October 31, 2024 5:58 pm
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A judge in Philadelphia has put a state challenge of Elon Musk’s $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes on hold while lawyers for the billionaire and his political action committee try to move the lawsuit to federal court. The giveaways aim to boost Donald Trump’s presidential campaign through Election Day. Democratic District Attorney Larry Krasner calls the America PAC sweepstakes an illegal lottery under Pennsylvania law. Experts on election law question whether it violates federal law against vote-buying. Judge Angelo Foglietta heard motions from both sides on Thursday in a City Hall courtroom. (Photo: AP)
October 31, 2024 4:50 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Americans are feeling a lot of emotions heading into Election Day, but excitement is not one of them. A new poll from The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that about 7 in 10 Americans report feeling anxious or frustrated about the 2024 presidential campaign, and a similar share say they’re interested. Only about one-third say they feel excited. About 7 in 10 Americans say “anxious” describes how they are feeling ahead of Tuesday. For partisans, anxiety is dialed a little higher than before. About 8 in 10 Democrats say “anxious” describes how they are feeling now, up slightly from the last election. About two-thirds of Republicans are anxious, a moderate uptick from 2020.
October 31, 2024 4:46 am
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump climbed into a white garbage truck that carried his name as he tried to draw attention to a comment made by President Joe Biden a day earlier. Speaking to reporters on the tarmac in Green Bay, Wisconsin, he asked, “How do you like my garbage truck?” Trump wore an orange and yellow safety vest over his white dress shirt and red tie. He said his appearance in the truck was, quote, “in honor of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden.” Trump and other Republicans have tried to change the narrative after a comedian at a weekend Trump rally disparaged Puerto Rico as a floating island of garbage.
October 31, 2024 4:44 am
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Kamala Harris is calling for Americans to “stop pointing fingers at each other” as she tries to push past comments made by President Joe Biden about Donald Trump’s supporters and “garbage.” Harris made her pitch in Raleigh, North Carolina, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Madison, Wisconsin, as part of a blitz of battleground states in the final week before Election Day. She stressed unity and common ground, expanding on her capstone speech Tuesday in Washington, where she laid out what her team called the “closing argument” of her campaign. Harris told reporters, “I will represent all Americans, including those who don’t vote for me.”
October 30, 2024 5:18 pm
(AP_) – PepsiCo says it plans to close four U.S. bottling plants and lay off nearly 400 workers as part of its efforts to streamline its operations. The company said the closures will impact 136 workers in Cincinnati; 131 in Chicago; 127 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and fewer than 50 in Atlanta. The Chicago plant is the only one that will fully close. Sales, delivery and warehouse functions will continue at the other three locations. Earlier this month, PepsiCo said its North American beverage sales fell 3% in the third quarter as consumers pulled back on buying its drinks and snacks.
October 30, 2024 10:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is reacting to a comic calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” at a Donald Trump rally by saying, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.” For some, it recalled then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton dismissing Trump supporters in 2016 by evoking a “basket of deplorables.” It was also a departure from Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris, who has been careful not to insult his supporters and has worked to woo crossover Republicans. Biden later posted on social media that he was referring to the “hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico.”
October 30, 2024 10:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a healthy 2.8% annual rate from July through September, with consumers helping drive growth despite the weight of still-high interest rates. The gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — did slow slightly from its 3% growth rate in the April-June quarter. But the latest figures still reflect surprising durability just as Americans assess the state of the economy in the final stretch of the presidential race. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity, accelerated to a 3.7% annual pace last quarter, up from 2.8% in the April-June period. Exports also contributed to the third quarter’s growth, increasing at an 8.9% rate.
October 30, 2024 4:59 am
UTIEL, Spain (AP) — Authorities say flash floods in Spain turned village streets into rivers, ruined homes, disrupted transportation and killed at least 95 people. Emergency services in Valencia said Wednesday that at least 92 people have died in the eastern region due to the floods. Another two casualties were reported in neighboring Castilla La Mancha. One death occurred in Andalusia, in the south. Floods of muddy water tumbled vehicles down streets at high speeds. Police and rescue services used helicopters to lift people from their homes and rubber boats to rescue drivers stranded atop their cars.
October 30, 2024 4:58 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Gaza’s Health Ministry says two Israeli strikes in the northern Gaza Strip killed at least 88 people. The ministry said a five-story building was hit in one of the strikes Tuesday, killing at least 60 people, more than half of them women and children. Israel has escalated airstrikes in northern Gaza in recent weeks, saying it is focused on rooting out Hamas militants who have regrouped after more than a year of war. The intense fighting is raising alarm about the worsening humanitarian conditions for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Also on Tuesday, Lebanon’s militant group Hezbollah said it has chosen Sheikh Naim Kassem as its new leader following the killing of Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike last month.
October 30, 2024 4:58 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris is urging voters to reject Donald Trump’s efforts to sow division and fear, declaring, “It doesn’t have to be this way.” She stood before an overflowing crowd near the White House on Tuesday and promised Americans she would fight for them every day. One week out from Election Day, the vice president tried to drive home the contrast with Trump by delivering her closing argument from the same spot on the grassy Ellipse where the Republican former president had fomented the Capitol insurrection in 2021. Harris pledged she would work to improve people’s lives while arguing that her Republican opponent is only in it for himself.
