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Digested week
US politics
Digested week: Escape from New York, but not from the news
Emma Brockes
We were out of the city for the first time since March, but the choice of reading matter spoke volumes More
A dozen local governments have moved to reduce their police budgets by more than $1.4bn, marking a significant shift in American politicsIn the days after the killing of George Floyd, an extraordinary wave of mass protests erupted across the US, with demonstrators setting fire to police buildings and cars, shutting down freeways and bridges and storming city halls and neighborhoods.Amid familiar chants of Black Lives Matter, a new slogan emerged: “Defund the police.” Continue reading… More
Letitia James says her office uncovered ‘years of self-dealing’
Trump tells Ohio airport crowd that Biden is ‘against God’
Another 1.18m Americans file for unemployment
Deutsche Bank gave Trump records to New York prosecutors – report
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Technology
The legislation comes as a federal panel is investigating the market power of Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google More
House of Representatives
Jones, set to be one of the first openly gay, Black members of Congress, will likely join growing group of diverse Democrats More
Investigation shows governor’s political machine has received money from more than a third of New York’s billionaire familiesJoin us for a live digital event with former attorney general Eric Holder to discuss voter suppression in 2020, Thursday at 5pm ET. Register nowGovernor Andrew Cuomo of New York has stood firm against intensifying pressure to avert massive budget cuts by raising taxes on the many billionaires who live in his state. Related: ‘Egregious’ distancing violations at Chainsmokers charity concert – Cuomo Continue reading… More
US deaths from the coronavirus were approaching 150,000 on Wednesday, the highest level in the world and rising by about 10,000 in just 11 days, as 21 states enter what the federal government considers the “red zone” of rising infection rates.The nation recorded the deadliest day of the summer in the last 24 hours, with more than 1,200 confirmed coronavirus deaths, the highest daily toll reported by the country since May, according to a tally by Reuters.Covid-19 deaths have risen in the US for three weeks in a row while the number of new cases week-over-week recently fell for the first time since June.The White House coronavirus taskforce coordinator, Deborah Birx, on Tuesday said hotspots threaten regions where cases are controlled.Birx warned: “We can see the virus moving north. What we’re seeing across the south right now is both rural infections, as well as small metros and major metros, simultaneously.”A surge in infections in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas this month has overwhelmed hospitals.Texas has recorded nearly 4,000 deaths so far this month, followed by Florida with 2,690 and California, the most populous state, with 2,500. The Texas figure includes a backlog of hundreds of deaths after the state changed the way it counted Covid-19 deaths. More
Jamaal Bowman, a former teacher endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren, has ousted the 16-term Democratic congressman Eliot Engel in the race for New York’s 16th district, marking a major win for the party’s progressive wing.Bowman had been leading Engel and candidate Christopher Fink since the 6 July primary but the race had not been called by the Associated Press until Friday. In the end Bowman defeated Engel with 55% of the vote, a margin of roughly 12,000 votes, when the race was called. Bowman had declared victory earlier in the month when in-person voting had concluded.Bowman’s victory over Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs committee, is a stunning victory for progressives who rallied around Bowman in the primary. Bowman was something of a progressive darling, earning the support of standard bearers such as congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Warren, as well as outside liberal groups like MoveOn and Our Revolution.Engel, meanwhile, had been endorsed by some party establishment figures including Hillary Clinton, House speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democratic senate leader Chuck Schumer, and congressman Jim Clyburn, the highest ranking black Democrat in Congress.In a campaign memo, Bowman’s campaign manager, Luke Hayes, wrote: “Jamaal’s win has been compared to AOC’s in 2018, but the big difference is that this time, they saw us coming. They took nothing for granted, and spent over $5m against us. They aired millions of dollars in attack ads, called in every political favor, and pulled all the stops. And we still won.”The race was somewhat reminiscent of Ocasio-Cortez’s surprise victory over congressman and House Democratic caucus chair Joe Crowley in 2018. Ocasio-Cortez was the longshot progressive favorite in that primary.Hayes described Bowman as a “brilliant, authentic, caring, fun, empathetic, passionate, and hardworking” candidate in the memo celebrating the victory. Bowman’s primary essentially assures his future in Congress. Voters in the district have for decades voted decisively for the Democratic nominee for Congress and the president.Engel’s ouster is also a much needed victory for progressives after both Bernie Sanders and Warren lost the Democratic primary for president to the more centrist Joe Biden.“From the very beginning, we anchored our campaign in the fight for racial and economic justice. We spoke the truth – about the police, about systemic racism, about inequality – and it resonated in every part of the district,” Bowman said in a statement to reporters. “We brought people together across race, across class, across religion, across gender, to fight for justice, to fight for equality, and to fight to create a country that works for all of us. We didn’t let them divide us. And we did it all without accepting a dime from corporate Pacs or lobbyists” More
