Fact-checking the Trump-Harris debate. And, food delivery could ...
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Today's top storiesVice President Harris and former President Donald Trump faced off last night over topics including the economy, abortion, foreign policy and immigration. Throughout the debate, Trump’s tried to tie Harris to President Biden's record and distance himself from abortion restrictions. Harris tried to define herself to voters as a new and younger leader who cares about them and tie Trump to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and its aftermath. Here are some takeaways from the debate.
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks as former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump listens during a presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 10, 2024. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
A government shutdown looms as Congress must pass a stop-gap spending bill before the end of the month. The House is set to vote today on an opening offer from House Republicans that will begin the negotiations. Republicans want to attach what they call the SAVE Act to the bill, which would require voters to prove citizenship to prevent noncitizens from voting. The partisan bill is drawing opposition from Democrats and some Republicans.
???? NPR’s Claudia Grisales says Trump weighed in on the topic yesterday, saying Republicans shouldn’t agree to anything unless the provision is in the temporary funding plan. Democrats on the other hand want a relatively straightforward temporary funding bill that perhaps includes some disaster aid. Grisales says it's common for one or both sides to begin negotiations with proposals they know will never get passed — usually to prove a political point. Democrats and some moderate Republicans say the way out is to fund the government and leave the fights to the side.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, today on a joint visit with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy. The trip comes hours after the presidential debate, where the candidates had starkly different views on what to do about Ukraine. The country wants the U.S. to lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons provided by the U.S. to hit military targets in Russia.
???? There seems to be some momentum to lift restrictions, especially after Blinken and Lammy revealed that Iran was supplying Russia with ballistic missiles, NPR’s Joanna Kakissis says. Ukraine says using these long-range weapons is the best way to stop Russian troops advancing on Ukrainian land and killing people in its cities. Ukrainians followed last night’s debate. Harris made it clear she would continue support for Ukraine, while Trump seemed to evade talking about support, saying only that he will end the war, but not specifying how. Climate solutions weekAn Uber Eats delivery courier rides an electric bicycle through the Park Slope neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York. Amir Hamja/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
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Amir Hamja/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Food production and transportation make up as much as one-third of a typical U.S. household's annual contribution to climate change-inducing emissions. An estimated 30% of food produced in the country is wasted. Once it's in landfills, rotting food creates methane — a potent gas that heats the Earth. Minimizing waste and reducing transportation might have a significant impact on the pollution that causes climate change. One possible better solution: home delivery. That’s because with a delivery vehicle, when a driver drops off your groceries they’re often also delivering to neighbors during the same run.
???? Check out all of NPR's Climate Solutions Week stories, including why experts say the science behind "regenerative agriculture" practices is more complicated than you think. From our hostsby Michel Martin, Morning Edition host
Do you remember where you were on Sept. 11, 2001?
For some people the question is almost an insult. How could they forget? For the families of the 2,977 people who died and the tens of thousands of people estimated to have been affected by the smoke, dust, falling debris and trauma, the day marks the end of one life and the beginning of another.
Flags and flowers are placed by the names of those killed during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, at the reflecting pools at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in New York. Donald King/AP hide caption
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Donald King/AP
But for other people, especially people born after the 9/11 attacks, who were too young to remember, who lived far away or who have lots of other things to worry about — the question might feel like a scolding in disguise. How many sad days are people supposed to hold close? How many tragedies?
We are not great with memory in America. We often think other people’s memories are too long. We wonder why their ancient hatreds loom so large today. But sometimes it seems as if our memories are too short; we don’t understand why pain lingers or why some people can’t “just get over it” — whatever “it” is.
Maybe there’s a middle ground. On a day like 9/11, maybe we could just take a moment to notice the people around us and ask, “Is this a special day for you? Do you want to talk about it? Did you lose someone? Tell me about that person.”
It can’t hurt to ask, and to listen.
In memory of Fire Patrol Sgt Norman E. McQueen, Jr.
3 things to know before you goUganda's Rebecca Cheptegei (third from left), died after being set on fire in her home. The man who allegedly attacked her has also died, in a case that has renewed calls for more awareness and protections for women against domestic violence in Kenya. FERENC ISZA/AFP via Getty Images/AFP hide caption
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FERENC ISZA/AFP via Getty Images/AFP
This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.