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CHARLOTTE, N. C. — Four months after seeking asylum in the U. S., Fernando Hermida began coughing and feeling tired. He thought it was a cold. Then sores appeared in his groin and he would soak his bed with sweat. He took a test. On New Year’s Day 2022, at age 31, Hermida learned he had HIV. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “I thought I was going to die,” he said, recalling how a chill washed over him as he reviewed his results.

On Thursday, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will meet on stage in Atlanta for the first of two presidential debates ahead of the November 2024 election. While their performance in the televised debates could influence the outcome, it wouldn’t be the first time in history that a presidential debate moved the needle in a close race. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Presidential debates have been a staple of campaigns for decades, and history has shown that they can have the power to sway undecided voters and solidify public perception of the candidates.

MOSCOW — Russia’s southern region of Dagestan held the first of three days of mourning Monday following a rampage by Islamic militants who killed 19 people, most of them police, and attacked houses of worship in apparently coordinated assaults in two cities. Sunday’s violence in Dagestan’s regional capital of Makhachkala and nearby Derbent was the latest that officials blamed on Islamic extremists in the predominantly Muslim region in the North Caucasus, as well as the deadliest in Russia since March, when gunmen opened fire at a concert in suburban Moscow, killing 145 people. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The affiliate of the Islamic State group in Afghanistan that claimed responsibility for March’s raid quickly praised the attack in Dagestan, saying it was conducted by “brothers in the Caucasus who showed that they are still strong.” The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War argued that the Islamic State group’s North Caucasus branch, Vilayat Kavkaz, likely was behind the attack, describing it as “complex and coordinated.” Dagestan Gov.

The other week, my four-year-old daughter and I were going to her swimming lessons, when a man came up to us in the gym and exclaimed: “What pretty girls!” “Mama, what did he say?” my daughter asked, her strawberry blonde hair falling in her face. “He said he likes your hat,” I lied.

This article is part of The D. C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. Joe Biden had the final word that August day back in 1987, delivering the final closing remark on a crowded debate stage in Iowa. There was just one problem: his best lines were cribbed.

Little could be more symbolic of the power struggle playing out in Southeast Asia than what is happening on the outskirts of Ream National Park, in southern Cambodia. China is building a naval base on the site of a former U. S.-built military facility, and appears to be settling in for the long haul.