GM was once the most potent symbol of American industry. Silicon Valley now holds that title — and GM, just like other legacy automakers, wants back in.

• Why it matters: Tech bros from California are increasingly holding sway over the car guys from Detroit as the auto industry tries to find the way to an electric, autonomous, software-driven future, Axios' Joann Muller writes from Detroit.

👀 Zoom in: GM dreams of a future where its cars serve as a digital platform — like a smartphone or tablet — that generates recurring software revenue.

• That requires expertise lacking in Detroit. So carmakers are recruiting talent from Apple, Google and other tech giants.
• Automakers are also hoping a Silicon Valley mindset will lead to a Big Tech stock valuation.

🚗 Driving the news: GM, which has made giant bets on EVs, autonomy and software, is trying to find that balance.

• The automaker continues to recruit software talent, including for its Mountain View, Calif., office. Meanwhile its new tech bosses — both Apple alumni — recently eliminated more than 1,000 software and services jobs, mostly in Detroit, to avoid duplication.

The big picture: Others across the auto industry are also seeking more expertise to lead the transition to software-driven computers on wheels.

• Ford hired a former Apple and Tesla exec to lead its digital transformation and global giant Volkswagen all but abandoned its in-house software efforts in favor of a joint venture with California-based Rivian, a newcomer that's far ahead on software.

Friction point: While the tech sector likes to "move fast and break things," cars need to be safe and high-quality. Reconciling the two imperatives isn't easy.

• Keep reading.

Fewer people watched the RNC on average across all four nights this year (19.1 million) compared to the DNC (21.8 million), Axios' Sara Fischer writes from Nielsen data.

• The highest-rated moment of the RNC was former President Trump's speech, which drew 28.4 million viewers from 10:45 to 11 p.m. ET, when he recounted the assassination attempt against him.
• The highest-rated moment of the DNC was Vice President Harris' speech, which drew 28.9 million viewers from 10:31 to 11:11 p.m. ET.

Go deeper.

When they're onstage together, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz always points with gusto at Vice President Harris, the top of his presidential ticket.

• Why it matters: Top Democrats tell us that in both overt and subtle ways, Walz has nailed how to carry himself as the No. 2 to a female presidential nominee — by being deferential, not paternalistic.

The big picture: The increasingly stark gender divide in American politics is reflected in how leading men in both parties position themselves in relation to women, and talk about themselves as fathers and male role models, Axios' Ivana Saric reports.

🔎 Between the lines: Former President Trump and his advisers have long viewed their candidate's masculinity as an edge — particularly after his "fight, fight, fight" cry following the assassination attempt against him.

• But now rather than an aging President Biden, he's running against the potential first woman president.
• Harris rarely mentions her gender. But the men at her side have embraced their second-fiddle roles in supporting a woman's rise to power.
• At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week, Walz and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff — who paused his legal career when his wife was elected VP — projected tenderness more than toughness.

In his acceptance speech, Walz spoke about the infertility struggles he and his wife, Gwen, endured and became visibly emotional as he said Gwen and his two kids, Hope and Gus — sobbing in the audience — are "my entire world."

• "Coach Walz," as the campaign has branded him, carries the trappings of traditional masculinity — as a former National Guardsman and football coach, but at one DNC event on Monday Walz said a "trick" he'd learned in life was to "surround yourself with smart women and listen to them, and you'll do just fine."
• A favorite anecdote from the Harris-Walz barnstorming tour is how "Coach Walz" became the faculty sponsor when a student told him he wanted to found a gay-straight alliance.

🐘 The other side: Trump, by contrast, entered the RNC to the tune of "It's a Man's Man's Man's World."

• Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, a former Marine who's Trump's running-mate, told NBC earlier this month: "I was in a lot of ways raised by strong women, from my grandmother to my mom to my aunt to my sister."

Keep reading.

There's as much as a nearly 10-year difference in life expectancy between U.S. states.

• By the numbers: Hawaii (79.9 years), Massachusetts (79.6) and Connecticut (79.2) have the longest life expectancy at birth as of 2021, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick writes from a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis.
• Mississippi (70.9 years), West Virginia (71.0) and Alabama (72.0) have the shortest.

The big picture: Life expectancy nationwide fell by 0.6 years between 2020 and 2021 — largely due to COVID and drug overdoses, the report notes.

• With the worst of the pandemic behind us, these numbers will likely improve in future reports — as earlier preliminary data suggests.

Share this story.

Silicon Valley was burning up the socials this week, after learning that Kamala Harris has tacitly endorsed a tax on unrealized capital gains.

• Lots of what was shared was inaccurate, Axios' Dan Primack reports.

Reality check: This only would impact a small subset of America's wealthiest people, and most tech founders and investors would be spared.

🔎 What to know: Harris didn't release a new tax plan. Instead, her campaign said it agrees with a series of items in President Biden's last budget proposal, the most relevant of which were nonstarters in Congress and didn't become law.

• This includes the new tax on unrealized capital gains.
• It applies only to individuals with at least $100 million in wealth who do not pay at least a 25% tax rate on their income (inclusive of unrealized capital gains). Payments can be spread out over subsequent years.
• Within that $100 million club, you'd only pay taxes on unrealized capital gains if at least 80% of your wealth is in tradable assets (i.e., not shares of private startups or real estate). One caveat for this illiquid group is that there would be a deferred tax of up to 10% on unrealized capital gains upon exit.

💡 In short, it would not apply to most startup founders or investors. If any group should be tweeting mad-face emojis, it's top hedge fund managers.

• Keep reading.

After an investigation of what led to the assassination attempt on former President Trump, the Secret Service has reassigned five agents to administrative duties, meaning they can't be involved in investigative or protective work.

• They include four agents from the Pittsburgh field office, which was responsible for the security planning ahead of the July 13 rally in Butler, Pa., and one agent from Trump's personal detail, AP reports.

College athletic conferences are spreading way out, and teams are traveling further and further for games.

• Zoom in: The historically Midwest-centric Big 10 is now a coast-to-coast conference. And its newest additions — Washington, Oregon, USC and UCLA — are all on the list of the schools that will travel the most miles for in-conference games this season, according to the travel company Kayak.

The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is adding two Pacific coast schools, Cal and Stanford, which also make the list.

• Worth noting: The bulk of Georgia Tech and Florida State's mileage comes from a Dublin game.

⚡ The season starts today with a few Week 0 games. Most Division I teams open Week 1 — next Saturday, Aug. 31, during Labor Day weekend.

• 🌊 7 critical games (rankings based on AP preseason): No. 4 Texas at No. 9 Michigan, Sept. 7 ... No. 12 Utah at No. 17 Oklahoma State, Sept. 21 ... No. 1 Georgia at No. 5 Alabama, Sept. 28 ... No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Oregon, Oct. 12 ... No. 1 Georgia at No. 4 Texas, Oct. 19 ... No. 10 Florida State at No. 7 Notre Dame, Nov. 9 ... No. 9 Michigan at No. 2 Ohio State, Nov. 30.

Season preview ... Predicting the playoff ... ESPN Preseason Power Rankings.

Stunning stat: The Axios Twin Cities crew — with the help of special guest Claire Reilly from the Axios San Francisco team — tried almost all of the 33 new foods and six new vendors at the Minnesota State Fair on Thursday.

Here are some of their favorites:

• 🥧 Fried Bee-Nana Pie from Sabino's Pizza Pies. This was close to perfection. A battered and deep-fried pie filled with honey, banana, and cookie butter and topped with ice cream.
• 🌮 Buffalo Cheese Curd & Chicken Tacos from Richie's: A perfect mix of heat, crunch, protein, and an old favorite, the almighty curd.

And some duds:

• 🥔 Ham and Pickle Roll Up on a Potato Skin at Route 66 Roadhouse Chicken: This a Super Bowl party appetizer gone wrong.
• 🥪 Turkey Kristo from Minnesota Farmers Union Coffee Shop: The grease didn't just run down Claire's arm, it pooled on top of her shoes.

More state fair bites.