Politics Election category, Page 280
Judge blocks Michigan’s ban on transporting voters to polls
LANSING, Mich. — A federal judge has blocked Michigan’s longstanding ban on transporting voters to the polls, ruling it conflicts with U.S. election law. District Judge Stephanie Dawkins Davis in Detroit issued an injunction Thursday against enforcing the restriction in November’s presidential election. A form of the prohibition has been...
Trump’s vaccine ambitions contradict his own health expertsVideo
President Donald Trump once again promised that a covid-19 vaccine for Americans could be ready within weeks, a timeline faster than has been deemed possible or likely by the scientific agencies overseeing the effort and the companies developing the products. Trump’s optimistic promises have left him in a battle with...
Trump heads to Pittsburgh on Tuesday for airport rally
Like he did at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe earlier this month, President Donald Trump is holding another airport hangar rally. This one is Tuesday, Sept. 22, at the Pittsburgh International Airport in Moon Township, the campaign announced Thursday. The president’s rally at Atlantic Aviation, 300 Horizon Drive,...
‘It will destroy our country’: Trump targets school curriculums that aim to teach truth about slaveryVideo
President Donald Trump painted a grim and divisive portrait of the state of American education on Thursday, claiming that anything from elementary schools to colleges are being overrun by “radical” teachers bent on destroying “our children” with “Marxist doctrines.” The president was talking about an educational framework known as critical...
Why the ruling against Wolf’s covid-19 restrictions faces long odds on appeal, explained
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — A federal judge sent a shockwave through Pennsylvania politics this week when he ruled that several actions taken...
Ex-Pence adviser says Trump bungled virus; she’s voting for BidenVideo
WASHINGTON — A former adviser to Vice President Mike Pence who also served on the White House coronavirus task force says President Donald Trump once suggested that covid-19 might be a good thing because it would stop him from having to shake hands with “disgusting people.” Olivia Troye is the...
Attorney General Bill Barr under fire over comparison of virus lock-in to slaveryVideo
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr drew sharp condemnation Thursday for comparing lockdown orders during the coronavirus pandemic to slavery. In remarks Wednesday night at an event hosted by Hillsdale College, Barr had called the lockdown orders the “greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history” since slavery. His comments,...
FBI director Chris Wray says antifa is an ideology, not an organizationVideo
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Chris Wray told lawmakers Thursday that antifa is an ideology, not an organization, testimony that puts him at odds with President Donald Trump, who has said he would designate it a terror group. Wray did not dispute that antifa activists were a serious concern, saying that...
Biden campaign outlines tax proposals ahead of Scranton town hall meeting on CNN
Calling the upcoming election “Park Avenue vs. Scranton,” Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign issued a series of tax policy proposals Thursday ahead of his town hall meeting tonight on CNN. The 8 p.m. event will be held in Scranton. Although they stressed controlling the covid-19 pandemic remains Biden’s top...
Democrats accuse Pompeo, allies of cover-up over inspector general firing
WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Wednesday detailed their suspicions that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a small group of loyalists orchestrated the firing of the agency’s inspector general, as he was investigating Pompeo’s personal conduct, and then attempted a cover-up. The House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing with three top...
USW lights up iconic Pittsburgh landmarks with Biden-Harris message without permission
Corey Barsky was more than a little miffed Tuesday night when he saw a giant Biden-Harris logo projected on the façade of the towering Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh’s Oakland campus. Barsky, who is vice chair of the Pitt College Republicans, said the projection that included the...
Michael Caputo, controversial HHS official installed by White House, taking medical leave of absence
WASHINGTON — The Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday that Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Michael Caputo will take a 60-day medical leave of absence, following a torrid five-month stint that included efforts to downplay the covid-19 pandemic. Caputo’s tenure was capped by a livestreamed Facebook video echoing...
Top Pa. Republican’s campaign sues journalists over public records costs
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — The campaign committee of the state Senate’s top Republican is suing a publication of LNP Media Group and...
Trump denies downplaying virus, casts doubt on mask usageVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Fielding compelling questions about voters’ real-world problems, President Donald Trump denied during a televised town hall that he had played down the threat of the coronavirus earlier this year, although there is an audio recording of him stating he did just that. Trump, in what could well be...
CNBC host Jim Cramer apologizes for calling Pelosi ‘Crazy Nancy’ during interviewVideo
Perhaps no one wanted to put the toothpaste in the tube more than Jim Cramer. Cramer, a co-host on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” was interviewing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday and quickly acknowledged his error. “What deal can we have, Crazy Nancy?” Cramer asked during the interview, questioning...
Pelosi: House to stay in session until covid-19 rescue deal reached
WASHINGTON — Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday the House will remain in session until lawmakers deliver another round of covid-19 relief, a move that came as Democrats from swing districts signaled discontent with a standoff that could force them to face voters without delivering more aid. “We are committed to...
Lawyer: John Bolton will cooperate with any probe into his bookVideo
WASHINGTON — Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton will cooperate with any investigation related to the recent publication of his tell-all book, which the Justice Department has said contains classified information, his lawyer said Tuesday. The statement from Bolton’s attorney, Charles Cooper, followed reports in The New York...
Trump aide Michael Caputo apologizes for video slamming coronavirus scientists
WASHINGTON — A Trump health appointee who used his position to launch political attacks and is accused of trying to muzzle a government publication apologized Tuesday for a video in which he reportedly disparaged scientists battling the coronavirus and warned of violence after the elections. Michael Caputo, the top spokesman...
Trump to preside over historic Arab-Israel recognition deals
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is set to preside over the signing of historic diplomatic deals between Israel and two Gulf Arab nations that could herald a dramatic shift in Middle East power dynamics and give him a boost ahead of the November U.S. election. In a White House ceremony...
Trump defies virus rules as ‘peaceful protest’ rallies grow
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is running as the “law and order” candidate. But that hasn’t stopped him and his campaign from openly defying state emergency orders and flouting his own administration’s coronavirus guidelines as he holds ever-growing rallies in battleground states. Democratic governors and local leaders have urged the...
Democrats to probe whether political appointees meddled with coronavirus data
WASHINGTON — A House subcommittee is launching an investigation into whether political appointees have meddled with routine government scientific data to better align with President Donald Trump’s public statements about the coronavirus pandemic, following a report that one such appointee claimed scientists were trying to undermine Trump. The Democrat-led subcommittee...
Wisconsin Supreme Court rejects Green Party bid for ballot access
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday rejected the Green Party presidential candidate’s request to be added to the state ballot, ruling that it came too late for any relief “that would not cause confusion and undue damage” just seven weeks before the election. The 4-3 ruling blocks...
Top Pa. GOP lawmaker taps politically connected lobbyist to be chief of staff
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman has tapped a top lobbyist with a politically connected Harrisburg firm to...
Trump, Biden facing off on wildfires, climate change
WILMINGTON, Del. — President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden are focusing the presidential campaign on the wildfire-scorched West Coast, with Trump meeting fire officials in California on Monday while Biden declares the fires underscore an urgent need to address climate change. The dueling events just seven weeks before Election...
In defiance of Nevada governor, Trump holds indoor rally
LAS VEGAS — In open defiance of state regulations and his own administration’s pandemic health guidelines, President Donald Trump on Sunday hosted his first indoor rally since June, telling a packed, nearly mask-less Nevada crowd that the nation was “making the last turn” in defeating the virus. Eager to project...
