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WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — Donald Trump returns to North Carolina on Saturday, stumping in the southern battleground state that both Democrats and Republicans are treating as increasingly critical to victory in November. But Trump will be campaigning in Wilmington, along the state’s southern coast, without Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the GOP gubernatorial nominee and one of the former president’s top surrogates in the state, following a CNN report about his alleged posts on a pornography website’s message board. Two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity said Friday that Robinson was not scheduled to attend the Wilmington event. Robinson has denied writing the posts, which include lewd and racist comments, saying Thursday that he wouldn’t be forced out of the race by “salacious tabloid lies.” Trump’s campaign has appeared to distance itself from Robinson in the wake of the CNN reporting, which the AP has not independently verified, saying in statement to the AP that Trump “is focused on winning the White House and saving this country” and calling North Carolina “a vital part of that plan,” without mentioning Robinson. While Robinson won his GOP gubernatorial primary in March, he’s been trailing in several recent polls to Democratic nominee Josh Stein, the state’s attorney general. State Republican officials have stood by Robinson, whose decision to keep campaigning could threaten GOP prospects in other key races, including Trump’s efforts in a battleground state he previously won twice. Democrats have seized on the opportunity to highlight Trump’s ties to Robinson, with billboards showing the two together, as well as a new ad from Vice President Kamala Harris ‘ campaign highlighting the Republican candidates’ ties as well as Robinson’s support for a statewide abortion ban without exceptions. According to Harris’ campaign, it’s their first ad effort related to tying Trump to a down-ballot race. A Republican has carried North Carolina in every general election since 1976 save one, when Barack Obama won the state in 2008. Trump won there in both his previous campaigns but by less than 1.5 percentage points over Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, the closest margin of any state that Trump won. That’s part of why Democrats see the state as winnable this fall. With neither Senate seat up for grabs, the gubernatorial contest has been North Carolina’s marquee down-ballot race this year. Robinson has become a natural top surrogate for Trump in the state and a frequent presence at campaign events there, appearing with the nominee as recently as an event last month in Asheboro. Trump has long praised Robinson, who is Black, referring to him as “Martin Luther King on steroids.” Endorsing Robinson ahead of the GOP gubernatorial primary, Trump continued: “I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you are Martin Luther King times two.” While more visits have been made by presidential contenders to the Rust Belt battlegrounds of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, both Harris and Trump have made multiple trips to North Carolina, highlighting the state’s importance. Following Biden’s departure from the race in July, Trump held his first large-scale rally there, turning his full focus toward Harris. Wilmington is home to New Hanover County, which Biden won in 2020. But his margin over Trump in the county was among his slimmest in the state. ___ Meg Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina, and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP. Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in New York contributed to this report. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Fall is back, and bringing with it jack-o’-lanterns, football, pumpkin spice everything and — in some parts of the country — especially vibrant foliage. Leaves around the northern U.S. are starting to turn orange, yellow and red, inspiring legions of leaf lovers to hop in their cars and travel to the countryside for the best look at fall’s fireworks. Leaf peeping — the act of traveling to witness nature’s annual kaleidoscope — contributes billions of dollars to the economy, especially in New England and New York. But this year, some of the most colorful displays could be in the Midwest. AccuWeather, the commercial forecasting service, said in early September that it expects especially vibrant foliage in states such as Michigan and Illinois. The service also said powerful, popping colors are expected in upstate New York and parts of Pennsylvania, while New England will follow a more typical color pattern. But that doesn’t mean New England travelers will miss out. Maine, the most forested state in the country, had “an abundance of daily sunshine with just the right amount of rainfall to set the stage for a breathtaking foliage season,” said Gale Ross, the state’s fall foliage spokesperson. Color change and timing depend on the weather in the fall, but cooler nighttime temperatures and shorter days should enhance the colors, Ross said. “The growing season of 2024 has been excellent for trees, supporting tree health and resilience that should lead to brilliant fall colors throughout Maine,” said Aaron Bergdahl, the state’s forest pathologist. Fall colors peak at different times around the U.S., with the foliage season sometimes starting not long after Labor Day in the far northern reaches of the country and extending into November further to the south. In Maine alone, peak foliage can arrive in the northern part of the state in late September and not arrive in coastal areas until close to Halloween. Leaf turn happens when summer yields to fall and temperatures drop and the amount of sunlight decreases. Chlorophyll in leaves then breaks down, and that allows their fall colors to shine through before leaf drop. However, weather conditions associated with climate change have disrupted some recent leaf peeping seasons. A warming planet has brought drought that causes leaves to turn brown and wither before reaching peak colors. Other enemies of leaf peeping include heat waves that cause leaves to fall before autumn arrives and extreme weather events like hurricanes that strip trees of their leaves. A summer heatwave in the Pacific Northwest in 2021 caused a condition called “foliage scorch” that prematurely browned leaves. This year in Maine, leaf turn was still very sparse in most of the state as late September approached, but the state office of tourism was already gearing up for an influx of tourists. Northern Maine was already experiencing moderate color change. And neighboring New Hampshire was expecting about 3.7 million visitors — more than twice the state’s population. “It’s no surprise people travel from all over the world to catch the incredible color,” said NH Travel and Tourism Director Lori Harnois. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is taking a more hands-off approach than usual during a week of dramatic escalation between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, with top U.S. officials holding back from full-on crisis diplomacy for fear of making matters worse. The public restraint follows explosions of the militant group’s pagers and walkie-talkies and an Israeli airstrike targeting a senior Hezbollah operative in Beirut, which threaten to spur all-out war between Israel and its enemies in the Middle East and doom already faltering negotiations for a cease-fire in the Hamas conflict in Gaza. The escalation came even as two Biden administration officials stopped in the region this week to appeal for calm. It heightens the impression that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right government is paying ever less attention to the mediation efforts of its key ally, despite depending on the U.S. for weapons and military support. “The United States looks like a deer in the headlights right now,” said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Middle East Institute think tank in Washington. “In terms of words, deeds and action … it’s not driving events, it’s reacting to events.” There has been no publicly acknowledged U.S. contact with Netanyahu since senior White House official Amos Hochstein visited Israel on Monday to warn against escalation. The first wave of device explosions — widely blamed on Israel, which didn’t acknowledge responsibility — struck the next day. And Gaza cease-fire negotiations were at such a delicate point that Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited only Egypt in a trip to the region this week because traveling to Israel in support of a deal might cause Netanyahu to say something that undermines the U.S.-led mediation, U.S. officials said. Asked if the U.S. still had hope for a deal in Gaza — which the administration calls crucial to calming regional conflict — President Joe Biden said Friday that he did and his team is pressing for it. “If I ever said it wasn’t realistic, we might as well leave,” Biden told reporters. “A lot of things don’t look realistic until we get them done. We have to keep at it.” In the meantime, the White House and State Department have declined to comment publicly on the Hezbollah devices exploding Tuesday and Wednesday, killing at least 37 people and injuring thousands more, including civilians, in what analysts believe was a highly sophisticated Israeli intelligence operation. Nor would they offer any assessment of an airstrike Friday in a densely populated part of Beirut — the deadliest such strike on Lebanon’s capital in years — which killed a Hezbollah commander. The Israeli military said 10 other operatives also were killed. Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 14 people died. Netanyahu and Hamas have followed past rounds of direct U.S. diplomatic outreach with fiery rhetoric or surprise attacks that the U.S. sees as setting back the effort for a truce. Blinken appeared to loop in the pager explosions as the latest example of that. When mediators seem to make progress in a Gaza deal, often there’s an “incident, something that makes the process more difficult, that threatens to slow it, stop it, derail it,” Blinken said in Egypt, in response to reporters’ questions about the pager attacks. There may yet be high-level contact with Netanyahu when he travels to New York for next week’s U.N. General Assembly gathering of world leaders, said U.S. officials with knowledge of the discussions who spoke anonymously to discuss the administration’s strategy. But the officials also acknowledge that the situation has become so precarious that taking a public stance either firmly in support or critical of Israel would probably do more harm than good. In Washington, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller batted away a question about whether months of Biden administration visits to the Middle East without a cease-fire deal to show for them was making Blinken and other officials look like “furniture” in regional capitals. “So far, we have been successful of keeping it from turning into an all-out regional war,” Miller said. He credited U.S. messaging — sometimes through intermediaries, to Iran, its militia allies in the region and to Israel. The Biden administration pointed out that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been in contact this week with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant. Gallant’s job, however, is said to be in jeopardy. Critics accuse the administration of pushing a deal on Gaza that’s repeatedly failed to win buy-in from the warring sides and has been outpaced by the growth of the conflict. The administration could do more diplomatically, including by working harder to rally Middle Eastern countries to intensify pressure on Israel, Iran and the latter’s proxies to stop fighting, said Katulis, the Middle East Institute analyst. U.S. officials rejected assertions that they have given up on either a Gaza cease-fire or preventing the conflict from spreading to all-out war in Lebanon. “We’d be the first ones to recognize … that we are not closer to achieving that than we were even a week or so ago,” national security spokesman John Kirby said Friday. “But ain’t nobody giving up,” Kirby said, reiterating that the U.S. was working with fellow mediators Qatar and Egypt to put together a final Gaza proposal to present to Israel and Hamas. “We’re still going to keep the shoulder to the wheel. We’re still going to keep trying on this.” ___ AP reporter Aamer Madhani contributed from Washington. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
WASHINGTON (AP) — With the 2024 election looming, the first since the mass popularization of generative artificial intelligence, experts feared the worst: social media flooded with AI-generated deepfakes that were so realistic, baffled voters wouldn’t know what to believe. So far, that hasn’t happened. Instead, what voters are seeing is far more absurd: A video of former President Donald Trump riding a cat while wielding an assault rifle. A mustachioed Vice President Kamala Harris dressed in communist attire. Trump and Harris sharing a passionate embrace. AI is playing a major role in the presidential campaign, even if the greatest fears about how it could threaten the U.S. presidential election haven’t materialized yet. Fake AI-generated images regularly ricochet around the web, but many of them are so cartoonish and absurd that even the most naïve viewer couldn’t take them seriously. Still, even these memes can be problematic. Eye-catching AI-generated photos and videos, some striving to be funny, have become useful tools for spreading false, sometimes racist messages with a clear political bent — and candidates and their supporters are among those sharing them on social media. For example, Trump and many of his allies not only repeatedly promoted the unfounded conspiracy theory that Haitian migrants are stealing and eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio, they also spread related AI-generated memes. One shared by Trump’s Truth Social account showed him on a luxury jet, surrounded by cats and white ducks. Another showed a group of kittens holding a sign that read, “DON’T LET THEM EAT US, Vote for Trump!” Francesca Tripodi, an expert in online propaganda, said such AI-made images are new, viral vehicles to carry age-old anti-immigration narratives. “The memes that are amplifying this claim are anything but humorous. When you have elected officials who are utilizing this imagery as a way of perpetuating racism and xenophobia, that’s a huge problem,” said Tripodi, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Republicans defend the images as lighthearted jokes — and byproducts of Trump’s personality. “There is a culture of personality surrounding Donald Trump that encourages that sort of over-the-top communication style that turns things into comical memes,” said Caleb Smith, a Republican strategist. “The intent is to entertain, not to deceive. That is what it should be.” Trump and his supporters aren’t the only ones creating AI memes, but they appear to be using AI image generators more than their Democratic counterparts. Some left-leaning users have posted AI images making fun of billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of X and an outspoken supporter of Trump’s campaign. Democrats also posted AI-generated images of Trump in handcuffs and being chased by police when he was in court in Manhattan last year. But Kamala Harris’ campaign has not leaned into amplifying AI-generated content, sticking instead to TikTok trends and other memes that don’t require AI models to create. “Currently, the only authorized campaign use of generative AI is for productivity tools, such as data analysis and industry-standard coding assistance,” said Harris campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung did not respond to specific questions from The Associated Press but said its strategy had not changed since May, when he provided an emailed statement saying the campaign did not “engage or utilize” tools supplied by any AI company. Using fake, entertaining, often preposterous images to score political points is hardly new. But unlike cobbled-together Photoshop images or political cartoons, AI-generated images pack a stronger punch with their hyperrealism and can draw new attention to a political message. While some of the images related to pets in Springfield were cartoonish and silly, many felt they perpetuated a damaging conspiracy theory about a community that has since received bomb threats prompting evacuations of schools and government buildings. “Memes that are obviously parody are one thing. It’s another where it’s obviously intended to deceive,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat and vocal Trump critic. “And we already see the Trump campaign really blurring the line.” The speed and accessibility of generative AI tools make it easy to create outlandish political content that can drive clicks and likes. With AI image generators accessible to anyone with an internet connection, they are a cheap and convenient way for campaigns to respond to online trends and hammer home a message. “Campaigns have had to deal with disinformation and misinformation for a very long time. … It’s not a new problem. But obviously what AI allows is for this stuff to do done more rapidly, perhaps more convincingly, and in a more targeted environment,” said Teddy Goff, the digital director of Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign. Paul Ingrassia, a New York-based political commentator and lawyer, said he spun up a viral image of Trump emerging from a lion’s den in seconds by prompting Grok, then dropped it into his newsletter and sent it to Trump campaign staffers. Trump’s Truth Social account posted Ingrassia’s newsletter, including the image, that day. “I got a message from my point of contact with the president and they said: ‘The president loved the image, how did you make it? Who created it?’ And I said: ‘Oh, I did. I made that for the article,’” Ingrassia said. “And he said, ‘Keep up the great work, he loves it.’” The use of AI for political satire and propaganda isn’t limited to the U.S. and has been observed in elections from Indonesia to the Netherlands. More sinister deepfakes also have sought to influence races around the world. In Slovakia last year, AI audio clips impersonated the liberal party chief talking about rigging the vote days before parliamentary elections. In New Hampshire’s primary in January, audio deepfakes of President Joe Biden were sent in robocalls to Democratic voters, urging them not to vote. The incident was quickly publicized and resulted in criminal charges. Trump’s embrace of AI-generated images counters some of his past commentary. In an interview on Fox Business this year, Trump called artificial intelligence “very dangerous” and “so scary” because “there’s no real solution” to the issues created by the advancing technology. And some Republicans have fretted about how Trump and the GOP are using AI to create political memes. “I don’t engage in memes. I never have. I never will,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican in a competitive district outside Philadelphia. “I just don’t believe in it.” ___ Swenson reported from New York. ___ This story is part of an Associated Press series, “The AI Campaign,” exploring the influence of artificial intelligence in the 2024 election cycle. ___ The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. The Associated Press receives financial assistance from the Omidyar Network to support coverage of artificial intelligence and its impact on society. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
PHOENIX (AP) — Voters will decide ballot measures on abortion and immigration in Arizona, a key battleground state where Republicans are looking to capitalize on concerns about illegal border crossings to counter an expected increase in turnout by people determined to restore and protect abortion rights. And while the abortion initiative is bolstered by a citizen-led campaign flush with cash, the GOP lawmakers who added a measure to empower state law enforcers to crack down on people who are in Arizona illegally say it already has so much momentum that they don’t plan to raise money or spend much time selling it. Abortion has many people fired up since an 1864 law banning nearly all abortions was revived and then quickly repealed this year. But immigration consistently ranks as a top concern in this western swing state, where anti-immigration legislation has long fueled national debates over illegal crossings from Mexico. “Voters will approve this more to send a message that something, anything, needs to be done,” said Barrett Marson, a Phoenix-based Republican strategist. “It lacks financial backing because people know it’s going to pass and that it has little impact on curbing illegal immigration into Arizona.” Arizona state House Speaker Ben Toma voted with fellow Republicans in June to put the measure on the ballot. He called it common sense and just a small part of “what actually needs to happen to secure the border.” Frustration over illegal immigration persists despite moves by the Biden-Harris administration this year to shut down what had been an unprecedented surge in new arrivals. Democrats blame former President Donald Trump for making it a top campaign issue by persuading allies in Congress to torpedo bipartisan legislation that could have bolstered the federal response. Republican lawmakers across the country this year have pushed tougher immigration policies, with their majorities in Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma passing laws to conduct immigration enforcement at the state level. But in each of those states, federal courts blocked their efforts to enforce the laws. Democratic strategist DJ Quinlan said that despite universal concerns about the border, plenty of voters and stakeholders oppose this particular measure, which would make it a state crime for noncitizens to illegally cross from Mexico into Arizona outside authorized ports of entry. The crime would enable local police to arrest violators and state judges to order deportations, which are roles historically left to the federal government. “When you talk to a lot of people in law enforcement or in the business community or that deal with these sorts of issues on a day-to-day basis, this referendum is not the answer,” Quinlan said. The measure also would require state agencies that administer federal, state or local benefit programs to use a federal database to verify that no ineligible noncitizens get the benefits. And it would shield law enforcement from civil lawsuits alleging racial profiling of Latinos or other minorities. Some of its provisions aren’t directly related to illegal immigration, including making selling fentanyl that leads to a person’s death a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Latino groups argued this violates a state constitutional requirement that legislative proposals cover a single subject. The Arizona Supreme Court disagreed, clearing to a path for voters to decide. Kent Jenson, a 68-year-old retiree, said he opposes illegal immigration and detests drug use, so he plans to vote for the immigration measure and against the abortion initiative. “It’s terrible what fentanyl has done to families,” Jenson said. Opponents argue the immigration legislation would harm Arizona’s reputation and economy even more than a so-called “show me your papers” law approved by lawmakers in 2010 that was partially stuck down by the U.S. Supreme Court two years later. The cost also worries some mayors, county officials and law enforcement leaders who warn that diverting resources to border security could deprive their day-to-day operations and essential public services. An Associated Press review of state campaign finance records found no contributions specifically supporting Proposition 314, nor any donations explicitly against it. Toma said Republicans are spending their time, money and energy on competitive races and other statewide ballot measures, with 13 in all. At stake is not only control of the U.S. Senate and White House, but also the state Legislature. Republicans have a one-seat majority in each chamber and Democrats hope to regain power for the first time in decades. “People are going to focus, and rightly so, on the issues that actually need help,” Toma said. Citizen-led Proposition 139, which would enshrine abortion access in the state’s constitution, has generated millions of dollars in donations and reached the ballot with more than a half-million signatures. Arizona is one of 10 states where voters will consider abortion protections. “It is a basic human right that all women need to have autonomy over their own bodies,” said Erin Dean, 34, a voter who used to be registered as a Republican but now backs Democrats. The political action committee Arizona for Abortion Access raised nearly $23 million as of late July, campaign finance records show. A PAC opposing the measure, It Goes Too Far, had raised nearly $900,000. Republican and Democratic strategists alike say the abortion measure could draw voters who might not otherwise be interested in casting a ballot. Marson, the GOP strategist, expects it to boost turnout with young and first-time voters. The same can’t be said for the immigration measure, which he predicts will pass anyway. “Not many teenagers are itching to vote on an illegal immigration issue even if a wide swath of people support the measure,” Marson said. Ballot measures on immigration have been popular in Arizona before. In 2004, voters made Arizona the only state to require proof of citizenship status to register to vote. A measure banning in-state tuition for noncitizens was passed in 2006, but key parts were overturned in 2022 when Arizonans voted to make students — regardless of immigration status — eligible for state financial aid. ___ Gabriel Sandoval is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
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