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Good morning.

We’re covering the U.S. vice-presidential debate, New Zealand’s second elimination of the coronavirus and the golden age of newsletters.

Flanked by controversial plexiglass barriers, Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris of California met on Wednesday night for their only debate of the 2020 U.S. election. Their face-off was more civil than the unruly presidential event last week, but the vice-presidential candidates still had sharp exchanges on the virus, foreign policy and health care. Mr. Pence sought to recast President Trump’s record on the pandemic and other issues, often in plain defiance of the facts.

Earlier in the day, in a video recorded outside the White House, Mr. Trump called his coronavirus infection “a blessing from God” and portrayed as a miracle cure the unproven therapeutic drug he was given