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Good morning, and happy Election Day! Remember to cast your vote for the 2024 race today, as over 75 million Americans have done so already. To celebrate, I’ve put together a list of Election Day discounts before today’s sponsored segment that you may use (but only if you vote).

Click here to find your polling place, and here to see any information you may need about voting. I hope you enjoy today’s edition and remember your vote matters!

International

Death toll from flash floods in Spain rises

The flooding has been called the worst natural disaster the country has faced in decades. After flash floods ravaged the Valencia region of Spain late last week, the death toll has risen to over 217 as rescue teams continue the search effort.

Senseless Tragedy

As people were leaving work last Tuesday, the storms began, causing rivers in the area to overflow (see footage). Roads and highways were overtaken by the ensuing mudflow and flooding, trapping many people in their vehicles and forcing others to flee for higher land.

• In eight hours, the community of Chiva allegedly received more rainfall than it had in the previous 20 months, while in other places, the water level surged by more than three feet in a matter of minutes.

• Authorities referred to the storms as the worst in the last century; in the suburb of Paiporta, which has a population of about 25,000, over 60 people lost their lives.

Unfortunately, the storms continued through the week. Just yesterday, Barcelona was hit with extensive flooding and hailstorms amid extensive search and rescue efforts throughout Spain’s east coast.

• The second-largest airport in the nation, El Prat in Barcelona, has several areas that are flooded.

  • Rail services have also been interrupted, and over 80 flights have been canceled or delayed.

Spain’s state meteorology agency issued a red alert due to the “extreme danger” of torrential rain throughout the surrounding areas. Dozens of people have still gone unreported as Spain’s interior minister refused to say how many were still missing on Monday morning.

Public Outrage

The sheer extent of the disaster has led to anger from residents, casting blame on public officials for the lack of preparedness and allegedly giving late warnings. During a visit on Sunday, furious citizens accosted Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia, calling them "murderers" and throwing mud.

• Objects were also thrown at Prime Minister Sánchez, although he was evacuated shortly after.

What is being done? In response to the protests, over 2,500 soldiers were sent to areas impacted by the flood to aid in relief efforts and assist local authorities yesterday. This is in addition to the 10,000 Prime Minister Sánchez sent to the Valencia region on Sunday.

A warship with other personnel and trucks with food and water also arrived in Valencia, even during persisting storms. 17,000 volunteers are also supporting the relief effort.

Popular fitness app exposed world leaders’ locations

This might be the only case you could make for having a fat bodyguard. The French publication Le Monde revealed that the Strava posts of bodyguards gave away the highly secretive whereabouts of world leaders like Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, and Vladimir Putin.

How is this possible?

According to the publication, journalists used Strava, a popular exercise tracking app, to uncover highly classified locations and identify 26 US agents, 12 members of the French Secret Service, and six members of the Russian Federal Protection Service.

• Le Monde tracked down Macron's bodyguards' Strava travels and discovered that the French president spent a weekend in the Normandy coastal resort of Honfleur a few years ago.

  • The president's public agenda did not include the trip, which was intended to be private.

• One US Secret Service member went jogging a few hours before President Biden arrived for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2023, which allowed journalists to identify the hotel he stayed at.

More interestingly, according to the report, some of Putin's bodyguards are based close to a billion-euro mansion that the Russian president has denied ever having. The publication also said Melania Trump and Jill Biden's movements could be tracked by following the Strava profiles of their bodyguards.

The US Secret Service said that “affected personnel has been notified,” and that they would “review the information.” It added that most of the information obtained was publicly available and shouldn’t add “threats to any protectees.”

The app has been under fire before: The Pentagon banned Strava from military installations internationally in 2018 after discovering that the app's Global Heat Map might reveal the movements of individuals in conflict areas.

Retail

Here’s some discounts for Election Day

If you’re going to go through the slog of voting, you might as well get some free doughnuts. Though tens of millions have already voted, millions more will go out and vote today. To celebrate, some establishments are offering Election Day deals because, of course, America gives you sugar for performing your civic duty.

Free Findings

Once you’ve graced the country with your preferred political candidate, you can take yourself up on some of these deals:

• Krispy Kreme is offering a free glazed donut (while supplies last) and an “I Voted” sticker.

• Dave & Busters is offering a slew of specials and half-priced games.

• GrubHub has several specials with select restaurants and Uber Eats is rewarding voters with 25% off Election Day orders.

• Johhny Rockets is offering a free shake with any in-store purchase.

And if you can’t get to a polling place…

• Ridesharing businesses Lyft and Uber are giving out discounted rides (50% off if you’re going to a polling location), while Hertz is offering a car rental deal if you need some extra wheels.

Another benefit: Over 2,000 businesses have committed to providing PTO to their staff members and several states offer free child care to parents who need a few hours to travel to their polling locations.

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Grab Bag

Flight get canceled? Now you’ll get your money back

At least we’ll have a silver lining now. Those who have a canceled or significantly delayed flight can now benefit from a new Transportation Department rule that requires airlines to give people their money back “without headaches or haggling.”

Easy Peasy

According to the Department of Transportation, the new rule formally defines "significant" delays as three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights, standardizing airlines' refund policies.

Airlines are also on the hook for returning your money, using the original payment method by the customer, and you are no longer required to request a refund.

• If you paid with a card, you must receive your money back within a week; if you paid with cash or points, you must receive your money back within 20 days.

Pricey payments: The travel journal Upgraded Points claims that if this regulation had been in effect last year, United, American, and Delta could have had to pay out more than $1 billion in reimbursements.

This hardware provider for the AI industry is flailing

Super Micro, a major supplier of hardware to Nvidia and other major AI companies, is faltering. As worries about the legitimacy of Super Micro's finances grew, the company's stock plummeted after it was revealed that accounting firm Ernst & Young had quit in the middle of their work.

Past its Prime

Super Micro was once a giant in the emerging generative AI space and at one point even bigger than Nvidia. In the two years before it reached the S&P 500 in March, it experienced a 2,000% surge. At the start of this year, it experienced a 300% surge amid the AI craze.

However, that didn’t last too long:

• The company stock dropped 33% following EY’s resignation and has fallen 46% in total.

• Its market capitalization plummeted to $13 billion as of yesterday, down from its peak of over $70 billion.

In August, Hindenburg Research conducted a 3-month investigation and released a scathing report that found Super Micro committed "improper revenue recognition," and in September, the Wall Street Journal disclosed that the Justice Department was looking into the company.

Family feud

Super Micro’s accounting issues brought the family ties of its CEO, Charles Liang, to the forefront of the debacle. Liang's wife, Sara Liu, sits on Super Micro's board, and his brothers, Steve and Bill Liang, run Taiwan-based firms Ablecom and Compuware, which manufacture vital components for Super Micro products.

Looking forward: The pending DOJ probe may bring rather unsavory aspects of the company’s business to light, and not to mention, Super Micro has to submit its past-due annual report by November 16th or possibly be removed from the Nasdaq.

Fast Facts

Will Smith Squared: For the fifth consecutive season, someone named Will Smith has won the World Series, following the Los Angeles Dodgers’ defeat of the Yankees last week. 

Easy Election: The nonprofit organization BallotReady, which evaluated almost 45,000 races, estimates that about 7 out of 10 US elections this year are uncontested.

Starbucks Sharpie: In an attempt to breathe life into the flailing coffee company, Starbucks is reintroducing Sharpied names on cups for the first time in four years.

AI Integration: Soon, Google Maps will incorporate AI capabilities to provide more thorough parking options, walking routes, and restaurant suggestions.

Infinite Fine: Russia fined YouTube $20.5 decillion because it won't restore the accounts of Russian state media outlets. The fine, which is “20” followed by 33 digits,  is equivalent to all the money on Earth multiplied by 23,809,523.