WorldYahoo News'A global conspiracy against God and humanity': Controversial Catholic archbishop pushes QAnon themes in letter to Trump
A controversial figure within the Roman Catholic Church made waves in the online world of QAnon Friday, after his open letter to President Trump was quoted in a post from the anonymous leader of the cultlike conspiracy movement. The letter by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, a former Vatican ambassador to the United States and outspoken adversary of Pope Francis, hit many of the favorite themes of the pro-Trump conspiracy theory, attacking its familiar villains, from the ominous “global elite” to Bill Gates and “the mainstream media.” “The fate of the whole world is being threatened by a global conspiracy against God and humanity,” Viganò wrote, emphasizing the “epochal importance of the imminent election,” casting Trump as “the final garrison against the world dictatorship” and his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, as “a person who is manipulated by the deep state.”
- WorldReuters
Qatar government says invasive searches of women at airport 'illegal actions'
Invasive searches on female passengers from 10 aircraft at Doha's Hamad airport violated standard procedures, a preliminary report by the Qatar government found, saying those responsible for the "illegal actions" have been referred to the public prosecution office. The incident on Oct. 2, involving at least 13 Australian women on a state-owned Qatar Airways flight who were forced to disembark, and undergo invasive physical examinations in ambulances, drew a strong reaction from Australia this week. The search was prompted by the discovery of an abandoned newborn in a bathroom at the airport, and Australia said it was awaiting a Qatari government report.
WorldAssociated PressMystery surrounds former Marine's imprisonment in Venezuela
MEDELLIN, Colombia (AP) — “Don't WORRY!,” reads the cryptic note scribbled on a scrap of perforated paper smuggled out of a dank, basement cellblock. The weeks-old message is all the family of Matthew Heath has to pin its hopes on since the former U.S. Marine corporal was arrested at a roadblock in Venezuela almost two months ago and accused by President Nicolás Maduro of being a terrorist and spying for Donald Trump. Nobody in the family or Trump administration has spoken to Heath.
PoliticsYahoo News 360Will the election be decided by the Supreme Court?
President Trump has made no secret of the role that the Supreme Court could play in helping him win reelection. After the death of liberal justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Trump argued that the Senate should move quickly to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy because she could be the deciding vote in a legal challenge that decides the election. In the early morning hours on Friday, he suggested that Joe Biden can only claim the presidency if the court signs off on what he called a “ridiculous win.”
U.S.The Daily BeastHurricane Zeta Knocks Out the South, Causing Pre-Election Panic
At least six people have died and at least 2 million are without power after Hurricane Zeta barreled through the South on Thursday evening, knocking out some early voting sites and sending state officials scrambling to pick up the pieces in time for Election Day. Zeta moved quickly after making landfall on the Louisiana coast as a Category 2 storm on Wednesday afternoon. It hit at least seven states, some of which were still recovering from earlier storms, and weakened to a post-tropical cyclone with “strong, damaging wind gusts” upwards of 50 mph by the following afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center.
WorldAssociated PressMalaysian PM's key ally demands early polls in new snag
The key ally in Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's coalition has called for general elections to be held to establish a stable government once the coronavirus pandemic subsides, in a new snag to his fragile hold on power. Muhyiddin, who took office in March, has only a two-seat majority in Parliament and is being challenged by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who recently alleged he has majority support of lawmakers to form a new government. The United Malays National Organization, the biggest party in Muhyiddin's government, reiterated support for his administration amid a spike in coronavirus cases but demanded polls to be held once the crisis abates.
U.S.INSIDERKyle Rittenhouse extradited to Wisconsin following terse ruling from Illinois judge accusing him of asking the court to 'ignore binding Illinois law'
Kyle Rittenhouse was extradited to Wisconsin after an Illinois judge rejected his legal challenge on Friday. The 17-year-old was charged with first-degree intentional homicide in August over the shooting of three people at anti-police-brutality protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse argued Wisconsin's request to extradite him from Illinois violated his constitutional rights, but the Illinois judge said it wasn't the court's place to rule on those issues, accusing him of asking the court to "ignore binding Illinois law."
- PoliticsFOX News Videos
Chris Wallace: Trump, Biden cannot win without these three states
'Fox News Sunday' host joins 'Bill Hemmer Reports' to discuss how early voting may impact the 2020 election
PoliticsThe Independent2020 polls: Shock poll puts Trump ahead in Pennsylvania and Michigan - prompting expert row
Positive polls placing Donald Trump ahead in Pennsylvania and Michigan has led to a fight over prediction accuracy among establishment and upstart pollsters. An exclusive poll for The Independent, meanwhile, found the majority of Americans believe Trump has harmed the standing of the US in the world. In Texas, Trump says he is “way ahead in Texas” despite opinion polling showing a statistical toss-up in the Lone Star State.
U.S.The Daily BeastVancouver Braces for Protests After Police Kill 21-Year-Old Black Man in Bank Parking Lot
Police in Vancouver, Washington, are bracing for a second night of protests after officers fatally shot a 21-year-old Black man in a bank parking lot Thursday night. Clark County sheriff's deputies shot and killed Kevin Peterson, Jr., 21, near a U.S. Bank just prior to 6 p.m. Thursday. Protesters gathered near the site of the shooting Thursday night, and mourners planned to gather at the site Friday night for a vigil.
WorldAssociated PressIndonesian leader condemns France attacks, Macron's comments
Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Saturday strongly condemned terrorist attacks in Paris and Nice and comments by French President Emmanuel Macron that were deemed offensive toward Islam and the global Muslim community. Widodo, the leader of the world's most populous Muslim nation, told a televised news conference from the presidential palace in the capital, Jakarta, that his government strongly condemns the recent vigilantism in France against a teacher who was beheaded near Paris and a knife attack at a church in Nice that killed three people.
PoliticsAssociated PressRoad to 270: Biden has options, Trump walks narrow path
President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden each has a path to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. Biden's is appreciably wider. The former vice president is competitive in all the battleground states Trump carried in 2016 and has put a handful of traditional Republican states, including Georgia and Arizona, in play.
WorldReutersProtesting Thai students boycott royal graduation day
Some students sympathetic to Thai protesters boycotted graduation ceremonies led by King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Friday in a show of anger at the monarchy amid growing calls to reform it. The ceremonies, at which the monarch personally hands out degrees, are a rite of passage for graduates and their families with photographs of the moment displayed with pride in many Thai homes. Suppanat Kingkaew, 23, said he was boycotting the ceremonies being held on Friday and Saturday at Thammasat University, long viewed as a hotbed of radicalism and scene of a massacre of pro-democracy protesters by royalist state forces in 1976.
U.S.Miami Herald‘I’m getting my money!’ Florida shopper denied refund returns with a crowbar, cops say
A Florida shopper wouldn't take no for an answer, and things got a little out of hand. According to a police report from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, Dahianna Serraty caused a scene at a Spectrum cable TV and cell[phone store in Orange City during lunchtime Tuesday. The third time the suspect entered the store she came back with a “long silver metal object,” which turned out to be a crowbar, according to the affidavit.
WorldBBCTyphoon Goni: Philippines braced for year's most powerful storm
Almost a million people have been evacuated from their homes in the Philippines as Typhoon Goni, the most powerful storm this year, approaches. Torrential rain and 215kph (133mph) winds are expected to hit the main island of Luzon on Sunday, passing over the capital Manila. Disaster response officials have warned to expect widespread damage.
PoliticsThe Daily BeastBiden Team Cancels Texas Event After Highway ‘Ambush’ by MAGA Cavalry
Joe Biden's presidential campaign canceled a Friday event in Austin, Texas, after harassment from a pro-Trump contingent. Texas has emerged as a battleground state in Tuesday's presidential election, with polls showing the typically Republican stronghold now only marginally favoring President Donald Trump. The Biden campaign scheduled a Friday event in the state, in a bid to drum up last-minute support.
WorldReutersBrazil will buy China COVID-19 vaccine, VP Mourão says, contradicting Bolsonaro
Brazil's government will "of course" buy a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine that is being tested in the country, Vice President Hamilton Mourão said on Friday, in the latest example of him contradicting President Jair Bolsonaro. Last week, Bolsonaro, a long-standing China critic, said the federal government would not buy a COVID-19 vaccine from China's Sinovac, one day after the health minister said that it would be included in the nation's immunization program. His comments thrust into the open a simmering debate over vaccine policy between the president and key governors, who have been exploring alternatives to the AstraZeneca vaccine the federal government has prioritized.
- WorldAssociated Press
Saudi man crashes car into gates of Mecca's Grand Mosque
A Saudi man in a speeding car crashed into the outer gates of Mecca's Grand Mosque late Friday night, the country's state-run news agency reported. The crash happened around 10:30 p.m. and saw the man's car ram through a barrier and keep driving until it hit the gate on the Grand Mosque's southern side, the Saudi Press Agency said. The Grand Mosque houses the cube-shaped Kaaba that observant Muslims pray toward five times a day.
U.S.Associated PressOfficial: Rifle shell casings found at Breonna Taylor scene
Two long-rifle shell casings were found in and near Breonna Taylor's Louisville apartment after a botched police drug raid that ended in Taylor's death, Kentucky's attorney general said. It's the first time these specific shell casings have been mentioned by authorities investigating Taylor's death. One of the casings was found by Taylor's sister in her bedroom and the other was found in the parking lot outside the apartment, according to a court filing this week in a criminal case against the sole Louisville police officer charged in connection with the raid.
PoliticsBusiness InsiderA government watchdog says White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows spent campaign funds on personal expenditures
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said in a complaint Friday that White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows allegedly misused campaign funds by spending them on personal expenditures. The watchdog group is urging the Federal Election Commission to investigate Meadows. The FEC prohibits candidates from using campaign funds for personal use.
PoliticsBBCTrump wall: How much has he actually built?
How much 'new wall' Trump has built is up for debate Any calculation of the miles of new wall constructed by Mr Trump and his administration depends very much on the definition of the words "new" and "wall". Before he took office, there were 654 miles (just over 1,000km) of barrier along the southern border - made up of 354 miles of barricades to stop pedestrians and 300 miles of anti-vehicle fencing. Now, according to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in its 6 October status report, the southern border has 669 miles of "primary barrier" - the first structure people heading from Mexico to the US will encounter - and 65 miles of "secondary barrier" - which usually runs behind the primary...
BusinessThe New York TimesCruise Ships Can Sail Again, With Strict Rules. Here's What to Know.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday lifted its “no sail” order on U.S. cruise ships and set out a framework for how cruising could restart. Under the new structure, cruise companies must demonstrate adherence to stringent health and safety protocols including extensive testing, quarantine measures and social distancing. If they meet these CDC standards, first on a series of crew-only test sailings, they will eventually be allowed to resume passenger excursions.
WorldAssociated PressAP Explains: Why France incites such anger in Muslim world
Many countries, especially in the democratic West, champion freedom of expression and allow publications that lampoon Islam's prophet. Its brutal colonial past, staunch secular policies and tough-talking president who is seen as insensitive toward the Muslim faith all play a role. As France steps up security and mourns three people killed in a knife attack at a church on Thursday – the latest of many attributed to Islamic extremists in recent years -- here's a look at some of the reasons the country is under fire.
- WorldReuters Videos
Muslims protest as Nice mourns church attack dead
France stepped up security nationwide against new Islamist attacks a day after the fatal stabbings at a church in Nice. Police overpowered a man in the French capital Paris on Friday (October 30) when he threatened officers with two knives. President Emmanuel Macron has deployed thousands of soldiers to protect sites such as places of worship and schools.
LifestyleBusiness InsiderA Kansas business magnate's secret collection of more than 130 antique cars hidden in barns just sold for $2.5 million — see 16 of the priciest vehicles
A massive collection of barn-find cars in Kansas just sold for roughly $2.5 million. The stash of more than 130 cars belonged to businessman and inventor Bob Regehr, who kept the collection hidden away for close to three decades. Some of the most expensive cars from the collection include a 1979 Ferrari 308 GTS, a 1969 Chevy Camaro, and a 1953 Buick Skylark.
“Many are longtime Republicans wrestling with what they see as a choice between two lousy candidates.”
“Some undecideds turn out to be people who’ve long felt alienated from the two big political parties.”
“They’re not following the 24-hour news cycle. The election and politics are just not a high priority.”
“One common trait: at this stage of the game, the undecided voter doesn’t fit into an easy political profile.”
“More realistically...these voters may not be motivated to vote at all in the 2020 election.”