First Thing: Fears Iran’s attack on Israel has shifted focus from Gaza aid effort
Good morning,
Iran’s attack on Israel tested the country’s air defences, but has for now repaired Tel Aviv’s fractured relationship with Washington – pushing the war and tightening famine in Gaza out of the headlines and down the diplomatic agenda.
Hunger and malnutrition have already claimed an estimated 27 young lives. And for many more – half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are under 18 – it may be too late to reverse the excruciating toll that starvation takes on small, growing bodies. Last week, Samantha Power, the head of USAid, became the first American official to confirm publicly that in some areas, famine had already taken hold.
In Gaza, where almost all the civilian population is displaced and hungry after more than six months of war, the shift in global attention has been felt acutely. “Countries and peoples were sympathetic to us, but now sympathy has shifted to Israel,” said Bashir Alyan, a 52-year-old former employee of the Palestinian Authority, now living in a tent in Rafah with his five children. “Israel became the victim overnight.”
What’s the latest on famine in Gaza? The UN World Food Programme says malnutrition is spreading at record pace among children. More than 90% of young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women are subsisting on two or fewer food groups – mainly bread – with no access to fruit, vegetables, milk or proteins.
Compounding the problem: Gaza’s healthcare system has collapsed, making malnutrition alleviation nearly impossible.
What is Israel’s position on retaliation against Iran? On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff said the “launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles and drones” will “be met with a response.” The IDF interprets the use of ballistic missiles as an escalatory factor by Iran.
Trump’s historic criminal trial enters second day as jury selection continues
Donald Trump’s Manhattan hush-money trial enters its second day on Tuesday morning with continued jury selection.
On Monday, at least 50 people selected as potential jurors – out of the first prospective group of 96 – said they could not serve on the jury because they could not be impartial.
The commencement of Trump’s trial marked a momentous day in US history: he became the first current or former American president to face a criminal trial.
Here’s what to expect for Tuesday: Jury selection is likely to rumble on, amid difficulty in finding jurors without strong views on the former president. On Monday in the courtroom, Trump appeared to nod off.
What is Trump saying? The former president continued to attack the trial – which concerns 34 felony counts over alleged payments to the adult film star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal – as a scam and a political smear campaign.
ACLU attacks ‘awful’ result for Idaho transgender youth after supreme court allows state to enforce treatment ban
The supreme court – voting split between its six conservative vs three liberal justices – allowed Idaho to enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth while lawsuits over the law proceed, reversing lower courts.
The justices’ order on Monday allows Idaho to enact a 2023 law that subjects physicians to up to 10 years in prison if they provide hormones, puberty blockers or other gender-affirming care to people under age 18.
The ACLU, representing the teens, said it was “an awful result for transgender youth and their families across the state”.
What do medical professionals say? Gender-affirming care for youth is supported by every major medical organization, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association.
What is the context of the Idaho ban? Republican lawmakers have sought to prohibit access to gender-affirming care for minors. At least 23 states have enacted laws restricting care, and most of those states face lawsuits.
In other news …
The World Bank said the Covid pandemic had a devastating effect on the world’s poorest countries, bringing poverty reduction to a halt and leading to a widening income gap with the west.
Ukraine accused Russia of endangering the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in “a well-planned false-flag operation”, in exchanges at the UN security council.
Liz Truss, the ex-UK prime minister who held office for 49 days after her uncosted libertarian vision spooked British financial markets, publishes her memoir on Tuesday, which pitches a populist, Trumpian agenda.
The chief weapons handler on Rust was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Monday, for the 2021 fatal on-set shooting of the movie’s cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by Alec Baldwin.
Don’t miss this: what explains the unstoppable rise of Shein?
Shein – which launched in 2011 in Nanjing, China – is the largest fast-fashion retailer by sales in the US. The tag #Sheinhaul has been viewed a collective 14.2bn times on TikTok. How did the company achieve domination? And what about allegations that some factory employees work 18-hour days, making poverty wages at less than 4¢ a garment? Nicole Lipman goes down the Shein rabbit hole.
Climate check: New Mexico’s rivers are US’s most threatened waterways after 2023 supreme court ruling
New Mexico’s rivers are America’s most threatened waterways, according to conservation group American Rivers. This is largely due to a 2023 supreme court decision that left more than 90% of the state’s surface waters without federal protections from industrial pollution, according to state officials. “Virtually all the rivers in New Mexico are losing clean water protections,” American Rivers’ Matt Rice said.
Last Thing: 80ft statue of Goofy? A Tarzan deathtrap? Disneyland’s scrapped rides
This month, Heritage Auctions sold off a collection of Disney-commissioned artworks for rides and attractions, conceived for Disneyland but never built. They included some off-the-wall ideas. For instance, an 80ft statue of Goofy dressed up as a clown, a Tarzan-themed area where children could swing freely on jungle vines, a Pinocchio-themed water flume shooting visitors through a whale mouth, or the cryptically named Anything Can Happen Land.
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