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

DNC chair cites network’s ‘inappropriate’ ties to Trump

The Democratic party has said it will not allow Fox News to host any of its primary debates during the 2020 presidential campaign, after an exposé in the New Yorker that revealed the network’s deep ties to the Trump administration. The Democratic National Committee chair, Tom Perez, said the report cast doubt on Fox’s ability to hold a “fair and neutral” debate with Democrats. In response, Donald Trump has threatened to block other networks from hosting the general election debates.

Stormy Daniels. The New Yorker alleged Fox was aware, before the 2016 election, of hush money payments made to the adult film actor Stormy Daniels to hide her alleged affair with Trump – but that the network chose to bury the story because Rupert Murdoch wanted Trump to win.

Michael Cohen. Trump’s former lawyer, who was responsible for the payments to Daniels, has given the House intelligence committee new documents to support his testimony to Congress regarding the Trump Tower Moscow project.

Huawei sues the US over ‘unconstitutional’ ban

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Chinese tech firm’s chair, Guo Ping, announces Huawei’s court challenge to the US. Photograph: Kin Cheung/AP

Huawei, the telecoms firm at the heart of a major diplomatic dispute between the US and China, has launched a lawsuit to try to overturn the US government’s ban on its products, calling the restriction “unlawful” and unconstitutional. The ban was signed by Trump last August over fears that Beijing could use the Chinese company’s products for spying. It also prevents US government agencies using third-party contractors who use products made by Huawei, which is the world’s biggest supplier of telecoms equipment.

Extradition proceedings. Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who is also the company founder’s daughter, was arrested in Canada in December and faces extradition to the US over charges that the firm violated sanctions on Iran.

Study of political rhetoric finds populism on the rise worldwide

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Guardian’s analysis found that Trump struggles to articulate populist ideas without a teleprompter. Composite: Frank Hulley-Jones

A new study of the rhetoric used by almost 140 presidents, prime ministers and chancellors in 40 countries has confirmed that populism has surged worldwide in recent decades. The research, commissioned by the Guardian and carried out by a global network of political scientists, found the number of populist world leaders has more than doubled since the early 2000s.

Teleprompter test. A study of Trump’s speeches found the US president struggles to express populist ideas unless he is using a teleprompter script prepared by his speechwriters.

Theresa May. The study found that even the UK’s apparently restrained prime minister uses language as populist as Trump, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro or Hungary’s Viktor Orbán.

Microplastic pollution is ‘absolutely everywhere’, studies find

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Microplastic litter a beach in the Azores. Photograph: Peter Charaf/RaceforWater

Microplastic pollution has contaminated American groundwater, the lakes and rivers of the UK, the coast of Spain, the beaches of Singapore and the Yangtze River in China, studies from around the world have shown. While the health effects of the tiny plastic particles on humans are still undetermined, they have been shown to harm marine life – and to have been consumed by people in Europe, Japan and Russia.

Tiny particles. Defined as smaller than 5mm, microplastics are shed by synthetic clothing, vehicle tyres and manufacturing processes, as well as being produced by the physical breakdown of plastic litter.

Crib sheet

Must-reads

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dancer Sergei Polunin’s tattoos include a prominent portrait of Vladimir Putin on his chest. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

Sergei Polunin: ‘Ukraine put me on a list of war criminals’

The Ukrainian-born ballet star Sergei Polunin, long likened to Rudof Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov, seemingly sabotaged his own career with a recent string of sexist and homophobic Instagram posts. He tells Simon Hattenstone why “the most amazing feeling in the world is destroying”.

Anti-Zionism and antisemitism

Around the world, antisemitism is on the rise. But to conflate anti-Zionism with Jew hatred is a tragic mistake that erases the Palestinian experience, argues Peter Beinart: “It is not bigoted to try to turn a state based on ethnic nationalism into one based on civic nationalism, in which no ethnic group enjoys special privileges.”

Inside America’s biggest facility for migrant teens

The managers of the Homestead camp in Florida describe it as a “shelter” for the up to 1,700 young migrants detained there. But opponents of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policy have called it “prison-like”. Richard Luscombe sees the facility for himself.

Should the X-Men join the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

With Disney and Fox merging, and the original X-Men series winding down, Marvel’s movie bosses have an opportunity to introduce the mutants to their already-crowded cinematic universe. Don’t rush it, advises Ben Child.

Opinion

Cars are useful, and for some they are essential, but ultimately they bear a large part of the responsibility for the environmental crisis, says George Monbiot. We must resolve to stop driving – and soon.

Let’s abandon this disastrous experiment, recognise that this 19th-century technology is now doing more harm than good, and plan our way out of it. Let’s set a target to cut the use of cars by 90% over the next decade.

Sport

Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjær has heaped praise on Marcus Rashford, after the “fearless” forward’s stoppage-time penalty against PSG capped a remarkable second-leg comeback to send United through to the Champions League quarter-finals.

LeBron James scored his 32,293rd point in the NBA against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, moving past Michael Jordan into fourth place on the career scoring list, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points), Karl Malone (36,928) and Kobe Bryant (33,643).

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