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12:30 REPORT

Happy Thursday! Halloween is creeping up. What do you think will be the most popular/timely Halloween costume based on pop culture this year? An "SNL" Domingo bridesmaid would be great. Or definitely a few Moo Dengs. Here's what's happening today:

The Kamala Harris-Bret Baier interview consisted of a lot of loud talking and interrupting. The reaction today has been a net neutral for Harris and Fox.
Harris sidestepped a question of when she noticed Biden "diminishing."
McConnell privately called Trump "stupid" and a "despicable human being" after the 2020 election, just to name a few …
Liam Payne died after falling from the third floor of a hotel.

I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. 

🗳 On The Campaign Trail

That was chaotic to watch:

Vice President Harris and Fox News's Bret Baier sparred in her most pointed interview yet in the campaign. The two talked over each other for most of the 26 minutes — and I think we all exhaled when it finished.

^ This may have contributed to the tone: Bret Baier told viewers that Harris showed up 15 minutes late to the interview, and the timing was already close to turn it around for the show. Baier said the limited timeframe was why he interrupted her so much. 📹 Watch his explanation on the timing

Harris Campaign Communications Director Brian Fallon described the interview style as "hostile." I'm interested to see how women voters perceived this.

Here are a few of the most talked about moments:

Baier asked what Harris would do differently from Biden: "Let me be very clear, my presidency would not be a continuation of Joe Biden's presidency," Harris said. "And like every new president that comes into office, I will bring my life experiences, my professional experiences and fresh new ideas." 📹 Watch the clip

Baier asked Harris when she first noticed that Biden had 'diminished' mentally: She sidestepped the question, stressing that former President Trump was on the ballot. She did say Biden "has the judgment and experience" to serve as president.

Harris was asked about transgender prisoners: Baier played a Trump campaign ad that claims Harris supports taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries. "I will follow the law, and it's a law that Donald Trump actually followed," she said. 📹 Watch the back and forth

💻 Watch the full interview

💡 Does this interview change the race?: Probably not. Baier is a well-respected interviewer, and Harris held her own. She had some strong moments and some weak moments but didn't do much damage. And that's not to say that Harris's interview didn't matter. Her appearances up until now have mostly been nontraditional media outlets or with her running mate by her side. This was certainly out of her comfort zone. Meanwhile, former President Trump has mostly played it safer with friendlier interviews in the past few weeks.

This is interesting: CNN's Brian Stelter speculated that Harris "was employing a 'Google strategy' – encouraging Fox viewers to search what she was saying – since many of the points she made are rarely heard on Fox." 📹 Watch Stelter's explanation

➤ WHAT WAS THE GENERAL REACTION?:

Trump praised Baier: "Great job by Bret Baier in his Interview with Lyin' Kamala Harris," Trump posted late Wednesday. "She has a massive and irredeemable case of TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME – So bad, in fact, that she is barely able to talk about any subject other than … ME."

Harris's former top aide knocked Baier: "I have sat in the room for a number of interviews with VP Harris and they have been tough," Symone Sanders posted on X. "I've never witnessed what I witnessed tonight though. The interviewer wasn't themselves - instead he was rude, misleading and pulled questions straight out of a proverbial Trump/Vance press release."

Harris got the Secretary 'Mayor Pete' seal of approval: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg praised Harris for her Fox News interview. "It was really impressive on her part," Buttigieg told CNN's Kaitlan Collins. "She was tough, smart, focused, disciplined, the same qualities that made her a very effective prosecutor and, I think, are going to make her a very effective president."

Brit Hume thought Harris was 'combative': "She was combative and energetic and she certainly landed some blows on Donald Trump," Hume reacted on Fox. "But in terms of how well she answered your questions … she didn't give you much, Bret, and you did a great job of posing those questions."

That honeymoon period has very much ended:

During the late summer, the energy and momentum were on Vice President Harris's side. But The Hill's Amie Parnes has been analyzing polling, and while Harris still has a narrow edge over former President Trump nationally, polls have leveled off — and she's even been losing ground.

For example: Harris went from leading Trump by 2 points in Wisconsin to being tied. In Michigan, she went from leading Trump by 1 point to trailing by 1. And in Pennsylvania, she lost her lead. None of these are major changes, but they show a trend.

Scott Tranter, the data science director for Decision Desk HQ, gave some context: "In a race that hasn't moved a lot over the past couple of months, this is considered significant movement."

Read Parnes's reporting: 'Momentum shifts against Harris in presidential race'

➤ BUT IT'S NOT ALL BAD NEWS FOR HARRIS — NEW POLL:

A new Marist Poll survey shows Harris leading Trump by 5 points nationally. Her lead has grown by 3 points since Marist's last poll.

➤ MORE READS FROM THE TRAIL:

'Inside the Secretive $700 Million Ad-Testing Factory for Kamala Harris': The New York Times
'Massive influx of shadowy get-out-the-vote spending floods swing states': The Washington Post
'A Second Trump Presidency Stands to Radically Remake World Trade': The Wall Street Journal

🗓️ News This Morning

The leader of Hamas may have died:

The Israeli military said it was investigating whether Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed. (The Hill)

💡 Why this matters: "Sinwar is the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, which killed some 1,200 people, while Hamas fighters took another 250 hostages … If he is killed, Sinwar would give Israel a major victory, allowing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to argue his military operation has been a success in taking out the top leaders of Hamas and those who planned the Oct. 7 attacks."

This could have a role in cease-fire talks: "Sinwar has also been an obstacle to a cease-fire and hostage release in Gaza, according to the U.S., and has played the chief role in accepting or rejecting conditions. Netanyahu has also been accused of being an obstacle in the talks, which died out in August."

Learn more about Sinwar

🗓️ In Congress

I live for this kind of tea:

After the 2020 election, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) reportedly slammed Trump as "stupid," "ill-tempered" and "a despicable human being," according to a new biography publishing later this month.

Ouch: McConnell also called Trump a "narcissist" and admitted that after the election, it wasn't "just the Democrats who are counting the days" until he left office. 👀

What to know about this McConnell biography: The book, "The Price of Power: How Mitch McConnell Mastered the Senate, Changed America, and Lost His Party," is written by The Associated Press's deputy Washington bureau chief Michael Tackett. It will be released on Oct. 29.

🔎 AP published more excerpts from the book

🐝 Internet Buzz

🍝 Celebrate: Today is National Pasta Day!

🐕 I have so many questions: A dog was spotted wandering at the top of the Great Pyramid of Giza. On one level, I have so many questions. But as a dog owner, I also get how he or she would curiously and innocently find itself in this situation. 📹 Watch the clip if you don't believe me

🕊️ This is so sad: Former One Direction band member Liam Payne, 31, died Wednesday after falling from the third floor of a hotel. (CNN)

🌕 I swear there is always some cool super-duper moon: The year's biggest and brightest supermoon will be visible tonight. (WPIX)

📆 On The Agenda

The House and Senate are out. President Biden is en route to Germany. Vice President Harris is campaigning in Wisconsin. (all times Eastern)

12:30 p.m.: Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) campaigns in Pittsburgh. 💻 Livestream
1:20 p.m.: Harris campaigns in Milwaukee.
3 p.m.: Former President Clinton and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) campaign in Durham, N.C. 💻 Livestream
3 p.m.: Vance campaigns in Williamsport, Pa. 💻 Livestream
3:50 p.m.: Biden lands in Berlin.
4:15 p.m.: Harris campaigns in La Crosse, Wis. 💻 Livestream
6:30 p.m.: NBC's Kelly O'Donnell interviews acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe on "Nightly News."
7:15 p.m.: Harris campaigns in Green Bay, Wis.💻 Livestream
8:25 p.m.: Harris leaves for Grand Rapids, Mich.
9:15 p.m.: Former President Trump speaks at the Al Smith Dinner in New York. 💻 Livestream
Tuesday: Former President Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Democratic-turned-independent Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) hold a virtual town hall.
Tuesday: Former President Obama campaigns for Harris in Michigan and Wisconsin.