Washington DC:

Elon Musk spent over a quarter of a billion dollars to help Donald Trump win November’s presidential election, according to new filings, underscoring the influence one of the world’s wealthiest people had on this year’s White House race.

The billionaire owner of electric car maker Tesla and SpaceX gave $259 million to groups supporting Trump’s 2024 campaign, according to new Federal Election Commission filings released late on Thursday.

The huge donations made Musk one of the biggest underwriters of a presidential campaign in U.S. history, helping him to become a powerful political ally of Trump and someone who now plays a key role in shaping the incoming Republican administration’s policy agenda.

Musk gave $239 million to America PAC, a super PAC he founded to help turn out voters for Trump.

In late October Musk gave an additional $20 million to RBG PAC, a group that sought to convince voters that Trump would not sign into a law a national abortion ban, according to the FEC filings. The group’s name refers to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal icon known for her support of abortion rights.

Musk, who also owns the social media platform X, has emerged as a close advisor in Trump’s transition team. Trump has chosen him, along with former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, to head a task force aimed at slashing government spending and regulations.

Musk and Ramaswamy met on Capitol Hill on Thursday with lawmakers whose support they will need to win the sweeping spending cuts Trump has asked them to find.

The two men have called for firing thousands of federal workers, slashing regulations and eliminating programs whose authorization has expired, such as veterans’ healthcare.

Musk has also been a regular fixture and Trump confidante at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago Florida estate during the transition.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Los Angeles, California:

American comic and talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who usually shows his audience the funny side of things, could not find his smile on the day Donald Trump was elected President of the US for a second time. The renowned TV host teared and choked up during his opening monologue of his nightly hour-long show ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ on ABC.

Calling it “A terrible night, last night” Mr Kimmel, visibly disturbed and in despair over Donald Trump’s electoral win, said he tried a lot, but couldn’t see anything positive from the US election result.

“Let’s be honest, it was a terrible night last night. It was a terrible night for women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hardworking immigrants who make this country great,” he said emotionally choking briefly as the live audience applauded to help cheer him up.

(Video Courtesy: YouTube – Access Hollywood)

Mr Kimmel went on to say that “…terrible for healthcare, for our climate, for science, for journalism, for justice, for free speech… a terrible night for poor people, for the middle-class, for senior citizens, for social security…. for our allies in Ukraine,” choking up again, but still continuing “For NATO, for the truth… terrible night for democracy, and for decency, and for everyone who voted against him… but guess what, it was a bad night for anyone who voted for him too – you just don’t realise it yet…” as the audience applauded him again.

Standing in front of a backdrop that showed a usual American cityscape in total darkness, Mr Kimmel finally found his humour amid the gloom when he said “…and most of all, it was an absolute disaster of a night for Melania,” as the audience burst into a fit of laughter.

He then gathered steam to roast President-elect Trump from his stage, before ending his monologue with “the only positive thing I could find”.

“Maybe in the long run we, the people will realise that maybe this is what we needed for us all to wake up. Maybe the people who care so much about him need to find out how little he cares about them…maybe the only positive from this is that he will not be able to run for President again in 2029.”

Meanwhile, another renowned talk show host and comedian, Stephen Colbert, who hosts the Late Show on CBS, also spoke about Trump’s victory. He addressed the remark most journalists face that Donald Trump is good for more news or comic material, with a witty comeback.

(Photo Credit: CBS – The Late Show With Stephen Colbert)

“As a late night host, people often say to me ‘C’mon…part of you would want Trump to win, because he gives you so much material to work with’…. well, no,” he said, adding that “Noone tells the guy who cleans the bathroom, ‘Wow, you must love it when someone has explosive diarrhea coz there is so much material for you to work with’,” as the audience laughed and sniggered.

He left the audience in splits when he concluded his monologue by saying, “The first time Donald Trump was elected, he started off as a joke and ended up as a tragedy…. this time he is starting off as a tragedy; who knows how he’ll end up… maybe a limerick? ‘There once was a man who was orange… damn it!”

Mr Colbert summed it up by saying, “Who knows what the next four years are going to be like…”
 

Washington:

Kamala Harris has cemented her place as a pioneer in American politics acheiveing many firsts in her inspiring journey – first woman, African-American, South Asian and person of Indian origin to hold the office of US Vice President. From her early days as a student leader to her current role as the Democratic presidential nominee, following Joe Biden’s endorsement after his withdrawal from the 2024 race, here is a detailed look at her journey.

Kamala Harris: Age and Early Life

Kamala Devi Harris was born on October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California, to immigrant parents. She is 60.

Kamala Harris grew up in a multicultural environment, influenced by both her African American and Indian heritage. Raised in the diverse Bay Area, Kamala Harris experienced different cultures and communities firsthand, which significantly shaped her worldview and political outlook.

Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a renowned breast cancer researcher from Chennai who emigrated to the US in the 1960s to pursue a PhD at the University of California, Berkeley. Her father, Donald Harris, originally from Jamaica, is an esteemed economist and professor emeritus at Stanford University. Both parents were active in civil rights movements, and their dedication to social justice had a profound influence on Harris’s personal and professional life.

Though her parents divorced when she was young, Harris maintained strong ties to both her Jamaican and Indian roots. She often speaks fondly of her summer trips to India, where she was deeply influenced by her maternal grandfather, a retired civil servant and her visits to her grandmother, who advocated for women’s rights in her community.

Kamala Harris: Family and Personal Life

In 2014, Kamala Harris married Doug Emhoff, a lawyer, making him the first-ever Second Gentleman of the United States when Harris became Vice President. Emhoff’s two children from his previous marriage, Cole and Ella, have embraced Harris as their stepmother, affectionately referring to her as “Momala.”

Kamala Harris also has a younger sister, Maya Harris, who is a public policy advocate and lawyer. Maya played a significant role in Kamala’s political campaigns. 

Kamala Harris: Education and Legal Career

Kamala Harris earned her undergraduate degree from Howard University, where she majored in political science and economics. Afterward, she attended UC Hastings College of the Law, where she obtained her Juris Doctor in 1989.

Her legal career began with a position in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor. Here, she focused on cases involving violent crime, particularly sexual assault and child abuse. Kamala Harris’s rise in the legal world was swift. In 2003, she was elected as the District Attorney of San Francisco, making her the first woman and first African American to hold the position. During her tenure, she introduced several progressive reforms, including a reentry program aimed at reducing recidivism and increasing opportunities for offenders to reintegrate into society.

In 2011, Harris was elected as California’s Attorney General, as the first woman and person of colour to hold the position. As AG, Kamala Harris took on major issues like environmental protection, consumer rights and marriage equality, while also contending with criticism over her stance on law enforcement policies.

Kamala Harris: Political Career

Kamala Harris’s political ascent continued when she was elected as the US Senator from California in 2016, succeeding Barbara Boxer. Her time in the Senate gained national attention when, during high-profile hearings, she questioned key figures like then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

During her Senate term, Kamala Harris worked on critical issues, including immigration reform, healthcare, criminal justice reform and civil rights. She was a strong advocate for the DREAM Act, aimed at protecting young immigrants, and also co-sponsored legislation addressing the opioid epidemic and climate change.

In 2019, Harris launched her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Although her campaign ended before the primaries, her impact on the political stage was undeniable. In August 2020, Harris was chosen by Joe Biden as his running mate, making history as the first woman of South Asian and African American descent to be nominated for Vice President by a major political party.

On January 20, 2021, Kamala Harris was sworn in as the 49th Vice President of the United States, making history once again as the highest-ranking female official in US history. Her vice presidency is marked by her leadership on issues such as economic recovery, voting rights and foreign policy, and she has emerged as a key figure in the Biden administration’s efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic and rebuild the economy.

For the 2024 US presidential election, Kamala Harris is the Democratic presidential nominee, with Tim Walz as her running mate. They are going head-to-head against Republican candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance.

Kamala Harris: Net Worth

Kamala Harris’s net worth is estimated to be around $8 million, combined with her husband Douglas Emhoff’s assets, according to Forbes. This amount is up from $7 million in 2021 and is roughly 20 times the median net worth of Americans in their age bracket.

Kamala Harris has also authored two books – ‘Smart on Crime’, a reflection of her criminal justice philosophy, and ‘The Truths We Hold’, a memoir recounting her life experiences and political journey – which have contributed to her financial standing.

Kamala Harris: Honours and Recognition

Throughout her career, Kamala Harris has received numerous accolades for her contributions to public service and social justice. She was named in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People multiple times.

She has been honoured by organisations such as the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), political action committee EMILY’s List and The National Women’s Hall of Fame for her work in civil rights, women’s empowerment and public policy.

Kamala Harris has also received honorary doctorates from institutions like University of Southern California and Howard University in recognition of her achievements.
 

Washington:

A week from now, America will know who their next President will be. The contest between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump has been a bitter one, which has left much of the US divided and polarised. A group that has emerged as a significant one is that of Indian-Americans.

The more than 5.2 million-strong Indian-American community, eligible to vote, has emerged as a group that can potentially swing the election outcome towards either candidate.

Now the second-largest immigrant group in the United States, the Indian-American community have historically favored the Democratic Party in overwhelming numbers. However, the Republican Party has long felt that the community’s votes are significant and hence the party has changed its policies on the economy, social issues, and stewardship of the US-India bilateral relationship.

This election, there has been greater focus on the Indian-American community since there is a possibility that for the first time in American history, a candidate of Indian heritage – Democratic nominee Kamala Harris – could occupy the highest office in the country.

As people of Indian heritage play an increasingly important electoral role in deciding who will be the next US President and how that will shape America’s future, an extensive survey was conducted by the Carnegie group to understand how Indian-Americans will vote.

THE SURVEY, THE FINDINGS

The survey, conducted in partnership with research and analytics firm YouGov, finds that as the November 5 elections approach, Indian-Americans remain solidly behind the Democratic Party, though there is an uptick in support for Republican candidate Donald Trump as well.

The survey shows that from Kamala Harris’s perspective, six out of every ten Indian-Americans favour the Democrats, while from Donald Trump’s point of view, one in every three persons of Indian heritage is likely to vote for him.

The survey also suggests that there is a considerable gender factor to it too. “Sixty-seven per cent of Indian American women intend to vote for Harris while 53 percent of men, a significantly smaller share, say they plan to vote for Harris,” it shows, adding that “Twenty-two per cent of women intend to vote for Trump while a significantly larger share of men, 39 percent, plan to cast their ballots for him.”

The survey should also come as a worry for Democrats as it shows that “Forty-seven per cent of respondents identify as Democrats, down from 56 per cent in 2020.” For the same time period, the share of Republican supporters has held steady while the percentage of independents has grown.

It also reveals that the Indian heritage factor does not always work for every candidate. People who took the survey showed that Indian-American Republicans such as Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Usha Vance (wife of Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance) were rated unfavorably by Indian-Americans.

According the the research, the issue that was rated highest among Indian-Americans was ‘inflation’ and ‘cost of living’ which was tied with ‘state of the economy’ and ‘jobs’, closely followed by ‘abortion and reproductive rights’.

SURVEY INSIGHT

The survey focuses on several interesting data sets and reveals the following:

1. There are approximately 5.2 million people of Indian origin residing in the United States today, of which 3.9 million are eighteen or older. According to data available, it is estimated that there are roughly 2.6 million eligible Indian-American voters today.
2. Between 2010 and 2020, the Indian-American community has grown by 50 per cent, making it the second-largest immigrant community by country of origin, trailing only Mexican-Americans.
3. The median household income for Indian Americans is roughly $153,000, more than double the figure for the country as a whole.

Here are some graphs that show the findings of the survey:

 

Washington:

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris will On Tuesday symbolically conclude her presidential campaign by delivering her “closing argument” from the same location in Washington D.C. where Republican Donald Trump incited a mob to attack the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 by claiming that the election was stolen from him.

“We’re going to the Capitol” he had instructed his supporters.

“We will not take it anymore and that’s what this is all about,” Trump spoke to the crowd. “And to use a favourite term that all of you people really came up with: We will stop the steal. Today I will lay out just some of the evidence proving that we won this election and we won it by a landslide. This was not a close election” he had said.

6th of January 2021 was an ordeal that saw Trump being charged criminally for attempting to overturn the election results, while more than 1500 people have been charged regarding the Capitol seige since.

“And we fight. We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore” Trump had incited his followers. This came in post legal challenges that failed after he declared election fraud. Even though Trump’s own Cabinet refused his allegations, his notions were held high by his supporters.

He officially started this protest when he tweeted on December 19th, 2020, “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” He hoped that Mike Pence, the then-Vice President would have his back and would refuse to attest the election results, “Because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election … He has the absolute right to do it. We’re supposed to protect our country, support our country, support our Constitution, and protect our Constitution.”

After the violent “protest” went into a tail-spin, hours later, Trump tweeted, “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously and viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly and unfairly treated for so long.”

Although Trump was not in the protest physically, he was watching it live on Fox News inside the White House. This protest that Trump started, got 7 people dead and 140 injured.

During a rally in Ohio, Trump labelled the rioters as “patriots” and claimed to help them as soon as he got into office.

Choosing to draw the campaign close at the same spot is a strategic move on Harris’ part that underscores her commitment to contrasting her vision for America with Trump’s election lies.
 

Combination picture of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former U.S. President Donald Trump. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris zeroed in on former President Donald Trump’s comments suggesting the U.S. military could be used to deal with “the enemy from within” as the two presidential nominees took the fight for battleground Pennsylvania to opposite ends of the State on Monday (October 14, 2024).

Ms. Harris, at her rally in northwestern Pennsylvania, called Mr. Trump a serious threat to American democracy who is “out for unchecked power.”

“He considers anyone who doesn’t support him or who will not bend to his will an enemy of our country,” Ms. Harris said after playing a clip of the comment on the jumbo screen at her rally at an Erie arena. “This is among the reasons I believe so strongly that a second Trump term would be a huge risk for America, and dangerous.”

Democrat Harris and Republican Trump have been become fixtures in the country’s largest 2024 battleground State. It was Ms. Harris’ 10th visit to Pennsylvania this campaign season, and Mr. Trump’s Monday town hall in suburban Philadelphia came after visits last week to Scranton and Reading.

Ms. Harris was highlighting what she says are examples of Mr. Trump’s increasingly “unstable and unhinged” behaviour. It’s part of her effort to win over a small universe of undecided voters and tear away even a small slice of traditionally Republican voters in the fight for Pennsylvania and six other closely contested States that are expected to determine who wins next month’s election.

She argued that Mr. Trump’s comments in a Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures” interview are the latest example of threatening rhetoric from the former president that should concern Americans about what a potential second Mr. Trump term could look like.

Mr. Trump made the comment in response to a question about “outside agitators” potentially disrupting Election Day, pivoting to what he said is a foe closer to home.

“I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within,” Mr. Trump said. He added: “We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they’re the big — and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”

Mr. Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, defended Mr. Trump’s comments during a campaign stop in Minneapolis earlier Monday.

“Is it a justifiable use of those assets if they’re rioting and looting and burning cities down to the ground? Of course it is. Right?” Mr. Vance told reporters. “I think the question is, is it a justifiable use of assets, depends on what’s actually happening.”

Washington:

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, released a letter from her doctor today that pronounced her in good health and fit for high office, in an effort to draw a contrast with her counterpart, Donald Trump.

In a memo distributed by the White House, the vice president’s physician, Joshua Simmons, said Harris’s most recent physical exam in April was “unremarkable,” that she maintains an active lifestyle and “very healthy diet” despite a busy schedule, suffers from seasonal allergies and sporadic hives, does not use tobacco and drinks alcohol only in moderation.

“She possesses the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief,” the doctor wrote.

Harris, 59, is running against Republican Trump, 78, for the White House. She made her medical information public today in an effort to draw attention to his refusal to do so, a Harris campaign aide said.

The Harris campaign is eager to highlight the former president’s age since he became the oldest candidate in the race after President Joe Biden, 81, stepped aside as the Democratic standard bearer following a poor debate performance against Trump.

Locked in a very tight race. Harris’ campaign hopes that contrasting her comparative youth and mental acuity with Trump’s more advanced age and tendency to meander, along with the differences in transparency between the two, will help convince undecided voters that she is more fit for office than he.

A White House doctor said in 2018 when Trump was in office that he was in overall excellent health then but needed to shed weight and start a daily exercise routine.

Simmons said Harris’s allergies had been well-managed with over-the-counter and prescription medications.

Her urticaria or hives were “sporadic and transient and do not seem to be triggered by any particular exposure nor are they associated with other symptoms” and respond well to antihistamine treatment.

Harris has been on allergen immunotherapy for the last three years, dramatically improving her allergy and urticaria symptoms and negating her need for medication other than occasional nasal spray, he said.

Harris wears contact lenses. Her family history includes her mother’s colon cancer. Harris was up to date on preventative health procedures including colonoscopy and annual mammograms, he said.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has erased Republican rival Donald Trump’s advantage in the vast middle of American society: suburban residents and middle-income households, an analysis of Reuters/Ipsos polling shows.

Since President Joe Biden ended his flagging reelection bid on July 21, Vice President Harris has pulled into the lead in both of these large demographic groups, reinvigorating Democrats’ prospects in the Nov. 5 election, though the race remains exceptionally close.

Suburbanites, who make up about half of the U.S. electorate and are as racially diverse as the nation at large, are a key prize. Biden beat Trump in suburban counties by about six percentage points in the 2020 presidential election.

Before Biden dropped out, Trump was leading him 43% to 40% among suburbanites in Reuters/Ipsos polls conducted in June and July, reflecting the Democrat’s struggle to energize supporters.

Harris began closing the gap when she launched her campaign in July and led Trump 47% to 41% among suburban voters in polling across September and October. That represents a nine-point swing in the Democrat’s favor, according to the analysis of six Reuters/Ipsos polls that included responses from over 6,000 registered voters.

During the same periods, Trump went from leading Biden 44% to 37% among voters in households that earn between $50,000 and $100,000 – roughly the middle third of the nation – to trail Harris 43% to 45%, also a nine-point swing away from Trump. The figures had margins of error of around 3 percentage points.

Trump carried this group 52%-47% in 2020, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of exit polls.

Reuters/Ipsos surveys have shown voters consider the economy the No. 1 issue ahead of the election and in a poll conducted in October, 46% of voters said Trump was the better candidate for the economy, 8 points more than Harris’ 38%.

The polls have also shown Trump as the more trusted candidate on immigration and crime. Trump told supporters in August he was the candidate that would keep suburbs safe and ensure that migrants coming across the border illegally are kept “away from the suburbs.”

Trump has blamed the Biden administration for inflation that has hurt middle class Americans. Harris, meanwhile, has put considerable focus in her speeches on pledges to increase the size of the middle class. She also is more often picked in polls as the better candidate for protecting democracy and taking a stand against political extremism.

“Her focus on affordability has been highly effective in narrowing Trump’s advantage on inflation and the economy,” said David Wasserman, a political analyst at the Cook Political Report.

Wasserman said Harris appeared to be performing well among relatively affluent suburbanites who could be growing more optimistic about the economy, while her gains among middle-income voters could be due to her campaign’s regular pledges to help middle-class households.

But he noted that voter turnout in Democratic-leaning urban areas and Republican-leaning rural towns could also be critical in deciding the election.

TUNING IN

Harris supporters contacted by Reuters for follow-up interviews this week also said they had not paid much attention to her before she became a presidential candidate, and that they became more supportive of her as they learned more about her.

The latest of the six polls, conducted Oct. 4-7, showed Harris up a marginal 3 percentage points over Trump among registered voters overall, 46% to 43%.

Her modest edge in national polling is significant although the winner of the election will likely be determined by the results in seven battleground states – Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Nevada, Wisconsin and Georgia – where polls have also shown a tight race.

Winning the middle – whether nationally or in the election’s key states – won’t necessarily crown the victor. Democrat Hillary Clinton, who got nearly 3 million votes more than Trump nationwide in the 2016 election and beat him in suburban counties by about 1 percentage point, still lost the election when Trump flipped six states that had voted Democratic in 2012.

Poll respondent Sheila Lester, an 83-year-old Harris supporter living in Peoria, Arizona, which mostly lies in the state’s battleground Maricopa County, said in a phone interview that she had become convinced Trump would beat Biden.

She said she rejoiced when the Democratic Party quickly coalesced around the candidacy of Harris, especially since she could be the first woman U.S. president.

“The response that she has gotten has made me a little bit more proud of this country,” said Lester, a retired customer service employee who considers herself part of the middle class. She said she liked Harris’ toughness on abortion rights and her pledge to grow the middle class. “I am definitely anti-Trump, but I believe I’m more pro-Harris.”

Maricopa County played an important role in Biden’s 2020 victory, when the county narrowly flipped Democratic after voting for Trump in 2016.

Karen Davidson, 83, who lives in West Bloomfield, Michigan, a middle-class suburb of Detroit, said she had not been that familiar with Harris before she moved to the top of the ticket.

“I needed to know more about her to form any kind of thought,” Davidson said.

“The way she stood up to people who were berating her, I had to respect that having been in the industrial machinery business when women didn’t work in it, I know what that’s like,” Davidson continued. “She had the strength, and that’s what’s needed to run our country.”

In Pooler, Georgia, a suburb of Savannah, grocery store employee Kevin Garcia said he also was relieved Biden had bowed out and preferred Harris’ pledges to support small businesses over Trump’s promise to tax imported goods.

“I just feel better about the chances,” said Garcia, 24, who lives in a single-family home neighborhood in the state that, like Arizona, narrowly flipped Democratic in 2020.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Abortion rights are arguably the single-most important issue in the US ahead of the presidential election on November 5. It affects 50 per cent of the US population and is a matter of an individual’s fundamental liberty, which is protected by the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution.

During his term as President, Donald Trump reshaped the Supreme Court, which in 2022 left the states to decide their own abortion policies by overturning Roe vs Wade, the federal guarantee of abortion access – and thus dismantling five decades of precedent protecting abortion rights across the US.

Now, at least ten states in the US are holding referendums on the issue of abortion, and the questions on it will appear on the same ballots used to cast the vote to select the next US President.

This is the first US presidential election to be held after access to abortion was banned or restricted across much of the US following a landmark Supreme Court ruling.

The outcome could have profound implications, with the potential for restrictions affecting tens of millions of women to be overturned. Democrats also hope that the issue will mobilise a broader swath of the electorate in their favor.

In recent times, women in the US are being forced to cross state lines to terminate their life-threatening pregnancies. “This is a health care crisis, and Donald Trump is the architect,” Kamala Harris has said.

THE REFERENDUMS

According to the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

With the referendums in November, each constitutional amendment will enshrine state-level reproductive rights, which were undermined by the US Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling which led to restrictions on abortion access.

Among the states that have been affected by the US Supreme Court ruling which has made abortions restrictive, Arizona, Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota are holding referendums.

As of now, the other states that are holding the vote on abortion rights are Colorado, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, and New York.

WHAT IT WILL MEAN FOR THESE STATES

1. ARIZONA – In the state of Arizona, which is a crucial swing state, abortion is currently limited to 15 weeks of pregnancy. Democrats hope referendum would bolster their chances of winning this key battleground state. Proposition 139, which is all but sure to be adopted, would protect abortions until the point of fetal viability.

2. FLORIDA – This is the third-most populous state in the US. Currently abortion in the state is banned after six weeks of pregnancy. This is so short a period of time that women often know of their pregnancy only after this time. Voters will on November 5 choose whether to extend that time until the point of fetal viability, which is about 24 weeks of pregnancy. The proposed amendment must receive 60 per cent of the votes cast in order to pass. A recent poll indicated that 55 per cent of Floridians support it, and 20 per cent are “not sure.”

3. MISSOURI – The midwestern state of Missouri has one of the strictest abortion bans in the United States, with no exceptions even for rape or incest. The referendum proposes to allow abortion until fetal viability in the traditionally Republican-leaning state.

4. NEBRASKA – This is state, abortion is legal until 12 weeks. It is the only US state which will vote on two competing propositions. One would establish a “fundamental right” to abortion until fetal viability, while the other would ban it after the first trimester (13 weeks). The winning amendment will require 50 per cent of the vote, and more votes than the competing initiative.

5. SOUTH DAKOTA – South Dakota has a similar abortion ban to Missouri, with the procedure allowed only to protect the life of a mother. Voters will now decide whether to reestablish the right to abortion during the first trimester.

6. COLORADO – Colorado is among a handful of states where abortion is legal without a gestational limit. A citizen-led initiative now proposes to constitutionally protect the right to abortion in the Democratic-led state.

7. MARYLAND – Maryland voters will decide whether to amend their constitution to enshrine the right to abortion until fetal viability.

8. MONTANA – Abortion is legal in Montana, traditionally a conservative state, until fetal viability, despite legal efforts to restrict access that have been blocked by judges. The proposed amendment would enshrine existing reproductive rights in the state’s constitution.

9. NEVADA – Voters in the western state of Nevada, where abortion is legal until fetal viability (24 weeks), will choose whether to enshrine the right in the state constitution.

10. NEW YORK – Lawmakers in New York have submitted an amendment to further bolster abortion access, which is already legal until fetal viability, by including anti-discrimination protections for reproductive healthcare.

New York:

Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz and his Republican rival JD Vance debated each other on Wednesday as millions of Americans tuned in to the first, and most-likely, only vice-presidential debate before the country votes on November 5.

Unlike the presidential debate, which saw personal attacks by the contenders, the vice presidential debate was calm, structured and surprisingly civil as Mr Vance and Mr Walz engaged in debating mostly policy issues.

Instead of indulging in slander, both candidates stuck to criticism of the opposing presidential candidate. The debate came as a surprise to most, especially after a months-long ugly and divisive election campaign – that saw personal attacks, derogatory language, racist slurs, inflammatory rhetoric and even assassination attempts.

The US Vice Presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz was calm, structured and surprisingly civil.

Mr Vance and Mr Walz too, have in the past, attacked each other during the election campaign, but for the vice-presidential debate, they struck a respectful tone.

THE MOST HEATED EXCHANGE OF THE DEBATE

The debate was cordial and focused mostly on policy matters but saw some tense moments towards the end when a question was asked to the Republican candidate on whether he agrees that Donald Trump lost the 2020 US election.

During the debate Mr Vance, who has said that he would not have voted to certify the result of the previous presidential election, evaded the question when asked if he would challenge this year’s vote if Donald Trump loses the election.

To this Mr Walz responded by blaming Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud which had instigated a mob attack on the US Capitol in January, 2021, which was an attempt to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s election win in 2020.

Blaming Mr Vance, Mr Walz said, “He is still saying he (Tump) didn’t lose the election,”. He then directly questioned his rival by asking, “Did he (Trump) lose the 2020 election?” When the Republican candidate again dodged the question and went on to accuse Kamala Harris of pursuing online censorship of opposing views, the debate was at its most intense exchange.

“That’s a damning non-answer,” Mr Walz exclaimed.

Slamming JD Vance, Tim Walz said, “He is still saying he (Tump) didn’t lose the 2020 election”.

The two candidates, with vastly divergent views on every subject, debated each other on a series of subjects – from inflation to immigration, from taxes to the economy, from abortion to gender issues, the West Asia crisis and even climate change.

PUNCHES AND COUNTER-PUNCHES

Picking on each other’s presidential candidate and what they considered their vulnerabilities, both Mr Walz and Mr Vance dodged the verbal punches that came their way and responded with equal measure.

Describing Donald Trump as an “unstable” leader who puts the interest of billionaires before commoners, Mr Walz attacked Donald Trump over his policy on immigration. He slammed the former president for “pressuring the Republicans in Congress” to abandon the bipartisan bill on border security.

“Donald Trump had four years to do this. He promised you, Americans, saying how easy it will be.”

Mr Vance took a jab at the Democrats over the problem of inflation and economy, and repeatedly questioned Kamala Harris on why she has not done enough to address these important issues in the four years that she was vice-president in the Biden Administration.

Vance and Walz also clashed on pressing global issues, especially the crises in Europe and West Asia.

“If Kamala Harris has such great plans for how to address middle-class problems, then she ought to do them now – not when asking for promotion, but in the job the American people gave her 3-1/2 years ago,” Mr Vance said.

The two also clashed on pressing global issues, especially the crises in Europe and West Asia. Mr Walz called Donald Trump “too fickle” and “sympathetic” to strongmen like Putin and Netanyahu and said that Trump cannot be trusted to handle the conflict-prone region. Mr Vance rejected these claims and asserted that when Mr Trump was President, he had made the world “a more secure place” during his term in office.

Donald Trump, who was watching the debate live, was posting messages – mostly personal attacks – on his website ‘Truth Social’ in his trademark style. He attacked the moderators of the debate hosted by US television network CBS. He also called the Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz a man with “low IQ” and even called him “pathetic”.

During the debate, Republican candidate JD Vance, who had once been a strong Trump basher, blamed the media for its reporting on Donald Trump, and tried to set the record straight by saying “I was wrong about Donald Trump”.

He went on to explain that “I was wrong, first of all, because I believe some of the media stories that turned out to be dishonest fabrications of his record. But most importantly, Donald Trump delivered for the American people.”

THE ‘MINNESOTA NICE’ DEBATE

The Vice Presidential debate was between Democratic candidate Tim Walz, 60, a former high school teacher and current Governor of Minnesota with liberal views, and his Republican rival JD Vance, 40, a former venture capitalist, bestselling author and conservative firebrand US senator from Ohio with some very conservative views on issues like abortion.

Though both candidates portrayed themselves as sons of America’s Midwestern heartland, each had deeply opposing views on nearly every major issue that is gripping a vastly polarised United States of America.

By and large both candidates appeared calm and courteous, demonstrating a ‘Minnesota Nice’ attitude throughout the debate.

While both candidates tried to outperform one-another while dealing the occasional blow to the rival, by and large both men appeared calm and courteous, demonstrating a ‘Minnesota Nice’ attitude throughout the debate, occasionally even thanking each other.

At the end of the debate, reports and polls suggested that neither candidate dealt a ‘knockout punch’ to the other, nor could one outshine the other, resulting in a balanced debate with no clear winner.

Political analysts believe that vice presidential debates generally do not alter the outcome of a presidential election. That said, even a slight shift in public opinion could prove decisive with the race on a razor’s edge five weeks before election day.