Good morning.
Donald Trump has said he is firing the Federal Reserve governor, Lisa Cook, over a claim that she committed mortgage fraud, as he intensified his attack on the central bank’s independence.
Trump wrote to Cook on Monday, telling her that he was removing her from her position “effective immediately”, based on the accusation from one of his allies that she had acquired a mortgage on a second property she wrongly described as her primary residence.
Cook responded with a statement saying that “no cause exists under the law, and [Trump] has no authority” to remove her from the role to which she was appointed by Joe Biden in 2022.
Why does Trump want Cook out? It would allow him to replace her with someone who could offer him more control over Fed policy, as his demands for lower interest rates have been ignored so far.
Republican-led committee subpoenas documents from Jeffrey Epstein estate
A Republican-led congressional committee has subpoenaed documents from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate, according to a release.
The subpoena, signed by congressman James Comer, the Republican chair of the House oversight committee, demands that Epstein’s estate hand over documents including a book of messages for his 50th birthday, his will, agreements he signed with prosecutors, his address book, any non-disclosure agreements, and his financial transactions and holdings.
Earlier this month, the committee issued a subpoena to the justice department for records on the Epstein case – but Democrats on the committee said that most of the information was already in the public domain.
What else is the committee seeking? It has also issued deposition subpoenas to figures including Bill and Hillary Clinton, former FBI director James Comey and former attorneys general Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, William Barr and Jeff Sessions.
Trump threatens tariffs on countries that ‘discriminate’ against US tech
Donald Trump has threatened to penalize countries whose taxes and regulations target US big tech companies.
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, the president said “digital taxes, legislation, rules or regulations are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American technology” as he threatened to impose tariffs and export restrictions on countries with these measures in place. He also claimed that such regulations gave Chinese tech companies “a complete pass”.
The announcement will put pressure on the UK and EU, both of which have measures to restrict the power of US tech companies, and have recently secured trade deals with the US.
What is the present situation? The UK has already offered US big tech a reduction in the highest rate of the digital services tax to pacify Trump, and Canada scrapped its tax to ease trade negotiations. But the EU has not committed to changing any digital regulations.
In other news …
Donald Trump has said he hopes to meet the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, possibly this year, and restart the fruitless nuclear diplomacy of his first presidency.
The Iranian government directed at least two arson attacks in Australia in the last year, on a Melbourne synagogue and a Sydney Jewish restaurant, Australia’s spy chief has said.
The Trump administration has agreed to restore $6.8bn of funding to US schools after a lawsuit brought by more than 20 states.
A judge has ruled that Utah’s Republican-controlled legislature redrew the state’s congressional boundaries in violation of voters’ rights, declaring that a new map must be created before the 2026 midterms.
Stat of the day: There are more than 1m mines scattered across Ukraine, UN expert says
Ukraine has become one of the most heavily mined countries in the world. More than 1m landmines litter the country, UN mining expert Paul Heslop has said, due to Russian forces planting them as they retreat. About a quarter of the country – an area larger than England – is already contaminated. Even after the war ends, the explosives will continue to pose a deadly threat to civilians.
Don’t miss this: Can AIs suffer?
Could AIs be, or come to be, sentient? Until recently, this questions was wholly confined to the genre of science fiction – but the founding of the United Foundation of AI Rights (Ufair), which describes itself as the first AI-led rights advocacy agency, is seeking to change that. It remains undeniably fringe though, and Mustafa Suleyman, chief executive of Microsoft’s AI arm, pushes back sharply on its argument, stressing that there is “zero evidence” that they are conscious and warning about the worrying phenomenon of AI psychosis that society is already seeing.
Climate check: Fema staff warn Trump’s cuts risk exposing US to another mishandled disaster
Donald Trump’s attacks on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), which have prompted more than 2,000 agency employees to quit, risk opening the US up to another mishandled disaster like Hurricane Katrina, staff have warned Congress. Twenty years on from the storm that killed 1,833 people, staff underlined: “Hurricane Katrina was not just a natural disaster, but a man-made one.”
Last Thing: Inside the peculiar world of lost suitcase auctions
Would you bid on a stranger’s suitcase without having a clue what’s inside? Airlines are unable to reunite about 8% of mislaid bags with their owners, and so sell off lost items, allowing people in the UK to take part in “suitcase gambling”. The Guardian’s Emma Russell unpacks the strange thrill of taking home other people’s baggage.
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