Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s essential stories.
‘Domestic terrorist’ intended to ‘murder on a scale rarely seen’
Federal prosecutors have described a serving lieutenant in the US coast guard as a “domestic terrorist” after uncovering his alleged plot to murder Democratic members of Congress, high-profile journalists and civilians “on a scale rarely seen” in the US. Christopher Hasson, a marine corps veteran currently posted to coast guard HQ in Washington DC, is also thought to be a neo-Nazi, who stockpiled at least 15 guns and 1,000 rounds of ammunition at his basement apartment in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Hit list. In a filing to federal court in Maryland, prosecutors said Hasson kept a spreadsheet of his intended targets, which included Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, as well as several journalists from CNN and MSNBC.
Jussie Smollett charged with filing false report
Jussie Smollett, the Empire star who claimed he was the victim of a racist, homophobic attack in Chicago, has been charged with a felony for allegedly filing a false police report. Smollett, who is black and gay, said two masked men attacked him, yelling Trump slogans and racial and homophobic slurs, beat him and left him with a noose around his neck in the small hours of 29 January. If found guilty, he could face up to three years in prison. His lawyers said they intend to mount an aggressive defence.
Screen presence. The producers of Empire, in which Smollett plays Jamal Lyon, say they have no intention of writing his character out of the show.
Climate change to blame for underreported crises
Climate change was the main culprit in the majority of underreported humanitarian crises around the world in 2018, according to a new analysis of more than a million online news stories. The report, commissioned by Care International, found that food crises affecting entire populations in poor countries such as Ethiopia, Haiti and Madagascar barely broke into the headlines.
Vulnerable poor. Sven Harmeling of Care International said the media must not turn a blind eye: “Not only are the people who live in the world’s poorest countries most vulnerable to climate change, but they are also the least equipped to address its increasing impacts.”
Trump bars Isis recruit from returning to Alabama
Donald Trump has ordered the state department to block Hoda Muthana, an Alabama woman who joined Islamic State in 2015 but now says she “deeply regrets” the decision, from returning to the US. Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, said on Wednesday that Muthana, formerly one of Isis’s most prominent online agitators, was “not a US citizen”. The 24-year-old is currently at the al-Hawl refugee camp in Syria, close to the last remaining scrap of Isis-held territory.
British recruit. Shamima Begum, a 19-year-old British woman who also joined Isis in 2015, has been controversially stripped of her UK citizenship by the Home Office, which claims the fact Begum’s parents are of Bangladeshi heritage means she can apply for citizenship of that country. Bangladesh says she is not a Bangladeshi citizen and there is “no question” of her being allowed in.
Crib sheet
At least 70 people have died after a fire tore through buildings that contained both apartments and chemical warehouses in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
Thousands of public school teachers in Oakland joined the wave of teachers’ strikes across the US by walking out on Thursday, demanding better resources and higher pay in a city where their salaries rarely stretch far enough to live.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has struck a deal with two fringe Jewish-nationalist parties, offering them cabinet positions in a future government if they join his Likud party in a rightwing bloc ahead of April’s parliamentary elections.
A member of a species of tortoise feared extinct for more than a century has been found alive in a remote part of the Galápagos islands. The female is thought to be more than 100 years old.
Must-reads
A family’s conversation about race and bigotry, illustrated
In her new humorous, heartfelt graphic memoir, Good Talk, Mira Jacobs depicts a series of tricky conversations with her mixed-race son about race, bigotry and systemic oppression. In this excerpt, he asks, “Are we racist?”
Anti-vaxxers in the delivery ward
As a paediatrician in the newborn nursery at a high-risk delivery centre, Rachel Pearson meets an increasing number of parents who refuse vaccinations for their newborns. How blunt should she be about the potential dangers of their decision?
Will fame save 21 Savage from deportation?
The British-born rapper 21 Savage spent just nine days in custody after he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). His lawyer says he’s “emblematic” of other detainees, but unlike most, he may be saved from deportation by his celebrity, as Francisco Navas reports.
US cities face pollution rise after China’s ban on recyclables
China recently banned the import of items intended for recycling, which means the onus for disposing of recyclable rubbish falls to the US, where in some places up to half is now being burned in incinerators. Oliver Milman reports from Chester City, Pennsylvania.
Opinion
Joseph Ratzinger’s papacy was engulfed by the scandal over sexual abuse in the Catholic church. This weekend his successor, Pope Francis, aims to address the issue with a summit at the Vatican. It is a test of his credibility, argues Catherine Pepinster.
It may well suit Francis and his advisers to be perceived as taking firm and drastic action ... But Catholics will want to see the Vatican owning up to a cover-up.
Sport
Manchester City came from behind to beat Schalke 3-2 in the dying minutes of their Champions League last-16 clash at the Veltins Arena, but City coach Pep Guardiola said afterwards that his team were “not ready to fight” for the European title.
Duke’s Zion Williamson, the likely No 1 pick in June’s NBA draft, suffered a freak knee injury thanks to a faulty Nike after just 33 seconds against North Carolina on Wednesday night, leaving the Tar Heels clear to crush his team 88-72.
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