First Thing: Biden speaks to Saudi king ahead of Khashoggi report release

President spoke to King Salman ahead of publication of intelligence report expected to implicate crown prince in murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Plus, House passes a landmark LGBTQ+ rights bill

Good morning.

Joe Biden spoke with the king of Saudi Arabia for the first time as president yesterday, ahead of the imminent publication of a US intelligence report into the murder of the dissident, US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate in 2018. The report is expected to conclude that the killing, which caused international outrage, was approved or even organised by the Saudi crown prince.

The White House said that during the call, Biden “affirmed the importance the US places on universal human rights and the rule of law” but did not mention the report specifically. The Biden administration has suggested it is preparing to take further actions over the murder of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, as it moves towards far cooler relations with Saudi Arabia than the country enjoyed under Trump.

The US has carried out retaliatory airstrikes in Syria targeting facilities used by Iranian-backed militia groups near the Iraqi border. According to the Pentagon, the strikes were in response to for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed a civilian contractor and wounded a US soldier.

Vaccine rollout hits 50m doses - well ahead of time

More than 50m doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered in the US just 37 days into Biden’s presidency, putting him well ahead of his target to distribute 100m vaccines in his first 100 days in office. Earlier this week, Jeff Zients, the coordinator of the White House coronavirus response team, said the administration had distributed an average of 1.4m doses a day last week. This is slightly below the 1.7m average of the week before, likely due to the delays caused by severe winter weather.

The more people get vaccinated, the faster we’re going to beat this pandemic,” Biden said at the White House ceremony. “We’re halfway there: 50m shots in 37 days. That’s weeks ahead of schedule.”

The rollout can’t come fast enough, as the US continues to lose thousands of lives to the virus each week. Yesterday, the country recorded the deaths of at least 400 healthcare workers from coronavirus, according to an investigation by the Guardian and KHN. In California, 40% of all healthcare worker deaths came after the vaccine rollout had begun among medical staff.

There are still racial inequalities in the vaccine rollout despite pledges to address the discrepancies, with 4.6% of Latinos and 5.7% of Black Americans receiving a vaccine dose compared with 11.3% of white Americans, and 10.5% of Asian Americans.

Landmark LGBTQ+ rights bill passes the House

The House of Representatives voted to pass a landmark bill that would enshrine anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people in federal law yesterday. The bill explicitly bans discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, and provides clear legal protections for transgender and queer people across sectors including employment and housing.

But the real battle will take place in the Senate, which the bill has to pass through before becoming law; there are concerns that GOP lawmakers could block the proposed legislation with a filibuster.

A Malaysian man won a landmark case against a ban on sex “against the order of nature” on Thursday, raising hopes that gay rights will receive greater support in the country. “This is historic. This is monumental for LGBT+ rights in Malaysia,” one campaigner said.

Battle over minimum wage continues

Two sets of Republicans have introduced bills to address criticism of the US minimum wage, one raising the figure to $10 an hour and another giving tax credit to those who make less than $16.50 an hour. It comes amid a major push from activists, unions and leftwing Democrats to raise the minimum wage, with Republicans strongly opposing Biden’s proposal to raise the the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour.

Yesterday, Bernie Sanders said taxpayers should not have to subsidise “starvation wages” at “some of the largest and most profitable corporations in America”, such as McDonald’s and Walmart. Speaking at a Senate hearing, Sanders said too many Americans were struggling to provide for their children as CEOs took home millions each year.

In other news …

A former US Olympics coach charged with 24 crimes has taken his own life, Michigan’s attorney general said yesterday. Gymnastics coach John Geddert, who had links to the disgraced team doctor Larry Nasser, was charged with human trafficking and sexual assault.

The father of Britney Spears has hit back at fans who believe he should be stripped of his conservatorship over the pop star, saying that they “have it so wrong”. The star’s finances and personal life have been controlled by her father since 2008, but she has recently attempted to remove him from the role, saying she was afraid of him, and seen an outpouring of support.

Plastic is not just polluting our oceans, but air, according to scientists. They have been investigating why Delhi has high rates of thick smog, and research suggests it may be coming from the burning of plastics, which releases toxic pollutants and contribute to global heating.

Stat of the day: planes sold by Airbus in 2019 and 2020 will produce more than 1bn tonnes of CO2

The planes sold by Airbus in 2019 and 2020 alone will produce over 1bn tonnes of carbon dioxide during their lifetime, according to a landmark estimate. The aerospace manufacturer sold a record 863 planes in 2019, which would translate to 740m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over a 22-year period, bringing the true environmental costs of the planes into sharp focus.

Don’t miss this: the women who shaped Malcolm X

While Malcolm X has been “immortalised, demonised and revered around the world”, little is known about the women who were integral in shaping the civil rights leader. Aina J Khan speaks to his daughter, academics and historians about the impact of the women around him, including his wife Dr Betty Shabazz, his mother Louise Langdon Little, and prominent radical intellectual Vicki Garvin.

Last thing: Russian diplomats were forced to leave North Korea on a hand-powered trolley

With North Korea closing its borders and banning international travel due to the coronavirus pandemic, Russian diplomats were forced to travel 32 hours home on a hand-powered rail trolley. Despite having to push themselves and all their luggage, the group appeared to remain in good spirits, smiling and shouting at a camera as they propelled themselves over a bridge dividing the two countries.

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