The Supreme Court on Monday allowed congressional maps that had been approved by state courts in North Carolina and Pennsylvania to stand, giving Democrats a leg up in this year’s election in two key states.

In issuing the orders, the Supreme Court rejected requests by Republicans to restore maps approved by GOP-controlled state legislatures. Those district lines were thrown out and replaced by courts in both states after challenges by Democrats.

Under the new court-imposed maps in both states, Democrats are likely to gain more seats than they would have under the legislature-approved versions.

But in the North Carolina case, there were signs that at least four of the court’s more conservative justices could later rule that state courts are powerless to change congressional maps adopted by state legislatures.

Such a ruling would fundamentally alter how congressional elections are conducted and amplify partisan gerrymandering, allowing the party that controls the legislature to draw voting districts favoring its candidates.

But that will not happen before this fall’s election.

Stanton Jones, a lawyer for some of the plaintiffs who had challenged the North Carolina map, said the Supreme Court’s order meant that “North Carolina voters will now be able to vote in free and fair congressional elections this year.”

He said that for now, the order signaled an end to “a decade of extreme Republican gerrymanders.”

Still, the court’s three most conservative members — Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch — said they would have blocked the North Carolina map because it was likely that the state Supreme Court had violated the Constitution in overriding the state Legislature.

“There must be some limit on the authority of state courts to countermand actions taken by state legislatures when they are prescribing rules for the conduct of federal elections,” Alito wrote.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh filed a short concurring opinion agreeing that the question posed by the case was a substantial one. But he said the court should address it in the ordinary course rather than in response to an emergency application.

Taken together, the two opinions suggested that there are four justices ready to add a case on the question to the court’s docket when it is next presented in a petition seeking the court’s review rather than on what critics call the court’s shadow docket. It takes four votes to grant such review.

But it takes five votes to prevail. The swing vote would almost certainly belong to Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

In a second order in the Pennsylvania case, the court provisionally turned down a similar application on technical grounds without noted dissent.

The North Carolina Supreme Court had rejected a map drawn by Republican lawmakers that effectively gave their party at least 10 of the state’s 14 House seats, notwithstanding that voters statewide are roughly equally divided between the two parties.

A three-judge panel of the state Superior Court in Raleigh instead adopted a new map drawn by a nonpartisan panel of redistricting experts that appeared to split North Carolina’s congressional districts roughly equally between Republicans and Democrats. It gave each party six relatively safe House seats and made the other two competitive.

After the state Supreme Court refused to block that ruling, Republican state officials asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in.

In the Pennsylvania case, the state Supreme Court adopted a map that appears to give Republicans nine fairly safe seats and Democrats eight, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. Each party currently holds nine House seats, but Pennsylvania will lose a seat next year because of reapportionment after the 2020 census.

Voters and a Republican candidate for the House sued state officials in federal court to challenge the new map. When they did not receive immediate relief, they asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.

Both emergency applications relied on the Elections Clause of the Constitution, which says “the times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof.” That meant, the challengers argued, that the state legislature has sole responsibility for drawing congressional districts and that state courts have no role to play.

“The question presented here,” North Carolina Republicans wrote in their application, “goes to the very core of this nation’s democratic republic: what entity has the constitutional authority to set the rules of the road for federal elections.”

The North Carolina Supreme Court rejected that argument, sometimes called the independent state legislature doctrine, saying it was “repugnant to the sovereignty of states, the authority of state constitutions and the independence of state courts, and would produce absurd and dangerous consequences.”

But four justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have suggested that they are sympathetic to the doctrine. Three opinions issued in October 2020 seemed to endorse it.

“The provisions of the federal Constitution conferring on state legislatures, not state courts, the authority to make rules governing federal elections would be meaningless if a state court could override the rules adopted by the legislature simply by claiming that a state constitutional provision gave the courts the authority to make whatever rules it thought appropriate for the conduct of a fair election,” Alito, joined by Gorsuch and Thomas, wrote in a statement when the court refused to fast-track review of whether the Pennsylvania Supreme Court could alter deadlines for mail ballots set by the legislature.

Along the same lines, Gorsuch, joined by Kavanaugh, wrote in a concurring opinion that “the Constitution provides that state legislatures — not federal judges, not state judges, not state governors, not other state officials — bear primary responsibility for setting election rules.”

Kavanaugh, in another concurring opinion, wrote that “under the U.S. Constitution, the state courts do not have a blank check to rewrite state election laws for federal elections.”

Several Supreme Court decisions cut in the opposite direction.

In 2019, for instance, when the Supreme Court closed the doors of federal courts to claims of partisan gerrymandering in Rucho v. Common Cause, Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the five most conservative members of the court, said state courts could continue to hear such cases — including in the context of congressional redistricting.

“Our conclusion does not condone excessive partisan gerrymandering,” he wrote. “Nor does our conclusion condemn complaints about districting to echo into a void. The states, for example, are actively addressing the issue on a number of fronts.”

He gave an example: “In 2015, the Supreme Court of Florida struck down that state’s congressional districting plan as a violation of the Fair Districts Amendment to the Florida Constitution,” adding that “provisions in state statutes and state constitutions can provide standards and guidance for state courts to apply.”

In 2015, in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, the court ruled that Arizona’s voters were entitled to try to make the process of drawing congressional district lines less partisan by creating an independent redistricting commission notwithstanding the Elections Clause.

“Nothing in that clause instructs, nor has this court ever held, that a state legislature may prescribe regulations on the time, place and manner of holding federal elections in defiance of provisions of the state’s constitution,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in 2020, wrote in the majority opinion in the 5-4 decision. 
&nbsp;

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed congressional maps that had been approved by state courts in North Carolina and Pennsylvania to stand, giving Democrats a leg up in this year’s election in two key states.

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed congressional maps that had been approved by state courts in North Carolina and Pennsylvania to stand, giving Democrats a leg up in this year’s election in two key states. In issuing the orders, the Supreme Court rejected requests by Republicans to restore maps approved by GOP-controlled state legislatures. Those district lines were thrown out and replaced by courts in both states after challenges by Democrats. Under the new court-imposed maps in both states, Democrats are likely to gain more seats than they would have under the legislature-approved versions. But in the North Carolina case, there were signs that at least four of the court’s more conservative justices could later rule that state courts are powerless to change congressional maps adopted by state legislatures. Such a ruling would fundamentally alter how congressional elections are conducted and amplify partisan gerrymandering, allowing the party that controls the legislature to draw voting districts favoring its candidates. But that will not happen before this fall’s election. Stanton Jones, a lawyer for some of the plaintiffs who had challenged the North Carolina map, said the Supreme Court’s order meant that “North Carolina voters will now be able to vote in free and fair congressional elections this year.” He said that for now, the order signaled an end to “a decade of extreme Republican gerrymanders.” Still, the court’s three most conservative members — Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch — said they would have blocked the North Carolina map because it was likely that the state Supreme Court had violated the Constitution in overriding the state Legislature. “There must be some limit on the authority of state courts to countermand actions taken by state legislatures when they are prescribing rules for the conduct of federal elections,” Alito wrote. Justice Brett Kavanaugh filed a short concurring opinion agreeing that the question posed by the case was a substantial one. But he said the court should address it in the ordinary course rather than in response to an emergency application. Taken together, the two opinions suggested that there are four justices ready to add a case on the question to the court’s docket when it is next presented in a petition seeking the court’s review rather than on what critics call the court’s shadow docket. It takes four votes to grant such review. But it takes five votes to prevail. The swing vote would almost certainly belong to Justice Amy Coney Barrett. In a second order in the Pennsylvania case, the court provisionally turned down a similar application on technical grounds without noted dissent. The North Carolina Supreme Court had rejected a map drawn by Republican lawmakers that effectively gave their party at least 10 of the state’s 14 House seats, notwithstanding that voters statewide are roughly equally divided between the two parties. A three-judge panel of the state Superior Court in Raleigh instead adopted a new map drawn by a nonpartisan panel of redistricting experts that appeared to split North Carolina’s congressional districts roughly equally between Republicans and Democrats. It gave each party six relatively safe House seats and made the other two competitive. After the state Supreme Court refused to block that ruling, Republican state officials asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in. In the Pennsylvania case, the state Supreme Court adopted a map that appears to give Republicans nine fairly safe seats and Democrats eight, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. Each party currently holds nine House seats, but Pennsylvania will lose a seat next year because of reapportionment after the 2020 census. Voters and a Republican candidate for the House sued state officials in federal court to challenge the new map. When they did not receive immediate relief, they asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. Both emergency applications relied on the Elections Clause of the Constitution, which says “the times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof.” That meant, the challengers argued, that the state legislature has sole responsibility for drawing congressional districts and that state courts have no role to play. “The question presented here,” North Carolina Republicans wrote in their application, “goes to the very core of this nation’s democratic republic: what entity has the constitutional authority to set the rules of the road for federal elections.” The North Carolina Supreme Court rejected that argument, sometimes called the independent state legislature doctrine, saying it was “repugnant to the sovereignty of states, the authority of state constitutions and the independence of state courts, and would produce absurd and dangerous consequences.” But four justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have suggested that they are sympathetic to the doctrine. Three opinions issued in October 2020 seemed to endorse it. “The provisions of the federal Constitution conferring on state legislatures, not state courts, the authority to make rules governing federal elections would be meaningless if a state court could override the rules adopted by the legislature simply by claiming that a state constitutional provision gave the courts the authority to make whatever rules it thought appropriate for the conduct of a fair election,” Alito, joined by Gorsuch and Thomas, wrote in a statement when the court refused to fast-track review of whether the Pennsylvania Supreme Court could alter deadlines for mail ballots set by the legislature. Along the same lines, Gorsuch, joined by Kavanaugh, wrote in a concurring opinion that “the Constitution provides that state legislatures — not federal judges, not state judges, not state governors, not other state officials — bear primary responsibility for setting election rules.” Kavanaugh, in another concurring opinion, wrote that “under the U.S. Constitution, the state courts do not have a blank check to rewrite state election laws for federal elections.” Several Supreme Court decisions cut in the opposite direction. In 2019, for instance, when the Supreme Court closed the doors of federal courts to claims of partisan gerrymandering in Rucho v. Common Cause, Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the five most conservative members of the court, said state courts could continue to hear such cases — including in the context of congressional redistricting. “Our conclusion does not condone excessive partisan gerrymandering,” he wrote. “Nor does our conclusion condemn complaints about districting to echo into a void. The states, for example, are actively addressing the issue on a number of fronts.” He gave an example: “In 2015, the Supreme Court of Florida struck down that state’s congressional districting plan as a violation of the Fair Districts Amendment to the Florida Constitution,” adding that “provisions in state statutes and state constitutions can provide standards and guidance for state courts to apply.” In 2015, in Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission, the court ruled that Arizona’s voters were entitled to try to make the process of drawing congressional district lines less partisan by creating an independent redistricting commission notwithstanding the Elections Clause. “Nothing in that clause instructs, nor has this court ever held, that a state legislature may prescribe regulations on the time, place and manner of holding federal elections in defiance of provisions of the state’s constitution,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in 2020, wrote in the majority opinion in the 5-4 decision.

US Supreme Court allows court-imposed voting maps in North Carolina and Pennsylvania

At least four monkeys escaped after a truck carrying 100 primates to a laboratory crashed at Pennsylvania highway.

According to police, the trailer crashed with a dump truck on Friday afternoon while en route to a laboratory in Florida.

Police said on Twitter that four monkeys had "fled the crash scene into the surrounding area." Three were later captured, but one was still on the loose on Saturday morning.

The local WNEP news outlet said a police helicopter with thermal cameras was used to track down the cynomolgus monkeys, while officers on the ground used powerful flashlights.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
MONKEYS ON THE LOOSE: Right now Pennsylvania State Police and Game Wardens are searching the woods for 4 lab monkeys that escaped from a truck after a crash off of I-80 near the Danville exit. Search has focused on one tree for the last 15 minutes. <a href="https://twitter.com/WNEP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WNEP</a> <a href="https://t.co/986nwBn4xA">pic.twitter.com/986nwBn4xA</a>
— Marshall Keely (@MKeelyNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/MKeelyNews/status/1484683275578875904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Pennsylvania State Police released an image of one primate perched in a tree off Route 54 during the freezing cold night.
<img alt="Photo released by Pennsylvania State Police shows one of the escaped monkeys" data-caption="&lt;em&gt;Photo released by Pennsylvania State Police shows one of the escaped monkeys&lt;/em&gt;" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="5c121381-7782-427b-ac7b-993aba412ca5" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/monkeys.jpg" />
It was unclear if any people or animals were injured in the crash.

"Crash Update: There is still one monkey unaccounted for, but we are asking that no one attempt to look for or capture the animal," police troopers said on Twitter on Saturday morning.

Cynomolgus monkeys —also known as long-tailed macaques —can cost up to $10,000 each and have been in demand for coronavirus vaccine research, according to the New York Times. They can live for 30 years in captivity

(With inputs from agencies)

At least four monkeys escaped after a truck carrying 100 primates to a laboratory crashed at Pennsylvania highway. According to police, the trailer crashed with a dump truck on Friday afternoon while en route to a laboratory in Florida.

At least four monkeys escaped after a truck carrying 100 primates to a laboratory crashed at Pennsylvania highway. According to police, the trailer crashed with a dump truck on Friday afternoon while en route to a laboratory in Florida. Police said on Twitter that four monkeys had "fled the crash scene into the surrounding area." Three were later captured, but one was still on the loose on Saturday morning. The local WNEP news outlet said a police helicopter with thermal cameras was used to track down the cynomolgus monkeys, while officers on the ground used powerful flashlights. MONKEYS ON THE LOOSE: Right now Pennsylvania State Police and Game Wardens are searching the woods for 4 lab monkeys that escaped from a truck after a crash off of I-80 near the Danville exit. Search has focused on one tree for the last 15 minutes. @WNEP pic.twitter.com/986nwBn4xA — Marshall Keely (@MKeelyNews) January 22, 2022 × Pennsylvania State Police released an image of one primate perched in a tree off Route 54 during the freezing cold night. It was unclear if any people or animals were injured in the crash. "Crash Update: There is still one monkey unaccounted for, but we are asking that no one attempt to look for or capture the animal," police troopers said on Twitter on Saturday morning. Cynomolgus monkeys —also known as long-tailed macaques —can cost up to $10,000 each and have been in demand for coronavirus vaccine research, according to the New York Times. They can live for 30 years in captivity (With inputs from agencies)

Monkeys on the loose: Truck carrying 100 primates crashes in US, 3 escape

An elected county prosecutor in Pennsylvania who was charged Wednesday with rape in connection with an attack on a woman in her home left the residence only after she promised not to call the police, authorities said.

The Pennsylvania State Police said the Somerset County district attorney, Jeffrey L. Thomas, was charged with rape, indecent and simple assault, strangulation and criminal trespass in connection with the Sept. 18 attack in Windber, a borough that is about two hours east of Pittsburgh.

Thomas, 36, a Republican, was elected district attorney in 2019. His lawyer, Ryan Tutera, and a woman who answered the phone at the district attorney’s office Friday declined to comment on whether Thomas would step down.

A State Police report said Thomas used Snapchat to message the woman, who was not identified, and told her that he would be at her home in a few minutes. She responded that he was not welcome in her home and he entered “by subterfuge,” carrying several cans of beer, the report said.

He handed her an opened can of beer, and when he did not leave as she told him to, she slapped him, the police report said. Thomas struck her face, causing her nose to bleed. He then pulled down her sports bra and choked her before biting her breasts and raping her, the report said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-gunman-in-deadly-mass-shooting-at-kroger-in-tennessee-identified-as-29-year-old-store-vendor-415830">Also read |&nbsp;US: Gunman in deadly mass shooting at Kroger in Tennessee, identified as 29-year-old store vendor</a>

He grabbed the woman by her neck and hair and asked whether she was going to call the police, the report said. He eventually left only after she said she would not call the police, according to the report.

The police said that Thomas had known the woman for years “in a professional capacity,” and that he had repeatedly contacted her “to initiate a sexual relationship,” which she declined. Thomas had arrived at her house on a previous occasion and walked in uninvited and would also “routinely drive around her residence,” the police report said.

Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania attorney general, said in a statement that the charges against Thomas were “deeply disturbing,” adding that “today is a reminder that no one is above the law.”

He also commended the woman for being brave enough to come forward. “That is never an easy thing to do, especially when your abuser is a powerful elected official,” he said.

The court proceedings may be unusual as the plaintiff, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was set to be represented by the Somerset County district attorney’s office, which Thomas led.

Tutera said Friday that all of the county’s magistrate judges would recuse themselves because of their previous work with Thomas’ office, and that the state might appoint a judge. Thomas had a preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 29, but Tutera said it would very likely be postponed.

Tutera said the woman drank beer and smoked marijuana with Thomas in her home, adding, “I think that there’s more to this story than meets the eye.” Thomas was released from jail Thursday morning after posting $5,000 bail, Tutera said.

In October 2020, Thomas was cited in Cambria County, which is north of Somerset County, for disorderly conduct and harassment, WJAC-TV reported.

He used obscene language at a pizza restaurant and later threatened to “engage in a physical altercation” at a gymnastics gym, the television station reported. The status of those citations was not immediately available Friday.

“Just because I am an elected official, I’m not supposed to get upset that my 5-year-old daughter’s birthday party gets screwed up,” he told the station in response to the citations. “That’s ridiculous.”

This is the second time this year that a Pennsylvania district attorney has been accused of sexual assault. In February, Chad M. Salsman, who was the district attorney in Bradford County, was accused of sexually assaulting clients from his private practice before he was elected district attorney in 2019. He pleaded guilty to some of the charges and resigned in May of this year, and was sentenced in July to 18 months to five years in prison.

An elected county prosecutor in Pennsylvania who was charged Wednesday with rape in connection with an attack on a woman in her home left the residence only after she promised not to call the police, authorities said.

An elected county prosecutor in Pennsylvania who was charged Wednesday with rape in connection with an attack on a woman in her home left the residence only after she promised not to call the police, authorities said. The Pennsylvania State Police said the Somerset County district attorney, Jeffrey L. Thomas, was charged with rape, indecent and simple assault, strangulation and criminal trespass in connection with the Sept. 18 attack in Windber, a borough that is about two hours east of Pittsburgh. Thomas, 36, a Republican, was elected district attorney in 2019. His lawyer, Ryan Tutera, and a woman who answered the phone at the district attorney’s office Friday declined to comment on whether Thomas would step down. A State Police report said Thomas used Snapchat to message the woman, who was not identified, and told her that he would be at her home in a few minutes. She responded that he was not welcome in her home and he entered “by subterfuge,” carrying several cans of beer, the report said. He handed her an opened can of beer, and when he did not leave as she told him to, she slapped him, the police report said. Thomas struck her face, causing her nose to bleed. He then pulled down her sports bra and choked her before biting her breasts and raping her, the report said. Also read | US: Gunman in deadly mass shooting at Kroger in Tennessee, identified as 29-year-old store vendor He grabbed the woman by her neck and hair and asked whether she was going to call the police, the report said. He eventually left only after she said she would not call the police, according to the report. The police said that Thomas had known the woman for years “in a professional capacity,” and that he had repeatedly contacted her “to initiate a sexual relationship,” which she declined. Thomas had arrived at her house on a previous occasion and walked in uninvited and would also “routinely drive around her residence,” the police report said. Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania attorney general, said in a statement that the charges against Thomas were “deeply disturbing,” adding that “today is a reminder that no one is above the law.” He also commended the woman for being brave enough to come forward. “That is never an easy thing to do, especially when your abuser is a powerful elected official,” he said. The court proceedings may be unusual as the plaintiff, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, was set to be represented by the Somerset County district attorney’s office, which Thomas led. Tutera said Friday that all of the county’s magistrate judges would recuse themselves because of their previous work with Thomas’ office, and that the state might appoint a judge. Thomas had a preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 29, but Tutera said it would very likely be postponed. Tutera said the woman drank beer and smoked marijuana with Thomas in her home, adding, “I think that there’s more to this story than meets the eye.” Thomas was released from jail Thursday morning after posting $5,000 bail, Tutera said. In October 2020, Thomas was cited in Cambria County, which is north of Somerset County, for disorderly conduct and harassment, WJAC-TV reported. He used obscene language at a pizza restaurant and later threatened to “engage in a physical altercation” at a gymnastics gym, the television station reported. The status of those citations was not immediately available Friday. “Just because I am an elected official, I’m not supposed to get upset that my 5-year-old daughter’s birthday party gets screwed up,” he told the station in response to the citations. “That’s ridiculous.” This is the second time this year that a Pennsylvania district attorney has been accused of sexual assault. In February, Chad M. Salsman, who was the district attorney in Bradford County, was accused of sexually assaulting clients from his private practice before he was elected district attorney in 2019. He pleaded guilty to some of the charges and resigned in May of this year, and was sentenced in July to 18 months to five years in prison.

Pennsylvania prosecutor charged in rape at woman’s home, police say

At least five people have been killed after two separate tornadoes touched down in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on Thursday. The tornadoes have brought rampant damage in Pennsylvania.

Two separate tornadoes touch down in Bucks County, Pennsylvania

It was a February day so overcast that noon looked like dusk, and Frances McDormand felt a little rattled. She told me this as we ambled down the main street of the small coastal town where she lives, a modest, hidden place so far from Hollywood that studio searchlights would have a hard time finding it. Still, someone had managed.

Earlier that day, the phone rang at McDormand’s house, and while she didn’t recognize the man on the other end, he certainly knew who &lt;em&gt;she &lt;/em&gt;was. When the caller told her he was watching “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” the 2017 movie in which she plays an avenging mother named Mildred, McDormand realized she was on the phone with a fan who had tracked down her unlisted landline.

“It was the first creepy call I’ve gotten in 16 years here,” she told me. Though she hung up right away, McDormand now wondered what she might have asked him: “OK, what part were you watching? The scene where I threw the Molotov cocktail at the police station?”

Maybe the fan had hoped to speak with righteous Mildred, who harangues priests and cops and hurls fire bombs in the pursuit of justice. Instead, he reached Frances McDormand, a 63-year-old woman who chats up everybody she comes across in her small town, doesn’t like to think of herself as famous, and has won two Oscars.

This is the tricky thing about how persuasively McDormand embodies her characters: You think you know&lt;em&gt; her&lt;/em&gt; because you’re certain you know them. Whether it’s kindhearted Marge from “Fargo,” tetchy Olive from “Olive Kitteridge,” or bohemian Jane in “Laurel Canyon,” McDormand specializes in playing women with worldviews. You can tell right away what they like and don’t like, who they would be friendly with and who they can’t stand.

Since she rarely grants interviews, most people only see the real McDormand blazing an iconoclastic streak through televised awards shows, where she is barefaced instead of Botoxed and once wore her own jean jacket in lieu of borrowed couture. (In Hollywood, this mild noncompliance is tantamount to a declaration of war.) McDormand is highly skeptical of any ceremony where actors are done up like glamorous gladiators, and when her husband, filmmaker Joel Coen, was once asked to produce the Oscars alongside his brother, Ethan, McDormand suggested they set the telecast at Coney Island, which would have forced Hollywood glitterati to mingle with the freak show.

That irreverence is McDormand’s most endearing trait: On the day we met, she ducked into a liquor store to satisfy her craving for Fritos — “You know they’re gooood, right?” she teased — and before we sat together on a concrete wall by the coastline, McDormand clambered on top of it and used the length of her splayed body to measure a pandemic-appropriate distance between us. She makes a concerted effort not to treat herself like a precious movie star in the hopes that you won’t, either.

That’s why she lives where she lives and why, as she perched on the wall opposite me in an olive puffer jacket, she asked me not to divulge the name of her town. That morning’s phone call aside, “I get to live my more authentic self here,” she said, “and I don’t have to pretend to be anybody else.”

She nodded toward the beach, where a handful of people cavorted with their dogs and surfboards. “I don’t mind being&lt;em&gt; their&lt;/em&gt; movie star,” she said. “I’m just not going to be yours.”

STILL, THE LINE BETWEEN McDORMAND and her characters will only grow blurrier with the release of her intimate new film, “Nomadland.” In this sunset-dappled drama from the director Chloé Zhao, McDormand plays Fern, a widow who packs her things into a van and joins up with a tribe of older itinerant workers to spend their golden years working odd jobs all across the American West.

“Nomadland” would eventually require more from this private star than she is used to giving, but when McDormand first met with Zhao in early 2018, she was mostly curious what the up-and-coming director would think of her: “I was like, ‘Man, I just want to be relevant. Do you think I’m relevant?’”

Perhaps that’s a surprising admission for a woman who was then on the verge of winning her second Oscar, for “Three Billboards,” but McDormand had just entered her 60s and worried that good opportunities could prove harder to find. Even before that, most of her best-known roles had required some hustle to obtain, which is part of the reason McDormand has lately become a producer, too.

“Our industry is such an ageist industry,” Zhao told me by phone. “Someone like Frances McDormand who is just so authentically herself, who has not tried to erase those lines on her face or cover that up to fit into the industry — to me, she’ll be relevant forever.”

And it was exactly that authentic self that intrigued Zhao. In her previous films, “The Rider” and “Songs My Brothers Taught Me,” Zhao had cast nonprofessionals and built character arcs for them that were inspired by their actual experiences. “Nomadland,” based on a nonfiction book by Jessica Bruder, would offer her the same opportunity: Real nomads from Bruder’s book, like Linda May and Swankie, were enticed to play pivotal supporting roles in the film.

But since Zhao wanted those women to simply be themselves in front of the camera, she decided that for the sake of coherence, McDormand would need to play a version of herself, too. “It’s very interesting, the layers of it,” Zhao said. “Fran is playing Fern, but even the name ‘Fern’ came from herself and who she thinks she might be if she hit the road.”

In fact, McDormand had long harbored a fantasy of turning her back on Hollywood, changing her name, and setting off in an RV upon reaching her 60s. “Chloé tapped into the truth of it,” McDormand said, “which was at different points of my life, I’ve said to my husband, ‘I can’t take this anymore, I’m dropping out.’”

“Nomadland” let McDormand play out that dream and a few others. Many of the people McDormand interacts with in the film had no idea she was a famous actress — they figured she was just another nomad, and spoke to her like a normal person in exactly the way that she craves.

In some ways, all that verisimilitude could be grueling, too — McDormand was surprised at how exhausted she would feel after long days of simply being present in front of the camera, reacting to the stories real people unspooled. Zhao also asked McDormand to put in actual hours at Fern’s odd jobs, like harvesting beets in Nebraska or working at a warehouse in California.

But the result is a performance that McDormand has never given before, one that has less to do with acting and more to do with simply &lt;em&gt;being&lt;/em&gt;. As Los Angeles Times critic Justin Chang wrote in his “Nomadland” review, “McDormand doesn’t disappear into Fern; she’s revealed by Fern, and Fern is revealed by her.”

That sort of ineffable, hard-to-pin-down portrait was exactly Zhao’s intention. “I like to think that we have captured a great performance,” she said, “but also, an essence of Fran as well.”

Still, the director and her star sometimes disagreed on just how much of that essence to use. Details both large and small have been pulled directly from McDormand’s real life: Fern proudly shows off a set of plates that McDormand’s father bought her as a college graduation gift, and Zhao cast one of the actress’s oldest friends as Fern’s sister so the recriminations they air in the film could have a real weight.

But when Zhao floated the idea of finding a role in the film for McDormand’s son, Pedro, or suggested that Fern’s dead spouse, glimpsed only in a photograph, should be played by McDormand’s actual husband, Joel Coen, her lead drew a line in the sand. “I have to believe that it’s not just a documentary of me,” McDormand said. “I did create a character, just like I’ve created myself in 63 years, too.”

FOR MOST OF HER LIFE, McDormand has been fascinated by the formula through which one concocts a self-image. How much does it have to do with authenticity, and to what extent is it constructed by playing pretend?

“I would say probably fifth grade is the first time I can remember, ‘Oh, I know what they think I am, and I’m going to subvert it,’” she told me.

What they knew about McDormand then was that she was the adopted daughter of Vernon McDormand, a minister for the Disciples of Christ. That sort of role in that sort of family required a certain amount of public respectability, but as she got older, and an English teacher at McDormand’s school in Monessen, Pennsylvania, asked her to read the role of Lady Macbeth in a workshop, she found herself thrilled to leave propriety at the door.

“That was the hook,” McDormand said. “It was the power of being a really shy, slightly suspect seventh-grader who could stand in front of a group of people and keep their attention.” She loved, too, that Shakespeare’s female characters were as power-hungry as the men: “It’s like I used to say to Joel, ‘Why don’t you guys write better roles for women? In fact, why don’t you just write a role for men and then let me play it?’”

She had married Coen not long after making her screen debut in the 1984 noir “Blood Simple,” which he directed with Ethan. Twelve years later, the Coen brothers would give McDormand her signature role, one that could only be played by a woman: Marge, the chirpy, pregnant police chief in “Fargo.”

That film made her famous, a condition that McDormand considered a fire to be stomped out: After hiring a publicist, she almost immediately instructed him to turn down most requests.

“I made a very conscious effort not to do press and publicity for 10 years in what other people would think would be a very dangerous moment in a female actor’s career, but it paid off for exactly the reasons I wanted it to,” she said. “It gave me a mystery back to who I was, and then in the roles I performed, I could take an audience to a place where someone who sold watches or perfume and magazines couldn’t.”

To her, “Nomadland” is the culmination of that effort to keep herself unspoiled in the public eye. “That’s why it works,” she said. “That’s why Chloé could bear to even think of doing this with me, because of what I’ve created for years not just as an actor, but in my personal life.”

We traipsed back through town, and as we walked up a hill covered in overgrowth and eucalyptus trees, McDormand drew one final line: “So I’m going to pass my house, and then I’m going to leave you,” she said. She asked if I had dinner plans, and directed me to a farm stand I could stop by on the way home. “They’ve got gorgeous little gems and some good old arugula,” she said, “but no eggs right now because the chickens are all cold.”

As McDormand offered me kindly advice while standing in front of a felled eucalyptus trunk, I could have sworn I was talking to Fern, who is so practical and self-reliant. It reminded me of a story she had told me earlier: Not long ago, for the drive-in premiere of “Nomadland” in Pasadena, California, McDormand had decided to pull the van from the film out of storage. She thought it would be fun to sit in during the screening, but when she came face to face with the car she had lovingly named “Vanguard,” McDormand found herself overcome.

She had considered that van “the interior life of Fern, and therefore me,” she said, and to see Vanguard dirty and filled with junk after two years apart was almost too much to bear. An hour and a half into their reunion, Coen found McDormand still scrubbing the car, dripping sweat, insisting that she needed just a little more time with Vanguard. “I’m cleaning her,” McDormand told him. “I can’t let her go!”

It isn’t easy to move on when you’ve made something that requires so much of you. Before we parted ways, I asked McDormand how she felt after making “Nomadland.” I thought she scoffed at me, but she was laughing at the very idea.

“Well, at what point?” she said. “&lt;em&gt;Is&lt;/em&gt; it afterwards? I don’t know!” Then she shoved her hands into the pockets of her puffer jacket and disappeared into the eucalyptus grove, taking Fern with her.

It was a February day so overcast that noon looked like dusk, and Frances McDormand felt a little rattled. She told me this as we ambled down the main street of the small coastal town where she lives, a modest, hidden place so far from Hollywood that studio searchlights would have a hard time finding it.

It was a February day so overcast that noon looked like dusk, and Frances McDormand felt a little rattled. She told me this as we ambled down the main street of the small coastal town where she lives, a modest, hidden place so far from Hollywood that studio searchlights would have a hard time finding it. Still, someone had managed. Earlier that day, the phone rang at McDormand’s house, and while she didn’t recognize the man on the other end, he certainly knew who she was. When the caller told her he was watching “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” the 2017 movie in which she plays an avenging mother named Mildred, McDormand realized she was on the phone with a fan who had tracked down her unlisted landline. “It was the first creepy call I’ve gotten in 16 years here,” she told me. Though she hung up right away, McDormand now wondered what she might have asked him: “OK, what part were you watching? The scene where I threw the Molotov cocktail at the police station?” Maybe the fan had hoped to speak with righteous Mildred, who harangues priests and cops and hurls fire bombs in the pursuit of justice. Instead, he reached Frances McDormand, a 63-year-old woman who chats up everybody she comes across in her small town, doesn’t like to think of herself as famous, and has won two Oscars. This is the tricky thing about how persuasively McDormand embodies her characters: You think you know her because you’re certain you know them. Whether it’s kindhearted Marge from “Fargo,” tetchy Olive from “Olive Kitteridge,” or bohemian Jane in “Laurel Canyon,” McDormand specializes in playing women with worldviews. You can tell right away what they like and don’t like, who they would be friendly with and who they can’t stand. Since she rarely grants interviews, most people only see the real McDormand blazing an iconoclastic streak through televised awards shows, where she is barefaced instead of Botoxed and once wore her own jean jacket in lieu of borrowed couture. (In Hollywood, this mild noncompliance is tantamount to a declaration of war.) McDormand is highly skeptical of any ceremony where actors are done up like glamorous gladiators, and when her husband, filmmaker Joel Coen, was once asked to produce the Oscars alongside his brother, Ethan, McDormand suggested they set the telecast at Coney Island, which would have forced Hollywood glitterati to mingle with the freak show. That irreverence is McDormand’s most endearing trait: On the day we met, she ducked into a liquor store to satisfy her craving for Fritos — “You know they’re gooood, right?” she teased — and before we sat together on a concrete wall by the coastline, McDormand clambered on top of it and used the length of her splayed body to measure a pandemic-appropriate distance between us. She makes a concerted effort not to treat herself like a precious movie star in the hopes that you won’t, either. That’s why she lives where she lives and why, as she perched on the wall opposite me in an olive puffer jacket, she asked me not to divulge the name of her town. That morning’s phone call aside, “I get to live my more authentic self here,” she said, “and I don’t have to pretend to be anybody else.” She nodded toward the beach, where a handful of people cavorted with their dogs and surfboards. “I don’t mind being their movie star,” she said. “I’m just not going to be yours.” STILL, THE LINE BETWEEN McDORMAND and her characters will only grow blurrier with the release of her intimate new film, “Nomadland.” In this sunset-dappled drama from the director Chloé Zhao, McDormand plays Fern, a widow who packs her things into a van and joins up with a tribe of older itinerant workers to spend their golden years working odd jobs all across the American West. “Nomadland” would eventually require more from this private star than she is used to giving, but when McDormand first met with Zhao in early 2018, she was mostly curious what the up-and-coming director would think of her: “I was like, ‘Man, I just want to be relevant. Do you think I’m relevant?’” Perhaps that’s a surprising admission for a woman who was then on the verge of winning her second Oscar, for “Three Billboards,” but McDormand had just entered her 60s and worried that good opportunities could prove harder to find. Even before that, most of her best-known roles had required some hustle to obtain, which is part of the reason McDormand has lately become a producer, too. “Our industry is such an ageist industry,” Zhao told me by phone. “Someone like Frances McDormand who is just so authentically herself, who has not tried to erase those lines on her face or cover that up to fit into the industry — to me, she’ll be relevant forever.” And it was exactly that authentic self that intrigued Zhao. In her previous films, “The Rider” and “Songs My Brothers Taught Me,” Zhao had cast nonprofessionals and built character arcs for them that were inspired by their actual experiences. “Nomadland,” based on a nonfiction book by Jessica Bruder, would offer her the same opportunity: Real nomads from Bruder’s book, like Linda May and Swankie, were enticed to play pivotal supporting roles in the film. But since Zhao wanted those women to simply be themselves in front of the camera, she decided that for the sake of coherence, McDormand would need to play a version of herself, too. “It’s very interesting, the layers of it,” Zhao said. “Fran is playing Fern, but even the name ‘Fern’ came from herself and who she thinks she might be if she hit the road.” In fact, McDormand had long harbored a fantasy of turning her back on Hollywood, changing her name, and setting off in an RV upon reaching her 60s. “Chloé tapped into the truth of it,” McDormand said, “which was at different points of my life, I’ve said to my husband, ‘I can’t take this anymore, I’m dropping out.’” “Nomadland” let McDormand play out that dream and a few others. Many of the people McDormand interacts with in the film had no idea she was a famous actress — they figured she was just another nomad, and spoke to her like a normal person in exactly the way that she craves. In some ways, all that verisimilitude could be grueling, too — McDormand was surprised at how exhausted she would feel after long days of simply being present in front of the camera, reacting to the stories real people unspooled. Zhao also asked McDormand to put in actual hours at Fern’s odd jobs, like harvesting beets in Nebraska or working at a warehouse in California. But the result is a performance that McDormand has never given before, one that has less to do with acting and more to do with simply being. As Los Angeles Times critic Justin Chang wrote in his “Nomadland” review, “McDormand doesn’t disappear into Fern; she’s revealed by Fern, and Fern is revealed by her.” That sort of ineffable, hard-to-pin-down portrait was exactly Zhao’s intention. “I like to think that we have captured a great performance,” she said, “but also, an essence of Fran as well.” Still, the director and her star sometimes disagreed on just how much of that essence to use. Details both large and small have been pulled directly from McDormand’s real life: Fern proudly shows off a set of plates that McDormand’s father bought her as a college graduation gift, and Zhao cast one of the actress’s oldest friends as Fern’s sister so the recriminations they air in the film could have a real weight. But when Zhao floated the idea of finding a role in the film for McDormand’s son, Pedro, or suggested that Fern’s dead spouse, glimpsed only in a photograph, should be played by McDormand’s actual husband, Joel Coen, her lead drew a line in the sand. “I have to believe that it’s not just a documentary of me,” McDormand said. “I did create a character, just like I’ve created myself in 63 years, too.” FOR MOST OF HER LIFE, McDormand has been fascinated by the formula through which one concocts a self-image. How much does it have to do with authenticity, and to what extent is it constructed by playing pretend? “I would say probably fifth grade is the first time I can remember, ‘Oh, I know what they think I am, and I’m going to subvert it,’” she told me. What they knew about McDormand then was that she was the adopted daughter of Vernon McDormand, a minister for the Disciples of Christ. That sort of role in that sort of family required a certain amount of public respectability, but as she got older, and an English teacher at McDormand’s school in Monessen, Pennsylvania, asked her to read the role of Lady Macbeth in a workshop, she found herself thrilled to leave propriety at the door. “That was the hook,” McDormand said. “It was the power of being a really shy, slightly suspect seventh-grader who could stand in front of a group of people and keep their attention.” She loved, too, that Shakespeare’s female characters were as power-hungry as the men: “It’s like I used to say to Joel, ‘Why don’t you guys write better roles for women? In fact, why don’t you just write a role for men and then let me play it?’” She had married Coen not long after making her screen debut in the 1984 noir “Blood Simple,” which he directed with Ethan. Twelve years later, the Coen brothers would give McDormand her signature role, one that could only be played by a woman: Marge, the chirpy, pregnant police chief in “Fargo.” That film made her famous, a condition that McDormand considered a fire to be stomped out: After hiring a publicist, she almost immediately instructed him to turn down most requests. “I made a very conscious effort not to do press and publicity for 10 years in what other people would think would be a very dangerous moment in a female actor’s career, but it paid off for exactly the reasons I wanted it to,” she said. “It gave me a mystery back to who I was, and then in the roles I performed, I could take an audience to a place where someone who sold watches or perfume and magazines couldn’t.” To her, “Nomadland” is the culmination of that effort to keep herself unspoiled in the public eye. “That’s why it works,” she said. “That’s why Chloé could bear to even think of doing this with me, because of what I’ve created for years not just as an actor, but in my personal life.” We traipsed back through town, and as we walked up a hill covered in overgrowth and eucalyptus trees, McDormand drew one final line: “So I’m going to pass my house, and then I’m going to leave you,” she said. She asked if I had dinner plans, and directed me to a farm stand I could stop by on the way home. “They’ve got gorgeous little gems and some good old arugula,” she said, “but no eggs right now because the chickens are all cold.” As McDormand offered me kindly advice while standing in front of a felled eucalyptus trunk, I could have sworn I was talking to Fern, who is so practical and self-reliant. It reminded me of a story she had told me earlier: Not long ago, for the drive-in premiere of “Nomadland” in Pasadena, California, McDormand had decided to pull the van from the film out of storage. She thought it would be fun to sit in during the screening, but when she came face to face with the car she had lovingly named “Vanguard,” McDormand found herself overcome. She had considered that van “the interior life of Fern, and therefore me,” she said, and to see Vanguard dirty and filled with junk after two years apart was almost too much to bear. An hour and a half into their reunion, Coen found McDormand still scrubbing the car, dripping sweat, insisting that she needed just a little more time with Vanguard. “I’m cleaning her,” McDormand told him. “I can’t let her go!” It isn’t easy to move on when you’ve made something that requires so much of you. Before we parted ways, I asked McDormand how she felt after making “Nomadland.” I thought she scoffed at me, but she was laughing at the very idea. “Well, at what point?” she said. “Is it afterwards? I don’t know!” Then she shoved her hands into the pockets of her puffer jacket and disappeared into the eucalyptus grove, taking Fern with her.

What Frances McDormand would (and wouldn’t) give to 'Nomadland'

US Supreme Court gave a blow to Republicans seeking to throw out 2.5 milliion mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania and undo Joe Biden's election victory. The court refused to block the state from formalising Joe Biden's victory there.

The lawsuit was brought-in by US congressman Mike Kelly, a Trump ally and other Pennsylvania Republicans. They said that state's 2019 expansion of mail-in voting was illegal under state law.

Trump had won the state in 2016 presidential elections but this time Biden clinched the state by 80,000 votes.

The Republican plaintiffs argued that the universal, "no-excuse" mail-in ballot program passed by the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania legislature in 2019, enabling voters to cast ballots by mail for any reason, violated the state`s constitution.

Trump`s campaign and his allies have lost in a stream of lawsuits in key states won by Biden, also including Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and others. Judges have rejected sweeping assertions of voting irregularities.

Biden has amassed 306 electoral votes - exceeding the necessary 270 - compared to 232 for Trump in the state-by-state Electoral College that determines the election`s outcome, while also winning the national popular vote by more than 7 million votes.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/hopeful-ill-remain-president-says-trump-on-same-day-of-legal-defeat-in-us-supreme-court-348441">Hopeful I'll remain president, says Trump on same day of legal defeat in US Supreme Court</a>

However, Trump is yet to concede and instead chosen to make baseless allegations about election fraud and has not provided any evidence.

"This election is over. We must continue to stop this circus of `lawsuits` and move forward," Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, wrote on Twitter.

(With Reuters inputs)

US Supreme Court gave a blow to Republicans seeking to throw out 2.5 milliion mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania and undo Joe Biden's election victory. The court refused to block the state from formalising Joe Biden's victory there.

US Supreme Court gave a blow to Republicans seeking to throw out 2.5 milliion mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania and undo Joe Biden's election victory. The court refused to block the state from formalising Joe Biden's victory there. The lawsuit was brought-in by US congressman Mike Kelly, a Trump ally and other Pennsylvania Republicans. They said that state's 2019 expansion of mail-in voting was illegal under state law. Trump had won the state in 2016 presidential elections but this time Biden clinched the state by 80,000 votes. The Republican plaintiffs argued that the universal, "no-excuse" mail-in ballot program passed by the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania legislature in 2019, enabling voters to cast ballots by mail for any reason, violated the state`s constitution. Trump`s campaign and his allies have lost in a stream of lawsuits in key states won by Biden, also including Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and others. Judges have rejected sweeping assertions of voting irregularities. Biden has amassed 306 electoral votes - exceeding the necessary 270 - compared to 232 for Trump in the state-by-state Electoral College that determines the election`s outcome, while also winning the national popular vote by more than 7 million votes. Also Read | Hopeful I'll remain president, says Trump on same day of legal defeat in US Supreme Court However, Trump is yet to concede and instead chosen to make baseless allegations about election fraud and has not provided any evidence. "This election is over. We must continue to stop this circus of `lawsuits` and move forward," Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, wrote on Twitter. (With Reuters inputs)

US Supreme Court throws out Trump's claim of election fraud in Pennsylvania

The US Supreme Court denied a last-minute attempt by President Donald Trump’s allies to overturn the election results in Pennsylvania, a blow to the president’s continuing efforts to reverse his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Scotus denies Trump allies' attempt to overturn results

Allies of President Donald Trump sought an emergency order Thursday from the US Supreme Court blocking the certification of election results in Pennsylvania, a key state won by President-elect Joe Biden.

The move follows the Pennsylvania state supreme court's rejection Saturday of a suit challenging expanded mail-in voting in the key northeastern state.

In the motion filed Thursday the top US court is not asked to rule on the merits of the case at this point.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/strong-support-from-president-trump-saudi-arabia-says-final-agreement-with-qatar-within-reach-347759">'Strong support from President Trump': Saudi Arabia says final agreement with Qatar 'within reach'</a>

Rather, the plaintiffs ask the court for an injunction to halt any remaining steps in the election certification, which was actually done last week, so the plaintiffs can develop their arguments. They include Mike Kelly, a Republican member of the House of Representatives.

The court is expected to respond quickly in writing and is not obliged to explain whatever ruling it makes.

Trump is still refusing to concede defeat in the November 3 election, alleging without providing evidence that there was widespread fraud in both voting and vote counting and that the election was stolen from him.

The Trump campaign and Trump allies have filed a flurry of lawsuits in battleground states that he lost, seeking to overturn the results. In some 20-odd cases, however, the courts have rejected these suits.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/with-us-senate-majority-in-the-pot-parties-bring-out-big-guns-for-georgia-elections-347720">With US Senate majority in the pot, parties bring out big guns for Georgia elections</a>

On Tuesday Attorney General Bill Barr, a close ally of the president, broke with Trump and said there was no evidence of significant fraud to invalidate Biden's win.

Trump appointed three conservatives to the nine-member court during his presidency and said right after the November election he was prepared to go all the way to that tribunal to defend what he called his re-election victory.

In the 2000 presidential election, the high court halted a recount in Florida while George W. Bush held a 537-vote lead over Al Gore, handing Bush the presidency.

This time is different: There is not just one but several states that Trump is disputing and the margins of victory for Biden there are much larger than Bush's was.

The Supreme Court is considered unlikely to risk its reputation by getting involved in the Pennsylvania suit, which would not change the overall outcome of the election anyway.

Allies of President Donald Trump sought an emergency order Thursday from the US Supreme Court blocking the certification of election results in Pennsylvania, a key state won by President-elect Joe Biden.

Allies of President Donald Trump sought an emergency order Thursday from the US Supreme Court blocking the certification of election results in Pennsylvania, a key state won by President-elect Joe Biden. The move follows the Pennsylvania state supreme court's rejection Saturday of a suit challenging expanded mail-in voting in the key northeastern state. In the motion filed Thursday the top US court is not asked to rule on the merits of the case at this point. Also read| 'Strong support from President Trump': Saudi Arabia says final agreement with Qatar 'within reach' Rather, the plaintiffs ask the court for an injunction to halt any remaining steps in the election certification, which was actually done last week, so the plaintiffs can develop their arguments. They include Mike Kelly, a Republican member of the House of Representatives. The court is expected to respond quickly in writing and is not obliged to explain whatever ruling it makes. Trump is still refusing to concede defeat in the November 3 election, alleging without providing evidence that there was widespread fraud in both voting and vote counting and that the election was stolen from him. The Trump campaign and Trump allies have filed a flurry of lawsuits in battleground states that he lost, seeking to overturn the results. In some 20-odd cases, however, the courts have rejected these suits. Also read| With US Senate majority in the pot, parties bring out big guns for Georgia elections On Tuesday Attorney General Bill Barr, a close ally of the president, broke with Trump and said there was no evidence of significant fraud to invalidate Biden's win. Trump appointed three conservatives to the nine-member court during his presidency and said right after the November election he was prepared to go all the way to that tribunal to defend what he called his re-election victory. In the 2000 presidential election, the high court halted a recount in Florida while George W. Bush held a 537-vote lead over Al Gore, handing Bush the presidency. This time is different: There is not just one but several states that Trump is disputing and the margins of victory for Biden there are much larger than Bush's was. The Supreme Court is considered unlikely to risk its reputation by getting involved in the Pennsylvania suit, which would not change the overall outcome of the election anyway.

Donald Trump allies take Pennsylvania vote complaint to US Supreme Court

Allies of US President Donald Trump have sought an emergency order from the US Supreme Court blocking the certification of election results in Pennsylvania, a key state won by President-elect Joe Biden.

The move follows the Pennsylvania state supreme court's rejection of a suit challenging expanded mail-in voting in the key northeastern state.

In the motion filed Thursday the top US court is not asked to rule on the merits of the case at this point.

Rather, the plaintiffs ask the court for an injunction to halt any remaining steps in the election certification, which was actually done last week, so the plaintiffs can develop their arguments. They include Mike Kelly, a Republican member of the House of Representatives.

The court is expected to respond quickly in writing and is not obliged to explain whatever ruling it makes.

Trump is still refusing to concede defeat in the November 3 election, alleging without providing evidence that there was widespread fraud in both voting and vote counting, and that the election was stolen from him.

The Trump campaign and Trump allies have filed a flurry of lawsuits in battleground states that he lost, seeking to overturn the results. In some 20-odd cases, however, the courts have rejected these suits.

On Tuesday Attorney General Bill Barr, a close ally of the president, broke with Trump and said there was no evidence of significant fraud to invalidate Biden's win.

Trump appointed three conservatives to the nine-member court during his presidency and said right after the November election he was prepared to go all the way to that tribunal to defend what he called his re-election victory.

The Supreme Court is considered unlikely to risk its reputation by getting involved in the Pennsylvania suit, which would not change the overall outcome of the election anyway.

Allies of US President Donald Trump have sought an emergency order from the US Supreme Court blocking the certification of election results in Pennsylvania, a key state won by President-elect Joe Biden.

Allies of US President Donald Trump have sought an emergency order from the US Supreme Court blocking the certification of election results in Pennsylvania, a key state won by President-elect Joe Biden. The move follows the Pennsylvania state supreme court's rejection of a suit challenging expanded mail-in voting in the key northeastern state. In the motion filed Thursday the top US court is not asked to rule on the merits of the case at this point. Rather, the plaintiffs ask the court for an injunction to halt any remaining steps in the election certification, which was actually done last week, so the plaintiffs can develop their arguments. They include Mike Kelly, a Republican member of the House of Representatives. The court is expected to respond quickly in writing and is not obliged to explain whatever ruling it makes. Trump is still refusing to concede defeat in the November 3 election, alleging without providing evidence that there was widespread fraud in both voting and vote counting, and that the election was stolen from him. The Trump campaign and Trump allies have filed a flurry of lawsuits in battleground states that he lost, seeking to overturn the results. In some 20-odd cases, however, the courts have rejected these suits. On Tuesday Attorney General Bill Barr, a close ally of the president, broke with Trump and said there was no evidence of significant fraud to invalidate Biden's win. Trump appointed three conservatives to the nine-member court during his presidency and said right after the November election he was prepared to go all the way to that tribunal to defend what he called his re-election victory. The Supreme Court is considered unlikely to risk its reputation by getting involved in the Pennsylvania suit, which would not change the overall outcome of the election anyway.

Trump allies take Pennsylvania vote complaint to US Supreme Court

A federal appeals court on Friday rejected an attempt by US President Donald Trump's campaign to block President-elect Joe Biden from being declared the winner of Pennsylvania.

The state&nbsp;certified Biden as its winner this week. Under the law, the candidate who wins the popular vote in the state gets all of the state's 20 electoral votes.

Trump, a Republican, has refused to concede to his Democratic rival and continues to claim, without evidence, widespread voter fraud.

The Trump campaign and its supporters have tried and failed to convince judges of election irregularities in Michigan, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, all critical to Biden's victory.

"Voters, not lawyers, choose the President. Ballots, not briefs, decide elections," said the appeals court opinion to this end.

"Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so," wrote Stephanos Bibas on behalf of a three-judge panel.

"Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here," wrote Bibas, who was nominated by Trump.

Soon after Friday's ruling, Trump posted a video from Newsmax on Twitter about alleged voter fraud in Nevada.

The Trump campaign filed the Pennsylvania case earlier this month, saying that county election officials had treated mail-in ballots inconsistently and asking US District Judge Matthew Brann to halt certification of the results.

Brann dismissed the case on November 21, saying the case was based on "strained legal arguments" and "speculative accusations."

The Trump campaign said it appealed on the “narrow” question of whether Brann improperly refused to let it amend the lawsuit a second time.

The appeals court said many of the claims by Trump campaign are matters of Pennsylvania law but noted the campaign already lost on those issues in state court.

The other judges on the panel, Brooks Smith and Michael Chagares, were nominated by George W Bush, a Republican.

Meanwhile, Trump said on Thursday he would leave the White House if the Electoral College votes for Biden when it meets on Dec. 14, the closest he has come to conceding the election.

On Monday, Trump's administration cleared the way Biden to transition to the White House, giving him access to briefings and funding even as Trump vowed to continue fighting the election results.

Biden won the election 306-232 in electoral votes, including Pennsylvania's 20. Even if Trump overturned the outcome in Pennsylvania, he would still need to reverse the result in at least two other states to remain as president.

States as states have until December 8 to resolve election disputes. 
&nbsp;

A federal appeals court on Friday rejected an attempt by US President Donald Trump's campaign to block President-elect Joe Biden from being declared the winner of Pennsylvania.

A federal appeals court on Friday rejected an attempt by US President Donald Trump's campaign to block President-elect Joe Biden from being declared the winner of Pennsylvania. The state certified Biden as its winner this week. Under the law, the candidate who wins the popular vote in the state gets all of the state's 20 electoral votes. Trump, a Republican, has refused to concede to his Democratic rival and continues to claim, without evidence, widespread voter fraud. The Trump campaign and its supporters have tried and failed to convince judges of election irregularities in Michigan, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, all critical to Biden's victory. "Voters, not lawyers, choose the President. Ballots, not briefs, decide elections," said the appeals court opinion to this end. "Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so," wrote Stephanos Bibas on behalf of a three-judge panel. "Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here," wrote Bibas, who was nominated by Trump. Soon after Friday's ruling, Trump posted a video from Newsmax on Twitter about alleged voter fraud in Nevada. The Trump campaign filed the Pennsylvania case earlier this month, saying that county election officials had treated mail-in ballots inconsistently and asking US District Judge Matthew Brann to halt certification of the results. Brann dismissed the case on November 21, saying the case was based on "strained legal arguments" and "speculative accusations." The Trump campaign said it appealed on the “narrow” question of whether Brann improperly refused to let it amend the lawsuit a second time. The appeals court said many of the claims by Trump campaign are matters of Pennsylvania law but noted the campaign already lost on those issues in state court. The other judges on the panel, Brooks Smith and Michael Chagares, were nominated by George W Bush, a Republican. Meanwhile, Trump said on Thursday he would leave the White House if the Electoral College votes for Biden when it meets on Dec. 14, the closest he has come to conceding the election. On Monday, Trump's administration cleared the way Biden to transition to the White House, giving him access to briefings and funding even as Trump vowed to continue fighting the election results. Biden won the election 306-232 in electoral votes, including Pennsylvania's 20. Even if Trump overturned the outcome in Pennsylvania, he would still need to reverse the result in at least two other states to remain as president. States as states have until December 8 to resolve election disputes.

US court denies Trump's Pennsylvania election challenge

To honour the&nbsp;US President-elect&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;and his achievements, his home state&nbsp;Pennsylvania has renamed a street after him.

After Biden's historic win in the recently-held&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">US elections</a>, his hometown, Scranton, renamed a street after him, near his childhood home. "This morning I had the opportunity to join U.S. Senator Bob Casey and Marywood University to unveil a Joe Biden Way street sign to honor our President-Elect. This sign is a step toward recognizing this achievement for our City, in hopes of giving a lasting boost of confidence to every child who lives here," the Mayor of Scranton,&nbsp;Paige Cognetti, said on Facebook.

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This morning I had the opportunity to join U.S. Senator Bob Casey and Marywood University to unveil a Joe Biden Way...
Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mayorofscranton/">Mayor of Scranton</a> on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/mayorofscranton/posts/218472676359775">Friday, November 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The sign has been installed at the&nbsp;intersection of Fisk Street and North Washington Avenue in the Green Ridge, which is a few steps away from his home where Biden grew up, before moving to Delaware.

"He knows how proud of him we are, and it lifts the people of the city. We feel proud one of ours is the President of the United States,"&nbsp;former Scranton Mayor Jimmy Connors told local media channel.

Biden's love for the city has also been mentioned by the former US President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/barack-obama">Barack Obama</a>&nbsp;under whom Biden served as Vice President. Obama had appreciated Biden as the "scrappy kid from Scranton who became Delaware's favorite son."

To honour the US President-elect Joe Biden and his achievements, his home state Pennsylvania has renamed a street after him. After Biden's historic win in the recently-held US elections, his hometown, Scranton, renamed a street after him, near his childhood home.

To honour the US President-elect Joe Biden and his achievements, his home state Pennsylvania has renamed a street after him. After Biden's historic win in the recently-held US elections, his hometown, Scranton, renamed a street after him, near his childhood home. "This morning I had the opportunity to join U.S. Senator Bob Casey and Marywood University to unveil a Joe Biden Way street sign to honor our President-Elect. This sign is a step toward recognizing this achievement for our City, in hopes of giving a lasting boost of confidence to every child who lives here," the Mayor of Scranton, Paige Cognetti, said on Facebook. This morning I had the opportunity to join U.S. Senator Bob Casey and Marywood University to unveil a Joe Biden Way... Posted by Mayor of Scranton on Friday, November 20, 2020 × The sign has been installed at the intersection of Fisk Street and North Washington Avenue in the Green Ridge, which is a few steps away from his home where Biden grew up, before moving to Delaware. "He knows how proud of him we are, and it lifts the people of the city. We feel proud one of ours is the President of the United States," former Scranton Mayor Jimmy Connors told local media channel. Biden's love for the city has also been mentioned by the former US President Barack Obama under whom Biden served as Vice President. Obama had appreciated Biden as the "scrappy kid from Scranton who became Delaware's favorite son."

'Scrappy kid from Scranton': Pennsylvania renames street to honour Joe Biden

US President Donald Trump suffered another major setback on Saturday in his desperate crusade to overturn the recently conducted presidential election and win it -- as a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by his campaign that sought to throw out millions of mail-in votes in Pennsylvania.

Trump and his allies have now won two election-related cases and lost 34, according to Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias.

District Court Judge Matthew Brann ruled that Trump's campaign had failed to demonstrate there had been widespread voting fraud in the November 3 vote.

Brann said that he "has no authority to take away the right to vote of even a single person, let alone millions of citizens."

The lawsuit, spearheaded by Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, sought to stop officials from certifying Biden's victory in the state, arguing that some counties wrongly allowed voters to fix errors on their mail ballots.

Giuliani and other Trump lawyers floated a variety of conspiracy theories at a news conference on Thursday as they alleged that the election was marred by widespread voter fraud. But they have had little success in court.

Democrats said Saturday's scathing verdict was further proof that those charges are false.

Giuliani has signalled in legal filings that he will pursue an appeal, but he has little time to do so before the state formalizes Biden's victory on Monday.

Trump is seeking to invalidate or change the election results through recounts and direct pressure on lawmakers in several states. He would need to prevail in at least three states to prevent Biden from being sworn in as president on January 20 -- an unprecedented action.

In Michigan, Republicans wrote to state authorities on Saturday asking them to wait 14 days to certify Biden's victory to allow for an audit of ballots in Wayne County, which includes the majority-Black city of Detroit. The letter cited allegations of "irregularities" that have not been substantiated. Biden won 154,000 more votes than Trump in Michigan.

Meanwhile, a manual recount and audit in Georgia confirmed Biden on Friday as the winner in the southern state, the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia in nearly three decades.

The Trump campaign has two business days to request a recount in Georgia. Trump's legal team has also said it plans a lawsuit in the state, but has not provided specifics.

Trump's accusations have continued to inflame his hard-core Republican base.

Hundreds of supporters gathered at the statehouse in Atlanta on Saturday, with video posted online showing speakers denouncing the media for calling Biden the election winner, as well as state Republican leaders for certifying the results.

Police in riot gear were deployed to separate them from counterprotesters who gathered nearby.

Critics say the delay and Trump's refusal to concede have serious implications for national security and the fight against the coronavirus, which has killed nearly 255,000 Americans.

Biden, who has denounced Trump's attempt to reverse the election results as "totally irresponsible", spent Saturday meeting with transition advisors and attending church.

Trump took part in a virtual summit of the 20 biggest world economies and then went to play golf at his club in Sterling, Virginia.

US President Donald Trump suffered another major setback on Saturday in his desperate crusade to overturn the recently conducted presidential election and win it -- as a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by his campaign that sought to throw out millions of mail-in votes in Pennsylvania.

US President Donald Trump suffered another major setback on Saturday in his desperate crusade to overturn the recently conducted presidential election and win it -- as a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by his campaign that sought to throw out millions of mail-in votes in Pennsylvania. Trump and his allies have now won two election-related cases and lost 34, according to Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias. District Court Judge Matthew Brann ruled that Trump's campaign had failed to demonstrate there had been widespread voting fraud in the November 3 vote. Brann said that he "has no authority to take away the right to vote of even a single person, let alone millions of citizens." The lawsuit, spearheaded by Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, sought to stop officials from certifying Biden's victory in the state, arguing that some counties wrongly allowed voters to fix errors on their mail ballots. Giuliani and other Trump lawyers floated a variety of conspiracy theories at a news conference on Thursday as they alleged that the election was marred by widespread voter fraud. But they have had little success in court. Democrats said Saturday's scathing verdict was further proof that those charges are false. Giuliani has signalled in legal filings that he will pursue an appeal, but he has little time to do so before the state formalizes Biden's victory on Monday. Trump is seeking to invalidate or change the election results through recounts and direct pressure on lawmakers in several states. He would need to prevail in at least three states to prevent Biden from being sworn in as president on January 20 -- an unprecedented action. In Michigan, Republicans wrote to state authorities on Saturday asking them to wait 14 days to certify Biden's victory to allow for an audit of ballots in Wayne County, which includes the majority-Black city of Detroit. The letter cited allegations of "irregularities" that have not been substantiated. Biden won 154,000 more votes than Trump in Michigan. Meanwhile, a manual recount and audit in Georgia confirmed Biden on Friday as the winner in the southern state, the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia in nearly three decades. The Trump campaign has two business days to request a recount in Georgia. Trump's legal team has also said it plans a lawsuit in the state, but has not provided specifics. Trump's accusations have continued to inflame his hard-core Republican base. Hundreds of supporters gathered at the statehouse in Atlanta on Saturday, with video posted online showing speakers denouncing the media for calling Biden the election winner, as well as state Republican leaders for certifying the results. Police in riot gear were deployed to separate them from counterprotesters who gathered nearby. Critics say the delay and Trump's refusal to concede have serious implications for national security and the fight against the coronavirus, which has killed nearly 255,000 Americans. Biden, who has denounced Trump's attempt to reverse the election results as "totally irresponsible", spent Saturday meeting with transition advisors and attending church. Trump took part in a virtual summit of the 20 biggest world economies and then went to play golf at his club in Sterling, Virginia.

US judge dismisses Trump election lawsuit in Pennsylvania

In the latest challenge in the US election,&nbsp;US President Donald Trump's campaign&nbsp;on Wednesday asked a judge to declare him the winner in Pennsylvania, saying the state's Republican-controlled legislature should select the electors that will cast votes in the US&nbsp;Electoral College system.

In a court filing, the campaign asked US&nbsp;District Judge Matthew Brann to consider issuing an order that "the results of the 2020 presidential general election are defective and providing for the Pennsylvania General Assembly to choose Pennsylvania’s electors."

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/post-election-political-chaos-in-us-endangering-its-democracy-343969" hreflang="en">Post election political chaos in US endangering its democracy</a>

The request was part of a larger bid by the campaign to amend a November&nbsp;9 lawsuit challenging the outcome in Pennsylvania.

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Democratic candidate&nbsp;Joe Biden won with 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232 nationwide. The winner needs 270, and Trump would have to flip the outcome in Pennsylvania, with 20 electoral votes, and two other states. Biden won Pennsylvania by around 82,000 votes, according to Edison Research.

On Tuesday a Pennsylvania judge challenged&nbsp;Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to back up his sweeping claims of electoral fraud, in a case which was actually focused on whether voting officials correctly followed procedures.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/post-election-political-chaos-in-us-endangering-its-democracy-343969" hreflang="en">Post election political chaos in US endangering its democracy</a>

"This is not a fraud case," Giuliani finally admitted.

Giuliani "talked only about fraud, gigantic conspiracies," Mark Aronchick, who represented the state's interests in the case, told CNN.

"It bore no relationship to what we were actually sitting there doing in court."

Trump's legal team, led by his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, also sought permission from Brann to put back legal claims that it dropped on Sunday from the lawsuit. They said Republican observers were denied access to the counting of mail-in ballots, an assertion election officials dispute.

The lawsuit also alleges inconsistent treatment by county election officials of mail-in ballots. Some counties notified voters that they could fix minor defects such as missing "secrecy envelopes" while others did not.

Brann expressed skepticism of the lawsuit at a hearing on Tuesday.

Trump's case is deeply flawed and does not give Trump "any viable path to overturning the results," said Justin Levitt, a Loyola Law School professor who has been tracking the litigation.

The amended filing "does not offer any indication that a number of ballots sufficient to make up the difference in the election were invalid," Levitt said, adding that "courts won't toss ballots out (or otherwise stop an election tally in progress) without actual proof that the ballots in question were invalid."

Republican Trump's campaign has filed a flurry of lawsuits in a long-shot bid to reverse the election. Trump has claimed without evidence that the election was stolen.

In the latest challenge in the US election, US President Donald Trump's campaign on Wednesday asked a judge to declare him the winner in Pennsylvania, saying the state's Republican-controlled legislature should select the electors that will cast votes in the US Electoral College system.

In the latest challenge in the US election, US President Donald Trump's campaign on Wednesday asked a judge to declare him the winner in Pennsylvania, saying the state's Republican-controlled legislature should select the electors that will cast votes in the US Electoral College system. In a court filing, the campaign asked US District Judge Matthew Brann to consider issuing an order that "the results of the 2020 presidential general election are defective and providing for the Pennsylvania General Assembly to choose Pennsylvania’s electors." Also read: Post election political chaos in US endangering its democracy The request was part of a larger bid by the campaign to amend a November 9 lawsuit challenging the outcome in Pennsylvania. Democratic candidate Joe Biden won with 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232 nationwide. The winner needs 270, and Trump would have to flip the outcome in Pennsylvania, with 20 electoral votes, and two other states. Biden won Pennsylvania by around 82,000 votes, according to Edison Research. On Tuesday a Pennsylvania judge challenged Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to back up his sweeping claims of electoral fraud, in a case which was actually focused on whether voting officials correctly followed procedures. Also read: Post election political chaos in US endangering its democracy "This is not a fraud case," Giuliani finally admitted. Giuliani "talked only about fraud, gigantic conspiracies," Mark Aronchick, who represented the state's interests in the case, told CNN. "It bore no relationship to what we were actually sitting there doing in court." Trump's legal team, led by his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, also sought permission from Brann to put back legal claims that it dropped on Sunday from the lawsuit. They said Republican observers were denied access to the counting of mail-in ballots, an assertion election officials dispute. The lawsuit also alleges inconsistent treatment by county election officials of mail-in ballots. Some counties notified voters that they could fix minor defects such as missing "secrecy envelopes" while others did not. Brann expressed skepticism of the lawsuit at a hearing on Tuesday. Trump's case is deeply flawed and does not give Trump "any viable path to overturning the results," said Justin Levitt, a Loyola Law School professor who has been tracking the litigation. The amended filing "does not offer any indication that a number of ballots sufficient to make up the difference in the election were invalid," Levitt said, adding that "courts won't toss ballots out (or otherwise stop an election tally in progress) without actual proof that the ballots in question were invalid." Republican Trump's campaign has filed a flurry of lawsuits in a long-shot bid to reverse the election. Trump has claimed without evidence that the election was stolen.

Donald Trump asks judge to declare him winner in Pennsylvania

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump's</a>&nbsp;chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus. The news broke out after it was reported that Meadows has told his close associates about him contracting the deadly virus.

Meadows told a handful of people who are his close advisors moments after the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">US election</a>&nbsp;2020. It is not yet clear as to when did the Chief of Staff get his report.

There has not been any information provided about whether or not he has shown symptoms for COVID-19. There is also no update about his health condition after contracting the virus.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-result-live-updates-biden-echoes-message-of-unity-as-vote-counts-show-him-leading-in-key-states-341275">US election 2020 result LIVE updates: Biden echoes message of unity as vote counts show him leading in key states</a>

He was last seen in close proximity to hundreds of people when Donald Trump had visited the headquarters of his re-election campaign on Tuesday.

An official statement from the White House and Meadows' office is still awaited.

Meadows' positive report has added to the massive outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the White House after an alleged super-spreader event was held to officially welcome the new Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett by Donald Trump.

The event had led to President Donald Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump, too, testing positive. Donald Trump was admitted to the military hospital where he stayed for a few days till he recovered. The First Couple's youngest son, too, had later tested positive.

Donald Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus. The news broke out after it was reported that Meadows has told his close associates about him contracting the deadly virus.

Donald Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has reportedly tested positive for coronavirus. The news broke out after it was reported that Meadows has told his close associates about him contracting the deadly virus. Meadows told a handful of people who are his close advisors moments after the US election 2020. It is not yet clear as to when did the Chief of Staff get his report. There has not been any information provided about whether or not he has shown symptoms for COVID-19. There is also no update about his health condition after contracting the virus. US election 2020 result LIVE updates: Biden echoes message of unity as vote counts show him leading in key states He was last seen in close proximity to hundreds of people when Donald Trump had visited the headquarters of his re-election campaign on Tuesday. An official statement from the White House and Meadows' office is still awaited. Meadows' positive report has added to the massive outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the White House after an alleged super-spreader event was held to officially welcome the new Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett by Donald Trump. The event had led to President Donald Trump and the First Lady Melania Trump, too, testing positive. Donald Trump was admitted to the military hospital where he stayed for a few days till he recovered. The First Couple's youngest son, too, had later tested positive.

Donald Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, tests positive for coronavirus: Reports

A college teacher from California has been ordered to stand trial by a US court after he was accused of sending a threatening letter to a health official over the restrictions being imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus pandemic.

The teacher is a 55-year-old who teaches mathematics at a community college in Northern California.&nbsp;Alan Viarengo was arrested from the town of&nbsp;Gilroy and the local police officials confiscated&nbsp;138 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition and explosive materials.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-result-live-updates-biden-echoes-message-of-unity-as-vote-counts-show-him-leading-in-key-states-341275">US election 2020 result LIVE updates: Biden echoes message of unity as vote counts show him leading in key states</a>

Viarengo will be standing trial for two felony counts of stalking and threatening a public official after he sent nearly 24 threatening letters to the health official, in addition to various email and phone calls, starting from the month of April.&nbsp;

"You will pay a heavy price for your stupidity, (expletive)," one of the letters read, according to local reports.&nbsp;"You must go no matter how you go you stupid (expletive)," and “You are done … it’s over … say goodbye," other letters read.

One of the letters, assumably from the same stalker, also expressed satisfaction that the health official was being harassed and said he is happy and has posted the official's address everywhere.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/covid-19-cases-in-us-hit-record-for-third-day-topping-127000-341298" hreflang="en">Covid-19 cases in US hit record for third day, topping 127,000</a>

The letters were being sent to&nbsp;Santa Clara County Public Health Officer Dr Sara Cody, who is known for being one of the most vocal health experts of the country, especially in the context of the novel coronavirus.

It is also being investigated if the teacher was a member or was in any way associated with the far right-wing group called the&nbsp;Boogaloo movement as he had allegedly sent various slogans from the movement and some of the letters also had stickers of the same. The&nbsp;Boogaloo movement is a loosely organsied far right-wing extremist group. The members promote anti-government, anti-police and pro-guns messages throughout the country.

Through the investigations, it has also been found that accused had also sent a letter of mockery to a widow of a Sherrif who had died in a fire exchange in the line of duty.

A college teacher from California has been ordered to stand trial by a US court after he was accused of sending a threatening letter to a health official over the restrictions being imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus pandemic.

A college teacher from California has been ordered to stand trial by a US court after he was accused of sending a threatening letter to a health official over the restrictions being imposed to contain the spread of coronavirus pandemic. The teacher is a 55-year-old who teaches mathematics at a community college in Northern California. Alan Viarengo was arrested from the town of Gilroy and the local police officials confiscated 138 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition and explosive materials. US election 2020 result LIVE updates: Biden echoes message of unity as vote counts show him leading in key states Viarengo will be standing trial for two felony counts of stalking and threatening a public official after he sent nearly 24 threatening letters to the health official, in addition to various email and phone calls, starting from the month of April. "You will pay a heavy price for your stupidity, (expletive)," one of the letters read, according to local reports. "You must go no matter how you go you stupid (expletive)," and “You are done … it’s over … say goodbye," other letters read. One of the letters, assumably from the same stalker, also expressed satisfaction that the health official was being harassed and said he is happy and has posted the official's address everywhere. Also read| Covid-19 cases in US hit record for third day, topping 127,000 The letters were being sent to Santa Clara County Public Health Officer Dr Sara Cody, who is known for being one of the most vocal health experts of the country, especially in the context of the novel coronavirus. It is also being investigated if the teacher was a member or was in any way associated with the far right-wing group called the Boogaloo movement as he had allegedly sent various slogans from the movement and some of the letters also had stickers of the same. The Boogaloo movement is a loosely organsied far right-wing extremist group. The members promote anti-government, anti-police and pro-guns messages throughout the country. Through the investigations, it has also been found that accused had also sent a letter of mockery to a widow of a Sherrif who had died in a fire exchange in the line of duty.

US college teacher to face trial for threatening health official over COVID-19 restrictions

A US Supreme Court justice has denied&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump's</a>&nbsp;request to halt the&nbsp;Pennsylvania vote count of the ballots arriving after the election day, alleging that his opponent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;has committed fraud in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">US election</a>&nbsp;2020.

The court case has now been referred to the full court for a ruling on Saturday.&nbsp;Samuel Alito has asked the officials to keep counting the votes in the meantime — a decision which has been criticised by Donald Trump as his opponent is inching closer to victory.

The petition was filed at the last moment when the former Vice President, Joe Biden, started leading in the state. The petition targeted thousands of ballots that were received after 8 pm US election day i.e. November 03.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-result-live-updates-supreme-court-denies-immediate-halt-of-pennsylvania-count-341275">US election 2020 result LIVE updates: Supreme Court denies immediate halt of Pennsylvania count</a>

The Republicans had asked the court to at least issue the order of separating the ballots being received after 8 pm on November 03, from those that were received before the apparent deadline. The motive of this request was to keep the process simpler if the disqualification dream of Republicans comes true. However, the same was not ordered by Supreme Court justice.

"Given the results of the November 3, 2020, general election, the vote in Pennsylvania may well determine the next president of the United States," the Republicans said.

"It is unclear whether all 67 county boards of elections are segregating late-arriving ballots," the petition added.

The petition was filed after Donald Trump repeatedly accused Joe Biden of manipulating the election results and committing fraud through the mail-in voting system which has been operated on a larger scale by the United States Postal Service due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Trump has been asking authorities to "stop the count", while Joe Biden is urging people to "keep the faith" in the electoral and justice system of the country.

As of now, Biden is leading by&nbsp;21,705 votes in&nbsp;Pennsylvania.

A US Supreme Court justice has denied Donald Trump's request to halt the Pennsylvania vote count of the ballots arriving after the election day, alleging that his opponent Joe Biden has committed fraud in the US election 2020.

A US Supreme Court justice has denied Donald Trump's request to halt the Pennsylvania vote count of the ballots arriving after the election day, alleging that his opponent Joe Biden has committed fraud in the US election 2020. The court case has now been referred to the full court for a ruling on Saturday. Samuel Alito has asked the officials to keep counting the votes in the meantime — a decision which has been criticised by Donald Trump as his opponent is inching closer to victory. The petition was filed at the last moment when the former Vice President, Joe Biden, started leading in the state. The petition targeted thousands of ballots that were received after 8 pm US election day i.e. November 03. US election 2020 result LIVE updates: Supreme Court denies immediate halt of Pennsylvania count The Republicans had asked the court to at least issue the order of separating the ballots being received after 8 pm on November 03, from those that were received before the apparent deadline. The motive of this request was to keep the process simpler if the disqualification dream of Republicans comes true. However, the same was not ordered by Supreme Court justice. "Given the results of the November 3, 2020, general election, the vote in Pennsylvania may well determine the next president of the United States," the Republicans said. "It is unclear whether all 67 county boards of elections are segregating late-arriving ballots," the petition added. The petition was filed after Donald Trump repeatedly accused Joe Biden of manipulating the election results and committing fraud through the mail-in voting system which has been operated on a larger scale by the United States Postal Service due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Trump has been asking authorities to "stop the count", while Joe Biden is urging people to "keep the faith" in the electoral and justice system of the country. As of now, Biden is leading by 21,705 votes in Pennsylvania.

US election result 2020: Supreme court declines Trump's request to halt Pennsylvania vote count

As the world awaits the results of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">US election</a>&nbsp;2020, locals&nbsp;are trying to find solace in mems, jokes and hilarious ironies. And Twitter has found just the content for it in a video of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump's</a>&nbsp;supporters dancing at a song from the famous band 'Rage Against The Machine' that openly stands against the President.

A video spread like a wildfire on Twitter in which a man holding a US flag and a woman draped in the flag are dancing on the roads of&nbsp;Philadelphia. The song playing on the speakers is a hit song of the RATM band that sends an 'anti-police' and 'anti-racism' message.&nbsp;

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Right now in Philly... <a href="https://t.co/9yYhxuxMKf">pic.twitter.com/9yYhxuxMKf</a>
— Manny Alicandro (@Manny_Alicandro) <a href="https://twitter.com/Manny_Alicandro/status/1324873177416273921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The video was shared by a Twitter user who laughed at the irony of the situation. The song starts with the lyrics "Killing in the name of some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses" which hints at the police brutality directed especially&nbsp;towards the minority communities in the US — a topic that the locals have been protesting against lately.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-result-live-updates-biden-echoes-message-of-unity-as-vote-counts-show-him-leading-in-key-states-341275">US election 2020 result LIVE updates: Biden echoes message of unity as vote counts show him leading in key states</a>

The band, throughout the song, accuses the justice system claiming the police officers who killed locals&nbsp;were let go only because they were "wearing the badge".&nbsp;

When the video surfaced, Tom Morello, a band member, also took to Twitter to respond to the irony.

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Not exactly what we had in mind <a href="https://t.co/RydKGCk9RA">https://t.co/RydKGCk9RA</a>
— Tom Morello (@tmorello) <a href="https://twitter.com/tmorello/status/1324907210426642433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Other people, too, reacted with several memes and jokes. Here are few of them:

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They clearly don't know what RATM stands for 😂 like they also don't know a lot of things <a href="https://t.co/iEUDgupmym">https://t.co/iEUDgupmym</a>
— Matt Hartley (@matt_safc) <a href="https://twitter.com/matt_safc/status/1324981379747221506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2020</a></blockquote>
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I may not ever get over this <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RATM?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RATM</a> <a href="https://t.co/Bobe7pH9EG">https://t.co/Bobe7pH9EG</a>
— Angelica Parente, PhD (@draparente) <a href="https://twitter.com/draparente/status/1324970739762524160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2020</a></blockquote>
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I honestly don’t think they know the lyrics to this song or the group <a href="https://t.co/gfHLGUuDru">https://t.co/gfHLGUuDru</a>
— King Williams (@IamKingWilliams) <a href="https://twitter.com/IamKingWilliams/status/1324911144520257537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Do...do they know the lyrics of the song they’re dancing to? RATM is the literal antithesis of their campaign?? I have to laff, luv 😂 <a href="https://t.co/rsokZV2wvc">https://t.co/rsokZV2wvc</a>
— Andruw (@andiope_) <a href="https://twitter.com/andiope_/status/1324963364284620800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2020</a></blockquote>
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As the world awaits the results of the US election 2020, locals are trying to find solace in mems, jokes and hilarious ironies. And Twitter has found just the content for it in a video of Donald Trump's supporters dancing at a song from the famous band 'Rage Against The Machine' that openly stands against the President.

As the world awaits the results of the US election 2020, locals are trying to find solace in mems, jokes and hilarious ironies. And Twitter has found just the content for it in a video of Donald Trump's supporters dancing at a song from the famous band 'Rage Against The Machine' that openly stands against the President. A video spread like a wildfire on Twitter in which a man holding a US flag and a woman draped in the flag are dancing on the roads of Philadelphia. The song playing on the speakers is a hit song of the RATM band that sends an 'anti-police' and 'anti-racism' message. Right now in Philly... pic.twitter.com/9yYhxuxMKf — Manny Alicandro (@Manny_Alicandro) November 7, 2020 × The video was shared by a Twitter user who laughed at the irony of the situation. The song starts with the lyrics "Killing in the name of some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses" which hints at the police brutality directed especially towards the minority communities in the US — a topic that the locals have been protesting against lately. US election 2020 result LIVE updates: Biden echoes message of unity as vote counts show him leading in key states The band, throughout the song, accuses the justice system claiming the police officers who killed locals were let go only because they were "wearing the badge". When the video surfaced, Tom Morello, a band member, also took to Twitter to respond to the irony. Not exactly what we had in mind https://t.co/RydKGCk9RA — Tom Morello (@tmorello) November 7, 2020 × Other people, too, reacted with several memes and jokes. Here are few of them: They clearly don't know what RATM stands for 😂 like they also don't know a lot of things https://t.co/iEUDgupmym — Matt Hartley (@matt_safc) November 7, 2020 × I may not ever get over this #RATM https://t.co/Bobe7pH9EG — Angelica Parente, PhD (@draparente) November 7, 2020 × I honestly don’t think they know the lyrics to this song or the group https://t.co/gfHLGUuDru — King Williams (@IamKingWilliams) November 7, 2020 × Do...do they know the lyrics of the song they’re dancing to? RATM is the literal antithesis of their campaign?? I have to laff, luv 😂 https://t.co/rsokZV2wvc — Andruw (@andiope_) November 7, 2020 ×

Twitter laughs at irony after Donald Trump supporters dance on RATM's anti-racism song

The situation of the election in the United States continues to remain tense and the world is waiting eagerly to see the next president of the United States. Over the last several months, the world's largest economy has seen it all: from becoming the world's worst-hit coronavirus country, widespread protests, riots and violence related to racism and President Donald Trump's erratic presidency and unverified claims.

The situation of the election in the United States continues to remain tense and the world is waiting eagerly to see the next president of the United States. Over the last several months, the world's largest economy has seen it all: from becoming the world's worst-hit coronavirus country, widespread protests, riots and violence related to racism and President Donald Trump's erratic presidency and unverified claims. The record voting through postal ballots meant that the declaration of results will take a considerable amount of time and that is why even after nearly three days, we don't know who the next president would be. However, social media has kept Americans busy as the medium is helping them crack some jokes and lessen the intensity of a tightly-fought election. In a reference to the worn-out method of files getting downloaded in times when internet speed used to be slow in the era of internet explorer, an Instagram account by the name of Oatmeal shared an image of votes getting counted and time remaining is several minutes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by theoatmeal (@theoatmeal) on Nov 4, 2020 at 8:58am PST × Good morning! Looking forward to another day of this.😭#ElectionResults2020 #Elections2020 #thursdaymorning pic.twitter.com/a4FnKtCOQp — Holly Figueroa O'Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) November 5, 2020 × Nevada AG Aaron Ford responds to people sharing a meme joking that the Zootopia sloth is who is counting ballots in Nevada: "my friend @Bakari_Sellers tweeted about it and I told him he aint right about that." Adds "we're doing to the best we can," "it's going to take some time" pic.twitter.com/scbtNSDk3t — Cheyenne Haslett (@cheyennehaslett) November 5, 2020 × Many users also trolled Nevada, which is one of the key states that has not completed its counting, with one person sharing a video making fun of election officials and the background music running: "I don't really want to work today". View this post on Instagram Nevada left the chat A post shared by Saint Hoax (@sainthoax) on Nov 4, 2020 at 6:54pm PST × nevada after counting 1 ballot an hour pic.twitter.com/2i8JycJtLt — joe (@jxeker) November 5, 2020 × me driving to nevada to count those votes myself #Elections2020 pic.twitter.com/u6h5CBEMUt — rosina :p (@r0sinab) November 4, 2020 × The counting remains on the states of Nevada, Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Alaska and since none of the contenders has an outright lead, these states will decide the next American president.

Americans share hilarious posts as election counting saga continues

Hundreds of people participated in a “Count Every Vote” protest in Philadelphia on Wednesday night as Pennsylvania was still tallying mail-in ballots that could decide the outcome of the election.

'Count Every Vote' protest erupts in U.S. as poll results remains undecided

The battle for the White House is in its final lap. Donald Trump & Joe Biden are aiming for the battleground states. After several campaigns, Both candidates' rallies crossed paths in Pennsylvania. What happened next?

Trump & Biden campaigns cross paths in Pennsylvania | U.S. Election 2020 New York Direct

Less than 2 weeks to go for US Election 2020, the battle for the White House is only gaining in ferocity. Just a day before the final Presidential Debate, WION reports the opinion polls in key swing states.

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One thing that has become crucial in the 2020 Election campaign is The State of Race relations in America. Susan Tehrani brings you a ground report on the deep racial division in America before Election Day.

A reckoning with racism & discrimination

After blaming Barack Obama for the failing economy to faulty air conditioning at the White House, Donald Trump steered clear of mentioning Obama in his Pennsylvania rally. Here is a round-up of trump's Pennsylvania rally.

Trump appeals to Pennsylvania voters

Joe Biden's not-so-secret weapon Barack Obama to make his debut at the campaign trail. The former Commander-in-chief will headline a drive-in rally in the key swing state of Pennsylvania. Can Obama end trump's presidency?

Biden's former boss comes to the rescue

US Election 2020 Key States : Whenever there is any <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/us-election">presidential election </a>in the United States, battleground or swing states come into fore as these states cannot be termed as <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/democratic-party">Democratic </a>or <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/republican-party">Republican</a>.

In the 2016 US Election, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump </a>won six of these states, Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Arizona.

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/if-he-doesnt-win-donald-trump-will-be-back-in-2024-steve-bannon-336275">If he doesn't win, Donald Trump will be back in 2024: Steve Bannon</a>

However, polls suggest that Trump is trailing in all these states, even though margins are narrow in some.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/biden-and-trump-say-theyre-fighting-for-americas-soul-what-does-that-mean-336269">Biden and Trump say they’re fighting for America’s ‘soul.’ What does that mean?</a>

Let's look at US election 2020 key states&nbsp;that will decide the fate of Trump and Democratic contender <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>.

<h2>US Election 2020 Key States&nbsp;</h2>

Pennsylvania

It is a state where Biden was born, and a region that has seen decades of industrial decline.&nbsp;

Trump supporters are campaigning heavily in this state, with campaign team even going door-to-door in the suburbs to lure the voters.&nbsp;

Biden's big support will be big cities of the states, while Trump is expecting support from the state's rural west and conservative central areas.

Pennsylvania's suburbs and northeast will be crucial to decide which way the state is leading.&nbsp;

According to an average of state polls by the website RealClearPolitics (RCP), Biden leads Trump by 5.6 percentage points in the state.&nbsp;

US Election 2020 Key States:&nbsp;Michigan

Trump managed to narrowly win this state in 2016.

Michigan, also known as the Great Lakes states, is concerned about the state of the economy due to coronavirus pandemic and Trump's response to the crisis.

Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer has continually clashed with Trump over issues related to coronavirus and the strict lockdowns in the state have angered conservatives.&nbsp;

Recently, a group of right-wing members was also arrested by the FBI for plotting to kidnap Whitmer.

RCP says Biden is ahead in Michigan with 7.2 percentage points.&nbsp;

US Election 2020 Key States:&nbsp;Wisconsin

The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton paid the price for not campaigning in the state in the last election.&nbsp;

To not repeat such a mistake this time, Democrats held their national convention in Wisconsin though the event was made online due to coronavirus crisis.&nbsp;

Both Trump and Biden and their Vice Presidential candidates Mike Pence and Kamala Harris have campaigned in the state.

Biden is leading in Wisconsin by 6.3 percentage points, according to RCP.&nbsp;

Florida

It is largest of all the swing states and a large number of retired individuals reside here.&nbsp;

The state's massive Latino voters will be crucial and polls suggest the support for Democrats has declined from the 2016 levels.&nbsp;

However, Florida's senior citizen voters are also moving away from Trump because of his handling of the pandemic.&nbsp;

Many experts say Florida is a Trump firewall; if he loses here, he will lose the presidency.

With a margin of 1.4 percentage points, Biden is leading in Florida too, as per RCP.

North Carolina

The state went with Trump last time but only with a margin of three points and both parties are wary of this. &nbsp;

It has a popular Democrat as the governor who has garnered a lot of praise for his balanced approach to the crisis.&nbsp;

Republicans held their convention here, though the event was majorly online.

According to RCP, Biden is ahead in North Carolina by 2.7 points.&nbsp;

Arizona

The state has been a Republican bastion for decades, but as the number of Latino community rose and with the arrival of liberals from California, the state's electorate can go either way.

Conservative voters praise Trump's efforts to control immigration and promise to build a wall at the Mexican border.&nbsp;

However, by heavily criticising state's late senator John McCain, who still is admired a lot in Arizona, Trump has hurt his prospects.

Cindy McCain, the late senator's widow, has also endorsed Biden for the presidency.&nbsp;

Biden leads Trump by 4 points in the state, says RCP.&nbsp;

Iowa

With a lead of almost 10 points, Trump won Iowa comfortably four years ago, but the race looks tighter this time around.&nbsp;

Currently, Biden is leading with 1.2 points in Iowa, as per RCP.&nbsp;

Georgia

Since 1992, no Democratic candidate has been able to win Georgia in the presidential race, but a lot has changed in recent years with a rise in Democratic support.

As per RCP, Biden is leading the race with 1.2 points.&nbsp;

US Election 2020 Key States:&nbsp;Ohio

Ohio has 18 electoral college voters, which is a major attraction for both the parties.&nbsp;

Trump beat Clinton by 8.1 points in the 2016 election, but polls show a tighter race this year.&nbsp;

With a narrow margin of 0.6, Biden is ahead in Ohio, says RCP.&nbsp;

US Election 2020 Key States : Whenever there is any presidential election in the United States, battleground or swing states come into fore as these states cannot be termed as Democratic or Republican.

US Election 2020 Key States : Whenever there is any presidential election in the United States, battleground or swing states come into fore as these states cannot be termed as Democratic or Republican. In the 2016 US Election, Donald Trump won six of these states, Florida, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Arizona. Also read | If he doesn't win, Donald Trump will be back in 2024: Steve Bannon However, polls suggest that Trump is trailing in all these states, even though margins are narrow in some. Also read | Biden and Trump say they’re fighting for America’s ‘soul.’ What does that mean? Let's look at US election 2020 key states that will decide the fate of Trump and Democratic contender Joe Biden. US Election 2020 Key States Pennsylvania It is a state where Biden was born, and a region that has seen decades of industrial decline. Trump supporters are campaigning heavily in this state, with campaign team even going door-to-door in the suburbs to lure the voters. Biden's big support will be big cities of the states, while Trump is expecting support from the state's rural west and conservative central areas. Pennsylvania's suburbs and northeast will be crucial to decide which way the state is leading. According to an average of state polls by the website RealClearPolitics (RCP), Biden leads Trump by 5.6 percentage points in the state. US Election 2020 Key States: Michigan Trump managed to narrowly win this state in 2016. Michigan, also known as the Great Lakes states, is concerned about the state of the economy due to coronavirus pandemic and Trump's response to the crisis. Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer has continually clashed with Trump over issues related to coronavirus and the strict lockdowns in the state have angered conservatives. Recently, a group of right-wing members was also arrested by the FBI for plotting to kidnap Whitmer. RCP says Biden is ahead in Michigan with 7.2 percentage points. US Election 2020 Key States: Wisconsin The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton paid the price for not campaigning in the state in the last election. To not repeat such a mistake this time, Democrats held their national convention in Wisconsin though the event was made online due to coronavirus crisis. Both Trump and Biden and their Vice Presidential candidates Mike Pence and Kamala Harris have campaigned in the state. Biden is leading in Wisconsin by 6.3 percentage points, according to RCP. Florida It is largest of all the swing states and a large number of retired individuals reside here. The state's massive Latino voters will be crucial and polls suggest the support for Democrats has declined from the 2016 levels. However, Florida's senior citizen voters are also moving away from Trump because of his handling of the pandemic. Many experts say Florida is a Trump firewall; if he loses here, he will lose the presidency. With a margin of 1.4 percentage points, Biden is leading in Florida too, as per RCP. North Carolina The state went with Trump last time but only with a margin of three points and both parties are wary of this. It has a popular Democrat as the governor who has garnered a lot of praise for his balanced approach to the crisis. Republicans held their convention here, though the event was majorly online. According to RCP, Biden is ahead in North Carolina by 2.7 points. Arizona The state has been a Republican bastion for decades, but as the number of Latino community rose and with the arrival of liberals from California, the state's electorate can go either way. Conservative voters praise Trump's efforts to control immigration and promise to build a wall at the Mexican border. However, by heavily criticising state's late senator John McCain, who still is admired a lot in Arizona, Trump has hurt his prospects. Cindy McCain, the late senator's widow, has also endorsed Biden for the presidency. Biden leads Trump by 4 points in the state, says RCP. Iowa With a lead of almost 10 points, Trump won Iowa comfortably four years ago, but the race looks tighter this time around. Currently, Biden is leading with 1.2 points in Iowa, as per RCP. Georgia Since 1992, no Democratic candidate has been able to win Georgia in the presidential race, but a lot has changed in recent years with a rise in Democratic support. As per RCP, Biden is leading the race with 1.2 points. US Election 2020 Key States: Ohio Ohio has 18 electoral college voters, which is a major attraction for both the parties. Trump beat Clinton by 8.1 points in the 2016 election, but polls show a tighter race this year. With a narrow margin of 0.6, Biden is ahead in Ohio, says RCP.

US election 2020: Key states that will likely decide fate of Donald Trump and Joe Biden

President Donald Trump made a direct appeal to suburban women during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania as he sought to use his Supreme Court nomination to reset the trajectory of the race.

Trump holds support from Suburban women: Trump's Pennsylvania rally

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden pulled further ahead of President Donald Trump in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, building momentum in two states that could decide the winner of November`s election, Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls showed on Monday.

The polls showed the former vice president leading Trump by 7 percentage points in both states. A week earlier, Biden was up by 6 points in Wisconsin and by 5 in Pennsylvania.

Reuters/Ipsos is polling likely voters in six states - Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona - that will play critical roles in deciding whether Trump wins a second term in office or if Biden ousts him.

Below is a state-by-state look at Reuters/Ipsos findings, based on the online responses of likely voters, which include responses from some who cast ballots ahead of the formal Nov. 3 Election Day, which is increasingly common due to the coronavirus pandemic:

WISCONSIN (Oct. 6 - Oct. 11): 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * Voting for Biden: 51% 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * Voting for Trump: 44% 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 20% said they already had voted. 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 52% said Biden would be better at handling the coronavirus pandemic. 38% said Trump would be better. 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 47% said Trump would be better at managing the economy. 46% said Biden would be better.

PENNSYLVANIA (Oct. 6 - Oct. 11): 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * Voting for Biden: 51% 
&nbsp; &nbsp; * Voting for Trump: 44% 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 6% said they already had voted. 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 51% said Biden would be better at handling the coronavirus pandemic. 42% said Trump would be better. 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 50% said Trump would be better at managing the economy. 45% said Biden would be better.

FLORIDA (Sept. 29 - Oct. 6): 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * Voting for Biden: 49% 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * Voting for Trump: 45% 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 50% said Biden would be better at handling the coronavirus pandemic. 41% said Trump would be better. 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 49% said Trump would be better at managing the economy. 45% said Biden would be better. 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 7% said they already had voted. 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
ARIZONA (Sept. 29 - Oct. 7): 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * Voting for Biden: 48% 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * Voting for Trump: 46% 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 49% said Biden would be better at handling the coronavirus pandemic. 43% said Trump would be better. 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 52% said Trump would be better at managing the economy. 42% said Biden would be better. 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 3% said they already had voted.

MICHIGAN (Sept. 29-Oct. 6): 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * Voting for Biden: 51% 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * Voting for Trump: 43% 
&nbsp; &nbsp; * 50% said Biden would be better at handling the coronavirus pandemic. 41% said Trump would be better. 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 49% said Trump would be better at managing the economy. 44% said Biden would be better. 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 10% said they already had voted.

NORTH CAROLINA (Sept. 29-Oct. 6): 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * Voting for Biden: 47% 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * Voting for Trump: 47% 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 47% said Biden would be better at handling the coronavirus pandemic. 45% said Trump would be better. 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 52% said Trump would be better at managing the economy. 40% said Biden would be better. 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; * 8% said they already had voted. 
 
The Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls are conducted online in all six states in English, as well as in Spanish in Arizona and Florida.

-- In Wisconsin, from to Oct. 6 to Oct. 11, it gathered responses from 1,002 adults, including 577 likely voters, and had a credibility interval of 5 percentage points. 
-- In Pennsylvania, from to Oct. 6 to Oct. 11, it gathered responses from 1,002 adults, including 622 likely voters, and had a credibility interval of 5 percentage points. 
-- In Florida, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6, it gathered responses from 1,100 adults, including 678 likely voters, and had a credibility interval of 4 percentage points. 
-- In Arizona, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 7, it gathered responses from 1,099 adults, including 663 likely voters, and had a credibility interval of 4 percentage points. 
-- In Michigan, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6, it gathered responses from 1,098 adults, including 709 likely voters, and had a credibility interval of 4 percentage points. 
-- In North Carolina, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6, it gathered responses from 1,100 adults, including 693 likely voters, and had a credibility interval of 4 percentage points.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden pulled further ahead of President Donald Trump in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, building momentum in two states that could decide the winner of November`s election, Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls showed on Monday.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden pulled further ahead of President Donald Trump in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, building momentum in two states that could decide the winner of November`s election, Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls showed on Monday. The polls showed the former vice president leading Trump by 7 percentage points in both states. A week earlier, Biden was up by 6 points in Wisconsin and by 5 in Pennsylvania. Reuters/Ipsos is polling likely voters in six states - Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Florida and Arizona - that will play critical roles in deciding whether Trump wins a second term in office or if Biden ousts him. Below is a state-by-state look at Reuters/Ipsos findings, based on the online responses of likely voters, which include responses from some who cast ballots ahead of the formal Nov. 3 Election Day, which is increasingly common due to the coronavirus pandemic: WISCONSIN (Oct. 6 - Oct. 11): * Voting for Biden: 51% * Voting for Trump: 44% * 20% said they already had voted. * 52% said Biden would be better at handling the coronavirus pandemic. 38% said Trump would be better. * 47% said Trump would be better at managing the economy. 46% said Biden would be better. PENNSYLVANIA (Oct. 6 - Oct. 11): * Voting for Biden: 51% * Voting for Trump: 44% * 6% said they already had voted. * 51% said Biden would be better at handling the coronavirus pandemic. 42% said Trump would be better. * 50% said Trump would be better at managing the economy. 45% said Biden would be better. FLORIDA (Sept. 29 - Oct. 6): * Voting for Biden: 49% * Voting for Trump: 45% * 50% said Biden would be better at handling the coronavirus pandemic. 41% said Trump would be better. * 49% said Trump would be better at managing the economy. 45% said Biden would be better. * 7% said they already had voted. ARIZONA (Sept. 29 - Oct. 7): * Voting for Biden: 48% * Voting for Trump: 46% * 49% said Biden would be better at handling the coronavirus pandemic. 43% said Trump would be better. * 52% said Trump would be better at managing the economy. 42% said Biden would be better. * 3% said they already had voted. MICHIGAN (Sept. 29-Oct. 6): * Voting for Biden: 51% * Voting for Trump: 43% * 50% said Biden would be better at handling the coronavirus pandemic. 41% said Trump would be better. * 49% said Trump would be better at managing the economy. 44% said Biden would be better. * 10% said they already had voted. NORTH CAROLINA (Sept. 29-Oct. 6): * Voting for Biden: 47% * Voting for Trump: 47% * 47% said Biden would be better at handling the coronavirus pandemic. 45% said Trump would be better. * 52% said Trump would be better at managing the economy. 40% said Biden would be better. * 8% said they already had voted. The Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls are conducted online in all six states in English, as well as in Spanish in Arizona and Florida. -- In Wisconsin, from to Oct. 6 to Oct. 11, it gathered responses from 1,002 adults, including 577 likely voters, and had a credibility interval of 5 percentage points. -- In Pennsylvania, from to Oct. 6 to Oct. 11, it gathered responses from 1,002 adults, including 622 likely voters, and had a credibility interval of 5 percentage points. -- In Florida, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6, it gathered responses from 1,100 adults, including 678 likely voters, and had a credibility interval of 4 percentage points. -- In Arizona, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 7, it gathered responses from 1,099 adults, including 663 likely voters, and had a credibility interval of 4 percentage points. -- In Michigan, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6, it gathered responses from 1,098 adults, including 709 likely voters, and had a credibility interval of 4 percentage points. -- In North Carolina, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 6, it gathered responses from 1,100 adults, including 693 likely voters, and had a credibility interval of 4 percentage points.

Reuters poll shows Biden lead over Trump growing in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania

If you forget the secrecy envelope — simply dropping your ballot in the ordinary return envelope — your ballot will be deemed a “naked ballot.”

US Election 2020: Why Pennsylvania's naked ballot is a problem for election officials

US President Donald Trump's campaign swings through Pennsylvania. U.S President Donald Trump mocked his election rival for wearing a face mask on Tuesday (September 22), alleging that it was covering up his cosmetic surgery work. "What the hell did he spend all that money on the plastic surgery if he's gonna cover it up with a mask?" Trump asked a crowd of supporters at an election rally in Pennsylvania.

US Election 2020 New York Direct: Trump's campaign swings through Pennsylvania

Trump frequently claims that mail-in ballots are vulnerable to mass fraud and are being encouraged by Democrats to rig the election.

US Election 2020: President Donald Trump won't commit to peaceful power transfer

An investigation into the shooting of a 27-year-old man in Lancaster, Pennsylvania is ongoing after news of the incident sparked protests in the small city on Sunday night, a spokesman for the local district attorney`s office said.

The Lancaster City Bureau of Police said that one of their officers shot the man - identified by the district attorney`s office as Ricardo Munoz - late on Sunday afternoon after responding to a report of a domestic disturbance.

The city`s police department, which released body camera footage of the incident, said the man chased after the officer brandishing a knife in his right hand.

"The officer fired several shots from his firearm, striking the subject," the police department said in a statement, adding that the man did not survive the shooting and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Details of the man`s background have not been disclosed by the police.

More than a hundred protesters gathered outside the city`s police station after the shooting, the police department said, making Lancaster the latest flashpoint in a summer of U.S. civil unrest over racism and police shootings.

During the protests, bricks were thrown through the front of the police station and into the post office window, the police department said in a statement, adding that chemical agents were used to disperse the crowd.

Brett Hambright, a spokesman for the Lancaster County District Attorney`s office, said an investigation into the incident was ongoing and declined to provide further details.

"A police-involved shooting has significant impact on a community, as we are seeing with the large number of individuals gathering in the streets," District Attorney Heather Adams said in a statement late on Sunday. "We will do our best to release details about the incident in a timely manner."

An investigation into the shooting of a 27-year-old man in Lancaster, Pennsylvania is ongoing after news of the incident sparked protests in the small city on Sunday night, a spokesman for the local district attorney`s office said.

An investigation into the shooting of a 27-year-old man in Lancaster, Pennsylvania is ongoing after news of the incident sparked protests in the small city on Sunday night, a spokesman for the local district attorney`s office said. The Lancaster City Bureau of Police said that one of their officers shot the man - identified by the district attorney`s office as Ricardo Munoz - late on Sunday afternoon after responding to a report of a domestic disturbance. The city`s police department, which released body camera footage of the incident, said the man chased after the officer brandishing a knife in his right hand. "The officer fired several shots from his firearm, striking the subject," the police department said in a statement, adding that the man did not survive the shooting and was pronounced dead at the scene. Details of the man`s background have not been disclosed by the police. More than a hundred protesters gathered outside the city`s police station after the shooting, the police department said, making Lancaster the latest flashpoint in a summer of U.S. civil unrest over racism and police shootings. During the protests, bricks were thrown through the front of the police station and into the post office window, the police department said in a statement, adding that chemical agents were used to disperse the crowd. Brett Hambright, a spokesman for the Lancaster County District Attorney`s office, said an investigation into the incident was ongoing and declined to provide further details. "A police-involved shooting has significant impact on a community, as we are seeing with the large number of individuals gathering in the streets," District Attorney Heather Adams said in a statement late on Sunday. "We will do our best to release details about the incident in a timely manner."

Shooting of 27-year-old man under investigation in Pennsylvania

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