First Thing: Huge climate cost of emissions from US immigration enforcement flights

A migrant from El Salvador is put on a plane in Phoenix for deportation to his home country. Photograph: Matt York/AP View image in fullscreen A migrant from El Salvador is put on a plane in Phoenix for deportation to his home country. Photograph: Matt York/AP First Thing: Huge climate cost of emissions from US Immigration Enforcement Flights Trump’s mass deportation campaign is accelerating the Climate Crisis. Plus, US students on why they booed their pro-AI graduation speakers Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign has spurred at least an 80% increase in immigration flights year over year, accelerating the Climate Crisis by emitting massive amounts of carbon dioxide, according to data analysis shared exclusively with the Guardian. “We’ve seen a staggering increase of all US immigration [enforcement] flights,” including “the number of flights as well as the locations that the flights are going to,” said Savitri Arvey, the director of research and analysis for refugee and immigrant rights at Human Rights First, a US advocacy group. How much carbon is ICE emitting through deportation flights? US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) air operations pumped out an estimated 335,876 tonnes (370,240 US tons) of carbon emissions in 2025, up 88% from the year before. The first four months of 2026 show the federal agency is on track to contribute even more to global heating this year from such flights, the Guardian can reveal. US strikes Iranian missile sites and mine-laying vessels as Trump’s promised peace deal remains elusive View image in fullscreen An anti-US billboard in Tehran. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA The US has launched strikes on southern Iran, in a test of the seven-week long ceasefire, as both sides played down hopes for an imminent peace deal even as negotiators from Tehran began new talks in Qatar. US forces targeted missile launch sites and boats attempting to lay mines, US Central Command (Centcom) said on Tuesday, but it stressed that the strikes did not indicate the ceasefire with Iran was over. Centcom “continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire”, said navy captain Tim Hawkins, who characterised the action as “defensive”. Why is Trump facing criticism from his own party over Iran? Loyalists are concerned over reports that billions of dollars in frozen assets could be made available to Tehran, with senior Republicans saying the reported details of the peace deal appear too close to the nuclear deal negotiated in 2015 by the Obama administration, which Trump scrapped. Spread of Ebola in DRC outpacing response efforts, warns WHO View image in fullscreen Health workers transporting the body of an Ebola victim for a safe burial at a hospital in Bunia, Ituri province, DRC. Photograph: EPA The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the Ebola outbreak is outpacing response efforts and that countries neighbouring the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are at high risk from the disease. “We are urgently scaling up operations, but at the moment the epidemic is outpacing us,” said the WHO’s director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as he urged neighbouring countries to take immediate action. Addressing an online meeting of the African Union about the outbreak, he announced there had been 220 deaths so far suspected to be linked to the outbreak and that he would travel to the DRC on Tuesday with Chikwe Ihekweazu, the executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies programme. What is the cause of the outbreak? The rare Bundibugyo ebolavirus, which has no approved treatment or vaccine. In other news … View image in fullscreen Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, called the situation an ‘embarrassment for Japan’. Photograph: Kyodo/Reuters Sanae Takaichi, the Japanese prime minister, has said her pledge to suspend an 8% sales tax on food is being thwarted by an unexpected opponent – uncooperative cash registers, which retailers say aren’t designed for a tax of 0%. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, pressed the US to evacuate staff from its embassy in Kyiv during a phone call with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio. Russia has threatened “systematic strikes” on the Ukrainian capital and demanded that foreigners leave. Seven years after a German woman, Lisa Wiese, went missing, a police raid on a UK-based sect has given her family a glimmer of hope. Wiese was 30 when she vanished during a trip to Kerala, India, in March 2019. Stat of the day: Remains of US soldier killed in WW2 returned to Pennsylvania after 80 years View image in fullscreen Wreaths are laid during the Memorial Day ceremony at the World War II Memorial in Washington DC. Photograph: Matthew Kaminsky/EPA The remains of a US soldier killed during the second world war were returned to his Pennsylvania home town more than 80 years after he died after DNA analysis identified him. The body of John A Walko, a US army private first class who died on 20 October 1944 during the Battle of Aachen in Germany, arrived earlier this month. Culture pick: Nemesis review – a ridiculously entertaining cop show packed with stars of The Wire View image in fullscreen Matthew Law as Isaiah Stiles and Y’lan Noel as Coltrane Wilder in Nemesis. Photograph: Saeed Adyani/Netflix This Netflix drama about a maverick cop busting high-stakes heists might seem cliched at first – but after two episodes, Nemesis proceeds to go berserk, layering on the betrayals, the unexpected alliances, the strained or switched loyalties, the risks taken. Don’t miss this: US students on why they booed their pro-AI graduation speakers – ‘They’re not reading the room’ View image in fullscreen A student holds up a sign during a commencement speech at Boston University by David Zaslav, the president and CEO of Warner Bros Discovery. Photograph: Steven Senne/AP When the music executive Scott Borchetta told graduates at Middle Tennessee State University that AI was already making parts of their education “obsolete”, students booed loudly – a reaction that they say reflected a wider fear among young people entering an uncertain job market transformed by artificial intelligence. Climate check: Why Michigan is emerging as one of America’s worst-hit climate states View image in fullscreen A volunteer in Union City, Michigan works to clear debris after a suspected tornado hit the area in March. Photograph: Nam Y Huh/AP Florida, California and the mountain west are often held up as US regions worst affected by climate change. But recent events suggest parts of the Great Lakes are suffering, too. This year’s flooding and tornadoes in Michigan appear to be part of a wider trend in a state where severe weather events from past years are still placing huge financial burdens on residents. Last Thing: Taylor Swift’s decision to limit her wedding guest list could be a lesson to us all View image in fullscreen Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift kiss after the Kansas City Chiefs’ AFC Championship game last year. Photograph: Ashley Landis/AP Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are reportedly getting married on 3 July, and while the plans are mostly under wraps, one detail about the guest list has already caused controversy: single guests apparently weren’t given plus-ones. One anonymous invitee complained that attending solo would be “awkward” – so is this a faux pas? Or are the happy couple in the right? 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 news Share Reuse this content