Good morning.
A major security leak is triggering bipartisan outrage after the Atlantic revealed that senior Trump administration officials accidentally broadcast highly sensitive military plans through a Signal group chat with a journalist reading along.
According to the Atlantic, the editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was accidentally invited into a Signal chat group with more than a dozen senior Trump administration officials – including the vice-president, JD Vance, the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, the national security adviser, Mike Waltz, the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, and others.
The group discussed secret military plans for recent US attacks on the Houthi armed group in Yemen.
The leak has shocked people across the political spectrum. The minority Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, called it “one of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time”. He urged Republicans to seek a full investigation.
What did Hegseth say? On Monday Hegseth said that “nobody was texting war plans” and attacked Goldberg as “deceitful and highly discredited” without refuting any specifics from the Atlantic story.
Court rejects use of Alien Enemies Act, saying Nazis had more rights than Venezuelan migrants
An appeals court judge claimed on Monday that Nazis were given more rights to contest their removal from the United States during the second world war than Venezuelan migrants deported by the Trump administration.
The comments came during a contentious hearing shortly after a lower court thwarted the Trump administration’s effort to deport migrants under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The court rejected its use and ruled accused migrants must get hearings first.
What does the administration claim? That the Alien Enemies Act, which permits deportation of foreign nationals during wars or invasions, is applicable because the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua’s activities constitute an “invasion”. But they have not provided solid evidence that those deported are even gang members: one is a 23-year-old gay makeup artist with no apparent gang affiliations.
Israeli airstrikes kill at least 65 people in Gaza in 24 hours, says health authority
Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 65 people in Gaza in the past 24 hours, including women, children and two journalists, the Palestinian health authority said on Monday, nearly a week after Israel broke its ceasefire with Hamas.
Palestinians in Gaza have again been fleeing for their lives after Israel launched its new offensive in the territory, which started on Tuesday last week with a wave of airstrikes that killed about 700 people, mostly civilians, according to the Palestinian health ministry in the territory run by Hamas – ending two months of relative calm in which many had returned north to their damaged homes.
How many people have been killed in the war? The Gaza health ministry said at least 50,082 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza and another 113,408 had been wounded since the beginning of the war, which began after Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages on 7 October 2023.
And how many journalists? More than 170 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 2023, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), whose director said in a statement: “This nightmare in Gaza has to end. The international community must act fast to ensure that journalists are kept safe and hold Israel to account.”
In other news …
The discovery of underground ovens and 200 pairs of shoes in what activists call an “extermination camp” has horrified Mexico, sparking protests and spotlighting the more than 120,000 people registered as missing.
Ukraine has accused Moscow of making “hollow statements about peace” after 88 people were injured in a Russian missile attack, as US and Russian officials began talks in Saudi Arabia.
Turkish authorities arrested more than 1,100 people, including journalists, after tens of thousands took part in anti-government protests.
Swedish shoppers boycotted major supermarkets for seven days, protesting over “runaway” food price rises.
Stat of the day: Tesla’s European sales drop 44% in potential Musk backlash
Tesla car sales slumped in Europe last month, reflecting a backlash over Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration. The carmaker sold fewer than 16,000 vehicles across Europe last month, down 44%, according to Jato Dynamics. Meanwhile, police in Texas said they found and seized “incendiary devices” at a Tesla dealership in Austin yesterday.
Don’t miss this: Where do our early childhood memories go? – podcast
It’s a mystery that has long puzzled researchers: why can’t people remember early childhood? Freud called the phenomenon infantile amnesia, and for many years scientists wondered whether it resulted from trouble in creating or retrieving memories. Now, research appears to suggest an answer.
Climate check: US honeybee deaths hit record highs
US honeybee deaths have hit record highs, with some commercial beekeepers reporting the loss of 60% of their colonies on average over winter, a survey found. It’s pushing many beekeepers close to ruin. “There’s no one single thing affecting honeybees but we are trying to figure out what the most important stresses are right now,” said Scott McArt, a Cornell associate professor.
Last Thing: British campaigner saves village’s last red phone box
Derek Harris has lived in Sharrington, England, for 50 years. In January he heard that the telecoms firm BT would be withdrawing the village’s telephone box. But he and other campaigners argued it was an “iconic heritage asset,” and vital to combat poor phone signal. Yesterday, BT backtracked: the village’s red box will stay connected.
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