Donald Trump claimed a major victory in announcing a peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, with Job Biden calling it "a historic step to bridge the deep divides of the Middle East" and national security adviser Robert O'Brien saying the president should be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
The president also had good news with the number of workers in the US applying for unemployment falling below one million for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began. The positive sentiment was short-lived, however, as the Senate adjourned with no deal on a new coronavirus stimulus package.
The president also faced explosive new allegations from "golden showers in a sex club to tax fraud" in the foreword by Michael Cohen in a new book about Trump.
The salacious claims came after Trump used Twitter and an appearance on Fox Business on Thursday to make a series of sexist comments targeting television hosts and Kamala Harris. He labelled the Democratic vice-presidential candidate "a mad woman" less than 48 hours after calling her "nasty", "phony" and "weak".
Trump also admitted that US Postal Service support had held-up negations in Washington DC over the latest coronavirus aid package, after saying on Wednesday that it "[doesn't] have the money to do the universal mail-in voting" because his administration would not accept Congressional Democrat demands to provide the postal service with billions and secure mail-in voting systems prior to November's election amid the pandemic.
Elsewhere in Trump land, Jared Kushner confirmed he met with Kanye West in Colorado but only for a general conversation about policy and not the rapper's presidential campaign.
Speaking of presidential campaigns, Biden proposed a nationwide mask mandate for three months that would end after the November election. Trump said it would grind society to a halt and lock "Americans in their basements for months on end".
The president's day ended by praising the author behind an op-ed that the Trump campaign is using to claim Kamala Harris' eligibility on the Biden ticket is an "open question".
Fox News cuts Trump speech, shows Democrats
Donald Trump provided the same White House speech on Wednesday, with attacks on his opponents, unsubstantiated predictions about election fraud, and some wild statistics on cornonavirus.
Setting out plans on how US schools would reopen, Mr Trump argued one more time that children were less susceptible to contracting the coronavirus - in contrary to some studies.
"Think of that - 99.5 per cent. That is extremely close to 100 per cent of all fatalities are adults," said the president. "Children often only have mild symptoms and medical complications are incredibly rare".
Those comments come despite some 97,000 children contracting the virus in the United States in the last two weeks of July, alone.
Perhaps it was no surprise, then, that Fox News cut away from the president's briefing before the one-hour mark.
The alternative coverage? His Democratic opponents making their campaign debut.
John T Bennett reports:
Biden says Charlottesville was 'wake up call'
Making his campaign debut alongside running mate Kamala Harris on Wednesday, Joe Biden took time to acknowledge the third anniversary of Charlottesville, which see hundreds of white supremacists, white nationalists, and neo-Nazis descend on the city.
“Today is not only the day I’m proud to introduce Senator Harris ... it’s also the third anniversary of that terrible day in Charlottesville,” said Mr Biden, who called that moment his "wake up call".
“For me, it was a call to action ... at that moment I knew I couldn’t stand by and let Donald Trump, a man who went on to say ... ‘there are very fine people on both sides’"
"No president of the United States have ever said something like that,” added Mr Biden.
President Trump, who was condemned in 2017 over those comments, had backed those who were protesting against the removal of a Confederate general’s statue.
When the same demands were made following protests sparked by George Floyd's death in Minneapolis police custody in May, Mr Trump again took the side of Confederate statues despite many deeming them to be relics of America's slave-owning past.
Danielle Zoellner reports:
Harris 'proud' after debut with Biden
The senator and Democratic vice presidential candidate said she was "proud" after standing alongside Joe Biden on Wednesday as the duo made their first appearance as a ticket.
While the pandemic made a traditional campaign announcement impossible, it provided Mr Biden and Ms Harris with a setting that centred on their criticism of the incumbent, Donald Trump.
"The case against Donald Trump and Mike Pence is open and shut," Ms Harris said. "This virus has impacted almost every country. But there's a reason it has hit America worse than any other advanced nation. It's because of Trump's failure to take it seriously from the start."
She added: "This is what happens when we elect a guy who just isn't up for the job."
Ms Harris, who is the first Black woman on a major party's presidential ticket, said she and Mr Biden noted the historical significance.
"This morning, all across the nation, little girls woke up — especially little black and brown girls, who so often feel overlooked and undervalued in their communities. But today, today, just maybe, they're seeing themselves for the first time in a new way," said Mr Biden.
Ms Harris, who is also of South Asian descent, noted the "heroic and ambitious women before me, whose sacrifice, determination and resilience make my presence here today even possible."
Trump admits to underfunding USPSS on mail-ballots
In another attack on mail-in ballots on Wednesday, Donald Trump said November's election would produce “one of the greatest frauds in history”.
Those comments, which come ahead of an election in which some 75 per cent of Americans will be able to vote via mail, have little basis in truth.
The US president also appeared to admit that the US Postal Service “[doesn’t] have the money to do the universal mail-in voting” because his administration would not accept Congressional Democrat demands to support the postal service with billions and secure mail-in voting systems prior to November’s election amid the pandemic.
It comes as Republican and Democrat negotiations on another coronavirus stimulus package stall over the size of the bill, extended unemployment benefit, aid to state and local governments, and money for schools to reopen.
"The bill's not going to happen because they don't even want to talk about it, because we can't give them the kind of ridiculous things that they want that have nothing to do with the China virus," added Mr Trump, despite mail-voting behind a method to ensure people do not risk spreading or contracting the disease at the ballot box.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Democrats hit-out at Trump claims on mail-ballots
Here's one reaction to Donald Trump's comments on mail ballots and November's election on Wednesday, with a Democratic candidate for Congress accusing the president of "withholding money" needed to ensure the US Postal Service can keep-up with voters demands.
Biden extends lead over Trump to 16 points in latest poll
The US president trails his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, by 16 percentage points among American voters in the latest national poll from Reuters/Ipsos published on Wednesday.
That number is among the largest gaps seen between the pair in this election campaign, which has been turned-upside by the coronavirus pandemic.
The results, which were collected between 10 - 11 August, would not have included all reactions to Mr Biden announcing Kamala Harris as his vice presidential candidate on Tuesday.
Mr Trump's net approval rating was minus 15 per cent, with some 40 per cent of respondents supporting his actions as president, according to Reuters/Ipsos.
‘Whining is what Trump does best’, says Biden
Joe Biden hit out at Donald Trump as he introduced senator Kamala Harris as his running mate on Wednesday, saying the president’s biggest skill is “whining” whilst slamming the incumbent's actions on coronavirus.
“It’s no surprise, because whining is what Donald Trump does best, better than any president in ... history,” said Mr Biden, whilst adding that the president has a problem with “strong women”, after he attacked Ms Harris following her announcement as Mr Biden's running mate.
The former vice president was sharply critical of Mr Trump’s handling of the pandemic, which has killed at least 164,500 people in the United States.
John T Bennett reports:
CDC director says United States 'in a war' with virus
The United States' Covid-19 pandemic was dubbed a "war" on Wednesday as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director asked Americans to pull together "for your country" to help stop the virus's spread.
“I'm asking you to do four simple things: wear a mask, social distance, wash your hands and be smart about crowds,” CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said in an interview with WebMD.
“I'm not asking some of America to do it ... We all gotta do it.”
Asked whether or not Americans had done enough to combat the virus as cases surpassed 5 million last week, Dr. Redfield responded: "Well, I think you're right. It is a war."
"[We] we're looking at probably over 200,000 infections a day even though we were only recognising 10,000 or 15,000," said the director about infections in the first three months of the pandemic in the US.
“Eventually this virus is going to have its day,” added Dr. Redfield. “It's either going to infect a majority of the global population, or we're going to have a biological countermeasure that's going to be an effective vaccine.”
US averaging over 1,000 daily virus deaths
The United States daily death toll from the coronavirus has been over 1,000, on average, for almost three weeks.
According to CNN and New York Times analysis, Wednesday was the 17th day that more than 1,000 deaths were reported across the country,
Those numbers mean that twice as many deaths are being recorded this month, in comparison to July.
Meanwhile, Tuesday’s death toll of 1,450 was the highest seen since late May, excluding three anomalous days.
The Sunbelt states, where coronavirus spiked in late June and early July, were responsible for most of the deaths recorded on Wednesday.
According to The Times, Texas saw more than 300 deaths, Florida more than 200, and more than 100 in Arizona, California and Georgia each.
Trump warned against WeChat ban
Donald Trump's planned actions against WeChat could cause considerable problems for some of the world's biggest businesses, the president has been warned.
In a phone call with the White House, executives at firms including Apple and Disney warned the president that plans to restrict use of the Chinese app could damage their business, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Here's the latest:
Social media sites announce plans to beat misinformation
Facebook and Twitter have announced new measures to stamp-out misinformation on November's US election, less than two weeks after the social media sites censured president Donald Trumps posts on - what they described as - "Covid misinformation".
Twitter will introduce new policies "that emphasise accurate information about all available options to vote, including by mail and early voting," according to a statement.
Facebook, meanwhile, has launched an online portal to help people find information on the election.
The latest information drive by America's two largest social media platforms comes four years after they were accused of facilitating the spread of misinformation during the 2016 election.
Reuters
California officials urged to prepare for next pandemic
At least 15,800 essential workers in California would not have contracted Covid-19 if the state had stockpiled enough personal protective equipment (PPE) prior to the coronavirus pandemic, a new study has claimed.
The UC Berkeley Labour Centre study released on Wednesday also revealed that the state would have saved $93m (£71m) on weekly unemployment claims for healthcare workers if it had prepared a sufficient stockpile.
The study urged Californian officials to start stockpiling face masks, gloves and other forms of PPE so that it can be prepared for a possible second wave of Covid-19 and any future crisis, according to The Los Angeles Times.
The findings come as Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti said on Wednesday that the city was "making good progress" in managing a recent spike in cases and hospitalisations with the virus.
“We are making progress. We are making good progress, Los Angeles,” said Mr Garcetti. “Our success over the last three weeks is real. It’s tangible and it’s reflected in our numbers.”
The mayor said wearing face masks, washing hands, and maintaining physical distancing had helped residents “protect one another.”
James Crump reports:
Meanwhile, in Florida...
Reopening schools in the state has been compared to the US Navy SEAL operation which captured and killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda, in 2011.
Republican governor Ron DeSantis said on Wednesday: "Just as the SEALs surrounded obstacles to bring Osama bin Laden to justice, so too will the Martin County school system find a way to provide parents with a meaningful choice of in-person instruction or continued distance learning".
Florida's Martin County on Wednesday said teachers were among district employees deemed "essential workers", reported TC Palm.
The measure means some teachers could return to classrooms following exposure to the coronavirus.
At the same time, one elementary school in the county was forced to quarantine nine students at home after a student showed Covid-19 symptoms on the second day of school, according to TC Palm.
Around 10 school districts in Florida have started in-person teaching, with many more set to reopen next week, following calls by Mr DeSantis and president Donald Trump to do so.
Trump calls Mika Brzezinski a 'ditzy airhead'
In a Twitter post on Thursday morning, Donald Trump called MSNBC show host Mika Brzezinski a "ditzy airhead", in his latest rant at television ratings.
Whilst dubbing MSNBC "MSDNC" - after the Democratic National Convention - he said the channel's Morning Joe programme was hosted by "a complete Psycho named Joe Scarborough and his ditzy airhead wife, Mika".
And in true president Trump fashion, he thanked himself for helping Fox & Friends with viewing figures.
It's nothing we haven't seen before...
Another book on Trump, another series of revelations
A new book by the veteran journalist Bob Woodward on Donald Trump will detail personal letters between the president and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, according to publishers Simon & Schuster.
The book, entitled Rage, is Mr Woodward’s second offering on the Trump presidency. Among other insights into the current administration, it promises to reveal details of 25 letters between the two leaders that have never been made public, an Amazon listing published on Wednesday said.
In one of the letters, Mr Kim described the bond between himself and Mr Trump as something out of a “fantasy film”, according to the publisher.
Matt Mathers reports:
More on Trump's sexist comments to MSNBC host...
Donald Trump's attack on Mika Brzezinski this morning was another sexist tirade by the president, just two days after he dubbed the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, "nasty".
The president called the "Morning Joe" co-host a "ditzy airhead" even as he tries to court suburban female voters, who he appealed to in a Twitter post on Wednesday.
The comments this morning come as the United States recorded more coronavirus deaths on Wednesday than at any point since mid-May.
Instead, he focused on cable news ratings and reviving a feud with the two MSNBC hosts.
John T Bennett the latest:
Trump calls Harris 'a mad woman'
In an appearance on Fox Business on Thursday morning, Donald Trump has issued more criticism of Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, who he labelled "a mad woman".
It comes within a 48 hour-period in which he has described her as "nasty", "phony" and "weak" after she was selected as Joe Biden's running mate on Tuesday.
Mr Trump, who one claimed that "nobody has more respect for women than I do", appears to have forgotten he said such a thing.
The president also said on Thursday that Democrats wanted to ban all animals - which is not something under consideration by Mr Biden, the party's presidential candidate.
Other unsubstantiated claims included Democrat plans to tear down New York's Empire State Building.
John T Bennett reports:
Trump adviser compares Harris with Marge Simpson
Fans of The Simpsons have reacted with indignation after an adviser to Donald Trump compared Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris to Marge Simpson.
Jenna Ellis, one of the president senior legal advisers and attorneys, said that Ms Harris “sounds like Marge Simpson”.
Many people noted how the insult – an apparent dig at Ms Harris’s credentials for the role of vice president - had backfired.
“Anybody being compared to Marge Simpson has lived their life right,” wrote one commenter.
Marge, voiced by Julie Kavner, is the matriarch of the Simpson family in the beloved long-running animation, and is sometimes depicted in some episodes as a stereotypical “housewife”.
Louis Chilton reports:
Trump struggles to define Kamala Harris
An overzealous prosecutor trying to hide her crime-fighting past — who is also weak on crime. The most radical pick for vice president ever — but too moderate to energise progressive Democrats.
President Donald Trump's campaign is struggling to define California Senator Kamala Harris, the newly announced running mate for Democratic rival Joe Biden.
And without a clear message, Mr Trump has reverted to his usual playbook, resorting to sexist and racist attacks.
Here's the report:
