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In the midst of an unprecedented global health crisis, Donald Trump has decided to cut US funding to the World Health Organization after accusing the international body of severely mismanaging and covering up the threat posed by the coronavirus. Leading health experts described the presidents move as damnable, appalling and a crime against humanity.

For context, the WHO declared a public health emergency on 30 January after which the president continued to hold mass rallies and compare Covid-19 to the common flu. On Tuesday, Trump complained the WHO had defended the actions of the Chinese government, even praising its so-called transparency. On 24 January, Trump tweeted his thanks to the Chinese for their work on the virus, praising their efforts and transparency.

Trump targeted the WHO, Julian Borger writes from Washington, because he needed someone else to blame for his administrations own complacent and dysfunctional response to the crisis:

How well Trumps scapegoating of the WHO will play in the US election is impossible to predict, but on the world stage it will undoubtedly be seen as yet another step in an accelerating US abdication of global leadership.

Female reporters. The women of the White House press corps really seem to get under the presidents skin, as evidenced by his testy exchange with CBSs Paula Reid. Poppy Noor asks whether Trump has met his match in the briefing room.

Presidential cheques. Trumps own name will appear on the $1,200 cheques being sent to cash-strapped Americans amid the crisis so theyll know who to blame when the cheques arrive several days later than expected.

California is transitioning to the optimistic phase of its coronavirus response, Governor Gavin Newsom suggested on Tuesday, but dont expect those stay-at-home orders to be lifted anytime soon. A Stanford epidemiologist has pooh-poohed any speculation of statewide herd immunity, while San Francisco has cancelled its 50th anniversary Pride event, which had been due to take place at the end of June. Several experts say physical distancing may be needed intermittently until at least 2022.

Elsewhere in the US:

They wanted $50bn, they got $25bn. The US government agreed a bailout for the beleaguered airline industry on Tuesday as part of its $2.2tn coronavirus aid package, as travel reaches an almost total standstill during lockdowns in almost 100 countries and on every continent besides Antarctica. The International Air Transport Association predicts airlines will lose 25% of their revenue this year, a total of approximately $314bn.

Medical staff and emergency responders account for an estimated 11% of known US coronavirus cases. Now, the Guardian and Kaiser Health News have launched an effort to document all the lives lost on the healthcare frontline during the crisis. These are some of the first tragic cases.

Barack Obama endorses Biden. The former president cast his former VP as the elder statesman with the experience and instincts to unify party and country in a time of crisis, in his first though undoubtedly not his last major public intervention in the 2020 presidential race.

Jacinda Ardern is taking a pay cut. The New Zealand prime minister has said she and her ministers will slash their own salaries by 20% for the next six months, in solidarity with other workers affected by the coronavirus.

Its the longest animal ever seen: a 150-foot siphonophore a deep sea predator that looks like a single piece of string floating in the ocean off Western Australia and spotted by scientists who have discovered as many as 30 new marine species lurking in the regions deep, underwater canyons.

Virtual visitors: a remote-controlled guide to the Faroes

The Faroe Islands, a ruggedly beautiful north Atlantic archipelago, has enjoyed a tourism boom in recent years. But 2020 put paid to that, so now the islands are inviting people to visit remotely, writes Tim Ecott, by giving local volunteer guides a camera and letting people from all over the world take an online tour with them.

The outrage of our electronic waste mountain

The worlds biggest companies may deny it, but it is widely believed our electronic devices are deliberately built with a limited lifespan: so-called planned obsolescence. The result is a growing mountain of e-waste. John Harris talks to the activists trying to repair all that dead tech.

Republican vote suppression backfires in Wisconsin

Republicans risked lives by refusing to delay Wisconsins elections last week, a move that backfired spectacularly when a conservative justice on the states supreme court lost his seat to a liberal challenger by 163,000 votes. Its an early litmus test of Trumps political strength in a crucial swing state, as Sam Levine reports.

Brand strategist Amelia Hall says theres a new youth movement that fetishizes the wholesome purity of the outdoors. So why is cottagecore taking off now? Because were all stuck at home, of course.

Today, the simple act of being outdoors poses a very real, very mortal threat. So while mindlessly scrolling through Twitter, and encountering collages of young women lying in grass, cradling bunnies, wearing outfits out of Picnic at Hanging Rock I felt as though Id found something as illicit as a schedule 2 drug.

In this time of self-isolation, perhaps we humans can take inspiration from the platypus, which spends its days eating crustaceans and resting in its burrow, content with a life of solitude. To that end, the World Wide Fund for Nature has compiled a list of some of the worlds most antisocial creatures.

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First Thing: Who stops funding WHO in a pandemic? Donald Trump, that's who - The Guardian