Election

Best Political Podcasts to Listen to Ahead of 2020 Election

By Angelena Iglesia 2 weeks ago

This is a strange and confusing election year—to put it mildly. It seems impossible to fathom how the spread of COVID-19, protests for racial justice across the country and a vacant Supreme Court seat will factor into who wins on November 3. And many questions remain unanswered: Should you vote in person or by mail? What does the fact that so many pollsters and pundits predicted a Clinton win in 2016 mean for Joe Biden’s poll numbers in 2020?

Dozens of excellent podcasts strive to offer answers and context. They fact-check the candidates’ statements. They explain what is happening in the news and why it matters. And they obsessively track the polls, while pressing upon listeners that they shouldn’t let leads in the race determine whether or not they actually decide to head to the voting booth (or put a stamp on their ballots). Some feature journalists who have

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Cruz ‘confident’ Barrett will be confirmed to court by Election Day, expects ‘political circus’ from Democrats

By Angelena Iglesia 3 weeks ago

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Ted Cruz said Senate Democrats “will do everything they can” to turn the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett into a “political circus,” while saying he is “confident” the Senate will confirm her to the high court before Election Day.



Ted Cruz wearing a suit and tie

© Provided by FOX News


During an exclusive interview with Fox News, Cruz, R-Texas, said he met with Barrett tor 45 minutes at the Capitol this week, and he praised President Trump’s nominee, saying he “fulfilled a promise to nominate a constitutionalist to the court.”

Cruz was included in the president’s short list for potential nominees to the Supreme Court last month.

“I believe we will confirm Judge Barrett by the end of the month, before Election Day,” Cruz told Fox News. “And when we do, the Senate majority will be fulfilling our commitment to voters to confirm principled constitutionalists to the court.”

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More Federal Lawsuits Filed To Block $250 Million In Private Monies From Directing Government Election Management

By Angelena Iglesia 3 weeks ago

AMHERST, Va., Oct. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Voters in four states announced today the filing of federal lawsuits as part of a growing campaign to block cities and counties from the alleged misuse of $250 million donated by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, issued in “grants” from the Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) to influence the outcome of the election on November 3.

The new lawsuits allege that local governments, with the support of Zuckerberg and CTCL, are usurping the role of state governments in deciding the funding priorities for election spending, and demonstrate that private funds cannot be used to gain an undue advantage in these cities and counties in presidential battleground states and selectively targeted U.S. Senate and House races.

“Privatizing the management of elections undermines the integrity of our elections because private donors may dictate where and how hundreds of millions of dollars will be managed

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The fight to save giraffes gets political ahead of US election

By Angelena Iglesia 3 weeks ago

The Independent’s Stop The Illegal Wildlife Trade campaign has inspired a conservation charity in America to launch their own off-shoot campaign to save the giraffe, a species that we revealed is in grave danger due to demand for its body parts and skin.



a giraffe walking across a grass covered field

© Provided by The Independent


To mark World Animal Day on 4 October, Kids Against Animal Poaching [KAAP] has launched #StandTallForGiraffes. The campaign mobilises thousands of the organisation’s supporters to take part in a viral letter writing to call for a ban on giraffe imports and to demand that the animal is listed under the United States’ Endangered Species Act. 

The Endangered Species Act is the nation’s most powerful tool for protecting at-risk wildlife. Since it was established 99% of species listed on it have avoided extinction. 

Among the supporters of KAAP’s #StandTallForGiraffes campaign are supermodel Christy Turlington, actress Gina Gershon and Hollywood makeup artist Jillian

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Longtime GOP election lawyer: ‘There’s no proof of widespread fraud’

By Angelena Iglesia 3 weeks ago

Longtime Republican election lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg in a new op-ed issued a blunt rebuke to GOP claims of widespread voter fraud as President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump campaign manager tests positive for COVID-19 Trump given Remdesivir as treatment for COVID-19 infection ICE launching billboard campaign highlighting ‘at-large immigration violators’ MORE looks to cast doubt over election procedures heading into November.

Ginsberg, who has represented four Republican presidential candidates and played a key role in cases like Bush v. Gore in the 2000 election, wrote in The Washington Post that a “lack of evidence” makes claims of fraud from Trump and other Republicans “unsustainable” and that the GOP is needlessly inciting concerns over the presidential race. 

“The truth is that after decades of looking for illegal voting, there’s no proof of widespread fraud. At most, there are isolated incidents — by both Democrats and Republicans. Elections are not rigged. Absentee ballots

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Facebook to reject political ads prematurely claiming U.S. election victory

By Angelena Iglesia 4 weeks ago



a close up of a logo

© Provided by Metro




a close up of a logo

© Provided by Metro


SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc will not accept political ads that seek to claim victory before the results of the 2020 U.S. election are declared, a company spokesman tweeted on Wednesday.

The move expands the company’s plans, announced earlier this month, to stop accepting new political ads in the week before the election. At the time, Facebook said political advertisers could resume creating new ads after Election Day.

Democrats have warned of a “red mirage” on election night, citing expected delays in counting a record number of mail-in ballots this year, and raised concerns that President Donald Trump could use Facebook to convince people he had won.

Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has articulated similar concerns about confusion likely to follow the election if results are not immediately clear.

In his announcement last month, he said Facebook was planning to append

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Civil society demands election of Mongla Pourashava, removal of mayor

By Angelena Iglesia 1 month ago

Our Correspondent, Bagerhat :

Under the auspices of the members of SUJAN (Sushaner Janya Nagarik), Nagorik Sachetan Samaj and civil society a human chain was formed at Chowdhury Mor within Mongla Pourashava in Bagerhat district on Sunday morning demanding the election Tafshil (schedule) for holding a fresh election of the (Mongla) Pourashava and the immediate removal of the present Mayor whose term already expired in the year 2015. A large number of people different professions also participated in the human chain, according to delayed report received here..

The last election of Mongla Port Pourashava was held on January 23 in the year 2011. In the election Md. Zulfikar Ali, the then Secretary of Mongla Poura BNP was elected Mayor and most of the posts of Councilors were bagged by his BNP and followers. Since then Zulfikar Ali and his (supporter) councilors have been ruling the Pourashava (for the last 10

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Opinion | 7 ways Trump and his cabal are using government to corrupt the election

By Angelena Iglesia 1 month ago

Quick: What do all these things have in common?

The answer: In all these cases, Trump isn’t just stating claims. He and his cronies are also corruptly manipulating the levers of your government to make them into truths, or inflate them into issues that will garner news coverage that helps him in some way, or both.

Because the crush of governmental manipulation to serve Trump’s personal and political ends is so relentless, we often focus only on isolated examples as they skate past.

But we need to connect the dots. Taken together, they tell a larger story that is truly staggering in its levels of corruption:

Rushing coronavirus treatments. The New York Times just reported that scientists inside Trump’s own government are warning that the White House is laying the groundwork to increase pressure to approve a vaccine before Election Day, “even in the absence of agreement on its effectiveness

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Facebook to ban new political ads week before Election Day

By Angelena Iglesia 2 months ago

Facebook is banning all new political advertisements during the one-week period before the general election with the hopes of limiting misinformation on its platform, the company announced Thursday.



a close up of Mark Zuckerberg looking at the camera: FILE Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, U.S., October 23, 2019.

© Erin Scott/Reuters
FILE Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, U.S., October 23, 2019.

“The US elections are just two months away, and with Covid-19 affecting communities across the country, I’m concerned about the challenges people could face when voting,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement Thursday morning. “I’m also worried that with our nation so divided and election results potentially taking days or even weeks to be finalized, there could be an increased risk of civil unrest across the country.”


MORE: Facebook to allow users to ‘turn off seeing’ political ads

“We’re going to block new political and issue ads during the final week of the campaign,” Zuckerberg

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Facebook To Ban New Political Ads On Cusp Of US Election

By Angelena Iglesia 2 months ago

Facebook said Thursday it will ban new political advertising the week before the US election, one of its most sweeping moves yet against disinformation as CEO Mark Zuckerberg warned of a “risk of civil unrest” after the vote.

The social media giant vowed to fact check premature claims of victory, stating that if a candidate tries to declare himself the winner before final votes are tallied “we’ll add a label to their posts directing people to the official results.”

And it promised to “add an informational label” to content seeking to delegitimize the results or claim that “lawful voting methods” will lead to fraud.

“Anyone who is saying the election is going to be fraudulent, I think that’s problematic,” Zuckerberg said in a CBS interview on Thursday.

Facebook also started limiting its Messenger service to allow users to forward missives to no more than five people or groups at a

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