Early voting is underway in many states nationwide as the 2024 campaign is now in its final two weeks. Both parties are watching the trends closely.
As of early Oct. 23, more than 18.8 million voters nationwide have already cast their ballots, according to tracker TargetEarly by TargetSmart. Voters cast votes either with early or absentee ballots, depending on their home state’s rules.
Of those early voters, 9.3 million are registered Democrats, 7.9 million are registered Republicans and about 1.5 million identify as something else. The gender breakdown is about 10 million women to 8 million men, or 53% to 45%.
Pundits on both sides are watching the numbers closely, especially in the seven battleground states where the presidential election is likely to be decided.
In swing state Nevada, registered Republicans had cast about 38% of early votes and Democrats had cast 36% as of late Monday, Oct. 21. It’s a state where Democrats have outpaced Republicans in early voting in every election dating back to 2008.
The 18.8 million votes cast nationally so far this year are lagging behind the 2020 election. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, more than 94 million Americans voted early, or by mail.
Still, early voting saw record numbers on day one in key states such as North Carolina and Georgia.
Girl Scout fees may soon triple; critics worry families could be priced out
The cost for parents to sign up their kid to be a Girl Scout could soon more than triple. Critics said it could price some families out of joining the organization.
The Girl Scouts of the USA will vote Saturday, Oct. 19, on whether to raise membership dues from $25 a year to $85 a year. That’s a 240% hike per scout.
Membership dues are the organization’s largest source of revenue. In 2023, it generated $38 million from nearly 2 million members.
However, it has faced cash flow issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation.
A Girl Scout spokesperson said the organization would continue to provide financial aid to any family who needs it.
The board said it is also open to phasing in the increase with a 20% discount on the first year and 10% the second year.
The council will also vote on whether to increase adult volunteer dues from $25 to $45.
US pays $72 million to pharmaceutical companies for bird flu vaccine
As the number of human cases of H5N1, also known as bird flu, grow, the United States announced on Friday, Oct. 4, that it is providing vaccine manufacturers with $72 million to double their ready-to-use bird flu vaccine stockpile. Manufacturers currently have nearly five million ready-to-use doses and expect to have about 10 million by the beginning of 2025.
The funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will allow four companies producing the inoculations to bring the vaccine out of a storage stockpile and put them in pre-filled syringes for quick distribution in case of a public health emergency.
Other companies like Pfizer and Moderna are continuing efforts to develop an mRNA bird flu vaccine similar to COVID-19 shots.
The announcement by the U.S. comes as two more farm workers in California tested positive for the virus on Thursday, Oct. 3. They continue to be monitored for symptoms. At the time this report was published, the workers had no respiratory symptoms and only exhibited conjunctivitis or pink eye.
The latest human infections bring the total number of cases in people to 16 in the United States. Currently, there are no recommendations for anyone in the country to get a bird flu shot and health officials maintain that the risk of the virus to humans remains “low.”
DHHS said that its spending on the vaccinations is out of “an abundance of caution” and “is essential in preparing for a public health emergency.”
Vance, Walz defend their running mates’ records in vice presidential debate
We have a recap of the first, and likely only, vice presidential debate of 2024. And Iran has launched its largest attack ever on Israel. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024.
Vance, Walz defend their running mates’ records in vice presidential debate
For the first time, the two vice presidential candidates took the stage next to one another Tuesday night, Oct. 1. Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz introduced themselves to American voters while defending their running mates’ opposing views.
Vance and Walz kept the vice presidential debate cordial, at various times saying they agreed with the other, but they sparred on the policies and the statements made by their parties’ presidential nominees, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Look if you’re going to be president, you don’t have all the answers. Donald Trump believes he does. My pro tip of the day is this, if you need heart surgery, listen to the people at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, not Donald Trump,” Walz said.
“I honestly, Tim, I think you got a tough job here because you’ve got to play whack-a-mole; you’ve got to pretend that Donald Trump didn’t deliver rising take-home pay, which of course he did; you’ve got to pretend that Donald Trump didn’t deliver lower inflation, which of course he did; and then you simultaneously got to defend Kamala Harris’ atrocious economic record,” Vance said.
The debate covered many topics including abortion, climate change, the economy and health care. The two opened the 90-minute CBS News debate discussing the conflict in the Middle East and the need for stability in the White House.
“I’m 40 years old, when was the last time that an American president didn’t have a major conflict break out? The only answer is during the four years that Donald Trump was president,” Vance said.
“So Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than they were before because of Donald Trump’s fickle leadership. And when Iran shot down an American aircraft in international airspace, Donald Trump tweeted because that’s the standard diplomacy of Donald Trump,” Walz said.
On illegal immigration, Vance and Walz disagreed on whether former President Trump’s involvement helps or hurts solving the border crisis.
“But as soon as I was getting ready to pass [legislation] and actually tackle this, Donald Trump said no, told them to vote against it because it gives him a campaign issue,” Walz said.
“We have a historic immigration crisis because Kamala Harris started and said that she wanted to undo all of Donald Trump’s border policies — 94 executive orders, suspending deportations, decriminalizing illegal aliens, massively increasing the asylum fraud that exists in our system. That has opened the floodgates,” Vance said.
When the debate turned to gun violence, the two VP contenders shared a moment, highlighting the human aspect and often the aftermath.
“I think all the parents watching tonight, this is just your biggest nightmare. Look, I got a 17-year-old and he witnessed a shooting at a community center playing volleyball, those things don’t leave you,” Walz said.
When it was his turn to speak, Vance responded, “Tim, first of all, I didn’t know that your 17-year-old witnessed a shooting and I’m sorry about that and I hope he’s doing OK. Christ have mercy, it is it is awful.”
Things, however, turned contentious over the 2020 election and Jan. 6.
“[January 6, 2021] was a threat to our democracy in a way that we had not seen, and it manifested itself because of Donald Trump’s inability to say — he is still saying, he didn’t lose the election,” Walz said.
Vance replied, “Tim, I’m focused on the future. Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 COVID situation?”
“That is a damning non-answer,” Walz said.
Both candidates thanked each other for the debate and the viewers at home, who will make their decision at the polls on Election Day, Nov. 5, in just 34 days.
Trump backs out of ’60 Minutes’ election special; Harris interview to still air
CBS News says former President Trump has backed out an upcoming interview with “60 Minutes.”
For decades, “60 Minutes” has broadcast election specials with the candidates. CBS reported both Trump and Vice President Harris had agreed to take part in this year’s special in separate one-on-one interviews, but Trump has since reportedly changed his mind.
In a press conference last night, Trump said his decision was based on his last interview with CBS anchor Lesley Stahl in 2020 — which he walked out of early.
“They came to me and would like me to do an interview, but first, I want to get an apology because the last time I did an interview with them, if you remember, they challenged me on the computer,” Trump said. “They said the laptop from hell was from Russia. And I said, ‘It wasn’t from Russia, it was from Hunter [Biden].’ And I never got an apology, so I’m sort of waiting. I’d love to do ’60 Minutes’, I do everything.”
In a statement of its own, “60 Minutes” said the special will still move forward.
“Our election special will broadcast the Harris interview on Monday as planned,” the statement read. “Our original invitation to former President Donald Trump to be interviewed on ’60 Minutes’ stands.”
The special is set to air Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. ET.
Iran launches largest-ever attack on Israel; Israel vows retaliation
Israel has vowed to retaliate after Iran launched its largest ever attack on Israel. Late Tuesday, Iran fired more than 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of which seem to have been intercepted by the Israeli military with help from the United States and other allies.
So far, one person has been reported to have died in the attack, and the extent of the damage is not yet known.
Iran’s military chief also warned of broader strikes if Israel responds. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already vowed to do so, saying, “Iran made a big mistake and it will pay for it.”
Also Tuesday, just before Iran’s barrage began, at least six people were killed and a dozen more hurt when Israeli police say two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a train station in Tel Aviv. Police say the shooting was an act of terrorism and one of the gunmen was killed at the scene while the other was severely injured.
No specific group has claimed responsibility for that deadly attack.
Search and rescue efforts continue in North Carolina after Helene
Combs is already being held without bond at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
He has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers have said he is innocent of all charges.
Louisiana governor supports bringing back live tiger mascot to LSU games
College sports are known for fierce competition. Now the governor of Louisiana is looking at making things even more ferocious by bringing back an old Louisiana State University football mainstay.
Officials from PETA are now speaking out against the idea, saying it would be cruel and dangerous for the animal.
These days, the current tiger mascot is on campus in an enclosure near the stadium, but the governor says returning the tiger to the field would be “an unbelievable opportunity.” LSU officials have not yet commented on whether there is a possibility of seeing a live tiger at football games once again.
As more employers push for in office return, super commuters see rise
In a post-COVID-19 pandemic world, more and more companies are pushing employees to return to in office work. As a result, so called super commuting is on the rise.
A recent study that garnered some new attention on Friday, Sept. 27, found that workers who travel 75 miles or more to get to their jobs has grown by 32% post-pandemic. Researchers said that the average super commuter is spending nearly five hours a day on the road.
While spending hours of your life stuck in traffic is an obvious downside, if you only have to do it two to three times a week, it knocks out some of the hassle, which many companies are doing.
Plain and simple, employers want their workers back in the office and not even the big wigs are getting a break.
For instance, Starbucks’ new CEO Brian Niccol secured an agreement before his hire to stay at his home in Newport Beach and commute to the company’s headquarters in Seattle, which is a nearly 1,000-mile trip, but it keeps him line with Starbucks’ three days a week in office requirement. However, he does take the company’s private jet to get to in-person work.
He told employees to do the same, not the jet part, the work part. Niccol said, “You need to figure out where you need to be to get your job done, then do that. We’re all adults here.” Niccol added, “If success requires us being together more often than not, let’s be together more often.”
He’s not the only CEO towing a tough line. Amazon is also pulling back on its remote work policy with a restrict return to office mandate, and Dell won’t allow employees who work remotely to be eligible for promotions.
As a result, more employees are buckling up and spending the gas money to get to where they need to be. Especially in Washington D.C., which saw the largest increase in super commuters, where numbers doubled post-pandemic. New York came in second in the study with a nearly 90% increase in super commuters.
According to the report released by the CDC Thursday, Sept. 26, the suicide rate has gone back up to the same level it was at in 2018 — which was the highest rate the U.S. has seen in more than seven decades. Just under 49,500 suicide deaths were recorded in 2022, and preliminary data from the CDC shows 2023 was similar, with 49,300 reported.
The national suicide rate has been rising steadily for nearly 20 years now, with the exception of a two-year drop close to the beginning of the pandemic. Suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2022 and more than half (about 55%) involved firearms.
Suicide was the second leading cause of death in people 10 to 14 years old and 20 to 34 years old, and the third for kids aged 15 to 19. Suicide deaths also continue to be more prevalent among men and boys, and the highest rate for any group was men over 75 years old with suicide accounting for 44 of every 100,000 deaths.
Dairy herds infected with H5N1 double just days apart in California
California, the largest milk producer in the United States, saw cases of bird flu double in dairy herds just days apart. Officials reported on Thursday, Sept. 19, that the number of infected dairy herds stood at 17 and by Monday, Sept. 23, it doubled to 34 infected herds.
The findings are deeply troubling for a state with around 1,100 dairy herds as infected cows will now have to be quarantined and nearby dairy farms will have to undergo specialized testing.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture said that it expected more cases to be found in the coming days and weeks. However, both state and federal officials maintain that pasteurized milk is still safe to drink.
California is now second in the nation in dairy herd cases of H5N1 while Colorado is first with 64 infected herds to date. However, California did not report its first case of H5N1 in a herd until Aug. 30, far after the outbreak started in March. So far, 232 herds in 14 states have tested positive for bird flu.
Infectious disease experts note that H5N1 could be spreading undetected in the United States because of “months of missing data” and narrow testing requirements. Right now, there is only mandatory reporting for the disease in poultry and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) only requires testing of lactating cows before they move across state borders.
Scientists are urging greater control measures including vaccinations, which they say may be needed “at scale” if the virus starts spreading from human-to-human.
Currently, there have only been 14 confirmed cases in humans, and it’s not been known to spread from human-to-human. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contends that the risk to humans remains low but said that it is closely monitoring people exposed to the virus.
Doctor leading NYC COVID response threw sex parties during pandemic
Dr. Jay Varma, who served as New York City’s COVID czar, has been fired from his role as vice president and chief medical officer at SIGA Technologies following a scandal regarding his conduct during the pandemic. Conservative podcaster Steven Crowder released a hidden-camera video in which Varma admitted to attending a rave and sex parties in hotels while urging New Yorkers to adhere to strict COVID-19 guidelines.
“I actually was the one who convinced the mayor to make it a vaccine mandate,” Varma said in the video.
He acknowledged that if the city had discovered his actions, it would have been “a real embarrassment.”
“We went to some underground dance party underneath a bank in Wall Street. And we were all rolling, we’re all taking Molly, and everybody’s high. Everyone was high. I was so happy because I hadn’t done that in a year or whatever, but I was looking around like, ‘I wonder if anyone sees me they’re gonna be pissed, because this was not COVID-friendly,” he said in the hidden video.
Varma noted that he had to be discreet because hotels did not want gatherings, stating, “I was running the entire COVID response in the city.”
According to Varma, he and his wife hosted two sex parties in August and November 2020 and attended a large gathering in June 2021. He was involved in the city’s COVID response from April 2020 to May 2021.
“In those private conversations that were secretly recorded, spliced, diced, and taken out of context, I referred to events that transpired four years ago. During that time, I participated in two private gatherings. I take responsibility for not using the best judgment at the time. Facing the greatest public health crisis in a century, our top priority was to save lives, and every decision made was based on the best available science to keep New Yorkers safe. I stand by my efforts to get New Yorkers vaccinated against COVID-19, and I reject dangerous extremist efforts to undermine the public’s confidence in the need for and effectiveness of vaccines.”
His termination happened just hours after a group of about 100 city workers who had been dismissed from their jobs for not following COVID vaccination mandates or other COVID protocols held a rally at New York City Hall.
Virus known to paralyze kids spreading across the US
A respiratory virus that can paralyze children, much like polio, is spreading in the U.S., wastewater samples show. The virus – an enterovirus called EV-D68 – is known to affect the nervous system, causing severe weakness in the arms and legs called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), especially in children.
Wastewater samples from across the country show increasing levels of the virus, which could signal a potential increase in AFM cases in the U.S. this year. September is known to be the biggest month for AFM diagnoses.
Enteroviruses are one of the most common types of virus in the U.S. Most of the time, this group of viruses causes mild symptoms like a runny nose, cough and headache.
However, during the last major spike in the D68 strain in 2014, the U.S. saw an increase in children getting AFM, with 120 cases diagnosed that year. Doctors say there is no cure or specific treatment for paralysis caused by AFM, but intensive physical therapy has been shown to help.
Since the CDC began its monitoring in 2014, it said AFM cases have spiked in an every-other-year pattern, with more people infected in 2016 and 2018 than 2015 and 2017.
That pattern was broken in 2020 during the COVID-19 shutdowns.
While D68 cases did surge again in 2022, there was not a correlating rise in AFM cases. Still, doctors say there is cause for concern. So far in 2024, 13 cases of AFM have been confirmed.
Americans lose confidence college is worth it, skilled trades on the rise
As more Americans lose confidence that a college degree is actually worth it, a new study points to some potentially good news for the post-secondary schools. The number of high school graduates who chose to enroll in college held steady from 2022 to 2023, and both years were a big improvement over enrollment numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
Still, four years after the pandemic began, there are 900,000 fewer undergraduate students enrolling in college. College costs continue to rise and not wanting to accrue student loan debt has many high schoolers looking at other plans for after they graduate.
A separate recent study found nearly half (49%) of high schoolers believe a high school diploma, trade program, two-year degree or other type of enrichment program is the highest level of education needed for their anticipated career path. And even those planning on going to college believe on-the-job training and experience is more beneficial than getting a higher education degree, with 56% of them saying so.
A third study found a majority of those with student loan debt said their degree wasn’t worth it. While more than half (53%) said knowing they’d have to take on debt has stopped them from pursuing more education.
The Department of Labor says in the decade from 2012 to 2121, the number of registered apprentices jumped 64%. Just between 2022 and 2023 enrollment in vocational programs spiked 16%.
The Department of Education also found those who go to trade schools are more likely to find a job after going to school than those who take the traditional college route and are more likely to actually work in their field of study.
It’s also worth noting more and more Americans think two-year post-secondary schools are a better bang for your buck. In a recent Gallup survey, more than half (55%) said a degree from a two-year school is worth it while 18% believed the same thing about four-year colleges.
