News Briefs

Coco Gauff and LeBron James to carry USA Olympic flag. Tennis star Coco Gauff will join basketball legend LeBron James as a flag bearer for the U.S. Olympic team at the July 26 opening ceremony. Ms. Gauff, the reigning U.S. Open champion, is set to make her Olympic debut at the Paris Games and will be the first tennis athlete to carry the U.S. flag. She and Mr. James were chosen by Team USA athletes. The International Olympic Committee decided in 2020 that national delegations would have two flagbearers – one male, one female – at the opening ceremony to promote gender parity. 

Olympic glory isn’t just about medals. For these athletes, the honor and joy of competition are their own triumphs. Still, gold would be good, too.

July 22 breaks record for hottest day on Earth. The European climate service Copernicus said July 22 broke the previous day’s record of the world’s hottest day ever. Climate scientists say it’s plausible that this is the warmest it has been in 120,000 years because of human-caused climate change. While scientists cannot be certain that July 22 was the very hottest day throughout that period, average temperatures – 17.15 degrees Celsius or 62.87 degrees Fahrenheit – have not been this high since long before humans developed agriculture. While 2024 has been extremely warm, what kicked this week into new territory was a warmer-than-usual Antarctic winter, according to Copernicus.

Western wildfires threaten three U.S. states. Firefighters in the West are scrambling as wildfires threaten communities in Oregon, California, and Washington, with at least one Oregon fire so large that it is creating its own weather. Multiple fires have scorched more than 1,093 square miles in Oregon, with nearly 180 square miles torched in the past 24 hours, authorities said. A fire in the Columbia River Gorge that started July 22 forced urgent evacuations around the town of Mosier, Oregon, and the entire town of about 400 people was ordered to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice on July 23. 

Second caravan heads to U.S.-Mexico border. About 3,000 people carrying bags, water, and small children trod through intense heat along a highway in southern Mexico on July 23, traveling in two groups aiming to reach the U.S. border. In recent years, caravans have been a means for tens of thousands of migrants to cross Mexico, often as a safety measure amid reports that robberies, rapes, and kidnappings of migrants are common. In the past such caravans have stirred intense debate in the United States, where immigration is likely to be a key topic ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election. 

Chinese nationals are growing rapidly as a share of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border. In this first of two parts, we talk to them about how and why they move.

Biden to address nation from Oval Office. Even though President Joe Biden won’t be on the ballot this November, voters will still weigh his legacy. Mr. Biden will have an opportunity to make a case for his legacy at 8 p.m. ET on July 24 when he delivers an Oval Office address about his decision to bow out of the race and “what lies ahead.” As Vice President Kamala Harris moves to take his place as the Democratic standard-bearer, Mr. Biden’s accomplishments remain very much at risk should Republican Donald Trump prevail. 

U.S. President Joe Biden’s late-stage departure from the presidential race has led to complaints that the Democratic Party is imposing an undemocratic outcome on its voters. Will Republican criticism stick?

Senator Menendez resigns. U.S. Senator Bob Menendez resigned on July 23 in the aftermath of his conviction on corruption charges including bribery and acting as an agent for Egypt’s government. He bowed to pressure from fellow Democrats to give up the job. Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy will appoint a replacement for Mr. Menendez, who has represented New Jersey in the Senate since 2006 and served as chairman of the influential Foreign Relations Committee before giving up that post after being charged last year. Mr. Menendez was found guilty on July 16 by a jury in Manhattan federal court on all 16 criminal counts he faced.

China will raise retirement age. China will gradually raise its statutory retirement age, now among the world’s lowest, to allow people to work longer, as it struggles to relieve soaring pressure on pension budgets, with many provinces already facing deficits. The July 21 announcement came in a key policy document that also rolled out plans to sharpen a strategy to combat a declining birth rate and an aging population. The retirement age is now 60 for men, while for women in white-collar work it is 55, and 50 for women who work in factories.

As China’s top leaders deliberate over the country’s economic future – including how to tackle inequality – new research shows regular people’s attitudes toward the economy are shifting, with fewer trusting that hard work will lead to prosperity.

Secret Service director resigns. Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service, is stepping down from her job following the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump that unleashed intensifying outcry about how the agency tasked with protecting current and former presidents could fail in its core mission. Ms. Cheatle had served as Secret Service director since August 2022. Ms. Cheatle announced her departure in an email she sent to staff. Ms. Cheatle had been facing growing calls to resign and several investigations into how the shooter was able to get so close to the Republican presidential nominee at an outdoor campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

Security lapses that enabled the July 13 shooting of former President Donald Trump are raising larger questions about Secret Service protection – prompting bipartisan calls today for the director’s resignation.

U.S. announces $60 million in Haiti aid. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations made the announcement during a trip to the troubled Caribbean country. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield also says the U.S. Department of Defense would provide a “significant number” of mine-resistant vehicles to a U.N.-backed, multinational security mission led by Kenya to help Haiti’s national police curb widespread gang violence. The July 22 announcement comes nearly a week after a second Kenyan contingent of 200 police officers arrived in Haiti last week, following the first contingent of 200 officers last month.

Haiti has dealt with decades of political turmoil and natural disasters. Although there hasn’t been an uninterrupted academic year since 2017, schools here embody hope for a stabler future.

Kamala Harris heads to Wisconsin. Vice President Kamala Harris is making her first visit to a battleground state after locking up enough support from Democratic delegates to win her party’s nomination to challenge Republican former President Donald Trump, two days after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid. As the Democratic Party continues to coalesce around Ms. Harris, she is traveling to Milwaukee on July 23. Ms. Harris will hold her first campaign rally since she launched her 2024 campaign on July 21 with Mr. Biden’s endorsement. Ms. Harris has raised more than $100 million since July 21.

Democrats are energized, with party leaders lining up to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, and campaign cash is pouring in. But time is short, and they face an uphill battle.

Democrats appear eager to unify around a new standard-bearer after weeks of damaging public infighting. But they are heading into uncharted territory.

Flight cancellations continue after tech outage. Delta Air Lines is struggling for a fourth straight day to recover from the tech outage, even as other airlines are returning to nearly normal levels of service. Delta canceled more than 700 flights on July 22, bringing its total since the outage started on July 19 to more than 5,500 cancellations. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he spoke to Delta CEO Ed Bastian about the cancellations. Mr. Buttigieg says he expects Delta to issue quick refunds and pay for hotels and meals for customers stranded by the ongoing cancellations.

Mexico migrant caravan departs for U.S. Hundreds of migrants from around a dozen countries have left from Mexico’s southern border on foot in an attempt to make it to the U.S. border. Some hoped to make it before the November elections because they fear Donald Trump will close the border to asylum-seekers if he wins. The group left July 21 from the southern Mexican town of Ciudad Hidalgo, which is next to a river that marks Mexico’s border with Guatemala. Some said they had been waiting in Ciudad Hidalgo for weeks for permits to travel to towns further to the north. 

The different ways in which immigration is influencing elections in the United States and in Mexico underscores each country’s distinct relationships with migrants and asylum-seekers.

EPA awards grants to reduce climate pollution. The $4.3 billion in grants will be used to fund 25 projects in 30 states to reduce climate pollution. The projects target greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, electric power, commercial and residential buildings, industry, agriculture, and waste and materials management. The grants are paid for by the Inflation Reduction Act, which was approved by Democrats in 2022. It includes nearly $400 billion in spending and tax credits to accelerate the expansion of clean energy such as wind and solar power, speeding the nation’s transition away from the oil, coal, and natural gas that largely cause climate change. 

Ithaca, New York, set one of the most ambitious climate goals in the United States in 2019. Since then, the city has learned how to press on when faced with setbacks.

Bangladesh scales back job quota system. Bangladesh’s top court has scaled back a controversial quota system for government job applicants after it led to nationwide unrest and deadly clashes between police and protesters that have killed at least 139 people. The Supreme Court in its verdict ordered 93% of the government jobs to be called on a merit-based system, with only 5% reserved for relatives of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s war of independence in 1971 and other categories. Earlier, the system reserved 30% of the jobs for veterans' relatives. The July 21 verdict comes after weeks of demonstrations that turned deadly. 

Israeli army orders Gaza evacuation. The Israeli military has ordered the evacuation of part of a crowded area in Gaza it has designated a humanitarian zone. The military says Hamas militants have embedded themselves in the area and civilians should evacuate the zone’s eastern part. The announcement came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travels to the United States to meet with President Joe Biden and address Congress while cease-fire negotiations continue. Meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry says new Israeli airstrikes have sent the death toll in the war to more than 39,000 Palestinians.

As the war grinds on in Gaza, life goes on in next-door Egypt. Some Palestinian residents of Gaza managed to escape the physical conflict by crossing the border, but the war, its worries, and survivor’s guilt are ever present.

Netanyahu heads to Washington. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is flying to Washington on July 22. He will make a politically precarious speech before a joint session of Congress on July 25 at a time of great uncertainty following U.S. President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race. Mr. Netanyahu will deliver his congressional address with an eye on several audiences: his ultranationalist governing partners, the key to his political survival; the Biden administration, which he counts on for diplomatic and military support; and Donald Trump’s Republican Party, which could offer him a reset in relations if he is reelected in November.

After weeks of hand-wringing about whether replacing Joe Biden on the 2024 ticket would do more harm than good, Democrats are now turning to how to make the switch as seamless as possible.

President Biden drops out of race, endorses Harris. President Joe Biden has dropped out of the 2024 race following a disastrous debate with Republican Donald Trump, throwing the Democratic Party into chaos just months before the election. He has thrown his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris, the party’s instant favorite for the nomination at its August convention in Chicago. Mr. Biden’s decision came as he has been isolating at his Delaware beach house after being diagnosed with COVID-19 last week. He’s encouraging the party to unite behind Ms. Harris.

With President Joe Biden’s announcement he is leaving the presidential race, the spotlight is shining on Vice President Kamala Harris. This gives her an opportunity to reintroduce herself to voters after a rough start.

World Court calls Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territories unlawful. The top U.N. court called for an end to Israeli settlement construction immediately. Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu quickly denounced the nonbinding opinion issued on July 19 by the 15-judge panel of the International Court of Justice. But the unprecedented and sweeping condemnation of Israel’s rule over the lands it captured 57 years ago could increase the country’s isolation. The judges pointed to a wide list of policies, including the use of the area’s natural resources, the annexation and imposition of permanent control over lands, and discriminatory policies against Palestinians.

Both sides in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza are seeking international empathy. In Israel, a growing sense of global isolation is fueling both support for the hard-line government and a feeling of abandonment.