US President Barack Obama said on Friday that he does not believe Federal Bureau of Ivestigation director James Comey was trying to influence the presidential election when he decided the agency would examine newly discovered emails in its probe of Hillary Clinton&#39;s private server.

&quot;Now I&#39;ve said before and I&#39;ll say again, Jim Comey is a good man,&quot; Obama said in an interview on MSNBC.

&quot;And I do not believe that he is in any way trying to influence the election one way or another. I think he is a serious public servant who wants to do the right thing,&quot; Obama said.

A complaint was filed against Comey for interfering in the US presidential elections by sending a letter to the Congress saying that the FBI is taking additional &quot;investigative steps&quot; into Clinton&#39;s use of private email server.&nbsp;

(Reuters)

FBI director James Comey has been said to interfere in elections by taking additional 'steps' into Clinton's use of private email server

US President Barack Obama said on Friday that he does not believe Federal Bureau of Ivestigation director James Comey was trying to influence the presidential election when he decided the agency would examine newly discovered emails in its probe of Hillary Clinton's private server. "Now I've said before and I'll say again, Jim Comey is a good man," Obama said in an interview on MSNBC. "And I do not believe that he is in any way trying to influence the election one way or another. I think he is a serious public servant who wants to do the right thing," Obama said. A complaint was filed against Comey for interfering in the US presidential elections by sending a letter to the Congress saying that the FBI is taking additional "investigative steps" into Clinton's use of private email server. (Reuters)

I don't believe Comey was trying to influence the elections: Obama

US presidential foes Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump brandished rival visions of America on Friday and the world held its breath as they headed into a fierce final weekend of campaigning.

Forecasts based on polling averages still give the Democrat an edge over the 70-year-old property mogul but the Republican has been buoyed by signs that he is closing the gap in key swing states.

So both headed Friday to the industrial northeast, where blue-collar voters that were once reliable Democrats may be tempted by Trump&#39;s protectionist promise to repatriate jobs from Mexico and China.

The prospect that the November 8 vote will be close or that a once unlikely Trump victory could presage instability and recession has rocked markets.&nbsp;

The S&amp;P 500 stock index closed down for the ninth straight day Friday, and the leaders of America&#39;s friends and foes alike are watching in amazement as the world&#39;s most powerful nation turns on itself. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Clinton was in Detroit, where supporters booed her populist rival when she attacked his affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin and &quot;dark vision&quot; of an America mired in poverty and corruption.

&quot;When I hear my opponent talking about America I don&#39;t recognize it,&quot; she declared, touting her own &quot;confident, optimistic, inclusive&quot; vision, building on President Barack Obama&#39;s legacy.

Jokes were thin on the ground in her speech, but the crowd laughed in delight when she mocked the New York billionaire, who avoided the Vietnam War draft, for wearing a camouflage baseball cap.

Trump has run one of the most aggressive and populist campaigns in history -- browbeating his Republican primary rivals into submission before launching into Clinton, &quot;such a nasty woman.&quot;

Trump was in Hershey, Pennsylvania bidding to use his popularity with the white, male working class to smash a hole in the &quot;firewall&quot; pollsters once thought Clinton enjoyed in Democrat-leaning states.

&quot;I want the entire corrupt Washington establishment to hear the words we&#39;re about to say. When we win on November 8 we&#39;re going to &#39;drain the swamp&#39;,&quot; he said, as the 13,000-strong crowd took up the chant.&nbsp;

He predicted that Clinton will face prosecution after an FBI inquiry into her inappropriate use of private email when she was secretary of state, and vowed to tear up current US free trade deals.

&quot;We are gonna win Pennsylvania big,&quot; he said, mocking Hillary&#39;s celebrity endorsements. &quot;And by the way, I didn&#39;t have to bring J-Lo or Jay-Z. I&#39;m here all by myself.&quot;

The rapper Jay-Z and his superstar singer wife Beyonce were to join Clinton at an event later on Friday.

&nbsp;&#39;As corrupt as they come&#39;&nbsp;

An average of Pennsylvania polls compiled by tracker RealClearPolitics gives Clinton a 2.6 percentage point edge in the state, but the huge crowd Trump drew was clearly in tune with his message.

&quot;Hillary is about as corrupt as they come,&quot; declared 27-year-old welder Logan Sechrist, who came to Hershey from Lebanon, Pennsylvania with his pregnant wife to hear Trump&#39;s plan for jobs.

&quot;I think honestly we need somebody who&#39;s a businessman and not a politician,&quot; Sechrist said. &quot;The country&#39;s falling apart. &quot;We&#39;re ready for something different.&quot;

Zach Rehl, a 31-year-old Marine veteran, said previous Republican candidates had failed to speak up for factory workers who have seen their jobs head abroad under global trade rules.

&quot;This thing hits people at home,&quot; he said, predicting that election night on Tuesday in Pennsylvania will be &quot;pretty close.&quot;

Some of Clinton&#39;s supporters have a similar feeling -- or in their case a creeping dread.&nbsp;

Clinton&#39;s supporters were getting tense. &quot;It&#39;s nerve-racking that Trump&#39;s gotten this far,&quot; said Rachel Zeolla, 27, who works in marketing, at an earlier rally in Pittsburgh.

For the first time some pollsters agree with them.

Pennsylvania, Michigan and perhaps Ohio were once seen as low hanging fruit for Clinton, guaranteeing her victory even if she doesn&#39;t pick off a prize like Florida -- but the race has tightened.&nbsp;

Nationwide polls still give the Democrat the lead, and she has some influential supporters on her side as she attempts to lock in victory in the closing days.

&nbsp;&#39;C&#39;mon!&#39;&nbsp;

Obama himself has hit the trail, and on Friday the outgoing president fired up a crowd in swing state North Carolina with a warning not to let Trump&#39;s negative vision overwhelm his legacy.

&quot;I need you to vote. Don&#39;t choose fear, choose vote,&quot; an exasperated Obama told the crowd, whipping up votes for fellow Democrat Clinton.

Intervening to stop supporters booing a pro-Trump protester, he resorted to the new catchphrase he uses to signal his mounting disbelief: &quot;C&#39;mon!&quot;&nbsp;

&quot;I want you to pay attention. If we lose focus, we could have problems,&quot; he warned.

Trump struggled to recover ground after footage emerged of showing him boasting of committing sexual assault and a dozen women came forward to allege he had groped them or otherwise engaged in sexual misconduct.

But, as the race nears its conclusion and with Clinton mired in the ongoing email scandal, profound Republican skepticism about his controversial candidacy appears to be ebbing.&nbsp;

&quot;I think Republicans are coming home,&quot; Congressman Jason Chaffetz told CNN.

(AFP)

Forecasts still give Clinton an edge over Trump but the Republican has been buoyed by signs that he is closing the gap in key states

US presidential foes Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump brandished rival visions of America on Friday and the world held its breath as they headed into a fierce final weekend of campaigning. Forecasts based on polling averages still give the Democrat an edge over the 70-year-old property mogul but the Republican has been buoyed by signs that he is closing the gap in key swing states. So both headed Friday to the industrial northeast, where blue-collar voters that were once reliable Democrats may be tempted by Trump's protectionist promise to repatriate jobs from Mexico and China. The prospect that the November 8 vote will be close or that a once unlikely Trump victory could presage instability and recession has rocked markets. The S&P 500 stock index closed down for the ninth straight day Friday, and the leaders of America's friends and foes alike are watching in amazement as the world's most powerful nation turns on itself. Clinton was in Detroit, where supporters booed her populist rival when she attacked his affinity for Russian President Vladimir Putin and "dark vision" of an America mired in poverty and corruption. "When I hear my opponent talking about America I don't recognize it," she declared, touting her own "confident, optimistic, inclusive" vision, building on President Barack Obama's legacy. Jokes were thin on the ground in her speech, but the crowd laughed in delight when she mocked the New York billionaire, who avoided the Vietnam War draft, for wearing a camouflage baseball cap. Trump has run one of the most aggressive and populist campaigns in history -- browbeating his Republican primary rivals into submission before launching into Clinton, "such a nasty woman." Trump was in Hershey, Pennsylvania bidding to use his popularity with the white, male working class to smash a hole in the "firewall" pollsters once thought Clinton enjoyed in Democrat-leaning states. "I want the entire corrupt Washington establishment to hear the words we're about to say. When we win on November 8 we're going to 'drain the swamp'," he said, as the 13,000-strong crowd took up the chant. He predicted that Clinton will face prosecution after an FBI inquiry into her inappropriate use of private email when she was secretary of state, and vowed to tear up current US free trade deals. "We are gonna win Pennsylvania big," he said, mocking Hillary's celebrity endorsements. "And by the way, I didn't have to bring J-Lo or Jay-Z. I'm here all by myself." The rapper Jay-Z and his superstar singer wife Beyonce were to join Clinton at an event later on Friday. 'As corrupt as they come' An average of Pennsylvania polls compiled by tracker RealClearPolitics gives Clinton a 2.6 percentage point edge in the state, but the huge crowd Trump drew was clearly in tune with his message. "Hillary is about as corrupt as they come," declared 27-year-old welder Logan Sechrist, who came to Hershey from Lebanon, Pennsylvania with his pregnant wife to hear Trump's plan for jobs. "I think honestly we need somebody who's a businessman and not a politician," Sechrist said. "The country's falling apart. "We're ready for something different." Zach Rehl, a 31-year-old Marine veteran, said previous Republican candidates had failed to speak up for factory workers who have seen their jobs head abroad under global trade rules. "This thing hits people at home," he said, predicting that election night on Tuesday in Pennsylvania will be "pretty close." Some of Clinton's supporters have a similar feeling -- or in their case a creeping dread. Clinton's supporters were getting tense. "It's nerve-racking that Trump's gotten this far," said Rachel Zeolla, 27, who works in marketing, at an earlier rally in Pittsburgh. For the first time some pollsters agree with them. Pennsylvania, Michigan and perhaps Ohio were once seen as low hanging fruit for Clinton, guaranteeing her victory even if she doesn't pick off a prize like Florida -- but the race has tightened. Nationwide polls still give the Democrat the lead, and she has some influential supporters on her side as she attempts to lock in victory in the closing days. 'C'mon!' Obama himself has hit the trail, and on Friday the outgoing president fired up a crowd in swing state North Carolina with a warning not to let Trump's negative vision overwhelm his legacy. "I need you to vote. Don't choose fear, choose vote," an exasperated Obama told the crowd, whipping up votes for fellow Democrat Clinton. Intervening to stop supporters booing a pro-Trump protester, he resorted to the new catchphrase he uses to signal his mounting disbelief: "C'mon!" "I want you to pay attention. If we lose focus, we could have problems," he warned. Trump struggled to recover ground after footage emerged of showing him boasting of committing sexual assault and a dozen women came forward to allege he had groped them or otherwise engaged in sexual misconduct. But, as the race nears its conclusion and with Clinton mired in the ongoing email scandal, profound Republican skepticism about his controversial candidacy appears to be ebbing. "I think Republicans are coming home," Congressman Jason Chaffetz told CNN. (AFP)

US elections: As they enter final stretch, Trump & Clinton tout rival visions of America

A US&nbsp;judge in Ohio ordered Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump&#39;s campaign on Friday not to intimidate voters, in a victory for Democrats who sought to prevent Election Day harassment in one of the nation&#39;s most politically competitive states.

The order also deals a blow to a Trump-allied &quot;exit poll&quot; that aims to mobilise supporters to ask voters whether they had cast a ballot for the Republican real-estate mogul or Democrat Hillary Clinton.

On the campaign trail, Trump has said the election will be &quot;rigged&quot;. He has called on supporters to keep an eye on voting activity for possible signs of fraud in large cities.

The ruling does not prevent the state Republican Party from sending trained volunteers into polling places to make sure election laws are being followed. However, it does apply to Trump supporters who may take it on themselves to monitor voting activity independent of the party. It prevents them from verbally harassing voters near polling stations, or taking pictures of them.

Trump&#39;s vague call for&nbsp;supporters to go to &quot;other&quot; polling stations and watch out for funny activity was widely interpreted as a dog whistle encouraging white supporters to intimidate minority voters. Trump has invoked the threat of voter fraud and a &quot;rigged election&quot;. While there isn&#39;t a complete absence of it, the notion that the kind of fraud Trump talks about influences the election even slightly has been repeatedly debunked in numerous studies.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/11/01/opinion/voting-suppression-videogame.html?_r=3">As the New York Times</a> writes in their introduction to an interactive video game aimed at showing users what voter suppression looks like for different people, &quot;thanks to laws passed by Republicans to fight&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/08/06/a-comprehensive-investigation-of-voter-impersonation-finds-31-credible-incidents-out-of-one-billion-ballots-cast/">the nonexistent threat of voter fraud</a>, the perils will be great.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/publication/election-day-long-lines-resource-allocation">Long lines</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/17/us/some-republicans-acknowledge-leveraging-voter-id-laws-for-political-gain.html">voter ID laws,</a>&nbsp;not to mention&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/18/donald-trump-volunteer-election-observers-voter-intimidation">pro-Trump election observers</a>, will try to keep these voters from the polls&quot;.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
From chair of Maricopa County (AZ) Democratic Party... <a href="https://t.co/Ri1VLz4zJd">pic.twitter.com/Ri1VLz4zJd</a>
&mdash; Andrei Cherny (@AndreiCherny) <a href="https://twitter.com/AndreiCherny/status/794675151849721856">November 4, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

&nbsp;

Democrats have said that could encourage Trump supporters to harass minority voters and have launched a legal blitz in six states to prevent that from happening.

Democrats declared the judge&#39;s decision a victory, saying it would prevent Trump supporters from interfering with voters in one of the most competitive US&nbsp;states during the November&nbsp;8 election.

&quot;We&#39;re pleased that the judge announced he will be issuing an order to prevent any harassment of voters along the lines that have been suggested by the Trump campaign,&quot; Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said in a prepared statement. The ruling also applies to groups supporting Clinton&#39;s presidential bid.

It also shuts down an exit poll organised by former Trump aide and Republican operative&nbsp;Roger Stone, who said he aims to uncover examples of vote manipulation. Stone told Reuters on Monday that participants are trained not to harass voters. Some 118 people in Ohio have signed up to participate through a web site called Stop the Steal. Stone did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stone&#39;s name has been&nbsp;in connection with&nbsp;another important and seemingly&nbsp;related incident. The&nbsp;FBI is&nbsp;reviewing&nbsp;a seven-page electronic document that has been identified as a fake by the Clinton campaign, but&nbsp;carries the logos of Democratic pollster Joel Benenson&rsquo;s firm, the Benenson Strategy Group, and the Clinton Foundation, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

The fake document&nbsp;claims poll ratings had plunged for Clinton and called for &ldquo;severe strategy changes for November&rdquo; that could include &ldquo;staged civil unrest&rdquo; and &ldquo;radiological attack&rdquo; with dirty bombs to disrupt the vote.

Where the document originated from or how it begun to circulate is not immediately clear, but on October&nbsp;20,&nbsp;Stone&nbsp;linked to a copy of it on Twitter with the tag, &ldquo;If this is real: OMG!!&rdquo;&nbsp;Stone did not respond to emails from Reuters requesting comment.

Ohio Republicans and the Trump campaign also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(With inputs from Reuters)

The candidate talking of 'rigged elections' and 'make America Great again' has been close to sketchy, un-American voter suppression efforts

A US judge in Ohio ordered Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign on Friday not to intimidate voters, in a victory for Democrats who sought to prevent Election Day harassment in one of the nation's most politically competitive states. The order also deals a blow to a Trump-allied "exit poll" that aims to mobilise supporters to ask voters whether they had cast a ballot for the Republican real-estate mogul or Democrat Hillary Clinton. On the campaign trail, Trump has said the election will be "rigged". He has called on supporters to keep an eye on voting activity for possible signs of fraud in large cities. The ruling does not prevent the state Republican Party from sending trained volunteers into polling places to make sure election laws are being followed. However, it does apply to Trump supporters who may take it on themselves to monitor voting activity independent of the party. It prevents them from verbally harassing voters near polling stations, or taking pictures of them. Trump's vague call for supporters to go to "other" polling stations and watch out for funny activity was widely interpreted as a dog whistle encouraging white supporters to intimidate minority voters. Trump has invoked the threat of voter fraud and a "rigged election". While there isn't a complete absence of it, the notion that the kind of fraud Trump talks about influences the election even slightly has been repeatedly debunked in numerous studies. As the New York Times writes in their introduction to an interactive video game aimed at showing users what voter suppression looks like for different people, "thanks to laws passed by Republicans to fight the nonexistent threat of voter fraud, the perils will be great. Long lines and voter ID laws, not to mention pro-Trump election observers, will try to keep these voters from the polls". From chair of Maricopa County (AZ) Democratic Party... pic.twitter.com/Ri1VLz4zJd — Andrei Cherny (@AndreiCherny) November 4, 2016 × Democrats have said that could encourage Trump supporters to harass minority voters and have launched a legal blitz in six states to prevent that from happening. Democrats declared the judge's decision a victory, saying it would prevent Trump supporters from interfering with voters in one of the most competitive US states during the November 8 election. "We're pleased that the judge announced he will be issuing an order to prevent any harassment of voters along the lines that have been suggested by the Trump campaign," Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said in a prepared statement. The ruling also applies to groups supporting Clinton's presidential bid. It also shuts down an exit poll organised by former Trump aide and Republican operative Roger Stone, who said he aims to uncover examples of vote manipulation. Stone told Reuters on Monday that participants are trained not to harass voters. Some 118 people in Ohio have signed up to participate through a web site called Stop the Steal. Stone did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Stone's name has been in connection with another important and seemingly related incident. The FBI is reviewing a seven-page electronic document that has been identified as a fake by the Clinton campaign, but carries the logos of Democratic pollster Joel Benenson’s firm, the Benenson Strategy Group, and the Clinton Foundation, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The fake document claims poll ratings had plunged for Clinton and called for “severe strategy changes for November” that could include “staged civil unrest” and “radiological attack” with dirty bombs to disrupt the vote. Where the document originated from or how it begun to circulate is not immediately clear, but on October 20, Stone linked to a copy of it on Twitter with the tag, “If this is real: OMG!!” Stone did not respond to emails from Reuters requesting comment. Ohio Republicans and the Trump campaign also did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (With inputs from Reuters)

Ohio judge orders Trump campaign to avoid voter intimidation

The FBI and US&nbsp;intelligence agencies are examining faked documents aimed at discrediting the Hillary Clinton campaign as part of a broader investigation into what US&nbsp;officials believe has been an attempt by Russia to disrupt the presidential election, people with knowledge of the matter said.

US&nbsp;Senator Tom Carper, a Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, has referred one of the documents to the FBI for investigation on the grounds that his name and stationery were forged to appear authentic.

In a document forged to appear as though Carper was writing a letter to Clinton, Carper is quoted as saying the Department of Homeland Security had advised him of a risk that a &quot;massive&quot; cyber attack &quot;could change the election results in favour of a specific candidate&quot;. The document dated October 3 was reviewed by Reuters.

It concludes, &quot;Any suspicious incident will be immediately reported to your assistants so that a recount of votes could be timely organised. You will not lose the election because of some compromised electronic voting systems.&quot; The fake Carper letter is one of several documents presented to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US&nbsp;Department of Justice for review in recent weeks, the sources said.

Carper spokeswoman Meghan Pennington confirmed on Friday that the senator had sent a copy of the letter to the FBI and the Senate&rsquo;s chief law enforcement officer.

&quot;Our office became aware of a fake letter on Senator Carper&rsquo;s official letterhead and immediately referred it to federal law enforcement to investigate its genesis,&quot; Pennington said.

As part of an investigation into suspected Russian hacking, FBI investigators have also asked Democratic Party officials to provide copies of other suspected faked documents that have been circulating along with emails and other legitimate documents taken in the hack, people involved in those conversations said.

A spokesman for the FBI confirmed the agency was &ldquo;in receipt of a complaint about an alleged fake letter&rdquo; related to the election but declined further comment. Others with knowledge of the matter said the FBI was also examining other fake documents that recently surfaced.

US&nbsp;intelligence officials have warned privately that a campaign they believe is backed by the Russian government to undermine the credibility of the US&nbsp;presidential election could move beyond the hacking of Democratic Party email systems. That could include posting fictional evidence of voter fraud or other misinformation in the run-up to voting on November&nbsp;8, US&nbsp;officials have said.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Russian officials deny any such effort.&nbsp;

In addition to the Carper letter, the FBI has also reviewed a seven-page electronic document that carries the logos of Democratic pollster Joel Benenson&rsquo;s firm, the Benenson Strategy Group, and the Clinton Foundation, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

The document, identified as a fake by the Clinton campaign, claims poll ratings had plunged for Clinton and called for &ldquo;severe strategy changes for November&rdquo; that could include &ldquo;staged civil unrest&rdquo; and &ldquo;radiological attack&rdquo; with dirty bombs to disrupt the vote.

Like the Carper letter, it was not immediately clear where the fraudulent document had originated or how it had begun to circulate. &nbsp;&nbsp;

On October&nbsp;20, Roger Stone, a former Trump aide and Republican operative, linked to a copy of the document on Twitter with the tag, &ldquo;If this is real: OMG!!&rdquo;&nbsp;Stone did not respond to emails requesting comment.

Benenson&rsquo;s firm had no immediate comment. Craig Minassian, a spokesman for the Clinton Foundation, said the document was &ldquo;fake.&rdquo; He said he did not know if the FBI had examined it.

A spokesman for the Clinton campaign, Glen Caplin, said the document was a fake and part of a &ldquo;desperate stunt&rdquo; to capitalise on the leak of Democratic emails by Wikileaks. &nbsp;

The developments highlight the unusually prominent role US&nbsp;law enforcement and intelligence agencies have played in a contentious election and an ongoing debate about how public they can or should be about their inquiries.

FBI Director James Comey, a Republican appointed by President Obama, touched off an outcry from Democrats last week when he alerted Congress that agents had found other emails that could be linked to an inquiry into Clinton&rsquo;s use of a private email server when she was Secretary of State, effectively re-opening an investigation he had closed in July.

(Reuters)

Investigators believe it's part of a broader campaign conducted by Russia to disrupt the US election, those with knowledge of the matter say

The FBI and US intelligence agencies are examining faked documents aimed at discrediting the Hillary Clinton campaign as part of a broader investigation into what US officials believe has been an attempt by Russia to disrupt the presidential election, people with knowledge of the matter said. US Senator Tom Carper, a Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, has referred one of the documents to the FBI for investigation on the grounds that his name and stationery were forged to appear authentic. In a document forged to appear as though Carper was writing a letter to Clinton, Carper is quoted as saying the Department of Homeland Security had advised him of a risk that a "massive" cyber attack "could change the election results in favour of a specific candidate". The document dated October 3 was reviewed by Reuters. It concludes, "Any suspicious incident will be immediately reported to your assistants so that a recount of votes could be timely organised. You will not lose the election because of some compromised electronic voting systems." The fake Carper letter is one of several documents presented to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Department of Justice for review in recent weeks, the sources said. Carper spokeswoman Meghan Pennington confirmed on Friday that the senator had sent a copy of the letter to the FBI and the Senate’s chief law enforcement officer. "Our office became aware of a fake letter on Senator Carper’s official letterhead and immediately referred it to federal law enforcement to investigate its genesis," Pennington said. As part of an investigation into suspected Russian hacking, FBI investigators have also asked Democratic Party officials to provide copies of other suspected faked documents that have been circulating along with emails and other legitimate documents taken in the hack, people involved in those conversations said. A spokesman for the FBI confirmed the agency was “in receipt of a complaint about an alleged fake letter” related to the election but declined further comment. Others with knowledge of the matter said the FBI was also examining other fake documents that recently surfaced. US intelligence officials have warned privately that a campaign they believe is backed by the Russian government to undermine the credibility of the US presidential election could move beyond the hacking of Democratic Party email systems. That could include posting fictional evidence of voter fraud or other misinformation in the run-up to voting on November 8, US officials have said. Russian officials deny any such effort. In addition to the Carper letter, the FBI has also reviewed a seven-page electronic document that carries the logos of Democratic pollster Joel Benenson’s firm, the Benenson Strategy Group, and the Clinton Foundation, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The document, identified as a fake by the Clinton campaign, claims poll ratings had plunged for Clinton and called for “severe strategy changes for November” that could include “staged civil unrest” and “radiological attack” with dirty bombs to disrupt the vote. Like the Carper letter, it was not immediately clear where the fraudulent document had originated or how it had begun to circulate. On October 20, Roger Stone, a former Trump aide and Republican operative, linked to a copy of the document on Twitter with the tag, “If this is real: OMG!!” Stone did not respond to emails requesting comment. Benenson’s firm had no immediate comment. Craig Minassian, a spokesman for the Clinton Foundation, said the document was “fake.” He said he did not know if the FBI had examined it. A spokesman for the Clinton campaign, Glen Caplin, said the document was a fake and part of a “desperate stunt” to capitalise on the leak of Democratic emails by Wikileaks. The developments highlight the unusually prominent role US law enforcement and intelligence agencies have played in a contentious election and an ongoing debate about how public they can or should be about their inquiries. FBI Director James Comey, a Republican appointed by President Obama, touched off an outcry from Democrats last week when he alerted Congress that agents had found other emails that could be linked to an inquiry into Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was Secretary of State, effectively re-opening an investigation he had closed in July. (Reuters)

FBI examining fake documents targeting Clinton campaign

We don&rsquo;t know who is going to win the race to the White House - Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. We have no idea which&nbsp;all industries and sectors are actually going to be benefited after the next US president is chosen. It could range from hospitality to defence to aviation to health, or could be all of them. But technology, we doubt.

In fact, we believe that the technology sector is going to bear the brunt of it. Because unfortunately, both the leading presidential candidates in the US election, time and again, have brought embarrassment upon themselves on issues that deal with technology. In other words, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are clearly not tech-savvy. And we have all the reasons to believe so. Watch it for yourself.
<style type="text/css">.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }
</style>
<div class="embed-container"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IuPt8kDRc74"></iframe></div>

Watch the video here to know who beats the other

We don’t know who is going to win the race to the White House - Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. We have no idea which all industries and sectors are actually going to be benefited after the next US president is chosen. It could range from hospitality to defence to aviation to health, or could be all of them. But technology, we doubt. In fact, we believe that the technology sector is going to bear the brunt of it. Because unfortunately, both the leading presidential candidates in the US election, time and again, have brought embarrassment upon themselves on issues that deal with technology. In other words, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are clearly not tech-savvy. And we have all the reasons to believe so. Watch it for yourself.

Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton: Who is more technologically challenged?

Voters who support 3rd party candidates in crucial states are swapping their votes across state lines in a bid to prevent Trump from winning

As the race for the US presidency between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump narrows, several social media sites are urging voters who support third party candidates in crucial battleground states to swap their vote across states. Apps like #NeverTrump to TrumpTraders.org and MakeMineCount.org are working full swing to prevent Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump from entering the White House, Reuters reported. Trump trading is based on the "honour system" where voters express their political preference publicly. Some people find trading partners the old-fashioned way through word-of-mouth. John Stubbs, co-founder of the site Republicans for Clinton and Trump Traders, told Reuters that while he is no fan of Democrat Hillary Clinton, but he believes Trump would be a "catastrophe" and voting for third party candidates could inevitably help Trump win. So, for him Hillary Clinton is the only viable alternative. "Once we all come to that realization, then you see Republicans who don't like Trump, people who support Gary Johnson, or Jill Stein, or Evan McMullin or the man on the moon, are all aligned around the exact same idea, which is that the worst case scenario for the country is Donald Trump," Stubbs said. He claims that more than 15,000 participants have enrolled on his site where voters in the swing states can trade their third party candidate vote with a Clinton supporter from a "safe state." A safe state is one where voters have little chance of influencing the outcome in America's electoral college system. The battleground states are where no single party or candidate has overwhelming support include Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. Sites like "Swing Vote Swap" are non-partisan, Reuters reported. Bret Lehne has agreed to vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein in New York state in exchange for his cousin's friend voting for Clinton in the key swing state of Pennsylvania. "Our vote doesn't really matter," he said of living in Democrat-leaning New York. "So if we can use it to further some other goal to trade it to Iowa, to trade it to Florida, that would be just making our democracy go a little further in this electoral college we're stuck in." This is not the first time that vote trading has been attempted. In 2000, several vote trading websites emerged to try to prevent left-leaning third party candidate Ralph Nader from taking Democrat Al Gore's vote share. Gore ultimately won the national popular vote, while Republican George W Bush won many of the smaller states and Florida, which gave him the majority in the electoral college. "If those sites had been successful in switching just 538 more people [in Florida], Al Gore would've been president. And that fact I think showed the power that these exchanges could potentially have," Stubbs told Reuters. He cited the example of last year's Canadian election where strategic voting helped Justin Trudeau's Liberals win the elections. Vote trading 'undemocratic': Critics A host of critics online have slammed the practice as "undemocratic" and say it amounts to "rigging the election." "It sort of instinctively has a little odour about it, but it isn't a rigging of the election," said Kenneth Gross, an election law expert and partner with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. "It's just not anything that arises to the level of a legally actionable offense, because that sort of an agreement, really an informal agreement, is not quote, 'something of value,' like giving somebody dinner." He, however, predicts that if vote trading were to become a major force in influencing outcomes, it could prompt challenges to previous court rulings. The one thing vote traders will have to worry about is whether their trading partner will honour their end of the bargain when they enter that voting booth. There is always the option of ballot selfies though. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

US elections 2016: Vote trading websites aim to block Trump presidency

Hillary Clinton began her presidential campaign by promising to do what it takes to rein in Wall Street.

Boosted by Wall Street&#39;s toughest critics, US senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic candidate has declared &quot;the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top&quot; and said she would raise bank fees and tighten banking regulations. She has encouraged regulators to break up too-risky banks.

And yet, Wall Street appears unperturbed by the prospect of a Clinton presidency. In fact, the banking industry has supported Clinton with buckets of cash and stocks have sold off on days when the Clinton campaign stumbles. Privately, bankers say that they trust her to remain a pragmatist who will keep the current regulatory regime laid down by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform legislation passed in 2010.

&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think Clinton wakes up thinking about Wall Street,&quot; one senior banking industry lobbyist said.

There are hints in apparently leaked email discussions among Clinton&#39;s campaign staff that bankers are not far off the mark when they count on her to tread lightly.&nbsp;

Pressed during the campaign by progressive Democrats to call for a revival of the Glass-Steagall Act that would require separation of commercial and investment banking, Clinton ultimately refused. She also weighed another progressive favourite --- a tax on financial transactions --- but instead recommended a far narrower plan to tax only canceled orders by high speed traders.

Ultimately, what bankers most like about Clinton is that she is not Donald Trump.&nbsp;

Many financiers fear her unorthodox Republican rival could disrupt global trade, damage geopolitical relationships and rattle markets, industry analysts and participants say.

&ldquo;Those are the kind of things that corner offices think about,&rdquo; said Karen Shaw Petrou of Federal Financial Analytics Inc, whose firm advises financial firms about US regulatory policy. &ldquo;The overriding concern about Trump has dominated people&rsquo;s thinking.&quot;

Trump&#39;s candidacy has upended traditional political alliances and bankers that usually contribute more to the Republicans have been flinging money at Clinton.

Employees of the 17 largest bank holding companies and their subsidiaries have been sending her $10 for every $1 they contributed to Trump, according to a Reuters analysis. In 2012, the same group contributed twice as much to Republican candidate Mitt Romney as it did to President Barack Obama`s re-election campaign.&nbsp;

People who work for hedge funds and private equity firms have contributed more than $56 million to Clinton&rsquo;s presidential campaign and the supporting groups that face no legal cap on donations. Trump&rsquo;s campaign and related groups received just $243,000 from donors in the same sector, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

&quot;It&rsquo;s basically going with the devil you know over the devil you don&rsquo;t,&rdquo; said Brian Gardner, a managing director of New York investment firm Keefe Bruyette &amp; Woods. What also helped, he said, was the familiarity with Hillary and Bill Clinton dating back to the 1990s when her husband was president and ushered in a period of financial deregulation.

&ldquo;There is a closeness and a comfort level between the titans on Wall Street and the Clintons,&quot; he said.

For bankers, the biggest worry is a scenario where Clinton wins and the Democrats take control of the House and the Senate, with progressives such as Warren and Sanders holding sway over everything from new tax laws to appointments of regulators.

Already, Warren has called for immediate dismissal of the Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White. Last year, Warren successfully led a movement to derail Obama&rsquo;s plan to appoint banker Antonio Weiss to the top job at Treasury.

Warren and other progressives will press Clinton to be tough on Wall Street in return for their campaign support.&nbsp;

Clinton &quot;leaned heavily on Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, and progressive ideas, when she needed to excite voters,&rdquo; Adam Green with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee said. &ldquo;Elizabeth Warren has proven she&rsquo;s a very powerful ally to have on your side. And it&rsquo;s well known she&rsquo;s also a formidable opponent to have against you,&rdquo; Green said.&nbsp;

However, recent polls suggest it is unlikely that Democrats will take the House and the future of the Senate is far from certain. Even if the Senate goes Democratic, it is likely to be led by New York Senator Chuck Schumer, a moderate who has represented Wall Street with the industry`s backing.

Clinton has said she will propose a &quot;risk fee&quot; on the largest financial firms and tighten up rules which allow banks to circumvent bans on proprietary trading by investing in hedge funds. Like Trump, she has proposed to end the tax break that private equity investors enjoy, termed &quot;carried interest.&quot;

Yet such provisions will be probably tied up in a much larger tax initiative that will involve months, if not a year or more, of horse trading in Washington. Ultimately, it could end up overshadowed by other progressive goals, such as infrastructure funding, college affordability, or raising the minimum wage.

Those are the causes that Clinton has prioritized and they are likely to supersede her anti-bank rhetoric, say bankers. One industry trade group representative said: &quot;We&#39;re not in her top 10 to take care of.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Why the banking industry prefers Hillary Clinton as president over Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton began her presidential campaign by promising to do what it takes to rein in Wall Street. Boosted by Wall Street's toughest critics, US senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic candidate has declared "the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top" and said she would raise bank fees and tighten banking regulations. She has encouraged regulators to break up too-risky banks. And yet, Wall Street appears unperturbed by the prospect of a Clinton presidency. In fact, the banking industry has supported Clinton with buckets of cash and stocks have sold off on days when the Clinton campaign stumbles. Privately, bankers say that they trust her to remain a pragmatist who will keep the current regulatory regime laid down by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform legislation passed in 2010. “I don’t think Clinton wakes up thinking about Wall Street," one senior banking industry lobbyist said. There are hints in apparently leaked email discussions among Clinton's campaign staff that bankers are not far off the mark when they count on her to tread lightly. Pressed during the campaign by progressive Democrats to call for a revival of the Glass-Steagall Act that would require separation of commercial and investment banking, Clinton ultimately refused. She also weighed another progressive favourite --- a tax on financial transactions --- but instead recommended a far narrower plan to tax only canceled orders by high speed traders. Ultimately, what bankers most like about Clinton is that she is not Donald Trump. Many financiers fear her unorthodox Republican rival could disrupt global trade, damage geopolitical relationships and rattle markets, industry analysts and participants say. “Those are the kind of things that corner offices think about,” said Karen Shaw Petrou of Federal Financial Analytics Inc, whose firm advises financial firms about US regulatory policy. “The overriding concern about Trump has dominated people’s thinking." Trump's candidacy has upended traditional political alliances and bankers that usually contribute more to the Republicans have been flinging money at Clinton. Employees of the 17 largest bank holding companies and their subsidiaries have been sending her $10 for every $1 they contributed to Trump, according to a Reuters analysis. In 2012, the same group contributed twice as much to Republican candidate Mitt Romney as it did to President Barack Obama`s re-election campaign. People who work for hedge funds and private equity firms have contributed more than $56 million to Clinton’s presidential campaign and the supporting groups that face no legal cap on donations. Trump’s campaign and related groups received just $243,000 from donors in the same sector, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. "It’s basically going with the devil you know over the devil you don’t,” said Brian Gardner, a managing director of New York investment firm Keefe Bruyette & Woods. What also helped, he said, was the familiarity with Hillary and Bill Clinton dating back to the 1990s when her husband was president and ushered in a period of financial deregulation. “There is a closeness and a comfort level between the titans on Wall Street and the Clintons," he said. For bankers, the biggest worry is a scenario where Clinton wins and the Democrats take control of the House and the Senate, with progressives such as Warren and Sanders holding sway over everything from new tax laws to appointments of regulators. Already, Warren has called for immediate dismissal of the Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White. Last year, Warren successfully led a movement to derail Obama’s plan to appoint banker Antonio Weiss to the top job at Treasury. Warren and other progressives will press Clinton to be tough on Wall Street in return for their campaign support. Clinton "leaned heavily on Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, and progressive ideas, when she needed to excite voters,” Adam Green with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee said. “Elizabeth Warren has proven she’s a very powerful ally to have on your side. And it’s well known she’s also a formidable opponent to have against you,” Green said. However, recent polls suggest it is unlikely that Democrats will take the House and the future of the Senate is far from certain. Even if the Senate goes Democratic, it is likely to be led by New York Senator Chuck Schumer, a moderate who has represented Wall Street with the industry`s backing. Clinton has said she will propose a "risk fee" on the largest financial firms and tighten up rules which allow banks to circumvent bans on proprietary trading by investing in hedge funds. Like Trump, she has proposed to end the tax break that private equity investors enjoy, termed "carried interest." Yet such provisions will be probably tied up in a much larger tax initiative that will involve months, if not a year or more, of horse trading in Washington. Ultimately, it could end up overshadowed by other progressive goals, such as infrastructure funding, college affordability, or raising the minimum wage. Those are the causes that Clinton has prioritized and they are likely to supersede her anti-bank rhetoric, say bankers. One industry trade group representative said: "We're not in her top 10 to take care of." (Reuters)

Hillary Clinton: Wall Street's favourite enemy

In the last few weeks, over 20,000 pages of emails stolen from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton&#39;s campaign chair, have been released by international non-profit organisation <a href="https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/3774">WikiLeaks</a>.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The emails have shed light on the murky world of donations made to the Clinton Foundation by corporations and foreign governments.

&nbsp;

Though done in the name of philanthropy to address pressing issues, such as climate change, agricultural development, and infrastructure building, the emails have revealed that in more cases than one, the primary objective was &quot;<a href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/10/31/wikileaks-podesta-called-foreign-money-for-prez-charities-currying-favor-with-us-leaders/)">currying favour</a>&quot; and gaining access to the former chief executive, his wife, and their closest political associates.

&nbsp;

Currying favour through donation is not a novel thing for the American politicians. Former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bush senior as well as junior, and Ronald Reagan have accepted such donations in the past.&nbsp;However, these donations were made to the presidential libraries.

&nbsp;

What makes the situation dire for the Democratic presidential nominee is the link that has been established between her donors and the terror organisations, particularly<a href="https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/3774"> ISIL and other &quot;radical&quot; Islamic groups</a> of the Middle East.

&nbsp;

A number of countries, including Germany, Norway, Canada, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands have donated to the Clinton Foundation. While eyebrows were raised by people who had been trying to quantify the amount of donation and the kind of influence accrued through the act, hell broke loose with names of Qatar and Saudi Arabia surfacing from the leaks. Hillary Clinton accepted from Qatar a <a href="http://yournewswire.com/wikileaks-hillary-clinton-foundation-donors-isis/)">donation amount</a>, ranging anywhere between $1 million to $5 million and from Saudi Arabia in excess of $25 million dollars. This she did, the e<a href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/10/31/wikileaks-podesta-called-foreign-money-for-prez-charities-currying-favor-with-us-leaders/">vidence </a>from WikiLeaks show, with the full knowledge that the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL and other radical Sunni groups in the region.

&nbsp;

Hillary&#39;s trial does not end with accepting donations from dubious sources. The <a href="https://theintercept.com/document/2016/02/20/boeing-weapon-sales-to-saudi-arabia/">Intercept </a>revealed an email earlier this year, showing Jake Sullivan, then Clinton&rsquo;s deputy chief of staff, celebrating the sale to Saudi Arabia of more than <a href="http://(https://theintercept.com/document/2016/02/20/boeing-weapon-sales-to-saudi-arabia/)">80 Boeing F-15SA fighter jets</a> &ndash; &ldquo;along with upgrades to the pre-existing Saudi fleet of 70 F-15 aircraft and munitions, spare parts, training, maintenance, and logistics&rdquo; &ndash; with the heading addressed to Clinton, &ldquo;FYI &mdash; good news.&rdquo;

&nbsp;

Hillary Clinton has vouched for her decision to refuse foreign donations if she is elected president. But a leaked memo, dated April 7, 2015, has revealed that she prefers &quot;...the Foundation to continue to accept foreign government contributions, but to significantly increase disclosure.&quot; Evidently, the Democratic nominee to the post of US president does not want &quot;..to close the door to <a href="http://(http://dailycaller.com/2016/10/31/leaked-memo-hillary-wants-clinton-foundation-to-keep-accepting-foreign-donations/)">unexpected opportunities</a>.&rdquo; &nbsp;

&nbsp;

A &ldquo;compromise&rdquo; option, according to the memo, &ldquo;would be to say that the Foundation will not accept contributions from foreign governments unless that funding is part of an ongoing program or a disbursement for a completed negotiation.&rdquo;

&nbsp;

But this compromise does not prevent the Clinton Foundation from continuing to accept money from Qatar. This is despite Clinton&rsquo;s own admission that Qatar and Saudi Arabia are financially supporting ISIS.

 
(WION)&nbsp;

In the past few weeks, WikiLeaks has leaked over 20,000 pages of emails shedding light on the 'murky world of donations'

In the last few weeks, over 20,000 pages of emails stolen from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign chair, have been released by international non-profit organisation WikiLeaks. The emails have shed light on the murky world of donations made to the Clinton Foundation by corporations and foreign governments. Though done in the name of philanthropy to address pressing issues, such as climate change, agricultural development, and infrastructure building, the emails have revealed that in more cases than one, the primary objective was "currying favour" and gaining access to the former chief executive, his wife, and their closest political associates. Currying favour through donation is not a novel thing for the American politicians. Former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bush senior as well as junior, and Ronald Reagan have accepted such donations in the past. However, these donations were made to the presidential libraries. What makes the situation dire for the Democratic presidential nominee is the link that has been established between her donors and the terror organisations, particularly ISIL and other "radical" Islamic groups of the Middle East. A number of countries, including Germany, Norway, Canada, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands have donated to the Clinton Foundation. While eyebrows were raised by people who had been trying to quantify the amount of donation and the kind of influence accrued through the act, hell broke loose with names of Qatar and Saudi Arabia surfacing from the leaks. Hillary Clinton accepted from Qatar a donation amount, ranging anywhere between $1 million to $5 million and from Saudi Arabia in excess of $25 million dollars. This she did, the evidence from WikiLeaks show, with the full knowledge that the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL and other radical Sunni groups in the region. Hillary's trial does not end with accepting donations from dubious sources. The Intercept revealed an email earlier this year, showing Jake Sullivan, then Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, celebrating the sale to Saudi Arabia of more than 80 Boeing F-15SA fighter jets – “along with upgrades to the pre-existing Saudi fleet of 70 F-15 aircraft and munitions, spare parts, training, maintenance, and logistics” – with the heading addressed to Clinton, “FYI — good news.” Hillary Clinton has vouched for her decision to refuse foreign donations if she is elected president. But a leaked memo, dated April 7, 2015, has revealed that she prefers "...the Foundation to continue to accept foreign government contributions, but to significantly increase disclosure." Evidently, the Democratic nominee to the post of US president does not want "..to close the door to unexpected opportunities.” A “compromise” option, according to the memo, “would be to say that the Foundation will not accept contributions from foreign governments unless that funding is part of an ongoing program or a disbursement for a completed negotiation.” But this compromise does not prevent the Clinton Foundation from continuing to accept money from Qatar. This is despite Clinton’s own admission that Qatar and Saudi Arabia are financially supporting ISIS. (WION)

Charities or currying favour: Donations to Clinton Foundation

US President Barack Obama criticised FBI director James Comey over Hillary Clinton&#39;s email probe in an interview on Wednesday.

Speaking for the first time since Comey&#39;s Friday announcement that the FBI was reopening the&nbsp;probe into Clinton&#39;s use of a private email server while still in office after the&nbsp;discovery of some new emails, Obama insisted that investigations should not be based on &quot;innuendo&quot; or &quot;incomplete information&quot;.

&quot;I&#39;ve made a very deliberate effort to make sure that I don&#39;t look like I&#39;m meddling,&quot; Obama said, reported news agency AFP, before making his veiled criticism of Comey&#39;s handling of the affair without mentioning him by name. &quot;I do think that there is a norm that when there are investigations we don&#39;t operate on innuendo, we don&#39;t operate on incomplete information, we don&#39;t operate on leaks.&quot;

Comey has come under fire from Democrats after he announced a reopening of the probe into Clinton just days before the November 8 presidential election.

Comey&#39;s announcement was a departure from Justice Department policy not to comment on ongoing investigations or to take actions close to elections that could influence the outcome, AFP said.

&quot;We operate based on concrete decisions that are made,&quot; Obama said.

&quot;When this was investigated thoroughly the last time, the conclusion of the FBI, the conclusion of the Justice Department, the conclusion of repeated congressional investigations was that she had made some mistakes but that there wasn&#39;t anything there that was prosecutable,&quot; he said.

The FBI&#39;s investigation into Clinton&#39;s email use found no wrongdoing in July and Comey had recommended against bringing charges against Clinton.

Clinton&#39;s rival Donald trump seized the opportunity to declare Clinton unfit for office, arguing that the Democrat&#39;s use of private email server should disqualify her from the presidency.

On Sunday, the US Senate&#39;s top Democrat blasted the FBI chief for the probe&#39;s reopening, an action he says &quot;may have broken the law&quot;.

&quot;As soon as you came into possession of the slightest innuendo related to secretary Clinton, you rushed to publicize it in the most negative light possible,&quot; Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said in a statement.

&quot;Through your partisan actions, you may have broken the law,&quot; Reid said, alleging that Comey had violated the Hatch Act, which bars the FBI from influencing elections.

Clinton said Comey&#39;s decision so close to the election was &quot;deeply troubling&quot; and demanded an explanation for the reopening of a probe he had said declared in July.

According to US media, the probe was renewed after agents seized a laptop used by Anthony Weiner, Clinton&#39;s close aide Huma Abedin&#39;s husband.

Comey is under pressure from both Trump and Clinton to end speculation before the elections.

An ABC News/Washington Post poll put the Democratic presidential candidate just one point ahead of her Republican challenger Donald Trump at 46-45 percent in a four-way race, AFP reported.

(With inputs from AFP)

Obama spoke for the first time since FBI chief Comey reopened investigation into Clinton's email use while she was in office

US President Barack Obama criticised FBI director James Comey over Hillary Clinton's email probe in an interview on Wednesday. Speaking for the first time since Comey's Friday announcement that the FBI was reopening the probe into Clinton's use of a private email server while still in office after the discovery of some new emails, Obama insisted that investigations should not be based on "innuendo" or "incomplete information". "I've made a very deliberate effort to make sure that I don't look like I'm meddling," Obama said, reported news agency AFP, before making his veiled criticism of Comey's handling of the affair without mentioning him by name. "I do think that there is a norm that when there are investigations we don't operate on innuendo, we don't operate on incomplete information, we don't operate on leaks." Comey has come under fire from Democrats after he announced a reopening of the probe into Clinton just days before the November 8 presidential election. Comey's announcement was a departure from Justice Department policy not to comment on ongoing investigations or to take actions close to elections that could influence the outcome, AFP said. "We operate based on concrete decisions that are made," Obama said. "When this was investigated thoroughly the last time, the conclusion of the FBI, the conclusion of the Justice Department, the conclusion of repeated congressional investigations was that she had made some mistakes but that there wasn't anything there that was prosecutable," he said. The FBI's investigation into Clinton's email use found no wrongdoing in July and Comey had recommended against bringing charges against Clinton. Clinton's rival Donald trump seized the opportunity to declare Clinton unfit for office, arguing that the Democrat's use of private email server should disqualify her from the presidency. On Sunday, the US Senate's top Democrat blasted the FBI chief for the probe's reopening, an action he says "may have broken the law". "As soon as you came into possession of the slightest innuendo related to secretary Clinton, you rushed to publicize it in the most negative light possible," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said in a statement. "Through your partisan actions, you may have broken the law," Reid said, alleging that Comey had violated the Hatch Act, which bars the FBI from influencing elections. Clinton said Comey's decision so close to the election was "deeply troubling" and demanded an explanation for the reopening of a probe he had said declared in July. According to US media, the probe was renewed after agents seized a laptop used by Anthony Weiner, Clinton's close aide Huma Abedin's husband. Comey is under pressure from both Trump and Clinton to end speculation before the elections. An ABC News/Washington Post poll put the Democratic presidential candidate just one point ahead of her Republican challenger Donald Trump at 46-45 percent in a four-way race, AFP reported. (With inputs from AFP)

Clinton email probe: FBI should not operate on 'innuendo', says Obama

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton lashed out at rival Donald Trump on Tuesday, calling him a bully for making sexist comments against women. &nbsp;

Trump has a 30-year history of &quot;demeaning, degrading, insulting and assaulting&quot; women, &nbsp;Clinton said while addressing a rally &nbsp;in Florida with former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, BBC reported.&nbsp;

Attacking Trump over his &#39;Miss Piggy&#39; remark that he made over Machado, Clinton said she had &quot;learned way back in elementary school that it&#39;s not OK to insult people&quot;.

In the run-up to the presidential election slated for November 8, the war of words between Clinton and Trump is getting fiercer.&nbsp;

Trump retaliated to the remark and branded Clinton &quot;corrupt&quot; and said she would &quot;destroy American healthcare forever&quot;, the report said.&nbsp;

He also urged the early voters, who chose Clinton, to change their ballots before Thursday&#39;s deadline.

&nbsp;

(WION)&nbsp;

In the run-up to the presidential election slated for November 8, the war of words between Clinton and Trump is getting fiercer

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton lashed out at rival Donald Trump on Tuesday, calling him a bully for making sexist comments against women. Trump has a 30-year history of "demeaning, degrading, insulting and assaulting" women, Clinton said while addressing a rally in Florida with former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, BBC reported. Attacking Trump over his 'Miss Piggy' remark that he made over Machado, Clinton said she had "learned way back in elementary school that it's not OK to insult people". In the run-up to the presidential election slated for November 8, the war of words between Clinton and Trump is getting fiercer. Trump retaliated to the remark and branded Clinton "corrupt" and said she would "destroy American healthcare forever", the report said. He also urged the early voters, who chose Clinton, to change their ballots before Thursday's deadline. (WION)

Trump has a 30-year history of 'insulting and assaulting' women: Clinton

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton launched bitter attacks on each other&#39;s character Tuesday as a new poll suggested the White House race has tightened in the final week.&nbsp;

Trump stormed into Democratic territory in Wisconsin to try to use suspicion generated by an FBI probe into Clinton&#39;s emails to open an unlikely path to victory on November 8.

But, with political tension spilling over into financial markets, 69-year-old Clinton was determined not to lose her advantage, firing up Florida crowds with attacks on Trump&#39;s attitude to women.

Polling forecasts suggest the 70-year-old Republican property mogul faces a battle to win enough states to secure an electoral college victory over his Democratic rival.

But he received a boost Tuesday when an ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll showed him leading Clinton by 46 to 45 per cent.

He boasted about the new numbers as he addressed a raucous crowd -- chanting &quot;Lock her up!&quot; and &quot;Drain the swamp!&quot; -- in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, before turning the knife.

&quot;The Clintons are the sordid past and we will be the bright and clean future,&quot; he announced, to rapturous roars.

But if Clinton was rattled by the poll -- or by the renewed interest in her email server -- she did not show it at a barnstorming rally in the swing state of Florida.

&nbsp;&#39;Insults half the population&#39;

Clinton was introduced by Alicia Machado, a former Miss Universe whom Trump, then the owner of the pageant, publicly humiliated by mocking her post-victory weight gain.

&quot;Can we just stop for a minute and reflect on the absurdity of Donald Trump finding fault with Miss Universe?&quot; Clinton snorted.

Trump&#39;s doctor says he is more than overweight at 236 pounds (107 kilograms).

&quot;What about our girls? What happens to their confidence, their sense of self-worth?&quot; she demanded, warning against a president &quot;who insults more than half the population.&quot;

And she pivoted to the notorious tape where Trump is overheard on a hot mic bragging about being able to grope women and get away with because he is a star.

&quot;And I have to tell you, since that tape came out, 12 women have come forward to say: &#39;What he said on that tape is what he did to me,&#39;&quot; Clinton said. Trump denies these allegations.

The close poll spooked the markets, which had expected the former secretary of state to comfortably defeat a populist who economists fear could plunge the world into recession.&nbsp;

US stocks closed down 0.7 per cent and the Vix Volatility or &quot;fear index&quot; jumped to its highest level since Britain voted to leave the European Union.

But no matter how close the popular vote, in order to win the White House, Trump must take at least one normally Democratic state, the swing states and the Republican heartland.

Wisconsin backed President Barack Obama in 2012, but if Trump can win its 10 votes, it could put him over the 270 threshold and win him the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

But this remains a long shot. The New York Times statistical model gives Clinton an 88 per cent chance of winning, while respected data tracking website FiveThirtyEight says she has a 74 per cent chance of victory.

Nevertheless, the tumultuous presidential race -- which has featured footage showing Trump boasting of sexual assault and claims of Russian interference in the contest -- may have a few twists and turns left in store.

On Monday, Trump was hit by fresh allegations in a detailed report by The New York Times that he not only dodged paying income tax but did so in a way that has since been outlawed.

&nbsp;Big stakes

This may not be enough to turn public attention away from a revived FBI investigation into whether Clinton put US secrets at risk by using a private email server while serving as secretary of state.

Clinton&#39;s campaign has spent three days berating FBI Director James Comey for revealing to lawmakers that the bureau is looking anew at her use of a private email server while at the State Department.

Team Clinton was furious that Comey made his announcement without any new evidence of wrongdoing, but insists the scandal has not torpedoed her candidacy.

&quot;We do not see any evidence that the Comey story has had an impact on our polling,&quot; a senior aide told reporters.

&quot;If anything, it&#39;s angered our supporters and been a motivating factor, but it doesn&#39;t seem to be affecting the overall vote,&quot; he said, writing off what he dubbed &quot;bad polling.&quot;

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden both hit the campaign trail for Clinton on Tuesday and have a full schedule for the week, hoping to push her past Trump in the home stretch.

Obama -- who was in Ohio -- is having what his spokesman called a &quot;heck of a good time&quot; making the case for Clinton, calling his full schedule &quot;an indication of exactly how big he thinks the stakes are in this election.&quot;

(AFP)

An ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll showed Trump leading Clinton 46 to 45%

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton launched bitter attacks on each other's character Tuesday as a new poll suggested the White House race has tightened in the final week. Trump stormed into Democratic territory in Wisconsin to try to use suspicion generated by an FBI probe into Clinton's emails to open an unlikely path to victory on November 8. But, with political tension spilling over into financial markets, 69-year-old Clinton was determined not to lose her advantage, firing up Florida crowds with attacks on Trump's attitude to women. Polling forecasts suggest the 70-year-old Republican property mogul faces a battle to win enough states to secure an electoral college victory over his Democratic rival. But he received a boost Tuesday when an ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll showed him leading Clinton by 46 to 45 per cent. He boasted about the new numbers as he addressed a raucous crowd -- chanting "Lock her up!" and "Drain the swamp!" -- in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, before turning the knife. "The Clintons are the sordid past and we will be the bright and clean future," he announced, to rapturous roars. But if Clinton was rattled by the poll -- or by the renewed interest in her email server -- she did not show it at a barnstorming rally in the swing state of Florida. 'Insults half the population' Clinton was introduced by Alicia Machado, a former Miss Universe whom Trump, then the owner of the pageant, publicly humiliated by mocking her post-victory weight gain. "Can we just stop for a minute and reflect on the absurdity of Donald Trump finding fault with Miss Universe?" Clinton snorted. Trump's doctor says he is more than overweight at 236 pounds (107 kilograms). "What about our girls? What happens to their confidence, their sense of self-worth?" she demanded, warning against a president "who insults more than half the population." And she pivoted to the notorious tape where Trump is overheard on a hot mic bragging about being able to grope women and get away with because he is a star. "And I have to tell you, since that tape came out, 12 women have come forward to say: 'What he said on that tape is what he did to me,'" Clinton said. Trump denies these allegations. The close poll spooked the markets, which had expected the former secretary of state to comfortably defeat a populist who economists fear could plunge the world into recession. US stocks closed down 0.7 per cent and the Vix Volatility or "fear index" jumped to its highest level since Britain voted to leave the European Union. But no matter how close the popular vote, in order to win the White House, Trump must take at least one normally Democratic state, the swing states and the Republican heartland. Wisconsin backed President Barack Obama in 2012, but if Trump can win its 10 votes, it could put him over the 270 threshold and win him the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But this remains a long shot. The New York Times statistical model gives Clinton an 88 per cent chance of winning, while respected data tracking website FiveThirtyEight says she has a 74 per cent chance of victory. Nevertheless, the tumultuous presidential race -- which has featured footage showing Trump boasting of sexual assault and claims of Russian interference in the contest -- may have a few twists and turns left in store. On Monday, Trump was hit by fresh allegations in a detailed report by The New York Times that he not only dodged paying income tax but did so in a way that has since been outlawed. Big stakes This may not be enough to turn public attention away from a revived FBI investigation into whether Clinton put US secrets at risk by using a private email server while serving as secretary of state. Clinton's campaign has spent three days berating FBI Director James Comey for revealing to lawmakers that the bureau is looking anew at her use of a private email server while at the State Department. Team Clinton was furious that Comey made his announcement without any new evidence of wrongdoing, but insists the scandal has not torpedoed her candidacy. "We do not see any evidence that the Comey story has had an impact on our polling," a senior aide told reporters. "If anything, it's angered our supporters and been a motivating factor, but it doesn't seem to be affecting the overall vote," he said, writing off what he dubbed "bad polling." Obama and Vice President Joe Biden both hit the campaign trail for Clinton on Tuesday and have a full schedule for the week, hoping to push her past Trump in the home stretch. Obama -- who was in Ohio -- is having what his spokesman called a "heck of a good time" making the case for Clinton, calling his full schedule "an indication of exactly how big he thinks the stakes are in this election." (AFP)

US elections 2016: Trump, Clinton go on attack as new poll suggests race has tightened

The two-story brick house where Hillary Clinton grew up still stands at a street corner in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge.&nbsp;

Nearby, a sign reads &quot;Rodham Corner&quot;, an acknowledgment of the place in history occupied by this small hamlet near the city&#39;s O&#39;Hare airport.&nbsp;

It is a place that impacted and shaped a young Hillary Rodham, before she went off to college, married Bill Clinton, and became the Democratic Party&#39;s presidential nominee in 2016.&nbsp;

&quot;My childhood in the 1950s and the politics of the 1960s awakened my sense of obligation to my country and my commitment to service,&quot; Clinton wrote in her 2003 memoir &quot;Living History.&quot;

During that period after World War II, Park Ridge,a suburb that was all-white, Republican and conservative,was the center of Clinton&#39;s world.

&quot;My parents felt comfortable in Park Ridge among all the other veterans who chose it for its excellent public schools, parks, tree-lined streets, wide sidewalks and comfortable family homes,&quot; Clinton wrote.&nbsp;

As a child, she was exposed to both traditional Republican beliefs and competing viewpoints from the outside,especially from the civil rights movement.&nbsp;

&quot;My favorite memory is walking home from school with Hillary, and the many opportunities we had to talk,&quot; said Ernest Ricketts, who attended kindergarten through high school with the former secretary of state.&nbsp;

&quot;She was always very interested in current events. She was interested in history.&quot;&nbsp;

Clinton&#39;s critics often criticise her consistency on issues, saying she is a chameleon who changes her beliefs based on the prevailing political winds.&nbsp;

But her childhood in Park Ridge offers a clue into Clinton&#39;s worldview, which evolved through discussions and debates with those on both sides of the ideological spectrum.&nbsp;

&nbsp;Clinton&#39;s parents

Clinton&#39;s father Hugh Rodham was a staunch Republican. The owner of a drapery business and the product of a working-class family, he believed in small government, individual responsibility and working hard for what you get.

Clinton&#39;s mother Dorothy Rodham was a Democrat. Abandoned by her parents as a child and forced to start working at the age of 14, Dorothy instilled in Clinton empathy for people caught up in circumstances outside their control.&nbsp;

At the dinner table, Clinton&#39;s parents debated the issues, with young Hillary often politically in the middle.&nbsp;

&quot;I grew up between the push and tug of my parents&#39; values, and my own political beliefs reflect both,&quot; Clinton wrote in her memoir.&nbsp;

She admired her father&#39;s sense of &quot;rugged individualism,&quot; she told The Washington Post in 2007, during her first run for president, a primary battle she lost to Barack Obama.

&quot;But it didn&#39;t explain enough for me about the world, or the world as I would want it to be,&quot; she said. &nbsp;

&nbsp;Mother a &#39;huge influence&#39;

Clinton&#39;s mother was a voracious consumer of books, and encouraged the same intellectual curiosity in her daughter.&nbsp;

&quot;Hillary&#39;s mom was a huge influence,&quot; said Clinton&#39;s childhood friend Judy Osgood. &quot;Her mom was just always there and interested in what we were doing.&quot;&nbsp;

Clinton&#39;s parents encouraged their daughter to think beyond the narrow path young women of their time were expected to pursue.&nbsp;

She was pushed to follow her intellectual interests, as well as play sports, an endeavor dominated by boys. &nbsp;

Her mother&#39;s difficult past inspired Clinton&#39;s work as a politician. &nbsp;

&quot;Learning about my mother&#39;s childhood sparked my strong conviction that every child deserves a chance to live up to her God-given potential,&quot; Clinton said in her memoir. &nbsp;

Another big influence was her childhood minister Don Jones, who exposed Clinton to the social issues of the day &mdash; taking her and her church youth group in 1962 to hear civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. speak in Chicago.&nbsp;

&quot;He gave us a worldview that we didn&#39;t have before,&quot; Ricketts said of Jones&#39; efforts to expose Park Ridge&#39;s middle class children to the larger world. &nbsp;

Clinton maintained ties with Jones until his death in 2009, and considered him a major influence. She also still maintains contact with several of her childhood friends in Park Ridge.&nbsp;

&quot;She&#39;s very much the same person, especially with all of her high school friends,&quot; said Mike Andrews, who attended Maine South High School with Clinton.&nbsp;

But the impact of decades in the public eye, and the various controversies swirling around her including the revived FBI interest in her use of a private email server while at the State Department, have taken a toll on her image, even in the city where she grew up.

Earlier this year, in her first visit to Park Ridge in more than a decade, Clinton drew hundreds of supporters, but also some protesters.&nbsp;

&quot;Traditionally, this has been a Republican town, and there are people here who are diehard Republicans,&quot; longtime resident Teresa Nuccio told the Chicago Tribune at the time.&nbsp;

&quot;Being from Park Ridge doesn&#39;t necessarily mean everyone will support you.&quot;&nbsp;

(AFP)

Her father was a staunch Republican, her mother a Democrat abandoned by her parents as a child and forced to start working at the age of 14

The two-story brick house where Hillary Clinton grew up still stands at a street corner in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge. Nearby, a sign reads "Rodham Corner", an acknowledgment of the place in history occupied by this small hamlet near the city's O'Hare airport. It is a place that impacted and shaped a young Hillary Rodham, before she went off to college, married Bill Clinton, and became the Democratic Party's presidential nominee in 2016. "My childhood in the 1950s and the politics of the 1960s awakened my sense of obligation to my country and my commitment to service," Clinton wrote in her 2003 memoir "Living History." During that period after World War II, Park Ridge,a suburb that was all-white, Republican and conservative,was the center of Clinton's world. "My parents felt comfortable in Park Ridge among all the other veterans who chose it for its excellent public schools, parks, tree-lined streets, wide sidewalks and comfortable family homes," Clinton wrote. As a child, she was exposed to both traditional Republican beliefs and competing viewpoints from the outside,especially from the civil rights movement. "My favorite memory is walking home from school with Hillary, and the many opportunities we had to talk," said Ernest Ricketts, who attended kindergarten through high school with the former secretary of state. "She was always very interested in current events. She was interested in history." Clinton's critics often criticise her consistency on issues, saying she is a chameleon who changes her beliefs based on the prevailing political winds. But her childhood in Park Ridge offers a clue into Clinton's worldview, which evolved through discussions and debates with those on both sides of the ideological spectrum. Clinton's parents Clinton's father Hugh Rodham was a staunch Republican. The owner of a drapery business and the product of a working-class family, he believed in small government, individual responsibility and working hard for what you get. Clinton's mother Dorothy Rodham was a Democrat. Abandoned by her parents as a child and forced to start working at the age of 14, Dorothy instilled in Clinton empathy for people caught up in circumstances outside their control. At the dinner table, Clinton's parents debated the issues, with young Hillary often politically in the middle. "I grew up between the push and tug of my parents' values, and my own political beliefs reflect both," Clinton wrote in her memoir. She admired her father's sense of "rugged individualism," she told The Washington Post in 2007, during her first run for president, a primary battle she lost to Barack Obama. "But it didn't explain enough for me about the world, or the world as I would want it to be," she said. Mother a 'huge influence' Clinton's mother was a voracious consumer of books, and encouraged the same intellectual curiosity in her daughter. "Hillary's mom was a huge influence," said Clinton's childhood friend Judy Osgood. "Her mom was just always there and interested in what we were doing." Clinton's parents encouraged their daughter to think beyond the narrow path young women of their time were expected to pursue. She was pushed to follow her intellectual interests, as well as play sports, an endeavor dominated by boys. Her mother's difficult past inspired Clinton's work as a politician. "Learning about my mother's childhood sparked my strong conviction that every child deserves a chance to live up to her God-given potential," Clinton said in her memoir. Another big influence was her childhood minister Don Jones, who exposed Clinton to the social issues of the day — taking her and her church youth group in 1962 to hear civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. speak in Chicago. "He gave us a worldview that we didn't have before," Ricketts said of Jones' efforts to expose Park Ridge's middle class children to the larger world. Clinton maintained ties with Jones until his death in 2009, and considered him a major influence. She also still maintains contact with several of her childhood friends in Park Ridge. "She's very much the same person, especially with all of her high school friends," said Mike Andrews, who attended Maine South High School with Clinton. But the impact of decades in the public eye, and the various controversies swirling around her including the revived FBI interest in her use of a private email server while at the State Department, have taken a toll on her image, even in the city where she grew up. Earlier this year, in her first visit to Park Ridge in more than a decade, Clinton drew hundreds of supporters, but also some protesters. "Traditionally, this has been a Republican town, and there are people here who are diehard Republicans," longtime resident Teresa Nuccio told the Chicago Tribune at the time. "Being from Park Ridge doesn't necessarily mean everyone will support you." (AFP)

Hillary Clinton's childhood, and how it shaped her politics

The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Monday published documents regarding former president Bill Clinton&#39;s closed case just days before the November 8 presidential election.

The heavily redacted 129-page report&#39;s release over the pardon of trader Marc Rich has come under fire from Democrats already upset by the reopening of the&nbsp;probe into newly discovered emails reportedly linked to Hillary Clinton. The investigation into the pardon of the husband of a wealthy Democratic donor was closed in 2005 without charges.

The documents published on Monday received attention after they were posted on Tuesday on Twitter by FBI&#39;s division that handles Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

&quot;Absent a FOIA litigation deadline, this is odd,&quot; said Hillary Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon, AFP reported.

&quot;Will FBI be posting docs on Trump&#39;s housing discrimination in &#39;70s?&quot; he added, referring to Clinton&#39;s Republican rival Donald Trump, a billionaire real estate magnate.

The FBI said that the documents were released according to FOIA&#39;s usual procedure as the materials were requested three or more times.

&quot;Per the standard procedure for FOIA, these materials became available for release and were posted automatically and electronically to the FBI&#39;s public reading room in accordance with the law and established procedures,&quot; the statement said, reported AFP.

The bureau suggested that more documents could follow.

Rich was a fugitive from the Department of Justice after he was indicted on federal charged of tax evasion in the US. He died in 2013 while he was living in exile in Switzerland.

Bill Clinton pardoned him on his last day in office in 2001. An investigation was opened into the matter later that year.

&quot;It appears that the required pardon standards and procedures were not followed,&quot; reads the FBI document dated February 15, 2001, reports AFP.

Current FBI director James Comey had handled the case the as a young prosecutor. Comey is under fire for reopening the probe into Hillary Clinton&#39;s use of a private email server while secretary of state.

(With inputs from AFP)

The investigation into the pardon of the husband of a wealthy Democratic donor was closed in 2005 without charges

The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Monday published documents regarding former president Bill Clinton's closed case just days before the November 8 presidential election. The heavily redacted 129-page report's release over the pardon of trader Marc Rich has come under fire from Democrats already upset by the reopening of the probe into newly discovered emails reportedly linked to Hillary Clinton. The investigation into the pardon of the husband of a wealthy Democratic donor was closed in 2005 without charges. The documents published on Monday received attention after they were posted on Tuesday on Twitter by FBI's division that handles Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. "Absent a FOIA litigation deadline, this is odd," said Hillary Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon, AFP reported. "Will FBI be posting docs on Trump's housing discrimination in '70s?" he added, referring to Clinton's Republican rival Donald Trump, a billionaire real estate magnate. The FBI said that the documents were released according to FOIA's usual procedure as the materials were requested three or more times. "Per the standard procedure for FOIA, these materials became available for release and were posted automatically and electronically to the FBI's public reading room in accordance with the law and established procedures," the statement said, reported AFP. The bureau suggested that more documents could follow. Rich was a fugitive from the Department of Justice after he was indicted on federal charged of tax evasion in the US. He died in 2013 while he was living in exile in Switzerland. Bill Clinton pardoned him on his last day in office in 2001. An investigation was opened into the matter later that year. "It appears that the required pardon standards and procedures were not followed," reads the FBI document dated February 15, 2001, reports AFP. Current FBI director James Comey had handled the case the as a young prosecutor. Comey is under fire for reopening the probe into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state. (With inputs from AFP)

FBI releases Bill Clinton's closed case files ahead of Nov 8 election

World stocks, the dollar and oil fell on Wednesday, while safe-haven assets such as gold and the Swiss franc rose as investors were rattled by signs the US presidential race was tightening just days before the vote.

Investors were beginning to rethink their long-held bets of a November 8 victory for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton amid signs her Republican rival Donald Trump could be closing the gap, deepening the recent decline across major stock markets.

Asian stocks hit a seven-week low on Wednesday, while European bourses followed Wall Street&#39;s lead overnight and slid to a four-month low.

Bonds rose alongside gold, the Swiss franc and Japanese yen, with the yield on 10-year US Treasuries falling for the third day in a row. British gilts, which have recently been slammed by uncertainty surrounding the post-Brexit UK outlook, surged too.

&quot;The lead up to the US presidential election was always expected to be lively but the events of the last couple of days have seriously taken their toll on investor sentiment,&quot; said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda in London.

Investor anxiety has deepened in recent sessions over a possible Trump victory given uncertainty on the Republican candidate&#39;s stance on key issues including foreign policy, trade relations and immigrants, while Clinton is viewed as a candidate of the status quo.

Europe&#39;s index of leading 300 shares was last down 0.4 per cent, having earlier hit a four-month low of 1,313 points. Britain&#39;s Britain&#39;s FTSE and Germany&#39;s DAX fell 0.4 and 0.7 per cent, respectively.

MSCI&#39;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 1.1 per cent to seven-week lows while the yen&#39;s rise to a two-week high helped push Japan&#39;s Nikkei down 1.8 percent.

US stock futures recovered earlier losses, pointing to a fall of only 0.1 per cent at the open. This would still signify a fresh four-month low for Wall Street.

Pricing a Trump victory

The tumultuous presidential race appeared to tighten after news that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was reviewing more emails as part of a probe into Clinton&#39;s use of a private email server.

While Clinton held a five-percentage-point lead over Trump, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Monday, some other polls showed her Republican rival ahead by 1-2 percentage points.

Barclays strategists estimate that a rise in Trump&#39;s polling odds to 50 per cent could see the S&amp;P 500 fall 4-5 percent, and potentially as much as 10-11 percent if he wins.

This has unnerved markets and the CBOE volatility index, often seen as investors&#39; fear gauge, rose to a two-month high above 20 percent.

The tension in markets came as the Federal Reserve holds its two-day policy meeting, with its statement due later on Wednesday. While traders do not expect a rate hike just a week ahead of the presidential election, they are looking for signs that the Fed will move in December.

Investors have grown increasingly confident in recent weeks that the Fed will follow through next month, attaching an 80 percent probability to such a move, according to fed funds futures pricing.

But currency traders have sold the dollar this week in part because they suspect Trump would prefer a weaker dollar given his protectionist stance on international trade, and in part because the uncertainty surrounding a Trump win might lead to a more dovish stance from the Fed in the months ahead.

The dollar fell again on Wednesday, after posting its biggest one-day fall on Tuesday in two months.

The euro rose 0.4 per cent to touch $1.11 for the first time in more than three weeks. It is up about two per cent from its 7-1/2-month low of $1.0851 hit last week.

Against the yen, the dollar fell 0.8 percent to 103.24 yen from three-month high of 105.54 yen set on Friday.

&quot;If you had a long dollar position on the view that the dollar would gain because Clinton would win, you would surely close that position because her victory is less certain,&quot; said Koichi Yoshikawa, executive director of financial markets at Standard Chartered Bank.

Other safe-haven assets also rose. The Swiss franc hit a four-month high of 1.0750 francs per euro, its highest level since late June, while gold reached a four-week high of $1,297 per ounce.

Oil prices fell for the fourth day in a row, sliding to one-month lows. Brent crude futures fell more than 1 percent to $47.53 per barrel, and US crude was down as low as $46.06. Oil has lost 10 percent in the last two weeks.

(Reuters)

Investors fear Trump's victory because of his uncertain stance on issues of foreign policy, trade relations and immigrants

World stocks, the dollar and oil fell on Wednesday, while safe-haven assets such as gold and the Swiss franc rose as investors were rattled by signs the US presidential race was tightening just days before the vote. Investors were beginning to rethink their long-held bets of a November 8 victory for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton amid signs her Republican rival Donald Trump could be closing the gap, deepening the recent decline across major stock markets. Asian stocks hit a seven-week low on Wednesday, while European bourses followed Wall Street's lead overnight and slid to a four-month low. Bonds rose alongside gold, the Swiss franc and Japanese yen, with the yield on 10-year US Treasuries falling for the third day in a row. British gilts, which have recently been slammed by uncertainty surrounding the post-Brexit UK outlook, surged too. "The lead up to the US presidential election was always expected to be lively but the events of the last couple of days have seriously taken their toll on investor sentiment," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda in London. Investor anxiety has deepened in recent sessions over a possible Trump victory given uncertainty on the Republican candidate's stance on key issues including foreign policy, trade relations and immigrants, while Clinton is viewed as a candidate of the status quo. Europe's index of leading 300 shares was last down 0.4 per cent, having earlier hit a four-month low of 1,313 points. Britain's Britain's FTSE and Germany's DAX fell 0.4 and 0.7 per cent, respectively. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 1.1 per cent to seven-week lows while the yen's rise to a two-week high helped push Japan's Nikkei down 1.8 percent. US stock futures recovered earlier losses, pointing to a fall of only 0.1 per cent at the open. This would still signify a fresh four-month low for Wall Street. Pricing a Trump victory The tumultuous presidential race appeared to tighten after news that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was reviewing more emails as part of a probe into Clinton's use of a private email server. While Clinton held a five-percentage-point lead over Trump, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Monday, some other polls showed her Republican rival ahead by 1-2 percentage points. Barclays strategists estimate that a rise in Trump's polling odds to 50 per cent could see the S&P 500 fall 4-5 percent, and potentially as much as 10-11 percent if he wins. This has unnerved markets and the CBOE volatility index, often seen as investors' fear gauge, rose to a two-month high above 20 percent. The tension in markets came as the Federal Reserve holds its two-day policy meeting, with its statement due later on Wednesday. While traders do not expect a rate hike just a week ahead of the presidential election, they are looking for signs that the Fed will move in December. Investors have grown increasingly confident in recent weeks that the Fed will follow through next month, attaching an 80 percent probability to such a move, according to fed funds futures pricing. But currency traders have sold the dollar this week in part because they suspect Trump would prefer a weaker dollar given his protectionist stance on international trade, and in part because the uncertainty surrounding a Trump win might lead to a more dovish stance from the Fed in the months ahead. The dollar fell again on Wednesday, after posting its biggest one-day fall on Tuesday in two months. The euro rose 0.4 per cent to touch $1.11 for the first time in more than three weeks. It is up about two per cent from its 7-1/2-month low of $1.0851 hit last week. Against the yen, the dollar fell 0.8 percent to 103.24 yen from three-month high of 105.54 yen set on Friday. "If you had a long dollar position on the view that the dollar would gain because Clinton would win, you would surely close that position because her victory is less certain," said Koichi Yoshikawa, executive director of financial markets at Standard Chartered Bank. Other safe-haven assets also rose. The Swiss franc hit a four-month high of 1.0750 francs per euro, its highest level since late June, while gold reached a four-week high of $1,297 per ounce. Oil prices fell for the fourth day in a row, sliding to one-month lows. Brent crude futures fell more than 1 percent to $47.53 per barrel, and US crude was down as low as $46.06. Oil has lost 10 percent in the last two weeks. (Reuters)

Global stocks fall over chances of Trump's victory in US elections

The latest Washington Post-ABC News Tracking Poll has found supporters of Hillary Clinton slipping behind in enthusiasm.

Although there is no major change in Clinton&#39;s overall support, strong enthusiasm among her supporters fell behind Trump in combined Saturday and Sunday interviews.

While Trump&#39;s edge was negligible in the Thursday and Friday interviews (53 per cent versus 51 per cent), the Saturday and Sunday interviews pointed to 53 per cent and 43 per cent for Trump and Clinton respectively.

In 2012, at this stage of the elections, 64 per cent of Obama supporters had said that they were &quot;very enthusiastic&quot; about him while Romney was narrowly behind at 61 per cent.

Clinton has a 54-41 per cent edge among early voters in an average of the three most recent tracking poll waves, while Trump leads by a 50-39 per cent margin among those who will vote on Election Day.

A good 38 per cent of senior likely voters said that they had already voted while 18 per cent of middle-aged and 17 per cent of young voters have done so.

The daily tracking poll suggests that Trump&#39;s previously lagging support among core Republican groups now almost matches Clinton&#39;s wide support on the left.

Trump holds 78 per cent support among white evangelical Protestants, 77 per cent among conservatives, 68 per cent among rural voters and 59 per cent among white men. Clinton&#39;s stands at 81 per cent among liberals, 67 per cent among those identifying with no religion, 60 per cent among urban dwellers and 72 per cent among non-whites, the poll states.

Trump has an 18-point edge among political independents, quite higher than what Republicans have held in recent elections.

(WION)

The poll seems to show that only a week before the election, voters aren't madly excited to vote for their candidate

The latest Washington Post-ABC News Tracking Poll has found supporters of Hillary Clinton slipping behind in enthusiasm. Although there is no major change in Clinton's overall support, strong enthusiasm among her supporters fell behind Trump in combined Saturday and Sunday interviews. While Trump's edge was negligible in the Thursday and Friday interviews (53 per cent versus 51 per cent), the Saturday and Sunday interviews pointed to 53 per cent and 43 per cent for Trump and Clinton respectively. In 2012, at this stage of the elections, 64 per cent of Obama supporters had said that they were "very enthusiastic" about him while Romney was narrowly behind at 61 per cent. Clinton has a 54-41 per cent edge among early voters in an average of the three most recent tracking poll waves, while Trump leads by a 50-39 per cent margin among those who will vote on Election Day. A good 38 per cent of senior likely voters said that they had already voted while 18 per cent of middle-aged and 17 per cent of young voters have done so. The daily tracking poll suggests that Trump's previously lagging support among core Republican groups now almost matches Clinton's wide support on the left. Trump holds 78 per cent support among white evangelical Protestants, 77 per cent among conservatives, 68 per cent among rural voters and 59 per cent among white men. Clinton's stands at 81 per cent among liberals, 67 per cent among those identifying with no religion, 60 per cent among urban dwellers and 72 per cent among non-whites, the poll states. Trump has an 18-point edge among political independents, quite higher than what Republicans have held in recent elections. (WION)

New poll points to declining enthusiasm among Clinton supporters

News network CNN accepted interim Democratic Committee chairman Donna Brazile&#39;s resignation after leaked emails showed that she offered Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton&#39;s campaign information about presidential debate questions.

A hacked email published by WikiLeaks earlier in October suggested that she may have tipped off Clinton&#39;s advisers about a March CNN town-hall debate question about the death penalty, Reuters said.

The news network announced the political commentator&#39;s departure after a subsequent leaked email showed Brazile said she had access to &quot;questions in advance&quot; and offered to &quot;send a few more&quot;. CNN reported that Bazile offered her resignation on October 14.

CNN said in a statement that it was &quot;completely uncomfortable with what we have learned about her interactions with the Clinton campaign while she was a CNN contributor.&quot;

Brazile had denied accusations that she passed on information about debate questions saying that &quot;as a longtime political activist&quot; she had shared her thoughts &quot;with each and every campaign, and any suggestions that indicate otherwise are simply untrue,&quot; CNN reported.

&ldquo;CNN never gave Brazile access to any questions, prep material, attendee list, background information or meetings in advance of a town hall or debate,&rdquo; said CNN spokeswoman Lauren Pratapas in an email to The New York Post.

The Clinton campaign refused to comment &quot;on the authenticity of any individual emails that have been hacked by the Russian government&quot;.

Brazile&#39;s contract with CNN was suspended after she was appointed interim chairman in July. She posted several tweets after the news broke.

&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Thank you <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN">@CNN</a>. Honored to be a Democratic Strategist and commentator on the network. Godspeed to all my former colleagues.
&mdash; Donna Brazile (@donnabrazile) <a href="https://twitter.com/donnabrazile/status/793119360646643713">October 31, 2016</a></blockquote>

FBI director James Comey announced on Friday that the agency was reopening the probe into Clinton&#39;s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state after the discovery of new emails.

(With inputs from Reuters)

WikiLeaks?published hacked emails that showed Brazile may have tipped off Clinton's campaign about a March CNN town-hall debate question

News network CNN accepted interim Democratic Committee chairman Donna Brazile's resignation after leaked emails showed that she offered Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign information about presidential debate questions. A hacked email published by WikiLeaks earlier in October suggested that she may have tipped off Clinton's advisers about a March CNN town-hall debate question about the death penalty, Reuters said. The news network announced the political commentator's departure after a subsequent leaked email showed Brazile said she had access to "questions in advance" and offered to "send a few more". CNN reported that Bazile offered her resignation on October 14. CNN said in a statement that it was "completely uncomfortable with what we have learned about her interactions with the Clinton campaign while she was a CNN contributor." Brazile had denied accusations that she passed on information about debate questions saying that "as a longtime political activist" she had shared her thoughts "with each and every campaign, and any suggestions that indicate otherwise are simply untrue," CNN reported. “CNN never gave Brazile access to any questions, prep material, attendee list, background information or meetings in advance of a town hall or debate,” said CNN spokeswoman Lauren Pratapas in an email to The New York Post. The Clinton campaign refused to comment "on the authenticity of any individual emails that have been hacked by the Russian government". Brazile's contract with CNN was suspended after she was appointed interim chairman in July. She posted several tweets after the news broke. Thank you @CNN. Honored to be a Democratic Strategist and commentator on the network. Godspeed to all my former colleagues. — Donna Brazile (@donnabrazile) October 31, 2016 FBI director James Comey announced on Friday that the agency was reopening the probe into Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state after the discovery of new emails. (With inputs from Reuters)

CNN accepts Brazile's resignation amid renewed WikiLeaks controversy

Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump warned of a &quot;constitutional crisis&quot; in the United States if Hillary Clinton won next week&#39;s presidential election.

&quot;Hillary is likely to be under investigation for a very long time,&quot; the Republican told supporters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, news agency AFP reported.

&quot;She&#39;s unfit and unqualified to be the president of the United States,&quot; Trump said. &quot;Her election would mire our government and our country in a constitutional crisis that we cannot afford.&quot;

Trump said that the American people would be under the leadership of a president facing criminal charges if Clinton were elected. 
&quot;We would have a criminal trial for a sitting president.&quot;

Republicans have seized every opportunity to attack Clinton since FBI director James Comey announced the reopening of the&nbsp;probe into Clinton&#39;s use of a private server while in office after the&nbsp;discovery of new emails. Agents reportedly seized a laptop used by Clinton&#39;s close aide, Huma Abedin, and her now estranged husband Anthony Weiner, AFP reported.

Trump praised Comey for his latest announcement and said, &quot;he (Comey) brought back his reputation&quot;. The Republican candidate had criticised the FBI director for deciding not to recommend prosecution against Clinton in July.

The FBI&#39;s renewed focus reportedly stems from a probe of Weiner, a disgraced former congressman who is under investigation over allegations he sent sexual overtures to a 15-year-old girl, AFP said.

&quot;Thank you Huma. Good job Huma. Thank you Anthony Weiner,&quot; Trump said, to a roar and applause by the rowdy crowd.

Clinton expressed no qualms over FBI checking her aide&#39;s emails at a rally in Kent, Ohio.

&quot;They should look at them and I&#39;m sure they&#39;ll reach the same conclusion they did when they looked at my emails for the past year: there is no case here,&quot; Clinton said, BBC reported.

Comey has faced flak from the Democrats for reopening the probe so close to the Nov 8 election.

The White House gave a cautionary statement over the matter. Spokesman Josh Earnest said he would &quot;neither defend nor criticise&quot; Comey.

(With inputs from AFP)

Trump said that the American people would be under the leadership of a president facing criminal charges if Clinton won

Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump warned of a "constitutional crisis" in the United States if Hillary Clinton won next week's presidential election. "Hillary is likely to be under investigation for a very long time," the Republican told supporters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, news agency AFP reported. "She's unfit and unqualified to be the president of the United States," Trump said. "Her election would mire our government and our country in a constitutional crisis that we cannot afford." Trump said that the American people would be under the leadership of a president facing criminal charges if Clinton were elected. "We would have a criminal trial for a sitting president." Republicans have seized every opportunity to attack Clinton since FBI director James Comey announced the reopening of the probe into Clinton's use of a private server while in office after the discovery of new emails. Agents reportedly seized a laptop used by Clinton's close aide, Huma Abedin, and her now estranged husband Anthony Weiner, AFP reported. Trump praised Comey for his latest announcement and said, "he (Comey) brought back his reputation". The Republican candidate had criticised the FBI director for deciding not to recommend prosecution against Clinton in July. The FBI's renewed focus reportedly stems from a probe of Weiner, a disgraced former congressman who is under investigation over allegations he sent sexual overtures to a 15-year-old girl, AFP said. "Thank you Huma. Good job Huma. Thank you Anthony Weiner," Trump said, to a roar and applause by the rowdy crowd. Clinton expressed no qualms over FBI checking her aide's emails at a rally in Kent, Ohio. "They should look at them and I'm sure they'll reach the same conclusion they did when they looked at my emails for the past year: there is no case here," Clinton said, BBC reported. Comey has faced flak from the Democrats for reopening the probe so close to the Nov 8 election. The White House gave a cautionary statement over the matter. Spokesman Josh Earnest said he would "neither defend nor criticise" Comey. (With inputs from AFP)

Trump: 'Constitutional crisis' if Clinton elected

Republican presidential candidate&nbsp;Donald Trump warned&nbsp;an Albuquerque, New Mexico&nbsp;rally that&nbsp;Hillary Clinton&#39;s &quot;open borders&quot; policy could permit as many as 650 million immigrants in a week.

He said, &quot;You could have 650 million people pour in and we do nothing about it. Think of it, that&#39;s what could happen. You triple the size of your country in one week. Once you lose control of the borders you have no country.&quot;

It&#39;s hard to say what aspect of this claim is the most outlandish: The figure of 650 million is beyond preposterous. CNN says that in 2014, the US had just over one million legal immigrants, nowhere near Trump&#39;s 650 million. The insinuation that there are mobs of dangerous people trying to enter the US in order to fatally undermine it is unsubstantiated. The US is not at risk of losing its borders, its country is not on the brink of disaster.

Trump has claimed that Mexico is deliberately sending rapists into the US, and has compared Syrian refugees fleeing war to Greek soldiers hiding in the Trojan Horse to kill their wartime enemies. Trump has invoked the Trojan Horse multiple times, but his analogy is backwards. It is unlikely&nbsp;has has ever&nbsp;read Homer or Virgil. At the very least, he is rusty.

The Guardian reports that Clinton is on&nbsp;record for favouring comprehensive immigration reform, to provide a way for&nbsp;undocumented immigrants currently living in the country to become legal citizens. She has never said anything about increasing the population by roughly 200 per cent in one week.

&nbsp;

Election fraud

The comments come after Trump has repeatedlt&nbsp;fanned the flames of paranoia over election fraud. In a presidential debate, Trump refused to say whether or not he would accept the result of the election. This was widely-condemned as an unprecedented repudiation of the basic tenets of American democracy.

The Guardian claims that a recent study found 31 cases of in-person voter fraud out of one&nbsp;billion ballots cast between 2000-2014.

Trump has repeatedly called on supporters to patrol election booths to watch out for so-called&nbsp;fraud, which both Democrats and Republicans have denied exists and which was widely considered to be a call to intimidate voters.

Actually, a Trump supporter from&nbsp;Des Moines was charged with voter&nbsp;fraud,&nbsp;saying she voted twice because she believed&nbsp;Trump&#39;s claim that the election was rigged, and&nbsp;feared her vote for Trump would be changed&nbsp;to a vote for Clinton. (If it was actually rigged, then logically, she&nbsp;voted twice for Clinton.)

What Trump&#39;s&nbsp;dog whistles mean for an intimidation-free election vary from state to state: Bloomberg news reports that&nbsp;in&nbsp;Texas guns aren&#39;t allowed in polling centres, while they are in Pennsylvania.

Trump&#39;s has told his followers that after they vote on November 8, it&#39;s their duty to go to &quot;some other place&quot; to make sure there&#39;s no voter fraud. &quot;Go sit there with your friends and make sure it&#39;s on the up-and-up.&quot;&nbsp;

The call to go to &quot;some other place&quot; was interpreted by many as telling white people to go non-white communities, while &quot;...make sure it&#39;s on the up-and-up&quot; is way of telling them to fight against the impending fraud, but without&nbsp;uttering those&nbsp;exact words aloud.

Bloomberg reports that US federal law prohibits conduct that could be perceived as intimidating to voters on the basis of race or ethnicity. They cited&nbsp;New York University&#39;s Brennan Center for Justice, which claims this includes a direct&nbsp;confrontation with voters, using threatening language or raised voices, and disseminating misleading information on election.

(WION)

In his latest rally, Trump stoked immigration paranoia, again, while also fanning the flames of election fraud, again

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump warned an Albuquerque, New Mexico rally that Hillary Clinton's "open borders" policy could permit as many as 650 million immigrants in a week. He said, "You could have 650 million people pour in and we do nothing about it. Think of it, that's what could happen. You triple the size of your country in one week. Once you lose control of the borders you have no country." It's hard to say what aspect of this claim is the most outlandish: The figure of 650 million is beyond preposterous. CNN says that in 2014, the US had just over one million legal immigrants, nowhere near Trump's 650 million. The insinuation that there are mobs of dangerous people trying to enter the US in order to fatally undermine it is unsubstantiated. The US is not at risk of losing its borders, its country is not on the brink of disaster. Trump has claimed that Mexico is deliberately sending rapists into the US, and has compared Syrian refugees fleeing war to Greek soldiers hiding in the Trojan Horse to kill their wartime enemies. Trump has invoked the Trojan Horse multiple times, but his analogy is backwards. It is unlikely has has ever read Homer or Virgil. At the very least, he is rusty. The Guardian reports that Clinton is on record for favouring comprehensive immigration reform, to provide a way for undocumented immigrants currently living in the country to become legal citizens. She has never said anything about increasing the population by roughly 200 per cent in one week. Election fraud The comments come after Trump has repeatedlt fanned the flames of paranoia over election fraud. In a presidential debate, Trump refused to say whether or not he would accept the result of the election. This was widely-condemned as an unprecedented repudiation of the basic tenets of American democracy. The Guardian claims that a recent study found 31 cases of in-person voter fraud out of one billion ballots cast between 2000-2014. Trump has repeatedly called on supporters to patrol election booths to watch out for so-called fraud, which both Democrats and Republicans have denied exists and which was widely considered to be a call to intimidate voters. Actually, a Trump supporter from Des Moines was charged with voter fraud, saying she voted twice because she believed Trump's claim that the election was rigged, and feared her vote for Trump would be changed to a vote for Clinton. (If it was actually rigged, then logically, she voted twice for Clinton.) What Trump's dog whistles mean for an intimidation-free election vary from state to state: Bloomberg news reports that in Texas guns aren't allowed in polling centres, while they are in Pennsylvania. Trump's has told his followers that after they vote on November 8, it's their duty to go to "some other place" to make sure there's no voter fraud. "Go sit there with your friends and make sure it's on the up-and-up." The call to go to "some other place" was interpreted by many as telling white people to go non-white communities, while "...make sure it's on the up-and-up" is way of telling them to fight against the impending fraud, but without uttering those exact words aloud. Bloomberg reports that US federal law prohibits conduct that could be perceived as intimidating to voters on the basis of race or ethnicity. They cited New York University's Brennan Center for Justice, which claims this includes a direct confrontation with voters, using threatening language or raised voices, and disseminating misleading information on election. (WION)

Trump falsely claims Clinton could triple US population in one week

Hillary Clinton is &quot;absolutely ready&quot; to be the commander-in-chief of the United States, First Lady Michelle Obama said as the Democratic presidential nominee and former secretary of state had &quot;more experience and exposure than any candidate in our lifetime&quot;.

At a North Carolina election rally yesterday, Michelle called Clinton&#39;s vision a &quot;powerful, vibrant and strong&quot; one while that of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump&#39;s as one of &quot;hopelessness and despair&quot;.

&quot;I admire and respect Hillary. She has been a lawyer, a law professor, First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the US, a US Senator, secretary of state. She has more experience and exposure to the presidency than any candidate in our lifetime. Yes, more than Barack (Obama). More than Bill (Clinton). So she is absolutely ready to be commander-in-chief on day one. And yes, she happens to be a woman,&quot; PTI reported Michelle as saying yesterday.

&quot;It takes a level of generosity of spirit to do what Hillary has done in her career, in her life, for our family, for this nation. If people wonder, yes, Hillary Clinton is my friend. She has been a friend to mine and Barack, Malia, Sasha and Bill and Chelsea have been embracing and supportive from the very day my husband took the oath of office,&quot; she added.

Michelle also said that this year&#39;s election was not about Republicans versus Democrats, but about something much bigger.

&quot;We know the influence our president has on our children, how they turn on the TV and they see the most powerful role model in the world, someone who shows them how to treat others, how to deal with disappointment, whether to tell the truth,&quot; Michelle added.

(WION with inputs from PTI)

Michelle Obama said this year's election is not about Republicans versus Democrats but about something much bigger

Hillary Clinton is "absolutely ready" to be the commander-in-chief of the United States, First Lady Michelle Obama said as the Democratic presidential nominee and former secretary of state had "more experience and exposure than any candidate in our lifetime". At a North Carolina election rally yesterday, Michelle called Clinton's vision a "powerful, vibrant and strong" one while that of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's as one of "hopelessness and despair". "I admire and respect Hillary. She has been a lawyer, a law professor, First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the US, a US Senator, secretary of state. She has more experience and exposure to the presidency than any candidate in our lifetime. Yes, more than Barack (Obama). More than Bill (Clinton). So she is absolutely ready to be commander-in-chief on day one. And yes, she happens to be a woman," PTI reported Michelle as saying yesterday. "It takes a level of generosity of spirit to do what Hillary has done in her career, in her life, for our family, for this nation. If people wonder, yes, Hillary Clinton is my friend. She has been a friend to mine and Barack, Malia, Sasha and Bill and Chelsea have been embracing and supportive from the very day my husband took the oath of office," she added. Michelle also said that this year's election was not about Republicans versus Democrats, but about something much bigger. "We know the influence our president has on our children, how they turn on the TV and they see the most powerful role model in the world, someone who shows them how to treat others, how to deal with disappointment, whether to tell the truth," Michelle added. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Clinton 'absolutely ready' to be commander-in-chief: Michelle

Th Federal Bureau of Investigation reopened the probe into US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton&#39;s use of a private email server while secretary of state after discovering new emails &quot;that appear to be pertinent&quot;.

With just 11 days to go until the November 8 presidential elections, FBI director James Comey said would take &quot;appropriate investigative steps&quot; to decide whether a new batch of mails contained classified information &quot;as well as to assess their importance to the investigation&quot;, news agency AFP reported.

Clinton&#39;s rival Donald trump seized the opportunity to declare Clinton unfit for office, arguing that the Democrat&#39;s use of private email server should disqualify her from the presidency.

&quot;We must not let her take her criminal scheme into the Oval Office,&quot; Trump told cheering crowds at a campaign rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, reported AFP.

Clinton&#39;s vice-presidential running mate Tim Kaine told reporters,&quot;I&#39;ve got to read more. I&#39;ve got to read a little more.&quot;

Comey intimated the decision to reopen the probe to the congressional committee investigating allegations against Clinton in a letter. FBI&#39;s earlier investigations into Clinton&#39;s decision to use a private email server instead of a government email while in office revealed no wrongdoing.

However, Comey said that &quot;in connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation,&quot; AFP reported.

There was no immediate reaction from the Clinton campaign.

(With inputs from AFP)

Clinton's rival Donald trump seized the opportunity to declare the Democratic candidate unfit for office

Th Federal Bureau of Investigation reopened the probe into US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state after discovering new emails "that appear to be pertinent". With just 11 days to go until the November 8 presidential elections, FBI director James Comey said would take "appropriate investigative steps" to decide whether a new batch of mails contained classified information "as well as to assess their importance to the investigation", news agency AFP reported. Clinton's rival Donald trump seized the opportunity to declare Clinton unfit for office, arguing that the Democrat's use of private email server should disqualify her from the presidency. "We must not let her take her criminal scheme into the Oval Office," Trump told cheering crowds at a campaign rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, reported AFP. Clinton's vice-presidential running mate Tim Kaine told reporters,"I've got to read more. I've got to read a little more." Comey intimated the decision to reopen the probe to the congressional committee investigating allegations against Clinton in a letter. FBI's earlier investigations into Clinton's decision to use a private email server instead of a government email while in office revealed no wrongdoing. However, Comey said that "in connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation," AFP reported. There was no immediate reaction from the Clinton campaign. (With inputs from AFP)

Clinton email probe: FBI reopens case after discovering new emails

US&nbsp;Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump criticised Democrat Hillary Clinton on Thursday over her trade policies, saying she would handle trade deals so badly that the country should &quot;just cancel the election&quot; and name him the victor.

Speaking to supporters in Toledo, Ohio, Trump said the North American Free Trade Agreement signed by Clinton&#39;s husband, former President Bill Clinton, had led to the outsourcing of thousands of Ohio jobs to Mexico, a practice he vowed to stop if elected president on Nov. 8.

&quot;We should just cancel the election and just give it to Trump, right?&quot; he said. &quot;What are we even having it for? Her policies are so bad.&quot;

Trump said he believed Clinton would seek passage of the 12-nation Trans Pacific Partnership, President Barack Obama&#39;s signature Asian trade deal, which she now opposes.

Trump&#39;s remarks came as the New York businessman tries to steady rocky poll numbers amid a series of controversies and self-inflicted wounds.

He has struggled to handle the fallout from the release of a 2005 &quot;Access Hollywood&quot; video that showed the then-reality TV star talking on an open microphone about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman. The video was taped only months after Trump married his third wife, Melania.

Trump said on Thursday it was &quot;certainly illegal&quot; for NBC to release the tape and he left open the option of seeking legal action against the network after the election.

Since the video&#39;s release, a series of women have accused Trump of groping them or kissing them without their consent. Trump has called the allegations &quot;absolutely false.&quot;

The latest RealClearPolitics poll average showed Clinton with a nearly 6-point national lead over Trump, fueled by declining support among women for his candidacy.

Trump, without evidence, has blamed his sagging poll numbers on a rigged election, and said the media had fixed the opinion polls in order to inflate Clinton&#39;s numbers.

Numerous studies have shown that voter fraud in U.S. elections is very rare, and a number of prominent Republicans have denounced Trump&#39;s claim that the system is unsound.

While Trump campaigned in Ohio, a plane carrying his running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, skidded off the runway after landing at New York City&#39;s LaGuardia Airport on Thursday night. There were no injuries, the Pence campaign said.

Stumping the first lady

Clinton on Thursday made her first joint campaign appearance with one of her most powerful supporters, first lady Michelle Obama, at a North Carolina rally to urge young people and women to vote.

Clinton, a former first lady who lost the 2008 Democratic nomination to then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama before becoming his secretary of state, praised Michelle Obama for standing up for the rights of girls and women worldwide, drawing a sharp contrast with her Republican rival.

&quot;I wish I didn&#39;t have to say this. ... But indeed, dignity and respect for women and girls is also on the ballot in this election,&quot; Clinton told a crowd of about 11,000. &quot;And I want to thank our first lady for her eloquent, powerful defense of that basic value.&quot;

Michelle Obama&#39;s stinging denunciation of Trump after a leaked 2005 video showed him making lewd remarks and bragging about groping women was seen by many as one of the campaign&#39;s most striking condemnations of the New York businessman.

Without naming Trump, Obama took him to task again in North Carolina, asking the crowd which candidate they wanted to represent their daughters from the White House.

&quot;We want a president who takes this job seriously, and has the temperament and maturity to do it well. Someone who is steady. Someone who we can trust with the nuclear codes,&quot; Obama said.

&quot;I would not be here lying to you: I believe with all of my heart that Hillary Clinton will be that president,&quot; she said.

Although Michelle Obama was critical of Clinton during the hard-fought 2008 Democratic nominating race, any trace of bitterness appeared long behind them. The two women showed an easy rapport. They embraced and smiled. Obama called Clinton &quot;my girl&quot; and made a point of telling the crowd they were tight.

&quot;If people wonder: Yes, Hillary Clinton is my friend,&quot; she said.

Clinton promised to take good care of Obama&#39;s White House vegetable garden if she won and wistfully praised the athletic first lady&#39;s dancing skills. &quot;One could only hope,&quot; Clinton said.

She also lauded Obama&#39;s work for children and military families and in what was perhaps a nod to African-Americans she hopes will vote for her in the state, said Obama had faced challenges she had not as a presidential spouse.

&quot;Let&#39;s be real. As our first African-American first lady, she&#39;s faced pressures I never did, and she&#39;s handled them with pure grace,&quot; Clinton said to applause.

Although a sometimes reluctant campaigner, the first lady has thrown herself into the race, and the Clinton campaign has deployed her strategically to increase support among young people and blacks, with whom she is especially popular.

(Reuters)

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

'What are we even having it for? Her (Clinton's) policies are so bad,' he said

US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump criticised Democrat Hillary Clinton on Thursday over her trade policies, saying she would handle trade deals so badly that the country should "just cancel the election" and name him the victor. Speaking to supporters in Toledo, Ohio, Trump said the North American Free Trade Agreement signed by Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, had led to the outsourcing of thousands of Ohio jobs to Mexico, a practice he vowed to stop if elected president on Nov. 8. "We should just cancel the election and just give it to Trump, right?" he said. "What are we even having it for? Her policies are so bad." Trump said he believed Clinton would seek passage of the 12-nation Trans Pacific Partnership, President Barack Obama's signature Asian trade deal, which she now opposes. Trump's remarks came as the New York businessman tries to steady rocky poll numbers amid a series of controversies and self-inflicted wounds. He has struggled to handle the fallout from the release of a 2005 "Access Hollywood" video that showed the then-reality TV star talking on an open microphone about groping women and trying to seduce a married woman. The video was taped only months after Trump married his third wife, Melania. Trump said on Thursday it was "certainly illegal" for NBC to release the tape and he left open the option of seeking legal action against the network after the election. Since the video's release, a series of women have accused Trump of groping them or kissing them without their consent. Trump has called the allegations "absolutely false." The latest RealClearPolitics poll average showed Clinton with a nearly 6-point national lead over Trump, fueled by declining support among women for his candidacy. Trump, without evidence, has blamed his sagging poll numbers on a rigged election, and said the media had fixed the opinion polls in order to inflate Clinton's numbers. Numerous studies have shown that voter fraud in U.S. elections is very rare, and a number of prominent Republicans have denounced Trump's claim that the system is unsound. While Trump campaigned in Ohio, a plane carrying his running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, skidded off the runway after landing at New York City's LaGuardia Airport on Thursday night. There were no injuries, the Pence campaign said. Stumping the first lady Clinton on Thursday made her first joint campaign appearance with one of her most powerful supporters, first lady Michelle Obama, at a North Carolina rally to urge young people and women to vote. Clinton, a former first lady who lost the 2008 Democratic nomination to then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama before becoming his secretary of state, praised Michelle Obama for standing up for the rights of girls and women worldwide, drawing a sharp contrast with her Republican rival. "I wish I didn't have to say this. ... But indeed, dignity and respect for women and girls is also on the ballot in this election," Clinton told a crowd of about 11,000. "And I want to thank our first lady for her eloquent, powerful defense of that basic value." Michelle Obama's stinging denunciation of Trump after a leaked 2005 video showed him making lewd remarks and bragging about groping women was seen by many as one of the campaign's most striking condemnations of the New York businessman. Without naming Trump, Obama took him to task again in North Carolina, asking the crowd which candidate they wanted to represent their daughters from the White House. "We want a president who takes this job seriously, and has the temperament and maturity to do it well. Someone who is steady. Someone who we can trust with the nuclear codes," Obama said. "I would not be here lying to you: I believe with all of my heart that Hillary Clinton will be that president," she said. Although Michelle Obama was critical of Clinton during the hard-fought 2008 Democratic nominating race, any trace of bitterness appeared long behind them. The two women showed an easy rapport. They embraced and smiled. Obama called Clinton "my girl" and made a point of telling the crowd they were tight. "If people wonder: Yes, Hillary Clinton is my friend," she said. Clinton promised to take good care of Obama's White House vegetable garden if she won and wistfully praised the athletic first lady's dancing skills. "One could only hope," Clinton said. She also lauded Obama's work for children and military families and in what was perhaps a nod to African-Americans she hopes will vote for her in the state, said Obama had faced challenges she had not as a presidential spouse. "Let's be real. As our first African-American first lady, she's faced pressures I never did, and she's handled them with pure grace," Clinton said to applause. Although a sometimes reluctant campaigner, the first lady has thrown herself into the race, and the Clinton campaign has deployed her strategically to increase support among young people and blacks, with whom she is especially popular. (Reuters)

Trump says 'just cancel the election', name him victor

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the Democratic Party nominee for the President of the United States in the 2016 election.

She has been the 67th US secretary of state as well as the country&#39;s First Lady from 1993 to 2001.

In the latter capacity, she worked towards improving the national health care system.

As the presidential candidate, Clinton promises paid family and medical leave as well as universal, quality, affordable health care for everyone.

Hillary promises an economy that works for everyone; her election agenda talks about a fair tax system where the &#39;Wall Street must work for Main Street.&#39;

Along with sticking with old allies of US and building stronger ties with Cuba, Hillary is against Iran&#39;s nuclear empowerment.

For Hillary, the issue of climate change has been a real threat, with the potential to jeopardise America&#39;s security and economy.

In matters of justice and equality, Hillary promises a pathway to full and equal citizenship through immigration reforms, while working towards protecting the rights of workers, women and LGBT communities.

Her recent uber expensive haircut while adding to her charm has whipped up a lot of media interests.&nbsp;

Former first lady and the 67th US secretary of state, Democrat Hillary Clinton is not new to the world of politics

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the Democratic Party nominee for the President of the United States in the 2016 election. She has been the 67th US secretary of state as well as the country's First Lady from 1993 to 2001. In the latter capacity, she worked towards improving the national health care system. As the presidential candidate, Clinton promises paid family and medical leave as well as universal, quality, affordable health care for everyone. Hillary promises an economy that works for everyone; her election agenda talks about a fair tax system where the 'Wall Street must work for Main Street.' Along with sticking with old allies of US and building stronger ties with Cuba, Hillary is against Iran's nuclear empowerment. For Hillary, the issue of climate change has been a real threat, with the potential to jeopardise America's security and economy. In matters of justice and equality, Hillary promises a pathway to full and equal citizenship through immigration reforms, while working towards protecting the rights of workers, women and LGBT communities. Her recent uber expensive haircut while adding to her charm has whipped up a lot of media interests.

Who is Hillary Clinton?

&nbsp;

<iframe height="80" src="http://projects.wionews.com/animatedbugs/bugusvotes.html" style="border: hidden; float: left;" width="110"></iframe>

US First Lady Michelle Obama brought her star power onto the campaign trail on Thursday stumping for Hillary Clinton, as the Democratic White House hopeful seeks to conquer battleground states before Election Day.

Obama has emerged as a compelling force in the hard-fought campaign, delivering powerful arguments against Republican candidate Donald Trump and in support of Clinton&#39;s bid to become the first female US president.

Michelle and Hillary joined forces on the trail for the first time at a rally at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, where early voting is already under way.

&quot;First ladies, we rock!&quot; said Obama, one of the most popular Democrats in America. &quot;Here&#39;s where I want to get real. If Hillary doesn&#39;t win this election, that will be on us,&quot; the current first lady said, emphasising that voter turnout is vital.

The 52-year-old wife of President Barack Obama has energised the Democratic camp with a series of speeches taking Trump to task for his strident rhetoric and for what she brands his &quot;frightening&quot; attitude towards women.

She warned that Trump&#39;s strategy was &quot;to make this election so dirty and ugly that we don&#39;t want any part of it&quot; and opt to stay home.

North Carolina voted for Obama in 2008, then Republican nominee Mitt Romney in 2012, but the southeastern state is leaning back toward the Democratic side in 2016.

Clinton has basked in the results of new polls showing the former secretary of state with an impressive lead just 12 days from the November 8 vote.&nbsp;

But new revelations about how former president Bill Clinton took in millions of dollars from &quot;for profit&quot; activities as he led the Clinton family&#39;s non-profit foundation weighed on her campaign.

&#39;Trump borrows Modi&#39;s winning slogan&#39;

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump insisted he holds a commanding position in the polls and will win the White House.&nbsp;

In an attempt to woo Indian American voters, Trump was seen dabbling in Hindi. The New York businessman is seen uttering &quot;Ab Ki Baar Trump Sarkaar&quot;, adapting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s 2014 vote-winning catchphrase as his own, in a presidential campaign ad released Thursday. &quot;This time Trump government,&quot; translates the ad on the screen.

Trump may speak in a thick US accent, but the 30-second ad is the Republican nominee&#39;s latest attempt to win votes among Indian Americans ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights which falls on the weekend.

The video opens with the message &quot;Happy Diwali&quot; and borrows from footage of Trump speaking at a Hindu gathering in New Jersey this month, lighting an oil lamp and promising close US-Indian relations.

&quot;The Indian and Hindu community will have a true friend in the White House,&quot; he says in the ad. &quot;We love the Hindus, we love India,&quot; he adds, saying that he looks forward to working with Modi.

There are an estimated four million Indian Americans living in the United States according to 2015 census figures. They are among the most educated ethnic groups and generally well off, according to the Pew Research Center.

Only about half are Hindu and 65 percent are Democrat, or Democrat-leaning, the think tank found in a 2014 report.

(AFP) 
&nbsp;

Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama's joint North Carolina rally drew huge crowds as rival Trump appealed to Indian Americans in new ad campaign

US First Lady Michelle Obama brought her star power onto the campaign trail on Thursday stumping for Hillary Clinton, as the Democratic White House hopeful seeks to conquer battleground states before Election Day. Obama has emerged as a compelling force in the hard-fought campaign, delivering powerful arguments against Republican candidate Donald Trump and in support of Clinton's bid to become the first female US president. Michelle and Hillary joined forces on the trail for the first time at a rally at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, where early voting is already under way. "First ladies, we rock!" said Obama, one of the most popular Democrats in America. "Here's where I want to get real. If Hillary doesn't win this election, that will be on us," the current first lady said, emphasising that voter turnout is vital. The 52-year-old wife of President Barack Obama has energised the Democratic camp with a series of speeches taking Trump to task for his strident rhetoric and for what she brands his "frightening" attitude towards women. She warned that Trump's strategy was "to make this election so dirty and ugly that we don't want any part of it" and opt to stay home. North Carolina voted for Obama in 2008, then Republican nominee Mitt Romney in 2012, but the southeastern state is leaning back toward the Democratic side in 2016. Clinton has basked in the results of new polls showing the former secretary of state with an impressive lead just 12 days from the November 8 vote. But new revelations about how former president Bill Clinton took in millions of dollars from "for profit" activities as he led the Clinton family's non-profit foundation weighed on her campaign. 'Trump borrows Modi's winning slogan' Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump insisted he holds a commanding position in the polls and will win the White House. In an attempt to woo Indian American voters, Trump was seen dabbling in Hindi. The New York businessman is seen uttering "Ab Ki Baar Trump Sarkaar", adapting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2014 vote-winning catchphrase as his own, in a presidential campaign ad released Thursday. "This time Trump government," translates the ad on the screen. Trump may speak in a thick US accent, but the 30-second ad is the Republican nominee's latest attempt to win votes among Indian Americans ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights which falls on the weekend. The video opens with the message "Happy Diwali" and borrows from footage of Trump speaking at a Hindu gathering in New Jersey this month, lighting an oil lamp and promising close US-Indian relations. "The Indian and Hindu community will have a true friend in the White House," he says in the ad. "We love the Hindus, we love India," he adds, saying that he looks forward to working with Modi. There are an estimated four million Indian Americans living in the United States according to 2015 census figures. They are among the most educated ethnic groups and generally well off, according to the Pew Research Center. Only about half are Hindu and 65 percent are Democrat, or Democrat-leaning, the think tank found in a 2014 report. (AFP)

US elections: First Lady joins Clinton's campaign trail as Trump uses Modi's tagline to woo voters

The fact-checking is finished, and the polls to determine who won and who lost will soon be wiped from our collective memory. While it lasted, it wasn&rsquo;t exactly waterboarding but for many it was an unambiguous case of torture. The three debates are over, praise the Lord. America is now entering the brief phase in which it can look back at the weirdest US presidential campaign in history, and look forward to the denouement when the votes are finally counted during the night of November 8.

THE &ldquo;PRESIDENTAL&rdquo; DEBATE

Most commentators of the debates have tried to analyse not only what came out of the candidates&rsquo; mouths, but also the sniffles that emerged from Donald Trump&rsquo;s nose. Some noticed that throughout the debates Hillary Clinton made very effective use of her teeth, visible through a studied but authentically charming smile, whose brightness was accentuated by her high cheekbones. That smile came across as a demonstration of Clinton&rsquo;s truly &ldquo;presidental&rdquo; temperament.

She harnessed her smile as a powerful defensive and offensive weapon that enabled her, first of all, to parry Trump&rsquo;s attacks with an expression of amused doubt and even polite ridicule as he sought to embarrass her. More significantly, Clinton used it as a transitional gesture to express the confidence she had in her well-prepared professional boasts and responses to his desultory attacks. Given the lack of seriously argued content on either side in any of the three debates, Clinton&rsquo;s smile may be what best accounts for the impression expressed by a majority of viewers that she was the consistent &ldquo;winner.&rdquo;

We&rsquo;ve now witnessed a series of thoroughly awful and depressing &ldquo;presidential debates.&rdquo; They were neither presidential in style, nor debates in substance. There was nothing to be learned from them, not even about the characters of the candidates. And the commentators, like the media and moderators who organised the debates, were just as bad as the candidates. Confusing political dialogue with a sporting event, they focused on one thing: their precious fact checks&mdash;keeping a scorecard of lies, or contradictions of known or assumed facts. As if government was only about sticking to the facts! And as if facts were just objects in the environment that one could bend down, pick up and show to the camera.

There were lies galore in the final debate, especially on Trump&rsquo;s side, to the delight of news analysts. But the two most depressing, even chilling lies went unnoticed by all commentators. They belong to Clinton. Here they are: &ldquo;On the day I was &hellip; monitoring the raid that brought Osama bin Laden to justice, [Trump] was hosting the&nbsp;Celebrity Apprentice.&rdquo; And, &ldquo;America is great because it&rsquo;s good.&rdquo;

What&rsquo;s chilling about the first is the new equivalence between &ldquo;bringing to justice&rdquo; and assassination. It is a Wild West vigilante mentality, which obviously has its place in US culture, but doesn&rsquo;t fit with the idea of being presidential or even constitutional. It does fit with the notion of drone wars, which should give us all pause. And it was spoken by the same person who, when describing the outcome of the Libya campaign, blurted out &ldquo;we came, we saw, he died&rdquo; followed by a loud chortle.

The second affirmation is the basis of American exceptionalism. It is eerily consistent with George W. Bush&rsquo;s Manichean view dividing the world unto &ldquo;us&rdquo; (the good) and &ldquo;them&rdquo; (the evil).&nbsp; Many people think or at least hope that one&rsquo;s political leaders are doing as much good as they can. But does anyone seriously believe there is such a thing as a nation that&rsquo;s good in its essence?

Americans are routinely taught to suppose that, and never to reason about it in a Socratic fashion by asking themselves what &ldquo;good&rdquo; is. Everyone has an idea that there are places where it&rsquo;s good to live, good to do business, good to go to school, good to practice the arts, etc. But the idea of good as an absolute quality applied to a nation takes us back to the Puritan origins of the United States of America and the mentality that authorised European settlers to eradicate the native peoples because the civilisation they represented was &ldquo;good&rdquo;&mdash;blessed by God&mdash;and that the native populations were an obstacle to creating a nation intent on being a moral beacon for the world.

AN INEVITABLE CLINTON VICTORY

Since the first debate, the news media have listed and analysed pages of lies and distorted facts produced by the two candidates. But they never mention their most sinister contradictions of moral and historical truth, except to praise them as positive sounding utterances within a sea of negativity.

As not only the nation but the entire world prepares for a now inevitable Clinton victory in November, these issues matter as they never mattered before. This election cycle has taught us a lot about American democracy, the two-party system and the marketing of political candidates. Whatever one thinks of Bernie Sanders (hero or traitor) or even of WikiLeaks (window into the actual practices of politicians or criminal enterprise), we now know things that were formerly hidden from view.

In this campaign, the face of American democracy has changed. The Republican Party has imploded in the most embarrassing fashion. Trump&rsquo;s takeover of the Grand Old Party (GOP) could end up seriously and permanently modifying the now traditional duopoly of the two parties.

But the Democratic Party has also seen undergone a crisis that bodes ill for its own future. A generational rift has emerged in which the millennials have distanced themselves from what was traditionally the party of youthful renewal. Depending on how the newly formed Clinton administration responds to the identification of youth with the anti-oligarchic &ldquo;revolution&rdquo; promised by Sanders, the party and the incoming US administration may have difficulty maintaining its position as a potentially dominant political force, whether or not Clinton&rsquo;s election improves the party&rsquo;s position in the Senate and Congress.

A late October surprise now seems less and less likely, if only because of Trump&rsquo;s propensity for self-sabotage. But Clinton&rsquo;s negative image among voters still has Democrats worried.

Over the past six months the Clinton campaign has based everything on painting Trump as an unhinged, loose cannon with a few loose wires in his brain. Trump has obliged them by regularly providing evidence to support that thesis.

The most recent version of the Democrats&rsquo; scare tactics goes beyond the election itself. It posits that after losing, Trump will attempt to lead a populist movement mobilising the fascist and racist instincts he has appealed to. Almost on cue, by holding back from promising that he will accept the results, Trump has comforted that very idea, validating the Democrats&rsquo; electoral propaganda.

WHAT CLINTON AND TRUMP SYMBOLISE

But there&rsquo;s another dimension to this election, which has little to do with the actual personalities of the candidates. Each is a symbol of something else. Clinton is the incarnation of the system in all its aggressive collective glory: American exceptionalism, military might, Wall Street, the myth of free enterprise where everyone can be a creative entrepreneur, free trade. In contrast, Trump has assumed the symbolic role of the angry adolescent, the rebellious individual, the rock star challenging the system and all its constraining power.

American culture abhors constraint of any kind, as surely as nature abhors a vacuum. Hillary represents success in the sense of &ldquo;adult&rdquo; conformity built on unquestioned authority. Trump is the mythical &ldquo;rebel without a cause,&rdquo; ready to create havoc by changing the rules of the game, because so many people feel&mdash;without necessarily understanding why&mdash;that the system is alien and oppressive. This comes in spite of the fact that the system has always been kind to Trump himself.

The Clinton campaign claims that Trump is a threat to democracy. This is a clever endgame strategy because it carries the assumption that the existing political system is a true, honest-to-God democracy. If democracy didn&rsquo;t exist, it couldn&rsquo;t be threatened. But we know that the US political system&mdash;the one for which Clinton is the symbolic figurehead&mdash;is no longer a democracy (if it ever was), but a <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746">carefully structured oligarchy</a>. If voters recognised this, they might begin to think that Clinton may not be right: that America isn&rsquo;t necessarily &ldquo;good.&rdquo; But this is the one thing that Trump can&rsquo;t teach them, and can&rsquo;t put forward, because he himself belongs to the oligarchic class.

The real paradox of this election cycle is that Sanders, for the first time since possibly Franklin Roosevelt, created the impression that there might be a choice outside of the oligarchy. That hope was dashed in the primaries, with a little help from the Democratic National Committee, not averse to loading the dice when necessary.

But the rise of Trump and the well-executed elimination of Sanders meant that instead of there being the usual anodyne choice between two slightly contrasting types of reasonable establishment oligarchs (Democrats vs Republicans), this time it came down to the choice between two very different representatives of the same oligarchy: one predictable (responsible) and the other unpredictable (rebellious). This made the predictable one (Clinton) seem wiser than she actually is and the unpredictable one more subversive than he is, elevating Trump to the status of the daring challenger of the status quo.

FLAWED BUT DEMOCRATIC

The presidential electoral system is visibly flawed as this author has <a href="http://www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/feeling-the-bern-in-november-can-change-system-77362/">pointed out elsewhere</a>. In spite of its imperfection, it was designed for democracy, and so long as people believe in the reality or at least the possible reality of democracy, it can survive and even thrive. But belief must be based on something solid, an understanding of how political decisions are made. One of the explanations for Trump&rsquo;s unexpected rise is the utter failure of civic education in the US, which has resulted in a lot of people sharing a general feeling of resignation in the face of oligarchic control.

Although the Democrats want us to believe otherwise, it isn&rsquo;t democracy that&rsquo;s threatened. It&rsquo;s the symbolic system of civic virtue that has been undermined by both parties&mdash;the Democratic Party by assuming and tightening its control, reaffirming its commitment to oligarchy, and the Republican Party by utterly and perhaps irretrievably losing control of the population that has followed the GOP&rsquo;s emotional programming.

Hillary Clinton will win the election. Donald Trump will protest. But in spite of the fear tactics promoted by Democrats, Trump is unlikely to lead a movement based on the regressive themes of his campaign. He simply isn&rsquo;t a leader and never has been. His voters will be bitter and disappointed, and it will be up to the Republican Party to seek a way of channeling their frustration. But having invested too much in their AR-15s, its militants will not adopt the idea of taking to the streets with their pitchforks.

The next chapter of American politics will be an interesting one, in which the pressure will be on everyone to redefine who they are within a newly delineated political spectrum as well as what they stand for&mdash;the losers as well as the winners.

For Hillary Clinton and her smile, it could very well resemble a four-year teething period.

America is now entering the brief phase in which it can look back at the weirdest US presidential campaign in history

The fact-checking is finished, and the polls to determine who won and who lost will soon be wiped from our collective memory. While it lasted, it wasn’t exactly waterboarding but for many it was an unambiguous case of torture. The three debates are over, praise the Lord. America is now entering the brief phase in which it can look back at the weirdest US presidential campaign in history, and look forward to the denouement when the votes are finally counted during the night of November 8. THE “PRESIDENTAL” DEBATE Most commentators of the debates have tried to analyse not only what came out of the candidates’ mouths, but also the sniffles that emerged from Donald Trump’s nose. Some noticed that throughout the debates Hillary Clinton made very effective use of her teeth, visible through a studied but authentically charming smile, whose brightness was accentuated by her high cheekbones. That smile came across as a demonstration of Clinton’s truly “presidental” temperament. She harnessed her smile as a powerful defensive and offensive weapon that enabled her, first of all, to parry Trump’s attacks with an expression of amused doubt and even polite ridicule as he sought to embarrass her. More significantly, Clinton used it as a transitional gesture to express the confidence she had in her well-prepared professional boasts and responses to his desultory attacks. Given the lack of seriously argued content on either side in any of the three debates, Clinton’s smile may be what best accounts for the impression expressed by a majority of viewers that she was the consistent “winner.” We’ve now witnessed a series of thoroughly awful and depressing “presidential debates.” They were neither presidential in style, nor debates in substance. There was nothing to be learned from them, not even about the characters of the candidates. And the commentators, like the media and moderators who organised the debates, were just as bad as the candidates. Confusing political dialogue with a sporting event, they focused on one thing: their precious fact checks—keeping a scorecard of lies, or contradictions of known or assumed facts. As if government was only about sticking to the facts! And as if facts were just objects in the environment that one could bend down, pick up and show to the camera. There were lies galore in the final debate, especially on Trump’s side, to the delight of news analysts. But the two most depressing, even chilling lies went unnoticed by all commentators. They belong to Clinton. Here they are: “On the day I was … monitoring the raid that brought Osama bin Laden to justice, [Trump] was hosting the Celebrity Apprentice.” And, “America is great because it’s good.” What’s chilling about the first is the new equivalence between “bringing to justice” and assassination. It is a Wild West vigilante mentality, which obviously has its place in US culture, but doesn’t fit with the idea of being presidential or even constitutional. It does fit with the notion of drone wars, which should give us all pause. And it was spoken by the same person who, when describing the outcome of the Libya campaign, blurted out “we came, we saw, he died” followed by a loud chortle. The second affirmation is the basis of American exceptionalism. It is eerily consistent with George W. Bush’s Manichean view dividing the world unto “us” (the good) and “them” (the evil). Many people think or at least hope that one’s political leaders are doing as much good as they can. But does anyone seriously believe there is such a thing as a nation that’s good in its essence? Americans are routinely taught to suppose that, and never to reason about it in a Socratic fashion by asking themselves what “good” is. Everyone has an idea that there are places where it’s good to live, good to do business, good to go to school, good to practice the arts, etc. But the idea of good as an absolute quality applied to a nation takes us back to the Puritan origins of the United States of America and the mentality that authorised European settlers to eradicate the native peoples because the civilisation they represented was “good”—blessed by God—and that the native populations were an obstacle to creating a nation intent on being a moral beacon for the world. AN INEVITABLE CLINTON VICTORY Since the first debate, the news media have listed and analysed pages of lies and distorted facts produced by the two candidates. But they never mention their most sinister contradictions of moral and historical truth, except to praise them as positive sounding utterances within a sea of negativity. As not only the nation but the entire world prepares for a now inevitable Clinton victory in November, these issues matter as they never mattered before. This election cycle has taught us a lot about American democracy, the two-party system and the marketing of political candidates. Whatever one thinks of Bernie Sanders (hero or traitor) or even of WikiLeaks (window into the actual practices of politicians or criminal enterprise), we now know things that were formerly hidden from view. In this campaign, the face of American democracy has changed. The Republican Party has imploded in the most embarrassing fashion. Trump’s takeover of the Grand Old Party (GOP) could end up seriously and permanently modifying the now traditional duopoly of the two parties. But the Democratic Party has also seen undergone a crisis that bodes ill for its own future. A generational rift has emerged in which the millennials have distanced themselves from what was traditionally the party of youthful renewal. Depending on how the newly formed Clinton administration responds to the identification of youth with the anti-oligarchic “revolution” promised by Sanders, the party and the incoming US administration may have difficulty maintaining its position as a potentially dominant political force, whether or not Clinton’s election improves the party’s position in the Senate and Congress. A late October surprise now seems less and less likely, if only because of Trump’s propensity for self-sabotage. But Clinton’s negative image among voters still has Democrats worried. Over the past six months the Clinton campaign has based everything on painting Trump as an unhinged, loose cannon with a few loose wires in his brain. Trump has obliged them by regularly providing evidence to support that thesis. The most recent version of the Democrats’ scare tactics goes beyond the election itself. It posits that after losing, Trump will attempt to lead a populist movement mobilising the fascist and racist instincts he has appealed to. Almost on cue, by holding back from promising that he will accept the results, Trump has comforted that very idea, validating the Democrats’ electoral propaganda. WHAT CLINTON AND TRUMP SYMBOLISE But there’s another dimension to this election, which has little to do with the actual personalities of the candidates. Each is a symbol of something else. Clinton is the incarnation of the system in all its aggressive collective glory: American exceptionalism, military might, Wall Street, the myth of free enterprise where everyone can be a creative entrepreneur, free trade. In contrast, Trump has assumed the symbolic role of the angry adolescent, the rebellious individual, the rock star challenging the system and all its constraining power. American culture abhors constraint of any kind, as surely as nature abhors a vacuum. Hillary represents success in the sense of “adult” conformity built on unquestioned authority. Trump is the mythical “rebel without a cause,” ready to create havoc by changing the rules of the game, because so many people feel—without necessarily understanding why—that the system is alien and oppressive. This comes in spite of the fact that the system has always been kind to Trump himself. The Clinton campaign claims that Trump is a threat to democracy. This is a clever endgame strategy because it carries the assumption that the existing political system is a true, honest-to-God democracy. If democracy didn’t exist, it couldn’t be threatened. But we know that the US political system—the one for which Clinton is the symbolic figurehead—is no longer a democracy (if it ever was), but a carefully structured oligarchy. If voters recognised this, they might begin to think that Clinton may not be right: that America isn’t necessarily “good.” But this is the one thing that Trump can’t teach them, and can’t put forward, because he himself belongs to the oligarchic class. The real paradox of this election cycle is that Sanders, for the first time since possibly Franklin Roosevelt, created the impression that there might be a choice outside of the oligarchy. That hope was dashed in the primaries, with a little help from the Democratic National Committee, not averse to loading the dice when necessary. But the rise of Trump and the well-executed elimination of Sanders meant that instead of there being the usual anodyne choice between two slightly contrasting types of reasonable establishment oligarchs (Democrats vs Republicans), this time it came down to the choice between two very different representatives of the same oligarchy: one predictable (responsible) and the other unpredictable (rebellious). This made the predictable one (Clinton) seem wiser than she actually is and the unpredictable one more subversive than he is, elevating Trump to the status of the daring challenger of the status quo. FLAWED BUT DEMOCRATIC The presidential electoral system is visibly flawed as this author has pointed out elsewhere. In spite of its imperfection, it was designed for democracy, and so long as people believe in the reality or at least the possible reality of democracy, it can survive and even thrive. But belief must be based on something solid, an understanding of how political decisions are made. One of the explanations for Trump’s unexpected rise is the utter failure of civic education in the US, which has resulted in a lot of people sharing a general feeling of resignation in the face of oligarchic control. Although the Democrats want us to believe otherwise, it isn’t democracy that’s threatened. It’s the symbolic system of civic virtue that has been undermined by both parties—the Democratic Party by assuming and tightening its control, reaffirming its commitment to oligarchy, and the Republican Party by utterly and perhaps irretrievably losing control of the population that has followed the GOP’s emotional programming. Hillary Clinton will win the election. Donald Trump will protest. But in spite of the fear tactics promoted by Democrats, Trump is unlikely to lead a movement based on the regressive themes of his campaign. He simply isn’t a leader and never has been. His voters will be bitter and disappointed, and it will be up to the Republican Party to seek a way of channeling their frustration. But having invested too much in their AR-15s, its militants will not adopt the idea of taking to the streets with their pitchforks. The next chapter of American politics will be an interesting one, in which the pressure will be on everyone to redefine who they are within a newly delineated political spectrum as well as what they stand for—the losers as well as the winners. For Hillary Clinton and her smile, it could very well resemble a four-year teething period.

Clinton Will Win, Trump Will Protest

A 25 per cent jump in premiums for Obamacare has stoked the already heated battle between Trump and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton

With the premiums of Obama's signature healthcare plan set to hike, the US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump targeted the Democratic government, vowing to overturn the program. The health department's report announced that there could be an average 25 per cent jump in the insurance costs next year in the 38 American states with federally managed health care exchanges under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Trump jumped at the opportunity to lash out at Obama's pet project, which allows millions of uninsured people to get health insurance with no limits based on "pre-existing conditions." Republicans have repeatedly tried to overturn Obamacare. Trump said the health program must be "repealed and replaced with something much less expensive for the people", warning even bigger trouble ahead otherwise. Obamacare is a disaster. Rates going through the sky - ready to explode. I will fix it. Hillary can't!#ObamacareFailed — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 25, 2016 The White House fired back, saying most Americans are better off under the current healthcare system. Although Obama did acknowledge that more needs to be done to help those facing rising costs. "The vast majority of people who are purchasing health insurance through the marketplace will not see a significant increase in the amount that they pay for their health care, and that`s because the vast majority of people who are purchasing health insurance through the marketplace get tax credits that ensure that health care is affordable," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters. Clinton's campaign hit back at Trump, saying he wants to "rip up the ACA and reverse the progress we have made." Trump would "throw 20 million people off their coverage and let the insurance companies write the rules again," campaign spokesperson Julie Wood said. "Hillary Clinton wants to build on the progress we've made and fix what's broken." Without explaining where he got his numbers, Trump alleged that the government figures were incorrect and the costs could go up to 60 per cent. Other Republican leaders too argued that the system was "unsustainable". Arizona senator John McCain said, "Obamacare places an unfair financial burden on families and small businesses." Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan compared Obama's healthcare program to ill-fated and now-discontinued Samsung phones that were catching fire. "The president recently compared Obamacare to a Samsung Galaxy Note 7, and he's right: this disastrous law is blowing up. But at least you can return the phone," Ryan said in a statement. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Trump vows to scrap Obamacare as insurance costs set to jump 25 per cent

Trump said the health program must be 'repealed and replaced with something much less expensive for the people'

With the premiums of Obama's signature healthcare plan set to hike, the US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump targeted the Democratic government, vowing to overturn the program. The health department's report announced that there could be an average 25 per cent jump in the insurance costs next year in the 38 American states with federally managed health care exchanges under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Trump jumped at the opportunity to lash out at Obama's pet project, which allows millions of uninsured people to get health insurance with no limits based on "pre-existing conditions." Republicans have repeatedly tried to overturn Obamacare. Trump said the health program must be "repealed and replaced with something much less expensive for the people", warning even bigger trouble ahead otherwise. Obamacare is a disaster. Rates going through the sky - ready to explode. I will fix it. Hillary can't!#ObamacareFailed — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 25, 2016 × The White House fired back, saying most Americans are better off under the current healthcare system. Although Obama did acknowledge that more needs to be done to help those facing rising costs. "The vast majority of people who are purchasing health insurance through the marketplace will not see a significant increase in the amount that they pay for their health care, and that`s because the vast majority of people who are purchasing health insurance through the marketplace get tax credits that ensure that health care is affordable," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters. Clinton's campaign hit back at Trump, saying he wants to "rip up the ACA and reverse the progress we have made." Trump would "throw 20 million people off their coverage and let the insurance companies write the rules again," campaign spokesperson Julie Wood said. "Hillary Clinton wants to build on the progress we've made and fix what's broken." Without explaining where he got his numbers, Trump alleged that the government figures were incorrect and the costs could go up to 60 per cent. Other Republican leaders too argued that the system was "unsustainable". Arizona senator John McCain said, "Obamacare places an unfair financial burden on families and small businesses." Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan compared Obama's healthcare program to ill-fated and now-discontinued Samsung phones that were catching fire. "The president recently compared Obamacare to a Samsung Galaxy Note 7, and he's right: this disastrous law is blowing up. But at least you can return the phone," Ryan said in a statement. (WION with inputs from agencies)

An ABC News poll shows Clinton has 50 per cent of the vote to Trump's 38 per cent, a lead of 12 points

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has stretched her lead to 12 points over her rival Donald Trump in the race for the White House, according to a new poll released on Sunday. The poll result, which comes a little over two weeks before the US goes to vote on November 8, is evidence of the damage done to the Trump campaign following a litany of allegations of sexual misconduct or inappropriate behaviour made by eleven women in recent days. The ABC News poll shows Clinton has 50 per cent of the vote to Trump's 38 per cent, a lead of 12 points, just ten days after an ABC News/Washington Post poll showed the lead to be a mere four points. While Trump enjoys a 47 to 43 per cent lead among white Americans, his rival has a healthy lead of 20 points among women and a 32 per cent lead among college-going women. We are behind: Trump campaign The poll result came hours before Trump's team for the first time admitted that they were "behind" in the presidential race. Trump's campaign director Kellyanne Conway made the admission on Sunday, but insisted that they would fight on till the very end. Conway also spelled out Trump's plans to fight back against the current wave of unpopularity. She said Trump will put in more resources in states that are considered to be crucial to winning the election. Trump plans to hold up to three rallies and other such events in these states which include Florida, Ohio, Nevada, Iowa and North Carolina. Between Sunday and Tuesday, Trump is scheduled to hold five rallies in Florida. Trump has also tried to woo voters by promising to create 25 million jobs and slash taxes for middle-class Americans. An optimistic Team Clinton Team Clinton, on the other hand, is hoping for a landslide win. But they also sounded cautious. "We're not taking anything for granted at all," campaign manager Robby Mook told Fox News on Sunday, adding: "This is not over yet." Mook also said early voting trends in some states indicate that they have an upper hand at the moment. "We feel very, very good about what we've seen so far...And we're encouraged also by who is turning out," Mook said. (WION with inputs from AFP)

US election: Clinton lead over Trump now in double digits

&nbsp;

<iframe height="80" src="http://projects.wionews.com/animatedbugs/bugusvotes.html" style="border: hidden; float: left;" width="110"></iframe>

During the weekend battleground campaign blitz, US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump unveiled plans for the first 100 days in office if elected president, but also defiantly raised personal grievances.&nbsp;

The real estate mogul, during his 45-minute speech in Gettysburg, vowed to bring change to a &quot;broken system&quot; offering a number of concrete policy initiatives. Echoing former US president Abraham Lincoln&#39;s famous 1863 address in the historic town, Trump told several hundred supporters that he would &quot;drain the swamp in Washington&quot; and replace it &quot;with a new government of, by and for the people&quot;.&nbsp;

But moments after promising Americans a &quot;once in a lifetime change&quot; he threatened to sue a number of women, the &quot;liars&quot;, who had accused him of sexual assault. He added a new threat of his repeated criticisms of the US media companies, accusing them of unfair coverage of his campaign to help Democratic rival candidate Hillary Clinton. He, in fact, said that Clinton should have been barred from running for the presidency.&nbsp;

&quot;As an example of the power structure I&#39;m fighting, AT&amp;T is buying Time Warner and thus CNN, a deal we will not approve in my administration because it&#39;s too much concentration of power in the hands of too few,&quot; Trump said.

Delivering prepared remarks, he pledged to create at least 25 million jobs over a decade and cut middle class taxes, as both Trump and Clinton courted undecided swing state voters.&nbsp;

He also listed many of his familiar campaign proposals, such as renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and repealing President Barack Obama&#39;s signature health care reform.

With just over two weeks to go before the election day, the former secretary of state is leading in the national polls over Trump, according to RealClearPolitics.&nbsp;

The Democratic candidate, Clinton leads in several battleground states, ranging from North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania to Virginia. The candidate vying to become America&#39;s first female president made two campaign stops in Pennsylvania on Saturday.&nbsp;

In a rare acknowledgment that he might lose, Trump said he would give the campaign everything he had, &quot;right up until the actual vote&quot;, but added that &quot;win, lose or draw...I will be happy with myself&quot;.&nbsp;

Experts have said if Trump loses the key swing states of Florida, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, Clinton is all but assured of victory.

(WION with inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

Trump accused the US media of trying to suppress his voice and promised to foil a proposed deal between AT&T and Time Warner

During the weekend battleground campaign blitz, US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump unveiled plans for the first 100 days in office if elected president, but also defiantly raised personal grievances. The real estate mogul, during his 45-minute speech in Gettysburg, vowed to bring change to a "broken system" offering a number of concrete policy initiatives. Echoing former US president Abraham Lincoln's famous 1863 address in the historic town, Trump told several hundred supporters that he would "drain the swamp in Washington" and replace it "with a new government of, by and for the people". But moments after promising Americans a "once in a lifetime change" he threatened to sue a number of women, the "liars", who had accused him of sexual assault. He added a new threat of his repeated criticisms of the US media companies, accusing them of unfair coverage of his campaign to help Democratic rival candidate Hillary Clinton. He, in fact, said that Clinton should have been barred from running for the presidency. "As an example of the power structure I'm fighting, AT&T is buying Time Warner and thus CNN, a deal we will not approve in my administration because it's too much concentration of power in the hands of too few," Trump said. Delivering prepared remarks, he pledged to create at least 25 million jobs over a decade and cut middle class taxes, as both Trump and Clinton courted undecided swing state voters. He also listed many of his familiar campaign proposals, such as renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and repealing President Barack Obama's signature health care reform. With just over two weeks to go before the election day, the former secretary of state is leading in the national polls over Trump, according to RealClearPolitics. The Democratic candidate, Clinton leads in several battleground states, ranging from North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania to Virginia. The candidate vying to become America's first female president made two campaign stops in Pennsylvania on Saturday. In a rare acknowledgment that he might lose, Trump said he would give the campaign everything he had, "right up until the actual vote", but added that "win, lose or draw...I will be happy with myself". Experts have said if Trump loses the key swing states of Florida, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, Clinton is all but assured of victory. (WION with inputs from agencies)

US elections: Trump outlines policies for first 100 days in office, vows to weaken US media 'power structure'

&nbsp;

<iframe height="80" src="http://projects.wionews.com/animatedbugs/bugusvotes.html" style="border: hidden; float: left;" width="110"></iframe>

&nbsp;

Hillary Clinton criticised rival Donald Trump as a threat to American democracy Friday for not pledging to honor results of the upcoming presidential election, as the bitter rivals battled for supremacy in battleground states.

&quot;We know the difference between leadership and dictatorship, and the peaceful transition of power is one of the things that sets us apart,&quot; Clinton told a rally in Cleveland, Ohio, one of the key swing states up for grabs on November 8.

&quot;Donald Trump refused to say that he&#39;d respect the results of this election. By doing that, he&#39;s threatening our democracy.&quot;

Her comments marked a stern rebuke to Trump&#39;s bombshell suggestion during their third and final presidential debate that he may not recognise the election result -- a surprising rejection of political norms.

Trump, 70, then told a rally crowd that he could launch a legal challenge if Clinton prevails.&nbsp;

His remarks follow weeks of Trump warning about the likelihood of a &quot;rigged&quot; election including massive voter fraud, despite members of his own party disavowing the comments and Trump earning condemnation from President Barack Obama.

Despite isolated allegations of voter fraud, controversy over the tight 2000 vote and rampant gerrymandering, US elections have been regarded as free and fair.

Invigorated by both her commanding poll numbers and Trump&#39;s eyebrow-raising declarations, the candidate vying to become America&#39;s first female president was in Ohio aiming to block Trump&#39;s efforts to claim the blue-collar heartland state.

Trump, well aware that no Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio, campaigned in the Buckeye State Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Manhattan real estate mogul hosted rallies Friday in the battlegrounds of North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

&quot;Eighteen days. You&#39;re going to look back at this election and say this is by far the most important vote you&#39;ve ever cast for anyone at any time,&quot; Trump told a crowd in Fletcher, North Carolina.

&#39;Win, lose or draw&#39;&nbsp; 
&quot;We&#39;re fighting this juggernaut.... because they have billions of dollars they&#39;ve raised,&quot; he said of the Clinton campaign, which reportedly has outspent Trump on television advertising in recent months.

Trump said he would give the campaign everything he had, &quot;right up until the actual vote.&quot;

&quot;Win, lose or draw... I will be happy with myself,&quot; he added. &quot;I don&#39;t want to think back if only I did one more rally I would have won North Carolina by 500 votes instead of losing it by 200 votes, right?&quot;

&nbsp;Battleground focus&nbsp; 
Trump is trailing badly in the polls, and his debate threat opened him up to a stinging attack from Obama at a Miami rally.

&quot;When you try to sow the seeds of doubt in people&#39;s minds about the legitimacy of our election, that undermines our democracy,&quot; Obama said Thursday.

&quot;When you suggest rigging or fraud without a shred of evidence, when last night at the debate, Trump becomes the first major party nominee in American history to suggest that he will not concede despite losing... that is not a joking matter.&quot;

In the battle of the battlegrounds, Clinton holds leads in several states, ranging from razor-thin, such as in North Carolina, to moderate in Florida and Pennsylvania and commanding in Virginia.

She is even narrowly ahead in Arizona, the traditionally Republican-leaning state where First Lady Michelle Obama -- who galvanised voters with a searing attack on Trump last week -- campaigned for Clinton on Thursday.

If Trump loses Florida, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, Clinton is all but assured of victory, experts have said.

In Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Trump supporters streamed into a convention center to hear Trump speak in their depressed former steel town, where most mill jobs have evaporated.

Trump promised that he would bring many of them back.&nbsp;

&quot;We don&#39;t make things anymore&quot; he told the cheering crowd. &quot;When I&#39;m president, we&#39;re going to start making things again in America.&quot;

(AFP)

Hillary Clinton's comments come after Donald Trump said he will not recognise the election result if he loses

Hillary Clinton criticised rival Donald Trump as a threat to American democracy Friday for not pledging to honor results of the upcoming presidential election, as the bitter rivals battled for supremacy in battleground states. "We know the difference between leadership and dictatorship, and the peaceful transition of power is one of the things that sets us apart," Clinton told a rally in Cleveland, Ohio, one of the key swing states up for grabs on November 8. "Donald Trump refused to say that he'd respect the results of this election. By doing that, he's threatening our democracy." Her comments marked a stern rebuke to Trump's bombshell suggestion during their third and final presidential debate that he may not recognise the election result -- a surprising rejection of political norms. Trump, 70, then told a rally crowd that he could launch a legal challenge if Clinton prevails. His remarks follow weeks of Trump warning about the likelihood of a "rigged" election including massive voter fraud, despite members of his own party disavowing the comments and Trump earning condemnation from President Barack Obama. Despite isolated allegations of voter fraud, controversy over the tight 2000 vote and rampant gerrymandering, US elections have been regarded as free and fair. Invigorated by both her commanding poll numbers and Trump's eyebrow-raising declarations, the candidate vying to become America's first female president was in Ohio aiming to block Trump's efforts to claim the blue-collar heartland state. Trump, well aware that no Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio, campaigned in the Buckeye State Thursday. Meanwhile, the Manhattan real estate mogul hosted rallies Friday in the battlegrounds of North Carolina and Pennsylvania. "Eighteen days. You're going to look back at this election and say this is by far the most important vote you've ever cast for anyone at any time," Trump told a crowd in Fletcher, North Carolina. 'Win, lose or draw' "We're fighting this juggernaut.... because they have billions of dollars they've raised," he said of the Clinton campaign, which reportedly has outspent Trump on television advertising in recent months. Trump said he would give the campaign everything he had, "right up until the actual vote." "Win, lose or draw... I will be happy with myself," he added. "I don't want to think back if only I did one more rally I would have won North Carolina by 500 votes instead of losing it by 200 votes, right?" Battleground focus Trump is trailing badly in the polls, and his debate threat opened him up to a stinging attack from Obama at a Miami rally. "When you try to sow the seeds of doubt in people's minds about the legitimacy of our election, that undermines our democracy," Obama said Thursday. "When you suggest rigging or fraud without a shred of evidence, when last night at the debate, Trump becomes the first major party nominee in American history to suggest that he will not concede despite losing... that is not a joking matter." In the battle of the battlegrounds, Clinton holds leads in several states, ranging from razor-thin, such as in North Carolina, to moderate in Florida and Pennsylvania and commanding in Virginia. She is even narrowly ahead in Arizona, the traditionally Republican-leaning state where First Lady Michelle Obama -- who galvanised voters with a searing attack on Trump last week -- campaigned for Clinton on Thursday. If Trump loses Florida, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, Clinton is all but assured of victory, experts have said. In Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Trump supporters streamed into a convention center to hear Trump speak in their depressed former steel town, where most mill jobs have evaporated. Trump promised that he would bring many of them back. "We don't make things anymore" he told the cheering crowd. "When I'm president, we're going to start making things again in America." (AFP)

Clinton warns Trump is 'threatening' US democracy

Obama's remarks come ahead of Hillary Clinton's final presidential debate against Trump

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday asked Donald Trump to "stop whining" about elections being rigged, calling the remarks "irresponsible." His comments come a day before the final presidential debate between Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. The US president said he had never before seen anyone trying to discredit the election process. "I have never seen in my lifetime, or in modern political history, any presidential candidate trying to discredit the elections and the election process before votes have even taken place. It's unprecedented," Obama said while addressing a press conference with visiting Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. "That is both irresponsible --- and, by the way, it doesn't really show the kind of leadership and toughness that you'd want out of a president. You start whining before the game's even over? If, whenever things are going badly for you and you lose, you start blaming somebody else? Then you don't have what it takes to be in this job," he added. "I'd advise Mr Trump to stop whining, and go try to make his case to get votes." Obama's comments came a day after Trump questioned the electoral process at a rally in Wisconsin's Green Bay, claiming "People that have died 10 years ago are still voting, illegal immigrants are voting." Obama dismissed the accusations as "based on no facts." As did experts and Trump's own party officials. Obama has campaigned on several occasions for Clinton, who served as his first secretary of state and who is leading in the latest national and battleground state polls. Trump's dipping popularity The 90-minute third and final presidential debate takes place three weeks before Americans head to the polls on November 8. It will be held at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas at 6:00 pm (0100 GMT Thursday). It is seen as a last chance for the Republican nominee whose popularity has dipped after accusations of sexual misconduct by several women and the emergence of a 2005 video in which he makes lewd comments about women. His team deployed his wife Melania to salvage the situation. "Those words, they were offensive to me and they were inappropriate. And he apologized to me. And I accept his apology. And we are moving on," Melania Trump told Fox News on Tuesday. Trump had declared his innocence once again on Monday. Asked on ABC whether he had ever crossed the line with women, Trump said "I don`t think so. I have great respect for women." "It's lies, pure lies," he said of the accusations. Preparation for the debate The candidates are expected to address the issues of the US debt, immigration policy, the economy, the Supreme Court, hot spots around the world, and their preparedness to be commander in chief, AFP reported. Clinton, who had no events scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, seems to have carefully prepared true to her style. Asked about her preparedness at the Westchester airport, she flashed a thumbs up sign before boarded her plane to Las Vegas, AFP reported. In contrast, Trump was seen engaging in "debate prep" in Colorado Springs on Tuesday and has back-to-back rallies scheduled in the city and Vegas. Besides rigging, his main attack against Clinton has been her email scandal. 41% of American voters, including 73% of Republicans, believe the election could actually be stolen from Trump, AFP said citing a poll by Politico and Morning Consult. Clinton, meanwhile, is concentrating on traditionally Republican-leaning states like Arizona and Missouri, AFP reported. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Obama's scathing attack on Trump: Stop whining about 'rigged' vote

Controversial transparency group Wikileaks on Saturday released&nbsp;three of US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton&#39;s &nbsp;&#39;paid speeches&#39; to heavyweight Goldman Sachs.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

For more than a week, the transparency group has been publishing &#39;hacked emails&#39; from the account of John Podesta, Clinton&#39;s campaign chairman, Reuters reported.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

In its &#39;latest batch&#39; of hacked emails, Wikileaks claims that the documents show &nbsp;&quot;question-and-answer sessions with Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and Tim O&#39;Neill, the bank&#39;s head of investment management, at three separate events in 2013 in Arizona, New York and South Carolina&quot;, the international news agency highlighted in its report.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

In what appear to be the &#39;transcripts&#39; &nbsp;of the speeches that Clinton made to the financial giant between the time she left her position as secretary of state in 2013 and launched the presidential campaign in 2015, Clinton is shown offering her opinions on a range of issues. &nbsp;She is talking about financial regulations, relations with Russia and negative effects of previous WikiLeaks releases on US foreign policy, AFP reported.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&quot;There was also a need to do something because for political reasons, if you were an elected member of Congress and people in your constituency were losing jobs and shutting businesses and everybody in the press is saying it&#39;s all the fault of Wall Street, you can&#39;t sit idly by and do nothing,&quot; Clinton reportedly said as she talked about how something had to be done to &quot;rein in Wall Street abuses&quot;.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Clinton collected &quot;at least $1.8 million for at least eight speeches to big banks&quot;, CNN reports quoting the figures released by Clinton&#39;s campaign and tax documents she released earlier this year.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Meanwhile, Clinton&#39;s campaign refused to comment over the leaks, however, the US government has repeatedly&nbsp;stressed that Wikileaks is working in collaboration with Russia.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&quot;There is no getting around it: Donald Trump is cheering on a Russian attempt to influence our election through a crime reminiscent of Watergate but on a more massive scale,&quot; Glen Caplin, a Clinton campaign spokesman was quoted as saying by CNN.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&quot;We&#39;re witnessing another effort to steal private campaign documents in order to influence an election.&quot;

&nbsp;

According to Reuters, Clinton has previously come under fire for not releasing her speeches made to the big banks while opponents accused her of having a &nbsp;&quot;cozy relationship with the bankers and other firms&quot;.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Earlier, Democratic primary rival Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont had argued that she could not be relied upon to regulate firms by which she has been paid, AFP reported.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Trump has also attacked the Democratic presidential&nbsp;nominee over the leaked emails while referring to the private speeches to major banks in 2013 and 2014 where she apparently expressed views in favour of free trade and Wall Street self-regulation that are at odds with her positions as a candidate.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from AFP, Reuters)&nbsp;

The Democratic presidential candidate earlier came under fire for not releasing her speeches made to big banks

Controversial transparency group Wikileaks on Saturday released three of US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's 'paid speeches' to heavyweight Goldman Sachs. For more than a week, the transparency group has been publishing 'hacked emails' from the account of John Podesta, Clinton's campaign chairman, Reuters reported. In its 'latest batch' of hacked emails, Wikileaks claims that the documents show "question-and-answer sessions with Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and Tim O'Neill, the bank's head of investment management, at three separate events in 2013 in Arizona, New York and South Carolina", the international news agency highlighted in its report. In what appear to be the 'transcripts' of the speeches that Clinton made to the financial giant between the time she left her position as secretary of state in 2013 and launched the presidential campaign in 2015, Clinton is shown offering her opinions on a range of issues. She is talking about financial regulations, relations with Russia and negative effects of previous WikiLeaks releases on US foreign policy, AFP reported. "There was also a need to do something because for political reasons, if you were an elected member of Congress and people in your constituency were losing jobs and shutting businesses and everybody in the press is saying it's all the fault of Wall Street, you can't sit idly by and do nothing," Clinton reportedly said as she talked about how something had to be done to "rein in Wall Street abuses". Clinton collected "at least $1.8 million for at least eight speeches to big banks", CNN reports quoting the figures released by Clinton's campaign and tax documents she released earlier this year. Meanwhile, Clinton's campaign refused to comment over the leaks, however, the US government has repeatedly stressed that Wikileaks is working in collaboration with Russia. "There is no getting around it: Donald Trump is cheering on a Russian attempt to influence our election through a crime reminiscent of Watergate but on a more massive scale," Glen Caplin, a Clinton campaign spokesman was quoted as saying by CNN. "We're witnessing another effort to steal private campaign documents in order to influence an election." According to Reuters, Clinton has previously come under fire for not releasing her speeches made to the big banks while opponents accused her of having a "cozy relationship with the bankers and other firms". Earlier, Democratic primary rival Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont had argued that she could not be relied upon to regulate firms by which she has been paid, AFP reported. Trump has also attacked the Democratic presidential nominee over the leaked emails while referring to the private speeches to major banks in 2013 and 2014 where she apparently expressed views in favour of free trade and Wall Street self-regulation that are at odds with her positions as a candidate. (WION with inputs from AFP, Reuters)

Wikileaks releases Clinton's 'paid speeches' for Goldman Sachs

hillary-clinton

Hillary Clinton, News on Hillary Clinton, stories on Hillary Clinton, articles on Hillary Clinton, Hillary Clinton stories at Wion, Hillary Clinton news, Hillary Clinton latest news

hillary clinton

I don't believe Comey was trying to influence the elections: Obama

US elections: As they enter final stretch, Trump & Clinton tout rival visions of America

Ohio judge orders Trump campaign to avoid voter intimidation

FBI examining fake documents targeting Clinton campaign

Donald Trump vs Hillary Clinton: Who is more technologically challenged?

US elections 2016: Vote trading websites aim to block Trump presidency

Hillary Clinton: Wall Street's favourite enemy

Charities or currying favour: Donations to Clinton Foundation

Clinton email probe: FBI should not operate on 'innuendo', says Obama

Trump has a 30-year history of 'insulting and assaulting' women: Clinton

US elections 2016: Trump, Clinton go on attack as new poll suggests race has tightened

Hillary Clinton's childhood, and how it shaped her politics

FBI releases Bill Clinton's closed case files ahead of Nov 8 election

Global stocks fall over chances of Trump's victory in US elections

New poll points to declining enthusiasm among Clinton supporters

CNN accepts Brazile's resignation amid renewed WikiLeaks controversy

Trump: 'Constitutional crisis' if Clinton elected

Trump falsely claims Clinton could triple US population in one week

Clinton 'absolutely ready' to be commander-in-chief: Michelle

Clinton email probe: FBI reopens case after discovering new emails

Trump says 'just cancel the election', name him victor

Who is Hillary Clinton?

US elections: First Lady joins Clinton's campaign trail as Trump uses Modi's tagline to woo voters

Clinton Will Win, Trump Will Protest

Trump vows to scrap Obamacare as insurance costs set to jump 25 per cent

Trump vows to scrap Obamacare as insurance costs set to jump 25 per cent