JD Vance and Tim Walz play nice during the vice presidential debate. Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will take revenge after Iranian missile attack. And researchers reveal Mount Everest is getting even taller.

Here’s what you need to know today.

Vance and Walz showed off Midwest nicely in the vice presidential debate

Heartfelt handshakes ended the first and only debate between vice presidential candidates Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. And in between, the words ‘agree’ or ‘agree’ or ‘I do not disagree’ were used frequently. It went on and on as Vance, the right-wing Republican, and Walz, a progressive Democrat, presented a textbook example of Midwest nice. And a TV audience expecting two ferocious attack dogs saw a pair of affectionate puppies instead.

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Interspersed between moments of kindness were disagreements on immigration, the economy, gun rights and more. Both Vance and Walz tried to blame America’s woes on the others’ presidential candidates. Vance repeatedly attacked the “Harris administration,” essentially erasing President Joe Biden and elevating Vice President Kamala Harris as the person primarily responsible for the problems facing the country. Walz repeatedly blamed today’s problems on Trump’s four previous years as president.

The debate had some other notable moments:

→ Vance’s microphone was broken while claiming that immigration policies under the Biden-Harris administration were “destroying” the lives of American citizens in Springfield, Ohio.

→ Walz when pressed, admitted that he had “made a mistake“in the past when he claimed he was in Hong Kong during China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

→ Vance, who broke with Trump, said The Republicans need to do a better job to talk to women about abortion and call it an issue where the American people “just don’t trust us.”

→ And in what was perhaps Walz’s most heated moment of the evening, he asked Vance point-blank if Trump had lost the 2020 election. Vance responded, “Tim, I’m focused on the future.” Walz quickly shot back: “That’s a damn non-answer.”

With Election Day five weeks away, the showdown was an opportunity for Vance and Walz to make the closing arguments of their campaigns. Barring a change from Trump, who has said he will not debate Harris a second time, this could be the last widely televised moment of the race.

Read the full story here.

More coverage of the vice presidential debate:

• View highlights of the debate in 3 minutes.
• Five important insights from the evening – the first is that the debate wasn’t really about Vance or Walz.
• From energy costs to job creation, both candidates distorted the truth or made false statements during the debate. Here it is what the VP nominees got wrong and right.
• Vance Claimed Trump ‘Saved Obamacare’ the health insurance program that Trump actually tried to kill.
• “In some ways, the debate felt like a return to the VP debates that America was accustomed to in the pre-Trump era,” wrote Chuck Todd, chief political analyst for NBC News. And it covered much more substance than the recent presidential debates. The real question is whether it will affect both campaigns. Read the full analysis.

Israel says response to Iranian missile attack ‘will be painful’

Iran launched ballistic missiles at Israel yesterday, following Israel’s recent widespread attacks in Lebanon, including the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and a ground invasion in the south of the country. About 180 rockets were fired into Israeli territory, the Israeli military said after the attack. A large number of the rockets were intercepted by Israeli and American defenses. Israeli officials said they were not aware of any casualties.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will retaliate for the Iranian attack. say: “Iran has made a big mistake” and “it will pay for it.” He also extended his warning to Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria.

When Israel’s response will come is unknown, but Israel’s ambassador to the UN said “it will be painful.” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed that Israel will face a “much more crushing response” if it makes a “mistake” and retaliates against the Iranian missile attack.

Read more about the rocket attack in Israel and follow our live blog for the latest updates.

More coverage of conflicts in the Middle East:

• Israel claims its ground operation is “limited,” but memories of invasions in both 1982 and 2006 have many people in Lebanon, as well as Western officials and analysts, skeptical that this will continue.

Sadness and anger after deadly flooding at Tennessee plastics factory

More than 150 people have died in the southeastern states as a result of Hurricane Helene’s devastation, and the search continues for dozens of people who are still missing. In eastern Tennessee, the search for missing people also includes looking for people who worked at the Impact Plastics plant in Erwin. Days after Helene devastated the area, survivors lashed out at the company for failing to warn employees and allow them to go to work on the day of the storm. And relatives of missing workers expressed frustration that officials had not consulted families to help find and identify the missing and dead.

Among the dead was Bertha Mendoza, 56, who lost her grip while clinging to a vehicle trying to take her to safety. In her last phone call to her husband hours earlier, Mendoza said she loved him and also asked him to tell her children she loved them, her son said. “Those were her last words,” Guillermo Mendoza said. Bertha Mendoza’s body was found a day later, on Saturday.

Read the full story here.

More coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Helene:

• President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will do the same visit affected communities.
• Angel Mitchell was visiting her mother at a hospital in eastern Tennessee when water flooded the building. She remembered the harrowing five hours that she, her mother and many others were awaiting rescue.
• In Asheville there were long lines for groceries, gas and water; to get into shelters; and to charge mobile phones. Only one line around the block downtown – for free pizza at the Mellow Mushroom – brought many a short slice of happiness.
• The National Weather Service and local officials in Hurricane Helene’s path warned in advance of the storm’s danger. But some residents still had doubts, which shows how difficult it is to issue warnings amid skepticism towards the government and the media.
• Before and after images shows the impact of Hurricane Helene in Asheville.

Politics in short

Conflict in the Middle East: After months of trying to avert an outright war against the Biden administration faces the toughest test yet.

Dockers strike: The Biden administration will likely be held responsible if a workers’ strike at 14 ports along the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico leads to significant economic disruption, potentially putting the brakes on Kamala Harris’ bid for the White House.

Want more political news? Sign up for From the Politics Desk and receive exclusive reporting and analysis in your inbox every weekday evening. Subscribe here.

Read all about it

• Five Jewish students reported that he had been attacked within the past monthas the October 7 anniversary of the Hamas terror attack on Israel approaches. While many universities have promised tougher responses to violence and disruptions, few have explained how they will effectively enforce them.
• A wave of new lawsuits is set to be submitted against Sean “Diddy” Combs, bringing forward more than 120 plaintiffs.
• An NBC News investigation last month found that hundreds of unclaimed bodies had been sent to a Texas medical school, where in some cases they were dismembered and rented out. A new database mentions the more than 1,800 people whose bodies were given to the school.
• John Amos, whose acting career included iconic roles in “Roots” and “Good Times,” passed away at the age of 84.

Personnel choice: Mount Everest is getting even bigger

Can you imagine anything bigger than Mount Everest? Probably not – and that won’t change anytime soon, as scientists discovered that thanks to the confluence of ancient rivers, the river is somehow getting even bigger. You can read more about what causes this growth herewhich, as the scientist who made this discovery said, serves as a reminder: even something as seemingly permanent as Everest is still changing.

NBC Select: Online shopping, simplified

Amazon’s fall Prime Day, called Prime Big Deal Days, is less than a week away. But you don’t have to wait until October 8 and 9 to start saving, because some deals are already active. The editors of NBC Select have found it the best early deals to shop now. And check out this guide what is worth buying and what to skip during the sale.

Register with De Selection newsletter for practical product reviews, expert shopping tips and a weekly overview of the best offers and sales.

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