First Thing: Hegseth to overhaul US military lawyers in effort to relax rules of war

System overhaul announced as new judge advocate generals being nominated after purge of predecessors. Plus, study finds marriage triples obesity risk in men – but not women

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The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, will overhaul the US military’s lawyers in an effort to make the army less restricted by the laws of armed conflict, according to two sources close to the matter.

The reports of the system’s planned overhaul, which is expected to begin within weeks, comes as the defense department nominates new judge advocate generals (Jags) for the army, navy and air force, after Hegseth fired their predecessors last month.

The changes are expected to affect the military comprehensively – the interpretation of the US rules of engagement on the battlefield and the military justice system are both being considered.

How will the Jags overhaul do this? Sources say the aim is to retrain military lawyers to provide extensive legal advice to commanders to follow more aggressive tactics and be more lenient in charging soldiers with battlefield crimes.

Judge orders the release of Doge records

A federal judge has ordered Elon Musk and his “department of government efficiency” to hand over a range of documents, including those that would reveal the identities of staff behind the aggressive cuts to government programs.

US district judge Tanya Chutkan’s decision followed a lawsuit brought by 14 Democratic state attorneys general, who argued Musk was breaching the constitution by exercising powers that should only be held by Senate-confirmed officials. Doge has been characterized by a lack of transparency, with Musk going to great lengths to hide how it operates.

The records would reveal whether he had been operating unconstitutionally and whether Doge’s activities should cease.

Is this the only setback to Doge? No – this week, a federal judge in Washington DC found the body held so much power that its records may be subject to public requests and it should begin a “rolling” production of records within weeks.

Putin may have ‘international call’ later, says Kremlin

The Kremlin has confirmed that the US has “provided certain information” about the proposed ceasefire, following a joint announcement by Kyiv and Washington that Ukraine was ready for a temporary truce, adding that President Vladimir Putin “may have an international phone call later” on Thursday.

Putin’s call, which is widely expected to be with Donald Trump, would come after the pair’s aides spoke over the phone on Wednesday, Agence France-Presse reported. The Kremlin declined to comment on whether Russia had handed the US a list of its demands for a ceasefire.

What might Russia’s demands be? The red lines remain firm – the foreign minister spokesperson Maria Zakharova said any peacekeeping deployment of western troops or bases in Ukraine would be “unacceptable”.

In other news …

US immigration enforcement has arrested more people in February 2025 than at any point during the last seven years, a Guardian analysis has found.

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has said Democrats would not provide the votes needed to pass a stopgap funding bill, boosting the risk of a partial government shutdown this week.

The US government is relying on a rarely used provision in its attempt to deport a prominent Palestinian activist who led last year’s Columbia University protest, relating to the risk of “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences”.

Islamophobic incidents, including physical attacks, have reportedly more than doubled in Australia over the past two years, with girls and women most affected.

Stat of the day: Marriage triples risk of obesity in men – but not women

Married men are 3.2 times more likely to be obese than those who are unmarried, a study has found, but being married does not raise the risk of obesity in women. The link in men was said to potentially relate to “portion sizes, social eating, and a decline in physical activity”, whereas it was considered that women may remain “more conscious of body weight due to societal pressures”.

Don’t miss this: The artist who captured New York’s gay scene at a time of crisis

The artist Larry Stanton drew and painted gay men in New York for a handful of years before dying, aged 37, in 1984. His body of work acts as “historical documents … images and vignettes that capture a moment in time”, says John Utterson, the director of Clearing Gallery in Los Angeles, where a collection of Stanton’s art is being exhibited. The exhibition’s title, Think of Me When it Thunders, is a reference to one of the last things Stanton said to his lover.

Climate check: Trump officials to review whether greenhouse gases cause harm, despite overwhelming proof

The Trump administration plans to review the official finding that planet-heating gases harm human health, despite enormous evidence that it does. The decision jeopardizes the basis of US climate laws, which are underpinned by the 2009 finding by the US government that greenhouse gases threaten public health.

Last Thing: Bacon, mungbean and cheese? Egg prices transform a New York classic

A few years ago, it was easy to find a staple of New Yorkers’ diets – the bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich – for $3. No longer. While soaring egg prices are forcing some places to hike up their prices, with some charging more than $10, others are looking at how to replace the eggs. Mungbean sandwich, anyone?

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