Amtrak suspended Northeast Corridor service between New York and Boston on Saturday, citing an “ongoing electric power issue.”

The problem began around 9:20 a.m. Saturday, with delays between New York and Stamford, Connecticut. About 30 minutes later, Amtrak identified the problem as a malfunctioning circuit breaker causing power outages on the more than 70 miles of track between New York and New Haven, Connecticut.

“On July 6, due to an ongoing electric power issue, Amtrak canceled service between Boston and New York City for the remainder of the day,” an Amtrak statement reads. “Amtrak is communicating directly with impacted customers about this service interruption and offering options for rebooking their travel plans. Amtrak apologizes for any inconvenience caused by the disruption.”

Around 9 p.m., service between the two major northeastern hubs was restored. Five trains scheduled to run Sunday were canceled, but two scheduled for Saturday night were allowed to proceed as planned. The preliminary cause of the outage was a lightning strike, according to Amtrak.

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The Northeast Corridor, which connects, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, is one of Amtrak’s two electrified rail lines in the United States. Over 12 million customers rode Northeast Regional and Acela trains in fiscal 2023, prompting the rail service to increase the frequency of trips on the line in March.

The summer is already a challenging time for train travel as high temperatures can affect the rails and overhead electrification, forcing trains to move slower to prevent damage or derailment. Amtrak advises customers to expect delays of up to one hour if they travel between noon and 7:30 p.m.

A new poll shows President Joe Biden has closed gaps in several battleground states in the days after his first debate against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, which has prompted many to express concern about his mental fitness to serve another term in the White House.

A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll released Saturday showed Biden trailing Trump 47%-45% in the seven states that will most likely determine the winner of the Nov. 5 presidential election. It marks the second straight month of downward momentum for the former president, who peaked at 49% to the incumbent’s 43% in Bloomberg’s April 24 poll.

The most recent poll, conducted between Monday and Friday, showed Biden leading Trump 47%-44% in Wisconsin, marking his first advantage in that state since March. In Michigan, the incumbent widened his lead to 5 percentage points.

Trump still leads Biden in Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina, but the president came within the margins of error in all three states.

Nevada and Pennsylvania data were welcome developments for Trump. The former president broke what was a tie in June in the Silver State and turned it into a 3-point lead this month, which is still within the margin of error. His 51%-44% lead in the Keystone State, however, is not.

Pennsylvania has been crucial to the outcomes of the last four presidential elections. Its 19 electoral votes are the most among the swing states and the fifth-most overall. Biden won the state by more than 80,000 votes in 2020, and Trump won it by an even smaller margin four years earlier.

The Saturday poll is good news for Biden, which has been scarce since he took the debate stage against Trump late last month. Five House Democrats have called on the president, 81, to withdraw from the race, and he faces a growing list of donors who have threatened to withhold their contributions unless the Democratic Party replaces him at the top of the ticket.

Despite the noise, Biden has remained adamant that he will remain in the race.

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“If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race,” Biden told ABC News’s George Stephanopolous on Friday. “The Lord Almighty’s not coming down.”

Biden and Trump are scheduled to meet again on the debate stage on Sept. 10, just under two months before their general election rematch.

Two days after his debate against President Joe Biden, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump listed a series of choices for voters to make in November.

Biden’s performance Thursday night drew much criticism from pundits and politicians on both sides of the aisle, and Trump joined in Saturday on social media.

“As every American saw firsthand, this election is a choice between STRENGTH or WEAKNESS, COMPETENCE or INCOMPETENCE, peace and prosperity or war and no war—and it’s a choice between a president who puts AMERICA FIRST or a trainwreck who puts AMERICA LAST!” Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social.

Trump’s framing of the election as a choice somewhat resembles former President Barack Obama’s response to Biden’s performance. Obama acknowledged that “bad debate nights happen” before pivoting to offer a dichotomy, albeit quite different from the one his successor posed.

“But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself,” Obama said. “Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit. Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November.”

Trump’s view of November’s contest comes on the heels of a rally he held Friday in southeastern Virginia, where he declared “a big victory” following the previous night’s debate against Biden, “who is looking to destroy our country.”

Biden held his own rally Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina, telling attendees, “I don’t debate as well as I used to.”

“I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” Biden said. “I know. I don’t walk as easily as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. But I know what I do know. I know how to tell the truth.”

Trump faced his share of criticism for his debate performance, although it did not come close to that of his opponent. Firehouse Strategies founding partner Alex Conant gave the former president an “A-” because “he mostly let Biden self-implode,” but other debate graders were not so kind.

“It was boring,” said Democratic strategist Sasha Tirador, who gave Trump an “F.” “Neither guy moved the needle. We had a very low-energy President Biden and a very incoherent ex-President Trump.”

Another Democratic strategist, Brad Bannon, also gave Trump an “F” because “he lied from beginning to end.”

While Trump, 78, did not earn glowing reviews, it has not stopped him from going on the offensive against the 81-year-old president.

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“Joe Biden’s problem is not his age, it’s not his anything, really,” Trump said Friday. “He has no problem other than his competence. He’s grossly incompetent.”

Trump and Biden are scheduled to meet on the debate stage again on Sept. 10, almost two months before their general election rematch.

Joe Biden’s debate performance Thursday has generated a myriad of negative reviews, including from comedian Bill Maher, who said he has “seen beauty pageant contestants answer questions better” than the president.

Maher made the remark Friday on his HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher as he lamented Biden’s showing against former President Donald Trump.

“Did you see the debate?” Maher opened. “In case you missed it, don’t worry — so did one of the contestants. Wow. I mean, Trump told lie after lie after lie. He never would have gotten away with that if Joe Biden was there.”

Maher also invoked Biden’s love of trains but jabbed, “Apparently not of thought.”

“I don’t want to say he s*** the bed, but his new Secret Service name is Amber Heard,” Maher said, referring to the accusation actor Johnny Depp made about his ex-wife during a 2022 defamation trial.

The comedian is one of many people who have chimed in about Biden’s performance, joining the likes of former President Barack Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris in acknowledging that it did not go well.

“Bad debate nights happen,” Obama said, while Harris said Biden’s “slow start” was “obvious to everyone.” Both, however, framed the 2024 presidential election as a choice.

“But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself,” Obama said. “Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit. Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November.”

Biden also acknowledged that “I don’t debate as well as I used to” at a campaign rally Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” Biden said. “I know. I don’t walk as easily as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. But I know what I do know. I know how to tell the truth.”

Maher has not been shy about criticizing the president despite his intention to vote for him come November.

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“I would vote for his head in a jar of blue liquid over Donald Trump, but … I think it’s a moot point at this point,” Maher said on an episode of his Club Random podcast earlier this month. “He’s going to f***ing lose.”

The next presidential debate, which ABC News will host, is scheduled for Sept. 10.