Mass burials begin after Indonesia tsunami ... Canada and US agree Nafta replacement deal ... Whole Foods workers unionise to battle Amazon

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 headlines. If you’d like to receive this briefing by email, sign up here.

Sign up for the US morning briefing



Top story: FBI ‘will not interview third Kavanaugh accuser’

The FBI does not intend to interview Julie Swetnick, Brett Kavanaugh’s third accuser, as part of its week-long investigation into claims of historical sexual misconduct by the supreme court nominee, according to multiple reports and the Republican senator Lindsey Graham. As the court began its new term with eight justices on the bench, the New York Times reported that the White House had approved a list of just four witnesses for interview. Donald Trump has denied limiting the investigation. Meanwhile, his aide Kellyanne Conway told CNN that she too had been a victim of sexual assault.

- Old boys’ network. Kavanaugh’s decision to hire a close friend’s son is under scrutiny – especially because the friend is Kavanaugh’s former boss, Alex Kozinski, the first senior judge to resign under a cloud of #MeToo allegations.

- True disbelievers. Trump fans at a rally in West Virginia told Ben Jacobs they thought Kavanaugh’s accuser Dr Christine Blasey Ford was “full of it”.

Mass burials begin in Indonesia as tsunami death toll rises

Play Video 2:20 Apocalyptic scenes in Indonesia after earthquake and tsunami hit Sulawesi – video

Authorities in Palu have begun mass burials for victims of the tsunami that struck the Indonesian city on Friday, while the death toll from the tidal wave and the earthquake that preceded it rose to more than 840. The search for survivors continued on Monday as hundreds of bodies were found on beaches and authorities warned that many victims may have been washed out to sea.

- Aftershocks. The 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck on Friday and was followed by a six-metre tsunami and about 170 aftershocks.

- Final toll. Authorities have told volunteer grave-diggers to prepare for the burial of up to 1,300 victims.

Canada and US to replace Nafta with ‘modernised’ trade deal

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Relations between Trump and Trudeau have been tense. Photograph: NEIL HALL/POOL/EPA

Canada and the US have agreed a deal on a “new, modernised trade agreement” designed to replace the 1994 Nafta deal, which was much-criticised by Trump. In a statement released on Sunday, the two governments said the deal would be known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Trump and Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, said they were content with the agreement.

- Milk and motors. The deal gives the US wider access to the Canadian dairy market, while protecting Canada’s carmakers from US tariffs.

- Justin time. Trump claimed last week that he had rejected Trudeau’s recent request for a meeting because he was unhappy with the negotiations. A Trudeau spokesperson denied any such meeting had been requested.

Whole Foods workers organise to counter the Amazon effect

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Amazon bought Whole Foods for $13.7bn last year. Photograph: Elise Amendola/AP

Whole Foods workers are seeking to form a union to protect themselves from job cuts, wage reductions and automation by the grocery company’s new owners, Amazon. “No one trusts Amazon and there are fears in upper management that Amazon will clean house if sales rates aren’t hit,” one Whole Foods worker and organiser told the Guardian.

- Prime purchase. Amazon acquired Whole Foods for approximately $13.7bn in August 2017.

Cribsheet

- The US justice department is suing California after its governor, Jerry Brown, signed legislation to restore net neutrality in the Golden State.

- Officials in Houston have delayed a Canadian company’s plans to open America’s first robot brothel in the Texas city.

- Death rates among female pigs in the US are rising dramatically, causing concern among animal welfare and farming groups.

- Women across Brazil have staged mass protests against Jair Bolsonaro, the populist frontunner for the presidency, who has been released from hospital after being stabbed last month.

Must-reads

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Wild at heart: Nicolas Cage. Photograph: Robby Klein/Contour by Getty Images

Nicolas Cage: America’s greatest working actor?

Action star, Oscar winner, professional oddball: Nicolas Cage can do it all. As the “wildly mannered” actor unveils Mandy, one of his maddest movies yet, Hadley Freeman asks him about going for broke, on- and off-screen.

A portrait of the Black Panthers

Photographer Stephen Shames was close to the Black Panthers founder member Bobby Seale, a friendship that gave him unrivalled access to the revolutionary group at its peak. As a new exhibition of his work opens in France, Shames opened his album for the Guardian.

When is a ‘sex offender’ not a sex offender?

When he kidnapped a 14-year-old boy as part of a plot to extort money from a cocaine distributor, Equan Yunus knew the risks, but he never expected to be labelled a sex offender for life. “We live in a country where sometimes you get a second chance,” he tells Ed Pilkington.

Banned in 46 countries: the most shocking film ever

First released 40 years ago, Faces of Death is a documentary consisting entirely of the on-screen deaths of people and animals, in plane crashes, electric chairs and other grim circumstances. John Fecile tracks down its unrepentant creator.

Opinion

After his wife died in 1944, Gandhi began sharing his bed with naked young women, including nieces 60 years his junior – ostensibly to prove his celibate self-control. Ian Jack asks whether his reputation would have survived a #MeToo moment.

A powerful old man, subordinate young women, nudity: he would surely have been widely reviled, and his faults distorted and oversimplified in the rush to judge him.

Sport

Tiger Woods has admitted his own disappointing performance was a “contributing factor” in the USA team’s brutal Ryder Cup defeat. Despite glimmers of a USA fightback on Sunday morning, Europe eventually won the contest 17½-10½.

Chelsea held Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Saturday thanks in large part to a resurgent David Luiz. That’s one of 10 talking points from the weekend’s Premier League action.

Sign up

The US morning briefing is delivered by email every weekday. If you are not already receiving it, make sure to subscribe.

Sign up for the US morning briefing

Support the Guardian

We’d like to acknowledge our generous supporters who enable us to keep reporting on the critical stories. If you value what we do and would like to help, please make a contribution or become a supporter today. Thank you.