The National Guard is on standby in several US states, including Washington and Oregon, due to concerns about civil unrest linked to the upcoming presidential election. The measures come after hundreds of ballots were destroyed or damaged when three ballot boxes were set on fire in both states recently. Although the suspected perpetrator has not been identified, the police have released a physical description. Washington Governor Jay Inslee did not disclose the number of troops set to be deployed but assured that they will support law enforcement from Monday to Thursday. In Oregon, the National Guard is also on standby, as Governor Tina Kotek’s office is reportedly coordinating with local, state, and federal agencies to ensure a safe voting environment.
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Former president Donald Trump responded to a surprising poll from the Des Moines Register that indicated favor was swinging towards Kamala Harris in Iowa, a state that was previously 18 points in Trump’s favour. Trump accused the pollster of being biased against him and urged the state’s farmers to support him. This recent poll aligns with reportedly bleak internal polls for Trump and ongoing trends predicting key swing-state races favouring Democrats. GOP strategist Margaret Hoover believes these internal polls are a cause for concern for Trump’s campaign. Democrats are apparently in a strong position to take on incumbents, according to Race to the WH founder Logan Phillips.
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Former President Donald Trump, at a recent Pennsylvania rally, heightened his criticisms of news outlets. He stated he wouldn’t be bothered if someone shot “through the fake news”, a reference to the media representatives often present between him and the crowd at such events. His comments were described as follows by Trump Campaign Communications Director Steven Cheung, “President Trump was stating that the Media was in danger, in that they were protecting him and, therefore, were in great danger themselves, and should have had a glass protective shield, also.” These remarks come soon after Trump’s arguably threatening comments about former congresswoman Liz Cheney, whom he labelled a “war hawk”.
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Donald Trump’s claim that his political rallies were always packed to capacity was publicly fact-checked during his recent rally in Greensboro, North Carolina. After Trump stated that his rallies were always full, a camera operator telecast empty seats at the stadium where the meeting was held, while News Nation’s Libbey Dean also tweeted photographs of unoccupied seats. The Kamala Harris and Tim Walz campaign account also posted photographs, comparing Trump’s claim with images of empty stadium sections. Trump supporters leaving the event early have been previously reported by The Guardian.
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Two Ohio police officers, Beau Schoenegge and Camden Burch, have been charged with reckless homicide following the death of Frank Tyson, who was left handcuffed and facedown on a social club floor, telling officers he couldn’t breathe. Tyson, who was Black, was detained after a car crash and body-camera footage showed him resisting arrest and complaining he was being suffocated. The officers told him to calm down and were seen joking with bystanders and inspecting Tyson’s wallet before realizing he was in medical distress. The charges were third-degree felonies, carrying a maximum sentence of 36 months in prison and a $10,000 fine. The officers were placed on paid administrative leave following the charge.
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Simone and Malcolm Collins, prominent advocates of the pronatalist movement, have proposed a “pronatalist” city-state to counter an anticipated demographic collapse. The couple, who have four children, proposed a dystopian-like model city-state where human reproductive biology is modified, the value of voting rights is determined by an individual’s perceived societal value, and the city-state is run by an executor or “dictoar”. Immersed in the rejection of traditional conservatism, the Collinses’ proposal was formulated for a supposed wealthy investor, who later turned out to be an undercover researcher from the UK-based anti-racism group, Hope Not Hate. Despite the proposal not being pitched, Simone and Malcolm Collins have said they stand by its core tenets. Their views align closely with those expressed by political figures like J.D. Vance and entrepreneur Elon Musk.
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Former US President Donald Trump has made a potentially dangerous statement at a rally in Pennsylvania, suggesting he wouldn’t mind if an attempt to assassinate him involved shooting through members of the media. Both Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris have been speaking behind panels of bulletproof glass as a security measure following an assassination attempt against Trump in July. After pointing out the glass in front of him, Trump mentioned that there was no glass between him and the media, stating someone would have to “shoot through the fake news” to get him. This comment sparked concerns about it being a potential call for violence.
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IKEA will pay €6m ($6.5m) to a German government fund set up to compensate victims of forced labour under the country’s communist regime. Political and criminal prisoners during the Cold War era were forced to build flatpack furniture for IKEA, which was aware that political prisoners were being used, according to an investigation by Ernst & Young. IKEA Germany said the payment was the result of a long-term discussion with the Union of Victims’ Associations of Communist Dictatorship. This is the first payment of its type and has been welcomed by advocacy groups who hope this will prompt other companies to follow. Germany’s parliament will vote on the establishment of the fund in the coming weeks.
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Subway surfing, a dangerous trend of riding on top of moving subway cars popularized on social media, has resulted in six deaths and 181 arrests in New York City this year, according to the New York Police Department. In response, the city’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is working with social media platforms including YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram to remove related content and discourage the practice. The NYPD is also using drone technology to apprehend and deter subway surfers. Social media platforms’ policies forbid dangerous content, but the spread of such challenges is often driven by peer pressure and attention-seeking behavior. Lawsuits have been filed against some platforms, alleging they encourage dangerous behavior among young users.
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Clark County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant John Rodgers has faced public scrutiny after suggesting in Facebook posts that caller’s voting preference would influence how he responded to emergency calls. Rodgers reportedly stated that he would not help those who supported the Democratic Party and indicated people would need to show proof of who they voted for before he would assist them. Chief Deputy Mike Young said the comments were highly inappropriate and did not represent the Sheriff’s Office’s policy of serving all residents impartially, regardless of their voting preference. Rodgers, who claims not to remember publishing the posts, is reported to be on medication that can cause communication to be ‘out of character’. Rodgers has been given a written reprimand for violating the Sheriff’s Office’s social media policy.
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John Q. Hosedrinker