Trump blames shootings on ‘glorification of violence’ – video

Donald Trump has blamed ‘the glorification of violence’ in a speech that identified video games, the internet and mental illness – but not guns – as the cause of the attacks that left at least 30 dead and 53 injured in less than 24 hours over the weekend.

In his first public remarks on the shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, Trump also condemned white supremacy as authorities said they were investigating an anti-Hispanic, anti-immigrant manifesto allegedly tied to the El Paso suspect.

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Trump blames ‘violent’ video games as El Paso death toll rises to 21 – live

Trump has turned his attention away from the shootings if his Twitter feed is any indication.

The president has instead been busy attacking China for harming America’s economy and repeating the (false) claim that US consumers are not covering the cost of his trade war:

....used currency manipulation to steal our businesses and factories, hurt our jobs, depress our workers’ wages and harm our farmers’ prices. Not anymore!

Another Democratic presidential candidate, Cory Booker, has dismissed Trump’s statement on the shootings this morning as woefully lacking.

The New Jersey senator specifically cited Trump’s focus on mental illness in his remarks. “Mental illness didn’t kill the people of Dayton,” Booker said. “People are too easily getting their hands on guns.”

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Trump tweets as gun violence and white nationalist terrorism stalk America

Domestic terrorism now results in more deaths than the foreign kind but the president shows no sign of toning down his rhetoric

Two menaces have stalked America throughout its history. One is gun violence. The other is white supremacy. In El Paso, Texas, on Saturday they collided.

A 21-year-old gunman with a hatred of Hispanic immigrants killed 20 people in a shopping mall in the eighth deadliest mass shooting in American history. The suspect is believed to have posted online an anti-immigrant screed that praised the killing of 51 people in Christchurch mosques in New Zealand in March.

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Heightened security and anxiety in Kashmir amid fears of unrest

People queue for hours for petrol and cash, following evacuation of thousands of tourists and pilgrims

People across the Indian-administered side of Kashmir queued for hours outside petrol stations and cash machines on Sunday following a heightening of security measures that has prompted fears of unrest.

Thousands of tourists and Hindu pilgrims have been evacuated since Friday, after the Indian government cancelled the annual Amarnath Yatra, a 45-day pilgrimage to a Himalayan cave shrine. Officials said they had received intelligence suggesting an attack on pilgrimage routes, which 300,000 people have set out on since July.

Kashmir residents were told not to panic, though curfews and evacuations continued to be imposed on hospitals and educational institutions over the weekend. On Sunday evening mobile internet was cut across Kashmir valley.

Kashmir is claimed by India and Pakistan in full and ruled in part by both. An insurgency on the Indian-administered side has been ongoing for three decades, and tens of thousands of people have been killed.

The region in the foothills of the Himalayas has been under dispute since India and Pakistan came into being in 1947.

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Beto O’Rourke links El Paso shooting to Donald Trump’s ‘racist’ rhetoric – video

The Democratic presidential candidate has accused Donald Trump of stoking racial hatred after a mass shooting in El Paso that left 20 people dead. The population of the Texan border city is 80% Latino and police said a 'manifesto' posted to the online message board 8chan suggested the attack was a hate crime. 'He is a racist. He stokes racism in this country,' said O'Rourke, a former congressman for El Paso. 'And it fundamentally changes the character of the country and leads to violence'

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Donald Trump’s ‘go back’ comments were ‘genius’, says Nigel Farage

Brexit leader admits racist remarks about congresswomen made him feel uncomfortable but says they were shrewd

Nigel Farage has described Donald Trump’s “go back” comments aimed at four congresswomen of colour as “genius”.

The US president’s racist remarks were widely condemned after he told the four Democrats known as the Squad to return to the “broken and crime infested places from which they came”.

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The party of white men? Will Hurd’s exit exposes Republicans’ diversity problem

Hurd’s departure set to leave one Republican African American in Congress – and 41 of 53 sitting GOP senators are white men

Four months ago, the woman in charge of recruiting Republicans to run for Congress in the 2020 elections lectured her party about diversity.

Related: Will Hurd, only black House Republican, is latest to not seek re-election

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Nancy Pelosi teases statement on impeachment inquiry – live news

Emerald Garner, the daughter of Eric Garner, urges the New York Police Department to follow through with the firing of officer Daniel Pantaleo for the chokehold death of her father in July, 2014.

WATCH: Emerald Gardner, the daughter of Eric Garner, reacts to news that administrative judge recommends that NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo should be fired.

“We’ve waited 5 years... Commissioner O’Neill, fire Pantaleo.” pic.twitter.com/WE4R1wMLsY

The former US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, who resigned from the post in 2018, has replied directly (via Twitter, also) to the president’s offensive tweet earlier about congressman Elijah Cummings suffering an intruder at his house in Baltimore last weekend.

This is so unnecessary.

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‘She went back with me’: Ilhan Omar posts photos with Pelosi in Ghana

Congresswoman mocks ‘send her back’ comments with Instagram post of trip to Ghana with House speaker


The congresswoman Ilhan Omar took a swipe at Donald Trump on Thursday, posting a photo on Instagram of herself and Nancy Pelosi in Ghana with the caption: “They said ‘send her back’ but Speaker Pelosi didn’t just make arrangement to send me back, she went back with me.”

The photo came from a congressional trip to the African country this week, in observance of the American slave trade’s 400th anniversary. The two women were joined by the civil rights icon and Georgia congressman John Lewis and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

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Nancy Pelosi takes aim at Trump and ‘slumlord’ Jared Kushner – as it happened

As Trump carries on with his rally in North Carolina, we’re going to wrap up the liveblog for today. Check The Guardian’s homepage for updates.

Congressman Will Hurd of Texas, a critic of Trump and one of the few Republican lawmakers who voted to condemn Trump’s racist attacks, announced that he will not be seeking reelection in order to “pursue opportunities outside the halls of Congress”.

I have made the decision to not seek reelection for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas in order to pursue opportunities outside the halls of Congress to solve problems at the nexus between technology and national security. https://t.co/GeZ4Hh264f

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Trump’s threat of new China tariffs sparks backlash from US retailers

Industry warns of job losses and higher consumer prices after president targets another $300bn in imports

US retailers were lining up on Thursday night against Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on a fresh $300bn of Chinese imports in September, if a US-China trade deal can’t be struck.

Financial experts warned of an “economic drag” in the further escalation of trade tensions with China – after the president said that China had not stuck to various promises over trade that he had previously touted as signs of progress.

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Donald Trump’s UK state visit cost Met police £3.5m

Over 6,300 officers deployed for June trip, at time of mounting pressure on police resources

Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK cost the Metropolitan police nearly £3.5m, figures have revealed, at a time of rising pressure on police resources.

Tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated against the US president in the capital before he attended a D-day commemoration service in Portsmouth.

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Five police officers face disciplinary action over Stormy Daniels arrest

Adult film actor was detained by officers last year after strip club raid in city of Columbus

Police in the US city of Columbus have said five officers from the department’s now-disbanded vice unit are facing disciplinary action over a raid on a strip club last year that resulted in the arrest of Stormy Daniels.

The department said on Wednesday the officers could face punishments ranging from a reprimand to dismissal. The officers include a commander, lieutenant, sergeant and two of the arresting officers.

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US Senate pushes Trump to safeguard last Russian nuclear arms control treaty

Exclusive: Bipartisan bill seeks New Start extension– the last formal restraint on the world’s major arsenals

Bipartisan Senate legislation introduced on Wednesday aims to change the administration’s course on nuclear arms control, urging Donald Trump to extend the New Start treaty with Russia or provide justification for allowing it to expire.

Trump has already pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia, which is due to end on Friday.

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Joe Biden and Kamala Harris brace for tonight’s debate – live updates

The president is back on Twitter, defending himself against accusations of racism by calling himself the “least racist person in the world” and insulting the intelligence of one of the most prominent black TV journalists in the US.

....or is he too dumb (stupid} to understand that. No wonder CNN’s ratings (MSNBC’s also) have gone down the tubes - and will stay there until they bring credibility back to the newsroom. Don’t hold your breath!

Related: 'His only tool is racism': why Trump's bigoted tirade could be a vote winner

Ohio representative Tim Ryan’s campaign has issued a statement about his decision to not put his hand over his heart during the national anthem at the Democratic debate last night, saying it was an accident.

Congressman Ryan wasn’t protesting and didn’t mean to make any statement last night in Detroit, it was a moment of absentmindedness while on a debate stage that won’t happen again. He was, in fact, singing along with the choir to honor our country. Congressman Ryan loves our country and will continue to honor the flag during the anthem in future events, as he has in countless events in the past.

Rep. Tim Ryan didn’t put his hand over his heart during the national anthem. I guess he’s appealing to the Kaepernick wing of the Democratic Party.

Happening now: Will any of the Dems take a knee for the national anthem?

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Marianne Williamson’s best moments from Democratic debate – video

Marianne Williamson was the most-searched candidate during the live broadcast, according to Google. The New Age author was widely written off as a joke when she entered the Democratic presidential contest and, while she remains a fringe candidate, she received praise for her answers last night on race, environmental justice and slavery reparations. Here is a look at her best moments during the debate

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Obscene texts and corruption: the downfall of Puerto Rico’s governor – podcast

Mass protests triggered by leaked text messages have led to the resignation of Ricardo Rosselló. Oliver Laughland discusses his time on the island. And: Larry Elliott on why sterling is at a 28-month low

Hundreds of thousands of people have lined the streets of Puerto Rico over the past couple of weeks in some of the largest demonstrations in the US territory’s history. They began in response to hundreds of pages of leaked text messages between the governor, Ricardo Rosselló, and 11 members of his inner circle, which made homophobic and sexist jokes and mocked the victims of Hurricane Maria.

However, the problems go further back than July. The Rosselló administration has been plagued by allegations of corruption and mismanagement during the response to Hurricane Maria. Shortly before the messages were leaked, the FBI arrested five former government officials and contractors accused of misappropriating millions of dollars in federal funds given to the island after the disaster.

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A$AP Rocky: US envoy for hostage affairs sent to Sweden for rapper’s trial

Trump, who has advocated for the rapper’s release, sent the special envoy to Stockholm to monitor court proceedings

Donald Trump sent the US special presidential envoy for hostage affairs to Stockholm to monitor the court proceedings of the American rapper A$AP Rocky, according to Swedish news agency TT.

The special envoy Robert O’Brien was seen on Tuesday at Stockholm district court, where the rapper, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, faced trial.

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Trump: ‘I am the least racist person there is anywhere in the world’ – video

The president called himself ‘the least racist person’ after he was accused of racist behaviour once again. In his comments on Tuesday, Trump also accused one of the people he has attacked, the Rev Al Sharpton, of being a racist and claimed his presidency has been a success for African Americans

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Trump’s friend tried to profit from Middle East nuclear deal, lawmakers say

Congressional report finds Tom Barrack tried to buy Westinghouse as he sought a related government post

A billionaire friend of Donald Trump pursued a plan to buy Westinghouse Electric Corp – even as he lobbied Trump to become a special envoy and promote the company’s work on nuclear power in Saudi Arabia, a congressional report released on Monday.

While Tom Barrack failed in both efforts, the report provides fresh evidence of the ease with which some corporate and foreign interests have gained access to the US president and other senior members of his administration.

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