First Thing: Arizona supreme court upholds near-total abortion ban

Ruling opens door for law from 1864 that went unenforced after Roe v Wade. Plus: who is ‘worthy’ of a Hermès Birkin bag?

Good morning.

The Arizona supreme court ruled on Tuesday to allow a law banning almost all abortions to go into effect. The law was passed in 1864, before Arizona became a state, but went unenforced for decades after the US supreme court legalized abortion nationwide in its 1973 decision in Roe v Wade.

“Today’s decision to reimpose a law from a time when Arizona wasn’t a state, the civil war was raging, and women couldn’t even vote will go down in history as a stain on our state,” said Kris Mayes, Arizona’s Democratic attorney general, who also vowed not to prosecute any doctors or women under the 1864 ban.

The justices ruled to hold off on requiring the state to enforce the ban for 14 days, giving advocates time to ask a lower court to pause it again.

What does this ruling mean nationally? The decision could curtail abortion access in the US south-west and make Arizona one of the biggest battlefields in the 2024 electoral fight over abortion rights.

What have abortion rights advocates been doing to counteract this ruling? Supporters of reproductive rights in Arizona are gathering signatures for a ballot measure to enshrine those rights into the state constitution. The rules require 383,923 signatures by July for a measure to get on the ballot; organizers said they have more than 500,000.

How have Arizona conservatives reacted to the ruling? With a surprising stance for a party that has historically championed abortion restrictions – denouncing the decision after some had initially supported it.

Joe Biden urges Israel to call for a ceasefire in Gaza

In an interview that aired on Tuesday, Joe Biden said the approach taken by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Gaza was a “mistake” and urged Israel to call for a ceasefire. Biden’s comments to Univision were some of his strongest criticism yet of Netanyahu amid growing tensions over the civilian death toll from Israel’s war on Hamas and dire conditions inside Gaza.

“What I’m calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country,” said Biden.

He added: “There’s no excuse to not provide for the medical and the food needs of those people. It should be done now.”

In other news …

Aimee Harris, a Florida woman, was sentenced on Tuesday to a month in prison and three months of home confinement for stealing and selling Joe Biden’s daughter’s diary to the conservative group Project Veritas.

The president of Micronesia said the US was beefing up military capabilities in the country, considering additional military projects as it pushed ahead with plans for a $400m airport upgrade.

A Missouri death row inmate was executed on Tuesday, despite an extraordinary effort by corrections officials and his appeals judge to have his capital sentence commuted.

Stat of the day: swapping red meat for herring, sardines and anchovies could save 750,000 lives

Red meat consumption has been linked with a higher risk of disease in humans as well as significant harm to the environment. However, forage fish like herring, sardines and anchovies are highly nutritious, environmentally friendly and the most abundant fish species in the world’s oceans. A new study has found that swapping red meat for forage fish could prevent 750,000 deaths a year and significantly reduce the prevalence of disability as a result of diet-related disease – in particular in low- and middle-income countries, where these fish are cheap and plentiful, and where the toll taken by heart disease in particular is high.

Don’t miss this: Bolivia’s hunt for gas

Bolivia’s gas production from ageing fields has been failing for years, against a backdrop of fluctuating global commodity prices. These fossil fuel exports were meant to fund a revolutionary leftist agenda. Now the government is scouring the country for gas reserves that could keep its fossil-fuel model of development running, opening up protected areas like the Tariquía reserve for oil and gas exploration. “Protected areas are the new extractive frontier,” said Dr Penelope Anthias, a Durham University geographer.

… or this: the racial abuse of Romeo and Juliet star

Francesca Amewudah-Rivers was targeted online with racial abuse after the announcement of her casting of Juliet in a new production of Romeo and Juliet, alongside Tom Holland as Romeo. More than 800 predominantly Black female and non-binary actors – including Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Lolly Adefope – have signed an open letter in solidarity with the actor, condemning the “too familiar horror” of racial abuse that Amewudah-Rivers has faced. “The racist and misogynistic abuse directed at such a sweet soul has been too much to bear,” the letter reads. “For a casting announcement of a play to ignite such twisted ugly abuse is truly embarrassing for those so empty and barren in their own lives that they must meddle in hateful abuse.”

Climate check: Biden requires chemical plants to reduce toxic emissions

The Biden administration announced a new mandate on Tuesday requiring more than 200 of the US’s chemical plants to reduce toxic emissions linked to cancer and to better protect communities from hazardous pollution.

“This rule will reduce a lot of hazardous air pollutants. There will be less cancer based on these emissions, there will be lives saved,” said Adam Kron, a senior attorney with Earthjustice.

Last Thing: ‘Hell hath no fury like a wealthy person being told no’

A Hermès Birkin is fashion’s most high-status handbag. While the price tag of $10,000 or more is enough to make the bag unattainable for most people, even those with the cash can’t just pop up to a shop and buy one over the counter. Now two California residents are suing the French mega-brand after being thwarted from buying the bag, accusing Hermès of “unlawful tying”: forcing customers to buy other pricey Hermès items in order to prove themselves “worthy” of a Birkin. The suit is raising questions about how Hermès cultivates an air of exclusivity in an age of resale – and shining a light on the extreme lengths some customers will go to convince Hermès that they are Birkin material.

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