Good morning.
The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack is considering subpoenaing Ivanka Trump after she appeared to refuse a request for voluntary cooperation, according to a source close to the matter.
Subpoenaing the former president’s daughter would mark a dramatic intensification in the investigation; so far, no members of Donald Trump’s family have been forced to testify against him.
Ivanka Trump is thought to be important to the investigation: she was close to Trump in the days before the Capitol attack, the chairman of the select committee, Bennie Thompson said, and appeared to have learned that the plan to have the then vice-president, Mike Pence, refuse to certify Joe Biden’s election win was potentially illegal.
Is the panel likely to do it? The fact that committee members are discussing a subpoena suggests they believe it may be required to get her to appear at a deposition.
When could it happen? The panel is not expected to take the step just yet – they want to give Trump a reasonable period of time to decide to engage voluntarily.
Texts show Ahmaud Arbery murderers used racial slurs, FBI analyst says
Two of the three white men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery repeatedly used racial slurs, including violent comments, in messages and social media posts, an FBI analyst has testified.
Text messages between Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan and others in the months and years before Arbery’s murder were shown to the jury of the federal hate crimes trial. The FBI was unable to access the phone of Greg McMichael, Travis McMichael’s father, because it was encrypted, said the analyst, Amy Vaughan.
In several social media posts, Travis McMichael, 36, discussed violence against Black people and frequently used the N-word in conversations with friends. Bryan also used the N-word and made other racist comments.
Was racism considered in the state trial? No – prosecutors sought only to prove the men were responsible for Arbery’s death, regardless of motive.
What does the defence say? They insist the deadly pursuit of Arbery was motivated by a genuine, though erroneous, suspicion that Arbery had committed crimes.
New York girl missing for two years found alive in a hidden staircase room
A six-year-old girl who went missing two years ago has been found alive and in good health in a makeshift room beneath a staircase in a house in New York state, according to police. Officers suspect she was abducted by her birth parents, who did not have custody.
Two years after she went missing from Spencer, New York, Paislee Shultis was found on Monday in her grandfather’s house in the town of Saugerties, about 180 miles away.
Police arrested her parents, Kimberly Cooper, 33, and Kirk Shultis Jr, 32, and her grandfather Kirk Shultis, 57. The child has been returned to her legal guardian.
How did they find her? Police received a tip about the child’s location and obtained a search warrant.
Had police spoken to the biological parents? Police said they interviewed Kirk Shultis Jr several times after Paislee went missing, who said that he had no knowledge of her location.
In other news …
The US has accused Russia of deploying thousands more troops to Ukraine’s border. The reports of 7,000 more soldiers contradict Vladimir Putin’s earlier claims of a “partial” retreat of Russian forces. Follow the latest on our live blog.
There are “strong ties” between some Ottawa occupiers and far-right extremists, Canada’s public safety minister has warned. The statement comes after a group of extremists were charged this week in the border town of Coutts, Alberta, over an alleged plot to kill police officers.
The US government is considering easing its mask guidance in the coming weeks, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rochelle Walensky, has said. Government and business leaders in several areas have scrapped virus measures in the past week.
Thirteen women and girls have died after accidentally falling down a well during marriage celebrations in northern India, police have said. The victims were sitting on an iron slab covering the well on Wednesday when it collapsed.
Stat of the day: More than one in four women globally suffer domestic violence before the age of 50
More than one in four women worldwide become victims of domestic violence before turning 50, the largest-ever analysis of domestic abuse research has discovered. Analysis of 366 studies involving more than 2 million women found that about 27% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 had experienced physical or sexual violence by a male partner.
Don’t miss this: the tech billionaires trying to reverse ageing
Billionaires Jeff Bezos and Peter Thiel are devoting vast amounts of money to research into how to reverse the ageing process – and even cheat death. Tests have found it is possible to “reprogram” skin cells, and Thiel has claimed it will be possible to “reverse all human ailments in the same way that we can fix the bugs of a computer program. Death will eventually be reduced from a mystery to a solvable problem”.
Climate check: climate crisis could increase southern California wildfires
Southern California is likely to suffer from an increase in deadly wildfires as extreme weather conditions are exacerbated by the climate crisis, a study has found. The number of “large fire days” in the region could double by 2100 unless emissions are reduced, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, found.
Last Thing: the time when TVs had to end broadcasting so children could go to bed
Until 1965, the British state required television sets to stop broadcasting between 6 and 7pm in order for children to go to bed. Known as the “toddlers’ truce”, the approach was seen at the time as being socially responsible. Read Benjie Goodhart’s exploration of the bizarre policy here.
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 newsletters@theguardian.com
