GOP voters told to hold onto mail ballots until Election Day
ATLANTA (AP) — Republican activists who believe the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump have crafted a plan that, in their telling, will thwart cheating in this year’s midterm elections. The strategy: Vote in person on Election Day or — for voters who receive a mailed ballot — hold onto it and hand it in at a polling place on Nov. 8. The plan is based on unfounded conspiracy theories that fraudsters will manipulate voting systems to rig results for Democrats once they have seen how many Republican votes have been returned early. If enough voters are dissuaded from casting ballots early, it could lead to long lines on Election Day.
Russian authorities advise civilians to leave Ukraine region
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian-installed authorities have urged all residents of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson to leave immediately ahead of an expected Ukrainian advance. The regional pro-Kremlin administration on Saturday strongly encouraged civilians to use boat crossings over the Dnieper River to evacuate deeper into Russian-held territory. They cited a tense situation on the front and the threat of shelling and alleged plans for “terror attacks” by Kyiv. Kherson has been in Russian hands since the early days of the invasion in February. The city is the capital of a region of the same name, one of four Russian President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed last month.
Illegal border crossings to US from Mexico hit annual high
SAN DIEGO (AP) — US authorities say a surge in migration from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua in September brought the number of illegal crossings to the highest level ever recorded in a fiscal year. Customs and Border Protection said late Friday that migrants were stopped more than 227,000 times in September at the US border with Mexico, the third-highest month of Joe Biden’s presidency. In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, migrants were stopped 2.38 million times, up 37% from 1.73 million times the year before. The annual total surpassed 2 million for the first time in August. The year-end numbers reflect deteriorating economic and political conditions in some countries, the relative strength of the US economy and uneven enforcement of Trump-era asylum restrictions.
Iran protests trigger solidarity rallies in US, Europe
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chanting crowds have rallied in Berlin, Washington DC and Los Angeles in solidarity with protesters facing a violent government crackdown in Iran. Saturday’s rallies were a show of international support for weeks of protests in Iran. They were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country’s morality police. Several hundred chanting protesters wearing the green, white and red colors of the Iranian flag chanted on the National Mall, ahead of a march to the White House. Nearly 40,000 people gathered in Berlin to show solidarity for the women and activists leading the movement in Iran.
Inflation protests across Europe threaten political turmoil
LONDON (AP) — Across Europe, soaring inflation is behind a wave of protests and strikes that underscores growing discontent with the spiraling cost of living and threatens to unleash political turmoil. With British Prime Minister Liz Truss forced to resign less than two months into the job after her economic plans sparked chaos in financial markets and further bruised an ailing economy, the risk to political leaders became clearer as people demand action. A risk consultancy says the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sharply raised the risk of civil unrest in Europe. The war has led to higher energy bills and food prices.
Major Hurricane Roslyn heads for hit on Mexico’s coast
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Roslyn has grown to Category 4 force as it heads for a collision with Mexico’s Pacific coast, likely north of the resort of Puerto Vallarta. The US National Hurricane Center says Roslyn’s maximum sustained winds stooed at 130 mph at midafternoon Saturday. The storm was centered about 115 miles south-southwest of Cabo Corrientes — the point of land jutting into the Pacific south of Puerto Vallarta. The forecast calls for Roslyn to take a path close to Cabo Corrientes and the Puerto Vallarta region on Saturday night before making landfall in Nayarit state on Sunday morning.
City where George Floyd was killed in struggles to recruit cops
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis has struggled to rebuild its police department after hundreds of officers quit in the two years since George Floyd was killed by a city police officer. An informational meeting for potential recruits attended by The Associated Press offers a glimpse of the challenges in restoring a force that was down by one-third at one point. Officers told recruits they would be working in a vibrant city with all the career paths that come in a large department. But they also acknowledged the dangers of the job, and the duty new officers would face to rebuild trust in the community. One potential recruit, Cyrus Collins, told AP he “doesn’t want people of color to be against cops.” Another said he thought he could “bring more heart into the police force.”
Alex Jones seeks new trial after $1B Sandy Hook verdict
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has asked a Connecticut judge to throw out a nearly $1 billion verdict against him and order a new trial in a lawsuit by Sandy Hook families over Jones’ lies that the 2012 Newtown school shooting was a hoax. The verdict came this month in a lawsuit by relatives of eight children and adults killed in the shooting who testified they were harassed and threatened because of the hoax conspiracy. Jones asked for a new trial Friday, calling the trial in Connecticut unfair and “a substantial miscarriage of justice.” A lawyer for the Sandy Hook families says they will oppose Jones’ request. Twenty children and six educators died in the shooting.
EXPLAINER: Why the British public is not choosing its leader
LONDON (AP) — Observers of Britain’s governing structure can be forgiven for scratching their heads in recent weeks as they watch the country reel through a succession of prime ministers without holding an election. Under Britain’s parliamentary system, the public never actually votes for its prime minister. Instead, voters tick the box for a representative from their local area, who then becomes one of Britain’s 650 Members of Parliament. The party that wins a majority forms a government and puts their leader into the prime minister’s seat. If that leader falls from grace, the party — and only the party — gets to choose a new leader and new prime minister.
Joanna Simon, acclaimed singer, TV correspondent, dies at 85
NEW YORK (AP) — Joanna Simon, a mezzo-soprano and one of the three singing Simon sisters, has died. She was 85. The eldest sister of pop star Carly Simon died just a day before the death of her sister, Lucy. That’s according to Lucy’s daughter Julie on Facebook. Carly Simon is now the last survivor of her four siblings. They lost brother Peter, a photographer, in 2018 at age 71. All three had cancer. Joanna Simon rose to fame in the opera world and as a concert performer in the 1960s. She was a frequent guest on TV talk shows. After her retirement from singing, she became an arts correspondent for PBS’s “MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour.” She won an Emmy there in 1991 for a report on mental illness and creativity. She was the companion of Walter Cronkite from 2005 until his death in 2009
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