REPUBLICAN Donald Trump will debate Democrat Hillary Clinton in Monday night’s first presidential debate at Hofstra University on Long Island in New York.

What could be a record audience is expected to tune in Monday evening to watch the first presidential debate between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump. The debate, held at Hofstra University in New York, will be moderated by Lester Holt of NBC News and broadcast live on all major networks at 6 p.m. Pacific time.

The debate will not include Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson or Green Party’s Jill Stein, because they did not meet the 15 percent polling threshold.

Interest in this debate is believed to be high because of the close nature of the presidential debate. Although polls differ, the average as computed by RealClearPolitics.com has Clinton at 45.9 percent support in the popular vote and Trump at 43.8 percent, a margin of 2.1 percent.

Moreover, formerly reliable Democratic states such as Ohio, Iowa, Nevada and Florida are either leaning to Trump or are deadlocked, according to recent polling.

Nine hurt, shooter killed in Houston

A man described as a “disgruntled lawyer” shot six people at a shopping mall in Houston, Texas before being killed by police. Three more were hurt by flying broken glass. According to Fox News, the shooter has been identified at Nathan DeSai. He reportedly had become despondent over the failure of his legal practice.

Six of those hurt by the gunman have been hospitalized, one in critical condition.

Violent crime up but below earlier levels

The FBI’s crime data report released Friday shows that homicides rose by 10 percent over the past year across the nation, and that violent crime increased by 3.9 percent, according to the Associated Press. Those increases still brought the homicide and violent crime levels below the statistics for 2011 and 2006.

Peace treaty to be signed in Colombia

An accord between the government of Colombia and the largest rebel group is expected to be signed on Monday, ending a war that’s lasted over 20 years. An estimated 220,000 people have been killed in the conflict between the government and FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and as many as 8 million people rendered homeless, according to the Associated Press.

This News Update is posted weekdays as staff time permits.