Plus: Apple told to pay €13bn in taxes to Ireland, and Pacific Islands tourism faces climate threat ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. Tonight Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will face each other for the first time, during a US presidential debate that could create or deflate momentum for each candidate. Anthony Zurcher has the pre-match analysis. We're also reporting on prison overcrowding in England and Wales, climate change in the Pacific, and spacewalks. | |
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TOP OF THE AGENDA | A pivotal campaign test |  | Tuesday's debate will be a contrast of styles as well as political views. Credit: BBC | In the first US presidential debate of the current campaign, in late June, Joe Biden's poor performance eventually led to his dropping out a month later. The second debate, where Donald Trump will face the new Democratic nominee Kamala Harris on Tuesday night, could be at least as consequential."Presidential debates matter in American politics," writes our North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher, and they matter even more so given that polls show the race is a statistical dead heat. The electoral college system means that small shifts in the mood of the electorate can have massive consequences. Harris will have to seize this opportunity to flesh out her plans, and reach an audience that rarely follows politics and knows her less. Trump will need to put an end to the Democratic momentum spurred on by Harris's nomination, while avoiding belittling attacks on his rival that could put off undecided voters. With early voting beginning later this month in battleground states, tonight will be their last chance to reach some voters.
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WORLD HEADLINES | | | - A booming voice falls silent: American actor James Earl Jones, best known for being the voice of the Star Wars villain Darth Vader, has died aged 93.
| | - Private spacewalk: Four astronauts have launched into space, before carrying out the first spacewalk funded by private funds. Follow the developments live.
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| More than 1,700 freed to reduce prison overcrowding | Around 1,750 prisoners are being released early on Tuesday because of overcrowding in England and Wales, where the prison population reached an all-time high this week. Violent offenders sentenced to more than four years are excluded from the scheme, as well as sex offenders and domestic abusers. |
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| | Chris Mason, Political editor |
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| | Criminals leave prisons every day. But today is different; it is on a different order of magnitude - with many, many more times as many people walking beyond the gates behind which they have been incarcerated and onto the streets than would normally ever happen in one go. Capacity has come within 100 places of being exhausted in England and Wales in recent weeks. It currently stands at around 350, I am told - ie pretty much full. So, ministers argue, they have no other option. But there are people working within the Prison Service and the Probation Service who have contacted me deeply worried about what is happening. |
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BEYOND THE HEADLINES | Pacific Islands tourism under climate threat |
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| |  | The Pacific Islands region is at risk from rising tides and damaging cyclones. Credit: Getty Images | The Pacific Islands have some of the clearest waters in the world - and many of its dreamiest beaches. But the region’s travel industry is increasingly fearful of the impact of continuing climate change on the low-lying atoll countries. Islanders feel a mix of denial and resignation, reports .Phil Mercer |
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SOMETHING DIFFERENT | A history of spacewalks | From getting stuck in hatches to losing tools, not all have gone to plan. | |
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And finally... | The World Tin Bath Championships might not rank among the sporting world's most prestigious events. And that they are staged by an organisation called the Castletown Ale Drinkers Society (or Cads, for short) might tell you a lot. But the tournament is nonetheless in its 53rd edition - and attracted participants from as far afield as the US to join in the fun on the Isle of Man. | |
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Football Extra | Get all the latest news, insights and gossip from the Premier League, weekdays to your inbox. | |
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MORE BBC NEWSLETTERS | - The Essential List: The best of the BBC, handpicked by our editors, in your inbox every Tuesday and Friday. Subscribe.
| - In History: The past comes to life through the BBC's unique audio, video and written archive, each Thursday. Subscribe.
| - US Election Unspun: Cut through the noise in the race for the White House, every Wednesday. Subscribe.
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