Trump-DeSantis rift grows, with dueling rallies in Florida
Former President Donald Trump hasn’t endorsed Gov. Ron DeSantis this year because, as he has explained, his fellow Floridian never asked. DeSantis didn’t attend the Trump rally Sunday in Miami, his allies said, because he wasn’t personally invited. Rarely has a rift at the top of a party spilled so fully into view at such a pivotal moment. Their escalating tensions took center stage Sunday, with dueling campaign rallies in Florida, two days before voting concludes in the midterm elections. Trump campaigned in South Florida with Sen. Marco Rubio and other Florida Republicans, while DeSantis made his case for reelection during events along the west coast.
Biden still trying to spread the faith in his efforts and vision
President Joe Biden has been spreading the faith across the country in recent days, undaunted by the polls and prognosticators forecasting a devastating defeat for his party in Tuesday’s midterm elections. Faith has been Biden’s calling card in his nearly two years in office — faith that he could repair the fissures of a broken society and faith that he could beat former President Donald Trump if they face off again in 2024. But it is not a faith shared by everyone, not even among fellow Democrats, not even among his own advisers and allies, some of whom view the coming days with dread.
Kyiv prepares for a winter with no heat, water or power
The mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, is warning residents that they must prepare for the worst this winter if Russia keeps striking the country’s energy infrastructure. Vitali Klitschko says that means he cannot rule out residents having no electricity, water or heat in the freezing cold. He said Ukrainian workers are doing everything they can to restore services, but the public must prepare themselves. Rotating blackouts were taking place Sunday in Kyiv and nearby regions. Elsewhere, Russian forces were stepping up their strikes in the fiercely contested eastern province of Donetsk. The region’s governor says the strikes have almost completely destroyed the power plants that serve the city of Bakhmut and the nearby town of Soledar.
Ship refuses to leave Italy port until all migrants are off
The captain of a charity-operated migrant rescue ship has refused Italian orders to leave a Sicilian port after authorities refused to let 35 migrants disembark. Italy’s new far-right-led government is targeting foreign-flagged rescue ships. The Humanity 1 was ordered to vacate the port of Catania on Sunday after disembarking 144 rescued migrants. They included women with children, more than 100 unaccompanied minors and people with medical emergencies. The Germany charity that operates the vessel said the captain refused “until all survivors rescued from distress at sea have been disembarked.” Another ship with 572 rescued migrants arrived at the port for the same vetting process, but two other ships carrying hundreds are still at sea.
Pope calls female genital mutilation a crime that must stop
Pope Francis says female genital mutilation is a “crime” that must stop. Francis was responding Sunday to a question about women’s rights en route home from Bahrain. He gave a lengthy denunciation of how women in many cultures are treated as second-class citizens or worse. He said “we have to continue to fight this because women are a gift.” Speaking about the ritual genital mutilation of young girls, he said: “How is it that today in the world we cannot stop the tragedy?” The pope called the mutilation “a crime. It’s a criminal act!”
By wire sources