Coverage on this live blog has ended.
What's happening on the campaign trail today
- Vice President Kamala Harris held a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, while her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, and Gwen Walz, the wife of Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, continued their "New Way Forward" tour across the country.
- Former President Donald Trump addressed the media in California and defended his association with the far-right activist Laura Loomer ahead of a rally he's holding tonight in Las Vegas. His running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, does not have any public events scheduled.
- Pope Francis told reporters that he believes both Harris and Trump are "against life." He urged voters to cast their ballots for the candidate who they think is the "lesser evil."
The AI-generated Taylor Swift endorsement Trump shared was originally a pro-Biden Facebook meme
The artificial intelligence-generated image of Taylor Swift endorsing Trump, which the singer said inspired her to endorse Harris for president this week, came from an unlikely place.
The image, which caused controversy in August after being shared by the former president on Truth Social, originally circulated with text reading, “Taylor wants you to vote for Joe Biden,” and was posted in a pro-Biden Facebook group with just 8,000 members in December 2023. That post was viewed by NBC News. A reverse-image search conducted by NBC News did not find any earlier incidences of the image being posted online.
After the pro-Biden image featuring the AI-generated Swift was first posted on Facebook, it began to travel around the pro-Biden internet, particularly among Gen X and baby boomer supporters of the then-candidate. The Facebook group it was initially posted in is largely a place for Democrats to share memes and information in support of Biden and against Trump.
Nebraska Supreme Court allows competing abortion measures on November ballot
The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled today that dueling constitutional amendments can appear on state ballots this fall.
One of the ballot measures, known as “Protect the Right to Abortion,” would amend the state’s Constitution and stipulate that “all persons shall have a fundamental right to abortion until fetal viability, or when needed to protect the life or health of the pregnant patient.”
The other, called “Protect Women and Children,” would ban abortions in the second and third trimesters, except in the case of a medical emergency or when the pregnancy is a result of sexual assault or incest.
Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules mail ballots with incorrect dates won’t be counted
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled today that mail ballots that are improperly dated won’t be counted in November, a move that could have major implications in the closely divided battleground state.
The decision reverses a lower court ruling from last month that found it was unconstitutional to reject mail ballots that had a missing or incorrect date.
The bureaucratic requirements of ballots in Pennsylvania have long been the subject of litigation, with opponents of the date requirements arguing that they unnecessarily disenfranchise eligible voters. A group of voting rights advocates went to court in May seeking to block the provision, which required election officials to reject ballots that were incorrectly dated, even if the ballot reached them by the statutory deadline of 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones won’t face charges in 2020 election interference case
A special prosecutor announced today that Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones will not be charged over efforts to overturn Trump’s electoral defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
Peter Skandalakis, who leads the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, a judicial agency that assists prosecutors across the state, said in a statement that he considered the matter closed.
Jones was among a slate of 16 alternate presidential electors who met at the state Capitol on Dec. 14, 2020, and cast votes for Trump even after an official vote count confirmed Joe Biden defeated him in the state. Additionally, Jones was asked by the chairman of a Georgia Senate Judiciary subcommittee to deliver a letter to then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 5, 2021, requesting a delay in counting the Electoral College votes. Jones, then a state senator, did not deliver the letter.
Harris outlines plan to cut 'unnecessary degree requirements for federal jobs'
Harris unveiled a proposal tonight that she said would eliminate “unnecessary degree requirements for federal jobs,” while calling on private sector employers to do the same.
“For far too long, our nation has encouraged only one path to success: a four-year college degree. Our nation needs to recognize the value of other paths, additional paths, such as apprenticeships and technical programs,” Harris said during a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Harris said her proposal would increase jobs for people without a four-year degree, adding that "requiring a certain degree does not necessarily talk about one’s skills."
Obamas and Clintons to hit the campaign trail for Harris in the final stretch
Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, along with former first lady Michelle Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are preparing to lend their political star power to Harris’ campaign in the final stretch of the election, according to four people familiar with their plans.
The high-profile surrogates all felt “energized” by their roles in the Democratic National Convention last month and have offered to help the Harris team in any way that would be most helpful, these people said.
Barack Obama is expected to headline a fundraiser for Harris in Los Angeles next Friday and then hold larger campaign events next month, while Michelle Obama will focus on encouraging voter registration and turnout for Harris, the people familiar with the Obamas’ plans said. In addition to traveling for Harris, the former president will also sign his name to fundraising materials and will record candidate-specific ads and robocalls for Democrats running in down-ballot races, as he has done in past cycles, according to a person familiar with the effort.
Harris responds to pro-Palestinian protesters at Pennsylvania rally
Harris was interrupted four times by two protesters during her rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, tonight who chanted phrases including "free Palestine."
While the vice president continued speaking during most of the interruptions she said to one of the protesters: "Now is the time to get a hostage deal and ceasefire. We have been working around the clock to get that done."
Harris added that she respected the protesters' voices, but made clear that she was speaking.
Stranded astronauts plan to vote in the 2024 election from space
The two American astronauts stranded on the International Space Station through February said Friday they plan to vote in the November election from space.
“I sent down my request for a ballot today,” one of the astronauts, Butch Wilmore, said on a call with reporters on this afternoon. “It’s a very important role that we play as citizen including those elections, and NASA makes it very easy for us to do that.”
The other, Sunita Williams, agreed with the sentiment.
“It’s a very important duty that we have as citizens and looking forward to being able to vote from space, which is pretty cool,” she said.
Harris gives first post-debate TV interview
Harris sat down for an interview today with Philadelphia's ABC affiliate WPVI — her first TV interview since Tuesday's debate — to discuss her policy proposals on the economy and gun control.
The vice president reiterated her plan to expand the child tax credit, implement down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers and expand tax deductions for small business startup expenses.
"When I talk about building an opportunity economy, it is very much with the mind of investing in the ambitions and aspirations and the incredible work ethic of the American people, and creating opportunity for people, for example, to start a small business," Harris said.
When asked about her views on gun issues, Harris reiterated that she and Walz are gun owners, adding, "We're not taking anybody's guns away." She said that she supports both the Second Amendment and "reasonable gun safety laws," going on to describe prosecuting homicides and viewing autopsies.
"I have personally seen what assault weapons do to the human body, and so I feel very strongly that it is consistent with the Second Amendment and your right to own a gun to also say we need an assault weapons ban," she said. "They're literally tools of war."
Fulton County DA Fani Willis a no-show at Georgia Senate hearing
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis did not attend a hearing today into her relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade by the Georgia State Senate Special Committee on Investigations.
The Republican-led committee had subpoenaed Willis to testify before them in the morning and to bring documents, including all of her emails with Wade over the past five years.
“Let’s please note for the record that Miss Willis has failed to appear in compliance with the subpoena and has failed to produce documents requested by our subpoena for the production of documents," committee Chair Sen. Bill Cowsert said at the end of the public part of the hearing. He said the panel had hired a lawyer "to assist us in our legal enforcement efforts on the subpoena."
Willis went to court to block the subpoenas, arguing that under Georgia state law, the committee does not have the power to issue them, and argued that there was no legitimate purpose for the information the subpoenas seek. Instead, she maintained, Republicans simply were trying to impact her ongoing criminal case against Trump and many others for alleged interference with the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. The matter has not yet been heard by a judge, however; prior to the committee hearing today, at least three judges recused themselves from the subpoena dispute.
Willis had appointed to Wade to head her investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn the election results, and he was forced off the case earlier this year after he and Willis acknowledged they'd had a romantic relationship.