Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
We’ll be shutting down today’s blog shortly. Here’s a glance at today’s major news items:
Trump’s decision to unilaterally extend federal unemployment insurance through executive order will almost certainly prompt a legal challenge from Democrats on the grounds that only the legislative branch has the constitutional authority to determine federal spending.
But the US president brushed aside concerns on Saturday, suggesting that he believes public sentiment will carry the day.
Donald Trump says he will act unilaterally to suspend payroll taxes for all Americans until the end of 2020 and possibly longer and extend supplemental unemployment benefits and other coronavirus aid if no deal can be reached with Democrats on a new spending bill. 'If Democrats continue to hold this critical relief hostage I will act under my authority as president to get Americans the relief they need,' Trump says on Friday during a news conference at his resort in Bedminster, New Jersey. He added that an executive order could be signed by the end of the week, without specifying whether he meant this week or next week
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.
Statement says China is opposed to Trump but offers more concrete evidence of Russia’s efforts to undermine Biden
Russia is backing Donald Trump, China is supporting Joe Biden and Iran is seeking to sow chaos in the US presidential election, a top intelligence official has warned in a sobering assessment of foreign meddling.
The statement on Friday by William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, raises fears of a repeat of the 2016 election, when Russia manipulated social media to help Trump and hurt his opponent Hillary Clinton.
Donald Trump says likely presidential rival Joe Biden is "against God" as he upped his attacks on the Democratic nominee. Speaking to a crowd at Cleveland airport in Ohio, Trump told supporters Biden is " following the radical left agenda. Take away your guns, destroy your Second Amendment. No religion, no anything, hurt the Bible, hurt God." The president continued his criticism against Biden, saying "He's against God. He's against guns. He's against energy, our kind of energy". Biden has repeatedly pledged his support for second amendment rights and owns a shotgun. He is also a practising Catholic.
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.
At her press conference, New York attorney general Letitia James said NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre is the “central figure” in the alleged fraud and abuse crimes committed by the gun rights group.
New York AG Letitia James says NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre is the "central figure" in the organization's suspected financial schemes, and she details instances of him allegedly using millions of dollars in NRA assets for personal and family expenses https://t.co/Nj065CIsxppic.twitter.com/kkJ3ZCihfY
New York attorney general Letitia James is seeking to dissolve the NRA after an investigation by her office uncovered “years of self-dealing and illegal conduct,” the Democratic official said.
#BREAKING: I filed a lawsuit to dissolve the National Rifle Association for years of self-dealing and illegal conduct.
Expert says he has hired security to protect him and family
Taskforce colleague Birx tells some cities to ‘get on top’ of virus
Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the US, has had to hire security to protect himself and his family after receiving death threats in response to his work to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Post included video in which Trump wrongly said that children were ‘almost immune’ from illness
Facebook has removed a post from Donald Trump’s page for spreading false information about the coronavirus, a first for the social company that has been harshly criticized for repeatedly allowing the president to break its content rules.
The post included video of Trump falsely asserting that children were “almost immune from Covid-19” during an appearance on Fox News. There is evidence to suggest that children who contract Covid-19 generally experience milder symptoms than adults do. However, they are not immune, and some children have become severely ill or died from the disease.
The New York prosecutors who are trying to access Donald Trump’s tax records have also subpoenaed his longtime lender, Deutsche Bank, the New York Times reports.
Manhattan district attorney Cy Vance subpoenaed the bank last year, the Times writes.
The subpoena to Deutsche Bank sought documents on various topics related to Mr Trump and his company, including any materials that might point to possible fraud, according to two people briefed on the subpoena’s contents.
Deutsche Bank complied with the subpoena. Over a period of months last year, it provided Mr Vance’s office with detailed records, including financial statements and other materials that Mr Trump had provided to the bank as he sought loans.
Facebook has removed a post from Donald Trump’s Facebook page for spreading false information about the coronavirus, a first for the company that has been harshly criticized for repeatedly allowing the president to break its content rules.
The post included video of a Trump falsely asserting that children are “almost immune from Covid-19” during an appearance on Fox News. There is evidence to suggest that children who contract Covid-19 generally experience milder symptoms than adults do. However, they are not immune, and some children have become severely ill or died from the disease.
#BREAK Facebook removes post from President Trump's page for breaking its rules on Covid-19 misinformation.
The post was a clip of his interview with Fox & Friends this morning where he made claims about children and Covid-19 immunity pic.twitter.com/tPYPAVLYY8
Test results for a man suspected of being North Korea’s first coronavirus case were inconclusive, but authorities have quarantined more than 3,635 primary and secondary contacts, according to a World Health Organization official.
On 26 July, the country said it had declared a state of emergency and locked down the border city of Kaesong after a person who defected to South Korea three years ago returned across the fortified border with what state media said were symptoms of Covid-19.
France’s prime minister, Jean Castex, has said vineyards are facing “major difficulties” due to a drop in exports during the pandemic.
He tweeted that state support “must continue and intensify” to save the wine industry from collapse.
Contexte international, crise sanitaire, baisse des exportations : notre filière viticole est confrontée à d’importantes difficultés. La mobilisation de l’État doit se poursuivre et s’intensifier. Avec @J_Denormandie, j’échange dans le Cher avec les professionnels du secteur. pic.twitter.com/G6qIEojyMw
The US president Donald Trump says an explosion that killed dozens of people in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, looks like an attack. 'We will be there to help. It looks like a terrible attack,' he said at a press briefing. Trump was later asked why he called the explosion an attack, not an accident, saying he met with generals who felt it was 'a bomb of some kind'
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.
When asked how history would remember the civil rights leader, the president replied, “I don’t know. I really don’t know” and brought the point back around to himself.
President floundered in conversation with Axios, claiming Covid-19 was ‘under control’ and attacking mail-in voting
Donald Trump stumbled through his second damaging interview in as many weeks, floundering in a conversation with the news website Axios over key issues he is tasked with responding to as president.
It’s been just over two weeks since the president made a series of shocking statements in a one-on-one interview with Fox News, but he packed another host of extraordinary claims into a 37-minute interview released on Monday night by Axios.
Musician files lawsuit against the president for copyright infringement after Rockin’ in the Free World and Devil’s Sidewalk were played at a rally
Neil Young is suing Donald Trump’s campaign for alleged illegal usage of his music at a rally.
The musician claims that Rockin’ in the Free World and Devil’s Sidewalk were played at the president’s recent rally in Tulsa without a license. Both songs have also been used before by the campaign.
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.
The president’s incoherence and unchecked narcissism were given full rein for 40 long minutes in a TV evisceration
I take it all back. I regularly mock British politicians for their lies and hypocrisy, not least Boris Johnson, the UK’s Donald Trump-lite, who only last Friday had hit a new low for cronyism, corruption and nepotism with his appointments to the House of Lords.
Donald Trump visibly floundered in an interview when pressed on a range of issues, including the number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the US, his claims that mail-in voting is fraudulent, and his inaction over the “Russian bounty” scandal.
The US president also repeatedly cast doubt on the cause of death of Jeffrey Epstein, and said of Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite who has pleaded not guilty to participating in the sex-trafficking of girls by Epstein, that he wished her well.
Reuters is reporting that Taiwan has provisionally approved the use of dexamethasone, a cheap and widely-used steroid, to treat the new coronavirus because the island faces a shortfall of the antiviral drug remdesivir after the United States bought nearly all global supplies.
Taiwan Centres for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang told reporters on Tuesday that medical experts had decided to provisionally allow dexamethasone to be listed as a COVID-19 treatment but that procedures still needed to be completed before it could be given to any patients.
France’s Accor, the world’s sixth largest hotel chain, said it was slashing 1,000 jobs worldwide in a major cost cutting plan accelerated by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
The group, which runs high-end chains such as Raffles and Sofitel, and budget brands like Ibis, plans to cut costs by €200m by 2022.
After weeks of railing against what he claimed were the potential risks of voting by mail, president Donald Trump has urged voters in at least one Republican state - Florida - to vote by any means.
Trump, who is trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in polls, has repeatedly warned in recent weeks - without evidence - that mail-in voting carries more risks than voting by absentee ballot and could result in widespread fraud.
Whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True. Florida’s Voting system has been cleaned up (we defeated Democrats attempts at change), so in Florida I encourage all to request a Ballot & Vote by Mail! #MAGA