WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
The US in Israel, a rocket booster record and Canada's controversial carbon tax

 
today's US election story

Arrest of armed man near Trump rally

What happened 
A man has been arrested near a Donald Trump rally in California allegedly carrying loaded weapons and false press and VIP passes. Vem Miller, the 49-year-old suspect, was reportedly stopped in a black SUV at a checkpoint in the Coachella Valley set up by the former president's protection officers.

Who said what
"The incident did not impact the safety of former president Trump or attendees of the event," the Riverside county sheriff's office said in a press release.

Miller told journalists he was a Trump supporter who meant the former president no harm and was carrying the guns for his own protection. "These accusations are complete bull****," Miller said.

What next? 
In the wake of two previous alleged assassination attempts, the former president's security detail has been "heightened intensely", said the BBC.

Despite the steady security increases, last week Trump reportedly requested military protection for his campaign, including travelling in military aircraft, heightened flight restrictions and ballistic glass in key battleground states. These demands, described by The Washington Post as "extraordinary and unprecedented," are typically reserved for sitting presidents, according to sources cited by The New York Times.

Miller was booked for possessing a loaded firearm – and was released after posting $5,000 bail, according to police records.

 
 
today's middle east story

US deploys anti-missile systems and troops to Israel

What happened
The US is to send anti-missile systems and the troops needed to operate them to Israel "to help bolster Israel's air defences following Iran's unprecedented attacks”, said the Pentagon yesterday.

Who said what
Joe Biden said the decision had been made to "defend Israel", which is thought to be weighing retaliation against Iran after Tehran fired more than 180 missiles into its territory on 1 October.

Sending the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, to Israel is a "highly unusual deployment" for the US given Israel's own military capabilities, said CNN. The move comes amid debate among senior Pentagon officials over whether the increased US military presence in the region is "containing the war, as they had hoped, or inflaming it", said The New York Times.

What next?
The US has been consulting with Israel over its plans to respond to Iran's 1 October attacks. Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last Wednesday – their first conversation in almost two months – and told him Israel's retaliation should be "proportional".

 
 
Today's space story

Rocket booster 'caught' for first time

What happened
During its fifth Starship test flight yesterday, Elon Musk's SpaceX returned the rocket's enormous booster back to land for the first time, "catching" it in a pair of robotic arms as it flew to the company's launchpad in southern Texas.

Who said what
"This is a day for the engineering history books," said SpaceX's Kate Tice from the company's headquarters in Hawthorne, California.

Flying a 233-foot rocket booster back to its launch site and catching it was "a feat of technical wizardry", said The New York Times. The success of the mission brings SpaceX's ambition of developing a fully reusable and rapidly deployable rocket "a big step closer", said Esme Stallard on the BBC.

What next?
SpaceX is developing Starship to "help humanity settle the Moon and Mars", said Space.com, and Nasa is a "believer in the vehicle". If all goes to plan, Starship will return astronauts to the Moon as part of the space agency's Artemis programme in September 2026.

 
 

It's not all bad

MIT researchers have found that mercury emissions from human activity have declined over the past two decades, leading to a 10% drop in mercury concentrations in the air. This contradicts global inventories that suggest emissions have been rising. "Mercury emissions are moving in the right direction, and could continue to do so, which is heartening to see," said co-author Noelle Selin, an MIT professor. But while the news that mercury pollution is declining could potentially lead to healthier ecosystems and communities, Selin added that it was important to keep studying mercury levels to understand their decline and help inform environmental policy.

 
 
under the radar

Canada's carbon tax in the crosshairs

Canada's carbon tax has become as toxic as the fossil fuel emissions it aims to curb.

The federal levy has been "hailed as a global model of progressive environmental policy", but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party is under mounting pressure to remove his flagship policy, said The Guardian.

For months the leader of the opposition Conservative Party has been issuing "dire and increasingly apocalyptic warnings" – and blaming the carbon tax. The "pugnacious" populist Pierre Poilievre (pictured above) said there was only one way to avoid a "devastating crisis": Trudeau must "call a 'carbon tax' election".

The tax, which targets both consumers and industries, was introduced in 2019 to help Canada meet its climate goals and transition to clean energy. About 90% of the revenue is returned to households through rebates, and the other 10% helps businesses and schools reduce fossil fuel consumption. It is projected to reduce emissions by up to 50% by 2030, according to the Canadian Climate Institute.

In fact, it has already helped reduce emissions by 8%, said Katya Rhodes, assistant professor at the University of Victoria, on The Conversation. But none of that outweighs "the heavily visible costs that citizens experience at the pump" amid Canada's cost-of-living crisis and high inflation.

The consumer tax came into effect at $20 a tonne, but has "steadily climbed since", said CBC, rising to $80 in April. Almost 70% of Canadians opposed that increase.

The Conservatives have vowed to "axe the tax" if they win the next election in October next year, said Reuters. Polls currently suggest that Trudeau's Liberals would "lose badly".

 
 
on this day

14 October 1066

William, Duke of Normandy, defeated the Anglo-Saxon Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings, unleashing the Norman Conquest of England. An upcoming eight-part BBC series, "King and Conqueror", will retell the story of the era-defining struggle for the throne and the most famous battle in English history.

 
 
Today's newspapers

The Guardian leads on Keir Starmer's pledge to "slash red tape for investors" ahead of a business summit being held in the UK today. Leading banks and companies have written a letter to The Times arguing it is "time to invest in Britain" but The Telegraph says there are fears that Starmer's "tax on jobs will scare away business". Meanwhile, The Mirror says that "every one of the six Aussie state premiers" has turned down an invitation to greet King Charles during his tour of Australia. "Not a g'day for Charles", it says.

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Good Book, bad optics

Donald Trump has been heavily promoting "God Bless the USA" Bibles, retailing at $59.99. There's just one problem: they appear to have been made in China. According to The Associated Press, the jazzed-up versions of the King James Bible, which include the US's founding documents and lyrics to the song "God Bless the USA", were printed in Hangzhou – for less than $3 a copy. Trump has repeatedly accused China of unfair labour practices and stealing American jobs.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Harriet Marsden and Chas Newkey-Burden.

Image credits, from top: Mario Tama / Getty Images; Lockheed Martin / Getty Images; SpaceX / Handout / Anadolu via Getty Images; Artur Widak / Anadolu / Getty Images.