Countdown to debate: Trump has rally, Biden preps
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump shunned formal debate practice Tuesday and was headed instead for another of his rallies, two days ahead of the final presidential debate that could be his last, best chance to alter the trajectory of the 2020 campaign. Democrat Joe Biden took the opposite approach, holing up for debate prep.
In the leadup to Thursday’s face-off in Nashville, Trump is trailing in polls in most battleground states as he works to pull off a repeat of his come-from-behind victory in 2016. Also trailing in fundraising for campaign ads, Trump is increasingly relying on his signature campaign rallies to deliver a closing message to voters and maximize turnout among his GOP base.
Three weeks of wrangling over the debate format and structure appeared to have subsided Tuesday after the Commission on Presidential Debates unveiled a rules change meant to reduce the chaotic interruptions that plagued the first Trump-Biden encounter last month.
This time, Trump and Biden will each have their microphone cut off while their rival delivers an opening two-minute answer to each of the six debate topics, the commission announced. The mute button won’t figure in the open discussion portion of the debate.
Trump ups pressure on Barr to probe Bidens
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on Attorney General William Barr to immediately launch an investigation into unverified claims about Democrat Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, effectively demanding the Justice Department muddy his political opponent and abandon its historic resistance to getting involved in elections.
With just two weeks to go before Election Day, Trump for the first time explicitly called on Barr to investigate the Bidens and even pointed to the nearing Nov. 3 election as reason Barr should not delay. Trump has been leveling accusations of corruption against Biden without verified evidence for months, but is stepping up the pressure in the final days of the campaign.
“We’ve got to get the attorney general to act,” Trump said during an interview on “Fox &Friends.” “He’s got to act, and he’s got to act fast. He’s got to appoint somebody. This is major corruption, and this has to be known about before the election.”
Board: Lack of oversight blamed for deadly boat fire
LOS ANGELES — The lack of oversight by a Southern California boat owner led to a fire that killed 34 people on a 2019 scuba diving excursion, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled Tuesday.
The predawn fire aboard the Conception is one of California’s deadliest maritime disasters, prompting criminal and safety investigations. The Sept. 2, 2019, tragedy killed 33 passengers and one crew member on a Labor Day weekend expedition near an island off Santa Barbara.
The five-member board voted unanimously to place the deadly fire’s blame with the Conception’s owner, Truth Aquatics Inc.
The NTSB also said inadequate Coast Guard regulations contributed to the high death toll, such as a lack of a requirement for smoke detectors in all accommodation spaces and poor emergency escape arrangements. The board passed several recommendations to suggest to the Coast Guard.
The NTSB does not have enforcement powers and must submit its suggestions for safety enhancements to bodies such as the Federal Aviation Administration or the Coast Guard.
Toobin suspended by New Yorker, steps back at CNN
NEW YORK — Author-commentator Jeffrey Toobin was suspended by the New Yorker and is stepping away from his job as CNN’s senior legal analyst pending what the cable network is calling a “personal matter.”
Vice reported earlier Monday that Toobin exposed himself during a Zoom meeting with staffers of the New Yorker and WNYC radio. In a statement Monday afternoon, the New Yorker said Toobin was “suspended while we investigate the matter.” It declined further comment. A CNN spokesperson said in a statement that “Jeff Toobin has asked for some time off while he deals with a personal issue, which we have granted.”
The 60-year-old Toobin has been a New Yorker writer for more than 20 years and joined CNN in 2002. He is the author of several books, most recently “True Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Investigation of Donald Trump,” published in August. His other works include “The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson” and “The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court.”