She said: "Mr. Yoho mentioned that he has a wife and two daughters. I am two years younger than Mr Yoho's youngest daughter. I am someone's daughter, too. My father, thankfully, is not alive to see how Mr Yoho treated his daughter.

"I am here because I have to show my parents that I am their daughter—and that they did not raise me to accept abuse from men."

A judge has decided to unseal records from a 2015 civil lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell, a socialite and associate of Jeffrey Epstein who has been accused of grooming and luring young girls into a sex trafficking ring with the late financier.

Follow the story as it unfolds.
 

House Democrats are putting forward legislation that would prevent Donald Trump from pardoning himself and restrict his power to pardon friends and allies.

It follows the presidents's use of his clemency powers to commute the sentence of longtime confidant Roger Stone for crimes related to the Russia investigation. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the clemency for Stone an "act of staggering corruption."

One of the measures, by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., would clarify that promising or providing a pardon in return for a "thing of value" violates bribery laws. It would also require that Congress receive all of the case evidence when a president pardons or commutes in cases involving himself or his family, or those that involve lying to Congress.

"The President has the constitutional authority to confer pardons and commutations, but that power is not unlimited, and was provided to remedy injustices, not to cover up for a president or shield him from potential criminal liability," Schiff said.

Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin is proposing an amendment to Schiff's bill to make clear that a president cannot pardon himself or herself. Trump has said in the past that he has the "absolute right" to do that.

The second bill, by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, would suspend the statute of limitations for federal offenses committed by sitting presidents. Nadler says that's necessary because many federal offenses carry a five-year statute, and presidents could evade justice altogether if it runs out before their term is over.

"Allowing complete immunity from criminal prosecution merely because of the office a person holds would make a mockery of the rule of law," Nadler said as he opened the Judiciary panel's meeting.

US weekly unemployment claims increase to 1.4m

US unemployment claims have increased for the first time since the pandemic started in March, with some 1.4 million people submitting claims last week.

Those new claims — which were up on 1.3 million the previous week — marked the 18th straight week that US unemployment claims have topped one million.

Florida has reported its highest number of deaths in a day, at 173, with 10,249 new confirmed cases.

Chuck Schumer, leader of the Democrats in the US Senate, has described the Republican $1 trillion coronavirus rescue package as "unserious" and "unsatisfactory".

* Funding of $105 billion to help schools reopen and $15 billion for child care centers.

* Another round of $1,200 checks to most American adults.

* Weekly $600 unemployment benefit boost to be cut back.

* Another boost for small business lending in the Paycheck Protection Program.

* Fresh funds for vaccines.

Democrats are calling for $430 billion to reopen schools, bigger unemployment benefits and direct aid checks and a sweeping $1 trillion for state and local governments. They also want a fresh round of mortgage and rental assistance and new federal health and safety requirements for workers.

Donald Trump's Thursday Trolltime continues with an attack on Tom Ridge, former US Secretary of Homeland Security, who recently criticised his old agency for sending federal troops into Portland, Oregon.

A new survey has found two-thirds of Americans disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling the coronavirus outbreak.

It also reveals that three out of four Americans, including a majority of Republicans, favor requiring people to wear face coverings while outside their homes.

Support for requiring masks is overwhelming among Democrats, at 89 per cent, but 58 per cent of Republicans are in favor as well.

The poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research was conducted before Trump, who for months was dismissive of masks, said this week that it's patriotic to wear one.

Ghislaine Maxwell 'gag order' refused
 

Governor Tim Walz is expected to sign a police accountability bill into law today that includes a ban on neck restraints like the one that was used on George Floyd before his death in Minneapolis.

The bill, passed by the Legislature earlier this week, also bans chokeholds and imposes a duty to intercede on officers who see a colleague using excessive force.

It also changes rules on the use of force to stress the sanctity of life and makes changes in arbitration rules affecting police unions.

Officers will get more training on dealing with people with mental health issues and autism. The measure also creates a new advisory council for the state board that licenses officers.

The bills was passed after nearly two months of negotiations following Mr Floyd's death on 25 May.

Movie theatre reopening delayed to mid-August

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc, the which has the largest share of the US movie theater market, said on Monday it delayed the reopening of its theaters in the United States to mid-to-late August.

This will bring it into alignment with the new release dates of Disney's "Mulan" and Christopher Nolan's thriller, "Tenet".

The company had earlier delayed the reopening by two weeks to July 30.

The White House has dropped a bid to cut Social Security payroll taxes as Republicans unveil a $1 trillion COVID-19 rescue package, after opposition among top Senate allies.

"It won't be in the base bill," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, speaking on CNBC.

Donald Trump had pushed for the cut, which would reduce the amount taken from wages to fund federal programs such as Medicare.