9/11 Memorial: President Biden and Vice President Harris were among the dignitaries attending this morning’s 9/11 memorial ceremonies at Ground Zero in Manhattan. Donald Trump and his vice presidential candidate J. D. Vance also attended. The names of those people who died as a result of the terrorist attack in 2001 were read as they have been in the years since the World Trade Center was attacked and destroyed. Also on the schedule for Biden and Harris: a visit to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, for ceremonies honoring the passengers who prevented hijackers from using Flight 93 to attack Washington, followed by ceremonies at the Pentagon.
Taylor Swift: Global superstar Taylor Swift has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president. Swift pointed out that Donald Trump had posted a fake video made using artificial intelligence that purported to show her endorsing Trump. Swift said that she felt it is important to be sure everyone knows that what Trump posted was a fake and that she will be voting for Harris and Harris’ vice presidential running mate Tim Walz. Swift said that Trump’s use of the fake endorsement underscored for her the dangers of spreading misinformation.
Second debate: Vice President Harris has challenged Donald Trump to a second presidential debate following her clear victory over him in last night’s debate that was hosted by ABC News. Harris dominated the evening from the first moment she walked across the stage to shake hands with Trump. She provoked Trump into becoming angry and being unable to logically refute her when she invited viewers to attend a Trump rally so they could see that people become bored and leave while Trump is speaking.
Immigrants: During last night’s debate, Donald Trump kept returning to immigration as an issue even when the questions he was asked had nothing to do with immigration. Harris noted that when Congress had agreed on a bipartisan bill to reform immigration and add 1,500 border patrol officers Trump told Republicans to kill the bill so he could continue to make immigration a campaign issue. Trump also repeated the false story that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing dogs and cats and eating the pets. When moderator David Muir said ABC News found nothing to support the story, Trump kept repeating the falsehood.
Fact-checking: CNN’s fact-checker Daniel Dale says he found that Donald Trump’s debate performance was “staggeringly dishonest,” marked by lie after lie. Dale found that Trump made at least 33 false claims during the debate contrasted with only one by Harris. “A lot of his false claims were untethered to reality,” Dale said. As an example he pointed to Trump’s claim that Democrats wanted Roe v. Wade overturned and that crime is at record highs when actually it is down in the U.S.
Inflation: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, stood at 2.5% in August, an increase of 0.2% from July. The cost of shelter rose 0.5% in August and was the main factor in the overall increase. The cost of energy fell 0.8% over the month, after being unchanged the preceding month. Other costs that rose in August included airline fares, motor vehicle insurance, education, and apparel. The indexes for used cars and trucks, household furnishings and operations, medical care, communication, and recreation were among those that decreased over the month.
