NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
➊ Florida vote: A federal judge denied a motion to extend voter registration even though a computer meltdown on the final day of registration might have prevented thousands of potential voters from taking part in November’s presidential election. In a 29page ruling on Friday, U. S. District Court Judge Mark E. Walker said “the state’s interest in preventing chaos in its already precarious — and perennially chaotic — election outweighs the substantial burden imposed on the right to vote.” The Secretary of State’s Office said the system was overloaded by some 1.1 million requests per hour, causing many to not register.
➋ Trump got cash infusion: President Trump’s longhidden tax records, obtained by the New York Times, reveal how he engineered a sudden financial windfall before the 2016 election — more than $ 21 million in what experts describe as highly unusual oneoff payments from a Las Vegas hotel he owns with his friend Phil Ruffin, a casino mogul. The new findings may offer a hint to one of the enduring mysteries of his campaign: In its waning days, as his giving had slowed to a trickle, Trump contributed $ 10 million, leaving many to wonder where it came from. Tax records don’t specify whether payments from the hotel helped prop up Trump’s campaign, his businesses or both. But they show how cash flowed in transactions to Trump-controlled companies and then directly to Trump himself.
➌ Kidnap plot: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her family were moved around by authorities as law enforcement tracked the men who allegedly plotted for months to kidnap her, the state’s attorney general said Friday. Dana Nessel said the Democratic governor was updated about the investigation over the past couple of months. Authorities announced Thursday that they foiled a plot to kidnap Whitmer in a scheme that involved months of planning and even rehearsals to snatch her from her vacation home before the Nov. 3 elections.
➍ Extradition fight: A 17yearold accused of killing two protesters days after Jacob Blake was shot by police in Kenosha, Wis., remains in custody in his home state of Illinois as his attorneys fight efforts to send him to Wisconsin to stand trial on homicide charges. Kyle Rittenhouse appeared on streaming video and wore a face mask during a brief court hearing Friday in Lake County, Ill. Judge Paul Novak scheduled an Oct. 30 hearing on the extradition request, though prosecutors told Novak they were prepared to move faster.
➎ Wrong ballots: Nearly 50,000 voters received incorrect absentee ballots in the county that is home to Ohio’s capital of Columbus and largest city, elections officials said Friday as they promised corrected ballots would be mailed within 72 hours. With about 240,000 ballots mailed, that meant one in five voters received a wrong ballot. The error happened Saturday when someone changed a setting on a machine that places absentee ballots into mailing envelopes, Franklin County officials said. That represents 0.6% of the state’s 8 million registered voters.