Joe Biden and Donald Trump have agreed to two head-to-head live televised debates in June and September.

After months of speculation about whether the traditional presidential debates would go ahead, the US broadcaster CNN has announced that a primetime debate will take place at its global headquarters in Atlanta on 27 June at 9pm.

ABC will host a second debate, scheduled for 10 September, just under two months before the election on 5 November.

For weeks, former President Trump has been using social media and rallies to goad President Biden into taking part in a debate.

“Anytime. Anywhere. Anyplace,” Mr Trump has repeatedly said.

Amid speculation over whether President Biden would be prepared to expose himself to the pressure and jeopardy of a live debate, the president used a radio interview in late April to confirm he would be “happy” to.

“I am happy to debate him,” he said. “I am, somewhere. I don’t know when,” he told SiriusFM radio host Howard Stern.

That revelation prompted back-channel conversations between staff from the two campaigns to agree a format.

The debates will bypass the presidential debate commission that traditionally coordinates the process.

Mr Biden’s team have insisted that the two debates do not include a live audience, a move the Trump team are understood to have agreed to.

An hour before CNN announced that it would host the first debate, President Biden released a clip on X confirming his willingness to take part.

“Donald Trump lost two debates to me in 2020. Since then, he hasn’t shown up for a debate,” President Biden said.

“Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal. I’ll even do it twice. So let’s pick the dates, Donald.”

In a jibe at Mr Trump’s court case in New York, which doesn’t sit on Wednesdays, Mr Biden added: “I hear you’re free on Wednesdays.”

‘He can’t put two sentences together’

Donald Trump responded with a lengthy statement on his own social media platform, Truth Social.

“Crooked Joe Biden is the WORST debater I have ever faced – He can’t put two sentences together! Crooked is also the WORST President in the history of the United States, by far,” he said.

“It’s time for a debate so that he can explain to the American People his highly destructive Open Border Policy, new and ridiculous EV Mandates, the allowance of Crushing Inflation, High Taxes, and his really WEAK Foreign Policy which is allowing the World to ‘Catch on Fire.'”

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

Read more from Sky News:
Rust weapons supervisor appeals against conviction
Man who won $1.35bn in lottery ‘battling own family’

The former president continued: “I am Ready and Willing to Debate Crooked Joe at the two proposed times in June and September.

“I would strongly recommend more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue, although Biden is supposedly afraid of crowds – That’s only because he doesn’t get them. Just tell me when, I’ll be there. ‘Let’s get ready to Rumble!!!'”

The summer and autumn clashes, to be moderated by as-yet unannounced star anchors, promise to be box office occasions with huge jeopardy for both candidates.

The weapons supervisor for the Western film Rust is appealing against her conviction for involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on set, according to court documents.

Hannah Gutierrez was jailed in April after being found guilty by jurors following a trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the US.

She was in charge of weapons during the production of the film in October 2021, when a Colt 45 revolver fired by actor and co-producer Alec Baldwin went off during a rehearsal.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died, while director Joel Souza was injured.

A defence lawyer for Gutierrez, who is serving an 18-month sentence at a prison for women in New Mexico, filed a shortly worded appeal notice on Monday.

Her legal team has 30 days to submit detailed arguments. They previously requested a new trial following the verdict.

Gutierrez’s trial was told she unwittingly brought live ammunition to the set, where it was expressly prohibited, and failed to follow basic gun safety protocols.

During her sentencing hearing, she told the court she had tried to do her best while working on the production, despite not having “proper time, resources and staffing”.

Read more:
What the conviction means for Alec Baldwin
Prosecutors say Baldwin had ‘no control’ of emotions on set

Alec Baldwin case latest

Baldwin, who was a producer for the film as well as its star, has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter.

He maintains he pulled back the gun’s hammer – but not the trigger – before it fired, and is set to face trial in July. He denies any wrongdoing.

The 66-year-old was originally charged in January 2023, more than a year after the shooting, but those charges were dropped a few months later. He was charged again in January this year.

His legal team has filed a motion calling for the charges to be dropped. Prosecutors responded with a 32-page document claiming that footage of the star on set shows he had “absolutely no control of his own emotions” and “no concern for how his conduct” affected those around him.

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

Assistant director David Halls, who also faced charges, entered a plea bargain for negligent use of a deadly weapon last year, receiving a six-month suspended sentence.

Filming of Rust resumed last year in Montana – with Baldwin reprising his role as the main character – after an agreement made Ms Hutchins’s widower an executive producer.

A man who scooped a $1.35bn lottery win is said to be embroiled in a legal battle – with his own family.

The Mega Millions winner, who has not been named but is believed to hail from the US state of Maine, won the fourth-largest jackpot in US history last year (worth around £1.07bn).

But the story has only grown more complex since then, and the man is now involved in legal proceedings with two members of his family, US media outlet The Daily Beast reports.

He is said to have sued his daughter’s mother for allegedly revealing his newfound wealth to other members of his family in what he claimed was a violation of a non-disclosure agreement.

The lottery winner has also reportedly demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars in penalties, claiming that his child’s mother told his father, sister and stepmother about his big windfall.

But in recent court filings, the woman alleged that the man himself told his father and stepmother about the win, The Daily Beast reported.

Her lawyers said this “shatters the remaining shards” of the lawsuit.

Read more from Sky News:
Boeing could face prosecution over plane crashes
Kelly Clarkson addresses weight loss medication speculation

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

The unnamed lottery winner’s father has also now apparently become involved in the legal proceedings, alleging that his son misled him about a number of things since the win.

“I understand that my son has stated that he told me nothing about his money ‘other than the simple fact that I had won.’ That is not true,” he is quoted as saying in a declaration.

His dad adds that his son “told me a number of things he planned on doing with his money,” even though he never asked him for anything, The Daily Beast also reported.

These allegedly included building a new garage for his father as well as buying old cars to fix up.