Feels like the first time. That’s because tonight’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and convicted felon Donald Trump will indeed be their first in-person encounter.
■ Pod Save America host Dan Pfeiffer: “Back in the day, I argued that the importance of presidential debates was vastly overstated. … I don’t make that argument anymore.”
■ Among the rules: Neither candidate gets an opening statement.
■ A Tribune editorial: The debate demands merciless moderators …
■ … but Chicago-born author and journalist Jonathan Alter has low expectations: “David Muir and Linsey Davis of ABC News … have no experience covering politics.”
■ USA Today’s Rex Huppke offers questions they should ask to “pierce Trump’s armor of blather.”
■ The AP: ABC News has plenty on the line tonight, too.
■ Satirist Andy Borowitz: “Trump Backs Out of Debate After Voices Inside His Head Refuse to be Muted.”
See here. The debate begins at 8 p.m. Chicago time—and it’ll be hard to avoid.
■ It’ll stream free on YouTube.
■ PolitiFact will scrutinize the proceedings in real-time.
‘You know what she should do? Show up as a Black woman.’ Late Night host Seth Meyers embraces suggestions that Harris “bait” Trump at the debate.
■ Jimmy Kimmel predicts the candidates will get questions “on all the big issues: The economy, immigration, electrocution, sharks …”
■ Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart go live tonight after the debate …
■ … but Saturday Night Live’s not back until Sept. 28.
Nervous? City Cast Chicago shares advice from a therapist who specializes in election-based anxiety.
■ The Reader’s Ben Joravsky isn’t that concerned: “Democrats have had more success than the Cubs, winning three out of the last four presidential elections.”
■ Here’s the Times piece in question.
■ Public Notice’s Stephen Robinson: “Trump is clearly unraveling. It’s five-alarm news that doesn’t get the attention it deserves.”
■ Law Dork Chris Geidner: “In search of debate fodder, CNN pushes an anti-trans Kamala Harris hit piece.”
■ Tech columnist Taylor Lorenz: Teenagers are making thousands of dollars a month debating Harris vs. Trump on TikTok.
‘An ear had never appeared to have gone through less.’ New York’s Olivia Nuzzi recounts an up-close look at Trump’s wound during her interview with him three weeks after an attempt on his life.
■ Popular Information: “Trump is not just running for president; he’s also launching a new crypto company.”
‘Their latest desperate attempt before Election Day.’ Florida Republicans—led by Gov. Ron DeSantis—are under fire for police questioning of voters who signed an abortion-rights ballot petition.
■ The ACLU: “This is what we would expect to see from an authoritarian regime.”
■ Columnist and comics editor Mike Gold recalls a 1987 story that presaged Trump’s nonsense: “Retroactive abortion.”
‘Brace yourself for even worse.’ Chicago magazine’s Ted McClelland envisions what a second Trump term would mean for the city.
■ Cartoonist Tom Tomorrow offers a view of the world through “MAGA goggles.”
Freeze game. Facing an anticipated $223 million budget hole, Mayor Johnson’s imposing a Chicago government hiring and travel freeze.
■ Politico’s Shia Kapos: “It’s a band-aid fix” …
■ … and it casts the city’s almost-$1-million fence to keep homeless people out of the Democratic National Convention in a new light.
■ Former Gov.* Pat Quinn encourages Illinois voters to take advantage in November of their first-ever “direct referendum opportunity at the ballot box to demand mandatory property tax relief.”
‘That age is too young.’ The Georgia school shooting has prompted introduction of Illinois legislation that would require owners to lock away guns in any home with kids under 18—instead of the present 13.
■ Newly released bodycam video shows a police deputy interviewing the alleged Georgia shooter and his father last year.
■ A CTA worker who witnessed a shooting on the Red Line says the agency’s leaders “don’t care about our safety.”
Apple’s overhauls. The company’s rolled out a raft of updated tech.
■ Wirecutter’s not impressed: “If you want to get off the upgrade hamster wheel, here are six ways to make your phone last as long as possible.”
■ Coming next week: Free software updates for Apple phones, computers, watches and more.
■ Considering switching wireless networks? Advisorator Jared Newman says you can try before you buy.
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