First thing: Harris and Trump chase swing state votes as campaign nears climax | American news

Good morning.

As the 2024 presidential race nears its climax on Tuesday, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump continue to rush through swing states and rally voters in hopes of being sworn into the world’s most powerful office on January 20, 2025.

On Thursday, both candidates held rallies in the swing state of Nevada. Harris’ rally had a joyful atmosphere, with mothers carrying babies, supporters wearing Halloween costumes and an appearance by Jennifer Lopez. “We’re not going back!” people sang.

At Trump’s event, supporters cheered the demonization of immigrants, mocked the “fake news” media and broke out into chants of “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Meanwhile, Trump told Tucker Carlson in an interview that Elon Musk and Robert F Kennedy Jr. could be “influential figures” if he wins.

• What do the polls show? It’s unclear. Nationally, Harris is at 47% and Trump at 46%, but because of the electoral college system it will come down to a few swing states. It’s neck and neck.

• How many have already voted? As of October 31 at 11:00 PM EST, more than 65 million people have cast their votes.

• How do you spend a billion dollars in election funding? Check out Richard Luscombe’s piece on where the money actually goes.

About 8,000 North Korean soldiers at Ukraine border, US says

About 8,000 North Korean soldiers are stationed in Russia on the border with Ukraine, the US secretary of state said, warning that Moscow is preparing to deploy those troops in combat “in the coming days.”

Antony Blinken said the US believed North Korea had sent a total of 10,000 troops to Russia, first to training bases in the Far East, before sending the vast majority to the Kursk region on the border with Ukraine.

The deployment could turn Europe’s largest land war since World War II into a multi-regional conflict, linking rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula between North and South Korea.

• This is what the US envoy to the UN said: Robert Wood bluntly warned that Pyongyang’s troops entering Ukraine “will certainly return in body bags.”

• Ukraine Braces for the outcome of the US presidential election: in an interview with the Guardian in May, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had “no strategy yet” for what to do if Trump returned to the White House, though he suggested the outlines of a plan rooted in an appeal to the vanity of the candidate.

Extensive Israeli attacks signal a ‘rejection’ of the ceasefire, Lebanon’s prime minister says

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati criticized Israel’s “expansion” of attacks on the country, saying they showed a rejection of attempts to broker a ceasefire after more than a month of war, Agence France-Presse reported.

“The Israeli enemy’s renewed expansion of the scope of its aggression against the Lebanese regions, its repeated threats to the population to evacuate entire towns and villages, and its renewed attacks on the southern outskirts of Beirut with devastating attacks are all indicators that confirm the Israeli struggle. the enemy’s rejection of all efforts being made to broker a ceasefire,” Mikati said in a statement after night raids hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, in the first such attack this week.

Reuters reports that a US envoy this week asked Lebanon to declare a unilateral ceasefire with Israel as part of an effort to help negotiations reach a resolution to the more than year-long conflict, a top official said. Lebanese political source and a senior diplomat at the agency.

• How many people in Lebanon have died in the conflict? The country’s health ministry says more than 2,800 people have been killed and 13,000 injured since October 8, 2023.

Other news…

• Striking Boeing employees will vote on an improved contract offer on Mondayincluding a 38% pay increase over four years and a larger signing bonus.

• No country has contributed to reparations for the victims and survivors of Ugandan warlord Dominic Ongwendespite the International Criminal Court awarding 52.4 million euros in February.

• Reducing sugar in children can protect them against adult diabetes and high blood pressureResearch shows that the number of type 2 diabetes decreases by 35% and that high blood pressure decreases by 20%.

Stat of the Day: $700 San Francisco ‘pod’ with privacy curtains and charging ports

A company that rents “sleeping pods” in downtown San Francisco for $700 a month has had 300 people apply for the remaining 17 beds, the company’s CEO said. Brownstone Shared Housing’s bunk-bed style “pods” measure approximately 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet, large enough for a double mattress. The pods come with privacy curtains, interior lighting and charging ports.

Don’t Miss: ‘I Graduated from Art School at the Age of 90’

“I have always been passionate about art, but I had no money, and with thirteen children to feed and raise, being an artist was not an option. I was 83 when I finally enrolled in art school,” says Miguel Ángel Gallo. “My only problem was that a few teachers in the first year didn’t take me seriously.”

Climate check: Trump presidency could ‘paralyze’ Paris climate accord, UN chief warns

The world needs the US to continue participating in the international climate process to avoid a “paralyzed” Paris agreement, the UN Secretary-General has warned, amid fears that Donald Trump could leave the country for a second times out of the agreement. António Guterres said it would be like losing a limb or organ.

Last Thing: ‘Brat’ voted Collins word of the year

Lexicographers at the Collins Dictionary have named “brat” their 2024 word of the year, following the 2023 word “AI.” Collins singled out a brat amid a new definition: “Characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude.”

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