
Syrians vote in 'non-event' presidential election set to be won by Assad
CNN
Syrians were voting Wednesday in presidential elections widely dismissed by experts and activists as a sham poll, rigged in favor of President Bashar al-Assad.
Assad, 55, who has repeatedly been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, is expected to win an election for the second time since an uprising in 2011 spiraled into civil war. In 2014, Assad received 88.7% of the vote in an election that took place in government-controlled parts of the country. At the time, opposition groups ran large swathes of Syria — Assad's forces have since wrested control over most of that territory. Turkey controls some territory in the northwest of the country and the US military has a presence in the country's northeast.
Janet Mills and her allies are counting on a gender gap to narrow Platner’s wide lead ahead of the June 9 primary to decide who will face incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins. They are betting that the unfiltered style that has brought Platner widespread attention as someone who could help Democrats reach young men will backfire with women.

As a shrinking number of Transportation Security Administration agents work to keep hourslong security lines moving despite not being paid, President Donald Trump stepped into the fray Saturday, announcing he will send Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to airports by Monday if Congress doesn’t agree to a plan to end the partial government shutdown.











