Good morning.
With the average global air temperature reaching the highest on record this week, the UN secretary general has declared that “climate change is out of control”.
“If we persist in delaying key measures that are needed, I think we are moving into a catastrophic situation, as the last two records in temperature demonstrates,” António Guterres said, referring to the world temperature records broken on Monday and Tuesday.
The average global air temperature was 17.18C (62.9F) on Tuesday, surpassing the record of 17.01C reached on Monday, according to data collated by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP).
The University of Maine found that the daily average temperature for the seven-day period ending Wednesday was .04C (.08F) higher than any week in 44 years of record-keeping.
US expected to include cluster bombs in aid package to Kyiv
The US is expected to announce a new weapons aid package to Kyiv on Friday, and Reuters is reporting that cluster bombs will be among the weapons included.
Human Rights Watch has called on Russia and Ukraine to stop using these controversial weapons, which break apart in the air and release large numbers of smaller bomblets across a wide area.
Cluster bombs pose great risk to civilians long after their use: while the bomblets are designed to detonate on hitting the ground, seriously injuring or killing anyone in the area, up to 40% of bomblets have failed to explode in some recent conflicts, essentially becoming undetonated landmines.
The indiscriminate destruction of cluster bombs has human rights groups saying that the use of them in populated areas is a violation of international humanitarian law.
More than 120 countries have signed the convention on cluster munitions, prohibiting the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of the weapons – but Russia, Ukraine and the US have all declined to sign the treaty.
Chair of Senate judiciary committee criticises US supreme court chief justice over ethics scandal
Democrat Dick Durbin, the chair of the Senate judiciary committee, is promising a vote on ethics reform legislation after a supreme court term beset by scandal over relationships between rightwing justices and wealthy donors. “The highest court in the land should not have the lowest ethical standards,” Durbin said.
Chief Justice John Roberts has refused to testify in Congress regarding reports of alleged ethics breaches concerning justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch.
Thomas’s relationship with the conservative donor Harlan Crow included gifts, luxury travel and school payments, according to ProPublica. Alito’s relationship with Paul Singer, a conservative billionaire, included a luxury fishing trip, while Politico has reported that the chief executive of a prominent law firm bought a property from Gorsuch.
In other news …
Twitter’s new volume limits on viewing posts has restricted several National Weather Service offices from receiving tweets from storm watchers who help with tracking extreme weather.
Donald Trump’s valet and co-defendant in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case pleaded not guilty yesterday at his rescheduled arraignment.
Global financial markets fell sharply yesterday, with the FTSE 100 tumbling by 161 points, or 2.2%, to finish the day at 7,280 – its lowest closing level since last November – and stocks fell by a similar amount across Europe and by more than 1% in New York.
Twitter has threatened to sue Meta over its new Threads app, claiming the company has violated Twitter’s “intellectual property rights”.
Stat of the day: deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon has dropped by 33.6%
Government satellite data shows that in the first six months of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s term, deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon has dropped by 33.6%. This comes after four years of rising destruction to the rainforest under former president Jair Bolsoñaro.
Don’t miss this: let’s talk about sex
OB-GYNs have hit TikTok, offering billions of viewers “the health class you wish you had in high school”. The hashtag #OBGYN has more than 5bn views on the app, with practitioners enjoying a particular kind of virality.
… or this: AI v the world
Leading researchers signed an open letter in March urging an immediate pause in artificial intelligence development, plus stronger regulation, due to their fears that the technology could pose “profound risks to society and humanity”. Five such researchers have now spoken to the Guardian about their fears. “The easiest scenario to imagine is simply that a person or an organization intentionally uses AI to wreak havoc,” said Yoshua Bengio, a computer science professor at the University of Montreal.
Climate check: Hotter than hot
Some more on the record-breaking heat: advocates and officials in the US are calling on the Biden administration to appoint a “heat tsar” to manage a response to the rising temperatures.
Meanwhile, Senator Bernie Sanders is calling on Congress – and the world – to act: “If there is not bold, immediate and united action by governments throughout the world, the quality of life that we are leaving our kids and future generations is very much in question,” he said.
Last Thing: ‘Anything is possible’ for Ice Spice
Ice Spice has become this year’s breakout star, with collaborations with Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj under her belt. The 23-year-old Bronx rapper spoke to the Guardian about her rise to fame and her gift for coining slang. “I always felt like I could do anything I tried to do, but especially now it feels like anything is possible,” Ice said. “Being at award shows, being on magazine covers, getting huge features – all those moments made me feel like: ‘Wow, we’re really doing it big.’”
Sign up
First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com
