His office told NBC News and Reuters that Bush also won’t reveal how he or wife Laura will vote this November.

“President Bush retired from presidential politics years ago,” his office told NBC News.

A couple of days ago, Bush’s vice president, Dick Cheney, announced he would cross party lines and support Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Cheney called the Republican nominee, Donald Trump, a “threat to our republic.”

“In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump,” Cheney said in a statement. “He tried to steal the last election using lies and violence to keep himself in power after the voters had rejected him. He can never be trusted with power again.”

Cheney, who joined his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney, in advocating for Harris over Trump, said he was putting “country above partisanship.”

As for Bush, People magazine reported in 2021 that he didn’t vote for either Trump or President Joe Biden in the last election. Bush wrote in former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s name instead, according to the interview with People.

Bush won’t be endorsing Harris, but some of his former staffers have done just that.

Over 200 Republicans who worked for the last two Republican presidents, before Trump, and the last two Republican presidential nominees signed onto an open letter endorsing Harris to be president.

The Republicans signing onto a letter lending their support to Harris included people who worked for Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush as well as those who worked for the late Sen. John McCain and Sen. Mitt Romney, the GOP nominees in 2008 and 2012.

The Republicans in the letter noted that many of them also spoke out in 2020 against reelecting Trump.

“We made those announcements months before lies about a stolen election became everyday talking points and six months before Trump incited an insurrection, cheering on a mob of sore losers and sycophants as they tried to use force to overturn the will of the American public. We reunite today, joined by new George H.W. Bush alumni, to reinforce our 2020 statements and, for the first time, jointly declare that we’re voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz this November,” part of the letter reads. “Of course, we have plenty of honest, ideological disagreements with Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz. That’s to be expected. The alternative, however, is simply untenable.”

And multiple Republicans joined Democrats on stage at their convention in August to endorse Harris.

One of them, former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, told the DNC crowd that she was throwing her support behind Harris “because I love my country more than my party.”

Meanwhile, former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and former Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have endorsed Trump.

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CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, released its 11th annual Scoring Tech Talent report.

For the first time in the report’s history, industries outside the tech sector hired the majority of tech workers. More companies are incorporating AI into their businesses, which seems to be fueling much of the hiring.

“It’s been a very high-growth sector that we feel is going to continue to drive new tech talent hiring for sure,” Colin Yasukochi, lead author of the report, said.

AI-related job postings went from about 9% of tech job postings in late 2019 to over 14% today.

Overall, tech employment grew by 3.6% in 2023, down from 7.3% in 2022.

The high-tech industry added 28,978 jobs last year, a growth rate of just 1.2% from 2022. But high-tech companies still account for nearly 2.5 million of the country’s 6 million tech jobs.

Companies outside the tech sector grew their tech workforces at a faster pace last year.

Professional and business services companies added the most tech talent jobs last year (49,760), followed by the transportation, warehousing and wholesale sector (45,390).

The transportation, warehousing and wholesale sector grew its tech workforce by over 18% last year, for example.

Yasukochi, the executive director of CBRE’s Tech Insights Center, said the areas of growth were dominated by software engineers, including most people hired to work on AI projects.

“Now, I’ll tell you that defining what an artificial intelligence tech worker is isn’t easy, because it can be all over the map,” Yasukochi said. “But we certainly know that the majority of them … would fall into that particular category. And of the 213,000 tech talent jobs that were created last year in the U.S., 72% were software engineers. So, AI is a massive driver there.”

Companies outside the tech industry also seem to be snatching up tech workers after previously being crowded out by tech companies that were willing to pay more in a demanding market.

CBRE includes over 20 occupations in its analysis of tech talent. This essentially includes anyone with computer-focused or information technology jobs, whether on the software or hardware side.

CBRE looks at 75 North American markets and ranks the top 50 tech markets based on the size and concentration of their tech workforces, growth profiles, wages, innovation infrastructure, supply of newly graduated tech labor and more.

The breakdown weighs factors from both an employer’s perspective and a worker’s perspective, Yasukochi said.

The established tech hubs of San Francisco and Seattle have been and remain the top two tech talent markets in CBRE’s report.

New York, Toronto, Austin, the District of Columbia, Boston, Denver, Dallas and Ottawa make up the rest of this year’s top 10.

Yasukochi said the top 15 or so markets have consistently shown up high on their annual reports.

Canadian cities Toronto and Ottawa have moved up, he said. So has Austin.

Raleigh-Durham, San Diego, Detroit, Houston, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, Calgary and South Florida improved their ranks the most, according to CBRE.

Yasukochi said AI offers the same potential for dramatic changes to livelihoods and everyday lives previously brought on by personal computers and mobile applications.

The tech industry likes to talk about “creative destruction,” he said.

With AI, he expects some jobs will be enhanced, some will be created and some will become obsolete.

“Adapting AI into your work to make you more efficient and productive is probably going to be the biggest benefit to workers going forward,” he said.

Gallup previously found 22% of workers were concerned their job would become obsolete, up from the 15% who held that fear two years earlier — before OpenAI’s ChatGPT ushered in a breakout year for generative AI.

Gallup found that nearly three-quarters of Fortune 500 human resource leaders expect AI to replace jobs at their companies in the next three years.

Molly Kinder, a fellow at Brookings Metro and an expert on how innovations can impact the labor market, previously told The National Desk that AI is a “disruptive tool.”

“It’s both going to be a tool that improves work for many people, but there’s also a lot of risk of disruptions that will leave workers either with skills that are no longer relevant or potentially even in jobs that have now become obsolete,” she said.

Kinder said she’s not surprised folks are worried, but she also said the future might not be as bleak as some fear.

Anton Dahbura, an AI expert and the co-director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Assured Autonomy, previously said people have been afraid that advancements in technology would leave them out of work “since the dawn of the Industrial Age,” if not earlier.

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None of the movements were dramatic in the Conference Board’s August Consumer Confidence Index. The nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank and business membership organization has been measuring consumer confidence since 1967.

The August index reading came in at 103.3, up slightly from an upwardly revised 101.9 in July.

The two components of the overall Consumer Confidence Index, the Present Situation Index and the Expectations Index, both saw small increases as well.

Conference Board Senior Economist Stephanie Guichard called this month’s index reading “kind of average.”

“It’s not exceptionally good, but it’s not bad,” she said.

August’s Consumer Confidence Index remained within a narrow range that’s prevailed over the past couple of years. The index reading was above 100 from the summer of 2016 until the spring of 2020.

The index, which reached as high as 137.9 in the last decade, got as low as around 86 early in the pandemic.

Now, people are feeling the slight increase in unemployment, Guichard said.

“I think the labor market is where most of the action has taken place in recent months,” she said.

It’s not that the jobs market is in shambles, but it’s no longer red hot. The U.S. economy added 114,000 jobs last month, which was the second-lowest total in the last year. And the unemployment rate went up to 4.3%. Until May, the unemployment rate had stayed below 4% for two straight years.

“The story there is the labor market was very strong. It’s a very good situation, but consumers are like, ‘Well, we’ve seen this story before. It doesn’t last forever, so at some point the labor market is going to deteriorate.’ So this is what’s affecting the expectations,” Guichard said.

Business conditions were seen as better now and better going forward, she said. That was what drove the increase this month in the Consumer Confidence Index.

Guichard said there are positives in the way consumers feel. Americans expect interest rates to decline and people have seen inflation slow.

The Conference Board asked people about their year-ahead inflation expectations. Americans expect inflation to be 4.9% a year from now. That might be a shocking number in light of current inflation that’s dipped below 3%.

Guichard highlighted that people tend to overestimate future inflation, and the trend of lower inflation expectations is more important than the raw survey figure. People were expecting 8% inflation in early 2022 and they’ve seen a steady decline in inflation expectations since then.

“We are not back totally at the pre-pandemic level, but we are getting very close,” she said.

She noted that even before the pandemic, and even when real inflation was very low, inflation expectations in their survey were around 4.5%. And the current inflation expectations are the lowest since March 2020.

People might also overestimate the chances of a recession. Currently, about two-thirds of people perceive a recession to be somewhat or very likely in the next 12 months. But that’s down from a peak of 73% in May 2023.

According to Guichard, recession expectations among American consumers are lower and stable. Purchasing plans for homes fell to a new 12-year low, while buying plans for cars improved slightly. Americans showed more willingness to buy other big-ticket items, such as appliances and electronics.

“House prices are still very high, and then you get the double heat of the very high interest rates,” Guichard said.

The National Association of Realtors reported last week that the typical existing-home price is now $422,600 — up about 4% from last year, up 16% in the last three years and up 50% in the last five years. A typical home would have cost $280,400 in July 2019, according to historical NAR data.

Earlier this month, mortgage rates plunged and are now lingering just under 6.5%, according to Freddie Mac. A typical 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has been as high as 7.79% within the last year. Freddie Mac said last week that it expects rates to gently slope downward through the end of the year. But a similar mortgage three years ago would have cost a buyer less than half of what they have to pay now.

The Conference Board’s survey asked people to assess their family’s financial situation. Consumers’ assessments of their family’s current financial situation weakened in August, but their assessments of their family’s financial situation going forward improved.

On balance, people have positive expectations of family financial situations, Guichard said. She noted wage gains have helped, and she’s not expecting those wage gains to dry up anytime soon.

Companies want to hold onto their employees following the rehiring troubles they experienced during and after the pandemic, she said.

The Conference Board also surveys CEOs and found that the vast majority are planning to increase wages by more than 3% next year, Guichard said.

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Fidelity released a second-quarter analysis that showed the number of 401(k)-created millionaires increased to 497,000, up 2.5% from the first quarter.

The number of IRA-created millionaires increased to 398,594, up 6% from the previous quarter.

Time and consistency by the savers were keys in reaching that milestone, Fidelity said.

Fidelity’s metrics come from an analysis of 24 million 401(k) participants.

“Depends on your lifestyle and cost of living and what other sources of retirement income you have,” Bankrate Chief Financial Analyst Greg McBride said. “At a 4% withdrawal rate, which even that might be on the aggressive side, a $1 million nest egg produces $40,000 a year in income. That’s pretax.”

Bankrate on Wednesday also published new survey results showing that the vast majority of Americans have financial regrets. The top overall regret was not saving for retirement early enough. That was mentioned by 22% of people in Bankrate’s survey.

“That is the most common regret, but it looms largest for Gen Xers and baby boomers,” McBride said.

Fidelity’s newly released retirement data showed the average 401(k) retirement account balance increased 13% over the last year to $127,100. The average balance for boomers was $242,200. The average balance for Gen Xers was $182,100.

McBride noted the averages can be skewed higher by those with very large balances.

“The majority may find themselves with a balance that’s well below that,” he said.

The burden of retirement savings is increasingly on the individual, according to McBride. Gone are the days of company pensions, at least for many Americans.

“Lifespans are getting longer, so the nest egg has to be bigger in order to last a longer period of time,” McBride said.

The Fidelity data, McBride did note, comes from a “self-selected group in the sense that not everybody has retirement accounts.”

A Census Bureau report from 2022 showed that just 58% of boomers and 56% of Gen Xers owned at least one type of retirement account. While the Department of Labor said last fall that more than a quarter of private industry workers with access to a defined contribution plan, such as a 401(k), did not participate.

Meanwhile, Americans’ household debt has continued its steady increase, now totaling $17.8 trillion. The personal saving rate — a percentage of disposable income — is a low 3.4%.

The personal saving rate averaged 6.2% from 2016 through 2019, before it spiked during the pandemic. But Americans have burned through a lot of their built-up savings.

Then there are the concerns over the future of Social Security. The Congressional Budget Office projects that under current law, Social Security will run out of reserves in less than a decade.

“That doesn’t mean there’s no money for retirees. But it does mean retirees can only get paid based on what’s currently coming in, which is the equivalent of a 23% across-the-board cut,” Marc Goldwein, senior policy director for the nonpartisan and nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said. “That’s about $17,400 per couple, for a typical couple retiring that year.”

Fidelity on Wednesday said the average 401(k) savings rate last quarter was 14.2%, which is very close to its suggested retirement savings rate of 15%. Retirement savers experienced the third quarter in a row of growth, according to Fidelity.

“Even if you don’t have a workplace-based retirement plan, if you or your spouse have earned income, you’re eligible to contribute to an IRA,” McBride added. “I would strongly encourage anybody that doesn’t have access to a workplace-based retirement plan to go the IRA route as a way to build retirement savings on the tax-advantage basis.”

McBride advises individuals should “focus on controlling what you can control” if they haven’t amassed a fortune for retirement yet.

“Are you saving 15% of your income for retirement? If not, that’s the level you need to get to,” he said. “Get to 10% right away and then stairstep it up from there.”

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July snapped a streak of four consecutive months of lower sales volume, but the housing market remained suppressed by high prices and high mortgage rates.

NAR said the median sales price for existing homes in July saw year-over-year gains for the 13th consecutive month.

The typical home price is now $422,600 — up about 4% from last year, up 16% in the last three years and up 50% in the last five years.

A typical home would’ve cost $280,400 in July 2019, according to historical NAR data.

“Despite the modest gain, home sales are still sluggish,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a news release. “But consumers are definitely seeing more choices, and affordability is improving due to lower interest rates.”

Earlier this month, mortgage rates plunged and are now lingering just under 6.5%, according to Freddie Mac.

A typical 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has been as high as 7.79% within the last year.

But Freddie Mac said it expects rates to gently slope downward through the end of the year.

Total housing inventory registered at the end of July was 1.33 million units, up 0.8% from June and 19.8% from a year ago, according to NAR.

Unsold inventory sits at a four-month supply at the current pace.

A six-month supply of homes has usually been considered a balanced market. More supply than that favors buyers, according to Bankrate housing expert Jeff Ostrowski.

“By any historic definition, I would say we’re still in a pretty strong seller’s market,” Ostrowski said last month.

Median existing-home prices in the Northeast in July reached $505,100, up 8.3% from last year.

In the Midwest, prices hit $321,300, up 4.5% from July 2023.

In the South, the typical home now costs $372,500, up 2.3% compared to a year ago.

In the West, median existing-home prices hit $629,500, up 3.4% from last July.

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CBRE released results from a survey of 225 companies with offices in the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

Fewer companies are planning to shrink their office space this year compared with last year — down to 37% from 53%.

The survey also found more companies plan to expand their office space over the next several years. That share increased to 38% from 20% a year ago.

Some companies may have trimmed too much space in recent years, CBRE said.

“An 18-percentage-point, year-over-year increase in companies anticipating expansion of their office footprints is a significant step toward a return to growth,” Manish Kashyap, CBRE global president of advisory and transaction services, said in a news release. “It bodes well for the U.S. office market, which has faced many challenges in recent years. There remains a segment of the demand where companies are opting to renew their leases to forego the costs of moving, but there is now a change in sentiment favoring expansion.”

This appears to be a reversal after the pandemic-era contractions and shifts toward remote and hybrid work.

CBRE said the high costs of moving and building out new space are still limiting factors for companies looking to expand.

Most companies are relocating because they want upgraded space, such as a better location, better quality space or improved employee experience, according to CBRE.

Most companies report office attendance is at a steady state, up modestly from 60% in 2023 and 43% in 2022.

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USA TODAY reported Saturday that the survey shows Black voters favoring Harris over former President Donald Trump by a 7-to-1 margin in Michigan and by a similar margin in Pennsylvania.

Harris’ favorability rating has also climbed among Black voters in those key states.

Her favorability rating rose to 72% in Michigan as of last weekend, compared with 60% in June. In Pennsylvania, her favorability rating jumped to 68%, up from 55% in June.

The poll also found that Black voters in Michigan and Pennsylvania are more motivated to vote for Harris this fall.

In Pennsylvania, for example, 78% were very motivated to vote for Harris, according to the USA TODAY report. In June, just 61% were similarly motivated to vote for President Joe Biden.

Harris still needs to gain ground among young, low-income, and independent voters, David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, told USA TODAY.

The Pew Research Center previously found that 83% of Black registered voters side with Democrats.

Biden won a closely contested 2020 election in part by securing 92% of the Black vote.

Hillary Clinton received 91% of the Black vote in 2016.

The then-Biden campaign recognized the importance of Black voters to their ticket when they launched a “Black Voters for Biden-Harris” effort with a rally in late May.

Michigan and Pennsylvania are among just six true toss-up states, according to the Cook Political Report.

The others are Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Wisconsin.

Nationally, Harris holds a small, 1.8-point advantage over Trump in an amalgam of polls published by The Hill.

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The study, published last week in the journal JAMA Network Open, found that preteen suicide rates increased by about 8% annually between 2008 and 2022.

That followed a downward trend until 2007.

The overall rate of suicide for preteens, ages 8-12, increased from 3.34 per 1 million between 2001 and 2007 to 5.71 per 1 million between 2008 and 2022.

Girls had a disproportionate increase in suicide rates compared to boys. Black children had the highest overall suicide rate. And Hispanic children had the greatest percentage increase in suicide rate.

Suicide became the fifth-leading cause of death for preteen girls between 2008 and 2022, up from 11th in the previous period.

Suicide remained the fifth-leading cause of death for preteen boys.

Social isolation increased during the pandemic. But it was already on the rise, particularly for young people, said Dr. Laura Erickson-Schroth, the chief medical officer at The Jed Foundation (JED), a nonprofit organization focused on youth mental health.

Children are feeling uncertain about the future, grappling with news of wars, climate change and discrimination, Erickson-Schroth said.

“Children and teens are also living in a different world today than previous generations,” she said via email. “They live much of their lives online, where they are regularly exposed to political conflict and cultural violence.”

Studies show that young people are having trouble finding purpose and meaning, Erickson-Schroth noted.

Access to guns has been a driving force in suicide deaths. For preteens, firearms are the most rapidly increasing suicide method.

The surgeon general recently issued an advisory on firearm violence, saying it poses an urgent threat to the health and well-being of our nation.

Last year, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy also issued advisories focused on an “epidemic” of loneliness and isolation and the potential dangers of social media use for children and teens.

While the rate of preteen suicides is on the rise, Erickson-Schroth said JED and other groups are working hard to turn the tide.

The data on preteens show a disproportionate increase in suicide rates for girls and youth of color.

“When we consider how to address these disparities, we need to look at each group of young people individually as their needs are varied and the type of support they benefit from is unique,” Erickson-Schroth said.

Poverty increases the risk of trauma, she said. Girls and young women are at higher risk than boys and young men, she said.

Having a culturally competent therapist, or a therapist who shares the same identity or background, can make a young person feel more comfortable and connected, Erickson-Schroth added.

“For Black preteens, we need to create affirming and safe environments in schools, with strong support systems, spaces to gather, and connections to supportive adults,” she said. “It’s important to teach accurate history about the role of Black communities in America. We have to train educators and mental health professionals to recognize signs of racial trauma and move from punishment-based approaches to trauma-informed models of care.”

JED works with schools to develop and deploy a comprehensive approach to mental health and suicide prevention.

But parents play a critical role in protecting their children.

And it starts with talking openly and honestly about emotions, Erickson-Schroth explained.

“It’s important for young people to see that everyone – including adults – feels overwhelmed at times,” she said. “Talking openly about mental health allows for discussions about coping skills and for modeling what it is like to go through a difficult time and take care of yourself.”

JED says it’s “OK to say suicide.”

People might worry that talking about suicide will make things worse or give someone ideas. Some research shows the opposite.

“Too many teens and young adults struggle in silence with suicidal thoughts,” Erickson-Schroth said. “Being able to talk openly about suicide opens the door for someone to get help.”

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Vance said he honors Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military service.

“I’ve never criticized what Tim Walz did when he was in the military. … I’m criticizing the fact that he lied about his service for political gain,” Vance told CNN’s Dana Bash.

Vance has been on the attack against Walz over how he decided to retire from the military and how he has characterized his service.

Both men are veterans.

Walz spent 24 years in the Nebraska and Minnesota Army National Guards. Vance served in the Marines from 2003 to 2007 and was deployed to Iraq.

Vance has been critical of Walz’s decision to retire from military service in 2005 soon before his unit was deployed to Iraq. At the time, Walz was making a bid for Congress.

Vance has also criticized Walz for, in his words, “lying about his own record.”

Vance was referring to a 2018 video in which Walz, who never served in combat, told a crowd that their efforts against gun violence should ensure that private individuals don’t have access to “those weapons of war, that I carried in war.”

The Harris-Walz campaign said Saturday that Walz “misspoke” in the 2018 video.

Vance said Harris showed “a serious lapse in judgment” in picking Walz as her running mate.

“I served in the United States Marine Corp … there are a lot of things that I’m proud about. I’ve never lied about what I did or overstated it because it would be beneficial to me in an election. I think that’s what Tim Walz did, that’s what I was criticizing, and yes, I do think it’s scandalous behavior,” Vance told Bash.

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