Evening summary
That’s all from me today. Here’s a rundown of the day’s biggest stories:
- Joe Biden defended his decision to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan, arguing that continuing the operation would only result in further casualties. “I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome,” Biden said this afternoon. The president’s speech came two days after the Pentagon announced the troop withdrawal was already more than 90% complete.
- Biden and his chief spokesperson acknowledged there will not be a “mission accomplished” moment in Afghanistan, although the president insisted the US had already met its objectives in the military operation. “No, there’s no mission accomplished,” Biden told reporters after his speech. “The mission was accomplished in that we got Osama bin Laden, and terrorism is not emanating from that part of the world.”
- The Texas special legislative session began, as Republicans attempt to once again enact voting restrictions in the state. Republican legislators failed to pass their original bill during the regular session because Democrats staged a walkout at the 11th hour. The Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has now called the chamber back into session to try to get a slightly altered bill passed.
- Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee announced a $25m investment in efforts to strengthen voting rights. Vice-president Kamala Harris announced the initiative this afternoon at Howard University, her alma mater. “This is the fight of our lifetime,” Harris said of the campaign. “This is the fight of our nation’s lifetime.”
- Later in the day, Harris and Biden met with a group of civil rights leaders, who expressed their “exasperation” that the administration has not done more to push back against the Republican attack on voting rights.
- The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the Delta variant of coronavirus is “surging” in areas with low rates of vaccination. The CDC director, Dr Rochelle Walensky, noted that the Delta variant accounts for as much as 80% of new coronavirus cases in certain parts of the Midwest and upper mountain states. “Although we expected the Delta variant to become the dominant strain in the United States, this rapid rise is troubling,” Walensky said at a press briefing today.
Civil rights leaders urged Joe Biden to take much more aggressive action against Republican voter suppression efforts in a meeting Thursday, the Washington Post reports.
The meeting at the White House stretched more than twice as long as expected, as leaders including Al Sharpton of the National Action Network, Marc Morial of the National Urban League, and Sherrilyn Ifill of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, expressed their “exasperation” to the president, according to the report.
“We must have the president use his voice, use his influence, use his power — and use what he clearly understands about this moment,” Ifill told the Post. “The president understands us to be in a moment of peril in terms of our democracy. And that means that we have to put all the options on the table, figure out what can work, keep talking, keep pressing and move forward.”
Other attendees included Derrick Johnson of the NAACP, Wade Henderson of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and Damon Hewitt of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole of the National Council of Negro Women, and Melanie Campbell of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation.
The civil rights leaders released a joint statement about the meeting:
The civil rights leaders expressed their very serious concern over the dangerous anti-voter efforts by some who are intent on taking the nation backwards through voting barriers for Black, Brown, Indigenous, and new Americans. They made clear that these severely harmful efforts are a historic and existential crisis of democracy that requires urgent attention. The leaders expressed their thanks to the president and vice president for their support so far and asked them to do even more in pushing Congress to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in order to make real the promise of our democracy for all.
The civil rights leaders also discussed the urgent need to provide meaningful changes to hold police accountable for misconduct and ensure the safety of all community members, including Black and Brown people who disproportionately face violence and abuse at the hands of police. The leaders urged the president and vice president to do everything possible to ensure legislation like the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act is passed into law.
Earlier today Kamala Harris announced that the Democratic National Committee was investing $25m in an expanded effort to protect voting rights.
The president and chief executive of an international reproductive rights non-profit has warned that the American anti-abortion movement has significantly radicalized and is working to spread its ideology around the world.
The comments came as pro-gun anti-abortion theocratic militant groups who seek to prosecute women who have abortions under murder statutes have gained increasing legislative influence in the US.
“In the 90s we saw groups like Operation Rescue and Operation Save America, and they were quite violent,” said Anu Kumar of Ipas, an international non-governmental organization that works to expand access to contraception and abortion.
“This recent uptick is really an even more radicalized version of what we saw back then, and in some ways it’s not your mother’s anti-choice groups.”
Operation Save America denies condoning violence, though leaders of affiliated groups such as Defy Tyrants, led by Matt Trewhella, were signatories to a statement which described murdering abortion providers as “justifiable homicide”.
Since Donald Trump left office, and as the US suffered among the worst Covid outbreaks in the world, Republican legislatures have worked to make 2021 the most hostile year for abortion since the procedure was legalized nationally in 1973.
States enacted 90 abortion restrictions in 2021, breaking the previous record of 89 in 2011. These restrictions stand in contrast to the “unmistakable trend toward the liberalization of abortion laws” globally, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Since 2000, more than 28 nations have liberalized their abortion laws. Only one, Nicaragua, expanded legal grounds for abortion.
Read the full report here:
Two men believed to be Haitian Americans were among the six who have been arrested in connection with the assassination of Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moïse, according to the Associated Press.
Seven other suspects were killed in the raid, Haitian police said.
Mathias Pierre, Haiti’s minister of elections, named one of the Haitian Americans as James Solages to the AP, but did not provide further details or the name of the second American suspect.
From the report:
The US State Department said it was aware of reports that Haitian Americans were in custody but could not confirm or comment.
Solages described himself as a “certified diplomatic agent,” an advocate for children and budding politician on a website for a charity he established in 2019 in south Florida to assist residents.
On his bio page for the charity, Solages said he previously worked as a bodyguard at the Canadian Embassy in Haiti. The Canadian Embassy didn’t immediately comment; calls to the foundation and Solages’ associates at the charity either did not go through or weren’t answered.
The assassination of Moïse on Wednesday has left a political vaccuum in Haiti. Here’s a summary of the situation, from my Guardian colleagues:
On Thursday Haitians woke up to a country without a head of state, with a parliament long suspended, two rival interim prime ministers – one of whom was due to be sworn in during the coming days – and a constitutional legal vacuum after the death from coronavirus of the head of its supreme court.
That has generated confusion about who is the legitimate leader of the country of 11 million people – [interim prime minister Claude] Joseph, who has assumed power for now, or Ariel Henry, who was appointed as PM by Moïse just before his death and was due to be sworn in this week. “All the cards are up in the air,” Fatton said of the apparent struggle between Henry and Joseph.
Ryan Berg, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said: “I can picture a scenario under which there are issues regarding to whom the armed forces and national police are loyal, in the case there are rival claims to being placeholder president of the country.”
Here is their full report:
Hello everyone. This is Julia Carrie Wong, picking up the live blog for the rest of the afternoon from Oakland, California, where we’re in the midst of a devastating drought and about to be hit with another brutal heat wave.
Earlier today, California governor Gavin Newsom asked businesses and people to cut water use by 15% in a sign of growing concern over dwindling water reserves.
From our report:
Gavin Newsom’s request is not an order, but it demonstrates the growing challenges of a drought that will only worsen throughout the summer and fall and is tied to recent heatwaves. Reservoirs across the state, which are depended on for agriculture, drinking water and fish habitat, have dwindled to dangerously low levels and some counties have already enacted mandatory water restrictions.
California’s Democratic governor is asking for voluntary water conservation, which would include actions such as taking shorter showers, running dishwashers only when they are full and reducing the frequency of watering lawns.
Nearly 95% of the state is experiencing severe drought, according to the US drought monitor. While California has long cycled through wet and dry periods, climate crisis has made the dry periods drier, hotter and longer. Already some communities are facing water shortages, and the state is bracing for what is likely to be a severe fire season.
-- @CAGovernor @GavinNewsom says https://t.co/mOy55KDXS2 site available to residents to learn latest on how to reduce their water consumption. Says 50 of 58 CA counties now facing drought emergency, but notes Californians are now schooled in many of the basics of conservation. pic.twitter.com/VntVcef1Kv
— Carla Marinucci (@cmarinucci) July 8, 2021
Pfizer plans to seek authorization for a third vaccine dose
Pfizer is about to seek US authorization for a third dose of its Covid-19 vaccine, saying Thursday that another shot within 12 months could dramatically boost immunity and maybe help ward off the latest worrisome coronavirus variation, the Associated Press reports.
Research from multiple countries shows the Pfizer shot and other widely used Covid-19 vaccines offer strong protection against the highly contagious delta variant, which is spreading rapidly around the world and now accounts for most new US infections.
Two doses of most vaccines are critical to develop high levels of virus-fighting antibodies against all versions of the coronavirus, not just the delta variant – and most of the world still is desperate to get those initial protective doses as the pandemic continues to rage.
But antibodies naturally wane over time, so studies also are under way to tell if and when boosters might be needed.
Pfizer says it plans to seek U.S. regulators’ approval for a third COVID-19 vaccine dose. The company says its research suggests antibody levels jump markedly after a third dose, but it's not yet clear if and when boosters might truly be needed. https://t.co/nD631SWYlx
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 8, 2021
On Thursday, Pfizer’s Dr Mikael Dolsten told the Associated Press that early data from the company’s booster study suggests people’s antibody levels jump five- to 10-fold after a third dose, compared to their second dose months earlier.
In August, Pfizer plans to ask the Food and Drug Administration for emergency authorization of a third dose, he said.
But FDA authorization would be just a first step – it wouldn’t automatically mean Americans get offered boosters, cautioned Dr William Schaffner, a vaccine expert at Vanderbilt University medical center. Public health authorities would have to decide if they’re really needed, especially since millions of people have no protection.
“The vaccines were designed to keep us out of the hospital” and continue to do so despite the more contagious delta variant, he said. Giving another dose would be “a huge effort while we are at the moment striving to get people the first dose.”
Currently only about 48% of the US population is fully vaccinated.
Updated
Trump spotted playing golf with Rudy Giuliani’s son, a gubernatorial hopeful
Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York mayor-cum-Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, received exactly no votes in a poll of state Republican leaders about the party’s next choice for governor of New York state, my colleague Martin Pengelly reported a week ago.
But now, the junior Giuliani has been spotted playing golf with Donald Trump, raising questions about whether Trump might endorse him over a more mainstream Republican pick, the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman reports.
Fresh off his lawsuit/fundraising effort, Trump was seen playing golf with NY gubernatorial candidate Andrew Giuliani at Bedminster today, as his campaign in the primary against Rep. Lee Zeldin continues. Trump had indicated previously he was leaning toward Zeldin.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 8, 2021
Toyota will no longer donate to politicians who voted against certifying 2020 election
This is Lois Beckett, picking up our live US politics coverage for the next hour.
Japanese automaker Toyota has put out a press release saying “we have decided to stop contributing to those members of Congress who contested the certification of certain states in the 2020 election”, and citing stakeholders who were “troubled” by Toyota’s donations to some of those politicians earlier this year.
NBC News reports that Toyota’s statement followed an announcement by the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump Republican PAC, that it would begin to run advertisements targeting companies that continued to donate to members of Congress who formally contested the legitimacy of Joe Biden’s victory, even after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building and forced lawmakers to flee during the official certification of the 2020 election results.
Toyota says it will stop donating to Republicans who objected to election certification https://t.co/Ya4j5p5xqf
— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) July 8, 2021
ICYMI: “The Lincoln Project, a group focused on antagonizing President Donald J. Trump during his re-election bid, is targeting corporations linked to Republicans who disputed the 2020 presidential vote and played down the attack on the U.S. Capitol...”https://t.co/ShqL7hmKza
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) July 8, 2021
Updated
Today so far
That’s it from me today. My west coast colleagues will take over the blog for the next few hours.
Here’s where the day stands so far:
- Joe Biden defended his decision to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan, arguing that continuing the operation would only result in further casualties. “I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome,” Biden said this afternoon. The president’s speech came two days after the Pentagon announced the troop withdrawal was already more than 90% complete.
- Biden and his chief spokesperson acknowledged there will not be a “mission accomplished” moment in Afghanistan, although the president insisted the US had already met its objectives in the military operation. “No, there’s no mission accomplished,” Biden told reporters after his speech. “The mission was accomplished in that we got Osama bin Laden, and terrorism is not emanating from that part of the world.”
- The Texas special legislative session began, as Republicans attempt to once again enact voting restrictions in the state. Republican legislators failed to pass their original bill during the regular session because Democrats staged a walkout at the 11th hour. The Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has now called the chamber back into session to try to get a slightly altered bill passed.
- Meanwhile, the Democratic National Committee announced a $25m investment in efforts to strengthen voting rights. Vice-president Kamala Harris announced the initiative this afternoon at Howard University, her alma mater. “This is the fight of our lifetime,” Harris said of the campaign. “This is the fight of our nation’s lifetime.”
- The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the Delta variant of coronavirus is “surging” in areas with low rates of vaccination. The CDC director, Dr Rochelle Walensky, noted that the Delta variant accounts for as much as 80% of new coronavirus cases in certain parts of the Midwest and upper mountain states. “Although we expected the Delta variant to become the dominant strain in the United States, this rapid rise is troubling,” Walensky said at a press briefing today.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Updated
US assurances that Julian Assange would not be held under the strictest maximum-security conditions if extradited from the UK have been rejected by his fiancee, who described them as a formula to keep him in prison for the rest of his life.
Details of the proposals made to British authorities emerged after permission was granted this week to appeal against January’s ruling that the Wikileaks co-founder cannot be extradited on mental health grounds.
They include assurances that Assange, if convicted in relation to charges of alleged espionage and hacking, would be allowed to serve any jail time in his native Australia.
The package contains a particular assurance that Assange would not be subject to “special administrative measures” (SAMs) in US custody or imprisoned at the “supermax” prison in Florence, Colorado, procedures reserved for high-security prisoners. The assurances were subject to change if he were to “do something” subsequently that met the US test for the imposition of the high-security measures.
Stella Moris, Assange’s fiancee, described reports about US undertakings as “grossly misleading”, adding that 80,000 prisoners in US prisons were held in solitary confinement on any given day and only a handful were held in the conditions specifically mentioned in the proposals.
“The US government also says it may change its mind if the head of the CIA advises it to do so once Julian Assange is held in US custody,” she added.
Updated
Two dozen groups, including the US Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO, are launching the Coalition for Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment to urge Congress to pass a bill mirroring the bipartisan infrastructure framework.
Today we joined leading business & labor organizations to launch the Coalition for Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment, urging Congress to turn the bipartisan infrastructure framework into legislation that can be signed into law. Read full statement: https://t.co/cyt9SLMlDm pic.twitter.com/jYVJqI6y3o
— U.S. Chamber (@USChamber) July 8, 2021
“Our organizations commend the bipartisan group of 22 senators and the Biden administration on finding common ground and reaching agreement on a historic $1.2 trillion infrastructure framework,” the coalition said in a statement.
“Now is the time to turn these promises into projects. We urge Congress to turn this framework into legislation that will be signed into law, and our organizations are committed to helping see this cross the finish line.”
The group also warned lawmakers not to “let partisan differences get in the way of action -- pass significant, meaningful infrastructure legislation now”.
Joe Biden has endorsed the framework, and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has indicated he wants the upper chamber to pass a bill by the end of the month. However, much work remains to turn the framework into an actual bill.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are now meeting with leaders of civil rights groups at the White House to discuss voting rights and policing reform.
The president said on Twitter earlier today, “This afternoon, the Vice President and I will be meeting with Black leaders of legacy civil rights organizations. We have urgent work before us — and we are committed to doing everything we can to protect the sacred right to vote and pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.”
This afternoon, the Vice President and I will be meeting with Black leaders of legacy civil rights organizations. We have urgent work before us — and we are committed to doing everything we can to protect the sacred right to vote and pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 8, 2021
Voting rights bills and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act have both stalled in the Senate, and it’s unclear how congressional Democrats will be able to advance the proposals.
Bipartisan negotiations over the policing bill have been ongoing for months, but the talks appear to be on the brink of collapse, according to NBC News.
Among those participating in today’s meeting are Reverend Al Sharpton, NAACP president Derrick Johnson and Sherrilyn Ifill of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Maya Yang reports for the Guardian on Donald Trump continuing to charge the Secret Service thousands of dollars a month to use his properties:
Trump charged the Secret Service nearly $10,200 for its use of guest rooms at his New Jersey golf club in May, newly released records indicate.
The May charges at the Trump National golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey totaled $10,199.52 for an 18-day stay – about $566 per night at the resort.
The Secret Service also released documents including a “hotel request” form that covered the period from 28 May to 1 July, as well as bills indicating $3,400 worth of resort charges for January, February and early May. The agency has not disclosed the reason behind those charges, which were placed before Trump’s arrival.
Charging rent from his government-provided security detail is not novel, as Trump has frequently charged the Secret Service for rooms used by its agents, even during his presidency, according to the Washington Post.
Currently, there are no laws that prevent Trump and his company from demanding the Secret Service pay rent at his properties, and rates are at the Trump Organization’s discretion. The Secret Service is required by law to pay whatever is required to rent rooms near its clients.
Michael Avenatti sentenced to two and a half years in prison over Nike scheme
Michael Avenatti, the former lawyer to Stormy Daniels who repeatedly clashed with Donald Trump during his presidency, has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for trying to extort Nike.
Reuters reports:
U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in Manhattan said Avenatti, 50, ‘had become drunk on the power of his platform’ in betraying his client, a youth basketball coach, in order to obtain riches for himself.
The sentencing caps a precipitous downfall for a once-obscure lawyer who in 2018 became a cable news fixture, disparaging then-President Trump and even flirting with a White House run himself.
Avenatti was convicted for threatening to expose Nike’s alleged corrupt payments to families of college basketball prospects unless it forked over up to $25 million for him and another lawyer to conduct an internal probe.
Avenatti openly cried in the courtroom as he delivered a statement before the sentencing. He told the judge that he had “lost” his way during his quick rise to fame.
“I’ve learned that all the fame, notoriety and money in the world is meaningless,” Avenatti said, per the Washington Post. “TV and Twitter, your Honor, mean nothing.”
Joe Biden rejected comparisons between the end of the Vietnam War and the conclusion of the war in Afghanistan, insisting the two events are nothing alike.
However, some American veterans have said they feel the US military is leaving a job undone in Afghanistan, just as it did in Vietnam. Some also fear that Kabul will soon fall to the Taliban, as Saigon fell after US troops departed Vietnam.
Answering another reporter’s question, Biden echoed comments from his press secretary that the troop withdrawal does not mark a “mission accomplished” moment for the US.
“No, there’s no mission accomplished,” Biden said. “The mission was accomplished in that we got Osama bin Laden, and terrorism is not emanating from that part of the world.”
After taking several questions from reporters, Biden left the podium in the East Room, ending the event.
As the US completes its withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, Joe Biden was asked whether he believes the last 20 years of fighting have been worthwhile.
“You know my record,” Biden said. “I opposed permanently having American forces in Afghanistan.”
CNN's @KaitlanCollins: “Were the last 20 years worth it?”
— The Recount (@therecount) July 8, 2021
President Biden: pic.twitter.com/WEb2vTQ4ke
The president noted that “no nation has ever unified Afghanistan,” but he argued the US had achieved its primary objectives in going to Afghanistan.
“We went for two reasons. One, to bring Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, as I said at the time. The second reason was to eliminate Al Qaida’s capacity to deal with more attacks on the United States from that territory. We accomplished both of those objectives. Period.”
Biden said the US military’s accomplishments in Afghanistan made the troop withdrawal “the right decision and, quite frankly, overdue”.
After concluding his prepared remarks on Afghanistan, Joe Biden took several questions from reporters about the US troop withdrawal.
Asked if he believed a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was now inevitable, Biden said he did not.
Reporter: "Is a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan now inevitable?"
— ABC News (@ABC) July 8, 2021
Pres. Biden: "No, it is not."
Watch the full answer: https://t.co/t1712nYGG9 pic.twitter.com/3SWmsQ1zoN
The president argued the Afghan troops are well prepared and well equipped to resist Taliban advances.
Biden was also asked whether he trusted the Taliban. “Is that a serious question?” Biden replied. “It’s a silly question. Do I trust the Taliban? No. But I trust the capacity of the Afghan military.”
Joe Biden offered assurances that the Afghan interpreters and others who assisted US troops will be provided protection by America.
The president said his administration is already working to arrange flights for those who provided aid to the US, and they have been offered special visas as well.
Biden told the Afghan interpreters, “There is a home for you in the United States if you so choose, and we will stand with you just as you stood with us.”
'I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan,' Biden says
Joe Biden warned that remaining in Afghanistan would mean additional US casualties to continue a war started two decades ago.
The president noted that 2,448 Americans have been killed in the war in Afghanistan, and another 20,722 have been wounded.
Biden expressed appreciation for all the US troops who had given the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan and the many others who returned home with serious injuries, both physical and mental.
“I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome,” the president said.
President Biden: "After 20 years, a trillion dollars spent training and equipping hundreds of thousands of Afghan national security and defense forces, 2,448 Americans killed, 20,722 more wounded...I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan" pic.twitter.com/e7c0k3YQfQ
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 8, 2021
Joe Biden defended his decision to end the US military operation in Afghanistan, saying America’s objectives in the mission had already been met.
“We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build,” Biden said. “And it’s the right and the responsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country.”
The president emphasized that the US would “continue to provide civilian and humanitarian assistance” in Afghanistan, including defending the rights of the country’s women and girls.
Biden’s remarks come as the Taliban makes advances in Afghanistan, which some senior Afghan officials have blamed on the abrupt departure of US troops.
Biden says Afghanistan withdrawal will end by August 31: 'Speed is safety'
Joe Biden is now delivering his remarks on the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, after receiving a briefing on the operation from his national security team.
“Our military mission in Afghanistan will conclude on August 31,” Biden said.
The president had previously said the withdrawal would wrap up by September 11, but the Pentagon announced this week that more than 90% of the operation was already completed.
Biden said senior defense officials had told him that moving swiftly was the most effective method to protect US troops, and the president noted that no service members have been lost in the withdrawal process so far.
“In this context, speed is safety,” Biden said.
The Guardian’s Sam Levine reports:
Arizona’s top election official is asking the state’s attorney general to investigate whether Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani and Kelly Ward, the chair of the Arizona GOP, committed a criminal offense by attempting to interfere in the 2020 election.
The request from Arizona secretary of state Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, comes after the Arizona Republic obtained telephone and text messages from Giulani and Ward in which the two pressured officials in Maricopa county to try and get favorable results for Trump.
Local reporting recently uncovered intense efforts to interfere with the tabulation of ballots and canvass of the 2020 election in Maricopa County. In Arizona, interfering with election officials is a felony. Today, I asked @GeneralBrnovich to investigate. pic.twitter.com/qSFytrrll7
— Secretary Katie Hobbs (@SecretaryHobbs) July 7, 2021
As votes were still being counted, Ward sent a Maricopa county supervisor a text message saying “we need you to stop the counting.” In December, Giuliani left a voicemail for another supervisor saying “I have a few things I’d like to talk over with you. Maybe we can get this thing fixed up. You know, I really think it’s a shame that Republicans sort of are both in this kind of situation. And I think there may be a nice way to resolve this for everybody.”
Trump also tried to reach at least one Maricopa county supervisor from the White House.
In her letter, to attorney general Mark Brnovich, a Republican running for US senate, Hobbs requests a probe into whether those actions amounted to election interference.
“Arizona law protects election officials from those who would seek to interfere with their sacred duties to ascertain and certify the will of the voters,” Hobbs, who is running for governor, wrote to Brnovich.
Harris announces $25 million DNC investment in voting rights campaign
The Guardian’s Sam Levine reports:
The Democratic National Committee (Dnc) on Thursday launched a $25m expansion of the party’s efforts to protect voting rights, Kamala Harris announced Thursday.
The investment will expand the Dnc’s “I will vote” initiative and will focus on three areas: voter registration, voter education, and voter protection, including litigation to challenge voting restrictions.
“This is the fight of our lifetime,” Harris said at Howard University, her alma mater, as she announced the initiative. “This is the fight of our nation’s lifetime.”
NEW: We’re proud to announce we’re expanding our I Will Vote initiative. This $25 million investment will educate, register, turn out voters to the polls—and more. We are fighting tooth and nail to protect the right to vote and stop Republican lawmakers’ assault on our democracy.
— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) July 8, 2021
Jaime Harrison, the DNC chair, said in a statement, “Republicans know that their policies are unpopular—and that the only way for them to hold on to power is to attack the constitutional right to vote, held by the people they swore to serve. That’s why the Republican Party has made unprecedented efforts to keep people from voting.”
The announcement comes as Democrats have been unable to pass federal legislation to expand voting rights in Congress. Republicans have launched an aggressive effort, pushing hundreds of bills to make it harder to vote.
In recent weeks, activists have publicly expressed frustration that the White House and congressional Democrats aren’t doing enough to match the Republican intensity around voting rights.
Let me get this out right now. Just saying “I will vote” was not enough following slavery & Reconstruction; nor is it an adequate response to current historic systemic attacks on voting rights. @POTUS, @VP, @SenSchumer & @DNC have yet to demonstrate the “fierce urgency of now.”
— Cliff Albright (@cliff_notes) July 8, 2021
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, was also asked again about whether Jill Biden will attend the Tokyo Olympics.
Psaki said the White House is “still assessing the feasibility of the first lady attending” the games, which are scheduled to start on July 23.
Psaki’s comment comes hours after organizers in Tokyo announced no spectators would be allowed at the games because of concerns about the potential spread of coronavirus.
The daily White House press briefing has now ended, and Joe Biden will soon deliver remarks on the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. Stay tuned.
Jen Psaki was asked about this year’s scheduled elections in Haiti, after the country’s president, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated yesterday.
The White House press secretary said the Biden administration supports the elections moving forward this year, even as people on the ground in Haiti say elections are not possible because of the fearful environment there.
“We stand by to provide assistance, to provide help in whatever way possible,” Psaki said.
Multiple reporters pressed Jen Psaki on whether Joe Biden believes the war in Afghanistan was a mistake and that US troops should have left sooner.
The White House press secretary repeatedly deflected the questions, instead saying that the president believes the US has met its objectives in Afghanistan.
“As president of the United States, he’s not here to give grades,” Psaki told reporters.
The press secretary said Biden will explain his rationale for withdrawing US troops and ongoing assistance to the Afghan government in his remarks this afternoon.
Jen Psaki justified Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan, saying the administration does not believe it is worth continuing the military operation there.
“He is not going to ask another generation of kids to go and serve in Afghanistan in a war he does not think can be won militarily,” the White House press secretary said.
The president is scheduled to deliver remarks on the US withdrawal in about 30 minutes, amid accusations that American troops’ departure has left Afghanistan vulnerable to Taliban advances.
There will not be a ‘mission accomplished’ moment in Afghanistan, White House says
Jen Psaki said the US will be running flights out of Afghanistan to evacuate Afghan interpreters who helped American forces in recent years.
The interpreters are expected to be granted special immigration visas, due to concerns about how they may be punished by the Taliban as it makes advances in Afghanistan.
Ahead of President Biden's address on Afghanistan troops withdrawal, Psaki says there won't be a "Mission Accomplished moment" for the war: "It's a 20-year war that has not been won militarily...We're not having a moment of celebration" https://t.co/Bkl9Fdc4Nw pic.twitter.com/mWQqpGGCty
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 8, 2021
Asked about Joe Biden’s remarks on the Afghanistan troop withdrawal this afternoon, Psaki said, “We’re not going to have a ‘mission accomplished’ moment in this regard. It’s a 20-year war that has not been won militarily.”
That remark seemed to be a reference to George W Bush’s infamous “Mission Accomplished” speech in 2003, in which he announced “major combat operations in Iraq have ended”. That false pronouncement has been widely mocked in the 18 years since it was delivered.
The press secretary emphasized that this is not a “moment of celebration” but rather an opportunity to thank the US troops who have served in Afghanistan over the past 20 years.
Updated
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, is now holding her daily briefing with reporters, and she provided an update on US efforts to ship coronavirus vaccine doses abroad.
Psaki announced that the US is sending 500,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Uruguay and 1.4 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to Afghanistan.
That news comes about an hour before Joe Biden is scheduled to deliver remarks on the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, which is already more than 90% complete, according to the Pentagon.
Psaki said the president’s remarks would focus on “the security challenges he inherited in Afghanistan”. She added, “The status quo was not sustainable.”
Texas special session begins as Republicans push for voting restrictions
The partisan battle over voting rights and democracy in the US continues apace.
Texas is rapidly hurtling towards a showdown on voting rights as Republicans in the state are moving aggressively ahead with efforts to pass new voting restrictions in the state.
Today marks the start of a special session for the Texas legislature. Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has designated “election integrity” as one of the items for the legislature to address.
The push comes after Texas Democrats thwarted an earlier attempt to pass sweeping new restrictions.
A new bill filed in the state House of Representatives revives many of the provisions in the earlier bill - it would impose new identification requirements on mail-in ballots, prohibit local election officials from sending out unsolicited mail-in ballots, empower poll watchers to have expanded access at the polls, create new regulations for 3rd party collection of absentee ballots, and prohibit 24 hour drive-thru voting.
Many of the regulations appear aimed at Harris County, the state’s most populous, where election officials moved to expand voting access amid the pandemic last year.
Texas is already one of the hardest places to vote in the US and was among the states with the lowest voter turnout in 2020. It also severely restricts mail-in voting to people who are age 65 or older, people with disabilities, and other few select groups.
The bill does not contain two significant provisions that were in the legislation that failed earlier this year. Those measures would have curtailed early voting on Sundays, a time traditionally utilized by Black voters, and allowed judges to more easily overturn elections.
Read all the special coverage: The Fight to Vote.
Updated
Soon, Biden will offer his most extensive comments to date about the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The US pullout is 90% complete, and is not only raising concerns about a civil war there but also drawing Republican criticism.
Reuters further reports:
A senior administration official said Biden will provide an update on US plans to move thousands of Afghan interpreters out of the country by the end of August....The Pentagon says the withdrawal of US forces is 90% complete.
Washington agreed to withdraw in a deal negotiated last year under Biden’s Republican predecessor, Donald Trump. Biden overruled military leaders who wanted to keep a larger presence to assist Afghan security forces and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a staging ground for extremist groups.
Instead, the United States plans to leave 650 troops in Afghanistan to provide security for the US Embassy.
Biden’s order in April to pull out US forces by September 11 this year, after 20 years of conflict has coincided with major gains by the Islamist militant Taliban movement against overwhelmed Afghan forces after peace talks sputtered.
The commander of US troops in Afghanistan, General Austin Miller, warned last week that the country may be headed toward a civil war.
The U.S. intelligence community believes the Afghan military is weak and that the Kabul government’s prospects for survival in the short term are not good, U.S. government sources familiar with official assessments said.
Biden’s administration is also grappling with its plan for expedited visas for Afghan people most at risk of being attacked by the Taliban, including translators who worked with foreign forces. Rights groups are pushing to add up to 2,000 vulnerable women to the list, and Biden is expected to mention women’s rights in his remarks...Some Republicans are criticizing Biden for the pullout, although Trump had also sought to end American involvement in the war.
Joe Biden is under huge pressure to bring Afghan interpreters but also many other vulnerable people to the United States as soon as possible, post-US withdrawal, such as police officers trained by the US and women in leadership.
The US president is due to make public remarks around 1.45pm ET on the process of US troop withdrawal as the government seeks to end participation in America’s longest war.
Today Biden will address his plan to evacuate thousands of Afghan interpreters amid the troop withdrawal & say he plans to start relocating them in August, according to a senior administration official.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) July 8, 2021
US troops did an alarming nighttime flit last week from Bagram, the sprawling airbase north of Kabul that was the symbolic and operational heart of the American military operation in Afghanistan.
Retired Major General James “Spider” Marks just told CNN he sees no outcome for Afghanistan in the near future other than civil war, with the Taliban surging to take control of vital chunks of the country but leaving enough of a vacuum that it creates “a breeding ground for terrorism”, creating an awful sense of deja vu.
As my colleague Emma Graham-Harrison reports from Kabul, the Taliban fought their way into the centre of a key Afghan city yesterday and accepted the surrender of senior security officials, as militants and Afghan government representatives met in Iran for negotiations.
And from the UK side of things, as my colleague Dan Sabbagh reports today from London, prime minister Boris Johnson has announced the end of Britain’s military mission in Afghanistan, too, following a hasty and secretive exit of the last remaining troops 20 years after the post September 11, 2001, invasion that started the west’s “war on terror”.
Johnson confirmed to Members of Parliament that the intervention, which claimed the lives of 457 British soldiers, would end even as the insurgent Taliban were rapidly gaining territory in rural areas, as UK, US and other forces withdrew.
Meanwhile, a Twitter intervention which is ruffling journalists’ feathers, from former military top brass HR McMaster, who was heavily involved in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and served as national security adviser to Donald Trump.
US media is finally reporting on the transformation of Afghanistan after their disinterest and defeatism helped set conditions for capitulation and a humanitarian catastrophe. https://t.co/0YV7P0VjgG
— H.R. McMaster (@LTGHRMcMaster) July 8, 2021
Updated
Delta variant is 'surging' in low-vaccination areas, CDC director says
Jeff Zients, the coordinator of the White House pandemic response team, acknowledged that new cases of coronavirus will likely increase as the Delta variant spreads.
Speaking at the response team’s press briefing this morning, Zients emphasized that the country would see “fewer hospitalizations and deaths” from the new cases because of the coronavirus vaccines.
Zients reminded Americans that getting vaccinated is the most effective way to “protect themselves, their loved ones and their communities”.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, citing research on the COVID vaccine: “Please, get vaccinated. It will protect you against the surging of the Delta variant.” pic.twitter.com/4GgotCZ7iX
— The Recount (@therecount) July 8, 2021
Dr Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control, noted that the Delta variant has now become the dominant variant of the virus in the US.
“Although we expected the Delta variant to become the dominant strain in the United States, this rapid rise is troubling,” Walensky said.
“We know that the Delta variant has increased transmissibility, and it is currently surging in pockets of the country with low vaccination rates.”
Dr Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, presented data indicating the coronavirus vaccines provide effective protection against the Delta variant.
“Please get vaccinated,” Fauci said. “It will protect you against the surging of the Delta variant.”
A group of prominent communications specialists has urged Democrats to go on the offensive against Republican and right-wing disinformation, by creating a year-round campaign to sell Democratic Party achievements and combat lies told to the American public.
In a public letter to the Democratic National Committee and Democratic funders, the communications experts warned that the right-wing is successfully pushing regular “purposeful and highly effective disinformation attacks across digital media”.
By contrast, the experts said, Democrats and the left is suffering from a “lack of competitive counter-measures of sufficient scale” – and risk allowing the right-wing to dominate the narrative and cement conspiracy theories among Americans which will hamper Democrats come election time.
“Stop waiting until the last minute to persuade Americans about the issues that decide elections. Build campaign infrastructure that is always-on, rather than stood up and taken down between election cycles,” said the Persuasion USA Coalition, which is made up of former creative director at MoveOn.org Laura Dawn, Front Page Live CEO Stacy Whittle, and Meidas Touch founder Ben Meiselas, among others.
“The lack of consistent, long-term messaging and media campaigns between election cycles continues to be one of the most critical gaps in communications capabilities - a gap that contributed to the razor thin outcome in 2020, a gap that is giving bad actors in the disinformation opposition a competitive edge as 2022 approaches, and a gap that may be one of the primary reasons why the great United States slides towards autocracy in 2024.”
The group said Democrats need to build long-term marketing strategies that “look beyond the next election and plan ahead decade by decade towards the country we hope to have 30 years from now”, to tackle a “one-sided advantage that favors purveyors of untruths”.
“Let’s not abandon millions of the hearts and minds of this nation to weaponized disinformation,” Persuasion USA Coalition wrote. “The time has come for funders, decision-makers, and even corporations to spend more money and resources on programs that bridge echo chambers and bring all of us, black, white or brown, closer together.”
Surfside condo building collapse death toll rises to 60
The death toll in the Surfside condo building collapse has risen to 60, after search crews recovered additional bodies at the site.
Of the 60 confirmed victims, 35 have been identified, Miami-Dade county mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a press conference this morning.
Two hundred people have been accounted for, and 80 people remain potentially unaccounted for, Levine Cava said.
The number of confirmed deaths in the Surfside condo collapse is now 60, Miami-Dade mayor says.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 8, 2021
200 people are accounted for and 80 are potentially unaccounted for. pic.twitter.com/poaebn6ODX
The update comes one day after rescue efforts came to an official close. Local officials had determined they would not find any additional survivors in the rubble.
The rescue teams held a somber moment of silence at the site of the building collapse yesterday as their efforts shifted to a recovery mission, honoring the victims of the disaster.
In tribute to lives lost, our rescue teams held a moment of silence & prayer near the Surfside building collapse. With heavy hearts, we begin search & recovery efforts, and will continue to give our all as our commitment still remains to reunite families with their loved ones. pic.twitter.com/FJ7GKWXhXn
— Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (@MiamiDadeFire) July 8, 2021
Tokyo Olympics to be held without spectators
The Guardian’s Justin McCurry and Sean Ingle report:
Olympic organisers have decided to ban spectators from the Tokyo Games after Japan’s prime minister declared a state of emergency in the host city.
The news was confirmed by the Olympic minister, Tamayo Marukawa, following talks between the government, organisers and Olympic and paralympic representatives - although he left open the possibility that some venues outside Tokyo could still have fans.
“Venues in Tokyo will not include spectators,” said Marukawa. “For those areas where the state of emergency is not implemented ... we will discuss.”
The widely expected move is the latest blow to the troubled Olympics, delayed by a year because of the pandemic and plagued by a series of setbacks, including massive budget overruns.
But Japan’s prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, said it was essential to prevent Tokyo from becoming the source of another wave of infections, especially with the highly infectious Delta Covid-19 variant spreading.
A CNN reporter spotted defense secretary Lloyd Austin arriving at the White House for the Situation Room meeting on the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Defense Secretary Austin arrives ahead of today’s Situation Room meeting on Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/0DQB0cEvfP
— Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) July 8, 2021
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will receive an update on the troop withdrawal from their national security team, and the president will then deliver remarks on the operation this afternoon.
Amid concerns about the Delta variant of coronavirus spreading rapidly among unvaccinated Americans, public health experts warn the variant is already more dominant than data suggests.
Politico reports:
The more-transmissible Delta coronavirus variant is believed to be significantly more widespread than the current federal projections, according to two senior Biden administration health officials with knowledge of the situation.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released late Tuesday shows the Delta strain accounted for more than 51 percent of new Covid-19 cases from June 20 to July 3. But the reality on the ground is likely much higher because states and private labs are taking weeks to report testing results to the CDC, the officials said.
‘It is everywhere now,’ one of the officials said, adding that recent data shows the Pfizer Covid vaccine works well against the Delta variant. ‘The risk really is in the unvaccinated community. We’re starting to see more and more people get sick and need medical attention.’
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Rochelle Walensky, said last week that there are about 1,000 US counties where less than 30% of the community is vaccinated.
“These communities, primarily in the Southeast and Midwest, are our most vulnerable,” Walensky said.
“As the Delta variant continues to spread across the country, we expect to see increased transmissions in these communities, unless we can vaccinate more people now.”
Fears of new US Covid surge as Delta spreads
More than nine out of 10 Americans who died from Covid-19 in the US in June were unvaccinated, according to Anthony Fauci – a statistic that health officials say is especially concerning given the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy in some regions and the rise of the Delta variant.
Maryland reported this week that 100% of those who died from coronavirus there in June had not been vaccinated, while more than 93% of those with new cases or who were hospitalized were similarly unprotected.
Cases are rising in nearly half the states as low vaccination rates are being met with the more transmissible and severe Delta or B.1.617.2, variant, identified in India in December 2020.
Vaccinations administered in the US have shown to be effective against the Delta variant, though it poses serious risks to those who remain unvaccinated.
The variant is already the dominant strain of Covid-19 in the country, accounting for more than 50% of all new US cases and up to 80% of cases in some regions, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data released Tuesday.
Joe Biden did not provide reporters a preview of his remarks on Afghanistan yesterday, as he toured McHenry County College in Crystal Lake, Illinois, to promote his infrastructure proposals.
When reporters repeatedly pressed Biden last week on the US military’s unexpected departure from Bagram air base north of Kabul, the president became agitated, trying to bring attention back to the strong June jobs report.
NOW - Biden on Afghanistan: "I want to talk about happy things, man!"pic.twitter.com/PuZyebqAFv
— Disclose.tv 🚨 (@disclosetv) July 2, 2021
“I want to talk about happy things, man,” Biden said last Friday, just before US Independence Day.
He added moments later, “I’m concerned that you guys are asking me questions that I’ll answer next week. But this is a holiday weekend. I’m going to celebrate it.”
Boris Johnson has announced the end of Britain’s military mission in Afghanistan following a hasty and secretive exit of the last remaining troops 20 years after the post 9/11 invasion that started the “war on terror”.
The prime minister confirmed to MPs that the intervention, which claimed the lives of 457 British soldiers, would end even as the insurgent Taliban have been rapidly gaining territory in rural areas as UK and other forces withdraw.
Speaking in the Commons, Johnson confirmed that “all British troops assigned to Nato’s mission in Afghanistan are now returning home”. While he would not disclose the exact timetable of the departure for security reasons, the prime minister added: “I can tell the house that most of our personnel have already left.”
In a separate defence briefing, the head of the armed forces, Sir Nick Carter, acknowledged that recent news from Afghanistan had been “pretty grim” but said the Afghan military had been regrouping to defend urban areas.
While it was “fair to say the Taliban now hold nearly 50% of the rural districts in Afghanistan” and that the Afghan army would also “no longer have access to [western] air power” from within the country, he said he hoped there would eventually be peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
Biden to speak on Afghanistan amid criticism of US troop withdrawal
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
Joe Biden will deliver remarks on Afghanistan today, as the US military moves quickly to withdraw all troops from the country.
The president and the vice-president will first meet with their national security team this morning to receive an update on the withdrawal process, and Biden will then deliver his speech in the afternoon.
According to the White House, the president’s remarks will touch on the troop withdrawal as well as “ongoing security and humanitarian assistance to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) and the Afghan people”.
Biden’s speech comes amid criticism of the troop withdrawal from some senior Afghan officials, who argue the operation has been rushed to fit a political timeline, leaving the country vulnerable to Taliban advances.
The Pentagon said Tuesday that the withdrawal process is already more than 90% complete, about two months ahead of Biden’s September 11 deadline to remove all US troops from Afghanistan.
Reporters will likely press Biden on that criticism after he delivers his prepared remarks this afternoon, so stay tuned.
