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Donald Trump’s former aide Cassidy Hutchinson was told by an associate of the former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows not to cooperate with the House January 6 select committee, two sources familiar with the matter have said.
Hutchinson received a message from an associate of Meadows saying: “[A person] let me know you have your deposition tomorrow. He wants me to let you know that he’s thinking about you. He knows you’re loyal, and you’re going to do the right thing when you go in for your deposition.” The redaction was Meadows, the sources said, but the associate’s identity could not be confirmed on Thursday night.
Hutchinson also told the House investigators about a call from a Trump ally. “What they said to me is, as long as I continue to be a team player, they know that I’m on the team, I’m doing the right thing, I’m protecting who I need to protect, you know, I’ll continue to stay in the good graces in Trump World,” she said, adding that she was told to “bear in mind” that Trump will be reading the hearing’s transcripts.
What did the panel say? Vice-chair Liz Cheney described the message from Meadows’ associate as improper pressure on a witness that could extend to illegal witness tampering or intimidation.
Russian missile strikes in Odesa kill 17, Ukraine says
Russian strikes on an apartment building and a recreation centre in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa killed at least 17 in the early hours of Friday, officials in Ukraine have said.
The state emergency services (SES) said that by 6am on Friday, 14 people had been killed and 30 injured, including three children, in the attack on the nine-storey residential building. Three others, including one child, were killed in an attack on the strike on the recreation centre, with one injured, said the SES.
The Guardian could not immediately confirm details of the incident. It comes after:
Ukrainian forces pushed Russian forces from the strategic Snake Island.
Two Russian missiles hit a crowded shopping centre in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk on Monday, killing at least 18 people and wounding dozens more.
Russian forces constantly shelled the eastern Ukrainian city of Lysychansk, making it impossible for civilians to evacuate, Ukrainian officials said.
Outrage as US supreme court climate ruling ‘condemns everyone alive’
Photograph: Radius Images/Alamy
Climate scientists, lawyers and activists have described the supreme court’s ruling to curb the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory power as “devastating”.
The court’s conservative majority voted 6-3 for leading coal producer West Virginia, which sued for the EPA to have less regulatory power over fossil fuel-fired power plants without express authorization from Congress under the Clean Air Act.
The result means it may now be impossible for the US to achieve its target of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 through available avenues.
What did the ruling determine? The court’s said the Clean Air Act does not authorize anything other than direct regulation of power plants.
What did Joe Biden say? “The supreme court’s ruling in West Virginia v EPA is another devastating decision that aims to take our country backwards.” He added that he would “not relent” in using his lawful authorities to tackle the climate emergency.
In other news …
Photograph: Ministry of Culture of Peru/Reuters
Peruvian firefighters are battling a blaze that is threatening to close in on the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. The fire was started on Tuesday by farmers burning grass to sow crops.
New Zealand’s government has designated the American far-right groups the Proud Boys and the Base as terrorist organisations, joining a list of 18 others, including Islamic State. The move makes it illegal to fund, recruit or participate in the groups.
A Texas woman suspected in the fatal shooting of the professional cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson has been arrested in Costa Rica, the US Marshals Service said. Wilson, 25, was found dead on 11 May, and Austin police on 19 May issued a murder warrant for Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, 34.
The personal information of hundreds of thousands of California gun owners has been exposed in a data breach, the state’s department of justice has said, conceding the leak was far wider than it initially reported. The attorney general has ordered an inquiry.
Stat of the day: small-scale fishing communities catch more than half of the world’s fish for human consumption
Despite hauling in more than half of the world’s fish caught for human consumption, small-scale fishing communities say their voices are being ignored in favor of corporate interests. “We see the damage to the fish breeding grounds. We are the ones who fight malnutrition. We need more practitioners here to tell their stories,” said the vice-president of the African Women Fish Processors and Traders Network.
Don’t miss this: ‘An old strain of English magic had returned’: stars on why they fell in love with Kate Bush
A new generation has discovered Kate Bush’s music after Running Up that Hill appeared in an episode of Stranger Things – 37 years after its release. Here, artists share how the singer changed their lives and influenced them musically, with Placebo’s Brian Molko explaining what led the band to cover the track. “Kate created her own emotional universe,” he says.
Last Thing: You be the judge: should my girlfriend’s dog stop sleeping in our bed?
New homeowner Ronnie is happy for his girlfriend, Tilda, to bring her jack russell terrier along when she comes over – but draws the line at letting the dog into his bed. While Tilda wants her inside the duvet, claiming she’s “super clean”, Ronnie can’t get a decent night’s sleep with the dog lying on him. Who’s in the wrong?
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