And that's what's so outrageous about it is a bunch of these guys up in these state capitals are writing these decisions because they somehow have decided that they're in a better position to tell you what's in your best interest than you are to know what's in your own best interest. It's outrageous. What

do you think? Well,

first of all, I think this is actually an interesting strategy

on part of Harris, and it's something that Donald Trump and his campaign have been doing for several months. Yeah, alternative

media.

Exactly. And trying to find voters, particularly voters who are not necessarily overtly political, and find them where they are. And I think it's a smart strategy. I mean, Alex Cooper has a massive following. She has the number two podcast just behind Joe Rogan. And Harris going on and joining is probably reaching a lot of young women, obviously a key demographic that the campaign recognizes could be very valuable come November. I've always thought, and I know when I talk to the Trump campaign at least, that that's a strategy that they really think could be helpful, particularly on the margins in an election that is supposed to be very close.

And abortion is front and center. The Georgia Supreme Court just reinstated the six-week abortion ban in that state after a lower court put it on hold. Now,

reproductive

rights is the issue perhaps where she feels most comfortable. And so that provided a platform for her to talk about that issue. But also what struck me about this is she was able to characterize herself as a longtime champion of women more broadly. She talked about her career in law enforcement and going up against predators of sexual violence. And so this was a very unique space to make that argument. But, you know, there has been some pushback. But I would argue this conversation that they normally have on that podcast about sex and relationships, you know, an outgrowth of that is talking about reproductive health. So to me, it made a lot of sense. Well,

how do you see this as a polling issue? Because obviously, since Roe v. Wade was overturned, anytime that the issue of abortion rights has been put on a ballot, the people who support abortion rights have voted for it, whether in Kentucky or Ohio or Montana. For

sure. And this is why I think Republicans do feel like they're on the back foot on this issue. That's why you've had Donald Trump be a little bit more reluctant to talk about it. He doesn't like getting sort of pinned down on the issue. I do think that there's a risk for Kamala Harris in this being kind of the only issue that she is known for insofar as she's very comfortable talking about it. But the number one issues that a lot of voters still have are things like the economy. They are things like immigration. And when it comes to the specific podcast, I do think that was probably the right topic. And I think it is very smart that she's going on these alternative podcasts. And by alternative, you know, non-political, right now, if you care about politics at all, you've decided how you're voting in this election. But if you are somebody who really just does not want to be a part of this, thinks, ugh, being reached by something that is ostensibly nonpolitical is kind of the only way you're going to get reached by these campaigns right now. I think it's smart.

And a lot of these voters, it's not about whether they vote for Harris or Trump. It's about whether they vote.

Exactly. And that's why I agree. I think it's really smart of her because it talks about the issues that are really important to young women, young women of color, young women all across the board, independent, suburban women. We saw this was a mobilizing issue in 2022. in polling. What we saw in 2022 and what I'm seeing in focus groups and from data that is coming back, either early registration or even early vote, is that the issue of reproductive rights is still an issue that drives votes. I have spoken to many Republican women who have said, you know what, Maria, the economy, yes, I worry about it, but Kamala Harris is actually closing that gap. The economy is going to come back. My rights, if Trump becomes president, they will not come back. So the issue of reproductive rights for women, a lot of times it's misread as not being an economic issue. And it absolutely is an economic issue for women. So

the other thing that she weighed in that was notable was she talked about Sarah Sanders, the governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the governor of Arkansas, made a comment at a Trump rally. I'm going to misquote her here, but it was something along the lines of she is kept humble by her children, something that Kamala Harris is not kept humble from, the implication being Kamala Harris doesn't have biological children, even though she is a stepmom. Here is what Harris said in response. I

don't think she understands that there are a whole lot of women out here who, one, are not aspiring to be humble. Two, a whole lot of women out here who have a lot of love in their life, family in their life, and children in their life. And I think it's really important for women to lift each other up.

This comes, we should note, in tandem with the issue of the childless cat lady thing that J.D. Vance has put out there, although he's trying to say it was just a joke he made. He has said it several times, berating people who do not have natural born children. Does this matter in terms of votes? I

mean, I think to the extent that you've had young women in poll after poll that I've seen are a very democratic group at this point. There's a pretty sizable gender gap among young voters. I think it does have an effect. I think it's not something that's new or only about this issue, but I certainly think it doesn't help. But I do think, on the other hand, it is valuable that Republicans, at least even if not in messaging that I would have recommended, have been talking about the importance of at least having policies that are more family-friendly, which is actually not a place Republicans maybe 10 years would have been as much, wanting to talk about things like paid leave, child care tax credit, etc. So it's kind of interesting at the same time that they're moving to a place that is more kind of pro-family policy. It's coming with this messaging that I would never have recommended.

Yeah, the punitive for people who don't have biological children. Lastly, quickly, tomorrow, Harris is going to be on The View and on Howard Stern's show on Sirius XM and then on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Yeah,

I think these are places that she wants to be to get her message out there. I think there's a lot of hope that she'll answer some tough questions and answer some of her evolution on key policy stances. But right now, I think the campaign has decided that she's where she needs to be.

All right, thanks one and all. Appreciate it. The U.S. Supreme Court returned to work today with an agenda that includes cases on abortion and guns and quite possibly some post-election fights. Stay with us. In our Law and Justice League, the U.S. Supreme Court today kicked off a brand new term by delivering a body blow to the Biden administration over the abortion law in Texas. The justices left in place a court order that prevents the Biden administration from stripping federal funding from Texas hospitals that refuse to provide emergency abortion care. CNN's Joan Biscuper joins us. Joan, tell us more about this move and what it means for abortion access in Texas, even if a woman is at risk of losing her life if the abortion is not performed.

Yeah, big day at the Supreme Court, Jake, with oral arguments and a series of orders, the most eye-catching of which was this case from Texas, where the justices let stand a lower court ruling against the Biden administration. There was a clash between the Biden administration trying to enforce a 1986 law that requires treatment in emergency rooms to stabilize patients, even patients who might come in with pregnancy complications and could need an abortion. Now, states that have passed abortion bans have challenged the Biden administration on this. And you probably remember last year, the justices dismissed an Idaho case after hearing it, saying that there needed to be more fact-finding and legal issue resolution below. But here now in Texas, they decided not to take up the case. The Biden administration, in fact, said, you don't need to take this case, but please get rid of that lower court ruling from the appellate court in the Texas matter, because it's going to hurt women in Texas. The justices with no reasoning explained just said no, and there was no recorded vote or dissent. But I should say, Jake, that this only applies in Texas, that throughout the rest of the country, the Biden administration guidance about emergency room abortions will still hold. And I think the big takeaway here is the justices are not, even though there's still going to be conflict between states with abortion bans and the administration wanting this emergency room guidance to be able to help women who face pregnancy complications. That's not going to be resolved, at least not in this election year, Jake.

All right, Joan Biskupik, thanks so much. New video shows rows of cars evacuating in Tampa as Hurricane Milton, which is already a Category 5 storm, keeps gaining strength and headed towards the west coast of Florida. We'll have an update on this monstrous storm coming up. Quick update on our breaking news.