Good morning.
The US was roundly denounced for a “crime of aggression” at an emergency meeting of the UN security council on Monday after the Trump administration’s deadly strikes on Venezuela and the capture of its leader, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores.
“The bombings on Venezuelan territory and the capture of its president cross an unacceptable line,” said Sérgio França Danese, the Brazilian ambassador to the UN. “These acts constitute a very serious affront to the sovereignty of Venezuela and set an extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community.” China, Colombia, Cuba, Eritrea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Spain joined Brazil in condemning the attack.
Maduro on Monday pleaded not guilty to drugs, weapons and “narco-terrorism” charges at an arraignment hearing in a Manhattan federal court. His legal team includes Barry Pollack, a top US trial lawyer who represented Julian Assange for years.
What’s the latest on the US “running” Venezuela? The Republican speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, insisted the US was not at war with the country – but the Democratic Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, warned that the US was on the brink of being dragged into a fresh conflict.
US abandons child exploitation and drug cases to prioritize ICE, Democrats allege
The Trump administration has ditched efforts to fight child exploitation, human trafficking and cartels while it diverts thousands of law enforcement staff to immigration crackdowns, Democratic senators said in a letter to the White House.
In a letter shared with the Guardian, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, along with 28 other Democratic senators and one independent, demanded federal officials provide a “full accounting” of officers who have been reassigned to immigration enforcement and a list of all investigations hampered by this.
How many officers have been diverted? More than 28,000 federal law enforcement personnel have been diverted from their regular duties to work for ICE’s enforcement and removal operations, according to an ICE document from August 2025.
US attack on Greenland would mean end of Nato, says Danish PM
A US attack on a Nato ally would mean the end of the military alliance and “post-second world war security”, Denmark’s prime minister has warned, after Donald Trump repeated his threat to seize Greenland.
Trump renewed fears that the US could invade Greenland – a former Danish colony that remains part of the Danish kingdom – when he said on Sunday that the US needed Greenland “very badly”.
Mette Frederiksen told the Danish television network TV2: “If the United States decides to militarily attack another Nato country, then everything would stop – that includes Nato and therefore post-second world war security.”
Why does Trump want Greenland? Its location between Europe and North America makes it key for the US ballistic missile defence system. It also has significant mineral resources.
In other news …
Five years on from the deadly January 6 attack on the US Capitol, Donald Trump and other Republicans have tried to rewrite the history of the insurrection and wipe it from the collective American memory.
The Trump administration will now recommend only 11 out of 17 routine childhood vaccines, in the biggest shift yet to US immunization policy under the vaccine critic Robert F Kennedy Jr. Experts have condemned the change, with one virologist saying: “Kennedy’s decision will harm and kill children, like all of his anti-vaccination decisions will.”
The Department of Homeland Security has said a Hilton hotel in Minnesota canceled bookings for ICE agents. The chain distanced itself from the action, saying the hotel was independently owned and run.
The US will be exempt from a global tax agreement that stops multinationals from hiding their profits in low- or no-tax havens after negotiations between the Trump administration and other members of the G7.
Stat of the day: At 303bn barrels, Venezuela has the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, with 303bn barrels – and though it is high in sulphur and dense, making it harder to process, the US Gulf coast’s refineries are well designed to treat it. But ramping up the country’s crude production would require financing by international oil companies, who would only consider this if they had confidence in the stability of its systems, according to the global consultancy Rystad Energy.
Culture Pick: In ending, Stranger Things committed TV’s ultimate crime [spoiler]
If you’re a fan, you’ve likely had a few days now to sit with the finale of Stranger Things. Stuart Heritage reckons it was solid – nowhere near the beloved Breaking Bad conclusion, but still avoiding the infamous nadir of the Game of Thrones finale. But then, they packed in half an hour of goodbyes to every character, until “the actual meat of the episode became a distant memory”. And with an animated series (Stranger Things: Tales from 85) to be released this year, like it or not, Stranger Things won’t really be over until there’s no more money to be made out of it.
Don’t miss this: We still live in Fast Food Nation
Twenty-five years ago, Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation exposed the risks of our food system being run by a cluster of multinational corporations. In 2026, in some respects, things are even worse: more than half of the foods that Americans now eat are ultra-processed. In a new essay for the Guardian, Schlosser argues that true-cost accounting shows that cheap, industrial fast food is actually far more expensive than we realize, when accounting for health and environmental costs – and that desire for a better food system is there.
Climate check: Trump officials sue California cities over laws to restrict fossil fuels
The Trump administration has sued two California cities in an attempt to block local laws that limit gas-powered appliances in new construction. The justice department is alleging that legislation passed since 2019 in the San Francisco-area cities of Morgan Hill and Petaluma breach a 1975 law that prevents states and cities from regulating the “energy use” of products subject to federal standards.
Last Thing: The one-hour work pattern: is ‘microshifting’ the secret to a happy, balanced life?
Microshifting: it’s like microdosing, but for work. Almost like an extreme form of hybrid working, it’s all about slotting your work in around your personal commitments, rather than the other way round. Emblematic of modern workplace culture or just plain old slacking?
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