A number of states and jurisdictions kicked off early voting Monday, with 15 days to go until Election Day on Nov. 8.
Early voting began Monday in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Massachusetts, Texas, Wisconsin and some parts of Florida.
Colorado, Florida and Wisconsin are some of the battleground states up for grabs. CBS News battleground tracker has Wisconsin edging Democrat while it rates Colorado and Florida as toss-ups.
Heres the state of the Electoral College race, according to CBS News Elections Director Anthony Salvanto:
The battleground states that had already started offering early voting were Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio.
Thirty-six states and Washington, D.C. offer some form of early voting where the rules make it convenient for voters to cast their ballots before Election Day without the requirement for an excuse to vote early. Early voting generally means that voters are either able to vote at polling stations open for early voting, or theyre able to pick up a ballot and cast it in one place before the election.
The percentage of votes cast in the early voting rounds could reach 40 percent this cycle. In 2012, it reached 35 percent while only 16 percent of the votes cast in 2000 were cast early.
Preliminary data collected by the Associated Press at the end of September suggested that a surge in early voting was benefitting Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump.
A CBS News poll released last week found found Clintons lead over Trump had expanded to 9 percentage points, with 47 percent of likely voters supporting or leaning toward Clinton and 38 percent backing Trump.
Cardinals vs. 49ers (Week 5) | Game Highlights | NFL
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Arizona Cardinals
Overall: 5Title track: 43Ownership: 10Coaching: T4Players: 10Fan relations: 8Affordability: 29Stadium experience: 15Bang for the buck: 14Change from last year: +27
With victories comes not just the spoils, but also a fast rise up ESPN"s Ultimate Standings. Cardinals fans" title hopes increased after a 13-3 season last year which ended with them in the NFC Championship Game, and a 27-point jump in these standings soon followed. But their 34 wins in three years had more to do with coach Bruce Arians than anything else.
As we have for the past 13 years, we asked fans to vote on their favorite teams, then ranked all 122 sports franchises from top to bottom.
Full rankings: 1 to 122 | MLB ranks | NBA ranks | NFL ranks | NHL ranks
What"s good
There are few offensive minds in the history of the NFL that are or were as good as that of Cardinals coach Bruce Arians -- so no surprise that he was named the fourth-best coach in all of sports, tied with Pete Carroll and behind only Bill Belichick among NFL coaches. He has become known as a quarterback whisperer for his work with Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck. But where he has worked his true magic is with Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer, who had the best season of his career in 2015 at age 35 (which helped Arizona"s "players" ranking jump to 10th). Arians took over a franchise that was mired in mediocrity and turned it into one of the league"s best while leading the Cardinals to the NFC title game in his third season.
What"s bad
Though this generation of Cardinals fans has the highest of hopes, this franchise still hasn"t won a title, reflected by a Title Track ranking of 43, Arizona"s lowest score. The closest Arizona has come to a championship was a berth in Super Bowl XLIII, where it lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers (on a last-minute play called by none other than Arians). Arizona came within a game of reaching the Super Bowl a year ago, and it has the roster to get that far again, despite a 1-3 start to 2016. As long as Arians is at the helm, the Cardinals" title drought has a good chance of coming to an end.
What"s new
Over the last two years, the Cardinals" ranking in fan relations ranking has improved from 85th place to eighth. They"re clearly doing something right. The Cardinals" digital outreach has increased dramatically over the last few years, and fans rated the team second-best in the NFL in engaging with the fan base on social media. Holding training camp at University of Phoenix Stadium has also been a major factor. It allows the average fan to attend training camp in Glendale instead of driving to Flagstaff, and adds post-practice autograph sessions to boot.
Tom Hayden Dies at 76 | Anti-War Activist Remembered
Author Tom Hayden poses before signing copies of his book, Ending The War in Iraq at Book Soup in Los Angeles in 2007. Hayden has died at 76. Michael Buckner/Getty Images hide caption
toggle caption Michael Buckner/Getty Images
Author Tom Hayden poses before signing copies of his book, Ending The War in Iraq at Book Soup in Los Angeles in 2007. Hayden has died at 76.
Michael Buckner/Getty Images
Tom Hayden, a radical activist and advocate for progressive causes, died Sunday at the age of 76.
In the early 1960s, Hayden was a freedom rider in the South and a community organizer in Newark. He was a civil rights activist who became famous for his anti-war efforts and made several high-profile (and later controversial) trips to Vietnam. He was a founding member of the Students for a Democratic Society and wrote the first draft of the influential activist group"s manifesto, the Port Huron Statement.
After helping organize protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, he was prosecuted in the "Chicago Seven" conspiracy trial for allegedly inciting a riot. Hayden was convicted, but the charge was later overturned.
Hayden was married several times. Most famously, he was married to Jane Fonda whom he met through their shared anti-war activism for 17 years.
An icon of the anti-establishment protest movement for years, Hayden later became a politician. He made an unsuccessful bid for a Senate seat in 1976, and was later elected to the California state Legislature, where he served for 18 years. He was also an author, publishing books about the Chicago Seven (originally the Chicago Eight, until one defendant had his trial severed) as well as political manifestos and memoirs.
In 1993, Hayden spoke to NPR about the tensions on the streets of Chicago in 1968, and the violence between police and protesters at the Democratic National Convention that led to his trial.
"By 1968, the Vietnam War was claiming tens of thousands of lives, Indo-Chinese and American," he said in that interview. "The Democratic Party was running the country, and so you had a bipartisan Democratic and Republican war policy that seemed to be escalating without end ... the Democratic Party was controlled from the top by traditional bosses who chose their nominees and their parties platforms in smoke-filled rooms. And so the goal of the protest was not only to protest the war, but to protest the disenfranchisement that was so deep. Here we were, if you were 18, you could be drafted and sent to war, but you couldn"t vote for Eugene McCarthy."
He said some things had improved in America over the course of 25 years, but that the country had far to go:
"I would hope that we learned something about how to deal with dissent and protest that having an inclusive process where you open the doors is a lot better than sending in the police. ... What was not learned, however, is the lesson that prevention and getting ahead of our problems is uppermost.
"We still disenfranchise racial minorities in economic terms. Young people still feel they"re not listened to. ... I think the environmental issue has begun to eclipse everything else because our population has doubled and the resources of the world have been cut in half since I was born and there"s very little focus on those issues on the political agenda.
"So I don"t know on the balance sheet whether to mark myself as an optimist or pessimist, but we"ve got to go on."
Go on he did serving several more years in office and writing more than a dozen other books. He faced censure from some on the left who accused him of joining the same establishment he once criticized, as well as those on the right who objected to his protests in the "60s.
But as the decades passed, Hayden remained a prominent voice on progressive causes, including environmental issues, economic policy and continued anti-war efforts.
More recently, he surprised some in progressive circles by supporting Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in this year"s Democratic primary.
"Bernie and I only have one thing in common you need to know: We"re both politicians so we make decisions based on what"s possible," he told NPR this summer. "I"ve really been trying to work towards a goal that seems to be getting realized, and that"s a serious united front against Trump."
ESPN First Take - Today Philadelphia Eagles vs. Minnesota Vikings
Oct 9, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo (34) intercepts a pass by the Houston Texans in the third quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings win 31-13. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
One of the best surprises this year has been the play of Minnesota Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo on defense. The athletic defensive back has made a strong case to be the full-time starter next to Harrison Smith, but he may end up missing some time this season after an injury.
During the week 7 game against the Eagles, Sendejo was carted out after hurting hisankle and did not return to the game. Now, it is being reported that the severity of the injury will need to be diagnosed with an MRI.
The news about the MRI was announced by Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. If Sendejo is to miss significant time, it would be a big blow to a defense hoping to give their young safeties time to grow a develop.
While Sendejo was out, the Minnesota Vikings turned to Jayron Kearse, who didnt exactly get a rave review from head coach Mike Zimmer:
(Kearse) missed a couple tackles, said Vikings coach Mike Zimmer. He was a little slow in a couple of areas to get to some places. I see the mistakes, but I cant tell you he did this good or he did that good.
But Sendejo isnt going to let the injury get him down. Hes going to keep his hopes high and keep working hard.
Im staying positive and well just see how it goes, Sendejo said.
Hopefully, Andrew Sendejo will be available and healthy for the week 8 matchup against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. This will be a big game for the Minnesota Vikings to prove they can bounce back, and a primetime spot is a great place to do it.
THE WALKING DEAD Season 7 Episode 2 PREVIEW (2016) amc Series Oct. 24, 2016 7:35 a.m. ET
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. AMC 0.94 % said it expects revenue in the September quarter to come in below Wall Street expectations, though it anticipates profit growing more than expected.
The company expects revenue between $777.0 million and $780.0 million compared with $688.8 million in the prior-year third quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected $785.7 million.
AMC has been trying to finalize a deal with U.S. theater chain Carmike Cinemas Inc. CKEC 0.15 % since March. The companies in July agreed to a sweetened deal valued at more than $800 million. Carmike shareholders are expected to vote on the transaction at a meeting on Nov. 15.
The move comes after AMC, controlled by Chinas Dalian Wanda Group Co., said it would acquire Europes largest cinema chain, Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group, for 500 million ($650 million) as it pushes to become the worlds largest movie-theater company.
AMC also said Monday it expects third-quarter profit in a range of 29 cents to 32 cents compared with 12 cents a year ago. Analysts expected 27 cents a share.
The company expects to report complete results on Nov. 7.
Shares were inactive premarket.
Write to Joshua Jamerson at joshua.jamerson@wsj.com
Melvin Gordon Muscles His Way In for a TD! | Chargers vs. Falcons | NFL Getty Images
The Chargers have moved the ball early in Sundays game at Atlanta, and they may come to regret not having more points to show for it.
Philip Rivers is 8-of-11 passing for 130 yards, and Melvin Gordon has a touchdown run. But a Rivers pass was tipped and intercepted late in the first quarter, and the Chargers stalled deep in Falcons territory on their next possession.
A 40-yard field goal by Chargers kicker Josh Lambo made it 10-6 early in the second quarter. The Falcons answered with a touchdown drive capped by a Matt Ryan pass to Jacob Tamme to make it 13-10.
Chargers wide receiver Tyrell Williams has three catches for 75 yards.
Lady Gaga - Perfect Illusion Photo Lady Gagas new album careens from one aesthetic to another, but for all the flaws, it has several strong moments. Credit Collier Schorr
For almost a decade, Lady Gaga has been assiduously arguing the case that the external is the internal, that performance is authentic, that flamboyance is ideology. Her career has been predicated on demolishing conventional ideas about what it might mean to play a character with Gaga, it was never play, always work, and always true.
Though she was focused on the transformative powers of packaging, that some sort of recalibration would come was always likely Lady Gaga was always simply too focused a singer to be strictly defined by her presentation. At old concerts, when she would sit behind a piano, belting out songs, her future life as a troubadour a Billy Joel, or even an Elton John seemed almost etched in stone.
That means that her new album, the stripped-down Joanne, isnt daring or radical its logical, a rejoinder to her past and also to the candy-striped pop that surrounds her.
But while Joanne is elemental, nothing about it is bare. Instead, its confused, full of songs that feel like concepts in search of a home, small theater pieces extruded from other imaginary productions and collected in one miscellany bin. Its nave in its use of roots music and rock as signifiers of something true as if the excess of years past wasnt, somehow, its own form of sincerity.
Most frustrating, it careens from high-intensity to low, from one aesthetic to another, with lyrics that begin at trite and move somewhere quite dimmer. Perfect Illusion, the chaotic first single, is a mlange of shouts her singing is grand and unselfconscious, and not at all bad, but the result sounds like a demo in which you can hear the seams that have not yet been smoothed over. A-Yo, with its exuberant horns, tart handclaps and noodle-limp guitars, sounds like a Britney Spears parody or a song drawn from one of those live musicals that have been littering network television since the demise of Glee.
Photo The cover of Joanne.
Lyrics that the Lady Gaga of old might have delivered with slyness say, Sinners Prayer, or the political march of Come to Mama feel unappealingly dogmatic here.
Even the best parts of Joanne and for all this albums flaws, it has several strong moments dont tell a coherent story. Lady Gaga is, now as ever, an impressive if not especially nuanced singer. Often on this album, she sings with a stern, terse vibrato that codes seriousness from a distance but feels more like a simulacrum of feeling than the real thing.
Even if that is purposeful, it feels misapplied on an album that pretends to transparency, from an artist for whom the idea of performance is never far away. The title track features whats presented as the least-performed singing listen to how she flattens out the vowel sounds, as a sort of gesture of accessibility but it is too unsteady to lean on.
Lady Gaga has arrived unadorned before; over the last couple of years, it has become something of a default mode: her collaboration with Tony Bennett on the album Cheek to Cheek, which won the Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album last year, or her Sound of Music tribute at the Oscars the same year. These performances were ostentatious in a different way n**e makeup, but makeup nonetheless.
These moves, and Joanne, too, serve as an overcorrection to the garish eccentricity of Artpop, her last album, which flopped. Except garish eccentricity is one of Lady Gagas comfort zones, and that albums lack of success had more to do with overemphasizing the nonmusical aspects of Gagas character than her lack of fluency with music.
So, on Joanne, she goes on a fishing expedition for inspiration. No pop album in recent memory has featured such a wide array of collaborations that strip those collaborators of their particular charms. Mark Ronson appears throughout this album, as a songwriter and producer, but theres precious little of his reliable funk. Dancin in Circles, a songwriting collaboration with Beck, sounds like a No Doubt demo. Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age plays guitar on a handful of songs, but none with anything close to his usual ferocity. The Florence Welch duet Hey Girl sounds like Motown, but Ms. Welchs singing isnt nearly as brazen as it ordinarily is (though it easily outclasses Lady Gagas).
The only guest who holds her own here is the songwriter Hillary Lindsey, one of the most effective Nashville writers of the 2000s, and a master of the deeply felt king-size ballad. On Million Reasons (Lord show me the way/to cut through all this worn out leather), she tethers Gaga to something like a country ballad but cant keep her there for long.
Even when Lady Gaga was at her pop peak, she wasnt quite at its center she was a loud outsider summiting pop music by force of will and shock of glam. As a result, her music can seem like an old memory, not a recent one. And pop moves quickly: Note her recent tiff with the club-pop dopes in the Chainsmokers, who said in an interview that they didnt enjoy Perfect Illusion. She responded, coolly, on Twitter, in what felt like a mother dismissing an impudent child.
Which is fair: The Chainsmokers dont see dance music as avant-garde theater or sociopolitical provocation. They see it as quick-stepping pop, which, though its fuzzy in the rearview, is also part of Lady Gagas legacy. That they were allergic to Perfect Illusion makes sense. But instead of taking offense and tossing off a tweet, she should maybe give them a call.
