WASHINGTON (AP) — The latest on the presidential campaign (all times local):
4:10 p.m.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is heaping praise on leading Michigan Democrats as he tries to flip the state back his party’s presidential win column.
Biden praised Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday as one of the nation’s best governors and said she “stands up straight and tall.” He again blasted President Donald Trump for not explicitly condemning white supremacists and far-right anarchists like the group recently arrested for plotting to kidnap Whitmer.
The former vice president also heaped praise on Sen. Gary Peters as the Democrat faces a stiff challenge from Republican John James. Democrats cannot afford to lose Peters’ seat if they hope to have a working Senate majority in January.
Biden called Peters a “go-to” lawmaker for the Obama administration when Biden was vice president.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE:
President Donald Trump is holding rallies in Ocala, Florida, and Macon, Georgia, on Friday night. His Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, is in Michigan, where he is talking about health care in Southfield and mobilizing voters in Detroit.
Read more:
— Biden outraises Trump $383 million to $248 million in September
— Trump on defense, courting voters in two must-win states
— AP-NORC poll: Voters see the nation as fundamentally divided
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HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON:
3:35 p.m.
Joe Biden’s campaign says the former vice president and his running mate, Kamala Harris, each tested negative Friday for COVID-19.
The tests come a day after the campaign confirmed three individuals connected to the campaign had tested positive, including Harris’ communications director Liz Allen.
As a precaution, Harris has suspended in-person campaigning through the weekend, but plans to return Monday. Biden is continuing to campaign, with two stops Friday in Michigan.
Medical advisers to the campaign said none of the individuals who tested positive were ever close enough to Biden to directly expose him to the virus.
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2:40 p.m.
President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden will face questions on the coronavirus, race issues and climate change in the final presidential debate next week.
Moderator Kristen Welker of NBC released the six topics for the debate Friday through the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates. They are “Fighting COVID-19,” “American Families,” “Race in America,” “Climate Change,” “National Security,” and “Leadership.”
Trump and Biden will take the stage together for 90 minutes on Oct. 22 in Nashville, three weeks after their first meeting in Cleveland.
A second outing planned for Oct. 15 was called off after Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis and his refusal to participate in a virtual debate. Trump and Biden held town halls on different networks at the same time instead.
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2:35 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he’s moving “heaven and earth” to protect older people from the coronavirus.
Trump is making a direct appeal to older voters during a Friday appearance in Fort Myers, Florida. Polls have shown that Trump’s support among this voting bloc has slipped partly because of his uneven handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more people in the United States than in any other country. Older people are among the groups most vulnerable to the COVID-19 disease it causes.
Trump says in the speech: “I will protect you, I will defend you, and I will fight for you with every ounce of energy and conviction that I have.”
The president is also assuring older people that they will be first in line for a vaccine when one is approved. He adds that he will provide them with treatments like those he received at no cost.
Trump recently recovered from COVID-19 and spent three days in the hospital.
