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Taking presidential debates out of commission's hands virtually guarantees fewer viewers

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Taking presidential debates out of commission's hands virtually guarantees fewer viewers

NEW YORK (AP) — The planned presidential debates between Joe Biden and Donald Trump that were swiftly organized this week are a coup for CNN and ABC News — but a virtual guarantee they’ll be among the least-watched general election contests ever.

The two campaigns skirted the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has organized the events for 36 years with the goal of getting them before as many eyes as possible.

ABC, which has assigned David Muir and Linsey Davis as moderators for a debate scheduled for Sept. 10, has said it will make it available for simulcast on any U.S. television network or streaming service that wants it. CNN had not said by early Friday whether it will do the same for its debate, set for June 27 with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash as questioners.

A debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and whomever former President Trump chooses as his running mate is expected to air this summer on CBS.

Each of the two debates between Biden and Trump in 2020 were carried on at least 16 networks, according to the Nielsen company. The first was seen by 73.1 million viewers, the second by 63 million.

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Debates prior to a party’s nominating process, which Trump skipped this year, are usually organized and broadcast by individual media organizations. The tradition has been different for those organized by the commission during general election campaigns, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and member of a group of experts Annenberg organized a decade ago that explored ways to increase viewership.

What to know about the 2024 Election

“It’s the public’s debate,” Jamieson said.

For CNN leaders, there’s a great temptation to keep it for themselves. It would likely be the most-watched event ever on a network that is struggling in ratings. CNN’s chief executive, Mark Thompson, made a point in tying the debate to the brand on Wednesday when he announced the agreement to hold it during a sales presentation to advertisers in New York.

“When people have something important to say,” Thompson said, “they say it on CNN.”

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CNN said Wednesday the debate would also air live on its international and Spanish-speaking networks, and stream on CNN Max and CNN.com.

The pool of people available to watch on CNN’s main television network is dwindling due to cord-cutting of cable and satellite services. CNN was available in 71% of American homes with television in May 2020; this month it’s just under 54%, Nielsen said.

Keeping the debate on CNN alone would run up against stout criticism that it’s not the public-spirited thing to do, something ABC moved quickly to avoid.

Political polarization that has spread to the media would also likely cut into viewership if the event was not shared, Jamieson said. Would Fox News viewers, after years of hearing CNN criticized by some of their favorite politicians and media figures, turn to CNN for a debate or skip it entirely?

It’s still not certain how many other networks will carry the debates even with the opportunity. Only PBS has said that it would; other networks have yet to give a public commitment.

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Some of those executives would have to swallow hard to carry another network’s personalities on their air, with the risk some of their regular viewers might like them and switch allegiances. Pressure to carry the debates for public service reasons would be intense, though.

Despite worries about how many people will watch, Jamieson said there’s some irony in that there’s a lot to like about the proposed ground rules for the event. So far, the plans are to hold them in television studios without an audience.

That’s something the Annenberg group had proposed a decade ago, saying an audience that reacts to what the candidates are saying is often a distraction, and that audience is usually packed with partisans on both sides.

If the two campaigns agree to rules where one candidate’s microphone would be shut off while his opponent answers a question, it would go a long way to solving what has been a more frequent problem recently with politicians interrupting and talking over an opponent, she said.

“If someone had told me that there was going to be some good news about political discourse this year, I would have told them they were delusional,” she said.

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David Bauder writes about media for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://twitter.com/dbauder.

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Israel-Iran war highlights Mideast's declining influence on oil prices

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Israel-Iran war highlights Mideast's declining influence on oil prices
The contained move in oil prices during the Israel-Iran war highlights the increasing efficiency of energy markets and fundamental changes to global crude supply, suggesting that Middle East politics will no longer be the dominant force in oil markets they once were.
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US airstrikes leave a mark on Iran’s nuclear sites, Maxar satellite images reveal

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US airstrikes leave a mark on Iran’s nuclear sites, Maxar satellite images reveal

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Fresh satellite imagery released by Maxar Technologies shows significant damage at three of Iran’s key nuclear sites, Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, just days after U.S. B-2 stealth bombers conducted strikes ordered by President Donald Trump.

The new photos, released on June 24, provide the clearest post-strike visuals to date, showing the precision and depth of the U.S. assault on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

At the heavily fortified Fordow Fuel Enrichment Facility, located deep beneath a mountain near Qom, satellite views reveal multiple craters along the primary access roads and directly at the entrances to tunnel complexes. 

Several perimeter buildings were destroyed outright, and one crater can be seen blasted into the access road leading to the facility.

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US STRIKE DAMAGE TO IRAN’S NATANZ, ISFAHAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES CAPTURED IN SATELLITE IMAGES

This satellite image comparison from Maxar Technologies shows a nuclear facility near Fordow, Iran, before and after U.S. airstrikes carried out on June 22, 2025. The strike targeted suspected tunnel entrances associated with Iran’s underground enrichment infrastructure. (Maxar Technologies)

The Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center also shows signs of recent damage. An overview image highlights new destruction at the surface, while detailed shots capture tunnel entrances that appear to have been struck directly, echoing earlier reporting that the operation aimed to neutralize buried infrastructure previously unreachable by conventional air power.

Meanwhile, at Natanz, a site known for its history with the Stuxnet cyberattack and long a target of Israeli and American scrutiny, two craters believed to have been caused by U.S. ordnance now appear filled and covered with dirt. 

IRAN’S FORDOW NUCLEAR SITE STRUCK SECOND TIME AS IDF TARGETS ACCESS ROUTES

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Bomb damage and craters at Iran’s Fordow nuclear site after U.S. airstrike

This June 24, 2025, satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows bomb damage at Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Facility. The image reveals craters and destruction at a perimeter installation following U.S. airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear infrastructure as part of Operation Midnight Hammer. (Maxar Technologies)

These strikes had reportedly targeted the underground centrifuge halls that are central to Iran’s uranium enrichment operations.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed that key buildings and underground systems at all three sites were hit. 

American officials say Iran’s nuclear program has been severely set back.

Trump has claimed a “very successful” mission.

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Before and after satellite view of Tehran buildings damaged in June 2025 U.S. airstrikes

This pair of satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies shows buildings near Tehran’s Shahid Rajaee University before and after airstrikes on June 22, 2025. The image at right, captured on June 24, shows widespread destruction believed to be linked to suspected nuclear program facilities. (Maxar Technologies)

In addition to the nuclear sites hit by the U.S., Maxar’s images also documented separate airstrike damage in the capital city of Tehran. 

The images show widespread destruction believed to be linked to suspected nuclear program buildings near Tehran’s Shahid Rajaee University.

Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.

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Vietnam ends death penalty for crimes against the state, bribery, drugs

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Vietnam ends death penalty for crimes against the state, bribery, drugs

The death sentence has been removed from eight criminal offences in Vietnamese law and replaced with life imprisonment for offenders.

Vietnam will end capital punishment for eight categories of serious crime – including embezzlement, attempts to overthrow the government and sabotaging state infrastructure, state media has reported.

The state-run Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday that the country’s National Assembly unanimously passed an amendment to the Criminal Code that abolished the death penalty for eight criminal offences.

Starting from next month, people will no longer face a death sentence for bribery, embezzlement, producing and trading counterfeit medicines, illegally transporting narcotics, espionage, “the crime of destroying peace and causing aggressive war”, as well as sabotage and trying to topple the government.

The maximum sentence for these crimes will now be life imprisonment, the news agency said.

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Those who were sentenced to death for capital offences before July 1, but have not yet been executed, will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, the report said.

The death penalty will remain for 10 other criminal offences under Vietnamese law, including murder, treason, terrorism and the sexual abuse of children, according to the report.

During a National Assembly debate on the proposed criminal code amendment last month, the issue of dropping the death sentence for drug trafficking was the most contentious.

“Whether it’s a few grammes or a few tonnes, the harm caused by drug transport is immense,” one legislator said, while another said removing the death sentence for drugs would send the wrong signal at a time when drug cases were increasing in the country.

Capital punishment data is a state secret in Vietnam and it is not known how many people are currently on death row in the country.

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Execution by firing squad in Vietnam was abolished in 2011 and replaced by the administration of a lethal injection.

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