Election 2024 live updates: Harris goes on high-profile media blitz; Trump postpones town hall with RFK Jr.

Americans for Prosperity Action, a super PAC affiliated with the Koch network of political advocacy groups, is launching a slate of new ads backing Republicans across multiple Senate battleground races, spending $8.75 million on a campaign focused largely on issues like the economy, inflation, and immigration.

With mail ballots already being mailed out in dozens of states, AFP Action is spending $1.5 million to boost former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers in Michigan, $1.25 million on behalf of Tim Sheehy in Montana, and $2 million each for Bernie Moreno in Ohio, Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania, and Eric Hovde in Wisconsin.

“The next 28 days are going to be 100% committed to talking to as many people as we can via the doors and the phones to convince them that our candidates are the right choice,” said AFP Action senior adviser Tim Golding.

Read the full story here.

Harris revealed today that she’s a Formula 1 fan.

“We love it. Our whole family does,” she told Howard Stern in an interview.

Her favorite driver? “Lewis Hamilton, of course,” Harris said, referring to the seven-time world champion, who is exiting the Mercedes team to join Ferrari next year in one of the biggest shakeups in the sport’s history.

“I don’t even know who that is,” Stern replied.

“He’s leaving Mercedes,” Harris said. “You don’t know. You don’t watch Formula 1... Once you start, I think you should see it. You might get hooked... It’s good stuff.”

F1 has crossed paths with Washington, as the Justice Department is investigating whether the sport is violating antitrust law by denying the American team Andretti Global a place on the grid, an allegation that F1’s U.S.-based owner denies.

Harris also criticized Trump for spreading disinformation about hurricane relief available to victims of Hurricane Helene, which created the highest death toll since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“It’s crude,” Harris said. “Have you no empathy, man, you know, for the suffering of other people? Have you no sense of purpose if you purport to be a leader?”

Harris told residents of North Carolina and Georgia that they are entitled to help.

“There’s a lot of misinformation, and I beseech you, I beg you, to please pay attention to it, because there are a whole lot of folks who are there to give you help and aid,” she said.

Harris taped an interview with "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert today, blasting Trump over new reports in Bob Woodward’s book that he secretly sent Covid test kits to Putin during the height of the pandemic.

“We would watch the number every day being reported of people who were dying, people who were in hospitals without their family, where the only touch that they had was of a nurse that they had met because the family could not get there, and this man is giving Covid test kits to Vladimir Putin. Think about what this means,” Harris said. “On top of him sending love letters to Kim Jong Un. No, think about it. He thinks Vladimir Putin is his friend. What about the American people? They should be your first friend.”

Harris said that “strongmen” play Trump by appealing to his ego and that it's important for the next president to "stand strong and defend the principles that we hold dear."

Walz bashed Trump today over reports he sent Covid tests to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking at a campaign reception at the home of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Walz said: “This latest revelation, I think as a governor, boils my blood. Donald Trump threw us into hunger games, pitting one against the other, and governors tried to partner together to try and save our people, whether it was testing or vaccines or whatever else it would be. Now we find out Donald Trump is giving Vladimir Putin things that we couldn’t even get for our own people. That’s real, that stuff is out there.”

Journalist Bob Woodward's new book describes Trump secretly sending coronavirus tests to Putin while he was in office.

Trump continued to mock Harris' intelligence in an interview today with conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, saying "she sounds like a child."

"She sounds like a person with a very low IQ,” Trump said, referring to Harris' recent interview with CBS News' "60 Minutes."

"This is not a president. She’s answering questions in the most basic way," said Trump, who declined to sit for an interview with the program.

An Afghan national living in Oklahoma was charged this week with conspiring to carry out a terrorist attack on Election Day on behalf of the Islamic State terrorist group, according to court documents unsealed today.

Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, was arrested yesterday in connection with conspiracy and attempting to provide material support to ISIS and getting firearms and ammunition to execute a violent attack in the U.S. on behalf of the terrorist group. Tawhedi made his initial appearance today in the federal courthouse in Oklahoma City before U.S. Magistrate Judge Suzanne Mitchell.

According to court documents, Tawhedi indicated in seized communications that he planned his attack for Election Day, Nov. 5. Authorities said that in an interview after his arrest, he confirmed that the attack was intended to target large gatherings and that he was expected to die a martyr along with a juvenile co-conspirator, described as an Afghan citizen with legal permanent resident status.

Read the full story here.

If you've watched a football game this fall, college or NFL, you've most likely seen a version of a Trump ad attacking Harris for her past support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming treatments.

That's because the ads — which end with the same punchy tag line: “Kamala is for they/them; President Trump is for you" — are two of the ads the campaign is running most frequently during college and professional football games, according to an analysis by AdImpact. (The analysis captures most, but not all, ad airings.)

While one version of the ad is in heavy rotation as part of the Trump campaign's recent ad strategy, the specific decision to target those watching football games comes as the campaign tries to lean on the culture wars on television and during rallies. It's a strategy that Republicans have used with mixed success in past years and that has drawn criticism from Democrats who say that the attacks focus on comments long in Harris' past and that they now are aimed at demonizing transgender people.

Read the full story here.

Harris’ campaign is launching a blitz in Arizona this week, with plans to swamp the battleground state with events and canvassing efforts, all timed around the start of early voting.

This week, Harris, Walz, second gentleman Doug Emhoff and first lady Jill Biden, in addition to a group of surrogates, are all engaging in more than 200 events spread across the state, hitting each of its media markets, according to details first shared with NBC News. They include a marquee rally by Harris in Phoenix on Thursday, when she will work to drive up energy on getting out the vote.

Nearly 6,000 people have already signed up to canvass and staff phone banks this week. The campaign said over the weekend that it had scheduled more than 7,500 canvassing and phone-banking shifts.

Read the full story here.

Former first lady Melania Trump said in a Fox News interview today that she plans to bring back her "Be Best" initiative if her husband wins a second term.

"I will continue my Be Best initiative for children, for women, and also I will continue with Fostering the Future initiative that I established after I left the White House in 2021," she said.

The Be Best campaign, established in 2018, was aimed at raising public awareness about children's issues and highlighting the importance of their social, emotional and physical health. The campaign identified well-being, online safety and opioid abuse as key pillars.

Fostering the Future, an offshoot of Be Best, helps create educational opportunities and scholarships for foster care kids, according to the former first lady’s website.

After boos interrupted several journalists’ questions to Vance at a campaign event in Detroit, Vance defended his supporters' expressing their disdain with the media.

“The First Amendment goes in both directions. Look, not a single person here is going to harm you,” he said, addressing reporters. “They’re just going to speak their mind, and they have every right to do it.”

Vance often invites members of the media to ask him question after he speaks at campaign events, where reporters are regularly met with jeers from rallygoers.

Today’s event, held in Detroit’s Eastern Market, drew a particularly vocal crowd whose heckles were amplified by the acoustics of the market’s lofted ceilings.

In the neck-and-neck race for the Senate between incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican Bernie Moreno, early voting in Ohio began today.

Steve Emerick, 58, of Canton, is voting for Moreno.

“I support the political movement to change the Constitution to limit terms, and Sherrod Brown has been in Congress way too long,” Emerick said. “I see it’s not just issues. I want to see new faces in Congress.”

Trump and other Republicans have criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency for its response to Hurricane Helene, claiming the agency is providing only $750 in aid to affected people. In response, FEMA has launched a new webpage to clarify the facts about hurricane recovery efforts. NBC News’ Antonia Hylton reports for "TODAY."

Trump’s virtual town hall tonight with former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was postponed because of Hurricane Milton, according to Kennedy's team.

Kennedy's team said in a news release this afternoon that it would announce a new date for the event "soon."

Trump was originally scheduled to participate in a virtual event tonight titled the Make America Healthy Again Town Hall,alongside Kennedy and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. Robert Redfield, who was the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Trump administration, was also scheduled to join the event.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said he won't endorse Harris even though he also says he doesn't want Trump to win.

During a discussion at the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, Romney said he has "made it very clear that I don’t want Donald Trump to be the next president of the United States. And you’re going to have to do the very difficult calculation of what that would mean, all right?”

Romney said, “My own view is that I want to continue to have a voice in the Republican Party following this election, because I think there’s a good shot that the Republican Party is going to need to be rebuilt and reoriented either after this election or if Donald Trump is re-elected after he’s the president.”

Trump reiterated in a post on Truth Social his threat to imprison people who cheat in the election.

"ANYBODY THAT CHEATS ON THE ELECTION IS GOING TO JAIL!!!" he wrote.

Trump has made similar threats in recent weeks, saying in early September that he would imprison people who engage in "unscrupulous behavior" in the election.

While violating election laws is illegal, Trump has made false claims about widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election ever since he lost while saying he would accept the election result in November only if it is "fair and legal and good."

Sitting in a fellow billionaire’s box at Steelers-Cowboys game in Pittsburgh on Sunday, tech mogul and prominent Trump supporter Elon musk had a surprise phone call with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, according to three people familiar with the conversation. 

musk told Shapiro, a Democrat, that he wants to invest in Pennsylvania, specifically the Pittsburgh area, according to two of the sources. He was in the early stages of the idea but expressed interest in expanding his factories to the region, they said. 

Read the full story here.

Early in-person voting kicked off in the Buckeye State today, and a steady stream of voters have filed in and out of Stark County, Ohio’s Board of Election office in the city of Canton.

David Swart, 62, of Canton, Ohio wanted to vote as soon as he could.

“I love early voting. I know I can get it in on my schedule,” Swart said. “It’s real important election, and it’s a lot of fundamental rights at risk.”

Swart is voting for Harris and said of Trump, “he’s such a liar. He’s such a crook.”

Asked about journalist Bob Woodward’s claims that Trump has had several private calls with Vladimir Putin since leaving office, Vance said, “Even if it's true, look, is there something wrong with speaking to world leaders? No. Is there anything wrong with engaging in diplomacy?”

Vance also took a shot at Woodward, calling him a "hack" and saying, “I honestly didn’t know that Bob Woodward was still alive until you asked me that question."

Trump has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin as many as seven times since leaving the White House, including as recently as this year, according to new reporting by journalist Bob Woodward.

Woodward makes the claims in his forthcoming book, “War,” a dramatic account of the White House under President Joe Biden and Trump that details elements of their relationships with foreign leaders. The book is set to be published Oct. 15. 

The book details how Trump’s relationship with Putin has continued as he mounts another bid for the White House and amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Read the full story here.

Harris seemed unconcerned when asked by Stern what she'd say to people who feel the country's not ready for a female president.

“Listen, I’ve been the first woman in almost every position I’ve had. So I believe that men and women support women in leadership," the vice president said. "That’s been my life experience and that’s why I’m running for president,” she added.

Harris is the first female, Black and person of South Asian descent to be elected vice president. She previously broke the same barriers when she was elected district attorney in San Francisco and then California attorney general. She was also the first South Asian and second Black woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

Wanda Payne, 65, a self-proclaimed “hippie,” woke up this morning feeling energized. On this first day of early in-person voting, her grandson was going to step into a voting booth for the first time.

“I couldn’t wait to get up this morning,” she said pointing to her Harris pin. “My grandson’s voting for the first time.”

Payne hasn’t missed an election, and this one has her thinking of her four daughters and their access to abortion and necessary health care.

She didn’t mince words on what it meant to potentially be voting the first female president into office: “It’s amazing, it’s about time, and it should have happened a long time ago.”

Embattled NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre is appearing in a new television ad supporting Trump and arguing he will "protect our families and restore world peace."

The new spot, which AdImpact first captured running late last week, is being paid for by Dan Newlin, an Orlando-area personal injury attorney who has spent heavily on independent political ads this cycle, a departure from donors who usually give their money to groups that create those ads.

Last month, Favre announced he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's during an appearance on Capitol Hill related to allegations he misused taxpayer money, which he denies.

In a freewheeling interview with Howard Stern, Harris blasted Trump for reportedly sending Covid tests to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the height of the pandemic.

"Everybody was scrambling to get kits" and people "couldn’t get them anywhere, right. This guy, who was president of the United States, is sending them to Russia to a murderous dictator for his personal use,” Harris said. He's "secretly helping out an adversary while Americans are dying by the hundreds every day," she said.

Harris was referring to reporting in journalist Bob Woodward's forthcoming book "War." The book, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News, reports that Putin asked Trump "don't tell anybody you sent these to me," and Trump agreed.

In her new memoir, Melania Trump reveals that she backs abortion rights, but she leaves some grey area as to whether she supports restrictions.

In the book, titled “Melania,” she says that women should “have the power to determine what she does with her own body,” and expresses support for the slogan “My body, My choice.”

“A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes,” Trump wrote. “Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body.”

In the next paragraph, however, she then outlines “legitimate” reasons for a woman to get an abortion.

Read the full story here.

The pro-cryptocurrency Fairshake PAC is advertising in a competitive House race in Orange County, Calif., to boost GOP Rep. Michelle Steel, who is facing a serious challenge from Democrat Derek Tran.

A new TV ad features a female narrator praising Steel as "our champion in Congress."

"She's been an advocate for Southern California women voting to protect victims of domestic abuse and stop violence against women," the narrator says "Michelle Steele has long been an advocate of women's access to IVF, turning to IVF to help start her own family."

The ad seeks to ameliorate a vulnerability for Steel that Democrats are exploiting: her previous sponsorship of the Life at Conception Act, an aggressive anti-abortion bill that could also threaten access to IVF. Steel rescinded her sponsorship of the bill in March, just after she had won her primary and advanced to the general election in California's top-two system.

Sen. Bob Casey criticized a statement put out by some of his fellow Pennsylvania Democrats on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that expressed concern for those killed by Hamas and by Israel in the ensuing conflict.

"Over the past year, we’ve seen how continued escalation, a lack of diplomacy, and a drive for power by right-wing leaders have pushed the region to the brink of regional war," the statement by Rep. Summer Lee, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gaine said. "In these dark times, we remain committed to being voices for peace. The only way to bring peace is to de-escalate, not hasten another endless war."

“I could not disagree more with this statement," Casey said. "Hamas is a terrorist organization and its horrific attack which resulted in the murder of 1,200 innocent Israeli civilians must be categorically condemned. Hamas remains a threat to the people of Israel.”

Green Party nominee Jill Stein's running mate celebrated the Oct. 7 terror attack and called Biden and Harris "Nazis" in a video posted on social media.

Butch Ware, a left-wing Muslim professor Stein selected to be her vice presidential candidate, recorded the video yesterday to "commemorate the one year anniversary of the modern equivalent of Nat Turner's rebellion," referring to the 1831 slave revolt in Virginia, saying "armed resistance to oppression" is always legitimate and that people who oppose it are "white supremacist."

Harris said in an interview on ABC's "The View" that she wouldn't have done anything differently than President Joe Biden over the last four years.

"There is not a thing that comes to mind," Harris said. The vice president said she has been part of major decisions during the administration and has played a role in the progress made.

"For example, capping the cost of insulin at $35 a month for our seniors is something I care deeply about, about allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices and bring the cost of prescription medication down for seniors," she said.

Harris slammed Trump in an interview on ABC's "The View" this morning when she was asked about the former president falsely claiming that FEMA is diverting resources to "illegal migrants."

"It's profound, and it is the height of irresponsibility and frankly, callousness, the idea that somebody would be playing political games for the sake of himself," she said. "But this is so consistent about Donald Trump. He puts himself before the needs of others. I fear that he really lacks empathy on a very basic level to care about the suffering of other people."

Asked about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' refusal to take Harris' calls about the response to Hurricane Helene, Harris said she's called and spoken to both Democratic and Republican governors throughout this crisis, adding it's not a partisan or political issue.

"I called the governor about what Florida has received in terms of impact," Harris said. "We have to have an agreement that at some point we all need to work together to combine resources, especially federal, state and local resources, around these kinds of disasters. And I think it's a shame that that hasn't happened."

Walz sat down with late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel to discuss various topics. The Democratic vice presidential candidate commented on his recent debate with Vance, adding that the election is a chance to “turn the page” on denial about the 2020 presidential results.

President Joe Biden has postponed his overseas trip this week because of Hurricane Milton, according to two sources familiar with the planning. 

Biden was scheduled to depart for Berlin on Thursday and then travel to Angola in southern Africa, returning to the U.S. on Oct. 15. It would mark the first time Biden would travel to Africa as president.

Read more here.

In an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson released on X yesterday, tech billionaire Elon musk mocked Harris and the backlash he received over his now-deleted post last month about how “no one is even trying to assassinate” the vice president.

“I made a joke, which I realized I deleted, which is like no one’s even bothering to try to kill Kamala because it’s pointless,” musk said, prompting laughter from him and Carlson. “What do you achieve? Nothing. Just find another puppet."

As the race for the White House enters the final stretch, Harris appeared in several high-profile interviews, including “60 Minutes,” discussing changes in some of her policy positions. Meanwhile, Trump opened up on Fox News about what a victory for him could mean for political rivals. NBC’s Peter Alexander reports for "TODAY."

Harris plans to offer a new proposal on "The View" today that would expand Medicare to cover the long-term care needs of seniors, including at-home care.

In her interview on the daytime talk show, Harris plans to focus on the "sandwich generation" of Americans who care for children and aging parents, a senior campaign official said.

In addition to the seniors home care benefit, Harris plans to propose a new plan to lower child care costs, the official said.

First lady Jill Biden will travel to Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania from Friday to Oct. 15 to campaign for the Harris-Walz ticket, the campaign said.

Biden will be in Yuma, Arizona, on Friday; Phoenix on Saturday; northern Nevada on Sunday; the Detroit suburbs and Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday; and the Philadelphia suburbs Tuesday, the campaign release said.

The first lady will highlight Harris’ agenda on protecting abortion rights and providing economic opportunities. She will also urge people to vote as early voting begins in Arizona and ballots are being sent out in other swing states she's visiting.

Walz is scheduled to deliver remarks at campaign receptions in Seattle and Sacramento, California. He'll then deliver remarks at a campaign reception in Reno, Nevada, and hold a rally there at 9:30 p.m. ET.

Vance will deliver remarks in Detroit at 2 p.m. ET before heading to Denver for a private fundraiser. He ends the night in Tucson ahead of events in Arizona tomorrow.

Harris is scheduled to participate in three interviews today while she's in New York: at 11 a.m. on “The View,” at 1 p.m. on “The Howard Stern Show,” and at 6 p.m. on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

Trump is also in New York City and will join a health care-focused virtual town hall at 8 p.m. led by former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. titled “Make America Healthy Again.” The former president was originally scheduled to participate in a Latino business leaders roundtable today, but it has been postponed because of severe weather forecasts from Hurricane Milton.

A new $4 million effort primarily aimed at engaging and mobilizing Black male voters ahead of Election Day in key battleground states is launching today, according to plans shared first with NBC News.

The push — dubbed Vote To Live — is affiliated with the Collective PAC, one of the country’s largest political action committees supporting Black candidates, which has endorsed Harris. 

The new effort will focus on nonpartisan ways to encourage largely Black men to vote, said Quentin James, founder and president of the Collective PAC. As part of that goal, Vote To Live will focus on such actions as educating Black men about where to register, providing free transportation to the polls during early voting, hiring people to directly engage with their communities and hosting events at historically Black colleges and universities.

Read the full story here.

Harris for weeks was criticized for avoiding tough questions that came with long-form traditional media interviews.

In an interview with CBS News’ “60 Minutes” that aired yesterday evening, she faced many of them all at once.  

Chief among them was whether she regretted the initial border policy during the Biden administration that allowed a historic swell of immigrants across the border.  “Was it a mistake to loosen the immigration policies as much as you did?” “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker asked.

“It’s a long-standing problem, and solutions are at hand, and from day one, literally, we have been offering solutions,” Harris said, pointing to an early attempt to advocate for an immigration bill in Congress. 

Read the full story here.

Foreign adversaries will try to shake Americans’ confidence in the legitimacy of election results in November by giving voice to false claims or spreading their own disinformation about ballot counting, U.S. intelligence officials said today.

“As we approach Election Day, the intelligence community is also stressing that foreign efforts to undermine America’s democracy won’t end on Nov. 5,” a senior intelligence official told reporters in a virtual briefing.

In the latest assessment of foreign threats to the election, intelligence officials said the main foreign powers seeking to shape the outcome of the vote — Russia, China and Iran — also were focusing on meddling in congressional and state races.

Read the full story here.

When NBC News colors in a state or district red or blue on election night, that’s because the NBC News Decision Desk has determined it can project a winner in that race. Here’s how NBC News projects winners, the steps it takes to verify results and the answers to some frequently asked questions about the process. 

On Nov. 5, the Decision Desk will project 610 races across all 50 states, from the presidential election to statewide and congressional contests.

Projecting a winner means that the Decision Desk has determined that the trailing candidates cannot catch the leader and that the leading candidate will win the race. This determination is made through a comprehensive analysis, and the Decision Desk only projects a race when it is certain of the outcome.

The Supreme Court today takes on another battle over restrictions on firearms as the justices consider the Biden administration’s move to restrict “ghost gun” kits that allow people to assemble deadly weapons at home while skirting existing regulations.

The administration wants the kits to be regulated the same way as other firearms, meaning that manufacturers and sellers would have to obtain licenses, mark the products with serial numbers, require background checks and maintain records.

The case comes just months after the court, which regularly backs gun rights, ruled that a federal ban on bump stocks — a gun accessory used to allow semiautomatic rifles to fire quickly — was unlawful. In another gun case that marked a win for the Biden administration, the court in June upheld a federal law that bars people subjected to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms.

Read the full story here.