First Thing: Mark Meadows testifies in Georgia Trump case

Trump’s White House chief of staff argues he acted in capacity as federal officer and that case should be moved to federal court. Plus, has humanity finally broken the climate?

Good morning.

The sprawling 41-count indictment of Donald Trump and 18 other defendants in Fulton county had its first test yesterday as Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, took the stand before a federal judge over his request to move his Georgia election interference case from state to federal court.

Meadows testified for nearly three hours before the court broke for lunch, defending his actions as Trump’s chief of staff while avoiding questions regarding whether he believed Trump won in 2020.

Meadows faces two felony charges, including racketeering and solicitation of a violation of oath by a public officer. But Meadows argued that he acted in his capacity as a federal officer and thus is entitled to immunity – and that his case should be heard before a federal judge.

Meadows swiftly filed a motion to move his case to the federal US district court of northern Georgia after Fani Willis, the Fulton county district attorney, handed down her indictment.

• How did Willis respond? In a response, Willis argued that Meadows’ actions violated the Hatch Act, a federal law that prohibits government officials from using their position to influence the results of an election and were therefore outside his capacity as chief of staff.

• Where does each investigation against Trump stand? After four arrests in as many months, Donald Trump has now been charged with 91 felony counts across criminal cases in New York, Florida, Washington and Georgia. The former president and current frontrunner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary faces the threat of prison time if he is convicted. Here’s where each case against Trump stands.

Republicans give $101m to sports arena as myriad needs loom over Louisiana

Louisiana lawmakers have faced backlash for using some of their spring legislative session’s final moments not to address some of their state’s myriad needs – but instead to grant the multimillion-dollar wish of the state flagship university’s championship-winning women’s basketball coach.

Poverty, poor education and insufficient healthcare have loomed over Louisiana for decades and have earned the state the country’s lowest rankings in each category, according to the US News and World Report. Louisiana ranks 50th – dead last – in crime and economy, 49th in infrastructure and 46th in education when compared to the rest of the nation, the report says.

However, despite these jarring numbers, the budget approved by the Republican-dominated state legislature slated $101m to a foundation which financially supports Louisiana State University athletics – and it was earmarked to renovate the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, which is best known these days for hosting the women’s basketball team’s home games.

The last-minute line funding renovations at the facility nicknamed the PMAC came at the request of Kim Mulkey, the women’s basketball team’s head coach, who is known for her flamboyant fashion sense as well as her outspokenness about the venue’s need for repairs. But giving fees and self-generated revenue from the state to the private foundation in question would also be illegal, Louisiana’s Democratic governor John Bel Edwards has recently said.

• What did the commissioner of admission, Jay Dardenne, say? In an interview he said that the PMAC could only receive such abundant funds – including self-generated revenue and non-cash state funding – if it was labeled as a university project in the budget.

Hawaiian Electric says power lines sparked fire but firefighters fell short

Hawaii’s electric utility acknowledged its power lines started a wildfire on Maui but faulted county firefighters for declaring the blaze contained and leaving the scene, only to have a second wildfire break out nearby and become the deadliest in the US in more than a century.

Hawaiian Electric Company released a statement on Sunday night in response to Maui county’s lawsuit blaming the utility for failing to shut off power despite exceptionally high winds and dry conditions. Hawaiian Electric called that complaint “factually and legally irresponsible” and said its power lines in West Maui had been de-energized for more than six hours when the second blaze started.

In its statement, the utility addressed the cause for the first time. It said the fire on the morning of 8 August “appears to have been caused by power lines that fell in high winds”. The Associated Press reported on Saturday that bare electrical wire that could spark on contact and leaning poles on Maui were the possible cause.

But Hawaiian Electric appeared to blame Maui county for most of the devastation – the fact that the fire appeared to reignite that afternoon and tore through downtown Lahaina, killing at least 115 people and destroying 2,000 structures.

• How did lawyers for Maui respond? Richard Fried, a Honolulu attorney working as co-counsel on Maui county’s lawsuit, countered that if the power company’s lines hadn’t caused the initial fire, “this all would be moot”. He said: “That’s the biggest problem. They can dance around this all they want. But there’s no explanation for that.”

In other news …

• Jerrald Gallion, Angela Carr and AJ Laguerre Jr were killed Saturday when a gunman with swastikas painted on his rifle opened fire at the Dollar General in Jacksonville where Laguerre worked. The sheriff said writings left by the killer made clear that he was motivated by racism. Each victim was Black.

• The US has accused Moscow of attempting to intimidate and harass US employees, after Russian state media reported that a former US consulate worker had been charged with collecting information on the war in Ukraine and other issues for Washington.

• Russian air defences downed Ukrainian drones over the Tula and Belgorod regions, Moscow’s defence ministry said today, without indicating if there had been damage or casualties. Two drones “were destroyed” by air defences over the Tula region south of Moscow, Russia’s defence ministry said.

• Footage has emerged showing a woman lying dead on the floor of a migration detention centre in Libya in the latest shocking glimpse of the conditions endured by refugees in the north African country. Numerous NGOs have reported repeated incidents of violence against refugees and migrants held in the facility.

• An ethnic studies professor at the University of California, Riverside, will resign next year following more than a decade of outrage over accusations that she falsely claimed Indigenous American heritage. Andrea Smith, once a heralded scholar of Native American studies, faced criticism since at least 2008 for claiming she was Cherokee.

Stat of the day: three-quarters of Americans say Biden too old for second term, poll finds

More than three-quarters of respondents in a new US poll said Joe Biden would be too old to be effective if re-elected president next year. But as many people in the survey said the 80-year-old Biden was “old” and “confused”, so a similar number saw his 77-year-old likely challenger, Donald Trump, as “corrupt” and “dishonest”. The poll from the Associated Press and Norc Center for Public Affairs said 77% of Americans – 89% of Republicans and 69% of Democrats – thought age would be a problem if Biden won the White House again. Significantly fewer said Trump’s age would be a problem: 51%, with only 29% of Republicans concerned. Trump skipped the first Republican debate last week. On Monday another national survey showed his whopping primary lead slipping only slightly thereafter.

Don’t miss this: at 17, a shark attack cost me my leg. A year later, I’m back in the water where I almost died

When Addison Bethea felt the tug on her leg, she thought it was her brother, Rhett, playing a prank. It was a hot Saturday afternoon and they were snorkelling off the Florida coast, scouring the seabed for scallops with a couple of Rhett’s friends. After about 20 minutes, Addison felt something pulling at her right leg, strong enough to drag her beneath the surface. She and her brother had been passing the scallop bag back and forth all afternoon as they swam near Rhett’s new boat, jostling each other as they went. But when she surfaced, she saw that Rhett was in front of her. “That’s when I realised,” she says. The shark appeared “out of nowhere” at Addison’s side and bit her right calf. She screamed for her brother: “It was the only thing I could do.”

Her love of wildlife documentaries had taught her how to fend off the shark – but it was back on dry land that she really needed her courage.

… or this: Burning Man attendees roadblocked by climate activists – ‘They have a privileged mindset’

Burning Man festival in north-west Nevada, which originated as an underground gathering in 1986 in San Francisco, has anarchist and countercultural roots. In recent years, the beloved bacchanal has drifted from its hippy roots and become better known for luxury RVs, wild orgies, and Silicon Valley bros. In recent years the festival has gained a cultish popularity among Silicon Valley’s technocrats, as well as celebrities and influencers. Protesters from the Seven Circles –a coalition of activists representing the climate groups Extinction Rebellion, Rave Revolution, and Scientist Rebellion – roadblocked attendees, demanding that Burning Man ban private jets and single-use plastics, as well as unlimited generator and propane use, leading to fiery exchanges, threats and arrests.

“Burning Man attracts the elite of the elites to party and pretend they’re in a classless, moneyless society,” said Tommy Diacono, co-founder of Rave Revolution. “But more private jets than ever are flying to the Burn. We’re burning propane for fun. The air-conditioned domes are getting bigger every year.”

Climate check: ‘off-the-charts records’ – has humanity finally broken the climate?

The record-shattering heatwaves, wildfires and floods destroying lives in the US, Europe, India, China and beyond in 2023 have raised an alarming question: have humanity’s relentless carbon emissions finally pushed the climate crisis into a new and accelerating phase of destruction?

The issue is being strongly debated, with accusations of doom-mongering being countered with charges of complacency. The answer matters: how bad is it, and how can we limit the damage? To find out, the Guardian asked 45 leading climate scientists from around the world. We also asked the equally vital question of whether extreme weather events were hitting people faster and harder than expected.

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