Advertisement
Canada markets close in 3 hours 56 minutes
  • S&P/TSX

    22,189.29
    +82.21 (+0.37%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,253.61
    +5.12 (+0.10%)
     
  • DOW

    39,783.78
    +23.70 (+0.06%)
     
  • CAD/USD

    0.7387
    +0.0015 (+0.20%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    82.67
    +1.32 (+1.62%)
     
  • Bitcoin CAD

    96,492.98
    +3,019.88 (+3.23%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,234.80
    +22.10 (+1.00%)
     
  • RUSSELL 2000

    2,133.15
    +18.80 (+0.89%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.1850
    -0.0110 (-0.26%)
     
  • NASDAQ

    16,398.74
    -0.78 (-0.00%)
     
  • VOLATILITY

    12.86
    +0.08 (+0.63%)
     
  • FTSE

    7,964.68
    +32.70 (+0.41%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     
  • CAD/EUR

    0.6839
    +0.0034 (+0.50%)
     

First Thing: Biden breaks silence on ceasefire eight days into Israel-Gaza conflict

<span>Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images</span>
Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Good morning

Joe Biden has expressed support for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza’s militant rulers Hamas for the first time, but stopped short of calling for an immediate halt to the eight days of Israeli airstrikes and Hamas rocket barrages.

The president’s statement came after a phone conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister. In the call, the White House said Biden “reiterated his firm support for Israel’s right to defend itself” and “expressed his support for a ceasefire”.

Palestinians demonstrate the city of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, in solidarity with Gaza today.
Palestinians demonstrate the city of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, in solidarity with Gaza. Photograph: Abbas Momani/AFP/Getty Images

Meanwhile, the US blocked – for the third time in a week – the adoption of a joint UN security council statement calling for a halt to Israeli-Palestinian violence.

ADVERTISEMENT
  • In the early hours, Israel carried out fresh airstrikes on Gaza. Regional protests are expected on Tuesday following a call by Palestinian citizens of Israel for a general strike.

  • According to the latest death tolls, 212 Palestinians have been killed, including 61 children, and 10 people have been killed in Israel, including two children.

  • What is the international reaction? Arab states have split for the first time on the issue. Meanwhile, the EU is being sidelined and divided.

  • Peter Beinart writes about the Jewish case for Palestinian refugee return in the long read.

The US supreme court to hear landmark abortion case

An abortion rights advocate at the Capitol in Jackson, Mississippi in 2019.
An abortion rights advocate at the Capitol in Jackson, Mississippi in 2019. Photograph: Rogelio V Solis/AP

Reproductive rights groups fear access to abortion in the US could be rolled back after the supreme court agreed to hear what could be the most consequential case on the divisive issue in nearly 50 years.

In the new case, Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Mississippi’s last abortion clinic is challenging the constitutionality of outlawing abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

  • What’s the significance of the case? Since Roe v Wade, the court’s landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide, women in the US have had the constitutional right to abortion until viability, usually at about 24 weeks. It will be the first heard big abortion case heard by the court since the arrival of conservative Trump appointee Amy Coney Barrett.

  • While the state is not asking to overrule Roe v Wade, the development has alarmed abortion rights supporters, writes Jessica Glenza. If the court upholds Mississippi’s law it could lead to more abortion restrictions.

  • Over 20 states would ban abortion completely if Roe were overturned. Since January alone, more than 500 abortion restrictions have been added across 46 states.

  • Around six in 10 Americans believe abortion should be legal in either all or the majority of cases.

  • Meanwhile, Biden’s attorney general Merrick Garland is putting domestic terror and civil rights at the top of the justice agenda, writes Peter Stone.

At least 1,000 people in LA under wildfire evacuation order

A woman and her dog watches as a plume of smoke rises from a wildfire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles on Sunday.
A woman and her dog watches as a plume of smoke rises from a wildfire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles on Sunday. Photograph: Ringo HW Chiu/AP

At least 1,000 Los Angeles residents are under evacuation orders and more than 1,300 acres have been burned after a wildfire broke out in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Parts of LA are shrouded with plumes of smoke and ash from the Palisades fire, which broke out on Friday and exponentially grew on Saturday. Around 500 first responders are working to contain the fire.

  • What caused the fire? Investigators suspect an arsonist may have caused it and are holding a suspect in custody, LA mayor Eric Garcetti said on Monday.

  • Due to global heating, the fire season in California and the west is “starting earlier and ending later each year,” warned Cal Fire, the state’s wildfire agency.

  • Also in California, Abené Clayton reports on the deadly toll of “ghost guns” – weapons ordered online and assembled at home.

In other news…

Indonesian students pick up plastic waste during clean up on the coast of Surabaya.
Indonesian students pick up plastic waste during clean up on the coast of Surabaya. Photograph: INA Photo Agency/Rex/Shutterstock
  • Just 20 firms produce a staggering 55% of the world’s plastic waste, a report has found. The Plastic Waste Makers index revealed that ExxonMobil is the greatest single-use plastic waste polluter in the world, with 5.9m tonnes. It also found that Australia generates the most single-use plastic per capita, followed by the US, South Korea and the UK.

  • A “Covid casino” case in Canada has collapsed after police officers were accused of stealing luxury watches and planting evidence. Police in Ontario previously said they had seized more than $10m in assets, firearms, liquor and cash following a months-long investigation and 29 people were arrested, including the owner of a mansion north of Toronto that allegedly operated an underground casino during the pandemic.

  • Joe Biden has pledged to send 20m doses of US-approved coronavirus vaccines overseas by the end of June. The president’s announcement on Monday, combined with the 60m doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine that has already been promised, means a total of 80m doses will be sent abroad in the next six weeks. “Our nation is going to be the arsenal of vaccines for the rest of the world,” he said.

  • Nasa is leading a push for electric planes in the next frontier to cut emissions. In the next year, at a site in California, the agency will look for a breakthrough on how to remove carbon pollution from flying with a new generation of battery-powered planes. They hope to phase in electric flights within 15 years.

Stat of the day: Amazon paid only a 9.4% federal income tax rate in 2020 – under half what it should have done

According to calculations by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the global retail giant paid less than half the 21% statutory corporate tax. A group of millionaires protested outside the New York and Washington homes of its billionaire owner Jeff Bezos yesterday to mark Tax Day. The protest was led by Patriotic Millionaires, a group of rich individuals who support progressive policy changes, to mark Tax Day. The Biden administration has proposed raising the corporate tax rate to 28%, which would partly undo the cuts made by Donald Trump in 2017. Previously the top rate was 35%.

Don’t miss this: How green is Denver if you’re Black?

How a 155-acre golf course has become a lightning rod in debates over gentrification, open spaces and racial equity in Denver, Colorado. Park Hill golf course is an oasis of green space in the middle of a neighbourhood where over 40% of residents identify as African American, writes Caroline Tracey. It is supposed to be protected by state law, but after it was bought in 2019 it is feared it could be turned into a development. “I’m not a golfer. I’m interested in open space,” says Sandy Robnette, a Black resident. “And what I see here is environmental racism.”

Last Thing: As Shrek turns 20, the flatulent ogre has not aged well

When it was released in 2001, Shrek was a hit with audiences and critics. The animation, featuring a green flatulent ogre with the voice of Mike Myers as its protagonist and a donkey and princess voiced by Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz respectively, spurred an entire franchise, including several more films. But assessing the hit as it turns 20, Scott Tobias is not impressed, arguing that the film signified “the movement when blockbuster animation circled the drain. Shrek is a terrible movie. It’s not funny. It looks awful.”

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