Tuesday Briefing: Trump and Harris prepare to debate

September 10, 2024

	By Gaya Gupta

Good morning. We’re covering preparations for the U.S. presidential debate and Russian advances in eastern Ukraine.

Plus, can you spot A.I.-created videos?

🇺🇸 U.S. ELECTION

The presidential election is less than 60 days away. This is what we’re watching.

Out of focus people stand in the foreground of a room with a large sign that reads "Presidential Debate."

The debate stands to be the most important night in Kamala Harris’s political career. Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Trump and Harris prepare for a debate showdown

The first and only scheduled debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is on Tuesday in the U.S., and people are bracing for a nail-biter. It’s hard to predict what will happen, but here’s what my colleagues covering the race are watching.

“I would definitely define Harris’s debating style as aggressive,” Lisa Lerer, our politics reporter, explained in this video. “She has a philosophy that if someone hits you, you have to hit back harder.”

But in the past, Lisa added, when Harris has not methodically prepared, she has had “trouble being light on her feet.”

“That could end up being a problem with Trump, because he is, above all other things, a highly unpredictable debater,” Lisa said.

Trump has always honed a playbook of explicitly gendered attacks against female candidates and journalists that he is likely to draw from. Jess Bidgood, who writes the On Politics newsletter, reviewed his onstage clashes with women over his nine years in politics.

Trump will also face renewed scrutiny after recent appearances where he mixed up names, confused facts and stumbled over his points. His incoherent statements and outbursts have stirred concern among voters.

Here’s what else to know:

After a summer of political upheaval, the polls are finally showing what analysts expected all along: a dead heat.
The Harris campaign has planned a debate-day ad featuring several former Trump aides, including former Vice President Mike Pence, warning of the dangers of a second Trump presidency.

Do you have questions about the election? Send them to us, and we’ll find the answers.

Stay up to date: Live coverage | Poll tracker | “The Run-Up” podcast | On Politics newsletter

A person in an orange vest sitting near a ruined group of buildings.

Russian forces are trying to close in on the city of Pokrovsk, in eastern Ukraine. Nicole Tung for The New York Times

Russia’s push to capture a strategic city

Russian forces captured two villages in eastern Ukraine yesterday and are now encircling Kyiv’s forces in two locations, according to an analysis of the battlefield. It’s part of Russia’s pursuit of the territory around the city of Pokrovsk, which has remained a focus for Moscow even during Ukraine’s surprise incursion.

Neither country has commented on the status of the villages.

Details: Russia appears to be trying to cut off Ukrainian forces on two fronts: to the south of Pokrovsk and in a pocket of Ukrainian-held territory near another strategic city, Vuhledar. Experts say those areas would allow Russia to broaden lines of approach to Pokrovsk. The city is a logistics and transit hub and was recently strengthened by Ukrainian reinforcements.

Catherine, the Princess of Wales, in a royal carriage waving to crowds as her children watch beside her.

Catherine, the Princess of Wales, in June. Tolga Akmen/EPA, via Shutterstock

Kate said her chemotherapy was over

Catherine, the Princess of Wales, announced yesterday that she completed chemotherapy. Speaking in an emotional three-minute video, she said she would return to a limited number of her duties.

Kensington Palace did not indicate that Catherine was cancer-free. Officials did not offer further details on her medical condition, citing her right to privacy.

Details: The palace has never confirmed what type of cancer she was being treated for, how far the disease had progressed or the details of her treatment, beyond chemotherapy.

MORE TOP NEWS

A flooded street with water covering the first floor of multiple buildings. People stand on second floor balconies looking at the water.

A flooded street in Lang Son province in northern Vietnam. Thu Huong/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Typhoon Yagi: At least 49 people were killed and more than 700 injured as the storm caused floods and landslides in northern Vietnam.
Middle East: Syria blamed Israel for airstrikes that hit a scientific research institute in the city of Masyaf, killing at least 18 people, according to state media.
Tech: Google’s second antitrust trial started yesterday in the U.S., where the Justice Department has called for a breakup of the tech giant over its control of online ads.
Pope: Francis began a visit to East Timor, where the church’s important role in the struggle for independence has been overshadowed by accusations of sexual abuse.
Canada: Peter Nygard, the former fashion mogul, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for sexually assaulting four women. He faces three other trials.
E.U.: A long-awaited report found that Europe must increase its spending by nearly $900 billion a year to remain competitive against the U.S. and China.
U.S.: The Supreme Court judge Samuel Alito Jr. reported a gift of $900 concert tickets from a German princess known for her links to conservative activists.
Nigeria: At least 59 people were killed on Sunday after a fuel tanker collided with a passenger truck west of the capital, Abuja.
Apple: The company presented its first artificially intelligent iPhone and a new Apple Watch series.
Fashion: The British designer Sarah Burton is the new creative director at Givenchy.

Sports

A man wearing a bib that says “Guide” running with a woman on a marathon course.

Elena Congost of Spain, right, with her guide, Mia Carol Bruguera. Jennifer Lorenzini/Reuters

Paralympics: A visually impaired marathon runner was denied a medal after she let go of her tether to help her guide, who stumbled yards from the finish line.
Soccer: The hunt for Kerlon Moura Souza, creator of the strangest parlor trick in the sport, almost came up short. But then The Athletic found him.
Formula 1: Officials and teams are evaluating a rookies-only race to be held in Abu Dhabi after the end of the season. Here’s how that would work.

MORNING READ

A white line divides two sets of brain scans, with six brains in each set. On the left are those of female adolescents, and various areas are lit up in bright colors. On the right are those of male adolescents, which have far less colored areas.

Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, University of Washington

The social isolation of pandemic lockdowns rapidly aged the brains of adolescent girls, a new study found. One researcher said that an 11-year-old girl who was tested before the pandemic, and then returned to the lab at age 14, would have a brain that looked like an 18-year-old’s.

Rapid aging of this kind — which tends to happen during times of stress — has been associated with depression and anxiety, scientists said.

Lives lived: James Earl Jones, who gave life to characters like Darth Vader in “Star Wars” and Mufasa in “The Lion King,” has died at 93.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

The back story: A few weeks ago, we wrote about retirees in Shanghai looking for love. My colleague Alexandra Stevenson shared how she researched the article.
Giving old stone new life: As cities try to revive their downtowns back to prepandemic vitality, can architecture help?
Hitting snooze hard: Sleep has become something of an online fixation. Many will proudly display the extreme lengths they will go to in pursuit of better rest.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times .

ARTS AND IDEAS

A model walks a runway in an image that may or may not have been manipulated by artificial intelligence.

Is this runway model real?

Can you tell what’s A.I. and what’s real?

Artificial intelligence technology is creating more perfect faces and lifelike videos every day. It’s getting harder to tell the real from the manipulated.

Stuart Thompson, my colleague who covers the spread of misinformation, disinformation and other misleading content, created this quiz to help you learn how to tell whether video has been altered with A.I. (Heads up: It’s hard!)

RECOMMENDATIONS

A pot of chicken with rice with caramelized lemons, parsley and olives.

Ryan Liebe for The New York Times

Cook: This chicken and rice needs one pot, a few lemons and about an hour of your time.

Parent: Is your kid is ready for a phone? Consider these smartwatches and Bluetooth trackers.

Conserve: How to make sure your laundry is not just clean, but green, too.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Gaya

P.S. Anupreeta Das is joining the New Delhi team as a South Asia correspondent.

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