US election ticker: Billie Eilish supports Kamala Harris

Billie Eilish supports Kamala Harris

9.23 am: One week after Taylor Swift, another megastar, US singer Billie Eilish (22, “Bad Guy”), has recommended the election of Kamala Harris as US President. “We are voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz because they are fighting to protect abortion and contraceptives, for the environment and for democracy,” Eilish said in a clip recorded together with her brother Finneas on Instagram and X. “Vote if your life depends on it, because it does,” says the singer. Together, the two are followed by more than 130 million accounts on the platforms. Democrat Harris is running against Republican Donald Trump in the presidential election on November 5.

Eilish’s recommendation came on Tuesday, the so-called “Voter Registration Day,” exactly seven weeks before the election. This day is intended to remind Americans to check their voter registration or to register again. Since there is no registration requirement in the United States, citizens in many states have to register themselves on the electoral roll.

Microsoft: Russia steps up disinformation campaign against Harris

05.53 am: According to research by the software company Microsoft, Russian actors are stepping up their disinformation campaign against US presidential candidate Kamala Harris. A group linked to the Kremlin called Storm-1516 has produced two fake videos since the end of August to discredit the election campaign of Harris and her vice-candidate Tim Walz, the US company said on Tuesday.

One video shows a group of alleged Harris supporters attacking a supposed participant at a Trump rally. The other video shows an actor spreading the fabricated claim that Harris injured a girl in an accident in 2011, who has been paralyzed ever since, and then drove off the scene. Both videos received millions of views, according to Microsoft.

A second Russian group called Storm-1679 is now focusing on spreading videos designed to discredit Harris, following its fake news campaign related to the Paris Olympics, the Microsoft report added.

At the beginning of September, the USA accused Russia of large-scale attempts to manipulate the presidential election on November 5 and imposed sanctions on several officials of the Russian state broadcaster RT.

Trump: “Only important presidents are shot at”

05.24 am: Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump has made his first campaign appearance since the alleged assassination attempt on him. In a speech in the city of Flint in the state of Michigan on Tuesday, he made a connection between Sunday’s incident on his golf course in Florida and his demand for high tariffs on car imports from Mexico and China. “And then you wonder why I’m being shot at?” Trump said. “Only important presidents are shot at.”

Trump presented himself as a defender of the US auto industry. If he does not win the election on November 5, “there will be no more jobs in the auto industry,” said the 78-year-old. Flint was a central location for the industry before numerous factories had to be closed.

Harris accuses Republicans of lying about migrants in Ohio

Wednesday, September 18, 00:05: Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has sharply criticized the Republican opposition for their attacks on immigrants. Anyone who has a microphone in front of them should understand the meaning of their own words, Harris said at an event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Previously, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his vice president JD Vance had accused migrants living in the city of Springfield in the state of Ohio of eating the pets of local residents. The authorities there have been stressing for days that there is no evidence of such cases.

Springfield has around 58,000 residents, including many people from the Caribbean state of Haiti. The city is currently under a state of emergency. Since last week, dozens of bomb threats have been received at public buildings and schools, and the police have increased their presence. Several buildings, including elementary schools, had to be evacuated. According to CNN, the police were informed of the presence of the right-wing extremist “Proud Boys.”

“It’s disgraceful what’s happening to these families and children in this community,” Harris said of the situation. There are serious threats against people who lead “good, productive lives.” She accused Trump and Vance of spreading lies based on “age-old stereotypes.” “This is nothing new,” said the vice president, recalling, among other things, Trump’s conspiracy theory that Barack Obama, the first black US president, was not born in the United States. Obama is from the state of Hawaii.

“You cannot trust anyone to stand behind the seal of the President of the United States of America who engages in this hateful rhetoric that seeks to divide us as a country,” Harris said.

Trump: “I would have loved to sink the last putt”

Tuesday, 17 September, 11.45 am: Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would have preferred to finish the golf match against his opponents despite the alleged assassination attempt on him. “I would have loved to sink the last putt, but we decided that we have to get out of here,” the 78-year-old said during a conversation on the X Spaces platform, according to reports. He praised the Secret Service, a witness and law enforcement for their quick action during the incident on Sunday afternoon (local time), in which bodyguards shot at the armed suspect.

Trump was playing golf with friends at his club in West Palm Beach, Florida, when a Secret Service bodyguard saw a rifle barrel sticking out of the bush-lined fence of the golf course. According to police, officers then quickly opened fire. The suspect, who was only a few hundred meters away from Trump, did not fire a shot. He fled in a car and was arrested a short time later on a nearby highway.

At first everything was very peaceful, Trump described his perception. “Suddenly we heard shots being fired into the air.” The Secret Service knew immediately that it was bullets. “There is no question that we would leave the golf course.” A witness took a photo of the suspect’s car, which also meant that the car could not have been stolen. “The civilian did a phenomenal job,” said Trump, who also praised the Secret Service – they had put the man behind bars. “Hopefully he will stay there for a long time. A dangerous person, a very, very dangerous person.”

Trump is playing golf at one of his clubs this weekend. On Sunday afternoon, the former US president, who wants to enter the White House for the Republicans for the second time in November, played with real estate investor and party donor Steve Witkoff.