Comment on Syria's more confident Assad gives Eid prayers in Hama

J. D. Vance had an assignment. For months, the Republican vice presidential nominee has been dogged by controversies: from the resurfacing of his three-year-old remarks complaining about “childless cat ladies” to his spreading the baseless claim that Haitian migrants are eating people’s pets. Vance’s deliberate provocations have endeared him to Donald Trump but haven’t shown signs of resonating with the non-MAGA segment of the electorate.

LOS ANGELES — One of two doctors charged in the investigation of the death of Matthew Perry is expected to plead guilty Wednesday in a federal court in Los Angeles to conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, of San Diego, signed a plea agreement with prosecutors in August and would be the third person to plead guilty in the aftermath of the Friends star’s fatal overdose last year. Read More: Matthew Perry Wanted to Be Remembered for Helping Others in Recovery From Addiction Prosecutors offered lesser charges to Chavez and two others in exchange for their cooperation as they go after two targets they deem more responsible for the overdose death: another doctor and an alleged dealer that they say was known as “ketamine queen” of Los Angeles. Chavez is free on bond after turning over his passport and surrendering his medical license, among other conditions. His lawyer Matthew Binninger said after Chavez’s first court appearance on Aug.

J. D. Vance attempted to distort his own position on abortion in the vice presidential debate on Oct. 1, suggesting that he “never supported a national ban.” In the past, he has said that he “certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally” and was “sympathetic” to the view that a national ban was needed to stop women from going to another state to get an abortion. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Vance appeared to understand the political unpopularity of the Republican position on abortion.

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. A polished J. D. Vance plowed through his lone debate as the Republican Party’s vice presidential nominee and skirted legitimate questions about the record of his running mate, Donald Trump.

Vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and J. D. Vance faced off in their first and possibly only debate Tuesday night, just five weeks ahead of Election Day in a closely contested race. The debate, hosted by CBS News in New York, marked what is likely to be the final opportunity for voters to evaluate the campaigns before casting their ballots.

Robert Downey Jr. Scarlett Johansson. Samuel L. Jackson. Don Cheadle. Kathryn Hahn. Tom Hiddleston. Angela Bassett. Elizabeth Olsen. Mark Ruffalo. Natalie Portman. Zoe Saldaña. Michael B. Jordan. Brie Larson. Stellan Skarsgård. Benedict Cumberbatch. Chadwick Boseman. Florence Pugh. Anthony Hopkins. Tilda Swinton. Cate Blanchett. Michelle Yeoh. This is an extremely incomplete list of great actors—icons, legends, cult heroes, Oscar and Emmy winners—who have inhabited characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.