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The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Fri Nov 1 2024

Jane Onyanga-Omara | Audience Editor

Former President Donald Trump is facing his most important legal verdict yet. Millions of people are celebrating Día de Los Muertos, which is increasingly also a vehicle for social commentary and dissent in the U.S. And Heidi Klum is the queen of Halloween − again (scroll to the bottom to see).

👋🏾 I'm Jane, Daily Briefing author. Google was ordered to pay how much by a Russian court?!

How the election could shape Trump's legal fate

Former President Donald Trump is involved in four criminal cases, but the most important verdict in his legal future may be delivered on Election Day on Tuesday. If he wins, all his charges could be dropped or postponed for at least four years. If he loses, he potentially faces swift sentencing in one case and trials in the other three. If Trump were not a candidate for president, his legal trouble would be unavoidable. He is currently scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 26 on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money case. Two trials loom on charges he tried to steal the 2020 election. Read more

Police reveal description of ballot box burning suspect, say more fires possible

The manhunt for a suspect in arson fires targeting ballot boxes in the Pacific Northwest continued Friday as details emerged about a suspect and a possible motive. In Oregon, Portland Police Agency spokesperson Mike Benner said the suspect is believed to have a "wealth of experience in metal fabrication and welding."

Benner, speaking at a briefing Wednesday , described him as a white male 30 to 40 years old with short hair or balding, a thin-to-medium build and thin face. "It is very possible the suspect intends to continue targeted attacks across the area," Benner warned.

•	With days before Tuesday's Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are neck-and-neck in Pennsylvania, one of several key swing states that could determine the winner, a new exclusive USA TODAY/Suffolk poll shows.
•	Harris and Trump are tied with 49% of the vote each, according to a statewide poll of 500 likely voters conducted from Oct. 27 to 30 with a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

🗓️ Election Day is Tuesday. We'll be with you every step of the way:

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•	Keep up without leaving your inbox by signing up for our On Politics newsletter.

More news to know now

•	Five takeaways from Joe Rogan's interview with JD Vance.
•	Winners and losers of Thursday Night Football: Did Garrett Wilson save Jets' season?
•	Want to talk to your kids about the election? We've got a guide for you.
•	8,000 North Korean troops could join the Ukraine war in days.
•	Stores are marketing for holidays earlier. Experts say it's stressing us out.

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

Political protest is deeply embedded in Day of the Dead, a crossover U.S. tradition

On Saturday, two groups of 10-foot-high skeleton puppets will approach each other from opposite sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, meeting in a symbolic embrace in honor of families whose loved ones have lost their lives in their attempt to reach America. The giant Día de Los Muertos figures will unite as part of a Day of the Dead vigil in El Paso. Día de Los Muertos, the indigenously rooted, primarily Mexican holiday marked on the first two days of November, is commonly thought of as a time for families to celebrate loved ones who've passed on. But even as the tradition has rooted itself in America, its purpose has eclipsed reunion and remembrance, providing a vehicle for social commentary and dissent. Read more

Migrants and members of the Coalicion Pro Defensa del Migrante (Pro Migrants Coalition) participate in a Nov. 2021 Day of the Dead event in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico.

GUILLERMO ARIAS, AFP via Getty Images

Richard Moore set for execution in South Carolina on Friday

The last Black man on South Carolina's death row to be convicted and sentenced by an all-white jury, according to his attorney, is set to be executed for killing a convenience store clerk during an alleged robbery in 1999. Richard Moore is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Friday for the death of James Mahoney. Not only does the death sentence imposed by an all-white jury raise serious questions about whether Moore got a fair shake in the South Carolina court system, his attorney argues that Moore was unarmed when he walked into the convenience store and wasn't even there to rob it. Read more

Today's talkers

•	Diwali: See photos of the Hindu festival of lights celebration.
•	Fresh off a new album, The Offspring talk punk rock, bird watching and hot sauce.
•	Hoda Kotb on wellness and the "whispers" that led to "Today" exit.
•	Watch groom and guests moved to tears as bride surprises them with vows in Armenian.
•	Save some money (and your back!) with these tips for cleaning dusty baseboards.

Menendez brothers' bid for freedom takes another step forward

Erik and Lyle Menendez's bids for release from prison gained momentum Thursday after Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón sent letters to California Gov. Gavin Newsom expressing "strong support" for clemency. The letters are similar and both cite "credible allegations" of sexual and physical abuse from their father. The letters also cite "dedication to rehabilitation" that Gascón says make the brothers ideal candidates for clemency. Lyle was 21 and Erik 18 when they fatally shot their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in 1989. "During his 34 years of incarceration, Mr. Menendez has worked hard to transform his life," each letter says. Read more

Photo of the day: Heidi Klum wins Halloween, again

Heidi Klum has been hosting the buzziest Halloween party for over two decades. But while she may now be the indisputable "Queen of Halloween," it wasn't always that way. The idea for the bash was born out of a lack of other viable hot spots, she says. She recalls running around New York years earlier with a friend thinking, "I can't believe this, this is Manhattan … no one is doing like a really cool party?" So she created her own.