Harris comes out swinging in presidential debate | First Thing

Kamala Harris kept Donald Trump on the defensive as he devolved into bizarre and false tangents about crowd sizes, abortion and immigration. Plus: how to get a better night's sleep

Good morning.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump faced off in a presidential debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday, with Harris landing a number of blows as Trump spouted bizarre falsehoods about abortion and immigration.

What were the most memorable moments? After Harris wrapped up one remark with a jab about Trump's crowd sizes, Trump began to ramble - about immigrants eating people's pets. In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats," Trump said. They're eating the pets of the people that live there." ABC moderators interjected to say that the city manager of Springfield, Ohio, had told the network there were no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed by individuals within the immigrant community.

How did the moderators do? ABC's moderators David Muir and Linsey Daviswere largely praised for factchecking Trump's falsehoods and rerouting discussions back to the questions. When Trump falsely accused Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, of calling for abortion in the ninth month and execution after birth", Davis responded: There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it's born."

Another boost for Harris: After the debate concluded, Taylor Swift endorsed Harris on Instagram, signing the post as childless cat lady" in a jab at misogynistic comments made by the Republican vice-presidential candidate, JD Vance.