Close of play for campaigning
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have now concluded their last rallies in a final push for votes ahead of Election Day.
Monday, November 7, 2016
US election 2016: Trump beating Clinton in Google searches
DONALD Trump is ranking higher than Hillary Clinton in Google searches on the eve of the US election, as voters hunt for information on the Republican presidential nominee.
Data released by Google show Mr Trump dominating search in 38 states early afternoon Monday, including the battleground states of Florida and Michigan.
Google data also show that immigration is the top Mr Trump-related search topic, followed by abortion and race issues.
“If you take a deeper look at the information, you’ll see that the top five related searches to Mr Trump are immigration, race, abortion, ISIS, and the economy — all hot button issues throughout this campaign,” social media expert and Jason Mollica told Fox News.
“When it comes to Mr Trump, people still want to know more. It also means that potential voters want to read what he said in the last 24-48 hours.”
Mr Mollica noted, however, that the search data from Google should not be seen as a surge of voting for Mr Trump.
“It does mean that people are actively gathering and reading information in the last hours before Election Day,” he added.
The hotly contested battle between Mr Trump and Ms Clinton is clearly generating huge interest in the US electorate. Google has seen an incredible 233 per cent increase in “how to vote” searches compared to the period before the 2012 presidential election. People are also actively searching for “where to vote”, particularly in battleground states.
US election polls and odds tracker: Latest results forecast as race for President reaches final few hours
With just hours to go before America goes to the polls to elect its 45th President, the race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton remains as close as well.
The investigations into Clinton's use of a private email server have now been concluded with no charges to be brought against the Democrat candidate. But the relevations last weekend have already done enough to give Trump momentum into the final week.
Based on polling data from RealClearPolitics, we have the latest state-by-state predictions and an estimate of the overall electoral college vote.
Voting split prediction
Number of electoral college votes
- 168
- 155
- 168
270 to winLast updated 17:31
Veteran broadcaster Sir Jimmy Young dies
The veteran broadcaster Sir Jimmy Young has died "peacefully at home", aged 95.
A spokesman for the former Radio 2 DJ said his wife Alicia was by his side when he passed away on Monday afternoon.
In a broadcasting career spanning almost 30 years, Sir Jimmy became known as the "housewives' choice" and counted prime ministers and the Queen among his many millions of faithful listeners.
The "funny, charming and kind" presenter interviewed every PM since Harold Macmillan, with Baroness Thatcher a guest no fewer than 14 times.
He was also known as much for his singing talents as for his radio broadcasting, making it to the top of the charts in 1954 with The Man From Laramie, and again in 1955 with Unchained Melody.
He was born Leslie Ronald Young in 1921, the only child of a miner in Cinderford, Gloucestershire.
His love of music came from his mother, who taught him to play the piano at the age of seven then went on to become a choirboy at Gloucester Cathedral before winning a scholarship to East Green Grammar School.
But his parents could not afford for him to continue his education and he left school to become a baker's boy.
After singing and playing piano on the club circuit he landed a record deal in 1949 after being spotted by a producer.
LBC radio presenter Iain Dale tweeted: "Much respect to Sir Jimmy Young ... the word 'legend' is overused, but not in his case. A true icon of radio."
Heart radio presenter Simon Beale tweeted: "Very sad to hear about Sir Jimmy Young. I had the privilege to record a 1-hour special with him in 2003. He was funny, charming & kind."
Two escaped Pentonville prisoners left dummies in their beds
Two prisoners have escaped from Pentonville prison in north London, the Ministry of Justice has confirmed.
They were discovered missing on Monday morning when jail staff found mannequins in their beds.
It is believed the pair used diamond-tipped cutting equipment to break through cell bars before scaling the perimeter wall.
A manhunt is now underway for James Whitlock, aged 31, and 28-year-old Matthew Baker.
Police have warned the public not to approach the two convicts as they could become violent, but to call 999 if they see either of them.
Baker was on remand awaiting sentencing after being found guilty two weeks ago of the attempted murder of a man at a flat in Dagenham.
He was due to be sentenced on Friday.
Whitlock, who has the word 'Tracy' tattooed on his body, was also on remand after being charged with conspiracy to burgle more than 19 ATMs between December 2015 and August 2016.
Mike Rolfe, from the Prison Officers' Association, told Sky News the escapees would have had help from outside, and equipment may have been sent in by drone.
The Metropolitan Police said it was called to Pentonville in Islington at 11.44am on Monday.
A spokeswoman from the Prison Service said: "Public protection is our top priority and we take escapes from custody extremely seriously.
"We are working closely with the police and are urgently investigating the matter."
Last month a 21-year-old inmate, Jamal Mahmoud, died after being stabbed in Pentonville, while two others were injured in the same attack.
A convicted murderer, John Massey, escaped the north London jail in 2012 after managing to climb a wall using a rope made out of bed sheets, before being recaptured after 48 hours on the run.
The category B Victorian prison, which opened in 1842, holds more than 1,200 men.
The former Justice Secretary, Michael Gove, described Pentonville last year as "the most dramatic example of failure" within the prisons estate.
Shadow justice minister Yasmin Qureshi said: "The past 24 hours have provided yet more evidence of the crisis in our prison estate which has developed under this Tory government.
"The government must act immediately to make sure our prisons are safe and secure."
Last week, Justice Secretary Liz Truss disclosed a package of measures aimed at reforming prisons.
The strategy includes employing 2,500 new prison officers and "no fly zones" to stop drones dropping drugs and other contraband into prisons.
Figures show in 2015-16 there were two escapes from prisons, neither of which were still at large.
A report by the Ministry of Justice earlier this year said escapes are "rare" and "taken very seriously".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)