The Harris and Trump campaigns are racing to define the vice president, burning through cash to buy TV ads ahead of the usual fall onslaught, Axios' Hans Nichols, Stef W. Kight and Erin Doherty write.

• Why it matters: Harris' late entry has compressed the campaign into a European-style snap election.

The two campaigns and their supporting groups have reserved a total of about $280 million in ads just in August, according to AdImpact figures through this morning.

• Both plan to turn their record-setting fundraising into tens of millions more in ad buys by the end of the month.
• Trump's campaign is upping its spending after largely relying on affiliated groups earlier in the cycle.

🔭 Zoom out: The huge ad buys for August reflect two big factors in this campaign.

1. Neither side is hurting for cash. Harris trounced Trump in fundraising last month, but Trump has plenty of outside help to level the field. At least three super PACs are in Trump's corner, and another one — backed by Elon Musk — has gotten the stamp of approval from Trump's campaign.
2. Early voting — with some states collecting ballots in September — has pulled the campaign season forward. Democrats realized this four years ago. Republicans — after resisting early voting in 2020 and flip-flopping this year — now are spending like they believe in it.

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Former President Trump's obsession with "election integrity" has led his team to build a network of more than 150,000 poll watchers and poll workers, while relying mostly on outside groups to connect with voters on the ground, Axios' Sophia Cai writes.

• Why it matters: Some Republicans worry that Trump's focus on preventing a "rigged" election has hurt the party's ground game — the get-out-the-vote operations that can be crucial in an election as close as this one.

Trump's "election integrity" team also has drawn complaints from Democrats about potential voter intimidation at the polls.

• If Trump loses on Nov. 5, the election teams would be his evidence collectors for what almost certainly would be a barrage of legal challenges — and calls for state officials not to certify the election results.

🔬 Zoom in: The difference between the Harris and Trump door-to-door campaigns is evident in the swing states likely to decide the election.

• Harris' team says 330,000 people have worked as volunteers since she announced her campaign last month. The campaign has about 1,500 staffers.

After months of declining to specify the scope of Trump's ground operations, Trump campaign political director James Blair posted on X that the campaign has hundreds of paid staffers.

• Blair told Axios the campaign has 14,000 trained volunteers or "Trump Force 47 Captains" in battleground states. He added that the operation has more volunteers but wouldn't elaborate.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement Thursday that he did not speak with former President Donald Trump on Wednesday to discuss the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, Axios' Barak Ravid writes.

• Axios earlier reported that Trump spoke on the phone with Netanyahu on Wednesday and discussed the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, citing two U.S. sources who were briefed on the call.

Why it matters: A crucial round of negotiations with senior U.S., Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli officials is set to take place in Doha today to try to close the remaining gaps between Israel and Hamas.

• Israeli officials have said the summit is "the last chance" to get a deal amid threats by Iran and Hezbollah to attack Israel in retaliation for the recent assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in Tehran and Beirut.

One source said Trump's call was intended to encourage Netanyahu to take the deal, but stressed he didn't know if this is indeed what the former president told Netanyahu.

• The Israeli Prime Minister's Office issued a statement denying the call took place after the story was published. The Trump campaign declined to comment.

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Editor's note: This item has been updated to reflect that Netanyahu's office denied a phone call took place on Wednesday between the Israeli prime minister and former President Trump.

NEW this morning: Increased enthusiasm for Vice President Harris is boosting Democrats in swing-state Senate races, according to polling from The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter.

• Why it matters: Democrats face a brutal path to holding the Senate.

Democrats improved their vote share in every Senate race since Cook Political last fielded polls on seven presidential battlegrounds in May.

• "The surge has been particularly large in Nevada, which had been one of Biden's worst states," Cook's Jessica Taylor writes.

Between the lines: If the Democrats keep the White House, they can afford to lose only one seat. It's unlikely they'll win in West Virginia, where Sen. Joe Manchin didn't seek re-election.

• "Montana Sen. Jon Tester remains the most in peril in a state Trump won in 2020 by 16 points, followed by Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown in a Trump +8 state," Taylor writes.

💡 Key finding: "Unlike a few months ago, RFK Jr. voters are much more likely to vote for Trump over Harris in a 2-way election; some anti-Biden Dems likely returned to backing Dems" under Harris.

• Go deeper: Nevada Senate race shifts to lean Democrat. ($)

Columbia University president Minouche Shafik resigned yesterday following months of criticism from students, donors and members of Congress over how she handled pro-Palestinian protests on campus.

• Why it matters: Shafik is the third Ivy League president to step down following backlash to congressional testimony earlier this year on alleged campus antisemitism, Axios' April Rubin and Sareen Habeshian write.

Elite colleges have struggled to balance the right to protest with student safety. No school exemplifies that more than Columbia, the epicenter of the student protest movement last spring.

• Shafik said her departure from the role — weeks before the fall semester begins — "would best enable Columbia to traverse the challenges ahead."

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High school students who use generative AI to prepare for math exams perform worse on the tests — where they can't rely on AI — than those who didn't use the tools at all, Axios' Megan Morrone writes from a new study.

• Why it matters: A "personal tutor for every student" is one of the rosy scenarios AI optimists paint. But AI-driven learning still has many hurdles in its way.

A new report from Penn found that access to generative AI tutors can improve student performance on practice math problems.

• But students who used these tools performed significantly worse on exams, where they can't use AI.
• These students are likely to use AI to copy and paste answers, which leads them to engage less with the material.

🎨 The big picture: Since ChatGPT was released nearly two years ago, educators have struggled to find the best ways to incorporate AI into the classroom.

• Some schools banned these tools outright, while others allowed students to use them as long as they disclose their use.

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After years of soaring prices, the cost of a new car is falling, Axios' Nathan Bomey writes from data out this week.

• New-vehicle prices have declined on a year-over-year basis for 10 straight months, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Why it matters: It's not time to celebrate yet. Prices for vehicles and insurance are still eye-popping compared to pre-pandemic days.

• But pandemic-era supply chain bottlenecks — which led to price spikes — have cleared up. Dealerships are now turning to discounts to keep sales flowing.
• Incentives such as cash rebates and loan rate reductions — which practically disappeared during the pandemic — are back.

🔢 By the numbers: The price of a new vehicle fell 1% in July, compared to last year, according to CPI data out yesterday. Used car prices continue to slide, as well.

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No matter who wins come November, it looks like a typical member of the First Family won't be moving into the White House — a pet.

• Why it matters: Throughout history, most presidents have owned a furry (or slimy, or feathery) friend while living at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Axios D.C.'s Mimi Montgomery writes.

In fact, the only ones who didn't were James K. Polk, Andrew Johnson, and Donald Trump.

• And like Trump, Vice President Harris doesn't have a pet.

The White House is currently dog-less — President Biden's pets Commander and Major had to move elsewhere after biting incidents. But Willow, the Biden cat, still lives there.

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