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Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s essential stories.
Rosenstein expresses gratitude to Trump in resignation letter
He was the man who initiated the special counsel’s investigation into Russian election interference, and who reportedly discussed removing Donald Trump from office under the 25th amendment. But after two years of public presidential bullying on Twitter, deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein said in his resignation letter on Monday that he was grateful to Trump, “for the courtesy and humor you often display in our personal conversations”.
Planned departure. Rosenstein, 54, had long said he intended to step down after the conclusion of the Mueller investigation. His final day at the DoJ will be 11 May.
Workers barely benefited from Trump tax cut
Despite White House promises that it would raise the pay of the average American household by around $4,000, workers benefited almost not at all from Trump’s much heralded 2017 tax cut, an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity has shown. While big companies pushed for the passage of the Tax and Jobs Act, they refused to commit to specific wage increases for their employees, and have since spent just 6% of their new tax savings on workers.
Trump’s tall tales. Trump has told approximately 10,000 lies since taking office. Luke O’Neil selects some of his worst whoppers.
UN snub. Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate foreign relations committee, has warned that Trump’s refusal to engage with UN human rights monitors will embolden repressive regimes such as China and Russia.
Biden launches ‘battle for America’s soul’
Joe Biden held the first event of his third presidential campaign on Monday evening, telling a crowd at a union hall in Pittsburgh that the 2020 effort to defeat Trump was a “battle for America’s soul”. The former vice-president chose Pittsburgh as symbolic of the midwestern working class that swung the contest against Hillary Clinton in states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin in 2016. “I make no apologies. I am a union man. Period,” he said, in one of his best received lines of the night.
Early lead. Biden enters the race as a frontrunner in both polling and funding, having raised $6.3m in the first 24 hours of his campaign, more than Bernie Sanders or Beto O’Rourke.
Japan’s emperor Akihito abdicates at 85
Emperor Akihito of Japan has become the first ruler in two centuries to abdicate from the world’s oldest hereditary monarchy. In a brief ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday, the 85-year-old Akihito said his reign had been “a great blessing”, after reporting his abdication to his ancestors and the Shinto gods at sacred spots in the palace grounds, including the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami – from whom it is said the 2,600-year imperial line is descended.
New emperor. Akihito, who abdicated over fears his advanced age would hinder his capacity to carry out his duties, has been succeeded by his eldest son, Naruhito. The Japanese monarchy was stripped of political influence after the second world war.
Crib sheet
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the fugitive leader of Islamic State, has appeared in a propaganda video for the first time in five years, acknowledging the group’s recent defeat in the Syrian town of Baghuz and decrying the “savagery” of Christians.
Cambridge University’s Centre of African Studies is to launch a two-year academic study of the university’s links to slavery, to learn how the institution profited from and contributed to the slave trade in the colonial era.
The Boyz N the Hood director, John Singleton, the first black film-maker to be nominated for the Oscar for best director, has died aged 51 following a stroke. Peter Bradshaw pays tribute to a maverick and his signature masterwork.
The number of dead people with Facebook accounts could outnumber the number of living users by 2070, according to a new study that estimates the site will have 4.9 billion dead users by the end of this century at its current growth rate.
Must-reads
Busting the myth that depression is only for the rich
For decades, many psychiatrists believed depression was a disease of the developed world, which afflicted only wealthier nations. But a new movement pioneered by Vikram Patel – an Indian-born, British trained doctor in Zimbabwe – has turned that thinking on its head. He spoke to Tina Rosenberg.
Zac Efron on Ted Bundy: I made this film ‘for the victims’
Zac Efron and director Joe Berlinger insist their new biopic of Ted Bundy is not intended to glamorise the serial killer, despite the actor’s movie star good looks. “We tell the story purposefully without a lot of violence,” Efron tells Kira Cochrane.
Venice stays afloat amid Europe’s worst tourism crisis
Around 25 million people and rising visit Venice every year, but the Italian city’s prime industry is also putting it at risk. Paula Hardy says a new generation of concerned citizens is combining grassroots activism with sustainable initiatives to save their island home from the scourge of rampant tourism.
How camping made me a better father
For the past five years, Bryan Mealer has taken his children camping one weekend every month. The trips have brought him closer to his family, to nature, to God – and, he writes, they have given him a “grip on sanity in this age of toxic politics, division and battering news cycles.”
Opinion
Last week, Norwegian fisherman came across a white beluga whale wearing a harness, which may have been part of a Russian programme to train the mammals for military purposes. That’s a sad indictment of humanity, says Jules Howard.
If the idea of the Russians using such a beautiful and intelligent organism to further their military aims disgusts you, I should tell you that many countries, particularly the US, have programmes that train dolphins and other species, including sea lions, for military exercises.
Sport
Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver all compete in MLS, but a new domestic Canadian soccer league is designed to drive the national team to greater heights, as Joshua Kloke reports.
Ajax are the biggest story in European soccer, an unfancied young side that felled Real Madrid and Juventus on their way to the Champions League semi-finals. The club’s CEO, Edwin van der Sar, tells Amy Lawrence how Ajax “reached a level of football that nobody really expected from the outside world”.
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