Good morning.
The Trump administration is racing to halt a major blow to its sweeping tariffs after a US court ruled they “exceed any authority granted to the president”.
A US trade court ruled on Wednesday that Donald Trump’s tariffs regime was illegal, in a dramatic twist that could block his controversial global trade policy.
On Thursday, an appeals court agreed to a temporary pause on the decision pending an appeal hearing. The Trump administration is expected to take the case to the supreme court if it loses.
On what basis did the judges rule the tariffs unlawful? The court’s ruling stated that Trump’s tariff orders “exceed any authority granted to the president … to regulate importation by means of tariffs”.
How are tariffs usually approved? Tariffs typically need to be approved by Congress but Trump has so far bypassed that requirement by claiming that the country’s trade deficits amount to a national emergency.
Carbon footprint of Israel’s war on Gaza exceeds that of many entire countries
The carbon footprint of the first 15 months of Israel’s war on Gaza will be greater than the annual planet-warming emissions of 100 individual countries, exacerbating the global climate emergency on top of the huge civilian death toll, research reveals.
A study shared exclusively with the Guardian found the long-term climate cost of destroying, clearing and rebuilding Gaza could top 31m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). This is more than the combined 2023 annual greenhouse gases emitted by Costa Rica and Estonia, for example. There is no obligation for states to report military emissions to the UN climate body.
What about Hamas? Hamas bunker fuel and rockets account for about 3,000 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of just 0.2% of the total direct conflict emissions, while 50% were generated by the supply and use of weapons, tanks and other ordnance by the Israeli military, the study found.
Faizan Zaki, 13, rebounds from stunning gaffe to win National Spelling Bee crown
Faizan Zaki’s enthusiasm for spelling nearly got the better of him. Ultimately, his joyful approach made him the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion.
The favorite entering the bee after his runner-up finish last year – during which he never misspelled a word in a conventional spelling round, only to lose a lightning-round tiebreaker that he didn’t practice for – the shaggy-haired Faizan wore the burden of expectations lightly, sauntering to the microphone in a black hoodie and spelling his words with casual glee.
Throughout last night’s finals, the 13-year-old from Allen, Texas, looked like a champion in waiting. Then he nearly threw it away. But even a shocking moment of overconfidence on the word “commelina” – instead of first asking common questions, such as definition, he let his showman’s instincts take over and began “K-A-M,” before realizing his error – couldn’t prevent him from seizing the title of best speller in the English language.
What word did he spell to win? His winning word was “éclaircissement”. Faizan didn’t ask a single question before spelling it correctly, and he pumped his fists and collapsed to the stage after saying the final letter.
In other news …
A vessel bearing human remains has been found nearly a year after the US Coast Guard suspended the search for a family of four missing after their boat capsized off Alaska, officials said.
Sexual exploitation and domestic violence soared after the catastrophic Lahaina wildfire in 2023, research has found.
Doctors have developed an artificial intelligence tool that can predict which men with prostate cancer will benefit from the drug abiraterone, which halves the risk of dying and has been described as a “gamechanger” treatment.
Russian forces have used North Korean weapons to terrorize entire cities, according to a report by UN members that reveals the extent of Moscow’s dependence on the regime in Pyongyang.
Don’t miss this: ‘I worried I might start finding it normal. But I never did’ – the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent on what she learned
I took the job as the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent in 2021, although I was reluctant about it, writes Bethan McKernan. I was happy living in Istanbul as the paper’s Turkey and Middle East correspondent and the Jerusalem gig was notoriously thankless. Every single word published under my name would be forensically examined for signs of bias. In the end, I took the job – and now, four years later, I am leaving Jerusalem. I have learned a lot, and the experience has changed me.
Climate check: 40% of world’s glaciers already doomed – study
Almost 40% of glaciers in existence today are already doomed to melt due to climate-heating emissions from fossil fuels, a study has found. The loss will soar to 75% if global heating reaches the 2.7C rise for which the world is on track. The massive loss of glaciers would push up sea levels, endangering millions of people and driving mass migration, the researchers said.
Last Thing: I’ve made the longest chain of chewing-gum wrappers in the world
“As a schoolboy in Canada, I was fascinated by the Guinness Book of Records,” Gary Duschl says. “Little did I know then that in 1994 I would break a world record and feature in the book I adored as a young boy, all thanks to my childhood hobby – making paper chains out of chewing-gum wrappers.”
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