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 30, 2024 2:56 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A divided Pennsylvania appeals court says the envelopes voters use to send in mail ballots don’t need to have been accurately hand-dated. The Commonwealth Court’s 3-2 decision Wednesday comes after the state Supreme Court sidestepped the issue. The latest decision upholds a Philadelphia judge’s ruling that 69 mail ballots should be counted in a pair of single-candidate state House of Representatives special elections held in September. Republican groups who lost the case say they plan an appeal in the coming days. (Photo: AP)
October 30, 2024 4:43 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia judge is set to hold a hearing in the city prosecutor’s bid to shut down Elon Musk’s $1 million-a-day sweepstakes in battleground states. The giveaways come from Musk’s political organization, which aims to boost Donald Trump’s presidential campaign through Election Day. Democratic District Attorney Larry Krasner hopes to stop the America PAC sweepstakes. Judge Angelo Foglietta will hear motions Thursday on the issue in a City Hall courtroom. Lawyer Matthew Haverstick wouldn’t say late Wednesday if Musk will attend the hearing.
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 2:50 am
Forty-nine-year-old Tina Phillips of Morris Township in Greene County has been found guilty in the 2021 death of a mailman. State Attorney General Michelle Henry says Phillips was found guilty of multiple charges including homicide by vehicle. Authorities say Phillips was driving over seventy-miles an hour in a forty-mile an hour zone when she lost control of her vehicle and hit Varner as he was delivering mail to 180 Andrews Road in Morris Township. Phillips is free on ten-thousand-dollars cash bond while she awaits sentencing.
October 30, 2024 2:52 am
The Main Street Farmer’s Market in downtown Washington will close for the season on Thursday. The market is held at the community pavilion on South Main Street across from the Observer Reporter building on Thursdays from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. through October. Market organizers say 2024 was one of the best years they’ve had, thanks to new vendors filling every open spot under the pavilion. They say they had more people visit the market than ever before and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) may have even doubled the number of people who were able to get fresh fruits and vegetable. The President of the market, Tracee Malik, says the Main Street Farmer’s Market is special in that it not only provides a wide variety of products, but it also offers social time. She says people often come to the market to socialize with friends and family and just enjoy the atmosphere. As for next year, Malik says they have not yet begun to lay out a plan.
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 30, 2024 4:50 am
(AP) – Pennsylvania is often the subject of election-related misinformation. Social media users have, for instance, falsely suggested that large numbers of migrants are illegally registering to vote in the crucial swing state, and made baseless claims about foul play involving deceased voters. While voter fraud does occur, experts say it’s rare. Noncitizen voting is already illegal in federal elections, and there’s no indication it’s happening anywhere in significant numbers. Pennsylvania also prohibits noncitizens from registering to vote. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Pennsylvania also is among nine states with statutes that prohibit counting absentee ballots that were submitted by voters who die before Election Day.
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.
