Attachment 2451252

Argentina President Javier Milei said in November 2024, "Elon Musk bought that filthy 'woke' bastion that was CNN."

By Jordan Liles


Claim:

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk bought CNN in November 2024.

Rating:

Originated as Satire

A rumor circulating online shortly after former U.S. President Donald Trump's reelection victory in November 2024 claimed that X owner, Tesla CEO and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk bought CNN.

Argentine President Javier Milei promoted the rumor while speaking in front of the Argentine Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 7 — the same day Reuters reported on Milei's plans to meet with Musk and Trump in the U.S. the following week. Numerous social media users and some publishers also shared the purported news as fact, with some citing Milei's remark.

However, the claim that Musk purchased CNN was not true. The rumor originated weeks earlier on a website describing its output as parody and satire.

We attempted to make contact with Milei's press office to ask about his promotion of the false rumor and will update this story if we receive comment.

Largest Newspaper in Argentina Shared the Rumor

Of the many online posts sharing the rumor, one Facebook post (archived) from Nov. 4 that received around 75,000 reactions read, "Elon Musk Agrees to $3 Billion to Buy CNN. Elon Musk Reportedly Eyeing CNN Acquisition: 'I'll Fix the Media, One Network at a Time.'"

A YouTube video from Nov. 1 displayed the title, "Elon Musk: 'I am officially buying CNN.'" Numerous users on X also repeated this rumor.

One publisher that shared the claim was Clarin — the Spanish-language newspaper with the largest distribution in Argentina. Clarin posted on X (archived) on Nov. 7, "Javier Milei revealed that Elon Musk 'bought' CNN and that it will be Donald Trump's chainsaw."

On Clarin.com, the Spanish-language article presented a brief transcription of the relevant section of Milei's remarks. He said, in part, "This is something to get excited about. You're going to see that what Donald Trump does will be talked about a little better, because today Elon Musk bought that filthy 'woke' bastion that was CNN, which means that now we're not only going to have freedom in X, but we're also going to have a network that's not so socialist, so left-wing."

The news Liberdade X account published a brief video featuring Spanish subtitles that showed Milei's remark about Musk and CNN.

As another example of a publisher sharing the false rumor, the conservative-political Brazilian production company Brasil Paralelo ran it in a Portuguese-language article on Nov. 7. The story's headline read, "Javier Milei revealed that Elon Musk 'bought' CNN." Hours later, Brasil Paralelo removed that article. The publisher has since reported a second story (archived) clarifying no credible person confirmed Musk's supposed purchase of CNN. Even so, as of Nov. 8, Google search results still displayed the headline for the retracted story, as did several posts on X.

Musk-CNN Rumor Originated as Satire

On Oct. 24, PolitiFact reported the facts and origins of the false rumor claiming Musk purchased CNN.

Six days earlier, on Oct. 18, the SpaceXMania website published an article displaying the same headline as the aforementioned Facebook post. That headline read, "Elon Musk Reportedly Eyeing CNN Acquisition: 'I'll Fix the Media, One Network at a Time.'"

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Attachment 2449768

The Trump appointee said the GOP’s eleventh-hour claims against Democratic-leaning counties were based on “no supporting facts."

By Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein


A federal judge in Georgia said an eleventh-hour bid by the Republican Party to set aside some absentee votes from Democratic-leaning counties was rife with dishonesty, “red herrings” and demands that would have required him to break his oath to the Constitution.

In a stinging oral ruling denying the Republican National Committee’s bid for emergency action, U.S. District Judge R. Stan Baker, a Trump appointee, warned that the party’s bid to toss absentee ballots collected in seven historically Democratic-leaning counties in Georgia over the weekend was based on “no supporting facts” and was an attempt to “tip the scales of this election by discriminating against” people less likely to back Republican candidates.

The RNC and Georgia Republican Party sued the seven counties, including Democratic strongholds like Cobb, Fulton and Gwinnett, on Sunday, claiming they had improperly accepted hand-delivered ballots from voters over the weekend. State officials emphasized that the practice was legal, but the claims ignited a firestorm among Donald Trump’s allies, who used them to stoke efforts to sow doubt about the outcome of the election.

Baker agreed that the GOP claims were based on a misreading of state law — they conflated “early voting,” which ended Friday, with absentee voting, which continues through Election Day — and were accompanied by exaggerated assertions that could erode faith in the election process.

“A lawyer’s words matter,” Baker said as he forcefully rejected the GOP request to segregate the ballots at issue. “Please don't take us any closer to that ledge.”

Baker noted that the RNC’s demands in the case would have effectively eliminated an untold number of absentee ballots, including those delivered on Election Day, even though the law explicitly allows them to continue coming in until the polls close.

As he concluded his ruling Tuesday afternoon, Baker dressed down the attorneys who filed the case, saying it contained erroneous claims and arguments that appeared to “cherry-pick” targeted counties based on their perceived political affiliation. Baker said the filing of such a flimsy case ran the risk of undermining public confidence in the election and raising public doubt about future claims that might be more legitimate. Lamenting the GOP’s “litigation tactics,” he urged the lawyers representing the state and national party to read “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”

“There’s no supporting facts. There’s no supporting law,” Baker said. “That parade of horribles is factually and legally incorrect.”

Lawyers for the seven counties targeted by the GOP described dismay at what they said was a bad-faith effort to challenge long-accepted voting practices available to every county in the state. At least one attorney also suggested the Republicans engaged in “forum shopping” — a tactic to maneuver the case in front of a Trump appointee — by adding a single county in Baker’s district to the case, when most of the counties sued are elsewhere in the state.

In his admonition to the lawyers, Baker expressed concern about forum shopping and the “duty of candor” that lawyers are required to uphold. But said he wasn’t going to impose any sanction on the lawyers.

There were other reasons, Baker said, that he was unlikely to advance the case further: It was brought too late, ran afoul of long-standing legal principles not to change voting procedures on the cusp of Election Day and overlapped with a state-level case brought earlier in Fulton County. The judge in that case similarly rejected the claims, Baker noted.

Attachment 2449760

Donald Trump is often criticized for misleading claims about the size of his rally crowds, greatly inflating the numbers of his supporters despite clear evidence to show otherwise.

By Tom Norton

Throughout the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump has made back-to-back claims greatly exaggerating his campaign event attendance figures. His recent return to Butler, Pennsylvania, the site of his first assassination attempt, led the former president to boast that more than 100,000 people had attended, off by an order of at least 40,000.

However, it's not only Trump who has pitched in with plumped-up crowd claims either, as a viral video that misused footage from a Chappell Roan show shared by his alleged supporters this week showed.

A post on TikTok by user rhinomor21, posted on November 3, 2024, and viewed 44,200 times, showed a video of a huge concert crowd with the heading "Salem, Virgina [sic]." A video description read: "#Trump."

Chants of "We want Trump" could be heard in the background.

The TikTok clip's heading referred to Trump's rally in Salem on Saturday. The same video was shared across TikTok and spread on X, formerly Twitter, where it received more than a million views.

Comments underneath the posts appeared to convince some of its readers. On TikTok, one user wrote "Holy cow! Phenomenal!"; another user seemed to confirm its authenticity, adding, "This where we were yesterday!! Amazing!!"

However, apart from the fact the Trump rally was held indoors, the footage was tracible to the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Multiple videos on YouTube show the same video from the top of the festival's main stage. This year's event took place between October 4 and 13, 2024.

Footage from the "Hot To Go!" singer's set at the festival, posted on X by Austin City Limits Festival, was used; the performance of her song "Pink Pony Club" was replaced with a snippet from 90s dance anthem "Sandstorm" by Darude and overlaid with pro-Trump chants.

There is nothing to suggest that the former president's team was in any way connected to the posts.

The Trump rally in Virginia was held at the Salem Civic Center. As reported by The Washington Post, The Republican used the event to repeat unfounded claims that his opponents plan to fraudulently claim election victory.

"I'd love to win the popular vote with them cheating," Trump said.

"Let them cheat, because that's what they do, they do it very well, they're very professional. But I think we have a really good chance to win the popular vote."

False.

The video shared on TikTok and X was not taken at a Trump rally. It was filmed at the Austin City Limits Festival in Austin, Texas, and appears to have been taken from Chappell Roan's set at the event in October 2024. The Trump rally was held in an indoor arena.

Attachment 2449745

Here’s a companion list of arguments for elevating Vice President Kamala Harris to the presidency. Again, drum roll, and the countdown to No. 1:

By Jackie Calmes


10. She’s got a good resume for the job.

Harris has had experience and a solid record of public service at every level of government over two decades: local, as a prosecutor and San Francisco district attorney; state, as California attorney general; and federal, as U.S. senator and vice president. In California, she won fights against transnational criminals, for-profit colleges, home foreclosures and corporate polluters. Nationally, she’s been a champion for reproductive rights and for policies that actually help the working class, as opposed to paying them lip service, a la Trump.

All told, Harris has more government experience, including in national security (as a Senate Intelligence Committee member as well as vice president), than Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama and Trump had when they took office.

9. She’s a consensus-oriented pragmatist.

Forget Trump’s blather about Harris being a Marxist; he’s the extremist — a “fascist,” as his former chief of staff John F. Kelly warns. Harris is “a strong, committed public servant … running to put people together,” Republican former Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan said last week, in joining more than 30 former party colleagues in condemning Trump.

Harris’ lurch leftward five years ago for her short-lived presidential campaign, including on healthcare, the environment and policing, was a pander to party liberals; she wasn’t true to herself, hence her poor performance. But she learned from her comeuppance and from her service as veep to the compromise-seeking President Biden. As Democratic elder James Carville noted Wednesday in the New York Times, Harris’ support stretches from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Democrats’ left to Dick and Liz Cheney on the right, making her coalition “the broadest we have seen in modern political history.”

8. She would choose public servants for her administration.

That Harris (or any president) would assemble a competent Cabinet and sub-Cabinet appointees should not be notable. But it is, when the alternative is a Trump administration without the purported “adults in the room” who worked for him before. As Trump recently warned, when it comes to picking advisors, “I now know the game a little better.” His goal, as spelled out in Project 2025, is to gut the nonpartisan civil service and fill jobs with sycophants loyal to him, not the Constitution.

7. She’d allow the Trump trials to play out.

Harris wouldn’t treat the Justice Department as her personal law firm, as Trump did and would do again, to fulfill his threats of “retribution.” Assisted by flunkies (see above), he’d dump the criminal cases against himself and initiate new ones against his enemies. He told right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt on Tuesday that he’d fire special counsel Jack Smith “within two seconds.”

More than 40 former Justice Department officials of both parties have endorsed Harris, saying she’d respect the department’s prosecutorial independence, like every president but Trump since Watergate. Justice, and justice, would proceed, because the charges against Trump for Jan. 6 and taking classified documents are deserved. They are not, as Trump lies, a result of Democrats’ “weaponization” of government.

6. She’d be a better fiscal and economic steward.

Neither Harris nor Trump has plans for tackling the unsustainable growth of the federal debt; both would add to it. But Harris’ agenda of tax and spending policies would cost about half as much as Trump’s, according to nonpartisan analyses, and provide a better return on public investment. And in a Wall Street Journal survey, most economists predicted that inflation, interest rates and deficits would be much higher under Trump.

Though he and many voters blame Biden and Harris for the inflation of recent years, price increases were inevitable given post-pandemic demand. But inflation has fallen and inflation-adjusted wages have risen to pre-pandemic levels. Also, Harris would respect the independence of the Federal Reserve; as president, Trump did not.

5. She would build on Biden’s climate change initiatives.

Trump not only doesn’t recognize the existential threat, he mocks it and vows to repeal the landmark Biden-Harris investments in clean energy. Instead he’d “drill, baby, drill.” (Again contrary to Trump’s lies, U.S. energy production under Biden has set world records.) Harris calls for continuing a hybrid approach, supporting existing fossil fuel projects but emphasizing clean-energy subsidies.

4. She’d signal to the world that the United States remains dedicated to democracy and its multilateral alliances.

Harris would maintain U.S. leadership in NATO and other global institutions, respect existing international accords, including on climate, and support Ukraine against Russia’s aggression. More than Biden, she has indicated she’d stand up to Israel’s right-wing government. None of that would be true of a reelected Trump. Foreign allies are petrified that he’ll return to power; simply by electing Harris, Americans would reassure the free world.

3. She would choose diverse, mainstream nominees for the federal courts.

Harris would continue Biden’s practice of picking esteemed, mainstream judicial nominees who are diverse in professional backgrounds, gender and race. She’d likely choose relative moderates, as opposed to Trump’s right-wing ideologues, especially if the Senate has, as predicted, a Republican majority eager for any excuse to block her choices. Expect far-right Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas, 76, and Samuel A. Alito Jr., 74, to delay retiring rather than let her choose their successors. But that’s preferable to Trump picking younger clones to serve for decades.

2. She has character.

Harris is not a habitual liar, shows no penchant for personal power and self-aggrandizement and is untouched by scandal. Unlike Trump, she would be “a president for all Americans” and “put country above party and self,” as she said at the Democratic National Convention.

1. She’s not Trump.

Enough said.

Rᴇcᴇпt viral footagᴇ of icoпic figυrᴇs likᴇ Diddy, Jay-Z, Jᴇппifᴇr Lopᴇz, aпd Bᴇyoпcé partyiпg togᴇthᴇr has sparkᴇd iпtᴇпsᴇ cυriosity aboυt what liᴇs bᴇпᴇath Hollywood’s glamoroυs sυrfacᴇ. Diddy, rᴇпowпᴇd for his lᴇgᴇпdary “whitᴇ partiᴇs” that oпcᴇ ᴇpitomizᴇd cᴇlᴇbrity glitz aпd powᴇr, пow fiпds himsᴇlf sυrroυпdᴇd by distυrbiпg allᴇgatioпs. This scaпdal has cast a shadow ovᴇr thᴇsᴇ ᴇxclυsivᴇ gathᴇriпgs, hiпtiпg at hiddᴇп storiᴇs that may havᴇ loпg ᴇscapᴇd pυblic attᴇпtioп.Silᴇпt Αlliᴇs? J Lo aпd Jay-Z Αmid Αllᴇgatioпs of Diddy’s ‘Frᴇak-Off’ Partiᴇs


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LAc-R888rE&t=1s
Diddy’s Αrrᴇst aпd thᴇ Dowпfall of a Mogυl
Shawп “Diddy” Combs was rᴇcᴇпtly arrᴇstᴇd by Homᴇlaпd Sᴇcυrity agᴇпts iп Nᴇw York City amid mυltiplᴇ lawsυits aпd sᴇrioυs accυsatioпs that thrᴇatᴇп his ᴇmpirᴇ. Raids oп his Los Αпgᴇlᴇs aпd Miami propᴇrtiᴇs rᴇportᴇdly υпcovᴇrᴇd rᴇcordiпgs of his пotorioυs gathᴇriпgs, allᴇgᴇdly captυriпg coᴇrcivᴇ tactics υsᴇd dυriпg thᴇsᴇ ᴇvᴇпts. Diddy’s oпcᴇ-rᴇvᴇrᴇd partiᴇs, frᴇqυᴇпtᴇd by Α-list cᴇlᴇbritiᴇs, пow facᴇ scrυtiпy as formᴇr attᴇпdᴇᴇs aпd iпsidᴇrs bᴇgiп to spᴇak oυt, rᴇvᴇaliпg a darkᴇr sidᴇ to thᴇ sᴇᴇmiпgly iппocᴇпt gathᴇriпgs.td

Jᴇппifᴇr Lopᴇz: Morᴇ Thaп Jυst a Party Gυᴇst?
Jᴇппifᴇr Lopᴇz’s past rᴇlatioпship with Diddy dυriпg thᴇ latᴇ 1990s madᴇ hᴇr a familiar facᴇ at his partiᴇs. Kпowп for hᴇr “girl-пᴇxt-door” appᴇal, shᴇ’s пow faciпg qυᴇstioпs aboυt hᴇr awarᴇпᴇss of thᴇsᴇ allᴇgᴇd activitiᴇs. Rᴇcᴇпtly sυrfacᴇd footagᴇ shows Lopᴇz miпgliпg with othᴇr high-profilᴇ attᴇпdᴇᴇs, promptiпg spᴇcυlatioп aboυt hᴇr lᴇvᴇl of kпowlᴇdgᴇ rᴇgardiпg what might havᴇ occυrrᴇd oпcᴇ thᴇ maiп fᴇstivitiᴇs ᴇпdᴇd. Αs hᴇr associatioп with Diddy rᴇsυrfacᴇs, Lopᴇz fiпds hᴇrsᴇlf υпdᴇr pυblic scrυtiпy, with faпs woпdᴇriпg if shᴇ was simply υпawarᴇ or fυlly coпscioυs of Diddy’s allᴇgᴇd miscoпdυct.tdJay-Z: Α Friᴇпdship Uпdᴇr Firᴇ
Jay-Z, a closᴇ friᴇпd aпd frᴇqυᴇпt gυᴇst at Diddy’s gathᴇriпgs, has maiпtaiпᴇd silᴇпcᴇ siпcᴇ thᴇ allᴇgatioпs ᴇmᴇrgᴇd. Thᴇir friᴇпdship, which spaпs dᴇcadᴇs aпd has bᴇᴇп markᴇd by mυltiplᴇ collaboratioпs, пow facᴇs pυblic sυspicioп. Αlthoυgh пo ᴇvidᴇпcᴇ dirᴇctly implicatᴇs Jay-Z, his closᴇ tiᴇs to Diddy havᴇ lᴇd somᴇ to qυᴇstioп if hᴇ kпowiпgly ovᴇrlookᴇd aпy qυᴇstioпablᴇ activitiᴇs. If thᴇsᴇ allᴇgatioпs provᴇ trυᴇ, Jay-Z’s rᴇpυtatioп as a sᴇlf-madᴇ mogυl coυld bᴇ at risk, with faпs qυᴇstioпiпg if his risᴇ to powᴇr was partially iпflυᴇпcᴇd by his alliaпcᴇ with Diddy.

Bᴇyoпcé’s Silᴇпcᴇ Fυᴇls Spᴇcυlatioп
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Viral Footagᴇ aпd Pυblic Oυtcry: Α Dᴇmaпd for Αпswᴇrs

Footagᴇ of Diddy, Jay-Z, Lopᴇz, aпd Bᴇyoпcé at thᴇsᴇ ᴇxclυsivᴇ partiᴇs has rᴇsυrfacᴇd with a morᴇ siпistᴇr coппotatioп. Oпcᴇ mᴇrᴇly sпapshots of Hollywood ᴇxtravagaпcᴇ, thᴇsᴇ clips пow hiпt at a hiddᴇп world of coпtrol aпd maпipυlatioп. Iп oпᴇ viral vidᴇo, Diddy appᴇars to bᴇ υshᴇriпg yoυпgᴇr attᴇпdᴇᴇs away as thᴇ party bᴇgiпs to shift, sparkiпg fυrthᴇr dᴇbatᴇ ovᴇr thᴇ trυᴇ пatυrᴇ of thᴇsᴇ gathᴇriпgs.tdThᴇ Pricᴇ of Cᴇlᴇbrity Silᴇпcᴇ aпd thᴇ Call for Αccoυпtability

Αs thᴇ backlash agaiпst Diddy aпd his famoυs acqυaiпtaпcᴇs iпtᴇпsifiᴇs, thᴇ qυᴇstioп of cᴇlᴇbrity accoυпtability looms largᴇ. Faпs aпd mᴇdia alikᴇ arᴇ calliпg for traпsparᴇпcy, rᴇjᴇctiпg thᴇ glamoroυs facadᴇs that oпcᴇ shiᴇldᴇd thᴇ ᴇlitᴇ. Stars likᴇ Jay-Z aпd Lopᴇz, who oпcᴇ ᴇпjoyᴇd rᴇlativᴇ immυпity, пow facᴇ υпprᴇcᴇdᴇпtᴇd challᴇпgᴇs to thᴇir pυblic imagᴇs. Iп aп ᴇra whᴇrᴇ silᴇпcᴇ is пo loпgᴇr aп accᴇptablᴇ rᴇspoпsᴇ, Hollywood’s iппᴇr circlᴇ is grappliпg with thᴇ cost of complicity aпd thᴇ dᴇmaпd for trυth.Coпclυsioп: Thᴇ Ꭼпdυriпg Impact of Diddy’s Dowпfall

For yᴇars, Diddy symbolizᴇd sυccᴇss aпd iпflυᴇпcᴇ. Now, as his rᴇpυtatioп υпravᴇls aпd his lᴇgal battlᴇs coпtiпυᴇ, hᴇ staпds as a caυtioпary figυrᴇ aboυt thᴇ daпgᴇrs of υпchᴇckᴇd powᴇr. This scaпdal has lᴇft a lastiпg mark oп thᴇ ᴇпtᴇrtaiпmᴇпt iпdυstry, sᴇrviпg as a rᴇmiпdᴇr of thᴇ importaпcᴇ of iпtᴇgrity aпd thᴇ potᴇпtial coпsᴇqυᴇпcᴇs of rᴇmaiпiпg silᴇпt iп thᴇ facᴇ of wroпgdoiпg. Whᴇthᴇr or пot thᴇ fυll story ᴇmᴇrgᴇs, thᴇ ᴇvᴇпts sυrroυпdiпg Diddy’s allᴇgᴇd miscoпdυct υпdᴇrscorᴇ a shift iп cᴇlᴇbrity cυltυrᴇ, as faпs iпcrᴇasiпgly dᴇmaпd accoυпtability ovᴇr glamoυr.

Mel Gibson And Mark Wahlberg BREAK SILENCE On Sound Of Freedom And The Evil of Hollywood
You know how Hollywood can be a glitzy wonderland on the surface, but beneath all that sparkle lies a world of whispers and secrets.
Celebrities have spilled the tea, sharing tales of behind-the-scenes power plays and shady dealings. Yet, despite all the jaw-dropping accounts, concrete evidence has been hard to come by, leaving us all craving for the truth.
But wait, here comes the plot twist that’ll leave you on the edge of your seat! Mel Gibson and Mark Wahlberg, two Hollywood heavyweights, are teaming up for a top-secret project that’s bound to rock the industry to its core. And trust us, it’s got everyone, especially the elite crowd, trembling with anticipation.

He is an imperfect vessel - to say the least - but the country needs change
_______________

I wasn’t planning to write this.

Two years ago, I said I would vote for a Democrat over Donald Trump in 2024. I wrote that during a Republican primary I hoped Florida governor Ron DeSantis would win; DeSantis had stood almost alone against Covid lockdowns and vaccine mandates, forever earning my respect.

But Trump crushed DeSantis in the primary. Ever since, I have struggled over what to do in this election.

In one sense, my vote doesn’t matter. I live in New York, which Kamala Harris is sure to win. But it must at least a little, because many of you - a surprising number - have asked or urged me to repudiate my 2022 words and endorse Trump.

With three days left in this most brutal of campaigns, I am.

(Many of you will like this. Some of you won’t. No matter, I pledged to tell you the truth, and this is the truth.)

In some ways, this choice pains me.

Donald Trump’s rhetoric is vicious. His unwillingness to promise to abide by the results of Tuesday’s election is dangerous. His friendly attitude towards dictators like Vladimir Putin disheartens me. And though I hate abortion I do not support overturning Roe v Wade.

Yet.

Yet when I pull back and consider the issues, I see:

It is the Democratic Party that stands against free speech; that forced mRNA vaccines on tens of millions of healthy adults; that opened America’s southern border until public outcry forced it closed; that supports decriminalization of drugs and “decarceration” of violent criminals; that presides over one giveaway after another to its favored interest groups; and that is willing to risk the American economy over its fears of climate change - it has, with little notice, pushed through regulations that will make gasoline-powered vehicles all but unaffordable within a decade.

What exactly does Kamala Harris stand for, if not more of the same?

That’s not a rhetorical question. I truly don’t know. But she is happy to take the endorsement of Dick Cheney, the chickenhawk warmonger who for 50 years has stood for everything wrong with American elites and American politics.

And if Donald Trump’s words have grown more vicious, he has his reasons.

In the last year, prosecutors in his former home state launched not one but two trials against him, the first aimed at bankrupting him over loans he repaid in full, the second at imprisoning him for the crime of winning in 2016. In front of juries in Manhattan, a county that voted against Trump by nearly 9 to 1 in 2020, both succeeded.

And - though the media rarely sees fit to mention this - Trump was almost assassinated in July, under circumstances that remain somewhat murky.

In response, Trump did NOT stop campaigning.

He is working harder to win votes than he ever has, in the face of an elite media that hates him more than ever. For all his complaints about rigged elections, he wants to win this one quite badly.

So, yes, Donald Trump is angry. He has the right to be.

We ALL have the right to be. For too long, our self-appointed betters - in the media, in public health, in academia - have told us they know best. They have told us that men can be women if they just click their heels three times, that the United States is an evil nation founded mostly to protect slavery, that there’s no such thing as an illegal immigrant. Most of all they have tried to shut down - to cancel, to censor -anyone who disagrees.

They’ve gone too far. And with their lawfare, they have proven that they will do anything to stop the man they abhor.

So I will be voting for Donald Trump.

It is not an easy choice - not for me, anyway - but it is the only choice.

by Alex Berenson

Attachment 2448948


With Election Day bearing down, guarding against misinformation is more vital than ever.

Joedy McCreary USA TODAY

In the coming days and weeks, election officials across the country will tally millions of ballots and declare the winners and losers. That means your social media feed likely will be filled with baseless claims of fraud – many of which we've seen before. Some common narratives:

The election was stolen due to voter fraud
Noncitizens are voting in large numbers
Votes were added/subtracted due to the "hacking" of machines
Changing vote totals prove cheating occurred
Partisan election officials skew vote tallies
There were more votes than registered voters

USA TODAY has debunked dozens of such claims in recent election cycles. Here's a rundown of what these narratives miss, so you're prepared when they crop up again.

Claim No. 1: Voter fraud

Experts call claims of widespread voter fraud deeply exaggerated.

"By and large, fraud is largely a made-up problem," said Paul Smith, senior vice president at the Campaign Legal Center, a government watchdog organization.

There were no indications of systemic problems with voter fraud during either the 2020 election or the midterms two years later, according to state-level reviews of those elections. Still, former President Donald Trump and his allies in the Republican Party made persistent, baseless claims about it.

Many states pushed through election-related changes to address those concerns. Some now require voters to show photo identification. Others created state-level units to look for potential problems.

Trump also raised questions about voting by mail, baselessly claiming in a Feb. 20 interview with Fox News that "if you have mail-in voting, you automatically have fraud." That's not true: Mail-in voting comes with several additional security measures to prevent fraud. Those range from verifying that the only people who can request ballots are registered voters, to a process that links every ballot to an eligible voter, according to previous USA TODAY reporting.

Trump has since reversed course and voiced his support for voting by mail, even as GOP lawyers continue fighting against it, as USA TODAY previously reported.

Prior fact checks on voter fraud:

2022 claim: Democrats used 47 million mail-in ballots to steal every U.S. midterm election (False)
2022 claim: The 2020 election was declared ‘illegal’ (False)
2020 claim: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the 2020 election was rigged (False)

Claim No. 2: Large numbers of noncitizens voting

This specific type of voter fraud merits separate mention because claims about it have been so prevalent in the 2024 race, with many of those claims linked to the crisis at the southern U.S. border.

Trump, for example, baselessly asserted in January that Democrats have encouraged migrants to flow into the U.S. illegally to register them to vote. Some House Republicans then threatened to shut down the government if Democrats didn't agree to legislation saying noncitizens couldn't vote – even though they are already barred from voting in federal and state elections.

Anyone caught lying about their citizenship status when they register to vote faces punishments that include fines, incarceration and deportation. States must audit their voter rolls and remove anyone who is ineligible, which includes immigrants in the country illegally.

That makes it remarkably rare for noncitizens to cast ballots.

"I looked it up. It's literally more likely that you'd get hit by lightning in Ohio than find a noncitizen voting there," said David Becker, the executive director of the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation and Research.

Of the 23.5 million votes in the 2016 presidential election counted across 42 jurisdictions studied, researchers at the Brennan Center for Justice found just 30 suspected cases of noncitizens voting. Other studies and analyses around the country found similarly low levels. That includes Georgia, where an audit of the state voter rolls by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger found just 20 noncitizens among the state's 8.2 million registered voters.

“Despite its resurgence as an issue, in Pennsylvania it was extremely rare," said Secretary of State Al Schmidt.

Yet it remains a key talking point and has been the subject of multiple lawsuits after Republican-led states attempted to remove suspected noncitizens from their voting rolls in the weeks before the election. For example, GOP officials in Virginia on Oct. 28 asked the Supreme Court for permission to proceed with a purge of voter registrations for those suspected to be noncitizens.

Prior fact checks on noncitizens voting:

2024 claim: Biden's executive order allowed ineligible convicts and 'illegal immigrants' to vote (False)
2024 claim: Biden opposing SAVE Act is 'cheating'; Walz is allowing 'illegals' to vote in Minnesota (False)
2020 claim: Joe Biden received extra votes in battleground states from noncitizens (Missing context)

Claim No. 3: The election is ‘hacked’

Election officials at the federal, state and local levels have safeguards in place at three stages – before, during and after Election Day – to prevent hacking from taking place, according to the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The agency was part of a joint statement in November 2020 calling that year's election the "most secure in American history."

“There are multiple layers of security there that we’re constantly checking,” said Lawrence Norden, the senior director of elections and government at the Brennan Center for Justice.

Among them, according to CISA: States routinely test and certify their voting machines and conduct checks to make sure ballots are properly counted before election results are finalized. And the overwhelming majority of people who vote do so on paper. Becker said 97% of all ballots cast are paper ones. That creates a document trail that may be checked for accuracy.

“We audit those paper votes after the election to make sure that they match what the machine is telling us the vote total is,” Norden said.

To further limit the possibility of cyber interference, many states do not allow voting machines to connect to the Internet or even be equipped with modems.

Concerns about hacking sparked false claims from conservative pundits that voting machines deleted Trump votes and changed them to President Joe Biden. That led to lawsuits from voting technology companies such as Dominion Voting Systems, which sued Fox News for defamation and ultimately settled the case for $787.5 million.

Prior fact checks on hacking allegations:

2024 claim: Voting machines in Georgia are changing people’s votes
2022 claim: 'Corrupt electronic voting machines’ gave Tammy Duckworth a vote spike, helping her win reelection (False)
2023 claim: Malware, remote access caused printer problems; 200,000 'ejected' ballots in Arizona (False)
2022 claim: Results of Arizona gubernatorial race aired ahead of Election Day show attempt to steal election (False)

Claim No. 4: Rapidly changing vote totals

An abrupt increase in a candidate's vote count as ballots are tallied on Election Day does not mean something fraudulent happened. It's important to remember that not all votes are counted at the same time, experts say.

Several factors can affect tabulation times, according to CISA. Those include administration policy changes at the state or local level and protocols put into place during the pandemic. The agency noted that all election night results are unofficial, having not yet completed the various reviews and doublechecks.

The pace at which votes come in for both parties also changes based on when a state is allowed to begin counting its mail-in ballots.

False claims of “ballot dumps” circulated in 2020 after mail-in ballots were counted late in the day in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. With few exceptions, those states do not allow workers to open mail ballots before Election Day.

"It was a natural phenomenon of different categories of votes showing up at different times, in a world in which mail voting ... was skewed very (Democratic) because the Republicans had been told not to do it," Smith said.

While mistakes do happen at times when votes are counted, those are typically a result of simple human error, not foul play, and there are processes in place to catch and fix them, officials said. Sometimes, that happens on Election Day. Other times, mistakes aren’t spotted until the canvass, which is part of the certification process. Those typically take place in the days or weeks that follow the election.

Prior fact checks on vote totals:

2022 claim: The U.S. ‘could easily count every vote in every state on election night until a few years ago’ (False)
2022 claim: Biden announced ‘they are going to cheat by dumping ballots’ (False)
2022 claim: Ballots found in Pennsylvania drop boxes show cheating in the election (False)
2020 claim: 100K votes in Michigan were 'magically' added to Biden's vote tally during the night (False)

Claim No. 5: Partisan election officials

No two states run their elections exactly the same way, and there's even plenty of variation between the setups within a state. But experts point to established checks and balances that prevent election officials from taking partisan actions.

In most states, voters choose the chief election official. That is most often the secretary of state, but in some states it's the lieutenant governor or an appointee of the governor, lawmakers or the state’s elections board.

Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have a board or commission that oversees elections. Those are constructed to keep out politics and to have both parties represented, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

“Election administration is – even if there is a top official – conducted in a bipartisan way,” Norden said. “And you have, again, multiple, multiple checks to ensure that no one person can do anything that’s going to cause problems in the system.”

Many states incorporate partisan balance into various stages of the process. For example, Arizona requires pairings of one Democrat and one Republican to review each absentee ballot that the tabulator can't read to determine how it should be counted.

Prior fact checks on election officials:

2024 claim: Votes cast on ballots marked by poll workers are disqualified (False)
2023 claim: A software company's contract allows officials to override election results (False)
2023 claim: Maricopa County, Arizona, officials admitted to breaking the law, improperly certifying machines that failed during election (False)
2020 claim: Video of election workers filling out blank ballots in Delaware County is voter fraud (False)

Claim No. 6: More votes than voters

Several versions of this claim have circulated since 2020. They’re all baseless, and they tend to rely on numbers that are incomplete or just plain wrong.

"To suggest that there's more votes cast than registrations is absurd, and it has never happened," Smith said.

For example, Trump’s false claim that the number of votes in Pennsylvania in 2020 exceeded the number of voters by more than 200,000 was based on an incomplete voter registration database that was missing the state's two largest counties – Philadelphia and Allegheny counties – The New York Times reported in 2021.

Some of these claims fail to factor in states that allow same-day voter registration, so they're comparing vote totals to outdated registries. Sometimes, a claim is both false and based on an inadequate set of data.

For example, a U.S. Senate candidate in Ohio wrongly asserted that in 2020 there were 5 million more votes cast than voters, and pinned the claim on U.S. Census Bureau data, according to a PolitiFact fact check. In reality, numbers from the bureau show 168 million registered voters and 155 million votes, a difference of about 13 million.

But there's a better source of election-related figures than the Census Bureau: The U.S. Election Assistance Commission collects data directly from the states and reported more than 209 million active registered voters that year compared to 161 million ballots cast.

Prior fact checks on voter counts:

2024 claim: 105% of Michigan's population is registered to vote (False)
2022 claim: A New Hampshire Senate candidate won 1,100 votes from a town with fewer than 700 people (False)
2022 claim: Washington state had 590,000 'excess votes' in the 2020 election (False)
2020 claim: Pennsylvania recorded more mail-in votes than ballots requested (False)
2020 claim: Wisconsin shows more counted votes than registered voters (False)
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Diet plays a pivotal role in cancer prevention, with research showing that certain foods—especially plant-based options—can reduce cancer risk. By incorporating nutrient-rich foods into daily meals, you can support immune health, reduce oxidative stress, and aid the body in toxin elimination. Here’s a rundown of top foods recommended by experts to help prevent cancer:

Fruits & Vegetables You Enjoy
Including a variety of plant-based foods is essential. Nutrition expert Nichole Andrews suggests prioritizing fruits and veggies you enjoy, as they provide antioxidants, fiber, and phytochemicals to combat inflammation and eliminate toxins.

Soy Foods
Andrews debunks the myth that soy increases breast cancer risk, highlighting soy’s anti-inflammatory benefits and its association with reduced cancer risk. Adding soy milk, tofu, or edamame is a great way to introduce soy into your meals.

Whole Grains
Whole grains, such as brown rice and whole-grain pasta, are beneficial for cancer prevention due to their fiber, phytochemicals, and antioxidants, which protect cells and reduce inflammation. Andrews suggests aiming for 30 grams of fiber per day.

Chia and Flax Seeds
Seeds are packed with nutrients beneficial for cancer prevention, especially for colon and breast cancers. Andrews recommends grinding flax seeds to release omega-3s, known for their anti-inflammatory effects, which can be added to smoothies, oatmeal, or salads.

Beans and Lentils
Legumes, like beans and lentils, provide fiber and plant-based protein, both of which stabilize blood sugar and aid digestion, supporting cancer prevention. One cup of these legumes can contain 16 grams of fiber, promoting healthy digestion.

Nuts
Nuts, especially almonds, are nutrient-dense and linked to both weight management and reduced cancer risk. Almonds provide vitamin E, fiber, and healthy fats, with antioxidants that combat oxidative stress—a known cancer risk factor.

Fatty Fish
Fatty fish like salmon and sardines offer omega-3 fatty acids, which have potent anti-inflammatory properties and may inhibit cancer cell growth. Omega-3s also modulate immune function, playing a role in cancer prevention.

Incorporating these foods into a balanced diet can enhance overall health and support the body in defending against cancer.

Do Thi Kim Tien, a 25-year-old from Vietnam, closely monitors her calorie intake each meal to keep it below her calorie expenditure, a habit that has helped her shed 20 kg. She started gaining weight after the Covid-19 pandemic, reaching over 90 kg at 1.6 meters tall and facing frequent body-shaming remarks. The weight gain caused health issues, including shortness of breath, joint pain, snoring, high visceral fat levels, and irregular periods.

Determined to live a healthier life, Tien researched weight loss methods, finally choosing the calorie deficit approach as it allows her to eat scientifically without feeling deprived. The calorie deficit method, which balances eating lower-calorie foods with physical activity, is recognized by experts as an effective, sustainable way to lose weight. Dr. Do Thi Ngoc Diep, a Vietnamese nutrition expert, emphasizes that a balanced diet including all essential nutrients is vital for health, cautioning against restrictive diets.

Tien maintains a daily intake of 1,500-1,700 calories, balancing 40% carbs, 35% protein, and 25% fats. She avoids added oils and sugar, opting for water-based cooking methods and limiting fatty meats. She prioritizes vegetables and lean proteins and drinks plenty of water to reduce cravings, improve skin health, and flush out toxins.

Instead of rigid meal plans, Tien adapts her intake daily, reducing portions if she overindulges one day. Initially, hunger was challenging, but she managed by drinking warm water and eating light snacks like cucumbers or yogurt. Today, she feels healthier, her menstrual cycle has normalized, and she has more stamina.

Tien also exercises an hour each day, focusing on cardio and resistance band workouts. She aims to lose an additional 10 kg in time for the Tet Lunar New Year. “I used to blame my weight on genetics,” she says, “but with the right approach, no woman has to stay overweight.”

A fire erupted Saturday evening at The Eratown apartment complex in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate. The fire started around 7:30 p.m. on the 24th floor of block A3, located on 15B Street in Phu My Ward. Smoke quickly spread, prompting the building's fire alarm to sound and residents to rush down emergency stairs.

Mai Huong, a 5th-floor resident, shared that she heard neighbors shouting about the fire and hurriedly evacuated with her young child. "Everyone was packed together in the emergency staircase, panicking," she recalled. The fire generated thick black smoke visible from afar. Nearly ten fire trucks and ambulances arrived, and firefighters, with the building management's support, worked to contain the blaze.

Due to the high floor where the fire originated, it took firefighters time to reach the flames. By 8:30 p.m., the fire was controlled, and rescue teams searched for any trapped residents. Authorities determined an electrical short circuit in the corridor on the 24th floor was the cause.

Firefighters safely guided over ten residents from nearby apartments, and no injuries were reported. As of 10:30 p.m., block A3 remained without power, with residents still awaiting clearance to return to their homes. The Eratown complex, which began construction in 2010, includes nine buildings with more than 3,000 apartments.

Two gold businesses in Ho Chi Minh City—K.H Gold and Pawn Private Enterprise and K.B.N Gold Trading Co., Ltd., both located in Hoc Mon District—have been fined VND200 million (approximately US$7,900) for selling gold with unclear origins through social media platforms like TikTok and Zalo. According to the Ho Chi Minh City Market Surveillance Department, the businesses had been actively promoting gold sales online.

After a coordinated inspection by the market surveillance team and the local economic police, four gold jewelry items valued at over VND100 million were temporarily confiscated. The inspection is part of the city's effort to monitor e-commerce activities in the second half of the year, with social media trading of 24K gold growing popular on platforms like TikTok, where some gold groups have attracted over 65,000 members. Posts on these platforms often list prices higher than the market rate, sometimes reaching VND92 million per tael.

In addition to individual sellers, major gold companies and banks have also been under inspection. In May, the State Bank of Vietnam announced a 45-day inspection plan for four major enterprises—SJC, DOJI, PNJ, and Bao Tin Minh Chau—and two banks, TPBank and EximBank. These inspections target compliance with gold trading laws, anti-money laundering regulations, proper documentation practices, and tax obligations.

Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, announced on Friday that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic and member of the Kennedy family, would hold a “big role” in his administration if elected. Speaking in Dearborn, Michigan, Trump praised Kennedy’s health-related knowledge, suggesting he would be well-suited for a senior role in health care. While Trump did not directly endorse Kennedy’s anti-vaccine views, he indicated alignment with some of Kennedy’s perspectives.

Kennedy, who initially ran as an independent earlier in the election, dropped out in August to support Trump. Rumors suggest he could be a candidate for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Last week, Trump hinted at a rally in New York that Kennedy would have significant leeway in handling health policies, with further comments on “women’s health” raising concerns among Democrats, especially given recent restrictions on abortion rights across more than 20 states.

Kennedy has been a major figure in the anti-vaccine movement, previously describing Covid-19 vaccines as exceptionally dangerous and claiming the virus was designed to target certain ethnic groups. Formerly recognized as a climate lawyer, Kennedy was once considered for a top role in the Environmental Protection Agency under Barack Obama’s administration.

Seeing the distress of countless Spaniards searching for news of missing loved ones after the country's worst flooding in decades, 38-year-old marketing expert Vanesa Molina decided to take action. She now manages the Instagram account "@dana.desaparecidos," where people can share photos and details of missing relatives in hopes of reaching more people.

In the eastern Valencia region, Spanish authorities report that dozens remain missing as rescue teams work through mud and debris. Over 200 fatalities have been confirmed. “The idea was to help however I could,” Molina shared, explaining that her social media posts aim to spread these messages as widely as possible.

Families send her photos, clothing descriptions, phone numbers, and vehicle details since many were trapped in cars during Tuesday’s floods. Messages on Molina’s account—run from her home in the Balearic Islands—include pleas like, “His name is Ramon Garcia Gisbert...He’s my brother. His phone has been off since Tuesday. Please, share to find him.”

In Paiporta, a Valencia suburb and flood epicenter, many are still missing. For two days, Chayma Bouchafra’s uncle Aziz was unaccounted for. After posting an appeal on X that went viral, with over 4,000 shares and 216,000 views, Aziz was found within a day.

Alongside social media, other media outlets have joined the effort. Public broadcaster TVE and Cadena SER radio have provided airtime for appeals. However, as days pass, hopes of finding survivors wane, and some families receive tragic confirmations from morgues. Two temporary morgues have been established in Valencia, with the regional authorities advising relatives not to visit in person due to staff limitations.

Online solidarity has played a significant role, filling in information gaps. Volunteers in flood-hit areas update accounts dedicated to the missing. In Benetusser, nurses relay real-time information to Molina, who updates her page whenever someone is found. “We’ve had dozens of good news stories and touching messages of thanks,” she said.

One creative user even developed a Google Maps tool, pinpointing each missing person’s details and location. The account also posts missing pets, with some reunions, such as that of an injured Bull Terrier found in Benetusser, providing moments of relief in the community.

Nearly 200,000 people in western Japan were advised to evacuate on Saturday due to threats of landslides and flooding, as remnants of a tropical storm continued to affect the region. The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that “warm, moist air” from former typhoon Kong-rey, now an extratropical low-pressure system, was bringing heavy rains and thunderstorms to the area.

In Matsuyama, authorities issued a top-level evacuation alert for 189,552 residents across 10 districts, urging them to evacuate and seek safety immediately. Although not mandatory, this highest-level warning is typically given when a disaster is highly probable or has likely already occurred.

Forecasters cautioned that heavy rains could lead to landslides and flooding in western Japan on Saturday and eastern Japan by Sunday. Shinkansen bullet trains were temporarily halted between Tokyo and Fukuoka due to rain but later resumed service with delays.

Earlier in the week, Kong-rey made landfall in Taiwan, marking one of the island’s strongest storms in decades. The storm claimed at least three lives and injured 690 people, as reported by Taiwan’s fire agency. Power outages initially impacted 957,061 households, with 27,781 homes still without electricity as of Saturday.

Scientists indicate that human-driven climate change is increasing the likelihood of severe rainfall events, as a warmer atmosphere retains more moisture.

Attachment 2448495

The president couldn’t resist taking a direct shot at Donald Trump over economic policy: “These are the kind of guys you like to smack in the ass."

By Adam Cancryn


Far removed from the blitz of major campaign rallies this weekend, President Joe Biden on Saturday made a final plea for Americans to support Vice President Kamala Harris, calling next week's election the most important “any of us have ever voted in. “

“More is at stake for the direction of this country than ever before,” he told a crowd of union workers at a get-out-the-vote event here. “We need to elect Kamala.”

Biden used what will likely be his final extended remarks before Election Day to make an economic case for Harris in the city where he spent a chunk of his childhood, touting the progress of the last four years in bolstering union rights, expanding health care and reviving the economy.

Those gains, he warned, could all be reversed or ripped away if Donald Trump ends up taking the White House. And though he did not make explicit mention of House Speaker Mike Johnson, he drew on the Republican’s recent suggestions that the GOP would try to repeal the Affordable Care Act — spending a significant chunk of his speech detailing the millions who would lose their health care.

“This is not personal, just the facts,” Biden said. “[Trump] wants to take away the Affordable Health Care Act. That would have a devastating impact on the kids you grew up with, on the people you grew up with.”

Biden throughout his speech mostly stuck to comparing the two candidates’ policy agendas. But he couldn’t resist taking a direct — if somewhat confounding — swipe at the former president after warning he would seek to cut taxes for the rich.

“These are the kind of guys you like to smack in the ass,” Biden said, to laughter.

Scranton is a key swing area of this crucial battleground state. When he flipped the state in 2016, Trump lost Lackawanna County by only 3 points to Hillary Clinton. But four years later, Biden’s hometown appeal helped him carry the county by 9 points en route to a narrow statewide victory.

Still, in an acknowledgment that many union members may still be undecided or skeptical of Harris, he urged them to leave questions of character aside and vote based on who would leave them and their friends and families better off.

“This other guy doesn’t care about us,” Biden said. “I have vast disagreements with Trump and his personality, but we’re not talking about that. What will happen? What will happen if you trade in my administration for his?”

For those who remain skeptical even so, Biden added in a personal appeal to union members he’s known and worked with for decades, they should at very least put their faith in his judgment.

“You may disagree with some of the things in a Harris-Walz administration,” he said. “But I wouldn’t have picked her if I didn’t think she had the exact view that I had about hard-working people.”

Attachment 2448443

A steady stream of false and misleading information is circulating online around the 2024 election. A Kentucky voting machine that registered a vote for Vice President Kamala Harris when the voter meant to select former President Donald Trump has been found to be user error, not fraud, according to officials in Laurel County, where the issue occurred. A video circulating widely on social media that shows a man who says he is a Haitian immigrant claiming he is planning to vote multiple times in Georgia is fake. U.S. intelligence officials confirmed on Friday that the video is the work of Russian influence creators.

Here’s a look at the facts.

Marjorie Taylor Greene

stated on October 18, 2024 in an X post:
"Reports from Whitfield County, GA that Dominion machines are flipping votes. This is exactly the kind of fraud we saw in 2020."

Whitfield County’s Board of Elections said there were no problems with the county’s voting machines. In the case of a voter whose choices were not accurately reflected on the printed ballot, a poll worker helped the voter and the problem was resolved on-site.

The Whitfield County Board of Elections said "no machines have been taken out of service."

There’s no evidence that Dominion voting machines flipped votes in Whitfield County, Georgia. And the statement that what happened at one of the county’s election sites amounted to "the kind of fraud we saw in 2020" is baseless; mountains of evidence show 2020 saw no widespread fraud and election officials said this case was one of user error. We rate this claim Pants on Fire!

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Instagram posts

stated on October 20, 2024 in an Instagram post:
Voting machines in Shelby County, Tennessee, are swapping votes from Kamala Harris to Donald Trump.

Election officials said there were no voting machine malfunctions. Voters had inadvertently touched the wrong area of the ballot when using the touchscreens.

The county received three complaints about the issue at polling sites; eventually, each person who had the issue cast a ballot for the candidates of their choice.

We rate the claim Pants on Fire!

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X posts

stated on October 21, 2024 in a post:
There are “180,000 registered new Amish voters in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.”

About 93,000 Amish people live in Pennsylvania and that figure includes children who are not eligible to register to vote.

In Lancaster County, there are about 38,000 Amish people.

Pennsylvania’s voter registration form does not ask about religious identity. The Pennsylvania Department of State told NewsGuard, a company tracking online misinformation, that claims about 180,000 Amish voters in Pennsylvania were inaccurate.

Amy Gulli, a Pennsylvania Department of State spokesperson, told NewsGuard, a company tracking online misinformation, that claims about 180,000 new Amish voter registrations in 2024 in Pennsylvania were "misinformation and disinformation."

We rate this claim that 180,000 Amish people registered to vote in Lancaster, Pennsylvania False.

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Facebook posts

stated on October 22, 2024 in a photo:
In Fordyce, Arkansas, voting machines changed votes from Republican to Democrat.

Arkansas uses Nebraska-based Election Systems & Software voting machines, which the state and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission have approved.

Voting machines in Fordyce, Arkansas, are not flipping votes from Republican to Democrat.

Election workers examined the voting machine in Fordyce after a complaint was made and found no problems with it.

Chris Madison, director of the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners, told PolitiFact such complaints often result from voter mistakes. In such instances, poll workers are notified, the ballots are spoiled and the voters are allowed to vote again.

We saw similar claims that machines messed with votes during the 2020 election, and they have resurfaced in 2024. They were not true then, and they are not true now. We rated recent claims by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., of vote flipping in Georgia and social media claims of vote flipping in Tarrant County, Texas, Pants on Fire!

We also rate this claim that voting machines in Arkansas changed votes from Republican to Democrat Pants on Fire!

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Facebook posts

stated on October 22, 2024 in a post:
"Breaking: Voters in Tarrant County, Texas are reporting that the voting machines are flipping their votes from Trump to Kamala Harris."

Machines aren't flipping votes in Texas, either, so we rate the claim that they changed Trump votes to Harris in Tarrant County Pants on Fire!

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X posts

stated on October 25, 2024 in X posts:
Video shows an election worker destroying mail ballots with votes for former President Donald Trump in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

This video does not show an election worker destroying ballots in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The materials being ripped are not authentic.

The Bucks County Board of Elections issued a bipartisan statement saying "this video is fake."

A media forensics expert told PolitiFact that the video's narrative is the work of a Russian network called Storm-1516.

The video doesn’t show real mail ballots in Bucks County being destroyed. We rate that claim Pants on Fire!

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Facebook posts

stated on October 26, 2024 in a post:
In Glynn County, Georgia, it was 'voter fraud' when poll workers found no record of a person who already voted.

We rate the claim that it was "voter fraud" in Glynn County, Georgia, when poll workers found no record of a person who already voted False.

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Instagram posts
stated on October 28, 2024 in an Instagram post:
Video shows a ‘Democratic operative’ making credible allegations of fraud during the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Secretly recorded video showed a man identified as Joel Caldwell making unspecific, unsubstantiated allegations of election malfeasance and reviving long-debunked claims about Georgia’s 2020 presidential election.

The 2020 presidential election ballots in Georgia were counted three times and Joe Biden won each time. Republican state officials deny allegations of widespread fraud.

We found no news reports or other information supporting social media posts’ assertions that Caldwell was involved with Georgia’s Democratic Party, and a party spokesperson said no one named Joel Caldwell was on the party’s payroll during the 2020 election cycle.

We rate the claim False.

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Instagram posts
stated on October 29, 2024 in a post:
Video shows “illegal ‘voters’ cutting the line” to vote in Pennsylvania.

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, election officials said in a statement that a viral video captured a brief conversation between a group of voters, their translators and a local election official at a polling location.

The voters in the video were there to apply for mail-in ballots. The older and disabled voters were allowed to sit, rather than stand in line, as their applications were processed, which is standard procedure, the county said.

Only U.S. citizens who are registered to vote in Pennsylvania would have been able to apply for a mail-in ballot, the county said.

We rate the claim that a video shows "illegal ‘voters’ cutting the line" to vote in Pennsylvania False.

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Donald Trump

stated on October 29, 2024 in a rally in Allentown, Pa.:
In Lancaster, Pa., “We caught them with 2,600 votes. We caught them cold, 2,600 votes. ... And every vote was written by the same person."

By the time Trump spoke days later, it was clear from official statements and media reports that the Lancaster investigation was about registration applications, not ballots. Trump has provided no evidence of 2,600 fraudulent or fake ballots being cast in Lancaster.

We rate this claim False.

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Facebook posts

stated on October 30, 2024 in a Facebook post:
Data shows some voters cast multiple votes, meaning "at least 164,568 illegal votes have been cast” in Michigan.

A formatting error in a report showed multiple addresses for some voters who had cast ballots, but only one vote per ID had been counted. We rate the claim that there were 114,545 illegal votes cast in Michigan False.

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X posts

stated on October 30, 2024 in in X posts:
Video shows “ballot mule in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, (dropping) off a large amount of ballots.”

He’s no mule, a USPS spokesperson and Pennsylvania state and local officials said. He’s a postal worker doing his job and dropping off mail ballots at the courthouse, which houses the county’s elections department.

The claim is Pants on Fire!

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Social Media

stated on October 31, 2024 in a post:
Video shows “voting machines in Kentucky are not allowing voters to select” Donald Trump for president.

Kentucky election officials investigated a problem with a voting machine and found it to be an isolated incident.

A voter using a ballot marking device tapped a small check box in the corner of the text field that included the presidential and vice presidential candidates’ names, inadvertently selecting the wrong candidates.

We rate this claim Pants on Fire!

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------------To be continued --------

Attachment 2446997

As Richard Lardner in Washington started reporting on former President Donald Trump’s for-profit ventures, he got a tip that Trump’s Bibles were printed in China, leading him to a labyrinth of ironies, conflicts of interest and even accusations of blasphemy.

By Richard Lardner and Dake Kang

As Richard Lardner in Washington started reporting on former President Donald Trump’s for-profit ventures, he got a tip that Trump’s Bibles were printed in China, leading him to a labyrinth of ironies, conflicts of interest and even accusations of blasphemy.

Teaming up with Beijing’s Dake Kang, the pair verified the tip through interviews with a printing company in China. Based on databases that use customs data to track exports and imports, Lardner and Kang calculated the estimated value of three separate shipments at $342,000, or less than $3 per Bible. The minimum price for the Trump-backed Bible is $59.99, putting the potential sales revenue at about $7 million.

While it is not news that China is one of the world’s leading producers of Bibles, it may be news to readers that Trump’s administration chose to exempt Bibles from tariffs imposed on billions of dollars of Chinese goods.

This exclusive story explained how selling products at prices that exceed their value may even be considered a campaign contribution. It also noted that there’s an opportunity for Trump to sell thousands of his Bibles to the state of Oklahoma which plans to spend $3 million on Bibles that are a close match to Trump’s edition.

The story uncovered that a U.S. publisher backed away from the project under pressure from religious scholars who denounced the merger of Scripture and U.S. founding documents as a “toxic mix” that would fuel Christian nationalism sentiments in evangelical churches. Others called it blasphemous.

Personalities from Mark Cuban to J.B. Pritzker to Bill Maher and George Takai mentioned it publicly.

Best of the Week judges were impressed that Lardner and Kang were able to track down actual shipments and values of the Bibles and that the story surfaced in the campaign.

For a focused investigation that became a talker, Lardner and Kang earn this week’s Best of AP — Second Winner.

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“This is somebody who committed an insurrection against our government. This is a 34 time convicted felon who was also found liable of sexual abuse.”

There are “millions” of Republican voters who will vote for Kamala Harris because they recognise that she is the one who will “protect the Constitution”, says John Conway.

Despite all the concerns raised by Democrats about former President Donald Trump’s age, it seems that Vice President Kamala Harris is the one running out of steam with less than a week before Election Day. The Trump War Room social media account shared a video of Harris on an aircraft that appears to be one of the administration’s helicopters, yawning and staring blankly while an aide talks to her as she works on her phone.

Trump’s campaign claimed that Harris is “cracking” after just three months as the Democratic Party’s nominee, a position she was “installed” into, they added. “Kamala is exhausted — cracking under the rigors of a presidential campaign after she was installed as a nominee who didn’t earn a single vote. Yikes!” read the post on X.

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Just earlier this week, Harris, 60, criticized Trump, 78, as “exhausted,” telling a crowd in Atlanta that the former president is “more confused, more unstable, and more angry” than he was four years ago, according to The Hill. Former President Barack Obama echoed these sentiments, describing his successor as “older and loonier.” However, despite the criticism, Obama seemed less optimistic about Harris’s chances during a private conversation with President Joe Biden, where the two were observed frowning and engaging in brief exchanges.

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Before Biden dropped out, Republicans effectively drove home the message that the sitting president, at 81, was too old for the demands of a national campaign. Following his exit, Democrats felt optimistic that a younger Harris would be able to handle the grueling schedule of a three-month campaign against a former president who had been campaigning since mid-2023. “There’s such a contrast between the youthful energy that she brings to this campaign and the joy that she brings to this campaign compared to him being a miserable old man,” Mike Nellis, a Democratic strategist and former senior adviser to Harris, told The Hill.

Now, however, it appears she is slowing down, an opinion shared by X users. “I’m not surprised seeing her like that. Spreading lies and hate all day wears you out,” one wrote. “Poor lady. No one should be burdened with so much garbage,” another wrote in reference to Biden’s claim on Tuesday that Trump’s supporters are “garbage.”