Harris comes out swinging in presidential debate | First Thing

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.

“World leaders are laughing at Donald Trump,” said the vice-president. “I have talked to military leaders, some of whom worked with you, and they say you’re a disgrace.”

A CNN snap poll found that voters thought Harris had won the debate by a margin of 63% to 37%. Even a Fox News analyst declared Harris the winner, as she taunted Trump about people leaving his rallies early from “boredom and exhaustion”, clearly rattling the former president, who took the bait again and again.

• 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.

In other news …

Stat of the day: Smoke from wildfires sweeping through the Amazon has covered 60% of Brazil

Wildfires have been burning through the Amazon rainforest in Brazil for weeks now, fuelled by the region’s worst drought in 40 years. More than 340,000 people have reportedly been affected, with all 62 municipalities of the Amazonas state declaring a state of emergency. The effects of the wildfires and drought have reached as far away as Rio and São Paulo, and an expert from Brazil’s space institution, Inpe, said smoke from the fires had now covered a 5m sq km area – about 60% of the country.

Don’t miss this: The coal plant and the ghost town

Ohio’s Gavin coal plant has been called the deadliest coal plant in the US, with the Sierra Club estimating that its pollution has led to about 244 premature deaths a year. Two decades ago, it destroyed something much more: the entire town of Cheshire, Ohio. The several hundred residents here often complained about the toxic, blue-tinged fog of pollution from the plant. The solution: the company causing the pollution bought the entire town, moving people en masse from their homes.

“Rather than deal with the source of pollution, they thought it better to buy out and bulldoze a whole town,” said Neil Waggoner, an Ohio-based campaigner at the Sierra Club. “It’s extraordinary. In many ways, it’s dystopian.”

… or this: Florida’s ‘draconian’ new anti-homelessness law

A Florida law criminalizing sleeping in public spaces that will take effect next month will do nothing to alleviate the state’s homelessness crisis, the mayor of Fort Lauderdale has warned. Specifically, a clause of the law that goes into effect in January, which allows for legal action against any municipality that fails to curb rough sleeping, has Dean Trantalis concerned about a “tsunami of lawsuits” set to hit the city.

Climate check: The hotel development threatening a giant tortoise habitat in Seychelles

Conservationists are raising alarm over plans for an upscale resort in Seychelles, concerned that this Qatari-funded hotel development will disrupt the habitat of the largest giant tortoise population in the world. Developers for the resort on Assomption, located just 17 miles (27km) from the Unesco-protected ecosystem of the Aldabra atoll, said they would follow world-class sustainability practices. But wildlife biologists argue that the project is being rushed through without sufficient analysis of the risks posed to island fauna, which also includes whales, turtles and many species of birds.

Last Thing: How to get a better night’s sleep

One in three Americans sleep less than the recommended seven to nine hours a night, according to the Centers for Disease Control – a shortfall that has serious health consequences. Behavioral experts spoke to the Guardian about some of the most common sleep mistakes people are making, including using screens before bed and spending too much time awake in bed – but also eating too much or too little, and not getting enough sleep on weekends.

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