Uvalde families stand with Beto O’Rourke amid Republican silence on gun reform

Families of those killed in May school shooting support Democrat in race against Texas governor Greg Abbott

A small photo of Jacklyn Casarez, one of the children killed during the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, in May, graced the front of a greeting card held by Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke, who visited a Rio Grande Valley park Friday morning before the one and only staged debate with incumbent governor Greg Abbott.

“Maybe you don’t consider yourself a political person,” Kimberly Rubio, whose 10-year-old daughter Lexi was also killed in the 24 May shooting at Robb elementary, said Friday during a pre-debate news conference.

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Video of Greg Abbott canvasser laughing about her job goes viral

Monique Dawson says she was fired after she joked with a man who said he’d never back governor for re-election

A video of a woman working as a door-to-door canvasser for Greg Abbott’s campaign went viral after she burst out laughing when a resident said he would “absolutely not” support the Texas governor.

“Everybody’s got to have a job,” Monique Dawson said, seemingly referring to her own position with the campaign.

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Beto O’Rourke calls Texas governor Greg Abbott an ‘authoritarian’ and ‘thug’

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate compared his Republican opponent to the Russian president Vladimir Putin

Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic candidate for Texas governor, has likened his Republican opponent to the Russian president Vladimir Putin, calling Greg Abbott an “authoritarian” and a “thug”.

As governor, Abbott has presided over draconian laws on issues including abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and voting rights. In February 2021, on his watch, a failure of the state energy grid during cold weather contributed to hundreds of deaths.

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Beto O’Rourke set to run against Greg Abbott for Texas governor – report

The former Democratic congressman Beto O’Rourke is set to mount a third campaign for major political office with a run for governor in Texas, Axios reported on Sunday.

Related: Beto O’Rourke on Texas: ‘I don’t know that we’re a conservative state’

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Beto O’Rourke withdraws from Democratic race – and faces Trump’s abuse

Beto O’Rourke withdrew from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Friday. His decision met with tributes from his former competitors and insults from Donald Trump.

Related: Who anointed Beto O'Rourke to be our political saviour? He did | Moira Donegan

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The rise and fall of Beto O’Rourke: how the Democratic star’s campaign faded

The former congressman shone in last year’s Senate run. But his charm failed to translate to the presidential race

Donald Trump is quick to taunt the Democratic candidates for president as they fall. “Zero per cent Tim Ryan” got the treatment last week when he quit the race. Beto O’Rourke, whose campaign ended with a whimper on Friday night, was soon mocked by the US president.

“Oh no,” Trump wrote, “Beto just dropped out of race for President despite him saying he was ‘born for this’. I don’t think so!”

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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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US soldier discussed bombing media and targeting Beto O’Rourke, FBI alleges

  • Jarrett William Smith, 24, chatted plans on Facebook
  • Infantryman talked of making IEDs and killing antifa activists

A member of the US military has been arrested after he allegedly discussed plans to bomb a news network, suggested targeting the Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke and explained how to make an improvised explosive device, or IED.

The FBI charged Jarrett William Smith, a soldier stationed in Kansas, with distributing information related to explosives and weapons of mass destruction.

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US election 2020: highlights from the third Democratic presidential debate – video

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 Donald Trump

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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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Beto O’Rourke on gun control: ‘Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15’ – video

Presidential contender Beto O'Rourke does not shy away from saying he would require citizens to turn in their military-style weapons when asked about gun control during Thursday night's Democratic debate.  'Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47,' O’Rourke said in one of the biggest lines of the night. O'Rourke added: 'We're not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans any more.' He said some people at a gun show accepted the weapons were not needed for hunting. 

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Democratic debate: the five key takeaways

Biden was Biden but despite a smaller field sparks failed to fly with Warren, while O’Rourke had a good night – as did Obama

The Democratic debate in Houston was a mix of smackdown, backslapping and policy gab-fest as the 10 top-tier candidates faced off against each other while at least 10 others were only able to watch from the sidelines, having failed to qualify.

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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Democrats condemn reported Trump plan to bar most refugees from US

  • Administration officials reportedly aim to slash admissions
  • Beto O’Rourke: ‘We need more refugees, not fewer’

Leading Democrats have condemned reported moves by the Trump administration to effectively bar refugees arriving from most parts of the world.

As reported by the New York Times, the administration plans to cut back on a decades-old programme that each year admits tens of thousands fleeing war, persecution and famine.

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Texas shooting: death toll rises to seven, with 17-month-old among 22 wounded

  • Toddler shot in the face ‘relatively well’, governor says
  • Beto O’Rourke on US gun violence: ‘This is fucked up’

As the death toll in a mass shooting in Texas on Saturday rose to seven and details emerged of how a 17-month-old child was shot in the face, Beto O’Rourke used an appearance on live television to denounce America’s epidemic of gun violence as “fucked up”.

Related: Texas shooting: five dead and 21 injured near Midland and Odessa

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O’Rourke: El Paso shooting makes clear the ‘real consequence’ of Trump racism

Democratic presidential candidate says suspect who killed 22 people earlier this month was inspired by Trump’s rhetoric

The deaths of 22 people in the El Paso shooting earlier this month made clear “the real consequence and cost of Donald Trump”, Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke said on Sunday.

Related: 'Rigging the game': Stacey Abrams kicks off campaign to fight voter suppression

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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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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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