First Thing: Father of Georgia school shooting suspect charged over killings

Colin Gray, 54, faces several counts of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder and cruelty to children. Plus, why so many models shoot for pop stardom

Good morning.

The father of the 14-year-old suspect in the Georgia school shooting has been arrested in connection with the incident that killed four people, the Georgia bureau of investigation has said.

Colin Gray, 54, has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, according to the bureau. His son, Colt, is suspected of killing two students and two teachers with an assault-style rifle at Apalachee high school on Wednesday.

“His charges are directly connected with the actions of his son and allowing him to possess a weapon,” Chris Hosey, the director of the Georgia bureau of investigations, said.

The 14-year-old had been charged as an adult in the deaths of students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and educators Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53, Hosey said. At least nine others – seven students and two teachers – were hospitalized with injuries.

Trump tells Jewish donors they would be ‘abandoned’ if Harris is elected

Donald Trump has told Jewish donors they would be “abandoned” if Kamala Harris won November’s presidential election as he sought to present her potential presidency in dire terms for Israel.

Without offering evidence for the claim, the Republican candidate told the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas on Thursday: “You’re going to be abandoned if she becomes president. And I think you need to explain that to your people … You’re not going to have an Israel if she becomes president.” Trump appeared remotely, dialing in to speak to an audience of more than 1,000 donors.

Trump also vowed to ban refugee resettlement from what he described as “terror-infested” areas, such as Gaza and arrest “pro-Hamas thugs” who committed vandalism, seemingly referring to pro-Palestinian student protesters.

Was Palestinian resettlement lower under Trump? Similar numbers of refugees from the territories have been admitted under the Trump and Joe Biden administrations – 114 in three years under Trump, and 124 in the same length of time under Biden.

FBI raids homes of police commissioner and top aides to New York mayor – report

Federal agents have reportedly raided the homes of senior officials in New York City mayor Eric Adams’s administration.

Early on Wednesday, agents searched the homes of Sheena Wright, the first deputy mayor; Philip Banks III, the deputy mayor for public safety; and Timothy Pearson, a mayoral adviser and former high-ranking police official, a local outlet, the City, reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Devices were also reportedly taken from the home of Edward Caban, the police commissioner, but it was unclear whether this operation was linked to those involving the Adams administration officials.

Authorities have not accused Adams or his officials of any crimes and the reason for the reported raids remains unclear. The Guardian has contacted the FBI and Adams’ office for comment.

What has the mayor said about this? “The goal is to follow the law and that is what this administration always stood for and what we’re going to continue to stand for,” Adams said on Thursday afternoon.

In other news …

A fire at a primary boarding school in the central Kenyan county of Nyeri has killed 17 students, a police spokesperson said, while 14 have been injured.

The Atlanta rap artist Rich Homie Quan died on Thursday in Atlanta, aged 34. Details of the cause of death were not immediately available.

Parents, teachers, and campaigners in Japan are calling for an end to topless school health checkups of boys and girls aged five to 18 before the start of the new academic year in April.

The founder of the Telegram messaging app, Pavel Durov, has said his arrest by French authorities is “misguided” and they should have instead contacted his company with any complaints.

Stat of the day: US families have adopted 82,674 children from China since 1992

As China takes steps to end its international adoptions program, the US is clarifying how the move will impact hundreds of American families whose applications are ongoing. Since the program began in 1992, 82,674 Chinese children have been adopted by US families.

Don’t miss this: Why do so many models shoot for pop stardom?

From Paris Hilton to Suki Waterhouse, the model-turned-pop star trajectory is a time-honored tradition. But what separates the wheat (say, Grace Jones) from the chaff (it’s reported that Tyra Banks spent six years trying to break into pop – and only produced one dreadful track)? Shaad D’Souza speaks to producers, musicians and critics about why so many aspire to pop stardom – and what it takes to succeed.

Climate check: Wind and solar farms power Britain’s grid to greenest ever summer

Britain’s power grid has had its greenest summer ever, with reliance on fossil fuels in August plummeting to less than one-fifth of all electricity, aided by growing numbers of wind and solar farms. This meant the carbon intensity of the power grid fell to its lowest-ever level over a single month – 40% lower than during last August, according to an analysis.

Last Thing: ‘The ceiling only took me five minutes’: if Michelangelo had used AI

The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel could have been painted in five minutes, if only Michelangelo had had the foresight to employ the use of artificial intelligence in his masterpiece. Here’s how that might have gone…

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