Motor vehicle crash fatalities spiked in the first six months of this year. In fact it’s the biggest half-year rise on record. That’s according to new data from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and it's something Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is calling “a crisis.”

• Plus, inside New Jersey’s nail-biter election.
• And, Democrats' plan for drug prices.

Guests: Nancy Solomon, Managing Editor for New Jersey Public Radio and WNYC; and Axios' Bryan Walsh and Caitlin Owens.

Credits: Axios Today is produced in partnership with Pushkin Industries. The team includes Niala Boodhoo, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Julia Redpath, Alexandra Botti, Nuria Marquez Martinez, Alex Sugiura, Sabeena Singhani, Lydia McMullen-Laird and David Toledo. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at [email protected]. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893.