Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday qualified for this week's Democratic presidential debate in Nevada, putting him on the same stage as his rivals for the first tie in the race for the party's nomination.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday qualified for this week's Democratic presidential debate in Nevada, putting him on the same stage as his rivals for the first tie in the race for the party's nomination. The debate on Wednesday will be the ninth in the contest for who will challenge Republican President Donald Trump in the November 3 election. A late entry to the race, Bloomberg, 78, has risen in public opinion polls as he pours money from his estimated $60 billion personal fortune into a national campaign, spending hundreds of millions of dollars on television ads. Also Read: Sanders says presidential rival Bloomberg will not excite voters When he takes the stage on Wednesday, he is likely to be challenged directly by rivals over his use as mayor of a policing policy widely seen as discriminatory and of supposed sexist practices at his company. "There's a lot to talk about with Michael Bloomberg," former vice president and candidate for the nomination Joe Biden told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. Bloomberg had support from 19 per cent of the people surveyed in an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll released on Tuesday. With that result, he met the Democratic Party's requirements for debate qualification by receiving double-digit support in four national polls recognized by the party, his campaign said in a statement. While Bloomberg is not competing in the first four nomination contests - Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina - he hopes to start winning delegates beginning on Super Tuesday on March 3, when 14 states will vote. At least five other candidates have qualified for Wednesday's debate ahead of Nevada's February 22 caucuses: Biden, Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg. Warren and Sanders charge that Bloomberg is trying to buy the election. He responds that he is playing by the rules and has offered to fund the Democratic effort to beat Trump even if he doesn't win the nomination. He will likely be grilled about his support while New York mayor of a policing strategy that ensnared blacks and Latinos disproportionately. See: Who is Michael Bloomberg? A profile of expected Democratic contender for US presidential race Bloomberg apologized for that policy, known as "stop and frisk," just before announcing he was running for the Democratic presidential nomination. His campaign has declined to comment on criticism over 2008 remarks in which he tied a housing market collapse to a ban on a discriminatory housing practise known as redlining. He has also expressed regret over making inappropriate jokes. "Did I ever tell a bawdy joke? Yeah, sure I did. And do I regret it? Yes. It's embarrassing," Bloomberg told ABC's "The View" on January 15. "But, you know, that's the way I grew up." The Washington Post on Saturday published what it said was a copy of a 32-page booklet distributed at a party in 1990 that included sexist remarks by Bloomberg, reportedly compiled by his colleagues. The Post also chronicled numerous discrimination lawsuits filed against Bloomberg LP, a major provider of news and financial information, over the last three decades. In one case, a saleswoman filed a lawsuit alleging that when she told Bloomberg she was pregnant in 1995, his response was, "Kill it." Bloomberg denied the accusation and the lawsuit was settled. The Washington Post published comments by a man who said he witnessed Bloomberg's remark. Bloomberg said in an interview that his company had experienced "very few" cases of sexual harassment given its large size, and said he thinks "most people would say we're a great place to work." He said the company would not release women from non-disclosure agreements that were part of legal settlements, some of which stemmed from allegations of sexual harassment. Warren has called on Bloomberg to release the women from the agreements. On Sunday, Bloomberg campaign spokeswoman Julie Wood said in an emailed statement regarding the allegations in the Washington Post: "Virtually all of this has been reported over the past two decades. In any large organization, there are going to be complaints — but Mike simply does not tolerate any kind of discrimination or harassment, and he's created cultures that are all about equality and inclusion."

Mike Bloomberg qualifies for next debate, and rivals are getting ready

Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar scripted history as she became the first Indian to make the cut for the individual vault finals in her debut Olympic Games after finishing 8th in the qualifying round here. 
 
The Tripura-girl, who is the country&#39;s first woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, managed to perform her much-appreciated &#39;Produnova&#39; vault cleanly to secure 14.850 points after two attempts. 
 
It was a nervous wait for the Indian after that. She had ended sixth after the third of five sub-divisions.&nbsp;She dropped to 8th eventually when Canadian Shallon Olsen&#39;s terrific effort of 14.950 rejigged the overall standings.&nbsp;But that was just about enough to secure her a place in the finals scheduled for August 14 as the top-8 made the cut for the medal round. 
 
Dipa secured 7.000 on difficulty and 8.1 on execution in her first attempt. Her score for difficulty was a tad lower at 6.000 in the second attempt.&nbsp;She landed low on her Produnova vault in the first attempt, while her second vault was a &#39;Tsuk double full twist&#39; with step to the side. 
 
Three-time world all-round champion Simone Biles topped the charts with a sensational score of 16.050. The American scored a brilliant 9.700 on execution in both her attempts. 
 
North Korea&#39;s Jong Un Hong was a distant second after securing 15.683 followed by Switzerland&#39;s Giulia Steingruber (15.266). 
In the other routines, Dipa secured 11.666 for her effort on the uneven bars, scoring low on difficulty but decent on execution. 
 
Later, Dipa scored 12.866 for her performance on the balance beam.&nbsp;The floor exercise fetched Dipa a score of 12.033, which also included a 0.300 penalty.&nbsp;Dipa, the first Indian woman gymnast to win a Commonwealth Games medal, stood a poor 47th in the all-round standings with a combined score of 51.665. 
 
The eight gymnasts with the highest individual scores in each apparatus move on to compete for an individual event title in that apparatus.&nbsp;The 24 men and 24 women with the highest combined individual totals move on to the all-around finals. 
 
(PTI)

Dipa finished eighth in the qualifying round, just enough to allow her to compete for a medal

Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar scripted history as she became the first Indian to make the cut for the individual vault finals in her debut Olympic Games after finishing 8th in the qualifying round here. The Tripura-girl, who is the country's first woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, managed to perform her much-appreciated 'Produnova' vault cleanly to secure 14.850 points after two attempts. It was a nervous wait for the Indian after that. She had ended sixth after the third of five sub-divisions. She dropped to 8th eventually when Canadian Shallon Olsen's terrific effort of 14.950 rejigged the overall standings. But that was just about enough to secure her a place in the finals scheduled for August 14 as the top-8 made the cut for the medal round. Dipa secured 7.000 on difficulty and 8.1 on execution in her first attempt. Her score for difficulty was a tad lower at 6.000 in the second attempt. She landed low on her Produnova vault in the first attempt, while her second vault was a 'Tsuk double full twist' with step to the side. Three-time world all-round champion Simone Biles topped the charts with a sensational score of 16.050. The American scored a brilliant 9.700 on execution in both her attempts. North Korea's Jong Un Hong was a distant second after securing 15.683 followed by Switzerland's Giulia Steingruber (15.266). In the other routines, Dipa secured 11.666 for her effort on the uneven bars, scoring low on difficulty but decent on execution. Later, Dipa scored 12.866 for her performance on the balance beam. The floor exercise fetched Dipa a score of 12.033, which also included a 0.300 penalty. Dipa, the first Indian woman gymnast to win a Commonwealth Games medal, stood a poor 47th in the all-round standings with a combined score of 51.665. The eight gymnasts with the highest individual scores in each apparatus move on to compete for an individual event title in that apparatus. The 24 men and 24 women with the highest combined individual totals move on to the all-around finals. (PTI)

Rio 2016: Dipa Karmakar makes history, becomes first Indian to make cut for individual vault finals

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