Good morning.
Israel will allow Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt to open and will not cut the amount of humanitarian aid entering the devastated Palestinian territory, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan has reported, after Hamas handed over more remains of hostages.
The fragile ceasefire in Gaza had faced its first test on Tuesday when Israel said the flow of vital humanitarian assistance would be cut by half and the crucial border crossing with Egypt would not open on Wednesday as planned after it accused Hamas of failing to comply with the deal agreed last week by delaying the return the bodies of dead hostages.
Hamas said the delays were due to difficulties locating burial sites amid the swaths of rubble left by the two-year conflict.
What has Donald Trump said about Hamas? The US president said Hamas would be forced to disarm after questions swirled around the group’s status following the signing of a peace deal meant to bring an end to the war in Gaza.
LA to declare state of emergency over Ice raids to assist affected families
Los Angeles county officials voted on Tuesday to declare a state of emergency that gives them power to provide assistance for residents they say have suffered financially from federal immigration raids.
The move allows the LA county board of supervisors to provide rent relief for tenants who have fallen behind as a result of the crackdown on immigrants. A local state of emergency can also funnel state money for legal aid and other services.
Funds for rent will be available to people who apply via an online portal being launched within two months, the supervisor Lindsey Horvath’s office said. The motion could also be a first step toward an eviction moratorium, but that would require a separate action by the supervisors.
Why else is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in the news? Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and employee of the WGN television station, was arrested on Friday by federal agents during an operation in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood. Videos show Brockman being forced to the ground by two agents before she is handcuffed and put in a van. Attorneys representing Brockman say the incident “should be alarming and horrifying to every person in this country”.
Trump threatens vulnerable countries before key shipping emissions vote
Donald Trump’s government is putting intense pressure on vulnerable countries to vote against measures that would force shipping companies to pay for their carbon emissions.
US officials have written to countries that support the measure and made phone calls threatening to impose tariffs, withdraw visa rights and take other retaliatory action.
The moves appear to be having some impact and, if successful, could throw more than two decades of tortuously slow progress on decarbonising the shipping industry into reverse.
Where is the vote taking place? Representatives from most of the 176 member states of the International Maritime Organization, which governs global seafaring, are meeting at its headquarters in London for four days of talks. They are expected to approve new rules that would levy charges on ships based on their greenhouse gas emissions. The money raised would go to funding the transition to cleaner fuels for ships and to help developing countries.
In other news …
The US state department said on Tuesday it had revoked the visas of six foreigners over social media comments made about the killing of the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk.
A US high school girls’ basketball team is said to have proved “there are still good people in this world” for returning a championship it had won after realizing it had actually lost the title-clinching game.
Gavin Newsom vetoed a California bill banning the sale of cookware and other consumer goods manufactured with Pfas, also known as “forever chemicals”, human-made compounds linked to a range of health issues.
Despite the glowing story in the latest issue of Time magazine, the cover earned the ire of the US president because of his appearance. “Time Magazine wrote a relatively good story about me, but the picture may be the Worst of All Time,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Don’t miss this: ‘You are constantly told you are evil’ – inside the lives of diagnosed narcissists
Few psychiatric conditions are as stigmatised or as misunderstood as narcissistic personality disorder. Here’s how it can damage careers and relationships – even before prejudice takes its toll.
… or this: ‘Hot mic’ hot mess – gaffes made by global leaders when they think no one is listening
The Indonesian president, Prabowo Subianto, thought he was having a private word with Donald Trump at the Gaza peace summit in Egypt this week. Instead what unfolded was a hot-mic slip up, with Prabowo heard asking the US president to line up a call with his son Eric. It was just one of a series of gaffes made by world leaders when they think no one can hear them.
Climate check: Pentagon retreats from climate fight even as heat and storms slam US troops
For decades, the Pentagon viewed the climate crisis as a national security threat – not for environmental reasons, but because it undermined operations and readiness, sidelining more than 10,000 troops with heat-related illnesses since 2018, flooding bases and undermining everything from runways to nuclear readiness. The Trump administration is now dismantling that approach.
Last Thing: Chicago ‘Splatatouille’ was probably a squirrel, say researchers
With a front paw outstretched and its tail at an angle, the creature that fell on to wet concrete in Chicago left quite the memento mori. Now, researchers say they have unmasked the identity of the victim, revealing the famous “rat hole”, which was labelled “Splatatouille” in a public naming contest, was most probably made by a squirrel.
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