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  • Home sales fell in September to slowest pace in almost 30 years

    Home sales fell in September to slowest pace in almost 30 years

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    Sales of existing homes in the United States have dropped to their lowest level since 1995, the National Assn. of Realtors reported Wednesday. Sales fell 1% in September and are down 3.5% from a year earlier.

    What You Need To Know

    • Existing home sales fell 1% in September and are down 3.5% from a year earlier, according to the National Assn. of Realtors

    • While sales fell, prices have continued to increase; he median price of an existing home for sale increased 3% in September compared with a year earlier to $404,500

    • The number of unsold existing homes increased 1.5% in September compared with a month earlier and 23% compared with a year ago

    • Homes are now sitting on the market an average of 28 days — up from 26 days in August and 21 days in September 2023


    “Home sales have been essentially stuck at around a four-million-unit pace for the past 12 months, but factors usually associated with higher home sales are developing,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. 

    “There are more inventory choices for consumers, lower mortgage rates than a year ago and continued job additions to the economy,” Yun said. “Perhaps some consumers are hesitating about moving forward with a major expenditure like purchasing a home before the upcoming election.”

    While sales fell, prices have continued to increase. The median price of an existing home for sale increased 3% in September compared with a year earlier to $404,500. It was the 15th consecutive month of price increases. 

    Mortgage rates are also increasing. As of October 17, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.44% — up from 6.32% a week earlier.

    The number of unsold existing homes increased 1.5% in September compared with a month earlier and 23% compared with a year ago. Homes are now sitting on the market an average of 28 days — up from 26 days in August and 21 days in September 2023.

    “More inventory is certainly good news for home buyers as it gives consumers more properties to view before making a decision,” Yun said. 

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    Susan Carpenter

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  • Trump targets hardcore partisans, Harris goes after moderates

    Trump targets hardcore partisans, Harris goes after moderates

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    In battleground Pennsylvania, Kamala Harris warned that democracy and reproductive rights were at stake as she campaigned alongside a former Republican congresswoman. 

    Going to the same state the day before, Donald Trump served French fries at a closed McDonald’s.

    As the 2024 presidential contest speeds to its conclusion on Nov. 5, Harris and Trump are embracing wildly different strategies to energize the coalitions they need to win. Both are making bets that will prove prescient or ill-advised.

    What You Need To Know

    • As the 2024 presidential contest speeds to its conclusion, Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump are embracing wildly different strategies

    • Both are racing to energize the coalitions they need to win the presidency on Nov. 5

    • Trump’s team has largely abandoned traditional efforts to target moderate voters in the final days before the election

    • His campaign is focusing instead on his base of fiery partisans and low-propensity voters — especially young men — with tough talk at rallies and media appearances


    Trump’s team has largely abandoned traditional efforts to broaden his message to target moderate voters, focusing instead on energizing his base of fiery partisans and turning out low-propensity voters — especially young men of all races — with tough talk and events aimed at getting attention online.

    Harris is leaning into a more traditional all-of-the-above playbook targeting the narrow slice of undecided voters that remain, especially moderates, college-educated suburbanites, and women of all races and education. More than Trump, she is going after Republican women who may have supported rival Nikki Haley in this year’s GOP primary and are dissatisfied with the former president.

    “It’s all pieces of a very complex puzzle,” Harris senior campaign adviser David Plouffe said this week. “This would all be a simpler exercise if you can focus just on one voter cohort. You can’t. And you got to make sure you know you’re doing well enough with all of them so that when you put all that together it adds up to 50%.”

    Trump’s team sees it as a much simpler equation.

    His aides insist that efforts to maximize turnout from Trump’s hardcore base do not mean he’s ignoring swing voters, even if he’s not tailoring a different message to reach them.

    “I just think that there’s a misunderstanding on what’s motivating those people,” Trump political director James Blair said. “I mean, the fact is the economy’s motivating those people. Those people overwhelmingly think that they’re worse off than they were four years ago … So then the question becomes: Who’s better equipped to fix it?”

    The divergent strategies underscore the stark differences between the candidates themselves, in personality and policy.

    Harris, a former California senator who would be the first female president, has promised to include a Republican in her Cabinet, while prioritizing efforts to protect democracy, reproducctive rights and the middle class. Trump, a former president, has vowed to fight for the working class as well. He also has promised a campaign of retribution against his politial enemies with an administration packed with loyalists.

    One point on which both camps agree: The election will be decided by voters in just seven swing states, a political map that has not shifted significantly or narrowed as Election Day speeds into view. They are Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.

    One Harris adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy, described the situation as “still terrifyingly close in all seven.”

    Trump rejects the traditional pivot to the middle

    Trump is speaking largely to his loyal Republican base at the expense of moderate voters, especially suburban women. He peppers his rallies with profanity, personal insults against Harris and ominous talk of “enemies within.”

    He has said repeatedly over the last week that Democrats like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., represent a more serious threat to the United States than China and Russia do.

    Trump has also rejected recent opportunities to speak to more traditional audiences, turning down an interview with CBS’ popular “60 Minutes” and refusing to debate Harris for a second time unless it was moderated by Fox News, home to several of his favorite conservative hosts.

    Instead, his campaign is scheduling appearances on podcasts and online shows geared towards young men — especially working-class Hispanic and Black men, who typically vote less frequently and tend to favor Democrats.

    He’s attended sporting events including mixed-martial arts fights and football games, putting him in front of audiences who don’t typically engage with traditional media outlets.

    Josh Rouse, a 28-year-old Black man and registered Republican, said he’s only recently been drawn to politics. He didn’t vote in 2016, but voted for Trump in 2020.

    “If anything, I think it’s important to remember we’re all people, regardless of whether you’re white or Black,” said Rouse, who works in roofing and attended Trump’s rally in Greenville, North Carolina, this week. “It doesn’t matter who you are. He speaks to all of us.”

    Trump’s team has also created viral moments in non-political settings like his trip to McDonald’s on Sunday, part of an extended campaign to cast doubt on Harris’ work history at the fast-food franchise. Trump also went to Coachella, California, and will host a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday — both in heavily Democratic states but where the related media attention and online content would surely reach swing-state voters.

    Trump has kept an aggressive schedule. He is set to visit every battleground state this week save Wisconsin.

    Harris makes Republicans part of her persuasion playbook

    Backed by an avalanche of campaign cash, Harris is holding in-person events but also launching a sprawling door-knocking operation, hyper-targeted online ads and a carefully designed media strategy to reach specific voting blocs.

    Harris’ team believes that roughly 10% of voters in the battleground states are still persuadable, either because they are truly undecided or because their support for Trump is soft. The campaign vows to keep trying to persuade such voters until the final minutes of in-person voting.

    Her team sees the possibility of significant growth among Republican, college-educated, suburban women alienated by Trump’s extreme rhetoric. Even small shifts in swing states could have massive electoral implications.

    The Harris campaign quickly produced digital ads last week highlighting Trump’s description of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection as “a day of love.” And Harris spent most of Monday campaigning in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin alongside Liz Cheney, a Republican House leader during Trump’s presidency who swung sharply against him after Jan. 6.

    Harris is scheduled to visit Houston for an event Friday with women who have been affected by the state’s ban on all abortions, which took effect after the Supreme Court, including three justices nominated by Trump, overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. She’ll be going there after spending time in Georgia, which banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

    Nicolette Milholin, 45, of Mont Clare, Pennsylvania, said she considered herself a political independent until Trump was elected in 2016.

    “To me, democracy is at stake,” Milholin said at a Harris event this week in Chester County, Pennsylvania. “We have a party that was built for a family and a dynasty. And then we have a party here represented by Kamala Harris, that was built for our country.”

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    Associated Press

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  • Former Abercrombie & Fitch chief arrested on federal sex trafficking charges

    Former Abercrombie & Fitch chief arrested on federal sex trafficking charges

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    Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, his romantic partner and a third man were arrested Tuesday on charges of luring dozens of men into sex parties held around the world, sometimes by dangling the promise of modeling for the clothing retailer.

    Jeffries, partner Matthew Smith and their employee James Jacobson “operated an international sex trafficking and prostitution business” from 2008 to 2015, using Jeffries’ status, wealth and a web of household staffers to fulfill the couple’s sexual desires and keep it all secret, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn.

    What You Need To Know

    • A spokesperson for federal prosecutors says former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries and two other men have been arrested on sex trafficking and interstate prostitution charges

    • Jeffries, partner Matthew Smith and their employee James Jacobson “operated an international sex trafficking and prostitution business” from 2008 to 2015, using Jeffries’ status, wealth and a web of household staffers to fulfill the couple’s sexual desires and keep it all secret, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn

    • They come after years of sexual misconduct allegations from young people who said Jeffries lured them with promises of modeling work and then pressed them into sex acts

    • Jeffries’ attorney says he will “respond in detail to the allegations after the indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse — not the media”


    The charges follow sexual misconduct allegations, made in lawsuits and the media, from young people who said Jeffries promised modeling work and then pressed them into sex acts.

    Jeffries’ attorney, Brian Bieber, said by email he would “respond in detail to the allegations after the indictment is unsealed, and when appropriate, but plan to do so in the courthouse — not the media.”

    Messages seeking comment were sent to attorneys for Smith and Jacobson.

    Jeffries and Smith were arrested in Florida and were due to make an initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon in West Palm Beach. Jacobson was arrested in Wisconsin and due in court in St. Paul, Minnesota. Brooklyn-based U.S. Attorney Breon Peace and FBI and police officials were set to hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

    Jeffries, Smith and Jacobson are charged with sex trafficking and interstate prostitution.

    According to the indictment, they paid for dozens of men to travel within the U.S. and internationally to engage in commercial sex with them and other men in New York and at hotels in England, France, Italy, Morocco and St. Barts. The indictment describes sexual bacchanals in which the recruited men were given drugs, lubricant, condoms, costumes, sex toys and, sometimes, erection-inducing penile injections that caused painful, hourslong reactions.

    The defendants led the men to believe that attending the events would help their careers, including their chances of getting Abercrombie modeling gigs — or that not complying could harm their prospects, the indictment says.

    Jeffries and Smith employed Jacobson to recruit and hire the men, who typically had to undergo “tryouts” by having sex with Jacobson first, according to the indictment. It says other, unnamed household staffers also helped facilitate the events, including by acting as security and providing alcohol, muscle relaxants, Viagra and other items.

    Jeffries became CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch in 1992 and left in 2014. The New Albany, Ohio-based company declined to comment on his arrest. 

    Abercrombie last year said it had hired an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation after a report on similar allegations was aired by the BBC.

    The BBC investigation included a dozen men who described being at events involving sex acts they said were staged by Jeffries and Smith, often at his home in New York and hotels in London, Paris and elsewhere.

    The BBC report also described Jacobson as a middleman who recruited men for the events. He told the news outlet at the time that he hadn’t engaged in and didn’t know of “any coercive, deceptive or forceful behavior.”

    A lawsuit filed in New York last year accused Abercrombie of allowing Jeffries to run a sex-trafficking organization during his 22-year tenure. It said that Jeffries had modeling scouts scouring the internet for victims, and that some prospective models became sex-trafficking victims. At the time, Bieber declined to comment on the allegations. 

    Abercrombie & Fitch traces its roots to a hunting and outdoors goods store that was founded in 1892. By the time Jeffries arrived a century later, the brand was a retail also-ran.

    He was credited with transforming it into a darling of turn-of-the-millennium teen mall culture, known for its nouveau-preppy aesthetic — and for some controversy surrounding it. Jeffries alienated some customers by talking about how the company went after attractive kids who could fit into its clothes. 

    After the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent recession, A&F’s popularity started to fade again. By the time Jeffries left, a hedge fund had pushed the company’s board to replace him because of the company’s lagging performance. But the company has rebounded in recent years.

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    Associated Press

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  • Yellen says isolationism ‘made America and the world worse off’

    Yellen says isolationism ‘made America and the world worse off’

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    Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told world financial leaders Tuesday that the U.S. economy has grown stronger because the Biden administration rejected isolationism, offering a barely veiled criticism of former President Donald Trump’s policies two weeks before the U.S. election.

    What You Need To Know

    • Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the U.S. economy has grown stronger because the Biden administration rejected isolationism

    • Her comments were a thinly veiled criticism of former President Donald Trump’s policies

    • Without mentioning Trump by name, she said in a speech that the Biden administration had ended a period of international isolationism that “made America and the world worse off”

    • The IMF released its international outlook on the global economy on Tuesday morning and upgraded its economic outlook for the United States this year while lowering its expectations for growth in Europe and China



    Yellen opened the IMF and World Bank annual meetings by highlighting U.S. economic growth since the nation was in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without mentioning Trump by name, she said in a speech that the Biden administration had ended a period of international isolationism that “made America and the world worse off.”

    “We went from millions having lost their jobs to a historic labor market recovery,” Yellen said. She said U.S. economic growth has been “almost twice as fast as most other advanced economies this year and last, even as inflation came down sooner.”

    The IMF released its international outlook on the global economy on Tuesday morning and upgraded its economic outlook for the United States this year while lowering its expectations for growth in Europe and China.

    The IMF expects the U.S. economy — the world’s largest — to expand 2.8% this year, down slightly from 2.9% in 2023 but an improvement on the 2.6% it had forecast for 2024 back in July. Growth in the United States has been led by strong consumer spending, fueled by healthy gains in inflation-adjusted wages.

    The meetings mark the last major international finance gathering held during the Biden administration and come as economic issues are a top concern for American voters. Republicans have blamed the Biden-Harris administration for inflation that reached a 40-year high before dropping. Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the Biden-Harris administration “created an inflation crisis, record-high gas prices, skyrocketing mortgage and interest rates resulting in the lowest consumer and small business confidence in decades.”

    Voters remain largely divided over whether they prefer the Republican nominee, Trump, or Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris to handle key economic issues, according to an October survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

    Who wins the U.S. election will also have enormous impacts on global finance and the world’s economy.

    Trump and Harris have spoken little about their plans for the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. But they have differing views on trade, tariffs and other economic issues. Trump has been skeptical of world financial bodies and is promising heavy tariffs if elected. Harris is more likely to continue the Biden administration approach favoring international cooperation over threats, though she has supported some tariffs.

    Yellen, like other federal officials, is barred from partisan political activity by the Hatch Act and chose her words carefully in her speech. But she praised Biden-Harris initiatives on climate, health care, infrastructure spending and other areas.

    She alluded to Trump’s international leadership saying: “From day one, we rejected isolationism that made America and the world worse off and pursued global economic leadership that supports economies around the world and brings significant benefits to the American people and the U.S. economy.”

    Trump, who has embraced isolationism and criticized multilateral institutions, promises as president to impose a 60% tariff on all Chinese goods and a “universal” tariff of 10% or 20% on everything else that enters the United States, insisting that the cost of taxing imported goods is absorbed by the foreign countries that produce those goods.

    Mainstream economists say that would amount to a tax on American consumers that would make the economy less efficient and send inflation surging in the United States.

    The Biden-Harris administration has not eliminated tariffs imposed on China during the Trump administration and in May also slapped major tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, advanced batteries, solar cells, steel, aluminum and medical equipment.

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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  • Exonerated ‘Central Park Five’ members sue Trump for defamation

    Exonerated ‘Central Park Five’ members sue Trump for defamation

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    Five men wrongfully convicted of assaulting and raping a woman in New York’s Central Park in 1989 have sued former President Donald Trump for defamation over comments he made in a debate against Vice President Kamala Harris last month.

    What You Need To Know

    • The five men known as the “Central Park Five” have sued former President Donald Trump for defamation over comments he made in a debate last month
    • They were wrongfully convicted of assaulting and raping a woman in New York’s Central Park in 1989; their convictions were vacated more than a decade later after someone else confessed to the crime

    • At last month’s debate, Vice President Kamala Harris hammered Trump for taking out a full-page ad in all four of New York’s major newspapers in the aftermath of the attack calling for the return of the death penalty 

    • Trump fired back by saying that Harris and other opponents had “to stretch back years” to come up with lines of attack against him, before falsely saying that the five men pleaded guilty and killed someone



    Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron Brown and Korey Wise, initially known as the “Central Park Five” and, later, the “Exonerated Five,” accused Trump in a lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania of making “false, misleading and defamatory” statements about their case at the debate.

    The five men were convicted of the attack and sentenced to multiple years in prison. Their convictions were vacated in 2002, more than a decade later, after a serial rapist confessed to the attack, and DNA evidence confirmed he was involved. They sued the city the next year, accusing the city of false arrest, a racially motivated conspiracy to deprive them of their civil rights and a malicious prosecution, and they settled the case in 2014.

    At one point during last month’s debate, Harris condemned Trump for taking out a full-page ad in all four of the city’s major newspapers in the aftermath of the attack calling for the return of the death penalty. Trump fired back by saying that Harris and other opponents had “to stretch back years” to come up with lines of attack against him, before falsely saying that the five men pleaded guilty and killed someone.

    “[T]hey come up with things like what she just said, going back many, many years, when a lot of people including [former New York] Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg agreed with me on the Central Park Five,” Trump said. “They admitted — they said, they pled guilty. And I said, well, if they pled guilty, they badly hurt a person, killed a person ultimately. And if they pled guilty — then they pled we’re not guilty.”

    The five men did not plead guilty in the case, nor was the victim of the attack killed — as the lawsuit points out, while also pointing out that Ed Koch, not Bloomberg, was mayor at the time of the attack.

    “These statements are demonstrably false,” the complaint says, calling Trump’s rhetoric “extreme and outrageous” and charging that he “intended to cause severe emotional distress to Plaintiffs.”

    The Trump campaign has not responded to a request for comment from Spectrum News. A spokesperson for the former president’s campaign called the lawsuit “frivolous” in a statement to NBC News.

    According to the lawsuit, Salaam — now a New York City Council member — attempted to engage with Trump after the debate in the spin room. People asked Trump if he would “apologize to the Exonerated Five,” and after he didn’t respond, Salaam introduced himself to the former president.

    “Ah, so you’re on my side them,” Trump said, per the lawsuit.

    “No no no, I’m not on your side,” Salaam replied to Trump, who smiled, waved and walked away, according to the complaint.

    The lawsuit also makes note of other statements Trump has made about the case, including posts on his Twitter account from 2013 and a New York Daily News op-ed from 2014 calling the city’s settlement with the men a “disgrace.”

    The defendants are asking for “compensatory damages, for punitive damages and for costs, in an as yet unliquidated sum in excess of $75,000,” and asked for a jury trial to determine that figure.

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    Justin Tasolides

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  • Gerald Ford’s daughter endorses Harris for president

    Gerald Ford’s daughter endorses Harris for president

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    Ahead of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ trip to Michigan on Monday, the daughter of the state’s only U.S. president has endorsed the Vice President.

    Susan Ford Bales, the only daughter of former President Gerald Ford and former first lady Betty Ford, acknowledged that she and Harris would “likely disagree on some policy matters” — after all, she, like her father, is a Republican.

    However, she continued, Harris’ “integrity and commitment to those same principles that guided Dad have led me to conclude” that she should be the next president.

    “She recognizes the good and the greatness in our country,” Ford Bales said. “I know she will defend the rule of law and our Constitution. And I know she will work to bring all Americans together to move us beyond partisanship. That is what America deserves from our President.”

    News of the endorsement was first reported by MLive.

    Former President Ford, who was born in Nebraska but raised Grand Rapids, Michigan, led Republicans in the House of Representatives before he was nominated to be Richard Nixon’s vice president in 1973. Ford became the president following Nixon’s resignation the next year, pardoning him for any crimes he may have committed as president and eventually narrowly losing the 1976 election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

    “When my father, Gerald Ford, was sworn-in as America’s 38th President, the nation was in need of a serious, compassionate and honorable leader who had the courage to do what was right and always to defend our Constitution,” Ford Bales said in a statement. “His dedication to those values helped bring our country through a turbulent time and restored Americans’ trust in our democracy.

    “We face a similar dynamic today,” she continues. “America cannot regress back to a divisive paradigm of loathing toward one another and disdain for our Constitution. We witnessed on January 6 the horrors of what that looks like, and we can never allow a repeat of that tragedy. The forces that incited it must be held accountable. They can never be in a position to ever do it again.”

    Ford Bales, the only daughter of the former president, helped launch National Breast Cancer Awareness Month with her mother in the 1980s and succeeded her mom as chair of the Betty Ford Center, the nonprofit addiction treatment center named for the former first lady. She is also the sponsor of the USS Gerald R. Ford, named for her father, which is currently the world’s largest aircraft carrier and the biggest warship ever built. 

    Earlier this year, Ford Bales joined first lady Jill Biden and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy at the White House to unveil a postage stamp bearing the portrait of Betty Ford.

    Harris is heading to Michigan on Monday, in addition to fellow “blue wall” battleground states Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, for a series of moderated conversations with former Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, the vice president’s latest effort to appeal to moderate Republicans who may be disenchanted with former President Donald Trump.

    Ford Bales joins Cheney and a handful of other Republican officials who have endorsed Harris over Trump. 

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    Justin Tasolides

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  • White House proposes rule to expand contraceptive access

    White House proposes rule to expand contraceptive access

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    As Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris makes reproductive rights a centerpiece of her campaign, the Biden-Harris administration on Monday proposed a dramatic expansion of contraception coverage.

    The proposed rule would require that insurers cover the cost of over-the-counter birth control and other measures designed to increase access to contraceptives.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Biden-Harris administration on Monday proposed a dramatic expansion of contraception coverage

    • The proposed rule would require that insurers cover the cost of over-the-counter birth control, including condoms and the nonprescription birth control pill Opill

    • About 65 million women are of reproductive age in the United States

    • The move comes more than two years after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the national right to an abortion


    “Every woman in every state must have reproductive freedom and access to the healthcare they need,” Harris said in a statement released by the White House. 

    Calling it the largest expansion of contraception coverage in more than a decade, she said the “new proposed rule will build on our Administration’s work to protect reproductive freedom by providing millions of women with more options for the affordable contraception they need and deserve.”

    About 65 million women are of reproductive age in the United States, according to the World Health Organization. 

    Provided through the Affordable Care Act, the new rule would apply to condoms, spermicides and the nonprescription birth control pill Opill, as well as emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy if taken shortly after unprotected sex. 

    The ACA currently covers the cost of prescription birth control. The new rule would expand to apply to the over-the-counter version the Food and Drug Administration approved last year. 

    The move comes more than two years after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the national right to an abortion. Twenty-one states currently ban abortion or make access to the procedure more restrictive than what was allowed under Roe v. Wade. 

    In a concurring opinion to the Dobbs ruling, conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said that the high court should “reconsider” a number of high-profile rulings, including the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut Supreme Court ruling that guaranteed married couples’ right to contraception. 

    Harris on the campaign trail has warned that Griswold could be at risk under a future Trump administration. 

    At least 13 states and Washington, D.C., currently have regulations that protect a woman’s right to contraception, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

    In 2022, the House of Representatives passed the Right to Contraception Act to codify Americans’ right to contraception, but it failed to pass in the Senate.

    A 2022 poll conducted by FiveThirtyEight found widespread support for contraceptives, with about 90% of Americans saying they support condoms and birth control pills and 80% supporting intrauterine devices, or IUDs. Another 70% said they support emergency contraception including Plan B, and almost 60% said they support medical abortion or abortion pills.

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    Susan Carpenter

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  • Blinken heads to Middle East for 11th time since Gaza war began

    Blinken heads to Middle East for 11th time since Gaza war began

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    Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading again to the Middle East, making his 11th trip to the region since the Gaza war erupted last year and as Israel steps up attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

    What You Need To Know

    • Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to the Middle East monday for his 11th trip to the region since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted last year

    • The State Department says Blinken will depart on Monday for a weeklong trip to Israel and a number of Arab countries, on a visit that also comes as Israel weighs retaliation against Iran for ballistic missile attacks earlier this month

    • The trip had been expected after President Joe Biden said he would dispatch Blinken to the region following Israel’s killing of Hamas military chief Yahya Sinwar last week

    • Blinken will also raise the importance the administration places on reaching a diplomatic resolution to the escalating conflict between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah



    The State Department said Blinken will depart on Monday for a weeklong trip to Israel and a number of Arab countries, on a visit that also comes as Israel weighs retaliation against Iran for ballistic missile attacks earlier this month.

    The trip had been expected after President Joe Biden said last week he would dispatch Blinken to the region following Israel’s killing of Hamas military chief Yahya Sinwar, a move that some believe could open a window for new talks on a cease-fire proposal that has been languishing for months.

    “Throughout the region, Secretary Blinken will discuss the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people. He will continue discussions on post-conflict period planning and emphasize the need to chart a new path forward that enables Palestinians to rebuild their lives and realize their aspirations free from Hamas’ tyranny,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

    He said Blinken would also underscore the need for a dramatic increase in the amount of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, something that Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made clear in a letter to Israeli officials last week. That letter reminded Israel that the Biden administration could be forced by U.S. law to curtail some forms of military aid should the delivery of humanitarian assistance continue to be hindered.

    In addition to the conflict in Gaza, Blinken will also raise the importance the administration places on reaching a diplomatic resolution to the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and elsewhere.

    “He will reaffirm the U.S. commitment to work with partners across the region to de-escalate tensions and provide lasting stability,” Miller said in the statement.

    Since the Hamas attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and the Israeli response, Blinken has traveled to the Middle East 10 times seeking an end to the crisis. His previous trips have yielded little in the way of ending hostilities but he has managed to increase aid deliveries to Gaza in the past.

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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  • Relatives of a Black man killed by Ohio police are settling their lawsuit

    Relatives of a Black man killed by Ohio police are settling their lawsuit

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    AKRON, Ohio (AP) — A family is settling a wrongful death lawsuit against Ohio police who fired 94 bullets at a Black man during a chase two years ago.

    What You Need To Know

    • The family of Jayland Walker have reached an agreement with the city of Akron, according to a court filing

    • This is related to a lawful death lawsuit brought against the police, who fired 94 bullets at 25-year-old Walker during a chase in 2022

    • The lawsuit was seeking at least $45 million in damages

    • A grand jury declined to indict the officers involved, and their names were not released

    Jayland Walker’s family and the city of Akron reached an agreement but have not disclosed details, according to a joint court filing Tuesday. The family’s lawyers said they would hold a news conference “at the appropriate time” to discuss the agreement, and city officials declined to comment while the settlement is pending a judge’s approval.

    The lawsuit filed in June 2023 sought at least $45 million in damages from the officers involved in the shooting, the city and officials. The family said the officers used excessive force in the shooting and participated in a “culture of violence and racism” within Akron’s police department.

    The suit was filed months after a grand jury declined to indict the officers in the death. Their names have not been released.

    Walker, 25, was killed during a traffic stop on June 27, 2022, after he fired a single bullet from his vehicle, then ran from the officers, according to a state investigation. He left the gun in his still-moving car.

    The killing of another Black man during a traffic stop heightened tensions with police and roiled the city.

    The officers believed Walker was armed and a “deadly threat” when they fired the nearly 100 bullets at him in less than 7 seconds because he refused to put up his hands, the state investigation said.

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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  • Mark Robinson sues CNN over report about posts on porn site

    Mark Robinson sues CNN over report about posts on porn site

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    North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson announced a lawsuit Tuesday against CNN over its recent report alleging he made explicit racial and sexual posts on a pornography website’s message board, calling the reporting reckless and defamatory.

     

    What You Need To Know

    • North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has sued CNN over its recent report that he made explicit racial and sexual posts on a pornography website’s message board. He made the announcement Tuesday and calls the reporting reckless and defamatory

    • The CNN report, which debuted last month, said Robinson left statements over a decade ago on the message board in which, in part, he referred to himself as a “black NAZI,” said he enjoyed transgender pornography, said that he preferred Hitler to then-President Barack Obama, and slammed the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as “worse than a maggot”
    • The lawsuit comes less than four weeks after a report that led many of his fellow GOP elected officials and candidates, including presidential nominee Donald Trump, to distance themselves from Robinson’s gubernatorial campaign

    • Robinson is also suing a man who alleges Robinson frequented a porn shop decades ago



     

    The lawsuit, filed in Wake County Superior Court, comes less than four weeks after a report that led many fellow GOP elected officials and candidates, including presidential nominee Donald Trump, to distance themselves from Robinson’s gubernatorial campaign.

    Robinson, who announced the lawsuit at a news conference in Raleigh with a Virginia-based attorney, has denied authoring the messages.

    CNN “chose to publish despite knowing or recklessly disregarding that Lt. Gov. Robinson’s data — including his name, date of birth, passwords, and the email address supposedly associated with the NudeAfrica account — were previously compromised by multiple data breaches,” the lawsuit states, referencing the website.

    Robinson, who would be the state’s first Black governor if elected, called the report a “high-tech lynching” against a candidate “who has been targeted from Day 1 by folks who disagree with me politically and want to see me destroyed.”

    CNN declined to comment Tuesday, spokesperson Emily Kuhn said in an email.

    The CNN report, which debuted last month, said Robinson left statements over a decade ago on the message board in which, in part, he referred to himself as a “black NAZI,” said he enjoyed transgender pornography, said that he preferred Hitler to then-President Barack Obama, and slammed the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as “worse than a maggot.”

    The network report said it matched details of the account on the message board to other online accounts held by Robinson by comparing usernames, a known email address and his full name. CNN reported that details discussed by the account holder matched Robinson’s age, length of marriage and other biographical information. CNN also said it compared figures of speech that came up frequently in his public Twitter profile that appeared in discussions by the account on the pornographic website.

    Polls at the time of the CNN report already showed Democratic rival Josh Stein, the sitting attorney general, with a lead over Robinson. Early in-person voting begins Thursday statewide, and over 57,000 completed absentee ballots have been received so far.

    Robinson also in the same lawsuit sued a Greensboro punk rock band singer who alleged in a music video and and in an interview that Robinson, in the 1990s and early 2000s, frequented a porn shop the singer once worked at and purchased videos. Louis Love Money, the other named defendant, released the video and spoke with another media outlet before the CNN report.

    Robinson denies the allegation in the lawsuit, which reads, “Lt. Gov. Robinson was not spending hours at the video store, five nights a week. He was not renting or previewing videos, and he did not purchase ‘bootleg’ or other videos from Defendant Money.”

    A message left at a phone listing for Money was not immediately returned. A message sent to Money on social media went unanswered.

    The lawsuit, which seeks at least $50 million in damages, says the effort against Robinson “appears to be a coordinated attack aimed at derailing his campaign for governor.” It provides no evidence that the network or Money conspired with outside groups to create what Robinsons alleges are false statements.

    Robinson’s lawyer, Jesse Binnall, said entities, which he did not identify, have stonewalled his firm’s efforts to collect information.

    “We will use every tool at our disposal now that a lawsuit has been filed, including the subpoena power, in order to continue pursuing the facts,” said Binnall, whose clients have included Trump and his campaign.

    Most of the top staff running Robinson’s campaign and his lieutenant governor’s office quit following the CNN report, and the Republican Governors Association, which had already spent millions of dollars in advertising backing Robinson, stopped supporting his bid. And Democrats from presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris to downballot state candidates began running ads linking their opponents to Robinson.

    Robinson’s campaign isn’t running TV commercials now. He said that “we’ve chosen to go in a different direction” and focus on in-person campaign stops.

    Robinson already had a history of inflammatory comments about topics like abortion and LGBTQ+ rights that Stein and his allies have emphasized in opposing him on TV commercials and online.

    Stein spokesperson Morgan Hopkins said Tuesday in a statement that “even before the CNN report, North Carolinians have known for a long time that Mark Robinson is completely unfit to be Governor.”

    Hurricane Helene and its aftermath took the CNN report off the front pages. Robinson worked for several days with a central North Carolina sheriff collecting relief supplies and criticized Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper — barred by term limits from seeking reelection — for state government’s response in the initial stages of relief.

    Trump endorsed Robinson before the March gubernatorial primary, calling him “Martin Luther King on steroids” for his speaking ability. Robinson had been a frequent presence at Trump’s North Carolina campaign stops, but he hasn’t participated in such an event since the CNN report.

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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  • Harris campaign questions Trump’s mental fitness after town hall

    Harris campaign questions Trump’s mental fitness after town hall

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    Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign went on the offensive following former President Donald Trump’s town hall Monday night, which turned into a music listening party after two attendees required medical attention.

    What You Need To Know

    • Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign questioned former President Donald Trump’s fitness after his town hall on Monday night and his withdrawal from a scheduled interview with CNBC

    • After two attendees required medical attention, Trump shifted gears and asked for music to be played; for almost 40 minutes, Trump stood on stage swaying and dancing to music

    • A Trump campaign official told Spectrum News that the CNBC interview was canceled due to a scheduling conflict

    • Trump, for his part, questioned Harris’ health in a series of overnight posts on his social media platform, claiming he’s “far healthier” than the vice president and any of his predecessors in both political parties



    Trump stopped the brief question-and-answer session with Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem after the attendees required medical attention. He then decided to shift gears.

    “Let’s not do any more questions, let’s just listen to music,” Trump said, adding: “Who the hell wants to hear questions?”

    Then for almost 40 minutes, Trump stood on stage swaying and dancing to an eclectic playlist: “Time to Say Goodbye” featuring Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman, Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Rufus Wainwright’s cover of Leonard Cohn’s “Hallelujah,” and, of course, “YMCA” by The Village People, a staple of Trump’s rallies.

    A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign described the event as a “Total lovefest.”

    “Everyone was so excited they were fainting so @realDonaldTrump turned to music,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote on social media. “Nobody wanted to leave and wanted to hear more songs from the famous DJT Spotify playlist!”

    The Harris campaign shared on social media an edited clip of Trump on stage Monday night, charging that the Republican former president “appears lost, confused, and frozen on stage.” Harris shared the post from her own account, writing: “Hope he’s okay.”

    Trump adviser Dan Scavino fired back at Harris on social media, accusing the vice president of taking the events of the night out of context: “DESPERATE times call for desperate measures.”

    But the hits didn’t stop coming from the Harris camp, which continued to call on Trump to release his medical records. Harris campaign spokesperson Ian Sams, formerly from the White House counsel’s office, lambasted Trump for encouraging his supporters to vote on Jan. 5 — two months after Election Day.

    “I’ll tell you, if everything works out and everybody gets out on Jan. 5, or before,” Trump said on Monday night. “You know, it used to be – you’d have a date. Today, you can vote two months before, probably three months after. They don’t know what the hell they’re doing. But we’re gonna straighten it all out. We’re gonna straighten that out, too. We’re gonna straighten out our election process out, too.”

    “Trump is confused about the date of the election, as he faces scrutiny for not disclosing his medical records,” Sams wrote on social media.

    Those attacks continued on Tuesday morning after CNBC host Joe Kernen announced that Trump canceled a scheduled interview for this week.

    Kernen, who was on a list of Trump’s “close contacts” shown at his hush money trial earlier this year, said on the air Tuesday that “Trump canceled, and he was going to come on.” The Harris campaign shared a clip of Kernen’s announcement on social media.

    A Trump campaign official told Spectrum News that the interview was canceled due to a scheduling conflict. Trump was scheduled Tuesday to take part in an interview co-hosted by Bloomberg News and The Economic Club of Chicago, as well as a Fox News town hall focused on women’s issues set to air Wednesday.

    “WOW. Donald Trump pulls out of another scheduled mainstream interview. First he canceled on 60 Minutes. He’s refusing to debate. He froze up and played music for 40 minutes last night on stage,” Harris spokesperson Ammar Moussa wrote on social media. “What is going on?”

    Harris deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty on social media sarcastically remarked that Trump is “closing strong!” by canceling the interview and asked: “is he….okay?”

    Trump, for his part, questioned Harris’ health in a series of overnight posts on his social media platform, claiming he’s “far healthier” than the vice president and any of his predecessors in both political parties.

    “I have just seen Kamala’s Report, and it is not good,” Trump wrote in one post. “According to her Doctor’s Report, she suffers from ‘urticaria,’ defined as ‘a rash of round, red welts on the skin that itch intensely, sometimes with dangerous swelling.’ She also has ‘allergic rhinitis and allergic conjunctivitis,’ a very messy and dangerous situation. These are deeply serious conditions that clearly impact her functioning. Maybe that is why she can’t answer even the simplest of questions asked by 60 Minutes, and others.”

    Urticaria is better known as hives, and allergic rhinitis is a condition that causes runny nose, congestion and sneezing. Her doctor said she is being treated for both with over-the-counter antihistamines and allergen immunotherapy, but is otherwise in excellent health.

    Both candidates were invited to the “60 Minutes” interview. Harris took part in the interview, which aired last week, while Trump turned it down and later accused the newsmagazine of helping Harris and called for CBS to lose its broadcast license.

    Spectrum News’ Joseph Konig contributed to this report.

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    Justin Tasolides

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  • In Pennsylvania, Harris plays Trump’s own words to hammer him over rhetoric

    In Pennsylvania, Harris plays Trump’s own words to hammer him over rhetoric

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    At Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Monday night, an unexpected guest took center stage: former President Donald Trump.

    Via video clips, at least.

    What You Need To Know

    • At her Erie, Pennsylvania, rally on Monday night, in an effort to hammer former President Donald Trump over his rhetoric and warn Americans what might happen should he return to power, Vice President Kamala Harris played clips of the Republican nominee calling his critics the “enemy from within” and suggesting they “should be put in jail

    • Harris warned that Trump “will stop at nothing to claim power for himself,” before echoing comments from her “60 Minutes” interview and last month’s presidential debate urging Americans to watch his campaign events

    • Harris’ campaign on Monday ahead of the event launched a new campaign ad titled “Enemy Within,” which juxtaposes his comments from recent rallies using such rhetoric with comments from former Trump administration aides Olivia Troye and Kevin Carroll expressing concern about the former president’s return to the Oval Office.

    • Erie, located in the northwest corner of Pennsylvania, is a key city in a bellwether county; Erie County is one of two that voted for Barack Obama twice, then Donald Trump, and then Joe Biden, and has picked the winner in nearly every statewide election for almost two decades



    In an effort to hammer the Republican nominee over his rhetoric and warn Americans what might happen should he return to power, Harris played clips of Trump calling his critics the “enemy from within” and suggesting they “should be put in jail.”

    “After all these years, we know who Donald Trump is,” Harris told the crowd. “He is someone who will stop at nothing to claim power for himself.”

    The vice president painted the former president as “increasingly unstable and unhinged,” charging that Trump is “out for unchecked power. That’s what he’s looking for.”

    “After all these years, we know who Donald Trump is: He is someone who will stop at nothing to claim power for himself,” Harris said, before echoing comments from her “60 Minutes” interview and last month’s presidential debate urging Americans to watch his campaign events. “And you don’t have to take my word for it. I’ve said, for a while now, watch his rallies, listen to his words.”

    But this time around, instead of having her supporters seek out Trump’s words, she brought the former president’s rhetoric directly to them.

    “He tells us who he is, and he tells us what he would do if he is elected president. So here tonight, I will show you one example of Donald Trump’s worldview and intentions,” she said. “Please roll the clip.”

    A large video monitor then played a clip of Trump saying, “The worst people are the enemies from within,” from his rally in Coachella, California, over the weekend, before cutting to the former president saying at a Wisconsin rally earlier this month that “the enemy from within” is “more dangerous … than Russia and China.” She also played Trump saying last month that critics “should be put in jail” and his suggestion that “if you had one really violent day, one rough hour, and I mean real rough” would end property crime. 

    The clip ended with Trump’s comments in an interview Sunday calling for the National Guard or U.S. military to be deployed on Election Day to handle “the enemy from within,” according to a senior campaign official.

    “We have some very bad people,” Trump told “Fox News Sunday,” citing “radical left lunatics” and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who led Trump’s first impeachment trial, calling them worse than migrants who are “destroying our country” or foreign adversaries such as China and Russia.

    “We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they’re the big – and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military,” the Republican nominee added.

    “So, you heard his words,” Harris said to a chorus of boos from the crowd. “You heard his words coming from him. He’s talking about the enemy within Pennsylvania. He’s talking about the enemy within our country, Pennsylvania. He considers anyone who doesn’t support him or who will not bend to his will, an enemy of our country.”

    Harris’ campaign on Monday ahead of the event launched a new campaign ad titled “Enemy Within,” which juxtaposes his comments from recent rallies using such rhetoric with comments from former Trump administration aides Olivia Troye and Kevin Carroll expressing concern about the former president’s return to the Oval Office.

    “A second term would be worse,” Carroll says in the ad. “There will be no one to stop his worst instincts. Unchecked power, no guardrails. If we elect Trump again, we’re in terrible danger.”

    Harris’ campaign previously said the former president’s comments are the latest in a trend that suggests he’ll seek to wield unprecedented power if elected.

    “Donald Trump is suggesting that his fellow Americans are worse ‘enemies’ than foreign adversaries, and he is saying he would use the military against them,” Ian Sams, a senior campaign adviser, said in a statement. “Taken with his vow to be a dictator on ‘day one,’ calls for the ‘termination’ of the Constitution, and plans to surround himself with sycophants who will give him unchecked, unprecedented power if he returns to office, this should alarm every American who cares about their freedom and security. What Donald Trump is promising is dangerous, and returning him to office is simply a risk Americans cannot afford.”

    Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, also took aim at Trump’s comments at an event in Wisconsin on Monday.

    “Donald Trump over the weekend was talking about using the U.S. Army against people who disagree with him,” Walz told students. “Just so you’re clear about that, that’s you, that’s what he’s talking about. This is not some mythical thing out there.” 

    “I tell you that because we need to whip his butt and put this guy behind us,” he said. 

    Both candidates campaigned in Pennsylvania on Monday, highlighting the importance of the Keystone State and its 19 electoral votes to both campaigns. Trump held a town hall in Oaks, Pennsylvania, less than 20 miles north of Philadelphia.

    Erie, located in the northwest corner of Pennsylvania, is a key city in a bellwether county. Erie County is one of two that voted for Barack Obama twice, then Donald Trump, and then Joe Biden, and has picked the winner in nearly every statewide election for almost two decades.

    Spectrum News’ Maddie Gannon, Taylor Popielarz and Ryan Chatelain contributed to this report.

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    Justin Tasolides

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  • U.S. Embassy in Lebanon urges Americans to leave ‘now’

    U.S. Embassy in Lebanon urges Americans to leave ‘now’

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    The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon on Monday urged American citizens in the country in no uncertain terms to leave “now” amid ongoing fighting between militant group Hezbollah and Israel.

    What You Need To Know

    • The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon on Monday urged American citizens in the country to leave “now” as fighting between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah continues

    • The bulletin says the country’s commercial airport remains open and carriers still have flights, and the federal government has “added thousands of seats in extra capacity to accommodate U.S. citizens and their family members”

    • Fighting between the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group and Israel began roughly a year ago in the aftermath of Hamas’ terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023

    • The conflict has escalated significantly in recent weeks



    “U.S. citizens in Lebanon are strongly encouraged to depart now,” a bulletin from the State Department issued Monday reads, noting that the country’s commercial airport remains open and carriers still have flights.

    The bulletin also noted that the federal government has “added thousands of seats in extra capacity to accommodate U.S. citizens and their family members,” and much of that extra capacity has gone unused — but warned that “these additional flights will not continue indefinitely.”

    The bulletin urges U.S. citizens in Lebanon who need assistance to reach out via an online form that will allow U.S. Embassy staff to help point them in the direction of flights and aid them with emergency passport requests and potentially emergency loans for those eligible.

    For those who do not wish to depart imminently, the State Department implores U.S. citizens to “prepare contingency plans should the situation deteriorate further,” adding: “These alternative plans should not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation.”

    Fighting between the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group and Israel began roughly a year ago in the aftermath of Hamas’ terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Hezbollah began firing rockets and artillery shells at Israel, which the group said was in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Hezbollah has thousands of rockets, missiles and drones into Israel in the last year; most have been intercepted or missed their targets, causing few casualties but disrupting daily life in the country.

    The conflict escalated in a major way last month when pagers and other devices began detonating across Lebanon, killing dozens and injuring thousands more. Hezbollah blamed Israel for the attack, which it denied. Israel later carried out bombing campaigns across Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah sites and commanders, killing several, including leader Hassan Nasrallah, and began a ground invasion about two weeks ago.

    In the latest volley of fighting, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 18 in northern Lebanon, per the Lebanese Red Cross. The strike hit a small apartment building; it’s unclear what the target was.

    The strike follows a Hezbollah drone attack on an Israeli army base, killing four soldiers and wounding 61 others. Israel vowed a “forceful response” to the attack.

    The United Nations also said recently that Israel fired on peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon, injuring more than a dozen. U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres said “may constitute a war crime.” Israel has accused Hezbollah of operating near peacekeeping forces and charged that the U.N. is keeping forces there to obstruct military operations against Hezbollah.

    The attacks on U.N. peacekeeping forces have drawn international condemnation. The European Union on Monday called the attacks “completely unacceptable” and rejected Israel’s allegations about the peacekeeping forces.

    Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, has vowed to keep up its attacks on Israel until there is a cease-fire in Gaza. Israel has said its campaign against Hezbollah is aimed at stopping those attacks so displaced Israelis can feel safe returning to their homes near the Lebanese border.

    Israel says it has sent 1.7 million text messages, 3.4 million voice messages and made 3,700 voice calls notifying civilians in Lebanon to evacuate.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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    Justin Tasolides

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  • Fox News to host Trump town hall in Georgia focused on women’s issues

    Fox News to host Trump town hall in Georgia focused on women’s issues

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    Fox News will hold a town hall with former President Donald Trump next week focused specifically on issues impacting women, a voting bloc that polls show he has struggled to reach.  

    The network announced the one-hour town hall event in a press release on Friday.

    The event will be held in Cumming, Georgia, a key battleground state, and will be moderated by Fox News host Harris Faulkner. It will be pre-taped on Tuesday before airing on Wednesday at 11 a.m. EST. The audience will be made up entirely of women and will hit on issues such as the economy, abortion, immigration and health care, the network said, pointing to a poll it conducted in September showing those topics high on the list of ones women care about. 

    “Women constitute the largest group of registered and active voters in the United States, so it is paramount that female voters understand where the presidential candidates stand on the issues that matter to them most,” Faulkner said in a release. “I am looking forward to providing our viewers with an opportunity to learn more about where former President Trump stands on these topics.”

    Polls show Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, holds a sizable edge with female voters heading into the November election. An NBC News poll in September found the vice president with a more than 20 percentage-point lead among the voting bloc. 

    Fox News noted it has offered to host Harris for town hall “multiple times” since she became the Democratic presidential nominee and the invitation still stands. 

    The news comes one day after CNN invited Harris and Trump for separate town hall events in lieu of a Oct. 23 debate between the two that the network initially offered. Harris quickly accepted the network’s offer. Trump has not yet responded to the invitation, nor has he responded to a request from Spectrum News about the event.

    Fox also recently invited both candidates to debate in late October. But in a post on his social media platform on Wednesday night, Trump said that “THERE WILL BE NO REMATCH,” claiming that he won both the debate against Harris last month and a CNN-hosted debate against then-Democratic nominee President Joe Biden in June, which precipitated the incumbent’s exit from the race following a shaky performance.

    “The problem with another debate is that it’s just too late, voting has already started,” Trump said last month in declining the CNN debate, blaming Harris for “turning down” an invitation to debate with Trump on Fox News. “But now she wants to do a debate right before the election.”

    Trump and Biden’s final debate of the 2020 election cycle took place on Oct. 22. Their first debate didn’t happen until Sept. 29.

    Harris’ campaign has admonished Trump for not agreeing to another debate, calling his stance on Thursday “a disservice to the American people.”

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    Maddie Gannon

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  • U.S. jobless claims jump to 258,000, the most in more than a year

    U.S. jobless claims jump to 258,000, the most in more than a year

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    The number of Americans filing for for unemployment benefits last week jumped to their highest level in a year, which analysts are saying is more likely a result of Hurricane Helene than a broader softening in the labor market.

    The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims jumped by by 33,000 to 258,000 for the week of Oct. 3. That’s the most since Aug. 5, 2023 and well above the 229,000 analysts were expecting.

    What You Need To Know

    • The number of Americans filing for for unemployment benefits last week jumped to their highest level in a year

    • Analysts say it’s more likely a result of Hurricane Helene than a broader softening in the labor market

    • The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless claims jumped by by 33,000 to 258,000 for the week of Oct. 3

    • Analysts highlighted big jumps in jobless benefit applications across states that were most affected by Hurricane Helene last week, including Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee


    Analysts highlighted big jumps in jobless benefit applications across states that were most affected by Hurricane Helene last week, including Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

    Applications for jobless benefits are widely considered representative of U.S. layoffs in a given week, however they can be volatile and prone to revision.

    The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of that weekly volatility, rose by 6,750 to 231,000.

    The total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits rose by 42,000 to about 1.86 million for the week of Sept. 28, the most since late July.

    Some recent labor market data has suggested that high interest rates may finally be taking a toll on the labor market.

    In response to weakening employment data and receding consumer prices, the Federal Reserve last month cut its benchmark interest rate by a half of a percentage point as the central bank shifts its focus from taming inflation toward supporting the job market. The Fed’s goal is to achieve a rare “soft landing,” whereby it brings down inflation without causing a recession.

    It was the Fed’s first rate cut in four years after a series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 pushed the federal funds rate to a two-decade high of 5.3%.

    Inflation has retreated steadily, approaching the Fed’s 2% target and leading Chair Jerome Powell to declare recently that it was largely under control.

    In a separate report Thursday, the government reported that U.S. inflation reached its lowest point since February 2021.

    During the first four months of 2024, applications for jobless benefits averaged just 213,000 a week before rising in May. They hit 250,000 in late July, supporting the notion that high interest rates were finally cooling a red-hot U.S. job market.

    In August, the Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added 818,000 fewer jobs from April 2023 through March this year than were originally reported. The revised total was also considered evidence that the job market has been slowing steadily, compelling the Fed to start cutting interest rates.

    Despite of all the signs of labor market slowing, America’s employers added a surprisingly strong 254,000 jobs in September, easing some concerns about a weakening job market and suggesting that the pace of hiring is still solid enough to support a growing economy.

    Last month’s gain was far more than economists had expected, and it was up sharply from the 159,000 jobs that were added in August. After rising for most of 2024, the unemployment rate dropped for a second straight month, from 4.2% in August to 4.1% in September.

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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  • Las Vegas says goodbye to the Tropicana with flashy casino implosion

    Las Vegas says goodbye to the Tropicana with flashy casino implosion

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    Sin City blew a kiss goodbye to the Tropicana before first light Wednesday in an elaborate implosion that reduced to rubble the last true mob building on the Las Vegas Strip.

    What You Need To Know

    • The iconic Tropicana hotel in Las Vegas was demolished early Wednesday morning, the first casino implosion in nearly a decade

    • The Tropicana closed in April after 67 years to make room for a new $1.5 billion baseball stadium for the relocating Oakland Athletics

    • Once known as the “Tiffany of the Strip” for its opulence, the Tropicana was a frequent haunt of the legendary Rat Pack



    The Tropicana’s hotel towers tumbled in a celebration that included a fireworks display. It was the first implosion in nearly a decade for a city that loves fresh starts and that has made casino implosions as much a part of its identity as gambling itself.

    “What Las Vegas has done, in classic Las Vegas style, they’ve turned many of these implosions into spectacles,” said Geoff Schumacher, historian and vice president of exhibits and programs at the Mob Museum.

    Former casino mogul Steve Wynn changed the way Las Vegas blows up casinos in 1993 with the implosion of the Dunes to make room for the Bellagio. Wynn thought not only to televise the event but created a fantastical story for the implosion that made it look like pirate ships at his other casino across the street were firing at the Dunes.

    From then on, Schumacher said, there was a sense in Las Vegas that destruction at that magnitude was worth witnessing.

    The city hasn’t blown up a Strip casino since 2016, when the final tower of the Riviera was leveled for a convention center expansion.

    This time, the implosion cleared land for a $1.5 billion baseball stadium for the relocating Oakland Athletics, part of the city’s latest rebrand into a sports hub.

    That will leave only the Flamingo from the city’s mob era on the Strip. But, Schumacher said, the Flamingo’s original structures are long gone. The casino was completely rebuilt in the 1990s.

    The Tropicana, the third-oldest casino on the Strip, closed in April after welcoming guests for 67 years.

    Once known as the “Tiffany of the Strip” for its opulence, it was a frequent haunt of the legendary Rat Pack, while its past under the mob has long cemented its place in Las Vegas lore.

    It opened in 1957 with three stories and 300 hotel rooms split into two wings.

    As Las Vegas rapidly evolved in the following decades, including a building boom of Strip megaresorts in the 1990s, the Tropicana also underwent major changes. Two hotel towers were added in later years. In 1979, the casino’s beloved $1 million green-and-amber stained glass ceiling was installed above the casino floor.

    The Tropicana’s original low-rise hotel wings survived the many renovations, however, making it the last true mob structure on the Strip.

    Behind the scenes of the casino’s grand opening, the Tropicana had ties to organized crime, largely through reputed mobster Frank Costello.

    Costello was shot in the head in New York weeks after the Tropicana’s debut. He survived, but the investigation led police to a piece of paper in his coat pocket with the Tropicana’s exact earnings figure, revealing the mob’s stake in the casino.

    By the 1970s, federal authorities investigating mobsters in Kansas City charged more than a dozen operatives with conspiring to skim $2 million in gambling revenue from Las Vegas casinos, including the Tropicana. Charges connected to the Tropicana alone resulted in five convictions.

    There were no public viewing areas for the event, but fans of the Tropicana did have a chance in April to bid farewell to the vintage Vegas relic.

    “Old Vegas, it’s going,” Joe Zappulla, a teary-eyed New Jersey resident, said at the time as he exited the casino, shortly before the locks went on the doors.

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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  • FEMA says it’s prepared for Hurricane Milton as it continues Helene response

    FEMA says it’s prepared for Hurricane Milton as it continues Helene response

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    Eleven days after Hurricane Helene tore through the Southeastern United States, leaving a 600-mile path of destruction, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is deploying aid to the region while simultaneously preparing for expected fallout from another hurricane poised to make landfall in Florida this week.

    What You Need To Know

    • On Monday, the Department of Defense announced it has deployed 1,500 personnel to the Western part of North Carolina, much of which is still without power and largely inaccessible because of the destruction from Hurricane Helene

    • The DOD has sent 41 aircraft (including helicopters) and 918 vehicles (including all-terrain vehicles) to help clear roads, deliver commodities, provide medical care and search for missing people

    • In North Carolina, home to about half of the 227 fatalities from the storm so far, FEMA has more than 800 staff on the ground and 1,200 urban search and rescue personnel
    • More than 1,000 National Guard troops are also in the state, helping to deliver food, water and other supplies, some of which is being air dropped into isolated communities


    “This is a complicated event, but let me be clear: FEMA is good at complexity,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said during a media briefing Monday in North Carolina, where hundreds of people are still missing and 500 roads and 50 water systems have been impaired or destroyed. 

    The White House says federal support has surpassed surpassed $210 million and FEMA has so far distributed $137 million in assistance to Hurricane Helene survivors. As of Monday, almost 7,000 emergency responders have been deployed and 15.6 million meals have been shipped, along with 13.9 million liters of water, 157 generators and more than 505,000 tarps. 

    In North Carolina, home to about half of the 227 fatalities from the storm so far, FEMA has more than 800 staff on the ground and 1,200 urban search and rescue personnel. More than 1,000 National Guard troops are also in the state, helping to deliver food, water and other supplies, some of which is being air dropped into isolated communities.

    On Monday, the Department of Defense announced it has deployed 1,500 personnel to the Western part of North Carolina, much of which is still without power and largely inaccessible. Army General John Morrison said the DOD has sent 41 aircraft (including helicopters) and 918 vehicles (including all-terrain vehicles) to help clear roads, deliver commodities, provide medical care and search for missing people.

    The number of missing “is rapidly dwindling,” according to North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. “We know a lot of reunifications have occurred that have not been reported back. We know that a lot of people have finally gotten cell phone service and talked to the people who made the report that hasn’t gotten back to us.” 

    He said he will have an update on the list of missing by Tuesday morning.

    More than 104,000 people in North Carolina have registered for FEMA assistance, he said; $31 million in aid has so far been distributed in the state. About 1,700 people are currently sheltering in hotels.

    Cooper discouraged tourists from traveling to Western North Carolina.

    “We need to preserve roads for the commodities that are coming in, for utility workers, for cell phone workers, for people who are providing medical assistance,” he said. “There’s a lot of work going on to make sure that people are getting their oxygen, making sure they’re getting their regular medical supplies, so we don’t want people coming right now.”

    He said it will take time to repair the hundreds of roads that were damaged by the storm. On Friday, the Biden-Harris administration sent $100 million in emergency funding to North Carolina to repair roads and bridges damaged by the hurricane. Cooper said the state legislature will approve additional funding this week for road repairs.

    FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell encouraged anyone affected by the hurricane to apply for assistance, including $750 in immediate monetary aid to help pay for medicine and food. 

    “Then we’re going to give additional money for the repairs to your homes and the items that were lost,” she said. “We’re going to help with any rental that they incur or any of the displacement costs if they stayed at a hotel. All of that will be reimbursed, but I can’t give it to them if they don’t apply.”

    With Hurricane Milton poised to make landfall in Florida later this week, FMEA said it has the resources and capacity to address multiple disasters simultaneously. 

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    Susan Carpenter

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  • Biden appeals to those impacted by Helene

    Biden appeals to those impacted by Helene

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    President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Monday offered their sympathies to those impacted by Hurricane Helene and pledged that the federal government “has their back.”

    What You Need To Know

    • President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Monday said in a video message to those impacted by Hurricane Helene that the federal government “has their back”

    • The message comes as falsehoods and conspiracies about the federal response to the storm threaten to disrupt recovery and relief efforts, officials say

    • Former President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican nominee, has falsely claimed that the Biden administration as withholding aid from Republicans

    • Helene, which made landfall in Florida last week as a Category 4 hurricane, has killed at least 230 people, with hundreds still unaccounted for, making it the deadliest mainland storm since Hurricane Katrina in 2005



    The video message, shared on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” comes as falsehoods and conspiracies about the federal response to the storm — notably being echoed and amplified by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump — threaten to disrupt recovery and relief efforts, officials say.

    “The nation has your back,” Biden pledged to those in the path of the storm in North and South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama.

    The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the president said said, “is knocking on doors to sign up survivors for direct and immediate financial aid, because many of them need it now. And I’ve directed my team to stay there 24/7 with you, until this job is done.”

    Helene, which made landfall in Florida last week as a Category 4 hurricane, has killed at least 230 people, with hundreds still unaccounted for, making it the deadliest mainland storm since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

    The president traveled to four of the impacted states last week — the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida.

    “Last week I spent time in four states to see firsthand how you’re doing and to thank the first responders who run toward danger,” President Biden said. “I saw homes destroyed, businesses wiped out, bridges washed away, survivors in shock and families grieving.”

    “We grieve with you,” the first lady added. “This is more heartache than any one community can bear.”

    “In moments like this, there are no red or blue states,” President Biden said, with the presidential election less than a month away.

    “No matter how you vote, we help each other when disaster strikes,” Dr. Biden said. “Because we are one United States of America.”

    Misinformation about the storm — particularly taking aim at the federal response to it — is complicating relief efforts and forcing officials of both parties to take time to set the record straight.

    Trump has charged that the Biden administration is withholding aid from Republicans.

    “They’re being treated very badly in the Republican areas,” Trump said, without evidence, on Fox News. “They’re not getting water, they’re not getting anything.”

    That claim has been echoed by right-wing figures like embattled North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, who has been dogged by his own scandals in recent weeks, and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was found liable for more than $1 billion for false and defamatory claims about the Sandy Hook school shooting. But they have been debunked by governors in both parties, including Republican Govs. Henry McMaster of South Carolina and Brian Kemp of Georgia and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, who have praised the federal response to the storm.

    Trump has also falsely accused FEMA of spending money on migrants who have entered the country illegally. Other critics have criticized spending on aid to Ukraine and Israel, despite the fact that Congress allocates those funds for specific and separate purposes. One lawmaker even posited that the path of the storm was manipulated to harm Republican voters in an effort to influence the 2024 presidential election.

    FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told ABC News on Sunday that false claims about storm recovery are “frankly ridiculous, and just plain false,” as well as “demoralizing” to aid workers and fear-mongering for those in need of aid.

    “This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people,” Criswell said. “It’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people, and that’s what we’re here to do.”

    FEMA said Monday morning that federal support for Helene has surpassed $210 million, with hundreds of personnel on the ground to help with response efforts, including search and rescue. The agency said that it is prepared to continue response efforts while simultaneously bracing for Hurricane Milton, which strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane on Monday and is set to make landfall in Florida later this week.

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    Justin Tasolides

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  • Biden appeals to those impacted by Helene

    Biden appeals to those impacted by Helene

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    President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Monday offered their sympathies to those impacted by Hurricane Helene and pledged that the federal government “has their back.”

    What You Need To Know

    • President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Monday said in a video message to those impacted by Hurricane Helene that the federal government “has their back”

    • The message comes as falsehoods and conspiracies about the federal response to the storm threaten to disrupt recovery and relief efforts, officials say

    • Former President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican nominee, has falsely claimed that the Biden administration as withholding aid from Republicans

    • Helene, which made landfall in Florida last week as a Category 4 hurricane, has killed at least 230 people, with hundreds still unaccounted for, making it the deadliest mainland storm since Hurricane Katrina in 2005



    The video message, shared on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” comes as falsehoods and conspiracies about the federal response to the storm — notably being echoed and amplified by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump — threaten to disrupt recovery and relief efforts, officials say.

    “The nation has your back,” Biden pledged to those in the path of the storm in North and South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama.

    The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the president said said, “is knocking on doors to sign up survivors for direct and immediate financial aid, because many of them need it now. And I’ve directed my team to stay there 24/7 with you, until this job is done.”

    Helene, which made landfall in Florida last week as a Category 4 hurricane, has killed at least 230 people, with hundreds still unaccounted for, making it the deadliest mainland storm since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

    The president traveled to four of the impacted states last week — the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida.

    “Last week I spent time in four states to see firsthand how you’re doing and to thank the first responders who run toward danger,” President Biden said. “I saw homes destroyed, businesses wiped out, bridges washed away, survivors in shock and families grieving.”

    “We grieve with you,” the first lady added. “This is more heartache than any one community can bear.”

    “In moments like this, there are no red or blue states,” President Biden said, with the presidential election less than a month away.

    “No matter how you vote, we help each other when disaster strikes,” Dr. Biden said. “Because we are one United States of America.”

    Misinformation about the storm — particularly taking aim at the federal response to it — is complicating relief efforts and forcing officials of both parties to take time to set the record straight.

    Trump has charged that the Biden administration is withholding aid from Republicans.

    “They’re being treated very badly in the Republican areas,” Trump said, without evidence, on Fox News. “They’re not getting water, they’re not getting anything.”

    That claim has been echoed by right-wing figures like embattled North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, who has been dogged by his own scandals in recent weeks, and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was found liable for more than $1 billion for false and defamatory claims about the Sandy Hook school shooting. But they have been debunked by governors in both parties, including Republican Govs. Henry McMaster of South Carolina and Brian Kemp of Georgia and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, who have praised the federal response to the storm.

    Trump has also falsely accused FEMA of spending money on migrants who have entered the country illegally. Other critics have criticized spending on aid to Ukraine and Israel, despite the fact that Congress allocates those funds for specific and separate purposes. One lawmaker even posited that the path of the storm was manipulated to harm Republican voters in an effort to influence the 2024 presidential election.

    FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told ABC News on Sunday that false claims about storm recovery are “frankly ridiculous, and just plain false,” as well as “demoralizing” to aid workers and fear-mongering for those in need of aid.

    “This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people,” Criswell said. “It’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people, and that’s what we’re here to do.”

    FEMA said Monday morning that federal support for Helene has surpassed $210 million, with hundreds of personnel on the ground to help with response efforts, including search and rescue. The agency said that it is prepared to continue response efforts while simultaneously bracing for Hurricane Milton, which strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane on Monday and is set to make landfall in Florida later this week.

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    Justin Tasolides

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  • Ohio court refers case brought by group against Trump, Vance to prosecutors

    Ohio court refers case brought by group against Trump, Vance to prosecutors

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    SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio court has referred to county prosecutors a criminal case brought by a citizens’ group against the Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates over their comments about Haitian immigrants but rejected the group’s call to issue arrest warrants or misdemeanor summons.

    What You Need To Know

    • An Ohio court has referred to county prosecutors a criminal case brought by a citizens’ group against the Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates over their comments about Haitian immigrants

    • Springfield officials said in a statement Saturday that the Clark County municipal court found no probable cause to issue warrants or summons on misdemeanor charges against former president Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance

    • The Springfield News-Sun reports that the judicial panel addressing the charges brought by the Haitian Bridge Alliance that particular consideration should be given to “the strong constitutional protections afforded to speech, and political speech in particular”

    • The 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian immigrants who have arrived in Springfield over the past several years — in many cases after being recruited to local jobs — have been granted “temporary protected status” to be in the U.S. legally.

    Springfield officials said in a statement Saturday that the Clark County municipal court found no probable cause to issue warrants or summons on misdemeanor charges against former president Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

    “The matter was then referred to the Clark County prosecutor’s office for further investigation,” city officials said.

    The Springfield News-Sun reports that the judicial panel said particular consideration should be given to “the strong constitutional protections afforded to speech, and political speech in particular” with the election so close and the “contentious” nature of the issue of immigration.

    The Haitian Bridge Alliance, a nonprofit group representing the Haitian community, last month invoked a private-citizen right to file charges over the chaos and threats experienced since Trump first spread false claims about legal immigrants there during a presidential debate.

    “Their persistence and relentlessness, even in the face of the governor and the mayor saying this is false, that shows intent,” said the group’s attorney, Subodh Chandra of the Cleveland-based Chandra Law Firm. “It’s knowing, willful flouting of criminal law.”

    Steven Cheung of the Trump-Vance campaign said the former president was “rightfully highlighting the failed immigration system that (Vice President) Kamala Harris has overseen, bringing thousands of illegal immigrants pouring into communities like Springfield and many others across the country.”

    The 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian immigrants who have arrived in Springfield over the past several years — in many cases after being recruited to local jobs — have been granted “temporary protected status” to be in the U.S. legally.

    “It is crucial to foster discussions around sensitive issues, particularly those concerning immigration, with a commitment to truth and integrity,” Springfield officials said.

    The city said it was “dedicated to promoting constructive dialogue and addressing community concerns transparently” and added that “the safety and well-being of all residents, including the Haitian immigrant community, continue to be our highest priority.”

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    Spectrum News Staff, Associated Press

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