The Times of Israel is liveblogging Wednesday’s events as they happen.
Anti-Israel protesters rally outside US presidential debate venue in Philadelphia
Demonstrators are protesting against Israel over the war with Hamas, outside the venue in Philadelphia where the US presidential debate is scheduled.
Scores of people line the streets shouting: “Justice is our demand,” carrying banners and flags and holding signs that read “arms embargo now.”
At least two of the demonstrators wave flags of Palestinian terror groups — one holds up a green banner for the Islamist Hamas, and the other a red flag for the Marxist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
NOW: "Come November we'll remember!" – hundreds chant as they march through Philadelphia headed towards the Kamala Harris vs Donald Trump debate. pic.twitter.com/0HqVpbEaP6
— Oliya Scootercaster ???? (@ScooterCasterNY) September 10, 2024
Harris and Trump set to square off in high-stakes US presidential debate
Donald Trump has arrived in Philadelphia for a potentially game-changing televised debate with Kamala Harris, the rivals’ first and possibly only clash before November’s knife-edge US presidential election.
The stakes could hardly be higher for the Democratic vice president and Republican former president, with tens of millions of American voters expected to watch them at 9 p.m. Eastern Time Tuesday (4 a.m. Wednesday in Israel).
A single zinger or gaffe during the 90-minute debate could tip the balance of one of the most dramatic White House races in US history, with the candidates neck-and-neck in the polls just 56 days before the November 5 vote.
Trump, 78, touched down in his plane — dubbed Trump Force One — just over two hours ahead of the ABC News-hosted broadcast, while Harris had arrived in the eastern city on Monday.
The pressure is arguably greater for Harris, America’s first female, Black and South Asian vice president, as she takes part in her first presidential debate.
It will be a critical chance to win over voters who still know little about her, as polls showing her honeymoon starting to fade after jumping into the race to replace 81-year-old President Joe Biden in July.
Former reality TV star Trump will attack Harris on issues like the economy and immigration, but may also unleash more of the racist and sexist insults that he’s directed her way during the campaign.
Harris, who enjoys a significant advantage among women according to the polls, is expected to press Trump on reproductive rights after his contradictory comments recently on abortion access.
The debate will be held without an audience, while the rivals’ microphones will only be on when it’s their turn to speak and remain muted otherwise.
Iraqi security officials report explosion at US-led coalition’s Baghdad airport base
BAGHDAD — Iraqi security officials say an explosion was heard late Tuesday at a US-led coalition’s base at Baghdad airport, a day before Iran’s president was due to visit.
The Iraqi forces’s statement, published by state news agency INA, says they are unable to determine “the origin of the explosion” but that air traffic is continuing normally and no flights were interrupted.
Pentagon: Austin urged Gallant ‘to reexamine IDF’s rules of engagement in West Bank’
WASHINGTON — US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin tells Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that he has “grave concern for the Israel Defense Force’s responsibility for the unprovoked and unjustified death” of American citizen Aysenur Eygi in the West Bank, the Pentagon says.
“The Secretary urged Minister Gallant to reexamine the IDF’s rules of engagement while operating in the West Bank,” the Pentagon says in a statement.