The Biden administration wants private insurers to pay for over-the-counter birth control products for women of reproductive age.

A proposed rule under the Affordable Care Act would give women with private insurance free access to products such as condoms, spermicide, and emergency contraception.

No prescription would be required for the products.

The rule would also help spread awareness, by requiring most private insurers to disclose that over-the-counter contraception is covered and does not need a prescription.

This comes as an emergency contraceptive like Plan B One-Step costs about $50 out-of-pocket.

This proposed rule, if finalized, would be the most significant expansion of contraception coverage under the Affordable Care Act since 2012, when contraception was first required to be covered, said a White House press release.

The proposed rule is the Biden administration's latest effort to strengthen access to abortion and contraceptives.

RELATED STORY | Why is access to birth control controversial?

From international conflicts to environmental concerns and issues that touch everyone's life, journalists are there for it all. They are tasked with telling people's stories and holding those in power accountable.

This year, the best in journalism were recognized during the 71st Scripps Howard Awards, hosted by Scripps News' very own Christian Bryant.

The journalism produced by this years finalists exposed wrongdoing, held the powerful accountable, shaped policies and helped correct historical records, said Meredith Delaney, president and CEO of the Scripps Howard Fund. The 71st Scripps Howard Journalism Awards will shine a light on the responsibility these journalists have to tell their communitys stories and serve as democracys watchdog.

Veteran journalists and media professionals were tasked with picking the winners in 14 different categories, including excellence in breaking news and excellence in innovation.

The 71st Scripps Howard Journalism Awards finalists and winners are:

Excellence in Audio Storytelling, honoring Jack R. Howard

(Winner) The Boston Globe in association with HBO Documentary Films Murder in Boston Rococo Punch and iHeart Podcasts The Turning: Room of Mirrors Serial Productions and The New York Times The Retrievals

Excellence in Breaking News

(Winner) The Associated Press Deadly Maui Wildfires Lookout Santa Cruz Santa Cruz County Storms Los Angeles Times A Massacre in Monterey Park

Excellence in Business/Financial Reporting

(Winner) The New York Times Alone and Exploited KFF Health News Payback: Tracking the Opioid Settlement Cash ProPublica and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in collaboration with the Medill Investigative Lab With Every Breath: Millions of Breathing Machines. One Dangerous Defect

Excellence in Environmental Reporting, honoring Edward W. Ted Scripps II

(Winner) The Washington Post The Human Limit San Francisco Chronicle Firefighters are Being Poisoned by Wildfire Smoke. Were Doing Little to Protect Their Health The New York Times Uncharted Waters

Distinguished Service to the First Amendment, honoring Edward Willis Scripps

(Winner) The Kansas City Star and The Wichita Eagle Marion Record Raid Hearst Connecticut Media Group Transparency Failures Sow Distrust in City Marred by Corruption Open Vallejo No Responsive Records: How Vallejo Hid Killings by Police

Excellence in Innovation, honoring Roy W. Howard

(Winner) ProPublica and The Desert Sun Thirsty Valley ProPublica Roots of an Outbreak The Washington Post 3D Analyses of Violence in the West Bank

Excellence in Local/Regional Investigative Reporting

(Winner) The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Columbus Dispatch, Akron Beacon Journal, Canton Repository Chaos in Ohios Youth Lockups City Bureau and Invisible Institute Missing in Chicago Miami Herald The Foreclosure Franchise

Excellence in Local Video Storytelling, honoring Jack. R. Howard

(Winner) KARE-TV Minneapolis KARE 11 Investigates: Broken Promises KUSA-TV Denver and WTSP-TV UNDETERMINED New York Amsterdam News Be-Loved"

Excellence in Multimedia Journalism

(Winner) Reuters The Bat Lands The Associated Press Adrift The Boston Globe Nightmare in Mission Hill

Excellence in Narrative Human-Interest Storytelling, honoring Ernie Pyle

(Winner) NPR Ukraine Kindergarten The Boston Globe Nightmare in Mission Hill The Texas Tribune She Was Told Her Twin Sons Wouldnt Survive. Texas Law Made Her Give Birth Anyway.

Excellence in National/International Investigative Reporting, the Ursula and Gilbert Farfel Prize

(Winner) ProPublica Friends of the Court Reuters The Musk Industrial Complex The New York Times Alone and Exploited

Excellence in National/International Video Storytelling, honoring Jack R. Howard

(Winner) FRONTLINE (PBS) and The Associated Press 20 Days in Mariupol FRONTLINE (PBS) Clarence and Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power and the Supreme Court The Center for Investigative Reporting, Motto Pictures and Netflix Victim/Suspect

Excellence in Opinion Writing

(Winner) Los Angeles Times Inside Out: Normalizing Incarceration to Increase Public Safety Coda Story and Ukrainska Pravda Fallout: Tracking the Global Impacts of Russias War in Ukraine The Washington Post Men are lost. Heres a map out of the wilderness

Excellence in Visual Human-Interest Storytelling

(Winner) MSNBC On Assignment with Richard Engel: Ukraines Secret Resistance El Paso Times Dreams, despair & death A migrants journey. A year of covering the Immigration crisis The Atlanta Journal-Constitution The South Got Something To Say

The Scripps Howard Fund, in partnership with the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, has also announced the winners and finalists for its two journalism education awards:

Teacher of the Year

Winner: Nicole Kraft, The Ohio State University

Finalist: Leon Alligood, Middle Tennessee State University

Administrator of the Year

Winner: Ann Brill, University of Kansas

Finalist: Laura Lindenfeld, Stony Brook University

Impact Award Winner

The New York Times Alone and Exploited

The Scripps Howard Fund is the philanthropic arm of the E.W. Scripps Company, the parent company of Scripps News. 

When a gunman opened fire on former President Donald Trump this summer in Butler, Pennsylvania, it was a first for many Americans who had never seen an attempted assassination on a major political figure in this country.

But threats and violence against political candidates and their supporters have been surging in recent years. Homeland Security officials warned recently that the nation's threat environment is expected to remain high over the next year, in part because of the 2024 election cycle.

RELATED STORY | Scripps News exclusive: US Capitol Police chief confident agency is prepared for potential election violence

For the past several months, Scripps News has been digging into this troubling trend. We've uncovered cases where people have been sent to prison for making threats, and others where people have ended up in the hospital as victims.

We sift through dozens of cases, police reports, body camera footage and court documents, and talk to the people in power whose job it is to safeguard democracy to understand where the risk of political violence comes from and how it's changed.

On this edition of The Race Weekend, Scripps News Montana speaks with Democratic Senator Jon Tester about his challenging Senate race and the state of the Presidential race. Scripps News Political Director Andrew Rafferty joins the show to discuss how former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris can best get to 270 electoral votes, while National Politico Correspondent Meridith McGraw joins the show to discuss how Harris is looking to capture GOP voters. Texas State Representative Julie Johnson joins the show for a closer look at LGBTQ issues this election cycle and how LGBTQ women could make history in Congress. Scripps News Political Analyst Steve Schmidt gives us his take on each of the candidates calling each other fascists, while Brakkton Booker with our partners at Politico joins White House Correspondent Serena Marshall and Congressional Correspondent Nate Reed for our Inside the Race Panel.

Families with children in Girl Scouts could soon be paying more for the organization's annual membership dues 240% more.

According to a statement cited by CNN, delegates of the Girl Scouts of the USAs National Council will vote Saturday on whether to raise dues for the first time in eight years.

The proposed increase would raise yearly fees from $25 to $85. Girl Scouts of the USA says its largest source of revenue comes from the dues, and not by selling its famous cookies.

RELATED STORY | Girl Scout fined $400 for selling cookies

Troop leaders have said they believe the membership fee increase could put a financial strain on families, causing troops to have issues, possibly including losing members.

In addition to fees, members often have to buy their own uniforms which are different for each age group.

The youth organization has increased the price of its cookies over the years, costing as much as $7 per box in some states. Individual Girl Scouts councils set the prices of their cookies.

Girl Scouts has also changed its cookie-selling strategy since the pandemic, with the added option to buy their cookies online.

The sun is at a point where its two poles have flipped, and NASA says that means we'll get more light shows here on Earth including a more visible northern lights.

The sun is at its "solar maximum" period, which is part of an 11-year cycle night now, the sun's north and south magnetic pole have flipped.

RELATED | NASA launches mission to Jupiter's moon

The sun may emit more solar flares or and people might be able to see more auroras in the northern and southern hemispheres. Sky watchers will get to see more of these phenomena in the next year.

https://youtu.be/E65T2AV-EjM

There is also an increased likelihood of coronal mass ejections, which could affect satellite operations around the Earth as well. The Space Weather Prediction Center calls CMEs "large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the Suns corona."

Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan has allowed Special Counsel Jack Smith to unseal new documents related to former President Donald Trump's election interference case. Chutkan blocked Trump's request to delay the release of the documents until after the election.

Instead, she argued withholding the documents could be seen as election interference.

The newly revealed documents come weeks after Smith alleged that Trump engaged in a "private criminal effort" to try and overturn the results of the 2020 election.

RELATED STORY | Journalist recalls meeting man accused in apparent Trump assassination attempt

The documents were released in several volumes and contained 2,000 pages of mostly redacted material. Much of the unredacted material included already public information, including tweets from the former president, news statements, along with items previously revealed during the House of Representatives' hearings into the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

The volumes also show that Smith used information gathered during the House's inquiry, such as text messages and meeting notes, to make his case against Trump.

Earlier this month, Smith released a 165-page document to show there is evidence that Trump committed criminal acts outside the scope of presidential immunity, which was outlined in the U.S. Supreme Court's July decision.

Trump faces criminal charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding. A trial date has not been announced as Chutkan waited for the Supreme Court to rule on what sort of immunity is afforded to sitting presidents.

RELATED STORY | Sentencing in Trump's hush money case delayed until after the November election

Former President Donald Trump is doubling down on a plan to boost U.S. manufacturing by imposing steep tariffs on all imported goods, at least 10% across the board, and up to 60% on products from China.

Vice President Kamala Harris has called the plan a sales tax on all Americans. Economists tend to agree with Harris as a study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics found that Trump's proposed tariffs could cost the typical American household more than $2,600 a year.

"High tariffs also imply a massive shifting of the tax burden from richer taxpayers toward lower-income Americans," the report says.

RELATED STORY | Trump uses interview on economics to promote tariffs on foreign goods

Rob Wilson, a financial adviser with Wilson Insight, suggested that the tariffs could lead to a trade war.

"The importer pays all of the cost of the tariff," he said. "The Customs and Border Administration handles the tariffs, so when the item comes in, the importer has to pay all of those tariffs, and largely they pass that cost onto consumers. So when we hear all of this talk that China is paying the tariffs, and we can do all of these great things with the money, it's actually American companies and taxpayers that are paying the cost of those tariffs."

Wilson added that simply buying from another country would also be problematic.

"The reason that we had, a lot of inflation is because it's not easy to stand up these global supply chains, so you may be locked into paying that tariff simply because you can't get the items that easily from other places," he said.

RELATED STORY | Va. Rep. Don Beyer at DNC criticizes GOP  stance, says he is 'instinctively anti-tariff'

Trump says that his plan puts Americans first. His campaign claims that "as tariffs on foreign countries go up, taxes on American workers, families, and businesses can come down."

Biden's pro-China economic program puts America last and it's killing our country, Trump said. My cutting-edge trade agenda will revitalize our economy by once again putting America first. We will quickly become a manufacturing powerhouse like the world has never seen before.

This campaign also claims, "Higher tariffs create millions of new jobs, increase real household income, boost GDP, increase domestic manufacturing output, and generate hundreds of billions of dollars in new government revenue."

Wilson pushed back on some of those claims.

"We have information from his last administration about how those tariffs worked," Wilson said. "So the tariffs that he imposed from 2018 to 2020, 92% of the income from those tariffs had to bail out farmers because they were being hurt by retaliatory tariffs from China. So just because you decide to do ridiculous tariffs on a country doesn't mean that they're not going to retaliate against you. So now if we're going to bring other countries into this as well, it could bring the whole global supply chain into chaos. "

President Biden has kept some of those tariffs on Chinese imports in place and added his own, like on electric vehicles, steel and aluminum.

Wilson argued that those tariffs are more limited in nature and that placing tariffs on all products being imported from China would causem"an incredible increase in cost to the American consumer."

Vice President Kamala Harris continued her focus on Great Lakes battleground states she hopes will deliver her the White House.

Today the focus was in Wisconsin. She made two stops there with a message the centered on the economy and her rival Donald Trump.

At a rally in LaCrosse, Harris blasted Trump for comments he made about January 6.

"He called it a 'day of love,'" Harris said.

Earlier, Harris addressed the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel.

"Justice has been served," Harris said. "And the United States, Israel and the entire world are better off as a result."

RELATED STORY | Harris, Trump court suburban Pennsylvania voters in path to White House

Former President Donald Trump gave remarks Thursday Night at the Alfred E. Smith dinner in New York City. The white-tie dinner raises money for Catholic Charities.

Harris did not appear in person, but spoke virtually.

Historically, opposing candidates have appeared at the dinner together, often making lighthearted jabs at each other.

Also on Thursday, in a pre-taped episode of the conservative PMD podcast, Trump blamed Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for Russia's invasion. He said if he wins on November 5, he would settle the war in Ukraine before his inauguration.

"I think the world's going to behave, and I think I will settle Russia-Ukraine while I'm president-elect," Trump said.

Both candidates will stump in Michigan on Friday. Trump is scheduled to be in Detroit, while Harris has multiple stops statewide.

The Small Business Administration received nearly 50,000 applications for disaster relief after hurricanes Helene and Milton struck just days apart.

The SBA is now running out of money for its disaster assistance loan program and will have to put it on pause.

The agency's loans are meant to provide help to small businesses, renters and home owners but now the SBA is now asking people to turn to other agencies like FEMA for relief, if they can find it.

RELATED | Mayorkas to Scripps News: Some hurricane survivors reluctant to accept FEMA assistance due to disinformation

Rob Schroeder, a Washington Bureau Chief at Marketwatch said the SBA received "overwhelming demand" after the multiple hurricanes and said "the money went fast."

That lead the agency to suspend the disaster program, and many were asked to look at state and county options for help.

Other federal programs have also dealt with unique struggles following the hurricanes.

In a Scripps News investigation, Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas said some hurricane survivors had been reluctant to accept certain types of help from FEMA, citing rampant misinformation.

At the start of 2024, Gallup found that independent voters make up the largest political bloc in the U.S. An Average of 43% of U.S. adults identified as independent in 2023, tying a record set nearly a decade ago. Identification with either party is tied at 27%, a slow decline for both since 2008.

As the countdown to the 2024 presidential election begins, correspondent Gianna Toboni travels to the crucial swing state of Arizona to meet with independent Americans from all walks of life. From ranchers to lawyers to church leaders and more, this diverse, multi-generational panel comes together for a straight-to-the-point discussion about the biggest issues.

Watch this episode of "In Real Life: Independent America" in the video player.

Google security expert Kimberly Samra told Scripps News that people need to learn how to spot scams whenever possible.

Online scams have increased markedly in recently years.

According to the FBI, Americans reported losses to the tune of $12.5 billion from online scams last year. It was a record number, up over 20% from the year before.

Samra previously worked in external relations for IBM Security and says these online scams "run the gamut whether it's phone calls, text messages, emails even online scams in some of those resources you see in your search results," on platforms like Google.

RELATED | Google illegally maintains monopoly over internet search, judge rules

Samra says to look out for red flags, like area codes on phone calls from places in other countries or states where you don't have ties. She says to try and avoid clicking on links in suspect text messages or emails.

You can hover over links with your computer's cursor to see if the URL is one that looks legitimate.

Scams are becoming very sophisticated, and that can lead people to becoming a victim of a cyberscam even when they are trying to be aware. Take advantage of features like two-factor authentication and passkeys instead of passwords, which help resist phishing.

The Texas Supreme Court late on Thursday night delayed the execution of Robert Roberson, who was originally scheduled to be put to death earlier in the day after being convicted of murder in a case related to shaken baby syndrome.

A Texas House committee had requested the stay so that Roberson could testify at a hearing in his case next week.

Wednesday the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied a request for clemency for Roberson.

On Thursday the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had rejected an appeal to halt the execution.

Also on Thursday the U.S. Supreme Court declined to halt the execution. Justice Sonya Sotomayor wrote urging Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to issue a 30-day delay in Roberson's case. Gov. Abbott has so far not commented on the case.

Roberson was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2002 killing of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis.

RELATED STORY | Texas intends to execute Robert Roberson, whose attorneys claim he was wrongly convicted

Prosecutors allege Roberson abused his daughter and violently shook her to death, leading to the "shaken baby syndrome" diagnosis.

Roberson's attorneys claim he was wrongly convicted. His defense now points to undiagnosed pneumonia as his daughter's cause of death claiming Nikki stopped breathing in her sleep.

The U.S. Department of Justice said that RTX Corporation the defense contractor formerly known as Raytheon has agreed to pay over $950 million in a case to resolve allegations that say the company defrauded the government and paid bribes to secure business with the government of Qatar.

The DOJ said in a release that Raytheon Company which is a subsidiary of the Arlington, Va.-based defense contractor formerly known as Raytheon Technologies Corporation, is accused of "a major government fraud scheme involving defective pricing on certain government contracts and violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the Arms Export Control Act."

The DOJ said the company also had violations in "its implementing regulations" and in "the International Traffic in Arms Regulations."

RELATED | So much polarization: Survivors reflect on the impacts of politically-motivated gunfire

The company entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement in separate cases - those cases played out in federal court in Brooklyn and Boston.

The company agreed to hire independent monitors to oversee compliance with anti-corruption and anti-fraud laws and must show good conduct for three years, the Associated Press reported, citing DOJ information on the cases made public.

The money the company owes includes penalties in the criminal cases, as well as civil fines, restitution and the return of profits it derived from inflated Defense Department billing and business derived from alleged bribes paid to a high-ranking Qatari military official from 2012 to 2016.

The members of One Direction posted an Instagram message Thursday about the death of Liam Payne.

"We're completely devastated by the news of Liam's passing. In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly."

"The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever."

Payne, who was 31 years old, reportedly died Wednesday after an apparent fall from a hotel balcony in Argentina.

Coroners investigated his cause of death and found injuries consistent with a fall from a height, according to local media outlets. Full details of an official autopsy report have not yet been released.

RELATED STORY | Officials reveal preliminary results for Liam Payne's cause of death

One Direction, which also included members Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson, formed in 2010 after each member had appeared on the reality competition show "The X Factor." The British band has sold more than 70 million records worldwide, but broke up in 2016 as its members pursued different projects.

While he was not married, Payne is survived bu by a 7-year-old son, Bear Grey Payne, who was born in 2017 to then-girlfriend and Girls Aloud group member Cheryl Cole.

Apple TV+'s new limited series "Before" set to premiere this month takes a look, as the title suggests, at some thrilling and sometimes frightening ways we deal with the past, actress Rosie Perez told Scripps News.

The film star said acting in a lead role alongside actor and executive producer Billy Crystal was a great experience.

The series, which will premiere globally in just days, tells the story of child psychologist Dr. Eli Adler who "encounters a troubled young boy who seems to have a haunting connection to Eli's past," Apple TV writes.

Perez plays the role of a foster mother, and says her own past in the foster system helped her in the role. She says she was originally offered another role in the project, but pushed for the one she ended up playing.

RELATED | Disney to debut new Lightning Lane Premier Pass this month, but some guests may have sticker shock

"It was a heavy lift, it's a very dark and heavy, emotional role," Perez said. "I just kind of dig down into the truth of the situation."

Perez said Crystal was very supportive of her as she was working through the character.

"Before" will premiere on Apple TV+ on Oct. 25.

The Israeli military has confirmed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza, has been killed in an Israeli military operation.

"Eliminated: Yahya Sinwar," the Israel Defense Forces wrote Thursday in a post on social media.

Israel's foreign minister said Sinwar's identity was confirmed after authorities conducted a DNA test on his body. He was among two others who were also killed in the Israeli military operation.

RELATED STORY | Biden: US troops to "remain postured" in the Middle East as tensions escalate

Sinwar's death marks a significant development in Israel's yearlong war against Iranian-backed Hamas militants in Gaza. However, it could also complicate Israeli efforts to get dozens of Israeli hostages freed from Hamas captivity.

The IDF said in a statement that "there were no signs of the presence of hostages" in the area where Sinwar was killed. After his death was confirmed, Families of American Hostages Held In Gaza released a statement demanding the immediate release of all hostages.

"It is now time for every single hostage held in Gaza to be returned to their families. No more delays and no more demands," the statement reads. "Whether through negotiation or by any other means, all parties must immediately seize this opportunity to bring home the 101 remaining hostages, including seven Americans, before it's too late. The elimination of this brutal terrorist is a step toward justice. But true victory for Israel, its allies, and for the world will only be achieved when every hostage is released and the suffering of civilians in Gaza ends."

RELATED STORY | Israel assures US it won't strike Iranian nuclear or oil sites, US officials say

Following news of Sinwar's death, President Joe Biden said he plans to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the path forward, but called it "a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world."

"To my Israeli friends, this is no doubt a day of relief and reminiscence, similar to the scenes witnessed throughout the United States after President Obama ordered the raid to kill Osama Bin Laden in 2011," President Biden said in a statement. "Israel has had every right to eliminate the leadership and military structure of Hamas. Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another October 7."

Vice President Kamala Harris echoed those words during a press conference, saying the world is "better off" with Sinwar dead.

"Sinwar was responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent people, including the victims of October 7th and hostages killed in Gaza," Harris said. "He had American blood on his hands. Today I can only hope that the families of the victims of Hamas feel a sense and measure of relief."

RELATED STORY | Understanding the dynamics of a potential Israel-Hamas cease-fire

Meanwhile, U.S. troops are set to remain stationed throughout the Middle East as tensions continue to escalate in the region. In a letter sent to Congressional leadership earlier this week, President Joe Biden explained that troops are to "remain postured" in order to "protect Israel from Iranian and Iranian-aligned threats."

The latest actions from the Biden administration come as Israel's year-long war against Hamas in Gaza has expanded into a multi-front operation to also combat Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. Late last month, the Israeli military said it had launched a "limited, localized" ground operation into the country, that has since boiled over into all-out war between the two sides and risks sparking an even wider regional conflict.

In a Fox News town hall, in front of an all-female audience, former President Donald Trump responded to a question about whether he would support IVF access:

"I want to talk about IFV. I'm the father of IFV," Trump said.

He went on to say Republicans were "the party" for IFV.

In a gaggle with reporters, Vice President Kamala Harris called Trump's comment bizarre and said he was unfit for the Oval Office.

"Donald Trump is increasingly unstable and as has been said by the people who have worked closely with him, even when he was president, he's unfit to be president of the United States," Harris said.

Trump also appeared in a Univision town hall with Latino voters Wednesday. He doubled down on false claims of Haitian migrants eating pets and his characterization of undocumented immigrants as criminals and rapists.

Harris returned to Pennsylvania for a rally where she touted recent endorsements from Republicans.

"At stake in this election is the Constitution of the United States its very self," Harris said. "We are here today because we share a core belief: that we must put country before party."

And Harris continued her efforts to court conservative voters Wednesday evening, sitting down for an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier.

RELATED STORY | Harris' interview with Fox News is marked by testy exchanges over immigration and more

A federal appeals court is advancing a case against a platform that allows people to bet on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which brought the case, is worried U.S. election betting could harm the country's election systems.

Interactive Brokers have been working with Kalshi to offer election contracts. These deals would issue payouts on bets placed on the outcome of U.S. elections.

RELATED | Early in-person voting has begun in some states amid historic changes in the voting process

Election bettors have been banking on the odds that Donald Trump will win the White House in the next election, with Kamala Harris winning the popular vote.

Kalshi has reportedly booked millions of dollars in contracts on the 2024 presidential race.

CFTC is challenging the right for Kalshi to offer betting on elections, arguing it can harm election integrity or may be vulnerable to market manipulation.