Today is Thursday, July 13, 2023. Let's get caught up.
Here are today's top stories, celebrity birthdays and a look back at this date in history.
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MORNING LISTEN
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TOP STORIES
Top headlines for Thursday, July 13
President Joe Biden is showcasing NATO's newest member, Finland, as he closes out a five-day trip to Europe. Biden standing alongside Nordic leaders on Thursday is meant to be a show of NATO’s expanding power and influence against a burgeoning Russia. The president's brief visit to the Finnish capital of Helsinki is the coda to his tour of the continent this week. The trip was carefully sketched to highlight the growth of the NATO military alliance that the president says has fortified itself since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland became NATO’s newest member earlier this year, an entry that effectively doubled the alliance’s border with Russia.
The United States and other major industrialized nations are pledging long-term security assistance for Ukraine as it continues to fight Russia's invasion. At the annual NATO summit, G7 countries began laying the groundwork for member nations to negotiate individual security agreements with Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the commitments will be a bridge toward eventual NATO membership for his country. He is desperate for Ukraine to become a NATO member so it can take advantage of the alliance's security guarantees. But membership for Ukraine has remained elusive at the summit, held this year in Lithuania. Zelenskyy and Biden met separately as well.
(CNN) — The Powerball grand prize is growing once again after no winning jackpot tickets were sold for Wednesday’s drawing.
The union representing film and television actors says no deal has been reached with studios and streaming services and its leadership will vote on whether to strike later Thursday. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists said early Thursday that its decision on whether to join striking screenwriters will be decided by leadership at a meeting later Thursday. If the actors go on strike, it will be the first time since 1960 that actors and writers picket film and television productions. If that happens, actors will formally join screenwriters on the picket lines outside studios and filming locations in a bid to get better terms from studios and streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon.
Millions of people around the Southwest are living through a historic heat wave. Even the heat-experienced desert city of Phoenix is being tested Wednesday as temperatures there hit 110 degrees Fahrenheit for more than a dozen consecutive days. Phoenix is currently America’s hottest large city with temperatures forecast to hit as high as 119 degrees Fahrenheit over the weekend. The National Weather Service in Phoenix says Wednesday the long-duration heat wave is extremely dangerous for people’s health. It could persist into next week as a high pressure dome moves westerly from Texas into central California, affecting people across Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and California.
The National Weather Service says a tornado touched down near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport prompting passengers to take shelter and disrupting hundreds of flights. There were no immediate reports of injuries. A confirmed tornado was on the ground around 7 p.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Chicago. The National Weather Service had issued two tornado warnings for portions of the city Wednesday evening. Tornado sirens sounded at least twice across Chicago, warning people to take cover. The storm moved into Michigan before passing through the state and into Canada early Thursday. Tornado watches that were in effect for parts of Michigan, Indiana and Ohio all expired.
The head of this year’s United Nations’ climate talks has called for governments and businesses to tackle global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions in all regions and sectors if they want to stop the planet from passing a key temperature limit agreed on more than seven years ago. Sultan al-Jaber of the United Arab Emirates told senior officials from Europe, Canada and China gathered in Brussels on Thursday that record-breaking heat seen in parts of the world recently shows the need for urgent action to curb emissions. Al-Jaber laid out his strategy for the upcoming COP28 global climate talks in Dubai this fall. He said that leaders “must be brutally honest” about what has caused the sharp rise in temperatures since preindustrial times.
The U.S. House majority is in play next year after an anemic showing by Republicans in the midterm elections and a surprise Supreme Court ruling that will likely bring two new safely Democratic districts. Meanwhile, 18 Republican incumbents are in districts that supported Democrat Joe Biden for president, while just five Democrats represent areas that backed Republican Donald Trump. Democrats need to pick up just five seats to control the House. Other factors also make for a volatile 2024 House landscape, including eroding abortion rights in the states and the potential that Trump is at the top of the ticket for Republicans.
LeBron James plans to play next season for the Los Angeles Lakers. The 38-year-old superstar announced his intentions at The ESPYS. James accepted the record-breaking performance award for becoming the NBA's career scoring leader. James had said at the end of last season that he wasn't sure if he would be back. He says the day he can't give everything to the game he will retire, but he told the crowd, “Lucky for you guys that day is not today.” The audience in Los Angeles greeted his words with a huge cheer.
A hamburger and drink combination called the Lionel Messi. A huge sketch of the soccer star’s smiling face on a restaurant wall beside a meme that went viral during the 2022 World Cup. A beer with a pink label matching the color of the Inter Miami jersey he will wear. Wherever you turn in Miami these days something reminds you of the imminent arrival of the Argentine soccer legend. There is no hiding the euphoria generated by Messi in Miami as he begins the new Major League Soccer phase of his career in one of the most Latino cities in the United States.
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IMAGE OF THE DAY
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TODAY IN HISTORY
In 1985, “Live Aid,” an international rock concert in London, Philadelphia, Moscow and Sydney, took place to raise money for Africa’s starving…
In 1971, Reggie Jackson hits a mammoth home run off the power generator on the right-field roof at Tiger Stadium to highlight a barrage of six…
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