5 Things To Watch For At The Dnc

This story was produced in partnership with the National Catholic Reporter. Millions of dollars in last-minute money is pouring into the battle over a pair of abortion-related ballot measures in Nebraska, and it is coming through an unusual and circuitous route. Much of that cash is being spent by a new group called Common Sense Nebraska, which has shelled out a remarkable $4.9 million in the three weeks since it was formed—largely on ads opposing an initiative that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution and supporting a separate initiative that would ban abortion. As of the most recent campaign finance filings, the organization still had another $500,000 in the bank. Nebraska is one of 10 states with abortion-related measures on the ballot.

Something unusual happened the other week, when podcasting megastar Joe Rogan sat down with Ohio Senator and Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance. In the midst of a conversation about abortion, Vance claimed that liberal women publicly celebrate terminating their pregnancies with elaborate displays on social media: “They’re baking birthday cakes and posting about it,” he declared.

In 2016, Andrés García fled anti-LGBQT+ violence in his native El Salvador. Until a few years ago, he lived in Virginia without papers. Then, he got flagged by the police over a minor infraction and transferred to the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He spent a year in ICE detention.

Today, voters in several states will get a say on ballot measures related to climate initiatives. Across the country, there are hotly debated propositions surrounding pipeline construction, climate infrastructure, and carbon reduction. (And fate of the planet aside, there’s also one referendum that could usher in a new tree-centric, state flag.) Here’s a round-up of the green issues, big and small, that some voters will see on their ballot.

It feels strange to suggest that the second-most memorable thing that happened on a stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, this year was the former president of the United States getting shot in the face. But if Donald Trump wins the presidential election, the image that will be seared in my mind is that of the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, jumping around the same stage a few months later—eyes weirdly vacant, a black MAGA hat splayed awkwardly on his head, his legs and arms outstretched in the shape of a knotted and overgrown X. Musk had been a public Trump supporter since the summer, and a not-so-subtle conservative sympathizer for far longer.