According to Stanford economists, Donald Trump's massive rallies might have led to 30,000 additional cases of Wuhan virus & at least 700 deaths. Palki Sharma Upadhyay gets you a report.

Gravitas: Did Trump infect 30,000 people with COVID-19?

President Donald Trump cast doubt on the integrity of the U.S. election again on Sunday (November 1), saying a vote count that stretched past Election Day would be a "terrible thing" and suggesting his lawyers might get involved.

Donald Trump casts doubt on integrity of prolonged vote count

Whether Donald Trump returns to power or Joe Biden displaces him will determine the future of ideological norms and nature of political systems in the rest of the world

US Election 2020: Poll amid pandemic, racial tensions and political divisions

Fauci told that the Biden campaign “is taking it seriously from a public health perspective,” while Trump is “looking at it from a different perspective”

Anthony Fauci praises Biden on COVID-19 and criticises Trump

US Election 2020: 2 days to go for the D-day

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested early on Monday that he might seek to fire a highly respected member of his coronavirus task force, Anthony Fauci, after Fauci further criticized Trump's handling of the virus.

White House: Fauci broke norms by making political leanings public

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

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

A record 90 million Americans have voted early in the U.S. presidential election, data on Saturday (October 31) showed, as President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden campaigned across the country to try to sway the few remaining undecided voters.

US early voting surges as Trump, Biden make late push

A record 90 million Americans have voted early in the U.S. presidential election, data on Saturday showed, as President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden campaigned across the country to try to sway the few remaining undecided voters.

Stanford study: Donald Trump rallies led to 30,000 new cases

Political heat is stirring up ahead of the US election in duelling campaign rallies in key election state of Florida. Rival Joe Biden & President Donald Trump pulled out all stops to appeal to the voters just days before the voting day. Watch the report to know more.

Political heat stirs up ahead of the US Election; Trump & Biden's final appeal to voters

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

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

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

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

Republican President Donald Trump questioned the integrity of the U.S. election again on Tuesday, saying it would be "inappropriate" to take extra time to count the tens of millions of ballots cast by mail in his race against Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump questions counting late ballots as Biden preaches unity in Georgia

Waving U.S. flags and beeping their horns, a car convoy carrying Republicans living in Israel, made its way on Tuesday (October 27) to the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem in a show of support for Donald Trump and his party, bringing the race for the White House onto the streets of Israel a week before U.S. election,

Donald Trump supporters rally at US embassy in Jerusalem

Ivanka Trump shared a photo of herself and husband Jared Kushner holding their mail-in ballot. While Donald Trump earlier claimed a flood of mail ballots would lead to fraud.

Ivanka Trump shares a picture of her mail-in ballot

U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania were in the spotlight outside the White House on Sunday night (October 25) to host families for a Halloween event -- when suddenly their miniature lookalikes came along and stole the show.

Mini Trump and Melania steal the show at White House Halloween

'Look at India. It's filthy. The air is filthy' said Donald Trump in the final Presidential Debate 2020. WION's Palki Sharma asks: Should the world's 'biggest climate change denier' be talking about India?

Gravitas: North Korea warns against 'Coronavirus dust storm' from China

Gravitas: Should Trump be preaching India?

With Joe Biden & DonaldTrump electronically muted for portions of the debate, the constant interruptions were replaced by a sharply defined personal attacks, accusations & confusion. WION brings you the best moments from the final Presidential Debate 2020.

Personal attacks, confusion & time

In their final chance, DonaldTrump & and Joe Biden unleashed a series of falsehoods, misleading & exaggerated statements. WION fact-checks the Final Presidential Debate2020.

Falsehoods, misleading & exaggerated claims

America's former Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama has made his 2020 Campaign trail debut ahead of the last Presidential Debate. Obama vented four years of his pent-up frustration at a rally in Philadelphia. WION's Palki Sharma gets you the latest updates from US Election 2020.

Gravitas: Obama makes 2020 campaign trail debut

U.S. Election Dialogues with WION's Palki Sharma.

U.S. Election Dialogues: Anti-China sentiment = Trump's gain?

The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved President Donald Trumps SC nominee Amy Barrett. Watch report.

Your Story: Senate approves Trump's court nominee Amy Barrett

Donald Trump's business links with China have hit his campaign. A new report reveals: 1 - Trump maintains a bank account in China 2 - Trump's businesses paid $188,561 as taxes in China 3 - Trump secured trademark approvals after he became President

Gravitas: Trump has a bank account in China

When FBI Special Agent Richard Trask took the witness stand in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan, last week to detail a plot to kidnap the governors of Michigan and Virginia, the prosecutor first asked him what the men involved had in common.

They were all from “multiple militias from different states,” replied Trask, who is a domestic terrorism expert for the Detroit field office.

Nils Kessler, the prosecutor, paused on the word “militia,” noting that it meant different things to different people. “These are groups that call themselves militias?” he asked. “But they are not under any government authority or anything like that?”

“That’s correct,” Trask responded.

For decades, federal authorities and academics have described private paramilitary organizations — armed groups who train together on military tactics and techniques — as “militias” or as part of the “militia movement.” But the term has taken on new meaning as makeshift vigilante groups have popped up with increasing frequency in the months leading up to a contentious election.

Once limited to the far-right fringe, the term militia now encompasses a far wider spectrum, representing everything from armed-to-the-teeth neighborhood watch organizations to an all-Black paramilitary group that marches to protest police violence.

The rising visibility of such groups has put a spotlight on the word “militia” itself, with many critics demanding it be replaced. They contend that the term has fundamentally lost its meaning as more groups use it to camouflage threats of violence.

Historically, militias have referred to an auxiliary force raised from the civilian population to bolster the Army. The issue in the United States, experts said, is that private paramilitary groups have long cloaked their activities in the vocabulary of the American Revolution and the Constitution, creating an aura of legality that does not exist.

“The use of the word militia anytime you are talking about anything other than a state militia like the National Guard, it is just wrong,” said Mary McCord, a former Justice Department official now running an institute that specializes in constitutional law at Georgetown University Law Center. “Using that term without putting ‘unlawful’ in front of it suggests that there is some legitimacy or even constitutional authority for their existence, which there isn’t.”

One such group in Michigan, called the Wolverine Watchmen, was at the center of the suspected plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and commit other planned violence. Federal and state authorities announced the arrest this month of 14 men linked to the group.

That drew even more attention to the term, escalating demands to label such groups “terrorists.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., wrote on Twitter, “Genuine question for the media/law enforcement: why are you calling these armed neo-Nazi groups breaking the law ‘militias’ instead of ‘gangs’ or ‘domestic terrorist groups?’”

Last spring, various anti-government groups condemned the coronavirus lockdown measures as a form of “tyranny” and organized some of the first protests against them. More groups turned out in force during demonstrations against police brutality. Scuffles between protesters and members of armed groups have led to deaths in Kenosha, Wisconsin; Portland, Oregon; and Denver.

There are currently about 181 active anti-government paramilitary groups in the United States, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks them. Some claim thousands of members, but more often their numbers are far smaller, experts said.

American schoolchildren are often taught that Revolutionary War militiamen were heroes. “Patriots formed militia groups to defend the colonies against the British,” reads a brief passage in a fifth grade textbook used in Hillsboro, Oregon, “Some militiamen called themselves minutemen because they could be ready at a moment’s notice.”

In addition, the Second Amendment says, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Many groups cite that language to justify their use of the term. But experts note that “well-regulated,” implies state control and not freelance efforts by all comers.

The name “militia” suggests the idea of citizen soldiers and patriotism, plus it lends such groups “the color of the law,” said Mark Pitcavage, a senior research fellow with the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism.

Underneath that veneer lies a fundamental contradiction, experts noted, with members of the current movement advocating an armed resistance against the very state that the original militias were formed to protect.

It is difficult to pinpoint which group first resurrected the name “militia.” Some historians consider the Ku Klux Klan a militia, and over the past century various militant groups drew on the Revolution for their names.

In the 1970s, far-right activists, alarmed by civil rights legislation as well as new environmental laws, pushed to reassert local control. The Posse Comitatus movement, rooted in white Christian fundamentalism, developed the concept of citizen posses.

Its manual stated that any official who disobeyed the Constitution should “be removed by the Posse to a populated intersection of the streets in the township and at high noon be hung there by the neck, the body remaining until sundown as an example to those who would subvert the law,” according to Daniel Levitas, author of “The Terrorist Next Door,” a history of extremist groups.

“Unorganized militia,” a 19th century legal term, was considered obsolete after the Militia Act of 1903, when federal law began incorporating all legal militias into the National Guard, controlled by state governors. Although the wording differs, all 50 states ban private paramilitary groups that further “civil disorder.”

Fast forward to the early 1990s, when the term gained new life after the violent sieges by federal law enforcement agents against the cabin of Randy Weaver in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in 1992, and the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, in 1993.

Those on the far-right, already dedicated to the idea of a “leaderless resistance,” concluded that they needed to organize into paramilitary groups to protect themselves from government “tyranny.” Pamphlets appeared with titles like “The Field Manual of the Free Militia” that explained how to establish one.

Using the word “militia” and other historical vocabulary was a deliberate attempt to attract a broader membership by veiling the often racist, anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant and homophobic origins of such groups, experts said.

“Right-wing extremist organizations try to cloak themselves in heroic garb,” said David Neiwert, author of “Alt-America,” who has tracked such groups for decades. “That is the basis of a lot of the appeal; this is your chance to be a hero.”

Paramilitary organizations mushroomed in the 1990s, with some 370 formed by the middle of the decade. Then came the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, sprouting from the same ideology if not directly connected to a militia, that left 168 people dead. Scores of paramilitary organizations collapsed as their appeal dimmed.

But political fights over the Second Amendment kept the movement alive; plus, conspiracy theories about a looming foreign invasion never faded entirely. In recent years, the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 marked the first high-profile appearance of such armed groups at protests.

Experts who continue to use the word “militia” said it helped to define a distinct category among adherents of various fringe ideologies or criminal organizations including white supremacists, prison gangs, the tax protest movement, anti-vaxxers, skinheads, survivalists and others.

“Terrorist” was the most popular substitute that circulated on social media, but the legal definition of terrorism refers to organized attacks meant to intimidate or coerce in an attempt to influence government policy. Many experts consider that too broad. The majority of militia members “will never be involved with a terrorist act,” said Pitcavage.

The term gangs is also considered a poor fit since law enforcement agencies tend to use that to describe violent criminal enterprises. Some experts said they felt like they were under siege by “language police” over a word they have used for decades.

In Michigan, federal authorities said the plotters discussed putting the governor on trial as a “tyrant” before Election Day. The case has become an election issue as President Donald Trump has cast doubts on the plot and continued to vilify Whitmer.

The possibility that armed groups might try to intimidate voters at the polls prompted the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law to publish a legal guide to confront such groups for all 50 states.

“It has all been whitewashed and made safe for broader public consumption by wrapping it in the flag,” said Neiwert. “They call themselves patriots, although you have never met a more seditious bunch.” 
&nbsp;

When FBI Special Agent Richard Trask took the witness stand in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan, last week to detail a plot to kidnap the governors of Michigan and Virginia, the prosecutor first asked him what the men involved had in common.

When FBI Special Agent Richard Trask took the witness stand in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan, last week to detail a plot to kidnap the governors of Michigan and Virginia, the prosecutor first asked him what the men involved had in common. They were all from “multiple militias from different states,” replied Trask, who is a domestic terrorism expert for the Detroit field office. Nils Kessler, the prosecutor, paused on the word “militia,” noting that it meant different things to different people. “These are groups that call themselves militias?” he asked. “But they are not under any government authority or anything like that?” “That’s correct,” Trask responded. For decades, federal authorities and academics have described private paramilitary organizations — armed groups who train together on military tactics and techniques — as “militias” or as part of the “militia movement.” But the term has taken on new meaning as makeshift vigilante groups have popped up with increasing frequency in the months leading up to a contentious election. Once limited to the far-right fringe, the term militia now encompasses a far wider spectrum, representing everything from armed-to-the-teeth neighborhood watch organizations to an all-Black paramilitary group that marches to protest police violence. The rising visibility of such groups has put a spotlight on the word “militia” itself, with many critics demanding it be replaced. They contend that the term has fundamentally lost its meaning as more groups use it to camouflage threats of violence. Historically, militias have referred to an auxiliary force raised from the civilian population to bolster the Army. The issue in the United States, experts said, is that private paramilitary groups have long cloaked their activities in the vocabulary of the American Revolution and the Constitution, creating an aura of legality that does not exist. “The use of the word militia anytime you are talking about anything other than a state militia like the National Guard, it is just wrong,” said Mary McCord, a former Justice Department official now running an institute that specializes in constitutional law at Georgetown University Law Center. “Using that term without putting ‘unlawful’ in front of it suggests that there is some legitimacy or even constitutional authority for their existence, which there isn’t.” One such group in Michigan, called the Wolverine Watchmen, was at the center of the suspected plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and commit other planned violence. Federal and state authorities announced the arrest this month of 14 men linked to the group. That drew even more attention to the term, escalating demands to label such groups “terrorists.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., wrote on Twitter, “Genuine question for the media/law enforcement: why are you calling these armed neo-Nazi groups breaking the law ‘militias’ instead of ‘gangs’ or ‘domestic terrorist groups?’” Last spring, various anti-government groups condemned the coronavirus lockdown measures as a form of “tyranny” and organized some of the first protests against them. More groups turned out in force during demonstrations against police brutality. Scuffles between protesters and members of armed groups have led to deaths in Kenosha, Wisconsin; Portland, Oregon; and Denver. There are currently about 181 active anti-government paramilitary groups in the United States, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks them. Some claim thousands of members, but more often their numbers are far smaller, experts said. American schoolchildren are often taught that Revolutionary War militiamen were heroes. “Patriots formed militia groups to defend the colonies against the British,” reads a brief passage in a fifth grade textbook used in Hillsboro, Oregon, “Some militiamen called themselves minutemen because they could be ready at a moment’s notice.” In addition, the Second Amendment says, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Many groups cite that language to justify their use of the term. But experts note that “well-regulated,” implies state control and not freelance efforts by all comers. The name “militia” suggests the idea of citizen soldiers and patriotism, plus it lends such groups “the color of the law,” said Mark Pitcavage, a senior research fellow with the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. Underneath that veneer lies a fundamental contradiction, experts noted, with members of the current movement advocating an armed resistance against the very state that the original militias were formed to protect. It is difficult to pinpoint which group first resurrected the name “militia.” Some historians consider the Ku Klux Klan a militia, and over the past century various militant groups drew on the Revolution for their names. In the 1970s, far-right activists, alarmed by civil rights legislation as well as new environmental laws, pushed to reassert local control. The Posse Comitatus movement, rooted in white Christian fundamentalism, developed the concept of citizen posses. Its manual stated that any official who disobeyed the Constitution should “be removed by the Posse to a populated intersection of the streets in the township and at high noon be hung there by the neck, the body remaining until sundown as an example to those who would subvert the law,” according to Daniel Levitas, author of “The Terrorist Next Door,” a history of extremist groups. “Unorganized militia,” a 19th century legal term, was considered obsolete after the Militia Act of 1903, when federal law began incorporating all legal militias into the National Guard, controlled by state governors. Although the wording differs, all 50 states ban private paramilitary groups that further “civil disorder.” Fast forward to the early 1990s, when the term gained new life after the violent sieges by federal law enforcement agents against the cabin of Randy Weaver in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in 1992, and the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, in 1993. Those on the far-right, already dedicated to the idea of a “leaderless resistance,” concluded that they needed to organize into paramilitary groups to protect themselves from government “tyranny.” Pamphlets appeared with titles like “The Field Manual of the Free Militia” that explained how to establish one. Using the word “militia” and other historical vocabulary was a deliberate attempt to attract a broader membership by veiling the often racist, anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant and homophobic origins of such groups, experts said. “Right-wing extremist organizations try to cloak themselves in heroic garb,” said David Neiwert, author of “Alt-America,” who has tracked such groups for decades. “That is the basis of a lot of the appeal; this is your chance to be a hero.” Paramilitary organizations mushroomed in the 1990s, with some 370 formed by the middle of the decade. Then came the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, sprouting from the same ideology if not directly connected to a militia, that left 168 people dead. Scores of paramilitary organizations collapsed as their appeal dimmed. But political fights over the Second Amendment kept the movement alive; plus, conspiracy theories about a looming foreign invasion never faded entirely. In recent years, the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 marked the first high-profile appearance of such armed groups at protests. Experts who continue to use the word “militia” said it helped to define a distinct category among adherents of various fringe ideologies or criminal organizations including white supremacists, prison gangs, the tax protest movement, anti-vaxxers, skinheads, survivalists and others. “Terrorist” was the most popular substitute that circulated on social media, but the legal definition of terrorism refers to organized attacks meant to intimidate or coerce in an attempt to influence government policy. Many experts consider that too broad. The majority of militia members “will never be involved with a terrorist act,” said Pitcavage. The term gangs is also considered a poor fit since law enforcement agencies tend to use that to describe violent criminal enterprises. Some experts said they felt like they were under siege by “language police” over a word they have used for decades. In Michigan, federal authorities said the plotters discussed putting the governor on trial as a “tyrant” before Election Day. The case has become an election issue as President Donald Trump has cast doubts on the plot and continued to vilify Whitmer. The possibility that armed groups might try to intimidate voters at the polls prompted the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law to publish a legal guide to confront such groups for all 50 states. “It has all been whitewashed and made safe for broader public consumption by wrapping it in the flag,” said Neiwert. “They call themselves patriots, although you have never met a more seditious bunch.”

What is a militia? And why is the word so controversial these days?

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.

Who leads in key states before debate?

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

After casting doubts about Joe Biden's standing with China & cornering Hunter Biden, is now hit by another bombshell report. From trade war to constant barbs over the origin of Pandemic, was everything a cover up? WION reports on Trump's link with CHINA.

Donald Trump: China crusader or covert ally?

President Donald Trump's wife Melania canceled a rare joint appearance with him at a campaign rally Tuesday due to a "lingering cough" following her infection with the coronavirus, a spokeswoman said. 
 
"Mrs Trump continues to feel better every day following her recovery from COVID-19, but with a lingering cough, and out of an abundance of caution, she will not be traveling today," Stephanie Grisham said in a statement. 
 
The first lady's appearance with Trump in Erie, Pennsylvania, was to have been her first at a campaign rally in more than a year.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/trump-and-biden-pooper-figurines-steal-the-show-in-catalan-nativity-336757" hreflang="en">Trump and Biden 'pooper' figurines steal the show in Catalan nativity</a> 
 
Trump, the first lady and their teenage son Barron all tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this month. 
 
The president was hospitalised for three nights and later said he'd risked death, but now appears to have recovered. The first lady's case was described as having been considerably milder. 
 
However, last week she revealed details of the illness in an unusual statement entitled "My Personal Experience with Covid-19" in which she said the aftermath had been difficult. 
 
"It seemed to be a roller coaster of symptoms in the days after. I experienced body aches, a cough and headaches, and felt extremely tired most of the time," she said.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/opinions-blogs/trump-is-giving-up-336754" hreflang="en">Trump is giving up</a> 
 
Melania Trump said that in contrast to the president, who took an intense therapy of experimental drugs and received oxygen to assist his breathing, "I chose to go a more natural route in terms of medicine, opting more for vitamins and healthy food." 
 
It was only in that statement that she revealed that Barron, 14, had also become infected, although he has since recovered. 
 
Trump has been holding at least one election rally a day in the last two weeks before Election Day but he has not appeared on stage with his wife since 2019.

President Donald Trump's wife Melania canceled a rare joint appearance with him at a campaign rally Tuesday due to a "lingering cough" following her infection with the coronavirus, a spokeswoman said.

President Donald Trump's wife Melania canceled a rare joint appearance with him at a campaign rally Tuesday due to a "lingering cough" following her infection with the coronavirus, a spokeswoman said. "Mrs Trump continues to feel better every day following her recovery from COVID-19, but with a lingering cough, and out of an abundance of caution, she will not be traveling today," Stephanie Grisham said in a statement. The first lady's appearance with Trump in Erie, Pennsylvania, was to have been her first at a campaign rally in more than a year. Also read: Trump and Biden 'pooper' figurines steal the show in Catalan nativity Trump, the first lady and their teenage son Barron all tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this month. The president was hospitalised for three nights and later said he'd risked death, but now appears to have recovered. The first lady's case was described as having been considerably milder. However, last week she revealed details of the illness in an unusual statement entitled "My Personal Experience with Covid-19" in which she said the aftermath had been difficult. "It seemed to be a roller coaster of symptoms in the days after. I experienced body aches, a cough and headaches, and felt extremely tired most of the time," she said. Also read: Trump is giving up Melania Trump said that in contrast to the president, who took an intense therapy of experimental drugs and received oxygen to assist his breathing, "I chose to go a more natural route in terms of medicine, opting more for vitamins and healthy food." It was only in that statement that she revealed that Barron, 14, had also become infected, although he has since recovered. Trump has been holding at least one election rally a day in the last two weeks before Election Day but he has not appeared on stage with his wife since 2019.

Melania Trump cancels rare campaign appearance due to 'cough'

trump

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