US briefing: Trump whistlebower, Bolivia election and Don Jr gets triggered

Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s essential stories.

Giuliani associate ‘warned Ukraine of quid pro quo demand’

The whistleblower whose concerns over a call between Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president sparked the impeachment inquiry will not testify in public despite Republican demands, the Democrats have announced. Also in impeachment news: Lev Parnas, the Soviet-born American and Rudy Giuliani associate arrested last month for campaign finance violations, has said he travelled to Ukraine to warn its government that US aid would be frozen unless they announced an investigation into the Bidens.

• Rightwing coverage. The news cycles are getting worse and worse for the Trump White House – except on rightwing media, which is covering the impeachment inquiry as “a circus and a hoax”, writes Victoria Bekiempis.

• Ernst on the spot. Republicans are still struggling to formulate a coherent defence of their president, none more so than the Iowa senator Joni Ernst, who is facing impeachment questions from voters on her own 2020 campaign trail, as Joan E Greve reports.

Don Jr walks out of book event after heckling by MAGA fans

The president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, walked out of his own book tour event at the UCLA campus on Sunday after being heckled by his father’s supporters for refusing to take part in a Q&A session. Trump and his girlfriend, the former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, were appearing at the liberal Los Angeles college to promote his book Triggered: How The Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us. But it was the noisy intervention of rightwing MAGA fans that ultimately forced them to flee the stage.

• Sound bites. Amid chants of “Q and A! Q and A!” Trump tried to argue that taking questions from the floor risked creating soundbites that the left would abuse and distort, but to no avail.

Morales resigns after dispute over Bolivia election result

The Bolivian president, Evo Morales, has announced his resignation after almost 14 years in power, following disputed election results that have led to weeks of unrest. In a televised address, Morales said he was stepping down for the “good of the country”, after the military withdrew support for his government. But he also claimed the police had an “illegal” warrant for his arrest and warned that “dark forces have destroyed democracy”.

• Leftist icon. Morales, a socialist and Bolivia’s first indigenous leader, was the last surviving figure from the Latin American “pink tide” that brought leftwingers to power across the region around the turn of the 21st century.

Australia braces for its worst-ever week of wildfires

Australia is about to face “the most dangerous bushfire week” in its history, with Sydney, the country’s largest city, deemed at “catastrophic” risk for the first time ever under a bushfire ratings system, according to local fire chiefs. The premier of New South Wales has declared a week-long state of emergency as 60 fires burned across the state on Monday, 40 of them out of control – and a further 50 blazed in Queensland, NSW’s northern neighbour.

• Climate response. A comparison of climate responses by the G20 nations has found that Australia is among the worst prepared for the climate crisis.

Cheat sheet

• At least 20 people have died and more than 2 million others been forced to huddle in storm shelters after Cyclone Bulbul struck the coasts of India and Bangladesh over the weekend.

• Hong Kong police shot an apparently unarmed anti-government demonstrator at close range during Monday rush hour, leaving him in critical condition amid continued clashes throughout the city.

• Spain’s ruling socialist party has won the country’s fourth general election in four years, but failed to secure an overall majority as support for the far-right Vox party surged.

• Chesa Boudin, the son of two anti-war “Weathermen” radicals jailed for murder when he was just an infant, has been elected as San Francisco’s new district attorney, after campaigning to overhaul the criminal justice system.

Must-reads

How Eva Longoria took the fight to Donald Trump

The former Desperate Housewives star is about to become the first Latina to direct two major Hollywood movies. She tells Emine Saner how Trump’s presidency has made her more committed than ever to activism. “If we can aggregate enough citizens who love as strongly as those who are spewing hate, we have a chance.”

The Somali-Americans celebrating two historic election wins

Safiya Khalid and Nadia Mohamed are both 23-year-old Somali-Americans who first came to the US as refugees. This month they won city council seats in Maine and Minnesota respectively, earning congratulations from Hillary Clinton, among others. Amanda Holpuch reports.

How to cultivate ‘nunchi’: the Korean secret to happiness

If you’ve ever wondered how some people are so popular at parties – or why Koreans seem so socially adept – Adrienne Matei says look no further than “nunchi”: the traditional Korean concept of situational awareness, and the subject of a new book.

Why having my portrait painted taught me to love my nose

Radhika Sanghani had always felt self-conscious about her large nose, until she asked an artist to paint her in profile. It helped her to appreciate the feature that had previously made her insecure – and taught her that “there’s more than one type of beautiful”.

Opinion

Hong Kong and Chile feature highly on the annual indexes of “economic freedom” published by conservative thinktanks. They’re also among the world’s least equal societies. So it’s no coincidence, says Quinn Slobodian, that both are being torn apart by protest.

Sport

The Seattle Sounders are the MLS Cup champions for the second time in four years, after seeing off Toronto FC 3-1 at CenturyLink Field on Sunday. The league’s original super franchise has made quiet efficiency its calling card, writes Graham Ruthven.

Manchester City are now nine points behind league leaders Liverpool after a 3-1 defeat at Anfield on Sunday, which Pep Guardiola blamed partially on a VAR call, but which Barney Ronay says was settled by more than marginal refereeing decisions. Here are 10 other talking points from the weekend’s Premier League action.

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