'Democrats have a plan if Trump prematurely declares election victory'

 Democrats are readying a rapid-fire response to flood social media and the airwaves with calls for calm and patience with vote-counting should Donald Trump try to prematurely claim election victory, as he did in 2020, Harris campaign and party officials told Reuters.

The Republican candidate told reporters this week that he hoped to be able to declare victory on Election Day, although election experts have cautioned that it could take several days for the final result to be known, especially if there are demands for vote recounts in some key areas. Trump is locked in a razor-thin race with Democratic rival Kamala Harris.

U.S. election winners are typically declared by major media outlets who analyze vote counts provided by election officials. While candidates sometimes declare victory before those calls are made, it is unusual to do so before the winner is at least arguably apparent.

"We are sadly ready if he does and, if we know that he is actually manipulating the press and attempting to manipulate the consensus of the American people ... we are prepared to respond," Harris said in an interview with ABC on Wednesday.

She gave no details of those preparations, but six Democratic Party and Harris campaign officials said the initial fight against any early Trump victory claim would take place in the court of public opinion. They plan to flood social media and television airwaves with demands that all votes be counted before victories are declared.

"As soon as he (Trump) falsely declares victory, we're ready to get up on TV and provide the truth and tap a broad network of people who can use their influence to push back," a top official with the Democratic National Committee said in an interview.

A senior Harris campaign official said in a conference call with reporters on Friday they "fully expect" that Trump will falsely claim victory on Tuesday night, before all the votes are fully counted.

"He did this before it failed. If he does it again, it will fail," the official said.

In 2020, Trump declared himself the winner in the early morning hours after Election Day, three days before the first television networks made a call. He ultimately lost to his Democratic opponent Joe Biden. He has never accepted the result and continues to falsely assert that it was stolen from him through widespread fraud.

Steve Bannon, a key Trump ally, said Trump should quickly declare victory.

"He should stand up and say, 'Hey, I've won this,'" Bannon told a New York Times reporter on Tuesday, shortly after being released from a federal prison, where he served four months for defying congressional subpoenas on the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks on the U.S. Capitol.

The Trump campaign told Reuters that the Republican candidate would fight for all votes until the polls close, but it did not directly answer a question about whether Trump planned to again declare victory before the race was called.

One Trump donor, Bill Bean, who has at times been critical of the former president, told Reuters he hopes either Harris or Trump win by wide margins, so that the results are as widely accepted as possible.

NO REPUBLICAN FIREWALL

In 2020, Trump's victory declaration was met with condemnation from Democrats and many high-profile Republicans. Markets reacted with a shrug, with major stock indices climbing modestly in the days after the election.

But this time could be different.

The former president has consolidated near-total control of the Republican Party in the intervening years, meaning many influential conservatives could be more willing to go along with his claims, several political strategists said.

"We've seen plenty of evidence that he is in complete control of the party ... and we've seen no evidence that party officials or elected officials will push back," said Chip Felkel, a long-time Republican strategist who is critical of Trump.

Trump and his Republican allies have also spent months to lay the groundwork for contesting a loss by claiming that non-citizens could try to vote for the Democratic Party and by readying an army of lawyers to go to court to challenge results.

At his rallies, Trump often says they need to make sure their win is "too big to rig."

https://www.marketscreener.com/news/latest/Democrats-have-a-plan-if-Trump-prematurely-declares-election-victory-48236880/

Disney forms business unit to coordinate use of AI, augmented reality

 Walt Disney is forming a new unit to coordinate the company's use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and mixed reality, as the media giant explores applications across its film, television and theme park divisions.

The newly formed Office of Technology Enablement will be led by Jamie Voris, who spearheaded development of Disney's app for the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality device, according to an email seen on Friday by Reuters.

"The pace and scope of the advances in AI and XR (extended reality) are profound and will continue to impact consumer experiences, creative endeavors and our businesses for years to come - making it critical that Disney explore the exciting opportunities and navigate the potential risks," Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman wrote.

"The creation of this group underscores our dedication to doing that."

Bergman noted the unit will focus on fast-moving areas of technology, such as AI and mixed reality, which blends the physical and digital worlds. It will not centralize work on these projects, but rather, ensure the various projects around the company fit with its broader strategy.

Reuters first reported Disney had formed a task force to study artificial intelligence and how it could be applied across the entertainment conglomerate.

Various divisions within Disney are exploring applications for augmented reality, which places digital elements into the real world, virtual reality, which immerses the user in a simulated environment, and mixed reality which combines both.

Disney has been building expertise across the organization to capitalize on the emerging technology.

For example, Kyle Laughlin, a Disney veteran with a background in augmented and virtual reality and artificial intelligence, returned to the company in March as senior vice president of research and development for Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative force behind Disney's theme park attractions. He briefly left Disney in 2019 to lead Amazon's Alexa Gadgets division.

As Meta and Snap unveiled a new generation of lightweight glasses that provide consumers a fashionable alternative to bulky VR goggles, Disney has been quietly assembling a team focused on how best to harness the technology to bring new experiences to the company's theme parks and consumers' homes, the sources say.

Tech companies have sold about 1.7 million AR/VR headsets so far this year, data from market research firm IDC showed. Meta is still the clear market leader, with a 60.5% market share, but is starting to face pressure in the space from competitors like Sony, Apple and ByteDance.

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/WALT-DISNEY-COMPANY-THE-4842/news/Exclusive-Walt-Disney-forms-business-unit-to-coordinate-use-of-AI-augmented-reality-48236879/

Myriad Genetics plummets 20% as UnitedHealth changes GeneSight coverage

 Myriad Genetics stock plunges after UnitedHealth Group announces they will no longer cover genetic tests for mental health medications.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/4234426-myriad-genetics-plummets-20-unitedhealth-changes-genesight-coverage

Kamala Harris’ abortion lies: Here’s what she and Trump can — and CAN’T — do

 The biggest lie roiling the presidential election is Kamala Harris’ claim that Donald Trump will ban abortion nationwide.

Abortion rights do not hinge on who is elected president, Trump or Harris.

Or on which party controls Congress.  

The issue is out of their hands.

Wherever you live, state legislators elected in your own state will determine your abortion rights.

That is what the US Supreme Court ruled in 2022, when it overturned Roe v. Wade.

As a pro-choice woman, I understand some voters are putting aside concerns about inflation, the border, foreign policy and other issues out of fear they or their daughters won’t have freedom of choice.  

They deserve the truth — but they’re not getting it from Harris, who’s all too willing to spread lies about abortion policy to shore up her sagging support.

At a rally in Houston, Texas, last week featuring pop star Beyoncé, Harris pumped up the fear.

“If you think you are protected from a Trump abortion ban because you live in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New York or California,” she said, “please know, no one is protected.”

That’s 100% false. 

But instead of fact-checking, the liberal media are letting that lie do its dirty work, scaring women into voting for Harris.

Trump has vowed to veto a national ban on abortion.

But you don’t have to rely on his word.

Read the US Constitution.

The Constitution reserves for states authority over the health and welfare of their own residents.

The federal government has only limited, enumerated powers, such as levying taxes and regulating interstate commerce — but not the power to regulate most health-care matters.

Therefore, any effort by Congress to ban abortion nationally would likely be overturned by the courts as an unconstitutional intrusion into state affairs.

That includes Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham’s Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would make it a crime to abort a fetus after 20 weeks.

It also includes the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022, a Democratic proposal that would guarantee access to abortion nationwide, preempting state laws to the contrary.

This bill goes so far beyond Congress’ enumerated powers that its authors have omitted the “findings” section that’s meant to describe Congress’ authority to pass it — because there is none.

The same is true of Harris’ pledge to codify Roe v. Wade.

That’s unlikely to fly, short of a constitutional amendment.

The US Supreme Court recognized states’ power to regulate matters of health care as long ago as 1905, when a resident of Cambridge, Mass., challenged a local ordinance requiring the smallpox vaccine.

In that case, the court ruled that states could require residents to be vaccinated.

But the court has never recognized a federal power to do so, not even during the COVID pandemic. 

That’s why vaccination laws vary from state to state, just like abortion laws do — especially now that Roe has been struck down.

Members of Congress trying to legislate abortion restrictions or abortion guarantees have generally used the Commerce Clause as the pretext for their authority, as if performing an abortion could possibly be considered interstate commerce. 

At one time, the court allowed Congress to stretch the meaning of the Commerce Clause like a rubber band to authorize federal meddling into virtually anything. 

It was even used that way by the authors of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act in 2003.

But recently, in a string of rulings, the court has cracked down on misuse of the Commerce Clause to extend Congress’ authority over areas otherwise reserved for the states.

That’s why Harris’ vow to codify Roe v. Wade, and her warnings about a national abortion ban signed by Trump, are uninformed and unconvincing. 

When the court struck down Roe in 2022, the justices didn’t look to Congress to make abortion law.

They looked to the states.  

Pro-choice voters need to know that the action on reproductive rights has now shifted from Washington, DC, to their own state capitals.

Ten states have abortion measures on the ballot this November.

It’s possible to support increased access to abortion procedures, like Florida’s measure does, and still vote for Trump — because as president, he won’t have the power to do a thing about it.

The next battle is over the abortion pill mifepristone, which now accounts for 63% of pregnancy terminations, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

Fourteen states ban the drug.

Three of them, Missouri, Kansas and Idaho have sued the Federal Drug Administration to make it harder for women in those states to self-abort. 

Trump has said that the federal government “should have nothing to do with this issue,” infuriating pro-lifers — but staying true to the principle that state voters should decide it.

That’s the legal reality. 

Instead of hanging with Beyoncé, Harris should take a refresher course on the US Constitution — and drop the scare tactics.

Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and co-founder of the Committee to Save Our City.

https://nypost.com/2024/10/31/opinion/harris-abortion-lies-heres-what-she-and-trump-can-and-cant-do/

Trump campaign files FEC complaint against WaPo for illegal in-kind contributions

 The Donald Trump campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday, alleging that the Washington Post has made illegal in-kind contributions to Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign through its fawning coverage.

According to the six-page complaint, the Washington Post made the in-kind contributions through an alleged “coordinated communications” strategy that benefits the Harris campaign, relying on a Semafor report that showed the paper was paying to boost critical Trump content and “neutral” Harris articles.

3

The Trump campaign has filed an FEC complaint against the Washington Post.AP

3

The Trump campaign alleges that the Washington Post made illegal in-kind contributions to the Harris cvampaign.REUTERS

“To wit, one of the promoted articles highlighted how the Harris digital team was pushing content on social media claiming people were leaving President Trump’s rallies early,” the compalint states.

“A month later, The Washington Post published an article, which was reportedly boosted by The Post, on the same topic, with a similar editorial framing.

“A reasonable inference is that the Harris team has communicated its messaging strategy to The Washington Post, and that that messaging strategy is reflected in what The Post chooses to promote,” it concludes.

The Trump campaign in a statement said it was a part of mainstream media’s “pro-Kamala propaganda.”

“The Democrat machine must be held accountable,” the campaign added.

https://nypost.com/2024/11/01/us-news/trump-campaign-alleges-that-the-washington-post-made-illegal-donations-to-harris/

Daniel Penny trial live updates: Opening arguments begin

 

Jordan Neely says 'I will kill,' prompting Daniel Penny to intervene with the homeless subway rider: lawyer

By Ben Kochman and Priscilla DeGregory

When troubled subway rider Jordan Neely threatened "I will kill" on a crowded subway train, Daniel Penny felt he had to intervene to protect other riders, defense lawyer Thomas Kenniff told jurors.

"When Neely threatened to kill, there was only one thing that Daniel Penny could do,” Kenniff said.

Daniel Penny did 'what we would want someone to do for us': defense lawyer

By Ben Kochman and Priscilla DeGregory

When Daniel Penny intervened with troubled homeless man Jordan Neely, he "did for others what we would want someone to do for us," his lawyer Thomas Kenniff told jurors.

Kenniff described Neely as a raving lunatic who was terrifying passengers when he stepped onto a train and began ranting about serving prison time and threatening to take food and money from riders if they didn't fork it over.

When Neely eventually even threatened to kill, "there was only one thing that Daniel Penny could do," Kenniff said.

Jurors will be shown bystander videos of Daniel Penny putting Jordan Neely in chokehold

By Ben Kochman and Priscilla DeGregory

Prosecutor Dafna Yoran told the jurors they will be shown videos taken by two bystanders of Daniel Penny choking Jordan Neely.

One video was taken by Yvette Rosario, 17, who recorded as Penny was on the floor with Neely "holding him in a tight chokehold," Yoran explained.

https://nypost.com/2024/11/01/us-news/daniel-penny-trial-live-updates-nov-1/

Immigrants already tip scales of US elections without even voting

 Immigrants don’t need to have the right to vote to affect elections in the United States — simply by being here, they can tip the scales.

The apportionment of House seats and votes in the Electoral College among the states is based on total population — not citizenship or legal status.

The Census Bureau is clear that naturalized citizens, as well as non-citizens such as green card holders, foreign students, guestworkers and illegal immigrants are captured in the census every 10 years.

Because the legal and illegal immigrant population is so large and unevenly distributed across the country, it causes some states to gain seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and Electoral College at the expense of others.

Equally important, immigration shifts political representation away from American citizens and toward states and districts with large non-citizen populations.

An investigation by the Center for Immigration Studies estimates that immigrants — legal and illegal — counted in the 2020 census shifted 17 seats in the House of Representatives and votes in the Electoral College.

The big winner is California, which has 8 more seats than it would have without non-citizen immigrants.

The states that lose tend to be low-immigration states in the South and Midwest such as Ohio and Tennessee. The inclusion of non-citizens alone shifts six House seats, with half the increase going to California. Illegal immigration caused two seats to change hands.

This redistribution of political power has significant partisan implications, with Democratic-leaning states experiencing a net gain of 14 seats and electoral votes due to immigration, while Republican states had 10 fewer seats. Battlegrounds had four fewer seats.

Non-citizens alone accounted for five of the seats gained by Democratic states in the last Census.

Keep in mind that the border surge had not yet occurred when the 2020 Census was taken. If the total legal and illegal immigrant population continues to grow at the current rapid pace, immigrants in the 2030 Census will redistribute 22 seats and electoral votes, while illegal immigrants will redistribute seven seats.

The settlement of so many immigrants may change the political alignment of states in unpredictable ways — though it stands to reason that as immigrants settle in larger numbers in states such as New York and California, Democrats are likely to see greater gains.

The political distortions created by immigration are even more pronounced in congressional districts.

Each district in a state has roughly the same number of people. But they don’t have the same number of legal voters.

Yet in 2022, at the time of the last election, New York’s 6th district, in Queens (represented by Democrat Grace Meng), had 169,000 fewer voting-age citizens than in the 21st congressional district in upstate (represented by Republican Elise Stefanik).

There are many districts like this throughout the country.

Not surprisingly, it takes many more votes to win in districts comprised largely of citizens. In 2022, the winning candidate received 73% more votes in the 54 districts where less than 2% of adults are non-citizens than in the two dozen districts where one in five adults is not an American citizen.

This raises important questions about the principle of “one person, one vote.”

In effect, the votes of American citizens who live around non-citizens count much more than the votes of Americans who live in high-citizen areas.

High non-citizen districts tend to vote overwhelming Democratic. Of the 24 districts where one in five adults is not an American citizen, only four were won by a Republican in 2022. In contrast, in the 54 districts where less than 2% of adults are not citizens, just five are represented by a Democrat.

The redistribution is directly proportional to the scale of legal and illegal immigration and is independent of how immigrants themselves vote.

If we want to avoid the distortions immigration creates, we have to enforce our laws against illegal immigration. We also must think long and hard about whether the enormous scale of legal immigration makes sense.

Steven Camarota is director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies.

https://nypost.com/2024/11/01/opinion/immigrants-already-tip-scales-of-us-elections-without-even-voting/