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Amy Coney Barrett Senate hearings set to begin in Washington – US politics live Amy Coney Barrett Senate hearings set to begin in Washington – US politics live
(about 1 hour later)
Barrett to deliver opening statement on first of four days of hearings before Senate judiciary committeeBarrett to deliver opening statement on first of four days of hearings before Senate judiciary committee
Erwin Chemerinsky writes for the Los Angeles Times this morning on “How the Senate should question Amy Coney Barrett to show the threat she poses”
Read more here: Los Angeles Times – How the Senate should question Amy Coney Barrett to show the threat she poses
The president has awakened, and his first tweet of the day is about overnight events in Portland, where protestors have toppled statues of Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln [see 6:43].
Some of the drama of today’s Senate judiciary committee hearing into the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett has been taken away by the fact that her opening statement has leaked. In it she will give a great deal of thanks to her family, teachers and to her legal mentors – notable Judge Laurence Silberman and Justice Antonin Scalia.
She will then go on to talk a little of her philosophy of applying the law:
Harry Enten at CNN has a look at some dispiriting numbers for the Trump campaign today, noting that Joe Biden is polling better than any challenger since 1936.
Some word of caution, of course. Polls can be wrong and as Enten reminds us, it’s the Electoral College, not national share of vote that matters. But, he says:
Read it here: CNN – Joe Biden’s polling better than any challenger since 1936
Joe Biden will be in Ohio today, in a move which Julie Carr Smyth and Thomas Beaumont of the Associated Press say signals the former vice president’s hopes of winning the state Democrats lost by a significant margin in the 2016 election.
Biden plans an afternoon campaign speech in Toledo, then will head to Cincinnati for a voter mobilization event.
Vice president Mike Pence also plans a “Make America Great Again” campaign stop in Columbus on Monday, as he fills in for Trump before the president returns to the campaign trail later today with an even in Florida.
The Trump team are bullish about holding Ohio, which they won by 8 points last time around. “While Joe Biden and Democrats fumble to find Ohio at the 11th hour, Trump Victory never took the Buckeye State for granted and developed the strongest grassroots operation in the history of our state,” spokesman Dan Lusheck said in a statement Saturday. “We look forward to a big win for Team Trump on November 3rd.”
Biden extended his advertising presence in Ohio last week, adding money notably to radio in rural western counties and in the state’s eastern and southeastern Appalachian counties, where Trump won big four years ago.
Polls show the race in Ohio close, with Trump just about retaining an edge. Trump’s support has declined in suburbs across the state this year though, notably in and around Cincinnati, according to surveys by Republican legislative strategists, worrying them about whether Trump’s plan to turn out more voters than 2016 in the rural parts of the state can compensate for the losses.
You can keep up to date with the polling in the crucial swing states with our US election polls tracker.
There’s some dramatic images in from Portland, Oregon this morning, the city that has held over 100 consecutive days of #BlackLivesMatter demonstrations in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.There’s some dramatic images in from Portland, Oregon this morning, the city that has held over 100 consecutive days of #BlackLivesMatter demonstrations in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd.
Overnight protestors have toppled statues of Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.Overnight protestors have toppled statues of Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
Shane Dixon Kavanaugh reports for The Oregonian/OregonLive:Shane Dixon Kavanaugh reports for The Oregonian/OregonLive:
Kavanaugh said that the group were around 200 strong, and targeted a bronze sculpture officially titled “Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider,” by putting chains around it and rocking it from side-to-side as others took a blowtorch to its base and splattered it with red paint.Kavanaugh said that the group were around 200 strong, and targeted a bronze sculpture officially titled “Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider,” by putting chains around it and rocking it from side-to-side as others took a blowtorch to its base and splattered it with red paint.
Roosevelt’s plinth was daubed with “Stolen Land”, while the base of the Lincoln statue was spray-painted with “Dakota 38,” a reference to 38 men executed after the 1862 Dakota-US War. It was the largest mass execution in a single day in American history.Roosevelt’s plinth was daubed with “Stolen Land”, while the base of the Lincoln statue was spray-painted with “Dakota 38,” a reference to 38 men executed after the 1862 Dakota-US War. It was the largest mass execution in a single day in American history.
After the statues were toppled, protestors unfurled a banner that read “Stop honoring racist colonizer murderers.”After the statues were toppled, protestors unfurled a banner that read “Stop honoring racist colonizer murderers.”
ABC News have published some new polling data this morning about the rush to confirm Amy Coney Barrett as a new justice on the supreme court.ABC News have published some new polling data this morning about the rush to confirm Amy Coney Barrett as a new justice on the supreme court.
Read more here: ABC News – Majority says wait on the SCOTUS seat; 6 in 10 favor upholding Roe: POLLRead more here: ABC News – Majority says wait on the SCOTUS seat; 6 in 10 favor upholding Roe: POLL
The last Senate confirmation hearings for a supreme court justice nominee were for Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, but you might need a refresher on the format of this week’s events. Deirdre Walsh at NPR has you covered:The last Senate confirmation hearings for a supreme court justice nominee were for Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, but you might need a refresher on the format of this week’s events. Deirdre Walsh at NPR has you covered:
The 22 senators on the committee?The 22 senators on the committee?
For Republicans, it is the chair, Graham, plus Chuck Grassley (Iowa), John Cornyn (Texas), Michael Lee (Utah), Ted Cruz (Texas), Ben Sasse (Nebraska), Joshua Hawley (Montana), Thom Tillis (North Carolina), Joni Ernst (Iowa), Mike Crapo (Idaho), John Kennedy (Louisiana) and Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee).For Republicans, it is the chair, Graham, plus Chuck Grassley (Iowa), John Cornyn (Texas), Michael Lee (Utah), Ted Cruz (Texas), Ben Sasse (Nebraska), Joshua Hawley (Montana), Thom Tillis (North Carolina), Joni Ernst (Iowa), Mike Crapo (Idaho), John Kennedy (Louisiana) and Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee).
For the Democratic party, it is ranking member Dianne Feinstein (California), Patrick Leahy (Vermont), Dick Durbin (Illinois), Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island), Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), Christopher Coons (Delaware), Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Cory Booker (New Jersey) and Kamala Harris (California).For the Democratic party, it is ranking member Dianne Feinstein (California), Patrick Leahy (Vermont), Dick Durbin (Illinois), Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island), Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), Christopher Coons (Delaware), Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Cory Booker (New Jersey) and Kamala Harris (California).
Harris has come off the campaign trail this week to participate in the sessions. It all starts in the Hart Senate Office Building, Room 216 at 9am ET, and Joan E Greve will be along around that time to provide in-depth coverage for the blog.Harris has come off the campaign trail this week to participate in the sessions. It all starts in the Hart Senate Office Building, Room 216 at 9am ET, and Joan E Greve will be along around that time to provide in-depth coverage for the blog.
Of all the cornucopia of tone-deaf and offensive remarks made by the president of the United States in almost four years in office, one proposition he made to the American people last week must surely rank among the top 10.Of all the cornucopia of tone-deaf and offensive remarks made by the president of the United States in almost four years in office, one proposition he made to the American people last week must surely rank among the top 10.
“Don’t be afraid of Covid,” he said in a tweet. “Don’t let it dominate your life.”“Don’t be afraid of Covid,” he said in a tweet. “Don’t let it dominate your life.”
Donald Trump posted those words at 2.37pm on 5 October from the luxury of his four-room suite in Walter Reed medical center. He was surrounded by a team of a dozen world-class doctors infusing him with a unique cocktail of experimental drugs for Covid-19 that would have cost an ordinary American hundreds of thousands of dollars to procure.Donald Trump posted those words at 2.37pm on 5 October from the luxury of his four-room suite in Walter Reed medical center. He was surrounded by a team of a dozen world-class doctors infusing him with a unique cocktail of experimental drugs for Covid-19 that would have cost an ordinary American hundreds of thousands of dollars to procure.
About an hour earlier, data scientists at Johns Hopkins University released their latest figures for the pandemic. They showed that at least 7.5 million Americans had contracted the disease, and that 209,881 had died – a death rate towering over most developed countries and 2,000 times that of humble Vietnam.About an hour earlier, data scientists at Johns Hopkins University released their latest figures for the pandemic. They showed that at least 7.5 million Americans had contracted the disease, and that 209,881 had died – a death rate towering over most developed countries and 2,000 times that of humble Vietnam.
Read more here: ‘He just thinks about himself’: America’s reckless, ill presidentRead more here: ‘He just thinks about himself’: America’s reckless, ill president
On that row over the mis-use of a clip of Dr Anthony Fauci in the Trump campaign ad, here’s what he actually said versus how the segment was used by the president’s team.On that row over the mis-use of a clip of Dr Anthony Fauci in the Trump campaign ad, here’s what he actually said versus how the segment was used by the president’s team.
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of US politics for Monday, the day that Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to fill the supreme court seat vacated by the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg moves on to the next stage. Here’s a catch up on where we are, and what we might expect to see today:Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of US politics for Monday, the day that Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to fill the supreme court seat vacated by the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg moves on to the next stage. Here’s a catch up on where we are, and what we might expect to see today:
The nomination hearings for Amy Coney Barrett begin at 9am, with opening statements by Senate judiciary committee members and the nominee herself.The nomination hearings for Amy Coney Barrett begin at 9am, with opening statements by Senate judiciary committee members and the nominee herself.
Barrett’s opening statement has been leaked and reveals she will say she would apply the “law as written”. Her faith is expected to feature heavily in the Senate examination.Barrett’s opening statement has been leaked and reveals she will say she would apply the “law as written”. Her faith is expected to feature heavily in the Senate examination.
Donald Trump has started to say that he is “immune” to Covid-19, contradicting evidence people can get it more than once and ignoring the lack of research about how long antibodies are effective. Twitter flagged his tweet claiming immunity, saying it contains misleading information.Donald Trump has started to say that he is “immune” to Covid-19, contradicting evidence people can get it more than once and ignoring the lack of research about how long antibodies are effective. Twitter flagged his tweet claiming immunity, saying it contains misleading information.
Dr Anthony Fauci spoke out against a Trump campaign ad that used his words out of context.Dr Anthony Fauci spoke out against a Trump campaign ad that used his words out of context.
A new national poll from ABC News and the Washington Post showed Joe Biden maintaining a 12% lead over Trump.A new national poll from ABC News and the Washington Post showed Joe Biden maintaining a 12% lead over Trump.
The president will hold a campaign rally in Sanford, Florida, at 7pm ET, marking his return to the campaign trail after being hospitalized with coronavirus.The president will hold a campaign rally in Sanford, Florida, at 7pm ET, marking his return to the campaign trail after being hospitalized with coronavirus.
Biden will be in Ohio, delivering remarks in Toledo on “building back the economy better for working families.” After that, he will attend a voter mobilization event in Cincinnati.Biden will be in Ohio, delivering remarks in Toledo on “building back the economy better for working families.” After that, he will attend a voter mobilization event in Cincinnati.
We’re hosting an online discussion panel on the US election on Tuesday 20 October, featuring senior political reporter Daniel Strauss; political correspondent Lauren Gambino; columnist Richard Wolffe; and Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland. There’s more details and tickets here.We’re hosting an online discussion panel on the US election on Tuesday 20 October, featuring senior political reporter Daniel Strauss; political correspondent Lauren Gambino; columnist Richard Wolffe; and Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland. There’s more details and tickets here.
I’m Martin Belam, and I will be with you for the next couple of hours…I’m Martin Belam, and I will be with you for the next couple of hours…