Beyoncé at Kamala Harris rally says ‘time for America to sing a new song’ – as it happened

Closing Summary

This blog is closing now, thanks for following along. You can read our US elections coverage here. Here are the major developments from today:

• In Houston, Kamala Harris was joined onstage by superstar singer Beyoncé, congressman Colin Allred, musician Willie Nelson, actress Jessica Alba, several Texas-based OB-GYNs and families impacted by the state’s abortion ban in what her campaign is calling their largest rally to date. Harris focused her remarks on the state’s abortion ban, which sparked a slew of abortion restrictions nationwide, and was joined on stage by Amanda and Josh Zurawski, a Texas couple who sued the state after Amanda was unable to access treatment for a life-threatening pregnancy complication.

• Donald Trump’s rally in Traverse City, Michigan was delayed several hours after the ex-president’s interview with podcast host Joe Rogan lasted three hours. Trump

• Harris and Trump are tied at 48% each for the popular vote for the US presidential election, according to the final New York Times/Siena College national poll published on today.

• Chinese hackers have targeted phones used by Donald Trump and JD Vance, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. According to the sources, investigators are trying to determine what communication data may have been taken or observed.

• On Friday, Joe Biden formally apologized for the United States government’s role in running at least 523 Indian boarding schools. His remarks were given at the Gila Crossing community school outside Phoenix, Arizona, and marked his first visit to Indian Country as president.

• The Washington Post declined to endorse a presidential candidate for the first time since the 1980s. Senior Democratic figure Susan Rice, who was US ambassador to the United Nations and national security adviser under Barack Obama and then director of the US domestic policy council under Joe Biden, made a blistering post on X about the Washington Post. “So much for ‘Democracy Dies in Darkness’,” she said, referring to the newspaper’s slogan.

• Two Senate Democrats have written a letter urging the justice department to investigate, and if necessary prosecute, Elon Musk over his potentially illegal $1m giveaway for registered voters. And another top Democrat is calling for an investigation into Musk for the tech billionaire’s ties to Russia.

• During his rally in Scranton tonight, Tim Walz took a moment to express his appreciation for Joe Biden, who was born in the Pennsylvania city and remains a popular figure there. “This country owes a huge debt to you and a huge debt to Joe Biden,” Walz said.

• Harris raised $97m in the first half of October, compared with Trump’s $16m, according to reports filed with the Federal Election commission.

• In an appearance on the Cats & Cosby podcast, a conservative talk radio show, Donald Trump said special counsel Jack Smith should be deported. Trump made news yesterday when he said he would fire Smith, the justice department official who is prosecuting him for allegedly plotting to overturn the 2020 election and hide classified documents, “within two seconds” of becoming president.

Harris has concluded her rally in Houston, calling on voters to cast their ballots in the next 11 days.

“Do we trust women? Do we believe in reproductive freedom? Do we believe in the promise of America, and are we ready to fight for it?” Harris said, before concluding, “And when we fight, we win.”

“We know weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning,” Harris says, quoting Psalm 30:5 and encouraging voters to get out to the polls before 5 November.

Speaking to Gen Z voters in the audience, Harris says that she “sees your power”.

“It ain’t right that you may have fewer rights than your mother or your grandmother,” Harris said, before asking the crowd: “Can we applaud our leaders who are voting for the first time?”

Harris vows to restore reproductive freedom

Harris is continuing, speaking about the stakes of the supreme court if Trump is re-elected.

“And now the attorney general of Texas is suing the United States government so that Texas prosecutors can get their hands on private medical records of women who leave the state to get care,” Harris said. “On the one hand, Donald Trump won’t let anyone see his medical records. I gave up mine. And on the other hand, they want to get their hands on your medical records.

“Let us be clear, if Donald Trump wins again, he will ban abortion nationwide,” Harris said. “No one is protected if there is a Trump national abortion ban.

“If Donald Trump is president again, he will likely get to appoint at least one justice” to the Supreme court, Harris said. “At which point Donald Trump will have packed the court with five out of nine justices.”

Kamala Harris is continuing to excoriate Donald Trump, sharing the stories of women who’ve been denied healthcare since Roe was overturned.

“Texas, what is happening across this state, in our country, is a health care crisis. And Donald Trump is the architect of it,” Harris said.

She went on to share the story of Ryan Hamilton, who found his wife alone and bleeding after being denied care for a miscarriage. “Let’s be clear, men across America, this needs to be said, men across America do not want to see their sisters and mothers put at risk because their rights have been taken.”

Kamala Harris has just shared the story of Kate Cox, a Texas woman who was denied emergency abortion care by the Texas Supreme Court, and is introducing Shanette Williams, the mother of Amber Nicole Thurman.

“Amber Nicole Thurman, I promised her mother, I would speak her name, a vibrant 28 year old mother of a six year old son who died of preventive death because of Georgia’s abortion ban,” Harris said.

Harris has continued, denouncing Republican leaders who have neglected maternal and infant healthcare while denying abortion care across the US.

“For decades, these extremist leaders, who have neglected prenatal care, maternity care and postpartum care, and who now continuously failing support women and children, claim to care of women and children. I have a question for them, where you been?” Harris said. “Where have you been when it comes to helping pregnant women and new mothers? Where have you been when it comes to affordable child care?”

“The hypocrisy abounds,” she said, before showing a video combining testimony of families who’ve suffered under abortion bans alongside Donald Trump saying he did “a great thing” by appointing the Supreme court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade.

Speaking onstage at her rally in Houston, Kamala Harris is making a powerful call for reproductive rights.

“You are ground zero in the fight for reproductive freedom,” she said. “We know what’s happening here in Texas, doctors and nurses could go to prison for life simply for providing reproductive care.”

“Texas has a law now that offers a cash bounty for turning in someone who merely helps a friend or a family member get the care they need,” Harris added. “In some counties in Texas, they have passed travel bans to prevent women from going to other states to receive care.”

“When Donald Trump was president, he hand selected the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v Wade, and as he intended, they did. And now more than 20 states have a Trump abortion ban.”

“Now, one in three American women live in a state with a Trump abortion ban,” she said. “And let us agree, one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply help to agree the government should not be telling her what to do with her body.”

Beyoncé has welcomed Kamala Harris on stage, with her song Freedom playing in the background.

“It’s time to sing a new song,” Beyoncé said. “Our generations of loved ones before us are whispering a prophecy, a quest, a calling, an anthem, our moment right now. It’s time for America to sing a new song.”

Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland appear at Houston rally