Health News at Your Fingertips

That’s it from me for now. I’ll be back later tonight to cover the first presidential debate between Trump and Biden.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

• Trump has arrived in Cleveland, Ohio, and Biden is en route. The debate will start at 9 pm ET tonight, and it will take place at the Samson Pavillion, an academic building shared by Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic.
• Amy Coney Barrett’s supreme court nomination was officially sent to the Senate. The announcement comes on the same day that Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose seat Barrett would be filling, was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell met with Barrett earlier today.
• Biden and Kamala Harris released their 2019 tax returns. The move was clearly meant to criticize Trump for not yet having released any of his tax returns. The documents showed Biden and his wife paid nearly $300,000 in federal income tax last year. According to the New York Times, Trump paid only $750 in federal income tax in 2016 and 2017.
• New York City plans to impose fines on people who refuse to wear a face covering, as it was announced that the rate of positive tests for coronavirus climbed above 3% in the city for the first time in months.
• Former special counsel Robert Mueller responded to criticism from one of his former colleagues. In his new book, Andrew Weissmann, a former prosecutor in the special counsel’s office, argues Mueller’s team did not do enough to hold Trump accountable in the Russia investigation. Mueller said in a statement that he made his investigation-related decisions “without any interest in currying favor or fear of the consequences”. Mueller added, “I stand by those decisions and by the conclusions of our investigation.”

My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

Trump has arrived at the debate venue in Cleveland, Ohio, to conduct the traditional walk-through of the site.

Each presidential candidate is allowed to walk through the venue to get a sense of the debate stage before the event begins.

Tonight’s debate, which will begin at 9 pm ET, is being held at the Samson Pavillion, an academic building shared by Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell dismissed the suggestion that Amy Coney Barrett would vote to scrap the Affordable Care Act.

“This mother of seven, including multiple children who were born or adopted facing preexisting condition medical challenges, is just itching to block families like hers from accessing medical care. What a joke,” McConnell said, per an NBC News reporter.

However, Barrett has previously criticized the decision to uphold the ACA, saying chief justice John Roberts “pushed the Affordable Care Act beyond its plausible meaning to save the statute” when the issue came before the supreme court in 2012.

Democrats have consistently warned that, if Barrett is confirmed, the ACA could be on the chopping block, which could cause healthcare costs to soar for those with preexisting conditions.

The supreme court nomination of Amy Coney Barrett has been officially sent to the Senate, with five weeks to go until election day.

The announcement comes on the same day that Barrett met with Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell on Capitol Hill.

Senate Republicans are seeking to get Barrett confirmed before the November 3 elections, representing a far tighter timeline than other recent supreme court confirmations.

The nomination was also sent to the Senate on the same day that Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose death opened up the supreme court seat Republicans are rushing to fill, was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Ginsburg’s reported dying wish was that her supreme court seat not be filled until after the presidential election, a request that Republicans have ignored.

Air Force One has arrived in Cleveland, with just hours to go until the first presidential debate between Trump and Biden.

According to the White House press pool, a senior Trump campaign official spoke to reporters during the short flight to Cleveland.

The official said the president is ready for the debate and would not be doing any last-minute prep work on the plane. “He’s ready to go,” the official said.

The person added that the president’s team expects his tax returns to be mentioned at the beginning of the debate. The New York Times reported Sunday that Trump only paid $750 in federal income taxes the year he won the presidency.

Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, will also be one of the president’s guests for the debate, the official said.

Joe Biden is now en route to Cleveland as well, having boarded his campaign plane in Wilmington, Delaware, moments ago.

The Democratic nominee appears to have a new campaign plane with the Biden/Harris logo on its side.

Several of Trump’s family members joined him on Air Force One for the trip to Cleveland, Ohio, where the first presidential debate will be held tonight.

Two of the president’s children, Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump, were spotted boarding the plane.

The White House press pool also saw Alice Johnson boarding Air Force One. In 2018, Trump commuted Johnson’s prison sentence for a non-violent drug offense. Johnson spoke at the Republican convention last month and then received a full pardon from Trump.

Speaking to reporters shortly before takeoff, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Trump had completed his debate preparations and was in a good mood.

According to CNN, Trump did less than two hours of debate prep total to prepare for tonight’s event.

Former special counsel Robert Mueller has released a statement responding to criticism from one of his former colleagues.

In his new book, Andrew Weissmann, a former prosecutor in the special counsel’s office, argues Mueller’s team did not do enough to hold Trump accountable in the Russia investigation.

“It is not surprising that members of the Special Counsel’s Office did not always agree, but it is disappointing to hear criticism of our team based on incomplete information,” Mueller said in the statement, per the Washington Post.

“When important decisions had to be made, I made them,” Mueller added. “I did so as I have always done, without any interest in currying favor or fear of the consequences. I stand by those decisions and by the conclusions of our investigation.”

Mueller concluded his investigation last year and released a report on the team’s findings, which included significant evidence that Trump obstructed justice but did not come to an explicit conclusion on the matter.

Trump is now en route to Cleveland, Ohio, for the first presidential debate, which is about six hours away.

Hundreds of White House staffers gathered on the South Lawn to see Trump off, creating an unusual, made-for-television moment as he departed.

Leaving the White House with the first lady, the president ignored a question about to whom he owed money and whether the American people deserved to know the answer.