Thursday morning news - October 1, 2020

President debate commissions mulling format changes to restore order » After a chaotic free-for-all between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday… 

DEBATE: Are you in favor of law and order? [crosstalk]

The presidential debate commission says it will soon adopt changes to restore a little law and order to the debate stage. 

The commission said Wednesday that it’s—quote—“clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues.”

According to the Associated Press, one of the possible changes on the table, allowing the moderator to cut off the microphone of a candidate speaking out of turn. 

The next presidential debate is a town hall format scheduled for Oct. 15th in Miami.

Economy plunged in second quarter, record rebound expected » The U.S. economy plunged at an unprecedented rate this spring, setting the stage for a record rebound in the third quarter. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports. 

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The U.S. economy will likely shrink this year, the first time that has happened since the Great Recession.

The gross domestic product, the economy’s total output of goods and services, fell at a rate of 31.4 percent in the second quarter, from April to June.

The Commerce Department adjusted that figure downward Wednesday by a fraction of 1 percent.

But economists believe the economy will expand at an annual rate of 30 percent in the current quarter as businesses have reopened and millions have gone back to work. That would shatter the old record for a quarterly GDP increase.

The government will release its July to September GDP report on October 29th, just five days before the presidential election.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Trump signs funding bill into law averting shutdown » Senate lawmakers sent a bill to President Trump’s desk last night that will fund the government into December. 

The president signed the bill into law ahead of a midnight deadline, preventing a government shutdown. Neither party had an appetite for that just a month before the election as evidenced by the lopsided vote. 

AUDIO: The yays are 84, the nays are 10. The bill is passed.  

The continuing resolution keeps current funding in place, kicking the can down the road on budget fights through December 11th. 

The House passed the bill earlier this month, also in a lopsided vote: 359 to 57.

Fires continue to blaze through Calif. wine country » Flames devoured large swaths of brush and trees in Northern California on Wednesday. Officials said wind-whipped flames led two firefighters to deploy the emergency fire shelters they carry.

The firefighters were battling the Glasser fire burning in wine country north of San Francisco. 

And CalFire’s Billy See told reporters that another incoming wind event could cause more problems. 

SEE: Now’s the time for our firefighters to buckle down. They’re going to work diligently to get that door shut and try to protect the communities of Kenwood, the Valley of the Moon. 

The National Weather Service said the conditions would last for several days because of high pressure centered over the state. Heat advisories were in effect or pending along about three-quarters of the California coast.

About 70,000 people are under evacuation orders in the state’s wine region. 

Man arrested in ambush of 2 Los Angeles County deputies » California investigators have arrested and charged a man in the shooting of two LA County sheriff’s deputies as they sat in their squad car. The attack occurred earlier this month in Compton, California.

Capt. Kent Wegener with the LA County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau said officers recovered a pistol discarded by a car jacking suspect. And that turned out to be a key piece of evidence. 

WEGENER: It was determined through ballistic comparison that the pistol recovered was the pistol used to shoot the transit services deputies.

He said authorities forensically linked that gun to a 36-year-old suspect. And LA County District Attorney Jackie Lacey told reporters… 

LACEY: This morning my office filed attempted murder charges against Deonte Lee Murray in the shooting of these two deputies. 

LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the shooting shocked the nation. 

The suspect also faces charges in connection with the earlier carjacking. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

The deputies suffered head wounds in the Sept. 12 ambush and have since been released from the hospital. But both will require reconstructive surgeries and face a long recovery.

(AP Photo/Julio Cortez) President Donald Trump, left, and Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, right, gesturing during the first presidential debate Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio. 

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