DATA POINTS
- 2%: The percentage of Americans who live to 100 years old
- 10%: The percentage of staff Boeing plans to lay off this month amidst the current strike from employees
- 66%: The percentage of Americans who believe trade professionals have more job security than corporate professionals
- 3.2 Million: The number of homes in Florida who lost power due to hurricane Milton
- $400 Million: The amount of ad spending in the Ohio Senate race; the most expensive race in the country
- $16 Billion: The amount spent during the 2024 federal election cycle; the most expensive election ever
Early Bird Gets the Vote
It’s not even Halloween, but voting records are already being broken. Early voting in battleground state Georgia saw record turnout as polls opened on Tuesday. Voters cast over 328,000 early ballots, more than doubling 2020’s record of 136,000. Former President Donald Trump is vying to win the state after losing it to President Biden by a thin margin last election cycle. Notably, a Georgian judge recently blocked an initiative that would have required hand-counting each ballot after the election, expressing his concern that the rule change came at the “11th-and-one half hour” and would lessen public confidence in election results.
Georgia isn’t the only state facing last-minute changes to voting requirements. The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that convicted felons may have their voting privileges restored two years after they completed their sentence terms. If former felons hope to vote in this election, they need to move quickly. The deadline to register online is today (Friday, October 18) and to register in-person is October 25.
As states grapple with their own best practices for the 2024 election, Vice President Harris and former President Trump are pushing their way forward in a deadlocked race. According to the latest national NBC News poll, each candidate has 48% support from registered voters. This polling positions each candidate to pursue the 4% of voters who either don’t want to vote for either or who are unsure.
For anyone feeling stress, troubled thoughts, or existential dread about the upcoming election: don’t worry. The Associated Press put together a comprehensive on how to not let the election get to you.
Everyone Can Serve in Congress
The Oval Office is not the only seat up for grabs in 17 days. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 33 Senate positions are on the table. People from all walks of life are shooting their shot to govern. Independent Dan Osborn is challenging Republican Senator Deb Fischer – and is leading in the polls by two points. Osborn served in the Navy and National Guard and worked as an industrial machinery mechanic at Kellogg’s cereal factory in Omaha. Bernie Moreno, who built one of the largest car dealership groups in the U.S., is looking to overthrow Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio, where over $400 million has already been spent in political ads.
36-year-old waitress and small business owner Rebecca Cooke is looking to flip Republican Derrick Van Orden’s seat in Wisconsin. Growing up on a dairy farm, she may be able to hit the “American Heartland” profile voters love. Former NASCAR driver and state lawmaker Austin Theriault, 30, may upset Democrat Jared Golden’s re-election campaign in a heavy swing district. Sam Brown is running for the Nevada Senate seat as a Republican facing off against Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen. Brown, a former Army Captain, had nearly a third of his body set ablaze by a roadside bomb in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Indian American ER Doctor Amish Shah wants to unseat seven-term Republican David Schweikert in the Arizona election.
Don’t be disillusioned by the idea that Congress exists as an entity separate from everyday Americans. Regular people put regular people in (and take them out of) office.
Amazon Goes Nuclear (In a Good Way)
Amazon Web Services (AWS), a large branch of tech mega-giant Amazon, is putting $500 million worth of eggs in the small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) basket. The company is experiencing a radical growth in its need for clean energy to support its generative AI business. AWS signed an agreement with Virginia’s Dominion Energy to explore SMR’s application to continue its emission reduction commitments. SMRs are small but capable of producing up to 300 MW without emissions and can be factory-assembled and transported as a unit to its installation location.
Virginia is the data center hotspot of the world – home to nearly half of all data centers in the U.S. An estimated 70% of all the world’s internet traffic flows through Data Center Alley in Loudon County, VA every single day. Dominion already provides nearly 3,500 MW to 452 data centers across Virginia. A typical data center calls for about 30 megawatts, and Dominion projects power demand will increase by 85% over the next 15 years. AWS is hoping that safe, reliable, and emission-free SMRs will add another 300 MW to Virginia.
No Shooting Until You Can Take Shots
The Supreme Court tossed out a Pennsylvania decision that would have allowed 18 through 20-year-olds to openly carry guns during emergencies. The case follows the 2022 Bruen SCOTUS decision that expanded gun rights when the court found that any firearm restrictions must have a strong basis in historical precedent. Pennsylvania challengers argued that during the nation’s founding, young people were not barred from carrying firearms and, according to Bruen, they should therefore not be restricted today. Opponents of the rule change affirmed there is historical precedent of limiting guns to people over 21 dating back to the 1850s.
To understand how gun legislation is evolving in the modern era, check out the Duke Center for Firearms Law, which is the preeminent organization for sharing factual, nonpartisan, and judicial perspectives on the issue.
Read More at The Associated Press
Looking for Neighbors on Europa
On Monday, NASA launched a spacecraft that will study one of the most intriguing objects in our solar system: Jupiter’s moon Europa. The solar-powered vehicle, dubbed “Europa Clipper,” departed Earth via the Kennedy Space Center and is expected to reach the ice-desert Europa in April 2030. Why this seemingly desolate moon? It just may have all the essential ingredients to host life. Liquid water is the most important part of the recipe – and Europa has lots of it. It is estimated that the humble Europa has twice the amount of liquid water as Earth’s oceans combined. Although the planet is wrapped in a thick sheet of ice, hydrothermal activity on its seabed could supply chemical nutrients to give birth to living organisms. It has water, organic elements (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur), heat energy generated by Jupiter’s gravity perpetually flexing the moon, and stability: all critical components to life.
Europa Clipper will reach Mars early next year and return to slingshot itself around Earth’s gravity to retrieve enough energy to reach Europa. The spacecraft will conduct 49 close flybys of the moon, utilizing its nine instruments (including two that will catch dust and gas) to deeply analyze the celestial body.
To be clear, the craft is not directly looking for life. But in the wise words of astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, “If you find life on Europa, what would you call it? Would they be Europeans?”
See you next week!
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