Monday, October 28th, 2024 - Musk’s Putin talks; Trump’s Nazi-style rally; China’s election hacks; Election updates; Odessa anti-trans bathroom ban

Today’s Headlines: Elon Musk’s been holding private talks with Putin since 2022, discussing everything from business to geopolitics—a concerning revelation given Musk’s Pentagon contracts and his recent restrictions on Starlink access for Ukraine. Musk also just poured an extra $43.6 million into Trump’s Super PAC, pushing his total donations to $118 million. Meanwhile, Chinese hackers targeted U.S. political figures, including a Trump advisor, in an ongoing surveillance effort, capturing audio from calls and messages. On the campaign trail, Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally echoed a notorious 1939 Nazi event, where he called the U.S. “occupied” and promised mass deportations. In election news, North Carolina legislators are facing pressure to award Trump their electoral votes preemptively due to hurricane damage, Pennsylvania’s investigating 2,500 possible fraudulent voter registrations, and a federal judge has ordered Virginia to restore 1,600 voters wrongfully purged from its rolls. Lastly, Odessa, Texas, just banned trans people from using bathrooms that don’t match their birth-assigned sex, putting a $10,000 bounty on violations.

Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode:

• WSJ: Elon Musk's Secret Conversations With Vladimir Putin, a WSJ Investigation
• Reuters: Musk sends more money to back Trump, giving $44 mln to super PAC 
• WA Post: Chinese hackers said to have collected audio of American calls
• NY Times: Chinese Hackers Are Said to Have Targeted Phones Used by Trump and Vance
• WSJ: Election 2024 Live: Trump Speaks at Madison Square Garden, Harris Campaigns in Pennsylvania
• Politico: Freedom Caucus leader endorses radical proposal for North Carolina to hand its electoral votes to Trump
• NBC News: Pennsylvania officials investigating fraudulent voter registration applications in Lancaster County
• NPR: A judge orders Virginia to restore registered voters purged too close to Election Day
• NBC News: Mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day in Mississippi shouldn't be counted, appeals court says
• Texas Tribune: Odessa bans transgender people from using restrooms that don’t match sex assigned at birth 

Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage alongside Bridget Schwartz and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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