First Thing: Harris seeks to rally youth vote in Michigan

Democratic presidential candidate campaigns in university city of Ann Arbor as polls show state on knife-edge

Good morning.

Appearing together in the home town of Michigan’s largest university, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz sought to burnish their credentials with young voters and soothe Democrats who had grown nervous as the apparent deadlock in the race for the White House has dragged on.

Much of the rhetoric at the evening rally in Ann Arbor, a city synonymous with the University of Michigan and its nearly 53,000-strong student body, was aimed squarely at the first-time voters who have traditionally been a treasure trove of votes for Democrats.

“I want to speak specifically to all the young leaders, all the students who are here today,” Harris said. “So, I love your generation. I really do, and one of the things about it is you are rightly impatient for change.”

Is Kamala Harris alienating progressives as she courts anti-Trump Republicans? The vice-president is relying on support of high-profile GOP refuseniks as she moves to the centre despite warnings from progressives. “I don’t think having Liz Cheney on the team helps at all, because she doesn’t bring a flock of votes with her,” said James Zogby, a member of the Democratic National Committee.

Jeff Bezos defends decision to end Washington Post endorsements

Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of the Washington Post, has penned a column in his own newspaper defending the decision not to endorse a candidate in the US presidential election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, widely seen as a crucial stress test for American democracy.

“What presidential endorsements actually do is create a perception of bias,” the Amazon founder wrote. “A perception of non-independence. Ending them is a principled decision, and it’s the right one.”

The decision not to endorse has rocked the Post, one of the most storied names in US journalism since breaking the Watergate scandal that brought down Richard Nixon. Newsroom unrest, resignations from its editorial board and the loss of 200,000 subscribers have followed.

What’s the latest at the Post? Editorial board members David Hoffman and Molly Roberts both resigned yesterday, with forceful letters indicating their reasons.

Fears for Gaza aid after Unrwa ban, as Guterres tells Israel ‘there is no alternative’

World leaders and international aid organisations have voiced fears for the delivery of crucial aid in Gaza after the Israeli parliament’s vote to ban the UN relief and works agency (Unrwa), with the secretary general, António Guterres, saying on Monday night: “There is no alternative to Unrwa.”

Guterres said the UN agency would be prevented from doing UN general assembly-mandated work if Israel implemented the laws, which would ban the agency from conducting “any activity” or providing any service inside Israel, including the areas of annexed East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. Guterres called on Israel “to act consistently with its obligations” under the UN charter and international law, saying: “National legislation cannot alter those obligations.”

Why has Israel’s parliament voted to ban Unrwa? Israel has long complained that Unrwa is obsolete and its continuing support of the descendants of those initially displaced in 1948 is an impediment to a peace settlement.

What’s happening in Gaza? The ever-tightening Israeli siege of Jabaliya and several other parts of northern Gaza – enforced by tanks and ground troops – has meant that civil defence teams and medics have been unable to rescue those trapped under the rubble.

In other news …

North Korea has sent about 10,000 troops to Russia to train and fight in the Ukraine war within “the next several weeks,” the Pentagon has said, in a move that western leaders say will intensify the almost three-year war and jolt relations in the region.

Iran executed a 69-year-old German-Iranian political scientist after years in captivity. Berlin warned of “serious consequences” for Iran’s “inhumane regime” after Jamshid Sharmahd was killed. Sharmahd had been accused of leading the Tondar group, which aims to topple the Islamic Republic.

Britain’s former colonies should be thankful for the legacy of empire, not demanding reparations, according to the Conservative leadership candidate Robert Jenrick. “The British empire broke the long chain of violent tyranny as we came to introduce – gradually and imperfectly – Christian values,” he wrote.

Minneapolis police have apologized for failing to address a local Black man’s complaints of repeated, racist harassment from his white neighbor until after the neighbor shot the victim in the victim’s own yard.

Stat of the day: Planet-heating pollutants in atmosphere rise 10% in just two decades

The concentration of planet-heating pollutants clogging the atmosphere hit record levels in 2023, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has said. It found carbon dioxide is accumulating faster than at any time in human history, with concentrations having risen by more than 10% in just two decades. “Another year, another record,” said Celeste Saulo, secretary-general of the WMO. “This should set alarm bells ringing among decision-makers.”

Don’t miss this: What happens when people with acute psychosis meet the voices in their heads?

A new therapy demands that voices people may hear in their heads are listened to closely, and responded to as if they were spoken by entirely real external beings. With help from a therapist, the aim is to have a dialogue with the voice – with the hope of gaining control over it. New research suggests that the method, which involves the creation of digital avatars, could help people with psychosis hear voices less often and reduce the distress caused.

… or this: The strange story of the Elizabeth Holmes of yoga

How did Katie Griggs aka Guru Jagat go from YouTube astrologer to yoga master, spiritual guru and wellness girlboss with followers including celebrities such as Russell Brand, Kate Hudson and Alicia Keys? “Reality is a trance,” she once said. “Your reality is a trance of your own making. Or someone else’s making who doesn’t have your greatest good in mind.”

Climate check: Five ways a Trump presidency would be disastrous for the climate

During his push for the White House, Trump has called climate change a “hoax” and “one of the great scams of all time” while vowing to delete spending on clean energy, abolish “insane” incentives for Americans to drive electric cars, scrap various environmental rules and unleash a “drill, baby, drill” wave of new oil and gas.

Last Thing: How games can change your life

Games are an invitation to break free from the tyranny of efficiency, writes Tim Clare. “Play matters precisely because it is unnecessary. We play because we love joy, and we love feeling free. We play because the experience – including the delicious, squeezing frustration of a dilemma, or the shock of a betrayal – expands our sense of self.”

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