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The Latest: Biden blasts Trump, GOP for prioritizing court

| October 12, 2020 11:27 AM

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the 2020 presidential race (all times local):

2:10 p.m.

Joe Biden is blasting President Donald Trump and Republicans for fast-tracking a Supreme Court nomination while negotiations plod along on a new coronavirus economic relief package.

The Democratic presidential nominee said at a drive-in rally in Toledo, Ohio, on Monday that Trump “turned his back on you” during the pandemic and its economic fallout.

Biden is campaigning in Ohio as the Senate Judiciary Committee holds confirmation hearings for Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. Republicans want to confirm Barrett before Election Day, on Nov. 3.

Biden questioned why Republicans have time for Supreme Court hearings but not time to come to an agreement with House Democrats on another economic relief package to help individuals, businesses and city and state governments.

Trump has alternately called off COVID-19 relief talks, then pushed for a deal. Late last week, the White House boosted its offer to Democrats, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said it was unlikely Congress could pass a bill before the election and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the White House offer didn't include enough money.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE:

President Donald Trump returns to the campaign trail after an 11-day absence while he recovered from the coronavirus. He is holding a rally in Florida. Democrat Joe Biden, meanwhile, is campaigning in Ohio on Monday.

Read more:

Trump’s task: Resetting campaign that GOP fears is slipping

2020 Watch: Is it too late for Trump to turn things around?

Vision 2020: How soon will we know the US election outcome?

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HERE'S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

1:10 p.m.

Joe Biden is in Toledo, Ohio, but his traveling press pool is not.

The Democratic presidential nominee travels with two planes, a departure from most recent major party nominees. The campaign attributes the setup to COVID-19 protocols. One of the Biden campaign planes is for the candidate, his staff and Secret Service detail. The other is for the reporters, photographers and videographers who cover his campaign, along with one senior Biden aide and a Secret Service agent.

But on Monday morning, the press plane had a malfunction and remained grounded in Wilmington, Delaware. Because Biden’s plane always takes off first, the candidate was on his way to Ohio.

There still will be some media in attendance in Toledo.

The Biden campaign has said the press pool should be reunited with Biden for a second Ohio event in Cincinnati later Monday.

President Donald Trump’s traveling press corps now flies with him on Air Force One. But when he was a candidate in 2016, Trump also relegated the press to its own plane, while he traveled on the Trump Organization’s Boeing 757 dubbed “Trump Force One.”