Kentucky governor requests update on McConnell’s health amid questions around his condition in hospital – live

Kentucky governor sends letter to McConnell staff for update on hospitalized senator’s condition

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear has sent a letter to the office of Republican senator Mitch McConnell – requesting an update on his condition, as concerns grow about the lawmaker’s health since he was admitted to hospital on 14 June.

“As Governor – and a fellow public official who understands the commitment we’ve made to the people we serve – I am requesting the Senator provide an update on his current health status,” Beshear said in a statement. “Allowing speculation to continue in the media is not fair to the Senator or to Kentuckians, and my hope is that this provides him the opportunity to share the information in a transparent manner, direct from the source. I wish him a safe and speedy recovery.”

As we noted earlier, since the 84-year-old was hospitalized, his office declined to say what he was being treated for. Amid the opacity around his condition, some GOP lawmakers have attempted to quell claims that McConnell’s health is in dire straits, and recounted wide-ranging conversations they have had with the former Republican leader in recent days.

Pressure continues to mount on embattled Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner to withdraw from the race, as his campaign faces accusations of trying to “put their thumb on the scale” to pick a replacement. Leaders in the Maine Democratic party said that Platner’s campaign would have “no role” in selecting a new nominee, claiming that his team had tried to sway the process. The Platner campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday, but has told other outlets that it simply reached out to the party to understand the process.

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear has sent a letter to the office of Republican senator Mitch McConnell – requesting an update on his condition, as concerns grow about the lawmaker’s health since he was admitted to hospital on 14 June. “Allowing speculation to continue in the media is not fair to the Senator or to Kentuckians, and my hope is that this provides him the opportunity to share the information in a transparent manner, direct from the source. I wish him a safe and speedy recovery,” Beshear said. Since the 84-year-old was hospitalized, his office declined to say what he was being treated for.

While speaking to reporters alongside Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general, Trump said that memorandum of understanding signed last month by the US and Iran is “over”, in the wake of the latest strikes. Later, during a bilateral meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the US president said the US will hit Iran “hard again tonight”, adding: “I give them a little warning.” At a wider press conference, Trump reiterated he did not think the Iran war would start again and that the US would eventually “take” Iranian nuclear material. More here.

Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, has slammed the latest US strikes on Iran. “Trump’s so-called ‘deal’ to end hostilities with Iran has turned into total, utter disaster,” the top Democrat said in a statement. Schumer also noted that since both chambers of Congress have passed war powers resolutions, the administration would need lawmakers’ approval to resume the military campaign against Iran.

Meanwhile, in Washington, a US appeals court has ruled that the ⁠Trump administration cannot restore Donald Trump’s name to the facade of the Kennedy Center for the Performing ⁠Arts while he challenges a judge’s order that required its removal. The decision by a three-judge panel of the US ⁠court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit denied the administration’s request to pause a ⁠lower court judge’s order in a lawsuit brought by Democratic representative Joyce Beatty, a Kennedy Center board ‌member.

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Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, has slammed the latest US strikes on Iran.

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“Trump’s so-called ‘deal’ to end hostilities with Iran has turned into total, utter disaster,” the top Democrat said in a statement. “This is what happens when an incompetent president launches a war with no objective, no plan, and no exit strategy – you lose.”

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Schumer also noted that since both chambers of Congress have passed war powers resolutions, the administration would need lawmakers’ approval to resume the military campaign against Iran.

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“The Trump administration must double down on serious negotiations, come to Congress, comply with the majorities in both chambers who voted to end this war, and deliver the relief American families desperately need,” the minority leader added.

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At the Nato summit press conference, Trump voiced his frustration about the perceived lack of support from Spain, France and the UK on the Iran conflict. Trump said: “Spain has been very bad, they didn’t help us, but we didn’t need the help.”

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He added the UK “gave an answer weirder than that, I said ‘would you like to help?’, they said ‘we would but after the war is over’. This is not in the spirit of Winston Churchill.”

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A US appeals court has ruled that the ⁠Trump administration cannot restore Donald Trump’s name to the facade of the Kennedy Center for the Performing ⁠Arts while he challenges a judge’s order that required its removal.

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The decision by a three-judge panel of the US ⁠court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit denied the administration’s request to pause a ⁠lower court judge’s order in a lawsuit brought by Democratic representative Joyce Beatty, a Kennedy Center board ‌member.

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Trump’s name was ‌removed from the Washington theater center’s facade and signage last month. ‌US district judge Christopher Cooper ordered the removal in May, and also blocked Trump’s plans to close the center for two years of renovations starting 4 July. The Trump administration asked a federal appeals court to put that order on hold.

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After workers stripped Trump’s name from the building, a tarp was installed across the facade. Cooper has since ordered the Trump administration to explain “the purpose and status of the tarp and scaffolding” now in place at ⁠the building by 31 July.

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Back to its appeal, the Trump administration said the removal of Trump’s name would harm fundraising efforts “and contribute to the financial decline of the Center”.

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The unsigned appeals court order said the administration had not backed up that assertion “with ⁠any specific facts or evidence”, Reuters reports.

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The appeals court also said the administration was barred from asserting that a new entity called The Trump Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Foundation will have ‌to return money if the president’s name is not returned to the facade.

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The panel of judges included two appointed by Barack Obama and a third appointed by Trump during his first term.

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A federal judge in Florida has thrown out Donald Trump’s $3.8bn defamation lawsuit against the Washington Post over an article that said a bank with links to the pornography industry helped fund his fledgling social media operation.

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In a brief order granting summary judgment to the newspaper, Tampa district court judge Thomas Patrick Barber, a Trump appointee, said the Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) had “failed to present evidence that would allow a jury to find by clear and convincing evidence” that the Post acted with actual malice, the benchmark for such an action to succeed.

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Barber said a full opinion would be forthcoming, according to the website Reason, which first reported the development.

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It marks the latest defeat for Trump in a series of lawsuits against media outlets that have published articles that displeased him.

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In April, a different Florida judge dismissed an action against the Wall Street Journal over a story that said Trump wrote a “bawdy” letter to the disgraced late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; seven months earlier, a third Florida judge tossed a separate $15bn claim against the New York Times and book publisher Penguin, before the president filed an amended complaint a month later.

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Also in April, TMTG dropped a defamation claim against the Guardian over a 2023 report that federal investigators were looking into its reported acceptance of loans from sources with ties to Russia.

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During a bilateral meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Nato summit in Ankara, Donald Trump was asked about Iran, and he repeated his earlier criticism.

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On Wednesday, while speaking to reporters alongside Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general, Trump said that memorandum of understanding signed last month by the US and Iran is “over”, in the wake of the latest strikes.

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The US president said the US will hit Iran “hard again tonight,” adding: “I give them a little warning.”

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My colleagues are covering the latest out of the Middle East and the Nato summit.

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As we noted earlier, the Maine Democratic Party have said that Graham Platner’s team has repeatedly tried to “put their thumb on the scale,” when it comes to the process of selecting a new nominee, should the beleaguered veteran end his bid for Senate as expected.

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State senator Joe Baldacci, who lost the Democratic primary for Maine’s second congressional district, blasted Platner for attempting to influence the selection of his replacement. “Guess what after you have put the Democratic Party in a shambles and undermined all Democratic candidates running for office in Maine, then you should have no say in who will be your successor,” Baldacci wrote this week, after a woman accused Platner of sexual assault. Shortly after his campaign began to collapse and he lost key endorsements.

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Baldacci added that any alternative candidate with a close tie to Platner would be carrying “a lead weight” into the general election.

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Republican leaders have moved to quash speculation about Mitch McConnell, the former Republican leader in the US Senate, amid a growing revolt over the lack of transparency around his health.

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The 84-year-old Kentucky politician, who led Senate Republicans for longer than anyone in history before stepping down last year, was admitted to hospital on 14 June but his office declined to say what he was being treated for.

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The secrecy led to a backlash from Donald Trump’s support base, with some claiming that McConnell’s condition is graver than acknowledged and accusing his office of a cover-up.

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On Tuesday, John Thune, McConnell’s successor as Republican leader, sought to quell the anger by claiming that he had spoken by phone with McConnell on Monday. A Thune spokesperson said: “They had a lengthy and substantive conversation that covered a variety of topics, including national security.”

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Senate Republican whip John Barrasso also weighed in. Kate Noyes, a spokesperson for the Wyoming senator, said on Tuesday: “Senator Barrasso and Senator McConnell had a lengthy conversation early this afternoon. Their phone call lasted roughly 20 minutes.”

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Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.

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The fight to replace Graham Platner is already under way as Bernie Sanders became the latest key figure to call for the scandal-hit Democratic nominee to step down.

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Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, called on Graham Platner to withdraw from the US Senate race in Maine, citing “very serious allegations” of sexual assault, hours before the embattled nominee faced another claim of sexual misconduct.

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“I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine,” Sanders said in a statement on Tuesday. “In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.”

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While Platner has denied the latest allegations, reported by Politico, and later by the Washington Post, the initial report prompted a wave of prominent Democrats to urge him to stand aside as the party’s nominee in the consequential Senate contest.

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However by Tuesday night, executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson released a video saying the party is developing an “open, inclusive, transparent and fair” process but won’t disclose details until Platner formally withdraws. Platner’s team has repeatedly tried to “put their thumb on the scale,” she said.

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“We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner’s team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the US Senate, nor in determining what this process looks like,” she said.

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In the Politico report, published on Monday, Jenny Racicot, 41, who previously dated Platner, said he forced her to have sex despite repeated objections. Racicot said the incident, which she described to CNN as rape, happened five years ago while Platner was heavily intoxicated. Platner has denied the allegations.

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Read our full story here:

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In other developments:

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n
Donald Trump has revived his bid for the US to acquire Greenland, threatening to pull all American armed forces out of Europe after the continent repeatedly pushed back. Arriving at the Nato summit in Ankara, the US president also suggested his commitment to defending Europe had been tempered by political decisions by leaders on immigration and energy. More here.

n
A federal appeals panel struck down a significant chunk of Ron DeSantis’s so-called Stop Woke Act, delivering another rebuff to the Republican Florida governor’s efforts to stifle free speech in higher education. Judges of the 11th circuit court of appeal said that the higher education component of the law – which prevented college and university professors teaching or sharing thoughts on concepts of race and gender – breached the free expression rights guaranteed under the US constitution’s first amendment. More here.

n
Ninety-five per cent of Americans believe the US is suffering an affordability crisis, as many report trouble with the rising cost of groceries and gas, according to an exclusive new poll conducted for the Guardian. The survey, conducted by Harris Poll, paints a bleak picture of how people feel about the US economy amid the war in Iran and ahead of the key midterm elections this fall. More here.

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Key events

A Manhattan federal court judge has ordered the release of the more than $5m Donald Trump owes E Jean Carroll following her successful 2023 sexual abuse and defamation trial against him. Less than an hour after the judge issued his order, Trump filed paperwork indicating he is appealing the decision.

Trump had deposited this $5m million jury award, plus 11% interest, into a court-controlled account about six weeks after Carroll’s win. Judge Lewis Kaplan’s order directs the disbursement of these court-controlled funds, which now total some $5.8m due to interest accrual.

Kaplan’s decision comes more than three years after Carroll bested Trump in her bombshell civil case; jurors determined that he sexually abused the former Elle writer and unlawfully impugned her reputation with false, vitriolic denials. Trump denied all wrongdoing.

The order stems from the US supreme court’s 29 June decision not to review Trump’s appeal. Trump had asked for the supreme court to weigh his appeal after lower courts repeatedly rejected his fight against this verdict.

After Trump first appealed the verdict, he received an automatic 30-day stay barring collection. Carroll and Trump’s teams agreed in June 2023 that he could put the money into the court’s registry investment system (Cris) while his appeals played out.

The Cris system in effect serves as an escrow agent for money awarded during litigation; funds are secured while whatever post-judgment processes unfold. If someone ultimately loses their appeals, the money is available for collection – since they don’t have it in their possession, it can’t be hidden or shielded with legal maneuvering.

Here’s a recap of the day so far

Pressure continues to mount on embattled Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner to withdraw from the race, as his campaign faces accusations of trying to “put their thumb on the scale” to pick a replacement. Leaders in the Maine Democratic party said that Platner’s campaign would have “no role” in selecting a new nominee, claiming that his team had tried to sway the process. The Platner campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday, but has told other outlets that it simply reached out to the party to understand the process.
Kentucky governor Andy Beshear has sent a letter to the office of Republican senator Mitch McConnell – requesting an update on his condition, as concerns grow about the lawmaker’s health since he was admitted to hospital on 14 June. “Allowing speculation to continue in the media is not fair to the Senator or to Kentuckians, and my hope is that this provides him the opportunity to share the information in a transparent manner, direct from the source. I wish him a safe and speedy recovery,” Beshear said. Since the 84-year-old was hospitalized, his office declined to say what he was being treated for.
While speaking to reporters alongside Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general, Trump said that memorandum of understanding signed last month by the US and Iran is “over”, in the wake of the latest strikes. Later, during a bilateral meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the US president said the US will hit Iran “hard again tonight”, adding: “I give them a little warning.” At a wider press conference, Trump reiterated he did not think the Iran war would start again and that the US would eventually “take” Iranian nuclear material. More here.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, has slammed the latest US strikes on Iran. “Trump’s so-called ‘deal’ to end hostilities with Iran has turned into total, utter disaster,” the top Democrat said in a statement. Schumer also noted that since both chambers of Congress have passed war powers resolutions, the administration would need lawmakers’ approval to resume the military campaign against Iran.
Meanwhile, in Washington, a US appeals court has ruled that the ⁠Trump administration cannot restore Donald Trump’s name to the facade of the Kennedy Center for the Performing ⁠Arts while he challenges a judge’s order that required its removal. The decision by a three-judge panel of the US ⁠court of appeals for the District of Columbia circuit denied the administration’s request to pause a ⁠lower court judge’s order in a lawsuit brought by Democratic representative Joyce Beatty, a Kennedy Center board ‌member.

José Olivares

The family of a Mexican immigrant who was fatally shot by a federal immigration agent on Tuesday in Texas called for an independent investigation into his killing, as questions swirl around federal officials’ claims and lack of transparency.

“He did not deserve to die,” said Ronaldo Salgado, the son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, during a press conference led by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) on Wednesday in Houston, Texas.

Salgado, 52, was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official on Tuesday morning, while on his way to work at a construction site. Salgado’s family said he was a “hardworking family man”, had lived in the US for more than 30 years and was in the process of obtaining his work permit.

Salgado’s family, including his wife and three sons, found out about his death from news reports. Neither ICE nor local officials informed the family, they said, despite Ronaldo Salgado visiting the site of the shooting to search for answers on Tuesday morning.

Civil rights groups and elected officials also called for independent investigation into the shooting, questioning claims by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS has repeatedly come under fire for false and misleading statements and a lack of transparency with ICE-related deaths.

According to a DHS statement, ICE officials were conducting a “targeted enforcement operation” in Houston. The department accused Salgado of having “weaponized his vehicle” to run over an ICE official, “resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self-defense”.

Schumer slams latest strikes on Iran, calls peace deal ‘utter disaster’

Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, has slammed the latest US strikes on Iran.

Schumer also noted that since both chambers of Congress have passed war powers resolutions, the administration would need lawmakers’ approval to resume the military campaign against Iran.

David Smith

Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House’s World Cup taskforce, has defended Donald Trump’s lobbying of Fifa to lift the suspension of US player Folarin Balogun for Monday’s game against Belgium.

The US president claimed that Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, who showed Balogun a red card in a match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, was “a little bit suspect if you check his past”. This was apparently a reference to a match-fixing investigation by Brazil’s senate in 2024 that examined how referees were assigned to games but did not accuse Claus of wrongdoing.

Giuliani told reporters at the Foreign Press Center in Washington: “We found it highly suspicious that there was a referee who had been investigated for match-fixing previously, and specifically for irregular red cards – issuing irregular red cards. Then when you add the fact that the process was misapplied by how VAR was initiated: for contact fouls, you cannot actually utilse the slow motion in the VAR, and they did that.

“So when you add those two facts together there we found it was very, very highly suspicious. And look, the US government, whether it’s at the ballot box or whether it is on the playing field, we want fair play, right?”

Challenged by a reporter who said Claus had merely given testimony to the match-fixing investigation, and was not a target of it himself, Giuliani admitted: “He was not accused of crimes – we understand that – but what I’m telling you is that he was akin to a match-fixing investigation a few years ago in Brazil where they were giving out, I quote, ‘irregular red cards’. So that’s the facts of it. He was akin to that investigation.”

The US lost 4-1 to Belgium and exited the tournament. Fifa has defended Claus. It said in a statement this week: “Throughout his career, he has consistently demonstrated the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.”

Trump renews criticism of Spain and UK

Nadeem Badshah

He added the UK “gave an answer weirder than that, I said ‘would you like to help?’, they said ‘we would but after the war is over’. This is not in the spirit of Winston Churchill.”

US court says Trump’s name must stay off Kennedy Center during appeal

A tarp covers the facade of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts on 28 June. Photograph: Nathan Howard/Reuters

Back to its appeal, the Trump administration said the removal of Trump’s name would harm fundraising efforts “and contribute to the financial decline of the Center”.

The unsigned appeals court order said the administration had not backed up that assertion “with ⁠any specific facts or evidence”, Reuters reports.

The panel of judges included two appointed by Barack Obama and a third appointed by Trump during his first term.

Donald Trump has finally arrived to address the media in Ankara after the annual Nato summit.

I’ll bring you any key lines here, while my colleagues in Europe are covering it all in detail here:

US judge throws out Trump’s $3.8bn defamation lawsuit against Washington Post

Richard Luscombe

Barber said a full opinion would be forthcoming, according to the website Reason, which first reported the development.

It marks the latest defeat for Trump in a series of lawsuits against media outlets that have published articles that displeased him.

Kentucky governor sends letter to McConnell staff for update on hospitalized senator’s condition

A Maine political strategist, who asked to remain anonymous in order to speak candidly, told me that he doesn’t think Platner will “have a lot to say” about a replacement nominee.

“I think there’s got to be a lot of resentment that he took them down this road, and this is where they are,” the source said.

However, the strategist was wary about Troy Jackson’s chances as the Democratic nominee. “[Jackson] is a passionate, very sincere person in his beliefs, but not a particularly articulate or strong candidate,” he added, noting that any of the runners-up in the gubernatorial Democratic race could be risky bets moving forward. “If a candidate didn’t win their primary, how can you expect them to suddenly be a winning statewide candidate for us.”

Despite the ongoing chaos, the operative noted that Maine is still “winnable” for Democrats. “They can still steal victory from the jaws of defeat,” he noted.

“I think the fundamental thing working against [Susan] Collins, she’s just been there so long,” he said. “I think this is a case where seniority maybe doesn’t help you. That people are going to be looking for somebody new … but it can’t just be anybody.”

Relatedly, oil and gas prices jumped today after the US and Iran traded fresh strikes and Donald Trump said the shaky ceasefire was “over”.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, climbed 5% to $77.86 a barrel.