Trump says he wants supreme court seat filled 'before the election' – live

A preemptive state of emergency has been declared ahead of an announcement regarding the Breonna Taylor case

The police in Louisville, Kentucky have declared a state of emergency for the department ahead of an announcement from the state’s attorney general in the Breonna Taylor case regarding police who fatally shot a 26-year-old black woman in her sleep during a drug-related raid.

Many have said the declaration seems to anticipate violent protests, suggesting an unfavorable ruling for those seeking justice in the case. Officials have also closed two federal buildings in anticipation of the announcement and the police force has prohibited officers from taking time off work.

The family of Taylor has also received a settlement from the city of $12m in a civil suit stemming from the incident, in which Taylor was mistaken for a suspect in a drug raid. The incident has called into question “no-knock” warrants, in which police enter a home without announcing or identifying themselves.

One more Senator comes out against a Trump supreme court nomination

US Senator Joe Manchin, the only Democrat who voted to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh despite party objections in 2018, said the vote on a new Supreme Court nominee should be delayed until after the November 2020 presidential election “for the sake of the integrity of our courts and legal system”.

“For Mitch McConnell and my Republican colleagues to rush through this process after refusing to even meet with Judge Merrick Garland in 2016 is hypocrisy in its highest form,” he said. “The US Supreme Court is the highest court int he land and it is ismply irresponsible to rush the adequate and proper vetting required of any new candidate for the bench.”

The reactions of Manchin and several Republican senators have been closely watched in recent days to see if a justice nominee from Donald Trump would have enough votes to be comfirmed before the 2020 elections. Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine have said the next judge should be nominated by whomever is elected in November. Trump has said he intends to pick a woman for the seat and will announce the nomination this week. It is speculated that US circuit court judge Amy Boney Barrett, a fervently anti-abortion Catholic, is at the top of Trump’s list of nominees.

Chuck Schumer honors the legacy of RBG in Senate speech

Chuck Schumer made remarks on the floor of the Senate on Monday honoring the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg days after her death.

Schumer noted that in Jewish tradition only the “most righteous” people die on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, calling Ginsburg “a woman of great righteousness and valor”.

“She might be the only justice to become a meme,” the New York senator said, citing the “Notorious RBG” meme, which likened the octogenarian judge to famous rapper Notorious BIG. “Ruth Bader Ginsburg was, in fact, a rebellious force to be reckoned with.”

Schumer outlined many of Ginsburg’s life accomplishments, including her making the court enforce the constitutional idea that people cannot be discriminated on the basis of sex. He said if Donald Trump is able to replace the late Supreme Court justice, reproductive rights, workers’ rights, and voting rights will be imperiled. He also said RBG’s dying wish was that a justice not be picked until after the 2020 elections.

Hello! Kari Paul here in California taking over for the next few hours. Stay tuned for updates.

Senator Lindsey Graham, the Republican chairman of the Senate judiciary committee, said the panel would move “expeditiously” to advance Trump’s supreme court nominee.

In a letter to the Democratic members of the committee, Graham said his view of the judicial confirmation process had changed after witnessing the treatment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual assault but was ultimately confirmed by the Senate.

“I therefore think it is important that we proceed expeditiously to process any nomination made by President Trump to fill this vacancy,” Graham told his Democratic colleagues. “I am certain if the shoe were on the other foot, you would do the same.”

Joe Biden has now concluded his speech at an aluminum plant in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

The Democratic nominee criticized the president for previously suggesting the US coronavirus death toll would be much lower if Americans who died in blue states weren’t counted.

Biden promised to act as a unifying figure to help bring the country together during this time of national crisis.

The presidential candidate also took a moment to address those who voted for Trump in 2016, saying he knows they felt like they weren’t being heard by Democrats.

“It will change with me,” Biden said. “You will be seen, heard and respected by me.”

Joe Biden argued Trump had failed in his response to coronavirus because he “panicked” rather than confronting the crisis head-on.

“Trump panicked. The virus was too big for him,” Biden said in Wisconsin. “All his life Donald Trump has been bailed out of any problem he faced.”

The Democratic nominee dismissed the president’s claim that he downplayed the threat of the virus because he wanted to help Americans remain calm.

In reality, Biden said, Trump “just wasn’t up to” the challenge of handling the crisis.