The Evening: It’s debate night

Also, Louisiana is bracing for Francine.

View in browser|nytimes.com September 10, 2024 By Matthew Cullen Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Tuesday. The Harris-Trump debate An Israeli strike on a Gaza camp Plus, Liane Moriarty's new novel The debate stands to be the most important night in Kamala Harris's political career. Kenny Holston/The New York Times Tonight's debate will focus on defining Kamala Harris Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will square off tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern for their first, and likely only, debate during this unusually compressed presidential campaign. You can watch the event live on The Times website, alongside real-time analysis from reporters. It could prove to be the most crucial 90 minutes of the entire race, our politics reporter Reid Epstein told me. Tens of millions of viewers will tune in for what could be their first unscripted impression of the candidates, just days before early voting begins. Expect Trump to try to shape public perceptions of Harris. And Harris, the candidate many voters say they still need to learn more about, will likely try to define herself on her own terms. Here's a quick run-down of the debate rules. Harris, Reid said, "has the opportunity to introduce herself to voters, especially the relatively small subset of those whose votes are up for grabs, and make the case that she is presidential." Her aides want her to cast herself as a defender of the middle-class and goad Trump — who would be the oldest person ever elected president — into one of his incoherent rants. Reid added that "Trump, who is much more defined in the public eye, is going to be trying to disqualify Harris by tying her to President Biden." The former president's team wants him to turn the conversation back to areas they consider winning terrain: the economy, immigration and global chaos. More from the campaign trail The presidential election is 56 days away. This is where Harris and Trump stand on key issues, and where they have changed their positions. On economic questions, Trump says tariffs are the solution to almost any problem. Harris focuses on reducing prices, a key vulnerability of the Biden administration. Trump has vowed to prosecute those he sees as working to deny him a victory. Do you have questions about the election? Send them to us, and we'll find the answers. The site of an Israeli strike on Al-Mawasi in the southern Gaza Strip. Haitham Imad/EPA, via Shutterstock Israel said it targeted militants in a Gaza tent camp Israeli airstrikes today left craters close to 50 feet wide in a humanitarian area in southern Gaza where Palestinians had crowded for shelter. The Israeli military said the strikes had targeted three senior Hamas militants; Gazan officials said that at least 19 people were killed. The craters, along with a bomb fragment, provided strong evidence that Israel used 2,000-pound bombs, which the U.S. had warned can cause excessive civilian casualties. Filling sandbags in Chalmette, La. David Grunfeld/The New Orleans Advocate, via Associated Press Louisiana is bracing for Francine Officials in Louisiana cleared storm drains and distributed sandbags to prepare for Tropical Storm Francine, which is expected to strengthen into a hurricane tonight before making landfall tomorrow. The storm, which now has sustained speeds of up to 65 miles per hour, could bring heavy rainfall and a dangerous storm surge to the state's southern coast. We're tracking the storm live. Parts of an FGC-9 homemade firearm seized in Germany in July 2021. via Koblenz Public Prosecutor's Office, Germany An Illinois man's 3D-printed guns are used around the world The FGC-9 may look as if it was made out of Legos, but it is a real 3D-printed semiautomatic firearm that has been used by paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, rebels in Myanmar and neo-Nazis in Spain. No one has done more to promote the weapon — which can be built from scratch without regulated parts — than a 26-year-old American named John Elik. Governments are struggling to keep up. More top news Los Angeles: Several fast-moving wildfires were threatening homes and forcing evacuations in the mountains around the city amid a punishing heat wave. Abortion: Missouri voters will be asked whether to make abortion a constitutionally protected right. Ukraine: One of its largest drone attacks of the war struck deep inside Russia, killing a woman in the Moscow area, setting off fires and closing airports. New York City: Mayor Eric Adams's administration is seeking the resignation of Edward Caban, the police commissioner, after federal agents seized his cellphone. Health: A study of nearly one million births found that doctors give Black women unnecessary cesarean sections to fill operating rooms. Food: Two years before a deadly listeria outbreak, inspectors warned that conditions at a Boar's Head plant posed an "imminent threat" to public health. Space: Polaris Dawn, a mission that will take people farther from Earth than anyone has traveled since the end of NASA's Apollo moon missions, launched today. Iran: The U.S. accused Tehran of sending missiles to Russia and vowed to impose sanctions. Congress: Speaker Mike Johnson's initial plan to avert a government shutdown ran into a wall of Republican opposition. Utah: The state paid a wealthy software executive millions to knock down trees at his hunting retreat on the basis of questionable science. TIME TO UNWIND Liane Moriarty's new novel examines how one moment can change a life forever. Nic Gossage for The New York Times Australia's fiction powerhouse is back with a new story Liane Moriarty's books, like "Big Little Lies" and "Nine Perfect Strangers," have sold more than 20 million copies and have been adapted into glossy television shows starring Nicole Kidman and Annette Bening. Moriarty intended to take a year off writing; instead, she wrote "Here One Moment," which is out today. The novel is about a woman who stands up in the middle of a flight and starts telling passengers how and when they will die. Her prose goes down easy, our reviewer wrote, but at more than 500 pages, the book often misses the wallop of a good, taut thriller. Brian Frange rates apples on his personal F100 scale. via Brian Frange Tips from an apple evangelist Brian Frange wants you to know that there are tastier apples than Red Delicious, which he describes as "coffee grinds in a leather glove." Not long ago, he had no idea. But once Frange tasted a SweeTango — he calls it the "holy grail" — he decided to develop an apple ranking system and to spread the word about the most delicious varieties. Before you go picking, Frange recommends checking which varieties your local orchard offers. You don't want to get stuck with Sweet Orins, or what he calls "the impostor apple." The Frank E. Campbell funeral home in New York City. Vincent Tullo for The New York Times Dinner table topics Discreet mortuary: Everybody dies. But not everybody is embalmed at Frank E. Campbell, the funeral home for New York's power brokers and celebrities. No-nonsense designs: Americans increasingly want to dress like Swedes. Workhorse shows: Broadway's revivals keep coming back because they dig into themes that work in any time or culture. Love on Aisle 9: A Spanish grocery store got a reputation as an unlikely dating hub. WHAT TO DO TONIGHT Christopher Testani for The New York Times Cook: Mix sweet and savory with these skillet pork chops with miso caramel. Watch: Check out some of the best films starring James Earl Jones, who died yesterday. Read: Yuval Noah Harari's study of human communication is long, entertaining and scary. Listen: Can't get a song out of your head? We have tips. Design: It's hard to beat a cozy window seat come fall. Exercise: Squats don't have to be hard on the knees. Here's how. Compete: Take our quiz about sports books that became movies. Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all of our games here. ONE LAST THING Graham Dickie/The New York Times This 8-year-old is charming the fashion world It takes a lot to stand out at New York Fashion Week, where designers from around the world push the envelope. But Max Alexander, who showed off his dresses today at an event in Lower Manhattan, is generating a buzz with an early start to his career: He is in the third grade. Alexander's young interest in design and his knack for sewing have earned him more than three million followers on Instagram and the attention of several celebrities. Have a youthful evening. Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Matthew Sean Kawasaki-Culligan was our photo editor today. We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com. Writer: Matthew Cullen Editorial Director: Adam Pasick Editors: Carole Landry, Whet Moser, Justin Porter, Jonathan Wolfe Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for The Evening from The New York Times. To stop receiving The Evening, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. 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