Daily Briefing: Georgia is voting

Voters in some states can start casting ballots this week as early voting rolls out for the Nov. 5 general election. Paste BN spoke with Hurricane Helene survivors who are mourning loved ones, including children. Giant pandas have returned to the National Zoo in Washington.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Biiiiiig breathhhhh. Here's how to decompress during stressful times.

Georgia in the election spotlight

In many states, early voting is already underway. This week, polls in Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Rhode Island, Tennessee, North Carolina, Louisiana, Washington, Massachusetts and Nevada open their doors. 

Election Day is just three weeks away. Georgia set the stage for the moment, with droves of voters at polling centers as local officials prepare for Nov. 5.

• Georgia voters turned out in record numbers on Tuesday, with nearly double the number who participated in the first day of early voting in the 2020 election casting ballots in the battleground state.
• But will all those Georgia votes have to be hand-counted? A judge appeared skeptical of a controversial new rule from the Georgia State Election Board that requires three separate individuals in each precinct to count ballots by hand and confirm each of their counts matches those of the others.
• Tuesday also delivered a blow to a Republican-led effort in the state to broaden the authority of local election officials when a state judge ruled County election boards in Georgia cannot delay or refuse to certify election results.

👉 Got politics questions?? Text with the Paste BN elections team.

Mourning the Hurricane Helene aftermath

"It wasn't until they finally rescued me that I completely turned, like, human again, and completely crumbled. I don't think that (human) version of me could have survived, so that's only God or something bigger that that filled me in those moments."

-Megan Drye, a Hurricane Helene survivor. Her parents and 7-year-old son perished when the family’s home collapsed into the Swannanoa River on Sept. 27. Paste BN spoke with North Carolina residents like Drye who are still reeling from Helene. Here are their stories.

More news to know now

• These are the 2025 Medicare changes you should know about.
• These Pro-Palestinian voters say they can't vote for Harris.
• President Joe Biden will eulogize Ethel Kennedy on Wednesday in Washington.
• The owner of a dog abandoned amid Hurricane Milton faces felony animal cruelty.
• Sean "Diddy" Combs was sued by a woman claiming he "violently gang raped" her in 2018.

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

US soldiers arrive in Israel to help thwart Iran missile attacks

A team of U.S. soldiers has arrived in Israel to help operate the advanced anti-missile battery provided by President Joe Biden to help Israel fend off missile attacks from Iran amid increasing concerns surrounding the expanding Middle East conflict.  It marks the first U.S. deployment of troops in Israel since the Hamas-led attacks a year ago that ignited the war in Gaza and reflects a possible expansion of the conflict. Read more

Welcoming immigrants is key to this Ohio city's housing success

From neighborhood associations to a city department dedicated to integrating new arrivals, Dayton, Ohio, has a welcoming, grassroots approach to immigrants. It stems from their understanding that immigrants are uniquely suited to revive local economies where population has been in decline, and to upgrade housing stock, particularly in areas where homes sit vacant. And it stands in stark contrast to the political rhetoric attacking immigration that has ensnared the neighboring town of Springfield, Ohio, just half an hour away. Read more

Keep scrolling

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• What are the never-seen photos in the Eras tour book?!
• WR Davante Adams is now with the Jets.
• Should non-diabetics use glucose monitors too?
• There's a big Ozempic controversy brewing online.

The politics of the 'Panda Express'

Two giant pandas, a female named Qing Bao and a male named Bao Li, landed in the U.S. on Tuesday. The furry pair will head to their new home at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington. Pandas have been a symbol of diplomacy between the U.S. and China since 1972 when China gifted a pair to the zoo. The arrival of these pandas from Chengdu, China, marks a continuation of this relationship after the zoo bid farewell to its last giant pandas, Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Xiao Qi Ji nearly a year ago. Read more

Photo of the day: America's top model

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show spread its wings for the first time since 2018, with supermodel Tyra Banks strutting the iconic stage along with some of fashion's most familiar faces. Check out all the photos.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at Paste BN, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.