The Guardian-First Thing

"Airstrikes hit Iran-Iraq border as US and Israeli plans to mobilize Kurds gathers pace."

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Support independent journalism Support us   First Thing: airstrikes hit Iran-Iraq border as US and Israeli plans to mobilise Kurds gathers pace Experts warn backing Iran’s ethnic communities could increase the risk of a chaotic civil war. Plus, Pam Bondi subpoenaed by US House in Jeffrey Epstein investigation  A member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran inspects a damaged building after an Iranian cross-border attack in the town of Koye in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Photograph: Safin Hamid/AFP/Getty Images Clea Skopeliti Good morning. Intense waves of airstrikes have hit dozens of military positions, frontier posts and police stations along northern parts of Iran’s border with Iraq, in what appeared to be preparation by the US and Israel for a new front as their war entered its sixth day. A US official with knowledge of the discussions between Washington and Kurdish officials said the US was ready to provide air support if Kurdish fighters crossed the border from northern Iraq. Meanwhile, Baloch militant groups opposed to the Tehran regime have also moved from remote mountain bases in Pakistan across the border into Iran, according to local officials. What blowback could result from backing armed groups from Iran’s ethnic communities? Experts have warned it may heighten the risk of a chaotic civil war if the current regime collapses. What is the latest on US military operations? Top military officials told lawmakers that the US may not have the capacity to shoot down every Iranian drone being launched against its military assets, according to two people familiar with the matter. As a result, the US is focused on rapidly destroying the launch sites for Iran’s drones and conventional missiles. Pam Bondi subpoenaed by Congress in Jeffrey Epstein investigation  Pam Bondi testifies before a hearing on oversight of the Justice Department. Photograph: Kent Nishimura/Reuters Five Republicans on the House oversight committee backed Democrats to subpoena the attorney general, Pam Bondi, as part of the ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The committee voted 24-19 to pass a motion introduced by the Republican representative Nancy Mace to compel Bondi to testify. In addition to Mace, Republican representatives Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Michael Cloud of Texas and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania supported the motion. Mace has strongly criticized Bondi over what she says have been the Department of Justice’s failures regarding the Epstein files. Who else has criticized the Department of Justice and why? Lawmakers on both sides have condemned the department’s handling of the documents, which has included accidentally publishing the names of survivors and redacting, without explanation, the names of those who may have committed crimes. California Democrats defy own party’s call to abandon crowded race Candidates in the race to become California’s next governor have so far ignored calls from the state’s Democratic party to drop out unless they have a “viable path” to victory. At least nine Democrats are competing to replace the outgoing governor, Gavin Newsom, with no clear frontrunner, fuelling fears that the Democratic primary vote could be divided enough to allow two Republicans to advance to the November election. Rusty Hicks, the chair of California’s Democratic party, warned in an open letter on Tuesday about that “unlikely” but “possible” scenario. He said candidates should be prepared to end their campaigns within the next month if they haven’t made “meaningful progress” toward a primary win. The candidates have argued that the decision must be left to voters. In other news …  Sam Altman attends a session at an AI Impact summit in India. Photograph: Rajat Gupta/EPA The CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, has admitted that his company can’t control the Pentagon’s use of AI in military operations, amid concerns from employees over how the technology will be deployed. Weight loss drugs could help people avoid getting addicted to alcohol, tobacco and drugs including opioids and cocaine, according to research. US House representative Tony Gonzales has admitted he had an affair with an aide who died by suicide last year, after the House ethics committee said it was investigating allegations. Stat of the day: gen Z men twice as likely as baby boomers to believe wives should obey husbands  Twenty-one per cent of gen Z men believed that men who took part in caregiving for children were less masculine. Photograph: DCPhoto/Alamy Almost a third (31%) of generation Z men believe a wife should always obey her husband, according to a global survey that found the younger cohort hold more conservative views than their parents and grandparents. Just 13% of baby boomer men (born 1946-1964) agreed with this statement. The research, which spanned 29 countries, including Great Britain, the US, Brazil, Australia and India, found 18% of gen Z women agreed with this view, compared with 6% of baby boomer women. The Filter recommends: glass food containers to cut down on waste  Glass containers are great for reheating leftovers. Photograph: Johner Images/Getty Images/Johner RF The food writer Emily Farris used to struggle to avoid waste when storing leftovers from a party. Her kids rarely wanted to eat back-to-back leftovers, and things sometimes went bad at the back of the refrigerator. But she found glass food containers helped in cutting down waste: portion-sized boxes are easier to stick in the freezer, and they can be heated up in the microwave, saving on dishes. Don’t miss this: ‘There is no shame in being vain’ – the relentless rise of impossible male beauty standards  Alexander the Great, whose profile had Aristotle’s idealised wide-open gaze and resolute jaw. Composite: Guardian Design; PHAS;Universal Images Group/Getty Images While women’s faces have long dominated media attention, men are now having their features dissected and speculated about like never before. Recent years have seen the explosion of gym culture and “looksmaxxing” – supposedly improving your physical attractiveness, a term that originated in “incel” circles. Dr Fay Bound-Alberti, a writer and modern history professor, explores what this shift tells us – and why it’s political. Climate check: tiny Pacific island moves forward with UN resolution despite ‘frustrating’ opposition from Trump  Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s minister for climate change, speaks to the press. Photograph: Peter Dejong/AP The Trump administration’s efforts to scupper a UN resolution demanding countries act on the climate crisis has weakened the proposal – but hasn’t entirely killed it, according to Vanatu, which is spearheading the effort. The US has put pressure on the Pacific island country, which considers itself existentially threatened by the climate emergency, to drop its UN draft resolution that calls on the world to implement a landmark international court of justice ruling that could lead to countries paying reparations if they fail to act. Last Thing: Punch the monkey starts to outgrow his Ikea plushie  Punch the monkey climbs on the back of another Japanese macaque in their playground at the Ichikawa city zoo in Tokyo. Photograph: Hiro Komae/AP Punch, a baby macaque who went viral for clinging on to an Ikea toy orangutan for comfort after he was rejected by his mother and other monkeys at a zoo in Japan, is starting to outgrow his plushie. Punch seems to now be relying on it less and is starting to socialize: he was recently spotted climbing on the back of another monkey. 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   Betsy Reed US editor, the Guardian At this unsettling time I hope you appreciated this newsletter. Before you move on, I wanted to ask if you could support the Guardian at this crucial time for journalism in the US. In his first presidency, Donald Trump called journalists the enemy; a year into his second term, it’s clear that this time around, he’s treating us like one. From Hungary to Russia, authoritarian regimes have made silencing independent media one of their defining moves. Sometimes outright censorship isn’t even required to achieve this goal. In the United States, we have seen the administration apply various forms of pressure on news outlets since Trump's return to office. One of our great disappointments is how quickly some of the most storied US media organizations have folded when faced with the mere specter of hostility from the administration – long before their hand was forced. While private news organizations can choose how to respond to this government’s threats, insults and lawsuits, public media has been powerless to stop the defunding of federally supported television and radio. This has been devastating for local and rural communities, who stand to lose not only their primary source of local news and cultural programming, but health and public safety information, including emergency alerts. While we cannot make up for this loss, the Guardian is proud to make our fact-based work available for free to all, especially when the internet is increasingly flooded with slanted reporting, misinformation and algorithmic drivel. Being free from billionaire and corporate ownership means the Guardian will never compromise our independence – but it also means we rely on support from readers who understand how essential it is to have news sources that are immune to intimidation from the powerful. We value whatever you can spare, but a recurring contribution makes the most impact, enabling greater investment in our most crucial, fearless journalism. We’ve made it very quick to set up, so we hope you’ll consider it. Thank you. Support us     Manage your emails | Unsubscribe | Trouble viewing? You are receiving this email because you are a subscriber to First Thing: the US morning briefing. Guardian News & Media Limited - a member of Guardian Media Group PLC. Registered Office: Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU. Registered in England No. 908396