RACIAL INJUSTICE-PORTLAND
Mayor of Portland, Oregon, tear gassed by federal agents
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The mayor of Portland, Oregon, was tear gassed by federal agents late Wednesday as he stood with protesters at a fence guarding a federal courthouse. Mayor Ted Wheeler said it was the first time he’d been tear gassed and appeared slightly dazed and coughed as he put on a pair of goggles someone handed him. Earlier in the night, Wheeler was jeered as he tried to rally demonstrators who have clashed nightly with federal agents sent in by President Donald Trump to quell ongoing unrest in the city. Wheeler said it was important to oppose what he called an unconstitutional federal occupation.
CONGRESS-TRUMP PARDONS
House Democrats to attempt to check Trump’s pardon power
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats are trying to rein in one of President Donald Trump’s biggest powers: the power of the pardon. A House panel on Thursday plans to vote on legislation that is intended to discourage presidents from giving pardons to friends and family. The legislation would also ban presidents from pardoning themselves. While the bills are unlikely to pass Congress, Democrats say a response is necessary after Trump has come to the aid of allies he believes have been mistreated by the justice system, including longtime confidant Roger Stone. Trump commuted Stone’s prison sentence earlier this month after he was convicted of crimes related to the Russia investigation.
AP-VIRUS OUTBREAK-THE LATEST
The Latest: South Africa reports new high in virus deaths
South Africa’s confirmed coronavirus cases have nearly reached 400,000 as the country reports a new daily high of 572 deaths. South Africa is now one of the world’s top five countries in terms of reported virus cases, and it makes up more than half of the cases on the African continent with 394,948. Deaths are at 5,940. Public hospitals are struggling as patient numbers climb, and more than 5,000 health workers have been infected. The struggles by Africa’s most developed country in coping with the pandemic are a worrying sign for other, far less resourced countries across the continent as the spread of infections picks up speed.
MARS-CHINA
China launches ambitious attempt to land rover on Mars
BEIJING (AP) — China has launched its most ambitious Mars mission yet in an attempt to join the United States in successfully landing a spacecraft on the red planet. The rocket carrying the orbiter and rover took off under clear skies from an island south of China’s mainland. Hundreds of space enthusiasts cried out excitedly on a beach across the bay from the launch site. It’s the second launch toward Mars this week after a Japanese rocket sent a United Arab Emirates orbiter into space Monday. And the U.S. is aiming to launch Perseverance, its most sophisticated Mars rover ever, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, next week. China’s spacecraft will take seven months to reach Mars.
AP-FINANCIAL-MARKETS
Shares mixed in Asia as China-US tensions cast shadow
MITO, Japan (AP) — Asian shares are mixed, with the region’s biggest market in Tokyo closed for a four-day weekend. Benchmarks rose in Hong Kong and Sydney but fell in Shanghai and Seoul. South Korea’s central bank reported that its economy contracted 3.3% in April-June after shrinking 1.3% in the first quarter as exports fell more than 16%. In annual terms, the economy contracted at a 2.9% pace. Overnight, shares in New York posted solid gains after a choppy day of trading. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%. The bumpy day came as investors sized up a mix of company earnings and another flare-up in tensions between Washington and Beijing.
AP-US-AP-POLL-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-SCHOOLS
AP-NORC poll: Very few Americans back full school reopening
BOSTON (AP) — A new poll finds very few Americans think schools should return to normal operations this fall, even as President Donald Trump pushes for a full reopening. The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that only about 1 in 10 Americans say daycare centers, preschools and K-12 schools should start the school year like any other. Most think mask requirements and other safety measures are necessary to restart in-person instruction, and roughly 3 in 10 say that teaching kids in classrooms shouldn’t happen at all. Trump said Wednesday that he would be “comfortable” with his son Barron and grandchildren attending school in person.
ELECTION 2020-BIDEN
Joe Biden calls Trump the country’s ‘first’ racist president
WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden has said during a virtual town hall that President Donald Trump was the country’s “first” racist president. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s comment came Wednesday in response to a questioner mentioning the president referring to the coronavirus as the “China virus.” Biden said, “We’ve had racists, and they’ve existed. They’ve tried to get elected president. He’s the first one that has.” But many presidents — including the nation’s first, George Washington — owned slaves. Trump responded by saying that he’d done more for Black Americans than any other president, with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-CONGRESS
White House, GOP agree on virus testing in new aid bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans and the White House have reached tentative agreement for more testing funds in the next COVID-19 relief package. But deep disagreements over the scope of the $1 trillion in federal aid remain ahead of Thursday’s expected roll out. Facing a GOP revolt, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is preparing a “handful” of COVID-19 aid bills instead of a single package. That’s the word from a top lawmaker involved in the negotiations. A key holdup remains President Donald Trump’s push for a payroll tax cut. Hardly any GOP senators support the idea.
VIRUS OUTBREAK
US labs buckle amid testing surge; world virus cases top 15M
WASHINGTON (AP) — Labs across the U.S. are buckling under a surge of coronavirus tests, creating long processing delays that experts say are undercutting the pandemic response. The bottlenecks are creating problems for workers kept off the job while they wait for results, nursing homes struggling to keep the virus out and for the labs themselves. Some labs are taking weeks to return COVID-19 results, exacerbating fears that people without symptoms could be spreading the virus if they don’t isolate while they wait. The testing lags come as confirmed cases are rising in the U.S. and as the number of people known to be infected worldwide passed a staggering 15 million.
TRUMP-LAW ENFORCEMENT
Trump deploys more federal agents under ‘law-and-order’ push
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he will send federal agents into Chicago and Albuquerque to help combat rising crime as he runs for reelection under a “law-and-order” mantle. Using alarmist language, Trump on Wednesday painted Democrat-led cities as out of control, even though criminal justice experts say the increase in violence in some cities defies easy explanation. The decision to dispatch federal agents to American cities is playing out at a hyperpoliticized moment in American politics. With less than four months until Election Day, Trump has been serving up dire warnings that the violence would worsen if his Democratic rival Joe Biden is elected in November.
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