Myanmar ends state of emergency and military leader switches roles to prepare for polls
The plans for the polls on an unspecificed date in December face serious obstacles, including a civil war raging over most of the country and vows by opponents of military rule to derail the election because they believe it can be neither free nor fair.
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Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Recount for New Jersey's 39th District has begun. See who will pay for it
The official recount of the 39th Legislative District Democratic General Assembly from the June primary results began on Monday, Aug. 4. Candidate David Jiang, who came in third place with 8,317 votes, requested the recount. Jiang's running mate, Andrew LaBruno, received the nomination with the most votes at 9,137. Donna Abene received 8,454 votes in second place — 137 votes more than Jiang. Candidate Damon Englese came in fourth place with 6,137 votes. Only the first and second-place finishers will be on the November ballot for the two General Assembly seats and will face Republican incumbents Robert Auth and John Azzariti Jr. on Nov. 4. Board of Elections Chairman Richard Miller said, vote-wise, there is a big gap, but percentage-wise, it is 0.43% — it was a close race. Story continues below photo gallery. "The candidate felt that he wanted to do this, and the judge ruled that we should hold the recount," Miller said. "I don't think he will pick up that many votes, but you never know and he's entitled to this, so we are proceeding with it." A candidate who calls for a recount will pay a percentage of the total cost. Miller said the board of elections will cover about $20,000 for the recount, and the candidate will be charged approximately $2,500. "It's definitely an expense, but it's what the judge ruled," Miller said. "This is democracy at work. Sometimes we don't agree because of the cost, but you have to do what you have to do." Story continues below photo gallery. At 11 a.m. on Aug. 4, a team of people began the hand count of the 8,000 votes that were mailed in, as well as the provisional ballots from the 28 towns that fall under the 39th District. There will be two teams with a designated commissioner cross-checking the names and ballots. This is the first district-wide recount in at least the last 14 years, Miller said. Assembly District 39 is comprised of Bergen County municipalities Allendale, Alpine, Closter, Cresskill, Demarest, Dumont, Emerson, Harrington Park, Haworth, Hillsdale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Mahwah, Midland Park, Montvale, Northvale, Norwood, Oakland, Old Tappan, Park Ridge, Ramsey, River Vale, Rockleigh, Saddle River, Upper Saddle River, Waldwick, Washington (Bergen), Westwood and Woodcliff Lake. LaBruno and Jiang's website said it's "time to flip the 39th," a district that has not elected a Democrat since 1978. "We're proud to share that Andrew has won a seat on the slate by a healthy margin — and we're still waiting on final vote-by-mail and provisional ballot counts to see if we can get David across the finish line. We're staying hopeful and optimistic while we wait for the final results," the last update on their campaign website said. A message for comment left on their website was not immediately returned. "We're incredibly proud of this campaign — powered by the people. Every door knocked, every conversation had, and every sign planted was driven by real grassroots energy," their campaign website said. "The preliminary results showed your efforts: LD39 had an impressive 36% voter turnout, compared to last year (22%) and 2023 (12%)." LaBruno and Jiang were part of Steven Fulop's team as the Jersey City mayor sought the Democratic nomination for New Jersey governor. Mikie Sherrill received the Democratic nomination and Jack Ciattarelli the Republican in June's primary. This article originally appeared on Recount to represent Bergen County in 39th District has begun Solve the daily Crossword
Associated Press
39 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Mitch McConnell's legacy comes under fire in Kentucky race to replace him in the Senate
CALVERT CITY, Ky. (AP) — Republican Nate Morris had deftly warmed up a crowd of party faithful, gushing about President Donald Trump and recounting his own life's journey — from hardscrabble childhood to wealthy entrepreneur — when he turned his attention to the man he wants to replace, Sen. Mitch McConnell. That's when things got feisty. While bashing Kentucky's longest-serving senator at a GOP dinner on the eve of Saturday's Fancy Farm picnic, a tradition-laden stop on the state's political circuit, Morris was cut off in midsentence by a party activist in the crowd, who noted that McConnell isn't seeking reelection and pointedly asked Morris: 'What are you running on?' Morris touted his hard line stance on immigration and defended Trump's tariffs as a boon for American manufacturing. But he didn't retreat from his harsh critique of McConnell. 'We've seen 40 years of doing it the same way,' Morris said. 'And, yes, he's not on the ballot, but his legacy is on the ballot. Do you want 40 more years of that? I don't think you do.' McConnell's blunt-force approach used against him The pushback from a county GOP chairman revealed the political risks of attacking the 83-year-old McConnell in the twilight of his career. Towering over Kentucky politics for decades, McConnell is regarded as the master strategist behind the GOP's rise to power in a state long dominated by Democrats. The state Republican headquarters bears McConnell's name. As the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, McConnell guided Republican policymaking and helped forge a conservative Supreme Court. Back home, his appropriating skills showered Kentucky with federal funding. Now, his blunt-force style of campaigning — which undercut so many foes — is being used against him. Morris is running against two other prominent Republicans — U.S. Rep. Andy Barr and former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron — for McConnell's seat. The outcome will be decided in the spring primary next year. Kentucky hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate since Wendell Ford in 1992. All three Republican hopefuls lavish praise on Trump — in hopes of landing his endorsement — but also have ties to McConnell, who mentored generations of aspirational Republicans. Cameron and Barr have chided McConnell at times, but it's been mild compared to Morris' attacks. Morris interned for McConnell but glosses over that connection. McConnell pushes back At events surrounding the Fancy Farm picnic, an event long known for caustic zingers that he has always relished, McConnell showed no sign of backing down. 'Surely this isn't true, but I've heard that one of the candidates running for my office wants to be different,' McConnell told a Republican crowd that included Morris at a pre-picnic breakfast in Mayfield. 'Now, I'm wondering how you'd want to be different from the longest-serving Senate leader in American history. I'm wondering how you'd want to be different in supporting President Trump.' McConnell received multiple standing ovations. Morris stayed seated. McConnell has consistently voted for Trump's policies more often than Kentucky's other Republican senator, Rand Paul, according to a Congressional Quarterly voting analysis. McConnell recently supported Trump's signature tax and spending measure. Paul opposed it, saying it would drive up debt. Yet Morris has taken on McConnell, who has famously had an up-and-down relationship with Trump. McConnell teamed with Trump to put conservatives on the federal bench and pass tax cuts during the president's first term. McConnell also guided the Senate — and Trump — through two impeachment trials that ended in acquittals. But the relationship was severed after McConnell blamed Trump for 'disgraceful' acts in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack by Trump's supporters. McConnell endorsed Trump in 2024, but in a biography by Michael Tackett of The Associated Press, released shortly before the election, McConnell described him as 'a despicable human being.' Running against career politicians Morris, who started a waste management technology company, says the senator has been insufficiently loyal to Trump and allowed festering issues like immigration and the national debt to grow worse during his years in Senate leadership. Morris wants to tether his opponents to McConnell while running on anti-establishment themes that his campaign thinks will appeal to legions of Trump supporters in the Bluegrass State. 'Let's face it, folks, career politicians have run this country off a cliff,' Morris said. Morris' rivals sum up the anti-McConnell attacks as an angry, backward-looking message. Cameron called it a diversionary tactic to obscure what he said is Morris' lack of both a message and credibility as a supporter of Trump's MAGA movement. 'He can't talk about his actual record. So he has to choose to pick on an 83-year-old,' Cameron said. At Fancy Farm, where candidates hurl insults at one another against a backdrop of bingo games and barbecue feasts, Morris took a swipe at McConnell's health. 'I have a serious question: who here can honestly tell me that it's a good thing to have a senior citizen who freezes on national television during his press conferences as our U.S. senator?' Morris said. 'It seems, to me, maybe just maybe, Mitch's time to leave the Senate was a long time ago.' McConnell had his customary front-row seat for much of the event but wasn't there for Morris' remarks. He typically leaves before all the speeches are delivered and exited before his would-be successors spoke. Living by the sword McConnell complimented Trump in his speech, singling out Trump's bombing of Iranian nuclear sites. 'He turned Iran's nuclear program into a pile of rocks,' McConnell, a steadfast advocate for a muscular U.S. foreign policy, said to cheers. At the GOP dinner the night before in Calvert City, where candidates typically are more politely received, party activist Frank Amaro confronted Morris for his anti-McConnell barrage. 'He keeps bashing Mitch McConnell like he's running against Mitch McConnell,' Amaro, a county Republican chairman, said afterward. 'Overall, he's helped Kentucky and the United States, especially our Supreme Court, more than any other U.S. senator in this country.' But Morris' blistering assessment of McConnell hit the mark with Trump supporter Patrick Marion, who applied the dreaded Republican-in-Name-Only label to McConnell. 'Personally, I think Mitch has been a RINO for way too long,' Marion said later. 'I don't think he was a true MAGA supporter of President Trump.' Afterward, Morris was in no mood to back off. 'He's the nastiest politician maybe in the history of this state if not in the history of this country,' Morris said of McConnell. 'Look, you live by the sword, you die by the sword.'
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Unprecedented': New report argues Trump WH plans to undermine 2026 midterms
Michael Waldman of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law joins Morning Joe to discuss the center's newest report 'The Trump Administration's Campaign to Undermine the Next Election'.
