Good morning.
Joe Biden has confirmed he will send medium-range advanced rocket systems to Kyiv, a critical weapon that Ukrainian leaders have been asking for as they struggle to stall Russian progress in the Donbas region.
The high-mobility artillery rocket systems are part of a new $700m tranche of security assistance for Ukraine from the US that will include helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, tactical vehicles, spare parts and more, according to two senior administration officials. The weapons package will be formally disclosed on Wednesday.
In a New York Times guest essay published on Tuesday, Biden said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would end through diplomacy but that the US must provide significant weapons and ammunition to give Ukraine the highest leverage at the negotiating table.
“That’s why I’ve decided that we will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine,” Biden wrote.
How has Russia reacted? Russia has said that the US decision is extremely negative and will increase the risk of a direct confrontation. “Attempts to present the decision as containing an element of ‘self-restraint’ are useless,” said the Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov.
What are the advanced rockets US is sending Ukraine? The new weapon is the Himars multiple-launch rocket system, or MLRS: a mobile unit that can simultaneously launch multiple precision-guided missiles.
‘Humble and charismatic’: Uvalde shooting victims mourned at first funerals
Funerals for the victims of the Uvalde elementary school shooting began in the small Texas town on Tuesday.
In the afternoon, hundreds of mourners turned out for the funeral mass for Amerie Jo Garza, a fourth-grader who was killed a week ago after an 18-year-old gunman who was eventually killed by law enforcement murdered 19 children and two teachers at Robb elementary school.
Nineteen more funerals are planned over the next two-and-a-half weeks. On Monday and Tuesday, visitations were held for two victims. Amerie Jo Garza and Maite Rodriguez, whose funeral was on Tuesday evening, were both 10 years old. Visitations for one of the teachers, 48-year-old Irma Garcia, and for two more children, Nevaeh Bravo and Jose Flores Jr, were also held on Tuesday.
At the afternoon funeral for Amerie, Sacred Heart Catholic church turned away several mourners after reaching capacity. Hundreds were inside. Six pallbearers wearing white shirts and gloves carried a small casket.
What’s happening with the push for better gun laws? Texas leaders are under growing pressure to increase gun control measures in the face of data indicating the state leads the US in mass shooting deaths, while Republicans have steadily eased restrictions on weapons and cut mental health spending.
Peter Navarro subpoena suggests DoJ may be investigating Trump
Peter Navarro, a top White House adviser to Donald Trump, is being commanded by a federal grand jury subpoena to turn over to the justice department his communications with the former president, the former president’s attorneys and the former president’s representatives.
The exact nature of the subpoena – served on 26 May 2022 and first obtained by the Guardian – and whether it means Trump himself is under criminal investigation for January 6 could not be established given the unusually sparse details included on the order.
But certain elements appear to suggest that it is related to a new investigation examining potential criminality by the former president and, at the very least, that the justice department is expanding its inquiry for the first time into Trump and his inner circle.
The subpoena compelled Navarro to either testify to a grand jury early next month, or produce to prosecutors all documents requested in a separate congressional subpoena issued earlier this year by the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack.
What did the justice department say in the subpoena? “All documents relating to the subpoena dated 9 February 2022, that you received from the House select committee including but not limited to any communication with former President Trump and/or his counsel or representatives.”
In other news …
Hurricane Agatha caused flooding and mudslides that killed at least 10 people and left 20 missing, the governor of the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca said yesterday. Alejandro Murat said rivers overflowed their banks and swept away people in homes, while other victims were buried under mud and rocks.
A man died searching for Frisbees in a lake at a disc golf course where people are warned by signs to beware of alligators, police in Florida have said. The unidentified man was looking for flying discs in the water and “a gator was involved”, the Largo police department said in an email yesterday.
New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern, has met Joe Biden to discuss shared concerns about China’s growing influence in the Pacific, as well as extremism and dealing with the aftermath of mass shootings. “Your leadership has taken on a critical role in this global stage,” Biden told her.
The Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is facing new criminal accusations that could extend his current prison term by 15 years. In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Navalny said an investigator had visited him to declare that the authorities had opened a new investigation against him.
Don’t miss this: the US chef who helped ramen conquer the world
Ivan Orkin spent years learning about Japanese cooking – and especially how to perfect the celebrated noodles. Though born in Long Island, he has spent much of his life in Tokyo, raising a family while attempting, in the words of the Wall Street Journal’s Yuka Hayashi, to “out-noodle the Japanese” – though Orkin would probably argue that he was simply trying to create something that wouldn’t get him laughed out of his adopted home town. He reveals the secret to the perfect bowl.
Climate check: we cannot adapt our way out of climate crisis, warns leading scientist
The world cannot adapt its way out of the climate crisis, and counting on adaptation to limit damage is no substitute for urgently cutting greenhouse gases, a leading climate scientist has warned. Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy in the US and a professor at Texas Tech University, said the world was heading for dangers unseen in the 10,000 years of human civilisation, and efforts to make the world more resilient were needed but by themselves could not soften the impact enough.
Last Thing: Maverick sparks joy in Taiwan after its flag features on Tom Cruise jacket
When the trailer for Top Gun: Maverick was first released online, keen-eyed viewers noticed a key detail from the 1986 original had changed: Taiwanese and Japanese flag patches on the back of a jacket worn by Tom Cruise appeared to have gone, leading to speculation they were removed to appease China’s censors. But the two flags remain in the cut being screened in Taiwan, with local news outlet Setn reporting that audiences at an advance screening cheered and applauded at the sight of the jacket.
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