Thursday’s top story: Biden targeted by younger, diverse candidates in testy 2020 debate. Plus, why liberals should shoulder the blame for Baltimore’s problems

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Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s essential stories.

Biden stands his ground amid Democratic brawl in Detroit

Joe Biden came out fighting in his second 2020 debate appearance on Wednesday, as his younger, diverse rivals did their best to topple the former vice-president from a still-commanding poll lead. It was a better performance from the frontrunner, says David Smith, despite pressure from the senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker. But the 76-year-old still snuck in a gaffe at the end of the evening, urging supporters to “go to Joe 30330” – a phone number rather than a website.

2018 Georgia midterms almost entirely privately controlled

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Democrat Stacey Abrams narrowly lost the race for governor of Georgia in 2018 amid widespread accusations of voter suppression. Photograph: The Washington Post/Getty Images

Private companies had almost complete control over the management of Georgia’s 2018 midterm elections, including its voting machines and online voter registration, prompting experts to express serious concerns over security. The revelations, which have emerged as part of a federal court case challenging the constitutionality of the elections, represent what one plaintiff described as “the selling of a public election.”

Political insiders. The voting machine company Elections Systems & Software has close connections the staff of Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp. The plaintiffs argue that a “political insider” could digitally alter the results of an election without detection.

Senate pressures Trump over last Russian nuclear treaty

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A Russian intercontinental ballistic missile launcher at a military parade in Moscow’s Red Square. Photograph: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP

US senators have introduced bipartisan legislation to extend Washington’s last remaining nuclear arms treaty with Russia to 2026, unless the Trump administration can prove Russia is in breach of its terms. The legislation, introduced by the Democratic senator Chris Van Hollen and the GOP senator Todd Young, seen by the Guardian, is designed as a congressional counterweight to White House hawks such as John Bolton, who is keen to allow the New Start treaty – signed by Obama in 2010 – to expire in 2021.

New Start. Trump has already pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia, which is due to end on Friday. New Start limits US and Russian strategic nuclear warheads to 1,550 each; its expiration would sound the death knell for global arms control.

Reagan calls Africans ‘monkeys’ in newly released recording

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Nixon and Reagan on the campaign trail together in 1972. Photograph: Dirck Halstead/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image

Ronald Reagan described African delegates to the UN as “monkeys” who were still “uncomfortable wearing shoes”, to the amusement of the then president, Richard Nixon, in a newly released audio recording that offers a reminder that presidential racism did not begin with Donald Trump. The recording, first published by the Atlantic, comes from a 1971 phone conversation between Nixon and Reagan, who at the time was the governor of California.

Privacy concerns. Tim Naftali, a former director of the Nixon presidential library, wrote that the conversation was originally released in 2000 with the racist portion excised “to protect Reagan’s privacy”. After Reagan’s death in 2004, those concerns were eliminated.

Crib sheet

Must-reads

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Lightfoot at her election night victory party on 2 April. Photograph: Kamil Krzaczyński/AFP/Getty Images

Can Chicago’s new mayor turn a corner on gun violence?

Lori Lightfoot made history in April, when she was elected Chicago’s first black female mayor and its first openly gay mayor. But after a bloody 4 July weekend, the city wants to know whether she is serious about making history again, as the mayor who ends its gun violence epidemic, as Eric Lutz reports.

How to keep your favourite clothes forever

Extending the lifespan of our favourite clothes is good for our wardrobes, our wallets and the world, given that the fashion industry is a major polluter with a history of human rights abuses. Sirin Kale asks the experts how to buy and maintain clothes that will last in the long term.

How the media framed the migrant crisis

Europe’s refugee crisis was one of the most covered world events of the past decade, offering newsworthy scenes of desperation and rescue that would normally be gathered by foreign correspondents in harder-to-access parts of the world. But Daniel Trilling says the media’s focus on “human” stories obscured a bigger picture.

Why are there so many therapists on Instagram?

Therapy involves lengthy, face-to-face interaction between a professional and their patient – a relationship for which social media is no substitute. Yet growing numbers of therapists are using Instagram to share mental health self-care tips and food for thought. Adrienne Matei asks why.

Opinion

Trump’s tweets about Baltimore were inflammatory and racist, but there’s no denying the city has a serious problem with poverty and crime – one that a series of Democratic party leaders have so far failed to combat, says Zaid Jilani.

Baltimore overwhelmingly votes for Democrats, meaning Republicans don’t have much incentive to call attention to its problems and propose solutions. And because Democrats have been in charge of the city for decades, they can hardly blame the other political party for its problems.

Sport

The Houston Astros reportedly acquired the All-Star pitcher Zack Greinke from the Arizona Diamondbacks minutes before the Wednesday afternoon trade deadline, thus eclipsing the Yankees as the new favourites to win this season’s American League.

After the heady heights of “Linsanity” in 2012, it was all downhill for Jeremy Lin, who this week said he felt the NBA had “kind of given up” on him. But while he could never match that remarkable start, Lin’s career is far from a failure, writes Hunter Felt.

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