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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Maanvi Singh in San Francisco (now) and Joan E Greve in Washington (earlier)

Trump administration to move $3.6bn in military funds to build border wall – as it happened

Donald Trump holds a poster with photographs of the US-Mexico border area as he reviews border wall prototypes in San Diego in May.
Donald Trump holds a poster with photographs of the US-Mexico border area as he reviews border wall prototypes in San Diego in May. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP

Evening summary

  • The Trump administration is reallocating $3.6bn in military construction funds to border wall projects. The move drew criticism from Democratic lawmakers. New York Senator Chuck Schumer said, “It is a slap in the face to the members of the armed forces.”
  • The administration also sanctioned Iran’s space agency for the first time.
  • California lawmakers passed a contentious bill that would make it harder for parents to get vaccine exemptions for their children.
  • Walmart announced it would no longer sell handguns or certain kinds of ammo after a series of gun-related incidents at the company’s stores – most notably last month’s mass shooting in El Paso that claimed 22 lives. And Kroger joined Walmart in asking customers to refrain from openly carrying firearms while shopping.
  • Mitch McConnell said he would not consider a gun bill in the Senate unless Trump had already expressed support for it, leading to accusations of “cowardice” by Democratic presidential candidates.
  • Reports indicate the shooter in Odessa, Texas, obtained his gun through the private sale loophole, which House Democrats have passed a bill to close. (Trump has said he would veto the bill.)
  • Trump once again attacked Sadiq Khan after the London mayor criticized the president’s handling of Hurricane Dorian. (Trump spent hours at his Virginia golf club yesterday while receiving updates on the storm.)
  • New images show the extent of Dorian’s devastation in the Bahamas. Follow the Guardian’s live blog to get the latest storm coverage.
  • House Democrats plan to hold hearings as soon as next month on Trump’s alleged involvement in a hush-money scheme to silence women who say they had affairs with the married president before he assumed office.

Updated

California legislators pass bill to tighten vaccine exemptions

The contentious bill would make it more difficult for California parents to avoid mandatory vaccinations for their children.

California requires that all children attending public or private schools must be vaccinated against a number of diseases, including measles.

Parents can opt-out due to medical exemptions. But health officials have worried that some doctors have given out exemptions too easily, and unethically. The new legislation would give state health officials oversight of doctors who grant such exemptions.

California governor Gavin Newsom tweeted that a few more tweaks to the law are necessary before he will sign it into law.

The bill has been contentious, drawing criticism from actress Jessia Biel and parents who say it interferes with doctor-patient relationships.

The legislation introduced by California senator Richard Pan allows state public health officials to investigate doctors who grant more than five medical exemptions in a year and schools with vaccination rates of less than 95%.

Updated

Elizabeth Warren is challenging 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to embrace a transition to clean energy within the next decade.

The Massachusetts senator and 2020 front-runner announced that she is embracing her former presidential challenger Jay Inslee’s ten-year action plan to achieve 100 percent clean energy:

Today, I’m announcing I’ll commit an additional $1 trillion over 10 years — fully paid for by reversing Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals and giant corporations — to match Governor Inslee’s commitment, and to subsidize the economic transition to clean and renewable electricity, zero emission vehicles, and green products for commercial and residential buildings.

Warren is among the candidates participating in a 7-hour CNN town hall on climate change tomorrow.

Kroger joins Walmart in asking customers not to openly carry firearms in stores

The grocery chain Kroger joined Walmart in asking customers to refrain from openly carrying firearms while shopping.

Last year, the company announced that its subsidiary Fred Meyer would stop selling guns and ammunition. Now, it appears that the retailer, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, is encouraging customers not to openly carry firearms in store.

The White House must restore a press pass for Playboy correspondent Brian Karem, a court ruled,.

The White House suspended Karem’s pass after a heated exchange between the reporter and pro-Trump radio host and former White House aide Sebastian Gorka.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned the plan to reallocate military funds.

“The Administration’s irresponsible decision to transfer funds from appropriated U.S. military construction makes America less safe and dishonors the Constitution,” she wrote in a statement. “The President is negating the Constitution’s most fundamental principle, the separation of powers.”

Trump initially decided to declare a national emergency in order to procure funding for his border wall after Congress refused to provide the resources he wanted.

Both legislative houses passed a resolution to block his emergency declaration, which Trump, in turn, vetoed.

Trump admin reallocates $3.6 bn in military funds to build border wall

The Trump administration is reallocating $3.6 bn in military construction funds for border wall projects.

The money would be redirected from construction projects within and outside the US to fund 11 projects along the US border with Mexico. In February, Trump declared a national emergency in order to divert various federal funds to border wall construction. Later, he vetoed legislative efforts to block the emergency declaration.

New York senator Chuck Schumer said the move was “a slap in the face to the members of the Armed Forces who serve our country.” Schumer was told that some of the money would be reallocated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in his home state.

Updated

Trump admin sanctions Iran's space agency

The Trump administration has issued sanctions against Iran’s space agency. In a statement, secretary of state Mike Pompeo accused the agency it of developing ballistic missiles under the cover of a civilian space program.

On Thursday, a rocket at Iran’s Imam Khomeini Space Center exploded due to what an Iranian official said was a technical malfunction. Trump tweeted a photo of the failed launch and said the US had nothing to do with it, prompting concerns that he disclosed classified information.

From the AP:

Officials said the move was not directly related to last week’s explosion but that the surveillance image provided evidence of the U.S. assertion that the Iranian space program is used to develop missiles, including ones capable of carrying nuclear warheads or other weapons of mass destruction over long distances.

The sanctions are part of the Trump administration’s escalating campaign of economic and diplomatic measures against Iran since unilaterally withdrawing last year from an international accord that was intended to curb the Iranian nuclear program.

Republican gerrymandering in North Carolina is unconstitutional, judges rule

North Carolina’s state political maps are so badly gerrymandered to benefit republicans that they violate the state’s constitution, a panel of judges ruled. State lawmakers must redraw the maps ahead of the 2020 election, without taking into account any data about election results.

The ruling would only affect statewide elections — they wouldn’t affect how members of the national House of Representatives are elected. Still, this outcome is heartening for activists looking to challenge partisan gerrymandering. In June, the US Supreme Court declined to block the practice.

The current legislative maps in North Carolina were redrawn by republicans in 2017 to replace previous maps, drawn in 2011, which were also ruled unconstitutional because they looked to shrink democratic voters’ influence on elections distorting district lines.

That’s it from me today. I’m handing the blog over to my west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • Walmart announced it would no longer sell handguns or certain kinds of ammo after a series of gun-related incidents at the company’s stores — most notably last month’s mass shooting in El Paso that claimed 22 lives.
  • Mitch McConnell said he would not consider a gun bill in the Senate unless Trump had already expressed support for it, leading to accusations of “cowardice” by Democratic presidential candidates.
  • Reports indicate the shooter in Odessa, Texas, obtained his gun through the private sale loophole, which House Democrats have passed a bill to close. (Trump has said he would veto the bill.)
  • Trump once again attacked Sadiq Khan after the London mayor criticized the president’s handling of Hurricane Dorian. (Trump spent hours at his Virginia golf club yesterday while receiving updates on the storm.)
  • New images show the extent of Dorian’s devastation in the Bahamas. Follow the Guardian’s live blog to get the latest storm coverage.
  • House Democrats plan to hold hearings as soon as next month on Trump’s alleged involvement in a hush-money scheme to silence women who say they had affairs with the married president before he assumed office.

Maanvi will have more on the news of the day, so stay tuned.

O'Rourke accuses McConnell of 'cowardice'

Beto O’Rourke accused Mitch McConnell of “cowardice” after the Senate majority leader said he would not take up any gun bill unless it already had Trump’s backing.

O’Rourke has consistently deployed tough language since his hometown of El Paso lost 22 community members in last month’s mass shooting. Shortly after that tragedy, O’Rourke snapped at a reporter who asked about whether Trump could do anything to improve the situation, “I don’t know, like, members of the press, what the fuck?”

The Democratic presidential candidate also repeatedly slammed the lack of action on gun control as “fucked up” after this weekend’s mass shooting in Odessa, Texas.

But O’Rourke has backed up the rhetoric with policy. His campaign has gone further than most of his opponents by proposing a mandatory gun buyback program for assault weapons.

Steve Bullock, the governor of Montana and a Democratic presidential candidate, cited the latest news about the Odessa shooter as evidence of the need to expand background checks.

Bullock, who is in his second term as governor, has repeatedly relied on his red-state credentials to argue that he knows better than any of his opponents how to defeat Trump.

But that argument does not appear to be particularly resonating with the Democratic electorate. Bullock failed to qualify for the third debate and has not hit either the polling or donor requirements to participate in the next one.

Odessa shooter obtained his gun through private sale loophole, ABC reports

As more reactions to Walmart’s decision roll in, new details are simultaneously emerging about how the Odessa shooter obtained his gun.

The Saturday attack in Texas claimed the lives of seven people, but those deaths could have been prevented if not for a legal loophole that enforces lower restrictions for private gun sales.

ABC News reports:

Authorities stated the suspect, Seth Ator, was considered a ‘prohibited person’ barred by law from purchasing or possessing a firearm because he was diagnosed as being mentally ill. It was further confirmed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who said the shooter failed a background check.

According to federal and state sources, the private sale loophole allows the sale or purchase of any kind of weapon, including handguns and automatic rifles. The seller may not sell a weapon if he or she knows the buyer is flagged, but is under no obligation to do a background check or ask about the buyer’s status.

One of the bills passed by the Democratic-controlled House would close this loophole by making all gun sales subject to background checks. But Trump has said he would veto that bill, and Mitch McConnell refuses to take up any gun legislation without the president’s support.

NRA slams Walmart decision as 'shameful'

The most powerful gun lobbying organization has responded to Walmart’s decision to end the sale of handguns and certain kinds of ammo. Spoiler alert: the group is not pleased.

“The strongest defense of freedom has always been our free-market economy. It is shameful to see Walmart succumb to the pressure of the anti-gun elites,” the National Rifle Association said in a statement. “Lines at Walmart will soon be replaced by lines at other retailers who are more supportive of America’s fundamental freedoms.” But other major chains, such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, have also pulled back on their gun sales in the wake of mass shootings.

The NRA’s statement continued: “The truth is Walmart’s actions today will not make us any safer. Rather than place the blame on the criminal, Walmart has chosen to victimize law-abiding Americans. Our leaders must be willing to approach the problems of crime, violence and mental health with sincerity and honesty.”

The NRA similarly put out a statement in the wake of the El Paso and Dayton shootings expressing a desire to address “the root causes” of such violence, making it clear that they did not consider loose gun laws to be one of those “root causes.”

Democratic presidential candidates are using Walmart’s announcement that it will stop selling handguns and certain kinds of ammo as an opportunity to pressure Mitch McConnell on taking up gun bills.

But in a radio interview earlier today, McConnell offered no commitment on considering gun control in the Senate. He told Hugh Hewitt that any bill would need to receive Trump’s pre-approval before it got a vote, which seems unlikely.

“Well, we’re in a discussion about what to do on the gun issue in the wake of these horrendous shootings,” the Senate majority leader said. “I said several weeks ago that if the President took a position on a bill so that we knew we would actually be making a law and not just having serial votes, I’d be happy to put it on the floor.”

Another Democratic presidential candidate, Elizabeth Warren, has weighed in on Walmart’s decision to end the sale of handguns and certain kinds of ammunition.

But the Massachusetts senator scolded Walmart for not doing more, adding that similar corporate decisions would not be enough on its own to significantly reduce gun violence.

The comments echoed those of her opponent, Beto O’Rourke, who said Walmart’s decision was merely “a step in the right direction.”

Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro released part of his climate plan, which he crafted with the help of one of his former rivals - Jay Inslee.

“Together, we will direct $10 trillion in federal, state, local, and private investments over the next decade to create ten million good paying jobs, transition away from fossil fuels, build a 100 percent clean-energy economy, and lead the world in the 21st century,” Castro’s campaign said of the plan.

The $10 trillion figure makes Castro’s proposal one of the more expensive climate plans announced so far. Cory Booker announced earlier today that he would spend $3 trillion to combat the climate crisis, while Bernie Sanders has proposed investing $16 trillion.

Castro crafted the plan with input from Inslee’s team. The Washington governor centered his presidential bid around confronting the climate crisis but dropped out of the race last month after realizing he would not qualify for the third debate. He has now turned his attention to winning a third term as governor.

Mike Pence defended his stay at Trump’s golf course in Ireland, despite the location being more than an hour away by plane to the vice president’s meetings in Dublin.

“I understand political attacks by Democrats, but if you have a chance to get to Doonbeg, you’ll find it’s a fairly small place,” Pence told reporters, “and the opportunity to stay at the Trump National in Doonbeg, to accommodate the unique footprint that comes with our security detail and other personnel, made it logical.”

Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, had previously said that Trump had made a “suggestion” that the vice president stay at his golf club. “I don’t think it was a request, like a command. ... I think that it was a suggestion,” Short said.

The comment renewed concerns that Trump is trying to personally profit off his presidency by directing official government trips toward his businesses.

Democratic presidential candidates have started releasing statements on Walmart’s decision to end the sale of certain kinds of ammunition.

Beto O’Rourke expressed gratitude for Walmart’s move but warned that much more sweeping action still needed to be taken to mitigate gun violence.

After this weekend’s shooting in his home state of Texas, the former congressman repeatedly slammed the lack of action on gun control as “fucked up.”

Cory Booker also released a statement applauding the activists and employees who pushed Walmart to reconsider its policies.

“When people work together and demand change, change can happen,” Booker said. “This decision by Walmart only happened because employees and activists have been unrelenting in their fight to combat gun violence at every level.

“I’m encouraged to see Walmart doing the right thing here, and I’m hopeful that this activism proves to politicians that Americans want better standards for gun ownership in this country.”

Walmart’s decision comes after multiple gun-related incidents at the company’s stores sparked demands that executives reconsider policies on firearm sales.

The El Paso shooting, which left 22 people dead, occurred at a Walmart store last month. Less than a week after that tragedy, a man entered a Missouri Walmart wearing body armor and carrying a loaded military-style rifle.

No one was injured in the second incident, and the suspect said he was only interested in conducting a “social experiment” to see if Walmart would respect his right to bear arms.

He was later arrested and charged with making a terrorist threat.

Further to Mitch McConnell’s statement early comes big news from Walmart, which has said it will discontinue sales of some ammunition in stores across the US, in response to recent mass shootings that have killed dozens.

On 3 August, a gunman killed 22 people and injured 24 at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Early the next day, nine people were killed and more than 20 injured in Dayton, Ohio.

“As a company, we experienced two horrific events in one week, and we will never be the same,” chief executive Doug McMillon said in a letter to Walmart’s associates.

Another mass shooting happened in Odessa, Texas on Saturday. Seven people were killed, keeping a political spotlight on the issue of gun control reform and legislative inaction in Washington.

Here’s a taste of Reuters’ report on the Walmart decision, which points out that this is a major switch from the retail giant’s past reactions to such shootings:

Walmart will stop selling short-barrel rifle ammunition such as the .223 caliber and 5.56 caliber after clearing current stock. While this type of ammunition is commonly used in some hunting rifles, they are also used in large capacity clips on military style weapons, the company said.

The largest US arms retailer also said it would discontinue handgun sales in Alaska, the only state where it sells these guns. Sales of handgun ammunition will also be discontinued, it said.

… Just last month, Walmart asked employees at its US stores to take down signs and playable demos of violent video games, but made no changes to its policy on selling firearms.

…The retailer, however, said it would continue to cater to hunting and sport shooting enthusiasts, selling long barrel deer rifles and shotguns.

Updated

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • Trump once again attacked Sadiq Khan after the London mayor criticized the president’s handling of Hurricane Dorian. (Trump spent a few hours at one of his golf courses yesterday as he received briefings on the storm.)
  • Dorian has been downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane, but it has expanded in size, posing an increased threat to the Carolinas.
  • After yet another mass shooting, Mitch McConnell appeared noncommittal about taking up a gun bill in the Senate, saying any potential measure would have to have the pre-approval of Trump.
  • House Democrats intend to hold hearings as soon as next month on Trump’s alleged involvement in a scheme to pay for the silence of women who say they had affairs with the married president before he took office.
  • Joe Biden downplayed reports that he has repeatedly told a false war story on the campaign trail, arguing that “details are irrelevant” to one’s leadership abilities.
  • Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat of West Virginia, said he would not run for governor and instead focus on how he can enact change in his current office.

The blog is covering all of Trump’s tweets toward political enemies and (much more importantly) the potentially catastrophic storm hurtling toward Florida, so stay tuned.

Updated

Two more Democratic presidential candidates, Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar, have released their climate plans in advance of CNN’s town hall tomorrow.

Booker called for spending $3 trillion to further develop clean energy and aid areas already affected by the climate crisis, with the hope of having a carbon neutral economy by 2045.

Klobuchar said she would restore several of Barack Obama’s climate proposals, including the Clean Power Plan, and use her $1 trillion investment in infrastructure to help develop a green economy. She set a more modest timeline of 2050 for the US economy to become carbon neutral.

Both plans are less sweeping than some of their opponents’, such as Bernie Sanders’ proposal to spend $16 trillion to combat the climate crisis. But all three candidates, as well as seven others, will get the chance to defend their proposals during tomorrow’s seven-hour (yes, you read that right) town hall.

McConnell says advancing gun bill is up to Trump

In the wake of yet another mass shooting, Mitch McConnell said in an interview that he would only take up a gun bill in the Senate if Trump supports it.

Odessa High School students and families remember classmate Leilah Hernandez, a victim of Saturday’s shooting.
Odessa High School students and families remember classmate Leilah Hernandez, a victim of Saturday’s shooting. Photograph: Ronald W Erdrich/AP

“Well, we’re in a discussion about what to do on the gun issue in the wake of these horrendous shootings. I said several weeks ago that if the President took a position on a bill so that we knew we would actually be making a law and not just having serial votes, I’d be happy to put it on the floor,” McConnell told radio host Hugh Hewitt.

He continued: “And the administration is in the process of studying what they are prepared to support, if anything. And I expect to get an answer to that next week. If the President is in favor of a number of things that he has discussed openly and publicly, and I know that if we pass it it’ll become law, I’ll put it on the floor.”

The Senate majority leader made the comments just three days after a mass shooting in Odessa, Texas, claimed seven lives. That attack came less than a month after the tragedies in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas.

Trump has repeatedly said he supports expanding background checks, but it’s unclear whether he would put his full political weight behind such a proposal. He has also reportedly been warned by his friends at the National Rifle Association that endorsing a background checks bill could alienate his base.

The Democratic-controlled House has already passed two gun-control bills, which Trump and McConnell have declared non-starters. House Democrats intend to hold hearings on additional gun legislation next week, but it still seems unlikely that any law will come from these three shootings that collectively claimed dozens of lives.

Trump appointee resigns after anti-Semitic posts revealed

A Trump appointee who started working at the Labor Department less than a month ago resigned just hours after Bloomberg Law raised questions about some anti-Semitic Facebook posts.

Bloomberg reports:

[Leif] Olson, 43, started at the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division Aug. 12 as a senior policy adviser, after being cleared for the job by the White House. He was part of a team of political appointees working to finish a series of deregulatory actions that are pivotal to the White House employment agenda. They include rules that would narrow corporations’ shared liability with affiliated companies and clarify time-and-a-half overtime pay calculations.

Olson, an unsuccessful GOP candidate in 2012 for a Texas district court judgeship, fired off a series of late-night posts on his personal Facebook page three years ago that started as a sarcastic quip about former House Speaker Paul Ryan’s blowout primary victory. They then devolved into an exchange referencing two anti-Semitic tropes: that Jews control the media and that they look out for members of their own faith.

‘It was sarcastic criticism of the alt-right’s conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic positions,’ Olson said in an interview. He declined to respond to other questions about his resignation and the Facebook post, including whether he wishes to apologize or if he regrets his actions. The remark remained on his Facebook feed through the end of August.

Manchin decides against running for governor in West Virginia

Joe Manchin, West Virginia’s Democratic senator, has decided not to enter the gubernatorial race against incumbent Republican Jim Justice.

Justice has faced legal and political troubles since taking office, but he is banking on his close alliance with Trump to get him through a rocky re-election bid.

Polls indicated that Manchin could defeat Justice if he entered the race. But the former governor, who was just re-elected to the Senate last year, announced this morning that he would not launch a bid to oust Justice.

“Serving as the Governor of this state was the greatest honor of my life. Nothing made my heart swell with pride more than bragging about the wonderful state I represented,” Manchin said in a statement.

But he added: “I have always said that ‘public service is not self-service.’ So, when considering whether to run for Governor, I couldn’t focus just on which job I enjoyed the most, but on where I could be the most effective for the Mountain State.

“Ultimately, I believe my role as U.S. Senator allows me to position our state for success for the rest of this century.”

Meanwhile, Hurricane Dorian is decreasing in intensity but expanding in size, posing a threat to the Carolinas as the storm pushes northward.

Our colleague Oliver Laughland is in Savannah, Georgia, which is “eerily quiet” despite many residents choosing not to evacuate. Follow the Guardian’s live blog to get the latest storm coverage.

Trump sent more than 120 tweets over Labor Day weekend as Hurricane Dorian battered the Bahamas and made its way toward Florida.

The New York Times reported yesterday:

Over the long weekend, President Trump monitored Hurricane Dorian from a golf cart at his club in Virginia, calling for regular updates from an aide trailing him around the course. By 8 p.m. Monday, as Dorian churned toward Florida and Mr. Trump’s boarded-up Mar-a-Lago resort, the president had golfed twice and since Saturday morning pelted the American public with 122 tweets.

As he has done during other hurricanes, Mr. Trump awaited landfall by assuming the role of meteorologist in chief, adding weatherman-style updates to a usual weekend routine of attacking his enemies, retweeting bits of praise and critiquing the performance of his cable news allies. ...

As Dorian approached, Mr. Trump switched into town-crier mode, updating the public on what he had learned — or, what he thought he’d learned — from government officials as Dorian threatened the coast of the state of Florida, where he has owned property for decades.

Trump has repeatedly clashed with Khan, whom the president has previously slammed as a “national disgrace” and “stone cold loser.”

Khan has dismissed those insults as childish, instead choosing to criticize Trump for emboldening violent extremists.

“Vulnerable, often minority, communities are being demonised and scapegoated for all society’s ills,” Khan wrote in a Saturday essay for the Observer.

He continued: “This comes as a new wave of extremist far-right movements and political parties are winning power and influence at alarming speed – fuelled by Donald Trump, the global poster-boy for white nationalism.”

Trump spent a few hours at his Virginia golf course yesterday as millions of Americans prepared for the potentially catastrophic arrival of Hurricane Dorian.

The White House said Trump received regular updates on the storm and that the president spoke to Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, about its progress. But Trump also spent part of Labor Day tweeting gripes about his political enemies and media organizations.

Trump again attacks London mayor

Trump once again attacked Sadiq Khan after the London mayor criticized the US president for his handling of Hurricane Dorian.

Khan attended a ceremony in Poland this weekend to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the country’s Nazi invasion, which Trump skipped ostensibly to focus on managing storm preparations. But the president also spent time at one of his golf courses this weekend.

“He’s clearly busy dealing with a hurricane out on the golf course,” Khan said of Trump’s absence.

The president responded by attacking Khan as “incompetent,” originally misspelling the mayor’s first and last names in the process.

Updated

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is expanding his campaign, hiring additional staffers in the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire as the Indiana mayor has stagnated in the polls.

McClatchy reports:

The South Bend mayor’s campaign is expected to announce in the coming days a flurry of staffing hires and new office openings in Iowa and New Hampshire, as well as a director of African-American engagement, who will be crucial to outreach in South Carolina and other southern states that follow.

‘Labor Day for us is really going to be a turning point,’ said Mike Schmuhl, Buttigieg’s campaign manager. ‘It’s when we’ll flip the switch.’

By the end of September, the campaign will have 100 staffers in Iowa alone, according to Schmuhl, meaning Buttigieg with have one of the largest 2020 teams there. His Labor Day visit marks his eighth to Iowa since July, signaling a more intense commitment to the state.

Trump suggested Pence stay at his Ireland golf club on official trip

The chief of staff to Mike Pence said that Trump made a “suggestion” that the vice president stay at his golf club in Doonbeg, Ireland, during an official trip to the country.

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence pose with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and his partner, Dr. Matt Barrett in Dublin.
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence pose with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and his partner, Dr. Matt Barrett in Dublin. Photograph: Lorraine O’Sullivan/Reuters

“I don’t think it was a request, like a command ... I think that it was a suggestion,” Marc Short said. “It wasn’t like a, ‘You must.’ ... Keep in mind, the Secret Service has protected that facility for him, too, so they sort of know the realities, they know the logistics around that facility.”

Pence had originally planned to conclude his trip in Doonbeg, where he has familial ties. But now the vice president is traveling back and forth from Doonbeg to Dublin, which are more than an hour apart from each other by plane.

Short said Pence was not staying at Trump’s golf club for free but refrained from offering a cost estimate for the visit, raising concerns about the president personally profiting from his office.

Trump’s allies are trying to raise millions to bolster an effort aimed at exposing the alleged biases of mainstream journalists.

Axios reports:

The group claims it will slip damaging information about reporters and editors to ‘friendly media outlets,’ such as Breitbart, and traditional media, if possible.

People involved in raising the funds include GOP consultant Arthur Schwartz and the ‘loose network’ that the N.Y. Times reported last week is targeting journalists. The operations are to be run by undisclosed others. ...

The irony: The New York Times exposed an extremely improvisational effort that had outed a Times editor for past anti-Semitic tweets. This new group is now using the exposure to try to formalize and fund the operation. ...

Under ‘Primary Targets,’ the pitch lists: ‘CNN, MSNBC, all broadcast networks, NY Times, Washington Post, BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, and all others that routinely incorporate bias and misinformation in to their coverage. We will also track the reporters and editors of these organizations.’

Biden on telling false war story: 'The details are irrelvant'

Joe Biden again downplayed reports that he has repeatedly told a false war story on the campaign trail.

Joe Biden speaks to the media in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Joe Biden speaks to the media in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Photograph: Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images

The Washington Post reported last week that a story the former vice president likes to tell about a Navy captain refusing to accept an award for his bravery actually combines the elements of at least three different events into one anecdote.

But the Democratic presidential candidate dismissed any notion that the error reflected badly on his leadership. “That has nothing to do with judgment of whether or not you send troops to war, the judgment of whether you bring someone home, the judgment of whether you decide on a healthcare policy,” Biden told NPR.

He added: “The details are irrelevant in terms of decision-making.”

And yet Biden just can’t seem to stop relaying anecdotes that are not corroborated by other related parties. A spokesman for George W. Bush told NPR in response to a story Biden shared about the events leading up to the Iraq War: “I’m sure it’s just an innocent mistake of memory, but this recollection is flat wrong.”

House Democrats move to investigate Trump's alleged role in hush-money scheme

Good morning, live blog readers!

Washington is back from its long weekend, and Congress will soon return from its August recess. But Democrats on the House judiciary committee are celebrating early by planning hearings on Donald Trump’s alleged role in arranging payments to silence Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels, who claim they had affairs with the married president before he took office.

The Washington Post has more details:

The House Judiciary Committee is preparing to hold hearings and call witnesses involved in hush-money payments to ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult-film star Stormy Daniels as soon as October, according to people familiar with the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.

Democrats say they believe there is already enough evidence to name Trump as a co-conspirator in the episode that resulted in his former attorney, Michael Cohen, pleading guilty to two campaign finance charges.

Cohen, who is serving a three-year prison sentence for those counts and other crimes, testified under oath that Trump directed the payments that helped land him behind bars. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan also described Trump’s alleged role in the scheme, referring to him in court papers as ‘Individual-1.’ But they concluded their investigation this summer without bringing any additional charges.

The news comes as more than half of the House Democratic caucus has announced their support for launching an impeachment inquiry against Trump. But Nancy Pelosi has repeatedly said she would not support such a move until she feels Democrats have the best possible case against the president.

The House speaker’s apparent approval of these hearings could accelerate an impeachment timeline. However, the White House will almost certainly try to block certain witnesses from testifying before the committee, as it has done with every other congressional investigation this year. So the true judgment of Trump’s conduct may still not come until Election Day 2020.

A woman takes a picture as the effects of Hurricane Dorian begin to be felt in Cocoa Beach, Florida.
A woman takes a picture as the effects of Hurricane Dorian begin to be felt in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Here’s what else the blog is keeping its eye on:

  • Trump will meet with Mark Esper, the defense secretary, this afternoon as Hurricane Dorian makes its way toward Florida. (Follow the Guardian’s live coverage of the storm here.)
  • Trump’s former defense secretary, Jim Mattis, will speak in New York this morning as part of his book tour.
  • The vice president, Mike Pence, is in Ireland.

The blog is covering all of that, so stay tuned.

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David Bowie Trailblazed the 'Everyday Exhibits' Trend in His '70s Living Room With A Retro Twist on Curated Clutter – It's Playful, Practical, and Replicable
A photo from 1971 shows that the musician was tapping into personality-led interiors long before they were a trend – experts say his look is the blueprint
Homes & Gardens
Homes & Gardens
McDonald’s burger prices vary a whopping 74% depending on where you live. Here is the cheapest state
The Big Arch burger contains 1,020 calories and 53 grams of protein and varies in price across the country
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
How to shop at the farmers’ market like a pro
Tips from experts on where to find the freshest fruits and veggies
The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
‘The lyrics to Lola by the Kinks are gross – I was really taken aback’: Moby’s honest playlist
The DJ and multi-instrumentalist thinks Donna Summer still sounds like the future, but which ‘unevolved’ Kinks staple can he no longer stomach?
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Watch lyric video for new Foo Fighters single Caught In The Echo
Caught In The Echo is the third track to be released from upcoming 12th Foo Fighters album Your Favorite Toy
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
30 years later, we're still quoting these iconic 'Happy Gilmore' lines
Adam Sandler’s golf classic remains the ultimate proof that the Sandman is a comedy god
Tom’s Guide
Tom’s Guide
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