Good morning.
The US government system “nearly failed” on January 6, the House select committee’s chairman has warned while a conservative judge underlined that Donald Trump and his allies remain a “a clear and present danger to American democracy”.
Judge J Michael Luttig, who was an adviser to the former vice-president Mike Pence, told the hearing that Trump and his Republican backers were openly preparing an “attempt to overturn that 2024 election in the same way that they attempted to overturn the 2020 election, but [to] succeed”.
The committee hearing also detailed how the former president imperilled Pence’s life by falsely claiming he had the power to refuse to count votes for Joe Biden. Just 40ft divided the former vice-president from the mob Trump whipped up on January 6: some chanted “Hang Mike Pence” and a gallows was erected outside.
When Trump heard about the chant, the panel’s deputy committee chair said, “the president responded … ‘Maybe our supporters have the right idea.’ Mike Pence ‘deserves it’.”
How widespread is Trump’s lie among Republicans? More than 100 Republicans who have won primaries for midterm elections this year back Trump’s lie about electoral fraud in 2020, according to the Washington Post.
Top Republican negotiator walks out of Senate gun talks
The lead Republican negotiator in US Senate talks for a bipartisan gun safety bill walked out of negotiations on Thursday, telling reporters that he was “through talking”.
Senator John Cornyn said he had not abandoned the negotiations but was returning to Texas amid an impasse, reducing the chances of a vote on the legislation before the Senate breaks up for a two-week July 4 recess.
The group has been developing legislation to deal with gun violence after the Uvalde school shooting in Texas, which happened just 10 days after another gunman killed 10 people in Buffalo, New York.
A shooting at a church in a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama killed two people and wounded two others on Thursday, police have said. The suspect was taken into custody.
Russia has ‘strategically lost’ war, says UK defence chief
Russia has already “strategically lost” the war in Ukraine and will never be able to take control of the entire country, the head of the UK’s armed forces has said.
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said Russia was suffering heavy losses for marginal gains and would emerge from the conflict a “more diminished power” while bolstering Nato. “Putin has used about 25% of his army’s power to gain a tiny amount of territory and 50,000 people either dead or injured,” he said.
Meanwhile the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, gave an interview with the BBC on Thursday, saying: “Russia is not squeaky clean. Russia is what it is. And we are not ashamed of showing who we are.” When asked about alleged war crimes against civilians, he accused the UN of spreading “fake news”.
What does western intelligence say? British intelligence reports appear to echo claims about casualties. Some Russian battalion tactical groups – usually made up of about 600 to 800 personnel – have included as few as 30 soldiers.
The US state department is aware of a photograph appearing to show two missing Americans believed to have been captured by Russian forces while volunteering to defend Ukraine, a relative of one of the men has said.
In other news …
The last remaining UN humanitarian aid route into Syria is likely to be closed amid the collapse in relations between Russia and the west. The security council will vote on 10 July on whether to keep the Bab al-Hawa crossing from Turkey open; this year, more Syrians are at risk of hunger than at any other point during the conflict.
Japanese schoolchildren have once again been allowed to talk to their friends during lunch break, after the Covid rule of mokushoku – silent eating – was scrapped. It comes as cases fall nationally and amid concern about children’s development.
An investigation has been launched into the death of a disabled passenger who reportedly fell after disembarking from a plane at London Gatwick airport without a helper. An airport spokesperson said staff shortages “were not a factor” in the passenger falling down an escalator.
Stat of the day: 85% to 90% of the food eaten in Maui is imported
Once an abundant source of food and medicine, Maui now imports between 85% and 90% of its food. But a growing food and land sovereignty movement in Hawaii is working to bring back the lost thriving landscape, with Indigenous farmers pushing back against the dominance of agrochemical transnationals in the state.
Don’t miss this: Jay-Z’s bitcoin school met with skepticism in his former housing project
While hip-hop’s first confirmed billionaire raps about staying close to his roots, residents of the Marcy Houses where Jay-Z grew up have met his plan offer them a free “financial literacy” cryptocurrency course with skepticism. Many reacted to the idea of joining the Bitcoin Academy with frustration: “People don’t want to be investing money knowing that they might have a chance of losing it,” one 58-year-old retiree said.
Climate check: UN climate talks end in stalemate and ‘hypocrisy’ allegation
Climate campaigners have accused western countries of seeking to exploit the fossil fuel reserves of the developing world while failing to help them deal with the climate emergency. Countries including Germany are planning to ramp up their imports of fossil fuels to replace gas from Russia amid the Ukraine war.
Last Thing: Experience: I am the dullest man in Britain
Kevin Beresford, a proud member of the Dull Men’s Club, has been crowned the most boring man in Britain. The international collective (which welcomes women to its ranks) finds “joy in the mundane”; Beresford, who once created a bestselling calendar celebrating the traffic circles in his town, has this quality in spades.
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