US election 2020: more than 70m Americans have voted early – live

October 28, 2020
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1.18am EDT01:18

A second night of protests unfolded in Philadelphia last night over the police killing of Walter Wallace Jr.

Jeff Neiburg
(@Jeff_Neiburg)

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October 28, 2020

Wallace Jr, 27, had mental health issues, said Shaka Johnson, a lawyer representing the family. The young man’s brother had called 911 asking for an ambulance to help this brother – the dispatcher was told that Wallace was suffering. But instead of an ambulance, police arrived, Johnson said.

“To think about calling for assistance and winding up with the people you called for assistance killing you,” he said. Justice means “reform in the Philadelphia Police Department and adequate training” he added.

As a side note, the election result in Philadelphia could determine the outcome of the entire presidential race. Biden needs a strong Democratic turnout in the city and its suburbs to overcome what is expected to be a Trump lead elsewhere. Pennsylvania looks from the polls like the state most likely to put one candidate or the other over the top.

Updated
at 1.19am EDT




12.42am EDT00:42

Hello and welcome to our round-the-clock rolling coverage of the 2020 US election. Everyone is looking toward Tuesday, but the election is already happening in a big way, with more than 70m people having voted early so far. That’s more than half of the roughly 130m people who voted for the two major-party candidates in the 2016 election – and we still have six days to go until an election day, when a big vote is also anticipated.

Donald Trump held a trio of rallies yesterday in the midwest, while Joe Biden took a turn through Georgia, an aspirational pickup state for the Democrats. Also out on the campaign trail was Barack Obama, who had this to say about Trump’s constant complaining about the prominence in the headlines of the coronavirus pandemic: “He’s jealous of Covid’s media coverage.”

The Trump campaign account was hacked briefly, and made to read: “the world has enough of the fake news spreaded [sic] daily by president donald j trump”. Federal authorities are investigating. Earlier this autumn Dutch media reported that a researcher gained access to Trump’s twitter account by guessing the password: maga2020!

The outlook in the coronavirus crisis in the United States continues to be dire, with nearly half a million cases recorded in the last week. But the White House issued a document of “Trump administration highlights” in the areas of science and technology – and touted its response to the coronavirus pandemic:


The policies enacted and investments made by the Administration have equipped researchers, health professionals, and many others with the tools to tackle today’s challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and have prepared the Nation for whatever the future holds.

Thank you for joining us today!

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