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Ukraine arms pause, Trump asylum rebuke and Diddy's mixed verdict

 
Today's INTERNATIONAL story

Ukraine scrambles as Trump cuts weapons deliveries

What happened
Kyiv yesterday said it was seeking clarification about the Trump administration's surprise decision to halt shipments of air-defense missiles and other weapons approved for delivery to Ukraine. The Defense Department acknowledged the canceled arms deliveries on Tuesday and said yesterday the suspension was part of a global review of where the Pentagon is sending its limited supplies of munitions. A spokesperson "declined to say whether the military had paused the delivery of weapons to other countries," The New York Times said.

Who said what
The move to halt Ukraine weapons shipments was "driven by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby" without any evident consultation with Congress or other parts of the administration, Politico said, and it "blindsided even people who are usually closely briefed on such matters." The withheld munitions include Patriot air defense missiles, "precision-guided GMLRS, Hellfire missiles and Howitzer rounds," The Associated Press said, "some of the most formidable weapons" in Ukraine's arsenal.

The halt comes at a "particularly precarious time for Ukraine," with Russia "pounding the country every few days" with hundreds of drones followed by "powerful ballistic missiles that only Patriot missiles can intercept," the Times said. President Donald Trump "has not approved new military aid packages for Ukraine," and to "compensate," Ukraine has "recently launched joint arms production programs with European allies."

It's "no surprise" that this "conscious decision to deny Kyiv weapons it was counting on before Russia's summer assaults" came from Colby, a Ukraine funding skeptic whose "chief patron" is Vice President J.D. Vance and top "outside cheerleader is Tucker Carlson," The Wall Street Journal said in an editorial. Trump "says he wants to end the war to save lives, but denying arms to Ukraine will mean more death and a longer war."

What next?
Cheering the halt, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said "the less weapons are supplied to Ukraine, the closer the end" of the war. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said "any delay or hesitation in supporting Ukraine's defense capabilities will only encourage the aggressor to continue war and terror, not seek peace."

 
 
Today's Immigration story

Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at U.S. border

What happened
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., yesterday ruled that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority and violated federal law by shutting down the U.S.-Mexico border to asylum seekers in a January proclamation. 

Who said what
Presidents face "enormous challenges in preventing and deterring unlawful entry" into the U.S. and in working through the "overwhelming backlog of asylum claims," U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss wrote in his 128-page opinion. But neither the Constitution nor immigration law gives the executive branch an "extra-statutory, extra-regulatory" power to "adopt an alternative immigration system" that denies migrants the right to seek asylum from persecution.

The ruling in the class action lawsuit applies to most asylum-seekers in the U.S., throwing up another "legal roadblock" for Trump's "aggressive" immigration crackdown, The Washington Post said. But while federal courts have "limited" some of his policies, "immigration arrests are up sharply, border crossings are down dramatically" and Trump's "sprawling tax bill" in Congress "would turbocharge funding for immigration enforcement." Trump's multiple attempts to restrict asylum in his first term were also blocked by federal courts.

What next?
Moss postponed his order for 14 days to give the administration time to appeal, and a White House spokesperson said they would. But if the ruling is not overturned, "the processing of asylum claims at the border would resume immediately," Axios said.

 
 
Today's CRIME Story

Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bail

What happened
A federal jury in Manhattan yesterday convicted Sean "Diddy" Combs of two counts of transportation for prostitution, a felony violation of the Mann Act, for bringing sex workers across state lines for drug-fueled sex marathons. But he was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. Judge Arun Subramanian denied Combs' request for release on bail as he awaits sentencing, saying the trial demonstrated the rap mogul's "yearslong pattern of violence."

Who said what
Combs' lawyer Marc Agnifilo called the jury's decision "a victory of all victories." It was "certainly a defeat for the prosecution and the victims who told their often terrifying stories in open court," USA Today said. "And the nation could be forgiven for wanting to take a collective shower" after hearing a "seemingly incessant stream of sordid details" of how Combs "used his fame and fortune to reduce his female victims to chattel."

Combs "dropped to his knees and prayed" after being acquitted of the charges that could have put him "behind bars for life," The Associated Press said. But the "mixed verdict capped a sordid legal odyssey that shattered Combs' affable 'Puff Daddy' image and derailed his career as a Grammy-winning artist and music executive, fashion entrepreneur, brand ambassador and reality TV star."

What next?
Subramanian scheduled a hearing next Tuesday on sentencing scheduling. Combs' lawyers suggested he should face about two years in prison while the prosecutors said federal guidelines called for at least four or five years. 

 
 

It's not all bad

Following the death of her newborn foal, a mare at the Minnesota Zoo named Alice has embraced Marat, a rare Przewalski's horse. Marat developed bacterial sepsis shortly after birth and was rejected by his mother, but Alice stepped in to help. They quickly bonded, and Alice has already taught Marat how to act in a herd of horses. It was "really kind of a perfect fairy-tale ending," Dr. Annie Rivas, the zoo's director of animal health, told The Associated Press.

 
 
Under the radar

Increasing global temperatures are ruining sleep quality across the world. Sleep apnea, a common breathing disorder, is poised to become more prevalent in the rapidly warming climate, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications. This will lead to overall worse mental and physical health outcomes and likely affect those in less-developed nations the most. 

Obstructive sleep apnea is expected to have up to a three-fold increase by 2100 in countries with temperatures 1.8 °C (3.2 °F) or more above preindustrial levels, the study found. "High ambient temperatures are associated with a 45% increase in the probability of having OSA on a given night globally."

Bad sleep quality has substantial effects on health. Poor sleep has been "linked to a higher resting heart rate, high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke," said UChicago News. Sleep is the "third pillar of health, alongside nutrition and exercise," Bastien Lechat, the lead author of the study and a senior research fellow at Australia's Flinders Health and Medicine Research Institute, said to Time. 

The rise of OSA is "burdensome" to society in terms of "well-being and economic loss," Lechat said. "It's common that people experience lower productivity and more frequent missed days at work" due to lack of sleep, said Fortune. If OSA "frequency and severity continue to increase, that could be catastrophic for the global economy." Untreated OSA is "associated with large decreases in workplace productivity and absenteeism," the study found, and it could cost the U.S. economy nearly $87 billion per year.

 
 
On this day

July 3, 1884

Dow Jones published its first stock index, the Dow Jones Transportation Average. It tracked the average stock price of 11 companies: nine railroad operators, a steamship company and a telegraph company. Today, the DJTA consists of 20 major airline and transportation firms and is the oldest stock index in use.

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

The Los Angeles Police Department is "grappling with calls from residents about masked men," but are they "kidnappers or ICE agents?" the Los Angeles Times says on Thursday's front page. "L.A. 'under siege' by masked agents," according to a federal lawsuit, The Sacramento Bee says. "As ICE arrests workers, employers escape charges," The Washington Post says. "Paramount agrees to pay Trump $16 million in settlement of suit" over a "60 Minutes" interview, a deal that "may clear way for sale," says The New York Times. "Tesla struggles to halt decline in sales," The Wall Street Journal says, but CEO Elon Musk "has shifted focus to robotaxis and robots."

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

What's Welsh for 'mistake'?

Cai Morgan thought he got a tattoo of his family's motto, "ymlaen," which means "forward" in Welsh — but it actually read "ymaeln," which doesn't mean anything. His sister noticed the misspelling first, and they both found it "hilarious," Morgan told the BBC. So did TikTok, as their video about the mixup went viral. Morgan said he is not mad at the tattoo artist and that "ymaeln" is "symbolic now," a "reminder that you can mess up but you can always move forward."

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz, Peter Weber and Kari Wilkin, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Genya Savilov / AFP via Getty Images; Bryan R. Smith / AFP via Getty Images; Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images