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Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world April 21 – CBC.ca

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4 years ago

April 22, 2020

The latest:

Speaking during his daily COVID-19 update on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new $350-million emergency community support fund meant to help vulnerable Canadians, as he said the pandemic has worsened inequalities throughout the country.

That fund is aimed at helping community organizations, charities and non-profits, which have had to change how they help groups like seniors and those experiencing homelessness, Trudeau said.

“Their mission has always been to support people in their time of need, and that hasn’t changed,” Trudeau said. “But COVID-19 is putting a tremendous amount of pressure on those organizations, because more people need help.”

Trudeau also said the government is launching a calculator for businesses to use when applying for the emergency wage subsidy, which gives employers up to $847 dollars per employee each week. That calculator, which will be hosted on the Canada Revenue Agency website, will allow companies to determine exactly how much the subsidy will cover.

Applications for the program will open on April 27, he said. At a later press briefing, Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos said the government anticipated 90 per cent of applications would be processed by May 5.

Trudeau also spoke of the difficulties Canadians have gone through while practising physical distancing for nearly six weeks. He said there are early signs that those measures have helped reduce the spread of COVID-19. Health officials in provinces across Canada are reminding people to stick with public health measures, however, even as some regions see a drop in new cases of COVID-19.

WATCH | Trudeau on why planes came back from China with supplies:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to reporters on Tuesday 1:45

Ontario on Monday released updated modelling that suggested community spread of COVID-19 appears to have peaked. But the health experts who presented the updated information noted that the spread of the virus in long-term care is still growing.

“We’re at peak in the community, but still in that accelerating upswing of the curve in long-term care,” said Adalsteinn Brown, dean of the University of Toronto’s public health department.

Morrison: “We are going to need to live with COVID-19 … there’s not a switch where things will quickly return to normal. There has to be a balance going forward.”<br><br>She says it’s a challenging to lift restrictions and manage the virus when there is no vaccine.

—@nicolammacleod

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that rushing to ease coronavirus restrictions will likely lead to a resurgence of the illness, a warning that comes as governments start rolling out plans to get their economies up and running again.

“This is not the time to be lax. Instead, we need to ready ourselves for a new way of living for the foreseeable future,” said Dr. Takeshi Kasai, the WHO regional director for the Western Pacific.

He said governments must remain vigilant to stop the spread of the virus, and the lifting of lockdowns and other physical distancing measures must be done gradually and strike the right balance between keeping people healthy and allowing economies to function. UN agencies on Tuesday made an appeal for more funding to help the most vulnerable, saying: “In this race against an invisible enemy, all countries must fight back, but not all begin from the same starting line.”

As of 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Canada had 38,422 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases. The provinces and territories that provide public information on recoveries listed 13,201 cases as recovered or resolved. A CBC News count of coronavirus-related deaths based on provincial data, local public health information and CBC’s own reporting has recorded 1,910 coronavirus-related deaths in Canada. There have been two reported COVID-19-related deaths of Canadians abroad.

According to a case tracking tool maintained by U.S-based Johns Hopkins University, there are more than 2.5 million confirmed cases worldwide of the novel coronavirus, which causes an illness called COVID-19.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says COVID-19 is a “serious health threat” in Canada. “The risk will vary between and within communities, but given the increasing number of cases in Canada, the risk to Canadians is considered high.”

The novel coronavirus, formally known as SARS-CoV-2, was first reported in China in late 2019. There are no proven treatments or vaccines for the virus, though researchers around the world are racing to find answers as to what might be effective against it.

Read on for a look at what’s happening in Canada, the U.S. and around the world.

Here’s a look at what’s happening in the provinces and territories

British Columbia‘s Vancouver Coastal Health has declared an outbreak of COVID-19 among staff at a chicken processing plant. Twenty-eight employees of United Poultry Company have tested positive for COVID-19. Read more about what’s happening in B.C., including about how a Vancouver Island doctor is taking part in COVID-19 treatment experiments.

In Alberta, one day after the closure of a meat-processing plant in High River, another facility with dozens of COVID-19 cases among its employees says it is down to one shift due to “increased absenteeism” but will continue to operate. The JBS plant in Brooks had 67 confirmed cases, but no one has been laid off. Read more about what’s happening in Alberta.

WATCH | Trudeau addresses outbreak in Alberta meat processing plants:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to reporters on Tuesday 1:00

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is expected to announce a plan for how some businesses and services may be allowed to start reopening if case numbers stay low. The province reported four new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, bringing the provincial total to 320. Read more about what’s happening in Saskatchewan.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister said he’s taking a 25 per cent pay cut as he pushes for cuts in the public sector. Pallister is asking public sector workers to accept reduced work weeks, job sharing or temporary layoffs to help the government redirect spending to health care during the pandemic. Read more about what’s happening in Manitoba.

Shoppers are separated by rows of wood pallets to help with physical distancing as they line up to enter a Costco store in Burnaby, B.C., on Sunday. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)

Ontario’s numbers climbed to 11,735 as the province announced 551 new cases Tuesday morning, a day after models suggested community spread has peaked. The number of cases in long-term care homes in the province is still on the rise, though. Read more about what’s happening in Ontario, including an analysis of the latest projections and what they mean for people in the province.

One long-term care home in Toronto reported Tuesday that five residents have now died of COVID-19. Three residents died overnight Monday at Hawthorne Place Care Centre, executive director Gale Coburn said in a statement. The centre has 51 positive cases, she added.

WATCH | Ontario COVID-19 cases may have peaked in general population:

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Quebec saw 102 additional deaths on Tuesday, becoming the first province with more than 1,000 deaths, with 850 of them having occurred in long-term care homes. The professional organizations representing doctors and nurses in the province announced Tuesday they would be looking into two such facilities that have seen a high number of deaths. The treatment of residents as a result of staff shortages in those facilities has also come under scrutiny. Read more about what’s happening in Quebec.

On Tuesday, New Brunswick reported no new cases for the third straight day, although Premier Blaine Higgs warned residents they would “need to adapt to a new normal” once the province begins to gradually reopen. Read more about what’s happening in N.B.

“It’s too early to entertain any real changes to the Canada-U.S. border,” said New Brunswick Premier <a href=”https://twitter.com/BlaineHiggs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@BlaineHiggs</a>. Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump said the Canada-U.S. border “will be one of the early borders to be released” from travel restrictions. <a href=”https://t.co/dYz2kc91U0″>pic.twitter.com/dYz2kc91U0</a>

—@PnPCBC

Newfoundland and Labrador also marked their third straight day with no new cases, though the province’s chief medical officer emphatically stated that the struggle isn’t over. “No new cases to report over the last couple of days is indeed promising, but we must remain cautious with our optimism. I cannot stress enough that we are not yet in the clear,” Dr. Janice Fitzgerald Tuesday. Read more about what’s happening in N.L.

Nova Scotia reported one COVID-19 death on Tuesday at a long-term care facility in Halifax. That brings the total number of deaths to 10, while 16 new reported COVID-19 cases bring the province’s case total to 737. Read more about what’s happening in Nova Scotia, which is still reeling after at least 22 people were killed by a man who also died in an hours-long shooting rampage over the weekend.

Prince Edward Island reported no new cases on Tuesday, and the province is looking at lifting some restrictions put in place by early May, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison said. Read more about what’s happening in P.E.I.

In the Northwest Territories, an emergency loan program has provided $1.6 million, but a third of applicants were rejected. Read more about what’s happening across the North, including a look at how Yukon businesses are trying to prepare for an expected drop in tourism.

Here’s a look at what’s happening in the U.S.

From The Associated Press and Reuters, updated at 4:30 p.m. ET

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he will be placing a 60-day pause on the issuance of certain immigration green cards in an effort to limit competition for jobs in a U.S. economy wrecked by the coronavirus.

He told reporters during the White House briefing that the move would not impact those in the country on a temporary basis and would apply only to those looking for green cards in hopes of staying.

Much of the immigration system has already ground to a halt because of the pandemic. Almost all visa processing by the State Department has been suspended for weeks. Travel to the U.S. has been restricted from much of the globe, including China, Europe, Mexico and Canada. And Trump has used the virus to effectively end asylum at U.S. borders, turning away even children who arrive by themselves — something Congress, the courts and international law hadn’t previously allowed.

The U.S. is now reporting more COVID-19 cases than any other country in the world, with more than 800,000 Americans infected, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Nearly 45,000 have died.

With health authorities and many governors warning that far more testing is needed before the U.S. economy can be safely reopened, New York state launched the nation’s most ambitious effort yet to screen the general population for exposure to the virus.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said testing has to get up to scale before reopening can happen, adding that he was aware some people were unhappy they had to wear masks or engage in physical distancing. “It’s not a question of happy — it’s a question of life and death.”

At least three more states — South Carolina, Colorado and Georgia — have moved to loosen restrictions on commerce.

Stay-at-home orders and widespread business closures imposed in most states to slow the spread of the virus have stifled the U.S. economy and thrown at least 22 million people out of work, a level of unemployment not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

A medical worker, centre, takes a sample from the nose of a woman at a coronavirus testing tent outside MGH Healthcare Center on Monday in Chelsea, Mass. (Steven Senne/The Associated Press)

The economic damage has led to increasing agitation for relaxing physical distancing restrictions, especially as the rate of coronavirus hospitalizations and other indicators of the outbreak’s severity have begun to level off in parts of the country in recent days. In Pennsylvania, where Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf has pledged to veto a bill in the Republican-led General Assembly that would force him to reopen some businesses, several hundred demonstrators, some in cars with horns blaring, rallied in Harrisburg, the state capital.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is a member of the White House coronavirus task force, told ABC News there would be no real economic recovery until authorities got the virus under control and jumping the gun could lead to a big spike in cases.

Here’s a look at what’s happening around the world

From The Associated Press and Reuters, updated at 4:30 p.m. ET

In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed concerns Tuesday that people haven’t followed physical distancing measures as much as they’re supposed to under a state of emergency he declared two weeks ago to fight the spread of the coronavirus. Abe asked citizens to do more to prevent Japanese health-care systems from collapsing.

Abe made a stay-at-home request on April 7 to reduce social interactions by as much as 80 per cent in an effort to limit infections. But surveys show movement of people was not down that much at major train stations, and even less in downtown areas where restaurants and grocery stores are still operating.

WATCH | Manufacturing picks up at some workplaces after COVID-19 shutdown

France and South Korea begin to open some workplaces with new safety rules and more modest production targets. 1:15

The Netherlands extended its three-month ban on major public events on Tuesday. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the ban would now be in place until Sept. 1, although he added that an “encouraging” slowing of the spread of the coronavirus would enable elementary schools and daycare centres to reopen in May.

WATCH | How to handle physical distancing in tricky situations:

Physical distancing has radically changed how we socialize. But there’s still some scenarios where it’s difficult to limit our physical contact with others. Here’s how to best navigate them. 3:23

Ireland also banned major events on Tuesday until the end of August, while the government will decide what to do about smaller gatherings closer to May 5 when restrictions put in place on March 24 are due to expire.

Spain cancelled its July running of the bulls in Pamplona, the more than 400-year-old event made famous by Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises. The event was also called off during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.

The country did slightly loosen some restrictions on Tuesday, announcing children would be allowed to go for walks beginning next weekend. The change came hours after the government first announced that young children, who are currently banned from leaving home under any circumstances, would be allowed to accompany their parents on essential trips such as to buy food or medicine.

Crowds of youths in the outskirts of Paris targeted riot police with fireworks and torched rubbish bins in a third night of unrest, in areas where a heavy police presence to enforce a lockdown has exacerbated tensions. Trouble first flared in Villeneuve-La-Garenne on Saturday after a motorcyclist crashed into the open door of a police car, with unrest also breaking out Monday night into Tuesday in the neighbouring districts of Gennevilliers, Clichy-La-Garenne and Asnieres.

France‘s lockdown permits people to leave home only to buy groceries, go to work, seek medical care or exercise. French President Emmanuel Macron said schools and shops would gradually reopen from May 11, but restaurants, hotels, cafés and cinemas would remain shut for longer.

A trash bin burns in the street during clashes in Villeneuve-la-Garenne, in the northern suburbs of Paris, early on Tuesday. Tension with the police initially flared after a motorcycle accident involving a police cruiser on Saturday. (Geoffroy Van der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images)

Italy will announce before the end of this week its plans for the gradual reopening from lockdown, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Tuesday.

The lockdown, which closed most Italian businesses and prevented people from leaving their homes for all but essential needs, has been in place since March 9, putting a major strain on the eurozone’s third-largest economy.

“I wish I could say: let’s reopen everything. Immediately. We start tomorrow morning…. But such a decision would be irresponsible. It would make the contagion curve go up in an uncontrolled way and would nullify all the efforts we have made so far,” Conte wrote in a Facebook post.

Germany’s Oktoberfest has been cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis, the southern state of Bavaria said on Tuesday. Around six million partygoers gather every year in Munich for the two-week-long festivities, held in packed tents with long wooden tables and oompah bands.

A teacher cleans and disinfects chairs and tables at the the Phoenix Gymnasium secondary school in Dortmund, western Germany, on Tuesday. Students preparing for the Abitur high-school graduation exams taking place in May are allowed to return to school from Thursday. (Ina Fassbender/AFP/Getty Images)

Britain is marking Queen Elizabeth II’s 94th birthday with silence Tuesday, foregoing the usual gun salutes and ringing of bells. With thousands dead amid the outbreak, the monarch decided that the celebratory display of military firepower would not be appropriate.

Meantime, the British Parliament went back to work Tuesday — mostly virtually. A few dozen legislators sat, well-spaced, in the House of Commons, and agreed on arrangements for lawmakers to ask questions from home using videoconferencing program Zoom beamed onto screens erected around the wood-panelled chamber. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will continue to stand in for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is still recovering from a bout of COVID-19.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has banned people in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country from returning to their hometowns to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of the dawn-to-sunset fasting during Ramadan. The announcement came amid warnings from health experts that Indonesia could face an explosion of coronavirus cases that could infect more than a million people after Ramadan unless the government imposes stricter measures.

Migrant workers wearing protective face masks collect catered food distributed by volunteers on Monday in Singapore. Migrant workers in the construction industry have been served with a 14-day stay home notice starting from April 20 in order to curb the transmission of the coronavirus at work sites. (Ore Huiyiung/Getty Images)

A northwestern province on the front line of China’s coronavirus battle reported its first cases in nearly three weeks on Tuesday, all Chinese nationals returning from overseas, as imported infections started to level off elsewhere.

At the same time, with over 2.5 million coronavirus cases reported worldwide, China is warning its citizens against travelling abroad. The consular department of China’s foreign ministry said that Chinese citizens should fully assess the “serious” risk of getting infected and not being able to return.

Singapore said on Tuesday it had preliminary confirmation of 1,111 new coronavirus cases, taking the city-state’s total infections to 9,125. The health ministry said most of the cases were migrant workers living in dormitories, a group that accounts for more than three-quarters of the city-state’s total infections.

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Shohei Ohtani surpasses 50-50 milestone in spectacular fashion with a 3-homer, 2-steal game

Published

2 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

MIAMI (AP) — Shohei Ohtani looked up at a visiting crowd that turned out to cheer him and the Los Angeles Dodgers — and ended up getting to witness one of the greatest individual performances, and seasons, in major league history.

Fans lifted their phones to capture the moment and chanted “M-V-P!” as Ohtani rounded the bases after he cleared the fence for the 50th time, becoming the first major league player with at least 50 home runs and and 50 stolen bases in a season.

“I almost cried, to be honest,” shortstop Miguel Rojas said. “It was a lot of emotions because of everything that happens behind the scenes that we got to witness every single day.”

The most amazing thing about it? Ohtani’s day wasn’t even finished.

Ohtani raced past the 50-50 milestone in the most spectacular game of his history-making career, becoming the first big league player to hit three homers and steal two bases in a game during a 20-4 rout of the Miami Marlins on Thursday that also secured a playoff spot for the Dodgers.

Los Angeles’ $700 million Japanese superstar hit his 49th homer in the sixth inning, his 50th in the seventh and his 51st in the ninth. He finished 6 for 6 with 10 RBIs while becoming the first big league player to hit three homers and steal two bases in a game.

“It was something I wanted to get over as quickly as possible. And, you know, it’s something that I’m going to cherish for a very long time,” Ohtani said through an interpreter in a televised interview.

Ohtani reached the second deck in right-center on two of his three homers at LoanDepot Park. In the sixth inning, he launched a 1-1 slider from George Soriano 438 feet for his 49th.

Ohtani hit his 50th homer in the seventh, an opposite-field, two-run shot to left against Marlins reliever Mike Baumann. Then, in the ninth, his 51st traveled 440 feet to right-center, a three-run shot against Marlins second baseman Vidal Brujan, who came in to pitch with the game out of hand.

“To be honest, I’m the one probably most surprised,” Ohtani said. “I have no idea where this came from, but I’m glad that it was going well today.”

Ohtani came into the game with 48 homers and 49 steals. He took care of the stolen bases early, swiping his 50th in the first and his 51st in the second. He has been successful on his last 28 stolen base attempts.

He broke the Dodgers’ franchise record of 49 homers set by Shawn Green in 2001. And he became the third player in major league history with at least six hits, three homers and 10 RBIs in a game, joining Cincinnati’s Walker Cooper in 1949 and Washington’s Anthony Rendon in 2017.

Ohtani has 120 RBIs, trailing only Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees (53 homers, 136 RBIs) in both categories.

Ohtani reached the 50-50 milestone in his 150th game. He was already the sixth player in major league history and the fastest ever to reach 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season, needing just 126 games.

His previous career high in homers was 46 for the Los Angeles Angels in 2021, when he also made 23 starts on the mound and won his first of two American League MVP awards.

It was another memorable night for Ohtani at LoanDepot Park, where he struck out then-Angels teammate Mike Trout of the United States for the final out of the 2023 World Baseball Classic championship while playing for Japan.

“I’ve had perhaps the most memorable moments here in my career,” Ohtani said, “and this stadium has become one of my favorite stadiums.”

Already the consensus best player in baseball whose accomplishments as a pitcher and batter outpaced even Babe Ruth, Ohtani reached new heights as an offensive player while taking the year off from pitching.

Ohtani signed a $700 million, 10-year deal with the Dodgers last December. The two-way star, who previously spent six years with the Los Angeles Angels, has played exclusively at designated hitter this season as he rehabilitates after surgery a year ago for an injured elbow ligament.

He finished a triple shy of the cycle on Thursday, adding a run-scoring single and two doubles. He was thrown out at third base while trying to stretch his second double into a triple.

“There’s nothing you really can say because there’s nothing anybody can do about it,” teammate and former MVP Mookie Betts said. “He’s just too good.”

First base was open when Ohtani came up to bat in the seventh, but Marlins manager Skip Schumaker decided against intentionally walking him with the Marlins trailing 11-3.

“If it was a tight game, one-run lead or we’re down one, I probably put him on,” Schumaker said. “Down that many runs, that’s a bad move baseball-wise, karma-wise, baseball god-wise. … I think out of respect for the game, we were going to go after him. He hit the home run. That’s just part of the deal. He’s hit (51) of them. He’s the most talented player I’ve ever seen.”

Preparation was a key to Ohtani becoming the first member of the 50-50 club. He regularly huddled with the team’s hitting coaches and studied video of opposing pitchers to understand their tendencies with hitters and baserunners.

“I see all the work he puts in,” catcher Will Smith said recently. “It’s not like he goes out there and it’s too easy for him. He works harder than anybody. He scouts really hard. He’s playing a different game so it’s fun to see.”

Ohtani appeared to make the 50-50 mark his mission. He increased the frequency of his base-stealing attempts, and in turn his success rate went up.

But that may not be the case next year when he returns to the mound.

“He’s not pitching this year so I think he is emptying the tank offensively,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I do think the power, the on-base (percentage), the average, I think he can do that as a pitcher. He’s done something pretty similar like that with his OPS. But as far as the stolen bases go, I’m not sure about that.”

Ohtani’s teammates have enjoyed watching him crush home runs and scamper around the bases.

“I’m honestly kind of trying to learn from him just seeing the way he goes about his day-to-day business. He’s very consistent, the same demeanor throughout,” outfielder Tommy Edman said recently. “I think that’s why he’s such a good player.”

Third baseman Max Muncy added, “Every night I feel like he does something that we haven’t seen.”

What’s next for Ohtani?

The Dodgers are headed to the postseason in October, which will be another first for Ohtani. He never made it there with the Angels, who never had a winning record during his tenure in Anaheim.

Another potential first could be earning National League MVP honors as a designated hitter. No player who got most of his playing time as a DH — without pitching — has ever won MVP, although Don Baylor, Edgar Martinez and David Ortiz placed high in the vote.

It would be Ohtani’s third career MVP award.

___

AP Sports Writer Beth Harris in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

___

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Harris looks for boost from Oprah as part of digital-first media strategy

Published

2 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris looked for a boost with persuadable and less-motivated voters as she participated in a livestream Thursday evening with former talk show host Oprah Winfrey to focus on her plans to cut costs for the middle class, restore a national right to abortion and address gun violence.

The event, billed as “Unite for America,” and hosted by Winfrey from suburban Michigan, one of this election’s key battlegrounds, sought to tap into the same energy as long-running Winfrey’s talk show, which drove bestseller lists and allowed celebrities to share their softer side and everyday people to share stories of struggle and inspiration.

It leaned on celebrities like Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Lopez and Meryl Streep, but also the stories of ordinary voters to promote Harris’ message over the course of 90 minutes and to draw a contrast with former President Donald Trump, the GOP nominee. More than 300,000 people were watching the Harris campaign livestream on YouTube alone and the event was also being streamed on other major social media platforms.

“We each have those moments in our lives when it’s time to step up,” Harris said when Winfrey asked about her overnight transformation as she went from President Joe Biden’s running mate to being the Democratic nominee in her own right after he suddenly dropped out in July. “I felt a sense of responsibility, to be honest with you, and with that comes a sense of purpose.”

Winfrey told Harris it looked as if a “veil dropped” and she “stepped into your power.”

At one point Harris reminded viewers that she owns a gun — which surprised Winfrey — saying, “If somebody’s breaking into my house they’re gettin’ shot.” She added, “I probably shouldn’t have said that.”

Harris was given the chance to talk about her plans to reduce the cost of housing and lower taxes for the middle class, as she took questions from voters in Michigan and Virginia.

Oprah recognized Hadley Duvall in the audience, a 22-year-old woman who became an abortion rights advocate after she was raped by her stepfather as a child.

“You can’t wait until it’s too late to care about reproductive healthcare, because then it’s too late,” said Duvall, who is featured in a new Harris campaign ad. “Thank you for hearing us and seeing us when the Supreme Court won’t,” Duvall added in praise of Harris.

Harris and Winfrey also welcomed the mother and sister of a young Georgia mother who died after waiting 20 hours for a hospital to treat her complications from an abortion pill. Amber Thurman’s death, first reported Monday by ProPublica, occurred just two weeks after Georgia’s strict abortion ban was enacted in 2022 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn nationwide abortion rights. Harris has blamed her death on Trump.

“Amber was not a statistic, she was loved by a family, a strong family and we would have done whatever to get my baby, our baby, the help that she needed,” said Thurman’s mother, Shanette Williams.

Harris praised their courage in speaking out and called out a “healthcare crisis” caused by the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “They have no right to be in your womb,” added Winfrey.

Natalie Griffith, a student who was shot twice last month at Apalachee High School in Georgia, joined with her parents. Her mother described the fear she felt after learning about the gunfire at her child’s school.

“No parent should go through this,” Marilda Griffith said through tears, describing rushing out of work, then running to the school to learn if her daughter was OK. She appealed for federal action to curb gun violence.

Harris, after pointing out that she herself owns a gun, said assault-style rifles were designed to kill as many people as possible on a battlefield, and “don’t belong on the streets of a civil society.”

The event comes as Harris is working to continue to share her biography and governing philosophy with voters during her abbreviated presidential campaign, with early voting already underway in some states.

Harris has limited her interactions with the traditional media, instead prioritizing digital engagement and casual — and often more controlled — moments that her campaign hopes will reach voters who increasingly get their news from digital sources.

“I want to bring my daughters to the White House to meet this Black woman president,” comedian Chris Rock said.

The in-the-round stage has the appearance of a college campus, with faux brick pillars and a background of trees and green turf under the chairs of the several hundred guests in the audience. Dozens more supporters were featured on video screens in the hall.

“I look around at these screens, Oprah, and I look at who’s in the room, and this is America,” Harris said.

The event is meant as a unifying event of Harris supporter groups that spun off organically after a “Black Women for Harris” call drew tens of thousands of viewers — and raised $1.5 million — in the hours after Harris took over for Biden after he ended his campaign. They included “White Dudes for Harris,” “Comedians for Harris” and ‘Swifties for Harris.”

The event included a direct call to action to viewers to volunteer for Harris’ campaign and to make calls and knock on doors for the Democrat.

Winfrey ended with a call “for all decent people, for all caring people” to back Harris, saying of Trump, “We’re better than this.”

—

Miller reported from Washington.

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The Latest: Both presidential candidates making appearances to fire up core supporters

Published

2 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

Both major presidential candidates are making appearances Thursday meant to fire up their core supporters. Vice President Kamala Harris is participating in a livestream with Oprah Winfrey, who has endorsed Harris and spoke at the Democratic convention in August. Donald Trump will be in Washington to address a “Fighting Anti-Semitism in America” evening event with Miriam Adelson, a co-owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and widow of billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who founded the Las Vegas Sands casino and was one of the Republican Party’s largest donors.

Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here’s the latest:

Harris talks openly about her gun ownership

Vice President Kamala Harris has grown more open about her gun ownership in recent weeks, but on Thursday she for the first time said what she’d do with the handgun she owns.

Speaking during a campaign event hosted by the talk show host Oprah Winfrey, Harris was addressing her efforts to cut down on violence and pass a new ban on assault-style weapons, when she referenced owning a handgun — surprising Winfrey.

“If somebody’s breaking into my house they’re gettin shot,” Harris added. She continued: “I probably shouldn’t have said that. My staff will deal with that later.”

Oprah and Kamala Harris host town hall

A live stream with Vice President Kamala Harris and talk show host Oprah Winfrey billed as a “Unite for America” rally kicked off with more than 230,000 viewers on YouTube alone even before Harris joined, as the Democrat looks to digital-first events to reach voters.

The event is hosted by Winfrey from suburban Michigan, one of this election’s key battlegrounds, and is leaning on celebrities like Brian Cranston, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Rock, and Meryl Streep, but also the stories of ordinary voters to promote Harris’s message.

“I want to bring my daughters to the White House to meet this Black woman president,” said comedian Chris Rock.

Trump speaks to Jewish leaders in D.C.

Donald Trump is appearing before Jewish leaders in Washington D.C. to talk about antisemitism.

But as the former president is wont to do, he’s taken a large detour at the top of his speech, name-checking his Republican allies in the crowd, discussing the Green New Deal “scam” and pontificating about his polling numbers at length.

Trump was roughly an hour late to his speech, which was slated to begin around 6 p.m.

“Kamala Harris has done absolutely nothing. She has not lifted a single finger to protect you, or protect your children, or even protect you with words… I’m here to tell you today that this ugly kind of antisemitic hate for all of us — bigotry and hate — will be turned back … starting at noon on Jan. 23rd,” he said.

“With your vote, I will be your protector and defender and I will be the best friend Jewish Americans have ever had in the White House.”

North Carolina representative reacts to Robinson media report

On Capitol Hill in Washington, Republican Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, the chairman of the House GOP’s campaign committee, told reporters the report’s findings were “concerning.”

Republicans are trying a new approach to abortion in the race for Congress

In the most contested races for control of the U.S. House, many Republican candidates are speaking up about women’s rights to abortion access and reproductive care in new and surprising ways, a deliberate shift for a GOP blindsided by some political ramifications of the post-Roe v. Wade era.

Looking directly into the camera for ads, or penning personal op-eds in local newspapers, the Republicans are trying to distance themselves from some of the more aggressive anti-abortion ideas coming from their party and its allies. Instead, the Republican candidates are working quickly to spell out their own views separate from a GOP that for decades has worked to put restrictions on reproductive care.

It’s a remarkable about-face as the Republican Party works to prevent losses this November that could wipe out its majority control of the House. It comes in a fast-moving election season with high-profile and gripping stories of women’s lives being upended and endangered by abortion restrictions.

Read more here.

Trump begins to distance himself from Robinson

Trump’s campaign appears to be distancing itself from Robinson in the wake of the CNN reporting, which AP has not independently verified.

In a statement to AP, which reached out for comment on the reporting, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that the GOP nominee’s campaign “is focused on winning the White House and saving this country,” calling North Carolina “a vital part of that plan.”

Leavitt went on to contrast Trump’s economic record with that of Harris, but did not mention Robinson by name or answer questions as to whether he would appear with Trump at a Saturday campaign rally in Wilmington, or had been invited to do so.

Harris’ campaign reminds voters of Trump’s ties to North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson

As CNN published a report that Trump ally and North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson posted strongly worded racial and sexual comments on an online message board, Harris’ campaign reminded voters of the gubernatorial nominee’s linkages to Trump.

In one X post, Harris’ campaign played video clips of Trump praising Robinson – including calling him “better than Martin Luther King” – over headlines from CNN’s reporting.

Another showed Robinson and Trump standing side-by-side giving Trump’s signature thumbs up pose, with the campaign adding a corresponding emoji to the post.

CNN reported Thursday that Robinson, who would become North Carolina’s first Black governor, attacked civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in searing terms and once referred to himself as a “black NAZI.”

Robinson has stumped in North Carolina with Trump several times and spoke at this summer’s Republican National Convention. But he wasn’t with Vance as the GOP vice presidential nominee campaigned in Raleigh on Wednesday, and Trump’s campaign didn’t respond to a question seeking comment as to whether he would appear with the presidential nominee on Saturday in Wilmington.

Wisconsin election officials ask Supreme Court to determine Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ballot fate

Election officials in Wisconsin are asking the state’s liberal-controlled Supreme Court to decide whether independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name should stay on the presidential ballot without waiting for an appellate ruling.

Kennedy suspended his campaign in August and endorsed Donald Trump. He’s been trying to get his name off ballots in key battleground states like Wisconsin. A Dane County judge ruled Monday that state law mandates candidates must remain on the ballot unless they die. Kennedy has filed an appeal with the 2nd District Court of Appeals.

Attorneys for the Wisconsin Election Commission asked the state Supreme Court on Thursday to take the case directly. They argued that the case needs a fast, final resolution since clerks have started sending absentee ballots to voters.

Georgia election rule changes by Trump allies raise fear of chaos in November

The state that handed former President Donald Trump one of his narrowest losses four years ago is immersed in election controversies even before the first ballots of this year’s presidential race are cast.

The turmoil springs from a revamp of the state election board that gave Trump allies a majority. They have been making changes to election rules that have raised alarms among Democrats and others.

Georgia Republicans say they are just trying to ensure the accuracy of the vote this November. Democrats say the GOP’s tactics are laying the groundwork for another attempt to overturn the will of the voters should Trump once again lose a close election.

President Biden says Federal Reserve’s decision to lower interest rates signals inflation has eased

President Joe Biden said Thursday the Federal Reserve’s decision to lower interest rates was “an important signal” that inflation has eased as he poked at Donald Trump’s economic policies as a failure in the past and sure to “fail again” if revived.

“Lowering interest rates isn’t a declaration of victory,” Biden told the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. “It’s a declaration of progress, to signal we’ve entered a new phase of our economy and our recovery.”

The Democratic president emphasized that there was more work left to do, but he used his speech to burnish his economic legacy even as he criticized Trump, his Republican predecessor who is running for another term.

“Trickle down down economics failed,” Biden said. “He’s promising again trickle down economics. It will fail again.”

Hospitality union is knocking on millions of doors to support Harris’ presidential candidacy

The hospitality union UNITE HERE says it has knocked on more than 1 million doors on behalf of Kamala Harris’ presidential candidacy, saying that it expects to reach 3.5 million voters in 10 states by Election Day.

Gwen Mills, the union’s president, said the ground game has been more aggressive than in 2016 and 2020 campaigns. She said the process started earlier than in previous elections and more of her members are taking longer leaves of absence from their jobs to contact potential voters. The union has roughly 300,000 members and 1,800 of them are active in canvassing for the vice president.

Harris is relying on aggressive union outreach to help drive turnout in a close race against former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee.

The Teamsters union snubbed Harris on Wednesday by declining to endorse either major presidential candidate. But the United Auto Workers, American Federation of Teachers and the umbrella organization AFL-CIO are all working for Harris.

U.S. Senator introduces bill to provide security protections to presidential and vice presidential candidates

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott announced Thursday morning that he’s leading a bill meant to provide protections to presidential and vice presidential candidates and spouses at the same level of protection provided to the sitting president.

Scott introduced this bill with 11 other Republican senators, and he said in an interview that he’s been texting back and forth with Trump. He said that from these conversations, he understands that Trump is “committed to winning the race and committed to fighting.”

In this interview, he said that his bill would push these protections for Trump as a major presidential candidate, but he clarified that his bill wouldn’t apply to former presidents, including former President Barack Obama or President Joe Biden after November.

Scott also said he supported the state investigation on the assassination attempt and believes that federal prosecutors needed to be more transparent about details to avoid misinformation.

“Here’s a guy that’s now twice, in what 64 days, somebody tried to kill him,” Scott said. “This is not normal, and we’ve got to figure this out.”

Trump no longer visiting a Polish-American shrine in Pennsylvania

Donald Trump is no longer planning to visit a Polish-American shrine in Pennsylvania Sunday where he would have crossed paths with Polish President Andrzej Duda.

That’s according to a person familiar with Trump’s plans who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the trip, which had not been formally announced. It’s unclear why the change was made, but Trump will be in Pennsylvania Monday for a pair of campaign events in the critical battleground state.

Duda’s office has said he will attend a Roman Catholic Mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa followed by the unveiling of a monument to the anti-communist Solidarity movement.

He’ll be in the U.S. for the United Nations General Assembly happening in New York.

Trump’s campaign argues its case to Hispanic voters

Trump’s campaign is making its argument that Hispanic voters are better suited to pick the GOP nominee over Harris this November.

During a call held with reporters Thursday to mark National Hispanic Heritage Month, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said Harris “has tried to undo” Trump’s achievements that benefit Hispanic Americans and that the “world was just a safer and more stable place” under the Republican president’s administration.

Rubio cited Harris’ co-sponsorship while in the U.S. Senate of a bill aimed at making it easier for the Cuban military to benefit and profit from American tourism and “making all kinds of concessions to Venezuela.”

Trump’s campaign held the call to mark National Hispanic Heritage Month, an annual tradition that showcases the diversity and culture of Hispanic people. The month is celebrated each year from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

Rubio and former California Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado gave remarks on the call in both English and Spanish.

Immigration wasn’t a focus of Thursday’s call, but it has been a major line of contrast between Harris and Trump. Speaking at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s annual leadership conference on Wednesday, Harris criticized Trump’s promise to deport millions of people who are in the United States illegally, questioning whether he would rely on massive raids and detention camps to carry it out.

Trump has promised to carry out “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country” if he’s elected in November but has offered no details on how such an operation would work.

Kamala Harris steps up outreach to Mormon voters in battleground Arizona

Vice President Kamala Harris is stepping up her efforts to win over voters who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, enlisting prominent members of the faith to make the case in pivotal Arizona that Donald Trump does not align with the church’s values.

Her state campaign announced on Thursday an advisory committee to formalize the outreach to current and former members of the church, widely known as the Mormon church.

With nearly 450,000 church members in Arizona, about 6% of the state’s population, Latter-day Saints and former church members could prove critical in what will likely be an extremely close race.

Latter-day Saints have traditionally voted Republican and are likely to remain part of the GOP coalition. Clustered in solidly Republican states, they have long been a major force in GOP primaries and local politics across the West, but they have not held much sway in national elections. In 2020, about 7 in 10 Mormon voters nationally supported Trump, according to AP VoteCast, while about one-quarter backed Democrat Joe Biden.

Leaders of Democratic protest of Israel-Hamas war won’t endorse Harris but warn against Trump

Leaders of a Democratic protest vote movement against the Israel-Hamas war said Thursday that they would not endorse Vice President Kamala Harris ’ presidential bid but strongly urged their supporters to vote against Donald Trump in November.

The “Uncommitted” movement drew hundreds of thousands of votes in Democratic primaries earlier this year in protest of President Joe Biden ’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. The group’s leaders urged the administration to change its policy on the conflict, warning that some Democratic voters might otherwise abstain from voting in November, particularly in swing state Michigan.

Despite months of discussions with top Democratic officials, discontent within the protest-vote ranks only grew after the Democratic National Convention when they were denied a speaker on stage and other demands weren’t met.

Harris’ “unwillingness to shift on unconditional weapons policy or to even make a clear campaign statement in support of upholding existing U.S. and international human rights law has made it impossible for us to endorse her,” movement leaders said in a statement.

Group leaders also made clear in their statement that they strongly opposed supporters voting for Trump or a third-party candidate who “could help inadvertently deliver a Trump presidency.” Instead, they urged voters to register “anti-Trump votes and vote up and down the ballot.”

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