DONALD Trump is now back in the Oval Office ahead of the vice presidential debate.
The president says he "feels great" following his battle with Covid-19 and officials have stressed strict safety precautions have been put in place in the office.
Tonight Kamala Harris will take on Mike Pence in what some are calling the most important vice presidential debate in US history due to the president's fight with the virus.
This comes as Trump had a tweet flagged for spreading what Twitter called "misleading and potentially harmful information".
The President falsely claimed that covid, which has 200,000 American, is less deadly than the flu in most population – a claim experts roundly deny.
The tweet – which can still be viewed but has been hidden on Mr Trump's page – said: "We have learned to live with it (the flu) just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!"
Follow our US Election 2020 blog for the latest news and updates...
- Hana Carter
TRUMP TROLLS PEOLSI
President Donald Trump took to Twitter Wednesday to single out House Speaker Nancy Peolsi on his desire to sign a standalone bill to provide the $1,200 stimulus checks to Americans.
Less than 24 hours after Trump claimed to have instructed his representatives to end negotiating on a new stimulus bill, the president seems to backtrack on his demands and is ready to sign the legislation.
“If I am sent a Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ($1,200), they will go out to our great people IMMEDIATELY. I am ready to sign right now. Are you listening Nancy?” tweeted the president on Wednesday.
Trump reiterated his openness to sending the next wave of stimulus checks, telling Pelosi to “move fast.”
President Trump also called on Congress in a series of tweets to pass additional coronavirus relief measures.
- Hana Carter
JANE FONDA CALLED COVID 'GOD'S GIFT'
Hollywood icon Jane Fonda shockingly called Covid “God's gift to the left” after Donald Trump was hit by the killer bug.
The actress's shocking comments arose just days after the president was discharged from hospital.
“I just think that Covid is God's gift to the left,” Fonda said.
“That's a terrible thing to say. I think it was a very difficult thing to send down to us, but it has ripped the band-aid off who [Trump] is and what he stands for and what is being done to average people and working people in this country.”
Fonda went on to explain that the pandemic has served as an “existential crossroads” to encourage issues such as climate change to be addressed.
- Hana Carter
- Hana Carter
TRUMP BRANDS CLINTON A 'CON ARTIST'
Donald Trump has called for Hillary Clinton to be charged and blasted her as a “con artist” after declassifying documents on her email scandal.
After the news was broke on Tuesday night that the president had declassified the relevant documents, he started taking direct hits at the former Secretary of State.
Retweeting an article claiming that Clinton “allegedly approved Russiagate falsehood as distraction from email scandal,” Trump insinuated that she should be charged.
“A Disgraceful Con Arist! Charges anyone?” he wrote.
The president was echoing sentiments that he made during his Middletown, Pennsylvania, rally last month.
As Trump spoke about going head-to-head with Clinton in 2016, the crowd chanted "lock her up!"
Trump smugly replied, grinning, “I agree.”
- Hana Carter
VICE PRESIDENT AND PENCE TEST NEGATIVE
Vice President Mike Pence and Kamala Harris have both tested negative after Donald Trump's Covid case.
The pair were tested before they go head-to-head in their first live debate in Utah on Wednesday evening.
Pence and his wife, Karen, were confirmed negative by a White House official.
A spokesperson for Harris also confirmed her negative results.
The tests were taken just days after the president and several of his aides tested positive for the virus.
Trump and Melania both confirmed that they had Covid on the early hours of Friday morning.
Since their diagnosis, aides such as Kellyanne Conway and Kayleigh McEnany also revealed they have the virus.
- Hana Carter
TRUMP HITS OUT AT MICHELLE OBAMA
Donald Trump ripped Michelle Obama with a video showing American cities burning behind her after she called him “racist.”
The president has hit back just one day after the former First Lady released a video backing Joe Biden and slamming Trump.
Trump retweeted a clip showing the burning cities, that had the caption: “Video proof is the great savior of democracy.
“Not so great for Democrats, however. Let’s have a look…”
Shortly after the video was retweeted it appeared to be taken down from Twitter.
On Tuesday, Michelle Obama issued the strongly-worded clip on YouTube, urging Americans to vote for Joe Biden because Trump “isn't up to the job.”
- Hana Carter
SPIES COULD BE USING CLANDESTINE MEASURES
Former intelligence agents have warned that foreign spies could be using Trump's Covid battle as a way of gaining information.
Carol “Rollie” Flynn, a 30-year CIA veteran and the president of the Foreign Policy Research Institute thinktank said that the countries “are looking and watching” to determine Mr Trump's actual state of health.
Skeptics of Trump and the White House have questioned the reality behind the president's claims that he is feeling better and free of Covid-19 symptoms.
Ms Flynn believes foreign powers are likely using every viable intelligence collecting method they can in order to determine whether or not Mr Trump is telling the truth.
- Hana Carter
'BIDEN HAS GOT NERVE CALLING TRUMP A LIAR'
The daughter of a truck driver, who Joe Biden wrongly accused of being drunk at the wheel in a crash that killed his wife and baby, says the presidential nominee's “blatant lie” devastated her family.
Deborah Criddle, of Delaware, told The Sun that she wants Biden to publicly set the record straight and clear the name of her late father, Curtis Dunn.
Deborah started watching the first presidential debate last week but, according to her, one particular moment upset her deeply and prompted her to turn off her television within minutes.
“Everybody knows he's a liar,” Biden told millions of viewers about Donald Trump, who was diagnosed with coronavirus on Thursday.
Deborah, who is keen to point out she has complete sympathy for Biden's loss, said the statement made her feel “sick to (her) stomach”.
“Biden has got a lot of nerve calling Trump a liar,” she said.
“That’s the pot calling the kettle black.”
- Jon Lockett
KAMALA TESTS NEGATIVE
Kamala Harris has again tested negative for the coronavirus.
Her team reported her results hours before she is scheduled to debate Vice President Mike Pence.
Pence also tested negative on Tuesday, according to the White House.
Harris and Pence will appear on stage at the University of Utah for a 90-minute debate tonight.
Both candidates will have plexiglass around them as an additional precaution.
- Jon Lockett
TRUMP HITS BACK AT MICHELLE WITH US BURNING VID
Donald Trump has ripped Michelle Obama with a video showing American cities burning behind her after she called him “racist.”
The president hit back just one day after the former First Lady released a video backing Biden and slamming Trump.
He retweeted a video showing the burning cities, that had the caption: “Video proof is the great savior of democracy.
“Not so great for Democrats, however. Let’s have a look…”
- Jon Lockett
BOSTON SCHOOLS TO STAY CLOSED
Boston is delaying plans to reopen the city's schools after the city's coronavirus positivity rate climbed higher than four per cent, Mayor Marty Walsh announced today.
Remote learning began on Sept. 21 and families were allowed to opt in for hybrid learning scheduled to start this month.
Now, preschoolers and kindergartners who were scheduled to report to school the week of Oct. 15 instead will start Oct. 22, Walsh said.
Grades 4 through 8 are now scheduled to transition to a hybrid model the week of Nov. 5, and grades 9 through 12 the week of Nov. 16, he said.
- Jon Lockett
FBI ELECTION WARNING
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity agency have issued a series of advisories in recent weeks aimed at warning voters about problems that could surface in the election as well as steps Americans can take to counter the foreign interference threat.
The issues identified in the public service announcements run the gamut from the spread of online disinformation about the electoral process to cyberattacks targeting election infrastructure.
Taken together, the advisories make clear that American agencies are tracking a broad range of potential threats that they believe voters should know about not just for transparency's sake but also so that voters can be prepared.
The warnings come even though U.S. officials as recently as Tuesday expressed confidence in the integrity of the vote despite repeated efforts by President Donald Trump to denigrate it.
- Jon Lockett
CONFUSION OVER TRUMP'S 'RETURN TO OVAL OFFICE'
Donald Trump reportedly returned to the Oval Office yesterday – despite being Covid-positive as aides were told to “wear full PPE whenever they are near him.”
On Wednesday, Trump's top economic advisor Laddy Kudlow revealed the president was back in his office – but his Chief of Staff Mark Meadows denied the claims.
Meadows said Kudlow misspoke during his CNBC interview after revealing that the president wanted to be back at his desk yesterday, an NBC reporter tweeted.
The conflicting reports emerged after Trump's triumphant return to the White House from the Walter Reed hospital in Maryland on Monday evening, just 72 hours after he was admitted.
“The president actually showed up in the Oval Office yesterday with extra precautions with respect to his Covid-19,” Kudlow said. “And he’s getting a lot better, he’s much stronger. So there was some limited activity.”
- Jon Lockett
TRUMP TAX RECORDS LATEST
President Trump's accountant must turn over his tax records to a New York state prosecutor, an appeals court ruled today.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said a stay of a lower-court decision will remain in effect so Trump's lawyers can appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
A district court judge had rejected their renewed efforts to invalidate a subpoena that the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. issued to Trumps accounting firm.
A Justice Department spokesperson said the department was reviewing the ruling.
The Supreme Court in July ruled 7-2 against the president. It is down to eight justices after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
- Jon Lockett
TRUMP CORONA COIN
A White House gift shop is already selling $100 commemorative coins proclaiming President Donald Trump has “defeated” Covid-19.
The online shop recently opened up pre-orders for the comic book-style coin of the president beating the virus, which he was diagnosed with last week.
The White House Gift Shop, which is no longer affiliated with the actual White House has yet to provide a photo of the coin, pre-orders of which will ship on November 14.
“Historic Moments in History: President Donald J. Trump defeats Covid with icons of his entire first term,” reads the website where people can pre-order the coin.
- Jon Lockett
TRADE DEAL 'NOT PRIORITY' FOR BIDEN' SAYS FORMER UK AMBASSADOR TO US
A US-UK trade deal would likely “not be a priority” for Joe Biden's administration if he wins next month's election, the former British ambassador the US has said.
Speaking to Channel 4 News, Lord Darroch said: “I think that a UK-US trade deal may not the priority that it would be if it was a second Trump term.”
The US and UK are currently in talks for a trade deal, but Boris Johnson is facing mounting pressure not to give in to US demands on areas such as food standards and the access of US firms to the UK's health system.
- Jon Lockett
TRUMP BLASTS HILLARY
Donald Trump has called for Hillary Clinton to be charged and blasted her as a “con artist” after declassifying documents on her email scandal.
After the news was broke on Tuesday night that the president had declassified the relevant documents, he started taking direct hits at the former Secretary of State.
Retweeting an article claiming that Clinton “allegedly approved Russiagate falsehood as distraction from email scandal,” Trump insinuated that she should be charged.
“A Disgraceful Con Arist! Charges anyone?” he wrote.
- Samantha Lock
MICHELLE OBAMA SAYS VOTE JOE
Former First Lady Michelle Obama released a video urging Americans to vote for Joe Biden in the upcoming election.
“Search your hearts, and your conscience, and then vote for Joe Biden like your lives depend on it,” she said.
Ms Obama also accused the president of seeking to “gaslight the American people by acting like this pandemic is not a real threat.”
- Samantha Lock
- Samantha Lock
TRUMP SENDS MARKETS TUMBLING
Trump punctured the stock market as he tweeted that he would halt coronavirus stimulus check talks until AFTER November's presidential election.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by nearly 500 points in just 10 minutes from a daily high of nearly 28,350 to 27,889 in response to the president's tweets yesterday. The index closed almost 400 points down compared to Monday.
Trump ordered his team to end talks with the Democrats towards a package that is designed to provide relief to Americans that have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The president tweeted: “I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business.”
The index dipped by more than 300 points to 27,773 at the close of play yesterday compared to Monday's close of 28,149.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were also down 1.1 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively.
- Jon Lockett
PROTESTS OVER NY RESTRICTIONS
Hundreds of members of New York's Orthodox community took to the streets last night in protest over restrictions imposed on synagogues, schools and non-essential businesses over a COVID-19 surge.
It was targeted at Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio over an order that shuts down schools completely and limits houses of worship to 10 people in certain hot spots.
Much of Borough Park is subject to those measures — the most restrictive — which also shutters non-essential businesses.
The level of restrictions, broken down into three color-coded categories, are guided by coronavirus diagnosis data.
- Jon Lockett
VP DEBATES LATEST
Vice President Mike Pence and his Democratic challenger, California Sen. Kamala Harris, are preparing to meet for a debate that will offer starkly different visions for a country confronting escalating crises.
The face-off on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City is the most highly anticipated vice presidential debate in recent memory.
It will unfold while President Donald Trump recovers at the White House after testing positive lfor the coronavirus and spending several days in the hospital, a serious setback for his campaign that adds pressure on Pence to defend the administration's handling of the pandemic.
For Harris, the debate is her highest-profile opportunity to vocalize how the Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, would stabilize the U.S., especially when it comes to resolving the pandemic and addressing racial injustice.
She will be able to explain her views on law enforcement, an area in which she's viewed warily by some progressives, given her past as a prosecutor.
- Jon Lockett
'NUCLEAR FOOTBALL' AIDE STRUCK DOWN
Donald Trump's aide who carried America's so-called “nuclear football” is the latest person in the White House inner circle to be tested positive for coronavirus.
Coast Guard aide Jayna McCarron, who has been pictured with Trump carrying the case with the nuclear codes, tested positive over the weekend.
She last traveled with Trump on a trip to his New Jersey golf club for a campaign fundraiser, reported CNN.
It comes as top adviser Stephen Miller has tested positive for coronavirus – becoming the 15th senior White House official with the disease.
- Jon Lockett
PUTIN TALKS OF BIDEN'S 'ANTI RUSSIAN RHETORIC'
Vladimir Putin said he had noticed what he called harsh anti-Russian rhetoric from Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
Putin, who said Russia would work with any U.S. president, made the comments during an appearance on state television.
“As far as the candidate from the Democratic Party is concerned … we also see quite sharp anti-Russian rhetoric. Unfortunately, we are used to to this,” Putin said.
But he added that Biden had made what he regarded as encouraging statements on New START, the last major nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States, which is due to expire in February.
- Jon Lockett
STOCKS ROCKED OVER STIMULUS FEARS
Stocks fell on Tuesday after President Trump tweeted the White House would halt stimulus talks with the Democrats.
However,futures moved higher in early trading Wednesday after he tweeted that he would approve a series of relief measures.
Dow futures pointed to an opening gain of 200 points. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures also traded in positive territory.
Trump seemingly reversed course on his decision to halt stimulus talks late Tuesday evening, urging Congress in a tweet to approve a series of coronavirus relief measures
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