First Thing: US aircraft carrier arrives to relieve USS Lincoln amid reports of poor living conditions

The US navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington transits the Strait of Malacca on 13 August. Photograph: US Navy/Reuters View image in fullscreen The US navy Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington transits the Strait of Malacca on 13 August. Photograph: US Navy/Reuters First Thing: US aircraft carrier arrives to relieve USS Lincoln amid reports of poor living conditions The USS George Washington has arrived in the Middle East. Plus, an investigation into the add-on utility fees that can lead to evictions The USS George Washington aircraft carrier has arrived in the Middle East, to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln from its record deployment amid concerns about poor living conditions and morale. US Central Command announced on Thursday that the Washington arrived in the area on Wednesday, and posted an image of sailors working on the flight deck as the ship transited the Arabian Sea. According to the New York Times, which cited a US official, the Lincoln began its home journey to San Diego on Thursday. Recent reports have rung alarm bells about conditions on the Lincoln. “I just don’t really think they’re treating them like people. I think they’re treating them like a uniform, like a pawn on a chessboard,” the wife of a sailor onboard told the Guardian’s Anna Betts this week. What are conditions like on the Lincoln? The ship has spent more than 250 days at sea supporting US operations against Iran without a significant port visit or date to return home for the 5,000 sailors and marines onboard. Reports from families of crew members published in the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes military newspapers described food and water shortages, disrupted mail services, plumbing problems, low morale and worsening mental health, prompting Democratic lawmakers to demand answers from the Pentagon. ‘It kept adding up’: Investigation reveals how add-on utility fees can lead to eviction for tenants View image in fullscreen Signs hung by members of Los Angeles’ Virgil Square Tenants Association protesting their complex’s utility billing practices. Composite: Virgil Square Tenants Association An investigation co-published by the Guardian and the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, a journalism non-profit that supports stories about inequality and poverty in the US, has revealed a problem emerging nationwide: fees that are known as “ratio utility billing system” fees – or Rubs – which are charged on top of rent. Rubs, unlike standard utility bills, where tenants owe money to the utility company, are owed to the landlord and often paid through a third-party billing company. Many leases that include Rubs are written so tenants can be evicted for not paying utilities, even if they have paid their rent. For working-class and low-income tenants like Constance Soule, an 81-year-old disabled Alzheimer’s patient, falling behind on these utility charges can lead to eviction notices, Tracie McMillan reports. “It just kept adding up,” Margot Jones, Soule’s sister, said. Tenants in Los Angeles and Seattle have launched “Rubs strikes”, refusing to pay utilities until landlords agree to reduce charges that can approach $300 a month per apartment. How are people fighting back? At least 13 lawsuits have challenged Rubs since the start of 2025 across five states – including a case in California that led to a nearly $500,000 settlement last fall with a national property manager. “Some California landlords have tried to get away with illegal rent increases by shifting utilities and other fees to tenants and pretending those new charges are not ‘rent’” under state law, Rob Bonta, California’s attorney general, said when announcing the settlement. Efforts to limit or ban add-on utility fees are also gaining momentum across several cities. In other news … View image in fullscreen A screengrab from social media of Itamar Ben-Gvir at a building site for gallows where Palestinian convicts will be executed. Photograph: Twitter X Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has been condemned for posting a gloating video of the construction of a gallows complex where Palestinians convicted of terror offences – but not Jewish extremists accused of similar crimes – will be hanged. It comes after the minister sparked a backlash a few days ago for saying there should be “30 to 40 targeted assassinations per night” in Gaza. Progressive Aisha Wahab has been elected to Congress in a special election, following a bitter intra-party battle over the seat formerly held by Eric Swalwell. North Korea launched about 10 short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea on Thursday, South Korea’s military said. It comes after Donald Trump’s order earlier this week to scale back US military drills with South Korea. Fans’ groups worldwide have launched a petition calling for the resignation of Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, and for wholesale reform of soccer’s international governing organization. Stat of the day: US deports 20 people to Liberia, the first of 1,200 migrants under Trump deal View image in fullscreen A plane carrying the deportees from the US arrives at Roberts international airport outside of Monrovia, Liberia, on Thursday. Photograph: Alexander Wiaplah/AP Twenty deportees from the US arrived in Liberia on Thursday, as part of a new agreement in which the west African country will receive as many as 1,200 people under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The Liberian information minister, Jerolinmek Piah, said the 1,200 deportees will include African nationals as well as nationals from North America, South America and the Caribbean. Culture pick: It Ends review – gripping micro-budget horror ranks among the year’s best View image in fullscreen Akira Jackson in a scene from It Ends. Photograph: Neon/AP A crew of aimless twentysomethings take a late-night drive to get food, but their GPS leads them deeper and deeper into a desolate forest. “It Ends often reaches the quality of high-concept cult horror classics while also nodding to our uniquely modern malaise,” writes Owen Myers in his four-star review. Don’t miss this: How to get back into reading books – podcast View image in fullscreen The panelists suggest titles – from the Greek classics to ‘romantasy’ – that may help you kick the screen habit. Photograph: Westend61/Getty For Today in Focus, the Guardian convenes a specialist panel on which books may help you put your phone away and get reading again. “I think we’re all bored of talking about ChatGPT at parties, and really interested in getting back to things that feel human,” Rebecca Liu, acting Saturday culture editor and a Booker prize judge, says. Climate check: How one American couple ditched their lawn and created a wildlife haven – and you could too View image in fullscreen Fritz and McGuire’s garden is a thriving native ecosystem in the middle of the suburbs. Photograph: Thalia Juarez/The Guardian Novice gardeners James Reed McGuire and Crystal Fritz wanted to try something new when they moved from Chicago out to the suburb of Highland Park, Illinois. They set about rewilding their garden. “It brings us a lot of peace and tranquility in a very troubled world,” McGuire says. Read their story – and see tips for how to rewild a lawn. Last Thing: The Guardian reveals 2026’s Invertebrate of the Year – the leaf sheep View image in fullscreen The leaf sheep feeds on algae that grow in fine silts around shallow reefs. Photograph: Westend61 GmbH/Alamy The winner of the global ballot for Invertebrate of the Year has now been revealed: the leaf sheep (Costasiella kuroshimae). The leaf sheep, which lives in tropical waters around Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines and feeds on algae, has inspired at least one Pokémon character. If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com Explore more on these topics US news First Thing newsletter Donald Trump Israel news Share Reuse this content