What you should know for the Vance-Walz vice presidential debate

The two US vice presidential candidates will face each other on the debate stage for the first and only time on Tuesday evening.

Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance, former President Donald Trump's running mate, will face Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who is running alongside Vice President Kamala Harris on the Democratic presidential ticket.

Harris chose Walz as her running mate in August after running as the Democratic nominee when President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

Trump chose Vance as his favorite in July.

The vice presidential debate follows the first — and likely last — televised presidential clash between Trump and Harris last month.

Here's everything you need to know ahead of the vice presidential debate, which takes place just over a month before the White House election.

The 90-minute duel takes place on Tuesday, October 1 at 9:00 p.m. EDT (02:00 BST) at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.

It will air on CBS network television and be livestreamed on platforms including CBS News 24/7 and Paramount+.

The forum will be moderated by CBS Evening News anchor Norah O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan, host of the network's current affairs program Face the Nation.

There are two breaks, each lasting four minutes.

The BBC will have a team of reporters in New York and Washington providing analysis, fact-checking and reaction as part of our live coverage.

The rules for the vice presidential debate mirror those of last month's face-off between Trump and Harris, with one small difference: The microphones will be hot.

Although CBS reserves the right to mute contestants' microphones, they will remain on even if it is not the contestant's turn to speak.

The two will run when the candidates were seated, unlike the last three vice presidential debates in previous US election cycles.

Walz will be on the left behind the podium on the stage – on the right on the screen. Vance will face him.

Campaign workers are not allowed to speak to the two of them during breaks. Running mates are also not allowed to bring pre-written notes to the stage.

Candidates have two minutes to answer questions from the moderators. The other candidate has two minutes to respond. Each candidate has one minute for rebuttals.

CBS says it's up to Vance and Walz to fact-check each other's statements, although “the moderators will facilitate these opportunities during rebuttal time.”

There will be no live studio audience or opening remarks.

The candidates are given two minutes to give their final speech. Vance won a coin toss and elected to have the final say.

Walz has been preparing with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as Vance.

He held late-night and weekend sessions and studied videos of his rival.

Vance is preparing with Republican Congressman Tom Emmer, who represents Walz's home state of Minnesota.

He also holds meetings with his wife, attorney Usha Vance, and senior Trump adviser Jason Miller.

It's likely that Vance will target Walz – a former public school teacher and football coach – because of what Republicans say is his strict Covid policies in Minnesota, including setting up a hotline to call those to report those violating social distancing rules.

Vance could also criticize Walz for signing a law last year allowing the installation of tampon dispensers in boys' restrooms at public schools.

He could also accuse Walz of misrepresenting his military career. In August, Minnesota's governor admitted he “misspoke” when he said in 2018 that he used assault weapons “at war” while pushing for stricter gun laws. Walz resigned from the National Guard before his unit deployed to Iraq.

The Minnesota governor will likely attack Vance over some of his past comments, including call some Democratic politicians a “bunch of childless cat ladies with miserable lives.”

Walz could also take repeated action against the Ohio senator Defending unsubstantiated stories about migrants eating pets in an Ohio town.

He may also try to embarrass Vance over his leaked 2020 messages in which he said Trump had “completely failed to implement his economic populism.”

North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher breaks down the race for the White House in his weekly newsletter, US Election Unspun. Readers in the UK can Register here. People outside the UK can do this Register here.