Democratic debate: Protesters interrupt Joe Biden during his closing segment

10 presidential hopefuls took to the stage in Houston

The Democratic debate: a wrap-up video

The leading 10 candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination took to the debating stage, bringing heavyweights in the field Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders all on to the same stage for the first time.

The presidential hopefuls tackled healthcare, gun control, education and more, with several heated clashes between the rivals.

In the last section of the debate, former Vice President Biden was interrupted when he went to answer a question about his “most significant professional setback”.

Although it was unclear what the protest was about, people in the hall have said the demonstrators chanted: “We are DACA recipients. Our lives are at risk.”

Earlier in the debate Mr Biden had been questioned about deportations under the Barack Obama administration, a question which he deftly dodged.

He came under particular fire from Julian Castro, both over who could claim the mantle of being the true successor to Barack Obama and, controversially, over Mr Biden's memory.

Beto O'Rourke focused on gun violence and said he would institute a mandatory buyback scheme for assault rifles, saying: "Hell yes, we are going to take your AR-15s."

Tonight’s candidates were: Mr Biden, Ms Warren, Mr Sanders Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Julian Castro, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O’Rourke, and Andrew Yang.

Catch-up on events as they happened below.

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[12 September 2019 19:30 · Chris Riotta]

Donald Trump has said he plans to ban flavoured e-cigarettes after a spate of vaping deaths, declaring that companies were getting rich as people died.

In an appearance at the Oval Office with his most senior health official, the president said the issue had become such that parents needed to be taught about what was happening to young people.

“People are going to watch what we’re saying and parents are going to be a lot tougher with respect to their children,” he said.

“They’ve become very rich companies very fast and the whole thing with vaping is it’s very profitable. And I want companies – you know that … that’s why I’m fighting with China. But we can’t allow people to get sick.”

[12 September 2019 19:50 · Chris Riotta]

Donald Trump did not take action against Israel after it was accused of planting spying devices found near the White House in a move that has shocked former intelligence officials, according to a new report.

The devices are called “Stingrays” and can extract identifying information from mobile phones, including their geolocation. They were found near the White House and across Washington in “sensitive locations”, former officials told Politico, adding that the US government determined Israel was “most likely” behind their placement.

Officials said the devices were probably planted in order to spy on Mr Trump and his inner circle. But the president declined to take action after his government determined within the last two years that Israel was most likely the foreign entity behind the apparent espionage attempts, three former senior US officials told the news outlet. 

[12 September 2019 20:12 · Chris Riotta]

This video shows the moment Greenpeace activists suspended themselves from the Houston bridge to raise awareness for climate change:

[12 September 2019 20:25 · Chris Riotta]

We're approaching the third Democratic debates tonight and The Independent team will be keeping you covered throughout. Keep this tab open while you watch the show to get all the latest updates from Trump world, and more! In honour of the upcoming festivities, here's an analysis on one lesser-known candidate's rise to the debate stage: 

[12 September 2019 20:45 · Chris Riotta]

As Democrats are surely planning to discuss their robust gun control platforms at tonight's debate, Donald Trump's campaign is releasing these sort of online advertisements attacking the party for supposedly wanting to take away people's guns: 

[12 September 2019 21:00 · Chris Riotta]

Here's another candidate who has been slowly rising in the polls, though his fundraising and organisational capacity have both grown significantly since the start of his campaign. Pete Buttigieg is in it to win it - will he have a break out moment on the debate stage?

[12 September 2019 21:15 · Chris Riotta]

The Trump administration plans to revoke an Obama-era regulation that provided federal protection to many US wetlands and streams.

Two Environmental Protection Agency officials with knowledge of the plan said the administration aims to substitute the rule with its own version.

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Army for Civil Works Assistant Secretary RD James will discuss the decision later this week.

Donald Trump has promised to repeal the 2015 Obama rule, which defines what bodies of water fall under federal jurisdiction.

[12 September 2019 21:30 · Chris Riotta]

 Reports are coming in that Donald Trump's administration plans to divulge the name of a Saudi official who allegedly conspired with the hijackers behind the attacks of September 11. Story coming shortly:

[12 September 2019 21:50 · Chris Riotta]

Well this certainly doesn't sound great: the US budget has officially surpassed $1tn (£810.4bn) under a president who once declared he would be capable of balancing the nation's budget and getting the deficit down to zero after just eight years.

[12 September 2019 22:10 · Chris Riotta]

Joe Biden is seeking to hold off a surge from Elizabeth Warren, as the two leading Democrats finally appear on the same stage.

Three decades after a presidential debate was last held in Houston, a 1987 event the then Democratic senator participated in, Mr Biden is struggling to hold on to his status at frontrunner.

A poll, commissioned by the Economist/YouGov, this week put Mr Biden and Ms Warren on 26 points, suggesting support for him has remained stable while her numbers had increased 3 points. The poll put Bernie Sanders in third place, with sixteen points.

After two events which saw 20 Democratic hopefuls take to the stage over the course of two nights, a format many said was unhelpful, the debate in Houston will see the top ten candidates all appear together.