Trump news: Four RNC attendees test positive for Covid as president gives full pardon to Alice Johnson after she praised him in speech
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Donald Trump gave a full pardon to Alice Johnson on Friday after she praised the president at the Republican National Convention.
Trump gave his own performance at the convention top ratings for the second-longest acceptance speech since 1984, behind only himself in 2016. Fox News called it "flat and too long".
Rand Paul called on the FBI to investigate 'paid anarchists' that harassed the Senator and other RNC attendees as they left the White House on Thursday night.
The end of the Republican convention came as four people who attended in Charlotte, North Carolina, earlier in the week tested positive for Covid-19.
The House Foreign Affairs committee, meanwhile, announced the panel would carry out contempt proceedings against US secretary of state Mike Pompeo for refusing to provide subpoenaed documents in an investigation into government resources.
While thousands attended the March on Washington calling for federal police reforms, Trump finished his week at a New Hampshire campaign rally saying protesters during the RNC were just bad people and troublemakers who didn't know who George Floyd is.
Fox News host says Trump speech 'too long' and 'flat'
Chris Wallace, the Fox News anchor whose interview with Donald Trump went viral last month, has delivered his verdict on Thursday's Republican nomination acceptance speech.
Speaking on Friday morning, Mr Wallace said: "I have to say, his delivery, and we have seen the president turn on a crowd, was surprisingly flat and it didn't seem to have the bite that he usually does have in his speeches."
That comes ahead of the publication of TV ratings, which are expected to be released later on Friday.
New book details Ivanka feud with Melania
A former confidant of Melania Trump has detailed what she claims is a tense relationship between the first lady and president Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, in a new book.
Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who is said to have been close to Ms Trump for several years before she entered the White House, alleges in Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship with the First Lady that she attempted to block Ivanka from appearing in photos of her father’s swearing-in at his January 2017 inauguration.
The book's release comes less than a week after the pair appeared together on the fourth and final night of the Republican national convention on Thursday.
Social media users were quick to notice the first lady's facial expressions change as Ivanka appeared.
Ms Wolkoff's book also alleges that there was an ongoing power struggle between the two women in the White House, with the president's daughter having tried to block Ms Trump from taking over the East Wing.
Matt Mathers reports:
Biden recieves faith and LGBTQ endorsements
The Democratic presidential nominee has received the endorsement of more than 650 faith and LGBTQ leaders in two separate endorsements on Thursday,
In an open letter, religious leaders cited a "need of moral leadership" and "hope for a better future", as they endorsed Mr Biden.
That comes as more than 300 LGBTQ leaders used an op-ed in USA Today to argue that Mr Biden's career was "as American as it gets," whilst praising his record on LGBTQ issues.
They added of president Donald Trump, that "four more years of an administration that openly embraces racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic and transphobic appointees and policies is untenable".
The wildest moments from RNC week...
Despite Fox News dubbing Donald Trump's nomination acceptance speech as "flat" and "too long", this week's Republican convention provided some - at times - wild moments that could possibly live long in the memory.
Whether Kimberly Guilfoyle shouting at an empty room, or the gun-toting St Louis couple were your highlights, everybody knows that "the best is yet to come".
Matt Matthers has more:
New Biden ad targets sports fans
The Biden campaign's latest advert attacks Donald Trump's record on sports events amid the coronavirus pandemic, with a slogan saying "Trump put America on the sidelines. Let's get back in the game".
The advert, which has also featured on the YouTube masthead, targets states including Arizona and Michigan with localised versions staring college football stadiums.
It comes after college sport leaders discussed calling off the 2020/21 season earlier this month, as coronavirus continues to spread.
RNC attendees in Charlotte test positive with Covid
Four people who attended the Republican convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, earlier this week have tested positive for Covid-19.
Authorities made the announcement on Friday, according to the Charlotte Observer, as the four individuals have been ordered to quarantine.
It comes after health officials complained that little social distancing or mask wearing was seen taking place at the RNC, despite an ongoing pandemic.
Pentagon to pull a third of US troops out of Iraq
The number of troops in Iraq will be cut by a third to about 3,500 troops over the next three months, according to new reporting.
Quoting US officials, the Wall Street Journal says the Pentagon will begin withdrawing the soldiers in as soon as two months.
There are currently about 5,200 troops still in the country, and Donald Trump is expected to promote their reduction as progress towards pulling out of America's endless wars.
Oliver O'Connell will have more on this breaking story as it unfolds.
'Great ratings and reviews' - Trump
It's the old morning after the night before, and like all big nights, the self-reviews are always impeccable the next day.
We're waiting with bated breath on the rating figures to drop from the final night of the RNC.
Trump and Biden campaigns battle for sports fans
The two presidential campaigns are fighting over the same toys again.
This time it's sports fans, with the Biden camp just dropping a new campaign ad blaming the Trump administration for the cancellation of sporting events in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
It pays the national anthem over empty sports stadiums and says "Trump put America on the sidelines. Let's get back in the game".
It comes the day after Dana White, CEO of the UFC, gave a speech during the final night of the RNC that praised Trump's efforts to do exactly that.
"President Trump recognized that one of the small ways to instil a sense of normalcy in people's lives was to bring back entertainment options," White said Thursday. "The president went above and beyond to help all sports league involved, figure out a way to overcome the challenges of staging live professional sporting events in the middle of a pandemic."
See the Biden pitch below.
'Are you listening Portland' - Trump asks as National Guard rolls into Kenosha and Department of Justice charge 74 alleged Portland rioters
Seemingly switching to French to tout the succès fou, or an extraordinary success, of the National Guard bringing peace to Kenosha, the president put Portland on notice.
Succes: Since the National Guard moved into Kenosha, Wisconsin, two days ago, there has been NO FURTHER VIOLENCE, not even a small problem. When legally asked to help by local authorities, the Federal Government will act and quickly succeed. Are you listening Portland?
Looks like Portland may have already gotten the message.
Reports from overnight suggest the violence has begun to subside for the first time in three months.
That may have something to do with the Department of Justice "dropping the hammer", with 74 people facing federal charges for crimes committed "adjacent to or under the guise of peaceful demonstrations." Another 11 have been issued citation violations.
"Tragic events are being used as excuses for individuals with ill intent disguising themselves as activists to commit violent crimes against their communities and law enforcement officers." said Eben Roberts, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Seattle.
Donald Trump Jr is on board with the hammer drop, retweeting this post from political commentator Tim Pool earlier today.
For the record, those charged include:
Edward Carubis, 24, Rowan Olsen, 19, Shant Singh Ahuja, 28, of Oceanside, California, Gretchen Blank, 29, of Seattle, Washington, Andrew Faulkner, 24, Christopher Fellini, 31, Theodore Matthee-O'Brien, 21, Cody Porter, 28, Taimane Teo, 24, of Eugene, Oregon, Benjamin Wood-Pavich, 21, Jacob Gaines, 23, of Texas resident, Lillith Grin, 22, Benjamin Bolen, 36, Kevin Weier, 36, Wyatt Ash-Milby, 18, Jerusalem Callahan, 24, Zachary Duffly, 45, Caleb Ehlers, 23, Paul Furst, 22, Jennifer Kristiansen, 38, Ella Miller, 26, Marie Sager, 27, Giovanni Bondurant, 19, Bailey Dreibelbis, 22, Gabriel Huston, 22, Joseph Lagalo, 37, Taylor Lemons, 32, Joseph Ybarra, 21, David Hazan, 24, Nicholas Kloiber, 26, Cameron Knutson, 28, Carly Ballard, 34, David Bouchard, 36, Dakota Eastman, 30, Josslynn Kreutz, 28, Ezra Meyers, 18, Mark Rolycanov, 28, Pablo Avvocato, 26, Douglas Dean, 34, Rebecca Mota Gonzales, 37, Thomas Johnson, 33, Richard Lindstedt, 33, Nathan Onderdonk-Snow, 21, Stephen O'Donnell, 65, Joshua Webb, 22, Jeffree Cary, 30, John Tyler Gabriel, 22, Noelle Mandolfo, 30, Patrick Stafford, 35, Travis Williams, 27, Caleb Wills, 29, Brodie Storey, 28, Edward Schinzing, 32, James Hickerson, 54, Ian Wolf, 26, Sabastian Dubar, 23, Jordan Johnson, 32, Evan Kriechbaum, 31, Christine Margaux, 28, Gabriel Agard-Berryhill, 18, Isaiah Maza, 18, Dakotah Horton, 24, and Dakota Means, 20.
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