The Countdown: Ariana Grande and early voting for astronauts
Early voting for astronauts
About 51.5m votes have been cast so far, according to the US Election Project website, in places like Georgia and Florida – and in Earth’s orbit, where astronaut Kate Rubin just cast her vote at the International Space Station.
Just like other absentee voters, as this Nasa release explains, an astronaut has to fill in an application to say they intend to vote from space.
The clerk at the county election office, most likely in Texas where Nasa is based, has a special password to download the astronaut’s vote.
Ariana Grande at the White House
Very shortly after yesterday’s presidential debate ended, Ariana Grande dropped her new single and accompanying music video which showed her in the White House, surrounded by an all-female team.
She is apparently a little bit conflicted because although she seems to have a big role in what looks to be the Oval Office, she also has work to do in the kitchen.
Whether it is canny marketing move or a coded political statement – or both – it is getting millions of views online, with at least 10m on Instagram in a matter of hours and close to the same again on YouTube.
The oil vote v the climate vote
A moment from the presidential debate that is worth revisiting is Joe Biden’s comment on oil.
After an exchange about fracking – a controversial practice which Mr Biden said he would not ban – Mr Trump asked him: “Would you close down the oil industry?”
“I would transition from the oil industry, yes,” Mr Biden said. “The oil industry pollutes significantly,” he added. “It has to be replaced by renewable energy over time.”
Mr Trump then mentioned some oil producing states where that might not be a popular move: “Would you remember that, Texas? Would you remember that Pennsylvania? Oklahoma? Ohio?”
Democratic Congresswoman Kendra Horn of Oklahoma heard the call, and tweeted that she differed from Mr Biden on this, as did Xochitl Torres Small in New Mexico. Mr Biden did clarify his views to reporters saying he would just look to stop subsidies.
Although the Trump campaign will seek to make the most of this, as this piece from the Washington Post about Mr Biden’s statement says, Americans’ anxieties about climate change are also high and recent wildfires have focused attention.
