First Thing: Trump and Musk taking ‘hatchet’ to social security, says Biden

Former president accuses Trump in first speech since leaving office. Plus, deadly Israeli strike hits second Gaza hospital this week

Good morning.

In his first speech since leaving the White House, Joe Biden accused Donald Trump and Elon Musk yesterday of “taking a hatchet” to social security, which he called a “sacred promise” that 73 million Americans rely on each month.

In a speech to the Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled in Chicago, the former president said: “In fewer than 100 days, this new administration has done so much damage and so much destruction.”

As Musk’s cost-cutting initiatives have targeted social security, with plans for deep staff cuts and offices closures, Biden spoke of the “profound” psychological impact: “How do you sleep at night?”

What else did Biden say? “In the 90 years since Franklin Roosevelt created the social security system, people have always gotten their social security checks. They’ve gotten them during wartime, during recessions, during a pandemic. No matter what, they got them. But now for the first time ever, that might change. It’d be a calamity for millions of families.”

Sudan ceasefire process breaks down again as conflict passes two-year anniversary

Attempts on Tuesday to establish a contact group to facilitate ceasefire talks in Sudan fell apart when Arab states refused to sign a joint communique after a conference in London.

The latest obstacle in the ceasefire talks came as Sudan’s civil war passed its two-year anniversary. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and the International Rescue Committee has described it as “the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded”.

The daylong argument in London between representatives from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over the communique represents a big diplomatic setback for efforts to end the civil war in Sudan.

Hopes of a negotiated end to the conflict were further dimmed late on Tuesday when the leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, declared the establishment of a government rivalling the army-backed administration.

What is the humanitarian toll of Sudan’s civil war? The consequences for Sudan’s 51 million people have been devastating. Tens of thousands are reportedly dead. Hundreds of thousands face famine. Almost 13 million people have been displaced, 4 million of whom went to neighbouring countries. Almost half the population – 24.6 million people – do not have enough food.

One person killed and several wounded in Israeli attack on Gaza hospital

One person has been killed in an Israeli missile strike on a hospital in Gaza, just as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was making a visit to the war-torn territory.

The attack on Tuesday occurred two days after another major hospital was targeted, fuelling warnings from the UN that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is now the worst it had been since conflict began.

“Gaza has been turned into a mass grave of Palestinians,” said Amande Bazerolle, emergency coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in Gaza.

According to medical staff, the latest strike hit the entrance to the Kuwaiti field hospital in al-Mawasi, near the city of Khan Younis. One security guard died and nine medics were wounded.

How have UN officials reacted to the attacks? António Guterres, the UN secretary general, said he was “deeply alarmed”, adding that hospitals were protected under international humanitarian law. The UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said the situation in Gaza was “likely the worst it has been” since full-scale war broke out in October 2023.

What is the latest with Israel’s aid blockade? It has been more than six weeks since Israel completely cut off all supplies to the 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports. Dr Mohammad Zahir, an emergency doctor at Indonesia hospital, said that if the aid blockade continued, cancer and kidney patients and severely ill children would soon die.

In other news …

The Home Alone 2 director says he fears deportation if he cuts Donald Trump’s appearance in the film, commenting that the cameo is “an albatross” he wishes to remove.

A suspect in a shooting at a Dallas high school that wounded four students and drew a heavy police response to the campus has been taken into custody, school district officials have announced.

An environmental assessment of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s home after their deaths revealed rodent infestation in outbuildings and garages during a hantavirus risk assessment.

Police in Paris have launched an investigation after a woman suffocated while undergoing a cryotherapy session and a second was taken into intensive care.

Stat of the day: X’s UK revenue collapsed 66.3% the year after Musk’s takeover

The UK revenue of X, formerly known as Twitter, totalled £69.1m ($98.3m) in 2023, down from £205.3m ($271.2) in 2022, according to tax filings, showing a decrease of 66.3% year-on-year. The firm explained the drop by noting a decline in advertising spending amid concerns about “brand safety and/or content moderation”.

Don’t miss this: Painter David Salle teaches AI machine to beef up his old work

David Salle’s New Pastorals were made with the aid of machine-learning software. Each monumental canvas bears broad, gestural strokes of oil paint, which under close study reveal the mark of the AI model that Salle trained.

Climate check: Green groups sue Trump administration over climate webpage removals

Filed in a Washington DC district court on Monday, green groups sued the Trump administration over the removal of government webpages containing federal climate and environmental justice data. “Removing government datasets is tantamount to theft,” said one of the plaintiffs.

Last Thing: Millions tune in for three-week live stream of Sweden’s moose migration

When The Great Moose Migration first aired in Sweden in 2019, nearly 1 million people tuned in. Last year, it was 9 million. Most of the time, nothing happens, which makes stepping away difficult for avid viewers. “What if there’s a moose? I can’t go to the toilet!” one watcher said.

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