Judge blocks Trump’s rule requiring immigrants show they have healthcare

  • Federal judge issues temporary stay after Oregon hearing
  • Litigator says ban would separate families

A federal judge in Portland, Oregon, has put on hold a Trump administration rule requiring immigrants to prove they will have health insurance or can pay for medical care before they can get visas.

US district judge Michael Simon granted a temporary restraining order that prevented the rule from going into effect Sunday. It was not clear when he would rule on the merits of the case.

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‘Quid pro quo, yes or no?’ Trump allies face Ukraine question

As Donald Trump repeated his demand that the whistleblower who triggered the impeachment inquiry should be identified, White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway refused to say the president did not offer the leader of Ukraine a quid pro quo involving military aid and the investigation of his political rivals.

Related: Experts on Trump's conduct: 'Plainly an abuse of power, plainly impeachable'

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California wildfire: evacuation orders lifted as Trump blasts Newsom

  • President slams governor and threatens to cut federal funds
  • Newsom tweets back: ‘You don’t believe in climate change’

As authorities lifted all evacuation orders imposed by a wildfire that caused thousands to flee their homes north-west of Los Angeles, Donald Trump threatened to cut federal funding for aid during the kind of blazes that have hit California hard this fall.

Related: ‘Not our mission’: private fire crews protect the insured, not the public

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Pelosi bangs the gavel: House votes to endorse Trump impeachment inquiry

Vote set rules for public phase of impeachment inquiry, laying out plan that could produce televised hearings within two weeks

For only the third time in the history of the modern presidency, the US House of Representatives voted on Thursday to formalize impeachment proceedings against the president of the United States.

Related: House votes to formalize impeachment process against Trump – live

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How the US caught up with Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi | podcast

The Guardian’s Martin Chulov describes how US special forces finally tracked down Baghdadi, who was killed in a raid at the weekend. Plus: Robert Booth on the criticism of the London fire brigade’s response to the Grenfell Tower disaster

US special forces finally caught up with the Islamic State leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, on Saturday at a safe house in the Syrian province of Idlib, one of the few areas of the country still outside regime control. In a night-time raid, Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest and killed himself and three of his children, according to Donald Trump.

The Guardian’s Middle East correspondent, Martin Chulov, has followed the rise and fall of Isis in the past five years from close quarters. He tells Rachel Humphreys what Baghdadi’s death will mean to the terrorist organisation, which has lost almost all the territory it held at its peak.

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Army officer tells impeachment inquiry of gaps in Trump’s Ukraine transcript

Lt Col Vindman reportedly said omissions included references to Joe Biden and Burisma

A decorated army officer and the top Ukraine expert on the national security council has reportedly told House impeachment investigators that the White House transcript of a call between the presidents of the US and Ukraine left out important words and phrases.

The New York Times cited three sources familiar with Alexander Vindman’s testimony on Tuesday who said the omissions included Donald Trump making reference to recordings of the former vice-president Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskiy making reference to Burisma, the company for which Biden’s son Hunter worked.

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Ukraine expert gives first-hand testimony on Trump-Zelenskiy call – live

Alexander Vindman to testify call made him ‘worried about the implications for the US government’s support of Ukraine’

Trump is still tweeting away, arguing that the House Democrats leading the impeachment inquiry have a “Death Wish” when it comes to next year’s elections.

However, a number of House Republicans have announced plans to retire or seek higher office in recent months, suggesting that the GOP caucus is the one with doubts about their 2020 prospects.

Nervous Nancy Pelosi is doing everything possible to destroy the Republican Party. Our Polls show that it is going to be just the oppidite. The Do Nothing Dems will lose many seats in 2020. They have a Death Wish, led by a corrupt politician, Adam Schiff!

Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, declined to attack the integrity of Lt Col Alexander Vindman but still questioned the official’s reported concerns about Trump’s Ukraine call.

The California Republican told reporters on Capitol Hill: “I thank him for his service ... but he is wrong.”

“You can’t put the genie back in the bottle,” @GOPLeader tells @nancycordes when asked whether Republicans are moving the goalposts by refusing to support a vote on impeachment procedures going forward after calling for one for weeks.

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Harry Dunn’s family to sue US government over Anne Sacoolas

Lawyers for family say Trump administration tried to ‘twist’ immunity law for US diplomat

The family of a 19-year-old motorcyclist killed in a crash involving the wife of a US diplomat have announced they are planning to sue the Trump administration for lawless misconduct and a cover-up.

Harry Dunn’s family are also going ahead with previously announced plans to sue Anne Sacoolas for damages in a civil action.

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Alexander Vindman’s Trump-Ukraine testimony: five key takeaways

Army lieutenant colonel to describe his concerns Trump’s Biden plot was undermining US foreign policy in Ukraine

In his opening statement before congressional impeachment investigators on Tuesday, Lt Col Alexander S Vindman planned to describe his concerns that Donald Trump’s plot to undermine Joe Biden was undermining US foreign policy in Ukraine.

Related: Army officer to testify Trump-Zelenskiy call 'raised internal alarm'

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This week in the impeachment inquiry: bombshell testimony and Trump fury

After a chaotic week in Washington, even more damning testimony for Trump could lie ahead

As a watershed week full of bombshell testimony and presidential fury at the impeachment inquiry receded, Washington is now looking ahead to another week promising bombshell testimony – and more presidential fury.

For sheer spectacle, Republicans will be hard-pressed to top an invasion last week by lawmakers of the secure area where witnesses were being questioned. And for sheer malice, Donald Trump will have to sink far indeed to go lower than his claim to be the victim of a lynching.

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Pelosi slams Trump for cutting Democrats out of loop on Baghdadi raid

Top Democrats reacted with anger to Donald Trump’s decision to go ahead with the Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi raid without giving them advance notice, on grounds that they were not to be trusted with such highly sensitive information.

Related: Trump impeachment: Schiff expects battle over key witness John Bolton

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Donald Trump confirms Isis leader died in US raid – video

The US president has said Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Islamic State, was killed in a raid by US special forces in north-west Syria. Baghdadi detonated a suicide vest after running into a dead-end tunnel, killing himself and three of his children, Donald Trump said

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‘Disorder and chaos’: Trump and Republicans mount furious impeachment fight

A hearing room is invaded, the president’s enemies are ‘scum’. A bare-knuckle scrap has begun – but will it be enough?

Donald Trump has shown little taste for military adventure. He avoided the draft in Vietnam. He fell out with his once-beloved generals. He stunned the world by pulling troops out of Syria and abandoning America’s Kurdish allies.

Related: Blow to Trump as DoJ ordered to turn over evidence from Mueller grand jury

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Blow to Trump as DoJ ordered to turn over evidence from Mueller grand jury

  • Democrats must be given access to testimony, judge rules
  • Committees subpoena Trump officials who refused to testify

A judge on Friday ordered the justice department to give the House unredacted portions of grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, handing a victory to Democrats who want the material for the impeachment investigation of Donald Trump.

Related: Judge grants Democrats access to unredacted Mueller report – live

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Justice department opens criminal inquiry into origins of Russia investigation – report

Trump has complained that his campaign was improperly targeted, but critics say department is being used to chase conspiracy theories

The US justice department has reportedly opened a criminal inquiry into the origins of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, a move that would raise concerns that Donald Trump and his allies may be using the powers of the government to go after their opponents.

The development, first reported by the New York Times, comes as Trump is already facing an impeachment inquiry examining whether he withheld military aid to pressure the president of Ukraine to launch an investigation of former vice-president Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

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Top Democrats and Republicans pay tribute to Elijah Cummings at ceremony – live

Tim Ryan failed to gain much traction since entering the presidential race in April, but during his campaign, he helped to cast a spotlight on gun violence.

Ryan represents Youngstown and suburbs of Akron in the House. When a gunman opened fire on the nearby Ohio city of Dayton, Ryan lambasted Trump and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell for inaction on gun legislation.

Tim Ryan’s exit from the presidential race means that there are now 18 contenders seeking the Democratic nomination.

AND THEN THERE WERE 18: @RepTimRyan announces he's dropping out of the Democratic presidential race and will seek re-election to Congress. pic.twitter.com/oZIOIG6coX

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Donald Trump falsely claims he’s building a wall in Colorado – video

Donald Trump on Wednesday talked about the construction of a wall in states that border Mexico, but included Colorado, which is 400 miles away from the frontier. The US president later said on Twitter he had been kidding and added that he had been referring to people in states that weren't on the border, saying they would still benefit from the wall

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‘I don’t regret enforcing the law’: Nielsen defends family separation at summit

In a heated 15-minute public interview, the former US homeland security secretary defended her decision as protests raged outside

The former US homeland security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, repeatedly defended her decision to separate thousands of children from their parents at the southern border, in her first public interview since she resigned in April.

At Fortune magazine’s Most Powerful Woman summit in Washington DC on Tuesday, the PBS NewsHour correspondent Amna Nawaz asked Nielsen four times if she regretted signing off on the family separation policy, before Nielsen responded: “I don’t regret enforcing the law.

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Republicans’ steadfast support for Trump begins to show cracks

They’ve backed him through scandal after scandal. But concerns over Ukraine, Syria and the G7 summit are proving too much for some

No call summary has yet emerged of a phone chat Donald Trump held with Republican members of Congress on a retreat at Camp David last Saturday.

But hours after the call, the president announced that he had done a most un-Trumpian thing: reversed a decision to host next year’s G7 summit at one of his own properties, “based on both Media & Democrat Crazed and Irrational Hostility”.

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Mick Mulvaney seeks Trump damage control over impeachment and more

Senior Trump administration officials were on Sunday scrambling to defend the president from escalating domestic and foreign policy scandals, ranging from impeachment proceedings in Washington to the US troop withdrawal in northern Syria.

Related: 'Meltdown': Donald Trump's week of intense political peril

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