Tonight marks the first presidential debate of 2020
President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are squaring off on the debate stage for the first time in 2020 tonight.
The debate starts at 8 p.m. CST and is in Cleveland, Ohio.
This year, it will not be held in front of the general public as in years past. Only 70 people will be admitted into the audience tonight.
The candidates will have 90 minutes to debate on six different current issues, which were chosen by tonight’s moderator, Fox News’ Chris Wallace, and include the Supreme Court, the coronavirus, the economy, race and violence in cities and the integrity of the election, according to the New York Times.
Wallace said he will not be fact-checking during the debate.
“My job is to be as invisible as possible,” he said.
Man who killed White Settlement church shooter cleared by grand jury
Jack Wilson has been cleared by a Grand Jury of his actions in the White Settlement church shooting, according to FOX 4.
On Dec. 29, 2019, Keith Thomas Kinnunen fired a shotgun inside the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement. Wilson, a firearms instructor and volunteer security guard, shot Kinnunen, ending the shooting and his life.
Tim Rodgers, a prosecutor for the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, told the Associated Press that Texas law allows for his freedom.
COVID-19 deaths rise to 1 million worldwide
The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has officially reached 1 million as many countries are still unable to keep the virus under control, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. leads the world in confirmed cases and deaths. Over the past week, an average of 700 Americans have died each day from the coronavirus, adding on to the 205,000 total COVID-19 deaths in America.
The U.S. accounts for a fifth of the total cases reported worldwide.
The death rate is comparatively much lower than in other countries, however. Recently in Mexico, more than 10% of reported cases have ended in death. In Bolivia, France and Iran, about 5% of cases end in death. In America, less than 1% of cases end in death.
Health experts say mask usage, universal testing and contact tracing are all necessary to slow down the spread and to avoid more lockdowns in the future.
Fires continue to burn in California’s wine country
Wildfires have continued to rage on in Northern California, destroying parts of the state’s wine country.
On Monday, more than 60,000 residents living in Sonoma and Napa counties were told to evacuate as a new wildfire threatened their homes and communities.
The Glass Fire has already burned about 56 square miles, and firefighters are struggling to contain the blazes as heat and strong winds are fueling the fire.
The Glass Fire isn’t the only major fire in California. Three people died in a different wildfire closer to the Oregon border.
Cal Fire has announced that both of these fires are zero percent under control.
Overall, this summer’s fire season has been devastating for California. Twenty-nine people have died due to the fires and a record 3 million acres have been destroyed.
