Trump rule would allow for indefinite detention of immigrant families – live

New rule would effectively replace the Flores agreement, which sets 20-day limit for families held in custody

Eighteen (!) of the 23 (!!) prominent Democratic candidates for president are speaking at the Iowa Federation Labor Convention today.

The presidential hopefuls will address union members in Altoona, beginning at 10am ET and running, presumably, for a long time.

Some reaction to the Trump administration rule on indefinitely detaining immigrant families:

The government should NOT be jailing kids, and certainly shouldn’t be seeking to put more kids in jail for longer.

This is yet another cruel attack on children, who this administration has targeted again and again with its anti-immigrant policies.

Congress must not fund this. https://t.co/bp3uDIJder

Even a short period of detention— let alone prolonged detention—has devastating, often lifelong effects on children. https://t.co/3823D0XnhO

It's also incredibly costly. DHS declined to run the numbers in the proposed rule, so we did so for them. Each year this will cost at least $200 MILLION, and as much as over $1 BILLION.

All to hurt kids and families.https://t.co/MjsidJxQx0

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Greenland highlights Trump’s willingness to offend close US allies

By cancelling his state visit to Denmark, the US president has again showed his thin skin

Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to cancel his state visit to Denmark after it rejected his unsolicited offer to buy Greenland at a knockdown price took most people by surprise, not least his own ambassador.

“Denmark is ready … Partner, ally, friend”, tweeted Carla Sands, the neophyte US envoy to Copenhagen who was previously an actor and chiropractor. Hours later, it was off.

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Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro confirms months of secret US talks

‘Various contacts’ made, says embattled president, amid reports he is negotiating a way to stand down

Nicolás Maduro has confirmed top Venezuelan officials have been talking to members of Donald Trump’s White House, after reports his second-in-command had been negotiating his downfall with the United States.

“I confirm that for months there have been contacts between senior officials from Donald Trump’s government and from the Bolivarian government over which I preside – with my express and direct permission,” Venezuela’s authoritarian leader said in a televised address on Tuesday night.

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Top-ranking House Democrat favors Trump impeachment inquiry – live

Representative Ben Ray Luján, the assistant House speaker, endorses opening an impeachment inquiry, Politico reports

Representative Ilhan Omar has promised to post a live stream of her imminent press conference with Representative Rashida Tlaib on the topic of their being banned from travel to Israel and Palestine in her Twitter feed here.

snap

The debunked study you’re referring to was based on 21 undecided voters. For context that’s about half the number of people associated with your campaign who have been indicted. https://t.co/0zHnWvGjSv

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Trump confirms he is considering attempt to buy Greenland

  • President says bid would be ‘essentially a real estate deal'
  • Danish semi-autonomous territory has said it is not for sale

Donald Trump has confirmed he is considering an attempt to buy Greenland for strategic reasons, though he said the idea is “not No1 on the burner”.

Related: 'Friends, you're going to love Greenland. I was there on 9/11' | Lawrence Douglas and Nancy Pick

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Jeffrey Epstein autopsy concludes death was a suicide – live updates

That’s all our live coverage for today, thanks for following along. Some key links and developments from the day:

The president says he is dining tonight with Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO:

Having dinner tonight with Tim Cook of Apple. They will be spending vast sums of money in the U.S. Great!

President Donald Trump called Apple CEO Tim Cook "Tim Apple" during a meeting at the White House on Wednesday pic.twitter.com/B6z3tzeBeO

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Donald Trump reportedly wants to purchase Greenland from Denmark

US president has ‘expressed interest’ in the icy territory, according to the Wall Street Journal, but the Danes have yet to weigh in

Donald Trump is fond of bragging about his conspicuous wealth and buying power, plastering his name over buildings and gilding the elevators of Trump Tower. But his latest reported aspiration is on the extravagant side, even for him: to purchase Greenland from Denmark.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the US president has “expressed interest” in buying the expansive icy territory and has asked his aides to explore the possibility. He has even sought the view of the White House counsel, though the Journal noted his inquiries came “with varying degrees of seriousness”.

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Pelosi ‘deeply saddened’ over Israel’s decision to block Omar and Tlaib’s visit – live

Several more Democratic presidential candidates have issues statements condemning Israel’s decision to block Omar and Tlaib’s planned trip.

I don't believe any nation should deny entry to elected Members of Congress, period. It’s an affront to the United States. Open and engaged foreign relations are critical to advancing U.S. interests. Trump is playing politics as he weakens our global leadership. https://t.co/UnMt9Tsd7Q

It’s appalling that President Trump continues to attack two sitting Congresswomen and encouraged another country to deny U.S. officials entry. Trump's behavior is unacceptable, dangerous, and un-American. Israel's decision should be reversed immediately. https://t.co/jHd0VYVJ1u

Nancy Pelosi has put out a statement saying she is “deeply saddened” by Israel’s decision to block Omar and Tlaib’s trip.

“As one who loves Israel, I am deeply saddened by the news that Israel has decided to prevent Members of Congress from entering the country,” the House speaker said.

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US commerce secretary says Hong Kong protests are an ‘internal matter’ – as it happened

Donald Trump is linking US-China trade talks with the Hong Kong protests on Twitter, suggesting that if the China government wants to work out a deal it has to “humanely” work with the protestors.

Whereas investors and foreign leaders have blamed uncertainty around trade negotiations between the US and China is triggering economic volatility around the world, Trump has insisted that negotiations between himself and China’s Xi Jinping are going well and that Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Fed chairman that Trump nominated in 2017, is to blame.

I know President Xi of China very well. He is a great leader who very much has the respect of his people. He is also a good man in a “tough business.” I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it. Personal meeting?

..deferral to December. It actually helps China more than us, but will be reciprocated. Millions of jobs are being lost in China to other non-Tariffed countries. Thousands of companies are leaving. Of course China wants to make a deal. Let them work humanely with Hong Kong first!

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Trump official: Statue of Liberty poem should mean ‘poor who can stand on own two feet’

Ken Cuccinelli defends Trump’s decision to make it harder for migrants to be awarded residence if they got benefit programs

Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), has proposed a new interpretation of the famous welcome that appears on a placard at the Statue of Liberty.

The famous lines, taken from The New Colossus by the 19th-century New York poet Emma Lazarus, read: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

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More major US immigration raids likely despite outcry – report

White House ordered Ice agents to identify targets across the US, report says, with focus on workplaces

More major raids aimed at picking up undocumented immigrants are likely soon despite a flood of outrage at a huge operation last week that saw more than 600 Latino workers detained at poultry plants in Mississippi.

Donald Trump’s White House has ordered US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents to identify more targets across the country, according to a report by CNN. The network said the raids would be specifically aimed at workplaces, just like those in Mississippi.

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Trump turns El Paso visit into campaign ad and boasts about rally numbers – video

Donald Trump has been criticised for using a hospital visit in El Paso to boast about crowd numbers at a rally held several months ago. He made the comments while visiting the Texas city after a gunman killed 22 people in a shopping centre. He also hit out at Beto O'Rourke, an El Paso local and Democratic presidential candidate. Trump’s administration then turned the El Paso visit into a campaign video

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‘He’s not welcome here’: Trump faces backlash over Ohio and Texas visits – video report

Donald Trump will receive a frosty reception when he arrives in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday afternoon, three days after the cities were struck by mass shootings. A gunman who invoked the language of white supremacy killed 22 people when he attacked an El Paso Walmart. Local politicians have linked the shooting to Trump's rhetoric about immigrants. The president could also face protests in Dayton, where another gunman killed nine, over his failure to change gun control legislation.

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Trump freezes all Venezuelan government assets in US

Executive order says assets may not be ‘transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn’, as tensions with President Maduro escalate

The Trump administration has frozen all Venezuelan government assets in a significant escalation of tensions with socialist leader Nicolás Maduro. It places Washington’s trade relations with the South American country on a par with Cuba, Syria, Iran and North Korea.

The ban on Americans doing business with Venezuela’s government takes effect immediately.

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North Korea fires more projectiles, says it may be ‘compelled to seek new road’

Pyongyang says US-South Korea military drills are ‘flagrant violation’ of efforts to reach peace

North Korea has fired two unidentified projectiles into the sea from South Hwanghae province, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The launches came as Pyongyang described Washington and Seoul’s war games as a “flagrant violation” of efforts to reach peace on the Korean peninsula which reflected a lack of “political will” to improve relations.

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Trump rattles markets as US economy adds 164,000 jobs in July – as it happened

Markets fell sharply as Trump threatens fresh tariffs; US non-farm payrolls matched economists’ expectations in July, while June figures were revised down

The Bank of Finland governor Olli Rehn has confirmed that he has withdrawn from the race to become the next managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

EU is about to vote on Europe’s candidate for IMF managing director. It is an exceptionally meaningful and motivating job. However, at this stage I withdraw my name from the ballot, so that we can achieve a broad-based consensus for the European candidate, and world-wide support.

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A$AP Rocky: US envoy for hostage affairs sent to Sweden for rapper’s trial

Trump, who has advocated for the rapper’s release, sent the special envoy to Stockholm to monitor court proceedings

Donald Trump sent the US special presidential envoy for hostage affairs to Stockholm to monitor the court proceedings of the American rapper A$AP Rocky, according to Swedish news agency TT.

The special envoy Robert O’Brien was seen on Tuesday at Stockholm district court, where the rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, faced trial.

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Trump’s friend tried to profit from Middle East nuclear deal, lawmakers say

Congressional report finds Tom Barrack tried to buy Westinghouse as he sought a related government post

A billionaire friend of Donald Trump pursued a plan to buy Westinghouse Electric Corp – even as he lobbied Trump to become a special envoy and promote the company’s work on nuclear power in Saudi Arabia, a congressional report released on Monday.

While Tom Barrack failed in both efforts, the report provides fresh evidence of the ease with which some corporate and foreign interests have gained access to the US president and other senior members of his administration.

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Al Sharpton: Trump ‘has a particular venom for blacks and people of colour’ – video

The Rev Al Sharpton has addressed Donald Trump’s attack on the Maryland representative Elijah Cummings and his district of Baltimore. Speaking to reporters, the longtime activist said the president had attacked Cummings and his constituents ‘in the most bigoted and racist way’. Earlier on Monday Trump attacked Baltimore, the home city of Cummings, saying that it is ‘a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess’, adding that it was ‘the worst run and most dangerous [district] anywhere in the United States’

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Trump lines up loyalist as Coats leaves US intelligence chief post

Dan Coats to go next month after turbulent two years of disagreements with president

Dan Coats, one of the most senior national security officials willing to contradict Donald Trump, will leave the post of US director of national intelligence next month, the president has said.

Trump said Coats would go on 15 August and that he will nominate John Ratcliffe, a Texas representative and staunch loyalist, to the post.

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