US mayors sign letter opposing use of federal law enforcement against protesters – live

Ohio governor Mike DeWine’s statewide mask order comes as the state reports an alarming rise in new cases of coronavirus.

Ohio health officials reported 1,527 new cases from yesterday, marking the state’s second-highest daily case count. The figures bring the state’s total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 78,742.

The number of coronavirus patients in Ohio’s hospitals has also been steadily rising in recent weeks, hitting 1,098 today.

Another 16 Ohioans died of the virus yesterday, bringing the state’s total coronavirus death toll to 3,235.

The Republican governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine, has issued a statewide mandate to wear masks while out in public.

DeWine said the order, which will take effect tomorrow evening, would exempt children under the age of 10 and those who have medical conditions. Ohioans are also not required to wear masks while actively exercising, eating or drinking.

Ohio joins 28 other US states in requiring masks statwide, and DeWine said the state government would start running two commercials to encourage mask usage.

“Wearing masks will make a difference,” DeWine said. “It will determine what our fall looks like. We want kids to go back to school, we want to see sports — to do that it’s very important that all Ohioans wear a mask.”

A new poll shows the president effectively tied with Joe Biden in Texas, a longtime Republican stronghold that Trump carried by 9 points in 2016.

According to a new Quinnipiac poll, Biden is attracting the support of 45% of Texas’ registered voters, compared to 44% who back Trump.

Despite Democrats’ longtime hopes of flipping the Lone Star State, Texas Republicans remain confident that Trump will win the state in November.

However, if the president is forced to campaign in Texas, it will stretch his resources in the final months leading up to the election, particularly because of the state’s expensive media markets.

And with its 38 electoral votes, Trump cannot afford to risk losing Texas, or his chances of reelection will be virtually nonexistent.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser released updated guidance on mask usage, as the nation’s capital reports a rise in the number of new coronavirus cases.

“Basically it says, if you leave home, you should wear a mask,” Bowser said of the new guidance.

The Democratic mayor’s comments came as city health officials reported 102 new cases from yesterday, marking the highest number of new cases in a single day since June 4.

“We’re all pretty sick of dealing with the pandemic. We’re four months in; people are tired and, in some cases, are letting down their guards,” Bowser said.

“But we all want to get on the other side of this virus, so it is important that we remain vigilant,” she added.

Bowser noted the guidance would include some exceptions for children under the age of three and for when people are eating, drinking or vigorously exercising.

Trump is expected to announce the expansion of “Operation Legend” to Chicago and Albuquerque in a White House speech this afternoon, according to reports.

The justice department announced the launch of Operation Legend earlier this month, describing it as “a sustained, systematic and coordinated law enforcement initiative across all federal law enforcement agencies working in conjunction with state and local law enforcement officials to fight the sudden surge of violent crime.”

The justice department said at the time that the FBI, the US Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would “surge resources” to Kansas City, Missouri, as part of the initiative.

That effort is now expanding to Chicago and Albuquerque, both of which are also led by Democratic mayors.

The news comes two days after Trump defended the widely criticized actions of federal agents against peaceful protesters in Portland, Oregon, and vowed to send “more federal law enforcement” to other Democratic-controlled cities.

“Because we’re not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these — Oakland is a mess,” Trump said on Monday. “We’re not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats.”

House Democrats have launched a campaign to encourage mask usage — with a “Mean Girls” twist.

A number of Democratic lawmakers are wearing pink masks today in homage to the 2004 film’s well-known line, “On Wednesdays, we wear pink.”

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, who spearheaded the effort, said in a tweet, “I encourage all my colleagues to participate and support wearing masks to help prevent the spread of #COVID19.” She then referenced another line from the movie: “It’s going to be so fetch!”

Many House Democrats sent out their own tweets showing them wearing pink masks, with “Mean Girls” quotes thrown in. Communications staffers on Capitol Hill are clearly having fun with the campaign.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

• Daily coronavirus deaths in the US surpassed 1,000 yesterday for the first time since June 2. The grim development came one day after Trump acknowledged in a White House briefing that the country’s coronavirus crisis “will probably unfortunately get worse before it gets better.” The White House also announced the president would hold another coronavirus briefing today.
• Fifteen mayors sent a letter objecting to federal agents being sent to Portland, Oregon. The letter, which was addressed to attorney general William Barr and acting secretary of the department of homeland security Chad Wolf, described the deployment of federal agents to cities without the approval of local leaders as an “abuse of power.”
• Florida Republican congressman Ted Yoho apologized for accosting congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the Capitol steps earlier this week. But Yoho denied calling the progressive congresswoman “disgusting” and a “fucking bitch,” as the Hill reported. In response, Ocasio-Cortez accused Yoho of “refusing responsibility” for his actions. “This is not an apology,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

Woody Johnson, the US ambassador to the UK and billionaire NFL owner, is reportedly facing accusations that he made racist and sexist comments to staff.

CNN reports:

Johnson, the top envoy since August 2017 to one of the United States’ most important allies, made racist generalizations about Black men and questioned why the Black community celebrates Black History Month, according to exclusive new information shared with CNN by three sources and a diplomat familiar with the complaints to the State Department inspector general.

His comments about women’s looks have been “cringeworthy,” a source with knowledge of the situation said, and two sources said it was a struggle to get him on board for an event for International Women’s Day. …

Asked about the specific allegations reported by CNN, Johnson did not deny them. He called it an ‘honor of a lifetime’ to serve as ambassador and ‘to lead the talented, diverse team of the U.S. Mission to the United Kingdom.’ Johnson called the team ‘the best in diplomacy’ adding, ‘I greatly value the extraordinary work that each and every member of the team does to strengthen and deepen our vital alliance.’

The news comes one day after the New York Times reported that Johnson has told colleagues Trump asked him to speak to UK officials about hosting the British Open at the Trump Turnberry resort in Scotland.

According to CNN, Johnson’s alleged racist and sexist comments and the British Open request have sparked an investigation by the state department inspector general.

The White House has confirmed Trump will hold another coronavirus briefing today, a day after holding his first such briefing in nearly three months.

In updated guidance on the president’s schedule today, the White House said Trump would hold a press conference at 5.30 pm ET.

Trump acknowledged during yesterday’s briefing that the coronavirus crisis “will probably unfortunately get worse before it gets better,” but he did not lay out a specific plan for combatting the country’s recent surge in new cases.

The president will likely be pressed on that today, and he will almost certainly face questions about his comments yesterday sending good wishes to Ghislaine Maxwell, who is facing federal charges for her alleged involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking of young girls.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said congressman Ted Yoho’s apology was not a true apology because it included “lies” and did not “name any action he did.”

“This is not an apology,” the progressive woman said in a tweet thread. “He didn’t even say my name.”

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said congressman Ted Yoho was “refusing responsibility” for accosting her on the steps of the Capitol earlier this week.

Yoho apologized for his behavior in a floor speech this morning, but Ocasio-Cortez said of Yoho’s apology, “I will not teach my nieces and young people watching that this an apology, and what they should learn to accept.”

In his floor speech, Yoho apologized for the “the abrupt manner of the conversation I had with my colleague from New York,” but he denied calling Ocasio-Cortez “disgusting” and a “fucking bitch,” as the Hill reported.

“The offensive name-calling words attributed to me by the press were never spoken to my colleagues, and if they were construed that way, I apologize for their misunderstanding,” the Florida Republican said.

He went on to describe how he is “passionate” about fighting for those experiencing poverty. “I cannot apologize for my passion or for loving my God, my family and my country,” Yoho said.

Ocasio-Cortez responded to Yoho’s speech in a tweet, saying, “Republican responds to calling a colleague ‘disgusting’ & a ‘f—ing b*tch’ w/ ‘I cannot apologize for my passion’ and blaming others. … Yoho is refusing responsibility.”

Trump intends to hold another coronavirus briefing today at 5 pm ET, according to NBC News.

The briefing did not appear on the president’s initial schedule, although the White House said Trump would deliver remarks on “Combatting Violent Crime in American Cities” this afternoon.

Trump’s briefing yesterday marked his first coronavirus briefing in nearly three months, and White House officials told NBC News that they felt it had gone well.

During the briefing, Trump acknowledged the pandemic “will probably unfortunately get worse before it gets better” and strongly urged Americans to wear masks to limit their risk of contracting the virus.

However, the president laid out no strategy for how to reverse the country’s recent alarming rise in new cases, and he once again insisted the virus would one day “disappear.”

Trump also attracted criticism for offering good wishes to Ghislaine Maxwell, who faces federal charges for her alleged involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking of young girls.