The presidential race enters a critical stretch. Here's what you should know

 The 2024 presidential race has entered a critical stretch, with Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump set to debate and the first swing state ballots hitting mailboxes shortly after the Labor Day holiday weekend.

As the calendar turns to September, both campaigns are focusing on on key battleground states — with Harris eyeing an expanded map and Trump digging in across the upper Midwestern states that delivered him the presidency in 2016 and ousted him from office in 2020.

Here are headlines you should know:

Advertising:

• Trump released a new video Tuesday, seeking to tie Harris to President Joe Biden’s record in the White House. 
• Harris’ presidential campaign is launching an ad Tuesday zeroing in on inflation and the economy.
• Political ads in Philadelphia falsely claimed the Eagles have endorsed Harris for the presidency. The Eagles posted on X that the team is “aware of the counterfeit ads being circulated” and working to have them removed.
• A Republican-linked group has purchased digital ads targeting Michigan voters about Harris’ ties to Israel, as she seeks to balance her messaging on the issue and maintain outreach to Arab American voters in the critical battleground state.

Upcoming debate:

• Harris and Trump are taking two different paths to prepare for their September 10 debate, the first time the nominees will face off since Democrats upended their ticket this summer. For much of this week, Harris will take a step back from the trail ahead of the debate. Trump, meanwhile, is ramping up his appearances after skipping Labor Day campaigning.
• Harris will travel to Pittsburgh on Thursday to prepare for next week’s presidential debate, according to two sources familiar with the planning. Harris will remain in the city until the debate takes place next week, sources say.
• The Harris and Trump campaigns remain in ongoing discussions about the debate rules, according to sources. The Harris campaign has been pushing for microphones to remain on for the duration of the debate, while the Trump campaign wants the microphones turned off while the other candidate is speaking like the CNN debate in June. 

Upcoming events:

• The Harris-Walz campaign kicked off a bus tour focusing on reproductive health care with an event in Boynton Beach, Florida, on Tuesday — near former President Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago home in Palm Beach. The bus tour will make at least 50 stops in key battleground states to highlight the contrasts between Harris and Trump’s stance on reproductive freedom.
• Harris is planning to deliver a speech in New Hampshire on Wednesday to unveil the next tranche of her economic plan, according to three advisers. She is set to propose a handful of new benefits to entrepreneurs and small business owners to spur the creation of millions of new businesses.

More headlines to know:

• A federal judge has ruled Trump and his campaign must pause on using the song “Hold On, I’m Coming.”
• Harris’ presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee will transfer more than $24 million to support down ballot races, according to an announcement made on Tuesday. 
• Trump on Tuesday praised medical marijuana ahead of some states voting on the issue this fall. Trump’s comments come after he posted on Truth Social over the weekend that he thought adults in Florida shouldn’t be arrested for carrying “personal amounts” of marijuana and that he thought the Florida ballot initiative on recreational marijuana use would pass. 
• Trump plans to plead not guilty to the charges laid out in special counsel Jack Smith’s retooled election subversion indictment against him in federal court.