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Pennsylvania college students seek to put voter participation over party
State College, Pennsylvania — At first glance, Penn State students Ryan Klein and Baybars Charkas seem to have a lot in common — until they start talking about politics.
Klein is the president of the university’s College Republicans chapter, and Charkas is the president of its College Democrats chapter.
In the battleground state of Pennsylvania, where former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are neck and neck, these two college seniors are putting participation over party.
“On Penn State’s campus, and I imagine many others, there’s not a very good relationship between people who are very partisan. We wanted to break that trend,” Charkas said.
About 41 million Gen Zers will be eligible to vote in this year’s presidential election, eight million of them for the very first time, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.
But turnout will be key. In 2022, only about 30% of 18-year-olds registered to vote, according to the U.S. Census.
In both presidential elections and midterms since the 1960s, voter turnout among 18 to 24-year-olds has been far below any other age group. But today’s youngest voters make up a quarter of the population — enough to tip the scales come November.
“It’s all about turnout,” said Stacy Rosenberg, a professor who teaches policy at Carnegie Mellon University. “Young people need to remember that it doesn’t matter how many social media posts they make, or how many protests that they attend. If they don’t actually show up to vote, their voice won’t be heard.”
According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, 66% of 18 to 24-year-olds associate with the Democratic Party, compared with 34% who align with the GOP. But some in this age group say issues like jobs, abortion and education drive them to the polls — not political parties.
“Younger voters often don’t feel very positive about the future, and that’s just the reality of being an adolescent,” said Penn State senior Fi Montany, who’s voting in her first presidential election.
When asked whether politicians understand her generation, Montany said, “Straight up, no. I think we are just so different as a generation. We know what matters to us. We’re not tying it to just one candidate, critiquing a candidate while appreciating the things that they do.”
With the election now just weeks away, Klein and Charkas hope their partnership can set an example from their college campus all the way to Washington, D.C.
“We’re all citizens first, and so I think we need to put that hat on rather than just being a Republican or a Democrat,” Klein said.
CBS News
10/22: CBS Evening News – CBS News
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Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela dies at 63
Dodgers legend Fernando Valenzuela, known affectionately to fans across the baseball world as “El Toro” has died at 63 years old.
The Etchohauquila, Sonora, Mexico native recently stepped away from his role in the Dodgers’ broadcast booth to focus on his health just ahead of the team’s run to the World Series. He had planned to return for the 2025 season.
The man behind “Fernandomania,” which took Los Angeles by storm during the 1980s, spent 11 of his 17 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Boys in Blue, leading the team to two World Series titles in 1981 and 1988.
He was well-known for his signature windup and high leg kick before dazzling hitters with his virtually unhittable screwball. Upon retirement, he ranked amongst the franchises top 10 all-time in wins, strikeouts, innings pitched, games started, complete games and shutouts.
The Dodgers honored Valenzuela in 2023 by retiring his No. 34, making him only the 11th Dodger to achieve the spot above the left field bleachers.
Late Tuesday evening the team took to X to acknowledge Valenzuela’s death.
“Fernandomania por siempre,” said a photo. “Fernandomania forever.”
More to come.
CBS News
Jurors in Delphi murders trial see video from victim’s phone
DELPHI, Ind. (CBS) — Jurors in the Delphi, Indiana murders trial got a closer look Tuesday at some of the most concrete evidence in the case.
Richard Allen, 52, is facing four counts of murder in connection with the murders of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty “Libby” German, 14, in 2017.
Video taken from Libby’s phone right before the murder shows a man, believed to be the killer, walking on a bridge. For the first time Tuesday, jurors got to see a longer version of the video.
A digital forensic analyst also testified about how he got the data off the phone.
Also Tuesday, lead crime scene investigator Brian Olehy brought several key pieces of evidence from at or near the crime scene to court—though they were not shown to the jury, according to CBS affiliate WTTV in Indianapolis.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Brad Rozzi asked several times whether swabs from the crime scene contained any DNA linking Allen to it, WTTV reported, Olehy said he was not aware of any such connection.
Olehy also testified that he believed the branches found on the girls’ bodies were placed there to conceal them, and said it was a “logical assumption” that Libby was “disrobed”—as she was wearing some of Abby’s clothes, WTTV reported. He said investigators could not determine the sequence of events, and did not test the sticks that were found with the bodies, the station reported.
There was also testimony about a single unspent bullet at the scene that is at the center of the case against Allen, the station reported.
Testimony was also heard from Railly Voorhies, who was a 16-year-old high school student who happened to be walking near the Freedom Bridge in Delphi and saw an “unsettling” man who glared at her, WTTV reported. She said the image of the man on the bridge documented in Libby’s phone was the man she saw, the station reported.
Another witness, Betys Blair, also testified that she saw the man on the bridge, WTTV reported.