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Rural Georgia voters weigh in ahead of election as residents find common ground

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In Metter, Georgia, where the community is still cleaning up after Hurricane Helene, electrician Brad Jones is concerned about what feels like the next storm — the election.

“From the economy standpoint, from the border standpoint to cost of groceries, there’s a lot riding on this election,” Jones said.

Jones, a longtime member and now chairman-elect of the county Board of Commissioners, supports former President Donald Trump, along with most of his neighbors. Metter is in Candler County, which Trump carried 70-30 in 2020.

Since 2000, Rural voters have increasingly favored the Republican Party, but stirring in this part of rural Georgia is quiet support for Harris.

“I don’t line up with either party. I’m more of that person who I am absolutely going to go towards the candidate themselves,” resident Tiffany Lee said.

Lee and her husband Sean raise quarter horses in Metter and own a clothing store nearby.

When asked if there is a kind of shy Harris voter, Lee said, “Absolutely. It’s something that’s whispered about. There are a lot of Harris voters here — a lot.”

For Brandon Byrd, who was born and raised in Metter, this is the season of voter engagement — not for a specific candidate, but for rural America. His project Georgia Ignites aims to activate and register voters across the state. On average, 80% of the Georgians they register are Black and 50% are under the age of 25.

“I feel like people are tired, but people are tired of not being heard,” Byrd said.

Trump and Harris value the rural vote but for different reasons. Trump wants to run up the score, while Harris wants to lose red counties like Candler by less than Biden. Each barnstormed in Savannah, an hour from Metter.

Jones and Lee have landed on different choices for this election, but agree on a woman’s right to choose.

“I don’t wanna be suppressed by other people’s laws, meaning I don’t want someone to tell me what to do with my body,” Lee said.

“I still believe that a woman should have the right to do with her body what she wants to do,” Jones said.

Shirley Hemley, Lee’s 92-year-old neighbor, has a Harris sign in front of her house. She says it’s the first time she’s put up a campaign sign in her yard.

“I’ve got to stand up for what I believe, and I hope Americans will stand up for what they know is the right thing,” Hemley said.

For Byrd, his small-town roots and extended family mingle as motivation and memory. His tattoo of a specific date in 1956 marks a turning point.

“February 4th, 1956. This is the day on record that my great-grandmother got registered to vote. So that’s why I’m anchored in this work. It’s only but right that I have this as a reminder and I keep doing my part to do good for other people as well,” Byrd said.

In a town where everyone knows everyone and rural often equals red, this part of America would like a word and another look.



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Elon Musk ordered to attend Philadelphia court hearing over $1 million giveaway to voters

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Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner sues Elon Musk PAC to stop $1 million lottery for voters


Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner sues Elon Musk PAC to stop $1 million lottery for voters

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Billionaire Elon Musk has been ordered to attend a Philadelphia court hearing on Thursday after he was sued by District Attorney Larry Krasner over his $1 million giveaway to voters.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in a courtroom at City Hall in Center City, according to a court document. 

Last week, Krasner sued Musk and alleged that Musk and his super PAC are trying to influence voters in next week’s presidential election between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris

“The Philadelphia District Attorney is charged with protecting the public from public nuisances and unfair trade practices, including illegal lotteries. The DA is also charged with protecting the public from interference with the integrity of elections,” Krasner said in a statement announcing the complaint last week. 

Musk, who founded Tesla and SpaceX, has thrown his full support behind Trump in his run for a second term in the White House. Nearly two weeks ago, he vowed to hand out $1 million a day until Election Day on Nov. 5 to voters who signed his PAC’s petition supporting the First Amendment and Second Amendment of the Constitution. 

Some experts have questioned the legality of Musk’s actions to give voters $1 million.

“The actions that we’re seeing … it violates federal law pretty clearly. Actually, I don’t think it’s a particularly close call,” Adav Noti, executive director of the Campaign Legal Center, told CBS News last week. 

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro also questioned Musk’s giveaway. 

“I think there are real questions with how he is spending money in this race, how the dark money is flowing, not just into Pennsylvania, but apparently now into the pockets of Pennsylvanians. That is deeply concerning,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last week. 

Musk has been very active in supporting Trump in Pennsylvania, one of the key battleground states in the election. He was in the Philadelphia area for a town hall on Oct. 17 calling on Pennsylvanians to get registered to vote. 

At the town hall in Ridley High School in Delaware County, Musk called Pennsylvania “linchpin” for the 2024 election.

“I’m here for a very important reason, which is – I can’t emphasize this enough – Pennsylvania, I think, is the linchpin in this election,” Musk said at the time. “This election, I think, is going to decide the fate of America, and along with the fate of America, the fate of Western civilization.”



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“Tiger King” Joe Exotic announces prison engagement

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Joe Exotic, made famous in the Netflix series “Tiger King” and currently serving time in federal prison, says he is engaged to a fellow inmate in Texas and hopes to get married.  

Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado, is currently incarcerated at Federal Medical Center Fort Worth. He submitted a marriage application to the federal prison to wed fellow inmate Jorge Marquez Flores, he announced in a news release Wednesday. 

Maldonado was convicted in 2019 on 21 counts, including 19 counts of wildlife crimes and two counts of hiring hitmen to kill animal activist Carole Baskin. He is serving a 21-year sentence. 

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Joe Exotic, Jorge Flores

His fiancé, 33-year-old Jorge Marquez Flores, originally from Mexico, is serving time for immigration-related issues, according to Maldonado’s news release.

According to Maldonado, both men are optimistic the prison will approve their application and have “high hopes” that Maldonado’s appeal will succeed. He hopes the two would be released from prison in mid-2025. 

In his news release, Maldonado also requested a presidential pardon for both he and Flores, as well as asylum for Flores. 

“I wish someone that is President or wins the Presidency would do the right thing and pardon me so I could move past this nightmare that my own country has caused for the last 7 years of my life,” Maldonado wrote in the news release. “All I did was build a zoo and some people were very jealous. Then I was put into prison by my own country.”



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10/30: The Daily Report – CBS News

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10/30: The Daily Report – CBS News


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Lindsey Reiser reports on how both presidential campaigns are capitalizing on the final days before Election Day, some of the biggest down ballot races to watch, and the impact of China’s new international adoption policy on families in the U.S.

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