Online news, media and entertainment company

  Mute buttons and masks: Inside the final 2020 debate NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — While millions of people are watching on television, only around 200 are inside the massive college arena in Nashville where President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, are facing off in their second and final debate of the 2020 election. One of those 200 is controlling a mute button. A representative of the Commission on Presidential Debates — not the moderator — is supposed to ensure each candidate has a two full minutes of uninterrupted time to deliver opening answers on six major topics, according to debate commission chair Frank Fahrenkopf. A member of each of the the Trump and Biden campaigns was expected to monitor the person who controls the mute button backstage, Fahrenkopf told The Associated Press, noting that the button would not be used beyond the first four minutes of each topic. The mute button is among a handful of changes implemented by the nonpartisan debate commiss...

C-SPAN political editor Steve Scully suspended after admitting he lied about his Twitter feed being hacked New York (CNN Business) C-SPAN said Thursday that Steve Scully, the network's senior executive producer and political editor, has been placed on "administrative leave" for lying about being hacked earlier this month. Scully admitted to "errors in judgement" and apologized in a  statement . And President Trump took a victory lap, proclaiming on Twitter, "I was right again!" Scully had been selected by the Commission on Presidential Debates to moderate the town hall-style debate that was supposed to take place on Thursday night. It would have been a pinnacle moment for his career. Last week, however, the debate was scrapped after Trump objected to the virtual format imposed by the commission. While the debate was up in the air, and Trump was criticizing Scully publicly, the C-SPAN veteran sent a tweet to Trump friend-turned-foe Anthony Scaramucci. ...