10 things you need to know today: November 6, 2016
1.
Donald Trump was rushed off the stage by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada, Saturday evening after someone in the audience yelled, "gun!" Several minutes later, an individual was removed from the crowd, after which Trump reappeared and thanked the agents involved for their swift action. The Department of Homeland Security soon confirmed Austyn Crites, the man removed, was only carrying a sign, and he was simply a #NeverTrump Republican who wanted to peacefully protest. Crites was questioned by law enforcement and released. Trump later posted a brief statement reiterating his thanks to his supporters and the Secret Service. Donald Trump Jr. shared a tweet describing the incident as an "assassination attempt."
2.
Sunday's Washington Post/ABC presidential poll gives Hillary Clinton a 5 percent national lead over Donald Trump. Both candidates are lagging in affirmative support: Just 55 percent of Clinton voters and 43 percent of Trump voters say they're voting for their candidate as opposed to against the other campaign. The final Politico/Morning Consult poll, also published Sunday, similarly sees Clinton with a 3-point advantage among the general population and a 6-point lead among women. Two polls from Saturday give Clinton a 2 or 1 percent lead. Clinton's advantage is thought to rely significantly on Latino voters, whom early voting figures indicate are turning out in higher numbers than 2012.
3.
The Supreme Court on Saturday ruled that an Arizona ban on independent ballot collection may continue. Some Arizonans — particularly those who live in border towns or on Native American reservations where postal service is inconsistent — have relied on ballot collectors to transport their mail-in votes to polling locations in time. Arizona made such third-party transport (except by family members and caregivers) a felony, a move Democrats say will in practice disenfranchise thousands of voters. Supporters of the law say it is necessary for ballot security.
4.
The South Carolina man accused of keeping a woman "chained up like a dog" in a storage container confessed to seven murders, said Spartanburg Sheriff Chuck Wright. The woman was discovered Thursday on land belonging to Todd Kohlhepp, who has a history of violent behavior. On Friday, a body was found on the same property, which law enforcement identified Saturday as belonging to the woman's boyfriend. Kohlhepp then admitted to seven killings, including an unsolved case known as the "Superbike murders" in which four people were killed at a motorcycle shop in 2003. Wright said Kohlhepp showed officers other graves and "told us some stuff nobody else ought to know," suggesting the confession is genuine.
5.
Tim Kaine suggested in an interview Saturday that forces within the FBI are conspiring to hurt Hillary Clinton's campaign. "I don't think Giuliani's walkback is credible," the vice presidential nominee said, referencing Rudy Giuliani's backtracking of comments in which he indicated he knew about the FBI's recent announcement about Clinton's private email server before it became public. "What's come out since suggests that it's probably more likely explained that [Giuliani] knew that the FBI is not only a leaky sieve," Kaine continued, "but there were people within the FBI actively working — actively working — to try to help the Trump campaign."
6.
The Wall Street Journal reports The National Enquirer paid $150,000 to buy the rights to a tale of Donald Trump's marital infidelity and then suppressed it. The newspaper allegedly made a deal with Karen McDougal, Playboy's 1998 Playmate of the Year, for her account of an affair she claims to have had with Trump in 2006 and 2007, well after he married his third wife, Melania. A statement from the Enquirer, which endorsed Trump for president, denied quashing the story. The Trump campaign called the allegations "totally untrue."
7.
Syrian forces supported by the United States and led by Kurdish fighters announced Sunday they have begun a campaign to retake Raqqa, Syria, the de facto capital city of the Islamic State. This effort will run in parallel to Iraqi troops' American-supported push to oust ISIS from Mosul, the largest city the terrorist organization still controls in Iraq. The Raqqa operation, called Euphrates Anger, started Sunday with U.S. air support. Civilians still living in Raqqa were encouraged to avoid areas with a heavy ISIS presence.
8.
The Clinton Foundation admitted it accepted a $1 million donation from the government of Qatar during Hillary Clinton's tenure as secretary of state. In October, the foundation refused to confirm such a donation occurred. Clinton may have violated her ethics pledge to notify the State Department of any new or significantly increased support from foreign donors to avoid appearance of undue foreign influence on U.S. policy, because the agency says it was never notified of this donation. A Clinton Foundation representative said Qatar supported the charity "at equal or lower levels" than its pre-2009 gifts but declined to offer any specific figures.
9.
A schoolgirl kidnapped by the Boko Haram terrorist group from Chibok, Nigeria, in 2014 was rescued alive with a 10-month-old baby, the Nigerian military reported Saturday. One of some 270 girls abducted more than two years ago, the girl was discovered near the border of Cameroon. Her rescue comes about a month after 21 other girls were released pursuant to negotiations with Boko Haram, which is believed to still hold about 80 girls. The Nigerian military promised to release more details on the rescue soon.
10.
Saturday Night Live's final pre-election cold open took an unexpectedly charming turn, appealing for unity and high voter turn-out. The sketch started predictably enough, with Kate McKinnon's Hillary Clinton and Alec Baldwin's Donald Trump facing off in a contentious CNN interview. But right around the 7-minute mark, Baldwin can't take it anymore. "