First Thing: Trump flip-flops on Hormuz toll and threatens Iran’s civilian infrastructure | US news

Good morning. Donald Trump has threatened to expand US strikes on Iran next week to target civilian infrastructure, including power plants and bridges, if Tehran does not agree to a deal. Trump made similar comments in March. Destruction of civilian infrastructure, such as electricity and water utilities, would be illegal under international humanitarian law and would likely constitute a war crime.

Meanwhile, the US president turned his threat to U that ships would have to pay a 20 percent fee to the US for “security” in the Strait of Hormuz. He said he decided to lower the toll “based on very productive discussions with Middle Eastern leaders” and touted “tremendous” investments. He said the US would continue to blockade Iranian ports.

• How did Democrats react to renewed hostilities? Senate Democrats have blocked progress on a must-pass defense bill. The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, said his party cannot support advancing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as long as conflicts continue.

• Upper House Democrats, meanwhile, have vowed to oppose a proposal to cut U.S. military aid to Israel as they grapple with an outcry among their voters over the party’s support for its Middle Eastern ally.

ICE pauses vehicle stops after deadly shootings in Texas and Maine

Following two recent deadly shootings in Texas and Maine in which authorities shot and killed immigrants in vehicles, federal immigration officers have been ordered to stop the vehicles until further notice, according to a national security source.

Federal immigration officials, including ICE and Customs and Border Protection officers, have shot and killed 11 people since January 2025. The five people fatally shot by ICE officers were in their vehicles. In many cases, DHS alleged that people were “weaponizing” their vehicles against federal law enforcement, leading authorities to open fire. DHS officials’ claims were later disputed after footage of separate incidents cast doubt on the department’s claims.

Dozens of Meta employees have sued the social media company for allegedly using artificial intelligence tools to tag workers for mass layoffs. Workers claim these AI tools targeted them after they requested protective leave, maternity leave or disability accommodation. The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in the northern district of California, notes that Meta cut its workforce by about 8,000 employees earlier this year.

• What does the lawsuit allege? “Meta did not create its termination list based on the considered judgment of managers familiar with the job,” the 71-page complaint reads. Instead, the 26 workers named in the lawsuit allege that the company used artificial intelligence systems “to score, rank, and select employees to be included on the list.” A Meta spokesperson disputed the claims, saying in an email to the Guardian: “These allegations have no basis.”

In other news…

Status of the day: Florida executes one of its oldest inmates with lethal injection, the 10th in the state this year

Convicted murderer Dennis Sochor, 74, was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. following three drug injections at a Florida state prison near Starke. He was convicted of murdering Patricia Gifford just hours after meeting the 18-year-old woman at a New Year’s Eve party on January 1, 1982. His body was never found. “He had 45 years to return Patty’s remains to us, but he cruelly chose not to do so,” a family statement said.

Actually: Help me, my sunscreen is burning! What should I do?

Discomfort is no reason to give up sun protection, and Madeleine Aggeler finds out what to do if your sunscreen is hurting you and how to make sure it’s actually working. She also offers some tips if you’re one of those people who find hot weather makes them grumpy — which I am — including being proactive about managing our own temperature.

Don’t miss this: Increasing numbers of Afghan girls being sold into child marriage

While desperate families are selling their children for food, there is a renewed increase in the number of underage brides and mothers in Afghanistan. This trend stems from the Taliban’s policies legalizing the practice and removing girls from school, as well as the deepening humanitarian crisis. The Guardian and Zan Times spoke to families with daughters under the age of nine who were bartered to settle debts

…or this: Shackleton and Scott’s shipwrecks recreated in 3D digital form after deep-sea expedition

“Seeing a very large ship on the cliff and realizing that you are one of the first people to see it and that it is largely intact is a very powerful experience. We scan these wrecks and collect thousands of high-resolution 3D images. In the process, we see these ships magically appear on the screen in front of us,” said John Geiger, president of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS). “It’s just mind-blowing.”

Climate control: California faces highest shark numbers in years as great whites move north

California is poised to see one of its harshest summers in a decade, with large numbers of young great whites taking a reverse vacation from the warm waters of Mexico, driven by El Niño, to the cooler pastures of the western United States.

Latest Thing: Japan authorities hunt down bear that raided couple’s fridge amid series of break-ins

Authorities are searching for a bear that sneaked into the home of an elderly couple and raided their refrigerator amid concerns the bear could be behind 14 attacks in a Japanese town in the past two weeks. “It’s unusual for a bear to enter the same place multiple times,” said Shiho Chida, a bear expert at the nature department in Iwate prefecture, where the town is located. “It’s possible this is the same animal, so we want to capture it as quickly as possible.”

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