on absentee ballot verification, claiming it lacked proper enforcement detail. Last week, however, a federal judge tossed a lawsuit that targeted the state’s voter roles out. In another case, a state judge reversed a Republican challenge of a tiny number of voter registrations by military and overseas voters, according to the Detroit Free Press. The RNC could potentially appeal the ruling. Supporters of Democratic presidential nominee US Vice President Kamala Harris’s at a campaign event on the National Mall one week before the November 5