‘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.”
US election latest: Trump predicts what he needs to ‘win the whole ball game’
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.”
Virginia Giuffre, who accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, has died aged 41.
In a statement to Sky’s US partner network NBC News on Friday, her family said she took her own life in the Perth suburb of Neergabby, Australia, where she had been living for several years.
“It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” her family said.
“She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
“Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.
“In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight.”
Pic: AP
Police said emergency services received reports of an unresponsive woman at a property in Neergabby on Friday night.
“Police and St John Western Australia attended and provided emergency first aid. Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” a police spokeswoman said.
“The death is being investigated by Major Crime detectives; early indication is the death is not suspicious.”
Sexual assault claims
Prince Andrew has denied all claims of wrongdoing. File pic: Reuters
Ms Giuffre sued the Duke of York for sexual abuse in August 2021, saying Andrew had sex with her when she was 17 and had been trafficked by his friend, the billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke has repeatedly denied the claims, and he has not been charged with any criminal offences.
In March 2022, it was announced Ms Giuffre and Andrew had reached an out-of-court settlement – believed to include a “substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights”.
‘An incredible champion’
Sigrid McCawley, Ms Giuffre’s attorney, said in a statement that she “was much more than a client to me; she was a dear friend and an incredible champion for other victims”.
“Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring,” she said. “The world has lost an amazing human being today.”
“Rest in peace, my sweet angel,” she added.
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Dini von Mueffling, Ms Giuffre’s representative, also said that “Virginia was one of the most extraordinary human beings I have ever had the honour to know”.
“Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she added. “She adored her children and many animals.
“She was always more concerned with me than with herself. I will miss her beyond words.
“It was the privilege of a lifetime to represent her.”
Ms Giuffre said at the end of March she had four days to live after a car accident, posting on social media that “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure”. She was discharged from hospital eight days later.
Raised mainly in Florida, she said she was abused by a family friend early in life, which led to her living on the streets at times as a teenager.
She said that in 2000, she met Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who was convicted in 2021 on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US Department of Justice
Ms Giuffre said Maxwell then introduced her to Epstein and hired her as his masseuse, and said she was sex trafficked and sexually abused by him and associates around the world.
‘A survivor’
After meeting her husband in 2002, while taking massage training in Thailand at what she said was Epstein’s behest, she moved to Australia and had a family.
She founded the sex trafficking victims’ advocacy charity SOAR in 2015, and is quoted on its website as saying: “I do this for victims everywhere.
“I am no longer the young and vulnerable girl who could be bullied. I am now a survivor, and nobody can ever take that away from me.”
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Donald Trump has met Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Pope’s funeral, Vatican sources have told Sky News.
The US and Ukrainian presidents had a “very productive discussion”, according to a White House Official, and have also agreed to hold further talks after the service.
They are among world leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron, who are attending the funeral of Pope Francis.
Follow live updates: Zelenskyy among world leaders joining thousands of mourners
There was applause from some of those gathered in St Peter’s Square when the Ukrainian leader walked out.
The former British ambassador to Russia Sir Tony Brenton said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy.
Trump and Zelenskyy meet for first time since Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine, and is their first face-to-face meeting after a very public row between the presidents at the White House in February.
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Mr Trump has claimed a deal to end the war is “very close” and has urged Mr Zelenskyy to “get it done” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He has previously warned both sides his administration would walk away from its efforts to achieve a peace if the two sides do not agree a deal soon.
Meanwhile, the Polish Armed Forces said a Russian military helicopter violated its airspace over the Baltic Sea on Friday evening, in a post on X.
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US
Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine are ‘very close to a deal’ – and says ‘two sides should now meet’
Donald Trump has said Russia and Ukraine are “very close to a deal” with “most of the major points agreed” – as he called for the two sides to meet.
Shortly after arriving in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral, the US president said high-level officials should now meet to “finish [the deal] off”.
“A good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off’.
“Most of the major points are agreed to. Stop the bloodshed, NOW. We will be wherever is necessary to help facilitate the END to this cruel and senseless war!”
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Ukraine-Russia peace talks explained
Throughout the week, the US president has criticised both Ukraine and Russia for failing to agree to a peace deal.
On Wednesday, he accused Mr Zelenskyy of harming talks on Truth Social, saying “the man with ‘no cards to play’ should now, finally, GET IT DONE”.
A day later, after nine people were killed in Kyiv after a Russian missile and drone strike, Mr Trump said: “Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”
The president and other officials have also threatened to withdraw from negotiations if no progress is made toward a deal.
It comes after Mr Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss a US-brokered peace plan for Ukraine.
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Putin-Witkoff meeting
The talks allowed Russia and the United States to “further bring their positions closer together” on “a number of international issues”, a Kremlin aide said.
Speaking earlier on the flight to Italy, Mr Trump said he hadn’t been fully briefed on Mr Witkoff and Mr Putin’s meeting – but added it was a “pretty good meeting”.
Read more:
US and Russia talks moving in ‘right direction’, top diplomat says
A ‘barbaric’ 24 hours in a ‘horrendous’ war
Russia and Ukraine have not held direct talks since the early weeks of the war, which began in February 2022.
Ukraine has repeatedly said it would not accept a deal conceding land or handing over sovereignty to Russia.
However, Mr Trump said in an interview with TIME magazine that “Crimea will stay with Russia,” describing the region as a place where Moscow has “had their submarines” and “the people speak largely Russian”.
“Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time,” he added. “It’s been with them long before Trump came along.”
When asked on Friday about Mr Trump’s comments, Mr Zelenskyy did not want to comment but repeated that recognising occupied Ukrainian territory as Russian is a red line.
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