First Thing: Trump calls Iran’s leaders ‘scum’ and declares fragile ceasefire over
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Good morning. Hostilities have resumed between the US and Iran. Tehran accused the US of violating the agreement intended to end the war, after the US military launched strikes around the strait of Hormuz and revoked a temporary sanctions waiver for Iranian oil exports. The attacks were the latest in a string of ceasefire violations by the two sides, despite a truce that came into effect in April, and have led to an immediate 3% rise in oil prices.
Speaking at the Nato summit in Ankara, Donald Trump said the memorandum of understanding with Iran was over and called the country’s leaders “vicious, violent people” whom he would not deal with because they were, in the US president’s words, “scum”. He nevertheless appeared to indicate that talks would continue. Nato’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, backed the US attacks, saying: “When you have a ceasefire and Iran is basically violating the ceasefire, I think it is totally crucial that the US forcefully react.”
What occurred to break the fragile ceasefire? The US military said that it had hit more than 80 targets in the early hours of Wednesday in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels passing through the strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. Iran responded by launching attacks on US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said 85 facilities had been targeted.
Bernie Sanders calls on Graham Platner to withdraw from Senate race
The progressive senator Bernie Sanders called on Graham Platner to withdraw from the US Senate race in Maine, citing “very serious allegations” of sexual assault, hours before the nominee faced another claim of sexual misconduct.
Platner has denied the latest allegations, reported by Politico and later by the Washington Post, but the initial report prompted a wave of prominent Democrats to urge him to stand aside as the party’s nominee in the consequential Senate contest. Platner has said he is “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward”.
How could Democrats replace Platner? It is possible for Democrats to select a new Senate nominee in Maine, but the clock is ticking. To have a new candidate on the ballot for November’s midterm elections, Platner needs to end his campaign by 5pm ET on 13 July, according to state law. That would give the Democrats a two-week window – until 5pm ET on 27 July – to pick a replacement.
US appeals court strikes down key part of Florida law restricting campus race and gender discussions
A federal appeals panel has struck down a significant chunk of Ron DeSantis’s “Stop Woke Act”, delivering another rebuff to the Republican Florida governor’s efforts to stifle free speech in higher education.
In a scathing order, judges of the 11th circuit court of appeal ruled by a 2-1 majority that the higher education component of the law – which prevented college and university professors teaching or sharing thoughts on concepts of race and gender – breached the free expression rights guaranteed under the US constitution’s first amendment.
What did the judges conclude? Britt Grant, a Donald Trump-appointed judge who wrote the majority opinion, said the proposed law was “a breathtaking assertion of power to ban unpopular ideas from public discourse in the very places the state’s own statutes recognize as centers of inquiry. The ideas Florida targets may well be noxious. Or maybe not. Either way, in this context the first amendment trusts students to figure it out for themselves.”
In other news …
Prosecutors say video shows the suspect in the Charlie Kirk killing climbing on to a roof. The Utah county attorney’s office says the evidence against Tyler James Robinson is sufficient for case to move to trial.
The International Olympic Committee has lifted its suspension on Russia, paving the way for Russian teams to appear at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
Nigel Farage, the Trump-aligned British rightwing politician, has resigned as an MP in an attempt to force his re-election, a move opponents have dismissed as a publicity stunt and seem likely to boycott.
Stat of the day: DC records world’s worst air quality for a city after 850,000 Fourth of July fireworks
Washington DC residents breathed in “unhealthy” air for hours after a 40-minute Independence Day fireworks show over the National Mall on Saturday night. The country’s capital briefly recorded the worst air quality of any big city in the world. The display came as the Trump administration rolls back an unprecedented number of pollution controls.
Well Actually: How to start volunteering
There are mental and physical benefits to volunteering, including increased quality of life, pride, empowerment, motivation, social support and sense of community. But where to start? Madeleine Aggeler asked a set of experts.
Don’t miss this: The US had the biggest opportunity in the history of American soccer and they wasted it
Alexander Abnos writes that the humbling exit of the USMNT from the Fifa men’s World Cup co-hosted by the US was a missed generational chance to put the sport in the spotlight. Jeff Rueter, meanwhile, who was at Seattle Stadium to see the US capitulate 4-1 to Belgium, laments that injury robbed the star player Christian Pulisic of showing his true potential during the tournament, while the future of coach Mauricio Pochettino appears uncertain.
… or this: Can Netflix reboot Little House on the Prairie for a new generation?
The original 1930s books traded on a powerful, intoxicating myth of American resilience at a time when so many were struggling and losing faith in those in power, the 1970s TV series was often cited as Ronald Reagan’s favourite show, and Netflix is betting big on its new adaptation. Matthew Allan examines how a strange confluence of cultural trends and political circumstances could help it soar.
Climate check: Water crisis deepens in US west
Lake Powell, the US’s second-largest reservoir, threatens to plunge to unprecedentedly low levels this year after a historically bleak snowpack failed to raise its water level. As a result hydroelectric power is imperilled and there is increased uncertainty on an already contentious negotiation over how to divvy up an unreliable water supply used by 40 million people across seven states, dozens of tribal nations and two countries.
Last Thing: Dolly Parton musical set for Broadway this winter
Billed as “a remarkable journey through the life of this trailblazing woman”, the incomparable Dolly Parton will celebrate turning 81 with the opening of a musical about her life on Broadway later this year. Featuring signature hits such as I Will Always Love You, Jolene, Coat of Many Colors and 9 to 5, Parton described the show coming to New York as “a dream come true”.
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