Russian troops returning home from Syria. Photo: Sergei Fadeichev/TASS via Getty Images
Russia’s military is deploying troops to Douma, Syria, the site of the chemical weapons attack that occurred this weekend, per the AP.
Why it matters: Russia has said it will take retaliatory measures when its troops are attacked. Meanwhile, President Trump taunted Russia this morning by threatening a military strike on Syria. By sending troops to the site of the attack, Russia is firing back.
The first presidential debate between President Trump and Joe Biden in Cleveland on Tuesday night was a shouting match, punctuated by interruptions and hallmarked by name-calling.
Why it matters: If Trump aimed to make the debate as chaotic as possible with a torrent of disruptions, he succeeded. Pundits struggled to make sense of what they saw, and it's tough to imagine that the American people were able to either.
Asked to condemn white supremacist violence at the first presidential debate on Tuesday, President Trump said the far-right Proud Boys group should "stand back and stand by," before immediately arguing that violence in the U.S. "is not a right-wing problem. This is a left-wing problem."
Why it matters: Trump has repeatedly been accused of failing to condemn white nationalism and right-wing violence, despite the FBI's assessment that it's the most significant domestic terrorism threat that the country faces. The president has frequently associated antifa and the left-wing violence that has afflicted some U.S. cities with Biden, despite his condemnation of violent protests.
Photos: Jim Watson and Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
This debate was like the country: Everybody’s talking. Nobody’s listening. Nothing is learned. It’s a mess.
Why it matters: Honestly, who the hell knows?