5 things to know for Nov. 4: Presidential race, Senate, Severe weather, Iran, Spain floods

Published November 4, 2024 4:25 AM

By Andrew Torgan and Tricia Escobedo, CNN

(CNN) — Ahead of the 2020 election, big corporate names like Nike, Under Armour and Absolut Vodka released splashy get-out-the-vote advertising campaigns. But in 2024, in an election cycle as divisive as ever, these same companies and others have been less active in encouraging voting — and those star-studded ads are nowhere to be found.

Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.

1. Presidential race

With just one day remaining before Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump will deliver their contrasting final pitches to voters in key battleground states that could determine who wins the presidency. Trump has invoked dark rhetoric in his final days on the campaign trail, saying that he “shouldn’t have left” the White House after he lost the 2020 election. Harris, meanwhile, is reaching out to Michigan’s significant Arab American community by pledging to do everything in her power to end the war in Gaza if elected. Harris will spend her final day of campaigning in Pennsylvania, with rallies in Allentown, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Trump will be in three battleground states, holding events in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan.

2. Senate

Control of the Senate is up for grabs on Tuesday and, although Republicans are well-positioned to win the majority, Democrats cannot be counted out entirely. That’s because their well-funded candidates have consistently overperformed at the top of the ticket in polling in many of the most important races. And even as the Senate map has become more daunting for Democrats with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin retiring, opportunities to mitigate GOP gains have opened up in Texas and, increasingly, Nebraska. Click here for CNN’s complete rankings of the top 10 Senate seats most likely to flip in 2024.

3. Severe weather

More severe weather is expected in the Southern Plains today as residents in Oklahoma survey the destruction from tornado-spawning storms that injured at least 11 people and leveled homes over the weekend. “Scattered severe thunderstorms, associated with tornadoes, large hail, and wind damage, are likely on Monday and Monday night from the Southern Plains north-northeastward into the Ozarks and mid-Mississippi Valley,” the Storm Prediction Center warned. “A few of the tornadoes could be strong.” A lower warning of severe storms will spread from central and eastern Texas to western Illinois — including Dallas, Houston, Austin and St. Louis — with the threat of damaging wind gusts, large hail and tornadoes, the center said.

4. Iran

A female student stripped to her underwear outside her university in Iran over the weekend in what some student and rights groups say was a protest against the country’s strict Islamic dress code. A video circulating on social media and shared by the rights group Amnesty International shows the woman sitting outside the university in her underwear and with her hair uncovered. Another video shows her walking down a road, still undressed, before a group of men surround her, bundle her into a car, and drive away. Iranian women can be subjected to harsh punishment even for minor infractions. Protests erupted across Iran in 2022 against the dress code following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in the custody of the morality police after being arrested for allegedly not wearing her headscarf properly.

5. Spain floods

Angry residents booed and threw eggs at Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia on Sunday as they visited the Valencia region, where more than 200 people have died in devastating floods. The king faced chants of “murderer” as he visited hard-hit Paiporta, just outside of Valencia city, along with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and regional governor Carlos Mazon, where locals accuse authorities of a lax response to the disaster. At least 214 people are now confirmed dead from the floods and the toll may climb higher. Among the latest victims was a 70-year-old woman whose body was found more than seven miles from her house.

BREAKFAST BROWSE

Health battle for ‘Dawson’s Creek’ alum
James Van Der Beek has revealed that he’s being treated for colorectal cancer. “I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family,” the 47-year-old actor said in a statement. “There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good.”

Voyager blackout fixed
A technical issue recently cut NASA’s communication with Voyager 1, but a creative solution involving 1981 technology reconnected the aging spacecraft, which is 15 billion miles away.

Starbucks order for ‘Air-Inn’
Remember when the Starbucks barista would strangely misspell even the most common names in large black ink on the coffee cups? Well, those days are returning thanks to the company’s new initiative to win back customers.

Legalized jaywalking
It’s been illegal to cross the street in New York without adhering to traffic signals for more than 65 years. Not anymore – and part of the reason for the change is who was overwhelmingly being cited for jaywalking.

Amazing survival story
A missing hiker somehow managed to stay alive for days in the Australian bush with an injured ankle and potentially venomous snake bite. She might not have been found if her rental car hadn’t been reported missing.

IN MEMORIAM

Musical titan Quincy Jones, the composer and producer who added his tasteful polish to recordings by everyone from Ray Charles to Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, has died, according to his representatives. He was 91. A renowned jazz and pop musician, Jones was also a prolific arranger, conductor, record label executive and civil rights advocate.

TODAY’S NUMBER

M136279841
That’s the official name of the world’s largest known prime number recently discovered by Luke Durant, a 36-year-old former programmer for Nvidia. Durant’s remarkable finding consists of an astounding 41,024,320 digits and marks the first prime breakthrough in almost six years.

TODAY’S QUOTE

“I will not come back, Jonathan, how’s that? I’m done.”

—Hugh Hewitt, a conservative radio host who resigned from his contributing columnist role at The Washington Post on Friday after storming off the newspaper’s live show over a disagreement with his colleagues.

TODAY’S WEATHER

Check your local forecast here>>>

AND FINALLY …

Jason Kelce sings Christmas
If you just can’t get enough of those Kelce brothers, now you can hear Jason’s “buttery” vocals on his third Christmas album. The soon-to-be-released album is for a good cause, too: all the proceeds will go to charity. Two of Jason Kelce’s former NFL teammates join him in the melodies, along with Boyz II Men. (No word on a Taylor Swift cameo).

Article Topic Follows: CNN - National

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