Threat to journalists at highest level in a decade ... US gives Russia 60 days to comply with INF treaty ... Panama Papers: four men criminally charged in the US

Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s headlines.

Top story: Flynn giving ‘substantial’ help to Russia inquiry

Donald Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn has given “substantial assistance” to the Trump-Russia investigation, the special counsel Robert Mueller said on Tuesday, recommending Flynn face no prison time. In a redacted court filing, Mueller said details of Flynn’s cooperation had to stay under wraps because they included “sensitive information” about ongoing investigations. The memo said Flynn had given his account of “interactions between individuals in the presidential transition team and Russia”.

Guilty plea. Flynn pleaded guilty a year ago to having lied to the FBI about his contact with Russia’s ambassador to the US in December 2016.

Stony silence. Trump adviser Roger Stone has refused to share documents and testimony with members of the Senate judiciary committee, citing the fifth amendment, which protects people from being compelled to be witnesses against themselves.

Threats to journalists at highest level in a decade

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A protest for justice in recent attacks on journalists in Mexico City in 2017. Photograph: Sáshenka Gutiérrez/EPA

Seventy-eight reporters were killed doing their jobs in 2017, and a further 326 were imprisoned, according to a report by the human rights group Article 19, which concludes that journalism is more dangerous now than at any point in the past 10 years. The risks have been exacerbated by the threat of internet censorship and the rise of authoritarian governments, particularly in Turkey, China and Egypt, which between them detained more than half of those journalists listed as imprisoned.

Speaking truth. At least 30 journalists have been murdered in 2018. With the help of their colleagues and relatives, we pay tribute to some of them here.

Khashoggi murder. Following a classified briefing by the CIA director, Gina Haspel, US senators have said they are certain the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

US gives Russia 60 days to comply with INF treaty

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A Russian tactical missile fired as part of a military exercise near St Petersburg last year. Photograph: Konstantin Alysh/Defence ministry/EPA

The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has warned that if Russia does not comply with the intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) treaty within 60 days, the US will pull out of the agreement and could produce, test and deploy its own new missiles. The threat could have grave consequences in Europe, which, thanks to the treaty, has been free of nuclear-armed missiles for almost three decades. If the agreement breaks down there could be missiles back on European soil as early as February 2019.

Trade war. China has tried to restore investor confidence in the trade talks between Beijing and Washington, after Trump tanked the markets by calling himself “a Tariff Man” on Twitter.

Panama Papers: four men criminally charged in the US

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A police officer guards the Mossack Fonseca headquarters during protests in Panama City in 2016. Photograph: Ed Grimaldo/AFP/Getty Images

Four men, including a lawyer and an investment manager who worked for the offshore law firm Mossack Fonseca, have been criminally charged in the US government’s Panama Papers investigation. Prosecutors in New York said the firm had perpetrated a “decades-long criminal scheme” involving wire fraud, tax fraud and money laundering, which was exposed in a series of articles since 2015 by dozens of global media outlets, including the Guardian.

German investigation. The indictments come just days after police raided the Frankfurt offices of Deutsche Bank as part of a German investigation into the same Panamanian money laundering scheme.

Crib sheet

The British government suffered a remarkable three defeats on a single day in parliament on Tuesday, at the start of five days of debate on the Brexit deal proposed by the prime minister, Theresa May.

A woman in Brazil has given birth using a womb transplanted from a dead donor, the first time such a procedure has been successful.

Kevin Hart will host the next Oscars ceremony in February 2019, the comedian and actor announced in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

People in New Caledonia have been evacuated to “refuge areas” to escape a potential tsunami, after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake occurred less than 100 miles from the Pacific archipelago.

Help us reach our goal

When the truth is under attack and independent journalism is imperiled, your continued support of the Guardian will help us deliver the stories that matter most. Protect independent, fact-based journalism with a year-end contribution and help us reach our $1m goal. Thank you.

Must-reads

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Firefighters push a car from a garage as a wildfire consumes a Malibu home. Photograph: Ringo HW Chiu/AP

A tale of two wildfires: California’s stark divide

Many people fled Paradise on foot. Some escaped from Malibu by yacht. Last month’s devastating wildfires at either end of California both exposed and reinforced the socio-economic inequalities of the Golden State, writes the urban theorist Mike Davis.

Natalie Portman’s Vox Lux shows the darker side of music

Several recent movies are set in the harsh spotlight of musical fame. Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born stuck to the genre’s classic, romantic roots - but Brady Corbet’s Vox Lux, starring Natalie Portman, is jaggedly cynical about the industry, says Guy Lodge.

Border cities fear Trump’s crackdown

As Trump raises the temperature at America’s southern frontier, the people who live and work on both sides fear the president’s harsh approach to immigration will erode their cross-border lifestyle. Amanda Holpuch reports from Tijuana and San Diego.

Shirley Chisholm to be put on a pedestal, at last

There are 150 statues of famous men from history on New York City property, and just five of women. Soon, though, they will be joined by a statue of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman in Congress, whose importance is at last being properly recognised. By Erin Durkin.

Opinion

The polarisation of the press and public has made it more difficult than ever to discern the true direction of American politics, writes DD Guttenplan. But after meeting the activists at the grassroots, he believes a radical coalition is forming to retake the country.

The paradox of US politics is that whenever Americans are asked whether they support universal healthcare, guaranteed paid leave for carers, free education at public colleges, higher taxes on the rich, or any number of items from the Bernie Sanders campaign platform, a majority are always strongly in favour.

Sport

Unai Emery’s Arsenal are unbeaten in 19 games as they head towards a run of tough Premier League fixtures. But Barney Ronay suggests they owe much of their present success to their previous manager, Arsène Wenger.

The Chicago Bears have reached the playoffs just once in the last 11 NFL seasons. Their new coach, Matt Nagy, seems destined to lead them there again, writes Dave Caldwell.

Sign up

The US morning briefing is delivered by email every weekday. If you are not already receiving it, make sure to subscribe.