MY AM ADVANTAGE

---

VIRGINIA (CCN) — Multiple media outlets are reporting today that a CIA official has been arrested for leaking top secret documents about Israel's preparations for a retaliatory strike against Iran. Asif William Rahman was indicted in federal court in Virginia. He had top secret clearance, according to court documents.

Rahman was arrested two days ago in Cambodia and is scheduled to appear in Guam today for an arraignment in federal court.

Court records indicate he will be arraigned on two counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information which is a violation of the U.S. Espionage Act.

Anyone charged under the Espionage Act faces up to a $10,000 fine and 20 years in prison unless it's during war time when the penalty could be 30 years in prison or possibly the death penalty.

It's now been weeks since Israel officials had announced their intent to launch retaliatory strikes against Iran. It’s now clear why the airstrikes, marketed as unprecedented and lethal, were halted if someone at the Pentagon leaked the plans for the strikes.

The New York Times reported that sources say Rahman leaked the sensitive plans in October.

AUSTIN, TEXAS (CCN) — Popular radio show host Alex Jones revealed Thursday morning on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he expects his studios in Austin, Texas to be shut down.

The tweet by Jones read: “I just got word 15 minutes ago that my lawyers and folks met with the U.S. trustee over our bankruptcy this morning and they said they are shutting us down even without a court order this morning. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m going to be here until they come and turn the lights off.”

The New York TImes reported within an hour in its online edition that the buyer in a bankruptcy auction was The Onion, a satirical news company.

Infowars consists of a website, social media accounts, a studio in Austin, trademarks and a massive video archive in addition to various supplements that are sold by Jones on his show. His radio program has been No. 3 in the nation for most daily listeners since Rush Limbaugh passed away.

Widespread reports before the auction said The Onion was buying control over the media empire with the full support of Sandy Hill families who filed lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas claiming Jones defamed them on his show and inflicted emotional distress by repeatedly suggesting the shooting was a hoax when a gunman killed six adults and 20 first grade students.

A jury found Jones liable for defamation and awarded the families nearly $1.5 billion. Jones later apologized and claimed he could not afford that massive sum. He filed for bankruptcy in late 2022 and a judge allowed him last June to liquidate his assets to pay off the verdicts.

The Onion is a Chicago-based digital media company that began as a weekly print publication in 1988 in Madison, Wisconsin. NBC reported that sources say The Onion plans to shutter Infowars and rebuild the website featuring well-known internet humor writers and content creators.

Multi media reports say the exclusive launch advertiser will be the gun violence prevention organization "Everytown for Gun Safety." 

WASHINGTON D.C. (CCN) — The FBI announced in a press release that Australia officials have extradited to the United States a Chinese national 

Jin Guanghua, 53,  and his three co-conspirators were charged in a 2022 indictment in connection with a multi-year scheme to facilitate the sale of tobacco to North Korea through the U.S. financial system in violation of this country's sanctions imposed on North Korea. Guanghua appeared today in federal court in Washington D.C.

Guanghua was residing in Australia and was attempting to depart the country for China at the time of his arrest by Australian authorities. The arrest followed a request by the U.S. government for Jin’s provisional arrest with a view toward extradition. Guanghuawas indicted with three co-conspirators — a South Korean banker and two others who are also Chinese nationals

The North Korean banker is Sim Hyon-Sop, 50. The other Chinese nationals indicted with Jin were Qin Guoming, 60, and Han Linlin, 41, both of Liaoning Province.

Between 2009 and 2019, the FBI says the defendants engaged in a scheme to purchase leaf tobacco for North Korean-owned entities and used front companies and false documentation to cause U.S. financial institutions to process at least 310 transactions worth about $74 million that the financial institutions otherwise would have frozen, blocked, investigated, or declined, had they known that the transactions involved trade with North Korea. The transactions resulted in an estimated nearly $700 million in revenue for North Korean entities, and ultimately, for the North Korea government.

The defendants are charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, conspiracy to violate and violations of International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the North Korean sanctions regulations, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and laundering monetary instruments.

This case is part of a larger Justice Department response to the ongoing efforts of North Korea to evade sanctions and use the U.S. financial system to engage in illicit trafficking of tobacco products. As alleged in the indictment, trafficking in tobacco products generates revenue for advancing North Korea’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) programs. North Korea has been developing nuclear weapons since at least 2006 and financed these activities through illicit trade, including trafficking of tobacco and counterfeit cigarettes, which North Korea has engaged in since at least 1992. North Korea’s counterfeit cigarette production capacity is estimated to exceed two billion packs a year. Counterfeit cigarettes are a major source of income to the North Korean regime and may be the single most lucrative item in the North Korean portfolio, as smuggled tobacco is estimated to garner revenue as much as $20 on every $1 spent in cost. North Korean tobacco sales are alleged to flow back to the North Korean government, including to slush funds designed to sustain the loyalty of a core of party elite and to underwrite weapons development programs.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for bank fraud, 20 years in prison for violating IEEPA and 20 years in prison for committing money laundering.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert, David Recker and Steven Wasserman for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Emma Ellenrieder of the National Security Division’s Counter-intelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case with assistance from paralegal specialists Brian Rickers and Jorge Casillas.

FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY (CCN) —  A county sheriff is being held in the murder of a Kentucky judge.

Kentucky State Police say Letcher County Sheriff Shawn Stines shot  District Judge Kevin Mullins inside his chambers at the courthouse where he had been on the bench for 15 years.

Police reported that Judge Mullins was shot multiple times and that Sheriff Stines surrendered without incident.

The rural community where the shooting took place is about 136 miles southeast of Lexington.

BY AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

VOA News Staff Writer

(VOA) —  Hezbollah said Saturday that a second senior commander was among 16 fighters killed in an Israeli air strike on its Beirut stronghold the previous day, highlighting the scale of the blow to its military leadership.

Israel said Friday's strike on the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital killed the head of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, Ibrahim Aqil, and several other commanders.

Coming on the heels of sabotage attacks on communications devices this week that killed 37 people in Hezbollah strongholds, the strike raised new questions about the Iran-backed group's security arrangements and dealt a heavy blow to its fighters' morale.

Hezbollah named the second commander as Ahmed Mahmud Wahbi, saying he had headed the group's operations against Israel from the onset of the Gaza war in October until the start of this year.

Confirming the death of Aqil, who was wanted by the United States for involvement in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Hezbollah hailed him as "one of its great leaders."

AFP journalists said Friday's strike left a massive crater and gutted the lower floors of a high-rise building.

It was the second Israeli strike on Hezbollah military leadership since the start of the Gaza war. An Israeli strike on Beirut in July killed Fuad Shukr, a top operations chief for the movement.

It also followed sabotage attacks on pagers and two-way radios used by Hezbollah on Tuesday and Wednesday, which killed 37 people and raised fears of a wider war.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the world body was "very concerned about the heightened escalation" and called for "maximum restraint" from all sides.

The Israeli military said it conducted a "targeted strike" against Aqil, which a source close to Hezbollah said killed a total of 16 Radwan Force members.

The source said Aqil was "at a meeting with commanders" when he was killed.

The United States had offered a $7 million reward for information on Aqil, describing him as a "principal member" of an organization that claimed the 1983 embassy bombing, which killed 63 people.

(CCN) — The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released the following statement:

"Since the August 19, 2024 joint ODNI, FBI and CISA public statement on Iranian election influence efforts, the FBI has learned additional details about Iran’s efforts to sow discord and shape the outcome of U.S. elections. 

Iranian malicious cyber actors in late June and early July sent unsolicited emails to individuals then associated with President Biden’s campaign that contained an excerpt taken from stolen, non-public material from former President Trump’s campaign as text in the emails. There is currently no information indicating those recipients replied.

 Furthermore, Iranian malicious cyber actors have continued their efforts since June to send stolen, non-public material associated with former President Trump’s campaign to U.S. media organizations.

This malicious cyber activity is the latest example of Iran’s multipronged approach, as noted in the joint August statement, to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our electoral process.  As the lead for threat response, the FBI has been tracking this activity, has been in contact with the victims, and will continue to investigate and gather information in order to pursue and disrupt the threat actors responsible. Foreign actors are increasing their election influence activities as we approach November. In particular, Russia, Iran, and China are trying by some measure to exacerbate divisions in U.S. society for their own benefit, and see election periods as moments of vulnerability. Efforts by these, or other foreign actors, to undermine our democratic institutions are a direct threat to the U.S. and will not be tolerated."

 The FBI and CISA encourage campaigns and election infrastructure stakeholders to report information concerning suspicious or criminal activity to their local Election Crimes Coordinators via FBI field offices by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or online. Cyber incidents impacting election infrastructure can also be reported to CISA by calling 1-844-SAY-CISA (1-844-729-2472), emailing report@cisa.dhs.gov, or reporting online.  Election infrastructure stakeholders and the public can find additional resources about how to protect against cyber and physical threats at CISA’s website.

BY EDWIN J. VIERA

Public News Service 

 NEW YORK CITY (PNS) — New Yorkers are reeling from the news that Mayor Eric Adams has been charged with wire fraud, bribery and campaign finance offenses.

The charges center around whether the New York City leader received illegal foreign donations for his mayoral campaign from the Turkish government, as well as personal perks like luxury travel and lodging.

Adams is vowing to remain in office and fight the charges, even as calls grow for his resignation.

Daniel Coates, director of public affairs for the advocacy group Make the Road New York, feels the investigation corroborates mismanagement claims during Adams' time in office, citing what he sees as the mayor's scapegoating of migrants in budget talks.

"The mayor has used, multiple times, the costs the city has incurred supporting and receiving new migrants into the city as a reason to make cuts," Coates pointed out. "And then, throughout the budget process, ended up reversing those cuts." 

 Several city agency commissioners have already resigned, either as part of the corruption investigation or because they said it prevented them from doing their jobs.

Adams can choose to stay in office but the city's charter gives Gov. Kathy Hochul the power to remove him. If Adams is out, Jumaane Williams, the city's Public Advocate, would become the acting mayor. Williams would then have three days to set up a special election for his replacement.

Gov. Hochul has not given any indication she will remove Adams if he doesn't resign. But some community groups and public officials worry Adams remaining in power could be a setback for city progress on a variety of fronts.

John Kaehny, executive director of the group Reinvent Albany, noted the effects it may already be having on city workers.

"It will be incredibly demoralizing to the city's workforce and result in a big loss in productivity," Kaehny asserted. "And a decline in delivery of services that could most hurt the poor and most vulnerable."

While some doubt the strength of the federal government's case against Adams, Kaehny thinks it's solid. He observed the case falls outside the U.S. Supreme Court's 2016 McDonnell vs. United States ruling, which narrowed the legal definition of public corruption, making it harder to prove an elected official engaged in bribery.

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

BY SUZANNE POTTER

Public News Service 

SACRAMENTO (PNS) —  With the election six weeks away, concern is building about attempts to intimidate voters at the polls - so, lawmakers are taking action at the state and federal levels.

On Tuesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Peace Act which makes California the first state in the nation to state explicitly that openly carrying a gun in or near a polling place constitutes illegal harassment.

Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the Voting Rights Program for the nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice, said the measure is important.

"It represents some really commonsense principles. All voters, all election workers, should be able to participate and run our democracy free from intimidation. And visible guns around our elections are intimidating," he said.

A recent survey of election workers from the Brennan Center found that 40% report being subject to threats, abuse, or harassment.

On Wednesday, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., introduced a bill to ban open carry of firearms in polling places nationwide - noting the country has a long history of scare tactics on Election Day.

"There's individuals out there, stoked by partisan rhetoric and false narratives about election fraud, that have taken it upon themselves to either discourage at a minimum, or sometimes outright intimidate people into not letting their voice be heard in the democratic process," Padilla said.

Both political parties plan to have poll watchers present this year. The Brennan Center has set up a hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE for people to report any efforts to intimidate voters or election workers.

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is California Governor Gavin Newsom.
 

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA  (PNS) — U.S. President Biden has granted North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s request for a federal major disaster declaration for Tropical Storm Helene providing immediate federal help for 25 North Carolina counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

The declaration means that FEMA will be able to speed additional help to the state, and provide Individual Assistance to people living in those counties, as well as Public Assistance to reimburse local governments, state agencies, and non-profits or other eligible organizations for funds spent repairing facilities and infrastructure.

“The people in western North Carolina are hurting from this devastating storm and we are all working to get resources to people as fast as we can,” said Governor Cooper. “We have deployed rescue teams, transportation crews, water, mobile kitchens and more. This is going to be a long-term recovery and this federal declaration will help us respond.”

The counties in the declaration are Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey Counties as well as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. As response operations and eligible damages dictate, North Carolina may be able to add additional counties or programs as assessments move forward. This declaration will also provide Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding for future efforts to mitigate the impacts of future events.

This declaration is in addition to the federal emergency declaration already in place prior to the impacts of Tropical Storm Helene.

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA (CCN)  —  The man who staked out former President Donald Trump's golf course in Wets Palm Beach, waiting in the bushes 12 hours with a rifle in hopes of assassinating Trump, was charged in a five-count indictment Tuesday (Sept. 24, 2024) in federal court.

The upgraded charges were added to a pair of initial federal counts of felony firearms cases against Ryan Wesley Routh.

Authorities say Routh not only waited 12 hours in the bushes with a gun outside a fence at the golf course near a highway, but they found a letter left in his vehicle which noted his desire to kill Trump.

Court records reveal that the case has been assigned to Judge Aileen Cannon. She's the Trump-appointed federal judge who dismissed Special Prosecutor Jack Smith's case against Trump in July after Smith charged him with with felony counts for illegally taking classified documents from the White House to his Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach.

Special Prosecutor Smith has appealed the decision by Judge Cannon.

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA (VOA) — After what the FBI called an apparent assassination attempt against former U.S. President Donald Trump, there was widespread condemnation of political violence as well as calls for tighter security.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who is opposing Trump in the November presidential election, said in a statement she was “deeply disturbed” by the incident Sunday at a Florida golf course.

“We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence,” Harris said.

Republican Senator Tim Scott said, “Political violence has absolutely no place in the United States of America.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said his state would conduct its own investigation of the incident, saying people “deserve the truth about the would-be assassin” and how he was able to get so close to Trump.

The Secret Service came under scrutiny after Trump was shot in the ear during a July campaign rally.

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, the fourth-ranking U.S. Republican, raised similar questions Sunday.

"There continues to be a lack of answers for the horrific assassination attempt in Pennsylvania and we expect there to be a clear explanation of what happened today in Florida,” Stefanik said.

Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna called the two assassination attempts against Trump “unacceptable” and said the Secret Service “must come to Congress tomorrow, tell us what resources are needed to expand the protective perimeter, and let’s allocate it in a bipartisan vote the same day.”

Republican Representative Darrell Issa had a similar message. “I’ve seen enough. If Congress has to force the Secret Service to protect Donald Trump, that’s what we’re going to do,” he said.

Trump, in a message on his Truth Social site late Sunday, thanked the Secret Service and local police for keeping him safe.

President Joe Biden said in a statement that his administration will “continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety.”

Top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries said political violence “has no place in a civilized society.”

“I am thankful that former President Trump is safe and that the alleged perpetrator is in custody. He should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Jeffries said.

Concerns about Sunday’s incident also came from overseas.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters he was worried about news of the apparent assassination attempt.

“I think it is really important that we're all very, very clear that violence has no part to play at all in any political process,” Starmer said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was glad to hear Trump was not harmed.

“This is our principle: the rule of law is paramount and political violence has no place anywhere in the world. We sincerely hope that everyone remains safe,” Zelenskyy said.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the people of Israel send best wishes to Trump “following the second assassination attempt on his life recently.”

“We must strongly condemn any attempts to impose political views through threats and violence — political violence must never undermine the American people's right to freely and democratically choose their path,” Katz said.

WASHINGTON D.C. (CCN) — The video widely spread on the internet of an individual ripping up votes in Pennsylvania has been ruled a fake, according to a joint statement by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The three government organizations released the following joint statement: 

“Russian actors manufactured and amplified a recent video that falsely depicted an individual ripping up ballots in Pennsylvania, judging from information available to the IC and prior activities of other Russian influence actors, including videos and other disinformation activities. Local election officials have already debunked the video’s content. This Russian activity is part of Moscow’s broader effort to raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the US election and stoke divisions among Americans, as detailed in prior ODNI election updates. In the lead up to election day and in the weeks and months after, the IC expects Russia to create and release additional media content that seeks to undermine trust in the integrity of the election and divide Americans.” 

BY KEN BREDEMEIER

VOA News Staff Writer

(VOA) — U.S. Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance defended his claim Sunday that Haitian migrants in his home state of Ohio are abducting and killing neighbors’ cats and dogs for food, even as the state’s Republican governor and local officials said there is no evidence the animal cruelty is occurring.

"My constituents are telling me firsthand that they're seeing these things," an unapologetic Vance told CNN anchor Dana Bash during a contentious interview on the network’s “State of the Union” show.

Vance blamed Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president, for the alleged attacks on the pets in Springfield, Ohio, saying that she allowed 20,000 Haitian migrants to move there, overwhelming city services and hospitals.

“Kamala Harris opened the border,” Vance said, although most of the Haitians are not undocumented migrants and instead were admitted to the U.S. under a federal program granting them temporary protected status to work. Vance denied any responsibility for several recent threats against Springfield, blaming them on "psychopaths" and "losers."

Springfield's mayor and a local sheriff have said they have no evidence to back up Vance's claims that residents’ pets have been killed for food.

On Sunday, the state’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, also rejected Vance’s contention.

"These discussions about Haitians eating dogs and cats and other things need to stop," DeWine told ABC’s “This Week” show. "What we know is that the Haitians who are in Springfield are legal. They came to Springfield to work (and)... they are very good workers."

Appearing on CNN just after Vance, Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro of the neighboring state of Pennsylvania, who once was touted as a possible Harris vice-presidential running mate, accused Vance of reckless rhetoric.

"When they go out and they lie about this stuff, they put their fellow Americans at risk," he said. "JD Vance should be ashamed of himself. ... This is dangerous stuff."

Vance’s claims about the attacks on cats and dogs gained new prominence last Tuesday when Republican former President Donald Trump brought it up in his debate with Harris as he sought to portray Harris as lax on controlling the U.S. border to keep undocumented migrants from entering the country. Immigration is a prominent concern for many voters heading to the November 5 national election.

ABC News debate moderator David Muir fact-checked Trump, telling debate watchers that Springfield’s city manager had assured the network that the alleged attacks on peoples’ pets had not occurred. Trump later in the week claimed that some of the migrants were stealing geese from a city pond to kill and eat.

But a man captured on a video carrying two dead geese across a street said he had merely picked them up to dispose of them after they had been hit by a passing car.

Vance, in the CNN interview, pressed his case that Americans have “suffered terribly under the (immigration) policies of Kamala Harris.” He contended that CNN and other national media are “letting Kamala Harris coast” and not forcing her to account for her performance over the 3½ years she has been vice president.

At the debate, Harris defended immigration control efforts by her and President Joe Biden, saying that Trump had urged congressional Republican lawmakers several months ago to defeat a bipartisan effort to impose new restrictions so that he could run on the issue ahead of the election.

After the proposal was scuttled in Congress, Biden signed an executive order that imposed new regulations at the U.S.-Mexican border that has greatly cut the influx of migrants.

As part of his campaign, Trump says that if he wins the White House, he will institute a mass deportation of millions of migrants, starting in Springfield and Aurora, Colorado, where Venezuelans have moved.

“As president I will immediately end the migrant invasion of America,” Trump said Saturday on his social media account.

HANCOCK (CCN) — An 80-year-old man in the UP putting up a Donald Trump campaign sign in his yard was run down by a 22-year-old on an all-terrain vehicle.

The 22-year-old ran down the 80-year-old in his front yard after vandalizing two cars in the area within the previous hour on Sunday (July 21, 2024). One had a Trump bumper sticker and the other one had a thin blue line to indicate support for law enforcement.

After striking the 80-year-old, police in Houghton reported that a 911 call was placed with a confession about the incident and asking police to come pick him up. When police arrived to check on the suspect, they reported finding him dead with a self-inflicted gun shot.

 Houghton County Sheriff's Department officials did not release the name of the man suspected of running down the 80-year-old man and vandalizing the two vehicles.

Authorities told the media that the all-terrain vehicle used by the driver was found at the residence.

Houghton County is in Michigan's western Upper Peninsula.

Hancock Police Chief Tami Sleeman told The Detroit News that the attacks spanned from about 4:45 p.m. until 5:45 p.m.

Chief Sleeman said the driver reportedly shouted profanities as he drove by the elderly man putting out the political signs, then pulled the yard signs out, and finally returned to hit him from behind when the man tried to put the signs back, according to eyewitnesses. The 80-year-old man sustained serious injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, according to a news release from the Hancock Police Department.

One of the vehicles had its windows smashed with a shovel, which Sleeman said was left at the scene, while the other vehicle had its tire valves removed.

The incident came eight days after an assassination attempt on the life of Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. 

DETROIT (CCN) — General Motors today (July 23, 2024) reported a 14% increase in net income for the second quarter, over last year's profits.

A strong North American business showing helped GM beat expectations second quarter net earnings at $2.9 billion on revenue of $47.9 billion. GM's second quarter revenue was up 7% over the same quarterly period a year ago, according to an announcement today from officials at GM's world headquarters in Detroit.

It was the second consecutive quarter GM had better-than-projected earnings.

GM has now adjusted its projected earnings for the year in the range of $13 billion to $15 billion, up from $12.5 billion to $14.5 billion.

The strong second quarter showing for GM follows Stellantis reporting a slump in sales by 21% in the same period, compared to 2023. The news led to two immediate layoffs at U.S. plants in Toledo and in Warren. (See Related Story in Today's Business Section of My AM Advantage)es in Nation & World News)

 BY KEN BREDEMEIER

VOA News Staff Writer

(VOA) — U.S. Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump had never met until their presidential debate Tuesday night, but immediately started sparring in a pivotal encounter leading up to the national election on Nov. 5.

The two candidates shook hands at the outset, took their places behind lecterns on a stage at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and then started assailing each other.

They feuded about the U.S. economy, abortion rights for American women, immigration at the U.S. border with Mexico, the Israeli war against Hamas militants in Gaza, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol as Congress certified that Trump had lost the 2020 election.

Referring to the 2020 election that Trump lost to President Joe Biden, Harris said, “Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people. He has a very difficult time processing that.”

Trump recently said he lost the election “by a whisker,” but on the debate stage Tuesday, he said it was a sarcastic remark and refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the 2020 outcome.

 “We are a failing nation,” Trump said. “We are in serious decline, and we’re laughed at all over the world.’’

In a snap poll after the 90-minute debate, CNN said its survey showed Harris had won the encounter by a 63-37% margin.

In addition to that quick assessment favoring Harris, the world’s top pop singer, Taylor Swift, endorsed the Democrat as the debate ended. (See related story at right if you are reading on a laptop or PC, or scroll below to read if you reading on a mobile device)

Standing a short distance away from each other, the two candidates shook their heads at each other’s comments, with Harris all but laughing out loud at some of Trump’s remarks. ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis gamely tried to control the flow of the encounter, failing at times.

Biden stumbled badly in a June debate with Trump and within a month ended his campaign as he endorsed Harris, his second-in-command.

On Tuesday, Harris, a former local criminal prosecutor in San Francisco and attorney general in California accustomed to tough courtroom encounters with defense attorneys, repeatedly baited Trump with insults.

At one point, she told him that his staunchest supporters at his political rallies often left early because they were bored with his speeches.

He described her as a Marxist, saying she was taught well by her father, a leftist economist. “This is a radical left liberal,” Trump said of Harris.

She recited her middle-class upbringing where her mother saved money for years before having the wherewithal to buy a house when she was a teenager.

Meanwhile, Harris said Trump was handed $400 million by his father “on a silver platter and then filed for bankruptcy six times.”

Trump assailed Biden and Harris’ handling of the U.S. economy, the world’s largest, saying the U.S. is becoming “Venezuela on steroids.” She said his plan for imposing up to 20% tariffs on imported foreign goods would prove to be a “Trump sales tax” for American consumers.

She blamed him for the end to a constitutional right to abortion with his appointment of three conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court. He said that with the 2022 ruling, voters in individual states could now decide the issue.

“The government and Trump should not be telling” women what to do with their bodies, Harris said.

Trump blamed Harris as part of the Biden administration’s failure to control the masses of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump has said he plans to deport 11 million or more undocumented migrants living in the U.S. but twice dodged Muir’s question of how he would arrest people and send them back to their home countries.

The former president repeatedly answered unrelated questions with comments about Harris’ handling of the border, with Republicans calling her the “border czar” because Biden tasked her to help determine the root causes of why people leave their Central American homes to trek to the United States.

Trump made the outlandish claim that Haitian migrants in the Midwestern city of Springfield, Ohio, were stealing their neighbors’ cats and dogs and killing them for food.

Muir rebuked Trump and said the city’s manager had assured ABC News the claim was not true.

Trump claimed that neither Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nor the shock Hamas attack last October 7 on Israel would have occurred if he were president. He said that if elected, he would solve both conflicts before he even takes office next January but did not say how.

Harris retorted, “If Donald Trump were president, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now with his eyes on the rest of Europe.”

Trump twice refused to say that he wants Ukraine to win the war, only that he wants the war ended to prevent more bloodshed.

Standing a short distance away from each other, the two candidates shook their heads at each other’s comments, with Harris all but laughing out loud at some of Trump’s remarks. ABC News anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis gamely tried to control the flow of the encounter, failing at times.

Tens of millions of Americans were likely watching what could be the only debate of the campaign. The faceoff took place eight weeks before Election Day but only days ahead of when early voting starts in some of the country’s 50 states.

On the debate stage, the rules for Harris and Trump were the same as at the debate Trump had with Biden in June, where Biden stumbled badly, leading him a month later to end his reelection bid as he fell behind Trump in national polling.

Trump and Harris’ microphones were muted when the other was speaking and they were not allowed to pose questions to each other.

But that did not stop them from interrupting each other. There was no live audience listening to the debate.

It was the first presidential debate for Harris. For Trump, it was his seventh over three presidential election cycles since 2016.

Speaking to reporters after the debate, Republican Senator Tom Cotton questioned why Harris has not worked to implement her policy proposals during her time as vice president.

"Kamala Harris wouldn't answer questions about what she's going to do for the American people and kept trying to shift onto other topics.

 Understandably, Donald Trump defended himself, but what he did the best job of is explaining that things were good when he was president and they have not been good for the last four years."

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said it was Trump who failed to explain what he would bring to a new term in office.

"The real question is, what does Donald Trump stand for? You can have a conversation about how some of Kamala Harris' positions have changed, as all of our positions have changed over the years based on new information, or we can ask ourselves did Donald Trump articulate a single plan tonight to help the American people? Besides his reiteration of his belief that we should build a wall with Mexico, I don't think he talked about one single plan — no healthcare plan, no housing plan, no plan to increase wages."

Democratic Congressman Ted Lieu told VOA Khmer that Trump is weaker on foreign policy than Harris, and that Trump is "friendly to dictators."

"Donald Trump has this weird relationship where if Putin flatters Donald Trump, Donald Trump gives away the store to Vladimir Putin. In contrast, the Biden-Harris administration built up this entire coalition to stop Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, and the Biden-Harris administration has built up an incredible alliance of countries in the Indo-Pacific to push back against aggression," Lieu said.

Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz told VOA Khmer that Trump won the debate by highlighting Harris' "dangerously liberal policies."

"President Trump did his job to show people that he is the change agent in this election. President Trump reflected the economic anxiety of the American people, the concern the American people have over their safety and over their ability to live in a world that isn't going to devolve into World War III," Gaetz said.

National polling shows the contest to be close, adding to the importance of the debate and making it crucial for both candidates to make their best case to sway the small number of voters who haven’t made up their mind. At stake, returning Trump to the White House after he lost reelection in 2020 to Biden or elevating Harris, Biden’s second-in-command.

Democrats coalesced around Harris’ candidacy when Biden dropped his reelection bid and endorsed Harris as his successor. While Biden trailed Trump when he ended his campaign, Harris has edged ahead of Trump in numerous national polls by 2 or 3 percentage points.

But a New York Times-Siena College poll released Sunday showed Trump with a 48-47% lead nationally, even as the newspaper said Harris was narrowly ahead in an average of multiple polls in three crucial battleground states: Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. The two candidates were tied in four other crucial states: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.

The seven highly contested states are expected to play an outsized role in determining the outcome of the election because the U.S. does not pick its president and vice president by the national popular vote.

Rather, the election is 50 state-by-state contests, with electors for the winning ticket in all but two states casting all their votes in the Electoral College for either Harris and her vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, or Trump and his ticket mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance. The number of Electoral College votes for each state is based on population, so the most populous states hold the most sway.

The Times-Siena poll showed that the debate stakes were particularly high for Harris in introducing herself to the American public, with 28% of those surveyed saying they needed to know more about her, while only 9% said the same about Trump.

Trump, 78, has at times on the campaign trail seemed to miss running against Biden, 81. He has yet to develop a steady line of attack on Harris, 59, although on debate night he attacked Harris on every question posed by the ABC anchors.

If elected, she would be the first woman and first person of South Asian descent to serve as the U.S. president, and the second Black person after Barack Obama.

BY MIKE KILLBREATH

CCN Executive Editor

(CCN) — Taylor Swift, under pressure from her fans for weeks to endorse Kamala Harris for President, pulled the trigger with a social media post doing so after Tuesday's debate between Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Swift is one of the biggest pop stars on the planet with a loyal following from women and young people which are two key demographics in the Presidential race. 

"I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos," Swift wrote in an Instagram post that included a link to a voter registration website.  The pop superstar has 282 million followers on Instagram. The post by Swift had received more than 2.3 million likes by this morning.

Trump last month had shared a fake post about Swift endorsing his candidacy. It was AI generated by a Trump supporter.

Trump said he prefers Swift's friend Brittany Mahomes who is the wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes who entered Swift's social circle when she began dating Chiefs tight end superstar Travis Kelce last year. Trump thanked Mrs. Mahomes In a Truth Social post last week for her apparent support of his campaign after she liked and promply un-liked one of his posts detailing the 2024 GOP platform.

"It really wasn't a surprise to me ... she seems to always endorse a Democrat, and she'll probably pay a price for it at the — in the marketplace," Trump said after learning about Swift's post. "But, no, I like Brittany. That's the one I like, much better than Taylor Swift... I think she's terrific. Not Taylor Swift."

Swift also backed the Biden-Harris team when Harris was VP with Joe Biden when he won in 2020 against Trump. Swift also backed  U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen and U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper in their 2018 re-election bids in Tennessee.

 Swift said in a post on Instagram to her more than 283 million followers immediately after last night's (Sept. 10, 2024) debate ended: "I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris  because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos."

Swift went on to say that she was "heartened and impressed" by Harris' selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, praising him as a champion of "LGBTQ+ rights, IVF and a woman's right to own her body for decades. I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice. Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make. I also want to say, especially to first time voters: Remember that in order to vote, you have to be registered! I also find it’s much easier to vote early. I’ll link where to register and find early voting dates and info in my story."

Swift, 34, signed her post "Childless Cat Lady" — a reference to a comment by Trump's VP choice J.D. Vance  to describe women who do not have kids. Swift included a photo of herself on Instagram holding her cat (Benjamin Button) who has graced the cover of Time magazine with the singer.

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is pop superstar Taylor Swift who has endorsed Kamala Harris for President over Donald Trump.

BY KEN BREDEMEIER

VOA News Staff Writer

(VOA) — The United States paused for a moment of reflection and remembrance on Wednesday, the 23rd anniversary of the horrific al-Qaida terrorist attacks on the country that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Relatives of those killed as hijacked airliners were crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York gathered at the Ground Zero memorial on a clear September morning not unlike that on September 11, 2001.

President Joe Biden, accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris, watched the ceremony, as did former President Donald Trump, with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg standing between the political adversaries.

Less than 12 hours after Harris and Trump concluded their contentious presidential debate in Philadelphia, the two candidates opposing each other in the November 5 election shook hands and seemingly exchanged quick pleasantries.

Biden and Harris later visited the rural community of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where another al-Qaida-hijacked plane, which was believed en route to Washington, crashed after passengers commandeered the cockpit from the hijackers.

Then, Biden and Harris are headed to the Pentagon, just outside Washington, where a fourth hijacked aircraft was crashed into one wall of the five-sided headquarters of the Defense Department.

In a statement, Biden commemorated the lost lives of 2,977 people.

“On this day 23 years ago, terrorists believed they could break our will and bring us to our knees,” Biden said. “They were wrong. They will always be wrong. In the darkest of hours, we found light. And in the face of fear, we came together — to defend our country and to help one another. That is why terrorists targeted us in the first place: our freedom, our democracy, our unity.

“They failed. But we must remain vigilant,” the president said. “Today, our longest war is finally over. But our commitment to preventing another attack on our people never will be.”

In New York, a police bagpipe honor corps carried an American flag to the plaza where the skyscrapers once stood. A collection of top U.S. officials watched as a bell was tolled twice, once at 8:46 a.m. and again at 9:03 a.m., when Flight 11 and then Flight 175, respectively, crashed into the towers.

As is tradition every year at the 9/11 commemoration, the names of all the victims were solemnly read, with many of the relatives of those killed holding pictures aloft of their loved ones.

Cathy Naughton came to honor her cousin, Michael Roberts, one of hundreds of firefighters killed in the attack. Twenty-three years later, she said, "It's just so raw. We want to make sure people remember always and say the names always and never forget."

 BY JEFF SELDIN

VOA News

As federal investigators try to piece together a motive for 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man identified as the would-be assassin of former President Donald Trump, at least one former classmate is speaking out.

Jason Kohler told reporters he attended high school with Crooks in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, describing him as a loner and an outcast.

“He was, like a kid that was always alone. He was always bullied,” Kohler told reporters Sunday. “He was bullied so much.”

Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, according to a statement from the school district to a local media outlet. Local media reports show he was given a $500 award for math and science.

Kohler said he never had much interaction with Crooks, who would sit alone during lunch and often be targeted by other kids for the way he often wore hunting outfits or how he continued to wear a mask after COVID mask mandates ended.

“You could look at him and you would be like, 'Something's a little off,’” Kohler added. The description is just part of the picture that is starting to emerge of Crooks, who was shot and killed by U.S. Secret Service agents after climbing to the roof of a building and firing five to six shots at Trump during a campaign rally Saturday in nearby Butler, Pennsylvania.

Law enforcement officials said Sunday they found bomb-making materials in Crooks’s car and home, and that the AR-style rifle he used in the shooting had been purchased by his father.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on the discovery of the explosives.

Crooks’s father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN late Sunday he was trying to find out “what the hell is going on” but would “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before saying anything more.

Public records show Crooks had no prior convictions and was a registered Republican, like Trump. But other records indicate he made a $15 political donation in 2021 to a left-leaning group that supports Democratic candidates, on the day President Joe Biden was sworn into office.

Discord, a social media platform popular with gamers, said Sunday it had discovered an account “that appears to be linked to” Crooks.

“It was rarely utilized, has not been used in months,” a Discord spokesperson confirmed in a statement to VOA. “We have found no evidence that it was used to plan this incident, promote violence, or discuss his political views.”

“Discord strongly condemns violence of any kind, including political violence, and we will continue to coordinate closely with law enforcement,” the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon Sunday said it determined Crooks had no connection to the U.S. military.

“We've confirmed with each of the military service branches that there is no military service affiliation for the suspect with that name or date of birth in any branch, active or reserve component in their respective databases," according to a statement from the Pentagon press secretary, Major General Pat Ryder.

PHOTO CAPTION: Pictured above this story is Thomas Matthew Crooks who was the man identified as the would-be assassin of former President Donald Trump.

  BY WILLIAM GALLO & ANITA POWELL

VOA News

Former U.S. President Donald Trump, in the aftermath of the attempt on his life, said Sunday it was “more important than ever” that the country stood strong, determined and not allow evil to win.

“Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening,” he said on his Truth Social media platform. “We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness.”

Trump is set this week to be officially nominated as the Republican presidential candidate in the November 5 election against Democratic President Joe Biden. Trump said he looked forward to addressing the country on Thursday from the Republican Party’s national convention in the midwestern city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The FBI said it has identified a suspect but not yet established a motive for Saturday’s assassination attempt at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a suburb of the eastern city of Pittsburgh. It was the highest-profile act of U.S. political violence in more than four decades.

The law enforcement agency said 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was the “subject involved” in the shooting. Bystanders outside the perimeter security area where Trump was speaking said they yelled at police to no avail when they spotted the gunman crawling up the roof of a nearby building with a weapon.

The gunman was able to fire four or five shots toward the rally, hitting Trump in his right ear, killing one spectator at the rally and critically wounding two others before police killed the suspect.

Crooks, who graduated from high school two years ago, was a registered Republican. But when he was 17, Crooks also made a $15 political donation to ActBlue, a political action committee that raises money for left-leaning and Democratic politicians, according to a 2021 Federal Election Commission filing. The donation was designated for the Progressive Turnout Project, a national group that rallies Democrats to vote.

Trump’s wife, former first lady Melania Trump, who was not at the rally, said in a social media post Sunday, “A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion — his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration. The core facets of my husband’s life — his human side — were buried below the political machine.”

She added, “For those of you who cry in support, I thank you. I commend those of you who have reached out beyond the political divide — thank you for remembering that every single politician is a man or a woman with a loving family.”

About six minutes after Trump took the stage, several gunshots rang out – prompting the former president to reach for his right ear and then duck behind a riser before being piled on for protection by his assigned Secret Service agents.

n a social media post, Trump said he was “fine.” He was released from the hospital late Saturday.

According to witness accounts and videos posted online, the shooter was seen holding a rifle and crawling up the roof of a nearby building moments before the attack occurred. Several bystanders could be heard yelling at police to get their attention but the authorities either did not react at all or in time. The Secret Service said it killed the suspect and an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle was found near his body.

The incident immediately raised questions about the level of Secret Service protection provided to Trump, although the security agency rejected as “absolutely false” an assertion by some Trump supporters that the Secret Service turned down a request for more security for Trump.

"In fact, recently the U.S. Secret Service added protective resources and capabilities to the former president’s security detail,” an agency spokesperson said.

Andrew McCabe, a former deputy director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, told CNN that authorities, in planning for the outdoor rally, had failed to “eliminate sightlines” to the stage where Trump spoke, either by positioning a physical barrier between the building from where the gunman fired and the rally stage or by posting law enforcement personnel nearby to block any access to the rooftop.

Republican leaders in the House of Representatives said they will launch a “full investigation” into the incident and asked Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle to attend a hearing on the matter.

Alex Gray, a former official in Trump’s National Security Council, said the shooting shows that Trump’s Secret Service protection was “paltry compared to the threats he was facing.”

“They need to immediately upgrade his detail to the fullest level possible that is befitting of a president – and not a former president, but a current president,” Gray said.

Earlier Saturday, Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office, told reporters that “it is surprising” that the gunman fired four or five times before he was shot dead.

Trump, who later traveled to his home in New Jersey, said in the immediate aftermath of the attack that it is “incredible that such an act can take place in our country.”

Late Saturday, the White House said Biden had spoken to Trump – though it did not immediately give details of the conversation. The administration said Biden returned to the White House early Sunday, instead of remaining in Delaware as planned.

Biden later told reporters, “There is no place in America for this kind of violence.” He also said, “It's sick. It's sick. It's one of the reasons why we have to unite this country. We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this.”

The Biden campaign also said, in a statement, that it is “pausing all outbound communications and working to pull down our (political) television ads (assailing Trump) as quickly as possible.”

Analysts warned the assassination attempt could upend a fiercely fought presidential campaign and further divide American society.

“This is an exceptionally dark day in America — an exceptionally dark day in our democracy. Possibly the most serious act of political violence we've seen since 9/11 at least,” said Jacob Ware, a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

“Today the world changed,” said George Washington University professor Casey Burgat.

“There will be partisan finger-pointing about how and why this happened, but across the political spectrum, we will rightfully hear a unified rejection of all political violence. I can only hope the latter wins out,” Burgat said.

VOA Serbian Service, Katherine Gypson and Ken Bredemeier contributed to this story.

 WARREN (CCN) — The Stellantis plant in Warren is  scaling back production and temporarily laying off workers. It's one of two major U.S. plants hit with layoffs after the Auburn Hills-based automobile corporation revealed a 21% drop in sales in the second quarter over the same period a year ago. 

The Warren Truck Assembly Plant is cutting production from two shifts perday to one daily shift for the rest of July. It's being called a "temporary layoff" impacting about 1,600 employees (CCN) — about half the facility's workforce.

The reason is tied to sales of the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, according to Eric Graham who heads United Auto Workers Local 140 which represents workers at the facility. The plant also makes the Ram 1500 Classic pickup.

A Stellantis corporate statement by spokesman Jodi Tipnon said: "Stellantis is adjusting the operating pattern at its Warren Truck Assembly Plant to align production with sales. The plant will run one shift for the month of July. The company will continue to monitor demand and take the necessary action to balance inventories."

Tinson also made an announcement that work will be fully idled at Ohio's Toledo Assembly Complex plant during a six-week period from July8 until Aug. 19. He said, "Toledo South will be down ... to align production with sales, retool the plant for a new model and observe a week for summer vacation. Employees will be reassigned to support production at the Toledo North plant during this period, except during their summer vacation the week of Aug. 5."

Toledo South produces Gladiator while Toledo North produces Wranglers.

The announcements came just days after discontent among dealers continues as Stellantis reported a  21% drop in vehicle sales during the second quarter compared to last year. 

All the major brands for Stellantis — Jeep, Ram, Chrysler and Dodge — suffered steep declines.

The transatlantic automaker sold 344,993 vehicles in the United States in April, May and June, compared to 434,648 in the same period in 2023.

Sales did improve, however, by 4% over the first quarter sales in 2024.

The steep decline in sales comes  The dismal report comes as Stellantis dealers have expressed frustration over vehicles "costing too much" and "not matching what consumers want." The frustrations were aired last week during dealer meetings at the Stellantis National Dealer Council and in an earlier letter from dealers to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. 

 Matt Thompson, head of U.S. retail sales for Stellantis, said in a statement from the world headquarters in Auburn HIlls that the company has been making moves to offer customers a wider range of fully electric, plug-in hybrid, and gas-powered options while adjusting pricing for its Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler and Ram brands. Thompson said new incentives to boost sales will roll out Tuesday (July 2, 2024) by "launching a national ‘Summer Select Inventory Bonus Cash’ incentive campaign which will provide up to $2,000 cash back across many of our nameplates."

AUBURN HILLS (CCN) — Discontent among dealers continues as Stellantis reported a  21% drop in vehicle sales during the second quarter compared to last year. 

All the major brands for Stellantis — Jeep, Ram, Chrysler and Dodge — suffered steep declines.

The transatlantic automaker sold 344,993 vehicles in the United States in April, May and June, compared to 434,648 in the same period in 2023.

Sales did improve, however, by 4% over the first quarter sales in 2024.

The steep decline in sales comes  The dismal report comes as Stellantis dealers have expressed frustration over vehicles "costing too much" and "not matching what consumers want." The frustrations were aired last week during dealer meetings at the Stellantis National Dealer Council and in an earlier letter from dealers to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. 

 Matt Thompson, head of U.S. retail sales for Stellantis, said in a statement from the world headquarters in Auburn HIlls that the company has been making moves to offer customers a wider range of fully electric, plug-in hybrid, and gas-powered options while adjusting pricing for its Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler and Ram brands. Thompson said new incentives to boost sales will roll out Tuesday (July 2, 2024) by "launching a national ‘Summer Select Inventory Bonus Cash’ incentive campaign which will provide up to $2,000 cash back across many of our nameplates."