GOP’s Wisconsin power grab could be struck down in courts ... Macron tries to placate protesters ... Maria Butina to plead guilty over efforts to influence NRA

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

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

Top story: European diplomats despair at Brexit chaos

Britain’s reputation for cool-headedness has been destroyed by the chaos of the Brexit process, European diplomats told the Guardian, as Theresa May dashed to the continent on Tuesday in a desperate attempt to salvage her sinking Brexit deal. The prime minister has delayed a parliamentary vote on the agreement while she seeks assurances from other EU leaders that the Northern Ireland “backstop” would never come into force. Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European commission, has insisted there is “no room whatsoever for renegotiation”.

No-deal scenario. Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, has said EU leaders will “discuss our preparedness for a no-deal scenario” at a summit this week, in case the UK crashes out of the bloc without a deal on 29 March.

Labour’s dilemma. In today’s podcast, the Guardian’s political team focuses on the Labour party’s Brexit dilemma. One Labour MP caused uproar in parliament when he seized the ceremonial mace in protest at May’s decision to call off the vote.

GOP’s Wisconsin power grab could be struck down in courts

The “unconstitutional” efforts by Republicans to mitigate their midterm losses by curbing the power of incoming Democrats are unlikely to survive legal challenges, experts have said. In Wisconsin and Michigan, GOP state lawmakers are passing sweeping legislation in “lame duck” sessions to limit the roles of Democratic midterm winners including Wisconsin’s governor-elect, Tony Evers, and Michigan’s governor-elect, Gretchen Whitmer.

Anti-democratic. The GOP’s brazen behaviour in Wisconsin and Michigan is part of the party’s longstanding effort to turn US states into “labs of anti-democracy”, argues Andrew Gawthorpe.

Macron tries to placate protesters with emergency measures

Play Video 2:16 'This was a long time coming': Macron offers concessions amid violent protests – video

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has unveiled a series of emergency measures to placate the protesters who have brought unrest to the streets of Paris and other cities over the past four weeks. In a television address on Monday, Macron promised a rise in the minimum wage and tax concessions, including cancelling the environmentally motivated hike on fuel taxes that first sparked the protests. But he refused to reinstate a wealth tax that his government controversially scrapped in 2017.

Mea culpa. Macron said he understood protesters’ anger, which he said was “deep and in many ways legitimate”, and admitted: “I know I have hurt some of you with my words.”

Yellow jackets. Egyptian authorities have restricted the sale of yellow reflective vests over fears of copycat protests inspired by the French gilets jaunes movement.

Maria Butina to plead guilty over efforts to influence NRA

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Butina pictured with NRA chief Wayne LaPierre in 2014. Photograph: Facebook

Maria Butina, an alleged Russian agent, is expected to plead guilty this week over efforts to infiltrate the National Rifle Association and influence US policy towards Russia. Butina, who was born in Siberia and moved to Washington DC in 2016 to study at American University, ran a small Russian gun rights group, Right to Bear Arms. She was introduced to NRA and Republican circles by her boyfriend, the conservative activist Paul Erickson, who is not accused of wrongdoing.

Russian agent. Butina previously pleaded not guilty to charges that she was acting as an agent of the Russian government and conspiring to take actions on Russia’s behalf. It is unclear which charges she intends to admit when she appears at a hearing in Washington on Wednesday.

Crib sheet

Japan has ended the search for five US marines who went missing in the Pacific last week, following a mid-air collision between a fighter jet and a refuelling aircraft.

Federal agents have arrested 32 religious leaders and other activists at the US-Mexico border in San Diego during a protest in support of the Central American migrant caravan.

Health officials remain uncertain as to the cause of a mysterious illness that has paralysed a record number of American children in 2018.

Two nuns have admitted embezzling up to a reported $500,000 in funds from a California Catholic school, which they used to pay for gambling trips to Las Vegas.

Must-reads

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A Syrian refugee in the border town of Kilis, south-eastern Turkey. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

A troubled Turkish border city tries to become bike-friendly

An influx of Syrian refugees has doubled the population of Kilis, the Turkish border city where local leaders are tackling traffic problems with an ambitious new cycle scheme: a network of bike lanes, and free bikes for children. Paul Benjamin Osterlund reports.

How a tiny creature spread a mysterious allergy to meat

When thousands of people first started to develop life-threatening reactions to animal products, doctors and researchers were at a loss. But then, they tell Maryn McKenna, they identified the culprit: Amblyomma americanum, also known as the lone star tick.

The mind-altering obsession that’s taking over romcoms

Three 2018 romantic comedies start with the same strange premise: a woman bangs her head and wakes up with a bizarre new worldview. Stuart Heritage pitches four more ideas for a potential new genre: the head-banger.

Colombia journalism project brings untold war stories to light

Over the long decades of Colombia’s civil war, most journalists were forced to report the conflict from the military’s perspective, turning a blind eye to atrocities and ignoring the plight of rural Colombians. Joe Parkin Daniels meets the people behind a a new journalism project that aims to cover the peace from a broader point of view.

Opinion

Medicare for all has long been dismissed as impossible by its opponents, says Adam Gaffney. Yet a slew of studies suggests that, far from being unaffordable, single-payer healthcare would in fact save the US trillions of dollars.

The real stumbling block is not that single-payer advocates’ arithmetic is poor, it’s that American politics are dominated by the rich.

Sport

The former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten has had a disastrous start to his tenure as lead analyst on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. But Witten is just a symptom of the show’s wider problems, says Hunter Felt.

On Tuesday night, Tottenham travel to the impregnable Camp Nou, where they will probably need a win to secure their place in the next stage of the Champions League. Unfortunately for Spurs, writes Ben Fisher, Barcelona almost never lose at home.

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