Who's Ready To Rumble ???

The week in review: September 17 - September 23
What's on tap next week: September 24 - September 30

What's on tap? The first presidential debate of the 2016 general election season will take place on Monday night. Here is everything you need to know:

• Ballotpedia’s coverage of the debate will include an Insider’s Survey, statistical analysis, and commentary by guest writers. Be sure to follow Ballotpedia on Twitter and read up on Clinton’s and Trump’s policy positions before, during, and after the debate. And if you are feeling nostalgic for the primary debates, Ballotpedia’s in-depth coverage of all of them can be found here.  
• Some observers in the media anticipate viewership for the debate could be around 100 million people. Dentsu Inc., an international advertising firm, is anticipating more than 80 million viewers. In 2012, the first debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney set a new record for presidential debate viewership at 67 million people.  
• The debate will start at 9 p.m. EST and will last 90 minutes. You can watch it on any major television network or online on C-SPAN or the websites of the major cable news channels.   
• It will take place at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. (The debate was originally scheduled to take place at Wright State University in Ohio but was moved after the university withdrew, citing concerns over costs and increased security.)
• The participants will be Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Gary Johnson and Jill Stein did not meet the 15 percent polling average required for participation by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Stein is planning a protest outside of Hofstra during the debate. Ballotpedia is unaware of Johnson’s plans.
• Lester Holt of NBC News will moderate the debate. Trump recently stated, “Lester is a professional, but we'll see what happens ... By the way, Lester is a Democrat. It's a phony system. They are all Democrats. It's a very unfair system. I've worked pretty well within the system.” Holt, a registered Republican in the state of New York, moderated the fourth Democratic debate on January 17, 2016.
• Topics at the debate will include "America's Direction," "Achieve Prosperity," and "Securing America," according to a press release from the Commission on Presidential Debates.
• Its format will be composed of six 15-minute segments, each covering a major topic selected by the moderator. Each segment will open with a question, and each candidate will have two minutes to respond, followed by responses. The remaining time will be used for "deeper discussion."

See also: Presidential debate at Hofstra University (September 26, 2016) and Presidential debates (2015-2016)