Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin report bomb threats originating in Russia as Americans cast ballots

As millions of voters cast their ballots for the White House and members of Congress on Tuesday, officials across the country are rapidly grappling with bomb threats and disinformation campaigns that officials said were aimed at undermining trust in the election.

Some of the bomb threats made on Election Day appear to be linked to Russian actors, Georgia and Michigan officials said. The threats, which experts described as evidence of increasingly aggressive actions by foreign powers trying to influence U.S. elections, were an additional burden on election officials who were already prepared Tuesday to address any normal technical problems to keep polls open.

In Fulton County, Georgia, officials said they received multiple bomb threats, including two incidents that forced officials to briefly close polling locations. In Indiana, text messages sent to voters falsely claimed that friends and family could see whom people voted for. And the FBI warned that faked video clips were circulating on the internet telling Americans to “vote remotely” because of a terrorist threat.

In most polling locations across the country, voting that began days or weeks ago with mail-in ballots continued smoothly on Tuesday, according to reports. But several incidents highlight the reality of recent U.S. elections, where intelligence officials warn that foreign actors such as Russia and Iran are looking to influence outcomes and undermine voter confidence, and election officials are facing increased threats from an increasingly divided electorate.

—Los Angeles Times

Trump demands election results 'tonight' during middle-of-the-night rally in Grand Rapids

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Former President Donald Trump ushered in Election Day with a late-night turned early-morning rally in Michigan's second largest city, telling thousands of supporters inside Van Andel Arena that "if we win Michigan, we win it all."

Trump railed against his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, and an "evil Democrat system" during a campaign rally in the once-Republican stronghold of Grand Rapids, the city he has made his traditional last stop. His final campaign rallies in 2016, when he won Michigan, and 2020, when Trump lost the state to Democrat Joe Biden, both took place in Grand Rapids.

Shortly after 1 a.m., Trump cast doubt on vote-counting machines that clerks routinely use to tally results. He contended it would be more secure and faster to ditch the machines and for votes to be cast only on a single Election Day.

"Maybe it will take these machines we paid so much money for two weeks," Trump said. "Can you believe it? Something's going on with this. What the hell are we doing? We don't want to wait 10 days, or two days. ... We want the answer tonight."

—The Detroit News

FBI arrests neo-Nazi plotting drone attack on Nashville power plant

A 24-year-old man with ties to white supremacist movements was arrested after allegedly plotting to use an explosive drone to attack a Nashville power plant, the Justice Department said.

Skyler Philippi, of Columbia, Tenn., allegedly sought to “shock the system” by attacking the power grid. He conducted extensive research into such an attack and acquired supplies, according to federal prosecutors.

The FBI started investigating Philippi over the summer after he told an informant he was plotting a mass shooting at a YMCA near Columbia, Tenn. He later told undercover agents he was scouting places in Nashville and Louisville to attack “and even coming up with a game plan to hit it as fast as (he) could.”

He ordered what he thought were C4 explosives from the undercover agents and went on a recon trip to the Nashville power station. He reportedly believed such an attack would cause unrest and accelerate a civil war.

—New York Daily News

Israel's Netanyahu fires defense minister, says trust 'broken'

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, saying he has lost confidence in him, according to a statement from the prime minister's office on Tuesday. Gallant is to be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz.

"Although there was trust in the first months of the war and the work was very fruitful, this trust between me and the defense minister has unfortunately been broken in recent months," Netanyahu wrote.

He said Gallant had made decisions and issued statements that contradicted the decisions of the cabinet. Gallant issued his own statement. "The security of the State of Israel has always been and will always be my life's work," he said.

He warned of a "moral darkness" in the country after his dismissal.

—dpa