LA Pride pulls out of Dodgers’ Pride Night after drag nun group is disinvited

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a non-profit order of queer and trans ‘nuns’, were left out after objection from conservatives

LA Pride has pulled out of an annual Pride Night hosted by the Dodgers after the team disinvited a non-profit drag group from the event.

Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Dodgers rescinded an invitation to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a well-known San Francisco order of queer and trans ‘nuns’ that has existed since the 1970s, amid opposition from conservative Catholics. The group, which does does charitable and protest work in addition to its street drag show performances, was set to receive an award during a ceremony before a 16 June game against the San Francisco Giants.

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Nebraska legislature passes 12-week abortion ban after bitter struggle

Draft law, which governor has promised to sign, also puts restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors

The Nebraska state legislature on Friday approved a 12-week abortion ban and restrictions on gender-affirming care for children in a move so contentious that lawmakers on both sides have said they may be unable to work together in the future.

Conservative lawmakers wrangled just enough votes to end a filibuster and pass a bill with both measures. The Republican governor, Jim Pillen, who pushed for the bill and met with various lawmakers to shore up support, has promised to sign it into law.

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Ex-chief of Brazil’s Indigenous agency charged over murders of Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips

Marcelo Xavier accused of indirectly contributing on the grounds that he failed to take steps to protect workers in Amazon

Federal police have brought criminal charges against the former head of Brazil’s Indigenous protection agency for alleged acts of omission they believe indirectly paved the way for the murders of Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips in the Amazon last year.

Brazil’s former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro made Marcelo Xavier the head of the Indigenous agency Funai in July 2019, six months into his environmentally devastating four-year administration.

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Indigenous nation in US seeks to block billion-dollar port project in Canada

Lummi Nation in Washington state says it holds transboundary rights and that Canada has failed to ‘consult and accommodate’

A tribal nation in the United States is seeking to block approval for a multibillion dollar port expansion in Canada, arguing that it holds transboundary rights and should have been included in consultation process.

The effort to block approval of a controversial new container terminal project in Vancouver marks the first major attempt to use a recent landmark decision by the Canadian supreme court, which found that some Indigenous peoples living in the US have rights in Canada.

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Hyundai and Kia settle lawsuit worth $200m over vehicle theft due to TikTok

A trend on the app, which started spreading in 2021, challenged users to steal cars made by the automakers using a USB cable

Hyundai and Kia have agreed to settle a consumer class-action lawsuit worth $200m over rampant thefts of the vehicles because of a TikTok trend.

In February, the Korean automakers said they would offer software upgrades to 8.3m US vehicles to help curb a stark increase in thefts using a method popularized on TikTok and other social media channels.

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Florida: parents of trans children seek to block state ban on gender-affirming care

Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill that prohibits hormone-related therapy to treat gender dysphoria in minors

The parents of three transgender children in Florida are trying to get a federal judge to block a new law that bans gender-affirming care for minors, a signature policy of Republican governor Ron DeSantis as he nears the official launch of his presidential campaign.

US district judge Robert Hinkle on Friday heard arguments from an attorney representing the three families in a case that argues they are being stripped of the right to make medical decisions for their children.

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Obama among 500 banned from Russia in retaliation for US sanctions

Moscow also denied consular access to detained journalist as US imposes more punitive measures in response to Ukraine invasion

Russia’s foreign ministry has said former President Barack Obama is among 500 US citizens who will be banned in response to the latest round of sanctions announced by Washington.

The ministry also said on Friday that Russia had refused the latest US request for consular access to the detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in March on suspicion of spying.

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Ron DeSantis claims only ‘Biden and me’ have a winning chance in 2024 US presidential race, report says – live

Republican Florida governor reportedly dismissed Donald Trump’s chances as he gears up to announce his candidacy on Wednesday

The odds for Republican presidential candidates who are not Donald Trump appear to be long, but that doesn’t mean running is a bad idea. The former president is in an array of legal trouble, facing a felony indictment in New York City and an ongoing investigation by justice department special counsel Jack Smith. Meanwhile, in Georgia, the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell reports that we could learn whether a county district attorney will bring charges against Trump or his allies in late July. If any of these matters became serious enough to knock him out of the race, candidates like Tim Scott or Ron DeSantis could benefit:

The Fulton county district attorney investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state of Georgia signalled Thursday that charging decisions in the case may come starting the final week of July, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

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Georgia prosecutor signals charges in 2020 election inquiry may come end of July

Fani Willis prepared her team for remote work during that time, expected to be the window for indictments

The Fulton county district attorney investigating Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state of Georgia signalled Thursday that charging decisions in the case may come starting the final week of July, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

The indication from the prosecutor, Fani Willis, first came during a meeting with her full team where she told them to make preparations to work remotely during the final week of July and through the first weeks of August, the people said.

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US indicates it will not block European countries exporting F-16s to Ukraine

Shift in stance could allow countries such as the Netherlands to send US-designed fighter jets to Ukraine

US officials have indicated that the White House would not block any European countries seeking to export F-16 jets to Ukraine, potentially averting a standoff over the issue at the G7 summit in Japan.

The shift in stance, first reported by the Washington Post, could eventually allow countries such as the Netherlands to export the US-designed jets once pilots and ground crews have been trained.

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China wants to subordinate west, US politician claims on UK visit

Republican Mike Gallagher, leading delegation to London, says world is in ‘window of maximum danger’

Beijing wants to “subordinate and humiliate” the west, according to the Republican chair of a newly created China committee in Congress who is leading a delegation of hawkish US politicians on a two-day trip to the UK.

Mike Gallagher argued that China, under President Xi Jinping, believed in “the inevitable demise of capitalism”, and said he hoped to better understand how far British politicians of all parties shared his committee’s concerns.

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Salman Rushdie makes first public appearance since attack, praising ‘heroes’ who saved him

A surprise speaker at the Pen America gala, the author said ‘if it had not been for these people, I most certainly would not be standing here’

Salman Rushdie has made his first public appearance since he was stabbed and lost sight in one eye after being attacked at a literary event, joking that it was “nice to be back – as opposed to not being back, which was also an option”.

Rushdie was a surprise attendee at the Pen America gala on Thursday night in New York. The author was greeted with a standing ovation according to the New York Times. After his remarks about being back, he said he was “pretty glad the dice rolled this way”.

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Disney cancels plans for $1bn campus in Florida amid battle with DeSantis

Company has clashed with governor over anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, prompting state to strip its self-governing power

Disney has scrapped plans to build a near $1bn (£804m) corporate campus for 2,000 employees in Florida, amid an increasingly bitter political and legal battle with the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, over the future of the entertainment giant’s theme parks.

Walt Disney, which has also announced the closure of its $2,500-a-night “Star Wars” Galactic Starcruiser Hotel in Orlando, said it would no longer relocate California-based employees including theme park ride designers to the new campus about 18 miles (30km) east of Walt Disney World.

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Zelenskiy to attend G7 in person as leaders prepare new Russian sanctions | First Thing

Ukraine’s president will attend Hiroshima meeting on Sunday as leaders prepare to target exports to Russia. Plus, humanity’s first record of kissing

Good morning.

The G7 group of major economies will unveil further sanctions and export controls targeting Russia over its war against Ukraine, as it was announced that the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, would attend the Hiroshima summit in person.

What will be discussed during the summit? Japanese media said that the leaders’ communique was expected to include a call for countries to stop providing weapons to Russia to prosecute its war in Ukraine. Citing unnamed Japanese government officials, the Asahi Shimbun said discussions would focus on how G7 countries could close loopholes to strengthen sanctions against the Kremlin.

What else is on the agenda? China is expected to be discussed and disagreements on how to address China’s growing global influence could overshadow the summit, with a senior French official warning that the meeting should not turn into an “anti-Chinese G7”. On Friday, the European Council president, Charles Michel, said it was in the EU’s interest to maintain “stable and constructive” cooperation with China.

What does the lawsuit say? “Montana can no more ban its residents from viewing or posting to TikTok than it could ban the Wall Street Journal because of who owns it or the ideas it publishes,” it said.

What has Austin Knudsen, Montana’s attorney general, who is named in the lawsuit, said? Emily Flower, a spokesperson for Knudsen, said the state was ready for lawsuits. “We expected a legal challenge and are fully prepared to defend the law,” she said.

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US airline ‘sincerely apologizes’ to family over Puerto Rico passport error

Spirit Airlines agent refused to let Puerto Rican family board plane from Los Angeles, even though passport is not required

Spirit Airlines refused to allow a Puerto Rican family to board a flight from Los Angeles to Puerto Rico because they did not have a passport for their two-year old child.

Speaking to CBS, Marivi Roman Torres, who was traveling with her husband, Luís, and son, Alejandro, said the problem occurred at the ticket counter.

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Pentagon error overvalued US weapons aid to Ukraine by $3bn

‘Inconsistencies in how we value equipment’ could lead to more weapons being sent to Kyiv to defend against Russian forces

The Pentagon overestimated the value of the ammunition, missiles and other equipment it sent to Ukraine by about $3bn, an error that may lead the way for more weapons being sent to Kyiv for its defense against Russian forces.

The error was the result of assigning a higher-than-warranted value on weaponry that was taken from US stocks and then shipped to Ukraine, two senior defense officials said on Thursday.

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House speaker McCarthy says ‘I see the path’ to debt ceiling deal with Democrats – as it happened

Republican gives positive remarks to reporters as 11 Democratic senators sign letter to Biden urging him to use 14th amendment to avoid default

Eleven Democratic senators have signed a letter to Joe Biden urging him to consider invoking the 14th amendment to prevent the United States from defaulting if the debt ceiling is not raised.

The letter, which first became public yesterday, was signed by Democrats Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley, Ed Markey, Mazie Hirono, Peter Welch, Richard Blumenthal, Jack Reed, Sheldon Whitehouse, John Fetterman and Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.

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Dancers at Los Angeles club become US’s only unionized strippers

Unanimous vote by 17 dancers marks the first time Actors Equity association represents strip club workers

After months of late-night picketing in North Hollywood, the dancers of the Star Garden Topless Dive Bar have become the only unionized strippers in the US.

Their victory was finalized with a unanimous vote by 17 dancers in favor of unionization on Thursday morning , and marks the first time that the Actors Equity association, a century-old union for stage actors, singers and dancers, will represent strip club workers, the union said.

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US risks rift with European allies over hesitancy to supply F-16s to Ukraine

UK and Netherlands want to create ‘international coalition’ to procure US-made fighter jets and train Ukrainian pilots and crews

Washington risks opening a rift with European allies over its reluctance to contemplate supplying F-16 fighters to Ukraine, with the issue likely to crop up at the forthcoming G7 summit in Japan.

This week, after Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s visit to Europe, the UK and the Netherlands said they would create an “international coalition” to procure the US-made F-16s and train Ukrainian pilots and crews.

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Gun violence is top public health concern for quarter of Americans – poll

After several mass shootings this year, 26% of Americans believe guns are the number one public health threat

A quarter of Americans now believe guns are the number one public health threat, according to new polling.

According to the Axios/Ipsos American Health Index, 26% of Americans believe access to guns is the top threat to public health. Around 25% believe opioids and fentanyl are the top concern.

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