World News: All eyes on N.C. mail voting after Trump's double-vote suggestion

Friday, September 4

Wearing a mask to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, postal worker Samantha Wims demonstrates during a "National Day of Action to Save the "Peoples" Post Office!" outside the Flagler Station post office, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, in Miami. The pandemic has pushed the Postal Service into a central role in the 2020 elections, with tens of millions of people expected to vote by mail rather than in-person. At the same time, Trump has acknowledged he is withholding emergency aid from the service to make it harder to process mail-in ballots, as his election campaign legally challenges mail voting procedures in key states.

All eyes on N.C. mail voting after Trump's double-vote suggestion

Mail voting gets underway in North Carolina, it's time for the August jobs report and more things to start your Friday morning.

We've made it to Friday, Daily Briefing readers! I'm Jane Onyanga-Omara, bringing you your early morning taste of the day's biggest news.

With two months to go until Election Day, mail voting gets underway in North Carolina, but voters should not do as President Donald Trump suggested and vote twice — that's illegal. And this Labor Day weekend will be easier on the wallet for many because gas prices are set to be lowest in 6 years – but stay home if you're sick or at risk of getting the coronavirus, the CDC advises.

Here's today's news:

Election 2020: All eyes on North Carolina as mail voting kicks off

Mail voting gets underway in North Carolina on Friday amid heavy scrutiny after President Donald Trump suggested that voters test their state's election system by voting once by mail, then trying to vote a second time in person. Voting twice in the same election is illegal, and doing so in North Carolina is a felony "with intent to commit a fraud to register or vote at more than one precinct or more than one time, or to induce another to do so, in the same primary or election, or to vote illegally at any primary or election." Polling shows Democratic nominee Joe Biden with a decisive mail-voting advantage: The former vice president's supporters are twice as likely to vote by mail than those of Trump. Democrats worry that misleading signals could emerge on election night if Trump builds an initial lead with in-person votes even as he lags Biden on mail ballots, which take longer to count.

•	Trump suggests that North Carolina voters should test mail-in system by trying to vote twice
•	North Carolina elections chief says 'It is illegal to vote twice in an election' after Trump comment on double voting

Suspect in fatal shooting of 'Patriot Prayer' backer in Oregon, killed, reports say

A man suspected of fatally shooting a supporter of a right-wing group in Portland, Oregon, last week after a caravan of Donald Trump backers rode through downtown was killed Thursday as investigators moved in to arrest him, a senior Justice Department official told The Associated Press. The man, Michael Reinoehl, 48, was killed as a federal task force attempted to apprehend him in Lacey, Washington, the official said. Reinoehl was the prime suspect in the killing of 39-year-old Aaron "Jay" Danielson, a "Patriot Prayer" backer who was shot in the chest Saturday night, the official said. Federal agents from the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service had located Reinoehl on Thursday after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Coronavirus pandemic: What will August jobs report tell us now?

The Labor Department's closely watched August jobs report will be released Friday morning, and it is expected to show continued modest signs of improvement. Those figures are expected to show that 1.4 million workers returned to work last month, according to Oxford Economics. That would leave about one out of two laid-off workers still unemployed. The unemployment rate is expected to fall below 10% to 9.7%. That is down from 10.2% in July. The labor market has continued to show signs of improvement in recent months, although the pace of progress has likely slowed further from the strong initial bounce in May and June, which economists warn is a worrisome sign for the recovery. Over 833,000 Americans filed first-time applications for unemployment insurance during the week ending Aug. 29, the Labor Department reported Thursday, a small rise from the prior week.

•	Different method: Unemployment claims figures could be much lower because of new seasonal adjustment approach
•	'What am I going to do at 55?': More temporary layoffs could become permanent during COVID-19 recession
•	Coronavirus crisis: Pandemic likely to leave legacy of fear and uncertainty that holds back the economy for decades

More coronavirus news to know:

•	South Dakota dismisses 'elite class of so-called experts,' carries on with state fair after Sturgis rally fueled COVID-19 surge
•	Cop killer: COVID-19 could eclipse 9/11 in causing police officer deaths
•	5 reasons why COVID-19 pandemic gives the edge to cars, SUVs, pickups
•	What we know about Nancy Pelosi's visit to the San Francisco hair salon she accused of a 'setup'
•	I want to travel. Do I need a COVID test? It's confusing.

Protests in Rochester continue over death of Daniel Prude

Police in Rochester, New York, deployed pepper spray Thursday night after more than 200 protesters gathered to demand justice for Daniel Prude. City Council member Mitch Gruber said the police response was "unnecessarily aggressive."⁠ The protest came after Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren, at a news conference Thursday afternoon, ordered the immediate suspension of seven police officers involved in Prude's death. She also rebuked Police Chief La'Ron Singletary for his handling of the case, including a failure to inform her of the full details of the March 23 incident until early August. Prude, 41, died from asphyxia during the incident with police in March. News of the incident was not revealed until Wednesday, when family members released video of the fatal encounter. ⁠

•	What we know about Daniel Prude's death: Police used 'spit hood' on Black man who died of asphyxiation
•	Daniel Prude: A Black man pinned to the ground by NY police died two months before George Floyd

More news you need to know:

•	Biden focuses on Jacob Blake, Trump touts police, and other takeaways from dueling Kenosha visits
•	Exclusive: NRA's former No. 2 official Joshua Powell describes 'decades of fraud, corruption' inside lobby group
•	The U.S. is the biggest election meddler of them all, new book claims
•	'You have no authority over us': Church leader, sons jailed for insisting chemical's power to heal trumps laws of the state
•	West will swelter as holiday heat wave and pandemic combine to make relief harder to find
•	Serena Williams moves into third round at U.S. Open; matchup with Sloane Stephens is next
•	Taco Bell removing Mexican Pizza and shredded chicken from menu, adding new Chicken Chipotle Melt

Driving this holiday weekend? You might be in luck

Labor Day gas prices are set to be lowest since 2004 , just in time for your road trip Friday. "With Hurricane Laura now behind us and many refineries returning to service, gas prices will begin to head lower just in time for the Labor Day weekend," GasBuddy said in a statement. The fuel price monitoring platform predicts a national average of $2.19 per gallon on Monday. That's the lowest Labor Day price since 2004's $1.82 per gallon average. While the prices at the pump may be alluring, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that since the coronavirus pandemic is still in full effect, people who are sick or at risk for COVID-19 should stay home as much as possible.

•	West will swelter as holiday heat wave and pandemic combine to make relief harder to find
•	How to safely celebrate Labor Day weekend during a pandemic