Stocks tumbled on Monday amid dimming hopes for a stimulus bill and rising coronavirus cases.
The White House and Democrats have failed to agree on a new aid package. White House economics adviser Larry Kudlow on Monday told reporters that talks were continuing, but declined to say whether he was optimistic or pessimistic about a deal.
Shares fell on Monday as investor hopes faded that lawmakers would deliver more emergency financial support for the economy anytime soon. Rising coronavirus cases added concerns about headwinds for the U.S. economy, sending the Dow down more than 650 points, or 2.3%.
With his back against the wall, Donald Trump pulled himself together and had the debate of his life. For the most part, he was focused, contained and determined to get his message across and not just be the alpha male.
His defense of his coronavirus response and his argument that the country cannot long survive living under perennial lockdown constituted the most eloquent he’s ever been on the pandemic.
Trump did make a few of those jaw-dropping assertions about a vaccine — that one is coming in a few weeks and or by the end of the year and that two pharmaceutical firms were almost done with one before naming not two but four firms.
That could really come back to bite him over the next few weeks as others in the know throw cold water on these claims and he is forced to defend them.
But where he really drew blood was in returning to the line of attack that helped get him elected — the idea that he had to enter politics because politicians hadn’t done the job.
“You’re all talk and no action,” Trump said to Joe Biden in his best line — and in the best moment of any debate of this cycle. He made sharp and deserved fun of Biden when the he turned to the camera to talk about voters at the kitchen table in order to shift the topic away from corruption and China.
Mostly, though, this debate made it clear what an incredible mistake Trump made in the first debate by behaving like a jerk. Had he been this Trump, rather than that Trump, he would be in a stronger position today.
Fifty million votes have been cast already, and they were cast with the memory of that disaster fresh in the minds of those early voters. The voters up for grabs might have acted differently if they’d seen this guy.
But just because Trump did so much better doesn’t mean Biden did worse than he did in the first. He was fine. He didn’t win, but if he lost, he lost on points, and not many points.
There are several attacks on presidential candidate Joe Biden that can stick, but one of the weakest and most perplexing swipes at Biden is claiming he is losing mental capacity and that he has dementia. None of the attacks are true, and Biden easily dispels them just by talking in complete sentences for more than one minute, something he did with ease during his last televised town hall.
But that hasn’t stopped these tired attacks. The Trump campaign and its allies are still trying to make this claim, and a billboard near Uniontown in Fayette County is entering the fray.
Problem is, the billboard — in an attempt to insult Biden’s mental acuity — misspelled the word dementia as “dimensia.”
Perhaps the persons responsible for the billboard are having a senior moment.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf plans to visit Pittsburgh Thursday to announce additional support for the restaurant and bar industry amid the COVID
Wolf will be joined by state Reps. Dan Deasy, Ed Gainey and Jake Wheatley, as well as state Sen. Wayne Fontana, when he makes the announcement on Thursday afternoon
According to a news release, it’s expected the governor will discuss the challenges faced by the restaurant and bar industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that he and the lawmakers joining him will announce a new plan to provide support to the industry.
Mayor Bill Peduto submitted the CROWN Act earlier this month, which stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair” Act.The bill will now go back to Peduto’s desk for his signature.Peduto’s motivation for introducing the bill was part of Pittsburgh’s Gender Equity Commission’s 2019 report that suggested the city is the most inequitable for Black women when it comes to personal, professional, housing and educational outcomes.
When Americans cast their ballots for the US president, they are actually voting for a representative of that candidate’s party known as an elector. There are 538 electors who then vote for the president on behalf of the people in their state.
Each state is assigned a certain number of these electoral votes, based on the number of congressional districts they have, plus two additional votes representing the state’s Senate seats. Washington DC is also assigned three electoral votes, despite having no voting representation in Congress. A majority of 270 of these votes is needed to win the presidency.
The process of nominating electors varies by state and by party, but is generally done one of two ways. Ahead of the election, political parties either choose electors at their national conventions, or they are voted for by the party’s central committee.
The electoral college nearly always operates with a winner-takes-all system, in which the candidate with the highest number of votes in a state claims all of that state’s electoral votes. For example, in 2016, Trump beat Clinton in Florida by a margin of just 2.2%, but that meant he claimed all 29 of Florida’s crucial electoral votes.
Such small margins in a handful of key swing states meant that, regardless of Clinton’s national vote lead, Trump was able to clinch victory in several swing states and therefore win more electoral college votes.
Biden could face the same hurdle in November, meaning he will need to focus his attention on a handful of battleground states to win the presidency.
Under the winner-takes-all system, the margin of victory in a state becomes irrelevant. In 2016, Clinton’s substantial margins in states such as California and New York failed to earn her enough electoral votes, while close races in the battleground states of Pennsylvania and Michigan took Trump over the 270 majority.
WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — Voting woes continue in Westmoreland County, with the clock ticking. Leaders are now scrambling to figure out a solution as thousands of residents still don’t have their mail-in ballots that they applied for.
A company based out of Ohio, Midwest Direct, has been tasked with getting them sent, but now Channel 11 learned that county officials at the courthouse may take matters into their own hands.
Earlier in October, officials accused Midwest Direct of sending out tens of thousands of ballots later than planned. There are still questions over how many have actually gone out.
In the past, Midwest Direct has blamed the delay on mechanical issues.That confusion is forcing leaders to make some tough decisions. They are considering having county elections staff at the courthouse print and mail out ballots themselves and avoid the third-party company altogether.
Today, backing the president is downright risky. People are losing their jobs, children are being kicked out of class and businesses are boycotted because their owners support President Trump. Imagine.
Hitting back at the Democrats’ assault on Candidate Trump in 2016, I wrote a piece for the Fiscal Times titled: “Five Reasons a Sane Person Might Still Vote for Trump.” The arguments I highlighted hold up well, and are perhaps even more persuasive today.
First up: Education.
If you believe in equal opportunity, you want all youngsters to receive a decent education. In many Democrat-led cities, Hispanic and African-American kids do not receive one.
And yet the teachers’ unions and their Democratic Party backers refuse all accountability or reforms, condemning millions of Black and brown children to second-class status.
Starting Wednesday, Oct. 21, a drop box will be stationed from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week inside the lobby of the Westmoreland County Courthouse on Main Street in Greensburg. It will remain open through Election Day.
Drop boxes at Westmoreland County Community College on Fifth Avenue in New Kensington, Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity and the county’s Adult Probation office on Riverview Drive in Monessen will open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24.
On Sunday, Oct. 25, drop boxes will be available in the Student Achievement Center building at Westmoreland County Community College near Youngwood, and the community college building on Mellon Road in Murrysville from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Collections will resume Saturday, Oct. 31, at the community college sites in Murrysville and Youngwood from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. On Sunday, Nov. 1, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the drop boxes will be available at the WCCC building in New Kensington, the airport and the Monessen probation office.
“We tried to pick the four corners of the county (for drop box sites), but it was difficult,” said Commissioner Sean Kertes.
Drop boxes will be anchored to the ground, monitored by two county employees and video surveillance. Voters are only allowed to leave their own ballots. County staff will be on duty to enforce that.
“We wanted the drop boxes on the weekends for people who can’t make it to the courthouse. We thought weekends were best,” said Commissioner Gina Cerilli
Former Vice President Joe Biden defended his plan to repeal President Trump’s tax cuts on the wealthy and said it’s “absolutely” appropriate to raise taxes during a struggling economy.
During an ABC town hall Thursday night, Biden said about $1.3 trillion of Trump’s $2 trillion tax cuts went to the top one percent of earners and he only wants to repeal the tax breaks for the wealthiest of Americans.
“That’s what I’m talking about eliminating, not all the tax cuts that are out there,” Biden said.
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Biden if it was “wise” to raise taxes when the economy is weak right now amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Absolutely,” Biden said and then went on to cite a Moody’s analysis of his tax plan saying it creates jobs and boosts the GDP.
National media outlets are eyeing Westmoreland County as a key battleground in the looming presidential election.
Both CNN and the New York Times this week spotlighted the county in reports, talking to residents and politicians about their efforts to swing the race in favor of either President Donald Trump or his Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
CNN — which called Westmoreland “pivotal” for Trump — spoke with Leslie Rossi, owner of the famous red, white and blue Trump House in Unity, which features a large cutout of the president outside.
“Four years ago, my work was really hard here,” Rossi told CNN. “I had to convince them President Trump was the best choice for them. This time, I don’t have to do any of that. They’re all in.”
Went to Westmoreland County PA where @realDonaldTrump big margins helped him win the Keystone state and the WH. Now his campaign is trying to turn out even more of his base to win again. Watch/read here. Story w @bridgetmnolanhttps://t.co/qmMc0euZ5s
Notice that Joe Biden and his campaign aren’t disputing the basic facts The Post has uncovered about Hunter Biden’s cashing in on his dad’s high office.
U.S. Navy veteran Joe Collins on Saturday released a scathing campaign ad attacking Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., for living in a multi-millionaire mansion while representing a district plagued by crime and poverty.
In the ad, Collins stands outside Waters’ $6 million California residence, noting that it is not even located inside the District she represents.
“Do you know where I am right now? Maxine Waters’ six million-dollar mansion,” Collins asks. “Do you know where I’m not right now? Maxine Waters’ district.”
Waters has represented the area that is now California’s 43rd District since 1991. Before that, she had served in the California State Assembly since 1976. Her home used to be within the boundaries of District 43 until redistricting shifted her neighborhood into the 37th District, which is represented by Democratic Rep. Karen Bass.
In this case, Trump’s campaign wanted the court to bar counties from using drop boxes or mobile sites to collect mail-in ballots.
HARRISBURG, PA — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Saturday threw out a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump’s campaign, dismissing its challenges to the battleground state’s poll-watching law and its efforts to limit how mail-in ballots can be collected and which of them can be counted.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan — who was appointed by Trump — in Pittsburgh also poured cold water on Trump’s claims that election fraud will work against him.
Trump’s campaign said it would appeal at least one element of the decision, with barely three weeks to go until Election Day in a state hotly contested by Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
The lawsuit was opposed by the administration of Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, the state Democratic Party, the League of Women Voters, the NAACP’s Pennsylvania office and other allied groups.
“The court’s decision today affirms what we’ve long known, that Pennsylvania’s elections are safe, secure, and accurate, and residents can vote on Nov. 3rd with confidence that their votes will be counted and their voices heard,” Wolf’s office said in a statement. “The ruling is a complete rejection of the continued misinformation about voter fraud and corruption, and those who seek to sow chaos and discord ahead of the upcoming election.”
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WJAC) — President Donald Trump’s campaign confirmed Saturday that he will be making a stop in Johnstown this week.
The Trump campaign says the President will host a “Make American Great Again” Rally at the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The event will be open to the public with doors opening at 4 p.m.
Joe Biden on Friday again refused to state whether he would attempt to pack the Supreme Court if elected president, saying in an interview that voters “don’t deserve” to know his position on the issue.
Some Democrats have suggested the party attempt to pack the Supreme Court, or increase the number of justices on the bench, if the party wins the presidency and a Senate majority in the November elections. The proposal comes as Republicans attempt to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the court, solidifying a 6-3 conservative majority.
Biden and running mate Senator Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) have repeatedly refused to state whether they support packing the court. However, Biden was again pressed on the issue during an interview by reporter Ross DiMattei of KTNV, a Las Vegas ABC affiliate.
But at 6:42 p.m. Friday night, the Dalton Fire Department arrived at the farm after farmers spotted the 1,000-pound hay bales ablaze.
“Within about 24 hours is when it went up in flames,” Pike said. “So it didn’t take long.”
Dicken Crane, the farm’s owner, posted images of the fire on Facebook.
“It’s actually hard to believe anyone who says they love this country would do this,” he wrote.
The Dalton Police Department said they arrested Lonnie Durfee, 49, and charged him with burning personal property. He will be arraigned Tuesday. Police said the investigation is ongoing.
Pike said she doesn’t know the individual personally but heard that he was boasting about the fire to friends shortly afterward.
Washington seems to be experiencing whiplash as the president throws wrenches into negotiations on Capitol Hill over coronavirus relief measures
The White House was preparing to unveil a new $1.8 trillion stimulus package, according to reports, after President Donald Trump blew up negotiations with Democrats and Republican leaders warned a Covid-19 relief bill was unlikely before Election Day.
US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin was expected to discuss the new aid package with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D—Ca) during a meeting on Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported, amid stalled negotiations on Capitol Hill over coronavirus relief.
“We’re doing it as fast as we can. I certainly think there will be more to see before the election,” Pompeo says
Addressing the timing of the potential release of the emails, Pompeo said, “We’re doing it as fast as we can. I certainly think there will be more to see before the election.”
President Trump said this week that he had declassified documents from the investigation into Clinton’s use of the private server for e-mail during her tenure as secretary of state, America’s top diplomat. There are reportedly as many as 33,000 e-mails from Clinton’s private server that haven’t been released publicly.
Nearly 2.5 million people are expected to vote by mail.
Pennsylvania, which is emerging as one of the most critical battleground states in the November election, could see a record-number of voters cast their ballots this year.
“We think that our total voter registration may be at an all-time high,” Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said during a press conference this week.
About 8,908,777 people have registered to vote, Boockvar said, including 4,175,532 Democrats and 3,459,627 Republicans. About 875,191 had no affiliation or identified as independents, and 398,427 identified as other.
Nearly 2.5 million people are expected to vote by mail, according to Boockvar, who noted that this was the total amount of mail-in and absentee ballots that were expected to be approved.
The Trump campaign is reportedly “exploring” a visit to Pittsburgh next week.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Reports say this potential visit from President Donald Trump would not be a rally, where typically hundreds or even thousands could be in attendance.
But the possibility of the president being here, while still having the coronavirus, is not sitting well with some local leaders.
Here’s what a New York Times reporter tweeted last night:
Mayor Bill Peduto responded on Twitter, as well.
Mayor Peduto’s assumption is correct.
However, according to the CDC, if you think or know you had COVID-19, you can be around others after 10 days since symptoms first appeared, have had 24 hours with no fever without the use of medications and you find other symptoms of the virus are improving.
On Wednesday, Sean Conley, President Trump’s doctor said the 74-year-old has been fever-free for more than four days and symptom-free for over 24 hours.
At this point, the Trump campaign has not publicly announced a visit to the city.
We’re also hearing from County Executive Rich Fitzgerald about the President possibly stopping by.
The vice-presidential debate is typically a yawn fest. But on Wednesday night the American people better stay awake when Vice President Mike Pence and his Democratic challenger, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, take the stage. This VP debate could be the most important one ever.
Beginning in 1976, the vice-presidential debate has never moved the needle of presidential politics much — let alone carried a campaign to victory. The nation’s focus has always been on the two candidates at the top of the tickets — Republican President Trump and Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden in the upcoming election.
If you watched Trump and Biden debate each other last week, you saw a train wreck in which both candidates lacked gravitas. They missed easy questions and spent the night squabbling — confirming many of the biggest concerns of many voters.
The campaign includes three ads that are set to run in 14 states, many of which are major battlegrounds, according to Religion News Service (RNS). “These ads are one component of our expansive, direct appeal to people of faith that Vice President Biden’s agenda is much more aligned with their common good values than the divisiveness, racism, and fear we see from the current administration,” Josh Dickson, who leads the campaign’s faith engagement, reportedly said.
President Trump’s physician released a memo early Friday in which he said he expects the commander-in-chief “to continue carrying out his duties without disruption.”
“This evening I received confirmation that both President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” Dr. Sean Conley wrote.
“The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence,” he continued.
Steve Scully, who serves as a host for C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal,” interned for Biden after coming to Washington, D.C. as a student, according to Marie Claire. He later worked as a staff assistant for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., a Democratic icon who was honored at the party’s 2012 convention.
On Thursday, one of his tweets resurfaced containing a photo of him with Biden. “Gotta love the @VP at the Biden Beach Bash ’16,” it read.
Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller tweeted in response: “Don’t forget to change before the debate, fellas!”
C-SPAN and The Commission on Presidential Debates did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
A viral video capturing comments between Rep. Wendy Ullman and Gov. Tom Wolf Wednesday caught backlash online from Eric Trump and conservative groups.
An exchange between Gov. Tom Wolf and a state House member from Bucks County on Tuesday went viral on social media, drawing the ire of Republican groups and even garnering national attention courtesy of Eric Trump.
The state livestream includes audio of Rep. Wendy Ullman, D-143, of Plumstead, referring to keeping her face mask on while at the podium before and removing it to speak as “political theater” at a press conference in Doylestown Borough.
“Wendy, I’m going to, I’m going to take my mask off before I speak,” Wolf is heard saying to Ullman before her remarks. It was picked up by a microphone at the podium.
“I will as well. I’m waiting so we can do a little political theater,” Ullman responded, laughing with Wolf after she spoke and then returning to the microphone with her mask still on.
The 19-second clip spread online Tuesday afternoon through tweets like one from the Young Republican National Confederation, one video gaining more than 850,000 views by Wednesday morning.
Just an hour before the first Presidential Debate began at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Eric Trump shared the Young Republicans’ tweet, which was then shared by nearly 30,000 people over night.
“While ‘political theatre’ may not have been the best turn of phrase, I’m not going to apologize for wearing a mask,” Ullman said in a statement to this news organization Wednesday afternoon after this story was published online.
Ullman added that wearing a mask on camera should be viewed as setting an example for Pennsylvanians to wear a mask and treat the coronavirus seriously.
The House passed a $2.2 trillion Democratic coronavirus stimulus plan on Thursday night even as Democrats and the Trump administration struggle to strike a relief deal.
The chamber approved the legislation in a 214-207 vote. Eighteen Democrats voted against the measure as lawmakers in competitive districts grow wary of the ongoing impasse over aid.
The bill likely will not get through the Republican-held Senate and become law. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has opposed the legislation as his caucus resists spending trillions more on the federal response to the pandemic.
The vote followed a Thursday conversation between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in which they did not forge an aid agreement but agreed to continue talks. They failed to bridge a gulf on a range of issues, including how much aid to send state and local governments and whether to establish a liability shield for businesses and schools.
Earlier in the day, Pelosi downplayed the possibility that talks with Mnuchin this week offered the last, best chance to approve more relief before the Nov. 3 election. But it is unclear now what could make either side budge, as Democrats call for a sweeping package to boost the economy and health-care system and the GOP worries about injecting too much money into the response.
