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Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s essential stories.
Cabinet members close ranks amid Democrat attacks on Trump
The treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, has said his department will not comply with a deadline set by House Democrats to hand over six years’ worth of Donald Trump’s tax returns. In a letter to the ways and means committee chairman, Richard Neal, Mnuchin suggested the Democrats’ demand was an “abuse of authority” designed for “embarrassing or attacking” the president. The announcement came as other cabinet members closed ranks around Trump in response to perceived attacks by Democrats.
Campaign spying. The attorney general, William Barr, has said he believes “spying did occur” on the Trump campaign during the Obama administration, echoing Trump’s claims. The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said Barr had gone “off the rails” to serve Trump rather than the public.
Pompeo flounders. The secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, recently told senators an “international law doctrine” explained why Trump had recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights but not the Russian seizure of Crimea – but a clarifying letter from the state department cited no such doctrine.
Julian Assange arrested at Ecuador’s London embassy
Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has been arrested by UK police at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been sheltered since August 2012, having claimed asylum while on bail over sexual assault allegations against him in Sweden. Several protesters were outside the embassy in anticipation of Assange’s expulsion on Thursday, after the journalist and Assange supporter John Pilger called for people to “show solidarity with a courageous man”.
Panama scandal. In a tweet, WikiLeaks claimed Assange was being expelled from the embassy using the pretext of “the Ina Papers offshore scandal”, which involves allegations that Ecuador’s president, Lenín Moreno, corruptly benefited from an offshore account in Panama. Moreno denies any wrongdoing.
California considers country’s toughest police shooting law
Stephon Clark was shot dead by police in his grandmother’s backyard in Sacramento in March 2018. The officers who mistook his cellphone for a gun faced no charges. Now Clark’s case has inspired a bill being considered by California politicians, which would see the Golden State adopt the strictest laws on police shootings in the US. Supporters say the bill, which permits police to use lethal force only when there is no reasonable alternative, would save lives by obliging officers to employ de-escalation tactics.
Death rate. California police reportedly kill at a rate 37% higher than the national average. Police in the state killed 172 people in 2017, more than two-thirds of whom were people of colour.
May and EU agree to October Brexit deadline
Theresa May and EU leaders have agreed a new Brexit deadline of 31 October, unless the prime minister can secure parliamentary support for a Brexit deal before then, in which case the UK will leave the EU earlier. May went into a six-hour meeting in Brussels on Wednesday hoping for a shorter delay until the end of June, while the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, wanted a postponement until 31 December. But the French president, Emmanuel Macron, resisted such a long extension, hence the six-month compromise.
May schedule. May has said she will step down once a withdrawal agreement is reached that satisfies the UK parliament and the EU. But Tory MPs say she could be forced out before then if she makes a deal on a customs union with Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party.
Crib sheet
Politicians in Georgia are considering the “Ethics in Journalism Act”, a bill introduced by a Republican that would create a board to oversee the work of journalists in the state – to the outrage of press freedom proponents.
Thousands of protesters have spent more than six days camping outside a military headquarters in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, to demand the resignation of President Omar al-Bashir.
Four million children develop asthma every year as a result of toxic air pollution from road vehicles, with Canadian children among the worst affected of the 194 nations analysed.
More than 160,000 people have signed a petition demanding McDonald’s add a vegetarian protein option to its menu in the US, following Burger King’s announcement that it is trialling a meatless “Impossible Whopper”.
Must-reads
How the Chinese state used tech to target the Uighurs
Beijing blames a rise in religious extremism for its crackdown on Uighur Muslims. As Darren Byler reports, China’s version of the “war on terror” is being fought with technological surveillance tools: from the chips in smartphones, to facial recognition software and biometric checkpoints.
Can Chicago’s new mayor really heal old divisions?
Last week, Lori Lightfoot became the first black woman and the first openly gay person to be elected mayor of Chicago. But while her personal story inspires hope, some activists tell Eric Lutz that Lightfoot’s policy positions are no more friendly to black, brown and LGBTQ Chicagoans than previous administrations.
Homo luzonensis: a new species of human
A discovery in the Philippines has added a new twist to the tale of human evolution: the partial skeleton of a previously undiscovered human species, named Homo luzonensis, who is thought to have been under 4ft tall and adapted to climbing trees. Hannah Devlin talks to one of the paleo-anthropologists behind the find.
Shades of Black
Today in the Guardian’s series on colorism, Nishta Mehra – the daughter of Indian immigrants – explains how she discusses race with her daughter. And Erin Dyana Mclaughin says she used to follow YouTube makeup tutorials to make her appear lighter, until she decided to redefine black beauty for herself.
Opinion
Xenophobic nationalists such as Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, hope to form a major bloc in the European parliament after next month’s EU elections. To check their rise, says Natalie Nougayrède, mainstream parties must refuse to work with them.
The far right has a chance of succeeding in its culture and identity wars if it finds allies beyond its own, strictly partisan realm.
Sport
At least 14 former high-level Canadian soccer players have made allegations of “systemic abuse” by an elite coach at the Vancouver Whitecaps, whose inappropriate behaviour also spilled over into the Canada women’s youth teams.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær has suggested his Manchester United players look to the club’s 1999 exploits as they prepare for the second leg of their Champions League tie against Barcelona, after Lionel Messi contrived the goal that gave Barca a 1-0 win at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
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