Election 2024 Latest: Trump heads to North Carolina, Harris campaign says it raised $361M

Donald Trump is returning to the battleground state of North Carolina Friday to address a meeting of the Fraternal Order of Police as he tries to portray himself as tougher on crime than his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, in the campaign’s closing months.

Meanwhile, Harris’ campaign announced Friday that it raised $361 million from nearly 3 million donors in her first full month as a candidate. Trump’s team had announced Wednesday he brought in $130 million over the same period.

There are 60 days until the November election. Early voting will be underway in at least four states by the end of this month and a dozen more to follow by mid-October.

Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here’s the Latest:

Walz says a ceasefire, return of hostages is only way forward in Israel-Hamas war

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz was asked on WCMU in Michigan Thursday how a Harris administration would handle the Israel-Hamas war and whether his running mate would break with President Joe Biden, who has steadfastly supported Israel while working to broker a ceasefire.

Walz said the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that touched off the war, was “a horrific act of violence against the people of Israel. They certainly have the right to defend themselves.”

But, he said, “we can’t allow what’s happened in Gaza to happen. The Palestinian people have every right to life and liberty themselves.”

He said those protesting the war in Michigan were speaking out for “all the right reasons.”

He said the only way forward was a ceasefire and return of hostages. He didn’t mention the revelation earlier this week that six additional hostages had been killed by Hamas.

JD Vance pedals Trump’s message on mass deportations

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance is promoting Donald Trump’s plans to deport people living in the country illegally at record levels.

The Ohio senator spoke to a friendly crowd of about 300 people at a Phoenix hotel, saying a second Trump administration would “finish that beautiful border wall,” stop releasing asylum seekers while they await a court hearing and end Medicare benefits for people living in the country illegally, though unauthorized immigrants are not currently eligible for Medicare.

“I have a message from Donald J. Trump,” Vance said. “If you are in this country illegally in six months, pack your bags.”

Judge OKs prosecutors’ request to lay out fresh evidence in Trump election case

The federal election interference case against Donald Trump is inching forward.

A judge on Thursday permitted prosecutors to file court documents later this month that could detail unflattering allegations about the former president as the Republican nominee enters the final weeks of his White House run.

The order came hours after a court hearing in which U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan sparred with a Trump lawyer who accused the government of trying to rush ahead with an “illegitimate” indictment in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.

Chutkan made clear she would not let the upcoming election affect how she proceeds. She turned aside defense efforts to delay the process while also acknowledging that the case is nowhere close to a trial date.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers are bitterly at odds over the next steps in the case after the Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the prosecution by ruling that former presidents are entitled to broad immunity from criminal charges. The case against Trump charges him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Special counsel Jack Smith’s team filed a revised indictment last week to strip out certain allegations against Trump for which the Supreme Court said the former president enjoyed immunity. Defense lawyers, however, believe that that indictment did not fully comply with the justices’ ruling.

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