Good morning.
Donald Trump has raked in more than $1bn from his crypto businesses since returning to the White House, according to financial disclosures, making him substantially richer and ringing alarm bells over a conflict of interest.
According to a 927-page document released on Tuesday by the US Office of Government Ethics, Trump made more than $2.2bn in all last year, benefiting from a vast network of businesses and investments across the world, including in China.
Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, denied there was any conflict of interest, saying any suggestion of that was “the same, tired, false narrative that Democrats and the legacy media have been pushing for a decade”.
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Where else is Trump getting money from? The US president made millions last year from selling Trump-branded bibles, sneakers and other small items in another unprecedented move for the presidency. In the Trump-branded watches category alone, the president earned $4.7m. Trump also racked up tens of millions from fees and licensing deals in a flurry of new hotel, resort and condo deals overseas. Many of those countries were at the same time negotiating with the US over tariffs, military aid and other important matters.
US supreme court upholds birthright citizenship in blow to Trump agenda
The US supreme court has upheld the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, affirming that nearly all people born on US soil are American citizens and rejecting a central pillar of Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda.
The president had issued an executive order on the first day of his second term that sought to deny automatic citizenship to the individuals born to undocumented immigrants and temporary foreign residents. Writing for the majority, the chief justice, John Roberts, said this order violated the 14th amendment of the US constitution.
Anna Betts has this selection of the key quotes from the ruling, and Maanvi Singh points out there is anger the decision was not unanimous, and worry that dissenting justices have given weight to fringe theories.
Democratic socialist Melat Kiros defeats 15-term incumbent in Colorado House primary
The democratic socialist Melat Kiros unseated long-serving US representative Diana DeGette in Colorado’s primary elections held on Tuesday, the latest in a string of high-profile victories for the party’s insurgent left.
The Associated Press reported that Kiros had defeated DeGette for the Democratic nomination in a deep-blue first congressional district. Kiros’s triumph came a week after New York voters unseated two Democratic congressional incumbents and replaced a third, who was retiring, by voting for candidates who had campaigned on standing up to Israel, which has been accused of carrying out a genocide in Gaza.
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Who is Melat Kiros? Born in Ethiopia in 1997 – the year DeGette arrived in Congress – Kiros graduated from law school at the University of Notre Dame in 2022. The following year, she wrote a blog post rejecting accusations that law students who protested against Israel’s war in Gaza after the 7 October attack by Hamas fighters were antisemitic. The New York law firm where Kiros was working fired her after she refused to take the post down, and she then went into politics.
In other news …
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Charlie Kirk’s parents and his widow are expected to attend a hearing next week in Utah for the murder case against the man accused of killing the conservative political activist.
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Transgender youth athletes have vowed to keep playing sports and fighting for equal access to teams after the US supreme court ruled in favor of laws banning their participation.
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Adults in the US who frequently seek out health advice from artificial intelligence chatbots are more likely to believe myths about vaccines, according to a poll released on Tuesday.
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Airlines and airports have called for the new EU biometric border check system to be suspended during the peak summer holiday period, saying some flights are leaving half full and passengers are struggling in queues of up to five hours.
Stat of the day: 58,000 buildings estimated destroyed in Venezuela earthquakes
More than 58,000 buildings may have been damaged and destroyed by the twin earthquakes that hit Venezuela last week, according to a preliminary analysis of satellite data that suggests the scale of the destruction could dwarf official estimates. At least 1,943 people have been killed and more than 10,000 injured. One toddler was rescued from rubble six days after the event.
Well Actually: Seven ways to get the most out of a window air conditioner and five tips for keeping cool in extreme heat
Sarah Sloat has the details on how to help yourself – and your AC unit – cope with the weeklong heatwave that the National Weather Service is forecasting. Madeleine Aggeler also has some timely advice on what to wear in extreme heat, with five tips for keeping it cool.
Don’t miss this: Kraszna-Krausz photography book award winners – in pictures
A devastating account of living through the war in Ukraine won this year’s prestigious Kraszna-Krausz photography book award – with the longlist spanning everything from hurricanes to hauntology. Here are some of the best images.
… or this: How USMNT is preparing for World Cup penalty drama with confidence, composure and consultants
The US face Bosnia and Herzegovina in a knock-out tie in the Fifa World Cup tonight – a match that could go to a penalty shootout if the two sides can’t be separated. Sometimes described as a “lottery”, in fact the science of how to plan for those dramatic moments is now well established. Pablo Iglesias Maurer in Santa Clara drops in on the preparations being made by Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
Climate check: Ocean surface temperatures hit a record high for June
On 21 June, temperatures outside the polar regions exceeded the extraordinary highs observed at the same time in 2023 and 2024, the Copernicus Climate Change Service said on Wednesday. It warned the new peak would probably bring “consequences for weather patterns, global climate and marine ecosystems.”
Last Thing: A 2,200lb mammal is wreaking havoc in Tasmania – and Neil the seal is loved for it
Bollards, traffic cones, fences and Land Cruisers stand little chance against a 1.1-ton giant known as Neil the seal, now a local legend in southern Tasmania. Nick Visser has the story, and there is a brilliant video, too.
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