5 things to know for Oct. 29: Election countdown, Burned ballots, Flight refunds, Middle East, Tropical Storm Trami

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Does it seem like your phone has been blowing up with political text messages? It’s not just you — these texts have increased substantially in the 2024 election cycle. CNN goes behind the scenes to meet the real people who send those political texts. And yes, they do see your responses. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are trying to reach as many voters as possible one week from Election Day. Harris is scheduled to deliver the final major address of her campaign today at the Ellipse — a park just outside the South Lawn of the White House where Trump rallied his supporters ahead of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Trump will be in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, where he’s joining an event in Drexel Hill and holding a rally in Allentown. This comes as more than 43 million ballots have been cast across 47 states and the District of Columbia. CNN’s most recent national poll found that Harris had a large lead among early voters, despite a virtually tied race overall. Federal authorities are investigating fires at ballot boxes in Oregon and Washington after hundreds of ballots were destroyed. Evidence from the incendiary devices found at two charred ballot boxes in the Portland, Oregon, area shows the fires are connected, as well as a third incident reported in Vancouver, Washington, on October 8, a spokesperson for the Portland Police Bureau said. Authorities are working to determine the motives behind the attacks that appear “targeted and intentional,” the department added. The fires come after the FBI and Department of Homeland Security recently issued a bulletin raising concerns that “election-related grievances,” such as a belief in voter fraud, could motivate domestic extremists to engage in violence in the weeks before and after the November election. US airlines are now required to refund passengers automatically if their flight is significantly delayed or canceled. The Department of Transportation says the final federal rule requiring that airlines dole out refunds — not vouchers — went into effect Monday. “Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them — without headaches or haggling,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg posted on X. The rule says airlines must refund passengers affected by significantly changed flights within seven business days if they bought a ticket on a credit card and within 20 calendar days if they used another form of payment. The move has faced pushback from the airline industry and is being implemented only a month before the start of what is likely to be a huge holiday travel season. Israel’s parliament has banned the UN Palestinian refugee agency despite international outcry. The new laws prevent UNRWA from operating in the country, a move the UN chief warned could have “devastating consequences” for millions of Palestinian refugees living in areas under Israel’s control. The move follows an intense Israeli campaign to dismantle UNRWA as the Jewish state’s relations with the UN have reached an all-time low amid the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel previously accused UNRWA staff of taking part in Hamas’ October 7 attack, which the agency strongly denied. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes in eastern Lebanon killed dozens of people in some of the deadliest attacks of the Israel-Hezbollah war, Lebanese officials said.