1:25 pm today

US election: Arizona officials investigating Trump's 'firing squad' comments

1:25 pm today

The US Supreme Court rejected on Friday a Republican bid to block the counting of provisional ballots cast by voters in the election battleground state of Pennsylvania who make mistakes on their mail-in ballots in a decision that could affect thousands of votes in Tuesday's presidential election.

Meanwhile, presidential candidate Donald Trump has been labelled a "tyrant" for suggesting a former Republican politician should face a firing squad for her foreign policy stance.

Trump called Liz Cheney - one of the highest-profile Republicans to turn against Trump and endorse his opponent, Democrat Kamala Harris - a "very dumb individual" and a "radical war hawk" at a campaign event in Arizona.

"Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, OK? Let's see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained to her face," he said.

Cheney, the daughter of former Republican vice president Dick Cheney, said Trump's comment showed he was a "petty, vindictive, cruel, unstable man who wants to be a tyrant".

"This is how dictators destroy free nations. They threaten those who speak against them with death."

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said her office was investigating whether it was a death threat under state law.

With just days to go until the US presidential election, Trump and Harris are both targeting swing states, including Wisconsin, in a bid to win crucial votes.

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