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Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s essential stories.
Barr says Epstein ‘co-conspirators should not rest easy’
The investigation into the billionaire Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking crimes is to continue despite his apparent suicide in jail, with the US attorney general, William Barr, warning any potential co-conspirators in the case that they “should not rest easy”. Questions remain for several of Epstein’s wealthy and powerful acquaintances, including Prince Andrew and the British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.
Conspiracy theories. Barr also criticised “serious irregularities” at the Metropolitan correctional center in New York where Epstein apparently took his own life after being taken off suicide watch following a previous attempt, sparking multiple conspiracy theories.
Protesters return to Hong Kong airport
Hundreds of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong have returned to the city’s airport, a day after mass demonstrations brought the busy international travel hub to a standstill. Flights have been suspended again on Tuesday as anti-government demonstrations in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory enter a 10th week with little sign of a detente between protesters and the authorities.
Extradition bill. Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, was heckled at a press conference on Tuesday after dodging questions about the controversial extradition bill that sparked the protests.
Protesters’ demands. Alison Rourke provides a refresher on what caused the pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong, and what exactly the protesters want.
Canada manhunt: teenage fugitives died by apparent suicide
Police in Canada say Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky, the two young Canadians wanted for the murders of three people, appear to have died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. The bodies of McLeod, 19, and Schmegelsky, 18, were found last week after a lengthy manhunt, close to a river and 8km from where their Toyota RAV4 had been burned out and abandoned in the remote town of Gillam, Manitoba.
Murder victims. The two men were suspected of killing three people in British Columbia before fleeing east across Canada. Their alleged victims were an Australian, Lucas Fowler, his American girlfriend Chynna Deese, and Leonard Dyck, a university lecturer from Vancouver.
Heat-trapping gases broke records in 2018, report finds
Annual greenhouse gas levels in 2018 were the highest ever recorded, according to a new report by the the American Meteorological Society and the US government. Last year was the fourth warmest since records began in the 19th century, while sea levels were also the highest on record. The data in the report comes from more than 470 scientists in 60 countries, and shows that the global annual average for carbon dioxide last year was 407.4 parts per million, 2.4 ppm higher than in 2017.
Smoke clouds. Wildfires in the Siberian Arctic are raging into an unprecedented third month, and have produced a cloud of smoke and soot larger than the entire European Union.
Endangered species. The Trump administration has weakened its implementation of the Endangered Species Act, threatening several vulnerable animals at a time when scientists have warned that a crisis of biodiversity could soon put humans at risk.
Crib sheet
Relatives and friends of Raul and Maria Flores attended their funeral on Monday after the couple, who had been married for 60 years, were killed in the mass shooting in El Paso on 3 August. Sales of bulletproof backpacks have reportedly spiked by 300% since the shootings in El Paso and Dayton.
Kyrgyzstan’s former president Almazbek Atambayev has been charged with murder after a security officer was killed when authorities tried to arrest him over corruption allegations amid an escalating conflict with his successor, Sooronbay Jeenbekov.
Verizon has sold Tumblr to the web firm Automattic just two years after acquiring the site in its $4.48bn purchase of Yahoo. The sale price was not disclosed, but reports put it at less than $3m. When Yahoo bought Tumblr in 2013 the price tag was $1.1bn.
The Indian actor Priyanka Chopra has been accused of “encouraging nuclear war with Pakistan” in a February tweet in which she wrote “Jai Hind”, meaning “victory to India”. Chopra was called a “hypocrite” over the comments during a Q&A at a cosmetics convention.
Must-reads
The lawyer fighting ‘trolls, psychos and pervs’ online
Inspired by her own experience of a “psycho ex”, Carrie Goldberg became a legal crusader for victims of online sexual harassment. She tells Tauriq Moosa why she wants the law to change, so she can “sue the fuck out of” the tech firms enabling “every asshole, troll, psycho and perv on the internet”.
Brexit: the radicalisation of remain
Britain’s supposedly moderate voters – those who oppose Brexit, Boris and Corbyn – can now be found marching in protest more regularly, and in far greater numbers, than their rivals on the left and right. Daniel Cohen explains how remainers became the radicals.
‘Clinic escorts’ ward off abortion protesters in Mississippi
In the first of a series about abortion in the south, Khushbu Shah reports from Jackson, Mississippi, where protesters at the state’s sole abortion provider are kept away from patients by a group of volunteer “clinic escorts”.
Is algae the future of food?
It may be green and slimy, but algae is is being looked at by nutritionists and food entrepreneurs as a potential new source of protein, vitamins, antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. Brian Kateman says we should get used to a new kind of seafood.
Opinion
The women Jeffrey Epstein allegedly abused must continue to live with the trauma, while he has avoided a public reckoning for his crimes. His death is a victory for misogyny, says Moira Donegan.
One reason that conspiracy theories have sprouted so prolifically in the wake of Epstein’s death is because patriarchy operates with such ruthless efficiency in denying recompense to women victims of sexual abuse that it really can seem as if nefarious forces are plotting against women’s rights in shadowy, smoke-filled rooms.
Sport
Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, the teenager who recently became the first ever Fortnite world champion, has been “swatted” in the middle of a livestreaming session, with armed police turning up at his Pennsylvania home following a hoax emergency call. The situation was quickly resolved and nobody was harmed.
The Oakland Raiders receiver Antonio Brown has lost his grievance against the NFL over his use of an old helmet that the league deems unsafe, but said on Monday that he is nonetheless keen to return to the football field.
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