In the news today: Americans are feeling anxious and frustrated heading into Election Day, according to a new poll; Speaker Johnson is pulling closer to Trump to save his House majority; and North Korean troops in Russian uniforms are heading toward Ukraine, the U.S. says. Also, a look at 12 scary stories from around the world this Halloween. |
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ANNA JOHNSON |
AP ensures accurate, reliable election night reporting through a network of more than 4,000 vote count reporters stationed across the U.S. These reporters phone in raw vote totals as soon as they are available, while close to 1,000 vote entry clerks rigorously verify and input the data into AP’s reporting system. Multiple sources for vote totals from each county, including direct feeds, website monitoring, and data scraping, ensures precise reporting that the public can trust.
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People line up to vote at the Chicago Early Voting Loop Supersite in Chicago, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Americans are anxious and frustrated about the presidential campaign, an AP-NORC poll finds
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Most Americans are feeling a lot of emotions heading into Election Day, but excitement is not one of them. A new poll from The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that about 7 in 10 Americans report feeling anxious or frustrated about the 2024 presidential campaign, and a similar share say they’re interested. Read more.
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There’s a broad feeling of uncertainty hanging over the 2024 presidential contest during the last week of the campaign. The race is competitive nationally and in key swing states, according to recent polls, with neither Democrat Kamala Harris nor Republican Donald Trump showing a measurable advantage.
Some groups are even more anxious than they were four years ago, even though that election took place in the midst of a deadly pandemic. For partisans, anxiety is dialed higher. About 8 in 10 Democrats say anxious describes how they are feeling now, up slightly from around three-quarters in the last election. About two-thirds of Republicans are anxious, a moderate uptick from around 6 in 10 in 2020.
- One thing has stayed fairly constant, though: Americans’ level of frustration with the campaign. Roughly 7 in 10 Americans say frustrated describes their emotional state, similar to 2020. For those Americans, though, there is light on the horizon — soon, the election will be over.
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Speaker Mike Johnson is pulling closer to Trump to save the GOP’s House majority
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As House Speaker Mike Johnson travels the country trying to save his House majority, and his own job as speaker, he has linked ever more tightly to Donald Trump, a once uncertain relationship that has become increasingly beneficial to both. Read more. |
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The speaker is relying on the former president for his own political survival in the chaotic House, but also presenting himself as a partner to Trump, prepared to potentially challenge the election results, and, if Trump retakes the White House, deliver a MAGA agenda in Congress. Trump said over the weekend they have a “little secret” for winning, and Johnson, who backed a legal challenge to the 2020 election Trump lost, did not contradict him.
Speaking to The Associated Press between campaign stops in Ohio, Johnson described Trump as “the head coach” while he would “be the quarterback,” and together they are preparing to run the play on an “ambitious” 100-day agenda with Republican senators — cutting taxes, securing the U.S. border and taking a ”blow torch” to federal regulations — if they sweep the White House and Congress.
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North Korean troops in Russian uniforms are heading toward Ukraine, US says
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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that North Korean troops wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment are moving toward Ukraine, in what he called a dangerous and destabilizing development. Austin was speaking at a press conference in Washington with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, as concerns are growing about Pyongyang’s deployment of as many as 12,000 troops to Russia. Read more.
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Some North Korean advance units have already arrived in the Kursk region, and Austin said “the likelihood is pretty high” that Russia will use the troops in combat. Ukraine’s U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said they expect as many as 4,500 North Korean troops to be at the border this week and to begin directly participating in combat operations against Ukrainian forces in November.
Austin said officials are discussing what to do about the deployment, which he said has the potential to broaden or lengthen the conflict in Ukraine. Asked if it could prompt other nations to get more directly involved in the conflict, he acknowledged that it could “encourage others to take action” but provided no details.
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A hand sculpture stands perched on the roof of an art gallery in Wellington, New Zealand. (AP photo/Charlotte Graham-McLay) |
A New Zealand city waves goodbye to its ‘disturbing’ giant hand sculpture
Perched on two fingers on the roof of an art gallery in Wellington, New Zealand, the giant sculpture of a hand has loomed over the city for five years. Some found it disturbing, and now, after five years of provoking controversy and myriad emotions among residents, Quasi, the 16-foot — almost 5 meters — creation of Australia-based sculptor Ronnie van Hout, will be removed from the roof of City Gallery this week.
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Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Sarah
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