Nation and world news in brief for October 30
Republican suit targeting Pennsylvania overseas ballots dismissed
(Reuters) — A U.S. judge on Tuesday dismissed a Republican lawsuit seeking to force election battleground state Pennsylvania to strengthen its procedures for verifying ballots submitted by military and overseas voters.
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Six Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives seeking reelection on Nov. 5 had sued Pennsylvania’s top election officials on Sept. 30. The Republicans had argued that the state was improperly exempting overseas voters from a requirement that their identity documents be verified, creating a vulnerability for fraudulent votes to be submitted.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner dismissed the case in Harrisburg, deciding that the plaintiffs had waited too long to file their complaint given that Pennsylvania’s procedures had been in place for years. The suit was one of dozens around the country in which Republicans have challenged voting procedures or sought to purge voter rolls in what they call a push to ensure that people do not vote illegally. That legal blitz has been faltering. In the past three weeks, Trump allies have been dealt at least 11 court losses in election battleground states.
US senators urge overhaul of customs program to stop fentanyl chemical smuggling
(Reuters) — Prominent U.S. Democratic senators on Tuesday called on the Biden administration to crack down on a popular duty-free customs program after Reuters reporting revealed how drug traffickers use the streamlined entry system to sneak Chinese-made fentanyl chemicals into the country virtually unchecked.
In a letter addressed to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the lawmakers urged the agencies to use their statutory authority to prohibit e-commerce shipments from entering the U.S. under the so-called de minimis rule, which allows merchandise valued under $800 to come into the U.S. duty free, and with minimal paperwork and inspections. This customs channel is widely used by retailers and online shopping platforms to ship foreign-made goods directly to U.S. consumers.
The four lawmakers — Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, and Sherrod Brown of Ohio — wrote that they were “particularly concerned by reports that drug traffickers are abusing the de minimis exemption to smuggle illicit fentanyl and its precursor chemicals into the United States.” The letter made multiple references to a Reuters investigation of the smuggling tactic published earlier this month.
Biden announces $3 billion investment for US ports
(Reuters) — U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a $3 billion investment from his Inflation Reduction Act to improve the country’s port infrastructure.
The investment includes $147 million in awards for the Maryland Port Administration, which owns the Port of Baltimore, the White House said in a statement.
The funding will be used to create union jobs and upgrade port infrastructure to cleaner equipment, the statement added.
