Daily Briefing: The West is baking
Millions of people in the western U.S. are under excessive heat warnings. The Justice Department has charged six leaders of Hamas with crimes related to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The son of the late Sen. John McCain has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
👋🏾 I'm Jane, Daily Briefing author. Hvaldimir, an alleged Russian spy whale, was found dead off a Norwegian shore.
Heat wave to bake Southwest
A potentially record-setting heat wave is expected to drive temperatures across the western U.S. into the triple digits this week. Millions of people from southwestern Oregon through California, parts of Arizona and western Nevada will be under excessive heat warnings Tuesday through Friday.
The highest temperatures are expected in Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park, where temperatures could reach 120 degrees.
- Federal forecasters said major cities including Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Portland, Oregon, were expected to surpass 100 degrees.
- "The homeless, elderly, children, and those with health issues are at the highest risk for heat illness," the weather service office in Los Angeles said on X.
- Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said that emergency personnel have begun preparing for the heat wave and that authorities are setting up cooling centers around the city.
DOJ charges Hamas leaders for Oct. 7 attacks in Israel
The Justice Department charged six leaders of Hamas with the Oct. 7 attack on Israel for charges including conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens, conspiracy to support a terrorist organization and conspiracy to use bombs and weapons of mass destruction. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the charges are for financing and directing a decades-long campaign to kill Americans and endanger the security of the United States. The Oct. 7 rampage was the group's most violent, large-scale terrorist attack, including the murder of entire families and the weaponization of sexual violence against women, Garland said. Read more
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What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.
John McCain's son endorses Harris over Trump
Jim McCain, a son of the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, said Tuesday that he is backing Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump. McCain, one of the more private members of his politically notable Arizona family, publicly rolled out an endorsement that could pack more importance than most because of his father’s standing in the state he represented on Capitol Hill for decades. It comes a week after the Trump campaign had what Arlington National Cemetery described as an “incident” involving a staffer who tried to stop what that person saw as prohibited campaign-related activities during a wreath-laying service. Read more
Russian air attack kills seven in Ukraine's Lviv
An overnight Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine's western city of Lviv close to the border with NATO member Poland killed seven people, including three children, local officials said on Wednesday. The strikes, which also damaged historic buildings in the heart of the city, came a day after the war's deadliest single attack this year, when Russia hit a military institute with two ballistic missiles, killing 50 and wounding hundreds more. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said allies could help stop the "terror" by providing more air defenses, and he repeated calls for partners to allow the use of long-range Western weapons deeper into Russian territory. Read more
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Oregon measles outbreak makes record
Oregon's measles outbreak is now the largest in the state in over three decades, mirroring a trend of rising measles cases across the U.S. this year. Nearly one-third of measles cases since the pandemic occurred in the past three months, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of cases in Oregon's outbreak first tracked in mid-June grew to 31 as of Tuesday, surpassing the last outbreak in the state, in 2019, when 28 cases were reported. Health experts attribute the reappearance of this disease to the falling rate of children getting measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations. Read more
Photo of the day: 'Lost' Titanic statue rediscovered
Lying at the bottom of the North Atlantic, researchers found in a new expedition that the remains of the Titanic are showing signs of deterioration. The team hoped to find the "Diana of Versailles" statue, the centerpiece of the ship's first class lounge. It was spotted in photos taken during a 1986 expedition, "but a tradition of secrecy around the Titanic wreck ensured her location would remain unknown," the RMS Titanic Inc. said. After days of searching, the team on its final day of the expedition finally located the statue and was able to photograph it with detail "not seen in 112 years." Read more about the exciting discovery.
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Reuters contributed reporting.