Pence-Harris vice-presidential debate: five key takeaways

Coronavirus was the key theme, but Harris also warned of the threat to Obamacare as both candidates dodged questions

The vice-presidential debate on Wednesday was less openly hostile than the Donald Trump-Joe Biden debacle last week – but provided a further insight into the state of both campaigns ahead of November.

Related: Kamala Harris and Mike Pence clash over coronavirus response in vice-presidential debate

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VP debate 2020: Kamala Harris slams Mike Pence over coronavirus handling – live

  • Harris: ‘Americans have witnessed the greatest failure of any president’
  • The coronavirus pandemic has already affected the staging and format
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2.47am BST

The candidates are addressing climate change.

“With regard to climate change, the climate is changing, but the issue is, what’s the cause and what do we do about it?” Pence said. “...

Fears for Obamacare if Amy Coney Barrett confirmed to supreme court

Case due before court seeks to strike down landmark Affordable Care Act – which could leave millions of Americans adrift

This month, Congress is expected to begin confirmation hearings for Donald Trump’s nominee for the supreme court, Amy Coney Barrett. If confirmed, she could be the decisive vote in a case being heard days after the election, which seeks to strike down the landmark Affordable Care Act – a move that could leave millions of Americans without healthcare in the middle of a pandemic.

Related: Amy Coney Barrett: what will she mean for women's rights?

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Trump signals he won’t agree to rules changes for debates – live

Frmo Erum Salam in Houston and Sam Levine in New York:

Texas is already one of the hardest places in America to vote, and Greg Abbott, the Texas governor, on Thursday made it even harder.

Related: Outrage as Texas governor orders closure of multiple ballot drop-off sites

A procedural vote on a bill that would stop Trump’s Justice Department from intervening in a lawsuit to strike down the Affordable Care Act has failed.

In a rare move, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer forced a procedural vote to consider the measure, in an attempt to force Republicans – many of whom had said they support protections for people with pre-existing conditions – to prove it with their votes. The bill would “protect the health care of hundreds of millions of people of the United States and prevent efforts of the Department of Justice to advocate courts to strike down the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” per Senate Democrats.

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Democrats on the attack after Trump tax return revelations – live

  • Six key findings from the Trump tax bombshell
  • Analysis: Will the New York Times taxes report sink Donald Trump?
  • $70,000 on hairstyling – Trump’s taxes in numbers
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5.21pm BST

In her MSNBC interview, House speaker Nancy Pelosi also criticized Senate Republicans for moving forward with the supreme court nomination of ...

Trump says overturning Roe v Wade ‘certainly possible’ with Amy Coney Barrett – live

  • Senate minority whip says Democrats can only slow nomination by ‘days’
  • Amy Coney Barrett: what will she mean for women’s rights?
  • Biden hopes for repeat of 2012 as Trump debate nears
  • Recipe for chaos: election threatens to snap US society
  • Robert Reich: Trump Nation has already seceded
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5.29pm BST

Biden spoke briefly then answered a f...

Breonna Taylor: family attorney says wanton endangerment charge ‘doesn’t make sense’ – live updates

Donald Trump said that Medicare beneficiaries will soon be receiving a $200 card in the mail to help them afford their prescriptions.

“Nobody’s seen this before. These cards are incredible,” Trump said. “I will always take care of our wonderful senior citizens.”

While unveiling his “America First Healthcare Plan” in a speech in Charlotte, North Carolina, Donald Trump is veering away from healthcare and is trying to paint the Democratic party as “socialism”.

“Under the Democrats plan, costs would skyrocket,” he said. “Seniors, they’ve been paying their entire lives.” Trump said, seeming to talk about healthcare, but then seemed to veer off saying that the Democrats support “socialism and open borders”.

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Trump had us thinking mainstream Republicans were moderate. How naive | Emma Brockes

Mitt Romney and his ilk were once critics of the president. But now, when it suits them, they’re backing him again

One unlikely effect of Donald Trump being in office has been a rise in the reputation of more moderate Republicans. In 2012, when Mitt Romney was running for president, he seemed like the incarnation of monied interests – a man who would defend beyond all other principles the right of the American millionaire to be taxed at 13%. He was out of touch, and cynically motivat...

Trump says he will announce supreme court pick ‘Friday or Saturday’ – live

  • Democrats smash fundraising records after Ginsburg’s death
  • Who is Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s likely court pick?
  • US Covid deaths near 200,000
  • Evidence shows mail slowdowns after Trump ally took over
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3.27pm BST

In the wake of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, Democrats are framing the supreme court battle as a fight to protect ...

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: key Republicans under spotlight as fight to replace justice begins – live

  • McConnell vows Senate will push on with Trump’s pick
  • What does Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death mean for the supreme court?
  • Obituary: ‘Formidably clever with a superhuman capacity for work’
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3.08pm BST

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death adds even more weight to November’s elections, with both Democrats and Republicans saying that voters will not only decide the presidency but the lo...