Wednesday’s top story: Warren withstands rivals’ attacks to cement frontrunner status. Plus, An ‘older feminist’ on her nuanced feelings about #MeToo

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

Biden flies under the radar, while Bernie bounces back

If Elizabeth Warren is not yet the frontrunner in the Democrats’ 2020 field, her rivals are certainly treating her that way, forcing her to weather attacks from all sides at the most crowded presidential debate in modern history on Tuesday night. Joe Biden avoided tough questioning about Ukraine as the candidates clashed on a range of issues, from impeachment to abortion. Moira Donegan says Warren was masterful, and the Guardian’s panelists tended to agree. But, as Nathan Robinson notes, Bernie was on fire, too.

Hunter Biden. In an interview with ABC News broadcast at the same time as the CNN debate, Hunter Biden admitted “poor judgment” in taking a role with a Ukrainian energy firm while his father was in the White House. But he denied there had been any “ethical lapse”.

AOC’s endorsement. Just two weeks after a heart surgery that some thought would end his campaign, Bernie Sanders is to receive his biggest 2020 boost yet: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will endorse his candidacy at an event in New York on Saturday.

Congress to launch Turkey sanctions as Russians patrol Syria

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Russian and Syrian flags flutter on military vehicles near Manbij in northern Syria. Photograph: Omar Sanadiki/Reuters

Congress is pressing ahead with its own bipartisan suite of sanctions on Turkey after deeming the White House response to the violence in Syria insufficient. A Senate bill limiting US military support to Turkey was devised by Democrat Chris Van Hollen and Republican Lindsey Graham, a Trump loyalist who faulted the president for greenlighting a Turkish invasion of northern Syria. As US troops withdraw, Russia has stepped in as the leading regional power broker, with Russian units patrolling border areas.

Isis warning. Speaking at the Democratic debate on Tuesday, Biden warned that the American withdrawal from Syria would encourage a resurgent Isis to target the US.

On the frontline. The Guardian’s Martin Chulov has spent the past week on the frontline in north-eastern Syria. For the latest edition of the Today in Focus podcast, he describes the fallout on the ground from Trump’s shock troop withdrawal.

Envoy’s wife won’t be deported, Trump tells victim’s parents

Play Video 1:01 'I said do the right thing': Harry Dunn's mother describes meeting Trump – video

An American woman who left the UK after a road accident in which a British teenager was killed, will not face deportation from the US, Donald Trump has told the victim’s parents. Motorcyclist Harry Dunn, 19, was killed in August; Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence officer, was reportedly driving on the wrong side of the road at the time. Dunn’s parents met Trump at the White House on Tuesday, where they declined the president’s offer of a meeting with Sacoolas, who was also in the building.

Impeachment latest. More Trump administration officials have testified to Congress as part of the impeachment inquiry, including George Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state, who had expressed concern in emails about the president’s approach to Ukraine policy.

China warns US against ‘meddling’ in Hong Kong

Play Video 1:16 'Carrie Lam step down!' Hong Kong leader heckled in Legislative Council – video

China has responded angrily to a bipartisan bill passed by the House of Representatives in support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters, expressing “strong indignation” and warning the US to “stop meddling”. In Hong Kong, meanwhile, the territory’s chief executive was forced to deliver a key speech on the crisis via video, after being heckled in parliament by pro-democracy lawmakers.

LeBron misstep. Protesters in Hong Kong have been burning LeBron James jerseys after the Lakers star appeared to side against them in comments about the strained relationship between the NBA and China, saying freedom of speech can lead to “a lot of negative”.

Cheat sheet

Boris Johnson is on the brink of a Brexit deal with the EU after conceding to the idea of a customs border in the Irish Sea. But the prime minister must still win over sceptics in the UK parliament if Britain is to leave the bloc with a deal by the end of October, as he has repeatedly promised.

Protesters again clashed violently with police in Barcelona late on Tuesday on a second night of unrest amid demonstrations against the jailing of nine Catalan separatist leaders.

The actor Felicity Huffman has reported to a federal prison in California to begin a 14-day sentence for her part in the college admissions scandal.

A celebrated Oxford University classics professor has been accused of selling ancient Bible fragments, without permission, to Hobby Lobby, the US crafts chain, whose evangelical owners are behind the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC.

Must-reads

Facebook Twitter Pinterest An interrogation scene from Ava DuVernay’s Netflix drama When They See Us. Photograph: Atsushi Nishijima/Netflix

Police interrogation method sparks a Netflix lawsuit

Ava DuVernay’s acclaimed Netflix miniseries When They See Us tells the story of the Central Park Five, whose wrongful convictions were based on false confessions. The series refers to the controversial “Reid technique” for police interrogation. Now, the firm behind the technique is suing Netflix and DuVernay, as Sam Levin reports.

Has #MeToo divided two generations of feminists?

The #MeToo movement exposed a split between two generations of women, argues Meghan Daum, who now identifies as a member of “Team Older Feminist”. “I wondered if my real problem with young feminists was how little they seemed to need us older ones,” she writes. “As far as I could see, they didn’t even want to know us.”

MoMA rebalances the world’s finest modern art collection

The Museum of Modern Art in New York will reopen on 21 October following a $450m refurbishment and a radical rehang – which, says the Guardian’s chief culture writer, Charlotte Higgins, breaks up “the patriarchal parade of white, male artists” for a more inclusive view of modern art history.

A Nobel winner’s plan to transform his capital city

Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, was this week awarded the Nobel peace prize for resolving the country’s conflict with Eritrea. As Tom Gardner reports from Addis Ababa, Ahmed is also responsible for the capital city’s most dramatic facelift in decades.

Opinion

MIT’s Esther Duflo this week became the second female economist to win a Nobel prize, for the “experimental approach” she and her fellow winners took “to alleviating global poverty.” We need more women in a field that has long been biased against them, says Jill Priluck.

It’s telling that Duflo collaborates with her husband. For decades, it has been common for female economists to marry fellow economists. The profession has been notorious for its lack of gender parity.

Sport

Washington DC will have a team in the World Series for the first time in 86 years, after the Nationals held off the St Louis Cardinals on Tuesday to complete their 4-0 sweep of the NL Championship Series.

The US men’s soccer team has lost to Canada for the first time in 34 years, with a 2-0 Concacaf Nations League defeat to their northern neighbours on Tuesday night in Toronto. Across the globe, another old soccer rivalry played out as North Korea hosted South Korea for the first time in three decades. The goalless World Cup qualifier took place at an empty stadium in Pyongyang.

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