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How to watch this week's debates between Elizabeth Warren and John Deaton
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
Before you act a fool and flock to East Bridgewater for these apples, let’s bite into the news:
Debate week: Sen. Elizabeth Warren will debate her Republican challenger John Deaton for the first — and second — time this week. As WBUR’s Anthony Brooks reports, the two televised events are Deaton’s best opportunity to introduce his “up-from-his-bootstraps” biography to voters, with just three weeks left until Election Day. A recent WBUR poll found nearly half of Massachusetts voters had never heard of Deaton, a trial lawyer and Marine veteran. Meanwhile, Warren is seeking her third term representing the blue state.
- Round 1: The first Deaton-Warren debate — hosted by WBZ in Boston — starts at 8:30 p.m. tonight. It will air on WSBK-TV 38 and stream online on CBS New Boston’s website.
- Round 2: The second debate is Thursday night in Springfield, hosted by New England Public Media and GBH News. The 7 p.m. event will be live-streamed on YouTube here and here.
- What to expect: Deaton has tried to cast himself as a moderate, willing to buck Donald Trump, who he says he won’t vote for. Still, Warren argues a Deaton victory could hand Republicans control of a closely divided Senate. Read Anthony’s full piece here for more on where the two candidates stand on the issues.
Wicked smart: Two MIT professors, Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson, are among the winners of this year’s Nobel Prize in Economics, alongside James Robinson, from the University of Chicago. The trio was recognized for their research explaining why societies with poor rule of law do not grow as fast economically as governments that democratize. “And they grow the more right way, meaning they grow in a way that’s more equal, invest more in education and health,” Acemoglu said during a press conference. “Both political and economic inclusion matter, and they are synergistic.”
- In other MIT news: The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard confirmed 87 employees were laid off last Thursday, with a majority of the affected positions in software engineering and I.T. The news follows this summer’s announcement that Microsoft would not renew its partnership with the institute after this calendar year. (The partnership started in 2011 and had brought in nearly $15 million per year.)
Heads up: Daytime road work begins today on the stretch of Memorial Drive in Cambridge where a cyclist was killed last month. According to state officials, drivers should expect lane closures and detours from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Magazine Street to Audrey Street, continuing until Nov. 26, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Expect backups during rush hour (and maybe seek alternate routes).
- What’s changing: The project includes a widened, raised path for pedestrians and cyclists and a reduced 25 speed limit for cars, according to the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Bike advocates say the upgrades are overdue. “It’s heartbreaking that these changes are now occurring after someone is killed,” Cambridge Bike Safety volunteer Clyve Lawrence told WBUR’s Paul Connearney. “DCR should be more proactive in listening to advocates and making the entire riverfront safe and accessible.”
Boston’s hotel strike is growing: More than 600 unionized workers at the Omni Parker House and the Omni Boston Seaport are now off the job. They join about 600 local Hilton hotel workers on the picket line, according to the union UNITE HERE Local 26.
- The union plans to stay on strike until the hotel companies agree to satisfactory wage increases. “Almost everyone at the hotel either is working overtime or has a second job,” Isaac Smith-Kawa, a line cook at the Omni Seaport, told WBUR’s John Bender. “People are not able to make rent.”
P.S. — Warren and Deaton aren’t the only ones debating this week. WBUR is hosting four ballot question debates this week, a collab between our Morning Edition and Radio Boston teams and WCVB. The debates will air live at 9 a.m. each morning on 90.9 and will be streamed on wbur.org and WCVB.org. Brush up with our ballot question explainers before our first debate today featuring Question 1.
