🗳️ Axios PM: It's Election Day

Plus: WNBA smashes records | Friday, September 20, 2024

Open in app View in browser   Presented By FICO   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Sep 20, 2024 Happy Friday! Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker, is 599 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Carlos Cunha for copy editing.     1 big thing: Early voting begins   Voters arrive to cast their ballot as early voting starts in Arlington, Va., today. Photo: AFP via Getty Images The first 2024 presidential votes were cast today — but the rules of the road are still changing before our eyes. 🗓️ Early voting began today in Virginia, Minnesota and South Dakota. At the same time, local officials in critical battlegrounds are making or contemplating major changes that could slow vote-counting, and even change the candidates' paths to victory. 🌽 The intrigue: Former President Trump is pressuring Nebraska's legislature to change how it allocates its electoral votes — a move that most likely would give him one extra vote in the Electoral College. Nebraska parcels out its electoral votes to each of its congressional districts, one of which usually votes for Democrats. Some Republicans want to move to a winner-take-all system like almost all other states use. Shifting one electoral vote out of 538 toward Trump might not seem like a game-changer, but it would set up a not-unrealistic path to an Electoral College tie. 🍑 In Georgia, the state's GOP-controlled election board voted today to require hand-counting for all ballots after polls close on Election Day — a move that could delay the results in a critical swing state. Go deeper.     2. ⚡️ How the Secret Service failed   Secret Service acting director Ronald Rowe holds a press conference today. Photo: Ben Curtis/AP The Secret Service and local law enforcement often were not on the same page during the July 13 rally where a would-be assassin fired at former President Trump, the agency said today. In a summary of its internal investigation into the assassination attempt, the Secret Service said those communications breakdowns — both before and during the rally — are the reason the attacker was able to get close enough to fire at Trump. 🔎 Zoom in: Some local agencies were apparently coordinating with one another more than with the Secret Service, the report says, which led to a lack of follow-up even after some officials questioned the way snipers were positioned. Secret Service agents "were not apprised of how focused state and local law enforcement were in the minutes leading up to the attack on locating the suspicious subject" — otherwise, they might have been able to get Trump off the stage before shots were fired. Read the Secret Service summary.     A message from FICO Myth or fact: FICO® Scores cost less than a slice of pizza     Fact! What you need to know: Mortgage closing costs can be thousands of dollars, but FICO's price is less than a slice of pizza — and it's the foundation of a safe housing ecosystem. Test your knowledge and get the facts about FICO® Scores.     3. Catch me up   Smoke rises above the southern suburbs of Beirut after an Israeli strike today. Photo: AFP via Getty Images 🇱🇧 Israeli said it killed top Hezbollah military commanders in an airstrike today near Beirut. Lebanon's Health Ministry said at least 12 people were killed and dozens more were wounded. Go deeper. ☢️ Three Mile Island — the nuclear plant that experienced a partial meltdown in 1979 — may soon come back online to power Microsoft data centers. Go deeper. 🦾 OpenAI is raising $6.5 billion — the largest venture capital round of all time. Go deeper.     4. 🏀 WNBA's stellar season   A'ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces shoots against Mercedes Russell and Jordan Horston of the Seattle Storm on Tuesday. Photo: Steph Chambers/Getty Images One of the most consequential — and fun — seasons in the WNBA's history is now in the books. And it lived up to the hype. A'ja Wilson, who may be the unanimous choice for the league's MVP, set new records for the most points (1,021), rebounds (451) and blocks (98) in a single season. No one else has ever held all three records at the same time. Caitlin Clark set a record for most assists in a season, and became the first WNBA rookie ever to notch a triple-double. (She had two, actually.) Putting together her average scoring, rebounding and assists per game, she's one of the best rookies the league has ever seen. Attendance was up 44%, mostly driven by tickets to see Clark's team. Go deeper.     A message from FICO Myth or fact: FICO® Score 10 T is the most powerful FICO® Score ever     Fact! The newest and most powerful flagship FICO Score model, FICO® Score 10 T, can help more consumers qualify for mortgage loans. Using FICO® Score 10 T, mortgage approval rates can be expanded by 5% without adding incremental risk relative to the current score in use. Learn more.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Advertise with us. Axios, PO Box 101060, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: