Tuesday briefing: Trump's hawkish budget and Shell's climate amnesia
|
Version 0 of 1. Top story: Aid and environment on Trump’s hit list Hello, it’s Warren Murray getting you out of the blocks this morning. The US president goes to a joint session of Congress today with a plan that includes cutting environmental and foreign aid funding in favour of military spending. “This budget will be a public safety and national security budget,” Trump said. State department and environmental protection programmes face the razor in favour of defence even though the US already spends more on its military than the next eight countries behind it added up. We will also “hear a lot about immigration” in Trump’s speech, said Sean Spicer, his press secretary. The president has meanwhile voiced bewilderment that replacing Obamacare – the attempt at universal healthcare that took years to nurse into existence – is proving “so complicated”. But of course it is necessary because the Affordable Care Act is “a disaster, folks” and everyone thinks they love it when actually they hate it. Academy failure – The organisers of the Oscars have said they “deeply regret” giving Moonlight’s best film award to La La Land by mistake. The instantly notorious bungle was apparently caused by accounting firm PwC’s “breaches of established protocols” for announcing the winner and dealing with any error. Translated: wrong envelope and no one spotted it in time. To the moon, Elon – The Tesla and SpaceX founder has unveiled his goal of sending two people on a flight around the Moon in 2018. In a Bransonesque flourish, Elon Musk said two “private citizens” had come forward willing to pay the tens of millions required for a ride on the as-yet unproven Falcon Heavy rocket. “[They have] their eyes open – we’re doing everything we can to minimize that risk, but it’s not zero,” said Musk. The entrepreneur has not yet put a person into space but has sent plenty of cargo, merrily blowing up a few rockets along the way. The Nightly Show – ITV’s American-style late show had its first outing overnight. Hosted by David Walliams, the experiment that has pushed the flagship News at Ten back to 10.30 featured the obligatory trinket-covered interview desk, writes Mark Lawson, as well as Martin Clunes ambushing a pie shop owner. John Bishop, Gordon Ramsay and Mel & Sue are signed up to host in the weeks ahead. Expect pet videos, celebrity pranks and ordinary folk with their hands clapped to their cheeks in shock/delight/mortification. ‘Unproductive, devastating nightmare’ – The food blogger Jack Monroe is suing Mail Online columnist Katie Hopkins for suggesting that Monroe either defaced or condoned damage to a war memorial. The row arose after Monroe, who writes for the Guardian, was targeted by derogatory tweets from Hopkins that appeared to have been meant for someone else. Monroe is seeking damages for harm to her reputation. ‘In that moment I loathed America’ – The children’s author Mem Fox has given a powerful account of her mistreatment while wrongly detained for questioning over her visa status at Los Angeles airport. Fox describes harrowingly how she was subjected to verbal abuse and intimidation – and was horrified by the treatment of others whose nationality or language displeased their interrogators. In the Trump era the immigration authorities “now have carte blanche to be as horrible and belligerent as they want”, Fox suggests. Lunchtime read: What Shell knew about climate change – in 1991 A remarkably prescient film where the oil company Shell warned of the risks to Earth’s climate from burning fossil fuels has resurfaced decades later. The public information programme declares that fears of extreme weather, floods, famines and climate refugees are endorsed by a “uniquely broad consensus of scientists”. But since making the film Shell has continued investing heavily in carbon-intensive energy sources, from conventional oil to tar sands, while in some instances lobbying to undermine renewable energy targets, writes Damian Carrington. Sport Here’s the latest from the Guardian’s award-winning sports team. Jamie Vardy has claimed Leicester City’s 3-1 win over Liverpool was a reaction to claims the Premier League champions’ players had played a part in Claudio Ranieri’s dismissal. Lewis Hamilton was fastest on the first day of Formula One testing as Mercedes delivered on speed in Barcelona. David Haye and Tony Bellew had to be separated during a Liverpool press conference, with Bellew telling his rival: “The big fat scouser will come through you like a steam train.” And the father of one of MMA’s most talented fighters, Khabib Nurmagomedov, has been denied a visa to the US ahead of this weekend’s UFC 209 in Las Vegas. Business Asian markets rebounded from losses early on Tuesday as investors awaited Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress later today. The US president has promised “big” announcements on infrastructure. The pound was buying US$1.24 and €1.17 overnight. The papers Everyone has the Oscars aftermath on the front – some giving it more play than others. In other news ... the Mirror highlights the court case of a man who burgled Simon Cowell’s house and later ran over a cyclist. The Mail reports that the BBC’s director general, Tony Hall, is seeking assurances from the private firm contracted to enforce the licence fee that its tactics are not unfair to customers. The Times has Britain’s most senior child protection officer saying paedophiles caught viewing indecent images should not be locked up unless they pose a danger to children. The Telegraph reports on open warfare in Ukip with former leader Nigel Farage calling for its only MP, Douglas Carswell, to be thrown out of the party. The FT splashes on the fallout from the failure of the LSE/Deutsche Börse merger saying the London end are being blamed. Headline of the day goes to the Sun with “Frocks Away” – the story that women in the RAF will be banned from wearing skirts on parade (apparently). Sign up If you would like to receive the Guardian Morning Briefing by email every weekday at 7am, sign up here. |