Morning mail: Trump administration bans the c-word Tuesday: US government officials told to avoid term 'climate change'. Plus, poll reveals most people want marriage equality resolved before next election A collapsed road after a hurricane storm surge in Florida. Photograph: Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images Eleanor Ainge Roy @EleanorAingeRoy Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Tuesday 8 August. Top stories A US federal department has begun censoring use of the term "climate change" under the Trump administration, emails obtained by the Guardian reveal. Staff at the Department of Agriculture have been told to refer to "weather extremes" in their work, instead. A missive from Bianca Moebius-Clune, director of soil health, lists terms that should be avoided and what should replace them. Instead of "climate change adaption", staff are asked to use "resilience to weather extremes". Some staff weren't enamoured with the new regime, with one employee stating: "We would prefer to keep the language as is," and stressing the need to maintain the "scientific integrity of the work". Days after Trump's inauguration, Jimmy Bramblett, deputy chief for programs at a unit of the agriculture department, said in an email to senior employees: "It has become clear one of the previous administration's priority is not consistent with that of the incoming administration. Namely, that priority is climate change. Please visit with your staff and make them aware of this shift in perspective within the executive branch." Bramblett added that "prudence" should be used when discussing greenhouse gases and said the agency's work on air quality regarding these gases could be discontinued. The Liberal party has elected to stick with its plebiscite policy on marriage equality – with a postal vote as a backup – rather than moving immediately to a free vote, after a special party-room meeting on Monday evening. After a two-hour discussion, only a handful of Liberal MPs, some sources say six, others say eight, raised their hands when Malcolm Turnbull asked people to indicate whether or not they wanted the plebiscite dumped now, and the party to move to a free vote. Some in the government are hopeful that marriage equality groups could swing behind the original plebiscite proposal if the alternative were a postal vote but advocates were giving no sign of that on Monday night. And a Guardian Essential poll has found more voters approve of holding a postal plebiscite on marriage equality than disapprove of the concept, but regardless a majority want the issue resolved before the next federal election, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll. The body of Hamed Shamshiripour has been found in the forest near an Australian-run refugee transit centre on Manus Island. Shamshiripour was an Iranian national who had sought asylum in Australia, and suffered a series of acute mental health crises for more than a year while being held in offshore detention. His friends had complained about his treatment on Manus, which included twice being jailed during mental breakdowns, and begged for Australia to provide the psychiatric care he needed. They now say they are not convinced his death was a suicide. The Minerals Council of Australia is launching a new industrial relations push to curb the power of unions to strike. In a discussion paper out today, the council proposes tighter rules for union access to workplaces, a higher bar for anti-victimisation provisions and the reintroduction of individual workplace contracts for high-income earners. The paper is bound to spark a confrontation with the unions, which have been campaigning hard for more rights to help combat inequality. One of Britain's rarest animals has been caught on camera after a four-year stakeout by wildlife experts. A male pine marten, which looks like a ferret and grows up to 60cm long, was last seen alive in Yorkshire about 35 years ago. The sighting is the first living record in the area since about 1982 and the first confirmed record since 1993, when a skull was found. Sport England has won its fourth and final Test against South Africa by 177 runs, taking the series 3-1. On a sunlit Old Trafford evening Joe Root – new to the job of captain – could raise the Basil D'Oliveira trophy in the knowledge he had passed his first examination with flying colours. England now climbs to third place in the International Cricket Council's Test rankings, above Australia, who they meet in defence of the Ashes this winter. The World Athletics championship are still under way, with disqualifications and unlikely winners galore. Follow the live blog here. Thinking time Artist Charles Blackman and Barbara Blackman, his wife of 30 years, whose life has been celebrated in the film Seeing from Within: The Life of Barbara Blackman Photograph: Supplied: Seeing From Within Barbara Blackman has been many things: a writer, a philanthropist, an advocate for the visually impaired, and the longtime wife of the artist Charles Blackman. Here, she talks to Brigid Delaney about her varied life – from going blind at a young age to being the muse of one of Australia's most significant living artists – and the new documentary that puts it all in her own words. Garma is a celebration and a get-together – both formal and friendly – but it is also a highly charged, high-level political forum, and this year thrashed out the issue of constitutional reform. The weekend ended with hope and determination but also more questions; what will Malcolm Turnbull do with the knowledge gleaned over this significant weekend; will he act at all? Djunga Djunga Yunupingu, a senior Gumatji man, says he trusts the prime minister: "We'll keep our fingers crossed." One of the more common explanations for the rise of nationalistic fringe parties, such as One Nation, is "economic anxiety", which argues that some areas – especially those outside the cities – have been left behind. But a paper by the Grattan Institute pours cold water on this idea, arguing that the economic divide between Australia's cities and regions is not getting bigger, writes Greg Jericho. It's a chilly 3C in Melbourne and George is bundled up in a thick scarf, army coat and thermals. After two winters on the streets, he's got the dress code down pat. Melbourne city council has postponed a vote on new laws to ban rough sleeping in the city centre after the UN said they were discriminatory and violated human rights laws. George is astonished they would even consider it. "That's ludicrous. Where are we meant to go? And where will they send the fine?" What's he done now? Donald Trump has savaged US Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal in a series of scathing tweets after the senator raised concerns about the Trump administration's alleged collusion with Russia. "Interesting to watch Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut talking about hoax Russian collusion when he was a phony Vietnam con artist!" tweeted Trump. "Never in U.S. history has anyone lied or defrauded voters like Senator Richard Blumenthal. He told stories about his Vietnam battles and conquests, how brave he was, and it was all a lie. He cried like a baby and begged for forgiveness like a child. Now he judges collusion?" Media roundup The West Australian has a radiant front page devoted to Betty Cuthbert, the "Aussie Golden Girl who inspired a generation", as do a number of other papers. The Age says the Victorian opposition leader, Matthew Guy, attended a secret dinner this year with the alleged head of Melbourne's mafia. The two chatted over several bottles of Penfolds Grange at a lobster restaurant in Melbourne's south-east, it reports. And the ABC has a long read by Annabel Crabb revealing the hidden secrets of parliament, including benches made of near-extinct Australian timbers, a subterranean network of tunnels and 1,100 underground rooms that house everything from laundries to a stonemason. The House with Annabel Crabb premieres on Tuesday at 8.00pm on ABC and iView. Coming up The Coalition joint party-room meeting at 9am will discuss the timing of the next steps in the same-sex marriage plebiscite after the Liberal party's vote last night. The former Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale, 65, will make his first court appearance after being charged in August with two counts of attempting to pervert justice. University staff and students will protest across the country against "deeply flawed" funding cuts proposed by the federal government. The National Tertiary Education Union has called for lunchtime protests at campuses and the National Union of Students will hold rallies in cities centres. Guardian News & Media Limited - a member of Guardian Media Group PLC. Registered Office: Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU. Registered in England No. 908396