From CNN, I'm Afoma Dikai with the five things you need to know for Thursday, September 12th.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump released new dueling campaign ads today on key election

issues raised during the ABC News presidential debate.

Harris's ad which will run in battleground states featured in exchange with Trump about nationwide abortion

restrictions. I think the American people believe that certain freedoms

in particular the freedom to make decisions about one's own body should not be made by the government.

Trump's new ad warns Pennsylvania voters that the Democratic presidential nominee wants to ban fracking

despite Harris's recent statements to the contrary.

There's no question I'm in favor of banning fracking.

Trump will protect clean energy fracking and protect the jobs it creates.

Both nominees are back on the campaign trail today.

Harris is holding events in North Carolina while Trump rallies voters in Arizona.

It is dangerous to target and intimidate individual employees of this department solely for doing their jobs.

And it is outrageous that you have to face these unfounded attacks because you are doing what is right

and upholding the rule of law. You deserve better.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland gave a fiery speech today to Justice Department staff and

attorneys from across the country.

In it, he slammed attempts to turn the DOJ into a quote political weapon.

Garland's comments, Thomas Trump has claimed that the Justice Department has been

weaponized against him via criminal prosecutions, though the speech didn't mention

Trump or his allies by name. The former president

and his associates have publicly discussed plans to dismantle the department and

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