First Thing: US in race against Delta variant as Covid cases rise in nearly half of states

More than nine out of 10 Americans who died from coronavirus in June were unvaccinated and Delta accounts for more than 50% of new cases. Plus, the world’s largest cherry

Good morning

The US is in a race against the Delta variant amid rising Covid cases in nearly half of states and fears of another surge.

More than nine out of 10 Americans who died from coronavirus in June were unvaccinated, Anthony Fauci, the country’s top public health official, has warned. Meanwhile, Joe Biden has urged the millions of unvaccinated Americans to get protected.

The highly infectious Delta variant, or B.1.617.2, now accounts for more than 50% of all new US cases and up to 80% of cases in some regions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

• Where is vaccine hesitancy highest? Rates vary widely by state and region, writes Lauren Aratani, with states on the west coast and north-east seeing the highest rates of vaccination and states in the south among the lowest. Hesitancy is linked to political beliefs, longstanding mistrust of government health programs and misinformation.

• Meanwhile, immigrant families across Europe and North America are being hit by a Covid jab gap.

• Amid a sharp rise in Covid infections, Tokyo is to be put under a state of emergency for the duration of the Olympic Games – increasing the chances of the Games being held without any spectators.

• South Korea has recorded its highest one-day Covid case total to date as a wave of infections hit the Asia Pacific region. Just 10% of South Korea’s population is fully vaccinated.

Four people have died in Haiti in a police gunfight with the suspected killers of president Jovenel Moïse

Security forces in Haiti have killed four members of a group of “mercenaries” who assassinated the president, Jovenel Moïse, the country’s police chief has said.

Leon Charles said late on Wednesday that police were “still in combat with the assailants” and they had “blocked them en route as they left the scene of the crime”.

Two of the attackers had been detained, he said, and the rest “will be killed or captured”.

The killing of Moïse at his home earlier on Wednesday in an attack that also wounded his wife is expected to bring more chaos to the unstable Caribbean country – the poorest country in the Americas – which was already facing issues with gang violence, soaring inflation and protests, write Peter Beaumont, Tom Phillips and Julian Borger.

• The interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, said the police and military were in control of security. He confirmed that Moïse, 53, had been killed by an “armed commando group” that included foreigners.

• The assassination of Moïse leaves Haiti on the brink of chaos, writes Tom Phillips.

California is bracing for dangerously high temperatures

Meteorologists have warned residents of California’s inland regions to prepare for potentially record-breaking temperatures as another heatwave is predicted to hit this week.

Temperatures could reach 115F (46C) in the Central Valley and 120F (49C) in desert areas such as Palm Springs. The heat is expected to start building on Wednesday and increase through the weekend, writes Erin McCormick.

Temperatures will be about 10 degrees higher than normal for the time of year, said Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for the California office of emergency services, adding: “This will be a record-setting heatwave.”

• It comes as the state is already experiencing extreme drought and fires, fueled by the dry conditions.

• Last week the Pacific north-west had record-setting temperatures that left hundreds dead and, experts say, probably killed 1bn marine animals on the Canada coast. Last month was North America’s hottest June on record.

• The world needs to step up preparations for extreme heat, leading scientists have warned.

• Plus, the former ranger and author Kim Heacox explains why the return of cruise ships is a catastrophe for the environment.

In other news …

• Rudy Giuliani has been suspended from practising law in Washington DC. The District of Columbia court of appeals issued the order on Wednesday citing his New York licence, which was suspended over his “demonstrably false” statements about the 2020 election. Giuliani, who led Donald Trump’s legal challenge after he lost the election, will have his licence revoked and disciplinary action over his practices considered.

• Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s former president, is in police custody after handing himself in to serve 15 months in jail for contempt of court. Police confirmed that Zuma, 79, was in the care of the police service and prison authorities said that he had been admitted to start serving a sentence at Estcourt Correctional Centre, in his home province KwaZulu-Natal.

• An online clampdown of LGBTQ+ WeChat accounts in China has prompted fury over the authorities’ treatment of sexual and gender minorities. Dozens of accounts run by LGBTQ+ university students, some with tens of thousands of followers, were blocked and deleted without warning on Tuesday.

• England’s soccer team beat Denmark 2-1 in extra-time in the semi-finals of Euro 2020 on Wednesday night, prompting jubilant scenes across the country. The team will now play Italy in the final at Wembley on Sunday – the first major final the England men’s team has reached since the 1966 World Cup.

Stat of the day: climate crisis could put 8 billion people at risk of malaria and dengue fever by 2080

A new study, led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has found that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, the two mosquito-borne diseases could threaten up to 4.7 billion more people compared with the figures for 1970-99. The figures are based on population growth projections of about 4.5 billion over the period and a temperature rise of about 3.7C by 2100.

Don’t miss this: How the US military made a myth from the toppling of Saddam’s statue

The destruction of a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad made headlines around the world and became a symbol of western victory in Iraq. In an extract from Fallen Idols: Twelve Statues That Made History, Alex von Tunzelmann explains the making of a modern US myth.

… or this: How Navajo students overcome the pandemic school year

Thousands of schoolchildren on the Navajo Nation live without internet access, mobile phone service or electricity. When the pandemic hit and schools went remote, students went to extraordinary lengths – some driven miles from home – to find wifi connection so they could continue with their studies, reports Sunnie R Clahchischiligi. “My future is on the line,” says Evan Allen, 16. “If I don’t do this, then there’s nothing for me at all.”

Last Thing: Italian farmers have grown the world’s largest cherry

To the untrained eye, this cherry doesn’t look especially big. But weighing in at a record-shattering 33.05g (1.16 oz), the fruit, grown near Turin in Italy, is the world’s largest cherry. Alberto Rosso, whose family has been growing cherries for more than a century, told la Repubblica: “For some years we have noticed that our carmen cherries are Guinness World Record in size and this year we decided to do things right and called a panel of experts.” It eclipsed the previous record of 26.45g set by another Italian farmer in February. Both records come despite this year being a bad one for Italian cherries in which one in every four was lost to bad weather.

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