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As it happenedended

Trump news - live: Administration sues over Bolton book as criticism grows over president's police reform executive order

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Justin Vallejo,Chris Riotta,Joe Sommerlad
Tuesday 16 June 2020 23:52 BST
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Trump claims that Oklahoma has a very low coronavirus number

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Donald Trump's administration sued to block the release of John Bolton's upcoming White House memoir, saying it was "rife with classified information."

The White House defended Trump's executive orders on police reform as Democrats critised the measures as "weak" and "inadequate".

Mike Pence, meanwhile, defended the president's upcoming rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, insisting Trump has the right to gather supporters after falsely claiming the state successfully "flattened the curve."

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Disturbing footage shows Trump supporters attacking small Black Lives Matter protest in Ohio

Greg Evans has this report for Indy100 on a George Floyd gathering in smalltown Bethel, Ohio, which was hijacked by aggressive MAGA types wearing pro-police T-shirts and caps and Confederate insignia, some of whom were members of a local motorcycle gang.

The counter-protesters told the crowd of 100 or so they were "a bunch of f***ing traitors" who should go back to Seattle and: "This is a f***ing Republican state, b****. We don't play here."

They are all "very fine people", I'm sure.

Joe Sommerlad16 June 2020 15:45

Inside the Minneapolis corner store where the 911 call on George Floyd was made that led to his killing

Cup Foods, a small redbrick grocery store in the south of the Minnesota city, has reopened since 25 May - the fateful day on which a teenage cashier called the police after believing a black customer had passed him a counterfeit $20 bill - but it remains a focal point for local anger.

Joe Sommerlad16 June 2020 16:05

Republican congressman says he has no idea how he caught coronavirus

Tom Rice of South Carolina tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday and has been telling The Wall Street Journal he has no idea how it happened, despite declining to wear a mask on trips out and about with his son, who also has it, after defing his own side's official guidelines.

Joe Sommerlad16 June 2020 16:25

Rasmussen survey adds to crushing weight of data pointing to a Biden victory

Andrew Naughtie writes: Donald Trump has been hit by a rash of polls showing Joe Biden pulling ahead of him – and now, a new survey by Scott Rasmussen for website Just the News shows him falling behind Mr Biden nationally by 12 points.

According to Mr Rasmussen’s results, Mr Biden would win 48 per cent of the national vote to Mr Trump’s 36 if there election were held today. It would worry any sitting president to poll at less than 40 per cent at this point in the election, but Mr Trump is especially invested in his own numbers, which he regularly shows off on Twitter.

The latest poll will be particularly galling for the president given it comes from Mr Rasmussen, founder of Rasmussen Reports. The company is one of the only pollsters whose results Mr Trump routinely cites when celebrating his own numbers. frequently writing that it was an outlier in predicting he would win the 2016 election.

However, the company has previously been criticised for its methodology, which some say tends to produce Republican-tilted results, and the data analysis website FiveThirtyEight has rated it only C+ for quality.

Chris Riotta16 June 2020 16:50

Lynching accusations mount as FBI and DOJ investigate hanging deaths of black men in California

Federal officials announced reviews into the deaths of two black men found hanging from trees in California within two weeks of each other and 50 miles apart in a region known for active Neo-Nazi groups.

The deaths of 24-year-old Robert Fuller and 38-year-old Malcolm Harsch were both described as suicides by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, despite challenges from their families, who said neither were suicidal, as well as activists and civil rights groups. 

Thousands of protestors gathered during the weekend in Palmdale, where Mr Fuller was found hanging from a tree on 10 June, to demand an investigation into his death. 

The protests, which coincided with demonstrations over the death of George Floyd, also brought attention to the death of Mr Harsch, who was found hanging from a tree outside of the Victorville City Library ten days earlier.

Story to come...

Chris Riotta16 June 2020 17:10

Donald Trump announces executive order in speech praising nation's police forces

The president is announcing a new executive order as a response to nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd. The order is expected to call for a national registry of police officers to track cases of misconduct, along with other incentives to increase community policing practices. 

Stay tuned for live updates...

Chris Riotta16 June 2020 17:27

Trump announces new executive order

The president said on Tuesday: “What's needed now is not more stoking of fear and division."

He added that under policies outlined in his new executive order “chokeholds will be banned unless an officer’s life is at risk.”

Trump is also attacking his predecessors, saying former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden “didn’t do anything” towards resolving the issue. 

Chris Riotta16 June 2020 17:33

Trump refers to school choice as 'civil rights of our time' at event on police reform

The president does not appear to be focused on the executive order at hand during his speech, instead focusing on things like the latest economic numbers and school choice. 

Mr Trump said on Tuesday: "We're fighting for school choice, which really is the civil rights of all time in this country. Frankly, school choice is the civil rights statement of the year, of the decade, and probably beyond."

Chris Riotta16 June 2020 17:42

Trump appears to have a gaffe at police reform event on AIDS vaccine

The president appeared to falsely claim there was a vaccination for AIDS. There is not: 

Chris Riotta16 June 2020 17:46

Trump says 'we must build on our heritage' in thinly-veiled reference to protestors knocking down confederate monuments

Chris Riotta16 June 2020 17:48

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