Loved ones of Covid victims appalled by Trump’s ‘don’t be afraid’ tweet

Sister of New York nurse says president’s comments ‘physically hurt’ and implied that those that died were ‘losers’

When Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus last week, Marya Sherron and her parents were gathered in their home state of Michigan to mark what would have been their brother and son’s 49th birthday. Sherron’s brother, Kious Kelly, was a nurse in New York who died of Covid-19 in March, and the family was still deep in grief.

Related: At least 27 in Trump’s circle have tested positive for coronavirus

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‘They’re coming for you’: Harris slams Trump and Pence on healthcare – video

One of the most memorable moments of the vice-presidential debate was on healthcare, when Harris issued a stark warning about the Trump administration’s intentions.

Trump is seeking to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, which prevents health companies turning away patients with pre-existing conditions.

'If you have a pre-existing condition, heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer, they’re coming for you. If you love someone who has a pre-existing condition, they’re coming for you.'

Pence responded by claiming the Trump administration has a plan to protect people with pre-existing conditions. Trump has spent years claiming he will release a comprehensive healthcare plan. We’re yet to see it

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‘I’m speaking’: Kamala Harris reins in Mike Pence during VP debate – video

The vice-presidential debate was more courteous than last week’s horror show, during which Donald Trump interrupted Joe Biden 71 times during the first presidential debate, but the events in Salt Lake City still showed two contrasting faces of the US.

'Mr Vice-President, I’m speaking. I’m speaking,' Kamala Harris told Mike Pence, as he again tried to interject as she discussed Trump’s tax plans

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Fly that landed on Mike Pence head becomes VP debate star – video

A fly that landed on Mike Pence's head has become the star of the vice presidential debate after the Republican went head-to-head with Kamala Harris. The fly was on Pence's head for over one minute, which proved more than enough time to grow its notoriety online. Democratic candidate Joe Biden used the opportunity to raise money for his campaign, while multiple Twitter account where setup on the fly's behalf

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Looks speak louder than words as Harris makes quotable case against Pence

The vice-presidential debate was more courteous than last week’s horror show but still showed two contrasting faces of America

It was always going to be about the two faces of America.

One: white, male, midwestern, evangelical Christian. The other: Black, female, coastal, progressive.

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Pence-Harris vice-presidential debate: six key takeaways

Coronavirus was the key theme, but Harris also warned of the threat to Obamacare as both candidates dodged questions

The vice-presidential debate on Wednesday was less openly hostile than the Donald Trump-Joe Biden debacle last week – but provided a further insight into the state of both campaigns ahead of November.

Related: Kamala Harris and Mike Pence clash over coronavirus response in vice-presidential debate

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Harris calls Trump’s Covid response ‘greatest failure’ of any administration – video

Separated from vice-president Mike Pence by plexiglass barriers, Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris called the Trump administration's response to the growing coronavirus pandemic 'the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country'. 

Speaking directly to the camera, Harris said, 'They knew what was happening, and they didn't tell you.'

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Trump calls Covid diagnosis ‘blessing from God’ amid false treatment claims

President returns to Oval Office despite concerns he should be self-isolating as virus spreads in White House

Donald Trump has called his Covid-19 infection “a blessing from God” as he returned to the Oval Office on Wednesday despite concerns that he should be self-isolating, as the virus continued to spread among senior White House figures.

In a video message posted to Twitter, Trump said that an experimental drug cocktail from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals was key to recovering from his infection. He said it was his suggestion to be treated with the drug, which has rarely been used outside clinical trials.

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Coronavirus live news: Brazil cases pass 5m; Trump calls catching Covid ‘a blessing in disguise’

France sees record cases; one in seven people tested in Belgian capital is positive; Trump returns to Oval Office against CDC’s isolation guidelines. Follow the latest updates

As far as we understand, that memo means that around 7 more people than are currently known to be infected have contracted the virus.

Per our most recent story:

Related: At least 27 in Trump’s circle have tested positive for coronavirus

From that ABC report:

The coronavirus outbreak has infected “34 White House staffers and other contacts” in recent days, according to an internal government memo, an indication that the disease has spread among more people than previous known in the seat of American government.

Dated Wednesday and obtained by ABC News, the memo was distributed among senior leadership at FEMA, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security and the agency responsible for managing the continuing national response to the public health disaster.

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Coronavirus live news: Madrid court rejects partial lockdown as ‘harmful to basic rights’; Brazil cases pass 5m

Madrid court strikes down partial lockdown order in city; Trump returns to Oval Office against CDC’s isolation guidelines; France sees record cases rise

British airline easyJet said it will open a new base in Faro, the main city in Portugal’s popular Algarve tourist region, which has been hammered by the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Joao Lopes, easyJet’s executive director in Portugal, told reporters the airline would allocate three aircraft to Faro next year, making it the company’s third base in the country. It already has bases in Lisbon and Porto.

The US president, Donald Trump, said talks with Congress have restarted over further Covid-19 relief and that there was a good chance a deal could be reached, but gave no other details about a possible agreement.

“Now they are starting to work out,” he told Fox in a telephone interview, after previous statements via his Twitter account earlier this week that he had cut off negotiations.

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British-born pair charged in US over murder of Isis hostages

El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, held in detention for two years, transferred to America and charged with terrorism offences

Two British-born citizens alleged to have members of an Isis execution squad infamous for beheading hostages have been flown to the US to face trial after two years in detention.

Related: The jihadist 'Beatles': Britons who became the face of Isis cruelty

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CNN reporter fends off White House raccoon before live cross – video

CNN reporter Joe Johns was forced to fend off a raccoon on the White House lawn, moments before going to air. “Frickin' raccoons, man. God, again!" he said. "This is the second time! Jesus ... It always comes around right around when I’m about to go on TV." The incident comes after reports of increasing belligerent raccoons on the property by other media outlets

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Charges against UK-born Isis pair shed light on brutality of terror group

Hostage-taking and multiple murder among charges levelled against Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh

The grisly allegations of hostage-taking, brutality and multiple murder in the lengthy charge sheet against Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh represent more than just a summary of US case against the British-born Isis followers.

It amounts to an indictment of Isis, the brutal terror organisation that drew murderous strength from adherents who came from around the world, and its dead leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

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‘He really packed on the pounds’: Fat Bear Week crowns 747 the winner

747, one of more than 2,200 brown bears roaming Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, won after a week of online voting

In Alaska’s annual battle of furry heavyweights, a salmon-chomping bruin nicknamed 747 – like the jumbo jet - has emerged as the people’s choice as the most fabulously fat.

The bear, one of more than 2,200 brown bears roaming Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, was victorious late Tuesday after a week of frenzied online voting (by humans) in what has become an international sensation: Fat Bear Week.

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Trump returns to Oval Office against CDC’s isolation guidelines – live

Here’s a recap of today so far, from me and Martin Pengelly:

Related: Coronavirus live news: Brazil cases pass 5m; Trump calls catching Covid 'a blessing in disguise'

Facebook has announced significant changes to its advertising and misinformation policies, saying it will stop running political ads in the United States after polls close on 3 November for an undetermined period of time.

The changes, announced Wednesday, come in an effort to “protect the integrity” of the upcoming election “by fighting foreign interference, misinformation and voter suppression”, the company said in a blog post.

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Coronavirus live news: Brussels closes cafes and bars for a month; clashes over restrictions in Israel

One in seven people tested in Belgian capital is positive; Facebook and Twitter act against Trump for suggesting Covid just like flu

The European Commission has agreed with US company Gilead to buy additional doses of its Covid-19 drug Remdesivir to treat about 3,400 patients, amid shortages of the medication in Europe.

A spokesman for the EU executive said Brussels agreed with Gilead last Friday to supply nearly 20,300 additional doses “which help almost 3,400 patients” at a cost of €7m ($8.24m). That is in addition to 30,000 courses of treatment it bought at the end of July.

For White House staff and senior visiting officials and journalists, the coronavirus outbreak in Donald Trump’s inner circle has become like a whodunnit amid a shortage of information and mounting anxiety.

As cleaners in hazmat suits have been pictured disinfecting areas – including briefing rooms and the White House press and communications “shop” where three staff have been infected – the questions now being asked are: who caught Covid from whom and when and where? And who might be next?

Related: White House coronavirus cluster: who has tested positive?

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White House coronavirus cluster: who has tested positive?

After Donald Trump fell ill with Covid-19, we look at which of his close contacts have contracted the virus

For White House staff and senior visiting officials and journalists, the coronavirus outbreak in Donald Trump’s inner circle has become like a whodunnit amid a shortage of information and mounting anxiety.

As cleaners in hazmat suits have been pictured disinfecting areas – including briefing rooms and the White House press and communications “shop” where three staff have been infected – the questions now being asked are: who caught Covid from whom and when and where? And who might be next?

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Netflix indicted by Texas grand jury over ‘lewd visual material’ in Cuties

French film about pre-teen girls who form a dance group is called ‘prurient’ in Tyler County prosecution. Netflix defends story as social commentary against sexualisation

Netflix has defended the controversial film Cuties after it emerged the streaming giant is facing a criminal charge in Texas over the movie’s allegedly “lewd” depiction of children.

Cuties follows an 11-year-old Senegalese girl living in Paris who rebels against her conservative family’s traditions when she becomes fascinated with a “free-spirited dance crew”.

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Two sides of DC: those threatened by Covid are unimpressed by Trump’s bravado

The president’s words fell on deaf ears to those just down the street from the White House who wouldn’t get the same treatment

Washington’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, has struggled to bring the US capital’s coronavirus infection rate down.

In July, she ordered the wearing of masks in crowded places outside, and the order has largely been obeyed: on Tuesday afternoon, more than nine in ten people walking around the city were wearing masks, and almost everyone in shops and cafes.

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Scientists win Nobel chemistry prize for ‘genetic scissors’

Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A Doudna will share the prize for genome editing method

Two women have been awarded the 2020 Nobel prize in chemistry for the discovery of the CRISPR genetic scissors used to edit the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with extremely high precision.

Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A Doudna will share the 10m Swedish kronor (£870,000) prize announced on Wednesday by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm – the first time that two women have shared the prize.

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