Supreme court: Biden accuses Trump and Republicans of abuse of power

Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, made an urgent plea on Sunday to the conscience of Senate Republicans, asking them to defy Donald Trump and refuse to ram through his nominee to the supreme court before the November election.

Related: Rushing to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg, McConnell shows power trumps principle | Robert Reich

Continue reading...

How Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death could affect Senate races – and Trump v Biden

Susan Collins of Maine is among vulnerable Republican senators as polls indicate voters trust Biden more on justice picks

On the question of supreme court nominees, the Republican senator Susan Collins has repeatedly threaded the same political needle. It is one with a shrinking eye.

Related: Ruth Bader Ginsburg changed America long before she joined the supreme court | Moira Donegan

Continue reading...

Nancy Pelosi demands investigation into hysterectomy claims at Ice centre

  • Whistleblower cited alarming rate of surgery for detainees
  • House speaker concerned at ‘staggering abuse of human rights’

The top congressional Democrat, the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has joined mounting calls for an investigation into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention centre in Georgia accused of performing hysterectomies on migrant women held there without their full consent.

Pelosi branded the substance of allegations presented by a whistleblowing nurse “a staggering abuse of human rights”.

Continue reading...

Biden and Pelosi warn UK over risking Good Friday agreement

Leading Democrats tell UK foreign secretary that Northern Ireland peace deal cannot be casualty of Brexit

Joe Biden on Wednesday joined the clamour of Democrats warning Boris Johnson not to let the Northern Ireland Good Friday agreement become a casualty of his Brexit talks.

The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, is in Washington trying to repair relations with pro-Irish Democrats amid concerns that the UK’s attempt to leave the EU on its own terms will undermine the Good Friday peace agreement.

Continue reading...

Trump attacks Nancy Pelosi over ‘Salongate’ – video

US president Donald Trump slammed House speaker Nancy Pelosi after the Democrat was filmed at an indoor hair salon with her face covering around her neck. Trump, a longtime critic of Pelosi, pounced on the opportunity to attack her over the incident. “I’ll tell you what, she must have treated that beauty salon owner pretty badly. She uses the salon and the salon turned her in?” he said. “So I just put out that if she was set up, then she shouldn’t be leading the House of Representatives. I want the salon owner to lead the House of Representatives.”

Continue reading...

Trump announces emergency authorization for coronavirus plasma treatment – as it happened

Here’s a rundown of Sunday’s events. We’ll be back tomorrow for all Monday’s news.

More a campaign-style press announcement than traditional news conference, Trump abruptly ends the proceedings after taking only three questions, including one from One America News Network.

The US president insisted today’s announcement, which comes one day after he accused “the deep state, or whoever, over at” the FDA of deliberately slowing coronavirus vaccine and therapy development, “has nothing to do with politics” despite its conspicuous timing on the eve of the Republican national convention.

Continue reading...

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris call for nationwide mask mandate – live

Just hours after Joe Biden announced Kamala Harris as his running mate, in her home state of California fierce speculation had already begun as to who might replace her in the Senate if she wins a spot in the White House.

Related: If Kamala Harris wins, who might fill her California Senate seat?

From Oliver Holmes in Jerusalem and Julian Borger in Washington:

Israel and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties in a historic Washington-brokered deal under which Israel will “suspend” its plans to annex parts of the Palestinian territories.

Continue reading...

Trump pledges executive orders to extend Covid relief, but offers few details

President says he will suspend payroll tax and extend unemployment through end of year amid gridlock in Congress

Donald Trump has promised unilateral action to provide economic relief for millions of Americans hit by the coronavirus pandemic, but he offered few specific details and admitted the move is likely to face legal challenges.

The president’s pledge to rescue people from poverty and homelessness took place against the unlikely backdrop of his luxury golf club, where annual fees run to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, with members in T-shirts not physically distancing as they watched and applauded him.

Continue reading...

Trump bans US transactions with Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat

Executive order comes as TikTok faces scrutiny from US lawmakers and Trump administration over national security concerns

Donald Trump has issued a pair of executive orders that would ban any US transactions with the Chinese companies that own TikTok and WeChat, saying the US must take “aggressive action” in the interest of national security.

Executive orders issued late on Thursday would prohibit “any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States,” with the companies, beginning in 45 days.

Continue reading...

Trump refuses to praise late civil rights leader John Lewis

  • President unhappy that Lewis did not attend his inauguration
  • Trump questions value of Civil Rights Act: ‘How’s it worked out?’

Donald Trump refused to praise the late John Lewis, the Georgia congressman and original Freedom Rider, during his latest one-on-one interview, and also questioned the value of the pivotal Civil Rights Act of the 1960s, which Lewis fought and almost died for.

Related: Coronavirus US: Biden tells Trump 'step up and do your job' over Covid-19 death toll – live

Continue reading...

Democratic congressman issues blistering attack on Republicans after Covid-19 diagnosis

Raúl Grijalva condemns colleagues for failing to take crisis seriously as they ‘strut around the Capitol with no mask’

A Democratic congressman diagnosed as positive for the coronavirus has condemned Republican politicians for their carelessness around Congress and blamed them for spreading the virus.

The Arizona Democrat Raúl Grijalva tested positive for the coronavirus, it was revealed on Saturday, and has immediately quarantined, though he is asymptomatic and feeling well, his office said. But Grijalva issued a fiery condemnation of Republicans and their behavior around the halls of Congress.

Continue reading...

Obama, Bush and Clinton speak at funeral for congressman John Lewis – video

Former US presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush, Bill Clinton and House speaker Nancy Pelosi have delivered eulogies for congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis. Hailing him as founding father for 'a fuller, fairer, better' America, Obama praised Lewis's influence on his own path to the presidency. Clinton said Lewis believed 'none of us will be free until all of us are equal', while Bush said he lived in a better and nobler country because of the congressman


Continue reading...

Obama attacks police brutality and voter suppression in powerful eulogy for John Lewis – video

During the funeral of congressman John Lewis, former US president Barack Obama delivered a powerful eulogy in which he praised the late civil rights icon, saying Lewis 'will be a founding father of a fuller, fairer, better America'. 

In his speech, Obama also received standing ovations for his indirect criticism of the Trump administration's decision to send federal agents to peaceful demonstrations in Portland, and his condemnation of voter suppression tactics in the US

Continue reading...

‘John Lewis worked on the side of the angels’, says Nancy Pelosi – video

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi held back tears as she delivered an emotional remembrance of civil rights icon John Lewis at his funeral in Atlanta. Pelosi, who worked with Lewis for more than 30 years, said: ‘We always knew he worked on the side of the angels, and now he is with them’

Continue reading...

‘Too much power’: Congress grills top tech CEOs in combative antitrust hearing

The US’s top tech bosses were told they have “too much power”, are censoring political speech, spreading fake news and “killing” the engines of the American economy, at a combative congressional hearing on Wednesday.

The historic hearing in Washington saw Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Tim Cook of Apple, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Sundar Pichai of Google’s parent Alphabet appear before members of the House judiciary’s antitrust subcommittee and face intense questioning from lawmakers from both sides of the aisle.

Continue reading...

Trump says ‘nobody likes me’ when asked about Fauci’s absence – live

From me and Joan E Greve:

Mayor Jenny Durkan said that federal law enforcement sent to Seattle have left, less than a week after being deployed. In an interview with MSNBC, Durkan said that Trump was “doing a dress rehearsal for martial law” in her city.

.@DHSgov notified me that federal forces deployed to Seattle have demobilized & left. The President’s actions to target Democratic cities with federal forces is chilling and increased violence in Portland, Seattle & other cities - exactly what the President intended.

Continue reading...

‘He never yielded’: mourners pay respects to John Lewis outside Capitol

Kept outdoors by coronavirus threat, hundreds view casket of congressman and civil rights icon

Born in Citronelle, Alabama, in the early 1950s, Frankie Blevins grew up with the cruelties imposed by the Jim Crow south: racially segregated drinking fountains, restrooms and restaurants.

On her family’s first road trip, her mother packed food to sustain them for the entire trip, knowing they would not be allowed to stop for provisions along the way.

Continue reading...

Trump’s national security adviser tests positive for coronavirus

  • White House insists ‘no risk’ of Trump being exposed
  • Photos of Robert O’Brien’s Europe trip show lack of mask usage
  • US politics – live updates

The national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, has tested positive for the coronavirus, but the White House insisted there was “no risk” of Donald Trump being exposed.

Related: Texas hospital forced to set up 'death panel' as Covid-19 cases surge

Continue reading...

Coronavirus US: polls put Biden ahead of Trump as deaths top 1,000 a day – live

Shortly before he departed on Air Force One from Morristown Municipal Airport en route to Washington, Donald Trump announced that he will not be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before a Red Sox-Yankees game at Yankee Stadium next month due to scheduling conflicts.

“Because of my strong focus on the China Virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much else, I won’t be able to be in New York to throw out the opening pitch for the @Yankees on August 15th,” he wrote on Twitter. “We will make it later in the season!”

Because of my strong focus on the China Virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much else, I won’t be able to be in New York to throw out the opening pitch for the @Yankees on August 15th. We will make it later in the season!

The news website ProPublica has published a database containing complaint information for thousands of New York City police officers days after a federal judge paused the public release of such records.

The Associated Press reports:

ProPublica posted the database Sunday, explaining in a note to readers that it isn’t obligated to comply with judge Katherine Polk Failla’s temporary restraining order because it is not a party to a union lawsuit challenging the release of such records.

Deputy managing editor Eric Umansky said ProPublica requested the information from the city’s police watchdog agency, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, soon after last month’s repeal of state law that for decades had prevented the disclosure of disciplinary records.

Continue reading...

John Lewis remembers ‘Bloody Sunday’ in Selma – video report

John Lewis, the civil rights hero and Democratic congressman, has died at the age of 80. In 1965 he headed a march across the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama, and was knocked to the ground and beaten by police. The incident, along with other beatings during peaceful protests, brought attention to racial oppression in the US south. 20 years later he recalled the events for the documentary series Eyes on the Prize for Washington University in St Louis


Continue reading...