Harris accepts rules for Sept. 10 debate with Trump on ABC, including microphone muting

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has accepted the rules set forth for next week's debate with former President Donald Trump, although the Democratic nominee says the decision not to keep both candidates' microphones live throughout the matchup will be to her disadvantage.

The development, which came Wednesday by way of a letter from Harris' campaign to host network ABC News, seemed to mark a conclusion to the debate over microphone muting, which had for a time threatened to derail the Sept. 10 presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Harris’ acceptance of the debate rules came as Trump — using a night he had proposed as a debate with Harris on Fox News Channel — instead participated in a solo town hall with host Sean Hannity in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a version of debate preparation with a longtime ally who queried him about his plans to take on the Democratic nominee.

President Joe Biden’s campaign had made the muting of microphones, except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak, a condition of his decision to accept any debates this year. Some aides have said they now regret that decision, saying voters were shielded from hearing Trump’s outbursts during the June debate. A disastrous performance for the incumbent Democrat fueled his exit from the campaign.

Once Harris rose in Biden's stead and became their party's pick for president, her campaign had advocated for live microphones for the whole debate, saying previously that the practice would “fully allow for substantive exchanges between the candidates.”

But on Wednesday, in a letter obtained by The Associated Press, Harris’ advisers wrote that the former prosecutor will be “fundamentally disadvantaged by this format, which will serve to shield Donald Trump from direct exchanges with the Vice President."

“We suspect this is the primary reason for his campaign’s insistence on muted microphones,” her campaign added.

Despite those concerns, Harris' campaign wrote, “we understand that Donald Trump is a risk to skip the debate altogether, as he has threatened to do previously, if we do not accede to his preferred format.” So as not to “jeopardize the debate,” Harris' campaign wrote, “we accepted the full set of rules proposed by ABC, including muted microphones.”

According to an official with Harris’ campaign, a pool of journalists will be on hand to hear what the muted candidate may be trying to say when his or her microphone is turned off. That detail was not in the full debate rules, also released Wednesday by ABC, which are essentially the same as they were for the June debate between Trump and Biden.

The network laid out parameters from the basic format — 90 minutes, with two commercial breaks — to specifications that moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis “will be the only people asking questions,” perhaps hoping to avert a free-for-all between the candidates.

“Moderators will seek to enforce timing agreements and ensure a civilized discussion,” the network noted.

The Harris campaign official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss planning around the debate, said a candidate who repeatedly interrupts will receive a warning from a moderator, and both candidates' microphones may be unmuted if there is significant crosstalk so the audience can understand what's happening.

After a virtual coin flip held Tuesday and won by Trump, the GOP nominee opted to offer the final closing statement, while Harris chose the podium on the right side of viewers’ screens. There will be no audience, written notes or any topics or questions shared with campaigns or candidates in advance, the network said.

In the town hall on Wednesday, Hannity steered Trump through many of the topics typical of the GOP nominee's campaign events, with a heavy focus on immigration, and posed questions after showing video clips of Harris in media interviews and other appearances.

Trump also repeatedly returned his focus from Harris to Biden, calling Democrats' substitution of their top candidate “a coup” and saying he would have preferred a debate with Harris, rather than the town hall.

Asked about next week's debate, Trump repeated his former criticism of ABC as a “dishonest” and “unfair” network, also reiterating his previous claims that Harris' campaign is "going to get the questions in advance.”

The location of Trump's town hall, coupled with next week's debate in Philadelphia, highlights the importance of battleground Pennsylvania, where 19 Electoral College votes are up for grabs in the November election.

Price reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. AP White House Correspondent Zeke Miller contributed to this report.

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks with Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice during an event at the group's annual convention in Washington, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign stop at the Throwback Brewery, in North Hampton, N.H., Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

OSLO, Norway (AP) — A beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation that it was a Russian spy, was not shot to death as claimed by animal rights groups but died of a bacterial infection, Norwegian police said Friday.

A final autopsy by Norway's Veterinary Institute “concludes that the probable cause of death was bacterial infection -- possibly as a result of a wound in the mouth from a stuck stick,” Amund Preede Revheim, head of the North Sea and Environment section of the police in south-western Norway said.

“There have been no findings from the autopsy that indicate that the whale has been shot,” he stressed, adding that the autopsy had been “made difficult by the fact that many of the whale’s organs were very rotten.” As there was no indication of foul play, there was no reason to start a criminal investigation into its death, Preede Revheim said.

The tame beluga, which was first spotted in 2019 not far from Russian waters with a harness reading “Equipment St. Petersburg,” had been nicknamed "Hvaldimir,” combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It was found floating in a southern Norway bay on Aug. 31.

In September, animal advocate groups OneWhale and NOAH filed a police report saying that the animal’s wounds suggested it was intentionally killed.

They pointed at several wounds found on the animal’s skin, including what was interpreted as a bullet hole.

“Assessments made by the Veterinary Institute and the police’s forensic technicians are that these are not gunshot wounds. X-rays of the chest and head were carried out without any projectiles or other metal fragments being detected,” police said in a statement.

Earlier, police had described a stick about 35 centimeters (14 inches) long and 3 centimeters (1 inch) wide which was found wedged in the animal’s mouth, its stomach was empty and its organs had broken down, police said. No further details were given.

The 4.2-meter (14-foot) long and 1,225-kilogram (2,700-pound) whale was first spotted by fishermen not far from the Arctic town of Hammerfest.

Its harness, along with what appeared to be a mount for a small camera, led to media speculation that it was a “spy whale.” Experts say the Russian navy is known to have trained whales for military purposes. Media reports also have speculated that the whale might have been trained as a therapy animal.

There was no immediate reaction from OneWhale or NOAH.

FILE - In this photo taken in April 2019 a beluga whale found in Arctic Norway is fed. (Jorgen Ree Wiig, Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries via AP)