Elon Musk’s election talk sparked concern in swing state, emails reveal
Elon Musk’s claims of voting fraud in the United States presidential election prompted a flurry of concerned correspondence to election officials in a key swing state, newly released emails reveal. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s commentary on X prompted a Republican state senator and others in Pennsylvania, the most important battleground state with 19 Electoral College votes, to contact the top election official in one district to discuss concerns about overseas voting, according to the emails, which provide new insight into the billionaire’s behind-the-scenes effect on the vote. The office of Senator Chris Gebhard in October contacted the director of elections for Lebanon County, a heavily Republican district located northwest of Philadelphia, to express the lawmaker’s “concerns with what is being communicated” about the November 5 election, the emails show. “Can you help us out by giving us a statement? I dropped off one of the emails,” Daniel Bost, an aide to Gebhard, wrote in an October 10 email to Sean Drasher. Advertisement Bost provided Drasher with a “printout” of an X post by Musk by way of illustrating the senator’s concerns, according to an email Drasher sent to a state-level election official seeking advice on how to respond to the lawmaker. Though it is not clear which of Musk’s posts the officials were referring to, Drasher said in his email to Jonathan Marks, Pennsylvania’s deputy secretary for elections and commissions, that it detailed “the Blue push to register overseas voters”, referring to the traditional colour of the Democratic Party. Al Jazeera obtained the emails through a records request submitted under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law. False claims In the run-up to the election, Musk, one of US President-elect Donald Trump’s most powerful allies, posted prolifically on X about the supposed risks of voter fraud. Many of those posts included false or unsubstantiated claims, such as hundreds of thousands of migrants had been flown to swing states and put on a fast-track to citizenship as part of a plan to give Democrats an electoral advantage. Although not involving Musk, Republicans filed lawsuits in multiple states, including Pennsylvania, casting doubt on the security of overseas voting in the weeks before the vote. In late October, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit, in which six Republican state lawmakers in Pennsylvania called for new checks to confirm the identities of voters overseas, ruling that the lawmakers had no justifiable reason for making their claim so close to the election and had relied on “hypothetical concerns”. Advertisement Trump also singled out overseas voting for criticism during his campaign, falsely claiming that people overseas are sent ballots “without any citizenship check or verification of identity whatsoever”. Concerns about overseas voting The outreach to Drasher prompted by Musk’s social media activity apparently left the election official conflicted about how to respond, in part because of his own concerns about overseas voting, according to the emails. Drasher said that although the “tone and some of the details” of Musk’s posts did not seem credible to him, he himself had “real concerns” about the voter registration process. “I don’t feel I can directly address Senator Gehbard [sic] without sounding foolish or uninformed,” Drasher wrote in an October 10 email to Marks. “Ironically I’m now being confronted with something that I also wanted to call out. Could you help me understand? Or, would you be willing to address this with Sen Gebhard yourself and then fill me [in] so I also understand?” Drasher reiterated his concerns about overseas voting registration the following day in an email to his Lebanon County colleagues. “This puts us in a bit of an uncomfortable position because, frankly, I don’t like the UMOVA/UCOVA statutes myself,” he wrote, referring to legislation that facilitates overseas and military absentee voting. “I want to see them changed. And in my opinion, some of the things you see out on Twitter end up being completely valid concerns. I take comfort in the fact that this affects a tiny number of voters; And in our County its [sic] barely statistically relevant.” Advertisement Drasher said that given the attention elected officials were paying to the issue, it would be “only a matter of hours before we start getting calls from constituents who will also be looking for answers”. “I will bow to our excellent solicitor on this, but my own feedback is once again: We can only follow the law as written and we will happily enforce any changes as soon as the Legislature moves on them,” he wrote. When contacted by Al Jazeera, Drasher said he could not remember the exact X post that had prompted the discussions in his office. Asked to elaborate on his concerns about overseas voting, Drasher said it was his job to be concerned about “all” aspects of voter registration. “My concern is that I need to more fully understand the process and rationale behind its structure,” he said. Requests sent to X seeking Musk’s comment did not receive a response. The Pennsylvania Department of State did not follow up on requests for comment. About 4.4 million US citizens were living abroad in 2022, about 2.8 million of whom were voting age, according to the Federal Voting Assistance Program. Research shows voter fraud to be extremely rare in the US. An Associated Press review of every case of potential voter fraud in six battleground states in 2020 identified 475 cases out of more than 25 million ballots cast. Adblock test (Why?)
Dutch court rejects bid to halt arms exports to Israel as Gaza war rages
Court says ‘all claims dismissed’ after rights groups file lawsuit to stop arms sales, citing genocide convention. A Dutch court has rejected a bid by 10 pro-Palestinian NGOs to stop the Netherlands from exporting weapons to Israel and trading with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory. The Hague district court stressed on Friday that the state has some leeway in its policies and courts should not rush to step in. “The interim relief court finds that there is no reason to impose a total ban on the export of military and dual-use goods on the state,” it said in a statement. “All claims are dismissed.” The plaintiffs, citing high civilian casualties in Israel’s assault in the besieged Gaza Strip, had argued that the Dutch state, as a signatory to the 1948 Genocide Convention, has a duty to take all reasonable measures at its disposal to prevent genocide. “Israel is guilty of genocide and apartheid” and “is using Dutch weapons to wage war”, said Wout Albers, a lawyer representing the NGOs, during the hearings. The NGOs cited a January order to Israel by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza. The UN’s top court said it was plausible Palestinians were being deprived of some rights protected under the Genocide Convention. Advertisement The coalition said it will review the court’s ruling and is considering an appeal. Shawan Jabarin, the general director of Al-Haq, described the decision as an “abominable injustice”. “The Netherlands has abandoned the most basic rules of international law, to prevent colonisation, annexation, apartheid and genocide,” he said. The decision in The Hague came a day after an Israeli air strike hit a residential building in the Nuseirat refugee camp Gaza on Thursday, killing at least 40 Palestinians and wounding dozens more, according to medics. Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister, and Hamas’s military chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with Israel’s war on Gaza. The warrants said there was a reason to believe that Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had used “starvation as a method of warfare” by severely restricting humanitarian aid and had intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s assault in Gaza. Earlier this week, the United Nations said humanitarian aid to north Gaza, where famine is looming, has largely been blocked for the past 66 days since Israeli forces launched a renewed ground offensive there, leaving between 65,000 and 75,000 Palestinians without access to food, water, electricity or healthcare. Israel’s offensive has killed at least 44,805 people in Gaza since October last year, a majority of them women and children, according to figures from Gaza’s Health Ministry. Advertisement Earlier this month, Amnesty International accused Israel of “committing genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza since the start of the war last year. Israel has rejected the allegations. Adblock test (Why?)
UN human rights office resumes activities in Venezuela despite Maduro clash
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has announced that his office is starting to resume its activities in Venezuela, despite past clashes with the government of President Nicolas Maduro. High Commissioner Volker Turk made the announcement on Friday at a meeting with the UN Human Rights Council, where he reiterated his concerns about conditions in Venezuela, particularly after its most recent presidential race. “My office has begun to resume its operations in the country in recent weeks. My hope is that we will be able to restore our full presence,” Turk said in his opening remarks, pitching his organisation as a “bridge-builder”. The UN human rights office had previously established a presence in the country in 2019. But that changed in February, when Maduro’s administration accused the office of plotting with opposition members to undermine the government — an allegation made without proof. Its local office was ordered to close immediately, and its members were told to leave the country within 72 hours. President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores wave to supporters during an event in Caracas, Venezuela, on December 10 [Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo] In a statement at the time, Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil Pinto accused the UN human rights office of becoming a “colonialist” and “improper” presence in the country, stirring up unrest. Advertisement “Far from showing it as an impartial entity”, Gil Pinto said the office’s actions have “led it to become the private law firm of coup plotters and terrorist groups that permanently conspire against the country”. The Maduro government, however, has long faced condemnation for its human rights record, which includes allegations of arbitrary arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings. Shortly before the human rights office in Venezuela was ordered to be closed, UN officials had expressed concern about the sudden detention of human rights lawyer Rocio San Miguel. In a social media post about her arrest, the human rights office wrote that “due process guarantees, including right to defence, must be respected”. The shuttering of the local office also coincided with intensifying scrutiny over the fairness of Venezuela’s latest presidential election. Maduro, at the time, was seeking a third term in office, but public opinion polls in the months leading up to the race heavily favoured the opposition. The government disqualified several popular opposition candidates from running, including opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and her subsequent replacement, Professor Corina Yoris. Ultimately, Edmundo Gonzalez, a former diplomat, was picked to lead the opposition ticket. The election was held on July 28. But in the early hours of July 29, shortly after polling stations closed, Venezuela’s electoral authority announced that Maduro had won — though it did not release the paper voting tallies that traditionally accompany the results. Advertisement Critics immediately slammed the announcement as fraudulent and called for transparency in the voting results. The contested election led to protests in the streets of the capital Caracas and other cities, as the opposition published voting documents online that it said proved Maduro’s defeat. An estimated 2,000 people were arrested in the government crackdown that followed, with dozens killed and hundreds injured. In his statement at the UN council on Friday, Turk underscored the human toll of the violence. “Looking back over recent months, I remain deeply concerned by the disproportionate use of force and violence during post-electoral protests in July and August, including by armed individuals supporting the government,” Turk said. “I urge a prompt and effective investigation into at least 28 killings that reportedly included demonstrators, bystanders and members of the armed forces.” Still, in a gesture to the country’s authorities, Turk applauded recent waves of prisoner releases that freed protesters and opposition members detained during the post-election protests. An estimated 225 political prisoners were released under “precautionary measures” — including mandatory court appearances — on November 26, and another 103 were set free on Thursday. “This is an important step,” Turk said. But he nevertheless urged Venezuelan officials to review all the cases of those still detained. People detained during a government crackdown on post-election protests walk out of the Yare 3 prison in San Francisco de Yare, Venezuela, on November 16 [File: Cristian Hernandez/AP Photo] “I urge the release of all those arbitrarily detained, both before and after the presidential election. This includes human rights defenders such as Rocio San Miguel and Javier Tarazona, as well as humanitarian workers,” he said. Advertisement “The continued use of counterterrorism legislation against protesters, including adolescents, and reports of enforced disappearances and ill treatment are deeply troubling.” As part of that alleged ill treatment, Turk indicated detainees struggle with “overcrowded cells” and inadequate supplies of food, water and healthcare. He also called on the Venezuelan government to allow each of the prisoners a fair trial, including access to a lawyer and translators if needed, particularly for Indigenous detainees. Looking ahead to Maduro’s inauguration in January and National Assembly elections later in 2025, Turk reflected on his previous visits to Venezuela. He cast his office’s role in the country as one of cooperation. “It was clear to me then, as it is now, that the society needs to heal; overcome divisions and polarisation; and engage in an inclusive dialogue as an absolute priority,” Turk said. “We stand ready to support the people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela during these difficult times in a spirit of constructive engagement.” Adblock test (Why?)
Dustin Burrows on bipartisanship, school vouchers and why he still thinks he’ll be Texas House speaker
In a Q&A, Burrows said he’s still confident he’ll win. But he says the leadership race is bigger than any one person and his supporters are trying to protect the integrity of the House.
A new Texas GOP rule could alter the House speaker’s race — and ban some Republicans from appearing in primaries
Republicans who vote against party leaders’ preferred candidate could be barred from running in primaries. Lawsuits could follow.
“I’m looking for my uncle” A personal story from Syria
NewsFeed Sarah Kassim is one of many Syrians looking for missing loved ones. She records her search for her uncle, who had been locked away in one of Bashar al-Assad’s prisons. Published On 13 Dec 202413 Dec 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
What does Bashar al-Assad’s fall mean for Syria and the region?
What’s next for Syria? Middle East experts and a former US diplomat join Marc Lamont Hill to unpack the fall of al-Assad. After more than 50 years of the al-Assad’s family reign over Syria, opposition forces, led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, launched a swift and unexpected offensive that overthrew President Bashar al-Assad. While al-Assad fled to Russia and has been granted asylum, Syria’s future hangs in the balance. A transitional government has been put in place, but uncertainty over who will ultimately lead the country remains. Will this moment lead to democracy for Syrians after decades of brutality? Will foreign interference and internal conflict undermine a new and independent Syria? This week on UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill talks to former Arabic-language spokesperson for the US State Department Hala Rharrit; founding director of the Middle East and Islamic Studies Program at George Mason University Bassam Haddad; senior fellow at the CATO Institute Mustafa Akyol; and Middle East expert at the Russian International Affairs Council Alexey Khlebnikov. Adblock test (Why?)
McKinsey to pay $650m to settle US opioid consulting probe
Prosecutors say McKinsey provided Purdue advice on measures it could take to ‘turbocharge’ OxyContin sales. Consulting firm McKinsey & Company has agreed to pay $650m to resolve a United States Department of Justice investigation into the consulting firm’s work advising opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma on how to boost OxyContin sales. McKinsey has entered into a five-year deferred prosecution agreement filed on Friday in federal court in Abingdon, Virginia, to resolve criminal charges brought as part of a rare corporate prosecution concerning the marketing of addictive painkillers that helped fuel the deadly US opioid epidemic. Prosecutors said McKinsey provided Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue advice on measures it could take to “turbocharge” OxyContin sales. It was charged with conspiring to misbrand a drug and obstruction of justice. A former senior partner at McKinsey, Martin Elling, has also agreed to plead guilty to obstruction of justice for destroying records related to McKinsey’s work for Purdue, according to court papers. He is scheduled to enter his plea on January 10. Elling deleted documents related to his work for Purdue from his company laptop, sending himself emails to remind himself to do so, according to court papers. Advertisement “We are deeply sorry for our past client service to Purdue Pharma and the actions of a former partner who deleted documents related to his work for that client,” McKinsey said in a statement. “We should have appreciated the harm opioids were causing in our society and we should not have undertaken sales and marketing work for Purdue Pharma. This terrible public health crisis and our past work for opioid manufacturers will always be a source of profound regret for our firm.” A lawyer for Elling declined to comment. McKinsey agreed to pay $650m over five years, improve its compliance practices to detect illegal activity and submit to oversight from the Justice Department and US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) inspector general’s office as part of the deferred prosecution agreement, the company said. The consulting firm also agreed to resolve a related civil probe regarding alleged violations of the False Claims Act and enter into a “corporate integrity” agreement with the HHS inspector general’s office, the company said. ‘Opioid abatement’ Purdue pleaded guilty in 2020 to criminal charges covering widespread misconduct regarding its handling of prescription painkillers, including conspiring to defraud US officials and pay illegal kickbacks to both doctors and an electronic healthcare records vendor. Purdue is currently involved in court-ordered mediation over a multibillion-dollar settlement reached in bankruptcy proceedings that the US Supreme Court turned aside. Advertisement In a statement on Friday, Purdue said it was working to forge consensus on the plan to “deliver billions of dollars of value for opioid abatement” and create a new company as an “engine for good”. Settlement proceeds also aim to compensate victims, Purdue said. McKinsey previously reached agreements totalling nearly $1bn to settle widespread lawsuits and other legal actions alleging the company helped fuel the opioid epidemic through its work advising Purdue Pharma and other drugmakers. The settlements involved all 50 states; Washington, DC; US territories; local governments; school districts; Native American tribes; and health insurers. In 2019, McKinsey announced it would no longer advise clients on opioid-related businesses. The company has maintained that none of its settlements contains admissions of liability or wrongdoing. Adblock test (Why?)
Canadian premier threatens to cut off energy imports to US if Trump imposes tariff on country
The premier of a key oil region in Canada is threatening to cut off energy and critical mineral exports to the U.S. if President-elect Donald Trump implements a sweeping tariff on all Canadian products. Trump recently threatened a 25% tariff on all Canadian and Mexican exports in an effort to stop the flow of illegal immigration and illicit drugs coming into the U.S. Just days after Trump’s announcement, Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, said that he would consider retaliatory measures against the U.S. if the incoming president acted on his promise. “We will go to the extent of cutting off their energy – going down to Michigan, going down to New York State and over to Wisconsin,” Ford, who represents a region known for its crude oil production, told reporters. TRUMP TAUNTS TRUDEAU WITH NEW TITLE AS HE CONTINUES TARIFFS PUSH: ‘GREAT STATE OF CANADA’ The premier added that other officials in the country are reportedly identifying ways they can hurt U.S. exports if Trump enacts a tariff. TRUMP SAYS HE WILL ISSUE EXECUTIVE ORDER TO CHARGE CANADA, MEXICO 25% TARIFF ON GOODS UPON TAKING OFFICE “Some premiers proactively identified products that their provinces produce and export to the United States and which the U.S. relies on, and which should be considered as part of the Canadian response. This included some critical minerals and metals,” Ford said. Canada was reportedly the largest source of U.S. energy imports in 2019, according to the Energy Information Administration. “Canadians get hurt, but I can assure you one thing: the Americans are going to feel the pain as well, and isn’t that unfortunate?” Ford said. Ford is also reportedly considering barring American-made alcohol from being sold in Ontario. Ford, however, might not be able to unilaterally cut off the province’s energy supply to the U.S., according to a Canadian political science professor. “I do not believe Ontario could unilaterally stop electricity exports to the U.S. without Ottawa’s approval. Similarly, Michigan cannot unilaterally stop the flow of western Canadian natural gas to eastern Canada without Washington’s approval,” University of Toronto political science Professor Nelson Wiseman told Now Toronto in response to Ford’s retaliatory threat. Trump responded to the threats, saying “that’s okay if he does that.” “The United States is subsidizing Canada, and we shouldn’t have to do that,” Trump told CNBC at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. “And we have a great relationship. I have so many friends in Canada, but we shouldn’t have to subsidize a country.” After Trump threatened a tariff on the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau traveled to West Palm Beach, Florida, to meet with the incoming president at Mar-a-Lago. Trump called it a “very productive meeting.”
‘Legal authority’: Senate Dems demand Biden extend protections for illegal immigrants ahead of Trump admin
President Biden is facing increasing pressure from Senate Democrats to make a last-minute move to extend protections from deportations for some illegal immigrants, before the incoming Trump administration launches a mass deportation operation next year. Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., held a press conference this week with immigration activists to renew calls to urge Biden to make moves for illegal immigrants currently protected by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). TPS allows nationals who are living in the U.S. and are from countries designated unsafe for them to return to, to obtain work permits and be shielded from deportation. DACA is a 2012 Obama-era executive order that allowed for some illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to remain in the country free from deportation. TRUMP CLAIMS GOP ‘VERY OPEN’ TO KEEPING ‘DREAMERS’ IN US, TAKES SHOT AT ‘VERY DIFFICULT’ DEMS The incoming Trump administration is expected to allow TPS to expire for many countries, as it attempted to do in the first administration. Republicans have been deeply critical of the use of TPS, accusing the Biden administration of abusing the tool. A bill introduced by Sen.-elect Jim Banks in the House would restrict TPS designations by requiring Congress to approve them for 12-month terms, and requiring additional moves by Congress to extend them. However, Trump has expressed willingness to make a deal with Democrats to allow DACA recipients to remain in the U.S. “I will work with the Democrats on a plan, and if we can come up with a plan, but the Democrats have made it very, very difficult to do anything. Republicans are very open to the Dreamers. The Dreamers, we’re talking many years ago. They were brought into this country many years ago, some of them are no longer young people, and in many cases, they become successful,” Trump said this week. DEM SENATOR URGES BIDEN TO EXTEND PROTECTIONS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BEFORE TRUMP ADMIN: ‘NOBODY IS SAFE’ But Trump’s campaign was defined by a promise to launch a mass deportation campaign, and with that looming, Democrats want Biden to act before it takes effect. “The president has legal authority to act to give these long-term immigrant communities certainty, and he should use it,” Cortez Masto said at the press conference. “We know the incoming administration is going to try to implement chaotic immigration policies that tear our families apart,” she said. She was also skeptical of Trump’s promise to protect DACA administration, given what she said were his actions in the first Trump administration: “We brought him a bipartisan bill to protect our Dreamers — he killed it.” “President Biden, you have the chance to cement your legacy on the economy as well as your humanitarian legacy, use this moment to protect long-term immigrants and strengthen our nation’s economy,” Padilla said. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS The press conference came days after a letter from Democrats led by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., which expressed “deep concern about the threat the incoming administration poses to immigrants in our communities.” “We write now because the window to secure and finalize your administration’s policies is closing rapidly. We urge you to act decisively between now and the inauguration of the President-elect to complete the important work of the past four years and protect immigrant families,” they said. FIREBRAND GOP LAWMAKERS DEMANDS MAYORKAS PRESERVE BORDER CRISIS RECORDS FOR TRUMP ADMIN: ‘UNDO THE DAMAGE DONE’ So far, there have been no indications that Biden is planning any such action on DACA. TPS extensions and redesignations are typically announced by the Department of Homeland Security. The White House did not respond to requests for comments from Fox News Digital. The Trump administration pushed unsuccessfully to end DACA, being blocked by the Supreme Court. The matter remains in court, with a lawsuit challenging the legality of the policy under review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. In 2019, Trump proposed an additional three years of protection for DACA recipients and others in exchange for money to build a wall along the southern border. Democrats rejected that deal as “hostage taking.”