Kamala Harris criticizes Trump"s rallies and anti-mask comments Vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris has criticized the president for his handling of the coronavirus, noting that he continues to discourage mark use even after 200,000 people have died. Speaking in Detroit tonight, she noted that he has continued to hold large rallies where people don’t wear masks, according to CNN: We are looking at now the marker, the sad, awful marker of 200,000 lives that have perished in just the last several months. Almost 7 million people who have contracted the virus and to this day. We have a commander in chief of the United States of America who is holding rallies, with no masks because you see he has convinced everyone that you’re on one side of his ledger if you wear a mask, and you’re on the other side of his ledger if you don’t, making value judgments about people who are concerned with not dying. We’re talking about the President of the United States. We deserve better.” Trump"s Pittsburgh rally begins with falsehoods The president’s Pittsburgh rally has begun with predictable falsehoods and misinformation about Joe Biden. Trump again said the Democratic nominee is “against God”, an attack that Biden has called “shameful”. The president also made misleading and false claims about Biden’s position on fracking, saying he would immediately end all fracking. Biden has repeatedly reiterated that is not his stance, recently saying, “I am not banning fracking. Let me say that again. I am not banning fracking. No matter how many times Donald Trump lies about me.” The president also criticized Biden for wearing masks, a line of attack that has continued to raise concerns from public health officials. Trump refuses to answer question about 200,000 Covid deaths The president has refused to comment on the Covid death toll in the US exceeding 200,000 deaths. “Why haven’t you said anything about the US hitting 200,000 deaths from Covid?” a reporter asked, twice. Trump looked away and ignored the journalist: “Go ahead, uh, anybody else?” Vice-president Mike Pence has argued that the Senate needs to “quickly” confirm Trump’s supreme court nominee so that the president’s pick will be seated in time to “resolve” any issues that arise from a contested election: This line of argument has raised significant alarm and backlash given that the president has already spread falsehoods about mail-in voting in an effort to undermine trust in the election and to set the groundwork for possibly contesting the results. After Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, the White House is now making the argument that she needs to be immediately replaced so the president’s own pick can be seated on the bench to potentially rule on an election case. Trump’s Pittsburgh rally is due to start any minute. Here’s a snapshot of the crowd: US warns "foreign actors" will try to discredit mail-in voting US federal law enforcement and cybersecurity agencies warned today that “foreign actors” and “cybercriminals” will likely try to discredit the November presidential election by taking advantage of the slow counting of mail-in ballots, Reuters reports. The expected delays in counting mail-in ballots “could leave officials with incomplete results on election night,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a joint public service announcement. It continued: Foreign actors and cybercriminals could exploit the time required to certify and announce elections’ results by disseminating disinformation that includes reports of voter suppression, cyber attacks targeting election infrastructure, voter or ballot fraud.” Trump himself has repeatedly made false claims about mail-in voting in his own effort to raise doubts about the legitimacy of the results. In August, the Trump campaign failed to produce any evidence of vote-by-mail fraud in Pennsylvania after a federal judge ordered it do so. Here’s a recent fact-check from the Guardian’s voting rights expert: Pelosi announces budget deal with Republicans House speaker Nancy Pelosi says she has reached an agreement with Republicans to add nearly $8 billion in nutrition assistance. The bill, known as the continuing resolution (CR), is meant to avert a government shutdown. Cindy McCain to endorse Joe Biden, candidate confirms Joe Biden has told supporters at a fundraiser that Cindy McCain will be endorsing him for the first time: McCain, the widow of the late GOP senator John McCain, appeared in a video during the Democratic National Convention talking about Biden and her husband’s relationship, but she did not formally endorse him then. Biden said Cindy McCain was motivated in part by the recent reports that the president had privately called dead soldiers “losers” and suckers” and that he had canceled a visit to pay respects at a military cemetery. Trump publicly criticized John McCain on numerous occasions and was enraged when the senator voted against an effort to overturn Obamacare. During his campaign, Trump infamously said of McCain: “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured ... He lost and let us down. I’ve never liked him as much after that. I don’t like losers.” A scene from the campaign trail in Chandler, Arizona today where Trump supporters packed into a ballroom to see Donald Trump Jr and his girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle: Supporters were indoors, not wearing masks and not social distancing, raising concerns once again about the potential spread of Covid-19, which remains a significant threat in Arizona. CIA says Putin likely seeking to boost Trump in election, reports say Vladimir Putin is likely continuing to try and influence the US election in favor of Donald Trump, a recent CIA analysis found, according to multiple news reports today. The Washington Post, New York Times and NBC News have all reported on the CIA assessment today, citing various unnamed officials. The Post, the first to report on the CIA’s finding (citing “two sources who reviewed” the analysis), said that Putin and his top aides are “probably directing” a Russian foreign influence operation to interfere in the election against Joe Biden. Trump’s press secretary defended the president’s record on Russia, saying no one has been tougher, but her comments came one day after Trump said, “I like Putin, he likes me.” Gynecologist accused of misconduct won"t treat detainees anymore, Ice says Immigration authorities have stopped sending detained migrant women to a rural Georgia gynecologist accused of performing surgeries without consent, a government spokesman told the Associated Press today. Dr Mahendra Amin faces allegations that he administered hysterectomies and other procedures that women held at the Irwin county detention center didn’t seek or fully understand. Amin has seen at least 60 detained women, said Andrew Free, a lawyer investigating the medical care at the Ice jail alongside other civil rights attorneys, told the AP today. Bryan Cox, a spokesman for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), confirmed to the AP that Amin would no longer see patients, but declined to comment further, citing an ongoing inspector general investigation. Amin’s lawyer did not respond to an inquiry on Tuesday. The Amin scandal has renewed attention on the conditions inside Ice jails where migrants have long alleged that they face abuse, medical neglect, mistreatment and other human rights violations. Those concerns have escalated dramatically during the Covid crisis. Here’s a recent story on Irwin: Poll: Biden leading in Michigan, tied with Trump in North Carolina Joe Biden led President Trump by 5% among likely voters in Michigan, while the two were even in North Carolina, according to Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls released today. In Michigan, 50% of voters said Biden would be better at handling the coronavirus pandemic while 44% said Trump would be better, according to the poll on the critical battleground state. In North Carolina, 47% said Biden would be better at handling the coronavirus pandemic versus 45% who answered Trump. In both states, a higher percentage of voters said Trump would be better at handling the economy. You can see the full details here. And here’s the Guardian’s poll tracker, which we published yesterday and will be regularly updated: "State of emergency" in Louisville before Breonna Taylor decision Hi all - Sam Levin here, writing from Los Angeles, and taking over our live coverage for the rest of the day. One story we’re closely following: Authorities in Louisville, Kentucky have preemptively declared a “state of emergency” in anticipation of protests following an imminent grand jury decision on the police killing of Breonna Taylor. Taylor, 26, was killed on 13 March by police serving a no-knock warrant as part of an investigation into an ex-boyfriend. Her death has inspired national protests for months, with activists across the country calling for the officers to face criminal prosecution. Louisville’s mayor, Greg Fischer, said his emergency order was put in place “due to the potential for civil unrest, which allows him to exercise any of his emergency powers, including those to hire or contract for services, and implementing curfews and other restrictions”. Civil rights groups have raised concerns that the order will be used to clamp down on protests in violation of free speech rights, and that the order could lead to brutality against demonstrators. Here’s a recent analysis of the possible criminal case, published in the Guardian: Today so far That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Sam Levin, will take over the blog for the next few hours. Here’s where the day stands so far: The US coronavirus death toll surpassed 200,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The US has the highest death toll of any country in the world and accounts for about 21% of the global coronavirus death toll, even though it represents only 4% of the world’s population. Senator Mitt Romney said he would support moving forward with Trump’s supreme court nominee. The Republican senator’s announcement virtually guarantees Trump’s nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be confirmed, likely before election day on November 3. Trump said he would announce his supreme court nominee on Saturday. The announcement will follow ceremonies honoring Ginsburg, who will lie in repose at the supreme court and lie in state at the US Capitol this week. Mitch McConnell remained non-commital about the timing of a supreme court confirmation vote. Trump has said he wants the final vote to happen before election day, but McConnell said he would not know the timing of the vote until the nomination makes it out of the Senate judiciary committee. The FDA is reportedly expected to soon release strict guidelines on the emergency authorization of a coronavirus vaccine. According to the Washington Post, the guidelines would make it highly unlikely that a vaccine will be approved before election day. Trump has promised a vaccine will be released in the coming weeks, but the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told the Senate last week that a vaccine will not be widely available to the American public until mid to late 2021. Sam will have more coming up, so stay tuned. FDA to release strict guidelines for emergency authorization of coronavirus vaccine - report The Food and Drug Administration is reportedly expected to soon release strict guidelines on the emergency authorization of a coronavirus vaccine, making it very unlikely a vaccine will be released before election day, on November 3. The Washington Post reports: The agency is issuing the guidance to boost transparency and public trust as it approaches the momentous decision of whether a prospective vaccine is safe and effective. Public health experts are increasingly worried that President Trump’s repeated predictions of a coronavirus vaccine by Nov. 3, coupled with the administration’s interference in federal science agencies, may prompt Americans to reject any vaccine as rushed and potentially tainted. ... The guidance, which is far more rigorous than what was used for emergency clearance of hydroxychloroquine or convalescent plasma, is an effort to shore up confidence in an agency that has made missteps during the pandemic. With the vaccines, the FDA is expected to ask manufacturers seeking an emergency authorization — a far quicker process than a formal approval — to follow participants in late-stage clinical trials for a median of at least two months, starting after they receive a second vaccine shot, according to two individuals familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss information before it is made public. As a sign the vaccine works, the agency also is looking for at least five severe cases of covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, in the placebo group for each trial, as well as some cases of the disease in older people. These standards, plus the time it will take companies to prepare their applications and the agency to review the data, make it highly improbable for any vaccine to be authorized before the election. The agency has previously said any vaccine would have to be 50 percent more effective than a placebo. The news comes as polls have indicated declining confidence among Americans in both parties about the safety of a coronavirus vaccine, which Democrats have blamed on Trump politicizing the process. Trump has repeatedly suggested a vaccine would be released in the coming weeks, but the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told the Senate last week that a vaccine would not be widely available to the American public until mid to late 2021. The president claimed the CDC director was “confused” when he made that prediction, but other health experts have offered similar timelines for the distribution of a vaccine.