Trump news: White House celebrates ‘big win’ in Supreme Court birth control ruling as US hits 3m coronavirus cases
Administration pushes for schools to reopen in fall despite surging infection rates
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White House officials boasted a "big win" in the US Supreme Court's birth control ruling, which stated employers were not required to provide employees with contraceptives in their health coverage if it went against their religious beliefs.
The administration – which rolled back an Affordable Care Act policy that aimed to expand women's healthcare – marks a significant blow to the landmark Obama-era legislation as Donald Trump seeks the court's ruling to overturn the entire law.
Meanwhile, the president has threatened to cut school funding for areas that refuse to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic, adding he disagrees with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “very tough” and “expensive” guidelines.
The White House coronavirus task force – without Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert – announced that the agency would release revised guidelines following the president's threats.
Total coronavirus infections in the US have surged past 3 million, with 1 million cases identified within the last month alone.
Hospitals in states like Florida and Texas are reporting limited capacity in their hospital intensive care units, and rising infection rates have signalled to health officials that the virus is spreading. In Arizona, as many as one in four tests are returning positive.
Meanwhile, key impeachment witness Alexander Vindman has announced his retirement from the army by citing “intimidation” led by Mr Trump.
”The president of the United States attempted to force Lieutenant Colonel Vindman to choose: Between adhering to the law or pleasing a president,” said Lt Col Vindman’s lawayer, accusing the president of a "campaign of bullying, intimidation and retaliation".
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Republican National Convention attendees to get daily Covid-19 tests but four ‘rebel’ senators staying away anyway
The event in Jacksonville, Florida, beginning on 24 August will see Trump formally crowned as the party’s 2020 election candidate but big doubts linger over whether it is advisable to stage the conference, given how savagely the Sunshine State has been hit by Covid-19.
“We’re going to have temperature checks, we’re going to sanitise,” insists spokesperson Erin Isaac but, for GOP senators Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Lemar Alexander, that’s not enough. They’re staying out of it.
Interestingly, those are the same four who toyed with voting for Trump’s impeachment in the Senate. In the end, only Romney dared.
They join Chuck Grassley, the Iowa senator saying on Monday he would not attend because of Covid given that he is 86 and at risk.
Louise Hall has the latest.
Lincoln Project compares Trump to Biff Tannen
I mentioned George Conway earlier and those Lincoln Project boys are certainly working overtime to troll Trump at present, their latest video likening him to Back to the Future bully Biff Tannen.
They're still finding time to read though, which is nice.
Here's Louise Hall on their latest.
Teenager who died of Covid-19 after attending church gathering given hydroxychloroquine
The tragic death of immunocompromised 17-year-old Carsyn Leigh Davis of Fort Myers, Florida, serves as a reminder - as though one were needed - of the dangers of the coronavirus and the importance of wearing masks and social distancing.
The fact that she was given the unproven anti-malarial drug that Trump has again begun touting as a treatment despite expert concerns clearly merits further investigation.
Here's Graig Graziosi's report.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson continues ill-advised feud with war veteran senator
Incredibly, Carlson has accused double-amputee Iraq War combatant and Illinois senator Tammy Duckworth of being a "coward" for refusing to debate him after calling out the president's inflammatory Mount Rushmore address over the weekend.
The preppy Fox mouth has meanwhile been accused of echoing white supremacist talking points in his increasingly heated and hysterical broadcasting.
The chyron below is being likened to the notorious "14 words" of the neo-Nazi phrase: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”
Here's John T Bennett to make sense of all this.
FBI director says China is 'greatest threat' to US
Christopher Wray has warned that Beijing poses a greater threat to the future of the US than any other external force and that it is prepared to do anything to achieve global supremacy.
Speaking at the Hudson Institute, a conservative-leaning foreign policy think tank, Wray warned on Tuesday that Americans need to understand both the scale and the complexity of the Chinese Communist Party’s ambitions, as well as the dangers posed by their tactics.
Here's Andrew Naughtie on his remarks.
Trump administration warns against Chinese investment and says further sanctions may be on the way
White House officials on Tuesday warned a federally administered retirement plan for railroad workers against investing in Chinese companies and said that additional sanctions could be on the way in return for China’s role in spreading coronavirus.
Trump national security adviser Robert O’Brien and director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow told the US Railroad Retirement Board in a letter that its investments in China were exposing retirees to “unnecessary economic risk” and channelling funds into companies “that raise significant national security and humanitarian concerns”, including some that supply the Chinese army.
The White House officials said it was “a time of mounting uncertainty” over China’s relations with the rest of the world that presented “the possibility of future sanctions or boycotts that may arise from a wide range of issues, including the culpable actions of the Chinese government with respect to the global spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the suppression of Hong Kong’s democracy” and other factors.
Joe Biden wins New Jersey and Delaware primaries
The Democratic nominee-in-waiting chalks up his home state among the uncontested formalities.
Here's how the final few primaries are laying out for him.
Trump threatens to cut funding from schools that refuse to reopen and says he ‘disagrees’ with CDC guidelines
The president’s first tweet of the day sees him complaining that Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden are reopening their schools so why can’t he? His argument rather overlooks the fact that those countries are facing very different coronavirus situations than the US.
Germany, for instance, had 390 new cases of Covid-19 diagnosed yesterday. The US? 50,940.
His second sees him picking a fight with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the issue.
The CDC has sent some pretty mixed signals so far, saying students should return to the classroom but also noting that virtual classes present the lowest risk of Covid-19 spread. Speaking at Trump's education event yesterday, however, the agency's director said unequivocally that it's better for students to be in school than at home.
Dr Robert Redfield noted that Covid-19 cases tend to be mild in young people, adding that the greatest risk is transmission from children to more vulnerable populations. He said the CDC encourages all schools to reopen with customised plans to minimise the spread of the coronavirus while giving students access to school services.
"It's clear that the greater risk to our society is to have these schools close," Redfield said. "Nothing would cause me greater sadness than to see any school district or school use our guidance as a reason not to reopen."
The CDC's guidance for schools recommends that students and teachers wear masks "as feasible," spread out desks, stagger schedules, eat meals in classrooms instead of the cafeteria and add physical barriers between bathroom sinks.
New Hampshire's Republican governor defends Trump rally in his state but isn't going
Chris Sununu says he will not order attendees on Saturday to wear masks and that the MAGA event will be treated in the same way as Black Lives Matter demonstrations or other major gatherings.
He doesn't fancy it himself though:
“I tend to avoid those types of situations as much as I can. I’ve been in a few large gatherings but they’re kind of few and far between. I’m going to go and greet the president as the governor.
“I’m not going to be in the crowd of thousands of people, I’m not going to put myself in the middle of a crowd of thousands of people. Unfortunately I have to be extra cautious, as the governor I try to be extra cautious for myself and my family.”
Andrew Naughtie has the full story.
Texas officials launch legal challenge against Trump's 'racist' border wall
Two landowners joined authorities in southern Zappa County to submit the latest lawsuit attempting to block the president's US-Mexico border wall in Laredo on Monday.
Their case argues against the barrier’s construction on the basis that constitutional protections afforded to Mexican-Americans are under attack.
“The action of the government is based on animus toward a group, and that’s unconstitutional,” attorney Carlos Flores told The Texas Tribune. “You can’t make policy in governmental action based on animus toward a group”.
Gino Spocchia has more on this.
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