US briefing: Greta Thunberg, Justin Trudeau and a Trump whistleblower
Source: The Guardian
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Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s essential stories.
Climate ‘seen as most important political issue’ by public
The climate campaigner Greta Thunberg has urged US lawmakers to “listen to the scientists” as she joined other young activists in testifying before Congress on Thursday, before Friday’s global climate strikes and the UN climate summit in New York. The Swedish teenager told the hearing she had prepared no remarks of her own, and instead submitted last year’s landmark IPCC report, which warned of an imminent climate catastrophe.
Global poll. A majority of the public in eight countries including the US and UK sees the climate crisis as the most pressing political issue of the day, ahead of migration or terrorism, according to a poll.
Halving emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions could be halved by 2030 if a small number of trends and renewable energy technologies are adopted more widely, according to a report by an international group of experts.
Trudeau apologises after brownface photo emerges
The Canadian prime minister has apologised for wearing brownface to a party when he was a teacher in 2001, admitting “it was a racist thing to do”. A photograph of the then-29-year-old Justin Trudeau, dressed as Aladdin for an Arabian Nights-themed gala at a private school in Vancouver, originally appeared in a school yearbook and was republished this week by Time magazine. “I regret it deeply. I’m deeply sorry I did that, I should have known better,” he said.
Election campaign. The controversy could prove a turning point for Canada’s general election campaign, in which Trudeau is battling for his political life. His main opponent, the Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, said the photo proved Trudeau was “unfit” to lead Canada.
Whistleblower’s ‘urgent concern’ over Trump pledge – report
Donald Trump made a promise to a foreign leader in a phone call that so troubled a US intelligence official that they filed a whistleblower complaint deemed of “urgent concern”, according to a report by the Washington Post. The newspaper did not identify the official, the foreign leader nor the president’s alleged pledge. But the complaint was considered sufficiently pressing by the intelligence community inspector general, Michael Atkinson, to be shared with congressional oversight committees.
Intelligence committee. However, the acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, refused to share details about the complaint with lawmakers, the Post reported. He and Atkinson are due to discuss the matter with the House intelligence committee.
How US senators invest in firms they are meant to regulate
An investigation by the Guardian in partnership with the news website Sludge has revealed millions of dollars of investments by US senators in sectors on which they set policy. The analysis of recent personal financial disclosure data found that 51 senators and their spouses have up to $96m personally invested in corporate stocks in defense, communications, health, finance, real estate and energy, which together represent a staggering conflict of interest.
Banking investments. Senators have investments in more than 300 firms, including Apple, ExxonMobil, Verizon and Boeing. Ten members of the Senate banking committee, including Republicans and Democrats, are personally invested in the financial companies they oversee.
Cheat sheet
A weakened Benjamin Netanyahu has invited his main political rival, Benny Gantz, to join him in forming a unity government, after Gantz’s Blue and White party gained one more seat than Netanyahu’s Likud at Tuesday’s Israeli election.
Three former executives at the firm that runs the Fukushima Daiichi power plant have been acquitted of failing to prevent its 2011 nuclear meltdown, after arguing they could not have foreseen the tsunami that triggered the disaster.
Contaminated tap water causes 100,000 cancer cases in the US over a lifetime, according to a study. It says most of the risk comes from naturally occurring arsenic, byproducts of chemicals used to disinfect water, and radioactive contaminants.
Ten women have now accused the Walt Disney Company of gender discrimination, as part of a lawsuit alleging various divisions of the company systematically fail to promote women and pay them lower salaries than men doing equivalent work.
Must-reads
Predicting the winners of the 2019 Emmys
Will Game of Thrones clean up at the Emmys on Monday despite a divisive final season? Could Phoebe Waller-Bridge make history with wins for Fleabag and Killing Eve? Adrian Horton predicts who will win what, and who ought to win instead.
Why can’t we agree on what’s true anymore?
Technology encourages us to believe we can all have first-hand access to the facts. Instead, it has left us more uncertain than ever of the truth. William Davies says it’s not all about foreign trolls, filter bubbles or fake news – we have simply become incapable of agreeing on objective reality.
The war on unwanted dick pics
When the web developer Kelsey Bressler found an unwanted “dick pic” in her Twitter DMs, she solicited hundreds more and used them to build a filter that recognises a penis and prevents it reaching her inbox. Adrienne Matei asks why tech firms haven’t done the same.
The 50 best video games of the 21st century
From karaoke to car theft, the Guardian’s round-up of the greatest culture of the past two decades nears its end with our experts’ selection of the 50 best video games of the era. What, no Candy Crush?
Opinion
When some of the world’s wealthiest people attended a climate conference in Sicily in July, they arrived in 114 private jets and a fleet of mega-yachts. Even when they mean well, says George Monbiot, the ultra-rich cannot help but trash the environment.
Perhaps the most radical thing we can now do is to limit our material aspirations. The assumption on which governments and economists operate is that everyone strives to maximise their wealth. If we succeed in this task, we inevitably demolish our life support systems.
Sport
Spurs threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Olympiakos in the first game of their Champions League campaign, while Manchester City got off to a winning start with a 3-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk. Real Madrid lost out to a dominant PSG, but their local rivals Atlético came back to draw 2-2 with Juventus.
The district attorney’s office in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County, which encompasses Pittsburgh, has said it will not prosecute the Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown over sexual assault accusations because of the statute of limitations. Brown’s former trainer is bringing a civil lawsuit against the player, claiming he assaulted her in 2017, when he was with the Steelers.
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