Harris speaks about creating economic opportunity for Latino men; Trump airs familiar grievances
MIAMI (AP) — Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Tuesday said she would work to bring more funds to community banks to help Latino men secure small business loans, while Republican Donald Trump's economic roundtable aimed at Latino voters devolved into a tirade of insults against his opponent.
Harris said in an interview with Telemundo that “we need to construct a strong economy that supports the working class.”
“I know that Hispanic men often have more difficulty securing loans from banks because of their connections and the fact that things aren’t necessarily set up so that they will qualify," she said in an interview in English that was translated into Spanish. "For that reason, I’m focused on seeing what we can do to bring more capital to community banks that better understand the community so we can give them that kind of loans.”
In response to Trump's claims that she was a socialist, she said: “I'm a capitalist. I'm a pragmatic capitalist.”
Trump, meanwhile, described Harris as “lazy," railed against green energy and talked about “extreme" presidential power during remarks at his golf club in Doral, a Miami suburb.
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More Republicans are voting early, helping break records. Nearly 19 million ballots cast so far
With former President Donald Trump’s encouragement, Republicans are voting early again, flocking to the polls for in-person voting ahead of Election Day and helping push the national number to nearly 19 million.
The early turnout is breaking records in swing states such as Georgia and North Carolina.
The GOP hopes this surge of early votes will fix a mechanical problem that some in the party blame for costing it the 2020 presidential election and key races in 2022. Campaigns usually want their voters to cast ballots ahead of Election Day so they can focus their resources on getting more marginal supporters to the polls at the last minute.
Republicans excelled at that before Trump turned against early in-person and mail voting in 2020, as he spun wild conspiracies about the process and convinced his supporters to wait until Election Day to cast their ballots. But the party is again pushing its voters to cast their ballots early, and the former president is largely encouraging the change.
“I am telling everyone to vote early,” Trump said on a podcast last week hosted by conservative Dan Bongino, who has widely spread false information about early voting and the 2020 election.
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Harris says she's ready if Trump tries to prematurely declare victory, isn't worried about sexism
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday that her team is prepared to challenge Donald Trump if he tries to prematurely declare victory in the 2024 election — but she's first focused on beating the Republican nominee.
Harris spoke to NBC News just two weeks before Election Day, as part of a media blitz meant to deliver her closing argument before as many persuadable voters as possible. She said she was not concerned about the role sexism could play in the election, as she stands to be the first woman elected to the White House, and again defended President Joe Biden's fitness for office.
Harris said the Democrats “have the resources and the expertise” should Trump try to subvert the election.
“This is a person, Donald Trump, who tried to undo the — a free and fair election, who still denies the will of the people, who incited a violent mob to attack the United States Capitol and some 140 law enforcement officers were attacked. Some — were killed. This is a very serious matter,” she said.
Trump has been criminally charged with trying to overturn the 2020 election, and refuses to admit he lost to President Joe Biden. After a failed legal effort to overturn the results, a mob of Trump supporters rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, attacking law enforcement in an effort to stop the certification of the race.
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Israel says it killed a Hezbollah official expected to become the group's next leader
BEIRUT (AP) — Israel said Tuesday that one of its airstrikes outside Beirut earlier this month killed a Hezbollah official widely expected to have replaced the militant group's longtime leader, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike last month.
There was no immediate confirmation from Hezbollah about the fate of Hashem Safieddine, a powerful cleric who was expected to succeed Hassan Nasrallah, one of the group’s founders.
Safieddine was killed in early October in a strike that also killed 25 other Hezbollah leaders, according to Israel, whose airstrikes in southern Lebanon in recent months have killed many of Hezbollah’s top leaders, leaving the group in disarray.
Last week, Israel killed the top leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, during a battle in Gaza.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a trip to Israel that leaders there should “capitalize” on Sinwar's death as an opportunity to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of hostages taken during the deadly Hamas attack that started the war. Blinken also stressed the need for Israel to do more to help increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
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Deadly E. coli outbreak linked to McDonald's Quarter Pounders sickens 49 people in 10 states
E. coli food poisoning linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder hamburgers has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states, including one person who died and 10 who were hospitalized, federal health officials said Tuesday.
The death was reported in an older person in Colorado, and one child has been hospitalized with severe kidney complications, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Infections were reported between Sept. 27 and Oct. 11, in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Colorado has the most cases, 26, followed by Nebraska with nine.
Everyone interviewed in connection with the outbreak had reported eating at McDonald's before falling ill and most mentioned eating Quarter Pounder hamburgers, the CDC said. The U.S. Agriculture Department, the Food and Drug Administration and state health officials are also investigating.
A specific ingredient has not been identified as the cause, but investigators are focused on onions and beef. A preliminary FDA investigation suggests that slivered onions served on the burgers are a likely source of contamination. The USDA is investigating the hamburger patties.
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North Carolina county surrounding Asheville overcounted Helene deaths by as many as 30, sheriff says
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina county that is home to Asheville overcounted deaths caused by Helene by as many as 30, according to a statement Tuesday from its sheriff’s office and data from the state, significantly reducing the death toll from the historic storm.
Buncombe County officials, who previously reported 72 deaths, are now deferring to a state tally of 42 deaths for the county.
The county's number dates back to an Oct. 3 news release in which county officials reported that “72 lives have been lost due to Hurricane Helene,” repeating a number cited by Sheriff Quentin Miller at an earlier media briefing. But state officials, relying on reviews by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh, have consistently reported a number lower than that for the county. The number for Buncombe County included in the state's tally has stood at 42 since at least Oct. 10.
On Tuesday, the Buncombe County Sheriff's office acknowledged in a statement that the number of deaths in the county was lower than the number it provided. The statement, attributed to Public Information Officer Christina Esmay, cited factors ranging from updated causes of death to communication challenges after the storm knocked out cell service and electricity in multiple mountain counties.
“In the early aftermath of Hurricane Helene all deaths were being classified as storm related and from Buncombe County. However, as the days progressed BCSO was able to identify who had passed away due to the hurricane, who was in fact from Buncombe County, and who passed away from other causes," the statement said. "Compounded with the lack of consistent communication, due to widespread outages, the Buncombe County fatality number that was initially provided to Sheriff Miller has decreased.”
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Former Abercrombie & Fitch chief Mike Jeffries arrested on federal sex trafficking charges
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, his romantic partner and a third man were arrested Tuesday on charges of luring men into drug-laced, outlandish and coercive sex parties by dangling the promise of modeling for the retailer's once-defining beefcake ads.
For almost 20 years, Jeffries, his partner Matthew Smith and their employee James Jacobson used Jeffries’ status, wealth and a web of household staffers to fulfill the couple's sexual desires and keep it all secret, according to a federal indictment.
“Sexually exploiting vulnerable human beings is a crime. And doing so by dangling dreams of a future in fashion or modeling ... is no different,” Brooklyn-based U.S. attorney Breon Peace said at a news conference. He called the case a warning "to anyone who thinks they can exploit and coerce others by using the so-called casting couch system.”
The charges echo sexual misconduct accusations made in a civil case and the media in recent years. Lawyers representing Jeffries in a federal sex trafficking lawsuit have said he “vehemently denies” those allegations.
Jeffries wore a broad smile but didn’t comment Tuesday as he left a federal courthouse in West Palm Beach, Fla., after being released on a $10 million bond. His attorney, Brian Bieber, also didn't comment.
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How a nearly extinct crocodile species returned from the brink in Cambodia
PHNOM TAMAO, Cambodia (AP) — A tiny snout poked out to widen the crack of the slowly shattering eggshell.
The Siamese crocodile was taking its time, lagging others that had already wriggled out, chirping, into the sand. Adults can be up to 4 meters (13 feet) long and weigh up to 350 kilogram (770 pounds). They have few natural predators. But these hatchlings — each roughly the size of a New York hotdog — are vulnerable and their chorus of shrill calls was a signal for mothers to protect them and for stragglers to catch up.
Hor Vichet, a zookeeper at the nonprofit Fauna and Flora's breeding center for the critically endangered reptiles in Cambodia’s Phnom Tamao, broke the rest of the shell.
“It's time to go into the world,” he said.
Siamese crocodiles are making an unlikely comeback. Once widespread across Southeast Asia, demand for leather made from their skins decimated wild populations in the last century. Thousands were hunted or captured for breeding at farms. By the late nineties, they were thought to be extinct.
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LeBron and Bronny James make history as the NBA's first father-son duo to play together
LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James and Bronny James became the first father and son to play in the NBA together Tuesday night during the the Los Angeles Lakers ' season opener.
LeBron and Bronny checked into the game together with four minutes left in the second quarter, prompting a big ovation from a home crowd aware of the enormity of the milestone. LeBron had already started the game and played 13 minutes before he teamed up with his 20-year-old son to make history.
LeBron James is the 39-year-old top scorer in NBA history, while LeBron James Jr. was a second-round pick by the Lakers last summer. They are the first father and son to play in the world's top basketball league at the same time, let alone on the same team.
Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. were courtside at the Lakers' downtown arena to witness the same history they made in Major League Baseball. The two sluggers played 51 games together for the Seattle Mariners in 1990 and 1991 as baseball's first father-son duo.
The Jameses and the Griffeys met up during pregame warmups for some photos and a warm chat between two remarkable family lines.
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Rudy Giuliani ordered to turn over NYC apartment, 26 watches to Georgia election workers
Rudy Giuliani must turn over sports memorabilia and other prized possessions to two Georgia election workers who won a $148 million defamation judgment against him, including his New York City apartment, more than two dozen luxury watches and a 1980 Mercedes once owned by movie star Lauren Bacall, a judge ruled Tuesday.
But U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan also said Giuliani does not have to give the election workers three New York Yankees World Series rings or his Florida condominium — for now — noting those assets are tied up in other litigation.
The property Giuliani must relinquish is expected to fetch several million dollars for Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss. They won the $148 million judgment over Giuliani’s false ballot fraud claims against them related to the 2020 presidential election. They said Giuliani pushed Donald Trump’s lies about the election being stolen, which led to death threats that made them fear for their lives.
Under Tuesday's order, Giuliani must relinquish within seven days his Manhattan apartment, estimated at more than $5 million, as well as his interest in about $2 million that he says Trump's 2020 presidential campaign owes him for his services.
Also on the list of assets that must be given to Freeman and Moss are a 1980 Mercedes-Benz SL 500 previously owned by Bacall; a shirt and picture signed, respectively, by Yankees legends Joe DiMaggio and Reggie Jackson; a signed Yankee Stadium picture; a diamond ring; costume jewelry and 26 watches including a Rolex, five Shinolas, two Bulovas and a Tiffany & Co.
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