Fellow accuser E Jean Carroll leads chorus of voices supporting former model
A prominent American former magazine columnist who accused Donald Trump of raping her in the 1990s has joined a chorus of voices supporting the latest woman to accuse Trump of sexually assaulting her, Amy Dorris.
Dorris, a former model and actor, said in a Guardian interview published on Thursday that Trump had forced his tongue down her throat and groped her at the 1997 US Open.
Continue reading...This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks with the Guardian’s Washington DC bureau chief David Smith about why Joe Biden is seemingly doing better than Hillary Clinton did in the polls in 2016
This week, the question is: “Why is Biden polling better than Clinton did in 2016?” Polls don’t necessarily determine who will win an election, as anyone who lived through the 2016 election knows – Democrats especially.
However, it is noticeable that Joe Biden has had a consistent lead over Donald Trump for the last 12 months and that when polls are averaged out, he is 6.2% ahead. Around the same time in 2016, Hillary Clinton’s lead over Trump was just 1%. So, what is causing this bump in numbers for Biden?
Continue reading...Donald Trump railed against what he called a 'leftwing revolution' in schools and universities teaching about slavery and colonialism, as he signed an executive order to promote 'patriotic education' in the US. Critics immediately accused the president of attempting to rewrite America's historical legacy of slavery to appeal to his core base of white voters.
'The left has warped, distorted, and defiled the American story,' Trump said at a history conference in Washington DC. 'We want our sons and daughters to know they are the citizens of the most exceptional nation in the history of the world'
The president announced the 1776 Commission, which would teach students ‘about the miracle of American history’
Donald Trump on Thursday launched an extraordinary attack on American education at a history conference in Washington DC, downplaying America’s historic legacy of slavery and claiming children have been subjected to “decades of leftwing indoctrination”.
Speaking at what was dubbed the White House Conference on American History, the president intensified efforts to appeal to his core base of white voters with a historically revisionist speech, while blasting efforts to address systemic racism as divisive.
Continue reading...Christopher Wray, the FBI director, on Thursday warned that Russia is interfering in the 2020 US presidential elections with a steady stream of misinformation aimed at undermining Democrat Joe Biden as well as sapping Americans’ confidence in the election process.
Moscow is also attempting to undercut what it sees as an anti-Russian US establishment, Wray told the Democratic-led House of Representatives’ homeland security committee in a hearing on Capitol Hill.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Amy Dorris alleges Trump forced his tongue down her throat and groped her at 1997 US Open
A former model has come forward to accuse Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her at the US Open tennis tournament more than two decades ago, in an alleged incident that left her feeling “sick” and “violated”.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Amy Dorris alleged that Trump accosted her outside the bathroom in his VIP box at the tournament in New York on 5 September 1997.
Continue reading...Rarely used charge means a person plotted a threat that posed imminent danger to government authority
William Barr told prosecutors to explore aggressive charges against people arrested at recent demonstrations across the US, even suggesting bringing a rarely used sedition charge, reserved for those who have plotted a threat that posed imminent danger to government authority, according to multiple reports on Wednesday.
The move signals a doubling down on Barr’s aggressive approach to the protests. Barr told US attorneys from across the country during a conference call last week that they should seek to pursue federal charges against people who were arrested at demonstrations, even if state charges could also apply, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The Journal reports that more than 200 people have been charged with federal crimes in relation to the protests, including arson, assault of federal officers and gun crimes. Dozens of the people who face charges were protesting in Portland, Oregon, where protesters held nightly demonstrations and faced violent crackdown from federal agents.
Continue reading...President warns any agreement to continue operating in US must be ‘100% as far as national security is concerned’
Donald Trump has questioned plans by the Chinese tech firm ByteDance to keep a majority stake in TikTok’s US operations as part of a “trusted technology deal” with Oracle.
“Conceptually I can tell you that I don’t like that,” Trump told a news conference when asked about a reported proposal to give Oracle only a minority share. “I’m not prepared to sign off on anything. They’re going to be reporting to me tomorrow morning and I’ll let you know.”
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Senior health officials appear to be offering conflicting timelines on when a coronavirus vaccine will be widely available to the American public.
CDC director Robert Redfield just told senators that the vaccine would not be widely available until “late second quarter, third quarter 2021.”
CDC Director Robert Redfield also told senators that he did not expect a coronavirus vaccine to be widely available to the American public until “late second quarter, third quarter 2021.”
JUST IN: CDC Director Robert Redfield says at a Senate hearing he sees a #Covid19 vaccine being "generally available to the American public" in the "late second quarter, third quarter 2021" pic.twitter.com/8w2904TGhN
Continue reading...Cost cuts and lack of scrutiny contributed to 737 Max disasters, say US politicians
Boeing jeopardised the safety of passengers by cutting costs on the development of the 737 Max and escaped scrutiny from regulators before software flaws contributed to two fatal crashes of the aircraft, according to a report by US politicians.
The US manufacturer was forced to ground its bestselling plane after the crashes of a Lion Air 737 Max in 2018 and an Ethiopian Airlines jet in 2019. The crashes killed 346 people.
Continue reading...Protracted battle expected as likely surge in mail-in votes means winner of Trump-Biden contest may not be known on night
Joe Biden’s presidential campaign says it is amassing an unprecedented army of attorneys for an expected legal brawl over whether ballots will count in the weeks after the election. The effort will involve several other top Democratic voting rights and election law attorneys as well as Eric Holder, the former attorney general.
Related: The ‘invisible voting bloc’: US postal service cuts threaten ballot access for inmates
Continue reading...The president admitted to downplaying the virus in interviews with investigative journalist Bob Woodward
Donald Trump falsely claimed he did not downplay the coronavirus pandemic at a town hall Tuesday night, saying, “Actually, in many ways, I up-played it, in terms of action.”
His remarks came in response to an uncommitted voter at the ABC News event, who asked Trump why he would “downplay a pandemic that is known to disproportionately harm low-income families and minority communities”. The president said he did not minimize the threat of the virus: “My action was very strong. I’m not looking to be dishonest. I don’t want people to panic.”
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There’s a quick snap from Reuters here that the city government of Louisville, Kentucky, is expected to announce on Tuesday a financial settlement with the family of Breonna Taylor, the Black woman fatally shot by police in March.
The Courier Journal has reported locally that the “substantial” settlement will be accompanied by police reforms, including a requirement that commanders approve search warrants before they are put to a judge.
Forecasters say Hurricane Sally could dump flooding rains on a path from Mississippi to the Carolinas this week after the storm makes landfall on the Gulf Coast.
The National Weather Service says after the storm comes inland Wednesday, rainfall of 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) is likely across portions of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas.
Black American church leaders have accused Donald Trump of inciting “white terrorism” against people of colour and depicting churchgoers as “thugs” in a presidential election campaign ad.
They are calling for the advertisement’s removal from display and federal protection from any bias or threats it could provoke.
Continue reading...Ex-UK ambassador Kim Darroch say pollsters could be undercounting Donald Trump supporters
The former UK ambassador in Washington, Kim Darroch, has warned of a “genuine risk” of violence in the aftermath of a close-run US election in November.
Darroch noted that although Joe Biden is maintaining a significant lead nationwide, the margins in some battleground states are shrinking, and he suggested pollsters could be systematically undercounting Donald Trump supporters.
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Trump has landed in California, where he will receive a briefing on the west coast wildfires, which have already claimed at least 35 lives.
“There has to be good, strong forest management, which I’ve been talking about for three years with the states, so hopefully they’ll start doing that,” Trump said.
Trump is in California mispronouncing "Oregon" and insisting that wildfires are caused be poor forest management pic.twitter.com/zydXDoe3DT
Joe Biden closed his climate speech by noting he continues to pray for Americans on the west coast who have been affected by the wildfires.
“We see the light through the dark smoke. We never give up. Always,” Biden said.
Continue reading...Joe Biden holds a steady lead in the polls but plenty of time remains for surprises and even the act of voting is controversial
The election to decide whether Donald Trump will serve a second term as president has already begun, with voters in North Carolina filling out absentee ballots, Minnesotans preparing to start early in-person voting on Friday and other states revving up their election machinery.
But for most Americans, today marks 50 days until election day, 3 November, when voters will take varying degrees of health risks – and face hurdles to voting of varying heights – to cast their ballots in person for Trump or his potential Democratic successor, Joe Biden.
Continue reading...Donald Trump repeats claims he earlier made online, boasting of winning the 'Bay of Pigs Award' – an honour that doesn't exist. Trump twice visited a Bay of Pigs museum in Miami in 2016, where he received 'a hand-painted Brigade 2506 shield', which his campaign insisted was the award in question. Trump made the claims while courting Latino voters in Nevada, a state where he trails rival Joe Biden in polls, and one where the president failed to overcome Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign
Continue reading...Attacking Joe Biden and seeking to exploit reports that his rival is struggling with Latino voters, Donald Trump boasted on Sunday of receiving “the highly honoured Bay of Pigs Award” from Cuban Americans in the battleground state of Florida.
Perhaps inevitably, and to the glee of the internet, no such award exists.
Continue reading...Peter Strzok was removed from Russia investigation and fired by the FBI over text messages critical of Trump
Donald Trump is “compromised by the Russians”, a former member of Robert Mueller’s investigation insisted on Sunday, contending that the president is “incapable of placing the national interest ahead of his own”.
Related: Trump attacks Robert Mueller's 'hit squad' in row over 'wiped' phones
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