Coverage on this live blog has ended.
What's happening on the campaign trail today
- Former President Donald Trump ventured West today, making stops in Aurora, Colorado — which he argued is overrun by migrants and gang violence — and Reno, Nevada.
- Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, swung through Michigan today to speak in Macomb County ahead of his appearance at a football game in Minnesota, while Harris returned to Washington, D.C., from Arizona after campaigning there yesterday.
- Walz's trip to the Midwest comes one day after former President Barack Obama made the first stop of his eleventh-hour swing-state blitz with an appearance in Pittsburgh marked by his sharp criticism of Trump.
Justice Department sues Virginia over effort to reduce voter rolls close to Election Day
The Justice Department announced today that it is suing Virginia over its efforts to purge voter rolls within 90 days of an election, calling the state’s actions a violation of federal voting laws.
The suit comes about two months after Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order requiring the state’s Department of Elections to conduct daily updates to its voting list, including comparing the list of identified “non-citizens” to the state’s existing list of registered voters.
Local officials are required to notify people found on both lists that their voter registration will be canceled if they fail to respond to the notice and affirm their citizenship within 14 days.
According to the Justice Department, some of the people identified as non-citizens are in fact U.S. citizens, leading to some voter registrations being canceled unnecessarily.
Michigan bishops criticize Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for video they say mocks their faith
The Bishops of Michigan criticized Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for a video the religious leaders argue mocked the act of receiving communion.
The bishops called the video, which they argued mocked the practice of receiving holy communion, "offensive," citing it as an example of declining civility toward people of faith.
"It is not just distasteful or 'strange;' it is an all-too-familiar example of an elected official mocking religious persons and their practices," the bishops said.
The video portrays Whitmer feeding a Doritos corn chip to kneeling podcaster Liz Plank, mimicking a social media trend in which creators feed their friends food while looking blankly into the camera. The video was posted by Plank in support of the CHIPS Act, according to the Instagram reel’s caption.
According to the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan, Whitmer issued a statement today apologizing and saying the video was misconstrued.
"Over 25 years in public service, I would never do something to denigrate someone's faith," Whitmer said in the statement, per the diocese.
"I’ve used my platform to stand up for people’s right to hold and practice their personal religious beliefs. My team has spoken to the Michigan Catholic Conference. What was supposed to be a video about the importance of the CHIPS Act to Michigan jobs, has been construed as something it was never intended to be, and I apologize for that," the statement added.
Vance says attorney general will be ‘most important’ administration role after president
Fielding questions from volunteers during a stop at a suburban Atlanta campaign field office today, Sen. JD Vance said “a strong, smart, courageous attorney general” would be the “most important” member of a future Trump administration.
“The most important person in government after the president, it’s not me, and it’s not even — it’s not the staff members. The most important person in government, I think, after the president for this cycle is going to be the attorney general,” Vance said, adding that a second Trump White House would have to “clean house” at the Department of Justice.
“The broken leadership of the Department of Justice, it’s got to work for equal justice under law, and we need a strong, smart, courageous attorney general,” the senator continued.
Trump developed rocky relationships with both of his attorneys general during his time in office. Jeff Sessions drew Trump’s ire for recusing himself from the DOJ’s probe investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, which ultimately led to his being fired in the fall of 2018 and Trump endorsing now-Sen. Tommy Tuberville over Sessions as he tried to return to his former post in the Senate in 2020.
Sessions’ successor, Bill Barr, resigned in the weeks after the 2020 election after disputing the former president’s claims of election fraud. Barr has since said that he would support the Republican ticket in 2024.
Trump talks up support among Black men a day after Obama voices concern
Trump talked up his support among Black men during tonight's rally in Reno, Nevada, a day after Obama said he was concerned about the level of enthusiasm for Harris by Black men heading into the election.
"I have gone through the roof with Black men," Trump said. "I don’t do quite as well with Black women, I must say. I don’t know why."
Trump's comments come on the heels of Obama campaigning for Harris Pittsburgh, where he told the crowd that Trump was not an example of "real strength."
Before the rally, Obama expressed concern to volunteers about voter enthusiasm.
“We have not seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running," Obama said. "Now, I also want to say that that seems to be more pronounced with the brothers."
Black male voters are a "targeted constituency" for Obama in the remaining weeks of the campaign, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News.
A recent Howard poll found that while a majority of younger Black men in battleground states support Harris, they are more likely to back Trump than older Black voters. Overall, the poll found that Black voters in battleground states overwhelmingly back Harris.
Trump questions 'values in Reno' during rally there
Trump appeared to question the values of people who live in Reno, Nevada while rallying there tonight while urging his supporters to vote out Sen. Jacky Rosen.
"You also need to defeat your disastrous radical Democrat senator, Jacky Rosen, and elect a great patriot to defend your — your Washington values and your values in Reno, although I don’t know, Reno, can I talk about great values? Yeah, I think I can," Trump told the Reno crowd.
"I’m not sure if everybody’s going to believe that one, but I believe it. I know a lot of great people from Reno," he continued. "We have values and all different values, and you have great values here. Jacky Rosen is a disaster."
Trump has previously criticized cities he's rallying in while delivering remarks.
Trump criticized Detroit while making remarks there yesterday, saying that the U.S. will “be like Detroit” if Harris wins the election.
Trump says Harris 'doesn't know she's alive'
During a campaign rally in Reno tonight, Trump employed an attack line he has used against Biden, saying Harris "doesn’t know she’s alive."
Trump has previously suggested that his former opponent, Biden, didn't know that he was alive, recently using the line in his debate against Harris last month.
“We have a president who doesn’t even know he’s alive,” Trump said then.
Trump has often lamented that Biden is no longer in the presidential race, recycling attacks he used against Biden in an attempt to define Harris.
Trump calls for death penalty against migrants who kill U.S. citizens
During his rally in Aurora, Colorado, Trump today called for the death penalty to be used against migrants who kill U.S. citizens or law enforcement officers.
"I'm hereby calling for the death penalty for any migrant that kills an American citizen or a law enforcement officer," Trump said.
The former president has previously called for the death penalty for undocumented immigrants who engage in sex trafficking or major drug deals.
Aurora police chief says the city is still ‘very safe’ despite Trump’s claims
Trump painted a dark picture of Colorado’s third-largest city at a rally today as he once again claimed it had been overtaken by a Venezuelan prison gang. But the city’s police chief told NBC News that Aurora is still “very safe.”
“It’s not overrun. Without question, Aurora is still a very safe city. It is still a wonderful community that is incredibly diverse,” Todd Chamberlain said. While there is some gang activity, he added, “what we hope to do is make sure that that gang doesn’t grow.”
On the trail, Trump has highlighted a specific Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, known as TDA, after a social media clip went viral last month claiming that the gang had taken over an apartment complex in Aurora. Police at the time said there was no evidence the gang had taken over the complex, and Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, a Republican, called Trump’s descriptions “not accurate.”
Supreme Court asked to nix abortion clinic ‘bubble zones’ for protesters
The Supreme Court may soon consider two cases that could dismantle limits on how close protesters can be to people at abortion clinics and other health care facilities.
The cases argue that “buffer zones” around clinics and “bubble zones” around the people who visit them violate the First Amendment.
Harris says she would form a bipartisan council of policy advisers
Harris announced today that she plans to form a bipartisan council of advisers to work with her on policy if elected.
She said that she would establish the President’s Council on Bipartisan Solutions in her first 30 days in office, and would include Republican and Democratic public officials and business and community leaders, according to a campaign aide.
Some of the issues the council would focus on include expanding small businesses, building more affordable housing, ensuring online safety and strengthening mental health care and care for veterans.
Harris has previously said that she would appoint a Republican to her Cabinet if elected.