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‘I remain concerned about safety and integrity going up to this election,’ said Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, highlighting the potentially violent role a clutch of self-styled militias could play as Americans go to the polls next month.⁠ ⁠ While Donald Trump has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election next month, he told the rightwing group Proud Boys to ‘stand back and standby’ during last month’s presidential debate. His son Donald Trump Jr has also called for ‘every able-bodied man, woman to join Army For Trump’s election security operation’ on Facebook and Twitter.⁠ ⁠ Extremism experts describe such unofficial militias as dangerous armed vigilante groups that have no standing in law. Only militias authorised by the state, such as the 450,000-strong citizen-soldier National Guard, are legally recognised. ⁠ ⁠ Click on the link in our bio to read more about how these groups are getting ready to act if Donald Trump loses the presidential election.⁠ ⁠

It’s a good time to be a billionaire.⁠ ⁠ The collective fortune of the world’s wealthiest people hit a record $10.2tn this summer, according to Swiss bank UBS.⁠ ⁠ The total number of billionaires also rose, to 2,189 from 2,158 in 2017.UBS attributed the growing wealth pile to investors who “pulled ahead” on a stock market rally in technology, healthcare and industrial companies.⁠ ⁠ Its report comes as the global pandemic has in many places exacerbated economic inequality and renewed attention to the accumulation of wealth, from tax havens to regulations of dominant Big Tech companies.⁠ ⁠ But billionaires have also been giving back: UBS recorded philanthropic donations of $7.2bn from 209 moguls between March and June.⁠ ⁠ Click the link in our bio for more. ⁠ ⁠

Meet Carmen Herrera, the 105-year-old Cuban American artist who found late-life fame. ⁠ ⁠ Born in Havana in 1915, she studied painting in Paris in the 1930s, but was overlooked as an artist until her 80s. Now 105, she is still making geometric abstract art. ⁠ ⁠ An exponent of geometric abstraction, working in bold, tangy colours and crisp lines, there was no reason for her not to have been classed as a groundbreaking minimalist. But her commitment to working in two colours since the 1950s/early 1960s has never veered off course.⁠ ⁠ Like so many female artists of her generation, Herrera remained largely invisible throughout the 20th century.⁠ ⁠ In 2016, when she was 100 years old, New York’s Whitney Museum gave her a solo show that catapulted her to art-world stardom. ⁠ ⁠ Herrera is equanimous about the neglect. 'Being ignored is a form of freedom,' she writes. 'I truly used that all my life. I felt liberated from having to constantly please anyone.'⁠ ⁠ For more, click the link in our bio to read Long Story Short, our newsletter with a selection of the FT's biggest and best stories, handpicked by one of our journalists each week. ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ ⁠

The breadth — and beauty — of Hong Kong’s hiking trails is one of the best surprises about life in the Asian financial centre.  The city is known as a densely populated concrete jungle full of high-rise buildings and mazes of streets, where everyone is tripping over each other. But it is also home to scores of amazing routes that offer a very different perspective on the city. During the pandemic, hiking the trails have has been a wonderful release. It is pretty easy to keep a safe distance from others and, provided you aren’t next to any other hikers, you don’t need to wear a mask, writes Ravi Mattu, our deputy Asia news editor.  Much of the city is largely back to normal, though this could easily change. In any case, the trails have tended to remain open throughout the pandemic.  From hard climbs to scenic strolls, we’ve highlighted four of the best routes to put your best foot forward. Click the link in our bio to read more.

Is Donald Trump losing support in Florida, a key swing state?⁠ ⁠ Republicans and Democrats see pensioners as a crucial voting bloc in Florida. In 2016, Trump handily won the state’s seniors with exit polls, giving him a 17-point advantage among people over 65. He ended up winning the state’s 29 Electoral College votes by a 1.2 point margin.⁠ ⁠ Seniors are more likely to vote than their younger counterparts, and they have been seen as reliably Republican in recent elections. However, opinion polls suggest that they are turning against Trump in record numbers owing to his handling of coronavirus and his plans to cut benefits such as social security.⁠ ⁠ ‘If the pandemic was taken care of better, we would not have this problem. Yes, we would still have Covid, but it would not be so rampant,’ said Barbara Suden, a resident of Florida who retired there 15 years ago. ‘I think a lot of seniors feel that way. All of my friends, nobody goes out and does anything. They are afraid to,’ she added.⁠ ⁠ Strategists warn the president is running out of time to regain his edge with this segment of voters, especially given that many Floridians, such as Ms Suden, have already voted.⁠ ⁠ Click the link in our bio to read more.⁠ ⁠

Did you catch the VP debate? If not, don't worry. Lauren Fedor, our Washington correspondent, was live on Instagram taking questions about the biggest moments from the debate between vice-president Mike Pence and Democratic senator Kamala Harris. She also touched on the presidential election as a whole. The night's million dollar question: Will the next presidential debate go ahead if Donald Trump still has Covid-19?

No, you're not seeing things. There was a third guest in tonight's . 'I know we're not meant to comment on appearances, but I've always agreed with the view that Pence looks like an airline business class flight purser. The fly humanises him,' US national editor Edward Luce wrote in our live blog. Catch up on the vice-presidential debate with our link in bio.

“Bold. [Harris] is channeling her MSNBC self in a way that works well,” FT global business columnist Rana Foroohar said in our live blog after Kamala Harris implied the Trump administration could sacrifice safety to rush out a vaccine.    “I’m not sure why the Trump campaign thinks the accusation that Biden and Harris are ‘playing politics’ with the vaccine is an effective line. It's clearly not what Harris was arguing, and I don't think people are fooled,” US managing editor Peter Spiegel said.  But still, our live bloggers agreed Pence is better equipped to handle questions on the pandemic than President Donald Trump. “He is immeasurably better at defending the Trump administration than his boss. He never seems ruffled,” US national editor Edward Luce said. Catch up on the with our live blog. Link in bio.

A violent rape has once again shaken Indian society — and exposed its government’s prejudices.⁠ ⁠ The assault and murder of a 19-year-old woman from the bottom of Hinduism’s caste hierarchy has brought protesters back to India’s streets, eight years after a lethal attack on board a New Delhi bus that tragically highlighted the dangers confronting young women.⁠ ⁠ Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party campaigned on the past incident and the need to ensure women’s safety in public. ⁠ ⁠ But now in power, Mr Modi’s party and local authorities are suppressing information, alleging a conspiracy to inflame caste tensions and bullying journalists who attempt to cover it.⁠ ⁠ Caste-based gender violence has a long, ignoble history, writes Amy Kazmin, our south Asia bureau chief. What is new is for the government to use high-tech surveillance tools to intimidate a murder victim’s grieving family and those championing their case.⁠ ⁠ Click the link in our bio to read her column.⁠ ⁠ 📸: Indranil Mukherjee / AFP⁠ ⁠

Routines are essential if we are to lead enjoyable lives, be productive and be fulfilled, writes Alex Soojung-Kim Pang. ⁠ ⁠ The pandemic has given companies the chance to introduce new ways of working that reduce stress and boost productivity. Some have successfully moved to four-day weeks or six-hour days, without cutting salaries, productivity or profitability.⁠ ⁠ Routines with shorter hours are good for people and companies, Pang says. When they work less, people are happier, healthier and better able to juggle competing demands. But they also become less stressed and happier at work, too.⁠ ⁠ If you want to make work better, he suggests to improve work-life balance and accommodate the demand to continue working from home; improve the boundaries between work and non-work time; and emphasise collective, structural solutions rather than putting the burden on individuals. ⁠ ⁠ Click the link in bio to read more.

Does happiness vary systematically over the course of our lives?⁠ ⁠ The idea is controversial, but for years David Blanchflower, an economist, has been investigating the determinants of ‘subjective wellbeing’ — by which social scientists mean things such as anxiety, pain and satisfaction with life. ⁠ ⁠ Along with his colleagues such as Carol Graham and Andrew Oswald, Blanchflower has focused on the way wellbeing seems to change over the course of each person’s life, and their conclusion is that we reach peak misery at 47.2 years old. ⁠ ⁠ Although other economists and researchers question whether we should try to measure ‘raw’ wellbeing or adjust for other variables, Blanchflower, Graham and Oswald are confident that their findings stack up.⁠ ⁠ So, how should we respond to this phenomenon? ⁠ ⁠ The data suggest there may be little we can do about it; Oswald thinks that it is worth simply acknowledging that the midlife crisis is a robust statistical phenomenon rather than the set-up for a punchline about motorbikes. He also argues that we need ‘a mid-life policy of some kind’.⁠ ⁠ Click the link in our bio to read more. ⁠ ⁠

The Tank Graveyard on the outskirts of Asmara, Eritrea, has the compelling if sinister power of an art installation at the Venice Biennale. The towering wall pictured above is constructed from a stockpile of CCCP tanks, amphibious vehicles and US 4x4s and winds around the five-acre plot. And it is just one of the stranger tourist attractions that featured on Catherine Fairweather and Don McCullin's remote journey through the country. ⁠ ⁠ Eritrea might not yet be top of your travel list, but post Covid-19 some in the travel industry are speculating there will be a growing demand for exploratory travel. Not convinced? Tap on the link in our bio for more on this off-the-map adventure ⁠ ⁠ 📸: @donaldmccullin⁠