For all the talk of this being the artificial intelligence or TikTok election, it’s interesting the false claims former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) spread that migrants ate people’s pets in an Ohio city were sourced by a local NBC affiliate to a text post on Facebook. How old school.
The Facebook post’s author, who wrote she was passing on something she heard from a neighbor’s daughter’s friend, told WLWT, “I didn’t think it would ever get past Springfield,” but the false claims Trump spun out from her post have had real-world consequences in a city that’s counted 36 bomb threats as of Tuesday. “We have told those at the national level that they are speaking these things that are untrue,” Springfield Mayor Rob Rue, a Republican, told the Wall Street Journal, but they keep being “repeated and doubled down on.”
In an election in which billions are being spent in hopes of influencing voters across a fractured media environment of sites and platforms, an unverified Facebook post taken out of context and boosted online by power users has shown it doesn’t take much proof at all to push a conspiracy theory. Heaven help us. — Hunter
Biden to host Zelenskyy:
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be in Washington one week from today to meet at the White House with Biden and Harris separately.
“The leaders will discuss the state of the war between Russia and Ukraine, including Ukraine’s strategic planning and U.S. support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression,” Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “The President and Vice President will emphasize their unshakeable commitment to stand with Ukraine until it prevails in this war.”
Trump has nice things to say about his calls with POTUS and Veep:
In “I Wish I Hated You,” Ariana Grande sings about wishing she could hate an ex-lover. Trump struck a similar tone during a rally in Flint, Mich., Tuesday, but about his former and current opponent.
“He was so nice to me yesterday,” Trump said of his call with Biden following the foiled apparent assassination attempt. “In one way I sort of wish the call wasn’t made, because I do feel a little — he’s so nice. ‘I’m so sorry about what happened,’ and all that.” Trump added, “Same with Kamala today. She could not have been nicer.” Aww. Strangely, Trump made no mention of lead poisoning during his remarks in Flint, despite being the first presidential candidate to visit the city since the water crisis began in 2014.
Teamsters decline to endorse:
In a statement, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean M. O’Brien said Wednesday the Teamsters won’t endorse a president candidate. “Unfortunately, neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before Big Business,” he said.
The announcement came after leaders for the Teamsters, a union that represents truck drivers and others, met with Harris. “We strongly encourage all our members to vote in the upcoming election, and to remain engaged in the political process. But this year, no candidate for President has earned the endorsement of the Teamsters’ International Union,” O’Brien said.
FLOTUS is heading to Mexico for the inauguration of its first female president:
The White House announced Wednesday that First Lady Jill Biden will lead the U.S. delegation in Mexico City on Oct. 1 for the inauguration of Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, the city’s former head of government who was elected Mexico’s first female president in June. The White House said a full list of delegation members will be announced at a later date.
No one:
Melania Trump: Why do I stand proudly behind my nude modeling work?:
In starting a conversation no one at the moment was having, former First Lady Melania Trump asked the above question in her latest social media post to promote her upcoming book. Trump modeled nude for British GQ in January 2000, and in her social media post, she continued, “The more pressing question is why has the media chosen to scrutinize my celebration of the human form in a fashion photo shoot? Are we no longer able to appreciate the beauty of the human body?”
Guess who’s playing J.D. Vance in Tim Walz’ debate prep?:
It’s Secretary of Transportation Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Ahead of his Oct. 1 vice presidential debate with Vance, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been preparing with a fellow midwesterner, five sources tell The New York Times. Buttigieg played the role of former Vice President Mike Pence during debate prep with Harris in 2020, and with Walz, he’s helped out over video chat, was in person for an informal session Wednesday in Minneapolis, and will do more prep in the future, per the Times.
Hunter Biden’s sentencing pushed to December:
A federal judge said Thursday that first son Hunter Biden’s sentencing on gun charges will be moved from Nov. 13 to Dec. 4, after Biden asked for more time. His attorneys said, “Several people who plan to submit letters to both Courts as part of sentencing memoranda for Mr. Biden are short of time because they are presently involved in government work and travel with the current Administration, or are involved in the 2024 presidential campaign,” but these people would be available after Nov. 5, Election Day. I wonder who that could mean…?
The foundation brought to you by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would like you to vote:
For National Voter Registration Day earlier this week, the team at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archwell Foundation wrote letters to people who are not registered to vote to ask them to register. It was for a larger initiative called Vote Forward, a nonprofit that uses snail mail to promote voter registration.
“At The Archewell Foundation, we recognize that civic engagement, no matter one’s political party, is at the heart of a more just and equitable world. By participating in initiatives like this, we aim to amplify the message that every voice matters,” the foundation said in a statement.
Yes, you can vote from space:
NASA astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams have been stuck in space since June 5 and they aren’t expected to return to Earth until February 2025 at the earliest, but they are voting. The astronauts told reporters they’ve requested ballots.
“It’s a very important role that we all play as citizens, to be included in those elections, and NASA makes it very easy for us to do that,” Wilmore said. Local election officials in Texas said they worked with NASA to create a password-protected PDF ballot with boxes the astronauts can click to cast their votes.
💵 Fed slashes interest rates by a half point, an aggressive start to its first easing campaign in four years. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday enacted its first interest rate cut since the early days of the Covid pandemic. [CNBC]
📉 For the first time in decades, public health data shows a sudden and hopeful drop in drug overdose deaths across the U.S. National surveys compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already show an unprecedented decline in drug deaths of roughly 10.6%. [NPR]
🗞️ Plans unveiled for new fallen journalists memorial in D.C. The memorial near the National Mall will be the first entirely glass memorial in the United States. [Washingtonian]
⚾ Why an ostrich is showing up on MLB batting helmets. Strauss, a German workwear brand, is the first to advertise on postseason MLB batting helmets in the U.S. [Fast Company]
Paris Hilton is back on the Billboard 200 after 18 years:
This is hot: Paris Hilton’s new album Infinite Icon debuts at No. 38 on the Billboard 200 album chart this week, her first time on the chart since 2006 when she released her debut album Paris, which hit No. 6.
Xtina to mark 25 years since her debut album with special EP:
It’s been a quarter century since Christina Aguilera’s self-titled debut album was released, and to celebrate, she’s releasing a live studio EP reimagining songs as part of Spotify Anniversaries. The set will include collaborations with Sabrina Carpenter and MGK, and Aguilera announced it with a photoshoot inside a carpet version of the red circular icon on the cover of 1999’s Christina Aguilera.
“I’ve always enjoyed reimagining my songs with different styles and audiences, as well as playing with sounds and arrangements that showcase how all music can be timeless,” Aguilera told Rolling Stone.
Kylie’s releasing a sequel to Tension:
Kylie Mingoue announced today that she’s releasing Tension II, a follow-up to her hit 2023 album. The 13-track album will feature lead single “Lights Camera Action,” her recent collabs with artists like The Blessed Madonna (“Edge of Saturday Night”) and Sia (“Dance Alone”), and other new songs. The promotional shoot is giving Light Years meets Aphrodite meets Britney Spears Glory deluxe reissue.
Dolly Parton has nice things to say about your favs:
In a conversation with Variety about her new cookbook Good Lookin’ Cookin’, American icon Dolly Parton talked about food, but also pop stars. Parton called both Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter and Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion country albums which she featured on “great” and said she didn’t think Beyoncé Country Music Awards snub this year “was a matter of shutting out, like doing that on purpose” but rather country music seeing it as a “specialty album.”
Of Taylor Swift, Parton called her a “great inspiration” and said, “I just admire her very much and how she’s handled her business, her personal life, and what all she has meant to so many young people.” When asked what she thought of Swift endorsing Harris, Parton said, “I don’t talk politics anyway, but thank you.”
The cast of Veep is reuniting for a table read:
To raise money for Democratic candidates in Wisconsin, Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus and others from the cast are doing a virtual table read on Sept. 29 of “Crate,” (S3 E9) in which Louis-Dreyfus’ character Vice President Selina Meyers finds out the president is stepping down and she’s going to be president.
The event will be attended by Tony Hale, Anna Chlumsky, Reid Scott, Timothy Simons, Sam Richardson, Matt Walsh, Gary Cole, Sarah Rutherland, Clea DuVall, and Sufe Bradshaw, and hosted by Stephen Colbert, who told The Hollywood Reporter, “I’m a Veep fan and a Wisconsin voter turnout superfan, so I want to do my part. Plus, I’m hoping to meet Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She seems nice.”
SNL is ready for election season:
Ahead of the premiere of Saturday Night Live’s 50th season on Sept. 28 (Jean Smart hosts and Jelly Roll will be the musical guest), creator and producer Lorne Michaels says the show knows who they’ll get to play the candidates. Maya Rudolph is returning to play Harris, but in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Michaels made it sound like they have something new planned for Trump.
James Austin Johnson, who’s most recently played the former president “played Trump as the sort of diminished Trump,” Michaels said. It played well “because it felt relevant. But we are going to have to reinvent it again because, well, you saw the debate. One of the great parts of show business is that you can’t come back with the same show. So, all of these characters have to be reexamined, and if it makes sense and feels relevant, you know you’re on the right track.”
Michaels said despite the show’s interest in politics during election season, its job is first and foremost entertainment. “You can’t lecture the audience, which most of politics is now, people lecturing the audience,” he said. “It has to be comedy. We’re first and foremost a comedy show.”
Thanks for reading! See you next time. ⭐