Recent Posts
- Democrats go after Jill Stein, Cornel West in digital ads aimed at young voterson October 29, 2024 at 1:18 am
PHOENIX (AP) — Democrats are spending about $500,000 for a last-minute push to persuade voters in battleground states to reject third-party candidates Jill Stein and Cornel West, warning a vote for them will help Republican Donald Trump. The Democratic National Committee said Monday that the digital ads will run on Instagram and YouTube, targeting younger voters and college campuses. They use video of Trump from a June rally in Philadelphia, when he said: “Cornel West. He’s one of my favorite candidates, Cornel West. And I like her also, Jill Stein, I like her very much. You know why? She takes 100% from them. He takes 100%.” Stung by narrow losses in 2000 and 2016 that they blame in part on support for Green Party nominees, Democrats have put a major emphasis this year on discouraging left-leaning voters from backing third-party candidates. They pushed back aggressively against No Labels, a nascent third-party movement, and the independent candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before turning attention to Stein and West. Stein was the Green Party nominee in 2016 and won 132,000 votes across Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Democrat Hillary Clinton lost by a combined 77,000 votes in those states. This year, Stein has broadened the Green Party’s traditional pro-environment base by fiercely denouncing Israel and its military strikes in Gaza, Lebanon and elsewhere. Critiques of Israel and support for Palestinians made up the bulk of her 45-minute appearance at a coffee shop in suburban Phoenix on Monday. Stein urged dozens of supporters not to be intimidated by pressure to vote for the “lesser evil” between Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris, alleging both are “ genocidal candidates” because of their support for Israel. “If we are to be a democracy we have to stand up for what we want,” Stein said. “We have to vote for what we want.” “There is absolutely nothing to gain by voting for either one of them and there’s everything to lose,” she added. She called the Democratic campaign against her a threat to free speech. Her campaign manager, Jason Call, was more blunt. “We want them to lose,” Call said of the Democratic ticket. “Genocide deserves losing.” He added that “nobody wants Trump to win,” but argued the consequences of sending another Democrat to the White House “will be worse than Trump.” Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- KEYWORD NOTICE – Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sexually assaulted 10-year-old boy, lawsuit claimson October 29, 2024 at 1:05 am
By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sean “Diddy” Combs has been accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old boy in 2005, according to a new lawsuit that joins more than two dozen others accusing the music mogul of sexual misconduct. The civil lawsuit was one of two filed on Monday in a New York state court in Manhattan by Tony Buzbee, a lawyer who says he represents more than 150 victims of Combs’ abuse, and has filed at least 17 lawsuits. In Monday’s second lawsuit, another male accuser said he was a 17-year-old auditioning for the reality TV show “Making the Band” when Combs and a bodyguard sexually assaulted him in 2008. “The lawyer behind this lawsuit is interested in media attention rather than the truth,” Combs’ lawyers said in a statement resembling those issued after earlier Buzbee lawsuits. “In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr. Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone–man or woman, adult or minor.” Combs, 54, has also pleaded not guilty to criminal sex trafficking charges in federal court in Manhattan, where he faces felony counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. Federal prosecutors have accused the Bad Boy record label founder of coercing men, women and children into sex acts without their consent, bribing and intimidating them into keeping quiet, and employing his staff to cover up his crimes. Combs has been held for six weeks in a Brooklyn jail after being denied bail twice, and is appealing his detention. In the complaint involving the 10-year-old, the California plaintiff known as John Doe said he was an aspiring actor and rapper when a consultant whom his parents had hired arranged an “audition” with Combs at a New York hotel. According to the complaint, after Doe told Combs he would “do anything” to become a star, Combs gave him a soda spiked with drugs, pushed him down, and forced him to perform oral sex. Doe said he lost consciousness, and upon waking was sore and had his pants undone. He said he cried and asked to see his parents, leading Combs to say he would hurt them “badly” if Doe revealed what happened, the complaint said. In the second complaint, a different California plaintiff named John Doe said Combs forced him to perform oral sex on himself and the bodyguard, with Combs framing the latter as a “test” of how much Doe wanted to succeed in the music industry. Doe failed the audition, after Combs deemed him “untrustworthy due to his reservations about performing oral sex on his bodyguard,” the complaint said. Combs’ criminal trial is scheduled for May 5, 2025. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Owner Jeff Bezos defends Washington Post’s decision not to endorse as the right, ‘principled’ oneon October 29, 2024 at 12:18 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Billionaire Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos on Monday defended the newspaper’s decision not to endorse a presidential candidate as “right” and “principled” and pushed back against any notion that he ordered it up to protect his business interests. That decision, announced Friday, has reportedly led to tens of thousands of people canceling their subscriptions and protests from journalists with a deep history at the newspaper. The Post’s editorial staff was prepared to endorse Democrat Kamala Harris before publisher Will Lewis wrote instead that it would be better for readers to make up their own minds. Bezos, in “a note from our owner” published Monday evening, said that editorial endorsements create a perception of bias at a time many Americans don’t believe the media, and do nothing to tip the scales of an election. “Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one,” Bezos said. Bezos wrote that he wished the decision to end presidential endorsements had been done earlier, “in a moment further from the election and the emotions around it. That was inadequate planning, and not some intentional strategy.” Bezos’ decision caused an unprecedented spasm of anger both within journalism and outside it. NPR reported on Monday that more than 200,000 people have canceled their subscriptions to the newspaper, citing “two people at the paper with knowledge of internal matters.” A Post spokeswoman, Olivia Petersen, would not comment on the NPR report. A loss of subscriptions of that magnitude would be a blow to a storied news outlet that is already facing financial headwinds. The Post had more than 2.5 million subscribers last year, the bulk of them digital, making it third behind The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal in circulation. In the decision’s wake, two of the newspaper’s columnists quit, and three of the nine members of the editorial board resigned their posts. The Post’s retired former editor, Martin Baron, who was editor when Bezos bought the paper, had denounced the decision on social media as “cowardice, with democracy as its casualty.” The Post’s decision came only days after the Los Angeles Times also said it would not endorse a presidential candidate, which the newspaper has acknowledged has cost them thousands of subscribers. Some critics suggested Bezos, also owner of Amazon, ordered the non-endorsement to protect his business interests, acting out of fear of retaliation if Donald Trump were elected. The Post endorsed Trump’s Democratic rivals in 2016 and 2020, and Trump has often denounced critical coverage by the paper. In his column, Bezos said people can see his wealth and business interests as one of two things — a bulwark against intimidation or a web of conflicting interests. He insisted that his views are principled and that his track record as Post owner since 2013 backs that up. “I challenge you to find one instance in those 11 years where I have prevailed upon anyone at the Post in favor of my own interests,” he wrote. “It hasn’t happened.” He acknowledged that the chief executive of one of his companies, the space-exploration outfit Blue Origin, met with Trump last week on the same day the non-endorsement was announced. “I sighed when I found out, because I knew it would provide ammunition to those who would like to frame this as anything other than a principled decision,” Bezos wrote. “But the fact is, I didn’t know about the meeting beforehand.” He said that while he doesn’t and won’t push his own personal interests, he wouldn’t allow the Post to “stay on autopilot and fade into irrelevance.” “Many of the finest journalists you’ll find anywhere work at The Washington Post, and they work painstakingly every day to get to the truth,” he said. “They deserve to be believed.” ___ David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Biden looks to maintain relevance in political conversation in final sprint to Election Dayon October 28, 2024 at 11:19 pm
NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) — As President Joe Biden ’s 50 years in elected office near an end, he doesn’t appear content to quietly exit the political stage. With a week to go before Election Day, Biden is intent on promoting his administration’s record and making the case for Americans to support Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats on the ballot — whether they want him or not. He’s determined to keep up a busy schedule during the final sprint to Nov. 5 even as many in his party appear to be keeping their distance from him. Biden, in an exchange with reporters Monday, played down the fact that he hasn’t campaigned side-by-side with Harris since their joint Labor Day campaign appearance in Pittsburgh and that he’s held few public campaign appearances with Democrats in competitive races. “I’ve done a lot of surrogate stuff, and the fact of the matter is that I’ve also had to continue to be president at the same time,” Biden told reporters after casting his early vote on Monday in his home state of Delaware. Biden said that he and Harris still “talk all the time.” He added that he has also made several visits to battleground states in his official capacity in recent months, and he plans to do more campaigning in the days ahead in Pennsylvania, including his childhood hometown of Scranton. Officials say Biden also plans to attend a campaign-related event in Maryland on Tuesday with U.S. Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks, conduct a series of campaign calls on Thursday, and return to battleground Pennsylvania on Friday to spotlight Democratic support for unions. Biden said the Harris campaign is asking him to go “where they think I should be to help them the most.” He had pledged to campaign hard for Democrats after dropping out. Yet few Democrats have invited him to campaign by their side since he ended his reelection bid. The dynamic has meant the outgoing president has had to pick his spots carefully as he tries to remain a relevant voice in a chaotic political season. Trump on Monday took to his social media platform to mock Harris and Democrats for keeping Biden at arm’s length. “The Democrats have not only greatly demeaned and embarrassed Crooked Joe Biden, but now they’re demanding that he be nowhere near Lyin’ Kamala’s Campaign,” Trump said on Truth Social. “It’s not good enough that they took the Presidency away from him, just like you take candy away from a baby, but now they have to further embarrass him by telling him to, “GET LOST.” To be certain, not all Democrats are avoiding Biden. Two Democratic Senate candidates, Pennsylvania incumbent Sen. Bob Casey and Delaware Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, campaigned with Biden this month. Both have deep ties to the president. Biden on Monday stopped at a breakfast spot near his home outside Wilmington with Rochester, a longtime ally who is vying to become the first Black woman to represent Delaware in the U.S. Senate. The night before their breakfast, he formally endorsed Blunt Rochester in a short video that her campaign released on social media. Biden, in his endorsement, praised Blunt Rochester for being “Delaware through and through.” The four-term House lawmaker has known Biden for about 30 years and is heavily favored to win the seat in the Democratic-dominated Delaware. At several moments over the last few weeks, Biden has used campaign trips in friendly settings to troll Trump. At a Pittsburgh union hall on Saturday, Biden wound through a mostly standard campaign speech before veering into a sharp attack on Trump backer Elon Musk. He accused the billionaire tech mogul of working illegally when he first came to the United States to attend college. The “wealthiest man in the world is now his ally, right?” Biden said, referring to a recent Washington Post report questioning Musk’s status when he was a student at Stanford University. “Well, that wealthiest man in the world turned out to be illegal worker here when he was here” as a student. Musk, who was born in South Africa, denies the allegation. Last week, during a stop at a New Hampshire campaign office to meet Democratic volunteers, Biden borrowed some of Trump’s sharp rhetoric. “We’ve got to lock him up,” Biden told the volunteers, before quickly amending his comments to note he meant that Democrats need to “politically lock him up.” Blunt Rochester joined Biden on Monday as he waited in line for about 40 minutes at a busy early voting location not far from his home. Biden thought he had one more election in him before deciding to end his campaign in July because of Democrats’ growing worries about his chances of defeating Trump. He chatted with voters as he waited in line to cast his ballot, and helped push an older woman in a wheelchair who was ahead of him. He handed his identification to a election worker, who had him sign a form and announced: “Joseph Biden now voting.” Outside the polling place, Biden told reporters that the moment was more “sweet” than bitter. He expressed confidence when asked if he thought Democrats — including Harris — would win. “I think we will,” he said. — AP reporter Colleen Long in Washington contributed reporting. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Nevada high court decides mail ballots with smudged or missing postmarks can be countedon October 28, 2024 at 11:18 pm
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Nevada Supreme Court ruled Monday that mail-in ballots with smudged, indecipherable or missing postmarks can be counted for up to three days after polls close on Election Day. The state’s highest court rejected a bid by state and national Republicans, former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and a voter, Scott Johnston, to block them from being counted. Among the GOP arguments was that mail ballots unfairly benefit Democratic voters. The court challenge came after Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, told county election officials in May that ballots without a visible postmark should be counted until 5 p.m. the Friday after Election Day. This year, that is Nov. 8. Aguilar said the ruling “will allow election administration in Nevada to continue uninterrupted, without the risk of disenfranchising voters through no fault of their own.” In a statement, he also praised election workers “who have dedicated additional resources to securely process mail more efficiently this cycle.” Republican National Committee spokesperson Claire Zunk said in a statement the court decision “undermined the integrity of Nevada’s elections.” The ruling upheld a decision in August by state court Judge James Todd Russell in Carson City, and followed oral arguments before the seven-member court Oct. 8. It was not clear Monday if plaintiffs will ask the seven justices to reconsider. Five justices acknowledged that state law covering vote counting was not clear about ballots that have a postmark or processing date that cannot be determined. But the decision said state lawmakers apparently intended to “expand the freedom of Nevadans to vote.” Two justices concurred but provided separate written opinions. Nevada in 2020 became one of several states with universal mail voting. All registered voters are mailed a ballot unless they opt out. Voters can cast ballots in person early or on Election Day. Signed mail ballots with postmarks are accepted and counted until 5 p.m. the Saturday after polls close, according to the law. The court noted the Republican National Committee argued that Democrats vote by mail more than GOP voters and that “counting allegedly invalid mail ballots received after Election Day would benefit Democratic candidates.” Nevada has nearly 2 million active registered voters, and Aguilar’s office reported Monday that more than 643,000 mail, early and overseas votes have been cast. Of those, nearly 40% were registered Republicans, almost 35% were Democrats and about 25% were neither of those parties. Early voting ends Friday. The Supreme Court ruling cited a federal judge conclusion in a Trump campaign challenge of the Nevada election result in 2020 that allowing three days for mail missing a postmark to arrive at an election office allows for “a presumption that the ballot was cast in time.” The ruling noted that plaintiffs identified just 24 ballots among more than 383,000 cast statewide in the June primaries in Nevada as having no postmark, and attributed postmark errors to “random postal service omissions.” Two-thirds of ballots cast in Nevada primaries arrived by mail, according to Secretary of State records. Justices said the committee also did not demonstrate it had standing to seek a court order to block the ballot count or that it would suffer “irreparable harm” if votes are counted. Nevada is one of seven battleground states where the result in next week’s presidential election is expected to be very close, along with Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. It is one of eight states with what is commonly called all-mail elections, and one of 19 states that allows for counting of postmarked ballots after Election Day. A three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that Mississippi cannot count mail-in ballots that arrive shortly after Election Day, but the decision was not expected to affect the Nov. 5 election. The ruling noted that federal courts have in the past discouraged taking actions that change established procedures shortly before an election. There are 13 active election-related court cases in Nevada, including the one decided Monday by the state Supreme Court. In one, national and state Republicans have an appeal pending before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco of the dismissal in July of a lawsuit that sought to bar counting any mail ballots received after Election Day. On Monday, the U.S. Postal Service issued a statement urging voters using mail ballots to submit them by this Tuesday to be delivered by Election Day. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
Recent Comments