Historically black Mississippi churches set aflame on Election Day. Democrat candidate calls it 'terrorism' to 'suppress our right to vote' — then suspect is arrested.



Two historically black churches in Jackson, Mississippi, were deliberately set on fire early Tuesday morning — Election Day — authorities told USA Today.

There were five additional suspected arson cases in the city — and all seven occurred in the area of Jackson State University, a historically black public university, the paper said.

'We will not allow domestic terrorists to suppress our right to vote'

Mississippi Democrat congressional candidate Shuwaski Young released a statement early Tuesday morning calling the fires acts of "terrorism," USA Today reported.

\u201cMy statement on the church burning in Jackson, Mississippi on #ElectionDay. Go VOTE Mississippi. Just Go VOTE.\u201d
— Shuwaski Young for Congress (@Shuwaski Young for Congress) 1667915682

"This morning several churches were burned in Jackson, Mississippi on Election Day," the statement reads. "These cowardly actions invoke historical acts of terrorism when people are fighting for their right to vote and live peacefully as Americans and Mississippians. We will not be deterred and will not be intimidated. We will not allow domestic terrorists to suppress our right to vote. I ask all Mississippians to GO VOTE regardless of this decades-old intimidation tactic to suppress our votes today. Just go VOTE."

Suspect arrested

Suspect Delvin McLaurin was arrested Tuesday, USA Today said. The Hinds County Sheriff's Office said deputies arrested McLaurin in the evening after a tip from citizens in Terry near the Hinds-Copiah County line. Authorities said McLaurin will be transferred to the Jackson Police Department for further questioning.

Image source: Hinds County Sheriff's Office

A Jackson Police Department spokesperson said McLaurin is being charged with felony malicious mischief, USA Today reported, adding that the FBI is questioning him and McLaurin may face additional charges.

Officials began receiving calls about several fires starting around 2:45 a.m., the paper reported, adding that Jackson Police spokesman Sam Brown said McLaurin was in the area of the fires during the hours they were set.

House of cards tumbles

Young wasn't alone in his "suppress our right to vote" post following the suspected arsons. Other commenters underneath his post concurred — and took things a lot further:

  • "The layers of racist symbolism associated with burning churches… in Mississippi… on Election Day. When will this country wake up? This makes me incredibly sad…" one commenter added. "I’m guessing the terrorist/arsonist who did this thinks they’re a Christian and a patriot."
  • "... this what the SCLC fought against, the same white-hooded cowards are a product of 45's GOP, the most racist, corrupt treasonous administration in White House, anti-[Semitism], racism is their platform," another user said. "This act today says it all."
  • "This is beyond hideous. The hypocrisy is off the charts, too," another commenter said. "The burning was probably carried out by people who profess to be Christians."
  • "Domestic white supremacist terrorists will not suppress Democratic voters from voting!" another commenter declared. "But Still, Like Air We Rise ..."

Oh, and:

\u201c@forpetessakeny @shuwaskiyoung Yeah, mystery huh?\u201d
— Shuwaski Young for Congress (@Shuwaski Young for Congress) 1667915682

However, one commenter couldn't help pushing back against Young in light of McLaurin's arrest, saying "…except the suspect is a black man. You can stop the racial narrative now."

Incidentally, Young lost his congressional bid to incumbent Republican Michael Guest, the Clarion Ledger reported, adding that Guest was ahead of Young by more than 40 points with 94% of the votes in Wednesday.

The rest of the story

USA Today said fires were reported at Greater Bethlehem Temple Church, Epiphany Lutheran Church, the baseball field at Jackson State, a gas station, a location at Central Street and Dalton, a location in the 1100 block of Pascagoula St., and a location at Terry Road and Cherry Street.

Epiphany Lutheran, one of the oldest predominately black Lutheran churches in Mississippi, burned for more than four hours before the fire was put out, USA Today said.

Lloyd Caston, 73, an elder at Epiphany, was awakened around 4 a.m. by a call from a family member who lives in the neighborhood where the church is located, the paper said. Caston then headed to the church around 4:30 a.m. to find the building “fully enflamed," USA Today reported.

“I was hurt,” Caston told the paper of his emotions upon seeing his church on fire, adding that "it destroyed the church and everything in it."

Epiphany is 85 years old, USA Today reported, adding that renovations to the building’s interior were completed in March.

Fire also damaged Greater Bethlehem Temple Church, the paper said.

"We can't always understand why people do evil, but we know that ... it's our job to overcome evil with good. That's why we're committed to continue to help this community," Ervin Ricks, Greater Bethlehem's communications director, told WAPT-TV .

Jackson officials did not connect the fires with an attempt to affect Tuesday's election, USA Today reported.

Arrest Made In String Of Jackson, Mississippi, Arsonsyoutu.be

Early exit polling from Georgia runoff election shows a drop-off in voting from key demographic



Early exit polling showed a drop-off in voting from a key demographic, according to NBC data analyst Steve Kornacki.

Kornacki explained the results from the early exit polling Tuesday on MSNBC as polls were approaching closing time in the runoff election that will decide the partisan fate of the U.S. Senate.

Georgia's two seats will decide whether the U.S. Senate is controlled by Republicans or Democrats. Republican incumbent Sen. David Purdue is facing off against Democrat Jon Ossoff while Sen. Kelly Loeffler, also a Republican incumbent, faces a challenge by Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock.

Republicans currently hold a 50-48 edge in the U.S. Senate.

Voters by race

Kornacki pointed out that the composition by race of voters in the election had not changed for those identifying as black Americans, and had only slightly grown for those identifying as white Americans.

While whites comprised 61% of the electorate in the general election in November, the early exit polling showed that the demographic had grown to 62% of the electorate.

Meanwhile, Black Americans had neither decreased nor increased since November and stayed the same percentage of the electorate, 29%.

Voters by age

When it came to account for the electorate by age, a key group did not appear to show up to vote, according to the early results.

Kornacki pointed to the youngest voters, those between 18 and 30 years of age, as those that did not vote as much as they did in November.

Voters under 30 years of age only comprised 13% of the electorate in the early polling whereas they accounted for 20% of the voters in the November general election.

Younger voters are much more likely to vote for Democrats than Republicans, so a drop-off in the voting from their demographic could be pivotal in determining the Senate runoff elections.

However, Kornacki cautioned the MSNBC audience that the results were early and could change as more data was released.

"These are not the final exit poll numbers. There's gonna be more that kinda comes in to this data over the next few hours, so we're sort of getting our first glimpse at what our electorate looks like in Georgia for this runoff," Kornacki said.

Here's the video of the early exit results:

.@SteveKornacki breaks down the first batch of exit polls on #ElectionDay for the #GASen runoffs. #TrackingKornacki https://t.co/pUQ3HrSiKd
— MSNBC (@MSNBC)1609885464.0

Google reveals what Americans sought near them on Election Day: french fries and liquor were top choices



While Americans eagerly awaited the results of the election to roll out on Tuesday, Google says that they sought out french fries and liquor to cope with the stress.

The search results were reported by Google Trends via their official social media account on Tuesday.

Google Trends reported that "fries near me" and "liquor stores near me" were at all time highs on election day.

They went on to document the foods that were most in demand while Americans waited to find out who would lead the most powerful country in the world.

Are you thinking about food, this #ElectionDay? You are not alone. https://t.co/8kVXwVEsA7
— GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends)1604447551.0

Pizza, Chinese food, Sushi, and Mexican food were highly sought, and liquor showed up again in the searches.

People also searched on Google for explanations of common election terms, including "projected winner," "too early to call," "incumbent," and "electoral vote."

Among those foreign countries where people showed the most interest in the U.S. election, Cuba topped the list, Germany coming in second, and Ethiopia, Iran, and Ghana, in the top five.

Election night dragged on into late Tuesday as confusing and conflicting reports of vote tallies came in from different states. Early Wednesday morning the president announced that he had won big but that Democrats were trying to steal the election, while Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said that he expected to win after the official count was completed.

"I'm here to tell you tonight, I believe we're on track to win this election," Biden said in Delaware.

"We knew, because of the unprecedented early vote and the mail-in vote that it was going to take awhile," he added. "We're going to have to be patient until the hard work of tallying votes is finished — and it ain't over until every vote is counted, every ballot is counted."

Here's more about Americans eating their feelings on election day:

Google searches for 'fries,' 'liquor stores' hit all-time high | New York Postwww.youtube.com

CDC affirms Americans' right to break quarantine to vote, even if they have COVID-19



The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines for voting safely Sunday, affirming that even voters diagnosed with COVID-19 have a right to break quarantine to vote.

"Voters have the right to vote, regardless of whether they are sick or in quarantine," the CDC said, listing steps voters should take to protect themselves and others from spreading disease at the ballot box.

"Voters who are sick or in quarantine should take steps to protect poll workers and other voters. This includes wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet away from others, and washing your hands or using hand sanitizer before and after voting. You should also let poll workers know that you are sick or in quarantine when you arrive at the polling location. Check with local authorities for any additional guidance," the guidelines state.

Voters are urged to make a checklist of items to bring when they go to vote including: a mask, an extra mask, tissues, hand sanitizer, water, and a black ink pen.

"You should wear a mask consistently and correctly in public and around people who don't live with you," the CDC said. "If you must take your mask off, use hand sanitizer before and after." The second mask is needed "in case yours gets wet or dirty."

The agency also recommended voters clean their hands often and stay at least six feet apart from other voters, even those wearing masks.

Political scientists are forecasting record-breaking turnout, potentially the highest voter turnout of any election since 1908. Long lines have been reported across America as voters head to the polls to cast their ballots.

Photos and videos posted on social media anecdotally show packed polling places, with many voters abiding by CDC recommendations to wear masks.

The scene at the William Rowan School polling location in Northwest Philly: lines are long but moving, a lot of vot… https://t.co/njr7pLETso
— Nick Corasaniti (@Nick Corasaniti)1604406989.0
Long lines at the Coronado HS polling location in Henderson, NV. Seeing them stretch around the corner of the build… https://t.co/zsOCg3wQtY
— Robert Sherman (@Robert Sherman)1604424990.0
Voter shares footage of long lines in Manhattan early in the morning as #ElectionDay voting gets underway in New Yo… https://t.co/DEO5rLj25X
— ABC News (@ABC News)1604414586.0

Several states have adopted measures to expand early and mail-in voting to reduce the risk of voters spreading COVID-19 by voting in person.

Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, and Wisconsin have each attempted to extend the deadlines for which mail-in votes could be received and counted. Republicans in these states have filed legal challenges to reverse the election rules changes with varying degrees of success.

The Supreme Court rejected a GOP effort to undo an absentee ballot deadline extension in North Carolina, permitting the state to receive and count ballots until Nov. 12, nine days after Election Day. The high court also declined to fast-track a challenge to Pennsylvania's extended absentee ballot deadline, handing a temporary defeat to state Republicans but leaving room for the court to reverse the extension and disqualify late ballots after the election.

In Wisconsin, the Supreme Court ruled against Democrats seeking to have mail-in ballots received after Election Day counted.

Businesses boarding up in cities across the country in anticipation of election chaos: 'It's pretty scary'



There are still four days until the 2020 presidential election, but businesses in major cities across the United States are already preparing for the worst. This week, there was a major push by businesses to board up storefronts in American cities, including Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.

Many of the large cities have already been plagued with protests and violent riots since the early summer, but business owners are anticipating potentially worse chaos on Election Day, and what could turn into election week(s) when the official winner is declared.

In Washington, D.C., luxury retailers have already begun to board up their shops ahead of Tuesday's election. Alex Provenzano, who owns a salon in downtown D.C., boarded up his door and windows on Wednesday.

"I'm usually a very positive person; I hope for the best," Provenzano told USA Today. "But the people are very stressed out, and there is a lot of uncertainty in the country right now. It's pretty scary."

There are even barriers and fences being constructed in the neighborhood near the White House.

Washington DC is boarding up shopfronts, preparing for election destruction. This is the 3rd time they’ve done this… https://t.co/nhh2bGLcwR
— David Lipson (@David Lipson)1603825037.0
Stores near the White House have been boarding up windows ahead of Election Day next week: https://t.co/BM0uL6vDOe
— Nancy Chen (@Nancy Chen)1604075626.0
Luxury shops in DC are boarding up in anticipation of the election. https://t.co/3VMVkvoMsG
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️)1604013036.0
The entire neighborhood surrounding the White House is preparing for mass unrest: boards, chains, fences, and barri… https://t.co/srvOeW1dSo
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️)1604062562.0
With #ElectionDay only a week away businesses in Downtown #DC are gearing up for what could be a night of violence… https://t.co/QNc38cOUld
— Jesse Varner (@Jesse Varner)1603824223.0

Los Angeles has already been hit hard by riots over the past months, which has caused many business to board up previously. Now more business owners are preparing for even more upheaval.

The city of Beverly Hills has reportedly already decided to close down the iconic and swanky Rodeo Drive shopping area on Nov. 3 and 4.

Driving through downtown LA...so many businesses boarded up & in the process of boarding up. Same thing happening i… https://t.co/HsHhcH7sON
— Bill Melugin (@Bill Melugin)1604019495.0

Plywood was also seen being put up on storefronts in San Francisco as if a hurricane was imminent.

Shops in downtown SF boarding up in anticipation of the election. https://t.co/lxYjkm82CI
— Brock Keeling (@Brock Keeling)1604027186.0

In Boston, portions of the Prudential Center was boarded up on Thursday to prevent property damage.

In case it gets ugly on election day, businesses are boarding up around the Prudential Center in Boston. ⁦@boston25… https://t.co/zqx4wN4Nk7
— Malini Basu (@Malini Basu)1604009864.0

In Chicago, businesses along the Magnificent Mile shopping area are boarded up, and there are barriers still remaining from previous protests that escalated into civil unrest.

The Santa Monica Police Department said they have no intelligence of civil unrest on Election Day, but said, "We also know that things can change rapidly and are actively monitoring the situation."

"We have received questions about reinforcing storefronts. As a Police Department, we cannot tell business what to do when it comes to boarding up," the SMPD statement said. "However, we understand the need to feel secure and we respect your decisions on how to handle your day to day operations. If you choose to board up your business or want to have the materials ready to do so, we support you."

In New York City, the NYPD advised businesses located in Midtown Manhattan to "take additional security measures in preparation for the possibility of large-scale demonstrations around the coming presidential election," according to the Wall Street Journal.

The NYPD told businesses they should "move or secure items such as street furniture, trash cans and small planters that are located at sidewalks and plazas adjacent to storefronts before the Nov. 3 election."

ServiceChannel, which provides facility management software and contractor sourcing for 550 brands, noted that "companies including at least 10 luxury brands had ordered board ups or other security measures at 539 locations around the U.S.," according to Quartz.

Professionally boarding up a store can cost more than $5,000, and up to $20,000 for a large store, according to ServiceChannel.

With a handful of days until the election, press asks Biden: 'What flavor milkshake did you get?'



With 16 days until the election, and so many unanswered questions surrounding Joe Biden's campaign, the media asked the Democratic presidential nominee the critical question of: "What flavor milkshake did you get?" That was the pivotal query that the press decided to ask the possible next president with a little over two weeks until the election.

The media were presented with an opportunity to ask Biden a question regarding his campaign on Sunday. The press could have asked if he is in favor of court-packing or asked about his response to the allegations of Hunter Biden's overseas dealings, which one report links the former vice president to. Possibly fearing being attacked by Biden for asking any questions about the New York Post's bombshell report like CBS News' Bo Erickson did, the press decided to ask Joe about his milkshake.

On Sunday, Biden made a stop in Durham, North Carolina, where he visited the fast-food chain Cookout. Biden and his granddaughter Finnegan ordered milkshakes from the North Carolina-based burger joint.

As Biden walked away with his frosty treats, a reporter shouted, "Mr. Biden! Mr. Biden! What flavor did you get?"

Joe Biden and granddaughter, Finnegan, get milkshakes at Cookout in Durham, NC https://t.co/o4B8ziU7H9
— Tyler Pager (@Tyler Pager)1603054223.0

The Hill media reporter Joe Concha commented on the hard-hitting journalism.

"There has never been a presidential candidate less scrutinized that the 2020 Democratic nominee," Concha said. "And this is after political media screaming about transparency for the past four years. You either hold the powerful or potentially accountable or you don't."

New York Magazine and HuffPost contributor Yashar Ali tweeted, "'What flavor did you get?' – you don't need to ask the candidate this question. Find out from staff. Two weeks out, a party nominee should be asked more substantive questions. This isn't the first Iowa trip!"

The question about Biden's milkshake somehow became even worse when CBS political correspondent Ed O'Keefe reported that the candidate would likely call a lid until Thursday's presidential debate in Nashville.

"This week is mostly about debate prep," O'Keefe said Sunday on "Face the Nation." "He will not be seen again after today until Thursday night in Nashville at that next debate. So they're going to keep him focused on that. That's a signal that they believe this is still a very big opportunity for them to provide one last contrast with the president and they have to prepare him for potential attacks from the president."

With a little over two weeks until #electionday, what strategy does the @joebiden campaign take in the final days o… https://t.co/BNrVkEtCXd
— Face The Nation (@Face The Nation)1603032428.0

On Friday, Biden had a sparsely attended rally in Detroit, where he relied on a huge teleprompter through much of his speech.