Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, was the anonymous author of The New York Times op-ed article in 2018 whose description of President Donald Trump as “impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective” roiled Washington and set off a hunt for his identity, Taylor confirmed Wednesday.

Taylor was also the anonymous author of “A Warning,” a book he wrote the following year that described the president as an “undisciplined” and “amoral” leader whose abuse of power threatened the foundations of American democracy. He acknowledged that he was the author of both the book and the opinion article in an interview and in a three-page statement he posted online.

Taylor resigned from Homeland Security in June 2019 and went public with his criticism of Trump this past summer. He released a video just before the start of the Republican National Convention declaring that the president was unfit for office and endorsed Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee.

But Taylor, who had repeatedly denied being Anonymous, did not reveal himself to be the author of the opinion article and book at the time.

On Wednesday, Trump claimed not to know who Taylor is, despite the fact that there are numerous pictures of the president with Taylor in meetings.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-american-voters-make-history-more-than-70-million-cast-ballots-338468">Also read|&nbsp;US Election 2020: American voters make history in early voting; more than 70 million cast ballots</a>

“Who is Miles Taylor? Said he was ‘anonymous’, but I don’t know him — never even heard of him,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Just another @nytimes SCAM — he worked in conjunction with them. Also worked for Big Tech’s @Google. Now works for Fake News @CNN. They should fire, shame, and punish everybody associated with this FRAUD on the American people!”

The op-ed pages of The Times are managed separately from the news department, which was never told of Anonymous’ identity.

Taylor served for two years as a top aide to Kirstjen Nielsen, Trump’s third homeland security secretary, and wrote in The Times that he was part of a cadre of officials around Trump who were quietly working to “frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.”

As a senior administration official, Taylor often interacted with the president at the White House, particularly on issues related to immigration, cybersecurity and terrorism. He left government after Nielsen was fired and later became the head of national security relations for Google. He has been on personal leave from the company for the past several months after endorsing Biden and has been organizing other Republicans to campaign against Trump’s reelection.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/donald-trump-vs-joe-biden-which-celebrity-is-backing-whom-in-the-us-presidential-elections-333505">Also read|&nbsp;Donald Trump Vs Joe Biden: Which celebrity is backing whom in the US presidential elections</a>

“More than two years ago, I published an anonymous opinion piece in The New York Times about Donald Trump’s perilous presidency, while I was serving under him. He responded with a short but telling tweet: ‘TREASON?’” Taylor wrote in his statement.

“When I left the administration, I wrote ‘A Warning,’ a character study of the current commander in chief and a caution to voters that it wasn’t as bad as it looked inside the Trump administration — it was worse,” he added.

The disclosure of Taylor’s identity is likely to renew the debate over his mdotives and raise questions about whether his position in the Trump administration was senior enough to justify the decisions by The Times’ Opinion desk and the book’s publisher to keep his identity secret. As chief of staff to a Cabinet secretary, Taylor was one of the top political officials in the sprawling, 240,000-person department, with frequent access to Trump and other senior White House officials.

At the time, The Times published the essay with a note that said: “The Times is taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay. We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers.”

Taylor’s decision to assail the president anonymously in the Times article created a sensation in Washington because of its claims about the president’s lack of character and inability to govern. In the book, Taylor described Trump as a “12-year-old in an air traffic control tower, pushing the buttons of government indiscriminately, indifferent to the planes skidding across the runway.”

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-surge-in-can-i-change-my-vote-donald-trump-says-trend-refers-to-him-338447">Also read|&nbsp;US election 2020: Surge in 'can I change my vote'; Donald Trump says trend refers to him</a>

Taylor’s essay has had less impact over time as an array of onetime Trump administration officials have come forward with names attached to publicly criticize the president’s leadership and character, among them the former defense secretary, Jim Mattis, and Trump’s third national security adviser, John Bolton. But Taylor’s essay was among the first cracks in the White House defense and led to prolonged speculation about the writer’s identity, with readers pointing to specific passages in it as evidence of who must have been the author.

The White House engaged in its own lengthy hunt to identify who had written the article. In the days after its publication, Trump declared that he wanted the attorney general at the time, Jeff Sessions, to find the writer, saying, “I would say Jeff should be investigating who the author of that piece was because I really believe it’s national security.”

As late as November, the Justice Department demanded to know from the publisher of the forthcoming book whether the author had violated any confidentiality agreements related to classified information.

The president last year called the author of the Times article a “gutless” bureaucrat and tweeted “TREASON?” In a statement ahead of the book’s publication last year, Stephanie Grisham, then the White House press secretary, called the author “a coward” who wrote a “work of fiction” filled with lies about the president.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-president-donald-trumps-wildest-prediction-till-date-338554">Also read|&nbsp;US election 2020: President Donald Trump's wildest prediction till date</a>

“Real authors reach out to their subjects to get things fact-checked — but this person is hiding, making that very basic part of being a real writer impossible,” Grisham said.

On Wednesday, Kayleigh McEnany, the president’s current press secretary, called Taylor a “low-level, disgruntled former staffer,” adding that he “is a liar and a coward who chose anonymity over action and leaking over leading. He was ineffective and incompetent during his time as DHS chief of staff.”

McEnany said that “it is appalling a low-ranking official would be granted anonymity, and it is clear The New York Times is doing the bidding of Never-Trumpers and Democrats.”

In the book, Taylor said he decided to remain anonymous because he believed that revealing his identity would have allowed Trump and his allies to distract attention from the substance of the critique he leveled against the president.

“I have decided to publish this anonymously because this debate is not about me,” Taylor wrote. “Removing my identity from the equation deprives him of an opportunity to create a distraction. What will he do when there is no person to attack, only an idea?”

In his statement Wednesday, Taylor acknowledged that “some people consider it questionable to levy such serious charges against a sitting president under the cover of anonymity.” But he said he his decision was justified.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-polling-guru-who-forecasted-donald-trumps-2016-win-reveals-this-years-winner-338228">Also read|&nbsp;US election 2020: Polling guru who forecasted Donald Trump's 2016 win, reveals this year's winner</a>

“Issuing my critiques without attribution forced the president to answer them directly on their merits or not at all, rather than creating distractions through petty insults and name-calling,” Taylor wrote. “I wanted the attention to be on the arguments themselves. At the time I asked, ‘What will he do when there is no person to attack, only an idea?’ We got the answer. He became unhinged. And the ideas stood on their own two feet.”

Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokeswoman for The Times, said in a statement that “we take seriously our obligations to protect sources.”

She added: “Many important stories in sensitive areas like politics, national security and business could never be reported if our journalists violated that trust. In this case, however, the writer has personally waived our agreement to keep his identity confidential. We can confirm that he is the author of the Anonymous op-ed. We don’t plan to comment further.”

The book’s publisher, Sean Desmond of Twelve Books, said in a statement that the company was proud of the book, which he said “every day seems more and more prescient.”

He added, “Miles Taylor has been a great publishing partner, and we support him and the true act of political courage it took to tell his story.”

The publisher has said that Taylor declined to take any advance payment for writing it and has pledged to donate a large portion of any royalties to nonprofit organizations, including the White House Correspondents’ Association, the membership organization for reporters who cover the president.

Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, was the anonymous author of The New York Times op-ed article in 2018 whose description of President Donald Trump as “impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective” roiled Washington and set off a hunt for his identity, Taylor confirmed Wednesday.

Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, was the anonymous author of The New York Times op-ed article in 2018 whose description of President Donald Trump as “impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective” roiled Washington and set off a hunt for his identity, Taylor confirmed Wednesday. Taylor was also the anonymous author of “A Warning,” a book he wrote the following year that described the president as an “undisciplined” and “amoral” leader whose abuse of power threatened the foundations of American democracy. He acknowledged that he was the author of both the book and the opinion article in an interview and in a three-page statement he posted online. Taylor resigned from Homeland Security in June 2019 and went public with his criticism of Trump this past summer. He released a video just before the start of the Republican National Convention declaring that the president was unfit for office and endorsed Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee. But Taylor, who had repeatedly denied being Anonymous, did not reveal himself to be the author of the opinion article and book at the time. On Wednesday, Trump claimed not to know who Taylor is, despite the fact that there are numerous pictures of the president with Taylor in meetings. Also read| US Election 2020: American voters make history in early voting; more than 70 million cast ballots “Who is Miles Taylor? Said he was ‘anonymous’, but I don’t know him — never even heard of him,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Just another @nytimes SCAM — he worked in conjunction with them. Also worked for Big Tech’s @Google. Now works for Fake News @CNN. They should fire, shame, and punish everybody associated with this FRAUD on the American people!” The op-ed pages of The Times are managed separately from the news department, which was never told of Anonymous’ identity. Taylor served for two years as a top aide to Kirstjen Nielsen, Trump’s third homeland security secretary, and wrote in The Times that he was part of a cadre of officials around Trump who were quietly working to “frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.” As a senior administration official, Taylor often interacted with the president at the White House, particularly on issues related to immigration, cybersecurity and terrorism. He left government after Nielsen was fired and later became the head of national security relations for Google. He has been on personal leave from the company for the past several months after endorsing Biden and has been organizing other Republicans to campaign against Trump’s reelection. Also read| Donald Trump Vs Joe Biden: Which celebrity is backing whom in the US presidential elections “More than two years ago, I published an anonymous opinion piece in The New York Times about Donald Trump’s perilous presidency, while I was serving under him. He responded with a short but telling tweet: ‘TREASON?’” Taylor wrote in his statement. “When I left the administration, I wrote ‘A Warning,’ a character study of the current commander in chief and a caution to voters that it wasn’t as bad as it looked inside the Trump administration — it was worse,” he added. The disclosure of Taylor’s identity is likely to renew the debate over his mdotives and raise questions about whether his position in the Trump administration was senior enough to justify the decisions by The Times’ Opinion desk and the book’s publisher to keep his identity secret. As chief of staff to a Cabinet secretary, Taylor was one of the top political officials in the sprawling, 240,000-person department, with frequent access to Trump and other senior White House officials. At the time, The Times published the essay with a note that said: “The Times is taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay. We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers.” Taylor’s decision to assail the president anonymously in the Times article created a sensation in Washington because of its claims about the president’s lack of character and inability to govern. In the book, Taylor described Trump as a “12-year-old in an air traffic control tower, pushing the buttons of government indiscriminately, indifferent to the planes skidding across the runway.” Also read| US election 2020: Surge in 'can I change my vote'; Donald Trump says trend refers to him Taylor’s essay has had less impact over time as an array of onetime Trump administration officials have come forward with names attached to publicly criticize the president’s leadership and character, among them the former defense secretary, Jim Mattis, and Trump’s third national security adviser, John Bolton. But Taylor’s essay was among the first cracks in the White House defense and led to prolonged speculation about the writer’s identity, with readers pointing to specific passages in it as evidence of who must have been the author. The White House engaged in its own lengthy hunt to identify who had written the article. In the days after its publication, Trump declared that he wanted the attorney general at the time, Jeff Sessions, to find the writer, saying, “I would say Jeff should be investigating who the author of that piece was because I really believe it’s national security.” As late as November, the Justice Department demanded to know from the publisher of the forthcoming book whether the author had violated any confidentiality agreements related to classified information. The president last year called the author of the Times article a “gutless” bureaucrat and tweeted “TREASON?” In a statement ahead of the book’s publication last year, Stephanie Grisham, then the White House press secretary, called the author “a coward” who wrote a “work of fiction” filled with lies about the president. Also read| US election 2020: President Donald Trump's wildest prediction till date “Real authors reach out to their subjects to get things fact-checked — but this person is hiding, making that very basic part of being a real writer impossible,” Grisham said. On Wednesday, Kayleigh McEnany, the president’s current press secretary, called Taylor a “low-level, disgruntled former staffer,” adding that he “is a liar and a coward who chose anonymity over action and leaking over leading. He was ineffective and incompetent during his time as DHS chief of staff.” McEnany said that “it is appalling a low-ranking official would be granted anonymity, and it is clear The New York Times is doing the bidding of Never-Trumpers and Democrats.” In the book, Taylor said he decided to remain anonymous because he believed that revealing his identity would have allowed Trump and his allies to distract attention from the substance of the critique he leveled against the president. “I have decided to publish this anonymously because this debate is not about me,” Taylor wrote. “Removing my identity from the equation deprives him of an opportunity to create a distraction. What will he do when there is no person to attack, only an idea?” In his statement Wednesday, Taylor acknowledged that “some people consider it questionable to levy such serious charges against a sitting president under the cover of anonymity.” But he said he his decision was justified. Also read| US election 2020: Polling guru who forecasted Donald Trump's 2016 win, reveals this year's winner “Issuing my critiques without attribution forced the president to answer them directly on their merits or not at all, rather than creating distractions through petty insults and name-calling,” Taylor wrote. “I wanted the attention to be on the arguments themselves. At the time I asked, ‘What will he do when there is no person to attack, only an idea?’ We got the answer. He became unhinged. And the ideas stood on their own two feet.” Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokeswoman for The Times, said in a statement that “we take seriously our obligations to protect sources.” She added: “Many important stories in sensitive areas like politics, national security and business could never be reported if our journalists violated that trust. In this case, however, the writer has personally waived our agreement to keep his identity confidential. We can confirm that he is the author of the Anonymous op-ed. We don’t plan to comment further.” The book’s publisher, Sean Desmond of Twelve Books, said in a statement that the company was proud of the book, which he said “every day seems more and more prescient.” He added, “Miles Taylor has been a great publishing partner, and we support him and the true act of political courage it took to tell his story.” The publisher has said that Taylor declined to take any advance payment for writing it and has pledged to donate a large portion of any royalties to nonprofit organizations, including the White House Correspondents’ Association, the membership organization for reporters who cover the president.

Miles Taylor, a former Homeland security official, reveals he was ‘anonymous’

The COVID-19 pandemic is driving more Americans to vote by mail. At least 70 million Americans have already cast their ballots with a record number which keeps getting larger day by day. Watch the report to know, how is the vote counted on election night?

US Election 2020: How is the vote counted on election night?

There are just 6 days to go for US Presidential Election 2020 and early voting is taking pace at a historic pace. Number of votes cast has topped 70 million. This is more than half of the total early-voting turnout in the last election. It is as much a sign of how most Americans don't want to risk exposure to COVID-19 as it is of an intense fight between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

But do most Americans want to change their vote?&nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-can-americans-change-their-vote-338653/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Donald Trump says they do. He says most &nbsp;Americans want to change their vote to him after watching the final presidential debate

Strongly Trending (Google) since immediately after the second debate is CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE? This refers changing it to me. The answer in most states is YES. Go do it. Most important Election of your life!" he tweeted.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Strongly Trending (Google) since immediately after the second debate is CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE? This refers changing it to me. The answer in most states is YES. Go do it. Most important Election of your life!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1321042229838909441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

After advising people to vote twice, Trump now wants them to change their preference and vote again. In America, you can change your vote yes, but not in 'most states' as the US President suggests. Only a few handful of states have this option

How it works

Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Alaska and some counties in Connecticut explicitly allow voters to change their absentee ballot. In New York, there's no specific provision to correct a vote. Voters who have returned their absentee ballot can still vote in person on election day. But only in-person vote will be counted.

Everywhere else, once a vote is cast, it cannot be changed.&nbsp;

But do Americans really want to change their votes?

Trump says recent Google trends suggest they do. He says the topic was trending on Google after the final debate. After looking at Google's top trending searches Trump's claim does hold up to some extent at least. There has been a spike in 'can I change my vote' searches in last two weeks. But there is no way to know whether the spike is related either to the debate or to the fact that most people want to change their vote to Trump. It can hence be said that Donald Trump exaggerated.

Meanwhile, the shooting of a 27-year-old African American in Philadelphia has drawn fresh attention to police brutality. The entire incident has been caught on the video. The victim Walter Wallace was seen holding a knife in the encounter. The police say that they shot him because he refused to drop the weapon.

But for protesters, this was yet another act of racism and high-handedness of American police. America has gone back to the state it was in a few months back. There is violence, arson and loot. The US National Guard has been called in as Philadelphia braces for further unrest.

Six days to go for the presidential polls, and America is as divided as it was.

There are just 6 days to go for US Presidential Election 2020 and early voting is taking pace at a historic pace. Number of votes cast has topped 70 million. This is more than half of the total early-voting turnout in the last election.

There are just 6 days to go for US Presidential Election 2020 and early voting is taking pace at a historic pace. Number of votes cast has topped 70 million. This is more than half of the total early-voting turnout in the last election. It is as much a sign of how most Americans don't want to risk exposure to COVID-19 as it is of an intense fight between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. But do most Americans want to change their vote? Watch | Donald Trump says they do. He says most Americans want to change their vote to him after watching the final presidential debate Strongly Trending (Google) since immediately after the second debate is CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE? This refers changing it to me. The answer in most states is YES. Go do it. Most important Election of your life!" he tweeted. Strongly Trending (Google) since immediately after the second debate is CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE? This refers changing it to me. The answer in most states is YES. Go do it. Most important Election of your life! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 27, 2020 × After advising people to vote twice, Trump now wants them to change their preference and vote again. In America, you can change your vote yes, but not in 'most states' as the US President suggests. Only a few handful of states have this option How it works Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Alaska and some counties in Connecticut explicitly allow voters to change their absentee ballot. In New York, there's no specific provision to correct a vote. Voters who have returned their absentee ballot can still vote in person on election day. But only in-person vote will be counted. Everywhere else, once a vote is cast, it cannot be changed. But do Americans really want to change their votes? Trump says recent Google trends suggest they do. He says the topic was trending on Google after the final debate. After looking at Google's top trending searches Trump's claim does hold up to some extent at least. There has been a spike in 'can I change my vote' searches in last two weeks. But there is no way to know whether the spike is related either to the debate or to the fact that most people want to change their vote to Trump. It can hence be said that Donald Trump exaggerated. Meanwhile, the shooting of a 27-year-old African American in Philadelphia has drawn fresh attention to police brutality. The entire incident has been caught on the video. The victim Walter Wallace was seen holding a knife in the encounter. The police say that they shot him because he refused to drop the weapon. But for protesters, this was yet another act of racism and high-handedness of American police. America has gone back to the state it was in a few months back. There is violence, arson and loot. The US National Guard has been called in as Philadelphia braces for further unrest. Six days to go for the presidential polls, and America is as divided as it was.

US Elections 2020: Do most Americans want to change their vote?

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/general-bajwa-quivering-qureshi-said-india-will-attack-if-abhinandan-not-released-pakistan-mp-recalls-338667">General Bajwa quivering, Qureshi said India will attack if Abhinandan not released: Pakistan MP recalls</a>

<img src="https://cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/styles/story_page/public/2019/03/02/85529-untitled-design-7.jpg?itok=fEUzxZt2" /> 
A Pakistan politician claimed that fearing an attack by India, the Imran Khan Government had abruptly released Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-joe-biden-and-wife-jill-biden-cast-early-vote-in-wilmington-days-before-us-election-338663">Joe Biden and wife, Jill Biden, cast an early vote in Wilmington days before US Election</a>

<img src="https://cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/styles/story_page/public/2020/10/29/167153-joe-biden-casts-early-vote.jpg?itok=aDng4tqw" /> 
Less than a week away from the US elections 2020, the Democrat candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden cast an early vote with his wife, Jill Biden, in his home town of Wilmington, Delaware on Wednesday.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/war-torn-yemen-on-brink-of-losing-an-entire-generation-of-children-to-hunger-un-338662">War-torn Yemen on brink of losing an entire generation of children to hunger: UN</a>

<img src="https://cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/styles/story_page/public/2020/07/03/148002-yemen-humanitarian-crisis.jpg?itok=0cz8vT9u" /> 
Conflict-ravaged Yemen has become a "living hell" for children with thousands dying every year from malnutrition and easily preventable diseases. 
&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/azerbaijan-says-21-killed-by-armenian-shelling-of-barda-338679/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo">&nbsp;</div>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/mike-pompeo-china-brought-lawlessness-to-maldives-338668/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

General Bajwa quivering, Qureshi said India will attack if Abhinandan not released: Pakistan MP recalls A Pakistan politician claimed that fearing an attack by India, the Imran Khan Government had abruptly released Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

General Bajwa quivering, Qureshi said India will attack if Abhinandan not released: Pakistan MP recalls A Pakistan politician claimed that fearing an attack by India, the Imran Khan Government had abruptly released Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. Joe Biden and wife, Jill Biden, cast an early vote in Wilmington days before US Election Less than a week away from the US elections 2020, the Democrat candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden cast an early vote with his wife, Jill Biden, in his home town of Wilmington, Delaware on Wednesday. War-torn Yemen on brink of losing an entire generation of children to hunger: UN Conflict-ravaged Yemen has become a "living hell" for children with thousands dying every year from malnutrition and easily preventable diseases.

Morning news brief: India-Pakistan dogfight, US election and more

Millions of Americans will turn on their television, pull up their twitter apps & log on to new websites for #Election2020 updates. But the eager anticipation might end up in disappointment due to an unprecedented delay. WION reports.

US Election 2020: Unprecedented delay in election outcome

Donald Trump wants a winner announced on election night; Donald Trump's team posts an ad declaring Trump won; Facebook deletes the ad; Trump wants to hold election night party. With so much demand for a result on the election night, will the delay lead to a murky post-poll scenario?

US Election 2020: Concerns over declaring election winner

With the senate Judiciary committee grilling the chiefs of Facebook, Google & Twitter, Mark Zuckerberg have defended the law protecting internet companies. To avoid a repeat of 2016 election fiasco, Facebook has deployed tools for the most contentious elections in America.

US Election 2020: Social media braces for election chaos

The shooting of a 27-year-old African-American in Philadelphia has drawn fresh attention to the fatal use of police force & racial injustice. Protests turned violent & businesses ruined. With just 6 days to election, focus remains on the swing state of Pennsylvania

US Election 2020: Shooting & violence a week before election

The final lap of #USElection cycle witnesses an action-packed campaign rallies. Donald Trump's team & Joe Biden's team have spread out across the swing states to address voters. Melania Trump is the new addition to the U.S. Rally round-up.

US Election 2020: Campaign teams spread out in swing states

Experts say that polarisation in the U.S. has spread beyond policies to more fundamental political disagreements. 'Lock her up' chants from 2016 has found its way to almost all Donald Trump's rivals in 2020. WION reports some usual & unusual voter appeals by The President.

US Election 2020: China, woman president & suburban women

6 days to go for USElection2020 and there's a big debate on whether Americans can change their vote. Donald trump says most Americans want to vote again after watching the last Presidential Debate.

Gravitas: Can Americans change their vote?

The Palestinians are counting on a Trump defeat on Tuesday. They don’t even want to think about Plan B.

An end to the Trump administration would give the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, a face-saving chance to reverse a self-inflicted economic hardship that has been punishing his people for months.

Fearing Israeli annexation of West Bank land the Palestinians have counted on for a future state, Abbas, in a bitter protest, stopped accepting transfers of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes that Israel collects on the Palestinian Authority’s behalf. That forced painful salary cuts for tens of thousands of civil servants.

But former Vice President Joe Biden has made clear that he opposes Israeli annexation of land Palestinians want for a future state, and Israel has said it would not proceed without U.S. support. So a Biden victory would provide Abbas with “a ladder to climb down from the tree,” said Jehad Harb, a Palestinian political analyst in Ramallah. He could declare annexation dead and go back to accepting the tax transfers.

Isolated diplomatically and running out of money, plagued by old internal ideological divisions and by new threats like the coronavirus, the Palestinians are looking to Tuesday’s election more desperate than ever for a change in Washington. At the same time, senior members of Abbas’ Fatah party are increasingly looking ahead to his eventual exit from the stage and positioning themselves to try to succeed him.

Above all, Abbas, 84, and his lieutenants are counting on a President Biden to shelve the Trump administration’s lopsidedly pro-Israel plan for resolving the conflict. They are expecting a return to U.S. support for a two-state solution that Palestinians would consider viable. They are hoping for a thaw with the White House and wishing for the reinstatement of at least some financial aid.

Rolling back other moves by Trump, however, would be more complicated, like reopening a Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington. And Biden has already ruled out undoing Trump’s move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

Should Trump win a second term, the Palestinians see no good options.

In a second term, Trump administration officials have vowed to press to make their Mideast plan, which contemplates Israeli annexation of much of the West Bank, a basis for resolving the decades-old conflict.

And they have promised to complete more normalization deals for Israel with Arab countries like those with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, which shredded the decades-old Arab solidarity that had underpinned the Palestinian national strategy: No recognition of Israel before the creation of a Palestinian state.

But if Abbas is anxiously waiting to see whether Trump leaves office, nearly everyone around him is looking ahead to the day after Abbas makes his own exit. Senior members of his party are throwing elbows at one another while courting publicity for their own efforts at diplomacy, technocratic governance or popular protest.

“The ship is sinking, and everyone is fighting over the first-class cabin,” said Ghaith al-Omari, a former adviser to Abbas.

People around Abbas say he has even become fearful that the United States, Israel and their newly emboldened allies in the Arab world might plot to engineer his replacement — a concern rekindled by a recent interview with Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi spy chief and diplomat, on Saudi state television.

“With those people,” Bandar said, referring to the Palestinian leadership, “it’s hard to trust them or to think you can do something to serve Palestine in their presence.”

Ultimately, many analysts say, Abbas may have to eat crow and reengage the Trump administration, ideally with some sort of face-saving diplomatic cover like the intervention of a multilateral institution.

For now, though, he has tried to create at least the appearance of other options.

Suddenly something of an outcast among his traditional Arab allies in Egypt and the Gulf, he sought to send them a message — albeit one that few have accepted at face value — by flirting with Turkey and Qatar, bitter regional and ideological rivals of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

Abbas revived the idea of reconciling with Hamas, the militant Islamic group that rules the Gaza Strip. And he promised to call new elections in both the West Bank and Gaza as a way to reunify the Palestinians, renew his legitimacy and hamper any effort to oust him.

But few see these as serious options. Abbas is deeply mistrustful of Hamas, which is allied with Turkey and Qatar, and fearful that it could win control of the West Bank in new elections.

“Hot air,” said Mouin Rabbani, an expert on Palestinian politics, describing what he thought the end result of Abbas’ unity and elections bid would be.

Difficult as it may be to believe now, Abbas was quite optimistic about the Trump administration in its first few months, when the new president surprised many in the region by expressing interest in settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict once and for all.

But those hopes were quickly dashed, and the administration’s treatment of the Palestinians became a growing nightmare of aid cuts, affronts and insults.

Upending long-standing U.S. positions on Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, settlements and other highly contentious aspects of the conflict, the administration seemed to go out of its way to take Israel’s side and undercut the Palestinians — infuriating Abbas, weakening his authority and isolating him diplomatically.

But even if Biden is elected, it will be difficult to undo much of what Trump has done.

Allowing the reopening of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s diplomatic mission in Washington or restoring much of the aid to projects that directly benefited the Palestinian Authority would require Biden to overcome a number of legal obstacles, some of which might require congressional approval.

And reestablishing the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, which until 2019 functioned as the U.S. diplomatic mission to the Palestinians, would require Israel’s permission — something it may not be too quick to grant in a city that Trump himself formally recognized as Israel’s capital.

“These are all possible, but they would require heavy political lifting,” said Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace and an expert on the role of Congress in the region.

What Abbas may wish for most — that Biden would prioritize the Palestinian cause, pressure Israel to make concessions and even move the U.S. Embassy back to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem — seems highly unlikely at best.

Biden has made clear he has many higher priorities, beginning with the coronavirus pandemic. He has signaled that he does not want to clash with the Israeli government.

“The idea that everything will go back to the way it was before is somewhat of a fairy tale,” Rabbani said.

None of Abbas’ would-be successors are articulating a bold change in strategy either. But such ideas do exist outside of the Palestinian leadership.

Some Palestinians support renewed efforts to revive negotiations with Israel. Others want the Palestinian Authority to dissolve itself, forcing Israel to take responsibility for their lives and absorb the heavy financial and societal costs of a full-blown, direct military occupation, even in densely populated West Bank cities where Palestinians now generally govern themselves.

And fully 26% of Palestinians in the West Bank, according to a new poll, favor a return to an armed struggle against Israel.

A smaller but growing number of activists have tried to build interest in a peaceful protest movement.

Still, with Israeli politics moving rightward, many on the West Bank see little reason for optimism.

Khalil al-Arda, 52, a member of the municipal council in the village of Arraba, near Jenin, said he feared the status quo would never improve.

“I feel like we’re in a very dark tunnel with no light at the end,” he said.

The Palestinians are counting on a Trump defeat on Tuesday. They don’t even want to think about Plan B. An end to the Trump administration would give the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, a face-saving chance to reverse a self-inflicted economic hardship that has been punishing his people for months.

The Palestinians are counting on a Trump defeat on Tuesday. They don’t even want to think about Plan B. An end to the Trump administration would give the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, a face-saving chance to reverse a self-inflicted economic hardship that has been punishing his people for months. Fearing Israeli annexation of West Bank land the Palestinians have counted on for a future state, Abbas, in a bitter protest, stopped accepting transfers of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes that Israel collects on the Palestinian Authority’s behalf. That forced painful salary cuts for tens of thousands of civil servants. But former Vice President Joe Biden has made clear that he opposes Israeli annexation of land Palestinians want for a future state, and Israel has said it would not proceed without U.S. support. So a Biden victory would provide Abbas with “a ladder to climb down from the tree,” said Jehad Harb, a Palestinian political analyst in Ramallah. He could declare annexation dead and go back to accepting the tax transfers. Isolated diplomatically and running out of money, plagued by old internal ideological divisions and by new threats like the coronavirus, the Palestinians are looking to Tuesday’s election more desperate than ever for a change in Washington. At the same time, senior members of Abbas’ Fatah party are increasingly looking ahead to his eventual exit from the stage and positioning themselves to try to succeed him. Above all, Abbas, 84, and his lieutenants are counting on a President Biden to shelve the Trump administration’s lopsidedly pro-Israel plan for resolving the conflict. They are expecting a return to U.S. support for a two-state solution that Palestinians would consider viable. They are hoping for a thaw with the White House and wishing for the reinstatement of at least some financial aid. Rolling back other moves by Trump, however, would be more complicated, like reopening a Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington. And Biden has already ruled out undoing Trump’s move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. Should Trump win a second term, the Palestinians see no good options. In a second term, Trump administration officials have vowed to press to make their Mideast plan, which contemplates Israeli annexation of much of the West Bank, a basis for resolving the decades-old conflict. And they have promised to complete more normalization deals for Israel with Arab countries like those with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, which shredded the decades-old Arab solidarity that had underpinned the Palestinian national strategy: No recognition of Israel before the creation of a Palestinian state. But if Abbas is anxiously waiting to see whether Trump leaves office, nearly everyone around him is looking ahead to the day after Abbas makes his own exit. Senior members of his party are throwing elbows at one another while courting publicity for their own efforts at diplomacy, technocratic governance or popular protest. “The ship is sinking, and everyone is fighting over the first-class cabin,” said Ghaith al-Omari, a former adviser to Abbas. People around Abbas say he has even become fearful that the United States, Israel and their newly emboldened allies in the Arab world might plot to engineer his replacement — a concern rekindled by a recent interview with Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi spy chief and diplomat, on Saudi state television. “With those people,” Bandar said, referring to the Palestinian leadership, “it’s hard to trust them or to think you can do something to serve Palestine in their presence.” Ultimately, many analysts say, Abbas may have to eat crow and reengage the Trump administration, ideally with some sort of face-saving diplomatic cover like the intervention of a multilateral institution. For now, though, he has tried to create at least the appearance of other options. Suddenly something of an outcast among his traditional Arab allies in Egypt and the Gulf, he sought to send them a message — albeit one that few have accepted at face value — by flirting with Turkey and Qatar, bitter regional and ideological rivals of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Abbas revived the idea of reconciling with Hamas, the militant Islamic group that rules the Gaza Strip. And he promised to call new elections in both the West Bank and Gaza as a way to reunify the Palestinians, renew his legitimacy and hamper any effort to oust him. But few see these as serious options. Abbas is deeply mistrustful of Hamas, which is allied with Turkey and Qatar, and fearful that it could win control of the West Bank in new elections. “Hot air,” said Mouin Rabbani, an expert on Palestinian politics, describing what he thought the end result of Abbas’ unity and elections bid would be. Difficult as it may be to believe now, Abbas was quite optimistic about the Trump administration in its first few months, when the new president surprised many in the region by expressing interest in settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict once and for all. But those hopes were quickly dashed, and the administration’s treatment of the Palestinians became a growing nightmare of aid cuts, affronts and insults. Upending long-standing U.S. positions on Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, settlements and other highly contentious aspects of the conflict, the administration seemed to go out of its way to take Israel’s side and undercut the Palestinians — infuriating Abbas, weakening his authority and isolating him diplomatically. But even if Biden is elected, it will be difficult to undo much of what Trump has done. Allowing the reopening of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s diplomatic mission in Washington or restoring much of the aid to projects that directly benefited the Palestinian Authority would require Biden to overcome a number of legal obstacles, some of which might require congressional approval. And reestablishing the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, which until 2019 functioned as the U.S. diplomatic mission to the Palestinians, would require Israel’s permission — something it may not be too quick to grant in a city that Trump himself formally recognized as Israel’s capital. “These are all possible, but they would require heavy political lifting,” said Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace and an expert on the role of Congress in the region. What Abbas may wish for most — that Biden would prioritize the Palestinian cause, pressure Israel to make concessions and even move the U.S. Embassy back to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem — seems highly unlikely at best. Biden has made clear he has many higher priorities, beginning with the coronavirus pandemic. He has signaled that he does not want to clash with the Israeli government. “The idea that everything will go back to the way it was before is somewhat of a fairy tale,” Rabbani said. None of Abbas’ would-be successors are articulating a bold change in strategy either. But such ideas do exist outside of the Palestinian leadership. Some Palestinians support renewed efforts to revive negotiations with Israel. Others want the Palestinian Authority to dissolve itself, forcing Israel to take responsibility for their lives and absorb the heavy financial and societal costs of a full-blown, direct military occupation, even in densely populated West Bank cities where Palestinians now generally govern themselves. And fully 26% of Palestinians in the West Bank, according to a new poll, favor a return to an armed struggle against Israel. A smaller but growing number of activists have tried to build interest in a peaceful protest movement. Still, with Israeli politics moving rightward, many on the West Bank see little reason for optimism. Khalil al-Arda, 52, a member of the municipal council in the village of Arraba, near Jenin, said he feared the status quo would never improve. “I feel like we’re in a very dark tunnel with no light at the end,” he said.

Palestinian leaders are banking on Biden win next week

With less than a week before Election Day, President Donald Trump held an in-person campaign rally in Goodyear, Arizona, on Wednesday (October 28) despite a U.S. surge in COVID-19 cases and criticism he is prioritizing his re-election above the health of his supporters.

Trump predicts no Thanksgiving if Biden wins, at rally in Arizona

A research group has revealed that the upcoming <a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">US election</a> of the year 2020 will be one of the most expensive elections in the history of American politics as the total expenditure can reach $14 billion approximately.

The Center for Responsive Politics has revealed that this election cycle is one of the most expensive elections and it is already twice as expensive as the 2016 elections which saw <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;and Hillary Clinton rally against each other.

As per the study, the Democrat candidate and former Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;will be the first contestant to raise nearly (or more than) $1 billion from his donors. Biden's campaign raised a record-breaking figure of $938 million through October 14, whereas Trump's campaign managed to raise $596 million.

"Even amid a pandemic, everyone is giving more in 2020, from ordinary individuals making small donations to billionaires cutting eight-figure checks to super PACs."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-joe-biden-and-wife-jill-biden-cast-early-vote-in-wilmington-days-before-us-election-338663">Also read|&nbsp;Joe Biden and wife, Jill Biden, cast early vote in Wilmington days before US Election</a>

"Women are smashing donation records, and Americans are increasingly donating to candidates who aren't running for office in their state," it said in a statement.

The Center for Responsive Politics has claimed that an "extraordinary influx" of political donations in the final months has&nbsp;pushed the total spending&nbsp;in the elections well past the earlier estimated figure of $11 billion. The shift is being assumed to be a result of&nbsp;the Supreme Court battle and closely watched races for the White House and Senate.

Spendings this year will be more than the expenditure incurred in the last two elections combined, which is not something that the experts would have expected due to the pandemic. "Donors poured record amounts of money into the 2018 midterms, and 2020 appears to be a continuation of that trend - but magnified," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics.

"Ten years ago, a billion-dollar presidential candidate would have been difficult to imagine. This cycle, we're likely to see two," Krumholz said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-american-voters-make-history-more-than-70-million-cast-ballots-338468">Also read|&nbsp;US Election 2020: American voters make history in early voting; more than 70 million cast ballots</a>

A majority of the spendings have come from wealthy national groups, and have majorly funded Biden instead of the current President Donald Trump.&nbsp;In the month of October alone, outside spending by super PACs and other big-money groups totalled nearly $1.2 billion.

"Their money machine is more powerful than ever in 2020," the Center said.

It is not just the wealthy groups that have donated money this election, the small-size groups have donated more this election cycle when compared to the other years. Joe Biden got donations of nearly $1.7 billion whereas the Republicans gained $1 billion from small groups. Overall, small donors account for 22 per cent of the money raised in the 2020 cycle. These individual donors giving USD 200 or less only accounted for 15 per cent of the money raised in the 2016 election.

In an interesting observation, more than 1.5 million women have donated to federal committees driving an increase of 37 per cent from the 2016 election — accounting for a total of 44 per cent of all donors.

The study also revealed that the Trump administration has failed to keep their old supporters in their corner as the majority of the leading industries have shifted over to Democrats' side, except fpr real estate which still favours Trump over Biden.&nbsp;

A research group has revealed that the upcoming US election of the year 2020 will be one of the most expensive elections in the history of American politics as the total expenditure can reach $14 billion approximately.

A research group has revealed that the upcoming US election of the year 2020 will be one of the most expensive elections in the history of American politics as the total expenditure can reach $14 billion approximately. The Center for Responsive Politics has revealed that this election cycle is one of the most expensive elections and it is already twice as expensive as the 2016 elections which saw Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton rally against each other. As per the study, the Democrat candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden will be the first contestant to raise nearly (or more than) $1 billion from his donors. Biden's campaign raised a record-breaking figure of $938 million through October 14, whereas Trump's campaign managed to raise $596 million. "Even amid a pandemic, everyone is giving more in 2020, from ordinary individuals making small donations to billionaires cutting eight-figure checks to super PACs." Also read| Joe Biden and wife, Jill Biden, cast early vote in Wilmington days before US Election "Women are smashing donation records, and Americans are increasingly donating to candidates who aren't running for office in their state," it said in a statement. The Center for Responsive Politics has claimed that an "extraordinary influx" of political donations in the final months has pushed the total spending in the elections well past the earlier estimated figure of $11 billion. The shift is being assumed to be a result of the Supreme Court battle and closely watched races for the White House and Senate. Spendings this year will be more than the expenditure incurred in the last two elections combined, which is not something that the experts would have expected due to the pandemic. "Donors poured record amounts of money into the 2018 midterms, and 2020 appears to be a continuation of that trend - but magnified," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "Ten years ago, a billion-dollar presidential candidate would have been difficult to imagine. This cycle, we're likely to see two," Krumholz said. Also read| US Election 2020: American voters make history in early voting; more than 70 million cast ballots A majority of the spendings have come from wealthy national groups, and have majorly funded Biden instead of the current President Donald Trump. In the month of October alone, outside spending by super PACs and other big-money groups totalled nearly $1.2 billion. "Their money machine is more powerful than ever in 2020," the Center said. It is not just the wealthy groups that have donated money this election, the small-size groups have donated more this election cycle when compared to the other years. Joe Biden got donations of nearly $1.7 billion whereas the Republicans gained $1 billion from small groups. Overall, small donors account for 22 per cent of the money raised in the 2020 cycle. These individual donors giving USD 200 or less only accounted for 15 per cent of the money raised in the 2016 election. In an interesting observation, more than 1.5 million women have donated to federal committees driving an increase of 37 per cent from the 2016 election — accounting for a total of 44 per cent of all donors. The study also revealed that the Trump administration has failed to keep their old supporters in their corner as the majority of the leading industries have shifted over to Democrats' side, except fpr real estate which still favours Trump over Biden.

US election 2020 the most expensive in American history: Study

The Trump administration has proposed to scrap the computerised lottery system to grant H-1B work visas to foreign technology professionals and replace it with a wage-level-based selection process, a move that is expected to counter the downward pressure on the wages of US workers.

A notification on the new system is being published in the Federal Register on Thursday. Stakeholders have 30 days to respond to the notification, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday, less than a week before the US presidential election.

Replacing the computerised draw of lots to decide on the successful H-1B applicants, the DHS said it is expected to help counter the downward pressure on the wages of American workers that is created by an annual influx of relatively lower-paid, new cap-subject H-1B workers.

The H-1B visa, most sought-after among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

If finalised as proposed, US Citizenship and Immigration Services would first select registrations (or petitions, if the registration process is suspended) generally based on the highest Occupational Employment Statistics prevailing wage level that the offered wage equals or exceeds for the relevant Standard Occupational Classification code and areas of intended employment.

"Prioritisation and selection based on wage levels better balances the interests of petitioners, H-1B workers, and U.S. Workers,"&nbsp;the DHS said.

"With this proposed rule, the Trump administration is continuing to deliver on its promise to protect the American worker while strengthening the economy. The H-1B programme is often exploited and abused by U.S. Employers, and their U.S. Clients, primarily seeking to hire foreign workers and pay lower wages,"&nbsp;said Acting DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli.

US President Donald Trump, keen to regulate the country's immigration policies, on June 22, signed the executive order temporarily banning issuing fresh H-1B and L-1 visas till December 31. Reforming America's immigration regime is a major election promise of the Republican leader under his America First policy.

"The current use of random selection to allocate H-1B visas makes it harder for businesses to plan their hiring, fails to leverage the H-1B programme to truly compete for the world's best and brightest, and hurts American workers by bringing in relatively lower-paid foreign labour at the expense of the American workforce," Cuccinelli said.

According to the DHS, modifying the H-1B cap selection process by replacing the random selection process with a wage-level-based selection process is a better way to allocate H-1Bs when demand exceeds supply.

This new selection process would incentivise employers to offer higher wages or petition for positions requiring higher skills and higher-skilled workers instead of using the programme to fill relatively lower-paid vacancies.

The proposed changes would maintain the effective and efficient administration of the H-1B cap selection process while providing some prospective petitioners the ability to potentially improve their chance of selection by agreeing to pay H-1B beneficiaries higher wages that equal or exceed higher prevailing wage levels, it said.

This is necessary to further the administration's goal of prioritising H-1B cap-subject registrations for petitioners seeking to employ higher-skilled and higher paid workers, which is more aligned with the general congressional intent for the H-1B programme, the DHS said.

According to the federal notification, prioritising wage levels in the registration selection process incentivises employers to offer higher wages, or to petition for positions requiring higher skills that commensurate with higher wage levels, to increase the likelihood of selection for an eventual petition.

Similarly, it disincentivises abuse of the H-1B programme to fill lower-paid, lower-skilled positions, which is a significant problem under the present selection system. With limited exceptions, H-1B petitioners are not required to demonstrate a labour shortage as a prerequisite for obtaining H-1B workers, it said.

The number of H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those filed for the advanced degree exemption, has frequently exceeded the annual H-1B numerical allocations. 
For at least the last decade, USCIS has received more H-1B petitions than the annual H-1B numerical allocation in those respective years.

Since the fiscal 2014 cap season (April 2013), USCIS has received more H-1B petitions (or registrations) in the first five days of filing (or the initial registration period) than the annual H-1B numerical allocations.

The Trump administration has proposed to scrap the computerised lottery system to grant H-1B work visas to foreign technology professionals and replace it with a wage-level-based selection process, a move that is expected to counter the downward pressure on the wages of US workers.

The Trump administration has proposed to scrap the computerised lottery system to grant H-1B work visas to foreign technology professionals and replace it with a wage-level-based selection process, a move that is expected to counter the downward pressure on the wages of US workers. A notification on the new system is being published in the Federal Register on Thursday. Stakeholders have 30 days to respond to the notification, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday, less than a week before the US presidential election. Replacing the computerised draw of lots to decide on the successful H-1B applicants, the DHS said it is expected to help counter the downward pressure on the wages of American workers that is created by an annual influx of relatively lower-paid, new cap-subject H-1B workers. The H-1B visa, most sought-after among Indian IT professionals, is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. If finalised as proposed, US Citizenship and Immigration Services would first select registrations (or petitions, if the registration process is suspended) generally based on the highest Occupational Employment Statistics prevailing wage level that the offered wage equals or exceeds for the relevant Standard Occupational Classification code and areas of intended employment. "Prioritisation and selection based on wage levels better balances the interests of petitioners, H-1B workers, and U.S. Workers," the DHS said. "With this proposed rule, the Trump administration is continuing to deliver on its promise to protect the American worker while strengthening the economy. The H-1B programme is often exploited and abused by U.S. Employers, and their U.S. Clients, primarily seeking to hire foreign workers and pay lower wages," said Acting DHS Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli. US President Donald Trump, keen to regulate the country's immigration policies, on June 22, signed the executive order temporarily banning issuing fresh H-1B and L-1 visas till December 31. Reforming America's immigration regime is a major election promise of the Republican leader under his America First policy. "The current use of random selection to allocate H-1B visas makes it harder for businesses to plan their hiring, fails to leverage the H-1B programme to truly compete for the world's best and brightest, and hurts American workers by bringing in relatively lower-paid foreign labour at the expense of the American workforce," Cuccinelli said. According to the DHS, modifying the H-1B cap selection process by replacing the random selection process with a wage-level-based selection process is a better way to allocate H-1Bs when demand exceeds supply. This new selection process would incentivise employers to offer higher wages or petition for positions requiring higher skills and higher-skilled workers instead of using the programme to fill relatively lower-paid vacancies. The proposed changes would maintain the effective and efficient administration of the H-1B cap selection process while providing some prospective petitioners the ability to potentially improve their chance of selection by agreeing to pay H-1B beneficiaries higher wages that equal or exceed higher prevailing wage levels, it said. This is necessary to further the administration's goal of prioritising H-1B cap-subject registrations for petitioners seeking to employ higher-skilled and higher paid workers, which is more aligned with the general congressional intent for the H-1B programme, the DHS said. According to the federal notification, prioritising wage levels in the registration selection process incentivises employers to offer higher wages, or to petition for positions requiring higher skills that commensurate with higher wage levels, to increase the likelihood of selection for an eventual petition. Similarly, it disincentivises abuse of the H-1B programme to fill lower-paid, lower-skilled positions, which is a significant problem under the present selection system. With limited exceptions, H-1B petitioners are not required to demonstrate a labour shortage as a prerequisite for obtaining H-1B workers, it said. The number of H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those filed for the advanced degree exemption, has frequently exceeded the annual H-1B numerical allocations. For at least the last decade, USCIS has received more H-1B petitions than the annual H-1B numerical allocation in those respective years. Since the fiscal 2014 cap season (April 2013), USCIS has received more H-1B petitions (or registrations) in the first five days of filing (or the initial registration period) than the annual H-1B numerical allocations.

Trump admin proposes to scrap computerised lottery system to select H-1B visas

Several polls and studies have tried to predict the winner of the upcoming <a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">US election 2020</a>, which are to be held on November 03. While some are studying the shift in the political environment in several <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-vs-joe-biden-swing-states-and-their-role-in-us-election-2020-338559">swing states</a>, some are turning towards astrologers for answers.

Several organisations are now conducting independent polls to predict the next President of the United States. And as per a poll conducted by the American media house, CNN, the Democrat candidate and former Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;is still the frontrunner against the Republican candidate and current President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>.

The poll revealed that among the registered voters and the participants,&nbsp;54 per cent back Biden and 42 per cent Trump,&nbsp;matching several other opinion polls and predictions made by different organisations and individuals.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-joe-biden-and-wife-jill-biden-cast-early-vote-in-wilmington-days-before-us-election-338663">Also read|&nbsp;Joe Biden and wife, Jill Biden, cast early vote in Wilmington days before US Election</a>

This poll was conducted by CNN with&nbsp;SSRS, an independent research company. In this poll, nearly 1,005 American voters were approached and questioned between October 23-26, 2020. The interviews were conducted through telephone.

As per the results, among those who have voted,&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;leads by&nbsp;64 per cent to 34 per cent votes for&nbsp;Trump. The category of people who were yet to vote, at the time of being interviewed, also favoured Biden&nbsp;with 63 per cent lead&nbsp;and Trump lagging behind with 33 per cent.

However, a shift in results is seen in the category of the voters who plan to vote on November 03 with Trump leading with&nbsp;59 per cent, and&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;securing only 36 per cent voters' attention.

When the voter category is shifted to demographics of women versus men, women are still preferring the Democrats by 61 per cent and only&nbsp;37 per cent women supporting Republicans — with women of colour favouring Biden by 77 per cent and 54&nbsp;per cent&nbsp;white women also giving votes to Biden.&nbsp;Men, on the other hand, have a very small difference between the two leaders with Trump leading the race with 48 per cent and Biden matching up with 47 per cent — with men of colour giving a lead to&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;by&nbsp;64 per cent but white men favouring&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;with 56 per cent.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-american-voters-make-history-more-than-70-million-cast-ballots-338468">Also read|&nbsp;US Election 2020: American voters make history in early voting; more than 70 million cast ballots</a>

Another interesting observation made in this poll has been that American voters with college degrees, and higher, are favouring&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;whereas people without degrees are split evenly. Similarly,&nbsp;49 per cent white women without college degrees&nbsp;favour Biden and same with&nbsp;Trump.

Nearly 48 per cent of&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;supporters have also revealed that their vote is mainly a vote against the current President rather than a vote in favour of&nbsp;Joe Biden.&nbsp;On the other hand,&nbsp;79 per cent&nbsp;trump&nbsp;supporters have said their vote is in favour of the President rather than against his rival.

Overall,&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;is still leading the polls for the upcoming US election 2020, but&nbsp;Trump,&nbsp;too, can gain the lead if the political environment in the country keeps shifting. The final result of the elections will be revealed a little later than the estimated time period due to the majority votes being cast by mail-in.&nbsp;

Several polls and studies have tried to predict the winner of the upcoming US election 2020, which are to be held on November 03. While some are studying the shift in the political environment in several swing states, some are turning towards astrologers for answers.

Several polls and studies have tried to predict the winner of the upcoming US election 2020, which are to be held on November 03. While some are studying the shift in the political environment in several swing states, some are turning towards astrologers for answers. Several organisations are now conducting independent polls to predict the next President of the United States. And as per a poll conducted by the American media house, CNN, the Democrat candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden is still the frontrunner against the Republican candidate and current President Donald Trump. The poll revealed that among the registered voters and the participants, 54 per cent back Biden and 42 per cent Trump, matching several other opinion polls and predictions made by different organisations and individuals. Also read| Joe Biden and wife, Jill Biden, cast early vote in Wilmington days before US Election This poll was conducted by CNN with SSRS, an independent research company. In this poll, nearly 1,005 American voters were approached and questioned between October 23-26, 2020. The interviews were conducted through telephone. As per the results, among those who have voted, Biden leads by 64 per cent to 34 per cent votes for Trump. The category of people who were yet to vote, at the time of being interviewed, also favoured Biden with 63 per cent lead and Trump lagging behind with 33 per cent. However, a shift in results is seen in the category of the voters who plan to vote on November 03 with Trump leading with 59 per cent, and Biden securing only 36 per cent voters' attention. When the voter category is shifted to demographics of women versus men, women are still preferring the Democrats by 61 per cent and only 37 per cent women supporting Republicans — with women of colour favouring Biden by 77 per cent and 54 per cent white women also giving votes to Biden. Men, on the other hand, have a very small difference between the two leaders with Trump leading the race with 48 per cent and Biden matching up with 47 per cent — with men of colour giving a lead to Biden by 64 per cent but white men favouring Trump with 56 per cent. Also read| US Election 2020: American voters make history in early voting; more than 70 million cast ballots Another interesting observation made in this poll has been that American voters with college degrees, and higher, are favouring Biden whereas people without degrees are split evenly. Similarly, 49 per cent white women without college degrees favour Biden and same with Trump. Nearly 48 per cent of Biden supporters have also revealed that their vote is mainly a vote against the current President rather than a vote in favour of Joe Biden. On the other hand, 79 per cent trump supporters have said their vote is in favour of the President rather than against his rival. Overall, Biden is still leading the polls for the upcoming US election 2020, but Trump, too, can gain the lead if the political environment in the country keeps shifting. The final result of the elections will be revealed a little later than the estimated time period due to the majority votes being cast by mail-in.

Joe Biden leading in US Election 2020 against Donald Trump: Survey

In a lightning-fast senate approval, Amy Coney Barrett has been confirmed to the Supreme Court. Handing a pre-poll SCOTUS victory to Donald Trump. For the first time in 151 years, a justice got confirmed without a single support from minority party. What next?

Amy Coney Barrett joins the Supreme Court | U.S. Election 2020 New York Direct

The financial crisis was in full swing when Donald Trump traveled to Chicago in late September 2008 to mark the near-completion of his 92-floor skyscraper.

The fortunes of big companies, small businesses, and millions of Americans — including the Trumps — were in peril. But the family patriarch was jubilant as he stood on the terrace of his gleaming glass tower.

“We’re in love with the building,” Trump gushed. “We’re very, very happy with what’s happened with respect to this building and how fast we put it up.”

He and his family hoped the Trump International Hotel &amp;amp; Tower would cement their company’s reputation as one of the world’s marquee developers of luxury real estate.

Instead, the skyscraper became another disappointment in a portfolio filled with them. Construction lagged. Condos proved hard to sell. Retail space sat vacantly.

Yet for Trump and his company, the Chicago experience also turned out to be something else: the latest example of his ability to strong-arm major financial institutions and exploit the tax code to cushion the blow of his repeated business failures.

The president’s federal income tax records, obtained by The New York Times, show for the first time that, since 2010, his lenders have forgiven about $287 million in debt that he failed to repay. The vast majority was related to the Chicago project.

How Trump found trouble in Chicago and maneuvered his way out of it, is a case study in doing business the Trump way.

When the project encountered problems, he tried to walk away from his huge debts. For most individuals or businesses, that would have been a recipe for ruin. But tax-return data, other records and interviews show that rather than warring with a notoriously litigious and headline-seeking client, lenders cut Trump slack — exactly what he seemed to have been counting on.

Big banks and hedge funds gave him years of extra time to repay his debts. Even after Trump sued his largest lender, accusing it of preying on him, the bank agreed to lend him another $99 million — more than twice as much as was previously known — so that he could pay back what he still owed the bank on the defaulted Chicago loan, records show.

Ultimately, Trump’s lenders forgave much of what he owed.

Those forgiven debts are now part of a broader investigation of Trump’s business by the New York attorney general. They normally would have generated a big tax bill, since the Internal Revenue Service treats canceled debts as income. Yet as has often happened in his long career, Trump appears to have paid almost no federal income tax on that money, in part because of large losses in his other businesses, The Times’ analysis of his tax records found.

Alan Garten, the Trump Organization’s chief legal officer, said the company and Trump appropriately accounted for and paid all taxes due on the forgiven debts.

“These were all arm’s-length transactions that were voluntarily entered into between sophisticated parties many years ago in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis and the resulting collapse of the real estate markets,” Garten said.

On television back in those heady Chicago days, the future president was playing a wildly successful real estate developer, and the shimmering new skyscraper became part of that mystique.

It was the biggest thing Trump ever built. It was also the last.

The Money Behind the Project

Since at least the 1990s, Trump had dreamed of erecting a skyscraper in the Windy City. “I had hoped to build something fantastic in Chicago for some time,” Trump would later write in the Chicago Tribune.

He selected a riverside plot that was home to the squat, seven-floor Sun-Times building. In 2001, he unveiled plans for what would be the tallest high-rise built in the United States since the 110-story Sears Tower was completed in Chicago in 1973.

The Trump International Hotel &amp;amp; Tower would include 486 condominium units, 339 hotel rooms, restaurants, a bar, two parking garages, a health club, a spa, and tens of thousands of square feet in retail space and conference facilities.

The condos, some priced at more than $4 million, would have sweeping views of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Rooms in the hotel, occupying lower floors of the building, would be for sale, too. Trump’s company would make money from selling the units (and parking spaces) and operating the building.

To pay for the construction, Trump arranged for two of his LLCs, 401 North Wabash Venture — named for the project’s address — and its parent company, 401 Mezz Venture, to borrow more than $700 million.

Trump went to his longtime lender, Deutsche Bank, for the bulk of the money. Since 1998, he had borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars from the German bank. It had been so eager to establish a foothold in the United States that it had overlooked his history of defaults.

This time, Trump assured Deutsche Bank officials, including Justin Kennedy, the son of now-retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, that the Chicago development was a guaranteed moneymaker. In a sign of the Trump family’s commitment to the project, Trump told his bankers that his daughter Ivanka would be in charge. (Trump also appointed the 2004 winner of “The Apprentice” as the development’s “president.”)

Deutsche Bank agreed to lend $640 million to 401 North Wabash Venture. Trump agreed to personally guarantee $40 million of the loan. If his LLC were to default, Deutsche Bank could collect that money directly from Trump.

Trump also went to Fortress Investment Group, a hedge fund and private equity company, for $130 million. This was a so-called mezzanine loan, which meant that it would be repaid only after the Deutsche Bank debt had been satisfied. Because of the greater risk, the Fortress loan came with a double-digit interest rate. The agreement with Fortress also required Trump’s 401 Mezz Venture to pay a $49 million “exit fee” when it repaid the loan.

If Trump defaulted, his lenders could seize the building.

Deutsche Bank and Fortress both planned to chop up the loans and sell at least some of the pieces. Deutsche Bank sold them mostly to American, European and Asian banks, Fortress mostly to private equity and hedge funds, including Dune Capital Management, which had recently been co-founded by Steven Mnuchin, the future Treasury secretary.

The loans were due in May 2008. By then, the proceeds from selling condos, hotel units and parking spaces were projected to generate enough cash for Trump to repay what he owed.

Using a thick black pen, Trump signed the loan agreements Feb. 4, 2005. A month later, construction began.

Lenders Come Calling

Work on the project went more slowly than planned, and the residential portion was still under construction as the loans came due.

With the financial crisis enveloping the world, finding buyers for multimillion-dollar apartments suddenly became much harder. In the spring of 2008, Trump asked Deutsche Bank to delay the loan’s due date. The bank gave him an extra six months.

In mid-September, the crisis crescendoed with the bankruptcy of Lehman Bros. Financial markets went haywire. The economy was on the precipice of depression.

About a week later, Trump showed up in Chicago for the ceremony to mark the skyscraper’s near-completion.

After addressing the small crowd, Trump and three of his adult children — Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric — placed their hands in wet cement rectangles to commemorate the day. “I don’t want to tell you what that feels like,” Donald Trump cracked before waving his cement-caked hands for the cameras.

At that point, at least 159 units in the building were still unsold, and many more were under contract but hadn’t closed, according to New York court records. That meant hundreds of millions of dollars that Trump and his family had counted on to repay Deutsche Bank and Fortress hadn’t yet materialized. And the loans were due in barely six weeks.

Trump sought another extension. This time, Deutsche Bank said no.

Trump’s company still owed Deutsche Bank about $334 million in principal and interest, and Fortress $130 million, not including interest and fees.

Trump went on the offensive. In a letter to Deutsche Bank on Nov. 4, he accused it of helping ignite the financial crisis. This was important, because Trump went on to claim that the crisis constituted a “force majeure” — an act of God, like a natural disaster — that entitled him to extra time to repay the loans.

A few days later, Trump and his companies sued Deutsche Bank and Fortress, along with the other banks and hedge funds that had purchased pieces of the loans.

The suit accused Deutsche Bank of engaging in “predatory lending practices” against Trump. He sought $3 billion in damages.

Deutsche Bank soon filed its own lawsuit, accusing its longtime client of being a habitual deadbeat and demanding immediate repayment of the now-defaulted loans.

Inside Deutsche Bank, angry executives and lawyers vowed to never again do business with Trump, according to senior executives.

With the litigation pending (the parties soon entered into a series of “standstill agreements” that paused hostilities), the Trump family kept trying to find buyers for the condos.

“As it nears completion, it’s time for you to take your place in the one-of-a-kind Trump lifestyle this building offers,” Ivanka Trump said in an April 2009 sales video. “And you can be living it, right here, very soon.”

Turning Unpaid Debt Into Canceled Debt

Why didn’t the lenders seize the building?

Going to court to take over the unfinished skyscraper promised to be a costly, yearlong process, especially given Trump’s reputation for using the legal system to drag out fights and grind down opponents. It seemed simpler to resolve the dispute.

On July 28, 2010, lawyers for Trump, Deutsche Bank and Fortress notified the court that they had reached a private settlement. The terms weren’t disclosed.

But Trump’s federal tax returns, as well as loan documents filed in Cook County, Illinois, provide clues to what happened: Trump was let off the hook for about $270 million. It was the type of generous financial break that few American companies or individuals could ever expect to receive, especially without filing for bankruptcy protection.

Before Trump defaulted, Fortress had expected to receive more than $300 million from his company: the $130 million in principal and roughly $185 million in anticipated interest and fees.

But Fortress and its partners — including Mnuchin’s Dune Capital, as well as Cerberus Capital Management, whose co-chief executive, Stephen Feinberg, would become a major Trump fundraiser and go on to lead a White House advisory panel — quickly realized they wouldn’t ever collect that full amount.

Ultimately, Fortress settled for $48 million, which Trump wired to the firm in March 2012, according to people familiar with the deal.

The forgiven debts showed up in Trump’s tax returns. For 2010, Trump’s 401 Mezz Venture reported about $181 million in canceled debts. Two years later, DJT Holdings, an umbrella company that the Chicago project had been folded into, reported that another $105 million of debt had been forgiven. Most of that appears to reflect the unpaid Fortress sum.

In many ways, it repeated a pattern that had played out more than a decade earlier at Trump’s Atlantic City casinos: a cycle of defaulting on debts and then persuading already-burned lenders to cut him a break.

The Last $99 Million

Trump’s companies got a pass on the money they owed on the Deutsche Bank loan, too.

The 2010 settlement gave Trump a couple of years to sell hotel units, condos and parking spaces to repay that loan, according to Steven Schlesinger, a lawyer who represented the Trump Organization in the Chicago litigation.

By 2012, the Trump Organization had drummed up about $235 million to repay the financial institutions to whom Deutsche Bank had sold pieces of the original loan. They included banks and asset managers in the United States, Germany, Ireland, and China, according to court records.

But Trump still owed $99 million, according to people familiar with the debt. Where would he come up with that money?

Although Deutsche Bank had vowed to do no more business with Trump, his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, introduced him to his personal wealth manager at the bank, Rosemary Vrablic. Vrablic, with the support of her superiors, soon agreed to restart the relationship with Trump.

In 2012, Vrablic’s division made two loans secured by the Chicago skyscraper: one for nearly $54 million, another for $45 million, according to loan documents filed with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds. Trump agreed to personally guarantee the new loans, according to several people familiar with the deal.

The funds were used to immediately repay the $99 million that Trump still owed on the original Chicago loan, the people said. In other words, one wing of Deutsche Bank was providing Trump the money to repay another division of the same bank.

The following spring, the Trump Organization repaid $54 million, according to a person briefed on the matter and Cook County records. That left $45 million outstanding. But in 2014, Deutsche Bank agreed to lend another $24 million on the property and to extend the due date until 2024, records show. Trump now owed the bank $69 million. By May 2016, he had repaid the $24 million.

At that time, the Chicago loans were only one element of the relationship between Deutsche Bank and Trump. Vrablic’s team also lent Trump’s company $125 million for work on his Doral golf resort in Florida and up to $170 million to transform the Old Post Office building in Washington into a luxury hotel. Trump personally guaranteed those loans, too.

The guarantees were advantageous for him. Because they counted as investments in his business for tax purposes, the guarantees increased the amount of losses he could use to avoid income taxes in the future. Trump’s federal tax returns show that he has personally guaranteed the repayment of $421 million in debts.

Most of that is on loans from Deutsche Bank. At the end of 2018, Trump and his companies owed the bank $330 million.

Whittling Down Tax Bills

The IRS requires taxpayers to treat forgiven debts as income when calculating what they owe in federal taxes. The New York attorney general, Letitia James, is investigating whether Trump followed the law.

The tax records reviewed by The Times show that while Trump accounted for $287 million of income from his canceled debts, he managed to avoid paying income taxes on nearly all of it.

Trump reported $40 million of forgiven debt as income in 2010. But losses from his businesses — including $30.8 million in red ink on the Chicago project — meant he had no taxable income that year.

Trump avoided immediate income taxes on another $104.8 million of the forgiven loans in a way that could increase his taxes later. He would generally have been entitled to write off the total amount he spent on a building over a number of years, a process known as depreciation. Instead, he agreed to reduce those eventual write-offs by $104.8 million, an alternative allowed in tax law.

For the other $141 million, Trump took advantage of a law, passed after the 2008 financial crisis, that allowed income from canceled debts to be deferred for five years and then spread out over the next five. Each year from 2014 through 2018, Trump declared $28.2 million of canceled debt income.

As it turned out, though, losses in other parts of his business wiped out most of his federal tax bill on that income. He paid nothing for 2014; $641,931 for 2015; and, after credits, only $750 a year for 2016 and 2017. It isn’t clear how much he paid for 2018.

Loans Coming Due

Like Trump’s other properties, the Trump International Hotel &amp;amp; Tower in Chicago has benefited in some ways from its connection to the president.

Last year, for example, an aviation company that was lobbying the Trump administration for contracting work held an event there. Trump attended an October 2019 lunch fundraiser at the hotel, which generated about $100,000 in revenue for his company, The Washington Post reported.

But the skyscraper’s fortunes have withered. Most of its retail space has never been occupied, The Real Deal reported last year. Its revenue declined from $67 million in 2014 to $50 million in 2018, while profits plunged from $16.3 million to $1.8 million over the same period.

The problems intensified in 2020, as the coronavirus forced restaurants, including Trump’s in Chicago, to close. The Trump family sought financial relief from Deutsche Bank among others.

The bank offered to let Trump’s companies pause interest payments on their loans. The Trump Organization decided the bank’s proposal was insufficiently generous and turned it down.

The loans come due in 2023 and 2024.

The financial crisis was in full swing when Donald Trump traveled to Chicago in late September 2008 to mark the near-completion of his 92-floor skyscraper. The fortunes of big companies, small businesses, and millions of Americans — including the Trumps — were in peril.

The financial crisis was in full swing when Donald Trump traveled to Chicago in late September 2008 to mark the near-completion of his 92-floor skyscraper. The fortunes of big companies, small businesses, and millions of Americans — including the Trumps — were in peril. But the family patriarch was jubilant as he stood on the terrace of his gleaming glass tower. “We’re in love with the building,” Trump gushed. “We’re very, very happy with what’s happened with respect to this building and how fast we put it up.” He and his family hoped the Trump International Hotel &amp; Tower would cement their company’s reputation as one of the world’s marquee developers of luxury real estate. Instead, the skyscraper became another disappointment in a portfolio filled with them. Construction lagged. Condos proved hard to sell. Retail space sat vacantly. Yet for Trump and his company, the Chicago experience also turned out to be something else: the latest example of his ability to strong-arm major financial institutions and exploit the tax code to cushion the blow of his repeated business failures. The president’s federal income tax records, obtained by The New York Times, show for the first time that, since 2010, his lenders have forgiven about $287 million in debt that he failed to repay. The vast majority was related to the Chicago project. How Trump found trouble in Chicago and maneuvered his way out of it, is a case study in doing business the Trump way. When the project encountered problems, he tried to walk away from his huge debts. For most individuals or businesses, that would have been a recipe for ruin. But tax-return data, other records and interviews show that rather than warring with a notoriously litigious and headline-seeking client, lenders cut Trump slack — exactly what he seemed to have been counting on. Big banks and hedge funds gave him years of extra time to repay his debts. Even after Trump sued his largest lender, accusing it of preying on him, the bank agreed to lend him another $99 million — more than twice as much as was previously known — so that he could pay back what he still owed the bank on the defaulted Chicago loan, records show. Ultimately, Trump’s lenders forgave much of what he owed. Those forgiven debts are now part of a broader investigation of Trump’s business by the New York attorney general. They normally would have generated a big tax bill, since the Internal Revenue Service treats canceled debts as income. Yet as has often happened in his long career, Trump appears to have paid almost no federal income tax on that money, in part because of large losses in his other businesses, The Times’ analysis of his tax records found. Alan Garten, the Trump Organization’s chief legal officer, said the company and Trump appropriately accounted for and paid all taxes due on the forgiven debts. “These were all arm’s-length transactions that were voluntarily entered into between sophisticated parties many years ago in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis and the resulting collapse of the real estate markets,” Garten said. On television back in those heady Chicago days, the future president was playing a wildly successful real estate developer, and the shimmering new skyscraper became part of that mystique. It was the biggest thing Trump ever built. It was also the last. The Money Behind the Project Since at least the 1990s, Trump had dreamed of erecting a skyscraper in the Windy City. “I had hoped to build something fantastic in Chicago for some time,” Trump would later write in the Chicago Tribune. He selected a riverside plot that was home to the squat, seven-floor Sun-Times building. In 2001, he unveiled plans for what would be the tallest high-rise built in the United States since the 110-story Sears Tower was completed in Chicago in 1973. The Trump International Hotel &amp; Tower would include 486 condominium units, 339 hotel rooms, restaurants, a bar, two parking garages, a health club, a spa, and tens of thousands of square feet in retail space and conference facilities. The condos, some priced at more than $4 million, would have sweeping views of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Rooms in the hotel, occupying lower floors of the building, would be for sale, too. Trump’s company would make money from selling the units (and parking spaces) and operating the building. To pay for the construction, Trump arranged for two of his LLCs, 401 North Wabash Venture — named for the project’s address — and its parent company, 401 Mezz Venture, to borrow more than $700 million. Trump went to his longtime lender, Deutsche Bank, for the bulk of the money. Since 1998, he had borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars from the German bank. It had been so eager to establish a foothold in the United States that it had overlooked his history of defaults. This time, Trump assured Deutsche Bank officials, including Justin Kennedy, the son of now-retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, that the Chicago development was a guaranteed moneymaker. In a sign of the Trump family’s commitment to the project, Trump told his bankers that his daughter Ivanka would be in charge. (Trump also appointed the 2004 winner of “The Apprentice” as the development’s “president.”) Deutsche Bank agreed to lend $640 million to 401 North Wabash Venture. Trump agreed to personally guarantee $40 million of the loan. If his LLC were to default, Deutsche Bank could collect that money directly from Trump. Trump also went to Fortress Investment Group, a hedge fund and private equity company, for $130 million. This was a so-called mezzanine loan, which meant that it would be repaid only after the Deutsche Bank debt had been satisfied. Because of the greater risk, the Fortress loan came with a double-digit interest rate. The agreement with Fortress also required Trump’s 401 Mezz Venture to pay a $49 million “exit fee” when it repaid the loan. If Trump defaulted, his lenders could seize the building. Deutsche Bank and Fortress both planned to chop up the loans and sell at least some of the pieces. Deutsche Bank sold them mostly to American, European and Asian banks, Fortress mostly to private equity and hedge funds, including Dune Capital Management, which had recently been co-founded by Steven Mnuchin, the future Treasury secretary. The loans were due in May 2008. By then, the proceeds from selling condos, hotel units and parking spaces were projected to generate enough cash for Trump to repay what he owed. Using a thick black pen, Trump signed the loan agreements Feb. 4, 2005. A month later, construction began. Lenders Come Calling Work on the project went more slowly than planned, and the residential portion was still under construction as the loans came due. With the financial crisis enveloping the world, finding buyers for multimillion-dollar apartments suddenly became much harder. In the spring of 2008, Trump asked Deutsche Bank to delay the loan’s due date. The bank gave him an extra six months. In mid-September, the crisis crescendoed with the bankruptcy of Lehman Bros. Financial markets went haywire. The economy was on the precipice of depression. About a week later, Trump showed up in Chicago for the ceremony to mark the skyscraper’s near-completion. After addressing the small crowd, Trump and three of his adult children — Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric — placed their hands in wet cement rectangles to commemorate the day. “I don’t want to tell you what that feels like,” Donald Trump cracked before waving his cement-caked hands for the cameras. At that point, at least 159 units in the building were still unsold, and many more were under contract but hadn’t closed, according to New York court records. That meant hundreds of millions of dollars that Trump and his family had counted on to repay Deutsche Bank and Fortress hadn’t yet materialized. And the loans were due in barely six weeks. Trump sought another extension. This time, Deutsche Bank said no. Trump’s company still owed Deutsche Bank about $334 million in principal and interest, and Fortress $130 million, not including interest and fees. Trump went on the offensive. In a letter to Deutsche Bank on Nov. 4, he accused it of helping ignite the financial crisis. This was important, because Trump went on to claim that the crisis constituted a “force majeure” — an act of God, like a natural disaster — that entitled him to extra time to repay the loans. A few days later, Trump and his companies sued Deutsche Bank and Fortress, along with the other banks and hedge funds that had purchased pieces of the loans. The suit accused Deutsche Bank of engaging in “predatory lending practices” against Trump. He sought $3 billion in damages. Deutsche Bank soon filed its own lawsuit, accusing its longtime client of being a habitual deadbeat and demanding immediate repayment of the now-defaulted loans. Inside Deutsche Bank, angry executives and lawyers vowed to never again do business with Trump, according to senior executives. With the litigation pending (the parties soon entered into a series of “standstill agreements” that paused hostilities), the Trump family kept trying to find buyers for the condos. “As it nears completion, it’s time for you to take your place in the one-of-a-kind Trump lifestyle this building offers,” Ivanka Trump said in an April 2009 sales video. “And you can be living it, right here, very soon.” Turning Unpaid Debt Into Canceled Debt Why didn’t the lenders seize the building? Going to court to take over the unfinished skyscraper promised to be a costly, yearlong process, especially given Trump’s reputation for using the legal system to drag out fights and grind down opponents. It seemed simpler to resolve the dispute. On July 28, 2010, lawyers for Trump, Deutsche Bank and Fortress notified the court that they had reached a private settlement. The terms weren’t disclosed. But Trump’s federal tax returns, as well as loan documents filed in Cook County, Illinois, provide clues to what happened: Trump was let off the hook for about $270 million. It was the type of generous financial break that few American companies or individuals could ever expect to receive, especially without filing for bankruptcy protection. Before Trump defaulted, Fortress had expected to receive more than $300 million from his company: the $130 million in principal and roughly $185 million in anticipated interest and fees. But Fortress and its partners — including Mnuchin’s Dune Capital, as well as Cerberus Capital Management, whose co-chief executive, Stephen Feinberg, would become a major Trump fundraiser and go on to lead a White House advisory panel — quickly realized they wouldn’t ever collect that full amount. Ultimately, Fortress settled for $48 million, which Trump wired to the firm in March 2012, according to people familiar with the deal. The forgiven debts showed up in Trump’s tax returns. For 2010, Trump’s 401 Mezz Venture reported about $181 million in canceled debts. Two years later, DJT Holdings, an umbrella company that the Chicago project had been folded into, reported that another $105 million of debt had been forgiven. Most of that appears to reflect the unpaid Fortress sum. In many ways, it repeated a pattern that had played out more than a decade earlier at Trump’s Atlantic City casinos: a cycle of defaulting on debts and then persuading already-burned lenders to cut him a break. The Last $99 Million Trump’s companies got a pass on the money they owed on the Deutsche Bank loan, too. The 2010 settlement gave Trump a couple of years to sell hotel units, condos and parking spaces to repay that loan, according to Steven Schlesinger, a lawyer who represented the Trump Organization in the Chicago litigation. By 2012, the Trump Organization had drummed up about $235 million to repay the financial institutions to whom Deutsche Bank had sold pieces of the original loan. They included banks and asset managers in the United States, Germany, Ireland, and China, according to court records. But Trump still owed $99 million, according to people familiar with the debt. Where would he come up with that money? Although Deutsche Bank had vowed to do no more business with Trump, his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, introduced him to his personal wealth manager at the bank, Rosemary Vrablic. Vrablic, with the support of her superiors, soon agreed to restart the relationship with Trump. In 2012, Vrablic’s division made two loans secured by the Chicago skyscraper: one for nearly $54 million, another for $45 million, according to loan documents filed with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds. Trump agreed to personally guarantee the new loans, according to several people familiar with the deal. The funds were used to immediately repay the $99 million that Trump still owed on the original Chicago loan, the people said. In other words, one wing of Deutsche Bank was providing Trump the money to repay another division of the same bank. The following spring, the Trump Organization repaid $54 million, according to a person briefed on the matter and Cook County records. That left $45 million outstanding. But in 2014, Deutsche Bank agreed to lend another $24 million on the property and to extend the due date until 2024, records show. Trump now owed the bank $69 million. By May 2016, he had repaid the $24 million. At that time, the Chicago loans were only one element of the relationship between Deutsche Bank and Trump. Vrablic’s team also lent Trump’s company $125 million for work on his Doral golf resort in Florida and up to $170 million to transform the Old Post Office building in Washington into a luxury hotel. Trump personally guaranteed those loans, too. The guarantees were advantageous for him. Because they counted as investments in his business for tax purposes, the guarantees increased the amount of losses he could use to avoid income taxes in the future. Trump’s federal tax returns show that he has personally guaranteed the repayment of $421 million in debts. Most of that is on loans from Deutsche Bank. At the end of 2018, Trump and his companies owed the bank $330 million. Whittling Down Tax Bills The IRS requires taxpayers to treat forgiven debts as income when calculating what they owe in federal taxes. The New York attorney general, Letitia James, is investigating whether Trump followed the law. The tax records reviewed by The Times show that while Trump accounted for $287 million of income from his canceled debts, he managed to avoid paying income taxes on nearly all of it. Trump reported $40 million of forgiven debt as income in 2010. But losses from his businesses — including $30.8 million in red ink on the Chicago project — meant he had no taxable income that year. Trump avoided immediate income taxes on another $104.8 million of the forgiven loans in a way that could increase his taxes later. He would generally have been entitled to write off the total amount he spent on a building over a number of years, a process known as depreciation. Instead, he agreed to reduce those eventual write-offs by $104.8 million, an alternative allowed in tax law. For the other $141 million, Trump took advantage of a law, passed after the 2008 financial crisis, that allowed income from canceled debts to be deferred for five years and then spread out over the next five. Each year from 2014 through 2018, Trump declared $28.2 million of canceled debt income. As it turned out, though, losses in other parts of his business wiped out most of his federal tax bill on that income. He paid nothing for 2014; $641,931 for 2015; and, after credits, only $750 a year for 2016 and 2017. It isn’t clear how much he paid for 2018. Loans Coming Due Like Trump’s other properties, the Trump International Hotel &amp; Tower in Chicago has benefited in some ways from its connection to the president. Last year, for example, an aviation company that was lobbying the Trump administration for contracting work held an event there. Trump attended an October 2019 lunch fundraiser at the hotel, which generated about $100,000 in revenue for his company, The Washington Post reported. But the skyscraper’s fortunes have withered. Most of its retail space has never been occupied, The Real Deal reported last year. Its revenue declined from $67 million in 2014 to $50 million in 2018, while profits plunged from $16.3 million to $1.8 million over the same period. The problems intensified in 2020, as the coronavirus forced restaurants, including Trump’s in Chicago, to close. The Trump family sought financial relief from Deutsche Bank among others. The bank offered to let Trump’s companies pause interest payments on their loans. The Trump Organization decided the bank’s proposal was insufficiently generous and turned it down. The loans come due in 2023 and 2024.

How Trump maneuvered his way out of trouble in Chicago

The US President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>'s campaign website was hacked in for a few minutes, a week before the upcoming <a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">US elections</a>&nbsp;in which Trump is racing against the Democratic candidate and former Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>.

On Tuesday, the events tab of the website 'Donaldjtrump.com', read that the world has&nbsp;"had enough" of the "fake news" spread by Pesident Trump&nbsp;— a term verycommonly used by Trump for the media houses that oppose him.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-with-a-week-to-go-heres-what-is-abuzz-338402">Also read|&nbsp;US election 2020: With a week to go, here's what is abuzz</a>

The hacker(s), who have not been caught till now, claimed to have dirt on the President. They did not offer any proof or evidence but posted a cryptocurrency account asking people to transfer funds in if they want to see the secrets being revealed. They also took a hit at the FBI by posting seals of the FBI and Department of Justice above the message, mocking them as these seals are posted on the FBI website over the messages the FBI posts about as a part of their criminal investigation.

<img alt="Trump's website hacked" data-align="left" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7a46d6b9-ed48-4483-8b50-14f76131bf29" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Trump%27s%20website%20hacked.jpg" />

The website, later, went offline for a brief period of time as soon as the social media went abuzz with the news of the Trumps website being defaced by unknown hacker(s).&nbsp;&nbsp;

"Earlier this evening, the Trump campaign website was defaced and we are working with law enforcement authorities to investigate the source of the attack. There was no exposure to sensitive data because none of it is actually stored on the site. The website has been restored," campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said in a statement.

<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/campaigning-for-us-presidential-election-enters-final-week-338396">Also read|&nbsp;Campaigning for US presidential election enters final week</a>

The&nbsp;CISA Director Chris Krebs took to Twitter to issue statement biut the defacement saying, "Like I said yesterday, website defacements are noise. Don't fall for these attempts designed to distract, sensationalize, and confuse. Ultimately they're trying to undermine your confidence in our voting process."

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Like I said yesterday, website defacements are noise. Don’t fall for these attempts designed to distract, sensationalize, and confuse. Ultimately they’re trying to undermine your confidence in our voting process. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/keepcalmandvoteon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#keepcalmandvoteon</a> <a href="https://t.co/5lZ7YoLYO8">https://t.co/5lZ7YoLYO8</a> <a href="https://t.co/Qk9XOlFELE">pic.twitter.com/Qk9XOlFELE</a>
— Chris Krebs #Protect2020 (@CISAKrebs) <a href="https://twitter.com/CISAKrebs/status/1321255987890835456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Meanwhile, Trump was seen&nbsp;campaigning with&nbsp;a mask-less crowd and&nbsp;almost zero social distancing in an open-air space in Michigan and Wisconsin. "I've got to say I'm working my ass off here!," he told a massive crowd of supporters wearing 'MAGA'caps.&nbsp;Biden,&nbsp;on the other hand, held a 'drive-in'rally in georgia with&nbsp;Barack Obama&nbsp;by his side and masked supporters chanting "Dump Trump".

The hacking matter is being investigated by the authorities and there has not been any comment by the Trump administration, as of now.

The US President Donald Trump's campaign website was hacked in for a few minutes, a week before the upcoming US elections in which Trump is racing against the Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden.

The US President Donald Trump's campaign website was hacked in for a few minutes, a week before the upcoming US elections in which Trump is racing against the Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden. On Tuesday, the events tab of the website 'Donaldjtrump.com', read that the world has "had enough" of the "fake news" spread by Pesident Trump — a term verycommonly used by Trump for the media houses that oppose him. Also read| US election 2020: With a week to go, here's what is abuzz The hacker(s), who have not been caught till now, claimed to have dirt on the President. They did not offer any proof or evidence but posted a cryptocurrency account asking people to transfer funds in if they want to see the secrets being revealed. They also took a hit at the FBI by posting seals of the FBI and Department of Justice above the message, mocking them as these seals are posted on the FBI website over the messages the FBI posts about as a part of their criminal investigation. The website, later, went offline for a brief period of time as soon as the social media went abuzz with the news of the Trumps website being defaced by unknown hacker(s). "Earlier this evening, the Trump campaign website was defaced and we are working with law enforcement authorities to investigate the source of the attack. There was no exposure to sensitive data because none of it is actually stored on the site. The website has been restored," campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said in a statement. Also read| Campaigning for US presidential election enters final week The CISA Director Chris Krebs took to Twitter to issue statement biut the defacement saying, "Like I said yesterday, website defacements are noise. Don't fall for these attempts designed to distract, sensationalize, and confuse. Ultimately they're trying to undermine your confidence in our voting process." Like I said yesterday, website defacements are noise. Don’t fall for these attempts designed to distract, sensationalize, and confuse. Ultimately they’re trying to undermine your confidence in our voting process. #keepcalmandvoteon https://t.co/5lZ7YoLYO8 pic.twitter.com/Qk9XOlFELE — Chris Krebs #Protect2020 (@CISAKrebs) October 28, 2020 × Meanwhile, Trump was seen campaigning with a mask-less crowd and almost zero social distancing in an open-air space in Michigan and Wisconsin. "I've got to say I'm working my ass off here!," he told a massive crowd of supporters wearing 'MAGA'caps. Biden, on the other hand, held a 'drive-in'rally in georgia with Barack Obama by his side and masked supporters chanting "Dump Trump". The hacking matter is being investigated by the authorities and there has not been any comment by the Trump administration, as of now.

Donald Trump's campaign website hacked a week before US Election 2020

WASHINGTON —While senior Trump administration officials said this week that Iran has been actively interfering in the presidential election, many intelligence officials said they remained far more concerned about Russia, which in recent days has hacked into state and local computer networks in breaches that could allow Moscow broader access to U.S. voting infrastructure.

The discovery of the hacks came as U.S. intelligence agencies, infiltrating Russian networks themselves, have pieced together details of what they believe are Russia’s plans to interfere in the presidential race in its final days or immediately after the election Nov. 3. Officials did not make clear what Russia planned to do, but they said its operations would be intended to help President Donald Trump, potentially by exacerbating disputes around the results, especially if the race is too close to call.

FBI and Homeland Security officials also announced Thursday that Russia’s state hackers had targeted dozens of state and local governments and aviation networks starting in September. They stole data from at least two unidentified victims’ computer servers and continued to crawl through some of the affected networks, the agencies said. Other officials said that the targets included some voting-related systems and that they may have been collateral damage in the attacks.

So far, there is no evidence that the Russians have changed any vote tallies or voter registration information, officials said. They added that the Russian-backed hackers had penetrated the computer networks without taking further action, as they did in 2016. But U.S. officials expect that if the presidential race is not called on election night, Russian groups could use their knowledge of the local computer systems to deface websites, release nonpublic information or take similar steps that could sow chaos and doubts about the integrity of the results, according to U.S. officials briefed on the intelligence. Such steps could fuel Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that the vote is “rigged” and that he can be defeated only if his opponents cheat.

Some U.S. intelligence officials view Russia’s intentions as more significant than the announcement Wednesday night by the director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, that Iran has been involved in the spreading of faked, threatening emails, which were made to appear as if they came from the Proud Boys, a right-wing extremist group.

The Treasury Department on Thursday announced sanctions against Iraj Masjedi, a former general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the country’s ambassador to Iraq. The department said Masjedi had overseen training of pro-Iranian militia groups in Iraq and directed groups responsible for killing U.S. forces there.

Officials briefed on the intelligence said that Ratcliffe had accurately summarized the preliminary conclusion about Iran. But Iran’s hackers may have accomplished that mission simply by assembling public information and then routing the threatening emails through Saudi Arabia, Estonia and other countries to hide their tracks. One official compared the Iranian action to playing single A baseball, while the Russians are major leaguers.

Nonetheless, the Iranian and the Russian activity could pave the way for “perception hacks,” which are intended to leave the impression that foreign powers have greater access to the voting system than they really do. Federal officials have warned for months that small breaches could be exaggerated to prompt inaccurate charges of widespread voter fraud.

Officials say Russia’s ability to change vote tallies nationwide would be difficult, given how disparate U.S. elections are. The graver concern is the potential effect of any attack on a few key precincts in battleground states.

Russian hackers recently obtained access “in a couple limited cases, to election jurisdiction, an election-related network,” Christopher Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said Thursday. But he was careful to note that the breaches had “nothing to do with the casting and counting” of votes.

The hackers believed to be operating at the behest of Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB — the successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB — have infiltrated dozens of state and local computer networks in recent weeks, according to officials and researchers. But Krebs said the attacks appeared to be “opportunistic” in nature, a scattershot break-in of vulnerable systems rather than an attempt to zero in on key battleground states.

But officials were alarmed by the combination of the targets, the timing — the attacks began less than two months ago — and the adversary, which is known for burrowing inside the supply chain of critical infrastructure that Russia may want to take down in the future.

The officials fear that Russia could change, delete or freeze voter registration or pollbook data, making it harder for voters to cast ballots, invalidating mail-in ballots or creating enough uncertainty to undermine results.

“It’s reasonable to assume any attempt at the election systems could be for the same purpose,” said John Hultquist, director of threat analysis at FireEye, a security firm that has been tracking the Russian group’s foray into state and local systems. “This could be the reconnaissance for disruptive activity.”

Krebs said so far Russia was not as active as Iran, and its targeting was imprecise. “They’re broadly looking to scan for vulnerabilities, and they’re working opportunistically,” he said.

Current and former officials said there was little doubt that Russia remained a greater threat and questioned why the focus was on Iran on Wednesday, though they acknowledged that Iran’s interference was real and troubling.

Administration officials said the news conference reflected the urgency of the intelligence about Iran. But some saw politics at play. Ratcliffe’s focus on Iran would potentially benefit Trump politically.

“It is concerning to me that the administration is willing to talk about what the Iranians are doing — supposedly to hurt Trump — than what the Russians are likely doing to help him,” said Jeh Johnson, a former secretary of homeland security in the Obama administration. “If the Russians have in fact breached voter registration data, then the American people deserve to know from their government what it believes the Russians are doing with that data.”

A senior official briefed on the intelligence said U.S. spy agencies had been tracking the Iranian group responsible for the spoofed emails for some time. As a result, the government was able to quickly debunk the falsified Proud Boys emails and identify Iran as the culprit.

Iran’s hackers appear to have scanned or penetrated some state and local networks, government officials said Thursday. But security experts said the Proud Boys email campaign that the government attributed to Iran did not appear to be based on hacked materials and instead relied on publicly available information that Florida officials regularly distribute.

“This was an email sent from a nonexistent domain using publicly available information,” said Kevin O’Brien, chief executive of GreatHorn, a cybersecurity firm. “There was no hack here. Your name, your party affiliation, your address and email address are all, generally speaking, public information.”

O’Brien said the information presented publicly had not persuaded him that Iran was culpable.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi also voiced scepticism of Ratcliffe’s announcement. “Russia is the villain here,” she said before a briefing from intelligence officials. “From what we have seen in the public domain, Iran is a bad actor but in no way equivalent.”

So far, the FSB’s hackers have not zeroed in on swing states, where a hack that affects digital disenfranchisement could have maximum effect; they have taken a scattershot approach instead, hitting systems in multiple states, including some battlegrounds. Experts said they might be just testing to see where they could get in, like a thief trying every doorknob in the neighborhood.

“My concern is not that they are pinpointing individual races but are gaining access where they can for some disruption down the road,” Hultquist said.

The threat is similar to the one that officials have highlighted from ransomware attacks, which hold data hostage until victims pay to have access restored. Likewise, officials and researchers believe the Russian attacks would not necessarily change vote tallies but could make voter data inaccessible or delete or change voters’ registration data to disenfranchise voters or cause the kind of confusion and delays that would undermine U.S. confidence in the election.

In recent years, Homeland Security officials have made a concerted effort to secure voter registration systems and to ensure that election officials have paper copies of voter information in case of disruptions.

But they have further to go. In Gainesville, Georgia, this week, a ransomware attack held city systems hostage, including an online map with polling locations and the database used to verify voters’ signatures on mail-in ballots.

Officials and experts believe the greatest defense against a coordinated cyberattack on the election is not so much how secure these voting system are but how disparate.

“You can’t just ‘hit the election,’” said Eric Chien, a cybersecurity director at Symantec, now part of Broadcom, which was among the first to detail the Stuxnet attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran’s nuclear program a decade ago. “The soft targets are really the state and local election committees, local websites that provide information about polling places and hold voter registration data.”

&nbsp;

WASHINGTON —While senior Trump administration officials said this week that Iran has been actively interfering in the presidential election, many intelligence officials said they remained far more concerned about Russia, which in recent days has hacked into state and local computer networks in breaches that could allow Moscow broader access to U.

WASHINGTON —While senior Trump administration officials said this week that Iran has been actively interfering in the presidential election, many intelligence officials said they remained far more concerned about Russia, which in recent days has hacked into state and local computer networks in breaches that could allow Moscow broader access to U.S. voting infrastructure. The discovery of the hacks came as U.S. intelligence agencies, infiltrating Russian networks themselves, have pieced together details of what they believe are Russia’s plans to interfere in the presidential race in its final days or immediately after the election Nov. 3. Officials did not make clear what Russia planned to do, but they said its operations would be intended to help President Donald Trump, potentially by exacerbating disputes around the results, especially if the race is too close to call. FBI and Homeland Security officials also announced Thursday that Russia’s state hackers had targeted dozens of state and local governments and aviation networks starting in September. They stole data from at least two unidentified victims’ computer servers and continued to crawl through some of the affected networks, the agencies said. Other officials said that the targets included some voting-related systems and that they may have been collateral damage in the attacks. So far, there is no evidence that the Russians have changed any vote tallies or voter registration information, officials said. They added that the Russian-backed hackers had penetrated the computer networks without taking further action, as they did in 2016. But U.S. officials expect that if the presidential race is not called on election night, Russian groups could use their knowledge of the local computer systems to deface websites, release nonpublic information or take similar steps that could sow chaos and doubts about the integrity of the results, according to U.S. officials briefed on the intelligence. Such steps could fuel Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that the vote is “rigged” and that he can be defeated only if his opponents cheat. Some U.S. intelligence officials view Russia’s intentions as more significant than the announcement Wednesday night by the director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, that Iran has been involved in the spreading of faked, threatening emails, which were made to appear as if they came from the Proud Boys, a right-wing extremist group. The Treasury Department on Thursday announced sanctions against Iraj Masjedi, a former general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the country’s ambassador to Iraq. The department said Masjedi had overseen training of pro-Iranian militia groups in Iraq and directed groups responsible for killing U.S. forces there. Officials briefed on the intelligence said that Ratcliffe had accurately summarized the preliminary conclusion about Iran. But Iran’s hackers may have accomplished that mission simply by assembling public information and then routing the threatening emails through Saudi Arabia, Estonia and other countries to hide their tracks. One official compared the Iranian action to playing single A baseball, while the Russians are major leaguers. Nonetheless, the Iranian and the Russian activity could pave the way for “perception hacks,” which are intended to leave the impression that foreign powers have greater access to the voting system than they really do. Federal officials have warned for months that small breaches could be exaggerated to prompt inaccurate charges of widespread voter fraud. Officials say Russia’s ability to change vote tallies nationwide would be difficult, given how disparate U.S. elections are. The graver concern is the potential effect of any attack on a few key precincts in battleground states. Russian hackers recently obtained access “in a couple limited cases, to election jurisdiction, an election-related network,” Christopher Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said Thursday. But he was careful to note that the breaches had “nothing to do with the casting and counting” of votes. The hackers believed to be operating at the behest of Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB — the successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB — have infiltrated dozens of state and local computer networks in recent weeks, according to officials and researchers. But Krebs said the attacks appeared to be “opportunistic” in nature, a scattershot break-in of vulnerable systems rather than an attempt to zero in on key battleground states. But officials were alarmed by the combination of the targets, the timing — the attacks began less than two months ago — and the adversary, which is known for burrowing inside the supply chain of critical infrastructure that Russia may want to take down in the future. The officials fear that Russia could change, delete or freeze voter registration or pollbook data, making it harder for voters to cast ballots, invalidating mail-in ballots or creating enough uncertainty to undermine results. “It’s reasonable to assume any attempt at the election systems could be for the same purpose,” said John Hultquist, director of threat analysis at FireEye, a security firm that has been tracking the Russian group’s foray into state and local systems. “This could be the reconnaissance for disruptive activity.” Krebs said so far Russia was not as active as Iran, and its targeting was imprecise. “They’re broadly looking to scan for vulnerabilities, and they’re working opportunistically,” he said. Current and former officials said there was little doubt that Russia remained a greater threat and questioned why the focus was on Iran on Wednesday, though they acknowledged that Iran’s interference was real and troubling. Administration officials said the news conference reflected the urgency of the intelligence about Iran. But some saw politics at play. Ratcliffe’s focus on Iran would potentially benefit Trump politically. “It is concerning to me that the administration is willing to talk about what the Iranians are doing — supposedly to hurt Trump — than what the Russians are likely doing to help him,” said Jeh Johnson, a former secretary of homeland security in the Obama administration. “If the Russians have in fact breached voter registration data, then the American people deserve to know from their government what it believes the Russians are doing with that data.” A senior official briefed on the intelligence said U.S. spy agencies had been tracking the Iranian group responsible for the spoofed emails for some time. As a result, the government was able to quickly debunk the falsified Proud Boys emails and identify Iran as the culprit. Iran’s hackers appear to have scanned or penetrated some state and local networks, government officials said Thursday. But security experts said the Proud Boys email campaign that the government attributed to Iran did not appear to be based on hacked materials and instead relied on publicly available information that Florida officials regularly distribute. “This was an email sent from a nonexistent domain using publicly available information,” said Kevin O’Brien, chief executive of GreatHorn, a cybersecurity firm. “There was no hack here. Your name, your party affiliation, your address and email address are all, generally speaking, public information.” O’Brien said the information presented publicly had not persuaded him that Iran was culpable. Speaker Nancy Pelosi also voiced scepticism of Ratcliffe’s announcement. “Russia is the villain here,” she said before a briefing from intelligence officials. “From what we have seen in the public domain, Iran is a bad actor but in no way equivalent.” So far, the FSB’s hackers have not zeroed in on swing states, where a hack that affects digital disenfranchisement could have maximum effect; they have taken a scattershot approach instead, hitting systems in multiple states, including some battlegrounds. Experts said they might be just testing to see where they could get in, like a thief trying every doorknob in the neighborhood. “My concern is not that they are pinpointing individual races but are gaining access where they can for some disruption down the road,” Hultquist said. The threat is similar to the one that officials have highlighted from ransomware attacks, which hold data hostage until victims pay to have access restored. Likewise, officials and researchers believe the Russian attacks would not necessarily change vote tallies but could make voter data inaccessible or delete or change voters’ registration data to disenfranchise voters or cause the kind of confusion and delays that would undermine U.S. confidence in the election. In recent years, Homeland Security officials have made a concerted effort to secure voter registration systems and to ensure that election officials have paper copies of voter information in case of disruptions. But they have further to go. In Gainesville, Georgia, this week, a ransomware attack held city systems hostage, including an online map with polling locations and the database used to verify voters’ signatures on mail-in ballots. Officials and experts believe the greatest defense against a coordinated cyberattack on the election is not so much how secure these voting system are but how disparate. “You can’t just ‘hit the election,’” said Eric Chien, a cybersecurity director at Symantec, now part of Broadcom, which was among the first to detail the Stuxnet attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran’s nuclear program a decade ago. “The soft targets are really the state and local election committees, local websites that provide information about polling places and hold voter registration data.”

Russia poses greater election threat than Iran, many US officials say

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trumps-campaign-website-hacked-a-week-before-us-election-2020-338446">Donald Trump's campaign website hacked a week before US Election 2020</a>

<img src="https://cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/styles/story_page/public/2020/10/25/166530-trump.jpg?itok=6fTp6yAs" />

The hacker(s), who have not been caught till now, claimed to have dirt on the President.&nbsp;They did not offer any proof or evidence but posted a cryptocurrency account asking people to transfer funds in if they want to see the secrets being revealed.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/charlie-hebdo-caricatures-recep-erdogan-sparks-turkish-fury-338428">Charlie Hebdo caricatures Recep Erdogan; sparks Turkish fury</a>

<img src="https://cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/styles/story_page/public/2020/09/17/160373-untitled-design-80.jpg?itok=OcIgxUID" />

Charlie Hebdo's intervention came during an escalating war of words between Erdogan, Macron, and other European leaders after the beheading of French schoolteacher Samuel Paty by a suspected Islamist attacker this month.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/citizens-launch-anti-lukashenko-strike-500-riot-related-cases-initiated-in-belarus-338444">Citizens launch anti-Lukashenko strike, 500 riot-related cases initiated in Belarus</a>

<img src="https://cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/styles/story_page/public/2020/10/04/163085-luka11.jpg?itok=-XUGfCHD" />

Over 500 criminal cases have been opened in Belarus over riots and participation of Belarusian citizens in them, Andrey Serbun, deputy head of the Belarusian Prosecutor General's Office`s department for overseeing the implementation of legislation by the Investigative Committee, said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-surge-in-can-i-change-my-vote-donald-trump-says-trend-refers-to-him-338447">US election 2020: Surge in 'can I change my vote'; Donald Trump says trend refers to him</a>

<img src="https://cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/styles/story_page/public/2020/10/15/165062-us-elections.jpg?itok=xecivbyt" />

More than 60 million Americans have cast ballots in the US presidential election, a record-breaking pace that could lead to the highest voter turnout in over a century.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/protests-continue-in-islamic-world-against-france-over-cartoon-row-338442">Protests continue in Islamic world against France over cartoon row</a>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/protests-continue-in-islamic-world-against-france-over-cartoon-row-338442/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/amy-coney-barrett-takes-first-oath-at-the-white-house-338445">Amy Coney Barrett takes first oath at the White House</a>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/amy-coney-barrett-takes-first-oath-at-the-white-house-338445/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

&nbsp;

Donald Trump's campaign website hacked a week before US Election 2020 The hacker(s), who have not been caught till now, claimed to have dirt on the President. They did not offer any proof or evidence but posted a cryptocurrency account asking people to transfer funds in if they want to see the secrets being revealed.

Donald Trump's campaign website hacked a week before US Election 2020 The hacker(s), who have not been caught till now, claimed to have dirt on the President. They did not offer any proof or evidence but posted a cryptocurrency account asking people to transfer funds in if they want to see the secrets being revealed. Charlie Hebdo caricatures Recep Erdogan; sparks Turkish fury Charlie Hebdo's intervention came during an escalating war of words between Erdogan, Macron, and other European leaders after the beheading of French schoolteacher Samuel Paty by a suspected Islamist attacker this month. Citizens launch anti-Lukashenko strike, 500 riot-related cases initiated in Belarus Over 500 criminal cases have been opened in Belarus over riots and participation of Belarusian citizens in them, Andrey Serbun, deputy head of the Belarusian Prosecutor General's Office`s department for overseeing the implementation of legislation by the Investigative Committee, said. US election 2020: Surge in 'can I change my vote'; Donald Trump says trend refers to him More than 60 million Americans have cast ballots in the US presidential election, a record-breaking pace that could lead to the highest voter turnout in over a century. Protests continue in Islamic world against France over cartoon row × Amy Coney Barrett takes first oath at the White House ×

Morning news brief: Donald Trump's website hacked; Erdogan-Macron clash and more

Deep inside a 10-block-long factory outlet mall in China, the people who supply Americans with their plastic dinosaurs and “Kiss My Bass” baseball caps are confident about an election victory for President Donald Trump.

Trump’s campaign paraphernalia — hats, banners, mugs and practically anything else that can carry a logo — has been selling briskly at shops in the vast wholesale market in the Chinese city of Yiwu. By contrast, shop owners said during recent visits, bulk orders for materials supporting former Vice President Joe Biden have been almost nonexistent.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/business-economy/how-trump-maneuvered-his-way-out-of-trouble-in-chicago-338483" hreflang="en">How Trump maneuvered his way out of trouble in Chicago</a>

“We’ve had four or five shoppers for Trump materials each month,” said Ge Lu, a salesman at one of about 100 shops specializing just in flags, referring to big purchasers who buy banners by the thousands. “We’ve had one Biden shopper this year.”

The place isn’t for the average shopper. Yiwu is home to the world’s largest wholesale market, where global retailers look for items to stock on their own shelves. In building after cavernous building, buyers for companies big and small pick through stalls featuring hats, T-shirts, banners, face masks, baby toys, knapsacks, modeling clay and practically any other manufactured product that will delight the world’s fickle consumers.

It is also home to what Chinese watchers of U.S. politics — a nervous group these days, given souring relations between the two countries and Beijing’s tighter limits on conversation — call the Yiwu Index. Big demand for a presidential candidate’s merchandise, goes the theory, translates into big voter turnout in November.

Right now, according to the informal and highly unscientific index, Trump leads Biden substantially.

“Trump still has the better chance,” said Zhang Zhijiang, the owner of a caps and hats factory in Jiangsu province who keeps a sales office in the Yiwu market.

Trump might welcome the news from Yiwu. He trails Biden in nationwide polls and in a majority of key battleground states just a week before the election. His campaign has been shaken by the coronavirus, which continues to spread relentlessly through the United States and has even struck the White House.

Followers of the Yiwu Index believe it is reliable, however, and they have history on their side. In 2016, the index consistently predicted a Trump victory. In the final weeks of the campaign, demand for Hillary Clinton hats and other souvenirs weakened considerably.

“They started off even, but then they stopped selling, and later, Trump sold more,” said Dai Fuli, the owner of a baseball cap factory in the city of Qingdao who maintains an outlet in Yiwu.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/donald-trumps-campaign-website-hacked-a-week-before-us-election-2020-338446" hreflang="en">Donald Trump's campaign website hacked a week before US Election 2020</a>

China is watching the election nervously. Trump launched a trade war against Beijing and has taken a more confrontational approach on issues like high-tech export controls, industrial espionage, Taiwan and the South China Sea.

At the same time, some in China expect little improvement under a Biden administration. They worry that Biden might even step up criticism of China’s human rights record while strengthening U.S. alliances with China’s neighbors and with Europe to limit China’s rise.

Official anxiety has led to light coverage of the election. Chinese state media has reported the large role that money plays and urged without success that China policy not become a political issue. On Chinese social media, Trump’s frequent interruptions during debates with Biden attracted widespread attention.

Given the political sensitivities, the government-controlled market has banned big displays of campaign merchandise for fear of looking partisan. Many merchants declined to speak during the recent visits.

Formally named the Yiwu International Trade City, it boasts 12 times the floor space of the Empire State Building, making it look like a small city. Much of the complex was hastily and even shoddily built two decades ago, giving its prematurely aging buildings a ramshackle look.

It has 70,000 shops, and transactions taking place under its many roofs exceed $60 billion a year. The national government considers the market enough of an indicator of the health of light manufacturing that it manages its own Yiwu Index, of average prices at the shops.

With some disorderly exceptions, floors are organized by type of merchandise. The warren-like corridors of one floor were devoted to hats. A second housed flags. A third floor featured costumes and masks, while another was devoted to toys.

Dai, the owner of the baseball cap factory in Qingdao, rents a stall on the hat floor. She said orders for Trump baseball caps had been consistently strong for two years. Biden cap orders were negligible until he became the expected Democratic nominee last spring, but only in recent weeks have these customers wanted to put down cash, she added. The recent orders arrived too late to make and deliver the hats before the election.

So the total for Trump cap orders so far this year: “There are tens of thousands this year,” Dai said. “Biden has a few thousand.”

Despite its accuracy in 2016, the Yiwu political index has its flaws. Often the buyers are not the campaigns themselves but proxies, like companies and other institutions that want to express their support for a candidate, or simply stores that want to sell popular merchandise.

The pandemic has interfered with normal marketing. China has barred practically all international visitors since the end of March, and it has required stringent, two-week quarantines for those who do enter. This has reduced overall activity compared with the 2016 presidential campaign, merchants said.

The pandemic has also produced different styles of campaigning. Trump has emphasized large gatherings, with supporters waving pennants and wearing various campaign merchandise, which increases demand for goods from Yiwu. Biden has avoided holding or encouraging mass gatherings in person and has relied more on online events.

As in 2016, Trump also appears to be gaining a considerable share of his support from people in rural areas, where people may have more room for yard signs and banners. Biden has done better in cities, where apartment dwellers have less room to wave flags.

Some vendors think Biden’s supporters may simply be taking business elsewhere. Zhang, the hat factory owner in Jiangsu province, said Biden supporters appeared to be placing more of their baseball cap orders in Vietnam and Myanmar.

With trade with the United States increasingly in doubt, a few Yiwu vendors said they were becoming less interested in the U.S. market. In the flag section, some appeared to be appealing instead to China’s rising nationalism. On the flag floor, the corridors were a scarlet sea of red national flags, red Chinese Communist Party pennants and other souvenirs.

Yet Trump paraphernalia is still in demand. At a Halloween mask factory outlet, rubbery Trump masks were consistently popular and completely sold out.

The factory created a Biden mask, said Gigi Zhang, the store manager, but nobody had ordered it yet.

Deep inside a 10-block-long factory outlet mall in China, the people who supply Americans with their plastic dinosaurs and “Kiss My Bass” baseball caps are confident about an election victory for President Donald Trump.

Deep inside a 10-block-long factory outlet mall in China, the people who supply Americans with their plastic dinosaurs and “Kiss My Bass” baseball caps are confident about an election victory for President Donald Trump. Trump’s campaign paraphernalia — hats, banners, mugs and practically anything else that can carry a logo — has been selling briskly at shops in the vast wholesale market in the Chinese city of Yiwu. By contrast, shop owners said during recent visits, bulk orders for materials supporting former Vice President Joe Biden have been almost nonexistent. Also read: How Trump maneuvered his way out of trouble in Chicago “We’ve had four or five shoppers for Trump materials each month,” said Ge Lu, a salesman at one of about 100 shops specializing just in flags, referring to big purchasers who buy banners by the thousands. “We’ve had one Biden shopper this year.” The place isn’t for the average shopper. Yiwu is home to the world’s largest wholesale market, where global retailers look for items to stock on their own shelves. In building after cavernous building, buyers for companies big and small pick through stalls featuring hats, T-shirts, banners, face masks, baby toys, knapsacks, modeling clay and practically any other manufactured product that will delight the world’s fickle consumers. It is also home to what Chinese watchers of U.S. politics — a nervous group these days, given souring relations between the two countries and Beijing’s tighter limits on conversation — call the Yiwu Index. Big demand for a presidential candidate’s merchandise, goes the theory, translates into big voter turnout in November. Right now, according to the informal and highly unscientific index, Trump leads Biden substantially. “Trump still has the better chance,” said Zhang Zhijiang, the owner of a caps and hats factory in Jiangsu province who keeps a sales office in the Yiwu market. Trump might welcome the news from Yiwu. He trails Biden in nationwide polls and in a majority of key battleground states just a week before the election. His campaign has been shaken by the coronavirus, which continues to spread relentlessly through the United States and has even struck the White House. Followers of the Yiwu Index believe it is reliable, however, and they have history on their side. In 2016, the index consistently predicted a Trump victory. In the final weeks of the campaign, demand for Hillary Clinton hats and other souvenirs weakened considerably. “They started off even, but then they stopped selling, and later, Trump sold more,” said Dai Fuli, the owner of a baseball cap factory in the city of Qingdao who maintains an outlet in Yiwu. Also read: Donald Trump's campaign website hacked a week before US Election 2020 China is watching the election nervously. Trump launched a trade war against Beijing and has taken a more confrontational approach on issues like high-tech export controls, industrial espionage, Taiwan and the South China Sea. At the same time, some in China expect little improvement under a Biden administration. They worry that Biden might even step up criticism of China’s human rights record while strengthening U.S. alliances with China’s neighbors and with Europe to limit China’s rise. Official anxiety has led to light coverage of the election. Chinese state media has reported the large role that money plays and urged without success that China policy not become a political issue. On Chinese social media, Trump’s frequent interruptions during debates with Biden attracted widespread attention. Given the political sensitivities, the government-controlled market has banned big displays of campaign merchandise for fear of looking partisan. Many merchants declined to speak during the recent visits. Formally named the Yiwu International Trade City, it boasts 12 times the floor space of the Empire State Building, making it look like a small city. Much of the complex was hastily and even shoddily built two decades ago, giving its prematurely aging buildings a ramshackle look. It has 70,000 shops, and transactions taking place under its many roofs exceed $60 billion a year. The national government considers the market enough of an indicator of the health of light manufacturing that it manages its own Yiwu Index, of average prices at the shops. With some disorderly exceptions, floors are organized by type of merchandise. The warren-like corridors of one floor were devoted to hats. A second housed flags. A third floor featured costumes and masks, while another was devoted to toys. Dai, the owner of the baseball cap factory in Qingdao, rents a stall on the hat floor. She said orders for Trump baseball caps had been consistently strong for two years. Biden cap orders were negligible until he became the expected Democratic nominee last spring, but only in recent weeks have these customers wanted to put down cash, she added. The recent orders arrived too late to make and deliver the hats before the election. So the total for Trump cap orders so far this year: “There are tens of thousands this year,” Dai said. “Biden has a few thousand.” Despite its accuracy in 2016, the Yiwu political index has its flaws. Often the buyers are not the campaigns themselves but proxies, like companies and other institutions that want to express their support for a candidate, or simply stores that want to sell popular merchandise. The pandemic has interfered with normal marketing. China has barred practically all international visitors since the end of March, and it has required stringent, two-week quarantines for those who do enter. This has reduced overall activity compared with the 2016 presidential campaign, merchants said. The pandemic has also produced different styles of campaigning. Trump has emphasized large gatherings, with supporters waving pennants and wearing various campaign merchandise, which increases demand for goods from Yiwu. Biden has avoided holding or encouraging mass gatherings in person and has relied more on online events. As in 2016, Trump also appears to be gaining a considerable share of his support from people in rural areas, where people may have more room for yard signs and banners. Biden has done better in cities, where apartment dwellers have less room to wave flags. Some vendors think Biden’s supporters may simply be taking business elsewhere. Zhang, the hat factory owner in Jiangsu province, said Biden supporters appeared to be placing more of their baseball cap orders in Vietnam and Myanmar. With trade with the United States increasingly in doubt, a few Yiwu vendors said they were becoming less interested in the U.S. market. In the flag section, some appeared to be appealing instead to China’s rising nationalism. On the flag floor, the corridors were a scarlet sea of red national flags, red Chinese Communist Party pennants and other souvenirs. Yet Trump paraphernalia is still in demand. At a Halloween mask factory outlet, rubbery Trump masks were consistently popular and completely sold out. The factory created a Biden mask, said Gigi Zhang, the store manager, but nobody had ordered it yet.

In China, an election bellwether flashes for Trump

With just 15 days to go for the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/us-election">US elections</a>, early voting started in San Francisco as US presidential race enters its home stretch.

Watch:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-election-2020-early-voting-underway-in-battleground-florida-336559/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Amid the election frenzy, President Donald <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-calls-coronavirus-expert-anthony-fauci-a-disaster-336526">Trump</a> and Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden have been criss-crossing states in a bid to capture the last minute voters as the final polling day nears.

According to US elections project, over 30 million Americans have already exercised their franchise. The tracker informed that 30,738,627 ballots have been cast across the United States with over 4 million voters in Texas who have already chosen their president.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-biden-trump-campaigns-and-the-role-of-faith-in-american-elections-336518">Also Read:&nbsp;Biden-Trump campaigns and the role of faith in American elections</a>

In California, over 3 million votes have been cast with over 2 million in Florida.

As the election heat reaches fever pitch, Donald Trump told supporters to deliver Democrats "a thundering defeat" at a campaign rally in Tuscon, Arizona even as he objected to the "mute" button in next TV <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-elections-mikes-to-be-muted-in-next-us-presidential-debate-between-trump-and-biden-to-stop-interruptions-336543">presidential debate </a>with Biden.

Voters have turned in southern Florida with masks for the start of in-person as voters poured in throughout Hialeah and Miami beach.

According to an opinion poll, Biden leads Trump by 8.9 percentage points with the Democratic presidential hopeful ahead by an average 1.4 percentage points as the presidential race enters the final stage.

"Together, we can put an end to the last four years of darkness, division, and chaos," Biden he tweeted, adding, "We can unite, mend our wounds, and begin to heal."

Biden has already campaigned in North Carolina as his vice presidential pics Kamla Harris was pitched to take on a drive-in rally in Orlando amid a voter mobilization event in Jacksonville. 
 
Meanwhile, more than 70 million Americans have cast ballots in the U.S. presidential election, more than half the total turnout of the 2016 election with one week to go until Election Day, according to a Tuesday tally from the U.S. Elections Project.

With just 15 days to go for the US elections, early voting started in San Francisco as US presidential race enters its home stretch. Watch: Amid the election frenzy, President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden have been criss-crossing states in a bid to capture the last minute voters as the final polling day nears.

With just 15 days to go for the US elections, early voting started in San Francisco as US presidential race enters its home stretch. Watch: Amid the election frenzy, President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden have been criss-crossing states in a bid to capture the last minute voters as the final polling day nears. According to US elections project, over 30 million Americans have already exercised their franchise. The tracker informed that 30,738,627 ballots have been cast across the United States with over 4 million voters in Texas who have already chosen their president. Also Read: Biden-Trump campaigns and the role of faith in American elections In California, over 3 million votes have been cast with over 2 million in Florida. As the election heat reaches fever pitch, Donald Trump told supporters to deliver Democrats "a thundering defeat" at a campaign rally in Tuscon, Arizona even as he objected to the "mute" button in next TV presidential debate with Biden. Voters have turned in southern Florida with masks for the start of in-person as voters poured in throughout Hialeah and Miami beach. According to an opinion poll, Biden leads Trump by 8.9 percentage points with the Democratic presidential hopeful ahead by an average 1.4 percentage points as the presidential race enters the final stage. "Together, we can put an end to the last four years of darkness, division, and chaos," Biden he tweeted, adding, "We can unite, mend our wounds, and begin to heal." Biden has already campaigned in North Carolina as his vice presidential pics Kamla Harris was pitched to take on a drive-in rally in Orlando amid a voter mobilization event in Jacksonville. Meanwhile, more than 70 million Americans have cast ballots in the U.S. presidential election, more than half the total turnout of the 2016 election with one week to go until Election Day, according to a Tuesday tally from the U.S. Elections Project.

Early voting begins in Florida with over 30 million votes cast in US elections

With less than a week to go for the final showdown between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden for the US election 2020, it appears that voters who have voted early are trying to change their minds.

More than 60 million Americans have cast ballots in the US&nbsp;presidential election, a record-breaking pace that could lead to the highest voter turnout in over a century, according to data from the US&nbsp;Elections Project.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-how-are-votes-counted-in-the-presidential-election-335422" hreflang="en">US election 2020: How are votes counted in the presidential election?</a>

Apparently, there was a spike in&nbsp;'can I change my vote', and Trump believes that this means that the trend refers to him.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Strongly Trending (Google) since immediately after the second debate is CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE? This refers changing it to me. The answer in most states is YES. Go do it. Most important Election of your life!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1321042229838909441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Reportedly, the trend skyrocketed after the final presidential debate and has been going up steadily ever since.

A media professor at the University of New Mexico, Nick Flor posted his analysis about it.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BTW, did you hear that "Can I change my vote" is trending as a search term on Google? ROFL! 
 
Started peaking right after the final debate / Hunter Biden controversy. This is why social media is trying so hard to censor.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FoxAndFriends?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FoxAndFriends</a> 
 
The answer is yes:<a href="https://t.co/xrQwOeoOAU">https://t.co/xrQwOeoOAU</a> <a href="https://t.co/qZA3tPmK3u">pic.twitter.com/qZA3tPmK3u</a>
— Nick Flor-ProfessorF (@ProfessorF) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProfessorF/status/1321042252982972416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

However, he later said that this happens in every US election and is not something that has occurred for the first time.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
LOL, no it is not EVERY election this happens — contrary to what the correct-the-record mob is frantically trying to post. 
 
And this is the highest level ever for "Can I change my vote" (dashes indicate still climbing, see below) <a href="https://t.co/uOC9TdVmHZ">pic.twitter.com/uOC9TdVmHZ</a>
— Nick Flor-ProfessorF (@ProfessorF) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProfessorF/status/1321045284613361664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Consumer confidence dropped sharply in October in three US&nbsp;states considered crucial for Republican President Donald Trump's re-election&nbsp;as fears about the economy's outlook mounted, according to a survey on Tuesday.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-with-a-week-to-go-heres-what-is-abuzz-338402" hreflang="en">US election 2020: With a week to go, here's what is abuzz</a>

The Conference Board's findings came ahead of next Tuesday's fiercely contested battle for the White House between Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Trump is trailing the former vice president in national opinion polls.

Consumer confidence in Florida dropped to a reading of 100.3 this month from 114.4 in September. Though confidence has rebounded after slumping as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the state, it is near levels seen just before the 2016&nbsp;election.

In Pennsylvania, consumer confidence tumbled to a reading of 92.0 from 115.5 in September. Consumer confidence in Michigan fell to 119.2 in October from a reading of 124.1 in the prior month. Confidence in the three swing states was dragged by declines in consumers' expectations.

"The numbers can be choppy, but this does not bode well for Donald Trump's chances of re-election&nbsp;and with incomes being squeezed and COVID-19 cases on the rise, neither for the economy," said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING in New York.

Consumer confidence also fell in Ohio and Illinois and Texas this month but edged up in New York and California.

As result, overall consumer confidence dipped to a reading of 100.9 in October from 101.3 in September.

"There is little to suggest that consumers foresee the economy gaining momentum in the final months of 2020, especially with COVID-19 cases on the rise and unemployment still high," said Lynn Franco, senior director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board.

&nbsp;

With less than a week to go for the final showdown between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden for the US election 2020, it appears that voters who have voted early are trying to change their minds.

With less than a week to go for the final showdown between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden for the US election 2020, it appears that voters who have voted early are trying to change their minds. More than 60 million Americans have cast ballots in the US presidential election, a record-breaking pace that could lead to the highest voter turnout in over a century, according to data from the US Elections Project. Also read: US election 2020: How are votes counted in the presidential election? Apparently, there was a spike in 'can I change my vote', and Trump believes that this means that the trend refers to him. Strongly Trending (Google) since immediately after the second debate is CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE? This refers changing it to me. The answer in most states is YES. Go do it. Most important Election of your life! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 27, 2020 × Reportedly, the trend skyrocketed after the final presidential debate and has been going up steadily ever since. A media professor at the University of New Mexico, Nick Flor posted his analysis about it. BTW, did you hear that "Can I change my vote" is trending as a search term on Google? ROFL! Started peaking right after the final debate / Hunter Biden controversy. This is why social media is trying so hard to censor.#FoxAndFriends The answer is yes:https://t.co/xrQwOeoOAU pic.twitter.com/qZA3tPmK3u — Nick Flor-ProfessorF (@ProfessorF) October 27, 2020 × However, he later said that this happens in every US election and is not something that has occurred for the first time. LOL, no it is not EVERY election this happens — contrary to what the correct-the-record mob is frantically trying to post. And this is the highest level ever for "Can I change my vote" (dashes indicate still climbing, see below) pic.twitter.com/uOC9TdVmHZ — Nick Flor-ProfessorF (@ProfessorF) October 27, 2020 × Consumer confidence dropped sharply in October in three US states considered crucial for Republican President Donald Trump's re-election as fears about the economy's outlook mounted, according to a survey on Tuesday. Also read: US election 2020: With a week to go, here's what is abuzz The Conference Board's findings came ahead of next Tuesday's fiercely contested battle for the White House between Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Trump is trailing the former vice president in national opinion polls. Consumer confidence in Florida dropped to a reading of 100.3 this month from 114.4 in September. Though confidence has rebounded after slumping as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the state, it is near levels seen just before the 2016 election. In Pennsylvania, consumer confidence tumbled to a reading of 92.0 from 115.5 in September. Consumer confidence in Michigan fell to 119.2 in October from a reading of 124.1 in the prior month. Confidence in the three swing states was dragged by declines in consumers' expectations. "The numbers can be choppy, but this does not bode well for Donald Trump's chances of re-election and with incomes being squeezed and COVID-19 cases on the rise, neither for the economy," said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING in New York. Consumer confidence also fell in Ohio and Illinois and Texas this month but edged up in New York and California. As result, overall consumer confidence dipped to a reading of 100.9 in October from 101.3 in September. "There is little to suggest that consumers foresee the economy gaining momentum in the final months of 2020, especially with COVID-19 cases on the rise and unemployment still high," said Lynn Franco, senior director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board.

US election 2020: Surge in 'can I change my vote'; Donald Trump says trend refers to him

As the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">US elections</a> near, the two leaders — <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> — have now kickstarted their last leg of campaigning. On Tuesday, Biden&nbsp;held a drive-in rally to make sure there is no spread of the novel coronavirus — an issue he grilled&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;on, yet again.

Biden, on Tuesday, accused the current US President of surrendering in front of a pandemic. The rally, that took place in the&nbsp;Republican stronghold of Georgia, saw the attendance of&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;fans in the Democrat minority area.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-with-a-week-to-go-heres-what-is-abuzz-338402">Also read|&nbsp;US election 2020: With a week to go, here's what is abuzz</a>

During the rally, Biden stressed on the statement made by&nbsp;Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows at the weekend that "we're not going to control the pandemic." Further, he claimed the White Houe's efforts to control the pandemic&nbsp;as&nbsp;"a capitulation"&nbsp;that White House and the Trump administration "never really tried" to halt a pandemic which has now killed more than 226,000 Americans.

Biden claimed that the President,&nbsp;"shrugged, he swaggered and he surrendered"instead of fighting the pandemic and helping fellow Americans get a healthy aid during this deadly virus outbreak. Promising that he can control the virus, unlike&nbsp;Trump, the Democratic candidate said,&nbsp;"I'm here to tell you: We can and we will control this virus".

<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/campaigning-for-us-presidential-election-enters-final-week-338396">Also read|&nbsp;Campaigning for US presidential election enters final week</a>

He also showed confidence in his voters on Georgia and urged them to get out and vote.&nbsp;"We win Georgia, we win everything!" Biden said. "These are the final days, so keep that sense of empowerment with you, that sense of optimism."

Biden&nbsp;also got help fort he former US President&nbsp;Barack Obama&nbsp;who motivated the voters to voter for the "right candidate" saying,&nbsp;"One week until the most important election in our lifetimes," Obama said.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Two years ago, a white supremacist entered Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue and perpetrated the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history. May the memories of those we lost be a blessing — and may we never stop fighting the scourges of anti-Semitism and gun violence.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1321255611795951618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

"We were complacent last time. Folks got a little lazy, folks took things for granted, and look what happened," Obama said.&nbsp;"Not this time. Let's bring it home."

Meanwhile, Trump&nbsp;was also seen campaigning in a mask-less crowd with almost zero social distancing in an open-air space in Michigan and Wisconsin.&nbsp;"I've got to say I'm working my ass off here!," he told a massive crowd of supporters wearing 'MAGA'caps.

The First Lady, Melania Trump, too, finally joined her husband's campaign and calling him a "fighter", she said,&nbsp;"I do not always agree with the way he says things. But it is important to him that he speaks directly to the people he serves."

As the US elections near, the two leaders — Donald Trump and Joe Biden — have now kickstarted their last leg of campaigning. On Tuesday, Biden held a drive-in rally to make sure there is no spread of the novel coronavirus — an issue he grilled Trump on, yet again.

As the US elections near, the two leaders — Donald Trump and Joe Biden — have now kickstarted their last leg of campaigning. On Tuesday, Biden held a drive-in rally to make sure there is no spread of the novel coronavirus — an issue he grilled Trump on, yet again. Biden, on Tuesday, accused the current US President of surrendering in front of a pandemic. The rally, that took place in the Republican stronghold of Georgia, saw the attendance of Biden fans in the Democrat minority area. Also read| US election 2020: With a week to go, here's what is abuzz During the rally, Biden stressed on the statement made by Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows at the weekend that "we're not going to control the pandemic." Further, he claimed the White Houe's efforts to control the pandemic as "a capitulation" that White House and the Trump administration "never really tried" to halt a pandemic which has now killed more than 226,000 Americans. Biden claimed that the President, "shrugged, he swaggered and he surrendered"instead of fighting the pandemic and helping fellow Americans get a healthy aid during this deadly virus outbreak. Promising that he can control the virus, unlike Trump, the Democratic candidate said, "I'm here to tell you: We can and we will control this virus". Also read| Campaigning for US presidential election enters final week He also showed confidence in his voters on Georgia and urged them to get out and vote. "We win Georgia, we win everything!" Biden said. "These are the final days, so keep that sense of empowerment with you, that sense of optimism." Biden also got help fort he former US President Barack Obama who motivated the voters to voter for the "right candidate" saying, "One week until the most important election in our lifetimes," Obama said. Two years ago, a white supremacist entered Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue and perpetrated the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history. May the memories of those we lost be a blessing — and may we never stop fighting the scourges of anti-Semitism and gun violence. — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 28, 2020 × "We were complacent last time. Folks got a little lazy, folks took things for granted, and look what happened," Obama said. "Not this time. Let's bring it home." Meanwhile, Trump was also seen campaigning in a mask-less crowd with almost zero social distancing in an open-air space in Michigan and Wisconsin. "I've got to say I'm working my ass off here!," he told a massive crowd of supporters wearing 'MAGA'caps. The First Lady, Melania Trump, too, finally joined her husband's campaign and calling him a "fighter", she said, "I do not always agree with the way he says things. But it is important to him that he speaks directly to the people he serves."

US Election 2020: Joe Biden slams Donald Trump on coronavirus blunder

First Lady Melania Trump on Tuesday hit the campaign trail for her president husband for the first time on her own this year, praising him as a "fighter" and offering support to pandemic victims.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/melania-trump-body-double-photo-sparks-bizarre-social-media-conspiracy-338006">Also read: Melania Trump 'body double' photo sparks bizarre social media conspiracy</a> 
 
Trump, 50, has been only a rare presence at her husband's campaign events but won praise for her speech at the Republican Party's nominating convention in August.

"Donald is a fighter. He loves this country and he fights for you every single day," she told supporters of the president in Pennsylvania, a key battleground in his duel with Joe Biden.

Her plans to hit the trail with her husband last week were thwarted due to a "lingering cough" from her battle with the coronavirus, which struck the first couple and son Barron.

"Thank you for all the love and support you gave us when our family was diagnosed with Covid-19," she said Tuesday. "We are feeling so much better now."

She offered compassion to families of the more than 225,000 Americans who have succumbed to Covid so far this year.

"I know there are many people who have lost loved ones or know people who have been forever impacted by this silent enemy," she said.

"My family's thoughts and prayers are with all of you through this difficult time," Trump added. "We will triumph over this virus."

In her speech, she offered a few comments about her husband's rabid Twitter use.

Her "Be Best" campaign -- which champions "uplifting, positive and respectful online interactions," according to the White House website -- has often faced criticism given the president's own strident online persona.

"For the first time in history, the citizens of this country get to hear directly and instantly from their president every single day through social media," she said. 
"I do not always agree with the way he says things," she added, to some laughter from the crowd.

"But it is important to him that he speaks directly to the people he serves."

First Lady Melania Trump on Tuesday hit the campaign trail for her president husband for the first time on her own this year, praising him as a "fighter" and offering support to pandemic victims.

First Lady Melania Trump on Tuesday hit the campaign trail for her president husband for the first time on her own this year, praising him as a "fighter" and offering support to pandemic victims. Also read: Melania Trump 'body double' photo sparks bizarre social media conspiracy Trump, 50, has been only a rare presence at her husband's campaign events but won praise for her speech at the Republican Party's nominating convention in August. "Donald is a fighter. He loves this country and he fights for you every single day," she told supporters of the president in Pennsylvania, a key battleground in his duel with Joe Biden. Her plans to hit the trail with her husband last week were thwarted due to a "lingering cough" from her battle with the coronavirus, which struck the first couple and son Barron. "Thank you for all the love and support you gave us when our family was diagnosed with Covid-19," she said Tuesday. "We are feeling so much better now." She offered compassion to families of the more than 225,000 Americans who have succumbed to Covid so far this year. "I know there are many people who have lost loved ones or know people who have been forever impacted by this silent enemy," she said. "My family's thoughts and prayers are with all of you through this difficult time," Trump added. "We will triumph over this virus." In her speech, she offered a few comments about her husband's rabid Twitter use. Her "Be Best" campaign -- which champions "uplifting, positive and respectful online interactions," according to the White House website -- has often faced criticism given the president's own strident online persona. "For the first time in history, the citizens of this country get to hear directly and instantly from their president every single day through social media," she said. "I do not always agree with the way he says things," she added, to some laughter from the crowd. "But it is important to him that he speaks directly to the people he serves."

‘Donald is a fighter’: Melania Trump hits the campaign trail for her husband 

US President Donald Trump’s campaign website on Tuesday was hacked by cryptocurrency scammers.

Trump campaign website broken into by hackers

With a week left for&nbsp;the<a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">&nbsp;US elections</a>,&nbsp;the two leaders — the current Republican candidate and President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;and his Democrat rival and former Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;— have started the last eg of election campaigning and are also covering the states which hold a minority of their party support.

The American voters have created history with <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-american-voters-make-history-more-than-70-million-cast-ballots-338468">more than 70 million voters casting ballot</a> a week before the November 03 elections — a number that could lead to the highest voter turnout in percentage terms in more than a century.&nbsp; As of now, the opinion polls are showing Joe Biden to be the frontrunner, but realistically speaking both the leaders have a fair chance of winning.

The United States has a total of 50 states out of which few hold more importance than the rest. These states are called "swing states" — also known as "battlegrounds" informally.&nbsp;In the elections this year, these states comprise of 15 major states. These result for these states cannot be determined as of now as the states work in a balance and can lead to either&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;or&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;winning the claim on the White House for the next four years.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-surge-in-can-i-change-my-vote-donald-trump-says-trend-refers-to-him-338447">Also read|&nbsp;Voters' remorse? Surge in 'can I change my vote' as US election nears</a>

The rest of the states are ones which have, in a way, already established their winner. Places such as&nbsp;New York and California are the areas where Trump&nbsp;cannot secure a win, while he can be crowned as undefeated in the Republican majority states such as&nbsp;Alabama or Oklahoma.

A swing states thi year is Arizona. The state has only voted for one Democrat — Bill Clinton&nbsp;(in 1996) — since 1952. In 2016,&nbsp;Donald Trump&nbsp;won this state with a margin of four percent. However, the state has seen a radical shift in its political atmosphere since 2016, and thus&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;also has a chance of winning the state this year.

Colarodo and Florida are the next two swing states with Colarodo having elected three Republican candidates and three Democrats in the past six years. Last time in 2016,&nbsp;Hillary Clinton&nbsp;has won the state in opposition to the ultimate winner,&nbsp;Donald Trump.&nbsp;Florida, too, has been one of the most unpredictable states in the history of the US elections.&nbsp;Trump, in 2016, won the election by&nbsp;1.19 per cent and&nbsp;Barack Obama by&nbsp;0.88 per cent in 2012.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-joe-biden-slams-donald-trump-on-coronavirus-blunder-338432">Also read|&nbsp;US Election 2020: Joe Biden slams Donald Trump on coronavirus blunder</a>

Georgia is another state which has usually favoured Republicans but has also helped&nbsp;Bill Clinton&nbsp;back in 1992. The recet political scenario is taking a shift which can change the results in the upcoming elections.

States such as Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Minnesota,&nbsp;Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina&nbsp;have supported&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;in the past and will be critical in the upcoming elections as the voters have been tad bit undecided this year. Texas has been a Trump supporter for the last four years. However,&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;has been putting in extra efforts to woo the Texas voters. However, Trump supporters have been vocal in upporting him this year too.

Each candidate's aim is to secure 270&nbsp;electoral votes, and each state's victory will put them a step closer to the swearing ceremony due in January 2021 at the White House.

The sudden shifts and the undecisive nature of the voters has been majorly due to the mail-in voting that has been adopted majorly by a lot of states this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The results of this year's elections can be delayed — a warning often highlighted by&nbsp;Trump.

With a week left for the US elections, the two leaders — the current Republican candidate and President Donald Trump and his Democrat rival and former Vice President Joe Biden — have started the last eg of election campaigning and are also covering the states which hold a minority of their party support.

With a week left for the US elections, the two leaders — the current Republican candidate and President Donald Trump and his Democrat rival and former Vice President Joe Biden — have started the last eg of election campaigning and are also covering the states which hold a minority of their party support. The American voters have created history with more than 70 million voters casting ballot a week before the November 03 elections — a number that could lead to the highest voter turnout in percentage terms in more than a century. As of now, the opinion polls are showing Joe Biden to be the frontrunner, but realistically speaking both the leaders have a fair chance of winning. The United States has a total of 50 states out of which few hold more importance than the rest. These states are called "swing states" — also known as "battlegrounds" informally. In the elections this year, these states comprise of 15 major states. These result for these states cannot be determined as of now as the states work in a balance and can lead to either Trump or Biden winning the claim on the White House for the next four years. Also read| Voters' remorse? Surge in 'can I change my vote' as US election nears The rest of the states are ones which have, in a way, already established their winner. Places such as New York and California are the areas where Trump cannot secure a win, while he can be crowned as undefeated in the Republican majority states such as Alabama or Oklahoma. A swing states thi year is Arizona. The state has only voted for one Democrat — Bill Clinton (in 1996) — since 1952. In 2016, Donald Trump won this state with a margin of four percent. However, the state has seen a radical shift in its political atmosphere since 2016, and thus Biden also has a chance of winning the state this year. Colarodo and Florida are the next two swing states with Colarodo having elected three Republican candidates and three Democrats in the past six years. Last time in 2016, Hillary Clinton has won the state in opposition to the ultimate winner, Donald Trump. Florida, too, has been one of the most unpredictable states in the history of the US elections. Trump, in 2016, won the election by 1.19 per cent and Barack Obama by 0.88 per cent in 2012. Also read| US Election 2020: Joe Biden slams Donald Trump on coronavirus blunder Georgia is another state which has usually favoured Republicans but has also helped Bill Clinton back in 1992. The recet political scenario is taking a shift which can change the results in the upcoming elections. States such as Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina have supported Biden in the past and will be critical in the upcoming elections as the voters have been tad bit undecided this year. Texas has been a Trump supporter for the last four years. However, Biden has been putting in extra efforts to woo the Texas voters. However, Trump supporters have been vocal in upporting him this year too. Each candidate's aim is to secure 270 electoral votes, and each state's victory will put them a step closer to the swearing ceremony due in January 2021 at the White House. The sudden shifts and the undecisive nature of the voters has been majorly due to the mail-in voting that has been adopted majorly by a lot of states this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The results of this year's elections can be delayed — a warning often highlighted by Trump.

Donald Trump vs Joe Biden: Swing states and their role in US Election 2020

With a week left for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">US elections</a>,&nbsp;the current President of the United States&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;has once again questioned the authenticity of the mail-in voting as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;is promoting the same.

While&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;is repeatedly questioning whether or not the mail-in votes are fair, his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner defied their father and opted for mail-in voting rather than casting&nbsp;in-person vote.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CG0IkZOBpWj/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">
<div style="padding:16px;">
<div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;">
<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;">
<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>

<div style="padding: 19% 0;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CG0IkZOBpWj/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd" stroke="none" stroke-width="1"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></a></div>

<div style="padding-top: 8px;">
<div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CG0IkZOBpWj/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank">View this post on Instagram</a></div>
</div>

<div style="padding: 12.5% 0;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;">
<div>
<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<div style="margin-left: 8px;">
<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<div style="margin-left: auto;">
<div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CG0IkZOBpWj/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">I’ll give you one guess who we’re voting for??? #Trump2020 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸</a>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ivankatrump/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Ivanka Trump</a> (@ivankatrump) on <time datetime="2020-10-26T17:09:13+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Oct 26, 2020 at 10:09am PDT</time>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Ivanka Trump uploaded a picture on her official Instagram account which shows her and Jared Kushner holding their vote envelopes in hand while&nbsp;Donald Trump i sitting in his chair onboard the Air Force One. The picture is captioned, "I’ll give you one guess who we’re voting for???"&nbsp;

She also posted the same image on her Twitter account.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I’ll give you one guess who we’re voting for???<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Trump2020?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Trump2020</a> 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/vEGIs2yZM0">pic.twitter.com/vEGIs2yZM0</a>
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/IvankaTrump/status/1320775685514772480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

As soon as the picture surfaced, social media users of Facebook and Twitter started trolling Ivanka as she has, on various occasions, protested against mail-in voting, matching her father's tune of the mail ballots being a means of corruption and 'massive fraud' used by his rival&nbsp;Joe Biden.&nbsp;

The picture soon became a laughing stock with many users calling Trump&nbsp;a little more scary-looking than usual. Some internet theories also started assuming that the man pictured is a body double of&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;— a theory which holds no truth.

This was in direct contrast with Trump's&nbsp;personal narrative, as&nbsp;Trump, himself, opted for in-person voting in Florida over the weekend and on Monday, too, claimed that the mail-in ballots will lead to frauds. The same question was raised by the president on Tuesday. "It’s the only way we can lose in my opinion is massive fraud,"&nbsp;Trump said in Allentown. "It’s the fake ballots right? The phony ballots that are all crooked as hell."

With a week left for the US elections, the current President of the United States Donald Trump has once again questioned the authenticity of the mail-in voting as Joe Biden is promoting the same.

With a week left for the US elections, the current President of the United States Donald Trump has once again questioned the authenticity of the mail-in voting as Joe Biden is promoting the same. While Trump is repeatedly questioning whether or not the mail-in votes are fair, his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner defied their father and opted for mail-in voting rather than casting in-person vote. View this post on Instagram I’ll give you one guess who we’re voting for??? #Trump2020 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 A post shared by Ivanka Trump (@ivankatrump) on Oct 26, 2020 at 10:09am PDT × Ivanka Trump uploaded a picture on her official Instagram account which shows her and Jared Kushner holding their vote envelopes in hand while Donald Trump i sitting in his chair onboard the Air Force One. The picture is captioned, "I’ll give you one guess who we’re voting for???" She also posted the same image on her Twitter account. I’ll give you one guess who we’re voting for???#Trump2020 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/vEGIs2yZM0 — Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) October 26, 2020 × As soon as the picture surfaced, social media users of Facebook and Twitter started trolling Ivanka as she has, on various occasions, protested against mail-in voting, matching her father's tune of the mail ballots being a means of corruption and 'massive fraud' used by his rival Joe Biden. The picture soon became a laughing stock with many users calling Trump a little more scary-looking than usual. Some internet theories also started assuming that the man pictured is a body double of Trump — a theory which holds no truth. This was in direct contrast with Trump's personal narrative, as Trump, himself, opted for in-person voting in Florida over the weekend and on Monday, too, claimed that the mail-in ballots will lead to frauds. The same question was raised by the president on Tuesday. "It’s the only way we can lose in my opinion is massive fraud," Trump said in Allentown. "It’s the fake ballots right? The phony ballots that are all crooked as hell."

US Election 2020: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner opt for mail-in voting as Donald Trump questions authenticity

As the<a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election"> US elections</a> inch closer to the November 03 deadline, the two leaders —&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;— have fast-tracked their election campaigns and are urging more people to cast their votes.&nbsp;

Several Hollywood actors, sports legends and other celebrities, too, are encouraging Americans to opt for mail-in voting and/or go to the voting booth and cast their ballots marketing this to be one of the most important elections in the history of US politics.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/donald-trump-vs-joe-biden-which-celebrity-is-backing-whom-in-the-us-presidential-elections-333505">Also read|&nbsp;Donald Trump Vs Joe Biden: Which celebrity is backing whom in the US presidential elections</a>

With this push to the locals, the Americans have created history with more than 70 million Americans casting their vote in early voting, and the number is still increasing as the November 03 deadline inches closer.

According to the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/us-election">US&nbsp;Elections Project</a>, the tally of more than 70 million is half the total amount of the turnout from the 2016 election when&nbsp;Donald Trump&nbsp;and Hillary Clinton&nbsp;campaigned against each other, with Clinton winning in opinion polls but losing in main elections.

As per the Tuesday tally, this record-breaking number — which is increasing with every passing hour — could lead to the highest voter turnout in percentage terms in more than a century.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-surge-in-can-i-change-my-vote-donald-trump-says-trend-refers-to-him-338447">Also read|&nbsp;US election 2020: Surge in 'can I change my vote'; Donald Trump says trend refers to him</a>

This new number shows the newly-found interest of the American voters in the US election 2020, which could be due to the uprising caused by the 'Black Lives Matter' protests that crowded the streets of the US, or the rising death toll caused by the novel coronavirus — which Trump has been alleged to downplaying. This number also shows that people are trying to avoid the crowd on the election day (November 03) adopting to vote early to make sure they do not contract the deadly virus — which is expected to bring another surge with the onset of winters.

The opinion polls are showing Biden as the lead runner, as of now with more of Democrat supporters opting for mail-in voting — a system that&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;has openly criticised and questioned repeatedly. As of now, Democrats hold a rough majority of&nbsp;two-to-one in the early voting numbers, with Republicans rapidly narrowing the gap with in-person voting in the last few weeks.

Observing the trend of early voting this year,&nbsp;Michael McDonald, the University of Florida professor who administers the US Elections Project, is predicting the total turnout of the US elections to be nearly 150 million this year,&nbsp;representing 65% of those eligible to vote, the highest rate since 1908.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-us-election-2020-americans-are-breaking-early-voting-records-338422">Also watch|</a>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-us-election-2020-americans-are-breaking-early-voting-records-338422/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

As the US elections inch closer to the November 03 deadline, the two leaders — Donald Trump and Joe Biden — have fast-tracked their election campaigns and are urging more people to cast their votes.

As the US elections inch closer to the November 03 deadline, the two leaders — Donald Trump and Joe Biden — have fast-tracked their election campaigns and are urging more people to cast their votes. Several Hollywood actors, sports legends and other celebrities, too, are encouraging Americans to opt for mail-in voting and/or go to the voting booth and cast their ballots marketing this to be one of the most important elections in the history of US politics. Also read| Donald Trump Vs Joe Biden: Which celebrity is backing whom in the US presidential elections With this push to the locals, the Americans have created history with more than 70 million Americans casting their vote in early voting, and the number is still increasing as the November 03 deadline inches closer. According to the US Elections Project, the tally of more than 70 million is half the total amount of the turnout from the 2016 election when Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton campaigned against each other, with Clinton winning in opinion polls but losing in main elections. As per the Tuesday tally, this record-breaking number — which is increasing with every passing hour — could lead to the highest voter turnout in percentage terms in more than a century. Also read| US election 2020: Surge in 'can I change my vote'; Donald Trump says trend refers to him This new number shows the newly-found interest of the American voters in the US election 2020, which could be due to the uprising caused by the 'Black Lives Matter' protests that crowded the streets of the US, or the rising death toll caused by the novel coronavirus — which Trump has been alleged to downplaying. This number also shows that people are trying to avoid the crowd on the election day (November 03) adopting to vote early to make sure they do not contract the deadly virus — which is expected to bring another surge with the onset of winters. The opinion polls are showing Biden as the lead runner, as of now with more of Democrat supporters opting for mail-in voting — a system that Trump has openly criticised and questioned repeatedly. As of now, Democrats hold a rough majority of two-to-one in the early voting numbers, with Republicans rapidly narrowing the gap with in-person voting in the last few weeks. Observing the trend of early voting this year, Michael McDonald, the University of Florida professor who administers the US Elections Project, is predicting the total turnout of the US elections to be nearly 150 million this year, representing 65% of those eligible to vote, the highest rate since 1908. Also watch| ×

US Election 2020: American voters make history in early voting; more than 70 million cast ballots

President Donald Trump, who loves to boast of doing anything his predecessors have never done, pulled off such a historic first Monday. He won confirmation of a Supreme Court justice only eight days before a presidential election, rushing his choice through the Senate before voters decide whether to give him four more years or kick him out of office.

Trump then did something else no other president has done. He hosted a nighttime ceremony on the White House lawn to swear in Justice Amy Coney Barrett in a virtual do-over of the superspreader event blamed for infecting multiple people with the coronavirus a month ago to the day, including the president himself, who was forced to spend three nights in the hospital.

To Trump, the first history-maker outweighed the second, a chance to celebrate a landmark political victory regardless of the risk. It was, in effect, the triumph of defiance over experience, a stubborn gesture by a president who refuses to acknowledge the continuing threat of a pandemic that has killed more than 225,000 people in the United States even after it has swept through his own circle of aides, advisers and allies. Undaunted and unbowed, Trump hosted the event even as five people working for Vice President Mike Pence have tested positive in recent days.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/judge-rejects-us-request-to-shield-trump-from-rape-accusers-defamation-lawsuit-338376" hreflang="en">Judge rejects US request to shield Trump from rape accuser's defamation lawsuit</a>

This time, at least, the White House made some concessions to the virus. Unlike the Rose Garden event on Sept. 26 when Trump announced his nomination of Barrett, apparently leading to a raft of infections, the ceremony Monday night marking her confirmation was held on the roomier South Lawn, with folding chairs seated several feet apart and guests required to wear masks.

Neither Trump nor Barrett wore masks, perhaps owing to the fact that both have already had the virus and therefore presumably could be immune. Melania Trump, the first lady, who also was infected after the last event, likewise attended without a mask. Justice Clarence Thomas, who was on hand to swear in his new colleague, wore no mask either, even though he is not known to have been previously infected. None of the other seven justices attended.

Neither the president nor the new justice made any reference to the virus or what happened the last time the two gathered supporters at the White House. Instead, they congratulated themselves on the superquick confirmation process that has now put her on the court just in time to rule on any of Trump’s challenges emerging from next week’s election.

Trump praised Barrett’s “deep knowledge, tremendous poise and towering intellect,” calling her a suitable replacement for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal stalwart who died last month, even though she is the ideological polar opposite.

“It is highly fitting that Justice Barrett fills the seat of a true pioneer for women, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” the president told the crowd. “Tonight, Justice Barrett becomes not only the fifth woman to serve on our nation’s highest court, but the very first mother of school-aged children to become a Supreme Court justice.”

Barrett, 48, who has seven children, will be the current court’s youngest member, its third woman, its sixth Catholic and its only jurist from outside the Ivy League. A graduate of Notre Dame Law School, where she later taught, she has served on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since Trump appointed her in 2017 and has become a favorite of conservatives. Her appointment to the Supreme Court was Trump’s third, the most any president has had in a single term since Richard Nixon and an important credential for Republican voters who care about the judiciary.

In her own remarks Monday, Barrett, whose short-sleeve black dress contrasted with the president’s heavy, black overcoat on a crisp, 55-degree evening, referred to the speedy Senate approval as “a rigorous confirmation process,” a characterization Democrats strenuously disputed.

But she seemed intent on sending the message that she would not simply do Trump’s bidding, using the words “independent” or “independence” three times, even though he has said explicitly that he wanted her seated before the election so she could lend her vote in case of a legal dispute over the balloting.

“A judge declares independence not only from the Congress and the president but also from the private beliefs that might otherwise move her,” Barrett said after being sworn in. “The oath I have solemnly taken tonight,” she added, “means at its core that I will do my job without any fear or favor and that I will do so independently of both the political branches and of my own preferences.”

Neither Democrats nor Republicans seemed to believe that, instead commending or condemning her confirmation as a victory for conservatives and a defeat for liberals. Her replacement of Ginsburg means that the conservative wing now controls the Supreme Court 6-3, heralding a new era of jurisprudence not only on the forthcoming election, but on hot-button issues like abortion, gay rights and health care.

The House Judiciary Committee Republicans, led by Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, one of Trump’s most outspoken allies, taunted Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016, after the Senate’s evening vote.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/how-trump-and-bolsonaro-broke-latin-americas-covid-19-defenses-338261" hreflang="en">How Trump and Bolsonaro broke Latin America’s COVID-19 defenses</a>

“Amy Coney Barrett, confirmed,” said a message posted on the committee’s Twitter account at 8:03 p.m. “Happy Birthday, @HillaryClinton!”

Clinton posted her own message six minutes later, suggesting that Republicans may pay a political price in just a week. “Senate Republicans just pushed through a Supreme Court justice who will help them take away Americans’ health care in the middle of a pandemic,” she wrote. “For them, this is victory. Vote them out.”

The nomination ceremony a month ago undercut the political message Trump wanted to send when he, Trump and others who were in attendance later tested positive for the coronavirus. Trump emerged from his sickness as uncowed as ever, insisting that the virus could be beaten and telling Americans not to let it dominate their lives.

Many of those who were infected that day stayed away Monday night. Among those who were back for more was Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who tested positive for the virus after the announcement ceremony where he had gone maskless and hugged others in the crowd. “Tonight’s vote was a huge win for the American people,” Lee said on Twitter without referring to the virus.

Democrats were flabbergasted that the White House would replicate the event a month later.

“They shame mask wearing,” Sen. Christopher S. Murphy, D-Conn., said on Twitter earlier in the day. “They hold super spreader events daily. They discourage testing. They pretend like a vaccine is days away so that people will let down their guard. The biggest threat to America’s public health isn’t the virus, it’s the Trump White House.”

But Trump relished the theatricality of the moment, escorting Barrett up the stairs to the balcony off the Blue Room that he has now used several times in recent days. From there, the two looked out on the crowd as the president applauded his new appointee; then the two were joined by their spouses, Melania Trump and Jesse Barrett, before all four along with Thomas slipped back into the White House again.

President Donald Trump, who loves to boast of doing anything his predecessors have never done, pulled off such a historic first Monday. He won confirmation of a Supreme Court justice only eight days before a presidential election, rushing his choice through the Senate before voters decide whether to give him four more years or kick him out of office.

President Donald Trump, who loves to boast of doing anything his predecessors have never done, pulled off such a historic first Monday. He won confirmation of a Supreme Court justice only eight days before a presidential election, rushing his choice through the Senate before voters decide whether to give him four more years or kick him out of office. Trump then did something else no other president has done. He hosted a nighttime ceremony on the White House lawn to swear in Justice Amy Coney Barrett in a virtual do-over of the superspreader event blamed for infecting multiple people with the coronavirus a month ago to the day, including the president himself, who was forced to spend three nights in the hospital. To Trump, the first history-maker outweighed the second, a chance to celebrate a landmark political victory regardless of the risk. It was, in effect, the triumph of defiance over experience, a stubborn gesture by a president who refuses to acknowledge the continuing threat of a pandemic that has killed more than 225,000 people in the United States even after it has swept through his own circle of aides, advisers and allies. Undaunted and unbowed, Trump hosted the event even as five people working for Vice President Mike Pence have tested positive in recent days. Also read: Judge rejects US request to shield Trump from rape accuser's defamation lawsuit This time, at least, the White House made some concessions to the virus. Unlike the Rose Garden event on Sept. 26 when Trump announced his nomination of Barrett, apparently leading to a raft of infections, the ceremony Monday night marking her confirmation was held on the roomier South Lawn, with folding chairs seated several feet apart and guests required to wear masks. Neither Trump nor Barrett wore masks, perhaps owing to the fact that both have already had the virus and therefore presumably could be immune. Melania Trump, the first lady, who also was infected after the last event, likewise attended without a mask. Justice Clarence Thomas, who was on hand to swear in his new colleague, wore no mask either, even though he is not known to have been previously infected. None of the other seven justices attended. Neither the president nor the new justice made any reference to the virus or what happened the last time the two gathered supporters at the White House. Instead, they congratulated themselves on the superquick confirmation process that has now put her on the court just in time to rule on any of Trump’s challenges emerging from next week’s election. Trump praised Barrett’s “deep knowledge, tremendous poise and towering intellect,” calling her a suitable replacement for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal stalwart who died last month, even though she is the ideological polar opposite. “It is highly fitting that Justice Barrett fills the seat of a true pioneer for women, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” the president told the crowd. “Tonight, Justice Barrett becomes not only the fifth woman to serve on our nation’s highest court, but the very first mother of school-aged children to become a Supreme Court justice.” Barrett, 48, who has seven children, will be the current court’s youngest member, its third woman, its sixth Catholic and its only jurist from outside the Ivy League. A graduate of Notre Dame Law School, where she later taught, she has served on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since Trump appointed her in 2017 and has become a favorite of conservatives. Her appointment to the Supreme Court was Trump’s third, the most any president has had in a single term since Richard Nixon and an important credential for Republican voters who care about the judiciary. In her own remarks Monday, Barrett, whose short-sleeve black dress contrasted with the president’s heavy, black overcoat on a crisp, 55-degree evening, referred to the speedy Senate approval as “a rigorous confirmation process,” a characterization Democrats strenuously disputed. But she seemed intent on sending the message that she would not simply do Trump’s bidding, using the words “independent” or “independence” three times, even though he has said explicitly that he wanted her seated before the election so she could lend her vote in case of a legal dispute over the balloting. “A judge declares independence not only from the Congress and the president but also from the private beliefs that might otherwise move her,” Barrett said after being sworn in. “The oath I have solemnly taken tonight,” she added, “means at its core that I will do my job without any fear or favor and that I will do so independently of both the political branches and of my own preferences.” Neither Democrats nor Republicans seemed to believe that, instead commending or condemning her confirmation as a victory for conservatives and a defeat for liberals. Her replacement of Ginsburg means that the conservative wing now controls the Supreme Court 6-3, heralding a new era of jurisprudence not only on the forthcoming election, but on hot-button issues like abortion, gay rights and health care. The House Judiciary Committee Republicans, led by Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, one of Trump’s most outspoken allies, taunted Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016, after the Senate’s evening vote. Also read: How Trump and Bolsonaro broke Latin America’s COVID-19 defenses “Amy Coney Barrett, confirmed,” said a message posted on the committee’s Twitter account at 8:03 p.m. “Happy Birthday, @HillaryClinton!” Clinton posted her own message six minutes later, suggesting that Republicans may pay a political price in just a week. “Senate Republicans just pushed through a Supreme Court justice who will help them take away Americans’ health care in the middle of a pandemic,” she wrote. “For them, this is victory. Vote them out.” The nomination ceremony a month ago undercut the political message Trump wanted to send when he, Trump and others who were in attendance later tested positive for the coronavirus. Trump emerged from his sickness as uncowed as ever, insisting that the virus could be beaten and telling Americans not to let it dominate their lives. Many of those who were infected that day stayed away Monday night. Among those who were back for more was Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, who tested positive for the virus after the announcement ceremony where he had gone maskless and hugged others in the crowd. “Tonight’s vote was a huge win for the American people,” Lee said on Twitter without referring to the virus. Democrats were flabbergasted that the White House would replicate the event a month later. “They shame mask wearing,” Sen. Christopher S. Murphy, D-Conn., said on Twitter earlier in the day. “They hold super spreader events daily. They discourage testing. They pretend like a vaccine is days away so that people will let down their guard. The biggest threat to America’s public health isn’t the virus, it’s the Trump White House.” But Trump relished the theatricality of the moment, escorting Barrett up the stairs to the balcony off the Blue Room that he has now used several times in recent days. From there, the two looked out on the crowd as the president applauded his new appointee; then the two were joined by their spouses, Melania Trump and Jesse Barrett, before all four along with Thomas slipped back into the White House again.

In swearing in Barrett, Trump defiantly mimics ‘superspreader’ Rose Garden ceremony

donald-trump

Donald Trump, News on Donald Trump, stories on Donald Trump, articles on Donald Trump, Donald Trump stories at Wion, Donald Trump news, Donald Trump latest news

donald trump