The Morning Dispatch: One Bad Debate

Happy Wednesday! Well, that was … something. Thanks to the 4,000 of you who joined our bonus, post-debate Dispatch Live last night. We’ll get through these next 34 days together!
If you missed the fun, never fear: You can watch a replay of the event here.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
The United States confirmed 42,795 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday per the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard, with 5.3 percent of the 812,773 tests reported coming back positive. An additional 943 deaths were attributed to the virus on Tuesday, bringing the pandemic’s American death toll to 205,974.


Researchers at MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems produced papers outlining the theoretical basis for a compact nuclear fusion reactor, named Sparc, that could, if successful, begin producing clean energy within the next decade. Construction of a reactor is expected to take three to four years, and begin next spring.