Subscribe now to receive the morning briefing by email.
Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s essential stories.
Guaidó claims armed forces no longer loyal to Maduro
Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, claimed on Tuesday that his forces had quashed a “deranged” coup attempt by supporters of the opposition leader, Juan Guaidó. In a TV address, Maduro said a day of violent clashes in Caracas had been orchestrated by the “coup-mongering far right” to spark an armed confrontation as a pretext for a foreign military intervention. But Guaidó said the armed forces were no longer loyal to Maduro, and characterised the attempt to overthrow the president as a “peaceful rebellion”.
Worldwide support. Venezuelan exiles massed at embassies and consulates from Lima to London to show solidarity for the attempt to oust Maduro, Tom Phillips reports from Mexico City.
Russian backing. The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, claimed Maduro “had an airplane on the tarmac” to fly him to exile in Cuba, but was persuaded by Moscow not to step down.
Mueller criticised Barr memo on findings of special counsel
Robert Mueller wrote to the attorney general, William Barr, expressing frustration at how Barr’s four-page summary of the special counsel’s report on Russian election meddling characterised its conclusions, according to multiple reports. In a letter dated late March, Mueller wrote that Barr “did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance” of his team’s findings, thus creating “public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation”.
Lack of context. While Mueller acknowledged that nothing in the Barr memo was “inaccurate or misleading,” he was apparently dismayed by its “lack of context” surrounding the special counsel’s analysis of obstruction of justice.
Zuckerberg announces Facebook privacy overhaul
Mark Zuckerberg had to stifle his own laughter on stage at Facebook’s annual F8 developer conference in California on Tuesday as he announced that the firm was “replumbing the whole infrastructure” to become a “privacy-focused social platform”. Admitting that “we don’t exactly have the strongest reputation on privacy right now, to put it lightly,” the Facebook founder and CEO nonetheless insisted that he was committed to the project, which will also include an overhaul of Instagram and WhatsApp.
Silicon sultanate. With $128,308 per capita in annual gross domestic product, Silicon Valley would be among the world’s very richest nations if it were an independent country, reports Levi Pulkkinen.
GOP lawmaker urged crowd to prepare for civil unrest
Matt Shea, a Republican state representative in Washington, and Jack Robertson, better known as the radio personality John Jacob Schmidt, warned a crowd at a religious gathering last year to prepare for a possible civil conflict, with Robertson urging attendees to stockpile weapons in case of a confrontation with Antifa activists. “You should have an AR-15 and a thousand rounds of ammo,” Robertson advised, while Shea said “liberty must be kept by force” and insisted communists were “lying in wait”.
Leaked recording. The comments came to light in recordings obtained by the Guardian from the 2018 God and Country event in Marble, Washington.
Crib sheet
Police have named the suspect in a shooting in which two people were killed at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte on Tuesday as 22-year-old Trystan Andrew Terrell.
In New Zealand, five major news organisations have signed a voluntary agreement to limit their reporting of the trial of the man accused of the Christchurch mosque massacre, to avoid disseminating his white supremacist views.
Japan’s new emperor, Naruhito, said he was “filled with a sense of solemnity” as he formally acceded to the chrysanthemum throne on Wednesday following the abdication of his 85-year-old father, Akihito.
Residents of the Philippines town of Binalonan face fines and community service if they are caught gossiping, under a new law passed by the mayor, Ramon Guico, who told the Guardian it was his way of “improving the quality of life in our town”.
Must-reads
The crisis of violence against Native American women
Congress may at last be moving to address an epidemic of violence against Native Americans, who disappear at twice the per capita rate of white Americans. Hallie Golden meets the activists drawing attention to the deaths and disappearances of women such as Alyssa McLemore, who vanished 10 years ago last month.
Jared Harris: ‘I keep getting bumped off!’
Jared Harris’s characters in Mad Men and The Crown both met unfortunate early deaths. And despite being the lead in a new miniseries about Chernobyl, he dies within the first few minutes. “It’s a problem career-wise,” he tells Simon Hattenstone.
A miracle healing gel, or a triumph of marketing?
Users of Somaderm, a homeopathic gel, report that rubbing the brownish goop into their armpits has improved their moods, reduced their wrinkles and even enhanced their libido. But skeptics say the gel and its multi-level marketing structure are a scam. Carey Dunne investigates.
How Avengers and Game of Thrones made us all geeks
The climactic instalments of Game of Thrones and the Marvel cinematic universe series are a high watermark for geek culture. After a decade in thrall to Arya Stark and Tony Stark, Steve Rose wonders whether we’ll ever scale such heights of geekdom again.
Opinion
Humans weren’t built to live in densely populated cities, writes Arwa Mahdawi. But people’s level of access to green space in US metropolitan areas appears to correlate with their class, education and race.
As urban populations continue to grow, it is crucial that we reduce the green gap between the rich and the poor. Access to fresh air and green grass should not be a luxury only the rich can afford.
Sport
Spurs face the daunting prospect of needing to defeat Ajax at home after the Dutch team’s 1-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday gave them the advantage in their Champions League semi-final. The goal came courtesy of Donny van de Beek.
The Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya will learn on Wednesday whether she has won her discrimination case against athletics’ governing body, the IAAF, over rules requiring female athletes with differences in sexual development to lower their testosterone before competing. Sean Ingle explains the debate.
Sign up
The US morning briefing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.
