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Harris spoke in lucid paragraphs, but Trump spouted lurid, loopy stuffThe Trump-Harris debate was the most unsurprising thing that ever happened, except maybe for the part when, unlike previous debates, the moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis, pressed Trump to actually answer the question or noted that what he said was extremely not true at all.The former prosecutor and current vice-president Kamala Harris got on stage and spoke in lucid paragraphs that were clearly the result of careful preparation. She shared the stage with the adjudicated rapist who spoke in loose phrases that flapped and looped and circled around and usually reverted to some version of millions of immigrants who are criminals and terrorists are why this country is in terrible shape worse than anyone thought possible and we are going to have world war three", a litany of fear and rage and vagueness we've heard for eight years.Rebecca Solnit is a Guardian US columnist. She is the author of Orwell's Roses and co-editor with Thelma Young Lutunatabua of the climate anthology Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility Continue reading...

Trump tried to paint Harris as the candidate of the status quo, but he failed because he came across as a messTo say that Kamala Harris nailed it in Tuesday night's debate is an understatement. She knocked it out of the park. She combined civility with firmness. She made Trump look and sound like the blubbering idiot he is.This was Harris's first presidential debate. It was Trump's eighth - including his debates with Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020. But Trump was worse than he has ever been. All he did was attack. His only weapon was fear. His only means were lies. Continue reading...

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 sleepGood 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. Continue reading...

Fort Lauderdale mayor says legislation will provoke tsunami of lawsuits' but do nothing to help homeless crisisA Florida law that criminalizes sleeping in public spaces and will take effect next month is expected to provoke a tsunami of lawsuits" but do nothing to alleviate the state's homelessness crisis, the mayor of Fort Lauderdale has warned.Dean Trantalis says his city is scrambling to find a way of complying with the bill signed by the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, in March, and which becomes law on 1 October, requiring municipalities with insufficient shelter capacity to establish encampments for unhoused persons. Continue reading...

American stars such as Simone Biles have made Olympic golds seem routine. But there is a drive to make their male counterparts dominant in the sport tooIn late July the five members of the United States men's gymnastics team ended a 16-year medal drought when they clinched bronze in Paris. Asher Hong, Paul Juda, Brody Malone, Fred Richard, and Stephen Nedoroscik were instantly turned into fodder for everything from extensive dives into the sport to Superman memes. When the dust settled, it became clear that the team's impact had also extended to a whole new slate of boys who had just discovered gymnastics, and were inspired to join their local gyms.With any sudden interest in a sport comes the need for the infrastructure to accommodate it, and boys' and men's gymnastics in the US is no different. Luckily, there are coaches across the United States who are invested in doing exactly that, even if they have to build that infrastructure from the ground up. Continue reading...

Gavin coal plant, now part-owned by Blackstone whose CEO backs Trump, bought Cheshire in 2002 to move people en masse. Two decades later, locals recall its noxious fumesNestled beneath two precipitous spires billowing smoke from what has been called the deadliest coal plant in the United States lies the husk of the small but once-thriving town of Cheshire, Ohio.When residents here were routinely shrouded in a toxic, blue-tinged fog of pollution from the plant two decades ago, a unique yet telling solution was settled upon: the company causing the pollution would purchase the entire town to move people en masse from their homes. Continue reading...

Indy Nelson set a record for most airlines flown and said he was detained by Iran, Russia, Libya and Papua New GuineaAn American man who set a world record while traveling to every country on the globe says he has been temporarily detained as a possible spy by four different nations.I feared for my life several times," Indy Nelson told Guinness World Records in an interview the organization published on its website recently. There were definitely several times that I did not think that I was going to get out of that country. [But] by the fourth time, it was like, No big deal anymore.'" Continue reading...

Plan to rename group the Campbell's Company part of shift in focus to other food it sellsBosses at Campbell Soup Company, whose cans feature in one of Andy Warhol's best-known 1960s pop artworks, have announced plans to drop soup" from its name after more than 100 years.Its chief executive, Mark Clouse, said the decision to rename the group the Campbell's Company was part of a shift in focus to the other snack foods and jarred sauces it sold. Continue reading...

Harris may have been light on policy, but she was able to bait an unhinged' Trump into a number of traps

Candidates clashed on January 6, abortion, immigration, Gaza and Ukraine.This live blog is closed. Follow the latest here

I hope people took comfort from the royal video. But a film made after my treatment would have been greyer and grottier, perhaps more typicalI am trying to imagine what a film announcing my recovery from cancer would have looked like. Probably a bit like a trailer for a new zombie film rather than a Flake advert. Probably nothing like the video released by the Princess of Wales to mark her emergence from treatment.For wandering through wheat fields I would substitute tackling an overgrown garden that I had not had the energy to do anything with for more than a year - before having to have a sit down because I was so knackered. For a contemplative lean against a tree I would substitute a rest against a lamp-post on the way to work for a quiet sob. For shiny hair and complexion I would substitute what one of my doctors described as a sort of greyness" that seems to linger on patients for a while after chemo.Hilary Osborne is the Guardian's money and consumer editorDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Under the bright lights of the US presidential debate stage, Harris was judge, jury and executioner, baiting Donald Trump at every turn

With the presidential race on a knife's edge, Trump's support remains relatively stable

The days when Viktor Orban could block negotiations on a whim should be over - and the western Balkans should finally benefitRussia's invasion of Ukraine has revived EU expansion as an imperative. For years, enlargement" has been a low priority - Croatia was the last country to join the club, more than 10 years ago. But things have changed. Ursula von der Leyen told a forum in Bled, Slovenia I attended this month that Europe's security depends on the 27-nation union expanding again. Thanks to Vladimir Putin, as the Albanian prime minister, Edi Rama, put it, enlargement is back on track.The fact that expansion is a strategic priority makes it possible that new members will be admitted. But it doesn't make it certain.Nathalie Tocci is a Guardian Europe columnist Continue reading...

After weeks of arguments over the format and rules, the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a key swing state. Both candidates went into the event virtually tied in the polls, in search of a campaign-altering moment

Hearing about poo is too evocative and gross in most settings - but if there's something affecting our health, we have to talk about itIn her book Stoic at Work, Annie Lawson tells the story of a colleague of hers hearing someone eating pretzels while sitting on the toilet:The person holed up in a toilet cubicle - a senior leader - was gnawing on them like a squirrel, taking several bites per pretzel while doing his business. Then his phone rang and he answered. He was the ultimate multi-tasker. My colleague was at the sink washing his hands when he heard a flush and the senior leader emerged from the cubicle with an empty pretzel packet. He nodded, dropped the pretzel packet in the bin and walked out without washing his hands."Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading...

Presidential candidates face off in fiery debate displaying diverging visions of the countryThe presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and Kamala Harris went head to head on Tuesday night in their first - and potentially only - debate before voters head to the polls on 5 November. The candidates went into the event virtually tied in the polls with just weeks to convince a small but mighty minority of unsure voters on how to cast their ballot.After weeks of arguments over the format and rules, the debate aired live on ABC from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a key swing state, with no audience in attendance and each candidate's microphone muted while their opponent spoke. Continue reading...

Presidential candidates meet for first time in contentious face-off as moderators fact-check Trump's statements

During the presidential debate Trump refused to back a victory for Kyiv, opening himself up to renewed attacks over his closeness to Putin

Users react to viral moments as Democratic and Republican candidates face off in presidential debateIn the days leading up to the presidential debate, a 2020 tweet from the former Trump team lawyer Rudy Giuliani recirculated on X: once again, Americans find themselves gearing up for, as he put it, The debat."Though the debate aired on ABC News, with pre- and post-game commentary from anchors, the real buzz took place on social media, where users reacted to the night's most viral moments. Continue reading...

David Muir and Linsey Davis keep two presidential candidates on point, at times fact-checking Trump on air

Ex-president's repetition of unsubstantiated claims prompts ABC moderator to fact-check him on air

Secretary of state and defence secretary decry fatal shooting of Ayenur Ezgi Eygi in West BankThe family of the American activist Ayenur Ezgi Eygi said on Tuesday that neither the White House nor Joe Biden had called to offer condolences.Ayenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, who is also a Turkish national, was shot dead last Friday at a protest march in Beita, a village near Nablus where Palestinians have been repeatedly attacked by far-right Jewish settlers. Continue reading...

People rush to stock up on necessities, fill sandbags and buy gas as hurricane strengthens over extra warm Gulf watersFrancine became a hurricane on Tuesday evening as it barreled toward southern Louisiana, strengthening over extremely warm Gulf waters as those in possible harm's way rushed to complete storm preparations, filling sandbags, buying gas and stocking up on necessities for an expected landfall in the coming day.Residents, especially in south Louisiana, have a 24-hour window to batten down all the hatches", Louisiana governor Jeff Landry warned at midday while Francine was still a tropical storm. Continue reading...

Newly diagnosed with ADHD, I've outsourced task prioritisation to the robot in my phone'. It does not judge meIt's easy to be convinced that the myriad applications of AI pave a fun but nonetheless alarming digital path towards doom, doom, doom.Let's start with slop". It's the term now in use for AI-created graphic content pushed out on social media to attract eyeballs - and, in doing so, channel engagement - using spectacular, surreal images, the kind that can digitally mash Jesus with prawns in photographic detail. My Facebook feed heaves with ads for 80s trash sci-fi, shiny polyester shapewear and cream for smokers' wrinkles; I suspect clicking stills" of Star Wars Episode 1 in a Ken Loach universe may be to blame. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. You can watch the debate and follow the latest updates in our dedicated blog here:

Former Chelsea boss must build trust with his squad quickly before a home World Cup in 2026, but time is working against himWhen the US men's national team players are introduced to Mauricio Pochettino, they will meet a coach unlike any the US has had in program history.Pochettino, officially appointed on Tuesday, boasts an impressive coaching resume involving some of the biggest clubs and players in European football, and has no history anywhere within the US soccer system. His profile is immense, yet his working style will be unfamiliar. The desire to find out what the new boss is like will probably color the players' early interactions, down to the very first handshake. Continue reading...

More than 2.3 million women of reproductive age don't have access to birthing facilities or obstetric doctors, report saysMore than a third of US counties do not have a single medical birthing facility or the services of an obstetric clinician, causing health advocates to warn about the dangers of maternity care deserts", a new report says.The report, issued by March of Dimes, an infant health non-profit, and published on Tuesday, found that 35.1% of US counties are what the group calls maternity care deserts, meaning there are no specialist medical services available to provide care. Continue reading...

Tyreek Hill questioned what would have happened had he not had the platform he does after he was dragged from his car by police before the Miami Dolphins' opening game of the season. Speaking to reporters, Hill admitted he was still trying to figure out what happened but added: 'I want to be a cop one day. I got a state trooper hat, all that, you know, so I got a lot of respect for cops, man. But, obviously, you know, everybody has bad apples in every situation.' After the incident, the director of the Miami-Dade police department issued a statement saying: 'I have initiated an internal affairs investigation to ensure a thorough review of the matter ... I'm committed to transparency and accountability with any situation involving my officers'

Judge dismisses election board member's lawsuit because of an incorrect party name, but she is allowed to refileCan local elections officials refuse to certify an election in Georgia? That legal question will have to wait a little longer after a lawsuit by a Fulton county election board member linked to election denialists was thrown out of court on a technicality today.The Fulton county election board member Julie Adams filed a lawsuit in May asking a judge to declare that the county election board members' duties are discretionary, not ministerial, in nature". Continue reading...

Sons whose mother was executed with her husband Julius in 1953 say newly released document proves innocenceThe family of Ethel Rosenberg, who was sent to the electric chair along with her husband, Julius, in 1953 after being convicted of spying for the Soviets at the height of the Red Scare, have called on Joe Biden to formally exonerate her after a newly released document appeared to show that the US government knew she was not a spy.The couple maintained their innocence until the end and the case of the Rosenbergs has long been seen as a possible miscarriage of justice. Though most historians see Julius Rosenberg as a real Soviet spy, questions about Ethel Rosenberg's role have lingered and their sons, Robert and Michael Meeropol, have long campaigned in their family's cause. Continue reading...

Few are celebrating the appointment of the EU's Brexit negotiator as the country's new prime ministerMichel Barnier, France's new conservative prime minister, has yet to appoint a government, still less lay out its agenda. But three-quarters of voters already believe that he will soon be on his way out, despite Emmanuel Macron's hope that the former EU Brexit negotiator can safeguard his legacy after multiplemisjudgments.Mr Barnier himself once described the president's leadership as solitary and arrogant". That helps to explain the disastrous snap election. It saw support surge for Marine Le Pen's far right in the first round, before the withdrawal of candidates by a republican front and tactical voting rode to the rescue in the second. The outcome was a legislature essentially split into three blocs - left, centreand far right - in a country without a recent history ofcoalition building. Continue reading...

The NFL star says his fame helped him get out of a tense situation. But there is little point in denying he was treated differently due to his raceThe body camera footage of NFL star Tyreek Hill's traffic stop before his team's season opener was released on Monday. It showed a group of police officers on a power trip, exhibiting unprofessionalism and abuse of authority through their ultra-aggressive and combative behavior. From what I saw, they went out of their way to escalate the situation far beyond what was necessary.Speaking about the incident on Sunday, the Miami Dolphins receiver posed a pertinent question: What if I wasn't Tyreek Hill?" His point being that if he was a Black man who wasn't famous, would the situation have ended a lot worse? The answer is surely, yes. Nobody is saying Hill did everything correctly on Sunday - he admits on the footage that he was speeding and did not immediately comply with the officers' instructions when stopped. But if his name was Becky or Brad rather than Tyreek and he had done the same things, would the police have dragged him out his car, handcuffed him and shoved him face down on the hot Miami asphalt?Etan Thomas played in the NBA from 2000 through 2011. He is a published poet, activist and motivational speaker Continue reading...

In a video promoting her memoir, she declares we need to uncover the truth' about assassination attempt on TrumpFormer first lady Melania Trump has raised questions around the law enforcement response to the attempted assassination of her husband, in a video she published on Tuesday to promote her new book.In the 34-second video posted to her X account, Melania begins by describing the attempted assassination on her husband as a horrible, distressing experience". And now, she says in the video, which is overlayed with dramatic instrumental music, the silence around it feels heavy". Continue reading...

Paul Dans slams Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita for allegedly failing to properly prepare Trump for potential Biden exit

Georgia's election board has more drama than Kemp would like. Attorney general's advice isn't giving him an easy outAs Georgia's Governor Brian Kemp wrestles with what to do with a seemingly wayward state board of elections that is drawing national criticism for last-hour changes to the state's election practices born of stop-the-steal election activism, the state attorney general declined to make his job any easier.Kemp asked Republican attorney general, Chris Carr, to render a legal opinion about the governor's legal obligation to hold a hearing and potentially remove board members, in light of two ethics complaints filed against the board since a raucous hearing in July raised questions about the legality of the board's actions. Three board members - Rick Jeffares, Janice Johnston and Janelle King - have attempted to reopen investigation into the 2020 election, citing a finding of error in Fulton county and the continuation of lawsuits by election denialists. Continue reading...

Trump campaign hopes for a happy version' of former president, while Harris may aim to elaborate on campaignKamala Harris and Donald Trump will face off on Tuesday night in a presidential debate, the pair's first - and possibly only - matchup before the November election. It's widely seen as a crucial moment in the 2024 campaign, where both candidates are currently neck and neck in the polls.The US vice-president is likely to use the 90-minute debate as an opportunity to provide more detail on her campaign promises, and further her pitch as a candidate separate from Joe Biden. Trump's campaign is hoping the happy" version of the former president will turn up.No opening statements, and closing statements will be two minutes per candidateCandidates will stand behind podiums for the duration of the debateProps and prewritten notes are not allowed on stageNo topics or questions will be shared in advanceCandidates will not be permitted to ask questions of each other Continue reading...

New footage shows police officers forcefully removing Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill from his car and throwing him to the ground during a heated traffic stop. The incident occurred before his NFL team's home opener on Sunday. The video shows a police officer knocking on Hill's window and arguing with him to keep it open. The officer then tells him to get out of the car before another officer comes over, opens the car door and grabs Hill by the back of the head, forcing him face down on the pavement as he puts him in handcuffs with a knee pressed against his back. Officers then pick the still-handcuffed Hill back up and lead him to the sidewalk, where they ask him to sit. Hill asks them to slow down because he 'just had surgery on my knee' as an officer grabs him from behind around the neck and forces him into a seated position on the curb.

People who check in, even briefly, with their friends underestimate how much those friends appreciate itNo one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing.Thus wrote CS Lewis in A Grief Observed after his wife died from cancer. I have thought a lot about these words while bearing witness to my friend's grief at the sudden death of her mother.I had violated the first commandment of friendship: presence. Simply being there was all that had been required. I couldn't pass even that one simple test.Well, everyone can master a grief but he that has it. Continue reading...

Senator concerned over Lt Gen Ronald P Clark's alleged role in lack of transparency' around Austin's hospitalizationThe Republican US senator Tommy Tuberville is blocking the promotion of an army general and top aide to Lloyd Austin, the US defense secretary, citing concerns about the military leader's alleged role in the lack of transparency surrounding Austin's hospitalization earlier this year.The army general in question, Lt Gen Ronald P Clark, has been nominated to become the four-star commander of all US army forces in the Pacific. But the Alabama senator and retired college football coach is holding up the promotion, according to the Washington Post. Continue reading...

We never thought we would ask ourselves these questions, but they have not left our minds for the last decadeWhen does a democracy end, and a theocracy begin? Have India, Hungary and Israel already slipped into the latter category? Is it possible that Brazil and the United States will also cross the line?We never thought we would ask ourselves these questions, but they have not left our minds for the last decade - until we were able to address them more directly in the form of a film, Apocalypse in the Tropics, which looks specifically into the relationship of the far right and Christian fundamentalism in Brazil.Petra Costa and Alessandra Orofino are the director and producer of Apocalypse in the Tropics Continue reading...

The populism championed by Meloni and her allies casts freedom and human rights not merely as dangers but as targetsRome Wasn't Built in a Day" and neither was the consensus for the neo-fascism of the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, in Italy. As the well-known activist and writer Michela Murgia warned, Do not expect fascism to knock on your door, manifesting itself." Her words highlight how the current government's fascism has been creeping in over the years, creating enemies by instilling fear and promoting a racial and religious community that excludes those it deems different.In this community, patriarchy serves as a perfect ally, providing a means of control under the guise of the Natural Order. It enforces normality" through binary choices, centering the family around the man as the primary provider while relegating the woman to the role of the object" who generates and cares.Luisa Rizzitelli is the Italy coordinator of One Billion Rising, which campaigns to end violence against women Continue reading...

Maeve's Place serves up hearty meals and provides a place where workers with disabilities can find meaning and belongingThe menu at Maeve's Place, a cozy coffee shop nestled in the Catskill mountains, is far more extensive than that of your traditional java joint. On offer are eggs any style you wish, a range of pastries and eight types of mac and cheese. The kitchen isn't the main point, though.Iva Walsh, a single mother of four who immigrated to the US from the Czech Republic in the late 1980s, opened the upstate New York establishment in 2018 to provide work opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Her roster of nine employees includes her 26-year-old daughter, after whom the business is named. Walsh's son, Daniel Hellmayer, a 41-year-old Culinary Institute of America graduate, works at the cafe as a full-time chef. Continue reading...

As more athletes publicly express their political views, politicians also referencing sports to boost their standing Continue reading...

Washington and Beijing hoping to open new regular communication channels to avoid misunderstandingsThe United States and China have held high-level commander talks for the first time, Chinese authorities said, amid efforts to stabilise military ties and avoid misunderstandings, especially in regional hotspots such as the South China Sea.Washington hopes to open new channels of regular military communication with Beijing after ties sank to a historic low when the United States downed a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon last year. Continue reading...

A woman emerging from chemotherapy feels obliged to be filmed in a wheatfield to appease the public. What does that say about the monarchy, and us?I wonder if we will come to look back on that supposed great virtue of our age - controlling the narrative - and see it for the cornered form of submission it so often is? I felt nothing but immense pity for the cancer-stricken Princess of Wales before the release of her intimate family video yesterday, and the sheer weirdness of the resulting enterprise has only magnified the pathos of her situation. Watching the three-minute film, shot by some ad man, I wondered who could possibly feel it was anything but sad that a recovering post-chemo mother should feel that this is her best option for keeping well-wishers" at bay a little longer.A lot of people could, it seems from the feverish coverage since it dropped - meaning that convention demands I couch the notion that the existence of the video is in any way weird as my unpopular opinion". In which case, allow me to chuck in another unpopular opinion: this sort of thing appeals precisely to the grownups who when Diana died demanded that the then Queen leave off comforting her grieving 12- and 15-year-old grandsons in Scotland to come back to London - in effect to look after them instead. The selfishness and self-importance of a certain stripe of loyal subject is at best demandingly prurient and at worst grotesque. We hear a lot about the male gaze. The royalist's gaze could do with more unpicking.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

James Earl Jones won much acclaim throughout his career for his performances on stage and screen. His sonorous tones became world famous and gave voice to legendary characters such as Star Wars' principal villain, Darth Vader, and The Lion King's Mufasa. The US actor starred in a number of films and won two Tony awards in a career that spanned more than six decades. Jones died at his home in Dutchess county, New York, aged 93

The right's Michel Barnier is now PM - and the NFP must share the blame for failing to unite behind a plausible candidateMy friend Guillaume recently hit on a perfect analogy for French politics: in a scene fromSuccession, Logan Roy's children ask him why he is putting them through so much misery, and why he won't just turn his company over to them. To which the surly CEO says: I love you, but you are not serious people."The beauty of the Fifth Republic's institutions is how flexible they are. When there is a clear majority, the system is presidential. When there's not, it's parliamentary. Except, a parliament with no clear majority requires serious people willing to do the difficult work of forming a coalition that is able to govern. And unfortunately, France's collection of leftwing parties were unable to be serious about what governing entails. Continue reading...