Pence stands by 'blue line' amid race tensions

While US President Donald Trump was one day away from making his acceptance speech as the Republican candidate for a second time, events in Wisconsin following the shooting of a black man by police and the violent aftermath reignited the issue of "law and order" amid the ongoing racial justice protests.

US Vice-President Mike Pence looked to strike a balance between law and order and equal treatment under the law as he accepted the nomination to be Trump's running mate late on Wednesday.

Pence took to the stage at the ongoing Republican convention to chants of "four more years" and delivered a patriotic helping of red meat on a range of issues, with cutting comments about Trump's Democratic opponent, former vice-president Joe Biden.

Speaking about the recent incidents, Pence said:"Rioting and looting is not peaceful protest."Tearing down statues is not free speech, and those who do so will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Pence also referenced Minneapolis, Portland and Kenosha when he said: "We will have law and order on the streets of this country for every American of every race and creed and color."

Policing in the US has been a sensitive issue at the convention, as Trump has stressed his support for law enforcement.

Pence reiterated that backing in his speech, saying:"We will always stand with those who stand on the thin blue line, and we're not going to defund the police, not now, not ever."

Pence also praised the mobilization by the administration against the coronavirus pandemic.

The vice-president oversees the White House Coronavirus Task Force amid an outbreak that has killed more than 178,000 people in the United States and put tens of millions of people out of work.

Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Pence had "pulled his punch" in confronting the virus and became "a figure in the background" after being appointed to lead the task force.

Democrats have made Trump's handling of the pandemic a central campaign issue.

The Trump campaign also continued its outreach to African-American voters.

Former professional football player Jack Brewer, the first person of color featured in the program more than an hour after it began, cheered Trump's impact on the black community and condemned what he called the "so-called Black Lives Matter movement".

Hurricane Laura

Meanwhile, Hurricane Laura pounded the Gulf Coast for hours with ferocious winds, torrential rains and rising seawaters as it roared ashore over southwestern Louisiana near the Texas border early on Thursday, threatening the lives of people who didn't evacuate.

More than 580,000 coastal residents were ordered to join the largest evacuation since the coronavirus pandemic began and many did, filling hotels and sleeping in cars since officials didn't want to open mass shelters and worsen the spread of COVID-19.

With nearly 470,000 homes and businesses without power in the two states, near-constant lightning provided the only light for some.

Laura hit the US after killing nearly two dozen people on the island of Hispaniola, including 20 in Haiti and three in the Dominican Republic, where it knocked out power and caused intense flooding.

Agencies via Xinhua contributed to this story.