Good morning.
Donald Trump and his family are under mounting pressure after the New York state attorney general’s office said its investigation of the Trump Organization is now criminal as well as civil.
The investigation has been in progress since 2019, but a “criminal capacity” has been added to the probe, which Trump has said is politically motivated. Significantly, the New York state attorney general’s office will work with the Manhattan district attorney, who has been investigating the former president’s business for more than two years.
A spokesman for Letitia James, the New York state attorney general, said: “We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA.”
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What are they investigating? James’s two-year investigation has included looking into whether the Trump Organization improperly inflated assets on financial statements to get loans and other benefits and how employees were paid, reports CNN.
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Meanwhile, the Manhattan DA’s office has said in court filings that it is investigating “possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct” at the Trump Organization – including falsification of business records and tax and insurance fraud.
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For more on James, Tom McCarthy wrote about how the New York attorney general has been making big legal waves, with investigations into both Trump and New York governor Andrew Cuomo, in March.
France presses US to call for Israel-Gaza ceasefire
France has ramped up pressure on the US to publicly call for an Israel-Gaza ceasefire as airstrikes and rocket fire continued overnight.
It came after a UN security council meeting failed to produce a joint statement. France is pushing for a draft resolution, coordinated with Egypt and Jordan, that would focus on points including a cessation of violence and access for humanitarian relief agencies.
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Meanwhile, Joe Biden toured a Ford Motor company facility in Michigan to promote electric cars while protests erupted in the state over the Israel-Gaza conflict. The president’s recent expression of support for a ceasefire has done little to quieten calls from progressives for stronger intervention, writes world affairs editor Julian Borger.
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Severe clashes erupted in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank on Tuesday amid a day of Palestinian protests and strikes. A Palestinian man was killed and more than 70 wounded in clashes with Israeli troops near Ramallah and two Israeli soldiers were injured.
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The conflict, now in its second week, has killed 217 Palestinians and 12 people in Israel. The UN says 72,000 Palestinians have been displaced.
Joe Biden poised to sign anti-Asian American hate crimes bill
Joe Biden is set to sign legislation aimed at cutting hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders – which have proliferated during the pandemic – after Congress approved the bill on Tuesday.
The bill, which passed in the House with a 364-62 vote, aims to:
Democratic congresswoman Grace Meng, who co-led the bill, said: “Asian Americans have been screaming out for help, and the House and Senate and President Biden have clearly heard our pleas.”
Nancy Pelosi calls for US diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics
The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has called for a US diplomatic boycott of next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing in response to human rights abuses.
She called on countries not to attend the event, saying world leaders who did would lose their “moral authority” because of China’s treatment of Uyghurs.
“For heads of state to go to China in light of a genocide that is ongoing – while you’re sitting there in your seat – really begs the question, what moral authority do you have to speak again about human rights any place in the world?” Pelosi told a bipartisan congressional hearing on Tuesday.
In other news …
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A Black homeowner in Indianapolis says her appraisal more than doubled after she did not declare her race. Carlette Duffy, who has filed housing discrimination complaints, alleges that valuations of her home dramatically changed after she removed items that identified her race and asked a white male friend to attend an appraisal.
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Any amount of alcohol consumption is harmful to the brain and even “moderate” drinking negatively affects almost every part of it, research has found. A UK study of 25,000 people suggests that the more alcohol consumed, the lower the brain’s volume.
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Three of the world’s biggest food businesses have been accused of links to illegal deforestation of the Amazon. Cargill, Bunge and Cofco sourced soya beans from two companies that have allegedly been supplied by a farmer who was fined and sanctioned several times after destroying swathes of rainforest, an investigation has found.
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Crime app Citizen falsely accused a homeless man in California of starting a wildfire – offering a $30,000 reward to find him and sharing his photo – before retracting the post, seen by more than 861,000 people, the following day. The vigilante app, which provides users with local crime information using police scanners and other sources, shared an alert on Saturday about an alleged arsonist behind the large brush fire in Los Angeles.
Stat of the day: Only 17% of Americans believe race relations are better nearly one year after George Floyd’s murder
A survey by NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist also found that more than a third expect relations to improve under Joe Biden and 28% expect relations to worsen (the figure was 52% in 2017 when Donald Trump took office). The findings come as the world prepares to mark the first anniversary of the police killing of Floyd in Minneapolis on 25 May.
Don’t miss this: Chips with everything
Covid-driven global shortages of microchips have sent the cost of new and used vehicles soaring and are fuelling inflation in western economies. Helen Davidson in Taipei and Martin Farrer report on how the microchip shortage has put Taiwanese company TSMC, the world’s biggest computer chip maker, at the heart of the world’s recovery – and US-China tensions.
Last Thing: Five of Anthony Bourdain’s favourite food destinations
Laurie Woolever, who was Anthony Bourdain’s “lieutenant” and is co-author of the late chef’s posthumous book World Travel: An Irreverent Guide, shares some of his favourite places to eat in the world. From Hong Kong to San Sebastián, the list takes you around the world, aptly ending with a pastrami sandwich with mustard, Russian dressing and two pickles in Manhattan. “The first thing I get when I’m back in New York is a pastrami sandwich … It’s a quintessential New York meal for me,” he said in 2017.
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