The new head of Donald Trump&#39;s campaign has only been in the position for just over a week, but appears to be connected to a scandal involving voter fraud. 
 
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/26/steve-bannon-florida-registered-vote-donald-trump?CMP=share_btn_tw">The Guardian</a> reports that Stephen Bannon, an executive of the right wing publication Breitbart News, has an active voter registration at a Florida house in which he does not live. The&nbsp;Miami-Dade Country&nbsp;home is currently vacant and is set for demolition. 
 
Bannon had rented the house for his ex-wife, but did not ever live there himself. His ex-wife, Diane Clohesy, a Tea Party activist, also no longer lives in the house. Neighbours say the house has been abandoned for months. 
 
Bannon assigned his voter registration to another house in Miami he rented for Clohesy, in which she lived between 2013-2015, but The Guardian&#39;s source claims that Bannon didn&#39;t live in this house either.&nbsp;Records show that the two have been divorced for seven years.&nbsp; 
 
The Guardian&#39;s repeated attempts to answer detailed questions about Bannon&#39;s living arrangement went unanswered. A Trump campaign spokesman said that &quot;Bannon moved to another location in Florida&quot;, but declined to answer any further questions. 
 
It is still not clear that Bannon is legally entitled to vote in Florida. The law in Florida states that one cannot vote there unless they are legal residents of the state and county where they register to vote. Legal reidency is defined as the place &quot;where a person mentally intends to make his or her permanent residence&quot;.
 
More, deliberately submitting a false voting registration&nbsp;is a third-degree felony that can result in up to a five year prison sentence.
This news comes after Trump has proclaimed that the votes are rigged against him. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-vote-fraud-20160812-snap-story.html">The LA Times</a> reports that in a mid-August rally, speaking to mainly white rural supporters in Pennsylvania, he instructed &quot;maybe you should go or volunteer or do something...We&#39;re going to watch Pennsylvania, go down and watch and study, and make sure other people don&#39;t come in and vote five times&quot;. Trump&#39;s words were interpreted by some to be steeped in racism, a &quot;dog whistle&quot; and even an incitement to violence. He has repeated similar remarks in rallies since. 
 
The LA Times report adds that these remarks came shortly after a federal court struck down a voter ID law in North Carolina, a hotly contested state in the election. These law &quot;targeted African-Americans &#39;with almost surgical precision&#39; in an effort to suppress the black vote&#39;, the court found&quot;. 
 
(WION)

Stephen Bannon is registered as a voter in Florida, a crucial swing state, in an abandoned house in which he never lived

The new head of Donald Trump's campaign has only been in the position for just over a week, but appears to be connected to a scandal involving voter fraud. The Guardian reports that Stephen Bannon, an executive of the right wing publication Breitbart News, has an active voter registration at a Florida house in which he does not live. The Miami-Dade Country home is currently vacant and is set for demolition. Bannon had rented the house for his ex-wife, but did not ever live there himself. His ex-wife, Diane Clohesy, a Tea Party activist, also no longer lives in the house. Neighbours say the house has been abandoned for months. Bannon assigned his voter registration to another house in Miami he rented for Clohesy, in which she lived between 2013-2015, but The Guardian's source claims that Bannon didn't live in this house either. Records show that the two have been divorced for seven years. The Guardian's repeated attempts to answer detailed questions about Bannon's living arrangement went unanswered. A Trump campaign spokesman said that "Bannon moved to another location in Florida", but declined to answer any further questions. It is still not clear that Bannon is legally entitled to vote in Florida. The law in Florida states that one cannot vote there unless they are legal residents of the state and county where they register to vote. Legal reidency is defined as the place "where a person mentally intends to make his or her permanent residence". More, deliberately submitting a false voting registration is a third-degree felony that can result in up to a five year prison sentence. This news comes after Trump has proclaimed that the votes are rigged against him. The LA Times reports that in a mid-August rally, speaking to mainly white rural supporters in Pennsylvania, he instructed "maybe you should go or volunteer or do something...We're going to watch Pennsylvania, go down and watch and study, and make sure other people don't come in and vote five times". Trump's words were interpreted by some to be steeped in racism, a "dog whistle" and even an incitement to violence. He has repeated similar remarks in rallies since. The LA Times report adds that these remarks came shortly after a federal court struck down a voter ID law in North Carolina, a hotly contested state in the election. These law "targeted African-Americans 'with almost surgical precision' in an effort to suppress the black vote', the court found". (WION)

Trump is big on voter fraud but his new campaign manager could be guilty of the same crime

The US presidential campaign rhetoric sharpened on Thursday as both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump accused each other of bigotry. 
 
Republican presidential nominee Trump called Clinton a &quot;racist&quot; for trying to garner votes of the minorities while doing nothing for them.&nbsp;His Democratic rival lashed out at him for bringing hate politics into the mainstream.&nbsp; 
 
Clinton listed a series of episodes that showed her rival in a dark light during a campaign event in Reno, Nevada. She dredged up Trump&#39;s history of apparently refusing to rent out houses to&nbsp;Latinos and black people. 
 
She also pointed out about black employees working in his casinos having&nbsp;previously sued Trump.&nbsp; 
 
Trump&#39;s appointment of&nbsp;Steven Bannion as his new campaign chief was also skewered by Clinton. She said the appointment showed Trump&#39;s advocacy of the so-called white nationalist&#39;s&nbsp;&#39;alt-right&#39; movement.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;A man with a long history of racial discrimination who traffics in dark conspiracy theories drawn from the pages of supermarket tabloids and the far dark reaches of the internet should never run our government or command our military,&quot; Clinton said. 
 
Speaking in New Hampshire later, Trump slammed his opponent&#39;s argument of him being discriminatory. He said the continuous attack on such lines&nbsp;was &quot;tired&nbsp;(and)&nbsp;disgusting&quot;. 
 
Instead, Clinton is the one who &quot;sees people of colour only as votes not as human beings worthy of a better future&quot;, he said during his speech.&nbsp; 
 
Later, during an interview with&nbsp;the CNN, he called Clinton &quot;totally bigoted&quot;. 
 
The escalation of verbal attacks between the two adversaries came in the wake of a&nbsp;survey handing Clinton a 10-point lead&nbsp;in the presidential race. The survey, conducted by&nbsp;Quinnipiac University, is an important one as it handed Clinton the backing of majority of the respondents.

 
(WION with inputs from agencies) &nbsp;

The escalation of verbal attacks came in the wake of a?survey handing Clinton a 10-point lead?in the presidential race

The US presidential campaign rhetoric sharpened on Thursday as both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump accused each other of bigotry. Republican presidential nominee Trump called Clinton a "racist" for trying to garner votes of the minorities while doing nothing for them. His Democratic rival lashed out at him for bringing hate politics into the mainstream. Clinton listed a series of episodes that showed her rival in a dark light during a campaign event in Reno, Nevada. She dredged up Trump's history of apparently refusing to rent out houses to Latinos and black people. She also pointed out about black employees working in his casinos having previously sued Trump. Trump's appointment of Steven Bannion as his new campaign chief was also skewered by Clinton. She said the appointment showed Trump's advocacy of the so-called white nationalist's 'alt-right' movement. "A man with a long history of racial discrimination who traffics in dark conspiracy theories drawn from the pages of supermarket tabloids and the far dark reaches of the internet should never run our government or command our military," Clinton said. Speaking in New Hampshire later, Trump slammed his opponent's argument of him being discriminatory. He said the continuous attack on such lines was "tired (and) disgusting". Instead, Clinton is the one who "sees people of colour only as votes not as human beings worthy of a better future", he said during his speech. Later, during an interview with the CNN, he called Clinton "totally bigoted". The escalation of verbal attacks between the two adversaries came in the wake of a survey handing Clinton a 10-point lead in the presidential race. The survey, conducted by Quinnipiac University, is an important one as it handed Clinton the backing of majority of the respondents. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Clinton, Trump trade racism charges

Softening his rigid stance on deporting millions of illegal immigrants even further, US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said in remarks broadcast on Wednesday he would be willing to work with those who have followed US laws while living in the country. 
 
In the second part of an interview with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity conducted a day earlier, he clarified, however, that immigrants would have to pay taxes and there would be no amnesty for them.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;No citizenship. Let me go a step further,&nbsp;they&#39;ll pay back taxes, they have to pay taxes, there&#39;s no amnesty, as such, there&#39;s no amnesty, but we work with them,&quot; Trump said. 
 
&quot;But when I go through and I meet thousands and thousands of people on this subject, and I&#39;ve had very strong people come up to me ... and they&#39;ve said: &#39;Mr Trump, I love you, but to take a person who&#39;s been here for 15 or 20 years and throw them and their family out, it&#39;s so tough, Mr Trump,&#39;&quot; Trump said. &quot;It&#39;s a very hard thing,&quot; 
he added, saying that he would outline his position soon. 
 
&ldquo;Well, I&rsquo;m going to announce something over the next two weeks, but it&rsquo;s going to be a very firm policy,&rdquo; Trump told WPEC, a CBS affiliate in West Palm Beach, Florida. 
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The&nbsp;softening in stance comes as he battles Democrat Hillary Clinton in the November 8 election and faces pressure to bolster support among moderate voters and minority groups. 
 
The Republican, who defeated 16 rivals to gain the presidential nomination, had initially campaigned against illegal immigrants, saying that he would not permit American citizenship for the undocumented population and would expel lawbreakers. 
 
Trump&#39;s new position seemed to resemble in some respects the failed 2007 reform push by former Republican President George W Bush. That effort offered a way to bring millions &quot;out of the shadows&quot; without amnesty and would have required illegal immigrants to pay a fine and take other steps to gain legal status. 
 
Trump&#39;s latest comments came as Nigel Farage, an anti-immigration politician who was part of Britain&#39;s successful campaign to leave the European Union, addressed Trump&#39;s rally in Jackson, Mississippi, on Wednesday night. 
 
Trump has retained much of his immigration agenda. He still wants to build a wall along the US southern border with Mexico but he has emphasised in recent days a need to deal most urgently with illegal immigrants who commit crimes and also those who might be displacing African-American and Hispanic workers. 
 
At a rally earlier in Tampa, Florida, Trump did not talk about deporting as many as 11 million illegal immigrants as he has in the past, instead saying he would aim enforcement efforts at people who are committing crimes such as overstaying their visas. 
 
&quot;Hillary Clinton wants a totally open border so people can just pour in,&quot; Trump said.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;We are going to enforce our laws, remove people who overstay their visas, dismantle the gangs and cartels, and protect jobs and benefits for hardworking American citizens.&quot; 
 
Reaching out to minorities 
 
Trump trails Clinton in national public opinion polls as well as in many battleground states where the election will be decided. After a campaign shake-up last week, he has made more urgent attempts to appeal to moderate voters and minority groups who have been disenchanted by his bellicose rhetoric. 
 
As part of an outreach to minority voters, who opinion polls show favoring his opponent, Trump plans to visit some African-American communities, a departure from his reliance on white voters. One such stop is expected to be in September in Detroit. 
 
One adviser, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, an African-American who ran against Trump for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, told MSNBC he would accompany Trump. 
 
&quot;There&#39;s no question that he will be in the communities. He will be talking to African-American leaders around the country in different cities to find out what they believe is important, and what they think has worked,&quot; Carson said. 
 
Trump argues that many minority groups have suffered under Democratic policies, particularly in inner cities. He vowed to make cities safer so that &quot;when you walk down your street... you&#39;re not going to be shot, your child is not going to be shot.&quot;&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

The?softening in stance comes as he faces pressure to bolster support among moderate voters and minority groups

Softening his rigid stance on deporting millions of illegal immigrants even further, US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said in remarks broadcast on Wednesday he would be willing to work with those who have followed US laws while living in the country. In the second part of an interview with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity conducted a day earlier, he clarified, however, that immigrants would have to pay taxes and there would be no amnesty for them. "No citizenship. Let me go a step further, they'll pay back taxes, they have to pay taxes, there's no amnesty, as such, there's no amnesty, but we work with them," Trump said. "But when I go through and I meet thousands and thousands of people on this subject, and I've had very strong people come up to me ... and they've said: 'Mr Trump, I love you, but to take a person who's been here for 15 or 20 years and throw them and their family out, it's so tough, Mr Trump,'" Trump said. "It's a very hard thing," he added, saying that he would outline his position soon. “Well, I’m going to announce something over the next two weeks, but it’s going to be a very firm policy,” Trump told WPEC, a CBS affiliate in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Republican, who defeated 16 rivals to gain the presidential nomination, had initially campaigned against illegal immigrants, saying that he would not permit American citizenship for the undocumented population and would expel lawbreakers. The softening in stance comes as he battles Democrat Hillary Clinton in the November 8 election and faces pressure to bolster support among moderate voters and minority groups. The Republican, who defeated 16 rivals to gain the presidential nomination, had initially campaigned against illegal immigrants, saying that he would not permit American citizenship for the undocumented population and would expel lawbreakers. Trump's new position seemed to resemble in some respects the failed 2007 reform push by former Republican President George W Bush. That effort offered a way to bring millions "out of the shadows" without amnesty and would have required illegal immigrants to pay a fine and take other steps to gain legal status. Trump's latest comments came as Nigel Farage, an anti-immigration politician who was part of Britain's successful campaign to leave the European Union, addressed Trump's rally in Jackson, Mississippi, on Wednesday night. Trump has retained much of his immigration agenda. He still wants to build a wall along the US southern border with Mexico but he has emphasised in recent days a need to deal most urgently with illegal immigrants who commit crimes and also those who might be displacing African-American and Hispanic workers. At a rally earlier in Tampa, Florida, Trump did not talk about deporting as many as 11 million illegal immigrants as he has in the past, instead saying he would aim enforcement efforts at people who are committing crimes such as overstaying their visas. "Hillary Clinton wants a totally open border so people can just pour in," Trump said. "We are going to enforce our laws, remove people who overstay their visas, dismantle the gangs and cartels, and protect jobs and benefits for hardworking American citizens." Reaching out to minorities Trump trails Clinton in national public opinion polls as well as in many battleground states where the election will be decided. After a campaign shake-up last week, he has made more urgent attempts to appeal to moderate voters and minority groups who have been disenchanted by his bellicose rhetoric. As part of an outreach to minority voters, who opinion polls show favoring his opponent, Trump plans to visit some African-American communities, a departure from his reliance on white voters. One such stop is expected to be in September in Detroit. One adviser, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, an African-American who ran against Trump for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, told MSNBC he would accompany Trump. "There's no question that he will be in the communities. He will be talking to African-American leaders around the country in different cities to find out what they believe is important, and what they think has worked," Carson said. Trump argues that many minority groups have suffered under Democratic policies, particularly in inner cities. He vowed to make cities safer so that "when you walk down your street... you're not going to be shot, your child is not going to be shot." (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Willing to work with those who follow US laws: Donald Trump further softens stance on migration

After a much-criticised delay, President Barack Obama visited flood-stricken Louisiana Tuesday, defending his administration&#39;s response and urging citizens to pitch in and help ravaged communities. 
 
Obama - decked out in hiking boots and with shirt sleeves rolled up - touched down in Baton Rouge and toured a hard-hit and debris-strewn parish, promising Louisianans they would get all the help they need. 
 
&quot;What I want the people of Louisiana to know is, you&rsquo;re not alone on this, even after the TV cameras leave,&quot; Obama said after touring brick homes whose lawns were cluttered with slabs of drywall and soaked sofas and mattresses. 
 
At least 13 people have died and more than 100,000 people have registered for US government emergency assistance as a result of the flooding. 
 
The National Guard has been deployed and the federal government has approved more than $120 million in assistance for things like temporary rent, home repairs and flood insurance payments. 
 
&quot;I am asking every American to do what you can to help get families and local businesses back on their feet,&quot; Obama said, directing people to the website volunteerlouisiana.gov and aid groups like the Red Cross. 
 
&quot;These are some good people down here,&quot; he said. &quot;They shouldn&#39;t have to do it alone.&quot; 
 
Obama has been lampooned for not cutting short a two-week vacation in Martha&#39;s Vineyard to visit the Gulf Coast state.
Naketa Woods, who owns a home in Castle Place, stood in her driveway in the sweltering heat with her husband waiting to meet with Obama. She said their home was filled with 3 feet of water and they lost all their furniture and two vehicles.

&quot;To have the president come, it means a lot to show that he cares and the federal government cares about what we are going through,&quot; Woods said.
Heavy rains began on August 11 and quickly submerged thousands of homes. In just a few days, 79 centimeters of rain fell on some parts of the low-laying state - where the highest point is just 165 meters above sea level. 
 
The disaster brought back painful memories of Hurricane Katrina, which 11 years ago inundated nearby New Orleans and brought searing criticism of the federal government&#39;s response. 
 
Images of president George W Bush looking out the window of Air Force One as he flew over New Orleans became emblematic of perceived government detachment from the crisis. As a presidential candidate, Obama was quick to criticise the &quot;unconscionable ineptitude&quot; of the Bush administration. 
 
Political football 
 
A few months out from November&#39;s election, Obama&#39;s visits have inevitably become another talking point on the campaign trail. 
 
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump visited Louisiana last week, and goaded the golf-loving president about his absence. 
 
&quot;Honestly, Obama ought to get off the golf course and get down there,&quot; Trump said. 
 
Obama dismissed such criticism, saying: &quot;This is not a photo-op issue. This is (about) how do you make sure that a month from now, three months from now, six months from now, people still are getting the help that they need. One of the benefits of being five months short of leaving here is I don&#39;t worry too much about politics.&quot; 
 
However, Louisiana&#39;s Democratic governor John Bel Edwards had asked Obama to delay his visit because presidential visits require a huge retinue of Secret Service agents and tie up local and state law enforcement resources needed elsewhere in disasters. 
 
Edwards - who had warned Trump not to turn his visit into a photo-op and called for him to make a donation - also asked Obama for more help. In a letter to Obama, he called for several funding mechanisms to be activated and for a recovery task force to be established. 
 
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has said she will visit the state later, in an implicit criticism of Trump. 
 
&quot;I am committed to visiting communities affected by these floods, at a time when the presence of a political campaign will not disrupt the response,&quot; she said, while calling for donations to the Red Cross. 
 
Republicans usually win the state of Louisiana handily in presidential elections. 
 
The last Democratic presidential nominee to win there was Clinton&#39;s husband, former president Bill Clinton, in his 1996 rout of Bob Dole. 
 
(Agencies)

Obama promised Louisianans they would get all the help they need, 'You?re not alone on this, even after the TV cameras leave'

After a much-criticised delay, President Barack Obama visited flood-stricken Louisiana Tuesday, defending his administration's response and urging citizens to pitch in and help ravaged communities. Obama - decked out in hiking boots and with shirt sleeves rolled up - touched down in Baton Rouge and toured a hard-hit and debris-strewn parish, promising Louisianans they would get all the help they need. "What I want the people of Louisiana to know is, you’re not alone on this, even after the TV cameras leave," Obama said after touring brick homes whose lawns were cluttered with slabs of drywall and soaked sofas and mattresses. At least 13 people have died and more than 100,000 people have registered for US government emergency assistance as a result of the flooding. The National Guard has been deployed and the federal government has approved more than $120 million in assistance for things like temporary rent, home repairs and flood insurance payments. "I am asking every American to do what you can to help get families and local businesses back on their feet," Obama said, directing people to the website volunteerlouisiana.gov and aid groups like the Red Cross. "These are some good people down here," he said. "They shouldn't have to do it alone." Obama has been lampooned for not cutting short a two-week vacation in Martha's Vineyard to visit the Gulf Coast state. Naketa Woods, who owns a home in Castle Place, stood in her driveway in the sweltering heat with her husband waiting to meet with Obama. She said their home was filled with 3 feet of water and they lost all their furniture and two vehicles. "To have the president come, it means a lot to show that he cares and the federal government cares about what we are going through," Woods said. Heavy rains began on August 11 and quickly submerged thousands of homes. In just a few days, 79 centimeters of rain fell on some parts of the low-laying state - where the highest point is just 165 meters above sea level. The disaster brought back painful memories of Hurricane Katrina, which 11 years ago inundated nearby New Orleans and brought searing criticism of the federal government's response. Images of president George W Bush looking out the window of Air Force One as he flew over New Orleans became emblematic of perceived government detachment from the crisis. As a presidential candidate, Obama was quick to criticise the "unconscionable ineptitude" of the Bush administration. Political football A few months out from November's election, Obama's visits have inevitably become another talking point on the campaign trail. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump visited Louisiana last week, and goaded the golf-loving president about his absence. "Honestly, Obama ought to get off the golf course and get down there," Trump said. Obama dismissed such criticism, saying: "This is not a photo-op issue. This is (about) how do you make sure that a month from now, three months from now, six months from now, people still are getting the help that they need. One of the benefits of being five months short of leaving here is I don't worry too much about politics." However, Louisiana's Democratic governor John Bel Edwards had asked Obama to delay his visit because presidential visits require a huge retinue of Secret Service agents and tie up local and state law enforcement resources needed elsewhere in disasters. Edwards - who had warned Trump not to turn his visit into a photo-op and called for him to make a donation - also asked Obama for more help. In a letter to Obama, he called for several funding mechanisms to be activated and for a recovery task force to be established. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has said she will visit the state later, in an implicit criticism of Trump. "I am committed to visiting communities affected by these floods, at a time when the presence of a political campaign will not disrupt the response," she said, while calling for donations to the Red Cross. Republicans usually win the state of Louisiana handily in presidential elections. The last Democratic presidential nominee to win there was Clinton's husband, former president Bill Clinton, in his 1996 rout of Bob Dole. (Agencies)

Obama defends Louisiana flood response, dismisses Trump's criticism

Roger Ailes, the former Fox News chairman who last month left the station in disgrace amid sexual harassment allegations, is now an adviser to Donald Trump, reports the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/us/politics/donald-trump-roger-ailes.html">New York Times</a>.&nbsp; 
 
<a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/8/15/12416662/roger-ailes-fox-sexual-harassment-women-list">Vox.com</a> reports that over 20 women have accused Ailes of sexual harrassment.&nbsp; 
 
Fox News has had a distinct place in all the controversies in Trump&#39;s presidential campaign, especially in the dispute with host Megyn Kelly. The two clashed bitterly in the first Republican primary debate back in 2015 after Mr Trump attributed her agitation during the debate to the fact she was menstruating. 
 
After making a number of statements considered to be insulting and offensive, female support for Trump is at its lowest. Perhaps as a result, as Fortune.com&nbsp;points out, of Mr Trump&#39;s new slew of economic advisers, eight of the nine are women. This comes after naming an exclusively male group of advisers. The site points to a&nbsp;poll conducted by <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/08/11/women-donald-trump-chart/">Morning Consult</a>&nbsp;that lists Hillary Clinton&#39;s support among females at 47 per cent, whereas Trump has 34 per cent. 
 
Trump has repeatedly denied being sexist. It is unclear how bringing aboard an adviser just relieved of his high-profile position after allegations of sexual harassment will help him woo female voters. &nbsp;But Mr Ailes has been a Republican political consultant for years, including as a top adviser for Richard Nixon&#39;s presidential campaign and a debate coach for both Ronald Reagan in 1984 and George Bush in 1988. 
 
As the New York Times article highlights, Trump was asked on July 24 by NBC&#39;s Chuck Todd whether Mr Ailes was going to advise the campaign, and he replied:&nbsp;&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t want to comment. But he&rsquo;s been a friend of mine for a long time.&rdquo; He said that Mr Ailes was a &ldquo;very, very good person&rdquo; and said, &ldquo;A lot of people are thinking he&rsquo;s going to run my campaign.&rdquo; 
 
(WION)

Ailes, who has been accused by over 20 women of sexual harassment, has been a Republican political consultant for years

Roger Ailes, the former Fox News chairman who last month left the station in disgrace amid sexual harassment allegations, is now an adviser to Donald Trump, reports the New York Times. Vox.com reports that over 20 women have accused Ailes of sexual harrassment. Fox News has had a distinct place in all the controversies in Trump's presidential campaign, especially in the dispute with host Megyn Kelly. The two clashed bitterly in the first Republican primary debate back in 2015 after Mr Trump attributed her agitation during the debate to the fact she was menstruating. After making a number of statements considered to be insulting and offensive, female support for Trump is at its lowest. Perhaps as a result, as Fortune.com points out, of Mr Trump's new slew of economic advisers, eight of the nine are women. This comes after naming an exclusively male group of advisers. The site points to a poll conducted by Morning Consult that lists Hillary Clinton's support among females at 47 per cent, whereas Trump has 34 per cent. Trump has repeatedly denied being sexist. It is unclear how bringing aboard an adviser just relieved of his high-profile position after allegations of sexual harassment will help him woo female voters. But Mr Ailes has been a Republican political consultant for years, including as a top adviser for Richard Nixon's presidential campaign and a debate coach for both Ronald Reagan in 1984 and George Bush in 1988. As the New York Times article highlights, Trump was asked on July 24 by NBC's Chuck Todd whether Mr Ailes was going to advise the campaign, and he replied: “I don’t want to comment. But he’s been a friend of mine for a long time.” He said that Mr Ailes was a “very, very good person” and said, “A lot of people are thinking he’s going to run my campaign.” (WION)

Trump to be advised by disgraced former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes

Donald Trump&#39;s vow to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants if elected president appeared to be undergoing a shift on Sunday as the struggling Republican candidate reached out to minorities alienated by his harsh rhetoric. 
 
The New York real estate magnate intends to lay out specifics of his immigration plan over the next few weeks, Trump&#39;s new campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said. 
 
Asked on CNN&#39;s State of the Union whether they would include a &quot;deportation force&quot; that Trump has previously called for, Conway said, &quot;To be determined.&quot; 
 
Trump met with Hispanic supporters at his Trump Tower headquarters in New York on Saturday, when several participants told Spanish-language network Univision that he said his plan will include finding a way to legalise millions of undocumented immigrants. 
 
Trump acknowledged &quot;that there is a big problem with the 11 million people who are here, and that deporting them is neither possible nor humane,&quot; Univision quoted Jacob Monty, a Texas immigration lawyer who attended the meeting, as saying. 
 
The billionaire candidate, who has slid precipitously in polls since last month&#39;s Republican convention, told the group of Hispanic conservatives that his plan would grant undocumented immigrants legal status &quot;that wouldn&#39;t be citizenship but would allow them to be here without fear of deportation,&quot; Monty added. 
 
If true, it would mark a sharp reversal for a candidate who launched his campaign for the presidency with a vow to build a giant wall on Mexico&#39;s border, while disparaging illegal immigrants from Mexico as criminals and rapists. 
 
He has repeatedly called for mass deportations of people in the country illegally, a stance critics say is inhumane and unrealistic. 
 
&quot;What Donald Trump said yesterday in that meeting differed very little from what he&#39;s said publicly, including in his convention speech last month in Cleveland,&quot; Conway told CNN. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s that we need a, quote, fair and humane way of dealing with what is estimated to be about 11 million illegal immigrants in this country,&quot; said Conway, who also took part in the meeting. 
 
&quot;Nothing was said yesterday that differs from what Mr Trump said previously,&quot; she added. 
 
&quot;He supports making sure that we enforce the law, that we are respectful of those Americans who are looking for well-paying jobs and that we are fair and humane for those who live among us in this country.&quot; 
 
Senator Jeff Sessions, a Trump adviser, also said the candidate made no firm commitments during his session with Hispanic supporters, &quot;but he did listen and was talking about it.&quot; 
 
According to Sessions, Trump is &quot;wrestling with&quot; what to do about the country&#39;s undocumented immigrants.

(AFP) 
 
 
 
 
&nbsp;

US presidential candidate says there is a 'big problem with the 11 million people', but that deporting them is 'neither possible nor humane'

Donald Trump's vow to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants if elected president appeared to be undergoing a shift on Sunday as the struggling Republican candidate reached out to minorities alienated by his harsh rhetoric. The New York real estate magnate intends to lay out specifics of his immigration plan over the next few weeks, Trump's new campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said. Asked on CNN's State of the Union whether they would include a "deportation force" that Trump has previously called for, Conway said, "To be determined." Trump met with Hispanic supporters at his Trump Tower headquarters in New York on Saturday, when several participants told Spanish-language network Univision that he said his plan will include finding a way to legalise millions of undocumented immigrants. Trump acknowledged "that there is a big problem with the 11 million people who are here, and that deporting them is neither possible nor humane," Univision quoted Jacob Monty, a Texas immigration lawyer who attended the meeting, as saying. The billionaire candidate, who has slid precipitously in polls since last month's Republican convention, told the group of Hispanic conservatives that his plan would grant undocumented immigrants legal status "that wouldn't be citizenship but would allow them to be here without fear of deportation," Monty added. If true, it would mark a sharp reversal for a candidate who launched his campaign for the presidency with a vow to build a giant wall on Mexico's border, while disparaging illegal immigrants from Mexico as criminals and rapists. He has repeatedly called for mass deportations of people in the country illegally, a stance critics say is inhumane and unrealistic. "What Donald Trump said yesterday in that meeting differed very little from what he's said publicly, including in his convention speech last month in Cleveland," Conway told CNN. "It's that we need a, quote, fair and humane way of dealing with what is estimated to be about 11 million illegal immigrants in this country," said Conway, who also took part in the meeting. "Nothing was said yesterday that differs from what Mr Trump said previously," she added. "He supports making sure that we enforce the law, that we are respectful of those Americans who are looking for well-paying jobs and that we are fair and humane for those who live among us in this country." Senator Jeff Sessions, a Trump adviser, also said the candidate made no firm commitments during his session with Hispanic supporters, "but he did listen and was talking about it." According to Sessions, Trump is "wrestling with" what to do about the country's undocumented immigrants. (AFP)

Donald Trump changes stance on immigration

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump visited flood-ravaged Louisiana on&nbsp;Friday, criticising the US president for not doing the same, as the region grapples&nbsp;with a historic disaster that killed 13 people. 
 
Trump and his vice presidential nominee Mike Pence met with local Republican leaders&nbsp;and emergency officials, and toured areas that just a few days ago were inundated&nbsp;with several feet of water. 
 
President Barack Obama, meanwhile, announced he was headed to Louisiana on Tuesday,&nbsp;after days of criticism from some in the southern state for not visiting during the&nbsp;week-long ordeal, which culminated with the Republican candidate on the ground and&nbsp;the president still on vacation. 
 
&quot;Honestly, Obama ought to get off the golf course and get down there,&quot; Trump said at&nbsp;a campaign rally later in the day in Michigan, alluding to the president&#39;s Wednesday&nbsp;golf game. 
 
Officials said about 40,000 homes were impacted by the floods, and more than 86,000&nbsp;people had so far registered for federal aid, with that number expected to grow. 
 
In announcing Obama&#39;s planned visit, the White House said the president would be&nbsp;&quot;mindful of the impact that his travel has on first responders&quot; and did not want to&nbsp;&quot;interfere with ongoing recovery efforts.&quot; 
 
Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards had previously indicated he would prefer Obama&nbsp;wait at least a week before visiting, to avoid pulling law enforcement officers away&nbsp;from the recovery effort in order to implement presidential security. 
 
&quot;We need every person to focus on continuing to rescue people,&quot; the state&#39;s&nbsp;lieutenant governor Billy Nungesser told MSNBC, agreeing with Edwards. 
 
&quot;The team he (Obama) has on the ground in Louisiana is doing a great job,&quot; said&nbsp;Nungesser, a Republican who greeted Trump when he arrived in Louisiana. 
 
Asked during a late afternoon news conference to comment on Trump&#39;s visit, Edwards&nbsp;avoided the subject. 
 
His office had put out a statement earlier in the day, saying he had not been&nbsp;informed of Trump&#39;s visit, but welcomed him as long as it was not &quot;for a photo-op.&quot; 
 
&quot;Instead, we hope he&#39;ll consider volunteering or making a sizable donation to the LA&nbsp;(Louisiana) Flood Relief Fund to help the victims of this storm,&quot; the statement read. 
 
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton released a statement saying she had&nbsp;spoken with Edwards and that the best course of action was to highlight the need for&nbsp;donations. 
 
&quot;Right now, the relief effort can&#39;t afford any distractions,&quot; Clinton said, adding,&nbsp;&quot;The very best way this team can help is to make sure Louisianans have the resources&nbsp;they need.&quot; 
 
Trump &#39;very gracious&#39;&nbsp; 
 
The first financial analysis of the disaster was released on Friday by the Baton&nbsp;Rouge Area Chamber, an economic development group. It suggested that the flood impact&nbsp;may be greater than first thought. 
 
The analysis found that as many as 110,000 homes worth $20.7 billion, most without&nbsp;flood insurance, were likely damaged in about half of the flooded parishes. 
 
While in Louisiana, Trump and Pence saw some of that damage first-hand, meeting with&nbsp;disaster relief volunteers, touring damaged structures, meeting an elderly couple who&nbsp;climbed to the roof of their home to survive the flood, and joining a short briefing&nbsp;with emergency officials. 
 
Ascension Parish Sheriff Jeffrey Wiley, who said he was in the briefing, told CNN&nbsp;that the candidate&#39;s visit helped bring much-needed national attention to the&nbsp;disaster.&nbsp;&quot;I will tell you he was very gracious and a good listener,&quot; he said. 
 
As the catastrophe unfolded over the past seven days, many in the state lamented the&nbsp;lack of national media coverage which would help bring more donations for victims. 
 
The White House says that the president received daily updates on the disaster,&nbsp;but the Baton Rouge newspaper The Advocate took him to task for not yet visiting in&nbsp;person. 
 
&quot;Obama should recognise that leadership involves symbolism as well as substance. In&nbsp;times of profound need, people need to see their president up close,&quot; The Advocate&nbsp;said in an editorial. The newspaper, however, did give credit to the president for&nbsp;quickly responding when the state requested a federal disaster designation for much&nbsp;of its southern areas. 
 
Obama granted the designation to 20 of the state&#39;s 64 parishes - Louisiana&#39;s&nbsp;equivalent to counties and&nbsp;also sent surrogates to monitor and help in the disaster response,&nbsp;including Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. 
 
The White House has clarified that in his visit next week, the president would get &quot;a first-hand look at the impact of the devastating floods and tell the people of Louisiana&nbsp;that the American people will be with them.&quot;

(AFP) 
 
 
&nbsp;

The White House says Obama stayed away since he does not want to 'interfere with ongoing recovery efforts'

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump visited flood-ravaged Louisiana on Friday, criticising the US president for not doing the same, as the region grapples with a historic disaster that killed 13 people. Trump and his vice presidential nominee Mike Pence met with local Republican leaders and emergency officials, and toured areas that just a few days ago were inundated with several feet of water. President Barack Obama, meanwhile, announced he was headed to Louisiana on Tuesday, after days of criticism from some in the southern state for not visiting during the week-long ordeal, which culminated with the Republican candidate on the ground and the president still on vacation. "Honestly, Obama ought to get off the golf course and get down there," Trump said at a campaign rally later in the day in Michigan, alluding to the president's Wednesday golf game. Officials said about 40,000 homes were impacted by the floods, and more than 86,000 people had so far registered for federal aid, with that number expected to grow. In announcing Obama's planned visit, the White House said the president would be "mindful of the impact that his travel has on first responders" and did not want to "interfere with ongoing recovery efforts." Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards had previously indicated he would prefer Obama wait at least a week before visiting, to avoid pulling law enforcement officers away from the recovery effort in order to implement presidential security. "We need every person to focus on continuing to rescue people," the state's lieutenant governor Billy Nungesser told MSNBC, agreeing with Edwards. "The team he (Obama) has on the ground in Louisiana is doing a great job," said Nungesser, a Republican who greeted Trump when he arrived in Louisiana. Asked during a late afternoon news conference to comment on Trump's visit, Edwards avoided the subject. His office had put out a statement earlier in the day, saying he had not been informed of Trump's visit, but welcomed him as long as it was not "for a photo-op." "Instead, we hope he'll consider volunteering or making a sizable donation to the LA (Louisiana) Flood Relief Fund to help the victims of this storm," the statement read. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton released a statement saying she had spoken with Edwards and that the best course of action was to highlight the need for donations. "Right now, the relief effort can't afford any distractions," Clinton said, adding, "The very best way this team can help is to make sure Louisianans have the resources they need." Trump 'very gracious' The first financial analysis of the disaster was released on Friday by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, an economic development group. It suggested that the flood impact may be greater than first thought. The analysis found that as many as 110,000 homes worth $20.7 billion, most without flood insurance, were likely damaged in about half of the flooded parishes. While in Louisiana, Trump and Pence saw some of that damage first-hand, meeting with disaster relief volunteers, touring damaged structures, meeting an elderly couple who climbed to the roof of their home to survive the flood, and joining a short briefing with emergency officials. Ascension Parish Sheriff Jeffrey Wiley, who said he was in the briefing, told CNN that the candidate's visit helped bring much-needed national attention to the disaster. "I will tell you he was very gracious and a good listener," he said. As the catastrophe unfolded over the past seven days, many in the state lamented the lack of national media coverage which would help bring more donations for victims. The White House says that the president received daily updates on the disaster, but the Baton Rouge newspaper The Advocate took him to task for not yet visiting in person. "Obama should recognise that leadership involves symbolism as well as substance. In times of profound need, people need to see their president up close," The Advocate said in an editorial. The newspaper, however, did give credit to the president for quickly responding when the state requested a federal disaster designation for much of its southern areas. Obama granted the designation to 20 of the state's 64 parishes - Louisiana's equivalent to counties and also sent surrogates to monitor and help in the disaster response, including Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. The White House has clarified that in his visit next week, the president would get "a first-hand look at the impact of the devastating floods and tell the people of Louisiana that the American people will be with them." (AFP)

Donald Tump visits flooded Louisiana, asks Obama to 'get off the golf course and get there'

Continuing her momentum post conventions, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has consolidated her position in three key swing states, which gives her enough electoral college votes to be the next president of the US, a major US media outlet has said. 
 
Clinton, 68, has strengthened her position in three swing States of New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Virginia having a total of 37 electoral college votes, according to CNN. 
 
&quot;That adds 37 more electoral votes to Clinton&#39;s total and puts her at 273 electoral votes - just ahead of the needed 270 electoral votes to win the White House,&quot; said David Chalian, CNN political director. 
 
If Trump was to win all the remaining battleground states on the map, he&#39;d still be shy of the 270 votes needed to win the White House which means he is going to have to pick off at least one of the states currently leaning in Clinton&#39;s direction in addition to running the table in those battlegrounds, he wrote. 
 
However, things might change between now and November 8 when Americans would go out to vote to elect their 45th president. 
 
A latest Pew poll showed Clinton&#39;s lead over Trump has come down from nine per cent to four per cent. 
 
According to CNN, solid Republican States are Alabama (9), Alaska (3), Arkansas (6), Idaho (4), Indiana (11), Kansas (6), Kentucky (8), Louisiana (8), Mississippi (6), Missouri (10), Montana (3), Nebraska (5), North Dakota (3), Oklahoma (7), South Carolina (9), South Dakota (3), Tennessee (11), Texas (38), West Virginia (5), Wyoming (3). 
 
All this make 158 electoral college votes. 
 
Arizona (11), Georgia (16), Utah (6) making 33 votes in total are considered to be lean Republican States. 
 
Florida (29), Iowa (6), Nevada (6), Ohio (18), North Carolina (15) which in all account for 74 votes are battleground States, CNN said. 
 
Lean Democratic States of Colorado (9), Michigan (16), New Hampshire (4), Pennsylvania (20), Virginia (13), Wisconsin (10), account for 72 votes in all. 
 
Solid Democratic States are California (55), Connecticut (7), Delaware (3), DC (3), Hawaii (4), Illinois (20), Maine (4), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (11), New Jersey (14), New York (29), Oregon (7), Rhode Island (4), Vermont (3), Washington (12), Minnesota (10), New Mexico (5). 
 
This accounts for 201 electoral college votes.

(PTI) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
&nbsp;

The electoral map suggests Trump will need to pick off at least one of the states currently leaning in Clinton's favour if he wants to win

Continuing her momentum post conventions, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has consolidated her position in three key swing states, which gives her enough electoral college votes to be the next president of the US, a major US media outlet has said. Clinton, 68, has strengthened her position in three swing States of New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Virginia having a total of 37 electoral college votes, according to CNN. "That adds 37 more electoral votes to Clinton's total and puts her at 273 electoral votes - just ahead of the needed 270 electoral votes to win the White House," said David Chalian, CNN political director. If Trump was to win all the remaining battleground states on the map, he'd still be shy of the 270 votes needed to win the White House which means he is going to have to pick off at least one of the states currently leaning in Clinton's direction in addition to running the table in those battlegrounds, he wrote. However, things might change between now and November 8 when Americans would go out to vote to elect their 45th president. A latest Pew poll showed Clinton's lead over Trump has come down from nine per cent to four per cent. According to CNN, solid Republican States are Alabama (9), Alaska (3), Arkansas (6), Idaho (4), Indiana (11), Kansas (6), Kentucky (8), Louisiana (8), Mississippi (6), Missouri (10), Montana (3), Nebraska (5), North Dakota (3), Oklahoma (7), South Carolina (9), South Dakota (3), Tennessee (11), Texas (38), West Virginia (5), Wyoming (3). All this make 158 electoral college votes. Arizona (11), Georgia (16), Utah (6) making 33 votes in total are considered to be lean Republican States. Florida (29), Iowa (6), Nevada (6), Ohio (18), North Carolina (15) which in all account for 74 votes are battleground States, CNN said. Lean Democratic States of Colorado (9), Michigan (16), New Hampshire (4), Pennsylvania (20), Virginia (13), Wisconsin (10), account for 72 votes in all. Solid Democratic States are California (55), Connecticut (7), Delaware (3), DC (3), Hawaii (4), Illinois (20), Maine (4), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (11), New Jersey (14), New York (29), Oregon (7), Rhode Island (4), Vermont (3), Washington (12), Minnesota (10), New Mexico (5). This accounts for 201 electoral college votes. (PTI)

Hillary Clinton poised to win three key swing states: Report

&nbsp;Paul Manafort resigned as chairman of US Republican candidate Donald Trump&#39;s presidential campaign on Friday, days after he was effectively demoted in a shake-up of the campaign&#39;s leadership. 
 
&quot;This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign,&quot; Trump said in a statement. 
 
&quot;I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process. Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success,&quot; Trump said. 
 
On Wednesday, Trump overhauled his presidential campaign team, hiring the head of a conservative news website to bolster his combative image and to try to reverse poor opinion poll numbers in the race against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for the November 8 election. 
 
The move, his second staff revamp in less than two months, essentially served as demotion for Manafort, who was brought on in June in an attempt to bring a more professional touch, but has struggled to rein in Trump&#39;s freewheeling ways. 
 
Manafort has also come under increased scrutiny in recent days over alleged ties with pro-Russian political groups in Ukraine. 
Earlier on Friday, a Ukrainian lawmaker offered more details of what he said were payments made to Manafort by the political party of the Kremlin-backed former Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovich. 
 
Manafort, in a statement earlier this week, has denied the allegations, which were first made in The New York Times on Monday. 
 
Also on Friday,&nbsp;Ukraine&#39;s anti-corruption body has released entries from once-secret accounting documents that purport to show payments from a pro-Russian political party earmarked for Donald Trump&#39;s campaign chairman. 
 
The Associated Press reported earlier this week that Paul Manafort helped Ukraine&#39;s Party of Regions secretly route at least $2.2 million to two Washington lobbying firms. Manafort told Yahoo News that AP&#39;s account was wrong. 
 
The documents now released show Manafort&#39;s name listed as a recipient of funds totaling $12.7 million in 22 line-item entries. 
 
Ukraine&#39;s National Anti-Corruption Bureau said, however, that it cannot prove that Manafort actually received the money because other people including a prominent Party of the Regions deputy signed for him in those entries. 
 
(Reuters and PTI)

Paul Manafort has been under fire in connection with a Ukrainian corruption investigation

Paul Manafort resigned as chairman of US Republican candidate Donald Trump's presidential campaign on Friday, days after he was effectively demoted in a shake-up of the campaign's leadership. "This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign," Trump said in a statement. "I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process. Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success," Trump said. On Wednesday, Trump overhauled his presidential campaign team, hiring the head of a conservative news website to bolster his combative image and to try to reverse poor opinion poll numbers in the race against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for the November 8 election. The move, his second staff revamp in less than two months, essentially served as demotion for Manafort, who was brought on in June in an attempt to bring a more professional touch, but has struggled to rein in Trump's freewheeling ways. Manafort has also come under increased scrutiny in recent days over alleged ties with pro-Russian political groups in Ukraine. Earlier on Friday, a Ukrainian lawmaker offered more details of what he said were payments made to Manafort by the political party of the Kremlin-backed former Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovich. Manafort, in a statement earlier this week, has denied the allegations, which were first made in The New York Times on Monday. Also on Friday, Ukraine's anti-corruption body has released entries from once-secret accounting documents that purport to show payments from a pro-Russian political party earmarked for Donald Trump's campaign chairman. The Associated Press reported earlier this week that Paul Manafort helped Ukraine's Party of Regions secretly route at least $2.2 million to two Washington lobbying firms. Manafort told Yahoo News that AP's account was wrong. The documents now released show Manafort's name listed as a recipient of funds totaling $12.7 million in 22 line-item entries. Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau said, however, that it cannot prove that Manafort actually received the money because other people including a prominent Party of the Regions deputy signed for him in those entries. (Reuters and PTI)

Donald Trump's campaign manager resigns

Donald Trump&#39;s US presidential campaign sealed a major staff reshuffle with the resignation on Friday of&nbsp;its campaign chairman and the Republican nominee tried to end weeks of upheaval to focus on beating Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. 
 
The departure of Paul Manafort came as Trump tried this week to reset his unorthodox bid for the White&nbsp;House after falling behind Clinton in opinion polls for the November 8 election. 
 
Trump said in a statement he had accepted Manafort&#39;s resignation but did not offer an explanation for the&nbsp;departure. 
 
Trump aides say the staff changes usher in a greater focus on policy and a more serious tone. 
 
The former reality TV host has stuck to that mission, swapping his free-wheeling rally speeches for&nbsp;prepared remarks that stick to a singular theme. He has concentrated on immigration, trade deals and law&nbsp;and order. 
 
Speaking in Dimondale, Michigan on Friday with the use of a teleprompter, Trump stayed clear of much of&nbsp;the hyperbole that has been a hallmark of his campaign. 
 
He attacked Clinton for her position on trade agreements, telling the Michigan crowd that the Democrat&nbsp;would send auto jobs to Mexico. 
 
&quot;Michigan is going to end up with lots of empty buildings all over the place unless you elect Donald Trump&nbsp;president,&quot; he said. 
 
Trump&#39;s son, Eric Trump, said unflattering headlines about Manafort had taken a toll. 
 
&quot;I think my father didn&#39;t want to be, you know, distracted by, you know, whatever things that, you know,&nbsp;Paul was dealing with,&quot; he told Fox News, while also praising Manafort&#39;s work for the campaign. 
 
Questions have arisen about Manafort&#39;s previous work for the political party of the Kremlin-backed former&nbsp;Ukrainian leader, Viktor Yanukovich. 
 
Trump, who has never held elected office, has also been embroiled in a series of controversies in recent&nbsp;weeks and has lagged Clinton in opinion polls. 
 
CLINTON POLL LEAD 
 
Clinton leads Trump by eight percentage points among likely voters, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll&nbsp;released on Friday. The August 14-18 online poll showed that Clinton was supported by 42 per cent of&nbsp;Americans who are expected to vote, compared with 34 per cent for Trump. Some 23 per cent would not side&nbsp;with either candidate. 
 
On Wednesday, Trump overhauled his campaign team, hiring the head of conservative website Breitbart News,&nbsp;Stephen Bannon, aschief executive of the campaign in a move that bolstered his combative image. Trump&nbsp;also promoted adviser Kellyanne Conway, a data-driven political analyst, to campaign manager. 
 
In a previous shake-up, Manafort took over the running of the campaign from Corey Lewandowski, who was&nbsp;fired as campaign manager in June. 
 
A person close to the campaign said Trump had been unhappy with Manafort for a variety of reasons.&nbsp;Manafort, who first joined the campaign in March, had presided over a period in which Trump had formally&nbsp;sealed the Republican presidential nomination after seeing off 16 rivals. 
 
But there were strains, the person said, describing how Trump became angry at reports that Manafort&nbsp;promised Republican officials that Trump&#39;s bombastic persona on the campaign trail was merely an act. 
 
&quot;This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign,&quot; Trump said in a&nbsp;statement on Friday. &quot;I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today.&quot; 
 
Manafort has come under scrutiny over his work with pro-Russian political groups in Ukraine. Earlier on&nbsp;Friday, a Ukrainian lawmaker offered more details of what he said were records of cash payments allocated&nbsp;to Manafort by Yanukovich&#39;s party. Manafort, in a statement earlier this week, has denied any wrongdoing. 
 
The Clinton campaign has pointed to Manafort&#39;s Ukraine work to add to its criticism of favorable comments&nbsp;that Trump has made about Russian President Vladimir Putin and to sow doubts in voters&#39; minds about&nbsp;whether the Russian government has an unseen hand in the US election. Russian officials have rejected&nbsp;that accusation. 
 
&quot;You can get rid of Manafort, but that doesn&#39;t end the odd bromance Trump has with Putin,&quot; Robby Mook,&nbsp;Clinton&#39;s campaign manager, said in a statement. 
 
&#39;TOO MANY COOKS&#39; 
 
John Feehery, a Republican strategist, said it would have been unsustainable for Manafort to stay on after&nbsp;Wednesday&#39;s hires. &quot;Too many cooks in the kitchen,&quot; he said. 
 
Trump&#39;s hiring of Bannon was seen as a sign he would not hold back in his aggressive, unorthodox campaign&nbsp;manner. Still, Trump offered rare words of regret on Thursday for causing offence with his take-no-&nbsp;prisoners style. 
 
Reading from a teleprompter, he told supporters in North Carolina that he had sometimes misspoken. &quot;I&nbsp;regret it,&quot; he said, &quot;particularly where it may have caused personal pain.&quot; 
 
On Friday, he also began airing his first television advertisement since becoming the Republican candidate, buying airtime in the crucial states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida, where&nbsp;Clinton has already spent of millions in television advertising. 
 
The 30-second ad focuses on immigration, saying Clinton would allow &quot;terrorists and dangerous criminals&quot;&nbsp;into the country, a charge her campaign dismisses. 
 
Karlyn Bowman, a senior fellow and research coordinator at the American Enterprise Institute conservative&nbsp;think tank, said Trump still had some time to turn around his campaign, noting the news of the shakeup&nbsp;came as many Americans were enjoying summer vacations. 
 
The final stretch of the protracted campaign traditionally starts after Labor Day, which falls on September 5&nbsp;this year. 
 
&quot;I&#39;m not sure the public pays a lot of attention to inside campaign stories,&quot; she said. &quot;But that said,&nbsp;Trump has clearly been having significant problems in the polls and he needed to do something differently&nbsp;and perhaps this is the beginning of the attempt.&quot; 
 
Clinton won some relief on Friday from a controversy over her use of a private email system when she was&nbsp;secretary of state. 
 
A US federal judge ruled that Clinton did not need to give sworn testimony in a lawsuit about the email&nbsp;issue. 
 
(Reuters)

Trump aides say the staff changes usher in a greater focus on policy and a more serious tone

Donald Trump's US presidential campaign sealed a major staff reshuffle with the resignation on Friday of its campaign chairman and the Republican nominee tried to end weeks of upheaval to focus on beating Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. The departure of Paul Manafort came as Trump tried this week to reset his unorthodox bid for the White House after falling behind Clinton in opinion polls for the November 8 election. Trump said in a statement he had accepted Manafort's resignation but did not offer an explanation for the departure. Trump aides say the staff changes usher in a greater focus on policy and a more serious tone. The former reality TV host has stuck to that mission, swapping his free-wheeling rally speeches for prepared remarks that stick to a singular theme. He has concentrated on immigration, trade deals and law and order. Speaking in Dimondale, Michigan on Friday with the use of a teleprompter, Trump stayed clear of much of the hyperbole that has been a hallmark of his campaign. He attacked Clinton for her position on trade agreements, telling the Michigan crowd that the Democrat would send auto jobs to Mexico. "Michigan is going to end up with lots of empty buildings all over the place unless you elect Donald Trump president," he said. Trump's son, Eric Trump, said unflattering headlines about Manafort had taken a toll. "I think my father didn't want to be, you know, distracted by, you know, whatever things that, you know, Paul was dealing with," he told Fox News, while also praising Manafort's work for the campaign. Questions have arisen about Manafort's previous work for the political party of the Kremlin-backed former Ukrainian leader, Viktor Yanukovich. Trump, who has never held elected office, has also been embroiled in a series of controversies in recent weeks and has lagged Clinton in opinion polls. CLINTON POLL LEAD Clinton leads Trump by eight percentage points among likely voters, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Friday. The August 14-18 online poll showed that Clinton was supported by 42 per cent of Americans who are expected to vote, compared with 34 per cent for Trump. Some 23 per cent would not side with either candidate. On Wednesday, Trump overhauled his campaign team, hiring the head of conservative website Breitbart News, Stephen Bannon, aschief executive of the campaign in a move that bolstered his combative image. Trump also promoted adviser Kellyanne Conway, a data-driven political analyst, to campaign manager. In a previous shake-up, Manafort took over the running of the campaign from Corey Lewandowski, who was fired as campaign manager in June. A person close to the campaign said Trump had been unhappy with Manafort for a variety of reasons. Manafort, who first joined the campaign in March, had presided over a period in which Trump had formally sealed the Republican presidential nomination after seeing off 16 rivals. But there were strains, the person said, describing how Trump became angry at reports that Manafort promised Republican officials that Trump's bombastic persona on the campaign trail was merely an act. "This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign," Trump said in a statement on Friday. "I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today." Manafort has come under scrutiny over his work with pro-Russian political groups in Ukraine. Earlier on Friday, a Ukrainian lawmaker offered more details of what he said were records of cash payments allocated to Manafort by Yanukovich's party. Manafort, in a statement earlier this week, has denied any wrongdoing. The Clinton campaign has pointed to Manafort's Ukraine work to add to its criticism of favorable comments that Trump has made about Russian President Vladimir Putin and to sow doubts in voters' minds about whether the Russian government has an unseen hand in the US election. Russian officials have rejected that accusation. "You can get rid of Manafort, but that doesn't end the odd bromance Trump has with Putin," Robby Mook, Clinton's campaign manager, said in a statement. 'TOO MANY COOKS' John Feehery, a Republican strategist, said it would have been unsustainable for Manafort to stay on after Wednesday's hires. "Too many cooks in the kitchen," he said. Trump's hiring of Bannon was seen as a sign he would not hold back in his aggressive, unorthodox campaign manner. Still, Trump offered rare words of regret on Thursday for causing offence with his take-no- prisoners style. Reading from a teleprompter, he told supporters in North Carolina that he had sometimes misspoken. "I regret it," he said, "particularly where it may have caused personal pain." On Friday, he also began airing his first television advertisement since becoming the Republican candidate, buying airtime in the crucial states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Florida, where Clinton has already spent of millions in television advertising. The 30-second ad focuses on immigration, saying Clinton would allow "terrorists and dangerous criminals" into the country, a charge her campaign dismisses. Karlyn Bowman, a senior fellow and research coordinator at the American Enterprise Institute conservative think tank, said Trump still had some time to turn around his campaign, noting the news of the shakeup came as many Americans were enjoying summer vacations. The final stretch of the protracted campaign traditionally starts after Labor Day, which falls on September 5 this year. "I'm not sure the public pays a lot of attention to inside campaign stories," she said. "But that said, Trump has clearly been having significant problems in the polls and he needed to do something differently and perhaps this is the beginning of the attempt." Clinton won some relief on Friday from a controversy over her use of a private email system when she was secretary of state. A US federal judge ruled that Clinton did not need to give sworn testimony in a lawsuit about the email issue. (Reuters)

Trump does not reason campaign manager's resignation

Donald Trump made a rare act of contrition on Thursday, saying he regretted offending people with his harsh way of speaking. 
 
Trump made the gesture at his first rally since ordering a shakeup in his campaign to save his struggling bid as Republican candidate for the US presidency. 
 
&quot;Sometimes in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don&#39;t choose the right words or you say the wrong thing,&quot; Trump told a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina. 
 
&quot;I have done that. And believe it or not, I regret it,&quot; he said, drawing laughs and applause from the crowd. &quot;I do regret it. Particularly, where it may have caused personal pain.&quot; 
 
He added: &quot;Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues, but one thing I can promise you this, I will always tell you the truth.&quot; 
 
The New York billionaire&#39;s multiple self-inflicted wounds of late have left him trailing in virtually every battleground state. One of the biggest was when he clashed repeatedly with the parents of an Army captain killed in Iraq. 
 
Critics accused him last week of inciting violence against his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton in a remark about the right to bear arms, and media reports have swirled about a campaign in crisis and a candidate apparently incapable of reeling in crass remarks. 
 
Clinton leads Trump 47 per cent to 41.2 per cent, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average, following weeks of errors that have alienated establishment Republicans and seen his own supporters tear their hair out. 
 
The shakeup&nbsp; 
 
On Wednesday, Trump appointed right-wing news executive Stephen Bannon CEO and promoted pollster Kellyanne Conway to campaign manager. 
 
The change was seen as a demotion for campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who has been pushing Trump, among other changes, to use a teleprompter when he gives speeches as a way to stay on message, and not ad-lib himself into saying something offensive or wrong. 
 
The choice of Bannon, however, was seen as Trump&#39;s way of thumbing his nose at Republican leaders who have been urging him to tone down the shoot-from-the-hip style of speech he used effectively in the primaries. 
 
Urges to include African-Americans voters in the &#39;American dream&#39;&nbsp; 
 
On Thursday, Trump did speak with a teleprompter and veered from the invisible screens only to hammer away at a given point he wanted to make. 
 
On substantive issues, he reached out to US minorities, in particular blacks. 
 
&quot;Nearly four in ten African-American children are living in poverty. I will not rest until children of every colour in this country are fully included in the American Dream,&quot; Trump said. 
 
&quot;If African-American voters give Donald Trump a chance by giving me their vote, the result for them will be amazing,&quot; he said. 
 
He stressed his standard campaign pillars of building a wall along the border with Mexico, keeping out undocumented foreigners and opposing international trade accords. 
 
He depicted himself as an agent of change compared to Clinton, whom he dismissed as an old-fashioned Washington insider. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp;

'I have done that. And believe it or not, I regret it,' he said but added that he would continue to 'tell the truth'

Donald Trump made a rare act of contrition on Thursday, saying he regretted offending people with his harsh way of speaking. Trump made the gesture at his first rally since ordering a shakeup in his campaign to save his struggling bid as Republican candidate for the US presidency. "Sometimes in the heat of debate and speaking on a multitude of issues, you don't choose the right words or you say the wrong thing," Trump told a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina. "I have done that. And believe it or not, I regret it," he said, drawing laughs and applause from the crowd. "I do regret it. Particularly, where it may have caused personal pain." He added: "Too much is at stake for us to be consumed with these issues, but one thing I can promise you this, I will always tell you the truth." The New York billionaire's multiple self-inflicted wounds of late have left him trailing in virtually every battleground state. One of the biggest was when he clashed repeatedly with the parents of an Army captain killed in Iraq. Critics accused him last week of inciting violence against his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton in a remark about the right to bear arms, and media reports have swirled about a campaign in crisis and a candidate apparently incapable of reeling in crass remarks. Clinton leads Trump 47 per cent to 41.2 per cent, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average, following weeks of errors that have alienated establishment Republicans and seen his own supporters tear their hair out. The shakeup On Wednesday, Trump appointed right-wing news executive Stephen Bannon CEO and promoted pollster Kellyanne Conway to campaign manager. The change was seen as a demotion for campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who has been pushing Trump, among other changes, to use a teleprompter when he gives speeches as a way to stay on message, and not ad-lib himself into saying something offensive or wrong. The choice of Bannon, however, was seen as Trump's way of thumbing his nose at Republican leaders who have been urging him to tone down the shoot-from-the-hip style of speech he used effectively in the primaries. Urges to include African-Americans voters in the 'American dream' On Thursday, Trump did speak with a teleprompter and veered from the invisible screens only to hammer away at a given point he wanted to make. On substantive issues, he reached out to US minorities, in particular blacks. "Nearly four in ten African-American children are living in poverty. I will not rest until children of every colour in this country are fully included in the American Dream," Trump said. "If African-American voters give Donald Trump a chance by giving me their vote, the result for them will be amazing," he said. He stressed his standard campaign pillars of building a wall along the border with Mexico, keeping out undocumented foreigners and opposing international trade accords. He depicted himself as an agent of change compared to Clinton, whom he dismissed as an old-fashioned Washington insider. (AFP)

Day after campaign shakeup, Donald Trump says he regrets 'offending people'?

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate arrived in the flood-damaged city of Baton Rouge on Friday but the state&#39;s Democratic governor advised against touring areas affected by recent deadly rains. 
 
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards&#39; office said Trump had not called to discuss plans for his visit, but that the New York businessman was welcome to volunteer or make a sizable donation towards helping victims. 
 
Some 40,000 homes were damaged and at least 13 people died in Louisiana after a deluge of more than two and a half feet (0.76 metres) in what has been described as the worst US storm since Superstorm Sandy in 2012. 
 
Trump disembarked from his plane sporting a white baseball cap with his campaign slogan &quot;Make America Great Again&quot; on it and shook hands with officials on the tarmac before leaving the airport in a motorcade. 
 
They met with local volunteers at a church whose congregation was assisting victims of the flood.&nbsp;Trump pointed out to the church minister and other local official that he was present in Louisiana while US President Barack Obama was on vacation in Massachusetts. 
 
&quot;The President said he doesn&#39;t want to go. He&#39;s trying to get out of a golf game,&quot; Trump said of Obama. 
 
Some people in Louisiana have urged Obama to cut short his vacation in Martha&#39;s Vineyard to view the flood devastation. Obama&#39;s vacation is due to end on Sunday. 
 
Governor Edwards said he urged the president to wait a few weeks before visiting as the huge security undertaking involved would interfere with recovery efforts. 
 
After the church visit, Trump met with homeowner whose flood-damaged possessions were stacked outside the home for trash collectors to remove. 
 
(Reuters)

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said Trump had not called to discuss plans for his visit, but was free to volunteer or make donations

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate arrived in the flood-damaged city of Baton Rouge on Friday but the state's Democratic governor advised against touring areas affected by recent deadly rains. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards' office said Trump had not called to discuss plans for his visit, but that the New York businessman was welcome to volunteer or make a sizable donation towards helping victims. Some 40,000 homes were damaged and at least 13 people died in Louisiana after a deluge of more than two and a half feet (0.76 metres) in what has been described as the worst US storm since Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Trump disembarked from his plane sporting a white baseball cap with his campaign slogan "Make America Great Again" on it and shook hands with officials on the tarmac before leaving the airport in a motorcade. They met with local volunteers at a church whose congregation was assisting victims of the flood. Trump pointed out to the church minister and other local official that he was present in Louisiana while US President Barack Obama was on vacation in Massachusetts. "The President said he doesn't want to go. He's trying to get out of a golf game," Trump said of Obama. Some people in Louisiana have urged Obama to cut short his vacation in Martha's Vineyard to view the flood devastation. Obama's vacation is due to end on Sunday. Governor Edwards said he urged the president to wait a few weeks before visiting as the huge security undertaking involved would interfere with recovery efforts. After the church visit, Trump met with homeowner whose flood-damaged possessions were stacked outside the home for trash collectors to remove. (Reuters)

Trump visits homes damaged by Louisiana floods

Hollywood action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger launched a new sports festival in Hong Kong today, telling the stressed-out city to remember to balance the mind and body. 
 
The Arnold Classic Asia Multi-Sport Festival weekend includes demonstrations and competitions including arm-wrestling, body-building, skateboarding and cerebral pastimes such as chess and Rubik&#39;s Cube. 
 
Hong Kong is the first city in Asia to host the event, which is already held in other continents. 
 
Asked how parents in the hothouse city should encourage their children to do sports as well as study, Schwarzenegger said, &quot;Until you&#39;re six feet under, you have to work on your body. But you also have to work on your mind.&nbsp;If you look in the mirror at night you should be able to say &#39;Today I learned a whole bunch of new things&#39;.&quot; 
 
The former bodybuilding champion and governor of California told reporters he still gets up at 5:00 am everyday to go to the gym and workout. 
 
&quot;You have a choice to live or to just exist,&quot; he said. 
 
Schwarzenegger, 69, will take over from US presidential candidate Donald Trump as host of the new US &quot;Celebrity Apprentice&quot; television series, set to be broadcast early next year. 
 
A long-time Republican, he backed Trump&#39;s rival John Kasich in California&#39;s Republican primary earlier this year, which Trump won. He is yet to say whether he will endorse Trump for the presidency. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp;

Hollywood's penultimate action hero gives his tips as he launches a new sports festival in the city

Hollywood action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger launched a new sports festival in Hong Kong today, telling the stressed-out city to remember to balance the mind and body. The Arnold Classic Asia Multi-Sport Festival weekend includes demonstrations and competitions including arm-wrestling, body-building, skateboarding and cerebral pastimes such as chess and Rubik's Cube. Hong Kong is the first city in Asia to host the event, which is already held in other continents. Asked how parents in the hothouse city should encourage their children to do sports as well as study, Schwarzenegger said, "Until you're six feet under, you have to work on your body. But you also have to work on your mind. If you look in the mirror at night you should be able to say 'Today I learned a whole bunch of new things'." The former bodybuilding champion and governor of California told reporters he still gets up at 5:00 am everyday to go to the gym and workout. "You have a choice to live or to just exist," he said. Schwarzenegger, 69, will take over from US presidential candidate Donald Trump as host of the new US "Celebrity Apprentice" television series, set to be broadcast early next year. A long-time Republican, he backed Trump's rival John Kasich in California's Republican primary earlier this year, which Trump won. He is yet to say whether he will endorse Trump for the presidency. (AFP)

Arnold Schwarzenegger tells Hong Kong about his 5am gym routine

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has received his first classified intelligence briefing which he said he is unlikely to &quot;use&quot; if he is elected in November&#39;s general election. 
 
As per the US laws, presidential nominees of the Democratic and Republican parties receive classified presidential briefings which prepares them for presidency,&nbsp;if elected. 
 
Given some of his rhetoric in the past, his opponents have urged the US government not to provide him with intelligence briefing. However, the FBI went ahead with its well-established tradition of providing classified briefings to the GOP candidate, which happened at the FBI office in New York. 
 
Trump was accompanied by two of his confidants New Jersey governor Chris Christie and retired lieutenant general Michael Flynn. The briefing that reportedly lasted for more than two hours was led by the office of the director of national intelligence. 
 
While there was no word, these classified intelligence briefings normally includes on threats to the US and other security issues. It is not secret intelligence briefings which includes operational intelligence. 
 
Before the briefing, Trump said he would not much depend on such intelligence briefings. &quot;Very easy to use them, but I won&#39;t use them, because they&#39;ve made such bad decisions. If we would have never touched it, it would have been a lot better,&quot; Trump told Fox News in an interview. 
 
Before he headed for intelligence briefing, Trump held round table with his national security team on defeating radical Islam, his campaign said. 
 
&quot;Today, Mr. Trump convened a meeting of some of the top foreign policy and national security experts in the country to discuss how to win the war against radical islamic terrorism,&quot; said his national policy director Stephen Miller. 
 
&quot;The participants talked about improving immigration screening and standards to keep out radicals, working with moderate Muslims to foster reforms, and partnering with friendly regimes in the Middle East to stamp out ISIS,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;This is a stark contrast to Hillary Clinton who wants to bring in 620,000 refugees with no way to screen them, who refuses to say radical Islam, and who bears direct responsibility for the rise of ISIS with her disastrous interventions overseas,&quot; Miller said. 
 
It was not immediately known when Trump&#39;s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton would receive such a briefing or when it has been scheduled for. Several Republican leaders have called for Clinton not to be given classified information in view of the email scandal. 
 
(PTI)

Given some of his rhetoric in the past, his opponents have urged the US government not to provide him with intelligence briefing

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has received his first classified intelligence briefing which he said he is unlikely to "use" if he is elected in November's general election. As per the US laws, presidential nominees of the Democratic and Republican parties receive classified presidential briefings which prepares them for presidency, if elected. Given some of his rhetoric in the past, his opponents have urged the US government not to provide him with intelligence briefing. However, the FBI went ahead with its well-established tradition of providing classified briefings to the GOP candidate, which happened at the FBI office in New York. Trump was accompanied by two of his confidants New Jersey governor Chris Christie and retired lieutenant general Michael Flynn. The briefing that reportedly lasted for more than two hours was led by the office of the director of national intelligence. While there was no word, these classified intelligence briefings normally includes on threats to the US and other security issues. It is not secret intelligence briefings which includes operational intelligence. Before the briefing, Trump said he would not much depend on such intelligence briefings. "Very easy to use them, but I won't use them, because they've made such bad decisions. If we would have never touched it, it would have been a lot better," Trump told Fox News in an interview. Before he headed for intelligence briefing, Trump held round table with his national security team on defeating radical Islam, his campaign said. "Today, Mr. Trump convened a meeting of some of the top foreign policy and national security experts in the country to discuss how to win the war against radical islamic terrorism," said his national policy director Stephen Miller. "The participants talked about improving immigration screening and standards to keep out radicals, working with moderate Muslims to foster reforms, and partnering with friendly regimes in the Middle East to stamp out ISIS," he said. "This is a stark contrast to Hillary Clinton who wants to bring in 620,000 refugees with no way to screen them, who refuses to say radical Islam, and who bears direct responsibility for the rise of ISIS with her disastrous interventions overseas," Miller said. It was not immediately known when Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton would receive such a briefing or when it has been scheduled for. Several Republican leaders have called for Clinton not to be given classified information in view of the email scandal. (PTI)

Donald Trump receives first classified intelligence briefing

US&nbsp;Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, visited Milwaukee&nbsp;on Tuesday, days after the city was hit by unrest over the fatal police shooting of a black man, and said that initial evidence pointed to the shooting being justified.

Trump, who has been vocal in support of law enforcement during a spate of protests around the country over high-profile police shootings, told Fox News that he plans to address the unrest during a town hall meeting on Tuesday in the Wisconsin city.

&quot;It&#39;s law and order. We have to obey the laws or we don&#39;t have a country,&quot; said Trump. &quot;We have a case where good people are out there trying to get people to sort of calm down and they&#39;re not calming down and we have our police who are doing a phenomenal job.&quot;

Unrest broke out in the city on Saturday night after the death earlier in the day of Sylville Smith, 23. Authorities said Smith was stopped for acting suspiciously and then fled, and was shot by police because he was carrying an illegal handgun and refused orders to drop it.

&quot;But the gun was pointed at his (a police officer&#39;s) head supposedly ready to be fired. Who can have a problem with that? That&rsquo;s what the narrative is,&quot; Trump told Fox News. &quot;Maybe it&rsquo;s not true. If it is true, people shouldn&rsquo;t be rioting.&rdquo;

Trump held a roundtable discussion on Tuesday afternoon with&nbsp;Milwaukee&nbsp;County Sheriff David Clarke and Inspector Edward Bailey - but news media representatives were escorted out and not permitted to hear the discussions. Trump took a brief tour of the county&#39;s war memorial and posed for pictures with veterans.

Clarke, who is black and who spoke last month at the Republican National Convention, has been blunt in his assessment of the unrest, writing in an opinion piece for The Hill, &quot;it was a collapse of the social order where tribal behaviour leads to reacting to circumstances instead of waiting for facts to emerge.&quot;

Demonstrations on Saturday night turned violent, when cars and businesses were set ablaze and gunfire ripped through the area of protests. The city was calmer on Monday night after a curfew was put in place for teenagers, and community leaders called for peace.

Police violence against African-Americans has set off intermittent, sometimes violent protests in the past two years, igniting a national debate over race and policing in the United States and giving rise to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Trump frequently talks about the need to restore safety and order in the wake of such unrest. He will hold an event with veterans and law enforcement, appear at the town hall meeting sponsored by Fox News, and then hold a rally in the&nbsp;Milwaukee&nbsp;suburb of West Bend on Tuesday night.

His presence in&nbsp;Milwaukee&nbsp;could prompt more demonstrations. Opponents of the New York real estate mogul frequently demonstrate inside and outside his campaign events. A rally in Chicago earlier this year was cancelled after demonstrations grew violent.

A Fox News representative would not elaborate on security for the event.

Meanwhile, officials from the Office of Director of National Intelligence are expected to give Trump a wide-ranging briefing on national security issues this week, an adviser to Trump and a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Presidential candidates are entitled to receive a briefing of classified information after they formally secure the nomination, which Trump did last month. Trump&#39;s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, is also entitled to receive a briefing if she requests one.

Democrats have been strongly critical of Trump&#39;s positions on foreign policy and national security, as well as of some of his freewheeling remarks. President Barack Obama has called Trump &quot;unfit&quot; for the presidency and earlier this month warned the Republican candidate that briefing information must be kept secret. 
 
(Reuters)

US presidential candidate said initial evidence suggests the man was shot by police as he had pointed a gun at a law enforcement officer

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, visited Milwaukee on Tuesday, days after the city was hit by unrest over the fatal police shooting of a black man, and said that initial evidence pointed to the shooting being justified. Trump, who has been vocal in support of law enforcement during a spate of protests around the country over high-profile police shootings, told Fox News that he plans to address the unrest during a town hall meeting on Tuesday in the Wisconsin city. "It's law and order. We have to obey the laws or we don't have a country," said Trump. "We have a case where good people are out there trying to get people to sort of calm down and they're not calming down and we have our police who are doing a phenomenal job." Unrest broke out in the city on Saturday night after the death earlier in the day of Sylville Smith, 23. Authorities said Smith was stopped for acting suspiciously and then fled, and was shot by police because he was carrying an illegal handgun and refused orders to drop it. "But the gun was pointed at his (a police officer's) head supposedly ready to be fired. Who can have a problem with that? That’s what the narrative is," Trump told Fox News. "Maybe it’s not true. If it is true, people shouldn’t be rioting.” Trump held a roundtable discussion on Tuesday afternoon with Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke and Inspector Edward Bailey - but news media representatives were escorted out and not permitted to hear the discussions. Trump took a brief tour of the county's war memorial and posed for pictures with veterans. Clarke, who is black and who spoke last month at the Republican National Convention, has been blunt in his assessment of the unrest, writing in an opinion piece for The Hill, "it was a collapse of the social order where tribal behaviour leads to reacting to circumstances instead of waiting for facts to emerge." Demonstrations on Saturday night turned violent, when cars and businesses were set ablaze and gunfire ripped through the area of protests. The city was calmer on Monday night after a curfew was put in place for teenagers, and community leaders called for peace. Police violence against African-Americans has set off intermittent, sometimes violent protests in the past two years, igniting a national debate over race and policing in the United States and giving rise to the Black Lives Matter movement. Trump frequently talks about the need to restore safety and order in the wake of such unrest. He will hold an event with veterans and law enforcement, appear at the town hall meeting sponsored by Fox News, and then hold a rally in the Milwaukee suburb of West Bend on Tuesday night. His presence in Milwaukee could prompt more demonstrations. Opponents of the New York real estate mogul frequently demonstrate inside and outside his campaign events. A rally in Chicago earlier this year was cancelled after demonstrations grew violent. A Fox News representative would not elaborate on security for the event. Meanwhile, officials from the Office of Director of National Intelligence are expected to give Trump a wide-ranging briefing on national security issues this week, an adviser to Trump and a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. Presidential candidates are entitled to receive a briefing of classified information after they formally secure the nomination, which Trump did last month. Trump's Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, is also entitled to receive a briefing if she requests one. Democrats have been strongly critical of Trump's positions on foreign policy and national security, as well as of some of his freewheeling remarks. President Barack Obama has called Trump "unfit" for the presidency and earlier this month warned the Republican candidate that briefing information must be kept secret. (Reuters)

Donald Trump sides with 'phenomenal' police in Milwaukee shooting

A rattled Donald Trump today rejigged his campaign for the second time in two months by introducing fresh faces, including a CEO, to propel his faltering presidential bid after recent polls showed him lagging behind rival Hillary Clinton. 
 
The Republican presidential nominee hired as CEO Stephen Bannon, the executive chairman of the conservative website Breitbart News, and promoting one of his advisers, Kellyanne Conway, to the post of campaign manager.&nbsp;The rejig comes 82 days ahead of the November 8 election. 
 
Bannon has temporarily stepped down from his role at Breitbart News to work full-time with the Trump campaign. The new position has been designed to bolster &quot;the business-like approach&quot; of the billionaire tycoon&#39;s campaign, according to a media release. 
 
Conway is a nationally respected pollster and Republican campaign strategist. He is the founder and president of The Polling Company/WomanTrend, a privately held, woman-owned corporation. 
 
&quot;They are extremely capable, highly-qualified people who love to win and know how to win,&quot; the 70-year-old Trump said. 
&quot;I believe we&#39;re adding some of the best talents in politics, with the experience and expertise needed to defeat Hillary Clinton in November and continue to share my message and vision to &#39;Make America Great Again&#39;,&quot; he added. 
 
The announcement comes at a significantly important stage for the presidential campaigns, with the first major TV ad buy slated to start later this week and with additional top-flight operatives joining the movement on a near-daily basis. 
 
The reposition also comes at a particularly intriguing time for Trump as he has been trailing Democratic Party candidate Clinton both nationally and in key states.&nbsp;Recent polls have showed&nbsp;Clinton consolidating her position among youths and millennial who had supported Bernie Sanders, her rival in the Democratic race. 
 
Bannon, who was once recognised by Bloomberg Politics as the &quot;most dangerous political operative in America&quot;, will oversee the campaign staff and operations in addition to strategic oversight of major campaign initiatives.&nbsp;Bannon holds a Masters in National Security Studies from Georgetown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. 
 
Prior to joining Breitbart News, Bannon was an Officer in the US Navy and owned an investment bank that he sold to Societe Generale.&nbsp;Conway, a sought-after pollster, will work on messaging and travel frequently with Trump&nbsp;while working closely with Bannon and campaign chairman Paul Manafort. 
 
In the shake-up, Manafort retains his role as chairman and chief strategist. US media has, however, termed it a demotion for him. 
&quot;The staffing change, hammered out on Sunday and set to be formally announced Wednesday morning, was seen by some as a demotion for Manafort,&quot; The New York Times said. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s an expansion at a busy time in the final stretch of the campaign,&quot; Conway was quoted as saying by The Times.&nbsp;In June, Trump fired Corey Lewandowski as his campaign manager nearly a month before he was to secure the presidential nomination at the July Republican convention.&nbsp; 
 
(PTI)

Among other changes Trump hired Stephen Bannon, the executive chairman of the conservative website Breitbart, to lead his campaign

A rattled Donald Trump today rejigged his campaign for the second time in two months by introducing fresh faces, including a CEO, to propel his faltering presidential bid after recent polls showed him lagging behind rival Hillary Clinton. The Republican presidential nominee hired as CEO Stephen Bannon, the executive chairman of the conservative website Breitbart News, and promoting one of his advisers, Kellyanne Conway, to the post of campaign manager. The rejig comes 82 days ahead of the November 8 election. Bannon has temporarily stepped down from his role at Breitbart News to work full-time with the Trump campaign. The new position has been designed to bolster "the business-like approach" of the billionaire tycoon's campaign, according to a media release. Conway is a nationally respected pollster and Republican campaign strategist. He is the founder and president of The Polling Company/WomanTrend, a privately held, woman-owned corporation. "They are extremely capable, highly-qualified people who love to win and know how to win," the 70-year-old Trump said. "I believe we're adding some of the best talents in politics, with the experience and expertise needed to defeat Hillary Clinton in November and continue to share my message and vision to 'Make America Great Again'," he added. The announcement comes at a significantly important stage for the presidential campaigns, with the first major TV ad buy slated to start later this week and with additional top-flight operatives joining the movement on a near-daily basis. The reposition also comes at a particularly intriguing time for Trump as he has been trailing Democratic Party candidate Clinton both nationally and in key states. Recent polls have showed Clinton consolidating her position among youths and millennial who had supported Bernie Sanders, her rival in the Democratic race. Bannon, who was once recognised by Bloomberg Politics as the "most dangerous political operative in America", will oversee the campaign staff and operations in addition to strategic oversight of major campaign initiatives. Bannon holds a Masters in National Security Studies from Georgetown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Prior to joining Breitbart News, Bannon was an Officer in the US Navy and owned an investment bank that he sold to Societe Generale. Conway, a sought-after pollster, will work on messaging and travel frequently with Trump while working closely with Bannon and campaign chairman Paul Manafort. In the shake-up, Manafort retains his role as chairman and chief strategist. US media has, however, termed it a demotion for him. "The staffing change, hammered out on Sunday and set to be formally announced Wednesday morning, was seen by some as a demotion for Manafort," The New York Times said. "It's an expansion at a busy time in the final stretch of the campaign," Conway was quoted as saying by The Times. In June, Trump fired Corey Lewandowski as his campaign manager nearly a month before he was to secure the presidential nomination at the July Republican convention. (PTI)

Donald Trump rejigs faltering campaign, introduces new faces

The 21-year-old daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma is set to marry the Eswatini king “for love” and become his 16th wife, a spokesman for Africa’s last remaining monarchy told BBC.

Nomcebo Zuma was present at the annual reed dance—a traditional celebration of passage for young women and girls—and was named as the liphovela (italics), meaning royal fiancee in Swati.&nbsp;

The days-long reed dance is a traditional rite of womanhood, with young women singing and dancing bare-chested, wearing traditional clothing that includes anklets and thick colourful tassels, some carrying mock swords and shields.

The 56-year-old Eswatini monarch, King Mswati II is currently in a polygamous arrangement with 11 wives—and has been married 15 times in total.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/south-africa-plans-to-bomb-its-island-soon-to-eradicate-killer-mice-753724">South Africa plans to bomb its island soon to eradicate 'killer' mice</a>

The Eswatini monarchy spokesperson dismissed any suggestion of marriage being a political alliance. He said instead the marriage is happening because of love.

"Love has no eyes to see or count age. Love happens between two people. It can happen between a person who is 100 years old and a person who is above the average of what is permitted constitutionally," he told the BBC’s Newsday programme.

King Mswati and the former South African president Zuma are already relatives through marriage.&nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;South Africa: Ramaphosa takes oath as President, coalition govt in SA

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Eswatini king has been on the throne for the last 38 years and has been often accused of living a luxurious polygamous life while most of his people suffer in poverty.&nbsp;

Eswatini, previously known as Swaziland, has a population of 1.1 million and one of the world’s highest rates of HIV/Aids infection.

Zuma, on the other hand, resigned in disgrace over corruption allegations during his presidency and still faces a court case over the 1999 arms deal, though he denies wrong-doing. However, the 82-year-old is respected by his supporters for upholding his cultural and traditional Zulu beliefs.

The former South African president also had several wives and is thought to have 20 children.&nbsp;

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/south-africas-former-president-jacob-zuma-expelled-from-anc-745281">South Africa's former president Jacob Zuma expelled from his ANC party</a>

Nomcebo was dressed in the bright colours of the Eswatini kingdom on the last day of the reed dance on Monday. &nbsp;Also, known as the Umhlanga ceremony, it is intended to discourage those taking part from becoming sexually active at a young age.&nbsp;

This is not the first time that King Mswati III has chosen a young bride at&nbsp;the Umhlanga ceremony. In 2005, he chose 17-year-old Phindile Nkambule as his wife, a few days after he had revoked a ban on sexual relations for girls younger than 18.

(With inputs from agencies)

Girls in Pakistan are 'born to stay home and follow traditions,' he said adding, 'shockingly, this tradition has reached America's shores'

The 21-year-old daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma is set to marry the Eswatini king “for love” and become his 16th wife, a spokesman for Africa’s last remaining monarchy told BBC. Nomcebo Zuma was present at the annual reed dance—a traditional celebration of passage for young women and girls—and was named as the liphovela (italics), meaning royal fiancee in Swati. The days-long reed dance is a traditional rite of womanhood, with young women singing and dancing bare-chested, wearing traditional clothing that includes anklets and thick colourful tassels, some carrying mock swords and shields. The 56-year-old Eswatini monarch, King Mswati II is currently in a polygamous arrangement with 11 wives—and has been married 15 times in total. Also Read | South Africa plans to bomb its island soon to eradicate 'killer' mice The Eswatini monarchy spokesperson dismissed any suggestion of marriage being a political alliance. He said instead the marriage is happening because of love. "Love has no eyes to see or count age. Love happens between two people. It can happen between a person who is 100 years old and a person who is above the average of what is permitted constitutionally," he told the BBC’s Newsday programme. King Mswati and the former South African president Zuma are already relatives through marriage. Watch | South Africa: Ramaphosa takes oath as President, coalition govt in SA × Eswatini king has been on the throne for the last 38 years and has been often accused of living a luxurious polygamous life while most of his people suffer in poverty. Eswatini, previously known as Swaziland, has a population of 1.1 million and one of the world’s highest rates of HIV/Aids infection. Zuma, on the other hand, resigned in disgrace over corruption allegations during his presidency and still faces a court case over the 1999 arms deal, though he denies wrong-doing. However, the 82-year-old is respected by his supporters for upholding his cultural and traditional Zulu beliefs. The former South African president also had several wives and is thought to have 20 children. Also Read | South Africa's former president Jacob Zuma expelled from his ANC party Nomcebo was dressed in the bright colours of the Eswatini kingdom on the last day of the reed dance on Monday. Also, known as the Umhlanga ceremony, it is intended to discourage those taking part from becoming sexually active at a young age. This is not the first time that King Mswati III has chosen a young bride at the Umhlanga ceremony. In 2005, he chose 17-year-old Phindile Nkambule as his wife, a few days after he had revoked a ban on sexual relations for girls younger than 18. (With inputs from agencies)

Trump talks of 'need to speak against honour killings', refers to Qandeel Baloch murder

Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump on Monday unveiled his anti-terrorism plan, saying he would implement &quot;extreme vetting&quot; of immigrants and suspend immigration from certain countries to protect the United States. 
 
In a policy speech in the swing state of Ohio, the billionaire real estate mogul -- who is vying with Hillary Clinton for the White House -- vowed to &quot;crush and destroy&quot; the Islamic State group, accusing Clinton and President Barack Obama of allowing it to grow. 
 
He also pledged to launch a &quot;commission on radical Islam&quot; to root out jihadist networks and stop radicalization of young Americans. 
 
&quot;We should only admit into this country those who share our values and respect our people,&quot; Trump said.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;In the Cold War, we had an ideological screening test. The time is overdue to develop a new screening test for the threats we face today. I call it extreme vetting.&quot; 
 
Trump called for a &quot;new approach&quot; to fighting terror, slamming the policies put in place by Obama and Clinton, who served as his first secretary of state. 
 
&quot;Our current strategy of nation building and regime change is a proven absolute failure. We have created the vacuums that allow terrorism to grow and thrive,&quot; he said. 
 
(AFP) 
 
Trump said he would suspend immigration from &quot;some of the most dangerous and volatile regions of the world, that have a history of exporting terrorism.&quot;

Republican presidential hopeful also spoke about crushing IS in a policy speech made in Ohio

Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump on Monday unveiled his anti-terrorism plan, saying he would implement "extreme vetting" of immigrants and suspend immigration from certain countries to protect the United States. In a policy speech in the swing state of Ohio, the billionaire real estate mogul -- who is vying with Hillary Clinton for the White House -- vowed to "crush and destroy" the Islamic State group, accusing Clinton and President Barack Obama of allowing it to grow. He also pledged to launch a "commission on radical Islam" to root out jihadist networks and stop radicalization of young Americans. "We should only admit into this country those who share our values and respect our people," Trump said. "In the Cold War, we had an ideological screening test. The time is overdue to develop a new screening test for the threats we face today. I call it extreme vetting." Trump called for a "new approach" to fighting terror, slamming the policies put in place by Obama and Clinton, who served as his first secretary of state. "Our current strategy of nation building and regime change is a proven absolute failure. We have created the vacuums that allow terrorism to grow and thrive," he said. (AFP) Trump said he would suspend immigration from "some of the most dangerous and volatile regions of the world, that have a history of exporting terrorism."

Donald Trump vows 'extreme vetting' of immigrants

US Republican Donald Trump yesterday repeated his attack on President Barack Obama that he helped &quot;found&quot; Islamic State and railed against media reports that his campaign is failing, at a campaign rally in Connecticut, a state where he has a long-shot of being victorious. 
 
Speaking for more than an hour in a sweltering room, Trump spent a significant portion of his speech complaining about the media. 
 
He again threatened to revoke the press credentials of The New York Times. The credentials allow reporters access to press-only areas of his campaign events. He has already banned other outlets, including The Washington Post. 
 
On Saturday, the New York newspaper published an article detailing failed efforts to make Trump focus his campaign on the general election. 
 
&quot;These are the most dishonest people,&quot; Trump said. &quot;Maybe we&#39;ll start thinking about taking their press credentials away from them.&quot; 
 
Trump visiting Connecticut, a heavily Democratic state, raised eyebrows among many Republicans. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s asinine that he would be in Connecticut holding a public rally less than 90 days before the election,&quot; said Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak. &quot;You don&#39;t see Hillary publicly campaigning in Idaho and Mississippi. I have to think this proves the candidate is running the campaign, which explains why it&#39;s such a disaster of biblical proportions.&quot; 
 
At several points the crowd chanted &quot;lock her up,&quot; a frequent campaign rally chant in reference to Trump&#39;s Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. 
 
Trump told the crowd that normally he responds by saying he intends instead to defeat her in the November 8 election, but this time added, &quot;You know what? You have a point!&quot; 
 
Trump also dropped his recent efforts to say he was not being serious when he said Obama was the &quot;founder&quot; of the Islamic State militant group . 
 
&quot;It&#39;s the opinion of myself and a lot of people that he was the founder,&quot; Trump told the crowd. 
 
Democrats and Republicans alike have criticized Trump&#39;s assertion as patently false. 
 
Trump took a detour from attacking Clinton&#39;s economic record to discuss the 1998 scandal involving White House intern Monica Lewinsky and former President Bill Clinton, whom Republicans attempted to impeach. 
 
&quot;Remember when he said, he did not have sex with that woman, and a couple of weeks later, oh you got me,&quot; Trump said, to cheers. He then made reference to a blue dress that became a symbol in the investigation. &quot;I&#39;m so glad they kept that dress, so glad they kept that dress, because it shows what the hell they are.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Trump threatened to revoke the daily's press credentials. He has already banned other outlets, including The Washington Post

US Republican Donald Trump yesterday repeated his attack on President Barack Obama that he helped "found" Islamic State and railed against media reports that his campaign is failing, at a campaign rally in Connecticut, a state where he has a long-shot of being victorious. Speaking for more than an hour in a sweltering room, Trump spent a significant portion of his speech complaining about the media. He again threatened to revoke the press credentials of The New York Times. The credentials allow reporters access to press-only areas of his campaign events. He has already banned other outlets, including The Washington Post. On Saturday, the New York newspaper published an article detailing failed efforts to make Trump focus his campaign on the general election. "These are the most dishonest people," Trump said. "Maybe we'll start thinking about taking their press credentials away from them." Trump visiting Connecticut, a heavily Democratic state, raised eyebrows among many Republicans. "It's asinine that he would be in Connecticut holding a public rally less than 90 days before the election," said Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak. "You don't see Hillary publicly campaigning in Idaho and Mississippi. I have to think this proves the candidate is running the campaign, which explains why it's such a disaster of biblical proportions." At several points the crowd chanted "lock her up," a frequent campaign rally chant in reference to Trump's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Trump told the crowd that normally he responds by saying he intends instead to defeat her in the November 8 election, but this time added, "You know what? You have a point!" Trump also dropped his recent efforts to say he was not being serious when he said Obama was the "founder" of the Islamic State militant group . "It's the opinion of myself and a lot of people that he was the founder," Trump told the crowd. Democrats and Republicans alike have criticized Trump's assertion as patently false. Trump took a detour from attacking Clinton's economic record to discuss the 1998 scandal involving White House intern Monica Lewinsky and former President Bill Clinton, whom Republicans attempted to impeach. "Remember when he said, he did not have sex with that woman, and a couple of weeks later, oh you got me," Trump said, to cheers. He then made reference to a blue dress that became a symbol in the investigation. "I'm so glad they kept that dress, so glad they kept that dress, because it shows what the hell they are." (Reuters)

Trump rails against New York Times in response to reports of failing campaign

Republican Donald Trump on Friday backed away from comments calling President Barack Obama and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton the founders of the militant group Islamic State, while the Republican Party sought to project unity behind their candidate.&nbsp; 
 
A new poll showed Trump, whose unfiltered speaking style has repeatedly landed him in hot water, losing ground in three crucial states ahead of the November 8 general election against Clinton. 
 
In a surprise appearance, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, who in private expressed fury over some of Trump`s actions earlier this month, introduced the candidate at a campaign event in Erie, Pennsylvania, and the two hugged onstage. 
&quot;We&rsquo;re so honoured to be working with Donald Trump and the campaign,&quot; Priebus told thousands of Trump supporters. 
 
&quot;And don&rsquo;t believe the garbage you read. Let me tell you something. Donald Trump, the Republican Party, all of you, we&rsquo;re going to put him in the White House and save this country together.&quot; 
 
Republican sources earlier this month said Priebus was furious over Trump&#39;s failure to endorse House of Representatives speaker Paul Ryan and his feud with the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq. Trump did endorse Ryan a few days later. 
 
Trump brought Priebus on stage later at another rally, in Altoona, Pennsylvania, to thank him for the work he has done as he insisted there is great unity in the party. 
 
&quot;I have to say we have great unification,&quot; Trump said. 
 
Trump on Friday told the rallies in Altoona and Erie that his remarks earlier this week calling Obama and Clinton the founders of ISIS, as Islamic State is also known, had been sarcastic. 
 
&quot;I have been saying because it&#39;s true, but somewhat sarcastically, that he`s the founder of ISIS and she&#39;s a close second,&quot; Trump said in Altoona. 
 
Trump first made the unfounded claim on Wednesday and repeated it through the week. 
 
Trump claimed sarcasm in July as well after he was heavily criticized for inviting Russia to dig up tens of thousands of &quot;missing&quot; emails from Clinton`s time as US secretary of state. 
 
Waning support 
 
A Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist poll released on Friday suggested support for Trump is eroding among voters in three battleground states. 
 
Such states are hotly contested because their populations can swing either to Republicans or Democrats and thus play a decisive role in presidential elections, which are ultimately decided by the state-by-state tally of the Electoral College. 
 
The poll found Clinton widening her lead in Colorado, Virginia and North Carolina, while holding her advantage in Florida.&nbsp; 
 
Clinton released her tax returns on Friday, painting the move as a sign of transparency that her campaign says Trump lacks. 
 
U.S. presidential candidates are not required to release their tax returns, but it has become a common custom. 
 
Trump has cited an audit by the Internal Revenue Service in refusing to release his returns. Trump also has said his taxes are no one`s business and that they reveal little. 
 
Trump scheduled a speech in Warren, Ohio, on Monday that will focus on how he would handle the threat posed by Islamic State. Trump has said he would &quot;knock the hell out of ISIS,&quot; without offering details. 
 
Trump has been mired in repeated controversies in recent days. He drew heavy criticism after he suggested gun rights activists could take action against Clinton, a statement he later said was aimed at rallying votes against her. 
 
Nearly one-fifth of registered Republicans now want Trump to drop out of the race for the White House, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday. 
 
Republicans frequently trace the birth of Islamic State to the Obama administration&rsquo;s decision to withdraw the last U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2011. 
 
But many analysts argue its roots lie in the decision of George W Bush&rsquo;s Republican administration to invade Iraq in 2003 without a plan to fill the vacuum created by Saddam Hussein&rsquo;s ouster. It was Bush&rsquo;s administration that negotiated the 2009 agreement that called for the withdrawal of all US forces from Iraq by December 31, 2011. 
 
At his Erie event, Trump seemed to acknowledge he is facing a formidable opponent in Clinton as well as a difficult electoral path. 
 
&quot;The Republicans have a tougher path &ndash; not my fault,&rdquo; he said. 
 
He said Clinton`s campaign is smart to keep her out of the spotlight. 
 
&quot;She doesn&rsquo;t talk to reporters very often. ... She doesn&rsquo;t expose what&rsquo;s going on up here, which isn&rsquo;t good,&rdquo; he said, meaning her brain. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s doesn&rsquo;t expose her mind to questions. What they want to do is try to fake it through.&rdquo; 
 
Trump also said in Altoona that the only way he could lose Pennsylvania to Clinton is if &quot;cheating goes on.&quot; 
 
He said he wants authorities to monitor the voting closely. &quot;I know what`s happening here, folks. She can`t beat what`s happening here.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp; 
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Republican frontrunner also gets public show of support from party's national committee chairman

Republican Donald Trump on Friday backed away from comments calling President Barack Obama and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton the founders of the militant group Islamic State, while the Republican Party sought to project unity behind their candidate. A new poll showed Trump, whose unfiltered speaking style has repeatedly landed him in hot water, losing ground in three crucial states ahead of the November 8 general election against Clinton. In a surprise appearance, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, who in private expressed fury over some of Trump`s actions earlier this month, introduced the candidate at a campaign event in Erie, Pennsylvania, and the two hugged onstage. "We’re so honoured to be working with Donald Trump and the campaign," Priebus told thousands of Trump supporters. "And don’t believe the garbage you read. Let me tell you something. Donald Trump, the Republican Party, all of you, we’re going to put him in the White House and save this country together." Republican sources earlier this month said Priebus was furious over Trump's failure to endorse House of Representatives speaker Paul Ryan and his feud with the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq. Trump did endorse Ryan a few days later. Trump brought Priebus on stage later at another rally, in Altoona, Pennsylvania, to thank him for the work he has done as he insisted there is great unity in the party. "I have to say we have great unification," Trump said. Trump on Friday told the rallies in Altoona and Erie that his remarks earlier this week calling Obama and Clinton the founders of ISIS, as Islamic State is also known, had been sarcastic. "I have been saying because it's true, but somewhat sarcastically, that he`s the founder of ISIS and she's a close second," Trump said in Altoona. Trump first made the unfounded claim on Wednesday and repeated it through the week. Trump claimed sarcasm in July as well after he was heavily criticized for inviting Russia to dig up tens of thousands of "missing" emails from Clinton`s time as US secretary of state. Waning support A Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist poll released on Friday suggested support for Trump is eroding among voters in three battleground states. Such states are hotly contested because their populations can swing either to Republicans or Democrats and thus play a decisive role in presidential elections, which are ultimately decided by the state-by-state tally of the Electoral College. The poll found Clinton widening her lead in Colorado, Virginia and North Carolina, while holding her advantage in Florida. Clinton released her tax returns on Friday, painting the move as a sign of transparency that her campaign says Trump lacks. U.S. presidential candidates are not required to release their tax returns, but it has become a common custom. Trump has cited an audit by the Internal Revenue Service in refusing to release his returns. Trump also has said his taxes are no one`s business and that they reveal little. Trump scheduled a speech in Warren, Ohio, on Monday that will focus on how he would handle the threat posed by Islamic State. Trump has said he would "knock the hell out of ISIS," without offering details. Trump has been mired in repeated controversies in recent days. He drew heavy criticism after he suggested gun rights activists could take action against Clinton, a statement he later said was aimed at rallying votes against her. Nearly one-fifth of registered Republicans now want Trump to drop out of the race for the White House, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday. Republicans frequently trace the birth of Islamic State to the Obama administration’s decision to withdraw the last U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of 2011. But many analysts argue its roots lie in the decision of George W Bush’s Republican administration to invade Iraq in 2003 without a plan to fill the vacuum created by Saddam Hussein’s ouster. It was Bush’s administration that negotiated the 2009 agreement that called for the withdrawal of all US forces from Iraq by December 31, 2011. At his Erie event, Trump seemed to acknowledge he is facing a formidable opponent in Clinton as well as a difficult electoral path. "The Republicans have a tougher path – not my fault,” he said. He said Clinton`s campaign is smart to keep her out of the spotlight. "She doesn’t talk to reporters very often. ... She doesn’t expose what’s going on up here, which isn’t good,” he said, meaning her brain. “She’s doesn’t expose her mind to questions. What they want to do is try to fake it through.” Trump also said in Altoona that the only way he could lose Pennsylvania to Clinton is if "cheating goes on." He said he wants authorities to monitor the voting closely. "I know what`s happening here, folks. She can`t beat what`s happening here." (Reuters)

Obama, Clinton being founders of IS remark 'sarcasm', says Trump

More than 70 influential Republicans have signed a letter urging the party to stop spending money on Donald Trump&#39;s presidential campaign and direct it instead to November&#39;s congressional races, a news report said today 
 
&quot;We believe that Donald Trump&#39;s divisiveness, recklessness, incompetence, and record-breaking unpopularity risk turning this election into a Democratic landslide,&quot; read a draft text of the letter to Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, which was obtained by the Politico newspaper. 
 
It called for an &quot;immediate shift&quot; of party funding Senate and House races, to aid down-ballot Republicans whose own election prospects have been harmed by Trump&#39;s unpopularity. 
 
&quot;This should not be a difficult decision, as Donald Trump&#39;s chances of being elected president are evaporating by the day,&quot; the letter said. 
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<h5>Those recent outrages have built on his campaign of anger and exclusion, during which he has mocked and offended millions of voters, including the disabled, women, Muslims, immigrants, and minorities,&quot; the letter said, according to Politico.</h5>
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Those recent outrages have built on his campaign of anger and exclusion, during which he has mocked and offended millions of voters, including the disabled, women, Muslims, immigrants, and minorities,&quot; the letter said, according to Politico." target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
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The letter cited various actions by Trump that the signers said have &quot;alienated millions of voters of all parties&quot;. 
 
&quot;Those recent outrages have built on his campaign of anger and exclusion, during which he has mocked and offended millions of voters, including the disabled, women, Muslims, immigrants, and minorities,&quot; the letter said, according to Politico. 
 
&quot;He also has shown dangerous authoritarian tendencies, including threats to ban an entire religion from entering the country, order the military to break the law by torturing prisoners, kill the families of suspected terrorists, track law-abiding Muslim citizens in databases, and use executive orders to implement other illegal and unconstitutional measures.&quot; 
 
So far, the letter has been signed by a number of key former party staff members and officials. Politico reported that it began circulating this week and is expected to be sent to Priebus next week. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp;

'He also has shown dangerous authoritarian tendencies, including threats to ban an entire religion from entering the country'

More than 70 influential Republicans have signed a letter urging the party to stop spending money on Donald Trump's presidential campaign and direct it instead to November's congressional races, a news report said today "We believe that Donald Trump's divisiveness, recklessness, incompetence, and record-breaking unpopularity risk turning this election into a Democratic landslide," read a draft text of the letter to Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, which was obtained by the Politico newspaper. It called for an "immediate shift" of party funding Senate and House races, to aid down-ballot Republicans whose own election prospects have been harmed by Trump's unpopularity. "This should not be a difficult decision, as Donald Trump's chances of being elected president are evaporating by the day," the letter said. Those recent outrages have built on his campaign of anger and exclusion, during which he has mocked and offended millions of voters, including the disabled, women, Muslims, immigrants, and minorities," the letter said, according to Politico. The letter cited various actions by Trump that the signers said have "alienated millions of voters of all parties". "Those recent outrages have built on his campaign of anger and exclusion, during which he has mocked and offended millions of voters, including the disabled, women, Muslims, immigrants, and minorities," the letter said, according to Politico. "He also has shown dangerous authoritarian tendencies, including threats to ban an entire religion from entering the country, order the military to break the law by torturing prisoners, kill the families of suspected terrorists, track law-abiding Muslim citizens in databases, and use executive orders to implement other illegal and unconstitutional measures." So far, the letter has been signed by a number of key former party staff members and officials. Politico reported that it began circulating this week and is expected to be sent to Priebus next week. (AFP)

70 influential Republicans urge party to de-fund 'reckless' Trump: Report

It has been a&nbsp;turbulent&nbsp;week for Republican US presidential nominee Donald Trump after his ambiguous statement referring to possible actions that &quot;Second Amendment people&quot;&nbsp;could do in order to stop Democratic rival Hillary Clinton from nominating liberal US Supreme Court justices.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Hillary wants to essentially abolish the Second Amendment. If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second amendment people,&nbsp;maybe there is, I don&#39;t know,&quot; Trump told a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Wednesday.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 
The Second Amendment&nbsp;states: &quot;A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.&quot; It is often&nbsp;invoked&nbsp;by gun rights activists and other&nbsp;US&nbsp;citizens&nbsp;demanding&nbsp;the right to carry firearms, whether or not&nbsp;they are&nbsp;in a militia maintaining the security of the state.&nbsp; 
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Even if Trump clarified afterwards that he was just appealing to gun rights activists&nbsp;not to vote for Clinton, many understood his remark as a call to violence against her and a menace to a presidential candidate&#39;s own safety.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 
Social media accused him of effectively calling for Clinton&rsquo;s assassination, and&nbsp;the&nbsp;web was filled&nbsp;with tens of thousands of Tweets and posts.&nbsp;&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
An additional major blow for the Republican candidate appeared today on Patti&nbsp;Davis&#39;&nbsp;Facebook timeline. Ronald Reagan&#39;s daughter&nbsp;criticised&nbsp;the kind of verbal violence Trump used, recalling&nbsp;what happened to her father, who was shot at by a man who was&nbsp;inspired by a movie. 
 
Coming directly from the daughter of the man who many consider synonymous with the&nbsp;Republican Party, such a comment does not go unnoticed.&nbsp;

&nbsp;<img alt="" class="img-responsive" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/untitled-20160811115600.jpg" />

The&nbsp;defence that critics are all Democrats or members of the &quot;politically correct&quot; liberal establishment does not seem to be&nbsp;sticking, as&nbsp;Trump is facing serious, and mounting, criticism&nbsp;within his own ranks.&nbsp; 
 
Reagan&#39;s indictment&nbsp;comes shortly&nbsp;after the decision taken on Monday by fifty prominent Republican national security officials,&nbsp;including&nbsp;a former CIA director, who joined together in declaring they will not vote for Donald Trump as he would be&nbsp;&quot;the most reckless president in American history&quot;. 
 
The list of Republican politicians&nbsp;distancing themselves from Trump is<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/10/politics/donald-trump-republican-opposition/"> long and growing</a>. Time will tell if the same trend applies to voters.&nbsp; 
 
(WION)

Patti Davis wrote a poignant criticism on her Facebook profile, reminding Trump how her father was shot at by a person inspired by a movie

It has been a turbulent week for Republican US presidential nominee Donald Trump after his ambiguous statement referring to possible actions that "Second Amendment people" could do in order to stop Democratic rival Hillary Clinton from nominating liberal US Supreme Court justices. "Hillary wants to essentially abolish the Second Amendment. If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know," Trump told a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Wednesday. The Second Amendment states: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." It is often invoked by gun rights activists and other US citizens demanding the right to carry firearms, whether or not they are in a militia maintaining the security of the state. Even if Trump clarified afterwards that he was just appealing to gun rights activists not to vote for Clinton, many understood his remark as a call to violence against her and a menace to a presidential candidate's own safety. Social media accused him of effectively calling for Clinton’s assassination, and the web was filled with tens of thousands of Tweets and posts. An additional major blow for the Republican candidate appeared today on Patti Davis' Facebook timeline. Ronald Reagan's daughter criticised the kind of verbal violence Trump used, recalling what happened to her father, who was shot at by a man who was inspired by a movie. Coming directly from the daughter of the man who many consider synonymous with the Republican Party, such a comment does not go unnoticed. The defence that critics are all Democrats or members of the "politically correct" liberal establishment does not seem to be sticking, as Trump is facing serious, and mounting, criticism within his own ranks. Reagan's indictment comes shortly after the decision taken on Monday by fifty prominent Republican national security officials, including a former CIA director, who joined together in declaring they will not vote for Donald Trump as he would be "the most reckless president in American history". The list of Republican politicians distancing themselves from Trump is long and growing. Time will tell if the same trend applies to voters. (WION)

Ronald Reagan's daughter slams Donald Trump's verbal violence

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton accused Republican opponent Donald Trump on Wednesday of inciting violence with his call for gun rights activists to stop her from nominating liberal US Supreme Court justices. 
 
Clinton&#39;s comments added to a growing outcry over Trump&#39;s remarks on Tuesday at a North Carolina rally, which some interpreted as a call for violence against his White House rival. His remarks also fueled widespread concerns about his ability to stay on track.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Words matter, my friends,&quot; the former US secretary of state, who rarely engages in direct back-and-forths with her Republican rival, said at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa. &quot;And if you are running to be president or you are president of the United States, words can have tremendous consequences.&quot; 
 
&quot;Yesterday, we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments from Donald Trump that crossed the line,&quot; she said, citing &quot;his casual inciting of violence&quot;. 
 
Trump insisted in an interview with Fox News that his remarks were a call for political, not physical, action. &ldquo;There is tremendous political power to save the Second Amendment, tremendous,&quot; the New York businessman said. &quot;And you look at the power they have in terms of votes and that&rsquo;s what I was referring to, obviously that&rsquo;s what I was referring to, and everybody knows it.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
The US Constitution&#39;s Second Amendment guarantees a right to keep and bear arms.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I can&rsquo;t think of anything remotely comparable to it. No one tells a joke about the opponent getting shot. I&rsquo;ve never heard it,&quot; said Bob Shrum, a top aide for Al Gore&#39;s presidential campaign in 2000 and John Kerry&#39;s in 2004.&nbsp; 
 
Republicans shaken 
 
High-profile Republicans and rank-and-file voters appeared shaken on Wednesday after a string of Trump misfires, struggling with how to best reject his divisive candidacy.&nbsp; 
 
Some pledged to withhold their endorsement and others backed Clinton. Some, including MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, called for party leaders to replace Trump on the ticket.&nbsp; 
 
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll taken August fifth to eigth, before Trump&#39;s latest controversy, showed that nearly one-fifth of 396 registered Republicans said they want Trump to drop out of the race and another 10 per cent said they &quot;don&#39;t know&quot; whether the Republican nominee should or not. Clinton&#39;s campaign, seeing an opening, has moved to bring disenchanted Republicans into the fold by announcing an official intra-party outreach effort on behalf of the Democratic nominee.&nbsp; 
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<h5>Trump&#39;s remarks fueled widespread concerns about his ability to stay on track. High-profile Republicans and rank-and-file voters appeared shaken on Wednesday after a string of misfires by the Republican nominee.</h5>
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Clinton&#39;s campaign now has a website for Republicans and political independents to sign up to pledge their support, listing 50 prominent Republicans and independents who have endorsed her. On Monday, 50 Republican national security officials signed an open letter questioning Trump&#39;s temperament, calling him reckless and unqualified to be president. 
 
Other top Republicans, including Senator Susan Collins of Maine this week, have disavowed Trump but said they cannot back Clinton. James Rohrscheib, 74, a registered Republican and retired US Navy officer from Washington state, told Reuters the reality is the November 8 election will be a &quot;tough one&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I&rsquo;m in a quandary as to who I am going to vote for,&quot; Rohrscheib said. Trump has dismissed the defections and criticism as an unsurprising reaction of the so-called Washington elite to his drive to change the status quo. One group that appears unswayed is Trump&#39;s donors. Reuters interviewed nine major Trump donors on Wednesday, and not one said his Second Amendment comment had given them pause. Trump Texas fundraising co-chair Gaylord Hughey called the interpretation of his remark as condoning violence &quot;ridiculous&quot; and &quot;ludicrous&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;It&rsquo;s just another issue the press has really twisted to make headlines,&quot; Hughey said. But Mike Smith, a Republican voter and Reuters/Ipsos poll respondent, said the support Trump is still receiving from Republicans &quot;almost seems obligatory rather than voluntary&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I&rsquo;m almost at the point where I think I&rsquo;m going to vote for Hillary. I don&#39;t like her,&quot; said Smith, a 74-year-old retiree who lives in Clearwater, Florida.&nbsp;&quot;But Mr. Trump is making me very nervous&quot;. 
 
&#39;Trump has dug himself a deep hole&#39;&nbsp; 
 
Republican strategist and Trump supporter Ford O&rsquo;Connell said Trump has &quot;dug himself a deep hole&quot; with voters and to win the election he will need to &quot;make it a referendum on Hillary Clinton and the &#39;rigged system&#39;&quot;. Trump sought to do just that by using an economic policy speech in Detroit on Monday to correct a series of missteps that included a prolonged clash with the parents of a fallen Muslim American soldier.&nbsp; 
 
But his remarks Tuesday undermined that effort. &quot;If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks,&quot; Trump said at the rally in North Carolina. &quot;Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don&rsquo;t know,&quot; he continued.&nbsp; 
 
A federal official familiar with the matter denied a media report that the US Secret Service, which investigates threats against presidents and candidates, had formally spoken with the Trump campaign about his remark. Trump&#39;s comment and the resulting backlash occurred as Reuters/Ipsos polling showed some 44 per cent of 1,162 registered voters believe Trump should exit the race, and that as of Tuesday, Clinton led Trump by more than seven percentage points, up from a three-point lead late last week.&nbsp; 
 
Strategists and Trump detractors agreed that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to remove Trump from the Republican ticket. &quot;It&rsquo;s wishful thinking to believe the Republicans are going to replace its nominee after the convention. People are grasping at straws,&quot; Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist unaffiliated with Trump, told Reuters.&nbsp; 
 
A more likely scenario would be a replay of the 1996 presidential race, when the Republican Party essentially deserted nominee Bob Dole, who was badly trailing President Bill Clinton, to focus on congressional races 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

If you're running to be president or you're president of the United States, words can have tremendous consequences: Clinton

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton accused Republican opponent Donald Trump on Wednesday of inciting violence with his call for gun rights activists to stop her from nominating liberal US Supreme Court justices. Clinton's comments added to a growing outcry over Trump's remarks on Tuesday at a North Carolina rally, which some interpreted as a call for violence against his White House rival. His remarks also fueled widespread concerns about his ability to stay on track. "Words matter, my friends," the former US secretary of state, who rarely engages in direct back-and-forths with her Republican rival, said at a rally in Des Moines, Iowa. "And if you are running to be president or you are president of the United States, words can have tremendous consequences." "Yesterday, we witnessed the latest in a long line of casual comments from Donald Trump that crossed the line," she said, citing "his casual inciting of violence". Trump insisted in an interview with Fox News that his remarks were a call for political, not physical, action. “There is tremendous political power to save the Second Amendment, tremendous," the New York businessman said. "And you look at the power they have in terms of votes and that’s what I was referring to, obviously that’s what I was referring to, and everybody knows it." The US Constitution's Second Amendment guarantees a right to keep and bear arms. "I can’t think of anything remotely comparable to it. No one tells a joke about the opponent getting shot. I’ve never heard it," said Bob Shrum, a top aide for Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000 and John Kerry's in 2004. Republicans shaken High-profile Republicans and rank-and-file voters appeared shaken on Wednesday after a string of Trump misfires, struggling with how to best reject his divisive candidacy. Some pledged to withhold their endorsement and others backed Clinton. Some, including MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida, called for party leaders to replace Trump on the ticket. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll taken August fifth to eigth, before Trump's latest controversy, showed that nearly one-fifth of 396 registered Republicans said they want Trump to drop out of the race and another 10 per cent said they "don't know" whether the Republican nominee should or not. Clinton's campaign, seeing an opening, has moved to bring disenchanted Republicans into the fold by announcing an official intra-party outreach effort on behalf of the Democratic nominee. Trump's remarks fueled widespread concerns about his ability to stay on track. High-profile Republicans and rank-and-file voters appeared shaken on Wednesday after a string of misfires by the Republican nominee. Clinton's campaign now has a website for Republicans and political independents to sign up to pledge their support, listing 50 prominent Republicans and independents who have endorsed her. On Monday, 50 Republican national security officials signed an open letter questioning Trump's temperament, calling him reckless and unqualified to be president. Other top Republicans, including Senator Susan Collins of Maine this week, have disavowed Trump but said they cannot back Clinton. James Rohrscheib, 74, a registered Republican and retired US Navy officer from Washington state, told Reuters the reality is the November 8 election will be a "tough one". "I’m in a quandary as to who I am going to vote for," Rohrscheib said. Trump has dismissed the defections and criticism as an unsurprising reaction of the so-called Washington elite to his drive to change the status quo. One group that appears unswayed is Trump's donors. Reuters interviewed nine major Trump donors on Wednesday, and not one said his Second Amendment comment had given them pause. Trump Texas fundraising co-chair Gaylord Hughey called the interpretation of his remark as condoning violence "ridiculous" and "ludicrous". "It’s just another issue the press has really twisted to make headlines," Hughey said. But Mike Smith, a Republican voter and Reuters/Ipsos poll respondent, said the support Trump is still receiving from Republicans "almost seems obligatory rather than voluntary". "I’m almost at the point where I think I’m going to vote for Hillary. I don't like her," said Smith, a 74-year-old retiree who lives in Clearwater, Florida. "But Mr. Trump is making me very nervous". 'Trump has dug himself a deep hole' Republican strategist and Trump supporter Ford O’Connell said Trump has "dug himself a deep hole" with voters and to win the election he will need to "make it a referendum on Hillary Clinton and the 'rigged system'". Trump sought to do just that by using an economic policy speech in Detroit on Monday to correct a series of missteps that included a prolonged clash with the parents of a fallen Muslim American soldier. But his remarks Tuesday undermined that effort. "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do folks," Trump said at the rally in North Carolina. "Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know," he continued. A federal official familiar with the matter denied a media report that the US Secret Service, which investigates threats against presidents and candidates, had formally spoken with the Trump campaign about his remark. Trump's comment and the resulting backlash occurred as Reuters/Ipsos polling showed some 44 per cent of 1,162 registered voters believe Trump should exit the race, and that as of Tuesday, Clinton led Trump by more than seven percentage points, up from a three-point lead late last week. Strategists and Trump detractors agreed that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to remove Trump from the Republican ticket. "It’s wishful thinking to believe the Republicans are going to replace its nominee after the convention. People are grasping at straws," Ron Bonjean, a Republican strategist unaffiliated with Trump, told Reuters. A more likely scenario would be a replay of the 1996 presidential race, when the Republican Party essentially deserted nominee Bob Dole, who was badly trailing President Bill Clinton, to focus on congressional races (Reuters)

Clinton blasts Trump for 'casual inciting of violence', Republicans shaken by 'misfires'

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday accused President Barack Obama of founding the Islamic State (IS) group. 
 
Addressing supporters at a rally in Ft Lauderdale, Florida, the real estate tycoon said that the jihadist group is &quot;honoring President Obama.&quot; 
 
&quot;He is the founder of ISIS,&quot; Trump said, using a term for the IS group. 
 
&quot;He&rsquo;s the founder of ISIS, okay?&quot; he added. &quot;He&rsquo;s the founder! He founded ISIS.&quot; 
 
The brash billionaire went on to criticise his Democratic rival for the White House. 
 
&quot;And I would say, the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton,&quot; he said. 
 
Trump has suffered what critics insist is a long string of missteps that have marred his campaign since he officially won the nomination last month. 
 
Earlier on Wednesday, Clinton sternly warned Trump about his &quot;casual inciting&quot; of violence, saying he &quot;crossed the line&quot; after he caused a firestorm by suggesting that people who support gun rights could take action to stop her from appointing US Supreme Court justices if elected president. 
 
(AFP)

The US Republican presidential candidate made the comment at a rally in Florida on Wednesday

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday accused President Barack Obama of founding the Islamic State (IS) group. Addressing supporters at a rally in Ft Lauderdale, Florida, the real estate tycoon said that the jihadist group is "honoring President Obama." "He is the founder of ISIS," Trump said, using a term for the IS group. "He’s the founder of ISIS, okay?" he added. "He’s the founder! He founded ISIS." The brash billionaire went on to criticise his Democratic rival for the White House. "And I would say, the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton," he said. Trump has suffered what critics insist is a long string of missteps that have marred his campaign since he officially won the nomination last month. Earlier on Wednesday, Clinton sternly warned Trump about his "casual inciting" of violence, saying he "crossed the line" after he caused a firestorm by suggesting that people who support gun rights could take action to stop her from appointing US Supreme Court justices if elected president. (AFP)

Trump accuses Obama of founding IS

A coalition of US groups representing more than 10 million scientists and engineers published 20 questions today they want every US presidential candidate to answer ahead of November&#39;s vote. 
 
The questions range from how to support vaccine science, to defining the scope of America&#39;s goals in space, to the candidates&#39; views on climate change and what would they would do about it. 
 
Stances on nuclear power, protecting the world&#39;s oceans, reducing the human and economic costs of mental illness, and the controversy over visa programs that allow highly skilled immigrants into the United States also feature in the list, made public by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 
 
&quot;Voters should have a chance to know where the presidential candidates stand,&quot; said Rush Holt, chief executive officer of AAAS, which publishes the journal Science. 
 
&quot;We want journalists and voters to ask these questions insistently of the candidates and their campaign staff.&quot; 
 
The full list is available at ScienceDebate.org/20qs. 
 
The 56 groups that helped create the list by crowd sourcing the questions have asked for the candidates to answer the questions by September 6. 
 
All are described by AAAS as non-partisan groups, including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Geophysical Union, the American Chemical Society and the Union of Concerned Scientists. 
 
The effort was organised by ScienceDebate.org, which commissioned a national poll last that found 87 per cent of Americans said it was important that candidates for president and Congress have a basic understanding of the science informing public policy issues. 
 
&quot;Taken collectively, these twenty issues have at least as profound an impact on voters&#39; lives as those more frequently covered by journalists, including candidates&#39; views on economic policy, foreign policy, and faith and values,&quot; said ScienceDebate.org chair Shawn Otto. 
 
Otto urged the candidates -- Democrat Hillary Clinton, Republican Donald Trump, Libertarian Gary Johnson, and the Green Party&#39;s Jill Stein -- to answer the questions &quot;in writing and to discuss them on television.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

The questions range from how to support vaccine science to the candidates' views on climate change and what would they would do about it

A coalition of US groups representing more than 10 million scientists and engineers published 20 questions today they want every US presidential candidate to answer ahead of November's vote. The questions range from how to support vaccine science, to defining the scope of America's goals in space, to the candidates' views on climate change and what would they would do about it. Stances on nuclear power, protecting the world's oceans, reducing the human and economic costs of mental illness, and the controversy over visa programs that allow highly skilled immigrants into the United States also feature in the list, made public by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). "Voters should have a chance to know where the presidential candidates stand," said Rush Holt, chief executive officer of AAAS, which publishes the journal Science. "We want journalists and voters to ask these questions insistently of the candidates and their campaign staff." The full list is available at ScienceDebate.org/20qs. The 56 groups that helped create the list by crowd sourcing the questions have asked for the candidates to answer the questions by September 6. All are described by AAAS as non-partisan groups, including the National Academy of Sciences, the American Geophysical Union, the American Chemical Society and the Union of Concerned Scientists. The effort was organised by ScienceDebate.org, which commissioned a national poll last that found 87 per cent of Americans said it was important that candidates for president and Congress have a basic understanding of the science informing public policy issues. "Taken collectively, these twenty issues have at least as profound an impact on voters' lives as those more frequently covered by journalists, including candidates' views on economic policy, foreign policy, and faith and values," said ScienceDebate.org chair Shawn Otto. Otto urged the candidates -- Democrat Hillary Clinton, Republican Donald Trump, Libertarian Gary Johnson, and the Green Party's Jill Stein -- to answer the questions "in writing and to discuss them on television." (AFP)

56 US groups representing 10 mn scientists want presidential candidates to answer '20 science questions'

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was once again at the center of a firestorm today, this time over controversial comments interpreted by some as a threat of violence against rival Hillary Clinton. 
 
Trump&#39;s intended message was not immediately clear, but lawmakers, former national security officials and other critics expressed concern that he had advocated, possibly in jest, that Clinton or her Supreme Court nominees could be shot. 
 
&quot;Hillary wants to essentially abolish the Second Amendment,&quot; Trump told a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, referring to the US Constitution&#39;s clause that enshrines &quot;the right to bear arms&quot;. 
 
&quot;If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks,&quot; Trump said.&nbsp;&quot;Although the Second Amendment people,&nbsp;maybe there is, I don&#39;t know,&quot; he said, in remarks that some deemed his most explosive and most offensive to date. 
 
Trump earlier appeared more focused on delivering his typical campaign stump speech about Clinton, telling supporters she would represent four more years of President Barack Obama, &quot;but maybe worse&quot;, and sparring with her over policy.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I gave a massive tax decrease yesterday,&quot; Trump said, referring to economic plans he unveiled Monday. &quot;Clinton, she&#39;s going to double up your taxes.&quot; 
 
But then Trump drew attention away from his message with his &quot;Second Amendment&quot; remarks. 
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<h5>Hillary wants to essentially abolish the Second Amendment,&quot; Trump told a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, referring to the US Constitution&#39;s clause that enshrines &quot;the right to bear arms&quot;. 
 
If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks,&quot; Trump said. &nbsp;&quot;Although the Second Amendment people,&nbsp;maybe there is, I don&#39;t know.&quot;</h5>
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It was the latest in a long string of Trump trip-ups,&nbsp;including his clash with the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in action,&nbsp;that have marred his campaign since he officially won the nomination last month, prompting several Republicans to reject his candidacy. 
 
Clinton&#39;s campaign decried Trump&#39;s &quot;dangerous&quot; language and demanded in a statement that presidential hopefuls &quot;not suggest violence in any way&quot;. 
 
Struggling in the polls 
 
Trump&#39;s team fired back to say the 70-year-old Manhattan billionaire simply meant that gun rights advocates were a powerful voting force. 
 
&quot;Second Amendment people have amazing spirit and are tremendously unified, which gives them great political power,&quot; senior Trump communications advisor Jason Miller said. 
 
The National Rifle Association, America&#39;s largest pro-gun lobby, put forth that Trump was correct in saying it would be hard to protect the Second Amendment if Clinton appoints new justices. 
 
&quot;But there IS something we will do on #ElectionDay: Show up and vote for the #2A!&quot; the group posted on Twitter.&nbsp;Trump is struggling to transition from his strong grassroots primary performance to a more mature head-to-head battle with Clinton. 
 
He suffers from sinking poll numbers, including a Quinnipiac University survey released Tuesday that shows him trailing Clinton in crucial battleground states Ohio and Pennsylvania, and virtually tied in Florida. 
 
Democratic lawmakers expressed shock about Trump&#39;s comments. 
 
&quot;In this clip, Trump&#39;s either calling for an armed revolt or the assassination of his opponent. Despicable,&quot; Democratic congressman David Cicilline posted on Twitter along with footage of Trump&#39;s remarks. 
 
The Secret Service,&nbsp;which is tasked with protecting both Trump and Clinton, said it &quot;is aware of the comments,&quot; but did not say whether they merited an investigation, which some Democratic lawmakers have called for. 
 
&#39;Incredible insensitivity&#39; 
 
At a later rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina Trump avoided addressing his controversial comments. But the supporter who introduced him, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, sought to clarify the remarks, insisting Trump had not aimed to incite violence. 
 
&quot;What he meant by that was, you have the power to vote against her,&quot; Giuliani said.&nbsp;Trump&#39;s repeated stumbles and divisive rhetoric have angered Republican Party grandees.&nbsp;Former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Michael Hayden blasted the &quot;Second Amendment&quot; comments. 
 
&quot;It suggests either a very bad-taste reference to political assassination and an attempt at humour, or an incredible insensitivity,&quot; he told CNN.&nbsp;Hayden was among 50 former senior Republican national security officials who warned in an open letter Monday that if Trump were elected he would be &quot;the most reckless president in American history&quot;. 
 
Influential Republican US Senator Susan Collins piled in, saying the nominee was &quot;unworthy&quot; of America&#39;s highest elective office and would not receive her support.&nbsp;Joe Scarborough, a former member of the House of Representatives and now a television host, wrote in the Washington Post that Trump&#39;s Second Amendment remark was the final straw. 
 
&quot;What else could Trump do that would be worse than implying the positive impact of a political assassination?&quot; the former US lawmaker wrote.&nbsp;&quot;The Republican Party needs to start examining quickly their options for removing the Republican nominee,&quot; Scarborough said 
 
(AFP)

Rival Clinton's campaign decried Trump's 'dangerous' language and demanded that presidential hopefuls 'not suggest violence in any way'

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was once again at the center of a firestorm today, this time over controversial comments interpreted by some as a threat of violence against rival Hillary Clinton. Trump's intended message was not immediately clear, but lawmakers, former national security officials and other critics expressed concern that he had advocated, possibly in jest, that Clinton or her Supreme Court nominees could be shot. "Hillary wants to essentially abolish the Second Amendment," Trump told a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, referring to the US Constitution's clause that enshrines "the right to bear arms". "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks," Trump said. "Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know," he said, in remarks that some deemed his most explosive and most offensive to date. Trump earlier appeared more focused on delivering his typical campaign stump speech about Clinton, telling supporters she would represent four more years of President Barack Obama, "but maybe worse", and sparring with her over policy. "I gave a massive tax decrease yesterday," Trump said, referring to economic plans he unveiled Monday. "Clinton, she's going to double up your taxes." But then Trump drew attention away from his message with his "Second Amendment" remarks. Hillary wants to essentially abolish the Second Amendment," Trump told a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, referring to the US Constitution's clause that enshrines "the right to bear arms". If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks," Trump said. "Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know." It was the latest in a long string of Trump trip-ups, including his clash with the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in action, that have marred his campaign since he officially won the nomination last month, prompting several Republicans to reject his candidacy. Clinton's campaign decried Trump's "dangerous" language and demanded in a statement that presidential hopefuls "not suggest violence in any way". Struggling in the polls Trump's team fired back to say the 70-year-old Manhattan billionaire simply meant that gun rights advocates were a powerful voting force. "Second Amendment people have amazing spirit and are tremendously unified, which gives them great political power," senior Trump communications advisor Jason Miller said. The National Rifle Association, America's largest pro-gun lobby, put forth that Trump was correct in saying it would be hard to protect the Second Amendment if Clinton appoints new justices. "But there IS something we will do on #ElectionDay: Show up and vote for the #2A!" the group posted on Twitter. Trump is struggling to transition from his strong grassroots primary performance to a more mature head-to-head battle with Clinton. He suffers from sinking poll numbers, including a Quinnipiac University survey released Tuesday that shows him trailing Clinton in crucial battleground states Ohio and Pennsylvania, and virtually tied in Florida. Democratic lawmakers expressed shock about Trump's comments. "In this clip, Trump's either calling for an armed revolt or the assassination of his opponent. Despicable," Democratic congressman David Cicilline posted on Twitter along with footage of Trump's remarks. The Secret Service, which is tasked with protecting both Trump and Clinton, said it "is aware of the comments," but did not say whether they merited an investigation, which some Democratic lawmakers have called for. 'Incredible insensitivity' At a later rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina Trump avoided addressing his controversial comments. But the supporter who introduced him, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, sought to clarify the remarks, insisting Trump had not aimed to incite violence. "What he meant by that was, you have the power to vote against her," Giuliani said. Trump's repeated stumbles and divisive rhetoric have angered Republican Party grandees. Former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director Michael Hayden blasted the "Second Amendment" comments. "It suggests either a very bad-taste reference to political assassination and an attempt at humour, or an incredible insensitivity," he told CNN. Hayden was among 50 former senior Republican national security officials who warned in an open letter Monday that if Trump were elected he would be "the most reckless president in American history". Influential Republican US Senator Susan Collins piled in, saying the nominee was "unworthy" of America's highest elective office and would not receive her support. Joe Scarborough, a former member of the House of Representatives and now a television host, wrote in the Washington Post that Trump's Second Amendment remark was the final straw. "What else could Trump do that would be worse than implying the positive impact of a political assassination?" the former US lawmaker wrote. "The Republican Party needs to start examining quickly their options for removing the Republican nominee," Scarborough said (AFP)

Trump accused of calling for Clinton's assassination

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has widened her lead over White House Republican rival Donald Trump to eight points after both parties&#39; nominating conventions, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll out Sunday. 
 
Clinton led Trump 50 to 42 per cent among registered voters, according to the telephone survey carried out August 1-4. 
 
She got a strong bounce in the support from her nomination -- which unlike the fractious Republican convention, showed a united party -- but has also benefitted from major gaffes by Trump. 
 
Ahead of the nominating conventions Clinton had a four-point lead over Trump, according to an Post-ABC News survey. 
 
Among likely voters, Clinton&#39;s lead is 51 to 44 per cent, and in a race that includes Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and Jill Stein from the Green Party, Clinton leads Trump 45-37 per cent, with Johnson at eight per cent and Stein at four per cent. 
 
Clinton and her running mate, senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, received the nomination to run for the November 8 presidential election during the July 25-28 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 
 
Trump and his vice presidential candidate, Indiana governor Mike Pence, were nominated in the July 18-21 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. 
 
Trump has been struggling after a string of gaffes. 
 
These include urging Russia to find and release emails that disappeared from Clinton&#39;s private server that she used as secretary of state, though he later said that he was being sarcastic. 
 
He also denigrated the family of a Muslim-American soldier killed in the Iraq war, to the horror of veterans and their supporters. 
 
Satisfaction with both candidates remains low: nearly 6 in 10 registered voters said that they are unhappy with both Clinton and Trump as major party candidates. 
 
Barring campaign or news developments, the next opportunity for the candidates to shift their poll numbers comes in the three presidential debates, scheduled for late September and October. 
 
Seeking to arrest his sinking poll numbers, Trump reversed course Friday and endorsed house speaker Paul Ryan for re-election, pleaded for Republican unity and pledged to work with the very party leaders he had earlier dismissed as Washington&#39;s ineffective establishment figures. 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

Washington Post-ABC News poll shows Clinton leads Trump 50 to 42 per cent among registered voters

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has widened her lead over White House Republican rival Donald Trump to eight points after both parties' nominating conventions, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll out Sunday. Clinton led Trump 50 to 42 per cent among registered voters, according to the telephone survey carried out August 1-4. She got a strong bounce in the support from her nomination -- which unlike the fractious Republican convention, showed a united party -- but has also benefitted from major gaffes by Trump. Ahead of the nominating conventions Clinton had a four-point lead over Trump, according to an Post-ABC News survey. Among likely voters, Clinton's lead is 51 to 44 per cent, and in a race that includes Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and Jill Stein from the Green Party, Clinton leads Trump 45-37 per cent, with Johnson at eight per cent and Stein at four per cent. Clinton and her running mate, senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, received the nomination to run for the November 8 presidential election during the July 25-28 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Trump and his vice presidential candidate, Indiana governor Mike Pence, were nominated in the July 18-21 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. Trump has been struggling after a string of gaffes. These include urging Russia to find and release emails that disappeared from Clinton's private server that she used as secretary of state, though he later said that he was being sarcastic. He also denigrated the family of a Muslim-American soldier killed in the Iraq war, to the horror of veterans and their supporters. Satisfaction with both candidates remains low: nearly 6 in 10 registered voters said that they are unhappy with both Clinton and Trump as major party candidates. Barring campaign or news developments, the next opportunity for the candidates to shift their poll numbers comes in the three presidential debates, scheduled for late September and October. Seeking to arrest his sinking poll numbers, Trump reversed course Friday and endorsed house speaker Paul Ryan for re-election, pleaded for Republican unity and pledged to work with the very party leaders he had earlier dismissed as Washington's ineffective establishment figures. (AFP)

Clinton benefits from Trump gaffes, widens lead by 8 points

Boarding a flight? Active service members go first. Watching a sports event? Then you&#39;ll stand and applaud a group of veterans at some point during the game. 
 
America puts its service members on a unique pedestal: they are revered and yet poorly understood. 
 
When Donald Trump insulted the bereaved parents of a soldier killed in Iraq, he broke a US taboo: that troops, veterans and above all their grieving relatives are beyond reproach. 
 
You can disagree with their politics, but you must honor their sacrifice. 
 
Alexander McCoy, 28, a former Marine sergeant studying political science at New York&#39;s Columbia University, says he has been upgraded to first and business class, had strangers buy him a beer or pay for his meals, and is offered discounts on movie or theme park tickets simply for being a veteran. 
 
&quot;I do think that America as a culture prizes military service,&quot; McCoy said. &quot;Americans kind of mythologise warfare because they have so little experience with it in America.&quot; 
 
Unlike many other countries, including Germany where McCoy was stationed, a vast majority of the United States has not experienced war at home since the 1861-65 Civil War. 
 
Other than the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 - more than 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) from the mainland - the September 11, 2001 hijackings were the first major foreign attack on US soil in centuries. 
 
The influence of 9/11, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, shattered feelings of safety and bolstered support for the military - cast as the defenders of America. 
 
Then president George W Bush quickly sent troops to Afghanistan, and then invaded Iraq. Americans tied yellow ribbons to their vehicles, waved flags and rallied behind the soldiers, holding them above any criticism of the foreign policy behind the wars. 
 
&#39;Family business&#39; 
 
&quot;The Bush administration, and the federal government more broadly, cultivated a kind of popular nationalism after 9/11 for all kinds of reasons,&quot; said Michael Allen, a history professor at Northwestern University. 
 
&quot;Bush relied on his gut,&quot; Allen said. &quot;How to publicly sell the war on terror - that was where he really excelled, because it was instinctive for him,&quot; he said. &quot;It was very natural for him to rally around the flag.&quot; 
 
But the military has not always been so venerated. Opposition to the Vietnam War was so vehement that veterans were treated abominably despite 25 per cent of the troops having been drafted and the deaths of more than 58,200. 
 
Yet if veneration has increased towards today&#39;s all-volunteer force, in which less than one per cent of the population currently serve, so too has a profound disconnect with the civilian world. 
 
US military bases - once scattered all over the country - have been consolidated. Many who serve come from a military background, which McCoy believes is creating a &quot;family business&quot; - almost &quot;a warrior caste&quot;. 
 
&quot;People respect vets,&quot; says Deborah Gahm, an accountant from Phoenix, Arizona, whose husband has served for more than 20 years, including in Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan. 
 
&quot;But I don&#39;t think it&#39;s a deep level of respect, I think it&#39;s very much on the surface. In many respects, it&#39;s just lip service,&quot; she said. 
 
There has been also chronic under-investment in programs that help soldiers transition back into civilian life. Congress is considering major cuts to the educational and housing allowances offered to vets. 
 
&quot;When we make promises to people that sign a contract that could get them killed, we ought to keep those promises. So there are people who like to say that they support our troops but then they don&#39;t,&quot; Gahm said. 
 
Damaging stereotypes 
 
Gahm says she is troubled by the Hollywood portrayal of returning warriors as violent or struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and believes the public too often treats veterans as victims. 
 
&quot;I think there are really damaging stereotypes out there,&quot; she said. &quot;Even vets who have PTSD rarely do violent acts,&quot; she added. 
 
While her husband was in Iraq, she once went out to eat with their daughter, and women at the next table were accusing soldiers of signing up to murder, she said. She asked to be moved to shield her daughter from the comments. 
 
Allen sees the roots of today&#39;s rituals honoring vets in Richard Nixon&#39;s attempts to sideline the anti-Vietnam war movement by identifying with conventional, conservative America and using sport to do so. 
 
He would &quot;obsessively&quot; call attention to his watching of football and bring returning prisoners of war to sporting events, Allen said. POWs were given lifetime free passes to major league baseball games. 
 
Reassessment of the damage done to veterans by the anti-Vietnam backlash has seen Democrats join Republicans in adopting trenchant support for the military. 
 
&quot;The lesson learned by the political left was you must never criticise soldiers and veterans, it&#39;s absolutely forbidden - to some degree, always the attitude on the political right,&quot; said Allen. 
 
&quot;You can&#39;t go around criticising a Gold Star family. That&#39;s really very taboo to do,&quot; said Gahm of Trump&#39;s laceration of Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of a Muslim soldier who was killed in a suicide bombing in Iraq. 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

The Republican presidential nominee broke a US taboo -- that troops, veterans and above all their grieving relatives are beyond reproach

Boarding a flight? Active service members go first. Watching a sports event? Then you'll stand and applaud a group of veterans at some point during the game. America puts its service members on a unique pedestal: they are revered and yet poorly understood. When Donald Trump insulted the bereaved parents of a soldier killed in Iraq, he broke a US taboo: that troops, veterans and above all their grieving relatives are beyond reproach. You can disagree with their politics, but you must honor their sacrifice. Alexander McCoy, 28, a former Marine sergeant studying political science at New York's Columbia University, says he has been upgraded to first and business class, had strangers buy him a beer or pay for his meals, and is offered discounts on movie or theme park tickets simply for being a veteran. "I do think that America as a culture prizes military service," McCoy said. "Americans kind of mythologise warfare because they have so little experience with it in America." Unlike many other countries, including Germany where McCoy was stationed, a vast majority of the United States has not experienced war at home since the 1861-65 Civil War. Other than the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 - more than 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers) from the mainland - the September 11, 2001 hijackings were the first major foreign attack on US soil in centuries. The influence of 9/11, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, shattered feelings of safety and bolstered support for the military - cast as the defenders of America. Then president George W Bush quickly sent troops to Afghanistan, and then invaded Iraq. Americans tied yellow ribbons to their vehicles, waved flags and rallied behind the soldiers, holding them above any criticism of the foreign policy behind the wars. 'Family business' "The Bush administration, and the federal government more broadly, cultivated a kind of popular nationalism after 9/11 for all kinds of reasons," said Michael Allen, a history professor at Northwestern University. "Bush relied on his gut," Allen said. "How to publicly sell the war on terror - that was where he really excelled, because it was instinctive for him," he said. "It was very natural for him to rally around the flag." But the military has not always been so venerated. Opposition to the Vietnam War was so vehement that veterans were treated abominably despite 25 per cent of the troops having been drafted and the deaths of more than 58,200. Yet if veneration has increased towards today's all-volunteer force, in which less than one per cent of the population currently serve, so too has a profound disconnect with the civilian world. US military bases - once scattered all over the country - have been consolidated. Many who serve come from a military background, which McCoy believes is creating a "family business" - almost "a warrior caste". "People respect vets," says Deborah Gahm, an accountant from Phoenix, Arizona, whose husband has served for more than 20 years, including in Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan. "But I don't think it's a deep level of respect, I think it's very much on the surface. In many respects, it's just lip service," she said. There has been also chronic under-investment in programs that help soldiers transition back into civilian life. Congress is considering major cuts to the educational and housing allowances offered to vets. "When we make promises to people that sign a contract that could get them killed, we ought to keep those promises. So there are people who like to say that they support our troops but then they don't," Gahm said. Damaging stereotypes Gahm says she is troubled by the Hollywood portrayal of returning warriors as violent or struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and believes the public too often treats veterans as victims. "I think there are really damaging stereotypes out there," she said. "Even vets who have PTSD rarely do violent acts," she added. While her husband was in Iraq, she once went out to eat with their daughter, and women at the next table were accusing soldiers of signing up to murder, she said. She asked to be moved to shield her daughter from the comments. Allen sees the roots of today's rituals honoring vets in Richard Nixon's attempts to sideline the anti-Vietnam war movement by identifying with conventional, conservative America and using sport to do so. He would "obsessively" call attention to his watching of football and bring returning prisoners of war to sporting events, Allen said. POWs were given lifetime free passes to major league baseball games. Reassessment of the damage done to veterans by the anti-Vietnam backlash has seen Democrats join Republicans in adopting trenchant support for the military. "The lesson learned by the political left was you must never criticise soldiers and veterans, it's absolutely forbidden - to some degree, always the attitude on the political right," said Allen. "You can't go around criticising a Gold Star family. That's really very taboo to do," said Gahm of Trump's laceration of Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of a Muslim soldier who was killed in a suicide bombing in Iraq. (AFP)

Another redline crossed with Trump insulting parents of fallen US soldier

Republican Donald Trump took steps to steer his White House campaign back into favour with his party establishment yesterday by endorsing US house of representatives speaker Paul Ryan and two Republican senators seeking re-election, after expressing coolness towards them earlier this week. 
 
&quot;I need a Republican senate and a house to accomplish all of the changes that we have to make,&quot; Trump said during a rally in Green Bay, in northern Wisconsin, Ryan&#39;s home state. He also endorsed senators John McCain of Arizona and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, whom he called a &quot;rising star&quot;. 
 
&quot;We will have disagreements, but we will disagree as friends,&quot; Trump said. 
 
Ryan, the top US elected Republican, had no plans to attend the event, in a sign of lingering frictions between the pair. His Republican primary challenger, businessman Paul Nehlen, did attend, according to a spokesman. 
 
Trump earlier this week refused to endorse Ryan when he told The Washington Post he was &quot;not quite there yet&quot;, using the same phrase Ryan had used about Trump before finally endorsing him. He said in the same interview that McCain had not done enough for veterans and criticised Ayotte for distancing herself from him during the campaign. 
 
Ryan, who was earlier endorsed by Trump&#39;s vice presidential running mate, Mike Pence, is viewed by establishment Republicans as a possible presidential candidate in the future. He is expected to win a challenge for his House seat in next week&#39;s Republican primary. 
 
Trump&#39;s endorsement emerged as he took other steps to get his campaign back on track after days of controversy and falling poll numbers that have given Democrat Hillary Clinton the advantage in the race to the November 8 election. 
 
In the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll released yesterday, Clinton&#39;s lead over Trump narrowed to less than three percentage points, down from nearly eight points on Monday. 
 
Trump yesterday announced he was setting up an advisory team to help guide him on economic policy. The group relies heavily on hedge fund managers and investment bankers, a group Trump has railed against in the past, and includes no women. 
 
In addition, Trump plans to release his framework for boosting the US economy in a speech in Detroit on Monday, an event that will offer him a chance to avoid theatrics and detail how he would handle economic issues if elected. 
 
Trump economic adviser Stephen Moore told Reuters that the candidate&#39;s plan would focus on four areas: tax, deregulation, energy policy and trade. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be an all-encompassing look at how we reform the economy,&rdquo; Moore said. 
 
At a rally in Des Moines, Trump showed newfound discipline, mostly sticking to his central charge that Clinton is the &quot;queen of corruption&quot;. He defended himself against her charge that he is temperamentally unfit for the White House. 
 
&quot;All my life I&#39;ve been told, &#39;You have the greatest temperament,&#39;&quot; he said.&nbsp;He urged voters to also consider his vice presidential running mate, who appeared with him at the event.&nbsp;&quot;If you don&#39;t like me, that&#39;s okay, vote for Pence, because it&#39;s the same thing,&quot; he said. 
 
Trump also defended himself against what he called the news media&#39;s claim that he kicked a baby out of an event earlier this week in Virginia. &quot;I love babies,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;Short-circuited&quot; 
 
Clinton sought to take advantage of Trump&#39;s dip in the polls at a conference of minority journalists in Washington, where she pledged an all-out fight for comprehensive immigration reform if she wins the November 8 election. 
 
At the event, Clinton did what she has rarely done during the presidential campaign: take questions from reporters. 
 
She addressed two of the largest issues that continue to dog her campaign: the controversy over her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state during the Obama administration, and continuing scepticism among voters about her trustworthiness. 
 
Clinton conceded that she had &ldquo;short-circuited&rdquo; earlier in the week in interviews when she had asserted that FBI director James Comey had concluded that she had been truthful in her statements about the&nbsp;use of the private server. 
 
Clinton had repeatedly said publicly that she never sent emails containing classified material, a finding that Comey contradicted at the conclusion of the FBI&rsquo;s probe in July, when he rebuked her for &quot;extremely careless&quot; handling of classified information while recommending that no criminal charges be filed. 
 
Yesterday, Clinton maintained that &ldquo;I never sent or received anything marked classified&rdquo;, while acknowledging that some material she sent may retroactively have been considered classified by other government agencies.&nbsp;Republicans have repeatedly charged that Clinton endangered national security with her handling of classified material. 
 
The email controversy has fuelled a perception among a majority of voters that Clinton is untrustworthy. &ldquo;I take it seriously,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t make me feel good when people say those things. And I recognise that I have work to do.&rdquo; 
 
Still, as she has often done during her career, Clinton attributed much of her low standing on this issue to attacks from Republicans. &ldquo;Maybe just maybe when I&rsquo;m actually running for a job, there is a real benefit to those on the other side to try and stir up as much concern as possible,&rdquo; she said. 
 
Finance and industry leaders 
 
Trump&#39;s campaign said his economic advisory panel included former steel executive Dan DiMicco, Howard Lorber, CEO of tobacco company Vector Group Ltd, and Trump campaign finance chairman and investment manager Steven Mnuchin. 
 
Hedge fund managers John Paulson and Steve Feinberg, anti-tax advocacy group Club for Growth&#39;s Stephen Moore, and David Malpass, who has served under previous Republican administrations in the Treasury and State Departments, were also named. 
 
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn turned down an invitation to join the group because he is considering funding a Super PAC focussed on regulatory reform, Icahn&#39;s general counsel told Reuters yesterday. 
 
Trump&#39;s moves came after many Republicans urged the candidate to correct course following a tumultuous week. 
 
The real estate mogul and former reality television star was caught up for days in a public spat with the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq. The parents had spoken out against Trump at last week&#39;s Democratic National Convention. Many Republicans, including Ryan, McCain and Ayotte, were critical of Trump&#39;s insistent attacks on the parents. 
 
(Reuters)

Paul Ryan, the top US elected Republican who the establishment sees as a possible future presidential candidate, skipped the rally

Republican Donald Trump took steps to steer his White House campaign back into favour with his party establishment yesterday by endorsing US house of representatives speaker Paul Ryan and two Republican senators seeking re-election, after expressing coolness towards them earlier this week. "I need a Republican senate and a house to accomplish all of the changes that we have to make," Trump said during a rally in Green Bay, in northern Wisconsin, Ryan's home state. He also endorsed senators John McCain of Arizona and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, whom he called a "rising star". "We will have disagreements, but we will disagree as friends," Trump said. Ryan, the top US elected Republican, had no plans to attend the event, in a sign of lingering frictions between the pair. His Republican primary challenger, businessman Paul Nehlen, did attend, according to a spokesman. Trump earlier this week refused to endorse Ryan when he told The Washington Post he was "not quite there yet", using the same phrase Ryan had used about Trump before finally endorsing him. He said in the same interview that McCain had not done enough for veterans and criticised Ayotte for distancing herself from him during the campaign. Ryan, who was earlier endorsed by Trump's vice presidential running mate, Mike Pence, is viewed by establishment Republicans as a possible presidential candidate in the future. He is expected to win a challenge for his House seat in next week's Republican primary. Trump's endorsement emerged as he took other steps to get his campaign back on track after days of controversy and falling poll numbers that have given Democrat Hillary Clinton the advantage in the race to the November 8 election. In the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll released yesterday, Clinton's lead over Trump narrowed to less than three percentage points, down from nearly eight points on Monday. Trump yesterday announced he was setting up an advisory team to help guide him on economic policy. The group relies heavily on hedge fund managers and investment bankers, a group Trump has railed against in the past, and includes no women. In addition, Trump plans to release his framework for boosting the US economy in a speech in Detroit on Monday, an event that will offer him a chance to avoid theatrics and detail how he would handle economic issues if elected. Trump economic adviser Stephen Moore told Reuters that the candidate's plan would focus on four areas: tax, deregulation, energy policy and trade. “It’s going to be an all-encompassing look at how we reform the economy,” Moore said. At a rally in Des Moines, Trump showed newfound discipline, mostly sticking to his central charge that Clinton is the "queen of corruption". He defended himself against her charge that he is temperamentally unfit for the White House. "All my life I've been told, 'You have the greatest temperament,'" he said. He urged voters to also consider his vice presidential running mate, who appeared with him at the event. "If you don't like me, that's okay, vote for Pence, because it's the same thing," he said. Trump also defended himself against what he called the news media's claim that he kicked a baby out of an event earlier this week in Virginia. "I love babies," he said. "Short-circuited" Clinton sought to take advantage of Trump's dip in the polls at a conference of minority journalists in Washington, where she pledged an all-out fight for comprehensive immigration reform if she wins the November 8 election. At the event, Clinton did what she has rarely done during the presidential campaign: take questions from reporters. She addressed two of the largest issues that continue to dog her campaign: the controversy over her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state during the Obama administration, and continuing scepticism among voters about her trustworthiness. Clinton conceded that she had “short-circuited” earlier in the week in interviews when she had asserted that FBI director James Comey had concluded that she had been truthful in her statements about the use of the private server. Clinton had repeatedly said publicly that she never sent emails containing classified material, a finding that Comey contradicted at the conclusion of the FBI’s probe in July, when he rebuked her for "extremely careless" handling of classified information while recommending that no criminal charges be filed. Yesterday, Clinton maintained that “I never sent or received anything marked classified”, while acknowledging that some material she sent may retroactively have been considered classified by other government agencies. Republicans have repeatedly charged that Clinton endangered national security with her handling of classified material. The email controversy has fuelled a perception among a majority of voters that Clinton is untrustworthy. “I take it seriously,” she said. “It doesn’t make me feel good when people say those things. And I recognise that I have work to do.” Still, as she has often done during her career, Clinton attributed much of her low standing on this issue to attacks from Republicans. “Maybe just maybe when I’m actually running for a job, there is a real benefit to those on the other side to try and stir up as much concern as possible,” she said. Finance and industry leaders Trump's campaign said his economic advisory panel included former steel executive Dan DiMicco, Howard Lorber, CEO of tobacco company Vector Group Ltd, and Trump campaign finance chairman and investment manager Steven Mnuchin. Hedge fund managers John Paulson and Steve Feinberg, anti-tax advocacy group Club for Growth's Stephen Moore, and David Malpass, who has served under previous Republican administrations in the Treasury and State Departments, were also named. Billionaire investor Carl Icahn turned down an invitation to join the group because he is considering funding a Super PAC focussed on regulatory reform, Icahn's general counsel told Reuters yesterday. Trump's moves came after many Republicans urged the candidate to correct course following a tumultuous week. The real estate mogul and former reality television star was caught up for days in a public spat with the parents of a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq. The parents had spoken out against Trump at last week's Democratic National Convention. Many Republicans, including Ryan, McCain and Ayotte, were critical of Trump's insistent attacks on the parents. (Reuters)

Trump, looking to right campaign ship, endorses house speaker, senators

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton&#39;s lead over Republican rival Donald Trump narrowed to less than three&nbsp;percentage points, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Friday, down from nearly eight points on Monday.

About 42 per cent of likely voters favoured Clinton, to Trump&#39;s 39 per cent, according to the July 31-August 4 online poll of 1,154 likely voters. The poll had a credibility interval of plus or minus three&nbsp;percentage points, meaning that the results suggest the race is roughly even.

Among registered voters over the same period, Clinton held a lead of five percentage points, down from eight percentage points on Monday, according to the poll.&nbsp;The reasons behind the shift were unclear.

Clinton had pulled well ahead of Trump on the heels of the Democratic National Convention last week, where she became the first woman to accept the US presidential nomination from a major political party.

Since then, Trump has engaged in a days-long feud with the family of an American soldier killed in Iraq and squabbled with the Republican leadership over his comments and leadership turmoil within his campaign.

Trump, in recent days, however, has sought to refocus. On Friday he announced his economic policy advisory team, said he would deliver an economic policy speech early next week, and was expected to endorse US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, the top US elected Republican, who is seeking his 10th term in Congress.

An average of polls aggregated by Real Clear Politics showed Clinton ahead of Trump by 6.8 percentage points on Friday, up from 3.9 on August 1. 
 
(Reuters)

The lead was nearly eight percentage points on Monday, suggesting the race is roughly even

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's lead over Republican rival Donald Trump narrowed to less than three percentage points, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Friday, down from nearly eight points on Monday. About 42 per cent of likely voters favoured Clinton, to Trump's 39 per cent, according to the July 31-August 4 online poll of 1,154 likely voters. The poll had a credibility interval of plus or minus three percentage points, meaning that the results suggest the race is roughly even. Among registered voters over the same period, Clinton held a lead of five percentage points, down from eight percentage points on Monday, according to the poll. The reasons behind the shift were unclear. Clinton had pulled well ahead of Trump on the heels of the Democratic National Convention last week, where she became the first woman to accept the US presidential nomination from a major political party. Since then, Trump has engaged in a days-long feud with the family of an American soldier killed in Iraq and squabbled with the Republican leadership over his comments and leadership turmoil within his campaign. Trump, in recent days, however, has sought to refocus. On Friday he announced his economic policy advisory team, said he would deliver an economic policy speech early next week, and was expected to endorse US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, the top US elected Republican, who is seeking his 10th term in Congress. An average of polls aggregated by Real Clear Politics showed Clinton ahead of Trump by 6.8 percentage points on Friday, up from 3.9 on August 1. (Reuters)

Clinton's lead over Trump narrows to less than 3 points: Ipsos opinion

Terming the Republican presidential nominee &nbsp;as &quot;ridiculous&quot;, US President Barack Obama has assured to preserve the integrity of the voting process. 
 
&quot;I don&#39;t even really know where to start on answering this question. Of course the elections will not be rigged. What does that mean? The federal government doesn&#39;t run the election process, it is states, cities and communities all across the country. They are the ones who set up the voting systems and voting booths,&quot; Obama said during a news conference yesterday when asked about Trump&#39;s allegations. 
 
&quot;And if Mr Trump is suggesting that there is a conspiracy theory that is being propagated across the country, including in places like 
Texas, where typically it is not Democrats who are in charge of voting booths. That is ridiculous,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;Trump&#39;s allegations do not make any sense and I don&#39;t think anybody would take that seriously,&quot; he added. 
 
&quot;We do take seriously, as we always do, our responsibility to monitor and preserve the integrity of the voting process. If we see signs that a voting machine or system is more vulnerable to hacking, then we inform those local authorities who are running the elections that they need to be careful,&quot; Obama said. 
 
&quot;If we see jurisdictions that are violating federal laws in terms of equal access and aren&#39;t providing ramps for disabled voters or are discriminating in some fashion, or are otherwise violating civil rights laws, then the justice department will come in and take care of that,&quot; he said. 
 
Taking a dig at Trump, Obama said this will be an election like every other election, and all of us at some points in our lives have played sports and sometimes some people, if they lose, they start complaining that they got cheated. 
 
&quot;But I never heard of somebody complaining about being cheated before the game was over, or before the scored was even tallied,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;So my suggestion would be go out there and try to win the election. If Mr Trump is up 10 or 15 points on election day and ends up losing maybe he can raise some questions. That doesn&#39;t seem to be the case at the moment,&quot; the US president said. 
 
Further attacking Trump, Obama urged the people of America to make their own judgements on the Republican presidential nominee.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Just listen to what Mr Trump has to say and make your own judgement with respect to how confident you feel about his ability to manage things like our nuclear triad,&quot; he said.&nbsp;He said he has a very strong opinion about the two candidates who are running for president. 
 
Obama is supporting Hillary Clinton, Trump&#39;s Democratic presidential rival, in the upcoming presidential elections. 
 
&quot;One is very positive and one is not so much, and I guess you will just hear any further questions that are directed at this subject, I think you&#39;ll hear pretty much variations on the same thing,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;What I can say is this is serious business, and the person who is in the Oval Office and who our secretary of defence, and our joint chiefs of staff, and our outstanding men and women in uniform report to, they are counting on somebody who has the temperament and good judgement to be able to make decisions to make America safe,&quot; Obama said. 
 
That should be very much on the minds of voters when they go to the voting booth in November. At the end of the day, it is the American people&#39;s decision, he said. 
 
Obama further said if someone wins the election and becomes the president, then his constitutional responsibility will be&nbsp;to peacefully transfer power to the individual and do everything to help them succeed.&nbsp; 
 
(PTI)

Trump claimed the upcoming election will be rigged. 'I never heard of somebody complaining about being cheated before the game was over...'

Terming the Republican presidential nominee as "ridiculous", US President Barack Obama has assured to preserve the integrity of the voting process. "I don't even really know where to start on answering this question. Of course the elections will not be rigged. What does that mean? The federal government doesn't run the election process, it is states, cities and communities all across the country. They are the ones who set up the voting systems and voting booths," Obama said during a news conference yesterday when asked about Trump's allegations. "And if Mr Trump is suggesting that there is a conspiracy theory that is being propagated across the country, including in places like Texas, where typically it is not Democrats who are in charge of voting booths. That is ridiculous," he said. "Trump's allegations do not make any sense and I don't think anybody would take that seriously," he added. "We do take seriously, as we always do, our responsibility to monitor and preserve the integrity of the voting process. If we see signs that a voting machine or system is more vulnerable to hacking, then we inform those local authorities who are running the elections that they need to be careful," Obama said. "If we see jurisdictions that are violating federal laws in terms of equal access and aren't providing ramps for disabled voters or are discriminating in some fashion, or are otherwise violating civil rights laws, then the justice department will come in and take care of that," he said. Taking a dig at Trump, Obama said this will be an election like every other election, and all of us at some points in our lives have played sports and sometimes some people, if they lose, they start complaining that they got cheated. "But I never heard of somebody complaining about being cheated before the game was over, or before the scored was even tallied," he said. "So my suggestion would be go out there and try to win the election. If Mr Trump is up 10 or 15 points on election day and ends up losing maybe he can raise some questions. That doesn't seem to be the case at the moment," the US president said. Further attacking Trump, Obama urged the people of America to make their own judgements on the Republican presidential nominee. "Just listen to what Mr Trump has to say and make your own judgement with respect to how confident you feel about his ability to manage things like our nuclear triad," he said. He said he has a very strong opinion about the two candidates who are running for president. Obama is supporting Hillary Clinton, Trump's Democratic presidential rival, in the upcoming presidential elections. "One is very positive and one is not so much, and I guess you will just hear any further questions that are directed at this subject, I think you'll hear pretty much variations on the same thing," he said. "What I can say is this is serious business, and the person who is in the Oval Office and who our secretary of defence, and our joint chiefs of staff, and our outstanding men and women in uniform report to, they are counting on somebody who has the temperament and good judgement to be able to make decisions to make America safe," Obama said. That should be very much on the minds of voters when they go to the voting booth in November. At the end of the day, it is the American people's decision, he said. Obama further said if someone wins the election and becomes the president, then his constitutional responsibility will be to peacefully transfer power to the individual and do everything to help them succeed. (PTI)

Obama hits back at Trump, calls his claims 'ridiculous'

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