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Report: US turning away asylum-seekers at border is flawed - The Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The head of the Department of Homeland Security ordered border agents to stop asylum-seekers from stepping on U.S. soil at official crossings with Mexico in 2018, undercutting...

SAN DIEGO (AP) The head of the Department of Homeland Security ordered border agents to stop asylum-seekers from stepping on U.S. soil at official crossings with Mexico in 2018, undercutting public statements at the time that they were welcome to do so, according to a government watchdog report published Friday. The DHS inspector general also found those trying to seek asylum at four official crossings were removed to Mexico before having a chance to seek protection from persecution back home, contrary to U.S. immigration law. The internal watchdog said U.S. Customs and Border Protection had unused detention space at two crossings that could have been used to process asylum-seekers. The 37-page report paints a picture starkly at odds with previous accounts of how the practice of making people wait in Mexico was introduced two years ago amid an unprecedented surge of people seeking asylum, many of them Central American families. U.S. authorities have said repeatedly that processing constraints were the sole reason for making people wait in Mexico. The practice one of many measures President Donald Trump has implemented to limit asylum has been on hold since March, when the administration temporarily suspended asylum altogether, using the coronavirus to invoke special powers under a public health law. Kirstjen Nielsen, who as DHS secretary in 2018 was dealing with a crisis over the administrations decision to separate families at the border, repeatedly urged asylum-seekers to go to ports of entry, instead of entering the country illegally between official crossings. At the time, CBP was turning away people at official crossings, though Nielsen disputed those reports. Chad Wolf, her chief of staff and now acting secretary, acted on Nielsens May 24, 2018, request to ask CBP how many asylum-seekers would likely be turned away each day if the agency limited processing at the border, a practice known as metering. She was told that 650 people daily could be denied entry if 200 officers were assigned to the task. On June 5, Nielsen signed an order putting the plan in effect, the report says. (While) DHS leadership urged asylum seekers to present themselves at ports of entry, the agency took deliberate steps to limit the number of undocumented aliens who could be processed each day at Southwest Border land ports of entry, the report says. Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment and neither did Nielsen, who was ousted last year in a broad purge of senior department officials. CBP referred the AP to its written responses in the report. The inspector general says that CBP, without public notice, stopped processing asylum-seekers at seven of 24 southern border crossings, all of them in the San Diego and Laredo, Texas, field offices. Officers at the Tecate, California, crossing questioned the legality of the order and refused to participate. CBP, in its written response to recommendations, rejected the inspector generals proposal to resume processing at the seven crossings or publicly announce that it wont. Agents at four border crossings three in the San Diego field office and one in Nogales, Arizona turned back asylum-seekers who were on U.S. soil but had not yet cleared inspection. The inspector general said that practice was inconsistent with U.S. law and Homeland Security policy. The inspector general also challenged CBPs claim that it reached its processing capacity, saying that visits to Arizona crossings in Nogales and San Luis showed otherwise. The San Luis port had the capacity to detain 48 people but was holding only five. CBP said the inspector generals findings on capacity reflect a fundamental misunderstanding. It said, for example, that it cant mix men with an unaccompanied child. Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden calls metering a disastrous policy on his website. ___ Associated Press writer Colleen Long in Washington contributed to this report.

As anger rises, thousands of Muslims protest French cartoons - The Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Thousands of Muslims, from Pakistan to Lebanon to the Palestinian territories, poured out of prayer services to join anti-France protests on Friday, as the...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Thousands of Muslims, from Pakistan to Lebanon to the Palestinian territories, poured out of prayer services to join anti-France protests on Friday, as the French presidents vow to protect the right to caricature the Prophet Muhammad continues to roil the Muslim world. Demonstrations in Pakistans capital Islamabad turned violent as some 2,000 people who tried to march toward the French Embassy were pushed back by police firing tear gas and beating protesters with batons. Crowds of Islamist activists hanged an effigy of French President Emmanuel Macron from a highway overpass after pounding it furiously with their shoes. Several demonstrators were wounded in clashes with police and authorities deployed more security forces to protect the embassy. In Pakistans eastern city of Lahore, thousands of worshippers celebrating the Mawlid, the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, took to the streets, chanting anti-France slogans, raising banners and clogging major roads en route to a Sufi shrine. In Multan, a city in Pakistans eastern Punjab province, thousands more burned an effigy of Macron and demanded that Pakistan sever ties with France and boycott French goods. In Jerusalem, hundreds of Palestinians protested against Macron outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam, chanting, With our souls and with our blood we sacrifice for our prophet, Muhammad. Some youths scuffled with Israeli police as they exited the esplanade into the Old City. Israeli police said they successfully dispersed the gathering and detained three people. A few hundred demonstrators in Lebanons capital Beirut flocked toward the Palais des Pins, the official residence of the French ambassador to Lebanon, but found their way blocked by lines of police officers in riot gear. Carrying black and white flags with Islamist insignia, the Sunni Islamist activists cried, At your service, oh prophet of God. Some slung stones at police who responded with tear gas. Anti-France protests in Lebanon are an embarrassment for Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, who is trying to form a new government that would implement a French plan for reform in Lebanon. France, Lebanons former colonial ruler, has been helping chart a course for the country out of its severe economic and financial crisis. A huge crowd of some 50,000 noisily chanting protesters also rallied in Bangladeshs capital of Dhaka, burning effigies of Macron and holding signs that read, Say no to Islamophobia, Stop racism, and Boycott French products. Authorities deployed hundreds of riot police and used barbed wire to cordon off the countrys main mosque. In Afghanistan, members of the Islamist party Hezb-i-Islami set the French flag ablaze. Its leader, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, warned Macron that if he doesnt control the situation, we are going to a third world war and Europe will be responsible. The protests come amid rising tensions between France and Muslim-majority nations, which flared up earlier this month when a young Muslim beheaded a French schoolteacher who had shown caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in class. Those images, republished by the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to mark the opening of the trial for the deadly 2015 attack against the publication, have stirred the ire of Muslims across the world who consider depictions of the prophet blasphemous. A series of attacks that French authorities have attributed to Muslim extremism ensued. On Thursday, a knife-wielding Tunisian man carrying a copy of the Quran killed three people at a church in the Mediterranean city of Nice. That same day, a Saudi man stabbed and lightly wounded a security guard at the French consulate in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, prompting France to urge its citizens there to be on high alert. Over the past week, protests and calls to boycott French products have spread rapidly from Bangladesh to Pakistan to Kuwait. Social media has been pulsing with anti-France hashtags. Muslim leaders, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in particular, have loudly criticized France for what they see as the governments provocative and anti-Muslim stance. Thursdays attack in Nice also drew condemnations from leaders of countries that had voiced outrage over the caricatures, such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt. In a Friday sermon aired live on Egyptian state TV, the countrys minister of religious endowments appeared to denounce any violent retaliation for the cartoons. Love of the prophet cannot be expressed by killing, sabotaging or responding to evil with evil, said Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa, addressing dozens of worshippers at a mosque in Egypts Delta province of Daqahleya. ___ Associated Press writers Asim Tanveer in Multan, Pakistan; Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan; Tameem Akhgar in Kabul, Afghanistan; Noha ElHennawy in Cairo, Joseph Krauss in Jerusalem, Julhas Alam in Dhaka, Bangladesh and Zeina Karam in Beirut contributed to this report.

New Zealand votes to legalize euthanasia but not marijuana - The Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealanders voted to legalize euthanasia in a binding referendum, but preliminary results released Friday showed they likely would not legalize recreational...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) New Zealanders voted to legalize euthanasia in a binding referendum, but preliminary results released Friday showed they likely would not legalize recreational marijuana use. With about 83% of votes counted, New Zealanders emphatically endorsed the euthanasia measure with 65% voting in favor and 34% voting against. The No vote on marijuana was much closer, with 53% voting against legalizing the drug for recreational use and 46% voting in favor. That left open a slight chance the measure could still pass once all special votes were counted next week, although it would require a huge swing. The two referendums represented significant potential changes to New Zealands social fabric, although the campaigns for each ended up getting overshadowed somewhat by the coronavirus pandemic and a parallel political race, in which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her liberal Labour Party won a second term in a landslide. In past elections, special votes which include those cast by overseas voters have tended to track more liberal than general votes, giving proponents of marijuana legalization some hope the measure could still pass. Proponents of legalizing the drug were frustrated that Ardern wouldnt reveal how she intended to vote ahead the Oct. 17 ballot. Many believed an endorsement by Ardern could have boosted support for the measure, but she said she wanted to leave the decision to New Zealanders. Ardern said Friday after the results were released that she had voted in favor of both referendums. Conservative lawmaker Nick Smith, from the opposition National Party, welcomed the preliminary marijuana result. This is a victory for common sense. Research shows cannabis causes mental health problems, reduced motivation and educational achievement, and increased road and workplace deaths, he said. New Zealanders have rightly concluded that legalizing recreational cannabis would normalize it, make it more available, increase its use and cause more harm. But liberal lawmaker Chlöe Swarbrick, from the Green Party, said they had long assumed the vote would be close and they needed to wait until the special votes were counted. We have said from the outset that this would always come down to voter turnout. Weve had record numbers of special votes, so I remain optimistic, she said. New Zealand has had a really mature and ever-evolving conversation about drug laws in this country and weve come really far in the last three years. Proponents had argued the measure would reduce profits for gangs and improve social and legal outcomes for indigenous Maori. The euthanasia measure, which would also allow assisted suicide and takes effect in November 2021, would apply to adults who have terminal illnesses, are likely to die within six months, and are enduring unbearable suffering. Other countries that allow some form of euthanasia include The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Canada, Belgium and Colombia. It is a victory for all New Zealand as we become a more compassionate and humane society, said lawmaker David Seymour, of the libertarian ACT Party. Thousands of New Zealanders who might have suffered excruciating deaths will have choice, dignity, control, and autonomy over their own bodies, protected by the rule of law. But Dr. John Kleinsman, an ethicist for the New Zealand Catholic Bishops, said the vote put vulnerable people on a dangerous path. He said the mere option of euthanasia would be a burden and pressure for many ailing people and their families, as well as for healthcare and religious workers. The marijuana measure would allow people to buy up to 14 grams (0.5 ounce) a day and grow two plants. It was a non-binding vote, so if voters approved it, legislation would have to be passed to implement it. Ardern had promised to respect the outcome and bring forward the legislation, if it was necessary. Other countries that have legalized or decriminalized recreational marijuana include Canada, South Africa, Uruguay, Georgia plus a number of U.S. states.

US vetted stars' politics to showcase Trump virus response - Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Public relations firms hired by the Department of Health and Human Services vetted political views of hundreds of celebrities for a planned $250 million ad blitz aimed at...

WASHINGTON (AP) Public relations firms hired by the Department of Health and Human Services vetted political views of hundreds of celebrities for a planned $250 million ad blitz aimed at portraying President Donald Trumps response to the coronavirus outbreak in a positive light, according to documents released Thursday by a House committee. A political appointee at the department suggested creating a government-funded campaign to rival the World War II icon Rosie the Riveter, according to the documents, and taglines like Helping the President will Help the Country. None of the celebrities agreed to participate they may not have known they were being vetted and the campaign has been put on hold. Director Judd Apatow believes Trump does not have the intellectual capacity to run as president, according to a list of more than 200 celebrities compiled by one of the firms. Singer Christina Aguilera is an Obama-supporting Democrat and a gay-rights supporting liberal, the list says, and actor Jack Black is known to be a classic Hollywood liberal. A public service announcement by comedian George Lopez was not moving forward due to previous concerns regarding his comments regarding the president, according to the documents. The names were among the spreadsheets, memos, notes and other documents from September and October released by the House Oversight and Reform Committee. The firms vetting came as political appointees planned to spend more than $250 million on a confidence-building campaign surrounding the virus, which has killed more than 227,000 people in the United States and is a core issue in the presidential race between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden. While government public health campaigns are routine, the ad blitz planned by HHS was mired from the start by involvement from department spokesman Michael Caputo, a fierce loyalist and friend of Trump with little experience in the field. In September, a spokesman for Caputo said he was taking a medical leave from HHS as he battled cancer. Trump, a Republican, has repeatedly minimized the dangers of the coronavirus, even as the nation is in its third wave of infections, with tens of thousands of cases reported each day. According to one memo compiled by a subcontractor to Atlas Research, one of the firms hired by HHS, Caputo suggested a series of soundbites and taglines for the campaign, including Helping the President will Help the Country. The notes say that Caputo wanted the campaign to be remarkable and to rival Rosie the Riveter, the character who symbolized women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II against Germany. For us, the enemy is the virus, Caputo said, according to the memo. The documents also show pushback from some of the federal employees leading the work, who removed Caputo from an email chain and thanked one of the contractors for dealing with a challenging environment. The Democrat-led Oversight panel said Caputo was overstepping his bounds, interfering in work that is supposed to be done by contract officers at the department and politicizing what is supposed to be nonpartisan. Of course, it is completely inappropriate to frame a taxpayer-funded ad campaign around helping President Trump in the weeks and days before the election, said House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Reps. James Clyburn of South Carolina and Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, both subcommittee chairmen, in a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar. This theme also ignores the reality that more than 220,000 Americans have died from coronavirus a fact that should not be whitewashed in a legitimate public health message. Azar put the entire project on hold earlier this month, telling the Oversight subcommittee led by Clyburn that it was being investigated internally. I have ordered a strategic review of this public health education campaign that will be led by our top public health and communications experts to determine whether the campaign serves important public health purposes, Azar told the subcommittee, which is investigating the federal governments response to the coronavirus outbreak. Because public health policy around the coronavirus pandemic has become so politically polarized, its unclear how well a confidence-building campaign from the government would play. HHS officials acknowledge a major challenge to any campaign would involve finding trusted intermediaries to make the pitch to average Americans. On health care matters, people usually trust doctors first, not necessarily celebrities. And Trump has alienated much of the medical establishment with his dismissive comments about basic public health measures, such as wearing masks. The 34-page PSA Celebrity Tracker compiled by Atlas Research and released by the committee does not say whether the celebrities were aware they were even being considered or if they had agreed to participate. The report says that no celebrities are now affiliated with the project but a handful did initially agree to participate. Singer Marc Antony, who has been critical of Trump, pulled out after seeking an amendment to his contract to ensure that his content would not be used for advertisements to re-elect President Trump. Actor Dennis Quaid also initially agreed and then pulled out, according to a document from Atlas Research. In an Instagram video post last month titled No good deed goes unpoliticized, Quaid said he was frustrated that a taped interview he did with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious-disease expert, for the campaign was portrayed in the media as an endorsement of Trump. Nothing could be further from the truth, Quaid said, noting that the interview was still available on his podcast. Antony and Quaid were among just a few celebrities who were approved for the campaign, according to the documents. Others included TV health commentator Dr. Oz and singer Billy Ray Cyrus. Spokespeople for public service campaigns should be chosen on their ability to reach the target audience, not their political affiliation, the letter from the Democrats reads. Yet, documents produced by the contractors indicate that the Trump Administration vetted spokespeople based on their political positions and whether they support President Trump. ___ Associated Press writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report.

NXIVM guru gets 120 years in prison in sex-slaves case - Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Disgraced self-improvement guru Keith Raniere, whose NXIVM followers included millionaires and Hollywood actors, was sentenced to 120 years on Tuesday for turning some adherents...

NEW YORK (AP) Disgraced self-improvement guru Keith Raniere, whose NXIVM followers included millionaires and Hollywood actors, was sentenced to 120 years on Tuesday for turning some adherents into sex slaves branded with his initials. U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis called Raniere ruthless and unyielding in crimes that were particularly egregious because he targeted girls and young women. He handed down the unusually high sentence in federal court in Brooklyn after hearing anguished statements by victims of a sex-trafficking conspiracy that resulted in Ranieres conviction last year, along with unrepentant remarks from the defendant himself. I do believe I am innocent of the charges. ... It is true I am not remorseful of the crimes I do not believe I committed at all, Raniere said. Prosecutors had sought life in prison while defense lawyers said he should face 15 years behind bars. The sentencing culminated several years of revelations about Ranieres program, NXIVM, which charged thousands of dollars for invitation-only self improvement courses at its headquarters near Albany, New York, along with branches in Mexico and Canada. Adherents included millionaires and Hollywood actors willing to endure humiliation and pledge obedience to the defendant as part of his teachings. NXIVM has been the subject of two TV documentary series this year, HBOs The Vow, and the Starz series Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult. Prosecutors said Raniere, 60, led what amounted to a criminal enterprise, inducing shame and guilt to influence and control co-conspirators who helped recruit and groom sexual partners for Raniere. He was convicted on charges including racketeering, alien smuggling, sex trafficking, extortion and obstruction of justice. They said that among other crimes, Raniere began a sexual relationship in 2005 with a 15-year-old girl and confined another teenager to a room for nearly two years. Raniere had come under harsh attack on Tuesday from former followers during sentencing in his sex-trafficking case. India Oxenberg, the daughter of Dynasty actor Catherine Oxenberg, called him an entitled little princess and a sexual predator and lamented that she may have to spend the rest of my life with Keith Raneires initials seared into me. The likelihood of leniency had seemed to dissipate with the recent sentencing of Clare Bronfman, 41, an heir to the Seagrams liquor fortune, for her role in what has been described by some ex-members as a cult. Bronfman was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison. Prosecutors had only sought five years. Ex-followers told the judge that Bronfman for years had used her wealth to try to silence NXIVM defectors. Renieres followers called him Vanguard. To honor him, the group formed a secret sorority comprised of female slaves who were branded with his initials and ordered to have sex with him, the prosecutors said. Women were also pressured into giving up embarrassing information about themselves that could be used against them if they left the group. Along with Bronfman, Ranieres teachings won him the devotion of Hollywood actors including Allison Mack of TVs Smallville. Mack also has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. In a sentencing submission, lawyers for Reniere said he continues to assert his complete innocence to these charges. They wrote that his jury conviction at an unfair trial resulted from a media campaign involving witnesses who were motivated to testify falsely as part of a heavy-handed prosecution that threatened potential defense witnesses. His lawyers said the life prison term prosecutors sought was excessive. No one was shot, stabbed, punched, kicked, slapped or even yelled at, they said. Despite the sex offenses, there is no evidence that any woman ever told Keith Raniere that she did not want to kiss him, touch him, hold his hand or have sex with him.

4 dead, 15 rescued in English Channel migrant boat sinking - Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — At least four people, including two young children, died Tuesday when a boat carrying at least 19 migrants capsized off France while trying to cross the English Channel to Britain,...

PARIS (AP) At least four people, including two young children, died Tuesday when a boat carrying at least 19 migrants capsized off France while trying to cross the English Channel to Britain, French authorities said. Fifteen migrants have been saved so far and rescue and search operations were still under way, according to the regional administration for the Nord region. It said in a statement that the dead were a 5-year-old and an 8-year-old, an adult woman and an adult man, and stressed that the toll so far is provisional pending further searches in the area. Aid groups decried the deaths and called for more government help for struggling migrants, while British and French authorities expressed their condolences. Such crossings have become increasingly common in recent years, despite political uproar in Britain and stepped-up police efforts to stop them, but deaths are rare. French authorities reported four migrant deaths in total in small boats crossing the Channel in 2019. On Tuesday, a sailboat alerted authorities to a migrant boat in distress off the coast of Dunkirk, and France mobilized five vessels and a Belgian helicopter nearby to help with the rescue, according to the regional French maritime agency. It had said earlier that 18 people were rescued and were receiving treatment in hospitals in Calais and Dunkirk. The reason for the different numbers of rescued migrants was not explained. The Dunkirk prosecutor launched an investigation into the cause of the sinking, which occurred on a day when both British and French weather authorities had warned of gusty winds in the area. Despite joint police efforts on both sides of the Channel, migrants have long used northern France as a launching point to sneak into Britain, and the issue has long strained relations between the neighbors. Britains Press Association news agency calculates that more than 7,400 migrants have crossed the Channel to the U.K. by boat so far this year, up from about 1,800 in all of 2019. French maritime officials have rescued hundreds more in routine operations in the Channel, known for high winds, strong currents and heavy maritime traffic. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his thoughts are with the loved ones of those who tragically lost their lives in the Channel today. We have offered the French authorities every support as they investigate this terrible incident and will do all we can to crack down on the ruthless criminal gangs who prey on vulnerable people by facilitating these dangerous journeys, he said. U.K. Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was truly saddened to learn of the tragic loss of life. Frances minister for citizenship issues, Marlene Schiappa, tweeted great sadness at the news. She said 19 people had been confirmed aboard the boat, but the overall toll is serious, and still uncertain. The British governments tough stance which has included using a military plane to patrol the Channel has drawn criticism from aid and human rights groups. Aid group Channel Rescue said in a statement that This is a burgeoning humanitarian crisis ... The government must urgently ensure safe and legal passage for those seeking safety. Clare Mosely of migrant support group Care4Calais said: This unnecessary loss of life has to stop. No one should ever feel they have to get into a fragile craft and risk their lives crossing the Channel, least of all vulnerable children. She called for the incident to be a wake-up call for those in power in the U.K. and France. Save the Children said the British and French governments must work together to expand safe and legal routes for desperate families fleeing conflict, persecution, and poverty. Parents shouldnt be compelled to risk their childrens lives in search of safety and no child should have to make a dangerous, potentially fatal, journey in search of a better life, the group said. ___ Lawless reported from London.

Eyes turn to Texas as early voting surge surpasses 2016 - The Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas has already cast nearly 7 million votes, more than anywhere in America, and Glen Murdoch couldn’t get his ballot in fast enough after becoming a U.S. citizen this...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Texas has already cast nearly 7 million votes, more than anywhere in America, and Glen Murdoch couldnt get his ballot in fast enough after becoming a U.S. citizen this summer. I was champing at the bit, said Murdoch, who moved to Austin from Australia shortly after President Donald Trump took office, and cast a ballot last week to vote him out. Its a rush to the polls in Texas like seldom seen before. Ten days before Election Day, Texans have already cast as many early votes as they did in 2016 and are nearly 80% of the way toward hitting the total both early and on Election Day counted four years ago. The voting bonanza has some Democrats optimistic that decades of low turnout and undisputed Republican dominance may soon be a thing of the past. But what that it all means for Texas is far from clear. Voters dont register by party in the state, making it difficult to know which party or presidential candidate has an edge. Polls are unusually close in Texas, but neither President Donald Trump or Democrat Joe Biden has swung through Texas, focusing on clear battleground states instead like Arizona and Florida. The striking numbers are across the board in big cities that are solidly Democrat, in tipping-point suburbs where Republicans are losing ground and, to a lesser extent, in heavily Latino counties along the border. In Harris County, home to Houston, more than 1 million votes have already been cast. Democrats have long believed a breakthrough was only a matter of rousing millions of nonvoters, particularly within the states booming Latino population. Roughly 50% of voters currently registered to vote in Texas have never voted or vote infrequently, according to the voter information firm L2. A turnout surge could come with major political consequences. Democrats believe they have a shot at winning control of the statehouse, a half-dozen competitive U.S. House races and a Senate seat, not to mention 38 electoral votes that could seal the deal for Biden. Republicans say Democrats are getting way ahead of themselves as usual, but are also clear-eyed that the final turnout will likely be historic. Derek Ryan, a GOP data analyst, predicted this week that Texas turnout would likely surpass 12 million, or roughly 3 million more voters than 2016 more than the population of neighboring New Mexico. Its hard to say, Yes, if we reach 12 million then Democrats win, because you never know, said Abhi Rahman, a spokesman for the Texas Democratic Party. But on balance, yes, if we reach 12 million voters well win this election. Republicans dont buy it. In Austins fast-growing suburbs, Williamson County went for Trump by 9 percentage points four years ago. GOP county chairman Steve Armbruster said most of the countys nearly 370,000 registered voters now have no recent primary history. He feels confident the GOP will win a good chunk of them. I havent seen any kind of support or excitement or enthusiasm on the Democrat side, Armbuster said after returning from a local Trump rally Saturday. The surge has unfolded at a moment when cases of the novel coronavirus, blamed for more than 17,000 deaths in Texas, are rising again and a wave of lawsuits over voting rules continue. Whereas the vast majority of states are allowing widespread mail-in voting because of coronavirus fears, Texas is only one of five that refused, choosing instead to expand early voting by one week. That extended period helps explain Texas huge numbers so far with still a week of early voting to go. With most voters ineligible to submit ballots by mail, the outcome in Texas may be revealed sooner than other states on Election Night. We know from 2018 there at least a half-million people that dont mind switching back and forth between parties as they go down the ballot. And thats a significant number, said Steve Munisteri, a GOP strategist and adviser to Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who is in a close reelection battle against Democrat MJ Hegar. More than 56 million voters have already cast their ballot across the country, and election experts are suggesting that as many as 150 million Americans may vote. In Texas, the focus is on suburbs where Democrats made significant inroads in 2018. A major battleground is Collin County, outside Dallas, which has more than 1 million residents and backed Trump by 17 percentage points in 2016. Two years later, Democratic congressman Beto ORourke came within 5 percentage points of winning the booming county during his close but failed U.S. Senate run. More than half of the countys voters have already gone to the polls, the highest rate in Texas. The same is true in neighboring Denton County, another traditional GOP stronghold. On Saturday, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott made a second campaign swing this week through the North Texas area that will be decisive in whether Democrats claim a majority in the Texas House for the first time in 20 years. In heavily Latino counties along the border, turnout has not been as high as elsewhere. In Hidalgo County, the percentage of registered voters whove already cast a ballot is slightly down from the same point four years ago. In Houston, Bob Bailey cast his vote early for Trump with only the economy in mind. He hadnt cut his shaggy hair in months, but what worried him most about the pandemic was his job at a gymnastics center. Half his co-workers roughly two dozen people have been laid off, and he said the business is only breaking even since reopening. My job, everybodys job, said Bailey, 60, ticking off his worries outside one of the more than 100 early voting centers around Houston, which is three times as many as a normal election year. Were not making a lot of money. ___ APs Advance Voting guide brings you the facts about voting early, by mail or absentee from each state: https://interactives.ap.org/advance-voting-2020/

Crews vacuum 'murder hornets' out of Washington nest - Associated Press

BLAINE, Wash. (AP) — Heavily protected crews in Washington state worked Saturday to destroy the first nest of so-called murder hornets discovered in the United States. The state Agriculture...

BLAINE, Wash. (AP) Heavily protected crews in Washington state worked Saturday to destroy the first nest of so-called murder hornets discovered in the United States. The state Agriculture Department had spent weeks searching, trapping and using dental floss to tie tracking devices to Asian giant hornets, which can deliver painful stings to people and spit venom but are the biggest threat to honeybees that farmers depend on to pollinate crops. The nest found in the city of Blaine near the Canadian border is about the size of a basketball and contained an estimated 100 to 200 hornets, according to scientists who announced the find Friday. Crews wearing thick protective suits vacuumed the invasive insects from the cavity of a tree into large canisters Saturday. The suits prevent the hornets 6-millimeter-long stingers from hurting workers, who also wore face shields because the trapped hornets can spit a painful venom into their eyes. The tree will be cut down to extract newborn hornets and learn if any queens have left the hive already, scientists said. Officials suspect more nests may be in the area and will keep searching. A news briefing was planned Monday on the status of the nest. Despite their nickname and the hype that has stirred fears in an already bleak year, the worlds largest hornets kill at most a few dozen people a year in Asian countries, and experts say it is probably far less. Meanwhile, hornets, wasps and bees typically found in the United States kill an average of 62 people a year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said. The real threat from Asian giant hornets which are 2 inches (5 centimeters) long is their devastating attacks on honeybees, which are already under siege from problems like mites, diseases, pesticides and loss of food. The invasive insect is normally found in China, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam and other Asian countries. Washington state and the Canadian province of British Columbia are the only places the hornets have been found on the continent. The nest was found after the state Agriculture Department trapped some hornets this week and used dental floss to attach radio trackers to some of them.

Opposition activist leaves embassy haven to flee Venezuela - Associated Press

MEDELLIN, Colombia (AP) — Prominent opposition activist Leopoldo López has abandoned the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas and left Venezuela after years of frustrated efforts to oust the...

MEDELLIN, Colombia (AP) Prominent opposition activist Leopoldo López has abandoned the Spanish ambassadors residence in Caracas and left Venezuela after years of frustrated efforts to oust the nations socialist president, his party said Saturday. The 49-year-old former Caracas-area mayor has been holed up at the ambassadors residence since a failed military uprising he led in April 2019 aimed at ousting President Nicolás Maduro. He has been jailed, under house arrest or in a foreign embassy refuge for nearly seven years. In a statement from Popular Will, the party López founded, leaders confirmed he had left the country to continue his work from abroad in a decision they deemed best for the country and the fight for Venezuelas freedom. After seven years of persecution and unjust imprisonment inside Venezuela, Leopoldo López is still not totally free, like all Venezuelans, so long as there exists a dictatorship that violates the human rights of the people, the party said. It is unclear how López left the ambassadors residence, given the heavy state security presence permanently stationed outside the property. Travel by land has grown increasingly difficult because of widespread fuel shortages. Filling up a vehicle with gas can take hours if not days and checkpoints manned by security forces have proliferated across the country. In a message directed to Maduro on Twitter, U.S.-backed opposition leader Juan Guaidó said his political mentor had gotten out of Venezuela by evading your repressive apparatus. He added to Lópezs efforts to remove Maduro would continue from abroad as part of the opposition strategy to garner international support. Maduro you dont control anything, Guaidó wrote. There was no immediate reaction from Venezuelan authorities. López was sentenced in 2015 to nearly 14 years in prison after being convicted of inciting violence during anti-government protests in which three people died and dozens were wounded. He was released from prison and placed under house arrest after more than three years in a military jail. Even from his confines, López has remained an influential figure in Venezuelas opposition, advising Guaidó, who claims he is the countrys interim president because Maduros 2018 reelection was not legitimate. But after drawing tens of thousands of people to the streets last year, the opposition has struggled to regain momentum. Maduro remains firmly in control of the nations military and nearly all other government institutions. Lópezs flight is likely to be held up by the government as a trophy as it prepares to retake control of the National Assembly in December legislative elections that Guaidó has vowed to boycott. López had long stubbornly refused to leave even when his wife and children fled to Spain last year. He would join dozens of anti-government politicians who have fled Venezuela over recent years, many leaving covertly to avoid potential persecution or jail time. Its probably the clearest sign that the continued opposition effort to unseat Maduro has floundered that a committed stay-in-Venezuela leader like Lopez has chosen to finally leave, said Raul Gallegos, a Colombia-based analyst at Control Risks consultancy. López pursued a strategy in 2014 known as The Exit, consisting of street protests months after Maduro was elected. The strategy failed and ultimately divided the opposition. That combativeness led to his arrest and conviction on insurrection charges branded a sham by human rights groups. His hardline stance, backed by Washington, would ultimately come to dominate the fractious opposition, which rallied behind Guaidó. A follower of López, he had become congressional president and is now recognized by more than 50 countries as Venezuelas rightful leader. The years López spent at a military prison, during which he read the works of Nelson Mandela and kept up a rigorous exercise regimen, solidified his image as a man willing to risk his own skin to rid the country of Maduro. He sought allies among his former jailers in the military and in 2019 reappeared on a highway overpass with a small band of national guardsmen calling for an uprising against Maduro. The putsch was easily quashed and López took refuge in the ambassadors residence. Since then, López has struggled to maintain the same leadership. While Guaidó named him his cabinet chief, many in the opposition coalition, envious of his influence in Washington, sought to quietly undermine him, accusing him of having a messiah complex and failing to build consensus. His departure comes just days after Spains Ambassador Jesus Silvawho has been the dean of Caracas dwindling diplomatic communitywas recalled by Spains leftist government to Madrid after serving for four years. Silva, a career diplomat, was a firm backer of López. But as a holdover from previous Spanish administrations who was once expelled by Maduro, he was less effective an interlocutor when Spains socialist government took power. Even as his whereabouts remained unknown, some opposition leaders were praising Lópezs decision to flee. We await you in the diaspora to continue fighting for the freedom of all of Venezuela, said Antonio Ledezma, a former Caracas mayor who himself fled in a risky trek by land out of the nation in 2017 after being briefly jailed on charges of plotting to oust Maduro.

Washington state discovers first 'murder hornet' nest in US - Associated Press

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Scientists in Washington state have discovered the first nest of so-called murder hornets in the United States and plan to wipe it out Saturday to protect native honeybees,...

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) Scientists in Washington state have discovered the first nest of so-called murder hornets in the United States and plan to wipe it out Saturday to protect native honeybees, officials said. Workers with the state Agriculture Department spent weeks searching, trapping and using dental floss to tie tracking devices to Asian giant hornets, which can deliver painful stings to people and spit venom but are the biggest threat to honeybees that farmers depend on to pollinate crops. Ladies and gentlemen, we did it, agency spokeswoman Karla Salp said at a virtual briefing. Bad weather delayed plans Friday to destroy the nest found in Blaine, a city north of Seattle. The nest is about the size of a basketball and contains an estimated 100 to 200 hornets, according to scientists, who suspected it was in the area ever since the invasive insects began appearing late last year. Officials have said its not known how they arrived in North America. Despite their nickname and the hype that has stirred fears in an already bleak year, the worlds largest hornets kill at most a few dozen people a year in Asian countries, and experts say it is probably far less. Meanwhile, hornets, wasps and bees typically found in the United States kill an average of 62 people a year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said. The real threat from Asian giant hornets which are 2 inches (5 centimeters) long is their devastating attacks on honeybees, which are already under siege from problems like mites, diseases, pesticides and loss of food. A small group of the hornets can kill an entire honeybee hive in hours, and they have already destroyed six or seven hives in Washington state, officials said. The nest was found after an Agriculture Department worker trapped two of the hornets Wednesday. Two more were captured Thursday, the agency said. Using dental floss, entomologists were able to attach radio trackers to three hornets, the second of which led them to the discovery of the nest Thursday, agriculture officials said. It was about 300 yards (274 meters) from the traps in the cavity of a tree on private property, officials said. Dozens of the hornets were seen buzzing in and out of the tree about 7 or 8 feet (2 meters) above the ground. The owner is letting the state eradicate the nest and remove the tree. The plan Saturday is to fill the cavity with foam and cover it with plastic wrap to prevent the hornets from escaping, said Sven-Erik Spichiger, an entomologist for the Agriculture Department. Then a tube will be inserted to vacuum up the hornets trapped inside and deposit them in a collection chamber, he said. Workers will wear thick protective suits that can prevent the 6-millimeter-long stingers of the hornets from hurting workers, Spichiger said. They also will wear face shields because the trapped hornets can spit a painful venom into their eyes. We extract them alive, he said. We will kill them. The tree will then be cut down to extract newborn hornets and learn if any queens have left the hive already, he said. Officials suspect more nests may be in the area and will keep searching. Its still a very small population, and we are actively hunting them, Spichiger said. Scientists for the department have been searching for nests since the first Asian giant hornets were caught earlier this year. The first confirmed detection of the hornet in the U.S. was in December 2019 near Blaine and the first live hornet was trapped this July. Just over 20 have been caught so far, all in Whatcom County. The invasive insect is normally found in China, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Vietnam and other Asian countries. Washington state and the Canadian province of British Columbia are the only places the hornets have been found on the continent.