‘We’ve had a lot of good energy here’: University students handed cookies for voting early in Michigan
In the heart of the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus, a cookie is handed out for an early vote.
Artisanal doughy treats piled with square chocolate chips and cream-coloured cookies with blue icing are laid out in boxes on top of a Harris/Walz stand in the main square next to a blue wall of boxes plastered with “students for Harris and Waltz” signs.
Alec Hughes, co-president of College Democrats at the University of Michigan, says voting has ‘been going great so far’
“We’ve had a lot of good energy here and because Ann Arbor is such a blue area so much of the obligation falls on us to not just convince students but to actually turn them out to vote,” says Alec Hughes, co-president of College Democrats at the University of Michigan.
“It’s been going great so far. We’ve had I think, if I had to guess, 15 to 20% on campus that voted early and we’re still five days out from election night.”
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Students hand out cookies to early voters
I trace the stream of students collecting their free cookies to the early voting centre around the corner.
Through the glass wall of the modern campus building, I see first-time voter Olamiposi move through the voting centre to cast her ballot.
“It would be really amazing to be able to witness the first female president this country has ever had. So I wanted to be a part of making that happen,” she says, buzzing with excitement.
Based on early voting data, Gen-Z-led organisation Voters of Tomorrow predicts youth voters are on track to break turnout records.
Students built a ‘blue wall’ of boxes
‘It’s important to vote’
In the University of Michigan campus in Flint, early voting is crucial for underprivileged students to have a say.
“Our students have incredibly complicated lives,” says Dr Jason Kosnoski, professor of political science at the University of Michigan-Flint.
“They’re non-traditional. They might have families. They might have all sorts of obligations. So, I mean, these are people whose voices usually aren’t heard.”
Dr Kosnoski says early voting is particularly important for his students as it means they have enough time to cast their ballots.
“If they were only allowed to vote on one particular day, they may not get the chance to,” he adds.
Women worry what will happen if Trump wins
Back on the Ann Arbour campus, 20-year-old Elena Mann is happy to vote in a swing state for her first time.
“New Jersey is very Democratic and so I’m lucky to be from a very Democratic area. But I’m also very happy that I can be in a swing state where my vote will carry a little bit more than New Jersey,” she says.
But fear for her safety sits underneath her excitement. Like many other women on campus she’s worried about what will happen if Donald Trump wins.
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Arab-American vote key to Michigan?
Is there a fear around criticising Mr Trump? She is the third student I speak to who alludes to Mr Trump without mentioning his name.
“I would definitely say so,” she responds.
“In areas where you don’t know what people’s opinions are – among friends, of course it’s a different story – but just out and about I would feel a little bit uncomfortable about it. You don’t know how they will react.”
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Supporters of Mr Trump at the local bar
‘I feel compelled to vote’
Students are pouring into nearby bar Good Time Charley’s to start their night. Among them are Trump supporters having a quick drink – young men who work in Michigan’s vital automobile industry and are banking on the former president to fix the economy.
There is no visible conflict with the enthusiastic young Democrats around them, just a feeling of contempt for the status quo and a need to stop the continuation of a Biden administration through Kamala Harris.
Two roommates playing beer pong – one supports Mr Trump while the other is undecided
“This year I am compelled to vote for Trump,” says autobody technician Joseph Michael Grant.
“I turned 18 and I didn’t feel compelled to vote. I am 22 now and I feel compelled to vote.”
Former US president Joe Biden has prostate cancer, his office has said.
The statement said Mr Biden, who left the White House in January, is reviewing options for treatment with his physicians.
It read: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.
“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
File pic: Reuters
According to Cancer Research UK, a Gleason score of 9 means the cancerous cells “look very abnormal” and the disease is “likely to grow quickly”.
A source familiar with Mr Biden and his family’s thinking has told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that the former president is considering “multiple treatment options” – including hormone treatment for the cancer.
They added he is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and that as of now, it is unclear where the former president will be treated.
Mr Biden, 82, was the oldest person to ever serve as president, with concerns about his health raised regularly during his campaign for re-election last year.
After a poor debate against Donald Trump in June, he withdrew from the 2024 election and endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris.
In February 2023, he had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.
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A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.
The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.
The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.
Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.
Pic: AP
The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.
The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.
Pic: AP
Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.
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One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.
The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.
The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.
Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.
The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”
It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.
“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.
The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.
“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.
Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.
The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.
Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.
Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”
Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.
California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.
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