Watchdog to look at use-of-force allegations in Portland and Washington as other mayors say: we don’t need your deployments
The justice department inspector general said on Thursday it would conduct a review of the conduct of federal agents who responded to unrest in Portland and Washington DC, following concerns from members of Congress and the public.
Related: DoJ watchdog opens investigation into federal agents' actions in Portland – live
Continue reading...A diplomacy shaped around self-serving tittle-tattle now risks lives and undermines America’s standing in the world
The campaign by the Trump administration against the World Health Organization has often seemed faintly preposterous.
Over the months of the coronavirus pandemic its untruths and hyperbole have been dismissed by many as iterations of Trumpspeak, whose main purpose has been to distract from the US’s catastrophic response to Covid-19, which has claimed almost 140,000 lives and devastated the economy.
Continue reading...The US president tells Fox news medical analyst Marc K Siegel of the rigours of the cognitive test he went through, which involved repeating five words in the same order. Trump told the New York University professor: 'They said nobody gets it in order, it’s actually not that easy. But for me it was easy.' He added: 'They say, "That’s amazing. How did you do that?" I do it because I have like a good memory? Because I’m cognitively there.’ The president then went on to suggest that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden should take the test.
From me and Joan E Greve:
As the federal government pledges to send federal law enforcement to cities, and Donald Trump and William Barr connect Black Lives Matter protest against police brutality to alleged spikes in violence, here’s some more context to keep in mind: this isn’t the first time people have pointed to an increase in crime following protests against unjust policing.
It happened in 2014, after the police killing of Michael Brown sparked national protests. Police called it “the Ferguson effect” and argued that protesters had made police afraid to do their jobs.
Continue reading...Civil liberties watchdogs condemn plan to send hundreds of agents into cities including Chicago and Albuquerque
Donald Trump has announced a “surge” of hundreds of law enforcement officers into Democratic-run cities including Chicago, drawing condemnation from civil liberties watchdogs.
The US president’s move came after a crackdown by federal agents on anti-racism protesters in Portland, Oregon, and was consistent with his emphasis on “law and order” as a key component of his reelection campaign.
Continue reading...Donald Trump announced at a White House event on Wednesday he will send 'a surge of federal law enforcement' into US cities that are 'plagued by violent crime'.
Trump's administration has been criticised for sending federal agents to crack down on protests against racism in Portland, Oregon
US death toll at more than 142,000 while Trump admits Covid-19 crisis will ‘get worse before it gets better’
Daily deaths due to Covid-19 on Tuesday surpassed 1,000 for the first time in the US since the start of June, as Donald Trump admitted the crisis would “get worse” before it got better.
The seven-day average for the number of deaths in the country has been slowly rising this month, according to multiple data analyses, and went past the 1,000 mark on Tuesday, taking US fatalities to more than 142,000. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has forecasted that the country will reach 150,000 deaths by early August.
Continue reading...Latest data shows virus hitting Republican heartlands as well as key battleground states
“I said it’s going away – and it is going away,” a defiant Donald Trump claimed about Covid-19 on 3 April, when about 300,000 cases of the virus had been reported across the country.
At the time, Trump was enjoying a brief surge in approval ratings. But the virus obviously did not go away – more than 3.8m cases have now been reported, and latest polls show that Trump may pay the price for his handling of the crisis in the November elections.
Continue reading...She is a psychologist who used to deny being related to Donald – now she has written an explosive bestseller about him. She discusses his racism, incompetence, cruelty and why he never laughs
Dinner in the Trump household was a hierarchical affair. Fred Trump, the patriarch, sat at the head of the table, with son Donald on his right and daughter Maryanne on his left. Other family members took their places in descending order of assigned importance.
But one Thanksgiving, the eldest son, Fred Jr, found himself relegated to the junior end of the table with his daughter Mary. “During the course of the meal, my grandmother choked,” Mary Trump recalls. “My dad had been a volunteer ambulance driver in the late 60s and early 70s so he knew the Heimlich manoeuvre and he very gently manoeuvred her into the kitchen and gave her the Heimlich, and that basically saved her from choking.
Continue reading...Donald Trump has said he wishes Ghislaine Maxwell well. The British socialite faces federal charges for allegedly enabling the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking of minor girls.
When asked if Trump thought Ghislaine might implicate some of the 'powerful men' who formed part of Epstein’s jet set social circle, Trump replied “I don’t know – I haven’t really been following it too much.”
Continue reading...Donald Trump has bestowed his good wishes on Ghislaine Maxwell, who faces federal charges for allegedly enabling disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking of minor girls.
At a press conference ostensibly to discuss the coronavirus crisis gripping the US on Tuesday, Trump took questions from reporters, one of whom asked him about Maxwell’s recent arrest and whether she might implicate some of the “powerful men” who formed part of Epstein’s jet set social circle.
Continue reading...
The United States is failing to report vital information on Covid-19 that could help track the spread of the disease and prevent the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans, according to the first comprehensive review of the nation’s coronavirus data.
The report, Tracking Covid-19 in the United States, paints a bleak picture of the country’s response to the disease. Five months into the pandemic, the essential intelligence that would allow public health authorities to get to grips with the virus is still not being compiled in usable form.
Related: 'Flying blind': US failure to report vital coronavirus data is hobbling response
Circling back to testing ...
Trump, who has been boasting about the country’s coronavirus testing for months, was right in saying that the US has dramatically ramped up testing and is now testing a higher proportion of citizens than many other countries.
Continue reading...Joe Biden, in a scathing speech in his campaign to become the next US president, said Donald Trump had ‘quit’ on US citizens and did not care about America.
In a speech on his plan for the economy, in which he promised to expand access to preschool for working families, directly linking the need for affordable childcare to America’s economic recovery, Biden said Trump was not taking the public health crisis seriously.
€750bn EU Covid-19 recovery plan agreed in early morning talks; Trump to resume daily briefings, backs face masks as ‘patriotic’; two Brazil ministers test positive. Follow latest updates
Passengers of China-bound flights must provide negative Covid-19 test results before boarding, China’s aviation authority has said.
The Chinese government has sought to reduce the risk of imported coronavirus cases as international travel resumes.
The €750bn deal is the “most important economic decision since the introduction of the euro,” according to the EU’s economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, who said the most difficult challenge for the commission starts now.
Il vertice infinito è finito con un’intesa. #NextGenerationEU è la più importante decisione economica dall’introduzione dell’euro. Per la Commissione, che ha proposto il piano, comincia la sfida più difficile. #21luglio L’Europa è più forte delle proprie divisioni.
Continue reading...Some central American nations seeing highest weekly increase in cases; official UK death toll now stands at 45,422
The Nobel Foundation, which manages the Nobel Prizes, on Tuesday cancelled its traditional December banquet because of the coronavirus pandemic and said the award ceremonies would be held in “new forms”, AFP reports.
This is the first time since 1956 that the lavish banquet has been cancelled, according to the foundation. The event traditionally marks the end of the so-called Nobel Week, when the year’s prize-winners are invited to Swedish capital Stockholm for talks and the award ceremony.
Joe Biden, in a scathing speech in his campaign to become the next US president, said Donald Trump had ‘quit’ on US citizens and did not care about America.
In a speech on his plan for the economy, in which he promised to expand access to preschool for working families, directly linking the need for affordable childcare to America’s economic recovery, Biden said Trump was not taking the public health crisis seriously:
Continue reading...Opponents warn of grave threat to civil liberties as observers say president seeks to build ‘law and order’ credentials
Donald Trump has vowed to send federal officers to several American cities led by Democrats in what critics say is an attempt to play the “law and order” card to boost his bid for re-election.
The president’s threat came after a federal crackdown on anti-racism protests in Portland, Oregon, that involved unmarked cars and unidentified forces in camouflage.
Continue reading...
Trump unexpectedly called reporters in to the Oval Office for an update on the discussions about Senate Republicans’ coronavirus relief bill.
The president said the discussions were going well, and treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin added that he and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows would brief Republicans on the talks tomorrow.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has released a statement criticizing the Republican coronavirus relief bill as inadequate.
In a “Dear Colleague” letter to the Senate Democratic caucus, Schumer specifically questioned majority leader Mitch McConnell’s decision to craft the bill “behind the closed doors of his office.”
Senator McConnell is writing a COVID bill that will prioritize corporate special interests over workers and main street businesses, and will fail to adequately address the worsening spread of COVID.
Workers and families and people—not special interests—must be our main focus. pic.twitter.com/VzdFE93hTA
Document on Russian interference into UK politics blocked by Boris Johnson before election
The long-awaited Russia report from the UK parliament’s intelligence and security committee is due to be released on Tuesday morning, nine months after its publication was blocked by Boris Johnson before the general election.
An examination of the reach of the Kremlin into UK politics and public life, the document is the product of 18 months’ work by a cross-party committee taking evidence in secret from British intelligence and independent experts.
Continue reading...Facing interviewer Chris Wallace, US president Donald Trump said polls showing him trailing Joe Biden were 'fake' and that identifying an elephant proved his mental capacity. The interview also included a claim not to care what the military has to say about renaming its bases, and boasting about the country's low Covid-19 mortality rates.
Continue reading...Donald Trump has equated the Black Lives Matter movement with displays of the Confederate flag, saying: “I’m not offended either by Black Lives Matter, that’s freedom of speech. You know the whole thing with cancel culture – we can’t cancel our whole history. We can’t forget that the north and the south fought.”
Related: Trump's 2020 strategy: paint Joe Biden as a puppet for the 'radical left'
Continue reading...