First Thing: ‘Third country’ deportation can resume, US supreme court rules

Good morning. The supreme court has ruled the Trump administration can resume deporting immigrants to “third countries”, or countries other than their homeland, without giving them any opportunity to contest their removals.

The six-justice conservative majority of the high court temporarily lifted a decision by a lower court that required the administration to provide immigrants sufficient notice and the opportunity to claim fear of torture or persecution in the countries where they were being sent.

• What has the administration asked the supreme court to rule on about trans prisoners? The administration asked the justices to allow it to deny gender-affirming care to transgender people in federal prisons. The solicitor general, D John Sauer, wrote that gender-reassignment surgeries, hormone therapy and social accommodations such as undergarments, makeup, padding and wigs “could no longer be justified.”
• Why is the EPA union suing the administration? The union, which represents more than 8,000 workers at the Environmental Protection Agency, has filed a lawsuit against the EPA and the agency’s administrator, Lee Zeldin, alleging it illegally terminated a collective bargaining agreement.
• Which legal battle has Trump appeared to have conceded? The president has agreed to stop fighting the disbursement of E Jean Carroll’s $5m verdict in her 2023 sexual abuse and defamation civil trial against him, a procedural development as the funds had already been distributed to her.

Trump announces vague ‘morally binding’ AI deal among tech CEOs for ‘tremendous self-policing’

Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the heads of the largest US tech and AI companies had signed on to a “morally binding” agreement to put controls on artificial intelligence. He announced the deal after a White House luncheon with top tech executives.

The agreement, which Trump suggested would allow the companies to perform “tremendous self-policing” of their products and technologies, outlines a vague framework for how AI firms would establish safety standards. Trump also signed an executive order renaming artificial intelligence to “superintelligence”, similar to a declaration he made at the UN last week.

• What new product has OpenAI announced? Less than 24 hours after OpenAI said it would scrap the launch of a model over safety concerns, the company debuted a whole new suite of artificial intelligence tools, including “dots”, agents it said were “more ambitious” than ChatGPT and a “whole new way to work with AI.”
• Why is Greta Garbo making AI headlines? More than a century after her screen debut and decades after she was laid to rest, the actor has been reanimated by AI for a Swedish advert. Peter Bradshaw has given it a damning one-star review.

US Senate blocks resolution demanding accountability over Israeli violence in West Bank

The US Senate rejected along mostly party lines a Democratic resolution that would have forced the state department to report to Congress on violence in the occupied West Bank, including the killings of nine American citizens by Israeli settlers or security forces over the last few years.

• Why did an Israeli-bound plane make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia? A passenger jet travelling from Dubai made an emergency landing, briefly raising concerns about a possible hijacking and prompting Israel to scramble warplanes. Reports said the incident stemmed from a feud between the plane’s two pilots, and everyone onboard was safe.
• What has Zohran Mamdani announced about antisemitism? The New York City mayor has debuted a sweeping plan to combat antisemitism. The strategy includes increased security funding for synagogues and an increased focus on incorporating Jewish history into public school education. The plan is seen as a move to assuage critics who see his steadfast denunciations of Israel as antisemitic.
• Why are two authors suing the city of Los Angeles? Jenan Matari, a Palestinian-American author, and Nora Lester Murad, a Jewish-American writer, are taking the action after public library officials scrapped their Read Palestine Week book talks.

Texts about alleged Cornell gang-rape released after investigation reopened

Excerpts of text messages reportedly exchanged by a defendant in the Cornell University gang-rape case and the woman who claimed she was assaulted were published by CBS News on Tuesday, a day after New York prosecutors said they were reopening a criminal investigation.

Two of the alleged perpetrators were subsequently expelled after an internal investigation by Cornell – while the other five were allowed to resume their studies at the Ivy League institution after writing an essay, attending a workshop, or serving a short suspension. None were ever arrested or charged.

In other news …

• Lindsay Clancy returns to court as lawyer asks judge to find her not guilty. The office of the Plymouth country district attorney again chose to not disclose whether it plans to try Clancy again.
• A team of skydivers dropped in to help survivors of a plane crash in Wisconsin, using their training as paramedics to treat victims before ground crews arrived.
• A Brazilian news site has said it will not cover upcoming elections after threats. The independent Tapajós de Fato said decision was made to protect journalists and their families.
• The nor’easter storm that pummeled New England looks to have exposed large segments of a 19th-century schooner shipwrecked in the so-called graveyard of the Atlantic.
• No 8 seeds Liberty sprung a historic WNBA playoff upset to take down No 1 seeds Lynx. New York now await the winner of the Atlanta-Washington series

Stat of the day: Judge ends federal oversight of Oakland police department after 23 years

In the early 2000s, a group of police officers known as the “riders” were exposed for offenses such as planting evidence, falsifying reports and using excessive force against primarily young Black men. As part of a settlement of these cases, OPD was put on a federal court-ordered reform program, which has now ended.

Well Actually: Does GLP-1 use result in significant hair loss?

Experts share what you need to know about GLP-1-related hair loss as the side-effect gets more attention from researchers.

Don’t miss this: Three deaths, three states, 24 hours: one day in ICE’s quiet but ‘gruesome’ surge

In the latest in our ICE investigation, José Olivares examines the cases of three men who became casualties in the latest phase of Trump’s anti-immigration campaign.

… or this: The secret lives of men who read romance books

It is often assumed straight men are not interested in romantic fiction – but, as Amandas Ong discovers, many are sharing their passion in forums online.

Climate check: Antarctic winter sea ice falls to third-lowest level on record as scientists warn of ‘now problem’

Antarctica’s winter sea ice has peaked at its third-lowest level on record, scientists have confirmed. The four lowest years on record for the continent’s sea ice – a vital component of the planet’s climate and critical for marine life – have all occurred in the last four years.

Last Thing: Bear that went viral for living under LA home is back

Bless him, the 550lb bear made famous after he took up residence under an Altadena home in November 2025 is wandering the same Los Angeles neighborhood again.

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