Trump visits private golf course as US battles rapid surge in coronavirus cases

US president heads to Virginia a day after saying he’d stay in Washington DC to ‘make sure law and order is enforced’ amid ongoing anti-racism protests

Donald Trump visited one his own private golf courses in Virginia on Saturday as America continued to see fallout from a rapid surge in coronavirus cases and a day after the US president said he would stay in Washington DC to “make sure law and order is enforced” amid ongoing anti-racism protests.

Related: US reopening plans reverse quickly amid alarming increase in coronavirus cases

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Outrage mounts over report Russia offered bounties to Afghanistan militants for killing US soldiers

Fierce response from top Democrats after US intelligence finding was reportedly briefed to Trump in March, but the White House has yet to act

Outrage has greeted media reports that say American intelligence officials believe a Russian military intelligence unit offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing foreign soldiers in Afghanistan, including targeting Americans.

The story first appeared in the New York Times, citing its sources as unnamed officials briefed on the matter, and followed up by the Washington Post. The reports said that the US had come to the conclusion about the operation several months ago and offered rewards for successful attacks last year.

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‘We opened too quickly’: Texas becomes a model for inadequate Covid-19 response

State shuts down again after seven weeks with coronavirus cases soaring, after ignoring inconvenient data and fighting party-political turf wars

When Donald Trump welcomed Texas governor Greg Abbott to the White House in May, the US president hailed his fellow Republican as “one of the great governors” and lauded the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and predicted boom times ahead.

“When you look at the job he’s done in Texas, I rely on his judgment,” Trump said.

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European Union reportedly set to ban US travelers over Covid-19 concerns – as it happened

We’re ending our live coverage for the day, thanks for following along. A summary of some key events:

California’s governor has granted clemency to 21 prisoners as Covid-19 outbreaks have continued to infect thousands behind bars in an escalating public health crisis.

Gavin Newsom, who has faced mounting pressure to release people en masse from state prisons, announced Friday that he is granting commutations to 21 people, a move that reduces their sentences and creates a potential path for their release. He also announced pardon grants for 13 people, a step that restores some rights for those who have already served sentences.

There's growing pressure on @GavinNewsom to grant clemency to elderly + vulnerable women who are domestic violence survivors and at high risk of death in prison.

I spoke directly with some of them. LISTEN to their own words ⬇️ (thread):https://t.co/btI8Ns7wMw #SixNineteen

Patricia Wright has terminal liver cancer, is currently in chemotherapy and likely has months to live. She told me she just wants to see her children and grandchildren before she dies: pic.twitter.com/0ydwwgCem1

Related: California governor grants clemency to 21 prisoners as thousands infected with Covid-19

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‘He’s like a child’: Biden attacks Trump’s coronavirus response – video

Joe Biden on Thursday travelled to must-win Pennsylvania to attack Donald Trump for what the former vice-president characterised as trying to gut healthcare protections during a pandemic. Biden, who was born in the Pennsylvania rust-belt city of Scranton, has mostly stayed put in his Delaware home in recent months amid coronavirus concerns but has slowly resumed some campaigning. He headed to Lancaster to try to weaken the Republican president's standing with swing-state voters

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Exclusive: Viber severs ties with Facebook in growing boycott

Service adds to firms shunning Facebook over refusal to act against Donald Trump posts

The messaging service Viber, the fifth biggest with more than a billion users around the world, is severing all ties to Facebook as part of a growing boycott of the company by commercial partners.

The campaign, initially started in the US after Facebook’s refusal to take action against posts from Donald Trump which critics said incited violence, has now grown to become an international movement.

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US politics: police officers fired in North Carolina over racial slurs video – live updates

The Associated Press are reporting that Donald Trump is facing renewed criticism over his plans to celebrate Independence Day with a showy display at Mount Rushmore.

Native Americans who view the monument as a desecration of land violently stolen from them and used to pay homage to leaders hostile to native people are planning protests for the presidents’s 3 July visit.

As mentioned earlier, Donald Trump isn’t expected to be seen wearing a face mask during his trip to Wisconsin later today, despite the fact that everybody else will.

This isn’t the only time that the president has made himself an exception to the rule. In this video, my colleague Maanvi Singh looks back at how Trump has long been contradicting and defying science during the coronavirus outbreak, and the impact this has had on the country’s faltering handling of the pandemic.

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How Trump has defied science on coronavirus – video explainer

Donald Trump told thousands of supporters at a rally in Oklahoma he wanted to slow down testing for Covid-19 – despite experts saying the opposite.

From masks to 'miracle' treatments, the Guardian's Maanvi Singh looks back at how the US president has long been contradicting and defying science during the coronavirus outbreak and the impact that has had on the country's handling of the pandemic

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How Trump and his public health officials diverge on Covid-19

The president and federal health officials often seem to abandon the appearance of unity when it comes to discussing coronavirus

Since the White House daily coronavirus briefings ended in April, Donald Trump and his federal public health chiefs often seem to abandon even the appearance of unity on dealing with the pandemic.

Their messages have diverged increasingly as Covid-19 is surging in many US states amid rapid reopening, setting recent records in Texas, Florida, Arizona and California. Even as the previous world hotspot, New York, improves, America in total now exceeds 2.3m cases and 121,000 deaths.

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Donald Trump claims protesters want to pull down statues of Jesus – video

Donald Trump has suggested Black Lives Matters protesters want to pull down statues of Jesus Christ, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Speaking at a press conference with the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, Trump reiterated his desire to sign an executive order making vandalising monuments punishable with up to 10 years in prison

Senate Democrats block Republican police reform bill – live

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Senate Democrats block Republican police reform bill – live

Speaking at his joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda, Trump confirmed he would be drawing down the US troop presence in Germany.

The US president told reporters gathered in the Rose Garden that his administration would reduce troop numbers in Germany from 52,000 to 25,000 and would probably then send some of those troops to Poland.

"They'll be paying for the sending of additional troops" -- Trump announces that Poland has bought US troops that have been stationed in Germany pic.twitter.com/4DnhvNQrcv

Trump does Putin's bidding by blaming Obama and Joe Biden for Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2014 pic.twitter.com/MvYiK7W62Z

A grand jury has indicted three men on murder charges in connection to the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, who was fatally shot while jogging in a Georgia neighborhood.

Cobb district attorney Joyette M. Holmes announced that a Glynn county grand jury has indicted Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael and William R. Bryan on malice and felony murder charges in the February 23 death of Arbery.

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Roger Stone case: Trump ally given special treatment, Congress hears

Aaron Zelinsky says prosecutors were under pressure to go easy on Stone because of his relationship with the president

A federal prosecutor who was part of Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation told Congress on Wednesday Roger Stone, a close ally of Donald Trump, was given special treatment before sentencing because of his relationship with the US president.

Related: US appeals court orders judge to dismiss case against Michael Flynn

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Trump is in a precarious position for re-election – but he still has a chance

The numerous challenges of 2020 have hit Trump hard – but the conditions are ripe for a repeat surprise victory, some experts say

If Donald Trump wins the 2020 election and returns to the White House it won’t be by a landslide. And if he’s going to win at all he will need the US economy to rebound, to see suburban voters swing back in his direction, and overwhelm voters with a sense of optimism about another term under Trump.

That’s the verdict of about a dozen Republican veteran political strategists and operatives spoken to by the Guardian. Those priorities underscore the precarious situation the US president finds himself in. Most national and statewide polls show the former vice-president Joe Biden leading Trump, often by comfortable margins.

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Donald Trump says he will issue executive order on historical monuments – video

The US president has said he would issue an executive order regarding historical monuments, as the movement to remove Confederate-era statues and other memorials considered racist gains momentum across the country. Calls to take the monuments down follow a wave of protests after the 25 May death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed by police in Minneapolis. Ongoing demonstrations have accompanied calls to address racism in policing and other reforms.

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Rayshard Brooks funeral set for Atlanta, as Kentucky and New York vote – live updates

Arwa Mahdawi’s latest column for us has arrived - she’s looking at why Trump believes playing the victim will help him win in November.

Donald Trump will not go gentle into that good night: he will rage, rage, rage-tweet against the dying of his might. Indeed, he is already doing so. After a humiliating turnout at Saturday’s rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma – which capped one of the worst weeks of his presidency – Trump’s re-election chances look shakier by the day. Rattled and belligerent, he seems to be gearing up to contest a defeat in November.

Related: Presidential harassment! Why Trump believes playing the victim will help him win

Donald Trump will be in Arizona today, and his visit is not entirely welcomed by the state’s official. Arizona will be a key battleground in November, but it is also a coronavirus hotspot - it has reported over 11,000 new Covid-19 cases in the last four days alone.

The Democratic mayor of Phoenix, Kate Gallego, has said that she does not believe that Trump’s planned speech can be safely held in the city. She urged him to wear a face mask - as she does on her own official Twitter avatar - saying “Everyone attending tomorrow’s event, particularly any elected official, should set an example to residents by wearing a mask. This includes the President.”

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Trump faces pressure to reset campaign after Tulsa rally caps gloomy week

President heads to Arizona for border-wall event in what amounts to a relaunch of a relaunch

Donald Trump flies to Arizona on Tuesday under pressure to change course in his re-election bid after a dismal week culminated in the debacle of thousands of empty seats at a campaign rally.

The US president was reportedly angry on Saturday when his first rally in three months, a defiant gamble amid the coronavirus pandemic intended as a daunting show of force, backfired with poor attendance in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a Republican heartland.

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John Bolton calls Trump incompetent as president plans Phoenix speech amid pandemic – live

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEanny said Trump was “very pleased” with his Saturday rally, even though there were thousands of unfilled seats in the Tulsa arena.

McEnany’s claim is at odds with multiple reports that Trump has privately lashed out against campaign officials for reports highlighting the event’s attendance.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended Trump’s use of the racist phrase “kung flu” to describe coronavirus during his Saturday rally.

“He is linking it to its place of origin,” McEnany said of the president’s use of the phrase.

Related: Donald Trump calls Covid-19 'kung flu' at Tulsa rally

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Johnson and May ignored claims Russia had ‘likely hold’ over Trump, ex-spy alleges

Exclusive: Christopher Steele claims May government turned blind eye to Trump allegations

Boris Johnson and Theresa May ignored claims the Kremlin had a “likely hold” over Donald Trump and may have covertly funded Brexit, the former spy Christopher Steele alleges in secret evidence given to MPs who drew up the Russia report.

In testimony to MPs, the MI6 veteran accused the government led by May and in which Johnson was foreign secretary for two years of turning a blind eye to allegations about Trump because they were afraid of offending the US president.

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Trump and Navarro condemn John Bolton’s China claim

The White House fired back at John Bolton on Sunday, seeking to rubbish a key claim in the former national security adviser’s bombshell new book, that Donald Trump asked Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, for help in winning re-election.

Related: Trump's Berman-SDNY disaster suggests William Barr is not so smart after all | Lloyd Green

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