The New York Times Morning Briefing - September 11, 2024 - by Jonathan Wolfe - covering the U.S. presidential debate and an Israeli strike on a tent camp in Gaza.

 

September 11, 2024

	By Jonathan Wolfe

Good morning. We’re covering the U.S. presidential debate and an Israeli strike on a tent camp in Gaza.

Plus: Looking for love in the grocery stores of Spain.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump during the debate. Doug Mills/The New York Times

Harris put Trump on the defensive in a fierce debate

Vice President Kamala Harris took the debate stage on Tuesday night, shook the hand of former President Donald Trump and then spent the next 90 minutes making every effort to burrow under his skin. She hammered him over his criminal convictions, his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, the size of his rally crowds and the foreign and military leaders who she said have called him a “disgrace.”

“It’s time to turn the page,” Harris said in an aggressive performance that seemed to draw on her career as a courtroom prosecutor. Trump often took the bait, responding to Harris’s critiques with a hail of misinformation and personal attacks.

The debate, the first-ever face-to-face meeting between Harris and Trump, underscored just how much the race has changed since President Biden dropped out. Harris was for the most part able to deliver a crisp and clear message. Trump seemed angry and defensive.

But while there were plenty of fierce exchanges, there did not seem to be a knockout blow that could fundamentally alter the dynamics of what by all measures will be an exceedingly close election in November.

More on the U.S. Election Americans head to the polls in less than eight weeks. Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris after the debate, saying the evening convinced her to weigh in publicly. Trump has pledged to cut Americans’ energy costs in half in the span of a year. Experts and analysts are skeptical. This is where Harris and Trump stand on the key issues. Do you have questions about the election? Send them to us, and we’ll find the answers. Stay up to date: Poll tracker | “The Run-Up” podcast | On Politics newsletter

The site of the Israeli strike in Al-Mawasi. Haitham Imad/EPA, via Shutterstock

Israel most likely used 2,000-pound bombs in Gaza

An Israeli airstrike on a camp for displaced people in southern Gaza this week left behind strong evidence that Israel used 2,000-pound bombs, according to three weapons experts. Video verified by The Times showed two enormous blast craters. At least 19 people were killed, Gazan officials said.

The Israeli military said that the strikes in Al-Mawasi had targeted three senior Hamas militants who had been involved in the Oct. 7 attack. It did not specify which bombs were used.

Details: In its campaign in Gaza, Israel has routinely used 2,000-pound bombs, which shatter into razor-sharp fragments that can kill or incapacitate people over several hundred feet.

Parts of FGC-9 homemade firearms seized in Germany in 2021. via Koblenz Public Prosecutor's Office, Germany

How a 3D-printed gun went viral (and global)

In the past three years, a model of homemade semiautomatic firearm known as an FGC-9 has appeared in the hands of paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, rebels in Myanmar and neo-Nazis in Spain. Nobody does more to promote the gun and the ideology than one of its designers, who goes by the online name Ivan the Troll.

The New York Times charted the FGC-9’s growth from a hobbyist’s garage project to a lethal pistol wielded by insurgents, terrorists, drug dealers and militia members in at least 15 countries.

MORE TOP NEWS

Tatyana Makeyeva/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Ukraine: One of the war’s largest drone attacks struck deep inside Russia, killing a woman in the Moscow area, setting off fires and closing airports. France: A man who confessed to drugging his wife for years and bringing dozens of men into their home to rape her was taken to the hospital before he was to testify at his trial. Venezuela: A group of election observers who volunteer for the country’s opposition party were forced into exile in Colombia. Australia: The government wants to set a minimum age for children to use social media. Iran: The U.S. accused Tehran of sending missiles to Russia and vowed to impose sanctions. Switzerland: Tariq Ramadan, a prominent scholar of Islam, was found guilty on appeal of raping and sexually coercing a woman in Geneva in 2008. Uganda: The man accused of killing the Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei by setting her on fire died from burns he sustained in the same attack. California: Several fast-moving wildfires were threatening homes and forcing evacuations in the mountains around Los Angeles.

Business

Britain: A hedge fund tycoon bought the politically influential right-wing magazine The Spectator. China: The telecom company Huawei unveiled its latest phone, the Mate XT, which is heavy on novelty: It can be folded, twice. E.U.: The bloc’s highest court ruled against Apple and Google in two landmark legal cases, and they now face billions of euros in taxes or penalties.

Germany: Volkswagen ended a labor agreement that protected workers from layoffs, a week after it said it was considering closing factories.

SPORTS NEWS

Formula 1: Adrian Newey, a renowned car designer, has found a new home at Aston Martin. Soccer: Chelsea offers a hard lesson on why joint ownership rarely works in the sport.

MORNING READ

@yosoyvivylin via Instagram

In Spain, love is in the air … conditioned supermarket aisles. After a comedian made a TikTok video about the throngs of single people she saw at a popular grocery chain, the stores became known as unlikely dating hubs.

Some customers have even started placing upside-down pineapples in their shopping carts as a mating beacon, though it’s not clear whether they’re looking for love or just a laugh.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

Emily in Rome: Netflix’s “Emily in Paris” frustrated Parisians with its portrayal of their city. Now the series’s heroine is heading to Italy — and the showrunner doesn’t care if residents there feel the same way. Utopian town: Once derided, La Grande Motte, a surreal 1960s resort in the South of France, is increasingly seen as having been ahead of its time. Earworm science: Here’s why you can’t get that song out of your head.

ARTS AND IDEAS

Todd Heisler/The New York Times

Remembering James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones, who died Monday at 93, helped to change Hollywood’s view of Black actors with characters who defied the prevailing stereotypes.

His career encompassed scores of plays, nearly 90 television dramas and series, and some 120 movies. He made his film debut in “Dr. Strangelove” and was nominated for an Oscar for “The Great White Hope.” We looked back at his standout movie roles, including the voice of Darth Vader in “Star Wars” and Mufasa in “The Lion King.”

A life in pictures: These snapshots capture his Hollywood stardom, love for Broadway and arts advocacy.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Christopher Testani for The New York Times

Cook: Get in the fall spirit with this skillet pork chops and apples with miso caramel.

Read: “Here One Moment” is the latest from the Australian fiction powerhouse Liane Moriarty.

Train: If squats are hurting your knees, a few adjustments can help.

Listen: Readers picked their song of the summer, including music from Chappell Roan, Bad Bunny, Lawrence and more.

Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today’s Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here.

That’s it for today’s briefing. See you tomorrow. — Jonathan

Reach Jonathan and the team at briefing@nytimes.com.