TUESDAY NOV 10
Multiple TV networks decided to cut away from a White House press conference this morning, after press secretary Kayleigh McEnany repeated US President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.
Trump and his campaign have made baseless accusations of large-scale voter fraud in Pennsylvania and other states where the election was called for Democratic rival Joe Biden.
The US election has been called for Biden — and he has claimed victory — but Trump still has not conceded defeat and instead has been repeating his claims of fraud.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was giving a briefing at the White House and indicated the Trump administration would not be backing down from the President’s claims.
“This election is not over, far from it,” McEnany told reporters at a briefing in what she said was her capacity as a Trump campaign adviser.
“Our position is clear. We want to protect the franchise of the American people. We want an honest, accurate, lawful count. We want maximum sunlight. We want maximum transparency. We want every legal vote to be counted and we want every illegal vote to be discarded.”
US network Fox News, as well as ABC News Australia, cut away from the briefing.
Fox News cuts away from Trump’s adviser over electoral fraud claims.
“I just think we have to be very clear: she’s charging the other side is welcoming fraud and welcoming illegal voting,” Fox News host Neil Cavuto said.
“Unless she has more details to back that up, I can’t in good countenance continue showing this.”
Prior to cutting away, Lisa Millar on ABC News said: “If they have any evidence, we’ll let you know about it. But not at this stage.”
CNN appeared not to air the briefing live.
Later in the press briefing, a reporter asked McEnany if Trump’s team knew that fraudulent votes were actually cast, or whether she was saying that they didn’t know because they weren’t able to see the ballots as they were being counted.
“What we are asking for here is patience,” McEnany replied.
“We’re aware of all the reports of thousands of votes in Nevada that were cast by those who are not eligible. We’re hearing these reports. We’re seeing them come in. We are vetting them. We are getting affidavits.
“But what we’re asking for right now is patience as we explore these equal protection claims, among others.”
The latest news on the legal challenge front is Trump’s campaign has filed a lawsuit over Pennsylvania.
The suit was filed in federal court and alleged Pennsylvania’s mail-in voting system lacked the oversight and verification given to in-person voting.
It seeks an emergency injunction to stop state officials from certifying Biden’s victory in the state.
Republicans also sued the city of Philadelphia over how close they could stand to election workers processing ballots.
A state judge ordered the city allow observers within 1.8 metres of election workers. The city appealed, citing concerns over worker safety amid the coronavirus pandemic and the potential for intimidation.
The Trump campaign and Republicans have brought numerous other lawsuits alleging election irregularities.
Judges have already tossed cases in Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin.
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Labor frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon has quit the Shadow Cabinet amid an ongoing disagreement about how the party should approach climate change and energy policies.
Mr Fitzgibbon was the shadow minister for agriculture and resources, and is the Member for Hunter in the New South Wales Hunter Valley where coal mining is a major industry.
He supports the Opposition’s target for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, but is worried that being too ambitious in the short term will damage Labor’s electoral chances.
Last year, he said his party should adopt the Government’s climate change targets, saying Labor’s had “confused and scared” voters.
Mr Fitzgibbon said to win government, the Labor Party needed to make sure it was also appealing to regional voters whose workforce relies on traditional energy sources.
“We have a diverse range of membership and we must speak to them all,” he said.
“And I think somehow over the course of the last decade, we forgot that and we lost touch with traditional working people.
“If you begin demonising coal workers, coal generation workers, you’re immediately demonising oil and gas workers, power generation workers.
“By the time that message gets through, you’re demonising manufacturing workers and it goes on and on.
“You’ve got to give voice to all of those people and you can’t win those seats … without reassuring the community that the Labor Party is heavily supportive of the resources sector.”
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The widow of Sean Connery has revealed the actor’s dying wish.
Micheline Roquebrune told the Scottish Mail that before the James Bond star’s death last month, he had requested for his ashes to be scattered across his native Scotland and in the Bahamas, where he had lived after retiring.
“He wanted his ashes to be scattered in the Bahamas and also in his homeland,” she told the outlet. “Whenever it is possible and safe to travel again, then it is the family’s intention to return to Scotland with him.”
Roquebrune, Connery’s wife of 45 years, also shared that a memorial service for the legendary actor will take place in his birth country. Although no plans are concrete as yet due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Roquebrune, a French artist, also revealed that her late husband would be cremated at a private service in the Caribbean island at a later date.
“We would like to organise a memorial service for him in Scotland — that is our hope. But we cannot say when this will happen exactly,” she said.
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