Friday’s top story: Trump ally spared prison for Instagram post targeting judge. Plus, how the US government created a fake college to snare immigrant students

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.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson says Stone apology ‘rings hollow’

Roger Stone, the veteran political dirty trickster and close ally of Donald Trump, faced a sharp rebuke from the federal judge overseeing his ongoing criminal case on Thursday, after he posted her picture on Instagram alongside an image that appeared to show the crosshairs of a gun. Judge Amy Berman Jackson slapped Stone with an expanded gagging order, which prevents him speaking publicly about the case, and told him his supposedly contrite apology “rings quite hollow”.

Symbolic excuse. Stone, who is facing charges related to Russian election interference, claimed in court that the crosshairs in his post were in fact “a Celtic occult symbol”.

North Korea pleads for aid amid drought and sanctions

Facebook Twitter Pinterest North Korean children suffering from malnutrition during a food shortage in 2011. Photograph: Damir Sagolj / Reuters/Reuters

North Korea has appealed to the United Nations for foreign aid, with almost half the country’s population suffering food shortages caused by drought, floods and international sanctions. Pyongyang has told the UN it is facing a shortfall of 1.4m tons in food production after a poor 2018 harvest that affected its crops of rice, wheat, potato and soya beans. The regime has cut rations, leaving an estimated 40% of North Koreans undernourished.

Nuclear talks. North Korea sent a memo to the UN requesting aid, just a week before Kim Jong-un is due to meet Trump in Vietnam for a second summit on denuclearisation.

‘Severe threat’ to world food supply from loss of biodiversity

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A strawberry farm in Gleidingen, Germany. Photograph: Julian Stratenschulte/EPA

A new UN study has warned the exponential spread of agriculture and urban sprawl has drastically diminished the world’s biodiversity and thus put our capacity to produce sufficient food “under severe threat”. The report, published on Friday, found about 20% of the earth’s vegetated surface has become less productive over the past 20 years, and pointed to a “debilitating” loss of soil biodiversity, as well as decreased genetic diversity among crop and livestock species.

Trees and birds. The report found 63% of plants and 11% of birds were in decline, including species that indirectly assist food production, such as birds that eat crop pests and trees that help purify water.

North Carolina elections board orders new race after ballot fraud

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Investigators found evidence of ballot fraud by political operatives working for Mark Harris. Photograph: Travis Long/AP

North Carolina’s elections board has voted unanimously to rerun the congressional race in the state’s ninth district, after investigators found evidence of ballot fraud by political operatives working for the Republican candidate, Mark Harris. Harris previously demanded to be declared the winner of the country’s last undecided midterm contest, in which he led the Democrat Dan McCready by 905 votes, but abruptly changed his tune during the board’s hearings this week and backed a new election.

Ballot harvesting. Harris operative Leslie McCrae Dowless is accused of tampering with mail-in ballots in rural Bladen county, which may have swung the race in the Republican’s favour.

Crib sheet

The neo-Nazi coast guard officer arrested this week, accused of a “domestic terror” plot to murder high-profile Democrats and media personalities, has been denied bail by a federal judge.

Israel has launched its first lunar lander robot aboard a SpaceX rocket. If successful, it will be not only the first ever privately backed lunar lander mission, but would see Israel join just three other nations – the US, Russia and China – in having made a controlled landing on the moon’s surface.

At least 20 county sheriffs across Washington are refusing to enforce the state’s new gun laws , which aim to restrict access to and use of assault weapons.

The crisis in Venezuela and the collapse of the country’s health system could cause an epidemic of diseases such as malaria and dengue to spread across Latin America, experts have warned.

Must-reads

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Mark Ronson performs Shallow with Lady Gaga at the Grammys. Photograph: Matt Sayles/Invision/AP

Mark Ronson on his new album of “sad bangers”

Mark Ronson has already scored at least one global hit this year, not to mention an Oscar nomination. His hotly anticipated new album is a collection of “sad bangers” inspired by his divorce, he tells Alexis Petridis: “This is the first time I’ve poured everything into a record.”

‘Trump country’ isn’t as Republican as you think

Elizabeth Catte’s grandfather was a Republican from south-west Virginia’s coal country, a region thought of as a Trump bastion. But her recent experiences as an organiser have taught her Appalachian politics is far more rich and complex than it appears.

Why did the US government create a fake university?

The University of Farmington website described a college that would prepare students to succeed in an “ever-globalizing economy”. In fact, the “university” was a sham to snare immigrants – and 161 foreign nationals fell victim to the ploy. Amanda Holpuch reports.

How Jussie Smollett’s story unravelled

The Empire star Jussie Smollett was arrested by Chicago police on Thursday, accused of faking a racist, homophobic attack to earn sympathy and improve his salary. Jamiles Lartey traces the twists and turns in a plotline too implausible for television drama.

Opinion

Mike Pompeo and John Bolton have led the Trump administration’s charge against multilateralism. The US should be wary of flouting the rules-based international system, writes Mark Medish. If we pursue lawless self-help, others will too.

Multilateralism is a strategic bet on normative advances based on mutuality. The converse is certainly true: self-help will accelerate a collapse of shared legal standards.

Sport

After Duke’s NBA prospect Zion Williamson suffered a scary injury on the court this week, the Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins has sharply criticised the college basketball system, which provides little safety net for players while tickets sell for thousands of dollars. The “whole NCAA business” is “crooked”, Cousins said.

The clash between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday could be momentous for both teams, and a win for Liverpool would seriously improve their title chances. That’s one of 10 talking points ahead of this weekend’s Premier League action.

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