Good morning.
Palestinians arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were deported to the West Bank on a private jet owned by an ally of Donald Trump, a Guardian investigation revealed on Thursday.
The jet, which flew deportees from Arizona to Tel Aviv, is owned by the Florida property tycoon Gil Dezer, a longtime business partner and donor to Trump, who is also friends with Donald Trump Jr and a member of the Miami branch of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.
Former US officials and immigration lawyers said the flights on 21 January and 1 February, and Israel’s assistance in returning Palestinians to the occupied territory, marked a shift in policy driven by the Trump administration’s aggressive mass deportation campaign.
Has Dezer’s jet been used for deportations before? Yes. According to Human Rights First, it made four “removal flights”, to Kenya, Liberia, Guinea and Eswatini, starting last October.
How has he responded? In an email, Dezer told the Guardian he was “never privy to the names” of those who travelled on his jet when it was privately chartered by Journey, or the purpose of the flight. “The only thing I’m notified about is the dates of use,” he said.
US and Iran to begin high-stakes talks over nuclear program
The US and Iran have begun high-stakes, indirect talks in Oman over Tehran’s nuclear program which are being seen as offering one of the last chances to prevent a new US attack.
The negotiations are the first since the US struck Iranian nuclear targets in June, joining in the final stages of a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign. They also follow repeated warnings by Trump that he will militarily strike Iran unless progress is made. The US has been bolstering its naval presence in the region after a bloody Iranian government crackdown on nationwide protests last month.
What does each side want? Washington wants to expand the negotiations to cover Iran’s ballistic missiles, support for the region’s armed groups and “treatment of their own people”, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has said. Tehran is seeking assurances that the US is not using the talks as a smokescreen to impose regime change.
‘Grind the country to a halt’: Democrat urges national strike if Trump interferes with midterms
The Democratic senator Ruben Gallego has called for Americans to stage a general strike that would “grind the country to a halt” if Trump tries to sabotage the midterm elections.
This week the US president called for Republicans to “take over” and “nationalise” voting in at least 15 unspecified locations, repeating his false claims that elections are plagued by widespread fraud. Gallego said citizens should be prepared for “the worst scenario” in November’s elections, such as the vote count being stopped or ballot boxes captured.
What does “nationalising” voting mean? The US constitution gives each state the responsibility to govern its elections but Trump appears to be calling for the federal government to run elections, framing it as a way to prevent undocumented immigrants from voting. The claim that non-citizens have been voting in numbers that could affect an election is a lie.
In other news …
A senior Russian military official, Lt Gen Vladimir Alekseyev, has been rushed to hospital after being shot in Moscow on Friday, state media reported.
A Japanese cherry blossom festival near Mount Fuji has been canceled, with officials citing a rise in disrespectful behavior by tourists.
Stat of the day: Oregon must dismiss more than 1,400 criminal cases owing to attorney shortage, court rules
More than 1,400 pending criminal cases across Oregon will be dropped after its supreme court ruled that dismissals are required if the state fails to provide counsel within 60 days after arraignment for a misdemeanor, and within 90 days for a felony. The decision is because of a severe attorney shortage; hundreds of people have been waiting more than a year for an attorney, with advocates warning this affects their housing, employment and families.
Culture pick: ‘I’ve been advised not to say certain things’: The Secret Agent makers on Oscars, dictators and death threats
The Secret Agent, the Brazilian political thriller that takes place at the peak of the dictatorship in 1977, centers on an academic who is plotting to escape Brazil and must flee the hitmen hired by an industrialist to kill him. Despite being set half a century ago, the movie is also a response to Brazil’s more recent political history. The actor Wagner Moura and writer-director Kleber Mendonça Filho say they have suffered professional prohibitions, smear campaigns and death threats for speaking out, with Moura saying: “It wasn’t easy to be vocal about [Jair] Bolsonaro.”
Don’t miss this: Meet the Excel world champion
Diarmuid Early started using Microsoft Excel while studying maths at university; later, he became the guy in the office people went to with their spreadsheet queries. Since then, the Irishman has won multiple Excel contests, with the esport, which is now broadcast on ESPN, hyped up by commentators and real-time leaderboards. “I have been called the LeBron James of spreadsheets, but I try not to take myself too seriously,” Early says.
Climate check: Michigan accuses big oil of being ‘cartel’ that fuels climate crisis and high energy costs
Michigan has sued major oil companies for allegedly fueling soaring energy costs and climate crisis, in a landmark complaint. The state’s attorney general, Dana Nessel, accused four fossil fuel majors and the top US oil lobbying group last month of acting as a “cartel” to stifle the growth of renewable energy and electric vehicles (EVs), while suppressing information about the dangers of the climate crisis.
Last Thing: Is Orangey the most important movie cat ever?
Just one cat has twice won the Patsy – the Picture Animal Top Star of the Year: Orangey. Though his most famous role is in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, a small retrospective at New York City’s Metrograph cinema showcases the breadth of his silver screen performances. Take it with a pinch of salt though; doubts remain about just how many cats were employed for the various roles the cat was credited for across his “biologically feasible but logistically questionable” 16-year career.
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
