Colorado investigates alleged attempt to intercept mail ballots
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Colorado authorities are investigating an incident in which at least 12 mail ballots appear to have been intercepted before reaching voters intended to receive them, according to a statement from the state’s top elections official on Thursday.
The intercepted ballots for the Nov. 5 election were filled out and mailed to the county clerk in Mesa County, in the western part of the state, according to the Colorado secretary of state’s office.
It did not say whether they were marked for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Democrat nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris or some other candidate.
The apparent ballot fraud scheme was discovered after some affected voters received notifications either that their ballots had been processed or needed to be corrected because of a discrepancy with their signature, according to the statement.
White House urges Boeing, striking union to work to reach deal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The White House said on Thursday it was encouraging Boeing and the union representing about 33,000 striking machinists to continue working to reach a deal, a day after workers rejected the planemaker’s latest contract offer.
President Joe Biden “directed his team … to encourage parties to continue working to achieve an agreement that works, certainly for all parties,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. “We’re going to continue to monitor those negotiations and continue to make sure that we encourage that.”
Earlier on Thursday, the Labor Department said Acting Secretary Julie Su was in contact with Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
She was in Seattle twice last week to assist in contract talks that are aimed at ending a six-week strike that has halted production of Boeing’s best-selling 737 MAX as well as 767 and 777 wide-body programs.
A spokesperson for Su said she “is available to support” Boeing and IAM.
Boeing declined to comment. The IAM did not respond to a request for comment.
Beyoncé to appear with Kamala Harris in Houston today
Beyoncé will appear at a Kamala Harris rally today in Houston, the latest in a series of A-list musicians hitting the campaign trail with the Democratic nominee, the Associated Press and other news outlets reported Thursday.
The singer, a Houston native whose song “Freedom” is frequently played at Harris events, has an enormous following, notably Black people and young people, two critical voting blocs in the November election. She has not officially endorsed Harris, but she did grant permission for Harris to use her song during campaign events.
Country singer Willie Nelson is also reportedly planning to attend the rally, during which Harris is expected to focus on reproductive rights and the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling that overturned federal protection for access to abortion.
Georgia secretary of state fends off cyberattack targeting absentee ballot website
(NYT) — Georgia’s secretary of state warded off a cybersecurity threat this month against what was most likely an attack by a foreign country targeting its website that voters can use to request absentee ballots.
An unusual spike in users on the site appeared to be an attempt to shut it down. There were ultimately no disruptions to absentee ballot access. State and local election officials have faced increasing threats, both to their operations and physical safety, that have made the otherwise mundane, bureaucratic work of election management increasingly risky.
The secretary of state’s office thwarted a sudden rise in users trying to access the site Oct. 14, a tactic sometimes used by hackers to send a website offline by overwhelming it with requests, WSB-TV, a broadcaster in Atlanta, reported. A spokesperson for the Georgia secretary of state confirmed this reporting.
McDonald’s sued by Colorado man sickened in E. coli outbreak
(Reuters) — A Colorado man has filed what appears to be the first lawsuit against McDonald’s over an E. coli outbreak linked to Quarter Pounder burgers that has killed one person and sickened nearly 50 others.
The lawsuit, filed in Circuit Court in Cook County, Illinois, on Wednesday, alleges that Eric Stelly ate food from a Greeley, Colorado, McDonald’s on Oct. 4 and tested positive for E. coli a few days later. Colorado health officials later told Stelly that his E. coli was connected to the McDonald’s outbreak, the lawsuit said. Stelly lives in Greeley, but sued McDonald’s in Chicago, where the company is based.
The lawsuit, which seeks more than $50,000 in damages, claims McDonald’s was negligent in its handling and care of the food. Shares pared gains after news of the lawsuit and were last up 0.5%.
Turkey airstrikes hit Iraq, Syria after deadly Ankara attack
(TNS) — Turkish airstrikes hit 47 targets in northern Iraq and Syria in retaliation of a deadly attack in the capital that it’s blamed on Kurdish militants.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said both assailants in Wednesday’s attack on state defense firm Turkish Aerospace Industries in Ankara were members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. Besides the attackers, five people were killed and 22 were wounded in the incident.
Turkish warplanes and drones struck targets in Iraq and Syria overnight in an air campaign over an unusually large area. Strikes will likely continue in the near future, officials familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Army sergeant’s body was found in a dumpster at a Missouri base
(NYT) — The body of a 23-year-old Army sergeant was found in a dumpster at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri this week, and a person of interest has been taken into custody, Army officials said Thursday.
The soldier, Sgt. Sarah Roque, of Ligonier, Indiana, was reported missing Monday when she did not show up for duty that morning and her unit could not locate her, according to Army investigators.
On Monday evening, her body was found in a dumpster next to single soldier housing, which resembles apartments, Maj. Gen. Christopher Beck told the press Thursday. Her death is being investigated as a homicide by the Army Criminal Investigation Division, alongside the FBI. and other law enforcement agencies.
Investigators would not disclose any information on the person of interest because of the active investigation, but a special agent with the Army CID, John McCabe, said he does not believe that there is a greater threat to the base or community.