First thing: Harris, Trump agree to televised debate | US News

Good morning.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will face off for the first time on September 10 in a highly anticipated televised debate on ABC, the network confirmed Thursday, as Harris continues to gain ground, leaving the Trump campaign in a quandary.

The vice president told reporters in Michigan she was looking forward to it as Trump held a rambling, hour-long news conference at Mar-a-Lago. Harris, a former prosecutor known for her pragmatic questioning in Senate hearings, won praise for her performance in the 2020 vice presidential debate, in which she refused to allow Mike Pence to speak louder than her.

What did Trump say at the press conference? Trump attacked Harris and falsely claimed that no one was killed in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. He got upset about the comparison of crowd sizes and said he wanted to hold three debates. Earlier, Trump had suggested he would pull out of the September 10 debate that had been previously scheduled with Joe Biden before the latter withdrew from his re-election campaign.

What are the polls saying? While Biden has lagged Trump in key battleground states, Harris has gained ground, particularly after announcing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. An Ipsos poll released Thursday gave Harris a 42% lead over Trump to 37%, compared with a Reuters/Ipsos poll from July 22-23 that gave her a 37% lead to Trump’s 34%.

How has the Trump campaign responded to Kamala Harris’s rise? The concerns have created fractures within Trumpworld, with some Maga allies criticizing Trump’s political advisers for trying to portray Kamala Harris as more progressive than she is and launching Willie Horton-style attacks, inspired by old Republican methods, suggesting that she is directly responsible for crimes committed by some migrants.

One person killed by tornadoes caused by Tropical Storm DebbyA high school in Wilson County, North Carolina, was damaged by a tornado. Photograph: Christopher Long/AP

Tropical Storm Debby hit North Carolina, bringing heavy rain, flooding and tornadoes that flattened homes, damaged a school and killed one person early Thursday. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said in a briefing that the state has mobilized more National Guard troops and added additional vehicles that could rescue people in the event of flooding.

How many people have died from Tropical Storm Debby? At least seven people have died from the storm, which made its first landfall Monday morning on Florida's Gulf Coast. Debby made a second landfall in South Carolina early Thursday, and more flooding is expected in North and South Carolina before the storm leaves those states.

Attacks on commercial ships by Yemen's Houthi rebel group have put a vital global shipping route at risk. Photograph: Luke Dray/Getty Images

Three suspected attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted an oil tanker in the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea. Follow here for more live coverage of the Middle East crisis.

Wall Street had its best trading day in nearly two years, recovering most of the losses suffered earlier this week during a wave of selling triggered by U.S. economic fears.

The US Supreme Court's ruling on immunity is expected to delay by another month the prosecution of Trump over his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

A 57-year-old woman was found dead and entangled in machinery in a baggage handling area at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

Stat of the day: Seniors account for more than a quarter of homeless deaths in Los AngelesThousands of seniors have died while homeless in Los Angeles over the past decade. Photograph: Apu Gomes/AFP/Getty Images

An analysis of public records by the Guardian found that residents aged 60 and over accounted for more than a quarter of all homeless deaths in Los Angeles over the past 10 years. More than 3,000 of the 11,500 people who died while homeless in Los Angeles County between 2014 and 2023 were elderly, highlighting the vulnerability of elderly residents in one of the most expensive regions in the US. Of the 3,000 homeless elderly who died, 221 were aged 75 and over, including dozens of people in their 80s and two people aged 92.

Don't miss: Extreme heat in Texas state prisonsProtesters outside the Texas State Capitol in Austin are demanding air conditioning in Texas state prisons. Photograph: Sergio Flores/AFP/Getty Images

As extreme heat becomes a part of daily summer life in the United States due to the climate crisis, inmates in the Texas prison system are suing the state Department of Criminal Justice over the lack of air conditioning in the state's prisons after several people died whose relatives say they died from overheating.

Texas prisoners are being cooked to death, reads the first line of the complaint, which accuses the state of subjecting inmates to cruel and unusual punishments prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.

“You would be arrested if you treated a dog that way,” testified lead plaintiff Bernie Tiede, who told the court he had a stroke last year while in a jail without air conditioning.

or this: Running in America's Worst AirDenver is the city with the most air pollution in the United States. Photograph: Thomas Peipert/AP

Denver, Colorado, has long been ranked among the nation’s most athletic cities, drawing runners, hikers, bikers and climbers. But the city is also often the most polluted in the United States, due to a weather phenomenon called the “inversion effect,” in which cold air on the ground is trapped by a layer of warm air above, preventing air pollution from drifting skyward. That, combined with a population boom that has led to more traffic jams and wildfire smoke that shrouds the city in thick fog, often makes America’s most athletic city an unhealthy place to exercise.

The natural runner's high that I and dozens of other Denver runners seek can be altered when I take deep breaths of polluted air, leaving my lungs heavy, my throat burning, and my head dizzy, as if I've spent the last hour sucking on the exhaust of a big rig, writes Josiah Hesse.

ignore newsletter promotion

Our US Morning Briefing breaks down the day's top stories, telling you what's happening and why it matters.

Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising, and content funded by third parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

after newsletter promotion

Climate Check: How Gridded Geothermal Energy Could Change CitiesGeothermal energy is one energy source that engineers can harness. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

Geothermal energy is a massive source of energy that flows through the ground beneath the feet of Americans across the country. Major utility companies are now starting to look for ways to harness it as a source of heating or cooling for homes.

A few months ago, Eversource Energy commissioned the nation's first networked geothermal district, operated by a utility in Framingham, Massachusetts, by running pipes through boreholes about 600 to 700 feet deep, where the rock temperature is consistently 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

Through these pipes, a mixture of water and propylene glycol (a food additive that functions here as an antifreeze) is pumped to absorb this geothermal energy before flowing to 31 residential buildings and five commercial buildings, where all-electric heat pumps use the liquid to heat or cool a space.

Last thing: Chaos returns to the United StatesCalifornia has deployed all diplomatic means to welcome two new pandas. Photograph: Sandy Huffaker/AFP/Getty Images

Panda diplomacy is back in the United States for the first time in 21 years, with the arrival of two giant pandas at the San Diego Zoo amid much fanfare and pomp. Yun Chuan is a nearly five-year-old male panda described by the zoo as gentle, kind and adorable, and Xin Bao is a nearly four-year-old female panda described by the zoo as a sweet and witty introvert with a cute round face and big ears.

The Chinese government has loaned its giant pandas to zoos around the world for decades, but has stopped renewing its loans to the United States due to deteriorating relations between the two countries. Only four other giant pandas currently live in the United States, all at Zoo Atlanta.

However, Chinese President Xi Jinping said last year that he was willing to continue cooperation with the United States on panda conservation. In addition to Yun Chuan and Xin Bao in San Diego, the Smithsonian National Zoo is set to welcome a new pair of pandas by the end of the year, after its last bears returned to China last November.

Register

Sign up for the US morning briefing

First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you're not already subscribed, subscribe now.

Get in touch

If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters, please email newsletters@theguardian.com

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: cgurgu@internetmarketingcompany.BizWebsite: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos