Monday morning news: September 9, 2024

Presidential politics/debate prep » This could be a pivotal week in the presidential race as the campaigns of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump gear up for tomorrow's presidential debate.

And the campaign surrogates were out in force on the Sunday talk show circuit.

Former Trump White House Press Secretary and current Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders told ABC’s This Week that during Trump’s presidency …

SANDERS:  We actually had a safer world. We didn't have conflicts left and right all over the place. She has to be held responsible for these things. She doesn't get to run away from them. And I think that's what makes this debate so difficult for her this week.

But Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy predicted that Vice President Harris will make a strong case for her agenda.

MURPHY: Everybody has the chance to succeed. And that’s  very different than Donald Trump's agenda. Donald Trump has made it very clear. If you put him back in power, he's going to think only one group of people, and that’s his friends at Mar-a-Lago, another massive tax cut for the richest people in America.

The candidates will face off tomorrow at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

ABC News will host the debate at 9pm Eastern Time.

Campaigning, polls » While Harris has largely been hunkering down to prepare for the debate, her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been campaigning hard, working to fire up political supporters.

WALZ: It is not a stretch and the facts are there. This is the most pro-LGBTQ+ administration in American history.

He spoke over the weekend to a gathering of the LGBT activist group the Human Rights Campaign in Washington.

Meantime former President Trump campaigned on the economy and inflated prices in Wisconsin.

TRUMP: We will defeat inflation and we will make America affordable again.

After replacing President Biden atop the Democratic ticket, Harris enjoyed a surge of enthusiasm that saw her take a slight lead in many national and swing state polls. But recent polls have shown the race tightening again. The latest survey from the New York Times gives Trump a 1-point edge nationally.

Voter ID, avoiding shutdown » Members of Congress are getting back to work in Washington this week as they work to pass a government funding bill and avoid a government shutdown.

And House Speaker Mike Johnson is aiming to attach a measure that requires proof of citizenship in order to vote.

GOP Congressman Pat Fallon calls that “common sense legislation.”

FALLON: There’s nothing more sacrosanct in a republic than to make sure you have secure, honest, transparent, and open elections.

But many Democrats argue that requiring an ID will make it tougher for some minorities and the elderly to vote.

And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has signaled that if the measure does pass in the House it might be dead on arrival in the Senate.

McCaul on Russian disinformation » The Justice Department is accusing Russia of spreading disinformation after discovering a propaganda campaign funded by Russian state-owned media outlet RT. Money was allegedly being funneled to online influencers to unwittingly spread disinformation.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul:

MCCAUL:  Well, Russia has been trying to do this, uh, you know, many years. So is China. So is Iran for that matter. Um, it's intensified. And I think, um, I didn't blame anybody for it. I blame Russia for putting disinformation in the United States that does get picked up by people unwittingly in many cases.

That from CBS’ Face the Nation.

Federal prosecutors say RT paid a Tennessee company to create pro-Russia media.

Kentucky shooting » A dramatic manhunt in Kentucky on Sunday.

KENTUCKY DISPATCH AUDIO: [SIC] Northbound, southbound I-75. We’ve got several people shot.

Dispatchers informing police of an active shooter situation after someone opened fire on passing cars along a stretch of highway in Laurel County.

Authorities say they have recovered an SUV belonging to a person of interest in the shooting of nine vehicles which wounded five people.

Laurel County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, Gilbert Acciardo:

ACCIARDO: We located an AR 15. It's, uh, going to be processed, uh, and it is in a wooded area next to the interstate, uh, in a location that he could have shot down upon the interstate from that wooded location.

Authorities were looking to question 32-year-old Joseph A. Couch as a person of interest.

Venezuelan opposition leader flees country after arrest order » Former Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has fled into exile in Spain. That comes after the government of disputed President Nicolas Maduro ordered his arrest supposedly to help restore “the country’s political peace and tranquility.”

That comes after a presidential election that many believe was rigged. Numerous foreign governments, including that of the United States believe González was the legitimate winner of July’s election.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Censorship in Brazil on this week’s Legal Docket. Plus, the Monday Moneybeat.

This is The World and Everything in It.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.