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The legislation is expected to overwrite elements of the Northern Ireland protocol, which was also at the center of recent controversy surrounding the UK's new Internal Market Bill.

He also told a parliamentary committee that the government is stepping up preparations for a no-deal scenario when the current Brexit transition deal expires. The British government wants an agreement with Brussels, but no-deal planning is being undertaken to ensure "that this country is not held hostage in a negotiation process," he said.

Nevertheless, Gove sounded optimistic about the talks on a future trade deal. "Negotiations are proceeding... in a way which gives us cause for steady optimism," he told MPs.

On Wednesday, talks resumed in London between the EU and Britain on their post-Brexit relationship as the two sides push to reach a deal by the end of October. The negotiations are due to last until Friday, when chief negotiators Michel Barnier and David Frost are expected to meet.

President of the European Council, Charles Michel, warned on Wednesday that it is "time for the UK to put its cards on the table." After a conversation with UK PM Boris Johnson, he tweeted: "The EU prefers a deal, but not at any cost."

London had earlier clashed with the EU over provisions in Britain's new Internal Market Bill which would break international law by overriding parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement. The House of Commons passed the bill on September 29, although the EU has threatened to sue Britain over the controversial legislation.

Ireland's Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said on Wednesday that it would be a "monumental failure of policy" and act of self-harm by the UK government if it continues with the plan to override parts of the withdrawal agreement and allow the issue to end up in court.

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[...] Harris told bold fib after fib with scarcely a blink and got little pushback from Mike Pence. In the end, she walked off relatively unscathed and, of course, won praise from her adoring mainstream media, which has always loved her more than voters.

The first egregious deception came when Harris feigned outrage over last month's New York Times non-bombshell about President Donald Trump's tax returns. Harris could barely contain herself waiting for friendly moderator Susan Page to spit out the rest of the question, setting up her rehearsed attack on Trump's loans.

"Just so everyone is clear, when we say in debt, it means you owe money to somebody," Harris condescended as she accented her point by nodding her head. "And it'd be really good to know who the president of the United States, the commander in chief, owes money to because the American people have a right to know. What is influencing the president's decisions, and is he making those decisions on the best interest of the American people, of you, or self-interest?"

Turns out the government already thought of that and realized the people's right to know. As Harris, of all people, would know, such information is publicly available at our fingertips. Holders of high office, including the president, must file annual financial disclosures, including information on their borrowings. Senators, including Harris, also have to submit such filings.

In Trump's case, the loan information is all right there on page 35 of his 78-page 2020 financial disclosure. Lender names, loan types, amount ranges, interest rates and maturity dates. As a vice presidential candidate, a senator and a former prosecutor, Harris knew that. And as a person with a brain, she knew that over $400 million in debt is not a shockingly big number for an organization the size of Trump's business empire. Companies with too little debt relative to their size are sometimes scolded by stock analysts for leaving too many money-making opportunities on the table.

But Harris wasn't speaking to stock analysts. She was talking to the people she thinks might need help in understanding that having debt means owing someone money. And the media was right there to play pretend with her, with CNN saying Harris zeroed in on Trump's taxes and "mystery debt."

And so it went all night, including a favorite Democrat hoax target, Russia. Harris again relied on dubious New York Times reporting, this time referring to an anonymously sourced article saying Russia had offered bounty payments to Afghan fighters to kill US troops in Afghanistan - even though Trump, the Pentagon, and top intelligence officials have pointed out that the allegations were unverified. Despite months of speculation since the June report, the US military has been unable to find evidence confirming the story.

Harris didn't care, treating unsubstantiated rumor as fact. "Russia had bounties on the heads of American soldiers," she began, before again dumbing down her fake outrage. "And you know what a bounty is? It's somebody puts a price on your head, and they will pay it if you are killed." [...]

While discussing the military, Harris slammed the Trump administration for "not caring" about "public reporting" saying the Russian government put bounties on the heads of American soldiers serving in Afghanistan - a rumor that has been debunked by the Pentagon and numerous intelligence officials.

You know what a bounty is?" Harris said during her fiery display. "It's [when] somebody puts a price on your head and they will pay it if you are killed, and Donald Trump had talked at least six times to Vladimir Putin and never brought up the subject. Joe Biden would never do that."

She added that Biden would "hold Russia to account" if he were president.

Though Harris was passionate in her accusations, they are only based on a New York Times story that, despite being repeated by other media outlets, has been called into question on numerous occasions.

Numerous intelligence officials and military investigations have found no proof of "Russian bounties."

"Since those reports have come out regarding Russian programs, we've been looking specifically to identify corroborating information. We've not yet found it, but we continue to look for that," David Helvey, the Pentagon's deputy assistant secretary for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, said during a congressional hearing just last month.

Numerous other military officials have also come forward to say nothing concrete has been found to back up the Times'

While Harris was praised by supporters on social media who have bought into the repeated accusation against Russia, many slammed the VP candidate by providing reports that there has, in fact, been no proof of her claims.

"How is anyone still bringing up the Russian Bounties with a straight face??? NSA-DIA questioned it, CIA acknowledged doubts about it, and the Pentagon says it has found no evidence of it," journalist Aaron Mate tweeted.

VP Mike Pence accused Joe Biden multiple times of wanting to ban fracking at the vice presidential debate, which Senator Kamala Harris has denied - despite Biden's past comments saying he is actually in favor of a ban.

Even President Donald Trump got involved in Wednesday's debate after Harris denied a Biden administration would ban fracking.

Trump tweeted a video of Harris at a town hall event answering a voter who asked whether she would ban fracking on her first day in the White House by saying, "There's no question I'm in favor of banning fracking, so yes."

The video was retweeted by Pence's Twitter account, as well, along with footage of Biden also promising to ban fracking and saying there would be "no place" for fossil fuels in his administration.

Despite the accusations, Harris denied wanting to ban the practice multiple times on Wednesday night, even saying at one point: "Joe Biden will not ban fracking. That is a fact."

The president and vice president were far from the only critics to slam Harris and question her "fact."