Pentagon to mandate vaccines for US military – live

Joe Biden applauded defense secretary Lloyd Austin for taking steps to make coronavirus vaccines mandatory for members of the US military starting next month.

“I strongly support Secretary Austin’s message to the Force today on the Department of Defense’s plan to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required vaccinations for our service members not later than mid-September,” the president said in a new statement.

Defense secretary Lloyd Austin is seeking the president’s approval to make coronavirus vaccines mandatory for all members of the US military by next month.

In a message to service members today, Austin noted that Joe Biden had asked him to consider how and when coronavirus vaccines might be added to the military’s list of mandatory vaccinations. The defense secretary has since been consulting with senior Pentagon leaders and health experts about the best timeline for the new policy.

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The infrastructure bill is being lauded as a victory for bipartisanship – but is it?

The truth of how the bill – which is not yet finished – has come to be is a little more self-interest than national interest

The Biden administration’s infrastructure proposal is still making its way through the congressional sausage-making process but it has already been lauded as a rare victory for bipartisanship in a divided America.

Pledging to unify America after his 2020 election win, Biden and his top supporters see the roughly $1tn package not just as a chance to repair America’s tattered and torn infrastructure but also as a model for reaching across the US’s political divide and getting things done.

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Senate resumes infrastructure debate as Trump threatens Republicans who back bill

Trump says it ‘will be very hard for me to endorse anyone foolish enough to vote in favor of this deal’ as session to resume at noon

Senators resumed a weekend session toward passage of a $1tn bipartisan infrastructure package on Sunday amid threats from former president Donald Trump who raged against any Republicans who support the measure.

Majority leader Chuck Schumer stressed to colleagues that they could proceed the “easy way or the hard way”, while a few Republican senators appeared determined to run out the clock for days. “We’ll keep proceeding until we get this bill done,” Schumer said.

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Republicans join Democrats to advance $1tn infrastructure bill – video

Chuck Schumer warned that coming to a bipartisan compromise could be 'hard' as Republicans joined Democrats to advance a $1tn infrastructure bill in the US Senate, remaining in session over the weekend.

The bill represents the biggest spending in decades on American infrastructure including roads, bridges, airports and waterways, in what Joe Biden has called a 'historic investment' in public works.

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Senate advances $1tn infrastructure package in key vote

Members vote 67-27 to move the biggest investment in US roads, bridges, airports and waterways in decades to next stage

The US Senate voted on Saturday to advance to the next step of a $1tn infrastructure package, an important procedural stage towards passing the key legislation after months of negotiations between Joe Biden and a bipartisan group of senators.

In a 67-27 vote demonstrating broad support, senators agreed to limit debate on the legislation, which represents the biggest investment in decades in America’s roads, bridges, airports and waterways.

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Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO union president, dies aged 72 – as it happened

We’re wrapping up today’s live politics coverage. Here’s an updated summary of the day’s key political news:

Los Angeles County public health officials argue indoor mask policy is working

New numbers from the Los Angeles public health department suggest the county’s requirement that people once again wear masks indoors is working, the public health director argued today.

LA County public health director Barbara Ferrer cites these numbers as evidence that LA's mask law is working.

While cases in LA have increased 22%, they increased in the rest of CA by 57% in the same time frame. pic.twitter.com/NHt9wVXi3l

Ferrer also said that the rate of increase in cases in LA has slowed since the mask order went into effect.

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Senate convenes for rare weekend session over infrastructure deal

  • Schumer: ‘We’re going to get the job done’
  • Republican Cornyn predicts a long ‘grind’

The Senate convened for a rare weekend session on Saturday with the majority leader, Chuck Schumer, encouraging the authors of a bipartisan infrastructure plan to finish writing their bill.

Related: Trump tries to defend ‘just say the election was corrupt’ demand to DoJ

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Pelosi will ask anti-Trump Republican Kinzinger to join 6 January panel

The speaker of the US House, Nancy Pelosi, intends to appoint a second anti-Trump Republican to the select committee which will investigate the deadly 6 January assault on the US Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump.

Related: Can Pelosi’s power play on Capitol attack panel thwart wrecking tactics?

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Alabama governor joins growing number of Republicans urging Americans to get vaccinated – live

  • Covid cases likely to accelerate through summer, new forecasts say
  • CDC director warns Americans in ‘another pivotal moment’ in pandemic

As the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony comes to an end, First Lady Jill Biden cheers from the stands. On Saturday, she is expected to attend the USA v France women’s 3x3 basketball game and the USA v Nw Zealand women’s soccer game.

. @FLOTUS stands to cheer as #TeamUSA enters the arena. pic.twitter.com/XM0xiSzqxb

First Lady @DrBiden will attend the following Olympic events in Tokyo on Saturday, per the White House:

- USA v France women's 3x3 basketball game
- Various swimming races
- USA v New Zealand women's soccer game

The bust of a man who was a Confederate general, Ku Klux Klan leader and slave trader was removed from the Tennessee state capitol this morning, a year after the governor said it was high time it was gone.

Nathan Bedford Forrest had been immortalized at the Tennessee capitol in Nashville since the late 1970s.

HAPPENING NOW: Crews are starting the process of removing the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust from the capitol. @WKRN #GMN pic.twitter.com/8HwOG3zsoY

The State Building Commission on Thursday gave approval for the relocation of the Forrest bust to the Tennessee State Museum, a final step in a process that has taken more than a year since Gov. Bill Lee first said it was time for the statue to be moved.

“It’s been a year long journey, and this is an appropriate step in that process,” Lee said prior to the Building Commission meeting Thursday morning. “It’s most important to me that we followed the process. We talked about that from the very beginning.”

The bust of Confederate Gen. and KKK leader Nathan Bedford Forrest is off its pedestal and being wheeled out of the Tennessee Capitol. pic.twitter.com/dgAg4isvxw

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US democracy faces a momentous threat says Joe Biden – but is he up for the fight?

The president’s speech in Philadelphia decried Republicans’ assault on voting rights but critics say it offered few answers, especially on Senate rules that let the minority to block reform

Few in the audience applauding Joe Biden could have questioned the sincerity of his warning about a momentous threat to American democracy.

But they may have walked away with lingering doubts about his ability to meet the moment or answer fears that even the office of the presidency will be found politically impotent in the face of the challenge.

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Joyce Beatty arrested during voting rights protest at US Capitol – video

Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, was one of nine people arrested during a voting rights protest at the US Capitol on Thursday. Beatty was participating in a protest calling for the Senate to pass a sweeping election reform bill. The bill passed the House in March but is being held up in the Senate because of a Republican filibuster. Beatty and others were arrested by Capitol police for 'demonstrating in a prohibited area on Capitol grounds', said police

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Democratic congresswoman arrested during voting rights protest at Capitol

Joyce Beatty, chair of Congressional Black Caucus, was calling on the Senate to pass a key election reform bill

Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, a Democrat of Ohio, was one of nine people arrested during a voting rights protest at the Capitol this afternoon.

Beatty, who serves as the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, shared a photo on Twitter of US Capitol police (USCP) officers putting a zip-tie on her and escorting her out of the building.

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‘Have you no shame?’: Biden decries Republican attacks on voting rights

President condemns Trump’s ‘big lie’ about a stolen election but fails to mention filibuster in 20-minute Philadelphia speech

Joe Biden has made an impassioned attack on racist voting laws sweeping America, warning that “the 21st-century Jim Crow assault is real” and demanding of Republicans: “Have you no shame?”

Related: Biden defends voting rights – but no word on ending the filibuster

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Biden to visit Miami on Thursday as 150 still missing after condo collapse – live

Here’s where the day stands so far:

The mayor of Miami-Dade county said there were no new fatalities confirmed today, as search-and-rescue efforts continue at the site of the Surfside condo collapse.

The mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, added that each of the families of the 11 confirmed victims have been notified.

Miami-Dade County mayor updates on building collapse:

- No new fatalities confirmed since last briefing
- Families of all 11 deceased victims have been notified
- 210 people working on mound
- Pres. Biden to meet with families, first respondershttps://t.co/lHgwAdKz7Z pic.twitter.com/qC3naJmNti

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Republicans will ‘move forward’ on infrastructure after Biden veto threat

A lead Republican negotiator has welcomed Joe Biden’s withdrawal of his threat to veto a $1.2tn bipartisan infrastructure bill unless a separate Democratic spending plan also passes Congress.

Related: White House seeks to put infrastructure deal back on track after Biden blunder

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How Mitch McConnell has unified Republicans as a red wall against Biden’s agenda

The Senate minority leader has filibustered voting rights legislation, halted a pay gap measure and threatened to block a supreme court nominee

It was a glimpse of Washington past. Beneath the vaulted ceiling and stained glass windows of the national cathedral, Joe Biden greeted Mitch McConnell and other senators in the pews, then offered a hymn to bipartisanship.

“Empathy is the fuel of democracy,” the US president told mourners on Wednesday at the funeral of John Warner, a Republican senator he praised for working across the aisle. “The willingness to see each other as opponents, not as enemies. Above all, to see each other as fellow Americans even when we disagree.”

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Kamala Harris to visit US-Mexico border for first time as vice-president – live

Rising homicide rates and gun violence has become a major issue in local political races, including in the New York mayoral primary elections.

For Joe Biden, rising concern about crime has proved to be a politically convenient opportunity for him to boost gun control reforms he touted as a candidate. But the president’s wide-ranging policy proposals are sure to divide Democrats.

We can't let legitimate concerns about shootings and homicides undermine momentum to overhaul law enforcement. We can't repeat the mistakes of the past and think that we can arrest our way out of rising gun violence. https://t.co/0ifVpEJCFE

Biden is speaking at the White House to explain his administration’s plans to address crime and gun trafficking.

My colleague David Smith is covering the event live:

Joe Biden: “Crime historically rises during the summer.” As we open after the pandemic; the summer spike might be higher than usual. pic.twitter.com/XfWoQ0JGQd

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Democrats seek way forward after voting rights bill hits Senate roadblock

The White House warned democracy was ‘in peril’ but while key Democrats stay committed to the filibuster, progress looks difficult

After nearly six months of watching Republicans relentlessly make it harder to vote in the US, Democrats suffered a major blow on Tuesday after GOP senators used a legislative maneuver to halt a sweeping voting rights and ethics bill.

The vote doesn’t kill the bill, but it marks one of the most significant setbacks for Democrats in Joe Biden’s presidency so far. Democrats heralded the legislation as their No 1 priority, even knowing they were unlikely to get any Republican votes for it. The bill would amount to the most significant expansion of the right to vote in a generation, requiring early voting and automatic and same-day registration, while prohibiting excessive manipulation of electoral district boundaries, a process often called gerrymandering.

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Republicans set to sink Democrats’ effort to advance key voting rights bill – live

Good morning, live blog readers. Yesterday may have been the longest day of the year but today may feel longer for Democrats as tension builds in Washington towards the big vote on whether to advance legislation on massive voting rights reforms. It’s going to be a lively day, so let’s get started.

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Democrats’ domestic agenda bogged down by Republican obstructionism

Key issues such as election reform, voting rights and gun control have seen Republican pushback

Joe Biden’s far-reaching domestic agenda in the US is facing serious setbacks on a range of issues as the political quagmire of a tightly contested Senate is seeing Democratic ambitions sharply curtailed in the face of Republican obstruction.

On a number of key fronts such as pushing election reform and voting rights, gun control and moving forwards on LGBTQ civil rights, there has been an effective pushback by Republicans – and a handful of conservative Democrats – that is forcing Biden and the wider Democratic party on to the back foot.

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