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Supreme Court denies GOP request to block counting of certain provisional ballots in battleground Pennsylvania

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Trump holds final Wisconsin rally of campaign

Donald Trump held his final Wisconsin rally of the 2024 campaign Friday night, returning to Fiserv Forum, in Milwaukee, the site of the Republican convention, to deliver his closing message to the Badger State. In 2016, he narrowly won Wisconsin but he lost the state’s 10 electoral votes to Joe Biden in 2020.

The rally was plagued by microphone problems. People in the upper sections in the back of the arena couldn’t hear Trump, and he expressed frustration with the technical issues. 

“I’m seething. I’m working my ass off with a stupid mic,” Trump said. 

He then made crude gestures toward the mic stand, complaining it was too low. He held the microphone for the rest of the rally but complained about how heavy it was several times. He also threatened not to pay the contractor. 

“Do you want to see me knock the hell out of people backstage?” Trump asked. “I don’t ask for much. The only thing I ask for is a good mic. And this is the second time today that this happened.”

He loosely blamed campaign manager Susie Wiles for the microphone issue. 

By Olivia Rinaldi and Katrina Kaufman

Updated 2m ago

Harris and Trump both rally in Milwaukee area Friday night

Both Donald Trump Trump and Kamala Harris campaigned in the Milwaukee area Friday night, going into the final weekend of the 2024 campaign. Harris didn’t deviate much from her standard stump speech in West Allis, Michigan, a Milwaukee suburb of Milwaukee. She urged people to vote who haven’t yet cast their ballots.

“No judgment, no judgment at all — but do get to it,” Harris said, before reviewing the list of her campaign promises and litany of grievances against Trump.

Cardi B, who spoke shortly before Harris, told the crowd she didn’t intend to vote this year, but “Kamala Harris changed my mind.” 

She called Trump a “bully” and said, “I can’t stand a bully, but just like Kamala, I stand up to one.” Cardi B repeatedly said she was nervous about speaking at the rally. Women, she said, have to work 10 times harder than men “and still, people question us.”

Leslie Reeves and Chris Smith were shot during their first date. Only Smith survived. A look at how he defied the odds to make a remarkable recovery.

The scene of the crime

On the night before Thanksgiving 2021, Smith went on a first date with a woman named Leslie Reeves. The morning after, first responders found Smith in his Farmersville, Illinois, home with a bullet lodged in his brain. Reeves was dead.

Shooting victim in a coma

EMTs rushed Smith to a hospital where he underwent brain surgery and was placed in a medically induced coma.

A bullet lodged in his brain

Fragments of the bullet remained in Smith’s brain. His doctors say that to retrieve the bullet could risk causing further damage. 

Family support

Smith’s mother, Sharon Costanza, and sister, Ashli Holcomb, sat by his side during his recovery. Doctors told them chances were very low that Smith would return to his previous level of functioning.

No memory

In January 2022,  Smith woke from his coma and asked where he was and what had happened. He remembered nothing from the night of the shooting. He had no memory of his date with Reeves, even though he’d been talking on the phone and messaging with her two weeks before the shooting. 

A poor prognosis

Due to Smith’s injuries, his neurosurgeon, Dr. Victor Williams, told Smith he likely would not be able to walk again.  Williams and his team were dedicated to doing everything they could to aid Chris’ recovery. 

A life forever changed

Smith’s left leg is partially paralyzed from his hip to his knee. From his knee to his toes, he is completely paralyzed.After he left the hospital, he had to move back in with his mother. 

Regaining his strength

Most days, Smith goes to the gym and works on regaining his strength so that someday he’ll be able to walk without assistance.     

A survivor

Smith says he is determined to hold on tight to his new lease on life. He is back singing with his rock band. And he proposed to his fianceé, Michelle Albrecht. 

New aspirations

‘Smith hopes to become a motivational speaker and has his own website.    

A miracle recovery

Smith’s mother says his recovery is nothing short of a miracle.