Trump calls Walz ‘moron’ as betting odds show him favored over Vance ahead of high stakes VP debate: Live

President Joe Biden on Monday angrily hit back at Donald Trump’s false accusations of neglect and malfeasance after the former president and Republican presidential nominee leveled a baseless claim about the federal response to Hurricane Helene on his social media platform.

Andrew Feinberg and Julia Musto report.

Ted Cruz’s chances of winning reelection to the Senate are narrowing, with a pair of recent polls showing that his Democratic challenger Colin Allred holds a chance of defeating the Republican incumbent in a tighter-than-expected race.

A recent survey of Texas voters, from Public Policy Polling/Clean and Prosperous America, shows Allred leading with 47 percent to Cruz’s 46 percent, after an August poll showed Cruz leading Allred by two points.

Those results have a margin of error of 3.5 percent, putting the candidates in a virtual tie.

Alex Woodward reports.

A man in Texas paid $4,000 for what was described as an “autographed” Taylor Swift guitar, only to immediately smash it to pieces with a hammer.

Footage of the incident at the Ellis County Wild Game Dinner in Waxahachie, Texas has since gone viral.

Kevin E G Perry reports.

The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg asked President Joe Biden about Donald Trump’s accusation that his administration was ignoring Republican areas hit by Hurricane Helene.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled Monday that more interest rate cuts are in the pipeline, though their size and speed would depend on the evolution of the economy.

Wall Street investors and economists are weighing whether the Fed will follow its larger-than-usual half-point cut made earlier this month with another hefty reduction at either of its upcoming meetings in November or December. At their meeting Sept. 18, Fed officials penciled in two more quarter-point rate cuts at those final meetings this year.

In remarks before the National Association for Business Economics in Nashville, Tennessee, Powell said the U.S. economy and hiring are largely healthy and emphasized that the Fed is “recalibrating” its key interest rate, which is now at about 4.8%.

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While Vice President Kamala Harris’s replacement of President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket has given the party a chance at beating Donald Trump and they increasingly look likely to flip the House of Representatives, they face one problem: they still look likely to lose the Senate.

Eric Garia takes a look at what’s happening in the fight to keep hold of the upper chamber.

In 2016, Jeff Walz donated to Donald Trump’s campaign.

Now, eight years later, the 67-year-old’s brother Tim Walz is taking on the former president having joined Vice President Kamala Harris on the Democraticparty’s 2024 ticket.

And Jeff Walz appears to be far from happy with his sibling’s political aspirations.

Rachel Sharp has the story.