Donald Trump marks Independence Day with incendiary Mount Rushmore speech – live

President says US under assault from ‘far-left fascism’ US coronavirus deaths near 130,000Supreme court gives conservatives blues – what’s really going on?Sign up to our First Thing newsletter 2.42pm BST While the number of Covid-19 cases surge across the United States, CNN reports that key public health figures such as Dr Anthony Fauci have not been given permission by the White House administration to appear on American television.Members of the White House’s task force on Covid-19 were familiar figures on US television in the early days of the pandemic. Fauci in particular won praise for his calm, no-nonsense advice, which was often in contrast to the more speculative and confused messaging from Donald Trump. 2.15pm BST News from St Louis, where the Associated Press reports that on Friday night, peaceful protesters returned to a house where a white couple famously appeared with guns last Sunday, during a march demanding the resignation of the mayor:Several hundred protesters made a peaceful return trip Friday to the St Louis mansion owned by a white couple whose armed defense of their home during an earlier demonstration earned both scorn and support.Chanting protesters stopped at the gate just outside the palazzo-style home of Mark McCloskey, 61, and his 63-year-old wife, for about 15 minutes. Extra metal barriers blocked the entrance to Portland Place, where the protesters had walked earlier in the week on their way to the mayor’s home nearby.The McCloskeys are personal injury attorneys who became famous last Sunday. As an estimated 500 demonstrators marched near their home, the couple heard a commotion and saw a group of people break an iron gate marked with “No Trespassing” and “Private Street” signs, according to a police report.Video posted online and viewed by millions showed Mark McCloskey wielding a long-barreled gun and Patricia McCloskey waving a small handgun. No shots were fired. Donald Trump retweeted the video.A letter released on Wednesday by more than three dozen neighbors of the McCloskeys condemned “the behavior of anyone who uses threats of violence, especially through the brandishing of firearms, to disrupt peaceful protest, whether it be in this neighborhood or anywhere in the United States.” Related: Trump retweets video of white St Louis couple pointing guns at protesters Continue reading…
Via: Donald Trump marks Independence Day with incendiary Mount Rushmore speech – live