Good morning.
Donald Trump’s pick for Washington US attorney, Ed Martin, has repeatedly made racist comments in social media posts and columns, the Guardian can reveal.
Martin has been appointed interim US attorney for the District of Columbia and nominated to stay in the role permanently. Last week, he wrote to Georgetown law school, instructing it to cease any diversity, equity, and inclusion schemes, and claiming his office would not hire anyone connected to a university with DEI programs. He has also referred to himself as one of “President Trump’s lawyers” – rather than an independent officer sworn to uphold the US constitution.
The racist comments that have been uncovered include Martin falsely claiming that Kamala Harris “self-identified” as Black and calling her the new Rachel Dolezal (who was accused of identifying as Black although she was born to white parents), as well as pushing the false claim that Planned Parenthood targets Black communities for abortions. He also recently falsely claimed that Martin Luther King Jr was a registered Republican.
Where did these comments appear? Some appeared in columns Martin wrote for the Evening Whirl, a crime tabloid in St Louis, Missouri.
Russia says two killed in massive Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow as both sides hold peace talks
Two people have been killed after Ukraine launched its largest-ever drone attack on Moscow, Russian authorities have said. The attack came just hours before US and Ukrainian delegations met for peace talks in Saudi Arabia.
The Russian defence ministry said that Ukraine launched 337 drones at Russia overnight on Monday, including 91 at the Moscow region. Andriy Kovalenko, a senior Ukrainian official, said on Tuesday that the drone attack should encourage the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, “to be interested in a ceasefire in the air”.
As the negotiating teams met in Jeddah, the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, stressed the importance of Tuesday’s talks, imploring the delegations not to “waste this chance” and reminding them that “the whole world is watching”.
What has Ukraine said before the talks? “We are ready to do everything to achieve peace,” the Ukrainian presidency’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, told reporters. Yermak also wrote for the Guardian this morning, saying that a ceasefire has “never seemed closer”.
Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte arrested in Manila after ICC warrant
The former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has been detained in Manila after the international criminal court issued a warrant for his arrest over his so-called “war on drugs”, in which as many as 30,000 people were killed, many of them shot dead in the street.
The president’s office said Duterte, 79, was arrested on Tuesday morning at Manila airport after returning from Hong Kong. The ICC has accused him of committing crimes against humanity during his drugs crackdowns.
Duterte, who remains an influential political figure, was elected in 2016 after promising a bloody crackdown to rid the Philippines of drugs. After taking office, he publicly stated that he would kill suspected drug dealers and urged the public to kill addicts.
How did Duterte react? Responding to speculation that his arrest was imminent on Sunday, he said: “If this is really my fate in life, that’s OK, I will accept it.” But as he was arrested, he said: “You will just have to kill me. I won’t allow you to take the side of the white foreigners.”
In other news …
A judge has blocked the deportation of the Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian protests.
Global stock markets have continued to fall as concerns grow that the US’s trade war could trigger a recession.
The South Korean singer Wheesung has died aged 43 after being found unconscious in his apartment on Monday night.
Greenland’s 40,000 voters will head to the polls on Tuesday in what could be the most significant election of the country’s history amid aggression from Donald Trump and calls for independence from Denmark.
Stat of the day: Only seven countries worldwide meet WHO dirty air guidelines
Just seven countries on Earth meet the World Health Organization’s guidelines for air pollution, with the rest having dirtier air than doctors recommend breathing, a report has found. Only Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Estonia and some small island states last year met the guidelines regarding tiny toxic particles known as PM2.5.
Don’t miss this: Can pronatalists agree on how to make Americans have more babies?
Pronatalism – often defined as the belief that governments should encourage people to have children – is on the rise on the US right, bringing together a coalition of tech bros such as Elon Musk and more traditional, religious conservatives. Reproductive rights reporter Carter Sherman traces the history of the movement and examines whether this coalition is built to last.
Climate check: What the world needs now is more fossil fuels, says Trump’s energy secretary
The world needs to expand, not limit, fossil fuel exploitation, Donald Trump’s new energy secretary, Chris Wright, told representatives from the oil and gas industry on Monday. Trump received record donations from the fossil fuel industry in his 2024 campaign. Wright was a fossil fuel executive himself until he was named energy secretary.
Last Thing: Actors on how they fake being drunk or on drugs
From Industry to White Lotus and Euphoria, there has been a recent explosion in shows featuring inebriated characters. We know they’re not really snorting lines or doing shots – so what are actors’ tricks to acting under the influence? “It’s that classic thing of drunk people not trying to play drunk,” says Industry’s Sagar Radia. “Drunk people are trying to be sober!”
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