Harris Has $404 Million to Spend as Strong August Fundraising Puts Her Ahead of Trump 

A lawn sign surrounded by American flags in support of US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Berkley, Michigan, US, September 5, 2024. (Reuters)
A lawn sign surrounded by American flags in support of US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Berkley, Michigan, US, September 5, 2024. (Reuters)
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Harris Has $404 Million to Spend as Strong August Fundraising Puts Her Ahead of Trump 

A lawn sign surrounded by American flags in support of US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Berkley, Michigan, US, September 5, 2024. (Reuters)
A lawn sign surrounded by American flags in support of US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Berkley, Michigan, US, September 5, 2024. (Reuters)

Kamala Harris's presidential campaign and the Democratic Party raised $361 million in August, leaving her with a clear cash advantage over Republican rival Donald Trump with two months to go before Election Day, the campaign said on Friday.

It said the August haul left Harris with $404 million in cash on hand at the beginning of September.

Trump's campaign team said on Wednesday that it and the Republican Party raised $130 million in August, leaving $295 million cash on hand at the end of the month.

The two candidates will spend more than $1 billion in this campaign, breaking records, according to regulatory filings. Trump and Harris are using the money to run advertisements and build get-out-the-vote operations in the closely contested states that will decide the election.

The fundraising totals, which are reported to US election regulators, are closely watched for signs of momentum ahead of the tightly contested Nov. 5 election.

The totals do not include the money raised by outside groups supporting each candidate.

A key test for both candidates will come at their televised debate on Tuesday, the first since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris as his successor on July 21.

Harris' candidacy has re-energized Democrats and donors, and she has had a surge in opinion polls.

Three-quarters of the 1.3 million new donors to Harris in August did not contribute in the last presidential election in 2020, her campaign said. It said more than six in 10 donors in August were women, and nearly one in five were registered Republicans or independents.

Nonetheless, polling averages show it is a tight race in the battleground states that will decide the election, including Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia.



Fire in Kenya School kills 17 Students

Students gather near a lecture hall at the University of Nairobi main campus in Nairobi on September 2, 2024. (Photo by SIMON MAINA / AFP)
Students gather near a lecture hall at the University of Nairobi main campus in Nairobi on September 2, 2024. (Photo by SIMON MAINA / AFP)
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Fire in Kenya School kills 17 Students

Students gather near a lecture hall at the University of Nairobi main campus in Nairobi on September 2, 2024. (Photo by SIMON MAINA / AFP)
Students gather near a lecture hall at the University of Nairobi main campus in Nairobi on September 2, 2024. (Photo by SIMON MAINA / AFP)

A fire in a school dormitory in Kenya killed 17 students and seriously burned 13 others, police said Friday.
There are fears that the death toll may rise, police said.
The cause of the fire Thursday night at Hillside Endarasha Primary in Nyeri county was being investigated, police spokesperson Resila Onyango said.
“We are investigating the cause and will take necessary action,” she said.

The fire had burnt the students beyond recognition, Citizen Television said earlier.
School fires are common in Kenyan boarding schools, where many students stay because parents believe it gives them more time to study without long commutes.
Some fires have been started by students during protests over the workload or living conditions. In 2017, 10 high school students died in a school fire in the capital, Nairobi.