Conflicting court rulings on Missouri map threaten November’s election | First Thing

Good morning. Clashing court rulings plunged Missouri’s congressional elections into uncertainty less than two months before the November midterms that will decide which party controls a closely divided Congress.

Conservative justice Brett Kavanaugh denied the emergency request from Missouri officials to use a congressional map in November that was redrawn with Donald Trump’s support to give Republicans an edge in the midterms, but a ruling by a federal judge in Missouri temporarily prevented the state from using its old congressional maps.

• Why is there legal action over the maps? The Missouri supreme court has previously ruled that the new map must go before voters to approve or reject the new districts, meaning it cannot be used in time for the November election. The president and Republicans had fumed over the decision, with Trump calling it “horrible, ridiculous, and unconstitutional”.

• What are the significant changes to the map intended to favor Republicans? The revised map targeted the fifth congressional district, held by longtime Democratic representative Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City. It reassigned portions of Kansas City to two neighboring districts represented by Republicans and stretched the remainder of Cleaver’s district far eastward into rural Republican areas.

Israel to close British consulate in Jerusalem after UK imposes sanctions on West Bank settlements

The UK government has entered a diplomatic row with Israel after it announced sweeping sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements. In the country’s starkest condemnation since the founding of the Israeli state, the foreign secretary, Ed Miliband – whose mother, Marion Kozak, was a Holocaust survivor who fled to Israel – said settler terrorists supported by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government were committing ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, claimed the ruling UK Labour party Miliband belongs to was gripped by “Jew hatred”.

• What has the British prime minister said? Writing in the Guardian, Andy Burnham said he would “not stand by” as horrific suffering continued, and that for too long the UK had been hesitant to act “fearful of being accused of being anti-Israel”. “The measures we are taking,” he said, “are about targeting illegal settlements and increasing the pressure on the Israeli government to change course. We are not imposing sanctions on Israel as a whole.”

• How has Israel reacted? Israel has ordered the closure of the British consulate in occupied East Jerusalem among retaliatory measures including entry bans on several UK lawmakers. The Israeli government added that longstanding British involvement in the training of Palestinian security forces on the West Bank would be terminated. Britain will also be excluded from the US-led Gaza coordination mission.

US says Iranian tankers ‘destroyed’ as Houthis strike Saudi Arabian cities

The US military on Tuesday said it had “destroyed” several Iranian tankers after Iran attempted to strike a US navy warship with ballistic missiles, as violence once again surged across the region, pushing the price of oil past $100 a barrel. Centom said the strikes came after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeted a US navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days. The IRGC said it had struck a US military base in Jordan in retaliation.

• What have been the other developments in the region? Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have attacked four cities in Saudi Arabia, wounding more than 70 people and setting oil installations ablaze in what appeared to be a significant expansion of the Middle East war. Saudi Arabia said it would retaliate after the overnight strikes – reportedly involving dozens of drones and missiles – that targeted several oil facilities in the country’s south.

US bans Canadian dairy, alcohol and motorcycles as trade war escalates

The US is banning dairy products, most alcoholic beverages and motorcycles from Canada, the White House said on Tuesday, as the trade war between the two neighbors and longtime allies escalates. The ban will take effect in three weeks and comes after Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs on $20bn in US imports earlier on Tuesday.

Donald Trump also moved Tuesday to shut Canadian products out of large, long-term US government contracts. Some Canadian provinces have banned the sale of US alcoholic products – a move that prompted the retaliatory US ban on Tuesday. Canadian tariffs hit hundreds of American products, including steel, aluminum, cheese, appliances, clothing, cosmetics and farm equipment.

In other news …

• The pilots of an Amazon cargo plane tried to abort landing in Miami seconds before the crash that killed five employees of an aircraft cleaning company who were in a van it struck.

• Ex-60 Minutes managing editor Guy Campanile says fired staffers “refused to be accomplices” in the show’s “destruction” under new editorial leadership.

• The Trump administration plans to confront Australia’s government over its decision that US tech companies must allow users to opt out of social media algorithms.

• Television programme South Park is to change its name to South America “inspired by bravery and patriotism” of Apple and Google, who capitulated to Donald Trump’s requests to change Lake Ontario to Lake America.

Stat of the day: Ukraine books in 1,000 Patriot missiles as UK and EU open up aid

Ukraine is ⁠contracting a supply of about 1,000 Patriot missiles over the coming years with the help of allies and ⁠through an E⁠U loan, the country’s defence minister, Yevhenii Khmara, has said. The development comes as Kyiv faces food shortages after Moscow’s forces continually bomb warehouses supporting civilian life.

Well actually: the truth behind ‘old person smell’

No you aren’t imagining it, people do smell different as they get old. Jillian Pretzel gets into the science of why, and whether you can do anything about it.

Don’t miss this: Grief, fury, conspiracy – inside Turning Point USA after Charlie Kirk’s killing

A year since his assassination, the movement Kirk started is reckoning with the void he left behind - and a revolution that eats its own.

… or this: European democracies are running out of time to turn away from the abyss

Rafael Behr has a warning that far-right parties, Maga ideology and Kremlin money are conniving to suffocate liberal idealism on the continent for another generation.

Climate check:the architects clawing back Europe’s car-centric spaces

The European Prize for Urban Public Space’s shortlist highlights architectural projects that convert infrastructure for cars into spaces that help urban dwellers cope with the soaring temperatures of the climate crisis: roundabouts that have become splash pools, thoroughfares turned into green havens, and car parks into gardens.

Last Thing: Tame Impala frontman announces he will no longer sign autographs due to ‘aggressive’ collectors

The Australian musician Kevin Parker has announced he will no longer sign autographs, citing “aggressive” professional collectors who he claimed had used children in order to get his signature. The Tame Impala singer also said he would no longer meet with fans in the parking lot after shows “for the time being” after being warned of “the obvious security risk”.

Sign up

First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.

Get in touch

If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email [email protected]