President Biden's marijuana pardons are a small policy change to entice young voters — but provided an emotional new flashpoint for the final month of midterm campaigning, Axios' Sophia Cai reports.

• The surprise decision last week pardoned thousands of Americans convicted of "simple possession" of marijuana under federal law.

Why it matters: Biden's announcement is the latest in a stream of small policy gifts to persuade the Democratic base that he's keeping promises from the 2020 campaign trail.

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who's running for U.S Senate, is taking a victory lap, calling the pardons a "BFD and a massive step towards justice."

• Fetterman had urged Biden to decriminalize marijuana during a Labor Day conversation in Pittsburgh.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, Fetterman's Republican opponent, jumped at the chance to paint Fetterman as soft on crime.

• Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (D), a potential future presidential candidate, issued a "one-time, large-scale pardon" for people with "minor, non-violent marijuana convictions" on Thursday.

In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said yesterday he won't follow Biden's lead. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Beto O'Rourke promised to "legalize marijuana in Texas and expunge the records of those arrested for marijuana possession."

• In Massachusetts, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Maura Healey promised to "pardon state convictions for simple marijuana possession." Healey's GOP opponent, Geoff Diehl, said Biden is pandering for midterm votes.

📊 Between the lines: A record high 68% of Americans supported legalizing marijuana in a Gallup poll last year.

• For Biden, the pardons are a chance to excite Gen Z and millennials, whose turnout levels could make a big difference for Dems next month's midterms.

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These people are posing in Kyiv with a poster of a postage stamp that the Ukrainian government spun up yesterday:

• The stamp trolls Russia about an inferno that engulfed the Kerch Strait bridge to the Crimean Peninsula, embarrassing Russian President Vladimir Putin and severing one of his crucial supply lines.
• The Ukrainian postal service also issued an instant stamp in April to commemorate the sinking of the Moskva, a Russian flagship cruiser.

🥊 President Volodymyr Zelensky taunted the Kremlin in an address to Ukrainians: "Today was a good and mostly sunny day ... Unfortunately, it was cloudy in Crimea. Although it is also warm."

Russian divers will examine the damage from the blast, which Moscow attributed — without assigning blame — to a freight truck that blew up, Reuters reports.

• As you can see above, the explosion blew away half of a section of the road-and-rail bridge's highway, with the other half still attached.

The bridge is an imposing symbol of Russia's annexation of Crimea.

• Russia says rail traffic is running, and limited road traffic has resumed.

"The situation is manageable — it's unpleasant, but not fatal," Crimea's Russian governor, Sergei Aksyonov, told reporters. "Of course, emotions have been triggered and there is a healthy desire to seek revenge."

Herschel Walker, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Georgia, told NBC News he didn't know an ex-girlfriend's claimed she had an abortion until a reporter asked him about it.

• Walker told NBC's Marc Caputo that a text message to his wife on Friday was the first time the woman — the mother of one of his four children — mentioned to him or his wife that she had had an abortion.
• "I'm not saying she did or didn’t have one [an abortion]. I’m saying I don’t know anything about that. I don’t know," Walker said.

Why it matters: Walker — who says he opposes abortion, with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the mother's life — has denied reports that he paid for the former girlfriend's abortion.

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Walker's opponent — Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) — emphasized his support of abortion rights while speaking Friday in Macon, in Middle Georgia, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (subscription).

• Warnock didn't name Walker in his 25-minute speech. Asked about the abortion revelations after the event, Warnock said: "We have seen some disturbing things. We’ve seen a disturbing pattern."

The coming flock of electric, autonomous air taxis will need a place to take off, land and recharge — a "vertiport," transportation correspondent Joann Muller writes for Axios What's Next.

• These hubs could become critical parts of urban or regional mobility ecosystems, linking fast, convenient air travel to other forms of transit — airports, buses, trains and ride-hail apps.

Why it matters: Once far-fetched dreams like flying cars are beginning to take off, thanks to technological advances and huge capital investment.

The FAA has written new design guidelines, shared first with Axios, to ensure these landing sites are safe, well-lit and well-marked, and that they can support the necessary charging infrastructure.

• "Our country is stepping into a new era of aviation," FAA associate administrator of airports Shannetta Griffin said. "These vertiport design standards provide the foundation needed to begin safely building infrastructure in this new era."

What's happening: Manufacturers of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) — giant passenger drones — are already laying out plans to begin operations, some as soon as 2024 with pilots on board.

• Boeing-backed Wisk released a roadmap outlining how it aims to integrate pilotless air taxis into the national airspace system by 2030.

Germany's Lilium plans to open its first vertiport near Orlando by 2025 for piloted flights.

• Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation have partnered with Reef, the country’s largest parking management company, to create landing sites atop existing parking garages. They're initially focusing on a handful of cities, including Miami and L.A.

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The transportation of migrants by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) may have gone beyond the extent of an original program designed by the state, The Washington Post reports from state records.

• The state program, launched in July, was intended to "relocate out of the state of Florida foreign nationals who are not lawfully present in the United States," The Post reports.
• The state program didn't mention the potential of transporting migrants from Texas.

The records show Florida paid Vertol Systems, an Oregon-based charter airline company, $615,000 for the September flights to Martha's Vineyard.

• That equals about $12,300 for each of the 50 migrants on board the two flights.

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President Biden, speaking about manufacturing Friday at the Volvo Group Powertrain Operations facility in Hagerstown, Md.:

"Let me start off with two words: Made in America." [Applause.]

The NFL and NFL Players Association announced changes yesterday to the league's concussion protocol following outrage over the handling of injuries to Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa.

• "[T]he NFL and NFLPA agree that the outcome in this case is not what was intended when the Protocols were drafted," the statement says.

Trouble with balance and coordination ("ataxia") was added to the league's protocol list of "no-go" symptoms that keep a player from returning to a game.

• "'Ataxia' is defined as abnormality of balance/stability, motor coordination or dysfunctional speech caused by a neurological issue," the statement says.  

Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL's chief medical officer, said that under the new protocol, Tagovailoa would've been diagnosed with a concussion after what the Dolphins called a back injury against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 25. So he would have been ineligible to return to the game, AP reports.

• Four days later, Tagovailoa suffered a concussion after being slammed to the ground by Cincinnati Bengals nose tackle Josh Tupou (photo above).
• Tagovailoa remains in concussion protocol and will miss today's game against the Jets.

Sills said there's no exact timetable for return for a player diagnosed with a concussion, but it would be "extremely unlikely" for a player diagnosed with ataxia on a Sunday to be able to play on Thursday night. The median time out with a concussion is nine days, he added.

• Read the statement ... Tua explainer.

There were few "Black Adam"-themed costumes at this weekend’s New York Comic Con, an always colorful parade of nerd heaven, Axios managing editor Javier E. David writes.

• Why it matters: The aftermath of the Warner Bros. Discovery merger — and a series of blunders involving DC Comics intellectual property — alienated some hardcore comic fans. It's a pivotal constituency the studio needs to generate enthusiasm for movie and TV properties.

It's two weeks till the Oct. 21 release of "Black Adam," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The title character is related to "Shazam," which debuted in 2019 to a strong box office and critical acclaim.

• "Black Adam" is showing strength in early tracking figures, but lags when compared to recent superhero tentpoles.

Speculation about a long-awaited Superman sequel — and a rumored appearance by the Man of Steel himself in "Black Adam" — is helping to amplify the movie’s buzz.

• Watch the trailer.