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  • FACT FOCUS: A look at Harris’ economic agenda

    FACT FOCUS: A look at Harris’ economic agenda

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    Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled her economic agenda in a speech Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina.

    The Democratic presidential nominee laid out plans including a proposal for a federal ban on what she called price gouging on groceries, as well as $25,000 in down payment help for certain first-time homebuyers and tax incentives for builders of starter homes. She also spoke at length about lowering drug costs and criticized the platform of her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump.

    Here’s a closer look at some of her promises and claims.

    The impact of Trump’s proposed tariffs

    HARRIS: Trump “wants to impose what is in effect, a national sales tax on everyday products and basic necessities that we import from other countries. … And you know, economists have done the math. Donald Trump’s plan would cost a typical family $3,900 a year.”

    THE FACTS: Harris was referring to Trump’s proposal to impose a tariff of 10% to 20% on all imports — he has mentioned both figures — and up to 60% on imports from China.

    Most economists do expect it would raise prices on many goods. The Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, estimates it would reduce average incomes in the top 60% of earners by 1.8%. And the Center for American Progress Action Fund, a progressive advocacy group, has calculated that the higher tariffs would cost households an extra $3,900 a year. However, Trump has said the tariff revenue could be used to cut other taxes, which would reduce the overall cost of the policy.

    Lowering the cost of insulin and prescription drugs

    HARRIS: “I’ll lower the cost of insulin and prescription drugs for everyone.”

    THE FACTS: Harris made this promise while referencing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which allows Medicare to negotiate medication costs directly with drug companies. While it is difficult to predict whether she will be able to keep it, especially without more details, recent policy can provide some clues.

    For example, the White House announced Thursday that it had inked deals with manufacturers that could save taxpayers billions of dollars by knocking down the list prices for 10 of Medicare’s costliest drugs. However, there are a number of factors — from discounts to the coinsurance or copays for the person’s Medicare drug plan — that determine the final price a person pays when they pick up the drugs at their pharmacy.

    Powerful drug companies unsuccessfully tried to file lawsuits to stop these negotiations. They ended up engaging in talks and executives hinted in recent weeks during earnings calls that they don’t expect the new Medicare drug prices to impact their bottom line. However, the manufacturers have warned that the Inflation Reduction Act could drive up prices for consumers in other areas.

    Both the Trump and Biden administrations achieved $35 insulin copay caps for certain Medicare recipients. Biden’s caps have a wider reach, as they apply to all insulin products covered by any Medicare Part D or Part B plan, according to health policy research nonprofit KFF. Trump’s applied only to some insulin products covered by a voluntary subset of Part D plans.

    A federal ban on grocery ‘price gouging’

    HARRIS: “As president, I will take on the high costs that matter most to most Americans. … And I will work to pass the first ever federal ban on price gouging on food.”

    What to know about the 2024 Election

    THE FACTS: While grocery prices are 25% higher than they were before the pandemic four-and-a-half years ago, they have settled down recently and it’s not clear that much price gouging is now going on.

    In the past 12 months, grocery prices on average are up just 1.1%, comparable to pre-pandemic increases. Also, prices for most goods and services, in general, don’t fall significantly except in steep, painful recessions. Instead, most economists expect that wages will rise enough so that Americans can adjust to higher costs. Still, prices remain higher overall than they were just a couple of years ago.

    Addressing housing shortages and helping home buyers

    HARRIS: “And by the end of my first term, we will end America’s housing shortage by building 3 million new homes and rentals. … While we work on the housing shortage, my administration will provide first time homebuyers with $25,000 to help with the down payment on a new home.”

    THE FACTS: These promises could end up working at cross-purposes. By helping more Americans afford homes, the Harris proposal to subsidize down payments would almost certainly increase demand, at a time when estimates of the U.S. housing shortage already range from 3 million to as high as 7 million.

    Harris’ proposal to provide tax incentives to builders to encourage more home and apartment construction would address that concern, but there are many reasons experts cite for the housing shortage, including restrictive zoning laws, higher costs for building materials, and even shortages of construction workers, which tax incentives can’t address.

    Harris is also promising to cut red tape that restricts new building, but that is mostly a state and local concern, and many localities are already moving to make it easier build homes.

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    Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

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  • What is ‘price gouging’ and why is VP Harris proposing to ban it?

    What is ‘price gouging’ and why is VP Harris proposing to ban it?

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    With inflation and high grocery prices still frustrating many voters, Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday proposed a ban on “price gouging” by food suppliers and grocery stores, as part of a broader agenda aimed at lowering the cost of housing, medicine, and food.

    It’s an attempt to tackle a clear vulnerability of Harris’ head-on: Under the Biden-Harris administration, grocery prices have shot up 21%, part of an inflation surge that has raised overall costs by about 19% and soured many Americans on the economy, even as unemployment fell to historic lows. Wages have also risen sharply since the pandemic, and have outpaced prices for more than a year. Still, surveys find Americans continue to struggle with higher costs.

    “We all know that prices went up during the pandemic when the supply chains shut down and failed,” Harris said Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina. “But our supply chains have now improved and prices are still too high.”

    Will her proposals do much to lower prices? And what even is “price gouging”? The answers to those and other questions are below:

    What is price gouging?

    There is no strict definition that economists would agree on, but it generally refers to spikes in prices that typically follow a disruption in supply, such as after a hurricane or other natural disaster. Consumer advocates charge that gouging occurs when retailers sharply increase prices, particularly for necessities, under such circumstances.

    Is it already illegal?

    Several states already restrict price gouging, but there is no federal-level ban.

    There are federal restrictions on related but different practices, such as price-fixing laws that bar companies from agreeing to not compete against each other and set higher prices.

    Will Harris’ proposal lower grocery prices?

    Most economists would say no, though her plan could have an impact on future crises. For one thing, it’s unclear how much price gouging is going on right now.

    Grocery prices are still painfully high compared to four years ago, but they increased just 1.1% in July compared with a year earlier, according to the most recent inflation report. That is in line with pre-pandemic increases.

    President Joe Biden said Wednesday that inflation has been defeated after Wednesday’s inflation report showed that it fell to 2.9% in July, the smallest increase in three years.

    “There’s some dissonance between claiming victory on the inflation front in one breath and then arguing that there’s all this price gouging happening that is leading consumers to face really high prices in another breath,” said Michael Strain, an economist at the American Enterprise Institute.

    In general, after an inflationary spike, it’s very hard to return prices to where they were. Sustained price declines typically only happen in steep, protracted recessions. Instead, economists generally argue that the better approach is for wages to keep rising enough so that Americans can handle the higher costs.

    So why is Harris talking about this now?

    Probably because inflation remains a highly salient issue politically. And plenty of voters do blame grocery stores, fast food chains, and food and packaged goods makers for the surge of inflation in the past three years. Corporate profits soared in 2021 and 2022.

    “It could be that they’re looking at opinion polls that show that the number one concern facing voters is inflation and that a large number of voters blame corporations for inflation,” Strain said.

    At the same time, even if prices aren’t going up as much, as Harris noted, they remain high, even as supply chain kinks have been resolved.

    Elizabeth Pancotti, a policy analyst at Roosevelt Forward, a progressive advocacy group, points to the wood pulp used in diapers. The price of wood pulp has fallen by half from its post-pandemic peak, yet diaper prices haven’t.

    “So that just increases the (profit) margins for both the manufacturers and the retailers,” she said.

    Did price gouging cause inflation?

    Most economists would say no, that it was a more straightforward case of supply and demand. When the pandemic hit, meat processing plants were occasionally closed after COVID-19 outbreaks, among other disruptions to supply. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine lifted the cost of wheat and other grains on global markets. Auto prices rose as carmakers were unable to get all the semiconductors they needed from Taiwan to manufacture cars, and many car plants shut down temporarily.

    At the same time, several rounds of stimulus checks fattened Americans’ bank accounts, and after hunkering down during the early phase of the pandemic, so-called “revenge spending” took over. The combination of stronger demand and reduced supply was a recipe for rising prices.

    Still, some economists have argued that large food and consumer goods companies took advantage of pandemic-era disruptions. Consumers saw empty store shelves and heard numerous stories about disrupted supply chains, and at least temporarily felt they had little choice but to accept the higher prices.

    Economist Isabella Weber at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, called it “seller’s inflation.” Others referred to it as “greedflation.”

    “What a lot of corporations did was exploit consumers’ willingness” to accept the disruptions from the pandemic, Pancotti said.

    Is banning price gouging like instituting price controls?

    During the last spike of inflation in the 1970s, both Democratic and Republican presidential administrations at times imposed price controls, which specifically limited what companies could charge for goods and services. They were widely blamed for creating shortages and long lines for gas.

    Some economists say Harris’ proposal would have a similar impact.

    “It’s a heavy-handed socialist policy that I don’t think any economist would support,” said Kevin Hassett, a former top economic adviser in the Trump White House.

    But Pancotti disagreed. She argued that it was closer to a consumer protection measure. Under Harris’ proposal, the government wouldn’t specify prices, but the Federal Trade Commission could investigate price spikes.

    “The proposal is really about protecting consumers from unscrupulous corporate actors that are trying to just rip the consumer off because they know they can,” she said.

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  • Election officials keep Green Party presidential candidate on Wisconsin ballot

    Election officials keep Green Party presidential candidate on Wisconsin ballot

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    MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin elections officials dismissed a Democratic National Committee employee’s demands Friday to remove the Green Party’s presidential candidate from the ballot in the key swing state.

    DNC employee David Strange filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission on Wednesday asking the commission to remove Jill Stein from the presidential ballot. The election commission’s attorney, Angela O’Brien Sharpe, wrote to Strange on Friday saying she had dismissed the complaint because it names commissioners as respondents and they can’t ethically decide a matter brought against them.

    DNC spokesperson Adrienne Watson said late Friday afternoon that the committee plans to file a lawsuit seeking a court ruling that Stein’s name can’t appear on the ballot. The Stein campaign didn’t immediately respond to a message sent to their media email inbox.

    The bipartisan elections commission unanimously approved ballot access for Stein in February because the Green Party won more than 1% of the vote in a statewide race in 2022. Sheryl McFarland got nearly 1.6% of the vote while finishing last in a four-way race for secretary of state.

    Strange argued in his complaint that the Green Party can’t nominate presidential electors in Wisconsin because no one in the party is a state officer, defined as legislators, judges and others. Without any presidential electors, the party can’t have a presidential candidate on the ballot, Strange contended.

    Stein’s appearance on the ballot could make a difference in battleground Wisconsin, where four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by between 5,700 votes and about 23,000 votes.

    Stein last appeared on the Wisconsin ballot 2016, when she won just over 31,000 votes — more than Donald Trump’s winning margin in the state. Some Democrats have blamed her for helping Trump win the state and the presidency that year.

    The Wisconsin Supreme Court kept Green Party presidential candidate Howie Hawkins off the ballot in 2020 after the elections commission deadlocked on whether he filed proper nominating signatures.

    The latest Marquette University Law School poll conducted July 24 through Aug. 1 showed the presidential contest in Wisconsin between Democrat Kamala Harris and Trump to be about even among likely voters. Democrats fear third-party candidates could siphon votes from Harris and tilt the race toward Trump.

    The elections commission plans to meet Aug. 27 to determine whether four independent presidential candidates, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West, have met the prerequisites to appear on the ballot.

    Strange filed a separate complaint last week with the commission seeking to keep West off the ballot, alleging his declaration of candidacy wasn’t properly notarized. Cornel’s campaign manager countered in a written response any notarization shortcomings shouldn’t be enough to keep him off the ballot. That complaint is still pending.

    Michigan election officials tossed West off that state’s ballot Friday over similar notary issues.

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  • What is ketamine, the drug involved in Matthew Perry’s death?

    What is ketamine, the drug involved in Matthew Perry’s death?

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    The investigation into the death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry has led to a sweeping indictment that pulled in five people who prosecutors say contributed to his ketamine overdose in October, including two doctors and a street dealer involved in providing Perry large amounts of the powerful anesthetic.

    Here’s what to know about ketamine.

    What is ketamine?

    Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic approved by U.S. health regulators for use during surgery. It can be given as an intramuscular injection or by IV.

    The drug is a chemical cousin of the recreational drug PCP. Ketamine itself has been used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It can cause hallucinations and can impact breathing and the heart.

    How was Matthew Perry using ketamine?

    Ketamine has seen a huge surge in use in recent years as a treatment for depression, anxiety and pain. While the drug isn’t approved for those conditions, doctors are free to prescribe drugs for so-called off-label uses.

    In Perry’s case, he was using it to treat depression. He was receiving ketamine infusion therapy from his physicians, but prosecutors said the actor turned to other sources when his doctors refused to give him more doses.

    Prosecutors said Thursday that Perry obtained ketamine illicitly through a network that included a pair of doctors, his assistant and a woman they dubbed the “Ketamine Queen.” Perry’s assistant, who has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, injected the actor with ketamine — including several times on the day he died.

    “We are not talking about legitimate ketamine treatment,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said while announcing the charges. “We’re talking about two doctors who abused the trust they had, abused their licenses to put another person’s life at risk.”

    How else is ketamine being used?

    Ketamine also has been used by paramedics as a sedative, often while working alongside police when they believed subjects were out of control. Some states and agencies have begun to rethink the practice due to its dangers. The 2019 death in Colorado of a young Black man named Elijah McClain brought scrutiny to the practice and led to a pair of paramedics being convicted for giving McClain an overdose of ketamine.

    Overall, the practice of giving ketamine and other sedatives to people detained by police has spread quietly across the nation over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Songwriter-producer The-Dream seeks dismissal of sexual assault lawsuit

    Songwriter-producer The-Dream seeks dismissal of sexual assault lawsuit

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    LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lawyers for The-Dream, a Grammy-winning songwriter and producer, are seeking the dismissal of a woman’s lawsuit that accused him of sexual assault and other abuse.

    The producer, whose legal name is Terius Gesteelde-Diamant, was a writer and producer on huge hits including Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” Justin Bieber’s “Baby” and Rihanna’s “Umbrella.” He has denied allegations of sexual assault, rape and other abuse made in a June lawsuit by singer Chanaaz Mangroe.

    Gesteelde-Diamant’s lawyers want the suit to be thrown out entirely, writing in their motion filed Friday in a Los Angeles federal court that Mangroe’s lawyers are “using the judicial system to propagate a false and defamatory narrative about Diamant, a highly respected Black musician in the arts industry, for their own financial gain and to his extreme detriment.”

    Mangroe, who performed under the stage name Channii Monroe, alleged in the June lawsuit that Gesteelde-Diamant lured her into “an abusive, violent, and manipulative relationship filled with physical assaults, violent sexual encounters, and horrific psychological manipulation” after she left her native Netherlands for the U.S. with hopes of making it big as a singer.

    The motion also aims to dismiss or, alternatively, strike the lawsuit’s rape claim, on technical grounds.

    In a statement Friday, Desirée F. Moore, who is representing Gesteelde-Diamant and his company, argued the lawsuit is a “shotgun pleading,” which she says is grounds for dismissal because it doesn’t specify specific factual allegations against each defendant.

    Meredith Firetog, one of the lawyers representing Mangroe, said in an email to The Associated Press Friday that the arguments made in the motion to dismiss are “wholly unpersuasive.”

    “We look forward to opposing the motions” and proceeding with the case, Firetog said.

    If the case isn’t dismissed, Gesteelde-Diamant’s lawyers want a judge to strike portions of the complaint they deemed “impermissibly immaterial, impertinent, and scandalous material.” They also want the company he co-owns, Contra Paris, LLC, dismissed because it primarily does business in Atlanta and is registered in Delaware.

    The Associated Press doesn’t typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly, as Mangroe has.

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  • BeatKing, a Houston rapper known for viral TikTok song ‘Then Leave,’ dies at 39

    BeatKing, a Houston rapper known for viral TikTok song ‘Then Leave,’ dies at 39

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    AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Houston rapper BeatKing, whose booming voice and eccentric songs brought him fame in nightclubs and on social media, has died, his manager said Friday. He was 39.

    The rapper, whose name was Justin Riley, died Thursday after fainting during a recording session, Tasha Felder told The Associated Press. Felder, his manager, said Riley was taken to a hospital and that he had a pulmonary embolism.

    “His daughters were with him the entire time,” Felder said. “It is truly sad, we loved him so much.”

    BeatKing, whose club music anthems earned him the name Club Godzilla, achieved his biggest hit in 2020 when his song “Then Leave” went viral on social media and peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. He also scored hits with the songs “Crush” and “Thick.” His final album, “Never Leave Houston on a Sunday,” was released last month.

    He was known for humorous, raunchy lyrics and broke through the Houston music scene in 2010 with “Kings of the Club,” reaching Houston’s younger generation not as familiar with the city’s famous slowed music style from The Screwed Up Click and Swisha House.

    As a rapper or producer, BeatKing collaborated with major artists including 2 Chainz, Bun B, T-Pain and Ludacris. Although BeatKing didn’t achieve the national prominence of fellow Houstonians such as Travis Scott and Megan Thee Stallion, he found fame throughout the South among fans who admired his sound and authenticity to Houston.

    “My condolences @clubgozilla,” 2 Chainz wrote on social media. “God Bless your soul and family.”

    “Just a great spirited person,” Bun B said in a tribute to the rapper on Instagram.

    Fans on social media recalled BeatKing’s dominance over the club scene in the 2010s. He formed an image for himself by wearing black T-shirts with phrases such as “I unfollow back” and “Stop moving to Houston.”

    He is survived by two daughters and his partner.

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    Hamilton reported from New York.

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    Lathan is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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  • Bronze statue of John Lewis replaces more than 100-year-old Confederate monument

    Bronze statue of John Lewis replaces more than 100-year-old Confederate monument

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    DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — A large bronze statue of the late civil rights icon leader and Georgia congressman John Lewis was installed Friday, at the very spot where a contentious monument to the confederacy stood for more than 110 years in the town square before it was dismantled in 2020.

    Work crews gently rested the 12-foot-tall (3.7-meter-tall) statue into place as the internationally acclaimed sculptor, Basil Watson, looked on carefully.

    “It’s exciting to see it going up and exciting for the city because of what he represents and what it’s replacing,” Watson said, as he assisted with the install process.

    Lewis was known for his role at the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement and urged others to get in “good trouble” for a cause he saw as vital and necessary. In DeKalb County where the Confederate monument stood for more than a century, protesters have invoked “good trouble” in calling for the swift removal of the obelisk.

    Back in 2020, the stone obelisk was lifted from its base with straps amid jeers and chants of “Just drop it!” from onlookers in Decatur, Georgia, who were kept at a safe distance by sheriff’s deputies. The obelisk was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1908.

    Groups like the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights and Hate Free Decatur had been pushing for the monument to be removed since the deadly 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

    The monument was among those around the country that became flashpoints for protests over police brutality and racial injustice, following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis. The city of Decatur then asked a Georgia judge to order the removal of the monument, which was often vandalized and marked by graffiti, saying it had become a threat to public safety.

    The statue of Lewis will be officially unveiled on Aug. 24.

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  • Vote sets stage for new Amtrak Gulf Coast service. But can trains roll by Super Bowl?

    Vote sets stage for new Amtrak Gulf Coast service. But can trains roll by Super Bowl?

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    MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — A 6-0 vote Tuesday by the City Council in Mobile, Alabama, has set the stage for Amtrak passenger trains to roll from New Orleans to Mobile next year.

    The Sun Herald reports that the Mobile council voted to fund the passenger train service for three years. The funding had already been approved in Mississippi and Louisiana. Amtrak’s projected start date for the service is spring of 2025. It is uncertain whether it can begin before the Super Bowl is played in New Orleans on Feb. 9.

    “I think everybody wants to get this running by the Super Bowl,” said Knox Ross, chairman of the Southern Rail Commission, the interstate organization promoting rail transportation. “But they can’t guarantee it.”

    Platforms are ready in New Orleans and in the Mississippi cities of Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula. But a platform still has to be built in Mobile.

    Ross said a schedule and fares will be posted on the Amtrak.com website about 90 days before service begins. The current plan calls for two trains a day running from New Orleans to Mobile and two a day heading from Mobile to New Orleans — with brief stops at the cities in between for passengers to get on and off.

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  • Black bear mauls 3-year-old girl in tent at Montana campground

    Black bear mauls 3-year-old girl in tent at Montana campground

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    RED LODGE, Mont. (AP) — A black bear mauled and injured a 3-year-old girl in a tent at a private campground in Montana just north of Yellowstone National Park over the weekend, state wildlife officials said.

    The girl was attacked about 10 p.m. Sunday at a campground south of Red Lodge and taken to the hospital in Billings. Fish, Wildlife and Parks didn’t have any information on her condition on Tuesday, game warden Randy Hutzenbiler said.

    The campground was evacuated, and traps were placed in the area. A bear believed to have been involved was captured and shot on Monday afternoon, Hutzenbiler said.

    Fish, Wildlife and Parks investigators found garbage, a cooler and human food around and inside the tent where the attack occurred, the agency said.

    The black bear involved in the incident had no history of conflicts with people. However, it had likely become accustomed to human food and unafraid of people after accessing food and garbage in the area, the agency said.

    The wildlife agency recommends keeping food, garbage and anything with a scent out of tents and stored in bear-resistant containers or vehicles.

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  • Korean Air says turbulence is knocking instant noodles off its economy menu

    Korean Air says turbulence is knocking instant noodles off its economy menu

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    NEW YORK (AP) — Turbulence is knocking a beloved instant-noodle offering off Korean Air’s economy menu.

    Cups of Shin Ramyun instant noodles, a favorite among Korean Air travelers over the years, will no longer be available for economy-class passengers starting Aug. 15, a spokesperson for the Seoul-based airline said.

    “This decision is part of proactive safety measures in response to increased turbulence, aimed at preventing burn accidents,” Korean Air said.

    The instant noodles are currently part of Korean Air’s in-flight snack service, which is a self-serve bar beyond meals available for economy passengers on long-haul trips. In this week’s announcement, the carrier added that it had “renewed” economy’s snack options to instead include offerings like sandwiches, corn dogs and hot pockets.

    But business- and first-class passengers will still get their noodles. Korean Air told the BBC that the noodles are brought individually to business- and first-class travelers, reducing spill risks.

    Concern about the dangers of serving hot food and liquids on airplanes isn’t new. Over the years, several carriers have faced lawsuits from customers who say they suffered serious burns after having hot coffee, for example, spilled on them during a flight. And, while legal precedent may vary around the world, the European Union’s highest court ruled in 2019 that an airline can be held liable if a passenger is injured in this way, even if turbulence or other flight-related factors didn’t cause the spill.

    But turbulence, of course, still adds to risk. Flying through unstable air can make balancing something like soup or a hot beverage in-flight all the more precarious.

    Numerous turbulence-related injuries have been reported over the years, but most incidents are minor — and airlines have made steady improvements in reducing accident rates. Those include suspending cabin service when needed or taking extra caution when distributing certain refreshments.

    Still, rough air might be getting harder and harder to avoid. Some meteorologists and aviation analysts note reports of turbulence encounters are on the rise, pointing to the potential impacts climate change may have on flying conditions.

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  • FACT FOCUS: A look at ominous claims around illegal immigration made at the Republican convention

    FACT FOCUS: A look at ominous claims around illegal immigration made at the Republican convention

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    After Donald Trump triumphantly entered the hall on the second night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, the program turned to one of his signature issues: illegal immigration. An ominous video of chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border led into to a speech by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who declared, “We are facing an invasion on our southern border.”

    Here’s a look at some of the claims made Tuesday:

    VIDEO NARRATOR: “Biden made one of the worst mistakes of any president in history when he told illegals to come here and surge our border.”

    THE FACTS: After the claim, the video cuts to President Joe Biden saying, “I would, in fact, make sure that there is — we immediately surge to the border,” and the narrator says, “And surge they did.”

    But important context is missing. The clip was taken from the Sept. 12, 2019, Democratic presidential debate. A moderator, Jorge Ramos of Univision, discussing immigration issues, notes that Biden served as vice president in the administration of President Barack Obama, which deported 3 million people. He then asks if Biden is “prepared to say tonight that you and President Obama made a mistake?”

    Biden answers by noting immigration accomplishments by Obama and discussing the policies of then-President Trump. He then adds, “What I would do as president is several more things, because things have changed. I would, in fact, make sure that there is — we immediately surge to the border. All those people who are seeking asylum, they deserve to be heard. That’s who we are.”

    Since then Biden has spoken repeatedly of sending agents and other law enforcement resources to the border to deal with the migrant influx.

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    VIDEO NARRATOR: “Biden’s incompetence has led to a horrific 300,000 Americans now dead, not from a nuclear bomb but from lethal fentanyl brought in through Biden’s wide-open border.”

    THE FACTS: While it is correct that much of America’s fentanyl is smuggled from Mexico, 86.4% of fentanyl trafficking crimes were committed by U.S. citizens in the 12-month period through September 2023, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

    The fentanyl scourge began well before Biden took office. Border seizures, which tell only part of the story, have jumped sharply under Biden, which may partly reflect improved detection. About 27,000 pounds (12,247 kilograms) of fentanyl was seized by U.S. authorities in the 2023 government budget year, compared with 2,545 pounds (1,154 kilograms) in 2019, when Trump was president.

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    CRUZ: “Every day Americans are dying — murdered, assaulted, raped by illegal immigrants that the Democrats have released.”

    THE FACTS: A number of heinous and high-profile crimes involving people in the U.S. illegally have been in the news in recent months. But there is nothing to support the claim that it happens every day.

    The foreign-born population, immigrants in the country both legally and illegally, was estimated to be 46.2 million, or almost 14% of the U.S. total, in 2022, according to the Census Bureau, including about 11 million in the country illegally. Hardly a month passes without at least one person in the country illegally getting charged with a high-profile, horrific crime, such as the February slaying of a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student or the June strangling death of a 12-year-old Houston girl.

    Texas is the only state that tracks crime by immigration status. A study published by the National Academy of Sciences, based on Texas Department of Public Safety data from 2012 to 2016, found people in the U.S. illegally had “substantially lower crime rates than native-born citizens and legal immigrants across a range of felony offenses.”

    What to know about the 2024 Election

    While FBI statistics do not separate out crimes by the immigration status of the assailant, there is no evidence of a spike in crime perpetrated by migrants, either along the U.S.-Mexico border or in cities seeing the greatest influx of migrants, like New York. Studies have found that people living in the U.S. illegally are less likely than native-born Americans to have been arrested for violent, drug and property crimes.

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    Find AP Fact Checks at https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

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  • FACT FOCUS: Trump, in Republican convention video, alludes to false claim 2020 election was stolen

    FACT FOCUS: Trump, in Republican convention video, alludes to false claim 2020 election was stolen

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    DONALD TRUMP, alluding that the 2020 vote was stolen: “Whether you vote early, absentee, by mail or in person, we are going to protect the vote. That’s the most important thing we have to do is protect the vote. Keep your eyes open because these people want to cheat and they do cheat. And frankly, it’s the only thing they do well.”

    THE FACTS: In a prerecorded video at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump referenced baseless claims he made repeatedly after he lost the 2020 presidential race — that the election was “rigged” and that Democrats cheated to put President Joe Biden in the White House.

    The election was not stolen.

    Biden earned 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232, the same margin that Trump had when he beat Hillary Clinton in 2016, which he repeatedly described as a “landslide.” (Trump ended up with 304 electoral votes because two electors defected.) Biden achieved victory by prevailing in key states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia.

    Trump’s allegations of massive voting fraud have been refuted by a variety of judges, state election officials and an arm of his own administration’s Homeland Security Department.

    In 2020, then-Attorney General William Barr told the AP that no proof of widespread voter fraud had been uncovered. “To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election,” he said at the time.

    ___

    Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

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  • FACT FOCUS: A look at claims made at the Republican National Convention as Trump accepts nomination

    FACT FOCUS: A look at claims made at the Republican National Convention as Trump accepts nomination

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    As former President Donald Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday he laid out his vision for running the country. He painted a dire picture of the state of the U.S. and outlined a range of actions he planned to take. But his comments were marked with a myriad of false and misleading information that distorted the facts around immigration, the U.S. economy and his previous accomplishments.

    Here are the facts.

    IMMIGRATION

    TRUMP: “The greatest invasion in history is taking place right here in our country — they are coming in from every corner of the earth, not just from South America, but from Africa, Asia and the Middle East — they’re coming from everywhere, and this administration does nothing to stop them. They are coming from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums, and terrorists at levels never seen before.”

    THE FACTS: Trump spent much of his address discussing immigration and the mass influx of migrants into the U.S., repeating several false and misleading claims, including that it has caused a crime surge. He cited recent high-profile and heinous crimes allegedly committed by people in the country illegally as proof.

    But the suggestion there has been a spike in violent crime nationally as a result of the influx is not supported by facts. FBI statistics do not separate out crimes by the immigration status of the assailant, nor is there any evidence of a spike in crime perpetrated by migrants, either along the U.S.-Mexico border or in cities seeing the greatest influx of migrants, like New York. In fact, national statistics show violent crime is on the way down.

    Studies have found that people living in the country illegally are less likely than native-born Americans to have been arrested for violent, drug and property crimes. A 2020 study published by the National Academy of Sciences found “considerably lower felony arrest rates” among people in the United States illegally than legal immigrants or native-born citizens.

    There is also no evidence to support that other countries are sending their murderers, drug dealers and other criminals to the U.S.

    ECONOMY

    TRUMP: “We had the greatest economy in the history of the world.”

    THE FACTS: That’s far from accurate. The pandemic triggered a massive recession during his presidency. The government borrowed $3.1 trillion in 2020 to stabilize the economy and Trump left the White House with fewer jobs than when he entered.

    But even if you take out issues caused by the pandemic, economic growth averaged 2.67% during Trump’s first three years, which is pretty solid. But it’s nowhere near the 4% averaged during Bill Clinton’s two terms from 1993 to 2001, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In fact, growth has been stronger so far under Biden than under Trump.

    Trump did have the unemployment rate get as low as 3.5% before the pandemic, but the labor force participation rate for people 25 to 54 — the core of the U.S. working population — was higher under Clinton. The participation rate has also been higher under Biden than Trump.

    AFGHANISTAN

    TRUMP, on the U.S. troops from Afghanistan: “We also left behind $85 billion worth of military equipment.”

    What to know about the 2024 Election

    THE FACTS: Those numbers are significantly inflated, according to reports from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, which oversees American taxpayer money spent on the conflict.

    The $85 billion figure resembles a number from a July 30 quarterly report from SIGAR, which outlined that the U.S. has invested about $83 billion to build, train and equip Afghan security forces since 2001.

    Yet that funding included troop pay, training, operations and infrastructure along with equipment and transportation over two decades, according to SIGAR reports and Dan Grazier, a defense policy analyst at the Project on Government Oversight.

    “We did spend well over $80 billion in assistance to the Afghan security forces,” Grazier told the AP in August 2021. “But that’s not all equipment costs.”

    In fact, only about $18 billion of that sum went toward equipping Afghan forces between 2002 and 2018, a June 2019 SIGAR report showed.

    Another estimate from a 2017 Government Accountability Office report found that about 29% of dollars spent on Afghan security forces between 2005 and 2016 funded equipment and transportation. The transportation funding included gear as well as contracted pilots and airplanes for transporting officials to meetings.

    If that percentage held for the entire two-decade period, it would mean the U.S. has spent about $24 billion on equipment and transportation for Afghan forces since 2001.

    But even if that were true, much of the military equipment would be obsolete after years of use, according to Grazier. Plus, American troops have previously scrapped unwanted gear and, prior to the withdrawal, disabled dozens of Humvees and aircraft so they couldn’t be used again, according to Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command.

    Though no one knows the exact value of the U.S.-supplied Afghan equipment the Taliban have secured, defense officials have confirmed it is significant.

    HAMAS

    MIKE POMPEO, secretary of state under Trump, on Americans held hostage in the Gaza Strip by Hamas: “President Biden won’t even talk about the fact that Americans are still being held there by the Iranian regime.”

    THE FACTS: President Joe Biden has spoken multiple times about the Americans who were among the 240 people taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Eight Americans are reportedly still in captivity, including three who were killed.

    For example, three days after the attack that started the Israel-Hamas war, Biden said, “we now know that American citizens are among those being held by Hamas.”

    Soon after, on Oct. 20, 2023, he said, “as I told the families of Americans being held captive by Hamas, we’re pursuing every avenue to bring their loved ones home.”

    Biden released a statement on Jan. 14, 2024, that described the day as “a devastating and tragic milestone — 100 days of captivity for the more than 100 innocent people, including as many as 6 Americans, who are still held being hostage by Hamas in Gaza.”

    More recently, on April 27, he wrote in a post on his official Facebook page: “I will not rest until every hostage, like Abigail, ripped from their families and held by Hamas is back in the arms of their loved ones. They have my word. Their families have my word.”

    ___ Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

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  • Cisco cuts thousands of jobs, 7% of workforce, as it shifts focus to AI, cybersecurity

    Cisco cuts thousands of jobs, 7% of workforce, as it shifts focus to AI, cybersecurity

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    Cisco Systems is planning to lay off 7% of its employees, its second round of job cuts this year, as the company shifts its focus to more rapidly growing areas in technology, such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

    The company based in San Jose, California, did not specify the number of jobs it is cutting. It had 84,900 employees as of July 2023. Based on that figure, the number of jobs cut would be about 5,900. In February, Cisco announced it would cut about 4,000 jobs.

    The networking equipment maker said in June that it would invest $1 billion in tech startups like Cohere, Mistral and Scale to develop reliable AI products. It recently also announced a partnership with Nvidia to develop infrastructure for AI systems.

    Cisco’s layoffs come just two weeks after chipmaker Intel Corp. announced it would cut about 15,000 jobs as it tries to turn its business around to compete with more successful rivals like Nvidia and AMD. Intel’s quarterly earnings report disappointed investors and its stock took a nosedive following the announcement. In contrast, Cisco’s shares were up about 6% after-hours on Wednesday.

    In a foray into cybersecurity, Cisco launched a cybersecurity readiness index back in March to help businesses measure their resiliency against attacks.

    Image

    Cisco Systems Inc. said Wednesday it earned $2.16 billion, or 54 cents per share, in its fiscal fourth quarter that ended on July 27, down 45% from $3.96 billion, or 97 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding special items, its adjusted earnings were 87 cents per share in the latest quarter.

    Revenue fell 10% to $13.64 billion from $15.2 billion.

    Analysts, on average, were expecting adjusted earnings of 85 cents per share on revenue of $13.54 billion, according to a poll by FactSet.

    For the current quarter, Cisco is forecasting adjusted earnings of 86 cents to 88 cents per share on revenue of $13.65 billion to $13.85 billion. Analysts are expecting earnings of 85 cents per share on revenue of $13.74 billion.

    Edward Jones analyst David Heger said Cisco is starting to see demand recover after it slowed over the past few quarters, noting that product orders were up 6% even when excluding those from its recent acquisition of cybersecurity firm Splunk.

    He added that “the restructuring will help offset the earnings impact from interest expenses associated with financing the Splunk acquisition and will rationalize combined workforces.”

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  • Mayor of Columbus, Ohio, says ransomware attackers stole corrupted, unusable data

    Mayor of Columbus, Ohio, says ransomware attackers stole corrupted, unusable data

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    COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Hackers recently stole data from Ohio’s largest city, but what they got was not usable and no personal information about city workers was made available online, the mayor said.

    Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther confirmed the data breach and noted Tuesday that the city never received a ransom request. The city learned Friday that most of the data published to the dark web by the ransomware group Rhysida was corrupted or encrypted, he said.

    The group initially claimed to have 6.5 terabytes of stolen data — including log-in information, emergency service files and city camera access — that it unsuccessfully put up for auction. But Ginther said the city’s forensics indicated the group had far less data than that, and that its screenshots posted to the dark web were “the most compelling asset” it had.

    After the breach, city workers, including police and fire, had said their personal information had been compromised. Ginther, though, said that while employees’ personal information was not uploaded to the dark web, someone temporarily accessed it during the attack.

    The city’s payroll system was accessed long enough to view files, but there is no evidence files were downloaded or posted to the dark web, city officials said. There also is no evidence that data belonging to the general public was exposed.

    The city is now focusing on increasing digital security and technology training to prevent another breach, Ginther said.

    “I think when this is all said and done, we will have spent several million dollars dealing with the attack,” Ginther said.

    Other major cities in Ohio have also dealt with cyberattacks. Cleveland’s city hall was closed to the public for several days in June following a ransomware attack that forced the city to shut down most of its systems, and Akron had to shut down some city functions after a digital attack in 2019.

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  • Meta kills off misinformation tracking tool CrowdTangle despite pleas from researchers, journalists

    Meta kills off misinformation tracking tool CrowdTangle despite pleas from researchers, journalists

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    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms has shut down CrowdTangle, a tool widely used by researchers, watchdog organizations and journalists to monitor social media posts, notably to track how misinformation spreads on the company’s platforms.

    Wednesday’s shutdown, which Meta announced earlier this year, has been protested by researchers and nonprofits. In May, dozens of groups, including the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Digital Forensic Research Lab at the Atlantic Council, Human Rights Watch and NYU’s Center for Social Media & Politics, sent a letter to the company asking that it keep the tool running through at least January so it would be available through the U.S. presidential elections.

    “This decision jeopardizes essential pre- and post-election oversight mechanisms and undermines Meta’s transparency efforts during this critical period, and at a time when social trust and digital democracy are alarmingly fragile,” the letter said.

    CrowdTangle, “has been an essential tool in helping researchers parse through the vast amount of information on the platform and identify harmful content and threats,” it added.

    In March, the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation sent Meta a similar letter asking it to keep the tool, which was available for free, functioning until January. That letter was also signed by several dozen groups and individual academic researchers.

    “For years, CrowdTangle has represented an industry best practice for real-time platform transparency. It has become a lifeline for understanding how disinformation, hate speech, and voter suppression spread on Facebook, undermining civic discourse and democracy,” the Mozilla letter said.

    Meta has released an alternative to CrowdTangle, called the Meta Content Library. But access to it is limited to academic researchers and nonprofits, which excludes most news organizations. Critics have also complained that it’s not as useful as CrowdTangle — at least not yet.

    Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, said in a blog post last week that the company has been gathering feedback about Meta Content Library from “hundreds of researchers in order to make it more user-friendly and help them find the data they need for their work.”

    Meta said Wednesday that CrowdTangle doesn’t provide a complete picture of what is happening on its platforms and said its new tools are more comprehensive.

    Meta acquired CrowdTangle in 2016.

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  • Google rolls out Pixel 9 phones earlier than usual as AI race with Apple heats up

    Google rolls out Pixel 9 phones earlier than usual as AI race with Apple heats up

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    MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Google on Tuesday unveiled its next generation of Pixel phones, providing the maker of Android software a head start on the next iPhone in the race to bring more artificial-intelligence services to devices that have become people’s constant companions.

    The showcase held near Google’s Mountain View, California, headquarters took place two months earlier than when the company typically rolls out the next models in its Pixel phone line-up, which made its debut eight years ago.

    Although Pixel phones still represent a sliver of worldwide smartphone sales, they are still closely watched because they serve as Google’s platform for demonstrating the latest advances in the Android operating system that powers virtually every phone not made by Apple.

    And Google left little doubt that the Pixel 9 phones are meant to be a vessel for the AI technology that is expected to reshape the way people live and work, just as smartphones in general have done over the past 15 years.

    “We are obsessed with the idea that AI can make life easier and more productive for people,” Rick Osterloh, a Google senior vice president who oversees the Pixel phones, said Tuesday.

    That’s similar to the theme Apple is accentuating as it prepares to make AI a centerpiece of the iPhone.

    That moment is expect to arrive shortly after Labor Day when Apple traditionally takes the wraps off its next iPhone. The next model, the iPhone 16, is expected to be a big attraction because it will be equipped with the special chip needed to run a suite of AI features. Those features are designed to make Apple’s virtual assistant Siri smarter and perform a wide variety of other tasks that the company is promising will bring more joy to people’s lives, while still protecting their privacy.

    But Apple’s plans for AI remain hazier than Google’s vision, and Google is also rolling it out more broadly, including on Samsung phones powered by Android, said Emarketer analyst Grace Harmon. That may increase the pressure on Apple next month when it unveils the next iPhone.

    Not surprisingly, the Pixel 9 lineup is also packed with AI technology, a shift that the Google began last October when it released that year’s model. This generation of phones will be the first centered around the Gemini technology that’s become the focal point of its push into AI.

    Just as Apple is aiming to do with Siri, Google has designed its Gemini assistant to be more conversational, providing it with a range of 10 different human-like voices. It’s able to handle even more tasks, especially if users are willing to give it access to email and other documents.

    In another move mirroring Apple, Google is equipping the Pixel 9 lineup with a special chip enabling many AI-powered services to be handled on the device instead of remote data centers, with the aim of boosting personal privacy and security.

    In on-stage demonstrations Tuesday, the Gemini assistant speaking in a voice called “Ursa” was able to come up with helpful ideas for a fun way to use invisible ink when asked to come up with creative ideas.

    But the Gemini assistant also stumbled when shown a picture of a poster for singer Sabrina Carpenter, and when asked to let the questioner know when she was performing a concert in the area. After coming up blank on the first two requests, the Gemini assistant provided the requested information.

    The Pixel 9 phones also will feature “Magic Editor,” AI technology capable of completely transforming pictures by quickly and seamlessly adding a person who wasn’t in the original photo, or by altering the photo’s landscape or background.

    The more advanced Gemini Assistant will require a $20 monthly subscription that will be free for one year for all buyers of the next Pixel 9 phones, which will begin shipping Aug. 22 before becoming more widely available next month. The $240 benefit that Google is offering with a free one-year subscription to its Gemini Advanced service makes it more likely Apple won’t be able to charge for its suite of AI services, Emarketer’s Harmon said.

    The standard Pixel 9 will sell for $800, a $100 increase from last year, while the Pixel 9 Pro will sell for $1,000 or $1,100, depending on the size. The next generation of a foldable Pixel phone that Google introduced last year will sell for $1,800.

    The event also signaled that Google intends to conduct business as usual even as its internet empire is being threatened by a judge’s recent decision declaring its dominant search engine to be an illegal monopoly.

    The landmark ruling will trigger another round of court hearings to determine the measures that Google must take to create a more competitive market – a process that could result in Google being banned from engaging in some deals or, in the drastic scenario, being ordered to spin off its Android software or relinquish other key pillars bolstering the nearly $2 trillion market value of its corporate parent, Alphabet Inc.

    Besides its latest phones, Google also took aim at several other popular Apple products with its next Pixel Watch and wireless earbuds.

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  • Google confirms an Iranian group is trying to access emails linked to both US presidential campaigns

    Google confirms an Iranian group is trying to access emails linked to both US presidential campaigns

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    NEW YORK (AP) — Google said Wednesday that an Iranian group linked to the country’s Revolutionary Guard has tried to infiltrate the personal email accounts of roughly a dozen people linked to President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump since May.

    The tech company’s threat intelligence arm said the group is still actively targeting people associated with Biden, Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic candidate last month when he dropped out. It said those targeted have included current and former government officials, as well as presidential campaign affiliates.

    The new report from Google’s Threat Analysis Group affirms and expands on a Microsoft report released Friday that revealed suspected Iranian cyber intrusion in this year’s U.S. presidential election. It sheds light on how foreign adversaries are ramping up their efforts to disrupt the election that is now less than three months away.

    Google’s report said its threat researchers detected and disrupted a “small but steady cadence” of the Iranian attackers using email credential phishing, a type of cyberattack where the attacker poses as a trusted sender to try to get an email recipient to share their login details. John Hultquist, chief analyst for the company’s threat intelligence arm, said the company sends suspected targets of these attacks a Gmail popup that warns them that a government-backed attacker might be trying to steal their password.

    The report said Google observed the group gaining access to one high-profile political consultant’s personal Gmail account. Google reported the incident to the FBI in July. Microsoft’s Friday report had shared similar information, noting that the email account of a former senior adviser to a presidential campaign had been compromised and weaponized to send a phishing email to a high-ranking campaign official.

    The group is familiar to Google’s threat intelligence arm and other researchers, and this isn’t the first time it has tried to interfere in U.S. elections, Hultquist said. The report noted that the same Iranian group targeted both the Biden and Trump campaigns with phishing attacks during the 2020 cycle, as early as June of that year.

    The group also has been prolific in other cyber espionage activity, particularly in the Middle East, the report said. In recent months, as the Israel-Hamas War has aggravated tensions in the region, that activity has included email phishing campaigns targeted at Israeli diplomats, academics, non-governmental organizations and military affiliates.

    Trump’s campaign said Saturday that it had been hacked and that sensitive internal documents were stolen and distributed. It declared that Iranian actors were to blame.

    The same day, Politico revealed it had received leaked internal Trump campaign documents by email, though it wasn’t clear whether the leaked documents were related to the suspected Iranian cyber activity. The Washington Post and The New York Times also received the documents.

    While the Trump campaign hasn’t provided specific evidence linking Iran to the hack, both Trump and his longtime friend and former adviser Roger Stone have said they were contacted by Microsoft related to suspected cyber intrusions. Stone’s email was compromised by hackers targeting Trump’s campaign, a person familiar with the matter said.

    What to know about the 2024 Election

    Google and Microsoft wouldn’t identify the people targeted in the Iranian intrusion attempts or confirm that Stone was among them. Google did confirm that the Iranian group in its report, which it calls APT42, is the same as the one in Microsoft’s research. Microsoft refers to the group as Mint Sandstorm.

    Harris’ campaign has declined to say whether it has identified any state-based intrusion attempts, but has said it vigilantly monitors cyber threats and isn’t aware of any security breaches of its systems.

    The FBI on Monday confirmed that it’s investigating the intrusion of the Trump campaign. Two people familiar with the matter said the FBI also is investigating attempts to gain access to the Biden-Harris campaign.

    The reports of Iranian hacking come as U.S. intelligence officials have warned of persistent and mounting efforts from both Russia and Iran to influence the U.S. election through their online activity. Beyond these hacking incidents, groups linked to the countries have used fake news websites and social media accounts to churn out content that appears intended to sway voters’ opinions.

    While neither Microsoft nor Google specified Iran’s intentions in the U.S. presidential race, U.S. officials have previously hinted that Iran particularly opposes Trump. U.S. officials also have expressed alarm about Tehran’s efforts to seek retaliation for a 2020 strike on an Iranian general that was ordered by Trump.

    Iran’s mission to the United Nations, when asked about the claim of the Trump campaign, denied being involved.

    “We do not accord any credence to such reports,” the mission told The Associated Press. “The Iranian government neither possesses nor harbors any intent or motive to interfere in the United States presidential election.”

    The mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday about Google’s report.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Michael Weissenstein contributed to this report.

    ___

    The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • What we know about suspected Iranian cyber intrusion in the US presidential race

    What we know about suspected Iranian cyber intrusion in the US presidential race

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    NEW YORK (AP) — Details emerged over the weekend of a suspected Iranian cyber intrusion into the campaign of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, potentially resulting in the theft of internal campaign documents.

    The FBI is investigating the matter as well as attempts to infiltrate President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, which became Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign after Biden dropped out of the race.

    Here’s what we know:

    What happened?

    Trump’s presidential campaign said Saturday that it had been hacked and that sensitive internal documents were stolen and distributed. It declared that Iranian actors were to blame.

    The same day, Politico revealed it had received leaked internal Trump campaign documents by email, from a person only identified as “Robert.” The outlet said the documents included vetting materials on Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance and Sen. Marco Rubio, who also was considered as a potential vice president.

    Two other news outlets, The New York Times and The Washington Post, also said they received leaked materials. None of them revealed details about what they had, instead describing the documents in broad terms.

    It’s still unclear whether the materials the news outlets received were related to Trump’s alleged campaign hack. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung indicated they were connected, saying the documents “were obtained illegally” and warning that “any media or news outlet reprinting documents or internal communications are doing the bidding of America’s enemies and doing exactly what they want.”

    The FBI on Monday confirmed that it’s investigating the intrusion of the Trump campaign. Two people familiar with the matter said the FBI also is investigating attempts to gain access to the Biden-Harris campaign.

    Why is Trump blaming Iran?

    Trump’s campaign didn’t provide specific evidence showing Iran was behind the hack. But it pointed to a Microsoft report released Friday that detailed an Iranian attempt to infiltrate a presidential campaign in June.

    Microsoft’s report said an Iranian military intelligence unit had sent “a spear-phishing email to a high-ranking official of a presidential campaign from a compromised email account of a former senior advisor.” Spear-phishing is a form of cyberattack in which an attacker poses as a known or trusted sender, often to install malware or gather sensitive information.

    The tech company wouldn’t disclose which campaign or adviser was targeted, but said it had notified them. Since then, both Trump and a longtime friend and adviser of the former president, Roger Stone, have said they were contacted by Microsoft related to suspected cyber intrusions.

    “We were just informed by Microsoft Corporation that one of our many websites was hacked by the Iranian Government – Never a nice thing to do!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.

    Grant Smith, an attorney for Stone, said his client “was contacted by Microsoft and the FBI regarding this matter and continues to cooperate with these organizations.” He declined further comment.

    What does the government say?

    U.S. State Department officials declined to speculate on allegations that Iran was behind the hack, but a spokesperson said it would be in keeping with Tehran’s past use of cyberattacks and deception.

    What to know about the 2024 Election

    “These latest attempts to interfere in U.S. elections are nothing new for the Iranian regime,” spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Monday.

    U.S. intelligence officials declined to comment on the incident and referred questions to the FBI, which has said only that it’s investigating.

    Iran’s mission to the United Nations, when asked about the claim of the Trump campaign, denied being involved.

    “We do not accord any credence to such reports,” the mission told The Associated Press. “The Iranian government neither possesses nor harbors any intent or motive to interfere in the United States presidential election.”

    However, Iran long has been suspected of running hacking campaigns targeting its enemies in the Middle East and beyond. Tehran also has threatened to retaliate against Trump over the 2020 drone strike he ordered that killed prominent Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

    Was Harris targeted too?

    Harris’ campaign has declined to say whether it has identified any state-based intrusion attempts, only saying it vigilantly monitors cyber threats and wasn’t aware of any security breaches of its systems.

    But two people familiar with the matter said the Biden-Harris campaign also was targeted in the suspected Iranian cyber intrusion. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details of the investigation.

    At least three staffers in the Biden-Harris campaign were targeted with phishing emails, but investigators have uncovered no evidence the attempt was successful, one of the people said. The attempts came before Biden dropped out of the race.

    The FBI began investigating that cyber incident in June, and intelligence officials believe Iran was behind the attempts, that person said.

    Where have I heard this before?

    A suspected foreign hack-and-leak of campaign materials might sound familiar because it’s happened before — notably in 2016.

    That year, a Russian hack exposed emails to and from Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, John Podesta. The website Wikileaks published a trove of the messages, which were reported on extensively by news outlets.

    Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday noted the repeated use of the tactic against the U.S. and said it shows foreign adversaries are “intent on sowing chaos and undermining our democratic process.”

    “So we have to stand firm to ensure our cybersecurity can withstand such intrusions as we head into November,” he said in a statement.

    Experts say that the recent apparent hack of the Trump campaign is not likely to be the last such attempt to influence the U.S. election, either through cyberattacks or online disinformation. Both Iran and Russia, for example, have begun targeting Americans with fake news websites and other social media content that appears intended to sway voters, Microsoft and U.S. intelligence officials have said.

    The nation’s former top election security official, Chris Krebs, warned on the social platform X that Americans should take this threat seriously.

    “You might not like the victim here, but the adversary gives zero Fs who you like or don’t like,” he said of the Trump campaign hack. “American voters decide American elections. Let’s keep it that way.”

    ___

    Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer, David Klepper and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.

    ___

    The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Prisoner serving life for murder who escaped in North Carolina has been caught, authorities say

    Prisoner serving life for murder who escaped in North Carolina has been caught, authorities say

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    KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (AP) — A prisoner serving a life sentence for murder was captured at a North Carolina hotel early Friday, three days after his escape on the way to a medical appointment, and authorities say he had help from at least one person.

    Ramone Alston, 30, escaped from a van Tuesday as it arrived at the UNC Gastroenterology hospital in Hillsborough, where he was being taken for a medical appointment. He freed himself from his leg restraints and fled into the woods with handcuffs on, according to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.

    Alston was taken into custody at about 2 a.m. at a hotel in Kannapolis, near Charlotte, about 110 miles (177 kilometers) southwest of Hillsborough, the department said in a news release, and no one was injured during the arrest. Alston will be charged with felony escape from prison, according to the release.

    Alston was taken to the Granville Correctional Institution’s high-security maximum control unit, the state prison system’s most secure, to resume serving his life sentence, Department Secretary Todd Ishee said at a news conference Friday afternoon. Alston could face additional charges related to his escape.

    Online court records did not immediately list the case or an attorney who could speak on Alston’s behalf.

    “While we can’t provide specifics about how Alston was located, I can assure you it was the result of exceptional investigative work and dedication from the team that was assembled to work this escape,” Ishee said. “I’m grateful for the people standing here with me today and the hundreds of officers, deputies, agents and investigators who they represent that all worked so hard this week with great collaboration to bring Alston back into custody.”

    Officials will evaluate whether anyone is eligible for the reward offered for information leading to Alston’s capture, Ishee said, adding that the department is conducting an internal investigation and review to identify areas for improvement. The officers who were transporting Alston have not been placed on leave but were reassigned to non-transportation duties.

    Alston has been serving a life sentence at Bertie Correctional Institution in Windsor since his conviction in the killing of 1-year-old Maleah Williams, who was shot on Christmas Day in 2015 from a passing car while she was playing outside her family’s apartment in Chapel Hill. She died three days later.

    A woman described as an acquaintance of Alston’s was arrested shortly afterward in Alamance County and charged with felony aiding and abetting a fugitive, the department said. Investigators believe she drove Alston around, but it wasn’t clear when or where, or whether she was the only person doing so, department spokesman Keith Acree said by phone.

    Alston’s relationship with her began several months ago and was conducted mostly by phone, Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said at the news conference. Officials are investigating whether anyone else was involved.

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