Good morning.<\/p>\n
Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 41%<\/a> on imports from dozens of trade partners, in his latest attempt to reshape the global economy.<\/p>\n However, in a minor reprieve that opens the door to further negotiations, the White House said these measures would take effect in a week, not Friday, the deadline previously set by Trump.<\/p>\n The new rates, which Trump sees as benefiting US exporters, unleash a fresh round of uncertainty for dozens of countries, including longtime US allies. It has also raised fears of inflation in the US.<\/p>\n Which countries have higher rates? Rates were set at 25% for India\u2019s US-bound exports, 20% for Taiwan and 30% for South Africa. Switzerland faces a rate of 39%. The deadline for a tariff deal with Mexico was extended by another 90 days.<\/p>\n The mathematics of starvation: how Israel caused a famine in GazaPalestinians struggle to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Photograph: Haitham Imad\/EPA<\/p>\n The mathematics of famine are simple in Gaza<\/a>. Palestinians cannot leave, war has ended farming and Israel has banned fishing, so practically every calorie its population eats must be brought in from outside.<\/p>\n Israel knows how much food is needed. It has been calibrating hunger in Gaza for decades, initially calculating shipments to exert pressure while avoiding starvation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger,\u201d a senior adviser to the then prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said in 2006. An Israeli court ordered the release of documents showing the details of those macabre sums two years later.<\/p>\n What has Israel said? As Gaza has slid into famine this summer, Israeli officials have variously denied<\/a> the existence of mass starvation, claimed without evidence<\/a> that Hamas steals and hoards aid, or blamed hunger on UN distribution failures, sharing pictures of aid pallets awaiting collection inside the border.<\/p>\n Virginia Giuffre wanted Epstein documents made public, siblings sayVirginia Giuffre speaks during a news conference in New York in 2019. Photograph: Bebeto Matthews\/AP<\/p>\n The siblings of Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s most prominent accusers, who died this year, said their sister had wanted the so-called Epstein files to be released<\/a>, and urged Trump not to pardon Epstein\u2019s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.<\/p>\n In an interview with NBC News on Thursday<\/a>, Giuffre\u2019s family said she would have wanted the documents \u2013 a trove of materials related to the investigation into the late sex offender \u2013 made public.<\/p>\n \u201cShe had a little bit of hope in her because it was said that the files were going to be released,\u201d Amanda Roberts, Giuffre\u2019s sister-in-law, told the network in an interview, saying Giuffre would have wanted \u201ctransparency and justice\u201d for his victims.<\/p>\n What did they say about Trump\u2019s comments this week that Epstein \u2018stole\u2019 Giuffre and others from Mar-a-Lago? \u201cShe\u2019s not an object, she\u2019s a person,\u201d Sky Roberts, Giuffre\u2019s brother, said through tears. \u201cShe\u2019s a mom. She\u2019s a sister. And she was recruited by Maxwell. She wasn\u2019t stolen.\u201d<\/p>\n In other news \u2026\u2018These are dark days\u2019 Biden warned in a speech criticising the Trump administration. Photograph: Kamil Krzaczy\u0144ski\/Reuters<\/p>\n Joe Biden has said the US is facing an \u201cexistential\u201d fight<\/a> and marginalized groups are \u201cdramatically under attack\u201d. The former president said some politicians watched deportations of legal immigrants with \u201cglee\u201d, in a speech to the National Bar Association gala.<\/p>\n Justin Timberlake has said he is suffering from Lyme disease<\/a>, a serious illness usually contracted after being bitten by a tick. There has been a surge in prevalence of the disease across a swathe of the US in recent years.<\/p>\n The historian Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said professor emeritus of modern Arab studies at Columbia University, has cancelled plans to teach this fall, in response to the school\u2019s recent agreement with the Trump administration<\/a>.<\/p>\n Stat of the day: Trump to build \u2018beautiful\u2019 $200m ballroom at White HouseThe White House, as seen from the South Lawn before a picnic for military families last month. Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson\/AP<\/p>\n The White House will soon begin construction of a new $200m ballroom<\/a> to be ready before Donald Trump\u2019s term ends in early 2029. The press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said the building would be 90,000 sq ft (8,300 sq metres) and would hold up to 650 seats. It will be the latest change introduced to what\u2019s known as \u201cthe People\u2019s House\u201d since the Republican president returned to office in January.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t miss this: The enduring brilliance of Peter Sellers \u2013 \u2018There\u2019s never been a better comic actor\u2019Peter Sellers in 1966. Photograph: TCD\/Prod.DB\/Alamy<\/p>\n The actor was born 100 years ago \u2013 and his performances still induce hysteria today. Fans and collaborators such as Michael Palin, Woody Allen and Lesley-Anne Down explain why<\/a>. \u201cSpike was the imaginative genius who wrote The Goon Show but it was Sellers who brought me to tears with his gallery of unforgettable characters: Major Bloodnok, Bluebottle, Henry Crun, Hercules Grytpype-Thynne,\u201d Palin says.<\/p>\n Climate check: Monarch butterflies\u2019 mass die-off in 2024 caused by pesticide exposure, says studyA monarch butterfly resting on a plant in El Rosario butterfly sanctuary in Michoac\u00e1n state, Mexico in 2022. Photograph: Erin Hooley\/AP<\/p>\n A 2024 mass monarch butterfly die-off in southern California was probably caused by pesticide exposure, peer-reviewed research has found<\/a>. Researchers discovered hundreds of butterflies that had died or were dying in January 2024. Testing of 10 of the insects revealed an average of seven pesticides in each, and at levels that researchers suspect were lethal.<\/p>\n Last Thing: Labubu for life \u2013 how did a viral doll became a \u2018social currency\u2019? Just ask these diehard fansPeople queue in the first Pop Mart store selling Labubu toys in Berlin, Germany. Photograph: Clemens Bilan\/EPA<\/p>\n Since hitting the market in 2019, Labubus have become a global phenomenon<\/a>. Their popularity has been fueled by social media posts of live unboxings that showcase rare collections. Launches of new editions sell out on Pop Mart within minutes, sending the company\u2019s profits soaring over the past year. Avid collectors say that acquiring the dolls has become almost like a \u201csocial currency\u201d, according to one meet-up attender.<\/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