Veep impact: battle to be Joe Biden’s running mate plays out in public

The presumptive Democratic nominee has said his No2 will be a woman and Warren, Abrams, Harris, Whitmer and Klobuchar lead the contenders

Traditionally, American presidential candidates pick vice-presidential running mates largely in secret, outside the view of the public or even members of their own party so as to maximize news value – and not offend those passed over for the job.

But in 2020 – during a campaign already driven mostly online due to the coronavirus pandemic – Joe Biden’s quest to make a vice-presidential pick has been an unusually open, vocal and public audition, both within the campaign and outside it.

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Kamala Harris endorses Joe Biden for president ahead of key contests

Endorsement follows former presidential candidates Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Mike Bloomberg

Joe Biden’s campaign for the White House received another significant lift on Sunday when Democratic senator Kamala Harris, until recently one of the former vice-president’s main rivals for the party’s presidential nomination, announced her endorsement.

In a short video statement released on Twitter, Harris promised she would “do everything in my power” to ensure Biden beats off a challenge from Vermont senator Bernie Sanders for the nomination and goes on to be elected president in November.

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Donald Trump acquitted on both articles in Senate impeachment trial

President becomes third in US history to be impeached by the House and acquitted in Senate trial

Donald Trump has been acquitted in his Senate trial on both of the articles of impeachment he faced, ending the threat that he would be removed from office and concluding the impeachment process.

Voting largely along party lines, the senators found Trump not guilty of the first article of impeachment, abuse of power, by a 52-48 tally, and not guilty of the second article of impeachment, obstruction of Congress, by a 53-47 tally.

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Kamala Harris: how the ‘female Obama’ started with a bang and went downhill

The California senator’s campaign began with a huge rally but factional infighting and lack of a clear message took their toll

Newspaper editors infamously prepare obituaries before their subjects have died, keeping them ominously in reserve until the moment of truth.

Related: Kamala Harris drops out of Democratic 2020 presidential race

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Joe Biden’s boast of African American voter support backfires – video

Joe Biden boasted about his support among African American voters during the fifth Democratic presidential debate in Atlanta on Wednesday. 'I come out of the black community in terms of my support,' Biden said and listed 'the only black African American woman who had ever been elected to the United States Senate' as one of his endorsements, at which the candidate and senator Kamala Harris threw her hands in the air, laughing: 'Nope. That's not true. The other one is here.'

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Democratic debate takeaways: Buttigieg unscathed as candidates focus on impeachment

A surging Pete Buttigieg avoided major criticism while Tulsi Gabbard reinforced her outsider status in Atlanta debate

Some of the candidates used the explosive congressional testimony from the ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, earlier in the day as a launchpad to renew calls for Donald Trump’s impeachment.

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Trump lashes out at Kamala Harris after senator protests criminal justice award

After Kamala Harris pulled out of a South Carolina criminal justice forum because its organizer gave Donald Trump an award, the president duly lashed out.

Related: Springing the 'rat' trap: how Baltimore fought back against Trump's insults

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Warren under attack as Democrats spar in largest primary debate in US history

Twelve Democrats targeted Warren over healthcare, taxes and big tech in first debate since Trump impeachment inquiry

Elizabeth Warren came under sustained attack from her Democratic rivals during Tuesday night’s presidential debate, a reflection of the threat her ascendant candidacy poses to the crowded field of hopefuls competing to take on Donald Trump in the 2020 US election.

Twelve Democratic candidates took to the stage in Westerville, Ohio, for the largest presidential primary debate in modern US history, and the first since the launch of an impeachment inquiry into the president’s efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his leading rival, Joe Biden.

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Elizabeth Warren overtakes Joe Biden in new Iowa poll

Elizabeth Warren leads Joe Biden in Iowa for the first time, according to a new poll in the early voting state.

Related: How Trump could lose the popular vote again – and hold the White House

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Trump blasts calls for impeachment of Brett Kavanaugh after new allegations

  • New York Times details new claims against supreme court judge
  • Harris, Castro and Sanders lead calls for constitutional action

Donald Trump came storming to the defence of Brett Kavanaugh on Sunday, after the publication of new allegations about the supreme court justice’s behaviour while he was a student at Yale led to renewed calls for his impeachment.

Related: Trump is seriously, frighteningly unstable - the world is in danger | Robert Reich

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How did each candidate in the Democratic debate do?

Klobuchar, Booker, Buttigieg, Sanders, Biden, Warren, Harris, Yang, O’Rourke and Castro – all 10 hopefuls rated

The candidates gathered in Houston, Texas, for the latest Democratic debate represented the top tier of the large field campaigning for the party’s 2020 nomination. But how did each of them fare during a night of policy cut and thrust, some mutual admiration and also some caustic attacks – on each other and on Donald Trump.

Related: Biden clashes with Warren and Sanders in lively Democratic debate

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Democratic debate: Warren and Sanders clash with Biden over healthcare – live

The 10 candidates on stage in Houston offered competing visions based on Obamacare and Medicare for All

Joe Biden is taking a question on gun control and once again arguing he has the best (and certainly the longest) record on the issue. “I’m the only up here who’s ever beat the NRA,” the former vice president and senator said.

Biden then similarly applauded Beto O’Rourke for his efforts to help his hometown of El Paso heal from the mass shooting that killed 22. Biden originally referred to the former congressman as “Beto.” He then apologized and O’Rourke interjected, “Beto is good.”

In the midst of a discussion on race and criminal justice, Ari Berman, author of Give Us the Ballot, has made this important point:

You know what else is racist? Preventing people from voting. There have been 29 presidential debates in 2020 & 2016 and no questions about voting rights

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Trump: boycott of Equinox and SoulCycle only makes owner Stephen Ross ‘hotter’ – live

President speaks amid protests against two fitness companies over Ross’s involvement with Trump campaign

Walmart has sent a memo to its stores asking them to take “immediate action” to remove signing and displays that “contain violent themes or aggressive behavior.”

“We’ve taken this action out of respect for the incidents of the past week, and this action does not reflect a long-term change in our video game assortment,” a Walmart spokesperson said in a statement.

Apparently Walmart is telling its employees to take down displays that show violent video games, specifically shooters, as well as movies and hunting videos. pic.twitter.com/2N3t4B86tf

Twitter has unlocked an account connected to Mitch McConnell’s campaign, which was frozen after it tweeted a video of a protest outside the Senate majority leader’s Kentucky home.

Twitter initially said the video violated its rules about violent threats, but the social media giant said in a statement that it has reviewed the case further.

Victory!!!

Thank you to EVERYONE for helping #FreeMitch.

Help us keep winning: https://t.co/u56exRnfKv pic.twitter.com/7Y28QdkrKv

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Joe Biden stands his ground and resists rivals’ attacks in testy second debate

  • 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.

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Joe Biden and Kamala Harris brace for tonight’s debate – live updates

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!

Related: 'His only tool is racism': why Trump's bigoted tirade could be a vote winner

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?

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Is a new generation taking over the Democratic party? – podcast

Kamala Harris was the big winner of the first round of Democratic party debates in the US. This week, her poll numbers surged and so did donations to her campaign. But as Lauren Gambino in Washington notes, it was bad news for the frontrunners as Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders faltered. Also today: Daniel Boffey on the new cast of characters taking over the EU’s top jobs

The race for the Democratic party’s presidential nomination is intensifying after two rounds of televised debates in which the candidates squared up to each other on major issues and their past records. The big winner was the California senator Kamala Harris, who denounced the record of the frontrunner, Joe Biden, on race.

The Guardian’s Lauren Gambino joins Anushka Asthana to look across the diverse field of potential presidential nominees and the debates that highlighted the generational and ideological divides in the party.

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Homeland security chief orders inquiry into US border patrol Facebook group – live

Kevin McAleenan called report that officers allegedly belong to a secret group where they have made abusive statements ‘disturbing’

Hello everyone! This is Julia Carrie Wong picking up the politics blog in San Francisco, where the holiday weekend hasn’t started yet.

A federal judge in Ohio has issued a preliminary injunction preventing Ohio’s six-week abortion ban from going into effect as scheduled, next week.

Here’s a summary of where things stand:

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Booker not sure Biden ‘up to the task’ of reconciling US over racial injustices

Booker, a Democratic presidential candidate, says Biden has ‘an inability to talk candidly about the mistakes he made’

The Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker said on Sunday that while the US must fix racial injustice, he is not sure Joe Biden is “up to that task”.

Related: Julián Castro calls Trump Jr a ‘coward’ over racist attack on Kamala Harris

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