Politics Election category, Page 290
Trump at Rushmore: Jets and fireworks, but masks optional
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — When President Donald Trump speaks at the Mount Rushmore national memorial before the first fireworks show there in years, he’ll stand before a crowd of thousands of people who won’t be required to socially distance or wear masks despite the coronavirus pandemic. The event scheduled for...
Poll: About 7 in 10 white evangelicals approve of Trump
NEW YORK — About 7 in 10 white evangelical Protestants approve of President Donald Trump’s handling of his job, according to a new survey — support from a cornerstone of his political base that has remained strong following a polarizing church visit and a Supreme Court ruling on LGBT discrimination...
Virginia senator vows defense bill fight on foreign election interference
WASHINGTON — The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee vowed a fight on an annual defense bill Tuesday when Republicans again blocked his legislation requiring political campaigns to report foreign offers of assistance to the FBI. “I fear the Senate is about to fail once again to protect our...
Senate extends small business coronavirus relief program
WASHINGTON — Democrats drove a temporary extension of a popular subsidy program for small businesses through the GOP-controlled Senate late Tuesday, an unexpected development that came as spikes in coronavirus cases in many states are causing renewed shutdowns of bars and other businesses. The move by Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin...
GOP lawmakers urge action after Russia-Afghanistan briefingVideo
WASHINGTON — Eight Republican lawmakers attended a White House briefing Monday about explosive allegations that Russia secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing American troops in Afghanistan — intelligence the president himself was said to have not been fully read in on. Members of Congress in both parties called...
Florida site of GOP convention orders wearing of masksVideo
The city of Jacksonville, Fla., where mask-averse President Donald Trump plans to accept the Republican nomination in August, ordered the wearing of face coverings Monday, joining the list of state and local governments reversing course to try to beat back a resurgence of the coronavirus. Less than a week after...
Dems push election-season health care bill toward House OK
WASHINGTON — Democrats pushed a strengthening of “Obamacare” patient protections toward House passage Monday, an effort they hoped would help them sharpen the coronavirus pandemic and President Donald Trump’s efforts to scuttle the increasingly popular law into a lethal election-year weapon. The campaign-season bill seemed certain to move through the...
Putin seizes moment to rule until he’s 83 amid fading popularityVideo
MOSCOW — After two decades in power, Vladimir Putin’s approval ratings are at an all-time low as Russia’s economy reels under the impact of the coronavirus epidemic and the slump in oil prices. What better time for him to seek to extend his presidency for potentially 16 more years? It’s...
Trump tweets video with ‘white power’ chant, then deletes it
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Sunday tweeted approvingly of a video showing one of his supporters chanting “white power,” a racist slogan associated with white supremacists. He later deleted the tweet and the White House said the president had not heard “the one statement” on the video. The video...
Rolling Stones threaten to sue Trump over using their songs
LONDON (AP) — The Rolling Stones are threatening President Donald Trump with legal action for using their songs at his rallies despite cease-and-desist directives. The Stones said in a statement Sunday that their legal team is working with music rights organization BMI to stop use of their material in Trump’s...
Trump’s attacks seen undercutting confidence in 2020 vote
WASHINGTON — It was a startling declaration about one of the pillars of American democracy, all the more so given its source. The president of the United States last week publicly predicted without evidence that the 2020 presidential election would be “the most corrupt election in the history of our...
Trump ally Candace Owens sows division among other Black supporters
WASHINGTON — The White House’s embrace of a prominent Black advocate for President Trump who made inflammatory remarks about George Floyd has caused turmoil among other Black conservatives close to the president, threatening their support for his reelection. The dispute began this month, shortly after Floyd’s death in the custody...
Mississippi gov: I’d sign bill to remove flag’s rebel emblem
JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi lawmakers could vote in the next few days to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag, a symbol that has come under intensifying criticism in recent weeks amid nationwide protests against racial injustice. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Saturday, for the first time, that...
Advocates, experts warn against polling place reductions
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — With only one polling place open on election day this week in Louisville, Kentucky, voting went relatively smoothly compared with other recent primaries held amid the global pandemic. Does that mean other cities should consider the same in November? Voting rights groups say no. They caution that...
Georgia governor signs hate crimes measure into law
ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed hate crimes legislation into law Friday after state lawmakers brokered a compromise over the proposal after 16 years of debate over whether to extend protections to people who are targeted because of biases. The Republican signed the proposal at the state Capitol surrounding...
Attorney: Ex-Baltimore mayor surrenders for prison term
Baltimore’s disgraced former mayor surrendered to federal authorities Friday to begin serving a three-year prison sentence stemming from a public corruption scandal. Catherine Pugh’s attorney, Steven Silverman, told The Associated Press his client “surrendered as directed.” Pugh was sentenced in February for fraudulently selling her self-published children’s books to nonprofit...
Facebook to label all rule-breaking posts – even Trump’s
OAKLAND, Calif. — Facebook said Friday that it will flag all “newsworthy” posts from politicians that break its rules, including those from President Donald Trump. Separately, Facebook’s stock dropped more than 8%, erasing roughly $50 billion from its market valuation, after the European company behind brands such as Ben &...
Reporter at Trump’s Tulsa rally tests positive for COVID-19
OKLAHOMA CITY — A journalist who attended President Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa last week said Friday he has tested positive for COVID-19. Oklahoma Watch reporter Paul Monies said he was notified Friday of his positive diagnosis. “I’m pretty surprised,” Monies wrote on Twitter. “I have zero symptoms (so far)...
Dueling Trump-Biden events offer contrasting virus responses
LANCASTER — A presidential campaign that has largely been frozen for several months because of the coronavirus is looking a bit more like those from other years. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden swung through critical battleground states, presenting starkly different visions for America as it struggles with...
Trump tweets about plan for BLM mural in front of his Tower
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump has taken issue with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to paint “Black Lives Matter” in giant letters on the street in front of Trump’s namesake Manhattan tower. Trump tweeted Thursday that de Blasio “wants to paint the fabled & beautiful Fifth...
NYC judge rejects Trump family effort to halt tell-all book
WASHINGTON — A New York City judge has dismissed a claim by Donald Trump’s brother that sought to halt the publication of a tell-all book by the president’s niece. In a ruling handed down on Thursday, Judge Peter Kelly said the Surrogates Court lacked jurisdiction in the case. Mary Trump...
Biden, Trump stage rare dueling events in pandemic era
LANCASTER — Both President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, are swinging through key battleground states on Thursday, presenting dueling events that haven’t happened much in the age of coronavirus and showcasing their contrasting styles in response to the pandemic. The former vice president wore a black face...
At age 24, N.C. Congress runoff victor may be rising star
RALEIGH, N.C. — After nearly dying in a car crash six years ago, western North Carolina congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn already has learned many life lessons by age 24. “There is no time to wait,” Cawthorn said in a recent interview. “Life is precious and it can be taken away...
Trump’s national security adviser takes aim at China
PHOENIX — President Donald Trump’s national security adviser warned China on Wednesday that the United States is waking up to the threat that it believes the Chinese Communist Party poses “to our great way of life” and will act to check the spread of Beijing’s ideology. Robert O’Brien said his...
Casey says blocked GOP police reform bill weak on accountability
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said insufficient accountability is one reason a Republican police reform bill failed to progress Wednesday in the Senate. With a 55-45 tally, Senate Republicans failed to gain the 60 votes needed to proceed to a debate on the bill. Afterward, Casey said an alternate Democratic reform...
