Donald Trump has hailed a 17.7 per cent rise in retail sales in the US for May as the states moved to reopen following the national shutdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic, despite ongoing concerns that having done so prematurely risks inspiring a second wave of the deadly virus, which has already claimed 117,000 American lives.
Vice president Mike Pence has been moving to dispel concerns about the further spread of Covid-19 at Trump’s upcoming return to the campaign trail in Tulsa, Oklahoma, insisting the president has a “right” to gather his supporters a day after falsely claiming the state had successfully “flattened the curve” of infections.
A Never Trump Republican group has meanwhile released an attack ad reminding ally Lindsey Graham of his past thoughts on the president, whom he one described as a “race baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot”.
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Lynching accusations mount as FBI and DOJ investigate hanging deaths of black men in California
Federal officials announced reviews into the deaths of two black men found hanging from trees in California within two weeks of each other and 50 miles apart in a region known for active Neo-Nazi groups.
The deaths of 24-year-old Robert Fuller and 38-year-old Malcolm Harsch were both described as suicides by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, despite challenges from their families, who said neither were suicidal, as well as activists and civil rights groups.
Thousands of protestors gathered during the weekend in Palmdale, where Mr Fuller was found hanging from a tree on 10 June, to demand an investigation into his death.
The protests, which coincided with demonstrations over the death of George Floyd, also brought attention to the death of Mr Harsch, who was found hanging from a tree outside of the Victorville City Library ten days earlier.
Story to come...
Rasmussen survey adds to crushing weight of data pointing to a Biden victory
Andrew Naughtie writes: Donald Trump has been hit by a rash of polls showing Joe Biden pulling ahead of him – and now, a new survey by Scott Rasmussen for website Just the News shows him falling behind Mr Biden nationally by 12 points.
According to Mr Rasmussen’s results, Mr Biden would win 48 per cent of the national vote to Mr Trump’s 36 if there election were held today. It would worry any sitting president to poll at less than 40 per cent at this point in the election, but Mr Trump is especially invested in his own numbers, which he regularly shows off on Twitter.
The latest poll will be particularly galling for the president given it comes from Mr Rasmussen, founder of Rasmussen Reports. The company is one of the only pollsters whose results Mr Trump routinely cites when celebrating his own numbers. frequently writing that it was an outlier in predicting he would win the 2016 election.
However, the company has previously been criticised for its methodology, which some say tends to produce Republican-tilted results, and the data analysis website FiveThirtyEight has rated it only C+ for quality.
Republican congressman says he has no idea how he caught coronavirus
Tom Rice of South Carolina tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday and has been telling The Wall Street Journal he has no idea how it happened, despite declining to wear a mask on trips out and about with his son, who also has it, after defing his own side's official guidelines.
Tom Rice of South Carolina tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday and has been telling The Wall Street Journal he has no idea how it happened, despite declining to wear a mask on trips out and about with his son, who also has it, after defing his own side's official guidelines.
Inside the Minneapolis corner store where the 911 call on George Floyd was made that led to his killing
Cup Foods, a small redbrick grocery store in the south of the Minnesota city, has reopened since 25 May - the fateful day on which a teenage cashier called the police after believing a black customer had passed him a counterfeit $20 bill - but it remains a focal point for local anger.
Cup Foods, a small redbrick grocery store in the south of the Minnesota city, has reopened since 25 May - the fateful day on which a teenage cashier called the police after believing a black customer had passed him a counterfeit $20 bill - but it remains a focal point for local anger.
Disturbing footage shows Trump supporters attacking small Black Lives Matter protest in Ohio
Greg Evans has this report for Indy100 on a George Floyd gathering in smalltown Bethel, Ohio, which was hijacked by aggressive MAGA types wearing pro-police T-shirts and caps and Confederate insignia, some of whom were members of a local motorcycle gang.
The counter-protesters told the crowd of 100 or so they were "a bunch of f***ing traitors" who should go back to Seattle and: "This is a f***ing Republican state, b****. We don't play here."
They are all "very fine people", I'm sure.
Greg Evans has this report for Indy100 on a George Floyd gathering in smalltown Bethel, Ohio, which was hijacked by aggressive MAGA types wearing pro-police T-shirts and caps and Confederate insignia, some of whom were members of a local motorcycle gang.
The counter-protesters told the crowd of 100 or so they were "a bunch of f***ing traitors" who should go back to Seattle and: "This is a f***ing Republican state, b****. We don't play here."
They are all "very fine people", I'm sure.
Tucker Carlson in vicious tirade against Black Lives Matter
The Fox News host - whom I saw described earlier as a "human boat shoe" - has been raging against the popularity of the racial equality and justice movement on his show, his ire piqued yesterday by the NYPD's decision to do away with its entire plainclothes division in a nod to reform.
Carlson attempted to smear the cause as a mob of angry looters and arsonists in one particularly deplorable segment, which was aimed squarely at inciting fear among Trump's conservative base, conveniently boosting the president's own "law and order" platform in the process.
The Fox News host - whom I saw described earlier as a "human boat shoe" - has been raging against the popularity of the racial equality and justice movement on his show, his ire piqued yesterday by the NYPD's decision to do away with its entire plainclothes division in a nod to reform.
Carlson attempted to smear the cause as a mob of angry looters and arsonists in one particularly deplorable segment, which was aimed squarely at inciting fear among Trump's conservative base, conveniently boosting the president's own "law and order" platform in the process.
Don Jr forced to delete tweet attacking Democrats over NYPD 'bleach poisoning'
The president's eldest son never misses an opportunity to bash the Democrats - no matter how spurious the connection - and rarely scrutinises the facts before posting.
He's now been forced to delete a tweet tying them to the suspected "bleach poisoning" of three NYPD officers, who were taken ill after visiting Shake Shack, which has subsequently seen the chain been absolved of all guilt following a "thorough investigation" into the still-murky incident.
Here's Gino Spocchia with more.
The president's eldest son never misses an opportunity to bash the Democrats - no matter how spurious the connection - and rarely scrutinises the facts before posting.
He's now been forced to delete a tweet tying them to the suspected "bleach poisoning" of three NYPD officers, who were taken ill after visiting Shake Shack, which has subsequently seen the chain been absolved of all guilt following a "thorough investigation" into the still-murky incident.
Here's Gino Spocchia with more.
Mike Pence says campaign has 'right' to hold Tulsa rally despite coronavirus fears
The vice president has been on Fox and Friends this morning, saying he is "very confident" Trump's arena rallies can resume safely despite the risk of spreading Covid-19 and citing the right to peaceably assemble for good measure.
He's also badly flubbed an elementary question on racial inequality and discrimination.
The vice president has been on Fox and Friends this morning, saying he is "very confident" Trump's arena rallies can resume safely despite the risk of spreading Covid-19 and citing the right to peaceably assemble for good measure.
He's also badly flubbed an elementary question on racial inequality and discrimination.
Trump hails retail boom after reopening
The president is out early championing some positive economic news as the states' hasty reopening from the pandemic yields the bounceback he badly needs to make the case for his re-election.
The president is out early championing some positive economic news as the states' hasty reopening from the pandemic yields the bounceback he badly needs to make the case for his re-election.
Here's some handy background on that data from CNN's flagship breakfast show:
Demonstrator shot during protest over Spanish conquistador's statue in New Mexico
A man has been shot in Albuquerque as crowds attempted to dismantle a bronze statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate positioned outside the city museum.
Gino Spocchia has this report on the incident, with the man in hospital in a critical but stable condition, according to local authorities.
A man has been shot in Albuquerque as crowds attempted to dismantle a bronze statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate positioned outside the city museum.
Gino Spocchia has this report on the incident, with the man in hospital in a critical but stable condition, according to local authorities.
Ilhan Omar’s father dies due to coronavirus complications
Andrew Naughtie has this on the tragic loss of the Minnesota Democratic congresswoman's father, who brought his family to the US as refugees from Somalia in 1995 and lived to see his daughter become one of the first Muslim women to enter the House of Representatives.
Andrew Naughtie has this on the tragic loss of the Minnesota Democratic congresswoman's father, who brought his family to the US as refugees from Somalia in 1995 and lived to see his daughter become one of the first Muslim women to enter the House of Representatives.
Trump now undeniably a ‘fascist’ after George Floyd response, say longtime sceptics
The president having peaceful protesters tear-gassed for the sake of a photo opportunity is the last straw for outspoken critics like Robert Reich and Masha Gessen, who now believe they have no choice but to use the "F word" to describe the occupant of the Oval Office.
The president having peaceful protesters tear-gassed for the sake of a photo opportunity is the last straw for outspoken critics like Robert Reich and Masha Gessen, who now believe they have no choice but to use the "F word" to describe the occupant of the Oval Office.
Sharpiegate: Investigation says weather agency violated scientific integrity policies during Trump's Hurricane Dorian map scandal
The head of the US agency that warns of dangerous weather violated its policy on scientific integrity with a statement last year backing a tweeted forecast by the president about the path of a hurricane, according to a report released on Monday.
Trump wrote on Twitter on 1 September that Alabama would be among US states that would "most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated" by Hurricane Dorian, then one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record.
Within minutes, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Birmingham, Alabama, responded by saying that Alabama would not see any impacts from Dorian.
After days of controversy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), part of the Commerce Department headed by Wilbur Ross, released a statement on 6 September saying the Birmingham tweet was "inconsistent with probabilities from the best forecast products available at the time."
A report conducted on NOAA’s behalf by a panel set up by the non-partisan National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), found the NOAA's acting administrator, Neil Jacobs, and its former deputy chief of staff and communications director, Julie Kay Roberts, violated the agency’s scientific integrity policy with the statement.
In a memo posted along with the report on the NOAA's website, Stephen Volz, the NOAA official responsible for scientific integrity, said the NAPA panel found the pair did so "intentionally, knowingly, or in reckless disregard" of the code of conduct.
In his memo, Volz said Jacobs and Roberts did not believe it was a good idea to release a statement, but "felt significant external pressure to do so."
The controversy became known as "Sharpiegate," after Trump displayed a modified NOAA map to depict the storm threatening Alabama.
The New York Times reported last year that Ross threatened to fire top employees after the Birmingham office contradicted Trump and that then acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney had directed Ross to order the NOAA to disavow the NWS tweet.
US FDA revokes emergency use of malaria drug Trump promoted as coronavirus cure
The likes of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have flown off the shelves in recent months after they were touted by the US president to treat and even prevent the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, which triggered a global pandemic after an outbreak in Wuhan, China at the end of last year.
But now the Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) has backed away from its endorsement, having already warned against their "known risks", which can include nerve damage, heart rhythm problems and low blood pressure.
Trump previously revealed he was taking hydroxychloroquine, a drug that can be used to treat malaria and, in some cases, rheumatoid arthritis and other ailments, as part of an apparent effort to prevent himself from contracting the coronavirus.
Chris Riotta has more on this.
The likes of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have flown off the shelves in recent months after they were touted by the US president to treat and even prevent the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, which triggered a global pandemic after an outbreak in Wuhan, China at the end of last year.
But now the Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) has backed away from its endorsement, having already warned against their "known risks", which can include nerve damage, heart rhythm problems and low blood pressure.
Trump previously revealed he was taking hydroxychloroquine, a drug that can be used to treat malaria and, in some cases, rheumatoid arthritis and other ailments, as part of an apparent effort to prevent himself from contracting the coronavirus.
Chris Riotta has more on this.
Biden linking up with 'former boss' for virtual fundraiser
Barack Obama is joining Diamond Joe next Tuesday for a "virtual grassroots fundraiser," the first time the two have appeared together since Obama endorsed his former deputy in April.
Here's more from Andrew Naughtie on friends reunited.
Barack Obama is joining Diamond Joe next Tuesday for a "virtual grassroots fundraiser," the first time the two have appeared together since Obama endorsed his former deputy in April.
Here's more from Andrew Naughtie on friends reunited.
Joe Biden enjoys record-breaking fundraising haul as polls show him beating Trump by double digits
The former vice president celebrated a record-breaking fundraising haul on Monday as the presumptive 2020 Democrat presidential nominee’s campaign announced it raised over $80m (£63m) last month after teaming up with the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
The former vice president’s campaign received an average online donation of $30 (£24), according to a financial disclosure candidates are required to release by 20 June. Trump’s re-election campaign has not yet released its figures along with those from Republican National Committee (RNC).
Biden’s stunning total is the largest haul of any Democratic candidate in the party’s once-historically crowded field. It’s a $20m (£15.8m) increase from the previous month, when the former vice president’s campaign and the DNC raised a reported $60.5m (£47.8m). rump’s campaign and the RNC raised $61.7m (£48.7m) in April.
“I’m in awe of this sum of money. Just a few months ago, people were ready to write this campaign off,” Biden said in a statement. “I understand what these dollars mean. When facing uncertainty and recession, you chose to back me. I will never forget that. And I promise that when I’m president, I won’t let you down.”
Here's Chris Riotta's report.
The former vice president celebrated a record-breaking fundraising haul on Monday as the presumptive 2020 Democrat presidential nominee’s campaign announced it raised over $80m (£63m) last month after teaming up with the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
The former vice president’s campaign received an average online donation of $30 (£24), according to a financial disclosure candidates are required to release by 20 June. Trump’s re-election campaign has not yet released its figures along with those from Republican National Committee (RNC).
Biden’s stunning total is the largest haul of any Democratic candidate in the party’s once-historically crowded field. It’s a $20m (£15.8m) increase from the previous month, when the former vice president’s campaign and the DNC raised a reported $60.5m (£47.8m). rump’s campaign and the RNC raised $61.7m (£48.7m) in April.
“I’m in awe of this sum of money. Just a few months ago, people were ready to write this campaign off,” Biden said in a statement. “I understand what these dollars mean. When facing uncertainty and recession, you chose to back me. I will never forget that. And I promise that when I’m president, I won’t let you down.”
Here's Chris Riotta's report.
New Republican Voters Against Trump ad sees Lindsey Graham’s past attack on president return to haunt him
“He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. You know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell.”
Not my my words, Carol. The words of South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham!
It's often forgotten these days that the softly spoken southerner was once an arch-enemy of Trump when both men were fighting for the 2016 Republican nomination, with the latter even reading out Graham's mobile number to a crowd of voters as an obnoxious stunt, forcing him to have it changed.
Graham was also once a huge admirer of Joe Biden, as this new attack ad reminds us.
Chris Riotta has this one.
“He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. You know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell.”
Not my my words, Carol. The words of South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham!
It's often forgotten these days that the softly spoken southerner was once an arch-enemy of Trump when both men were fighting for the 2016 Republican nomination, with the latter even reading out Graham's mobile number to a crowd of voters as an obnoxious stunt, forcing him to have it changed.
Graham was also once a huge admirer of Joe Biden, as this new attack ad reminds us.
Chris Riotta has this one.
Trump says ex-adviser John Bolton breaking the law by publishing memoir
Another of the president's little remarks on Monday found him arguing that his former national security adviser will have broken the law and face criminal liability if a book he has written about his time in the White House is published without official permission.
Trump told reporters that Bolton knows he has classified information in his book and that he had not completed a clearing process required for any book written by former government officials who had access to sensitive information.
"I will consider every conversation with me as president highly classified. So that would mean that if he wrote a book and if the book gets out, he's broken the law," Trump said. "That's called criminal liability. That's a big thing."
US attorney general William Barr, also speaking in the Cabinet Room, said the Justice Department was trying to get Bolton to complete the clearance process and "make the necessary deletions of classified information."
Trump fired Bolton in September after 519 days on the job amid simmering differences on a wide array of foreign policy issues.
Bolton's The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, is set to be published on 23 June.
The publisher, Simon and Schuster, said in a news release on Friday the book provides an insider account of Trump's "inconsistent, scattershot decision-making process."
The book details Trump's dealings with China, Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, Iran, Britain, France and Germany, the publisher said. "This is the book Donald Trump doesn't want you to read," Simon and Schuster said.
Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, said the effort to block the book's publication was doomed to fail.
"As usual, the government's threats have nothing to do with safeguarding national security, and everything to do with avoiding scandal and embarrassment," Wizner said.
Trump said the problem of publishing classified information including conversations with the president "becomes even worse if he lies about the conversation, which I understand he might have in some cases." He said he had not read the book.
"So we'll see what happens. They're in court, or they'll soon be in court," Trump said.
Here's Andrew Naughtie's story.
Another of the president's little remarks on Monday found him arguing that his former national security adviser will have broken the law and face criminal liability if a book he has written about his time in the White House is published without official permission.
Trump told reporters that Bolton knows he has classified information in his book and that he had not completed a clearing process required for any book written by former government officials who had access to sensitive information.
"I will consider every conversation with me as president highly classified. So that would mean that if he wrote a book and if the book gets out, he's broken the law," Trump said. "That's called criminal liability. That's a big thing."
US attorney general William Barr, also speaking in the Cabinet Room, said the Justice Department was trying to get Bolton to complete the clearance process and "make the necessary deletions of classified information."
Trump fired Bolton in September after 519 days on the job amid simmering differences on a wide array of foreign policy issues.
Bolton's The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir, is set to be published on 23 June.
The publisher, Simon and Schuster, said in a news release on Friday the book provides an insider account of Trump's "inconsistent, scattershot decision-making process."
The book details Trump's dealings with China, Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, Iran, Britain, France and Germany, the publisher said. "This is the book Donald Trump doesn't want you to read," Simon and Schuster said.
Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, said the effort to block the book's publication was doomed to fail.
"As usual, the government's threats have nothing to do with safeguarding national security, and everything to do with avoiding scandal and embarrassment," Wizner said.
Trump said the problem of publishing classified information including conversations with the president "becomes even worse if he lies about the conversation, which I understand he might have in some cases." He said he had not read the book.
"So we'll see what happens. They're in court, or they'll soon be in court," Trump said.
Here's Andrew Naughtie's story.
Melania Trump wishes US Army a happy birthday but not her husband
The first lady remembered the troops's special day on Sunday but not Donald's, judging by Twitter, where she retweeted this but sent no public message to the old man as he turned 74.
No wonder he's started talking to himself online.
Here's Gino Spocchia on Melania.
The first lady remembered the troops's special day on Sunday but not Donald's, judging by Twitter, where she retweeted this but sent no public message to the old man as he turned 74.
No wonder he's started talking to himself online.
Here's Gino Spocchia on Melania.
Trump to sign executive order ushering in only moderate police reforms
The president is signing an order today that will seek to improve how police officers treat African Americans and others by improving credentialing, training and mental health resources, administration officials said.
The order comes after Trump has struck a Nixonian "law and order" tone in his response to protests around the country sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
Trump has faced criticism from Democrats for his response and some allies are concerned that his handling of the protests and the coronavirus pandemic are hurting his and other Republican leaders' chances of re-election in November.
Senior administration officials said the order will aim to incentivise police departments to improve by tying federal approval of discretionary grants to good policing practices.
The order would encourage police departments to employ the latest standards for use of force, improve information sharing so that officers with shoddy records are not hired without their backgrounds being known and add social workers to law enforcement responses to non-violent cases involving drug addiction and homelessness, officials said.
"We're going to be talking about things that we've been watching and seeing for the last month and we're going to have some solutions," Trump told reporters on Monday.
Law enforcement officials and families of people who have been killed by police are expected to be part of the event where Trump will sign the order.
Lawmakers in Congress are also working on legislative responses to the calls for police reform.
Law enforcement officials and families of people who have been killed by police are expected to be part of the event where Trump will sign the order.
Lawmakers in Congress are also working on legislative responses to the calls for police reform.
"Certainly we can add on to what we do by the work that's being done in the House and in the Senate," Trump said.
Some activists have called for taking funding from police departments. Leading Democrats and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden have not embraced those calls, but Republicans have sought to tie them to the proposals to provide a contrast to Trump's rhetoric.
"We're not looking to defund the police. We're looking to invest more and incentivise best practices," one administration official said on Tuesday.
Reuters
Reuters
