This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2020/sep/25/breonna-taylor-protest-black-lives-matter-donald-trump-joe-biden-election-us-politics-live

The article has changed 29 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 21 Version 22
US surpasses 7m Covid cases as state official warns Trump rally poses 'severe' public health threat – live Trump to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to supreme court, reports say – live
(32 minutes later)
Virginia health official says in letter 4,000 people expected to attend Trump’s rally will be breaking governor’s executive order Reports suggest president has settled on Barrett as his choice to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg – follow all the latest news
As more reporters confirm that Amy Coney Barrett is Trump’s pick for supreme court nominee, a quick reminder about some key parts of her background and legacy:
She is a 48-year-old judge, who currently sits on the US circuit court of appeals in Chicago. If confirmed, she would be the youngest supreme court justice.
Barrett was nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate in October 2017 by a 55-43 vote. The 7th circuit in Chicago covers the states of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.
She is a devout Catholic and mother of seven, who staunchly opposes abortion. Progressives fear she would vote to overturn the critical Roe v Wade ruling, which safeguards the right to abortion.
In her nearly three years on the bench, Barrett has authored around 100 opinions and revealing dissents in which she has been consistently conservative on a wide range of topics, including guns, campus sexual assault and health care.
Barrett served as a law clerk to supreme court justice Antonin Scalia, worked briefly as a private lawyer in DC and became a University of Notre Dame law school professor in 2002.
When asked about her religious beliefs in the 2017 confirmation hearings, she said: “I would stress that my personal church affiliation or my religious belief would not bear in the discharge of my duties as a judge.”
Barrett was on Trump’s list of potential nominees in 2018 to replace Anthony Kennedy, but the president reportedly said, “I’m saving her for Ginsburg.”
More:
Reporters across DC are confirming an Amy Coney Barrett pick, including CNN, CBS, PBS and others:
Trump has said he will make an official announcement on Saturday.
Another report is out on the rumors of Trump’s supreme court nominee pick scheduled to be revealed tomorrow: Republicans are expecting and preparing for Trump to announce that he is nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett, the AP is reporting.Another report is out on the rumors of Trump’s supreme court nominee pick scheduled to be revealed tomorrow: Republicans are expecting and preparing for Trump to announce that he is nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett, the AP is reporting.
More from the AP:More from the AP:
A number of outside conservative groups are planning to spend more than $25 million to support the president’s nominee, the AP noted. The Judicial Crisis Network has organized a coalition that includes American First Policies, the Susan B Anthony List, the Club for Growth and the group Catholic Vote.A number of outside conservative groups are planning to spend more than $25 million to support the president’s nominee, the AP noted. The Judicial Crisis Network has organized a coalition that includes American First Policies, the Susan B Anthony List, the Club for Growth and the group Catholic Vote.
Some additional background on Barrett:Some additional background on Barrett:
Hi all - Sam Levin in Los Angeles, taking over our live coverage for the rest of the day.Hi all - Sam Levin in Los Angeles, taking over our live coverage for the rest of the day.
First some news from Portland, Oregon, where Governor Kate Brown is sending state troopers and sheriffs deputies to the city to help police monitor a weekend rally by the rightwing Proud Boys and counter-protests by liberal groups.First some news from Portland, Oregon, where Governor Kate Brown is sending state troopers and sheriffs deputies to the city to help police monitor a weekend rally by the rightwing Proud Boys and counter-protests by liberal groups.
As the AP reports, “Portland has been roiled by often violent protests for more than three months following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. Demonstrations that went into a lull during wildfires resumed this week, fueled by a Kentucky grand jury’s decision to not indict officers in the killing of Breonna Taylor.As the AP reports, “Portland has been roiled by often violent protests for more than three months following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. Demonstrations that went into a lull during wildfires resumed this week, fueled by a Kentucky grand jury’s decision to not indict officers in the killing of Breonna Taylor.
Portland, of course, was one of the cities named by the US Department of Justice as an “anarchist jurisdiction” this week – a wholly political move by attorney general Bill Barr designed to support Donald Trump’s “law and order” electoral campaign.Portland, of course, was one of the cities named by the US Department of Justice as an “anarchist jurisdiction” this week – a wholly political move by attorney general Bill Barr designed to support Donald Trump’s “law and order” electoral campaign.
For further reading, from another anarchist jurisdiction, here’s a piece from Gothamist and not the Onion, honest: “Local Anarchists Miffed By Trump’s Designation Of NYC As Anarchist Jurisdiction.”For further reading, from another anarchist jurisdiction, here’s a piece from Gothamist and not the Onion, honest: “Local Anarchists Miffed By Trump’s Designation Of NYC As Anarchist Jurisdiction.”
I’m about to hand this blog on to Sam Levin in our West Coast office. In the meantime, according to the pool report, Donald Trump’s speech in Atlanta went on for around an hour and included the usual doozies, including a joke about fears he will not accept the result of the election should he lose to Joe Biden.I’m about to hand this blog on to Sam Levin in our West Coast office. In the meantime, according to the pool report, Donald Trump’s speech in Atlanta went on for around an hour and included the usual doozies, including a joke about fears he will not accept the result of the election should he lose to Joe Biden.
According to the pool report:According to the pool report:
Trump also repeated his claim that the election result may not be known on 3 November because of mailed-in ballots and added: “With me, we may end up in a dispute for a long time, because that’s the way [Democrats] want it, but we’re going to end up winning.”Trump also repeated his claim that the election result may not be known on 3 November because of mailed-in ballots and added: “With me, we may end up in a dispute for a long time, because that’s the way [Democrats] want it, but we’re going to end up winning.”
The president was speaking to a predominantly African American audience, which reportedly was responsive to his evidence-free attacks on the Black Lives Matter movement.The president was speaking to a predominantly African American audience, which reportedly was responsive to his evidence-free attacks on the Black Lives Matter movement.
Trump also took a shot at Biden, for “staying in again today”. In response to which the pool reporter notes, drily: “Actually, Biden went to Washington today to pay respects to the late justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lying in state in the US Capitol.”Trump also took a shot at Biden, for “staying in again today”. In response to which the pool reporter notes, drily: “Actually, Biden went to Washington today to pay respects to the late justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lying in state in the US Capitol.”
This is what happened yesterday, when Trump and first lady Melania Trump went to the supreme court to pay their respects:This is what happened yesterday, when Trump and first lady Melania Trump went to the supreme court to pay their respects:
To polling news, in light of the last post, because, well, everybody loves a good poll. Don’t they.To polling news, in light of the last post, because, well, everybody loves a good poll. Don’t they.
The Washington Post heralds a new survey it has carried out with ABC News, which says a clear majority of Americans do not think Donald Trump and the Republicans who hold the Senate should get to confirm a replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the supreme court justice who died last week aged 87, before the election on 3 November.The Washington Post heralds a new survey it has carried out with ABC News, which says a clear majority of Americans do not think Donald Trump and the Republicans who hold the Senate should get to confirm a replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the supreme court justice who died last week aged 87, before the election on 3 November.
CNN says the replacement will be Amy Coney Barrett, which we all essentially knew, unless of course it isn’t.CNN says the replacement will be Amy Coney Barrett, which we all essentially knew, unless of course it isn’t.
The poll from WaPo and ABC, like others which have shown similar results, does not matter one tiny bit in the most obvious sense, because Donald Trump and the Republicans who hold the Senate are going to confirm their replacement for Ginsburg and there is nothing the Democrats or the voters can do to stop them.The poll from WaPo and ABC, like others which have shown similar results, does not matter one tiny bit in the most obvious sense, because Donald Trump and the Republicans who hold the Senate are going to confirm their replacement for Ginsburg and there is nothing the Democrats or the voters can do to stop them.
The court is going to tip 6-3 to the right, after Trump stages his unveiling tomorrow.The court is going to tip 6-3 to the right, after Trump stages his unveiling tomorrow.
But, anyway, the WaPo/ABC poll finds:But, anyway, the WaPo/ABC poll finds:
What might such sentiment mean at the polls, is the question. My guess is it might be bad news for Trump and Senate Republicans and Democratic control of everything except the court might be on the way. But if it is, a sixth conservative justice will be one hell of a consolation prize.What might such sentiment mean at the polls, is the question. My guess is it might be bad news for Trump and Senate Republicans and Democratic control of everything except the court might be on the way. But if it is, a sixth conservative justice will be one hell of a consolation prize.
Here again is David Litt, once a speechwriter to Barack Obama, now the author of Democracy In One Book Or Less, about what Democrats might do in return:Here again is David Litt, once a speechwriter to Barack Obama, now the author of Democracy In One Book Or Less, about what Democrats might do in return:
Citing “multiple senior Republican sources with knowledge of the process”, CNN reports that Donald Trump has settled on Amy Coney Barrett as his pick to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the supreme court.Citing “multiple senior Republican sources with knowledge of the process”, CNN reports that Donald Trump has settled on Amy Coney Barrett as his pick to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the supreme court.
This is not a surprise, as the Indiana judge is widely expected to be Trump’s pick, to be unveiled at the White House on Saturday. Barbara Lagoa of Florida is also reported to have been in contention.This is not a surprise, as the Indiana judge is widely expected to be Trump’s pick, to be unveiled at the White House on Saturday. Barbara Lagoa of Florida is also reported to have been in contention.
CNN has a kind of all-purpose Trumpnews disclaimer very close to the top of its report: “All sources cautioned that until it is announced by the president, there is always the possibility that Trump makes a last-minute change.” See: Iran, strikes against, influence of Tucker Carlson in postponing of (2019).CNN has a kind of all-purpose Trumpnews disclaimer very close to the top of its report: “All sources cautioned that until it is announced by the president, there is always the possibility that Trump makes a last-minute change.” See: Iran, strikes against, influence of Tucker Carlson in postponing of (2019).
But Barrett “was the plan all along,” CNN quotes “a former senior administration familiar with the process” as saying.But Barrett “was the plan all along,” CNN quotes “a former senior administration familiar with the process” as saying.
“She’s the most distinguished and qualified by traditional measures. She has the strongest support among the legal conservatives who have dedicated their lives to the court. She will contribute most to the court’s jurisprudence in the years and decades to come.”“She’s the most distinguished and qualified by traditional measures. She has the strongest support among the legal conservatives who have dedicated their lives to the court. She will contribute most to the court’s jurisprudence in the years and decades to come.”
Trump was indeed reported to have said of Barrett, whose devout Catholicism fills women’s rights and pro-choice advocates with fear: “I’m saving her for Ginsburg.”Trump was indeed reported to have said of Barrett, whose devout Catholicism fills women’s rights and pro-choice advocates with fear: “I’m saving her for Ginsburg.”
Here’s David Litt again, on what Democrats might do after Barrett is confirmed, because she will be, because it bears repeating:Here’s David Litt again, on what Democrats might do after Barrett is confirmed, because she will be, because it bears repeating:
The AP has an update on the health of Ron Paul:The AP has an update on the health of Ron Paul:
Donald Trump has a speaking engagement in Atlanta this afternoon, at a campaign event titled “Black Economic Empowerment: The Platinum Plan.”Donald Trump has a speaking engagement in Atlanta this afternoon, at a campaign event titled “Black Economic Empowerment: The Platinum Plan.”
The pool report offers some interesting descriptions of an event, in a state where the polls are tighter than they might be for a Republican incumbent, which has featured “a series warm-up speeches from African American leaders, including housing secretary Ben Carson”.The pool report offers some interesting descriptions of an event, in a state where the polls are tighter than they might be for a Republican incumbent, which has featured “a series warm-up speeches from African American leaders, including housing secretary Ben Carson”.
Allow me to pause a second and allow the tiniest scrap of editorial voice into this blog, although as my editorial voice in such instances is essentially a poor impression of Christopher Hitchens after three Johnnie Walker Black Labels, faced on some college auditorium stage somewhere by an author of something called something like “The Atheist Delusion” … it’s probably a bad idea.Allow me to pause a second and allow the tiniest scrap of editorial voice into this blog, although as my editorial voice in such instances is essentially a poor impression of Christopher Hitchens after three Johnnie Walker Black Labels, faced on some college auditorium stage somewhere by an author of something called something like “The Atheist Delusion” … it’s probably a bad idea.
Anyway: “God made this man president”. Really? In that case, to quote Woody Allen, while I’m having bad ideas, “If it turns out that there is a God … the worst that you can say about him is that basically he’s an underachiever.”Anyway: “God made this man president”. Really? In that case, to quote Woody Allen, while I’m having bad ideas, “If it turns out that there is a God … the worst that you can say about him is that basically he’s an underachiever.”
“NFL great Herschel Walker” gave the last endorsement speech in Atlanta and said: “I’ve always know that he was different.“NFL great Herschel Walker” gave the last endorsement speech in Atlanta and said: “I’ve always know that he was different.
“He don’t get the credit for all the things that he done in the African American community. He keeps God in the house.“He don’t get the credit for all the things that he done in the African American community. He keeps God in the house.
“All us Americans have received so many touchdown passes from this man that … it is time to recognize our quarterback.”“All us Americans have received so many touchdown passes from this man that … it is time to recognize our quarterback.”
The pool report adds that “there are approximately 200 people in the audience, nearly all of them African Americans. Zero social distancing. A great many not wearing masks.”The pool report adds that “there are approximately 200 people in the audience, nearly all of them African Americans. Zero social distancing. A great many not wearing masks.”
Speaking of Covid-19, and of pleas by health authorities that Donald Trump not hold his rally in Virginia tonight, and of cases in the US ticking past 7m, and so on, as the Associated Press helpfully puts it, “Governor Ron DeSantis has lifted all restrictions on restaurants and other businesses in Florida, in a move to reopen the economy despite the spread of the coronavirus.”Speaking of Covid-19, and of pleas by health authorities that Donald Trump not hold his rally in Virginia tonight, and of cases in the US ticking past 7m, and so on, as the Associated Press helpfully puts it, “Governor Ron DeSantis has lifted all restrictions on restaurants and other businesses in Florida, in a move to reopen the economy despite the spread of the coronavirus.”
The governor, a close Trump ally, has also banned local fines against people who refuse to wear masks. The AP, in the way of things, has more:The governor, a close Trump ally, has also banned local fines against people who refuse to wear masks. The AP, in the way of things, has more:
Good afternoon – I’ll have the blog for the next couple of hours, taking over from Joanna Walters.
To start with, briefly: according to Johns Hopkins University, the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the US has now ticked past 7m. Here’s a link to their map, which shows 7,005,046 cases and 203,240 deaths.
Here meanwhile is a link to the Guardian’s embedded version of the Hopkins map, which usually updates a little more slowly:
A Virginia health official is warning of a “severe public health threat” if the planned campaign rally for Donald Trump goes ahead tonight.
Natasha Dwamena, a department of public health district director, said in a letter that the 4,000 people expected to attend Trump’s rally at the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport in Virginia, scheduled for 9pm today, would be breaking governor Ralph Northam’s executive order banning gatherings of more than 250 people.
She said the rally should be canceled, rescheduled or scaled down to comply with the governor’s order, NBC reported via the Associated Press.
“The rally poses a concerning public health risk,” Dwamena said in the letter, which was addressed to the private company that leases the hangar where the rally is set to take place.
Hours before Trump was to arrive later this evening, Northam, a Democrat, announced that he and his wife, Pamela Northam, had tested positive for coronavirus. Northam’s office said he is not experiencing any symptoms and Pamela Northam is experiencing mild symptoms.
Northam’s top health and transportation aides also sent letters to airport officials around the state reminding them that they have “the authority to enforce” the state’s laws.
But it’s unlikely to make a difference, as the Trump campaign has routinely flouted public health guidelines intended to halt the spread of Covid-19. Trump has tried to use this summer’s mass protests over racial injustice and police misconduct as cover for his rallies, making the case that, if demonstrators can gather en masse, so can his supporters.
The president is in Georgia this hour, at an event in Atlanta. He flies to DC later, then to Newport News, then back to the White House.
Trump’s rallies have been noticeable for packing people close together, whether indoor or outdoor, and few masks being worn – except by those standing behind the president, who are the most visible on TV and are told to wear masks.
Ron Paul, a former presidential candidate and a pioneering figure in the libertarian movement, was hospitalized Friday after suffering an apparent medical incident during a live stream on his YouTube channel, Business Insider reported.
Paul, 85, is the father of arch conservative Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. Paul Sr was talking about federal stimulus money earlier today when his speech began to slur.
He was hospitalized in Texas for “precautionary reasons”, according to Fox News.
Fox News also reported that Paul was “lucid and optimistic”.
The FBI director, Christopher Wray, faced criticism from the White House for the second time in a week on Friday when Donald Trump’s chief of staff questioned his ability to detect voter fraud as the November election draws near.
Wray told lawmakers on Thursday he has not seen evidence of a “coordinated national voter fraud effort”, undercutting the Republican president’s unfounded assault on mail-in balloting before his 3 November contest against Democrat Joe Biden.
Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, denigrated Wray during an interview with CBS This Morning.
“With all due respect to Director Wray, he has a hard time finding emails in his own FBI, let alone figuring out whether there’s any kind of voter fraud,” he said without elaborating, Reuters reported.
A top federal prosecutor in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Thursday said his office and the FBI were investigating whether nine military ballots cast for Trump had been handled improperly.
Meadows suggested to CBS that Wray “drill down on the investigation that just started ... Perhaps he needs to get involved on the ground and then he would change his testimony on Capitol Hill.”
The FBI had no comment on Meadows’ remarks.
Trump appointed Wray as FBI director after he fired James Comey in 2017 during a federal probe into ties between the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and Russia.
Last week, Wray testified before a House of Representatives committee that his biggest concern in the 2020 election was the “steady drumbeat of misinformation” coming from Russian interference.
That prompted Trump to retort: “I did not like his answers yesterday.”
Wray’s statements run contrary to the Republican president’s stances as he seeks re-election in the race against Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump continues to downplay the threat from Moscow and argues that mail-in voting, which many states are relying on during the coronavirus pandemic, poses a threat to election security.
Asked if Trump had confidence in Wray, Meadows told reporters on Friday he has not spoken to the president about it.
Trump himself has repeatedly and without evidence questioned the increased use of mail-in ballots, an established method of voting in the United States.
He also continues to bristle at US intelligence agencies’ finding that Russia acted to boost Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and undermine his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
Some US stocks could face more volatility next week as Donald Trump and rival Joe Biden face off in their first debate ahead of a November election that betting services currently view as almost a coin flip.
A strong performance in Tuesday’s debate by Democratic candidate Biden, who currently has a modest lead in betting odds and polls, might boost stocks related to global trade and renewable energy, while a perceived debate victory by Trump as he seeks a second term in the White House could benefit fossil fuel and defense companies, Reuters reports.
The first of three scheduled debates comes at a fraught moment on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 has tumbled 10% from record highs in recent weeks as investors worry about a prolonged recovery from the coronavirus and uncertainty related to the 3 November vote, including the possibility of a delay in announcing a winner.
If one candidate emerges stronger on Tuesday, “the debate could be an individual stock and sector play”, said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Cresset Wealth Advisors.
“For example, I think life under Biden would be a lot simpler for Apple than life under Trump,” Ablin said, referring to Trump’s trade conflict with China.
Individual stocks and other assets have been susceptible to market moves as a result of debates, even as broader markets have generally shrugged them off.
The 26 September 2016 debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton, for example, sparked a 2% surge in the Mexican peso as well as moves in oil, gold and Treasuries, according to a University of Michigan and Dartmouth College study.
Many investors view Biden as more likely to raise taxes, and see a second term for Trump, who favors deregulation, as better for the overall stock market. At the same time, a Trump win could spark concerns over ramped up tensions between Washington and Beijing.
When Yvette Gentry takes up her post as the new police chief of Louisville, Kentucky, on 1 October, she will be the first Black woman to occupy the post.
She will also almost certainly be confronted by ongoing protests in the city relating to the widespread anger, sadness and frustration over what is seen as an absence of justice in the shooting death by three white police officers in March of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician.
The current, interim police chief, Robert Schroeder, will retire on that day and Gentry will take over. Schroeder has been the public face of the department this week as a grand jury announced that one officer would face charges, but not relating directly to Taylor’s death.
And the other two officers involved in the death would not face charges. Brett Hankison was charged on Wednesday with wanton endangerment for firing his gun wildly during a botched raid on Taylor’s apartment, thereby, the prosecution argued, endangering neighbors.
Gentry, NPR reported, is not a new face at the department. She served more than 20 years with the Louisville metro police department, including as its deputy chief starting in 2011, before retiring from the force in 2014.
She will be the troubled department’s third chief since March, but is appointed as the permanent one, not just an interim.
Greg Fischer, the mayor, said earlier this month that he selected Gentry because she wants to help “reimagine public safety and address systemic racism”.
Protesters have demanded justice for Taylor daily for more than 120 days and activists declared earlier today that protests will continue until officers are charged directly for Taylor’s killing. They argue that a grand jury was not given the right evidence by prosecutors to come to the right conclusions in the case.
That’s it from me today. My Guardian colleagues will be taking over the live blog for the rest of the day.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
Benjamin Crump called for the grand jury transcripts in the Breonna Taylor case to be released. Crump, the civil rights attorney who is representing the Taylor family, criticized Kentucky’s attorney general, Daniel Cameron, for his handling of the case after a grand jury declined to issue charges in connection to the fatal police shooting. Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, said in a statement read by her sister, “You robbed the world of a queen.”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the first woman and the first Jewish person to lie in state at the Capitol. Lawmakers held a private ceremony to honor the late supreme court justice, who died last week. As Ginsburg’s casket departed, dozens of female members of Congress stood on the Capitol steps with their hands over their hearts.
The governor of Virginia announced he had tested positive for coronavirus. The announcement from Ralph Northam comes just two days after Missouri’s governor, Mike Parson, said he had contracted the virus.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
The casket of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has now left the Capitol, after she became the first woman and the first Jewish person to lie in state this morning.
As a military honor guard carried Ginsburg’s casket out, dozens of female members of Congress lined the Capitol steps with their hands over their hearts.
Ginsburg will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery alongside her late husband, Martin Ginsburg, a tax attorney and Army veteran who died in 2010.
Female members of Congress are now gathering on the steps of the Capitol, so they can bid farewell to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as her casket leaves Statuary Hall.
A number of officials, including the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, came to the Capitol to pay their respects to the late justice.
Justice Stephen Breyer reflected on the loss of his supreme court colleague, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in an MSNBC interview.
“She made the world a better place for us to live in,” Breyer told MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell.
The liberal justice said his “heart sank” when he learned last Friday that his good friend had died. Breyer said he was informed about her death in a phone call that came while he was reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish at a virtual Rosh Hashanah service.
Breyer said he believed Ginsburg would be remembered as “a very brilliant and great jurist” and as a “woman of valor.”