Democratic debate: candidates round on Warren over healthcare – live

Twelve Democrats including Biden, Warren and Sanders face off in largest presidential primary debate in US history

  • Full story: Democrats to face off in debate
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1.49am BST

Candidates are now taking a question on American income inequality. Specifically, the moderators asked Bernie Sanders about his proposed wealth tax.

Pressed on whether the pl...

A wave of labour organizing is sweeping America. Will Democratic leadership catch on? | Malaika Jabali

Despite this growing progressive fervor, Democrats have not put forth policies to show they stand with the workers enduring economic stagnation and a weakened social safety net

Workers are fed up. From teachers and hotel workers to nurses and auto workers, about three dozen labor strikes since 2018 have made the nation’s headlines. Over the weekend, a youth-led climate strike spanned the globe and a walkout of General Motors workers entered its second week. For the past several weeks...

Democrats issue warning over Trump’s ‘dangerous’ whistleblower attacks – live

Pelosi and Schiff say any attempt to ‘stonewall’ inquiry ‘will be considered obstruction of justice’, while Bernie Sanders undergoes heart surgery

Bernie Sanders has tweeted his thanks to well wishers after he underwent heart surgery for a blocked artery. He has suspended campaign appearances but used his condition remind supporters of a key campaign goal: medicare for all.

Thanks for all the well wishes. I'm feeling good. I'm fortunate to have good health care and great doctors and nurses helping me to recover.

None of us know when a medical emergency might affect us. And no one should fear going bankrupt if it occurs. Medicare for All!

OK - here are some takeaways from that press conference. It was a long one involving a lot of incoherent and rambling answers from the president. But here’s my best shot of at some of the most important comments relating to impeachment and the ongoing Ukraine scandal.

Firstly, Trump responded to a New York Times report, published earlier today, stating that the whistleblower had approached a House Intelligence Committee staff aide days before filing his complaint. The report states that the committee chairman, Adam Schiff, was later made aware of the nature of the allegations but was not given any information on the whistleblower’s identity. A spokesman for Schiff has confirmed parts of this reporting, and stated it is standard procedure for the committee to offer advice to whistleblowers on how to file complaints.

Trump engages in contentious back and forth with @JeffMason1 after he dodges Ukraine question:

Trump: We have the president of Finland, ask him a question.

Mason: I have one for him, I just wanted to follow up on the one I asked you—

Trump: Did you hear me? Ask him a question! pic.twitter.com/Co64SmxOmk

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Trump suggests House intelligence chair should face ‘arrest for treason’ – live news

  • Trump hits out at Adam Schiff over impeachment inquiry
  • Sanders to roll out new proposal on chief executive pay

Jeff Flake, a former Republican senator, has written a Washington Post op-ed imploring fellow members of his party to oppose Trump’s re-election.

Two years ago I stood in the Senate chamber and said: ‘There are times when we must risk our careers in favor of our principles.’ ...

Now, two years later, it is my former Republican Senate colleagues who have a decision to make. Or, as I see it, two decisions to make. The first is difficult; the second is easy. ...

“TrumpCare” does not exist – this has not stopped some firms from advertising insurance products under this banner, according to a new report from Axios.

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Democratic debates: Harris says Trump ‘tweeted the ammunition’ for El Paso shooter – live

The 10 candidates on stage in Houston offered competing visions based on Obamacare and Medicare for All

Elizabeth Warren is calling for the end of the Senate filibuster to enact gun-control legislation.

If the filibuster was done away with, it would only take 50 Senate votes to pass a bill; legislation can currently be blocked if it attracts less than 60 votes.

O’Rourke did not shy away from saying he would require citizens to turn in their military-style weapons, despite Republicans’ frequent accusations that Democrats are coming to take Americans’ guns.

“Hell yes, we’re going to take your AK-47,” O’Rourke said in one of the biggest lines of the night so far.

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Democratic debate: Biden clashes with Warren and Sanders on healthcare

‘The senator says she’s for Bernie,’ the former vice-president said of Warren’s support for Sanders’ Medicare for All plan. ‘Well, I’m for Barack’

Confrontation erupted on the debate stage as frontrunner Joe Biden verbally sparred with progressives Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders over their support for a single-payer healthcare system in an exchange that revealed the deep divisions over how far left the party should move.

Round three of the presidential debates began on Thu...

House committee to vote on impeachment procedures – live

House judiciary panel to consider procedures for future hearings in first step towards possible impeachment of Trump

The Trump administration has reportedly given up efforts to write an Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) replacement bill.

After campaigning to repeal the law for eight years, Republicans have struggled to piece together a cohesive strategy for caring for the staggering 27.5m Americans locked out of the healthcare system.

A little live fact-checking from the Guardian’s reporter Joan Greve.

It appears this is the Al Green quote (from May) that Trump is referring to, which is different in both wording and meaning than the president claims here. https://t.co/FdpxlXsJeY pic.twitter.com/zlN1iTKrva

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Why Planned Parenthood was right to refuse federal funding | Moira Donegan

The Trump administration put Planned Parenthood in an untenable position – and the organization made the moral choice to walk away

The Trump administration expanded its assault on women’s rights this week, engineering the loss of birth control and other reproductive healthcare coverage for millions of low income women.

On Monday, the administration’s Title X gag rule went into effect, barring any provider who performs abortions or even provides referrals for them from receiving...

Trump officials to deny green cards to those who use Medicaid or food stamps

  • Rules detail broad range of programs to disqualify applicants
  • Officials say they only want migrants who are ‘self-sufficient’

The Trump administration is moving forward with one of its most aggressive steps yet to restrict legal immigration, denying green cards to many migrants who use Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers or other forms of public assistance, officials said announced Monday.

Related: Trump officials weaken protections for animals near ext...

Jeffrey Epstein: officials await more information before releasing cause of death – live

  • Multimillionaire financier was facing sex trafficking charges
  • Donald Trump on vacation with no public events scheduled
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2.42pm BST

According to the Urban Institute, 1 in 7 adults in immigrant families are eschewing public benefits out of fear that it could affect their chances of getting a green card.

Respondents of the organization’s survey reported choosin...