Military schools and daycares to lose funding for Trump’s border wall – live

Summary

  • The Carolinas are already seeing the effects of Hurricane Dorian, with hundreds of thousands losing power as the storm’s rain and wind intensified.
  • A Texas man was the first charged for violating the new bump stock ban.
  • Meanwhile, Trump continued to repeat his false claim that the storm was projected to hit Alabama when he tweeted about the alleged threat to the state on Sunday. He even got an advisor to release a statement backing him up.
  • The Trump administration released a plan to privatize Fannie and Freddie.
  • The administration also continued in its rollback of environmental laws. After reversing energy-saving lightbulb rules, Trump is planning to make it harder for states to set extra stringent automobile gas mileage standards.
  • The Government Accountability Office said Trump’s interior department violated the law in keeping national parks open during the government shutdown.
  • Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Jason Greenblatt, is resigning even though the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan he has been working on with Jared Kushner remains unreleased.
  • A Mother Jones investigation revealed that a mysterious $50m debt held by Trump may signal tax fraud.
  • Joe Biden is continuing with a fundraiser co-hosted by the co-founder of a natural gas company, despite activists’ complaints that the event violates the spirit of “No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge,” which Biden has signed.

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The administration is also planning a proposal to revoke part of California’s authority to set its own gas mileage standards, the AP reports:

The Environmental Protection Agency was preparing paperwork for the White House for the move, meant to help the administration set a single, less rigorous mileage standard enforceable nationwide, according to the official, who is familiar with the regulatory process and spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been made public.

President Donald Trump has pushed for months to weaken Obama-era mileage standards nationwide and has targeted California’s decades-old power to set its own mileage standards as part of that effort.

Trump administration releases plans to privatize Fannie and Freddie

The Trump administration’s broad housing reforms include a plan to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac— the two companies behind about half of the country’s mortgages

The proposal released today includes plans to shrink Fannie and Freddie’s dominant market shares and create new competitors to the companies.

More from Reuters:

The Treasury’s plan, released in a 53-page report, marks the first major effort to jump-start housing finance reform in Washington after a failed 2012 attempt by the Obama administration.

The report calls for recuperating Fannie and Freddie and removing them from their government lifeline, but it strikes a cautious tone by failing to commit to concrete timelines or a specific recapitalization plan.

It commits to preserving the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, a cornerstone of the U.S. mortgage market, and leans heavily on Congress to implement several critical measures, including the creation of an explicit guarantee for Fannie and Freddie’s mortgage-backed securities.

Unlike many news organisations, we chose an approach that means all our reporting is free and available for everyone. We need your support to keep delivering quality journalism, to maintain our openness and to protect our precious independence. Every reader contribution, big or small, is so valuable.

For as little as $1 you can support us – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. Make a contribution – The Guardian

Interior Department broke law during government shutown

A sign placed by staff at a closed campground at Joshua Tree National Park during the shutdown. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

The Trump administration illegally diverted national park fees to keep the parks open through the government shutdown, the Government Accountability Office said.

Entrance fees paid by visitors are meant to be used for their maintenance and enhancement, rather than daily operations. But during the month-long shutdown, the Interior Department redirected the money to keep the parks open with minimal staff. As a result, trashcans overflowed and vandals chopped down trees and littered pristine landscapes. The superintendent of Joshua Tree National Park said it could take hundreds of years for the park to recover from damage caused by the longest shutdown in US history.

The GAO said the Interior Department moved money between accounts violated federal law in reallocating funds without congressional approval.

“The administration played a shell game with national park money in order to keep parks open,” the CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association said in a statement.

First person charged for violating new bump stock ban

A bump stock device, made by Slide Fire, that fits on a semi-automatic rifle to increase the firing speed. Photograph: George Frey/Getty Images

A federal grand jury has indicted a 43-year-old Houston man for possession of a bump stock.

Ajay Dhingra, 43, drew attention from law enforcement after he called the George Bush Foundation and left a concerning message. When authorities looked into the case, they discovered that “Dhingra had previously been committed to a mental institution, according to the allegations. As such, he is prohibited by federal law of possessing a firearm or ammunition,” according to a statement from the Southern District of Texas.

Bump stocks are attachments that essentially allow shooters to continuously fire with one pull of the trigger. The gunman responsible for the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting that killed 58 people used a bump stock.

The Trump administration’s ban went into effect in March.

Donald Trump just won’t drop the whole Alabama thing…

The White House released a new statement from Trump’s homeland security and counterterrorism advisor, who says he briefed the president on Hurricane Dorian and maps that “showed the possibility of storm force winds hitting parts of Alabama”.

Drugstores CVS and Walgreens, as well as grocery chain Wegmans are the latest retailers asking customers to refrain from openly carrying guns while shopping.

Walmart — the largest US retailer — and the grocery chain Kroger made similar announcements this week. None of the companies are banning open carrying outright, because they don’t want to “put employees into confrontational situations” the AP reports.

That’s it from me today. My west coast colleague, Maanvi Singh, will take over the blog for the next few hours.

Here’s where the day stands so far:

  • The Carolinas are already seeing the effects of Hurricane Dorian, with hundreds of thousands losing power as the storm’s rain and wind intensify. Follow our live coverage of the hurricane for the latest updates.
  • Meanwhile, Trump continues to repeat his false claim that the storm was projected to hit Alabama when he tweeted about the alleged threat to the state on Sunday. Just in case you’ve missed the 1,000 or so fact-checks: that is not true.
  • Boris Johnson remains adamant that he will not request a Brexit extension, despite the British prime minister’s multiple political defeats in recent days. (And yes, the Guardian has a live blog for the latest on that, too.)
  • Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Jason Greenblatt, is resigning even though the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan he has been working on with Jared Kushner remains unreleased.
  • A Mother Jones investigation revealed that a mysterious $50m debt held by Trump may signal tax fraud.
  • Joe Biden is continuing with a fundraiser co-hosted by the co-founder of a natural gas company, despite activists’ complaints that the event violates the spirit of “No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge,” which Biden has signed.

Maanvi will have more updates on the news of the day, so stay tuned.

A CNN analyst neatly summarized Joe Biden’s continued dominance in the polls despite a series of embarrassing gaffes that many commentators predicted would affect his front-runner status.

Trump clings to false Hurricane Dorian claim

Meanwhile, Trump is still refusing to acknowledge that he was wrong when he tweeted Sunday about the threat Hurricane Dorian posed to Alabama.

But as this blog and many, many others have reported, Dorian’s projected path did not include Alabama by the time that Trump sent a tweet suggesting so on Sunday.

It’s baffling why the president would want to keep returning to a false claim that has been relentlessly fact-checked even as the effects of Dorian continue to be felt by states other than Alabama.

The president’s refusal to acknowledge this fact falls in line with his general reluctance to ever admit fault, but much like his former press secretary’s claims about his inauguration crowd size, this appears to be a fight between Trump and reality itself.

Our colleague Oliver Laughland is in Nassau as Bahamians grapple with the devastation Hurricane Dorian has brought to the country.

Laughland reports:

I’m at the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Nassau where a delegation of Caribbean leaders just departed for a fly over trip to see the destruction on Abaco Islands.

Mia Mottley, prime minister of Barbados is part of the delegation and took a minute to talk to the Guardian about her thoughts on hurricane Dorian’s links to the climate crisis. She did not pull her punches.

‘We are on the front line of the consequences of climate change but we don’t cause it,’ she said.

‘And the vulnerability that attaches therefore to us is a matter we’re trying to get the international community to deal with consistently.’

Follow the Guardian’s Hurricane Dorian live blog for more updates from Laughland in Nassau.

Biden going ahead with fundraiser co-hosted by fossil fuel company co-founder

Joe Biden is resisting calls to cancel a fundraiser co-hosted by Andrew Goldman, who co-founded a natural gas company. Activists are complaining that the event would violate the “No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge,” which Biden has signed.

During last night’s climate town hall, Biden appeared open to canceling the event, but it now appears he’s moving forward with it. One of Biden’s advisers defended the move by pointing out that Goldman is not involved in the day-to-day operation of Western LNG.

But that explanation is not cutting it for climate activists, who have complained that the fundraiser violates the spirit of the pledge.

It also gives more ammunition to some of Biden’s opponents, like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, who have criticized the former vice president’s reliance on high-dollar fundraisers.

More bad news for Pence: Nancy Pelosi has issued a statement arguing that the vice president’s stay at Trump’s Ireland golf club violated the Constitution.

“Vice President Pence promised that their Administration would defend the Constitution and stand by a ‘strict constructionist’ interpretation of the Constitution. Instead the Trump-Pence Administration is ignoring the text itself and selling out the Constitution to line Trump’s pockets,” the Democratic House speaker said.

“Trump properties are a cesspool of corruption, a black hole for taxpayers’ money, an exploiter of immigrant labor and a national security threat with a suspected foreign spy walking the halls. … The American people deserve a government that serves their interests, not one that’s being exploited to line the President’s pockets.”

It doesn’t help matters that Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, told reporters Trump had made a “suggestion” that the vice president stay at his property. Short later walked that back, claiming it was a result of misreporting. Again: the reporting was based on his own comments.

Mike Pence is in London, where he met with Boris Johnson earlier today. The vice president has echoed Trump’s support of the British prime minister and his Brexit timeline, but he dodged questions about Johnson’s political fortunes.

Pence’s Europe trip on the whole has been rocky at best. He has raised ethical questions for staying at Trump’s Ireland golf club, offended Irish officials by promoting Brexit during his visit and faced scorn in Iceland over his record on LGBT rights.

He’ll likely be happy to return to the United States, where a new book is being published later this month on the vice president’s rise to power and relationship with Trump. The book’s release could spell trouble for Pence, given how little this president enjoys sharing the spotlight.

Trump’s daughter and senior adviser, Ivanka Trump, rejected any suggestion that the departure of Jason Greenblatt signaled trouble for the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan he was working on.

Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner, has been crafting the peace plan with Greenblatt for months, but it remains unreleased. The administration has said it will release the plan after the Israeli elections on Sept. 17, but no specific date has been offered.

Trump herself is currently on a five-day tour of South America to promote female entrepreneurship.

Johnson says he would rather ‘die in a ditch’ than delay Brexit

Meanwhile, across the pond, Boris Johnson has remained adamant that he will not delay Brexit, despite multiple political defeats that have left the British prime minister somewhat hamstrung.

During a rambling and odd press conference today, Johnson said he would rather “die in a ditch” than request a Brexit extension.

The Guardian’s UK politics live blogger, Andrew Sparrow, called it “the most extraordinary prime ministerial press conference we’ve seen for years.” Follow the blog for more updates on the latest from London.

Trump’s $50 million debt may signal tax fraud

A mysterious $50 million debt that Trump owes to a business called Chicago Unit Acquisition LLC, which the president fully owns, may be a sign of tax fraud, experts say.

Mother Jones reports in a newly published investigation:

Donald Trump’s massive debts—he owes hundreds of millions of dollars—are the subject of continuous congressional and journalistic scrutiny. But for years, one Trump loan has been particularly mystifying: a debt of more than $50 million that Trump claims he owes to one of his own companies. According to tax and financial experts, the loan, which Trump has never fully explained, might be part of a controversial tax avoidance scheme known as debt parking. Yet a Mother Jones investigation has uncovered information that raises questions about the very existence of this loan, presenting the possibility that this debt was concocted as a ploy to evade income taxes—a move that could constitute tax fraud.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke is providing Twitter updates on his trip from New York to Boston via bus.

A spokesperson for O’Rourke, who was in New York to participate in CNN’s climate-focused town hall yesterday, said the bus option cuts down on how much his travel contributes to pollution.