First Thing: Families arrested in LA Ice raids held in basements with little food or water, lawyers say

Local facilities appeared to be unprepared for rush of detained people, including young children. Plus, UK-bound Air India flights crashes with more than 200 onboard

Good morning.

Immigrants, including families with small children, have been held in a cramped office basement for days without enough food and water after being detained by authorities in raids in Los Angeles, lawyers have said.

One family with three children was kept in a Los Angeles-area administrative building for 48 hours, said lawyers from the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef). The children, the youngest of whom is three, were given just a bag of chips, a box of animal crackers and a mini carton of milk in a day. Agents told the family of five they did not have any water to give them during their first day in detention, and gave them just one bottle to share on the second day.

The difficult conditions faced by families come as the US prepares to deploy marines to the Los Angeles area within two days. Marines will join the national guard on the city’s streets, and will be able to detain anyone who interferes with raids.

Why are troops being sent to California? Following protests against immigration raids, Donald Trump ordered the military’s deployment despite objections from the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom.

Trump administration can no longer detain Mahmoud Khalil on claims he’s a threat to foreign policy, judge rules

A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that the Trump administration can no longer hold Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil on the claim that he is a threat to foreign policy.

The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, deemed Khalil, who has not been charged with a crime, a threat to US foreign policy, leading federal authorities to detain him. Judge Michael E Farbiarz said his ruling would come into effect at 9.30am on Friday.

However, Farbiarz noted that the administration could still hold Khalil on the basis of federal officials’ claims that he inaccurately complete his green card application.

How long has Khalil been detained for? He’s been held in a detention facility in Louisiana since March.

Israeli forces kill at least 60 Palestinians seeking food in Gaza, health officials say

Israeli forces killed at least 60 Palestinians in Gaza on Wednesday, with most slain as they tried to obtain food from a US-Israeli distribution scheme, Gaza health authorities have said.

At least 39 fatalities were linked to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), according to medical officials, who said at least 25 people were killed and dozens injured as they approached a distribution centre run by the GHF near Netzarim in central Gaza. Israeli forces later reportedly killed a further 14 as they moved towards another GHF distribution site in Rafah, in Gaza’s south.

The GHF late on Wednesday accused Hamas of killing at least five people in an attack on a bus carrying two dozen Palestinians working with the organization.

What other news has come out of Gaza? The bodies of two hostages taken by Hamas were recovered from Israel’s army and its internal security service. There are 53 Israelis hostages still in Gaza though some are believed to be dead.

In other news …

We are following reports of a crash of Air India flight #AI171 from Ahmedabad to London. We received the last signal from the aircraft at 08:08:51 UTC, just seconds after take off.
The aircraft involved is a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with registration VT-ANB… pic.twitter.com/EmKKISJldF

A London-bound flight has crashed in India’s Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff, with at least 242 people reported to be onboard.

David Hogg, the young vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee who promised to unseat “asleep-at-the-wheel” Democrats, is resigning after months of party infighting.

Donald Trump says China will pay tariffs of 55% after a US-China trade deal was agreed to increase supplies of minerals and magnets needed for the US car industry.

A Chinese fighter jet and a Japan military plane nearly collided in the air above international waters in the Pacific, with each country blaming the other.

Stat of the day: One in three women in Indian sugar cane farming district have had hysterectomies

Labor activists in India’s sugar cane industry say female workers are being coerced into having hysterectomies, as period pain or pregnancy means lost wages. In one of Maharashtra’s main hubs for sugar cane 36% of women have had a hysterectomy, compared with an average of 3% across India, according to surveys conducted by local NGOs in 2019. “It’s bonded labor in every sense,” said a spokesperson for an alliance for female farm workers.

Climate check: Trump’s EPA announces major rollbacks to power plant pollution limits

The Trump administration is paring back regulations that restrict US power plants from releasing toxins and planet-heating gases, experts have warned. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday revealed a plan to reverse a landmark climate rule that aims to mostly eliminate greenhouse gases from power plants by the 2030s, as well as one to weaken a regulation that limit plants from expelling pollutants including mercury.

Last Thing: Why Fast & Furious is a camp classic

The Fast and the Furious movies are unexpected queer classics: totally over-the-top and constantly talking about chosen family, writes Arwa Mahdawi. And what about this scene: “Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson is in hospital with his arm in a cast but realises he has to drive fast cars and beat people up so busts open the cast by flexing his huge biceps while announcing: ‘Daddy has to go to work.’” Come on!

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