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Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s essential stories.
Ruling reverses years of US immigration policy
The supreme court has ruled to allow Trump’s administration to enforce a policy denying asylum to anyone who has passed through another country on their way to the US without seeking protection there first. The restriction is likely to affect almost all migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border. The order overturns a lower court ruling that blocked the policy after it was unveiled in July. Opponents of the rule, which reverses years of immigration policy, say it violates the US Refugee Act and the UN refugee convention.
Mexico crackdown. Mexico’s president says his tough new immigration plan has slowed the flow of migrants. However, huge numbers continue to travel north, aided by coyotes, corrupt officials, crooks and concerned citizens, as Nina Lakhani reports.
Bolton quits after spat over proposed Trump-Rouhani meeting
Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, jumped or was pushed from his perch after arguing forcefully against the prospect of the president meeting Iran’s leader, Hassan Rouhani, according to a report by Bloomberg News on Bolton’s White House exit earlier this week. Trump was said to be keen to score some easy diplomatic wins, including engineering a meeting with Rouhani at this month’s UN general assembly, by offering to ease sanctions on Tehran.
Tough guy. Trump said on Wednesday the hawkish Bolton had also been “way out of line” on the administration’s approach to Venezuela. “John is known as a tough guy. He’s so tough, he got us into Iraq,” the president added.
Who will benefit from California’s gig economy bill?
The conversation around California’s groundbreaking gig economy bill, passed by lawmakers in the Golden State on Wednesday, has focused on its potential to improve working conditions for Uber and Lyft drivers. The AB5 bill, which sets new standards for determining whether workers ought to be classified as independent contractors, could also benefit a diverse range of other professionals, from cable installers to exotic dancers, as Kari Paul reports.
Uber allies. Uber said on Wednesday it would resist reclassifying its drivers as employees under AB5. Its rideshare rival Lyft said in a statement it was “prepared to take this issue to the voters of California to preserve the freedom and access drivers and riders want and need”.
Potential no-deal chaos detailed in secret Brexit papers
The potentially devastating impacts of a no-deal Brexit, including rising food and fuel prices, medicine shortages and civil unrest, have been detailed in secret papers the UK government was forced to publish on Wednesday. Michael Gove, the minister responsible for the no-deal preparations known as Operation Yellowhammer, said the government had taken “considerable steps” to address the potential problems, and insisted the document described a “worst-case scenario”.
The Irish issue. A no-deal Brexit would be “a total disaster” for Ireland’s agribusiness, farmers said at a recent meeting in Dublin. The resulting tariffs would also drive up the price of bread in Ireland, where bulk flour is provided by two industrial mills on the UK side of the border.
Cheat sheet
Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin, and members of the Sackler family who own the firm, have reached a tentative deal with states and local governments to pay a settlement of $12bn over Purdue’s role in the opioids crisis.
The FDA will develop guidelines to ban all e-cigarette flavours apart from tobacco, to combat the recent surge in teen vaping and amid reports of widespread respiratory illnesses related to the habit, Trump announced on Wednesday.
At least 1,021 people have died in an outbreak of dengue fever in the Philippines. More than a third of the victims of the mosquito-borne disease have been children under the age of 10.
The Gates Foundation is facing criticism from human rights activists after announcing plans to honour India’s controversial Hindu nationalist prime minister, Narendra Modi, for his efforts to improve toilet provision and sanitation in the country.
Must-reads
Life and death on the lawless high seas
When a South Korean fishing trawler overturned in the southern Pacific in 2010, killing six men, it was sunk as much by greed as by water, writes Ian Urbina. And for the Sajo Oyang Corporation, which operated the vessel, the poor treatment of workers and the dismal conditions of its ship were nothing unusual.
MIT’s Epstein whistleblower: ‘My job was to protect secrets’
Signe Swenson, a former alumni coordinator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s celebrated Media Lab, helped to facilitate a working relationship between the late, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and the institution’s former head, Joi Ito. Until, that is, she was told to “wipe every trace of Epstein from the university’s record”, she tells Edward Helmore.
Family fights looming execution in controversial murder case
Rodney Reed is set to be executed in November for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites, 19, after more than 20 years on death row. His family, lawyers, activists and even Stites’ relatives say he was wrongly convicted by an all-white jury, and that her real killer remains free. Christine Bolaños reports.
Friends costume designer on creating the look of a decade
Debra McGuire was the costume designer responsible for dressing the cast of Friends, thus influencing the wardrobes of an entire generation. “It always used to be Rachel’s wardrobe people would ask about. Now it is Monica’s,” she tells Ellie Violet Bramley.
Opinion
Regardless of Warren’s momentum or Bernie’s base, Joe Biden remains squarely atop the Democratic presidential field. That’s because his reassuring moderation may be the best way to build a wide coalition and avoid a repeat of 2016, argues Lloyd Green.
On the issues, Biden is a mainstream economic liberal, not a wild-eyed would-be revolutionary. Stridency is not his thing. He is not looking to recreate the world anew, and that is reassuring in a world buffeted by Trumpian tweetstorms.
Sport
The success of the US women’s soccer team has put the men’s struggles in vivid contrast, writes Beau Dure. It will be some time before they can compete with Mexico, their regional rivals, let alone make an impact at the World Cup.
The US men’s national basketball team was edged out of the Fiba World Cup by France on Wednesday. That’s bad news for the Americans, who haven’t been beaten since 2006. But it’s a good sign for the sport that the rest of the world is closing the talent gap, writes Hunter Felt.
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