Good morning. More than 130 people died after a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia, collapsing and severely damaging scores of buildings in main cities, including Cali and Pereira.
The US and Colombian geological surveys reported that a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck at 7.34am local time on Monday, with its epicentre in the western department of Chocó. It was felt in neighbouring Venezuela, still reeling from a deadly double earthquake on 24 June. The quake killed at least 132 people and more than 570 were injured as of Monday afternoon, according to the Colombian Association of Capital Cities, which coordinates cities across the country.
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How has the government responded? In a national address, Colombia’s president, Abelardo de la Espriella, said: “The national government has all of its capabilities deployed to protect lives, assist affected communities and deliver aid wherever it is needed. The first priority is rescuing the people trapped under the rubble. Colombia has a president whose heart aches for his people and who will do everything in his power to help them in the most difficult moments.”
Trump reportedly hid in catering container to board secret flight from Turkey amid Iran threat
Donald Trump left Turkey on a secret military flight to Britain last month when the White House said he was flying aboard Air Force One, in an extraordinary ruse – prompted by an Iranian assassination threat – that involved hiding the president in an airport catering container, according to reports.
The operation took place when Trump was in Ankara for a Nato summit with world leaders, the Washington Post reported. The president reportedly boarded the old Air Force One jumbo jet in view of television cameras, and was secretly shuttled minutes later to a smaller plane via an airport catering truck, typically used to load meals and other supplies preflight, a US official told the Post.
A US official told the Post that a credible threat to Trump involving Iran set the “deception operation” in motion. A similar operation took place in 2000, when Bill Clinton used an unmarked executive jet to fly into Pakistan while sending his formal Air Force One as a decoy. The Guardian has contacted the White House and the US defense department for comment.
Trump signs order attempting to override CDC vaccine schedule and break up MMR shots
Donald Trump has signed an executive order with plans for sweeping changes to the childhood vaccination schedule that attempts to override the authority of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC is the federal agency tasked with recommending vaccines, not the White House.
Both Trump and Robert F Kennedy, the health secretary, made repeated mentions of autism throughout the signing, emphasizing a scientifically unproven link between vaccines and the condition. Dozens of studies show no link between the two.
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What does the order seek to change? The order would require that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine be broken into three separate shots, once it becomes available in the US. It would recommend that all shots be given at separate medical visits, a frequent point Trump has made despite the safety, ease and lower costs of giving vaccines together.
Bernie Sanders calls on Silicon Valley to ‘pause AI development’ in interest of humanity
Senator Bernie Sanders has called on Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic executives to halt their development of artificial intelligence, saying the US Senate would implement regulation if the companies continued deploying AI at their current pace. Sanders said the capabilities of these AI models had reached a critical risk threshold.
The Vermont senator cited recent reports that AI was used to develop new viruses, warning if this technology fell into the “wrong hands” it might “lead to new bioweapons that result in the deaths of tens of millions of people”. All three companies have disclosed their models hacked other companies’ servers, a sign that the firms have lost control, Sanders said.
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What has Mark Zuckerberg said about AI this week? Sanders’s call comes as the Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, presented a utopian vision of AI in a 6,000-word essay amid Silicon Valley debate over government regulation. Central to Zuckerberg’s post was an argument for free-to-download, open-weight AI models – such as the kind Meta develops – and a lack of government regulation.
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What has a new study suggested the impact of AI might be on carbon output? AI-driven productivity gains will enable more planet-heating pollution from fossil fuels than they avoid by boosting energy from renewables, a study has found.
In other news …
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Todd Blanche, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, has been sworn in as US attorney general after the Senate voted narrowly in favor of his confirmation.
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A judge has temporarily blocked Zohran Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax, which would place a surcharge on second homes in New York City.
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Republicans have named Jennifer Balkcom as the candidate to replace Chuck Edwards in North Carolina’s 11th congressional district after he had stepped away from the contest owing to a sexual harassment investigation.
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Nevada authorities are investigating dozens of mysterious tree poisonings in Lake Tahoe since 2022 that appear linked.
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Jackie, the beloved bald eagle at California’s Big Bear Lake whose livestream was followed by millions of viewers, has died. She was 14.
Stat of the day: Trump’s media company, which also owns Truth Social, reports $238m loss
Trump Media & Technology on Monday reported $238m of losses in the three months through June as the company branched into new ventures, including crypto, and began selling a new Truth API service charging $60,000-$100,000 a month for early access to potentially market-moving posts by the US president.
Culture Pick: Cults, heists and big cats: TV’s 25 best ever true-crime shows
This list from Michael Hogan should give you more than a few ideas for something to binge next time you get that true-crime itch.
Don’t miss this: ‘Shoved the tube so hard it tore my nose’: Kurdish film-maker recounts ‘inhumane’ ICE force-feeding
Gabar Choli, a film-maker and activist for an independent Kurdistan, has spoken out for the first time, talking exclusively to the Guardian, about his ordeal in the US. He said being force-fed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “broke” him.
Or this: How America is losing its mall ice rinks
The Portland rink where Tonya Harding first skated was an affordable community institution for six decades. Its closure echoes the disappearance of mall ice across the US. Talia Barrington investigates.
Climate check: July was hottest month ever recorded in US as heatwaves scorched country
Last month’s average temperature was 3.3F (1.8C) higher than the 20th-century average for the contiguous US as repeated, scorching heatwaves across much of the country helping shatter all previous monthly temperature records. Scientists have made clear the increased heat in the US was being amplified by the human-caused climate crisis.
Last Thing: The great silence – why haven’t we found any aliens yet?
I have long been obsessed with space, but one thing has always puzzled me: a universe so vast, how could we possibly be alone? Adam Kirsch has this fascinating read, asking just that question. Given the size and age of the universe, it should be full of species with technology far more advanced than our own. So where are they?
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