The New York Times: Ο απόηχος του προεδρικού διαλόγου των ΗΠΑ και η ώθηση της Ρωσίας στην ανατολική Ουκρανία – Αναταραχή για έναν φανταστικό μαύρο σαμουράι – Η συζήτηση που κυμάνθηκε σε όλες τις ΗΠΑ – Πώς η σταθερή πρόοδος της Ρωσίας απειλεί την Ανατολική Ουκρανία – Η υγειονομική υπηρεσία της Αγγλίας βρίσκεται σε μεγάλο πρόβλημα – Γάζα: Ισραηλινή αεροπορική επιδρομή σε σχολικό συγκρότημα του ΟΗΕ που φιλοξενούσε εκτοπισμένους Παλαιστίνιους σκότωσε τουλάχιστον 18 άτομα, σύμφωνα με την κύρια υπηρεσία του ΟΗΕ στη Γάζα – Το πιο καυτό εισιτήριο στο Σαν Φρανσίσκο αυτή την εβδομάδα ήταν για μια ζωντανή μαγνητοφώνηση του podcast “Acquired” για να ακούσει τον Mark Zuckerberg, τον διευθύνοντα σύμβουλο του Meta, που μίλησε για την τεχνητή νοημοσύνη και το μετασύμπαν – Ο αγώνας για έναν μαύρο σαμουράι

Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

The debate rippled across the U.S.

The first — and perhaps only — debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump continued to reverberate across the U.S. yesterday, spawning memes across the political spectrum and shaking up donors.

Early indications suggested that Kamala Harris prevailed, and her campaign trumpeted the positive reviews of her performance. Trump complained about the moderators while also insisting that he had won “by a lot.”

Debates are pivotal to fund-raising, and there were signs that the event might widen the financial gap between the candidates. Trump’s wealthy donors are now confronting the possibility that they may be outspent by a lot.

The vice president’s team asked for another debate, but Trump said he wasn’t sure he wanted to. The question now is which candidate has a better read on the American psyche eight weeks before the final ballots are cast.

More on the U.S. electionAmericans head to the polls in less than eight weeks.In an interview, Trump dismissed Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Harris, saying the pop star will “probably pay a price for it in the marketplace.”Harris and Trump shook hands again at an event yesterday in New York City to mark the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.An Ohio man told Trump to stop exploiting his son’s death in a crash caused by an immigrant for “political gain.

The New York Times

How Russia’s steady advance threatens Ukraine’s East

Russia is closing in on a key city in Ukraine’s east in one of the fastest advances for its military since the early days of the war. If Russia captures the city, Pokrovsk, it would gain a big strategic advantage in seizing the rest of the Donbas region.

Ukraine hoped that its surprise invasion of the Kursk region of Russia last month would force Moscow to divert its troops from the Donbas. But so far that has not happened, and Russian troops continue to push forward in the East.

In Kyiv: Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with top Ukrainian officials yesterday to discuss their request for permission to use Western weapons to strike deep into Russian territory. Blinken later said the Biden administration had not ruled out the possibility of granting Kyiv more latitude.

What’s next: This fast-moving phase of the war may wrap up soon, as fall rains make many roads in the region all but impassable for heavy vehicles.

Britons satisfaction in the health service is “at its lowest ever,” the report said. Andrew Testa for The New York Times

England’s health service is in deep trouble

England’s National Health Service, one of the country’s most revered institutions, is in “critical” condition, according to a government-commissioned report. The review cited long waits for treatment, crumbling hospitals, mental health patients in “vermin-infested cells” and far fewer M.R.I. scanners than in comparable countries.

The report said that during the 2010s, when a Conservative-led government embarked on a stringent austerity program, the N.H.S. was “starved of capital,” which led it to fall behind other countries.

Context: Britain’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, commissioned the review after he won the general election in July. The dire state of the N.H.S. was a key reason many people voted for his Labour Party. Starmer said that he was working on a 10-year plan that could amount to the “biggest reimagining of our N.H.S.” since its creation in 1948.

A school turned shelter in Nuseirat, in central Gaza. Mohammed Saber/EPA, via Shutterstock

Mike Kai Chen for The New York Times

The hottest ticket in San Francisco this week was for a live taping of the “Acquired” podcast to hear Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, talk about artificial intelligence and the metaverse.

The hit show has become a must-listen for businesspeople the world over, and it’s a sign of how tech titans reach the public now. In recent years, billionaires and top executives have preferred to forgo traditional media interviews and instead tell their own stories in the friendly spaces of podcasts and YouTube streams.

The fight over a Black samurai

The Assassin’s Creed video game franchise by Ubisoft has recreated momentous periods in history, and fans have wanted a feudal Japan entry for nearly two decades.

Soon, they’ll have it. Assassin’s Creed Shadows drops on Nov. 15. But the reveal of Yasuke, one of the two main characters, has caused a violent backlash: Yasuke is a Black samurai.

Fans have often looked for historical inaccuracies in past games, but the outcry over Yasuke has been considerably louder. Game developers were subjected to personal attacks and death threats, and even Elon Musk commented that diversity was killing art. But Yasuke is a real historical figure, unlike the mythological aliens and godlike weapons that are also series fixtures.

Cook: This tender cream cheese poundcake is like a poundcake in sheet cake form.