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Michigan Secretary of State warns of bad actors seeking to “hack voters’ minds” on election misinformation
Washington — Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson warned Sunday of efforts by bad actors to “hack voters’ minds” to spread misinformation ahead of Election Day.
“We know that because our systems are secure, there are foreign, bad actors and adversaries to democracy on the global scale who will seek to potentially not hack our systems, but hack voters’ minds to spread falsehoods and misinformation,” Benson said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” “Not just to sow seeds of distrust, but to diminish citizens’ confidence in the process and in their own voices.”
Benson, a Democrat, said the misinformation is being amplified because “if there is enough noise,” people may disengage altogether, noting that “that’s the goal” of those looking to sow distrust.
The Michigan secretary of state, who has also accused Elon Musk — a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump — of intentionally spreading false information about Michigan voters, said Sunday when asked about Musk’s intentions that “adversaries to democracy” are working to “create chaos” and distrust around the elections processes, “not just in Michigan but around the country.”
“So it’s incumbent upon all of us to look to trusted sources of information, like your local election official and use data to evaluate questions, as opposed to people who are running social media companies with particular agendas and who have a history in amplifying conspiracy theories and false information,” Benson said. She encouraged Michiganders to go to michigan.gov/electionfacts rather than to social media for trusted and accurate election information.
Early in-person voting began Saturday in Detroit, and more than a million people have returned absentee ballots in the state more than two weeks ahead of Election Day, Benson said, calling it a “great sign for an engaged electorate on both sides of the aisle.”
Benson said she would “without hesitation” enforce election certification if Trump wins, saying “that’s our job as professional election administrators, to make sure it’s easy to vote, hard to cheat, and that we all stand by the will of the people — whatever that may be.”
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican who also appeared on “Face the Nation” on Sunday, likewise expressed that he will follow the law.
“I’m going to make sure that whoever wins this race, that is what gets certified,” Raffensperger said. “I’m going to do my job, and that’s what the people of Georgia have elected me to do.”
Raffensperger, who in 2021 resisted former President Donald Trump’s urging to “find” more than 11,000 votes and overturn the results of the election in the Peach State, outlined that the state has seen almost 1.4 million people vote early or who have accepted absentee ballots this year, noting that “we’re probably going to see a record turnout early voting.”
“Probably 65, maybe even 70% of all Georgians are going to vote that way, but they have a free will choice on how to vote,” Raffensperger said. He noted that the state has voter security measures such as photo ID and citizenship verifications.
“I understand we’re very competitive,” Raffensperger added. “That’s why we’ve done everything since day one to make sure we have fast, accurate and secure elections for all my voters here in Georgia.”
Tommy Edman and Will Smith homered to send Shohei Ohtani into the World Series for the first time, and the Los Angeles Dodgers eliminated the New York Mets with a 10-5 victory in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series on Sunday night.
The Dodgers clinched their record 25th NL pennant and first at home since 1988, when they beat the Mets in seven games. They moved on to their 22nd World Series — 13th in Los Angeles — and first since 2020, when they beat Tampa Bay during the pandemic-delayed season.
Next up for Ohtani and Co. is Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees, who are back in the World Series for the 41st time and first in 15 years. Game 1 is Friday at Dodger Stadium, pitting Judge (58) and Ohtani (54) — MLB’s top home-run hitters this season.
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It’ll be the 12th time the storied franchises meet in the World Series and the first in 43 years. The Yankees have beaten the Dodgers eight times, while the Dodgers’ two championships against the Bronx Bombers came in 1981 and 1955.
Ohtani, playing his first season with the Dodgers after agreeing to a record-breaking contract in free agency, had two hits and scored two runs in Game 6. He hit .364 with two homers and six RBIs in the NLCS.
Not bad for his first postseason after spending six years with the Los Angeles Angels, who never had a winning record or reached the playoffs during his tenure.
Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen struck out Brandon Nimmo, Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso swinging in the eighth in his first two-inning outing since the 2021 NLCS.
The Dodgers briefly trailed 1-0 before cleanup hitter Edman came up big.
He drove in the Dodgers’ first four runs and his 11 RBIs in the NLCS tied a franchise record set by Corey Seager in 2020 against Atlanta. Edman joined the Dodgers at the July trade deadline from St. Louis.
The Dodgers eliminated the Mets on their second try in the series. They outscored New York 40-26 in the six games. None of the games were close, with the Dodgers earning two shutouts.
The Mets came within two wins of reaching the World Series after a 22-33 start.
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NEW YORK — The New York Liberty finally have a WNBA championship after beating the Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in overtime of a decisive Game 5 on Sunday night.
Jonquel Jones scored 17 points to lead New York, which was one of the original franchises in the league. The Liberty made the WNBA Finals five times before, losing each one, including last season. This time they wouldn’t be denied, although it took an extra five minutes.
The win gave the city of New York its first basketball title since 1973 when the Knicks won the NBA championship.
With stars Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu struggling on offense, other players stepped up. Leonie Fiebich started off OT with a 3-pointer, and then Nyara Sabally had a steal for a layup to make it 65-60 and bring the sellout crowd to a frenzied state.
Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Minnesota didn’t score in OT until Kayla McBride hit two free throws with 1:51 left. The Lynx missed all six of their field goal attempts in overtime. After Ionescu missed a shot with 21 seconds left, her 18th miss on 19 shot attempts, the Lynx had one last chance, but Bridget Carleton missed a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left.
Stewart, who missed a free throw with 0.8 seconds left in Game 1, hit two free throws with 10.1 seconds left to seal the victory.
As the final seconds ticked off the clock the players hugged and streamers fell from the rafters.
Napheesa Collier scored 22 points to lead Minnesota before fouling out with 13 seconds left in OT.
The Lynx were trying for a record fifth WNBA title, breaking a tie with the Seattle Storm and Houston Comets. Minnesota won four titles from 2011-17 behind the core group of Lindsay Whalen, Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, Sylvia Fowles and Maya Moore. That was the team’s last appearance in the WNBA Finals until this year.
This is the first time since 2019 that the WNBA Finals have gone the distance. Since the league switched to a best-of-five format in 2005, seven other series have gone to a Game 5 and the home team has won five of those contests, including in 2019.
This series has been a fitting conclusion to a record-breaking season for the league. All five games came down to the last few possessions and have included two overtime games and a last-second shot, which have led to record ratings.
The first three games each had over a million viewers on average, with the audience growing for each contest. They also have had huge crowds in attendance.
Liberty fan Spike Lee was courtside over an hour before tipoff chatting with the media while wearing his Ionescu jersey. Once Ionescu finished warming up pregame, the pair had a brief exchange and hugged. Lee was part of a sellout crowd of 18,090 that helped this series set both the overall attendance record for a WNBA Finals as well as the average attendance mark.
