This is an excerpt from Incoming, BuzzFeed News’ morning newsletter dedicated to making sense of this chaotic world we live in. Join the club here.
It’s almost Election Day. Get it together.
The midterm elections are Tuesday, Nov. 8, and there's a lot on the line. Based on recent polling, races that will determine which party controls Congress remain close. And in several states, voters are weighing in on abortion rights following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Keep these things in mind to ensure that your voting process goes smoothly next week:
Check your registration. In 19 states, you can register up until Election Day.
Think about what you need for Election Day. Check whether your state requires a photo ID to vote. Brace yourself for a potentially long wait, and if you get hungry, Pizza to the Polls will deliver free food to everyone waiting if you report a long line.
If any above doesn’t feel like your cup of tea, explore your state’s early-voting options.
Make a paper cheat sheet to help you remember who to vote for. Also, researching candidates with resources like Vote411.org in advance can help the day-of process move quickly.
Get a ride. Lyft is offering 50% off rides on Election Day during voting hours with the code VOTE22. You can also request a free ride at RideShare2Vote Aware.
KNOW YOUR VOTING RIGHTS.
You have the right to vote free of racial bias or discrimination and free of voter intimidation. Under the Americans With Disabilities Act, older voters and people with disabilities must be provided certain accommodations.
If you’re in line to vote and the polling place closes, you are still entitled to vote. If the voting machine is broken, you can request an emergency paper ballot, and if there are any disputes about your registration status, you are allowed to vote by provisional ballot.
If you have a friend or family member on the fence about voting, forward them this email or send them this article. Voting can feel like a daunting process, but making a game plan beforehand can help you exercise your right to vote with minimal stress and chaos.
No evidence supports Russia’s “dirty bomb” allegations, a UN watchdog reported.
A UN watchdog group finds no evidence supporting Russia's claims that Ukraine is preparing a "dirty bomb," Al Jazeera reported. The International Atomic Energy Agency released this statement after getting "unfettered access" to three separate Ukrainian nuclear sites.
As Russia steps up missile strikes on Kyiv, Ukraine's capital faces blackouts and water outages. Ukraine has been imposing strict power rationing across the country in an effort to conserve electricity, the New York Times reports.
SNAPSHOTS
Johnny Depp will make an appearance at the Savage X Fenty fashion show, and fans are accusing Rihanna of being out of touch. The news of Depp's involvement with the show comes five months after he won a high-profile defamation case against his ex-wife Amber Heard.
Half a million healthcare workers left the industry in 2020 because of burnout, anxiety, and depression. Here’s how some doctors stay in the profession. "If you keep emptying your cup and don't fill it up, you're not good to anybody,” said one Mount Sinai staffer devoted to combating burnout.
A man allegedly posed as a student and lived in the Stanford dorms for nearly a year. He reportedly befriended many of his purported classmates, and listed himself as attending Stanford on Facebook, Instagram, and Tinder.
What if paying $ 8 per month for Twitter isn't such a bad idea? OK, hear me out.
Recent crowd crushes have proven extremely deadly. Here's how experts say you can protect yourself if things start going south.
Instances of large groups of people being trampled are extremely rare, but more recent tragedies like the Seoul crowd crush and the deadly Indonesian soccer stampede have been devastating in scale — and experts say that people need to take basic precautions to ensure their safety in the future.
When you first arrive at the venue, experts recommend locating all the nearby exits and making a plan for if you need to suddenly leave the venue. In general, crowd safety expert G. Keith Still suggests staying on the edges of the crowd and avoiding high-density areas.
If you find yourself stuck in a venue, crowd management expert Paul Wertheimer recommends standing like a boxer with one foot ahead of the other so you’re more steady and can better absorb pressure from other people pushing. If you drop something, don’t try to pick it up. And in the event that you do fall down, the CDC suggests that you protect yourself “by curling into a ball” and “stay calm and get up as soon as you can.”
Finally, experts say you shouldn't try to fight a surge. Move with it if you can. “Do not fight the surging waves of pressure. You will need your strength to survive,” Wertheimer wrote. “Let the surge pressure pass. Expect to be pushed about, twisted, and to have your feet stepped on."
IMAGE OF THE DAY
We spoke to the special effects designer who made Heidi Klum's worm costume.
It’s days after Halloween, and you haven’t emotionally recovered from seeing Heidi Klum as a grotesque worm. If so, you can thank Michael Marino, the special effects designer and makeup artist responsible for this year's best Halloween costume.
After a two-year COVID hiatus, Klum’s famous Halloween bash returned to New York City this year — and so did she, as a rainworm hooked on a fishing pole. Klum first contacted Marino about dressing as a worm in June. It took her two years of brainstorming to land on the idea, she told Vogue. Marino and his 17-person team spent about three months making the costume.
"My favorite thing to do is to take someone recognizable and make them unrecognizable in a realistic but surreal way but still maintain some relevance to the design," he told BuzzFeed News. The hardest part, he said, was making the suit lightweight enough so that Klum could dance and wriggle around in it.
"It was like a big demented nightmare Muppet," he said. "We loved it!”
Still reading, eh? Seems like you might want to get this in your inbox. No pressure though. Just some food for thought.