The Latest: VP candidates Vance and Walz meet in last scheduled debate for 2024 tickets

Barring a late addition to the schedule, Tuesday night's vice presidential debate between J.D. Vance and Tim Walz could be the last debate of the 2024 campaign between the Republican and Democratic tickets.

Both Vance, a GOP senator from Ohio, and Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota, have embraced the traditional role of attack dog for the person at the top of the ticket. That could be on full display during the vice presidential debate in New York hosted by CBS News.

Although conventional wisdom says the matchup between the candidates with second billing on the ticket seldom have much impact, polls are so tight that it could sway voters on the margins. It also could be the last head-to-head matchup between the tickets because Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, haven't agreed to a second meeting.

A new AP-NORC poll found that Walz is better liked than Vance, potentially giving the Republican an added challenge.

Although Vance has said he didn’t “have to prepare that much” for the debate because he had “well-developed views on public policy," he had been doing debate prep sessions with his wife, Usha Vance, senior aides, and Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., who has played Walz, according to a person familiar with his preparations who requested anonymity to discuss strategy.

Walz’s debate prep included sessions hunkered down in a Minneapolis hotel, with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg standing in for Vance, according to a person familiar with the process who requested anonymity to discuss the campaign’s internal dynamics.

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Trump was scheduled to speak about the economy Tuesday in the critical swing state of Wisconsin.

The former president was visiting a manufacturing facility in Waunakee, a suburb of Wisconsin’s capital city of Madison in the Democratic stronghold of Dane County. Later he planned to hold an event at a museum in the state's largest city of Milwaukee, with hopes of reaching that city's conservative suburbs, where his support has softened.

Dane County, the location of Trump’s first stop, is Wisconsin’s fastest-growing county and an economic engine for the state, fueled by jobs in the health care and tech industries. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin.

“President Trump’s appearance will be a big shot in the arm for demoralized conservatives here,” the Dane County Republican Party Chairman Brandon Maly posted on X, the social media platform, when the visit was announced. He has said Trump must get at least 23% of the vote in Dane County to have a chance of winning statewide.

Democratic presidential candidates have long come to Dane County to hold massive rallies to fire up the base. Harris campaigned there on Sept. 20, holding a rally in Madison that attracted more than 10,000 people.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Harris cut short a campaign visit to Las Vegas to return to Washington for briefings while Trump headed to Georgia to see the storm’s impact.

Hurricane Helene’s death toll is more than 130 people and rising, with some of the worst damage caused by inland flooding in North Carolina.

In addition to being humanitarian crises, natural disasters can create political tests for elected officials, particularly in the closing weeks of a presidential campaign.

Presidents typically avoid racing toward disaster zones so they don’t interfere with recovery efforts. The White House said Harris would visit impacted areas “as soon as it is possible without disrupting emergency response operations.”

President Joe Biden planned to survey the devastation on Wednesday.

A GoFundMe campaign launched by former president Donald Trump to help the victims of Hurricane Helene has raised more than $1 million.

The website calls the effort “an official response for MAGA supporters to offer their financial assistance to their fellow Americans impacted by Hurricane Helene” and promises that all donations will be directed to those who have been impacted by the devastation.

Trump earlier Monday paid a visit to Valdosta, Georgia, and said he had brought with him supplies, including fuel, that will be distributed by the Christian relief group Samaritan’s Purse.

Former President Trump criticized the Biden administration’s response to the widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, even as his supporters have called for cuts to federal agencies that warn of weather disasters and deliver relief to hard-hit communities.

As president, Trump delayed disaster aid for hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico and diverted money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in order to finance an effort to return undocumented migrants to Mexico. And Project 2025, backed by Trump supporters, would restructure FEMA to limit aid to states and says that the National Weather Service, which provides crucial data on hurricanes and other storms, “should be broken up and downsized.”

Read more here.

President Biden criticized Trump for “lying” about federal contacts with Georgia officials during the response to Hurricane Helene. Trump falsely claimed during a Monday tour of the damage that Biden hadn’t been in touch with the state’s Republican governor. “He’s lying, and the governor told him he was lying.”

“I don’t know why he does this,” Biden continued. “I don’t care about what he says about me, but I care what he what he communicates to people that are in need. He implies that we’re not doing everything possible. We are. We are.”

State election officials in North Carolina are gathering information about options available to voters in the counties hardest hit by Hurricane Helene and plan a press conference for Tuesday.

Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, said during an emergency board meeting on Monday that she will be providing more information, including details on how voters could declare “natural disaster” as their reason for not being able to provide a photo ID.

The board met Monday to approve a resolution granting counties flexibility for holding weekly meetings required under state law to review absentee ballots. These meetings are required to begin every Tuesday between now and Election Day, officials said. The resolution passed unanimously.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump walks outside the Chez What furniture store as he visits Valdosta, Ga., a town impacted by Hurricane Helene, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump walks outside the Chez What furniture store as he visits Valdosta, Ga., a town impacted by Hurricane Helene, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris walks to board Air Force Two in Las Vegas, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, en route to Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris boards Air Force Two in Las Vegas, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, en route to Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks outside the Chez What furniture store as he visits Valdosta, Ga., a town impacted by Hurricane Helene, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

This combination of photos shows Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, left, on Aug. 6, 2024, in Philadelphia, and Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Aug. 9, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are retreating from their records Tuesday as worries worsen about potentially escalating violence in the Middle East.

The S&P 500 pulled 1.1% lower, a day after setting an all-time high for the 43rd time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 225 points, or 0.5%, in midday trading after coming off its own record. The Nasdaq composite was 1.7% lower, as of 11 a.m. Eastern time.

Oil prices jumped as worries ratcheted higher that worsening tensions in the Middle East could disrupt the flow of crude from the region. Iran is preparing to “imminently” launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel, according to a senior U.S. administration official, who warned Tuesday morning of “severe consequences” should it take place. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 3.7% to top $70.

The sharp swings halted, at least temporarily, what had been a run to records for U.S. stocks. They had been jumping on hopes the U.S. economy can continue to grow despite a slowdown in the job market, as the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates to give it more juice. The Fed last month lowered its main interest rate for the first time in more than four years, and it’s indicated it will deliver more cuts through next year.

The question is whether the cuts will ultimately prove to be too little, too late after the Fed earlier kept rates at a two-decade high in hopes of braking on the economy enough to stamp out high inflation.

A discouraging report arrived Tuesday, showing U.S. manufacturing weakened by more in September than economists expected. Manufacturing has been one of the areas of the economy hurt most by high interest rates, and the report from the Institute for Supply Management said demand continues to slow.

A separate report was potentially more encouraging. It showed U.S. employers were advertising more than 8 million job openings at the end of August. That was slightly more than July's number and better than what economists were expecting. A more comprehensive report on hiring will arrive on Friday, when the U.S. government details how many jobs U.S. employers created in September.

Besides the job market, another threat to the economy could lie in the strike by dockworkers at 36 ports across the eastern United States. It could threaten to snarl supply chains and drive up inflation if it lasts a while.

The workers are asking for a labor contract that doesn’t allow automation to take their jobs, among other things. So far, financial markets have been taking the strike in stride. Supply chain experts say consumers won’t see an immediate impact from the strike because most retailers stocked up on goods, moving ahead shipments of holiday gift items.

On Wall Street, the majority of stocks were falling. Among the exceptions were defense contractors that make weapons and oil-and-gas companies that could benefit from higher crude prices.

Northrop Grumman flew 2.7% higher, and Marathon Oil gained 2.8% for two of the bigger gains in the S&P 500.

Signet Jewelers dropped 8% after the diamond retailer said CEO Virginia Drosos is retiring, effective Nov. 4. The company named J.K. Symancyk, who was most recently the CEO of PetSmart, as her successor.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.71% from 3.79% late Monday. Yields fell after worries about the Middle East drove investors into Treasurys, gold and other investments seen as safer.

Yields had already been easing worldwide following an encouraging earlier update on inflation from Europe. Inflation among the 20 countries that use the euro currency came in below 2% in September for the first time in more than three years, and the slowdown could give the European Central Bank leeway to cut interest rates more quickly.

In stock markets abroad, European indexes swung from modest gains to losses. They fell 1% in France and 0.7% in Germany.

Farther east, a quarterly “tankan” survey by the Bank of Japan showed more large manufacturers are still feeling optimistic about business conditions than pessimistic. Japan also reported that its unemployment rate for August fell to 2.5% from 2.7% in July, in line with market expectations.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rallied 1.9% to claw back some of its steep 4.8% loss from the day before.

Markets in China and South Korea were shut for holidays. Mainland Chinese markets, which had their best day since 2008 on Monday, will remain closed until Oct. 7 for the National Day break.

AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.

The New York Stock Exchange, right, is shown on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange is shown on Sept. 18, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

FILE - People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

FILE - The Tokyo Stock Exchange building is seen Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)