First Thing: Iran to show defiance in six-day funeral for supreme leader
Ceremony for Ali Khamenei intended to be epic display of national power
Good morning. Final preparations are under way for Ali Khamenei’s six-day funeral. The farewell to the former supreme leader is expected to draw millions in Iran. Khamenei was killed in the opening salvo of the US-Israeli attack on the country in February, and the funeral is intended to be an epic display of personal mourning, national power, resilience and social cohesion.
Iran’s first vice-president, Mohammad Reza Aref, who is the lead funeral organiser, described the ceremony, which begins on Saturday in Tehran and will end with Khamenei’s burial on Thursday in Mashhad, as “the most important event of this century” and the most attended event since the 1979 revolution. The scale of the funeral has been conceived to relay political and religious messages of resistance to the rest of the world. At the request of Iraqi politicians, Khamenei’s body will also be carried through the Iraqi Shia cities of Karbala and Najaf.
Will Ali Khamenei’s successor take part? Khamenei’s son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, is not expected to make an appearance at his father’s funeral. He was severely injured in the same US-Israeli strike that killed his father and also killed Mojtaba’s wife and his 14-month-old daughter. The extent of Mojtaba’s injuries is unknown and he has so far issued only written statements, including one that distanced himself from the ceasefire negotiations but sanctioned their continuance. Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, threatened to kill him this week, saying he was marked for death.
‘Ridiculous’ for US to maintain current Nato support, Trump warns ahead of alliance summit
Donald Trump has said it is “ridiculous” for the US to continue its “one-sided” relationship with Nato, less than a week before a summit of the military alliance in Ankara. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “They were not there for us!!!” and Washington’s relationship with Nato “is not reciprocal”. Nato’s article 5, which deems an attack on one member to be an attack on all, has been invoked exactly once in its history – in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the US.
Why is Trump so unhappy with Nato? Aside from the failure of countries such as the UK and France to join in with the US-Israeli war on Iran, Trump has long complained that Europe does not spend enough on defence. Under pressure from the US, Nato leaders agreed at a gathering last year to boost defence-related spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.
FBI orders 260 staffers to Georgia to assist with 2020 election investigation
In a continuation of the administration’s obsession with Donald Trump’s false claim that he won the 2020 election, the FBI has asked its field offices across the country to dedicate more than 200 staffers to investigating Georgia’s Fulton county. A memo obtained Thursday by the Associated Press calls for the FBI to “surge” 260 investigative analysts and staff operations specialists to the effort, which it described as a “priority investigation”.
What is the investigation about? FBI agents in January seized hundreds of boxes containing ballots and other documents related to the 2020 election in Georgia’s most populous county, which is heavily Democratic and includes most of the city of Atlanta. Georgia’s votes in the 2020 presidential race were counted three times, including once by hand, and each count affirmed Joe Biden’s win. The justice department has previously said it is investigating “irregularities that occurred during the 2020 presidential election in the county”.
In other news …
More than 100 passengers and about 23 crew members on a Princess Cruises ship fell sick from suspected norovirus. It is now docked in San Francisco for disinfecting.
Louisiana’s Republican attorney general has been indicted on criminal charges, accused of trying to intimidate officials who opposed a GOP-enacted law to overhaul local courts.
Pro-Palestine protesters who blocked Golden Gate Bridge have been convicted of misdemeanor charges, but a San Francisco jury failed to reach a verdict on more serious felony conspiracy charges.
Criminal investigators in the UK say they have uncovered a “truly international network” of organised drug-facilitated sexual assault in which victims are sedated before being raped and sexually assaulted.
The Nationals’ Cade Cavalli has been suspended for seven games after his “Sit down, boy” comment sparked a brawl. Three other players were also disciplined.
Stat of the day: USMNT smashes record for most-watched US soccer broadcast with 33.5 million viewers
As the US beat Bosnia and Herzegovina to reach the last 16 of the Fifa men’s World Cup it became the most-watched English-language soccer broadcast in US history, with more than 33 million viewers in total. Also making waves at the World Cup is tiny Cape Verde, and Alasdair Howarth speaks to fans there as the team prepares to face Lionel Messi and Argentina.
Culture Pick: Olivia Wilde and Edward Norton on making sex comedy The Invite
Peter Bradshaw’s verdict was that Seth Rogan added zest and bite to the fruity dinner party comedy, and Catherine Shoard has interviewed two of the other stars – Olivia Wilde and Edward Norton – exploring the making of the movie about marital bed death. “When you hear yourself laugh at something, that feels revealing,” Wilde says, “and then when someone else does so too, the quiet shame you felt is immediately relieved.”
Don’t miss this: ‘A sanitized view of America’ – inside Trump’s campaign to erase US history from national parks
Critics say the Trump administration is trying to rewrite and whitewash history by removing and altering scores of signs on public lands – a policy backed by the judiciary. Amy Qin and Flávio Pessoa investigate the impact, revealing how the administration is relentlessly removing signs alluding to climate change, immigration, genocide and slavery.
… or this: Together with Harry – the wit, flair and fun of Styles’s fans in Polaroids
Gareth Cattermole took a Polaroid camera to one of Harry Styles’s 12 record-breaking Wembley Stadium in London shows to capture fans’ creativity, humour and sense of community.
Climate check: US heatwave threatens 250th anniversary events and World Cup
Researchers say the weekend’s high temperatures and humidity would be “virtually impossible” without the climate crisis. The analysis comes as a high-pressure system, or heat dome, brings hot and humid conditions to a large swath of the central and eastern US, as well as southern parts of Canada, with the warning that the high temperatures could threaten Independence Day celebrations and World Cup matches this weekend.
Last Thing: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce donate $26m to charities ahead of reported wedding
As a contender for event of the year, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce getting hitched must be up there. They are donating $26m to charities in advance of their rumored wedding at New York’s Madison Square Garden this weekend, a representative for the couple has confirmed to the Guardian. Superfan Laura Snapes, meanwhile, questions the narrative that wedded bliss will lead to a break in Swift’s career. “Did I take a nap and wake up in the 1950s?” she asks, pointing out nobody is expecting a newlywed Kelce to quit playing.
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