October 15, 2024, presidential campaign news

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Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said Tuesday that mothers are “the best ambassadors” to convince women to vote for the GOP ticket, acknowledging the gender gap in the 2024 race that has seen Donald Trump leading among men and Kamala Harris leading among women.

“I see the polls, the polls tell you – and I don’t necessarily believe the polls – but you know, let’s say they’re right. If the polls are right, right now, frankly, Trump would win this election, and that’s a good thing,” the Ohio senator said at a Moms for America town hall in Pennsylvania. “The polls also tell you that we’re doing better – President Trump and I are doing better with male voters, and the Democrats are doing a little bit better with female voters.”

A?recent ABC News/Ipsos poll found a 17-point gender gap in the presidential race, with Trump winning male voters by 8 points and Harris leading among women by 9 points. The latest?CNN?Poll of Polls average?of national polling still finds no clear leader in the presidential race, with an average of 50% of likely voters supporting Harris and 47% backing Trump.

Moms for America leaders said they also invited Vance’s Democratic counterpart, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, to attend the town hall, but they said he didn’t respond. Walz had three events in Pennsylvania on Tuesday – in Lawrence County, Butler County and Pittsburgh.

Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 15, 2024.

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he thought any Hispanic or African American who votes for Vice President Kamala Harris should have their “head examined,” echoing past comments he’s made about Jewish and Catholic Americans who vote for his Democratic rival in November’s election.

“I’ll tell you what. Any African American or Hispanic – and you know how well I’m doing there – that votes for Kamala, you gotta have your head examined because they, they are really screwing you,” The Republic nominee said at a campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia.

Trump said the reason he thought they should have their “head examined” was because of illegal immigration.

“People that have worked there and worked there well for years are now being told that they no longer have a job because they have illegal immigrants coming in and taking their job,” Trump said.

He has previously argued that illegal immigration is impacting Hispanic and African Americans the most in the US.

The former president has also previously said he thought any Catholic who voted for Harris “should have their head examined,” and Trump has repeatedly said any Jewish person who votes for Harris “should have their head examined.”

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person,?gave nearly?$75 million to the pro-Trump super PAC that he helped form over the summer, new filings with the Federal Election Commission show, providing a massive infusion of cash to support the former president’s White House bid.

The new filing from the super PAC, America PAC, detailed seven separate contributions from Musk that totaled $74,950,000 between July and September. They’re the first contributions that Musk has made to the group, which received its initial funding from a network of the billionaire’s former partners and business associates.

According to the group’s filing, America PAC spent nearly $72 million in the quarter, entering October with about $4 million in cash on hand.

America PAC has taken on a critical supporting role for the Trump campaign, according to its?independent expenditure filings, which cover some spending activity past the end of the third quarter period. To date, America PAC has now reported spending $95.8 million on the presidential race, including $56.9 million on canvassing and field operations. The group has also spent millions targeting a series of highly competitive House races, including key buckets of contests in California and New York.

Musk is one of several ultra wealthy donors who cut massive checks to pro-Trump organizations in the third quarter as the presidential race intensified. Miriam Adelson, widow of the late casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, gave $95 million to another leading pro-Trump super PAC, Preserve America, while Midwestern shipping magnate Dick Uihlein gave nearly $50 million to another group, Restoration PAC, adding to the pro-Trump outside effort.

Signs direct people where to go to cast their votes on the first day of early voting at Atlanta Metropolitan State College on Tuesday, October 15, in Atlanta, Georgia.

A judge in Georgia has paused a new?rule from the Georgia State Election Board?that would have required officials to hand count the number of ballots cast at each polling place.

“No training has been administered (let alone developed), no protocols for handling write-in ballots … have been issued, and no allowances have been made in any county’s election budget for additional personnel and other expenses required to implement the Hand Count Rule,” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote in his order issued Tuesday.

“The administrative chaos that will – not may – ensue is entirely inconsistent with the obligations of our boards of elections (and the SEB) to ensure that our elections are fair, legal, and orderly.”

The hand count rule is the subject of litigation on multiple fronts and a separate hearing on the matter is set for Wednesday. Passed by the Donald Trump-backed Republican majority on the state election board, the rule would require officials at a polling place to match the number of ballots tallied by voting machines with a hand count of the number of ballots cast.

The measure has drawn bipartisan criticism, in part because the board forged ahead with it so close to Election Day.

Read more here.

The Justice Department?announced Tuesday?that it will “monitor compliance” with federal civil rights laws in Portage County, Ohio, during early voting and on Election Day, a month after the sheriff encouraged residents to write down the addresses?of supporters?of Vice President Kamala Harris.

While the department did not mention the sheriff, it said in its news release that “voters in Portage County have raised concerns about intimidation resulting from the surveillance and the collection of personal information regarding voters, as well as threats concerning the electoral process.”

In a September Facebook post, Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski encouraged people to write down the addresses of supporters of Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.

Zuchowski’s?post included?screen grabs from Fox News stories that read: “Kamala’s open borders are destroying small towns,” and “Biden-Harris’ open border fuels migrant crime wave.”

Portage County is approximately 30 miles southeast of Cleveland.

The Justice Department said it “regularly deploys its staff to monitor for compliance with federal civil rights laws in elections in communities all across the country.”

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said Tuesday that Donald Trump is “working overtime” to undermine democracy, with the independent senator also highlighting the broad coalition opposing the former president.

Sanders, a progressive who caucuses with Senate emocrats, was asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source” whether Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power worries him.

Sanders, who has at times criticized Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden administration, highlighted the importance of this election despite policy differences. He highlighted Republicans who now are not supporting Trump, including Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and former Vice President Dick Cheney, who said last month he is voting for Harris.

“They understand that because of his?lack of support for democracy. Because of the fact that he’s a?pathological liar. This is a?guy who is not fit to be?president of the United States,” Sanders said.

Asked by Collins what he makes of CNN reporting that Trump plans to visit a McDonald’s on Sunday in Pennsylvania and work the fry cooker after claiming without evidence that Harris lied about once working at the fast food chain, Sanders laughed.

“Well, look, I smile and?laugh whenever Donald Trump, of?all people, accuses somebody of?lying. You know, what can you say? This guy lies every single day,” the senator said.

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday called himself the “father of IVF” at a Fox News town hall focused on women’s issues.

The former president pointed to his statement earlier this year urging the Alabama state legislature to protect access to IVF after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled frozen embryos are children and that those who destroy them can be held liable for wrongful death. The GOP-controlled state legislature later passed a law aimed at protecting IVF patients and providers from legal liability and it was signed by the state’s Republican governor.

Trump’s declaration he is the “father of IVF” comes as Vice President Kamala Harris and other leading Democrats warn a Trump victory in November would threaten reproductive rights, including IVF.

Republicans who expressed support for IVF in the wake of the controversial Alabama Supreme Court ruling came under scrutiny for also backing legislation that declared human life as beginning at conception, which did not include an exception for IVF.

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended his comments from over the weekend suggesting using the military to handle what he called “the enemy from within” on Election Day after Vice President Kamala Harris said Trump was “increasingly unstable and unhinged.”

Trump was asked about Harris playing a clip of him making those comments at her rally on Monday and the vice president calling him “out for unchecked power.”

“You know what they are? They’re a party of sound bites,” Trump said, adding, “They are very different, and it is the enemy from within, and they’re very dangerous.”

Some context: Trump said in the interview broadcast on Sunday that he isn’t worried about chaos from his supporters or foreign actors.

“I think the bigger problem are the people from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people. Radical left lunatics,” he told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo.

“I think it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen,” he added.

Former President Donald Trump said he thinks some state abortion restrictions are “too tough” and that they are “going to be redone.”

Fox News host Harris Faulkner noted that “some of them are not,” as several GOP-controlled states have enacted strict abortion restrictions in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.

“It’s going to be redone,” Trump said. “They’re going to, you’re going to end up with a vote of the people. And some of them, I agree, they’re too tough, too tough. And those are going to be redone because already there’s a movement in those states.”

During the town hall, Trump again touted his role in overturning Roe v. Wade and eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion, as he argued the issue should be left to the states to legislate. He also expressed support for exceptions to abortion bans in the case of rape, incest and when the life of the mother is in danger.

Trump, who has struggled at times to navigate the hot-button issue of abortion throughout the campaign, has said he would veto a national abortion ban if it reached his desk if he were to be reelected.

The text message sent last week to young voters across Wisconsin.

A text message last week to young voters in Wisconsin is stirring new concerns in the battleground state about a messaging campaign that could intimidate college students from casting ballots this election,?according to a letter from voter protection groups?released Tuesday.

The two state codes that the text message cites refer to laws that govern former Wisconsin residents who vote absentee and the consequences of committing election fraud in the state.

But it’s the text message’s warning and wording of “don’t vote” that are causing much of the alarm among the voter protection groups?who call the message “threatening” and warn the message could “frighten eligible young voters into not voting.”

Hostetler’s group and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin alerted investigators and the public of the text message and their concerns about it on Tuesday, in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul that the groups released publicly online.?The letter urges Garland and Kaul to investigate.

Read more about the texts sent to Wisconsin students

Vice President Kamala Harris participates in an interview with Charlamagne Tha God, co-host of iHeartMedia's morning show The Breakfast Club, in Detroit, Tuesday, October 15.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday addressed a wide range of topics during an interview with radio host Charlamagne tha God in Detroit as she seeks to shore up support among Black men.

Here’s what to know:

On her prosecution record: Harris debunked rumors that she disproportionately prosecuted Black men during her time as San Francisco’s district attorney. The vice president defended her record as “one of the most progressive prosecutors” on marijuana cases, and said if elected, she would work to decriminalize it.

On engagement with the Black church: Harris rejected criticism that she hasn’t engaged with the Black church, saying the Trump campaign is trying to “disconnect me from the people I have worked with and that I am from” to gain advantage in the election.

Urging Black voters to head to the polls: “We cannot allow circumstances to take us out the game, because then basically what we’re saying is all those people who are obstructionists who are standing in the way of change, they’re winning because they’re convincing people that it can’t be done so take yourself out don’t participate,” Harris said.

On appearing scripted: Harris brushed off criticism that she comes off?“very scripted,” saying “that would be called discipline.” She added that some things “must be repeated to ensure that I have everyone know what I stand for, and the issues that I think are at stake in this election.”

On Trump: Harris agreed when Charlamagne tha God suggested former President Donald Trump is “about fascism.” She said the major party candidates for president offered two visions for the country. “One, mine, that is about taking us forward and progress and investing in the American people, investing in their ambitions, dealing with their challenges. And the other,?Donald Trump,?is about taking us backward,” she said. The vice president also said that Trump runs on problems, instead of solutions. Trump “does these rallies to try and instill fear around an issue where he actually could be part of a solution, but he chose not to,” she said.

Since becoming the Democratic nominee, Harris has faced criticism for her infrequent engagements with the press. In recent weeks, the vice president has participated in an uptick of interviews as part of the campaign’s efforts to reach voters where they are.

People cast their votes on the first day of early voting in the US Presidential election at Metropolitan library on Tuesday, October 15, in Atlanta, Georgia.

More than 300,000 votes were cast today during the first day of early voting in Georgia, according?to a post?from Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling.

The number is 123% higher than the previous record for the first day of voting.

The swing state is one of the most closely watched this election, with former President Donald Trump trying to reclaim it after losing there to President Joe Biden by a small margin four years ago, leading Trump and his allies to unsuccessfully push to overturn his defeat.

Those efforts have loomed large this year as new changes to how the state conducts elections have been approved by Republican members of the State Election Board, leading Democrats and others to mount legal challenges, many of which have yet to be resolved even as Election Day nears.

One of the leading pro-Trump super PACs reported another massive contribution from a single megadonor in the third quarter, new Federal Election Commission filings show, illustrating how ultra-wealthy conservatives rallied to support former President Donald Trump.

The group, Restoration PAC, reported raising $51.8 million in the third quarter, with $48.8 million coming from Midwestern shipping magnate Dick Uihlein. Uihlein has now given a total of $58.9 million this year to Restoration PAC, which has raised a total of $62.6 million so far this cycle, and is currently spending millions on advertising in the key battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Georgia.

Earlier Tuesday, another leading pro-Trump super PAC, Preserve America, reported that it raised $95 million in the third quarter from conservative megadonor Miriam Adelson, who has now given that group a total of $100 million this year – adding another massive infusion of cash to the pro-Trump effort.

President Joe Biden speaks at the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee Autumn Dinner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, October 15.

President Joe Biden made his return to the campaign trail in battleground Pennsylvania Tuesday night, making the case that voters should elect Vice President Kamala Harris as president in the November election, saying in part that “she’s been loyal so far, but she’s gonna cut her own path.”

Biden’s comments at the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee Autumn Dinner are reflective of the delicate balance he is attempting to walk on the campaign trail — advocating for his own vice president while trying to give her space to run separately from some of the administration’s record.

The president used the bulk of his comments to take aim directly at former President Donald Trump. Biden repeatedly called his predecessor a “loser” and said that Trump’s perspective is “old” and “totally dishonest.”

“Trump wasn’t only a loser in 2020, he’s a loser in everything he does,” the president said to the crowd gathered at the Sheetmetal Workers Banquet Hall.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a campaign event at Acrisure Stadium, Tuesday, October 15, in Pittsburgh.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz again slammed former President Donald Trump after a bizarre episode in which the Republican nominee abruptly cut off a planned town hall and played music for his supporters, again suggesting Trump is mentally unfit to serve.

For the third time in three events in western Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Walz laid out the details of the episode from Monday night. But during the event at Acrisure Stadium, home of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers, Walz made a reference to the sexual innuendos in the lyrics to “YMCA” by the Village People, a song frequently played at Trump campaign events.

Walz was interrupted on three different occasions by pro-Palestinian protesters during his remarks. On two occasions, Walz stopped speaking, which allowed the protesters’ voices to fill the venue, before carrying on with his remarks.

Walz urged supporters to vote early and to closely follow voting instructions while accusing Republicans of attempting to suppress votes.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at Cred Cafe during a campaign event in Detroit, Michigan, on Tuesday, October 15.

Vice President Kamala Harris stopped by a watch party at Cred Cafe, a local Detroit?small business owned by former NBA players Joe and Jamal Crawford, following her live interview with Charlamagne tha God.

She thanked attendees for their support and reminded them that early voting in Michigan begins in four days during her brief remarks.

A network of leading conservative megadonors funneled tens of millions of dollars into the fight for the Senate during the third quarter of the year, new filings with the Federal Election Commission show, building a record-breaking war chest for the top Republican group engaged in a series of highly competitive races.

Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with outgoing Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell,?reported?raising $115.7 million in the third quarter, the largest quarterly total the group has ever reported,?though slightly less than the $119 million that its Democratic counterpart, Senate Majority PAC, said it raised over the same period, also touting its haul as a record. (SMP has not yet filed its third quarter report.)

Between July and September, some of the leading donors to Republican candidates and causes opened their wallets to the Senate GOP super PAC.

Several billionaire financiers were among the biggest contributors – Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin gave the super PAC $20 million in the third quarter, bringing his total for the year to the group up to $27.5 million; Elliott Management founder and CEO Paul Singer gave $10 million, bringing his total for the year to $20 million; and Blackstone Group co-founder and CEO Stephen Schwarzman gave $9 million.

In addition, Miriam Adelson — widow of the casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, and who also gave $95 million to a pro-Trump super PAC in the quarter — gave the Senate Leadership Fund $5 million in Q3, bringing her total for the year to the group up to $15 million.

SLF has played a leading role in Republican Senate campaigns since its founding in 2015, and during the 2022 midterms, it spent a total of more than $290 million supporting GOP candidates.

Vice President Kamala Harris participates in an interview with Charlamagne Tha God, co-host of iHeartMedia's morning show The Breakfast Club, in Detroit, Tuesday, October 15.

Vice President Kamala Harris slammed former President Donald Trump for vowing to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 in order to expedite the removal of undocumented gang members if reelected. Trump made the comments during his campaign event in Aurora, Colorado last week.

She pointed to false claims spread by Trump and his running mate JD Vance that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating pets as an example. Harris also criticized her opponent for?tanking?the?bipartisan border security bill?earlier this year and said “he would prefer to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem.

The vice president said Trump “does these rallies to try and instill fear around an issue where he actually could be part of a solution, but he chose not to, because he prefers to run on a problem instead of fix a problem and we got to call it out and see it for what it is.”

US President Joe Biden speaks at the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee Autumn Dinner in Philadelphia on Tuesday, October 15.

In a rare campaign-style appearance, President Joe Biden on Tuesday told a crowd in Philadelphia that the country is in the “home stretch” with three weeks to go until Election Day, lambasting former President Donald Trump while working to cement his own legacy.

Repeatedly calling Trump a loser, Biden railed into his predecessor’s business history and policies while describing Vice President Kamala Harris’ perspective on issues facing the country as “fresh and new.”

Biden reflected on his recent visits to sites impacted by hurricanes Helene and Milton while criticizing Trump’s views on climate.

“I just spent a week from Florida to North Carolina. It’s devastating. You know why? Because the ocean water is warming, increasing significantly the threats of significant weather.”

Biden also poked fun at Trump’s extended dancing after a town hall Monday night.

“Last night, his rallies stopped taking questions because someone got hurt. And guess what? He stood on the stage for 30 minutes and danced,” Biden said.

“I’m serious,” the president said. “What’s wrong with this guy?”

A screen inside the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, ahead of former President Donald Trump’s event on Tuesday, October 15.

“Kamala’s border plan: Make America Haiti,” reads a massive screen inside the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta ahead of former President Donald Trump’s event on Tuesday.

Another ad in the venue states, “Your new apartment managers if Kamala is reelected,” featuring gang members with crossed arms and menacing expressions. This comes as Trump intensifies his rhetoric regarding Vice President Kamala Harris’ approach to illegal immigration and crime, while claiming that migrant gangs are “taking over,” cities like Aurora, Colorado.

A message featuring gang members with crossed arms and menacing expressions is seen on Tuesday, October 15.

Some context: Trump has repeatedly stated his intention to revoke Temporary Protected Status for Haitian migrants, specifically in the state of Ohio.

“They’re destroying the town, they’ll end up destroying the state. We cannot let this happen,” he recently claimed, referring to the town of Springfield.

Many Haitians have entered the United States through a parole program created by the Biden-Harris administration, which as CNN has reported, enables vetted individuals with US sponsors to gain entry. Many also hold “Temporary Protected Status,” which safeguards them from deportation and allows them to live and work in the country for a limited period.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday agreed with radio host Charlamagne tha God when he suggested former President Donald Trump is “about fascism.”

She said the major party candidates for president offered two visions for the country.

Harris’ remarks came as she was responding question from a voter who expressed concerns about the federal government sending money overseas when there are many Americans who could use financial assistance, to which Harris said the US is strong enough to take care of both needs.

Vice President?Kamala Harris?and former President?Donald Trump are in battleground states on Tuesday with less than a month left until Election Day.

The latest?CNN?Poll of Polls average?of national polling still finds no clear leader in the race, with an average of 50% of likely voters supporting Harris and 47% backing Trump.

Here are some of the key headlines you might have missed:

Voters stand in line to cast their ballots on the first day of early voting in Virginia at the Prince William County Office of Elections in Manassas, Virginia, on Friday, September 20.

More than 5 million ballots have been cast so far across 39 states where data is available, with exactly three weeks to go until Election Day.

That’s according to data from election officials, Edison Research and Catalist, a company that provides data, analytics and other services to Democrats, academics and nonprofit advocacy groups, including insights into who is voting before November.

The number is just around 3% of the 158 million votes cast for president in the 2020 election.

Overall, Virginia, which was one of the first states to begin widespread early voting, still leads the pack in ballots cast so far with more than 708,000 votes. More than 600,000 ballots have been cast in the key state of Michigan and in Florida, while Pennsylvania has more than 400,000 votes cast.

Democrats lead Republicans overall in pre-election voting in the key states of Pennsylvania and North Carolina, but Republicans have made up some ground compared to this point four years ago, according to data from Catalist.

Only four of the seven states critical to winning the election register voters by party: Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. So far, North Carolina and Pennsylvania are the only states with data for a significant number of early ballots.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday brushed off criticism that she comes off?“very scripted” during an interview with Charlamagne tha God.

“That would be called discipline,” the Harris told the radio host, who then asked what she would say to “people who say you stay on the talking points.”

Since becoming the Democratic nominee, Harris has faced criticism for her infrequent engagements with the press. In recent weeks, the vice president has participated in an uptick of interviews as part of the campaign’s efforts to reach voters where they are.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz visited Butler County, Pennsylvania, roughly 25 minutes from the site where former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a campaign event in July.

The Democratic vice presidential candidate made brief remarks to a small group of supporters. Trump supporters protested the visit across the street.

Walz acknowledged the protestors in his brief remarks at the Bloom Café at Quality Gardens in Valencia. He said the policies Vice President Kamala Harris wants to enact will “benefit them.”

Walz took another jab at Trump for his decision to stop his town hall short on Monday and play music for supporters instead of continuing to take questions. He predicted the 21 days before Election Day are “going to spiral out of control” for Trump while calling into question the Republican candidate’s mental acuity.

He also offered some insight into the Harris campaign’s political strategy, asking the few dozen supporters to help “pull down the margins” in rural areas to improve Harris’ chances of winning the crucial battleground state.

Former President Donald Trump is expected to visit a McDonald’s on Sunday in Pennsylvania and work the fry cooker, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.

This comes as Trump has claimed Vice President Kamala Harris never actually worked at McDonald’s.

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended his plan to implement steep tariffs on companies that don’t produce their goods domestically during an interview with Bloomberg at the Chicago Economic Club.

The former president has said that if reelected, he would add tariffs of up to 20% on every foreign import coming into the US, as well as another tariff upward of 60% on all Chinese imports.?He also said?he would impose a “100% tariff” on countries that shift away from using the US dollar.

However, some economists fear higher tariffs could?raise prices,?hurt the economy?and set off an international trade war.

Bloomberg News editor in chief John Micklethwait?pointed out that significant tariffs “is going to have a serious effect on the overall economy.”

“I agree it’s going to have a massive effect. Positive effect. It’s going to be a positive, not a negative. Let me just tell you, no no, I know how committed you are to this. And it must be hard for you to spend 25 years talking about tariffs as being negative, and then have somebody explain to you that you’re totally wrong,” Trump said.

Trump again called the US a “developing nation” and said, “take a look at Detroit.”?Trump made similar comments last week during a speech he gave at the Detroit Economic Club.

Conservative megadonor Miriam Adelson gave $95 million to a leading pro-Trump super PAC during the third quarter of this year, according to new Federal Election Commission filings.

Preserve America, the super PAC, received virtually all of its $95 million in third-quarter funding from Adelson, the widow of the late casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, the filing said. The group has taken on a key role, spending tens of millions to support former President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign.

Both Miriam and Sheldon Adelson are among the largest givers to Republican candidates and causes over the last decade. Miriam Adelson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, by Trump in 2018 and has now given Preserve America $100 million total this year, according to the filing.

The super PAC’s report also showed that it spent nearly all that it raised in the third quarter, dropping nearly $92 million on independent expenditures, mostly TV and digital advertising campaigns, supporting Trump’s third White House bid.

It reported just $7.4 million in cash on hand at the end of September — a shrunken war chest that could limit the group’s ability to place last-minute ad buys in an already inundated presidential race unless Adelson makes additional contributions in October.

Former President Donald Trump’s social media company suffered a sudden nosedive in the stock market Tuesday that briefly halted trading and left traders scratching their heads.

Truth Social owner Trump Media & Technology Group was trading sharply higher during a volatile session at about $31 per share when it swiftly collapsed below $29 shortly after 2:40 p.m. ET on heavy trading volume.

Matthew Tuttle, CEO of Tuttle Capital Management, told CNN he suspects the selloff was caused by technical factors. He said that when Trump Media’s share price failed to break through its 200-day moving average, a closely-watched technical level, traders “flipped” to bet against it.

Up until Tuesday afternoon,?Trump Media had been on fire.

The stock had more than doubled its value in the span of three weeks, a stunning move driven by polling and betting odds that suggest the race for the White House could go either way.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a campaign event in Volant, Pennsylvania.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz took multiple jabs at former President Donald Trump over his legal troubles during a campaign event today in Volant, Pennsylvania.

Walz, who has rarely referenced the topic on the campaign trail, referenced the settlement Trump was ordered to pay to E. Jean Carroll after a jury found he had sexually abused and defamed the former columnist. Walz made a joke about the case while describing a campaign stop Trump made at a grocery store.

Targeting rural voters: Throughout the speech, Walz also outlined details of a new policy aimed at rural voters as he addressed several dozen supporters at a farm in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. Some of those policies included additional support for small farms and beginner farmers, expanded health care access for rural communities and more affordable broadband connectivity in rural areas.

President Joe Biden will make the case for electing Vice President Kamala Harris during a speech to Democrats in Philadelphia tonight, a Biden adviser said.

The president is set to appear at a union banquet hall for an autumn fundraising dinner for the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee, returning to familiar territory in Pennsylvania where he has long-time ties.

It marks a rare campaign-style appearance for Biden, whose battleground state travel in recent months has mostly consisted of official side events to highlight federal projects. He has also spent much of the last two weeks focused on guiding the federal response to two hurricanes that battered the southeast.

First lady Jill Biden is holding her own events on behalf of Harris in the Philadelphia area Tuesday evening, making stops in Chester County and Montgomery County.

Bad actors looking to interfere in the 2024 presidential election are ramping up efforts using artificial intelligence, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Waner said on Tuesday.

“The bad guys ramp up their efforts the closer we get,” he said.?“There’s always a question of when you move, in terms of aggressively shutting down some of these known entities because they can reconstitute themselves” and play a negative role after the election.

Last month, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in an?assessment that found that AI is helping “improve” rather than “revolutionize” influence operations from Russia and Iran aimed at the elections in November.

The risk of this foreign, AI-generated content depends on the ability of foreign operatives to overcome restrictions built into many AI tools, to develop their own sophisticated AI models, or to “strategically target and disseminate” AI-generated content, an ODNI official told reporters. “Foreign actors are behind in each of these three areas.”

Foreign operatives are also using AI to try to overcome language barriers in targeting US voters with disinformation, according to US officials.

Lean more about the threat of AI-generated content and the upcoming election.

Former President Bill Clinton speaks as he tours Georgia in support of Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign in Columbus, Georgia, on Monday, October 14.

Two former presidents will be campaign with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in the next week.

Former President Bill Clinton will join the Democratic vice presidential candidate at a campaign event in Durham, North Carolina, on Thursday, the Harris campaign announced.

It is part of a swing through the Tar Heel state that includes a separate political event in Durham and a campaign rally in Winston-Salem.

Nex week, Former President Barack Obama will appear with Walz at an event in Madison, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, the campaign said earlier today. The event in the battleground state marks Obama’s first appearance with Walz since he was named the Democratic vice presidential nominee.

Obama has been on a campaign swing for Harris, and last week?spoke at an event in Pennsylvania.

Obama?also admonished Black men who are hesitating to back?Harris’ presidential?campaign, telling them?it’s “not acceptable” to sit out this election?and suggesting they might be reluctant to vote for the vice president because she’s a woman.

This post has been updated with information about Bill Clinton’s campaign event.

With less than a month to go until Election Day, both campaigns are shifting their strategy as they make a final pitch to voters.

The ad tracking firm AdImpact catalogs the issues that are referenced in broadcast TV campaign ads and tracks the amount of money behind those spots.

Here’s how each campaign is tailoring its message.

Republicans: Since the beginning of October, Republican advertisers have flooded battleground airwaves with a series of?stark?attack?ads, blasting Harris for supporting taxpayer-funded gender transition surgeries for detained immigrants and federal prisoners, a position she took during her unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign.

Ads about LGBTQ rights – the AdImpact tracking category capturing those attack ads –?accounted for about 33% of all Republican broadcast TV advertising so far this month, about $21.6 million out of a total of $66 million. That’s a pronounced shift from earlier in the fall.

The economy has also occupied a consistent share of Republican presidential advertising, though with shifting points of emphasis. Immigration?and?crime?— often referenced in association in Republican ads — have also been among the top issues referenced in GOP ads throughout the campaign, though Trump and his allies have highlighted both issues less in ads as time has gone on.

Democrats: Harris and her allies have also made some strategic adjustments to the content of their broadcast TV advertising.

In the first two weeks of October, tax policy ranked as the top issue in Democratic ads, as ads about taxation drew about half of all broadcast TV ad spending, $46.7 million, out of a total of $95.5 million. Taxation has been a consistent point of emphasis in Democratic presidential advertising, part of a two-pronged approach — on one hand,?touting?Harris’ tax policies aimed at working and middle-class families, while on the other,?attacking?Trump’s approach with an emphasis on his tax cuts for corporations and top earners.

Meanwhile,?abortion?— a key issue that Democrats have emphasized heavily in?congressional races?— has also accounted for a significant share of Harris and her allies’ broadcast TV advertising, though it has fallen noticeably in the first two weeks of October.

People sign in to cast their votes on the first day of early voting at East Point First Mallalieu United Methodist Church on October 15 in Atlanta.

Georgia is shattering its record for early voting turnout in the critical swing state on Tuesday,?according to state election officials.

“The record 1st day was 2020, with 136,000 votes cast. We will be blowing past the previous First Day record,” Sterling previously said on Tuesday.

Sterling added that the average check-in time for voters is under a minute and called the turnout a “blowout.”

Former President Donald Trump Is interviewed by Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait during a luncheon hosted by the Economic Club of Chicago on October 15 in Chicago.

Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday that “we have to straighten out our press” as he railed against what he described as “bad stories” and claimed news organizations are corrupt.

Trump, who has long sought to undermine news outlets and reporters who cover him, has been escalating his attacks on the news media and calling for networks to lose their licenses.

The former president recently called for CBS?to “lose its license” over a recent “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. Following Trump and Harris’ debate on ABC, he said the network should have its license revoked and claimed without evidence the debate was “rigged.”

Trump on Tuesday also railed against Google. Trump has previously said he would request that Google be prosecuted “at the maximum levels,” if he were to win reelection, and claimed without evidence that Google broke the law and only displayed “bad stories” about Trump and “good stories” about Harris.

Trump’s recent relationship with mainstream outlets: Trump also backed out of an interview with CNBC, marking the second time this month the former president has canceled a mainstream press interview. Trump also previously?canceled an interview?on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” with Scott Pelley.

The former president has instead opted to appear almost exclusively in friendly territory, sticking to appearances across conservative outlets, including Fox News, Newsmax, “The Ramsey Show” and Real America’s Voice. Trump is also expected to take part in town halls this week with Fox News and Univision.

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday didn’t say whether he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving office in 2021, but said, “If I did, it’s a smart thing.”

Trump previously denied reporting in journalist Bob Woodward’s new book that he had multiple phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving the White House. He told Newsmax it was “absolutely wrong.”

But on Tuesday in an interview at the Chicago Economic Club with Bloomberg, Trump said he wouldn’t comment on whether he had spoken with Putin but that it would have been a “smart thing” if he had.

Trump added, “Russia has never had a president that they respect so much.”

More on the Trump-Putin relationship: The former president has a long history of praising Putin and even went as far as to side with the Russian leader over the US intelligence community over Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

On January 6: Trump on Tuesday also said the rally that he held in Washington, DC, directly preceding the violent insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, “was love and peace.”

Trump repeated several falsehoods about the day of the insurrection, including falsely claiming that people were “waved into the Capitol by police.” About 140 police officers were assaulted while trying to stop the mob from breaching the Capitol, and CNN obtained footage from police body-worn cameras showing how dozens of officers engaged in hand-to-hand combat with rioters in a desperate effort to keep them out of the building.

Trump falsely claimed that “not one of those people had a gun.” People who illegally entered Capitol grounds during the insurrection were armed with a wide variety of weapons, including guns.

This post has been updated with more of Trump’s remarks.

This screenshot show's The Daily Scroll, a Facebook page managed by the Harris for President campaign.

As Donald Trump and Kamala Harris feverishly chase undecided voters in the final stretch of the presidential campaign, millions of people in battleground states are being served ads on Facebook and Instagram from an obscure page calling itself “The Daily Scroll.”

The social media ads, which are adorned with a nondescript logo resembling a pair of checkmarks, have promoted news articles from mainstream outlets including CNN, ABC and NBC, showing easing US inflation, cheaper insulin prices, and the consequences of state abortion bans.

But the ads on?Meta-owned platforms?aren’t being paid for by any news outlet — they’re a product of Harris’ presidential campaign, which has spent heavily on social media platforms and embraced influencers to power her online efforts against Trump.

Since Harris?launched her bid for president this summer, her campaign has spent more than $11 million on Facebook and Instagram ads to promote The Daily Scroll into users’ feeds, a CNN analysis found. That made it the second biggest page by spending on political or social issues ads in the last 90 days, after only Harris’?main?campaign page.

The Harris campaign spent another $900,000 on ads from a similar news aggregator page dubbed “Headlines 2024.”

The ads promoting The Daily Scroll have appeared on screens at least 700 million times, according to data from Meta’s Ad Library, with about 97% of views coming from seven battleground states: Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia,?and North Carolina. All the ads include a disclaimer that they are “paid for by Harris for President,” and?they?do not appear to violate Meta’s rules for political advertisers.

The Daily Scroll?and?Headlines 2024?pages are just a small part of a much wider effort to reach undecided voters across all forms of media, Kevin Munoz, a Harris campaign spokesperson, told CNN. Promoting news stories is just one of many digital strategies the campaign is using, in addition to traditional online display ads and short video clips to target voters on YouTube and other platforms, he said.

Bret Baier attends Fox News' Super Tuesday 2024 primary election coverage at Fox News Channel Studios on March 5 in New York City.

Vice President Kamala Harris will sit down with Fox News anchor Bret Baier on Wednesday for her first ever interview on the right-wing cable network.

The interview with the Democratic presidential nominee will take place in Pennsylvania and air during?the “Special Report with Bret Baier”?at 6 p.m. ET, the network said Monday.

The interview is set to air hours after Fox televises a town hall with Donald Trump in front of an all-female audience Wednesday in Georgia.

Harris recently sat for?an interview with “60 Minutes.”?CBS said Trump had agreed to the traditional interview but later backed out.

Election officials in Georgia say absentee ballots went out by the US Postal Service as scheduled and were not impacted by the hurricanes as the fist day of early voting is underway in the critical swing state.

He also said that safeguards are in place for a safe election. In addition to auditing every race, Georgia election officials will also randomly audit voting equipment to inspect.

“Pulling out a piece of equipment, a random audit on election day, bring it to headquarters and then verify that it is recording the votes accurately, that it has not been hacked by any bad actors out there,” Raffensperger said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Raffensperger said it seems the Georgia election turnout is at record levels Tuesday morning.

“It looks like this is going to be a record breaker for the first day of early voting, but we don’t make predictions, We are going to let the voters decide.??But it looks like we are going to have strong early voting today, ” Raffensperger said

Remember: Raffensperger, who was in former President Donald Trump’s crosshairs following the 2020 election results,?re-certified the results?after the statewide machine recount in December 2020 that confirmed that President Joe Biden beat Trump by just 11,779 votes out of nearly 5 million cast ballots.

People stand in line at Metropolitan Library to cast their votes in the US presidential election on October 15 in Atlanta.

With the first day of early voting in Georgia underway, the state’s election official expects the Peach State to set a new record for voter turnout.

Ahead of the first day of early voting in the Peach State, officials enacted some changes to the voter process.

Fewer drop boxes but more ways to vote early: New state laws after 2020 that tightened rules for absentee ballots and cracked down on the availability of drop boxes may make the option less appealing than early in-person voting, election experts said. While many drop boxes were available 24/7 in 2020, this year there will be fewer of them, and they will be in election offices or early vote locations with hours that tend to mimic normal business hours.

Limits on feeding people in line: A 2021 law that makes it a crime to offer food or drinks to voters waiting to cast a ballot – which was highly publicized by news outlets and immortalized by comedian Larry David in episodes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” – mostly survived legal challenges. So, offering a bottle of water or a snack to voters within 150 feet of a building where ballots are being cast is still banned.

Hoping to speed up results but worries about uncertainty: The Peach State made several changes to try to get voters faster election results. At 8 p.m. ET on election night, counties are required to report results from their early in-person and absentee ballots.

CNN’s Sara Murray contributed reporting to this post.

Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, falsely claimed Sunday that former President Donald Trump “didn’t go after his political opponents” during his presidency – an assertion that is contradicted by a mountain of evidence.

Vance, who said?Friday?that the attorney general would be the most important government official other than the president in a second Trump administration, was?asked?by ABC News host Martha Raddatz in an interview on Sunday if Trump would go after his political opponents. Vance said no, then?added, “Martha, he was president for four years and he didn’t go after his political opponents.”

Facts First:?Vance’s claim is false. As president, Trump publicly and privately pressured the Justice Department, and others in his administration, to investigate or prosecute numerous political opponents.

Trump made?extensive behind-the-scenes efforts?to get his political opponents charged with crimes. But you don’t have to rely on investigative reporting or the memoirs of former administration officials to know that Trump went after political opponents as president.

He often went after them in public, too.

As CNN reporter Marshall Cohen has?noted, there is a long list of political opponents whom Trump publicly called for the Justice Department and others to investigate or prosecute.

Read the full fact check here.

Donald Trump has backed out of an interview with CNBC, one of the business network’s anchors announced Tuesday, marking the second time the former president has canceled on a mainstream press interview this month.

The interview had not been previously announced.

Kernen shared that the network had also offered to sit down with Vice President Kamala Harris, noting “she’s not coming on.” Kernen joked that, with Trump’s decision, “she could come on and we could say we offered it to Trump camp, but they’re not.”

Spokespersons for CNBC and the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to CNN requests for comment.

More background: Trump’s decision to back out of the appearance comes less than two weeks after he?canceled an interview?on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” with Scott Pelley.

The former president has instead opted to appear almost exclusively in friendly territory, sticking to appearances across conservative outlets, including Fox News, Newsmax, The Ramsey Show, and Real America’s Voice. Trump is also expected to take part in two town halls this week with Fox News and Univision.

With no additional debates scheduled ahead of November’s election, Trump and Harris have focused on reaching undecided voters via non-traditional platforms, including podcasts.

Harris has also agreed to her first-ever interview on Fox News, sitting down with anchor Bret Baier for an interview that will air Wednesday evening.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday?unveiled new proposals targeting Black men?as she seeks to strengthen her coalition ahead of Election Day.

The announcement comes as Harris lags behind President Joe Biden’s numbers with Black voters in 2020, especially men, though recent polling suggests she has room to grow. Last week,?former President Barack Obama?delivered a stark warning to Black men, saying it’s “not acceptable” to sit out this election and suggesting they might be reluctant to vote for Harris because she’s a woman.

About the proposals:?They aim to provide Black men “with the tools to achieve financial freedom, lower costs to better provide for themselves and their families, and protect their rights,” according to a release by the campaign.

Part of the proposal includes providing one million loans that are fully forgivable up to $20,000 to Black entrepreneurs and others to start a business. According to the campaign, the loans would be provided through a new partnership between the Small Business Administration and some lenders and banks.

Harris is also calling for creating and investing in programs that help expand pathways for job opportunities for Black men, including promoting apprenticeships, strengthening the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and investing in more Black male teachers. On the campaign trail, Harris has said she will cut college degree requirements for certain federal jobs if elected president.

The plan will also support a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and other digital assets and a National Health Equity Initiative?that focuses on addressing health challenges that disproportionately impact Black men. Another component includes legalizing recreational marijuana and creating opportunities for Black Americans to succeed in the industry. The vice president has often reiterated that she believes marijuana should legalized in the US.

Read the full story.

Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Colin Allred.

On a sunny October afternoon, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz posed for photos with supporters next to his campaign bus in downtown Waxahachie – a historic square complete with quaint shops and a storied, almost mythical-looking courthouse.

The city is the seat of conservative Ellis County, directly south of Dallas and named after one of the leaders who helped Texas declare its independence from Mexico in 1836.?Cruz had just delivered a fiery speech in an old playhouse across the street called the Texas Theater, where he rallied the crowd with red-meat rhetoric and jokes appealing to the state’s unique sense of pride.

Ranked one of the most conservative senators, Cruz’s bid for a third term should be a smooth ride in a place that has consistently elected Republicans in statewide contests for the past 30 years. But for the second election in a row, Cruz finds himself fighting to keep his seat against a well-funded Democrat.

Rep. Colin Allred is a former NFL linebacker and civil rights lawyer who ousted a Republican for a US House seat six years ago. He’s now challenging Cruz and painting the incumbent senator as an unlikeable politician who cares more about podcasting than about legislating.

Recent polls suggest a tightening race, one reminiscent of when Democrat Beto O’Rourke lost to Cruz in 2018 by less than 3 percentage points in a campaign that caught the country’s attention. National Democratic groups are again investing heavily in TV ads, stirring up an all-too-familiar hope they can pull off a massive upset, though many remain skeptical.

Read the full story.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will announce the details of a new policy proposal targeted at rural voters at a family farm in Volant, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, where he’s expected to portray former president Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance as “outsiders” who are “making life worse” for people in rural communities, a campaign official told CNN.

Walz, who grew up in rural Nebraska and represented a predominantly rural congressional district in Minnesota before becoming governor, will unveil the details of his and Vice President Kamala Harris’ plan to expand health care access to rural Americans and support small farms and beginning farmers, the official said.

“Now, recently, there’s been a lot of talk of outsiders coming into rural communities,?stealing jobs away, and making life worse for the people living there,” Walz is expected to say. “Those outsiders’ names are Donald Trump and JD Vance.”

Ad campaign targeting rural voters: Accompanying the new policy, the Harris campaign launched a new radio ad targeting rural voters featuring Walz that will run on rural radio stations in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina. In the ad, Walz highlights his own small-town upbringing and contrasts it with Trump and Vance, who he says “don’t think like us.”

“I grew up in a town of 400 people. Joined the Army National Guard two days after my 17th birthday, taught social studies and coached football for 15 years. In a small town, you don’t focus on the politics, you focus on taking care of your neighbors and minding your own damn business. Now Donald Trump and JD Vance, they don’t think like us. They’re in it for themselves,” he says in the ad.

Walz will also participate in a series of interviews with rural radio stations in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia to discuss the new policy details, a campaign official said.

Vice President Kamala Harris is traveling to Detroit, Michigan, today where she will participate in a radio town hall hosted by comedian, advocate, and nationally syndicated radio co-host?Charlamagne?tha?God.

The event billed as “We the People,” comes as Democrats voice acute concern with the incremental gains Republicans are making with Black men and Harris’ struggles to recreate the multiracial coalition?that led in part to President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020.

The popular host, also known as Lenard McKelvey, has millions of followers across digital platforms and the Breakfast Club reportedly boasts an estimated?8 million?listeners per month, more?than half of them Black.

About the interview: During the hour-long conversation slated for 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Harris will take questions from callers from across battleground states. An estimated 139 radio stations in markets across the country will take the program, in addition to multiple digital streams and the iHeartRadio app.

Harris will focus in part on the economy and address and identify obstacles to creating intergenerational wealth for Black Americans, a senior Harris campaign official told CNN. The interview comes a day after Harris announced new proposals targeting Black men as she looks to shore up the Democratic coalition.

The campaign’s decision to engage with the Breakfast Club host, who has voiced support for Harris, is part of a larger strategy of reaching voters in non-traditional platforms and through influencers to reach consumers who don’t get their information from mainstream media.

Making a surprise appearance at a Harris campaign office in Pittsburgh last Thursday, former President Barack?Obama lamented what he described as a lack of energy among Black men?that “seems to be more pronounced with the brothers,” he said.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Tucson Music Hall in Tucson, Arizona, on September 12.

The arrival of a new?Bob Woodward book?has a well-established choreography; enterprising reporters get hold of copies of the heavily embargoed volume a week or so ahead of its publication date and mine it for the news it contains.

Both?CNN?and?The Washington Post,?where Woodward retains the honorific title of associate editor, covered the news in the latest book, “War,” last week.?And news there was: At the height of the pandemic, President?Donald Trump?sent Russian President Vladimir Putin a secret shipment of Covid-19 testing equipment, and since he has left office, Trump has called Putin as many as seven times.

Ahead of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, President?Joe Biden?blamed former President Barack Obama for not doing more to counter the Russian leader when he invaded Crimea in 2014, telling a friend, “That’s why we are here. We f**ked it up. Barack never took Putin seriously.”

Putin had a heated call with Biden in the run-up to Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, in which the Russian president threatened a nuclear war. Later, Biden’s national security team assessed there was a 50% chance Putin might use a tactical nuclear weapon during the Ukraine conflict. It is worth noting that back in March, CNN’s Jim Sciutto had similar?detailed reporting?about Putin’s possible use of a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine in late 2022.

As has been the case for previous Woodward books, those who don’t come out well from his reporting publicly dismiss it. The Trump campaign said: “None of these made-up stories by Bob Woodward are true.”

At the heart of “War,” Woodward reports about how Biden’s national security team handled three wars: in Afghanistan, the Ukraine conflict, and the war in Gaza, now in its second year, which has embroiled the Middle East in a widening conflict.

Read the full analysis.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries poses for a photo with Democrat George Whitesides, to his left, and campaign volunteers in Palmdale, California, on October 13, 2024. Whitesides is challenging Republican Rep. Mike Garcia in California's 27th District.

Democrats have outspent Republicans on?television advertisements?in the races that will be crucial to deciding?control of the US House of Representatives, with California and New York seeing the highest spending by the two parties, according to a CNN analysis of advertising data from the first full month following the end of primary season.

Both California and New York, while deep-blue at the statewide level, are home to buckets of highly competitive House seats that were key to Republicans gaining their narrow majority two years ago.

Outside groups are playing an influential role in the race for the House, with a pair of leading super PACs from both parties collectively accounting for about a quarter of the $378 million in ad spending, while a wild card – a super PAC funded by cryptocurrency interests, which backs a bipartisan slate of pro-crypto candidates – dumped nearly $15 million more into the advertising fray.

And the ads from some of the top spenders reflects the key issues that are driving voters, including the economy – always a top concern – as well as abortion rights, immigration, and crime.

Between September 11, the day after the last US House primaries finalized general election matchups across the country, and October 10, California and New York combined to draw about 29% of all ad spending targeting House races. Ten House races in California and six in New York are currently rated as competitive by?Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales.

Read the full story.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney speaks during a hearing in Atlanta in 2023.

County election officials in Georgia cannot delay or decline to certify election results, a state judge ruled Monday, dealing a blow to an effort by conservatives in the critical battleground state to broaden their powers.

A key case: The case is one or two closely watched disputes over election certification in the critical battleground state. A ruling is still pending in a separate case brought by state and national Democrats against new rules from the State Election Board that could give local election officials broad authority to delay or decline altogether their certification of the results.

McBurney?said in his ruling that while local superintendent have an obligation to “investigate concerns about miscounts,” such concern “is not cause to delay or decline certification.”

The case was brought by Julie Adams, a Republican member of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections, who had asked the judge to declare that her duties in certifying election results “are discretionary not ministerial.”

“If election superintendents were, as Plaintiff urges, free to play investigator, prosecutor, jury, and judge and so – because of a unilateral determination of error or fraud – refuse to certify election results, Georgia voters would be silenced,” McBurney?wrote. “Our Constitution and our Election Code do not allow for that to happen.”

Though Adams said that she agrees state law sets up a deadline to certify the results in the days following the election, the requirement “does not, however, require the BRE to certify every set of proffered election returns without review, analysis, and action.”

This comes as early voting begins today in Georgia.

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Reno, Nevada, on October 11.

After losing the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump has championed the baseless lie that the results were tainted by widespread fraud.

To fix this made-up problem, Trump has proposed a four-part solution: The US should switch exclusively to paper ballots, require?proof of citizenship?to register to vote, require voters to show ID at the polls, and eliminate mail-in voting by holding the entire election in-person on just one day.

Policymakers can debate the merits of forcing voters to prove their citizenship and provide ID. And mail-in voting, widely used by both Democrats and Republicans, isn’t going anywhere.

But Trump’s comments on “paper ballots” have?puzzled voting experts?and election officials – because almost all voters nationwide already use paper ballots.

Facts First:?Trump’s insistence that the US switch to “paper ballots” is nonsensical. More than 98% of voters live in jurisdictions that produce fully auditable paper trails, according to?data from Verified Voting, which tracks election equipment in every county. ?

Trump brings up his four-part proposal almost every time he speaks about election integrity. He has mentioned the “paper ballots” claim?dozens of times?this year alone.

Read the full fact check.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign town hall in Oaks, Pennsylvania, on Monday.

Former President Donald Trump responded to Vice President Kamala Harris’ calls for him to release his medical records after she released a summary of hers over the weekend, saying the vice president “is dying to see my Cholesterol.”

“I’ve put out more Medical Exams than any other President in History,” Trump said on Truth Social, while attacking Harris for parts of her medical history released in the summary provided by her office.

Trump went on to attack Harris’ medical records, saying her history with seasonal allergies and hives were “deeply serious conditions that clearly impact her functioning.”

Harris blasted Trump for not releasing his medical records during a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, on Sunday, telling the crowd “He’s not being transparent with the voters. He’s not being transparent. So, check this out — He refuses to release his medical records. I’ve done it. Every other presidential candidate in modern era has done it. He is unwilling to do 60 Minutes interviews, like every other major party candidate has done for more than half a century. He is unwilling to meet for a second debate.”

The White House on Saturday released a letter summarizing her medical history from the vice president’s doctor, US Army physician Dr. Joshua R. Simmons, who said Harris is in “excellent health.”

More on Harris’ medical history: Harris has seasonal allergies and hives and is nearsighted, Simmons’ letter said. Her immunizations and preventive care screenings are all up to date, and her most recent April physical exam and her routine bloodwork have shown no causes for alarm, according to Simmons.

The vice president wears contact lenses, takes a vitamin D3 supplement, and at times uses over-the-counter and prescription allergy medications, including Allegra, nasal spray and eye drops, Simmons wrote. Simmons described her diet as “very healthy,” and said Harris does not use tobacco products and drinks alcohol “only occasionally and in moderation.”

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, said the letter is “most notable in some ways” for what it does not show. “No history of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiac disease, lung disease, cancer,” Gupta noted, summarizing it as “basically saying (Harris) is fit for duty.”

For context: The medical conditions that affect Harris and that Trump pointed out in his Truth Social posts, including?urticaria,?allergic rhinitis?and?allergic conjunctivitis, are not considered serious and would not impact someone’s cognition. Urticaria—a skin condition—“affects 20% of people at some time during their lives,” according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Trump’s medical history: Trump’s campaign?released?a letter from his personal physician in November 2023 that described him as being in “excellent” health, but the letter did not include information about the types of tests that Trump took or what the results were. It notably didn’t include basic information that Trump’s physicians have shared in the past, such as his height and weight, cholesterol level or blood pressure.

Voters are processed on the first day of early voting in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Two critical battleground states?– Georgia and North Carolina – are kicking off early in-person voting this week.

Georgia

Fewer drop boxes but more ways to vote early: New state laws may make the option less appealing than early in-person voting, election experts said. While many drop boxes were available 24/7 in 2020, this year there will be fewer of them, and they will be in election offices or early vote locations with hours that tend to mimic normal business hours.

But the opportunities to vote early in-person have expanded: Georgia law mandates two Saturdays of early voting and allows for two Sundays of early voting if a county desires.

Hoping to speed up results but worries about uncertainty: At 8 p.m. ET on election night, counties are required to report results from their early in-person and absentee ballots. As counties tabulate the Election Day vote, they’ll provide updates at regular interviews.

But?several new rules?are creating uncertainty around the post-election process. The board passed a rule requiring a hand count of the number of ballots at each voting location, which could delay results.

North Carolina

Impact of Hurricane Helene damage: The?North Carolina State Board of Elections website?has updates about relocated polling places, how constituents can vote if they lost their identification in the storm and how displaced voters can request new absentee ballots.

No more grace period for mail ballots: Voters considering casting a ballot by mail should note that their ballots need to be received by 7:30 p.m. ET on Election Day.

New voter ID rules: Residents of the Tar Heel State will be required to present identification when they show up to vote.

Read the full story and visit CNN’s voter handbook?to see how to vote in your area.

Former President Donald Trump and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem dance during a town hall campaign event in Oaks, Pennsylvania, on Monday.

Former President Donald Trump stayed on stage, swaying to the music and looking out at the crowd for several songs after finishing a town hall Monday night in Oaks, Pennsylvania.

It was unclear why Trump stayed on stage for so long and there was confusion about what was happening when he was up there.

Music played for more than 30 minutes as Trump stood on stage and occasionally made brief remarks in between songs.

As the music played, Trump occasionally exchanged words with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who moderated the town hall, and people near him in the crowd, but Trump mostly just looked out into the audience and nodded his head as the music blasted throughout the venue. The event was held indoors at the Greater Philadelphia Center & Fairgrounds.

Asked why Trump was still on stage, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told CNN, “He’s here for the people. Not like loser Kamala Harris.”

Trump kicked off the unusual moment by saying, “Let me hear that music, please. Nice and loud.”

The first song was “Time To Say Goodbye (Con Te Partirò)” by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. Then “It’s a Man’s World” by James Brown and Luciano Pavarotti.

After the songs played, Trump said he would take a question from the crowd. But then he said, “How about this, we’ll play YMCA, and we’ll go home.”

“YMCA” by Village People played, and then “Hallelujah” by Rufus Wainwright, “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinead O’Connor, “An American Trilogy” by Elvis Presley, “Rich Men North of Richmond” by Oliver Anthony and “November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses.

This unusual moment came after Trump asked his team to play “Ave Maria” earlier during the town hall when someone was receiving medical attention. Two people needed medical attention during his town hall. About 30 minutes into his town hall, Trump paused the event and asked for a doctor to attend to someone in the crowd. After a few minutes, the crowd started singing “God Bless America.”

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Monday.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are focusing on key battleground states this week as the election remains razor thin.

Here’s where the candidates will be today:

Democrats: Harris is in Detroit, Michigan, and will be meeting with Black entrepreneurs at an event with Charlamagne tha God in an event billed as “We the People.” It comes as Democrats voice acute concern with the incremental gains Republicans are making with Black men and Harris’ struggles to recreate the multiracial coalition that led in part to President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will make a series of political stops through western Pennsylvania. He will later travel to Washington, DC, where he will remain overnight.

Republicans: Trump, will sit down for an interview with Bloomberg News and The Economic Club of Chicago in Chicago. Later, Trump is expected to travel to Cumming, Georgia, to tape a Fox News town hall before an audience of women that’s set to air on Wednesday. Ohio Sen. JD Vance will hold a town hall in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz travels to western Pennsylvania today for a campaign event?in Lawrence County before a political event in Butler County.

He then holds a rally in Pittsburgh ahead of a fundraiser there before traveling to Washington, DC.

Vice President Kamala Harris gestures as a video of former President Donald Trump plays on screen during a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Monday.

Kamala Harris is?responding to Democratic panic?about her White House prospects by turning up the heat on Donald Trump.

The vice president warned Monday that the ex-president was “unstable,” “unhinged” and out for “unchecked power” as she sent a jolt of urgency though her campaign with?21 days to go.

“Watch his rallies. Listen to his words. He tells us who he is, and he tells us what he would do if he is elected president,” Harris told a large crowd in Pennsylvania after a weekend when Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric reached chilling new levels and hinted at the extreme nature of his potential second term.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, meanwhile, went even further, suggesting the ex-president’s musings about using the military against domestic foes he branded?“the enemy from within”?could even amount to treason.

Harris and her team also aggressively questioned Trump’s mental fitness and his capacity to serve another term, turning the tables on the Republican nominee who for months leveled similar charges at President Joe Biden.

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