The Headlines - Polls Find Harris-Trump Deadlock, and Device Attacks Spread Fear in Lebanon

Episode Date: September 19, 2024

Plus, legal problems for MrBeast’s reality show.   Tune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. On Today’s Episode:Harris Had Stronger Debate, Polls Find, but the Race Remains Deadlocked, by Shane Goldmacher and Ruth IgielnikTeamsters Won’t Endorse a Candidate for President in 2024, by Jonathan WeismanMore Wireless Devices Explode in Lebanon in Second Attack, by Euan Ward and Aaron BoxermanThe Fed Makes a Large Rate Cut and Forecasts More to Come, by Jeanna Smialek‘Beast Games’ Contestants File Lawsuit Claiming ‘Dangerous Conditions’ on Set, by Madison Malone Kircher

From The New York Times, it's The Headlines. I'm Amelia Nirenberg. Today's Thursday, September 19th. Here's what we're covering. Polling from The Times and its partners is giving a new snapshot of the election in the days after the presidential debate. Kamala Harris overwhelmingly impressed likely voters. Almost 70 percent of them said she did well at last week's debate, compared to just 40 percent who said the same for Donald Trump. The polls from The Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Siena College showed that Harris

even got a positive review from the majority of one of Trump's most loyal demographics, white voters without a college degree. But when it comes to who Americans say they'll vote for, the debate didn't seem to move the needle. Despite surging enthusiasm among Democrats, Harris does not have a decisive edge. The race is still a toss-up, 47 percent to 47 percent. And the polling indicates Harris might have missed an opportunity to address voters' concerns that they don't know enough about her. The share of voters who said they still want to learn more about Harris is nearly the same now as it was before the debate. No endorsement, I think, sends a message to both parties

that if they truly want to support working people, they have to reevaluate it and understand that nothing is given, it is earned. The Teamsters union, which represents more than 1.3 million truck drivers, freight haulers, and other workers, has announced that it will not back a presidential candidate this year. The president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Sean O'Brien, said that, quote, neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people. The decision means that neither Harris nor Trump will have the union's organizing muscle on their side in the final few weeks of the campaign. But it's seen as a particular blow to Harris.

In recent elections, the Teamsters backed Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama, and Harris has supported pro-organizing legislation. Notably, she had locked in the support of all the other biggest unions in the country. Trump, however, has been wooing O'Brien. He invited him to his club, Mar-a-Lago, this summer, and O'Brien got a primetime slot at the Republican National Convention. While none of the board members of the Teamsters voted to back Trump, two union surveys showed that he had much more support among rank-and-file members than Harris.

Lebanon was thrown into chaos again yesterday when more handheld devices began exploding. At least 20 people were killed and hundreds more were injured when walkie-talkies carried by members of Hezbollah blew up. It was the second coordinated attack against the militant group this week. On Tuesday, exploding pagers killed at least 12 people and maimed thousands more, including many civilians. Defense and intelligence officials who were briefed on the attacks tell The Times that they were a carefully coordinated Israeli operation. They say that Israel didn't tamper with the devices. It made them.

They say that Israel used a shell company based in Hungary to sell normal pagers to normal clients. But in 2022, it also started sending pagers filled with explosives to Lebanon. Israeli intelligence officers referred to the booby-trapped devices as buttons that could be pushed when the time seemed ripe. Effectively, a Trojan horse built to detonate on command. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied any role in the explosions, but the country has a history of covert attacks on Iran and its affiliates, like Hezbollah. In one case, it assassinated a top Iranian nuclear scientist remotely using an AI-assisted robot.

Today on The Daily, Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief Patrick Kingsley takes a closer look at the attacks. He explains what they could mean for Israel's ongoing fight with Hezbollah. Good afternoon. My colleagues and I remain squarely focused on achieving our dual mandate goals of maximum employment and stable prices for the benefit of the American people. On Wednesday, Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, announced that the Fed is lowering interest rates for the first time in four years. They're dropping rates half a percentage point, an unusually large move.

Inflation is now much closer to our objective, and we have gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent. The Fed has been trying to strike a balance. It's kept rates up to fight inflation, but it's also trying not to hold them so high for so long that the job market suffers. It's important to keep in mind that this represents a win, but also a worry. Ben Castleman covers economics for The Times. The win here is that inflation has come down a lot, and the Fed feels like it's in a place where it can cut interest rates. But the fear here is the unemployment rate has been rising, and it's been rising in part because of those high interest rates, which has made it harder for people to spend. It's made it harder for companies to invest in their businesses. And the Fed is concerned that if they don't cut rates further,

that that could lead to a further slowdown in the economy, to more job losses, to more unemployment, and ultimately to a recession. Ben says that the Fed is signaling that it will cut rates even more in the coming months, though it's not yet clear by how much. And finally, Mr. Beast is known for being kind of like the internet's fairy godmother. Whichever one lasts the longest in this cube wins that million dollars for their subscribers. The YouTube star gives out big prizes to people

who participate in his elaborate stunts. And it works. His channel is one of the most popular on the platform with 316 million subscribers. I give you all three days. That money's ours! Earlier this year, Mr. Beast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, announced his biggest competition yet, Beast Games, a reality show with a $5 million prize.

About 2,000 fans were chosen to participate, and they moved into a stadium in Nevada where they lived, slept, and faced off in challenges like Extreme Capture the Flag. The show was always going to be a little chaotic, but a number of contestants say the set was dangerous, too. Now some of them are suing. They've claimed there wasn't enough food or medical care on set. Multiple people were hurt. Several were hospitalized. Their suit also claims some contestants weren't appropriately paid. Amazon MGM Studios, which is producing the show,

didn't respond to a request for comment from the Times. Representatives for Mr. Beast declined to comment. One contestant quoted in the lawsuit said, If you know his videos, you know they always seem really great and exciting and grand. However, things are not always what they seem. Those are the headlines. I'm Amelia Nirenberg. We'll be back tomorrow.