Tim Alexander Dollery: Vox Sentences: Oh, there’s also a debate tonight

Wednesday, 20 November 2019

Vox Sentences: Oh, there’s also a debate tonight

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Democratic presidential candidates appear in the fifth debate; Israeli prime minister will push for Jordan Valley annexation bill.

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Presidential candidates gear up for DNC debate

Ten candidates for the Democratic nomination for president will take the stage in Atlanta at 9 pm ET Wednesday. [CNBC / Jacob Pramuk]
Former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, California Sen. Kamala Harris, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, entrepreneur Andrew Yang, billionaire and climate advocate Tom Steyer, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard are set to appear in the fifth Democratic presidential debate. [Washington Post / Terri Rupar]
There was a notable dropout in the race by former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro’s failed to qualify for the DNC-sponsored event. The field still has expanded, with Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick entering the race, but not the debate stage. [ABC News / Kendall Karson]
Wednesday’s qualifiers have 165,000 individual donors, hit a minimum of 3 percent in four Democratic National Committee (DNC) approved polls or at least 5 percent in the first four primary states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. [Vox / Li Zhou]
With less than three months to the Iowa caucus, clashes between the four top-polling candidates, Biden, Buttigieg, Sanders, and Warren, are to be expected along with more discussion on issues like health care, impeachment, and electability. [New York Times / Reid J. Epstein and Shane Goldmacher]
Co-hosted by MSNBC and the Washington Post, the debate will be hosted by four female moderators, MSNBC anchors Rachel Maddow and Andrea Mitchell, NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker, and Washington Post White House reporter Ashley Parker. This is only the third time in American history that any primary debate was hosted by only women. [Vox / Li Zhou]
FiveThirtyEight, in partnership with Ipsos, plans to run polls before and after the debates to quantify the impact of the debates on public opinion. [FiveThirtyEight / Aaron Bycoffe, Sarah Frostenson and Julia Wolfe]
Vox’s policy guide can help you keep track of where the candidates stand on the issues throughout the night. [Vox]

Israel eyes the Jordan Valley

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to make a bill on the annexation of the Jordan Valley a priority if a unity government comes together. [The Media Line / Charles Bybelezer]
Netanyahu and his political rivals are under pressure to form a government, but talks appear to have broken down, which could bring another election. [Haaretz]
The announcement came only a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s statement that the Trump administration would reverse longstanding US policy by asserting that it will no longer view Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal. [Wall Street Journal / Felicia Schwartz]
In a video posted to Twitter, Netanyahu spoke in Hebrew about “the historic decision by the American administration from yesterday hands us a unique opportunity to set Israel’s eastern border and annex the Jordan Valley.” [The Times of Israel / Michael Bachner]
Netanyahu’s fellow Likud Knesset member Sharren Haskel proposed the bill several weeks ago, with the US’s announcement resulting in the opportunity to fast track it. [Jerusalem Post / Lahav Harkov and Tovah Lazaroff]

Miscellaneous

One reporter tests a psychologist’s claim that some languages’ “untranslatable words” are the key to happiness. [Vox / Sigal Samuel]
A third judge blocks the Trump administration’s “conscience exemption” policy. [San Francisco Chronicle / Bob Egelko]
A Navy SEAL pardoned by Trump is likely to be ousted from an elite commando force. [New York Times / Dave Philipps]
Despite a record number of FDA drug approvals, prices keep patients from purchasing the medical treatments they need. [Wall Street Journal / Jared S. Hopkins]
The menu before a debate between Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Conservative Party Prime Minister Boris Johnson: Caesar salad and tea. [Eater / Adam Coghlan]