Good morning.<\/p>\n
The US government shut down on Wednesday<\/a>, after congressional Democrats refused to support a Republican plan to extend funding unless they were granted certain concessions on healthcare.<\/p>\n The GOP, which controls the Senate and the House of Representatives, refused their demands, and the Senate failed to advance both parties\u2019 bills to keep funding going past midnight.<\/p>\n Last month, House Republicans passed a bill that would fund the government until 21 November, but it requires the support of some Democrats to clear the 60-vote threshold for advancement in the Senate.<\/p>\n It failed to gain that support in votes held late on Tuesday, and Republicans also blocked a Democratic proposal to continue funding through October while also making policy changes. Republicans refused Democrat demands to address recent Medicaid cuts and extend health insurance subsidies<\/a> under the Affordable Care Act as a non-starter.<\/p>\n What does a shutdown mean in practice? Federal employees classified as \u201cnon-excepted\u201d are placed on unpaid furlough<\/a>, while excepted staff, whose jobs involve protecting life and property, must work without pay until the shutdown ends.<\/p>\n Will there be another vote? Yes: Senate Republicans have scheduled another round of votes on the two funding bills on Wednesday morning, stating they did so to allow Democrats to change their minds. Follow our liveblog here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump says military should use US cities as \u2018training grounds\u2019 after Hegseth decries DEI effortsPete Hegseth and Donald Trump at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia on Tuesday. Photograph: Evan Vucci\/AP<\/p>\n At an address of assembled generals and admirals<\/a>, Donald Trump has suggested they should consider targeting US cities and civilian populations as a training exercise.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military \u2013 national guard, but military \u2013 because we\u2019re going into Chicago very soon, that\u2019s a big city with an incompetent governor,\u201d Trump said, attacking JB Pritzker, the Illinois governor.<\/p>\n His comments followed Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, defending changes to military policy around fitness, race and gender, describing the previous state of military affairs as the \u201cwoke department\u201d.<\/p>\n What else did Trump say? The president\u2019s comments included encouragement of retaliation by immigration enforcement agents: he said that when faced with people throwing bricks at their vehicles, \u201cyou can get out of that car and you do whatever the hell you want to do\u201d.<\/p>\n Trump says $500m deal reached with Harvard to settle disputeTrump in the Oval Office yesterday. Photograph: Ken Cedeno\/Reuters<\/p>\n Trump said on Tuesday that his administration had reached a deal<\/a> with Harvard and that the university would pay $500m to settle its dispute with the federal government.<\/p>\n The president noted that the deal was not yet confirmed on paper and it was unclear what terms, beyond money, would be involved. The development came after the administration cut federal funding from the school and attempted to ban it from enrolling international students, following months of Trump accusing the university of violating federal civil rights law in its treatment of Jewish and Israeli students.<\/p>\n Protesters, including some Jewish groups, have said the government wrongly equates criticism of Israel\u2019s war in Gaza with antisemitism.<\/p>\n In other news \u2026A sales associate shows a customer guns at Bullseye Sport gun shop in Riverside, California, in 2015. Photograph: Jae C Hong\/AP<\/p>\n The US Department of Justice sued the Los Angeles county sheriff\u2019s department on Tuesday for processing gun licenses too slowly<\/a> for people who want to carry concealed weapons.<\/p>\n A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration\u2019s deportation of pro-Palestinian students violates the US constitution and was designed to \u201cintentionally chill\u201d<\/a> free speech rights.<\/p>\n Taiwan has become the biggest importer of Russian naphtha, a crude oil product<\/a> used in the manufacture of semiconductors, despite being an ally of Ukraine.<\/p>\n Slovakia\u2019s parliament has rolled back LGBTQ+ rights, amending its constitution to stipulate<\/a> that male and female are the only recognised sexes and making adoption nearly impossible for same-sex couples.<\/p>\n Satellite image shows the wetland lost to the marina development at \u00c7alt\u0131l\u0131dere in Turkey. Photograph: Google Earth<\/p>\n Europe is losing 600 football pitches of green land a day<\/a>, an investigation by the Guardian and partners has revealed. An analysis of satellite imagery across the UK and mainland Europe over a five-year period has found that green space that is vital for biodiversity, carbon capture and agriculture is rapidly being turned into roads, housing and luxury golf courses.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss this: People think they know what war is. Here\u2019s what I learned in seven years on Ukraine\u2019s frontlineOlga and Nikolay Grinik with their son, Kirill, daughter, Miroslava, and horse, Lastochka (Swallow), at their home in Avdiivka, 2018. Photograph: Anastasia Taylor-Lind<\/p>\n Across Donbas, many people have decided to stay in a war zone and try to continue with their daily routines \u2013 even as the bombs rain down and their neighbors are killed. Alisa Sopova and Anastasia Taylor Lind documented the stories<\/a> of these frontline communities to show what living through war is like: \u201cthe seeming normality of the abnormal, the integration of horror and the mundane\u201d.<\/p>\n Climate check: US energy department cracks down on workers\u2019 use of climate crisis languageThe Eaton fire burns in Altadena, California, on 8 January. Photograph: Nic Coury\/AP<\/p>\n The US Department of Energy has told employees in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to avoid using the words \u201cclimate change\u201d<\/a> and avoid \u201cany terminology \u2026 misaligned with the administration\u2019s perspectives and priorities\u201d. In what appears to be the latest episode in an ongoing crackdown on discussing the climate crisis in the US government, banned words also include \u201cdecarbonization\u201d, \u201csustainable\u201d, \u201cemissions\u201d and \u201cgreen\u201d.<\/p>\n Last Thing: 32 Chunk crowned champion in biggest Fat Bear Week yet32 Chunk, the Fat Bear Week champion. Photograph: T Carmack<\/p>\n Katmai national park and preserve in Alaska has announced the winner of its \u201cbiggest Fat Bear Week yet\u201d<\/a> as a brown bear named 32 Chunk, which was crowned after voters cast their ballots in the bracket-style competition. \u201cThe merely chubby have been winnowed away,\u201d a naturalist said. \u201cWe are left with a clash of titans.\u201d<\/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