17.35 (12.25) Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard-professor darling of the Left, and Scott Brown, the moderate Republican, met last night for their first debate as they battle for control of Ted Kennedy's former Massachusetts Senate seat. There's no love lost between the two and Brown immediately brought up the controversy surrounding Warren's Native American heritage (though in fairness, the moderator left the door wide open for him). The professor was listed at Harvard as being a Native American member of staff even though she has only a sliver of Cherokee heritage. 16.42 (11.42) Pakistani television is reporting that 19 people have been killed in a wave of protests across the country against The Innocence of Muslims, the Californian-made film mocking the Prophet. Most of the dead are believed to have been killed by police as they opened fire on protesters. 16.25 (11.25) Obama has lost a crucial swing voter. D'oh: 16.20 (11.20) Mitt Romney came under fresh criticism for his stuttering campaign from his own side today. Peggy Noonan, a former Reagan speechwriter turned Wall Street Journal, columnist called the Romney campaign a "rolling calamity." Quoting a memo by a political consultant, she wrote: The pendulum has swung toward Obama. Mitt Romney has "a damaged political persona." He is running behind in key states like Ohio and Virginia and, to a lesser extent, Florida. The president is reversing the decline that began with his "You didn't build that" comment. For three weeks he's been on a roll. The wind's at his back. A audibly frustrated Ann Romney went on the radio to push back against the sniping from the Right: Stop it. This is hard. You want to try it? Get in the ring. This is hard and, you know, it's an important thing that we're doing right now and it's an important election and it is time for all Americans to realise how significant this election is and how lucky we are to have someone with Mitt's qualifications and experience and know-how to be able to have the opportunity to run this country. 16.05 (11.05) Appearing on Univision yesterday, Obama said that he had learned in his first term that "you can't change Washington from the inside." He intended the comment as a demonstration of people power - that big change only comes when the American people put pressure on Washington - but it was widely interpreted as an admission that he had failed in his mission of hope and change. Both Democrats and Republicans put up ads based around the quote: 16.00 (11.00) Good morning and welcome to our live coverage as Mitt Romney campaigns in Nevada and Barack Obama makes his case in Virginia. US Election 2012 - September 20 as it happened