Good morning.
Donald Trump is scheduled to surrender to federal authorities in Washington this afternoon and enter a not guilty plea to charges that he conspired to defraud the US among other crimes in seeking to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The twice-impeached former president, who has now been indicted three times since leaving the White House, was expected to be booked and fingerprinted in the federal district court before being escorted to his arraignment, which has been set for 4pm.
Trump was expected to make his first appearance in the case in person, according to people briefed on the matter, and to travel for the arraignment from his Bedminster club in New Jersey to Washington with his lawyers and several top campaign staffers.
The former president’s initial appearance to enter a plea formally starts the months-long pretrial process that will run into the timetable for his other criminal trials next year and the 2024 presidential race, where Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination.
Can Trump still run in 2024 after his indictment? The US constitution does not bar those convicted of a crime from running for president. There could be a pathway to blocking him, however, through the constitution’s 14th amendment. That provision says someone cannot hold office if they have taken an oath to the US, as Trump did when he was inaugurated, and engage in “insurrection or rebellion” against the country.
What happens if Trump wins the election next November? If Trump takes office while the charges are still pending against him, he is likely to move to quickly get rid of the charges. He would almost certainly appoint an attorney general who would fire the special counsel Jack Smith. If he has already been convicted, Trump could theoretically pardon himself, an untested legal idea.
Body caught in Rio Grande floating barrier, says Mexico
A body has been found stuck in a floating barrier installed by Texas authorities in the Rio Grande River on the US border, Mexico’s foreign ministry has said.
Authorities were working to identify the body and determine the cause of death, Mexico’s foreign ministry said, as it reiterated safety concerns.
The crossing is a popular area for people seeking to reach the US. The Texas government installed the barrier in July and said at the time the buoys would “help deter illegal immigrants attempting to make the dangerous river crossing into Texas”.
The Texas government did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
What has Mexico said about the barrier? Mexico has sent two diplomatic letters to the US saying the barrier violates a water treaty and may encroach on Mexican territory, according to a statement from Mexican authorities published last week. The Mexican foreign ministry said: “We are concerned about the impact on migrants’ human rights and personal security that these state policies could have, as they go in the opposite direction to close collaboration.”
In other news …
Hundreds of people at the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea have fallen ill as an extended heatwave affects large swathes of the country. The event, which started earlier this week, has drawn 43,000 young Scouts from 158 countries.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence has issued its daily public intelligence briefing on the war, and today it concerns Ukraine’s natural environment. It writes: “Undergrowth regrowing across the battlefields of southern Ukraine is likely one factor contributing to the generally slow progress of combat in the area.”
A jury imposed the death penalty on a man who spewed antisemitic hate before fatally shooting 11 worshippers at a synagogue in the heart of the Jewish community of Pittsburgh. Robert Bowers, a truck driver now 50 years old, perpetrated the deadliest attack on Jews in US history on 27 October 2018.
Former dancers for Lizzo are speaking out after they sued the artist for sexual harassment, racial discrimination and fostering a hostile work environment. Two plaintiffs in the case, Arianna Davis, 24, and Crystal Williams, 26, talked openly in interviews about the suffering they said they endured by Lizzo, whose legal name is Melissa Jefferson.
Greenpeace activists have climbed on the roof of the UK prime minister’s North Yorkshire mansion and draped it in oil-black fabric to “drive home the dangerous consequences of a new drilling frenzy”. The climbers managed to get on top of Rishi Sunak’s house while he was in California with his family.
Stat of the day: Orlando Magic NBA team donated $50,000 to Ron DeSantis Super Pac
The Orlando Magic NBA team has donated $50,000 to a Super Pac supporting Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis’s presidential bid. According to Federal Election Commission records, the Never Back Down Super Pac received the donation made by the basketball team on 26 June. Further results showed the team making donations to other political causes in past years, with $500 going to Conservative Results in 2016, $2,000 to Maverick Pac USA in 2014 and another $500 to Linda Chapin for Congress in 2000.
The donation has drawn criticism online, particularly given the Magic’s claims of supporting “diversity, equity and inclusion all year long” and DeSantis’s culture wars in which he announced plans to block DEI programs in state colleges among other legislation targeting minority and marginalized groups, including LGBTQ+ communities.
Don’t miss this: ‘Everything you’ve been told is a lie!’ Inside the wellness-to-fascism pipeline
Jane – not her real name – is nervous about speaking to me, writes James Ball. Jane isn’t trying to blow the whistle on government corruption or organised crime: she wants to tell me about her old meditation group. The group had met happily for decades, she says, aligned around a shared interest in topics including “environmental issues, spiritual issues and alternative health”. It included several people whom Jane considered close friends, and she thought they were all on the same page.
Then Covid came. “They have been moving generally to far-right views, bordering on racism, and really pro-Russian views, with the Ukraine war,” she says. “It started very much with health, with ‘Covid doesn’t exist’, anti-lockdown, anti-masks, and it became anti-everything: the BBC lie, don’t listen to them; follow what you see on the internet.”
This apparent radicalisation of a nice, middle-class, hippy-ish group feels as if it should be a one-off, but the reality is very different. The “wellness-to-woo pipeline” – or even “wellness-to-fascism pipeline” – has become a cause of concern to people who study conspiracy theories.
Climate check: California’s largest wildfire of the year threatens fragile desert ecosystem
The hundreds of firefighters battling California’s largest wildfire this year in the Mojave national preserve have to work strategically to avoid disrupting a fragile ecosystem. The York fire, which erupted last Friday, has burned through more than 125 sq miles (323.7 sq km) across the California desert toward the Nevada border. The preserve’s delicate ecosystem, home to desert tortoises and about 200 rare plants, has already undergone devastating damage. The blaze has destroyed pinyon pines, junipers and probably many of the region’s famous, spikey-topped Joshua trees. Joshua trees, which are unique to this region of the world, are particularly vulnerable to wildfire since they have not adapted to surviving big fires. The trees burned in this year’s catastrophic blaze are unlikely to regrow, said Ileene Anderson, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity.
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