Biden Casts Early Ballot for Harris as Election Day Nears

 President Joe Biden, center, holds an "I Voted Early" sticker upon exiting the voting booth after casting his early-voting ballot for the 2024 general elections, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in New Castle, Del. (AP)
President Joe Biden, center, holds an "I Voted Early" sticker upon exiting the voting booth after casting his early-voting ballot for the 2024 general elections, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in New Castle, Del. (AP)
TT

Biden Casts Early Ballot for Harris as Election Day Nears

 President Joe Biden, center, holds an "I Voted Early" sticker upon exiting the voting booth after casting his early-voting ballot for the 2024 general elections, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in New Castle, Del. (AP)
President Joe Biden, center, holds an "I Voted Early" sticker upon exiting the voting booth after casting his early-voting ballot for the 2024 general elections, Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in New Castle, Del. (AP)

President Joe Biden has cast an early ballot in the 2024 general election.

It's a bittersweet moment for Biden, who decided to end his reelection campaign in July because of growing concerns about his health and Democrats' worries about his chances of defeating former President Donald Trump.  

Biden voted on Monday at the state of Delaware Department of Elections, not far from his home outside Wilmington, Delaware at an early voting site, where voters were lined up down the street to cast ballots.

Biden chatted with voters as he waited in line to cast his ballot, and helped push an older woman in a wheelchair who ahead of him. The president waited in line for about 40 minutes before he cast his ballot.

He handed his identification to the election worker, who had him sign a form and announced: “Joseph Biden now voting.”

As the president cast his ballot behind a black drape, some first-time voters were announced and the room erupted in cheers for them.

For all but a few years since 1970, Biden has either held office or been running for one during election season.

But this year, his hopes lie with a newer generation of Democrats, including three on the Delaware ballot looking to make history.

Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden endorsed after dropping out, is vying to become the first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to serve as president.



Iran, Israel Each Present Own 'Narratives' about Impact of Strikes

This handout picture released by the Israeli army on October 26, 2024, shows an Israeli fighter jet departing a hangar at an undisclosed location in Israel. (Photo by AFP)
This handout picture released by the Israeli army on October 26, 2024, shows an Israeli fighter jet departing a hangar at an undisclosed location in Israel. (Photo by AFP)
TT

Iran, Israel Each Present Own 'Narratives' about Impact of Strikes

This handout picture released by the Israeli army on October 26, 2024, shows an Israeli fighter jet departing a hangar at an undisclosed location in Israel. (Photo by AFP)
This handout picture released by the Israeli army on October 26, 2024, shows an Israeli fighter jet departing a hangar at an undisclosed location in Israel. (Photo by AFP)

Iran and Israel are both vying to assert or deny the success of the recent attack launched by Tel Aviv on Iran in achieving its objectives, amidst sharp discrepancies in information regarding the strikes and the targeted locations.
In its latest attack on Iran, Israel said it took out most of its missile defense systems and obliterated multiple radar systems that are needed to guide the same ballistic missiles that were fired at Israel in April and on Oct. 1 when Iran fired 181 ballistic missiles at Israel.
“Removing the radar systems prevents Iran from firing those missiles in the future”, the US Fox News quoted senior Israeli and American officials as saying.
On October 26, 2024, the Israeli military launched "precise and targeted" strikes on missile manufacturing sites and other aerial capabilities in Iran in response to the attack launched by Tehran on Israel earlier this month, threatening Tehran with making it "pay a heavy price" if it decided to retaliate.
S-300 Missile Defense Systems Destroyed
Fox News also reported that “Israel took out three of Iran's Russian-made S-300 missile defense systems during last week's retaliatory strike”.
Many believe the Israeli strike targeted critical military infrastructure, delivering both a “symbolic and tactical” blow to Iran’s strategic capabilities. However, Iranian leader Ali Khamenei commented, saying, "One should not underestimate the significance of the attack."
Fox News quoted President Biden's advisor for the Middle East, Amos Hochstein, as saying that "Iran is essentially naked" with no more missile defense.
A senior Israeli official said that removing the radar systems prevents Iran from firing those missiles in the future.
At the start of the year, Iran only had four S300 surface-to-air missile systems. In April, Israel took out one of the missile systems in response to Iran's first ballistic missile attack. A senior US official confirmed the airstrikes took out the three S-300 missile systems, reported Fox News.
"Our message is very, very clear... ‘Any threat, anywhere, at any time, we will know how to reach it, we will know how to strike,’" said Chief of the Israeli army General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi.
Halevi emphasized that Israel had only deployed a portion of its capabilities, suggesting that further actions could be taken should Iran escalate.
Production of Missiles “Unaffected”
For its part, Iran’s Defense Minister Nasir Zadeh confirmed that missile production in Iran has not faced any disruptions.
“The production of our defense systems, including missiles, has not encountered any problems or disruptions” he said on the sidelines of a government meeting on Wednesday, according to the Tasnim news agency.
He added that firing at Iranian territory is considered an aggression which will not be tolerated and will be met with a firm response.