• Conspiracy theories intersect with deadly violence. The Pittsburgh shooting and the wave of attempted bombings last week jolted the electorate and deepened concerns about the inflammatory political language in the U.S.“There is clear overlap,” our political reporter writes, “between the hatred and delusion that drove this lethal behavior and the paranoia and misinformation surrounding the caravan.”He was referring to the migrant caravan moving north through Mexico, above. Though it is still 2,000 miles from the U.S., President Trump announced plans to deploy at least 5,200 active-duty troops to the border by the end of this week. Mr. Trump and his conservative allies have been animating Republican voters with baseless claims about the caravan, including that it was financed by George Soros, the Jewish liberal philanthropist who received one of the threatening packages. In a group call today at 10:30 a.m. Eastern, Times journalists will discuss the U.S. midterm elections to give our international readers a richer understanding.

Source: New York Times October 30, 2018 05:00 UTC