Good Morning! Today’s edition is 822 words, a 3-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• American activist killed in West Bank

• SpaceX launches the Polaris Dawn Crew

• The Pope’s World Tour

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Big Story

Harris vs. Trump

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump faced off in their first debate last night.

• Harris’ campaign said her goal was to get under Trump’s skin and after a slow start, she succeeded. She said that Trump was rejected by voters in 2020 and accused him of lacking the temperament to be president. Trump denied involvement in the January 6th Capitol siege and falsely claimed he won the 2020 election.

• The debate touched on important issues like race, the economy, and abortion. Harris criticized Trump for using race to divide Americans and highlighted his discriminatory past. On the economy, Harris outlined her policies to support small businesses, while Trump pushed his focus on tariffs.

• On abortion, Harris condemned the loss of constitutional protection, while Trump inaccurately claimed both parties supported the Supreme Court's ruling. The two also had opposing views on handling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Harris accusing Trump of wanting Ukraine to surrender.

Big Story

American Killed in West Bank

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, an American activist, was killed in the West Bank during a protest against Israeli settlements

• The Israeli military said the shooting was "indirect and unintentional." U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized the incident, calling it "unacceptable," and Eygi’s family rejected claims that her death was unintentional. She was shot after the violence had cooled at the protest.

• Israel launched a criminal investigation and said Eygi was likely hit unintentionally while soldiers aimed at someone else. The activist group she was with, the International Solidarity Movement, disagreed, saying she was targeted directly. While Israel claims to investigate civilian deaths, human rights groups argue that soldiers rarely face serious punishment.

• Eygi's death joins other high-profile killings of American citizens in the West Bank, such as journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in 2022. Israel acknowledged possible involvement but did not press charges.

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SpaceX Launches Polaris Dawn

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched early Tuesday morning carrying a crew for the Polaris Dawn mission.

• The mission aims to complete the first commercial spacewalk and travel to the highest altitude a crew has reached in 50 years—1,400 kilometers (870 miles). That’s three times higher than the International Space Station. The crew will study how radiation at this high altitude affects the human body, which could help future missions to Mars.

• The crew includes billionaire Jared Isaacman, pilot Scott Poteet, and two SpaceX employees, Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon. Isaacman and Gillis will leave the capsule for about a 20-minute spacewalk while tethered. They'll wear new SpaceX-designed spacesuits that are being tested for the first time.

• Besides the suits, the crew will test how well the Dragon spacecraft connects with SpaceX's Starlink satellites. The connection will provide WiFi inside the capsule, an important technology that could help keep the crew in contact during future missions to the Moon or Mars.

Little Stories

• James Earl Jones, the prolific film, TV, and theater actor whose unmistakable baritone was most widely known as the voice of “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader & King Mufasa in “The Lion King,” died Monday morning at his home in Dutchess County, N.Y. He was 93. (More)

• Girls who went through Covid lockdowns showed faster brain aging than boys, according to MRI scans. Girls’ brains seemed to age about 4.2 years faster than normal, while boys’ brains aged 1.4 years more quickly. It's unclear if this has bad effects, but experts are worried it could impact their mental health and ability to learn. (More)

• Two Delta planes collided while getting ready for takeoff at Atlanta's airport on Tuesday. One plane's wingtip hit another smaller Delta plane. No one was hurt, and passengers from the smaller plane were taken back to the terminal by bus. The other plane made it to the gate to offload passengers. (More)

• Bank of America raised its minimum hourly pay in the U.S. to $24. They're working toward paying $25 an hour by 2025 to keep and attract workers in a tough job market. Over the past seven years, they've boosted wages by 60%, with the last minimum pay being $23 an hour. (More)

• The Pope’s world tour continued this week. Around 600,000 people, nearly half of East Timor's population, gathered at a park on Tuesday for Pope Francis' final Mass. The event was held at the same spot where St. John Paul II prayed 35 years ago during East Timor's fight for independence. (More)

Extra Credit

🪵 Why do we knock on wood?

🏫 America’s best college towns.

🤳 TSA lines might be slower due to the aesthetic airport tray photo trend.

🧀 An average American eats 42 lbs of cheese per year.