First Thing: violence at UCLA as Gaza protest camp attacked by counter-demonstrators

Good morning.

Violent clashes have broken out between rival protest groups at the University of California, Los Angeles after pro-Israeli counter-demonstrators attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment.

People wielding sticks and poles tried to tear down wooden boards being held up as a makeshift barricade to protect pro-Palestinian protesters, some holding placards or umbrellas. At least one firework was thrown into the camp.

At one point, a group of counter-demonstrators attacked one person, piling on to them before kicking and beating them as they lay on the ground, video posted on social media by an Los Angeles Times reporter showed. Later, ABC7 showed LAPD officers in riot gear moving in.

The clashes began in the early hours of Wednesday, shortly after Gene Block, the chancellor of UCLA, said the pro-Palestine encampment was “unlawful”, adding that students who remained in it would face disciplinary action.

Hours earlier, police in New York stormed the campus of Columbia University. University officials had called in the NYPD after anti-war protestrs occupied a building and built an encampment of more than 100 tents.

Hundreds of officers arrived in riot gear and used an armored vehicle with a bridging mechanism to enter the occupied building. “Shame! Shame!” many onlooking students shouted.

Dozens of students were arrested. The university said they now face expulsion, after Hamilton Hall was occupied on Monday night – an act with historic significance after it was seized during student protests against the Vietnam war in 1968.

• What UCLA has said: Vice-chancellor Mary Osako said the “horrific acts of violence” must end, without elaborating on who was responsible.

• What Columbia has said: A statement said the NYPD had been called in because of “the actions of the protesters”, saying they “vandalized” a building and “threatened” a staff member. Columbia added that the police were called because the university would “not risk the safety of our community or the potential for further escalation”. The move was interpreted as an escalation by protesters and many faculty members.

• What protesters said: Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said on X it was a “dark day in history” and that police were “brutalizing dozens of students for protesting genocide”.

• This is a developing story. Follow our live coverage here.

Netanyahu vows to raid Rafah ‘with or without’ hostage deal

Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will proceed with an offensive against the city in southern Gaza even if renewed efforts during talks with Hamas result in the release of hostages and a ceasefire.

Mediators led by Egypt have made fresh attempts to broker a truce in recent days after it became clearer that Israel is preparing for its long-threatened ground operation in Rafah. The city on the Egyptian border is the only part of the Palestinian territory that has not faced ground fighting, and more than half of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people has sought shelter there.

At ceasefire talks on Tuesday, the two sides appeared to be still far apart, as Hamas demanded a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the conflict.

• What did Netanyahu say? “The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there – with or without a deal, in order to achieve total victory.”

• What is the humanitarian cost of the war? Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel and took more than 200 others hostage on 7 October. Israel’s attack on Gaza has killed 34,500 Palestinians, destroying the coastal territory’s infrastructure and healthcare system and reducing many neighborhoods to rubble.

Trump fined $9,000 after gag order violations as judge warns of jail time

The New York judge presiding over Donald Trump’s criminal trial fined the former president $9,000 on Tuesday for nine violations of a gag order designed to protect participants from his abuse, imposing the maximum financial penalty allowed under the state’s laws.

Juan Merchan ruled Trump had violated the order in nine out of 10 instances alleged by prosecutors. The judge ordered Trump to remove the offending posts made on Truth Social and his campaign website. Merchan warned that further violations could result in jail time.

• What did the judge say? “Defendant is hereby warned that the court will not tolerate continued willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment.”

• What else happened on Tuesday? Keith Davidson, a former attorney for both the adult film actor Stormy Daniels and the former Playboy model Karen McDougal, was questioned by prosecutors about texts in which he was asked whether Trump had cheated on his wife, Melania.

• Which case is this one again? Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection to a $130,000 payment he madeto Daniels in 2016. The trial will last six weeks. Each charge carries a maximum of four years in prison.

In other news …

• Amateur archaeologists unearthed five human skeletons under the former home of the Nazi war criminal Hermann Göring, with the bodies missing their hands and feet.

• Haiti’s transitional council chose the country’s new prime minister, as it tries to end raging violence.

• The Dutch city of Arnhem is piloting a radical debt cancellation scheme for poorer families, in an attempt to break a health-crushing downward spiral and give people a fresh start.

• A Saudi Arabian activist was sentenced to 11 years in prison by an anti-terrorism court for “her choice of clothing and support for women’s rights”.

• The author Paul Auster has died aged 77 after complications from lung cancer.

Stat of the day: Taxing big fossil fuel firms ‘could raise $900bn in climate finance by 2030’

A new tax on fossil fuel companies based in the wealthiest Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries could raise $900bn by 2030 to help the most vulnerable nations cope with the escalating climate crisis, according to the Climate Damages Tax report. The report is backed by dozens of climate organizations worldwide including Greenpeace, Stamp Out Poverty, Power Shift Africa and Christian Aid.

Don’t miss this: Could Vienna’s approach to affordable housing work in California?

In 2023 California had 180,000 people living on the streets, a 40% rise in five years. Housing costs in the state are now double the rest of the US. In Vienna, Austria, a central two-bedroom apartment costs as little as $600-a-month. Sixty per cent of people in Vienna live in subsidized housing, compared with just 5% of Californians. In the past two years, housing experts and political leaders from California have visited Vienna to try and emulate its success.

Climate check: Good news for bears and wild horses as US shifts preservation plans

Wildlife advocates are celebrating “incredible” news for the preservation of threatened bears, and a herd of historically significant wild horses, in separate north-western and upper midwestern national parks. In North Dakota, the National Park Service has dropped a plan that would have resulted in about 200 wild horses being removed from Theodore Roosevelt national park.

Last Thing: Delacroix’s Liberty shows her true colors after Louvre restoration

Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People, which commemorates France’s 1830 July revolution, is back on display after six months of restoration. Grime and eight layers of varnish that drowned its colors were removed. The painting shows a personification of the goddess Libertas holding the French tricolor surrounded by representations of the bourgeoisie, students and urban workers as they unite against tyranny. Happy International Workers’ Day!

Sign up

First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.

Get in touch

If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com