Harris concedes 2024 election, Biden, Trump speak for first time since Trump win

Early vote returns in US battleground states may not be a good indicator of whether Democratic candidate Kamala Harris or Republican rival Donald Trump will win, experts say, thanks to vote counting rules and quirks in several key states.

In the 2020 election, some states showed a "red mirage," in which Trump was leading on election night, before a "blue shift" saw Democrat Joe Biden overtake him as mail-in ballots favored by more Democratic voters were counted.

Experts had accurately predicted it would happen but Trump still used the shift to amplify his false claims that the election was stolen.

It could happen again this week, especially in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

A Georgia poll worker was arrested on Monday on US charges that he sent a letter threatening to bomb election workers that he wrote to appear as if it came from a voter in the presidential election battleground state.

Federal prosecutors said Nicholas Wimbish, 25, had been serving as a poll worker at the Jones County Elections Office in Gray, Georgia, on October 16 when he got into a verbal altercation with a voter.

The next day, Wimbish mailed a letter to the county's elections superintendent that was drafted to appear as if it came from that same voter, prosecutors said. The letter complained that Wimbish was a "closeted liberal election fraudster" who had been distracting voters in line to cast ballots, according to charging papers.

Authorities said the letter, signed by a "Jones County voter," said Wimbish and others "should look over their shoulder" and warned that people would "learn a violent lesson about stealing our elections!"

Prosecutors said the letter ended with a handwritten note: "PS boom toy in early vote place, cigar burning, be safe."

Wimbish was charged with mailing a bomb threat, conveying false information about a bomb threat, mailing a threatening letter, and making false statements to the FBI, prosecutors said. A lawyer for Wimbish could not be immediately identified.

Georgia is one of seven closely contested states expected to decide the outcome of Tuesday's presidential election match-up between Republican former US president Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

Concerns about potential political violence have prompted officials to take a variety of measures to bolster security during and after Election Day.

The dizzying presidential contest between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris hurtled toward an uncertain finish on Tuesday as millions of Americans headed to the polls to choose between two sharply different visions for the country.

A race whipsawed by unprecedented events - two assassination attempts against Trump, US President Joe Biden's surprise withdrawal and Harris' rapid rise - remained too close to call, even after billions of dollars in spending and months of frenetic campaigning.

The first ballots cast on election day mirrored the nationwide divide. Overnight, the six registered voters in the tiny hamlet of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, split their votes between Harris and Trump in voting just past midnight. Elsewhere on the East Coast, polls began opening at 7 a.m. in more than two dozen states.

Trump's campaign has suggested he may declare victory on election night even while millions of ballots have yet to be counted, just as he did four years ago. The former president has repeatedly said any defeat could only stem from widespread fraud, echoing his false claims from 2020. The winner may not be known for days if the margins in key states are as slim as expected.

No matter who wins the White House, history will be made.

US presidential election race: Donald Trump and Kamala Harris (illustrative) (credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)

Harris, 60, the first female vice president, would become the first woman, Black woman and South Asian American to win the presidency. Trump, 78, the only president to be impeached twice and the first former president to be criminally convicted, would also become the first president to win non-consecutive terms in more than a century.

Opinion polls in the campaign's final days have shown the candidates running neck and neck in each of the seven states likely to determine the winner: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Reuters/Ipsos polling shows a significant gender gap, with Harris leading among women by 12 percentage points and Trump winning among men by 7 percentage points.

As Americans cast their ballots today, Israel watches with both hope and concern. Our nation is facing an unprecedented struggle, fighting on multiple fronts – neighbors to the north and south and even adversaries from across the seas. For Israel, the stakes of this election go beyond typical political shifts; we need a steadfast ally in the White House, a leader who not only promises unwavering support but who truly grasps Israel’s role as the only democracy in the Middle East.

In recent days, both candidates – Kamala Harris and Donald Trump – have voiced strong positions on Gaza and the broader conflict. Harris has emphasized support for the Muslim community, calling for an end to what she described as a humanitarian crisis, while Trump assured Americans that he would bring a swift conclusion to the Israel-Hamas War.

“We have to remember our commitment to all communities, and that includes our Muslim neighbors,” Harris said recently, underscoring her call for compassion in US foreign policy. Trump, meanwhile, was clear on his intentions, declaring, “We need peace, and I will bring that peace to Gaza. Enough lives have been lost.”

These statements are being watched closely here in Israel, where more than 100 Israeli citizens remain held captive by Hamas in Gaza, according to reports, with about half of them feared dead. For those of us waiting and hoping for their safe return, we call on the next US president to prioritize their release as part of America’s commitment to Israel’s security. With its influence, the United States can and should do everything in its power to bring the hostages home.

As this election unfolds, we remind the American people and those in positions of power of Israel’s reality: Our country stands as the only Jewish state, a place built on the dreams and struggles of those who survived the unthinkable. Israel was not established to provoke conflict but as a beacon of freedom and hope for the Jewish people, a haven and a democracy where all citizens – Jewish, Muslim, and Christian – live with dignity and rights.

Yet today, antisemitism in the US is at its highest levels in decades. This rise in hate threatens not only the Jewish community but also the values upon which  America was founded. We call on the next president to make combating antisemitism a national priority, ensuring that American Jews feel secure in their own country. Leaders must take a firm stand against hatred and discrimination, address this crisis seriously, and demonstrate that Jewish rights and safety are a priority.

Moscow has denied US Intelligence agency's reports that Russia was behind videos intending to diminish faith in the presidential election, The Moscow Times reported Tuesday.

"We have noticed the statement of the US intelligence services accusing our country of disseminating fabricated videos about electoral violations in the United States. We view these allegations as baseless," the Russian embassy in the United States said in a statement on Telegram.

One of the videos widely circulated on social media showed a Haitian immigrant claiming to have voted several times in Georgia. In the video, he claims in a notably robotic voice: "We are from Haiti. We came to America six months ago and already have our American citizenship – we're voting Kamala Harris."

The FBI, CISA, and the Director of National Intelligence agencies called the video part of  "Moscow’s broader effort to raise unfounded questions about the integrity of the US election and stoke divisions among Americans." 

Former president and current Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday that Kamala Harris would start World War Three and get millions of Muslims killed.

The tweet was sent as both Harris and Trump campaigned in the battleground state of Michigan, which is home to the largest Arab-American population in the United States.

The 2024 US presidential race nominees, Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, are spending the evening before the election in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

A Pennsylvania judge ruled Monday that Elon Musk’s daily $1 million giveaway to voters can continue, in a victory for the tech billionaire, though the sweepstakes is set to end Tuesday on Election Day.

Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Angelo Foglietta rejected arguments from the city’s district attorney, Larry Krasner, who argued that the sweepstakes was an illegal lottery that violated state law and must be halted immediately.

Nearly two-thirds of Israelis believe former President Donald Trump is a better candidate for the upcoming US presidential election, according to a survey the Israeli Democracy Institute shared on Monday. 

The IDI survey, which asked participants which candidate they prefer, showed that nearly two-thirds of the total sample say former President Donald Trump is better for Israel's interest, compared to only 13% who say Vice President Kamala Harris is better, and 15.5% who maintain there is no difference between them.

With less than 24 hours until the polls open on Election Day, the Harris campaign's Jewish Liaison Ilan Goldenberg is canvassing through Jewish neighborhoods outside of Philadelphia to solidify voter turnout on Tuesday. 

“Jewish voters will be a critical part of Vice President Harris’ winning coalition and our campaign is taking nothing for granted," Goldenberg said in a statement to The Post on Tuesday afternoon.