theguardian--2020-09-03--Trump signs memo to defund 'lawless' cities but experts raise legality doubts

Donald Trump signed a memo on Wednesday that threatened to cut funding to Democratic-led cities that the administration has characterized as “ lawless ” and “ anarchist jurisdictions ” , using his office to launch an extraordinary – if legally ineffective – attack on his political opponents ahead of the November election .
“ My administration will not allow federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones , ” the memorandum reads .
“ It is imperative that the federal government review the use of federal funds by jurisdictions that permit anarchy , violence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cities.
” The document compels William Barr , the attorney general , to develop a list of jurisdictions that “ permitted violence and the destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract these criminal activities ” within the next fortnight .
It also instructs Russell Vought , the White House budget director , to issue guidance in the next month on how federal agencies can restrict or disfavor “ anarchist jurisdictions ” in providing federal grants .
The president has often suggested that his political opponents , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the police departments , despite the fact that most Democrats , including Biden , have said they do not endorse that approach to police reform .
Pushing hardline “ law and order ” rhetoric , Trump has also pushed baseless conspiracy theories about leftwing violence amid protests against police brutality and systemic racism while refusing to condemn rightwing and white supremacist vigilantism .
The memorandum that the White House shared on Wednesday night , which specifically names Portland , New York City , Seattle and Washington DC as examples of jurisdictions might lose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in any of those cities losing significant funding , according to legal experts .
Congress determines how funding is distributed , and agencies can not “ willy nilly restrict funding ” , said Sam Berger , a former senior policy advisor at the Office of Management and Budget during the Obama administration .
The five-page memorandum “ reads like a campaign press release ” , Berger told the Guardian .
“ The first two pages are a bizarre diatribe – that ’ s not what a government document looks like.
” Even if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to reduce funding to certain cities , perhaps via grants linked to law enforcement , any funding restrictions are unlikely to hold up to legal challenges , he added .
“ The president obviously has no power to pick and choose which cities to cut off from congressionally appropriated funding , ” said Laurence Tribe , a constitutional law scholar at Harvard , and recently the co-author of To End a Presidency : The Power of Impeachment .
Trump “ has no defunding spigot .
The power of the purse belongs to Congress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ must have slept through high school civics , ” Tribe said in an email .
New York governor Andrew Cuomo said the memo was “ an illegal stunt ” , noting that Trump “ is not a king .
He can not ‘ defund ’ NYC.
” This latest move from the president follows through on his growing disdain for American cities run by Democrats .
During his speech at the Republican National Convention last week , Trump railed against “ rioters and criminals spreading mayhem in Democrat-run cities ” and spoke of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Chicago , and other cities ” .

Donald Trump signed a memo on Wednesday that threatened to cut funding to Democratic-led cities that the administration has characterized as “lawless” and “anarchist jurisdictions”, using his office to launch an extraordinary – if legally ineffective – attack on his political opponents ahead of the November election.
“My administration will not allow federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones,” the memorandum reads. “It is imperative that the federal government review the use of federal funds by jurisdictions that permit anarchy, violence, and destruction in America’s cities.”
The document compels William Barr, the attorney general, to develop a list of jurisdictions that “permitted violence and the destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract these criminal activities” within the next fortnight. It also instructs Russell Vought, the White House budget director, to issue guidance in the next month on how federal agencies can restrict or disfavor “anarchist jurisdictions” in providing federal grants.
Today @POTUS made clear that we will not continue to funnel taxpayer money to lawless cities that fail to restore law and order in their communities. We will explore all options. https://t.co/BDScgIG2uK — Russ Vought (@RussVought45) September 3, 2020
The president has often suggested that his political opponents, including Joe Biden, want to defund the police departments, despite the fact that most Democrats, including Biden, have said they do not endorse that approach to police reform. Pushing hardline “law and order” rhetoric, Trump has also advanced baseless conspiracy theories about leftwing violence amid protests against police brutality and systemic racism while refusing to condemn rightwing and white supremacist vigilantism.
The memorandum that the White House shared on Wednesday night, which specifically names Portland, New York City, Seattle and Washington DC as examples of jurisdictions that might lose federal funding, is unlikely to result in any of those cities losing significant funding, according to legal experts. Congress determines how funding is distributed, and agencies cannot “willy-nilly restrict funding”, said Sam Berger, a former senior policy advisor at the Office of Management and Budget during the Obama administration.
The five-page memorandum “reads like a campaign press release”, Berger told the Guardian. “The first two pages are a bizarre diatribe – that’s not what a government document looks like.”
Even if federal agencies are able to find justification to reduce funding to certain cities, perhaps via grants linked to law enforcement, any funding restrictions are unlikely to hold up to legal challenges, he added.
“The president obviously has no power to pick and choose which cities to cut off from congressionally appropriated funding,” said Laurence Tribe, a constitutional law scholar at Harvard, and recently the co-author of To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment. Trump “has no defunding spigot. The power of the purse belongs to Congress, not the Executive. Donald Trump must have slept through high school civics,” Tribe said in an email.
The New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, said the memo was “an illegal stunt”, noting that Trump “is not a king. He cannot ‘defund’ NYC.”
This latest move from the president follows through on his growing disdain for American cities run by Democrats. During his speech at the Republican national convention last week, Trump railed against “rioters and criminals spreading mayhem in Democrat-run cities” and spoke of “leftwing anarchy and mayhem in Minneapolis, Chicago and other cities”.


theguardian--2020-09-03--Trump's tweets are felt in Ethiopia. Washington should use its power wisely |  Mekonnen Firew Ayano

When US presidents comment on events in other countries , their remarks have impact .
When , for example , President Barack Obama congratulated the Ethiopian People ’ s Revolutionary Democratic Front ( EPRDF ) on an apparent landslide election victory in 2015 , it signalled to some Ethiopians that the world ’ s most powerful country would not favour a legal challenge to the election results .
The EPRDF became even more aggressive in jailing opponents .
Less than a year after the election , people took to the streets to protest .
Many died in the protests and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leadership change in 2018 and a wave of promising democratic reforms .
Statements by US officials on their internal affairs can likewise have international impact .
After Donald Trump tweeted that November ’ s presidential election should be postponed on account of the pandemic , an Ethiopian government-affiliated media conglomerate ran it as its main story .
It mattered in Ethiopia because it could be used to justify the decision by the prime minister , Abiy Ahmed , to postpone the country ’ s elections which were to have taken place on 29 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Trump ’ s words hold significance for both government supporters and critics because many Ethiopians once looked to the US as a champion of democracy and the rule of law .
The numerically small , but politically powerful urban middle class supported the postponement , but critics pointed out that the government ’ s lack of an electoral mandate could be as perilous as the pandemic .
This concern was well-founded .
After the killing in June of Haacaaluu Hundeessaa , a famous singer and leader of anti-government protests , more than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ethnic and religious lines .
The government has also jailed a large number of people , including Jawar Mohammed , a Stanford University graduate and de facto leader of the mass protests against the EPRDF between 2015 and 2018 .
On top of that , on 31 July , Ethiopia ’ s federal parliament , essentially controlled by the prime minister ’ s party , issued an ultimatum against the Tigray regional government , which has decided to hold local and regional elections in defiance of Addis Ababa .
The regional government is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Liberation Front ( TPLF ) , which lost its dominant position in the federal government and within EPRDF in 2018 .
The TPLF government in Tigray commands paramilitary forces with considerable capability .
It is now defying the federal government with military parades and counter-threats .
The current lack of effort by the US and other western governments to promote robust democratic and legal institutions in Ethiopia and east Africa generally is conspicuous .
From the Ethiopian perspective , the apparent weakening of political institutions in the US and its ramifications are matters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s tweets and actions bolstering anti-democratic values , but fears are growing that the US government is attacking the management of Ethiopia ’ s water resources to bolster its geopolitical interests .
In the past , US Department of State officials played an important and often constructive role in Ethiopia ’ s domestic political development .
Today , the US secretary of the treasury is understood to be bypassing the state deparment and flouting diplomatic protocols in supporting Egypt in the dispute between Egypt , Ethiopia , and Sudan over the filling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A US-mediated “ deal ” on the sharing of the Nile might achieve temporary goals that Egypt and the US can showcase .
But easing political and economic tensions in a region of wide security concern requires paying serious attention to simmering but grave domestic issues , which , if left unchecked , could lead to new authoritarianism or even civil war .
An imminent danger facing Ethiopia is the violence against ethnic and religious minorities as dominant groups assert radical , nativist claims to land .
Youth unemployment is extremely high , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic and intensifying tensions .
Food insecurity is on the rise .
While the US and European countries have provided substantial financial support over the past few years for economic reforms , the Ethiopian government ’ s reform efforts today are focused on renovating the prime minister ’ s Addis Ababa palace .
Lenders directly and indirectly financing such vanity projects , and propping up authoritarian governments , have a moral duty to citizens and should insist leaders have a legitimate electoral mandate .
Otherwise , they will have to answer to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may raise legal questions when the loans must be repaid .
More informed signalling from Washington at this precarious time for Ethiopia could help to reduce tensions within Ethiopia and between its neighbours .
But whether that happens now depends on who wins office in the US in November .
• Mekonnen Firew Ayano is visiting assistant professor of law at University of Missouri School of Law

When US presidents comment on events in other countries, their remarks have impact.
When, for example, President Barack Obama congratulated the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) on an apparent landslide election victory in 2015, it signalled to some Ethiopians that the world’s most powerful country would not favour a legal challenge to the election results.
The EPRDF became even more aggressive in jailing opponents. Less than a year after the election, people took to the streets to protest. Many died in the protests and the economy neared collapse, leading to leadership change in 2018 and a wave of promising democratic reforms.
Statements by US officials on their internal affairs can likewise have international impact. After Donald Trump tweeted that November’s presidential election should be postponed on account of the pandemic, an Ethiopian government-affiliated media conglomerate ran it as its main story.
It mattered in Ethiopia because it could be used to justify the decision by the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, to postpone the country’s elections which were to have taken place on 29 August, citing Covid-19 as the reason. Trump’s words hold significance for both government supporters and critics because many Ethiopians once looked to the US as a champion of democracy and the rule of law.
The numerically small, but politically powerful urban middle class supported the postponement, but critics pointed out that the government’s lack of an electoral mandate could be as perilous as the pandemic. This concern was well-founded. After the killing in June of Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, a famous singer and leader of anti-government protests, more than 160 people died in violent clashes along ethnic and religious lines. The government has also jailed a large number of people, including Jawar Mohammed, a Stanford University graduate and de facto leader of the mass protests against the EPRDF between 2015 and 2018.
On top of that, on 31 July, Ethiopia’s federal parliament, essentially controlled by the prime minister’s party, issued an ultimatum against the Tigray regional government, which has decided to hold local and regional elections in defiance of Addis Ababa. The regional government is controlled by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which lost its dominant position in the federal government and within EPRDF in 2018. The TPLF government in Tigray commands paramilitary forces with considerable capability. It is now defying the federal government with military parades and counter-threats.
The current lack of effort by the US and other western governments to promote robust democratic and legal institutions in Ethiopia is conspicuous
The current lack of effort by the US and other western governments to promote robust democratic and legal institutions in Ethiopia and east Africa generally is conspicuous. From the Ethiopian perspective, the apparent weakening of political institutions in the US and its ramifications are matters for alarm.
Not only are Trump’s tweets and actions bolstering anti-democratic values, but fears are growing that the US government is attacking the management of Ethiopia’s water resources to bolster its geopolitical interests. In the past, US Department of State officials played an important and often constructive role in Ethiopia’s domestic political development. Today, the US secretary of the treasury is understood to be bypassing the state deparment and flouting diplomatic protocols in supporting Egypt in the dispute between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan over the filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam.
A US-mediated “deal” on the sharing of the Nile might achieve temporary goals that Egypt and the US can showcase. But easing political and economic tensions in a region of wide security concern requires paying serious attention to simmering but grave domestic issues, which, if left unchecked, could lead to new authoritarianism or even civil war.
Youth unemployment is extremely high, and likely to get worse with the pandemic. Food insecurity is on the rise
An imminent danger facing Ethiopia is the violence against ethnic and religious minorities as dominant groups assert radical, nativist claims to land. Youth unemployment is extremely high, and likely to get worse with the pandemic and intensifying tensions. Food insecurity is on the rise.
While the US and European countries have provided substantial financial support over the past few years for economic reforms, the Ethiopian government’s reform efforts today are focused on renovating the prime minister’s Addis Ababa palace.
Lenders directly and indirectly financing such vanity projects, and propping up authoritarian governments, have a moral duty to citizens and should insist leaders have a legitimate electoral mandate. Otherwise, they will have to answer to the generations who will inherit these debts and may raise legal questions when the loans must be repaid.
More informed signalling from Washington at this precarious time for Ethiopia could help to reduce tensions within Ethiopia and between its neighbours. But whether that happens now depends on who wins office in the US in November.


theguardian--2020-09-03--California lawmaker Buffy Wicks brings newborn baby to state assembly floor for vote – video

California politician Buffy Wicks was forced to bring her newbown baby on the state assembly floor after she was denied @ @ @ @ @ , who gave birth to a daughter in late July via C-section , had requested @ @ @ @ @ weeks prior and cited Covid-19 concerns .
After her request was denied by the assembly @ @ @ @ @ footage of Wicks nursing her child while speaking about a bill was shared widely online @ @ @ @ @ Hillary Clinton • 'Every woman 's been there ' : California lawmaker who held newborn @ @ @ @ @

California politician Buffy Wicks was forced to bring her newbown baby on the state assembly floor after she was denied a proxy vote. Wicks, who gave birth to a daughter in late July via C-section, had requested to vote by proxy two weeks prior and cited Covid-19 concerns. After her request was denied by the assembly speaker, Anthony Rendon, footage of Wicks nursing her child while speaking about a bill was shared widely online by prominent political figures including Hillary Clinton


theguardian--2020-09-04--Joe Biden in Kenosha after talking to Jacob Blake and meeting his family – live

The recent deadly protest in Portland , where a far-right supporter was killed , was just one of many organized in recent weeks with the help of a network of pro-Trump , pro-police and anti-Black Lives Matter activists in a local Facebook-powered pro-police network in Oregon .
That network ’ s ability to draw the support of far-right groups and more mainstream Republicans alike reveals an increasingly energized and militant grassroots Trumpist movement , which includes some members who are prepared to engage in violence , experts say .
The network is composed of like-minded activists in two overlapping groups @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and “ COPS NW ” .
Those activists are planning future events , and given the high tensions following the shooting death of one of its supporters – with the suspected shooter reportedly supportive of local leftwing anti-fascist groups – the prospect of more unrest is high .
That is especially true as the country enters the final stages of the presidential election with Donald Trump running on a law-and-order message , while inflaming racial tensions and offering support to his most extreme supporters , including those who engage in violence .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ group of local activists have helped stage a series of recent events in or near the Portland metro area .
Saturday ’ s “ Trump cruise ” saw a large number of participants stray from the highway-only protest route agreed with the Portland police bureau ( PPB ) and roll into the downtown area for a confrontation with leftwing protesters .
There , reporters recorded rightwing protesters discharging pellet guns and Mace into the ranks of nearby protesters and media .
Soon after , in a nearby street , a man wearing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a prominent far-right group , was shot dead .
In an email announcing a memorial event , James Buchal , a lawyer and chair of the Multnomah County Republican party , identified the dead man as Aaron J Danielson .
The Oregonian reported on Monday that a PPB homicide investigation was focused on a BLM supporter and regular attendee of downtown protests in recent weeks .
Danielson ’ s death was highlighted by Trump who retweeted an account which had incorrectly identified the victim , adding “ Rest in Peace Jay ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paintball guns by his supporters in Portland .

Maanvi Singh (now) and Joan E Greve in Washington (earlier)

3 Sept 2020 00.53 BST From me and Joan E Greve: Donald Trump spoke to a packed crowd in Pennsylvania. He lied and misled supporters on the economy, on Joe Biden’s policy platforms, windmills, the news media, leftwing groups, and several other topics.
He lied and misled supporters on the economy, on Joe Biden’s policy platforms, windmills, the news media, leftwing groups, and several other topics. Joe Biden spoke to Jacob Blake by phone today as he visited Kenosha. The Democratic nominee met with several members of Blake’s family, and Blake himself called in to the meeting from his hospital bed, as the 29-year-old African American man continues to recover after being repeatedly shot in the back by a white police officer.
The Democratic nominee met with several members of Blake’s family, and Blake himself called in to the meeting from his hospital bed, as the 29-year-old African American man continues to recover after being repeatedly shot in the back by a white police officer. Biden struck an overall optimistic tone as he spoke at a community meeting in Kenosha, amid ongoing protests over the police shooting of Blake. Biden reflected on how far the country has come since the unrest of 1968, after Dr Martin Luther King was assassinated. “Don’t tell me things can’t change,” Biden said. But he added, “I made a mistake: I thought you could defeat hate. It only hides.”
amid ongoing protests over the police shooting of Blake. Biden reflected on how far the country has come since the unrest of 1968, after Dr was assassinated. “Don’t tell me things can’t change,” Biden said. But he added, “I made a mistake: I thought you could defeat hate. It only hides.” Trump and his advisers tried to walk back his comments encouraging North Carolinians to vote twice in November. The White House claimed the president was only encouraging voters to ensure their mailed-in ballots are counted. But Trump said of voting by mail yesterday, “Let them send it in and let them go vote. And if the system is as good as they say it is then obviously they won’t be able to vote” in person.
The White House claimed the president was only encouraging voters to ensure their mailed-in ballots are counted. But Trump said of voting by mail yesterday, “Let them send it in and let them go vote. And if the system is as good as they say it is then obviously they won’t be able to vote” in person. US jobless claims fell to 881,000 last week, as concerns about unemployment linger. The figure represented a decrease from a week earlier, but 29 million Americans are still receiving unemployment benefits of some kind.
The figure represented a decrease from a week earlier, but 29 million Americans are still receiving unemployment benefits of some kind. Facebook said it would restrict political ads in the final week before the presidential election. The social media giant said it would not accept any new political ads in the week leading up to 3 November, and the company pledged to flag any attempt by a campaign to declare premature victory.
Updated at 01.03 BST
3 Sept 2020 00.35 BST Jason Wilson The recent deadly protest in Portland, where a far-right supporter was killed, was just one of many organized in recent weeks with the help of a network of pro-Trump, pro-police and anti-Black Lives Matter activists in a local Facebook-powered pro-police network in Oregon. That network’s ability to draw the support of far-right groups and more mainstream Republicans alike reveals an increasingly energized and militant grassroots Trumpist movement, which includes some members who are prepared to engage in violence, experts say. The network is composed of like-minded activists in two overlapping groups, “Back the Blue PDX”, and “COPS NW”. Those activists are planning future events, and given the high tensions following the shooting death of one of its supporters – with the suspected shooter reportedly supportive of local leftwing anti-fascist groups – the prospect of more unrest is high. That is especially true as the country enters the final stages of the presidential election with Donald Trump running on a law-and-order message, while inflaming racial tensions and offering support to his most extreme supporters, including those who engage in violence.
Working mostly on Facebook, the small group of local activists have helped stage a series of recent events in or near the Portland metro area. Saturday’s “Trump cruise” saw a large number of participants stray from the highway-only protest route agreed with the Portland police bureau (PPB) and roll into the downtown area for a confrontation with leftwing protesters. There, reporters recorded rightwing protesters discharging pellet guns and Mace into the ranks of nearby protesters and media. Soon after, in a nearby street, a man wearing a cap bearing the insignia of Patriot Prayer, a prominent far-right group, was shot dead. In an email announcing a memorial event, James Buchal, a lawyer and chair of the Multnomah County Republican party, identified the dead man as Aaron J Danielson. The Oregonian reported on Monday that a PPB homicide investigation was focused on a BLM supporter and regular attendee of downtown protests in recent weeks. Danielson’s death was highlighted by Trump who retweeted an account which had incorrectly identified the victim, adding “Rest in Peace Jay”. He also defended the use of paintball guns by his supporters in Portland. Read the full report: Breadth of rightwing Portland protest network reveals energized Trump base Read more
3 Sept 2020 00.26 BST Trump lies at campaign event in Pennsylvania Speaking at a campaign event in Latrobe, Pennsylvania – to a packed crowd that isn’t remotely socially distanced – Trump has launched with a series of lies and misdirections. To start, he told supporters, “We have record stock markets... Your stocks are going up, your 401Ks are through the roof. Had a little pause today.” My colleagues reported on that “little pause” earlier: Stock markets have lost some of their spectacular gains made over the past several months, as investors sold off high-flying tech companies and worried about the continuing crisis in the US jobs market.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 808 points, or 2.78%, after passing 29,000 for the first time since February on Wednesday. The S&P 500 was down 3.5% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 4.9%. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq had set their latest record highs a day earlier, and the latter index is still up nearly 28% for the year. The S&P 500 had been up nine of the last 10 trading days and posted its fifth straight monthly gain in August. Trump has also outright lied or misled supporters on his rival Joe Biden’s proposed policies on climate change, policing and gun control. “Biden’s plan is to appease the domestic terrorists and my plan is to arrest them and prosecute them,” Trump said. The president has repeatedly resisted condemning white supremacist and rightwing vigilantes. Biden is polling ahead of Trump in Pennsylvania, where the former vice-president grew up.
Updated at 01.06 BST
3 Sept 2020 00.17 BST Donald Trump has repeatedly denigrated service members, per a report from the Atlantic. Among the assertions in Jeffrey Goldberg’s story: Trump, who blamed the rain for skipping a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018, said: “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” “In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as ‘suckers’ for getting killed,” Goldberg writes. Trump, in 2015, said of John McCain, who spent five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, “I like people who weren’t captured.” From the Atlantic: Trump remained fixated on McCain, one of the few prominent Republicans to continue criticizing him after he won the nomination. When McCain died, in August 2018, Trump told his senior staff, according to three sources with direct knowledge of this event, “We’re not going to support that loser’s funeral,” and he became furious, according to witnesses, when he saw flags lowered to half-staff. “What the fuck are we doing that for? Guy was a fucking loser,” the president told aides. The White House has responded by calling the report “patently false”. The Guardian has not independently verified the story, but it seems the AP has.
Updated at 01.05 BST
3 Sept 2020 23.38 BST In San Francisco, a group has strung hair dryers and curlers up on a tree in front of Nancy Pelosi’s house. A reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle has captured the scene: Protesters have gathered in front of Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and are stringing up curlers and blow dryers on a tree after a video surfaced of Pelosi getting her hair done indoors/maskless at a SF salon @sfchronicle pic.twitter.com/v6KVORByaP — Jessica Christian (@jachristian) September 3, 2020 Republicans have lambasted the Democratic House speaker for visiting a hair salon in her home district, in violation of city guidelines designed to slow the spread of coronavirus. During a White House press conference today, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany played a video, on loop, of Pelosi not wearing a mask while at the salon. The House speaker briefly removed her face covering during a visit that she said she had been told was above board. Protestors outside Pelosi’s home say they want to be able to get their hair and nails done as well. This week, some San Francisco hair salons and barbershops have been allowed to reopen for business outdoors.
3 Sept 2020 23.20 BST Russia is boosting baseless allegations that voting by mail will lead to fraud – allegations that echo rhetoric from Donald Trump – per an intelligence bulletin obtained by ABC. ABC reports: Analysts with the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence branch issued the warning on Thursday to federal and state law enforcement partners after finding with “high confidence” that “Russian malign influence actors” have targeted the absentee voting process “by spreading disinformation” since at least March. “Russian state media and proxy websites in mid-August 2020 criticized the integrity of expanded and universal vote-by-mail, claiming ineligible voters could receive ballots due to out-of-date voter rolls, leaving a vast amount of ballots unaccounted for and vulnerable to tampering,” the bulletin notes. “These websites also alleged that vote-by-mail processes would overburden the U.S. Postal Service and local boards of election,” it continues, “delaying vote tabulation and creating more opportunities for fraud and error.” Trump has also sown distrust in the electoral system, falsely claiming that the mail-in voting system is rife with fraud. Here’s my colleague Sam Levine’s explainer debunking misinformation about mail-in voting: Does mail-in voting lead to fraud – and does it help Democrats? The facts Read more
3 Sept 2020 23.03 BST Democrats on the House oversight and reform committee have called for an investigation into possible Hatch Act violations during the Republican national convention. During last week’s convention, several Republicans appeared to use their government positions for political gain, boosting the Trump campaign while in their official capacity. Trump also included a pardon and naturalization ceremony as part of the convention and used the White House as a backdrop for campaign events and speeches. Trump and other government officials appeared to violate the Hatch Act, which prohibits government employees from participating in political activity while in their official capacity. “We are alarmed that President Trump and some senior administration officials are actively undermining compliance with – and respect for – the law,” lawmakers wrote in a letter to the Office of Special Counsel, calling for an investigation. Although the president and vice-president and except from the Hatch Act, other federal employees are not. During the RNC, acting homeland security secretary Chad Wolf appeared alongside Trump in a naturalization ceremony at the White House, and secretary of state Mike Pompeo delivered a convention speech from Jerusalem, where he was traveling on official business.
Updated at 23.45 BST
3 Sept 2020 22.51 BST Emily Holden The Trump administration has identified dozens of major fossil fuel, energy and water projects that could be fast-tracked by expediting environmental reviews amid the pandemic, according to internal government documents. At least 19 of the projects are from companies that have spent a total of $16m lobbying the interior department since early 2017, according to an analysis by the conservation group the Center for Western Priorities. ConocoPhillips spent $11.2m of that amount lobbying the department, including on plans to drill for oil and gas within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, the group said. Three of the companies that could potentially benefit have met with the interior secretary, David Bernhardt, personally. Another is the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District, which Bernhardt represented as a lawyer at the firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. The district is seeking to divert water from the Missouri River to supply the Red River Valley in North Dakota, a project environmental advocates oppose. The list was obtained with a public records request by the Center for Biological Diversity and first reported by the Associated Press. It was written in response to an executive order Donald Trump signed in June directing agencies to use emergency authority to speed energy and infrastructure projects during the economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic. The administration had already prioritized the approval of many of the projects on the list before the executive order. Agencies are trying to finalize unfinished business before 20 January, in case Trump does not win re-election. Trump seeks to fast-track dozens of fossil fuel projects during pandemic Read more
3 Sept 2020 22.20 BST A group of nearly 100 Republicans and independents will endorse Joe Biden over Donald Trump, Reuters reports. The group is called “Republicans and Independents for Biden”, led by Christine Todd Whitman, the former governor of New Jersey. From Reuters: “Biden is a decent man, he’s a steady man,” Whitman told Reuters. “Trump is trying to paint the world of Joe Biden as horrific - but that’s Trump’s America now.” She accused Trump of betraying conservative values by undermining the rule of law and national security, lying, dividing Americans along racial lines, and failing the country in his response to the coronavirus pandemic. Weld, a former governor of Massachusetts, briefly and unsuccessfully challenged Trump in the 2020 Republican nominating contest. Another leading member of the group is Rick Snyder, a two-term governor of Michigan who left office in 2019. Snyder decried what he called Trump’s divisive and bullying tactics, adding: “Having worked with Joe Biden and Donald Trump when I was Governor, I believe Biden is the clear choice to put our country back on a positive path.” Whitman, who headed the Environmental Protection Agency under Republican President George W. Bush, said the group will target voters in a handful of battleground states, particularly suburban women and voters who do not like Trump but still hesitate to back Biden. The group launches a website on Thursday and plans to campaign, buy advertisements and place opinion pieces in state and national media in support of Biden. This group represents only the latest round of Republicans who’ve endorsed Biden over Trump. The Lincoln Project political action committee – led by disaffected Republicans – has been dispersing a steady stream of anti-Trump memes and ads. During the Democratic national convention, several Republicans – including Whitman, former secretary of state Colin Powell and former Ohio governor John Kasich – spoke on behalf of Biden.
Updated at 22.33 BST
3 Sept 2020 22.06 BST Today so far That’s it from me for today. My west coast colleague Maanvi Singh will take over the blog for the next few hours. Here’s where the day stands so far: Joe Biden spoke to Jacob Blake by phone today as he visited Kenosha. The Democratic nominee met with several members of Blake’s family, and Blake himself called in to the meeting from his hospital bed, as the 29-year-old African American man continues to recover after being repeatedly shot in the back by a white police officer.
The Democratic nominee met with several members of Blake’s family, and Blake himself called in to the meeting from his hospital bed, as the 29-year-old African American man continues to recover after being repeatedly shot in the back by a white police officer. Biden struck an overall optimistic tone as he spoke at a community meeting in Kenosha, amid ongoing protests over the police shooting of Blake. Biden reflected on how far the country has come since the unrest of 1968, after Dr Martin Luther King was assassinated. “Don’t tell me things can’t change,” Biden said. But he added, “I made a mistake: I thought you could defeat hate. It only hides.”
amid ongoing protests over the police shooting of Blake. Biden reflected on how far the country has come since the unrest of 1968, after Dr was assassinated. “Don’t tell me things can’t change,” Biden said. But he added, “I made a mistake: I thought you could defeat hate. It only hides.” Trump and his advisers tried to walk back his comments encouraging North Carolinians to vote twice in November. The White House claimed the president was only encouraging voters to ensure their mailed-in ballots are counted. But Trump said of voting by mail yesterday, “Let them send it in and let them go vote. And if the system is as good as they say it is then obviously they won’t be able to vote” in person.
The White House claimed the president was only encouraging voters to ensure their mailed-in ballots are counted. But Trump said of voting by mail yesterday, “Let them send it in and let them go vote. And if the system is as good as they say it is then obviously they won’t be able to vote” in person. US jobless claims fell to 881,000 last week, as concerns about unemployment linger. The figure represented a decrease from a week earlier, but 29 million Americans are still receiving unemployment benefits of some kind.
The figure represented a decrease from a week earlier, but 29 million Americans are still receiving unemployment benefits of some kind. Facebook said it would restrict political ads in the final week before the presidential election. The social media giant said it would not accept any new political ads in the week leading up to 3 November, and the company pledged to flag any attempt by a campaign to declare premature victory. Maanvi will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
Updated at 22.35 BST
3 Sept 2020 21.38 BST Wisconsin’s Democratic governor said he urged Joe Biden not to visit Kenosha today, as protests continue over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Tony Evers told reporters in a press call that he “made his position clear” to Biden, but the Democratic nominee chose to come to Kenosha anyway. “Candidates can make their own decisions,” Evers said. “I would prefer that no one be here.” Biden said yesterday that he had received “overwhelming requests” from Democratic leaders to go to Kenosha, but some local officials publicly said they would prefer neither presidential nominee visit at this time. Evers previously sent a letter to Trump, who visited the city on Tuesday, similarly discouraging him from coming. “I am concerned your presence will only hinder our healing,” Evers said in the letter. “I am concerned your presence will only delay our work to overcome division and move forward together.”


theguardian--2020-09-03--Biden warns Trump ‘legitimizes dark side of human nature’ in Kenosha visit

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Thursday warned that Donald Trump ’ s behavior “ legitimizes the dark side of human nature ” .
He made the remarks during a visit to Wisconsin , where he spoke by phone to Jacob Blake , a Black man whose shooting by a white police officer renewed nationwide protests against systemic racism .
For nearly 90 minutes after landing in the state , Biden and his wife , Jill , met privately with Blake ’ s father , Jacob Blake Sr , his mother , Julia Jackson , his siblings , and some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ room at the Milwaukee airport .
Blake , who Biden said was released from the ICU , joined the conversation for nearly 15 minutes from the hospital .
Blake ’ s family said he is paralyzed from the waist down after being struck seven times in the back by police as they tried to arrest him last month in Kenosha , Wisconsin .
“ He talked about how nothing was going to defeat him – how whether he walked again or not , he was not going to give up , ” Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ session with community leaders , and two members of law enforcement , at Grace Lutheran Church in Kenosha .
Blake ’ s shooting followed a summer of high-profile and often fatal encounters between police and Black Americans , and turned Kenosha epicenter of the national debate over police brutality and racial injustice .
Biden ’ s travel to Wisconsin , his first since becoming the party ’ s nominee , was designed to draw a stark contrast with the president , who visited Kenosha on Tuesday .
Biden said he sought common ground @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s comments after the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville , when he said there were “ very fine people on both sides ” , Biden claimed that the president was actively obstructing racial progress .
“ No president has ever said anything like that , ” Biden said .
“ The generic point I ’ m making is , it ’ s not all his fault .
But it legitimizes the dark side of human nature.
” Ignoring the objections of local officials who feared his presence would inflame an already tense @ @ @ @ @ @ @ amplify his tough-on-crime message and forcefully defend law enforcement , rejecting protesters ’ urgent pleas for reform .
He never once mentioned Blake ’ s name and instead focused on the street violence that has erupted alongside peaceful protests , which he blamed on Democratic leaders .
Earlier on Thursday , Trump ’ s campaign manager , Bill Stepien , called Biden ’ s visit inappropriate , accusing him of “ injecting politics into a really serious situation that the president helped solve ” .
At a press conference on Thursday , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrat who asked Trump not to come to Kenosha , said he would have preferred if both candidates stayed away .
Striking a somber tone , Biden sat quietly at the front of the church , listening to the speakers , who included a local Black Lives Matter activist , a fireman and a woman whose business had been looted .
In his remarks , Biden condemned acts of violence .
“ Regardless of how angry you are , if you loot or you burn you ought to be held accountable , period @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the church .
“ It just can not be tolerated , across the board.
” But he also likened the present-day demonstrations to the civil rights movement of the 1960s , casting this moment as a national awakening that could turn the tide of centuries of injustice .
“ We ’ re finally at a point we ’ re going to address the original sin in this country – slavery , and all its vestiges , ” Biden told those in attendance , all of whom , like Biden , wore masks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t tell you everything will be solved in four years .
But I can tell you one thing , it ’ s gon na be a heck of a lot better.
” Before arriving in Kenosha , Biden and Blake ’ s family discussed racial injustices in policing , the reforms that are needed to address those issues , the candidate ’ s “ plans for change ” and the impact of his selection of California senator Kamala Harris , a Black woman , to be his running mate , according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Ben Crump .
“ The family was grateful for the meeting and was very impressed that the Bidens were so engaged and willing to really listen , ” Crump said , adding : “ It was very obvious that Vice-President Biden cared , as he extended to Jacob Jr a sense of humanity , treating him as a person worthy of consideration and prayer.
” After the church , the Bidens met with parents and educators in a backyard in nearby Wauwatosa , Wisconsin , to discuss the challenges of reopening schools @ @ @ @ @

Joe Biden on Thursday warned that Donald Trump’s behavior “legitimizes the dark side of human nature”. He made the remarks during a visit to Wisconsin, where he spoke by phone to Jacob Blake, a Black man whose shooting by a white police officer renewed nationwide protests against systemic racism.
For nearly 90 minutes after landing in the state, Biden and his wife, Jill, met privately with Blake’s father, Jacob Blake Sr, his mother, Julia Jackson, his siblings, and some members of his legal team in a room at the Milwaukee airport.
Blake, who Biden said was released from the ICU, joined the conversation for nearly 15 minutes from the hospital. Blake’s family said he is paralyzed from the waist down after being struck seven times in the back by police as they tried to arrest him last month in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
“He talked about how nothing was going to defeat him – how whether he walked again or not, he was not going to give up,” Biden said of their conversation during a listening session with community leaders, and two members of law enforcement, at Grace Lutheran church in Kenosha.
02:28 Joe Biden praises Jacob Blake's resilience after meeting family – video
Blake’s shooting followed a summer of high-profile and often fatal encounters between police and Black Americans, and turned Kenosha epicenter of the national debate over police brutality and racial injustice.
Biden’s travel to Wisconsin, his first since becoming the party’s nominee, was designed to draw a stark contrast with the president, who visited Kenosha on Tuesday. Biden said he sought common ground while Trump stoked division. Recalling Trump’s comments after the white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, when he said there were “very fine people on both sides”, Biden claimed that the president was actively obstructing racial progress.
“No president has ever said anything like that,” Biden said. “The generic point I’m making is, it’s not all his fault. But it legitimizes the dark side of human nature.”
Ignoring the objections of local officials who feared his presence would inflame an already tense situation, Trump used the visit to amplify his tough-on-crime message and forcefully defend law enforcement, rejecting protesters’ urgent pleas for reform. He never once mentioned Blake’s name and instead focused on the street violence that has erupted alongside peaceful protests, which he blamed on Democratic leaders.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, called Biden’s visit inappropriate, accusing him of “injecting politics into a really serious situation that the president helped solve”.
At a press conference on Thursday, the Wisconsin governor, Tony Evers, a Democrat who asked Trump not to come to Kenosha, said he would have preferred if both candidates stayed away.
Striking a somber tone, Biden sat quietly at the front of the church, listening to the speakers, who included a local Black Lives Matter activist, a fireman and a woman whose business had been looted.
In his remarks, Biden condemned acts of violence. “Regardless of how angry you are, if you loot or you burn you ought to be held accountable, period,” he said during his remarks at the church. “It just cannot be tolerated, across the board.”
But he also likened the present-day demonstrations to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, casting this moment as a national awakening that could turn the tide of centuries of injustice.
“We’re finally at a point we’re going to address the original sin in this country – slavery, and all its vestiges,” Biden told those in attendance, all of whom, like Biden, wore masks and sat apart. “I can’t tell you everything will be solved in four years. But I can tell you one thing, it’s gonna be a heck of a lot better.”
Before arriving in Kenosha, Biden and Blake’s family discussed racial injustices in policing, the reforms that are needed to address those issues, the candidate’s “plans for change” and the impact of his selection of California senator Kamala Harris, a Black woman, to be his running mate, according to a statement released by a family attorney, Ben Crump.
“The family was grateful for the meeting and was very impressed that the Bidens were so engaged and willing to really listen,” Crump said, adding: “It was very obvious that Vice-President Biden cared, as he extended to Jacob Jr a sense of humanity, treating him as a person worthy of consideration and prayer.”
After the church, the Bidens met with parents and educators in a backyard in nearby Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, to discuss the challenges of reopening schools amid the coronavirus pandemic.


theguardian--2020-09-03--CDC's autumn vaccine hint fuels fears of pressure from Trump

Challenged last month on the government ’ s failure to contain the coronavirus in the United States , Mike Pence , the vice-president , said : “ We think there is a miracle around the corner.
” Pence might have been speaking from more than faith alone .
On Wednesday , it emerged that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) had instructed states to prepare to distribute a coronavirus vaccine to healthcare workers and vulnerable populations – just in time for the 3 November election .
For months , critics of the Trump administration have worried @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Federal Drug Administration ( FDA ) , the CDC and other agencies to rush a hasty coronavirus vaccine to market before the election .
Now it appears that Donald Trump could be in a position – as the confirmed US death toll from Covid-19 approaches 200,000 , and just as undecided voters are looking for a sign on which way to swing – to announce that a vaccine is imminent .
Efforts to find a safe and effective US Covid-19 vaccine began the gold standard phase-three trial stage in July .
The potentially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump does not mean that the vaccine or vaccines would be illegitimate , although federal regulators would have to rush the approvals process to move a coronavirus vaccine to market so quickly .
Scientifically respected voices in the administration , including Anthony Fauci , the top federal infectious diseases expert , have been saying for months that vaccine development was moving swiftly .
At the end of July , Fauci told Congress he was “ cautiously optimistic ” that a “ safe and effective ” coronavirus vaccine would be available to the public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thursday , he said that news of a successful vaccine by October was “ unlikely , not impossible ” .
Any rollout in late October of an initial wave of vaccine doses , for those who need them most , could be in line with the most aggressive vaccine timelines mooted by experts last spring .
However , such an event would also dovetail remarkably with Trump ’ s political needs as the pandemic continues to be out of control in the US .
Critics have been warning for months that Trump could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exaggerate the magnitude of an initial vaccine rollout , just as he has exaggerated the national testing capacity – in order to win re-election .
Those critics have pointed out that a key agency in the process , the FDA , which would have to grant emergency use approval for any vaccine candidate to be distributed before the full completion of trials , has shown itself vulnerable to political pressure .
After Trump touted the drug hydroxychloroquine as an effective coronavirus treatment , the FDA granted emergency authorization for the drug to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the authorization after two months .
Concerns about the FDA grew at the weekend as its commissioner , Stephen Hahn , told the Financial Times that he was prepared to issue emergency use authorization for a vaccine before the end of phase-three human trials , in which efficacy is tested in tens of thousands of human subjects .
Hahn said the agency ’ s decision would be based on whether “ the benefit outweighs the risk in a public health emergency ” .
The CDC did not appear to be advising states that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was imminent , instead advising them that a vaccine could be ready soon .
The CDC notified public health officials in all 50 states and five major cities to begin making preparations to distribute vaccines , the New York Times first reported .
The agency described guidelines for shipping , mixing , storing and administering two unnamed candidate vaccines , the report said .
Days earlier , the CDC director , Robert Redfield , wrote a letter to state governors asking that they “ consider waiving requirements ” to allow a company with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ set up local facilities .
Vaccine advocates worry that by potentially rushing an ineffective , or worse , dangerous , vaccine to market , the government could fuel vaccine skepticism and leave the population vulnerable to diseases once believed to have been eradicated if it prompts them to avoid other inoculations .
“ The president keeps telling us the virus is going to disappear , ” Joe Biden said at the Democratic national convention last month .
“ He keeps waiting for a miracle .
Well , I have news for him : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also voiced concerned that underfunded state health departments are not ready to be able to distribute and administer a vaccine to the waiting millions .
The White House press secretary , Kayleigh McEnany , on Thursday afternoon dismissed concerns that Trump is pressuring the FDA .
“ No one is pressuring the FDA to do anything , ” McEnany said .

Challenged last month on the government’s failure to contain the coronavirus in the United States, Mike Pence, the vice-president, said: “We think there is a miracle around the corner.”
Pence might have been speaking from more than faith alone. On Wednesday, it emerged that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had instructed states to prepare to distribute a coronavirus vaccine to healthcare workers and vulnerable populations – just in time for the 3 November election.
For months, critics of the Trump administration have worried that the White House would pressure the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the CDC and other agencies to rush a hasty coronavirus vaccine to market before the election.
Now it appears that Donald Trump could be in a position – as the confirmed US death toll from Covid-19 approaches 200,000, and just as undecided voters are looking for a sign on which way to swing – to announce that a vaccine is imminent.
Efforts to find a safe and effective US Covid-19 vaccine began the gold standard phase-three trial stage in July.
The potentially propitious autumn timing of a vaccine for Trump does not mean that the vaccine or vaccines would be illegitimate, although federal regulators would have to rush the approvals process to move a coronavirus vaccine to market so quickly.
Scientifically respected voices in the administration, including Anthony Fauci, the top federal infectious diseases expert, have been saying for months that vaccine development was moving swiftly.
At the end of July, Fauci told Congress he was “cautiously optimistic” that a “safe and effective” coronavirus vaccine would be available to the public by the end of 2020. On Thursday, he said that news of a successful vaccine by October was “unlikely, not impossible”.
Any rollout in late October of an initial wave of vaccine doses, for those who need them most, could be in line with the most aggressive vaccine timelines mooted by experts last spring. However, such an event would also dovetail remarkably with Trump’s political needs as the pandemic continues to be out of control in the US.
Critics have been warning for months that Trump could try to rush a vaccine – or exaggerate the magnitude of an initial vaccine rollout, just as he has exaggerated the national testing capacity – in order to win re-election.
Those critics have pointed out that a key agency in the process, the FDA, which would have to grant emergency use approval for any vaccine candidate to be distributed before the full completion of trials, has shown itself vulnerable to political pressure.
After Trump touted the drug hydroxychloroquine as an effective coronavirus treatment, the FDA granted emergency authorization for the drug to be used that way – only to revoke the authorization after two months.
Concerns about the FDA grew at the weekend as its commissioner, Stephen Hahn, told the Financial Times that he was prepared to issue emergency use authorization for a vaccine before the end of phase-three human trials, in which efficacy is tested in tens of thousands of human subjects.
Hahn said the agency’s decision would be based on whether “the benefit outweighs the risk in a public health emergency”.
The CDC did not appear to be advising states that a general rollout of a new vaccine was imminent, instead advising them that a vaccine could be ready soon.
The CDC notified public health officials in all 50 states and five major cities to begin making preparations to distribute vaccines, the New York Times first reported. The agency described guidelines for shipping, mixing, storing and administering two unnamed candidate vaccines, the report said.
Days earlier, the CDC director, Robert Redfield, wrote a letter to state governors asking that they “consider waiving requirements” to allow a company with a federal contract to distribute vaccines to set up local facilities.
Vaccine advocates worry that by potentially rushing an ineffective, or worse, dangerous, vaccine to market, the government could fuel vaccine skepticism and leave the population vulnerable to diseases once believed to have been eradicated if it prompts them to avoid other inoculations.
“The president keeps telling us the virus is going to disappear,” Joe Biden said at the Democratic national convention last month.
“He keeps waiting for a miracle. Well, I have news for him: no miracle is coming.”
Officials have also voiced concerned that underfunded state health departments are not ready to be able to distribute and administer a vaccine to the waiting millions.
The White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, on Thursday afternoon dismissed concerns that Trump is pressuring the FDA.
“No one is pressuring the FDA to do anything,” McEnany said.


theguardian--2020-09-03--Joe Biden meets privately with Jacob Blake's family amid protests over shooting

Joe Biden on Thursday began a visit to Wisconsin by meeting with the family of Jacob Blake , a Black man who was gravely wounded after a white police officer shot him in the back last month .
For more than an hour after arriving in the battleground state , Biden and his wife , Jill , met privately with Blake ’ s father , Jacob Blake Sr , his mother , Julia Jackson , his siblings , and some members of his legal team , including attorney Ben Crump , who joined by phone .
Blake remains hospitalized after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
His shooting touched off weeks of protests in Kenosha , renewing nationwide demonstrations against racial injustice and police brutality that have raged all summer since the police killing of George Floyd in May .
After the meeting , Biden is expected to hold a discussion with business figures , civic leaders and law enforcement officials in Kenosha .
“ I ’ m not going to tell Kenosha what to do , but what we ’ ll do together , ” Biden said following a campaign speech from his Wilmington , Delaware , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his intention was to “ start to talk about what has to be done ” .
Biden took questions about the Blake shooting after his speech on Wednesday .
He said : “ I think we should let the judicial system work its way .
I do think at a minimum they need to be charged , the officers.
” The former vice-president and Democratic presidential candidate will visit the battleground state of Wisconsin as Kenosha , a small city located between Milwaukee and Chicago on the shore of Lake Michigan , became @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racism and police brutality , ahead of the 2020 election .
The visit by Biden and his wife Jill follows a controversial stop by Donald Trump just two days earlier .
During his own trip , the president singled out cities such as Kenosha , Minneapolis and Portland to promote a campaign message of “ law and order ” .
During his trip , Trump never once said Blake ’ s name and did not meet with any members of his family , instead touring buildings damaged in the protests and talking to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Matter activists , citing them for escalating tensions , Trump refused to condemn the violence of his supporters , including Kyle Rittenhouse , 17 , who allegedly shot and killed two protesters two nights after Blake was shot , when he and other armed , white agitators appeared on the streets of Kenosha .
Daily protests and rallies since that time in Kenosha have been peaceful , apart from limited scuffles with supporters of Trump after his visit to the city had concluded on Tuesday .
The US attorney general , William Barr @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rhetoric , attempting to differentiate Blake ’ s ordeal from that of George Floyd , a Black Minneapolis man whose May killing by Minneapolis police has sparked months of ongoing protests , by claiming that “ in the Jacob case , he was in the midst of committing a felony ” , and falsely claiming that Blake had been armed .
A federal civil rights investigation is underway into the shooting of Blake .
Biden has ramped up criticism of the president , accusing him of exploiting unrest in cities and racial tensions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a speech on Monday : “ Do you really feel safer under Donald Trump ?
” The former vice-president also cautioned demonstrators that “ violence will not bring change , ” only destruction , adding that “ rioting ” , “ setting fires ” and “ looting is not protesting ” .
“ It ’ s wrong in every way .
It ’ s lawlessness , plain and simple .
And those who do it should be prosecuted , ” Biden said .
In response to clashes , the Wisconsin governor , Tony @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to visit , echoing local NAACP leadership who have called for no politicians present in the community .
Biden , however , insisted he had spoken to city officials and the governor ’ s staff in planning the visit .

Kenya Evelyn and Lauren Gambino in Washington

Joe Biden on Thursday began a visit to Wisconsin by meeting with the family of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was gravely wounded after a white police officer shot him in the back last month.
For more than an hour after arriving in the battleground state, Biden and his wife, Jill, met privately with Blake’s father, Jacob Blake Sr, his mother, Julia Jackson, his siblings, and some members of his legal team, including attorney Ben Crump, who joined by phone.
02:28 Joe Biden praises Jacob Blake's resilience after meeting family – video
Blake remains hospitalized after being shot seven times in the back. His shooting touched off weeks of protests in Kenosha, renewing nationwide demonstrations against racial injustice and police brutality that have raged all summer since the police killing of George Floyd in May.
After the meeting, Biden is expected to hold a discussion with business figures, civic leaders and law enforcement officials in Kenosha.
“I’m not going to tell Kenosha what to do, but what we’ll do together,” Biden said following a campaign speech from his Wilmington, Delaware, home on Wednesday. He added that his intention was to “start to talk about what has to be done”.
Biden took questions about the Blake shooting after his speech on Wednesday.
He said: “I think we should let the judicial system work its way. I do think at a minimum they need to be charged, the officers.”
The former vice-president and Democratic presidential candidate will visit the battleground state of Wisconsin as Kenosha, a small city located between Milwaukee and Chicago on the shore of Lake Michigan, became a focus of nationwide protests against institutionalized racism and police brutality, ahead of the 2020 election.
The visit by Biden and his wife Jill follows a controversial stop by Donald Trump just two days earlier. During his own trip, the president singled out cities such as Kenosha, Minneapolis and Portland to promote a campaign message of “law and order”.
During his trip, Trump never once said Blake’s name and did not meet with any members of his family, instead touring buildings damaged in the protests and talking to officials.
Although he criticized Black Lives Matter activists, citing them for escalating tensions, Trump refused to condemn the violence of his supporters, including Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, who allegedly shot and killed two protesters two nights after Blake was shot, when he and other armed, white agitators appeared on the streets of Kenosha.
Daily protests and rallies since that time in Kenosha have been peaceful, apart from limited scuffles with supporters of Trump after his visit to the city had concluded on Tuesday.
The US attorney general, William Barr, then echoed the president’s rhetoric, attempting to differentiate Blake’s ordeal from that of George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis man whose May killing by Minneapolis police has sparked months of ongoing protests, by claiming that “in the Jacob case, he was in the midst of committing a felony”, and falsely claiming that Blake had been armed.
A federal civil rights investigation is underway into the shooting of Blake.
Biden has ramped up criticism of the president, accusing him of exploiting unrest in cities and racial tensions for political gain, asking repeatedly during a speech on Monday: “Do you really feel safer under Donald Trump?”
The former vice-president also cautioned demonstrators that “violence will not bring change,” only destruction, adding that “rioting”, “setting fires” and “looting is not protesting”.
“It’s wrong in every way. It’s lawlessness, plain and simple. And those who do it should be prosecuted,” Biden said.
In response to clashes, the Wisconsin governor, Tony Evers, called for the president not to visit, echoing local NAACP leadership who have called for no politicians present in the community.
Biden, however, insisted he had spoken to city officials and the governor’s staff in planning the visit.


theguardian--2020-09-03--'A political awakening': how south Asians could tilt key US elections

This article was published in collaboration with the Juggernaut Around 2016 , Aamina Ahmed found herself wondering why , for all the talk about getting out to vote , no one had been canvassing in her neighborhood in Canton , Michigan .
Canton is a township between Detroit and Ann Arbor with a growing south Asian population .
Ahmed , who is Pakistani American and works and volunteers for several civic engagement organizations , started to speak up about the absence of activity at local candidate forums .
Intrigued , a worker at a voter outreach organization went back to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ visited these neighborhoods .
It turned out that the field workers had skipped visiting voters with names they felt they couldn ’ t pronounce .
“ They were viewing it as , ‘ Well , we don ’ t want to offend the person by mispronouncing their name versus you are actually excluding them from the opportunity to participate in democracy , ” Ahmed said .
Such is the kind of story that turns up when probing why south Asian Americans , who historically have high voter turnout rates and lean toward the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote .
Coupled with voter suppression tactics and difficulty understanding the complex US political process , targeted outreach has lagged , and some south Asians face issues related to language access and gender inclusion .
These factors are hindering a burgeoning American political awakening , according to more than a dozen community organizers , researchers and political campaigners .
But it would be a mistake to overlook the south Asian community ’ s political significance .
Growing numbers among multiple south Asian communities underscore their strength within the Asian American demographic , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ US electorate .
The south Asian American population – those who trace their ancestry to the southern region of Asia – grew by 43 % from 2011 to 5.7 million people in 2018 , according to the American Community Survey , while the total US population grew by only 4.7 % during that same time period .
And about 2 million Indian Americans , the second largest immigrant group in the country , are eligible to vote in the US , according to Devesh Kapur , professor of south Asian studies at Johns @ @ @ @ @ @ @ One Percent : Indians in America .
Meanwhile , Democratic activists and donors hope Joe Biden ’ s running mate Kamala Harris , the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica , can help sway undecided Indian Americans – as Donald Trump ’ s campaign also tries to double-down on outreach to the community it began four years ago with a new ad targeting Indian American voters .
The 2016 US presidential election was a watershed moment for Indian American influence in American electoral politics , according to Adi Sathi , the former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the Republican National Committee .
Trump won Michigan by only 10,704 votes , he said , shining a spotlight on the potential role of new voters .
“ I do think that the Indian American community came out in support of the president more than they might have in the past , ” Sathi said .
Sathi credits the Michigan Republican party , which had created an Indian American Coalition that election cycle to engage voters through grassroots campaigns , fundraisers and appearances at high-profile events for the Indian community , such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But given the south Asian community ’ s booming numbers , distinguishing how different south Asians – not just Indian Americans – vote bears significance .
The 2016 Post-Election National Asian American survey shows that Bangladeshi and Pakistani Americans were much more inclined to Hillary Clinton than Indian Americans : 90 % of Bangladeshi Americans and 88 % of Pakistani Americans voted for Clinton compared with 77 % of Indian Americans .
It ’ s also important to look at where voters live – for example , according to data from 2018 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voters in the US , about 500,000 live in battleground states .
With razor-thin margins in these regions , voter mobilization within the south Asian community could have the greatest impact in Arizona , Florida , Georgia , Michigan , North Carolina , Pennsylvania , Texas and Wisconsin , said Karthick Ramakrishnan , a political scientist at University of California Riverside and founder of AAPI Data .
Constituencies with significant south Asian American populations , including Democratic strongholds in California , New Jersey and Illinois , and purple regions in Texas like the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the attention of grassroots organizers trying to capture south Asian votes .
Outreach is essential to bringing these communities into the fold , particularly since people tend to become politicized during their high school and college years , and most south Asians immigrate to the US after obtaining their college degrees , said Ramakrishnan .
“ If many of these south Asians found their political awakening in south Asia , it might not always translate that well into US politics .
So there ’ s a new kind of socialization that needs to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effective outreach among south Asians relies on knowing the nuances of these communities .
According to the 2018 Population Survey , for example , the median household income for Indian US citizens in Michigan is $ 100,559 ; for Bangladeshi US citizens , it ’ s $ 57,605 .
Indian Americans tend to have high English proficiency levels , which correlates with slightly higher voter turnout of 89 % among those who are registered ( v 87 % for the US total ) .
In contrast , Pakistani and Bangladeshi Americans turn out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % and 83 % among registered voters , respectively .
Even for Bangladeshi Americans who can speak and read English , not being able to read a voter ballot in Bengali is challenging , said Fatema Haque of the Michigan non-profit Rising Voices of Asian American Families .
“ Most folks are working-class , ” she said , referring to Bangladeshi communities in the Detroit and Hamtramck areas .
The border between the two cities is known as “ Banglatown ” because it ’ s home to one of the largest Bangladeshi populations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years [ in Michigan ] , there wasn ’ t a ballot in Bengali.
” Raihan Faroqui of the New York-based grassroots group Bangladeshi Americans for Political Progress ( BAPP ) echoed the sentiment .
“ What we know is that language access is the number-one impediment [ to voter engagement ] , ” he said , adding that BAPP has spent the past year translating instructions on how to fill out absentee ballots and other election material into the languages of New York ’ s electorate , including Bengali , Hindi , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rights Act mandates that jurisdictions make language assistance available once they reach a specified threshold of voting-age citizens from a single language minority group .
That means accessibility depends on where you live : the only non-English language available on voter ballots in Georgia , for example , is Spanish , whereas California ’ s multiple ballot languages include Punjabi .
Temples , mosques and other religious and cultural centers – places south Asian voters and future voters might visit under normal , non-pandemic circumstances – can serve as natural access points to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issues .
But whether and how those groups interact with politics affects engagement .
Some older mosques in the Detroit and Hamtramck area , for instance , are gender-segregated according to different times of the day but still mostly attract men , Haque said .
And it was only this year – before Covid-19 broke out – that some Hindu temples finally welcomed on-site voter registration , said Ratna Rao of the Michigan-based group Samosa , or South Asians of Michigan Organizing for Serious Action .
The temples would insist that they don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though voter registration is a non-partisan activity .
“ I mean , you couldn ’ t get through to them , ” Rao said .
Rao also found a certain detachment when knocking on the doors of upper-middle-class Indian immigrant enclaves .
Often , a child would answer the door – “ Mom , the voting auntie is here !
” they would call out .
But the family would be hesitant to engage , even with another south Asian .
“ They will say , ‘ Oh , I can ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s my husband ’ s job , ’ ” Rao said .
Sunil Mehta , co-founder of They See Blue , a nationwide grassroots campaign focused on mobilizing south Asian Americans to elect Democratic candidates , also observes a cultural divide .
“ Many south Asians have not yet detached themselves from south Asian politics , ” he said .
As Trump tries to capitalize on this through events targeting the Indian American community , like Howdy !
Modi , where he appeared alongside the Indian prime minister and his cheering fans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hindus for Trump ’ in New Jersey , Mehta believes reaching south Asian voters where they are is key .
In the 2018 midterm elections , for example , his organization invested in spots on Radio Punjab in California ’ s Central Valley , a stronghold for the state ’ s Punjabi Indian population .
Every day for two weeks before the election , listeners , including an audience of tens of thousands of Indian truck drivers , could hear upwards of six spots about voting .
Similarly , voters looking for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assembly district 34 , which includes the south Asian-heavy neighborhood of Jackson Heights in Queens , needed to look no further than TBN24 on Facebook Live – “ the voice for Non-Resident Bangladeshis and Bengali speakers living across the globe ” .
This year ’ s debate included Joy Chowdhury , a Bangladeshi-born Uber driver , who was the only immigrant in the race .
Even with media interest , though , south Asians still face broader challenges in the electoral system .
During Georgia ’ s upended June primary , voters faced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worker shortages because of Covid-19 .
Many absentee ballots never showed up in the state where Indians are the largest subgroup of Asians in Georgia .
Two-thirds of all Asians in the state are citizens .
“ The way that voter suppression works in Georgia , specifically targeting the Asian American community or immigrant communities , is just as insidious as it ’ s targeting … to suppress the vote of people of color , ” said Stephanie Cho , the executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice ( AAJC ) in Atlanta @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tips from two different Asian Americans that issues were arising at a Georgia high school in North Fulton – a historically Republican , affluent , white area with high numbers of Indians and Koreans – she went to monitor the situation .
She took notice of the poll manager , an older white woman .
“ I just observed the way she talked to people .
And it was really different , how she talked to white voters versus this one Indian couple , because they were just asking questions about this form @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Cho .
Later that night , after Fulton county had delayed the polls ’ closing time to 9pm , it took a white man to convince the poll manager that that was the case , even though an election monitor from AAJC – a south Asian American – had also been trying to tell her the same thing .

This article was published in collaboration with the Juggernaut
Around 2016, Aamina Ahmed found herself wondering why, for all the talk about getting out to vote, no one had been canvassing in her neighborhood in Canton, Michigan.
Canton is a township between Detroit and Ann Arbor with a growing south Asian population. Ahmed, who is Pakistani American and works and volunteers for several civic engagement organizations, started to speak up about the absence of activity at local candidate forums. Intrigued, a worker at a voter outreach organization went back to their colleagues to inquire if they had visited these neighborhoods. It turned out that the field workers had skipped visiting voters with names they felt they couldn’t pronounce.
“They were viewing it as, ‘Well, we don’t want to offend the person by mispronouncing their name versus you are actually excluding them from the opportunity to participate in democracy,” Ahmed said.
Such is the kind of story that turns up when probing why south Asian Americans, who historically have high voter turnout rates and lean toward the Democratic party, might not cast their vote. Coupled with voter suppression tactics and difficulty understanding the complex US political process, targeted outreach has lagged, and some south Asians face issues related to language access and gender inclusion. These factors are hindering a burgeoning American political awakening, according to more than a dozen community organizers, researchers and political campaigners.
But it would be a mistake to overlook the south Asian community’s political significance. Growing numbers among multiple south Asian communities underscore their strength within the Asian American demographic, the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the US electorate.
The south Asian American population – those who trace their ancestry to the southern region of Asia – grew by 43% from 2011 to 5.7 million people in 2018, according to the American Community Survey, while the total US population grew by only 4.7% during that same time period. And about 2 million Indian Americans, the second largest immigrant group in the country, are eligible to vote in the US, according to Devesh Kapur, professor of south Asian studies at Johns Hopkins University and co-author of The Other One Percent: Indians in America.
Harini Krishnan, right, of South Asians for Biden and her daughter Janani Krishnan-Jha watch the Democratic convention at home in California. Photograph: Michael Short/Getty Images
Meanwhile, Democratic activists and donors hope Joe Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris, the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, can help sway undecided Indian Americans – as Donald Trump’s campaign also tries to double-down on outreach to the community it began four years ago with a new ad targeting Indian American voters.
The 2016 US presidential election was a watershed moment for Indian American influence in American electoral politics, according to Adi Sathi, the former national director for Asian Pacific American Engagement at the Republican National Committee. Trump won Michigan by only 10,704 votes, he said, shining a spotlight on the potential role of new voters.
“I do think that the Indian American community came out in support of the president more than they might have in the past,” Sathi said.
Sathi credits the Michigan Republican party, which had created an Indian American Coalition that election cycle to engage voters through grassroots campaigns, fundraisers and appearances at high-profile events for the Indian community, such as the annual India Day parade.
But given the south Asian community’s booming numbers, distinguishing how different south Asians – not just Indian Americans – vote bears significance. The 2016 Post-Election National Asian American survey shows that Bangladeshi and Pakistani Americans were much more inclined to Hillary Clinton than Indian Americans: 90% of Bangladeshi Americans and 88% of Pakistani Americans voted for Clinton compared with 77% of Indian Americans.
It’s also important to look at where voters live – for example, according to data from 2018, of the estimated 2 million Indian American voters in the US, about 500,000 live in battleground states. With razor-thin margins in these regions, voter mobilization within the south Asian community could have the greatest impact in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin, said Karthick Ramakrishnan, a political scientist at University of California Riverside and founder of AAPI Data.
Volunteers for Long Island south Asian congressional candidate Shaniyat Chowdhury hand out gyros outside the legally mandated distance from a polling site in June. Photograph: Raihan Faroqui
Constituencies with significant south Asian American populations, including Democratic strongholds in California, New Jersey and Illinois, and purple regions in Texas like the Houston suburbs, are also increasingly attracting the attention of grassroots organizers trying to capture south Asian votes.
Outreach is essential to bringing these communities into the fold, particularly since people tend to become politicized during their high school and college years, and most south Asians immigrate to the US after obtaining their college degrees, said Ramakrishnan.
“If many of these south Asians found their political awakening in south Asia, it might not always translate that well into US politics. So there’s a new kind of socialization that needs to happen,” he said.
Executing effective outreach among south Asians relies on knowing the nuances of these communities. According to the 2018 Population Survey, for example, the median household income for Indian US citizens in Michigan is $100,559; for Bangladeshi US citizens, it’s $57,605. Indian Americans tend to have high English proficiency levels, which correlates with slightly higher voter turnout of 89% among those who are registered (v 87% for the US total). In contrast, Pakistani and Bangladeshi Americans turn out at slightly lower levels, at 86% and 83% among registered voters, respectively.
Even for Bangladeshi Americans who can speak and read English, not being able to read a voter ballot in Bengali is challenging, said Fatema Haque of the Michigan non-profit Rising Voices of Asian American Families.
“Most folks are working-class,” she said, referring to Bangladeshi communities in the Detroit and Hamtramck areas. The border between the two cities is known as “Banglatown” because it’s home to one of the largest Bangladeshi populations in the US. “For many years [in Michigan], there wasn’t a ballot in Bengali.”
Muslim men pray at the Baitul Mukarram Mosque for Zuhar prayer in Hamtramck, Michigan. Photograph: Bryan Mitchell/The Guardian
Raihan Faroqui of the New York-based grassroots group Bangladeshi Americans for Political Progress (BAPP) echoed the sentiment. “What we know is that language access is the number-one impediment [to voter engagement],” he said, adding that BAPP has spent the past year translating instructions on how to fill out absentee ballots and other election material into the languages of New York’s electorate, including Bengali, Hindi, Tibetan and Nepali.
The federal Voting Rights Act mandates that jurisdictions make language assistance available once they reach a specified threshold of voting-age citizens from a single language minority group. That means accessibility depends on where you live: the only non-English language available on voter ballots in Georgia, for example, is Spanish, whereas California’s multiple ballot languages include Punjabi.
Temples, mosques and other religious and cultural centers – places south Asian voters and future voters might visit under normal, non-pandemic circumstances – can serve as natural access points to register to vote and learn about civic issues. But whether and how those groups interact with politics affects engagement.
Some older mosques in the Detroit and Hamtramck area, for instance, are gender-segregated according to different times of the day but still mostly attract men, Haque said. And it was only this year – before Covid-19 broke out – that some Hindu temples finally welcomed on-site voter registration, said Ratna Rao of the Michigan-based group Samosa, or South Asians of Michigan Organizing for Serious Action. The temples would insist that they don’t get involved in politics even though voter registration is a non-partisan activity. “I mean, you couldn’t get through to them,” Rao said.
Rao also found a certain detachment when knocking on the doors of upper-middle-class Indian immigrant enclaves. Often, a child would answer the door – “Mom, the voting auntie is here!” they would call out. But the family would be hesitant to engage, even with another south Asian. “They will say, ‘Oh, I can’t talk to you about that because that’s my husband’s job,’” Rao said.
Sunil Mehta, co-founder of They See Blue, a nationwide grassroots campaign focused on mobilizing south Asian Americans to elect Democratic candidates, also observes a cultural divide.
“Many south Asians have not yet detached themselves from south Asian politics,” he said.
As Trump tries to capitalize on this through events targeting the Indian American community, like Howdy! Modi, where he appeared alongside the Indian prime minister and his cheering fans in Houston last September, or ‘Hindus for Trump’ in New Jersey, Mehta believes reaching south Asian voters where they are is key.
In the 2018 midterm elections, for example, his organization invested in spots on Radio Punjab in California’s Central Valley, a stronghold for the state’s Punjabi Indian population. Every day for two weeks before the election, listeners, including an audience of tens of thousands of Indian truck drivers, could hear upwards of six spots about voting.
Crowds chant as they wait for the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, and Donald Trump to speak at the ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston, Texas, in 2019. Photograph: Patric Schneider/EPA
Similarly, voters looking for a debate among the candidates for New York assembly district 34, which includes the south Asian-heavy neighborhood of Jackson Heights in Queens, needed to look no further than TBN24 on Facebook Live – “the voice for Non-Resident Bangladeshis and Bengali speakers living across the globe”. This year’s debate included Joy Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi-born Uber driver, who was the only immigrant in the race.
Even with media interest, though, south Asians still face broader challenges in the electoral system.
During Georgia’s upended June primary, voters faced hours-long lines, equipment malfunctions and poll worker shortages because of Covid-19. Many absentee ballots never showed up in the state where Indians are the largest subgroup of Asians in Georgia. Two-thirds of all Asians in the state are citizens.
“The way that voter suppression works in Georgia, specifically targeting the Asian American community or immigrant communities, is just as insidious as it’s targeting … to suppress the vote of people of color,” said Stephanie Cho, the executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) in Atlanta.
When Cho’s group received tips from two different Asian Americans that issues were arising at a Georgia high school in North Fulton – a historically Republican, affluent, white area with high numbers of Indians and Koreans – she went to monitor the situation. She took notice of the poll manager, an older white woman.
“I just observed the way she talked to people. And it was really different, how she talked to white voters versus this one Indian couple, because they were just asking questions about this form that they needed to sign,” said Cho.
Later that night, after Fulton county had delayed the polls’ closing time to 9pm, it took a white man to convince the poll manager that that was the case, even though an election monitor from AAJC – a south Asian American – had also been trying to tell her the same thing.


theguardian--2020-09-03--What has four years of Donald Trump meant for the climate crisis?

The United States is one of the most polluting nations in the world – its factories , power plants , homes , cars and farms pump billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year .
By the end of this century , the earth ’ s temperature will rise by several degrees , many scientists say , if highly polluting countries such as the US don ’ t control their output now .
The Guardian ’ s US environment reporter , Emily Holden , tells Anushka Asthana about Donald Trump ’ s environmental policies over the past @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many of the pledges made by Barack Obama – most notably dropping out of the Paris climate agreement .
She also looks at the proposals from the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden , which include putting Americans back to work installing millions of solar panels and tens of thousands of wind turbines , making the steel for those projects , manufacturing electric vehicles for the world and shipping them from US ports .
What the American people decide in November , Emily believes , is critical for the future of the planet @

Presented by Anushka Asthana and reported by Emily Holden. Produced by Hannah Moore and Nicholas Cox. The executive producers are Phil Maynard and Nicole Jackson. Adapted by Laura Murphy-Oates

The United States is one of the most polluting nations in the world – its factories, power plants, homes, cars and farms pump billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. By the end of this century, the earth’s temperature will rise by several degrees, many scientists say, if highly polluting countries such as the US don’t control their output now.
The Guardian’s US environment reporter, Emily Holden, tells Anushka Asthana about Donald Trump’s environmental policies over the past four years, which have included reversing many of the pledges made by Barack Obama – most notably dropping out of the Paris climate agreement. She also looks at the proposals from the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, which include putting Americans back to work installing millions of solar panels and tens of thousands of wind turbines, making the steel for those projects, manufacturing electric vehicles for the world and shipping them from US ports. What the American people decide in November, Emily believes, is critical for the future of the planet.