AP Top News at 1:42 a.m. EDT

Harris says Trump ‘is a fascist’ after John Kelly says he wanted generals like Hitler’s

ASTON, Pa. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday that she believes that Donald Trump “is a fascist” after his longest-serving chief of staff said the former president praised Adolf Hitler while in office and put personal loyalty above the Constitution. Harris seized on comments by former chief of staff John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, about his former boss in interviews with The New York Times and The Atlantic published Tuesday warning that the Republican nominee meets the definition of a fascist and that while in office he suggested that the Nazi leader “did some good things.”

Donald Trump tells supporters to ‘just vote’ at lively Georgia rally organized by Charlie Kirk

DULUTH, Ga. (AP) — Donald Trump pushed supporters at a rollicking rally Wednesday in Georgia to vote for him — with an early ballot or in-person on Election Day — in a state that will be crucial in the presidential election. “Just vote — whichever way you want to do it,” Trump told the capacity crowd at an event organized by conservative provocateur Charlie Kirk and the group he founded. But the rest of former president’s speech and the hours-long lineup that preceded him framed the 2024 presidential election in the starkest terms: Trump, the Republican nominee, lobbed hyperbolic insults at his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, while a parade of other speakers, Kirk included, invoked unapologetically religious tones and described Harris and her Democratic Party as evil.

Massive displacement from Israel-Hezbollah war transforms Beirut’s famed commercial street

BEIRUT (AP) — Inside what was once one of Beirut’s oldest and best-known cinemas, dozens of Lebanese, Palestinians and Syrians displaced by the Israel-Hezbollah war spend their time following the news on their phones, cooking, chatting and walking around to pass the time. Outside on Hamra Street, once a thriving economic hub, sidewalks are filled with displaced people, and hotels and apartments are crammed with those seeking shelter. Cafes and restaurants are overflowing. In some ways, the massive displacement of hundreds of thousands of people from south Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs has provided a boost for this commercial district after years of decline as a result of Lebanon’s economic crisis.

Paris conference aims to rally military and humanitarian support for Lebanon

PARIS (AP) — France on Thursday hosts an international conference for Lebanon to rally military and humanitarian aid for the country where war between Hezbollah militants and Israel has displaced a million people, killed over 2,500 and deepened an economic crisis. Paris also seeks to help restore Lebanon’s sovereignty and strengthen its institutions. The country, where Hezbollah effectively operates as a state within a state, has been without a president for two years while political factions fail to agree on a new one. But the international conference comes as critics say French President Emmanuel Macron’s diplomatic approach in the Middle East has been blurred by his apparent evolving approach and sometimes chaotic communication.

Tropical storm battering Philippines leaves at least 24 people dead in flooding and landslides

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Widespread flooding and landslides set off by a tropical storm in the northeastern Philippines on Thursday left at least 24 people dead, swept away cars and prompted authorities to scramble for motorboats to rescue trapped villagers, some on roofs. The government shut down schools and offices — except those urgently needed for disaster response — for the second day on the entire main island of Luzon to protect millions of people after Tropical Storm Trami slammed into the country’s northeastern province of Isabela after midnight. The storm was blowing over Aguinaldo town in the mountain province of Ifugao after dawn with sustained winds up to 95 kph (59 mph) and gusts up to 160 kph (99 mph).

Voters trust Harris on a number of issues. But is that what they’ll vote on?

WASHINGTON (AP) — If the presidential election hinged on abortion or climate change, Kamala Harris might be feeling pretty comfortable about her chances on Nov. 5, based on the polls. The Democratic nominee is also competitive on economic issues against Republican Donald Trump. But Harris knows this is an extremely tight race — and that it could well serve as a test of just how much policy matters to voters, and which policies ultimately matter the most. The vice president leads Trump on abortion, election integrity, climate change, taxes for the middle class and management of natural disasters, according to the latest survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs.

Abortion bans are top of mind for young women in North Carolina as they consider Harris or Trump

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — The TikTok videos haunt 26-year-old Christy Kishbaugh. One seared into her memory shows a young mom talking about how several Idaho emergency rooms rejected her because of the state’s abortion ban, leaving her to bleed for weeks after a miscarriage. Kishbaugh sends videos like that to friends, saying “Can you believe this?” She can’t. In a hushed voice near a popular park, the married suburbanite worried about her own future under the new patchwork of state laws that have prevented thousands of women across the country from having abortions. “Thinking ahead, if anything were to go wrong,” Kishbaugh nearly whispered, iced coffee in hand.

No end for Boeing labor strike as workers reject latest contract proposal

SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing factory workers voted against the company’s latest contract offer and remain on the picket lines six weeks into a strike that has stopped production of the aerospace giant’s bestselling jetliners. Local union leaders in Seattle said 64% of members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers who cast ballots Wednesday voted against accepting the contract offer. “After 10 years of sacrifices, we still have ground to make up, and we’re hopeful to do so by resuming negotiations promptly,” Jon Holden, the head of the IAM District 751 union, said in a statement Wednesday evening. “This is workplace democracy — and also clear evidence that there are consequences when a company mistreats its workers year after year.” A spokesperson for Boeing said officials didn’t have a comment on the vote.

A melodic greeting between women in Burundi is at risk of being lost

NGOZI, Burundi (AP) — The hug between the two women looked like it would last forever. A spirited 85-year-old had embraced a younger woman she hadn’t seen for months, and she chanted a number of questions in the peculiar yodeling routine of her ancestors. How are you? How is your husband? How are the kids? How are your cows? Are you on good terms with your neighbors? And so on. Prudencienne Namukobwa paused in the melody to allow the younger woman’s rhythmic affirmation, a pattern she has mastered over the decades. “Ego,” Emelyne Nzeyimana replied over and over in the local Kirundi language.

What to know about E. coli and the McDonald’s outbreak

A food poisoning outbreak tied to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders was caused by a common type of E. coli bacteria that can cause serious illness and death. Particularly vulnerable are young children, older people or those with weakened immune systems. About 50 people have fallen ill in the McDonald’s outbreak, and one has died, with ages ranging from 13 to 88, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A preliminary investigation suggests raw slivered onions served on Quarter Pounders are a likely source of the outbreak. Here’s what to know about the dangerous germ: E. coli is a type of bacteria found in the environment, including water, food and in the intestines of people and animals.