The Morning Dispatch: The Throwback Debate

Happy Thursday! Two post-debate Dispatch Lives down, two post-debate Dispatch Lives to go. Thank you to the thousands of you who tuned in—if you missed it, you can catch the gang breaking down the Kamala Harris and Mike Pence showdown here.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
The United States confirmed 50,082 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday per the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard, with 3.5 percent of the 1,430,249 tests reported coming back positive. An additional 901 deaths were attributed to the virus on Wednesday, bringing the pandemic’s American death toll to 211,753.


A three-judge panel in New York unanimously ruled on Wednesday that Manhattan district attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. can enforce a subpoena for Donald Trump’s personal and corporate tax returns, paving the way for another Supreme Court battle if the president appeals the decision.
Two men alleged to be members of an Islamic State cell known as “The Beatles” due to their British accents have arrived in the U.S. to face criminal charges for their involvement in the beheadings of American hostages in Syria. The two former UK citizens are being prosecuted with British help, under the condition that American prosecutors will not seek the death penalty.