WASHINGTON — U.S. unemployment dropped sharply in August from 10.2% to a still-high 8.4%, with about half the 22 million jobs lost to the coronavirus outbreak recovered so far, the government said Friday in one of the last major economic reports before Election Day. Employers added 1.4 million jobs last...
Pelosi Reveals Why She Ripped up Trump's Speech
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was gone, the House lights were dimming, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi looked up to her friends and family in the gallery overhead. She held up the speech she had shredded behind Trump's back, on live television. She put her hand to her heart, dipped...
New California Law Expands Same-Day Voter Registration
SACRAMENTO — California will allow voters to register on Election Day at all polling places in 2020. Legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom expands conditional voter registration in the state. Voters who register conditionally on Election Day will not have their ballots counted until their registration has been verified....
Trump's America: Where Politics Dictate Definition of Racism
ERIE, Pa. — It was the last morning of the workweek, and Scott Bremner, a popular talk-radio host here, found himself — again — in the role of accidental referee on the issue of race. And again, the discussion was inspired by racial provocations from President Donald Trump. For one caller, critics...
Biden and Trump Attack Each Other in a Possible 2020 Preview
DAVENPORT, Iowa — President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden repeatedly laid into each other while traveling in the battleground state of Iowa, unleashing verbal attacks that at times felt more appropriate for the final weeks before Election Day than a lazy summer about 17 months before voters...
How Trump’s Energy, Excesses Drove GOP’s Erratic Campaign
WASHINGTON — Paul Ryan had to know it was coming. The minute the House speaker shot down President Donald Trump's latest campaign-season gambit on immigration — an assertion that he could rewrite citizenship rights with the stroke of a pen — Ryan had to be braced for Trump's counterpunch. True...
Susan B. Anthony’s Grave Decorated With ‘I Voted’ Stickers
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Voters showed up by the dozens to put their "I Voted" stickers on the headstone of Susan B. Anthony, an Election Day ritual that pays homage to the voting rights pioneer. Deborah L. Hughes, President and CEO of National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House, said there...
Long Lines, Machine Breakdowns Mar Vote on Election Day
ATLANTA — Problem signs that arose during weeks of early voting carried into Election Day as some voters across the country faced hours-long lines, malfunctioning voting equipment and unexpectedly closed polling places. Some of the biggest backups were in Georgia , where the governor's race was among the nation's most-watched midterm contests and was...
A Political Year Dominated by Women Faces Electoral Test
WASHINGTON — The midterm elections brought a surge of female candidates to ballots across the country. Now, in a year that has been defined by the political awakening and activism of women, Election Day is testing whether those women will reach record-breaking numbers in Congress and in governor's mansions across...
High Stakes as 2-Month Sprint to Election Begins
WASHINGTON — Control of Congress and the future of Donald Trump's presidency are on the line as the primary season closes this week, jump-starting a two-month sprint to Election Day that will test Democrats' ability to harness opposition to Trump and determine whether the Republican president can get his supporters...