By JULIA DEBES <a href="https://kswheat.com/">Kansas Wheat</a>

The echoes of the 1930s Dust Bowl are most evident in the commitment of each subsequent generation of Kansas farmers to care for the land on which their livelihoods depend. A $1 million dollar grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) - recently awarded to K-State and Kansas Wheat - provides dedicated resources to aid these efforts by helping farmers navigate Farm Bill programs and implement proven conservation practices that best fit their winter wheat acres.

"This program is really about conservation programs and practices that include winter wheat as part of a sustainable crop rotation," said Aaron Harries, Kansas Wheat vice president of research and operations. "This is an opportunity that will benefit the farmer and bring attention to the role of winter wheat as a very important conservation tool in High Plains cropping systems.”&nbsp;

The NFWF grant will fund a three-year project, kicking off in 2025, that focuses first on sharing information about the benefits of conservation practices. 

Led by Harries and Romulo Lollato, K-State associate professor of wheat and forage production, the project aims to advance crop management priority strategies, including reduced tillage, increased adoption of cover crops and diversified crop rotations and improved nutrient management. These practices have well-documented outcomes in helping improve soil health, reduce erosion and conserve water and carbon.&nbsp;

Reflective of the private-public partnership integral to the grant, the project also includes working with certified crop advisors (CCAs) to train them on how to advise farmers on conservation practices. 

Kansas Wheat and K-State will also work with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Kansas to help increase engagement with and enrollment in Farm Bill programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).&nbsp;

Equally as important, the grant will provide additional capacity to help producers enroll in these Farm Bill programs that provide financial assistance for implementing the practices. 

The grant provides for two full-time staff members to help work one-on-one with growers and CCAs alike across Kansas. This outreach will complement K-State Research and Extension work by including targeted conservation discussions during wheat-related producer field days, pre-plant wheat meetings and other conferences and meetings.&nbsp;

"We intend to work with groups like CCAs to set up educational programs to train these experts and help them identify farmers that might have the potential to enroll acres," Harries said. "Some of those programs can seem intimidating, so we're going to help work to make it as easy as possible and work with producers on a case-by-case basis to identify which conservation practices fit best and to navigate the enrollment process."

The new project supplements the existing partnership between K-State Research and Extension and Kansas Wheat, called Wheat Rx, which disseminates the latest research recommendations for high-yielding and high-quality winter wheat to Kansas wheat farmers. The work will also be housed at the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center (KWIC) in Manhattan, another tie back to the commitment by Kansas wheat producers to invest in the future of their industry.&nbsp;

Keep up with the NFWF grant work as the project kicks off in 2025 and find additional resources at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://sfdzp7cab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001ZziCBq5Z7xzSrSIzJhkhvk2HSVEtRuczbb2BF7p5OgQeE3weH8oGueJQyC0h5dA_mRQ6_k0Hvix_p2kqaA8aAt_EQRoZxC0DysLsQAFB9bXPV7vHZwG_L74AooBBsjFDGWxWM1GMPJne2NEScX6QxWPioLw7CYdbg8D5SkyFdM4lgx0T2umRGw==&amp;c=vsrCgL-L7_dMFyCuGJGCHy14b_alfJec2L3-ZB70zymXgf3x0uiFrA==&amp;ch=R07xsNwV8gCF8yyw-cKxOEmfd97Aw3E_oOIVsCTO8OBrtKjOQGHgeg==">kswheat.com/wheatrx</a>.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1737049884920.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>By JULIA DEBES <a href="https://kswheat.com/">Kansas Wheat</a>The echoes of the 1930s Dust Bowl are most evident in the commitment of each subsequent generation of Kansas farmers to care for the land on which their livelihoods depend. A $1 million dollar grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) - recently awarded to K-State and Kansas Wheat - provides dedicated resources to aid these efforts by helping farmers navigate Farm Bill programs and implement proven conservation practices that best fit their winter wheat acres."This program is really about conservation programs and practices that include winter wheat as part of a sustainable crop rotation," said Aaron Harries, Kansas Wheat vice president of research and operations. "This is an opportunity that will benefit the farmer and bring attention to the role of winter wheat as a very important conservation tool in High Plains cropping systems.”&nbsp;The NFWF grant will fund a three-year project, kicking off in 2025, that focuses first on sharing information about the benefits of conservation practices. Led by Harries and Romulo Lollato, K-State associate professor of wheat and forage production, the project aims to advance crop management priority strategies, including reduced tillage, increased adoption of cover crops and diversified crop rotations and improved nutrient management. These practices have well-documented outcomes in helping improve soil health, reduce erosion and conserve water and carbon.&nbsp;Reflective of the private-public partnership integral to the grant, the project also includes working with certified crop advisors (CCAs) to train them on how to advise farmers on conservation practices. Kansas Wheat and K-State will also work with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Kansas to help increase engagement with and enrollment in Farm Bill programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).&nbsp;Equally as important, the grant will provide additional capacity to help producers enroll in these Farm Bill programs that provide financial assistance for implementing the practices. The grant provides for two full-time staff members to help work one-on-one with growers and CCAs alike across Kansas. This outreach will complement K-State Research and Extension work by including targeted conservation discussions during wheat-related producer field days, pre-plant wheat meetings and other conferences and meetings.&nbsp;"We intend to work with groups like CCAs to set up educational programs to train these experts and help them identify farmers that might have the potential to enroll acres," Harries said. "Some of those programs can seem intimidating, so we're going to help work to make it as easy as possible and work with producers on a case-by-case basis to identify which conservation practices fit best and to navigate the enrollment process."The new project supplements the existing partnership between K-State Research and Extension and Kansas Wheat, called Wheat Rx, which disseminates the latest research recommendations for high-yielding and high-quality winter wheat to Kansas wheat farmers. The work will also be housed at the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center (KWIC) in Manhattan, another tie back to the commitment by Kansas wheat producers to invest in the future of their industry.&nbsp;Keep up with the NFWF grant work as the project kicks off in 2025 and find additional resources at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://sfdzp7cab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001ZziCBq5Z7xzSrSIzJhkhvk2HSVEtRuczbb2BF7p5OgQeE3weH8oGueJQyC0h5dA_mRQ6_k0Hvix_p2kqaA8aAt_EQRoZxC0DysLsQAFB9bXPV7vHZwG_L74AooBBsjFDGWxWM1GMPJne2NEScX6QxWPioLw7CYdbg8D5SkyFdM4lgx0T2umRGw==&amp;c=vsrCgL-L7_dMFyCuGJGCHy14b_alfJec2L3-ZB70zymXgf3x0uiFrA==&amp;ch=R07xsNwV8gCF8yyw-cKxOEmfd97Aw3E_oOIVsCTO8OBrtKjOQGHgeg==">kswheat.com/wheatrx</a>.&nbsp;

Increased conservation practices part of grant for Kansas Wheat, K-State collaboration

Crew members aboard the International Space Station celebrate the holiday season in a unique way while living and working at the orbiting laboratory. Each crew member, including the current Expedition 72, spends time enjoying the view of Earth from the space station, privately communicating with their friends and families, and sharing a joint meal with their expedition crewmates, while continuing experiments and station maintenance.

As the first crew to spend Christmas in space and leave Earth orbit, Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders, celebrated while circling the Moon in December 1968. The crew commemorated Christmas Eve by reading opening verses from the Bible’s Book of Genesis as they broadcast scenes of the lunar surface below. An estimated one billion people across 64 countries tuned in to the crew’s broadcast.

In 1973, Skylab 4 astronauts Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson, and William Pogue celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s in space, as the first crew to spend the harvest festival and ring in the new year while in orbit. The crew built a homemade tree from leftover food containers, used colored decals as decorations, and topped it with a cardboard cutout in the shape of a comet. Carr and Pogue conducted a seven-hour spacewalk to change out film canisters and observe the passing Comet Kohoutek on Dec. 15, 1973. Once back inside the space station, the crew enjoyed a holiday dinner complete with fruitcake, communicated with their families, and opened presents.

After NASA launched the agency’s Hubble Space Telescope into Earth’s orbit in 1990, NASA sent a space shuttle crew on a mission, STS-61, to service the telescope. In 1993, NASA astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman celebrated Hanukkah after completing the third spacewalk of the servicing mission. Hoffman celebrated with a traveling menorah and dreidel.

As NASA continued to support another Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, the STS-103 crew celebrated the first space shuttle Christmas aboard Discovery in 1999. NASA astronauts Curtis Brown, Scott Kelly, Steven Smith, John Grunsfeld, and Michael Foale, along with ESA (European Space Agency) astronauts Jean-François Clervoy and Claude Nicollier enjoyed duck foie gras on Mexican tortillas, cassoulet, and salted pork with lentils. Smith and Grunsfeld completed repairs on the telescope during a spacewalk on Dec. 24, 1999, and at least one American astronaut has celebrated Christmas in space every year since.

In November 2000, the arrival of Expedition 1 crew members, NASA astronaut William Shepherd and Roscosmos cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, aboard the International Space Station, marked the beginning of a continuous presence in space. As the first crew to celebrate the holiday season at the laboratorial outpost, they began the tradition of reading a goodwill message to those back on Earth. Shepherd honored a naval tradition of writing a poem as the first entry of the new year in the ship’s log.

For more than 24 years, NASA has supported a continuous U.S. human presence aboard the International Space Station, through which astronauts have learned to live and work in space for extended periods of time. As NASA supports missions to and from the station, crew members have continued to celebrate the holidays in space.

Expedition 70 flight engineer NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli’s husband and daughters made a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/AstroJaws/videos/3198100310494925/">felt menorah</a>&nbsp;for her to celebrate Hanukkah during her mission. Since astronauts can’t light real candles aboard the space station, Moghbeli pinned felt “lights” for each night of the eight-day holiday. A dreidel spun in weightlessness will continue spinning until it comes in contact with another object but can’t land on any of its four faces. Expedition 70 crew members recorded a holiday&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUYcQ_ehArw">message for those back on Earth.</a>

The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation that enables research not possible on Earth. The orbiting laboratory is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy and NASA’s next great leaps in exploration, including missions to the Moon under the Artemis campaign and, ultimately, human exploration of Mars.

For more holiday memories aboard the International Space Station, visit:

<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/gallery/holidays-on-the-space-station/">https://www.nasa.gov/gallery/holidays-on-the-space-station/</a>

To learn more about the International Space Station, its research, and its crew, at:

<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/station">https://www.nasa.gov/station</a>

NASACrew members aboard the International Space Station celebrate the holiday season in a unique way while living and working at the orbiting laboratory. Each crew member, including the current Expedition 72, spends time enjoying the view of Earth from the space station, privately communicating with their friends and families, and sharing a joint meal with their expedition crewmates, while continuing experiments and station maintenance.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">To everyone on Earth, Merry Christmas from our <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA_Astronauts?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASA_Astronauts</a> aboard the International <a href="https://twitter.com/Space_Station?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Space_Station</a>. <a href="https://t.co/GoOZjXJYLP">pic.twitter.com/GoOZjXJYLP</a>&mdash; NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1871298123777101835?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>As the first crew to spend Christmas in space and leave Earth orbit, Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders, celebrated while circling the Moon in December 1968. The crew commemorated Christmas Eve by reading opening verses from the Bible’s Book of Genesis as they broadcast scenes of the lunar surface below. An estimated one billion people across 64 countries tuned in to the crew’s broadcast.In 1973, Skylab 4 astronauts Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson, and William Pogue celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s in space, as the first crew to spend the harvest festival and ring in the new year while in orbit. The crew built a homemade tree from leftover food containers, used colored decals as decorations, and topped it with a cardboard cutout in the shape of a comet. Carr and Pogue conducted a seven-hour spacewalk to change out film canisters and observe the passing Comet Kohoutek on Dec. 15, 1973. Once back inside the space station, the crew enjoyed a holiday dinner complete with fruitcake, communicated with their families, and opened presents.After NASA launched the agency’s Hubble Space Telescope into Earth’s orbit in 1990, NASA sent a space shuttle crew on a mission, STS-61, to service the telescope. In 1993, NASA astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman celebrated Hanukkah after completing the third spacewalk of the servicing mission. Hoffman celebrated with a traveling menorah and dreidel.As NASA continued to support another Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, the STS-103 crew celebrated the first space shuttle Christmas aboard Discovery in 1999. NASA astronauts Curtis Brown, Scott Kelly, Steven Smith, John Grunsfeld, and Michael Foale, along with ESA (European Space Agency) astronauts Jean-François Clervoy and Claude Nicollier enjoyed duck foie gras on Mexican tortillas, cassoulet, and salted pork with lentils. Smith and Grunsfeld completed repairs on the telescope during a spacewalk on Dec. 24, 1999, and at least one American astronaut has celebrated Christmas in space every year since.In November 2000, the arrival of Expedition 1 crew members, NASA astronaut William Shepherd and Roscosmos cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, aboard the International Space Station, marked the beginning of a continuous presence in space. As the first crew to celebrate the holiday season at the laboratorial outpost, they began the tradition of reading a goodwill message to those back on Earth. Shepherd honored a naval tradition of writing a poem as the first entry of the new year in the ship’s log.For more than 24 years, NASA has supported a continuous U.S. human presence aboard the International Space Station, through which astronauts have learned to live and work in space for extended periods of time. As NASA supports missions to and from the station, crew members have continued to celebrate the holidays in space.Expedition 70 flight engineer NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli’s husband and daughters made a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/AstroJaws/videos/3198100310494925/">felt menorah</a>&nbsp;for her to celebrate Hanukkah during her mission. Since astronauts can’t light real candles aboard the space station, Moghbeli pinned felt “lights” for each night of the eight-day holiday. A dreidel spun in weightlessness will continue spinning until it comes in contact with another object but can’t land on any of its four faces. Expedition 70 crew members recorded a holiday&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUYcQ_ehArw">message for those back on Earth.</a>The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology, and human innovation that enables research not possible on Earth. The orbiting laboratory is a springboard for developing a low Earth economy and NASA’s next great leaps in exploration, including missions to the Moon under the Artemis campaign and, ultimately, human exploration of Mars.For more holiday memories aboard the International Space Station, visit:<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/gallery/holidays-on-the-space-station/">https://www.nasa.gov/gallery/holidays-on-the-space-station/</a>To learn more about the International Space Station, its research, and its crew, at:<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/station">https://www.nasa.gov/station</a>

Christmas Aboard the International Space Station

UPDATE: The Great Bend Police Department reported that 84-year-old Donna L. Kimber was located overnight and is now safe, according to the KBI. The Silver Alert was canceled.

&nbsp;BARTON COUNTY —The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has issue a statewide Silver Alert for a missing Great Bend woman.

The whereabouts of 84-year-old Donna L. Kimber, are unknown, and the public’s assistance is requested to help locate her.

Kimber was last seen on Thursday around 10 p.m., on foot near 906 Main St. in Great Bend. 

She was last seen wearing blue jeans and a denim shirt.

Kimber is a white female who is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs around 125 pounds. She has grey hair and blue eyes. Kimber has Alzheimer’s, and wears a metal bracelet with her name and phone number.

If you see Donna Kimber, please call 911 immediately. If you have other information about her whereabouts, call the Great Police Department at (620) 793-1920.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1732275213274.png" alt="Donna Kimber courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Donna Kimber courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>UPDATE: The Great Bend Police Department reported that 84-year-old Donna L. Kimber was located overnight and is now safe, according to the KBI. The Silver Alert was canceled.-------------&nbsp;BARTON COUNTY —The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has issue a statewide Silver Alert for a missing Great Bend woman.The whereabouts of 84-year-old Donna L. Kimber, are unknown, and the public’s assistance is requested to help locate her.Kimber was last seen on Thursday around 10 p.m., on foot near 906 Main St. in Great Bend. She was last seen wearing blue jeans and a denim shirt.Kimber is a white female who is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs around 125 pounds. She has grey hair and blue eyes. Kimber has Alzheimer’s, and wears a metal bracelet with her name and phone number.If you see Donna Kimber, please call 911 immediately. If you have other information about her whereabouts, call the Great Police Department at (620) 793-1920.

Silver Alert canceled; missing Kansas woman found

BARBER COUNTY —The Silver Alert issued August 3, for 73-year-old David Reese remains active, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

On November 10, the Barber County Sheriff’s Office was notified that a white Chevrolet pickup truck was located in a creek bed in rural Barber County near Little Mule and Hardtner Shortcut, according to a media release.

Deputies with the Barber County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the vehicle is owned by David Reese.

The Barber County Sheriff’s Office contacted Great Plains Search and Rescue K9 and they plan search of the area.&nbsp;

On October 4, the Harper Police Department reported that Reese’s chocolate lab, that had accompanied him when he disappeared, was found in good health. She was returned to his family. The dog was found not far from the last sighting of Reese near Little Mule and Hardtner Shortcut in Barber County. Police searched over 50 square miles again but still did not locate him.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728310557814.png" alt="The missing pickup -photo KBI" />
 <figcaption>The missing pickup -photo KBI</figcaption>
 </figure>BARBER COUNTY —The Silver Alert issued August 3, for 73-year-old David Reese remains active, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728310404447.png" alt="David Reese courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>David Reese courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>On November 10, the Barber County Sheriff’s Office was notified that a white Chevrolet pickup truck was located in a creek bed in rural Barber County near Little Mule and Hardtner Shortcut, according to a media release.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1722706150273.png" alt="David Reese courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>David Reese courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>Deputies with the Barber County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the vehicle is owned by David Reese.The Barber County Sheriff’s Office contacted Great Plains Search and Rescue K9 and they plan search of the area.&nbsp;On October 4, the Harper Police Department reported that Reese’s chocolate lab, that had accompanied him when he disappeared, was found in good health. She was returned to his family. The dog was found not far from the last sighting of Reese near Little Mule and Hardtner Shortcut in Barber County. Police searched over 50 square miles again but still did not locate him.

Silver Alert continues: Kansas man’s pickup found in creek bed

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump was on the verge of clinching the presidency Wednesday after winning Pennsylvania, putting him just three electoral votes shy of defeating Kamala Harris to secure his return to the White House.

Trump has 267 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the Oval Office. A win in Alaska or any of the outstanding battleground states — Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona or Nevada — would send the Republican former president back to the Oval Office.

Trump is leading in Michigan and Wisconsin, where his two clearest paths to victory rely on Harris not winning enough of the outstanding votes in Wayne and Milwaukee counties. The Associated Press is waiting on the next updates from both locations to determine whether Harris has any path to overtake Trump in either state.

Pennsylvania, a part of the once-reliable Democratic stronghold known as the “blue wall” with Michigan and Wisconsin, was carried by Trump when he first won the White House in 2016 and then flipped back to Democrats in 2020. Trump also flipped Georgia, which had voted for Democrats four years ago, and retained the closely contested state of North Carolina.

Trump’s gains sharply curtailed Harris’ path to victory.

Addressing his supporters early Wednesday from his campaign’s watch party in Florida, Trump said, “Every citizen, I will fight for you, for your family and your future.”

Trump added he was going to make people “very happy” and “very proud” of their vote.

“We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly,” Trump said. “We’re going to fix our borders. We’re going to fix everything about our country.”

Trump would be the first former president to return to power since Grover Cleveland regained the White House in the 1892 election. He also stands to be the first person convicted of a felony to be elected president and, at 78, would be the oldest person elected to the office. His vice presidential nominee, 40-year-old Ohio Sen. JD Vance, would become the highest-ranking member of the millennial generation in the U.S. government.

Trump survived one assassination attempt by millimeters at a July rally. Secret Service agents foiled a second attempt in September.

If he is elected, there would be far fewer checks on Trump in the White House as he planned to swiftly enact a sweeping agenda that would transform nearly every aspect of American government. His onetime-GOP critics in Congress have largely been defeated or retired. Federal courts are now filled with judges he appointed. The U.S. Supreme Court, which includes three Trump-appointed justices, issued a ruling earlier this year affording presidents broad immunity from prosecution.

Harris, 60, would be the first woman, Black woman and person of South Asian descent to serve as president. She also would be the first sitting vice president to win the White House in 36 years.

The crowd at Harris’ watch party at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington, began to file out after midnight after a top Harris ally sent supporters home, with no plans for the Democratic vice president to speak.

“We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted. That every voice has spoken,” Cedric Richmond, co-chair of the Harris campaign said. “So you won’t hear from the vice president tonight, but you will hear from her tomorrow. She will be back here tomorrow.”

Trump also won Florida, a one-time battleground that has shifted heavily to Republicans in recent elections. He also notched early wins in reliably Republican states such as Texas, South Carolina and Indiana. Harris won Virginia, a state Trump visited in the final days of the campaign, and took Democratic strongholds like New York, New Mexico and California.

The Trump campaign bet that it would cut into Democrats' traditional strength with Black and Latino voters, with the former president going on male-centric podcasts and making explicit racial appeals to both groups. Nationally, Black and Latino voters appeared slightly less likely to support Harris than they were to back Joe Biden four years ago, and Trump’s support among those voters appeared to rise slightly compared to 2020, according to AP VoteCast.

The fate of democracy appeared to be a primary driver for Harris’ supporters, a sign that the Democratic nominee’s persistent messaging in her campaign’s closing days accusing Trump of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-john-kelly-nazis-hitler-87d672e1ec1a6645808050fc60f6b8bc">being a fascist</a>&nbsp;may have broken through, according to the expansive survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide. It also found a country mired in negativity and desperate for change. Trump’s supporters were largely focused on immigration and inflation — two issues that the former Republican president has been hammering since the start of his campaign.

In another positive sign for the GOP, the party took control of the Senate, with Trump-backed Bernie Moreno flipping a seat in Ohio held by Democrat Sherrod Brown since 2007. They picked up another when Republican Jim Justice won a West Virginia seat that opened up with Sen. Joe Manchin’s retirement.

Those casting Election Day ballots mostly encountered a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-voting-turnout-election-day-a8ae22f34417dcda060b430dac89bdbc">smooth process</a>, with isolated reports of hiccups that regularly happen, including long lines, technical issues and ballot printing errors. Federal election security officials said there were minor disruptions throughout the day but there was no evidence of any impact to the election system. Officials determined that bomb threats that were reported in multiple states were all not credible and did not impact the ability of voters to cast their ballots.

Voters nationwide also were deciding thousands of other races that will decide everything from control of Congress to state ballot measures on abortion access in response to the Supreme Court’s vote in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade.

In Florida, a ballot measure that would have protected abortion rights in the state constitution failed after not meeting the 60% threshold to pass, marking the first time a measure protecting abortion rights failed since Roe was overturned. Earlier Tuesday, Trump refused to say how he voted on the measure and snapped at a reporter, saying, “You should stop talking about that."

In reliably Democratic New York, Colorado, Nevada and Maryland, voters approved ballot measures aimed at protecting abortion rights in their state constitutions.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730885802091.png" alt="Image Associated Press" />
 <figcaption>Image Associated Press</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump was on the verge of clinching the presidency Wednesday after winning Pennsylvania, putting him just three electoral votes shy of defeating Kamala Harris to secure his return to the White House.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Former President Trump: &quot;We overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible. It is now clear that we&#39;ve achieved the most incredible political -- Hey! Look what happened! Is this crazy?!?&quot; <a href="https://t.co/M3AZkFe3vh">pic.twitter.com/M3AZkFe3vh</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1854065386922119560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Trump has 267 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the Oval Office. A win in Alaska or any of the outstanding battleground states — Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona or Nevada — would send the Republican former president back to the Oval Office.Trump is leading in Michigan and Wisconsin, where his two clearest paths to victory rely on Harris not winning enough of the outstanding votes in Wayne and Milwaukee counties. The Associated Press is waiting on the next updates from both locations to determine whether Harris has any path to overtake Trump in either state.Pennsylvania, a part of the once-reliable Democratic stronghold known as the “blue wall” with Michigan and Wisconsin, was carried by Trump when he first won the White House in 2016 and then flipped back to Democrats in 2020. Trump also flipped Georgia, which had voted for Democrats four years ago, and retained the closely contested state of North Carolina.Trump’s gains sharply curtailed Harris’ path to victory.Addressing his supporters early Wednesday from his campaign’s watch party in Florida, Trump said, “Every citizen, I will fight for you, for your family and your future.”Trump added he was going to make people “very happy” and “very proud” of their vote.“We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly,” Trump said. “We’re going to fix our borders. We’re going to fix everything about our country.”Trump would be the first former president to return to power since Grover Cleveland regained the White House in the 1892 election. He also stands to be the first person convicted of a felony to be elected president and, at 78, would be the oldest person elected to the office. His vice presidential nominee, 40-year-old Ohio Sen. JD Vance, would become the highest-ranking member of the millennial generation in the U.S. government.Trump survived one assassination attempt by millimeters at a July rally. Secret Service agents foiled a second attempt in September.If he is elected, there would be far fewer checks on Trump in the White House as he planned to swiftly enact a sweeping agenda that would transform nearly every aspect of American government. His onetime-GOP critics in Congress have largely been defeated or retired. Federal courts are now filled with judges he appointed. The U.S. Supreme Court, which includes three Trump-appointed justices, issued a ruling earlier this year affording presidents broad immunity from prosecution.Harris, 60, would be the first woman, Black woman and person of South Asian descent to serve as president. She also would be the first sitting vice president to win the White House in 36 years.The crowd at Harris’ watch party at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington, began to file out after midnight after a top Harris ally sent supporters home, with no plans for the Democratic vice president to speak.“We will continue overnight to fight to make sure that every vote is counted. That every voice has spoken,” Cedric Richmond, co-chair of the Harris campaign said. “So you won’t hear from the vice president tonight, but you will hear from her tomorrow. She will be back here tomorrow.”Trump also won Florida, a one-time battleground that has shifted heavily to Republicans in recent elections. He also notched early wins in reliably Republican states such as Texas, South Carolina and Indiana. Harris won Virginia, a state Trump visited in the final days of the campaign, and took Democratic strongholds like New York, New Mexico and California.The Trump campaign bet that it would cut into Democrats' traditional strength with Black and Latino voters, with the former president going on male-centric podcasts and making explicit racial appeals to both groups. Nationally, Black and Latino voters appeared slightly less likely to support Harris than they were to back Joe Biden four years ago, and Trump’s support among those voters appeared to rise slightly compared to 2020, according to AP VoteCast.The fate of democracy appeared to be a primary driver for Harris’ supporters, a sign that the Democratic nominee’s persistent messaging in her campaign’s closing days accusing Trump of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-john-kelly-nazis-hitler-87d672e1ec1a6645808050fc60f6b8bc">being a fascist</a>&nbsp;may have broken through, according to the expansive survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide. It also found a country mired in negativity and desperate for change. Trump’s supporters were largely focused on immigration and inflation — two issues that the former Republican president has been hammering since the start of his campaign.In another positive sign for the GOP, the party took control of the Senate, with Trump-backed Bernie Moreno flipping a seat in Ohio held by Democrat Sherrod Brown since 2007. They picked up another when Republican Jim Justice won a West Virginia seat that opened up with Sen. Joe Manchin’s retirement.Those casting Election Day ballots mostly encountered a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-voting-turnout-election-day-a8ae22f34417dcda060b430dac89bdbc">smooth process</a>, with isolated reports of hiccups that regularly happen, including long lines, technical issues and ballot printing errors. Federal election security officials said there were minor disruptions throughout the day but there was no evidence of any impact to the election system. Officials determined that bomb threats that were reported in multiple states were all not credible and did not impact the ability of voters to cast their ballots.Voters nationwide also were deciding thousands of other races that will decide everything from control of Congress to state ballot measures on abortion access in response to the Supreme Court’s vote in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade.In Florida, a ballot measure that would have protected abortion rights in the state constitution failed after not meeting the 60% threshold to pass, marking the first time a measure protecting abortion rights failed since Roe was overturned. Earlier Tuesday, Trump refused to say how he voted on the measure and snapped at a reporter, saying, “You should stop talking about that."In reliably Democratic New York, Colorado, Nevada and Maryland, voters approved ballot measures aimed at protecting abortion rights in their state constitutions.

🎥Trump on verge of clinching presidency after win in Pennsylvania

WASHINGTON (AP) —By winning North Carolina, Trump maintains options to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold.

Trump can reach the magic number by carrying Georgia and Pennsylvania or by carrying Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin. He also can win by carrying Wisconsin and Arizona, as well as other combinations involving Nevada.

But that would require him to crack the blue wall of northern states Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Trump blitzed North Carolina in the final days of the campaign, stopping in four cities over four days and finishing his North Carolina campaign in Raleigh on Monday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris notched early wins in reliably Republican and Democratic states, respectively, as a divided America made its decision in a stark choice for the nation’s future Tuesday.

Polls closed in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and North Carolina, six of the seven closely fought battlegrounds expected to decide the election, but the results there were too early to call. Balloting continued in Nevada and other parts of the West on Election Day, as tens of millions of Americans added their ballots to the 84 million cast early as they chose between two candidates with drastically different temperaments and visions for the country.

Trump won Florida, a one-time battleground that has shifted heavily to Republicans in recent elections. He also notched early wins in reliably Republican states such as Texas, South Carolina and Indiana, while Harris took Democratic strongholds like New York, Massachusetts and Illinois.

The fate of democracy appeared to be a primary driver for Harris’ supporters, a sign that the Democratic nominee’s persistent messaging in her campaign’s closing days accusing Trump of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-john-kelly-nazis-hitler-87d672e1ec1a6645808050fc60f6b8bc">being a fascist</a>&nbsp;may have broken through, according to AP VoteCast. The expansive survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide also found a country mired in negativity and desperate for change. Trump’s supporters were largely focused on immigration and inflation — two issues that the former Republican president has been hammering since the start of his campaign.

Those casting Election Day ballots mostly encountered a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-voting-turnout-election-day-a8ae22f34417dcda060b430dac89bdbc">smooth process</a>, with isolated reports of hiccups that regularly happen, including long lines, technical issues and ballot printing errors.

Harris has promised to work across the aisle to tackle economic worries and other issues without radically departing from the course set by President Joe Biden. Trump has vowed to replace thousands of federal workers with loyalists, impose sweeping tariffs on allies and foes alike, and stage the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.

Harris and Trump entered Election Day focused on seven swing states, five of them carried by Trump in 2016 before they flipped to Biden in 2020: the “blue wall” of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin as well as Arizona and Georgia. Nevada and North Carolina, which Democrats and Republicans respectively carried in the last two elections, also were closely contested.

Trump voted in Palm Beach, Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago club. He called into a Wisconsin radio station Tuesday night to say: “I’m watching these results. So far so good."

Harris, the Democratic vice president, did phone interviews with radio stations in the battleground states, then visited Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington carrying a box of Doritos — her go-to snack.

“This truly represents the best of who we are,” Harris told a room of cheering staffers. She was handed a cellphone by supporters doing phone banking, and when asked by reporters how she was feeling, the vice president held up a phone and responded, “Gotta talk to voters.”

The closeness of the race and the number of states in play raised the likelihood that, once again, a victor might not be known on election night.

Trump said Tuesday that he had no plans to tell his supporters to refrain from violence if Harris wins, because they “are not violent people.” His angry supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump tried to overturn his loss in 2020. Asked Tuesday about accepting the 2024 race’s results, he said, “If it’s a fair election, I’d be the first one to acknowledge it.” He visited a nearby campaign office to thank staffers before a party at a nearby convention center.

After her DNC stop, Harris planned to attend a party at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington.

Federal, state and local officials have expressed confidence in the integrity of the nation’s election systems. They nonetheless were braced to contend with what they say is an unprecedented level of foreign disinformation — particularly from Russia and Iran — as well as the possibility of physical violence or cyberattacks.

In Georgia’s Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold that includes most of the city of Atlanta, 32 of the 177 polling places received bomb threats Tuesday, prompting brief evacuations at five locations, county Police Chief W. Wade Yates said. The threats were determined to be non-credible but voting hours were extended at those five locations.

Bomb threats also forced an extension of voting hours in at least two Pennsylvania counties — Clearfield, in central Pennsylvania, and Chester, near Philadelphia.

Both sides have armies of lawyers in anticipation of legal challenges on and after Election Day. And law enforcement agencies nationwide are on high alert for potential violence.

Trump, 78, would be the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-presidential-election-age-health-medical-records-7bb8212c1024748371e43b85e137bae5">oldest president</a>&nbsp;ever elected. He would also be the first defeated president in 132 years to win another term in the White House, and the first person convicted of a felony to take over the Oval Office.

He survived one assassination attempt by millimeters at a July rally. Secret Service agents foiled a second attempt in September.

Harris, pointing to the warnings of Trump's former aides, has labeled him a “fascist” and blamed Trump for putting women's lives in danger by nominating three of the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. In the closing hours of the campaign, she tried to strike a more positive tone and went all of Monday without saying her Republican opponent's name.

In reliably Democratic New York and Maryland, voters approved ballot measures aimed at protecting abortion rights in their state constitutions.

JD Jorgensen, an independent voter in Black Mountain, North Carolina, which was hit hard by Hurricane Helene, said voters should have made up their minds before Tuesday.

“I think that the candidates, both being in the public eye as long as they both have been, if you’re on the fence, you hadn’t really been paying attention,” said Jorgensen, 35.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730867317200.png" alt="Electoral map as of 10:30p.m. CST -Associated Press" />
 <figcaption>Electoral map as of 10:30p.m. CST -Associated Press</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —By winning North Carolina, Trump maintains options to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold.Trump can reach the magic number by carrying Georgia and Pennsylvania or by carrying Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin. He also can win by carrying Wisconsin and Arizona, as well as other combinations involving Nevada.But that would require him to crack the blue wall of northern states Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.Trump blitzed North Carolina in the final days of the campaign, stopping in four cities over four days and finishing his North Carolina campaign in Raleigh on Monday.----------WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris notched early wins in reliably Republican and Democratic states, respectively, as a divided America made its decision in a stark choice for the nation’s future Tuesday.Polls closed in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and North Carolina, six of the seven closely fought battlegrounds expected to decide the election, but the results there were too early to call. Balloting continued in Nevada and other parts of the West on Election Day, as tens of millions of Americans added their ballots to the 84 million cast early as they chose between two candidates with drastically different temperaments and visions for the country.Trump won Florida, a one-time battleground that has shifted heavily to Republicans in recent elections. He also notched early wins in reliably Republican states such as Texas, South Carolina and Indiana, while Harris took Democratic strongholds like New York, Massachusetts and Illinois.The fate of democracy appeared to be a primary driver for Harris’ supporters, a sign that the Democratic nominee’s persistent messaging in her campaign’s closing days accusing Trump of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-john-kelly-nazis-hitler-87d672e1ec1a6645808050fc60f6b8bc">being a fascist</a>&nbsp;may have broken through, according to AP VoteCast. The expansive survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide also found a country mired in negativity and desperate for change. Trump’s supporters were largely focused on immigration and inflation — two issues that the former Republican president has been hammering since the start of his campaign.Those casting Election Day ballots mostly encountered a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-voting-turnout-election-day-a8ae22f34417dcda060b430dac89bdbc">smooth process</a>, with isolated reports of hiccups that regularly happen, including long lines, technical issues and ballot printing errors.Harris has promised to work across the aisle to tackle economic worries and other issues without radically departing from the course set by President Joe Biden. Trump has vowed to replace thousands of federal workers with loyalists, impose sweeping tariffs on allies and foes alike, and stage the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.Harris and Trump entered Election Day focused on seven swing states, five of them carried by Trump in 2016 before they flipped to Biden in 2020: the “blue wall” of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin as well as Arizona and Georgia. Nevada and North Carolina, which Democrats and Republicans respectively carried in the last two elections, also were closely contested.Trump voted in Palm Beach, Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago club. He called into a Wisconsin radio station Tuesday night to say: “I’m watching these results. So far so good."Harris, the Democratic vice president, did phone interviews with radio stations in the battleground states, then visited Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington carrying a box of Doritos — her go-to snack.“This truly represents the best of who we are,” Harris told a room of cheering staffers. She was handed a cellphone by supporters doing phone banking, and when asked by reporters how she was feeling, the vice president held up a phone and responded, “Gotta talk to voters.”The closeness of the race and the number of states in play raised the likelihood that, once again, a victor might not be known on election night.Trump said Tuesday that he had no plans to tell his supporters to refrain from violence if Harris wins, because they “are not violent people.” His angry supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump tried to overturn his loss in 2020. Asked Tuesday about accepting the 2024 race’s results, he said, “If it’s a fair election, I’d be the first one to acknowledge it.” He visited a nearby campaign office to thank staffers before a party at a nearby convention center.After her DNC stop, Harris planned to attend a party at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington.Federal, state and local officials have expressed confidence in the integrity of the nation’s election systems. They nonetheless were braced to contend with what they say is an unprecedented level of foreign disinformation — particularly from Russia and Iran — as well as the possibility of physical violence or cyberattacks.In Georgia’s Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold that includes most of the city of Atlanta, 32 of the 177 polling places received bomb threats Tuesday, prompting brief evacuations at five locations, county Police Chief W. Wade Yates said. The threats were determined to be non-credible but voting hours were extended at those five locations.Bomb threats also forced an extension of voting hours in at least two Pennsylvania counties — Clearfield, in central Pennsylvania, and Chester, near Philadelphia.Both sides have armies of lawyers in anticipation of legal challenges on and after Election Day. And law enforcement agencies nationwide are on high alert for potential violence.Harris, 60, would be the first woman, Black woman and person of South Asian descent to serve as president. She also would be the first sitting vice president to win the White House in 36 years.Trump, 78, would be the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-presidential-election-age-health-medical-records-7bb8212c1024748371e43b85e137bae5">oldest president</a>&nbsp;ever elected. He would also be the first defeated president in 132 years to win another term in the White House, and the first person convicted of a felony to take over the Oval Office.He survived one assassination attempt by millimeters at a July rally. Secret Service agents foiled a second attempt in September.Harris, pointing to the warnings of Trump's former aides, has labeled him a “fascist” and blamed Trump for putting women's lives in danger by nominating three of the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. In the closing hours of the campaign, she tried to strike a more positive tone and went all of Monday without saying her Republican opponent's name.Voters nationwide also were deciding thousands of other races that will decide everything from control of Congress to state ballot measures on abortion access in response to the Supreme Court’s vote in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade.In Florida, a ballot measure that would have protected abortion rights in the state constitution failed after not meeting the 60% threshold to pass, marking the first time a measure protecting abortion rights failed since Roe was overturned. Earlier Tuesday, Trump refused to say how he voted on the measure and snapped at a reporter, saying, “You should stop talking about that."In reliably Democratic New York and Maryland, voters approved ballot measures aimed at protecting abortion rights in their state constitutions.JD Jorgensen, an independent voter in Black Mountain, North Carolina, which was hit hard by Hurricane Helene, said voters should have made up their minds before Tuesday.“I think that the candidates, both being in the public eye as long as they both have been, if you’re on the fence, you hadn’t really been paying attention,” said Jorgensen, 35.WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris notched early wins in reliably Republican and Democratic states, respectively, as a divided America made its decision in a stark choice for the nation’s future Tuesday.Polls closed in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and North Carolina, six of the seven closely fought battlegrounds expected to decide the election, but the results there were too early to call. Balloting continued in Nevada and other parts of the West on Election Day, as tens of millions of Americans added their ballots to the 84 million cast early as they chose between two candidates with drastically different temperaments and visions for the country.Trump won Florida, a one-time battleground that has shifted heavily to Republicans in recent elections. He also notched early wins in reliably Republican states such as Texas, South Carolina and Indiana, while Harris took Democratic strongholds like New York, Massachusetts and Illinois.The fate of democracy appeared to be a primary driver for Harris’ supporters, a sign that the Democratic nominee’s persistent messaging in her campaign’s closing days accusing Trump of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-john-kelly-nazis-hitler-87d672e1ec1a6645808050fc60f6b8bc">being a fascist</a>&nbsp;may have broken through, according to AP VoteCast. The expansive survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide also found a country mired in negativity and desperate for change. Trump’s supporters were largely focused on immigration and inflation — two issues that the former Republican president has been hammering since the start of his campaign.Those casting Election Day ballots mostly encountered a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-voting-turnout-election-day-a8ae22f34417dcda060b430dac89bdbc">smooth process</a>, with isolated reports of hiccups that regularly happen, including long lines, technical issues and ballot printing errors.Harris has promised to work across the aisle to tackle economic worries and other issues without radically departing from the course set by President Joe Biden. Trump has vowed to replace thousands of federal workers with loyalists, impose sweeping tariffs on allies and foes alike, and stage the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.Harris and Trump entered Election Day focused on seven swing states, five of them carried by Trump in 2016 before they flipped to Biden in 2020: the “blue wall” of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin as well as Arizona and Georgia. Nevada and North Carolina, which Democrats and Republicans respectively carried in the last two elections, also were closely contested.Trump voted in Palm Beach, Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago club. He called into a Wisconsin radio station Tuesday night to say: “I’m watching these results. So far so good."Harris, the Democratic vice president, did phone interviews with radio stations in the battleground states, then visited Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington carrying a box of Doritos — her go-to snack.“This truly represents the best of who we are,” Harris told a room of cheering staffers. She was handed a cellphone by supporters doing phone banking, and when asked by reporters how she was feeling, the vice president held up a phone and responded, “Gotta talk to voters.”The closeness of the race and the number of states in play raised the likelihood that, once again, a victor might not be known on election night.Trump said Tuesday that he had no plans to tell his supporters to refrain from violence if Harris wins, because they “are not violent people.” His angry supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump tried to overturn his loss in 2020. Asked Tuesday about accepting the 2024 race’s results, he said, “If it’s a fair election, I’d be the first one to acknowledge it.” He visited a nearby campaign office to thank staffers before a party at a nearby convention center.After her DNC stop, Harris planned to attend a party at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington.Federal, state and local officials have expressed confidence in the integrity of the nation’s election systems. They nonetheless were braced to contend with what they say is an unprecedented level of foreign disinformation — particularly from Russia and Iran — as well as the possibility of physical violence or cyberattacks.In Georgia’s Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold that includes most of the city of Atlanta, 32 of the 177 polling places received bomb threats Tuesday, prompting brief evacuations at five locations, county Police Chief W. Wade Yates said. The threats were determined to be non-credible but voting hours were extended at those five locations.Bomb threats also forced an extension of voting hours in at least two Pennsylvania counties — Clearfield, in central Pennsylvania, and Chester, near Philadelphia.Both sides have armies of lawyers in anticipation of legal challenges on and after Election Day. And law enforcement agencies nationwide are on high alert for potential violence.Harris, 60, would be the first woman, Black woman and person of South Asian descent to serve as president. She also would be the first sitting vice president to win the White House in 36 years.Trump, 78, would be the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-presidential-election-age-health-medical-records-7bb8212c1024748371e43b85e137bae5">oldest president</a>&nbsp;ever elected. He would also be the first defeated president in 132 years to win another term in the White House, and the first person convicted of a felony to take over the Oval Office.He survived one assassination attempt by millimeters at a July rally. Secret Service agents foiled a second attempt in September.Harris, pointing to the warnings of Trump's former aides, has labeled him a “fascist” and blamed Trump for putting women's lives in danger by nominating three of the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. In the closing hours of the campaign, she tried to strike a more positive tone and went all of Monday without saying her Republican opponent's name.Voters nationwide also were deciding thousands of other races that will decide everything from control of Congress to state ballot measures on abortion access in response to the Supreme Court’s vote in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade.In Florida, a ballot measure that would have protected abortion rights in the state constitution failed after not meeting the 60% threshold to pass, marking the first time a measure protecting abortion rights failed since Roe was overturned. Earlier Tuesday, Trump refused to say how he voted on the measure and snapped at a reporter, saying, “You should stop talking about that."JD Jorgensen, an independent voter in Black Mountain, North Carolina, which was hit hard by Hurricane Helene, said voters should have made up their minds before Tuesday.“I think that the candidates, both being in the public eye as long as they both have been, if you’re on the fence, you hadn’t really been paying attention,” said Jorgensen, 35.___

Trump wins first battleground state

NEW YORK (AP) — Live from New York, it’s a presidential candidate scrounging for every vote in the final days before the election.

Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a>&nbsp;made a surprise trip to New York City on Saturday to appear on “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bill-burr-snl-charlie-xcx-16807b9bbc6183ff0c9c000f467cdef2">Saturday Night Live</a>,” briefly stepping away from the battleground states where she’s been furiously campaigning in favor of the iconic sketch comedy show.

Harris departed on Air Force Two after an early evening campaign stop on in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was scheduled to head to Detroit, but once in the air, aides said she'd be making an unscheduled stop and the plane landed at LaGuardia Airport in Queens.

Harris arrived at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, where SNL tapes, shortly after 8 p.m., enough time for a quick rehearsal before the show airs live at 11:30 p.m. It is the final SNL episode before Election Day on Tuesday.

Neither the White House nor her campaign have confirmed her appearance on the show, but it was confirmed by three people familiar with Harris’ plans who were not authorized to speak publicly about them.

Actor Maya Rudolph first played Harris on the show in 2019 and has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/maya-rudolph-kamala-harris-saturday-night-live-1b7649f6ab82fb0d784e9ae05c6a3153">reprised her role</a>&nbsp;this season, doing a spot-on impression of the vice president, including calling herself “Momala.”

Rudolph opened the show’s season premiere with the line: “Well, well, well. Look who fell out of that coconut tree.” And she’s joked about keeping President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;in his place.

Harris' husband, second gentleman&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/doug-emhoff-harris-presidential-bid-4c1c1ae1929aac4b5dc9b4cf6c5ddeb7">Doug Emhoff</a>, has been played by former cast member Andy Samberg and Biden is played by Dana Carvey, who also famously played then-President George H.W. Bush in the early 1990s.

Rudolph's performance has won critical and comedic acclaim — including from Harris herself.

“Maya Rudolph — I mean, she’s so good,” Harris said last month on ABC's “The View.” “She had the whole thing, the suit, the jewelry, everything!”

Harris added that she was impressed with Rudolph’s “mannerisms."

Jason Miller, a senior adviser to former president and Republican nominee&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>, expressed surprise that Harris would appear on SNL given what he characterized as her unflattering portrayal on the show. Asked if Trump had been invited to appear, he said: “I don’t know. Probably not.”

Politicians nonetheless have a long history on SNL, including Trump, who hosted the show in 2015 — though appearing so close to Election Day is unusual.

Hillary Clinton was running in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary when she appeared next to Amy Poehler, who played her on the show and was known for launching into a trademark, exaggerated cackle. The real Clinton wondered during her appearance, “Do I really laugh like that?”

Clinton returned in 2016, while running against Trump in a race she ultimately lost.

The first sitting president to appear on SNL was Republican Gerald Ford, who did so less than a year after the show debuted. Ford appeared in April 1976 on an episode hosted by his press secretary, Ron Nessen, and declared the show’s famous opening rejoinder, “Live from New York, it's Saturday Night.”

Then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama appeared alongside Poehler impersonating Clinton in 2007, and Republican Bob Dole was on the show in November 1996 -- a mere 11 days after losing that year’s election to Bill Clinton. Dole consoled Norm Macdonald, who played the Kansas senator.

Then there was Tina Fey’s 2008 impression of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin — and in particular her joke that “I can see Russia from my house.” It was so good that Fey eventually won an Emmy and Palin herself appeared on the show that October, in the weeks before the election.

NEW YORK (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has made an unannounced trip to New York to appear on an episode of “Saturday Night Live,” briefly stepping away from the battleground states she’s been campaigning in with just three days to go before the election.

Harris departed on Air Force Two after a campaign stop on Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was scheduled to head to Detroit. But once the aircraft was in the air, aides said it was actually heading to New York.

Her appearance on the show was confirmed by three people familiar with Harris' plans who were not authorized to speak publicly about them.

It is the final SNL episode before Election Day on Tuesday.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/11/1730592221649.png" alt="File photo courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>File photo courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — Live from New York, it’s a presidential candidate scrounging for every vote in the final days before the election.Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a>&nbsp;made a surprise trip to New York City on Saturday to appear on “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bill-burr-snl-charlie-xcx-16807b9bbc6183ff0c9c000f467cdef2">Saturday Night Live</a>,” briefly stepping away from the battleground states where she’s been furiously campaigning in favor of the iconic sketch comedy show.Harris departed on Air Force Two after an early evening campaign stop on in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was scheduled to head to Detroit, but once in the air, aides said she'd be making an unscheduled stop and the plane landed at LaGuardia Airport in Queens.Harris arrived at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, where SNL tapes, shortly after 8 p.m., enough time for a quick rehearsal before the show airs live at 11:30 p.m. It is the final SNL episode before Election Day on Tuesday.Neither the White House nor her campaign have confirmed her appearance on the show, but it was confirmed by three people familiar with Harris’ plans who were not authorized to speak publicly about them.Actor Maya Rudolph first played Harris on the show in 2019 and has&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/maya-rudolph-kamala-harris-saturday-night-live-1b7649f6ab82fb0d784e9ae05c6a3153">reprised her role</a>&nbsp;this season, doing a spot-on impression of the vice president, including calling herself “Momala.”Rudolph opened the show’s season premiere with the line: “Well, well, well. Look who fell out of that coconut tree.” And she’s joked about keeping President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;in his place.Harris' husband, second gentleman&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/doug-emhoff-harris-presidential-bid-4c1c1ae1929aac4b5dc9b4cf6c5ddeb7">Doug Emhoff</a>, has been played by former cast member Andy Samberg and Biden is played by Dana Carvey, who also famously played then-President George H.W. Bush in the early 1990s.Rudolph's performance has won critical and comedic acclaim — including from Harris herself.“Maya Rudolph — I mean, she’s so good,” Harris said last month on ABC's “The View.” “She had the whole thing, the suit, the jewelry, everything!”Harris added that she was impressed with Rudolph’s “mannerisms."Jason Miller, a senior adviser to former president and Republican nominee&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>, expressed surprise that Harris would appear on SNL given what he characterized as her unflattering portrayal on the show. Asked if Trump had been invited to appear, he said: “I don’t know. Probably not.”Politicians nonetheless have a long history on SNL, including Trump, who hosted the show in 2015 — though appearing so close to Election Day is unusual.Hillary Clinton was running in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary when she appeared next to Amy Poehler, who played her on the show and was known for launching into a trademark, exaggerated cackle. The real Clinton wondered during her appearance, “Do I really laugh like that?”Clinton returned in 2016, while running against Trump in a race she ultimately lost.The first sitting president to appear on SNL was Republican Gerald Ford, who did so less than a year after the show debuted. Ford appeared in April 1976 on an episode hosted by his press secretary, Ron Nessen, and declared the show’s famous opening rejoinder, “Live from New York, it's Saturday Night.”Then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama appeared alongside Poehler impersonating Clinton in 2007, and Republican Bob Dole was on the show in November 1996 -- a mere 11 days after losing that year’s election to Bill Clinton. Dole consoled Norm Macdonald, who played the Kansas senator.Then there was Tina Fey’s 2008 impression of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin — and in particular her joke that “I can see Russia from my house.” It was so good that Fey eventually won an Emmy and Palin herself appeared on the show that October, in the weeks before the election.___NEW YORK (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has made an unannounced trip to New York to appear on an episode of “Saturday Night Live,” briefly stepping away from the battleground states she’s been campaigning in with just three days to go before the election.Harris departed on Air Force Two after a campaign stop on Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was scheduled to head to Detroit. But once the aircraft was in the air, aides said it was actually heading to New York.Her appearance on the show was confirmed by three people familiar with Harris' plans who were not authorized to speak publicly about them.It is the final SNL episode before Election Day on Tuesday.

Live from New York: Harris making surprise 'Saturday Night Live' appearance

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-student-loan-cancellation-forgiveness-college-debt-f469500465aefa66aca67e3b31b27430">latest attempt</a>&nbsp;at student loan cancellation is free to move ahead — at least temporarily — after a judge in Georgia decided that a legal challenge should be handled by a court in Missouri.

Biden’s plan has been on hold since September after seven Republican-led states challenged it in federal court in Georgia. But on Wednesday, a federal judge decided not to extend the pause and instead dismissed Georgia from the lawsuit, finding that it lacked the legal right, or standing, to sue.

U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall opted to send the suit to Missouri, one of the remaining states in the case. On Thursday, those states filed a request asking the Missouri court to block the plan.

Without a new obstacle, the Biden administration could push&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-education-department-student-loan-debt-forgiveness-fc7bc28332b1b1faec088ae7a02b5f0c">the proposal</a>&nbsp;toward the finish line as soon as Friday. The Education Department would be free to finalize a rule paving the way for cancellation, though it would likely take days or weeks to carry out.

Biden’s plan would cancel at least some student loan debt for an estimated 30 million borrowers.

It would erase up to $20,000 in interest for those who have seen their original balances increase because of runaway interest. It would also provide relief to those who have been repaying their loans for 20 or 25 years, and those who went to college programs that leave graduates with high debt compared to their incomes.

Biden told the Education Department to pursue cancellation through a federal rulemaking process after the Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/student-loan-debt-forgiveness-supreme-court-2d6eec61822b9e7a89ff59453d2486a5">rejected an earlier plan</a>&nbsp;using a different legal justification. That plan would have eliminated up to $20,000 for 43 million Americans.

The Supreme Court rejected Biden’s first proposal in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-biden-student-loans-f566c623ccb3f322523d7e0a2f88b0c5">case brought by Republican states</a>&nbsp;including Missouri, which now takes the lead in the latest lawsuit.

In his order Wednesday, Hall said Georgia failed to prove it was significantly harmed by Biden’s new plan. He rejected an argument that the policy would hurt the state’s income tax revenue, but he found that Missouri has “clear standing” to sue.

Missouri is suing on behalf of MOHELA, a student loan servicer that was created by the state and is hired by the federal government to help collect student loans. In the suit, Missouri argues that cancellation would hurt MOHELA's revenue because it's paid based on the number of borrowers it serves.

In their lawsuit, the Republican states argue that the Education Department had quietly been telling loan servicers to prepare for loan cancellation as early as Sept. 9, bypassing a typical 60-day waiting period for new federal rules to take effect.

The courts are now asking the Missouri court to act quickly saying the Education Department could “unlawfully mass cancel up to hundreds of billions of dollars in student loans as soon as Monday.”

Also joining the suit are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, North Dakota and Ohio.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1721337854914.png" alt="File photo White House" />
 <figcaption>File photo White House</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-student-loan-cancellation-forgiveness-college-debt-f469500465aefa66aca67e3b31b27430">latest attempt</a>&nbsp;at student loan cancellation is free to move ahead — at least temporarily — after a judge in Georgia decided that a legal challenge should be handled by a court in Missouri.Biden’s plan has been on hold since September after seven Republican-led states challenged it in federal court in Georgia. But on Wednesday, a federal judge decided not to extend the pause and instead dismissed Georgia from the lawsuit, finding that it lacked the legal right, or standing, to sue.U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall opted to send the suit to Missouri, one of the remaining states in the case. On Thursday, those states filed a request asking the Missouri court to block the plan.Without a new obstacle, the Biden administration could push&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-education-department-student-loan-debt-forgiveness-fc7bc28332b1b1faec088ae7a02b5f0c">the proposal</a>&nbsp;toward the finish line as soon as Friday. The Education Department would be free to finalize a rule paving the way for cancellation, though it would likely take days or weeks to carry out.Biden’s plan would cancel at least some student loan debt for an estimated 30 million borrowers.It would erase up to $20,000 in interest for those who have seen their original balances increase because of runaway interest. It would also provide relief to those who have been repaying their loans for 20 or 25 years, and those who went to college programs that leave graduates with high debt compared to their incomes.Biden told the Education Department to pursue cancellation through a federal rulemaking process after the Supreme Court&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/student-loan-debt-forgiveness-supreme-court-2d6eec61822b9e7a89ff59453d2486a5">rejected an earlier plan</a>&nbsp;using a different legal justification. That plan would have eliminated up to $20,000 for 43 million Americans.The Supreme Court rejected Biden’s first proposal in a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-biden-student-loans-f566c623ccb3f322523d7e0a2f88b0c5">case brought by Republican states</a>&nbsp;including Missouri, which now takes the lead in the latest lawsuit.In his order Wednesday, Hall said Georgia failed to prove it was significantly harmed by Biden’s new plan. He rejected an argument that the policy would hurt the state’s income tax revenue, but he found that Missouri has “clear standing” to sue.Missouri is suing on behalf of MOHELA, a student loan servicer that was created by the state and is hired by the federal government to help collect student loans. In the suit, Missouri argues that cancellation would hurt MOHELA's revenue because it's paid based on the number of borrowers it serves.In their lawsuit, the Republican states argue that the Education Department had quietly been telling loan servicers to prepare for loan cancellation as early as Sept. 9, bypassing a typical 60-day waiting period for new federal rules to take effect.The courts are now asking the Missouri court to act quickly saying the Education Department could “unlawfully mass cancel up to hundreds of billions of dollars in student loans as soon as Monday.”Also joining the suit are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, North Dakota and Ohio.

Court allows Biden student loan forgiveness plan to proceed

NEW YORK (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/tim-walz">Tim Walz</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jd-vance">JD Vance</a>&nbsp;will meet for their first and possibly only vice presidential debate Tuesday, in what could be the last debate for both campaigns to argue their case before&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024">the election</a>.

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?538521-1/simulcast-cbs-news-vice-presidential-debate">Click here to watch </a>a replay via CSPAN courtesy CBS&nbsp;

Both Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota, and Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, focused many of their attacks at the top of the ticket, as is traditional for VP debates. They each pointed to the crises of the day as reasons for voters to choose Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump.

Walz, answering a question on whether he'd support a preemptive strike on Iran after it launched missiles at Israel, painted Trump as too dangerous for the country and the world in an unstable moment.

“What’s fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter,” said Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota. "And the world saw it on that debate stage a few weeks ago, a nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment.”

Vance, in his reply, argued that Trump is an intimidating figure whose presence on the international stage is its own deterrent.

“Donald Trump actually delivered stability," he said.

The debate in New York hosted by CBS News opened with a sober tone that reflected growing domestic and international concerns about safety and security. But it gave way to sharper attacks from both Walz and Vance — and a moment in which the moderators stopped the discussion by cutting the two men's mics.

Walz accused Vance and Trump of villainizing legal immigrants in Vance’s home state. He pointed to the fact that Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine had to send in extra law enforcement to provide security to the city’s schools after Vance tweeted about and Trump amplified false claims about Haitians eating pets.

“This is what happens when you don’t want to solve it, you demonize it,” Walz said, saying not doing so would allow people to “come together.”

Vance said the 15,000 Haitians in the city had caused housing, economic and other issues that the Biden-Harris administration was ignoring.

When the debate moderators pointed out that the Haitians living there had legal status, Vance protested that CBS News had said its moderators would not be fact-checking, leaving the onus to the candidates. As Vance continued and the moderators tried to move on, his microphone was cut and neither man could be heard.

Both men found unity on Hurricane Helene, which has devastated several states and caused massive flooding in North Carolina in particular. Walz mentioned the storm’s devastation and talked about working with governors across the country, saying they don’t let politics get in the way of collaborating.

The question about Hurricane Helene led to a moment of political comity as Vance said, “I’m sure Gov. Walz joins me in saying our hearts go out to those innocent people.”

The two Midwesterners struck a noticeably friendlier tone than matchup between Trump and Harris — or, earlier this year, Trump and President Joe Biden before he dropped out of the race.

When they first turned to immigration and the influx of migrants coming over the U.S.-Mexico border, one of the most heated topics of the campaign, the two men credited each other with having good intentions.

“I believe Senator Vance wants to solve this, but by standing with Donald Trump and not working together to find a solution, it becomes a talking point and when it becomes a talking point like this, we dehumanize and villainize other human beings,” Walz said.

Vance echoed the sentiment, saying, “I think you want to solve this problem, but I don’t think that Kamala Harris does.”

Polls have shown Harris and Trump locked in a close contest,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vice-presidential-debate-walz-vance-explainer-campaign-918bc02012b4ec00c3b283fa40f654cd">giving added weight</a>&nbsp;to anything that can sway voters on the margins, including the impression left by the vice presidential candidates. It also might be the last debate of the campaign,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-rules-out-third-debate-harris-8ac8051f3247f79f6508d40fbcb138a1">with the Harris and Trump teams failing to agree on another meeting</a>.

The role of a presidential running mate is typically to serve as an attack dog for the person at the top of the ticket, arguing against the opposing presidential candidate and their proxy on stage. Both Vance and Walz have embraced that role.

Early Tuesday night, Vance was giving a largely measured performance instead of assuming his combative persona from the campaign trail or in media interviews.

Walz, meanwhile, did not deploy the arsenal of folksy zingers that excited Democrats when he was named as Harris’ running mate.

Vance's occasionally confrontational interviews and appearances have underscored&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-vice-presidential-debate-vance-7bb8f1cef04af4f42ebc53571f5ebb36">why Trump picked him for the Republican ticket</a>&nbsp;despite his past biting criticisms of the former president, including once suggesting Trump would be “America’s Hitler.”

“When you get something wrong and you change your mind, you ought to be honest with the American people,” he said Tuesday.

Walz had catapulted onto Harris’ campaign by branding Trump and Republicans as “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kamala-harris-trump-vance-weird-c54d506d1f533ee7aa455f7b500322c5">just weird</a>,” creating an attack line for Democrats seeking to argue Republicans are disconnected from the American people.

He was pressed Tuesday on his misleading claim,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/walz-china-tiananmen-square-protests-8d433bf7184e8c430aa31d1f5460fe87">which was investigated</a>&nbsp;this week by Minnesota Public Radio and other outlets, that he was in Hong Kong during the turbulence surrounding the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, part of a broader pattern of inaccuracies that Republicans hope to exploit.

Confronted with his misstatements about his travels to China years ago, Walz defended himself by saying, “I’ve not been perfect.” In fact, he said, “I’m a knucklehead at times.” Eventually, he acknowledged he misspoke about his history.

A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/poll-jd-vance-tim-walz-vice-president-97a3dc3b00741b02bcea85b51e735c12">new AP-NORC poll</a>&nbsp;found that Walz is better liked than Vance, potentially giving the Republican an added challenge.

Trump, on Tuesday evening, said his advice to Vance was to “have a lot of fun” and praised his running mate as a “smart guy” and “a real warrior.”

The debate in New York hosted by CBS News will give Vance, a Republican freshman senator from Ohio, and Walz, a two-term Democratic governor of Minnesota, the chance to introduce themselves, make the case for their running mates, and go on the attack against the opposing ticket.

Tuesday's matchup could have an outsized impact. Polls have shown Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump locked in a close contest,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vice-presidential-debate-walz-vance-explainer-campaign-918bc02012b4ec00c3b283fa40f654cd">giving added weight</a>&nbsp;to anything that can sway voters on the margins, including the impression left by the vice presidential candidates. It also might be the last debate of the campaign,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-rules-out-third-debate-harris-8ac8051f3247f79f6508d40fbcb138a1">with the Harris and Trump teams failing to agree on another meeting</a>.

Vance's occasionally confrontational news interviews and appearances on the campaign trail have underscored&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-vice-presidential-debate-vance-7bb8f1cef04af4f42ebc53571f5ebb36">why Trump picked him for the Republican ticket</a>&nbsp;despite his past biting criticisms of the former president, including once suggesting Trump would be “America’s Hitler.”

Walz, meanwhile, catapulted onto Harris’ campaign by branding Trump and Republicans as “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kamala-harris-trump-vance-weird-c54d506d1f533ee7aa455f7b500322c5">just weird</a>,” creating an attack line for Democrats seeking to argue Republicans are disconnected from the American people.

After a Harris-Trump debate in which Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-abc-muir-debate-80459d35f25c8fd3207c558bdb7e2339">complained about the ABC News moderators fact-checking Trump</a>, Tuesday's debate will not feature any corrections from the hosts. CBS News said the onus for pointing out misstatements will be on the candidates, with moderators “facilitating those opportunities.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1727831426274.png" alt="Image courtesy CBS via CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy CBS via CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure> NEW YORK (AP) —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/tim-walz">Tim Walz</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/jd-vance">JD Vance</a>&nbsp;will meet for their first and possibly only vice presidential debate Tuesday, in what could be the last debate for both campaigns to argue their case before&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024">the election</a>.<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?538521-1/simulcast-cbs-news-vice-presidential-debate">Click here to watch </a>a replay via CSPAN courtesy CBS&nbsp;Both Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota, and Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, focused many of their attacks at the top of the ticket, as is traditional for VP debates. They each pointed to the crises of the day as reasons for voters to choose Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump.Walz, answering a question on whether he'd support a preemptive strike on Iran after it launched missiles at Israel, painted Trump as too dangerous for the country and the world in an unstable moment.“What’s fundamental here is that steady leadership is going to matter,” said Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota. "And the world saw it on that debate stage a few weeks ago, a nearly 80-year-old Donald Trump talking about crowd sizes is not what we need in this moment.”Vance, in his reply, argued that Trump is an intimidating figure whose presence on the international stage is its own deterrent.“Donald Trump actually delivered stability," he said.The debate in New York hosted by CBS News opened with a sober tone that reflected growing domestic and international concerns about safety and security. But it gave way to sharper attacks from both Walz and Vance — and a moment in which the moderators stopped the discussion by cutting the two men's mics.Walz accused Vance and Trump of villainizing legal immigrants in Vance’s home state. He pointed to the fact that Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine had to send in extra law enforcement to provide security to the city’s schools after Vance tweeted about and Trump amplified false claims about Haitians eating pets.“This is what happens when you don’t want to solve it, you demonize it,” Walz said, saying not doing so would allow people to “come together.”Vance said the 15,000 Haitians in the city had caused housing, economic and other issues that the Biden-Harris administration was ignoring.When the debate moderators pointed out that the Haitians living there had legal status, Vance protested that CBS News had said its moderators would not be fact-checking, leaving the onus to the candidates. As Vance continued and the moderators tried to move on, his microphone was cut and neither man could be heard.Both men found unity on Hurricane Helene, which has devastated several states and caused massive flooding in North Carolina in particular. Walz mentioned the storm’s devastation and talked about working with governors across the country, saying they don’t let politics get in the way of collaborating.The question about Hurricane Helene led to a moment of political comity as Vance said, “I’m sure Gov. Walz joins me in saying our hearts go out to those innocent people.”The two Midwesterners struck a noticeably friendlier tone than matchup between Trump and Harris — or, earlier this year, Trump and President Joe Biden before he dropped out of the race.When they first turned to immigration and the influx of migrants coming over the U.S.-Mexico border, one of the most heated topics of the campaign, the two men credited each other with having good intentions.“I believe Senator Vance wants to solve this, but by standing with Donald Trump and not working together to find a solution, it becomes a talking point and when it becomes a talking point like this, we dehumanize and villainize other human beings,” Walz said.Vance echoed the sentiment, saying, “I think you want to solve this problem, but I don’t think that Kamala Harris does.”<h2>The debate could have outsized impact</h2>Polls have shown Harris and Trump locked in a close contest,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vice-presidential-debate-walz-vance-explainer-campaign-918bc02012b4ec00c3b283fa40f654cd">giving added weight</a>&nbsp;to anything that can sway voters on the margins, including the impression left by the vice presidential candidates. It also might be the last debate of the campaign,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-rules-out-third-debate-harris-8ac8051f3247f79f6508d40fbcb138a1">with the Harris and Trump teams failing to agree on another meeting</a>.The role of a presidential running mate is typically to serve as an attack dog for the person at the top of the ticket, arguing against the opposing presidential candidate and their proxy on stage. Both Vance and Walz have embraced that role.Early Tuesday night, Vance was giving a largely measured performance instead of assuming his combative persona from the campaign trail or in media interviews.Walz, meanwhile, did not deploy the arsenal of folksy zingers that excited Democrats when he was named as Harris’ running mate.Vance's occasionally confrontational interviews and appearances have underscored&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-vice-presidential-debate-vance-7bb8f1cef04af4f42ebc53571f5ebb36">why Trump picked him for the Republican ticket</a>&nbsp;despite his past biting criticisms of the former president, including once suggesting Trump would be “America’s Hitler.”“When you get something wrong and you change your mind, you ought to be honest with the American people,” he said Tuesday.Walz had catapulted onto Harris’ campaign by branding Trump and Republicans as “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kamala-harris-trump-vance-weird-c54d506d1f533ee7aa455f7b500322c5">just weird</a>,” creating an attack line for Democrats seeking to argue Republicans are disconnected from the American people.He was pressed Tuesday on his misleading claim,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/walz-china-tiananmen-square-protests-8d433bf7184e8c430aa31d1f5460fe87">which was investigated</a>&nbsp;this week by Minnesota Public Radio and other outlets, that he was in Hong Kong during the turbulence surrounding the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, part of a broader pattern of inaccuracies that Republicans hope to exploit.Confronted with his misstatements about his travels to China years ago, Walz defended himself by saying, “I’ve not been perfect.” In fact, he said, “I’m a knucklehead at times.” Eventually, he acknowledged he misspoke about his history.A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/poll-jd-vance-tim-walz-vice-president-97a3dc3b00741b02bcea85b51e735c12">new AP-NORC poll</a>&nbsp;found that Walz is better liked than Vance, potentially giving the Republican an added challenge.Trump, on Tuesday evening, said his advice to Vance was to “have a lot of fun” and praised his running mate as a “smart guy” and “a real warrior.”___The debate in New York hosted by CBS News will give Vance, a Republican freshman senator from Ohio, and Walz, a two-term Democratic governor of Minnesota, the chance to introduce themselves, make the case for their running mates, and go on the attack against the opposing ticket.Tuesday's matchup could have an outsized impact. Polls have shown Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump locked in a close contest,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/vice-presidential-debate-walz-vance-explainer-campaign-918bc02012b4ec00c3b283fa40f654cd">giving added weight</a>&nbsp;to anything that can sway voters on the margins, including the impression left by the vice presidential candidates. It also might be the last debate of the campaign,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-rules-out-third-debate-harris-8ac8051f3247f79f6508d40fbcb138a1">with the Harris and Trump teams failing to agree on another meeting</a>.The role of a presidential running mate is typically to serve as an attack dog for the person at the top of the ticket, arguing against the opposing presidential candidate and their proxy on stage. Both Vance and Walz have embraced that role.Vance's occasionally confrontational news interviews and appearances on the campaign trail have underscored&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2024-vice-presidential-debate-vance-7bb8f1cef04af4f42ebc53571f5ebb36">why Trump picked him for the Republican ticket</a>&nbsp;despite his past biting criticisms of the former president, including once suggesting Trump would be “America’s Hitler.”Walz, meanwhile, catapulted onto Harris’ campaign by branding Trump and Republicans as “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kamala-harris-trump-vance-weird-c54d506d1f533ee7aa455f7b500322c5">just weird</a>,” creating an attack line for Democrats seeking to argue Republicans are disconnected from the American people.A&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/poll-jd-vance-tim-walz-vice-president-97a3dc3b00741b02bcea85b51e735c12">new AP-NORC poll</a>&nbsp;found that Walz is better liked than Vance, potentially giving the Republican an added challenge.After a Harris-Trump debate in which Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-abc-muir-debate-80459d35f25c8fd3207c558bdb7e2339">complained about the ABC News moderators fact-checking Trump</a>, Tuesday's debate will not feature any corrections from the hosts. CBS News said the onus for pointing out misstatements will be on the candidates, with moderators “facilitating those opportunities.”

🎥Walz and Vance face to face: CBS News Vice Presidential debate

SEWARD COUNTY —Authorities investigating a fatal accident that occurred just after 8p.m. Sunday in Seward County have identified the two who died as 61-year-old Adam J. Flores and 42-year-old Deanna M. Flores both of Bangor Maine.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported Adam Flores was pushing Deanna Flores in a wheelchair at Western Avenue near U.S. 54  and Seward County Road 3 and attempted to cross the railroad crossing while the crossing arms were down and warning signals were active.

 They were struck by a Union Pacific Train.&nbsp; Both were pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Miller Mortuary.&nbsp; The KHP did not report the relationship between the victims.&nbsp; The engineer and and conductor on the train from Texas were not injured.

SEWARD COUNTY —The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal accident that occurred just after 8p.m. Sunday in Seward County.

The patrol reported a train struck a pedestrian pushing someone in a wheelchair at Western Avenue near U54&nbsp; and Seward County Road 3. The pedestrians attempted to cross the railroad crossing while the crossing arms were down and the warning signals active.&nbsp;

The KHP released no additional details including the names of the victims early Monday. Check the Post for additional details as they become available.

SEWARD COUNTY —Authorities investigating a fatal accident that occurred just after 8p.m. Sunday in Seward County have identified the two who died as 61-year-old Adam J. Flores and 42-year-old Deanna M. Flores both of Bangor Maine.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported Adam Flores was pushing Deanna Flores in a wheelchair at Western Avenue near U.S. 54 and Seward County Road 3 and attempted to cross the railroad crossing while the crossing arms were down and warning signals were active. They were struck by a Union Pacific Train.&nbsp; Both were pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Miller Mortuary.&nbsp; The KHP did not report the relationship between the victims.&nbsp; The engineer and and conductor on the train from Texas were not injured.------------------SEWARD COUNTY —The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal accident that occurred just after 8p.m. Sunday in Seward County.The patrol reported a train struck a pedestrian pushing someone in a wheelchair at Western Avenue near U54&nbsp; and Seward County Road 3. The pedestrians attempted to cross the railroad crossing while the crossing arms were down and the warning signals active.&nbsp;The KHP released no additional details including the names of the victims early Monday. Check the Post for additional details as they become available.

KHP: Train struck pedestrians pushing wheelchair across track

By YAJIE MU Consumer Education Specialist

Missing jury duty can come with real consequences. You could face a fine, go to court, or even get arrested. Scammers take advantage of that to get your money or sensitive information. But their story is a lie.&nbsp;&nbsp;

This scam usually starts with a phone call or an email from someone claiming to be from the police department or a court official. (They’re not.) They say you missed jury duty, even though you never got a jury duty notice. They’ll tell you there’s a warrant out for your arrest, and the only way to cancel it is to pay a fine. (It’s a lie.) If you refuse, they may threaten you with jail. Or they might ask for personal information like your Social Security number or date of birth to&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-identity-theft" target="_blank">steal your identity</a>. To make the scam seem real, scammers also might give you a fake sheriff’s badge number and case number.&nbsp;

If you get a call or email like this, hang up or don’t respond. Don’t pay or give them any personal information. If you think a call or email could be real, call the court directly at a number you know is correct. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-government-impersonation-scam" target="_blank">other ways scammers pretend to be the government</a>. If you spot it, tell the FTC at&nbsp;<a href="https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/" target="_blank">ReportFraud.ftc.gov</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1726350505460.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By YAJIE MU Consumer Education SpecialistMissing jury duty can come with real consequences. You could face a fine, go to court, or even get arrested. Scammers take advantage of that to get your money or sensitive information. But their story is a lie.&nbsp;&nbsp;This scam usually starts with a phone call or an email from someone claiming to be from the police department or a court official. (They’re not.) They say you missed jury duty, even though you never got a jury duty notice. They’ll tell you there’s a warrant out for your arrest, and the only way to cancel it is to pay a fine. (It’s a lie.) If you refuse, they may threaten you with jail. Or they might ask for personal information like your Social Security number or date of birth to&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-identity-theft" target="_blank">steal your identity</a>. To make the scam seem real, scammers also might give you a fake sheriff’s badge number and case number.&nbsp;Here’s how you can tell it’s a scam.<ul>
 <li>Courts never ask for immediate payment over the phone. In fact, no government agency will do that.&nbsp;</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Only scammers insist that you can only pay with&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/avoiding-and-reporting-gift-card-scams" target="_blank">gift cards</a>, a&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/mobile-payment-apps-how-avoid-scam-when-you-use-one" target="_blank">payment app</a>,<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-cryptocurrency-and-scams" target="_blank">&nbsp;cryptocurrency</a>, or a&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/you-wire-money" target="_blank">wire transfer service</a>&nbsp;like Western Union or MoneyGram because it’s very hard to get your money back if you pay in these ways.&nbsp;</li>
 </ul><ul>
 <li>Courts never ask for sensitive personal information over the phone, like your Social Security number or date of birth. Only scammers do.&nbsp;</li>
 </ul>If you get a call or email like this, hang up or don’t respond. Don’t pay or give them any personal information. If you think a call or email could be real, call the court directly at a number you know is correct. Learn more about&nbsp;<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-government-impersonation-scam" target="_blank">other ways scammers pretend to be the government</a>. If you spot it, tell the FTC at&nbsp;<a href="https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/" target="_blank">ReportFraud.ftc.gov</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Did you get a call or email saying you missed jury duty and need to pay? It’s a scam

By ALVARO PUIG Consumer Education Specialist

Imagine carrying a written copy of all your conversations with you everywhere you went. Or copies of your account numbers, usernames, and passwords. Or all the photos and videos you’ve ever taken. I bet you’d do just about everything in your power to protect all that valuable information. Well, your mobile phone holds all that stuff — and maybe more. Are you doing everything in your power to keep it from ending up in the wrong hands? Here are three things you can do&nbsp;today&nbsp;to protect the personal information on your phone.

1. Lock it.&nbsp;Keep prying eyes out of your phone by setting it to automatically lock when you’re not using it and create a PIN or passcode to unlock it. Longer passcodes are better, so use at least six digits. After you’ve set it up, you might be able to unlock your phone with your fingerprint, your face, or your iris.

2. Update it.&nbsp;Your operating system has security features built into it. And phone manufacturers regularly push out free updates to protect you against security threats. Set your phone to automatically update the operating system to stay up with the latest protections.

<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-protect-your-phone-hackers#Update">Here’s how to update your phone &gt;</a>

Bonus: Update your apps, too. And delete any apps you don’t use.

3. Back it up.&nbsp;The convenience and portability of our phone puts it in peril. We might break or lose it. Or an opportunistic criminal might steal it. Back up your phone to the cloud or an external drive. That way you can recover your information if something goes wrong. And turn on the feature that helps you track a lost or stolen phone – it also lets you remotely lock or erase your phone if someone steals it, or you can’t find it.

<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-protect-your-phone-hackers#Backup">Here’s how to back up your phone &gt;</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1726072931791.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By ALVARO PUIG Consumer Education SpecialistImagine carrying a written copy of all your conversations with you everywhere you went. Or copies of your account numbers, usernames, and passwords. Or all the photos and videos you’ve ever taken. I bet you’d do just about everything in your power to protect all that valuable information. Well, your mobile phone holds all that stuff — and maybe more. Are you doing everything in your power to keep it from ending up in the wrong hands? Here are three things you can do&nbsp;today&nbsp;to protect the personal information on your phone.1. Lock it.&nbsp;Keep prying eyes out of your phone by setting it to automatically lock when you’re not using it and create a PIN or passcode to unlock it. Longer passcodes are better, so use at least six digits. After you’ve set it up, you might be able to unlock your phone with your fingerprint, your face, or your iris.<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-protect-your-phone-hackers#Lock">Here's how to set it up &gt;</a>2. Update it.&nbsp;Your operating system has security features built into it. And phone manufacturers regularly push out free updates to protect you against security threats. Set your phone to automatically update the operating system to stay up with the latest protections.<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-protect-your-phone-hackers#Update">Here’s how to update your phone &gt;</a>Bonus: Update your apps, too. And delete any apps you don’t use.3. Back it up.&nbsp;The convenience and portability of our phone puts it in peril. We might break or lose it. Or an opportunistic criminal might steal it. Back up your phone to the cloud or an external drive. That way you can recover your information if something goes wrong. And turn on the feature that helps you track a lost or stolen phone – it also lets you remotely lock or erase your phone if someone steals it, or you can’t find it.<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-protect-your-phone-hackers#Backup">Here’s how to back up your phone &gt;</a>

FTC: Three ways to protect the personal info on your phone

BUNKER HILL, KS – Smoky Hills PBS is excited to announce the premiere of a new educational series, "Cool Careers," set to air on September 15th.&nbsp; The series will introduce kids and families to the exciting and diverse career opportunities available right here in Kansas.

"Bringing the Cool Careers series to Smoky Hills PBS is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the incredible career paths available in Kansas,” said Audrey Parsons, SHPBS Programming Director.&nbsp; “We're excited to inspire local youth by highlighting the diverse and rewarding opportunities that might be right there within their own communities."

In "Cool Careers," a crew of real Kansas kids will explore various high-demand careers across the state. The series is designed to showcase the day-to-day responsibilities of professionals in different fields and inspire kids to consider pursuing similar paths in the future.

SubmittedBUNKER HILL, KS – Smoky Hills PBS is excited to announce the premiere of a new educational series, "Cool Careers," set to air on September 15th.&nbsp; The series will introduce kids and families to the exciting and diverse career opportunities available right here in Kansas."Bringing the Cool Careers series to Smoky Hills PBS is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the incredible career paths available in Kansas,” said Audrey Parsons, SHPBS Programming Director.&nbsp; “We're excited to inspire local youth by highlighting the diverse and rewarding opportunities that might be right there within their own communities."In "Cool Careers," a crew of real Kansas kids will explore various high-demand careers across the state. The series is designed to showcase the day-to-day responsibilities of professionals in different fields and inspire kids to consider pursuing similar paths in the future.Targeted for families and kids in grades 4 to 8, "Cool Careers" aims to open young minds to the possibilities that exist within their own communities, helping them understand the skills and education needed to launch a rewarding career.EpisodesEpisode 1 – Robots, Drones, and Turbines – Oh My!Air Dates:&nbsp; 9/15 at 6:30 PM, 9/20 at 1 PM, 9/22 at 11 AMEpisode 2 – Feed The WorldAir Dates:&nbsp; 9/22 at 6:30 PM, 9/27 at 1 PM, 9/29 at 11 AMEpisode 3 – Healthcare HeroesAir Dates: 9/29 at 6:30 PM, 10/4 at 1 PM, 10/6 at 11 AMEpisode 4 – Building CareersAir Dates: 10/6 at 6:30 PM, 10/11 at 1 PM, 10/13 at 11 AMEpisode 5 – People and Products on the MoveAir Dates: 10/13 at 6:30 PM, 10/18 at 1 PM, 10/20 at 11 AMEpisode 6 – Make Things Work!Air Dates: 10/20 at 6:30 PM, 10/25 at 1 PM, 10/27 at 11 AMEpisode 7 – Professions That Put People FirstAir Dates: 10/27 at 6:30 PM, 11/1 at 1 PM, 11/3 at 11 AMDon’t miss the chance to explore what’s possible—tune in to Smoky Hills PBS starting September 15th!Air Times:ALL NEW episodes – SUN 6:30 PMWatch Again – FRI 1 PM, SUN 11 AMWays to Watch:To watch this documentary, tune into Smoky Hills PBS, which can be found through antenna, on many cable systems, Smoky Hills PBS<a href="https://video.smokyhillstv.org/livestream/"> LLS Channel</a>, DirecTV, Dish Network, LocalNow app, YouTube TV, HULU+LIVE TV.&nbsp; You can also access Smoky Hills PBS via the FREE mobile app for Android and iPhone devices.&nbsp; For more information, visit<a href="http://smokyhillspbs.org/"> SmokyHillsPBS.org</a> or call 1-800-337-4788.&nbsp;Cool Careers is made possible in part by these current sponsors: Colby Community College, Garden City Coop, Grow Ellsworth County, JOMAX Construction Company, Inc., Leon’s Welding &amp; Fabrication.

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