Friday’s top story: Mexico tightens security at Guatemala border as Trump’s tariffs loom. Plus, was El Chapo really the last of the cartel kingpins?

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

Mexico tariffs could target 2020 battleground states

Mexico has stepped up security along its southern border with Guatemala to try to meet Donald Trump’s demands for a migration crackdown before his threatened tariffs on Mexican imports come into force next week. But as Dominic Rushe reports from Indiana, another trade war could hurt the midwest just as badly as it hurts Mexico. And that, argues Ross Barkan, could seriously dent support for the president and other Republicans in 2020.

Detention facilities. Migrant families at US detention facilities are being held in “egregious” conditions that are only getting worse as the number of detainees grows, according to leaked documents and two reports from government agencies.

Biden makes U-turn on ‘discriminatory’ abortion rule

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Joe Biden at a campaign stop in Manchester, New Hampshire, this week. Photograph: Brian Snyder/Reuters

Amid a backlash from activists and his Democratic presidential rivals, Joe Biden is rowing back furiously on his support for the 40-year-old Hyde amendment, which bans the use of federal funding for abortions. “If I believe healthcare is a right, as I do, I can no longer support an amendment that makes that right dependent on someone’s zip code,” the Catholic former vice-president said on Thursday, 24 hours after his campaign affirmed his support for the measure – the position he has held for decades.

Warren’s view. Biden’s U-turn came after scorching criticism of the Hyde amendment from Elizabeth Warren, who said in a TV interview: “We do not pass laws that take away that freedom from the women who are most vulnerable.”

US homeopaths claim to prevent measles and ‘cure’ autism

Facebook Twitter Pinterest People against mandatory vaccinations protest at the state capitol in Olympia, Washington, in February Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/Reuters

At least 200 homeopaths in the US are offering treatments they falsely claim can prevent measles and “cure” autism in children as an alternative to vaccination, the Guardian has learned. One such therapy is known as complete elimination of autistic spectrum expression, or “Cease”, and involves high doses of vitamin C, which practitioners insist can reverse the “harm” caused by vaccines. In fact, most vaccines are entirely safe, and there is no link between vaccines and autism, which is not a medical condition with treatments or a “cure”.

Measles outbreak. More than 1,000 cases of measles have been confirmed across more than 20 US states this year, the worst outbreak in at least 25 years. The worst hotspots are in areas where large numbers of children are unvaccinated.

UN expert blasts Canada’s ‘disregard’ for Indigenous rights

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A tar sands upgrader plant in Alberta, Canada. Photograph: Ashley Cooper/Alamy

A UN human rights expert has urged Canada to improve its handling of industrial waste after criticising the country’s “blatant disregard for Indigenous rights,” in neglecting the concerns of Indigenous people who live near harmful pollution. Baskut Tuncak, the UN’s special rapporteur on toxic chemicals, spent two weeks touring areas of concern in Canada, including the Alberta tar sands, where the Grassy Narrows First Nation has fought for decades to have toxic mercury removed from its waters.

‘Stolen sisters’. More than 100 motorcyclists are preparing to take part in the Ride for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, a 12,000-mile relay ride across the US and Canada to raise awareness of the epidemic of violence against women in Indian country.

Crib sheet

The senior commander of US forces in the Middle East has said the threat from Iran in the region remains “very real” but that Tehran has chosen to “step back and recalculate” in response to American efforts to “establish deterrence”.

More than 350 US students have pledged to read a message about the climate crisis, prepared by a youth-led climate protest movement, at their high school graduation ceremonies this summer. But many say their schools have barred them from reading the text.

The New York City police commissioner has apologised on behalf of the NYPD for the June 1969 police raid on the city’s Stonewall Inn, which led to the riots that catalysed the modern LGBT rights movement.

The pope has approved a rare change to the wording of the Lord’s Prayer, which instead of saying “lead us not into temptation”, will now say “do not let us fall into temptation”.

Must-reads

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Joaquín Guzmán Loera was recaptured by Mexican marines in January 2016. Composite: Reuters/Guardian Design

The last of the cartel kingpins?

The authorities celebrated when the head of the Sinaloa cartel was finally captured in January 2016. But though Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars, his recent trial showed how disposable individuals are amid the machinations of the narco-state, as Jessica Loudis reports.

Chernobyl now: a photo essay

As the world remembers the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986 thanks to the acclaimed HBO drama, the photographer Tom Skipp visits the region as it is today, to meet the survivors of that catastrophe and the people who still live and work in the area.

How fake news became the frontline of US politics

A study has found that 50% of Americans believe fake news to be a bigger threat to the nation than terrorism, illegal immigration or violent crime. Sabrina Siddiqui finds out how misinformation has made voters doubt their institutions – and how little lawmakers have done to deal with it.

The dark magic of Diego Maradona

A new documentary by the director of Senna and Amy documents Diego Maradona’s time as the footballing hero of Naples. Ed Vulliamy, then the Guardian’s Italy correspondent, recalls how the star and the city reflected one another: “the same unearthly magic, the same brilliant light, the same maleficent shadows”.

Opinion

Liberals are still confused and exasperated by evangelical support for Trump, given his obvious spiritual failings. But if they continue to scoff at the views of religious Americans, argues Michael Massing, it will merely reinforce that group’s faith in the president.

The disdain for Christians common among the credentialed class can only add to the sense of alienation and marginalization among evangelicals.

Sport

The St Louis Blues are within reach of their first NHL championship after a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night gave them a 3-2 lead in the Stanley Cup Final series.

Mark Stevens, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist who is a part-owner of the Golden State Warriors, has been fined $500,000 and banned for a season by the NBA for shoving Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry while seated courtside during Game 3 of the NBA finals.

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