npr--2020-10-31--U.S. Special Operations Forces Rescue American Hostage In Nigeria

An American citizen taken hostage in Niger has been rescued as part of a U.S. military operation .
U.S. officials on Saturday confirmed that the early morning rescue by special operations forces took place in northern Nigeria , which borders Niger .
`` This American citizen is safe and is now in the care of the U.S. Department of State .
No U.S military personnel were injured during the operation , '' Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement .
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lauded the mission and avowed the U.S. commitment to return Americans taken hostage while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commitment late last night in Nigeria , where some of our bravest and most skilled warriors rescued a U.S. citizen after a group of armed men took him hostage across the border in Niger , '' Pompeo said in a statement .
Pompeo said the hostage would soon reunite with his family .
The raid was heralded by President Trump as he addressed supporters at a campaign event in Bucks County , Pennsylvania .
`` They went in with a large group .
Zero casualties , '' Trump said .
`` We got @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we got our young man back .
But the other side suffered greatly , I can tell you that . ''
Multiple outlets have identified the hostage as a 27-year-old male living in Niger .
Reuters , citing a U.S. official , says the man was taken from his home near a rural village by six gunmen riding motorcycles early this week .
ABC News says the kidnappers had requested money from the man , and took him when he was only able to offer $ 40 .
Both CNN and ABC News @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was conducted by the U.S. Navy 's Seal Team Six , the elite unit best known for killing Osama Bin Laden .
Both outlets say six of seven captors were killed during the mission .
Neither the Pentagon or State Department identified the kidnappers as belonging to any terrorist organization .

U.S. Special Operations Forces Rescue American Hostage In Nigeria
Enlarge this image toggle caption Charles Dharapak/AP Charles Dharapak/AP
An American citizen taken hostage in Niger has been rescued as part of a U.S. military operation.
U.S. officials on Saturday confirmed that the early morning rescue by special operations forces took place in northern Nigeria, which borders Niger.
"This American citizen is safe and is now in the care of the U.S. Department of State. No U.S military personnel were injured during the operation," Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lauded the mission and avowed the U.S. commitment to return Americans taken hostage while abroad.
"We delivered on that commitment late last night in Nigeria, where some of our bravest and most skilled warriors rescued a U.S. citizen after a group of armed men took him hostage across the border in Niger," Pompeo said in a statement.
Pompeo said the hostage would soon reunite with his family.
The raid was heralded by President Trump as he addressed supporters at a campaign event in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
"They went in with a large group. Zero casualties," Trump said. "We got our American citizen, young man, we got our young man back. But the other side suffered greatly, I can tell you that."
Multiple outlets have identified the hostage as a 27-year-old male living in Niger. Reuters, citing a U.S. official, says the man was taken from his home near a rural village by six gunmen riding motorcycles early this week.
ABC News says the kidnappers had requested money from the man, and took him when he was only able to offer $40.
Both CNN and ABC News report the operation to rescue the man was conducted by the U.S. Navy's Seal Team Six, the elite unit best known for killing Osama Bin Laden.
Both outlets say six of seven captors were killed during the mission.
Neither the Pentagon or State Department identified the kidnappers as belonging to any terrorist organization.


npr--2020-10-31--Are You Watching Your State Lawmaker Elections? Here's Why You Should

Are You Watching Your State Lawmaker Elections ?
Here 's Why You Should When it comes to the presidency and the U.S. Senate , Democrats are largely playing offense .
That 's true further down the ballot , too , for the offices where many of the policies that affect our daily lives are made : state legislatures .
Voters will decide on more than 5,800 state lawmaker seats next week .
With control of 40 chambers to Republicans ' 58 , Democrats are vying for one or both houses in some historically red states : Arizona , Georgia and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ including Florida , Iowa , Michigan , North Carolina and Pennsylvania .
Flipping just a few seats could mean taking majority control of a chamber in a number of places .
And given former Vice President Joe Biden 's national lead , polls and rankings have only shifted further into state Democrats ' favor .
While governors have been the face of the COVID-19 response , many lawmakers have also returned to their state capitols to try to cushion the blow of the pandemic on their constituents by reimagining state budgets and distributing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In Wisconsin , Michigan , Pennsylvania , Kentucky , Kansas , Washington and other states , Republican lawmakers have taken their Democratic governors to court over pandemic mandates .
In Michigan , the state Supreme Court eventually upended Democratic Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer 's powers , ruling that the authority that underpinned her hundreds of executive orders in response to the coronavirus was unconstitutional .
Now Republican lawmakers will have a much bigger role in deciding what happens next when it comes to controlling the virus in Michigan .
Republican Senate Majority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't want a mask mandate and that the state should instead rely on `` trusting people to do the right thing '' and that we should all learn `` to live with this virus . ''
Despite a growing number of cases , in an interview with MLive , Shirkey said he believes Michigan needs an `` element of herd immunity '' to get past the virus .
Several medical professionals , including a former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , said that could mean 30,000 additional deaths in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state Senate , is n't on the ballot this year , but all of the 110 seats in the Michigan House are .
Democrats are just four seats away from taking control there , which would not only be a win for Democratic lawmakers but also for Whitmer , who has been deadlocked with legislators since taking office two years ago .
Come January , there 's no reason to expect that state capitols all over the country wo n't be bustling with policymakers , masked ( or not ) , socially distanced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ via video , helping to decide where the U.S. goes next when it comes to COVID-19 .
Once a decade states go through the process of redrawing district lines for both congressional and state legislative maps .
And in the 30-plus states where lawmakers are in control of that process , a party majority in one or both houses is coveted in years like 2021 when redistricting happens .
In Texas , where Democrats have n't controlled either chamber since 1993 , the party is just nine seats away from winning a majority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` It will be a seismic change for Texas .
And that means that we will have fair maps in the redistricting process .
The Republicans wo n't be able to gerrymander and to draw maps that are unfair to voters , '' says Andrew Reagan with the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee .
When the Texas Legislature redraws political maps , Democrats want to make sure they have a seat at the table this time — they did n't in 2011 .
`` I think it 's closer than it 's been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jim Henson , a pollster in Texas .
Republicans are losing a lot of ground in down-ballot races in suburban and exurban parts of Texas , he says .
But it 's not all about COVID-19 and redistricting .
Much of the significance around state legislatures has to do with the balance of power and who makes policy .
There is only one state , Minnesota , where Democrats and Republicans share control of the legislature .
( Alaska is an exception , but we 'll just let our political reporter in Juneau @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) Democrats have n't controlled both houses in Arizona since 1966 and Republicans have held total party control over the state government ( including the governor ) for 12 years .
This year , both chambers are within reach of the Democrats , again , getting a boost in polls because of Biden 's projected lead .
While in control , Arizona Republicans have pushed for policies like tax cuts and school choice , including vouchers .
Meanwhile , Democrats have been clamoring for better funding for public education .
A Democratic majority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guarantee a Democratic agenda — the state 's governor , Doug Ducey , is a Republican with veto authority — but they could block Republican GOP priorities at the legislative level .
Likewise , North Carolina Republicans have controlled both the state House and the state Senate for about a decade and hold only a few seats over Democrats in 2020 .
In that time , North Carolina has become notable for policies like the transgender bathroom bill and gerrymandering .
A tip in Democrat 's favor could mean expanding Medicaid to cover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ races have hit new records .
In Georgia , for example , where Democrats made a dent in the GOP 's stronghold in 2018 by flipping 13 seats , Republicans have been organizing and fundraising in new ways to prevent Democrats from making further gains in 2020 .
This year , Democrats need to flip at least eight seats to take control of the Senate and 16 seats to take the House .
Even while much of the Republican strategy statewide has been to protect vulnerable GOP incumbents in metro Atlanta and retake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Atlanta , Republicans want something they do n't have : House District 132 .
It 's the most expensive state legislative race in Georgia 's history .
Held by Democrats for years , the district went to Donald Trump in 2016 and Republican Gov .
Brian Kemp in 2018 .
`` That should be a Republican seat , '' says Austin Chambers .
He 's the president of The Republican State Leadership Committee , a major Republican PAC working nationally to bolster Republican state legislatures , which has named the race its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ RSLC alone has pledged to spend about $ 1 million on the GOP nominee , David Jenkins .
`` I told everyone that I talked to that they were going to see a race like they 've never seen before in this district , and it has surprised me to be honest with you , '' Jenkins says .
`` I did n't expect the level of support that I 've gotten . ''
Jenkins is an Army combat veteran , air ambulance pilot and a goat farmer whose campaign has pulled in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family of the incumbent , Democratic State House Minority Leader Bob Trammell , goes back generations in the district .
He practices law in a house that his grandfather and great-great-aunt and uncle once owned .
He says Republicans are misunderstanding his constituents by thinking they can `` buy this seat . ''
Plus , he says he is glad to have the money focused on him because it means fewer Republican dollars to defend the seats his caucus is trying to flip .
`` My granddaddy was a farmer .
And my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Money is like manure , '' Trammell says .
`` It worked best when you spread it around , to make things grow .
And when you piled it up in one place , it started to stink . ''

Are You Watching Your State Lawmaker Elections? Here's Why You Should
Enlarge this image toggle caption Charlie Neibergall/AP Charlie Neibergall/AP
When it comes to the presidency and the U.S. Senate, Democrats are largely playing offense. That's true further down the ballot, too, for the offices where many of the policies that affect our daily lives are made: state legislatures.
Voters will decide on more than 5,800 state lawmaker seats next week. With control of 40 chambers to Republicans' 58, Democrats are vying for one or both houses in some historically red states: Arizona, Georgia and Texas, and also in swing states including Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Flipping just a few seats could mean taking majority control of a chamber in a number of places.
And given former Vice President Joe Biden's national lead, polls and rankings have only shifted further into state Democrats' favor.
The coronavirus
While governors have been the face of the COVID-19 response, many lawmakers have also returned to their state capitols to try to cushion the blow of the pandemic on their constituents by reimagining state budgets and distributing CARES Act dollars, among other things.
In Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Kansas, Washington and other states, Republican lawmakers have taken their Democratic governors to court over pandemic mandates.
In Michigan, the state Supreme Court eventually upended Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's powers, ruling that the authority that underpinned her hundreds of executive orders in response to the coronavirus was unconstitutional.
Elections Democrats Push To Flip Party Control Of State Legislatures Democrats Push To Flip Party Control Of State Legislatures Listen · 8:15 8:15
Now Republican lawmakers will have a much bigger role in deciding what happens next when it comes to controlling the virus in Michigan. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey has said he doesn't want a mask mandate and that the state should instead rely on "trusting people to do the right thing" and that we should all learn "to live with this virus."
Despite a growing number of cases, in an interview with MLive, Shirkey said he believes Michigan needs an "element of herd immunity" to get past the virus. Several medical professionals, including a former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that could mean 30,000 additional deaths in Michigan.
Shirkey's chamber, the state Senate, isn't on the ballot this year, but all of the 110 seats in the Michigan House are. Democrats are just four seats away from taking control there, which would not only be a win for Democratic lawmakers but also for Whitmer, who has been deadlocked with legislators since taking office two years ago.
Come January, there's no reason to expect that state capitols all over the country won't be bustling with policymakers, masked (or not), socially distanced (or not), or beamed-in via video, helping to decide where the U.S. goes next when it comes to COVID-19.
Redistricting
Once a decade states go through the process of redrawing district lines for both congressional and state legislative maps. And in the 30-plus states where lawmakers are in control of that process, a party majority in one or both houses is coveted in years like 2021 when redistricting happens.
In Texas, where Democrats haven't controlled either chamber since 1993, the party is just nine seats away from winning a majority in the 150-member House of Representatives.
"It will be a seismic change for Texas. And that means that we will have fair maps in the redistricting process. The Republicans won't be able to gerrymander and to draw maps that are unfair to voters," says Andrew Reagan with the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee.
Elections Democrats Have A Shot At Winning A Majority In Texas House Of Representatives Democrats Have A Shot At Winning A Majority In Texas House Of Representatives Listen · 4:03 4:03
When the Texas Legislature redraws political maps, Democrats want to make sure they have a seat at the table this time — they didn't in 2011.
"I think it's closer than it's been in a long time," says Jim Henson, a pollster in Texas. Republicans are losing a lot of ground in down-ballot races in suburban and exurban parts of Texas, he says.
Policy
But it's not all about COVID-19 and redistricting. Much of the significance around state legislatures has to do with the balance of power and who makes policy.
There is only one state, Minnesota, where Democrats and Republicans share control of the legislature. (Alaska is an exception, but we'll just let our political reporter in Juneau explain why that one is different.)
Democrats haven't controlled both houses in Arizona since 1966 and Republicans have held total party control over the state government (including the governor) for 12 years. This year, both chambers are within reach of the Democrats, again, getting a boost in polls because of Biden's projected lead.
While in control, Arizona Republicans have pushed for policies like tax cuts and school choice, including vouchers. Meanwhile, Democrats have been clamoring for better funding for public education.
A Democratic majority in one or both houses wouldn't guarantee a Democratic agenda — the state's governor, Doug Ducey, is a Republican with veto authority — but they could block Republican GOP priorities at the legislative level.
Likewise, North Carolina Republicans have controlled both the state House and the state Senate for about a decade and hold only a few seats over Democrats in 2020. In that time, North Carolina has become notable for policies like the transgender bathroom bill and gerrymandering.
A tip in Democrat's favor could mean expanding Medicaid to cover more North Carolinians.
The money
Pricetags for these races have hit new records. In Georgia, for example, where Democrats made a dent in the GOP's stronghold in 2018 by flipping 13 seats, Republicans have been organizing and fundraising in new ways to prevent Democrats from making further gains in 2020.
This year, Democrats need to flip at least eight seats to take control of the Senate and 16 seats to take the House.
Even while much of the Republican strategy statewide has been to protect vulnerable GOP incumbents in metro Atlanta and retake seats they lost in 2018, southwest of Atlanta, Republicans want something they don't have: House District 132.
It's the most expensive state legislative race in Georgia's history. Held by Democrats for years, the district went to Donald Trump in 2016 and Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2018.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Emma Hurt/WABE Emma Hurt/WABE
National Major GOP PAC Targets State House Race In Georgia Major GOP PAC Targets State House Race In Georgia Listen · 3:51 3:51
"That should be a Republican seat," says Austin Chambers. He's the president of The Republican State Leadership Committee, a major Republican PAC working nationally to bolster Republican state legislatures, which has named the race its top target in the country. The RSLC alone has pledged to spend about $1 million on the GOP nominee, David Jenkins.
"I told everyone that I talked to that they were going to see a race like they've never seen before in this district, and it has surprised me to be honest with you," Jenkins says. "I didn't expect the level of support that I've gotten."
Jenkins is an Army combat veteran, air ambulance pilot and a goat farmer whose campaign has pulled in big-name Republican support in Georgia.
The family of the incumbent, Democratic State House Minority Leader Bob Trammell, goes back generations in the district. He practices law in a house that his grandfather and great-great-aunt and uncle once owned. He says Republicans are misunderstanding his constituents by thinking they can "buy this seat."
Plus, he says he is glad to have the money focused on him because it means fewer Republican dollars to defend the seats his caucus is trying to flip.
"My granddaddy was a farmer. And my granddaddy had a saying about money: Money is like manure," Trammell says. "It worked best when you spread it around, to make things grow. And when you piled it up in one place, it started to stink."


npr--2020-10-31--Coronavirus World Map: Tracking The Spread Of The Outbreak

Coronavirus World Map : Tracking The Spread Of The Outbreak On Sept. 28 , the world marked a tragic milestone : 1 million deaths from COVID-19 .
That 's according to a tally maintained by Johns Hopkins University .
And public health experts believe the actual toll – the recorded deaths plus the unrecorded deaths – is much higher .
While the number of cases has slowed in many countries that were hit hard early on by coronavirus , the number of new cases continues to increase .
Since early July , new daily cases averaged over 200,000 worldwide .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ country-by-country breakdown of new and total cases since January .
At over 9 million cases , the United States leads the world 's COVID-19 crisis .
In late spring and early summer , new COVID-19 cases were largely driven by cases in the Americas .
While the U.S. has consistently had the most new daily cases of coronavirus in the region , Brazil 's new daily cases increased rapidly between May and August .
However , in September , several countries that had previously flattened their curve saw a resurgence in cases , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , daily case counts have risen swiftly since June , without signs of slowing down .
Explore how the number of coronavirus cases have shifted in different parts of the world over time .
The first chart compares each continent to each other , while the next charts highlight the number of cases in select countries by region .
To compare country outbreaks , the chart below graphs trend lines for average new daily cases and deaths against each country 's totals to date .
This type of visualization highlights a state 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overall size of its outbreak .
When both new and total case and death counts grow quickly , the curves bend upward .
As new cases and deaths slow , the curves level or bend down .
In countries like Israel , which is seeing a second wave of case growth after an initial wave in April , the line forms a V-shape , as the initially bent curve spikes upwards again .
Click here to see the state-by-state breakdown of cases in the United States .
This story was originally published on @ @ @ @ @

Coronavirus world map: We've now passed the 600 million mark for infections
Editor's note: This page is no longer being updated. The last update was Sept. 5, 2022. For current data about COVID-19 cases and deaths around the world, Johns Hopkins University and Our World in Data are useful resources.
In late January 2020 only a few dozen COVID-19 infections had been identified outside of China. A year later, the world tallied its first 100 million cases. It took the globe just 7 more months to pass the 200 million mark— then another 5 months to hit 300 million, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Now the virus has spread to every corner of the globe and has been blamed for more than 6 million deaths.
The United States, India and Brazil in that order have had the most COVID cases and the three nations collectively account for almost half of all recorded infections so far in the pandemic.
Explore the chart below to find a country-by-country breakdown of new and total cases since January 2020.
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Explore how the number of coronavirus cases have shifted in different parts of the world over time. The first chart compares each continent to each other, while the next charts highlight the number of cases in select countries by region.
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This story was originally published on March 30, 2020.


npr--2020-10-31--Coronavirus Maps: How Severe Is Your State's Outbreak?

Coronavirus Maps : How Severe Is Your State 's Outbreak ?
More than 9 million people in the U.S. have had confirmed coronavirus infections and more than 225,000 have died of COVID-19 .
Tens of thousands of new cases are reported daily nationwide .
In the graphics below , explore the trends in your state .
View the data via a heat map ( immediately below ) , curve charts , a table of state-by-state trends over four weeks , or a map of total cases and deaths .
The map above shows the risk of infection in each state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
These color-coded risk levels were developed by a consortium of researchers and public health experts .
The group advises states in the red category to issue stay-home orders .
Orange states may need to consider stay-home orders , along with increased testing and contact tracing .
Yellow states need to keep up social distancing and mask usage , and both yellow and green states should continue testing and contact tracing .
To compare state outbreaks , the chart above graphs trend lines for average new daily cases and deaths against each state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of visualization highlights a state 's daily growth or decline relative to the overall size of its outbreak .
When both new and total case and death counts grow quickly , the curves bend upward .
As new cases and deaths slow , the curves level or bend down .
In New York , the curve rose sharply before reaching over 170,000 total cases in April .
Since then , new cases have fallen from about 10,000 per day in mid-April to over 1,000 per day in mid October .
Explore the map @ @ @ @ @ @ @ figures around the country for both new confirmed cases and reported deaths from COVID-19 .
New York was the original epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. As of mid October , California , Florida and Texas surpass New York for total cases to date , though New York still has the highest death total .
Click here to see a global map of confirmed cases and deaths .
To show trends , the table below shows the change in average new cases per day in each state , week over week for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in shades of red have growing outbreaks ; those in shades of green , are declining .
The graphics on this page pull from data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University from several sources , including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ; the World Health Organization ; national , state and local government health departments ; 1point3acres ; and local media reports .
The JHU team automates its data uploads and regularly checks them for anomalies .
This may result in occasional data discrepancies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resolves anomalies and updates its feeds .
State-by-state recovery data are unavailable at this time .
There may be discrepancies between what you see here and what you see on your local health department 's website .
Figures shown do not include cases on cruise ships .
Fluctuations in the numbers may happen as health authorities review old cases and or update their methodologies .
For example , in early June , Michigan health authorities started including probable cases in its totals .
This resulted in a brief spike in the state 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ able to reconcile the historical data .
On June 25 , New Jersey included 1,854 previously-unreported probable deaths in its totals , resulting in a spike in the state 's daily death numbers .
On Sept. 2 , Massachusetts changed its methodology for counting probable cases , which lowered its overall case and death numbers .
The JHU team maintains a list of such changes .
This story was originally published on March 16 , 2020 .
Elena Renken was a co-author on that version .
Sean McMinn contributed to and Carmel Wroth @ @ @ @

Tracking the coronavirus around the U.S.: See how your state is doing
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Note: This page was last updated on Feb. 1, 2023. It will no longer be updated. For current data on COVID cases and deaths, demographics, and hospitalizations, consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of Feb. 1, there have been more than 101 million confirmed coronavirus infections in the U.S. and more than 1 million people have died of COVID-19. In the graphics below, explore the trends in your state.
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The above charts show average new cases per 100,000 people for each state over the last 12 months.
Note: Actual cases may be substantially higher, since many who test positive with at-home tests don't report their cases.
For additional data about COVID-19 in the U.S, including cases and deaths, demographics, and hospitalizations, consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
To show trends, the table below shows the change in average new cases per day in each state, week over week for the last 28 days. States marked in shades of red have growing outbreaks; those in shades of green, are declining.
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Methodology
The graphics on this page pull from data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University from several sources, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the World Health Organization; national, state and local government health departments; 1point3acres; and local media reports.
The JHU team automates its data uploads and regularly checks them for anomalies. This may result in occasional data discrepancies on this page as the JHU team resolves anomalies and updates its feeds. There may be discrepancies between what you see here and what you see on your local health department's website. Figures shown do not include cases on cruise ships.
Fluctuations in the numbers may happen as health authorities review old cases, process testing backlogs or update their methodologies. The JHU team maintains a list of such changes.
This story was originally published on March 16, 2020. Elena Renken was a co-author on that version. Sean McMinn and Audrey Carlsen contributed to this story. Carmel Wroth edited this story.


npr--2020-10-31--Sean Connery, Actor And The Original James Bond, Dies At 90

Sean Connery , Actor And The Original James Bond , Dies At 90 Sean Connery , the first actor to portray James Bond and later one of the biggest and wealthiest stars in the history of film , has died at age 90 .
Eon Productions , the film studio behind the James Bond films , confirmed the death in a statement on its website .
`` We are devastated by the news of the passing of Sean Connery , '' read the statement from producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli .
`` He was and shall always be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ indelible entrance into cinema history began when he announced those unforgettable words — 'The name 's Bond ... James Bond ' — he revolutionised the world with his gritty and witty portrayal of the sexy and charismatic secret agent .
He is undoubtedly largely responsible for the success of the film series and we shall be forever grateful to him . ''
On screen , Connery brimmed with innate sexuality , topped off by a cool , insolent sense of menace .
A Scotsman who could rock a kilt , he possessed cliffhanger @ @ @ @ @ @ @ struggling actor in 1962 , he managed to change pop culture forever in the first scene of his first lead role , when he introduced himself in Dr. No : `` Bond .
James Bond . ''
Connery 's trajectory , as Bond and otherwise , took off like a bullet from a Walther PPK .
For many , his performance in the Bond role has never been bettered .
It was far from his origins .
Born in 1930 to a cleaning woman and truck driver in depressed Edinburgh , he dropped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He joined the Royal Navy .
After he got out , he competed in the Mr. Universe bodybuilding competition .
In the 1980s , he told ABC 's Barbara Walters that his life changed with a trip to London .
`` What happened was : When I went to London for the Mr. Universe , one of the guys , he was in South Pacific and he said , 'Do you want to do a show ? '
'' Connery said .
`` I said , 'Well , I 'll have a go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ along and auditioned . ''
He got the part and toured England with the show .
By day , he went to local libraries .
He studied Shakespeare , Ibsen , Brecht .
In spite of these efforts at refinement , Connery was not the first choice of Bond 's creator .
Author Ian Fleming wanted the suave British actor James Mason .
But after the premiere for Dr. No , Fleming was so impressed he wrote Bond as half-Scottish in future books .
Connery made six Bond films in 10 years .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ time went on , and he pushed back by taking other roles .
The characters got older as he did .
He won an Oscar for playing an Irish cop , Malone , in 1987 's The Untouchables .
In 1989 , he played Indiana Jones ' father , professor Henry Jones .
He made his final Bond film in 1983 , Never Say Never Again ( though he did reprise the part to record a voiceover for the From Russia With Love video game in 2005 ) .
On several occasions , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his character in the early Bond films — namely roughing up women .
His first wife , Diane Cilento , said he hit her for being drunk .
In a 1965 interview with Playboy magazine , he said , `` I do n't think there is anything particularly wrong about hitting a woman — although I do n't recommend doing it in the same way that you 'd hit a man .
An openhanded slap is justified — if all other alternatives fail and there has been plenty of warning . ''
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an interview on ABC in 1987 .
Then , in 2006 , he canceled an interview in Scotland over worries he would be asked about his attitudes .
Shortly after , the Scottish newspaper The Herald reported that Connery walked back his earlier remarks , saying he had told friends , `` I do n't believe that any level of abuse of women is ever justified under any circumstances . ''
Connery was Scottish to the core — he had the word Scotland tattooed on his arm .
A member of the Scottish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Great Britain .
In 1999 , he addressed hundreds of party activists before a vote .
Despite that , the queen of England knighted him the next year .
Sir Sean Connery will be remembered many ways — as an old-fashioned male sex symbol , a financial patron of the arts and a beloved son of Edinburgh — and , of course , for his many roles .
A cult favorite comes in the film version of Rudyard Kipling 's The Man Who Would Be King in which Connery stars alongside his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all goes wrong , they 're marched to the edge of a cliff .
As Connery 's character prepares to meet his death , he remains defiant to the last moment .
Still wearing his crown , he sings .

Sean Connery, Actor And The Original James Bond, Dies At 90
Enlarge this image toggle caption Jack Kay/Getty Images Jack Kay/Getty Images
Sean Connery, the first actor to portray James Bond and later one of the biggest and wealthiest stars in the history of film, has died at age 90.
Eon Productions, the film studio behind the James Bond films, confirmed the death in a statement on its website.
"We are devastated by the news of the passing of Sean Connery," read the statement from producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. "He was and shall always be remembered as the original James Bond whose indelible entrance into cinema history began when he announced those unforgettable words — 'The name's Bond... James Bond' — he revolutionised the world with his gritty and witty portrayal of the sexy and charismatic secret agent. He is undoubtedly largely responsible for the success of the film series and we shall be forever grateful to him."
On screen, Connery brimmed with innate sexuality, topped off by a cool, insolent sense of menace. A Scotsman who could rock a kilt, he possessed cliffhanger eyebrows over piercing eyes.
As a struggling actor in 1962, he managed to change pop culture forever in the first scene of his first lead role, when he introduced himself in Dr. No: "Bond. James Bond."
Connery's trajectory, as Bond and otherwise, took off like a bullet from a Walther PPK. For many, his performance in the Bond role has never been bettered.
It was far from his origins. Born in 1930 to a cleaning woman and truck driver in depressed Edinburgh, he dropped out of school at age 13. He joined the Royal Navy. After he got out, he competed in the Mr. Universe bodybuilding competition.
In the 1980s, he told ABC's Barbara Walters that his life changed with a trip to London.
"What happened was: When I went to London for the Mr. Universe, one of the guys, he was in South Pacific and he said, 'Do you want to do a show?'" Connery said. "I said, 'Well, I'll have a go at that,' so I went along and auditioned."
He got the part and toured England with the show. By day, he went to local libraries. He studied Shakespeare, Ibsen, Brecht.
In spite of these efforts at refinement, Connery was not the first choice of Bond's creator. Author Ian Fleming wanted the suave British actor James Mason. But after the premiere for Dr. No, Fleming was so impressed he wrote Bond as half-Scottish in future books.
Connery made six Bond films in 10 years. But he felt constrained by Bond as time went on, and he pushed back by taking other roles.
The characters got older as he did. He won an Oscar for playing an Irish cop, Malone, in 1987's The Untouchables. In 1989, he played Indiana Jones' father, professor Henry Jones.
toggle caption Kevin Winter/Getty Images for AFI
He made his final Bond film in 1983, Never Say Never Again (though he did reprise the part to record a voiceover for the From Russia With Love video game in 2005).
On several occasions, Connery mirrored some of the misogyny exhibited by his character in the early Bond films — namely roughing up women. His first wife, Diane Cilento, said he hit her for being drunk. In a 1965 interview with Playboy magazine, he said, "I don't think there is anything particularly wrong about hitting a woman — although I don't recommend doing it in the same way that you'd hit a man. An openhanded slap is justified — if all other alternatives fail and there has been plenty of warning."
He repeated that thought to Barbara Walters in an interview on ABC in 1987. Then, in 2006, he canceled an interview in Scotland over worries he would be asked about his attitudes. Shortly after, the Scottish newspaper The Herald reported that Connery walked back his earlier remarks, saying he had told friends, "I don't believe that any level of abuse of women is ever justified under any circumstances."
Connery was Scottish to the core — he had the word Scotland tattooed on his arm. A member of the Scottish National Party, he ardently supported secession from Great Britain.
In 1999, he addressed hundreds of party activists before a vote. Despite that, the queen of England knighted him the next year.
Sir Sean Connery will be remembered many ways — as an old-fashioned male sex symbol, a financial patron of the arts and a beloved son of Edinburgh — and, of course, for his many roles.
A cult favorite comes in the film version of Rudyard Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King in which Connery stars alongside his real-life friend Michael Caine. When it all goes wrong, they're marched to the edge of a cliff.
As Connery's character prepares to meet his death, he remains defiant to the last moment. Still wearing his crown, he sings.


npr--2020-11-01--Coronavirus World Map: Tracking The Spread Of The Outbreak


npr--2020-11-01--Coronavirus Maps: How Severe Is Your State's Outbreak?


npr--2020-11-01--Politics Chat: Trump, Biden Make Final Campaign Appearances

Audio will be available later today .
Final campaign pushes through swing states : President Barack Obama joins Joe Biden @ @ @ @ @ Trump ticks thru some familiar complaints in Pennsylvania .

Politics Chat: Trump, Biden Make Final Campaign Appearances
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
Yesterday at a drive-in rally in Flint, Mich., a tag-team pitch from former running mates.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BARACK OBAMA: Joe's not going to call scientists idiots. He's not going to host superspreader events around the country. What Joe will do is get this pandemic under control.
JOE BIDEN: Barack Obama - it's great to be with the president again. It reminds me of what we can be when you have a president of character.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: That's, of course, former Vice President Joe Biden, this time on the top of the Democratic ticket, speaking to voters in a critical swing state. Polls - and, yes, everyone is feeling suspicious of polls - gives Biden anywhere from a seven- to a 10-point lead in Michigan over President Trump with just days left in this unique election. Joining me now, as she does most Sundays, is NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Good morning.
MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Hi, Lulu.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: So Biden has waged this sort of slow and steady campaign, but it could be that he saved his strongest star power for last. What is his closing argument?
LIASSON: I think his closing argument is that four years of chaos is enough, and who better to help him deliver that message than no-drama Obama? Obama's the most popular person in the Democratic Party, and he's helping Joe Biden do what he wants to do, which is keep the focus on Donald Trump, make this election a referendum on Trump's leadership. And Biden has been getting a lot of help from Trump himself.
Trump says Biden will listen to Dr. Fauci. Biden says, yes, I will. Trump holds mostly unmasked rallies and says he's tired of hearing about COVID, that COVID is a media obsession - just as COVID cases are surging in the very states that the president is holding rallies in. Or he says something totally off-message, like doctors are getting paid for saying people are dying of COVID. So this race is ending the way it began - focused on Donald Trump. That's where Joe Biden wants it, and that seems to be where Donald Trump wants it.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Mara, throughout this campaign, Trump has been - and let's be real here - erratic. He's tried out so many messages. Can you tick through what he's been saying?
LIASSON: He's tried out a lot of messages. He's warned about what's happening, what would happen if Joe Biden was president - that markets will tank. Biden will get rid of your guns and religion. Suburbs will be ruined because, quote, "low-income" people will move in there. There will be no more law and order. And his list of grievances is very long. He even attacked the Supreme Court yesterday, saying they made some terrible decisions. He was referring to the high court allowing election officials in North Carolina and Pennsylvania count absentee ballots several days after November 3 as long as they were postmarked before the election. And no surprise - he's continued to attack the media. Here's what he said in Bucks County, Penn.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: The word fake is not strong enough, especially after what we've seen, where stories, major stories, the biggest story anywhere in the world is absolutely not covered. It's hard to have scandal when you have no coverage.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: That is an amazing statement on a whole number of levels.
LIASSON: It's hard to have a scandal when you have no coverage. He wasn't talking about the pandemic, which could be...
GARCIA-NAVARRO: No.
LIASSON: ...The biggest story in the world. He was talking about a story about Hunter Biden that he and his associates have been pushing, but all major news organizations, including The Wall Street Journal, have not found it credible. And it does tell you that President Trump's 2020 playbook is kind of a pale imitation of the 2016 playbook because in the closing moments of that campaign, the Hillary Clinton email story did come back. The media covered it in a big way. Now, four years later, here's Trump trying to do the same thing that got him impeached, trying to get someone - the media, Ukraine, the Department of Justice - to start an investigation into Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, and it's not working.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: All right. Let's move on to election night. We've been primed to not expect clear results because of the various rules states have for counting mail-in ballots on election night. So, Mara, what are you going to be watching for?
LIASSON: I'm going to be watching for states like Texas, North Carolina, Florida and Ohio, who will report their results early. If Biden wins one of those - Ohio is very unlikely, but the other three are very competitive - then that means it's pretty much over. If Biden doesn't win one of those states, we're going to wait for results to be counted in states like Pennsylvania and Michigan, who are not allowed to start counting mail-in votes until Election Day - so a much longer period.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yeah. Earlier, you mentioned rulings on North Carolina and Pennsylvania. And there's a new case we're learning about today from Harris County in Texas, where officials have been letting voters cast their ballots at drive-through sites to keep them safe during the pandemic.
LIASSON: That's right. There's a hearing tomorrow before a federal judge brought by a group of Republicans who want drive-through voting stopped. Harris County is the biggest county in Texas, and it's pretty Democratic. The state supreme court in Texas, made up of Republicans, allowed drive-in voting more than a week ago, but if the Republicans who are bringing this suit prevail, about 127,000 votes that have been cast by drive-through voting will be thrown out. And it shows you how aggressively the Republicans are making barriers to voting central to their strategy. They believe - and the president has said this - that the more people vote, the more it hurts Republicans.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: That's NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Thank you much.
LIASSON: You're welcome.
(SOUNDBITE OF KABANJAK'S "FOR THE MOMENT")
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-11-01--Young Campaign Volunteers On The 2020 Presidential Election's Importance

Young Campaign Volunteers On The 2020 Presidential Election 's Importance Audio will be available later today .
We hear from @ @ @ @ @ battleground states , Hayden Padgett of Texas and Helen Clanaugh of Minnesota , about what @ @ @ @ @ .

Young Campaign Volunteers On The 2020 Presidential Election's Importance
We hear from young political organizers from two battleground states, Hayden Padgett of Texas and Helen Clanaugh of Minnesota, about what this election means to them.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
Two days before one of the most contested elections in American history, and more than 90 million Americans have already cast their votes. That's almost two-thirds of the 2016 total. And for campaign volunteers, these next two days could be their most hectic yet. There may not be as many candidate tables outside your neighborhood grocery store or canvassing events on college campuses and in church parking lots because of the pandemic. But young organizers are stepping up and making a hard push to get anyone who hasn't already voted to the polls.
HAYDEN PADGETT: The last few days before the election are looking busy - very busy.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: That's Hayden Padgett, chairman of the Texas Young Republicans. He's 28 years old and lives in Plano. And this weekend, he's organizing.
PADGETT: Calling people and knocking on their doors and making sure they show up on Tuesday to go vote. And then Tuesday itself, we're all going to be spending all of our time at the polls, trying to just mass them with as many volunteers as we can to talk to as many voters as possible across the county and across the state.
HELEN CLANAUGH: I got into organizing in my sophomore year of high school, and I'm a first year now in college.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And this is Helen Clanaugh.
CLANAUGH: I started organizing around gun violence prevention because I felt called as a young person. I didn't want to be another statistic.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: She's 18, a student at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. She's also executive vice president of Minnesota's Young Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
CLANAUGH: A big part of my work has been text banking - so reaching out to young people and making sure that they have all the resources that they need to vote - so making sure their registration is updated and making sure they know where their polling place is and just talking to them about issues that matter to them and what's at stake for them in this election.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Between classes and work, she also squeezes in time to make phone calls to competitive local districts in hopes of flipping them blue. Most of her effort has been in the virtual space because of the pandemic. But she's encouraged by some of the responses she's been getting.
CLANAUGH: In 2018, when I did voter outreach, the amount of people that, like, posted their little, like, I voted selfies has skyrocketed in 2020. Like, some friends that I was, like, oh wow, like, I didn't realize you would ever vote - like, all of my friends are voting.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Hayden Padgett finds that nothing beats an eye-to-eye connection, even during a pandemic and even if those eyes are over a mask and at a safe social distance. He's trying to talk to as many potential voters as he can in person. He says that's the best way to get them engaged. And he was taken aback when he found out Democrats in his area had decided against knocking on doors.
PADGETT: We know from decades of data that knocking on someone's door and talking to them is the most effective way to convince them to vote for your person - or if they're already supporting them, to convince them to actually go vote. And so I'm very, very surprised by that. And I'm going to be curious to see what happens and whether that traditional wisdom holds true.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And what he's hearing when he's standing a safe 6 feet away...
PADGETT: Voters are definitely feeling engaged right now. That is for darn sure. I don't think there's a single person who does not have a strong opinion about one of the presidential candidates.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Because one of the two men will be president for the next four years. But remember how old our two organizers are. Padgett is 28. Clanaugh is 18. They're thinking both about and beyond the next presidential term, about the direction they want to take the parties they're working for and the country they want to live in. Here's Helen Clanaugh, executive vice president of the Minnesota Young Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
CLANAUGH: In terms of Biden, I think that I will want to figure out ways to push him and, like, his administration farther left and making sure that he selects cabinet members that are more progressive. So - and I know that, like, Biden and, like, electoral politics - at least, like, to me, like, that's not going to fix everything. And, like, we need to, like, tear down these structures of, like, white supremacy and capitalism and, like, racism.
But, like, I think overall, like, it'll just be good to have someone in the White House that, like, knows what they're talking about and, like, believes climate change is real and, like, believes that, like, all people should have access to health care. Like, that just to me is, like, a breath of fresh air, even if I believe in much more different things than, like, Biden.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And Texas Young Republican chairman Hayden Padgett.
PADGETT: There's a bunch of different factions in the party. And they've all rallied behind the president, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he would be their No. 1 choice if there was another primary, just like he wasn't the No. 1 choice for everybody in the last primary. And so what's going to be interesting to me is seeing how those different factions come together and choose who their new standard bearer will be and what kind of emphasis they will have, where they're going to focus their energy.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-11-01--Philadelphia Prepares For A Potentially Rocky Election Night

Philadelphia has been dogged by security issues and a shortage of poll workers .
But officials say they 're ready @ @ @ @ @ in Tuesday 's election , and whatever comes after .

Philadelphia Prepares For A Potentially Rocky Election Night
Philadelphia has been dogged by security issues and a shortage of poll workers. But officials say they're ready for their possibly key role in Tuesday's election, and whatever comes after.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
With its 20 electoral votes, Pennsylvania is a big catch in any presidential election. It narrowly went to Donald Trump four years ago. This year, strong turnout in Democratic strongholds of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia could deliver the state to Joe Biden. And that's got President Trump fixated on Philly, where he won only 15% of the votes in 2016. He's claimed, with scant evidence, that the local election system is corrupt. NPR's Jeff Brady has more.
JEFF BRADY, BYLINE: President Trump spends a lot of time talking about Philadelphia these days.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We're watching you. A lot of bad things happen there with the counting of the votes.
BRADY: At an Allentown rally this week, Trump again called into question the integrity of Philadelphia's election system. And there have been issues, including technical hiccups. On the first day of early in-person voting, a laptop used to program voting machines was stolen. And then a WHYY reporter got inside a warehouse where voting machines are stored.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MAX MARIN, BYLINE: I just walked in that door. I've been announcing my name, trying to see if anyone was here.
BRADY: Officials beefed up security after that.
This election is like no other in Philadelphia and all across Pennsylvania. A new state law makes it much easier to vote early and by mail. With the pandemic, people signed up in droves, especially Democrats. About a third of the state's 9 million voters plan to cast their ballot by mail. More than three-quarters of those already had by Friday. But under state law, counties can't even open those ballots to prepare them for counting until 7 a.m. on Election Day. That's one reason Philadelphia spent $5 million on new equipment.
LISA DEELEY: They're going to run this right now. And you'll get to see it. You'll get to see a demonstration.
BRADY: Lisa Deeley chairs the city commissioners' office, which runs elections. In Philadelphia's sprawling convention center, her office built a mail-in vote-counting factory. One machine sorts returned ballots in hours instead of days.
DEELEY: Historically, we had to do it all by hand with a scanner gun, individual people sitting at a desk beep-beeping (ph) every envelope in.
BRADY: Another machine cuts open envelopes and spreads them apart with suction cups so workers can quickly pull out the ballots. And then there are 12 high-speed scanners that process 32,000 ballots an hour. Deeley still won't predict when counting will be finished. The state expects most results will be tallied by Friday.
Meantime, President Trump continues to sow doubt about the veracity of voting in Philadelphia. His campaign videotaped people putting ballots in drop boxes. Election groups openly worry that armed Trump supporters may show up to intimidate voters. That prompted Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner to issue this warning.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
LARRY KRASNER: Anyone who comes to the cradle of American democracy to try to suppress the vote and violates the law and commits crimes is going to find themselves in a jail cell talking to a Philadelphia jury.
BRADY: So far, no reports that's happening. At an early in-person voting office this week, Philadelphians seem to be taking all this in stride.
WAVERLY O'NEAL: I don't have any complaints other than the wait. But what are you going to do?
BRADY: Waverly O'Neal stood in a line of mask-wearing voters that stretched around the block. Zakaria Loudini waited several hours to vote.
ZAKARIA LOUDINI: A little bit earlier, they actually passed around boxes of pizza for people to take slices from, which is very cool.
BRADY: Considering Trump's focus on Philadelphia, Democratic Governor Tom Wolf says it looks like the president is trying to suppress turnout in this city. If that's true, it's not working. More than 90% of voters here have signed up for ballots, the highest in 35 years.
Jeff Brady, NPR News, Philadelphia.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-11-01--Republicans Stress Importance Of Senate Majority If Biden Becomes President

Republicans Stress Importance Of Senate Majority If Biden Becomes President Congressional Republicans have distanced themselves from the president .
In @ @ @ @ @ election , some argue that keeping the Senate in GOP control is a needed check @ @ @ @ @ .

Republicans Stress Importance Of Senate Majority If Biden Becomes President
Congressional Republicans have distanced themselves from the president. In the final days of the election, some argue that keeping the Senate in GOP control is a needed check on a Biden White House.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
Senate Republicans have largely walked lockstep with President Trump during his first term. But now with Trump's national poll numbers consistently behind Joe Biden's, GOP lawmakers are putting some space between themselves and the president. They're telling voters a Republican Senate would be a critical check on a House and White House controlled by Democrats. NPR congressional reporter Claudia Grisales has more.
CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: These days, congressional Republicans haven't been bursting with confidence over President Trump's chances at winning another term.
(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)
MITT ROMNEY: I did not vote for President Trump.
LISA MURKOWSKI: What I'm trying to do is make sure that we've got a good, strong majority here in the Senate.
SUSAN COLLINS: So I'll work with whomever is president.
GRISALES: That's GOP Senators Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. And they're not saying who got their presidential vote. Romney is the lone GOP member who voted for Trump's removal during the Senate impeachment trial. And he's still bullish on Republicans keeping their hold on the Senate no matter who's in the Oval.
ROMNEY: I think people vote for the senator they think is the person who best represents their state and their point of view. I don't think they look so much at who's checking who. And I think it's very hard to know who's actually going to be president.
GRISALES: He's also among the large contingency of Senate Republicans who have diverged with Trump on spending a lot more on a new wave of coronavirus relief aid, stalling out on a deal with Democrats to approve a $2 trillion plan. That stance has coincided with concessions by Republicans that they're facing an increasingly tough challenge keeping their Senate majority and especially the presidency.
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO: We have a lot of really tight races - certainly the president's race but also a lot of tight Senate races.
GRISALES: That's West Virginia's Shelley Moore Capito. She's in a strong position to be reelected but says her colleagues in competitive states are fighting for another term. And now she's among the GOP members ready to talk about how a Republican-led Senate would be a firewall to a Democratic-led House and a potential Biden presidency.
MOORE CAPITO: If the House and the presidency were to be Democratic, there's no doubt that that really raises the stakes to keep the Senate Republican. And I think because we want to have checks and balances, that makes it extremely important.
GRISALES: She and other Republicans say they could stop Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats from eliminating the legislative filibuster, which would clear the way for a simple majority to push through an expanded Supreme Court and other efforts.
JOHN CORNYN: So that Democrats couldn't eliminate the filibuster and make D.C. a state or Puerto Rico. So it would force the White House and the Senate to compromise and negotiate.
GRISALES: That's Senator John Cornyn, who's facing an aggressive reelection fight in Texas, a longtime traditional red stronghold that's also getting surprising attention as a swing state. Recently, Cornyn said he's had differences with Trump and shared those privately. He's seen a wave of blue money in his state, and he's making that part of his argument to his constituents to keep national Democrats like Schumer from putting the thumb on the scale for Texans.
CORNYN: We've seen a flood of new money coming into the race from Senator Schumer and others. Now we're being outspent about 2-to-1 on TV.
GRISALES: North Carolina's Thom Tillis is in the midst of an even tighter race, and he is one of the first Senate Republicans to raise the notion of a Biden firewall.
THOM TILLIS: We can have cooler heads prevail and do the work of the people. That's what they sent us here to do.
GRISALES: In the final stretch, their argument is that voters want divided government to protect against what they say are extreme policies.
Claudia Grisales, NPR News, the Capitol.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-11-01--Early Voters On This Year's Highly Contested Presidential Election

Audio will be available later today .
NPR 's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with early voters in Haymarket , Va. , @ @ @ @ @ minds this election year .

Early Voters On This Year's Highly Contested Presidential Election
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
And happy election-almost-over day. And many people have been spending these last few days before November 3 voting.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Would you like a Republican sample ballot?
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Would you like a Democratic Party sample ballot?
GARCIA-NAVARRO: I went to the Haymarket Gainesville Community Library in Prince William County, Va., which is an early voting location. And respectively, underneath a red and blue tent, volunteers of the two major parties were handing out sample ballots at a steady clip. It was busy, and there was a lot of enthusiasm.
MARISSA QUANDER: Woo (ph), woo, woo, woo, woo. (Laughter) Yeah, first time.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: That is Marissa Quander, who is 23, and she is a first-time voter. She came with her best friend's mom, Sandy Holland.
QUANDER: I think in this climate, it's been really important that you have a voice and put that forward. And it feels amazing. You go in there, and they clap for you. And everyone's so kind, and it feels like you're doing your part. I feel, like, lighter or something. It was good.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Marissa Quander wanted to keep whom she voted for private, but Sandy Holland said she voted for Joe Biden because of how the president has dealt with the pandemic, and she is worried about the issue of health care. She says this is a politically mixed community where the suburbs rub up against old Virginia farms, and this election has been tense.
SANDY HOLLAND: I've never known one to be so fraught with emotion and an opinion from all sides. You know, in prior national elections, my recollection is that you may or may not know who someone's voting for, but it's less emotional and it's more fact-based and less argumentative - just argumentative.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Marsha Floor (ph) is 76 and a retired park ranger.
MARSHA FLOOR: I'm happy to profess my preference.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: That preference - Donald Trump.
FLOOR: One may not like his personality, but he is the best person for our country. If you tax big business, then business is just going to go overseas again, and our people here in the United States will not have a job. I don't know if the other party has thought about that.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Explain to me a little bit about how you see the other side.
FLOOR: It's hard for me to believe that educated people would believe in socialism and the different Marxist tactics that are in place today in the Democratic Party.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Have you had difficult words with friends during this?
FLOOR: Oh, of course. Yes. Yeah, we're kind of split. You know, I don't even want to be around Democrats right now because I will stand up for my beliefs, and it just causes problems.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Another Republican woman of Peruvian descent said she was also motivated to vote for Trump because of fears of socialism, a theme that the president has been hitting on, especially in the Latino community. Every Republican man I tried to interview declined. Matt, who did not want to give his last name, told me he's a Libertarian, and that's how he voted.
MATT: Freedom of speech, gun control, right to privacy, search and seizure - the full gamut, you know? So that's - that always is what motivates how I vote.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: He doesn't like Biden and thinks no one should be in politics that long. Of Trump, he says even a broken clock is right twice a day. So Trump is accidentally doing some things he likes. But Matt says he still can't vote for him, and he says there are others who share these views.
MATT: There does seem to be this sort of surge of folks who are looking for solutions that are outside our traditional two-party system.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And finally, I met Julian, Keiana and their nine-month-old Jermiah Amaker. They had just voted for Joe Biden. They are Black. And I told them that some of the Republicans I'd spoken with had cited the racial unrest as a reason they were voting for Donald Trump because they saw it as lawlessness. Julian and Keiana disagreed.
JULIAN AMAKER: Definitely a lot of unrest right now. I'm not saying we should defund the police, but let's have police officers trained not to fear people of color when they approach them.
KEIANA AMAKER: We're definitely in a - the most politically charged time of voting. And we definitely need to do something not just about race, but about policy, about legislation. There is so much we need to do to clean up the country that we all live in and love.
Copyright © 2020 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.


npr--2020-11-01--There Will Be Superlatives: Trump Is About To Make History, No Matter What Happens

There Will Be Superlatives : Trump Is About To Make History , No Matter What Happens Not since the beginning of time has anyone ever made greater use of superlatives than Donald Trump .
He has constantly been `` the most '' this , `` the least '' that and always the `` best ever . ''
Superlatives and exaggerations are a common indulgence to which we all succumb .
Journalists are , well , just the worst .
Take the first line of this story ( see above ) .
Or take Politico 's summary Saturday morning : `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contentious election season of our lifetime . ''
We know what we mean when we say such things .
We also know what Trump means when he says things such as `` you 're going to see things you 've never thought about seeing '' or `` they will get hit like no one 's ever been hit before . ''
We have long since become inured to him saying he is `` the greatest jobs producer God has ever created '' or , on the other hand , `` the least racist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` the least anti-Semitic person you have ever seen in your life . ''
To some degree , all this rhetorical excess makes it difficult to take what the president says seriously when he says serious things .
Moreover , it becomes difficult to be taken seriously when reporting things that really do happen and really are unprecedented or truly record-setting .
So as we head into this election week `` unlike any other '' and contemplate `` the most important election of our lives , '' let us acknowledge that there will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And actual records will be , in fact , shattered .
For starters , someone in all likelihood will win the presidency with a record number of votes , more votes than anyone has ever received before .
Polls say that person will be Joe Biden , who is expected to lead in the popular vote even if he does not win the Electoral College , which elects the president .
This year 's popular vote is likely to be huge .
With a growing population and early participation prompted by the pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in excess of 150 million .
So even a plurality would be over 70 million , enough to eclipse the current record of 69.5 million votes set by Barack Obama in 2008 .
Obama is also in second place all-time with his 2012 reelection total of 65.9 million .
Third place belongs to Hillary Clinton for her 65.8 million in 2016 , which was a plurality of the popular vote that year .
The fourth place is held by Trump , whose 63 million in 2016 was better distributed among the states than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Electoral College and the presidency .
If Trump should lose the popular tally but again overcome that to reach a majority in the Electoral College , he 'd set several other records worth of note .
He would be the first president reelected after being impeached .
He would be the oldest president to win reelection ( seven months older than Ronald Reagan ) and the first president to have two terms without winning the popular vote either time .
His reelection would also mark the first time in U.S. history that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ row .
The current record of three was set by the team of Thomas Jefferson , James Madison and James Monroe in the years from 1801 through 1824 .
They were not equaled until our era , with the trio Trump would make a quartet : Bill Clinton , George W. Bush and Obama .
What does it mean that presidents are again being reelected so regularly ?
It surely does not reflect a general satisfaction with Washington , or with politics as usual .
But it may mean that the advantages of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overcome as ever .
Put another way , the national parties have struggled to nominate sufficiently compelling alternatives .
That was true when Richard Nixon and Reagan won their 49-state super-landslides in 1972 and 1984 , respectively .
But it has also been true when the chances of knocking off the incumbent were far more promising .
After all , while the last three incumbents never trailed their challengers the way Trump does in polling now , they each won a second term despite significant burdens .
Bill Clinton had lost both chambers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of 1994 .
His successor , the second President Bush , saw his approval ratings tumble as the nation soured on his occupation of Iraq in 2004 .
And Obama , weakened by deep midterm losses of his own in 2010 , was still struggling to sell the Affordable Care Act when he faced the voters again in 2012 .
Yet all three of those incumbents survived , at least in part because many swing voters found their major-party opponents less than inspiring .
So Mitt Romney fell short with 47 % of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ John Kerry mustered 48 % against Bush in 2004 and Dole just 41 % in a three-way race with incumbent Clinton and Reform Party nominee Ross Perot in 1996 .
One distinction Trump does not want is to be the first president ever defeated by a former vice president .
Nor does he wish to join the small and unhappy club of presidents who were turned out of office by the voters .
That collection includes Jimmy Carter , who lost decisively to Reagan in 1980 .
Carter is still alive at 96 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eagerness to welcome Trump to this particular club .
Other members include the late George H.W .
Bush ( defeated by Clinton in 1992 ) and Herbert Hoover , who lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 , at the depths of the Great Depression .
Democrats have lately been delighted to note that a defeated Trump would be the first president since Hoover to leave office with fewer jobs in the economy than when he arrived .
Biden stands to set several records of his own if he manages to reach a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would beat Trump 's record as the oldest president ever to take the oath of office — and beat it by eight years .
He would be the first president from Delaware , and the first to have had so long a career in the Senate ( 1973-2009 ) .
He would be the first former vice president to defeat an incumbent president , and the first Democratic vice president to come back and win the Oval Office without succeeding the president he had served .
( The Republican Nixon did that in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been vice president for Eisenhower . )
Biden might also be the first person elected after calling an incumbent `` the worst president America has ever had '' or `` the worst possible standard-bearer for democracy . ''
But then his forays into insult superlatives simply emulate the master , as Trump has labeled Biden `` the worst candidate in the history of presidential politics . ''
Trump sometimes adds that if he loses to such a loser as Biden , he himself may have to leave the country in embarrassment .
So @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And in its closing hours , or in days or weeks of post-election wrangling , we can expect a torrent of such abuse .
But when it is over , we will no doubt be assured it has been a milestone , a watershed and a turning point in history like no other .
It may be the greatest comeback , or the biggest hoax , or the worst scandal in the history of politics .
And most Americans will have already decided how to react to those claims well before they @ @ @

There Will Be Superlatives: Trump Is About To Make History, No Matter What Happens
Enlarge this image toggle caption Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Not since the beginning of time has anyone ever made greater use of superlatives than Donald Trump. He has constantly been "the most" this, "the least" that and always the "best ever."
Superlatives and exaggerations are a common indulgence to which we all succumb. Journalists are, well, just the worst. Take the first line of this story (see above). Or take Politico's summary Saturday morning: "It's been the most unconventional and contentious election season of our lifetime."
We know what we mean when we say such things. We also know what Trump means when he says things like "you're going to see things you've never thought about seeing" or "they will get hit like no one's ever been hit before." We have long since become inured to him saying he is "the greatest jobs producer God has ever created" or, on the other hand, "the least racist person you will ever interview" or "the least anti-Semitic person that you've ever seen in your entire life."
To some degree, all this rhetorical excess makes it difficult to take what the president says seriously when he says serious things. Moreover, it becomes difficult to be taken seriously when reporting things that really do happen and really are unprecedented or truly record setting.
So as we head into an election week "unlike any other" and contemplate "the most important election of our lives," let us acknowledge that there will be events that are legitimately extraordinary. And actual records will be, in fact, shattered.
For starters, someone in all likelihood will win the presidency with a record number of votes, more votes than anyone has ever received before. Polls say that person will be Joe Biden, who is expected to lead in the popular vote even if he does not win the Electoral College, which elects the president.
This year's popular vote is likely to be huge. With a growing population and early participation prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, the total now projects to be in excess of 150 million. So even a plurality would be over 70 million, enough to eclipse the current record of 69.5 million votes for Barack Obama in 2008.
Obama is also in second place all time with his 2012 reelection total of 65.9 million. Third place belongs to Hillary Clinton for her 65.8 million in 2016, which was a plurality of the popular vote that year. Fourth place is held by Trump, whose 63 million in 2016 was better distributed among the states than Clinton's, enabling him to win the Electoral College and the presidency.
A potential for firsts — and fourths
If Trump should lose the popular tally but again overcome that to reach a majority in the Electoral College, he'd set several other records worthy of note. He would be the first president reelected after being impeached. He would be the oldest president to win reelection (seven months older than Ronald Reagan) and the first president to have two terms without winning the popular vote either time.
His reelection would also mark the first time in U.S. history that voters reelected four presidents in a row. The current record of three was set by the team of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe in the years from 1801 through 1824. They were not equaled until our era, with the trio that Trump would make a quartet: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama.
What does it mean that presidents are again being reelected so regularly? It surely does not reflect a general satisfaction with Washington or with politics as usual. But it may mean that the advantages of incumbency are at least as difficult to overcome as ever. Put another way, the national parties have struggled to nominate sufficiently compelling alternatives.
That was true when Richard Nixon and Reagan won their 49-state superlandslides in 1972 and 1984, respectively. But it has also been true when the chances of knocking off the incumbent were far more promising.
After all, while the last three incumbents never trailed their challengers the way Trump does in polling now, they each won a second term despite significant burdens. Bill Clinton had lost both chambers of Congress in the devastating midterm election of 1994. His successor, the second President Bush, saw his approval ratings tumble as the nation soured on his occupation of Iraq in 2004. And Obama, weakened by deep midterm losses of his own in 2010, was still struggling to sell the Affordable Care Act when he faced voters again in 2012.
Yet all three of those incumbents survived, at least in part because many swing voters found the incumbents' major-party opponents less than inspiring. So Mitt Romney fell short with 47% of the vote against Obama in 2012, John Kerry mustered 48% against Bush in 2004 and Bob Dole just 41% in a three-way race with incumbent Clinton and Reform Party nominee Ross Perot in 1996.
Unwanted distinctions
One distinction Trump does not want is to be the first president ever defeated by a former vice president. Nor does he wish to join the small and unhappy club of presidents who were turned out of office by the voters. That collection includes Jimmy Carter, who lost decisively to Reagan in 1980. Carter is still alive at 96 and has made no secret of his eagerness to welcome Trump to this particular club.
Other members include the late George H.W. Bush (defeated by Clinton in 1992) and Herbert Hoover, who lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932 at the depths of the Great Depression. Democrats have lately been delighted to note that a defeated Trump would be the first president since Hoover to leave office with fewer jobs in the economy than when he arrived.
Biden stands to set several records of his own if he manages to reach a majority in the Electoral College. He would beat Trump's record as the oldest president ever to take the oath of office — and beat it by eight years. He would be the first president from Delaware and the first to have had so long a career in the Senate (1973 to 2009).
He would be the first former vice president to defeat an incumbent president and the first Democratic vice president to come back and win the Oval Office without succeeding the president he had served. (The Republican Nixon did that in 1968, eight years after he had been vice president for Dwight Eisenhower.)
Biden might also be the first person elected after calling an incumbent "the worst president America has ever had" or "the worst possible standard-bearer for democracy." But then his forays into insult superlatives simply emulate the master, as Trump has labeled Biden "the worst candidate in the history of presidential politics." Trump sometimes adds that if he loses to such a loser as Biden, he himself may have to leave the country in embarrassment.
So it has been that kind of campaign. And in its closing hours, or in days or weeks of post-election wrangling, we can expect a torrent of such abuse. But when it is over, we will no doubt be assured it has been a milestone, a watershed and a turning point in history like no other. It may be the greatest comeback, or the biggest hoax, or the worst scandal in the history of politics.
And most Americans will have already decided how to react to those claims well before they are made.