Hiliary Clinton or Trumph who gets the big job

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton made last ditch efforts yesterday to win votes ahead of today's United States Presidential election.

Americans go to the polls to elect the President. No fewer than 43 million people have already cast their ballot in the early voting.

Yesterday, Trump, the Republican nominee, began his day in the Southeast, stopping in Florida and North Carolina, then heading north to Pennsylvania and joining his running mate, Mike Pence, for two events in New Hampshire and Michigan.

By the end of the day, Trump had held five events in five states in 12 hours.

Democratic candidate Clinton started her trip in Pittsburgh, then stopped in Michigan before returning to Pennsylvania. The Democratic nominee brought out the big guns by having President Barack Obama campaigning for her in Philadelphia.

Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi performed at Clinton's event, described as "closing argument." She ended her night with a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The former secretary of state is seeking to capitalise on Sunday's news that the FBI's latest review of Clinton-related emails did not result in evidence that would change its recommendation that no charges be filed against her.

Besides the event with Clinton in Philadelphia, Obama was in Michigan and New Hampshire..

Trump's path to victory isn't clear and isn't set, but the Republican presidential nominee and his team had been working to ensure he had multiple pathways to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to win.

One route he has been working toward includes states such as Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. Of the three, Michigan was the most recent to vote Republican, but that was back in 1988.

Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said on winning one of those states would be a tipping point for Trump to achieve victory.

"It would be one of those upper Midwest states -like a Michigan or Wisconsin, Minnesota - and/or one of those Rocky Mountain states. So we've had our eye for awhile on bringing back these states that have voted Republican in the nonpresidential years and where the poll numbers have been tightening and where we've at least been able to be semi-competitive on the air and on the ground with the Clinton campaign," she said.

Two key states not mentioned by Conway -Florida and Pennsylvania - are going to be factors as well.

The Sunshine State is something of a golden ticket for each of the presidential candidates in that winning Florida's 29 Electoral College votes makes the other's path to victory more difficult.

In Trump's case, if Clinton wins Florida, he could still get to 270 electoral votes by winning in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. But if he were to lose both Florida and Pennsylvania, he would have to win Nevada, Iowa and Colorado to make up for it. That all has to happen with Trump holding on to North Carolina and Georgia - which GOP nominee Mitt Romney won in 2012 - while also taking Ohio.

But a lot of variables are at play in these possible routes: Nevada is expected to go blue, as is Colorado, and close races are expected in New Hampshire, North Carolina, and the perpetual swing state of Ohio.

On Tuesday, millions of women will vote for the first woman to run as the nominee of a major political party.

The race has tightened over the last 10-14 days. That tightening is reflected in new CNN "Road to 270" map.

The latest snapshot of the Electoral College map heading into the final days is a little more favourable to Trump, but Clinton still holds a clear advantage.

This is not a prediction of where the map will end up on Tuesday night when the votes are counted, it is simply a snapshot heading into the homestretch.

Solid Republican:

Alabama (9), Alaska (3), Arkansas (6), Idaho (4), Indiana (11), Kansas (6), Kentucky (8), Louisiana (8), Mississippi (6), Missouri (10), Montana (3), Nebraska (4), North Dakota (3), Oklahoma (7), South Carolina (9), South Dakota (3), Tennessee (11), Texas (38), West Virginia (5), Wyoming (3) (157 total)

Leans Republican:

Georgia (16), Iowa (6), Maine 2nd Congressional District (1), Ohio (18), Utah (6) (47 total)

Battleground states:

Arizona (11), Florida (29), Nevada (6), Nebraska 2nd Congressional District (1), New Hampshire (4), North Carolina (15), (66 total)

Leans Democratic:

Colorado (9), Michigan (16), Pennsylvania (20), Virginia (13), Wisconsin (10), (68 total)

Solid Democratic:

California (55), Connecticut (7), Delaware (3), DC (3), Hawaii (4), Illinois (20), Maine (3), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (11), New Jersey (14), New York (29), Oregon (7), Rhode Island (4), Vermont (3), Washington (12), Minnesota (10), New Mexico (5) (200 total

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Timing of FBI's Clinton announcement draws criticism

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Saturday called the timing of the FBI's announcement that it was assessing new evidence in her email case "unprecedented" and "deeply troubling."

At a campaign appearance in Daytona Beach, Florida, Clinton told her audience, "It's pretty strange to put something like that out with such little information, right before an election."

Clinton later added, "We can't let this election, in the last 10 days, be about the noise and the distractions. It's got to be about what kind of country we want for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren."

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton waves while visiting a homecoming game for Bethune-Cookman University Wildcats in Daytona Beach, Fla., Oct. 29, 2016, on her way to a rally.
FBI Director James Comey said in a letter to lawmakers Friday that new emails had surfaced that were related to Clinton's case. He made the statement despite an FBI tradition of avoiding controversial actions in the days leading up to an election.

Reports Saturday said U.S. Justice Department officials warned Comey that notifying Congress about the new material was not consistent with department practices. Accordingly, Comey sent a letter to FBI staffers, explaining the reason behind his unorthodox move.

"We don't ordinarily tell Congress about ongoing investigations," he said, "but here I feel an obligation to do so, given that I testified repeatedly in recent months that our investigation was completed. I also think it would be misleading to the American people were we not to supplement the record."

Influencing the race

The FBI announcement sparked criticism that the agency was intervening in the U.S. presidential race. While the emails have been detected, The New York Times reported that law enforcement agents have to get a court order to actually read them, a process that would certainly not be finished before Election Day.


Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday called this latest wrinkle in the email case "the lowest point in the history of our country."

Trump spoke at a campaign event in the swing state of Colorado, saying, "A vote for Hillary is a vote to surrender our government to public corruption, graft and cronyism that threatens the very foundations of our constitutional system." He vowed that on Election Day, November 8, "we're going to change things."

Political scientist Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute told VOA that the timing of Comey's announcement was "stunning."

"Clearly, there's no urgency in this matter," he said. "It's not going to be, very likely, sorted out for months. It doesn't seem, on the surface, to involve anything deeply nefarious. ... If you are going to announce it 11 days before the election, you have a deep obligation to be more forthcoming."

Far-reaching implications

Political historian Allan Lichtman said Saturday that Comey might have made the announcement to protect his own credibility, but that the results of his act reached far beyond the personal.

"The tragedy here is, to save himself [from allegations that he hid new evidence], he has significantly biased a presidential election that is vastly more important," Lichtman told VOA. "This is going to set the course for the future of the country, not just over the next four years, but perhaps over the next generation. ... He has no business doing this."

FILE - FBI Director James Comey is sworn in before a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., July 7, 2016. Comey's announcement that authorities were again looking into Clinton's email practices sparked criticism that his agency was intervening in the U.S. presidential race.
Lichtman, who is known for his accuracy in predicting U.S. election outcomes, would not speculate on whether the development would sway Clinton voters. He said the Clinton campaign had probably done the only thing it could do in response, which was to call for the release of all information about the case. Clinton made that call Friday, noting that "even Director Comey noted that this new information may not be significant, so let's get it out."

"How do you respond to something that's so vague?" Lichtman said of Comey's announcement. "It may be that there's nothing there of any consequence, but we don't know and you can't draw any conclusions from the FBI letter."

Lichtman also noted that the FBI had been unusually forthcoming on the Clinton case, while staying tight-lipped on allegations that Russia might be trying to influence U.S. elections by hacking into computer systems.

'Political act' by Comey

Jason Johnson, a professor of political science and communications at Morgan State University in Maryland, told VOA he thought Comey was attempting to influence the election.

"It is impossible to separate what this announcement is from a political act," Johnson said. "It is clearly an act on the part of the FBI director to have some impact on the presidential campaign. There is something to be said about caution, about discretion."

FILE - New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner, left, listens as his wife, Huma Abedin, speaks during a news conference at the Gay Men's Health Crisis headquarters, July 23, 2013, in New York. FBI investigators found emails related to Hillary Clinton while investigating a "sexting" case against Weiner.
Reports Friday revealed that FBI agents discovered the new emails during an investigation of former U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner of New York, who is separated from top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. The emails were reported to have been found on a computer used jointly by Abedin and Weiner.

Weiner is under a separate FBI investigation for allegedly "sexting" with a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina, a crime that falls under FBI jurisdiction because it took place across state lines. The age of consent in North Carolina is 16; in New York, it is 17.

Republicans rejoice

Republican Party leaders were rejoicing in what they saw as validation of their repeated complaints about Clinton's practice of handling government emails in a nonstandard fashion.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus tweeted Friday, "With FBI reopening criminal investigation, Democrats on the ballot must now be asked whether or not they still support @HillaryClinton."

He also tweeted, "This development raises serious ?s about what records may not have been turned over & why, & whether they show intent to violate the law."

Senator Charles Grassley, a Republican campaigning for re-election in Iowa, told reporters Friday that the email server had been "a real problem for the Clintons." Although he was one of the addressees on the FBI letter, Grassley said it was not the result of any request from him to Comey.

WATCH: Democrat Clinton Calls Timing of FBI Email Probe 'Strange'

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, a ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Friday that she was "shocked" to read Comey's letter.

"Without knowing how many emails are involved, who wrote them, when they were written or their subject matter, it's impossible to make any informed judgment on this development," she said. She also noted the FBI's tradition of avoiding moves that might influence the upcoming election. "Today's break from that tradition is appalling," she said.

Clinton has said she used the private server rather than a more secure government server because it was more convenient for her. Critics say she was trying to shield her communications from the Freedom of Information Act.

Although classified information turned up in email stored on her personal server, which authorities said was vulnerable to hacking, there was no evidence she shared it with unauthorized parties on purpose and tried to cover that up.

Jesusemen Oni and Elizabeth Chernoff contributed to this report.

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US abstain from UN vote on Cuba embargo

For the first time, the United States has abstained from a U.N. resolution urging the lifting of Washington’s nearly 60-year old economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba.

For the past 25 years, the U.N. General Assembly has held a symbolic annual vote calling for an end to the sanctions, which was imposed during the Cold War. Last year, the international community was nearly unanimous in its call, with only the United States and Israel voting against lifting the embargo. This year both nations abstained.

The United States has always voted against this resolution,” U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told the General Assembly ahead of the vote. “Today the United States will abstain.”

​

Failed policy

She said the shift is because the policy is not working.

“Instead of isolating Cuba, as President Obama has repeatedly said, our policy isolated the United States -- including here at the United Nations,” Power said.

But she said that abstaining does not mean that the United States agrees with all of the policies and practices of the Cuban government, particularly on human rights.

Nor does it mean Washington agrees with states who say the U.S. actions are contrary to international law and the U.N. Charter. “We categorically reject the statements in the resolution that suggest otherwise,” she said of the General Assembly measure.

Dagoberto Rodriguez, Cuba's ambassador in Mexico, takes part with members of the Mexico-Cuba Friendship Group of the Chamber of Deputies during a demonstration against the trade embargo on Cuba by the U.S.
Cuba welcomes abstention

Cuba’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, welcomed the abstention, saying it is a positive step for the future of relations between the two countries, but that the U.S. needs to go further.

“Lifting the blockade is the key to be able to advance towards the normalization of relations with the United States; it is what will give some meaning, depth and soundness to what has been achieved so far,” he said.

He said executive measures have been positive, but had very limited “scope and effect” and he urged the loosening of controls on telecommunications, banking and other sectors. He said over the last six decades the embargo has cost Cuba some $125 billion in economic and development damages.

Most member states denounced the blockade as against international law and the principles of the U.N. Charter.

“It is our firm belief that differences between states should be settled through engagement, not confrontation, and by inclusion, not isolation,” said Singapore’s Ambassador Burhan Gafoor, speaking for ASEAN countries.

Member states welcome thaw

Member states also welcomed the thaw in relations between the two nations.

“The renewal of relations between these two neighbors signals a new era of engagement for both countries,” said Jamaican Ambassador Courtenay Rattray on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

In the nearly two years since President Barack Obama ordered full restoration of diplomatic relations with the island nation, the two countries have reopened embassies in the other country, direct flights have been resumed, and travel restrictions eased.

Earlier this month, the U.S. lifted its prohibition on travelers bringing Cuban cigars and rum into the country, but exports of those products to the U.S. continues to be illegal.

In March 2016, President Obama made an historic visit to Cuba, marking a milestone in the normalization of relations between the two nations, but only the currently Republican-held U.S. Congress can lift the 56-year old embargo.

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Trump promote his Brand as he runs for white House

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump staked his claim Wednesday to a home on Washington's fabled Pennsylvania Avenue, cutting the ribbon to officially open his new luxury hotel, even as he continues his campaign to move into the White House a few blocks away.

Trailing Democrat Hillary Clinton in the national polls 13 days ahead of the November 8 election, the real estate mogul has spent valuable campaign time this week promoting his personal brand.  He started an online Trump TV newscast with campaign workers serving as television anchors on Monday and promoted one of his posh golf resorts in Florida on Tuesday, while posing for pictures with the staff that works there.

The Trump International Hotel in downtown Washington has been open since September and he already has visited the site three other times during the long 2016 campaign.  It is a short walk from the White House, which Trump hopes to take over when President Barack Obama leaves office January 20.

He said that his newest property, "with the notable exception of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," the White House address, "is the most coveted piece of real estate in Washington, the best location."

Trump said his company's transformation of the Old Post Office into the hotel contrasts to government projects that he said "are always over budget, behind schedule and simply nothing works."


Critics question endorsement

Some Trump critics questioned his trip to Washington, where he has virtually no chance of winning the city's three electoral votes, and with time dwindling in his effort to overtake Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state looking to become the country's first female president.  But Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway rebuffed complaints about the political strategy behind Trump's appearance at the hotel.

“He’s making a pit stop here in Washington and his under-budget, ahead-of-schedule hotel is really remarkable," Conway told NBC's Today show. "It shows Americans the tangible accomplishments of Donald Trump.  He’s somebody who builds things.  He’s somebody who fixes things."

"And you know, respectfully, Hillary Clinton has time to go to an Adele concert and everybody thinks that's really cool," Conway said.  "Donald Trump stops off to unveil just an incredible, stunning piece of architecture, new hotel, first-class hotel and everybody's hair is on fire.”

Clinton in Florida

Clinton, campaigning in the key battleground election state of Florida, went to the Adele concert Tuesday, where the pop artist endorsed her candidacy even as she acknowledged she can't vote for her because she is a British citizen.

Clinton is in Florida again on Wednesday, her 69th birthday.  The 70-year-old Trump spent two days this week visiting seven cities in the state.

He acknowledged he has almost no chance of winning the election if he does not carry Florida, where 29 electoral votes are at stake.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton smiles as Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks during a campaign event at the Taylor Allderdice High School, Oct. 22, 2016, in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Battleground states

The U.S. elects its presidents through contests in each of the 50 states and the national capital, Washington, with the most populous states, Florida among them, having the biggest influence on the outcome, rather than through a national popular vote. An average of recent polls in the state shows her with a 1.6-percentage-point edge, but the most recent survey has Trump ahead by 2 percent.

The overall national winner needs a majority of 270 electoral votes in the 538-member electoral college.  At the moment, numerous polling analysts say Clinton has enough of an electoral college cushion to claim the presidency.  But several state contests are close, with Trump in striking range of overtaking her in key states that could yet overturn Clinton's expected victory.

Her national polling edge over Trump has slipped in recent days to about four percentage points, about two points closer than it had been, and some of the state-by-state contests have narrowed, too.

But Trump continues to face resistance to his campaign from Republicans who normally have supported their party's presidential nominees.

Esha Sarai contributed to this report from Trump International Hotel

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Two women convicted in USA of financing Somali group al-shabab

Two women who U.S. prosecutors say led an online group in raising money to support the Somali insurgent group al-Shabab were convicted by a federal judge Tuesday following a trial in U.S. District Court in Virginia.

Muna Osman Jama, 36, and Hinda Osman Dhirane, 46, were found guilty of organizing the so-called Group of Fifteen women from eight countries that helped finance al-Shabab military operations and safehouses in Somalia and Kenya, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Eastern Virginia.

"These women funneled money to a terrorist organization which was conducting a violent insurgency campaign in Somalia," U.S. Attorney Dana Boente said in a written statement.

FILE - Kenya Defense Forces soldiers take their position at the Westgate shopping center on the fourth day since al-Shabab militants stormed into the mall in Nairobi, Sept. 24, 2013.
"National security is the top priority in this office and we will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those who provide material support to terrorists," Boente said.

It was not clear who represented the two women in the proceedings.

Prosecutors said Jama and Dhirane sent the money they raised through the chat room to financiers of al-Shabab in Somalia and Kenya, referred to as the "Hargeisa side" and the "Nairobi side," respectively.

Jama, of Reston, Virginia, and Dhirane, of Kent, Washington, were arrested in July 2014, along with a third woman, Farhia Hassan, who was taken into custody in the Netherlands.

At the time of those arrests, two other women accused of being involved in the operation, Fardowsa Jama Mohamed and Barira Hassan Abdullahi, were named as fugitives.

The Group of Fifteen included women from Somalia, Kenya, Egypt, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Canada, as well as Minneapolis, according to evidence at trial.

FILE - Medical workers aid injured people at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion, April 15, 2013.
Prosecutors said recorded calls between the Group of Fifteen showed that they had close contacts with al-Shabab leadership and that its members were heard laughing about 2013 attacks on the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi and the Boston Marathon.

Jama and Dhirane were each convicted of conspiracy and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization and face a maximum of 15 years in prison when they are sentenced in January.

Al-Shabab, which once ruled much of Somalia, wants to topple the Western-backed government and drive out African AMISOM peacekeepers made up of soldiers from Kenya, Djibouti, Uganda, Ethiopia and other African nations.

On Tuesday the group claimed credit for ramming a military base with a suicide truck bomb, shooting dead an intelligence officer and killing 12 people in a Kenyan border town in a series of strikes over 24 hours.

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Obama travels to Greece, Germany and peru after election day

President Barack Obama will travel to Europe and Latin America the week after the presidential election. It's expected to be his last major foreign trip before he leaves office in January.

The White House says Obama will arrive in Greece on Nov. 15 to meet with President Procopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Obama plans to discuss Greece's economic situation and the refugee crisis in Europe.

Obama heads to Germany on Nov. 17 to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel on trade, Ukraine, Syria and the Islamic State group. It's Obama's sixth visit to Germany as president. While in Germany, Obama and Merkel will also meet with the French, British and Italian leaders.

Obama will travel on Nov. 18 to Peru for a previously announced Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

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poll find Clinton leading Nationally and in key States

In U.S. presidential politics, not all states are treated equally. In the final days before the November 8 election, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump are focused on a small handful of so called “battleground” or “swing” states that will determine who will be the next president of the United States. About two-thirds of the 50 states generally lean toward one party or the other, leaving a dozen or so states that are up for grabs every four years.

The U.S. elects a president through the state-by-state accumulation of votes through the Electoral College, where the candidate who wins the popular vote in a given state is then awarded all of that state’s electoral votes. There are two minor exceptions in Maine and Nebraska where some of the electoral votes are awarded by congressional district.

In the final days of the campaign, Clinton and Trump repeatedly target the same handful of states, which is why both White House hopefuls are making frequent visits to Ohio, Florida and North Carolina and small groups of other states that loom pivotal on election day.


Red, blue and swing states

For several years the United States has been sharply divided politically, with many states in presidential elections leaning toward one party or the other. “In many states, one party has a very big lead and there is no sense in spending a lot of resources at the presidential level in that state,” said Georgetown University analyst Stephen Wayne.

That leaves about a dozen so-called “battleground” or “swing” states where Trump and Clinton spend most of their time, said George Mason University expert Jeremy Mayer. “In the modern presidential campaign, you run campaigns only in about 12 states. The list can change from year to year, although in the last three election cycles, it is fairly stable.”

The swing states that get the most attention include large states like Florida, Ohio and Colorado, as well as smaller ones like North Carolina, Virginia, Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire. And Mayer adds voters in those states get the brunt of the political ad blitz. “It makes those 12 states really the targets of this whole election discourse. So both campaigns in a normal year would have massive ground operations, would have endless TV ads and would be phone-calling and robot-calling voters in those 12 states.”

This year, the Clinton campaign is trying to make history by expanding the competitive map to historically Republican states like Arizona, Georgia and even Texas. Polls show a fairly close race in Arizona in particular and Clinton is within striking distance in both Georgia and Texas. Arizona last voted for a Democrat in 1996 and Texas supported Democrat Jimmy Carter back in 1976.

WATCH: Swing states explained



Democrats' electoral advantage

Since the 1992 election won by Bill Clinton, Democrats have been able to count on winning 18 states plus the District of Columbia, with a combined total of 242 electoral votes. Remember, it takes 270 out of the 538 electoral votes to win the presidency.

Republicans, on the other hand, have been able to count on 13 mostly smaller states with a combined electoral vote total of just 102. The remainder are the so-called “battleground” states where the election outcome is usually decided.

Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton cheer for a television camera as they wait for a rally to begin where Clinton and former vice president Al Gore will speak, Oct. 11, 2016, in Miami.
Clinton’s battleground edge

This year, Hillary Clinton and the Democrats appear to have a decided advantage with Clinton leading in key states like Colorado, New Hampshire and Virginia and battling Trump in close races in Florida, North Carolina and Ohio.

This year’s Electoral map has put Trump at a disadvantage, said American University analyst Austin Hart. “He’s got to win voters in Florida, Ohio, perhaps Colorado and Nevada. He’s got to shore up things in Pennsylvania if he can. So he has a heavy load in front of him.”

Most of the scenarios that would project a Trump victory involve him winning most of the swing states up for grabs including Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and even Pennsylvania, which has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988.

Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump cheer during a campaign rally, Oct. 24, 2016, in Tampa, Fla.
Declining white vote

Changing demographics also loom as a growing challenge for Republicans. White voters are likely to make up about 70 percent of all voters in those year’s election, as the country continues to diversify. In 1980, whites made up 88 percent of the electorate. The Cook Political Report also notes that in 1980, Republican Ronald Reagan won 56 percent of white voters and won in a landslide. In 2012, Republican Mitt Romney improved on that number. He won 59 percent of white voters, but lost to President Barack Obama by four points overall.

Republican strategist John Feehery sees the two parties headed in different directions. “It is a liberal, progressive party of coalitions, ethnic coalitions. And the Republican Party is a coalition of basically white voters of various stripes of conservatism.”

Targeting undecideds

In the final days of the campaign, the candidates will target a relatively small group of voters in a handful of states where the election hangs in the balance. “The question is now that sliver of independents,” said American University analyst Jennifer Lawless. “But it’s not only the sliver of independents. It’s smaller than that. It’s the sliver of independents who live in battleground states. So we are talking about a very, very small percentage of the population.”

Americans are now making a final decision between two flawed candidates in one of the most divisive elections in U.S. history, and the focus remains on a handful of states that will likely determine the outcome.

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Florida in focus for US presidential candidates two weeks before election

  U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are focusing their campaigning efforts Tuesday on the state of Florida, which will play a big role in two weeks when the majority of American voters decide which of them will be the country's next leader.

It takes 270 electoral college votes to clinch the presidency, and under the system that gives greater weight to more populous states, the winner of Florida gets 29 electoral votes.  The most recent polls show Democratic candidate Clinton leading her Republican rival Trump by about four points in Florida.

Trump was already in the state on Monday, including at an event in Tampa where he declared he will not only win Florida, but also the national vote.  He cast the election as a rare chance to vote against political elites.

"Our campaign represents the kind of change that only arrives once in a lifetime," Trump said.  "This is once in a lifetime.  This is our last chance.  In four years, it's not going to happen.  You got to get out and vote."

He also rejected a frequent Clinton line of attack questioning Trump's ties to Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin.  Clinton said during last week's final debate the Republican candidate is "willing to spout the Putin line, sign up for his wish list, break up NATO, do whatever he wants to do."

Trump said Monday his opponent connects him with Russia "all the time."

"And they say such bad things about Putin and then they're supposed to negotiate with Putin?  Why would he do this?  Folks, we're run by people who are not smart people," he said.

Clinton spent Monday in the northeastern state of New Hampshire, where she once again questioned whether Trump is capable of leading the country.  Her criticism included Trump's comments about the military offensive in Mosul, Iraq, saying his criticisms amount to "declaring defeat before the battle has even started."

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a campaign event at University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Oct. 23, 2016.
"He's proving to the world what it means to have an unqualified commander in chief," she said.

Trump also accused Democrats of making up phony polls to deflate his support and make it look like Clinton is ahead.

"They are phony polls, put out by phony media, trying to suppress our vote," Trump told several dozen farmers in Florida.

Earlier, Trump, exhorted his supporters on Twitter, telling them, "We are winning and the press is refusing to report it. Don't let them fool you - get out and vote!"

Trump produced no evidence about fake media polls. A collection of national surveys show him trailing Clinton by about six percentage points or more.  One major poll, released Sunday by ABC News, said its interviews with voters showed Clinton surging in recent days to a 50-38 percent lead, while polling analysts give her about a nine-in-10 chance of becoming the country's 45th president.

Clinton says she will ignore Trump's taunts against her that she is corrupt and unfit to be the U.S. leader and instead focus on helping elect Democratic lawmakers to the Senate and House of Representatives to support her legislative agenda.

President Barack Obama, a staunch Clinton supporter, campaigned Monday for Democrats in close House and Senate races. He argued against the Republicans' pitch that voters should keep the Congress Republican to provide a check on Clinton's agenda should she win.

"It is really important that we push back and defeat this argument that somehow the duly elected president of the United States should simply be blocked from doing anything by the opposition party,'' Obama told donors at a fundraiser in San Diego.

VOA reports..............

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Retired US general admits leaking top-secret info to media

The former vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff pled guilty in federal court Monday, admitting he lied to the FBI when questioned about whether he provided two journalists with top secret information in 2012, CNN reports.

Retired four-star Gen. James Cartwright sat quietly with his attorney, former White House Counsel Gregory Craig, as Assistant US Attorney Leo J. Wise described the facts underlying the single charge of making false statements to federal investigators.

Cartwright, who became vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2007, signed more than 36 non-disclosure agreements related to Department of Defense programs during his tenure, the government said. Cartwright retired in 2011, but kept his top secret security clearance.

After his retirement, Cartwright again signed a "Classified Information Non-Disclosure Agreement," which included warnings "that unauthorized disclosure . by me could cause damage or irreparable injury to the United States or could be used to advantage by a foreign nation," according to the government's court filing detailing the charge against him.

In 2012, investigators showed Cartwright classified information, including top-secret information, in a book by David Sanger, a national security correspondent for The New York Times, but Cartwright denied providing the material to Sanger, the government said. The government did not reveal the title of Sanger's book. He has written two books on US foreign policy, the second of which was published in 2012 and titled, "Confront and Conceal: Obama's Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power."

Cartwright similarly told investigators that he had not provided classified information to Daniel Klaidman, then at Newsweek.

"So you are pleading guilty because you are, in fact, guilty?" asked US District Court Judge Leon.

"Yes, sir," Cartwright answered.

As CNN has previously reported, Cartwright has been under federal investigation for providing classified information to reporters since 2013.

While the charge of making false statements to federal investigators carries a five-year maximum sentence, Cartwright's plea agreement states that he should face no more than six months in prison.

Cartwright's sentencing hearing is set for January 17, 2017.



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Obama rebuked Trump for rigged election claim

United States President Barack Obama rebuked Donald Trump on Tuesday for claiming that the November presidential election is rigged against him, saying the Republican contender ought to "stop whining" and make his case to voters that he should win, the VOA reports.

"I have never seen in my lifetime or in modern political history any presidential candidate trying to discredit the elections and the election process before votes have even taken place," Obama said at a White House news conference. "It's unprecedented. It happens to be based on no facts."

As he has fallen behind in national polls against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, Trump has recently questioned the legitimacy of the election.

The brash real estate tycoon making his first run for elected office has contended, without presenting any evidence, that vote fraud is occurring as some states conduct early voting and that more would happen on Election Day, November 8.

He says the election is rigged, with the national news media conspiring with Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, to make her the country's first female president.

"I'd advise Mr. Trump to stop whining and go try to make his case to get votes," Obama said. "And if he got the most votes, it would be my expectation of Hillary Clinton to offer a gracious concession speech and pledge to work with him in order to make sure that the American people benefit from an effective government. And it would be my job to welcome Mr. Trump, regardless of what he's said about me, or my differences with him or my opinions and escort him over to the Capitol in which there would be a peaceful transfer of power. That's what Americans do."

Obama, who leaves office in January after two terms in office, said, "There is no serious person out there who would suggest somehow that you could even rig America's elections, in part because they're so decentralized and the numbers of votes involved."

There's no evidence that that has happened in the past or that there are instances in which that will happen this time."

He told Trump, "You start whining before the game's even over. If whenever things are going badly for you and you lose, you start to blaming somebody else, then you don't have what it takes to be in this job."

There is scant evidence of vote fraud in United States elections, with one study saying there were only 31 instances of voter impersonation from 2000 to 2014, a period in which one billion votes were cast in a long list of elections.

Obama, a staunch Clinton supporter, also criticized Trump's praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Obama said Trump's "flattery" of the Russian leader is "unprecedented in American politics.

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North Dakota pipeline-: US journalist amy Goodman faced riot charge

 UNITED States journalist Amy Goodman is facing charges of participating in a "riot" after filming Native American-led protests over an oil pipeline in North Dakota. The Democracy Now! Reporter said she would surrender to authorities on Monday in response to the charge. District Judge John Grinsteiner will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to support the riot charge, BBC stated. Ms Goodman filmed the crackdown on protesters by authorities last month. "I wasn't trespassing, I wasn't engaging in a riot, I was doing my job as a journalist by covering a violent attack on Native American protesters," Ms Goodman said. The charge relates to her Democracy Now! coverage of the protests against the Dakota Access pipeline on 3 September. Earlier this month US actress Shailene Woodley was arrested at a construction site for broadcasting the North Dakota protests on Facebook. The video by the Divergent star was viewed more than 2.4 million times on social media within hours of being posted. The Dakota Access oil pipeline project, which will cross four states, has drawn huge protests. Native Americans have halted its construction in North Dakota, saying it will desecrate sacred land and damage the environment.  

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FBI Pressurized to unclassified Hiliary clinton's unclassified Email report

 Under secretary of State Patrick Kennedy pressured the FBI to unclassify certain emails from Hillary Clinton's private server that were previously deemed classified, according to FBI documents released on Monday that cited redacted sources. In the documents, Reuters said an unnamed person interviewed by the FBI said Kennedy contacted the FBI to ask for the change in classification in "exchange for a 'quid pro quo.'" Whether or not Clinton sent classified emails from her private server that could have jeopardized national security has become a key issue ahead of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 8, when Clinton will face Republican nominee Donald Trump. 

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USA accuses Russia of trying to interfere with 2016 Election.

 The Obama administration said it was "confident" that Russia was behind recent hackings of emails about upcoming US elections in an attempt to interfere with the process. The announcement marks the first time the US administration has officially accused Russia of hacking into US political systems. Earlier in the week, the two countries broke off formal talks about a ceasefire in Syria. "We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only Russia's senior-most officials could have authorized these activities," the Department of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a joint statement. "The recent disclosures of alleged hacked emails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer 2.0 online persona are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts," the statement added. "These thefts and disclosures are intended to interfere with the US election process. Such activity is not new to Moscow the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there." The announcement was referring to the breach of Democratic National Committee emails and the sites of other Democratic Party-linked organizations disclosed over the summer. Officials told CNN that Friday's announcement follows long deliberations within the Obama administration as to whether and when to take this step. They have had confidence on the assessment for some time, with the only question being whether to go public. Previously law enforcement and intelligence officials had pointed to Russia anonymously, with lawmakers among the few to go on record accusing Moscow of being behind the intrusions. Russia, however, rejected the US accusations. "This is some kind of nonsense again," said Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the state-run Interfax News Agency. He added, "Putin's website is attacked daily by several tens of hackers. Many of the attacks are traced to US territory.  

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US presidential election will be rigged, Trump claims

 Republican candidate Donald Trump said on Monday he expected widespread voter fraud in the Nov. 8 United States presidential election, ramping up his warning of a rigged election without providing any evidence and despite numerous studies that show the electoral system is sound. Trump has tried to whip up fears of a flawed election as he has fallen back in opinion polls against Democrat Hillary Clinton. He is also strongly denying allegations from multiple women that he has sexually assaulted or otherwise behaved inappropriately with them. "Of course there is large scale voter fraud happening on and before election day. Why do Republican leaders deny what is going on? So naive!" Trump said on Twitter on Monday. Trump, a New York businessman making his first run for public office, has worried a number of Republicans over his allegations of election fraud. Some of them have urged him publicly to show proof or drop the assertions. Early voting and voting by mail have begun in many states. While Trump's vice presidential running mate, Mike Pence, and his campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, have tried to reshape the candidate's comments as being aimed at an unfair news media, Trump's own words have targeted the legitimacy of the election system. Even after Pence said in a televised interview on Sunday that Trump would accept the results of next month's election, Trump tweeted that the "election is absolutely being rigged by the dishonest and distorted media pushing Crooked Hillary - but also at many polling places - SAD." Trump has tried to portray Clinton, a former U.S. senator and secretary of state, as a corrupt lifelong politician who is vested in preserving the status quo. His campaign pounced on the release Monday of FBI documents that cited an FBI official as saying a senior State Department official sought to pressure the bureau in 2015 to drop its insistence that an email from Clinton's private server contained classified information. Clinton's decision to use a private server while secretary of state from 2009-13 has drawn criticism that she was careless with national security. Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook told reporters that Trump's assault on the voting system was an act of desperation. "He knows he's losing and is trying to blame that on the system. This is what losers do," Mook told reporters. "It's not true. The system is not rigged." The RealClearPolitics average of national opinion polls put Clinton currently leading Trump by 5.5 percentage points, at 47.7 percent support to his 42.5 percent. Trump's campaign has been struggling with sexual misconduct allegations from several women since a 2005 videotape emerged on Oct. 7 showing him boasting about groping and making other unwanted sexual advances on women. "Can't believe these totally phony stories, 100% made up by women (many already proven false) and pushed big time by press, have impact!" Trump said in another Twitter post on Monday. Trump has repeatedly denied the allegations but has not provided any proof they are false. On Sunday, night Trump blamed "animals representing Hillary Clinton" and Democrats in North Carolina for an overnight attack on a local Republican Party headquarters in Hillsborough. Local, state and federal investigators were sifting through evidence on Monday, trying to narrow the time frame of the incident and looking for clues about who was behind the attack.  

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US election-: Top house speaker paul Ryan said he won't defend trump

House Speaker Paul Ryan dealt his own party's presidential nominee a withering blow Monday, telling fellow Republicans he will no longer defend Donald Trump and will instead use the next 29 days to focus on preserving his party's hold on Congress.

"The speaker is going to spend the next month focused entirely on protecting our congressional majorities," Ryan's spokeswoman, AshLee Strong, said in a statement.

CNN reported that the move highly unusual in US political history laid bare the seemingly intractable divisions now seizing the Republican Party with a month left before the presidential vote. Support for Trump among the GOP establishment, already weak amid disagreements over policy and tone, has now eroded to new lows.

In a conference call with members Monday morning, Ryan told lawmakers, "you all need to do what's best for you and your district," according to someone who listened to the meeting.

"He will spend his entire energy making sure that Hillary Clinton does not get a blank check with a Democrat-controlled Congress," said the person on the call - an implied acknowledgment that Trump no longer appears able to capture the White House.

Reaction to Ryan's decision illustrates the schism currently splitting the Republican Party. A person who listened to the call said the reaction wasn't entirely positive - and that Ryan's comments angered more conservative GOP members who believed the speaker was essentially conceding the presidential contest to Clinton.

Trump responded to the House speaker on Twitter Monday, saying Ryan should focus on other policy areas instead of fighting with the Republican nominee.

"Paul Ryan should spend more time on balancing the budget, jobs and illegal immigration and not waste his time on fighting Republican nominee," Trump said.

At least eight members angrily pushed back at Ryan, saying the party needs to be united headed into November to keep the majority. One member, two sources on call said, pointedly told Ryan that the better Trump does in November, the better the House GOP will do.

"It's not rocket science," the member said.

Among the people who objected to Ryan: Rep. Billy Long of Missouri, a Trump supporter, Rep. Louis Gohmert of Texas, and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California.

Ryan's comments follow a Washington Post story out Friday which revealed Trump made lewd and sexually aggressive comments in 2005 that were caught on a hot microphone. Trump apologized for those remarks at Sunday's debate, but dismissed them as "locker room talk" and pivoted to attacks on former President Bill Clinton.

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Havard, MIT professor win nobel prize in economics

TWO professors from Harvard and MIT have been awarded the Nobel Prize in economics for contributions to contract theory - the agreements that shape business, finance and public policy.
Oliver Hart, 68, a British economist teaching at Harvard, and Bengt Holmström, 67, a Finnish economist teaching at MIT, were announced as the winners Monday by the Royal Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, CNN revealed.
"Contracts are essential to the functioning of modern societies," the academy said in its announcement. "Hart's and Holmström's research sheds light on how contracts help us deal with conflicting interests."
Among the contracts they have studied is Holmström's research on employment contracts, including between CEOs and shareholders.
"In economics we don't really take a stand on the size of the bonus, though they seem extraordinarily high," Holmström told reporters when asked about the multi-million-dollar bonuses paid to modern CEOs.
Hart's research has looked at whether providers of public services, such as schools, hospitals, or prisons, should be publicly or privately owned. The research showed that "incentives for cost reduction are typically too strong," the academy said. Privatizing those types of services can lead to a reduction in quality greater than the advantages of cost savings.
"Hart and his co-authors were particularly concerned about private prisons," the academy said. "Federal authorities in the United States are in fact ending the use of private prisons, partly because - according to a recently released U.S. Department of Justice report - conditions in privately-run prisons are worse than those in publicly-run prisons."
Hart's and Holmström's is little-known outside of the world of economics. Some past winners have been more familiar to the general public.
Recent winners have included Robert Shiller, known for his work on bubbles in financial and real estate markets. His name is on a closely followed measure of U.S. home prices. He shared the award in 2013.
Another high-profile winner was Paul Krugman, a liberal columnist for The New York Times and a Princeton professor who won in 2008 for his work on trade patterns and location of economic activity.
Princeton University Professor Angus Deaton won the prize in 2015 for his work on poverty.
The Nobel prize in economics has been awarded since 1969.

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Trump described own daughter 'volustrous' as the new sexiest tape emerged

The controversy over Donald Trump's "locker room" misogyny has intensified as new tapes emerged in which he discussed his daughter's physique and said it was "checkout time" once women reach the age of 35 in a series of interviews with United States broadcaster Howard Stern.

The Telegraph reported that conversations covering a 17-year period were uncovered by CNN in which Mr Trump made lewd comments about women and tolerated Stern, one of America's best known "shock jocks," describing Ivanka Trump as a "piece of a-."

In a 2006 interview, Stern, who has a longtime reputation as a provocateur, asked if Ivanka had breast implants.

Mr Trump responded: "She's actually always been very voluptuous.

"She's tall, she's almost 6 feet tall and she's been, she's an amazing beauty."

Asked in a separate interview in the same year if he would still enjoy sex with 24-year-olds, Mr Trump, who had married his wife, Melania, in 2005, replied: "Oh absolutely."

In a 2002 interview with Stern, Mr Trump also said he preferred leaving ladies as they age.

"What is it at 35? It's called check-out time," Mr Trump quipped.

Mr Trump has already been disowned by many leading Republicans after the Washington Post published a 2005 tape in which he brags about how he could seduce women because of his celebrity status.

In another interview he boasted of having lost his virginity when he was about 14 years old.

He also described how as owner of the Miss Universe beauty pageant, he was the one man allowed to go backstage while contestants were in a state of undress.

"Well, I'll tell you the funniest is that before a show, I'll go backstage and everyone's getting dressed, and everything else, and you know, no men are anywhere, and I'm allowed to go in because I'm the owner of the pageant and therefore I'm inspecting it.

"You know, I'm inspecting because I want to make sure that everything is good."

A producer on The Apprentice, the reality series hosted in America by Mr Trump, said there are more damaging revelations to come, adding that the initial disclosures were "just the beginning."

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Paul ryan said he won't defend donald trump

HOUSE Speaker Paul Ryan told fellow Republicans on Monday said he will no longer defend GOP nominee Donald Trump and will instead use the next 29 days to focus on preserving his party's hold on Congress.
"The speaker is going to spend the next month focused entirely on protecting our congressional majorities," Ryan's spokeswoman, AshLee Strong, said in a statement.
In a conference call with members Monday morning, Ryan told members "you all need to do what's best for you and your district," according to someone who listened to the meeting.
"He will spend his entire energy making sure that Hillary Clinton does not get a blank check with a Democrat-controlled Congress," said the person on the call - an implied acknowledgment that Donald Trump no longer appears able to capture the White House.
Ryan's comments follow a Washington Post story out Friday, which revealed Trump made lewd and sexually aggressive comments in 2005 that were caught on a hot microphone. Trump apologized for those remarks over the weekend at Sunday's debate, but also used his apologies to attack former President Bill Clinton.

Ryan did not say Monday whether he was reversing his endorsement of Trump, which was originally made in June. A spokesman for the House Speaker, Zack Roday, said there "no update in his position at this time" regarding his formal endorsement for the GOP nominee.
But he did make clear that he would no longer provide proactive support for his party's presidential candidate. A source said Ryan would campaign in 17 states and 42 cities this month.
Trump's campaign spokesman Jason Miller tweeted after the news broke, "Nothing's changed. Mr. Trump's campaign has always been powered by a grassroots movement, not Washington."
A Trump campaign source told CNN the campaign has told members of Congress from the beginning to focus on winning their seats, even if that means abandoning Trump because the campaign wants as big a Republican majority as possible come January.
Afterward, a person who listened to the call said the reaction wasn't entirely positive - and that Ryan's comments angered some GOP members who believed the Speaker was essentially conceding the presidential contest to Clinton.
Regarding whether he is conceding the election, Roday said Ryan "made it clear on the call he's not conceding the presidential race."
The House Speaker's actions in the aftermath of the lewd tape's release have been closely monitored given Ryan's initial reluctance to get behind Trump when he clinched the GOP nomination.
Dozens of fellow Republican lawmakers withdrew their support for Trump, many insisting he should withdraw from the race entirely. The defections came largely from Republican lawmakers facing tough re-election battles, including Senators Kelly Ayotte and John McCain. In the House, Rep. Jason Chaffetz said Trump should step aside.
Trump and Ryan were originally set to appear together in Wisconsin on Saturday. But the House Speaker rescinded his invitation after the new comments came to light. Over the weekend, his office remained largely quiet about how he would respond to the explosive reports about Trump's past behavior.
But on the call Monday, the message was unequivocal: Trump will no longer enjoy whatever political firepower Ryan could bring to the presidential race in its final stretch.

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Trump and Clinton bitterly attack each other's character during debate.

The U.S. election cycle has featured no shortage of candidates sniping at each other, but the attacks went to a new level Sunday with Donald Trump saying he would launch a federal investigation against his opponent, Hillary Clinton.

The scene unfolded during their second debate as Trump sought to defend remarks captured on a 2005 tape that surfaced Friday in which he made lewd comments about women, including saying he can grope them because of his status.

Lewd conversation about women

Trump denied he had actually carried out any of those actions. He said he is embarrassed and hates what he said, insisting he has great respect for women and that it is time to talk about more important things.

"I don't think you understand what was said at all," he said.  "This was locker room talk. I'm not proud of it."  

Trump's defense also included accusing Clinton's husband, former president Bill Clinton, of doing "far worse."

Clinton said the tapes raise questions about whether her opponent is fit to be president.

"What we all saw and heard on Friday was Donald talking about women, what he thinks about women, what he does to women, and he has said the video doesn't represent what he is," she said.  "I think it is clear to anyone who heard it that is exactly who he is."

"Trump when asked about the tapes right off didn’t answer the question," said Terri Bimes, assistant director of research for the Institute of Governmental Studies at U.C. Berkeley.  "He went into this canned answer about 'Make America Great Again.'  He always has these great one liners, and he came back with that kind of approach but he really didn’t answer the questions a lot of times, on healthcare, on what would you do about the humanitarian disaster in Syria, he really didn’t answer that.  But I felt like he came across probably better to his base than the first debate."

Email scandal

For his part, Trump added to the criticism of Clinton's use of a private email system when she was secretary of state, suggesting her actions amounted to an unprecedented level of deception.

Clinton called him a liar, and repeated that she takes responsibility for her decision and that there is no evidence any classified information ended up in the wrong hands.

"It's just awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country," she said.

"Because you'd be in jail," Trump replied.




Analyst: jail comment biggest talking point

Mike Dawidziak, president of Strategic Planning and a former consultant to President George H.W. Bush, said Trump's plan to appoint a special prosecutor could be the biggest talking point of the debate.

"He threatened to use the power of the presidency and the legal system if elected to put his political opponent in jail.  That's a pretty powerful statement," Dawidziak said.  "And she missed a golden opportunity to say, 'That's the first time in a debate that I've ever been threatened.'"

Dawidziak said there was not much new in this debate, or in their first match-up, in terms of substance and that Sunday's event was fairly even "because it was pretty much a mud fight."

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton speaks during the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016.


'Obamacare', birther controversy

Clinton said she would revamp President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare program.  Trump said he would scrap and replace it.  Both candidates criticized each other's tax policies. 

They also clashed on who was responsible for allegations that Obama was not born in the United States.

Last week, Republican Mike Pence said during a vice presidential debate that if Russia continues bombing over the northern Syrian city of Aleppo then the United States should attack Syrian military targets in response. 

Trump said Sunday night he disagrees with his running mate, stressing that he believes Syria is fighting the Islamic State militant group and that should be a priority.

Clinton has long advocated following current Obama administration policy of going after Islamic State with more airstrikes, no U.S. soldiers on the ground, disrupting the group's online propaganda efforts and cutting off the flow of foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq. 


She and Trump agreed Sunday on the need for safe zones to protect civilians, while Clinton added she would establish a no-fly zone over Syria that Obama has resisted.

Trump also said it would be great if the U.S. got along with Russia in order to fight Islamic State together. Clinton described the situation in Syria as "catastrophic" with the Syrian government and Russia bombing places like Aleppo.  She said she supports efforts to investigate both of those parties for potential war crimes.

And Trump criticized Clinton's backing for rebels opposed to Assad, saying she does not know who the rebels are.

"Every time we take rebels, whether it's in Iraq or anywhere else, we're arming people," Trump said.  "And you know what happens?  They end up being worse than the people."


Trump's first mention of Islamic State on Sunday night came when he was asked about a 2005 tape that surfaced Friday in which Trump made lewd comments about women, including saying he can grope them because of his status.

"Trump when asked about the tapes right off didn’t answer the question," said Terri Bimes, assistant director of research for the Institute of Governmental Studies at U.C. Berkeley. 

"He went into this canned answer about 'Make America Great Again.'  He always has these great one liners, and he came back with that kind of approach but he really didn’t answer the questions a lot of times, on health care, on what would you do about the humanitarian disaster in Syria, he really didn’t answer tha," Bimes said.  "But I felt like he came across probably better to his base than the first debate."

Bimes told VOA Trump wanted to show Republican elites they should not abandon him, while Democrats were probably disappointed Clinton "didn't knock Trump out with this debate."

Next debate, election

The candidates have four weeks to try to convince the remaining undecided voters.  They will use television ads, appearances at events across the country, and another debate on October 19.

"He’s the one I think who needs to really make up ground with the independent voters, particularly women – most particularly moderate swing voter women he needs to really make up ground with -- and I don’t think he did that tonight," Dawidziak said.  "I wouldn't have rated either of her performances as being spectacular, but they’re dependable."

Bimes said Clinton needs to focus on the so-called swing states during the final month of campaigning.

"Trump has challenged her on stamina issues.  She needs to show that she’s an energetic campaigner.  And not just do fundraisers, do rallies and get out there, and I think with the groundwork that she’s laid with get out the vote efforts she will be in pretty good shape."



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us election -: Trump sorry for obscene remarks on women

United States presidential candidate, Donald Trump, has apologised for obscene comments about women he made in a newly released videotape from 2005.
Mr Trump said that "these words don't reflect who I am. I apologise".
In the video, Mr Trump says "you can do anything" to women "when you're a star" and brags about trying to grope and kiss women.
Top Republicans condemned the comments. His election rival Hillary Clinton called them "horrific".
"We cannot allow this man to become president," she posted on Twitter.
Mr Trump's 90-second statement on Saturday morning appeared to be his first full apology in a campaign laced with controversial remarks, BBC reported.
"I've said and done things I regret," he said. "Anyone who knows me knows these words don't reflect who I am. I said it, I was wrong, and I apologise.
"I've never said I'm a perfect person nor pretended to be someone I'm not. I pledge to be a better man tomorrow."
However, he also tried to deflect the impact by attacking former President Bill Clinton.
Donald Trump has often found himself in hot water for public comments he's made about women over the years. It turns out he's said lewd and disparaging things in private as well. Go figure.
The videotape release comes at a most inopportune time for the Republican nominee, who was trying to use his running mate's well-received debate performance on Tuesday to reboot his campaign after a week of distractions and controversy. On Wednesday he told a local news interviewer that his previous offensive comments about women - which have dogged his campaign since the first Republican primary debate last August - were made for the "purpose of entertainment".
That explanation doesn't fit with the boorish, newly married Trump shown on the video privately boasting about his efforts to seduce a married woman and have his way with whomever he pleases.
Now Mr Trump will enter Sunday's debate with a new cloud hanging over his candidacy. It's almost certain that one of the town hall participants will ask him about it. There may be no easy way to respond - but Mr Trump will have to find an acceptable answer. If he bungles it, nothing else he says during the 90-minute debate will matter.

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