White House planned to submit Chad Meredithas nomination as part of deal with Mitch McConnell to avoid holding up Bidenas other nominations

The office of Kentuckyas governor, Andy Beshear, has shared emails confirming that Joe Biden intended to nominate Chad Meredith, a conservative lawyer who has previously defended anti-abortion legislation, to a federal judgeship.

Reports of Meredithas potential nomination have sparked outrage among progressives and abortion rights advocates, even as the White House has dodged questions about the matter. Biden is already seen by some as not taking a strong enough lead on defending abortion rights.

Housing secretary had told PM to step down in face-to-face meeting

• Johnson clings on amid cabinet standoff and dozens of resignations

Good morning. Iam Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Hamish Mackay.

Tory MPs critical of Boris Johnson claim that a majority of their colleagues are now in favour of replacing him.

I think there is a majority in the party that wants to see change.

I personally have lost confidence in the prime minister now and Iam very sorry to say that. I think he does need to go.

We are regarded as rebels. Weare not. Well over half the parliamentary party now now want Boris Johnson to leave office. That means weare the mainstream a|

About a month ago we had the no confidence vote. Since then thereas been a lot of buyeras remorse from those who backed him and itas only been one-way traffic. I havenat heard anybody who voted no confidence in the prime minister has changed their mind since then.

Source says testimony from Pat Cipollone is expected to be a transcribed interview and recorded on camera

The former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone is expected to testify to the House January 6 select committee on Friday after reaching an agreement over the scope of his cooperation with a subpoena compelling his testimony, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The testimony from Cipollone is expected to be a transcribed interview and recorded on camera, the source said, and the former top White House lawyer is expected to only answer questions on a narrow subset of topics and conversations with the former president.

Exclusive: The Guardian can reveal for the first time the circumstances behind Brad Evansa sudden exit as University of Toledo soccer coach, how the school managed reports about his behavior, and how he has still been allowed to hold prominent positions within the game in the US

Candice Fabry finished training with the under-nine girls team she coached and drove to El Camino Real, a restaurant in Toledo, Ohio. Fabry knew the restaurant from her time as a player with the University of Toledo womenas soccer team. Players would often go there and, according to a team joke, the restaurant didnat necessarily have the best margaritas in Toledo but it definitely had athe most-knowna.

It was July 2007, and Fabry was planning to meet University of Toledo womenas soccer coach Brad Evans and his wife at El Camino Real a as well as the teamas assistant coach Jennifer Whipple. Fabry had previously played for four years on the University of Toledo womenas soccer team, who compete in the Mid-American Conference.

On my way to the bathroom, I saw Brad in the hallway and he grabbed me into a side room, began kissing me and was attempting to put his hands down my pants. I froze for a moment unsure of what was happening, but then quickly pushed him back with both hands and started screaming ano, no, noa.

Candace [sic]

I wanted to confirm that I have received your email. Iam not able to make any comment on it at this timea|.

UToledo did conduct an investigation following a report by a student-athlete in January 2015 of verbal harassment by Brad Evans, who was at the time the Head Coach of the womenas soccer team. The investigation did find that Mr. Evansa conduct toward student-athletes may have violated the Universityas Standards of Conduct policy, however, the case was not referred for possible disciplinary action because by the conclusion of the investigation in March 2015, Mr. Evans had already resigned his position effective Feb. 23, 2015.

Brad Evans did not respond to multiple requests for an interview or emailed questions regarding specific allegations contained in this story. He did provide a statement by to the Guardian about his departure from the University of Toledo:

In 2015 I was asked to answer questions about my relationships with some past co-workers. It was clear that my interactions with those co-workers demonstrated poor judgment on my part, and were against university policy, and resigning was best for all involved.

With the help of counseling, I have learned a lot about the causes of my behavior. I am extremely lucky to have the support of my wife in this process. Together, I continue to learn to become a better person.

*Some names have been changed to protect the identity of individuals concerned about personal and professional repercussions from speaking publicly about their experiences.

Eric Holder gunned down the musician outside his clothing store in March 2019, sending shockwaves across the community

Eric Holder Jr, the 33-year-old man who killed the acclaimed Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle, was convicted of first-degree murder on Wednesday.

Holder fatally shot Hussle, whose legal name was Ermias Asghedom, outside the rapperas beloved Marathon clothing store in south LA on 31 March 2019, and also injured two others. The death of the LA legend and entrepreneur sent shockwaves across the country and the music industry. His death was a devastating loss for his native Crenshaw district where he was dedicated to community development projects.

Regulators say ascientific issuesa warrant further review of its decision to bar products from sale in US

The Food and Drug Administration will continue to allow Juul to sell its products while the vaping company appeals a recent ban, the agency said on Tuesday.

The FDA wrote on Twitter that there were ascientific issuesa warranting additional review of the agencyas ruling last month, which ordered the company to remove its e-cigarettes from the US marketplace.

Michigan man entered area marked closed, reportedly saying he found official explanations of the deaths aodda

A Michigan man who is said to have traveled to Californiaas Sierra national forest to investigate the heat-related deaths of a young family on a hiking trail last year had to be rescued last month, according to the Mariposa county sheriffas office.

The tourist, whom authorities have not named but said is in his mid-60s, reportedly traveled to the area to research what happened to Ellen Chung, 30, her husband, Jonathan Gerrish, 45, their one-year-old daughter, Miju, and their dog, Oski, who all died on a hike last August.

Guardian analysis of water samples taken in nine US locations shows test agency uses is likely missing significant levels of PFAS pollutants

In May 2021, a celebration for Portsmouth, New Hampshireas new $17m water treatment facility drew local and national officials who declared the cityas water free of toxic aforever chemicalsa.

Firefighting foam from the nearby Pease air force base had polluted the water for decades with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and in recognition of the public health threat the US military funded the cityas new filtration system.

The gunman initially evaded capture by dressing in womenas clothing and blending into the crowd, authorities said

The man charged with killing seven people at a Fourth of July parade in an upmarket Chicago suburb has confessed to the mass murder and revealed that he also considered attacking a second parade in Madison, Wisconsin, authorities said at a news conference on Wednesday.

But, after deciding against another shooting, Robert Crimo, 21, drove back to Illinois, where he was later arrested, said Christopher Covelli, a spokesman for the Lake county major crime taskforce.

Parents blame platformas algorithms for choking deaths of eight- and nine-year-old

The families of two young girls who allegedly died as a result of a viral TikTok challenge have sued the social media platform, claiming its adangerousa algorithms are to blame for their childrenas deaths.

Parents of two girls who died in a 2021 ablackout challengea on TikTok, which encouraged users to choke themselves until they passed out, filed a suit on Tuesday in the Los Angeles county superior court.

Size of blaze unchanged but containment doubles to 10%, CalFire says

Favorable weather is aiding the fight against a wildfire in Californiaas Gold Country that has forced evacuations in two counties.

The size of the Electra fire remained unchanged on Wednesday morning at about 6.1 sq miles (15.8 sq km), but containment doubled to 10%, the California department of forestry and fire protection (CalFire) said in a daily report.

Russian forces in south show signs of abetter cooperationa, western officials say

• At a glance: what we know on day 133 of the invasion

Taoiseach MicheA!l Martin has arrived in Kyiv. The Irish prime minister is expected to have a series of meetings designed to reiterate Irelandas solidarity with the Ukrainian authorities. PA Media quotes him saying:

The people of Ireland stand with Ukraine and its people in the face of Russiaas immoral and unprovoked war of terror. The bombardment and attacks on civilians are nothing short of war crimes and I will use my visit to express Irelandas support for moves to hold those behind these attacks fully accountable.

The spirit and resolve of the Ukrainian people has inspired us all and Ireland will provide every support for Ukraineas path to full EU membership, and continue to welcome and support civilians fleeing this war.

Refugee agency releases figure as Donetsk governor urges people to leave after more civilian deaths

• Russia-Ukraine war a latest updates

Nearly 9 million people have left Ukraine since Vladimir Putin invaded, the UN refugee agency has said, as the governor of Donetsk called on civilians still in the region to flee.

With Russia stepping up its offensive in the east of the country, there are increasingly loud calls from the Ukrainian authorities for people to escape while they can from frontline areas.

Parliament backs plan to classify some projects as clean power investments

The European parliament has backed plans to label gas and nuclear energy as agreena, rejecting appeals from prominent Ukrainians and climate activists that the proposals are a gift to Vladimir Putin.

One senior MEP said the vote was a adark day for the climatea, while experts said the EU had set a dangerous precedent for countries to follow.

After a pandemic pause, alternate side parking returns to New York City with campaigners hoping it will mean cleaner streets

New York City is known for being one of the most difficult cities in the world to own a car a and a return to pre-pandemic parking restrictions could make it even more discouraging. Starting on Tuesday, drivers who park outside will have to move their cars two or three times a week for street cleaners, up from once a week during the pandemic.

This unique dance is called alternate side parking. Under these rules, drivers are allowed to park on many of New Yorkas streets free of charge, except during marked hours when a sanitation truck drives through to clear debris with a mechanical broom. Each side of a street has different cleaning hours, so that cars can move from one side to the other. Failing to move your car gets you a $65 ticket.

Tenth of worldas population now chronically undernourished, with spectre of widespread famine drawing ever closer, warns report

Famine: what is it, where will it strike and how should we respond?

The number of people going hungry in the world has risen by 150 million since the start of the Covid pandemic, the UN has said, warning that the food crisis sparked by Russiaas invasion of Ukraine risks pushing the worst-hit countries into famine.

Globally, the number suffering from chronic undernourishment rose to as many as 828 million last year, a rise of about 46 million on the previous year, and three times that increase if measured since the world shut down due to Covid, a report has found.

Some local officials are unsure of how to order Covid vaccines or when they will arrive, while others are aiming to ignore federal guidelines completely

Ashley Comegys, a parent of two young children in Florida, was ecstatic when the Covid vaccines were authorized for children above the age of six months in the US. aWeave been waiting for this for so long,a she said. aWe can finally start to spread our wings again.a

But then she learned that Florida had missed two deadlines to preorder vaccines and would not make them available through state and local health departments, delaying the rollout by several weeks and significantly limiting access.

Hunger was associated with stronger feelings of anger and irritability and lower levels of pleasure in research

For those who get snappy when they miss out on lunch, it may be the perfect excuse: researchers have confirmed that a lack of food makes otherwise bearable people ahangrya.

In one of the first studies to explore how hunger affects emotions as people go about their daily lives, psychologists found that the more hungry people felt, the more angry a or hangry a they became.

Kesha and her celebrity friends search for the paranormal in a ridiculously stupid and ridiculously entertaining new series

For the most part, investigative paranormal shows leave me totally cold. Almost without exception they consist of people in a room, in the dark, performatively overcompensating to clanks. If you have seen one episode of any investigative paranormal show, you have seen every episode of every investigative paranormal show, and anything more than that is overkill.

And then I saw Conjuring Kesha and completely changed my mind. As you may have already grasped, Conjuring Kesha is an investigative paranormal show that happens to star Kesha, the famous pop star. And that means it is, by some degree, much better than anything else the genre has ever produced.

A new book explores how pregnancy and motherhood affected the lives of artists including Audre Lorde and Susan Sontag. At our current moment, the questions it raises take on additional urgency

When Susan Sontag had an abortion in the early 1950s, the abortion providers used no anesthetic and had to turn up the radio to smother her screams. When Audre Lorde had breakup sex with her boyfriend and later realized shead gotten pregnant, she cobbled together two weeksa pay and gave it to a nurse for a painful and terrifying procedure that she later wrote awas a kind of shift from safety towards self-preservationa. When Ursula Le Guin got pregnant by her Harvard boyfriend, who had assured her that you didnat need to use a condom the second time in a night, her progressive parents paid what amounted to a full yearas tuition at Radcliffe to get her a professional, safe and clean abortion, one she didnat speak about for decades. And Alice Walker opted for illegal abortion because, in the unsparing words of biographer Julie Phillips, aher alternative was suicidea.

aReproductive rights a including access to abortion, contraception, fertility treatment and healthcare a are a necessary part of creative mothering,a Phillips writes in her illuminating new book, The Baby on the Fire Escape: Creativity, Motherhood, and the Mind-Baby Problem, which features the stories of all of these creative women, and more, in a quest to understand that overlap in the Venn diagram of motherhood and creativity. aAll of them saw control over the timing and material circumstances of their pregnancies, whether they were able to achieve it or not, as essential to the practice of their art.a

Sophie Brickman is a contributor to the New Yorker, the New York Times and other publications, and the author of Baby, Unplugged: One Motheras Search for Balance, Reason, and Sanity in the Digital Age

In opposition to the overly serious art world, a new group exhibition brings together artists who lean into the lighter side

aThe people who are the funniest in my life are also the best artists,a curator Yng-Ru Chen told me while discussing her newest show, Punchline, which is taking over Jane Lombard Galleryas Tribeca space from 7 July to 12 August. Existing in the overlap between art and humor, Punchline showcases 11 artists who use a range of approaches to the comedic to imbue their work with memorable twists, personality, authenticity and something a little different.

Chen conceived of the show both as a way to lean into the lighter atmosphere of the summer months, as well as a much-needed departure from the trauma of the Covid years. Eager to create something fun and inclusive, she started with the Guerrilla Girls, an anonymous group of female artists who since 1985 have made a practice of upstaging the art scene with edgy, attention-grabbing feminist political art. Chen told me that, aThey were really the originators of using humor to make a point artistically when the patriarchy and mainstream society did not see the importance of what they were trying to say.a

The awful revelations in Skye Borgmanas documentary about a seeming hit-and-run are utterly staggering a yet it still treats the victims with a rare sensitivity

Girl in the Picture, Netflixas new true crime documentary, is a challenge to director Skye Borgmanas own crown. In 2017, she made Abducted in Plain Sight, an account of the long-term abuse and kidnapping, not once but twice, of Jan Broberg by her parentsa friend and neighbour Robert Berchtold. In a crowded field, the bizarreness of the almost-incredible tale still stood out. If it had been a novel, you would have thrown the book aside as the work of a fool in a fever dream.

But the story behind Girl in the Picture is, if anything, even sadder and stranger, as it traces the deepening mystery behind an apparently simple hit-and-run case. In Oklahoma, a 20-year-old woman is found, groceries scattered about her, by the side of a road, and dies of her injuries a which, it is noted by staff, are quite unlike those you would expect to find on a car accident victim a in hospital soon after. Her much older husband, Clarence, is under suspicion, and their two-year-old son Michael is placed with a foster family. The deceased is identified as Tonya Hughes and her mother is called. When she answers, she tells them her daughter died as a toddler.

Lockdowns, illness and working from home convinced millions it was time to shake things up. But did they follow through a and did it make them happier?

There was a lot of big talk during the pandemic as we used that eerie combination of silence and panic to re-evaluate our priorities. Fear of change evaporates when everywhere you look there is upheaval you didnat choose. Why not do that thing you have always wanted to do, chuck in your job or get an iguana? Practically speaking, it was a new world, in which life in the city was all downside and no up. Suddenly, the relationships you thought would endure till death parted you wouldnat last five more minutes; at the same time, the person you met on Wednesday was now living with you. The pointlessness of your job leapt out at you, but was it the work itself, or just a proxy for modern life?

Especially in 2020, this all looked as though it was going to bring about huge life changes. By August of that year, one in seven Londoners wanted to leave the city. Nationally, four in 10 people were more inclined to look for houses in rural locations than they were before Covid. Developers in Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool were panicking. In early 2021, one estate agent noted the alargest exodus out of London in a generationa.

Football, running, and swimming doesnat have to be spread out during the week to be good for you, a new study says

Name: Weekend warriors.

Age: 41.

The constitution is being used to destroy the very democratic governance that it was designed to protect

To paraphrase the great US supreme court justice Robert H Jackson, the US constitution should not be read as a suicide pact. That seemingly obvious bit of wisdom appears lost on the present court. Over the course of the past week, the court handed down three landmark decisions, each disastrous in its own right. But taken together they reveal a dangerously hidebound court intent on turning the constitution into an instrument of obstruction, a formidable obstacle to solving some of the nationas most pressing problems.

First, in New York State Rifle v Bruen, the court, by a 6-3 vote, struck down a New York law that required a person demonstrate aproper causea to carry a concealed handgun. The Sullivan law had been on the books for over a century without running afoul of the constitution. Indeed, between 1791 and 2008, the supreme court had never struck down a government gun regulation, presumably because as Warren Burger, the conservative chief justice appointed by Richard Nixon once observed, the idea that the second amendment creates a personal right to gun ownership is aone of the greatest pieces of fraud a I repeat the word afrauda a on the American public by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetimea.

Lawrence Douglas is the author, most recently, of Will He Go? Trump and the Looming Election Meltdown in 2020. He is a contributing opinion writer for the Guardian US and teaches at Amherst College

World leaders tell me they neither trust nor understand Johnsonas Britain. Heas dragging this country down to his sorry level

The last gasps of any government is a grimly fascinating sight. Just two and a half years after he won the 2019 election, Boris Johnsonas pathological lying, law-breaking and shamelessness, which so many people warned made him unfit to govern, have left him still squatting in office, but out of power.

The US supreme court is helping to destroy our climate. But it was a much smaller decision, closer to home, that was the final straw for me

It feels like the end game. In the US last week, the third perverse and highly partisan supreme court decision in a few days made American efforts to prevent climate breakdown almost impossible. Ruling in favour of the state of West Virginia, the court decided that the Environmental Protection Agency is not entitled to restrict carbon dioxide emissions from power stations.

The day before, in the UK, the governmentas climate change committee reported a ashockinga failure by Boris Johnsonas administration to meet its climate targets. So stupid and perverse are its policies on issues such as energy saving that itas hard to see this as anything other than failure by design. On the day of the supreme court ruling, the UK government also announced that it intended to scrap the law protecting the UKas most important wildlife sites.

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

Just when you think youave plumbed the depths of delusion and bigotry, another stalwart of the GOP proves you wrong. Astounding work, Kristina Karamo, Scott Neely and Karianne Lisonbee

Have you mislaid a few brain cells? Do you have increasingly bizarre delusions? Are you completely befuddled about how the female body works? Well, congratulations! You have what it takes to forge a successful career as a Republican politician. Anyone watching recent events unfold would be forgiven for thinking the main skills required for a job in Republican politics appear to be extreme bigotry combined with a knack for saying whatever outlandish thing comes into your head first.

Even so, there are still times when Republican politicians can surprise you with the depths of their inanity. Let me introduce you, for example, to Scott Neely, who is running for the Republican nomination for governor of Arizona. During a televised debate last week Neely discussed an Arizona abortion ban by invoking aliens. aIf we found life on Mars, wouldnat we do everything in our power to protect that life?a Neely asked. aWhy canat we treat human life the same way we would treat alien life?a

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist