Category Archives: Wisconsin

US election 2020 live: Biden wins Michigan in vital step towards presidency as Trump tries to challenge results

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With more votes in populous, Democratic counties left to be counted, Donald Trump’s lead in Georgia has shrunk to 47,000 votes.

Hi there, it’s Maanvi Singh – reporting from the West Coast.

The Trump campaign has filed a lawsuit seeking to pause vote count in Georgia, the AP reports, as officials continue counting tens of thousands of ballots in the state.

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Americans go to the polls as US suffers worst week for coronavirus infections

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Stakes at the polls are ‘life and death’, epidemiologists say, but responses to the pandemic divide sharply on political lines

The US has suffered its worst week for new infections of the entire Covid-19 pandemic just days ahead of the election, underscoring what some epidemiologists described as “life and death” stakes as Americans head to the polls.

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Trump falsely claims at Michigan rally ‘our doctors get more money if someone dies of Covid’ – live

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In several of his rallies this week, Donald Trump has accused the media of focusing on the coronavirus crisis only for political purposes, in order to damage him.

Barack Obama has trolled him for it in rallies in Florida, where the former president warned that America could not afford four more years of Trump and needed to put Joe Biden into the White House next week.

A federal judge this afternoon ordered the US Postal Service (USPS) to adopt “extraordinary measures” at some processing locations to ensure the timely delivery of millions of ballots before Tuesday’s presidential election.

US district judge Emmet Sullivan said he was ordering the measures in places where election mail processing scores for completed ballots returned by voters were below 90% for at least two days from October 26-28.

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US election roundup: Trump and Biden swing through battleground states

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Both candidates to campaign in Minnesota and Wisconsin while president rails against supreme court over North Carolina ruling

The two US presidential candidates swung through northern battleground states on Friday amid signs that the coronavirus pandemic was once more threatening to overcome hospital capacity in several US regions.

Donald Trump was due to hold a succession of airport rallies in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, while Joe Biden was scheduled to have drive-in rallies in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

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Obama campaigns for Biden in Florida as Trump heads to battleground Ohio – as it happened

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It’s been a lively day on the election trail. We’re closing this blog now but will be back with all the developments in US political news, as it happens, tomorrow.

Here are the main events of the day:

Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris is calling for an administration that is frank about racist police brutality in America.

“There isn’t a Black man I know, be it a relative or friend, who has not had some sort of experience with police that’s been about an unreasonable stop, some sort of profiling or excessive force,” she said.

We can’t just speak the truth about police brutality in our nation—we must act to change our systems of justice and demand accountability. pic.twitter.com/arSdFLi7Wj

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Trump: If I lose, it will be to the worst candidate in history – video

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Donald Trump has described his Democratic presidential rival, Joe Biden, as the 'worst candidate in history' at a rally in Wisconsin. 'If I lose … what do I do? I'd rather run against somebody who is extraordinarily talented, at least this way I can go and lead my life.' Trump again insisted that he was immune from Covid-19, saying he 'got better fast' and that he 'can now jump into the audience and give you all a big kiss, the women and the men'

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Biden accuses Trump of trying to wish away Covid ahead of Wisconsin rally – as it happened

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Here’s a summary of the latest events:

Mitch McConnell announced Saturday that the Senate will vote Tuesday on a Paycheck Protection Plan funding bill and Wednesday on the same $500bn Covid-19 aid package that Democrats blocked last month on the grounds that it didn’t go far enough.

“It is long past time for the two parties to agree where we can and get more money out the door,” the Senate majority leader said in a statement.

I just announced the Senate will vote next week on hundreds of billions more dollars for relief programs that Democrats do not even oppose. Working families have already waited too long for Speaker Pelosi’s Marie Antoinette act to stop. Let's make law. pic.twitter.com/iR7OYKuCKw

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US records highest daily coronavirus case total since July

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More than 68,000 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in the US on Friday, the highest number in a single day since July, further confirmation the country is in the midst of a coronavirus resurgence.

Related: American Crisis review: Andrew Cuomo on Covid, Trump … and a job with Joe Biden?

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US Covid cases climb as midwestern states report steep increases

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  • Infections also ticking up in north-east
  • More than 57,000 tested positive for coronavirus on Friday

Covid-19 cases are again climbing in the United States, with the highest daily rates of new infections since August, when major states such as Florida became hotspots, new data from Johns Hopkins University’s Covid-19 tracker shows.

Now, several midwestern states are posting steep increases in Covid-19 cases, with at least one setting up a field hospital to cope with the flood of patients. Cases are also ticking up in the north-east, where tight restrictions had the virus under control for most of the summer.

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‘I picked up a drink and casually set fire to my life’: how addiction nearly destroyed me

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Find a job, lose the job, go to jail: Guardian reporter Mario Koran found himself in a dangerous cycle. But behind bars, he discovered a new purpose

In July 2016, I stood behind a podium in a San Diego banquet hall and wept in front of a room full of reporters. I’d just been named the city’s journalist of the year for my work on a series that helped unseat a school board president and led to a criminal conviction.

I had reached a peak: I had a meaningful job in a postcard-perfect beach city. A wife I loved, a gorgeous baby girl and another on the way. Most everywhere I went, people told me I had a beautiful family, and I knew it was true.

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Black voting power: the fight for change in Milwaukee, one of America’s most segregated cities

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Guardian US reporter Kenya Evelyn travels home to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, one of the most segregated cities in the country to find out what Joe Biden and the Democratic party can do to truly earn the votes of Black Americans.  

Democrats dealt Milwaukee another economic blow by moving their national convention online, crushing Black residents already feeling the brunt of a national crisis. They’re fed up, calling out racial inequality and a party some say ignores their issues until it’s time to vote. From generations of moderate elders leaving their legacy, to their young, progressive peers taking to the streets, Black Milwaukeeans are using the power of their voices and votes to demand change

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‘Nothing but pain’: Jacob Blake speaks for first time since he was shot by police

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  • Father of six was shot in back by police officer last month
  • Shooting sparked wave of protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin

Jacob Blake has spoken publicly for the first time since a police officer shot him seven times in the back. The 29-year-old says he is in constant pain from the shooting, which doctors fear will leave him paralyzed from the waist down.

In a video posted on Saturday evening on Twitter by his family’s lawyer, Ben Crump, Blake said from his hospital bed that “every 24 hours it’s pain, nothing but pain. It hurts to breathe, it hurts to sleep, it hurts to move from side-to-side, it hurts to eat.”

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Biden warns Trump ‘legitimizes dark side of human nature’ in Kenosha visit

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Joe Biden said he sought common ground while Trump, he said, stoked division and was actively obstructing racial progress

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Thursday warned that Donald Trump’s behavior “legitimizes the dark side of human nature”. He made the remarks during a visit to Wisconsin, where he spoke by phone to Jacob Blake, a Black man whose shooting by a white police officer renewed nationwide protests against systemic racism.

Related: Joe Biden meets privately with Jacob Blake's family amid protests over shooting

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Joe Biden to meet with Jacob Blake’s family in Kenosha – live

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The Guardian’s Kenya Evelyn reports:

Joe Biden will meet Jacob Blake’s father, Jacob Blake Sr, later today as well as other members of the family of the 29-year-old who is gravely wounded and still fighting for his health in a local hospital in Kenosha after being shot in the back by a white police officer on August 23.

Trump and his advisers are trying to walk back his comments encouraging North Carolinians to vote twice in the November elections.

The president said yesterday, “Let them send it in and let them go vote. And if the system is as good as they say it is then obviously they won’t be able to vote” in person.

Trump yesterday: “If you get the unsolicited ballots ... send it in early, and then go and vote.”

Trump in May:
“If you told a Republican to vote twice, they'd get sick at even the thought of it."pic.twitter.com/bjWMotfXrP

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‘It’s called choking’: Donald Trump blames racist policing on ‘bad apples’ – video

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The US president praised police forces while touring the Wisconsin city that became the centre of protests after an police shot Jacob Blake, blaming recent racist incidents on 'bad apples' and officers 'choking' under pressure.

Donald Trump said a silent majority of Kenosha residents were most concerned about 'law and order', insisting people should focus on 'anarchists, looters and rioters' and not peaceful protesters

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Trump compares police shootings to golfing and defends teenager who shot protesters

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Before his visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, Donald Trump defended a teenager who shot two anti-racism protesters dead in the city last week. The president also compared the actions of a white Kenosha police officer who fired seven shots at a black man, hitting him four times in the back to a golfer choking on a putt.

Related: Jacob Blake: father refuses to ‘play politics with my son’s life’ amid furor over Trump visit

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Donald Trump appears to defend Kenosha gunman – video

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Donald Trump appeared to defend the teenage gunman charged with killing two people and injuring another with an AR-15-style rifle during protests against the police shooting of an African American man in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

At a White House press briefing Trump said Kyle Rittenhouse, 17,  'probably would have been killed but it’s under investigation'.

Trump also defended his supporters in Portland who fired paintball guns and pepper spray on Saturday

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Trump fails to denounce an accused killer – which comes as little surprise

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Analysis: For the president, loyalty is paramount – those on his team will not be chastened, even for alleged murder

Donald Trump has the blind devotion of a rabid sports fan. His team can do no wrong. The opposition are liars and cheats.

So maybe no one was surprised on Monday when he appeared to defend an accused murderer.

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‘It’s a coin toss here’: will swing voters in this Wisconsin county stick by Trump?

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In Forest county, Wisconsin – which backed Obama before Trump – voters voice doubts about both major candidates

Joe Biden has blown his chance to win over Kristen, to be found selling home-baked cakes and pies at a farmer’s market in Forest county, northern Wisconsin.

The 46-year-old was once a fan of Barack Obama, voting for him twice before switching her allegiance to Donald Trump four years ago. Kristen, who doesn’t want her last name used, was minded to back Trump again in November but was holding off to see who Biden chose as his vice-presidential running mate.

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Kenosha marches on as protesters describe ‘kidnap’ by federal agents

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  • Residents take to streets to patch up damage
  • Activists report being held for hours without charge

For many Kenosha residents, Saturday morning was starting like the five mornings before them since Jacob Blake’s shooting by the police last Sunday, after a night of large, peaceful protests demanding justice and equality.

Hundreds took to the streets, some working to patch damage and doll up the blistered city, 40 miles south of Milwaukee in Wisconsin, on the shore of Lake Michigan, by painting rainbows and hearts on boarded-up businesses.

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