Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s essential stories.
US defense secretary contradicts Trump’s Iran claims
Witnesses say Iranian authorities fired live rounds at hundreds of protesters, wounding several, during a demonstration on Sunday over the Iranian military’s apparently accidental shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner with 176 people onboard. At least 57 of them were Canadian citizens; the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, vowed at a vigil for the victims that he would “pursue justice and accountability” for the disaster.
Mark Esper. At the weekend, the US defence secretary seemed to contradict Donald Trump’s claim that Iran was planning attacks on four US embassies before American forces killed the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani in a drone strike.
Unexpected impact. Suleimani’s death was expected to cause instant turmoil throughout the region. Instead, as Martin Chulov reports, it has led to an eerie calm.
Prince Harry to attend royal crisis talks hosted by Queen
The Queen is to host a family summit at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk on Monday, to address the drama engulfing the House of Windsor after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made public their plans to “step back” as senior royals and spend more time in North America. Prince Harry will attend the talks to tackle the reported tensions with his family members – including his brother, Prince William. Meghan, meanwhile, is expected to dial in from Canada.
What’s on the table? Caroline Davies outlines the agenda for the talks, and you can keep up with developments throughout the day on the Guardian’s Harry and Meghan live blog.
President fumes as impeachment trial looms
Nancy Pelosi, described by Trump on Twitter at the weekend as the “absolute worst Speaker of the House in US history”, has announced her Democratic caucus will meet on Tuesday to decide when to transmit the two articles of impeachment to the Senate to kick off the president’s impeachment trial. Trump said he would cite executive privilege to block testimony from current and former administration officials including John Bolton, who has suggested he would appear at the trial if he received a subpoena.
Sanders surge. Trump also used Twitter to muse on the Democratic primary over the weekend, noting Bernie Sanders’ impressive poll numbers and asking “what does this all mean?” Sanders tweeted back: “It means you’re going to lose.”
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Cheat sheet
The game show Jeopardy is facing political controversy after ruling a competitor wrong for answering that Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity – supposedly the birthplace of Jesus – was in Palestine. Another competitor, who responded “Israel”, was awarded the $200 for a correct answer. Israel has occupied the West Bank, which includes Jerusalem and Bethlehem, since 1967, although under a United Nations security council resolution, the international community refuses to accept Israeli sovereignty.
A group of US environmental activists who targeted the oil industry with non-violent civil disobedience were nevertheless labelled “extremists” by the Department of Homeland Security, which listed them with white nationalists in internal documents.
About 95% of women who get an abortion do not regret their decision to have the procedure, according the newly published results of a survey carried out across 21 US states.
The Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has invited women to apply to be his companion on Elon Musk’s 2023 SpaceX mission around the moon. Maezawa says he is looking for a “life partner” with whom to “shout our love and world peace from outer space”.
Must-reads
Brian Cox: ‘I was touched up by Princess Margaret’
Brian Cox was recently named best actor in a drama series for his performance as the business titan and tyrannical patriarch Logan Roy in Succession. The show’s cast are “very family-like,” he tells Hadley Freeman, “which is ironic as we play such a dysfunctional family”.
Iowa swing voters: ‘Trump drives me crazy, but he’ll get my vote’
On a tour of some of the midwestern counties that voted for Obama and then for Trump, Chris McGreal visits rural Howard County, Iowa, where many of those who voted for him have their doubts about the president, but give him credit for one big thing: the economy.
The US prison where violence left inmates ‘begging for their lives’
Mississippi’s crumbling state penitentiary at Parchman was already notorious for racism and neglect when bloody rioting broke out there over the new year, leaving three inmates dead in a single week. “People were begging for their lives as they were stabbed,” one recently released inmate tells Oliver Laughland.
Why Brazil’s largest reserve is facing destruction
The vast Yanomami indigenous reserve on the northern reaches of the Brazilian Amazon is being steadily trashed by unauthorised mining – which the country’s climate-skeptic president, Jair Bolsonaro, is keen to legalise. Dom Phillips reports.
Opinion
Bernie Sanders is building a lead in some early battleground states. The Democratic establishment may be starting to panic, says Bhaskar Sunkara, but ordinary voters should see that Sanders represents America’s new political mainstream.
What Bernie detractors don’t understand is that even though it’s to the left of contemporary liberalism, Sanders’ redistributive politics has more appeal with self-described moderate voters than typical Democrat ones.
Sport
Aaron Rodgers kept his cool to guide the Packers past the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, leading Green Bay to their third NFC championship game in six years. Meanwhile Patrick Mahomes delivered a stellar performance to help the Chiefs come back from 24 down to defeat the Houston Texans 52-31, taking Kansas City to the AFC championship game and back to the brink of the Super Bowl.
Sergio Agüero scored three goals in Manchester City’s 6-1 rout of Aston Villa on Sunday, making the Argentinian the most prolific overseas goalscorer since the formation of the Premier League. But with 14 points still between them and Liverpool, City’s brilliance may not be sufficient to regain the title in May.
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