Second Presidential Debate Format 19 October 2016

After a highly anticipated and heated first presidential debate, we will barely have time to catch our breath because the second debate will take place on October 19, just a few weeks away.

Certainly the first debate, which was viewed by some 100 million people via television and online media, was not exempt from controversy. After a good start, Donald Trump seemed to lose his way as he was mocked by Clinton about his tax returns and comments about women. Many in the Trump campaign have claimed that moderator Lester Holt was harsher on Trump compared to Clinton and "The Donald" also complained that his microphone had malfunctioned.

The second debate will have a Town Hall type format with undecided voters able to pose questions to the candidates during the first half of the event and then in the second the moderators will grill them with different questions.

The debate will take place at Washington University in St Louis and last for a total of 90 minutes beginning at 9pm ET, 8pm CT, 7pm MT and 6pm PT.

When will Hurricane Matthew Hit Florida ?

Hurricane Matthew continues to bear down on the carribean nations of Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba, which are expected to feel the full force of the category 4 storm.

Up to 27 inches of rain are expected in certain parts of Haiti, which 40 (101cm) inches in insolated areas, possibly triggering landslides and chaos in one of the poorest countries in the world which was devastated by an earthquake in 2010.

With winds of 130mph and gusts even higher, structural damage is highly possible also. The Dominican Republic is expected to be spared the brunt of the hurricane, although some parts of the country, especially in the west, are likely to experience storm force winds and very heavy rain triggering the possibility of flash flooding.

UPDATE: This afternoon forecasters have warned that Hurricane Matthew now looks likely to track west putting the coasts of Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina in danger.

This is the latest predicted path of the storm

Texas Polls Trump vs Clinton October 2016 Winner

Texas is of course the most important state for the republicans to win, in 2008 Mccain won by 11.8 points and in 2012 Romney`s margin of victory was 15.8 points.

Texas has a total of 38 electoral votes and has voted republican in every election since 1976, so it would be hard to bet against yet another republican victory here this year.

According to the average of the last polls Trump has a 7.6% advantage, well within the margin of error.

RealClearPolitics (August 8- September 11)

Donald Trump   43.3%
Hillary Clinton   35.7%

Poll Trump vs Clinton Arizona October 2016 Who is Winning

Arizona is considered a solidly republican state, in fact the democrats have only won one presidential election here since 1948. This said the polls are currently indicating quite a close race.

Trump has the advantage there is no doubt about that and due to history, it would be safe to assume that "The Donald" as his supporters know him, will triumph here this year.

However according to the RealClearPolitics average between August 17- September 8 Trump has an advantage of 1.6%.

Donald Trump   41.6%
Hillary Clinton   40.0%

It remains to be seen what will happen on election day, however this advantage is less than the margin of victory of McCain in 2008 (+8.5) and Romney in 2012 (+9.1).  

Poll in Florida Trump vs Clinton October 2016

As far as swing states go, Florida is the most important, it is definitely a must win state for the Republican candidate for president, Donald Trump.

The race has fluctuated wildly according to which poll you choose to believe, some have shown Trump with a lead of up to 4 points and others showing Clinton well ahead, if we take into consideration the average polling numbers, based on the last 6 polls undertaken in the sunshine state between September 7-29 then it is Clinton with the lead, albeit a slender one of a mere 1.2%.

RealClearPolitics Average Florida (Polls conducted between September 7-29)

Hillary Clinton   45.0%
Donald Trump   43.8%

In 2012 it was President Barack Obama who won the state which switches every now and again between Republican and Democrat.

Latest Poll Trump vs Clinton October 4 2016

Who is currently ahead in the polls? Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton? Many polls are showing vastly different levels of support for each candidate but according to a running average of the last 10 polls calculated by the site RealClearPolitics, it is the democratic candidate who has the edge over the real estate mogul turned politician.

RealClearPolitics Average (Based on polls conducted between September 15-29)

Hillary Clinton   47.3%
Donald Trump   44.4%

This is a lead of 2.9% which is very significant in a presidential race, although many commentators have speculated that the focus that Trump is putting on certain swing states could make for a much closer race than many expect.

Ohio for example is a state that Trump must win if he is to have a chance to win the White House, and the last 5 reliable polls in that state show Trump with an advantage of between 1-5%. Ohio was won by the democrats in the 2012 election.

Florida is another must win for Trump but polls there show Trump and Clinton pretty much neck and neck, if we take an average of the last 6 reliable polls in the state, Clinton has a lead of just 1.2%, although this has fluctuated wildly in the last few weeks, with some surveys showing a lead of up to 4 points for the republican contender.

Earthquake Prediction in California October 2016

A suprising warning has been issued by officials that there is an increased possibility of a moderate to strong earthquake striking southern California within the next few days.

A "Swarm" of smaller tremors set off the alert, due to the worry that these may have increased the pressure along the San Andres fault line.

Only two of the tremors were above 4.0 on the richter scale but the area that they hit are of particular concern of seismologists.

“This is close enough to be in that worry zone,” said seismologist Lucy Jones to Los Angeles Times. “It’s a part of California that the seismologists all watch.”