A new New York Times/Siena College poll found Donald Trump leading Kamala Harris, 48% to 47%, within the poll’s three-percentage-point margin of error and largely unchanged from a Times/Siena poll taken in late July just after President Biden dropped his re-election bid.

Nate Cohn: “To me, the result is a bit surprising. It’s the first lead for Mr. Trump in a major nonpartisan national survey in about a month. As a result, it’s worth being at least a little cautious about these findings, as there isn’t much confirmation from other polls.”

“That said, it wouldn’t be hard to explain if Vice President Harris’s support really has faded a bit in recent weeks. After all, she was benefiting from an ideal news environment: an uninterrupted month of glowing coverage from President Biden’s departure from the race in July to the Democratic convention in August. It’s possible she was riding a political sugar high; if so, it would make sense if she came off those highs in the two uneventful weeks since the convention.”

“One year ago, Donald Trump faced 91 felony counts across four criminal cases, enough for an ordinary defendant to brace for years behind bars,” the New York Times reports.

“But today, Mr. Trump still walks free — and is running for president. One of his cases was thrown out. The U.S. Supreme Court derailed another. A third is delayed indefinitely. And on Friday, in his only criminal case that actually made it to trial and scratched his legal Teflon, he pulled off one of his most surprising wins yet.”

“At Mr. Trump’s request, and without objection from prosecutors, the judge who presided over his criminal trial in Manhattan postponed his sentencing until after the election, in which Mr. Trump will square off against Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency. The judge, Juan M. Merchan, had previously planned to impose the punishment on Sept. 18, during the heart of the campaign.”

“As Kamala Harris, Donald Trump and their aides scheme out their strategies for this week’s much-anticipated debate, one big question is how the two candidates will approach a great strength for Democrats and a major weakness for Republicans: abortion rights,” the New York Times reports.

“Ms. Harris has made the issue a guiding light, and it has benefited her party at the polls since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Mr. Trump, who for years took credit for that decision, has tried to dodge its political blowback, making contradictory statements meant to help him appeal to voters turned off by total or near-total abortion bans in many Republican states.”

“The candidates are all but certain to clash over abortion on Tuesday at the debate, the first time that they will directly confront each other and contrast their visions for the reproductive future of America.”

“Four years ago, Donald Trump dramatically boosted his support in several heavily Latino sections of Philadelphia. Some Democrats campaigning for Kamala Harris privately admit they are worried it could happen again,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“As the candidates ready for a high-stakes debate in downtown Philadelphia on Tuesday, the fight for these voters is unfolding several miles north. While Latinos are a relatively small piece of the Philadelphia population—about 240,000, or roughly 16%, and voter turnout tends to be low—both parties argue that in a tight election they could have an impact.”

Donald Trump, who makes frequent false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen through rampant fraud, warned Saturday that he would attempt to imprison anyone who engages in “unscrupulous behavior” during the 2024 race results, NBC News reports.

Said Trump: “Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.”

“Do you think he has any damn idea what we do? I wonder whether he has any notion what a hard day’s work is. I mean, all he did was lose his father’s money.”

— President Biden, talking about Donald Trump at a campaign event.

CNN interviewed two voters in Pennsylvania:

REPORTER: Who will you vote for?

VOTER: Kamala Harris.

REPORTER: Were you Democrats before?

VOTER: I’m a Republican.

REPORTER: Why are you voting the other way?

VOTER: Because she behaves more like a human.

Mark McKinnon, a former George W. Bush operative now backing Kamala Harris, writes in Vanity Fair that she should ignore Donald Trump in next week’s debate.

Said McKinnon: “He hates-hates that. You and Walz have figured out how to pick the lock on his psyche. Don’t call him dangerous—it only makes him appear stronger and bigger. Keep hitting him with weird. Keep bruising his ego. Not with head shakes and tut-tutting (neither of which works in a debate), but by brushing off his absurdities with clarity.”

He adds: “You don’t need to land a heavy blow, just a deft gut punch—and gut check—every now and then. Keep deflecting his jabs with composure, poise, and mild disbelief bordering on low-grade disdain. It diminishes him and makes him smaller.”

“Doctor Hannibal Lecter, he will have you for dinner. You know that he will have you for dinner.”

— Donald Trump, at a rally in Wisconsin.

Former President George W. Bush does not plan to endorse a candidate for president, NBC News reports.

“Donald Trump has been making false claims about transgender people – including an inflammatory and baseless claim that schools are secretly providing or obtaining gender-affirming surgeries for children,” CNN reports.

Said Trump: “The transgender thing is incredible. Think of it. Your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation. The school decides what’s going to happen with your child.”