US-Iran hostilities resume amid concerns at Hegseth’s military leadership | First Thing
Leading Democrat accuses secretary of defense of causing ‘lasting harm’ to US forces
Good morning. The US has launched more airstrikes on Iranian targets, prompting counterstrikes by Tehran targeting American interests in Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq. The six-month conflict had shifted into an economic standoff before this weekend’s strikes, but recent promises by both sides to respond to further attacks have highlighted how quickly the conflict could spill back into military action.
The Iranian Red Crescent said four people, including a child, were killed and more than 50 were injured when shrapnel from a US missile attack hit a home where a wedding celebration was taking place in the city of Kuhestak. The US central command spokesperson Capt Tim Hawkins said: “The US military never targets civilians.”
Why are there concerns about US military leadership? A senior Democrat accused Pete Hegseth of having “hollowed out” the army’s senior ranks after its top civilian leader, Daniel Driscoll, resigned. Senator Jack Reed said: “It is far past time for Trump to recognize the lasting harm Pete Hegseth is inflicting on the Department of Defense … cultivating a culture where dissent is punished and competence is secondary to personal allegiance.”
How do officials appear to have profited from AI stocks? Emil Michael, a Pentagon official who is overseeing military artificial intelligence policy, reaped profits this year of up to $24m by selling his private investment in Elon Musk’s AI company. He has now sold his holdings in another AI company for between $5m and $25m, according to records seen by the Guardian.
Trump homeland security chief says ICE agents could be sent to polling places
In another move that threatens to intimidate voters at November’s midterms, the US homeland security secretary, Markwayne Mullin, on Tuesday said that federal immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) officers could be deployed to polling sites across the country.
Mullin said: “ICE’s job is immigration, customs enforcement. If we’re serving a warrant we will be where we need to be.” In a separate statement, the department said: “ICE conducts intelligence-driven targeted enforcement, and if an active public safety threat endangered a polling location, they may be arrested as a result of that targeted enforcement action.” Federal law prohibits military personnel or other “armed” agents from being “at any place where a general or special election is held”.
What has a whistleblower identified as a risk to mail-in ballots? A new system to screen millions of mail-in ballots for the midterms was thrown together so hastily, and tested so little, that a single scanning glitch could mean entire batches of ballots are turned away, a whistleblower has told Congress.
Tucson police investigate deadly shooting outside gay bar as hate crime
Authorities in Tucson, Arizona, are investigating a shooting outside a gay bar that left three people dead as a possible hate crime. Police said: “Initial evidence suggests the suspect confronted the victims in the parking lot. The suspect was in possession of a note with several LGBTQIA+ associated businesses written on it. The department is currently investigating this homicide as a hate crime.”
What is the latest legal setback to the Trump administration’s attack on LGBT+ rights? A federal judge has dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit challenging California’s policy of allowing transgender youth to play on sports teams. The justice department had been fighting for a year to force California to ban trans girls from women’s sports, with the president directly singling out one trans track and field athlete in online attacks.
US officials defend Venezuela oil deal amid questions over rebuilding plan
Trump administration officials have defended a highly contentious deal giving the US control of a significant chunk of Venezuelan oil reserves. Last week, Donald Trump announced a deal that would give the US “majority” control over 65bn barrels – roughly one-fifth – of Venezuela’s oil reserves.
US officials said the agreement would create a stable economic platform to restore Venezuelan democracy after nearly three decades of autocratic rule, but the pact has provoked outrage among Venezuela’s opposition, already furious that democracy has yet to return to the country eight months after the removal of Nicolás Maduro by US special forces.
In other news …
The accused in the killing of Charlie Kirk, Tyler Robinson, must stand trial and is eligible for the death penalty, a judge has ruled.
The Democratic contender Abdul El-Sayed has hit back at JD Vance after the vice-president described him as representative of “terrible evil”.
The incumbent senator Ed Markey, 80, has won the Massachusetts Democratic primary despite his opponent claiming he was too old to be effective.
Tiger Woods is set to change his not guilty plea in the DUI case stemming from a crash in Florida this year.
A federal judge dismissed the remaining claims against Lizzo’s production company, declaring the case brought by her former wardrobe stylist could not proceed.
Stat of the day: USS Abraham Lincoln arrives at Thai port after gruelling 270 days at sea
The US aircraft carrier at the center of a row over conditions on board after months at sea as part of Trump’s war against Iran has finally arrived at a Thai port. Reports of deteriorating living conditions and poor mental health on the vessel have made headlines around the world.
Well Actually: How do you define good health – and achieve it – in a broken US medical system?
Elle Hunt speaks to Dr Lucy McBride, whose new book aims to help people navigate US healthcare – and to tread carefully in the wellness industry.
Don’t miss this: As Nepal’s morgues fill, Parkrit hopes her DNA can be used to find her mother
Cait Kelly has been in Kathmandu in the aftermath of the devastating floods in Nepal. A week on from the disaster, she reports how authorities are urging relatives of the thousands of missing and dead to provide blood samples.
… or this: Modern Family’s Mitch and Cam on their hilarious and groundbreaking love
The on-screen love between Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron (Eric Stonestreet) in Modern Family was a rare example of a gay couple raising a child on TV. Hannah Verdier has spoken to the two actors whose chemistry made them one of the most adored on-screen couples of the era.
Climate check: Global heating will hit at least 1.8C, UN warns, and there are ‘no good outcomes’
A report by the UN Environment Programme has confirmed overshooting the 1.5C goal inscribed in the Paris agreement is now “unavoidable”. It said the best hope to limit the impact was to adopt an “overshoot, peak and decline” pathway, but that human health, water supplies, nature, cities, infrastructure and economies could all be severely damaged, and some losses would be irreversible.
Last Thing: Australian police investigate after 5,500 sheep stolen from farm
It sounds like a heist at an incredible scale. Queensland police are investigating after about 5,500 Dorper sheep worth more than $1.2m USD were allegedly stolen from a farm in western Queensland.
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