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Pennsylvania absentee voting underway in some counties

Pennsylvania absentee voting underway in some counties

Pennsylvania’s 19 Electoral College votes are up for grabs in the 2024 presidential election with absentee voting in the Keystone State underway for some voters there. Pennsylvania was one of three Rust Belt states that flipped from the Democrats to former President Trump and Republicans in 2016, then back to President Biden four years later. In each case, the margin was thin with less than 100,000 votes separating the main candidates. The state has also been critical to each president’s pathway to victory. It has the largest population and the most Electoral College votes of the seven most competitive states in the Fox News Power Rankings. A recent Fox News survey has the race tied, with Democrat nominee Vice President Harris and Trump each receiving support from 49% of likely voters. The bulk of the Democrat vote comes from the “bookends” of the state, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, where Harris will likely perform well among Black and suburban voters. Trump makes up for that with White rural and non-college-educated voters who live in the middle of the state. The former president has brought these voters out to the ballot box twice, and a Pennsylvania-heavy rally schedule shows he is looking to do that again. Pennsylvania is ranked “Toss-Up” in the Fox News Power Rankings. The Keystone State also has a U.S. Senate race on the ballot. Democrat Sen. Bob Casey has won three elections before, but securing a fourth will be more difficult with White working-class voters drifting away from his party. Republicans are hoping businessman Dave McCormick will connect with them. That race is ranked “Leans Dem.” Pennsylvania is also home to a handful of competitive U.S. House races led by: This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania has what it describes as “On-Demand Mail Ballot Voting,” which allows registered voters to apply for mail ballots while at their county election office or other designated locations and then complete and submit the ballots while there. Mail ballots can be submitted in-person until 8 p.m. on Election Day, while the deadline to apply for one is 5 p.m. ET on Oct. 29. Pennsylvania certified its official candidate list on Sept. 16, and counties are still “finalizing their ballots, proofreading them, and ordering printed ballots,” the state said. Mail ballots are currently available in 15 of the state’s 67 counties. Counties were required to begin sending absentee ballots to military and overseas voters by Sept. 21. Pennsylvania residents can register to vote online or by mail through Oct. 21.

Massive search and rescue operation in wake of Hurricane Helene

Massive search and rescue operation in wake of Hurricane Helene

Crews have airlifted emergency food and water into remote North Carolina towns that were cut off and devastated as tropical storm Helene turned the western part of the state into a “post-apocalyptic” landscape. A hurricane when it slammed into the Florida Gulf coast on Thursday, Helene tore a destructive path through southeastern US states, ripping up roads, tossing homes about and severing lines of communication. The storm killed more than 100 people in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia. The death toll is expected to rise once rescue teams reach isolated towns and emergency telecommunications assets come online. Throughout North Carolina, some 300 roads were closed, more than 7,000 people have registered for United States Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance, and the National Guard was flying 1,000 tonnes of food and water to remote areas by plane and helicopter, officials told a news briefing. Among the demolished towns was the tiny hamlet of Bat Cave, about 100 miles (160km) west of Charlotte, where the Broad River – in what climate scientists called a 1,000-year event – rose to unprecedented levels, washed away homes and broke through the town bridge. The US government, states and localities are engaged in a massive recovery effort throughout the southeast. People were stranded without running water and 1.8 million homes and businesses remained without power on Monday, according to the website Poweroutage.us. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said at least 25 people in his state had died, including a firefighter responding to emergency calls during the storm and a mother and her one-month-old twins who were killed by a falling tree. South Carolina has reported at least 29 dead. In North Carolina’s mountainous Buncombe County, which includes the tourist destination of Asheville, 40 people died, the county manager said. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper took an aerial tour of the damage and said “significant resources” would be needed in the short and long term. “The devastation was beyond belief, and even when you prepare for something like this, this is something that’s never happened before in western North Carolina. Search and rescue teams are continuing to work,” Cooper told a news briefing. Some 1,200 federal personnel are on the ground, in addition to state and local responders. The US Army Corps of Engineers is planning major debris removal. Adblock test (Why?)

Heightened ‘significance and importance’ as Vance, Walz face-off in VP debate

Heightened ‘significance and importance’ as Vance, Walz face-off in VP debate

NEW YORK – With a second face-to-face showdown between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump unlikely – and with a margin-of-error race with five weeks until Election Day in November – there’s a lot on the line in the vice presidential debate. While debates between the running mates are the undercard of a White House race and have rarely moved the need much in the past, when Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democrats’ nominee, face-off on Tuesday, there will be heightened stakes. Any major knockout blow – or agonizing misstep – could turn what’s traditionally seen as a second-tier event into an impactful showdown. “Given that we’re only likely to have one head-to-head matchup between the principal candidates and this is the last meet up between the two tickets directly before the election, it heightens the importance and significance of this debate,” longtime Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams, a veteran of multiple presidential campaigns, told Fox News. THE WHO, WHAT, WHERE, AND WHEN OF TUESDAY’S JD VANCE-TIM WALZ VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE  Most political pundits said that Harris bested Trump last month in their first and likely only debate. And flash polls of debate watchers agreed.  So a strong showing by Vance in Tuesday’s vice presidential debate could give Trump a boost.  CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE 2024 ELECTION And there’s a precedent from twelve years ago. After a shaky first debate by then-President Barack Obama against 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, then-Vice President Joe Biden’s well-regarded performance in the running mate debate against Romney running mate Rep. Paul Ryan gave the Democrats’ ticket a big boost. Heading into the 2024 vice presidential debate, the 40-year-old Vance has been very talkative, sitting for scores of interviews and taking plenty of questions from reporters on the campaign trail.  Walz, who is 60, has been much more reluctant to speak with the national news media.  The governor has been in debate camp ahead of the showdown, to prepare. Walz huddled with advisers and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg – who played the role of Vance in mock debates – in Harbor Springs, Michigan, near the northern tip of the state’s lower peninsula. Also helping out – Walz’s wife – Minnesota First Lady Gwen Walz. Asked on the eve of the showdown with Vance how his wife had been helping him with debate preparation, Walz told reporters “she wins every one.” WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS 2024 ELECTION POWER RANKINGS SHOW A source familiar with Vance’s debate prep tells Fox News Digital that over the last month, the senator took part in a series of murder board sessions with his team, where a group of people who ask tough questions and have candid discussions to help someone prepare for a difficult examination or test, or in Vance’s case, a vice presidential debate. According to the source, Vance conducted a mock debate over the past week, with Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the House majority whip, playing the role of Walz. Former Trump administration Treasury Department assistant secretary Monica Crowley played the role of one of the moderators from CBS News, which is hosting the debate in New York City. Halfway through the mock debate, the power went out, as a strong storm slammed through the vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio, where Vance lives and where the prep session was held. But according to the source, who shared the details first with Fox News, Vance and the team continued on, using lanterns for lighting and cellphones for timers. Emmer and Walz overlapped for four years in the House before Walz won election in 2018 as Minnesota’s governor. “I do know him probably as well or better than most on the Republican side,” he said. And Emmer, taking a shot at his fellow Minnesotan, argued “the hardest part of playing Walz… is trying to tell lies with a straight face, because that’s what he does. He’s good at the debate game, but there isn’t substance there. There’s a lot of air.” Former President Trump, asked Monday if he had given his running mate any advice, told reporters, “No, he doesn’t need it.” But he added that he and Vance had “been speaking a little bit back and forth” and that he thought the senator was in “good shape.” Part of the Trump campaign’s strategy ahead of the debate is to raise expectations for Walz. “Walz is very good in debates. I want to repeat that. Tim Walz is very good in debates. Really good. He’s been a politician for nearly 20 years. He’ll be very well prepared for tomorrow night,” Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller told reporters on Monday. Walz comes into the debate with better poll numbers than Vance. According to the latest Fox News national poll, Walz was slightly above water with a 43% favorable rating and a 40% unfavorable rating. Vance stood in negative territory, at 38%-50% favorable/unfavorable. The senator arrived in New York City on Monday afternoon, and in the evening took a break from debate preparations to headline a gathering of GOP mega donors. Walz was scheduled to fly to New York City on Tuesday, ahead of the debate. The vice presidential debate is being moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” host and chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan.  The 90-minute debate, which kicks off at 9pm ET, will take place at the CBS News broadcast center in New York City. The Fox News Channel, FOX Business Network, Fox News Digital, Fox News Audio and Fox Nation will air special programming of the debate.  Both the Harris and Trump campaigns agreed to two four-minute commercial breaks during the debate. Campaign staff are not allowed to interact with the candidates during those breaks. The other rules  – including no studio audience – are similar to September’s Harris-Trump debate and June’s debate between Trump and

Jimmy Carter becomes first president to turn 100

Jimmy Carter becomes first president to turn 100

Former Democrat President Carter turns 100 years old on Tuesday, earning himself the distinction of being the first president to ever live for an entire century. Carter, the nation’s 39th president, has been a man of several firsts. He was the first U.S. president to be born in a hospital, was the first Naval Academy graduate to become president, and he was the first president to make a formal state visit to Sub-Saharan Africa, among other firsts. Now, Carter is the first U.S. president in history to make it to 100 years old. Carter remains under home hospice care in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, where he has lived since the culmination of his presidency in 1981. This upcoming February marks two years in hospice for the former president who has outlived his wife, Rosalynn. She died last year at age 96. JIMMY CARTER’S GRANDSON SAYS FORMER PRESIDENT IS ‘COMING TO THE END’ “It’s funny, President Carter has accomplished so much and rarely ever fails. But the one thing that he’s not been good at is hospice,” said Jill Stuckey, a family friend of the Carters for more than 30 years and the superintendent of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Park in Plains. “He keeps living, and we are so thrilled about that fact. So, if he was to not be good at anything, we’re glad it’s hospice.” When asked what Stuckey thought differentiated Carter from other past presidents who have lived into old age, she said it was “tenacity.” “He and Mrs. Carter were concerned about living as long as they possibly could, being as healthy as they possibly could, so they could help as many people as they possibly could,” Stuckey told Fox News Digital. “They have eaten right every single meal. They have exercised every single day. They are just relentless in taking care of themselves so they can live as long as they possibly can to take care of others. And that’s what President Carter is proving today, that all those things make a difference.” JIMMY CARTER’S FAMILY REVEALS HOW PRESIDENT FELT ABOUT BIDEN QUITTING, WHICH DNC SPEAKER STOLE THE SHOW Stuckey said that events commemorating Carter’s milestone 100th birthday have been going on in Plains since Saturday, when the town held its annual peanut festival. “We celebrate peanut harvest season here in Plains, and it happens to coincide with President Carter’s birthday every year, so we kind of combine them,” Stuckey said.  She also indicated that Tuesday, on Carter’s birthday, several other events commemorating his birthday will take place in Plains, including a naturalization ceremony for 100 new citizens at Plains High School, where both Jimmy and Rosalynn attended.  After the ceremony, there will be a flyover to honor the former president, organized with the help of Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. In the late afternoon, Plains will also host a ribbon-cutting ceremony for new statues dedicated to the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. Meanwhile, in celebration of Carter’s birthday, volunteers in St. Paul, Minnesota, gathered to build 30 new homes over five days. Participants reportedly included country music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. “You’re one of the most influential statesmen in our history,” President Biden said in a video released ahead of Carter’s birthday on Tuesday.  Over the weekend, Grand Ole Opry member and country music legend Charlie McCoy played a special rendition of “Georgia On My Mind” to honor the former president. WHY JIMMY CARTER IS THE FATHER OF THE POST-PRESIDENCY, SAW THE POWER OF HIS STATUS “I remember the first time I saw him, and I was in awe, and the feeling’s always been there. You can be around presidents all the time, but the first time is the most meaningful,” said Cathie Skoog, a former member of the White House Communications Agency. “He didn’t care what people thought. He did what he felt was right for the country.” Carter’s presidency was marked by efforts to preserve the environment, advance human rights and propel the American education system to new heights. Carter overhauled the civil service system, deregulated the airline industry to spur competition, and created the Energy and Education departments. It was also Carter’s administration that required both seat belts and airbags in cars. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP However, Carter’s presidency was also marked by trials, including high inflation, an energy crisis and failed negotiations to win the release of dozens of American hostages taken captive in Iran. Carter’s Secretary of State, Cyrus Vance, eventually resigned in protest of the administration’s handling of the hostage crisis. Amid the Iranian Revolution going on at the time, oil prices in the U.S. rose substantially. In July 1979, Carter blamed Americans discouraged by soaring inflation and the energy crisis for losing confidence in the country. “The symptoms of this crisis of the American spirit are all around us,” Carter said in his speech. “For the first time in the history of our country, a majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote. The productivity of American workers is actually dropping, and the willingness of Americans to save for the future has fallen below that of all other people in the Western world.” “We must face the truth, and then we can change our course,” he continued. “We simply must have faith in each other, faith in our ability to govern ourselves and faith in the future of this nation. Restoring that faith and that confidence to America is now the most important task we face.”