In case you saw Donald Trump’s tweets baselessly asserting that foreign governments will use mail-in ballots to “rig” the November election, the Guardian’s voting rights reporter Sam Levine has a report on the actual facts: Many election offices have systems in place to closely track mail-in ballots and have other methods of verifying the identity of a voter such as comparing the signature on the ballot to ones on file. “There are many checks and balances in place to ensure that nobody could just print ‘millions’ of ballots and vote them,” said David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, who works with election officials across the country. “We have decades of experience enforcing these security measures, including during world war II, confirming the integrity of mail voting. That’s why election officials from both parties, including most Republicans, promote mail voting and vote by mail themselves.” Read the full story here: The US Chamber of Commerce is also opposing Trump’s limitations on visas. CEO Thomas J Donohue issued the following statement: Today’s proclamation is a severe and sweeping attempt to restrict legal immigration. Putting up a ‘not welcome’ sign for engineers, executives, IT experts, doctors, nurses and other workers won’t help our country, it will hold us back. Restrictive changes to our nation’s immigration system will push investment and economic activity abroad, slow growth, and reduce job creation. We are fighting for more investment and more growth in America because that means more jobs, and today that fight takes on a new level of urgency. We have long advocated for a rational immigration system that meets the needs of our economy and reflects the values of our country. Today’s proclamation serves neither of those interests. The US Chamber will continue to strongly advocate for an immigration system that serves the interests of all Americans.” Here’s an estimate from the Migration Policy Institute of the number of people likely to be affected by Trump’s new proclamation limiting visas: H-1B visas, which permit employers to hire foreign workers with specialized knowledge, are especially popular in the tech industry. H-2B visas are for temporary non-agricultural workers, and are often used in the hospitality or landscaping industries. The proclamation also affects non-immigrant visas. The J-1 visa program is designed to promote cultural exchange, and is often used by visiting professors or scholars. L-1 visas are used by multi-national corporations to transfer in executives or managers. Tech companies criticize executive order limiting visas Amazon, Google and Twitter have come out with a strong statement opposing the Trump administration’s latest move to limit immigration, which includes a suspension of H-1B visas, which are widely used by the tech industry. Amazon appears to have been first out of the gate with a statement: We oppose the Administration’s short-sighted action. Preventing high skilled professionals from entering the country and contributing to America’s economic recovery puts American’s global competitiveness at risk. The value of high-skilled visa programs is clear, and we are grateful for the many Amazon employees from around the world that have come to the US to innovate new products and services for our customers. Welcoming the best and the brightest global talent to the US is more important than ever, and we will continue to support efforts that will preserve their ability to strengthen our economy.” Followed by Google chief executive Sundar Pichai: And Twitter VP for public policy and philanthropy, Jessica Herrera-Flanigan: The US State Department muted the line of a reporter asking a question about John Bolton’s book during a phone briefing on press freedom, Politico reports. Spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus was taking questions about the government’s designation of four new Chinese news outlets as “foreign missions” (ie state propaganda) when a reporter for Reuters asked whether US allies in Asia had been in contact about revelations in the former national security adviser’s book, according to the report. “That’s not what this call is about,” Ortagus said. When the reporter attempted to continue his question, she added: ““AT&T, we can mute that line.” CBS News state department reporter Christina Ruffini called out the hypocrisy on Twitter: DOJ says US Army soldier linked to British neo-Nazi group was planning ambush on own unit A US Army soldier was plotting with an occultist neo-Nazi group to attack and kill members of his own unit, according to a newly unsealed indictment by the Justice department. Ethan Melzer, a 22-year old army private from Louisville, Kentucky, has been charged with conspiring and attempting to murder US nationals, conspiring and attempting to murder military service members, providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, and conspiring to murder and maim in a foreign country, the DOJ announced. “As alleged, Ethan Melzer, a private in the US Army, was the enemy within,” said acting US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Audrey Strauss in a statement. “Melzer allegedly attempted to orchestrate a murderous ambush on his own unit by unlawfully revealing its location, strength, and armaments to a neo-Nazi, anarchist, white supremacist group. (Strauss succeeded Geoffrey Berman in the office over the weekend, after Berman was pushed out by the attorney general Bill Barr and Donald Trump.) Melzer was a member of the Order of the Nine Angles (O9A), a group whose members have been involved with violence and murders, according to the DOJ. “Members and associates of O9A have espoused violent, neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic, and Satanic beliefs, and have expressed admiration for both Nazis, such as Adolf Hitler, and Islamic jihadists, such as Osama Bin Laden,” according to the DOJ. O9A originated as a fringe group in the UK in the 1960s and has gained influence in recent years among violent neo-Nazi and white nationalist groups, according to a report by Hope not Hate. In March, Hope Not Hate called on the Home Office to ban the group. Four UK teenagers with ties to O9A have been jailed for terror offenses in the past year, according to the BBC, and one was convicted of planning a terrorist attack. Louisiana was expected to enter the next phase of coronavirus reopening on Friday, but the state’s governor, John Bel Edwards, announced today that he will instead extend current restrictions for another four weeks. The decision was based on an uptick in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in parts of the state, governor said, noting that the state ranks seventh out of the 23 states that are seeing rising case numbers. On Monday, Louisiana surpassed 3,000 deaths and 50,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19. “There are a lot of people out there saying they are done with this virus,” Edward said, according to the AP. “Well, the virus isn’t done with us.” The Guardian US’s southern bureau chief, Oliver Laughland, has been reporting extensively on the coronavirus’s toll across the south. US Covid-19 death toll passes 120,000 This is Julia Carrie Wong in Oakland picking up the blog for the rest of the day. The death toll of the coronavirus pandemic in the US has reached 120,225, according to the latest figures from John Hopkins University. This is the highest death toll in the world. This latest grim milestone comes as health officials are raising alarms about “surging” cases in the southern and western US, according to the AP. Among the latest figures causing concern: Confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Florida have passed 100,000 Covid-19 admissions at a chain of eight hospitals in Houston have tripled over the past month to 1400. An alarming 20% of Covid-19 tests in Arizona are coming back positive. The number of newly confirmed Covid-19 cases in the US has reached 26,000, up from 21,000 per day two weeks ago, according to an AP analysis. Dr Marc Boom, the CEO of the Houston hospital chain, told the AP: “It is snowballing. We will most certainly see more people die as a result of this spike.” Boom also pleaded with the public to wear face coverings and practice physical distancing. Today so far That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Julia Carrie Wong, will take over the blog for the next few hours. Here’s where the day stands so far: Two more Trump campaign staffers tested positive for coronavirus. The two staffers attended the president’s Saturday rally in Tulsa, although the campaign said they wore masks during the event. The news comes two days after six other members of the campaign’s advance team tested positive before the rally. Trump is expected to sign an order today suspending a number of employment-based visas through the end of the year. H-1B visas, among others, are expected to be suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, despite criticism from many US businessowners. The White House defended Trump’s use of a racist slur to describe coronavirus. Pressed on why he referred to the virus as “kung flu,” press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said, “I think the media is trying to play games with the terminology of this virus.” Trump dodged a question about whether he ordered coronavirus testing to be slowed, as he claimed during his Tulsa rally on Saturday. “If it did slow down, frankly, I think we’re way ahead of ourselves, if you want to know the truth. We’ve done too good a job,” the president said in an interview today. The comment appeared to be at odds with his advisers’ claims that he was joking about slowing testing. Joe Biden has committeed to participating in the three already-planned debates against Trump. The president initially indicated he may not participate in any debates, but his campaign has recently been pushing for an extended debate schedule. Julia will have more coming up, so stay tuned. Even as more of his campaign staffers test positive for coronavirus, Trump is still scheduled to hold a campaign event in Phoenix, Arizona, tomorrow. The president will speak at a “Students for Trump” event at the Dream City Church in Phoenix, despite Arizona seeing a rise in its number of coronavirus cases. In a video, two of the church’s leaders said they have installed cutting-edge technology that “kills 99.9% of Covid within 10 minutes.” “You can know when you come here you’ll be safe and protected,” one of the church’s leaders says in the video. “Thank God for great technology.” But it’s unclear how this ambiguously-described technology would prevent respiratory droplets from potentially spreading the virus, and the CDC has previously confirmed instances of coronavirus outbreaks among church communities. Two Trump campaign staffers who attended rally test positive for coronavirus Two Trump campaign staffers who attended Saturday’s rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, have tested positive for coronavirus. “After another round of testing for campaign staff in Tulsa, two additional members of the advance team tested positive for the coronavirus,” communications director Tim Murtaugh told NBC News. “These staff members attended the rally but were wearing masks during the entire event.” That news brings the total number of Tulsa rally staffers who have tested positive for the virus to eight. Six members of the advance team tested positive before the rally, but Trump decided to move forward with the event anyway. The updated number of cases among the campaign staff will almost certainly intendify concerns over how the virus may have been spread at the indoor rally. Trump expected to sign order temporarily suspending H-1B visas - reports Trump is reportedly expected to sign an order later today suspending a number of employment-based visas, including H-1B visas, through the end of the year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Wall Street Journal reports: The new restrictions, which officials said are set to last until the end of the year, expand on a temporary immigration ban Mr. Trump introduced in April that blocked some family members of U.S. citizens and reduced the number of high-skilled workers from immigrating to the U.S. for the time being. A senior administration official estimated the expanded travel restrictions will prevent about 525,000 people from entering the country between now and the end of the year, including 170,000 green-card holders who have been barred from coming to the U.S. since April. The senior official estimated the move will reallocate about 500,000 jobs to out-of-work Americans in what he described as an ‘America-first recovery.’ In addition to the H-1B visa, the temporary ban will apply to new H-2B visas for short-term seasonal workers in landscaping and other nonfarm jobs, J-1 visas for short-term workers including camp counselors and au pairs and L-1 visas for internal company transfers. The new restrictions won’t apply to visa-holders already in the U.S., or those outside the country who have already been issued valid visas. There had been whispers of the potential order in recent weeks, raising concerns among businesses that the restrictions could harm the US economy as it struggles to recover from the pandemic. Senate Republicans have set up a Wednesday vote to move ahead on senator Tim Scott’s police reform bill, although it’s unclear if the legislation has the votes to advance. Republicans need 60 votes on the motion to proceed to get it approved, so they need at least seven Senate Democrats to support the motion. However, Democratic senators have criticized the bill for not going far enough to crack down on police brutality. Specifically, the bill incentivizes police departments to ban chokeholds, while House Democrats’ police reform bill explicitly bans them. Democratic senator Doug Jones said yesterday he would likely vote in favor of the motion to proceed, but he remains undecided on whether he would support final passage of the bill. Barack Obama will be joining Joe Biden for a fundraiser tomorrow, as polls show the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee leading Trump in key battleground states. Trump has built a strong fundraising operation through small-dollar donations, but Biden and the DNC actually outraised the president and the RNC last month, amid the coronavirus pandemic and protests against police brutality. The movement to defund police departments has picked up significant support since the police killing of George Floyd late last month. While the movement attracts more grassroots support, Trump has tried to use it to demonize Democrats, although Joe Biden has said he does not believe police departments should be defunded. Amid that political tension, there has been much confusion around what it would actually mean to defund the police. The Guardian’s Josh Toussaint-Strauss explains more about the movement in this new video: The FBI has launched an investigation after a noose was found in the team garage of Bubba Wallace, Nascar’s only black full-time driver. The noose was discovered at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway as Nascar prepared for a race, which was subsequently delayed by bad weather, on Sunday. “Regardless of whether federal charges can be brought, this type of action has no place in our society,” Jay Town, the US attorney for Alabama’s southern district, said on Monday. He added that his office, along with the FBI and the justice department’s civil rights division, were involved in the investigation. Wallace recently led a successful campaign to ban the Confederate flag, a symbol that for many is associated with slavery, from Nascar events. He also outfitted his car with the logo of Black Lives Matter at a race earlier this month. In a statement on Twitter, Wallace called Sunday’s incident a “despicable act of racism and hatred” that showed the fight against prejudice in the United States still has far to go. “As my mother told me today, ‘They are just trying to scare you,’” the 26-year-old wrote. “This will not break me, I will not give in nor will I back down. I will continue to proudly stand for what I believe in.” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany concluded her briefing by boasting about viewership of Trump’s Saturday rally. McEnany noted that 7.7 million people watched the Tulsa rally on Fox News. “Big number,” she said before leaving the briefing room. The closing remark was in line with the president’s frequent boasting about his “ratings” for events like his coronavirus briefings, which used to be a daily occurence. However, the in-person attendance of the Tulsa rally was much less than the campaign had anticipated, a fact that McEnany tried to downplay by insisting the president was “very pleased” with the rally. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was asked if Trump regrets using the racist phrase “kung flu” to describe coronavirus during his Saturday rally. McEnany replied that the president “never regrets putting the onus back on China” for the coronavirus pandemic. Another reporter noted that, earlier this year, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway described the phrase “kung flu” as offensive and wrong. Asked repeatedly whether the White House disagrees with Conway’s characterization, McEnany ignored the question and then called on someone from the far-right website One America News Network. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEanny said Trump was “very pleased” with his Saturday rally, even though there were thousands of unfilled seats in the Tulsa arena. McEnany’s claim is at odds with multiple reports that Trump has privately lashed out against campaign officials for reports highlighting the event’s attendance. But McEnany denied those reports. “There is no grounding in fact to that,” she said. “He was very pleased with how the rally went.”