Tuesday’s top story: Democrats describe ‘horrifying’ conditions at Texas migrant detention facility. Plus, the rise of the CEO as social justice warrior

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This article is more than 1 year old

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

AOC denounces alleged sexual ‘threats’ by CBP officers

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has detailed the “horrifying” conditions inside a migrant detention centre in Texas, which she visited on Monday with a group of Democratic representatives. The New York congresswoman said female detainees described their treatment as “psychological warfare”, and claimed the guards called them “whores” and “told them to drink out of the toilets” in their cells if they needed water.

Facebook group. The visit came shortly after ProPublica exposed a secret Facebook forum allegedly for Customs and Border Protection officers, which featured violent or sexual discussions and memes relating to AOC and other Democrats.

Texas prisons. Conditions in Texas prisons are also a concern. As Oliver Milman reports, a majority of the state’s prisons have no air conditioning and are unequipped to deal with the health risks posed by the climate crisis.

Antarctic sea ice suffers ‘precipitous’ decline since 2014

Play Video 1:43 Antarctic sea ice plunges from record high to record lows – video

Antarctica has lost as much sea ice in the past four years as the Arctic lost in 34 years, according to satellite data showing a “precipitous” decline in the southern continent’s sea ice extent since 2014. While the melting of sea ice does not itself raise sea levels, it has a major impact on the global climate system, and can lead to a vicious circle of global heating that ultimately contributes to the melting of ice sheets on land.

Unfrozen north. On Tuesday’s Today in Focus podcast, India Rakusen and Jon Watts discuss their visit to the world’s northernmost town – also the fastest warming place on Earth – to ask how its residents are responding to global heating.

Fantastic Arctic Fox. An arctic fox has been tracked by the Norwegian Polar Institute walking more than 2,000 miles across sea ice from Norway to Canada in just 76 days, the fastest such journey ever recorded for the species.

China calls Hong Kong protests ‘totally intolerable’

Play Video 0:40 China says violent protests in Hong Kong are 'undisguised challenge', reports state TV - video

China has “strongly condemned” the actions of demonstrators who smashed their way into the Hong Kong legislature on Monday in protest at the semi-autonomous territory’s proposed new extradition law. Police charged protesters and fired teargas to disperse the crowds on the 22nd anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China. In a statement to the state news agency, the Chinese government said the demonstrators’ “violent acts are an extreme challenge to Hong Kong’s rule of law”.

Carrie Lam. At an early morning press conference on Tuesday, Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, condemned the “extremely violent” storming of the legislature, calling it “heartbreaking and shocking”.

Xi Jinping. The escalating protests pose a personal challenge to the Chinese premier, Xi Jinping, writes Simon Tisdall. They may force him to demonstrate his “strongman” credentials.

Trump threatens new tariffs on $4bn of EU products

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Donald Trump: ‘Trade wars are good.’ Photograph: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

Days after reaching a truce in his administration’s trade war with China, Donald Trump has threatened to impose fresh tariffs on $4bn of European products as part of a tit-for-tat trade row over aircraft subsidies. EU products worth $21bn were announced as potential targets for tariffs in April this year, including champagne and oysters. The new list of 89 additional items released by the US trade representative’s office includes olives, cheese, Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, pasta and coffee.

Tackling homelessness. In a Fox News interview broadcast on Monday, the president said he was looking “very seriously” at intervening to “clean up” homelessness in California’s cities, because other world leaders “can’t be looking at that”.

Crib sheet

European leaders have resisted calls to reimpose sanctions on Iran , after the country said it had broken the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal to put pressure on EU powers to help mitigate the effects of US sanctions.

A group of activists in Jakarta has announced plans to sue the Indonesian government over the dangerous levels of air pollution in the country’s smog-blanketed capital.

Despite being told that heavy military vehicles could damage the streets of Washington, Trump has demanded a display of American tanks in the District of Columbia as part of this year’s Fourth of July celebrations.

Kim Kardashian has said she will rename her new shapewear line, following criticism that the brand’s original name, Kimono, disrespected Japanese culture and disregarded the significance of the traditional outfit.

Must-reads

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Trump T-shirts for sale during Laconia, New Hampshire’s annual bike week. Photograph: Josh Wood

Why do bikers love Trump so much?

Biker culture is rooted in the idea of rebellion, individualism and the freedom to say and do what you want, whether or not it offends others. Which might explain why Trump is an unlikely idol for attendees at Laconia, New Hampshire’s annual motorcycle week, as Josh Wood discovers.

After 50 years of HIV, how close are we to a cure?

Half a century since a Missouri teenager became its first known victim, just two patients are believed to have been cured of HIV. Does their treatment point the way for the 37 million people still living with the virus? Edward Siddons and Thomas Graham investigate.

A glimpse of socialism, Mormon-style

Utah has one of the lowest rates of income inequality in the US, thanks in part to the Church of Latter-day Saints’ welfare system: a slice of socialism in the Rocky Mountain west. But as Kathleen McLaughlin reports, Mormon influence also accounts for the state’s poor record on gender equality.

Ants on a plane: a viral story

When an ant infestation spread through the cabin during her nine-hour United Airlines flight from Venice, Charlotte Burns started tweeting about it. By the time she landed in Newark, a TV news crew was waiting to hear her story. She explains what happened, and United’s bizarre response.

Opinion

Big banks have ceased funding private prison firms. Apple’s Tim Cook has called Trump’s border policies “inhumane”. Corporate leaders are stepping into the moral vacuum left by Republicans, says Jill Priluck – but their motives aren’t entirely altruistic.

The outcry over the migrants didn’t change public policy. But it raised the profiles of CEOs whose jobs depend on preserving their public image or risking ouster.

Sport

The 15-year-old US tennis prodigy Cori “Coco” Gauff has become the youngest player to win a first-round ladies’ singles match at Wimbledon since 1991, beating five-time champion Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4 in a game hailed as a generational handover. Meanwhile, Williams’s sister Serena may be set for a dream doubles partnership with Andy Murray.

The England manager, Phil Neville, has told the Guardian that England “have to stop being a semi-final team” and become “serial winners like the USA” as the Lionesses prepare to face the defending champions in Tuesday’s Women’s World Cup semi-finals.

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