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ByJoshLederman and Catherine Lucey The Associated Press CLEVELAND Hillary Clin- ton ramped up her pres- sure on Donald Trump in the election's most compet- itive states Friday with an emotional TV ad targeting his criticism of a Muslim- American family. Trump vowed to go all-out in the final three weeks so he'll have no regrets — even if he loses. The nominees retrenched behind familiar arguments a day after appearing to- gether at a charity event that veered into cutting personal attacks, an un- expected metaphor for this year's take-no-prison- ers presidential campaign. Clinton's new ad features Khizr Khan, whom Trump assailed after Khan spoke at the Democratic National Convention. In the minute-long ad, which Clinton's campaign said was airing in seven battleground states, Khan retells how his son, Cap- tain Humayun Khan, died in Iraq seeking to protect his U.S. military unit from a suicide bomber. "Mr. Trump, would my son have a place in your America?" the father asks, tearing up as the ad fades to black. Trump focused some of his criticism on Michelle Obama, who has emerged as one of the most effec- tive voices for Clinton. One of the country's most popu- lar Democrats, the first lady for years has been loath to devote significant time to campaigning, but has done so in recent days with sear- ing indictments of Trump's treatment of women. "All she wants to do is campaign," Trump said as he rallied supporters in North Carolina. The typically self-assured Trump was unusually can- did about the possibility of losing the election, a pros- pect that's grown in likeli- hood as Clinton solidifies her lead in battleground states that will decide the election. Trump said he is packing his schedule with campaign events through Election Day so he will know he spared no effort even if ultimately unsuc- cessful. "I will be happy with my- self," he said. Trump and Clinton were still sharply at odds over his unprecedented assertion in the final debate on Wednes- day that he may not con- cede if he loses. She said Friday at a Cleveland campaign stop, "Make no mistake, by do- ing that, he is threatening our democracy." She said that America knows "the difference between leader- ship and dictatorship." Trump, meanwhile, has said he's merely reserving the right to contest the re- sults if the outcome is un- clear or questionable. Un- derpinning his threat is his contention — presented with no evidence — that the election is "rigged" against him and may be soiled by widespread voter fraud. He's urged support- ers to "monitor" polling places for potential she- nanigans. Early voting is underway in more than 30 states. Clin- ton, reaching for voters who may be reconsidering their support for Trump, said in Ohio that she knows they still have questions about her. "I want to answer them," she said. "I want to earn your vote." With the final debate be- hind them, the two candi- dates appeared together Thursday night for likely the last time in the cam- paign, at a Catholic fund- raiser that turned unusu- ally hostile. At the dinner, a tradition intended as a display of na- tional unity, Trump drew boos when he referred to Clinton being "so corrupt" and said without apparent humor that she was appear- ing at the event "pretending not to hate Catholics." But Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the New York arch- bishop seated between them at the dinner, de- scribed a less antagonistic moment backstage after he invited them to pray. "After the little prayer, Mr. Trump tuned to Secre- tary Clinton and said, 'You know, you are one tough and talented woman,' and he said this has been a good experience," Dolan told NBC's "Today" on Fri- day. "And she said, 'Don- ald, whatever happens, we need to work together af- terwards.'" CAMPAIGN 2016 No regrets, Trump vows; Clinton pursues GOP voters By Sean Murphy The Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY Okla- homa and at least two other states said Friday that they have denied efforts by Rus- sian officials to be present at polling stations during the election, requests the U.S. State Department's spokesman dismissed as "nothing more than a PR stunt." The Oklahoma secre- tary of state's office said it received a letter in August from Russia's consulate general in Houston seek- ing to have one of its offi- cers present at a voting pre- cinct to study the "US ex- perience in organization of voting process." But the of- fice denied the request, not- ing Oklahoma law prohibits anyone except election offi- cials and voters from being present while voting is tak- ing place. Election officials in Lou- isiana and Texas said they denied similar requests from Russian officials. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has faced criticism for sug- gesting the election might be "rigged," and the U.S. earlier this month accused Russia of coordinating the theft and disclosure of emails from the Demo- cratic National Committee and other institutions and individuals in the U.S. to in- fluence the outcome of the election. Thousands of hacked emails from accounts of individuals within Dem- ocratic nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign have been posted on the website of the WikiLeaks organiza- tion. Russian officials have denied their involvement in the cyberattacks. While there is a formal process for foreign gov- ernments to observe U.S. elections, individual states maintain the authority to approve or deny those re- quests, said State Depart- ment spokesman Mark Toner. "Any suggestion that we rejected Russia's proposal to observe our elections is false," Toner said in a state- ment. "Individual parties — foreign governments, NGOs, etc. — are welcome to apply to state govern- ments to observe our elec- tions." Russia hasn't partici- pated in an international mission to observe elec- tions, so its effort to do so on the state level represents "nothing more than a PR stunt," Toner said. White House Press Sec- retary Josh Earnest said the purpose of the requests was uncertain. He added it was "appropriate" that peo- ple might be suspicious of Russia's motives. "While it would be our honor to offer the oppor- tunity to observe our vot- ing process, it is prohib- ited under state law to allow anyone except elec- tion officials and voters in or around the area where voting takes place," Okla- homa Secretary of State Chris Benge wrote in a response to Alexander Zakharov, Russia's consul general in Houston. Texas has similar prohi- bitions on entering polling places, and Louisiana Secre- tary of State Tom Schedler denied the request, citing that state's catastrophic flooding in the Baton Rouge area in August. Zakharov's letter to state election officials was dated Sept. 24, but Oklahoma and Texas officials said they re- ceived it in late August. Zakharov's office did not return a message from The Associated Press inquir- ing about the discrepancy, and a request for comment from the Russian Embassy in Washington was not im- mediately answered. VOTING Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana say they denied Russia request to monitor election ANDREWHARNIK—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton points to the crowd while speaking at a rally at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland on Friday. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2016 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 3 B