Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump took to the stage in Philadelphia Tuesday evening for their first and only scheduled presidential debate. The event was hosted by ABC News and did not include any third-party candidates. Harris repeatedly put Trump on the defensive as they debated abortion, immigration, Israel’s war on Gaza, race, January 6 and other issues.

Vice President Kamala Harris: “Donald Trump left us the worst unemployment since the Great Depression. Donald Trump left us the worst public health epidemic in a century. Donald Trump left us the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War. And what we have done is clean up Donald Trump’s mess.”

Donald Trump repeated his false claim that he won the 2020 election. He also doubled down on a baseless, racist lie that Haitian immigrants were stealing and eating people’s pets in the city of Springfield, Ohio. 

Donald Trump: “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”

Trump’s remarks came even after Springfield’s town manager confirmed there had been “no credible reports” that pets or other animals had been harmed by immigrants. Following the debate, the legendary pop star Taylor Swift endorsed Harris, calling her “a steady-handed, gifted leader.” She signed her endorsement in an Instagram post as “Childless Cat Lady,” referring to comments by Trump’s running mate JD Vance. After headlines, we’ll air clips of the debate and hold a roundtable discussion.

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli attacks have killed more than two dozen Palestinians over the past 24 hours. Among the dead are 13 members of a single family across three generations who were killed when Israel bombed their home in Khan Younis. On Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres joined a chorus of international condemnation over Israel’s attack on a tent encampment of displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi, which Israel had designated as a so-called safe zone. The assault killed at least 40 people and injured more than 60 others. Survivors said the blasts buried entire families under the sand and littered the camp with body parts.

Taghreed Abu Asi: “Children became orphans. We became homeless. Where should we go? They said, 'Go to al-Mawasi.' We went to al-Mawasi. They hit us after we were displaced many times. Where are we supposed to go?”

An Al Jazeera investigation found the massacre was carried out by U.S.-made MK-84 bombs produced by General Dynamics. 

Meanwhile, Israel has stepped up its attacks on southern Lebanon, with reports of at least 20 Israeli airstrikes overnight that damaged farms and property and sparked intense wildfires. Israel’s military claims one of the strikes killed a Hezbollah commander in the Beqaa Valley.

In the occupied West Bank, Israel’s military put the city of Tubas under siege as it carried out an airstrike that killed five Palestinians. Two of the dead were teenagers. Israeli forces also killed two Palestinians during another raid on the city of Tulkarm. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reports Israeli attacks have killed nearly 700 people across the West Bank over the past year.

The family of the Turkish American activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi says the White House has not called to offer condolences after Eygi was fatally shot in the head by an Israeli sniper at a protest in the West Bank town of Beita last Friday. On Tuesday, President Biden said he believed Eygi was killed by accident and that the bullet that struck her ricocheted off the ground. The Israeli military said in a statement it was “highly likely” Eygi was shot by its forces “indirectly and unintentionally” in fire that was not aimed at Eygi but another protester. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meanwhile, criticized Israel’s military for Eygi’s death.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken: “Her killing was both unprovoked and unjustified. No one — no one should be shot and killed for attending a protest. No one should have to put their life at risk just for freely expressing their views. In our judgment, Israeli security forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way that they operate in the West Bank, including changes to their rules of engagement.”

Despite those remarks, the Biden administration has yet to put any conditions on U.S. arms transfers to Israel, including $20 billion in additional weapons sales approved last month.

Canada’s top diplomat says her government has suspended about 30 permits for arms shipments to Israel. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Tuesday she had also canceled a contract with the U.S.-based weapons maker General Dynamics to sell 50,000 Canadian-produced mortar rounds to the Israeli military.

Mélanie Joly: “Our policy is clear: We will not have any form of arms or parts of arms be sent to Gaza, period. How they’re being sent and where they’re being sent is irrelevant.”

In a statement, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East called on Joly to cancel all permits and to proactively block the transfer of any weapons from reaching Israel. The group added, “It is concerning that when Joly says that weapons cannot be used Gaza she is intentionally excluding the West Bank, where Israel has been killing one Palestinian child every two days. We should accept no more weapons to Israel, period.” 

In Philadelphia, several people were arrested Tuesday evening as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the venue of the presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump to demand an end to U.S. support for Israel’s war on Gaza.

Michelle: “I’m definitely not going to be voting for Trump or Harris. They are both war criminals. And Kamala wants to act like she is one of the people, and she is not. She is part of the same administration sending bombs to Gaza.”

Ahead of Tuesday’s debate, Minnesota governor and Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz was heckled by pro-Palestine protesters during a campaign event in Phoenix, Arizona.

Meanwhile, in Australia, hundreds of protesters rallied outside a weapons industry convention in Melbourne earlier today. Police fired stun grenades, rubber bullets and pepper spray, arresting dozens of demonstrators. Hundreds of weapons traders representing at least 30 countries are expected to attend the Land Forces 2024 military weapons expo this week.

Hundreds of protesters stormed Mexico’s Senate Tuesday, disrupting debate on a highly contested judiciary overhaul measure. This came just hours after the Morena ruling party garnered enough votes to pass the proposed court reform, which would see judges, including those on the Mexican Supreme Court, be elected by the people. The move has been championed by outgoing Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who says the reform would crack down on corruption across courts. Critics argue the plan could threaten judicial independence.

Missouri’s Supreme Court has allowed a ballot measure enshrining abortion rights in the state’s constitution to remain on November’s ballot. Tuesday’s ruling came just before the deadline to print ballots for mail-in voters. If approved by voters, the measure could undo Missouri’s near-total abortion ban, which went into effect after the Supreme Court’s ruling that gutted Roe v. Wade in 2022. At least eight other states, including Arizona and Florida, will vote on similar measures in November. After headlines, we’ll have more on reproductive rights, a major topic in last night’s presidential debate.

In Vietnam, the death toll from Typhoon Yagi has risen to 155. On Wednesday, a flash flood swept away an entire small village, killing at least 30 people; dozens more remain missing.

Here in the U.S., Louisiana and Mississippi have declared states of emergency as Hurricane Francine approaches the Gulf Coast, bringing potentially life-threatening storm surges. The hurricane has prompted oil and gas companies to shut down operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

A new report by Global Witness finds nearly 200 environmental defenders were killed around the globe last year. Colombia once again topped the list as the deadliest nation for environmentalists and activists with at least 79 people killed — most of them Indigenous, Afro-Colombians and farmers. The second most deadly country was Brazil. Here in the U.S., the report condemned the police killing of environmental activist Manuel Esteban Terán, known as Tortuguita, during a raid on a Stop Cop City encampment in Atlanta, Georgia. Tortuguita, who was 26 years old, was struck 57 times by police bullets while peacefully protesting the multimillion-dollar police training complex. No officers have been charged in Tortuguita’s killing.