Trump escalates war of words with Biden over civil rights protests – live

Joe Biden has responded to Trump’s refusal to condemn Kyle Rittenhouse:

In a statement, he said:

Tonight, the President declined to rebuke violence. He wouldn’t even repudiate one of his supporters who is charged with murder because of his attacks on others. He is too weak, too scared of the hatred he has stirred to put an end to it.

So once again, I urge the President to join me in saying that while peaceful protest is a right — a necessity — violence is wrong, period. No matter who does it, no matter what political affiliation they have. Period.

If Donald Trump can’t say that, then he is unfit to be President, and his preference for more violence — not less — is clear.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking a communications firm to “defeat despair and inspire hope,” bidding out a $250m contract, Politico reports.

Ahead of the elections, with 180,000 Americans dead from coronavirus, HHS wants a firm to help “deliver important public health and economic information the administration can defeat despair, inspire hope and achieve national recovery.”

Several weeks ago, the department sent out to a number of communications firms a “performance work statement,” which lays out what work will be expected of the winning firm. The document says that the vast majority of the money will be spent from now until January.

The document also lists the goals of the contract: “defeat despair and inspire hope, sharing best practices for businesses to operate in the new normal and instill confidence to return to work and restart the economy,” build a “coalition of spokespeople” around the country, provide important public health, therapeutic and vaccine information as the country reopens and give Americans information on the phases of reopening.

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‘Rest in peace Jay’: sympathy for the far right foretells Trump’s election strategy

The president has shown a lifelong penchant for inflaming racist hatreds and fears – expect much more of this before November

Six months into the coronavirus pandemic, Donald Trump tweeted a rare statement of condolences, as the confirmed death toll in the US climbed past 183,000.

Related: Biden to accuse Trump of stoking violence in US after Portland clashes

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Trump supporters drive through crowd and pepper spray protesters in Portland – video

Footage shows men in pickup trucks taking part in a pro-Trump procession driving into a crowd of protesters in Portland, Oregon. They fire paintballs and pepper spray as demonstrators throw objects at the convoy. The caravan of Trump supporters drove as a group into the centre of Portland, prompting protesters to block streets and bridges in an attempt to stop them. It was the third Saturday in a row that Trump supporters have rallied in the city.

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‘Two visions of the US’: Trump and Biden offer contrasts on race, Covid and economy

The Democratic and Republican national conventions offered two radically different diagnoses of the problems confronting America

One version told of a president who is callous and cruel. “My dad was a healthy 65-year-old,” said Kristin Urquiza, whose father voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and died from Covid-19 in June. “His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump – and for that he paid with his life.”

The other spoke of a president blessed with compassion. Kayleigh McEnany recalled taking a phone call as she recovered from a preventative mastectomy. “It was President Trump, calling to check on me,” she said. “I was blown away. Here was the leader of the free world caring about me.”

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Fatal shooting in Portland as Trump supporters clash with BLM protesters

Police say it was not clear if shooting was linked to fights between protesters and caravan of Trump supporters

One person was shot and killed late Saturday in Portland, Oregon, as a large caravan of Donald Trump supporters came into town and were seen on video firing paintballs and pepper spray at Black Lives Matter protesters before clashes erupted in the streets.

Related: The Department of Homeland Security is a rogue agency. Democrats must take action | Trevor Timm

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Portland clashes: Trump accused of encouraging violence after shooting

Police say it was not clear if shooting was linked to fights between protesters and caravan of Trump supporters

Portland mayor Ted Wheeler on Sunday slammed Donald Trump, accusing the president of encouraging the kind of violence that erupted in the city overnight when a reported member of a rightwing group was shot dead after a group of Trump supporters confronted Black Lives Matter protesters.

“What America needs is for you to be stopped,” Wheeler said of Trump, after the president tore into Wheeler on Twitter in the hours after the death and retweeted video footage of his supporters in trucks firing paintballs and pepper spray at protesters downtown.

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New audio recordings reveal aunt’s criticisms of Ivanka and Eric Trump

  • President’s niece reveals more tapes of Maryanne Trump Barry
  • Ivanka’s Instagram post mocked as ‘Madonna and child’

Mary Trump has revealed more audio recordings she says are of her aunt, Maryanne Trump Barry, that aim pointed criticism at the US president’s children, Ivanka and Eric.

Related: Mary Trump’s book: eight of its most shocking claims about the president

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Michael Moore warns that Donald Trump is on course to repeat 2016 win

Film-maker says enthusiasm for president in swing states is ‘off the charts’ and urges everyone to commit to getting 100 people to vote

The documentary film-maker Michael Moore has warned that Donald Trump appears to have such momentum in some battleground states that liberals risk a repeat of 2016 when so many wrote off Trump only to see him grab the White House.

“Sorry to have to provide the reality check again,” he said.

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White House chief of staff dismisses Covid concerns as four at RNC test positive – live

Donald Trump is holding a rally for supporters in New Hampshire. He will speak any minute now. If you care to tune in you can here - if not, I will be blogging it here so stand by for updates.

The crowd at Trump’s NH rally just booed an announcement telling people to put on their masks

Germany chancellor Angela Merkel laughed off a question during a Friday press conference of whether she had been “charmed” by Donald Trump.

The question was in response to a statement made this week by Richard Grenell, the former US director of national intelligence and ambassador to Germany, who claimed Trump had smoothed over the historically strained relationship between German and the US by enchanting Merkel.

This is one of my new favourite Merkel moments. A journalist asks her about Richard Grenell's claim that Trump "charmed" Merkel. You don't need to speak German to enjoy her reaction:pic.twitter.com/RSjHSNXXtX

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Protesters try to drown out Donald Trump’s acceptance speech on last day of RNC – video highlights

Donald Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday, as protesters outside the White House did their best to drown out his speech. Here are highlights of the last night of the 2020 Republican national convention

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Trump unleashes diatribe of falsehoods and baseless attacks in RNC finale

Trump portrayed Biden as a creature of the Washington swamp, beat the drum of law and order and said little about racial injustice

You write him off at your peril. Donald Trump stood at one of America’s most hallowed spaces on Thursday – the White House – and bent it to his will, just as he has bent the Republican party and swaths of America.

Related: RNC: Trump paints Biden as a 'radical' candidate and a danger to America

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Donald Trump slams Joe Biden in Republican nomination acceptance speech – video

Donald Trump formally accepted the Republican party's nomination for re-election in front of the White House on Thursday night.

'This is the most important election in the history of our country,' Trump said after he 'profoundly' accepted his party's nomination.

Trump went on to excoriate the Democratic party and argue that the choice for voters is between a president who has a record of unmatched accomplishments and an opposition party and candidate eager to tear down the country.

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Global report: India sets new national daily case record

Parisian pedestrians must wear face coverings from Friday; Spain says school children over six must wear masks; China goes 12 days without local case

India has set a new national record of daily coronavirus infections, reporting more than 77,000 cases in 24 hours, just shy of the global one-day record tally held by America.

India’s health ministry reported 77, 266 new cases on Friday. The largest ever one day rise is 78,427, reported by the US on 25 July. India also recorded more than 1,000 new deaths taking total fatalities, to 61,529, the fourth highest total in the world, behind the US, Brazil and Mexico.

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Donald Trump portrays Biden as threat to America in RNC speech packed with falsehoods – live

That’s it from us tonight. Here are the key takeaways of the final night of the Republican convention:

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly plans to resign due to his health.

The Japanese outlet NHK reports:

Abe Shinzo is scheduled to hold a news conference later in the day to explain his decision.

Abe has visited a hospital twice over the past two weeks, fuelling speculation that his health has deteriorated.

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Trump attacks Biden as eager to ‘tear down’ America in RNC speech

President accepts Republican presidential nomination in event staged at White House, raising ethical concerns

Against a backdrop of a global pandemic, heightened racial tensions, and widespread unemployment, Donald Trump framed his Democratic rival Joe Biden as the real danger to the country’s safety and economic welfare in his address to the Republican convention on Thursday.

Accepting the party’s presidential nomination ahead of November’s elections, Trump argued for more than an hour that his administration had accomplished everything it had set out to do and warned that a Biden presidency could be ruinous.

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Trump puts women ‘on equal footing’ with men, say female advisers at RNC – video

A strong female contingent was out in force during the third day of the Republican national convention, with Trump’s advisers attempting to paint a picture of a compassionate, open-minded president in an apparent attempt to win over female voters. 

Kayleigh McEnany recounted how the president called her after her mastectomy, the White House adviser Kellyanne Conway applauded Trump for putting women 'on equal footing with the men' and his daughter-in law, Lara Trump, described the Trump family as 'warm and caring'.

The president’s advisers ignored the dozens of sexual misconduct allegations against Trump (which he denies) and his history of referring to women as 'dogs' and 'fat pigs'. 

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Hurricane Laura: Louisiana braces for impact as 150mph storm makes landfall – US politics live

As Hurricane Laura has weakened slightly, the national weather service in Houston has been able to relax slightly some of the warnings that were in place, and has reduced the scope of the areas facing southeast Texas.

Here's the latest advisory on Hurricane Laura (4AM CDT). Laura has weakened slightly as it moves northward over Louisiana, but remains as a major hurricane with max sustained winds of 120 mph.

Warnings across southeast Texas have been reduced. pic.twitter.com/7vWFC7tLvv

Back to Hurricane Laura, here’s a map of the expected trajectory of the storm, with an indication of when we might expect areas to be affected.

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Mike Pence claims you ‘won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America’ in RNC address – video

Continuing to fan the flames of fear, on the third day of the Republican national convention the US vice president, Mike Pence, said: 'The hard truth is you won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America'.

In a dark speech laden with ominous warnings about a future without Trump at the helm, and incorrect statements about the president's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, Pence vowed to 'make America great again, again'.


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Mike Pence claims Americans would be unsafe under Biden in dark RNC speech

Vice-president does not mention Jacob Blake as he champions ‘law and order on the streets’ amid protests

In the shadow of deepening unrest in Wisconsin, Mike Pence warned darkly of the violence and mayhem that would ensue under a Democratic administration during a keynote address on the third night of the Republican national convention on Wednesday.

The vice-president, speaking from Fort McHenry in Baltimore, where the raising of the American flag during the war of 1812 inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that would later become The Star-Spangled Banner, echoed several conservative speakers in painting a dystopian portrait of America’s major cities and accusing the Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, of tolerating violence and vandalism.

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Republican convention delivers whirlwind of lies great and small

Speaker after speaker piled falsehood upon falsehood to recast Trump as a saintly feminist preoccupied with the nation’s health

As Hurricane Laura roared towards the southern US coast, the Republican national convention unleashed Hurricane Liar.

There were lies aplenty at the last convention in Cleveland four years ago but, in those innocent days, reporters were still reluctant to call a lie a lie. Donald Trump blew that up on his first day in office when he and his officials claimed his inauguration crowd was bigger than Barack Obama’s.

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