Breonna Taylor: family attorney says wanton endangerment charge ‘doesn’t make sense’ – live updates

The family of Breonna Taylor, alongside their lawyers, including attorney Ben Crump, will hold a press conference in Louisville tomorrow morning at 10:30 am, according to the Associated Press.

While Taylor’s family has been outspoken against police brutality, they have not spoken out publicly since the grand jury’s decision was announced Wednesday. Members of her family instead posted on social media about their frustration over the announcement. Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, posted an illustration of Taylor with the caption “It’s still Breonna for me #thesystemfailedBreonna”

Donald Trump said that Medicare beneficiaries will soon be receiving a $200 card in the mail to help them afford their prescriptions.

“Nobody’s seen this before. These cards are incredible,” Trump said. “I will always take care of our wonderful senior citizens.”

Trump has made longstanding claims that he has lowered drug prices, though the claim is shaky given that executive orders that he’s signed haven’t been implemented or don’t do much to help.

It seems that the president is attempting to take things into his own hands after talks about having pharmaceutical companies distribute $100 cards to seniors before the election – “Trump cards” as people in the industry called them – fell through.

The New York Times reported that drugmakers balked at the idea of being a part of an 11th-hour campaign initiative that seems to be aimed at the president’s reelection campaign.

With about 44 million Americans on Medicare, if every beneficiary used their $200 card, the cost would come out to $8.8 billion. Trump did not mention how the White House plans to fund the cards.

While unveiling his “America First Healthcare Plan” in a speech in Charlotte, North Carolina, Donald Trump is veering away from healthcare and is trying to paint the Democratic party as “socialism”.

“Under the Democrats plan, costs would skyrocket,” he said. “Seniors, they’ve been paying their entire lives.” Trump said, seeming to talk about healthcare, but then seemed to veer off saying that the Democrats support “socialism and open borders”.

Trump said if the “unsolicited ballots” go out and Democrats win, “our economy will collapse.”

“What they’re doing is socialized medicine. It’s going to be a disaster in terms of quality and cost. It will ruin our country,” he said.

Trump said that Democrats’ claims that he is attacking Social Security is “disinformation”. “I made social security better.”

Last month, Trump directed the Treasury Department to allow employers to temporarily suspend collection of social security taxes and has teased the idea of cutting Social Security taxes.

This is Lauren Aratani taking over for Joan E. Greve. Donald Trump is speaking in Charlotte, North Carolina, unveiling his healthcare plan as the Republican lawsuit against Obamacare awaits for a Supreme Court ruling.

Trump is saying that the plan is “much better’ than Obamacare, saying that the plan would mean more affordable healthcare.

But while Trump is touting his own plan, the two executive orders he is signing today leaves most of the work to Congress to figure out.

The first order pressures Republican lawmakers to come up with an alternative to Obamacare’s protection of people with pre-existing conditions seeking healthcare. The second is aimed at “surprise” medical bills, directing Congress to pass legislation that would prevent surprise bills by January 1, after the election.

One reporter at the speech noted not many people in the crowd are wearing masks in the indoor space.

That’s it from me today. My Guardian colleague, Lauren Aratani, will take over the blog for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

• A man was charged in the shooting of two Louisville police officers during yesterday’s protests, the city’s police chief announced. Protests in Louisville were re-energized yesterday, after a grand jury announced no charges in direct relation to the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor. One officer was indicted for blindly firing into the apartment of Taylor’s neighbors.
• Trump again raised doubts about the integrity of the election, a day after he refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. “We want to make sure the election is honest, and I’m not sure that it can be,” Trump told reporters shortly before leaving for North Carolina. The president has repeatedly claimed without evidence that voting by mail will be susceptible to widespread fraud, even though voter fraud is actually very rare and US states have been sending mail-in ballots to voters for decades.
• The FBI director said there is no precedent for a national voter fraud effort. FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate homeland security committee, “We have not seen historically any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it’s by mail or otherwise. We have seen voter fraud at the local level from time to time.”
  
  
• Another 870,000 Americans filed new unemployment claims last week, according to figures released by the labor department this morning. The number represents a slight increase from a week earlier and underscores the ongoing economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic more than six months after it started.
• Bernie Sanders called for the creation of an independent election commission to protect American democracy. The Vermont senator delivered a speech in Washington today, marking his first in-person event since suspending his presidential campaign in the spring. Sanders said, “This is not just an election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. This is an election between Donald Trump and democracy – and democracy must win.”
  
  

Lauren will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

The Capitol is preparing for its ceremony to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who will lie in state in Statuary Hall tomorrow.

Workers displayed two portraits of the late supreme court justice in advance of tomorrow’s ceremony, which will be limited to invited guests due to coronavirus restrictions.

Ginsburg is currently lying in repose at the supreme court, where members of the public have been able to pay their respects since yesterday.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi noted today that Ginsburg will be the first woman and the first Jewish person to lie in state at the Capitol.

Here’s today’s polling round-up, with just 40 days to go until the presidential election.

A Monmouth University poll of Iowa showed Trump has a 6-point lead over Joe Biden among the state’s registered voters, 50%-44%. When only likely voters are polled, Trump’s lead in Iowa shrinks to 3 points, 49%-46%, which is within the poll’s margin of error.

Quinnipiac University also released two polls of Ohio and Texas, both of which Trump won in 2016.

According to Quinnipiac, Trump holds a 5-point lead among likely voters in Texas, 50%-45%. The race in Ohio is too close to call, with Biden at 48% and Trump at 47% among likely voters.

Trump carried all three of these states in 2016 by 8 to 9 points, and he will likely need to win all of them again to secure a second term.

The polling results provide further evidence that Trump’s lead is narrowing in states he easily won in 2016. With less than six weeks to go until election day and ballots already being sent to voters in many states, the president is running out of time to reverse that trend.

While speaking to reporters before leaving for North Carolina, Trump also briefly addressed the case of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old EMT who was fatally shot by Louisville police in March.

“I think it’s a sad thing, and I give my regards to the family,” Trump said. “I also think it’s so sad what’s happening with everything about that case, including law enforcement. So many people suffering.”

A Kentucky grand jury declined to issue charges in direct connection to the fatal shooting of Taylor. Instead, one officer was indicted for blindly firing into the apartment of Taylor’s neighbors.

The announcement set off re-energized protests in Louisville yesterday, during which two police officers were shot. They are both expected to recover, and a man has been charged for the shooting.

Speaking to reporters before leaving for North Carolina, Trump again raised doubts about the legitimacy of the presidential election.

“We want to make sure the election is honest, and I’m not sure that it can be,” Trump said. “I don’t know that it can be with this whole situation, unsolicited ballots.”

The president has repeatedly suggested that voting by mail, which will be more common this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, will be susceptible to widespread fraud.

But voter fraud is actually very rare, and US states have been sending mail-in ballots to voters for decades.

Trump’s comments to reporters come one day after he refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power after the presidential election.

David Smith

Senator Bernie Sanders has returned to the campaign trail and called for an independent election commission to stop Donald Trump defying the will of the people and plunging American into a constitutional crisis.

The independent senator also urged social media companies to “get their act together” and news media to prepare the American people to understand “there is no longer a single election day”.

Sanders, whose losing campaign against Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary in 2016 left wounds on both sides, has earned praise this time for rallying his army of progressive supporters around Joe Biden, who defeated him in this year’s nominating contest.

In Washington on Thursday, at his first in-person event since suspending his campaign in the spring, Sanders reiterated that he is “strongly supporting” Biden. But his focus was the unprecedented threat posed by Trump to the oldest continuous democracy in the modern world.

“No matter how rich and powerful you may be, no matter how arrogant and narcissistic you may be, no matter how much you think you can get anything you want, let me make this clear to Donald Trump,” the senator said. “Too many people have fought and died to defend American democracy and you are not going to destroy it.”

Standing before four US flags and blue velvet curtains at George Washington University, Sanders said: “This is not just an election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. This is an election between Donald Trump and democracy – and democracy must win.”

The Senate just passed a resolution reaffirming the chamber’s commitment to a peaceful transition of power.

The resolution, which passed by unanimous consent, focused on “reaffirming the Senate’s commitment to the orderly and peaceful transfer of power called for in the Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes.”

The resolution was introduced by Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat of West Virginia.

Manchin introduced the resolution a day after Trump refused to commit to accepting the results of the election.

Witnesses on the ground in Louisville yesterday did not see any of the riots that Kentucky Republican and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell spoke of on Capitol Hill this morning.

There were some clashes between protesters and law enforcement, the terrible shooting and injuring of two police officers, and some sporadic damage, per eyewitness accounts. But nothing constituting “rioting”.

McConnell said on the floor of the Senate this morning:

“Many Kentuckians have channeled their continuing grief and anger into a peaceful exercise of their First Amendment rights. But in Louisville last night, we saw more of the lawlessness, riots, and violence that has plagued American cities too often this year.”

Meanwhile, Josh Wood reports from Louisville, mayor Greg Fischer spoke earlier about shooting of the two officers last night.

“Violence will only be a source of pain and not a cure for pain. And we know violence is never the answer,” he said.

The city’s interim police chief Robert Schroeder said the two officers who were shot will survive. He said there were 127 protest-related arrests. Schroeder also mentioned there were some sporadic incidents of looting around the city.

Schroeder said the two officers shot last night were Aubrey Gregory, the commander of the department’s special operations division and one of the officers who has been leading protest response efforts. He was shot in the hip and has been released from the hospital. “Some say he may be the bedrock of our protest efforts” he said

The other officer shot was Robinson Desroches, who was wounded in the abdomen and had to undergo surgery. Schroeder described his status as stable.

Police have arrested 26-year-old Larynzo Johnson in the shooting. Schroeder said he is charged with two counts of assault in the first degree and 14 charges of wanton endangerment – all directed against police officers.

FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the Senate homeland security committee today, and he was asked about voter fraud in the upcoming election.

Wray told the senators, “We have not seen historically any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it’s by mail or otherwise. We have seen voter fraud at the local level from time to time.”

Wray added that the bureau was still “vigilant” to prevent potential voter fraud, but evidence indicates voter fraud is actually very rare.

The FBI director’s comments come as Trump tries to sow doubts about the legitimacy of the election, claiming voting by mail will be tainted by widespread fraud.

The president has presented no evidence for that claim, and US states have been sending mail-in ballots to voters for decades.

Breonna Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, moments ago made a post on Instagram about her daughter, who was shot dead by police in Louisville, Kentucky, in March, with no charges directly relating to her killing having been announced by the authorities yesterday.

The post features a painting of Breonna with the hashtag “#thesystemfailedBreonna” and her mother writes: “It’s still Breonna Taylor for me”.

Fresh protests were expected in Louisville and elsewhere in America today as public anger and sadness continue to ripple out from the stunning announcement yesterday.

You can read the latest details here.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the anti-Trump chants when the president paid his respects to Ruth Bader Ginsburg were “appalling.”

As Trump visited Ginsburg’s casket at the supreme court, the crowd assembled there for the late justice’s public viewing chanted, “Vote him out!”

“Everyone has a First Amendment in this country, but I thought it was an appalling and disrespectful thing to do,” McEnany said, adding that the display was unsurprising in “the heart of the swamp.”

It should be noted that White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump would accept the results of “a free and fair election.”

There is a lot of wiggle room in that statement because Trump has repeatedly claimed (without evidence) that the election will be tainted by widespread fraud due to voting by mail.

In reality, voter fraud is very rare, and US states have been sending mail-in ballots to voters for decades.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said she was not aware of a conversation between Trump and the family of Breonna Taylor.

McEnany said the president’s thoughts were with the family of Taylor, who was fatally shot by police in March. A grand jury declined to press charges in direct connection to the shooting yesterday.

Opening up the briefing to reporters’ questions, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany was immediately asked whether Trump would commit to a peaceful transition of power.

McEnany initially quibbled over the question, repeatedly noting it was a Playboy reporter who posed the question to the president yesterday.

McEnany eventually said, “The president will accept the results of a free and fair election.”

Asked specifically whether Trump would accept a loss, McEnany simply repeated that he would accept the results of a fair election.