The Latest: All eyes on Pennsylvania as candidates spend final day campaigning there

The presidential campaign comes down to a final push across a handful of states on the eve of Election Day.

Kamala Harris has spent all of Monday in Pennsylvania, whose 19 electoral votes offer the largest prize among the states expected to determine the Electoral College outcome. Donald Trump planned four rallies in three states, beginning in Raleigh, North Carolina, stopping twice in Pennsylvania with events in Reading and Pittsburgh, then ending in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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Here's the latest:

Women will be the group to soundly reject former President Donald Trump on Election Day, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said at the final rally of his campaign Monday night in Detroit.

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Federal agencies say Russia and Iran are ramping up influence campaigns targeting US voters

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s federal law enforcement and election security agencies are debunking two new examples of Russian election disinformation on the eve of Election Day, highlighting attempts by foreign actors to sow doubt in the U.S. voting process and warning that the efforts run the risk of inciting violence against election officials.

In a joint statement late Monday, federal officials pointed to a recent article posted by Russian actors falsely claiming that U.S. officials across presidential swing states were orchestrating a plan to commit fraud, as well as a video that falsely depicted an interview with an individual claiming election fraud in Arizona.

U.S. intelligence reveals that Russia-linked influence actors “are manufacturing videos and creating fake articles to undermine the legitimacy of the election, instill fear in voters regarding the election process, and suggest Americans are using violence against each other due to political preferences,” read the statement issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “These efforts risk inciting violence, including against election officials.”

A spokesperson for the Russian Embassy did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Federal officials warned that Russia will likely release additional “manufactured content” on Election Day and poses “the most active threat” when it comes to foreign election influence. The statement also noted that Iran remains a “significant foreign influence threat to U.S. elections."

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Trump wants the presidential winner to be declared on election night. Why that's unlikely

Former President Donald Trump is stepping up his demands that the winner of the presidential race be declared shortly after polls close Tuesday, well before all the votes are counted.

Trump set the pattern in 2020, when he declared that he had won during the early morning hours after Election Day. That led his allies to demand that officials “stop the count!” He and many other conservatives have spent the past four years falsely claiming that fraud cost him that election and bemoaning how long it takes to count ballots in the U.S.

But one of many reasons we are unlikely to know the winner quickly on election night is that Republican lawmakers in two key swing states have refused to change laws that delay the count. Another is that most indications are this will be a very close election, and it takes longer to determine who won close elections than blowouts.

In the end, election experts note, the priority in vote-counting is to make sure it's an accurate and secure tally, not to end the suspense moments after polls close.

“There's nothing nefarious about it,” said Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. “The time delay is to protect the integrity of the process.”

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Harris and Trump's final push before Election Day brings them to the same patch of Pennsylvania

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump made their final pitches to voters Monday in the same parts of Pennsylvania at roughly the same time, focusing on the state that could make or break their chances during the last full day of the presidential campaign.

In Pittsburgh, Trump delivered what his campaign aides described as his closing argument after his previous attempt — a mass rally at Madison Square Garden in New York -- was derailed by crude and racist jokes. He has also veered off message with falsehoods about voter fraud and invocations of violence.

“Over the past four years, Americans have suffered one catastrophic failure, betrayal and humiliation after another,” said the Republican nominee, sounding raspy yet energetic after speaking for hours each day.

“We do not have to settle for weakness, incompetence, decline and decay,” he went on. “With your vote tomorrow, we can fix every single problem our country faces and lead America, and indeed the whole world, to new heights of glory.”

The crowd exploded in cheers when the Republican nominee said the country should tell Harris, “You’re fired,” his catchphrase from “The Apprentice,” the reality television show that made him a nationally recognized star.

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About 24 states say they'll send National Guard troops to DC for vote certification and inauguration

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than two dozen states have indicated they would be willing to send National Guard troops to Washington if requested in the weeks following the presidential election and in the runup to the inauguration, Guard officials said Monday.

The District of Columbia has not yet made any formal requests for Guard troops, but officials across the government have been preparing for the possibility that the U.S. Capitol could once again be rocked by violence around the certification of the election by Congress on Jan. 6 and the inauguration two weeks later.

About 25,000 Guard troops from around the country flooded into Washington in the days after the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riot, when thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in an effort to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden's win.

The troops, along with local and federal law enforcement, locked down the city for the inauguration, securing the Capitol, monuments, Metro entrances and the perimeter of the central part of the city.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Col. Jean Paul Laurenceau, chief of future operations for the National Guard Bureau, said it is not yet clear how many Guard troops will be needed or requested this year. He said it will depend on what the District of Columbia wants, but he noted that the National Guard Bureau and the states are leaning forward in anticipation of a request for assistance.

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US gives Israel a 'fail' grade on improving aid to Gaza so far

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is stepping up criticism of Israel for not doing enough to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza as a 30-day deadline looms for Israeli officials to meet certain requirements or risk potential restrictions on military assistance.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on Monday gave Israel a “fail” grade in terms of meeting the conditions for an improvement in aid deliveries to Gaza laid out in a letter last month to senior Israeli officials from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

He said there were still roughly nine days until the deadline expires, but that limited progress so far has been insufficient.

“As of today, the situation has not significantly turned around,” Miller told reporters. “We have seen an increase in some measurements. But if you look at the stipulated recommendations in the letter — those have not been met.”

A day before the U.S. election, the Biden administration called out its close ally, with support for Israel a key issue for many voters and the humanitarian crisis for Palestinians also a factor for many in the race. Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have been competing for Muslim and Arab American voters and Jewish voters in battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania.

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North Korea fires a barrage of ballistic missiles toward the sea ahead of US election

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Tuesday, its neighbors said, as it continued its weapons demonstrations hours before the U.S. presidential election.

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said at least seven North Korean missiles flew as far as 400 kilometers (250 miles) with a maximum altitude of 100 kilometers (60 miles). He said they landed in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

“North Korea’s actions, including a series of repeated missile launches, threaten the peace and safety of Japan, the region and the international community,” Nakatani said.

South Korea's military also detected several missile launches by North Korea and subsequently boosted its surveillance posture. The North Korean missiles could be used to target key facilities in South Korea, including U.S. military bases there.

The launches came days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a flight test of the country’s newest intercontinental ballistic missile d esigned to reach the U.S. mainland. In response to that launch, the United States flew a long-range B-1B bomber in a trilateral drill with South Korea and Japan on Sunday in a show of force. That drew condemnation from Kim’s powerful sister Kim Yo Jong, who on Tuesday accused North Korea’s rivals of raising tensions with “aggressive and adventuristic military threats.”

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Ex-officer found guilty in the 2020 shooting death of Andre Hill

A former police officer was convicted of murder Monday in the shooting of Andre Hill, a Black man who was holding a cellphone and keys when he was killed.

Officer Adam Coy, who served nearly 20 years with the Columbus police force, shot Hill four times in a garage nearly four years ago. Coy, who is white, was fired after the shooting. He told jurors that he thought Hill was holding a silver revolver that turned out to be keys.

“I thought I was going to die,” he testified. It was only after he rolled over Hill’s body and saw the keys that he realized there was no gun, Coy said tearfully. “I knew at that point I made a mistake. I was horrified.”

Coy, who was partially blocked from view by his grim-faced attorneys, did not visibly react to the verdict but muffled cries could be heard in the courtroom when it was announced. Prosecutors asked that the former officer be sentenced immediately. Franklin County Judge Stephen McIntosh instead set a sentencing date of Nov. 25.

Coy, who is undergoing cancer treatments for Hodgkin lymphoma, was devastated, said defense attorney Mark Collins, who slightly shook his head “no” when the verdict was read and later promised to appeal.

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A courtroom of relief: FBI recovers funds for victims of scammed banker

WICHITA, KANSAS (AP) — Sobs of relief broke out in a federal courtroom in Kansas on Monday as dozens of people whose life savings had been embezzled by a bank CEO learned that federal law enforcement had recovered their money.

"I just can’t describe the weight lifted off of us,” said Bart Camilli, 70, who with his wife Cleo had just learned they’d recover close to $450,000 — money Bart began saving at 18 when he bought his first individual retirement account. “It’s life-changing.”

In August, former Kansas bank CEO Shan Hanes was sentenced to 24 years after stealing $47 million from customer accounts and wiring the money to cryptocurrency accounts run by scammers. Prosecutors said Hanes also stole $40,000 from his church, $10,000 from an investment club and $60,000 from his daughter’s college fund and lost $1.1 million of his own in the scheme. Deposits were “jettisoned into the ether,” said prosecutor Aaron Smith.

Hanes' Heartland Tri-State Bank, drained of cash, was shut down by federal regulators and sold to another financial institution. Customers’ savings and checking accounts amounting to $47.1 million were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which paid off their losses.

But there were still 30 shareholders of the community-owned rural bank Hanes helped found — including his close family friends and neighbors — who thought they lost $8.3 million in investments: well-planned retirements were upended, funds for long-term eldercare gone, education funds and bequests for children and grandchildren zeroed out.

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Spain's king stood his ground under a mud barrage. What will the iconic moment mean for his reign?

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Mud splattered the cheek of Spain's monarch as survivors of catastrophic floods unleashed their fury in a barrage of muck and mire. Felipe VI took it, literally, on the chin, and his determination to stay and speak to the enraged crowd could redefine his reign.

It instantly became an iconic moment. But what it will mean remains to be seen.

Spain’s royals, prime minister and the Valencian regional president were greeted by a crowd hurling mud and other debris on Sunday when they tried to visit Paiporta, where over 60 people perished in last week's floods. The deluge has killed over 200 people in Spain and shattered communities.

It was the officials' first visit to the devastated area.

Sticky brown globs hit Felipe on the face and all over his black jacket, while Queen Letizia's hands were streaked with the mud that, nearly a week after the floods, still coats street after street of the southern outskirts of Valencia city. Many in the crowd wielded the shovels they are using to dig out their homes.

News from © The Associated Press, 2024