Good morning.<\/p>\n
Donald Trump unilaterally announced an extension<\/a> of the two-week ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday amid frantic efforts to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table.<\/p>\n Hours after saying he \u201cexpected to be bombing\u201d, Trump said he would extend the truce until Tehran submitted a proposal for peace. The announcement came on a day where JD Vance\u2019s expected trip to Islamabad was put on hold and after Trump stepped up his aggressive messaging, saying the US military was \u201craring to go\u201d.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s ceasefire rhetoric received short shrift from Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament and Tehran\u2019s lead negotiator. His personal adviser dismissed it as \u201ca ploy to buy time for a surprise strike\u201d, adding that \u201cthe time for Iran to take the initiative has come\u201d.<\/p>\n How are Trump\u2019s negotiating tactics being received? The president\u2019s impatience and rough-house diplomatic style, including his frequent online posting, has been a key stumbling block to restarting peace talks, writes the Guardian\u2019s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour<\/a>.<\/p>\n Is Tehran united on how to deal with Washington? Analysts say it is not, with fierce disagreement among Iranian leaders over how to respond to US pressure and whether to risk a new wave of bombing.<\/p>\n Follow the latest updates with our liveblog<\/a>.<\/p>\n Virginia voters approve new congressional maps in blow to TrumpVirginia held a voting-map referendum on Tuesday. Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson\/AP<\/p>\n Voters in Virginia have approved new congressional maps<\/a> drawn to increase Democrats\u2019 chances of retaking the House of Representatives, as Donald Trump\u2019s gerrymandering efforts backfire.<\/p>\n The tit-for-tat redistricting battle began last year after Trump pressed Texas\u2019s Republican-controlled legislature to redraw that state\u2019s congressional maps in an effort to oust up to five Democratic House lawmakers. California was the first to respond, with voters backing redistricting in favor of Democrats, while Virginia\u2019s governor backed holding a vote to do so, resulting in Tuesday\u2019s referendum.<\/p>\n How much of a boost for the Democrats is Virginia\u2019s referendum result? It could help them win four additional House seats in November\u2019s midterms, which could prove pivotal in an evenly divided Congress.<\/p>\n Trump officials consider sending to Congo 1,100 Afghans who aided US forcesAfghans prepare to board a Qatari evacuation flight in Kabul. Photograph: AP<\/p>\n The Trump administration is in talks to potentially send<\/a> up to 1,100 Afghans who assisted US forces during the Afghanistan war to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a non-profit has confirmed.<\/p>\n The resettlement talks, first reported by the New York Times, follow Donald Trump\u2019s decision to end an initiative that allowed Afghans who helped the US war effort to apply for resettlement in the US.<\/p>\n Who is in the group? The group reportedly includes interpreters and relatives of US military members, as well as more than 400 children. They have been in Qatar for a year. Shawn VanDiver, president of the non-profit AfghanEvac, said 700 were women and children, and 900 were eligible for resettlement in the US.<\/p>\n What is the situation in the DRC? Reeling from decades of conflict and instability, the country is experiencing an enormous displacement crisis.<\/p>\n In other news \u2026About 490 alleged members of the Central American gang MS-13, including its leaders, have gone on trial collectively in El Salvador. Photograph: El Salvador Attorney General\u2019s Office\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n A Salvadoran court began a mass trial of 486 alleged gang members on Tuesday. President Nayib Bukele\u2019s crackdown on gang violence has included a decree allowing mass trials, which human rights experts say are a violation of defendants\u2019 rights.<\/a><\/p>\n The Southern Poverty Law Center, a leading civil rights organization, has been indicted on federal fraud charges over paying informants to infiltrate extremist groups, the justice department has announced<\/a>.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s observer status at the Council of Europe\u2019s parliamentary assembly could be suspended after it introduced the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of some offences, its chief has said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Millions of people in the Indian state of West Bengal have been stripped of their vote before a state election this week, with critics saying it amounted to a mass disenfranchisement of religious minorities<\/a>.<\/p>\n Stat of the day: 46% of US children are breathing dangerous levels of air pollution, report warnsA child watches from the pier in Venice as smoke rises from the Palisades wildfires last January in Los Angeles, California. Photograph: Apu Gomes\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Nearly half (46%) of the children in the US are breathing dangerous<\/a> levels of air pollution, according to the American Lung Association\u2019s new report. The report analyzed data collected between 2022 and 2024, and experts predicted Donald Trump\u2019s gutting of environmental protections would make the situation worse.<\/p>\n Well Actually: My family tried to eat fewer ultra-processed foods for five years. Here\u2019s what we learnedFood inflation in the US in 2025 was 2-3%, and food prices are up about 30% since 2019. Illustration: Sean Dong\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Five years ago, Jen Sherman\u2019s family tried to do something that has become increasingly laborious and expensive in the US, like in much of the world: cut out ultra-processed food (UPF).<\/p>\n Bettina Elias Siegel, a former lawyer, food policy advocate and the author of Kid Food, says: \u201cThe research shows a general correlation between high UPF consumption and poor health. At the same time, we have to remember that UPFs are affordable, accessible and time-saving, which makes them a necessity for many families.\u201d Sherman, who says she is in no way a purist, shares her tips for trying to eat fewer UPFs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss this: #ToddlerSkincare: the \u2018dark and exploitative\u2019 world of children\u2019s beauty videos on TikTokThe Guardian investigation discovered skincare-related posts by hundreds of children under 13. Composite: The Guardian \/ Guardian design<\/p>\n Children as young as two are creating TikTok content about their skincare routines<\/a>, a Guardian investigation has found, raising concerns about the beauty industry\u2019s reach and the lack of safeguards for child influencers. Of the 7,600 skincare-related posts analyzed, 400 featured children believed to be under 13, while at least 90 of these posts featured under-fives. Many closely resembled advertising.<\/p>\n Climate check: Heatwaves, floods and wildfires pose rising threat to democracy, report findsVoters outside a flooded polling station in Kinshasa during the 2018 Democratic Republic of the Congo presidential election. Photograph: Kenny Katombe\/Reuters<\/p>\n The climate crisis is increasingly threatening democracy<\/a>, with floods, wildfires and extreme weather disrupting votes, researchers have found. Democracies in Africa and Asia are especially vulnerable to these pressures as the effects of the climate emergency deepen.<\/p>\n Last Thing: I went to the US to chase aliens. This is what I foundA still from the UFO TV series Curse of Skinwalker Ranch. Photograph: Hearst Networks\/2025 Hearst Networks UK 1996-2025. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n After the Pentagon released its UFO files, confirming that it could not explain more than 140 incidents of flying objects reported by navy officers, Daniel Lavelle went to the US in search of the truth. \u201cI fantasised about having a Woodward and Bernstein moment on my trip,\u201d he writes. \u201cIn a dusty diner in the American south-west, a source would hand me a brown envelope containing indisputable proof of the alien invasion.\u201d That is not quite how it played out \u2026<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up<\/p>\n Sign up for the US morning briefing<\/p>\n<\/p>\n First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you\u2019re not already signed up, subscribe now<\/a>.<\/p>\n Get in touch<\/p>\n