The&nbsp;US&nbsp;presidential election 2020 was&nbsp;expected to be a dramatic and eventful ride with Republican candidate Donald Trump running for re-election and competing with Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

However, nobody predicted a global pandemic that would upend every facet of the campaign.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-president-donald-trumps-wildest-prediction-till-date-338554" hreflang="en">US election 2020: President Donald Trump's wildest prediction till date</a>

This is the first time in the history of American politics that the early voter count has reached 90 million. As per a tally posted by the US Elections Project at the University of Florida, more than 90 million Americans have already cast their ballots and the number is expected to grow as the residents still have two more days to vote.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/more-than-90-million-voters-cast-ballots-two-days-before-us-election-2020-339354" hreflang="en">More than 90 million voters cast ballots two days before US election 2020</a>

Here are 10 pivotal moments from a dizzying election year:

1. Trump acquitted, February&nbsp;5, 2020, At the beginning of the year, things were looking up for the Republican president. Trump's Senate impeachment trial ended with him cleared on two charges brought by Democrats. The fallout from the Mueller Report was no longer hanging over his head. The economy was roaring - and prospects for his re-election looked relatively strong. After years of strife, the moment offered him a chance for a reset. But even as things looked rosier for the president, cases of COVID-19 were beginning to circulate in California and the Pacific Northwest.

2. Biden wins South Carolina primary, February&nbsp;29, 2020, After disappointing finishes in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, Joe Biden's presidential bid looked cooked. But his campaign aides asserted that things would turn around as soon as African Americans began voting in large numbers - and they were right. Biden blew the field away in South Carolina, causing several rivals to drop out immediately and setting the stage for a stunning run that sewed up the Democratic nomination in a matter of weeks. Biden would perhaps prove to be the one Democrat best suited to pull moderate voters in the Midwest and elsewhere away from Trump.

3. Trump delivers coronavirus address, March 11, 2020, After weeks of downplaying the coronavirus threat and with cases skyrocketing in the country, Trump delivered a rare national address from the Oval Office in an attempt to reassure a jittery public. Two days later, he would declare a national emergency. The virus would reshape American life, closing schools, businesses, and restaurants, trapping millions at home, and becoming the dominant issue of the 2020 election. It would also keep Trump - and Biden even more so - off the campaign trail for months.

4. Sanders drops out, April 8, 2020, Trailing Biden badly in delegates, and with the coronavirus outbreak paralyzing the nation, Bernie Sanders became the final rival for the Democratic nomination to drop out of the race. He would endorse Biden a few days later, ensuring that the party would not be riven by discord as it was four years earlier when Sanders refused to concede to Hillary Clinton until the party's national convention. Sanders' move allowed Biden to turn his focus squarely to the general election with nearly seven months to go. Biden worked to make Sanders' supporters feel welcome, establishing a series of policy working groups that included progressive voices.

5. Trump's 'bleach' moment, April 23, 2020, With the death toll from the pandemic nearing 50,000, Trump at one of his daily virus briefings spontaneously suggested that injecting disinfectants into the human body could eliminate the virus. Public health experts quickly warned the public that doing so would be toxic, and Trump later claimed he was being sarcastic. The resulting furor was a factor in his deciding, days later, to suspend the briefings entirely, even though opinion polls in April had shown an uptick in public approval of his handling of the crisis.

6. Protesters tear gassed outside the White House, June 1, 2020, Washington was one of several cities convulsed by largely peaceful protests in the wake of the death on May 25 of George Floyd, a Black man, under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer. On June 1, Trump gave an address at the White House invoking the "law and order" theme he would employ during the rest of his campaign. US&nbsp;Park Police and National Guard troops, clad in riot gear, then used pepper spray to clear the park outside the White House of protesters so that Trump could walk to historic St. John's Church and pose for a photo holding up a Bible. The melee became an image that would haunt Trump, as polls showed Americans largely supportive of the protests for racial justice. His approval rating soon dropped to a seven-month low.

7. Harris joins Biden's ticket, August&nbsp;11, 2020, Biden tapping Senator Kamala Harris of California, a former rival for the nomination, as his running mate didn't come as a surprise. She had been the favorite all along. But she swiftly proved herself to be everything Biden needed, giving him a practiced and polished campaign partner and energizing the Democratic base. She also brought her own fundraising prowess to bear, with contributions to Biden's campaign reaching stratospheric levels once she was in the fold.

8. Justice Ginsburg dies, September&nbsp;18, 2020, The worst fears of liberals came true as the storied Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg succumbed to cancer less than two months before the November&nbsp;3 election. Trump did not hesitate to fill her Supreme Court slot, nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the court and likely ensuring a conservative majority for years to come. The move gave conservatives a reason to cheer in what had been a challenging year for the president. But it also galvanized Democrats, particularly women, while allowing the Biden campaign's warnings of threats to the Affordable Care Act and abortion rights to be thrown into stark relief.

9. The first Trump-Biden debate, September&nbsp;29, 2020, Needing something to turn his fortunes around, Trump came into his first debate with Biden looking for a fight. But his belligerence worked against him. He repeatedly interrupted Biden and the moderator, Chris Wallace, to the point where the entire event veered out of control. He attacked Biden's family. Polls and focus groups conducted afterward showed swing voters were repulsed by his behavior. Trump would later drop out of the second debate after it was switched to a virtual format in the wake of his COVID-19 diagnosis. He then adopted a more restrained tone for the final face-off with Biden on Oct. 22.

10. Trump gets COVID-19, October&nbsp;2, 2020, After weeks of holding in-person rallies in which safety measures against the spread of the coronavirus were largely ignored, Trump and several aides tested positive for the disease. A short illness and quarantine period kept him off the campaign trail for 10 days. The bigger damage, however, may have been to the president's image. With Trump already faulted by a majority of Americans for his handling of the pandemic, his diagnosis made the White House look bumbling and hypocritical. And it ensured the virus would remain the central issue of the campaign just weeks before Election Day.

The US presidential election 2020 was expected to be a dramatic and eventful ride with Republican candidate Donald Trump running for re-election and competing with Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

The US presidential election 2020 was expected to be a dramatic and eventful ride with Republican candidate Donald Trump running for re-election and competing with Democratic candidate Joe Biden. However, nobody predicted a global pandemic that would upend every facet of the campaign. Also read| US election 2020: President Donald Trump's wildest prediction till date This is the first time in the history of American politics that the early voter count has reached 90 million. As per a tally posted by the US Elections Project at the University of Florida, more than 90 million Americans have already cast their ballots and the number is expected to grow as the residents still have two more days to vote. Also read: More than 90 million voters cast ballots two days before US election 2020 Here are 10 pivotal moments from a dizzying election year: 1. Trump acquitted, February 5, 2020, At the beginning of the year, things were looking up for the Republican president. Trump's Senate impeachment trial ended with him cleared on two charges brought by Democrats. The fallout from the Mueller Report was no longer hanging over his head. The economy was roaring - and prospects for his re-election looked relatively strong. After years of strife, the moment offered him a chance for a reset. But even as things looked rosier for the president, cases of COVID-19 were beginning to circulate in California and the Pacific Northwest. 2. Biden wins South Carolina primary, February 29, 2020, After disappointing finishes in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, Joe Biden's presidential bid looked cooked. But his campaign aides asserted that things would turn around as soon as African Americans began voting in large numbers - and they were right. Biden blew the field away in South Carolina, causing several rivals to drop out immediately and setting the stage for a stunning run that sewed up the Democratic nomination in a matter of weeks. Biden would perhaps prove to be the one Democrat best suited to pull moderate voters in the Midwest and elsewhere away from Trump. 3. Trump delivers coronavirus address, March 11, 2020, After weeks of downplaying the coronavirus threat and with cases skyrocketing in the country, Trump delivered a rare national address from the Oval Office in an attempt to reassure a jittery public. Two days later, he would declare a national emergency. The virus would reshape American life, closing schools, businesses, and restaurants, trapping millions at home, and becoming the dominant issue of the 2020 election. It would also keep Trump - and Biden even more so - off the campaign trail for months. 4. Sanders drops out, April 8, 2020, Trailing Biden badly in delegates, and with the coronavirus outbreak paralyzing the nation, Bernie Sanders became the final rival for the Democratic nomination to drop out of the race. He would endorse Biden a few days later, ensuring that the party would not be riven by discord as it was four years earlier when Sanders refused to concede to Hillary Clinton until the party's national convention. Sanders' move allowed Biden to turn his focus squarely to the general election with nearly seven months to go. Biden worked to make Sanders' supporters feel welcome, establishing a series of policy working groups that included progressive voices. 5. Trump's 'bleach' moment, April 23, 2020, With the death toll from the pandemic nearing 50,000, Trump at one of his daily virus briefings spontaneously suggested that injecting disinfectants into the human body could eliminate the virus. Public health experts quickly warned the public that doing so would be toxic, and Trump later claimed he was being sarcastic. The resulting furor was a factor in his deciding, days later, to suspend the briefings entirely, even though opinion polls in April had shown an uptick in public approval of his handling of the crisis. 6. Protesters tear gassed outside the White House, June 1, 2020, Washington was one of several cities convulsed by largely peaceful protests in the wake of the death on May 25 of George Floyd, a Black man, under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer. On June 1, Trump gave an address at the White House invoking the "law and order" theme he would employ during the rest of his campaign. US Park Police and National Guard troops, clad in riot gear, then used pepper spray to clear the park outside the White House of protesters so that Trump could walk to historic St. John's Church and pose for a photo holding up a Bible. The melee became an image that would haunt Trump, as polls showed Americans largely supportive of the protests for racial justice. His approval rating soon dropped to a seven-month low. 7. Harris joins Biden's ticket, August 11, 2020, Biden tapping Senator Kamala Harris of California, a former rival for the nomination, as his running mate didn't come as a surprise. She had been the favorite all along. But she swiftly proved herself to be everything Biden needed, giving him a practiced and polished campaign partner and energizing the Democratic base. She also brought her own fundraising prowess to bear, with contributions to Biden's campaign reaching stratospheric levels once she was in the fold. 8. Justice Ginsburg dies, September 18, 2020, The worst fears of liberals came true as the storied Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg succumbed to cancer less than two months before the November 3 election. Trump did not hesitate to fill her Supreme Court slot, nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the court and likely ensuring a conservative majority for years to come. The move gave conservatives a reason to cheer in what had been a challenging year for the president. But it also galvanized Democrats, particularly women, while allowing the Biden campaign's warnings of threats to the Affordable Care Act and abortion rights to be thrown into stark relief. 9. The first Trump-Biden debate, September 29, 2020, Needing something to turn his fortunes around, Trump came into his first debate with Biden looking for a fight. But his belligerence worked against him. He repeatedly interrupted Biden and the moderator, Chris Wallace, to the point where the entire event veered out of control. He attacked Biden's family. Polls and focus groups conducted afterward showed swing voters were repulsed by his behavior. Trump would later drop out of the second debate after it was switched to a virtual format in the wake of his COVID-19 diagnosis. He then adopted a more restrained tone for the final face-off with Biden on Oct. 22. 10. Trump gets COVID-19, October 2, 2020, After weeks of holding in-person rallies in which safety measures against the spread of the coronavirus were largely ignored, Trump and several aides tested positive for the disease. A short illness and quarantine period kept him off the campaign trail for 10 days. The bigger damage, however, may have been to the president's image. With Trump already faulted by a majority of Americans for his handling of the pandemic, his diagnosis made the White House look bumbling and hypocritical. And it ensured the virus would remain the central issue of the campaign just weeks before Election Day.

US election 2020: Top 10 pivotal moments of the presidential campaign

With Donald Trump running for re-election, the 2020 U.S. presidential election was always expected to be a dramatic and eventful ride. But nobody predicted a global pandemic that would upend every facet of the campaign. Here are 10 pivotal moments from a dizzying election year.

Ten moments that defined the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign

If the 2016 election pitted feminism against machismo, this one asks voters to consider what masculinity means.

President Donald Trump, in his personality and policies, has presented himself as hypermasculine: tough, plain-spoken, the patriarch who is unafraid to offend and unapologetic when he does. Joe Biden has emphasized family, empathy and caring for others — the loving, supportive and protective father.

Despite trailing in polls nationally by an average of around 9 percentage points, Trump has continued to lead Biden with male voters. Now, in the final days of the campaign, both sides are trying to appeal to voters’ sense of what a man should be.

Last week, a male conservative pundit posted a photograph on Twitter of Biden embracing his son Hunter, and asked, “Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you?” A female conservative media figure taunted Biden for wearing a mask, saying he should carry a purse with it. The message was clear: To show vulnerability isn’t masculine.

Biden’s campaign suggests that not only can men express love for their family members, admit when they’re wrong and tear up in public — but that it’s also manly to do so.

“There are a lot of Biden tropes that link up with masculinity — protecting, serving, sacrificing, being the rock that the family can depend on,” said Matthew Gutmann, author of “Are Men Animals? How Modern Masculinity Sells Men Short,” and an anthropologist at Brown who has studied masculinity around the world.

As for Trump, Gutmann said: “I think the misogyny is front and center and absolutely essential to his total persona, his total appeal. And not just to men. A lot of women think that’s the way guys should be. They’re not just begrudgingly voting for Trump, but saying, ‘He’s a real man.’”

During the first debate, when Trump criticized Hunter, Biden responded with emotion: “My son had a drug problem. He’s overtaken it. He’s fixed it. He’s worked on it. And I’m proud of him.” In recent days, male Biden supporters flooded social media with their own photos of hugging their fathers or sons.

The Lincoln Project, a group of anti-Trump Republicans, released a new ad titled “Men,” narrated by Sam Elliott, the quintessential Hollywood cowboy. It shows fathers and sons changing a tire, throwing a football and embracing.

“Our dads weren’t perfect, but they did their best to raise us to be good, to be honorable, to be men of family and faith,” it says. “But above all, they taught us to own up to it when we did something wrong.”

Implying that one of those wrong things was voting for Trump last time, the ad concludes: “It’s time to own up, to be the men our dads raised us to be and the fathers our sons need us to be. It’s our turn to set the example.”

Honor and family are values that voters in either party would support. But the goal is to convince male voters that Biden is the candidate who most embodies the men they want themselves and their sons to be, said Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist and co-founder of the Lincoln Project: “We’re asking these people, ‘Are you going to defy your own upbringing, the things you know you should do? And if you choose not to, are you willing to watch your child’s behavior be modeled on Donald Trump versus what your dad taught you?’”

Though Trump’s version of masculinity appeals to a large segment of voters, both male and female, it has also repelled many of the white women who once supported him. This election has a large gender gap among voters, with women supporting Biden by 23 points, and just over half of white women supporting him, according to a national poll this month by The New York Times and Siena College. Biden may also have gained more college-educated men.

Now, Wilson said, they are making their case to less educated men, who were instrumental in Trump’s 2016 victory: “It’s a harder set of targets, but it’s more rewarding if we’re able to drop off even 2 or 3% of the men who voted for him.”

Sixty-seven percent of white men without college degrees support Trump, according to the Times/Siena poll. Also, a small but potentially significant number of Black and Latino men have shifted their support from the Democratic Party to Trump, in part because of the president’s macho appeal, analysts say.

Trump’s approach can be seen as a throwback to a time when men’s main role was to provide for and lead their family, researchers said. Trump’s children briefly greeted him in his office before and after school, recalls his first wife, Ivana, in her book “Raising Trump.” Today, he relies on his children professionally — both in business and politics — and publicly praises them, but is rarely seen showing them affection.

Biden has been fully hands-on with his children, and was their primary caregiver long before that became less of a rarity. He became a single father early in his career after his wife and daughter were killed in a car crash, and he helped care for his son Beau while he had cancer (he died of it in 2015).

“He’s lived that experience of ‘What will I do? I have to go to a meeting, and where will my kids be?’” said Cynthia Hogan, who served as Biden’s counsel starting in 1991 when he was a senator and again when he became vice president in 2009. “At that time — and I think even today — a lot of men really weren’t doing that.”

The two political parties in the United States have long differed along stereotypically gendered lines, as have voters, according to research by Monika McDermott, a political scientist at Fordham.

“The Democrats are the more feminine party: They’re willing to tax more and have bigger government because they’re willing to care for people,” she said. “Republicans are more about rugged individualism, being independent and fending for yourself.”

For the current candidates, their views of manhood are reflected in their policies and politics.

Trump prioritizes strength and patriarchy. “Don’t let it dominate your lives,” he said of the coronavirus, for which he was hospitalized. His foreign policy is called “America First.” He disparages or fires political enemies. At a rally this week, he told voters he wants to get “husbands back to work.” Though Trump has spoken of the need for family policies, he has delegated them to his daughter Ivanka, and very little has been done.

Biden has made caregiving a big part of his economic proposals, with a $775 billion plan to help young children, older adults and people with disabilities, and to increase pay for caregivers. He has drawn upon the grief he’s experienced to comfort families touched by the coronavirus. And he has promised to try to build consensus and share power — starting with his choice of a woman as his running mate, Kamala Harris.

“The gender norms around caregiving are changing,” said Ai-jen Poo, senior adviser for Care in Action, a nonprofit, and an expert on the care economy. “I think representation matters, and it’s not just in terms of race and ethnicity, it’s also in terms of experience. People want to see somebody who understands the kind of caregiving struggles they’ve been through.”

Still, as much as gender roles are evolving, the candidates that voters are choosing between are both straight white men in their 70s, and versions of traditional men and fathers. No matter the outcome, it will be at least four more years before America is asked to consider any version of a leader that breaks that mold.

If the 2016 election pitted feminism against machismo, this one asks voters to consider what masculinity means. President Donald Trump, in his personality and policies, has presented himself as hypermasculine: tough, plain-spoken, the patriarch who is unafraid to offend and unapologetic when he does.

If the 2016 election pitted feminism against machismo, this one asks voters to consider what masculinity means. President Donald Trump, in his personality and policies, has presented himself as hypermasculine: tough, plain-spoken, the patriarch who is unafraid to offend and unapologetic when he does. Joe Biden has emphasized family, empathy and caring for others — the loving, supportive and protective father. Despite trailing in polls nationally by an average of around 9 percentage points, Trump has continued to lead Biden with male voters. Now, in the final days of the campaign, both sides are trying to appeal to voters’ sense of what a man should be. Last week, a male conservative pundit posted a photograph on Twitter of Biden embracing his son Hunter, and asked, “Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you?” A female conservative media figure taunted Biden for wearing a mask, saying he should carry a purse with it. The message was clear: To show vulnerability isn’t masculine. Biden’s campaign suggests that not only can men express love for their family members, admit when they’re wrong and tear up in public — but that it’s also manly to do so. “There are a lot of Biden tropes that link up with masculinity — protecting, serving, sacrificing, being the rock that the family can depend on,” said Matthew Gutmann, author of “Are Men Animals? How Modern Masculinity Sells Men Short,” and an anthropologist at Brown who has studied masculinity around the world. As for Trump, Gutmann said: “I think the misogyny is front and center and absolutely essential to his total persona, his total appeal. And not just to men. A lot of women think that’s the way guys should be. They’re not just begrudgingly voting for Trump, but saying, ‘He’s a real man.’” During the first debate, when Trump criticized Hunter, Biden responded with emotion: “My son had a drug problem. He’s overtaken it. He’s fixed it. He’s worked on it. And I’m proud of him.” In recent days, male Biden supporters flooded social media with their own photos of hugging their fathers or sons. The Lincoln Project, a group of anti-Trump Republicans, released a new ad titled “Men,” narrated by Sam Elliott, the quintessential Hollywood cowboy. It shows fathers and sons changing a tire, throwing a football and embracing. “Our dads weren’t perfect, but they did their best to raise us to be good, to be honorable, to be men of family and faith,” it says. “But above all, they taught us to own up to it when we did something wrong.” Implying that one of those wrong things was voting for Trump last time, the ad concludes: “It’s time to own up, to be the men our dads raised us to be and the fathers our sons need us to be. It’s our turn to set the example.” Honor and family are values that voters in either party would support. But the goal is to convince male voters that Biden is the candidate who most embodies the men they want themselves and their sons to be, said Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist and co-founder of the Lincoln Project: “We’re asking these people, ‘Are you going to defy your own upbringing, the things you know you should do? And if you choose not to, are you willing to watch your child’s behavior be modeled on Donald Trump versus what your dad taught you?’” Though Trump’s version of masculinity appeals to a large segment of voters, both male and female, it has also repelled many of the white women who once supported him. This election has a large gender gap among voters, with women supporting Biden by 23 points, and just over half of white women supporting him, according to a national poll this month by The New York Times and Siena College. Biden may also have gained more college-educated men. Now, Wilson said, they are making their case to less educated men, who were instrumental in Trump’s 2016 victory: “It’s a harder set of targets, but it’s more rewarding if we’re able to drop off even 2 or 3% of the men who voted for him.” Sixty-seven percent of white men without college degrees support Trump, according to the Times/Siena poll. Also, a small but potentially significant number of Black and Latino men have shifted their support from the Democratic Party to Trump, in part because of the president’s macho appeal, analysts say. Trump’s approach can be seen as a throwback to a time when men’s main role was to provide for and lead their family, researchers said. Trump’s children briefly greeted him in his office before and after school, recalls his first wife, Ivana, in her book “Raising Trump.” Today, he relies on his children professionally — both in business and politics — and publicly praises them, but is rarely seen showing them affection. Biden has been fully hands-on with his children, and was their primary caregiver long before that became less of a rarity. He became a single father early in his career after his wife and daughter were killed in a car crash, and he helped care for his son Beau while he had cancer (he died of it in 2015). “He’s lived that experience of ‘What will I do? I have to go to a meeting, and where will my kids be?’” said Cynthia Hogan, who served as Biden’s counsel starting in 1991 when he was a senator and again when he became vice president in 2009. “At that time — and I think even today — a lot of men really weren’t doing that.” The two political parties in the United States have long differed along stereotypically gendered lines, as have voters, according to research by Monika McDermott, a political scientist at Fordham. “The Democrats are the more feminine party: They’re willing to tax more and have bigger government because they’re willing to care for people,” she said. “Republicans are more about rugged individualism, being independent and fending for yourself.” For the current candidates, their views of manhood are reflected in their policies and politics. Trump prioritizes strength and patriarchy. “Don’t let it dominate your lives,” he said of the coronavirus, for which he was hospitalized. His foreign policy is called “America First.” He disparages or fires political enemies. At a rally this week, he told voters he wants to get “husbands back to work.” Though Trump has spoken of the need for family policies, he has delegated them to his daughter Ivanka, and very little has been done. Biden has made caregiving a big part of his economic proposals, with a $775 billion plan to help young children, older adults and people with disabilities, and to increase pay for caregivers. He has drawn upon the grief he’s experienced to comfort families touched by the coronavirus. And he has promised to try to build consensus and share power — starting with his choice of a woman as his running mate, Kamala Harris. “The gender norms around caregiving are changing,” said Ai-jen Poo, senior adviser for Care in Action, a nonprofit, and an expert on the care economy. “I think representation matters, and it’s not just in terms of race and ethnicity, it’s also in terms of experience. People want to see somebody who understands the kind of caregiving struggles they’ve been through.” Still, as much as gender roles are evolving, the candidates that voters are choosing between are both straight white men in their 70s, and versions of traditional men and fathers. No matter the outcome, it will be at least four more years before America is asked to consider any version of a leader that breaks that mold.

What makes a man manly? Trump and Biden offer competing answers

He was attempting to land Democrat Joe Biden an electoral slam dunk, but former president Barack Obama nailed a 3-pointer instead. Literally.

On the campaign trail Saturday at a high school gym in Flint, Michigan, Obama, who is known for his skill on the court, was passed a basketball as he left the room.

The ex-president dribbled, then sank the 3-pointer from the corner before casually resuming his exit and telling the campaign entourage confidently that "that's what I do."

Video of the shot -- posted to Twitter by both Obama and Biden's traveling digital director Olivia Raisner -- quickly went viral, gaining hundreds of thousands of likes and praise from none other than LeBron James, recently named Most Valuable Player of the 2020 NBA Finals.

"Now you just showing out now my friend!!" James tweeted. "That's what you do huh?? Ok ok I see. All cash!"

Biden, who was Obama's vice president, made his first joint appearance of the campaign with his former boss in Flint, scrambling to boost turnout ahead of Tuesday's election against Republican incumbent President Donald Trump who is trailing in the polls.

Shooting hoops on election day is a tradition for Obama, even when his name is not on the ballot.

The habit is reportedly part superstition for the ex-president who skipped the court during voting in the New Hampshire Democratic primary in 2008 and lost the race to then-senator Hillary Clinton.

He was attempting to land Democrat Joe Biden an electoral slam dunk, but former president Barack Obama nailed a 3-pointer instead. Literally. On the campaign trail Saturday at a high school gym in Flint, Michigan, Obama, who is known for his skill on the court, was passed a basketball as he left the room.

He was attempting to land Democrat Joe Biden an electoral slam dunk, but former president Barack Obama nailed a 3-pointer instead. Literally. On the campaign trail Saturday at a high school gym in Flint, Michigan, Obama, who is known for his skill on the court, was passed a basketball as he left the room. The ex-president dribbled, then sank the 3-pointer from the corner before casually resuming his exit and telling the campaign entourage confidently that "that's what I do." Video of the shot -- posted to Twitter by both Obama and Biden's traveling digital director Olivia Raisner -- quickly went viral, gaining hundreds of thousands of likes and praise from none other than LeBron James, recently named Most Valuable Player of the 2020 NBA Finals. "Now you just showing out now my friend!!" James tweeted. "That's what you do huh?? Ok ok I see. All cash!" Biden, who was Obama's vice president, made his first joint appearance of the campaign with his former boss in Flint, scrambling to boost turnout ahead of Tuesday's election against Republican incumbent President Donald Trump who is trailing in the polls. Shooting hoops on election day is a tradition for Obama, even when his name is not on the ballot. The habit is reportedly part superstition for the ex-president who skipped the court during voting in the New Hampshire Democratic primary in 2008 and lost the race to then-senator Hillary Clinton.

'That's what I do': Obama casually sinks 3-pointer on campaign trail

Support for the Democrat candidate and former Vice President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;is growing in every part of the world, and&nbsp;the Republican candidate and current President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;is taking a hit a few days before the upcoming&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">US election</a>.

In such a move to show support for Joe Biden, a Palestinian shoemaker is stamping Donald Trump's name in Arabic calligraphy on the footwear&nbsp;he produces and sells as an insult to the US President.&nbsp;The shoemaker is now quite popular among his Palestinian-American customers since he started making shoes with Trump's name on it.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-announces-executive-order-to-protect-fracking-at-us-election-rally-339339">Donald Trump announces executive order to protect fracking at US election rally</a>

He says the footwear a person wears is one of the most important things in one's apparel and attracts a lot of eyes and speaks volumed about the person. "When you observe body language, the lowest thing is the shoe. So the best thing to do is to put... Trump on the shoes of Palestinians,"&nbsp;said the 57-year-old Imad Haj-Muhammad.

"Shoes touch the ground, dust and dirt. So if we write someone's name on them and that also gets dirty, then it shows... how you value that person," he continued.

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Watch | Palestinian shoemaker's unique protest against US President in which he has written <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Trump?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Trump</a>'s name on the shoes 
 
In Arab culture, writing a person's name on a shoe is considered as a demeaning gesture 
 
Priyanka Sharma (<a href="https://twitter.com/PriyankaSh25?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PriyankaSh25</a>) with the latest updates <a href="https://t.co/sDurSWkZAU">pic.twitter.com/sDurSWkZAU</a>
— WION (@WIONews) <a href="https://twitter.com/WIONews/status/1322763349130502144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2020</a></blockquote>
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He says he put Trump's name on the shoes because he "assaulted our people" and "sold Jerusalem to Israel". The Palestinian man wants an apology from the President, his American customers or the win of the Democratic candidate Joe Biden&nbsp;to remove Trump's name from the shoes. "The apology is for my people because the insult was against my people... and my Islamic nation," he said.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/on-final-weekend-before-nov-3-vote-trump-and-biden-press-closing-arguments-339318" hreflang="en">On final weekend before Nov 3 vote, Trump and Biden press closing arguments</a>

Haj-Muhammad also has a sign outside his shop asking the American and French citizens to apologise for the statements and actions made by their leaders, Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron, before entering the shop. While his anger towards Macron will not go away easily, he claims he is ready to remove the American poster if Joe Biden wins the election and reverses Trump's decisions.

"I will not remove the demand for an apology from the Americans unless America's decisions (to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital) is cancelled," he said. "If Biden rescinds the decision, I will remove the sign and I will be happy."

The shoes with Trump's names are available in his shop for $50 (200 shekels) and are made from pure and genuine leather inside and outside, which he claims is "more genuine than him (Trump)."

Support for the Democrat candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden is growing in every part of the world, and the Republican candidate and current President Donald Trump is taking a hit a few days before the upcoming US election.

Support for the Democrat candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden is growing in every part of the world, and the Republican candidate and current President Donald Trump is taking a hit a few days before the upcoming US election. In such a move to show support for Joe Biden, a Palestinian shoemaker is stamping Donald Trump's name in Arabic calligraphy on the footwear he produces and sells as an insult to the US President. The shoemaker is now quite popular among his Palestinian-American customers since he started making shoes with Trump's name on it. Also read| Donald Trump announces executive order to protect fracking at US election rally He says the footwear a person wears is one of the most important things in one's apparel and attracts a lot of eyes and speaks volumed about the person. "When you observe body language, the lowest thing is the shoe. So the best thing to do is to put... Trump on the shoes of Palestinians," said the 57-year-old Imad Haj-Muhammad. "Shoes touch the ground, dust and dirt. So if we write someone's name on them and that also gets dirty, then it shows... how you value that person," he continued. Watch | Palestinian shoemaker's unique protest against US President in which he has written #Trump's name on the shoes In Arab culture, writing a person's name on a shoe is considered as a demeaning gesture Priyanka Sharma (@PriyankaSh25) with the latest updates pic.twitter.com/sDurSWkZAU — WION (@WIONews) November 1, 2020 × He says he put Trump's name on the shoes because he "assaulted our people" and "sold Jerusalem to Israel". The Palestinian man wants an apology from the President, his American customers or the win of the Democratic candidate Joe Biden to remove Trump's name from the shoes. "The apology is for my people because the insult was against my people... and my Islamic nation," he said. Also read| On final weekend before Nov 3 vote, Trump and Biden press closing arguments Haj-Muhammad also has a sign outside his shop asking the American and French citizens to apologise for the statements and actions made by their leaders, Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron, before entering the shop. While his anger towards Macron will not go away easily, he claims he is ready to remove the American poster if Joe Biden wins the election and reverses Trump's decisions. "I will not remove the demand for an apology from the Americans unless America's decisions (to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital) is cancelled," he said. "If Biden rescinds the decision, I will remove the sign and I will be happy." The shoes with Trump's names are available in his shop for $50 (200 shekels) and are made from pure and genuine leather inside and outside, which he claims is "more genuine than him (Trump)."

Days before US election 2020, shoes with Donald Trump's name appears in Palestine

US First Lady Melania Trump made her campaign appearance for President Donald Trump on Saturday in the battleground of Wisconsin, where she urged voters to let her husband return to the White house.

US Election 2020: First lady campaigns for Trump in battleground Wisconsin

Two days before Election Day, President Donald Trump on Sunday launched a campaign sprint across battleground states starting with Michigan that will be crucial to the outcome of the U.S. election in an effort to defy the polls and fend off Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

US Election 2020 could see record-high turnout

They may have differing opinions about whether Donald Trump deserves a second term in the White House but residents of this suburb of Detroit say they won't let politics divide the community.

US Election 2020: Nextdoor neighbours in Michigan have politics that are worlds apart

The second weekend in October was “citizenship weekend” at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas.

“Up and down the ballot, there are two very different visions for our nation, and every one of us need to vote biblical principles,” the Rev. Jack Graham, one of President Donald Trump’s evangelical advisers, told the congregation. The 45,000-member church has a committee urging members to be “actively involved in our government,” including by running for office. At one point, Graham told the congregation, 23 members of the church held some kind of elected office. Graham invited four to the stage that Sunday, all Republicans.

But Graham does not see it as his job to tell members how to fill out their ballots. “You preach on the issues; you don’t insult people by telling them how to vote,” Graham said in an interview. “People will figure out how to vote if you guide them from Scripture.” On Oct. 25, he preached on the importance of religious liberty.

Decades after the rise of the Christian right as a political influence, conservative evangelicals have a reputation for political activism. That reputation has only intensified in the Trump era. White evangelicals voted for Trump overwhelmingly in 2016 and have remained his most dependable supporters. The president himself, who is not a frequent churchgoer, has indicated that he assumes conservative evangelical pastors would be eager to speak even more directly — perhaps to endorse him — if freed by tax law to do so.

In 2017, he signed an executive order intended to loosen enforcement of the Johnson Amendment, the provision that forbids pastors at tax-exempt churches to endorse or oppose candidates from the pulpit. “We are giving churches their voices back,” he said at a Rose Garden signing ceremony, framing the change as a gift to religious conservatives.

But tuning into conservative evangelical sermons across the country in the weeks leading up to a hotly contested election reveals a complex relationship between the pulpit and politics. Some pastors grappled directly with the question of a Christian’s political obligations. Others edged close to an endorsement. But many barely hinted at political themes, perhaps gesturing broadly to “unity” or “justice.”

Compared with other Christian traditions, white conservative Protestant churches are notably unenthusiastic about engaging directly in some kinds of traditional political activities. If tax law changed, 45% of self-described liberal congregations would endorse specific candidates, compared with 11% of self-described conservative congregations, according to a forthcoming paper analyzing data from the National Congregations Study, an ongoing nationally representative survey of about 1,200 leaders of religious congregations. Black churches, whose members are often theologically conservative and vote Democratic, are the most politically engaged.

But surveys about voter registration or lobbying — activities that liberal churches are likelier to engage in — do not capture the full portrait of churches’ political messaging. “There’s a lot more political signaling going on than we pick up with these explicit collective actions,” said Mark Chaves, director of the National Congregations Study and a professor at Duke University.

Surveys do not capture, for example, an American flag displayed at the front of the church, prayers offered for police officers but not protesters (or vice versa), or passing references to “life” or “freedom” in a sermon.

As a pastor in the Christian Reformed Church, Keith Mannes would have said for most of his career that he did not preach about politics. He calls himself “a pretty conservative guy,” and he occasionally addressed abortion or homosexuality in his sermons, but he saw those topics as biblical, not political.

But in 2015 something changed when Mannes watched Trump slowly descend a gleaming escalator at Trump Tower to start his presidential bid. The gaudiness struck him as grotesque; the biblical term “mammon” came to mind.

After Trump became president, Mannes increasingly felt called to speak directly about what he saw as an ungodly alliance between white conservative Christians and Trump. But for several years, he tried to stay quiet. “It’s just in our bones that we don’t make trouble about politics,” Mannes said. “We don’t talk about that stuff from the pulpit.”

He delivered his last sermon at East Saugatuck Christian Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan, on Oct. 11. After years of trying to “avoid politics” in the pulpit to keep peace in the congregation, he approached church leadership to suggest it was time to part ways. “You realize you’re extending all this energy just to make sure people don’t get upset,” he said. “I wanted to be able to speak openly in the world about what I believe.”

Pastors whose own political beliefs are in line with their congregations’ tend to feel more empowered to speak. In Apex, North Carolina, another evangelical pastor had watched in a very different mood as Trump descended the escalator at Trump Tower. “When he came down the escalator, I didn’t know much about him but I turned to my wife and said, ‘Honey, that guy’s going to win,’” Rodney Finch recalled. Finch, the Black pastor of a large multiracial church he founded in 1995, said he had not been strongly engaged in politics before, but the moment was electrifying.

This election cycle, Finch is all in. On Oct. 4, he preached a Sunday sermon on voting. “The Bible is a voter’s guide,” he told the congregation. Without explicitly telling members how to fill out their ballots, he ticked off God’s priorities, in his view: abortion, support for Israel, religious freedom.

Finch is not alone in his awakening. Just 1% of Protestant pastors say they have endorsed a candidate from the pulpit this year, according to a survey conducted this fall by LifeWay Research, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. That number is unchanged since 2016. But 32% of Protestant pastors said they have endorsed a political candidate away from the pulpit, ostensibly outside of their role as a pastor. That is a 10 percentage point increase since the last presidential election cycle. Pastors who say they are voting for Trump are more likely to say they have made an endorsement.

Still, in many white conservative churches, “there’s a fear of being labeled ‘political,’” said Kaitlyn Schiess, the author of “The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor,” a book urging evangelicals to engage more intentionally with politics. “As Christians, we’re supposed to be above that.”

An analysis by the Pew Research Center of 50,000 sermons streamed online last year found that 4% of Christian sermons even mentioned abortion, and those that did rarely focused entirely on the topic. Smaller congregations were more likely than larger ones to hear discussion of abortion in sermons.

At many evangelical churches, there have been almost no hints from the pulpit in recent weeks of the divisive election on the way.

“My job is to articulate to the members of our congregation a traditional, orthodox Christian worldview,” said Tim Breen, pastor of First Reformed Church in Orange City, Iowa, a congregation he described as “center right.” “I don’t feel a call to recommend who to vote for or even necessarily how to vote.” Most of his congregation, he said, would not be able to guess whom he is voting for.

At Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, churchgoers can participate in a class titled “The Bible, the Church and Politics” on Wednesday evenings leading up to the election. One session listed biblical priorities including a safety net for the poor, fair wages, “creation stewardship,” personal responsibility and “protection of the unborn.”

“The church is trying to balance, ‘How do we engage faithfully with social issues, but how do we not get swallowed up?’” said Trinity’s pastor, Walter Kim, the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, referring to the American church in general.

Kim describes his university-town congregation as “conservative theologically but mixed politically.” “There’s a bit of a tension,” he said. “Some people come to church with a deep desire to understand their world. Some come to church to find a reprieve from the world.”

Kim tries to navigate that tension by focusing on larger moral principles rather than partisan politics from the pulpit. On Oct. 25, he preached from the New Testament book of James, a sermon that focused on humility, repentance and the ultimate folly of many disputes. He did not mention Joe Biden, Trump or the upcoming election. “From the perspective of eternity,” he told his congregation, “we’re going to regret a lot of our fights.”

The second weekend in October was “citizenship weekend” at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. “Up and down the ballot, there are two very different visions for our nation, and every one of us need to vote biblical principles,” the Rev.

The second weekend in October was “citizenship weekend” at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. “Up and down the ballot, there are two very different visions for our nation, and every one of us need to vote biblical principles,” the Rev. Jack Graham, one of President Donald Trump’s evangelical advisers, told the congregation. The 45,000-member church has a committee urging members to be “actively involved in our government,” including by running for office. At one point, Graham told the congregation, 23 members of the church held some kind of elected office. Graham invited four to the stage that Sunday, all Republicans. But Graham does not see it as his job to tell members how to fill out their ballots. “You preach on the issues; you don’t insult people by telling them how to vote,” Graham said in an interview. “People will figure out how to vote if you guide them from Scripture.” On Oct. 25, he preached on the importance of religious liberty. Decades after the rise of the Christian right as a political influence, conservative evangelicals have a reputation for political activism. That reputation has only intensified in the Trump era. White evangelicals voted for Trump overwhelmingly in 2016 and have remained his most dependable supporters. The president himself, who is not a frequent churchgoer, has indicated that he assumes conservative evangelical pastors would be eager to speak even more directly — perhaps to endorse him — if freed by tax law to do so. In 2017, he signed an executive order intended to loosen enforcement of the Johnson Amendment, the provision that forbids pastors at tax-exempt churches to endorse or oppose candidates from the pulpit. “We are giving churches their voices back,” he said at a Rose Garden signing ceremony, framing the change as a gift to religious conservatives. But tuning into conservative evangelical sermons across the country in the weeks leading up to a hotly contested election reveals a complex relationship between the pulpit and politics. Some pastors grappled directly with the question of a Christian’s political obligations. Others edged close to an endorsement. But many barely hinted at political themes, perhaps gesturing broadly to “unity” or “justice.” Compared with other Christian traditions, white conservative Protestant churches are notably unenthusiastic about engaging directly in some kinds of traditional political activities. If tax law changed, 45% of self-described liberal congregations would endorse specific candidates, compared with 11% of self-described conservative congregations, according to a forthcoming paper analyzing data from the National Congregations Study, an ongoing nationally representative survey of about 1,200 leaders of religious congregations. Black churches, whose members are often theologically conservative and vote Democratic, are the most politically engaged. But surveys about voter registration or lobbying — activities that liberal churches are likelier to engage in — do not capture the full portrait of churches’ political messaging. “There’s a lot more political signaling going on than we pick up with these explicit collective actions,” said Mark Chaves, director of the National Congregations Study and a professor at Duke University. Surveys do not capture, for example, an American flag displayed at the front of the church, prayers offered for police officers but not protesters (or vice versa), or passing references to “life” or “freedom” in a sermon. As a pastor in the Christian Reformed Church, Keith Mannes would have said for most of his career that he did not preach about politics. He calls himself “a pretty conservative guy,” and he occasionally addressed abortion or homosexuality in his sermons, but he saw those topics as biblical, not political. But in 2015 something changed when Mannes watched Trump slowly descend a gleaming escalator at Trump Tower to start his presidential bid. The gaudiness struck him as grotesque; the biblical term “mammon” came to mind. After Trump became president, Mannes increasingly felt called to speak directly about what he saw as an ungodly alliance between white conservative Christians and Trump. But for several years, he tried to stay quiet. “It’s just in our bones that we don’t make trouble about politics,” Mannes said. “We don’t talk about that stuff from the pulpit.” He delivered his last sermon at East Saugatuck Christian Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan, on Oct. 11. After years of trying to “avoid politics” in the pulpit to keep peace in the congregation, he approached church leadership to suggest it was time to part ways. “You realize you’re extending all this energy just to make sure people don’t get upset,” he said. “I wanted to be able to speak openly in the world about what I believe.” Pastors whose own political beliefs are in line with their congregations’ tend to feel more empowered to speak. In Apex, North Carolina, another evangelical pastor had watched in a very different mood as Trump descended the escalator at Trump Tower. “When he came down the escalator, I didn’t know much about him but I turned to my wife and said, ‘Honey, that guy’s going to win,’” Rodney Finch recalled. Finch, the Black pastor of a large multiracial church he founded in 1995, said he had not been strongly engaged in politics before, but the moment was electrifying. This election cycle, Finch is all in. On Oct. 4, he preached a Sunday sermon on voting. “The Bible is a voter’s guide,” he told the congregation. Without explicitly telling members how to fill out their ballots, he ticked off God’s priorities, in his view: abortion, support for Israel, religious freedom. Finch is not alone in his awakening. Just 1% of Protestant pastors say they have endorsed a candidate from the pulpit this year, according to a survey conducted this fall by LifeWay Research, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. That number is unchanged since 2016. But 32% of Protestant pastors said they have endorsed a political candidate away from the pulpit, ostensibly outside of their role as a pastor. That is a 10 percentage point increase since the last presidential election cycle. Pastors who say they are voting for Trump are more likely to say they have made an endorsement. Still, in many white conservative churches, “there’s a fear of being labeled ‘political,’” said Kaitlyn Schiess, the author of “The Liturgy of Politics: Spiritual Formation for the Sake of Our Neighbor,” a book urging evangelicals to engage more intentionally with politics. “As Christians, we’re supposed to be above that.” An analysis by the Pew Research Center of 50,000 sermons streamed online last year found that 4% of Christian sermons even mentioned abortion, and those that did rarely focused entirely on the topic. Smaller congregations were more likely than larger ones to hear discussion of abortion in sermons. At many evangelical churches, there have been almost no hints from the pulpit in recent weeks of the divisive election on the way. “My job is to articulate to the members of our congregation a traditional, orthodox Christian worldview,” said Tim Breen, pastor of First Reformed Church in Orange City, Iowa, a congregation he described as “center right.” “I don’t feel a call to recommend who to vote for or even necessarily how to vote.” Most of his congregation, he said, would not be able to guess whom he is voting for. At Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, churchgoers can participate in a class titled “The Bible, the Church and Politics” on Wednesday evenings leading up to the election. One session listed biblical priorities including a safety net for the poor, fair wages, “creation stewardship,” personal responsibility and “protection of the unborn.” “The church is trying to balance, ‘How do we engage faithfully with social issues, but how do we not get swallowed up?’” said Trinity’s pastor, Walter Kim, the president of the National Association of Evangelicals, referring to the American church in general. Kim describes his university-town congregation as “conservative theologically but mixed politically.” “There’s a bit of a tension,” he said. “Some people come to church with a deep desire to understand their world. Some come to church to find a reprieve from the world.” Kim tries to navigate that tension by focusing on larger moral principles rather than partisan politics from the pulpit. On Oct. 25, he preached from the New Testament book of James, a sermon that focused on humility, repentance and the ultimate folly of many disputes. He did not mention Joe Biden, Trump or the upcoming election. “From the perspective of eternity,” he told his congregation, “we’re going to regret a lot of our fights.”

Preaching or avoiding politics, conservative churches walk a delicate line

The campaign for the November 3 vote in the United States -- largely muted by the pandemic -- is drawing to a close. And quite understanding the gravity of the election, a record 90 million people have already cast their early votes.

US President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are making a late push for their respective campaigns, pressing closing arguments in a frantic sprint days ahead of the presidential election.

Biden has taken the offensive, pushing Trump onto the back foot in unexpected battlegrounds like Texas, a large, traditionally conservative bastion now seen as a toss-up.

Trump and Biden whisked through crucial states in the industrial Midwest and coastal southeast on Saturday.

Trump did what he has been doing -- warned of "bedlam in our country" if no clear winner emerges quickly in Tuesday's election, saying, without evidence, that it could take weeks to sort out a result and that "very bad things" could happen in the interim.

Biden meantime told backers it was "time for Donald Trump to pack his bags and go home."

The election takes place in a deeply divided country, with feelings so raw that gun sales have surged in some areas. Businesses in some cities, including Washington, are protectively boarding windows, and police are preparing for the possibility of violence.

Trump Saturday focussed on the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, while Biden made his first joint appearance of the campaign with his former boss Barack Obama -- probably the most popular Democrat in the country -- in Flint, Michigan as they scramble to boost turnout in a state Trump carried by a razor-thin margin in 2016.

Trump is spending the closing days of his re-election campaign criticising public officials and medical professionals who are trying to combat the coronavirus pandemic even as it surges back across the United States.

At a small, in-person rally in Newtown, Pennsylvania, Trump mocked his opponent for his criticism of the administration's record of fighting COVID-19, which has killed more people in the United States than in any other country.

"I watched Joe Biden speak yesterday. All he talks about is COVID, COVID. He`s got nothing else to say. COVID, COVID," Trump told the crowd, some of whom did not wear masks.

He said the United States was "just weeks away" from mass distribution of a safe vaccine against COVID-19, which is pushing hospitals to capacity and killing up to 1,000 people in the United States each day. Trump gave no details to back up his remarks about an imminent vaccine.

Vice-President Mike Pence meanwhile campaigned in narrowly divided North Carolina as Biden's running mate Kamala Harris was in Florida, another vitally important swing state.

In Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump arrived at the biggest rally of the day so far with well over 5,000 people crammed in -- few in masks but many wearing red Trump hats.

In remarks at an event in Bucks County, Trump lashed out at Biden, saying he would shut down the state's fossil-fuel industry.

The president claimed credit for creating the "greatest economy in the history of this country -- the history of the world" -- while "foreign nations are in freefall."

Despite recent signs of recovery from the virus-induced economic pain, however, millions remain jobless.

In stark contrast, Biden and Obama appeared Saturday before a socially distanced drive-in rally in Flint, and made an unannounced stop in suburban Bloomfield Hills before heading to Detroit, where they were joined by superstar singer Stevie Wonder.

Obama pulled few punches in Flint and Detroit, saying 140,000 American lives would have been saved if the president had taken an approach to the pandemic similar to Canada's.&nbsp;

"This is not a contest of just calling each other names," Obama said.

"This isn't a sporting event. This is life or death."

Biden said "we're done with the chaos, the tweets, the anger, the failure, the refusal to take any responsibility."

Biden's campaign announced he will address the nation on election night from his home base of Wilmington, after a vote that will undoubtedly leave millions bitterly disappointed, no matter who wins.

Trump has repeatedly claimed without evidence that mail-in ballots are susceptible to fraud and has more recently argued that only the results available on election night should count. In a flurry of legal motions, his campaign has sought to restrict absentee balloting.

"I don’t care how hard Donald Trump tries. There’s nothing – let me say that again – there’s nothing that he can do to stop the people of this nation from voting in overwhelming numbers and taking back this democracy,” Biden said.

In his closing arguments, Biden has accused Trump of being a bully, criticised his lack of a strategy to control the pandemic, which has killed nearly 229,000 Americans; his efforts to repeal the Obamacare healthcare law; and his disregard for science on climate change.

He has offered his own made-in-America economic platform, a contrast with Trump's "America First" approach, saying he will get the wealthy to pay their fair share and make sure earnings are distributed more equitably.

Opinion polls show Trump trailing former Vice President Biden nationally, but with a closer contest in the most competitive states that will decide the election. Voters say the coronavirus is their top concern.

STANFORD REPORT

Meanwhile, Stanford University economists on Saturday released an estimate that Trump rallies held from June to September led to more than 30,000 additional COVID-19 infections and possibly as many as 700 deaths. The study was based on a statistical model and not actual investigations of coronavirus cases. The paper, which did not cite disease experts among its authors, has not been peer-reviewed.

Public health officials have repeatedly warned that Trump campaign events could hasten the spread of the virus, particularly those held in places where infection rates were already on the rise. Determining the actual impact of those rallies on infection rates has been difficult due to the lack of robust contact tracing in many US states.

(with inputs from agencies)

The campaign for the November 3 vote in the United States -- largely muted by the pandemic -- is drawing to a close. And quite understanding the gravity of the election, a record 90 million people have already cast their early votes.

The campaign for the November 3 vote in the United States -- largely muted by the pandemic -- is drawing to a close. And quite understanding the gravity of the election, a record 90 million people have already cast their early votes. US President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are making a late push for their respective campaigns, pressing closing arguments in a frantic sprint days ahead of the presidential election. Biden has taken the offensive, pushing Trump onto the back foot in unexpected battlegrounds like Texas, a large, traditionally conservative bastion now seen as a toss-up. Trump and Biden whisked through crucial states in the industrial Midwest and coastal southeast on Saturday. Trump did what he has been doing -- warned of "bedlam in our country" if no clear winner emerges quickly in Tuesday's election, saying, without evidence, that it could take weeks to sort out a result and that "very bad things" could happen in the interim. Biden meantime told backers it was "time for Donald Trump to pack his bags and go home." The election takes place in a deeply divided country, with feelings so raw that gun sales have surged in some areas. Businesses in some cities, including Washington, are protectively boarding windows, and police are preparing for the possibility of violence. Trump Saturday focussed on the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, while Biden made his first joint appearance of the campaign with his former boss Barack Obama -- probably the most popular Democrat in the country -- in Flint, Michigan as they scramble to boost turnout in a state Trump carried by a razor-thin margin in 2016. Trump is spending the closing days of his re-election campaign criticising public officials and medical professionals who are trying to combat the coronavirus pandemic even as it surges back across the United States. At a small, in-person rally in Newtown, Pennsylvania, Trump mocked his opponent for his criticism of the administration's record of fighting COVID-19, which has killed more people in the United States than in any other country. "I watched Joe Biden speak yesterday. All he talks about is COVID, COVID. He`s got nothing else to say. COVID, COVID," Trump told the crowd, some of whom did not wear masks. He said the United States was "just weeks away" from mass distribution of a safe vaccine against COVID-19, which is pushing hospitals to capacity and killing up to 1,000 people in the United States each day. Trump gave no details to back up his remarks about an imminent vaccine. Vice-President Mike Pence meanwhile campaigned in narrowly divided North Carolina as Biden's running mate Kamala Harris was in Florida, another vitally important swing state. In Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump arrived at the biggest rally of the day so far with well over 5,000 people crammed in -- few in masks but many wearing red Trump hats. In remarks at an event in Bucks County, Trump lashed out at Biden, saying he would shut down the state's fossil-fuel industry. The president claimed credit for creating the "greatest economy in the history of this country -- the history of the world" -- while "foreign nations are in freefall." Despite recent signs of recovery from the virus-induced economic pain, however, millions remain jobless. In stark contrast, Biden and Obama appeared Saturday before a socially distanced drive-in rally in Flint, and made an unannounced stop in suburban Bloomfield Hills before heading to Detroit, where they were joined by superstar singer Stevie Wonder. Obama pulled few punches in Flint and Detroit, saying 140,000 American lives would have been saved if the president had taken an approach to the pandemic similar to Canada's. "This is not a contest of just calling each other names," Obama said. "This isn't a sporting event. This is life or death." Biden said "we're done with the chaos, the tweets, the anger, the failure, the refusal to take any responsibility." Biden's campaign announced he will address the nation on election night from his home base of Wilmington, after a vote that will undoubtedly leave millions bitterly disappointed, no matter who wins. Trump has repeatedly claimed without evidence that mail-in ballots are susceptible to fraud and has more recently argued that only the results available on election night should count. In a flurry of legal motions, his campaign has sought to restrict absentee balloting. "I don’t care how hard Donald Trump tries. There’s nothing – let me say that again – there’s nothing that he can do to stop the people of this nation from voting in overwhelming numbers and taking back this democracy,” Biden said. In his closing arguments, Biden has accused Trump of being a bully, criticised his lack of a strategy to control the pandemic, which has killed nearly 229,000 Americans; his efforts to repeal the Obamacare healthcare law; and his disregard for science on climate change. He has offered his own made-in-America economic platform, a contrast with Trump's "America First" approach, saying he will get the wealthy to pay their fair share and make sure earnings are distributed more equitably. Opinion polls show Trump trailing former Vice President Biden nationally, but with a closer contest in the most competitive states that will decide the election. Voters say the coronavirus is their top concern. STANFORD REPORT Meanwhile, Stanford University economists on Saturday released an estimate that Trump rallies held from June to September led to more than 30,000 additional COVID-19 infections and possibly as many as 700 deaths. The study was based on a statistical model and not actual investigations of coronavirus cases. The paper, which did not cite disease experts among its authors, has not been peer-reviewed. Public health officials have repeatedly warned that Trump campaign events could hasten the spread of the virus, particularly those held in places where infection rates were already on the rise. Determining the actual impact of those rallies on infection rates has been difficult due to the lack of robust contact tracing in many US states. (with inputs from agencies)

On final weekend before Nov 3 vote, Trump and Biden press closing arguments

Data leaked from Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden has revealed some damning information that may hit his father's image as he attempts to challenge US President Donald Trump in November 3 presidential elections. As per a Daily Mail report, Hunter Biden spent USD 11,400 in a strip club in a single night and also paid USD 21,000 for live feed from a porn website.

Hunter Biden is known for his depravities. But the extent of his activities has now come out in the open through his abandoned laptop. Daily Mail says that the laptop contains thousands of documents and photographs in which Hunter Biden can be seen taking drugs and engaging in sexual acts with women.

The report quoted sources to say that Hunter Biden's spending on porn sites was "staggering". So much so that his credit card was rejected several times because he had spent all funds.

The contents of the laptop are understood to have been poorly secured. That means that Hunter Biden has been open to blackmail for all these years.

Hunter Biden's bad reputation precedes him, but the recent leak has come just days before the US Presidential Election 2020 voting day. The data leak has potential to hurt Hunter's father Joe Biden's chances of winning the president's office.

Data leaked from Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden has revealed some damning information that may hit his father's image as he attempts to challenge US President Donald Trump in November 3 presidential elections.

Data leaked from Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden has revealed some damning information that may hit his father's image as he attempts to challenge US President Donald Trump in November 3 presidential elections. As per a Daily Mail report, Hunter Biden spent USD 11,400 in a strip club in a single night and also paid USD 21,000 for live feed from a porn website. Hunter Biden is known for his depravities. But the extent of his activities has now come out in the open through his abandoned laptop. Daily Mail says that the laptop contains thousands of documents and photographs in which Hunter Biden can be seen taking drugs and engaging in sexual acts with women. The report quoted sources to say that Hunter Biden's spending on porn sites was "staggering". So much so that his credit card was rejected several times because he had spent all funds. The contents of the laptop are understood to have been poorly secured. That means that Hunter Biden has been open to blackmail for all these years. Hunter Biden's bad reputation precedes him, but the recent leak has come just days before the US Presidential Election 2020 voting day. The data leak has potential to hurt Hunter's father Joe Biden's chances of winning the president's office.

Joe Biden's son Hunter spent thousands on strip club and adult sites, reveals data leak

US President Donald Trump's eighteen election rallies held from June to September are estimated to have led to 700 deaths, a study by Stanford University researchers said. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/on-final-weekend-before-nov-3-vote-trump-and-biden-press-closing-arguments-339318">Also read: On the final weekend before Nov 3 vote, Trump and Biden press closing arguments</a> 
 
According to the report, the communities where Trump rallies took place paid a high price in terms of disease and death.

In the study titled ‘The Effects of Large Group Meetings on the Spread of COVID-19: The Case of Trump Rallies', researchers concluded 18 rallies by Trump held between June 20 and September 22 "ultimately resulted in more than 30,000 incremental confirmed cases of COVID-19 and likely led to more than 700 deaths, which may not necessarily have been among attendees. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-joe-biden-leads-in-michigan-and-wisconsin-donald-trump-struggling-survey-339408">Also read | Joe Biden leads in Michigan and Wisconsin, Donald Trump struggling: Survey</a> 
 
Public health officials have repeatedly warned that Trump campaign events could hasten the spread of the virus, particularly those held in places where infection rates were already on the rise. Determining the actual impact of those rallies on infection rates has been difficult due to the lack of robust contact tracing in many US states.

Amesh Adalja, an infectious diseases expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, described the report as "suggestive."

“I would just say it’s suggestive but hard to completely isolate the specific impact of one event without robust contact trace data from the cases,” Adalja said.

(With inputs from agencies)

US President Donald Trump's eighteen election rallies held from June to September are estimated to have led to 700 deaths, a study by Stanford University researchers said.

US President Donald Trump's eighteen election rallies held from June to September are estimated to have led to 700 deaths, a study by Stanford University researchers said. Also read: On the final weekend before Nov 3 vote, Trump and Biden press closing arguments According to the report, the communities where Trump rallies took place paid a high price in terms of disease and death. In the study titled ‘The Effects of Large Group Meetings on the Spread of COVID-19: The Case of Trump Rallies', researchers concluded 18 rallies by Trump held between June 20 and September 22 "ultimately resulted in more than 30,000 incremental confirmed cases of COVID-19 and likely led to more than 700 deaths, which may not necessarily have been among attendees. Also read | Joe Biden leads in Michigan and Wisconsin, Donald Trump struggling: Survey Public health officials have repeatedly warned that Trump campaign events could hasten the spread of the virus, particularly those held in places where infection rates were already on the rise. Determining the actual impact of those rallies on infection rates has been difficult due to the lack of robust contact tracing in many US states. Amesh Adalja, an infectious diseases expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, described the report as "suggestive." “I would just say it’s suggestive but hard to completely isolate the specific impact of one event without robust contact trace data from the cases,” Adalja said. (With inputs from agencies)

Trump rallies led to 30,000 Covid-19 infections, 700 deaths: Stanford study

Launching a scathing attack on his successor at the White House, Former US president Barack Obama has accused Donald Trump of focusing on feeding his ego, saying he did not take the significant problem of the coronavirus pandemic seriously and had time to worry about other things. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-rallies-led-to-30000-covid-19-infections-700-deaths-stanford-study-339425">Also read: Trump rallies led to 30,000 Covid-19 infections, 700 deaths: Stanford study</a> 
 
Obama's remarks included blistering rebukes of Trump -- including mocking his focus on crowd sizes and belittling his economic achievements -- but the events stood out from earlier Obama appearances because of the way the former President touted Biden's character. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/on-final-weekend-before-nov-3-vote-trump-and-biden-press-closing-arguments-339318">Also read: On the final weekend before Nov 3 vote, Trump and Biden press closing arguments</a>

"President Trump is focused on feeding his ego, while the Democratic presidential candidate Biden focused on decency and empathy," Obama said. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-joe-biden-leads-in-michigan-and-wisconsin-donald-trump-struggling-survey-339408">Also read | Joe Biden leads in Michigan and Wisconsin, Donald Trump struggling: Survey</a>

Obama, who was the 44th US president, blasted Trump for his policies and rhetoric.

"He hasn't shown any interest in doing the work or helping anybody but himself or his friends or treating the presidency as anything more than a reality show to give him the attention that he craves. But unfortunately, the rest of us have to live with the consequences," he said.

According to a new study by Stanford University researchers, about 18 election rallies by Donald Trump are estimated to have led to more than 30,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and likely claimed over 700 lives, stressing that the communities where the US President's rallies took place "paid a high price in terms of disease and death.”

Earlier on October 25, Claiming that Trump has no empathy and no concern for average Americans, Obama had said that the US president was seeking a second term only "to help himself" and his wealthy friends.

On the other hand, Biden and Harris are going to be in the fight, not for themselves, "but for you and us", he had said.

(With inputs from agencies)

Launching a scathing attack on his successor at the White House, Former US president Barack Obama has accused Donald Trump of focusing on feeding his ego, saying he did not take the significant problem of the coronavirus pandemic seriously and had time to worry about other things.

Launching a scathing attack on his successor at the White House, Former US president Barack Obama has accused Donald Trump of focusing on feeding his ego, saying he did not take the significant problem of the coronavirus pandemic seriously and had time to worry about other things. Also read: Trump rallies led to 30,000 Covid-19 infections, 700 deaths: Stanford study Obama's remarks included blistering rebukes of Trump -- including mocking his focus on crowd sizes and belittling his economic achievements -- but the events stood out from earlier Obama appearances because of the way the former President touted Biden's character. Also read: On the final weekend before Nov 3 vote, Trump and Biden press closing arguments "President Trump is focused on feeding his ego, while the Democratic presidential candidate Biden focused on decency and empathy," Obama said. Also read | Joe Biden leads in Michigan and Wisconsin, Donald Trump struggling: Survey Obama, who was the 44th US president, blasted Trump for his policies and rhetoric. "He hasn't shown any interest in doing the work or helping anybody but himself or his friends or treating the presidency as anything more than a reality show to give him the attention that he craves. But unfortunately, the rest of us have to live with the consequences," he said. According to a new study by Stanford University researchers, about 18 election rallies by Donald Trump are estimated to have led to more than 30,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and likely claimed over 700 lives, stressing that the communities where the US President's rallies took place "paid a high price in terms of disease and death.” Earlier on October 25, Claiming that Trump has no empathy and no concern for average Americans, Obama had said that the US president was seeking a second term only "to help himself" and his wealthy friends. On the other hand, Biden and Harris are going to be in the fight, not for themselves, "but for you and us", he had said. (With inputs from agencies)

Trump focused on feeding his ego, did not take pandemic seriously: Obama

A top aide to Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai has admitted he helped fund a contentious report alleging links between Joe Biden's son and China. He, however, insisted his boss did not know about it.

Senior aide Mark Simon on Sunday stepped down from his post at Apple Daily after the admission.

The 64-page document by a fictitious author, which was circulated online and seized on by US President Donald Trump's supporters, alleged business connections between Hunter Biden and China.

Investigations in recent days, however, raised questions about its veracity and how it was compiled.

In a series of tweets over the weekend Lai said senior aide Mark Simon, a vocal critic of Biden, had "worked with the project". "Mark used my private company's money to reimburse for the research he requested. It's only US$10,000 so he didn't have to have my approval," Lai wrote.

"I know it is hard for anyone to believe that I didn't know about it and my integrity is damaged," he added.

Lai was one of the first people to be arrested under a new national security law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in June following last year's pro-democracy protests.

Lai has long been a thorn in the side of Beijing and has spoken favourably of Trump's willingness to confront China. His Apple Daily newspapers and Next Magazine are unashamedly pro-democracy and he is routinely villified by China's state media.&nbsp;

According to AFP, Simon Sunday said he acted in his own capacity in paying for some of the research that ended up in the dossier.&nbsp;

"Apple Daily had nothing to do with the report and certainly Mr. Lai has nothing to do with it," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;

"All were completely unaware of me helping out with expenses of research."

Earlier on Friday, NBC published an investigation saying the 64-page dossier had "questionable authorship and anonymous sourcing". The investigation found the listed author, a supposed Swiss security analyst called Martin Aspen, was a fabricated identity and that his picture had been created using software.

According to NBC, blogger and academic Christopher Balding, a former associate professor at Fulbright University Vietnam, said he had contributed to the report and admitted Aspen did not exist. He said the report was was "commissioned by Apple Daily", Lai's staunchly pro-democracy and anti-Beijing newspaper in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The paper denied that characterisation, as did Simon.&nbsp;

"I nor anyone at Apple did anything in terms of research or writing, just no role whatsoever.&nbsp;&nbsp;All arms length," he said.&nbsp;

"$10k is well within my discretion, but putting Apple people and Jimmy in the firing line was wrong. I was far too casual with using Apple Daily name, I abused the trust I have been given," he added, explaining his decision to resign.

Apple Daily's newsroom was raided by more than 200 police officers and authorities accuse Lai of "colluding with foreign forces" and money laundering.

(with inputs)

A top aide to Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai has admitted he helped fund a contentious report alleging links between Joe Biden's son and China. He, however, insisted his boss did not know about it.

A top aide to Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai has admitted he helped fund a contentious report alleging links between Joe Biden's son and China. He, however, insisted his boss did not know about it. Senior aide Mark Simon on Sunday stepped down from his post at Apple Daily after the admission. The 64-page document by a fictitious author, which was circulated online and seized on by US President Donald Trump's supporters, alleged business connections between Hunter Biden and China. Investigations in recent days, however, raised questions about its veracity and how it was compiled. In a series of tweets over the weekend Lai said senior aide Mark Simon, a vocal critic of Biden, had "worked with the project". "Mark used my private company's money to reimburse for the research he requested. It's only US$10,000 so he didn't have to have my approval," Lai wrote. "I know it is hard for anyone to believe that I didn't know about it and my integrity is damaged," he added. Lai was one of the first people to be arrested under a new national security law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in June following last year's pro-democracy protests. Lai has long been a thorn in the side of Beijing and has spoken favourably of Trump's willingness to confront China. His Apple Daily newspapers and Next Magazine are unashamedly pro-democracy and he is routinely villified by China's state media. According to AFP, Simon Sunday said he acted in his own capacity in paying for some of the research that ended up in the dossier. "Apple Daily had nothing to do with the report and certainly Mr. Lai has nothing to do with it," he said. "All were completely unaware of me helping out with expenses of research." Earlier on Friday, NBC published an investigation saying the 64-page dossier had "questionable authorship and anonymous sourcing". The investigation found the listed author, a supposed Swiss security analyst called Martin Aspen, was a fabricated identity and that his picture had been created using software. According to NBC, blogger and academic Christopher Balding, a former associate professor at Fulbright University Vietnam, said he had contributed to the report and admitted Aspen did not exist. He said the report was was "commissioned by Apple Daily", Lai's staunchly pro-democracy and anti-Beijing newspaper in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The paper denied that characterisation, as did Simon. "I nor anyone at Apple did anything in terms of research or writing, just no role whatsoever. All arms length," he said. "$10k is well within my discretion, but putting Apple people and Jimmy in the firing line was wrong. I was far too casual with using Apple Daily name, I abused the trust I have been given," he added, explaining his decision to resign. Apple Daily's newsroom was raided by more than 200 police officers and authorities accuse Lai of "colluding with foreign forces" and money laundering. (with inputs)

Hong Kong media tycoon Lai unaware of Biden dossier, aide says

As the last weekend before the US Presidential Election 2020 started, US President Donald Trump and his Democratic Party challenger Joe Biden were barrelling through crucial states of Michigan and Pennsylvania on Saturday.

In Michigan, Joe Biden will be joined on stage by former US President Barack Obama. They will hold drive-in rallies in Flint and Detroit. Stevie Wonder, who is a Detroit native, is expected to be the musical guest there.

In the 2016 US Presidential Election, Donald Trump had won Michigan with a narrow margin of 0.2 points. However, he is trailing Joe Biden by nearly 7 points in polls, as per Real Clear Politics average of polls. Michigan has 16 electoral votes.

For the past week, Obama has put his popularity at the service of his former vice president, hosting several rallies at which he repeatedly slammed Trump's response to the pandemic, notably in the crucially important states of Florida and Pennsylvania.

Trump, however, has dismissed Obama's rallies as much smaller than his own. Trump will go to Pennsylvania on Saturday.

He won Pennsylvania, where Biden was born, by a razor-thin margin against Hillary Clinton in 2016. Every ballot will therefore count on 
November 3 if he hopes to claim its 20 electoral votes once more.

Biden will follow suit there both Sunday and Monday in a clear sign that his campaign also sees the Keystone State as absolutely crucial to victory.

The election takes place in a deeply divided country, with feelings so raw and polarization so pronounced that gun sales have surged in some areas and law enforcement agencies have made contingency plans for possible violence.

Chasing every vote

On Friday the two candidates carried their battle to the American Midwest, barnstorming three heartland states each as they chased every last 
vote in a region that propelled the Republican to victory in 2016.

The race has been overshadowed by the pandemic, with infections spiking across the country. Morethan 94,000 new infections were recorded 
Friday -- a new high for the second day running -- and total cases passed nine million.

Nevertheless, Trump, who has long said the virus will "disappear," remained defiant at rallies in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

"We just want normal," he told supporters -- many of them unmasked -- at an outdoor rally near Detroit as he pushed states to relax public health 
restrictions and resume daily life.

He again downplayed the threat of the coronavirus, saying, "If you get it, you're going to get better, and then you're going to be immune."

The virus has killed nearly 230,000 Americans.

US hospitals are bracing as infections soar in nearly every state, with winter flu season looming.

The outbreak has ravaged the economy,and while there have been signs of recovery, millions remain jobless.

Trump has touted the economic successes of his presidency, including positive GDP figures Thursday. But US stocks closed out their worst week 
since March, highlighting concerns about a shaky recovery.

'Turn Texas blue?'

After a campaign largely muted by the pandemic, Biden is on the offensive, pushing Trump onto the back foot in unexpected battlegrounds like 
Texas,a large, traditionally conservative bastion now rated a toss-up by multiple analysts.

On Friday, the state reported that a staggering nine million residents had already voted, surpassing its 2016 total. 
Biden's running mate Kamala Harris visited Texas Friday in a bid to turn the state Democratic for the first timesinceJimmyCarter won therein 
1976.

A Biden victory there would be a major blow to Trump, but the president dismissed the notion, saying: "Texas, we're doing very well."

Biden also stumped Friday in Wisconsin and in Minnesota, where he sharpened his attacks on the president on everything from Trump seeking to dismantle Obama-era health care protections and keeping his taxes secret to climate change and trade policy with China.

"We cannot afford four more years of Donald Trump," the Democrat said at a socially distanced drive-in rally in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"So honk your horn if you want America to lead again!" he said, embracing the awkward pandemic-campaign trend of rallying supporters in 
their vehicles.

(With Reuters inputs)

As the last weekend before the US Presidential Election 2020 started, US President Donald Trump and his Democratic Party challenger Joe Biden were barrelling through crucial states of Michigan and Pennsylvania on Saturday.

As the last weekend before the US Presidential Election 2020 started, US President Donald Trump and his Democratic Party challenger Joe Biden were barrelling through crucial states of Michigan and Pennsylvania on Saturday. In Michigan, Joe Biden will be joined on stage by former US President Barack Obama. They will hold drive-in rallies in Flint and Detroit. Stevie Wonder, who is a Detroit native, is expected to be the musical guest there. In the 2016 US Presidential Election, Donald Trump had won Michigan with a narrow margin of 0.2 points. However, he is trailing Joe Biden by nearly 7 points in polls, as per Real Clear Politics average of polls. Michigan has 16 electoral votes. For the past week, Obama has put his popularity at the service of his former vice president, hosting several rallies at which he repeatedly slammed Trump's response to the pandemic, notably in the crucially important states of Florida and Pennsylvania. Trump, however, has dismissed Obama's rallies as much smaller than his own. Trump will go to Pennsylvania on Saturday. He won Pennsylvania, where Biden was born, by a razor-thin margin against Hillary Clinton in 2016. Every ballot will therefore count on November 3 if he hopes to claim its 20 electoral votes once more. Biden will follow suit there both Sunday and Monday in a clear sign that his campaign also sees the Keystone State as absolutely crucial to victory. The election takes place in a deeply divided country, with feelings so raw and polarization so pronounced that gun sales have surged in some areas and law enforcement agencies have made contingency plans for possible violence. Chasing every vote On Friday the two candidates carried their battle to the American Midwest, barnstorming three heartland states each as they chased every last vote in a region that propelled the Republican to victory in 2016. The race has been overshadowed by the pandemic, with infections spiking across the country. Morethan 94,000 new infections were recorded Friday -- a new high for the second day running -- and total cases passed nine million. Nevertheless, Trump, who has long said the virus will "disappear," remained defiant at rallies in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. "We just want normal," he told supporters -- many of them unmasked -- at an outdoor rally near Detroit as he pushed states to relax public health restrictions and resume daily life. He again downplayed the threat of the coronavirus, saying, "If you get it, you're going to get better, and then you're going to be immune." The virus has killed nearly 230,000 Americans. US hospitals are bracing as infections soar in nearly every state, with winter flu season looming. The outbreak has ravaged the economy,and while there have been signs of recovery, millions remain jobless. Trump has touted the economic successes of his presidency, including positive GDP figures Thursday. But US stocks closed out their worst week since March, highlighting concerns about a shaky recovery. 'Turn Texas blue?' After a campaign largely muted by the pandemic, Biden is on the offensive, pushing Trump onto the back foot in unexpected battlegrounds like Texas,a large, traditionally conservative bastion now rated a toss-up by multiple analysts. On Friday, the state reported that a staggering nine million residents had already voted, surpassing its 2016 total. Biden's running mate Kamala Harris visited Texas Friday in a bid to turn the state Democratic for the first timesinceJimmyCarter won therein 1976. A Biden victory there would be a major blow to Trump, but the president dismissed the notion, saying: "Texas, we're doing very well." Biden also stumped Friday in Wisconsin and in Minnesota, where he sharpened his attacks on the president on everything from Trump seeking to dismantle Obama-era health care protections and keeping his taxes secret to climate change and trade policy with China. "We cannot afford four more years of Donald Trump," the Democrat said at a socially distanced drive-in rally in St. Paul, Minnesota. "So honk your horn if you want America to lead again!" he said, embracing the awkward pandemic-campaign trend of rallying supporters in their vehicles. (With Reuters inputs)

Trump, Biden to hold rallies in key states on final weekend before election

The virtual war between the tech giant Twitter and the US national daily newspaper the New York Post is now inching towards an end as the social media platform has finally lifted the freeze from the media organisation's Twitter account.

New York Post's Twitter account was suspended after the newspaper published various articles targetting Democratic Party's Presidential candidate Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, about the controversy related to taking money from Russia.&nbsp; The ban was lifted on Friday after which Twitter said, "We will no longer restrict their account under the terms of the previous policy and they can now tweet again."&nbsp;

The ban has been lifted after weeks and various statements from several political leaders and a senate hearing of the Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey — along with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai — about alleged selective censorship against the Republican Party.&nbsp;"Who the hell elected you and put you in charge of what the media are allowed to report?" Senator Ted Cruz had asked during the court hearing.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
We’re baaaaaaack <a href="https://t.co/D39qdLGMdV">https://t.co/D39qdLGMdV</a> <a href="https://t.co/SkVtp4o9ew">pic.twitter.com/SkVtp4o9ew</a>
— New York Post (@nypost) <a href="https://twitter.com/nypost/status/1322304510736371713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

New York Post announced their comeback on the popular social media platform by tweeting a picture of the Twitter bird (from their logo) flying out of a cage with a caption reading we are back, and a photo caption reading, "Twitter backs down, finally unlocks Post account after Biden ban."

The social media organisation had faced immense backlash from the Republican party after it censored and removed several articles about Hunter Biden related to his controversy about him accepting money from Russia, allegations which have been declined by Joe Biden and his son.

The decision of censoring news articles and freezing New York Post's Twitter account also attracted criticism from the owner of the media organisation.&nbsp;"The arbitrary blocking of the Post was a significant moment during a critical time in this election season," News Corp said in a statement.

The virtual war between the tech giant Twitter and the US national daily newspaper the New York Post is now inching towards an end as the social media platform has finally lifted the freeze from the media organisation's Twitter account.

The virtual war between the tech giant Twitter and the US national daily newspaper the New York Post is now inching towards an end as the social media platform has finally lifted the freeze from the media organisation's Twitter account. New York Post's Twitter account was suspended after the newspaper published various articles targetting Democratic Party's Presidential candidate Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, about the controversy related to taking money from Russia. The ban was lifted on Friday after which Twitter said, "We will no longer restrict their account under the terms of the previous policy and they can now tweet again." The ban has been lifted after weeks and various statements from several political leaders and a senate hearing of the Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey — along with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai — about alleged selective censorship against the Republican Party. "Who the hell elected you and put you in charge of what the media are allowed to report?" Senator Ted Cruz had asked during the court hearing. We’re baaaaaaack https://t.co/D39qdLGMdV pic.twitter.com/SkVtp4o9ew — New York Post (@nypost) October 30, 2020 × New York Post announced their comeback on the popular social media platform by tweeting a picture of the Twitter bird (from their logo) flying out of a cage with a caption reading we are back, and a photo caption reading, "Twitter backs down, finally unlocks Post account after Biden ban." The social media organisation had faced immense backlash from the Republican party after it censored and removed several articles about Hunter Biden related to his controversy about him accepting money from Russia, allegations which have been declined by Joe Biden and his son. The decision of censoring news articles and freezing New York Post's Twitter account also attracted criticism from the owner of the media organisation. "The arbitrary blocking of the Post was a significant moment during a critical time in this election season," News Corp said in a statement.

'We are back': New York Post returns to Twitter after account is unfrozen

Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden abruptly ended his campaign rally in Florida as he got caught in the rain on Thursday. Just before is ran off stage, he urged his supporters to vote immediately without any delay. US elections are due on November 3. Early voting is going on.

"I never forgot what President Kennedy said about going to the moon. He said we're going. You know why? Because we refuse to postpone. Let's not postpone and get out of the rain," said Biden.

Biden was holding the rally in Tampa, Florida. Donald Trump was in Florida as well. Florida is a key battleground state. It has 29 electoral votes. Whoever wins Florida will have a major boost in winning the presidency.&nbsp;

In 2016 Donald Trump had won in Florida. This had proven instrumental in his surprise victory over Hillary Clinton.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday showed Trump had essentially moved into a tie with Biden in Florida, with 49% per cent saying they would vote for Biden and 47 per cent for the president.

Trump has trailed Biden in national opinion polls for months, partly because of widespread disapproval of his handling of the coronavirus. Opinion polls in the most competitive states that will decide the election have shown a closer race.

The pandemic and an extraordinary level of enthusiasm have prompted Americans to vote early in unprecedented numbers.

More than 83.5 million votes have been cast either by mail or in person, nearly 61% of the total number of votes in the entire 2016 election, according to the U.S. Elections Project at the University of Florida.

(With Reuters inputs)

Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden abruptly ended his campaign rally in Florida as he got caught in the rain on Thursday. Just before is ran off stage, he urged his supporters to vote immediately without any delay.

Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden abruptly ended his campaign rally in Florida as he got caught in the rain on Thursday. Just before is ran off stage, he urged his supporters to vote immediately without any delay. US elections are due on November 3. Early voting is going on. "I never forgot what President Kennedy said about going to the moon. He said we're going. You know why? Because we refuse to postpone. Let's not postpone and get out of the rain," said Biden. Biden was holding the rally in Tampa, Florida. Donald Trump was in Florida as well. Florida is a key battleground state. It has 29 electoral votes. Whoever wins Florida will have a major boost in winning the presidency. In 2016 Donald Trump had won in Florida. This had proven instrumental in his surprise victory over Hillary Clinton. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday showed Trump had essentially moved into a tie with Biden in Florida, with 49% per cent saying they would vote for Biden and 47 per cent for the president. Trump has trailed Biden in national opinion polls for months, partly because of widespread disapproval of his handling of the coronavirus. Opinion polls in the most competitive states that will decide the election have shown a closer race. The pandemic and an extraordinary level of enthusiasm have prompted Americans to vote early in unprecedented numbers. More than 83.5 million votes have been cast either by mail or in person, nearly 61% of the total number of votes in the entire 2016 election, according to the U.S. Elections Project at the University of Florida. (With Reuters inputs)

Joe Biden runs off-stage as rain interrupts Florida rally

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<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/kamala-harris-urges-voters-to-vote-in-large-numbers-bring-change-at-white-house-339150">Kamala Harris urges voters to vote in large numbers; bring change at White House</a>

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris has urged the Americans to come out and vote in large numbers to bring a change at the White House | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/kamala-harris-urges-voters-to-vote-in-large-numbers-bring-change-at-white-house-339150">READ MORE</a>

Biden and Trump campaign in heartland states in US election finale Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden Friday had the dais to himself as he and the incumbent US president, Donald Trump, sparred over American Midwest in the run up to the November 3 vote | READ MORE US judge blocks Trump bid to ban TikTok A US federal judge has issued an injunction temporarily blocking an executive order by President Donald Trump aimed at banning TikTok, throwing up a legal roadblock ahead of a November 12 deadline | READ MORE El Salvador landslide kills seven; over 30 missing A landslide sparked by heavy rains has killed at least seven people in El Salvador and more than 30 more are suspected missing under a deluge of mud | READ MORE No fresh ceasefire commitment from Armenia, Azerbaijan Armenia and Azerbaijan failed to reach agreement on a fresh ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during talks in Geneva Friday.

Biden and Trump campaign in heartland states in US election finale Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden Friday had the dais to himself as he and the incumbent US president, Donald Trump, sparred over American Midwest in the run up to the November 3 vote | READ MORE US judge blocks Trump bid to ban TikTok A US federal judge has issued an injunction temporarily blocking an executive order by President Donald Trump aimed at banning TikTok, throwing up a legal roadblock ahead of a November 12 deadline | READ MORE El Salvador landslide kills seven; over 30 missing A landslide sparked by heavy rains has killed at least seven people in El Salvador and more than 30 more are suspected missing under a deluge of mud | READ MORE No fresh ceasefire commitment from Armenia, Azerbaijan Armenia and Azerbaijan failed to reach agreement on a fresh ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during talks in Geneva Friday. They, however, vowed to now target civilians | READ MORE Trump 'moves' his election night party to the White House United States President Donald Trump Friday has said he would want to relocate his campaign’s election night party to the White House "or another venue" if the coronavirus restrictions in Washington, prevent him from holding the event at his Pennsylvania Avenue hotel | READ MORE Journalist murdered in Mexico, sixth this year A journalist has been shot dead in crime-ridden northern Mexico, authorities said Friday, the sixth such murder this year in one of the world's most dangerous countries for reporters | READ MORE Canada extends international travellers ban Canada has extended a restriction on non-essential international entries until the end of November as Covid-19 cases rise in the region | READ MORE Kamala Harris urges voters to vote in large numbers; bring change at White House Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris has urged the Americans to come out and vote in large numbers to bring a change at the White House | READ MORE

Morning news brief: Updates on US election, Karabakh conflict, and more

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris has urged the Americans to come out and vote in large numbers to bring a change at the White House.

Speaking at a rally in Texas on Friday, Harris, 56, accused the Republicans of creating a confusion on votes.

"Everyone should vote to bring a change at the White House. Need to realise the power of vote and the opponents are for creating confusion on votes," Harris, who is the first Democratic vice-presidential candidate to address an election rally in Republican stronghold Texas in decades, said.

"They know our power. They know when we vote, things change. They know when we vote, we win. We vote to honour the ancestors. We vote because everything is at stake. Everything is at stake," Harris added.

She said the country is undergoing a major health crisis, with the death of more than 220,000 Americans due to coronavirus pandemic and blamed President Donald Trump for the situation.

"We want to make sure we see it through and then let's make sure on Election Day, everybody we know has made sure that their voice, their powerful voice, is represented in this election through their vote, because there is so much at stake and so many reasons to vote," she said.

US is the worst impacted nation by the coronavirus, with the total number of infections and deaths standing at 9,034,925 and 229,544, according to Johns Hopkins University.

"We're in the midst of a public health pandemic. You also have a situation where we have a president who, while we are seeing spikes around our country, talking about we've turned the corner, continuing to mislead the American people," she said.

She said that because of the pandemic, the worsening of the wealth gap in America has been such that over 30 million people in just the last several months had to file for unemployment insurance. "We are seeing numbers that tell us one in five mothers who has a child under the age of 12 is describing her children as being hungry," she rued, adding that the US is in the middle of a hunger crisis.

The Democratic Party under the leadership of Joe Biden, she asserted, is a plan to fight coronavirus, and is committed to not raising taxes ever on anyone making less than USD 400,000 a year, and is also committed in investing in working people in America.

"Biden understands that we need to deal with these racial disparities. We need to acknowledge them, difficult though they may be, to think about, much less talk about. We need to address it in terms of what we're doing around healthcare. We need to address it in terms of the racial wealth gap. We need to address it in terms of the gaps in our education system," she said.

She accused President Trump of ruining America.

"A president of the United States who has called Mexicans rapists and criminals, who as his first order of business instituted a Muslim ban. America, we deserve better,"&nbsp;she said.

"That does not reflect who we are as our values and priorities, as a nation that knows we are our strongest when we are unified, knows that we have so much more in common regardless of where you live, the race, your ethnicity, the language your grandmother speaks,"&nbsp;said the Senator from California.&nbsp;

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris has urged the Americans to come out and vote in large numbers to bring a change at the White House. Speaking at a rally in Texas on Friday, Harris, 56, accused the Republicans of creating a confusion on votes.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris has urged the Americans to come out and vote in large numbers to bring a change at the White House. Speaking at a rally in Texas on Friday, Harris, 56, accused the Republicans of creating a confusion on votes. "Everyone should vote to bring a change at the White House. Need to realise the power of vote and the opponents are for creating confusion on votes," Harris, who is the first Democratic vice-presidential candidate to address an election rally in Republican stronghold Texas in decades, said. "They know our power. They know when we vote, things change. They know when we vote, we win. We vote to honour the ancestors. We vote because everything is at stake. Everything is at stake," Harris added. She said the country is undergoing a major health crisis, with the death of more than 220,000 Americans due to coronavirus pandemic and blamed President Donald Trump for the situation. "We want to make sure we see it through and then let's make sure on Election Day, everybody we know has made sure that their voice, their powerful voice, is represented in this election through their vote, because there is so much at stake and so many reasons to vote," she said. US is the worst impacted nation by the coronavirus, with the total number of infections and deaths standing at 9,034,925 and 229,544, according to Johns Hopkins University. "We're in the midst of a public health pandemic. You also have a situation where we have a president who, while we are seeing spikes around our country, talking about we've turned the corner, continuing to mislead the American people," she said. She said that because of the pandemic, the worsening of the wealth gap in America has been such that over 30 million people in just the last several months had to file for unemployment insurance. "We are seeing numbers that tell us one in five mothers who has a child under the age of 12 is describing her children as being hungry," she rued, adding that the US is in the middle of a hunger crisis. The Democratic Party under the leadership of Joe Biden, she asserted, is a plan to fight coronavirus, and is committed to not raising taxes ever on anyone making less than USD 400,000 a year, and is also committed in investing in working people in America. "Biden understands that we need to deal with these racial disparities. We need to acknowledge them, difficult though they may be, to think about, much less talk about. We need to address it in terms of what we're doing around healthcare. We need to address it in terms of the racial wealth gap. We need to address it in terms of the gaps in our education system," she said. She accused President Trump of ruining America. "A president of the United States who has called Mexicans rapists and criminals, who as his first order of business instituted a Muslim ban. America, we deserve better," she said. "That does not reflect who we are as our values and priorities, as a nation that knows we are our strongest when we are unified, knows that we have so much more in common regardless of where you live, the race, your ethnicity, the language your grandmother speaks," said the Senator from California.

Kamala Harris urges voters to vote in large numbers; bring change at White House

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden Friday had the dais to himself as he and the incumbent US president, Donald Trump, sparred over American Midwest in the run up to the November 3 vote.

The resurgent coronavirus has passed the milestone of nine million cases in the US, and as would be apparent, Biden intensified his attacks on Trump over his mishandling of the pandemic.

Trump held a rally in Michigan before heading to Wisconsin and Minnesota -- all states battling climbing numbers of virus cases.

"We just want normal," Trump told supporters -- many of them unmasked -- at an outdoor rally near Detroit as he pushed states to relax public health restrictions and resume daily life.

He again bucked his own administration's health experts as he downplayed the Covid-19 threat, saying "if you get it, you're going to get better, and then you're going to be immune."

Covid-19 has killed nearly 230,000 people in the US, which is experiencing surges in most states as the winter flu season looms.

"We can not afford four more years of Donald Trump," Biden said at a socially distanced drive-in rally in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"So honk your horn if you want America to lead again!" he said, embracing the awkward pandemic-era campaign trend of rallying supporters in their vehicles.

"Honk your horn if you want to have civility again, and honk your horn if you want America to be united again!"

"Donald Trump has given up (and) waved the white flag," Biden told a drive-in rally with more than 300 cars in Des Moines.

Trump flipped Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin from the Democrats to clinch his shock victory four years ago.&nbsp;Now polls show Biden leading in all three, albeit narrowly in Iowa.

It was Biden's first visit to Iowa since his inauspicious campaign start in February, when he placed a dismal fourth in the opening Democratic nominating contest.

With voters concerned about the health hazards of crowded polling stations on November 3, a record 86 million have already cast early ballots by mail or in person.

Even as the US hit a grim new high in daily Covid-19 infections Thursday, Trump has stuck to his guns, downplaying the dangers and branding Democrats as rampaging "socialists" intent on shuttering the country.

And while Trump has touted the economic successes of his presidency, including positive GDP figures Thursday, US stocks closed out their worst week since March, highlighting concerns about a shaky recovery.

After a campaign largely muted by the pandemic, Biden is on the offensive, pushing Trump onto the back foot in unexpected battlegrounds like Texas, a large, traditionally conservative bastion now rated a toss-up by multiple analysts.

On Friday, the state reported that a staggering nine million residents had already voted, surpassing its entire 2016 total.

On Saturday Biden returns to the Midwest bringing with him perhaps his strongest surrogate: ex-president Barack Obama, making his first joint in-person campaign appearance of the year with his former VP.

Trump will spend the day campaigning in the critical state of Pennsylvania, where he narrowly trails Biden in polls.

Biden will follow suit there both Sunday and Monday in a clear sign that his campaign sees the Keystone State as absolutely crucial to his victory.

Trump and Biden on Thursday campaigned in Florida.

(with inputs)

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden Friday had the dais to himself as he and the incumbent US president, Donald Trump, sparred over American Midwest in the run up to the November 3 vote.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden Friday had the dais to himself as he and the incumbent US president, Donald Trump, sparred over American Midwest in the run up to the November 3 vote. The resurgent coronavirus has passed the milestone of nine million cases in the US, and as would be apparent, Biden intensified his attacks on Trump over his mishandling of the pandemic. Trump held a rally in Michigan before heading to Wisconsin and Minnesota -- all states battling climbing numbers of virus cases. "We just want normal," Trump told supporters -- many of them unmasked -- at an outdoor rally near Detroit as he pushed states to relax public health restrictions and resume daily life. He again bucked his own administration's health experts as he downplayed the Covid-19 threat, saying "if you get it, you're going to get better, and then you're going to be immune." Covid-19 has killed nearly 230,000 people in the US, which is experiencing surges in most states as the winter flu season looms. "We can not afford four more years of Donald Trump," Biden said at a socially distanced drive-in rally in St. Paul, Minnesota. "So honk your horn if you want America to lead again!" he said, embracing the awkward pandemic-era campaign trend of rallying supporters in their vehicles. "Honk your horn if you want to have civility again, and honk your horn if you want America to be united again!" "Donald Trump has given up (and) waved the white flag," Biden told a drive-in rally with more than 300 cars in Des Moines. Trump flipped Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin from the Democrats to clinch his shock victory four years ago. Now polls show Biden leading in all three, albeit narrowly in Iowa. It was Biden's first visit to Iowa since his inauspicious campaign start in February, when he placed a dismal fourth in the opening Democratic nominating contest. With voters concerned about the health hazards of crowded polling stations on November 3, a record 86 million have already cast early ballots by mail or in person. Even as the US hit a grim new high in daily Covid-19 infections Thursday, Trump has stuck to his guns, downplaying the dangers and branding Democrats as rampaging "socialists" intent on shuttering the country. And while Trump has touted the economic successes of his presidency, including positive GDP figures Thursday, US stocks closed out their worst week since March, highlighting concerns about a shaky recovery. After a campaign largely muted by the pandemic, Biden is on the offensive, pushing Trump onto the back foot in unexpected battlegrounds like Texas, a large, traditionally conservative bastion now rated a toss-up by multiple analysts. On Friday, the state reported that a staggering nine million residents had already voted, surpassing its entire 2016 total. On Saturday Biden returns to the Midwest bringing with him perhaps his strongest surrogate: ex-president Barack Obama, making his first joint in-person campaign appearance of the year with his former VP. Trump will spend the day campaigning in the critical state of Pennsylvania, where he narrowly trails Biden in polls. Biden will follow suit there both Sunday and Monday in a clear sign that his campaign sees the Keystone State as absolutely crucial to his victory. Trump and Biden on Thursday campaigned in Florida. (with inputs)

Biden and Trump campaign in heartland states in US election finale

Nordstrom, the high-end department store chain, said it planned to board up some of its 350 stores and hire extra security for Election Day on Tuesday. Tiffany &amp; Co., the luxury jeweler, said “windows of select stores in key cities will be boarded in anticipation of potential election-related activity.” Saks Fifth Avenue said it was “implementing additional security measures at certain locations in the event of civil unrest due to the current election.”

In Beverly Hills, California, police said they would take a “proactive approach” and close Rodeo Drive, a renowned strip of luxury retailers, on Tuesday and Wednesday, citing the likelihood of increased “protest activity.” Police, working with private security companies, said they would also be on “full alert” throughout Beverly Hills starting on Halloween and continuing into election week.

The nation is on edge as the bitter presidential contest finally nears an end, the latest flashpoint in a bruising year that has included the pandemic and widespread protests over social justice. Anxiety has been mounting for months that the election’s outcome could lead to civil unrest, no matter who wins. In the retail industry, many companies are not simply concerned about possible mayhem — they are planning for it.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/iranians-behind-hacked-us-election-data-fbi-and-homeland-security-reveal-339165" hreflang="en">Iranians behind hacked US election data, FBI and Homeland Security reveal</a>

In a show of just how volatile the situation seems to the industry, 120 representatives from 60 retail brands attended a video conference this week hosted by the National Retail Federation, which involved training for store employees on how to de-escalate tensions among customers, including those related to the election. The trade group also hired security consultants who have prepped retailers about which locations around the country are likely to be the most volatile when the polls close.

“I am 50-plus years old, and I didn’t think I would live to see this,” said Shane Fernett, who owns a contracting business in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and has been stocking up on plywood to board up his retail customers. “You read about this in third-world countries, not America.”

For the retail industry, 2020 has been filled with bankruptcies, store closures and plummeting sales as tens of millions of Americans struggled with job losses because of the pandemic. Protests over police violence against Black citizens sent millions of people into the streets, demonstrations that in some cases devolved into the looting and burning of stores in a number of cities. Worries about unrest around the election have been fanned by President Donald Trump, who has declined to say whether he would agree to a peaceful transfer of power if his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, is victorious.

Protests flared again this week after Walter Wallace Jr., a Black man with mental health issues who was carrying a knife, was killed by police in Philadelphia. That set off looting and clashes with police in parts of the city. Citing the civil unrest in Philadelphia, Walmart said Thursday that it was removing all of its firearms and ammunition from its sales floors across the country. On Friday, Walmart said it was returning guns to the sales floor, after determining that the incidents of unrest “have remained geographically isolated.”

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-moves-his-election-night-party-to-the-white-house-339149" hreflang="en">Trump 'moves' his election night party to the White House</a>

This year, businesses have already sustained at least $1 billion in insured losses from looting and vandalism largely set off by the killing of George Floyd by a Minnesota police officer in May, according to one estimate cited by the Insurance Information Institute, an industry group.

It is on target to be the most costly period of civil unrest in history, likely surpassing damages during the 1992 riots in Los Angeles and many of the civil rights protests of the late 1960s.

The situation in 2020 has drawn comparisons to protests in the 1960s, but Derek Hyra, an associate professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University, said that recent unrest had been more geographically widespread, affecting a wider swath of businesses.

Protecting properties from potential damage is not a simple decision. Retailers can risk alienating their customers by erecting plywood, particularly if the anticipated unrest does not materialize.

“You are sending a message when you do that,” Stephanie Martz, general counsel of the National Retail Federation, said. “You don’t want to necessarily engage in this kind of grim forecasting.”

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/volatile-voters-could-still-decide-the-us-election-they-tend-to-dislike-trump-339230" hreflang="en">‘Volatile’ voters could still decide the US election. They tend to dislike Trump</a>

Some companies aren’t taking chances — the iconic Macy’s location in Manhattan’s Herald Square was boarded up Friday. But other large businesses are keeping their plans vague.

Target, with about 1,900 stores, said in a statement, “like many businesses, we’re taking precautionary steps to ensure safety at our stores, including giving our store leaders guidance on how to take care of their teams.”

A spokesman for CVS, which operates nearly 10,000 stores, said: “Our local leadership teams are empowered to take steps that they determine will best support the safety of our stores, employees and customers. This includes the option to board select store locations.”

Gap Inc., with more than 2,000 stores in North America, said it had “contingency plans set in place for any issues that may arise and will continue to monitor the situation carefully and closely next week.”

Behind the scenes, though, many businesses are making explicit preparations.

Tom Buiocchi, who runs an online platform called ServiceChannel that connects retailers with local contractors in cities across the country, said more than 500 stores have filled out work orders to board up or take other protective measures ahead of the election.

He said he had discussions this week with a group of luxury retailers who were reluctant about being the first ones to take any visible precautions. “No one wants to be the only one boarding up in a community; it can be off brand,” Buiocchi said.

Some retailers have debated whether erecting boards would make them more of a target. Others are taking steps like purchasing different screws for the plywood than the ones they used in June, hoping to thwart looters with screw guns. The costs of boarding up businesses can range from a few hundred dollars to $31,000 for large department stores with display windows.

For the stores that stay open through election night and the uncertain days that could follow, their workers will again be thrust into a volatile situation. Already, retail employees are faced with the potential for violence in trying to ensure that customers wear masks to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Election week could pose more dangers.

The training offered by the retail federation was originally meant to help workers defuse tense situations around mask wearing by advising employees to make nonthreatening eye contact and speak with empathy, said Martz, the group’s top lawyer.

She acknowledged that there could be added danger for workers Tuesday night because police are likely to be stretched thin if there are protests. “People are so divided, and it is such a tinderbox,” Martz said.

Nordstrom, the high-end department store chain, said it planned to board up some of its 350 stores and hire extra security for Election Day on Tuesday. Tiffany & Co.

Nordstrom, the high-end department store chain, said it planned to board up some of its 350 stores and hire extra security for Election Day on Tuesday. Tiffany & Co., the luxury jeweler, said “windows of select stores in key cities will be boarded in anticipation of potential election-related activity.” Saks Fifth Avenue said it was “implementing additional security measures at certain locations in the event of civil unrest due to the current election.” In Beverly Hills, California, police said they would take a “proactive approach” and close Rodeo Drive, a renowned strip of luxury retailers, on Tuesday and Wednesday, citing the likelihood of increased “protest activity.” Police, working with private security companies, said they would also be on “full alert” throughout Beverly Hills starting on Halloween and continuing into election week. The nation is on edge as the bitter presidential contest finally nears an end, the latest flashpoint in a bruising year that has included the pandemic and widespread protests over social justice. Anxiety has been mounting for months that the election’s outcome could lead to civil unrest, no matter who wins. In the retail industry, many companies are not simply concerned about possible mayhem — they are planning for it. Also read | Iranians behind hacked US election data, FBI and Homeland Security reveal In a show of just how volatile the situation seems to the industry, 120 representatives from 60 retail brands attended a video conference this week hosted by the National Retail Federation, which involved training for store employees on how to de-escalate tensions among customers, including those related to the election. The trade group also hired security consultants who have prepped retailers about which locations around the country are likely to be the most volatile when the polls close. “I am 50-plus years old, and I didn’t think I would live to see this,” said Shane Fernett, who owns a contracting business in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and has been stocking up on plywood to board up his retail customers. “You read about this in third-world countries, not America.” For the retail industry, 2020 has been filled with bankruptcies, store closures and plummeting sales as tens of millions of Americans struggled with job losses because of the pandemic. Protests over police violence against Black citizens sent millions of people into the streets, demonstrations that in some cases devolved into the looting and burning of stores in a number of cities. Worries about unrest around the election have been fanned by President Donald Trump, who has declined to say whether he would agree to a peaceful transfer of power if his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, is victorious. Protests flared again this week after Walter Wallace Jr., a Black man with mental health issues who was carrying a knife, was killed by police in Philadelphia. That set off looting and clashes with police in parts of the city. Citing the civil unrest in Philadelphia, Walmart said Thursday that it was removing all of its firearms and ammunition from its sales floors across the country. On Friday, Walmart said it was returning guns to the sales floor, after determining that the incidents of unrest “have remained geographically isolated.” Also read| Trump 'moves' his election night party to the White House This year, businesses have already sustained at least $1 billion in insured losses from looting and vandalism largely set off by the killing of George Floyd by a Minnesota police officer in May, according to one estimate cited by the Insurance Information Institute, an industry group. It is on target to be the most costly period of civil unrest in history, likely surpassing damages during the 1992 riots in Los Angeles and many of the civil rights protests of the late 1960s. The situation in 2020 has drawn comparisons to protests in the 1960s, but Derek Hyra, an associate professor in the School of Public Affairs at American University, said that recent unrest had been more geographically widespread, affecting a wider swath of businesses. Protecting properties from potential damage is not a simple decision. Retailers can risk alienating their customers by erecting plywood, particularly if the anticipated unrest does not materialize. “You are sending a message when you do that,” Stephanie Martz, general counsel of the National Retail Federation, said. “You don’t want to necessarily engage in this kind of grim forecasting.” Also read| ‘Volatile’ voters could still decide the US election. They tend to dislike Trump Some companies aren’t taking chances — the iconic Macy’s location in Manhattan’s Herald Square was boarded up Friday. But other large businesses are keeping their plans vague. Target, with about 1,900 stores, said in a statement, “like many businesses, we’re taking precautionary steps to ensure safety at our stores, including giving our store leaders guidance on how to take care of their teams.” A spokesman for CVS, which operates nearly 10,000 stores, said: “Our local leadership teams are empowered to take steps that they determine will best support the safety of our stores, employees and customers. This includes the option to board select store locations.” Gap Inc., with more than 2,000 stores in North America, said it had “contingency plans set in place for any issues that may arise and will continue to monitor the situation carefully and closely next week.” Behind the scenes, though, many businesses are making explicit preparations. Tom Buiocchi, who runs an online platform called ServiceChannel that connects retailers with local contractors in cities across the country, said more than 500 stores have filled out work orders to board up or take other protective measures ahead of the election. He said he had discussions this week with a group of luxury retailers who were reluctant about being the first ones to take any visible precautions. “No one wants to be the only one boarding up in a community; it can be off brand,” Buiocchi said. Some retailers have debated whether erecting boards would make them more of a target. Others are taking steps like purchasing different screws for the plywood than the ones they used in June, hoping to thwart looters with screw guns. The costs of boarding up businesses can range from a few hundred dollars to $31,000 for large department stores with display windows. For the stores that stay open through election night and the uncertain days that could follow, their workers will again be thrust into a volatile situation. Already, retail employees are faced with the potential for violence in trying to ensure that customers wear masks to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Election week could pose more dangers. The training offered by the retail federation was originally meant to help workers defuse tense situations around mask wearing by advising employees to make nonthreatening eye contact and speak with empathy, said Martz, the group’s top lawyer. She acknowledged that there could be added danger for workers Tuesday night because police are likely to be stretched thin if there are protests. “People are so divided, and it is such a tinderbox,” Martz said.

Boarded-up windows and increased security: Retailers brace for the election

John Holland, 74, is proud to call himself a political independent, and he has always made a point of voting for the candidate he prefers, not a party to which he had sworn allegiance. In mid-October he told a New York Times/Siena College poll he was unconvinced by either President Donald Trump or Joe Biden.

Ultimately, Holland, a retired education-technology professional in Minnesota, did choose, and like many late-deciding voters, he said his choice emerged “from a values point of view.”

“I said, ‘Would I want President Trump to be the grandfather of any one of my grandchildren?’ And the answer was no,” he said this week, explaining that he had donned a mask and walked to an early polling site to cast a ballot for Biden.

Four years ago, voters like Holland — leery of both major-party candidates, undecided until the eleventh hour and guided by their gut more than by policy — decided the election. This year, polling shows far fewer undecided voters remain, but in close battleground states they could still be pivotal.

And while voters who were negative on both major candidates in 2016 broke big for Trump as the “lesser of two evils,” particularly in the Midwest, they appear generally disinclined to do so again.

Among the most likely people to remain unconvinced of either major candidate are Latinos, Asian Americans, young people and those with a history of voting for a third-party candidate. None of those groups have shown much warmth toward Trump over the past four years — but each of them has also given Biden trouble, from the primary campaign through today.

Combining data from Times/Siena polls of battlegrounds and the nation going back months, undecideds leaning toward Biden outweigh those leaning toward Trump, though not by an overwhelming margin. Perhaps more meaningfully, Biden has a slight advantage among voters who didn’t express a favorable view of either candidate. The largest share of those voters — a little more than half — still hadn’t settled on one to support, meaning there was room for movement.

The universe of such voters is small, but in states like Georgia or North Carolina, where the race could come down to 1 or 2 percentage points, “those volatile voters could make the difference,” said Patrick Murray, the director of polling at Monmouth University.

In a Times/Siena poll of the country released last week, 9% of likely voters said they were still torn or they planned to support a third-party candidate. When including voters who said they were supporting Biden or Trump but only when pushed, that climbed to 13%.

Murray prefers the term “volatile voters,” rather than undecided. In this group he includes those expressing no vote preference, those choosing a third-party candidate and those who lean toward Trump or Biden but could still change their minds.

When Trump faced Hillary Clinton four years ago, Murray said, around 20% of likely voters fell into the volatile category. This year, it has been consistently closer to half that share, and it is dropping.

Those who remain also tend to be more certain now than they were four years ago that they don’t like Trump: 54% of volatile voters in the most recent national Times/Siena poll expressed an unfavorable opinion of him, compared with just 28% favorable.

“The Trump unfavorables are basically etched in stone,” Murray said. “You’d need something ground-shaking about Biden to come out” for voters holding a negative view of Trump to vote for him.

Those Without Strong Political Views

Voters who remain ambivalent about their choices tend not to be particularly motivated by political issues, and they often don’t hold the sort of ideological convictions that would place either candidate off-limits.

The Democratic nominee still has work to do to bring anti-Trump undecideds into his camp; Biden was seen unfavorably by 47% of volatile voters in that Times/Siena poll.

In 2016, Clinton’s loss was owed to voters who stayed home as much as to those who cast ballots against her. This lowered the sheer number of votes Trump needed to carry a closely contested state.

He won Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida without majority support in any of them, nudged across the finish line by last-minute deciders.

As Biden edges above 50% support in various national and swing-state polls, the chances of Trump winning in a similar fashion this year have diminished.

But Republicans are heartened by their success in some key states at driving up registration among target voters, particularly white people without college degrees, feeding their hopes that an Election Day surge in a state like Pennsylvania might be enough to turn back Biden’s advantage among early voters. That would be especially true if Republicans can keep enough negative-on-both voters away from the polls.

Steven Cameron and his wife, Amy, live just outside San Antonio in a state that could flip blue for the first time since 1976. Speaking by phone this week, the couple said they were still unsure of whom to support, mostly because they didn’t feel they could trust either Biden or Trump to tell the truth.

“I would rather a person tell me that they don’t know the answer than to say something that’s not true,” said Steve Cameron, 58, who confessed that he and his wife were feeling overwhelmed and dispirited by all the campaign news.

Who Tends to Be Undecided?

One core Democratic group that tends to be more frequently undecided is Latino voters, a demographic that Biden has struggled with all year. In all Times/Siena general election surveys this year through mid-October, close to a quarter of Hispanic respondents fell into the volatile-voter category. This was partly contributing to the weakness of Biden’s lead among Latino voters compared with Clinton’s 2016 margins.

This year, Trump’s base of support has grown a little bit larger and much more reliable than it was four years ago — but so has his opposition. The president has remained widely disliked for four years, and national polls have tended to show him unable to match the 46% support he garnered nationwide in 2016, allowing him to pull off an Electoral College win.

While voters know where they stand on Trump, views of Biden have been more slippery. His favorability ratings have ticked up markedly, especially among young voters and liberals, but he still shows vulnerability among some key demographics, particularly Latinos.

Volatile voters generally don’t like either candidate, but they are more likely to say they would rather see Biden handling the coronavirus pandemic than Trump — in line with trends among the entire electorate. And 56% of these voters expected the pandemic to grow worse before it got better, while just 26% said they thought the worst was behind us, according to the latest Times/Siena poll. Sixty-three percent said they were worried that they or a family member might catch the virus, higher than the share among Trump supporters, but lower than for Biden supporters.

While Biden supporters tended to say that their financial situation has grown worse during the pandemic, Trump supporters actually said the opposite: 55% of them attested that their finances had grown better over the past eight months. For those not supporting either candidate, half said the pandemic had not made a difference to their finances either way, compared with only about 1 in 3 among major-candidate supporters. Fewer than 1 in 5 ambivalent voters said it had made a big impact.

Some don’t see the virus and politics being related. “It’s a health issue, and it’s something that our country has to deal with, I agree with that, but I’d rather hear about what the candidates are going to do for our country,” Steve Cameron, a carpenter, said. “So I don’t think that that should be an election issue.”

The Camerons agreed that they often think of things in apolitical terms, and they don’t lean strongly toward either party. But with Texas and its 38 electoral votes in play this year, they fully intend to exercise their “freedom of choice” when Election Day comes, said Amy Cameron, an office administrator.

“I feel that we have to pick somebody to run the country,” her husband added. “So we’re going to pick the one from our heart that we think would do the best job, even though we’re not 100% behind either.”

John Holland, 74, is proud to call himself a political independent, and he has always made a point of voting for the candidate he prefers, not a party to which he had sworn allegiance.

John Holland, 74, is proud to call himself a political independent, and he has always made a point of voting for the candidate he prefers, not a party to which he had sworn allegiance. In mid-October he told a New York Times/Siena College poll he was unconvinced by either President Donald Trump or Joe Biden. Ultimately, Holland, a retired education-technology professional in Minnesota, did choose, and like many late-deciding voters, he said his choice emerged “from a values point of view.” “I said, ‘Would I want President Trump to be the grandfather of any one of my grandchildren?’ And the answer was no,” he said this week, explaining that he had donned a mask and walked to an early polling site to cast a ballot for Biden. Four years ago, voters like Holland — leery of both major-party candidates, undecided until the eleventh hour and guided by their gut more than by policy — decided the election. This year, polling shows far fewer undecided voters remain, but in close battleground states they could still be pivotal. And while voters who were negative on both major candidates in 2016 broke big for Trump as the “lesser of two evils,” particularly in the Midwest, they appear generally disinclined to do so again. Among the most likely people to remain unconvinced of either major candidate are Latinos, Asian Americans, young people and those with a history of voting for a third-party candidate. None of those groups have shown much warmth toward Trump over the past four years — but each of them has also given Biden trouble, from the primary campaign through today. Combining data from Times/Siena polls of battlegrounds and the nation going back months, undecideds leaning toward Biden outweigh those leaning toward Trump, though not by an overwhelming margin. Perhaps more meaningfully, Biden has a slight advantage among voters who didn’t express a favorable view of either candidate. The largest share of those voters — a little more than half — still hadn’t settled on one to support, meaning there was room for movement. The universe of such voters is small, but in states like Georgia or North Carolina, where the race could come down to 1 or 2 percentage points, “those volatile voters could make the difference,” said Patrick Murray, the director of polling at Monmouth University. In a Times/Siena poll of the country released last week, 9% of likely voters said they were still torn or they planned to support a third-party candidate. When including voters who said they were supporting Biden or Trump but only when pushed, that climbed to 13%. Murray prefers the term “volatile voters,” rather than undecided. In this group he includes those expressing no vote preference, those choosing a third-party candidate and those who lean toward Trump or Biden but could still change their minds. When Trump faced Hillary Clinton four years ago, Murray said, around 20% of likely voters fell into the volatile category. This year, it has been consistently closer to half that share, and it is dropping. Those who remain also tend to be more certain now than they were four years ago that they don’t like Trump: 54% of volatile voters in the most recent national Times/Siena poll expressed an unfavorable opinion of him, compared with just 28% favorable. “The Trump unfavorables are basically etched in stone,” Murray said. “You’d need something ground-shaking about Biden to come out” for voters holding a negative view of Trump to vote for him. Those Without Strong Political Views Voters who remain ambivalent about their choices tend not to be particularly motivated by political issues, and they often don’t hold the sort of ideological convictions that would place either candidate off-limits. The Democratic nominee still has work to do to bring anti-Trump undecideds into his camp; Biden was seen unfavorably by 47% of volatile voters in that Times/Siena poll. In 2016, Clinton’s loss was owed to voters who stayed home as much as to those who cast ballots against her. This lowered the sheer number of votes Trump needed to carry a closely contested state. He won Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida without majority support in any of them, nudged across the finish line by last-minute deciders. As Biden edges above 50% support in various national and swing-state polls, the chances of Trump winning in a similar fashion this year have diminished. But Republicans are heartened by their success in some key states at driving up registration among target voters, particularly white people without college degrees, feeding their hopes that an Election Day surge in a state like Pennsylvania might be enough to turn back Biden’s advantage among early voters. That would be especially true if Republicans can keep enough negative-on-both voters away from the polls. Steven Cameron and his wife, Amy, live just outside San Antonio in a state that could flip blue for the first time since 1976. Speaking by phone this week, the couple said they were still unsure of whom to support, mostly because they didn’t feel they could trust either Biden or Trump to tell the truth. “I would rather a person tell me that they don’t know the answer than to say something that’s not true,” said Steve Cameron, 58, who confessed that he and his wife were feeling overwhelmed and dispirited by all the campaign news. Who Tends to Be Undecided? One core Democratic group that tends to be more frequently undecided is Latino voters, a demographic that Biden has struggled with all year. In all Times/Siena general election surveys this year through mid-October, close to a quarter of Hispanic respondents fell into the volatile-voter category. This was partly contributing to the weakness of Biden’s lead among Latino voters compared with Clinton’s 2016 margins. This year, Trump’s base of support has grown a little bit larger and much more reliable than it was four years ago — but so has his opposition. The president has remained widely disliked for four years, and national polls have tended to show him unable to match the 46% support he garnered nationwide in 2016, allowing him to pull off an Electoral College win. While voters know where they stand on Trump, views of Biden have been more slippery. His favorability ratings have ticked up markedly, especially among young voters and liberals, but he still shows vulnerability among some key demographics, particularly Latinos. Volatile voters generally don’t like either candidate, but they are more likely to say they would rather see Biden handling the coronavirus pandemic than Trump — in line with trends among the entire electorate. And 56% of these voters expected the pandemic to grow worse before it got better, while just 26% said they thought the worst was behind us, according to the latest Times/Siena poll. Sixty-three percent said they were worried that they or a family member might catch the virus, higher than the share among Trump supporters, but lower than for Biden supporters. While Biden supporters tended to say that their financial situation has grown worse during the pandemic, Trump supporters actually said the opposite: 55% of them attested that their finances had grown better over the past eight months. For those not supporting either candidate, half said the pandemic had not made a difference to their finances either way, compared with only about 1 in 3 among major-candidate supporters. Fewer than 1 in 5 ambivalent voters said it had made a big impact. Some don’t see the virus and politics being related. “It’s a health issue, and it’s something that our country has to deal with, I agree with that, but I’d rather hear about what the candidates are going to do for our country,” Steve Cameron, a carpenter, said. “So I don’t think that that should be an election issue.” The Camerons agreed that they often think of things in apolitical terms, and they don’t lean strongly toward either party. But with Texas and its 38 electoral votes in play this year, they fully intend to exercise their “freedom of choice” when Election Day comes, said Amy Cameron, an office administrator. “I feel that we have to pick somebody to run the country,” her husband added. “So we’re going to pick the one from our heart that we think would do the best job, even though we’re not 100% behind either.”

‘Volatile’ voters could still decide the US election. They tend to dislike Trump

A veteran law enforcement officer in Charleston, South Carolina, campaigning to unseat her boss has vowed to root out racial bias in the 900-member Sheriff’s Department and rebuild trust in the Black community.

A former judge in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, who is running for district attorney, has promised to change how prosecutors make charging, plea and bail decisions.

And in Hamilton County, Ohio, the race for the top prosecutor pits a Republican incumbent running on a “tough-on-crime” platform against a Democrat and former judge who is pushing to eliminate cash bail for nonviolent offenses and create a conviction integrity unit.

While the coronavirus and battered economy have overtaken issues of race as the focal points in presidential and congressional campaigns, despite the disproportionate impact of both on communities of color, systemic racism and police reform have emerged as dominant themes in a number of local elections. In states across America, from California to Kentucky to New York, many voters said they saw the races for sheriffs, prosecutors and council representatives as having more consequence to their lives.

In South Carolina, Kristin Graziano, a 32-year police veteran, is challenging Sheriff Al Cannon, who has held the Charleston County post since 1988. Graziano, a Democrat, said she had been thinking about race and policing for years, particularly after the death of Walter Scott, a Black man who was killed by a white North Charleston police officer in 2015.

Graziano, 53, has centered much of her candidacy on issues of accountability and diversifying the department, which covers a county that is almost one-third Black. If elected, Graziano, who is white, would be the first woman to serve as a sheriff in the state.

“When unarmed men get shot in the back running away from police and when people get choked out in handcuffs, obviously those are not right,” said Graziano, who began her law enforcement career in Charlottesville, Virginia. “It’s a systemic problem, it’s always been a systemic problem. I think it’s a very small portion that have the bias, but we have to own it.”

Cannon, who is white, said the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, which led to thousands of protests across the country this summer and conversations about race and racism, sharpened a collective focus on racial injustices. But, he said, his department was already making progress, including efforts to reduce the county’s inmate population.

And about three months ago, Cannon, 74, said he moved to avoid “flash points,” such as directing the force to issue citations rather than make arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Both candidates said they were encouraged by the surge in early voting in Charleston County. As of Thursday, about 76,000 people had voted in person, compared with 43,000 in 2016. And mail-in ballots jumped from 16,000 to 52,000, county records show.

Hoping to harness the energy at demonstrations amid a national conversation about race, organizers pushed massive voter registration drives over the summer. The Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of activist groups, hosted a series of virtual town halls and conventions focused on election issues. And local chapters of Black Lives Matter hosted Instagram live chats with candidates to weigh their positions on issues of race and policing.

Rock the Vote, a nonprofit organization aimed at registering young voters, said its platform had surpassed 2 million registered voters this year, up from 1.7 million in 2016. Since Floyd’s death, Voto Latino, a nonprofit political organization, registered 451,976 voters across the country.

“Following the murder of George Floyd, we saw an explosion in voter registrations,” said Danny Turkel, communications manager of Voto Latino, noting that the organization registered 97,000 voters in June alone. He said a July poll showed that three-quarters of Latinos surveyed supported the Black Lives Matter movement and 64% said police reform was among their top reasons to vote.

But there is a racial divide over the importance of race in this election season.

In a Pew Research Center survey that interviewed 7,485 registered voters in July and August, at the height of the unrest and the nation’s reckoning over systemic racism, 85% of Black and 66% of Hispanic respondents viewed “race and ethnic inequality” as very important to their vote, compared with 43% of white voters.

Still, a growing number of Black and Latino voters support President Donald Trump, despite his refusal to denounce white nationalism and his calls for “law and order” in the wake of some protests that turned violent. A large national poll released on Thursday showed the president winning 9% of Black voters this year, up from 8% in 2016, and 35% of Latino voters, up from 29%.

“The stakes, I will say, have never been higher,” said Martin Luther King III, the son of the famed civil rights leader. “I think the vast majority of Black Americans — and really Americans — believe that we’ve got to address the issue of race, systematic racism.”

In Louisville, Kentucky, where a protest movement galvanized by the police killing of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor has persisted for 150 days, the focus has been on changing the makeup of the Louisville Metro Council, which has the power to change police policy and, in June, passed a bill known as Breonna’s Law that banned no-knock warrants.

“Folks are paying attention to that and they’re connecting it to their ballots, and that is vitally important,” Attica Scott, a Kentucky state representative, said. “Until folks really understand how local and state and federal government work, they won’t necessarily be the kind of informed voters who can create this change.”

Last year, the office of Bo Duhé, the district attorney for Louisiana’s 16th Judicial Circuit, made an unusual motion to have Lori Landry, the first Black female judge in the district, removed from more than 300 cases. Duhé’s office argued that Landry was biased against prosecutors, in part because she accused them of racial bias in their treatment of defendants.

Now Landry, who left the bench in July, is challenging Duhé in his reelection bid.

She has centered her campaign on the racial disparities she complained about from the bench, and she said the national conversation on race has only highlighted injustices that have left her more worried than when she was growing up.

“I was never afraid for the safety of my brothers like I’m afraid for the safety of my 21- and 28-year-old nephews,” Landry, 57, said. “It has shaped me as a person. But it also has pushed me in a race that I might not otherwise be in.”

Duhé, who is white, did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment. But in interviews with other news outlets he has stressed the need to protect victims and provide alternatives to incarceration for defendants.

For some Black residents of the 16th circuit, which includes Iberia, St. Mary and St. Martin Parishes, the district attorney’s race has been a rallying cry for change in a criminal justice system that they have long felt was stacked against them.

Many still feel the sting of the tenure of Louis Ackal, the former Iberia Parish sheriff whose deputies accused him of brutal, racist acts and who was acquitted on charges of federal civil rights abuses. And many local residents see the district attorney’s office, which has always been led by white men, as upholding a system that has made Louisiana among the states with the highest incarceration rates, with Black men and boys nine times more likely to be locked up before trial than their white counterparts.

Robby Carrier-Bethel, a community activist in New Iberia, said a lot of new young people are engaging in the political process this year, helping with door-to-door canvassing, phone banking and social media outreach for Landry. There are some indications that the efforts are moving Black voters toward the polls. Black voter registration is slightly up this year in the 16th circuit compared with four years ago, while registration among white voters has fallen.

Carrier-Bethel, 60, said the urgency of this election lay in her concern that hard-won racial advancements of generations past could be lost.

“Realizing that actually makes you stop and pause,” she said. “You understand fully what’s at stake and that you have to be the protector of those rights.”

A veteran law enforcement officer in Charleston, South Carolina, campaigning to unseat her boss has vowed to root out racial bias in the 900-member Sheriff’s Department and rebuild trust in the Black community.

A veteran law enforcement officer in Charleston, South Carolina, campaigning to unseat her boss has vowed to root out racial bias in the 900-member Sheriff’s Department and rebuild trust in the Black community. A former judge in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, who is running for district attorney, has promised to change how prosecutors make charging, plea and bail decisions. And in Hamilton County, Ohio, the race for the top prosecutor pits a Republican incumbent running on a “tough-on-crime” platform against a Democrat and former judge who is pushing to eliminate cash bail for nonviolent offenses and create a conviction integrity unit. While the coronavirus and battered economy have overtaken issues of race as the focal points in presidential and congressional campaigns, despite the disproportionate impact of both on communities of color, systemic racism and police reform have emerged as dominant themes in a number of local elections. In states across America, from California to Kentucky to New York, many voters said they saw the races for sheriffs, prosecutors and council representatives as having more consequence to their lives. In South Carolina, Kristin Graziano, a 32-year police veteran, is challenging Sheriff Al Cannon, who has held the Charleston County post since 1988. Graziano, a Democrat, said she had been thinking about race and policing for years, particularly after the death of Walter Scott, a Black man who was killed by a white North Charleston police officer in 2015. Graziano, 53, has centered much of her candidacy on issues of accountability and diversifying the department, which covers a county that is almost one-third Black. If elected, Graziano, who is white, would be the first woman to serve as a sheriff in the state. “When unarmed men get shot in the back running away from police and when people get choked out in handcuffs, obviously those are not right,” said Graziano, who began her law enforcement career in Charlottesville, Virginia. “It’s a systemic problem, it’s always been a systemic problem. I think it’s a very small portion that have the bias, but we have to own it.” Cannon, who is white, said the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, which led to thousands of protests across the country this summer and conversations about race and racism, sharpened a collective focus on racial injustices. But, he said, his department was already making progress, including efforts to reduce the county’s inmate population. And about three months ago, Cannon, 74, said he moved to avoid “flash points,” such as directing the force to issue citations rather than make arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Both candidates said they were encouraged by the surge in early voting in Charleston County. As of Thursday, about 76,000 people had voted in person, compared with 43,000 in 2016. And mail-in ballots jumped from 16,000 to 52,000, county records show. Hoping to harness the energy at demonstrations amid a national conversation about race, organizers pushed massive voter registration drives over the summer. The Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of activist groups, hosted a series of virtual town halls and conventions focused on election issues. And local chapters of Black Lives Matter hosted Instagram live chats with candidates to weigh their positions on issues of race and policing. Rock the Vote, a nonprofit organization aimed at registering young voters, said its platform had surpassed 2 million registered voters this year, up from 1.7 million in 2016. Since Floyd’s death, Voto Latino, a nonprofit political organization, registered 451,976 voters across the country. “Following the murder of George Floyd, we saw an explosion in voter registrations,” said Danny Turkel, communications manager of Voto Latino, noting that the organization registered 97,000 voters in June alone. He said a July poll showed that three-quarters of Latinos surveyed supported the Black Lives Matter movement and 64% said police reform was among their top reasons to vote. But there is a racial divide over the importance of race in this election season. In a Pew Research Center survey that interviewed 7,485 registered voters in July and August, at the height of the unrest and the nation’s reckoning over systemic racism, 85% of Black and 66% of Hispanic respondents viewed “race and ethnic inequality” as very important to their vote, compared with 43% of white voters. Still, a growing number of Black and Latino voters support President Donald Trump, despite his refusal to denounce white nationalism and his calls for “law and order” in the wake of some protests that turned violent. A large national poll released on Thursday showed the president winning 9% of Black voters this year, up from 8% in 2016, and 35% of Latino voters, up from 29%. “The stakes, I will say, have never been higher,” said Martin Luther King III, the son of the famed civil rights leader. “I think the vast majority of Black Americans — and really Americans — believe that we’ve got to address the issue of race, systematic racism.” In Louisville, Kentucky, where a protest movement galvanized by the police killing of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor has persisted for 150 days, the focus has been on changing the makeup of the Louisville Metro Council, which has the power to change police policy and, in June, passed a bill known as Breonna’s Law that banned no-knock warrants. “Folks are paying attention to that and they’re connecting it to their ballots, and that is vitally important,” Attica Scott, a Kentucky state representative, said. “Until folks really understand how local and state and federal government work, they won’t necessarily be the kind of informed voters who can create this change.” Last year, the office of Bo Duhé, the district attorney for Louisiana’s 16th Judicial Circuit, made an unusual motion to have Lori Landry, the first Black female judge in the district, removed from more than 300 cases. Duhé’s office argued that Landry was biased against prosecutors, in part because she accused them of racial bias in their treatment of defendants. Now Landry, who left the bench in July, is challenging Duhé in his reelection bid. She has centered her campaign on the racial disparities she complained about from the bench, and she said the national conversation on race has only highlighted injustices that have left her more worried than when she was growing up. “I was never afraid for the safety of my brothers like I’m afraid for the safety of my 21- and 28-year-old nephews,” Landry, 57, said. “It has shaped me as a person. But it also has pushed me in a race that I might not otherwise be in.” Duhé, who is white, did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment. But in interviews with other news outlets he has stressed the need to protect victims and provide alternatives to incarceration for defendants. For some Black residents of the 16th circuit, which includes Iberia, St. Mary and St. Martin Parishes, the district attorney’s race has been a rallying cry for change in a criminal justice system that they have long felt was stacked against them. Many still feel the sting of the tenure of Louis Ackal, the former Iberia Parish sheriff whose deputies accused him of brutal, racist acts and who was acquitted on charges of federal civil rights abuses. And many local residents see the district attorney’s office, which has always been led by white men, as upholding a system that has made Louisiana among the states with the highest incarceration rates, with Black men and boys nine times more likely to be locked up before trial than their white counterparts. Robby Carrier-Bethel, a community activist in New Iberia, said a lot of new young people are engaging in the political process this year, helping with door-to-door canvassing, phone banking and social media outreach for Landry. There are some indications that the efforts are moving Black voters toward the polls. Black voter registration is slightly up this year in the 16th circuit compared with four years ago, while registration among white voters has fallen. Carrier-Bethel, 60, said the urgency of this election lay in her concern that hard-won racial advancements of generations past could be lost. “Realizing that actually makes you stop and pause,” she said. “You understand fully what’s at stake and that you have to be the protector of those rights.”

After a summer of racial reckoning, race is on the ballot

After roiling for two days following the killing of of a black man, Philadelphia city council restricts Philadelphia Police Department. The use of pepper spray, rubber bullets & tear gas has been banned. Will the new rules calm Philadelphia down?

Philadelphia Council restricts police force | U.S. Election 2020 New York Direct

The US Election 2020 has drawn renewed attention on the demographic shifts & change in electorate composition. 2020 witnesses a growing population of first-time voters, ethnic & racial minorities. How will the demographic changes affect election results?

Surge in young & minority voters | U.S. Election 2020 New York Direct

In the historic US Election 2020 over 82 million Americans have already voted. Election night is expected to bring confusion & anxiety to voters & election officials. There is rise in the controversy of counting mail-in ballots post November 3rd. WION reports.

Will votes received post Nov 3rd be counted? | U.S. Election 2020 New York Direct

Just 4 days before election, U.S. economy reports a record growth for the third quarter of 2020. Donald Trump uses the report as a score card for his administration. But with millions still out of work & no stimulus in sight, What does this projection mean for citizens?

Trump uses economic report as score card | U.S. Election 2020 New York Direct

Two prominent Indian-Americans are among Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden's core advisors who have been guiding him on issues ranging from the coronavirus pandemic, economic recovery to foreign policy and climate change.

According to a report published in The New York Times, Biden is said to have been leaning on veteran advisors with high-level governmental experience rather than outsiders and ideological rivals to help guide him on subjects including the coronavirus pandemic and the country's diminished standing in the world.

Among those advising him on the pandemic are Dr Vivek Murthy, former US Surgeon General who was appointed by President Barack Obama and Harvard economist Raj Chetty who briefs Biden on economic issues.

Murthy and former head of the Food and Drug Administration David Kessler were among those present on a conference call convened by the Biden campaign when it learned that two people who had travelled with Senator Kamala Harris had tested positive for the coronavirus.

"Biden has spoken often of his briefings with experts, and Dr Murthy and Dr Kessler have been two of the most prominent medical figures whose counsel Biden has sought during the public health crisis," the NYT report said.

The NYT report quoted Kessler as saying that in the early days of the pandemic, he and Murthy would brief Biden "every day, or four times a week."

The report added that Biden has signalled that the government's top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci will have a prominent role in a Biden administration.

On economy, Biden has cast a wide net for economic advice, soliciting input from several hundred policy experts, the report said.

Also, among the most influential foreign policy advisor for Biden is Antony Blinken, who has previously worked for Biden on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and served as a deputy national security adviser and deputy secretary of state under Obama.

"Known more for his diplomatic touch than any fixed ideas, he is considered a likely candidate for national security adviser or secretary of state," the NYT report said.

Two prominent Indian-Americans are among Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden's core advisors who have been guiding him on issues ranging from the coronavirus pandemic, economic recovery to foreign policy and climate change.

Two prominent Indian-Americans are among Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden's core advisors who have been guiding him on issues ranging from the coronavirus pandemic, economic recovery to foreign policy and climate change. According to a report published in The New York Times, Biden is said to have been leaning on veteran advisors with high-level governmental experience rather than outsiders and ideological rivals to help guide him on subjects including the coronavirus pandemic and the country's diminished standing in the world. Among those advising him on the pandemic are Dr Vivek Murthy, former US Surgeon General who was appointed by President Barack Obama and Harvard economist Raj Chetty who briefs Biden on economic issues. Murthy and former head of the Food and Drug Administration David Kessler were among those present on a conference call convened by the Biden campaign when it learned that two people who had travelled with Senator Kamala Harris had tested positive for the coronavirus. "Biden has spoken often of his briefings with experts, and Dr Murthy and Dr Kessler have been two of the most prominent medical figures whose counsel Biden has sought during the public health crisis," the NYT report said. The NYT report quoted Kessler as saying that in the early days of the pandemic, he and Murthy would brief Biden "every day, or four times a week." The report added that Biden has signalled that the government's top infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci will have a prominent role in a Biden administration. On economy, Biden has cast a wide net for economic advice, soliciting input from several hundred policy experts, the report said. Also, among the most influential foreign policy advisor for Biden is Antony Blinken, who has previously worked for Biden on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and served as a deputy national security adviser and deputy secretary of state under Obama. "Known more for his diplomatic touch than any fixed ideas, he is considered a likely candidate for national security adviser or secretary of state," the NYT report said.

Two prominent Indian-Americans are among Joe Biden's core advisors

With election day inching closer the opinion charts are tightening. Over 73 million Americans have already voted & the poll trends are showing a dramatic shift. With just 5 days before polls, the gap between Donald Trump & Joe Biden is closing in. WION reports.

Who is leading in battleground states? | U.S. Election 2020 New York Direct

For the most important elections in the history of America, Hollywood celebrities have started opening up about their political opinions. Some are using social media to announce their favourite candidates, while others are asking people to vote. WION reports.

Can celebrities sway election results? | U.S. Election 2020 New York Direct

The US Election 2020 is the most expensive election in the American history. The cost of this year's federal election is set to hit $14 billion mark. The 2020 presidential race has shattered all past records & campaign teams are splurging like there's no tomorrow. WION reports.

It's raining money for 2020 election campaigns | U.S. Election 2020 New York Direct

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