We have a very special edition of the beat tonight.

Comedian and political commentator Bill Maher makes his beat debut live tonight, a week

out from the midterms.

We're going to talk about everything you want to hear Bill Maher talk about and maybe

some of the things you don't, which is why Bill Maher makes for an interesting guest.

Also tonight, Paul Pelosi's suspect, the suspect in the attack, who is now a defendant

in the attack, a reign. So we have more on that coming up. But we begin with Election Day. We are one

week out, and we have the continuation of what sounds like an American trend line, because early

voting is smashing records.

That means it's big interest.

Is it left, right center or something else?

We'll get into it.

But let me start with the most important number we have.

It's not a poll and it's not a prediction.

It's a fact in America one week out that 25 million people have now cast their ballots early.

That continues the trend I've told you about,

outpacing turnout at the same point in the last midterms

by over three million votes,

and those midterms were the first election since Trump came into office.

You can remember the mood and the energy then

and how many people said they had to turn out

even if they didn't normally in midterms?

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