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America's absurd war on 'organized retail crime'

The number of <keyword id="19933600" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="prostate-cancer" source="keywords">prostate cancer</keyword> cases is rising among men aged below 50 years in India, with a more aggressive form of the disease, experts have said, underscoring that it can be managed effectively if identified early as it often grows slowly. September is recognised as Prostate <keyword id="23363213" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cancer-awareness-month" source="keywords">Cancer Awareness Month</keyword> for raising awareness about one of the most common cancers affecting men worldwide. Prostate cancer, which develops in the prostate gland, primarily affects older men, but it is on the rise in younger men in India, with a more aggressive form of the disease, according to the experts. The incidence of prostate cancer in the under-50 age group has increased significantly, they have pointed out. According to the <keyword id="19896311" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="World-Health-Organization" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="World Health Organization" meta.hostid="266" meta.entityid="World Health Organization">World Health Organization</keyword>'s (WHO) figures, prostate cancer affected 37,948 Indian men -- accounting for roughly 3% of the 14 lakh new cancer cases registered in the country -- in 2022. Dr Ashish Gupta, a medical oncologist certified by the American board and the chief of the medical oncology department at the Unique Hospital Cancer Centre in Delhi, said, "<keyword id="20123436" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="early-detection" source="keywords">Early detection</keyword> significantly increases the survival rates as prostate cancer is often slow-growing and can be managed effectively if identified in the initial stages." "The biggest issue in India is late diagnosis," he added. In the United States, 80% of prostate cancer patients are diagnosed early and 20% report it late, Gupta said, adding that the statistics are reversed in India. Through regular PSA tests and check-ups, men can take control of their health and reduce the chances of the disease advancing, he said. Although symptoms are often absent in the early stages, men should be aware of the potential warning signs, including difficulty in urinating, frequent urination (especially at night), blood in the urine or semen and pain in the hips, back or pelvis, he said. The experts have warned against a delay in diagnosis and treatment, given that it can prove to be fatal. Most often, the symptoms of prostate cancer are either ignored or neglected, leading to advanced stages of the disease. "We are observing a rise in prostate cancer cases in young adults, which was earlier associated with adults aged above 50 years. Cancer reports among younger males aged 35 to 44 residing in metropolitan regions have recently increased," Gupta said. Advances in medical technology, including robotic surgeries and precision radiation, have significantly improved the prognosis for prostate cancer patients. However, the fear of being diagnosed, combined with societal pressures on men to stay silent about health issues, prevents many from seeking timely medical advice. Modern treatment methods like immunotherapy, targeted therapy and a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy are proving to be an effective treatment option and giving a new lease of life to prostate cancer patients, Gupta said. Dr Tanvi Sood, a medical oncologist at the Paras Hospital in Gurugram, said, "Prostate cancer is increasing in young men around the globe. It is known to be more aggressive in nature and usually diagnosed at an advanced stage. Increased screening may have contributed to increased diagnosis in younger men. However, there could also be a hereditary genetic syndrome causing prostate cancer in the men in a family." Timely diagnosis can help start the right treatment like surgery, hormonal therapy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. It is very important to check for hereditary genetic mutations in all prostate cancer patients, especially young patients, Sood underlined. Gupta concluded that men with a family history of prostate cancer are at a higher risk, especially if someone's father, brother or uncle was diagnosed with the disease. Genetic factors play a role, so those with a family history should consider earlier and more frequent screenings, he added. Healthy lifestyle habits can help reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, along with regular physical activity, can support prostate health. Reducing red meat and fat intake, along with avoiding smoking, can also help lower the risk, Gupta said. By staying informed, opting for regular screenings and following healthy lifestyle choices, men can significantly reduce the risks associated with prostate cancer, he added.

Prostate cancer cases rising among men aged below 50 in India, note experts

Sixty-six percent of <keyword id="23012810" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="road-traffic-deaths" source="keywords">road traffic deaths</keyword> in <keyword id="19952305" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Southeast-Asia" source="keywords">Southeast Asia</keyword> are of <keyword id="20239488" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pedestrians" source="keywords">pedestrians</keyword>, motorized <keyword id="20937113" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="two-wheeler-riders" source="keywords">two-wheeler riders</keyword>, and <keyword id="20007750" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cyclists" source="keywords">cyclists</keyword>, while the highest traffic fatalities in India are among two- and three-wheeler riders, according to the latest <keyword id="20738786" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="WHO-report" source="keywords">WHO report</keyword>. The "WHO South-East Asia Regional Status Report on <keyword id="20187029" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="road-safety" source="keywords">Road Safety</keyword>" was launched during "Safety 2024", the 15th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, 2024. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, 30% of reported road traffic deaths involved users of powered two- and three-wheelers. Occupants of four-wheeled vehicles make up 25% of the deaths and pedestrians account for 21 %. Cyclists represent 5% of the deaths. The remaining 20% include occupants of large vehicles, heavy goods vehicles, and other or unknown user types. "In the WHO Southeast Asia Region, the share of reported road traffic deaths is 46% for users of powered two- and three-wheelers, 12 for occupants of four-wheeled vehicles, 17% for pedestrians, 3% for cyclists and 22% for others. In all these countries, vulnerable road users (pedestrians, motorised two-wheeler users and bicyclists) constitute 66% of the total reported road traffic deaths," the report said. "Drivers or riders of two and three-wheelers constitute the highest proportion among all road user categories in India (45.1%), Maldives (100 %), Myanmar (47%) and Thailand (51.4%)," it added. The WHO noted that no country in the South Asian region had achieved the target of reducing its estimated road traffic deaths by 50 %. However, considerable reduction in the WHO's estimated road traffic deaths occurred in the Maldives and Thailand, where estimated road traffic deaths decreased by 46.2% and 41.7 %, respectively. On the contrary, reported road traffic deaths in the region increased by 15 % in the 2010-2021 period. At the country level, no member state of the Southeast Asia Region with more than 10 million population has reported a decrease in road traffic deaths during this period. "However, it should be noted that the reported number of road traffic deaths in Thailand reduced by 22.9% between 2016 and 2021. The estimated road traffic deaths too increased in Bangladesh, India and Nepal during the period 2010-2021 by 23 %, 2% and 25%, respectively," the report said. Etienne Krug, director of the WHO's Department for Social Determinants of Health, said road traffic crashes were a major crisis of the 21st century. "...a large proportion of people who die in road crashes are those who cannot afford to buy a car. This is urgent time to take action. The report reveals that the crisis is huge but we need to understand and act with determination that prevention is possible and needs strict enforcement," he said. The three-day conference is being hosted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi; George Institute for Global Health in collaboration with the All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS), National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) and co-sponsored by WHO. "To reduce inequities, we must acknowledge that injuries disproportionately impact vulnerable communities -- because we are far behind in addressing real problems with real solutions. Lived experience shows how policy shapes differential exposure, risk, and outcomes, underscoring the urgent need for change," said Jagnoor Jagnoor, head of injury division at George Institute for Global Health. During the conference, the international experts are uniting with a shared goal of "building a safer future for all: Equitable and sustainable strategies for injury and violence prevention". The conference will focus on five key themes -- improving coordination and collaboration among stakeholders, strengthening capacity for research and practice, integrating injury prevention with global health agendas such as sustainability and equity, empowering communities, and promoting informed policymaking.

Pedestrians, cyclists, two-wheeler riders constitute 66% of road fatalities in Southeast Asia, says a WHO report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Democrats hope blue states can be the party's redoubt against Trump's second term.</li><li>Democrats will be in the minority in both houses of Congress in January 2025.</li></ul>With Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential election loss, President Joe Biden leaving the White House in January, and Democrats looking ahead to life in a Senate chamber that they'll no longer control, the new year will bring a new reality: the party's power in Washington, DC will be diminished.A newly empowered Donald Trump, meanwhile, is aiming to reshape the federal government to a degree that he failed to achieve in his first term. He's assembling <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-white-house-staff-cabinet-picks-list-2024-11">an array of loyalists</a> to help further his goals on everything from immigration to foreign policy.Early in Trump's first presidency, protests against his administration were common in Washington and other cities. And as Trump's first term progressed, Democrats remained laser-focused on opposing him. The party harnessed that energy to retake the House in 2018, win back the presidency in 2020, and flip the Senate in 2021.But this time, the Democratic Party appears to be coalescing around a revised strategy.Democratic officials and activists are <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/16/us/politics/democrats-anti-trump-battle-plan.html">hoping blue states</a> can be the center of opposition to the president-elect, The New York Times reported. From abortion rights to paid leave, the party sees its Democratic strongholds as bulwarks against Trump, especially with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-supreme-court-conservatives-election-2024-11">the US Supreme Court</a> dominated by conservative jurists.Democrats are also building up a legal operation to challenge the new administration, according to the Times. The newspaper reported that advocacy groups are rallying hundreds of attorneys to fight Trump's agenda from the start of the president-elect's second term.Skye Perryman, the CEO of Democracy Forward, a nonprofit organization created after Trump's win in 2016, told the Times that challenges to the president-elect will be different in his second term."Resistance this time is a lot more about collective power building," she said. "It's using the law and using litigation."Democrats are also already looking ahead to the 2028 election.While Democrats are <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/harris-trump-blue-wall-democrats-suburban-voters-unions-2024-11">still smarting over Harris' loss</a> — and trying to assess how their party can reverse electoral gains that Trump made with working-class voters — many of the party's crop of governors have emerged as potential 2028 contenders.Democrats occupy 23 of the nation's 50 governorships, which will remain unchanged at the beginning of the year. Some of them — like Govs. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gavin-newsom-california-gubernatorial-recall-election-landslide-win-2021-9">Gavin Newsom</a> of California, JB Pritzker of Illinois, and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan — have long been considered White House aspirants.For Democrats, the focus on states will give many of these leaders a platform as Trump aims to enact a conservative agenda in a nation that remains politically divided. Harris easily won California and Illinois in the general election, but she lost Michigan — a state that for years had been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/harris-trump-blue-wall-economic-message-unions-michigan-pennsylvania-wisconsin-2024-10">part of the party's vaunted blue wall</a> — by about 1.4 points.After the election, Newsom called a special session, which will begin on December 2 in Sacramento, to boost the state's legal resources to challenge the incoming administration on issues like abortion, civil rights, climate regulations, and immigration.Pritzker <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/elections/2024/11/07/pritzker-donald-trump-second-term-defend-illinois-remarks">pledged to work</a> with the Trump administration but also called himself a "warrior" for his state."To anyone who intends to come take away the freedom, opportunity, and dignity of Illinoisans, I would remind you that a happy warrior is still a warrior," the governor, now in his second term, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/GovPritzker/status/1854686495975551159">wrote on X</a>. "You come for my people — you come through me."Meanwhile, Whitmer reiterated that she worked with Trump during her first term and would find a way to do so again."We'll figure out how to work with a Trump administration into this last two years of my term," she told reporters after the election.

Democrats are hoping blue states can hold the line in their battle against Trump's second-term agenda

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Republicans in Israel are working hard ahead of the election.</li><li>Israel has the fourth-largest US expat community, with up to 200,000 eligible voters.</li></ul>Judith Segaloff has been busy in the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-donald-trump-15-days-swing-states-polling-2024-10">run-up to the election.</a>"From early in the morning, until late at night, people are calling me, people are WhatsApping me, people are asking how to get their ballots," she told Business Insider during a phone call. "It's non-stop."Born in the US, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/60000-american-jews-live-in-west-bank-settlements">Segaloff now lives in the West Bank</a> in a settler community that the International Court of Justice says is illegal.Working with the Republican Overseas in Israel group, she is emerging as a key organizer to mobilize the GOP vote in what <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/harris-trump-presidential-election-swing-state-polls-sun-belt-2024-10">looks like a very close race.</a>Expats' votes are counted in the last state they lived in. As a former Michigander, Segaloff's vote is powerful.She has been reaching out to other US voters living in Israel, originally from battleground states, in the hope of helping to secure a win for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/donald-trump">former President Donald Trump.</a>"I think that we could influence the swing states and move them a little bit," she said.<div type="image" title="An Israeli flag is displayed in front of a building near a road sign for the US embassy in Jerusalem on September 27, 2023." height="2432" width="3648" msid="114727058" hostid="261" sizebytes="1007938"></div>According to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.fvap.gov/info/reports-surveys/overseas-citizen-population-analysis">Federal Voting Assistance Program</a>, Israel has the US's fourth-largest expat community and about 147,000 eligible voters. iVote Israel, a voting resource for Americans in Israel, estimates the number at around 200,000.The pool of voters isn't huge, but in such a close election, it could prove significant.Matanya Harow, iVote Israel's national director, said most voters contacting them are from New York, New Jersey, and California, but a significant number come from battleground states, mainly Pennsylvania and Michigan."I believe that they can have quite a sizable impact," he said.With days to go, absentee ballot registration deadlines for many states have already passed, so iVote Israel is primarily helping voters return their existing ballots — a process that varies by state.Historically, the challenging task has stunted turnout in Israel. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/Reports/FVAP-VoterBrief_211105_v1a.pdf">According to the FVAP</a>, only about 5% of American voters in Israel cast their ballot in 2020.Nonetheless, both parties are trying.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/democrats-investment-voters-abroad-us-election/">According to CBS News,</a> the Democratic National Committee allocated $300,000 for Democrats Abroad to reach overseas voters—a first in a presidential election cycle.Although the official Democrats Abroad in Israel group disbanded over a disagreement shortly after last year'<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-hamas-october7-attacks-middle-east-lebanon-war-2024-10">s October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks</a>, a new organization formed — American Democrats in Israel.Heather Stone, the group's executive vice chair, said they've received "thousands" of calls from swing-state voters living in Israel. "It's down to the wire," she said.She said those voters see <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/kamala-harris">Vice President Kamala Harris</a> as supportive of Israel and its ability to defend itself. They are, she said, also motivated by other issues like<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-vote-abortion-top-issue-2024-biden-trump-guide"> abortion,</a> healthcare, the economy, and the climate crisis."We don't check our values just because we moved across the ocean," Stone said.<h2 id="a3a834ae-ff15-4a91-9554-0a29772b433f">The GOP pitch — protecting Israel's security</h2>The Republican camp appears to be zeroing in on Israel's defense and security.Sen. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jd-vance-60-percent-chance-trump-wins-betting-markets-kalshi-2024-10">JD Vance,</a> Trump's running mate, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-824435">said in a video earlier this month</a> to American voters in Israel that if Harris becomes president, "it's going to lead to broader regional war or maybe even worse."Trump has previously made the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/4889959-donald-trump-israel-will-cease-to-exist-kamala-harris/">unfounded claim that Israel would cease to exist</a> within years if he doesn't win.The message resonated with some American voters in Israel, particularly given <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-fighting-war-3-fronts-hamas-lebanon-syria-middle-east-2023-10">Israel's simultaneous fights with Hamas, Hezbollah, and other regional foes</a>"We're fighting for our survival right now, our sons and daughters — of Americans — are being killed in Gaza and Lebanon," Raphael Gantshar, a New Yorker who moved to Israel 17 years ago, told BI.He said American voters in Israel will be asking, '"Which presidency is the one that will save the lives of my children?"Gantshar believes Trump is the answer and will vote for him for a second time. He said he feels the former president understands better than Harris how to stabilize the region, which he believes aligns with the best interests of the US.<div type="image" title="US President Donald Trump watches as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) speaks from the Truman Balcony at the White House during the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accord." height="2560" width="3840" msid="114727064" hostid="261" sizebytes="264084"></div>For Tzvi Silver, who moved from New Jersey 13 years ago, Israel's security is a concern, but he doesn't necessarily buy the apocalyptic warnings."I don't think that Vice President Kamala Harris being elected will necessarily be good for Israel," he said."I'm also not concerned that I'll wake up on the day after the election, November 6, and all of a sudden the Jewish state will, God forbid, be gone or something like that."Silver said that he had been convinced to vote for Trump based on his track record, highlighting the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jared-kushner-founding-nonprofit-focused-middle-east-report-2021-5">Abraham Accords </a>— agreements from Trump's presidency that promoted Arab-Israeli normalization — and the state of the US economy.Although Silver is firm in his decision, that is not the case for everyone around him. He said his in-laws plan to vote for Harris, while his wife may vote for Trump for the first time.<h2 id="3975bf45-0b1c-4720-81d3-7d574642a678">In Trump-friendly Israel, American expats are divided</h2>In general, Israel is Trump-friendly territory. There's even <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/some-israeli-conservatives-said-trump-just-like-one-of-us-2022-11">a town square named after him.</a>According to a <a target="_blank" href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/israel-us-election-poll-trump-harris-vote-preference/story?id=114474257">national Langer Research/PORI poll </a>of 1,012 Israelis last month, Trump is comfortably ahead of with 56% of preferences to Harris' 24%.In contrast, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-claims-jewish-voters-leaving-democratic-party-2019-3">Jewish voters in the US</a> overwhelmingly tend to support the Democrats.While no specific polls exist for US voters in Israel, Uriel Abulof, an associate professor at Tel Aviv University's School of Political Science, believes opinions are divided, primarily along religious lines.He said that among American voters in Israel, Orthodox Jews are more likely to support Trump, while secular Jews tend to favor Harris.For those in the middle, their choice is likely to hinge on who they believe will best protect Israel, Abulof said.This may in turn be influenced by their support for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/netanyahu-israel-congress-hamas-gaza-war-aid-palestinian-protest-2024-7">Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.</a>He said, "In this age where everything is so personalized, if Bibi says, and effectively he does, that Trump is better for Israel, then they would vote for Trump."For the Republicans Overseas in Israel, they're banking on a sizable number of those people being from swing states.Or, as Segaloff wrote in a WhatsApp message, "Here's hoping."

Republicans are mobilizing expat votes for Trump in Israel, hoping to tip the scale in battleground states

<ul class="summary-list"><li>On <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-to-watch-for-election-day-harris-trump-congress-2024-11">Election Day 2024</a>, both parties are eyeing their pathways to victory.</li><li>Vice President Kamala Harris is facing former President Donald Trump.</li></ul>Over the past two decades, the road to the White House — once dominated by Florida and Ohio — has evolved.While bellwethers like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin remain a critical part of the calculus for Democratic and Republican presidential nominees in reaching the 270 electoral vote threshold for victory, the Sun Belt region has also grown in importance.For Vice President <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a> and former President <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>, who are facing each other in 2024 presidential election on Tuesday, every vote will be crucial in what is considered a tight race.Both campaigns have been targeting a narrow band of seven swing states to capture the White House: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.Democrats — who defied conventional political wisdom in 2022 by retaining their <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/live-results-us-senate-midterm-elections-2022-11">Senate majority</a> and minimizing major losses in the House despite losing control of the lower chamber — are working hard to hold the White House as they face voter unease over the economy and pushback over the Israel-Hamas war.Before President Joe <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-dropping-out-presidential-race-2024-7">Biden dropped out</a> of the race for reelection in July 2024, Republicans believed that he would be a liability for Democrats. But the GOP's political calculus for the race evolved after the emergence of Harris as the Democratic nominee.And Republicans have had myriad struggles over the last two years as their stewardship of the House has not exactly worked out how they had hoped. They elected a speaker (<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kevin-mccarthy-lost-speakership-cbs-interview-angered-democrats-votes-2023-10">Kevin McCarthy</a> of California) who was subsequently removed and have struggled to enact an agenda under a new speaker (Mike Johnson of Louisiana) with a razor-thin majority. The series of events created a "chaos" narrative around the party, which doesn't help at the top of the ticket.The GOP must also contend with the toxicity of Trump's political brand among a sizable contingent of voters, especially among suburbanites and Independents who are likely to decide the election.One major issue that has continued to weigh down Republican candidates is <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/abortion-rights-ohio-virginia-kentucky-elections-gop-roe-v-wade-2023-11">abortion rights</a>, especially as voters in an array of states have rejected several anti-abortion measures following the Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Democrats have won big in urban and suburban districts over the issue — from congressional races to local elections — and they've even made inroads in some GOP-leaning areas where blocs of Republicans support some form of abortion rights.Trump has been eager to take credit for installing three conservative justices on the Supreme Court, and in April 2024 he stated that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-said-abortion-bans-should-be-left-states-2024-4">abortion was now an issue to be determined in the states</a>, frustrating many conservatives who have sought a national abortion ban.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/streaming/where-to-watch-election-results-live-stream-2024">Election results</a> are set to start coming in on Tuesday night, but it could take days before a winner is called.Here's what to know about the seven battleground states that will ultimately determine who wins the race.<h2 id="898f6da7-6aef-4802-9d80-a0b3bf74da20">Arizona</h2>2012 margin: Romney +9.0%2016 margin: Trump +3.5%2020 margin: Biden +0.3%Between 1952 and 2016, Arizona backed the Republican presidential nominee in every election except for 1996 — when then-President Bill Clinton won the state over former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole by a little over 2 points.Long associated with Barry Goldwater, the conservative political icon who was the Republican presidential nominee in 1964, the Grand Canyon State for decades had a decidedly red lean in federal races.But as the population of Arizona has swelled, its political orientation has also shifted.In 2012, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney easily won the state over then-President Barack Obama, but former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton whittled the GOP margin of victory down to just under 4 points in 2016.Biden, buoyed by gains among the state's burgeoning <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/young-latino-educated-voters-helped-biden-flip-arizona-trump-election-2020-11">Latino population</a>, narrowly won the state over Trump in 2020 by a little under 11,000 votes out of nearly 3.4 million ballots.Democrats remain encouraged by their performance in Arizona in the 2022 midterms.Not only did Secretary of State Katie Hobbs defeat MAGA-infused <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/results-katie-hobbs-kari-lake-arizona-governor-election-2022-11">Kari Lake</a> in the gubernatorial race, but Sen. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/results-mark-kelly-blake-masters-arizona-senate-election-2022-11">Mark Kelly</a> won a full six-year term over Republican Blake Masters. Adrian Fontes was also elected to succeed Hobbs over state Rep. Mark Finchem, who repeatedly questioned the 2020 presidential election results.Harris will have to recreate a win in a state where Republicans have long been the dominant party. And Lake is now running in the state's marquee Senate race, where she's facing Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego.<h2 id="2db802c5-f372-4aac-a96d-982425694dbf">Georgia</h2>2012 margin: Romney +7.8%2016 margin: Trump +5.1%2020 margin: Biden +0.2%For decades, Republicans could easily depend on the Peach State's electoral votes falling into their column. No more.While GOP politicians were enjoying double-digit wins in statewide races, former Democratic state House Minority Leader <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stacey-abrams-bio-georgia-joe-biden-democrats-voter-registration-election-2020-11">Stacey Abrams</a> — who saw the possibility of a more politically competitive Georgia — worked behind the scenes to build a turnout organization that could rival that of the Republican Party.In 2018, Abrams came within 55,000 votes of winning that year's gubernatorial election.Two years later, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-wins-georgia-democratic-party-south-presidential-election-2020-11">Biden won Georgia</a> by roughly 12,000 votes over Trump, followed by the dual <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/raphael-warnock-jon-ossoff-georgia-senate-shifting-demographics-religion-stimulus-2021-1">2021 runoff victories</a> of Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff over Republicans Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, respectively.The exponential growth of the Atlanta suburbs, driven by new Black, Asian, and Latino residents, has given the state a purple veneer — but the 2022 midterms also showed the limitations of Democratic gains.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/raphael-warnock-herschel-walker-georgia-senate-runoff-election-results-2022-12">Warnock won</a> a full six-year term in a December runoff after fending off a challenge from Republican Herschel Walker, becoming the only Democrat to win statewide in the midterms. But Walker, aided by robust support in the state's rural counties, still won 48.6% of the vote in the runoff, despite a candidacy that some Republicans saw as deeply flawed.And Republicans were victorious in every other statewide election, led by Gov. Brian Kemp, who defeated Abrams in a rematch of their 2018 contest by nearly 300,000 votes.This year, both parties will <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/georgia-biden-trump-swing-state-election-atlanta-jump-ball-2024-4">have fought hard</a> to capture the state's 16 electoral votes: Democrats have focused heavily on turning out Black voters and suburban voters in metro Atlanta, while Republicans looked to boost their traditional support in the state's rural stretches.Translation: Georgia has remained on everyone's mind this year.<h2 id="746ed130-5944-4a3b-a75d-e8b8a536f565">Michigan</h2>2012 margin: Obama +9.5%2016 margin: Trump +0.2%2020 margin: Biden +2.8%Michigan has long been a critical part of the electoral calculus for Democrats, as they carried the state in every presidential race from 1992 to 2012 by appealing to voters in Detroit and its middle- and upper-middle-class suburbs, while also enjoying support among union households and moderates in the exurban and rural stretches of the state.But the party was stunned by Trump's narrow 2016 win in the longtime blue state, as the Republican made significant inroads with the base of white working-class voters who had been slowly drifting away from Democrats cycle after cycle.In 2020, the party put a premium on flipping the Wolverine State back into its column, which Biden did, winning by nearly 3 points over Trump.And in November 2022, Democrats in the state boasted some of their party's most impressive victories in the entire country.Gov. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/results-gretchen-whitmer-tudor-dixon-michigan-governor-election-2022-11">Gretchen Whitmer</a> won reelection by nearly 11 points, while state Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson easily won their races. The party also flipped control of both houses of the Michigan legislature, and a referendum enshrining reproductive rights into the state Constitution was approved by voters.Still, despite the Democratic wins, the state's 15 electoral votes have been a sought-after prize for both parties in 2024.A major caveat: Biden has faced enormous pushback from the state's Arab American community over his handling of the conflict in Gaza, which led more than 100,000 Michiganders to vote "uncommitted" instead of selecting the president in the March Democratic primary. It remains unclear how these voters will respond to Harris' candidacy.<h2 id="662fa2f3-defd-4355-9bae-934ddc230f86">Nevada</h2>2012 margin: Obama +6.7%2016 margin: Clinton +2.4%2020 margin: Biden +2.4%Democrats have been victorious on the presidential level in the Silver State since 2008, when Obama won by nearly 13 points, followed by his victory of nearly 7 points in 2012.But Clinton and Biden both won the state by a little over 2 points, as Republicans have seen the fast-growing Western state as one that can be flipped into their column, especially if they can make inroads in Democratic-heavy Clark County.In the 2022 midterms, Republicans got a huge boost in the state when their gubernatorial nominee, Clark County Sheriff <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/results-steve-sisolak-joe-lombardo-nevada-governor-election-2022-11">Joe Lombardo</a>, defeated incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak.But Democrats also notched a major win by reelecting Sen. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/results-catherine-cortez-masto-adam-laxalt-nevada-senate-election-2022-11">Catherine Cortez Masto</a> to a second term over former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt, who had been strongly backed by Trump. And after state Democrats approved congressional maps that some in the party saw as especially risky in a GOP wave year, all three of the party's House incumbents — Dina Titus, Steven Horsford, and Susie Lee — won their respective races.The ticket-splitting in the midterms once again showed the critical nature of Nevada in national politics. Both parties are looking to win the state in 2024, especially as the economy remains at the forefront of voters' minds.<h2 id="4e302a43-e844-46e3-b75c-b5be667c5284">North Carolina</h2>2012 margin: Romney +2.04%2016 margin: Trump +3.7%2020 margin: Trump +1.3%Since 1980, Republican presidential nominees have won North Carolina in virtually every election, with the exception being Obama's razor-thin 2008 victory over then-Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain.And no presidential candidate has secured a majority of the vote in North Carolina since Romney won 50.4% of the vote in 2012, making this once solidly-red presidential state a real battleground.Democrats have focused heavily on North Carolina this year, given the close nature of the results in 2020, as well as the fact that the party sees the state as one where they can appeal to its suburban electorate — a critical part of Biden's coalition four years ago.However, the GOP is banking on Trump's popularity in the state's rural regions, which could sway the statewide tally in the former president's favor if he's able to effectively turn out his supporters.And in addition to the presidential race is the highly-competitive gubernatorial contest between Democratic state Attorney General Josh Stein and Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, two well-known statewide figures who are angling to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.<h2 id="10b160e7-a52c-4e12-adfa-b0b6cf0da82c">Pennsylvania</h2>2012 margin: Obama +5.4%2016 margin: Trump +0.7%2020 margin: Biden +1.2%Biden's hometown of Scranton is dear to his heart so Pennsylvania was always going to be a key state for the party in 2024. And even with Biden out of the presidential race, the state remains just as critical for Democrats.Democrats carried Pennsylvania in every presidential race from 1992 to 2012, until Trump narrowly edged out Clinton in 2016, gaining support among the white working-class voters who populate the exurban and rural communities across the state.But Biden clawed back in 2020, boosted by strong returns in Philadelphia and its affluent suburbs, as well as a robust vote in Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh.And in 2022, Democrats had a huge year in the state, electing Lt. Gov. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/results-john-fetterman-mehmet-oz-pennsylvania-us-senate-election-2022-11">John Fetterman</a> to the Senate to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey, while also electing state Attorney General <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/results-doug-mastriano-josh-shapiro-pennsylvania-governor-election-2022-11">Josh Shapiro</a> in a landslide to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.The party also regained control the state House of Representatives, winning back a majority they lost in the 2010 midterms.Despite the GOP losses, the party — keen on winning back some suburban voters and improving their margins in the state's rural outposts — has been making a major play for Pennsylvania this year.<h2 id="dc1790c5-fa2e-4bc3-8a48-8e88a92bbe00">Wisconsin</h2>2012 margin: Obama +6.9%2016 margin: Trump +0.8%2020 margin: Biden +0.6%Wisconsin is one of the most politically divided states in the country.Democratic presidential nominees Al Gore and John Kerry eked out statewide wins in 2000 and 2004, respectively, and Obama won the state easily in 2008 and 2012.But Trump flipped Wisconsin to the GOP in 2016, the first time it had supported a Republican presidential nominee since 1984.Democrats, stunned by the loss, regrouped and elected Tony Evers as governor in 2018 — knocking out onetime GOP star Scott Walker — while also reelecting Sen. Tammy Baldwin to a second term.Biden went on to narrowly win the state over Trump in 2020.And in November 2022, Evers was reelected to a second term over Republican businessman Tim Michels, while GOP Sen. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/results-ron-johnson-mandela-barnes-wisconsin-us-senate-election-2022-11">Ron Johnson</a> narrowly defeated then-Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes to earn a third term in the upper chamber.Both parties have been eyeing the Badger State — and looking to turn out their respective bases — in what will be another competitive race on the presidential level.

The 2024 presidential election may come down to swing states' results. Here's where Trump and Harris lead in the polls.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A former employee has accused Davos organizers of pregnancy and race discrimination.</li><li>The lawsuit arrives on the heels of a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/business/world-economic-forum-klaus-schwab-discrimination-harassment-de285594">WSJ investigation</a> into allegations of a toxic workplace. </li></ul>A former employee at the World Economic Forum — the organizer of the illustrious Davos summit in the Swiss Alps — has accused <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wigdorlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Complaint-Smith-v.-World-Economic-Forum-LLC-et-al.-FILED.pdf">the NGO</a> and its founder, Klaus Schwab, in a lawsuit of pregnancy and race discrimination.In her lawsuit, Topaz Smith, a Black woman who worked as community lead for aviation, travel, and tourism, said she was not given the same opportunities as white colleagues — including not being invited to attend Davos in person.Smith also said in the lawsuit she was told by one of her supervisors — who is a white South African woman — to consider her "her master."Additionally, Smith said that after she announced her pregnancy in 2023, her position at the Forum "began deteriorating," according to the lawsuit. She said that when she returned from maternity leave, the role she was slated to begin — partner lead for aviation, travel, and tourism — was eliminated and later filled "with a white woman who was not pregnant.""While it's disappointing to see such false claims being made, now that these matters are in court, the falsity of these claims will become evident," a spokesman for the World Economic Forum told Business Insider in a statement.An attorney for Smith didn't immediately return BI's request for comment.The lawsuit arrives on the heels of an expansive <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/business/world-economic-forum-klaus-schwab-discrimination-harassment-de285594">Wall Street Journal investigation</a>, which described allegations of a toxic workplace at the Forum, including discrimination against women and Black employees.The roughly fifty-year-old summit convenes top business and government leaders to hash out global issues. The Forum, which organizes the annual event, says its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.weforum.org/about/world-economic-forum/">mission</a> is to improve the state of the world — and has also published a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2023/">Global Gender Gap Report</a> since 2006.The event is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/davos-switzerland-world-economic-forum-spectacular-winter-scenery-alps-2024-1">hosted at a picturesque ski resort</a>, bringing together nearly 3,000 world leaders. At this year's gathering, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/davos-global-elite-saying-about-ai-behind-closed-doors-2024-1">Sam Altman</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-richest-countries-and-people-should-be-more-generous-2024-1">Bill Gates</a> opined on artificial intelligence and human generosity.But the Journal reported in June that several female staffers saw their careers suffer due to pregnancy. Others said they experienced sexual harassment by senior managers at the Forum as well as Davos VIP attendees, according to the Journal.Black employees also raised complaints at the organization when white colleagues <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/world-economic-forum-managers-said-n-word-davos-dei-wsj-2024-7">used the N-word in front of them,</a> and when they did not receive promotions, the Journal reported.In May, 86-year-old Schwab told staff in a memo he was stepping aside as the Forum's executive chairman as part of a planned transition. The Journal reported the announcement came after Schwab wrote to the paper expressing his concerns about its reporting.The Forum <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/world-economic-forum-managers-said-n-word-davos-dei-wsj-2024-7">previously called</a> the Journal's report "demonstrably false assertions to mischaracterize our organization."

Former employee accuses Davos summit organizers of pregnancy and race discrimination

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Democrats have leaned into the issue of democracy in the 2024 presidential election.</li><li>The party is also using the January 6 riot and its aftermath in critical state legislative races.</li></ul>Many voters have come to think of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol as an issue tied to the 2020 election and to lawmakers in Washington, DC. This year, it's also shaping up to define several important state legislative races across the country.As Vice President Kamala Harris <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/harris-trump-presidential-election-swing-state-polls-sun-belt-2024-10">campaigned in Michigan and Wisconsin</a> in recent days, ex-GOP congresswoman Liz Cheney stood by her side to make a case as to why voters should reject former President Donald Trump's candidacy."Donald Trump is doing everything he can to try to get people to forget about what he did on January 6th," Cheney said during an appearance in Royal Oak, Michigan. "And when you think about that level of instability, the level of erratic decision-making, the misogyny, that's not someone that you can entrust with the power of the Oval Office.""So, I think that we are facing a choice in this election," she continued. "It's not about party; it's about right and wrong."Less than two weeks before Election Day, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is revving up its push to defeat sitting GOP lawmakers and Republican candidates who either backed Trump's election denialism or were present in Washington on Jan. 6 when many of the then-president's supporters stormed the Capitol building. The DLCC has a particular focus on states where voting-related protests erupted in the lead-up to the Capitol riot."As we approach the first presidential election since the events of January 6th, 2021, state legislatures remain the building blocks of American democracy," Heather Williams, the president of the DLCC, told Business Insider in a statement.<h2 id="7c40c3d7-753f-4e48-bc8d-afe6f772ec43">A focus on Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania</h2>The DLCC is backing Democrats in several states — with a particular spotlight on Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin — where candidates are going up against Republicans that the organization said had "led the assault on democratic institutions and voting access."The DLCC is especially looking to make gains in state legislatures in Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. The GOP narrowly controls the Arizona legislature. Michigan has full Democratic control and Pennsylvania has a Democratic state House majority.One of the highlighted Democratic candidates is Arizona state Senate candidate Judy Schwiebert, who is running against GOP state Sen. Shawnna Bolick in a Maricopa County-anchored legislative seat. After the 2020 presidential election, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://statesunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2021_01_05_PenceLetter.pdf">Bolick signed on to a letter</a> asking then-Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the election in Arizona and other swing states where Republicans pointed to "well-founded accusations of electoral administration mismanagement."In 2020, now-President Joe Biden won Arizona by <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/young-latino-educated-voters-helped-biden-flip-arizona-trump-election-2020-11">a little over 10,000 votes</a> out of nearly 3.4 million ballots cast, a Democratic Party triumph that many Arizona Republicans continue to doubt. (There was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-deletes-statement-praising-arizona-gop-auditors-2021-9">no evidence of widespread fraud</a> in the 2020 election in Arizona.)Another candidate the DLCC has promoted is <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/18/us/georgia-state-senate-ramaswami-still.html">Ashwin Ramaswami</a>, a 25-year-old Georgia Democrat who is running in the suburban Atlanta-anchored 48th Senate district against Republican incumbent Shawn Still.Still was one of 18 individuals who were indicted by Fulton County alongside Trump on charges of election interference in the 2020 race.Last year, Still's lawyer in a court filing argued that the state lawmaker was "acting at the direction of the incumbent president of the United States." Still has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.11alive.com/article/news/special-reports/ga-trump-investigation/georgia-state-sen-shawn-still-fulton-indictment/85-887be282-b691-4157-98da-2efe65b8a5f1">maintained his innocence</a> in the case.Georgia, of course, was the site of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-georgia-rally-attacking-vote-integrity-senate-runoff-elections-2020-12">perhaps Trump's biggest challenge</a> to the 2020 election results. Biden won Georgia narrowly, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-wins-georgia-democratic-party-south-presidential-election-2020-11">edging out Trump</a> by less than 12,000 votes out of nearly 5 million ballots. Trump was unsuccessful in his attempts to persuade GOP Gov. Brian Kemp and Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to help him overturn the statewide result."In 2020, MAGA allies in the states were instrumental to Trump's plot to overturn the elections — from helping stage local protests to sponsoring legislation to challenge election results," Williams said in the statement to BI. "Legislative control in key battleground states could come down to just hundreds of votes this year, which will in turn decide whether our elections and democracy prevail."

Democrats are using January 6 to hammer the GOP in state legislative races in a push to flip key seats

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida Thursday, leaving less damage than initially feared.</li><li>The storm, however, calls into focus residents' ongoing struggles with home insurance.</li></ul>Hurricane Helene, which the National Hurricane Center called "extremely dangerous," <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-helene-slams-florida-power-outages-flooding-2024-9">made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane</a> Thursday night but has since been downgraded to a tropical storm, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/live-blog/storm-helene-live-updates-rcna172973">NBC News reported</a>.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/09/27/hurricane-helene-tropical-storm-friday-live-updates/75405032007/">According to USA Today</a>, there have been at least 22 deaths reported in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina as of 12:40 p.m. Eastern time on Friday.About 950,000 million Floridians, 1 million Georgians, 1.2 million South Carolinians, and 750,000 North Carolinians were without power as of midday Friday, according to utilities-tracking website <a target="_blank" href="http://poweroutage.us">poweroutage.us</a>.While southeastern states are being hard hit on Friday afternoon, the damage and death toll in Florida is — so far — less than many feared. But the storm calls into focus an already difficult part of living in Florida: home insurance.As natural disasters become more commonplace due to the climate crisis, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/homeowners-california-florida-insurance-issues-natural-disasters-wildfires-hurricanes-2023-10">home insurance has become a major pain</a> for residents in states like hurricane-prone Florida and wildfire-plagued California.Florida was the fastest-growing state in 2022, according to Census population data, but some residents have since<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-housing-market-sales-weather-climate-change-retirement-pandemic-costs-2024-9"> started souring on the Sunshine State,</a> in part because of rising prices — including increasingly expensive insurance premiums.The typical Florida household paid over $10,000 for home insurance in 2023, according to<a target="_blank" href="https://insurify.com/homeowners-insurance/florida/#:~:text=The%20average%20home%20insurance%20cost%20for%20Florida,include%20Travelers%2C%20Nationwide%2C%20and%20Security%20First%20Insurance."> data</a> from Insurify, and property insurance costs are rising at the<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/real-estate-prices-drop-florida-texas-violent-weather-insurance-costs-2024-8"> fastest rate</a> in 20 years, according to Capital Economics.Multiple home insurance providers have left the state entirely, and longtime Floridians have started to get priced out of coastal towns. The extreme weather patterns are driving <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-insurance-hurricanes-extreme-weather-relocate-to-ocala-2023-10">some to relocate to the center of the state</a> — or even out of state — in an effort to avoid storms and the insurance premiums they drive up.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/florida-homeowners-insurance-rising-costs-moving-to-wisconsin-2023-9">John and Natalia</a> moved to Dell Prairie, Wisconsin, from Plantation, Florida, just west of Fort Lauderdale, when their home insurance doubled to $12,000 a year after they replaced their roof."Before the roof, we paid about $6,000 for our insurance premium," John told Business Insider in 2023."But our premium still doubled from the year before," Natalia added. "Before we left, we were paying $12,000 for insurance."Helene comes just one year after Hurricane Idalia sparked massive damage across Florida's panhandle. Hurricanes today are<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/climate-change-hurricanes-why-storms-are-wetter-stronger-slower-2019-7"> stronger, slower, and wetter</a> because of rising temperatures.The high cost of home insurance sometimes prompts people to go without it.According to an analysis of US Census data by NBC News, around 18% of homeowners in Florida are without home insurance.In some of the more populous counties in Florida, like Miami-Dade County and Broward County, 24.6% and 21.7% of homeowners, respectively, don't have insurance. In Leon County, where Tallahassee, the capital, is located, 13.8% of homeowners are without insurance — but there are about 460,000 fewer homeowners there than in Miami-Dade County.The amount of damage a storm causes typically affects insurance premiums. The more damage, the more likely premiums will rise at renewal. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/catastrophe/insurers-brace-for-up-to-15-billion-in-losses-if-helene-hits-tallahassee-507530.aspx">Insurance Business</a> reported on Friday that if Helene made landfall near Tallahassee, insurers could lose up to $15 billion. (While it did make landfall in the area, local news reported Friday that Florida's capital <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wtxl.com/news/local-news/in-your-neighborhood/emergency-operations-center-hurricane-helene-sept-27-2024">did not suffer a direct hit</a>.)The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation estimated Hurricane Idalia — which made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 in 2023 — totaled more than $309.5 million in losses.Helene, which mostly affected the northwestern part of Florida, may end up causing less damage than feared because there are fewer people in the panhandle."This looks like it will not be a large loss event for Florida insurers," Mark Friedlander, a spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, an insurance information organization, told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tampabay.com/hurricane/2024/09/26/florida-hurricane-helene-storm-insurance-losses-desantis/">the Tampa Bay Times</a>.

Hurricane Helene was less horrific than Floridians feared. But Sunshine State homeowners still face an insurance crisis.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sen. Mark Warner is reportedly trying to organize his colleagues to push for Biden to drop out.</li><li>Biden has continued to face questions about his political viability in the wake of his bad debate.</li></ul>As President Joe Biden continues to face <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pressure-building-joe-biden-drop-out-race-2024-7">questions about his political viability</a> in the wake of his <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-happened-biden-trump-debate-takeaways-2024-6">poor debate performance</a> last week, one Democratic senator is apparently nearing a tipping point.Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia is trying to gather a group of his Democratic colleagues to ask Biden to withdraw from the race, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/05/mark-warner-joe-biden-exit-race-democratic-senators/">Washington Post</a> reported on Friday. Several other outlets later confirmed that Warner is organizing a meeting on the matter on Monday."Like many other people in Washington and across the country, Senator Warner believes these are critical days for the president's campaign, and he has made that clear to the White House," Warner's spokesperson, Rachel Cohen, told the Post.Another Democratic senator told the outlet that "there is a sense among many that the current path may not be sustainable for him" and that Biden "obviously has to show strength right now."As of Friday, no Democratic senator has publicly called for Biden to step aside. Sens. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania both reaffirmed their support for the president on Friday. Many member of Congress, however, have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/democrats-house-biden-debate-concerns-step-down-2024-6">remained silent or dodged questions</a> about whether they have confidence in him going forward.Two House Democrats — Reps. Lloyd Doggett of Texas and Raúl Grijalva of Arizona —have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/which-elected-democrats-called-on-joe-biden-drop-out-2024-7">publicly called for Biden to drop out</a>, while two others have declared that former President Donald Trump will win the election.Meanwhile, Biden publicly affirmed on Friday that he's "staying in the race" during a campaign speech in Wisconsin.Asked about Warner's effort by reporters later on Friday, Biden claimed that the Virginia Democrat was "the only one."Biden's campaign is facing a critical moment, with some <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-coconut-tree-memes-khive-joe-biden-debate-2024-7">pining for Vice President Kamala Harris</a> — or another <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-reelection-democrats-harris-newsom-whitmer-klobuchar-booker-cooper-moore-2024-2">potential Democratic candidate</a> — to take his place at the top of the ticket.A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-interview-abc-risky-may-not-silence-critics-2024-7">key moment for the president</a> will be his sit-down interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, which is set to air at 8 p.m. ET on Friday.

Democratic senator reportedly trying to organize a Biden drop-out push among his colleagues

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="19906203" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Trump" source="keywords">Trump</keyword>'s lawyers say he didn't pay attention to his checks reimbursing <keyword id="20004499" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Michael-Cohen" source="keywords">Michael Cohen</keyword> for <keyword id="20976172" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hush-money" source="keywords">hush money</keyword>, too busy running the country.</li><li>But <keyword id="20249687" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Trump-Organization" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Trump Organization" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Trump Organization">Trump Organization</keyword> and <keyword id="19918915" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="White-House" source="keywords">White House</keyword> employees say he was discerning about the checks he signed.</li></ul>Imagine it's early 2017. You have never held office before. You are now the president of the United States. You didn't really expect to win the election, but here you are, at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. For decades, you have been in charge of a multi-billion dollar real estate company run by a small staff of about 20 people. And even though you're now the president, you still have to deal with unfinished business. One of your employees in New York sends you a pile of checks to sign. You have North Korea to worry about. You're paranoid that the FBI director is out to get you. People are talking about Russia. The checks. The checks! What do you do with the checks? You sign them. You get them mailed back to New York. You have more important things to worry about. This is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-debuts-multi-tasking-defense-at-hush-money-trial-2024-4">one of the arguments</a> <keyword id="6354484" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="donald-trump" source="Orion">Donald Trump</keyword>'s lawyers have advanced in his defense for his hush-money trial: Trump didn't do anything wrong. It was Michael Cohen who paid the hush money. And if Trump's signature was on a few checks? Well, he was trying to run the country and wasn't really paying attention to every check he signed. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has indicted Trump on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-hush-money-trial-falsified-documents-heart-case-2024-5">34 counts of illegally falsifying business records</a>. According to the prosecutors, Trump disguised records reimbursing Michael Cohen — his former personal lawyer and a Trump Organization executive — for a $130,000 hush-money payment made to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-lawyer-calls-stormy-daniels-testimony-dog-whistle-for-rape-2024-5">Stormy Daniels</a> in the chaotic final days of the 2016 election. The purpose of that payment, prosecutors say, was to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stormy-daniels-lawyer-statement-trump-affair-romantic-2024-5">keep Daniels quiet</a> about an affair she says she says she had with him, keeping that information away from American voters as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-replace-ballot-access-hollywood-tape-testimony-hush-money-2024-5">Trump's campaign was bruised</a> by the revelations of the "Access Hollywood" tape. According to witness testimony and records shown so far at the trial, held in a chilly 15th-floor courtroom in downtown Manhattan, Cohen fronted the hush money out of his own pocket in October 2016 using a shell company he created. Trump then reimbursed him, prosecutors say, in a series of 11 checks, nine of them bearing his handwritten signature. Some of the payments to Cohen came from his personal bank account, others through a Trump Organization account. Trump's lawyers have sought to pin all the blame on Michael Cohen. According to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-hush-money-trial-hope-hicks-witness-stand-2024-5">testimony from Trump's former press secretary and aide Hope Hicks</a>, after the Wall Street Journal first published articles about the hush-money arrangement in 2018, Trump said Cohen "did it out of the kindness of his own heart" to "protect him" but "never told anybody about it." When questioning his former employees, Trump's lawyers consistently ask whether he was "<keyword id="20143282" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="multitasking" source="keywords">multitasking</keyword>" while signing checks. And under questioning from a prosecutor, Hicks offered that Trump would have a constant flow of people coming in and out of his office. "He is a very good multitasker and a very hard worker," she said. "He is always doing many things at once." Trump's attorney Susan Necheles drilled into the question Friday while Madeleine Westerhout, Trump's White House executive assistant who kept a desk right outside the Oval Office, was on the witness stand. Trump didn't use a computer and requested hard copies of everything. He "felt that if someone was getting his signature, they deserved his real signature," Necheles said. Westerhout agreed Trump was "a person who multitasked" and signed "commissions, proclamations, executive orders, memos, and other documents" throughout the day. It wouldn't be unusual, she said, if Trump signed a stack of documents while meeting with members of his administration or even foreign leaders. To secure a felony conviction, prosecutors need to convince jurors that Trump knew what the money was for: That whenever he signed a check to Cohen, it was for the purpose of reimbursing him for the Stormy Daniels hush money. And while Trump may not seem like the most detail-oriented person, prosecutors say there's something he's always watching: the bottom line. <h2>Trump was discerning about which checks he signed</h2>Trump has made no secret of his parsimoniousness. He has bragged about not paying vendors for his buildings. And he is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-legal-fees-pac-donor-money-personal-cases-2024-2">using political donor money to pay his lawyers</a>. Prosecutors presented excerpts from Trump's book "Think Like a Billionaire," which includes a chapter titled "How to Pinch Pennies." In it, Trump relayed a famous story where he cashed a 50-cent check from Spy magazine, winning its "cheapest millionaire" contest. Every check counts. "I always sign my checks, so I know where my money's going," Trump said. "In the same spirit, I also always try to read my bills to make sure I'm not being overcharged." In the book — which defense attorneys were sure to point out was written with the help of a ghostwriter — Trump reflected deeply on budgeting, even musing about the innate ethics of room decorators. "When you are working with a decorator, make sure you ask to see all of the invoices," Trump wrote. "Decorators are, by nature, honest people, but you should be double-checking regardless." The books that prosecutors presented were written when Trump was a businessman, not yet best known as a political figure. But prosecutors suggest his thoughtfulness about his bills continued into his presidency. Cohen met with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-former-cfo-will-plead-guilty-to-ny-fraud-trial-perjury-2024-3">Allen Weisselberg</a>, the now-former Trump Organization CFO, in January of 2017 to hash out how he'd get reimbursed by Trump and the Trump Organization, according to records shown at trial. Ultimately, Weisselberg agreed to give Cohen $420,000 in multiple payments over the course of 2017, which would cover taxes and include a bonus, Weisselberg's deputy Jeffrey McConney testified. <div type="image" title="img5d5b07cdcd97845efd2973d3" height="3627" width="5441" msid="110055043" hostid="261" sizebytes="2211862" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Madeleine Westerhout had a desk right outside the Oval Office and watched him sign documents while in meetings, she testified.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>When Trump was running the Trump Organization every day, it was easy to get ahold of him in his Trump Tower office to approve expenses and sign checks paying for them. But with him in the White House, employees had to figure out another way to have him sign off on expenses. They devised a system where they'd cut the checks and print invoices in New York, then FedEx a pile of them to Washington, DC, a few times a month. They'd pass through the hands of Trump's bodyguard-turned-White House employee Keith Schiller, then make their way to the Oval Office. Trump would review and sign them, and then send them back to Manhattan — all with the logistical assistance of taxpayer-funded government employees. But Trump didn't automatically put his signature on every check. Occasionally, he'd write "VOID" on one he didn't want to be paid, according to Trump Organization employee Deborah Tarasoff. "It was signed in a Sharpie in black," Tarasoff testified. "That is what he usually uses." While Trump was making life-or-death decisions in the Oval Office, the billionaire was also discerning about trivial-seeming expenses. Prosecutors presented an invoice from the Winged Foot Golf Club, located north of New York City, for Trump's dues, that was sent to the White House from New York. Rhona Graff, his executive assistant at the Trump Organization, asked if he wanted to suspend his membership for four years — or to "continue paying annual dues + the food minimum." Trump wrote in felt-tip pen: "Pay- ASAP OK" and signed "D." <div type="image" title="Winged Foot golf club invoice trump manhattan trial" height="1334" width="1482" msid="110055044" hostid="261"></div>"This was included in the stack of checks, so I passed it along," Westerhout, Trump's White House executive assistant in 2017, testified at the trial. Westerhout didn't send back every single check to the Trump Organization. Sometimes, Trump didn't pull out his Sharpie (sometimes a Pentel felt-tip pen, she testified) to sign them. Rebecca Manochio, the bookkeeper at the Trump Organization who was first to handle the checks when they came from the White House, testified that sometimes checks would be missing. When that happened, she checked with Westerhout. "Either it got lost, or he had questions about it, and he had to speak to someone," Manochio said. If Trump had a question about a check, he'd talk with a Trump Organization employee about it, Westerhout testified. "I think I remember, maybe, a couple times him having a question about a check and then calling Allen Weisselberg or somebody else in the Trump Organization to ask for clarification," she said. Graff, for her part, testified that "it wasn't unusual" to see Trump on the phone while signing checks. "Am I correct that when he would sign checks, he was often multitasking?" Necheles asked her. "It happened on occasion," Graff answered. "It would depend what was going on at the moment and how important the checks were that needed to be signed." Trump — now a commensurate multitasker as he defends himself from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-key-cases-civil-criminal-investigations-lawsuits-updates-2022-7">multiple civil and criminal cases</a> — employed a similar legal defense in his civil fraud case last year, where the New York Attorney General's Office accused him and his company of fudging numbers to commit insurance, bank, and tax fraud. In a deposition, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-busy-saving-world-from-nuclear-holocaust-commit-business-fraud-2023-8">Trump said he was too busy saving the world "from a nuclear holocaust"</a> to be paying close attention to the Trump Organization's finances. The judge in that case <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-civil-fraud-verdict-whats-in-judge-engorons-decision-2024-2">didn't buy the argument</a>, ultimately ordering him to pay nearly a half-billion dollars in penalties. Trump perhaps said it best himself. In the trial, prosecutors have trotted out passages about his thriftiness from several of his books. You can negotiate every bill, even when shopping at "high-end shops," he once wrote. You need to watch out for "computer error" in billing, he says. The only solution, he says, is to personally review and sign "as many checks as possible." "When you sign a check yourself, you're seeing what's really going on inside your business," Trump wrote in one book. "And if people see your signature at the bottom of a check, they know you're watching them, and they screw you less because they have proof that you care about the details." Correction: May 13, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of a Trump Organization employee who testified at the criminal trial. It's Deborah Tarasoff, not Tarassoff.

Trump's 'multi-tasking' defense is falling apart in court

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Donald Trump has made the odd decision to renew his feud with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.</li><li>Kemp, a popular Republican, has tried to move on from 2020.</li></ul>Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has shown Republicans how they win in the increasingly purple swing state. So naturally, former President <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-kamala-harris-race-comments-strategy-election-2024-8">Donald Trump</a> is renewing his feud with the popular leader.Trump's decision to blast Kemp and his wife, Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp, during a rally in Atlanta, is indicative of a campaign that has lost its footing since President<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-biden-dropping-out-what-happens-next-2024-7"> Joe Biden</a> dropped out of the 2024 race."I don't want her endorsement. I don't want his endorsement. I just want them to do their job for Georgia," Trump said of the Kemps during an August 3rd rally in Atlanta. "In my opinion, they want us to lose."Trump also called Kemp a "bad guy" and a "very average governor." Neither Kemp supported Trump during the GOP presidential primary. Marty Kemp said in April she would write her husband's name in instead of Trump this November. Gov. Kemp has endorsed Trump and has moved to turn the page.Republicans had a fairly conventional playbook to beat Vice President <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://businessinsider.com/short-campaign-november-presidential-election-may-benefit-kamala-harris-2024-8">Kamala Harris</a>, who has jettisoned most of the progressive views that defined her 2020 primary campaign. Instead of questioning Harris' policy, Trump told a room of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-kamala-harris-turned-black-nabj-interview-2024-7">Black journalists </a>that Harris wasn't really Black. He's gone after Jewish Americans who happen to support Harris, questioning their faith in a way that harkens back to the worst impulses of antisemitism. And now, Trump is back to attacking his fellow Republicans.Influential Republicans and even Trump's allies are begging him to get back on message."If we lose Georgia, it could be a very long night. So let's win this election," Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a noted Trump ally, told "Fox News Sunday" when asked about the feud. "How about that? Let's win an election we can't afford to lose."But Trump's renewed feud with Kemp illustrates how, at any moment, the former president can harm his own standing. It's a return to the form that cost Trump the White House and Republicans both houses of Congress."If you want to understand the problem Trump created for himself in Georgia, today on the radio, 9 out of 10 callers are women, and they're all mad at him for attacking Brian Kemp's wife," conservative radio host Erick Erickson, who lives in Georgia, wrote on earlier this week.Trump can retake the White House without winning Georgia. But flipping the Peach State back to Republicans would preserve what once seemed to be a very expansive Electoral College map. Harris can also win the White House without Georgia. If she holds the state and its 16 <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/battleground-states-2024-presidential-election-road-white-house-2022-12">Electoral College</a> votes, she could sustain a potential setback in one of the so-called "Blue Wall" states in the upper Midwest.There hasn't been much polling of the state since Harris rose to the nomination, but a recent AARP poll found a race that is too close to call. Cook Political Report, which had previously moved more states closer to Trump, put Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona all back into their "toss up" category.<h2 id="7b86c04c-5640-4b72-931a-37bf03ce3926">Trump needs Kemp's organization.</h2>Kemp is more than just a popular governor. He is the leader of an expansive ground game that powered his nearly 8-point reelection victory in a rematch against former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, who he beat by less than 55,000 votes just four years prior.Trump's team, according to Erickson, needs<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/EWErickson/status/1819861779410833530"> Kemp's organization </a>because it hasn't stood up one of its own. Unlike Harris, Trump is relying far more on outside groups to push the type of canvassing and get the out efforts expected of a presidential campaign. His campaign leaders have said that traditional organizations aren't all they are cracked up to be, but Republicans across the country are nervous about the strategy.Kemp didn't even have to moderate his stances to win so convincingly. In a state with two Democratic US senators, the Republican governor championed the passage of one of the nation's toughest abortion bans, weakened gun laws, and restricted how teachers can discuss race in the classroom. By any measure, he's shown the blueprint of how Republicans can win without compromising conservative principles.Even after the Trump rally, Kemp tried again to press on. But the former president couldn't resist taking another swipe at Georgia's governor during his meandering <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-january-6-martin-luther-king-dream-speech-2024-8">Thursday news conference</a>."Without me, he wouldn't be governor. I got him elected," Trump, who endorsed Kemp in 2018, told reporters at Mar-a-Lago.Trump also added that he hoped his relationship with Kemp could be repaired. On Friday, Kemp offered another olive branch while jokingly comparing Trump to Tropical Storm Debby, which slammed the state."A lot of noise out there, as you can imagine, a lot of distractions, which in my opinion, is not what we need to be doing right now in the presidential campaign or in any of the campaigns we're running in the state of Georgia to keep our majorities in the House and Senate," Kemp told Erickson during an onstage interview at a conservative conference Erickson is hosting.Left unsaid is that biggest distraction of all has been Trump. The man Kemp is desperately trying to put back in the White House, if only he will let him.

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