Daily Briefing: The early voting edge
With just 11 days until Election Day, there's stiff competition to give either presidential candidate a lead in early voting. Erik and Lyle Menendez could have a path to freedom. Goldfish crackers have grown up.
🙋🏼♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Are you too scared to tour the famed Deetz home?!
Republicans cut into Democrats' early voting edge
Nearly 30 million Americans as of Thursday had voted early – either in-person or through mail ballots. With days until Election Day, Republicans have sliced in half the Democrats' 14-percentage point early-vote advantage from 2020. It's now a 7-point edge for Democrats.
But election data experts say there's no clear conclusion to draw from the Republicans' early-voting gains, and allies of Vice President Kamala Harris insist the trend is not a cause for their troops to panic.
- A boost of Republicans voting by mail this year comes after a concerted effort by former President Donald Trump's campaign to encourage supporters to embrace early-voting, despite the fact Trump demonized the practice in the 2020 election.
- Democratic voters in Pennsylvania lead in both mail ballot requests and ballots returned as of Friday, with that party’s voters making up almost 58% of applications and 62% of returned ballots, according to the state’s data.
- On Friday, the candidates are pulling all the celebrity stops as the race closes in. Trump will sit for an interview with Joe Rogan on his mega-popular podcast. Harris will be joined in the Republican state of Texas by global superstar Beyoncé, who's from Houston.
How will you vote? Here's your guide to polling sites, mail-in deadlines and more.
Is America prepared for a worst-case hacking scenario?
Attacks on utilities like the American Water Works Company, Verizon and other telecoms are just the most recent examples of a significant uptick in cyberattacks threatening U.S. security. Adversaries like China and Russia have created a sprawling network of hackers and software that have infiltrated America’s infrastructure to be activated in the case of significant geopolitical conflict. As foreign governments and gangs working under their protection steal into the nervous system of the American economy, they could be ready to shut it down in the event of a conflict. Paste BN spoke to experts about whether the nation is ready.
More news to know now
- Trump referred to migrants who commit violent crimes as "animals" in an Arizona speech.
- The White House issued a new student debt relief plan before the election.
- $102 million is the clean-up bill for the Baltimore bridge collapse.
- King Charles III addressed the Commonwealth's history with slavery.
- Diddy, City College and the infamous night in 1991 when 9 people died.
What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.
Los Angeles DA backs resentencing Menendez brothers
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón is set to file his recommendation in court Friday for the resentencing of Erik and Lyle Menendez, brothers who are serving life sentences without parole for the murders of their parents in a case that first seized the nation's attention 35 years ago. Gascón will urge the possibility of parole to be put back on the table. The penalty for two murders is 50 years to life in prison, but since the brothers were under the age of 26 at the time of the crime, Gascón said they would be eligible for parole right away under California law. Read more
Paste BN investigation leads to new push for safer streets
Rural towns plagued by deadly roads have won nearly $350 million this year to make them safer, a dramatic turnaround for communities that a Paste BN investigation found had been left out of earlier rounds of federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grants. It’s a sharp departure from the first two years of the program, during which most of the cash awarded in the Safe Streets scheme landed in more affluent counties with lower fatality rates. Here's what else Paste BN's investigation found.
Keep scrolling
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- These sisters say Taylor Swift helped them grieve their mom.
- Target is cutting prices on 2,000+ items to help you save this holiday season.
Hats, jerseys and jackets, oh my!
The 2024 World Series is an MLB merch bonanza. As the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers prepare to face off in this year's World Series, fans of the storied MLB franchises are shelling out hundreds of dollars on new jerseys, shirts, hats and bobbleheads. Merchandise and game prices are all over the map, from the comparatively affordable World Series t-shirts ($35 to $45) to a game day seat, which could cost as much as a down payment for a car. Read more
Photo of the day: Goldfish for adults?!
Goldfish announced that it would be temporarily changing its name to appeal to adult consumers. They took the bait. The limited-edition crackers, priced at $7.38 for two bags, were available for purchase online Wednesday. By Thursday, the snack had sold out of its first batch.
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.