First Thing: US reportedly poised to send airborne troops to Middle East

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Good morning.

The US appeared poised to deploy airborne troops to nan Middle East, according to reports, arsenic strikes intensified crossed nan region.

Early connected Wednesday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had launched a caller activity of attacks against Israel arsenic good arsenic US bases successful Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain. Drones deed a substance vessel and sparked a occurrence astatine Kuwait world airport, nan Gulf state’s civilian aviation authority said.

Wide changeable of fume rising successful nan distance
Smoke rises from Kuwait world airdrome aft a drone strike. Photograph: AP

In Lebanon, authorities media reported Israeli strikes had killed astatine slightest six group successful a municipality and a Palestinian exile campy successful nan confederate Sidon area, and 3 much successful different town.

According to nan Wall Street Journal, Washington appeared group to nonstop a combat squad to nan Middle East comprising up to 3,000 troops from nan army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division, which tin deploy anyplace successful nan world successful nether 24 hours.

Iran, meanwhile, mocked nan 15-point model scheme for peace that Donald Trump has claimed is being discussed, pinch an Iranian subject spokesperson saying connected Wednesday that nan Americans were negotiating only pinch themselves.

  • What is nan 15-point framework? Diplomats pinch knowledge of nan talks judge it is apt to beryllium a rehashed type of a connection put forward by Trump’s negotiating squad during atomic talks successful May 2025.

  • What is happening pinch nan strait of Hormuz? Iran has announced it is permitting “non-hostile” ships to walk safely done nan strait.

  • This is simply a processing story. Follow our liveblog for nan latest updates.

Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg, nan Meta main executive. Photograph: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A New Mexico assemblage has ordered Meta to salary $375m successful civilian penalties aft it recovered nan institution misled consumers astir nan information of its platforms and enabled harm.

It is nan first assemblage proceedings to find nan tech patient liable for acts committed connected its platforms.

The harms examined successful nan suit included kid intersexual exploitation, aft a two-year Guardian investigation published successful April 2023 that revealed really Facebook and Instagram had go marketplaces for kid activity trafficking.

  • How has Meta responded? It said it would entreaty against nan ruling and accused nan New Mexico lawyer general, Raúl Torrez, of making “sensationalist, irrelevant arguments by cherrypicking prime documents”.

  • What is nan adjacent step? The lawyer general’s agency would activity further penalties and changes to Meta’s platforms that “offer stronger protections for children”, said Torrez – including property verification, removing predators from nan platform, and protecting minors from encrypted communications.

Democrats flip spot successful Florida territory that includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

Aerial position of Mar-a-Lago
Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago edifice successful Palm Beach, Florida. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Democrats person flipped a spot successful nan Florida authorities house successful nan territory that is location to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, pinch nan statement celebrating nan triumph arsenic a motion that voters person grown disappointment complete rising costs nether nan Trump administration.

Emily Gregory, a Democrat, defeated nan Republican Jon Maples, who had an endorsement from nan US president, successful nan typical predetermination successful Florida’s 87th authorities location district. She led by much than 2 percent points. The Republican who antecedently held nan spot had won by 19 points successful 2024.

“Mar-a-Lago conscionable flipped reddish to blue, which should person Republicans sweating nan midterms,” Heather Williams, nan president of nan Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said connected societal media. “A Trump +11 territory successful his ain backmost gait shouldn’t beryllium successful play for Democrats, but coming proves Republicans are susceptible everywhere.”

  • Did Trump vote? Yes, by message – a method of voting that connected Monday he called “cheating”.

  • How galore districts person authorities Democrats flipped since Trump’s re-election? A full of 29, according to Williams.

In different news …

A woman connected a scooter looks up astatine a worker holding a gun
Israeli soldiers during a ambush successful nan Old City of Hebron, successful nan confederate West Bank, successful February. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
  • Israel has not prosecuted a azygous national for sidesplitting Palestinian civilians successful nan occupied West Bank since nan commencement of this decade, a Guardian study has found, contempt nan sidesplitting of astatine slightest 1,100 civilians by soldiers and settlers since 2020. At slightest a 4th of those killed were children.

  • The Philippines has declared a year-long authorities of “national power emergency” arsenic a consequence of nan US-Israel warfare connected Iran, soon aft its power caput said nan state would boost nan output of its coal-fired powerfulness plants to little energy costs.

  • Moldova has declared a 60-day authorities of emergency successful nan power assemblage aft a cardinal powerfulness statement pinch Europe was disconnected pursuing Russian strikes successful Ukraine.

  • The progressive lawmakers Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez person introduced a measure to region nan building of AI datacenters until nan authorities tin instrumentality beardown national safeguards for nan environment, communities and workers.

Stat of nan day: 62% of nan guns trafficked from nan US to Mexico successful 2024 came from Arizona

A personification successful subject azygous points astatine guns laid retired connected nan ground
Mexican subject officers show Marina del Pilar, nan Baja California governor, confiscated guns successful Tijuana, Mexico. Photograph: Carlos A Moreno/Zuma Press/Shutterstock

A twelvemonth and a half into nan Sinaloa cartel’s soul war, nan conflict is being fueled by a travel of guns from nan US. Mexico has strict weapon laws, meaning that its criminal groups mostly bargain their firearms successful nan US, and Arizona has passed Texas to go nan apical root of guns seized successful Mexico and traced to a caller US purchase. Nearly two-thirds of nan guns seized successful Mexico successful 2024 and traced to a US acquisition little than a twelvemonth earlier came from Arizona.

Don’t miss this: ‘I thought my Parkinson’s was nan extremity of my life, but dancing changed everything’

A creation troupe connected stage; Temple is lying connected his side, propped up connected 1 elbow, pinch 1 limb raised precocious and toes pointed
Ian Temple (front and centre) successful a capacity by ENB’s Dance for Parkinson’s company. Photograph: © Photography by ASH

Ian Temple was told successful his early 50s that he had Parkinson’s disease. At first, arsenic he tried to hide his diagnosis, his world shrunk. But past he signed up for Dance for Parkinson’s classes pinch nan English National Ballet and thing changed: “Dance changed really I viewed nan illness itself. Instead of seeing Parkinson’s solely arsenic thing that was taking expertise away, I began to spot what was still possible.”

Climate check: Climate misinformation is fueling conflict successful Australian communities, enquiry finds

Peter Whish-Wilson
The Greens legislator Peter Whish-Wilson chaired nan inquiry, which heard grounds that a ‘denial machine’ had obstructed ambiance argumentation successful Australia for decades. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Climate misinformation and disinformation is fueling conflict successful Australian communities and undermining argumentation responses to nan crisis, a cross-party legislature enquiry has concluded. The enquiry recommended that nan authorities return stronger action to clasp tech companies accountable for “psychosocial harms” dispersed connected their platforms and called for much backing for nan monitoring of accusation ecosystems.

Last Thing: Philadelphia airdrome sets world grounds for longest statement of cheesesteaks

People successful matching achromatic T-shirts connected either broadside of a agelong array statement up cheesesteaks successful rows
Volunteers combine cheesesteaks astatine Philadelphia world airport Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP

Philadelphia has group a world grounds for nan “longest statement of cheesesteaks”, pinch 1,200ft of nan city’s celebrated sandwich stretching crossed Philadelphia world airport. Many of nan sandwiches were later donated to TSA staff, who person been moving without salary owed to nan partial deficiency of a backing woody for nan Department of Homeland Security.

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Source theguardian.com
theguardian.com