Good morning. Kamala Harris defended the current administration’s work on the border crisis in a combative interview on Fox News. The math gets tougher on the American Dream. And there’s a new perk at Walt Disney theme parks for those willing to pay a price. Listen to the day’s top stories.

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Kamala Harris sought to deflect criticism of the border crisis and distance herself from President Joe Biden in a testy interview on Fox News. “Let me be very clear, my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s,” she said. The vice president is intensifying efforts to convince Republicans to cross the aisle and back her campaign. 

But one very rich person says financial markets are already pricing in victory for Donald Trump. “You can see it in the bank stocks, you can see it in crypto,” Stanley Druckenmiller said, adding that he’s not planning to vote for either candidate. Bitcoin has rallied over the past week, and is seen as a “Trump trade,” or a wager on the pro-crypto candidate winning. 
 

It’s time to start voting. Former US President Jimmy Carter, 100, made it to the ballot box—well, mail box—to cast his vote in Georgia. Family members said it was his goal to live long enough to vote for Harris. Elsewhere in the Peach State, a judge blocked new rules passed by the state’s election board, including a requirement that poll workers in each precinct hand-count ballots.

The AI boom keeps booming. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing—the company that’s the biggest maker of advanced chips, used by the likes of Nvidia and Apple—posted better-than-predicted earnings and said this is “just the beginning.” It’s a sign that tech companies are still splashing cash on AI hardware, data centers, and beyond.

Elon Musk.  Photographer: Maja Hitij/Getty Images

Musk may have some big problems. Revenue from across his empire might be used to calculate a fine against X as part of an EU investigation into whether the social media platform violated content moderation rules. That may be a lot of money as regulators are said to be considering including sales from SpaceX, Neuralink, xAI and the Boring Company. The EU has been investigating X for several potential breaches of rules meant to safeguard against illegal content. 

Melissa Menny (left) tries to work from home while her husband Efran prepares a science experiment for their sons.  Photographer: Mark Felix/Bloomberg

The math ain’t mathin’ when it comes to breaking into the American middle class.

• The economy is the No. 1 most pressing issue for voters in the election. And with eye-watering housing prices and burdensome childcare costs, among other expenses, it’s no surprise. 
• Take buying a house: The standard 20% down payment on a median-priced home now costs 83% of a year’s income for the typical family ready to buy a home—that’s up from 65% on the eve of the 2016 election.
• But even more than that is just regular consumer debt. American households are now sitting on a record $17.8 trillion in debt, $1.14 trillion of which is on credit cards, which tend to have relatively high interest rates.
•  No matter who wins the election in November, conditions appear to be creating a more lasting economic fault line in US politics, one that separates those who can afford a home or education from those who can’t.
  

  Illustrator: Carolina Moscoso/Bloomberg

Legalize pot, Lisa Jarvis writes. But also study it.  We’ve racked up decades of evidence demonstrating how smoking and alcohol hurt our health, yet the data on cannabis are shockingly thin. That leaves consumers, medical providers, and policymakers to guess at what kind of consumption to consider harmless and what to worry about.

Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg

For a cool $400 per person, guests at Walt Disney theme parks can skip the long lines at popular attractions such as the Indiana Jones and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance rides. Resorts in Southern California and Florida will begin testing the Lightning Lane Premier Pass later this month. Act quick—Disney’s only getting pricier. 

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