Category: US

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to release her medical history and records Saturday, as her campaign is now planning to put pressure on former President Donald Trump to release his own. 

The report will say the 59-year-old Harris has the physical and mental resiliency to serve as president, according to a senior Harris aide. 

It is unknown yet how detailed Harris’ records will be, but her campaign views the release as an opportunity to turn the conversation towards the physical health and mental acuity of her opponent, the 78-year-old Trump. Harris’ advisers argue they can contrast her age and Trump’s — daring him to disclose more recent information.

Harris did not release her medical records during the 2020 campaign. In November 2023, Trump posted a letter from his doctor of osteopathic medicine, Bruce Aronwald, that said he had been examined in September 2023 and that his “overall health is excellent.” No specifics on his vitals or medications were shared. 

In an interview with CBS News in August, Trump said he would “gladly” release his medical records and that he recently had a medical exam and had a “perfect score.”

If elected in November, Trump would be the oldest president in U.S. history by the end of his term. 

The Harris campaign’s attempt to highlight Trump’s age mirrors the Republican campaign’s approach to President Biden while he was the candidate. When Biden was still running, Trump’s campaign would often post clips of him stumbling up the stairs of Air Force One, or of his verbal gaffes. 

Biden left the 2024 race in July after Democratic infighting and skepticism he could serve a full second term, which was spurred by a June debate performance where he appeared to show signs of his age, 81, by speaking with a hoarse voice and stumbling through answers. 

On social media, Harris’ campaign has been leaning into references to Trump’s age, pointing out moments where Trump slurs his words or meanders. 

“Americans are tired of your lies and slur-filled delusions. It’s getting…old,” the Kamala HQ X account posted in August. 

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A fatal accident at the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine in Colorado left tourists trapped deep underground for hours. A successful rescue operation brought 12 visitors out after the tour guide was killed and four others were injured. Carter Evans has more.

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Underground mine rescue operation successful in Colorado after fatality during tour

A rescue operation in Colorado on Thursday to bring trapped mining tour visitors out of an underground mine was successful, seven hours after one person died and four others were injured.

Gov. Jared Polis announced that the 12 people who were trapped in the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine for 6 hours have been successfully rescued.

“I am relieved,” Polis said in a prepared statement.  

The popular tourist attraction where they used to mine for gold is located in Cripple Creek. Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said in an afternoon news conference that the trolley car that goes down the elevator as part of the tour was 500 feet under the ground when a mechanical issue happened. That led to the injuries and the death. So far it’s not clear exactly how the victim died.

Mikesell said the fatal victim and the four people injured were part of a group that was removed from the mine, but another group of 12 people 1,000 feet down wound up being unable to surface due to the safety issue.

After many hours, safety officials were able to get the elevator back in working order and the rescue of the 12 people was complete by 7:45 p.m. They were brought up four at a time, and were given pizza to eat after their ordeal.

“We have people and engineers from the state of Colorado, from our local jurisdictions, mine safety, from our partnering mine right over here, our fire departments,” Mikesell said while they were still working on the rescue. “We have the best people in the country that are here working on this issue right now, and my hope is that we can have it resolved tonight.”

The identity of the person who was killed has not been released.

“Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the individual lost in this incident,” Polis said.

Colorado state Sen. Mark Baisley, a Republican who represents Teller County, called the situation a tragic.

“The best outcome right now (is) a lot of families get together to recover from the fatality and to comfort each other,” Baisley said. 

Polis directed state resources to assist authorities with the rescue efforts.

About the gold mine tour

The Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine is located at 9388 Highway 67 in Cripple Creek, which is about an hour west of Colorado Springs. It advertises itself on its website as the “Only Vertical Shaft Gold Mine Tour.” Visitors on the tour descend 1,000 feet underground.

Mikesell said the tourist attraction has operated for more than 50 years.

This season’s last tours of the old gold mine were scheduled to be this weekend. 

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One person died and several others were injured Thursday when a chemical was released at a Houston-area industrial plant, a Texas sheriff said.

Authorities warned nearby residents to stay inside and close doors and windows.

One of the people injured was transported to a hospital by a helicopter, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez wrote on the social platform X. City officials in Pasadena, a Houston suburb, told residents on social media that hydrogen sulfide had been released at a Pemex facility.

Television news crews showed multiple ambulances and emergency vehicles at the scene.

Gonzalez said preliminary information indicated it was a “chemical release” but did not elaborate.

In a statement obtained by CBS affiliate KHOU, Pemex said that the release was first reported at 4:40 p.m. local time at one of its “operating units.”

“The incident is contained to our site and has been isolated,” the statement read. The company added that personnel from several government agencies had responded.

The plant is located in the suburb of Deer Park, where city officials issued a shelter-in-place order for nearby residents “out of precaution.”

In a post to social media late Thursday night, the Deer Park Office of Emergency Management said that the shelter-in-place order had been lifted. It said that Harris County agencies were “reporting no hazardous chemicals within the community.”

Houston is the nation’s petrochemical heartland and is home to a cluster of refineries and plants.

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas that is extremely flammable and highly toxic.

The effects of exposure can “range from mild, headaches or eye irritation, to very serious, unconsciousness and death,” the OSHA said.  

With widespread power outages affecting residents across Florida, Duke Energy’s state president, Melissa Seixas, discusses the company’s response to Hurricane Milton and what Floridians can expect in the coming days.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told CBS News Wednesday evening that state authorities are “absolutely” prepared for the arrival of Hurricane Milton.

“We’ve got 50,000 linemen staged, ready for rapid power restoration,” DeSantis said. “We also have a full mobilization of the Florida National Guard, as well as receiving a lot of assets from other states, so it will be the largest search and rescue function that we’ve ever done.”

The governor said that “by and large, people heeded the call” to evacuate.

He said the state’s shelters have “plenty of room,” noting that they are designed to withstand a Category 3 storm.

“Look, at this point, if you’re in the west coast of Florida, it’s probably too dangerous to go to a shelter,” DeSantis said. “But one of the things we’ve done in Florida is stress that, when you shelter, you don’t have to get on the interstate and drive hundreds of miles. We have places, even in the counties that are in the eye of the storm, that are inland, that are not susceptible to storm surge, but that are hurricane-proof.”

DeSantis also addressed misinformation that has circulated online about relief efforts for both hurricanes Milton and Helene, calling it “nonsense.”

“I think there’s some people out there, we live in an age where you can monetize a lot of this nonsense online,” DeSantis said. “You can get a lot of clicks, but that is not true in Florida. So, we’re going to do it right, your property is going to be protected. And we’re going to make sure that you get back on your feet.”

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