Hi from CNN, this is Madeleine Thompson with five things you need to know for Thursday, September 19th. So like most other aspects of the 2024 presidential race, the battle for TV audiences is a close one. Former President Donald Trump's campaign launched a new ad yesterday in Michigan saying that Vice President Kamala Harris, quote, wants to end all gas cars.

Crazy but true.

'The Harris campaign also has new ads highlighting women's reproductive freedoms and advocating to Asian-American voters.

My mother was a brilliant, five foot tall, brown woman with an accent.

CNN's David Wright has the latest.

Hey Madeleine, with 46 days to go, the candidates and their allies are absolutely blitzing battleground airwaves in just the two months since President Joe Biden dropped out. There's been more than 930 million worth of advertising in the presidential race. And most of that 746 million is going to seven key states Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina and Nevada. Across those seven states, Democrats have outspent Republicans by about 408 million to 334 million. Looking ahead, there's still more than 487 million worth of ad time booked through Election Day. And while those numbers can change, Democrats have a big edge over Republicans in future bookings right now. About 294 million to about 194 million.

'Israel and Hezbollah have been at conflict for decades, but things have ramped up this week after two deadly attacks using explosives planted on wireless devices used by Hezbollah fighters. The powerful Iran-backed paramilitary group in Lebanon has vowed revenge on Israel, and Israel, in turn, has signaled its willingness to go to war. The Israeli military confirmed it continues to strike targets in Lebanon after the device attacks killed 37 people, according to the country's health ministry. In a statement, a group of United Nations experts called it a violation of international law. And U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called for restraint, saying any further escalations could jeopardize the already floundering cease fire talks between Israel and Hamas.

The Federal Reserve announced yesterday that it's slashing interest rates by a half percentage point. CNN economy writer Bryan Mena breaks it down and gives future homebuyers something to smile about.

'Hey, Madeleine. So there were a few takeaways from the Fed's decision yesterday to deliver a super sized half point cut. The main one is why the Fed decided to cut by that much. And according to Jerome Powell, the central bank's leader, it's because the Fed wants to maintain the economy strength. So is more of a so-called insurance cut. Another big takeaway is that the Fed's decision was solely based on economic data, not politics. According to Powell, the Fed's move ushers in lower borrowing costs. On Thursday, the latest figures from Freddie Mac showed that mortgage rates fell the street to the lowest point since February 2023, and they could continue to drifting lower with the Fed penciling in even more rate cuts by year's end.

A group of congressional lawmakers plans to meet with Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, next week. The community is reportedly struggling after former President Donald Trump aired an unfounded conspiracy theory about Haitian immigrants there eating people's pets. The former president is expected to visit Springfield in the next two weeks, while former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is there today holding a town hall. Officials and Springfield residents tell CNN job opportunities and word of mouth drew an influx of immigrants to the city. A leader of the nonprofit Migration Policy Institute says Haitians have long immigrated to the U.S. to flee their countries political instability, economic crisis and natural disasters. Coming up, Did you know you can vote from space?

Being literally stranded in space isn't going to stop astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from voting in this election. They'll vote absentee all the way from the International Space Station, where they'll be stuck until at least February, after NASA deemed the Boeing Starliner the ship they took to the ISS too risky to bring them back home. Since 1997, a Texas law has allowed astronauts to, as they say, vote while you float. After Williams and Wilmore receive their ballots via email and fill them out, NASA says they'll be encrypted and uploaded to the space station's onboard computer system. From there, they'll be transmitted to a NASA ground antenna in New Mexico and sent to Mission control in Houston. And then finally to the county clerk responsible for processing the ballots.

That's a wrap. We'll be back tomorrow at 6 a.m. Eastern.