Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
Congresswoman mocks ‘send her back’ comments with Instagram post of trip to Ghana with House speaker
The congresswoman Ilhan Omar took a swipe at Donald Trump on Thursday, posting a photo on Instagram of herself and Nancy Pelosi in Ghana with the caption: “They said ‘send her back’ but Speaker Pelosi didn’t just make arrangement to send me back, she went back with me.”
The photo came from a congressional trip to the African country this week, in observance of the American slave trade’s 400th anniversary. The two women were joined by the civil rights icon and Georgia congressman John Lewis and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
As Trump carries on with his rally in North Carolina, we’re going to wrap up the liveblog for today. Check The Guardian’s homepage for updates.
Congressman Will Hurd of Texas, a critic of Trump and one of the few Republican lawmakers who voted to condemn Trump’s racist attacks, announced that he will not be seeking reelection in order to “pursue opportunities outside the halls of Congress”.
I have made the decision to not seek reelection for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas in order to pursue opportunities outside the halls of Congress to solve problems at the nexus between technology and national security. https://t.co/GeZ4Hh264f
Delivering what must have been one of the most cryptic gaffes of his career, Joe Biden caused mass confusion during the final moment of the latest Democratic debate, after he apparently urged viewers to visit a website that does not exist. Biden laid out his 2020 vision before telling those watching: 'If you agree with me, go to Joe 30330.' He had in fact meant to refer them to a phone number
Joe Biden was the central target as 10 Democratic presidential candidates clashed in Detroit on Wednesday in the party's second 2020 debate. The former vice-president stood his ground against criticism of his healthcare and immigration plans, unlike in last month’s debate when he visibly struggled to defend his record
Former vice-president targeted in second Democratic debate
Biden rejects criticism of healthcare and immigration plans
Joe Biden was the central target as 10 Democratic presidential candidates took the stage for the second debate in Detroit on Wednesday, with rivals attempting to knock the former vice-president from his frontrunner status.
Unlike last month’s debate in Miami, however, where Biden visibly struggled to defend his decades-old record, this time Biden was ready for the fight.
New Age author was most-Googled candidate of the night
Williamson spoke for under nine minutes but won loud cheers
With her talk of harnessing love, her Hollywood friends and background in spiritual guidance and self-help books, many instantly wrote Marianne Williamson off as a joke candidate for the presidency after she jumped into the race.
But she has proved curiously magnetic during the brief moments she’s actually been able to speak from her lectern, literally on the fringe, at the televised Democratic primary debates so far.
The president is back on Twitter, defending himself against accusations of racism by calling himself the “least racist person in the world” and insulting the intelligence of one of the most prominent black TV journalists in the US.
....or is he too dumb (stupid} to understand that. No wonder CNN’s ratings (MSNBC’s also) have gone down the tubes - and will stay there until they bring credibility back to the newsroom. Don’t hold your breath!
Ohio representative Tim Ryan’s campaign has issued a statement about his decision to not put his hand over his heart during the national anthem at the Democratic debate last night, saying it was an accident.
Congressman Ryan wasn’t protesting and didn’t mean to make any statement last night in Detroit, it was a moment of absentmindedness while on a debate stage that won’t happen again. He was, in fact, singing along with the choir to honor our country. Congressman Ryan loves our country and will continue to honor the flag during the anthem in future events, as he has in countless events in the past.
Rep. Tim Ryan didn’t put his hand over his heart during the national anthem. I guess he’s appealing to the Kaepernick wing of the Democratic Party.
Happening now: Will any of the Dems take a knee for the national anthem?
Marianne Williamson was the most-searched candidate during the live broadcast, according to Google. The New Age author was widely written off as a joke when she entered the Democratic presidential contest and, while she remains a fringe candidate, she received praise for her answers last night on race, environmental justice and slavery reparations. Here is a look at her best moments during the debate
The leading progressive candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination came under withering attack from moderates on Tuesday in a second debate that reflected the party's struggle between a call for revolutionary policies and a desperate desire to defeat Donald Trump
Analysis: pair were dominant at event showcasing Democratic party’s split personality, pitting progressives against moderates
Bonnie and Clyde. Mulder and Scully. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. On Tuesday night it was Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders who, defying predictions that they would turn on each other, instead formed a leftwing tag team against the forces of moderation at the latest Democratic primary debate on Tuesday.
Warren and Sanders stood centre stage in the ornate Fox Theatre in Detroit, had the most speaking time – more than 35 minutes between them – produced the best lines of the night (with the possible exception of self-help guru and long-shot candidate Marianne Williamson) and had all the appearance of incumbents fending off pesky challengers. Barack Obama’s party this isn’t.
Ten of the 20 candidates participating in the debates, which are hosted by CNN, will appear on the debate stage tonight in Detroit
The main attraction tonight is the duel on the left between septuagenarian senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. In football or soccer terms, it’s like a local derby. Could it turn nasty?
Aaron Kall, director of debate at the University of Michigan, said: “The key $10,000 question is whether the friendship lasts for the two hours of the debate because they’re colleagues and they have not gone negative with each other on the campaign trail. When you get on the stage under the bright lights, it could certainly change.
“I think Sanders has the incentive to do that, frankly, because he fared much better in the last cycle. He’s slipping to almost single digits now. If anyone needs to make a move and have the focus on the campaign it’s Sanders and, by going negative against Warren, that could be the way.”
Kall, editor of the book Debating the Donald, added: “I think she would be hesitant to respond and we saw in the first debate there were many instances where she could have interjected herself forcefully into the debate but she kind of disappeared for an hour. So if she doesn’t respond, it could be successful for him and put some more spotlight on him, which has been lacking in the last several weeks or months of this campaign.”
The debate’s proximity to Flint, Michigan, has thrown a spotlight on the need for candidates to better flesh out their plans to ensure safe drinking water and fight environmental racism.
The facts are clear: climate change and pollution disproportionately harm low-income communities and communities of color — and are major contributors to ongoing economic and racial inequality.
Today, I’m releasing my plan to build a just and inclusive clean energy economy. pic.twitter.com/qfb7xznEJd
The president called himself ‘the least racist person’ after he was accused of racist behaviour once again. In his comments on Tuesday, Trump also accused one of the people he has attacked, the Rev Al Sharpton, of being a racist and claimed his presidency has been a success for African Americans
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’
House judiciary chair says it could clear path to impeachment
Adam Shiff: ‘We are now in preliminary to a judicial proceeding’
Robert Mueller’s testimony to Congress “broke the lie” Donald Trump has been telling and potentially cleared the path to impeachment, House judiciary chair Jerrold Nadler said on Sunday.
President says oversight chair is ‘brutal bully’ and slams district
Attack follows racist invective aimed at four congresswomen
Donald Trump kicked off his weekend with a stinging attack on Elijah Cummings, the Democratic chair of the House oversight committee, that opponents including House speaker Nancy Pelosi said was another example of the president deploying racist invective for political ends.
The president is celebrating the supreme court’s decision to allow him to spend $2.5bn on the border wall:
Wow! Big VICTORY on the Wall. The United States Supreme Court overturns lower court injunction, allows Southern Border Wall to proceed. Big WIN for Border Security and the Rule of Law!
This wall won't make anyone any more secure. It's a futile exercise to massage your ego, and advance your racist agenda.
We should be spending this $2.5bn of our tax payers money on housing for homeless people, mental health for veterans, and healthcare for those who are unwell.
The case is not about whether the challenged border barrier construction plan is wise or unwise. It is not about whether the plan is the right or wrong policy response to existing conditions at the southern border of the United States. Instead, this case presents strict legal questions regarding whether the proposed plan for funding border barrier construction exceeds the executive branch’s lawful authority.”
The case the Supreme Court ruled on began after the 35-day partial government shutdown that started in December of last year. Trump ended the shutdown in February after Congress gave him approximately $1.4 billion in border wall funding. But the amount was far less than the $5.7 billion he was seeking, and Trump then declared a national emergency to take cash from other government accounts to use to construct sections of wall.
The money Trump identified includes $3.6 billion from military construction funds, $2.5 billion in Defense Department money and $600 million from the Treasury Department’s asset forfeiture fund.
The Supreme Court has said the Trump administration can spend $2.5bn in Pentagon funds on the border wall:
JUST IN: Supreme Court allows Trump administration to spend $2.5 billion in Pentagon funds on border wall pic.twitter.com/JVxFusMf41
NOW: In a divided decision, the Supreme Court rules the Trump administration can begin using some of the contested federal funds Trump redirected for border wall construction — the court granted the admin's request to stay a lower court injunction https://t.co/SSEU48JLNUpic.twitter.com/DPijozmm8B
Justices Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan would have denied the stay and left in place the injunction blocking the admin from using the funds while the case went forward; Breyer would have let the govt finalize contracts, but also blocked construction during the litigation
Warren urged House to rise ‘above politics’ and launch proceedings against Trump while Biden said president ‘should be tried’
Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren urged the House of Representatives to rise “above politics” and launch impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump after the former special counsel Robert Mueller testified that his report on Russian election interference did not exonerate the president.
The candidates, speaking on Wednesday at the annual convention of the NAACP, the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights organization, said Mueller’s testimony highlighted the urgency for brining articles of impeachment against a president whose bigotry while in office has harmed communities of color.
Trump’s lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said in a statement that Mueller’s testimony revealed the “troubling deficiencies of the special counsel’s investigation.”
“The testimony revealed that this probe was conducted by a small group of politically biased prosecutors who, as hard as they tried, were unable to establish either obstruction, conspiracy, or collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia,” the president’s lawyer said. “The American people understand that this issue is over. They also understand that the case is closed.”
...who, as hard as they tried, were unable to establish either obstruction, conspiracy, or collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. It is also clear that the Special Counsel conducted his two-year investigation unimpeded.
Donald Trump renewed his attack on members of 'the Squad' of Democratic congresswomen of colour on Tuesday, this time targeting representative Rashida Tlaib, calling her 'vicious' and a 'crazed lunatic'. The US president has been engaged in a back-and-forth with the women, following racist tweets he fired off suggesting they return to their countries, though all are American citizens and all but one born in the US