Trump announces Teamsters union chief to speak at Republican convention

Sean O’Brien accepts invitation as union says its message ‘needs to be heard by as wide an audience as possible’

Sean O’Brien, the president of the Teamsters union, will speak at the Republican national convention in Milwaukee next month, a move that could spell trouble for Joe Biden’s support among blue-collar workers ahead of the November election.

Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, announced on Friday on his Truth Social platform that O’Brien had accepted his invitation to speak at the convention and that he was looking forward to seeing him represent the Teamsters.

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Biden says supreme court preserved ‘critical protections’ for domestic violence survivors – live

President vows to continue work to stop ‘epidemic of gun violence’ after praising supreme court ruling that disarms domestic abusers

The supreme court’s chief justice John Roberts wrote the opinion in United States v Rahimi, which upheld a law that bans domestic abusers from carrying guns.

“An individual found by a court to pose a credible threat to the physical safety of another may be temporarily disarmed consistent with the Second Amendment,” Roberts wrote.

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Manhattan district attorney asks judge to extend gag order against Trump

Alvin Bragg has received onslaught of threats against him and other officials since guilty verdict in hush-money trial

Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney who prosecuted Donald Trump in his felony trial, has asked a judge to extend a gag order against the ex-president after an onslaught of threats and harassment against him and other officials since the guilty verdict.

The gag order was placed on Trump before the start of the felony trial. It prevented the former president from attacking witnesses, court staff, jurors and relatives of Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw the trial.

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White House disputes Netanyahu’s claim that US is withholding weapons from Israel

Israeli leader made claim in X post, although Biden administration says it does not ‘know what he is talking about’

The Biden administration has reacted furiously to criticisms by Benjamin Netanyahu that the US is holding back weapons and ammunition from Israel in its war in Gaza, reportedly cancelling a high-level meeting with Israeli officials on Iran in retaliation.

Netanyahu made the claims of a supposedly deliberate weapons delay in a video posted on X in which he implied that Israel’s ability to prevail in the nine-month war with Hamas was being hampered as a result.

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Some immigrants celebrate Biden’s extension of legal status while others left out

Hundreds of thousands of immigrants married to US nationals can now exit ‘the shadows’ while others remain stuck in limbo

Hundreds of thousands of immigrants had reason to rejoice when Joe Biden unveiled a highly expansive plan to extend legal status to spouses of US citizens but, inevitably, some were left out.

Claudia Zúniga, 35, was married in 2017, 10 years after her husband came to the United States. He moved to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, after they wed, knowing that, by law, he had to live outside the US for years to gain legal status. “Our lives took a 180-degree turn,” she said.

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Trump declares love for Milwaukee at rally days after calling it a ‘horrible city’

Ex-president blames Democrats and offers conciliatory remarks to city hosting Republican national convention

Donald Trump made a brazen bid for support in the vital swing state of Wisconsin on Tuesday by declaring his affection for its biggest population centre, Milwaukee, just days after denigrating it as “a horrible city”.

Needing to explain his own words to a city that will host the Republican national convention next month, the former president predictably chose to tackle the problem head on at a campaign rally in neighbouring Racine, about 30 miles from Milwaukee along the shore of Lake Michigan.

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Donald Trump looking for ‘fighter’ as Republican running mate

Sources close to ex-president say gender and race irrelevant over pick who’s ‘America first’ and believes in agenda

Donald Trump is looking for a “fighter” as his running mate in this year’s presidential election and regards factors such as their gender or race as irrelevant, according to sources close to the former US president.

Conventional wisdom used to hold that Trump was likely to choose a woman or a person of color as his potential vice-president in an effort to broaden his appeal. But aides close to the presumptive Republican nominee currently say he will not take so-called identity politics into account.

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Democrat Khanna: Biden is ‘running out of time’ with young voters over Gaza war

Representative Ro Khanna says he will skip Netanyahu’s address to Congress and that young people want war to end

Progressive California Democrat Ro Khanna warned Sunday that Joe Biden is running out of time to win over young voters opposed to his administration’s handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict and that he will not attend Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress next month.

In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Representative Khanna said the erosion of support that the US president is seeing among young voters is a “challenge for our party” and the Democrats could be “running out of time” to restore support with “more people dying” in the conflict.

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Muted mics, no props: CNN details rules for Biden and Trump debate

Network says no studio audience in Atlanta and moderators ‘will use all tools at disposal to ensure a civilized discussion’

The first US presidential debate between incumbent Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump on 27 June will include two commercial breaks, no props and muted microphones except when recognized to speak, CNN said Saturday.

The rules, agreed outside the Commission on Presidential Debates, are designed to reduce fractious interruptions and cross-talk that have often marred TV encounters in recent presidential election cycles.

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Former White House staffer says Trump called for leaker to be executed

Trump’s demand that 2020 leaker be punished with death raises questions about retribution if he is re-elected

Former White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin has disclosed that Donald Trump repeatedly mused out loud about executing people at several meetings while she worked for him during his presidency.

Griffin’s claim, which she made in a podcast recording with Mediaite released on Friday, is likely to add to concerns that a return for Trump to the Oval Office could be characterized primarily by political retribution.

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Biden wishes Trump a happy 78th birthday as campaign goes into offense over age

Dogged by age issue, president, 81, is now highlighting Trump’s many peculiarities, from hair style to Bible sales

Taking a line out of Donald Trump’s playbook, Joe Biden offered his rival a tongue-in-cheek birthday greeting on X on Friday, saying: “Happy 78th birthday, Donald. Take it from one old guy to another: Age is just a number.”

The president then coupled his thoughts with a caustic video sarcastically touting “78 of Trump’s historic … ‘accomplishments’” before a Biden re-election campaign spokesperson added: “On behalf of America, our early gift for your 79th: making sure you are never president again.”

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Anthony Fauci says he turned down $7m jobs because ‘I cared’ about US

Former infectious disease head says big pharma tried to poach him while he was nation’s Covid chief

Before Anthony Fauci retired from his lengthy run as the US government’s top infectious disease doctor, major pharmaceutical companies tried to lure him away from his post by offering him seven-figure jobs – but he turned them down because he “cared about … the health of the country” too much, he says in a new interview.

Fauci’s comments on his loyalty to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Niad) – which he directed for 38 years before retiring in December 2022 – come only a couple of weeks after he testified to Congress about receiving “credible death threats” from far-right extremists over his efforts to slow the spread of Covid-19 at the beginning of the pandemic.

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Wisconsin Republicans block PFAS cleanup until polluters are granted immunity

GOP-controlled committee thwarting distribution of $125m budgeted by legislature until polluter immunity approved

Wisconsin Republicans are withholding $125m designated for cleanup of widespread PFAS contamination in drinking water and have said they will only release the funds in exchange for immunity for polluters.

The move is part of a broader effort by Republicans in the state to steal power from the Democratic governor, Tony Evers, the funding’s supporters say, alleging such “political games” are putting residents’ health at risk.

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Justice department won’t pursue criminal contempt charge against Merrick Garland – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. For more on this story, you can read our full report:

Joe Biden released a statement in light of the supreme court’s latest decision on bump stocks, saying:

“Today’s decision strikes down an important gun safety regulation. Americans should not have to live in fear of this mass devastation.”

“I have used every tool in my administration to stamp out gun violence. I nominated the first Senate-confirmed director of the ATF since 2015. My administration ensured that the ATF has the funding it needs to address emerging firearm technologies like machine-gun conversion devices and ghost guns that pose a unique and acute threat to public safety.

Notwithstanding this decision, my administration will continue to take action. I took on the NRA and signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – the most significant gun violence reduction legislation to pass Congress in nearly 30 years. My administration established the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, made historic investments in mental health to support people in times of crisis, and expanded background checks to keep firearms out of the wrong hands.”

“Weapons of war have no place on the streets of a civil society. That is why Democrats and Republicans alike supported the federal government banning bump stocks after they were used to fire over 1,000 rounds into a crowded music festival in Las Vegas, killing 60 people in the deadliest mass shooting in American history.

Unfortunately, today’s supreme court ruling strikes down this important, commonsense regulation on devices that convert semiautomatic rifles into weapons that can fire hundreds of bullets per minute.

While the supreme court has once again rolled back progress, we will not allow the victims and survivors of 1 October to be forgotten. President Biden and I fought to pass the most significant gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years, but our work is not done. We are calling on Congress to immediately ban bump stocks. We do not have a moment to spare nor a life to spare.”

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Justice department declines to pursue Merrick Garland contempt charges

DoJ tells Republicans it will not pursue prosecution of attorney general after House votes to hold him in contempt

The US Department of Justice on Friday told the Republican House of Representatives speaker, Mike Johnson, that it would decline to pursue criminal contempt of Congress charges against the attorney general, Merrick Garland, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The Republican-controlled House had voted on Wednesday to hold Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio of Joe Biden’s interview with the special counsel investigating his retention of classified documents after he was Barack Obama’s vice-president.

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ACLU hails supreme court’s mifepristone decision: ‘This fight is far from over’ – live

The supreme court decision marks a victory for reproductive rights activists across the country

The Massachusetts Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren hailed the supreme court’s decision to uphold mifepristone access, calling the challenge to reject it “meritless from the start”.

Warren, an outspoken reproductive rights activist, wrote on X:

This challenge to mifepristone was meritless from the start. Abortion medication is safe and effective. Make no mistake: Donald Trump and Republican politicians will not stop marching us toward a nationwide abortion ban. We must protect reproductive freedom everywhere.

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Trump serenaded by Republicans on first visit to Capitol since January 6

Lawmakers sing Happy Birthday to ex-president, 78 on Friday, who reportedly called convention host Milwaukee ‘horrible’

Donald Trump went to the US Capitol to rally congressional Republicans in his first visit since 6 January 2021, when his supporters descended on the building in an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election result in Trump’s favour.

A packed room full of House Republicans sang Happy Birthday to Trump, who turns 78 on Friday.

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US House votes to hold Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress

Resolution concerned attorney general’s refusal to turn over audio of Biden interview in his classified-documents case

The House voted on Wednesday to hold the attorney general, Merrick Garland, in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified-documents case, Republicans’ latest and strongest rebuke of the justice department as partisan conflict over the rule of law animates the 2024 presidential campaign.

The 216-207 vote fell along party lines, with Republicans coalescing behind the contempt effort despite reservations among some of the party’s more centrist members.

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Joe Biden delivers gun safety speech hours after son’s firearms conviction

President sought to rally support around issue but speech was briefly interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters

Joe Biden, facing a backlash from young voters over the war in Gaza, has sought to rally support around the issue of gun safety just hours after his son Hunter was convicted of lying about his drug use to illegally buy a firearm.

Contrasted his record with election rival Donald Trump, the US president brought an audience that included many students to its feet at the Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund’s annual Gun Sense University conference in Washington on Tuesday.

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DeSantis ‘freedom fund’ Pac targets abortion and marijuana ballot initiatives

Group, known as Florida Freedom Fund, launched in May and will also be involved in school board races

The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, has launched a political action committee that is targeting popular ballot amendments on abortion access and marijuana legalization that will be voted on in November.

The group, known as the Florida Freedom Fund, launched in May, Politico first reported. The committee is chaired by James Uthmeier, DeSantis’s chief of staff who was previously the Republican’s campaign manager during his unsuccessful presidential primary run.

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