today's international story

Maxwell asks US Supreme Court to overturn conviction

What happened?
Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and long-time associate of Jeffrey Epstein, has petitioned the US Supreme Court to quash her 20-year prison sentence. Maxwell's lawyers argue that she was unfairly prosecuted and should have been protected under Epstein's 2007 Florida plea deal, which promised immunity to his "potential co-conspirators".

Who said what?
Maxwell's legal team contends that although she wasn't named in the plea deal, it was broad enough to include her. Her case, Maxwell's attorneys wrote, "is about what the government promised, not what Epstein did". But the Department of Justice maintains that the agreement only applied to Florida and not to Maxwell's trial in New York.

What next?
Some critics believe recent meetings between Maxwell and US Department of Justice officials were "part of a White House effort to quell the backlash over the administration's handling of thousands of pages of Epstein-related files in its possession", said USA Today. Trump told reporters yesterday that he's "allowed" to pardon Maxwell, but "it would be inappropriate to talk about it". The scrutiny surrounding Epstein's crimes continues to grow, with Trump – who has been linked to Epstein in past reports – filing a $10 billion defamation suit against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting of a birthday note sent in 2003.

Today's archaeology story

Cambridge researchers find ancient handprint

What happened?
A 4,000-year-old Egyptian artefact at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge has offered up a unique link to its ancient maker. Researchers working on an upcoming exhibition were examining a "soul house" (a clay model often found at burial sites) under different lighting conditions when they spotted the handprint on the base of the model, which has been dated to 2055-1650 BCE.

Who said what?
"People often don't look at the undersides of objects, so the handprint was not something we had ever noticed," said Helen Strudwick, senior Egyptologist and curator of the Made in Ancient Egypt exhibition, who called the find "rare and exciting". "You can just imagine the person who made this, picking it up to move it out of the workshop to dry before firing."

The exhibition "intends to shed fresh light" on the "crucial" craftspeople who decorated ancient Egypt's tombs, said The Art Newspaper.

What next?
The soul house will be on display when the exhibition opens to the public on 3 October. Researchers also plan to examine another soul house from the same site.

It's not all bad

Up to 60% of global liver cancer cases could be prevented through better hepatitis vaccination, reduced alcohol use and tackling obesity, according to The Lancet Commission. Without urgent action, it said cases could nearly double by 2050. The commission recommends public health measures such as higher alcohol pricing, hepatitis screening and sugar taxes. Experts warn that liver cancer remains one of the deadliest forms of the disease, but is also among the most preventable if risk factors are addressed.

under the radar

Scientists aim to pump new breakthrough into our veins

Researchers around the world are on a quest to create artificial blood. This blood would be universal and capable of lasting years, allowing it to be used in medical emergencies or remote locations. But formulating an alternative to the crucial liquid of life is no easy feat.

Scientists want to "create the lab-grown burger of blood" or a blood substitute "that bleeds — or at least operates in the body — almost exactly like the real thing", said The New Yorker. Yet creating fake blood is notoriously difficult as the experts "don't yet understand everything that blood does, or how it does it". Despite this, they have begun to make headway.

In Japan, clinical trials are underway to "assess artificial blood, usable for all blood types and storable for up to two years, as a potential solution to critical shortages in supplies for emergency and chronic health care worldwide", said Newsweek. In Maryland, US scientists have concocted similar artificial blood that can be freeze-dried to last for years.

Currently, "approximately 118.5 million blood donations are collected worldwide, with 40% gathered in high-income countries, which comprise only 16% of the global population", said Al Jazeera. Experts estimate that "2,000 units of blood per 100,000 people are needed to meet global medical demands", but "severe shortages persist, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Oceania".

Artificial blood could fill a crucial gap. "But because this field has been so challenging, the proof will be in the clinical trials," Tim Estep, a scientist at Chart Biotech Consulting who consults with companies developing artificial blood, told NPR.

on this day

29 July 1958

Nasa was established and signed into law by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower through the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. Last week Nasa employees published The Voyager Declaration, a public letter urging administrative leaders to hold back proposed funding cuts by the federal government that could undermine the agency’s mission.

Today's newspapers

'You can't fake that'

The i Paper reports on Donald Trump's comments on the scenes of "real starvation" in Gaza. The US president has told Israel to allow "every ounce of food" into the region, notes The Guardian. The NHS has accused the British Medical Association of "risking patient safety" by refusing requests for striking doctors to return to work, says The Times. Meanwhile, former minister Nadine Dorries wonders in the Daily Mail why no one warned her that "weight loss jabs can make your hair fall out".

See the newspaper front pages

tall tale

No support for cruel act

A woman in Florida has been caught with two turtles hidden in her bra as she passed through a security check at Miami International Airport. They had been wrapped in gauze and plastic wrap. One turtle died while the other was turned over to the state's Department of Fish and Wildlife. Earlier this year another traveller was caught trying to smuggle a turtle through Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey by hiding it in the front of his trousers.

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Devika Rao, Martina Nacach Cowan Ros, Elliott Goat, Ross Couzens, and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Julia Wytrazek.