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Coronavirus US live: Georgia Senate candidate awaiting Covid-19 results after wife tests positive Coronavirus US live: Georgia Senate candidate awaiting Covid-19 results after wife tests positive
(32 minutes later)
on Ossoff’s campaign says he is experiencing symptoms of virus while more than 4.1m cases and 145,000 deaths recorded in USon Ossoff’s campaign says he is experiencing symptoms of virus while more than 4.1m cases and 145,000 deaths recorded in US
The New York Liberty and Seattle Storm made a statement before tipping off the WNBA season on Saturday at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Both teams left the court and returned to their locker rooms during the pre-game playing of national anthem in protest of racial and social injustice, then held a 26-second moment of silence in memory of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old certified EMT who was shot to death by plainclothes police officers while asleep in her Louisville apartment in the early hours of 13 March.
“We are dedicating this season to Breonna Taylor, an outstanding EMT who was murdered over 130 days ago in her home,” Liberty point guard Layshia Clarendon announced at mid-court alongside Storm star Breanna Stewart. “Breonna Taylor was dedicated and committed to uplifting everyone around here. We are also dedicating this season to ‘Say Her Name” campaign, a campaign committed to saying the names and fighting for justice of black women – black women are so often forgotten in this fight for justice, who don’t have people marching in the streets for them.
“We will say her name. Sandra Bland. Atatiana Jefferson. Dominique Remy Fells. Breonna Taylor. We will be a voice for the voiceless.”
My colleague Andrew Lawrence has written about how the WNBA has been at the forefront of social justice movements long before the current moment of athlete activism launched by Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the national anthem.
Reports are circulating about a shooting at a protest in Louisville, Kentucky, though the picture is confused to say the least. Reporters on the scene have tweeted pictures of what they say is a protester being carried away on a stretcher after a weapon was accidentally discharged.
The city has been gripped by protests since the killing of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African American who was shot by police officers who entered her home with a no-knock warrant, though she was not suspected of any crime. No one has been charged.
Protests in Lousville have led to other shooting deaths.
A black barbecue stand owner, David McAtee, was shot and killed after police and national guard troops dispersing a crowd violating curfew far from the area of protests opened fire.
On 25 June, a 27-year-old photographer, Tyler Gerth, was shot and killed at the square where protesters have gathered by a man described by family and acquaintances as homeless and mentally ill.
Among real storms blowing around the US today, hurricanes are approaching Texas and Hawaii while a tropical storm heads for the Caribbean. The Associated Press is keeping watch here.Among real storms blowing around the US today, hurricanes are approaching Texas and Hawaii while a tropical storm heads for the Caribbean. The Associated Press is keeping watch here.
Among other kinds of storm, the kinds that blow themselves out on Twitter, the billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and his partner, the musician Grimes, appear to have had a public argument about pronouns.Among other kinds of storm, the kinds that blow themselves out on Twitter, the billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and his partner, the musician Grimes, appear to have had a public argument about pronouns.
In short, on Friday Musk tweeted “pronouns suck” and in response the mother of his unusually named child wrote: “I love you but please turn off ur phone or give me a dall [sic]. I cannot support hate. Please stop this.”In short, on Friday Musk tweeted “pronouns suck” and in response the mother of his unusually named child wrote: “I love you but please turn off ur phone or give me a dall [sic]. I cannot support hate. Please stop this.”
The couple appeared to be at odds over naming conventions. Grimes later deleted her tweet.The couple appeared to be at odds over naming conventions. Grimes later deleted her tweet.
The couple have differed in public before, on similar territory. In May, they named their child X Æ A-12 but then changed the name to X Æ A-Xii. Asked why, Grimes, whose real name is Claire Elise Boucher, said: “Roman numerals. Looks better tbh.”The couple have differed in public before, on similar territory. In May, they named their child X Æ A-12 but then changed the name to X Æ A-Xii. Asked why, Grimes, whose real name is Claire Elise Boucher, said: “Roman numerals. Looks better tbh.”
She also wrote: “It’s just X, like the letter X. Then AI. Like how you said the letter A then I.”She also wrote: “It’s just X, like the letter X. Then AI. Like how you said the letter A then I.”
But Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, told podcast host Joe Rogan: “I mean it’s just X, the letter X. And then the Æ is, like, pronounced ‘Ash’ … and then A-12. A-12 is my contribution.”But Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, told podcast host Joe Rogan: “I mean it’s just X, the letter X. And then the Æ is, like, pronounced ‘Ash’ … and then A-12. A-12 is my contribution.”
So, as Kurt Vonnegut said and I increasingly like to type, it goes.So, as Kurt Vonnegut said and I increasingly like to type, it goes.
Miami Dade county has now recorded more than 100,000 cases of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic. According to the Miami Herald, there were 3,424 new cases reported on Saturday. The county’s population is around 2.7 million.Miami Dade county has now recorded more than 100,000 cases of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic. According to the Miami Herald, there were 3,424 new cases reported on Saturday. The county’s population is around 2.7 million.
With an election looming and the polls looking bad, Donald Trump was in need of a quick political boost.With an election looming and the polls looking bad, Donald Trump was in need of a quick political boost.
Seizing on television images of a procession of refugees out of Honduras, the president announced an imminent “invasion” of the United States by a “migrant caravan” and said he would deploy 15,000 military personnel to stop it. For weeks, Fox News blared “coverage” of the emergency.Seizing on television images of a procession of refugees out of Honduras, the president announced an imminent “invasion” of the United States by a “migrant caravan” and said he would deploy 15,000 military personnel to stop it. For weeks, Fox News blared “coverage” of the emergency.
That was in October 2018, and as a political strategy ahead of the midterm elections, the gambit utterly failed.That was in October 2018, and as a political strategy ahead of the midterm elections, the gambit utterly failed.
The Democrats flipped 40 seats in the House of Representatives the next month and racked up the largest popular vote margin in midterm elections history, on the highest turnout in 100 years. The “caravan” emergency was heard of no more.The Democrats flipped 40 seats in the House of Representatives the next month and racked up the largest popular vote margin in midterm elections history, on the highest turnout in 100 years. The “caravan” emergency was heard of no more.
Now two years later, Trump is facing an even bigger election, with an even bigger need for a political masterstroke if he is to win a second term in November.Now two years later, Trump is facing an even bigger election, with an even bigger need for a political masterstroke if he is to win a second term in November.
Instead of deploying troops to the border to confront a made-up threat, Trump has announced “a surge of federal law enforcement into American communities” to fight a supposed cataclysm of violence born of a Democratic plot to undermine local police.Instead of deploying troops to the border to confront a made-up threat, Trump has announced “a surge of federal law enforcement into American communities” to fight a supposed cataclysm of violence born of a Democratic plot to undermine local police.
“To look at it from any standpoint, the effort to shut down policing in their own communities has led to a shocking explosion of shootings, killings, murders and heinous crimes of violence,” Trump said at the White House on Wednesday. “This bloodshed must end. This bloodshed will end.”“To look at it from any standpoint, the effort to shut down policing in their own communities has led to a shocking explosion of shootings, killings, murders and heinous crimes of violence,” Trump said at the White House on Wednesday. “This bloodshed must end. This bloodshed will end.”
The deployment against anti-racism protesters is a ploy to burnish his strongman credentials, critics say – Trump is pursuing made-for-TV fascism, with the imposition of federal forces into US cities against the will of local authorities. As with 2018, the unmistakeable bogeyman is people of color, whom Trump portrays, with the help of conservative media, as again posing an existential threat to the country that only he can defend against.The deployment against anti-racism protesters is a ploy to burnish his strongman credentials, critics say – Trump is pursuing made-for-TV fascism, with the imposition of federal forces into US cities against the will of local authorities. As with 2018, the unmistakeable bogeyman is people of color, whom Trump portrays, with the help of conservative media, as again posing an existential threat to the country that only he can defend against.
You can read the full story below:You can read the full story below:
The Wisconsin branch of the Republican party has called for a federal investigation of a fatal shooting on Thursday to ascertain whether it was motivated by animosity towards Donald Trump.The Wisconsin branch of the Republican party has called for a federal investigation of a fatal shooting on Thursday to ascertain whether it was motivated by animosity towards Donald Trump.
Bernell Trammell, a 60-year-old who was a well-known figure in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood, was shot and killed at around 12.30pm on Thursday. Police have yet to provide any details on possible suspects or motives for the killing.Bernell Trammell, a 60-year-old who was a well-known figure in Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood, was shot and killed at around 12.30pm on Thursday. Police have yet to provide any details on possible suspects or motives for the killing.
However, the Republican Party of Wisconsin said the “senseless” murder may have been politically motivated and called upon federal investigators to become involved. Trammell, who ran a business called eXpressions Journal in Riverwest, regularly displayed signs on political and religious matters, including support for Trump as well as the Black Lives Matter movement, according to those who knew him.However, the Republican Party of Wisconsin said the “senseless” murder may have been politically motivated and called upon federal investigators to become involved. Trammell, who ran a business called eXpressions Journal in Riverwest, regularly displayed signs on political and religious matters, including support for Trump as well as the Black Lives Matter movement, according to those who knew him.
Trammell, who was black, was pictured holding a sign calling for a Trump victory in the November election but community members have said he has supported politicians from both sides of the divide, including Lena Taylor, a Democrat who ran to become mayor of Milwaukee this year.Trammell, who was black, was pictured holding a sign calling for a Trump victory in the November election but community members have said he has supported politicians from both sides of the divide, including Lena Taylor, a Democrat who ran to become mayor of Milwaukee this year.
“He believed in democracy. He believed in his right to free speech,” local resident John Self told CBS58. “I don’t think he ever once tried to convert you or change you. He would just tell you what he thought, he would listen to what you had to think, and then he would respect that.”“He believed in democracy. He believed in his right to free speech,” local resident John Self told CBS58. “I don’t think he ever once tried to convert you or change you. He would just tell you what he thought, he would listen to what you had to think, and then he would respect that.”
Maryland has reported its highest daily total of new Covid-19 cases since 19 May. According to the state’s coronavirus website on Saturday, there were 1,288 new Covid-19 cases. More than 3,300 people have died from the virus in the state since the start of the pandemic.Maryland has reported its highest daily total of new Covid-19 cases since 19 May. According to the state’s coronavirus website on Saturday, there were 1,288 new Covid-19 cases. More than 3,300 people have died from the virus in the state since the start of the pandemic.
Neighbouring Pennsylvania reported at least 1,054 new cases of the virus and 13 deaths from Covid-19 on Saturday.Neighbouring Pennsylvania reported at least 1,054 new cases of the virus and 13 deaths from Covid-19 on Saturday.
As coronavirus cases surge, California is once again facing testing shortages and delays reminiscent of the first weeks of the pandemic in March. Those issues, healthcare providers say, are hurting the state’s most vulnerable first.As coronavirus cases surge, California is once again facing testing shortages and delays reminiscent of the first weeks of the pandemic in March. Those issues, healthcare providers say, are hurting the state’s most vulnerable first.
This week, California marked record numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths, with more than 12,800 new cases on Tuesday and 159 deaths on Thursday. With medical centers and testing sites overwhelmed, supply shortages have left Californians in some counties waiting more than a week for an appointment to get tested, and and even longer while labs process their results.This week, California marked record numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths, with more than 12,800 new cases on Tuesday and 159 deaths on Thursday. With medical centers and testing sites overwhelmed, supply shortages have left Californians in some counties waiting more than a week for an appointment to get tested, and and even longer while labs process their results.
“It breaks my heart when we have to say no, we can’t test you,” said Dr Grace Neuman, an internist who runs the testing program at the South Central Family Health Center, in Los Angeles.“It breaks my heart when we have to say no, we can’t test you,” said Dr Grace Neuman, an internist who runs the testing program at the South Central Family Health Center, in Los Angeles.
The center, which serves about 25,000 patients, is now only able to administer 25 test kits a day. A few weeks ago, Neuman said she was able to test four times as many patients, but commercial labs, facing a shortage of supplies, have been pinched and unable to process more than a couple of dozen tests from the center each day.The center, which serves about 25,000 patients, is now only able to administer 25 test kits a day. A few weeks ago, Neuman said she was able to test four times as many patients, but commercial labs, facing a shortage of supplies, have been pinched and unable to process more than a couple of dozen tests from the center each day.
The uncertainty can be harrowing for her patients, Neuman said, many of whom are Latino workers at warehouses, factories, restaurants and grocery stores - where the risk of catching coronavirus is especially high.The uncertainty can be harrowing for her patients, Neuman said, many of whom are Latino workers at warehouses, factories, restaurants and grocery stores - where the risk of catching coronavirus is especially high.
You can read the full story below:You can read the full story below:
For the 10th time since the start of the pandemic, Florida has recorded a daily death total of more than 100 people. The state’s department of health recorded reported 12,115 new cases of Covid-19 and 124 deaths from the virus on Friday. A total of 5,777 people have now died from Covid-19 in the state.For the 10th time since the start of the pandemic, Florida has recorded a daily death total of more than 100 people. The state’s department of health recorded reported 12,115 new cases of Covid-19 and 124 deaths from the virus on Friday. A total of 5,777 people have now died from Covid-19 in the state.
Hospitals in Florida, meanwhile, have been stretched by the influx of patients in recent weeks.Hospitals in Florida, meanwhile, have been stretched by the influx of patients in recent weeks.
“The last three weeks have been some of the busiest shifts in my entire life,” Dr Mark Supino of Jackson Memorial Hospital’s emergency department told the Guardian. “We’ve seen some of the sickest patients we’ve ever seen.”“The last three weeks have been some of the busiest shifts in my entire life,” Dr Mark Supino of Jackson Memorial Hospital’s emergency department told the Guardian. “We’ve seen some of the sickest patients we’ve ever seen.”
Meanwhile, Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, has said the state is still open for business.Meanwhile, Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, has said the state is still open for business.
“We’re not going to restrict the businesses,” DeSantis said on Thursday, at a press conference. He also said the outbreak in south Florida had “stabilized”.“We’re not going to restrict the businesses,” DeSantis said on Thursday, at a press conference. He also said the outbreak in south Florida had “stabilized”.
The wife of the Democratic nominee for the US Senate in Georgia has tested positive for Covid-19. Jon Ossoff’s campaign says Ossof has been tested himself after experiencing symptoms of the virus.The wife of the Democratic nominee for the US Senate in Georgia has tested positive for Covid-19. Jon Ossoff’s campaign says Ossof has been tested himself after experiencing symptoms of the virus.
“Last night, Jon’s wife, Dr Alisha Kramer, an OB/GYN physician at a local hospital, received a positive Covid-19 diagnosis. Dr Kramer started isolation immediately after experiencing symptoms earlier this week. Jon is also experiencing symptoms and was tested for the virus this morning. His results are pending,” said Miryam Lipper, Ossoff’s campaign communications director.“Last night, Jon’s wife, Dr Alisha Kramer, an OB/GYN physician at a local hospital, received a positive Covid-19 diagnosis. Dr Kramer started isolation immediately after experiencing symptoms earlier this week. Jon is also experiencing symptoms and was tested for the virus this morning. His results are pending,” said Miryam Lipper, Ossoff’s campaign communications director.
“Dr Kramer, like so many health care workers, puts herself at risk to care for Georgia’s pregnant women, delivering mothers, and newborn babies. She is a hero.“Jon has not held or participated in an in-person campaign event in over a month and will remain in isolation until medical professionals clear both him and Dr Kramer.“We will keep the public informed with updated information, but right now we are just praying for the family’s health and full and speedy recovery.”“Dr Kramer, like so many health care workers, puts herself at risk to care for Georgia’s pregnant women, delivering mothers, and newborn babies. She is a hero.“Jon has not held or participated in an in-person campaign event in over a month and will remain in isolation until medical professionals clear both him and Dr Kramer.“We will keep the public informed with updated information, but right now we are just praying for the family’s health and full and speedy recovery.”
Georgia is one of the worst affected states by the pandemic. More than 3,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the state, and cases have risen sharply in recent weeks. Eighty people coronavirus-related deaths were reported in Georgia on Friday, according to figures from the New York Times.Georgia is one of the worst affected states by the pandemic. More than 3,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the state, and cases have risen sharply in recent weeks. Eighty people coronavirus-related deaths were reported in Georgia on Friday, according to figures from the New York Times.
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, an offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs, has become the first NFL player to opt out of the coming season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Duvernay-Tardif, who is Canadian, has a pretty good reason: as well as being a phenomenally talented athlete, he is also a medical doctor, and has been working at a care facility in Montreal during the pandemic.
“Being at the frontline during this offseason has given me a different perspective on this pandemic and the stress it puts on individuals and our healthcare system,” he wrote on Twitter. “I cannot allow myself to potentially transmit the virus in our communities simply to play the sport that I love. If I am to take risks, I will do it caring for patients.”
The 29-year-old was due to make $2.75m with the Super Bowl champions this season. Instead he will make $150,000 under an agreement agreed by the league and the players union for those who choose to sit out the season due to the pandemic.
Duvernay-Tardif continued his medical studies while still playing in the NFL. He spoke about the experience in an interview with the Guardian earlier this year.
“Every year, more and more of the boys started calling me Doc,” he said. “Sure, you got a little bit of teasing but at the same time, people were really respectful. The hardest thing over the last few years has been the transition – going from being an NFL player to a medical student and from Arrowhead Stadium and having the spotlight on you and your team to being at the bottom of the food chain in the hospital world and writing reports. Doing that when you know everyone else is on vacation isn’t easy but it paid off and it will pay off whenever I stop playing football.”
The Associated Press reports on a supreme court decision that reflects a recent trend:
Chief Justice John Roberts again sided with the liberals on the US supreme court on Friday, as it denied a rural Nevada church’s request to strike down a 50-person cap on worship services as part of the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Roberts, a conservative appointed by George W Bush, has sided with the four liberal justices on recent rulings regarding abortion, immigration and LGBTQ rights. Observers have pointed to his votes in other cases while cautioning that he has not necessarily changed his stripes.
In a 5-4 decision on Friday, the court refused to grant a request from Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley, east of Reno, to be subjected to the same Covid-19 restrictions that allow casinos, restaurants and other businesses to operate at 50% of capacity with proper social distancing.
The church argued that a hard cap on religious gatherings was an unconstitutional violation of first amendment rights to express and exercise beliefs.
Roberts did not explain his vote. Three justices wrote strongly worded dissenting opinions on behalf of the four other conservatives who said they would have granted injunctive relief while the court fully considers the merits of the case.
“That Nevada would discriminate in favor of the powerful gaming industry and its employees may not come as a surprise, but this court’s willingness to allow such discrimination is disappointing,” Samuel Alito wrote in a dissent joined by Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh.
“We have a duty to defend the constitution, and even a public health emergency does not absolve us of that responsibility. The constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion. It says nothing about freedom to play craps or blackjack, to feed tokens into a slot machine or to engage in any other game of chance.”
New York, once the center of Covid-19 infections in the US, has reported a drop in hospitalizations for the virus. Governor Andrew Cuomo said there were 646 hospitalizations on Friday, down 650 from the day before. Ten New Yorkers died from Covid-19 over the same period. Of the 71,466 tests for the virus, 750 came back positive.
Cuomo has expressed concern recently about the increasing number of outdoor gatherings in New York as people let off steam during the warm summer months.
NBC News reports that some GOP donors have been left with little to show for their money after the cancellation of a number of Republican National Convention events.
Around $38m had been raised to hold the RNC in North Carolina, but the location was changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and NBC reports most of that money has now been spent. The majority of the convention was then moved to Jacksonville, Florida, and an additional $6m raised. But with Florida now a Covid-19 hotspot, the large in-person events have been cancelled. GOP officials told NBC that much of the money raised for Jacksonville remains.
While many Republicans have agreed with the decision, one anonymous GOP donor said they were angry with the cancellation. “This is the cancel culture run wild,” they said.
With Trump trailing in the polls to Joe Biden, and the public skeptical of his ability to handle the pandemic, the president has attempted to show he is taking the dangers of Covid-19 more seriously in recent days.
Monica Lewinsky has made light of her affair with Bill Clinton with a tweet that quickly went viral on Friday.
“I have a joke” was trending on Twitter on Friday, with users offering up one-line witticisms. When one user tweeted “I have a Charles Manson joke and it kills”, Lewinsky offered her own one-liner: ““I have an intern joke and it... nevermind”.
By Saturday morning, Lewinsky’s tweet had been liked more than 350,000 times. “Monica wins the internet,” tweeted Mia Farrow.
Lewinsky was an intern at Bill Clinton’s White House when she had an affair with the president. The affair led to Clinton’s impeachment by the US House of Representatives after he lied when denying he had extra-marital relations with Lewinsky. He was later acquitted by the Senate. Clinton was 49 at the time of the affair and Lewinsky was 22.
Lewinsky has joked about the affair before on Twitter. Earlier this month comedian Sarah Cooper tweeted: “My advice to the younger generation: make your mistakes now. Because by the time you’re 40, you’ll barely even remember them! And then you get to make the same mistakes all over again it’s really fun.”
Lewinsky shared the tweet with the comment “uhhhmmmmmm.”
Lewinsky has spoken about how she was demonized and humiliated during the fallout from the scandal, while Clinton was protected by his power and influence.
“I felt like every layer of my skin and my identity were ripped off of me in 98 and 99. It’s a skinning of sorts … the shame sticks to you like tar,” she told the Guardian in 2016.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is expected on Capitol Hill on Saturday for talks with Senate Republicans over the next coronavirus relief package.
The stakes are high. US unemployment rose again on Friday after months of falls, enhanced benefits are due to run out at the end of the month and evictions of Americans unable to pay rent are rising.
Democrats and the Trump administration want a deal by the end of next week. But on Friday Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said: “Hopefully we can come together behind some package we can agree on in the next few weeks.”
In a tweet referring to the pandemic-inspired special unemployment rate of $600 a week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: “The Senate must take up the House-passed Heroes Act and extend this critical lifeline for working families.”
The House passed its relief package in May but the Senate has not taken it up. Republicans in the upper chamber are debating reducing unemployment payments, which they believe provide a disincentive to seek work.
The US economy has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic, which is now surging in mainly Republican-run states which sought to reopen their economies early.
“A wall of Vets” has been formed in Portland to protect demonstrators from federal agents.
Duston Obermeyer, a Marines veteran, said the group of around 30 had been created after video emerged last week showing agents beating and tear gassing a navy veteran at the Portland protests.
“They are not supposed to be coming and attacking protesters,” Obermeyer told the Guardian. “They didn’t even give any warning, there was no ‘hey you need to move’, ‘hey back up’. There was basically them walking out and assaulting a protester just to prove that they could.”
Ron Wyden, a Democrat senator from Oregon told the Guardian that America is “staring down the barrel of martial law” after Donald Trump’s heavy handed crackdown on the protests in Portland.
Wyden said he had recently spoken with a legal adviser for the head of national intelligence about the situation in Portland.
“I asked him again and again what was the constitutional justification for what the Trump administration is doing in my home town and he completely ducked the questions and several times said, ‘Well, I just want to extend my best wishes to your constituents.’
“After I heard him say it several times, I said my constituents don’t want your best wishes. They want to know when you’re going to stop trashing their constitutional rights.”
The Associated Press reports from Portland, Oregon that “thousands of protesters gathered outside the federal courthouse into the early hours of Saturday, shooting fireworks at the building as plumes of tear gas, dispensed by US agents, lingered above.
“The demonstration went on for hours until federal agents entered the crowd around 2.30am and marched in a line down the street, clearing remaining protesters with tear gas at close range. They also extinguished a large fire in the street outside the courthouse.
“The Federal Protective Service had declared the gathering ‘an unlawful assembly’ and cited that officers had been injured. By 3am, most demonstrators had left with with only some small groups roaming the streets.”
The situation in the city remains an extraordinary expression of the partisan divide in US society, which Donald Trump is seeking to exploit as he looks to make up polling deficits in his election race against Joe Biden.
The Guardian has spoken to Oregon’s two US senators, both Democrats, and they have stark warnings to make:
Ron Wyden: “Unless America draws a line in the sand right now, I think we could be staring down the barrel of martial law in the middle of a presidential election.”
Jeff Merkley: “It’s very clear what the president is trying to do is incite violence and then display that violence in campaign ads. And I say this because that’s exactly what he’s doing right now. This is not some theory.”
Here’s the full story, from David Smith and Daniel Strauss in Washington DC:
Donald Trump is up and tossing his tweets about, with some boosterism for the executive orders on drugs prices he signed yesterday and, of course, more messaging around his key campaign theme, law and order:
Who is Brandon Straka? In the words of NBC News, he used to be:
Straka’s “Walk Away” effort will host a rally in Baltimore on Saturday, seeking to “rescue America” from “radical leftists”. And he’s appearing on Fox News, which might explain why Trump is tweeting about him.
Do Democrats want to defund the police? No, in the sense that Joe Biden doesn’t, whatever Trump claimed on Fox News Sunday last week.
Are many Democrats leaving the party to vote for Republicans and Trump? The polls don’t say so, and the nonpartisan Cook Report thinks a blue tsunami is coming.
Trump is also saying this morning “the Dems have gone Stone Cold Left – Venezuela on steroids!” It’s hard to know where to start with that, except to say that the policy compact Biden reached with Bernie Sanders does not represent Venezuelan politics or policies on steroids.
Here’s some more sensible reading on Biden’s policies, from Oliver Milman:
… and welcome to another day of coverage of the coronavirus outbreak in the US, and of course the politics of it and of everything else.
The US now stands, according to Johns Hopkins University, at more than 4.1m cases confirmed and more than 145,000 people dead. The economy is still cratering and in Congress negotiations over the next stimulus and relief package are dragging on – with extra unemployment assistance due to run out in less than a week and evictions beginning to climb.
The president has resumed coronavirus briefings – without his senior public health experts and while hilarity swirls over his fixation on a simple cognitive test he says proves he is sharper than his election opponent.
Ongoing protests over racial injustice, meanwhile, are being met with a militarised response in Portland, Oregon, and federal agents are on their way to other cities at the behest of Donald Trump, seeking to portray himself as a president of law and order.
And in the middle of all this, local TV stations across the US owned by Sinclair Television will this weekend run an interview with a conspiracy theorist in which the question “DID DR FAUCI CREATE COVID-19?” will appear on the screen.
Anthony Fauci is the 79-year-old director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He has served six presidents but this president has sought to keep him off TV, called him “alarmist” and generally undermined his work.
The conspiracy theorist is Judy Mikovits, who is behind the widely discredited Plandemic video. Her lawyer, Larry Klayman, also appears on the segment with the former Fox News host Eric Bolling, which is up online before broadcast this weekend.
Mikovits claimed that in the last decade Fauci “manufactured” and shipped coronaviruses to Wuhan, China, which is widely accepted to have been the origin of the coronavirus outbreak.
Bolling told CNN he did not “know of any video [Mikovits] was in prior to or after appearing on my show” and said: “Frankly, I was shocked when she made the accusation.”
Bolling said he had questioned her claim about Fauci, which on air he called “hefty”, and had added Dr Nicole Saphier, a Fox News contributor, to the show in order to balance out the segment.
“I asked our producers to add Saphier to the show for the express purpose of debunking the conspiracy theory,” he told CNN. “I believe viewers see that I did not and do not endorse her theory.”
Sinclair is the biggest owner of local TV stations in the US. Its chairman has said that in 2016, he told Trump: “We are here to deliver your message.”
More to come. Here’s some sobering further reading from our Washington bureau chief, David Smith: