VP Debate Tonight: Who's Saying They're Nervous
Hurricane Helene's death toll surpasses 120 as rescues continue across North Carolina
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Good morning,
Happy 100th birthday to former President Jimmy Carter. When Carter entered hospice care last year, his family and friends thought he had only days to live. More than 19 months later, he becomes the first president in American history to hit the centennial mark.
He is celebrating in the same Georgia town where he was born in 1924. Plains, GA residents are celebrating Carter today with a flyover of military jets, a naturalization ceremony for 100 new citizens and a concert. But, he won’t be able to attend as he remains in hospice care.
The former president still listens to music, including Bob Dylan and the Allman Brothers Band. His favorite song is reportedly Garth Brooks’s “Unanswered Prayers.” And, he is still following his favorite baseball team, the Atlanta Braves.
Carter is the longest living president. George H. W. Bush died at age 94, while Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan made it to 93.
One more thing reportedly on his bucket list: He says he wants to live long enough to vote for Kamala Harris next month.
Have a good one!
Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren
PS: Don’t forget to refer friends & family to subscribe to the Mo Newsletter… you could get free Mo News merch — DETAILS at the bottom of this newsletter!
📌 LAST DEBATE BEFORE ELECTION DAY: VP DEBATE NIGHT
The Vice Presidential debate is tonight between two Midwestern guys: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance (R). While VP debates are typically inconsequential, this will be the last time voters get to see a clear side-by-side of the two tickets before Election Day.
For many voters, it could be their introduction to both men.
DEBATE PREP
Walz, who told Harris he was a bad debater when getting vetted, is trying to temper expectations. He is telling people he’s nervous about facing Vance and letting Harris down.
Walz: The former teacher told a group of Democratic donors that, “As teachers, we are trained to answer the question, and we train our students to answer the questions…That’s not how debates go.”
His team has been holding mock sessions with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg playing Vance.
But this isn’t Walz’s first rodeo: With 12 years in the House and nearly six as governor, Walz has more government experience than many men who’ve served as president.
Game plan: Ignore Vance for the most part and focus on Trump. Walz will paint himself and Harris as the mainstream option compared to their opponents, who coined as “weird.”
Vance: A trained lawyer, Vance has never shied away from debates. He was a political commentator on TV for years before he entered Congress.
Minnesota Republican Rep. Tom Emmer, the House Majority Whip, stood in for Walz during Vance's debate prep. Vance's wife, who is a lawyer, and senior Trump adviser Jason Miller have also been assisting his team.
Their plan: Vance will attempt to portray the Minnesota governor as a radical liberal that will hurt middle class Americans. He’s said to have studied Walz’s past debates and will try to make his dad-joke persona come across as moronic, or get him angry.
VIBE CHECK
This is a VP debate. It is the undercard that historically has not mattered. The primary role for Walz and Vance is to be a cheerleader for the top of the ticket, and not make a major gaffe during the 90 minute face-off. Among Democrats, 65% are enthusiastic about Walz compared to 49% of Republicans who feel the same for Vance (when you break it down to MAGA Republicans, that number grows to 67%).
HOW TO WATCH
The 90-minute debate, which starts at 9pmET, is hosted by CBS News and will be carried by all major networks and streaming platforms. It will take place in the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City, the first presidential debate in Manhattan since 1960. Unlike the Trump-Harris debate, the mics will not be muted.
"CBS Evening News" anchor Norah O'Donnell and "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan will moderate the debate.
Some viewers criticized CNN for not live fact checking during the first presidential debate, while ABC’s attempt to fact check angered Trump supporters. CBS is taking a third option tonight: It is debuting a QR code, which will appear in the corner of TV screens to be scanned, with live fact checking from about 20 of their journalists.
📲 Mo News will be on-the-ground reporting from the spin room. Get exclusive access and real time analysis on Mo News Premium Instagram. We’ll be back here tomorrow with a breakdown of the debate.
📌 RESCUE WORKERS RUSH TO ISOLATED COMMUNITIES AFTER HELENE
Rescue workers are racing to reach isolated communities in the Southeast to get storm victims water and food, four days after Hurricane Helene’s destruction spread across some 600 miles. The death toll rose above 120 people across six states, with about a third of the deaths in the area surrounding Asheville, North Carolina.
Several main routes into Asheville have been washed away or are still blocked by mudslides, including Interstate 40. The city’s water system was severely damaged, forcing residents to scoop creek water into buckets so they could flush toilets.
Authorities are rushing to airdrop supplies, restore power, clear roads, and locate the hundreds of people who are still missing. President Biden on Monday said that the US government is giving “every available resource” to those impacted.
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
Biden discussed “the broad and devastating” impacts of the storm: “It’s not just a catastrophic storm, it’s a historic, history-making storm.”
He expects to ask Congress for additional money for disaster assistance, and intends to travel to North Carolina later this week when his presence wouldn’t divert from live-saving search-and-rescue missions.
FEMA’s Administrator Deanne Criswell will stay in Asheville, North Carolina for the “foreseeable future,” Biden added.
THE POLITICS
Former President Trump visited Georgia on Monday. While he claimed politics was not on his minds weeks before the election, he proceeded to claim that the Biden administration response was insufficient, and that Georgia’s Republican governor could not get a hold of Biden or Harris.
However, earlier in the day, Gov. Brian Kemp said that he and Biden connected Sunday evening and the president promised to send him any resource he needed.
Trump has also said that the federal government and Democratic governors, including North Carolina's Roy Cooper, are “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.” There is no evidence that is the case. Notably, both Harris and Trump are looking to win Florida, Georgia and North Carolina in next month’s election.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 Major ports on east coast and gulf coast shut down with huge economic ramifications (NBC NEWS)
📌 Georgia's six-week abortion ban ruled unconstitutional by judge (CBS NEWS)
📌 VA employees improperly accessed JD Vance, Tim Walz's medical records, prompting criminal probe (FOX NEWS)
📌 FBI to pay $22 million to settle claims of sexual discrimination at training academy (NBC NEWS)
📌 Second attempted Trump assassin Ryan Routh pleads not guilty to charges he tried to kill former president at golf course (CNN)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 Israel begins ‘limited ground operation’ into Lebanon, IDF says (CNN) US officials believe Israel will not conduct full invasion of Lebanon (NYT)
📌 France’s Marine Le Pen on trial for alleged EU funds misuse (BBC)
📌 China stocks surge in biggest single-day rally since 2008 on stimulus cheer (REUTERS)
📌 Norway is mulling building a fence on its border with Russia, following Finland’s example (AP)
📌 Rwanda is dealing with its first outbreak of deadly Marburg virus (CNN)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 Major service outage for Verizon customers across the US (CNN)
📌 Fed sees no 'hurry' to cut rates as confidence in economy grows, Powell says (REUTERS)
📌 Ford targets EV ‘fence-sitters’ with offer of free home charger and installation (VERGE)
📌 X is now worth less than 25% of what Elon Musk paid for it (YAHOO FINANCE)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 NYC’s first-ever ‘garbage’ restaurant week is here: Michelin chefs making special dishes — out of trash (NY POST)
📌 Netflix fails to get Baby Reindeer lawsuit dropped (BBC)
📌 Oasis adds US, Canada and Mexico stops to reunion tour (AP)
📌 Former ‘Bachelor’ Colton Underwood welcomes first baby with husband (TODAY)
📌 Baseball legend Pete Rose dies at age 83 (ABC NEWS)
📌 Basketball star Dikembe Mutombo, known for his shot-blocking skill and famed finger wave, dies at 58 (CNN)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: OCTOBER 1
1949: With most of mainland Chinese held by the communist People's Liberation Army, its leader, Mao Zedong, proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China in Beijing.
1957: The motto “In God We Trust” began appearing on US paper currency. It was a response to the fact that the Soviet Union didn’t emphasize god or religion.
1975: Muhammad Ali defeated Joe Frazier in the “Thrilla in Manila,” regarded by many as the greatest prizefight of all time.
1982: Sony introduced the world's first commercial CD player.