Good morning and a hearty congratulations to Batman. Tomorrow, the artist formerly known as Bruce Wayne will receive the 2,790th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, becoming the first superhero so honored. His parents would (probably) be so proud.

LAW

🏝️ Island country asks to redefine concept of ‘nation’

A nation’s borders are, obviously, based on the land it possesses. But what happens if that land vanishes into the ether? Look no further than the sinking Pacific island nation of Tuvalu. The Little Country That Could will take the stage at the United Nations today to plead for help — and a big legal change.

Tuvalu has a population of just 11,000 people spread across three little islands and six even littler atolls. Its total land area? About 10 square miles. Little islands have a lot to offer — sunshine, water, coconuts, probably rum. But they lack one characteristic key to survival: elevation. On average, Tuvalu sits just one Luka Doncic (about 6.56 feet) above sea level.

• Since the early 1990s, the islands have experienced a sea-level rise of nearly 6 inches. That’s 50% more than the world average.

• NASA believes the daily tide could put half of Tuvalu’s main island underwater by 2050.

• They’re building seawalls and some artificial land. But that might not be enough.

Tuvalu wants to change the law of the sea. More specifically, they want to modify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. That’s a treaty signed by most countries in the world that helps define maritime borders. Right now, a country’s control over its own land requires, well, land.

• Tuvalu wants the world to permanently recognize its current borders no matter what happens to its islands.

• They’re unlikely to go full Atlantis (never go full Atlantis). However, the loss of some small islands could negate Tuvalu’s legal claim to the surrounding ocean.

• When half your economy comes from selling tuna fishing licenses… losing that claim is a slight problem.

Tuvalu is too tiny and too remote for tourism. In addition to fishing licenses, it gets by with plenty of aid from Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The $10 million per year they rake in selling .tv domain names to all the cool churches doesn’t hurt, either.

Future: Prime Minister Feleti Teo will address the U.N. today in New York to ask the world to recognize Tuvalu’s statehood and current maritime borders as permanent. The 18 members of the Pacific Islands Forum are on board. But convincing the rest of the world might not be so easy.

Elsewhere on the world stage, the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon is urging American citizens to “book any ticket available” and get out of dodge as fighting continues between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group.

GOVERNMENT

💳️ The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa. The suit claims the company uses its massive size and market dominance to kill the competition, costing consumers boatloads. The DOJ says Visa rakes in $7 billion per year in fees on the 60% of U.S. debit card transactions run through its network. The head of the DOJ, Attorney General Merrick Garland, said Visa illegally uses its sway to force merchants into exclusionary agreements. This, he claimed, harms upstart rivals and forces merchants to pass on the costs to consumers. Garland says the practice jacks up the price of “nearly everything.” Visa called the suit “meritless” and said competition in the “debit space” is “thriving.”

🚘️ The war against Chinese tech shows no signs of slowing down. The Department of Commerce this week proposed banning the import and sale of Chinese vehicles with certain internet-connected or autonomous driving systems… which includes basically all new vehicles. Administration officials said they have evidence that the Chinese government puts malware in critical tech systems sold in the U.S. and called Chinese cars a national security concern. Barring an unforeseen Uno Reverse, the new rule should kick in before Biden leaves office in January.

🏢 The General Services Administration (GSA) signed a transition planning agreement with the Harris-Walz campaign to prep for a potential Harris presidency. Federal law requires the GSA — the government’s office manager — to provide major presidential candidates with resources like office space, staff, and tech support if they win. Winning the election is one thing. Actually becoming president is another. A fully staffed and secure office makes the transition much easier.

POLITICS

🗯️ Vance, Walz prep for VP debate

Next Wednesday is debate night in America. Sen. JD Vance (R) and Gov. Tim Walz (D) will come to blows in the vice presidential debate on October 1. They’re both currently holed up, prepping for the big show.

• Vance is doing “murder board prep sessions” with staff “hammering” him with questions. He’s also doing more formal debate rehearsals with Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), the No. 3 House Republican, standing in for fellow Minnesotan Tim Walz and emulating his “Minnesota nice” persona.

• Walz is also taking things seriously, with Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg acting out the part of JD Vance.

Kamala Harris hopes suburban women will carry her to victory in North Carolina, denying Trump a key state. And Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s (R) scandal just might be the boost she needs. Harris received a big endorsement from hundreds of ex-national security officials as she hopes to win over national security-focused Republicans wary of Trump. Similarly, Harris will visit the border in Arizona on Friday.

• Harris said she wants to eliminate the Senate’s filibuster rule to more easily legalize abortion at the federal level. The filibuster effectively requires 60 votes instead of 51 to pass most bills.

• Two nominally independent, but Democratic-aligned senators slammed the idea. Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Sen. Kirsten Sinema (I-AZ), both retiring this year, said they strongly support the filibuster.

• Sinema called it “shortsighted” and warned that eliminating it would enable “a future Congress to ban all abortion nationwide.” Manchin called the filibuster “the Holy Grail of democracy” and “the only thing that keeps us…working together.” He refused to endorse Harris as a result of the plan.

Donald Trump’s hopes for a change in how Nebraska doles out its electoral votes have been officially crushed. Gov. Jim Pillen (R) said he won’t call the legislature back into session to pass the change because he’s one vote short of passage. The change would’ve put Nebraska in line with 48 other states and given all of its electoral votes to the statewide winner. The current system awards them by congressional district, which will likely earn Harris one vote from the moderate Omaha area.

• At an event in Pennsylvania, Trump threatened to hit John Deere with a “200% tariff” if the company moves its factories to Mexico.

• In Georgia, Trump spoke of his plans for special, low-tax, low-regulation federal zones for manufacturing. He says the goal is to "relocate entire industries” from other countries into the United States.

• Some Republicans are worried that the Trump campaign’s “ground game” (voter contact teams, get-out-the-vote efforts, and more) isn’t up to snuff after being outsourced to third-party groups due to low fundraising.

💨 Washington winds down before election

The House is set to vote today on a short, three-month budget bill that will prevent the government from shutting down on September 30. The Senate is set to follow suit and President Biden said he’ll sign the deal. After that, Congress will leave town for the final stretch to Election day. They’ll return in mid-November for the so-called “lame duck session” featuring some lawmakers who will have just lost elections but awkwardly still have jobs to do until January.

• In a Senate hearing, the CEO of Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk got an earful for “ripping us off” by charging up to 16x more for the weight-loss drug in the U.S. than in Europe. He blamed the U.S. healthcare system’s complexity and said that’s not the price consumers typically pay.

President Biden exited the world stage yesterday with his final speech to the United Nations General Assembly. He spoke fondly of his coming retirement, saying “As much as I love the job, I love my country more. I decided, after 50 years of public service,” — and the worst debate performance in political history — “it’s time for a new generation” of leadership. He also pushed for a “diplomatic solution” to the growing Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon.

TRIVIA

In 2024, the U.S. Navy was 22,000 sailors short of a full boat. That’s about 7%. But the Navy’s not alone. The entire U.S. military has suffered from recruiting shortfalls in recent years. All but one branch, that is. What is the only branch of the U.S. military that’s had no recruiting shortfalls?

Hint: Think small.

POLLS

📊 Polls show a tied race nationally

Quick policy suggestion for the next president: Anyone who attends a sporting event that ends in a tie should get their money back. In unrelated news, two new national polls show a razor-tight race for the presidency.

• 🔵 CNN has Harris at 48% to Trump’s 47%.

• 🔴 Quinnipiac has the exact opposite result: Trump 48%, Harris 47%.

It’s not just national polls showing a tight game, however. A British polling firm has the race tied in four of the seven big swing states: Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin (45% each in Nevada, 47% in the others).

Donald Trump did get some good results in a few competing polls of the traditionally Republican Sun Belt states.

• 🔴 Trump leads by 5% in Arizona.

• 🔴 Trump leads by 4% in Georgia — or by 2%.

• 🔴 Trump leads by 2% in North Carolina — or by 1%.

Elsewhere, Kamala Harris got some good numbers in the traditionally Democratic Rust Belt states.

• 🔵 Harris leads by 5% in Michigan — or by 6%.

• 🔵 Harris leads by 6% in Pennsylvania — or by 3%.

• 🔵 Harris leads by 7% in Wisconsin.

🏛️ Down at the congressional level, Democrats are looking good in four California House seats currently held by Republicans. Victory in these races would be nearly enough for Democrats to win back control of the House.

BRIEFS

• TikTok removes Russian state-run media accounts for “covert influence operations” ahead of election

• Boy kidnapped in 1951 at age six found alive, living on East Coast

• Attempted Trump assassin wrote letter explaining plans, apologizing to world for failure

• US Navy oiler runs aground in Middle East leaving carrier strike group without main fuel source

• TikTok bails on competing with Spotify, will shut down music service in November

• Mark Zuckerberg joins Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in $200 billion club after Meta stock jump

• Ex-Packers star quarterback Brett Favre, 54, reveals Parkinson’s diagnosis

• U.S. to station long-range missiles in Germany starting in 2026

QUOTE

ANSWER

The military branch with no trouble hitting its recruiting goals also happens to be the one that brands itself as “The Few. The Proud.” But being small isn’t why the Marine Corps hits its numbers. In fact, it’s only the third-smallest branch (the Space Force and Coast Guard have it beat there).

Other services are offering cash bonuses to boost recruiting. But Marine Corps General Eric Smith said his service doesn’t need to. Why not? “Your bonus is that you get to call yourself a Marine.”