Bloomberg News reports: A federal judge initiated contempt of court proceedings over allegations that the U.S. Commerce Department defied her order not to rush completion of the census. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said during a hearing Tuesday that Monday’s announcement that Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross is targeting Oct. 5 to wrap up the once-a-decade population count “is doing …

Mediaite reports: White House trade advisor Navarro gave an interview to MSNBC’s Hallie Jackson the day after the debate, and she pressed him on Trump telling the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” when asked to condemn racist groups. “Why didn’t the president denounce more strongly the Proud Boys in that moment, Peter?” Jackson asked. “I think that …

The Hill reports: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said on Wednesday that President Trump should have condemned white supremacists during the first presidential debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden. “Of course,” Romney told reporters when asked. Trump refused to denounce white supremacy during Tuesday’s night chaotic debate. “I can’t tell you what impact that will have. I can say I watched …

The Washington Post reports: Trump has scheduled large campaign rallies this weekend in Wisconsin despite recommendations from the White House Coronavirus Task Force that call for increasing social distancing in the state “to the maximal degree possible.” The task force has further flagged La Crosse and Green Bay, the metropolitan areas where Trump plans to gather thousands of supporters Saturday, …

Lynchburg’s NBC News affiliate reports: Liberty University said it paid its recently resigned president, Jerry Falwell Jr., the two years’ base salary owed under his employment contract Tuesday. The Lynchburg, Virginia-based Christian university issued a brief statement about the compensation that did not provide an exact figure but said previous “media reports regarding the size and terms” of Falwell’s severance …

The Associated Press reports: Timothy Ray Brown, who made history as “the Berlin patient,” the first person known to be cured of HIV infection, has died. He was 54. Brown died Tuesday at his home in Palm Springs, California, according to a social media post by his partner, Tim Hoeffgen. The cause was a return of the cancer that originally …

Reuters reports: Results from an early safety study of Moderna Inc’s coronavirus vaccine candidate in older adults showed that it produced virus-neutralizing antibodies at levels similar to those seen in younger adults, with side effects roughly on par with high-dose flu shots, researchers said on Tuesday. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, offers a more complete …

Fox News sadly reports: The sheriff of Multnomah County, Ore., which includes Portland, emphatically denied supporting President Trump on Tuesday evening — shortly after the president made the claim during his debate against Democrat Joe Biden. Trump mentioned the sheriff while touting support from law enforcement across the country during his first presidential debate with Biden. “We just got the …

The Washington Post reports: Democratic voters who have requested mail ballots — and returned them — greatly outnumber Republicans so far in key battleground states, causing alarm among GOP party leaders and strategists that President Trump’s attacks on mail voting could be hurting the party’s prospects to retain the White House and the Senate this year. Of the more than …

Mediaite reports: Joe Biden lashed out at President Donald Trump’s constant interruptions during the first segment of the debate, calling him a “clown” and eventually letting out an exasperated “Will you shut up, man?” During Tuesday night’s presidential debate at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, moderator Chris Wallace presided over a chaotic opening segment that saw Trump put …

“People are reading this all wrong. You clearly didn’t watch what I watched here. Trump had a strategy and I think, Geraldo, I’m sorry, but I think you missed it. “Trump’s strategy tonight was executed brilliantly. What did he want to do? He knows what I think Geraldo is missing. This is a base election. Forget independents, it’s a base …

STAT News reports: Not only has he lowered drug prices, President Trump claimed in the first 15 minutes of Tuesday’s debate — but he has helped lower the price of insulin, specifically, so that it is so cheap that it’s “like water.” In reality, insulin still retails for roughly $300 a vial. Most patients with diabetes need two to three …

“Donald Trump blew the biggest layup in the history of debates by saying — not condemning white supremacists. I don’t know if he didn’t hear it, but he’s gotta clarify that right away. That’s like, ‘Are you against evil?’ Why the president didn’t just knock it out of the park, I’m not sure.” – Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade, …

The New York Times reports: Members of the Proud Boys, a far-right group that has endorsed violence, celebrated on Tuesday night after President Trump mentioned them during the first presidential debate. Asked whether he condemned white supremacists and military groups, Mr. Trump demurred and then said, “Proud Boys — stand back and stand by.” Within minutes, members of the group …

“I suspect that the president will do his best to try to get Biden off his game and rattle him, and hope that the confusion that senile people often experience will come into play. “But I don’t think that can be counted on, and I’m not sure it was at all wise for the president to talk, as he did …

CNN’s Stephen Collinson writes: It was easily the worst and most rancorous presidential debate in history. But it still left the country with its starkest election choice in many generations. Americans will need to decide if they want four more years of the fury, insults, chaos and self-absorption served up to millions of viewers by Donald Trump. If they will …

The Hill reports: The House adopted a resolution on Tuesday to affirm the chamber’s support for a peaceful transfer of power after President Trump last week declined to commit to it if he loses reelection. Lawmakers adopted the measure in a bipartisan 397-5 vote, with all of the votes in opposition coming from Republicans. Tuesday’s vote followed one last week …

Sydney’s ABC News affiliate reports: Australian legend and activist Helen Reddy has passed away at the age of 78 in Los Angeles. The Melbourne-born singer is best known for her hit song I Am Woman, which has gone on to become a feminist anthem. “Helen Reddy’s story is an amazing one, a great story of talent and determination,” said entertainment …

Deadline Hollywood reports: It’s only appropriate that the revival — or should I say spiritual sequel — to the 1996 occult classic The Craft will debut just in time for Halloween. Blumhouse Productions and Columbia Pictures not only dropped a trailer today that gives us the first look at The Craft: Legacy directed and written by Zoe Lister-Jones but also …

ABC News reports: President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee for president Joe Biden will face off from a social distance in the first presidential debate of 2020 on Tuesday night in Cleveland, just five weeks out from Election Day. The first presidential debate at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic comes on the heels of bombshell reporting from …