Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump returned to what he said was his preferred mode of public speaking during a campaign rally in Charlotte – without a teleprompter. "I actually like my speech better without teleprompters," he said. (Reuters) 
 
 CHARLOTTE — For months, the teleprompters Donald Trump uses at campaign rallies have been a symbol of efforts to keep him “on message” — a sharp departure from the wild, freewheeling speeches that defined his candidacy during the GOP primary, but an acknowledgment of the difficult task of winning a general election. 
 
 On Friday, the Republican presidential nominee’s teleprompters broke down mid-rally. 
 
 “By the way,” he announced abruptly about 20 minutes into his speech, “these teleprompters haven’t been working for the last 20 minutes. And I actually like my speech better without teleprompters.” 
 
 It was a ready-made metaphor for the disorder afflicting his campaign, amid a weeks-long string of controversies that include several allegations of sexual misconduct and assault. Even as his advisers continue deliberating on how to respond, Trump has appeared resistant to much of their advice. He has instead signaled that he will move forward in the same way he ran his primary campaign: without their script, following his own instincts. 
 
 The scene here in Charlotte took a turn toward the literal on Friday night. Frustrated, Trump physically dismantled one of the teleprompters. Then he knocked the other one down. 
 
 He shared his thoughts on the matter: “You know, it’s very funny. I went through 17 professional politicians, top people, and I went without any teleprompters. Then all of a sudden, they said, ‘Well now you’re running the election, you need teleprompters.’ And I like tele — they’re fine, but it’s sort of cooler without it, right? Don’t you think? I like it better without it. And it’s a little strange when you see this place. I watch Hillary, she’s got the biggest pieces of glass. And sometimes they’re painted black on the other side, because you see better. And she always just reads off the teleprompter and it’s short and then she goes home and she goes to sleep,” he said. 
 
 When Trump’s speech began here in Charlotte, he was focused heavily on the leaked WikiLeaks emails that have embarrassed Hillary Clinton’s campaign. The emphasis on Clinton seemed like a deliberate departure from an earlier event in Greensboro, N.C., where he spent a large amount of time denying allegations of sexual assault and drew damaging headlines when he mocked the physical appearances of two women who had accused him. 
 
 Then, somewhere along the way, the prompters appear to have cut out. 
 
 The ensuing speech was difficult to follow. Trump moved between various topics without dwelling on any single one for an extended period of time. He talked rapidly about defense spending, creating jobs, the Iran nuclear deal and then his vanquished GOP rivals. At one point, he began to wonder aloud who pays for President Obama’s use of Air Force One when the president campaigns for Clinton. 
 
 To top it all off, the speakers on one side of the room then went out. 
 
 “I’ll tell you, whoever runs this place is not doing very well,” Trump quipped. “Great job, fellas. So now we don’t have to pay for this and now we don’t have to pay for that.” 
 
 He added: “Who the hell runs this place?” 
 
 The campaign needed a disciplined day on message. His campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, joked on Twitter after the speech in Greensboro, N.C., that she was one of the supporters in the back of the event who kept shouting, “Stay on the issues!” At one point in Charlotte, Conway appeared in the media filing area and spoke to reporters: “He’s always on message, don’t you think?” 
 
 Trump appeared ready to wrap up several times, only to find himself taking on another sweeping range of topics. At one point, within a single five-minute frame he discussed: 
 
 Iran’s nuclear capabilities 
 
 Gen. George Patton 
 
 Political correctness 
 
 The fight in Mosul, Iraq 
 
 Why politicians shouldn’t reveal military plans 
 
 Patton, again 
 
 Endorsements he’s received from admirals and generals 
 
 His grasp of policy issues 
 
 The second presidential debate 
 
 Clinton’s use of the debate stage, and the accusations that he invaded her space 
 
 The debate moderators 
 
 His accusation that Clinton invaded his space 
 
 Mosul, again 
 
 The Iran nuclear deal 
 
 Global warming 
 
 Nuclear proliferation 
 
 Russia 
 
 Clinton’s judgment 
 
 Bernie Sanders’s primary election attacks against Clinton 
 
 WikiLeaks 
 
 The “rigged” election system 
 
 The crowd, regardless of the teleprompters or the microphone or the speech, cheered enthusiastically as he joked with them. And they agreed when he asked if they were having a good time. 
 
 1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail View Photos The GOP presidential nominee is pressing his case ahead of Election Day. Caption The GOP presidential nominee is pressing his case ahead of Election Day. Nov. 7, 2016 Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. 
 
 “I just want to say this. When you look back — and we all had a good time even though your speakers were no good, your teleprompters were no good. As long as Trump was good, that’s what matters,” Trump said. “But you’re going to look back at this evening, you’re going to say, ‘Hey, I had a good time.’ But you’re going to go home and in 15 years, 25 years — hopefully longer than that — you’re going to look back at this evening and say this was a very important evening of your life.” ||||| Hillary Clinton Hillary Rodham ClintonHouse Democratic women to stage walkout for ‘Day Without a Woman’ strike Conservative group sues CIA, DOJ, Treasury over Flynn leaks First ObamaCare votes put vulnerable GOPers on the spot MORE’s advisers are ramping up attacks on WikiLeaks and the Russian government over a damaging email hack, lashing out at Donald Trump Donald TrumpIvanka Trump clothing line reports record sales House Intel panel sets date for first Russia hearing Conservative media versus the GOP healthcare bill MORE and the media for failing to treat the breach as a threat to national security. 
 
 The Clinton campaign gathered its top national security advisers for a blistering conference call with reporters on Friday, framing the email dump as a provocative cyber-attack by foreign adversaries with ties to terror groups. 
 
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 The advisers described the hacks as unprecedented interference in the U.S. election that threatens the nation’s sovereignty, and warned there would be “consequences” for the hackers and potentially the “Russian state actors” supporting them. 
 
 The campaign lashed out at Trump, arguing he is encouraging the behavior. They questioned whether he and his advisers, driven by their own foreign business interests, have conspired to aid the Russians. 
 
 
 
 And Clinton’s allies fumed at the media’s coverage of the leaked emails, saying the focus has been on trivial political minutia rather than the national security implications. 
 
 
 
 “I’m not saying this as a Democrat or a Republican. I’m not saying this as someone who has endorsed Hillary Clinton. I’m saying this as someone who cares deeply about our national security,” said former CIA acting director Mike Morell. “I’m simply enraged by these Russian hacks.” 
 
 
 
 WikiLeaks, led by founder Julian Assange, a fierce Clinton critic, has been publishing batches of emails stolen from the personal account of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. 
 
 
 
 Between now and Election Day, WikiLeaks is expected to release up to 40,000 more emails, in what appears to be a bid to undermine Clinton’s presidential campaign. 
 
 
 
 The intelligence community has said the Russians are behind the hack. The FBI is investigating the extent to which Moscow may have been involved. 
 
 
 
 The emails have been catnip for Washington insiders, giving an unvarnished glimpse inside Clinton’s inner circle and the day-to-day activities of her political machine. 
 
 
 
 But there have also been several potentially damaging revelations that Trump has vowed to make the centerpiece of his campaign in the final weeks before the election. 
 
 
 
 Clinton was revealed to have said she has different views on certain issues depending on whether she’s in “public or private;” something she struggled to account for at the last debate. 
 
 
 
 In a private speech given to a Wall Street banks, Clinton apparently touted her support for “open borders.” 
 
 
 
 One exchange appeared to show now-Democratic National Committee chairwoman Donna Brazile tipping Clinton off to a question ahead of a debate against Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersSanders defends his view that Trump is a liar Senate Dems introduce bill to block Trump's revised travel order Overnight Defense: Trump signs new travel order that excludes Iraq | Ex-Gitmo detainee killed in Yemen airstrike MORE, although Brazile has denied that happened. 
 
 
 
 And one of Clinton’s top advisers, Jennifer Palmieri, has been criticized for an email disparaging Catholics and Christians. 
 
 
 
 The Clinton campaign has not confirmed the authenticity of the emails and has sought to cast doubt on the exchanges by insinuating that the hackers and WikiLeaks may have doctored the contents. 
 
 
 
 Now, they’re ramping up pressure on all of the involved parties, including the press, warning that the hack represents a grave threat to U.S. interests and should not be exploited for political purposes. 
 
 
 
 “It shakes me to my core,” Morell said. “This is a direct assault on our democracy. It’s a direct assault on how we choose our leaders. And quite frankly, I can’t think of a more serious issue at the moment than Russia trying to interfere in our election.” 
 
 
 
 The Clinton campaign is using the emails to hammer Trump, accusing him of “using Moscow talking points;” of encouraging further attacks by reading WikiLeaks releases at rallies; and of sewing disunity among U.S. allies as an “unwitting ally” of Putin. 
 
 
 
 Clinton’s advisers are suggesting that Trump has gone easy on Putin because of his business interests in the region, and have warned that if elected president, he would exploit his relationship with Russian leaders for personal financial gain. 
 
 
 
 And they alleged that Trump’s allies, like former campaign manager Paul Manafort and longtime ally Roger Stone, “may have relationships” with the Russians and could be involved in “getting this material out.” 
 
 
 
 “It is hard for me to even understand how someone who is a aspiring to be president would encourage these types of attacks, which are so unprecedented in terms of our democracy,” said Matt Olsen, a Clinton supporter and the former head of the National Counterterrorism Center. 
 
 
 
 The Clinton campaign is leaning on the media for its coverage of the emails, saying their focus needs to be redirected from the political impact and the insider gossip to the “geo-strategic” implications. 
 
 
 
 “What’s frustrating to me as someone involved with the media over the years — each little detail gets out in the press but the whole story, all these little pieces of the puzzle, are not put together in a way that educates the American people about the significance of this act of cyber-sabotage,” said Jamie Rubin, a national security adviser to Clinton. 
 
 
 
 So far, the emails have been overshadowed by the mounting accusations of sexual misconduct against Trump. 
 
 
 
 But the Clinton campaign is worried about the contents of future releases, and furiously pushing back at reports of new details from email threads they say provide only partial information or have been mischaracterized by their political rivals or the press. 
 
 
 
 “We have to have Donald Trump condemn the cyber sabotage conducted by Russia,” said Rubin. “At a minimum, we have to have information about the extent to which his people worked with or not, the Russian organizations. And we have to have information about the extent to which the Trump organization has business interests in Russia that could be affected.” ||||| CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign rallies have turned into eruptions of barely contained emotions from his impassioned followers, who urge him to fight on despite a series of gut punches that have put his chances of winning in doubt. 
 
 Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump stands with female supporters on stage at a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S., October 14, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar 
 
 With the Nov. 8 election now only weeks away and polls turning against him, Trump is spending precious time in campaign speeches defending himself from accusations from several women who say he made unwanted sexual advances toward them. 
 
 What he would do if elected is covered, but much of his speeches are spent belittling his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. He also accuses the U.S. news media of a plot to bring him down, and charges that the women who have made the accusations against him might be doing it for a taste of fame. 
 
 Opinion polls show a gloomy picture for Trump. A week after a video surfaced of him bragging in lewd terms about groping women, the latest Reuters-Ipsos poll on Friday showed Clinton up, with 44 percent to Trump’s 37 percent. 
 
 And the crowds have gotten more protective of their hero. One woman at a rally in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Thursday wore a homemade T-shirt that said “Trump Can Grab My,” with an arrow pointing to her crotch. 
 
 On Friday in Greensboro, North Carolina, a man wearing a “Gays for Trump” shirt punched a protester who held up an upside down American flag. Both were ejected. 
 
 Trump’s message has gotten through to his supporters in a big way about Clinton, who Trump calls a criminal for her handling of classified information as secretary of state. “She would be the most dishonest and corrupt ever elected to high office,” he said. 
 
 ‘SO JADED ALREADY’ 
 
 A crowd of young voters had a ready response when he brought up Clinton at an event in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday. 
 
 “Lock her up!” they chanted, mimicking the lines voiced by older voters at other events. 
 
 Trump could only smile and shake his head. 
 
 “So young and so jaded already,” he said. 
 
 The New York businessman feeds off the energy generated by crowds that pack his rallies by the thousands. But he is easily distracted, lurching from topic to topic based on whatever happens to sprint to mind. 
 
 On Wednesday in Lakeland, Florida, Trump jumped from bashing the news media as “the most dishonest people you’ll ever see,” to tout his performance at a debate in St. Louis on Sunday - “which I won big league” - to Clinton’s stroll across the stage in front of him at that event. 
 
 “And the papers said I invaded her space,” he said. “Believe me, the last space I want to invade is hers.” 
 
 There are moments of levity. A woman who recovered from a brief fainting spell in the heat of Lakeland was pointed out by Trump. 
 
 “That woman was out cold and now she is recovered — a little ding to the head,” he said, approvingly. 
 
 Trump can form an attack line against Clinton out of pretty much anything that springs to mind. 
 
 Venting about Chinese trade practices before a raucous crowd of perhaps 20,000 in Cincinnati on Thursday night, Trump suddenly imagined how China might treat Clinton given her bout of pneumonia a month ago, which had caused her to nearly collapse at an event in New York. 
 
 “If she goes down in Tiananmen Square, they’ll just leave her,” he said. “They’re tough people.” 
 
 Trump’s crowds sometimes get agitated. 
 
 Slideshow (4 Images) 
 
 Many of his supporters are upset at the news media, whipped into a frenzy by both Trump and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who in Cincinnati introduced Trump by condemning “the insanity of the media, the insanity of the way they cover him.” 
 
 Upon entering the arena, Trump’s traveling press corps was booed by thousands of people who chanted “tell the truth.” Trump boosters near the media work area repeatedly cursed and taunted reporters. 
 
 “When are you all going to be ashamed of yourselves?” one man shouted. “Lower than Congress — that’s what your approval rating is.” ||||| Donald Trump might sue the New York Times. The Times might just want that to happen. 
 
 If Trump sues the Times over its reporting, the Republican nominee for president risks opening up his personal life to lawyers, providing access that would otherwise be private. He'd also almost certainly be the subject of a deposition, in which he, his family and many others would have to answer questions under oath about his behavior with women. 
 
 "It's his butler. It's the help around him generally. It's his kids. It's his ex wife. It's his girlfriends if you can identify them ... it's all that stuff," said Stuart Karle, general counsel at North Base Media and an adjunct professor at the Columbia School of Journalism. "It would just be a rich vain of yuck about Donald Trump." 
 
 It all began on Wednesday night when the newspaper published the accounts of two women who claimed to have been groped by the presidential candidate. Trump denied the claims and attacked the Times. 
 
 That could have been chalked up to just another dust up between Trump and a media outlet. He's had plenty through his campaign, even operating an informal blacklist that included the Times and other outlets, such as the Washington Post and Politico. 
 
 Not this time. The Times, the Trump campaign feinted, had gone too far. Sources from the Trump camp told numerous reporters that a lawsuit was being drawn up. One of Trump's lawyers sent a letter to the Times demanding a retraction. The Times fired back with the legal equivalent of "come at me, bro." 
 
 The discovery issue 
 
 The newspaper has a good reason to be cocky. A lawsuit would mean that Trump would be subject to a legal process called "discovery," in which lawyers for the Times are allowed to pore through the relevant histories of those involved in the case. 
 
 David McCraw, NYT lawyer, responds to Trump’s letter. pic.twitter.com/ziPBCIjkvP — Sydney Ember (@melbournecoal) October 13, 2016 
 
 In this case, that would mean Trump's sexual and romantic history. The inquisition would not necessarily stop with the women from the Times story. 
 
 "They might start talking about other women that were involved to see if there was a pattern of conduct," said Chip Stewart, associate dean of the college of communication at Texas Christian University. "They could be asking a lot of questions that would be embarrassing to him." 
 
 "There’s a big difference between Trump threatening to sue and actually suing — and he often never follows through ..." 
 
 Tim O'Brien knows this better than almost anyone. Trump sued O'Brien in 2006 over an allegation in O'Brien's book "TrumpNation" that The Donald was worth far less than he led people to believe. 
 
 As part of that lawsuit, O'Brien's lawyers deposed Trump as part of the discovery process. Trump was caught lying 30 times. 
 
 "Discovery can have a very, very long long arm with people in the business world. And that's why a lot of them are careful about it and aren't as flagrant about threatening to sue people," O'Brien said in an interview with Mashable. 
 
 O'Brien, now the executive editor of Bloomberg Gadfly and Bloomberg View, assured reporters on Thursday that they didn't have much to fear. In an article entitled "Don't Fear Trump's Lawsuits. He'll Keep Losing," O'Brien noted Trump will not want to open himself up to discovery. 
 
 "...there’s a big difference between Trump threatening to sue and actually suing — and he often never follows through with his threats anyway," O'Brien wrote. "So exhale and keep reporting aggressively all of you scribes." 
 
 A Reuters report found that despite many threats, Trump hasn't sued a newspaper in 30 years. 
 
 The Times did not respond to a request for comment on the discovery process. 
 
 The legal issue 
 
 The New York Times building in New York. Image: AP Photo/Richard Drew 
 
 Maybe Trump would be willing to suffer through discovery if he stood a legitimate chance of convincing a jury that the Times committed libel. 
 
 Trump, however, stands little chance. 
 
 In this case, Trump's lawyers would need to show that the Times acted with "actual malice" — meaning that not only are the claims untrue, but that the Times knew that the claims were untrue. Also, because Trump is a public figure, he would need to prove that those false claims defamed him — something that the Times lawyers pointed out will be difficult to do due to Trump's own public statements. 
 
 The paper would certainly end up having to pay some legal fees to defend itself against a theoretical Trump lawsuit, but that might end up being money well spent. 
 
 Writing on the legal blog Above the Law, Elie Mystal argued that the documents the Times would collect during the discovery process would be extremely valuable to its reporting. 
 
 Other documents, or videos, about Trump’s past sexual conduct would become relevant. Trump would be deposed, under oath, about his sexual escapades. The Times would LOVE Donald Trump to sue them over this. They’d never settle. There would be a public trial where all this stuff would come out. They’d win a freaking Pulitzer. 
 
 Even if Trump were to sue, none of this would play out particularly quickly. Civil lawsuits tend to drag on for months or years. Trump almost certainly wouldn't be deposed until well after the election. 
 
 That's a prospect that wouldn't seem to be appealing to Trump. If he wins, he's a sitting president forced to confront allegations of sexual assault. If he loses, he's a failed politician forced to confront allegations of sexual assault. ||||| Tweet with a location 
 
 You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, Friday, Oct. 14, 2016, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) (Associated Press) 
 
 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, Friday, Oct. 14, 2016, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) (Associated Press) 
 
 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, Friday, Oct. 14, 2016, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) (Associated Press) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, Friday, Oct. 14, 2016, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the 2016 presidential campaign (all times EDT): 
 
 9 a.m. 
 
 Donald Trump has taken to Twitter on Saturday morning to go after Hillary Clinton and the media, and to claim again that the presidential race is looking like — in his words — "a rigged election." 
 
 That's an unprecedented assertion in a country with a history of peaceful democratic transition. 
 
 Trump is denying stories in which some women have accused him of sexual misconduct. 
 
 He says the allegations are "100 percent fabricated and made-up charges" and are being pushed by the Clinton campaign and the media. Trump says they "may poison the minds of the American Voter" and he claims: "FIX!" 
 
 Trump tweets that such "false and unsubstantiated charges, and outright lies" are being pushed before the Nov. 8 election in order to put Clinton in the White House. ||||| CLOSE Cyrus Schenck, founder of Renoun ski in Burlington, Vermont, came up with a unique pair of skis to highlight the presidential race, one featuring Democrat Hillary Clinton, on the left of course, and Republican Donald Trump on the right. RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS 
 
 Buy Photo Cyrus Schenck of Renoun ski in Burlington has introduced limited edition Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton skis Ñ Trump is the right ski, Hillary is the left ski Ñ featuring ornate artwork by local graphic artist Jamie Tam. (Photo: RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS)Buy Photo 
 
 Hillary and The Donald are hitting the slopes together this winter, thanks to a local ski company. 
 
 Cyrus Schenck of Renoun ski in Burlington has introduced limited edition Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton skis — Trump is the right ski, Hillary is the left ski — featuring ornate artwork by local graphic artist Jamie Tam. 
 
 "It's one of those things we expect people to hang on their wall," Schenck said. "It is artwork." 
 
 The skis also are a no-holds-barred, comic book portrayal of the voluminous indiscretions, faults and weaknesses of the candidates in a presidential election unprecedented for its controversy and general distaste for the American public. 
 
 "I gave Jamie some sketches, he was like, 'All right, I got this,'" Schenck said. "He went to town. There's so much detail." 
 
 The tops of the skis — red for Republican Trump, blue for Democrat Clinton — feature portraits of the candidates wearing buttons that say "#1 most disliked" for Trump, and "#2 most disliked" for Clinton. A police tape weaves in and out of the collage of images on Clinton's ski, intended to reflect the lack of trust some voters feel in her, Schenck said. A border wall runs throughout the images on Trump's ski, reflecting his plan to wall off the United States from Mexico. 
 
 "We didn't hold back on this," Schenck said. 
 
 Buy Photo Cyrus Schenck of Renoun ski in Burlington has introduced limited edition Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton skis Ñ Trump is the right ski, Hillary is the left ski Ñ featuring ornate artwork by local graphic artist Jamie Tam. (Photo: RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS) 
 
 That's clear in the image of a naked Trump covered by a fig leaf and a character pointing to him, saying, "Tiny hands..." On Clinton's ski, a ringing phone is captioned "Benghazi is calling." Yet, Schenck is unconcerned about offending anyone. 
 
 "Any kind of offense we might stir up will pale in comparison to what has already been said by the candidates," he said. 
 
 Schenck said Renoun will make 50 pairs of the Trump/Clinton skis, at a retail price of $2,016 per pair. Non-partisan Renoun skis that don't make a political statement cost $1,150 to $1,395 per pair. 
 
 Schenck, 25, launched his company in 2015 utilizing a new technology — a layer of non-Newtonian material that allows the skis to instantly change their characteristics to suit conditions, whatever they might be. 
 
 Non-Newtonian is an umbrella term that can apply to a wide range of materials that don't exhibit a linear stress/strain relationship, including ketchup, Schenck explained last year. 
 
 "Think about a ketchup bottle," he said. "Turn it upside down, and it just stays there. It doesn't come out. If you shake it, it comes flying out. So the more of an impact, the less viscous, the runnier it becomes. The stuff we use is the opposite. The harder you hit it, the more thick it becomes." 
 
 Schenck said his skis have been met with skepticism in some circles — until the skeptics strapped them on. 
 
 "Guys want to call you out, but they get on them and they can't," he said. 
 
 Renoun has increased production by about 70 percent this year, Schenck said. He expects to generate about $250,000 in revenue this ski season. All Renoun skis, including the Hillary and Trump models, are sold exclusively online, direct to consumers. 
 
 Buy Photo Cyrus Schenck of Renoun ski in Burlington has introduced limited edition Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton skis Ñ Trump is the right ski, Hillary is the left ski Ñ featuring ornate artwork by local graphic artist Jamie Tam. (Photo: RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS) 
 
 "We just sent out 100 T-shirts to customers, thanking them for being part of the family," Schenck said. 
 
 Schenck declined to say who he will be voting for next month. 
 
 This story appeared online on Oct. 15, 2016. Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanDambrosioVT. 
 
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 Buy Photo The tops of the skis Ñ red for Republican Trump, blue for Democrat Clinton Ñ feature portraits of the candidates wearing buttons that say "#1 most disliked" for Trump, and "#2 most disliked" for Clinton. A police tape weaves in and out of the collage of images on Clinton's ski, intended to reflect the lack of trust some voters feel in her, Schenck said. A border wall runs throughout the images on Trump's ski, reflecting his plan to wall off the United States from Mexico. (Photo: RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS) 
 
 Buy Photo The tops of the skis Ñ red for Republican Trump, blue for Democrat Clinton Ñ feature portraits of the candidates wearing buttons that say "#1 most disliked" for Trump, and "#2 most disliked" for Clinton. A police tape weaves in and out of the collage of images on Clinton's ski, intended to reflect the lack of trust some voters feel in her, Schenck said. A border wall runs throughout the images on Trump's ski, reflecting his plan to wall off the United States from Mexico. (Photo: RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS) 
 
 Buy Photo The tops of the skis Ñ red for Republican Trump, blue for Democrat Clinton Ñ feature portraits of the candidates wearing buttons that say "#1 most disliked" for Trump, and "#2 most disliked" for Clinton. A police tape weaves in and out of the collage of images on Clinton's ski, intended to reflect the lack of trust some voters feel in her, Schenck said. A border wall runs throughout the images on Trump's ski, reflecting his plan to wall off the United States from Mexico. (Photo: RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS) 
 
 Buy Photo The tops of the skis Ñ red for Republican Trump, blue for Democrat Clinton Ñ feature portraits of the candidates wearing buttons that say "#1 most disliked" for Trump, and "#2 most disliked" for Clinton. A police tape weaves in and out of the collage of images on Clinton's ski, intended to reflect the lack of trust some voters feel in her, Schenck said. A border wall runs throughout the images on Trump's ski, reflecting his plan to wall off the United States from Mexico. (Photo: RYAN MERCER/FREE PRESS) 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://bfpne.ws/2efB2Ix ||||| “It depends on how I feel that morning,” he said. 
 
 He will go to the polls — it’s his civic duty — to back his party in down-ballot races; Senator Rob Portman, a Republican, is fending off a challenge from Ted Strickland, a Democrat and former governor. Mrs. Clinton seems too far to the left for him, he said; never a Trump fan, he found the Republican nominee’s vulgar boasts of grabbing women’s genitals “disgusting.” 
 
 So he feels stuck, as do many voters. 
 
 As early voting begins in Ohio and elsewhere, many Americans are approaching the election with a sense of dread. In a CBS News poll released earlier this month, just 46 percent of likely voters said they were very enthusiastic about going to the polls, down from 62 percent in late October 2012, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll. What’s uncertain this year is how many people will cast reluctant votes and how many won’t vote at all. 
 
 At the diner, Tommy is a gregarious Greek immigrant and American citizen named Tom Pappas, who loves politics but keeps his business nonpartisan. The walls are covered with photos of Democrats and Republicans in equal numbers, and of Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Tommy’s grandchildren and Ohio State football stars. 
 
 Mr. Pappas, 63, and his wife Kathy, 57, have owned the diner for 28 years. Kathy Pappas, who bakes the baklava and bread pudding, pays little heed to politics (she leaves that to Tommy), but this year finds it impossible to escape. “I turn on the radio, looking for the traffic or the weather,” she said, “and what do they talk about?”
– Looks like Donald Trump did not sleep well Friday night: He spent Saturday morning firing off a series of tweets claiming that the election is rigged, which the AP calls an "unprecedented assertion in a country with a history of peaceful democratic transition." "Hillary Clinton should have been prosecuted and should be in jail," he said in one tweet. "Instead she is running for president in what looks like a rigged election." In another, he slammed the media for "poisoning the minds" of American voters with what he calls "100% fabricated and made-up charges" of sexual misconduct. A round-up of coverage: The Washington Post reports that Trump physically dismantled one teleprompter and knocked another one down after they stopped working during a speech in Charlotte, NC Friday night. He told the audience he preferred it without teleprompters and went on to hopscotch through dozens of topics in front of an enthusiastic crowd. At an earlier rally in Greensboro, he denounced two of the women who have accused him of sexual misbehavior, saying one of them "would not be my first choice." Mashable reports that Trump has threatened to sue the New York Times over its story on two of the accusers, and such a suit could be a bonanza for the NYT. Trump would be the subject of a deposition and the paper's lawyers would be allowed to probe the histories of family members and other Trump associates, opening what "Columbia School of Journalism professor Stuart Karle calls a "rich vein of yuck about Donald Trump." Clinton's campaign has also hit out the media, accusing it of failing to treat leaked campaign emails as a national security issue, the Hill reports. On Friday, the campaign also slammed WikiLeaks, the Russian government, and Trump, who they accuse of encouraging the hackers. Reuters reports that Trump rallies have become more emotional than ever, with the crowds "more protective of their hero." At the Greensboro rally, a man in a "Gays for Trump" shirt punched a protester who was holding an American flag upside down. The Burlington Free Press speaks to ski maker Cyrus Schenck, who has introduced limited edition skis with Trump on the right and Clinton is on the left. The ornate design contains all the references to the "indiscretions, faults, and weaknesses of the candidates" that the artist could squeeze in. The New York Times stopped by Tommy's Diner in Columbus, Ohio and found that voters in the swing state's capital are sick of this election and don't much care for either candidate. Many are considering not voting, which polls say is a statewide trend. (There's an outside chance that a little-known candidate could become president with just six electoral votes.)